Tag: lewis hamilton

F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Review – Bedlam In Baku

If you had been given absolute free reign to dream up the most dramatic script for a Formula 1 race the chances are you still wouldn’t have come up with what transpired in the 51 laps of the 2017 Baku grand prix.

From the first corner on lap one to the crossing of the finish line there was action and drama and tension stamped on every lap of the race which featured three safety-car periods and red flag stoppage. While Hamilton led cleanly away pole his teammate Valterri Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen clashed into turn two. Raikkonen with significant damage the floor of his car somehow maintained a place in the top ten while Bottas’ puncture dropped him a lap down.

Hamilton led Sebastian Vettel by roughly three seconds until lap 13 when the first safety car was deployed to recover the stricken Toro Rosso of Dannil Kvyat. Racing resumed on lap 16 but an overzealous Esteban Ocon attempt to overtake his Force India teammate Sergio Perez ended in a shower of carbon fiber and the deployment of a second safety-car period.

The Pirelli tyres, supersoft and soft, available for this weekend, proved a step too hard as nearly the entire field of drivers struggled with warming the tyres to their optimal working range. A tyre not within this critical working range produces little to no grip and leaves drivers vulnerable. It’s for this reason that Hamilton complained that the Safety car was not going fast enough. Nevertheless, Hamilton bunched up the field into turn 16 which must’ve caught Vettel by surprise as he hit the rear of the Mercedes. The Ferrari driver then pulled alongside Hamilton and turned his Ferrari into the side of the Mercedes. It was an outrageously disappointing, irresponsible and daft reaction from Vettel which earned him a ten second stop/go penalty. While some might like to think Vettel’s actions are defensible consider the fact that, post-race, he could not defend his actions.

So much carbon fiber lay strewn across the racetrack that the race was red-flagged on lap 22 in order to clear it away. While Raikkonen had retired with additional rear-wing damage a lap earlier the Ferrari mechanics had somehow managed to change an entire floor and a rear-wing endplate to get Raikkonen back in the race. Similarly, Force India made running repairs to Perez’s car and he too was back in the race. Unfortunately, the pair would ultimately retire from the race.

The race resumed after a 23 minutes stoppage with Hamilton in the lead and Vettel behind. Through the chaos and carnage Williams’ Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa had emerged in third and fourth. Daniel Ricciardo, who had earlier been 17^th in the Red Bull after an early stop, was not in fifth for long as he pulled off an exquisite move to pass both the Williams’ into turn one on the restart. Felipe Massa would soon after retire with a broken rear-damper.

The drama was still far from over however as the headrest on Hamilton’s leading Mercedes had not been attached correctly. He tried in vain to push it back into place before the FIA directed the Mercedes team to stop and fit a new headrest. It dropped Hamilton to eighth and promoted Vettel into the lead of the race but the Ferrari driver still needed to serve the ten second stop/go penalty. He served the penalty on lap 33 and emerged in seventh ahead of Hamilton.

Now it was Daniel Ricciardo in the lead with Lance Stroll in second and Haas F1’s Kevin Magnussen in third. Magnussen could mount much of a fight for the position though and was quickly shuffled back by Ocon before himself falling victim to a recovering Bottas. Vettel and Hamilton would also pass Ocon and Magnussen.

Bottas’ significantly superior pace to the Williams of Stroll proved just enough as he snatched second place, on the line, by one tenth of a second. As if to prove how crazy the Baku grand prix was Fernando Alonso was running in fifth at one stage and with a bit more grunt from the Honda could justifiably have won the race.

As it were Ricciardo took his first win since Malaysia 2016 ahead of Bottas and Stroll who, at 18, has become the youngest rookie, to score a podium finish. Astoundingly, Vettel emerged in fourth and extended his championship lead to 14 points over Hamilton who eventually finished fifth. Esteban Ocon salvaged sixth ahead of Kevin Magnussen in seventh and Carlos Sainz in eighth. Fernando Alonso finally opened McLaren’s points account with ninth as Pascal Wehrlein in the Sauber finished tenth.

The Baku grand prix was undoubtedly the race of the season so far as nearly the entire field ran into some sort of trouble. Roll on Austria.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

June 26, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp First Free Practice Report – Verstappen Quickest

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

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

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

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

June 23, 2017
F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 12, 2017
2017 Canadian GP: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(conducted by Sir Patrick Stewart)

Q: Congratulations, Lewis. You might say that there’s nothing like a pleasant, quiet drive along the river on a Sunday afternoon in Montreal. But this was a little different, wasn’t it?

Lewis HAMILTON: It was! I just want to start by saying thank you to this crowd — you guys have been amazing. Every year we come back, every year the crowd grows, the energy grows, the atmosphere grows. I don’t think anywhere in the world we do qualifying and have the reaction we have here, thank you!

Q: It means something special to you, this track?

LH: It is! I mean, I had my first pole here, I had my first win here ten years ago, and to repeat it this weekend is incredibly special. I really have to thank my team who made this possible, the guys back at the factory have worked so hard to really fix what we had in the last race, to bring it here and give it to the Ferraris. It’s great. Valtteri did a fantastic job to get collectively great points; I’m over the moon.

Q: It’s a wonderful win, congratulations. Valtteri, congratulations. This is a good season, isn’t it? This is your fourth podium. Isn’t it? It is. How did it feel?

Valtteri BOTTAS: It felt good! Thank you Montreal, again. It’s my fifth time racing here, and my third time up here on the podium, so it’s been a good place for me. It’s always good to be here, and as a team we really needed to get those points. After a tough race in Monaco I’m pretty impressed with what the team has done to get it together, and how much we have improved in two weeks is impressive. I’m just very, very proud to be a part of this.

Q: And how does it feel, following Lewis like this around the track?

VB: You know, in the beginning it was tough being behind the Red Bull, and then I was stuck behind one of the Force Indias for some time there. We split the strategy with Lewis, I went on soft. Initially we had [unclear] control of the race and I knew what I had to do to bring the car home. It was a good day for us.

Q: Well, congratulations. Daniel Ricciardo! What an afternoon! You seemed to be having a lot of fun. But don’t you always have a lot of fun?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Today I don’t think I had fun till I saw the chequered flag! It was tough. I was defending the whole race, and we weren’t that quick to be honest. I had pressure, so I couldn’t afford to do any mistakes, and it was getting quite hot so concentration was being tested, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and it is awesome to be on the podium here, with all the fans. As Lewis said, it’s awesome. It’s amazing. [crowd roars] I think I hear something… I have to do something. [DR does ‘shoey’ then gives PS ‘shoey’]

Q: This is becoming a ritual! Good vintage! Cheers! Congratulations. Lewis…

LH: I’m proud of you for doing that! It’s something I couldn’t do. Have you seen how sweaty his feet are?

Q: I don’t care – I’m on the podium for the first time; I’ll drink out of anybody’s shoe! You were in the lead for the whole race, from pole to the last lap. How does that feel? What impact does it have?

LH: I’ll tell you that in a second, but can you read my mind?

Yes. You are happy!

LH: I’m just so honoured to be here this weekend, to match the record yesterday in qualifying. LIke I said, I work with a great group of people, I’m a small part of a big team, so a big thank you to everyone, and let’s keep it going for the rest of the season!

Do you hear that, Canada? Montreal — what he said! Thank you! Thank you!

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, many congratulations. Amazing atmosphere, amazing win. Ten years you’ve been coming here to Montreal, you’ve had six poles and now you’ve had six wins. I believe that’s the first time in your career you’ve won the same race six times. Quite a day, quite a moment. I guess it was one of those days that worked out quite well for you — once you’d got Turn One, the strategy came towards you, you controlled the race; it must have been a great day.

LH: It’s been an incredible weekend — I couldn’t be happier. Firstly, for the team to have come away from Monaco, everyone kind scratching their heads but everyone wanting to work, to pull together, which we did. I don’t think in the five years I’ve been with the team that I’ve seen them pull so well together and really work towards the same cause. Understand the car and then come here and deliver what we’ve delivered – a great blow to the Ferraris, I think, because Valtteri did a fantastic job to get a 1-2 – it’s our first 1-2 together – and it’s important points for the team. So, well deserved. It’s kind of crazy to think that I had my first pole position and grand prix win here years ago. It felt great; it felt very reminiscent of 2007 in terms of how the race went. Once we did the restart, once I got past the pit straight it was all under control from there. I had to manage the car, the tyres, it’s a long race! When you’re out there on your own it feels very long — when you’ve got 35 laps to go, you think it’s a long way. Just hoping that the car holds together, which it did. The crowd here — as I mentioned on the podium — every year they turn up in their masses, and the energy from them is as close to the British Grand Prix as anywhere else. Really, the energy’s fantastic — you could almost hear them through qualifying, just generally excited. The city’s been buzzing, as it is every year. I’ve definitely put on weight, because the food is great, and it’s very hard not to eat it. I’m just really, really happy and a big thank you to everyone.

Q: Valtteri, as Lewis said it’s amazingly the first one-two of the season, really well done, really built on that aggressive start. The move on Sebastian Vettel crucial to the outcome today. Tell us a little bit about that and then also the decision to go with the soft tyre after had done, obviously, the same thing before you I think.

VB: Yes, so first of all, like Lewis said, I’m also really happy for us as a team. It’s been really impressive to see in only two weeks what we have been able to do and improve with everything, with the team. Never seen a group of people, so determined to win and get back on top and now a one-two here is amazing. Really proud to be part of that. Lewis did a really good job all weekend and today. Obviously in the start I tried to do everything I can to be aggressive, to try and get ahead of Ferraris. Had a bit of a lock-up there, which was compromising my first stint – but I knew there was an opportunity. I kind of dived in. I knew that the inside line is the way to go, so that was good. Then, lost a bit of time behind the Red Bull and then after the stop behind the Force India. We decided to go for the soft based on what the team saw with other cars running the soft – but it wasn’t quite as good as I was expecting as well, so the pace was missing a bit in the second stint but still, I knew what I had to do in the end: bring the car home and get the points. Not maybe the ideal tyre for me today but I tried everything to make the most out of that.

Q: Coming to you Daniel, third podium in a row. It’s becoming a habit. On the cool down your engineer said you “had a bit on today.” Obviously, a lot of it going on in your rear-view mirrors, so a word about that. There’s a bit of a controversy with Force India, Ocon asking to be allowed to have a crack at you. From what you saw, do you think he would have had a better chance than Pérez did? Be interesting to here your thoughts on that. And also, did you feel the same way as Valtteri, that the soft didn’t quite turn out the way you thought it was going to?

DR: Yeah, if he wants to have a crack we can go at it in the car park in about an hour! It was tough. I had a race of defence. The soft, yeah, it was a bit slow to get going and then, for a few laps, I was able to pull away from Pérez and it looked like then maybe the supersoft was struggling. But then, yeah, I couldn’t get anything out really of the soft. It was really hard to find the grip and quite easy to make a mistake. Hard to be consistent every lap. And then, yeah, Pérez started coming again. For sure the supersoft I think was better – and yeah we weren’t particularly quick with that tyre but, yeah, just managed to put in as clean laps as I could. It was tricky with the level of grip the tyre had but also with the wind. The wind was throwing the car around quite a lot and that was tricky. And then a few laps to go I heard Seb was coming, so yeah, I couldn’t rest the whole race. It was a tough one, y’know. It was quite warm and tested the concentration and everything. Very, very happy. Got carried away on the podium and didn’t manage to thank the team but yeah, three podiums in a row. Happy with that. Obviously, we’re not the quickest car on the track at the moment but we’re managing to put it together on a Sunday. Yeah, it’s nice. It’s nice obviously. Max had his problems today, I’m sure he would have been up there as well. We’ll try to get both cars on the podium soon.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Ysef Harding – Xero Xone News) Lewis, you were controlled, you were measured and you made this look, like Sir Patrick Stewart said, incredibly easy today. You’ve had a whole lot of milestones here and it seems like after the incredible, emotional weekend that you’ve had, I asked you on Thursday if this place is very special to you. Has today and this weekend made it even more special?

LH: Definitely. It’s always been a special place for me, as I said, being my first grand prix win. I think every year I feel the fans have grown with me over these ten years and I think that it’s just my appreciation for Canada and the people here has just grown over the time. It’s crazy to think after ten years I enjoy driving every single lap just as much as I did ten years ago when I was 22 years old. I absolutely loved it the whole way today and I hope that I get many more experiences like that here.

Q: (Bill Beacon – Canadian Press) This is for Lewis and Valtteri. How were you able to avoid all that mess on the first lap, and how do you think all that affected the race?

LH: I’ve not really got much to say. I got a really good start, so I was generally in the clear. I think I saw in my mirror… I think it might have been Valtteri on the inside, I thought saw him lock-up, and I thought he was going to… I didn’t know who was on the right of me but I came out of Turn Two and saw that Valtteri was behind. You were behind?

VB: Yeah, I was third

LH: … so the Red Bull, I think, and then seeing the Ferraris further back, I was thinking ‘that’s fantastic for us’.

Valtteri?

VB: Yeah, I was trying to get in front of the Ferrari, that was only target for Turn One really. Had a good start, had a bit of a lock-up which compromised my first stint. The visibility was poor and it was difficult to see and I think I need a dentist as well! But it came out OK in the end.

Q: (Mike Doodson – Honorary) Many congratulations Lewis. You said earlier this year how tricky this year’s car is to drive – but on the podium, you praised the team on the effectiveness of the updates they’ve bought this weekend. Does this mean to say it’s the end of Monaco-style upsets?

LH: I wasn’t praising them on the updates because we didn’t bring any upgrades here. I was praising them on the due diligence they did after the last race. They really did such great work in terms of analysing where we’d gone wrong, all the different points, and then giving us a summary: ‘this is where we went wrong, this is what we think we need to do to fix it.’ And then putting it into action. It was just amazing teamwork. We came here, the car’s back to where it should be. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be like that every time but I think we learned a lot. And I’m happy that it was actually… even though Monaco’s a special one to win… I’m happy that it was that early in the season that we had learned those things. I think it should put us in a strong position from here moving forwards. We know which direction we need to be developing the car from now on.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, third with Williams, second with Mercedes here. Which one feels better?

VB: This one, for sure because it’s… yeah, it’s my best result here ever, although it’s not first, it is second and second is better than third, so ’15, ’16, ’17 been on the podium here so Montreal has been really good for me – but this definitely feels better, for sure because of the result but first of all because it is our first one of the year to be one-two as a team. And also other results that we need. We are here to win the Championship and these kind of results we need, obviously. As a driver, I would prefer to be first rather than second. As a team, it is really good for us, I’m really proud of what we have done. It feels good.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speed Sport) For Daniel, of course: When you saw Max Verstappen go out, how much of a concern was that and did the team give you any instructions to avoid maybe having the same thing?

DR: Yeah, I’m not sure of the reason. I still don’t know. To be honest, I’m not too fussed in terms of it doesn’t bother me whether the team tell me what happened or not. Obviously I’ve got my car underneath me an I’ve got to do the best I can with that. I think sometimes if you know, you try to… I don’t know, you might be hesitant. I wasn’t sure but I had a lot of switches to change constantly, so I assume that had something to do with it, to try and prevent maybe the same happening with me. It was pretty busy. There are some procedures we do to avoid system failure and all of that kind of stuff, so I presume that was the things I was doing. But fortunately there’s a long straight so you get plenty of time to do that, but it wasn’t so easy when I’m trying to look in my mirrors as well and do all these switch changes. I still don’t know exactly what happened to Max, but it was quite early in the race. I don’t think it was anything with the brakes, I guess it was something more terminal.

Energy store.

DR: OK. Alright. Yeah. Fortunately mine held up today.

Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – La Presse) To Valterri and Lewis. It’s unusual when a team is leading 1-2 very comfortably to split strategies. Was that planned or was that a consequence of Ferrari being on the back foot and trying things that were not normal to try in a race like this?

LH: I think it was just because it was an unknown… They have explained that for the lead car to have taken the soft would have been a risk and depending on where the second car is and in terms of the gap behind them, perhaps it’s a worthwhile risk for the second car. That’s why they said they would try. Also, because I was quite comfortable on the ultrasoft, they kept me out way longer than my stop, which was to be lap 21 and in that period of time everyone had stopped behind me and I was able to wait a bit to see how everyone was doing on the different tyres and after they had seen one of the drivers on the supersoft and it was going well, Vettel maybe, they said this is the better tyre go with. We chose that and to be honest the tyres were great today. I had no problems with them at all.

VB: I completely understand why we went to the soft. We spoke about it before the race and I was also up for it because of the temperatures being hotter today. I tried the soft tyre on Friday and it wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t just quiet up there as expected. I was personally expecting it to be better and if I could have chosen the tyre at that point when we stopped I would have taken the soft, just to try. The gap already to Lewis was quite big and there was nothing to lose really, just to try. But unfortunately it was the slower tyre today. It cost me some points but it didn’t cost me time.

Q: (Jeff Pappone – Inside Track) Lewis, I’m just wondering with everything that has happened this weekend, the blazing pole lap, the helmet, everything fell together today, can this be considered one of the best weekends of your career?

LH: I think it’s always difficult to say the best. I have been so fortunate. Motor racing has given me some great memories, from the early days when I was eight years old. And being in Formula One from 22 onwards I think there are just so many, I wouldn’t want to say one was more special than the other. The first grand prix win I had when my dad was here. The first grand prix I had when I finished third on the podium and seeing my dad coming out of the garage and we couldn’t believe that we were there; winning my first championship, there are just so many amazing memories, Each weekend you just want to arrive as a more solid, complete driver. I think this weekend I would like to hope being that I’m older, more experienced, further down the line, I would like to think I’m a lot more composed, a lot more complete as a driver. In terms of performance I would like to think it was one of the best weekends, yeah.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Does it feel any different to have a one 1-2 with Valtteri than it did with Nico?

LH: It’s always a great thing for a team to achieve a 1-2, it’s always special. I think experiencing it with Valtteri is definitely different. I think the chemistry Valtteri and I have is different. I think the working environment we’ve both experienced this year is on a complete other level, on a professional level that’s been above any other year that I have experienced. That obviously comes from Valtteri’s maturity and how the team also works with us, to give us a fair platform to fight. As I said on the podium there, it’s pour first 1-2, it’s solid, solid points for the team. I’m sure Valtteri will say he didn’t enjoy his qualifying, because he was rapid in Monaco for example but it’s very difficult with the car we have at the moment. I know he is going to have many more wins to come and I that when he has those wins I am able to back him up and get those points for the team.

Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) You’re heading for a third street track in a row after Monaco and Canada. Baku could be considered a combination of both. How will you be attacking Baku and will you using what you learned in Monaco there or from here and Monaco?

LH: Definitely. You take each experience and you pile ‘em up. What we learned in Monaco will definitely impact Baku. It’s a much longer circuit; I think it’s very smooth, a lot more flat. Downforce efficiency is going to be important there, you don’t have to be as soft as for example you have to be here in roll and bumps. Last year I think I was very quick there; I just didn’t deliver. So the plan is to make sure I deliver. The trickiest part will be tyres I believe. I’m not sure which tyres we have, I’m sure it’s quite similar to here, but that’s going to be the tricky part, these tyres. Getting them in the window on such a smooth surface. That’s going to be the challenge for everyone. I’m excited to go back there. Now we know the place, I might try to get there a bit earlier to experience a bit more of Azerbaijan and sense a bit more of the culture. It always makes the experience much better when you get to live in the culture moment for a while, rather than just pop in and out; you miss so many great things.

June 12, 2017
2017 Canadian GP: Post Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

TRACKSIDE INTERVIEWS (conducted by Will Buxton)

Q: Sixth career position, here in Montreal, 12,000 friends to celebrate with. That was an exceptional lap.

Lewis HAMILTON: What’s up Montreal? How are you guys doing? I’m so happy! Thank you so much for coming out here every year, you guys are the ones who all make this grand prix as special as it is for us. Thank you so much. Montreal’s been good to me over the years; it was a close battle with the Ferraris, they were so quick. They’ve been quick all year, but I was gunning, I was pushing — I’ve got great support out here and I just wanted to give them a good lap.

Q: The first flyer in Q3 was exceptional. The second almost defied belief. What a lap!

LH: It was a sexy lap! It was a great lap. I can’t believe it came together so well — the first section was fantastic and I just managed to be a little bit up on each one. The team did a fantastic job to learn from our mistakes in the last race and really build up for this race, so I owe it all to them. To everyone back at the factory, a big thank you.

Q: Seb, it was close man, it was so close, particularly on that first run. We’ve got the Montreal Ferrari Fan Club there. Yeah it’s front row, but can you win it tomorrow? Have you got the pace?

Sebastian VETTEL: I think we have. I’m not so happy with the last run I had in qualy; I’d like to repeat the second run, just find a little bit. I probably pushed a bit too hard, lost a little bit in sector two, and then I tried a little bit of catch-up. Not ketchup to eat, catching up the lap times! It was a good qualifying session, though, getting better at the end. At the beginning I was struggling to find a rhythm. Great atmosphere, people cheering, free practice they’re on it, so it’s really great to be here.

Q: And no seagulls this year, just this man to get in your way.

SV: Yeah, I mean, the seagulls were in Turn One last year, so I’m pretty sure we should be fine.

Q: Valtteri, this is a track that’s always suited you. Once again, another phenomenal job – talk me through your qualifying.

Valtteri BOTTAS: It was close here, as I expected. Lewis had a mega run today. For me, on the second run I tried to go faster, but I went deep into Turn Ten [unclear]. So well done to Lewis, as I said

Q: Lewis, today you equalled your great hero Ayrton Senna to go second of all-time in pole positions. The Senna family wanted to give you something to congratulate you on equalling Ayrton’s record. It’s not a replica, it’s race-worn. From your hero, to you. Lewis, you’ve had a few emotions in Formula One. How does that one rank?

LH: I’m shaking. I’m speechless. Ayrton… I know for many of you he was your favourite driver. It was the same for me – he was the one who inspired me to be where I am today. To match him, and to receive this, is the greatest honour. A big, big thank you to the Senna family, and to everyone here. God bless you all. Thank you.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Many congratulations, Lewis. An inspired drive today, and obviously a very special moment with this amazing memento you’ve been given. A tremendous battle continues, with you and Sebastian clearly pushing each other right to the limit. Perhaps you’d like to tell us a little bit about that lap in detail and where you found it from.

LH: We’ve obviously been working very hard over the past two weeks to try and rectify the issues we had with the car. Needless to tell you, the guys worked harder than ever and did an amazing job to firstly understand where we went wrong and then figure out how we can progress forwards. I’m really so grateful for all the hard work back in the factory. We’ve known all weekend that it was going to be really close, but Ferrari really did seem like they had the upper hand. Being as it is a street circuit, being that there are risk factors in terms of how you push on your lap, you always save your best for last. We’ve been building up, honestly… We thought they might have another power mode to step up, Seb had been very very strong. Yeah, and I just went out and tried to do very consistent runs, and just build upon each lap, each time I went out, but knowing there are a few places to improve on. Working the ultrasoft tyre for the first lap is not easy, and obviously that’s been an issue in the past and it’s something I’ve been working very hard to make sure I fully understood and how to capitalise on the use of the tyre. Today was the day that I needed to do that – I knew that number 65 was there in the waiting, I knew that Montreal has been a beautiful place and a beautiful home for me in the many years since my first win here. So I was like ‘if I’m going to get a pole, get that special pole, if anywhere it’s going to be here. Of course, you go into your last lap and you can’t imagine it. You can only hope and imagine it’s going to go well, but often it doesn’t. The lap just started perfectly on the exit of the last corner; I built it on the foundations I had already set on the previous lap. Very smooth, no mistakes, just a little bit up everywhere. And then the last part was in the last corner, which has always been a strength of mine throughout my time here. And an incredible reception from the fans, so a big thank you to them. For the Senna family to send me this… I don’t actually own any of Ayrton’s artefacts, anything from him, so this is the most special thing I have, above and beyond all my trophies and everything. A big, big thank you – I’m honoured to be honoured by that family.

Q: And only three behind the all-time record, might be achievable in the near future. Very well done. Well, in any great duel there is always the other side of the story, Sebastian. Two great champions pushing each other to the limit at the moment. It was four one thousandths between you after that first run, but were you dismayed by the lap time he pulled out?

SV: Well I didn’t know at that point, I was still on my lap but I knew I had to improve, even just by five thousandths. First of all, congrats to him, it’s a massive achievement, so he was the better man today. I’m not entirely happy. We had a bit of a different run in in qualifying, which was fine and it just got better and better and for the last run I thought OK, we can step it up and I should be able to find a little bit of time but I lost the car a bit in Turn 2, I was on the back foot already, losing two tenths out of the second corner and then I knew I had to catch up which I did until the end of the lap but just enough to do the same time as before so not entirely clean. I would have loved to get a better lap at the end. But that’s how it is but nevertheless I think the car is very good. I was happy this morning, I was happy this afternoon and it should be very good in the race so looking forward to tomorrow.

Q: Valtteri, this has always been a very strong track for you. Were you surprised by the pace Lewis was able to pull out of the car today? And thoughts on the race for tomorrow because it looked to me on the long runs yesterday that you had pretty low degradation on the tyres. You looked very strong yesterday in the long runs.

VB: Yeah, first of all, big congrats to Lewis for his 65^th pole position. It’s a great achievement matching Senna, so well done. He had a mega-lap today. I was really trying hard. It was a tricky day for me, especially Practice Three with the balance of the car. It really hasn’t happy at all but a lot better for qualifying. Q1, Q2 felt good but in Q3, when I came down to getting those last hundredths and tenths and pushing harder, the car became unstable again and not so easy to predict. I struggled more with the car today than Lewis did and couldn’t get a lap together. But yeah, long runs seemed OK. Again, it’s going to be close with Ferrari I think, so I felt good in the car on the long runs and it’s all about tomorrow.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mike Doodson – Honorary) Lewis, Ayrton himself always placed more importance on pole positions than he did on race wins. What is your policy in that area?

LH: I can understand that because obviously it makes the Sunday often easier. Even though it’s still difficult it gives you the best possible opportunity and the optimum position to start the race. So, I can agree with that, and obviously I equalled Ayrton in race wins a while ago so this had been focus. Literally as a kid, I’d come home and, like, one day if I’m really lucky and I can get to Formula One, I’d want emulate Ayrton. The fact I’ve now reached him in that area… I just can’t believe it. Honestly, I can’t believe it. I remember coming home from school and putting on the videotape of Ayrton, so it’s really strange to think that now I’m here and level in poles. And being that it is the most difficult season, I would say, in my career, racing against these two great drivers, and Kimi, and having us so close, really, then pushes us all to the limit and relies on us all being perfect. And, of course, we can’t always be perfect. Today I got as close as I could get.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For Lewis. I can imagine this is far better getting his helmet near the people, near the audience, in the public than in the press conference?

LH: Sure, I’ve really grown a lot with the fans here. There’s a lot of Ferrari fans here, as there are around the world – but there’s a lot of Team LH fans here that have really grown with me from my first pole position, my first win in 2007. So, there’s been a lot of growth over those years and I really feel welcomed in Canada when I come. Not only here but just, when I go to Toronto, for example. It’s a place I love. I really do love this track, and when you’re able to pull out a lap like that, it just cements the love that you have for it again. And to receive that in front of the crowd, it’s a huge, huge fillip. Sold out crowd I think today – they always turn out in their thousands and really, really create the atmosphere. As I was driving towards them, outside the car, I could feel the roar. I can feel it when I do the out-lap, when I do the in-lap, when I’ve finished the lap, I can see them in the corner of my eye. They’re just out-and-out sports fans. I think they just have an appreciation for competition.

Q: (Chris Medland – Racer.com) Lewis, you said that was a near-perfect lap. Obviously 65 is a lot of pole positions – but is this one of your best, or maybe even your best?

LH: If I’m really honest it’s really hard to remember every single pole. If I’m really honest… they’ve all been special and unique in their own way. I think being that it’s hard to remember them, it also feels like it’s the first time. Honestly, coming across that line, almost holding your breathe, hoping, fingers crossed, waiting, knowing that Sebastian was still on a lap, Valtteri was still on a lap, not sure. It was a good lap but you don’t want to get your hopes too much up because you’ll be disappointed if they do a better lap – but in the intensity of the moment, I don’t really recall having as intense a moment, in terms of this intense battle that we’re having I would like to think that it is one of the best, yeah. And being that it is equalling Ayrton as well, makes it a little bit more special.

Q: (Bill Beacon – Canadian Press) A question for Lewis and Sebastian. Given that the two of you are so close in every way this year, what sort of race are you expecting tomorrow? Is it one of those races that’s going to go down to the last lap?

LH: I believe it will, being that we are so close. Ferrari have great single lap pace but very, very strong always, as they have shown in the races. I anticipate tomorrow… it was a close battle last year between us and I can only imagine that tomorrow it’s going to be pushing all the way to the end. It’s definitely going to be a good one. I’m excited about it.

SV: I expect a close race! I think it has been very close in every race so far. Maybe Monaco they were struggling a bit more in terms of pace but everywhere else we went it’s unfair to say that one was quicker than the other. I think we were in the same tenth in race pace. That’s great. Not so easy to overtake if you are that close, no matter where you go, but we’ll see. It will be a long race tomorrow. Canada is always nice, so looking forward to tomorrow.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, three more pole positions and you will equal the record. Will that be a similar emotion, because it seems that the 65 of Senna stands out more than the 68 of Michael?

LH: I haven’t got to the 68 of Michael so I can’t really say. I can’t really look that far ahead at the moment. I just have to be really grateful and appreciate this moment, because it was, as I said, Ayrton was the guy that I noticed at the beginning… I think it was the colour of the helmet. That’s what kids notice, the colours, and then you kind of get hooked – ‘that’s my driver’. But of course a big fan of Michael’s and to think that I am that close to his incredible record it would be… I’m going to be racing for a while so I plan on getting there. That would be an honour in itself at that moment but that’s all ifs and buts and whens and I have to appreciate this moment. You never know when it’s you last day.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, how would you rate your own chances tomorrow for winning the race, if these two are only concentrating on each other?

VB: For sure starting third you have all the chances. It’s a long race tomorrow and we are all in the first few rows going into the race so try and win it. For us, as a team, it would be best to try and get a 1-2 but of course as a driver you always go for the best and try to win it and there is a chance. But it’s going to be a long race, so we’ll see.

LH: Heikki, do you have questions for the non-Finnish drivers? I’m actually part-Finnish, I spend a lot of time with Finnish people. He [Seb] has a home in Finland!

Q: (Jeff Pappone – Inside Track) It’s not a Senna helmet, but last month there was a set of stamps unveiled in Canada to mark the 50^th anniversary of this race featuring Jackie Stewart, Gilles Villeneuve, Aytron Senna, Michael Schumacher and yourself. I just want to know how you feel about that? Have you seen the stamp and what’s your feeling about included among those drivers as one of the drivers of the decades of this race?

LH: I have seen the stamp. I’ve got the stamp. I posted it the other day…

SV: To who?

LH: No, no, I posted it on Instagram! That’s actually a good idea! I should post it to someone! Yeah, I’m honoured to be amongst those great drivers, those previous legends. I posted an image on Instagram, of an image that had the other drivers on there, that showed me amongst them. Ultimately just very proud of… it wouldn’t be possible without the all the hard work of my family. My dad standing here for the time when I won my first grand prix here, all the work that went in before that which no one really gets to see. Right now all the stuff you see is the tip of the iceberg and no one know how big an ice berg is and no one knows how hard we work to get where we are today, so I really owe it to a lot of people who are behind me. I’m proud that I can put the Hamilton name there and if today is my last day on the Earth then the Hamilton name will remain in the sport forever and that’s something we can be proud of.

Q: (Ralph Woodall – L’Equipe) Seb, the two Ferraris were very quick during practice. How do you explain the bit of struggle you had during qualification?

SV: I don’t know what happened to Kimi. I was quite busy in Q3, doing three runs, so I didn’t see much and I didn’t know what times Lewis was doing until qualifying was over. I don’t know, I think we always expect Mercedes to be quick, especially in the last segment. It’s true that maybe I didn’t get the best lap, but I think Lewis did just a better job today and got a really, really good lap. I don’t know, maybe Kimi struggled with the car but otherwise we were fairly close all weekend.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Seb, about the three runs in Q3: was that meant from the beginning and is it here more important to have an extra run in Q3 than other circuits?

SV: No, not really but we spoke about it before obviously and then made the call. I was quite confident at the time to go with the first lap. Before, the session were a bit mixed, you saw that the lap times were getting better and better and when we made the call then I didn’t run again in Q2 and the others put in the fastest lap on their first lap, so I was pretty confident we made the right call.

Q: (Chris Medland – Racer.com) Lewis, you referenced the fight with Ferrari, how much is this tight battle pushing you to improve yourself and perform at your very best? And to Seb and Valtteri how much more being in the fight for pole positions and wins at every race, does it produce your best?

LH: It’s a good question. I would say my opinion is that it is a little bit more so for us because we are having a car that is not working everywhere. It’s a great car but it’s a trickier car to set up than the cars I’ve had in the past. It appears from the outside that the Ferrari is easier – while they are working hard – it works everywhere it seems. If we are staying level and we are up and down all the time, for sure it puts a lot of emphasis on us pulling together more than ever and as a team we are closer and more united than we have ever been. Utilising every engineer to the absolute max and utilising everyone’s abilities as a team. In the five years I have been with this team I’ve never seen such great teamwork and communication. We are all just talking more than we have ever done. It’s great today to be able to say the fruits of that hard work. It’s not just chatting for nothing. It’s going to continue to be a tough, tough, tough race with the Ferraris, because they are so strong but today we have shown we can have an answer if we put the work in.

SV: I’m not sure I remember the question! I think it’s always great if you step into the car knowing you can have a great weekend. I’ve always been very fortunate so far in my career that I have had very, very good years but I’m sure if you speak to the other half of the grid they are longing to be there, longing to have the chance, but for sure it’s more enjoyable when you race for trophies – and maybe helmets as well!

VB: I think you are always trying to [find new limits] especially now being Lewis’ team-mate and fighting with Seb and Kimi, for sure you are always trying to find new limits, and you are. You can improve as long as you want to. That is exciting but today was a tricky day for me. I didn’t get everything… I wasn’t so comfortable with the car and that’s why I was behind but tomorrow is a new day.

June 11, 2017
Hamilton takes record breaking Canadian GP pole

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

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

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

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

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

June 11, 2017
Canadian grand prix Friday practice round up – Hamilton & Raikkonen top the sheets

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 10, 2017
Hamilton Leads Close Canadian Grand Prix Free Practice 1

Lewis Hamilton launched Mercedes’ comeback this weekend with the fastest time for the first free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton set a 1:13.809 to go fastest on the super soft tyres narrowly beating Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to the fastest time of the session by 0.198s. In fact, the top four drivers were covered by less than half a second.

As expected the green track conditions produced a few spins and off track excursions for the drivers. As the track cleaned up, the lap times became progressively quicker.

Valtteri Bottas finished the session third fastest ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

The surprise of the day came courtesy of Force India who finished in an impressive 5th and 6th with Sergio Perez finishing in front of Esteban Ocon.

Red Bull did not have the cleanest session with a few troubles for Max Verstappen out on track. Granted that the team only ran the super softs they’re still a few tenths off the pace. Team Principal Christian Horner said that on the super softs they were just over half a second off the pace and they expect to be between three and four-tenths off the pace on the ultra softs.

Felipe Massa ended his session 8th fastest with his team mate and home town boy Lance Stroll finishing in 13th with the latter complaining about the lack of grip on his Williams.

McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne had a good session compared to his team mate, Fernando Alonso. Alonso fresh from the back of his Indy 500 stint was keen to get back in the car but was confined to the garage with issues on his MCL32. When Alonso was able to get back out on track he could only complete one timed lap before a hydraulic problem forced him to stop on track.

Mercedes are showing some early pace. Ferrari look right in there with Force India the best of the rest. Free Practice 2 still to come. We could see things changed up a bit.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP1)@MercedesAMGF1 edge @ScuderiaFerrari @ForceIndiaF1 impress again#CanadianGP 🇨🇦 #FP1 pic.twitter.com/T6IDFPyjuE

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 9, 2017

June 9, 2017
2017 Canadian GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

PART ONE: Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Jolyon PALMER (Renault)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Fernando, if we can start with you. It seemed like a great experience at Indianapolis. How was it to learn a completely new way of driving, of racing after all these years? And has it relit your competitive flame after a tough few years here in Formula One?

Fernando ALONSO: It was a great experience, obviously very new for me many things there, so yeah very intense because as you said I had to learn many things from zero, so it was definitely a good way to stop this year in Formula One for a couple of weeks and start from zero in something and learn from the beginning. That was the first thing that I wanted to try. Try to be competitive in a completely new car, new series. I am always searching for this kind of motivations and this year it was a good decision to go there. The race was amazing, the experience of qualifying already started to be an amazing experience there – four laps on the limit and try to not scrub the speed in any place and obviously the race strategically very different compared to F1, a very long race as well – three hours and a half, or three hours and forty-five minutes in the car. It was just you know a new thing for me but I felt competitive, I felt good in qualifying, I was leading the biggest race in the world for a while, so really really happy.

Q: So what happens next? Has the experience helped you to make any decisions or resolutions about where you take your career from here?

FA: Not really. I’ve said many times in F1, a third world championship is still my biggest priority. I think I developed my skills to drive F1 cars for the last 16 years, so it’s the best thing that I can drive. The best car that I can drive is still Formula One. It’s another time that I jump in any car in any categories with any tyres, with any rules, that I go there and I’m competitive, so I’m not afraid of the future. If I cannot succeed here and win this third world championship, I’m still loving motor racing and I will race in any series. I know that I can win any series.

Q: Lewis, coming to you. Five poles, five wins. Montreal is a great place for you to come to bounce back from your disappointment in Monaco last time out. Toto Wolff’s pre-race notes are interesting: he said that it could be a tricky race for Mercedes in terms of the layout of the track. How positive do you feel about the weekend?

Lewis HAMILTON: I think Toto mentioned that he thinks Ferrari… We’ve obviously seen that Ferrari are quickest at the moment, so they’re the favourites, but we’ve worked very hard to rectify the issues we had in the last race, and after the weekend… Attack this weekend. We’ve got some unique bits on the car I think which will work well this weekend,but it doesn’t mean we can’t take the fight to them.

Q: It’s no secret that the Mercedes car has a few issues with the softer compound tyres this year, getting them into that sweet spot and then keeping them there. How much work have you been able to do behind the scenes to fix this problem up to this point?

LH: Not much at all.

Q: Just what you can do on-event with those tyres when you get them?

LH: Yeah. We’ve definitely done some analysis, but we’ll find whether or not there’s new things we can improve on this weekend.

Q: Coming to you, Jolyon. Best result of the season so far last time out in Monaco – P16 on the grid to P11 at the flag. How much of a confidence boost is that?

Jolyon PALMER: It’s been a confidence boost. It’s been obviously a very tough start to the year. There’s been some positives recently, but it doesn’t necessarily show on the results sheets. Monaco, at least we did race distance and we were pretty competitive in the times as well. Obviously when you start 16th it’s difficult to make any overtakes or do much else. Running around in the traffic, but at least with a better pace and we can take a bit of confidence in that.

Q: Cyril Abiteboul, your team boss, in his pre-race notes has said that you now have a more robust engine and gearbox and the team can fully focus on maximising performance. Tell us about that.

JP: That sounds good! Well, we’ll see – we’re always pushing. This is obviously a big power circuit, difficult for the drivetrain as well; it’s an important area so we’re always making progress there. I think it’s now time – especially for me – to start delivering and get some points.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Lewis. Can you tell us how difficult is it to make the tyre work and how you heat them during the pre-laps?

LH: You just drive it the same. You push or you drive slowly, depending on the temperature of the circuit, and when you come to do your laps sometimes they’re ready and sometimes they’re not. It’s difficult to… It’s kind of an unfeeling – sometimes the tyres feel exactly the same when you leave the garage, and sometimes they grip up. It’s the same for every tyre.

Q: (Sef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, I want to talk a little bit about here, as it’s a very special place for you. Obviously this is where it all began, and this is where you started to build your legacy. You posted a picture on Instagram that was very nice, it was a young you in your karate uniform and your father was with you. Fathers’ Day is this weekend, and I wanted to know – when you come here, does it still… Do you still have those good memories, do you have that positive feeling, those feelings when you first won the race? It’s been ten years now, and I just wanted to know: do you still feel that positive energy going into this weekend?

LH: Montreal’s been… Obviously, having the amazing experience I had in 2007; I remember standing on the podium and looking down at my dad and just seeing the biggest smile I’d ever seen in my life on his face, which was a very proud moment. And then, since then, just every year I come, I’ve just grown a lot with Canada and with Montreal, and the following has grown along the time, ten years, and so a lot of my time when I see get here is spectacular. You definitely feel the energy. Here is such a great race; the weather’s generally really good, the circuit’s incredible and unique to its own, the city’s one of the greatest cities. I’ve not been here when it’s not been a grand prix, but there’s a huge buzz here. I love being here. I try and get here a bit early, because the food’s great, the people are great, and I generally get left alone, so it’s a good weekend.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Question to Fernando. Fernando, would it help you to learn for your decision for next year that you maybe get the same engine next year as Lewis has this year?

FA: I think it doesn’t make any change to my decision.

Q: (Bruce Schoenfeld – Sports Business Journal) At this point in the season, from a driver’s perspective, has much changed with the change in administration of the sport? Have you noticed anything heading in any direction in terms of commercial opportunities, of the way the sport is run, or when you wake up in the morning is it business as usual, with no noticeable differences?

LH: Very very small changes. At the moment I think they’re in planning, so. Coming into this track today, I don’t know if you know where the bridge is? Normally they stop the traffic to let the fans walk through. After ten years or 15 years or whatever, they’ve finally built a stairway to go up and over the road. I don’t know who did that, but otherwise there’s not really other changes so far.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Lewis, it is said that a driver gets stronger after winning for the first time. Have you noticed any change in Valtteri after Sochi? And did you notice any change in yourself here ten years ago after your first victory?

LH: I’ve not noticed any difference in Valtteri – he’s still his calm, composed self. But definitely for me when I won my first grand prix it was definitely a huge boost, confirming what I knew in my heart I could do. So I can only imagine that it’s the same for anyone else, it’s just that some people show it more than others.

Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) Question for Fernando. I have read that you said in Spanish TV that if they announce 25 races you would quit. Is that right?

FA: Yes.

Q (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, looking at it from a distance, in Indy you appeared to be quite different – there was a kind of lightness about you. Skateboarding down the paddock, or Gasoline Alley, attending press conferences with Indiana farmers, and all that kind of thing. What made that change, and are you going to bring it to here as well?

FA: Well, the skateboarding I think here you are not allowed to bring those kind of things. The farmer thing, they give you money if you are the fastest rookie. Someone give us money here, I will attend, no worries. The whole atmosphere is just different there, I think everyone is more relaxed, is happy, you know. Even the way of the events we had, it’s all about… Everyone is proud of that race, that event. They’ve been for many years there, you know everyone that comes to the race they are just proud. They expect to have fun in that race. I don’t say that here is different, but here with years with all of the business that is around F1, you know everyone is trying to find some word, some thing you say or you do that creates maybe a theme behind, for more on the news. That is just about, you know, 33 drivers doing the race and just enjoy racing. Here, it’s more. Formula One is bigger in every sense. It’s bigger, there are other things, you know. But this in all kind of sports it happens the same. In tennis when you start and when you play Roland Garros there are many details that they take care of, the players. In football the same thing – when you start, you have fun, you just enjoy the sport. And then when you go to the champions’ league final a small comment before the match maybe creates a polemic and afterwords or something like that. You are more relaxed, the environment is more relaxed. There’s not the pressure and everything that Formula One has here, so it’s just different.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Fernando, just to follow that up, how do you feel coming back to Formula One? You were promised an engine upgrade for here in Canada; it doesn’t look like that has materialised. Zak’s come out again and been critical of Honda; he says the next 90 days is important. What has to change to keep you at McLaren?

FA: We have to win. You know, if we are winning before September or something like that I will make a decision and I will stay.

Q (Guillaume La Francois – La Presse) My question’s for Lewis. I know you mentioned enjoying your time in Montreal, which we all really appreciate, but as far as when you’re on the track, what is it about the track that suits you well, that enables you to have all that success here?

LH: It’s been ten years, I think it’s just a bit like once you get to the corners it’s a bit like a go-kart track, and long straights added to that, so it creates lots of opportunities for overtaking, you can follow here a little bit better than perhaps at other circuits, it’s a lot more of a mechanical, technical circuit, and it suits well an aggressive driving style I guess I would say. So all of that means you have to be generally more aggressive than we can be at other circuits.

Q: (Jeff Pappone – Inside Track) This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Formula One race in Canada. I just wanted to know from all three of you, what is the significance of this race to Formula One and personally, is there a significance of this race to you?

LH: The significance of this race? Well, Formula One is obviously made up of a lot of great countries, a lot of great races, but there are the exceptional races and there’s only a few of them. This race is in that few.

FA: Agreed!

JP: Personally, there’s not anything special for me, but I think it’s always a great race. There has been a lot of action here in the past, and it’s a different market here – it’s North America, so it’s always interesting to come.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Fernando, if they add five races to the year, you say you won’t go on. What are your objections to that – and what would you do if you stopped doing Formula One for that reason?

FA: I think, y’know, I started when the calendar was 16 races, plus the tests, and now we keep on increasing the races year after year and I think we are in a number that is quite demanding already: the life you have, y’know, between the preparation, the sponsor events, the tests, the commitments you have plus 20-21 races, I think is already enough. If there are 25 or 26 races or whatever, I think it’s good in one aspect but in other aspects, in how demanding becomes your life, at this point of my career, I consider that a good quality of life is more important than to do more seasons in F1 – so if the calendar stays between 20-21, so this range that we know from the last couple of years, I’ll be happy to continue. If it’s increasing, like NASCAR, that they have 40 or 50 races, it’s not for me. It’s better for other drivers.

The second part is, if you did leave for that reason, what would you do?

FA: I don’t know. In September I will think about it.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Jolyon, there are some rumours about your future in Renault. Does it put some pressure on you and what are your feelings about it?

JP: What puts pressure on is not putting in good performances. I’m aware that the start of the year has been pretty disappointing. I’m working hard and I’m ready to turn it around. In terms of rumours, there have been rumours since my third-ever race in Formula One, so it’s nothing new for me. The way to stop it is to do well on track and hopefully I can do that this weekend.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Question to Fernando, again. You went to Indy, you were one of the quickest guys from the beginning, you nearly won the race. Do you think in the opposite, one of the top American drivers from the IndyCars, they could do the same in the Formula One?

FA: Depending on the car, I guess. Yes.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, I have to ask you to follow-up your answer to my original question where you said if McLaren aren’t winning by September you’ll leave. They’re not going to be winning by September: you know that; I know that; everyone in the room knows that – but you don’t have that many options for next year it would appear. Are you saying definitively, one hundred per cent, if you don’t win a race by September, you’ll definitely leave McLaren? Can you just clarify that?

FA: You never know. You cannot be 100 per cent now in June about a decision for next year that I don’t even start to consider. What we all want is to win and, related to the answer before, what Zak commented yesterday and the Honda thing is probably what you will expect Zak to say. He wants to win; he wants to put McLaren again on a contender position for the championship. So, y’know, after three years we are not in that position. Things have to change, I guess, for the team. And the same with me. I want to win, and I joined this project because I wanted to be World Champion and we are not in that position. So, if you don’t see things changing and you are not in a competitive position, maybe you change projects. That’s the only think that I can say now, until I sit down with myself in September, October or whatever – after the summer as I always said, I cannot say 100 per cent about anything now. The best decision I will take after summer.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Lewis, is there any major, urgent upgrade you need to be more competitive against Ferrari?

LH: Not that I know of. Not that I know of. I don’t have that information to say.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you said you were going to go into the factory after the last race. Did you go in and what did you learn with your engineers?

LH: We were just focussed on this race, and it was shortly after the last race, so after the last race there was lots of information for them to be working on. So, we didn’t have all the solutions and the answers at that point.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Fernando, which were you feelings when we saw on the replay the Dixon accident – it was so spectacular and the cars are as strong as Formula One, of course.

FA: Well, obviously it was a big accident and we saw this in qualifying, another one with Sébastien Bourdais, so, you know, when you’re running at 380km/h every single thing will be big. There are some risks when you race the Indy 500 but it has always been like that. It’s part of the race – but obviously it was red flagged, I was in the pitlane but you don’t have the communication with the team as much as you have here, you don’t have the mechanics, you cannot jump out of the car, so I was there and just asking if everything was OK and what to do on the restart – because again the procedures are different: here you can change the tyres, you can prepare the car, whatever, under a red flag and there you cannot do anything. We were planning to pit on the next lap after the pace car was on the track, so you just focus on the procedures and the race restart, you are not concerned too much about the accidents – but from the first minute that I decide to race there, I knew about the risk, and I knew also about what was that race. I was happy to take those risks.

Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) One more question to Lewis, going back to the 25 races, how do you think about that and would this be just a case for you to think about backing out also, like Fernando said?

LH: I haven’t really given it any thought but I understand what Fernando’s saying and tend to agree with him.

Q: (Sef Harding – Xero Xone News) Fernando, to go back on a question earlier where you said the atmosphere here is the way things are. Isn’t that the issue? That we’re in a wash-rinse-repeat situation where it takes all of us to start to develop and change that atmosphere so we can be more relaxed, so that it’s a better relationship between you, between us, between the fans and to make it a more positive, more relaxed environment?

FA: There are definitely things that are difficult to change, so difficult to consider if they are good or bad. Formula One is the biggest motor sport category in the world for a reason. Whatever that reason is, maybe it’s all about this thing as well. An example is this press conference: there has not been one single question about this race weekend. Not for me, not even for Lewis, not for him. If the future will be OK, if the upgrades will be OK, or not. There is always thinking forwards too much: about next year, about September, about whatever, so, there is not enough focus on this race weekend, because also, the positions, more or less, we know. We can put in a paper the first 15 positons for qualifying and the first 15 for the race. 99 per cent we will match ever single position. This lack of unpredictable racing, generates a lot of… too much thinking forwards, too much guessing. Obviously, it’s a good for some part of the sport that will benefit from that, because we will generate a lot of talks in the media and a lot of fan-interaction – but you miss a little bit what is going to happen this weekend. So, y’know, it’s not being more or less relaxed in the weekend but when you come here you focus with the engineers, you prepare the race, you prepare the strategy, the tyre temperature, whatever, you come to the press conference and it’s all about next year, about what Zak said, about Toto said, you freeze a little bit the emotions that you have about racing this weekend. It’s probably what it is.

June 9, 2017