Tag: kamui kobayashi

It’s advantage Rosberg ahead of Abu Dhabi Qualifying

Nico Rosberg held the advantage over Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in the final practice session for the 2014 season at the Yas Marina circuit. Rosberg set the fastest time ahead of the qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with a 1:41.424 – 0.369s faster than his team mate.

Hamilton looked set to take the top spot after setting the fastest two sectors during his final lap but lost too much ground in the final sector.

Williams’ Felipe Massa took the third spot on the time sheets, a full 1.005s down on Rosberg, showing once again the superiority of the Mercedes duo and their lightning fast cars.

We should not, however, forget that the setting sun and subsequent falling track temperatures during qualifying at the Yas Marina circuit will mean that a fast FP3 lap may not translate into the same during qualifying. For this very reason, qualifying simulations were left until pretty late in the practice session to get track conditions as close to qualifying as possible. Mercedes should still nevertheless lock out the front row of the grid in qualifying, with Williams hot on their heels.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso set his time on soft tyres during the early stages of the session, then set a time on the supersofts and never took part in the rest of the session. He ended in fourth place as he and Ferrari attempt to save mileage on his engine.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finished his last practice session for the Red Bull team in fifth place, ahead of Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo.

Valtteri Bottas Bottas made a mistake in the final corner on his super-soft run which saw him only managing eigth place but he will most certainly be targeting the second row, come qualifying.

Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen completed the top 10.

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen posted the 11th best time of the session, ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

Esteban Gutierrez beat the two Lotus drivers Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean to 15th place with Adrian Sutil just behind.

Caterham remained at the bottom of the timesheets on their return to F1 this weekend with Caterham’s rookie Will Stevens getting to within a second of team mate Kamui Kobayashi’s time for the first time.

November 22, 2014
Kamui Kobayashi confirmed for Caterham at Abu Dhabi GP

The Caterham F1 Team has announced that Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi will race for the team in the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This follows confirmation last week that the Caterham F1 team will be racing at the Yas Marina circuit following a desperate crowd funding campaign to help race funds to keep them on the grid.

Kobayashi returns to the grid to fill the seat of Marcus Ericsson who announced that he has cut ties with the Caterham team with immediate effect and us such will not be racing in Abu Dhabi. Le Mans champ, Andre Lotter turned down the chance to return to F1 with the team saying that, “It was nice to do Formula 1 but I want to do it in better conditions, in terms of track position”.

Caterham are yet to confirm who will drive alongside Kobayashi. It’s likely to be one of three candidates – Roberto Mehri, Max Chilton or even Rubens Barrichello. The team have said that they will announce Kobayashi’s team mate for the race “in due course”.

Kobayashi is looking forward to being back on the grid again and had this to say: “I am happy to be racing with the team in Abu Dhabi. It hasn’t been an easy last few weeks, so it will be nice to be back to in the car and work together with the Caterham F1 team members.

“I would like to thank the fans for supporting the team like they have. This team is working hard and never gives up. We deserve to be racing in Abu Dhabi and I am very glad we can race again thanks to the crowdfunding project.

“Now it is our turn to show what we can do – we will all try our best during the weekend ahead and hopefully we can end the season with a positive result for the future of this team.”

Finbarr O’Connell of Smith & Williamson, joint administrator of Caterham Sports Limited: “The team are delighted to have Kamui on board for the race weekend in Abu Dhabi. The Team commented that Kamui is a highly talented racing driver and he should be in a race car – that’s where he belongs.

“After the recent period of uncertainty for CaterhamF1, the Team are delighted, as part of its Restructuring Plan, to be able to showcase the cars again and what better way than with world renowned drivers like Kamui.”

Photo Credit: Caterham F1 Team

November 17, 2014
F1 2014: Lotterer for Caterham in Abu Dhabi

Le Mans 24 Hours winner Andre Lotterer has confirmed that he has been offered a Caterham seat for the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

The Caterham team, currently under administration, has missed both the Austin and Brazilian grand prix but has confirmed their presence at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. It is thanks to a ‘fan-funded’ initiative which has seen raise enough finances to compete at the final race of the season.

Lotterer stepped into the Caterham cockpit at the Belgian grand prix earlier this seemed but appears uncertain about the possibility of repeating it this weekend. “Caterham wants me to race in Abu Dhabi but I am not sure if I will take up the offer,” he said.

As it stands, it is assumed that Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi will fill the second Caterham seat.

November 16, 2014
F1 2014: Sochi Success For Hamilton

The most exciting thing about the first ever Russian Grand Prix was … nothing. If truth be told the only moment that induced any sort of eyebrow-raising was a 60 meter lock-up by Nico Rosberg as he tried to steal the lead of the race from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Other than Rosberg’s rather frantic attempt at getting ahead, the Sochi Autodrom turned out to be a bit of damp squib. The layout, once again designed by Hermann Tilke, provided a technical challenge to drivers when it came to stringing a perfect lap together but as far as the track surface is concerned it most definitely did not want to play ball with Formula 1. Pirelli had the difficult task of predicting what the track surface would offer up and based their decision on how other new tracks had performed. While keeping this in mind it is difficult to blame the Italian tyre manufacturer for bringing tyres to Russia which are almost literally bulletproof.

So indestructible were the Pirelli’s that Nico Rosberg, forced to pit on lap 1 with severely flat-spotted tyres, was able to run a 52 lap stint on one set of tyres. It wasn’t a gigantic risk nor was Rosberg, at any point, required to tip-toe around and nurse his tyres. No, he was able to push and for most of the stint set a pace comparable, and sometimes even quicker, than the race leader.

We commend thee Pirelli for producing the world’s first everlasting F1 tyre. But we implore you to chalk this up to a frightening one-off incident that should never again be repeated.

Saturday’s qualifying certainly provided more entertainment as Williams’ star Finn Valtteri Bottas nearly snatched pole position from Lewis Hamilton’s grasp. It wasn’t to be for the Williams driver but he put himself in the best position possible to fight for a podium finish.

The early part of the race and the Finn’s pace suggested that he could perhaps have a go at the leading Mercedes. But this too fizzled out towards the middle part of race as Hamilton started steadily building the gap to the Williams. Bottas eventually finished third and set the fastest lap of the race.

Jenson Button followed through on the pace McLaren had promised in the free practice sessions with a fine fourth place finish. It was a lonely drive for the Brit who ran as high as third during the opening stint of the race. The second McLaren of Kevin Magnussen recovering from a five place grid penalty induced by a gearbox change,

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished an uninspired sixth and remained as coy as ever as to his future in the sport. Many have already plopped the Spaniard into a McLaren seat for 2015 but Sky’s Ted Kravitz hinted, post-race, that the double champ could be off to Lotus.

Daniel Ricciardo did his level best to get past the Ferrari of Alonso but ultimately could do nothing about it and finished ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel in seventh.

Kimi Raikkonen spent most of the 53 laps embroiled in scrap with the two Toro Rosso drivers but eventually got the better of them and finished a distant ninth. Sergio Perez nearly cut it too close on fuel consumption but held on to bring the Force India home in tenth.

Felipe Massa attempted an aggressive two-stop strategy but never quite recovered from a technical issue in qualifying; the Brazilian finished eleventh.Only Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi and Marussia’s Max Chilton failed to see the chequered flag. As a sign of respect to Jules Bianchi the Marussia team chose to run only one car this weekend.

The Russian Grand Prix most probably didn’t even register a blip on the thrill meter. But it did give us another bit of insight into the title fight. Now that Mercedes has been crowned worthy Constructor’s champions it leaves a straight-up fight for the driver’s crown. Rosberg’s crack at snatching the lead was a tad anxious. Still the German has not beaten Hamilton on a level playing field. We’ve talked a lot about the psychological battle between these two. Is it now finally starting to tell on Nico Rosberg?

October 13, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

Drivers:

Nico Hulkenberg (Force India)

Jules Bianchi (Marussia)

Romain Grosjean (Lotus)

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)

Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham)

Jenson Button (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kamui, as we’re at your home race, can we start with you? Last time we saw you here you were on the podium. Just tell us what that was like for you to be on the podium at your home Grand Prix?
Kamui Kobayashi: Well, first of all, thank you for this special seat! I think in 2012, my first podium ever, in Suzuka, it’s a great memory. After 2012 I break for a year and then come back in 2014. It’s a very difficult situation right now but still I’m back at Suzuka. Of course, I think we have a lot of rumour before coming here but at least we can announce that we are here and we will race this week. I’m very happy about that.

Q: Indeed. In terms of the likelihood of being on the podium, it’s perhaps a different story this year, but what do you say to those who have supported you. You’ve got a huge amount of fans here and of course it’s a fantastic Grand Prix in terms of the home crowd?
KK: Yeah, I really appreciate all the support. I’m here because of only fan donation and these donations are very important for me and we show how the Japanese supporter is always supporting Formula One, also myself as well. Next year, Honda will be back and I think this will be helpful for all the Japanese fans and also maybe other Japanese companies as well. This could help one day. At least I’m here for this year and I think it will be really exciting and still it’s only Thursday so many fans try to get [things] signed and it’s still very nice to see for me.

Q: Thanks, I hope you have a great weekend. Jenson, you sometimes say that this is a home Grand Prix for you as well and I remember being told you’re very much a Honda driver as well, which we’ll talk about in a moment, but first tell us what you feel about this race. You’ve finished 14 out of 14 Japanese Grands Prix, plus one win, it’s a remarkable record.
Jenson Button: Yeah, I think the one win stands out for me as a result, rather than just finishing 14 races. Winning here in 2011 was a very special victory for me and also being chased down by Fernando and Sebastian at the end of the race was a proper climax. Really stands out in my Formula One career.

Q: But a little bit of a shadow on the horizon at the moment, in that we don’t know which way your career is going. What do you know? What can you tell us? Is it likely to be decided fairly soon?
JB: I… I don’t know! As you know I can’t discuss anything to do with the contract.

Q: It’s the same with your team-mate?
JB: Exactly.

Q: So, what are your hopes for the Grand Prix this weekend?
JB: I hope that we can race on Sunday, that’s the first thing, I think. With a typhoon coming this way it’s always very tricky. Hopefully it will miss us. It’s going to be a mixed weekend in terms of weather; tomorrow there’s a good chance of rain as well. I think it’s really just thinking on your feet and staying on top of all the different weather forecasts. But this is a circuit I think we all love. It’s fast, it’s flowing, there’s a lot of support here from the fans, not just for Japanese drivers but for every driver in Formula One as a whole, so it’s always great coming here and I’m looking forward to getting out there tomorrow.

Q: Nico, if I can come to you next. Since the summer break you’ve been beaten by your team-mate at every single race. What’s changed? What’s happened there?
Nico Hulkenberg: I think obviously race weekends didn’t go as flawlessly as before and for one or other reasons we didn’t always achieve our maximum on my side of the garage but nothing too concerning I think. Obviously Hungary was a mistake, technical issues in Monza, unlucky in Singapore, so there is always a story behind it. But overall, if we put it together we are still a candidate for points and still looking competitive.

Q: And your team principal is full of praise for both drivers, so what does the future hold?
NH: We’ll see. I think there’s not much to report at the moment but everything is looking quite positive.

Q: OK, Jules, just rate your season so far, how do you think it’s gone?
Jules Bianchi: After the break it was a bit more difficult for us. In Spa I had an issue and in Monza we were not so competitive and then Singapore was a difficult race again. I think overall it was a good season and I’m quite happy. Now I hope we can do some good results again.

Q: You’ve sort of served your apprenticeship, if you understand that expression, at Marussia. Do you think you have achieved all you need to achieve there to continue in Formula One and to move up?
JBi: Well, you can always do better for sure but it was a good season for me. I’m still trying to do my best in the next races we’re going to have and we will see. But for sure I have no regrets.

Q: Romain, also rate your season so far if you would.
Romain Grosjean: Kind of missed the podium. It’s a tough season for all of us. We started a little bit on the back foot and it takes time to recover but things are going slightly better since Singapore. I think we have seen that the car was a little bit more competitive and hopefully it will be the case until the end of the season. There are a few updates coming. Even though they are small pieces it makes a good difference in how you prepare for the future. I think the key now for Lotus is to get on top of issues to prepare as good as we can for next year.

Q: The frustrations clearly spilled over a little bit in Singapore, as we heard on the radio messages. How difficult a season has it been for you?
RG: Well, the season is difficult. Of course part of the frustration… part of that radio message was frustration from the beginning of the year. When you’re racing in Singapore it’s certainly one of the toughest tracks to race, qualifying lap, you give 120 percent of everything you can, you take every single risk to get close to the walls without kissing them too much and the straight line your engine cuts – so I wasn’t very happy with that. I think it was clear. But we’ve found the issue with Renault, they solve it for the race and things were going better. I think it was just the fact that it was hot, humid and trying to get 100 per cent of everything and suddenly you get issues on the straight line where it’s easy not lose time.

Q: Sebastian, you’ve obviously had a remarkable record here, you’ve been on the podium the last five years plus the wins as well. And you’ve just had your best result of the year in Singapore. Has a corner been turned? Is it the new chassis? What’s made the difference?
Sebastian Vettel: I think it’s all the small bits coming together. Obviously we hardly ran the first half of the season, we had lots of issues in winter to overcome and then a lot of issues on my side in the first half – which is never great to get the right feeling and get things lined up the way things should be lined up. I think now we had a little bit more consistent weekends, a bit more time to look at all the stuff and I think it’s coming our way – but there’s still huge potential which I feel we are getting closer but there’s a lot of work ahead of us to make sure we extract it in the next couple of races as well.

Q: You know the podium here very well – is there the possibility to be back on it?
SV: I think there always is. Yeah, there’s some discussions on the weather. Kamui just gave me a brief update on the Typhoon. I think chances are a bit 50:50 but there’s always a chance to do well, race well. This circuit suits me, suits our car so I think we should be a little bit closer this weekend again. Whether we are as strong as Singapore is difficult to say. It’s a different nature of track – but a track I definitely enjoy and an atmosphere that I really enjoy, so I’d love to be on the podium, yes.

Q: But there is a little bit of a shadow hanging over a lot of drivers at the moment with the possibility of penalties. How do you approach that?
SV: Well, I’m one of them! Yeah. The rules are as they are but surely at some stage we have to take some penalties, which penalties those will be is not entirely clear yet. We’re waiting for some parts, we’re hoping that we get as far as we can but it’s inevitable to go for an extra engine on my side – which is already ten positions after qualifying. Potentially there is more waiting for us – which is only a consequence of the poor season we had, first half of the season, in terms of reliability. But that’s something we knew back then. Now we have to figure out what is the smartest plan, let’s say, and the smartest track to come up with a penalty.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Anne Giuntini – l’Equipe) Question to Jules. Considering the many rumours developing at the moment, if it would occur that a seat would become available – vacant – at Ferrari, would you feel ready to go there? And why?
JBi: Well, yes of course I feel ready. I have been working for that since I’m in the Academy, end of 2009. So, now I did nearly two seasons in Formula One. I think I have good experience and I feel ready for that, for sure. It looks like the logical step for me if something happens like this. Obviously at the moment both drivers have a contract so it’s not the question but if there is the opportunity I feel it would be good for me and I feel good.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Jenson, is it for you McLaren or nothing more for the future?
JB: In Formula One I’m hoping you mean. It’s the best option.

Q: (John Westerby – The Times) Question for Sebastian. We have a 17-year-old driving here this week. I wonder if you could compare when you came into F1, perhaps with the cars in particular. Does this mean cars are easier to drive now then when you came into the sport?
SV: I think one of the biggest differences is that I was able to drive myself from the hotel to the track – which I think he isn’t. He doesn’t have a driver’s licence. I think Formula One has changed a lot, especially this year so it’s not a secret cars got slower. Different to drive to previous years, probably a little bit more technical but less demanding in terms of the corner speeds we are taking. Especially on a track like this. But, y’know, I’m as excited as you to see him running. Obviously he was only done half a year, three-quarters of a year in Formula 3. I think he has a remarkable record in go-karting. So, yeah, I think he has the potential. On the other hand, you need to give him time, as much as he needs. When I was 19, joining Formula One, the first time. Of course, you always feel ready and you don’t say no if somebody gives you the opportunity to race or drive a Formula One car – but you have to take your time to get used to all the things. Not just the car but also working with the team, which is completely different in Formula One to all the other categories.

Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) On that topic, Seb, you have a number of the records for youngest race winner, pole position, world champion, I think. From what you’ve seen of Max so far and he’s part of the Red Bull family as it were, do you think he’s set to take those records from you?
SV: Well, I think records are there to be broken. Obviously he starts quite a bit younger than all the rest of us but it’s hard to say, but one day I think there will be somebody to break these numbers and one day there will be somebody again to break the numbers again, so I think that’s normal.

Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) Romain, it’s the usual question yet I would like to know how can you keep motivated during such a hard season, to keep going?
RG: Well, because you wake up in the morning and you’re still a Formula One driver. It took me quite a long time to get to Formula One. I lost it once, at the end of 2009 and when I came back in 2012, I realised… you know, when you lose something, you realise how much you like it. So even though it’s a tough season, I still have mechanics that give 100 percent of themselves and I still love what I’m doing. Of course, it’s much more fun to fight at the front and for victories but it’s still a very good job.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, even if you say that your future next year is with Red Bull, your name still comes up a lot and it comes to Ferrari and Fernando, who might possibly leave. Anything to say to that?
SV: Well, I think there has always been rumours over the last couple of years, especially around this time of the season. I think probably more for Jenson; he already has 17 teammates for next year. I have been one of them, a couple of weeks ago, maybe next week I will be again. It’s not really in my head. As I said, coming from back… coming from the back at Singapore we made some progress and I hope that we can carry that momentum into this race and that’s really where the focus lies.

Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC TV Sport) Just a quick question for everybody following on the Max Verstappen question: what was the most powerful car/engine that you drove when you were 17 years old?
JB: I’m trying to think. It was a long time ago now. At 17, I will still be racing in karts, I was racing in – as it was then – Formula Super A. I’d driven three Formula Ford cars before that, when I was 14, so 30 horsepower, I guess.

KK: I think I did Formula Renault but I think that’s it, and I don’t remember how much horsepower.

SV: I think I did a test, when I was 17, in ChampCar in America so around 750 horsepower.

NH: Same as Jenson, karts.

JBi: Yeah, I was racing go-karts. I think I did a test in Formula Renault, so 180 horsepower.

RG: Technically, in horsepower, I think it was my mother’s Subaru. On a race track, for the record.

Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Kamui, obviously your home race gives you lots of reasons to be cheery and look forward to the weekend but back in Oxfordshire, the team is going through its own troubles at the factory. I wonder if you could summarise what the mood is like in the team, has that affected it at all or is it as usual?
KK: Well, first of all, I won’t get the same information to the boss because I think that our boss is flying over here, so we are waiting what happens really. I think it’s very difficult to say. At the moment, I think we can still communicate with the UK so I think it looks as if the company is OK but I don’t know the rest really. Unfortunately.

October 2, 2014
André Lotterer to replace Kamui Kobayashi at the Belgian Grand Prix

The Caterham F1 team announced on Thursday afternoon (20 August 2014) that three time Le Mans winner, André Lotterer, will drive for the team at this weekends Belgian Grand Prix.

Lotterer will take Kamui Kobayashi’s seat for the weekend. However, the Japanese driver will still remain part of the team and is expected to be back for the Italian Grand Prix.

Lotterer isn’t new to single seater racing. He was the test driver for Jaguar F1 team in 2002 and he’s raced in F3.

“I am delighted to be given the opportunity to take part in a Formula One race weekend,” said Lotterer

“I want to thank Caterham F1 Team for this chance. I’m ready for this challenge and I cannot wait to jump in the car and make the most out of the weekend ahead,” he added.

“I will need to get settled and used to the car quickly, as the team has worked on a number of updates and we will need to have as much time as possible out on track to optimise the car’s performance.”

“I really enjoy racing at the legendary circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, it’s one of my favourite tracks and it’s very close to where I grew up, so this makes the weekend even more special and one to remember.”

Photo Credit: Caterham F1 Team

August 20, 2014
2014 Canadian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Adrian SUTIL (Sauber)

Nico HULKENBERG (Force India)

Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham)

Felipe MASSA (Williams)

Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Jenson, we’ll start with you if we may. A 2011 winner here, of course, memorably, and you’re currently eighth in the championship. This circuit has the famous wall of champions on the outside of the final corner. The back of the cars this year, of these designs, is quite light. I wonder if you could a little bit about how you read the challenge of driving these cars around this track this weekend.

Jenson BUTTON: OK. Good morning. Yeah, it’s going to be tricky here, It always is, especially with the cold circuit temperatures we’ll probably have on Friday. So yeah, the last corner will be tricky, but we’re sort of used to that I think. We’ve been driving these cars all year and if we can drive these cars around Monaco I think we’ll be alright around here. It should be an interesting circuit. It’s a circuit where you don’t really use downforce so much, it’s a lot more mechanical grip. There are long straights, so we can use the power of the engine – for us that’s great, with the Mercedes engine. And it’s about working with the tyres. I think it’s going to be tricky around here. It’s supposed to be hot on Sunday, so you’re going to have to really look after them. But we’re reasonably good at that.

Talking about McLaren’s situation: how do you compare this year to last year and the competitiveness and the problems that you have? Are they more fixable than last year’s problems?

JB: Yeah, I think from the outside it doesn’t look spectacular, our season this year, and you’d say it looks quite similar to last year but it’s very different. In terms of the feel of the car, it’s much better. In terms of the development of the car, it is working and we’re going in the right direction. Yeah, it’s tough. When you’ve been fighting for wins and the team is used to fighting for wins, it’s difficult when you find yourself in this situation. But also there are a lot of positives right now. With Ron back in charge, and Eric, I think they’re doing a great job of really moving the team on and changing certain things so that we will be fighting at the front again. But it just takes time. Things don’t change overnight, even though we’re pushing very hard.

OK, thank you. Coming to you now Lewis. You’re a three-time winner here, three times on pole here. What is it about you and this Montreal circuit and it’s walls around the outside? Is it the braking? Is about technique? What is it that somehow clicks with you here?

Lewis HAMILTON: I’m not sure. Good morning everyone. I guess there are certain tracks you like more than others and this is one of those circuits I particularly like. I really like coming out to Canada, I always have a great response from the fans here. It is one of the best grands prix of the year in terms of the turnout, the city, just in general the weekend, it’s a good fun weekend and I guess all of that packed into one makes it fun to drive.

You’ve said this week that you and your team-mate Nico Rosberg are friends again after Monaco. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

LH: There’s not really much to say. I said it in my message. We spoke after the race and just like friends we have our ups and down, we’ve known each other a long, long time, so it’s done and dusted and we look forward to working together to try to help this team win the Constructors’ Championship.

OK, thank you for that. Coming on to Felipe. Three seventh-place finishes so far this season, your best result here in Montreal a fourth. Williams is tied with McLaren at the moment in the Constructors’ Championship with 52 points after six races. Is that in line with your expectations?

Felipe MASSA: No. Definitely I think I didn’t have great results until now. It should be much better than what I had until now. So I had not very great races, starting with the race, where I didn’t get to corner two and you know in Bahrain I was fighting for third, fourth the whole race and then I lost a lot of positions because of the safety car. So I think it was not very great results but I’m sure we can do much better and I hope this track can be also a bit better for our car compared to Monaco, compared to other tracks. So really looking forward that we can have a lot better results, starting here in Montreal, a lot better than seventh I hope.

I wonder if you could tell us what Rob Smedley has brought to the team, because you obviously have got a very long working relationship with him. He’s now in a senior role on the engineering side, can you tell a little bit about what he’s brought to the team?

FM: A lot of experience. A lot of good direction, different things in terms of how to work, you know, in many different areas. I think he’s a very intelligent engineer, has a lot of experience. For sure, things don’t change from one day to the other, so it takes a little bit of time but not just him, we have a lot of great engineers, a lot of good people and things are getting better all the time inside the team and I’m really looking forward that from now until the end of the of the championship things will get better and better all the time.

Nico, coming to you. Fifth in the Drivers’ Championship and points scored in every round so far but no podium personally yet. Given the confidence that Force India has in the package for this weekend in Montreal, is this you weekend do you think?

Nico HULKENBERG: I don’t know. Obviously I hope and like every weekend we’re going to try to make the most of our chances here. I think the track should be OK for us. Also, it’s one of my favourite grands prix, so I really look forward to this weekend – the track, the city, everything is pretty cool. So hopefully we can have a strong result again.

Q: Monaco showed that you can get results by doing a different strategy from the people around you. As a midfield team I wonder, is that something you feel you need to do to get the results or do you feel you can compete with front running teams on equal terms?

NH: Not really, and I think looking back in hindsight we made it a bit harder for ourselves, starting on the harder tyre – the other way around with how it turned out, Safety Car etcetera may have been easier – but I think it’s always different and you always have to look at each race and each case and decide then but, generally, we’re having a good package, we’re competitive and that puts us in a good position in general.

Q: Kamui, you’ve twice finished in the points here in Montreal but after Marussia’s result at the last round in Monaco I wonder what the reaction was in the Caterham team? Is it encouragement that it’s possible to score points or concern about the position it leaves you in?

Kamui KOBAYASHI:

For us the Monaco result for us was a bit of a pain but at least we know Marussia made a great step from their updates so I have to say, I think, we have to say it’s a well done job. I think for us for sure I think we need to work. I think what happened in Monaco was a little bit… strange but at least we check with the FIA and that’s through so we have nothing to say but at least we have some upgrades for that first point.

Q: So what is the way forward for the Caterham team this season?

KK: The thing about a Formula One team is we cannot change day-by-day. We progress. Of course, it’s not an easy life for us, it’s a difficult moment right now but for sure everybody is working really hard and we know, I think, that we will progress. We need a little bit of time and we are looking forward to more later on this season.

Q: Adrian, two points finishes also for you in your career here in Montreal – but still none this year for you with the Sauber team. Your thoughts on the start that the team has made and how the upgrades have worked out so far.

Adrian SUTIL: Well, a difficult start of course. I thought it would be a little bit more easy but that’s how it is. That’s how our situation is. We try, of course, to get out and improve the car, improve general performance – yeah, coming here we try it again. We had a tough weekend in Monaco but I think Monaco was a little bit more on the better side, the car was behaving a little bit better and so it’s not only bad everything. There are a few positive things – but it’s very complicated to make it altogether at the moment. To understand the car is quite difficult for us still, so we have to work on that and we need a bit more time and hopefully it really goes soon in the right direction. It’s quite hard to be in the back there always, lot of problems come together in racing at the back.

Q: And tell us from your perspective what you think it will be like to race these hybrid turbo cars around this circuit – the specific challenges of this circuit?

AS: Well I think here we’re going to have quite high top speeds, with the new engines and the low drag the cars have so we should really be quick on the straights, maybe also a quicker overall lap time than last year – maybe – so I don’t know. It should be a circuit that suits the car in general. All the Formula One cars, not only us. And, as everyone said, it’s quite an enjoyable track with a lot of possibilities to overtake. The race should be quite interesting as well. Lot of chicanes… yeah, good weekend and I look forward to it, hopefully with a quite good result in the end.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Jenson, I don’t know if you read the team’s pre-race press release this week but there were some very complimentary words from Eric Boullier with regard to yourself, taking about your quality of input, your experience, your ambassadorial role. It all sounded very positive and almost as if they’re looking to next year, perhaps wanting to keep you. Any further progress on that? As I say, it was all very complimentary towards yourself.

JB: er…no. No more progress at all. But that’s just the way it is. We’re here, we’ve spent four good years together already. In our fifth year together. And we both want to work together in the future but it’s just not time yet. Not the right time. We have a lot of other issues to solve first before we start thinking about the future too much. We’re in a good place and y’know, I think my experience does help me a lot. I still feel very young at heart, fitter than ever and I have all that experience. I’m in a great position and I feel I’ve got a lot more to give in the future in Formula One. I definitely can’t see an end to my career. This is my life and where I want to be in the future.

Q: (Bill Beacon – La Presse Canadienne) Because this track is different to most with the braking and long straights and everything, do you think that that in any way will close the gap between Mercedes and the rest of the field?

LH: I’d be guessing but I don’t feel that will be the case. We’re particularly strong on the straights, Mercedes are but I don’t know, maybe we will be surprised this weekend but long straights do suit us very well. We have a very good power curve on our engine, Mercedes have done the best job with the engines. Renault and Ferrari would have to have done an exceptional job coming into this weekend, in terms of that area, to be able to keep up with us on the straights..

FM: Definitely it can be a good track for most of the cars that are using Mercedes (engines) so I think maybe we will see even maybe a big difference compared to Mercedes and the other teams, because as Lewis said, the engine is amazing, it’s been a very good job done by Mercedes and they have a good car under braking and everything, so for sure maybe we can see maybe even a big difference.

NH: I don’t think it will be very different to the other weeks before.

Q: (Chris Medland – crash.net) Lewis, you said that the air has been cleared between yourself and Nico between races. Did you feel the need to do the same with the team and was anything different with the way the team handled the two of you between Monaco and coming here now?

LH: There was no difference. Collectively with the team… me and Nico spoke and we individually spoke to the team and saw the team. Nothing’s really changed. We know the team has done a great job in terms of supporting us and the way it’s run with Paddy and Toto. Their support for the both of us has been great. We’re now full steam ahead. We had dinner with the team yesterday and things have never been better. We’re just going from strength to strength. People have ups and downs, as I said, so it’s no different to any other experience me and Nico have had in our whole – God knows how many years we’ve been racing together. We move on, we’re pushing forward. There’s a long long way to go in the season so we’re looking forward to that battle.

Q: (Gerhard Kuntschik – Salzburger Nachrichten) Jenson, as kind of the older statesman, you raced on the old A1 Ring; we’re coming up to Austria again, Red Bull Ring, in a fortnight; what are your memories of the Austrian Grand Prix?

JB: Lots of campsites and lots of very merry Austrians over the Grand Prix weekend. It’s one of those races that they really embrace the sort of party scene and the camping scene, which is really cool. It reminds me very much of Spa, British Grand Prix and those sort of races. It’s a true racing fan’s Grand Prix, I feel. The circuit itself… you look at it and you think ‘there’s like seven corners, it can’t be that fun to drive.’ But it is, it’s a really good circuit. I’ve enjoyed racing there in the past, I don’t know what it’s going to be like with these cars. I’ve always had fun racing there. I don’t know how much has changed, either. Turn one, we used to drive off through the gravel because that was the quickest way on the exit. I’m sure it’s not going to be the case any more. I think we’re in for a good Grand Prix.

Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) To all drivers: the World Cup is coming and your countries are going to be there, playing, so on a personal note, how much are you interested in football? Are you going to follow all the matches or you don’t care much about what’s going on there? And a second brief question: who do you think is going to win the World Cup?

Q: Kamui, would you like to kick us off?

KK: Me? On soccer? I don’t really care so I don’t follow anything. All I know is that Japan is not really strong so I don’t…

NH: Well I hope that Gemany is going to be good but I’m not a football expert but I’m sure I’m going to be behind the TV following the World Cup.

AS: I’ll be watching, cheering for Uruguay and Germany, because I’m half Uruguayan.

FM: Yeah, I love football, I watch everything, so I will maybe be watching most of the games. I really hope that Brazil can be there in the final. To win the championship at home would be fantastic so I will be there watching and supporting Brazil.

LH: I don’t follow it as much (as I used to) but I will probably catch a few games and I want to try and see if we can go out to one of the games at least. The dream will be to go and watch Brazil and England play, that would be pretty awesome.

JB: Yes, I totally agree. I’m not a massive football fan, I don’t support a team but when it comes to nationalities, countries playing, obviously I will be supporting England and I’m really looking forward to it.

June 6, 2014
F1 2014: Malaysia – Free Practice 2 – Rosberg Tops The Times

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheets for the second free practice session in Malaysia.

As the Malaysian heat intensified Nico Rosberg set the fastest time on the white-walled medium compound tyres in the second free practice session for Sunday’s Malaysian grand prix.

Track temperatures reached nearly 50 degrees Celsius during the ninety minute session which reveal a much closer pecking order. In particular, Red Bull’s Sebastain Vettel looked solid in both qualifying simulation and long run pace. Both Mercedes drivers were able to lap consistently on both compounds of tyre while Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen appeared far more comfortable with the F14T.

Rosberg’s fastest time of 1:39:909 was a whisker faster than Raikkonen who set a 1:39:944. Likewise the top ten was separated roughly six tenths of a second. Granted the level of fuel being carried by the respective teams are unknown at this stage.

The woes continued for Lotus as Pastor Maldonado failed to emerge from his garage for the entire session. Romain Grosjean managed fourteen laps before again pulling off the circuit. This time his issue was allegedly gearbox related.

The level of tyre degradation on the medium compound tyres appeared quite high as expected on the abrasive surface of the Sepang circuit. Nevertheless, it appeared to last for about seven laps before dropping off. However, the track will continue to rubber in throughout the weekend, barring no rain, which will see the tyres life extended slightly. Pirelli have reported that the difference between the two compounds are around 1 to 1.2 seconds per lap.

The laptimes on the board suggest that Mercedes are still favourites but the chasing pack, in the form of Ferrari and Red Bull, seem a lot closer than two weeks ago.

March 28, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham)

Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)

Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso)

Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Valtteri, we’ll start with you. Quite a race in Australia, 15^th to sixth, hit the wall, back down to 15^th, back up to sixth again, very eventful. But what do you think was possible that day?

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, really eventful. If we look at it as a whole race we need to be happy. With the result we have more points, double the points than last year. So it’s a good beginning for us but it could have been better. We could have definitely, without my mistake, been fighting for the podium.

Tell us a little bit about what these cars are like to drive. Obviously less rear end stability, more of a handful into and out of the corners. How are you finding it so far?

VB: Yeah, the cars have quite a bit less downforce than last year so you’re sliding a bit more, with more engine power also it makes it a bit more tricky, but I like it. I really think the cars are good fun to drive. I hope it looked good from outside I think we made an exciting race with the new cars, new engines, so I think it’s good.

Coming to you Daniil. Obviously the youngest ever points scorer with that result in Australia at the age of 19. How do you feel about that and the start you’ve made?

Daniil KVYAT: It was a good race, also eventful for us. It was everything new for me, so obviously many things to learn during the qualifying, the race, so it was good. P10 is an OK result but we always want some more. In the end, we would always like to get some more points in the future and the more we get the better it is.

I wonder if you could talk about the step up [to Formula One]. Prior to this the longest race you’ve ever done is 35 or 40 minutes, before you raced in Australia and then of course, the challenge of this weekend in particular so soon [into your F1 career]?

DK: Yeah, you’re right, it was a very long race but I found a good rhythm and it wasn’t looking so long anymore. Here it’s going to be a bit different because it’s much, much warmer. Let’s see how this challenge will be done. It’s hard for me to say now but for the moment it’s looking pretty hot but it shouldn’t be a big problem in the end.

Coming to Kamui. Welcome back to Formula One. How does it feel to be back?

Kamui KOBAYASHI: Hi, first of all I think I have to say it’s great to be back in Formula One. I think after one break doing like GT… I think definitely I enjoyed GT but Formula One is one of the top categories and I also think I was missing the development and of course racing with the top drivers, which I think is one of the most exciting times, so I’m very happy to be back.

Obviously, quite a tough opening weekend for you in Australia. What has the team learned, first of all about what happened at the start and also about the general problems you suffered at the weekend, and how much have you been able to put right?

KK: Well, first of all, unfortunately I think that in 2014 the first crash is myself is not really good! But it’s not really fault, it’s coming from the system. I do anything without the rear brake and that was the first proper braking. I mean, at this point I felt straight away, I felt panic, I was a little bit crazy because my car doesn’t stop and I can’t avoid… I feel very sorry for Felipe, just… I don’t want to crash of course like that and I don’t want to end up like that. That’s what happened, a racing accident, so I think we have to find what is really the problem, but we have to find out that it never happens the next time. I think through the week, I’d say it was a very difficult week for us because we missed the complete Friday and we went to FP3. Unfortunately we had not much time to change any settings between practice and qualifying. So, I think we went to Q2, which is very happy but I think we have to look at more potential from what we have. Still we didn’t bring any potential from the car. S I’m quite excited, looking forwards to this weekend. This week is our home race, so it’s very important to having a great result and of course I think a lot of Malaysian fans are excited about Formula One, so hopefully we can achieve something.

Q: Pastor, obviously, like Kamui, it was a tough weekend for you in Australia. Not too many laps on the board. How much has the team been able to do in the time since then?

Pastor MALDONADO: The pre-season, it was quite tough for us. We’ve been working very hard and trying to push to solve all of the problems. These kind of problems, when you get at the bottom of the problem, you see that they are not huge problems: easy to fix but it took so much time from the test. In the first race again. So I think we miss free practice, even on Saturday, quali, so we’ve not been able to do proper long runs and to see our real potential of the car because of this kind of issues we’ve had. And now I hope to have a better weekend. We’ve been working hard again to try to improve. We improve quite a lot for the race. We had never been able to run for more than 10 laps together and during the race we did more than 30 laps with both cars – which is a step forward. Now we are fully focussed on finishing the race and I think if we finish the race we will be in a good position to fight for good places.

Q: From the running that you have done, what’s the car telling you? What does it feel like? Are you optimistic about the potential of this car?

PM: It is very difficult to say, just because everything is new for us. We will need some more time in the car, especially to explore the potential of the car. It’s very difficult to say. The feeling is not bad but against the other teams we need some more time in the track and try to do our best to catch them. I think it’s going to be a very tough beginning of the season but again things are changing quickly in Formula One. We’ve been working very hard, the team is quite good on reacting and hopefully this race will be much better for us.

Q: Kimi, seventh in Australia and a bulletin from the Ferrari team since then with some quotes from you saying that one of the problems was the brake-by-wire system in particular. Would you give us a bit more detail on that?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: ah, I don’t know where that came from. It’s not the issue. There is nothing wrong with the system. Somebody asked me after the race and I said ‘it’s not that’ – because they kind of said ‘is there some issue?’ It’s not true. But just mainly setup to get the car as I like it, as I wanted to have it and I’m sure once… we’re making some stuff for me, so hopefully once we get those it will get a bit more easy to get a bit more feeling in the front end. But it will take a little while. Obviously not the ideal start for the year, for the team, not what we obviously want to achieve. We want to do much better results but after all the difficulties over the weekend and how difficult it was, how many areas, just the small things. At least we got something out and it’s going to be a long year, so hopefully we can now build on it. We have plenty of good people and they’re working flat out as a group to improve things. So, we still have things to do but I’m sure we can keep progressing.

Q: With the nature of this particular circuit, do you think that you and we will be able to see more of what this Ferrari car is capable of this weekend, perhaps than we did in Australia?

KR: I don’t know. Every circuit is different. Obviously it is very hot, humid here, slightly different tyres here I think, so I have no idea. Even from the past years it was very difficult to say from race to race and especially with this new year with new rules. It will be hard but hopefully we get a bit better feeling and overall have a bit more experience and all the things run the weekend through a little bit more cleanly and hopefully get the better results.

Q: Nico, obviously the winner in Australia, your fourth career win. What’s the reaction been like? What’s the feedback been like? How have you spent the last ten days or so? Has it been more special than the other wins?

Nico ROSBERG: Well it’s been a fantastic start to the season, definitely, yes. I think the whole team has done a great job with these new regulations, with the car and engine and powertrain that they’ve built and yes, it’s been great to win the first race, for sure, fantastic. But now… went on holiday after that, so obviously the holiday was a little bit better, thanks to the win but now back to just fully focussed on getting the most out of this race.

Q: Obviously it’s well-chronically that it was an eventful race for you here last year, particularly towards the end. Do you expect it to be another tight, close in-house battle this weekend?

NR: That would be a great thing. The chances are… yes, that we will be right at the front because it seems that we have a bit of an advantage over the other people. Of course Melbourne is not a benchmark, as a race, so we need to be a bit cautious with that but I think we’re looking good, so for sure it will be possible to do a great result again here.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Kate Walker – crash.net) For all of you: we’ve heard quite a lot of negative headlines, negative news reports about the new formula. I’d like to get some positive feedback from you on what these new cars are like to drive and how much fun they are to race.

DK: Well, it’s quite popular to criticise Formula One nowadays, I think, and there is always some new technology coming and it has happened for me to debut in a new Formula One, let’s say. It’s quite interesting, I would say. The standard, with the new technology, has to change at some point and I think it’s quite interesting. It’s still fast, it’s going to be faster all the time and we will see at the end of the year how much better it is or not, so it’s early days.

KK: I think I definitely enjoy driving them because of course it’s definitely not easy at the beginning but I remember there were quite similar headlines before, but after a few years or a few months everybody forgot, so I don’t think it’s a big problem. But for us we’re still enjoying driving. It’s more challenging to drive in dry races, so I’m pretty happy.

NR: I think it’s been all good for F1. It’s changed around the pecking order which is definitely good for everybody because the same guy winning last year… we needed a bit of a change to that, so that’s been good. The cars are great to drive, that’s fine, so I think it’s all good.

KR: I don’t think it’s awfully different as a driver, to compare last year’s cars to this year’s. Obviously there are some small detailed issues but it’s the bigger issues that make a difference for me, just to be in a different team. Every team feels a bit different, different cars. It doesn’t really change an awful lot as a driver.

PM: To be honest, I don’t have much to say, because I’ve not spent a lot of time in the car at the moment. It’s quite early, but it doesn’t feel a lot different to what we had in the past. For sure, it’s a more complicated car, especially for the technicians, for the engineers in the paddock. For us, it’s a bit easier on the steering wheel. It’s a bit more complicated but it’s what we have at the moment. It’s the same for everyone.

Q: (Elmar Dreher – DPA) Nico, with a win here, you can equalise the five wins by your father. What does that mean for you, and how confident are you to win here?

NR: I understand that it’s interesting to make comparisons and that, and even I find it interesting. After Australia, I read that he also won the first time… at the first Australian GP, 29 years ago. It’s fun to read those things but I really don’t think about that. I don’t compare. I’m proud of what my father achieved but I’m just focused on my job and getting the most out of it and definitely, yes, I’m optimistic for the weekend and there is a possibility to win.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agencia EFE) Kimi, how has your relationship with Fernando Alonso developed if it has, in any direction, since you guys have become teammates?

KR: It’s good, it always been good. Now, obviously, it’s early days but there was a lot of talk in the media from you guys, different people saying different things, but it’s been good. But the team has been trying to improve things and get the team to where we want to be.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did you have any temptation to go to drive the simulator to get better settings for you?

KR: No.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Kimi, can we say that Ferrari will be more able to attack Mercedes and the other teams here?

KR: Like I said before, we don’t know how it’s going to be here. I would say it’s a different circuit, it will be very hard for the cars, the heat. We have to wait and see how we can do. Obviously we learned quite a bit on things from the last race but then it’s the same for every team. Hopefully we can be a bit more happy and see where we end up.

Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) To all of you: now that the first race is out of the way, do you have a fair idea of who stands where in the pecking order? Or given that Albert Park is a unique circuit, is it still very much a step into the unknown?

VB: I think we have some kind of idea where every team is. Of course, like Nico said before, Melbourne is maybe not the best benchmark, a little bit different track than most of the others. We will see here, and of course, all the teams are going to improve so much race by race, especially when we get to Europe. Some kind of idea but it can change.

Q: So where do you think you are? Second? Third fastest car?

VB: Somewhere there, hopefully. It’s been a good start for us, hopefully we can maintain it because everyone is going to improve a lot, so I would definitely see no reason why we couldn’t find four top six positions.

KR: I think we are more or less where we finished.

NR: I think we look to be the quickest at the moment which is fantastic but we need to be careful with that and the opposition is not asleep, they’re pushing like crazy.

Q: Daniil, Toro Rosso got two cars into the top ten in qualifying and the race in Australia which they didn’t do the whole of last year, so where does that put you in the pecking order at the moment?

DK: Well, I hope in the points quite consistently. It would be good for us. If then we can use the conditions to our best, then hopefully we can go as high as possible, it’s always what we are fighting for and the higher the better.

Q: Pastor, hard to say?

PM: Yeah. No.

KK: Same. Sorry.

March 27, 2014
Bahrain Test: Day 4 Quotes

Lewis Hamilton ended the final day of pre-season testing on top in Bahrain.

All attention will be towards the first race of the season in Melbourne, Australia for the Australian Grand Prix. Below are some quotes from the drivers.

Lewis Hamilton(1:33.278) | Mercedes | 70 laps: “This has definitely been the most challenging winter I’ve experienced and the car is still very much a work in progress, but we’ve learnt a lot over the course of these last few weeks and overall it’s been a good winter of testing for us. There’s been an incredible amount of work put in by the team back at the two factories and on track. I have to say a special thanks to the crew here today who had a tough task in front of them but never lost their cool. It was a tough start to the day but they managed to get the car turned around for me to complete some good laps in the afternoon, which was a fantastic effort. There’s so much to learn with these new cars; it’s just mind-blowing and I don’t think anybody can be fully ready for the challenge of this season. But I feel as ready as I can be and I’m looking forward to seeing where we are in Melbourne.”

Valtteri Bottas(1:33.987) | Williams-Mercedes | 108 laps: “I think our final day of testing was very good, right up to a very unlucky failure just one run before the end. Overall, it was a still a good day as we had no other issues throughout and made a lot of progress with the car set-up. I think with this amount of testing we are as prepared for Melbourne as we can be. The team has done a great job and thank you also to Mercedes-Benz. We still need to work very hard in these next two weeks but I overall I’m happy with how testing has gone for us. As I didn’t have the chance to do a quick time on the supersoft tyre today, I am looking forward to picking up where we left off when we get to Melbourne.”

Fernando Alonso(1:34.280) | Ferrari | 74 laps: “The team did its utmost to carry out changes on the car as quickly as possible, but again today, we had planned to do more laps than we managed. There are a lot of things to learn with the use of the power unit to improve the performance of the car and we are not yet where we want to be. Everyone in the team is very competitive and we are working day and night in order to get all the potential out of the F14 T as soon as possible. We have gone through twelve days of testing that were very demanding for everyone and I would like to thank the whole team for all its efforts.”

Nico Hulkenberg(1:35.577) | Force India-Mercedes | 74 laps: “The final day of testing went pretty well. In the end we didn’t do the race simulation, but we did some long runs and signed off a lot of other things on the job list. We didn’t do as many laps as yesterday, but we still made progress and learned some new things. So it’s been two good days for me and I’m feeling pretty satisfied. You always want more time to prepare, but I think we’re in good shape. The car has come a long way since the first Jerez test and we have made progress every day.”

Adrian Sutil(1:36.467) | Sauber-Ferrari | 91 laps: “It was a good morning. We covered everything that we had planned, just in a shorter time frame. Yesterday was unlucky, but it’s better to have a problem here than in Melbourne. I feel much more comfortable after this morning’s session. Now we have a lot more data to analyse. Overall we had a tough testing programme to go through and we had unexpected problems here and there. However, we don’t get any more tests, so we will take what we have and get the most out of it in Melbourne, and I’m looking forward to that.”

Sebastian Vettel(1:37.468) | Red Bull-Renault | 77 laps: We did a lot of laps today so that was useful. We tried to do a race simulation today; for one reason or another that didn’t work out, but in two week’s time things should look a little bit different. Obviously it’s difficult to know where the car is. It’s not just the number of laps that you do, but also the type. There are so many different running options as well – full power, low power etc, so its’ impossible to say where we are. We know we have to catch up in a lot of areas, but with that said, I’m happy today, we did a lot of laps, we learned a lot and it was a positive end to a tough week here.”

Kamui Kobayashi(1:38.391) | Caterham-Renault | 106 laps: “106 laps is a good way for us to finish the tests, even though the clutch problem we had in the last hour meant we didn’t have a chance to do any of the performance runs we’d planned for today. However, I’m very happy we were able to have two such good final days in Bahrain as it’s showed that our reliability is good and that could be very important in Australia and for the whole season, especially when you look at how quite a few of the other teams have struggled both here and in Jerez.”

The next we get to see the teams and drivers again will be in Australia. The way things stand now is that Red Bull are struggling, Mercedes and Mercedes powered teams are looking very good and Ferrari, and Ferrari powered teams are not far behind. We must not, however, write off Red Bull, they have the potential to come back and dominate throughout the season.

It’s very hard to tell the pecking order for this season. A few races into the season and we will have a very good idea of where things stand. Reliability will be the big thing this season. It’s wide open for this seasons title race.

Photo Credit:

Title Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

Article Photo: Sahara Force India Formula One Team

March 2, 2014