Tag: lewis hamilton

Mercedes escapes penalty for tyre pressure infringements

The Italian Grand Prix stewards have decided to take no further action against the Mercedes team or drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg following the investigation into their lower than minimum tyre pressures.

The Mercedes drivers had been found to have pressures lower than allowed but the investigation has found them to be innocent of any wrongdoing.

Here is the full text of the statement issued by the stewards:

“Having heard from the Technical Delegate, the Team Representatives and the Pirelli Team Tyre Engineer, the Stewards have determined that the pressure in the tyres concerned were at the minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli when they were fitted to the car. In making this determination regarding the pressures. the Stewards noted that the tyre warming blankets had been disconnected from their power source, as is normal procedure, and the tyres were significantly below the maximum permitted tyre blanket temperature at the time of the FIA’s measurement on the grid, and at significantly different temperatures from other cars measured on the grid. Further, the Stewards are satisfied that the team followed the current specified procedure, supervised by the Tyre Manufacturer, for the safe operation of the tyres.

Therefore the Stewards decide to take no further action.

Nevertheless, the Stewards recommend that the Tyre Manufacturer and the FIA hold further meetings to provide clear guidance to the teams on measurement procedures.”

September 6, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

TV UNILATERAL

Lewis, seven in a row this season, not been done before by you and two laps good enough for pole in the end. So you felt you had everybody at arms length and was it good to spoil Ferrari’s party today?

Lewis HAMILTON: Firstly, the weather’s been good so. No, these guys did a very good job; they were very close. So it’s nice to see we have a good fight. But today, the car has been feeling good all weekend and the engineers and mechanics have done a fantastic job on both sides of the garage. Big thanks to the guys back at the factory who made improvements to the reliability of the engine and then to bring that here, that’s a good step for us there. Just really happy, obviously. I don’t really know what to say… my Spa lap was better!

OK. Coming to you Kimi, fantastic second in qualifying and quite a turnaround, it has to be said, from 12 months ago for you and Ferrari, very close to Mercedes, as Lewis said. You’ve got to be pleased with your own performance and that of your team?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think if we look now we probably surprised ourselves a little bit. We expected a strong weekend but we knew that this place is not our strongest probably, so in the end the car turned out to be pretty good in qualifying conditions; we had many good laps. It’s been a while, so it’s nice to be here, especially [at] the home race for us. It’s probably our best qualifying this year as a team. We try to give [it] another good go tomorrow and give a good result, not just for ourselves but for our fans and all the Ferrari people behind us.

Well, Sebastian, Kimi mentioned the fans there, a tremendous response from them whenever both of you went out on the race track, so maybe a word from you about that. And also, are you all surprised at the result, not only the team, but you and Kimi relative to each other and your thoughts on the race tomorrow?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, first of all, I think it’s a fantastic result – second and third – and very close to Lewis, I think that’s the main positive of the day, which makes us confident for tomorrow. As Kimi touched on, it’s our home race, so it’s really something special every time you drive past, it’s the first time for me obviously in red, and to get all the support, to see all the tifosi standing up, waving the flags and just jumping on the grandstands, up and down, yeah, it makes you definitely feel different to let’s say other races I’ve done before. So I’m trying to take it all in and enjoy the day as well tomorrow and hopefully we can both be on the podium tomorrow…. Sorry Lewis, but I wouldn’t mind if you are not on the podium; you can be but if we are both ahead of you that would obviously a dream coming true. I think dreaming is allowed but nevertheless you have to be realistic. I think it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow. These guys have got some serious pace in the race, as we’ve found out many times this year. Nevertheless we try to fight and do everything we can. We’ve got the people behind us; so let’s see what we can do.

Thank you. Coming back to you Lewis, one possible note of concern: before qualifying your team-mate Nico Rosberg having to change from the new-spec engine you’ve been using back to the old specification engine. Are there any concerns for yourself, with your engine, going into tomorrow’s grand prix?

LH: As far as I’m aware, no, but I don’t really know what was the issue. But the guys in the garage did an amazing job to change the engine in the short space of time that they had and hopefully we can still bag some points for the team tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lewis, it may surprise you to learn that pole position here, in this century, since the year 2000, is more statistically important than even in Monaco, 12 of the races so far this century have been won from pole here, only 10 in Monaco. Your thoughts on starting there and also, as Sebastian touched on there in the unilaterals, that you have got pretty prodigious race pace as we saw in free practice two?

LH: Well, I mean pole is… it’s always a great feeling getting pole, as Sebastian knows, and it’s the same with Kimi. I think I’ve had a couple of poles here, but not always… I think last year was not such an easy getaway but it didn’t t mean I could not win the race. There’s a long way down to turn one, these guys are good off the line, so we’ll try to do our best tomorrow but, yes, our race pace has tended to be quite strong. I hope we see that tomorrow. I don’t mean to take away Sebastian’s dreams but I have dreams also!

And you and Kimi both got through Q1 without using a set of soft tyres as well didn’t you. Kimi, just touching on what Lewis just said there. It is a long run down to turn one, this is the second grand prix with the new rules on starts, so presumably any loss off the line is going to be really amplified by the time you get to turn one, so you’re obviously eyeing that as a key opportunity to challenge for the lead straight away.

KR: Obviously, but I think in every circuit is more or less different length of straights to the first corner but any small issue you are always going to lose place, even if it’s long or short run. But I think it helps here. Hopefully we make let’s say a normal start and at least stay where we are but it’s going to help us at least during the first corners; it can easily be a mess when you are in the mid-pack and you almost have to stop sometimes. Hopefully we make a normal start and go from there and you know see what we can do. I expect it to not be an easy race but usually we’re more confident for the race than for qualifying, so hopefully it’s the same thing for tomorrow, so see what happens, to do our best and hopefully get a good result.

Coming back to you Sebastian, you talked a moment ago about the fans and the atmosphere here at the autodrome. But what about the atmosphere here in the garage? You’ve got Mr Marchionne here, you’ve got various members of the Ferrari family as well, how has the atmosphere been in the Ferrari garage, your first time at Monza as a Ferrari driver?

SV: When you start the session you more or less run through the motions, so that’s a good thing, obviously it’s a different race for us, it’s our home grand prix, there’s a lot of people watching, a lot of people cheering us on in the grandstands but also in the garage. Obviously that’s good for us, an extra support, and I think we saw a very, very controlled and professional qualifying from the team inside the garage. I don’t think there was any reason to panic. Also, we kept our head down and did our job. I think that’s the most impressive we can deliver inside the garage. It’s not a secret that we’re not yet where we want to be, but I think today we’re a bit closer, so we need to make sure we keep making those steps to please not just the people on the grandstand but also in the garage.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, as a Ferrari driver in Monza you are the first time in the front row. How much that means personally to you?

KR: I think it’s a while that I’ve been in the front row – eight, ten years probably! But I think, what does it mean, I’m very happy for it obviously, and I’m happy for all the people who are supporting us and our team but, you know, the biggest thing is that much less troubles in the first corner if you make, let’s say, a normal start. It gives us a good chance for the race and obvious we have to do a good job in the race but it gives us a better chance for having a good result. It’s nice to get it right once in a while. It’s been a while so, especially here in the home grand prix of Ferrari, so let’s hope it brings us also a good result tomorrow.

Q: (Joonas Partanen – Iltalheti) We say you talking after the qualifying session before you came here, from the TV. Can you tell us what you were talking about?

SV: Yeah, we were waiting for Lewis. I think he was trying to finish his hair.

LH: I was!

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Again, Seb and Kimi. Did you expect to be so close to the quickest Mercedes today – especially after yesterday when the different was quite big? And could you please explain what you did since yesterday to turn the situation around? How confident were you that it would be possible?

KR: Like I said earlier, in a way is a bit surprised that we were this strong comparing to the Mercedes but, y’know, we made some small improvements and obviously people always talk so much about Fridays. It’s a Friday: you do whatever you want. It’s not about the laptimes. And worse, you don’t know what the others are doing. So, it’s pointless to say, ‘oh, we were bad yesterday’. We just did our stuff what we normally do. In the end, if you end up first or tenth, makes no difference if you know what you’ve been doing. So, we’ve been just… improve a bit the car and drove a bit better than yesterday. Yesterday I didn’t feel I was driving very well and then it turned out to be in qualifying it all worked out well for us. Obviously we’re still not happy, we’re second and third but I think it’s a place where we expected it to be a bit more difficult because the circuit layout. So it was a bit surprise but a nice one and I think things have been working well.

Anything to add, Sebastian?

SV: Nothing to add.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Lewis. Lewis, are you cautious tomorrow you can achieve a lot of points for the championship. It can be a crucial race and the other thing is that you are the only handicap between a Ferrari victory here – do you expect a difficult Sunday with the tifosi tomorrow?

LH: Going into any race you always want to get as many points as you can and you’re always hoping there’s an opportunity to gain more than the usual – but honestly I’m hoping that Nico pulls through and we both can do a good job and naturally we both want to finish ahead of the Ferraris here. That’s always good to do on their home turf if possible and obviously for the championship. I think I’ve generally had a lot of support here for the last couple of years. Naturally the majority of the fans are going to want the reds to win but as long as there in this position I’m sure they’ll still be happy.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte) To both Ferrari drivers, considering the analysis of the long runs you did yesterday with both kinds of tyres and also this morning, and comparing with what we saw from Mercedes, what is a realistic prediction for the race?

KR: Like I’ve said already, we will try to do our best and see where we end up. Obviously we want to at least keep the places that we have right now but the main aim is to try to win races and that’s why we are here. But it’s pointless to start guessing where we’re going to end up.

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb and Kimi; what was the secret of this qualifying compared to the others this season and compared to yesterday’s performance; was it Marchionne boost or something else maybe?

SV: No, I think generally we obviously try to make steps forward every race so naturally you have some small bits and pieces, trying to help the performance overall so we did for here but nothing special, just for the race, here, just because it’s our home race. I think we learned a lot in Spa, Spa is similar conditions to here in terms of downforce. We were both probably not that happy with the balance of the car. I think we found a better balance and the car kept coming to us this weekend. I think that’s the biggest reason why the gap is smaller than usual, plus you never know what other people are doing. Maybe they were struggling or maybe Lewis was not as happy as he usually is. In the end, it doesn’t matter. We had a very very good session. We’ve qualified second and third because we were second and third quickest today and the rest we will see tomorrow.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, about the race pace on Friday and how is the situation with the medium? Do you feel the car better with the medium or with the soft tyres?

LH: Yeah, the medium tyres actually feel better for me on the long runs. On the long runs we did on them, they felt quite solid, no big issues. I would say that with the softer tyre it’s the same as it is everywhere: you get more degradation on the softer one but they both felt pretty good.

Q: (Nicolangelo Cioppi – Il Cittadino Canadase) Sebastian and Kimi, do you think it’s possible from third place and second place for Kimi to win the race tomorrow here in Monza like in 2008. I was here in 2008 and I enjoyed it with you, even if it was raining like crazy.

SV: Well, I think there’s always a chance. Obviously in 2008 I was on pole, didn’t manage that today but I think since it’s dry tomorrow, I think we have much better chances this year than I would have had in dry conditions in 2008. So the bottom line is I think it’s always possible, it’s always possible to have a surprise. I think we had some surprises this year so we like surprises and if we can surprise tomorrow then it would be a nice surprise.

KR: Who knows? Like I said, we try our best and hopefully achieve a great result and try to win if possible. It would be great to have a good result for the team.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you managed to beat Sebastian by five hundredths of a second. Where did you take that?

KR: I don’t know. I haven’t seen the data so somewhere, doesn’t matter where it was. I gained on my previous best in the last corner. It doesn’t matter to me where it happens.

September 5, 2015
F1 2015: Italian GP – Hamilton On Pole, Ferrari Shines

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh consecutive pole position for Sunday’s Italian grand prix.

Bright sunshine bathed the famous Monza circuit as the one hour qualifying session got underway.

Both McLaren’s failed to get out of the first part of qualifying as Jenson Button lapped a fraction faster than teammate Fernando Alonso to set the sixteenth fastest time.

Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen, who will serve a grid penalty, did not set a time and lost some bodywork in his short qualifying session.

The second part of qualifying saw Lotus driver Romain Grosjean advance into to the top ten shoot-out for the first time at the Italian circuit. Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson too made into the top ten battle but is under investigation for impeding Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg earlier in the session.

The final part of qualifying commenced with the expectation of a showdown between Lewis Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg. However, Rosberg’s subsequent change to the older spec engine, after a reliability issues in FP3, compromised his run. According to Rosberg the team had to revert to an engine that has completed six races. It showed in the laptimes too as the German was only able to set the fourth fastest time.

Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh consecutive pole of the season but it was Ferrari who gave the Tifosi reason to cheer. Kimi Raikkonen will line up his Ferrari in second place after setting a time a mere two tenths off Hamilton’s pole lap. Sebastian Vettel will start third in the sister Ferrari and share the second row with Nico Rosberg. Williams drivers’ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will start fifth and sixth respectively.

September 5, 2015
F1 2015: Free Practice Three – Hamilton Heads Vettel

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in his Mercedes for the final free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Italian grand prix.

The Mercedes driver set a time of 1:24:554 two and a half tenths clear of Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. Nico Rosberg in the sister Mercedes was third quickest ahead of the two Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

The session got off to a quiet start as the teams opted to stay in their respective garages while the circuit dries. Overnight and early morning rain had cleared up by the start of the session by the famous Monza circuit was still sporting some wet patches in the early part of the session. After roughly half an hour drivers took the track to set for a final check before the qualifying session.

As the circuit and lap times improved lap by lap it was ultimately Lewis Hamilton who set the quickest time of the day. There was more woes for the Red Bull team as Daniel Ricciardo was ordered to stop and not shift gear at the exit of the Roggia chicane. Manor F1 driver Will Stevens set the fifteenth fastest time overall ahead of both the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams.

The qualifying session is expected to be run in dry and sunny conditions. Lewis Hamilton’s seventh consecutive pole position looks to be under threat only from teammate Nico Rosberg at this stage.

September 5, 2015
F1 2015: Italian GP Preview – The Monza Saga Continues

As the powers that be consider a plethora of changes to the sport it appears as if the traditionally passionate Monza circuit will not form part of it.

No one will ever mistake F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone as soft touch. Then again, you don’t take a racing series and turn it into the pinnacle of motorsport by being sentimental. When asked about the future of the Italian grand prix he frankly answered “what goes, goes.”

For now though the circuit which ran its first race in 1950 is still on the F1 calendar and the next stop for the 2015 season. The famed Monza circuit isn’t revered for its technical difficulty or for its delivery of explosive races, at least not lately. It is loved for its history and for the cherished part it has in the history of Formula 1 racing.

The devoted and fanatical Tifosi may be dreaming of a red car winning the race but the demands of this classic power circuit makes that doubtful. Step number one for the engineers will be efficient aerodynamics. To reduce the maximum amount of drag the smallest rear-wing will be fitted, along with the slickest bodywork, in order to increase top-speed down the circuit three long straights. A towering straight line speed however isn’t the be all and end all as braking for the circuit’s few corners is as significant. “Braking has become the biggest thing at Monza. It’s very tricky to get that right,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Ferrari team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene has cautioned fans not to expect too much this weekend and likened their chances of victory to “pulling a rabbit out of a hat.” However, Arrivabene has confirmed that there will be no “super engine” for Monza but that the team may spend “some tokens” to close the gap to Merc. Ferrari’s last engine upgrade was made at the Canadian grand prix with a fairly lacklustre improvement being the result.

The start of Sunday’s race could play a big part. In Belgium, under the new start procedure, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg dropped to fifth from second on the grid and Hamilton’s start wasn’t perfect either. This, combined with the long run to turn one, could put the Silver Arrows under pressure early on. If truth be told the only chance for an exciting Italian grand prix depends on the kind of start those in the second row can muster. If not, this will be another Mercedes victory bar any sort of unreliability.

Twelve months ago Nico Rosberg’s quest to win the world championship was on even keel with teammate Lewis Hamilton. Yet, despite a handful of wins and pole positions, in 2015 his chances appear to be shaky at best. This year the German’s confidence has taken a knock under the onslaught of the Hamilton juggernaut. Consequently, there aren’t many who would legitimately give Rosberg a genuine shot at taking the title off Hamilton.

It’s up to the driver of the number 6 Mercedes then to mount a serious challenge against Hamilton. And not just a challenge that is going to beat him this weekend but one that will force the reigning champion to seriously consider the possibility of a real threat from the other side of the garage.

August 31, 2015
F1 2015: Belgian Grand Prix Review – Hamilton Wins, Vettel Fumes

There was a bit of commotion even before the Belgian grand prix officially got underway. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg waved desperately from the cockpit of his car on the starting grid moments before the red lights were extinguished. It turns out that the German had a mechanical issue that would end his race before it even started.

But this was nothing in the face of the drama that would develop towards the end of the race and subsequent fall-out of it all.

By all accounts Ferrari’s Spa weekend was dismal when measured against the high of the Hungarian grand prix. The woes started in Saturday qualifying as Kimi Raikkonen grinded to a halt in the second part of qualifying with an oil pressure problem. The misery didn’t end here though the Finn was further hampered by having to drop five places on the grid for a gearbox change. Raikkonen eventually finished seventh in the race after a difficult time of trying to look after his tyres. Perhaps the Iceman can console himself with his freshly signed 2016 contract.

For Sebastian Vettel, in his 150^th grand prix start, it looked to be going slightly better. The German scrapped his way into third by daring to run a one-stop strategy. But a spectacular failure of his right-rear tyre two laps from the end of the grand prix dropped him out of the running. The four time world champion was fuming in the post race interviews during which he lambasted Pirelli and its tyres. The Italian tyre manufacturer released its own statement in which the blame tyre wear as the reason for the failure.

This conclusion would be acceptable if it were true. If we are to accept Pirelli’s version of events, and the tyre was worn down to the point where it could explode, his laptimes would’ve been significantly impacted before the tyre exploded. The truth is that while Vettel was lapping slower than the charging Romain Grosjean he was only seven tenths of a second off the Frenchman’s pace.

Further, Ferrari was informed that the medium compound tyre would be able to endure forty laps around the Spa circuit. Vettel’s tyre blew up after only twenty-seven laps on the car. What we have learnt is that Pirelli is awfully good at shifting blame away from themselves.

Two years ago, at the British grand prix, they blamed a slew of tyre blowouts on aggressive tyre pressures by teams and sharp kerb edges. After Saturday practice they attributed Nico Rosberg’s spectacular blowout in Blanchemont to an “external cut” as the reason for the tyre failure. Yet, Rosberg denied going off track or running over debris and confirmed that they “didn’t understand” the failure within the team despite Pirelli’s conclusion.

Tyres seemed to be at the forefront in Spa as the Williams pit crew fitted three medium and one soft compound tyre to Valtteri Bottas’ car. It was insult to a lack of pace for Williams who didn’t perform at all well around the famous circuit. Rob Smedley confirmed the team’s disappointment at finishing sixth and ninth with Massa and Bottas respectively.

Romain Grosjean was a surprise but welcome third place finisher in his black and gold Lotus. The Frenchman maintained impressive pace throughout the weekend and topped it off with a third place finish in which was arguably the best drive of the day. Grosjean admitted to “crying on the last lap” such was elation at the result. Respect to the smiling Frenchman who’s kept his head up through some incredibly difficult times with this team.

And amidst the drama and tyre sagas was a serene and very smiley Lewis Hamilton with a second Spa victory in his pocket. Never apparently under pressure the Brit led and controlled all 43 Belgian grand prix laps with consummate ease. Teammate Rosberg finished in an ever-present second place but is now twenty-eight points adrift of Hamilton. At this stage it doesn’t seem as if the multi-lingual Rosberg has any sort of answer to his teammate’s pace. It’s looking all the more as if Hamilton is transforming himself from the reigning champion to the champion-elect.

August 24, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

3 – Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by David Coulthard)

Lewis, your 39^th grand prix victory, your 80^th time on the podium – equalling your great hero Ayrton Senna – a pretty good day at the office?

Lewis HAMILTON: Wow. How you guys doing, you good? We’ve had such a great crowd here this weekend. It’s been incredible, the whole circuit just packed out with all you fans, so thank you all for coming. And for me, just an amazing weekend again. Incredible job done by the team throughout the pit stops, throughout the whole weekend, the guys back at the factory… You know, today was a dream. The whole weekend the car was fantastic, so thank you guys.

It seemed to me that the only real concern you had after the start was after the Virtual Safety Car and Nico was able to get that gap down to just a few seconds. Any other concerns during the race?

LH: No. Nico had obviously good pace but I was able to answer most of the time, so I was fairly relaxed at the front. The car was feeling great and it was really about looking after the tyres, particularly at the end when I saw that one of the tyres had blown on another cars I was being very cautious, so in the last two laps Nico was allowed to close the gap. No, I felt in control all the way and as I said a lot of good assistance from the team, so I felt like 100 per cent all weekend.

OK, Lewis, congratulations, your summer holiday obviously treated you well. Just come to our second-placed finisher here.

Nico, congratulations. It seemed it all went away from you at the start. You were able to come back at Lewis later in the race, but just talk us through what went wrong there?

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, I just completely messed up the start, so that was very annoying. I fought my way through. I gave it absolutely everything, I mean we were both on the edge all the way through. The car has been amazing, so I’m really thankful to the team again for giving us such a car. It’s awesome to drive it. And Lewis did a great job, so deserved to win. I tried to give it everything but not enough.

Well, you certainly kept him honest. We know that you have a big event coming up in the coming few days, so you’ll not be wanting to spend too much time on the interviews. Your lovely wife is expecting your first child, so you’re rushing off after this?

NR: Yeah, I’m rushing off very, very quickly yes, because we’re expecting our first child any moment, so a very exciting time, looking forward to that, probably next week, let’s see.

We’ll, good luck and congratulations for that. Now, Romain, welcome back, your 10^th podium. This circuit saw one of the low points in your career I guess when you got a one-race ban, but focusing on this high today: fantastic and very timely for the Lotus team.

Romain GROSJEAN: Hello, everyone. It has been an incredible weekend for us. A great qualifying yesterday, unfortunately we had the grid penalty, and a good race. I still can’t believe that we are on the podium. Those guys have been working hard to give us that car to be able to be here today. Of course going into turn one, every time I take a start in Spa, I will remember 2012 but I think it made me stronger and indeed allowed me to be 10 times on the podium. Being here today is kind of special I think, it has the feel of a race win.

Well congratulations, fantastic to see you back up here and you’ve never stopped smiling through the difficult times? Lewis, as you recognise the fans down there, just a closing question from us. As you look into the second half of the season, it’s still very close with your team-mate, but do you start to feel now that you’re getting your hands closer to another world title?

LH: It definitely way too early for that. But as I said coming into this weekend, you want to get those pole positions and translate them into wins and hopefully today is the beginning of that, so I’m looking forward to the next races, I hope to see many of these fans at some of the other races coming up.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, Mercedes’ seventh one-two finish of the season, 2015, you just said on the podium there you were under control. Obviously a great start but obviously Nico was closing at various phases before the virtual safety car. I just wonder if the virtual safety car, also the cloud cover coming over, just helped you to bed in those medium tyres because after that initial spurt from Nico in the first lap or two after the virtual safety car, you were able to just stretch away from him. Maybe you could just tell us about that phase of the grand prix and his challenge at that point?

LH: It was really just about utilising the tyres, not having to push. I didn’t really push very hard on the out-laps, took it quite easy for the first three or four laps in which there was areas where Nico would be closing. And then I started to push after that – but I was really never in a position where I was nervous or anything. I had great pace in the car, the balance felt fantastic. It actually was getting better throughout the race. There was no real need to push any more than I was already. I had a comfortable gap and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if it’s won by a tenth or won by ten seconds. So, at the end I saw that there was a blow-up so I was being very cautious with my tyres. I’d done pretty well up until then so I was just going to make sure I bought it home.

Q: You said on Thursday this wasn’t one of your favourites. Is it moving into becoming one of them again now?

LH: I didn’t mean that it wasn’t one of my favourites. Monaco of course is definitely a favourite but this is a great circuit. It’s incredibly challenging. The weather’s been great this weekend so for sure when the weather’s as good as it is today it really does make it a great weekend. Incredible turnout from all the fans, which is really good to see. A lot of British flags, which I really appreciate but the track is really fun to drive. It’s a historic circuit. Eau Rouge. You can never get tired of driving through Eau Rouge. So it’ll always be a special circuit, for sure.

Q: Coming to you Nico. Obviously a terrific recovery after a poor getaway. Some good strategy as well that got you up into second place around the first pitstops – but tell us, from your perspective, about the way that gap seemed to come down and then just rose again.

NR: Yeah, the start was really bad so I need to practice that a bit more I think, and then after that I just benefited from the fact they weren’t racing me, in front of me. They were just racing all the people behind, so they just pitted, I suppose, because I wasn’t their opponent. They assumed I was too quick anyway – rightly so – and then, yeah, I had a clear path in front, chased down Lewis. I was always coming closer except for this one phase in the second stint, towards the end where Lewis pulled away. So that definitely cost me a bit. Then on the Option felt great again. I was qualifying lap every lap trying to hunt Lewis down but he did a great job and it wasn’t enough.

Q: Romain, welcome back. 31 races since we last had you here, Austin 2013 when you had that big Stetson on as I recall. Lots of great overtakes today, I want you to pick out a few of your favourites. I know you were building to a pass on Vettel at the end when he had the tyre go. Obviously he changed his strategy. What were your thoughts around that final period of the grand prix? What was going through your head?

RG: I was really closing the gap on Seb. It’s very unfortunate he had that puncture and it was a bit of a scary moment just being behind. I think we got everything we could get today, starting from P4 on the grid I’m sure we would have had a much easier race but it was really good fun. All the overtaking into Turn Five, I was really taking it as hard as I could on brake. Probably one of my best races ever. I remember Austin, a long time ago, but I still remember I was a bit drunk at the press conference! A little bit too much champagne on the podium with Seb. It has been up and down here for me. Of course Spa 2012 with Lewis was a bit of a tough time but on the other side it’s helped me because who I am today and being able to be on the podium with how we are during the weekend shows how strong our guys, and how strong we’re capable of building a car and be there. It was a great race, I enjoyed every minute and if we can do it again, let’s go.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speedsport magazines) Nico, talk us through that start. Was that a direct consequence of the new clutch rules?

NR: It was more a consequence of… well, yes, for sure but mostly also because we did another formation lap and that always puts more temperature in everything and then things change. But eventually it’s my job to do it well and I didn’t’ do a good job.

Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Equipe) Question for Romain Grosjean. Was it your call to pit during the virtual safety car and can you explain how do you gain the speed this weekend with your car?

RG: I unfortunately cannot explain the gain of speed – but the call on the safety car, I went through Eau Rouge on that lap and they just told me on the radio “safety car window is open” and I did finish the lap and ‘safety car’ came up on the steering wheel and we pitted as planned. We needed to fit the prime tyre for the end of the race. I think then I lost a positon to Seb, they stayed on the one-stop strategy which was quite aggressive and we didn’t think we’d be able to do it. I knew the safety car window was open, and if the safety car, the virtual safety car, was lasting long enough for me to rejoin the pit or get in the pit before it ended, it was the strategy for me to stop, yeah.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Romain, we know there are some issues in the team in this period. I would like to know how tough is it to deal with this situation and try to be focused only on the race.

RG: I think engineers, driver, mechanics, we are focusing more on the racing side and I’m probably not aware of everything going around but I didn’t want to neither, I think. I’m here to race as hard as I can, to give it 100 per cent all of the time. I think driving around Spa, every time you go through Eau Rouge and Pouhon, Turn 10-11, it’s a special feeling and I think you just enjoy it. I don’t really care about what’s going around. The only thing I want is to do my best to give the guys who are really working hard a good reward.

Q: (Angelique Belokopytov – Auto Digest) My question is for you Romain. Since a moment the future of Lotus was unknown and last days we’ve heard a lot about the potential comeback of Renault. So, did it give you motivation to step up on the podium?

RG: No. I think, as a racing driver in general, every time we start a race the idea is to try to win it. You know what you have in your hands and you know that sometimes it is not possible but as long as you do everything with 100 per cent of your performance you can fly home in the evening being proud of what you did. That’s what I want to achieve. Sometimes there’s been times in the past year where you score one point or two points and it has been an incredible performance, probably you can’t see it on TV because it’s hidden by the fact that the car is not as good – but every time I just in the car it’s to give my best. It’s cost me a little bit in the past but putting things in the right order makes it good today.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, Nico just mentioned that he might have been caught out by the second formation lap. I think you had a similar drama in Budapest. Did the experience from Budapest help you to overcome that?

LH: I don’t think so. I think, of course we were wary of it but going into the weekend we knew that that may be a scenario and we prepared for it. So, when it came to doing the start, I was very much prepared for it. The engineers prepared me for that potential restart, so, yeah, maybe it was a small benefit. I’m happy. My start was really good.

Q: (Mike Doodson – GP Plus) A question for Romain. You’re a father. My question is – and try to be honest – does becoming a father have an effect on your performance and what advice would you like to offer to Nico and his wife?

RG: Sleep as much as you can while the baby’s not here! It’s going to get bad! I think it helps your life in general. You don’t do things for yourself anymore, you do them for them. They are everything for you. And it’s your blood that goes through their body. When you have a tough weekend – or a tough day – you call then, you Skype then in the evening, you see the face of your son, or your sons, and you just laugh. It probably helps to relax your mind in the evening, to think about something else and come fresh in the morning. Once the helmet is on, visor closed, going flat out through Eau Rouge. If you think about your family, you’re not going to stay flat out. We’re racing drivers, we love doing what we do. We know it’s dangerous – we had a good example recently. But, it certainly changes your life. And, to be fair, I’ve never been a world champion, never won a grand prix but the feeling and the emotion I had on the birth of my two sons, has been far better than everything else I’ve known in the world. I wish Nico the same thing. He’ll probably tell us in Monza how it is.

Q: (Sarah Holt – CNN) Romain, you said that the big crash you had here in 2012 made you stronger. Can you explain in what ways: racecraft, mentally, other things?

RG: Well, I think it’s no secret that since that day I’ve been working with a psychologist specialising in sport and top athletes. There’s a lot of people in the sporting world, especially in the Olympic Games or in professional rugby or football teams, that are working with psychologists and they succeed in overcoming their problems, to understand. Being a father is not always easy either, so sometimes we can speak about fatherhood, about being an husband, being a racing driver, having problems at the start, what was the key, what was the problem? Was I focusing on the right way, the wrong way? All of that work, which has not always been nice and easy – you know, you can have a bad night after a good session – but help you to understand things and to be able to pull out some performances as we did today.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport Magazines) Lewis, yesterday you said one of your concerns about starting first was that someone might get by you going up the hill and Perez actually got ahead of you; the timing screens showed that at the end of sector one. How did you get back in there and take the lead again?

LH: It was very similar to last year, actually. I think Sebastian had slipstreamed me and was pretty much past but by having the inside line and braking later, I was able to hold the position and that’s really what I did with Perez. He braked earlier than me and I outbraked him and managed to get back in the lead after he just took it for a second but he was very fair which was good of him.

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, you said that it’s too early to speak about clinching the World Championship trophy, but yesterday, with your pole position, you already secured the pole trophy. Does that mean anything to you?

LH: The pole trophy is not particularly exciting but getting poles is definitely a great thing. Naturally winning the World Championship is the goal. I would give up everything else, all the poles, the pole position trophy for the – yeah, you can have it, no problem – for the World Championship so that’s really the goal but I’m really happy with how the qualifying has gone this year. It’s been a huge step for me and today the plan was to try and convert that pole position and the speed that I had in qualifying into the race. I feel like I did that and I’m sure that there will be areas to improve on which I will continue to try and work on.

NR: I never got my trophy for last year, so don’t expect a trophy coming your way for that. Ask whoever is responsible.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Romain, as Monza is similar to Spa, can you expect the same result in two weeks?

RG: I think Monza is a big difference in a way that there are special aero packages for Monza and it’s one race out of 19 where it’s always difficult to know exactly what’s going to be there. I’m sure in term of pole everything is going to be under control. Hopefully is working as well as it is today but I think right now I’m just thinking about having a good drink tonight!

Q: (Giusto Ferronato – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, we remember that in the final part of the last year, I mean from Monza, you started to win a lot of races. Do you feel the same sensations as last year?

LH: At the moment, it’s a lot different to last year, obviously at this point. Last year I came away from here… it was a very difficult time but after that, no great pace and great results, so for sure that’s the goal, to continue that from here so this has already been a much much better year than last year and the plan is to try and continue with that. I still feel there’s improvements to be made, particularly in the race so that’s what I will continue to do but I’ll definitely take today’s result.

August 23, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

TV UNILATERAL

So Lewis, your sixth consecutive pole. You must be pleased, particularly with the way you achieved it, but I guess also, after Hungary, a little cautious about its significance, with the race coming up tomorrow?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, really happy today with the performance of the car and so far this weekend the performance of this team, they’ve been doing a fantastic job and the car’s been feeling great on the circuit. This is a circuit where if you can get the right balance it’s definitely one of the most fun to drive. Of course, very conscious that pole position is a great thing to have but it’s a long race and it’s a long, long stretch down to turn five. But I’m just happy with today. My goal today was to get pole position and in qualifying Nico was very close and my last two laps were the two best laps I had all weekend, so I’m very, very happy with them. Again just really grateful for the big effort, the big push the team continue to put in to give us the car that we have.

What was very noticeable in the final part of qualifying was your performance in sector two. That’s what really made the difference today over Nico – you nailed it.

LH: Sector two, I would say probably in the past it’s always been a weak point. I know all the lines but could never really put the corners together. Definitely, particularly on those two laps, that was a very, very strong area for me.

Well done. Nico, on top on Friday and going into qualifying, Lewis on top at the end of qualifying. Are you disappointed with that and the margin, and the same point really about sector two, where was it getting away from you there?

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, for sure disappointed. I lost it a bit this morning in free practice; we went the wrong way. Then it came back really nicely though and I had a good balance in qualifying, so I was happy with that, a good team effort, so thanks for that to get my balance back so I could push well. Yeah, just Lewis too quick in the end. Just found that little bit, or quite a lot extra, which I didn’t have in my pocket. That’s it, so of course disappointing. But then again, with the new starts situation, where we’re having to do everything ourselves now, there’s a lot more opportunity tomorrow, even at the start. And the run down to turn five: you know here it’s possible to overtake, we’ve seen that many, many times, so my hopes are for sure still high.

Q: I have to ask you, obviously yesterday a very frightening moment with the tyre issue – have you fully understood it? Did it have any effect on today?

NR: Well, yeah, the problem is that we don’t really understand it. There are theories but there’s no real evidence so that’s a bit worrying for sure. But we’re keeping a very close eye on it and we’ve done some measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again. So we’ve done the best we can and just hope it all works out and stays together.

Q: Coming to you Valtteri. First time in the top three for qualifying in 2015 this season. Great response from you and the team.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Thank you, yeah, good to be back in the top three in qualifying. It was a good session for us. We knew after the practice when we look at the time sheets that there’s so much more we can do when we put everything together in the car. So we managed to get the balance fine-tuned really well for the qualifying and the car felt good through the whole session. Didn’t need to really adjust the front flap or anything a lot so it was pretty well balanced. Then in Q3 it was up to me to try and put the lap together, try and put every corner together – which is not easy in this kind of track but yeah, had two good runs in Q3 and luckily that was enough for P3.

Q: Obviously Mercedes have a good margin ahead but it’s been close throughout behind the Mercedes. Are you a little bit surprised with the performance, relative to yourselves, of Red Bull and Ferrari in particular this afternoon?

VB: Analysing everything after the practice we knew it was going to be really close after these guys. So, we knew P3 could be possible if we get everything perfectly and it was close and we managed to get everything right and this was the result.

Q: Coming back to you Lewis, Nico referred to it a moment ago, new start procedures for the grand prix, it’s much more down to you. The last two races at Silverstone and Hungary have seen you guys not making the best of starts with the old system. Have you had a chance to prepare to the level of satisfaction you wanted and how do you feel about the starts tomorrow? Is it going to help you or hinder you?

LH: Well, the team have done a lot of analysis and I’ve been in factory, the same for Nico, practicing and getting ready on the simulator, and then all this weekend we’ve been working on it – so we are as prepared as we could possibly be. And… yeah, I think we feel relatively good about it. It should be the same for everyone and I hope that… it’s good for us but I hope it provides an exciting start for the fans to watch.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, is this the greatest jump you have done from practice to qualifying performance?

VB: Could be the biggest, possibly, but it’s also the longest track so relatively so. We were quite far away but we knew all the time how much we could improve and so we were not too worried at any point. We knew this kind of result could be possible if we got everything perfect.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport magazines) Valtteri, just following on from that, you improved the car to be third fastest in qualifying but overall, what’s your feeling of the race pace of the car?

VB: Well, we didn’t get that long runs yesterday because of the red flags and everything but what we saw yesterday was that Nico and Lewis… they will be a bit out of reach if the race is a normal one, but after that it’s going to be really close between us, Red Bull, even Force India looks quick, today even Lotus but it’s difficult to predict in detail but it’s going to be close.

August 22, 2015
Lewis Hamilton takes dominant Belgian Grand Prix pole

Lewis Hamilton easily claimed his 10th pole position from 11 races topping qualifying ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton set not one, but two, laps fast enough to take the top position during Q3 and finished the session almost half a second ahead of his team mate with a time of 1:47.197.

Team mate Nico Rosberg, who made a mistake at Stavelot on his first lap did manage to improve on his second run but finished 0.458s down on Hamilton nonetheless.

While Mercedes locked out the first row of the Belgian Grand Prix grid as expected, Ferrari had a difficult day on their hands. Kimi Raikkonen was knocked out in Q2 after having to retire his car due to a power unit problem. The Finn himself was unsure whether he would need to replace the power unit but the team will obviously be working feverishly to solve the problem before tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel managed only ninth place for no apparent reason at all.

Valtteri Bottas took the third position – 1.3s behind Hamilton with Romain Grosjean qualifying in fourth place. He will be dropping to ninth though due to a gearbox penalty which means that Sergio Perez who finished in fifth place, will start fourth on the Belgian Grand Prix grid.

Daniel Ricciardo will start his Belgian Grand Prix from fifth place, ahead of Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Sebastian Vettel.

Carlos Sainz Jr. made it to Q3 but could not set any sectors alight on his only flying lap for the session.

Nico Hulkenberg was eliminated in Q2 after locking up at La Source, while Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was also unable to convert Friday practice pace and finished in 12th position.

Marcus Ericsson claimed the 13th spot for Sauber, with Raikkonen behind him in 14th. According to the team he suffered a drop in oil pressure at Stavelot which saw his Ferrari slowly crawling to a halt.The session was briefly Red Flag to allow Raikkonen’s car to be safely removed from the circuit.

Young Max Verstappen chose to not set a Q2 time in order to save tyres on account of the grid penalty he will need to take.

Felipe Nasr failed to make it out of Q1 for the third race in a row after placing 16th, missing the cut-off point by a tenth of a second.

Both McLaren drivers failed to make it through to Q2 in what is really just a torrid time for the team, and both drivers. Jenson Button finished half a second ahead of Fernando Alonso in the intra-team battle at McLaren, but that was still a full second off Felipe Nasr’s time.

Both Button and Alonso will drop to the back row of the Belgian Grand Prix grid due to engine penalaties, behind the Manor Marussia duo Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi.

With rain on the cards for the Belgian Grand Prix tomorrow, we are all set for a spectacular race! Follow us for live updates and race banter on Twitter @F1_Madness .

August 22, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Max VERSTAPPEN (Toro Rosso)

Daniil KVYAT (Red Bull Racing)

Will STEVENS (Manor)

Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

Kimi RAIKKONEN (Ferrari)

Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Kimi, we have to start with you. Obviously Spa has been very good to you over the years – four wins – but your drive for 2016 confirmed yesterday. What do you hope to achieve given the way the team is developing at the moment and your own performance level at this stage of your career?

Kimi RAIKKONEN: Well, obviously it the same as every year – we want to do as well as we can and hopefully challenge for championships for next year and I’m sure we can produce even a quite bit better car than this year next year. Obviously the team is all working well together and we all feel very good and obviously I’m happy to stay there but we have to try to do a good second part of the year and maximise what we have and then prepare for next year.

You will have seen that after he won Sebastian gave you a lot of support with his words in Hungary before the break. What did that support mean to you?

KR: I know him well and we have a very good relationship and it’s nice… I don’t know exactly what you mean, I mean I haven’t read so much things lately, but he tells me and I tell him if he does well and I do well, we have a very good feeling of respect in the team. It’s always nice to hear from him also. We try to beat each other in the races but we still can be friends as before, so I think that is also very good for us as a team that we can work very closely.

OK, thank you for that. Lewis, coming to you: twice on pole here, you’ve got a win, of course, at this circuit as well. You said that your performance in Hungary was short of your own expectations, but you still managed to increase your championship lead. Does that kind of thing make you feel that this might be your year?

Lewis HAMILTON: Definitely not, definitely not. I think the team effort that goes in; seeing how hard my team is working, seeing the progress we’re making I think encourages me to believe that it’s going to be our year. You know you just have to keep your head down and you can’t win them all.

Sebastian Vettel is just 42 behind you at this stage; 225 points maximum up for grabs. Any concerns there about the threat from him or does your qualifying superiority underpin confidence for the second half of the season in particular?

LH: Well naturally we’re here to win and we’re focused on making sure we stay up front but we’re conscious… we’re fully aware that other teams are pushing very hard and Ferrari are looking great. So we don’t arrive at any race thinking that we are superior to anyone. We know that we have a fight on our hands and so we’re doing to work at trying to make sure we work harder than them.

OK, thanks for that. Fernando, coming to you, amazingly you’ve never won at Spa in Formula One. You’ve won in plenty of other categories but not in Formula One. Looking back a remarkable Hungary; fifth place for you, both cars in the points. Does that represent real progress or does it just represent and opportunity taken?

Fernando ALONSO: Well, I think half and half; a little bit of both. There was a better performance from us in Hungary. I think the circuit layout helped us a little bit in terms of the characteristics of our car and then secondly, I think we have been lucky with some of the retirements and some of the incidents that happened in Hungary, [they] helped us to get some places. I think 12 or 13 cars had some issues during the race in terms of penalties or in terms of mechanical failures, so I think that was definitely a help.

Now, you’ve experienced many different situations, technical situations and rules around grand prix starts during your long career, could you give us an insight into how much these new rules, starting this weekend in Spa, will change things for the drivers?

FA: I think not much. It will not be a significant change. I know that there is some talk about this but maybe for next year or the following years will be more different. What we will have here is just some restrictions in communications with the drivers and the team etc but I think… at least in our team we were not doing any specific communication or strategy during the formation laps etc so it will not change much.

Q: Coming to you Will, on podium here I believe here in World Series, first time here racing in Formula One. What are your thoughts on racing at this historic venue, what it means to a driver in his first full season in F1 to race here. Is this one that, when you looked at the calendar on your kitchen wall you looked at and really thought ‘I’m looking forward to racing at F1 car at Spa.’

Will STEVENS: Yeah, I think Spa is always a special circuit. I think all the drivers always like coming here a lot. Every car you come in goes quicker and quicker and the track gets better so really excited to get out to see what an F1 car feels like ‘round here. It’s always been a good track for me and looking forward to getting out there.

Q: Tell us about the match-up with your team-mate. It seems to have been in his favour a little bit in the last couple of races. What’s the story behind that.

WS: I think our pace has been really strong throughout the year. Just the last few grands prix haven’t really fallen my way to be honest but I know that I’ve got good pace in the car and I think coming back to a circuit like this it should really suit what I like. I’m confident to kick on for the rest of the season and finish strongly.

Q: Coming to you Daniil. Obviously your best-ever Formula One result last time out in Hungary, second place, also, the best result for a Russian in Formula One. What was the reaction like back home?

Daniil KVYAT: It was a good race for me in Hungary. Hard to say what was the reaction – I didn’t count any reactions or stuff like that but I think it was good for myself, good for the team generally to achieve that in this hard season. Now there’s been the summer break and we are back to our basic work. We hope to keep working hard to achieve similar results – even though we know it’s not going to be easy because also in Hungary we had to take some opportunities. Nevertheless, when they come, you have to take them.

Q: It’s very clear that Red Bull has made significant steps, particularly on the chassis side since Silverstone. How do you fancy your chances of repeating that kind of result in the second half of the year? Which races are you looking at in particular?

DK: Once it happened I think it’s possible to do second time as well. We should never give up on that. I think you know in theory Singapore is looking good for us but I wouldn’t limit… I wouldn’t say that we would just work on one particular race. We have to take any chances in every race – and this will be one of them. Anything can happen in any other race and we have to keep pushing for any opportunity because every race is a new chance.

Q: And talking of best-ever career Formula One results, Max Verstappen, you won three times here in F3 at Spa but you got your best-ever Formula One result, fourth place in Hungary, a real breakthrough for you. What does that say about you and your challenge this year?

Max VERSTAPPEN: I think it was also a bit unexpected result there but, I mean, you still need to be there when people make mistakes or have problems so, at the end, I was very happy to finish fourth especially after the beginning of the race which was a bit difficult for me. But I think the first half of the season went quite well. I think if I new this before I would have signed off – I would have liked it like this but now it’s time to focus again on this weekend. On my home grand prix. Won’t be as good, I think, as Hungary but you never know. We can get some good chances here again. We just have to optimise everything.

Q: You’re about to race a Formula One car around this daunting F1 track – but can you give us an update on how you’re going with getting a road car licence?

MV: I still don’t have it. Still not 18. But yeah, I don’t have so much time – so I’ll do it a bit later.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, fighting for your fifth victory here, does it help you that all the pressure of the new contract is now put behind and you don’t have to prove yourself that much any more?

KR: It doesn’t change anything. I mean we still try to do the same as every other race. So, that contract thing, it’s not going to change our approach for the weekend or the end result. Hopefully the end result will be good but no, we will do the same things as in all the other races. So, hopefully we can have a good weekend, no problems and see where we end up.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action, Speedsport Magazines) Next year, the engineers will not be able to coach the drivers over the radio on things like tyre degradation and fuel saving, so I would like to ask an experienced driver, Fernando, and a new guy, Max, if you welcome this because it’s more in the driver’s hands or do you prefer to have as many tools and inputs to optimise your driving?

FA: Well, I don’t think it will make a huge change because… yeah, we are receiving some information now on the radio about tyres, about fuel or other things on the car but we are perfectly aware of what is happening in the car and what is the best solution for the specific issues that we are facing during the race so if that information is not coming, it will come anyway by instinct and by the reactions of the car. So yeah, we will have to pay a little bit more attention to a few things that now we rely a little bit on the radio but it’s not a big change and probably it’s welcome, all those changes, to have a little bit more to do in the car and feeling a little bit more important.

MV: For me, I don’t think it will change a lot. You always drive on your instincts. You feel when the tyres are dropping off so the engineer doesn’t need to tell you that. I think you learn that already from a very young age so yeah, I don’t mind, to be honest, to talk a little bit less on the radio.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Serra) Kimi, you are approaching your sixth season with the red car. You have won a title, some races, you’ve got some podiums. What are you still missing in your experience with Ferrari?

KR: Obviously we want more wins, me and the team, but I’ve had good years, difficult years, some up and downs but I always enjoy it, always enjoy it more when things are going more nicely when you get results but as a team, I’ve had a great time there and I’m very pleased that we can be working together next year again. As a team, as they are now, I really feel that we are going in the right direction and we can do great things in the future. No, if I miss something… like I said, people more happy, we are more happy when we can do better results. Obviously you write less negative things after that. We keep working and believe in what we’re doing so I’m sure we will get there and we will have many happy days in front of us and a lot of good results.

Q: (Thomas Bastin – La Derniere Heure) Max, I remember your wins last year in Formula Three very well. It seems that when you arrive at this track you were immediately very much at ease. Does it give you more confidence before your first attempt in Formula One?

MV: I’m always confident but I’m racing against very competitive and experienced guys so we will see. I always try to do my best and from there on we always go into the weekend.

Q: (Angelique Belokopytov – Autodigest) Lots of drivers just love Spa for its legendary corners, for opportunities to overtake and so on so my question is for all drivers: what do you dislike in Spa, what would you optimise or improve? So let’s start with Kimi as he has the record for the most wins of any driver here?

KR: What would I change? I think I would go back to how the last chicane was, coming into the chicane and I guess it was called the Bus Stop at that time, it was nicer than how it is now. It was just better, kind of more like it should be. Now one part is a bit different to the others, the new one doesn’t feel like it fits exactly there. I think it was a nicer corner, there was a bit more speed, over the kerbs more. I guess that not much else has changed really, a little bit the first corner.

LH: I think I would agree but I never drove that circuit, I just watched and played it on the computer game but it was definitely even more fun on computer games so I would imagine it would be better in real life.

Q: Is this one of your favourite tracks?

LH: No

Q: Anybody else like to make any changes?

MV: There are quite a lot of wasps. I don’t like them. That’s the only thing. I think the track is great.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport.com) Lewis, you have been seen in the social media, many pictures of your maybe new way of life. What do you think, do you think you can arrive at the races more relaxed, it helps you to develop even better work? Or in the future, you can charge some price?

LH: I don’t really have a new way of life. This is what I’ve sort of been doing… it’s just more visible to you, that’s about it. It’s been working quite well the last couple of years.

August 20, 2015