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  • 2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS
    1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
    3 – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Martin Brundle) 

    Q: [Question inaudible]
    Max VERSTAPPEN: ….I had a little moment, but I made a nice 360, so that was nice. I enjoyed that. Of courser to come out on top here it was all about trying not to make too many mistakes. Yeah, really tricky conditions but amazing to win.

    Q: It’s a day for a wise head. You’re such a young man but you still you’re wise head on young shoulders. You really kept your head in the most treacherous conditions when others didn’t. 
    MV: Well you learn, isn’t it, over the years. Of course very happy with the whole performance today.

    Q: Congratulations. Sebastian, well done, you must be so pleased with that, 20th to second. 
    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, thank you. It was a long race, at some stages it felt like it was never-ending. But it was a lot of fun. It was very tough with the conditions. It was very tough to read what was the smartest move, but yeah, I’m just happy.

    Q: Did we hear that you had a little turbo problem early on? You seemed to be struggling for pace and then it really came good. 
    SV: It took a while. I don’t think there was a problem but in the beginning with the intermediates I really couldn’t get the hang of it. Eventually then I got going so it was good that the afternoon took so long. Obviously I stayed tidy for most of the race but yeah, it was a long one. I don’t know if I can recap the whole race now but congratulations to Max, I think he drove superbly, but for us it was just go and get the next car and the next car and the next car.

    Q: When did you first smell a podium? 
    SV: I think before the last safety car, when I realised that I was quite a bit quicker and happy to pass people, it was quite straightforward. I was a little bit faster and could time it right. I saw a lot of people being cautious into the first corner and that’s where I was really giving it everything and it worked to get really into DRS range and I had good moves down the back straight but I don’t know, this race was so long…

    Q: You need to watch your back. 
    SV: Yeah, exactly.

    Q: OK, thanks a lot, Sebastian. Daniil, well done, a podium. Not your first podium but a very enjoyable podium for you. 
    Daniil KVYAT: Yes, it is amazing to be back on the podium. Incredible for Toro Rosso after so many years to bring as podium to the team is amazing and the race was crazy. Finally I managed to put everything together to get this podium and I’m really happy.

    Q: Any big moments? Any scary things going on out there? 
    DK: It was a horror movie with a black comedy. At some point I thought the race was done for me, but then it came alive again, it was an incredible rollercoaster. A bit like my whole career!

    Q: And you’re expecting your first child soon as well.
    DK: Yeah, she was born last night…

    Q: Oh, fantastic, congratulations. 
    DK: Thank you very much.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Many congratulations Max, what a bonkers race. How does it feel? How does it compare to the other six wins? 
    MV: Are you going to keep asking me that question: ‘how does it feel compared to the other ones’? I don’t know. It’s always different. It’s always a different feeling, but this was really good, because it was very tricky out there. We had to stay very focused; we couldn’t afford too many mistakes. I mean now, after the race, I can say I did that 360 for the crowd, but at the time it was a bit tricky out there with the medium tyre, very low grip. I think the information between myself and the team was crucial today. I think we made the right calls and that gave us the victory also. Once I was ahead of the Mercedes cars you could really see the pace we had, because I was stuck in the dirty air in the4 first few laps behind Valtteri but once you are ahead you can basically save your tyres a bit more and everything was a bit more under control. But yeah, good victory.

    Q: Great victory. Congratulations. Sebastian, your 50th podium for Ferrari. It’s been a bit of an emotional weekend for you if you think what happened yesterday and you’ve charged through from the back today. Just describe how it feels? 
    SV: Well, obviously after the disappointing day yesterday, where everything was ready: the crowd was ready; I was ready, the team was ready. Obviously we didn’t have qualifying, so starting last today I was very excited about the race in these conditions. Anything can happen. Obviously the racer turned out a lot crazier than I thought beforehand but yeah I’m very happy obviously. I’m very happy for the team first of all. It’s a tough period for us. We are pushing very hard, we are doing mistakes, we are not where we want to be, but we need to keep believing in ourselves, in our abilities, our strengths, and I’m confident that our days will come. Obviously today very happy for myself, at my home race and it was great to see the crowd, especially at the end, every time I passed in the car they were really excited. I really did enjoy that. A crazy race, a lot of decisions to make, a lot of communications between the car and the pit wall, but I think we stayed calm and tried to do the best at the time. Most of the time we were right, sometimes we were wrong but we kept it clean and I think that was the key and in the end I really started to come alive in these mixed conditions on dry tyres, we were quite comfortable and able to make good progress, because I think two safety cars to the end I was still not even in the top 10 and I was thinking ‘what happened?’ But it was a day like that and a race like that, so I’m quite happy.

    Q: Well done. Dany, what a huge race for you. The birth of your daughter last night and what a way to celebrate that. At what point in the race did you realise the podium was on?
    DK: Yes, thank you. It was an incredible race for myself, a lot of things going on. I guess it was the same for everyone. The beginning of the race was so-so, I think, I was always around the top 10 and I thought some points were possible today. The first when I chose to go on slicks, it was the wrong moment. The second time I think it was the perfect moment and when I saw that others didn’t pit for slicks when I did i thought that’s our moment and I was right and I exited in P3. I had to overtook Stroll forP2 and then from there I just had to hope that quicker cars would take time to catch me at the end of the race. So yeah, I’m very happy with this podium. It’s fantastic also for the team – 11 years since the last podium, which Sebastian did in 2008. I think everyone is very happy today and we have to be happy. From my side of course I would dedicate this podium to my girlfriend Kelly and to my daughter.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Dany, your career’s been on a bit of a rollercoaster over the past couple of years. To now have this result and this breakthrough, how good does that feel over everything that’s happened the last couple of years, and repaying that faith Toro Rosso have shown in you. 
    DK: Yes, you’re right. It was an incredible few years in my life. A lot of realisations in my life because it was sometimes tough times and I thought maybe Formula 1 was over for me, and maybe I thought, especially podium, I would never ever have it again, but life just proves that if you work hard and never give up, things are possible. I think that’s exactly what happened today. Even the race was tough for everyone, I managed to keep it cool and just… all these three difficult years, just felt like they crashed from my shoulders finally. I lost these chains today. It was hard work to reach this moment and hopefully I can send the message out there that I’m ready now to fight for this kind of moment on a consistent basis – and there is no stronger message than a podium like this.

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD Sportswereld) Question for Max. Big drivers, big champs crashed today. Christian Horner just told Sky that under these chaotic, difficult circumstances, you always stand out, don’t lose your head. Can you explain why you are always so talented under these circumstances?
    MV: A lot of practice I think, from when I was young, in the wet. Working many hours together with my Dad who, I think, was also pretty decent in the wet. So he always gave me good tips. And not only driving in the wet. It’s also making decisions as well, while driving, and paying attention to what’s happening around you. And, of course, experience. In life, in Formula 1. I think if you do over 90 races, you have experienced a lot already and, based on that, of course, you can also make better decisions, I think.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) To all three guys. I guess this is a special result for each and every one of you – but it’s probably even more special for Dr Marko because, at some point in your careers, you went through his hands. Can you probably remember a couple of stories with him? Tell us what he meant for your careers and sort of give us some thoughts on that. 

    Sebastian, why don’t we start with you?
    SV: He’s calling on a regular basis. Not any more for me so regular. I don’t miss the early calls at 7am! “How are you?”

    MV: “I’m in the gym!”
    DK: “Running!”

    SV: It probably pops up on your phone as a pre-select message: ‘I’m in the gym’. No, I mean, obviously he has a great talent for spotting young drivers early on and certainly he’s very tough and very straightforward – but I think you can learn to cope with that. I’m very grateful for the support that I had throughout my career from his side. I think it’s the same for these two. Yeah. I have too many memories; too many stories. Some to share, some not to share, better not to share. He’s always been very funny and we still keep in contact and I appreciate him now as a friend very much.

    Max, Dr Marko?
    MV: Yeah, of course, we are dealing with Helmut every day still, so for me, of course he took the gamble of putting me in Toro Rosso when I was still very young. I’m still young  – but back then I was very young.

    SV: You’re not very young any more…
    MV: Getting old?
    SV: Older.
    MV: Older, yeah…
    DK: You look quite old…
    MV: Already? I should retire in five years than I think. I look older than you?
    DK: I don’t know.
    SV: I look older than you two.
    MV: It’s fine. OK, so back to this story. Helmut is a real racer and he has a good eye of what’s happening still, at his age. So, it is quite impressive still, to see that. But it’s also no nonsense. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. If you do a good job, you do a good job. I think he prefers when  you come up to him and tell him honestly if you made a mistake, or like something went wrong, than make a whole story – because that’s what he doesn’t appreciate. Basically I grew up like that because my Dad was the same – or maybe even worse than that. So… yeah. It’s good to have people like that in the team, of course, and in charge as well. For me, he is still very important and yes, of course it’s great to have him around and experienced a lot of stories with him still – and hopefully many more to come.

    Dany?
    DK: Helmet yeah, so many rollercoasters he organised for me in my career! Maybe more than them. Yeah, a special person in my life, of course our lives now, I guess. And, well, thanks to him very big time we are who we are and the personal improvement, the professional improvement I made thanks to him is huge – and obviously I appreciate what he’s done for me. And I’m here thanks to him. Obviously stories, like Sebastian said, many to share/not to share. I think the most relevant today, it was raining I think once, again 7am, at a test and I was maybe three or four seconds off in my first wet test in Formula BMW at the time and he said: “So, you’re quite useless in the wet,” and just hung up on me.

    MV: You’re imitating him really well!
    DK: Lot of practice! Lot of hearing. So yeah, there was that – and many others. He is always tough on you but he’s always – most of the time – he’s right. And maybe at first it’s hard to take but then you analyse and you improve, simple as that. He always give you the opportunity if you deserve it and I’m very thankful for him.

    MV: You still picking up the phone at seven?
    DK: Yeah! I started to wake up at seven every day now, thanks to him.
    MV: I just turn my phone off, pick up after nine… better. Anyway now, you have to wake up at like… well, you wake up every three hours, go to bed, wake up…
    DK: Well, now that you’re doing so well, you can even sleep until mid-day.

    Q: (Joe van Burik – Racing News 365) Many congrats to all three, especially to Dany with being a father now. Question to Seb and Max though: you’ve shown today that Mercedes can be vulnerable, in their home race in fact. Do you think this has in any way blown open the championship fight again? 
    MV: I don’t know, they are so miles ahead in the championship.
    Q: You’re 62 points behind. 
    MV: Yeah, still quite a lot, isn’t it? It’s more than two victories, and they are still the dominant team, I think. Today was just very tricky out there and it’s easy to make a mistake, as you could see. Yeah, today was not their day. We managed to do a good job but we still have to work very hard to close that gap and actually really fight for the victory every single race so still a lot of work to do. But of course when you can, it’s good to score more points than them.
    SV: Not much to add. We still have a lot of races to go, a lot of things can happen but it’s not like we can expect them to score no points for the rest of the season so pretty much the opposite –  they will be up there. We need to make sure we improve and give them a much harder time and naturally if you put people under pressure then things start to move. So it’s up to both of us, I guess, or us as Ferrari and them as Red Bull.

    Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriera della Sera) Seb, do you consider this second place almost as a victory from what happened yesterday, from what happened today? You did a fantastic job, congratulations.
    SV: Well, I know that Max finished first so it’s not a victory but starting last, I think, with the race that we had, I think we can certainly be very happy recovering and I think it was a very tough race, easy to lose focus or momentum but we kept it throughout. I’m very happy, especially also racing here. I hope that we don’t lose this race. I think not only for me and Nico as German drivers, I think for the German crowd that we saw today and yesterday is very passionate, a lot of people turning up. It was sold out today despite the weather. I think we had a great race and it would be a shame to lose it. Obviously I’m not quite sure what’s in the future, whether there’s a chance to keep it but certainly when it comes to passion and effort that people put into this race it’s pretty high up, so I hope that it’s not… People make some decisions on common sense and not based on how much the wallet is opening. I think we have Grands Prix that we just mustn’t lose such as Monza, such as the race at Silverstone in the UK. I think Germany and Spain have a long history of racing so it would be a shame to lose those and instead go to a place where they pay millions for the race to turn up but nobody is sitting in the grandstand. For us it’s dull, as drivers so I think we rather enjoy here, close to the Netherlands with a lot of Dutch people coming…
    MV: It was a bit tricky today because it was orange against red, you know those colours don’t really match.
    SV: Well, they’re similar. I was taking the orange as well on my side.
    MV: When they were going up, right?
    SV: No, but I think it’s great to see. Obviously for the Germans and the Dutch in particular it will be difficult to go to… I don’t know… overseas. Anyway, to come back to your question, it’s certainly a tough time for us as Ferrari with days like yesterday because it shows that we have things that we need to sort out, we have things that we need to do better but I think in this period it’s very important that we keep the morale, we keep supporting the team. From the inside that is happening, from the outside I hope it’s happening as well. I know the tifosi are behind us but sometimes the headlines can shift in either way so it’s important that we keep the support because I think things are moving, we are pushing very very hard and when it comes to passion I think we put a lot of effort and a lot of hours in; the people are very determined. I’m as impatient as everyone else to get the results finally but it will take a little while. We know what we can improve and that’s where we are working on but in the meantime I hope that people are a bit patient and give us that freedom in that time. But yeah, so in that regard it feels like a small victory today.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volksrand) It was pretty spectacular over there all day, where does this race rank in your top five of craziest races? 
    DK: I think it was clear enough how crazy it was. I think it was the first wet race in a while – and especially this year, so new tyres for everyone, no one knew how to use them very well at the beginning. The spray in the beginning was very high, then the track started drying, then it was on the borderline with slicks and it was very important not to make any mistakes. It was very easy to lock up the wheels under braking or just go a bit wide in some corners and I think today was just about avoiding those costly mistakes and making the right calls at the right time, so it was all about that but the race, I think, must have been quite spectacular to watch from outside. Lucky you.
    MV: Yeah, bit like Brazil 2016 was also quite crazy, all the time switching between extremes and intermediates. Of course we didn’t really get to try slicks, I think. Maybe some tried, I’m not sure but maybe not
    SV: Not in Brazil, no.
    MV: I don’t think so. So it’s maybe a little bit different to here but it’s definitely been one of the most challenging ones.
    SV: Well I’ve had a lot of races, also a lot of great crazy races but it was certainly among the craziest for a while. Max mentioned 2016 in Brazil. Always when the weather is really funny and you have all sorts of conditions it’s very challenging. Today we had between three and five stops for everyone or some even more. Obviously I had a crazy race in 2012 in Brazil as well, Korea 2010.
    MV: Malaysia in 2009?
    Q: Red flag after 36 laps wasn’t it? 
    SV: I had stopped a bit earlier than that, actually! I was out before, I spun out so it wasn’t that crazy. As I said, it’s mostly when the weather is up and down and you have to make those decisions. It’s very tough, you are on the fine edge but it’s also very exciting because you know you can make the difference very quickly. Sometimes you have laps and laps and laps and you’re fighting for half a second that you can make up and other times in these conditions you can gain or lose five seconds and five places.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-total.com) Seb, a couple of drivers lost it in the stadium section today: Lewis, Nico, Charles as well. Does it make you feel any better one year after that the world kind of sees how quickly that can happen in conditions like this? 
    SV: Not really, no. I think that the answer is no. To protect them, I think they know what they’re doing and mistakes happen so I don’t think you should give them a hard time. It was very very tricky out there. I think we all had small mistakes here and there. Obviously some had a bit bigger ones in the wrong places but that’s part of racing so obviously nowadays a lot of people tend to judge everything very quickly but I think as much as they, I am not listening to all of those people. It happens in these conditions, it’s part of racing, as I said.

  • 2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Carlos SAINZ (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault), Alex ALBON (Toro Rosso)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Welcome gentlemen. A question to the two German drivers, please. Can you just tell us about the build-up to your home race here at Hockenheim and the emotions of racing at home? Nico, can we start with you please?

    Nico HÜLKENBERG: A fairly calm and steady build-up to be honest this year, which is quite nice. No particular events, just the usual day-to-day I would say. No, it’s good to come back here. I remember last year, I loved this weekend, it was an amazing atmosphere. Hockenheim was I think packed. Every grandstand ticket was more or less sold, and it was full of people and there was this magic atmosphere all weekend. I really enjoyed it here last year. It happened to be the best race of the season for me as well, so obviously it would be nice to repeat something like that, although sporting-wise we don’t seem to be as strong but of course we are going to give it our best shot. But yeah, happy to be back here and looking forward to a hot weekend.

    Q: Thank you. Sebastian?

    Sebastian VETTEL: yeah, it’s been pretty calm on the build-up, so pretty straightforward. Obviously I like this place very much, it’s pretty close to where I come from. We had a nice dinner together with the team last night, but other than that it’s been fairly calm. But like Nico said, very good memories of last year in terms of atmosphere. Obviously the final outcome wasn’t great, but overall the weekend was fantastic – the amount of fans, the amount of German flags, the enthusiasm around the track. Hopefully we can have something similar this year.

    Q: Your 10th German Grand Prix.

    SV: Yeah, here we go.

    Q: Here we go indeed. Thank you guys. Alex, turning to you, a frustrating race for you last time out at Silverstone with an electrical problem. Can you tell us about that problem and without it would a points finish have been possible?

    Alex ALBON: Yeah, it was a bit frustrating. Basically, the car was live, so we couldn’t really touch the car. I think the mechanics would have been a bit electrified if they did, so we had to stay out on track. It was frustrating, but it’s hard to say if we… I think we would have finished where we were before we had the issue. I think we were running about eighth, around there. Of course, it was just points missed, so that was a frustrating weekend, because we had two tough races before that, and that was kind of the time…. At Silverstone we were back on track and it was an opportunity to score some good points. Fortunately Dany did, so it wasn’t too bad at the end of the day.

    Q: So, a frustrating race for you at Silverstone, but how do you sum up the season so far, because half distance in the race here will be the halfway point of the 2019 season. So how would sum out how it’s gone and what have the team told you about 2020?

    AA: It’s going well. I would say I’ve had a few ups and downs. But yeah, I’m quite happy with how it’s gone so far. And regarding 2020, who knows? I think that’s in other people’s hands.

    Q: Thank you. Nico, same sort of question to you really. As we reach the halfway point in the season, how are you feeling about the Renault project, how has it evolved during your three years with the team and looking ahead, do you stick, do you twist? What are your plans?

    NH: Yeah, I think it’s fair to say that so far this season we can’t be entirely happy with what we have achieved. I mean, to start with we had a lot of issues and missed out on results. But, a little bit more disappointing is just where we are in terms of pace, the development rate, it’s not where we really needed it and wanted it to be. Behind the expectations this year, so probably maybe, all in all, as well, not entirely happy and if you look across the three years we can’t be entirely happy with everything we’ve done. Nevertheless, the outlook is good. We still see light at the end of the tunnel and we still believe we can catch up to some extent, how much is always difficult to say with entire certainty. Yeah, we’ll see what happens in the future and what happens to me as well. As for now, there is nothing set in stone, but I think it’s quite likely that I will remain with the team.

    Q: You’re 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship now. Do you think that’s a fair reflection of the relative performance of the two teams?

    NH: Well, it is. That’s a fact. It is 21 points but I think we could be right up there with them, if you add up all the complications we had, all the missed results, problems, we should be there or thereabouts, but for sure McLaren are very strong at the moment and are probably one of our main competitors that we will be battling from here until the end.

    Q: Ok, good luck this weekend. Carlos, just to ask you about that battle with Renault. When you came into this season, did you expect to be ahead of them at this point?

    Carlos SAINZ: No. I think the right answer is no. I wouldn’t expect to be in front of Renault. There was a good trend going last year in Renault and I think we finished off the season quite strongly but McLaren was at that time in Abu Dhabi more than half a second behind in qualifying, pretty much in every qualifying. Then in the race, also, it was difficult to match, or to see Fernando and Stoffel battling more at the back than Nico and me. It was very difficult to predict that at this stage this year we would be in front. I don’t think we are in front. I think we are in front in the championship but we are very equal in performance and it makes the battle good fun, like it was in Silverstone, in Austria, in France, and we are happy to be battling with a team like Renault. I think just the objective of us two is to keep moving forward, both together, towards the top. Not looking too much to what Renault is doing, but keep looking forward, keep looking to Mercedes, keep looking to Red Bull, Ferrari and try to get that gap down.

    Q: You mention Austria and Silverstone. You raced very well at those races – 19th to eighth in Austria, 13th to sixth at Silverstone. So clearly you’re racing very well, but progress hasn’t been quite as sweet in qualifying. Why is that?

    CS: Yeah, it’s a good point actually. I’m not entirely happy with how things are going in qualifying. If you go race by race, it would be very easy to point out three or four races where obviously I was affected by issues away from my own. But what is important or what I feel is like I have the speed in the car. Every time I jump in the car I feel like I can extract the maximum out of it, I feel like I understand the car, I feel like I am quick every time I jump in, but then circumstances in qualifying they always come down to one lap then you’re whole qualifying picture looks bad, but what is important is that I feel speed, I feel comfortable with the car and I can prove it on race day and race days are going very well.

    Q: They are. Thank you. Kimi, coming to you, you’ve scored in seven of the 10 races so far, including the last three. Is that the level of performance and consistency you expected from Alfa Romeo when you joined them?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It’s hard to say, because obviously where they’ve been the last few years it’s not been the greatest. Last year they made good gains from half way through. So, very unknown. I just went into the season to try to do the maximum, to see what we get. We had a bit harder part, three or four races where we were not very fast. But we managed to recover from that a little bit. There is still a long way to go but I think it’s not been too bad, at least in their own book. So we’ll keep trying and try to make the car faster.

    Q: How much have you improved the car so far?

    KR: For sure we have improved. I don’t know how much. It’s depends on what you compare. Obviously we compare to the guys that are close to us and obviously we are still behind on pure speed but we bring as much as we can new parts and try to improve. At least usually the parts work very well, what we brought. So that’s a good thing. Obviously with a small team like us it takes a bit longer to bring new parts. But I think we are quite happy with how things have gone forward. But like I said, there is still an awful lot of work to be done to get more faster and to try to get closer to McLaren and things like that.

    Q: You’re happy with developments but how happy are you this year Kimi? How much are you enjoying Formula 1 in 2019 and how different is your experience now compared to last year?

    KR: I don’t think it’s a lot different. Obviously racing a bit more rearwards. But if you don’t count that the big picture hasn’t really changed. It’s a different team, but I’ve worked with some of them before. I think F1 hasn’t changed. We still this press conference, we have the same kind of meetings, interviews. That hasn’t changed, but obviously, outside of racing I have a bit more free time, so that is the nice part, but I don’t think it’s night and day what happened last year to this year.

    Q: Sebastian, let’s start by talking about the car. You’ve told us in the past that it’s tricky to drive. Can you tell us why it’s so hard to find the sweet spot of the SF90?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think we had occasions where things were looking very good and other occasions where it was a bit more difficult but I think that’s also pretty normal throughout the season: you have different tracks with different characteristics and sometimes the car feels more the way you like and other times less – but yeah, I think we have, after the first couple of races we were able to get quite a good picture of what was missing compared to the performance we seemed to have at the beginning of winter testing. With that, I think we’ve made progress. Obviously we are not where we would like to be, not as competitive as we would like to be, but I think overall, the understanding and the direction is going in the right way.

    Q: You say you’re not as competitive as you want to be – well, Red Bull have taken a step forward in recent weeks, so how do you see the pecking order at the front of Formula One now?

    SV: Well, I think obviously Mercedes does have an edge on everyone else, that’s, I think, pretty clear. Similar to previous years, they seem to struggle on tracks where tyre wear and degradation is a bit higher – like we’ve maybe seen in the last part of the race in France, or in Austria. But in terms of raw speed, they are the benchmark – and I think for myself and for us, that’s the benchmark. I think obviously between ourselves and Red Bull, it’s been sometimes closer, sometimes we were ahead, most of the times I believe we were ahead, sometimes we were behind but y’know, that’s not the objective. The objective is to fight for wins and to do so at the moment you need to be level or better than Mercedes.

    Q: And what would a victory here, on home soil, mean to you on Sunday?

    SV: I think it’s always special, first of all to have the opportunity to race in your home country; yeah, obviously I was very close last year, let’s see how close we can get this year. I think we are, y’know, a less strong position to start the weekend. Then again, I think we’ve seen some recent races, we’ve been very strong in terms of qualifying – but also race pace. So yeah, I think we’re fairly open minded. I’m fairly open-minded, to be honest. We start the weekend, see where it goes, obviously it’s going to be very hot initially and then probably cool off a little bit.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Kimi, you’re back at Sauber – or Alfa Romeo – the first team that you started with in Formula One. Is this full circle for you? Are you going to end your career here or do you consider moving teams?

    KR: I have no idea. I mean, obviously, I have a two-year contract, this and next year, and then we see what happens. No plans really. That’s about it really.

    Q: (Stefan Ehlen motorsport-total.com) Question to Sebastian. How badly do you want to win on Sunday, and how badly do you need to win on Sunday?

    SV: Not badly. Oddly I want to win, that’s for sure – but as I said, I’m also realistic. So, coming here, I don’t feel as we are the favourites but I feel we have a chance. For me, that’s the point of going racing. You have a chance of do well. So, that’s the objective and we will find out during the weekend. But certainly it’s a special place to me. It’s very close to where I’m from, it’s a lot of family around and friends close by. To find a good way to celebrate, I wouldn’t need to go very far, so that would be quite handy.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat)  Sebastian, Kimi will be shortly 40 years old, can you see yourself racing as long as that?

    SV: I don’t know – I’m not as handsome as Kimi now, so I won’t be as handsome as he is when I’m 40! I don’t know, there’s not much point thinking about it. Imagine if you had asked Kimi when he was 32 if he can imagine to race when he’s 40, I don’t think you would have got an answer. I don’t know, it depends on how the next years go. It depends, I think, on where the sport is going with the big run change that will or will not come for 2021, and then we’ll see what happens after that. I’ll be 40 in 2027, so I don’t know is the answer. Sorry Heikki!

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Question for Sebastian. You’ve said in the past you struggle when you’re not feeling the car. Can you tell us, are you feeling this car and, if not, is it compounding the weaknesses that it already has?

    SV: Well, I think it’s not… as I tried to explain earlier, I think it’s normal that sometimes you feel more comfortable and sometimes less. I think for us it was important after the first couple of races to understand what brings this inconsistency, where the strength of the initial feeling with this car has gone and why we’re not able to repeat it the way we would like. But I think we do have a very good understanding by now. I think we are trying a lot of things to obviously make it better, to find a direction. I think a lot of things we tried are very good, other things we tried we went back on but yeah, obviously there are some things that probably this year are different than maybe they have been before – but nothing that you couldn’t adapt to.

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Sebastian. What’s it like… it’s obviously been a long while since Ferrari won the Drivers’. Do you feel a sort of burden to lead them to victory to lead them after, what 11, 12 years? Does that sort of weigh on you? I mean, the sort of Ferrari dynamic, what it means to the nation. How do you feel bearing that responsibility?

    SV: It doesn’t feel like a burden, it feels like a privilege, y’know, to go out and race for Ferrari and obviously my mission or my goal, as well as the team’s goal, is to get back to, y’know, the – how do you say? – the winning ways. If we do that then we have a much better chance to fight for the Championship. Having said that, I think from when I joined and where we are now, obviously this year hasn’t gone the way we wanted after the last two years, but still, I think things are progressing in the right direction. In the big picture – but naturally the big picture doesn’t interest you if you are not currently where you would like to be. So, I think we all know that Formula One is a world where people are very short-sighted, which is also fair and part of the game. Like I said, overall, even if things look good, we still obviously miss that final step and that’s the most important step.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Question to Seb and Nico. How do you see the state of Formula One in Germany. Do you think it’s still as popular as it was 15 or 20 years ago – and in terms of drivers, behind you of course, there is a lot of interest for Mick Schumacher in Formula 2 but beyond him there doesn’t seem to be many German young talents – do you think it is because Formula One is not as inspiring as it was when you guys were growing?

    NH: I think, based and judged on last year, people were very interested. Like I said earlier, I’ve never seen that much interested since I’m in Formula One, since my career in Germany, and that was pretty amazing and nice to see. I think generally, Germans, we are known, we are a car country and we love our cars and the interest is still there. I think naturally some years it’s a bit more, some years it’s a bit less but I think yeah, we have a spoilt history in racing, so that’s also one thing to consider – but I think in general, the appetite and the interest of the population is still very much alive. And yeah beyond Mick, to be honest, I’m not really sure entirely what’s coming through the go-kart series and the young formulae, so can’t really comment on it.

    SV: I think obviously it’s normal that the biggest hype, I believe was when Michael started winning as he was the first German to win the Championship. Being the first, there is always more momentum and more interest – but as Nico said, I think the atmosphere last year proved that there is still very much an appetite for racing but I also feel that the German crowd is a very fair and direct and honest crowd, so maybe some things that have happened in our sport didn’t help the popularity. For the future, I think you need to draw, a bit, the bigger picture. I think, again, Germans are quite straightforward with the way they spend their money and unfortunately junior racing, starting from karting and through the series after that are – I think – way too expensive. Nico and myself we enjoyed each other in go-karts and racing each other. I think the background is not that dissimilar. I think giving us the same chance today, I think our career would stop fairly soon because we simply wouldn’t have the pocket money to do it. So, I think overall, to allow more kids – boys and girls – to start racing, the sport would need to be a lot cheaper, as currently I think it’s way too expensive and unaffordable for most.

    Q: (Manuel Sanchez – Il Tamburello.net) My question is for Nico Hülkenberg. Renault will be the first team to test the future Pirellis. How much advantage will have Renault with this?

    NH: When are we going to test those tyres? Honestly, I don’t know? I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.

    This weekend, it’s published that Renault will be the first team to test the new Pirellis…

    In October, Nico.

    NH: I think it’s very hard to say if that’s an advantage or not. I think all teams in rotation do tyre tests but, as far as I’m aware, you are kept in the dark as to what compounds you are testing and what kind of tyre it is, so it is hard for teams to take conclusions from that and use it for the future. So I don’t think it’s a big player or a big advantage.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – Press Association) Sebastian, just following on from the earlier question about racing for Ferrari, is this a team you would like to see out your career with or do you envisage racing for someone else?

    SV: Not at the moment. As I said earlier to Heikki that I don’t know how long I’m going to be here but I love racing, I think they’re the best cars to… the fastest there are. The joy that I get from driving is like it’s ever been and as I said, obviously the motivation is high to get the job done with Ferrari so that’s the two things that are, I guess, dictating whether I’m going to be around for long or not.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel Gomez – AutoHebdo Sport) Carlos, what is the secret to be the best of the rest?

    CS: At the moment there’s no secret. If I find it, I will obviously keep it secret. I think it’s a combination. I think it’s a combination of hard work done by the team and creating a package good enough to do what we are doing on race day. It’s a combination of good strategies come Sunday. It’s a combination of good starts, good pace when you need to have good pace and good development. Nowadays the midfield battle is so tight that you need to be on top of everything and be very good at everything and I think this year we’ve been very good at mostly everything and that’s why we are leading in that battle. We haven’t been the fourth fastest car every race weekend but somehow we’ve managed to score good results when we were not the fourth fastest car and in the midfield I think that’s important but my wish is to separate a bit from this midfield and see if the team can keep improving and keep separating itself from the midfield which I think this year is going to be nearly impossible to do. It’s more thinking in the future.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Sebastian, sorry to take you back to 12 months ago here. You had your mistake in the race; since then there’s been a few mistakes along the way, all the way through to Silverstone and the last race. How satisfied are you on your performances over the past twelve months? Is it fair to say that you haven’t delivered, given the car that you’ve been given by Ferrari? And do you feel under pressure?

    SV: Well, I always put myself under pressure so I can’t be happy, obviously, if things go wrong. I think some of the things, obviously, were bigger than others. I think the main thing is that – as I said previously – that we keep progressing in the right way but for sure if I get something wrong and make a mistake I can’t be happy with that. The pressure I put on myself after that I think is bigger than any external factors. This has been the same as long as I can remember. I think for me it’s the most honest and straightforward way to deal with it myself because I know what I’ve done wrong and what I’ve done right. I know when I had the opportunity to do well or not. I think you’re always your best judge, no matter what you do so that’s the rules by which I play.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Sebastian and Kimi, do you ever miss each other as teammates and can you say what the best qualities were about each other as a teammate?

    KR: The meetings are a lot shorter now, now that we’re not in the same meetings any more. Or in the same team. We see each other still. I enjoy it, for sure, it was very good but we were friends before and it never changed and it’s still the same so life goes on. I think it’s always been very honest with Seb so it’s easy, easy going.

    Q: His best qualities?

    KR: Straightforward, honest.

    SV: I can only return. Obviously now the meetings are not as short as they were which is a pity. Yeah, as Kimi said, we’ve sort of got on with each other before, had respect for each other and it’s the same now. Best qualities? Straightforward and honest! Yeah. No, I think the interesting thing is, even if, no, we look very different from the outside in terms of what people think but I think inside, as I said, we got along with each other fairly quickly right from the beginning and it’s probably because we share a lot of the same values and key to that is there were never any games or any attempt to play anything or… just no attempt to waste time, basically.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Seb and Nico, following the earlier question about the future of F1 in Germany, you mentioned Mick Schumacher. How significant do you think the return of the Schumacher name to an F1 race seat in the future could be for F1 in this country and also how important is it that he’s not rushed on that journey?

    SV: Yeah, I think it’s crucial that he’s given the time he needs. I think it’s fair to judge him and his racing like every one of us has been judged and will be judged but it’s not right to measure and compare too much to other people and to his father. I don’t think it’s fair. It’s a different time, different racing but for sure, as I tried to explain earlier, Michael was the one who set off a huge hype when we were kids and therefore the name Schumacher is one hundred percent known in Germany due to him. Obviously to have Mick at the doorstep of F1 and one day hopefully joining would be huge and hopefully a big boost for Germany. On top of that, despite the name, he’s a great guy, he’s a nice kid so I think our fingers are crossed for him. There’s been a time when I think we had a lot of Germans in Formula One – like six or seven – and everyone was wondering why and so on. Now we have two we don’t get these questions any more but back then I think there were zero French guys and now you have quite a lot of French guys in Formula One and very close so I think it’s just how it goes around but yeah, hopefully he gets the chance one day and does well and brings some more enthusiasm.

    NH: Yeah, not much to add. I feel and think the same as Seb said. I think he needs his time, of course, also to go through his development but I’m sure he will get his chance. But then for Germany that could be quite… obviously another big ignition to motivate people to go back to a Formula One race to watch so it could play a big part in that and it would be great to see.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian, a question about the past. I wanted to ask you about one of your most successful cars, the 2011 Red Bull RB7. What do you remember about that car and how challenging was it to get the most out of that, given that there was the exhaust blown downforce and you had to adapt your technique to get the most from it?

    SV: Yeah, obviously it was a very experimental phase because back then exhaust blowing was unknown and the effects of it and the logic behind it and so on. It was the first year where we really explored the limits, up to the point where we blew up a tyre on the grid because the plume and the hot air on the tyre obviously was coming at very high speed and made a big difference to how the car felt, made a big difference to how you had to drive the car, made a big difference to how you set up the car but I think we got the hang of it. I think key to one, a very clever way to design the car. Second was Renault’s input back then which I think they’ve been first in class and most extreme and probably the most brave to adapt and come up with solutions to help the demands of our aero department at the time. Obviously then it got banned and the years after, what people have been trying ever since is to find a way to get back because it’s proved to be so powerful. Season-wise it was a great season because I think we as a whole team matured a lot from little hiccoughs in 2010 so it was a lot more straightforward in 2011.

    Q: (Rosal Mohedano – MomentoGP.com) Carlos, Andreas Seidl has been in the team for some months now, has he changed a lot in the team to make a midfield car the top midfield car?

    CS: I think the credit of this year’s car is mainly due to what happened last year, all the development that happened during that second half of the season, where the team basically decided to stop developing the 2018 to try and understand why the 2018 car was so poor and the job done, obviously in the early months of this winter, going into March, the job of Andreas, what he’s doing very well now is doing a whole analysis of the situation that we are in in the factory, especially back in Woking and he’s just having an overlook and have a very good look into what can be improved and it’s more a midterm to a long term project. I think he’s quite advance and he’s going to start having a very big influence in the upcoming months but you need to give him time. I think when there is an environment of six hundred to eight hundred people like we are in McLaren at the moment, to notice any kind of change you need years, you needs months or even years to feel the change and that’s going to take time for sure.

  • 2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Kai Ebel)

    Lewis, congratulations. First of all, give us inside view of your rocket start, that we all have seen there?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Well, first please let me start with a big thank you to all the fans that have come out here in Germany. To see so many people here… great sportsman(ship) from the people here. I’ve got a lot of fans out here and I just appreciate you all coming. What a race! Obviously yesterday, second place, but what a great start. My engineers did a fantastic job. The balance was amazing. It was just about keeping it cool and looking after the engine. I’m just so happy that I can be up here for Mercedes-Benz, who I have been with since I was 13, so this is a very, very proud position for me to be in, so big thank you to the team who, as I said, did an amazing job.

    I see from the expression on your face that you changed totally from yesterday to today and then you had the guys from Linkin Park here, so they brought you a lot of luck?

    LH: I think to day I didn’t make any mistakes, so in my heart I’m happy with what I did today. I came to do a job… yesterday wasn’t perfect, but you learn from those things and today was a real show of looking at the glass half full and filling it up today.

    Right behind you was a big bullfight, led by Daniel Ricciardo who smells really of champagne. So after this champagne shower, how about some German beer?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I had a little bit yesterday at the autograph session. This is two weekends in a row now with a podium and one of the most refreshing things is seeing so many fans back in Germany. It’s obviously great to have the race back here after a year off. So thanks for all the support. Thanks to Red Bull Racing. I think it’s the first double podium for us in over a year. So it’s awesome to close out the first part of the season. And mum and dad are here. It was my dad’s birthday yesterday, so… they don’t get enough recognition, so thank you guys.

    Daniel, tell me just quickly, how could get by this guy [Verstappen] really quick and supported by so many Dutch guys here?

    DR: That I see a few Australian flags around. There are a few more Dutch, but I appreciate the Aussie ones, so thanks guys. It was a race of strategy at first. It was really close in the first corner with myself and Max. He had a good run on the outside and then on the supersoft I was much more comfortable and we had good pace for the last half of the race. We really capitalised on a good day. We had a good car. Obviously we couldn’t win but second and third isn’t too bad, so thanks again.

    Max, coming to you, being on the podium in front of lots of kinsmen here from the Netherlands. So, first of all, tell me about the start and why you couldn’t hold it then in front of Danny?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: We had a good start and from there on I think the pace was pretty good. I was enjoying it and then we chose to do two different strategies on the cars so I let Daniel by and from there on I think we played really well as a team. To get a double podium out of it was the main target and to score more points than Ferrari and that’s what we definitely did today.

    Third position: is it enough to make a party tonight or you’re going home on the German autobahn with all those guys in the caravan?

    MV: I am going home but it will be a nice homecoming that’s for sure.

    Thanks you so much. Coming back to you Lewis, you must feel like in heaven – four in a row now. So once you’re in heaven, now we have a big break, how about some skydiving, because you love adventure holidays?

    LH: I won’t be going skydiving, but I’ll definitely be relaxing. I’ll have my dogs with me and with family and friends. I think the whole team – everyone back at the factory and everyone here – have worked so hard this first half of the season and they all need a break, so I think it’s really well earned by everyone, so thank you.

    Q: Lewis, just after the national anthem I saw you standing, for a long time, staring down the inside line into Turn One. Just considering it, presumably visualising it. It obviously worked.

    LH: I was kind-of touched after the national anthem. The lady sang so beautifully. After that it was really just trying to stay… keeping cool, trying to see the line, because the track’s actually not flat there. It’s uphill from me going across to where Nico was and yeah, of course, I needed to put my car alongside him somehow. I was hoping for a great start. Those starts have been inconsistent and you never know what you’re going to get. But just trying to understand the circumstances ahead of me. But first, I want to say a big thank you to this team. It’s been a hard slog for everyone in the team, for the whole year and obviously with ups and downs and the difficulties that we’ve had, the real strength that we’ve shown, through and through, these last races has been inspiring for me. Seeing them coming back, week after week, the work that gets put in, inspires me to drive like I did today. So, I really owe it to them and excited now, get to go on holiday. This is the best way to go on holiday.

    Q: Daniel, a Red Bull double podium as you just mentioned there and Red Bull now up into second in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Ferrari by 14 points going into the summer break. Obviously the story of the race was the split strategies: you and Lewis both going onto the soft tyre, Max and Nico going onto the supersoft. It obviously worked out well for you today but you also looked, the way you were driving, it looked like you had a taste for it today. You were pushing very, very hard and trying to get onto the back of Lewis.

    DR: Yeah, definitely. We obviously wanted to finish the first part of the season on a high and after Friday’s long runs we knew we would probably be more competitive in the race stint than we were in Budapest. And obviously we had a little sniff at the start of the race in Budapest, so yeah, we knew that we could have something on. I was trying to make the most of it as always but knowing we probably had a better chance today, it was obviously  a nice little motivation to try to make the most of it. The start initially felt quite good, obviously Nico’s was quite poor so we got past him, and then I covered the inside in Turn One but then Max had a good run on the outside and it was very close with us. We obviously kept it on track, much to my disappointment he pulled off the move at Turn One. Then it was trying to keep Nico back on the first lap. It was a good little battle there for a few corners and that was quite important for my race, to then keep him behind and focus on what I needed to do. The first two stints, we went supersoft-soft. We were in the race but nothing… I wouldn’t say the pace was enough to really make a massive jump on the lead, or the top two – but then once we put the supersofts on, the last two stints, that’s where I really felt like I could push the car. It came alive, and that’s where in the end we got the second place. We had good pace and it was nice. As Lewis said, nice to go on the summer break with a result I’m happy with. Two weekends in a row now it’s a podium and, for the team, we’re now second in the Constructors’ so I think we can be really proud, both of us, to split the Mercedes today. It’s a really good effort.

    Q: Max, coming to you, obviously you were on the other side of that split strategy.  You complained in the second stint that the supersoft was not the race tyre for today. Tell us a little bit about that, and why not, and also tell us in detail about your fight with Nico Rosberg for which he was given a penalty.

    MV: First of all, the start was good. So I went from fourth to second so I was happy with that. I think in the first stint the pace was pretty good. I could see Lewis and he was not pulling away too much, so I was just controlling it and from there on we went onto the second set of supersofts but they felt pretty weak and easy to destroy the tyres. Yeah, just didn’t feel great. I couldn’t really push in that stint so I had to back-off. Once I got onto the soft tyre, yeah, it was a little bit better but of course the soft is not as strong as the supersoft tyre, so I saw Daniel behind me charging on a supersoft because Nico passed me and pushed me a bit wide, so he got a five-second penalty for that. I was still following him but then, of course, Daniel with the supersoft was charging, so I let him go by, and from there on, yeah, it was pretty OK, and once I went onto the last set of tyres, the pace was there again but once you are behind someone within two seconds, you can’t really push any more. You are just understeering and you are waiting. That was it. In the end it is a good result for the team and we are in front of Ferrari now and that was the main target. I think as a team we can be happy.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Max, you mentioned that you let Daniel past to help the team. Would you have done the same if it was for the first place?

    MV: I don’t know, ‘cos we are not driving for the first position. Difficult to answer that one.

    Q: (Dominik Sharat – Motorsport Total) A question for Daniel. Daniel, we heard you saying about Esteban Gutiérrez, “he’s one of my favourites, I love this guy”, what was the reason for that?

    DR: errr… yeah. To be honest, off the track, I have no problem at all with Esteban. I think he’s actually one of the nicer guys – but just on the track just lately, it’s come up the last few races that a few of us haven’t been that impressed with the blue flags. We’ve discussed it in drivers’ meetings. I’ve been in the position and I know it sucks, it sucks to move out of the line and let the leaders through – but it seems particularly the last three races in a row… everyone is doing an OK job and it seems like he’s doing a less good job than the others. A bit of frustration obviously. I was trying to say it as politely as possible but, yeah. I think because he’s been told already, he knows that a few aren’t that impressed with his blue flag handling. I thought by now the message would have gone through but for me at least today… I lost more time behind him than anyone else.

    Q: (Volkskrant – Lennart Bloemhof) Question for Max. Which feeling is dominant: the joy of getting on your fourth podium in this short season or the disappointment of finishing behind Ricciardo again for the second race?

    MV: I’m not really interested in the feeling at the moment. It’s a good result for the team, that’s what I said, that’s the most important.

    Q: (Jens Nagber – Bild) Question for Lewis. What happened to your starts compared to the beginning of the season, what do you do better now?

    LH: It’s kind of the luck of the draw. We have worked very, very hard. Obviously I have a guy that I’m working with very, very closely and it’s been an up-and-down season and it’s not his fault or not my fault, it’s just the way these new clutch-regs are and how sensitive the clutches are. I think we’ve worked, and worked and worked, and just consistency and really trying to be precise with the whole procedure. And I think today the procedure, the last two races, the procedure’s been spot-on, pretty much. Today was definitely the best one I would say. Yeah, it’s just a work in progress.

    Q: (Graeme Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Max and Daniel, was it something that you spoke about before the race, the possibility of switching positions if strategy called for it or was it a bit of a surprise, Max, to be asked to cede your place?

    MV: No, I think in general, on this track, you have a lot of possibilities so definitely we talked about it and I think we did a good job on that today.

    DR: Well, firstly, top of the morning to you, Graeme. Oh! Scottish!

    MV: He’s had a bit too much champagne, that’s the problem. I think he’s drunk!

    LH: It’s the mixture of champagne and his foot juices.

    MV: Sweat and champagne is a bad mix, I think.

    DR: I wanted you to ask me a question all weekend and I was waiting to say that and I just blew it! Alright. Sorry. Viva Scotland. Yeah, it wasn’t really the intention to do a three stop at the start of the race. We knew there was a possibility but it was to try and do two and then it looked, as the race was going, that it was more and more likely a three. I think how it worked – because both myself and Max were in front of Nico at the time, we’d split the Mercedes, one of us was trying to cover what Nico did and that then allowed me to try something else and that was I think the reason why we split the tyres. As I said, the supersoft worked a lot better, I was happier with that tyre the last two stints. That was how I guess I got the second place. I think that was all it was and obviously once I caught Max, I think it was in the second last stint, I had the DRS but he made life easy for me so that was, let’s say, a good little bit of teamwork for us and obviously the team was happy that we played nice and got maximum points today.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Daniel and Max, OK you said in Hungary that you expect better performance than in Hungary. What do you expect in Spa which will probably suit your car?

    DR: For us… to be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet but I think our performances this year are much more representative of 2014 and 2014 Spa was very good, for me, particularly. This year, I think we’ve surprised ourselves on some circuits. Coming in to this weekend, after Friday we saw our long run pace and it looked good but before Friday we didn’t really expect to have two Red Bulls on the podium here. Let’s see what happens in Spa. I think we will have a pretty good car around there. I think for now our target is keep being at least second best. Obviously we want to win but if we can keep staying ahead of Ferrari then that’s good for us for now. As you say, I think we were within ten seconds of the lead today and that’s obviously a nice start so hopefully Spa can be a bit closer again and keep chipping away.

    Q: Max, I guess judging by the crowd today, one of the things you can expect is a lot of support, right?

    MV: Yeah, I think so. Already here, my feeling was that I saw more Dutch flags than German flags. It was very nice to see and the track is just great to drive and hopefully the car will work again. We didn’t expect to be that competitive here and normally Spa should be more competitive so let’s see. I think this was a very good weekend and hopefully we can have a good weekend again in Spa.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, at the end of the race, these guys were only six or seven seconds behind you; what do you see for Spa-Francorchamps which looks like a good circuit for them?

    Q: Is Spa potentially a place where you might take your engine penalty?

    LH: It depends. Today I saved my engine a lot which is why they closed up as much as they did. I only needed a six second gap really, they wanted me to keep six seconds. It went from eleven to seven quite quickly and then I had to get back on it, but generally I was looking after the engine up front and never felt like I was under threat. Without a doubt, they were fantastically quick this weekend. I think naturally it wasn’t a problem for me but obviously I assume Nico struggled behind them so it’s still… it looks like it’s going to be close. I think Spa… hopefully I’ve saved enough of my engine today hoping that I would be able to use it at the next race. It will either be the next race or Monza, because I’m going to run out of engines soon.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Lewis, I would love to know if in this race it didn’t matter about pole position. It’s important but anyway you went in front. I want to know for Spa, do you have the same feeling, even if you are in second place (on the grid) if it’s possible to overtake, what are the possibilities in Spa?

    LH: Every track is different for the start in terms of what follows from the actual start. Spa is a very very short stint down to turn one. I’ve been in first before and then you get towed massively up to turn three or whatever it is. Les Combes? I don’t know the names of all the corners. It’s a difficult one. Sometimes if you’re in second and you think you’re going to tow someone and then you get perfectly alongside… I think for us it’s still the best position for us to be in. But the last two races have showed that pole is not everything and obviously the starts can really make a difference, so I will continue to work on the starts as I have been and try to continue to hopefully improve them.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Max, going back to the battle with Nico in the hairpin, when did you realise that he was going to overshoot the braking point and have you been sure right away that it had to be a penalty for him?

    MV: Well, I think pretty sure that he was quite far, so he braked really late and at one point I thought he was going to run into me so I opened up and then he didn’t turn in, he was just driving straight so I had to go off the track otherwise we would have crashed. That’s not very handy. Lewis knows. That happened and he got a five second penalty, so for me it was just trying to stay within these five seconds to get him back after the pit stop.

    Q: (Joe Van Burik – De Telegraaf)  Max, can you explain why the supersoft tyre did not work for you as the race tyre?

    MV: I don’t know, it’s a bit tricky to say but I think when you are on high fuel and you go on a very soft tyre it’s always a bit harder on that tyre and I maybe didn’t have the right wing offset. Yeah, it made it a lot harder so I think that’s why… maybe with the track quite hard on the tyres it just didn’t work out well, and then of course, when you go to the end of the race, a softer tyre works pretty well because then the car’s a bit lighter and it doesn’t push that much on the tyre.

     

  • 2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

     

    TV UNILATERAL

    Nico, under pressure there: only one run in the end in Q3 after, we understand, an electronics glitch on your first run. How satisfying is this pole under those circumstances?

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it was a great feeling. Just a great lap. Not only was it just one lap that I had but I also had extra fuel to make sure that I would have an extra shot if a mistake or something happens. So I had fuel for three laps. So that was some more time in the bag there, so I was really satisfied with that one. That was really cool.

    Very well done. Lewis, a little lock-up there, I think into the hairpin, on your final run, only a tenth off Nico. It looks like it’s been a little bit of a tricky weekend, but did you feel it was all coming together for you in qualifying?

    Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been a good weekend, I had no problems. I had the pace today I just didn’t finish it off in the last lap, so…

    Was it the lock-up ?

    LH: I didn’t really have much of a lock-up. It was subtle; I didn’t lose any time.

    Thank you for that. Coming to you Daniel, obviously a very close battle between Red Bull and Ferrari there. Do you feel though that you could have been a little bit closer to the Mercedes in the end than the two and a half tenths that it was?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I think we got pretty close to be honest. My first lap in Q3 was really good and I knew there probably wasn’t that much more on the table in the second run and in the end a couple of mistakes in that run. There was maybe a tenth or so in it with the perfect lap, but not enough to challenge the pole. We’re close enough. I said yesterday that if we could be within half a second that’s not a bad day in qualifying, so hopefully it means something tomorrow. From what I understand we might have different tyres available for us for the race, so hopefully that makes it interesting.

    Just coming back to you Lewis: your thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s grand prix? It’s going to be another tough battle in prospect?

    LH: It’s should be a good day for Mercedes. That’s the goal and yeah, we’ll race it out.

    And the final word from our pole sitter: your thoughts Nico then, the race in prospect? Another tough battle in prospect, not only with Lewis but with Daniel as well, and any worries for you on the electronics glitch going forward into the grand prix?

    NR: No, I don’t know what it was. It just suddenly… how do you say… it just suddenly lost the throttle. So just cut completely the engine, just at the end of the lap. That was disappointing but I’m sure we’ll fix it for tomorrow. It’s never happened before, so I’m sure it will be OK. Definitely it will be an exciting race against Lewis and the Red Bulls and maybe also the Ferraris but they’re a bit further back it seems.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Nico, maybe you could just tell us a little bit more about what you experienced with that electronics glitch – and also, I’m interested in the mental reset after that. You obviously get yourself psyched-up, you know you’ll have another run but to know it’s all on that one lap after you’ve had a setback, just tell us about that mental reset you have to do.

    NR: Yeah, it was frustrating at the time because it was a good lap and then to lose it two corners from the end in a way that I’ve never experienced before was definitely tough in that moment. And then also to know that I had to put extra fuel for the last run, to be able to do three laps because just to have a little bit of a contingency plan in case lap one doesn’t work out. And then, yeah, just very happy with that first lap. That was awesome, it really came together well. Yeah, so as a result it was quite challenging to do that last run.

    Q: Lewis, obviously it’s been a very strong couple of months for you. You’ve come right back to the point where you’re now leading the championship going into tomorrow’s grand prix. Just tell us a little bit about the importance for you of going into that summer break with a win under your belt. Is that something you particularly target? And how do you look back on this last few weeks?

    LH: I think the importance is not particularly relevant. We’ve had, what, five out of six races wins, so it’s been a good mid-stint of the season, and hopefully tomorrow we get the first or second and that’ll still be great. We’ll still be in good position. Of course, every race you approach to win.

    Q: Daniel, going into tomorrow’s grand prix, just looking back on your comments yesterday after the long runs, it seemed that you felt reasonably optimistic in terms of your pace relative to these guys. So tell us a bit more about that.

    DR: Yeah. I felt that, on low fuel yesterday, Mercedes had a pretty good buffer over everyone and the long run pace we looked to be closer than that, so that was giving us a bit of optimism coming into Sunday. Obviously today we’ve got a bit closer on one-lap pace than we were yesterday so let’s see. Hopefully it translates into something tomorrow. Even to put a little bit of pressure on them at some point in the race would be nice. But yeah, we’ll see. Obviously tomorrow, you never know what can happen, and racetracks change day to day with the temperature and whatever but yeah, obviously we’re looking pretty good. Obviously a lock-out with the second row and hopefully we can do something with it.

    You hinted there that you have something different on the tyres there, so you think obviously strategies going to play a big part in the race tomorrow.

    DR: Yeah, from what I understand, we’ve got different tyres available for the race, so there could be some different strategies amongst the first few cars. Hopefully it works out. If it does, the fans might have a race on their hands.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Speedsport and Auto Action) Nico and Lewis, last weekend the start  and the first couple corners set the race. How much different is it this weekend and how much easier is it to get past on this track?

    NR: It’s a different world here because you can overtake on this track if you get a significant speed difference. Nevertheless it’s still going to be a good battle off the start and in the first couple of corners, for sure.

    LH: It’s a much easier track (on which) to overtake. But that doesn’t mean you can but it is much easier, it’s one of the easier ones.

    Q: And your thoughts just on that first corner and then the run down to turn two?

    LH: Only one car can go through turn one so it’s whoever gets there first.

    Q: (Graeme Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Lewis, you said earlier that you just didn’t get it done in the final qualifying lap. Did you feel that pole was on today, was there a particular mistake or something else that denied you?

    LH: Well, I’d been first in every qualifying session so yeah, it was definitely on. I was two tenths up on the lap and I just didn’t finish it. That’s it.

  • Rosberg secures pole position for German Grand Prix

    Rosberg secures pole position for German Grand Prix

    Nico Rosberg secured pole position for his home German grand prix, beating Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton by just over a tenth of a second. Hamilton drifted a little at Turn 1 and locked up into the hairpin on his final lap, pretty much costing him the pole position.

    Rosberg had suffered an electronics issue on his first Q3 run to take the top spot with a 1:14.363. Rosberg’s lap was outstanding and held nothing but signs of sandbagging by the Mercedes team during the FP3 practice session.

    Lewis Hamilton had been under investigation following FP3 – for an unsafe release. The stewards decided to fine the Mercedes team, but there was no penalty for Hamilton so he will retain his 2nd place.

    The second row of the German Grand Prix grid will be locked out by the Red Bull team of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

    Kimi Raikkonen beat Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel to fifth place and Nico Hulkenberg, Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez lined up behind them. Felipe Massa rounded out the Top 10 for the Williams F1 team.

    Esteban Gutierrez finished 11th – only just missing out on his first Q3, ahead of Jenson Button for McLaren. Carlos Sainz Jr is under investigation for impeding Felipe Massa at Turn 2.

    Fernando Alonso finished in 14th place ahead of Romain Grosjean who will have to take a five place grid penalty for his gearbox change following FP3.

    Jolyon Palmer finished 16th for Renault ahead of team mate Kevin Magnussen who has Pascal Wehrlein lining up behind him.

    A frustrated Daniil Kvyat lined up 19th for Toro Rosso with Manor’s Rio Haryanto beating both Sauber drivers, with Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson at the back of the grid.

    Join us tomorrow on Twitter @F1_Madness for live chat and commentary throughout the German Grand Prix.

  • Nico Rosberg takes German GP practice hat trick

    Nico Rosberg takes German GP practice hat trick

    Nico Rosberg completed a hat trick of the German GP practice sessions, leading the way during the final practice session ahead of this weekend’s race.

    Rosberg posted a time of 1:15.738 on his second super soft run, which was 0.057s clear of Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton has been summoned to the stewards for an unsafe releas ahead of Romain Grosjean in the pit lane. Paddy Lowe commented that the pit garage exit is extremely tight and there’s not much room to bring the drivers out.

    Red Bull and Ferrari finished within spitting distance of the Mercedes drivers with Daniel Ricciardo completing his session only 0.099s behind Rosberg’s time. Kimi Raikkonen finished 0.164 behind the German.

    Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen finished 5th and 6th fastest, Vettel completing the session with some damage to his front wing. Verstappen had complained earlier in the session that his battery was not charging.

    Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were the only other drivers along the grid to lap within a second of Rosberg’s time.

    Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the Top 10.

    Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat posted the 11th and 14th fastest times for Toro Rosso split by the Mexicans – Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez.

    Renault finished 15th and 16th with Kevin Magnussen going a dash faster than team mate Joylen Palmer. Button set the 19th fastest time amid plenty complaints of a loose rear and very low grip. He completed only 6 laps.

    Manor drivers Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto finished 20th and 21st with Romain Grosjean only managing four laps before spinning out at Turn 3 with gearbox complaints. Grosjean will need to take a gearbox change resulting in a five place drop following qualifying.

    Join us at 14:00 GMT+2 on Twitter @F1_Madness for live commentary and chat from qualifying for the German Grand Prix.

    Nico Rosberg Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

  • 2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Nico HULKENBERG (Force India), Pascal WEHRLEIN (Manor), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Rio HARYANTO (Manor), Felipe NASR (Sauber)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, let’s start with you, if we may. News yesterday that Ferrari is replacing technical chief James Allison with Mattia Binotto. Can you give us your thoughts on that?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, not much to add. I think we have stated in the press release what happened. I think Mattia has been in the team for a very long time so he is very experienced and knows the team inside out. Obviously there will be a difference but in the short term it doesn’t change that much.

    The timing of the switch means that he’ll be in charge with plenty of time to influence the direction of next year’s car. Would you like the emphasis of the team now to shift to the 2017 car?

    SV: We are already obviously working flat out on the ’17 car, I think everybody is, the rules are very different. Still there’s stuff I think we can learn from this year, so that’s why I think it would be wrong to forget about this year’s car. So I think still directions are very important heading into next year with the different approach but of course there is a very large group in the factory focusing on next year’s car.

    Thank you. Coming to you Rio, you’ve out-qualified Pascal five times in 11 races; that’s quite a statement isn’t it?

    Rio HARYANTO: Yeah, it’s a good result. It’s good to be able to be quote competitive in qualifying but I still want to improve also a lot in the races and we are clearly working hard on that and there are some occasions in the race where I’ve been having a split strategy to him and I just try to keep learning and to move forward.

    The fact that you’re here in Germany this weekend, does that bode well for the rest of the season in terms of your involvement with the Manor team?

    RH: I have a contract for one year. Of course there are certain obligations that we need to fulfill. My management is working very hard and I would like to say thanks to the team and also to the people in Indonesia who have been very supportive and hopefully I can keep my seat for the rest of the season.

    Thank you for that. Nico, coming to you, you’ve scored points in five of the last six races but after Budapest you seemed to be a little bit downbeat in your assessment of the team’s chances at this race, sating it could possibly be a bit like Hungary. Don’t you think this track should suit Force India a little better than that?

    Nico HULKENBERG: Difficult to judge. I think in Hungary we had a bit more potential in the car, but it was kind of a tough weekend with the mixed qualifying and then in the race also the race, how it happened, it just evolved against us. I think there was more potential than what we got at the end, only a tenth place. Hopefully here this weekend we’re a bit more competitive again and obviously we’d like to beat the McLarens, the Toro Rossos and put on a fight with the Williams and not be behind them.

    Now, Vijay Mallya told us in Silverstone that both you and Checo are confirmed for next season. Checo was a little more non-committal than that last weekend. What’s your situation?

    NH: Everything is easy and relaxed, there’s not much more to add. I think Vijay said what the situation is and we’re just focused on this year now, trying to get as many points as we possibly can and that’s the main focus really.

    So you’re staying for next year

    NH: Yes.

    OK, thank you. Felipe, we had the news last week about the takeover of Sauber. What difference can you notice inside the team and where is the focus of attention now?

    Felipe NASR: Well, first of all, it’s good news. I was happy for the team to have these new investors taking over. It brings a lot more stability to the team, especially to all the employees at the team. I could see in their faces already that people are happy again, back in their work, they can just focus on the job they do pretty much. We were very limited on the things we could do this year, talking about development and car performance. We couldn’t unlock anything, just because we didn’t have the resources to do so. I think now looking to the short and the long term there’s a lot that can happen. I believe there are serious people behind it. We expect to see some decent, let’s say, updates to be on the car after the summer break, which I’m really looking forward to. I want to put the car back competitive, I want the team to score points, I want to score points as well, which is the only thing missing until now.

    Well, you mention that, the team is still looking for it’s first point as we reach the half way stage in the championship. So are you taking some encouragement that you’ll get there soon?

    FN: Well, I believe so. I’m doing all I can. Sometimes in the last few races we have been close to it, we just need that little bit extra from the car to be more competitive, especially in qualifying, being able to qualify a bit higher, Unlocking performance is all we look for and hopefully it will come soon and I can celebrate that first point as well.

    Thank you. Coming to you Pascal, your first Formula One grand prix at Hockenheim, first home grand prix in a Mercedes-powered car as a Mercedes protégé, sum up the emotions?

    Pascal WEHRLEIN: Yeah, it’s a very special race to me. I’ve already said in a few interviews that when I was five years old, in 2000, I was here in the grandstands watching my first Formula One race live and it’s amazing to be in the car now in 2016.

    You’ve had podiums here, I believe, in DTM and in Formula 3, so it’s a track you clearly know well and like. Is there a belief that you could repeat the result from Austria?

    PW: I hope so. The track shouldn’t be that good, as Austria was for us, but as soon as I am in the car I will push as hard as I can and hopefully I can do the same again.

    Thank you. Daniel, coming to you, your 100th grand prix start this weekend, congratulations. Obviously a very strong weekend in Hungary last time out but do you feel that after that double setback of not winning in Spain and Monaco it took a few races to get your mojo back?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: No, not at all, if anything it increased it. The way things turned out after Spain and Monaco, yeah, the race results weren’t as high as I was hoping for sure. It wasn’t a lack of mojo or anything like that. It was probably too much of the other! Obviously it was nice to be back on the podium last weekend; that was cool. Obviously I had a podium in Monaco, but unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy it, so it was nice to actually enjoy the one in Budapest and appreciate it, because you don’t get a podium every race. To see the fans and everything and to spray the champagne on Sunday afternoon, it’s a nice reward. It’s a beautiful feeling, so it was nice to soak that in. A hundred grands prix – I would say it’s gone quick, but at the same time it hasn’t. It’s taken a lot of steps to get here and yeah, I look back on HRT and it does feel like a long time ago. Yeah, 100 feels about right.

    There was optimism before Budapest that Red Bull would be able to challenger Mercedes there. Obviously it was a slightly complicated weekend, particularly with the rain in qualifying, but in the end they did manage to keep you at arm’s length. You personally now are third in the Drivers’ Championship, it that the limit of what’s possible this season?

    DR: There should be another chance or a slight chance you’d think in Singapore. It’s a strong circuit for us and for whatever reason last year it was a weakness for Mercedes, so if it’s a similar trend then we can genuinely have a crack there. But otherwise probably a wet race is our only real opportunity on an even playing field. Now we’re close with Ferrari in the Constructors’, I’m third in the Drivers’ Championship, it’s really close from third to sixth. But that’s fun, so hopefully we’’ just try and keep that. Some more consistent podiums would be good and yeah leave Sundays feeling happy, that’s always important.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FOOR

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Daily Telegraph) A questions for Seb or two actually. When you first came here when you were a kid the grandstands were full, there were 100,000 people, and if you look at Michael’s heyday the sport was massive here. It’s not secret that now it’s struggling for popularity compared to that. Do you have an explanation for why that is? And the second question is, from a driver’s point of view what was Michael’s impact on Formula One, what’s his legacy would you say?

    SV: Starting with the second one, I think he was obviously the first German world champion and the first one that made Formula One really popular in Germany. Obviously Formula One has been around for a long time and also there were a lot of races in Germany, but I think the real difference is that we didn’t really have a local hero for a very, very long time. There were Germans participating, but obviously if there is one really, really successful one, winning a lot of races, that’s what attracts a lot of the attention. That’s what also caused the hype initially and caused the grandstands to be full. I think entering the motodrom in the old days was a bit different than nowadays, because the track was different, all the other parts of the track there was only trees, so I think that’s different now, you have big grandstands around the track, a bit more spread. Plus the fact that it’s clear nowadays, let’s say the last couple of years haven’t been that popular, there’s been a lot of negative in the press and obviously people, fans, follow that as well and that doesn’t help. I think Formula One has lost a little bit of its excitement in terms of just if you listen, the cars are a lot more quiet, which also then looks a little bit less spectacular, even though it’s not true, corners speeds are as high as they’ve ever been. Just when we go on power it doesn’t sound as nice as it probably did in the past. So there’s a couple of reasons and I think it general grandstand tickets are too expensive. In my point of view they should be a lot cheaper, a lot more affordable, so a lot more people would be tempted to spontaneously say ‘yes, let’s go, we want to be part of it and let’s not miss it’. So I think there are a couple of reasons.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To Sebastian. Sebastian, until September of 2014 Mr Marchionne didn’t have great approach to Formula One and then came Arrivabene also. All of them for sure hard workers, competent and they were doing their time – and now we have also Binotto, also another guy without experience to concept a car globally. He comes from engine side. Are you worried that you have very good people behind you but all of them, the mainstream leadership of the team with no experience in Formula One?

    SV: No, I think we have the right people on board. I think obviously, yeah, it’s been a lot in the press, especially about our president and what he expects from us and so on…  I think first of all it’s good to see, as I’ve always said, that he’s involved. Obviously he’s pushing the team very hard, and also in Maranello, he spends a lot of time there. I think he knows what he’s talking about and generally has been trying to understand what’s going on, in the last year in particular. So, I think things are heading in the right direction. Obviously it’s a big change now, which doesn’t impact on tomorrow’s work but obviously for the future. No doubt about it but I think things are heading in the right direction. When you say that they didn’t have access, I think it’s not entirely true. Obviously I haven’t followed that close but in Maurizio’s case as well I think he’s been in Formula One and involved for a long time, so I think he knows the business very well and I think he’s doing a very, very good job. That’s how we all feel in the team. He’s our leader, he’s the team principal and we’re happy he’s with us.

    Q: (Sandor Van Es – Formula 1 Magazine, Netherlands)  Daniel, I have a question for you. Congratulations with your third in Hungary, your team-mate hinted that in the first part of the race he was a little bit held-up by you because he was driving like his grandma.

    DR: His grandma’s fast!

    How satisfying was it to finish clearly ahead of him and, related to that, how are you going to approach your little battle in the second part of the season?

    DR: Yeah, it’s part of… especially the early stages of the race, there’s always, a lot of the time, when there’s some tyre-saving, you always go through a phase where you try and make it to lap number X and sometimes the approach is to build up to it and make sure you get to that point, that you don’t throw yourself in a three-stop strategy, say, when you’re planning a two. So, from my side, at the start, I was just trying to do what I had to do. Try to hang with Nico and Lewis. It was sort of there – and then to the end of that stint they seemed to pull away but it seemed like my tyres had a bit more life at the end of the stint than perhaps Max’s did. Yeah, I don’t know if it was necessarily a shot at me, it was more, I think, as well, the way sometimes we have to manage the tyres. Especially at the start of the race with high fuel. You do have to be quite conservative and yeah, it doesn’t always feel that fast. I am impressed with the speed of his grandma. That’s pretty good.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS.NL) For Sebastian and Daniel. What do you need to beat Mercedes on Sunday. Help from above or something else?

    SV: I think we both have the cars that we have and both of us are very happy. Obviously we’re missing a bit to really take it on to Mercedes in lap time. It’s been, on this type of track, probably around three-four tenths to seven-eight tenths per lap, which is a lot and obviously allows them to take it fairly easy but we will try to extract everything we can, try to do the best job possible and I think that way we enhance our chances to put them under most pressure. Then, I think, there’s always a lot of things that can happen. We’ve seen it in the past. That’s why we go racing. Otherwise, y’know, there’s no point for us being here.

    Daniel?

    DR: Yep, you always hope for some variables. I think all things even they’re clearly the quickest at the moment. Rain definitely helps us. We seem to be able to close the gap there, and also the rain, whether it suits our car more or not, it also opens up more opportunity for the driver to make a bit more of a difference. It’s easier to make mistakes with things like this. Even if they were quicker in a wet races there’s still more chances they might make a mistake, or whatever. So, yeah, otherwise, as Seb touched on, we’ve just got to try and do what we can do with what we’ve got. It if does open an opportunity, obviously Barcelona, on lap one, that opened an opportunity for everyone, these sort of things can still happen. It would be nice if we could beat them with them still on track. That would be, I think, more satisfying.

    Q: (Joe Van Burik – De Telegraaf) Another question for Seb and Daniel. Do you have faith F1 will change much with the new 2017 technical regulations.

    DR: Yeah. I’m confident the cars will be quicker, the cornering speeds will be quicker. I think that’s one thing which obviously we’re all going to be open to. If it does become a bit more physical – not that it’s not, I was sweating quite a lot after the race last weekend – I think more to just feel the car a bit more in the high-speed corners. I know our car is very strong in high-speed corners and I still feel like I want to do more, so I can imagine midfield teams, they’re not really experiencing a massive amount of gees and grip. So, looking at that, the wider tyres and more downforce, it should make that part a lot more fun. How much it’s going to change, I don’t know. I am having fun, as Formula One is now, but of course you can always improve things. Even if this improves one part of it, then that’s a positive.

    Q: (Graeme Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Question for all of the drivers. We understand a decision about whether the Halo is to be introduced for next year is fairly imminent. Jolyon Palmer said earlier today that most drivers he talks to are against the halo but reluctant to say so. Do you all agree this is the case? That perhaps drivers aren’t expressing all of their concerns or drawbacks about it?

    Nico, why don’t you start with that one.

    NH: Yeah, I think there is some mixed opinions amongst the drivers. Some favour it, some don’t favour it. Obviously the aesthetics are not so good – it doesn’t look very attractive – and yes, in some cases it would probably have been better and saved lives. But as it is I think F1 is already pretty safe and we also need to keep an element there, of danger, to keep it exciting, to keep it spectacular – but it’s not in our hands, our decision, what’s going to happen with it. So, I think today there is a meeting about Halo. We’ll wait and here about that.

    Rio, what are your thoughts?

    RH: Same comments

    Pascal?

    PW: I’m for the halo, especially after the presentation we had last week in Budapest. I think it’s a very good solution and maybe it doesn’t look so nice but it can save our lives, I think – until 17 per cent – so I’m clearly for it.

    Felipe?

    FN: I’m in favour as well. I think it doesn’t look great, as everybody pretty much says a similar thing. On the other hand, safety being the priority, I would be in favour. I believe it’s, for now, with what we have, it’s something better. There can clearly be, as I said, in the priority list of safety, it can be improved, but there’s also to consider that people will have to get used to it, if it does happen. Because it looks very different.

    Daniel, your thoughts.

    DR: I think what people from the outside need to understand is that, when we say it’s going to make it safer, it will – but it doesn’t mean the risks we take are any less. So it will not change our approach to a corner, for me, as much as I understand it, it’s to help the freak accident, or to support the freak accident, or if something comes flying in the air to stop it hitting us on the head, as some incidents happen, and y’know, with last year as well with Indy. It’s purely just to, I’d say, get rid of that risk, which I think it will do a good job. For us getting behind the wheel and going flat out in Eau Rouge or something, it does not change if we’ve got the halo on or not. So, I think that’s what people from the outside who are against it, need to understand, that we’re not all just turning into… y’know… we’re still race car drivers, it’s just trying to eliminate that freak accident side of it.

    Sebastian?

    SV: I’m a bit surprised because it doesn’t sound as if we were clear about what we want in the future, so I’m a bit surprised about these comments and I think 90-95 per cent voted for it – so I don’t know why all of a sudden it comes up the way it does. I think it’s the wrong impression. As I think the majority in here said as well, we don’t like the looks of it but I don’t think there’s anything really that justifies death. So, I think we’ve always learned from what happened, incidences that happened on track, and we’ve always tried to improve. Now, that would be the first time I would think in human history that we’ve learned a lesson and we don’t change. I think it’s up to us to make sure it does happen, otherwise I think we’d be quite stupid.

    Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriere della Sera) Question to Seb. What do you expect from this race? A podium would be a good result for you here?

    SV: Yeah, I think the nature of the track should suit us probably a little bit more than last week. But having said so, our main rival for victory will still remain Mercedes so we try to line all of our ducks up so we can deliver the strongest Ferrari that we can. Of course it would be very nice for me to be on the podium. Racing at home I think is something very special and, in that way, to give a little bit back would be great. It depends on how the race unfolds: if there’s a chance to win and you don’t, you cannot be happy. But yeah, I think, if everything goes, let’s say, normal, we should be fairly competitive and should be aiming at a podium.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Seb, on the halo, you said that you had a vote among the drivers. How do you feel about the fact that it’s something the teams are deciding on rather you. It would be in the FIA’s hands to just impose it but they’ve put it to a vote of the strategy group. Do you think that’s really fair on you guys?

    SV: I think ultimately the FIA can do what they want, because based on safety grounds, they can do what they want so I think the message is clear, I think the feedback from the drivers so far – apart from the odd one or two here and there – has been clear. I think it’s fairly clear.

    Q: (Walter Koster – Saarbrucker Zeitung) Nico, after your inter-mezzo with the Sauber team, you turned back to Force India in 2014. What is for you the main difference between your first time in Force India formerly and today? What has changed?

    NH: Well, I think obviously the team has grown and really become a more solid, stronger competitor since. When I initially joined the team in 2011 as a reserve driver and then 2012 I was there as a racing driver, and then when I came back in 2014, I think we’ve really made a good step. The team has employed a lot of good people, changed structures back at base at Silverstone and I think just taken a lot of good directions, made some good decisions and hired some right people and that usually then sets you up, puts you in the right direction and makes you competitive on the track. So I think all in all the team has matured and grown a lot in a very positive sense.

    Q: (Rzeczpospolita – Mikolaj Sokol ) To all gentlemen, after last weekend when you now see a double yellow flag, what will you do?

    SV: I don’t know, whatever comes up, spontaneously.  I was the car in front of Nico (Rosberg) and I lifted as well but maybe I lifted too much, I don’t know. What to say? I think double yellow is still… should be double caution and I think in the rulebook it says ‘prepare to stop’. I think after what happened last week, we shouldn’t change our mindset. I think it should still remain the same in terms of that you are aware that someone’s in trouble, marshals might be on the track to help him, whatever, so you should be aware of that and be prepared to lift. That’s it.

    Q: Daniel, do you still have some question marks about this after last week?

    DR: I voiced my comments in the post-race briefing. I couldn’t have done anything different. Fernando was still on the track so I was prepared to slow down a lot and that I had to because he was there. So yeah, for me, I even get thing when people go quicker on a single yellow. The double yellow, I think, has to be clearly… there has to be a difference between a single and a double. When I see a single, sure, I slow but I’m aware that there probably isn’t anyone on the track but when you see a double it’s a lot more of a stronger sign, at least for me, and yeah, you know there’s a bit more going on. I think it’s something we’re still going to talk about, discuss and make a bit more clear. There needs to be a big difference.

    PW: I think there will be a big meeting tomorrow and let’s see what’s the discussion and solution after that.

    NH: I will take some food and drink into that one, I think. It’s going to be long. Every double yellow, of course, means there is some danger and obviously we know (we have to) prepare to stop. Every case is different, though. It’s difficult also for Charlie (Whiting) and for those on the outside to judge. Obviously in that incident, if you come around turn eight in Hungary you look into turn nine so some cars saw Fernando sitting on the kerb there, so you know you have to lift, you’re forced (to) because he was right there on the ideal line and I think when Nico came he was clear and it was different so it’s difficult but yeah, we all definitely have to have great respect for yellow flags.

    FN: I agree on what the others are saying too. There has to be a clear message. Tomorrow, when we all sit down together, there has to be something that is really being followed by everyone, I guess. We don’t want to get in those doubts of the position there, well the car wasn’t there… It has to be something clear that we have to do and then everybody respects that.

    RH: I think a double yellow says you have to prepare to stop. I think tomorrow we will discuss things together and clarify the position to take from what happened two weeks ago.

    Q: Just for clarity, Sebastian, from a leadership point of view amongst the drivers, will that meeting tomorrow bring forward something that you will take to the FIA? What will happen?

    SV: Well, first of all we will see how the discussion goes but I assume it will be a bit longer, it won’t be dealt with in two minutes so I think we will have to wait and see.

    Q: But it would be some sort of protocol that you would all agree between you from then on. Is that the idea?

    SV: Well, to be honest, I think the difficulty is that with that, since we have the… again you could argue that modern technology didn’t do us a favour. Since we introduced the loops, the timing loops so that not just the sectors one, two and three but also in the individual sectors we have different loops and then there was a sort of guideline that if there was a single yellow waved flag you have to lift off by two tenths. If there’s a double yellow waved you have to lift off by five tenths but that was verbal, there’s no way (you will) find that in the rulebook and basically apply common sense. But then again the problem is that you leave it up to us and then where’s the limit, so you had a guy last weekend that arguably if a lot of other guys were in his shoes, we would maybe have done the same. He comes around the corner, sees the double yellow… first of all, comes around the corner, sees the track is clear, obviously then still has a shot at the rest of his lap, where do you draw the line? In the past it was probably more simple just because we didn’t have the ability with the loops, it was clear: sector two, in that case, if you go green or purple you abused the rule and yeah, in that sense it made it a lot easier for us in the car. Now you have to think about how much time you have to lose and so on and that, I think is what we need to discuss tomorrow and hopefully we will find a common agreement to move forwards.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Nico, Sebastian and Daniel, a follow-up on the 2017 changes, Stoffel Vandoorne recently made some interesting remarks comparing SuperFormula and Formula One. He said that in SuperFormula the tyres are rock solid so he can push, it’s quite enjoyable but that’s why the racing is not exciting. Now, next year we will have more aerodynamics, grippier and bigger tyres. Don’t you agree that the same will happen with Formula One and what is more important for you: having fun in the car or providing a good show? Because it seems to be a controversy.

    DR: For me, the perfect or the ideal scenario would be to have something in qualifying with a lot of grip, that you can get the maximum out of the F1 car and push it to its limit and feel a real step but then yeah, the race, you don’t want it to go where it’s follow the leader and everyone’s going so quick and the braking points are too late and then you can’t overtake or anything so… I think the balance in racing hasn’t been too bad. I think the tyre deg and all that is not too bad. I think if we could just have that but with more grip like with quicker lap times but still the same rate of deg or whatever then I think that would still be a decent solution or outcome. So I think that’s what – looking at it – we probably will get, I think we will get just generally faster lap times but still the same amount of pit stops or whatever and hopefully in qualifying, we just get a bit more of a rush. Let’s see. I do believe it will go in the right direction, how much we achieve I’m not sure yet.

    NH: Yeah, not much more to add really. Obviously we’re going to go faster for sure but we will also still see deg in the race which then allows a good show and overtaking and wheel-to-wheel racing so I think for now we will go in a good direction.

    Q: Seb, to the gentleman’s point about it not just being about you guys having fun but also the wider show and spectacle.

    SV: Well, I think on that it needs to be real so I think now you can argue that obviously we all know how much faster our car could go if there was a fresher set of tyres on the car, less fuel in the car, that’s what is not so satisfying in the race. I think that’s the point that Stoffel made and also amongst us that he can push all the way through the race and that’s how, to be fair, Formula One has been some years ago and to what people refer when they say this was the best time, in the year 2000 through 2005. You didn’t see a lot of overtaking but if someone made it stick it was real and that generally got appreciated. Nowadays, we also have arguments whether there have been too many overtakings, whether some of the overtakings have been too easy and that’s where, I think, it sums it up, where we say it has to be real. If we enjoy it, I think the people enjoy it, our passion transfers also to the people in the grandstands and following it on the television. I think that has to be the target. Whether we will achieve it or not we have to wait and see.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) Question  also about flag-gate in Hungary: Lewis went to Charlie’s office to get a clarification and he called him later in the evening as well; why didn’t you do this?

    SV: Well, I think in that regard the rule is clear, in that if you read what it says under double waved yellow or yellow flag I think it’s clear. Obviously there was still the option to continue the lap which Nico did, fair enough to him and he made it stick and put the car on pole and then I think it means exactly that. What we are now all talking about is how much do you have to lift and every situation is different. I think we’re not too happy with that because there are certain inconsistencies there because then somebody has a different feeling or approach to somebody else. But to answer your question: I don’t know, I think to me it was clear what double waved yellow means so I didn’t feel that I had to go and ask.

    DR: Yeah, I guess the team… I made my thoughts clear to the team and left that with them to deal with so I know… I think they were on to Charlie as well and seeing what the outcome was going to be.

    PW: I don’t have Charlie’s number!

    NH: Not much to say.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Sebastian, talking about flags. You have been complaining during the race on radio about the blue flags. How much does it need to make you complain about other drivers? Does it affect your driving? What can you say about that, about these things happening?

    SV: I think it’s emotions. I think in the race you want to… I was catching Daniel at the time, I believe, and yeah, it always feels that you’re losing more time than the guy in front which I don’t think is true and I have been in the other situation as well. It’s not easy, you know. The mirrors are small, you see the car coming and two or three corners later the car is a lot closer and maybe closer than you expect. Equally you’re racing someone, you’re doing your own race. Yeah, I think in that moment I was a bit emotional and complaining. After the race I was a lot more relaxed about it, maybe I got a bit tempted by Max in the last couple of races so I started to complain a lot about blue flags during the race. But yeah, i think we’re all trying to do our best and I think most of the guys most of the time do a very good job, especially because it’s not easy and it’s not a nice position to be in. I think we all come from a racing background where we were not used to seeing blue flags and especially not used to moving over so it is a pain but people are doing what they can.

  • Watch: Nico Hulkenberg Previews the Hockenheim

    Watch: Nico Hulkenberg Previews the Hockenheim

    After one year abstinence we’re finally back there. I’m looking forward obviously a lot to race there this weekend.“ A virtual lap at the Hockenheimring with Sahara Force India F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg.

  • Niki Lauda wins Laureus lifetime achievement award

    Niki Lauda wins Laureus lifetime achievement award

    Three-time Formula One world champion and non-executive chairman of the Mercedes F1 team Niki Lauda was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards.

    Lauda was presented with the award by Mercedes F1 team driver Lewis Hamilton and actor Daniel Bruhl, who played the role of Lauda in the 2013 film, ‘Rush’ about the 1976 Formula One season. It was the year of Lauda’s close fight with James Hunt and his horrific crash at the German Grand Prix, which left him with severe burns.

    Lauda remains the only driver to have won world championships for both of the sport’s two most successful constructors, Ferrari and McLaren.

    Lauda, who won the title in 1975, 1977 and 1984, said his award was a good reminder of the harder days he endured during his career.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Lauda said: “Thank you very much for this award, I know it’s very important. But I want to say one thing, I’ve seen a lot of people here winning and losing. So I’d like to dedicate this award to the losers.

    “Because I can tell from my own experience, winning is one thing, but out of losing I always learned more for the future. So one grows stronger in losing.

    “One thing that is really worrying me is the world is not turning in the right direction. But sport should be the best ambassador for the future generation to get us closer together again. This is really important for me.”

    Lauda’s legend also includes what could perhaps be the most courageous comeback in sporting history, as he returned to racing just six weeks after suffering horrific burns and being read his last rites following the fiery crash at the Nurburgring in 1976.

    Tennis ace Novak Djokovic received the World Sportsman of the Year award, which Hamilton had been nominated for. Toro Rosso star Max Verstappen had also been nominated for an award – the Breakthrough of the Year award – which went to golf’s Jordan Spieth.

  • Hockenheim to Host 2015 German Grand Prix

    Hockenheim to Host 2015 German Grand Prix

    Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that the German Grand Prix will take place at Hockenheim and not the Nurburgring due to financial reasons.

    Hockenheim alternates with the Nurburgring each year to host the German Grand Prix but due to financial reasons the Nurburgring is unable to host this years race.

    The date for the German Grand Prix was confirmed on the FIA calendar but no venue was set. Speaking to Reuters, Ecclestone said that they need to change the dates on the contract for Hockenheim.  “It’s going to be at Hockenheim,” he said. “We just have to amend the years of the contract. It was alternating with Nurburgring so we’ll just take that out.”

    The Nurburgring, as a host venue was cast into doubt in 2012 when the venue experienced financial difficulties and almost filed for bankruptcy. It looks as though Ecclestone and the new owners of the Nurburgring could not come to an agreement to host this years German Grand Prix.