Tag: lewis hamilton

2015 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1st Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2nd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

3rd Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

TV UNILATERAL

Lewis, many congratulations, but that looked very hard-earned out there today. Can you just tell us what happened?

Lewis HAMILTON: Generally it was quite a difficult qualifying session, I think, probably for everyone, just with the track conditions. I was grateful that I got my third lap in on the first run in Q3. Always pushing for that bit extra in the next run and I just locked the rears.

Did you fear, once you’d locked them and you were off, that you’d lost pole?

LH: I wasn’t too particularly concerned with it at the time. I was trying to get the car going and look after the car, that was the most concerning for me. Obviously I had been backwards and I was in seventh gear or something like that, standing still, so I was trying to look after that. But naturally, shortly afterwards I was kind of like “you know, I probably lost it there”.

Thank you, well done. Nico, the chance was there when you were on that final lap, you were up as well on that lap, what happened?

Nico ROSBERG: I’m not sure actually. I went on the Astroturf out of the second to last corner and maybe that was still a bit wet or something or I just overdid after that, I’m not sure – just lost it there into the last corner. Definitely gutted but Lewis was two tenths quicker than my lap time and I was exactly two tenths up just up to that point, so I knew that I had to go for it, because it was very, very close and just overdid it.

Why is that last sector so difficult?

NR: This track, generally, is quite difficult, because you’ve got to get the braking right and you’ve got to attack to get a lap time done here and somehow it’s a very, very challenging track and easy to make mistakes.

Well done. Sebastian, we come to you. Today was tough; the Mercedes seemed to have the edge out there today.

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, once again I though that we can probably have a bit of a word but unfortunately they were a bit too quick. We tried everything. I think it looked good generally throughout practice and preparing qualifying. Obviously Q1 was a bit tricky for all us but I think we settled into the groove nicely. The last part of qualifying… yeah, I guess generally Mercedes-powered cars seem to be able to turn up the performance quite a bit and if you look at those two guys but also the Williams, they were a lot closer than they were in practice. So there is some work for us to do. Overall, happy with third but as I said I would have loved to be a bit closer. I was happy with the car, I think we did a very good job, thanks to the team, I think we should have a good car in the race.

Lewis if I can return to you: Mercedes managed to dominate the race here last year but are you expecting more of a fight tomorrow from the Ferraris in the race?

LH: Yeah, Ferrari have really shown some great pace this weekend, as have the Williams. So that means that tomorrow’s going to be a tough race. I don’t think the tyres are going to be too much of a problem for everyone but every little bit of time will count tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, many congratulations. It’s been difficult conditions and what looked like a difficult track for you for a while. How satisfying is it to turn that around into pole?

LH: Well, it was really quite a bad qualifying session all around for me. I was off Nico for three or four tenths each session and each run, each lap and I just didn’t have the confidence in the balance I had at the time, and the temperature of the tyres and the brakes. So, I’m really grateful that I at least got one decent… y’know, Q3 first run lap one and then lap three. The third one being much better. I’m grateful that I got those two laps in. And then coming to the end, I don’t know exactly what went on but obviously I locked the rears and snapped it around. A bit similar to what happened last year in Turn Two here so… yeah, I’m definitely do that quite often in this car. Not sure why. Got big feet I think.

Q: Nico, so close and yet unfortunately not quite there in the end even though your last quick lap had looked really, really good until that very final sector.

NR: Yeah, I knew the gap to Lewis was two-tenths before that. Of course there was a possibility he would improve that further and I was exactly two-tenths up, so I was equal with his lap time until, like, two corners from the end. So, that meant that I had to take a little bit more risk and just over did it. I don’t really know what happened. Maybe the tyres got wet on the Astroturf because I went too wide in the second to last corner and then a little bit of humidity on the tyres and maybe that caused the spin – not sure.

Q: Sebastian, couldn’t keep up with those Mercedes boys today but the race pace looked strong in Canada. It’s a reversal of fortunes for yourself and Kimi but looking at the race tomorrow and the short lap around here, are you feeling confident this could be your first chance of another win since Malaysia?

SV: Well we’re always ready, we always fight and obviously wait for our chances. So far it’s been quite difficult because they’ve been bloody quick but yeah, we’ll try tomorrow. Hopefully we can be a bit closer. We know that qualifying doesn’t match the race, so, yeah, we’re ready to attack and try our best.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, wouldn’t it have been better for you to do two quick laps in succession on your Q3 runs like the Mercedes did, to prepare the tyres a bit better?

SV: We were fast, we were happy on the first lap so… I think in the end you do what you feel is best for you so that seemed to be the best for us today. You didn’t do two runs?

LH: We did two runs but we never did two consecutive laps.

SV: Oh no, we didn’t either, just one.

LH: But you did three, basically.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport Magazines) Seb, I saw you had your headphones on going into the garage before qualifying. What sort of music do you listen to before qualifying to get yourself psyched up there?

SV: Help! From the Beatles. I need Help! They’re too quick so if you know how to fix it, please let us know. No, I always listen to the same song that just gets me ready. It’s not the first time I’ve had the headphones on.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico, did you know that Lewis had spun on your last lap?

NR: No. Didn’t make any difference at the time because his time was two tenths quicker. And anyways it’s just a distraction if someone tells me.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Lewis and Sebastian, I think you are now tied on 45 poles each. Does it means anything to you to beat the other and maybe that’s a separate race for you two?

LH: I’m very fortunate that I’ve had a great car for the last two years to have been able to get the poles and raise the amount I’ve had. I’d much rather have his World Championships than the pole positions, so I’m working towards that.

SV: I like to have both! Obviously he’s been catching up quite a lot but we’re working hard to fight back.

June 20, 2015

F1 2015: Austrian GP – Vettel Tops FP3

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel topped the timing sheets at the end of the third free practice session ahead of the Austrian grand prix.

The running around the Styrian circuit got underway in cloudy conditions and with the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton trading fastest laps. However, the emergence of Sebastian Vettel from his pit garage put him to the top of the timing sheets with a 1:09:994 on the yellow-walled soft tyre. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top three.

As the weather started closing in several drivers including Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson was put out on the red supersoft tyre in order to complete an early qualifying simulations. Alas, it wasn’t to be as Fernando Alonso’s McLaren grinded to a halt, with a gearbox issue, on the start/finish straight and brought out the red flag.

The session was quickly re-started with both Mercedes and Ferrari queuing at the end of the pitlane but by now the rain had started tipping down. The Force India pairing of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez dared to go it on intermediate tyres but quickly returned to the pits after rendering conditions to slippery.

A slight lull in on track action preceded several drivers venturing out on both the intermediate and full wet Pirelli tyres. It wasn’t in vain either as qualifying has a 49% chance of being wet.

Pos	Driver	Car	Gap
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:09.994
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.017s
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	+0.183s
4	Sergio Perez	Force India	+0.227s
5	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.338s
6	Felipe Massa	Williams	+0.414s
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+0.423s
8	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	+0.442s
9	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	+0.582s
10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	+0.869s
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.015s
12	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	+1.064s
13	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	+1.145s
14	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	+1.145s
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	+1.174s
16	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	+1.825s
17	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	+1.912s
18	Jenson Button	McLaren/Honda	+2.622s
19	Will Stevens	Marussia	+3.334s
20	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	+3.966s

June 20, 2015

F1 2015: Austrian Grand Prix Preview – Power King At Red Bull Ring

Power is defined as the capacity to move with great speed or force. As the Austrian Grand Prix’s four and a half kilometres circuit has only nine corners amongst its three long straights is it the classic power circuit.

Austria’s interest in Formula 1 was indifferent at best until the rise of Jochen Rindt in the mid 1960s. Rindt arrived at the first ever race around the Osterreichring in 1970 but lost out to Jacky Ickx in the Ferrari. He would never return to his home grand prix as he fatally crashed at the following Italian Grand Prix. Rindt remains the only posthumous world champion in the sport.

Austria’s love affair with Formula 1 would be renewed with the revelation of Niki Lauda who would go on to win three Formula 1 world championships. Decades later it would be renamed the A1 Ring and be re-introduced to the Formula 1 calendar in 1997 and host a yearly grand prix until 2003. The controversial 2002 race in which Rubens Barrichello handed victory to teammate Michael Schumacher is inscribed in its and in Formula 1’s infamous history of the Austrian Grand Prix.

In 2011 the circuit was rebranded and brought back to Formula 1 in 2014 as the Red Bull Ring. It was here, twelve months ago, that the Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas stunned the paddock by locking out the front row of the grid. In the end victory went to Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton with Valtteri Bottas in third.

In Canada Williams secured their first podium with Bottas but they can hardly be considered as having turned a corner. If it was not for fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen’s spin in the Canadian Grand Prix, the podium would have been highly doubtful. It’s been a tricky season for the Grove based team which hasn’t reached the heights of 2014. With all things being equal Massa and Bottas will likely not be at the sharp-end on Sunday but they could still make life very difficult for Ferrari and perhaps even Mercedes in Saturday qualifying.

Besides those with the potential for victory the mid-field battle is worth keeping an eye on as it invariably delivers the most exciting battles of a race. Thanks to their Mercedes power unit Lotus is looking forward to a strong weekend and a decent haul of points. “Looking at the circuit and talking to our drivers and engineers it’s a place that could suit us so we’re feeling quite positive heading there, especially after the E23 showed pretty well in Canada,” said Deputy team Principal Federico Gastaldi.

Seventy percent of the lap around the Red Bull Ring is spent at full throttle bringing the power unit well and truly to the centre of the picture this weekend. Ferrari introduced an upgraded engine during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend but was unable let loose it’s potential. It may not be as simple this weekend either as cooler temperatures in the Styrian Mountains will complicate Ferrari’s potential. When Ferrari has shown a pace advantage this season it has come from being able to switch on and look after the Pirelli tyres in warmer conditions.

The Formula 1 headlines over last little while have been quite spectacular. As Williams’ co-founder Patrick Head received a knighthood from the Queen and Nico Hulkenberg won the Le Mans 24 hours in a LMP1 Porsche it’s now over to Formula 1 to deliver an Austrain Grand Prix worthy of its celebrated history.

June 18, 2015
WATCH: 2014 F1 Austrian Grand Prix Race Edit

The rivalry between Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton intensified as we headed for the 2014 F1 Austrian Grand Prix while Williams’ Valtteri Bottas got to celebrate his first F1 podium at the return of the stunning Spielberg racing circuit in Austria. Relive the action and catch up on what happened at last season’s Austrian Grand Prix in the official Formula One race edit.

June 16, 2015
Niki Lauda says it’s not Mercedes’ job to make F1 entertaining

Mercedes team boss Niki Lauda has dismissed suggestions that the dominance of the Mercedes team is making Formula One boring. He says that the team is focused on “winning every bloody race” rather than the overall spectacle.

Mercedes took a comfortable 1-2 at the Canadian Grand Prix with the nearest rival Valtteri Bottas crossing the line an insane 40 seconds later. The team looks unlikely to be challenged on pace this season having already won 22 of the 26 races since the start of the V6 turbo era.

When asked if the rather boring Canadian Grand Prix was a good day for Mercedes but a bad day for F1, Niki Lauda said, “Guys, I’m not here in charge of your politics. I can only run, with Toto [Wolff] together, the team in the best possible professional way. Win every bloody race, that’s what I’m here for and the rest I don’t know.”

When it was suggested that Mercedes should lead the change to increase the spectacle of Formula One, Lauda replied, “We do take a lead for the sport, we win the races for you. Look at the Canadians – 12% more people here for this so-called boring sport, you are trying to tell me, with no noise. Only Canadians are crazy here. I just said to Austrian TV ‘you crazy Austrians, think like the Canadians and all come to Spielberg!’”

Niki Lauda Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

Lewis Hamilton Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

June 12, 2015
F1 2015: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Dominate In Montreal

Most would hold the opinion that the Canadian grand prix was far from the riveting showpiece it typically delivers. In terms of on track action they would be right but there were a number of significant goings-on for various teams.

It wouldn’t have been considered outlandish to expect McLaren to be threatening the outskirts of the top ten by race seven of the 2015 championship. The reality however is far from this lofty expectation. Neither Jenson Button nor Fernando Alonso saw the chequered flag at the end of the Canadian grand prix and whilst they were running it wasn’t pretty.

An ERS (energy recovery system) failure on Jenson Button’s number 22 McLaren meant that the Brit had to sit out qualifying which was the preface to yet another retirement this time due to an exhaust issue. The sister McLaren of Fernando Alonso ran until lap 44 until he too was forced into his third consecutive retirement. The Spaniard’s race was rather painful as the double world champion appeared as nothing more than a mobile chicane with cars sauntering past him with embarrassing ease.

The McLaren drivers have been measured in their comments to the press since the start of the season but the frustrations are starting to show. First it was Jenson Button who described the McLaren as a scary car to drive which he then promptly walked back with a bit of PR spin. And then there is Fernando Alonso who remains adamant that he does not regret his departure from Ferrari.

The driver’s statements to the press are more often than not just PR drabble regimented by the team. But occasionally we are privy to the radio comms between car and pitwall and here the unadorned feelings often come to light in very colourful ways.

Fernando Alonso irritation was evident as he told his team over the radio that he was being made to look like “an amateur” during the race. Similarly, when he was asked to save fuel after a meagre twenty-four laps Alonso responded with “I don’t want, I don’t want.” As much as the blame has been placed at Honda’s doorstep McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier accepted that improvement is needed “everywhere.”

This year’s Canandian grand prix was far less dramatic for Mercedes than twelve months ago when brake failure devastated Lewis Hamilton’s race and severely impeded Nico Rosberg’s progress. But even though Hamilton and Rosberg appeared to be untroubled as they secured a dominant one-two victory several issues needed managing throughout the race. At various stages both Hamilton and Rosberg were instructed to manage sky rocketing brake temperatures and the inevitable phase of fuel saving to get to the end of the grand prix.

Just when it looks as if Ferrari has taken a step towards closing the chasm to Mercedes it’s found to be off base. The long run pace in the second free practice session suggested that the Ferrari was looking in great shape to take the fight to Ferrari. Besides the reality that Ferrari is still off the Merc pace, circumstances combined to make it a difficult weekend.

Sebastian Vettel’s ERS issue in qualifying and subsequent 5 place penalty for overtaking under red flag relegated him to the back of the grid. Yet, the German was able to make his way through to a solid fifth place by the end of the race. Kimi Raikkonen’s Saturday afternoon had a far better outcome with a season’s best third place on the grid.

The race itself wasn’t going too badly for the Finn who was keeping both Mercedes in sight. Alas, a couple of laps after switching onto the yellow side-walled soft tyre a spin at the exit of the turn ten hairpin comprised his afternoon’s work. The spin was eerily similar to one Raikkonen suffered in last year’s Canadian grand prix which was prompted by a difference in the torque map. The Ferrari driver, who had now slipped to fourth, confirmed on the radio that the spin was “the same as last year.” A second pitstop for the supersoft tyre didn’t lose the number seven Ferrari any positions but left it nearly twenty seconds adrift of the third placed Williams of Valtteri Bottas. Despite Raikkonen’s best efforts his fellow Finn still held a five second gap by the time the chequered flag was unfurled.

Williams driver Felipe Massa too suffered issues in qualifying which dropped him to the back of the starting grid. The Brazilian was able to recover to sixth overall which included an inch perfect overtake on Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. Pastor Maldonado, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat and the second Lotus of Romain Grosjean rounded out the top ten.

Last year’s Canadian Gp winner Daniel Ricciardo described his race as horrible beyond his wildest dreams. And this less than pretty statement was followed with a threat from Renault, via Christian Horner, that they may quit the sport in 2016. Notably Carlos Sainz junior out-performed his highly fancied teammate Max Verstappen.

Contrary to Canadian grand prix history the 2015 edition was a meek outing with little to amp up the excitement factor. There were several overtaking manoeuvres but no close dices for position. Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was slapped with a five second penalty for clipping the edge off Will Stevens’ Manor.

Often we get caught up in the chaotic world of Formula 1 to the point where the bigger picture is sometimes overlooked. Yes, Lewis Hamilton is in the most magnificent car built for at least the last decade; but what has been truly impressive is make-up of Hamilton and how he has evolved. The Monaco grand prix debacle was undoubtedly a tough moment but the driver he is now and the temperament he has now allows not for a showy comeback but rather a deafening response which declares that he can surmount whatever obstacle is placed in his way.

June 9, 2015
Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1st Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2nd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

3rd Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Ted Kravitz)

Lewis, congratulations, tell us your emotions right now. Does this make up for Monaco?

Lewis HAMILTON: I love Montreal. I love this track; I love the city and really just a fantastic weekend and great to get back on the top step. For me personally and I’m sure I’m speak for the team, I want to dedicate this to my engineer Bonno’s [Pete Bonnington’s] father, who I know it’s been a tough weekend for him but he has been amazing all weekend and he helped me win this today and this is really dedicated to him.

It was hard out there; it was hard-fought. It might not have looked it but tell us how close it was, how tough it was with Nico and what you had to handle in the car?

LH: I didn’t feel happy or the most comfortable, I generally had a lot of understeer but I never really felt too much under pressure. Nico was quick but I felt like I always had it under control, I had a bit of time in my pocket to be able to pull it out when I needed to, so it was never too serious. But it was a great race. I don’t know how it was to watch but it felt like it was intense and I really enjoyed it.

And tell me: you’re back in business now, do you feel you needed this after Monaco?

LH: Did I need this? I think so. I think so. Again, just a big thank you to all the fans today. Every time we come here we have the most incredible support from all the fans, so I just take my hat off to you guys.

Thank you very much Lewis. Nico, coming to you: great race, you were struggling with all sorts of things; the team was telling you to save brakes and save fuel sometimes. How close was it?

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it was a good race against Lewis. I was pushing like mad to try to put the pressure on but he didn’t make any mistakes, so fair play. It was a challenging race, yeah, because we had to manage fuel, brakes, all these things, but it was the same for Lewis, the same for both of us. It was a good race. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it happen but second place is still OK.

Well, you say it’s still OK but it is another second place. You were coming off a couple of good races for you. Where have you been lacking this weekend do you feel?

NR: It was just that tiny bit I lost out qualifying in the end, because the race pace was there and just that qualifying position makes that big difference. That’s what I need to try and make happen the next time.

Valterri, coming to you: Williams’ first podium of the season, it must be a great result for you and everybody from Williams?

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, really happy for us as a team, really proud. A proud member of the team and this was really good teamwork all weekend. And then the mistake Kimi made allowed us to get one position and we also changed the plan with the strategy during the race, which I thought was really dynamic, so really good job from the team and it was not a bad race from me either.

It must be satisfying to beat your fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen. Now, where can Williams go from here, two tracks that should be good for you, Austria and Silverstone, coming up?

VB: I think we really needed this result. Like last year we saw that it really boosts confidence. We know again now that we are a top team and that we can fight for podiums. I think from Austria, with the package that we have coming there, from then onwards we really hope that we can repeat at least these kind of results.

Thank you very much Valtteri. Lewis, final word from you. You see the flags, the crosses of Saint George, the Union flags, the flags of Grenada out there as well. What does this mean to you? Do you feel the momentum is back with you? And what are you going to do tonight, Lewis?

LH: Honestly, as I said, the support is incredible. Lots of British flags, people from out here in Canada supporting, Grenadian flags, Barbados flags, you know I’m so grateful. The team did amazing job and I’m really just proud to be up here and as I said, my first grand prix win was here back in 2007, so to be back up here feels really historic.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Many congratulations Lewis, you’re fourth win here in Canada and the 37^th of your career. In control really, I guess, in qualifying and the race is the best way to sum it up. Just a brief moment after the pitstop when the gap to Nico seemed to come down quite a bit, he got within DRS range of you. What was going on there?

LH: Well, I think because Nico was in my tow he was able to save more fuel. Naturally when you’re behind someone you use less fuel. And for me, I thought I had saved enough but I needed to save some more, so through that period I was just fuel-saving. Managing the gap within a second but I was saving a lot of fuel, and then once I’d saved enough, I was able to get on it a little bit more. But I only really needed to answer to the lap times Nico would do. If I could do a tenth or two faster, that would be fine. So that’s what I tried to do – just tried to manage it and bring the car home safely.

Q: Nico, tell us a little about the start. There was a lot of radio messages about the brakes. So maybe you could tell us a little bit more about the management you had to do there.

NR: Yeah. The start was good but not quite enough to somehow try and challenge Lewis. And also tight from Kimi behind and even Valtteri I think – I’m not sure. But anyways, it all went OK and second place after that. And then yeah, a very challenging race because of fuel saving – but that wasn’t so bad, more the brakes. And to adapt to the front brakes getting too hot. Adapting around that, changing brake balance, things like that. So that was the most challenging part – especially of course because I have Lewis in front, so I don’t have any clean air to cool the brakes – so for me it was even more of a challenge behind. But it worked out OK. I was still able to put the pressure on but not quite enough.

Q: Valtteri, welcome back. First podium of the season. Last year from this point onwards, you and Williams went on a bit of a spree on getting on the podium. Do you see that happening again? And also, obviously Kimi Räikkönen spun. You and the strategy team took advantage of that. Do you think you could have done it without Räikkönen’s problem?

VB: That’s really difficult to say really – for sure it helped us and it was good that we weren’t very far away at any point in the beginning to Kimi, so we could always put a bit of pressure on them. And we also managed to change the strategy halfway of the race. I think that was really dynamic from the team. The team did really good work today with the strategy and just being aware of all the things what was happening around us and in front. Really pleased that we finally got a good result. I’m sure it’s a big boost for the whole team.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Mike Doodson – Grand Prix Week) Lewis, very soon after you put on your second set of tyres, you had a big lock-up which we saw on the slo-mo and then later in the race you had a few more lock-ups. I wonder if you had any bad vibrations which may have affected your speed?

LH: Fortunately not. I didn’t have really… I think right at the end I might have had one lock-up but it was never enough to be a problem.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, is it a relief to come back to the victory after the last two races where Nico has been catching up points, especially after Monte Carlo where you were disappointed?

LH: Not particularly. I don’t feel I needed to be relieved. I was quickest all of the previous race weekend as well. Obviously we had the problem which enabled Nico to win the race but otherwise, generally I had good pace for the last two races so it’s not a relief, it just feels good to continue with good strength and it’s great that the team is continuing to be strong as well and continue to move forwards. That’s probably the most impressive thing.

Q: (Collin Hunt – formulaspy.com) For both Nico and Lewis: Nico, we heard you ask over the radio about Lewis’s fuel levels and were told that you couldn’t be told about that while Lewis was being told when he was able to lift and coast. Can both of you shed some light on how that strategy call worked from the garage?

NR: Yeah, I can just say my part because I wasn’t to know if Lewis would run into trouble at the end of the race or not because that could help me judge how much fuel I would need to save at that point in time and when I should try and put the pressure on but unfortunately that’s been banned, to give that information, so I wasn’t able to get that, which is a pity, because it would have helped me judge, maybe put on a better attack if I had that information but it’s the way it is, it’s what they decided to do so OK.

LH: I don’t really know what I need to say. At the end I had fuel. I think the team was just… they wanted us to come home. I knew I had plenty of fuel at the end. There was a point where – I think about 15 laps from the end – I had enough fuel to make it to the end, even if I pushed flat out so that was good.

Q: (Dean McNulty – Toronto Sun) Lewis, this is your fourth win at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. What is it about this circuit in particular that suits your style of driving?

LH: You know at this circuit you need to be very attacking and you need to be quick and good on the brakes, consistent under braking and that’s always been a strength for me. So I guess that’s really why I’ve been good here all these years because braking has been one of my strengths. And also having the guts to kind of push it up as close to the wall and over the kerbs as hard as you can. I guess it’s a bit like a go-kart track, so you can throw the car around.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis and Nico, Ferrari was using a new engine here as they had used a few tokens and you haven’t done that. There were a lot of questions whether they could get closer to you and we have seen that Mercedes still has a big gap. Does it make you even more relaxed that the fight for the championship is just between you two?

LH: I think it’s pretty much impossible for you to come to that conclusion because Kimi spun so we didn’t really get to see his true pace in the race. Maybe at the beginning of the race he wasn’t with us and also Sebastian wasn’t there and obviously Sebastian has generally been the quicker of the two so far this season so we didn’t really get to see Ferrari’s true pace this weekend, I think, and in the next race we will.

NR: Well, great to see how we’re continuing to push on with the development and everything. Even though Ferrari is throwing everything at it we seem to be keeping our advantage so that’s really great to see and a fantastic job from the team.

Q: (Graham Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Valtteri, it was round about this point last season that Williams really stepped up to be competitive and had some really good results in qualifying. Are you confident that we’ll see something similar this season?

VB: I think the next couple of tracks, at least, will be pretty good for us. Austria, Silverstone, I think they will suit our car and I’m quite confident also with the package we have coming to Austria. At least, if it works like all the updates so far we’ve had, I think it should be a very good step and then possibly we could be fighting for many more podiums. I really hope it’s possible.

June 8, 2015
2014 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix Race Edit

Relive the thrills and action of the 2014 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix with the official race edit of last season’s race. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo claimed his first F1 victory after an action packed race at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2014. Both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton suffered technical problems, and Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez were involved in a heavy crash with only one lap to go, while Jenson Button’s late surge earned him a brilliant fourth for McLaren.

June 5, 2015
Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Sergio PEREZ (Force India)

Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)

Daniil KVYAT (Red Bull Racing)

Max VERSTAPPEN (Toro Rosso)

Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

Felipe MASSA (Williams)

PRESS CONFERENCE

If we could start with a general question to all of you: obviously the story in Monaco, of the race, was triggered by the safety car and here in Montreal 11 of the last 17 races have featured at least one and as many as four safety cars. Can you speak about what your first thought is, as a driver, what kind of communication you have with the team at that time and what are the most important things to take care of from a driver’s point of view? Felipe, maybe you could start.

Felipe MASSA: Well, I think, first of all, it depends on the track. You have some tracks that you have more possibility of accident, or are more difficult, more easy to have a contact or crashes or low grip from the asphalt, which is like Monaco. Maybe here a bit more, a bit better, but with all these chicanes, with the wall nearby, so it’s very easy to have an accident or to crash – I know very well from my past, especially from last year. But I think you always need to be very close to your team, understanding everything happening in the race, the safety car and the strategy. The communication counts always and you can gain position or maybe get a good strategy if you are doing things in the proper way.

Sergio, what do you like to make sure you take care of at a time like that?

Sergio PEREZ: I think it’s important to make your team make the decisions. Don’t speak too much at certain points of the race, for example if there is a critical situation with the safety car out. This track, for example, it’s quite easy to have a crash, every single lap there is a risk. There are certain corners where you can simply not do any mistake, and if you do a mistake you will definitely end up in the wall. This track is one you should definitely take care of for the whole race.

Max, as a rookie, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind when you hear that the safety car has deployed?

Max VERSTAPPEN: It also depends on where you are on track, where you qualified. For sure, here for me will be an interesting race. I will have to hope for a safety car. Depends also how hard the track is for the tyres. All those things you take [into account] before you make a decision and you also talk to your team quite a lot because they have a lot of data and they see where you are on the track compared to other competitors.

Lewis, your thoughts on it? What do you like to take care of when you hear that the safety car has been deployed?

Lewis HAMILTON: I think you just have to stay cool and follow the procedures that you know and also the feedback that the team gives you.

Pastor?

Pastor MALDONADO: Yeah, maybe it’s a very crucial moment for the race – not only for the driver, but also for the [pit] wall, for the team. The strategy can change immediately, so you must be very alert for whatever is the team call and, yeah, respect the procedures and trying to gain places.

Daniil, final word?

Daniil KVYAT: Well, as you hear the safety car is out, I think you just speak with the team, what’s happening around you and rely [on them] because they know all the gaps with the other cars and so on. And then you make a decision, together with the team, and then once you stay out or anything else, it’s a calm period, you just look after the temperature of the tyres and nothing else.

OK, thank you for that. Coming back to you Max, a big crash in Monaco and you’re carrying a five-place grid penalty this weekend in Montreal as a result. What did you learn from that whole episode, that experience, and how do you evaluate your performance overall during that Monaco weekend?

MV: I learned the cars are pretty strong. I was happy about that, that I didn’t have any injuries. I’m happy… I didn’t have any problems after that, I went go-karting on Wednesday, so I was fit again. Yeah, I will have some work to do on this track, but I think it will not change me as a racing driver. I will keep fighting and especially when you want to fight for points, I will still go for it.

Lewis, coming to you, obviously it’s been a happy hunting ground for you over the years: three poles, your first ever victory, from pole, in Formula One, back in 2007, three wins in total. Is this the ideal place, then, for you to bounce back from what must have been an extremely painful experience two weeks ago in Monaco?

LH: It’s a good track. As you said, I had my first grand prix win here, so generally always been relatively quick here. More so, just to have a better weekend than we had last year here. So that’s the target.

Daniil, coming to you, a career-best fourth last time out. How much of a confidence boost was that result for you in Monaco? One interesting stat for you is that you’ve yet to finish the finish the first lap of a race this season in the same position you started, so maybe you’d like to say a little bit about that?

DK: Yeah, I mean, the Monaco race was a very good race. We had a clean weekend all day long. I think we saw as a team how important it is to have a clean weekend and, yeah, we grabbed quite a lot of points as a team as well. I hope it is a very good confidence boost for all of us in the team, that’s what we needed, and now we hope to keep growing from there onwards. I hope it’s going to bring us something else in the future.

Pastor, your run of bad luck seems to have continued – now five retirements from six races. What’s the team saying to you and what is your mindset going into this weekend?

PM: Yeah we have been very unlucky, especially because we have been having a few different problems during the races, but on the other hand we have a competitive car, which gives us the opportunity to try again and do our best. Let’s re-try again this weekend. This should be a good track, a good opportunity for us. I’ve been always fighting for the points before the problems we had, so there is not any point to don’t do it from now to the rest of the season.

Felipe, coming to you: on a positive note, you’ve got over double the points at this stage, after six races, that you had in 2104 at the same stage. But looking at your record here, why is it that Canada has never been a particularly happy hunting ground for you?

FM: I don’t know, so many things happened on this track with me, to be honest. I always drove pretty well here. I was always having competitive races. So I hope this will be the good one.

OK, and Sergio, finally with you, obviously you matched Force India’s best result of the season so far in Monaco, with seventh. You were running second here in the closing stages last year before the accident Felipe mentioned and you were on the podium, back in 2012, so what are you feelings on this track?

SP: This track is definitely one that I really enjoy: it’s just like driving on a karting track. I really, really enjoy this place, doing a lap, having a race here. It’s quite demanding mentally, because, as I said before, it’s a track where it is very easy to make a mistake. I have had a couple of good runs here; as you say back in 2012 I was on the podium. Last year I was very close to win the race but unfortunately later in the race I had some issues and then the contact with Felipe came but up to that point it was a great race and so close to actually win the race. I hope… this year we are in a different position, but we can definitely make it into the points.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Lewis. Lewis, this is the first time that you meet the team after Monaco. How as the atmosphere in the team, and did you learn a lesson, maybe not to complain any more during the race, the tyres, and maybe stay a little bit more cooler in the race and don’t make the people, the strategy staff, have a Plan B that could be dangerous for you?

LH: Okey Dokey. No, things are good with the team. Excited to move on to this weekend. So, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing because that’s done pretty good for me up until now.

Q: (Dave Stubbs – Montreal Gazette) Lewis, how much of this track becomes muscle memory for you? When a driver does really well on a track, is it easy for you just to be able to arrive here and visualize what you need to do or is it a re-education for you every time you arrive here?

LH: It’s not a re-education but it’s kind of… you have to re-boost or re-awaken your mind to remember what the circuit is like. But you’re always trying to improve every time you come here. You’re always trying to be faster. There’s always areas in which you can improve. For example, last year’s qualifying wasn’t strong enough here. There are areas where… I didn’t finish the race in the end so there’s things we’ve learnt from that weekend so we should be stronger here naturally this weekend. But I’ve generally been strong over here over the years – but I can be faster. So that’s the plan this weekend.

Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) How would you describe the confidence level to the team right now?

LH: Same as always. 100 per cent.

Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Lewis, in Monaco, in the immediate aftermath of it all, you were asked ‘can you put it into words how you feel?’ You said you couldn’t because it was all so raw at the time. Looking back now, can you put into words how it felt and how you then subsequently got over the events of Sunday?

LH: First of all, I don’t look back. I’m looking forwards, so honestly I don’t really… I have not thought about the last race for a long time and I’ve just really been thinking about the next race, putting my mind to other things, training and trying to come back strong this weekend. So, it’s really irrelevant what happened in the past now. There’s nothing you can do about it so there’s no point dwelling on it.

Q: (Graham Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) I’ve got a question for all of the drivers. Jacques Villeneuve in recent days spoke in support of a tyre war returning to F1. I wondered what each of you thought about the possibility of more tyre suppliers competing with each other, whether it would improve things or not.

Felipe, you remember the tyre wars from the last time. Would you welcome a return?

FM: For sure, when we had the big fight between the tyre suppliers it was amazing the grip we had on the tyres. It was really… I mean all the companies were giving the best they could, y’know? So, I think when you have only one company, whatever they’re doing it’s the same for everybody. It’s the same for every driver so for sure they can spend less money on that, y’know? For the driving point of view, for sure it was better before but for the money point of view I think it maybe was too expensive. Especially now. How it’s going in Formula One. For sure it would be too expensive. So, I’m not so sure it will happen. I don’t think so to be honest.

Your thoughts Lewis – and also maybe its impact on overtaking – does it make it easier or harder?

LH: I don’t think I was… I never really got to drive when it was a tyre war but I agree with Felipe in the sense that I can only imagine one manufacturer… they’re always pushing technology and that’s naturally what the sport is about. When you have one manufacturer there’s no need to push the technology. That’s how all of us teams… we’re always pushing each other. Everyone wants to get faster and get better and improve and naturally that’s what happens if you have a tyre war.

Max?

MV: I don’t have a lot of experience with that. I think it’s always good to go to the limit of something, and also with the tyres it’s exactly the same. Try to push each other forwards and improve the tyres again. I think that would be great to see again. We’ll see, maybe it happens one day.

Sergio, do you have any thoughts?

SG: Yeah, of course I never experienced that. I think there is definitely room to improve the tyre that we have. The way we have it right now. If it’s good for the sport I will definitely be in favour of that.

Pastor?

PM: Yes, I agree. I mean, it’s always fun to see competition everywhere in Formula One. Not only from the teams, drivers, different supplier and maybe the tyres will be great fun. But we need to think. Not only about the competition, even about the cost. As everyone knows the budgets and the sponsors and the economic situation of Formula One now is not the best, not the greatest – so it’s a point to argue maybe.

Daniil, final thought.

DK: I don’t know really. To be honest if we have one supplier that gives us just a very strong tyre with good grip, I think it’s fine. If you have two different suppliers and one does a much better job than the other, then probably there is disadvantage for some teams and advantage for another. So, it can always go one way or another.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Two questions for Lewis; the first is about the engines. You have a fresh engine here but without using a token. You don’t use a token and Ferrari have new engines which the advantage of three tokens. Do you believe that Ferrari can be a little bit more dangerous than usual here? And the second question, coming back to Monaco, if you don’t have any complaint – if you don’t feel yourself there are some complaints about yourself, your behaviour during the race?

LH: I don’t know what Ferrari have done so I have to assume that they have improved. For us, we’ve just improved reliability. We still have a fantastic engine so I feel quite confident going into the weekend but naturally, Ferrari have been fast in the previous races so they should be fast this weekend. And… really happy how I did the last race.

Q: (Leigh Diffey – NBC Sports) Max, up until you crashed in Monaco, your first Monaco weekend was phenomenal, finishing just a tenth and a half off Lewis in FP1, your qualifying etc, so if you had the chance to turn back time and do it all over again on that lap when you were approaching Romain, what would you do differently?

MV: Not much.. I was attacking, I wanted those points, especially after the pit stop we had. I don’t know. Maybe turn a bit earlier to the right, try to avoid it a bit more and maybe try to do it another lap again. I don’t think there were so many things I had to do differently, up until then.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Felipe and Max; Felipe, in the aftermath of the crash in Monaco that brought out the safety car you said a few things about Max and about young drivers and the dangers of inexperienced drivers on the track. Do you stand by that and Max, what’s your response to what Felipe said?

FM: First of all, I said when I had the interview after the race, he was not penalised and they asked me what I thought and I said ‘I think he needs to be penalised because what he did was wrong.’ So that’s what I said and I think, especially when you’re in your first year, 17-years old and if you do something like that and you’re not penalised, it’s completely wrong. I think the FIA needs to be strong in a proper way which is what they did actually, that’s the only thing I said and I don’t change my mind. That’s what I believe. We need to follow the rules. I said what he did was wrong. That’s what I said.

MV: Well, everybody can have their opinion, that’s the first thing but I looked at my data, I didn’t brake any later. I have braked later in the race before that but on the lap I crashed, it was exactly the same lap as the lap before and I got my penalty. I’m focusing on Canada right now and maybe you should review the race from last year and see what happened there.

Q: Are you clear what you got the penalty for ‘though?

MV: Well, you know I have my own view when we discussed it with the team. I don’t think there’s any reason to look back at Monaco and just focus on Canada like I said and we’ll try to score some points again and I will not change my driving style.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Max, I would like to know if you expected Carlos Sainz to be as strong as he is because he’s doing very well as well and he’s a rookie like you? What is your feeling about him and his performances?

MV: He’s a very good driver, he won 3.5 last year and so he was doing a good job. We are pushing each other forward and that’s also something that’s very good for the team.

Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Felipe, just picking up on what Max said there; we’re not drivers here so help us out. I kind of assume that you’re saying that Max needed a penalty in Monaco because he was the guy behind Romain and crashed into him. So what is the difference between what happened in Monaco to Max and what happened to you with Sergio here last year?

FM: I think it was a little bit different, no? I was on the side and he moved the car on braking so… I don’t think Grosjean moved the car on braking, no? But he was before the braking as well, here, what’s happened.

Q: (Gaetan Vigneron – RTBF) Lewis, sorry to come back a last time to Monaco. There are two parts in my question: could you have over-ruled your team decision and when you stopped at Portier, in your mind, was it a real possibility to do like Senna a couple of years ago, to go directly to your flat?

LH: No. There’s going to be a lot of questions about Monaco. I’m really not going back to Monaco. I’ve moved on. I don’t even have to think about it. I’m literally moving on. I couldn’t care less about it, I’m literally focused on… I can’t do anything about the past so there’s honestly no point in thinking about it. It’s about trying to shape the future. I’ve got lots and lots of races to come, lots of improvements that can be made, I’ve got a great team, got a great car and there’s a championship to be won so that’s all I’m focused on. Doesn’t matter what I feel or had felt or feel now because actually I don’t feel anything about. I’m literally thinking about this race, I’m excited, I feel good, I feel fit, I feel strong so all positives.

Q: While respecting that, it would be good to know the second part of the question about Portier, why you stopped at Portier?

LH: I know there would be but there is no answer to it.

Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Lewis, on the subject of looking forward there, do you have full trust in the strategic calls that the team make and do you feel that for the following races there’s any need to change any procedures you may or may not have at the moment?

LH: No, I think I answered the question early on: I have full trust and confidence in the team so… We’ve won, we’ve had pretty incredible successful together. One race doesn’t dent the solid foundation that we’ve got.

June 4, 2015
F1 2015: GP Preview – Classic Canada

Change is said to be inevitable and Formula 1 has embraced this fate with more regularity than most. Thankfully, it hasn’t abandoned some of thegreat circuit that lends its much needed character to the world championship.

As the seventh round of the 2015 season the Canadian grand prix is collectively treasured by drivers, teams and fans. The circuit Gilles Villeneuve is an oldie but a goodie and renowned for its tendency to dish up thrilling racing.

Its decades old history is spectacular and has rarely faltered to live up to its magnificent highs. The last several races around here have all had their own dramatic and enthralling stories. Last year the grinning Aussie Daniel Ricciardo snapped up his first grand prix victory after Mercedes ran into trouble. In especially dramatic fashion Jenson Button snatched victory from Sebastian Vettel on the last lap in 2011 after an appalling race at which stage the Brit was dead last.

It was here too that Lewis Hamilton took his first race win in 2007 as a bright-eyed McLaren driver. Altogether Hamilton has quite the romance with North American races having in Canada and the United States on several occasions. The incident that kept the reigning champion from winning the Monaco grand prix would have been tough to take on the day but there is little doubt that Hamilton will arrive in Montreal with that controversial issue well out of his mind.

The physical make-up of the circuit Gilles Villeneuve calls for an aggressive approach. “I remember coming back into the pits and saying ‘what a circuit,’ I was amazed at how good it was – and I’d only done an install. It’s just a ridiculous amount of fun. You can jump across the kerbs and really get the car bouncing around,” shares Daniel Ricciardo. “It’s like getting back to go-kart days, you really feel like you own it – and I love that. You can get aggressive with it, and aim to just brush the wall.”

The close proximity of the barriers often draws comparisons with Monaco which makes the likelihood of a safety car appearance fairly high. There is a distinct lack of overtaking opportunities which means that a good performance in qualifying can often translate to a good showing in Sunday’s race.

In technical terms the track’s long straight classifies it as a power dominant circuit. A greater focus is placed on brake wear with several big stops around the circuit. This was the area in 2014 that found out Mercedes as both cars suffered brake failure with only Rosberg seeing the chequered flag on that occasion. The circuit is mostly unused during the rest of the year which will make for a slow start to the weekend. Here too the weather conditions can be variable making the job of getting temperature into the tyres a tough one.

Mercedes closest rivals are likely to Ferrari as it has been for the most part this year. The reality however is that though Ferrari are labelled as Mercedes’ rivals they still remain some way off their dominating pace.

The steps that are being taken forward by Ferrari have grown slightly shorter over the last few months. The victory in Malaysia seems a long time ago and the Italian team has not been able to make a real impression on Mercedes of late. The upgradepackage brought to the Spanish grand prix wasn’t shown up to its potential in Monaco and may add a bit of performance.

A ten point gap is all that is between Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. But will it be left to a battle between the two Silver Arrows or will the Canadian grand prix once again deliver its notoriously dramatic races?

June 3, 2015