F1 Madness

Tag: lewis hamilton

  • 2018 Russian GP: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2018 Russian GP: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Paul Di Resta )

     

    Q: Valtteri, I have to say, an incredible lap. Your team-mate looked in supreme form, but you go the job done and you got pole position on a track where you took your first win last year.

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Thanks, yeah, it was a nice lap. In the end I managed to also improve a little bit. I don’t know what happened, I think he aborted his lap. It feels good. I’ve still got a bit of the shakes. It takes some concentration, but it was fun.

     

    Q: Did it take that much to get pole position? I can see you’re still shaking, the emotion are trying to get on top. Lewis on supreme form at the moment coming up behind you to congratulate you.

    VB: Yeah, maybe I don’t look like it, but I’m really happy, for sure. But it’s only the first step in this weekend. It’s a massively long run from the start line to Turn 1, so it’s going to be important to try to keep that position.

     

    Q: You can be happiest today, you got the job done. Lewis, another front row lock-out by Mercedes. You looked like you did a very good sector, but just lost it out of Turn 7?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, first of all a big congratulations to Valtteri, he has been driving all weekend and just did the better job. It’s a great track and the weather is fantastic and we have a great crowd. It was intense naturally as it always is. Just my last two laps were not special at all! But you can’t always get it right and at least we are still in the fight for the race tomorrow. But the team are doing an amazing job, so really happy with the 1-2.

     

    Q: You did the good job in Singapore. You got the best qualifying lap of everybody and you managed to control the race. You’ve come here with an upgrade and the car is working very well. How much do you owe to the team to keep that momentum and to keep that carrying on for you to take the fight to Sebastian?

    LH: We rely fully on the team. The guys back at the factory, the guys here do an impeccable job and it’s really motivating to see new upgrades come, just to see the evolution of the car throughout the year, because I’m the one that gets to go out and test it. And as I said, a big thank you to everyone here in Russia for having us, because it’s a beautiful place so far.

     

    Q: Sebastian, P3 today. I think we can say it’s not over, this weekend, but it’s very difficult from Ferrari’s point of view. Mercedes have come here with some upgrades and you just haven’t had the pace, have you?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Not yet. We’ll see, maybe it happens tomorrow. Obviously it was important to get as close as possible to them, and then we’ll see. But it’s true that they have been very quick so we’ll see. Tomorrow is a long race, we’ve seen that the tyres are very important. For today, I think it should have been a bit closer, the gap, but not enough to be a threat. I had a tiny mistake in the last sector. But I knew that I had to improve by half a second, so I had to try. It didn’t work but I’m quite happy. The car felt alright, so that makes me quite positive for Sunday.

     

    Q: It’s a long run down to Turn 2, which is the first braking zone. Do you think you can use the extra power you’ve normally got and equally is it your best chance of getting on top of these two?

    SV: I hope so. I just spoke to Valtteri and reminded him of what happened here last year. Maybe we can turn it around; that would be nice. I think it depends on the start, the initial jump, that’s important. Then I think you know where you are and then we see what we can do for the first corner but after that, as I said, it’s a long race. Tricky one, but for sure if there’s a gap we’ll go for it.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Valtteri, after a fairly tough run of form, you said you wanted a big result, so how sweet does this pole position feel today?

    VB: For sure it feels good. I’ve only once on pole, earlier this year in Austria, so it’s been a bit long since last time, so it is a good feeling. Coming into this weekend I knew that normally this has been a pretty good track for me and again managed to get some good laps in qualifying and the car just felt really, really strong. As the times show, I think the team has done an exceptional job again, bringing new bits again at this race. We’re just step-by-step improving this car, which is going to be really important for the rest of the year with the championship fight

     

    Q: Congratulations. Lewis, fastest in Q1 and fastest in Q2. It’s still a Mercedes one-two, but just talk us through your session, finishing second today?

    LH: Well, big congratulations to Valtteri, he did a great job in Q3. It’s been a really good weekend so far, honestly. I really can’t complain. I don’t know where it really got away from me in Q3 but I struggled a little bit and Valtteri obviously picked up quite a bit of pace. The middle sector was where I was slacking, as I’d call it. Anyway, it’s great to have a one-two and it’s a long way down to Turn 1 so we’ll still have a fight at least tomorrow. It’s going to be a long race, for sure.

    Q: Seb, third place today and with the pace that Mercedes’ showed in FP2, FP3 and then earlier in qualifying as well, do you think Ferrari maximised its potential today?

    SV: Yes.

     

    Q: …and in that case, what’s the potential for tomorrow?

    SV: Well, we go racing. You never know what’s going to happen. I think… I was joking with Valtteri earlier that he should remember what happened last year where he was third, I was on pole. But you never know. It depends on the start. It depends on so many things. So, we will see. As I said, we will go racing and try to do, obviously, our best. It’s been a bit of a tricky one for us. We didn’t have the pace by quite a big gap, which is a surprise but it is like this and we will fight as much as we can tomorrow.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis, question for you. You mentioned the time loss in the middle sector so far. Can you talk us through where you think you’ve been losing that time – and did that have any bearing on the mistake on the second run, just knowing you had a little bit of time to find?

    LH: The middle sector hadn’t been too bad throughout qualifying. Q1 was really good and then Q2 wasn’t so great and just generally throughout the weekend it’s been a bit up and down through that sector but been quick in the first and third. And then, yeah, the first lap in Q3, was down three-tenths in the middle sector but I was quickest in the first and last. So I knew I had to push quite a lot because I knew also he would gain time, so it wasn’t three tenths it has half a second I needed to improve. And so just over-egged it a little bit. I think I picked up a little bit of dirt on my outside tyres and then there was less grip there for the next corner.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – globoesporte.com) To Sebastian. What’s the main problem in your car? Your tyres don’t reach the temperature? They go over temperature? Or they are normal and you have understeer? Oversteer?

    SV: To be honest, I was pretty happy. I think the car was pretty good. The balance was pretty good. I think it peaked in Q3 just the way it should so I think we got everything we could. I had a tiny bit of a mistake because I knew I had half a second to find, not just a couple of hundredths, so should have been two-tenths up on the last lap – but yeah, I was pretty happy with the car. It’s not like there’s a big issue with car balance. I think we reached out full potential today.

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for all three drivers. We’ve seen that the track’s been resurfaced slightly on the approach to Turn One and that means the first row of the grid will definitely start on the new tarmac. Not sure if the second row of the grid gets it. How much has that come up with your discussions with the teams this weekend? Have you talked about it – and do you think it could make any difference off the start tomorrow?

    VB: I think it’s a little bit unknown, to say exactly how much there is going to be a grip difference, if there is going to be – but usually new tarmac tends to have a bit more grip – but also it depends on the type of tarmac. We’ve been only driving around that part of the track in non grip-limited conditions, so flat-out. We’ll find out tomorrow how it’s going to affect.

     

    Lewis, do you see it affecting the starts?

    LH: I really don’t know. Pretty much the same as what Valtteri said. So, tarmac’s always different but we’ve not done a start out there, so I anticipate it’ll probably be different to the older stuff – but whether it’s better or worse, we’ll find out. Hopefully better.

     

    And Seb, your thoughts on the grid?

    SV: I don’t know. I thought P3 is also just in the range. If not, that’s not good. I think the grip should be a bit higher. I think it’s wrong to resurface just a bit, whether that’s positions one-two-three, or four-five-six, eight-nine-ten, it doesn’t matter. If you resurface something of the grid you should resurface everything. But it is what it is.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for the two (Mercedes) drivers: of course there is a championship on the table. I would like to know about that, from both of you. How is the strategy for tomorrow? Valtteri, are you free to race completely or to look a little bit for your teammate at the start, particularly? And for Sebastian, I would like to know if you can explain what happened after Singapore, just because some new parts didn’t work or there was something else wrong?

    VB: My approach to the race tomorrow is definitely just trying to win the race. You can’t have any other goal, starting from the pole so that’s going to be the aim, for sure, but of course we’re here as a team, we’re fighting for both championships. Obviously Lewis is leading the championship with a bit of a gap to Sebastian and a very big gap to me, so always need to keep those things in mind but yeah, my approach, starting the race, is trying to win and we’ll then see how it goes.

    LH: I think all of our goals is to try and win this race. It’s a difficult track on which to try and overtake so the start will be an interesting one and after that it’s partly about strategy which we’re all pretty much on the same (strategy). We just give it everything we’ve got.

     

    Q: And Seb, your thoughts on Ferrari’s form at Singapore compared to here?

    SV: Well, I don’t think it’s too different. Obviously in Singapore I think we were looking a bit more competitive until qualifying. Then, for various reasons, we didn’t get a very good session but I think also on Sunday it was true that we didn’t have enough pace. I don’t think anything has happened, to be honest. I think the races that we’ve seen so far have been quite close. I don’t think there was a race where we had really that superior pace in the race. I think it was always a match on Sunday, at best for us. On Saturday I think it’s been one way or the other but yeah, for sure, yesterday we didn’t get a very good feeling but I think today the car was really good and I was quite happy in qualifying. I didn’t have much to complain about but we’re still not quick enough so I think it’s just what we saw today but tomorrow is the race and that’s what we focus on now.

     

    Q: (Valery Kartashev – Racing News Agency) My question is not about qualifying. You know the current situation where we have only two seats available in Formula One and much more young drivers who would like to be a Formula One driver but have no opportunity to do this. And yesterday, Lando Norris actually said that the Formula Two car is quite fun to drive, so maybe they would like to continue to do GP3 or Formula Two but there is one problem. There are no more spectators in the grandstands, so what about if you, instead of giving all the interviews on Thursday, have one race in a Formula Two car so we could see you in the same cars and spectators go to the autodrome and the young drivers could use your result as a benchmark.

    SV: Yeah, anything’s better than interviews! I think it would be fun. In the past racing drivers were a lot more all-rounders, they raced in different cars, different categories. Nowadays motor sport has changed, the sport has changed and everything has got more professional, more serious so there’s also not that much time maybe on hand but I think it would be nice to drive more often and talk less.

     

    Q: Lewis, you won the GP2 title but would you go back to race a Formula Two car against some of the current guys?

    LH: I don’t really feel the need to. We’re already racing too much in my opinion, and I don’t want to drive a slower car. GP2, it’s the best thing you’ve ever driven up until you’ve driven a Formula One car. I’m pretty sure there’s not a single driver who’s driven a Formula One car who says I want to go back to a GP2 car. I don’t really see the benefit of it, to be honest. GP2 is not there for spectators, it’s a proving ground for young guys to get to Formula One, so I don’t really have an answer there.

     

    Q: And Valtteri, would you rather race a Formula Two car on a Thursday than do interviews?

    VB: If I could chose, I definitely would drive but I’m not that keen to race there. Like Seb said, it is pretty professional nowadays and there’s not much time and you want to invest more of your time or your thoughts or your commitment to this sport if you want to be at the top really.

  • F1 2018: Russian Gp Preview – In-form Mercedes Favourites

    F1 2018: Russian Gp Preview – In-form Mercedes Favourites

    If the Singapore grand prix was a must win for Ferrari then the race in Russia this weekend and the twenty-five points on offer are even more critical from Sebastian Vettel’s perspective.

    The 2018 Formula 1 season started with a lot of promise for Ferrari. In Australia they hit the ground running and genuinely seemed to have built a great racecar. It’s true, they did built an extremely quick and perhaps even championship-winning car but they’ve never really hit their stride. Sure, there were a handful of victories in the early part of the season but their inconsistency has always lurked not too far away.  Not inconsistency in speed per say but in executing strategy and clinical decision-making. The irony here is that this is an area in which Ferrari has struggled for a number of years and it may, still, be something they’re not aware of. Instead they diverted and invested all attention and energy into producing a quick car and they have but it isn’t enough to win a world championship against an opposition like Mercedes.

    Though they are imperative Mercedes’s might isn’t only in the car it produces or Lewis Hamilton. Many would have you believe that Vettel throwing away 25 points at the German grand prix was likely the seminal moment of the season but they would be mistaken. The Singapore grand prix weekend was far more pivotal. Not because Ferrari could only manage third but for how Mercedes turned around their fortunes on a circuit where they had been embarrassed previously. For all to see the brilliance of the entire Mercedes operation was put on display. It allowed a for a glimpse of their unyielding tenacity and their relentless drive for success on and, importantly, off the track.

    Russia 2016_Mercedes Pit WallThe result in Singapore will have galvanized the team and infused them with an unshakeable believe that the both 2018 titles are very much within their grasp.

    The next step is the Russian grand prix and the Sochi Autodrom.  Built by F1 architect Herman Tilke the 5.8 km long circuit has several distinguishing features with the most prominent being turn 3, a 750-meter constant radius left-hander. Besides a long fairly straight and flat-out drag to turn 2 the rest of the lap is littered with 90-degree corners that lends the middle sector its fast and flowing nature. Because the track is built around the Olympic Park it utlises some of the internal roads of the park making it, effectively, a street circuit. However, there will be no fear for the durability of the Hypersoft tyre this weekend as the track surface of the Sochi Autodrom is notoriously smooth.

    sirotkinThere is no way to hide the fact that the Williams F1 team has endured one of the most difficult seasons in its storied history. Far from competitive the once championship winning team has been nailed to the back of the grid for most of the 2018 season. But it’s not all doom and gloom as the team recently advanced to the final part of qualifying in Italy and followed it with a double points score in the race. Tenth place in Italy secured Sergey Sirotkin’s first points in F1. As the third Russian driver to compete in the sport, following Vitaly Petrov and Daniil Kvyat, Sirotkin has been, mostly, under the radar. But he’s been quite impressive even if the results don’t reflect it. Besides driving the wheels, figuratively, off his Williams and ekeing out every last milli-second of speed his demeanour outside of the car has been noteworthy. Never one to criticize he’s remained positive and continually looked to boost the morale of the team with what he says. While talk is cheap in F1 and it wont make you go any faster it does boost self-esteem in a moment when Williams needs all it can get.

    Formula 1 often tends towards throwing up contrary results and you predict it at your peril. But on current form Mercedes should see the chequered flag first on Sunday unless Ferrari can get its house in order.

  • F1 2018: Singapore Gp Review – Mercedes Rule Marina Bay

    F1 2018: Singapore Gp Review – Mercedes Rule Marina Bay

    The Singapore grand prix was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. But Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

    A stunning lap on Saturday assured Lewis Hamilton pole position and, arguably, meant half the job was done come Sunday. He wasn’t challenged off the line either and was well in control of all of the 61 laps. Max Verstappen, who produced an equally impressive lap to qualify second, fell behind third-place starter Sebastian Vettel just as the safety car was deployed on lap.

    While those at the front were well behaved through turns one, two, and three the Force India pitwall watched on in dismay as their drivers collided. On-board footage showed Sergio Perez steering into the side of Esteban Ocon with the latter ending up in the wall and out of the race. Though stewards deemed it a ‘racing incident’ the Force India team principal Otmar Szafnaeur called the incident “completely outrageous” and instituted team orders for the remainder of the season.

    This wasn’t Perez’s only adventure during the Singapore grand prix either. Later on his strategy saw him stuck behind the Sergey Sirotkin for a number of laps during which he became increasingly frustrated. As he finally managed to make his way past the Williams he clearly lost his mind as he deliberately crashed into the side of Sirotkin. Surprisingly, race stewards deemed a drive-though penalty enough of a punishment for Perez.

    0026It’s a shockingly light punishment in view of other penalties given to drivers throughout the season. The British grand prix and the Raikkonen/Hamilton incident come to mind. In that case, Raikkonen had locked-up and banged wheels with Hamilton sending the Brit into a spin on lap one. Normally, stewards take a more lenient approach to lap one incidents but in this case they slapped a ten second penalty on Raikkonen.

    And because it was on lap one it effectively turned into a ten second stop-go penalty.  In this case Perez had deliberately crashed into the side of another car and, unbelievably, got away with a mere slap on the wrist. The stewards have set a dangerous precedent with how they have handled this situation.

    While the midfield were involved in quite a battle for positions those at the front were trundling around in a procession with Hamilton firmly in control.  Though Vettel was relatively close behind Hamilton he was never able to make a move for the lead. Clearly frustrated with proceedings Ferrari rolled the dice on strategy. The problem with this approach is that in Formula 1 you don’t roll the dice or take a chance on strategy. It must be a well thought out decision-making process that is going to improve the driver’s position in the race. This is an area where Ferrari are have been, plainly, mediocre.

    Though there is no telling if Vettel had the ultimate pace to beat Hamilton Ferrari’s strategy made sure he never had the opportunity to find out. The opening stint of the race was characterized by drivers trying to eek out their tyre life which saw the frontrunners run, mostly, at the same pace. However, as soon as Hamilton started pumping in fastest sectors Ferrari didn’t respond in kind. Instead they called Vettel in and armed him with a set of Ultrasoft tyres that could ‘potentially’ made it to the chequered flag. Though Hamilton pitted the next lap he fitted the Soft compound tyre, which were sure to easily make it to the end of the race.

    0007Even if Ferrari wanted to try the undercut strategy to get ahead of Hamilton fitting the Soft tyre was still the better strategy, as it was a long shot to work no matter which tyre he left the pitlane with. It was as if Ferrari were too impatient to see how things would pan out and, therefore, pulled Vettel in too early. Conversely, Raikkonen and Ricciardo were able to run 26 laps on the Hypersoft before switching to the Soft compound. As a result Ferrari left their driver without the ability to fight Hamilton and Verstappen, who also got ahead because of Vettel’s early stop. Because he didn’t know if the Ultras would last to the end of the race he couldn’t push as hard as he would have on the more durable Soft tyres. In fact, Raikkonen’s strategy would’ve been much better suited to Vettel. The worst-case scenario, with the Raikkonen-strategy, is that he would’ve finished third which he did anyway. There’s some irony in that.

    As it were Vettel slinked home in a distant third ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo in fourth, fifth, and sixth. Some fifty seconds behind the Red Bull in seventh was Fernando Alonso while Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Nico Hulkenberg completed the top ten.

    This win on the Singapore streets could be the most significant of the lot as far as 2018 is concerned. It wasn’t too long ago that Mercedes were woeful around the slow corners of the Marina Bay Circuit. And while Hamilton produced an exquisite lap to take pole and controlled the race on Sunday the win in Singapore is a true testament to the might of the entire Mercedes team.

    Hamilton and Mercedes have struck a hammer blow, pardon the pun, to Vettel and Ferrari’s chances of winning the 2018 title. This result gives Hamilton a mammoth 40-point lead over Vettel heading to Russia in two weeks time.

     

  • 2018 Singapore GP: Sunday Post Race Press Conference

    2018 Singapore GP: Sunday Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

     

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by David Coulthard)

     

    Q: Congratulations Lewis, you are a serial winner. That’s your 69th victory.

    Lewis HAMILTON: I’m spent. That was a tough race. But I have such great support here. We had a great start. The team have just never given up faith and belief in me and in Valtteri and in our ability, and it is a blessing. It was a long race. That felt like the longest race of my life, so I’m glad it’s over. Max put up a good fight as well, but what a day, what a weekend. I feel super blessed.

     

    Q: My knees can’t take this, can we stand? A man of a certain age. It got interesting around lap 38, there was a little bit of traffic there and they were in their own battle. You had to go defensive with Max, tell us about that moment?

    LH: Yeah, I was a little bit unlucky with the traffic. These guys were moving around, it was quite difficult to follow. I think Max was a little bit luckier getting by some of the guys in terms of what point on the track and the guys weren’t letting me by. Jeez, it was definitely close and my heart was definitely in my mouth for a minute but once I got clear of them I was able to put the pedal down and pull away.

     

    Q: This has been an incredible September in your life, in all of the Septembers you’ve lived. You’ve won the Italian Grand Prix, you’ve been off launching fashion lines, you’ve come here and you’ve now taken the lead to 40 points over Sebastian Vettel. It doesn’t get much better.

    LH: Definitely not. I mean they put up a good fight this weekend and I’m not really quite sure where their pace disappeared to, but as I said, I’m just grateful for everyone’s hard work, and the fans here. A lot of British flags come out Singapore, so thank you guys, love you, team LH all the way.

     

    Q: Enjoy the moment, congratulations, fantastic moment. Max, come and join me up here. A brilliant result.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was not bad. A shame from the first lap, but you can clearly see we miss top speed. But from there on the team had a great strategy so we could get back into second. Basically we did our own race, tried to follow Lewis a little bit and at the end we knew second was going to be result so you just bring it home.

     

    Q: We saw you have a little stumble as you were coming out of the pit box, it looked like you were between gears, you were in second and then you went down to first. Even with that you still managed to get out in front of Seb.

    MV: It was not a perfect getaway, but also behind the safety car it was almost bogging down, false neutrals, so a lot of problems but still, very happy with second.

     

    Q: Well done, Max, great result. Seb, congratulations, but I’m a little bit confused. You were quick all through free practice on a track you’ve been exceptional on in the past, it just didn’t seem that you were in the fight today. Any ideas?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it’s true. I think overall we were not fast enough. We didn’t have the pace in the race. But also I think we tried to be aggressive in the beginning and obviously it didn’t work out. After that I think I had a different race from the other guys, on a different tyre, and I wasn’t very convinced that we could make it to the end, but pitting wasn’t an option because you lose too much time in the pit stop. So we just focused on making it home.

     

    Q: The hopes of the tifosi rest with you. Have you got some light at the end of the tunnel? Lewis has started to open that gap up and time’s running out. How optimistic are you for the future races?

    SV: It doesn’t help. Obviously I’m mostly thinking about today’s race. I think today with the way we raced we didn’t have a chance. There might be something extra in the fact that maybe we were not quick enough but I think I said before the weekend we can only beat ourselves and we didn’t get everything out of the package.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Seb, you said it was pretty obvious what you have tried with the ultrasoft. But could you explain that a little bit, because even if you had jumped Lewis with the ultrasoft you would probably have been on the worse tyre for the rest of the race?

    SV: Well, I mean, obviously the first stint was a cruise for most of it, and then Lewis was picking up the pace. Overall, if you see the gap in the end it is clear that we were not fast enough today in the race. We need to understand why. Obviously it’s largely due to how we decided to race, on which tyres, for how many laps etc. With what we did we tried to get to first position but Lewis was too quick and then… once you are ahead you can control the pace around here but we never got ahead, so it’s a bit pointless to answer.

     

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian, you said you and the team didn’t get everything out of the car this weekend. Can you just talk through the progression over the weekend, where you went in the wrong direction? And just in general, do you think the team is not necessarily making the right calls and doing the right things with the way they play the weekend to maximise your chances?

    SV: No, I will always defend the team. I think the decision we took in the race, the decisions to try to be aggressive, if it works it’s great, today it didn’t work. Obviously it didn’t work by quite a bit and we need to look into that. But I believe we saw something and that’s why we go for it. Obviously inside the car it’s difficult to be on top of everything because you cannot see where you come out etc. We were aggressive in trying to get ahead, taking into account that we have to go through traffic, which in the end bit us also, to lose the second place. If it doesn’t work it is always easy to criticise but I will always defend what we did. Overall, we had a very strong package, both Kimi and myself, I think we looked very competitive throughout practice but in the end if you look at the race result we finished third and fifth. Like yesterday, probably not where the speed of our car belongs so that’s what I mean by saying we didn’t get everything out of ourselves.

     

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you said earlier that you didn’t expect to leave here adding ten extra points to your championship lead – so how big a boost is it to your title chances, winning here again, given that we always seem to think this is a Ferrari circuit?

    LH: Well, we’re really just taking it one race at a time, knowing that Ferrari have had quite good pace for the last few races. Generally, whilst we’ve finished on front foot, we start on the back foot, kinda thing, each weekend – but with a mentality that, if we do a good enough job, maybe we’ll come out ahead. Right this second it definitely feels… it was a tough race. It was a hardcore race. The cars are much quicker than usual, and obviously that moment we had with the backmarkers and the crazy day we had yesterday, with the crazy week that I’ve had… the last two weeks have just been intense. So, I’m looking forward to a couple of days off, these following days – but, of course it feels great but I’ve been here a long, long time so I don’t let… I know I can’t get ahead of myself; we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to continue to remain humble and just keep working as hard as we can. So, right now, I just feel, job done. I’m really happy with it. Still lots of points available but with this performance, and this focus that we have as a team, I truly believe that we can deliver impactful weekends like this for the rest of the season. So that’s the goal.

     

    Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) Question for Seb. Looking at the weekend as a whole, how costly were those lost laps in FP2, in understanding the tyres and putting together the race strategy?

    SV: Not at all. I mean, I’ve done enough laps around here. Obviously, it’s never great if you miss out but I think Friday and Saturday morning we were first in practice, so I don’t think that made a big difference. And also, late on in the season, you know enough about tyres and you can read from other people, so I think we got all the information and the fact that I think today we made it until the end with the most laps on the tyre you probably least expect to go that far, shows that we didn’t have any problems with the tyres. But obviously, you know we had to manage our race differently than the other guys.

     

    Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Question for Seb again. Did you guys pit earlier than expected because you misheard what Lewis reported on his tyre at the start of the race, in the early phase of the race?

    SV: What did he report?

    He said “I’ve got a lot left in my tyres,” and your engineer reported the opposite – which you didn’t believe actually. So did you pit earlier than expected?

    SV: I did not believe it, I said it’s not true – because we were going quite slowly in the beginning, and I think a couple of laps after that, Lewis decided to push, so obviously, when your tyres are fresh you can choose the pace a little bit here and not be under threat because the corners that matter, you still have very good exits and it’s difficult to get close. So yeah, in the end I think we were fine in the first stint. We probably dropped back a little bit too much, so I think, overall, we did not have exactly the pace that we wanted – but also, if you are the first car it is always easier because you have nobody in front, you manage your tyres and then, at some point, you decide to go. Whereas if you are behind, you always need to be sort-of ready. If you drop back too much then you’re too far away, so it’s natural that, being behind, you lose quite a lot. Even if you go slower, being behind, you damage your tyres more than being in front, going slower. So, it was not a big surprise but that’s how the game is played here, and he did it very well, and they executed well. For us, we tried to do something, it didn’t work full stop and from their obviously we were more on the back foot and defence. So, we had a different race after that point.

     

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Question to Sebastian. After starting the season so well, still got the fastest car, is there a sense now that you might be losing your grip on this championship?

    SV: Well, Lewis said he didn’t expect to come here gaining ten points, we probably didn’t come here expecting to lose ten points – but, having had the race that we had, I think there’s a full justification for losing those ten points and we take it. Obviously, there is still a long way to go and a lot of points to score. I never believed that we had the fastest car by a big margin, as people said. I know that we have a very good car. I think we started the season well and then we were about half a second behind in qualifying and it was crucial to get back, which we manage to – and then we had a bit of a rough time but overall I think the speed is there but I think it’s a match in qualifying as much as in the race. Today, if anything, I think we were a little bit slower, which we need to have a look and understand – but also it’s difficult to draw the conclusion because our race, my race was very different. I was on the oldest tyres and probably on the tyre that was not supposed to last that long. You would probably like to go out and do the same stint on the same tyres, just to be able to compare – but that’s not the race that we had today. So, you know, that’s what it was this weekend. Russia, I think, has been getting better the last years for us, so it should suit our car as well. I don’t think we have any tracks to fear that are coming. I think our car is working pretty much everywhere and that’s a strength of our car, so no need to be afraid of what’s coming.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Sebastian, earlier you said you need to look as to why you were third and fifth and yesterday you had some questions about what happened in qualifying. Why is it that you can’t put your finger on what’s going wrong at the moment for Ferrari?

    SV: I think first of all we’re not playing a silly game, we’re quite serious and it’s quite tough competition, so the level of competition is very high and if you have the slightest mistake obviously there are people there who are usually there to benefit from it. I think today, you know the race that we had showed that Max was there straightaway to benefit. Maybe sometimes you are lucky and it’s not showing as crucial but today it caught us and what we tried didn’t work and also caught us out so it didn’t help but I’m happy to try, I’m happy to try being aggressive to try and win. That was the ambition and especially on a track where it’s difficult to pass you need to try and figure something out. Yeah, but overall I think it’s not the result that we wanted and it’s a disappointment because we came here thinking that we are very strong. I think we were but not strong enough, not as strong as we probably wanted to be in terms of raw race pace. Yesterday, I still believe we could have had a better day but it’s history so – same as today – we need to look forward. There are a couple of differences that are standing out about yesterday, about today, things that we can learn from the others, because they simply did a better job if they finish ahead of us by half a minute, so clearly they did some things better than us.

     

    Q: (Daan de Geus – Formula 1 Magazine NL) Max…

    MV: They are like the Finnish, you know…

     

    Q: (Daan de Geus – Formula 1 Magazine NL) Max, you and Red Bull earmarked this as the best opportunity of the second half of the season. How important is it to deliver with a good result, and does it change your expectations heading into these last six races?

    MV: No. I mean. Yeah. Well, it’s quite straightforward. This race was better for us than Monza, for example, so I think we maximised the result with the problems we had with the engine which was a shame, because I was very happy the safety car was gone because I was almost stalling on the track so even my pit stop was not great. Yeah, looking forward to now… I don’t know which track will come up as maybe good again. Maybe Mexico a little bit but we lose a lot on the straight, so I’m not expecting it to be like last year but you never know. You always have to be positive I guess and try to be there if something happens.

     

    Q: (Joost Nederpelt – NU.NL) Max, was there any point in this race – pace-wise – where you thought you could win this race?

    MV: Laps to the grid, I think. No, you can’t pass, it’s impossible. You could see that once in the first stint when we were all going quite slowly, even if you wanted to push a bit more you can’t get close so you’re just following a train. Yeah, you just have to do your own race, try to look after the tyres and that’s what we did, that’s why we could do the overcut which of course was great and once I was in second again, I know I would just try to follow Lewis to the end and bring it home.

     

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian and Max, you had two battles, one on the first lap…

    LH: Do you have a question for me?

     

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) You were just too good.

    MV: Oh thanks, mate!

     

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian and Max, you had two battles, one on the first lap and one after the pit stop. Could you just talk through those battles and if you could have done anything differently to reverse them? Could you have stayed there first time Max and Seb could you have got ahead second time?

    MV: They were fine. I was a disappointed the first one and I guess Seb was a bit disappointed the second one.

    SV: That’s a good summary. I had a very good start, I tried in turn one but Max was covering the inside and from there I tried to line things up for the next corner which was successful and I got a bit of a tow from Lewis down the straight so that worked well. The pits it was tight so I lost it again, it was a pity, obviously.

     

    Q: (Kate Walker – New York Times) Lewis, the perceived wisdom for most of this season is that you’ve got the second best car on the grid but you have also got the biggest advantage in the championship. Where are you finding these performances where you are able to outstrip both your car and your competitors’ equipment?

    LH: Good question, thank you, I appreciate it. It’s hard up here because it’s like an anti-climax. Naturally it was a hard race but we need to keep the energy up because this is a special moment for me and for the team. Was it an exciting race, or not really for you guys? That’s probably why. I definitely heard a couple of people snoring here. Honestly, it’s just great teamwork, very very diligent engineering. The guys obviously back at the car, we’re constantly learning about the car and refining it but we’re bring out upgrades every now and then but it’s pretty much the same times as they (Ferrari) bring theirs. But it’s more understanding the tyres, it’s more getting more comfortable with hitting the nail on the head with the balance of the car and really just eking out each little bit and each weekend we’re got incredible communications. The debriefs are really really solid, there’s a lot of direction that comes from the debriefs. I give quite long debriefs nowadays and we work to the point that we leave no stone unturned, there’s not a single stone unturned each weekend that we arrive and so it’s a real collective, it’s just the strongest the team has ever been in terms of how we communicate. We’ve got great people in the team, both at the factory and here and it’s a real privilege to work with everyone and also we’re all so comfortable with each other and there’s a huge confidence within the organisation. And in terms of my driving, as I said, I have these others things that I do outside which are stimulating. I know there were questions at the beginning of the week whether it is distracting and naturally you come here and if I put one foot wrong, people are going to point to the things that I do outside as a result of it. You can see, it doesn’t affect my performance and if anything those things they add to the performance really. Healthwise, I’m super healthy. As I said, I went on a plant-based diet last year – here, actually, I started here last year – and it’s been the best year of my life physically.

  • 2018 Singapore Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

    2018 Singapore Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

     

    Q: Lewis, an astonishing lap – 36.0. Where did that come from?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Wow, wow, that was a hardcore qualifying session. That felt like magic. I don’t really know where it came from but it all came together. Naturally I want to say a huge thank you to all the team back at the factory. Everyone is working so hard, really, really so hard to pull out all the extra bits. Today I managed, just for that one lap, just to get it right. The next one obviously I was trying a bit more, but it’s also great to see so many people here. Singapore is a beautiful track and honestly I’m super overwhelmed, absolutely overwhelmed, my heart is racing, I might have an anxiety attack in a second. I’m really happy.

     

    Q: As the laps was unfolding, was it, were you thinking ‘hang on, this is feeling something special’?

    LH: Yeah, definitely. Honestly I don’t there was a moment in the lap that we went wide or there were any problems, it was just perfectly to the limit. It felt like one of the best laps I remember feeling. Did you guys enjoy it? They’re happy, so we’re good.

     

    Q: Second, Max. Still can’t quite be the youngest pole sitter ever but you must be so, so satisfied with that lap?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Honestly this feels like a victory. The amount of problems I’ve had today and even in qualifying with the engine, just not having a smooth run, cutting in torque, to be second is unbelievable and that just shows we have an amazing car.

     

    Q: Yeah, ahead of the Ferraris, ahead of one of the Mercedes and your team-mate. Last year you were so unlucky in this position. You’ve got a great chance this weekend?

    MV: Absolutely. We just need to make sure that we have a clean start and from there everything is possible. We do have to sort out the engine for tomorrow but at least I’m very happy with the car.

     

    Q: Well done. Sebastian, third on the grid. Take us through qualifying for you?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, not ideal, obviously we wanted to get pole but we didn’t. I think for us it was a bit of a messy qualifying session but in the end there was too much time missing, so no better than third.

     

    Q: You seemed to need to attack the out lap where the other cars were going very slowly. Did it compromise your approach a little bit?

    SV: Yeah, it’s never ideal if you have a mini-race on the out lap, but there were a lot of cars always around. You can’t blame it on that. In the end we had two laps and they were both not good enough. Not what I wanted and not what we wanted today.

     

    Q: Have you got a good race car?

    SV: I think so. Obviously it’s a bit more difficult further back, but, yeah, I think we have.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Well Lewis, it looked like we witnessed something pretty special out there tonight. Can you just talk us through it ?

    LH: I’ll tell you this track is epic. It’s so difficult this track. It is the most challenging circuit for us in the year. It’s Monaco on steroids really, being that it’s a lot longer, a lot more corners. Yesterday was looking really good for us and then we came into today, we made some changes and we didn’t have a good session. Everyone was starting on the hypersofts and they were getting the experience and we were starting on the softs and there is a huge difference compared to the hyper. Then I was a bit nervous going into qualifying because I didn’t think we had the pace, we were half a second behind these guys and I was thinking ‘there is no way I’m going to be able to find half a second’. And as we were going through the qualifying session again, it was a really challenge on the ultra. Then we obviously got into that last session and it was just about pulling all the little bits you found through practice and trying to see if you could put it into a perfect puzzle and 99.9% of time it doesn’t go right, but that lap, honestly, I didn’t have a wheel spin, I didn’t have a snap anywhere. The car was just underneath me and I managed to maximise on pretty much any corner. I can’t remember one where I thought I could do more. And it’s so physical here, so naturally after the session you’re shaking, your heart’s racing. The second lap I tried to obviously go that little bit more, just half a metre braking later, but it was just too much and the car wasn’t going to have it, so I really do feel I got absolutely everything possible on that first lap. I was definitely nervous when I came in at the end because naturally you want to deliver each time you have an opportunity. But I’m just so grateful; the team have been working so hard. I’m sure that everyone’s team is, but the guys have just been flat out trying to see if we can bring little bits here and there and we knew we would come to this and the Ferrrari’s particularly but also the Red Bulls would be hard to beat, so this is an incredible moment for us to be on pole here considering the circumstances.

     

    Q: Max, your second consecutive front row in Singapore. Given all of the technical issues you had coming into this session…

    MV: Have! Still have!

     

    …talk us through, how satisfying is this P2?

    MV: Totally unexpected. From FP3 onwards I was shaking with anger but now I’m just shaking with happiness. FP3, so many problems. I mean I was going into false neutral; car was stopping on the track; while driving in my fast laps just bogging down, and qualifying was exactly the same story, so we had to detune the engine – lost a bit of time there – to try and make the driveability better but it still didn’t work like it should do. So, when I was going into Q3 I felt the car was working really well. I didn’t really have anything to complain. So, when I saw second on the board I was actually quite surprised. With the problems I had. And then on my final run I tried to push a bit more, and I was another two-tenths up and then I arrived to 16-17, and when I had to short-shift again, the engine just cut out, so I had to abort. If it was going to be enough for pole, I’m not so sure – but at least it would have been closer than three-tenths. I’m already surprised to be second with all the issues I’m having. The only thing I can say is that it was a great qualifying. I think the best I’ve ever done and the car was also working really well. That definitely put us second today.

     

    Q: Sebastian, a frustrating session for you, can you just talk us through it, and also talk about your prospects in the race and how competitive you think the Ferrari will be on Sunday.

    SV: The race is a different story so I think by tomorrow things will look different but for sure not happy with how today went. I think qualifying today wasn’t as smooth as it should have been, so yeah, I think other people obviously did better than us, and that’s why we are third.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Sebastian, just to pick up on your previous comment, we saw in Q2 you tried to run on ultrasofts, it didn’t work. How damaging is it for your prospects, given that looked like you were going to go for a one stop strategy, how damaging is it for you to have to abandon that and then to qualify third on the grid?

    SV: Well, one doesn’t have to do anything with the other. So obviously in Q3 is when you qualify your position and Q2 is when you qualify your tyre. So obviously it was clear what we tried to do. It didn’t work, so… but overall I think qualifying for us today wasn’t as smooth as it should have been so, difficult to get a rhythm, difficult to get a feel for the car and in the end the gap is quite big. I’m not worried about the gap because I don’t think that shows how strong we are. Just disappointing obviously today that we didn’t get the maximum out of our package.

     

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Questions for Seb. Can you talk us through your problems? Obviously there were some problems on the car just before the start of the qualifying.

    SV: No.

     

    No problems? Because we’ve seen the floor was taken off…

    SV: No problems, just final checks but no problems with the car.

     

    And then in Q3, I think after the first try, you said you were in a ‘nasty spot’. Can you explain how you prepared the car or the tyres, for the first and the second attempt in Q3?

    SV: Erm… no! Well, I think, as I tried to explain, for us the qualifying didn’t go the way I think we planned it to be. Not just in terms of result – obviously we were hoping for more than third on the grid – but I think that’s one thing. I think obviously the gap is quite big, which is one. I think Lewis had a really good lap, so congrats to him for the lap. I’m sure it was a good one. But I don’t think he was unbeatable but for us today, the way we composed qualifying, I think it was difficult to get a rhythm. I was struggling in Q1, Q2, Q3. As I said before, I think other people did a better job. That’s including Lewis’ lap as an individual but also them as a team. And obviously it’s not what we wanted today to get third.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Lewis, we saw Ferrari try and fail to get through Q2 on the ultrasofts. You did the same thing in Q1 but you managed to get through. Were you ever concerned that you might drop out in that session or were you always confident you would be able to get through?

    LH: Yeah, I definitely was a little bit concerned but we were aware that we came here with the wrong tyre strategy in the sense that others had more hypers than us so we needed to get rid of a soft in P3 I think it was. Already from practice we weren’t best prepared. Others started on softer tyres in P1 and also in P2 and P3 is where we had that. So we definitely lost some running because the tyres are massive, massive… you could see it’s two or three seconds or whatever it was between the tyres. Then we got into qualifying and we had to start on the… We believed that in order to give us hypersofts in Q2 and Q3, that’s the tyre we went out on and we definitely didn’t expect to be on the pace that we were but the delta between the tyres was even bigger, once we got to qualifying. So yeah, and I couldn’t go quicker so I was definitely a little bit nervous, but then we went back out and I’m not quite sure why the Ferraris did the run on that tyre – I don’t know if they had four new sets of hypers, probably unlikely, so that’s probably why they had to take another tyre, probably, but you could already have seen from our run that you were not going to get through there, so that just leaves me to believe that they probably just didn’t have an extra tyre. But the Q2 was good and once we got to Q3 it was nice but the extra run that others got, I think they had an advantage going into qualifying just by having the extra run on the hypersoft.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Sebastian, you said other people did a better job, including Lewis’s lap as an individual, but also them as a team. In which area or areas do you think your team should have done better?

    SV: As I tried to explain, obviously I don’t want to take anything from Lewis’s lap and their efforts as a team –  they did great and that’s why they are on pole by quite a margin so that is not for debate. I think for us, it’s clear that we could have done better and therefore we can’t be happy. Now, going into detail I don’t think there’s much point. For sure here and there we could have done better, maybe preparing the lap, the qualifying but in the end I had the laps and they obviously weren’t strong enough and good enough to be near.

     

    Q: (Joe Klausmann – Racingline.hu) Lewis, are you comfortable with the outside line into turn one tomorrow?

    LH: The racing line, you mean? Pretty happy with it. I’ll see where it goes tomorrow but it’s the racing line. Obviously starts are always a difficult one but being on the racing line that we drive past hopefully it’s equally as good as the inside starting line. You would normally chose to be on the outside for turn one.

     

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD) Max, we heard a lot of complaints about the engine on the radio. You also said already there are still some issues to fix. Will you go to bed as a happy man because of this surprise or also as a worried man because of the engine?

    MV: I think normally in the race you have to turn down the power anyway. It’s just when you go to the limit of the engine where we seem to struggle this weekend with it, with driveability and torque mapping and stuff. For example yesterday in the long runs I didn’t have the problem. And if it breaks it breaks. You can’t really change that so we will find out tomorrow.

     

    Q: (Erik van Haren – De Telegraaf) Max, with all the problems in mind today and yesterday, when you look at yourself as a driver, does it look like a perfect lap today?

    MV: Well, like I said before, I think I feel like I’ve done my best qualifying ever in F1 so far. I think it was definitely a good lap which I can be very happy with.

  • 2018 Formula 1 Singapore GP: Thursday Press Conference

    2018 Formula 1 Singapore GP: Thursday Press Conference

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Kimi, if we could start with you please. You’ve been generating a few column inches this past week. Can you just talk us through what happened and why you’re on the move next year?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: I guess you know what happened. I don’t know what else you want to know. This is what happened. As we’ve said many times before, it’s not up to me, it’s not my decision in the end. Anything after that is obviously my decision but this is the outcome. At least we have an outcome.

    Q: You say it wasn’t your decision to leave Ferrari, but it was your decision to go back to Sauber, so just talk us through why you’re doing that?

    KR: Why not.

    Q: What is it about the team? On current form there is quite a performance differential between Ferrari and Sauber, so what have you been told…

    KR: Yeah, but then there’s a lot of differences between all the cars, you know. If you take other teams, there are not many cars, if you take this year, that are on the same level. That’s how it has always been. I mean, see what happens in the future so…

    Q: But, Kimi, what have you been told about the performance? Tell us why you want to go back to Sauber?

    KR: Because I want to. Why do you try to make it so complicated? I don’t know anything more than you guys, purely where they have been finishing. Obviously I don’t know what will happen next year, nobody knows what will happen next year when it comes to the speeds of the cars and the teams and obviously we can always guess but we will see what we can do. Obviously I have my reasons and that’s enough for me. I don’t really care what others think and as long as I’m happy with my own reasons, it’s enough for me.

    Q: And you’re still passionate about racing? The fire…

    KR: No, I’m not actually. Just by pure head games for you guys I happened to sign and I’m going to spend two years there just not being happy.

    Well, Kimi, thanks for the insight.

    KR: No worries.

    Q: Let’s move on. Kevin coming to you now: this weekend is your 75th grand prix, a bit of a milestone for you. Do you feel you’re part of the F1 establishment now?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I don’t know really. I haven’t thought of it like that. I didn’t even know it was my 75th race, so I’m just enjoying… it’s the best time I’ve had in Formula 1, at the moment. It’s great fun and I’ll see how it goes this weekend and will hopefully have a good race.

    Q: Have you had any further thoughts about what happened between you and Fernando Alonso at Monza and will it affect your approach to qualifying here in Singapore?

    KM: I’ll try to stay away from Fernando as much as I can! I think it was a pretty extraordinary thing that happened and it’s not something that will happen too often I think.

    Q: Thank you. Brendon, coming to you, it’s your first time here in Formula 1, so can you just talk us through the preparations you’ve done for this grand prix. It’s hot, it’s a long race, just talk us through what you’ve done?

    Brendon HARTLEY: Yeah, so everyone has told me that it’s the most physical race of the year, not only because of the heat but also the focus and stamina it requires being a long race and not many breaks on the tracks. In terms of training, not much changes. I think all of us drivers are very race fit. We’ve had a long season already and many races to warm up to a tough one like this. I’d say most of us drivers did a bit of heat training over the last week or so and for me it was just adding a couple of extra layers on when I was training on my bike. I came out a couple of days early as well, just to get used to being here. Actually, it doesn’t feel as hot as I expected. I think in previous years it’s been hotter, but nevertheless it’s going to be a tough old race. On top of that I spent some time in the simulator, learning the track as best I can before hitting FP1 tomorrow.

    Q: Expecting a few Kiwis in the crowd I guess?

    BH: Yeah I actually me a few already on the streets of Singapore. It’s reasonably close for us, it’s half way, so I’m kind of half way home. There should be a few expats around and the Aussies always seem to give me a few cheers, so I think they try to adopt me as their own as well.

    Q: We’ve heard from Kimi about his move to Sauber next year. What can you tell us about your plans for 2019? Have your talks progressed with the team?

    BH: Not really chatting at the moment. I have a contract going forward. Obviously there are always options and whatnot. I’ve been saying it for a while that the best thing I can do is focus on one race at a time and doing the best job I can. I know, and I’m confident about the job I’ve been doing behind the scenes with the team. I know I’ve got stronger every race during the season. The results don’t exactly show that, but I know that I am strong and I have been strong in the last five races and there have been a few circumstances which meant I wasn’t able to score points. I seem to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time a lot of the time but I’m also looking at myself, and what I can do better there. Honestly, I’m just focusing on doing the best I can one race at a time, and I hope that I’m on the grid next year, which is my goal.

    Thank you Brendon, good luck this weekend. Lewis, on paper this is meant to be a bit of a bogey track for the team, but you keep winning. You’ve had two victories here with the team. What are your expectations ahead of this weekend?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Honestly, I never even have expectations every time I come to a race, I must just tell you that. I guess ultimately our expectation is for us to give it our all and try to perform as well, if not better, than in the past races. Collectively, as a team, we have done a tremendous job in the past races and we want to try and keep that quality of performance.

    Q: Your championship lead is now 10 times greater than it was at this stage last year – 30 points as opposed to three points in 2017. Talk us through that buffer. Is that a factor in your head and how you approach the race weekend?

    LH: Honestly not. It might be subconscious but I’ve not really thought about it. I don’t change the way… at the moment there’s no reason to change. There are a lot of points still available so the approach is exactly the same as it has been all year long. It seems to be working, so we’ll just keep that up for as long as we can. But we do expect there are going to be some difficult races ahead. Obviously Ferrari have been ahead of us for the past few races, so keeping up with them, if not passing them, is going to be tough.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Abishek Takle – Mid-day) A question for Kimi. At what point did you know that you wouldn’t be driving for Ferrari next season and when did the Sauber talks actually start?

    KR: In Monza I knew. Obviously I know people from there [Sauber] from the past and basically it started after that.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Kimi, you said you still know people at Sauber and you’ve obviously kept ties with the team. Has it always been a bit of a thing in the back of your mind that it might be a nice thing to do later in your career, to go there, back to where it started?

    KR: No. I don’t think it’s always been there. Obviously, you never know in the end what will happen. This is just how it ends up to be going actually, and yeah, I wouldn’t say there have been plans for a long time that this is going to happen, so…

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you have said that you are only interested in winning. Do you have to find a new target for next year when racing with Sauber?

    KR: I don’t know. I don’t think… I mean, obviously the aim is always that. I mean, is it realistic? Who knows? You can only aim for the best, best positions and see what comes up.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Lewis, since we last saw you in Italy, McLaren have announced that Lando Norris will be driving for them next season. Just want to get your views on having a fellow Brit on the grid – and also, as a youngster, would you seek him out to give him advice at all?

    LH: I wouldn’t give him advice. Obviously if he asked for it, he could get it if he wanted. If I’m really honest, I don’t really look at nationalities. I don’t look down the order and think; ‘there’s another Brit’, or ‘there’s another German,’ or anything like that. I just… that’s not something that really appeals to me. England’s always producing good drivers. They have them; there’s quite  a lot of them. It’s not like Formula One’s never going to have a British driver, so… yeah, wish him all the best.

    Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – Motorlat.com) Question to all four drivers. What are your thoughts on the idea of fielding a third car to the grid.

    KM: I think it’s kind of… it sounds quite exciting. I think it would be great to see three Mercedes and three Ferraris, but then from there, I don’t know whether it would be good to have 30 cars on the grid. I think the pitlane would be quite tight as well. It could be good, it could be bad. I don’t really know.

    LH: I quite like the idea of more cars. More teams maybe, rather than three drivers in a team – would be a handful.

    KR: I think if would be nice to have a lot of cars but then, I don’t know. So many things that it will change. It’s pretty difficult to work it out.

    BH: From a drivers’ point of view I think it would be great to have more cars. From a team’s point of view and all the other logistics that would entail, I don’t really know, it’s not my place. It would probably make 2019 contract negotiations a bit easier! But yeah, actually, from a drivers’ point of view it would be cool. I’m also used to having a few more team mates than maybe some of the other drivers on the grid.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Question to Lewis. Obviously you went to Shanghai for your fashion launch, you went back to New York, you’re now back here in Singapore. The other drivers talking about preparing and getting in shape. Is your ability now to step off the plane and switch from fashion business to F1 business? Do you find the ability to do that easier now in your career. And is that what keeps you fresh, coming into this week?

    LH: It’s not that I find it easy. As soon as I leave the races I’m able to switch off. I’ve got, obviously other things that I’m doing, and in between, trying to fit in the training, for example, in the last week, has not been easy. But that’s not really how every single week goes for me – it’s just a hectic time for me with a lot going on in the outside world for me. But yeah, I mean, I’ve travelled a lot more than I have all year long in these two weeks. But I think yeah, from experience I’ve been able to move around even more than I have these past two weeks and still arrive and be able to switch into race mode. So, there’s not a single moment during those two weeks, whilst I have those other things going on, there’s not a single moment that I’m not thinking about racing, not thinking about the championship, how I want to arrive. Make sure, knowing that we’re coming to a difficult race, that you need to see if you can bring more to. So, there’s not a moment that I don’t think about it.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Just on that Lewis, do you think it’s a bit of a gamble tying the two together? The fashion and the travelling and the Formula One and winning the Championship.

    LH: Not at all. Just referring to the question before, I get a lot of energy from these different things that I do. I find it stimulating and I think you’ll see that my results have shown that for the past several years. As I’ve said, I’ve travelled a lot more than I have this year. This has actually been the year I’ve travelled the least, at least in the last five years, so…

    Q: (Masahiro Owari – Formula Owari Masahiro) Lewis, I’d like to ask about the Japanese Grand Prix, a couple of weeks later. Last year you broke the course record in Suzuka. Are you confident to break it again this year? And how important is winning at Suzuka for you, and for the Championship.

    LH: Naturally, it’s very difficult to say how important that race is going to be from now, because we’ve got this race to go – but every race is obviously as important as the other – but we will, no doubt, if it’s dry, break the record again this year. Our car is two to three seconds faster, whatever it is, than it was last year, so someone will break the record for sure, continuously throughout the weekend. And it’s such a great race, as we all know. It’s such a great circuit that everyone loves driving. It’s going to be pretty crazy through that first sector with the amount of downforce that we do have on our car. So, I think everyone can be excited for that.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Lewis, what do you think about the current Ferrari philosophy to let their drivers fight each other? It makes your life a little bit less difficult in the races. What do you think about it?
    LH:     Ferrari’s philosophy to let their drivers race? I honestly hadn’t even noticed it, if I’m really honest. They’re racing – it’s nothing to do with me. I don’t see how it makes my life… how does it make it less difficult? I still have to fight this guy (Raikkonen). How does it make it less difficult? If you watch the races, it’s more likely the position that they’ve put themselves in as opposed to the position we’ve put ourselves in. Valtteri’s been in the position to help in different scenarios. I don’t think you’ve seen many races where it’s been the same for them.

    Q: (Candra Kurnia Harinanto – Jawa Pos) Kimi, have you already thought that you will end your career at Sauber?

    KR: There’s a big chance, for sure! I’m not interested in any numbers or records, purely what I feel is right for me and that’s it. We’ll see what happens in the future.

    LH: How many seasons will it be?

    KR: No idea. I was two years doing holidays.

    LH: Yeah, but with two more years, how many seasons will that be in Formula One? Sixteen seasons.

    KR: Yeah. Not a lot.

    LH: Still a lot. I think it has to be admired.

    KR: We’ll see. Hopefully I’ll stay healthy and all those things.

    Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) Kimi, there have been some reports that you could be interested in taking up a management role at Sauber, once you’re done racing, whenever that is. Is this something you have on your mind for the future?

    KR: There’s zero discussion on that. Obviously I’ve signed my contract as a driver and I hope I stay there as a driver. Who knows what happens in the future, in two years or whatever.  When it’s all said and done, I’ve no idea. I don’t know myself. There’s always speculation and everything but I don’t have any contract about that.

    Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today NZ) Brendon, there’s been a bit in the media about what Dr Marko has said about possibly ten drivers looking for a seat at Toro Rosso. Obviously you’re one of those and that you need to improve. Have you been given any idea by him what he means by improvement or by the team, what they mean by improvement?

    BH: Actually I’ve been improving all year and I haven’t really had a direct discussion about an exact result but it’s clear I haven’t finished in the points enough times, when you compare with my teammate. Some of that was out of my control, some of it part in my control but honestly, like I said before, I’m just focused – one race at a time – on doing my job and I’m very confident of the job I do behind the scenes and also I know that I’ve been improving the whole season. Yeah, just focused on Singapore this weekend. It’s a big opportunity actually for us at Toro Rosso. Historically the team’s done very well here. Last year they took fourth place with Carlos in some tricky conditions but if we take the last two races, we think this would be a strong opportunity for us. Everyone can see that I’ve been strong in certain scenarios but haven’t been able to capitalise so I think if what you’re referring to what he’s saying –  I haven’t been following the press – but probably I need some more results in the points.

    Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today NZ) Some more luck, maybe?

    BH: There’s a bit of that too but I need to try and create as much luck for myself.

    Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?

    KR: I can only drive one car, obviously. There’s always a lot of talk, a lot of things which can be helpful, can not be. It’s always easy to say that this and this will happen but in theory it’s so difficult to get it right in many ways so we will see what happens in the racing, if we’re close to each other and this and that. Obviously we know our rules; it’s pretty simple.

    Q: (Jake Michaels – ESPN) Lewis, you’re obviously in a tight battle with Ferrari this season but how wary are you of Red Bull this weekend and do you expect to see them fighting for the win?

    LH: Not really sure… I’ve not spoken to the team as to… they’ll let us know in the meeting we have coming up, whether or not Red Bull will play a role in this weekend’s race but they’ve been there or thereabouts in quite a lot of the races, so you have to assume this is usually a good race for them. I think they’ve stopped developing their car quite a long time ago to focus on next year’s car, from what I’ve heard, so they’re just driving with what they have, that’s what I heard. I think this weekend, it’s a downforce circuit, they’re always good on their rear tyres as well so this should undoubtedly be a strong weekend for them, as it was last year.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Kimi, you’ve made it very clear that you’re racing for Sauber and carrying on racing because you want to but, as was talked about earlier, you’re carrying on to an age where a lot of drivers will have stopped, so what is it that Formula One gives you personally that makes you want to keep going?

    KR: Racing, that’s about it.

    LH: Talking to you guys.

    KR: Yeah. Best time of the weekend, for sure! No but honestly, I always said that I will stop when I feel it’s right for me. I don’t need to comment how I feel. Obviously the racing is the part that I enjoy most and that’s why we are here. Obviously it’s always been a big part of the race weekend, all the other stuff which is normal for us, but it’s not the reason to come here. The reason is to drive and race. It’s not the big part of the weekend any more as it used to be because obviously everything changes a bit but that’s the only reason, really. The other stuff that comes with it, it’s very normal, it’s always been there. It comes with the package. It’s not often that you get a package where you only have the good things. It’s OK. We all know each other. It’s the same answers, same questions every time so it’s not too difficult.

  • F1 2018 Game Review

    F1 2018 Game Review

    There’s a specific time of year that those gamers inclined towards F1 get a little bit giddy. It’s around mid-year when Codemasters announce the launch date for its latest installment in the F1 game franchise. To build anticipation to a fever pitch this is also underscored by the release of dev diaries and beta testers who clog up your timeline with content of what’s to come. It’s that simultaneously joyous and painful period just before you get your own hands on the latest that Codemasters has to offer.

    There’s a bit of wistfulness too for F1 2017. After all, it was such a great title. But the nostalgia doesn’t last long. For as soon as you’re strapped into your virtual F1 2018 cockpit, you drive out on track, and set off on your first flying lap that nostalgia is replaced by a giddiness matched in wattage only by the mega grin on your face.

    From the first fire up of F1 2018 the most evident change is to its graphics. Everything from the track surface to the way tiny blades of grass stick to your rear tyres (following a slight off at Variante Ascari) has been impeccably overhauled. The general in-game atmosphere is so comprehensive and nuanced that it doesn’t just make the player/driver feel as if you’re switching between different circuits but truly racing at a wholly different venue complete with its own ambiance and iconic features. And that’s just the visuals!

    If this isn’t enough to make you buy F1 2018 then the audio on it will be. I am ready and confident enough to say/write that F1 2018 has the best sounding engine notes of any racing title on the market. Have I played every racing game on the market? No. But I don’t have to in order to know that that the audio of F1 2018 is head and shoulders above the rest. That subtle whine of the turbo, the spike in revs when you ramp a kerb you shouldn’t be on, and the unmistakably exhilarating pam…pam…pam…pam…pam…as you whip down the gears is a thing of beauty.

    F1_20181The handling model in F1 2018 also feels improved and importantly more immersive. The overall and accurate edge, no pun intended, to kerbs and your inability to simply ride them at will adds a level of realism and challenge that was missing from F1 2017. Clout the kerbs at Singapore consistently and it’ll come not only a cost for your laptime but will likely eventuate in you getting better acquainted with the wall.

    The AI aggression too has been ramped up. There is no more sticking to the racing line as you close up and ready for a pass. Now the AI will hug the inside line tighter than their favourite granny. And that’s not all, even if you do manage to send it at the expense of compromising your speed on corner exit the AI will be there and more than ready to bang wheels if it means keeping or getting back their place. Pulling off a clean move against the more aggressive AI gives a true sense of satisfaction further ratcheting up the sense of immersion.

    Career mode remains as one of the biggest draw cards for an F1 title. In F1 2018 there is much more to consider. First, you get to choose a team. Do you want to go for Mercedes and dominate Hamilton-esque? Or do you want to slum it at the back of the grid and build up your team? The choice is completely yours. Once you do make your selection you’re thrust into the world of F1. From team expectations, to R&D, to paddock interviews everything requires a level of micro-management very much akin to real-life Formula 1.

    untitledThe practice programs, through which you earn precious resource points, remain with the challenging addition of ERS management. That’s right, in F1 2018 the player/driver can choose to have full control of the ERS. There are five modes of deployment/harvesting in total under your control and it’s a rather involved process to figure out the perfect lap-by-lap strategy for it. But it’s a challenge and there is, arguably, nothing more that F1 gamers love more than that. My only gripe with this addition is that the ability to swap between ERS modes is confined to the MFD (multi-function display) where you also manage engine maps, brake bias, and the differential setting. I would’ve liked to see the player/driver given the option of mapping the ERS management to a button/toggle of your own choosing.

    Something else that seemed to have not received an abundance of attention is the helmet customization. It’s a fairly innocuous gripe and it doesn’t detract from the game. But I do wish there was more freedom in terms of helmet design so as to personalize your experience even more. Perhaps Codemasters would even consider allowing players/drivers to choose the colour of their gloves and racing boots in the future too.

    F1_20182F1 2018 is something special. Codemasters have achieved and delivered a truly amazing title that even the most ardent of naysayer cannot legitimately criticize.

    It’s not an easy thing to capture the nuance and emotion and passion of such a beloved sport but Codemasters have achieved it, and brilliantly so.

    The speed of technological development and the simultaneous evolution of gaming mean that gamers continually ask for more. More features, more realism, more immersion. The great news is that F1 2018 is more.

  • F1 2018: Italian Gp Review – Hamilton Snatches Victory

    F1 2018: Italian Gp Review – Hamilton Snatches Victory

    What a difference a day can make. On Saturday the Tifosi were in raptures as Ferrari locked out the front row of the grid with Kimi Raikkonen setting the fastest lap, in terms of average speed, in Formula 1 history.

    But Ferrari’s front row lockout didn’t go anything like they would’ve planned.While it was a relatively clean start for polesitter Kimi Raikkonen the other Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel got caught up with Lewis Hamilton into the second chicane. Vettel and Hamilton came together with the Ferrari driver coming off worse for wear and with a broken front wing which dropped him to plumb last.

    The move by Hamilton was deemed a racing incident and rightly so. Though Vettel may want to believe that the Merc driver didn’t leave him enough space it simply isn’t the case. Instead Vettel could benefit from some serious self-reflection. The old adage goes that you cannot win a race in the first corner but you can certainly lose it. In this instance Vettel should have kept calm and bided his time. But in the moment, as has happened before, he failed to see the bigger picture. This result could have serious ramifications for Vettel and his bid for a fifth driver’s title.

    Hamilton had briefly taken the lead but Raikkonen brilliantly regained it with a move around the outside of the Mercedes driver into the Della Roggia chicane. The Safety Car was deployed to recover the stricken Toro Rosso of Brendon Hartley but Raikkonen handled the re-start easily and maintained the lead of the race. From there Raikkonen kept his Ferrari ahead albeit by a scant second.

    0041The speed of racing around Monza meant the pitstop phase was upon the drivers fairly quickly. Mercedes sent out a pitcrew into the pitlane suggesting that they would call in Hamilton. However, no pitstop eventuated and the mechanics trundled back into the garage. Subsequently, the FIA has clarified that mock pitstops are illegal and will be policed more strictly going forward.

    As it were, Raikkonen set a blistering pace immediately after his pitstop that left with a six second gap over Hamilton. But Mercedes played the perfect strategic hand by using Valtteri Bottas to back Raikkonen into Hamilton. Though the Ferrari driver was able to hold off Hamilton for quite some time with a hand full of laps to go it was clear that his rear tyres were in a critical state. Hamilton, on slightly fresher tyres, was able to take the lead of the race and ultimately the victory.

    In fact, Raikkonen’s rear tyres were in such a critical state it’s a bit of a surprise that he managed to get to the chequered flag. This too could be viewed as a strategic error by Ferrari but one committed long before they even got to Italian grand prix. Ferrari paid the soft tyre next to no mind when it came time to select the compounds for the race. It eventually meant that the team, and Raikkonen, had little to no data and understanding as to how the compound would react and wear in long runs. Hence, they were unable to predict tyre life and likely made their pitstop too early.

    0123Much further adrift Max Verstappen finished third on the road for Red Bull but had five seconds added to his race time for banging wheels with Bottas going into turn one. This promoted Bottas to third while Vettel was ultimately able to recover to fourth. It left Verstappen in fifth while his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo failed to reach the chequered flag with a confirmed clutch failure.

    Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean finished sixth on the road but his car was subsequently disqualified as the FIA deemed the leading edge of the floor to be illegal. The American team has since lodged an appeal. Grosjean’s disqualification promoted Esteban Ocon to sixth with his Force India teammate Sergio Perez in seventh. Carlos Sainz was eighth for Renault, the team that lodged the complaint against Haas, while Williams’ Lance Stroll was ninth and Sergey Sirotkin scored the first point of his F1 career in tenth.

    Hamilton’s win gives him a thirty point lead in the drivers standings over Vettel heading into Singapore in two weeks time.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport 
  • F1 2018: Belgian Gp Review – Ferrari Stroll To Spa Victory

    F1 2018: Belgian Gp Review – Ferrari Stroll To Spa Victory

    Untroubled, Sebastian Vettel drove the perfect race to secure victory at the 2018 Belgian grand prix. While Saturday qualifying, wet in the final part, went the way of Lewis Hamilton Sunday was brought a completely different complexion as the Ferrari driver skillfully scythed past pole sitter Hamilton into the lead of the race.

    Both Force India cars, starting on the second row thanks to a dramatic quali, started equally well and slotted in behind the front two. It all went off behind them however as a dramatic first corner crash, triggered by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, saw Fernando Alonso’s McLaren fly over the cockpit of Charles Leclerc. The halo, significantly scuffed by Alonso’s tyre, played a significant role in keeping the Sauber driver safe and uninjured in an otherwise dangerous crash. An example of how well the halo works was never needed or wanted but this serves as the perfect illustration for all those that continually criticized and moaned about the aesthetics of why it is needed in Formula 1. It’s certain that without it there would have been a different outcome for Charles Leclerc.

    Though they retired slightly later the first lap also laid claim to Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo. The Red Bull driver was tagged from behind by Alonso and lost his rear wing. While he did get back out he was a lap down without little prospect of gaining anything meaningful from the race consequently Red Bull retired Ricciardo’s no. 3 car.

    spa For Kimi Raikkonen it was desperately unlucky as Ricciardo’s front wing caused a right-rear puncture on the Ferrari. It subsequently damaged the right endplate of the rear wing, the DRS, and caused enough floor damage to render the car un-driveable.

    While first lap crashes are part and parcel of racing Ferrari only has itself to blame for Raikkonen’s ultimate retirement. The day before an awkward blunder in quali left Raikkonen without enough fuel to complete the final part of the session. While others improved their laptimes the Finn was left to start sixth on the grid. This position often referred to as the ‘carbon fibre zone’ is notoriously where most incidents occur. But Ferrari was flustered when the rain came down in the final part of qualifying and they made mistakes that ultimately cost Raikkonen a shot at a decent result. As if to add insult to injury Raikkonen was fastest well the mix for pole on a circuit where he is considered a specialist and has won on four previous occasions.

    spa1Up front it was as easy a Sunday afternoon drive for Vettel. While both Mercedes and Ferrari introduced upgraded internal combustion engines for this weekend Hamilton and Mercedes just didn’t have the pace to live with the Ferrari. This was something that Hamilton bemoaned after the race too by saying that Ferrari has some “tricks”. Whatever he was implying if he is hoping to play a psychological game it wont land with neither Vettel nor Ferrari.

    Hamilton went on to paint himself as the underdog despite being in the lead of the driver’s championship. But the likelihood is that he doesn’t really believe himself to be the downtrodden. After all, he is the reigning champion in a works Mercedes that will be a force at Monza.

    As Vettel and Hamilton took the first two steps on the podium Max Verstappen drove a lonely race into third while Valtteri Bottas ably recovered to fourth after starting nearly last on the grid. Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon delivered fourth and fifth for Force India in what has been a difficult time for the team off the track. Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen were sixth and seventh for Haas while Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and Marcus Ericsson completed the top ten for Sauber.

    Vettel’s win brings him to within 17 points of Hamilton in the drivers standing and more importantly gives Ferrari some much-needed momentum ahead of their home race this weekend.

    *Podium Image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
    *First lap Images courtesy of Racing Point Force India
  • F1 2018: Belgium Gp Preview – Spa, Meaning of Brilliance

    F1 2018: Belgium Gp Preview – Spa, Meaning of Brilliance

    Good things are worth waiting for and they don’t come any better than the mythical Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the foothills of Belgium’s Ardennes.

    Formula 1 returns this weekend after its nearly month long ‘shut down’ but while the racing on track may have ceased for a few weeks the sport that never sleeps has continued to churn at quite a dramatic rate.

    For years if not decades the driver market has been one of the most intriguing aspects of the sport. Who would race where and when has relentlessly dominated paddock discussions, arguably, since the sports inception. So much speculation has surrounded driver moves that it even coined its own phrase to become known as the silly season. It’s been no less dramatic in 2018 and the last month either. First, Daniel Ricciardo astonishingly announced his departure from Red Bull to join Renault for the 2019 season. It’s a bold move from a confident driver and only time will tell if it was the right move for Ricciardo.

    It wasn’t the least of the driver announcement over the break as Fernando Alonso too announced that he would be stepping away from the sport at the conclusion of the 2018 season.  It appears that he may run a dual program that features racing in the World Endurance Championship and the IndyCar season as he tries to obtain the much-vaunted Triple Crown. His 17-year career in F1 has simultaneously been highlighted by brilliance and underscored by controversy but the fact remains that, for Formula 1, Fernando Alonso is undoubtedly a loss.

    Fernando Alonso_Canada 2017_Thursday Part 1It’s been well known for a few months that Carlos Sainz will take over Alonso’s seat at McLaren where he is likely to be partnered by F2 driver Lando Norris for 2019.

    Elsewhere the most high profile seat that remains officially open is at Ferrari and is currently occupied by Kimi Raikkonen. While rumours swirled early in the season that Charles Leclerc would be drafted into the team for 2019 it is looking fairly certain that Raikkonen will remain at Ferrari for 2019. In fact, rumours suggest that a 1+1 deal has been agreed to between the two parties. This means an assured seat for Raikkonen in 2019 and a team option to extend his contract for 2020.

    It’s no great surprise that Raikkonen would be kept on given the way he has driven in 2018. Third in the championship standings despite two DNF’s and bulletproof consistency is likely what sealed the deal. It seems all the more fitting that F1 returns to action at a circuit where Raikkonen has won on four occasions.

    The famed Spa circuit is an old-school masterpiece infused with the memories of a bygone era that tested man and machine to the absolute limit. While fabled corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont may be easier to navigate in the 2018 era of F1 car it’s no less spectacular when it all comes together. It’s seven kilometer long lap is characterized by long straights and challenging fast corners against one of the most picturesque backdrops on the calendar.

    Kimi Raikkonen fastest in Silverstone 7F1 testAnother unique and notorious characteristic of the Belgian grand prix is its changeable weather conditions. Such is the vastness of the circuit that it often simultaneously rains on one part of the track while it remains dry on another. The list of names who have won more than twice on the demanding Spa circuit is a short one that includes only the likes of Fangio, Hill, Raikkonen, Clark, Senna, and the great Michael Schumacher who won a staggering six times.

    The undulating circuit and its distinctive power dominant demands bring Mercedes and Ferrari to the fore this weekend. Red Bull will have to work much harder to make an impact in the middle sector where its aero efficiency will be its biggest strength. For Sebastian Vettel it will imperative to stop Hamilton’s momentum and stem the loss of points to the reigning champion.

    But there is every opportunity that neither Vettel nor Hamilton will be on the top step of the podium this weekend. After all it is a circuit where Kimi Raikkonen has always shone.