Tag: Formula 1

F1 2014 – Malaysia GP Preview: F1 2014’s Acid Test

Roughly a year ago Red Bull’s biggest worry was the unrest between its two drivers. In a ruthless move Sebastian Vettel ignored the now infamous ‘multi-21’call to hold position and pinched victory from Mark Webber.

Twelve months later the second round of the championship again brings Red Bull and the paddock to Malaysia. The reigning champions arrive at the Sepang International circuit with no points on the board and lingering questions about reliability. Despite having nothing to show for the Australian GP definite progress had been made. The RB10 looked settled and quick with a good aerodynamic base. Their issues have been confined, mainly, the Renault power unit and Christian Horner believes that “massive progress” can be made if the French manufacturer gets on top of its problems.

The tropical climate of Kuala Lumpur requires a unique approach from drivers and teams. Unlike in Melbourne the Sepang International circuit, with a length of 5.542 km and a total of 56 laps, will test the mettle of the 2014 F1 cars. Several high speed corners will put aerodynamics under the microscope while a taxing 65% of the lap is spent on full throttle. The Malaysian GP is additionally notorious for its stiflingly hot and humid conditions which puts serious physical demands on the driver.

Pirelli has brought its medium and hard compound tyres to combat the relatively abrasive track surface. Tyre degradation hasn’t featured yet in 2014 but Malaysia presents, as the first permanent race track of the year, a substantial demand on tyre performance. When the weather pendulum has tended towards extreme heat track temperatures have reached as high as 52 degrees Celsius. Issues with overheating will be a key area of focus, especially during the long-runs.

The demands on the hybrid power unit are no less stressful. Twelve seconds is spent on full throttle during the 920 meter long back straight and with only four slow corners Sepang was built with one thing in mind – speed. Several teams were down on power and straight-line speed in the season opener and if those issues have not been solved for this weekend they’ll be nothing more than mobile chicanes.

Mercedes have the speed, reliability, performance and the drivers. The Silver Arrows team start the weekend as overwhelming favourites but under a veil of mystery. Lewis Hamilton was set fair with pole position and the fastest car on the grid in Australia. But one vital element was missing – reliability. Reliability is a word that fans will grow weary of in the initial part of the season but it is the most important commodity in the sport. With it, it ensures the capacity for consistency and crucial points. Without it, success is unattainable.

Ironically, a lot of noise has been made about the new sound of Formula 1. No longer does the V8 engine scream down the straights and rattle the fillings in your teeth and it’s a shame. It’s a shame because for countless years Formula 1 has been synonymous with bone jarring racket so loud it could cause permanent ear damage. It’s a shame but it isn’t as dreadful as some would suggest. Sound isn’t what makes this Formula 1. Mika Hakkinen’s inspired simultaneous pass on Michael Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta at the 2000 Belgium GP, Schumi’s unbelievable 4 pit-stop strategy at the 2004 French GP, Kimi Raikkonen’s sensational drive through the field of the 2005 Japanese GP – these and many more moments and races are what define the soul of this gut-wrenchingly passionate sport. They are revered because of the brilliance of men, in the cockpits and in the factories. While the distinctive sound of Formula 1 may have gone it is true still that the absurd talent and passion never will.

March 26, 2014
Weather Report for the 2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix

Round 2 of the Formula 1 World Championship brings us to Sepang in Malaysia.

You can always count on the Malaysian Grand Prix to bring some unpredictability to F1. Not that we dont need any more that we have currently. The weather at the Malaysian Grand Prix is about as unpredictable as the current Renault engines with sudden downpours followed by immediate sunshine and 100% humidity.

This weekends Grand Prix is no different. The weather for Friday is predicted to be hot and sunny with thundershowers expected for the afternoon session. The forecast is very similar for Saturday with a possibility of a wet qualifying. The same can be said for the Sunday forecast. Despite the possibility of thunderstorms temperatures will hover in the mid-to-low 30s.

March 26, 2014
Kimi Raikkonen ahead of the 2014 Australian GP

Kimi Raikkonen with his race engineer before the start of the 2014 Australian grand prix.

March 17, 2014
F1 2014: Australia GP Review – Rosberg Romps To Melbourne Victory

It was at the completion of the 2013 Abu Dhabi grand prix when Sebastian Vettel, on his way to a nine race winning streak, reminded his team to savour their victorious memories. How spot-on he was.

The free practice session made it quite clear that Mercedes’ favourites tag was no gaffe. For the 35^th time Lewis Hamilton ensured that he would start in the best position possible on Sunday while Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo split the Silver Arrows for his first front row start.

It was somewhat surprising that Hamilton didn’t appear more enthused by his pole position. Somewhere in the back of his mind the fear about reliability must still have been lingering. It wasn’t unfounded as the 2008 champion was forced to retire on lap three after dropping a cylinder.

It was apparent that Red Bull Racing had made tremendous strides in Australia as Daniel Ricciardo easily maintained second place throughout the race. However, disaster struck the Milton Keyes based team with the retirement of Sebastian Vettel. The four time champion struggled throughout the weekend with software issues which proved his ultimate demise in the race. After three laps the German reported a lack of power which spelled the end of his Australian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo became the first Australian driver to occupy a step on the podium of an Australian GP. However his joy was short lived as the Red Bull team were called into the stewards’ office as celebrations were no doubt in full swing. The outcome was exclusion from the final standings for Daniel Ricciardo as a result of the fuel flow rate on his car being too high during the race. The fuel flow rate for 2014 is set at 100 kgs per hour. What’s more, during the race, a technical representative from the FIA warned the team that the flow rate was too high. However, Red Bull elected not to change the flow rate. The team has stated their intention to appeal the disqualification. It seems unlikely that the decision will be overturned given that Red Bull chose to ignore the FIA’s helping hand during the race.

Bad news for Red Bull meant an even better day at the office for McLaren. Kevin Magnussen’s drive belied the fact that the Danish youngster was in his first grand prix. It serves as the perfect example of a 21^st century rookie – light years removed from being thrown in the deep-end of a cutthroat motor racing series and having to fend for yourself. ‘Young drivers’ who form part of a team’s driving program are groomed to the hilt with exposure to the team long before they become, officially, a part of it. Just like Kevin Magnussen. But mixing it in the deep-end still requires great composure and skill both of which K-Mag seems to have in abundance.

McLaren will leave Australian shores as the happiest team in the paddock. After suffering their worst season ever in 2013, the Woking based team has delivered immediate results. Not only does Magnussen become the first Dane on the podium but the ever-smooth Jenson Button’s third place secures McLaren the lead of the constructors’ championship after round one.

A total of fourteen cars crossed the finish line in Australia implying that reliability didn’t appear to be as catastrophic as initially predicted. However, several teams will have been working quite hard to mask or manage a range of issues.

Ferrari was such a team. It was a far from spectacular day at the office but both cars saw the chequered flag. It was confirmed that neither of the two Ferrari were able to run at ultimate power due to electrical problem believed to be related to the energy recovery system. Both drivers suffered with graining on their Pirelli tyres and spent most of the afternoon tucked up in traffic. A combination of these issues had a significant impact on their pace. Fernando Alonso finished in his qualifying position of fifth, which later became fourth, while Raikkonen finished seventh overall. However, both drivers appeared frustrated with their F14T Ferrari. A short clip has been making the rounds online in which the usually unemotional Kimi Raikkonen can be heard informing his engineer to tell the team that “it doesn’t work, so ask them to change it.”

As the red lights extinguished, Nico Rosberg grabbed the lead of the race and was never challenged on his way to victory. Rosberg cleared off from the head of pack at the blistering pace that Mercedes had promised throughout the winter testing season. Despite it only being the first round of the season Mercedes has proven to be the team to beat in terms of pace. Where reliability is concerned the Brackley based team are still facing the same questions as most other throughout the field.

It was a memorable day for Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat too. Many doubted his readiness for Formula 1 and questioned whether he deserved a place in the sport. It wasn’t very long ago that the Russian driver obtained his superlicence either and with it he has already broken a record. By finishing ninth overall Kvyat becomes the youngest points scorer in Formula 1 history. He snatches the record from SebastianVettel by a mere 27 days.

In reality, the first race of the 2014 season was far more intriguing than exciting. It is hardly surprising that neither Lotus made the end of the race nor that teams are still striving to understand exactly how their cars work. It will take some time to get on top of this new era of fully hybrid Formula 1. But already the status quo seems to have been thrown out the window.

March 17, 2014
Australian Grand Prix Post Race Press Conference

Drivers:

1 – Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

2 – Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

3 – Kevin Magnussen (McLaren)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Alan Jones)

Q: Well Nico, well done. I couldn’t think of a better start to the season. What a great start to the 2014 championship. A great start to the new era of Formula One.
Nico Rosberg: Yes, I mean, already it’s been an amazing time here in Melbourne. Thanks to all of you, you’ve made it all the more special, all your support has been fantastic this weekend. Even though Daniel got a little bit more support than us. Anyway that’s normal. It’s been an amazing day. I’m just over the moon really. It’s incredible, everybody has worked so hard over the winter and now to have such an amazing Silver Arrow to drive is just unreal. This thing was unbelievably quick today and the reliability was good also, so it was just the perfect start to the season. I’m really thankful to Mercedes, they have done an amazing job over the winter.

Q: Well, all your hard work has paid off well and truly.
NR: Yeah, for now yes. Today, definitely.

Q: Daniel, g’day. You were thinking you may not even finish, let alone be on the podium.
Daniel Ricciardo: Yeah. Two or three weeks ago I would have bet pretty everything I have that we would not be standing up here. Full credit to the team for an unbelievable turnaround. I don’t understand how they did it but they did, so thank you guys. And, of course, the Aussie fans. Wow, completely overwhelming. No words. I’m trippin’ balls right now.

Q: There’s a bloke up in Noosa that’ll be very happy too.
DR: Yeah I thought I’d do a stack just to commemorate Mark as well. It’s an Aussie thing, but yeah, really pleased to be up here. First Aussie on the Aussie podium, so that’s really nice to have. Thanks everyone.

Q: Well you’ve done us all proud. Good on you, mate. Kevin, well done. First Dane on a Formula One podium.
Kevin Magnussen: It’s hard to believe really. It just seems so unreal. What can I say. The car was so much better than it’s been at any point. We just keep improving the car. I had just exactly what I need the whole race. The preparation we’ve done this winter has been fantastic. I’ve never done a Formula One and testing is so limited, so big congratulations to the team for doing such a good job.

Q: Well, your father is racing on the other side of the world this weekend as well, so he’s got something to live up to.
KM: I think they did the race already, so I’ll need to see how it went. I wish he could have been here. It’s a great day.

Q: So you’re looking forward to the next one obviously?
KM: Yes I am – great things ahead.

Q: Nico, what are you going to do now between here and the next one?
NR: We’ll definitely evaluate everything that we’ve learned now from this weekend because for sure there’s some way to go. We still can improve a lot. We must, because our competitors aren’t going to be asleep. Definitely they are going to try to catch up quickly, So just try to learn as much as we can, improve the car, go on holiday a little bit next week and then get ready for Malaysia.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Nico, what a start, what a race, what a win.
NR: Yeah, the start was just… off like a bullet – or off like a Silver Arrow – thanks to Evan he did a great job on my start – my engineer who’s responsible for that. And then after that the car was just really, really quick today and the whole team did such a good job on it. Engine: really good engine, not much of a problem with fuel consumption, didn’t have to worry much about that, pretty much as usual. It just all worked perfectly. Reliability was great. So, fantastic. I’m just so happy for everybody. They work so damn hard, I don’t think people can really imagine how hard everybody works in my team and I’m sure in other teams too – so that’s just the best reward possible. To dominate in such a way the first week, the first race out.

Q: Big winning margin, obviously a lot of pace in the car and there was a lot of radio communication about extending that middle stint – which you seemed to be able to do quite comfortably.
NR: Yeah, got into a bit of a strange situation in that middle stint because I got graining on the front and then somehow I was losing temperature and somehow it started to get really difficult out there. So, I thought I was going to have to come in soon and they just said try to stay out, try to stay out and I did and then the graining cleared on my tyre and I was off, I was able to go again. It was a bit of a strange period but then it was fine again after that.

Q: Dan, as you said on the podium, what a turn around – does this exceed your wildest expectations of your first race with Red Bull?
DR: Definitely. If I look back at where we were three weeks ago – or however long ago it was, definitely. We’ve never done a race distance up until today, so we didn’t really have much confidence we’d see a chequered flag, let alone see it in a podium position. Obviously, as Nico said with his team, the same for ours. They really worked hard over the winter and really clawed back a massive margin. Obviously we still don’t have the pace of the Mercedes but it’s a result that we will definitely take today and we can make a lot of progress from here. So, pretty happy. It’s a bit overwhelming for now but an unbelievable day.

Q: I think we could hear your smile over the team radio at the end there but talk about the support from this Australian crowd here today – and the whole weekend.
DR: Yeah, it’s been a lot. It’s been a crazy amount. The support for Formula One in general. They’ve been really behind this event and always when the drivers rock up at the circuit, everyone’s cheering for everyone and wanting autographs. Obviously there’s been a bit more for me, being the only Aussie on the grid this year and that’s just been more than I could have possibly expected. At times a bit embarrassing. Everyone knows who I am now – but it’s cool. Very positive.

Q: Kevin, no podium for McLaren in 2013. You go on the podium in your first appearance in Formula One. You were pinching yourself in the press conference here on Thursday to be in the company of world champions and race winners and stars. You’re a star yourself today.
KM: Yeah. Nico was just saying, ‘Mate, you’re on third!’ I can’t believe it. It’s not a win but it definitely feels like a bit of a win because, as you said, the team is coming off a difficult season and they really wanted to come back and they’ve worked so hard over the winter. And working with a rookie as well who hasn’t got experience. It’s been tough for them, for sure – but they’ve done such a good job, made me feel really at home and made me feel comfortable with everything. Yeah. I couldn’t have asked for more.

Q: Just talk us through the final stint because you started closing up quite a bit on Dan, then you started pulling back a bit, then it was a bit erratic.
KM: I think me and Dan had pretty similar pace but obviously you can do stuff with the engine to try and push for a few laps and then you have to back off because you have to harvest the energy again. And you’re fuel saving as well and then stop for a few laps and then you begin again and you have to do more and catch that up. I guess it makes it exciting from the outside because it creates opportunities for overtaking but it just wasn’t enough today. I didn’t have enough pace to get past Dan.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, congratulations. How does it feel to lead the championship for the first time in your life, and actually be the first Rosberg in front since Keke in 1982?
NR: Mr Statistics! It feels… I don’t think about that. I’m really just in the moment. I have an unbelievably quick car or I had an unbelievably quick car today. That gives me a lot of… you know, it’s such a pleasure to drive. It’s such a great feeling and I really look forward to the next races so much now, having this.. it’s so fast, it’s great. Of course, it’s still going to be tough and reliability is not 100 percent sorted, there’s still lots of work we need to do and there’s a lot of work ahead of us but it’s a great start and I’m just excited about the result today and sharing it with the whole team. It’s just fantastic.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Daniel, naturally you’ve always believed you could do this, but now you’ve done it, you’ve got the podium, you’ve run at the front. Tell us how this gives you confidence and momentum going into the championship and running at the front for the rest of the year?
DR: Yeah. A lot, I guess. Yeah. It’s nice to be up here. Even yesterday during the post-qualifying press conference, that was already a nice little boost, to be up in that top three and now to be here. It’s strange, because I guess it’s expected to see Nico up here but to have Kevin as well, feels like we’re back in World Series by Renault or something. So it’s a bit surreal still, but I’m sure tomorrow it will all sink in. Yeah, a lot of confidence, I’m really happy with how the whole weekend has gone. Dry and wet conditions, showed a lot of confidence and some good pace. Obviously I’ve got to continue this now but the team has to be pleased with what they’re seeing at the moment.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Nico, you talked about the reliability of your car but obviously a different story for your teammate in what happened to him in first practice and also at the start of the race today. Does that bring any concerns for Mercedes, for yourself going forward as well, that the car isn’t as bullet-proof as we perhaps saw during testing?
NR: Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to the other car but for sure it’s a fact that we’re not 100 percent sorted yet. We know that and the team did a great job to get my car working so well in the race today but there’s still work to be done. We have two weeks now. We need to identify all the things that we can still do better because even leading up to this weekend, there were still a lot of changes on the car and you don’t really want to be doing that just going to the first race. And also in testing there were still a couple of problems at the end there, so great job, but still things to get sorted.

Q: (Jacob Polychromis – F1Plus.com) Daniel, in a weekend where the AFL season started in Melbourne, you still managed to outshine it – perhaps our international guests don’t appreciate how huge that really is but we do. What does that mean to you to essentially become Australian sporting royalty?
DR: Obviously there’s been a lot of support for me this week but the support everyone has shown for Formula One, it’s made headlines every day in the papers, I think. As I said, the crowd was amazing, not only for me but for every other driver this week, they’ve showed incredible enthusiasm for the event and if there’s any doubts that the Oz Grand Prix won’t last, I think they definitely put a stamp on that this year and I’m sure it will keep kicking for a while now, so really pleased to be a part of that.

Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Kevin, can you say if you had any problems with your car today?
KM: If I had a problem? No, no issues with the car that we weren’t expecting. We didn’t really know what to expect but luckily we didn’t have anything really that came up that we couldn’t handle so again, big congratulations to the team and to Mercedes for providing such a reliable power unit. It’s quite impressive in the first year.

Q: How about the fuel, was that ever a concern?
KM: No, I probably saved a bit too much in the beginning which turned out to be alright because then I could give Daniel a little bit of pressure at the end and I didn’t have to save fuel so much which was good. It’s something I will certainly learn more about and get into a rhythm with.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico and Daniel, that was the first start with a V6 turbo. Has it been any different to the starts you have been used to with the V8s?
NR: There are some small bits and pieces that are different, yeah, and then getting away, upshifting through the gears, getting that right, but in the end it’s not too far apart. I think my start was spectacular today, it felt great, felt like last year.

Q: Dan, you hadn’t done too many practice starts before this weekend.
DR: No, not too many. Yeah, it wasn’t perfect but I think probably Nico was the only guy that had a good start from what I saw today and the rest were pretty average but definitely upshifting through the gears with the torque we have with the V6 turbos this year, it is a bit more difficult to manage the wheelspin but as we saw, I don’t think everyone really has it right yet. We managed to do a sufficient enough job today but there’s still a lot of progress to make with launches.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Daniel and Nico, how difficult was it to manage the fuel during the race? Was it easy?
NR: Yeah, yeah, honestly our engine I think even there, they’ve just done a power unit not just engine, they’ve done a great job because it’s not much different than last year, a little bit more than last year but it’s really straightforward and quite easy and this being the most difficult track, it’s really impressive.
DR: Yeah, I think at the start of the race it was a bit of guessing. Some laps I would try and push and not really conserve and then when I felt I had enough gap then I would start conserving. We were basically learning all the time today. First time that we’ve done a race distance so I think we’ll take a lot out of it but in the end I think the system we have to reach the fuel target is not bad, considering we haven’t done too much work on that yet. I think we survived quite well.

Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Nico, a certain Mr Ecclestone predicted that you would win this year’s championship. Do you think that favouritism is now justified by this result today?
NR: Of course I heard about that and I’m thankful for such a statement. It’s always a boost when it comes from Bernie but other than that, I don’t think about that too much at the moment. There’s a long way to go and it’s just been a great day today, great win, great start to the season and just leave it at that.

Q: (Tony Schibeci – SEN Radio) Nico, Malaysia is normally the next week after Australia. This time it’s two weeks away. Is it an advantage for you to have that two weeks or is it a disadvantage because it allows everyone a bit of extra time to get their cars closer to where you’re at?
NR: I don’t know whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage but for sure we’re going to use that time well to further improve our car, make it quicker, more reliable, so it’s going to be a very useful gap now in between the two races.

Q: (Sam McClure – Radio 3AW) Daniel, already today you have achieved what Mark Webber couldn’t, finish on the podium in his home Grand Prix. You’re going to be the new face of Australian motor sport in the papers today, in the news tonight. How does that make you feel?
DR: I don’t know. Obviously really nice but even when I flew into Melbourne this week, it was a bit embarrassing to see my face on a few billboards. I don’t know. It’s obviously nice, all the support is great but I don’t know. The fame is something which I guess maybe I will still have to get used to but it’s nice, really nice to give the fans what they wanted to see. I know they went crazy yesterday when we nearly got the pole and then to back it up with a podium today is great. I think half of Perth is here as well this weekend. I told all my family to stay away from the pits, didn’t need any extra distractions but I’m sure I will catch up with them tonight and enjoy a beer and relax a little bit before Malaysia.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Nico, today we saw you dancing a little bit to Get Lucky going to the drivers’ parade. It looks like you were really confident, in spite of having Lewis on pole position. I want to know if you’re going to dance a little bit more to get Get Lucky in every race?
NR: I was very optimistic for the race today because we just prepared really well for it and so I was confident that we could do well and so I looked forward to it and from the start it just all went fantastically.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kevin, McLaren is leading the Constructors championship, do you think you can hang on there with a rookie and a champion driver together?
KM: Yeah, who knows? We will certainly try our best. I know the team is massively motivated to stay on top and they are a team that should be at the top of Formula One. So, what can I say? I’ll do my best and they will do their best. Who knows?

Q: (Chris Medland – crash.net) Daniel, how much of that gap to Nico do you think can be closed just from some consistent running that you’ve got now?
DR: I think it will definitely get smaller and hopefully not bigger over time. I think there’s still a lot to learn today and once it all settles down and I go through the meeting with the engineers tonight I will start to… Now I’m obviously on a high but then I’ll start to break it all down and become critical and places where we can improve. I’ll definitely try and help the guys out with that. Obviously I would like the gap closed. He was pretty far away in front today and obviously second is great but it would be nice to at least have seen him on the straight and not five corners ahead.

Q: (Ralf Bach – R&B) Kevin, one question: I think Mercedes is a very good engine. Would you like to stay with it next year?
NR: Careful. He’s really dangerous so best to say no comment.
KM: No comment.
NR: When he asks a question, no comment.
KM: I’m happy just to be with McLaren. I think what Mercedes and McLaren have done together is amazing and really looking forward to what’s coming ahead.

March 16, 2014
Australian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Felipe MASSA (Williams)

Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

Kevin MAGNUSSEN (McLaren)

Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Sebastian, can we start with you. You’re a four-time world champion, it’s your 121^st grand prix and your seventh season in Formula One. Four times a world champion consecutively but would it be fair say that as we sit here today you’re not terribly optimistic about making it a fifth in a row this year?

Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t think that’s fair to say. It’s a long year. Our pre-season testing, our preparation, hasn’t been ideal and, yeah, we’re probably not in the best position for this race but I think it’s a different story when we think about the championship. There’s a long way to go. Two years back Fernando was on the grid with 1.5 seconds to pole position but he was very close to beating us to the title at the very last race. Anything can happen. That’s why this race is important, just as any other one. But there are a lot of races this year.

Obviously we’ve all seen from the outside, and you’ve mentioned now the difficulties you had in pre-season testing but what are you doing to try to put that right – you personally?

SV: It’s obviously a tough step for all the teams, all the drivers, a lot of new things to get used to. We know that obviously we’re not in the best shape yet. There are a lot of things we need to solve. Unfortunately, you can’t solve them overnight. We’d love to but we can’t. So you really have to go step by step, together with Daniel, I think just trying to be as precise as we can, trying to give the engineers the best feedback possible about the whole power unit so that we move forward on that and also talking about the car because at this stage it’s a bit unknown where we are. It’s not a secret: you need very, very strong reliability to be a title contender, so we’ll see… I’m looking forward to tomorrow and especially Sunday to get a feel for the new regulations and see where we are.

Thanks for that. Moving on to Fernando: two-time world champion of course, 193^rd grand prix this weekend, 14^th season he’s beginning in Formula One. Ferrari a little hard to read from the outside in terms of testing, you haven’t really stood out, for good or bad. From your perspective how to do you feel Ferrari is placed with this new technology going into this very different new season?

Fernando ALONSO: I think it’s very difficult to tell how competitive we are at the moment. We’ll get some answers in 24 hours or 48 hours, we will know a little bit more than we know now. The car itself and the technology that Formula One brought this year are a little bit complex to everyone. We are learning and we are developing the car every day that we work on it. As I said, a little bit of an unknown situation for everybody. We just need to put everything together, maximise what we have, and see where we are.

Some changes have just been announced recently to the qualifying format, particularly in relation to the final part of qualifying. I was wondering if we could get a comment from you on those changes and the impact they might have?

FA: I think it will not be a huge difference, from the outside especially. OK there were some cars that didn’t run in Q3 or they only did one run in Q3 and now maybe we’ll see an extra lap from everybody but apart from that I think it’s not a huge change in approach in the qualifying for the teams and the drivers. Anyway, I think this change is welcome, to see more cars on tracks. I arrive many times with no new sets for Q3, so now I’m happy.

Moving on to the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is starting his 130^th grand prix. It’s his eighth season now in Formula One at the age of 29. Obviously it looks very promising after testing and both you and Nico Rosberg it seems are in a position to take an advantage of Mercedes’ competitiveness. I wonder will it come down to which one of the two of you wants it more?

Lewis HAMILTON: Possibly. Yeah, it’s very technical this year and we’re all in the same boat. We’re always trying to find where the advantages can be between two drivers. From race to race I think you’ll see… one race he’ll be ahead, one time I’ll be ahead, same as you saw last year. Obviously the goal is to be ahead all the time.

Can you talk about the feeling of driving these 2014 cars, compared to the cars of the last generation: the pleasure you get from driving them, whether they’re more you’re kind of car, what’s coming through the steering wheel to you?

LH: Well, naturally I think.. I probably speak for all of us that last year’s car felt better, it was perhaps a little bit nicer to drive, when we had lots more downforce. But that was a car that was in the fourth year of its evolution. Now we’re in a new phase and it’s just something that just takes some time to get used to. The sound, for example, is not as impressive as what we had in the past but once you get all the cars on the track, on the grid, I’m pretty sure it will be impressive for the fans still.

Q: Felipe, 192^nd grand prix this weekend, your 12^th season you’re starting in Formula One and certainly from the outside, your decision to move to Williams at this stage of your career is starting to look fairly inspired, judging by the winter testing programme. What do you think can be achieved this year, in terms of results?

Felipe MASSA: I don’t know. I think it’s new to everybody so maybe we start having some answers this weekend. Not all of the answers but some. I’m really happy to be with Williams. Really enjoying the working with it to now, to feel the car and the working. It’s a lot to do. You can never forget that it was a very difficult time for Williams in the last years and it’s a lot to do, a lot of work, a lot of development going on inside the factory, inside the team. So many new people arriving – including me. But, I’m pretty motivated. For sure we can be there. I don’t know how competitive we’re going to be compared to the other teams. Maybe we will see teams better than us – I don’t know. Maybe we can see ourselves fighting with them and be as competitive as the top teams like these three guys here – but I think it’s just the beginning. It’s a lot to do, a lot to understand and the understanding will be very important for trying to make the car better and better all the time. But, feet on the ground, I think maybe this weekend we start to understand a little bit.

Q: Obviously you’ve got the Mercedes engine which at this point looks to be the one to have, going into the season – but there’s clearly more to the Williams renaissance than just that. Can you tell us some of the things you’ve noticed? Maybe one or two points of things that you’ve noticed that have changed?

FM: Well, I feel the team is really motivated. They want to grow, they want to get better and they want to be back in the good times. So I feel a lot of understanding for the people. I’m really happy with the people I work with, they’re really professional. So many new people are arriving and there are many good ideas inside the team. Me as well. I’m trying to give as much experience, as many ideas as I can from my experience in a different team. So, yeah, I’m really looking forward. I think it can be a nice season for us – but how nice I don’t know. We need to see.

Q: Daniel, it looks like you had one really good day of testing in the car. Observers were saying the car looked pretty good when it was going around. Do you share that view.

Daniel RICCIARDO: I think we had one stand-out day. There weren’t many, as Seb said but at least one for me was pretty good. I think we’re all a bit unsure how good our cars are. Speaking for all the drivers, I think we’re just curious and hanging out to get on the track this weekend and see where everyone stands and get a clearer picture. I’ve had a busy week leading up to the race and I’m probably more excited than anyone else right now to get in the car.

Q: You’ve got your big break, here you are, it’s the big time with the World Champion team. You’ve got a four-time world champion sitting on the other side of the garage from you. What’s your strategy from here? Are you going to just focus on your own job or trying to look at what Sebastian’s doing and try to beat him?

DR: I think for now just focus on what I’ve done the last few years and keep doing what I’ve been doing to get to this point – and then assess it from there and see how it’s going. Obviously I get a good view behind the scenes from the engineers of how Seb works with his guys and understand a little more through that as well – but for now it’s just do my thing and see where I stand off that and we’ll work from there.

Q: Kevin, welcome to Formula One, if you look around you at the drivers sitting here with you this afternoon, who have seven Drivers’ World Championships won between them, 104 grand prix victories between them. Do you feel you have to pinch yourself to believe you’re sitting here today.

Kevin MAGNUSSEN: Yeah. Definitely. It is a dream come true and every day is fantastic at the moment – I’m sure it will keep staying like that. I’m just really excited to be here. It’s been a long winter, since signing. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend but yeah, feeling good. It’s been a good winter in terms of preparation with the team. They’ve done a really good job in terms of preparing me for this. It’s not easy. It’s a big job, a big challenge but I think I’m pretty much as ready as you can be these days. I’ve done a lot of work over the winter but I’m not underestimating the challenge that I’m facing. It’s a big challenge but I’m looking forward to it.

Q: Shed a little light on it for us. McLaren looked very strong at the start of the testing but perhaps the end looked a bit more difficult. What was going on?

KM: I think the whole testing we pretty much ran the launch car and were behind a little bit on development – but the car feels good. If you didn’t know the lap times of the other guys you would think that it’s pretty fast – and that’s a good sign. If we can just put some downforce on the car and keep developing as we did over the winter with the car, I think we can be in a good position. The team obviously come off a difficult season and they are massively motivated to come back to where they belong and that’s a good feeling.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Kate Walker – Crash.net) To all six of you: I was wondering in development terms if you could tell us the difference between the cars that were packed up in Bahrain and the cars that we’re going to see leaving the pit lane tomorrow?

SV: I think it will be a very different car. Obviously, for us, we had a lot of problems during the test so we didn’t get to test a lot of stuff and we hope we do some more running here and obviously put the parts to the car that we think are better for overall performance. Yeah, it will be a bit different but I think it’s the same for all of us.

Q: Fernando, I was on the same plane as Pat Fry and he was certainly pushing a lot of boxes out through customs when we arrived, so you’ve got quite a lot of new parts I guess.

FA: No, maybe they found some…

SV: Spare parts.

FA: …food or something. The car is exactly the same as it was in Bahrain, not new sponsor, not anything.

LH: It’s very similar to the two next door… probably more so to Fernando. There’ll be a couple of things on the car but generally it’s going to look the same.

FM: The same car.

KM: We’ve got a few bits on the car so hopefully we will be good.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Sebastian, obviously this past pre-season has been very different compared to previous pre-seasons with Red Bull. I was just wondering if you come into this season with a different mind-set, knowing you’ve got a car that could struggle to even cross the finishing line on Sunday, compared to the car you’ve had in previous seasons where you know it’s going to be pushing for the front row of the grid, pushing for race wins. Does your mind-set alter?

SV: I think generally, at this stage for all us it’s difficult to know what to expect, how the racing will look, how it will feel inside the car, how many cars will cross the line. We saw that we had a lot of problems, others had a lot of problems during the tests that we had. It’s difficult to have any sort of expectations for most of us I think, but as I said in the beginning, it’s a long season and so obviously I’m going out here, not trying to just make it round, I’m going out here to push to the maximum and do the best I can and then we will see where we are and we will see how far we get. The target, for sure, is to finish and the target for sure is to finish in the best possible position, so that’s the mind-set, fairly straightforward and for the rest of the year, I think we’re a strong team, we have a lot of good people on board, we have strong resources so I’m confident we should progress as the season goes on.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Lewis, you and Nico get along very well, you got along very well last year when you were going for wins. This year, you might be both going for the championship, you’ve been in that kind of a fight before. Do you see that putting a bit of a strain on the relationship with Nico?

LH: I mean when everyone’s talking about the relationship between us, it will be the same at the start as it will be at the end. We’ve been racing together since we were 13, we’ve been in championships competing right to the end, one where he’s won, one where I’ve won and it’s been the same since… It’s a more fierce championship and a lot more is riding on it but at the end, I don’t see any issues.

Q: (Trent Pryce – Richland F1) Kevin, you say that the McLaren feels quick, does that mean it’s responding well to set-up changes? Does it feel like it has a good baseline?

KM: Yeah, both, I would say. It just feels like a Formula One car, it feels like it’s balanced and I don’t have a lot of experience with Formula One cars but definitely the car that we had last year just didn’t have the right feeling about it. This year’s car is responding well in terms of driving the car and also set-up changes and has a good feel about it.

Q: (Shane McInnes – 3AW) Seb, have you offered much advice to Daniel, your new teammate now racing at Red Bull and if you have offered some advice, can you share that wish us?

SV: Not much, we didn’t drive that much this year so there was not much I could talk about. Obviously you do your own thing once you are in the car, but as a team we share everything that we experience and together with the engineers, it’s always… people expect that if you come to a new team or if you have a new teammate or you know a certain driver very well, people expect kind of questions like ‘how hard do you approach turn three in Australia’ or in Monaco. It’s not like that. Obviously everybody’s got his own style and even if I told him to brake here or there, then he would still try and find his own way. There are some things where I’m open so if he has some questions he can ask. It’s the same for me the other way round. I think I can learn a lot from him so obviously he’s a new guy, he has a different driving style to Mark. I didn’t see that much yet in testing because we didn’t run so much, but I’m sure, as the season goes on we’ll both learn from each other.

Q: (Ben McKay – Australian Associated Press) Felipe and others if you wish, there are so many uncertainties leading into this season, is it fair to say that Formula One is under something of a cloud with the continued poor health of Michael Schumacher?

FM: Sure, I always think about him every day, pray for him every day so I really hope that things can go back and be OK for him. For sure it was a shame to see what’s happened but I keep thinking about him, he’s on my helmet and we’ll keep praying and believing that things can be OK for him and he’s coming back.

Q: (Mat Coch – Pitpass.com) Kevin, this year you’re up against Jenson Button who I guess is getting towards the end of his career while you’re at the very start. Do you feel that it’s a little bit of a make or break year for both of you and that if you beat him, your career is made whereas if he beats you, you’re perhaps in a bit of trouble?

KM: Well, we all know that you are measured against your teammate but I don’t see it like that, I try and do my best, try and learn as much as I can in the early part of the season and see where it takes me. There is a lot pressure in being in Formula One, especially when you are with a big team as I am. It’s where I want to be, I’ve always dreamed of being with McLaren and I’m here and I’m going to do my best and try not to worry too much about the negative things.

Q: (Sylvia Arias – Parabrisas) Felipe, I want to know that after so much time with Ferrari, working with a Latin team, how do you feel now with a British team, what differences have you found, your feelings?

FM: For sure, working with the car is the same and everything, similar things. It depends which team you are with but the idea, the working is the same but it’s very different the way… outside, the way they talk, they are much more quiet. The Italians, they cannot talk without shaking their hands. I am like that because I am from Brazil as well, so for sure it’s a big change for me. I’m trying to learn everything quickly, changing some names as well, understanding the way they talk as well, because I never lived in England, so that’s also new for me. But it’s nice, it’s a nice experience as well, but definitely the mentality is pretty different.

Q: (Carlos Miguel – La Gaceta) For all six, it’s a simple question: which team is the favourite for the championship?

DR: I think the championship is… as Seb said before, a long way away so… I could probably say for this race, judging from testing but I think we’re going to develop so much throughout the year, all teams with the new cars this year so to answer the question simply, for this race, I would put my money on Mercedes but try not to count anyone else out but to answer your question in one word then it’s them.

KM: I don’t know, it’s very hard to predict. We’ve seen for many years whoever is strong for the first part of the season might not always be the one at the end of the season so it’s hard to predict. I don’t know.

FM: Yeah, I think I would say Mercedes.

LH: I will say Williams.

SV: Yeah, not much to add. I think for this race Mercedes based on winter testing for the season. I think after three or four races we will know a little bit more.

FA: I’ve no idea.

Q: One final question: how many finishers in the race on Sunday?

FA: How many are we? 16.

SV: 12

LH: 15

FM: 14

DR: No one. We’re all going to be running across the line!

KM: 22.

March 13, 2014
Weather Report for the 2014 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix

The first race of 2014 and it might be a wet one.

We are in Melbourne, Australia for the first round of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship. Summer is on its way out in Australia, but that does not mean that temperatures are necessarily cold. This weekend, however, we can expect milder than usual temperatures with some rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures will hover in the mid to high twenties with Sunday dropping to an expected low of 19C with a slight possibility of rain.

March 11, 2014
Broadcast Times for the 2014 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix

Formula 1 is back! Round 1 of the Formula 1 World Championship opens up at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.

A whole new season, some new drivers, new rules, and brand new cars. The season is wide open once again. Nobody knows who has the most reliable car or the quickest for that matter. It’s all a mystery that will unfold during the season.

With the race in Australia we can expect early morning times for Free Practice. Times for qualifying and the race a little better.

Below is the full broadcast schedule for the 2014 Rolex Australian Grand Prix:

Free Practice 1: Friday 03:30

Free Practice 2: Friday 07:30

Free Practice 3: Saturday 05:00

Qualifying: Saturday 08:00

Race: Sunday 08:00

All times are GMT+2. We’re excited to bring you live updates all throughout the season. We’ll have periodic updates for you during free practice and live updates on Twitter (@F1_Madness) for qualifying and the race.

March 11, 2014
Second Bahrain Test: Day 1: Driver Quotes

Force India’s Sergio Perez set the pace on Day 1 of the final Bahrain test with a time of 1:35.290, almost a full second clear of second fastest man, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas. Here are some quotes from the drivers after the first day of the second Bahrain test

Sergio Perrez(1:35.290) | Force India-Mercedes | 105 laps: “We really needed a good day to start this week and today we had it. We managed to do a lot of laps, try several different compounds and mappings, and it’s been a fantastic day in terms of learning about the car. Tomorrow is my last day in the car before the season starts so hopefully we can have another solid day to be in good shape for Melbourne.”

Valtteri Bottas(1:36.184) | Williams-Mercedes | 128 laps: “It’s been another good day for us and it was nice to get the whole run plan done. We didn’t have any issues all day so well done to all the team for getting the car running so well. We have a lot of data to analyse tonight after doing some aero work this morning and a race distance and set-up work this afternoon. We did some very interesting tests and there are still plenty of things to improve so we’ll keep pushing.”

Kimi Raikkonen(1:36.432) | Ferrari | 54 laps: “Before I leave Sakhir, it’s planned that I should do a race distance and that’s the only thing I’m missing. Today we chose to concentrate on some of the many things we still have to work on and we won’t assess the winter testing until the final day, when we will put together all the data we have gathered. What I can say is that I have been through worse winters than this.

We have been on different programmes and I don’t think you can judge a car’s potential from how many laps it does in testing. We have a lot of things to test and we want to make the most of these days to check everythting, because the race weekend doesn’t last long and the hours on Friday fly by, while on the other days you are only looking for performance.”

Nico Rosberg(1:36.624) | Mercedes | 89 laps: “That was not a fantastic day for us. We tried some new parts on the car and you find out a lot doing that. But unfortunately we did not only discover good things today. I managed to do a couple of good laps before lunch but in the afternoon we had a few small problems which ended my running a bit earlier than planned. This shows that we are pushing everything to the limit and we still have a massive challenge in front of us during the last three days of testing. We need to maximise our time here to be prepared for Melbourne. But after a difficult day overall we are on the right path.”

Daniel Ricciardo(1:37.908) | Red Bull-Renault | 39 laps: ” This morning was much better for us with a few longer runs. Behind the wheel, that’s the best I’ve felt so far. The package seems to be coming together better. We still had a few issues today, but at least when the car was on track it was much more useful running and we made progress in the morning. It’s getting there. I’d love to keep going, but at leas Seb has two days after me in the car, so I think we’ll be looking pretty good for the next three days.”

Daniil Kvyat(1:39.242) | Toro Rosso-Renault | 55 laps: “It was nice to be in the car, even if we didn’t get through the entire programme we had planned for today. However, I feel we have made some progress. We ran the Hard Pirelli most of the time, as we were definitely not chasing performance today. I hope Jev manages to get a full day’s running tomorrow, before I drive again on Saturday.”

Included is the unofficial timesheet for the day’s session:

Photo Credits

Title Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

Article Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

February 27, 2014
Susie Wolff Gets FP1 Outings In 2014

Susie Wolff is set to break the 22 year long wait for a woman in Formula 1.

The Williams F1 team confirmed earlier that Wolff would continue her role as development driver alongside new signing Felipe Nasr. Wolff has tested for the Williams team on several previous ocassions including a run in the revamped young drivers test last season.

The team confirmed that Wolff will take to the track in two free practice one sessions in the 2014 season with Silverstone and Hockenheim the circuits of choice. She will also complete a days running during one of the eight in-season testing days.

“I’m grateful for the support and belief Williams continue to show in me and 2014 promises to be a very important milestone in my career,” said Wolff.

“Competing in two FP1 sessions, alongside an additional full test day this season will be a big step and I am looking forward to the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the FW36 on a grand prix weekend.”

Wolff will become the first woman in more than two decades to take part in a grand prix weekend.

February 25, 2014