Tag: kimi raikkonen

F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp First Free Practice Report – Verstappen Quickest

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the timing sheets in the first free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Baku grand prix.

The 90 minute session got underway in glorious sunshine in the city of Baku. However, the second longest circuit on the grid proved quite slippery and dusty as several drivers endured spins and running wide at various parts on the circuit.

While Verstappen’s 1:44:410, on SuperSoft tyres, was quickest enough for P1 it was his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, also on the SuperSoft compound, who set the 2nd quickest time overall. The first of the Ferrari’s was third in the form of Sebastian Vettel who set a 1:44:967. The first of the Mercedes was Lewis Hamilton who set the 5th quickest time for the session.

There was a lengthy red flag period towards the end of the session at the Force India of Sergio Perez bounced off the wall at Turn 8 after clipping the entry curb. The damage sustained looked quite significant as both the front-right and left-rear corners of the car were torn off. It remains to be seen if the Mexican will make it out at the start of the second free practice later this afternoon.

June 23, 2017
2017 Azerbaijan GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

PART ONE: DRIVERS – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Stoffel VANDOORNE (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kimi, if we can start with you. We’re back at a street track this weekend. You took pole position in Monaco a couple of races ago — how confident are you of a repeat here?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Unfortunately it doesn’t give you any guarantees. It’s in the past, and a completely different circuit. Not really any similarities than Monaco, but nevertheless I think we have a good car everywhere. We’ll see how it goes, we can only give our best. Hopefully we’ll be at the front again; we’ll see what happens.

Q: Pirelli are turning up this weekend with slightly harder tyre compounds than in Monaco. How do you think that’s going to affect the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes?

KR: I don’t know. It’s been close, more or less every race this year. Obviously, like I said, the circuits are so much different and it’s not a big surprise that the tyres are slightly different here. I don’t know. I’m not really interested in guessing what will happen, but I guess it’s going to be close like it’s been at other races; I’m surprised if it’s only one team is way ahead of another.

Q: You don’t want to guess what’s going to happen this weekend, but after the technical problems you had in Canada last time out, do you feel you’re due a lucky break here?

KR: No, not really! It’s not something you can count on it. I’ve had some not so good luck for quite a few times, but it’s an unfortunate thing to happen, something completely new that we never found out and it’s fixed now. Things usually go wrong when it’s the worst time it could happen, but at least we managed to finish the race and at least score some points. Obviously it was far from ideal, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Q: Thank you Kimi, good luck this weekend. Stoffel, if we could come on to you now. This is your first time in Baku. Can you give us some insight into how you prepare for a track you’ve never races at? Is it more time on the simulator? Has Fernando given you any tips?

Stoffel VANDOORNE: Definitely spend some time in the simulator, like I do before every grand prix. A lot of laps in there. At least our simulator is reliable, so I managed to do a fair amount of laps there! And then also last year; I watched a lot of the races that happened here, GP2, Formula One as well. Some stuff on onboard videos. That’s about everything I did.

Q: Is Fernando generous with his advice?

SV: So far I’ve not had a chance to chat to him, but I’m sure I will do over the weekend.

Q: You were quiet outspoken about the car’s performance in Canada — fuel saving, you referred to being ‘a sitting duck’ on the straights. Given the nature of this track layout, what are your expectations coming into this weekend?

SV: It is a street circuit as well, but like Kimi said it’s very different to a circuit like Monaco — here we reach very very high top speeds, I think similar to Canada. I don’t think we have high hopes, but we’ll try our best from our side. We have some penalties already to start the weekend, which isn’t ideal, but it’s the situation we’re in, so we’ll try our best, focus maybe a bit more on race runs, and hopefully we can play a bit during the race.

Q: Just to be clear on that, we knew about Fernando’s penalty coming into this weekend. Have you had penalties as well?

SV: Yeah, I will have a penalty as well. We’re probably competing to start at the back of the grid.

Q: Good luck this weekend. Daniil, thank you for waiting. Coming on to you, you had a very frustrating race in Canada. Having had time to reflect on what happened, what’s your version of events?

Daniil KVYAT: It was a frustrating race; it brought us zero points. It all started on the formation lap when we couldn’t get away, so we lost a lot of time. Then, trying to recover positions I was already side by side with the cars I had to overtake … had to take the start from the grid, and we got a penalty for that — two, actually — and then, of course we couldn’t with the pit stop, yeah… It was all a bit of a spiral: when it starts to go bad, it goes bad. We did 55 laps on one set and we were on course for a point, but still???

Q: Let’s hope you have better luck this weekend. Talking specifically about Baku, you qualified sixth here last year. Are you confident of being a Q3 contender again in 2017?

DK: I think, once again, last year there are two different stories. Of course we had a good qualy last year, but quite different, you know, circumstances, cars, even though conditions will be similar. Car has been similarly competitive between most of the tracks, so hopefully we’ll be in a similar place to usual. Also here, this is one of the longest straights of the championship; it’s still not our favourite part of the track, but we’ll try to minimise the laptime loss through there and try to be competitive in the other parts of the track and try to really be strong.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Simon Lazenby (Sky Sports) Question to Stoffel. Stoffel, we’ve heard your management, senior management, teammate be very outspoken about the relationship with Honda just now. Perhaps it was the first time in Canada we heard you reiterating the woes. It’s obviously making your first full season in the sport very difficult. Which direction would you like to see McLaren take with any future engine partner?

SV: To be honest, it’s not up to me to take such a decision. Yes, it’s been a difficult start to the season; it’s definitely not an ideal situation for everyone. We’d like to be fighting much higher up the grid, but as McLaren we’re trying to put McLaren’s interest at the top, and that’s what’s the most important for us now. We need to fight back, and I’m pretty sure the team is moving in the right direction. Hopefully at some point we will be competitive again, and hopefully that is sooner rather than later.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Kimi, the situation in the championship between Mercedes and Ferrari is obviously pretty tough; it’s very tight at the moment. Are you in a position where you have to play a support role to Sebastian now in the way that in the past things have happened when you’ve been at Ferrari? Obviously Felipe helped you a bit in 2007, you returned the favour in 2008. Are you in that position now of having to help Sebastian?

KR: I think we have very clear roles in the team — what we’re allowed, what we’re not allowed, and what the team wants us to do. You know, it goes by those rules and, I don’t know. I don’t know if I have any interest of, to do, to tell what we talk inside the team in here. I think Maurizio has said something and nothing has changed and we know exactly when things will go either way. That’s fine, that’s how it’s always been, at least in the teams where I’ve been. When I don’t have a chance mathematically anymore to fight for the championship, for sure I will help him. I have no issues with that, I never had in the past. I think it’s just a very easy decision for all of us, at least in our team, and obviously the first thing is to try to make sure that we can be on the top with Ferrari. That’s the most important thing. And then obviously if Seb can win, then fine. If I don’t have any chance then that’s how it goes. The first thing is to work for Ferrari, to put them in the best possible position.`

Q: (Livio Orrichio – GloboSport.com) Kimi, using the same subject. In your view, what is the reason for the difference in points? You have some difficulty with this car? You were unlucky in some races? Because it’s big difference.

KR: It’s a big difference. When you have bad races, you adapt, and obviously Seb has done very good races so far and has been strong everywhere. I was not starting very well the first races — I was not too bad, but I was not where I want to be. Here and there little problems, we have one DNF, the last race was not ideal. That’s how it goes, unfortunately. When your teammate is on the podium more or less every time, a lot of points quickly. That’s racing.

Q: (Alex Popov – Match TV) For Daniil. You just posted a very special video of your training – close combat training – on social media. It’s a message to somebody, or it’s just a coincidence?

DK: No, it’s not a message! Training for sure, I do it in Monaco, it’s my hobby and I have a very good trainer there for that sport and really interests me a lot and very enjoyable. It’s not easy to find time with the Formula One calendar for some other specific training. Usually it’s either running or cycling and everything else gets quite boring – so tried something else for once and really liked it, so like to do it, so simple as that.

Q: Daniil, for people who haven’t seen the video can you just elaborate what it is you’re doing?

DK: Come to see my video! No, I just like to train, I got to know a very good boxing trainer in Monaco and because in my gym there is a ring, they can put you in to train. I just ask him to help me a bit to learn it. Very interesting. Very interesting sport, very exhausting for 12 rounds to be there. Very interesting.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Question to Dany – I suppose that could come in very handy if you have any more disagreements with Carlos? Speaking of which, what happened in Canada with a couple of penalties, the retirement for you and then the disagreement over the towing issue in qualifying. Have you got to the bottom of that? How have you resolved it?

DK: Starting with that double penalty, I think we spoke behind closed doors after it with the correct people. With Charlie Whiting, with Jean Todt. It was all very straightforward, all very simple and everyone said his opinion and everyone understood perfectly and the end of the conversation was very positive and everything has been said on that matter. So everything is clear now. Regarding the other matter which you just mentioned, everything has been told already as well and everything will be tried to keep inside the house. That’s what I hope for, at least, from my side.

Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Stoffel. You mentioned you’re going to have to carry some engine penalties this weekend. Are the engine bits that are going to be on the car this weekend going to give you any more performance or reliability from the bits that will be on there?

SV: Difficult to say, to be honest. I think it’s probably more a question for Honda. I don’t think there’s many new introductions this weekend, so I don’t think it will be too different.

Q: Just as a follow up to the towing in qualifying that Daniil was asked about, is it something, given the length of the straight here this weekend, that you’re going to work with your team-mates during qualifying to get a tow to improve your lap-time? Kimi, perhaps you could answer that one?

KR: No, we haven’t had any plans. I mean, we haven’t really done it in any place so I don’t see that’s going to happen. Probably the biggest reason is that it’s very difficult to manage with all the cars you get. The most important thing is to try to get the free lap for yourself. When you try to plan it like that it’s actually quite difficult to make it happen every time and it can easily make more harm than good for both of you. So…

June 22, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

In 2016 Azerbaijan became the newest addition to the Formula 1 calendar as it hosted the country’s first ever street-race in the capital city of Baku. F1’s favourite designer Herman Tilke envisioned and delivered a circuit, which combined the city’s uniquely historical buildings with the modern, and technical world of Formula1.

The Baku City track, the third longest of the season, is an exercise in extreme opposites. While the mid sector of exceedingly tight and twisting corners is more akin to Monaco it is in stark contrast to the enormously long straits that dominates the first and final sectors of the lap and are more reminiscent of Monza. The circuit is the first counterclockwise track on the calendar and provides one of the most picturesque backdrops seen all year.

The last time Lewis Hamilton steered his Mercedes around a proper street circuit was the Monaco grand prix. To put it mildly, thing didn’t go well for the Brit on those streets. Though the Baku race is similarly contested on the streets of Azerbaijan it doesn’t have too many parallels.

There are a few factors in Hamilton’s, and to a greater degree Mercedes, favour this weekend. The longest strait on the F1 calendar will allow Merc to focus on its best feature, the engine. Further the Pirelli compounds on offer this weekend in the soft and supersoft compounds, which Mercedes favour far more than the ultra- and supersoft combo.

From last year’s tyre performance it doesn’t appear that degradation is a big factor in Baku, which saw driver able to run long stints and make fewer pitstops. As there are fewer opportunities for a creative pit strategy on Sunday it ultimately increases the importance of qualifying well on Saturday.

Similarly, there are a few factors that Hamilton will have to overcome this weekend in order to claw back the lead of the driver’s championship. The most important of these are undoubtedly the two Ferrari’s of Vettel and Raikkonen. Be it because of damage or unreliability the Canadian grand prix was a messy one for Ferrari. It was the type of grand prix that will, undoubtedly, harden their resolve of securing a good haul of points this weekend. Given their relative performance on other street circuits so far this year form dictates that the prancing horse will be no slouch around here either.

In 2016 the Italian team delivered a solid race here last year despite not being near the performance level of Mercedes. In far less competitive car than they have in 2017 Sebastian Vettel finished second while Kimi Raikkonen ran third for the majority of the race. Since the Monaco grand prix the team has vehemently denied any team orders are at work between its two drivers. It will make for interesting viewing should the Scuderia be faced with a similar scenario, to Monaco, this weekend.

Valtteri Bottas could yet prove to be a factor for Hamilton too. The Finn is currently thirty-six points adrift of his teammate and that with a retirement in Spain. His first race win, in Russia, came on a weekend when Hamilton was inexplicably off the pace and he delivered in Monaco too and he firmly believes that in a head-to-head battle he has the measure of his teammate. “I think we [Hamilton and I] are very close, I don’t see a difference,” he said. “I believe in myself. But he was shown up in Canada on a circuit where he is considered to be somewhat of a specialist. It’s as perfect a time as any to beat Hamilton in a direct fight.

June 21, 2017
F1 2017: Canadian Gp Review – Hamilton Strolls, Ferrari Struggles

As far as grand prix wins go Lewis Hamilton’s win in Canada appeared no more taxing than a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive. Untroubled, the Mercedes driver, for the sixth time in his storied F1 career, reached the chequered flag first on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton’s unchallenged run to the chequered flag was set up by an exquisite qualifying lap on Saturday which netted him a 65^th career pole position. It was this premium starting position on the grid, and a steady get-away, which ensured that he stayed clear of the mess of the first few turns. Though championship leader Sebastian Vettel started alongside in second he fell victim to Max Verstappen who rocketed off the line from fifth to second. In his charge to the front, the Red Bull driver clipped Vettel’s front-wing prompting the Ferrari driver to pit for a replacement and dropping him to 18^th place.

The carnage wasn’t only contained the sharp-end of the grid either. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz triggered a crash that damaged Romain Grosjean’s Haas and ultimately eliminated himself and William’s Felipe Massa from the race all on lap one. The incident prompted a short safety-car period on the first lap. The race resumed with Hamilton able to easily pull away from second-placed Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was running comfortably in second until the Red Bull grinded to a halt with a battery failure on lap eleven. It cleared the way for Bottas in the second Mercedes but the Finn was unable to keep pace with Hamilton for the majority of the race.

Behind Daniel Ricciardo drove faultlessly to maintain third place ahead of the Force India pair of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. While both the Force India cars sat within striking distance of Ricciardo they were never able to get close enough to attempt an overtake. By now Ferrari had opted for a different strategy that had both Raikkonen and Vettel on the ultrasoft tyre for the last 30-odd laps of the race.

Finally, the Ferrari’s were able to run at the pace that was initially expected of them as they closed down on the battle for the final podium spot. However, as Raikkonen closed on the back of fifth-placed Ocon he suffered a brake-by-wire issue that cost him six seconds a lap. Ultimately, the Ferrari was nursed home seventh place. Vettel, without such issues, boldly scythed his way past both the Force India drivers to finish an impressive fourth.

Ferrari’s pace didn’t simply evaporate into thin air either more so it was the fact that they were unable to run in clean air, which is indicative of how an F1 car’s true pace and performance can be nullified if it is running in traffics. It’s no secret that all F1 cars are designed to run in clear air and as soon as that air becomes disturbed, by a car in front, the ‘dirty’ air causes too much instability to run as efficiently as possible. This is an issue, which Ross Brawn, as part of the new F1 brain trust, has earmarked in his quest to make F1 more “raceable.”

On any other day Force India would’ve been pleased with a double-points finish but Perez’s ignored called to swop positions with teammate Ocon, on significantly fresher tyres, likely cost the team a podium finish. Nevertheless, the pair finished fifth and sixth ahead of an ailing Raikkonen in seventh. Nico Hulkenberg brought his Renault home in a solid eighth ahead of Montreal-native Lance Stroll who scored his first F1 points with a fine ninth-place finish ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean in tenth.

After the struggles of the Monaco the Canadian grand prix was a must-win for Hamilton and Mercedes. He now trails championship leader Vettel by twelve points ahead of the Baku grand prix in two weeks time.

June 12, 2017
Hamilton takes record breaking Canadian GP pole

Lewis Hamilton put in a stunningly sexy lap of 1:11.459 to claim his 65th pole position in Formula 1, equalling the record held by Ayrton Senna. Hamilton’s lap was about as perfect as they get and Senna’s family presented the emotional Brit with a replica Senna helmet, the original of which he will receive at a later date. Lewis is now three more pole positions shy of the all-time record held by Michael Schumacher.

The Brit finished just 0.3s ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who will line up alongside the Mercedes on the front row. Finnish drivers Valterri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen take up the second row ahead of the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Bottas finished a massive 0.7s off Hamilton’s time, saying that “just couldn’t put the lap together”.

Brazilian Felipe Massa put in another strong performance for Williams and will start seventh on the grid ahead of the two Force India drivers, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.

Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz will start from 11th and 13th respectively. The Toro Rosso du0 was split by the McLaren-Honda of Fernando Alonso who celebrated his 12th place grid slot as if it were pole position.

Romain Grosjean and Joylon Palmer will start from 15th and 16th on the grid ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne and home favourite Lance Stroll who will be racing in his first home grand prix. The local boy’s final flying lap was compromised by an early drop of the chequered flag in Q1 brought about by Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein approaching turn 1 too wide, losing the rear of the car, and hitting the wall. Wehrlein will start from the back of the grid ahead of Keving Magnussen and Marcus Ericsson.

June 11, 2017
Ferrari Finish 1-2 in Final Canadian GP Practice

Sebastian Vettel lead a Ferrari 1-2 finish for the final free practice session for Canadian Grand Prix ahead of qualifying later this afternoon.

Vettel set the pace earlier in the session with his lap time continuing to get faster. Raikkonen kept close to Vettel’s times but after his final timed runs on the ultra soft finished the session 2nd fastest 0.292s off Vettel’s 1:12.572.

Hamilton finished the session 3rd fastest with his fastest time of 1:12.926, was 0.354s off the pace. Mercedes seemed to struggle with tyre warm up with Hamilton and Bottas going for 2-lap warm up. Bottas was 5th fastest at the end of the session with Max Verstappen in the Red Bull between the Mercedes in 4th.

Nico Hulkenberg showed some good one lap pace to put his Renault into 6th fastest ahead of the Williams of Felipe Massa in 7th.

Daniel Ricciardo who complete the most laps from all the drivers this session was keen to maximize his track time after technical issues limited his track time yesterday. He finished 8th fastest 0.973s off the pace.

Esteban Ocon continued to impress finishing 9th fastest beating his team mate Sergio Perez who could only manage 13th fastest.

Carlos Sainz finished off the top 10 just a little over one-second off the pace.

From the outset is looks as if Ferrari have the upper hand going into qualifying and a Ferrari front row lockout seems likely. Mercedes do look like they’re holding back on some pace and despite being three-tenths down, they may just edge Ferrari come Q3 when they unleash their Q3 engine mode.

June 10, 2017
Canadian grand prix Friday practice round up – Hamilton & Raikkonen top the sheets

It was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who ruled the practice sessions for today.

Hamilton edged out Sebastian Vettel to set the fastest time in the first free practice session ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. The three-time world champ set the benchmark at 1:13.809 – 0.198s ahead of Vettel. – on a very green Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Valterri Bottas finished third fastest with the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen finishing in the 4th spot. The two Force Indias put in a strong start to their weekend with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finishing the session 5th and 6th fastest.

Stoffel Vandoorne managed to complete an entire session in his McLaren-Honda but alas, it was woe again for Fernando Alonso who referred to the time spent on the session as “wasted”. After just 13 laps Alonso’s return to Formula One from the Indy500 was cut short. Following a loss of hydraulic pressure, Alonso was forced to pull over at Turn 10 where he promptly got out of his car and chucked his headrest from the car in frustration.

The second practice session saw Kimi Raikkonen clocking the fastest time with a 1:12.953 on the ultra-soft tyres – a good 0.215s clear of Hamilton. The Finn showed consistent pace on the purple tyres and had a far better time than team-mate Vettel who complained about being stuck behind Hamilton after he’d spun off on his first long run of the session. Hamilton appeared to be randomly backing off and also making mistakes which left Vettel a little less than happy. The German came in third quickest, 0.265s off Raikkonen’s time, and 0.050s behind Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas predictably rounded out the top four drivers.

Max Verstappen stopped out on track with a gearbox issue, interrupting the session with red flags. It was not a fun day for the Red Bull team since Ricciardo only managed to put in 8 laps thanks to an engine issue.

McLaren managed to get Alonso out for a late flying lap following his hydraulics issue. The Spaniard finished seventh fastest behind Felipe Massa in 6th. Of course he was on low fuel while everyone else was doing long runs so it’s hardly representative of what we can expect for the rest of the weekend.

The Force Indias finished 8th and 10th, with Daniil Kvyat splitting the two. Romain Grosjean finished 11th quickest, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Renault, Carlos Sainz’s Toro Rosso and Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen.

Ricciardo was 15th fastest ahead of Renault’s Jolyon Palmer. Lance Stroll could only manage 17th fastest at his first home grand prix – 1.177s off teammate Massa’s time. Marcus Ericsson, Stoffel Vandoorne, and Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the bottom of the timesheets.

June 10, 2017
F1 2017: Canadian Gp Preview – Can Mercedes Stem Ferrari Momentum

Formula 1 swops Monaco for Montreal as it heads to the seventh round of the season around Canada’s Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

The flowing circuit set in the heart of the St. Lawrence Seaway has become a classic on the F1 calendar, which often turns up unpredictable races. Although it’s one of the shorter circuits it’s flowing nature allows for close racing and, though limited, some chances for overtaking. While the average lap speed is significantly higher than at the last round in Monaco the close proximity of the walls and barriers create the impression of a street circuit. The demand on brakes is some of the highest experienced in the entire season.

For the first time in more than a decade the ardent Canadian fans will have a local driver in the mix. Williams’ Lance Stroll will be the first Canadian to race on home soil since Jacques Villeneuve’s retirement in 2006. So far, Stroll’s journey into F1 hasn’t been an easy one with several retirements and a couple of mistakes making for a brutal introduction to the sport. Nevertheless, if the Montreal native is going to step up anywhere this would be the best place to do so.

In 2016 the Canadian grand prix was well within Sebastian Vettel’s grasp but it slipped through Ferrari’s fingers as they called an ill-advised strategy, which cost them victory. While the German comfortably held of second-placed Hamilton the Ferrari pitwall decided to opt for two-stop strategy while Mercedes ran a one-stop race, which ultimately resulted in the top step of the podium for Hamilton.

The picture in 2017 looks far different than twelve months ago. This weekend Vettel arrives in Canada with a healthy lead in the championship and with a car quick enough to challenge for victory. However, there is a suspected reliability issue with the turbo unit on Vettel’s Ferrari. If the unit has to be replaced it could mean a five place grid penalty for the championship leader.

But while it remains only a threat without official confirmation of a penalty Ferrari will be feeling confident ahead of the weekend. The efficiency of their aerodynamic package in 2017 has proven to the class of the field and should come into its own around the circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The most significant area in which Ferrari hold an advantage is its relatively big set-up window. The coveted sweet spot of balance between both axles of the car seem easier to come by for Ferrari than its championship rivals Mercedes. It is this specific factor that is Ferrari’s biggest advantage in 2017.

Further to Ferrari’s advantage is the combination of ultra- and supersoft tyre compounds nominated by Pirelli for this grand prix weekend. The Ferrari’s liking of the ultrasoft tyre stems from its ability to bring the compound into its optimal working range quicker than Mercedes as was seen in Monaco and Russia. Still, Merc is far from out of the equation. The naturally cooler temperatures often experienced over the Canadian race weekend will be to the advantage of Mercedes as it decreases the operating temperature window of the tyre.

The Canadian Gp weekend is an interesting one for Mercedes as both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have shone, to varying degrees, on this circuit. While Ferrari has shown no qualms in advancing the interests of Vettel, as the championship leader, it begs the question as to what call Mercedes will make should Bottas be in front of Hamilton.

June 7, 2017
F1 2017: Monaco Gp Review – Ferrari Score 1-2 Victory on Monte Carlo Streets

Victory around the Monaco streets had eluded Ferrari for sixteen years until yesterday’s comprehensive one-two victory.

Kimi Raikkonen, after a sublime pole-winning lap on Saturday, led the field cleanly through the first corner with teammate Sebastian Vettel behind. The pair quickly set the pace and pulled away from third-place man Valtteri Bottas and the two Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Early on in the piece it was evident that none of the chasing pack would have the pace to threaten either Ferrari.

Despite Ferrari’s domination of the weekend debate has simmered around the Italian team’s conduct. While social media has been abuzz with passion and positivity for Ferrari’s other two wins this season the tone of the comments were slanted more towards disapproval this time around.

While Raikkonen comfortably led the opening stint of the race from Vettel by roughly two-and-a-half seconds the pair began to loose time behind back-markers. It meant that Vettel closed to within a second of Raikkonen before the fated strategy call. Traditionally the lead car on the track is the one that receives the optimal strategy. This wasn’t the case for Ferrari and Raikkonen in Monaco as the Finn was called into the pitlane first only to emerge amongst a bundle of traffic. With Raikkonen mired in traffic Vettel was in clear air and free to push as much as possible. He turned a stunning pace too by dipping in the low 1:15s before his stop. As expected he emerged from the pitlane in first position.

There should be no mistaking that Vettel had the pace to win the race. However the biggest factor that led to Vettel winning the race was Ferrari’s decision to give him the optimal strategy. Had the strategy calls been revered and Raikkonen been left out longer Vettel would’ve been in traffic and the Finn would’ve retained his P1 position. As it were, despite running five blistering laps longer, Vettel scraped into the lead by roughly half a second at the exit of the pitlane. On the fact that the dropped nearly eleven seconds behind Vettel Raikkonen’s said there was no point to run close to his teammate. “I had nothing to lose or gain. Nobody passes you here.”

Ferrari’s choice to run Vettel on the optimal strategy at the expense of Raikkonen was well within the sporting regulations and no rules were broken. But Raikkonen’s demeanour and expression as he clambered out of his Ferrari at the end of the race spoke volumes. There was little doubt that the he was unhappy and well aware of what had transpired.

Raikkonen wasn’t alone though as Red Bull made the same strategy calls with Verstappen and Ricciardo with the latter inheriting third place as a result. While Bottas held onto fourth ahead of a furious Verstappen in fifth. Carlos Sainz was undoubtedly the driver of the day with a fine sixth place finish in the Toro Rosso. A difficult qualifying session for Lewis Hamilton left the Brit in thirteenth place on the grid, which he would recover to seventh by the time the chequered flag, dropped. Romain Grosjean brought the Haas home in an anonymous eighth ahead of Williams’ Felipe Massa in ninth and Kevin Magnussen in tenth.

While several drivers attempted to barge their way through to a better position the Monaco grand prix on the whole was little more than a procession towards lap 78. Still this race is often one of attrition and keeping it out of the barriers often leads to an opportunity for points.

There was no such luck for McLaren though who had turned a relatively competitive pace throughout the weekend. Despite qualifying an impressive ninth on his return Jenson Button was relegated to start from the pit lane due to changing elements of his power unit and making set-up changes.

JB would eventually retire with car damage after attempting a far too ambitious overtaking move on Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein into the tunnel. It ended with the Sauber resting on its side against the barrier but, thankfully, without injury to Wehrlein. Stoffel Vandoorne had been running in tenth before sliding into the barrier at turn one.

Regardless of the divided opinion on Ferrari’s conduct with its two drivers the fact remains that the Italian team has landed a crucial blow for Sebastian Vettel in the driver’s championship. The German driver leaves the French Riviera with a comfortable twenty-five point lead over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

May 29, 2017
Monaco GP 2017: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Nico Rosberg)

Q: Sebastian, great weekend, first Ferrari win in 16 years, how does it feel?

Sebastian VETTEL: Unbelievable. I think it was a very intense race. I was hoping at the start to have a bit of a better launch but Kimi had a good start. I had nowhere to go, so I had to be patient. Then, there was a phase in the first stint that was really tricky, The tyres started to slide, I think you remember how that feels, it was quite uncomfortable. I think Valtteri and the pack was catching up a bit; we were facing some traffic. But then I had a… I don’t know, a second attempt, a second set of tyres. I had a couple of laps where the car was really, really good. I pushed, everything I had, because I knew if there is a chance to win then that’s it. So I was able to use that window and came out ahead, so at that point I could control the race. After the restart it was really tricky with the cold tyres. I think every one of us was really struggling, Daniel said he brushed the wall in Turn 1 first lap. So it was really difficult but after a couple of laps I was able again to control the gap to behind, so fantastic job, the team has done really well, so great thanks to them and a fantastic weekend for Ferrari.

Q: Was that planned, that when Kimi comes in, you stay out a bit longer?

SV: No, not really. I don’t think there… we couldn’t plan much. The plan was to try and pull away, which we did. Then, Valtteri had really good pace. I think we were struggling a little bit, both, with our rears and at that point the window opened. So as soon as Valtteri pitted, Kimi responded. For me, I think I still had a bit of a gap, nothing to lose in P2, so I tried to push as hard as possible and within two laps I was surprised myself to be able to pull a gap to be able to come out in front.

Q: Congrats. Kimi, I think it’s fair to say the whole F1 community would have been very happy as well to see you get that win today. What are your thoughts? You lost it during the pit stops of course, what are you thoughts on that?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It’s hard to say really. Obviously it’s still second place, but it doesn’t feel awful good but this is how it goes sometimes and we go for the next race and try to do better but it’s one of those days that you wish you get a bit more.

Q: I know how it feels. It is not a good feeling. But great result anyways. Daniel, a great recovery after a problem in qualifying. You’re pleased with that?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, happier today, for sure. Just yesterday I felt that we had so much more to offer and it was just a shame not to be able to really show our potential around here. I got my chance today when Max and Bottas pitted. I had the track to myself for a few laps and just managed to get some good times, good times in those tyres. I did some consistent laps and got in the overcut, so I was happy with that.

Q: Turn 1 after the Safety Car looked like a bit of a hit, was it scary in the car?

DR: Yeah! I didn’t enjoy that. I wasn’t sure if I damaged anything and then I saw Bottas trying to get inside me. These tyres, man, when you get a Safety Car they’re like driving on ice. It was hard. That was not a fun moment, but happy to hold it.

Q: Sebastian, back to you, the Ferrari car is looking good at the moment, do you think you are going to be able to keep it up for Canada?

SV: We hope so. Canada is a completely different track but to be honest, for now I am just going to enjoy the win here. You know yourself, it’s very, very special to win here. I think we’ll have a fun night and then we have enough time to prepare for Canada.

Q: Where’s the party?

SV: I don’t know, you tell me! You won more times than me here!

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, there are wins and there are big wins. First Ferrari Monaco victory for 16 years, as Nico was saying, first Ferrari one-two since 2010 and more importantly perhaps a 25-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, so what does today mean to you?

SV: If you want the honest answer, I think it’s most important that we had a very, very good day, a win. A supreme day for Ferrari; it’s been a long time. Yeah, I think it means an awful lot to the team. I will not find the right words but for me it was a pretty special race. At some point I was thinking, “there must be a Safety Car” and then it came at the end when I didn’t really need it but fine. I dreamt all night about how to get ahead of the start because I knew that would probably be the only chance I would get. It didn’t work. Kimi had a good start, mine was OK, so I couldn’t really go anywhere. Then, I think in the first stint I was just trying to pace myself, trying to stay within range. At some point I was really uncomfortable with the rear tyres, they were sliding quite a bit. I think when the gap opened again that’s when Kimi pitted. I knew that if I have any chance that might be it until I get the call because Valtteri was on fresh tyres so it’s likely that he will go quicker, so I just tried to push as hard as I can and wait for the call to box. When it came and then when I came out ahead of Kimi even, I was surprised myself. But for sure I take it. It’s a great win. Those couple of laps were really crucial, I was pushing flat out. I had better laps than in quali today in the race. I was very happy with how the race went. The car was great. So to sum it up, it’s just been fantastic, a fantastic weekend for the team and a great reward. This team is working very hard. Obviously this year is very different to last year but the people are the same, the spirit is the same, so it’s important that we keep pushing, improving the car. We had again a couple of new bits for this race. Yeah, the next race will be completely different but I don’t really care now, just looking forward to tonight.

Q: Kimi, coming to you, obviously you lost the race in the pit stops. The normal wisdom in Monaco is that when you’re leading you’re not the first one to make a move. But just before you made your stop we heard a radio message exchange with your engineer in which you were asking about pitting. So to be clear, were you asking for the stop or did they call it?

KR: No, I was called in and that’s about it.

Q: How do you feel about the first one to move?

KR: I don’t know, obviously it didn’t work out very well for me. But apart from that, I have no idea. I mean… that’s about as much as I can say about it right now. I got the bad end of the story today. I mean it’s still second place but obviously it doesn’t count a lot in my books at least.

Q: Thanks for that. Daniel, the story today was that the overcut was more effective: Hamilton gained six places, Sebastian got the win because of it, and you picked up two place spectacularly through that pit stop sequence. Extremely fast once you got some clean air. Tell us about your approach today?

DR: Yeah I’m really pleased to be up here. You don’t often start fifth and get a podium here. It’s hard to make any positions. I was just frustrated yesterday because I knew we had so much more to offer here, so much more to give than what we showed. I felt like I didn’t really also get to show my pace around here. It was how the pit stops worked, the two cars pitting before me and that allowing me to show a bit more my pace. That was perfect and we got into a realty good rhythm, I think we were doing 16 dead, 16 dead and at the time I think that pace was really strong and I was able to do a good overcut. It was a good combination of obviously the lap times coming from me and the team leaving me out there and allowing me to run in clean air. That was fun. That definitely made my race. The Safety Car nearly ruined my race. At the restart I hit the wall in Turn 1. I hit it pretty hard, so I thought I had damage. I assumed I would have damage. And then I saw Valtteri. You don’t see much in these mirrors. I know Jenson has talked about it. Obviously he hasn’t been in the cars this year, but he has been vocal about it. You certainly see it here and I knew Valtteri was kind of there, in my blind spot but I just managed to hold on at the restart and then I was quite happy to see the chequered because the tyres after restarts are so tricky to get going.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Viktor Bognar – Magyarszo) Kimi, do you think it would have been possible to cover Sebastian if you are stopping later?

KR: I don’t know. Obviously, this is what we got today. The end results. And obviously for the team it’s a great result. Who knows? This is really the end, we can say ‘if’ as much as we want but it doesn’t change anything.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Kimi, when you pitted you came out behind some traffic and Bottas was also behind Sainz at the time. Have you had an explanation as to why they pitted you at that point?

KR: I don’t know. Obviously, I have just finished the race. I have no idea. Obviously they have reasons for whatever we did do. It doesn’t matter here or any other race. It’s not up to me to answer that.

Q: (Ben Anderson – Autosport) Kimi, in the first stint, you seemed to have really strong pace in the early part and then from about lap 20 your pace dropped off quite substantially. Was there an explanation for that? Were you struggling with something in the car?

KR: Not really. I think the worst place was when we had lapped cars and got stuck behind them on quite a few laps but apart from that the car was behaving well. Not really having any issues. I think we had to take it a little bit easier here and there but nothing to complain really. The most lap time we lost behind the lapped traffic but that’s about it.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) Daniel, yesterday you told us maybe you’d go for the overcut but was that a decision on the fly by the team – and how did the team decide whether to pit you first or Max first?

DR: I’m not sure what position Max was in with the tyres at the time – I don’t know if he wanted to make the pitstop and try to undercut Valtteri. I assume that was probably the thinking behind it. Obviously I was at the tail of that pack and we had pretty good communication with my engineer. We were going back and forth and I think he had a pretty good idea of what my pace was and what I could do. Yeah, then once we got clear air, I think probably a couple of laps before that I closed in a bit on Max who I think was closing in on Valtteri, so we seemed to bunch-up. And it looked like they were struggling more, probably, with the tyres at that time, from what I could see, so yeah, I was happy certainly to stay out there. Then it was pretty evident that I could keep going quicker and quicker. So, it was nice to push. Especially… if you don’t start on pole here you’re normally in traffic for a lot of the race and you can’t really get a time to feel the car on the limit on Sunday – but it was good to get that block of laps in. Even though the tyres were sliding around a bit with the rear, it was still quite fun in that session of the race.

Q: (Paul Johnson – Australian Associated Press) Daniel, obviously really encouraging performance with the pace you had today throughout the middle sector of the track. How encouraged are you moving forwards? Also, can you take us through exactly what happened coming out of the Safety Car into Turn One?

DR: Yeah. Today I felt like, particularly that point of the race where we had clear track and were able to show our speed, I felt that was more representative of what we could of probably done yesterday. It was nice to at least show something this weekend and now at least get a podium for it. After the Safety Car… I knew getting behind the Safety Car, I could see Kimi in front of me trying to warm the tyres – well, keep them warm. I was trying to do the same: doing burnouts and trying to scrub the front tyres and get them going. They just turned to concrete blocks. They’re so slippery. So, I think we were all dreading the restart, to be honest. At one point you see it as an opportunity and I saw it as a potential opportunity to maybe jump Kimi but as the same time it’s… you see it as a potential risk. Coming into Turn One I didn’t feel like I came in hot at all – but as soon as I turned it, I just kept going straight and the wall got closer until I hit it. I think I hit it flush, which meant I avoided damage. Yeah, not fun.

Q: (Mike Doodson – Honorary) A bit more about the same thing. There were several incidents at Turn One you may not have known about – several people, a couple of other people crashed there. The track was breaking up – did that contribute to your accident – or your smack of the wall?

DR: If I can use it as an excuse, sure! No, certainly not. It was in my control. The excuse I guess is just cold tyres. We can see the temperatures on our dash, so we’re aware when they’re cold. We can feel them, we don’t always need to see the numbers but I could see they were very cold. They just lose temperature really quick. We’re all aware of that but we’ll see. Maybe in years to come we can have a super, super, supersoft tyre for Monaco. I think will that be not only more fun in quali but avoid scary moments like that in the race. I guess it keeps it exciting for everyone at home.

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Seb. Seb, you looked very emotional on the podium. What were you thinking about in those moments? And what does it mean to have 25 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton at this point in the season?

SV: It’s a long way so I’m not really bothered about that. It was more the fact to stand up there and see the team. I think obviously, it’s a small part that we have here at the track but thinking of everyone else back in Maranello in the factory. We got a lot of hard times last year and this year everything seems to be upside down – but the team is the same, the people are the same so it’s really clear to them. I guess in these small moments you just realise that it’s a special group of people. If things go well, we’ll work hand in hand, we must make sure we keep the momentum up in the next couple of races – but I think we’re just having a great time. Obviously, we wanted today to have the one-two and we got it. So for the team obviously it means a lot. It’s been a long time – you know the numbers better than I do – since Ferrari won here and then to get a one-two is just fantastic. I think you can see when the guys are singing the Italian anthem. I think it’s impossible not to get goosebumps and feel very special standing up there representing them. For me, I think that’s what makes racing so special. I love driving, I loved driving today, I loved a couple of laps that I had where I could really, really push to the limit and I was so close to touch the wall, a couple of times I thought, ‘OK, I’ll lose the car’ and I just managed to get it back, so that’s obviously great fun. Big adrenaline around here because you don’t have any room for error – but then to have the rewards, standing on the podium, just send a message to base, to the factory, is what it’s made for.

Q: (Beniamino Casadei Lucchi – Il Giornale) Question for Seb. It’s a fantastic victory. But now, if you were Kimi, what do you think?

SV: Well, obviously I… we were right behind each other. In that case I think it’s normal that the lead car gets the priority because you go normally faster on the new set of tyres, and I when I got the lap times from Valtteri, he was doing 16.1, I think, and Daniel was a little bit faster with the old tyres with 16.0. I was, at that point, at 16.4, so I was a little bit slower, so I was assuming Kimi must do something like Valtteri. So I just… I knew that the team would call me as soon as we were really tight to Valtteri. We had a little bit of a cushion. I was just going flat-out, trying to go as fast as I can because for me it means that I’m staying ahead of Valtteri, first of all, and close to Kimi. I was surprised myself when I came out ahead. So, yeah, I think the warm-up on the supersoft was fine. Arguably you can say it worked for Daniel and for myself today, it worked well to stay out longer but I think if you were looking at it before the race then you couldn’t predict. We are racing, we get along well, I can understand that Kimi’s not entirely happy today. He drove well in the first stint and then obviously you get the message to go in. You do the pitstop and then you push. Obviously it’s a bad surprise when somebody comes out ahead. For me, I take it, there’s no reason to lie, obviously I’m very happy but I can understand obviously that he’s upset.

Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriere della Sera) Seb, how do you feel to be the first Ferrari driver to win here after Michael Schumacher and compared to the other victories with Ferrari, does Monaco have something special?

SV: Well, I think Monaco is always something special, it’s just the nature of the weekend: a lot of attention, a lot of people which is great, a lot of support. Definitely I felt that with the beginning of the season that we had, Ferrari fans and Ferrari flags are increasing so that’s nice. A lot of people screaming, from outside, Forza Ferrari. A lot of Italian lines which in the recent years maybe I didn’t get so much so that was great to see. It’s obviously a great day for the team. I’m just… I’m pretty exhausted now, to be honest, so I’m very happy and it’s great to get the points, it’s great to get the win so it’s been a fantastic day for all of us. To be the first one after Michael for Ferrari – I don’t know, I wasn’t aware (of that). I think the most important thing is that we won today. I’m sure there were occasions more recently where Ferrari could have won but the most important is what happens today.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Seb, there’s nothing wrong with team orders, they’re not illegal and you are the leading driver in the championship and it wasn’t clear before the race whether the overcut or the undercut would be the best strategy. So was there a plan to give you a chance to get ahead of Kimi at some point?

SV: Not really. We spoke about the race before. It was clear that, as I said, I think they had the same plan to be honest so the lead car normally gets priority so if I had a choice at that point, sitting behind Kimi, if I was going in the pits first, that’s maybe what you like to do because you are sooner on the fresher tyres so I think it’s probably one of the rare occasions where the overcut turned out to be positive, so I’m really glad I made that work. From the team point of view, there was no plan of any team orders or anything and as I said, I can understand that obviously Kimi’s not happy, I would feel exactly the same, one hundred per cent the same, but as I said myself, I was surprised that the overcut… I don’t think Daniel had priority over Max going into the race. I don’t know where they are in terms of points and so on so I don’t think they look into that but I think the rule of thumb… the rule is pretty clear when you qualify ahead and you are ahead in the first stint, you get priority on the first stop and that’s what happened. As it turned out, obviously today it worked in my favour which, as I said, I will take it but we are a team at the end of the day and I can see that Kimi’s not happy.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) To Kimi and Sebastian, obviously now it seems that Mercedes is sometimes very quick but at other tracks they have serious problems. Of course it’s early in the championship but do you think this consistency of the Ferrari car can really win you the championship this year?

SV: I don’t know.

KR: It’s quite an early part of the year so we’ll see. It’s very hard to know what happens in the future but we will keep trying and try to make the best out of every weekend and just do what we can do. We cannot control what the others will do but no, I’m sure everybody will have some difficult weekends during the year. We will try to minimise those. When you have a hard time, try to make the best out of it.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Kimi, talking about lapping cars, do you think the blue flag for Button came out a little bit too… not at the right moment? The blue flag which signals to let you past immediately?

KR: I don’t know. There are obviously rules and I’m pretty sure I was – I don’t know if it was one second or one and a half seconds but I was pretty close in the hairpin and I was told that I have to be longer inside their time, so it was not enough to be once, it was something that I’d never hard before but anyhow that’s what happened and it cost a bit but that’s how it is.

Q: (Stuart Codling – F1 Racing) Kimi, given that your team will have known that when you pitted you would emerge in the vicinity of traffic, with those two slower cars ahead, do you feel that you could have gone quicker in those laps, before your pit stop, had you known this?

KR: I don’t know. We tried to figure out something that is impossible to know right now, at least from my side. No, obviously it wasn’t ideal to end up behind a lapped car and obviously it is something that definitely doesn’t help but the end result is what it is but we have to see. We just finished the race and I only know what happened and that’s it. Obviously I got second place but yeah, for the team good but not for myself, not so great.

Q: (Marco Giachi – Paddock) Kimi, as a driver, could you reject the instructions? From a technical point of view, did you have enough information to decide by yourself or are you 100 percent in the hands of the engineers?

KR: Obviously I can stop the car if I want! I’m driving it. We have a team, we work as a team and if you start… if you don’t believe what you’ve been told or how we work then it will get very complicated sometimes because we always try to work as best as we can and today, as a team, we won it one-two, that happened, but as for myself it could have been better, but like I said, we just finished the race and who knows? We will talk about it and I guess there are some reasons for everything that happens in life but we will see. As a driver, I can obviously do what I want but that’s not how we work as a team. Simple as that.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Sebastian, did you expect that Kimi would stop on lap 33 before the first part of the race and then when you knew that, did you think this is my chance to overtake him? And were you informed of Lewis’s position during the race?

SV: Well, I was told at some point where Lewis was but I didn’t really care so… You have to do your own race around here. Daniel clipped the wall at the restart, I brushed the wall on the laps to the grid so it’s really close. You try to go as close as possible to the walls and you must not allow yourself to drift away… your thoughts to drift away for even one corner so you need to stay at it. Small mistakes, like Ericsson had yesterday in qualifying, they have a big consequence and this can happen to all of us. We all try to chase the limits, we all try to go close. I wasn’t too keen to know what others were doing. Obviously we have a plan before the race. I didn’t look down and count and say OK, we are getting to the window but when I saw that Valtteri pitted, I saw it also on the screen, and then I was told that Bottas is in the pits at the same time, then I knew that he would try to undercut, otherwise what was the point for him to pit. If he believes that it’s faster then he will stay out and try to put us under pressure once we pit, so he was obviously waiting for his chance, went for it and then I was told in the same lap that Kimi’s obviously getting the pit stop and I know that I can’t pit at the same time, we were too close behind each other to come in on the same lap, so I knew that at least I get one lap, maybe I get two, I don’t know, depending on the gap to Bottas which increased again to three, four seconds before the stop. At that point I was just trying to go flat out, that was my race, obviously it made my race today which, looking at the final result, it’s easy to say but at that point it was impossible to predict. When I heard the lap times of Bottas, the first lap, I think 16.1s, I was really… OK, I need to stretch myself. As I said, I was surprised that I could take so much pace from the car and I was going even below the 16s. At the same time, Daniel was lapping in 16.0s so there seemed to be a second tyre somehow, because the laps before I was struggling as much as Kimi was with the rears so yeah, I think there were a couple of laps where we weren’t comfortable at all, Valtteri was closing the gap, that was not the plan.

Q: (Ben Anderson – Autosport) Kimi, when you look back at a race, do you feel that you were just unlucky with traffic and the way things fell or do you think Ferrari’s strategy just cost you the victory?

KR: I don’t know. Like I said, I haven’t seen… I only know what happened when I was in the car but I haven’t seen the bigger picture. I only know that we came second, Seb won, the team got one-two, obviously great for the team, but the rest… Until we have our meeting then obviously you can see all the graphs, I don’t know.

May 28, 2017