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Tag: lewis hamilton

  • 2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
    3 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by David Coulthard)

    Q: Lewis Hamilton, congratulations, your 11th victory of the season and that looked one of your most dominant. You must be very proud?
    Lewis HAMILTON: Honestly, I’m proud definitely but I’m just super grateful for this incredible team. To all at Mercedes, who have continued to push this year… who would have thought that at the end of the year we would have this strength in the race and even though we had the championships won we just really wanted to keep our heads down and try to see if we could learn and if we could extend and if we could extract more from this beautiful car that they’ve worked [on]. It’s a piece of art. And I’m also so grateful to team LH. I travel around the world to 21 different countries, probably even more, and I get to see people who continuously inspire me and send me messages and lift me up. So I want to send a big thank you to everyone that’s here, everyone that’s back home. Thank you for watching, thank you for supporting. I feel so happy with today, man.

    Q: Now it has been a great season and I know you’re in that moment, but you’ve got on the podium two young guys, two young chargers. They’ve thrown some big races at you this year, but this is a great way for you to end the season, with such a dominant victory. These guys have still got a lot of work to do?
    LH: These guys, there are a lot of youngsters coming through. If you look at the grid, for example, from second to like seventh or eighth was all super youngsters, so I’m really proud to be in a period of time where there are such great youngsters coming through. These guys have been doing a phenomenal job and I really privileged to be in the period of time where they’re here and I’m looking forward to hopefully more close battles with us in the future, so I hope it gets close for us next year.

    Q: Just before I move on, what have you got planned for the winter?
    LH: Oh, just family time, man.

    Q: Enjoy your family time. Max Verstappen, it’s been a pretty good season for you – three victories, third in the Drivers’ Championship. Today that was the best you could hope for. You had some issues though didn’t you? We heard you on the radio; you were having to manage some issues.
    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, a few little things. At the end of the day it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of position. Yeah, we had to do a bit of a different strategy to Ferrari of course, they pitted quite early and we went long, because they overtook us on the first lap. After that our pace was quite decent, just Mercedes and Lewis today, they were just a bit too quick. As a whole I think it’s been a positive season and of course to be P3 in the championship is a nice ending.

    Q: Lewis said he’s going to be spending family time in the winter but I guess you’ve got your sights on the world championship, so you’ll be at the factory, you’ll be on the simulator, you’ll be working hard?
    MV: I think we are all working hard but it’s also good to take some time off, be with family and friend and be fully recharged for next year and come back stronger.

    Q: Congratulations. We’ve got Charles and Lewis sharing notes here. What are you discussing? They way the race played out?
    Charles LECLERC: Yeah, just overall how quick he was during the race. With the hard I think he did a 39.2, so yeah, I was just saying congratulations to him.

    Q: Now, third place; it’s another podium. It’s been a great year, first year for you at Ferrari. I know you guys all want to win but you have to be satisfied. You are the first team-mate to have finished in front of Sebastian in the world championship in his time at Ferrari, so it’s been very positive for you.
    CL: Yeah, I’m extremely about this year. I’ve learned a huge amount thanks to Seb. Yeah, it’s been a great year. For me a realisation of a dream since childhood. I’ve always dreamed to be in Formula 1 but especially with Ferrari. To be now with this team is unbelievable and now it’s up to me to work, to get better, and hopefully give them the success they deserve.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, many congratulations, as emphatic a victory as we have seen from you, and in your 250th race as well?
    LH: Jeez! That’s a lot of races.
    MV: You didn’t celebrate that – 250? No pit board? Two-hundred-and-fifty grands prix, they didn’t celebrate that for you? You didn’t care.
    LH: No!
    MV: Three hundred? Three-fifty?
    LH: No, I don’t want to reminded of the age! No, what an incredible year it has been. What an incredible stretch it’s been with this team. Yeah, after winning the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championship I think it was really important for us as a team to continue to push. You know, we hadn’t got absolutely everything from the overall perfect package. So we were just trying to push the limits and push the boundaries and yeah, I think this is the perfect way to end the season, on the right foot. I think it was a great weekend in the sense that there was a Ferrari and a Red Bull and a Mercedes in the top three, obviously in the finishing order but also on the grid, and then a lot of young drivers behind me, making me feel young, which is great. I’m really just grateful to my team who have continued to push all year long and just have never lost sight of the objective. We’ve all had a common goal and inspired each other to continue to push and strive for perfection. So, incredibly grateful to everyone and I hope that everyone at Mercedes and our partners. I’m sure they are pretty happy.

    Q: Were you surprised by your dominance today, because you were 13 seconds ahead of Max after 20 laps?
    LH: Yeah, I definitely wasn’t expecting to haver the pace advantage to that extent. Our long run pace was quite good and I was told that we might be a tenth or two ahead but then in the race we had a bit more of an advantage in that respect. And once I got out in the clear I was able to manage my pace pretty well in that first stint and manage the tyres. I just had to go as long, basically, as Max was going. Then we got onto that next set of tyres and for this track the tyre was good. The hard tyres is quite resilient to any abrasion and that. It goes a long, long way. I think it can do the whole race stint. I think towards the end of the race I was like ‘I want to have some… I’ve got to push and see if I can extract any more performance from the car’. I do wish that we had some battles. I saw on TV you guys battling…
    MV: You could have slowed down!
    LH: You guys are too quick on the straights.
    MV: Just give it a chance.
    LH: I’m sure we are going to have some great races. We had some great races this year, Max and I, so congratulations to them for continuing to rise and I’m excited to be amongst those guys and fight with them next year.

    Q: Max, your second consecutive podium here in Abu Dhabi and your ninth podium finish of the season. You didn’t seem happy with the car after your pit stop. Can you just talk us through what the problems were?
    MV: Yeah, I just had some torque holes on throttle. There were delays and stuff, so it was not great, and we couldn’t fix it, so we drove around the problem. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of the result.

    Q: What does a torque hole mean? In the olden days would we have been talking about a misfire?
    MV: No, just when I go on throttle it’s not doing what I want.

    Q: Did it cost you lap time?
    MV: It did cost me lap-time – but like I said, it wouldn’t have given me the win today.

    Q: Apart from that, race was fine?
    MV: Yeah, race was fine. Little bit of a shame about the first lap but then I think we had a good first stint, to go long and yeah, I think once we then put the hard tyres on, the pace was decent. I could get by Charles and then I could just do my own race. I mean, Lewis was too quick, so I was just focussing on my own race and lap-times.

    Q: And you’ve sealed third in the Championship today. Just how will you reflect on 2019?
    MV: Yeah, pretty good. Few victories, poles, so that’s pretty good. I think we improved quite a bit throughout the season. Also, from Honda side. Of course, very happy about that. Now we just need to keep that momentum into the winter break as well and try to improve the car even further, together with the engine and be there from the first race, not from the middle of the season or towards the end. But we know that, so we are working on it.

    Q: Charles, it was pretty tight with Valtteri in those closing laps. How worried were you?
    CL: Well, Valtteri was very quick towards the end of the race, so yeah, I was pretty worried at one point when he started to catch and I was starting to struggle a little bit – but then, in the last four or five laps, I think he came back a little bit slower: I think he slowed down too, so then I was a bit more hopeful and then I had some traffic, so it was very close towards the end. But yeah, it was a bit of a strange race because in the first stint I was very hopeful, I was behind Lewis. OK, we weren’t as quick as Lewis but I still thought the pace was there – but then we tried to pit pretty early to try to force them to stop early but yeah, then basically I understood I would see Lewis at the end of the race because we were just not quick enough and we never put a challenge to them in front. Yeah, it’s like this. We weren’t quick enough – but overall, I think during the season it’s been more or less the same picture when qualifying, we manage more or less to be there but then in the race we seem to struggle. So we need to work on that for 2020.

    Q: So you were trying to force Mercedes into making another pit stop. How early in the race – if indeed you did – were you regretting that two-stop strategy?
    CL: I was not. Because it was pretty clear for me that to get this third place, if I wanted it, it was all about winning because Max was still in the race, so we had to do something. I didn’t want to stay there and that’s it. So, I just tried but to be honest with not much hope but yeah, at least we tried.

    Q: And Charles, final thoughts. Are you worried about the fuel discrepancy that was discovered by the FIA prior to the race?
    CL: To be honest, I’ve got no idea and no details whatsoever of what’s going on, for now. So, yeah. I’ll speak to the team to understand that better.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Jake Boxall-Legge – Autosport) Question for Max. We’ve heard you over the year discussing over the year that you’ve had a little bit of lag sensitivity with the car. It doesn’t always respond to your throttle inputs. Is the problem today related to that – and how did it feel from your perspective in the car?
    MV: Most of the time it’s fine-tuning. Today, I’m not sure yet what happened exactly, because they didn’t want to tell me on the radio, they just said there was nothing they could do from their side, so then it also doesn’t matter what it is, so I’ll have to find out.

    Q: (Giovanni Messi – NewsF1.it) Max, do you think Red Bull is now in front of Ferrari and ready to catch Mercedes next year for a World Championship? And for Charles, I want to ask your opinion about the strategy today: why did you stop so early in the first laps?
    MV: I think it’s pretty close. It just depends a little bit on the track layout but I think from our side, throughout the season, we made good improvements so we could actually take the fight a bit more forward and win a few races and yet for next year there is still a lot of work to do of course, to catch up to Mercedes. At the end of the day, they were the dominant team over the year, or at least, the most consistent. Yeah, we will of course try everything to close that gap but of course it’s not going to be easy.
    CL: No. At the end, as I said, to be third in the championship we had to win the race, considering where Max was in the race so we gave it all for that and yeah, I just didn’t want to stay there in second place and follow the others’ strategy because it made no sense so we went for a gamble, it didn’t pay off but it’s OK.

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsportmagazin.com) Lewis, yesterday you said you had to re-centre a bit after Friday. You were a bit behind Valtteri, I don’t know if it was because of the engine, he had a fresh engine, but can you explain how you re-centre yourself? Is that something driving-wise you look completely differently into or is it more personal?
    LH: It’s really just about… I don’t know, on Friday, I just had a bit of… I guess, maybe it was slightly erratic, just the balance of…sometimes you over-drive, you under-drive, just not comfortable with the balance of the car and not reacting, there wasn’t synergy between myself and the car. But I would say more so perhaps from my personal side so I don’t know, it’s just about stepping back, taking a breather and kind of realigning your focus, realising what you need to do. As I said, get your heart under control and came back the next day, there was nothing erratic, smooth, calm and collected, so I had my own ways of doing that naturally but I think it’s just the experience over the years, understanding on some days, emotions are heightened and other days it’s more mellow and that was just one of those days.

    Q: (Lawrence Edmonson – ESPN) Lewis, I don’t know if you’re aware but there’s been a lot of talk this weekend about you potentially going to Ferrari in 2021. I may as well ask a straight question: is it a consideration and have you met with Ferrari’s president John Elkann?
    LH: Well, naturally everything that happens behind closed doors is obviously always private with whoever it is you end up sitting with but I think for many, many years I’ve never ever sat down and considered other options, because we’ve been on a… just driving straight ahead into the path that we’ve been on and the journey that we’ve been on and to be honest, I still think we’re on that path and I think there’s very little that’s going to shift it from that but I think there’s no harm in… I know Toto is also looking at his options in terms of his future and only he will know what is the best thing for him and his family. So I’m waiting to see what he’s doing with that. I love where I am so it’s definitely not a quick decision to do something else, but of course I think it’s only smart and wise for me to sit and think of what I want… if it is the last period or stage in my career. Actually I want to keep winning so I think that’s… I want to keep being able to fight with these guys as well. I can’t really tell you what else is going to happen moving forwards.

    Q: Charles, can I just throw that to you as well. If you’re still wearing red in 2021, would you welcome Lewis as a team-mate?
    CL: Well of course. At the end, we are in Formula One and we want to fight against the best. I’ve had a big opportunity this year to have Seb next to me who is a four time World Champion and I’ve learned a lot from him and you can always learn from this type of champion so yeah, of course.

  • 2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
    3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

    Q: Lewis you can see it’s a pretty good reaction you’ve got. I guess it’s the best way you could sign off this season on a Saturday – pole position, the first time since Germany as well.
    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it’s been such a long slog trying to get this pole position in, but we just kept our heads down and just continuing to try… the guys have been doing a great job around me, the other drivers, so it was really juts trying to focus on continuing to do my job. Yesterday was quite wobbly, so I had to really recompose myself last night and come back today focused and managed to really dial in the car with great work from the engineers, mechanics continuing to do a great job and yeah, what a crowd. Every time I come here I seem to get a lot of love here in Abu Dhabi, and also there are a lot of Brits here as well, so a big thank you to everyone.

    Q: And how nice is it to get a car that you fully focus on? It’s looked in shape all weekend and I think that’s credit to the team. You do never give up do you?
    LH: We never give up. There’s always room to improve. There has been a lot of growth in this whole year, I think for so many people within the team. I can obviously speak for myself, there’s been a lot of growth but also these last couple of races there’s been a lot of growth, from a driver’s perspective, and just constantly looking for those small milliseconds. You know, Valtteri 2.0 has been rapid also this weekend, so I’m glad that we’re in this position. Of course to end the qualifying season with a pole, which has been a while, you know we’ve only had four earlier on this year, so… It’s been a special car and it’s the last time I’ll get to qualify with it so I’m glad I did it proud today.

    Q: And Max is obviously lining up alongside you; continue on that battle that you had in Brazil that kept us on the edge of our seat?
    LH: Absolutely, yeah. I think we’re in a slightly better position this weekend. Obviously, Max is continuing to drive well, but I’m looking forward to battling with him for sure.

    Q: Valtteri, it’s a front row but at the same time you obviously take a grid penalty. I guess nice to be out there and show what Mercedes are capable of but just feel short at the end?
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, as a team it’s been a really strong day and we saw yesterday in the qualifying [simulations] that we have a good pace. Didn’t feel quite as good today as it did yesterday with my car, struggling a bit more with sliding, but I think Lewis made some good improvements since yesterday and he put some good laps together in the qualifying, so he was quicker. In any case, I’m going to start last with my 40-place grid penalty or whatever, so we’ll find the fighting spirit for tomorrow.

    Q: Surely you must relish that challenge. You’re going to be a nuisance in some people’s mirrors, and you’ll be pushing all the way, you got a little bit of insight yesterday, do you believe that you can come through and get on the podium?
    VB: I believe. Anything is possible. We do have a good car and normally Sunday is better than Saturday for us so we’ll give it all I have for sure.

    Q: Max, front row start. I know you just came short today, it wasn’t quite there at the end, Mercedes have looked supreme, but a good start and you’re already in the battle with this guy that you were battling with in Brazil.
    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I think today was the best that we could do. I think we all know that. Mercedes is quite dominant here. We tried everything we could. I think overall pretty happy. Still good to start on the front row. Of course I would have like to actually qualify there. I think still a lot of chances for tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens.

    Q: How did the car feel yesterday on the long runs? Do you think you are competitive enough to race them?
    MV: From our side it felt alright, but we always know that Mercedes are very quick on the long runs. We’ll just wait and see what happens tomorrow.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, an emphatic performance by you, the car seemed to be performing well, how good was the lap?
    LH: Thank you. It definitely was a very good qualifying session for us. It’s not been the easiest in terms of qualifying for us throughout the year. It’s been something we’ve just been chipping away at. Considering we’re not developing the car currently I think we just really tried to see what we could pull out of the car this weekend and it’s well suit to the track and it’s been feeling good. Yesterday was a little bit difficult. I had to re-centre myself for today. Yeah, I think the best thing is when you get to Q3 and you pull out two good laps. I think my first lap it felt special and then the second one obviously was an improvement, so I can’t complain. Just a big thank you to all the team for their continued efforts and even though we have both titles won they continue to push and strive for better and that’s inspiring for me, so I’ve been doing the same thing.

    Q: It’s been a while for you, since the German GP your last pole. How much satisfaction does this give you?
    LH: Yeah, of course. It feels longer than the German Grand Prix. If I’m really honest I don’t even understand how I got the German Grand Prix pole. But yeah, it’s been really hard, particularly since we have come back from the break. The competition has been spectacular; all drivers have been doing an amazing job. I don’t think my qualifying has been terrible but it’s just not been at my usual standard perhaps, so of course it’s incredibly satisfying to know that we have put the work and to end my last qualifying session with this car, which has been a real incredible journey with this car this year, so to finish it off on the front row, there’s not a better feeling really. Obviously that’s not even half the job done. Tomorrow we’ve got to battle with the Ferraris and the Red Bulls but I think we put ourselves in the best position possible so incredibly happy. Honestly, it’s really strange, you say it’s 88 [poles] but it honestly feels like the first, I don’t know why. It feels super-fresh. Maybe because it’s been so long since earlier on in the season and I’m glad to finish on five poles in the year.

    Q: Valtteri, great lap. The car seemed to improve as the session went on.
    VB: Yeah, the lap was OK. I think still it felt like Lewis was a bit too quick and I think we were slightly different with set-up as well by the end of the qualifying. Honestly, I felt a bit more comfortable yesterday with the car overall. But obviously for me, anything I was trying to keep in my mind was for the race because, in any case, whatever happens today I knew I’m going to be starting last with my, I don’t know how many place, grid penalty, 40, or something. So, I mean, I tried, obviously, as hard as I could. In Q2 I did only one run to save a new tyre set for the race, one set of Softs, if needed. But yeah, Lewis did a very good job, so congrats for the 88th – it’s a big number. Massive respect for that. But yeah, I’m just really already looking forward for tomorrow, because it is going to be compromised.

    Q: Valtteri, what is the plan for tomorrow. Can you plan your race, or are you going to have to react to what’s going on around you?
    VB: For sure, we’ve tried to make a plan and the whole weekend, trying to optimise for the race because, like I said, qualifying result doesn’t really matter for me today. So, everything we’ve done with the tyre choices, and everything we’ve tried to optimise that. We’ve had many ideas for the strategy, and obviously it’s going to be a challenge, coming up from there – but I do look forward to it. I’m sure it can be fun trying to come up.

    Q: Final thought Valtteri. How are you feeling? You’re not sounding great.
    VB: Feeling better already than a couple of days ago. I’ve been quite ill this week, I think since Monday night, so when I travelled here it got worse – but in the car it doesn’t matter. The adrenaline kicks in and you feel normal.

    Q: Max, at one stage during the session you reported suspension trouble. Was there any problem with the car?
    MV: No, it was just to check. Because I hit one of the orange inside – the high ones. So they would have a look at it, not that it would catch us by surprise, or anything.

    Q: And just tell us about your Q3 session. How good was the lap? How was the car performing?
    MV: I think the lap was really decent. There was not much I could do better, I think. I mean, there is never a perfect lap. It was good. I mean, I was just driving to the limits. We just seemed to lack a bit of grip, compared to them. Especially, they are very quick in the last sector. And there are a lot of off-camber corners. They are always very dominant here on this track, and we tried to be as close as we could and unfortunately we were just lacking a bit too much in that last sector. But overall, I think I’m pretty pleased. To be third in qualifying, second on the grid. Of course, I would have preferred to be there on pure pace but for us I think it was a pretty positive weekend.

    Podium here last year. Do you fancy your chances of getting on the top step tomorrow?
    MV: I guess you will always try but you also have to be realistic and I think Mercedes is very quick – but we’ll give it everything we have, tomorrow in the race.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis, you said that it felt like it’d been longer that Germany since you were on pole. Just wondered if it’s a weight off in any way? If it’s something you’ve thought about through the season, or is it a case of you get the pole now and only then you realise, ‘damn, it’s been however many races’?
    LH: No, there wasn’t a worry through the season. Of course, I’m well aware that you can’t win them all. I’ve been extremely fortunate and done a relatively decent job over the years – but yeah, I think just with understanding the car and ultimately just squeezing out the best: not over-driving; not under-driving; trying to find the right balance throughout the year. And plus, obviously we’ve had some great opposition. Opponents that are doing a great job – but yeah, I think Austin was probably the last time the car was able to be on the front row, which Valtteri did but I just wasn’t there, so it’s frustrating when you miss those sessions. I think it was the same in Japan. But, it’s great, as I said, these last two races particularly, I’ve done a lot of experimenting. With my driving style and with the car. Just trying to see if I can eke out a little bit more. And I think I’m closer to it. Not 100 per cent but I’ll apply what I’m like this year into next.

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for you Max. You said you have to be realistic tomorrow. So, you’re starting on the Medium tyre. The gap on the Medium seemed to be a bit bigger than on the soft to Mercedes. It’s probably going to be a one-stop race. The track is not fantastic for overtaking. Do you see any chance of getting first tomorrow?
    MV: Sounds positive! No, my lap was not fantastic on the Medium. In Q3 it was almost half a second and on the Medium it was sixth-tenths. So, its not a big deal. It’s going to be hard. I’m not going to lie but like I said, we’ll try everything we can as a team and we’ll see where we end up.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, with this car in this circuit, is it possible to be in the top three tomorrow as well?
    VB: Everything is always possible. There’s no point for me to set any limit really for tomorrow. So for sure, we’ll have a good fighting spirit. Take every opportunity there will be tomorrow and for sure there will be some. We’ve seen crazy races this year – look back two weeks in Brazil. So anything is possible. Look forward to coming up and taking those opportunities and most important having fun in the car.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, yesterday Mattia Binotto said that you were an outstanding driver and the fact that you might be available in 2021 to sign can only make him happy, so just your reaction to that, and whether that might give you something to think about over the winter?
    LH: Well, this is the first time I’ve heard of that. I think that’s the first compliment I’ve had from Ferrari in these thirteen years.
    MV: It’s because you’re beating them.
    LH: I honestly don’t remember them ever mentioning me ever so thank you, I’ll take it, doesn’t really mean anything, it’s all talk but yeah, it’s nice that finally… it’s taken all these years for him to recognise maybe but I’m grateful.

    Q: (Andreas Haupt – Auto, Moto und Sport) Lewis and Max, from what you’ve seen so far this weekend, do you see Ferrari as a potential threat or are they just too weak here this weekend and is it all between you tomorrow?
    LH: Yeah, I think their long run was good, huh? I think their long run was strong. I don’t actually know where they are.
    MV: Charles will start third.
    LH: His Q2 run was good on the mediums, wasn’t it, so they’ve obviously got pace. I think it’s going to be close between us all. Not to be negative, but I just wonder if… this track is awesome and this event is awesome but I wonder if it’s time they did a subtle adjustment to it to make it a bit easier for us to overtake, maybe. I don’t know. It’s a hard place for us to follow. We’ve got these great long straights which are good.
    MV: Yeah, the atmosphere is great…
    LH: I don’t know what they have to change but…
    MV: Less off-camber corners.
    LH: Yeah, maybe. Banked corners would be good.
    MV: Yeah.
    Q: Your thoughts on Ferrari, Max. Leclerc fastest in Q2 on the medium tyre?
    MV: Yeah, of course he also went for a second go at it but yeah, they will be there. I don’t worry about it too much, you just find out during the race. Go to bed, sleep well and have fun tomorrow.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Just following up on Phil’s question to Lewis: it’s all very nice,  compliments, but are they wasting their time being nice to you? Are you going to turn them down or are you listening to anything that they have to say, positive, negative? Would you be interested in talking to them about your future with regards to Ferrari?
    LH: No, it’s positive. What was the first part, sorry? I think it’s never a waste of time to ever being nice to someone. As I said, it has been a long, long time and a team that I’ve always appreciated over the years, so to earn their respect from someone from there who’s obviously very high up is obviously not a bad thing. I think they’ve got two great drivers as is so who knows what the driver market’s going to be doing over the next year. But if I’m really honest, I’m not really focused on that right this second: trying to make sure I finish off strong. I’ve got this incredible group of people who hire me where I am and I feel like I just continue to owe it to them to give my heart to them and my energy 100 per cent to them, particularly as I’m still in contract and negotiations haven’t started yet. I honestly don’t know how the next phase of the months is going to go when it comes to contract. It’s very odd that you have to do it almost a year before it ends and it can’t be done towards the end but that’s just the way it goes but we shall see.

    Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – Motorlat) Fernando Alonso earlier said that he’s going to keep the door open for 2021, so what would your reaction be to a comeback of a driver of his calibre?
    LH: I’d be more just happy that I won’t be the oldest here! So welcome an older dude, he can come along. Fernando’s obviously a well-accomplished driver. It’s interesting to see in the past, obviously, with drivers wanting to come back, like Michael, and it’s something you’ve done your whole life so… I haven’t spoken to Fernando so I don’t know how he’s been feeling or how much he’s missed it, but I don’t think it would be bad for the sport. Ultimately, there’s a lot of young kids on their way up and there’s only 20 seats, so he has also had his period of time there, but if there’s no other good youngsters coming through then… there definitely is space for some that are currently here that probably could be replaced. So I would welcome it.
    VB: Agree with Lewis, nothing really to add. Same thoughts.
    MV: Yeah, absolutely, I mean Fernando’s a great driver but you should only come back…
    LH: You said something about him coming back.
    MV: Me?
    LH: Yeah. You said that… come back… with me.
    MV: Is that so?
    LH: You know, in my first season.
    MV: You were equal on points, wasn’t it?
    LH: In my first season.
    MV: Yeah, that’s right. You did a great job. No, but he’s a great driver, I think you can agree on that, right?
    LH: Of course.
    MV: And it would be good to see him… if he could come back but only in a competitive car otherwise I think it’s just a waste of time for him. But I think he knows that himself so…

  • F1 2019: Abu Dhabi Gp Preview – From Dusk to Darkness

    F1 2019: Abu Dhabi Gp Preview – From Dusk to Darkness

    The Abu Dhabi grand prix is here and it brings with the end of the 2019 Formula 1 season. Race number twenty-one on the calendar is hosted at easily one of the most impressive venues that F1 visits. A gigantic complex that comprises the Ferrari World theme park, the Yas Hotel and the 5.5 kilometer long Yas Marina circuit.

    The race, unique for its transition from dusk to darkness, is run over 55 laps for which the current lap record of 1:40:279, set in 2009, is held by Sebastian Vettel. Designed by Herman Tilke, who else, the track is dominated by a 1.2 kilometer back straight interrupted by the slow-speed ‘chicane’ of Turns 7 and 8. This stretch of the circuit is of particular interest as it does induce several overtaking moves throughout the race.

    Conceptualized in 2006 The Yas Marina circuit, situated just outside of Dubai has never been one to produce big drama. But it’s had its fare share of striking moments since in 2009 introduction. It is here in 2010 that Sebastian Vettel won the first of his four championship titles. And where in 2012 on his way to victory Kimi Raikkonen famously quipped over team radio “leave me alone, I know what I’m doing”. In 2016 Nico Rosberg too was crowned champion in Abu Dhabi and followed the biggest moment of his racing career with the even bigger bombshell of retirement.

    Who will it suit? All indications, and the enormously long straight, suggest that Ferrari should be in a strong position. But the Italian team has fallen short on Sundays in the last few grand prix. And they have the cloud of the Vettel/Leclerc relationship hanging over them too. There’s no doubt that Vettel and Leclerc will tow the PR line this weekend where the press in concerned. But they’ll still try to one-up each other, as they should.

    Mercedes, in particular Lewis Hamilton, has always gone well in Abu Dhabi but it is Red Bull who may just spring a surprise. The performance of the Honda power unit in Brazil was eye-catching. Given the final sector of the lap is dominated by medium to slow-speed corners that calls for good mechanical grip Red Bull could well in be an excellent position this weekend.

    Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Hungarian Grand Prix - Preparation Day - Budapest, HungaryAs far as we know Formula 1 will bid farewell to Nico Hulkenberg and Robert Kubica this weekend. Hulkenberg, to be replaced by Esteban Ocon in 2020, will leave F1 as its nearly man. While no doubt a talented driver Hulkenberg simply never delivered the outstanding performances that he was expected too. He’ll have one more opportunity, though it’s a far-fetched one, to score that elusive podium.

    Robert Kubica’s story is an unforgettable one. He burst onto the scene and immediately impressed with his speed. But for a nearly fatal rallying crash he would likely have ended up at a top team sooner rather than later. Unfortunately it never panned out for the Polish driver. His comeback with Williams though is an incredible testament to his character, willpower, and determination. Ultimately though he was comprehensively outperformed by rookie teammate George Russell. But all is not lost, as Kubica may still be seen in the paddock as a test and development driver.

    Though some Formula 1 journeys and so to the 2019 season may be coming to their conclusion there are 55 more laps of the Abu Dhabi grand prix before signing off.

  • 2019 Formula 1 Brazil Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Brazil Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    2 – Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso)

    3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

     

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Rubens Barrichello)

     

    Q: What a great race Max. You looked unbeatable today. Did it feel like, driving, that if you had been on any tyres you would have been unbeatable?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Well, Lewis was very quick, so I had to keep pushing. All the time with the strategy he pitted one lap earlier so we had to be really on top of our pit stops. But yeah, two times we had a good move with him, so all the time that brought us back into first and yeah, from there onwards I could control the race with the tyres I had. Unbelievable. It was a lot of fun out there and of course great to win the race.

    Q: With the speed, whenever you overtook the Ferrari onto the last corner, did you think you had that speed to overtake Lewis at the same time?

    MV: Well, I was behind so I was pushing flat out on my our lap to try to be close to him and it was my only shot. Because of that I was close into the DRS. We knew that we had great top speed the whole weekend already, so yeah, then still of course it’s a guess but very happy to get past.

    Q: Well done to you and Honda, it’s a great achievement. Lewis and Pierre, how was this final move. Lewis, when you went to the inside, did you think that you had the gap to go, that you had the speed to get past him on the straight?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Honestly, I didn’t, but he did a great job, he was very fair with where he positioned the car. I massively apologise to Albon. I went for a move… the gap was kind of there, but obviously it closed right at the end and completely my fault. But still, a great race. Max did a fantastic job today. They just outclassed us in terms of overall performance. We couldn’t keep up with them on the straights. Honestly, I raced my heart out,. I gave it everything. I left nothing on the table and I took a lot of risks today, as you saw.

    Q: As you always do. The Brazilians love you. When you are here it’s always pure racing, so we saw pure racing today. [With] Max, do you think any strategy would have done the case with him today. He looked unbeatable today?

    LH: We threw everything and the sink at it. Honestly, we could keep up with them in the corners but they were outshining us on the straights, therefore I don’t think there was anything we could do.

    Q: Well done. Hey, Pierre! After a tough season, is it good to be back on that podium, the podium that you deserve since a long time ago?

    Pierre GASLY: It’s my first podium in Formula 1 and yeah for sure I will never forget it. It’s such a special moment, I don’t know what to say. It’s so emotional and also to get it with these guys, with Toro Rosso; they gave me a fantastic car since I came back and I’m just so happy for Honda, for Toro Rosso, it’s amazing day.

    Q: I know it’s your first [F1] podium but I meant that because you’ve been on the podium for so long in your career that it’s good to be on the podium in Formula 1 isn’t it?

    PG: I’ve been many times on the podium and you kind of forget it and that’s what I love about motor sport – these emotions, the fight. I just kept believing until the end. I saw they were battling and I tried to push as much as I could and the opportunity came to us. A great finish with Lewis as well. I was like trying to get low in the car, trying to get each Kp/h I could, but no, to these guys just a big congrats and a big thanks.

    Q: Well done to you and to Honda. To hold on to that last straight, that corner alongside Lewis must be…

    PG: I was strained. I told me engine to give me everything it had and I think without the progress have made it would have never been possible. I am just so happy; I don’t know what to say.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Max, can you just explain to us what happened there. It was an inch-perfect race from you. How do you sum it all up?

    MV: Err, long summary! A lot of things happened. I think the start was good enough. I was happy about that. Then, the first stint everything looked quite good. Towards the end of that stint, yeah, just the tyres started to wear off a bit and then I had the traffic with the Williams cars and Lewis of course pitted that lap. It was not very nice. Actually, I did my pit stop and I came out also Robert came out and he almost took me out, I went into the wall. I had to brake there…

    Q: Did you lose any time there?

    MV: yeah, I almost caught the anti-stall, so yeah, it was very close. Then my out lap: luckily for me Lewis got stuck in the middle sector with Charles, so I pushed up to them and luckily I could get by Charles into Turn 12 and then I still had the tow and the DRS of Lewis and yeah, I was on full power and DRS open and I could get Lewis into Turn 1. From there onwards in that stint we managed the tyres quite well. I was waiting for Mercedes to react again but luckily we had enough of a gap to go one lap longer, so we did that. Good pit stop from the guys as well. I think it was 1.9 seconds, so that was incredible. And then on the medium tyre Lewis was pushing hard and I think we were quite closely matched and I think if there wouldn’t be a safety car it would have been a good fight towards the end of the race. But of course then the safety car came out and I think there the team did a really good job calling me in again for soft tyres. At the time I was a bit like, ‘is there going to work, I’m not sure’. But immediately in the re-start I had a good tow off Lewis and went around the outside. We had a good battle in Turn 1 and again in Turn 4. And then you could see that the tyre advantage really helped me of course and we could stay in first and control the race.

    Q: How much did you enjoy your battling with Lewis today?

    MV: Yeah, it was good. If you can battle against the world champion it’s always better than battling someone for P10 or whatever. I think it was a good battle and we gave each other enough room, just enough but I think it was cool.

    Q: Can you just talk us through that last re-start as well, because you got on the power very late?

    MV: Yeah, it was just the way I wanted to do it, so it worked out well. I immediately had a gap so it was good.

    Q: Is that something you learn in karting?

    MV: Yeah, I guess so. You do many re-starts in go-karting. Many things happen all the time. F3 as well, I guess. In F1, you know, we have done so many, not even you being the guy in the lead, but you are in the group. There are always things you can do better, things you can learn.

    Q: Pierre, first podium, just give us your emotions.

    PG: It’s just the best day of my life. As a kid you dream about being in Formula One, and then when it happens it becomes the best day of your life and then after you dream about your first podium. To be fair, I didn’t think this would happen, coming back with Toro Rosso during the second part of the season. I just kept working on myself, tried to push the team as much as I could, telling them, OK, we need to make the best out of all the opportunities we have until the end of the year. And today it just came to us. We had a really strong race before that in P7, behind the top teams, and then, when they started to battle. First the Ferrari, and then I was like: ‘OK, this looks quite similar to Bahrain 2018, in P4’, and then after I knew Lewis would try something. And then yeah, we just managed to get past the two and yeah, quite intense finish and just incredible to get my first podium in Formula 1.

    Q: What were your expectations coming into the race?

    PG: Starting in P6, I felt good in the car the whole weekend. I think we managed to get the car exactly where I wanted. I said OK, if we finish best of the rest again in the race, this will be amazing for us. So, that’s what we were doing. The whole race we had good pace. I was controlling the gap with the guys behind but we always had quite a safe margin. I could push quite nice. Even at the beginning of the race I could see that Albon and Charles weren’t pulling away so much, so I think the car was working really well. With all the safety cars it was like: ‘OK, let’s see what happens,’ and just tried to stay there and get the best out of what happens.

    Q: Can you just describe the view from up on the podium?

    PG: It’s crazy. These guys are used to it. You get used to being on the podium in the lower series, and then after coming into Formula One, it’s a feeling you miss. I was really missing it. My last podium was in Formula 2 when I was champion in 2016. And then, it’s something you want to experience, especially in Formula 1 and yeah, today, to be in the middle, in second place between Max and Lewis, my first podium in F1 is just… yeah, just insane, and amazing and really emotional for me.

    Q: Lewis, coming to you. Such an eventful race for you. Talking about your pace specific to Max, is there anything you could have done differently, strategically or otherwise, that you think could have led to you being faster than him today.

    LH: No, I don’t think so. Firstly congratulations to Max and Pierre, it’s really awesome to see, especially through the experience and journey he’s gone through from being in one team then to the next. To come through is really awesome. We had a close battle right to towards the end. Ultimately, it was a very tough weekend for us, a really tough race, trying to keep up with Max. The Red Bulls have had great race pace, particularly the second half of the season, which is often the case each year. So, fighting him, staying consistent, trying to stay on his tail through the race was… I was giving it absolutely everything. And then obviously we got him through the pitstop and then I got caught up behind a Ferrari and then he just blitzed past me on the straight and there was nothing I could do. Then we had another scenario. But at the end it was kind of… it was impossible at the end with the tyre deficit that we had. I made the call to pit, as they said, I’d only lose one position and it ended up being two. So, I gave it everything. I took a lot of risk at the end and I apologise to Alex. Obviously had no intention of coming together. It’s probably the first time I’ve come together with someone for a long, long time but I saw a door open and I kind of went for it, and it closed very, very quickly. I went straight to him after the race to apologise. Nonetheless, I think it was a great race and it’s great again to see the youngsters coming and driving so well. I’m battling as hard as I can to stay in the mix.

    Q: And Lewis, if you had, for example, put the Medium tyre on instead of a second set of Softs at that first pit stop, do you think it could have been any different?

    LH: I don’t know. I’d have to think about it. Strategy-wise, I think the team did a really, really good job with the strategy and, again, it wasn’t their decision at the end, they offered it as an opportunity for me, and I didn’t think losing one place, it would be so bad considering I’d only come out having lost one place and give me a chance to quickly get past Albon – but it wasn’t the case obviously. I think, when I came out of that first stop, I thought to myself I should have been on the Medium because it generally was a relatively easy overlap – but again, he would have just overtaken me on his out-lap anyway, so I would have still got stuck up by the Ferrari. And it probably would have been hard to have kept up with him with the pace of the Soft. We gave it everything, we threw everything we could at it, and we live to fight another day and I hope we have more great races like that.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Max. As you drove earlier the Toro Rosso and Pierre was your team-mate at the beginning of the season, how did you rate this podium. And question to Lewis and Pierre: how was the battle between the two of you?

    MV: How I rate Pierre’s podium? Incredible. Of course, he anyway already had a great race. I think you were best of the rest, right? That’s already a good result and then yeah, you just stay out of trouble and other people, of course, make mistakes and you profit from that. I think it’s great to see Pierre up here. Now it’s also the second podium for Toro Rosso already this year, so I think they are very happy with this, and yeah, like I said, I’m very happy to see Pierre up on the podium. I always knew he was a very quick driver. I think this year in the beginning maybe didn’t work out the way it should but, as you can see, I think Pierre is very strong and, at Toro Rosso again, he regrouped and he had already before this race a lot of good results. So, this is even, I think, a bigger motivation.

    Q: Pierre, your battle with Lewis.

    PG: Intense. You see your first podium coming together and then you’ve got the World Champion behind you pushing you to the limit. I tried to defend the best way I could, and coming out of the last corner, just flat out and hoping that the engine can give you every single horsepower it can get. I was pressing the overtake button, trying to get low inside the cockpit and I could see his front wing and I was like: ‘please don’t pass me on the light’ ‘cos I’m going to be so pissed off if it happens. I really wanted to keep that second place. And yeah, I must say Honda have been improving so much over the last few months. And then yeah, without this progress it would never have been possible to hold that second place to a Mercedes. Just insane. I think the only thing we have to say is a big congrats and a big thank you to Honda today.

    Q: And Lewis?

    LH: I was very much the same. I was ‘snucking’ down, trying… he did a fantastic job. He put the car in the right place in every section of the track, was very fair and didn’t make any mistakes. So, hat off to him. He did a fantastic job. The Honda’s obviously made some big steps and it’s great to see another manufacturer as strong as they are now. It means that hopefully next year we’re going to have a serious three-way, four-way battle and that’s great for Formula 1.

    How was your car handling after the contact with Alex Albon?

    LH: I’ve had worse! It was OK. I didn’t really seem to lose anything. I never like to see damage on my car, I never like colliding with other drivers and so, naturally for a youngster like Alex, who’s been driving fantastically well, it’s not easy to be a team-mate for sure, of a well-experienced driver like Max but he’s been doing great and I can assure you I know exactly how he feels right now. And I can assure you, it’s not intentional, that’s why I went to apologise to him – and I’m sure I’ll see him shortly after this.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) To Lewis and Max, I don’t know if you’ve seen the incident between Charles and Seb but the two Ferraris colliding was obviously another big story from the race. You two have both got experience of what it’s like when you’ve got an intense fight with your team-mate but one which is usually respectful – but sometimes goes over the line. With what’s going on with Seb and Charles this year, have you seen that as a weakness within that team and are you surprised that it has eventually come to blows like it has today?

    MV: I think it’s always difficult to comment on that when you’re not inside the team. You don’t know what happened because you don’t know all the details. I think it’s very difficult to comment on that. I also haven’t seen the footage so I can’t comment on the incident itself.

    Q: Lewis?

    LH: I’ve not seen it. Naturally it’s never a great one between team-mates. I’ve experienced it first hand. It’s never a great thing for a team. I’m sure it wasn’t’ intentional but naturally you’ve got to… the burden is that there’s so many people behind you, it’s not just about you. When all those people are relying on you to do your job, and something like that happens. It’s not a great feeling. As I said, I haven’t seen it.

    Q: (Gianfranco Papini – MomentoGP) Lewis, you’re surrounded by promising drivers, two young stars. You were young 12 years ago…

    LH: Hey man, I’m still young.

    Q: (Gianfranco Papini – MomentoGP) You had intense battles with other fellow colleagues like them. What is your opinion about this new generation of F1 drivers?

    LH: Well, naturally when you get older you look down on the younger drivers and you think… you point the finger at the… no, I’m kidding. No, it’s inevitable that the youngsters are going to come through. There’s often a wave of young talent that manages to make its way through to Formula One and as I said, I think Formula One’s got a lot of new young blood with a lot of potential and they really are the future of the sport. And as I said, I think fortunately I feel that whilst the number shows a little bit higher, I feel like I’m able to still kick it with these guys and so I’m excited for the future racing with these guys and as I’ve said, if we can get these teams to be closer then we’re going to see more awesome battles like today and I think that would be great.

    Q: (Lars Van Soest – De Telegraaf) Max, how would you rate this weekend comparing it to all your other wins and other good weekends?

    MV: You can never compare weekends but it’s been very positive and I’m just very happy with the progress we have been making I think in the last few races. Just having a whole clean weekend I think is what we are always after and I think that’s what happened this weekend. Of course it’s great at the end of day to also win the race and yeah, it’s promising also for next year. I think we’ve learned a lot of stuff in the last few races so hopefully it’s a good sign to have put a start to next year.

    Q: (Marcelo Teixeira – Reuters) Lewis, how do you see your move on Albon late in the race? Did you think it was not the right time to try it or just a racing incident?

    LH: It’s always a big question, when is the right time to try it. We only had a lap and a half, I think it was, to go. An opportunity came, I was quicker through turn nine and I was within shooting distance so I gave it a shot. Ultimately, in my mind, I’m trying to catch Max… it was highly unlikely but that was the goal. I think I’ve got a penalty so I totally accept the blame as I was coming from behind, and as I said before, it’s not naturally an intention, you don’t hardly ever see me do that, collisions with anyone so… In hindsight, I could have waited, to come across the line but hindsight’s always a great thing. I will live to fight another day. That won’t be the last time that he’s in the position for a podium and he’ll have many more great races so I hope that as hard as it is a pill to swallow, I hope that he can learn from the experience also.

    Q: (Velimer Veljko Jukik – Avtofocus) Max, we have seen quite an advantage in this race, beside your driving skill. Can you attribute this to management of tyres, tactics or was it just pure power?

    MV: It’s a team effort today, I think. The car was working well, I was trying to be as consistent as I could be and the guys did a great job in the pit stops and strategy so I think all that together gave us the victory today. Power was very good, like I said it was a team effort and Honda is part of the team.

    Q: Lewis, can we please just get your reaction to the five second-penalty?

    LH: I just answered it. I fully accept the responsibility. I fully accept I was coming from behind so I’m the one that touched him, not the other way round. I’ve not seen the incident so I don’t know how bad it was but as I said, it looked like there was an opportunity so I went for it and it didn’t quite work out and I apologise to Alex and put my hand up and move forwards.

    Q: (Dario Coronel – Granpremioweb.com) For Max and Pierre;  it’s the first one-two for the Honda engine in 28 years. How do you feel?

    MV: Yeah, I always get reminded with the stats. The pole was the last time in 1991 here in Brazil and then… I think it’s a good time to start doing these things again. We keep relying on the results from the nineties. I think Honda is definitely on a very good way like Pierre said before. Throughout the season they have been improving massively so just very pleased with it.

    PG: Yeah, a similar comment. I think all the work, not only this season but since they came back into Formula One, they have had some tough times and they just kept developing, kept working hard and bringing the upgrades, some things worked, some other things didn’t work but at the end of the day, they are the ones who have improved the most. The attitude and the work they are putting in is just unbelievable and they have been supporting me since quite a few years now, since I was in Super Formula and to be part of the journey with them is just fantastic so today I think I am really happy to be P1 and P2 with Max and really happy we can give them this result.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Pierre, when did you begin to start thinking you could be on the podium? Before the Ferrari accident, before the Albon?

    PG: No, no, I’m not a crazy guy you know. I’m objective. At that time I was like… after Valtteri (retired) we were P6, I knew that we had the pace to stay there so I was like OK, I’m going to see if I could try something at the re-start but in terms of pace I knew that that’s where we were at the time and of course the Ferraris came together so we were in P4. I thought OK, I might have a chance to try something again at the re-start. Actually Lewis, I think… yeah, you pitted so I think I was third. I must say at that time I was hoping the safety car could last slightly longer, I was like I would not mind if we cross the line behind the safety car. And then after we went again and of course I knew Lewis with fresher tyres would try to go for the win and would try to pass quickly so I just thought OK, if I try to stay close, if an opportunity comes I’ll take it. Sometimes things work out the way you want and you need to be… so yeah, we were second and yeah, during that last lap, I saw Lewis was behind whereas we had a gap behind so I knew there was a podium on the cards. I was happy with that but I really wanted to hold on to that second place.

  • F1 2019: Brazilian Gp Review – Chaos, Controversy & Redemption

    F1 2019: Brazilian Gp Review – Chaos, Controversy & Redemption

    At the best of times Brazil delivers some of the most exhilarating racing of the season and 2019 was most definitely the best of times. The 2019 Brazilian grand prix had it all: crashes, chaos, bold strategies, controversy and absolute euphoria.

    It all kicked off on Saturday as Max Verstappen snapped up his second career pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. The pole was easily converted into the race lead as he made a textbook start to Sunday’s race. Vettel was aggressive off the line but fell behind Hamilton as the Brit scythed around the outside of Turn 2 and into second place.

    It was overtaking fest down the field as Charles Leclerc, starting fourteenth due to an engine change; cut his way through the field with the superior pace of the Ferrari. While Verstappen had built a relatively solid lead of two-and-a-half seconds Hamilton was beginning to close the gap as the pit stops drew nearer. Mercedes recognized that the undercut was a distinct possibility and called Hamilton in on lap 21. Verstappen took to the pitlane a lap later. There was a slight delay in the pitlane for Verstappen as a Williams was released into his path but it was the mega outlap from Hamilton that netted the six-time champion the lead of the race.

    But Hamilton’s lead was short-lived as Verstappen breezed past the Mercedes into Turn 1. Hamilton regained the lead with a brilliant move around the outside of Verstappen into Turn 1 a lap later but was overtaken again the following lap. At this stage Verstappen, on the soft compound tyre, was able to pull away from Hamilton who was sporting the medium compound. Somewhere in the distance was Vettel in third ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Alex Albon and Leclerc.

    2019 Brazilian GPBy lap 44 Hamilton stopped to swop his mediums for softs with Verstappen and Red Bull covering the stop a lap later. A handful of laps later Bottas pulled off the track with a suspected engine failure. The Mercedes was parked up in a relatively safe area but still necessitated the use of a crane to be removed, which automatically triggers the deployment of the Safety Car.

    Red Bull made a bold strategy call by bringing in Verstappen, from the lead, to fit a set of soft tyres. He emerged in P2 but Hamilton, on worn mediums, knew he was a sitting duck. On lap 60 Verstappen again breezed past the Merc into Turn 1 while Albon, also at Turn 1, spectacularly swept around the outside of both Leclerc and Vettel and into P3. In seventh, behind the Ferrari pair, Pierre Gasly was ably holding off the Alfa’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi with Sergio Perez running a solid tenth for Racing Point.

    The race erupted into chaos a few laps later. Leclerc, on fresher tyres than Vettel, saw him past his teammate for fourth but the German was having none of it. On the run down to Turn 4 Vettel appeared to get the position back but moved marginally to the left and the two Ferrari’s touched. It was the slightest of amount of contact but it, surprisingly, caused significant damage. Both Ferrari’s were out of the race and the Safety Car was deployed.

    At the restart Verstappen led Albon, Gasly and Hamilton who had dived into the pits for a fresh set of tyres. Sensationally, Carlos Sainz was running fifth on a one-stop strategy after starting the race dead last. As Verstappen streaked into the distance it appeared that Red Bull were on course for a one-two victory. But a late lunge from Hamilton into Turn 10 sent Albon spinning and out of contention. It was desperately wretched for the Thai-driver who was on course for his first podium finish.

    2019 Brazilian GPExtraordinarily, the Albon/Hamilton incident allowed Gasly into second and needing to hold off Hamilton. It seemed an impossible task for Honda-powered Toro Rosso to hold off a Mercedes. But it’s exactly what Gasly did as he astonishingly out-dragged Hamilton to the line for a famous podium. Gasly utter euphoria on the radio undoubtedly stemmed from a difficult season in which he was demoted from Red Bull. Hamilton may have stepped onto the podium but was later given a 5-second penalty for the clash with Albon for which he accepted the blame.

    Hamilton’s penalty stunningly promoted Carlos Sainz to third but the Spaniard was sadly not able to celebrate his first career podium, as he rightly should have. Nevertheless, the third place finish is McLaren’s first since 2014 and will certainly be celebrated as an example of the progress made by the team. Elsewhere, Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth ahead of Giovinazzi in fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in sixth. Lewis Hamilton dropped down to seventh ahead of Lando Norris in eighth and Sergio Perez in ninth while Daniil Kvyat was tenth.

    Max Verstappen drove a brilliant race to victory and more than made up for the heartbreak of being taken out by Esteban Ocon on the same track twelve months earlier. But the true redemption belong to Pierre Gasly who recovered from an incredibly difficult time at Red Bull and a subsequent demotion to score an unforgettable second place finish.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • F1 2019: Brazilian Gp Preview – Interlagos tailor-made for drama

    F1 2019: Brazilian Gp Preview – Interlagos tailor-made for drama

    Arrival in Brazil is usually a good indicator that Formula 1 is in the final push towards the season finale. With both the constructors’ and drivers’ world titles neatly sewn up by Mercedes it leaves the rest of the field with three more opportunities to save face in 2019.

    The Interlagos circuit, which will host the Brazilian grand prix, is famed for several reasons. Forever, it will be synonymous with the Ayrton Senna and the fanatical support he elicited from the masses. A quarter of a century after his tragic death at Imola he is remembered and revered and by his triumphs and indomitable ability his is raised to racing immortality. It seems only fitting that F1 continues to maintain Brazil’s place on the calendar.

    The Sao Paolo situated circuit is famed too for delivering some of the most exciting races in the 21st century. It is here, in 2007, where Kimi Raikkonen won the driver’s world championship with seemingly impossible odds. He remains, to date, the last Ferrari driver to win the driver’s crown. Twelve months later Lewis Hamilton won the first of his six world championship titles in the most dramatic style imaginable. The 2009 Brazilian Gp produced the icing on the proverbial cake of what is likely one of the most romantic F1 stories of all time when Jenson Button clinched the title in the neon-yellow and white liveried Brawn. And Sebastian Vettel too showed his mettle in 2012 by recovering from a crash on lap one to become the youngest ever three-time world champion by the end of the 71 laps.

    Surprisingly, all of this drama, elation, and inconceivable races are packed in and produced by a circuit that takes no more than 71 seconds to negotiate. At 4.3 km Interlagos, or the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, is an amalgam of high-speed straights, highly technical banked corners, and the distinctively tight Turn One known as the Senna S.

    A lack of pace at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas last time out wont have deterred Max Verstappen and Red Bull from arriving in Brazil with a good chance of walking away with the spoils. A coming together with then Force India driver Esteban Ocon meant that he fell short of picking up the win last year. But his masterful drive in the wet to win the 2016 looms large as one of the best race victories in the last five years. Red Bull should have the car to cope with the demands of the Brazilian circuit, especially where it concerns the tight middle sector.

    Sebastian Vettel_Australia 2018_FP3But there are two scarlet Ferraris who might fancy a crack at the top step of the podium themselves. And given their ability to turn on the wick in qualifying they should be well in the mix at least in the form of Vettel as Leclerc will incur a ten place grid penalty for fitting a new engine. Amazingly, 2018 was Hamilton’s first win in Brazil and he will undoubtedly want to add to this tally.

    Renault currently occupy fifth place in the constructor’s standings on 83 points but a wild fluctuation in form over the last several races means that the French team is still within striking distance of sixth placed Racing Point, on 65 points, and the seventh ranked Toro Rosso on 64 points.

    With the season now in the home stretch several teams will be teetering on the edge of reliability with several power unit components sure to be on their last legs. It could be just the opportunity Williams’s George Russell needs to score that elusive first point in Formula 1.

    Three teams are well and truly in the mix at the infamously unpredictable and dramatic Brazilian grand prix there’s no telling what Interlagos could deliver in 2019.

  • F1 2019: US GP Review – Six Titles for Hamilton

    F1 2019: US GP Review – Six Titles for Hamilton

    The 2019 American grand prix wont go down as one of the most exciting races but it will undoubtedly be remembered as the day when Lewis Hamilton became a six-time Formula 1 world champion.

    Valtteri Bottas made the perfect start from pole position and drove a stellar race to take the seventh win of his career. The victory in Texas makes 2019 Bottas’s most successful season to date in which he will finish as runner-up in the driver’s championship.

    Max Verstappen ran comfortably second for the opening stint of the race while Hamilton, starting fifth, made relatively short work of both Ferrari’s of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. A cunningly slow formation lap from Bottas had meant that neither Ferrari was able to get their medium compound tyres in the operating window that subsequently saw them struggle for grip.

    In addition to struggling for grip there was clearly something amiss with Vettel’s Ferrari as Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo easily passed him. Vettel appeared to be recovering and closing the gap to the McLaren and Renault ahead of him but a few laps later the German driver suffered a startling right-rear suspension failure. It didn’t get any better for the Italian team as Leclerc ran a distant fourth for the remainder of the race without ever having the pace to threaten even the last step of the podium.

    Up front Bottas and Verstappen opted for a two-stop strategy while Hamilton banked on a one-stop strategy. However, unlike in Mexico a week earlier Hamilton was not able to hold onto the lead. On lap 52 a charging Bottas swept past his teammate and into the lead. Hamilton’s problems weren’t over though as Verstappen too closed to within less than a second of him in the closing stages.

    However, the Dutchman never got close enough to attempt an overtake and eventually finished third while Leclerc trundled home a distant fourth.

    2019 United States GPAfter being squeezed off the track, forced into the pitlane on lap 1, and being plumb last Alex Albon drove a brilliant race to bring his Red Bull home in fifth. The Thai driver, only seven races into his Red Bull career, has grown in confidence at every race weekend and seems to be a shoe-in to remain at the team for 2020.

    Daniel Ricciardo too delivered an impressive driver to finish sixth in the Renault ahead of the ever-impressive McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth. Nico Hulkenberg was ninth while for a second straight week Daniil Kvyat was given a last-lap penalty for causing a collision. Sergio Perez, the casualty of the collision was promoted to tenth as a result of the Russian’s penalty.

    One of the most beautiful things about sport is that it cannot be predicted. There was simply no way to know that the young boy from humble beginnings in Stevenage would one day become a six time Formula 1 world champion.

    There will be those who protest vehemently against the idea that Hamilton is one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport. And while opinions can certainly be made they cannot be quantified. But titles can and Lewis Hamilton has six of them.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • F1 2019: Mexican Gp Review – Hamilton one step closer

    F1 2019: Mexican Gp Review – Hamilton one step closer

    The Mexican grand prix had all the makings for a potentially epic showdown for the race win. Unfortunately none of it ever materialized.

    On Saturday Max Verstappen set the quickest time in qualifying for only the second time in his career. But failing to slow under yellow flags, brought out by Valtteri Bottas’s crashed Mercedes meant that race stewards demoted the Dutchman to fourth on the grid. The irony is that Verstappen may just have gotten away with it had he not boasted about failing to slow under the yellow flag in the subsequent post-quali press conference. It was rather arrogant manner of declaring that not slowing didn’t really matter that prompted stewards to call him and award him a three-place grid penalty.

    Verstappen is an exciting talent who, potentially, has the speed to become an F1 champion one day. However, his approach to this incident, and some others, is foolish. There can be absolutely no judgment call from any driver when it comes to the safety of marshals or other drivers. Claiming that drivers are well aware and capable is certainly true but it is not acceptable reasoning for ignoring safety protocols. These safety protocols have been instituted as a result of Formula 1 learning hard and painful lessons not least of all with the crash and death of Jules Bianchi. Therefore to dismiss the safety protocols are not only arrogant it is deeply disrespectful.

    2019 Mexican GPVerstappen’s grid drop translated to a front-row lock out for Ferrari with Charles Leclerc led teammate Sebastian Vettel off the starting line. The two were relatively evenly matched. Behind the Ferrari pair Hamilton, starting third, battled with Verstappen to the point of touching and running off track. This allowed Alex Albon and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz to slip through while Hamilton was now fourth and Verstappen down in eighth.

    There was a brief delay in the action as a virtual safety car was deployed to clear debris from the Hamilton/Verstappen clash. Racing resumed with Verstappen surprising Bottas with an overtake into the hairpin in the stadium section. Unfortunately for the Red Bull driver his right-rear wheel was clipped by Bottas’s front-wing endplate resulting in a puncture that eventually dropped him dead last.

    Up ahead Leclerc was holding off teammate Vettel by 1.5 seconds with Albon running comfortably in third. The Thai driver was the first to take to the pitlane on lap 15 with Leclerc following a lap later, both drivers opting for a two-stop strategy. Mercedes called in Hamilton on lap 24 and fitted the hard compound tyre with the aim of running to the end of the 71 lap race. Hamilton wasn’t convinced that the tyres would last the distance but was repeatedly reassured that the plan would work.

    Meanwhile Vettel and Bottas extended their first stints on the medium compound and only stopped for new rubber on laps 37 and 38 respectively. All indications were that the pair of them, with significantly fresher tyres, would cruise up to the back of race leader Hamilton and pass the number 44 Mercedes. However, the big showdown never materialized as Hamilton brilliantly managed his tyres all the way to the chequered flag for race win number 83. While Hamilton’s ability to run a 48 lap stint on a single set of tyres was impressive there is something for F1 to consider and Pirelli to consider here – it does little for the ‘show’ if one set of tyres lasts for two-thirds of a race.

    2019 Mexican GPIt was a bit of a missed opportunity for Ferrari as Vettel’s pace was easily a match for Hamilton. But they needed to be sharper on their strategy calls to make the difference in Mexico. Valtteri Bottas took the final step of the podium and delayed Hamilton from securing the driver’s title. Leclerc brought the second Ferrari home in fourth ahead of Albon in fifth while Verstappen recovered impressively to sixth.

    A jubilant Mexican crowd cheered home Sergio Perez in an outstanding seventh place while Daniel Ricciardo brought his Renault home in eighth. Pierre Gasly was ninth for Toro Rosso ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in tenth despite a late acquaintance with barriers. Daniil Kvyat was awarded a ten-second time penalty for punting Hulkenberg into the barriers in the final corner.

    Four points is all that Lewis Hamilton will need in Texas this weekend to become a six-time champion.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • 2019 Mexican Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Mexican Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Sergio PÉREZ (Racing Point), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Alexander ALBON (Red Bull Racing)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Sergio, home race coming up. How has the build up been? I think you’ve been busy running marathons, a taxi service, all sorts of things?

    SERGIO PÉREZ: A little one – 8km. Yeah, it’s been a busy one. Basically I’ve been doing everything, every single stuff out there. It’s a pretty special weekend for me. I think it’s the best grand prix on the calendar, but very special for me. Yeah, I’m just looking forward to it. If there’s a weekend I want to be perfect and do very well, it’s this weekend.

    Q: Well if you do very well, you might record the 100th points finish of your career this weekend. What would it mean for you to do that in front of your home crowd?

    SP: It would be very special. More than that I look forward to giving them a great race. I think last year we were doing a very good race but then we ran out of brakes, so I think in the past we’ve been a bit unlucky in a couple of races – one in 2015 with the safety car that came at the wrong moment – so I hope this weekend… we are in a good run, so hopefully we can do a good one this weekend.

    Q: Thanks very much and good luck Checo. Alex, Suzuka two weeks ago was a tremendous weekend for you, culminating in fourth place, the best result of your Formula 1 career to date. Did you change anything going into the Japanese Grand Prix or was it more of a reflection of the general progress you’ve been making?

    ALEXANDER ALBON: I think it was more of a reflection. I don’t think anything special went on before Japan. Just getting more comfortable every time. Japan was just a really good track; I love it. I just enjoyed it and it suited me a bit better. It was a good weekend.

    Q: You say you’re getting comfortable all the time. How different is the Red Bull to drive compared to the Toro Rosso you did the first half of the season in?

    AA: Yeah, I’d say they have their differences, obviously. But it’s like every car. I think you’ve got to learn its little tricks and everything like that. Spending that time with Toro Rosso you kind of develop a bit of a driving style towards it and changing teams you’ve got to almost start blank again and work again, so it does take time but it’s very normal for every time you change to a new car.

    Q: Your team-mate has won this grand prix for the last couple of years. How confident are you coming into the weekend that you can get your first podium?

    AA: We’ll see. Maybe we’re not as favorites as we were in previous years. We do have our success here but the Ferraris are looking very strong as always, so we’ll see. On my side, just focus on myself. A podium would be nice, obviously, but not too focused on that at the minute. We’ll see.

    Q: Thank you Alex, good luck this weekend. Antonio, you’re enjoying a good run at the moment, you’ve outqualified Kimi Räikkönen for the last three races. A question that’s quite similar to the one I asked Alex: have you changed anything in your approach to qualifying in particular?

    Antonio GIOVINAZZI: No, I don’t think so. I think already in the first part of the season I was really close to Kimi, always really there. Second part, yeah, the confidence was coming better and better. But I don’t think it’s something we need to talk about – I was in front of Kimi three times. I’m just really happy that my confidence is coming better and better. The speed is better. I think we are struggling a little bit on race pace now. I hope we can find the right way this weekend and come back [into the] points, so we miss from two races already, so we need to get back there.

    Q: How confident are you of finding the right way, because both Alfas were in Q3 here last year and raced well, so do you think you are going to have a better weekend than you have had at the last couple?

    AG: I hope so. We had an intensive week last weekend and we tried to find something in the car, because I think the car is fast, because in qualifying we are there, almost close to Q3, but in the race we are struggling a lot, so I think we need to find just the last detail and then try to be back in the points soon.

    Q: You’re doing a great job at the minute, what have the team told you about next year?

    AG: Nothing yet. I think I just need to focus on my job and try to continue like that and then we’ll see for next year.

    Q: Are you confident?

    AG: Yes, I need to be confident. I think the second part of the season was quite strong from my side. I need to just keep pushing like that and then we’ll see.

    Q: Good luck, thank you Antonio. Sebastian, tremendous pole position by you in Japan a couple of weeks ago. How much did you enjoy that moment and how much did you need that moment for your own peace of mind?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Not so much. Obviously we had both quali and the race on Sunday, so there was not so much time to enjoy. I think there was nothing wrong before. Obviously, qualifying, maybe some events before that didn’t really go my way but yeah, I enjoyed Suzuka more than that particularly qualifying session. Obviously it was a good day, a near perfect day, the race should have been a little bit better but yeah…

    Q: This weekend, are Ferrari favourites coming into this Mexican Grand Prix?

    SV: I don’t know. So-so. Obviously people look at the track and they look at the straight line but I think that, yeah, we have obviously been strong on the straight lines in recent races but there are a couple of corners plus here it’s not one of the tracks where efficiency matters so much. We do have quite an efficient car but maybe we can’t use that to our advantage, so we’ll see how we manage around the ‘cornery’ sections, because some of these type of corners have been our weakness, so we’ll see.

    Q: OK, good luck with that. Lewis, we talked about Checo’s busy build-up to this weekend and I see that you have been in the boxing ring with Julio Chávez. Tell us about it?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, I was with Puma yesterday at an event. We had a great turnout. It’s crazy; I started boxing when I was eight. Obviously I was much younger and I wouldn’t say In was particular ever great at it, but it was really quite an honour to be in the ring with such a legend.

    Q: Did he teach you anything?

    LH: Yeah, yeah, he gave me a few pointers. He said I had a heavy hand, so I don’t know…

    SP: Ready for the fight!

    Q: Let’s talk about the fight this weekend then. It’s been six races since you last had a pole position. How confident are you of breaking that run this weekend?

    LH: Oh, I don’t think a lot has changed. We’re going to go into this weekend knowing that Ferrari are massively quick usually on the straights and obviously straights are a powerful element of this circuit, so I don’t know when we’ll be getting another pole – unless it rains, which can change everything. But as you’ve seen in previous races it’s not necessarily all about qualifying nowadays. It’s about making sure you’ve got the car ready for the race, so we’ll still give it everything. This is a race that bodes well for the Red Bulls and the Ferraris in the past, but we’ve made a lot of improvements in our understanding of the car and how we use it, so maybe this weekend maybe we’ll a better chance than we have in the past.

    Q: Looking ahead to Sunday’s race, you will clinch the world championship if you beat Valtteri Bottas by 14 points. What would it mean to you to win it here in Mexico for the third consecutive season?

    LH: Well, I don’t remember if in a season I’ve finished 14 points ahead of Valtteri at any point, and if it has it may have been one race maybe. So I anticipate that it will be a difficult weekend. Valtteri has been strong all year and obviously won the last race so I expect him to be strong this weekend too. It doesn’t matter where it’s done, as long as you get it done, and that’s what I’m trying to do. But I’m fully aware that there are still plenty of points on the table and I’ve got to deliver over these next four races.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) For Lewis: you’ve never been afraid to use your profile on social media to raise issues you have outside F1, what you think about the world etc, so you made people take notice in between Japan and here with your comments about the state of the planet and what people can do. I think that led to a few people questioning whether it’s valid to raise concerns about the planet if you’re part of the F1 circus, with all the travelling and stuff. I think even Fernando Alonso was quoted as saying it’s not something you can comment on really, because it’s not fair. I just wondered how you balance using your personal profile to raise stuff like that with the role you have in F1? A second part: Jean-Eric Vergne, the Formula E champion, said Formula E would be a natural move for you, given your eco-friendly status and what the championship is trying to do. Are you interested in doing Formula E after Formula 1?

    LH: I have no interest whatsoever to do Formula E, so that’s not something I currently plan to do beyond. And then, lots of people have had opinions about how I utilise my social media, but ultimately it’s my platform and we all have a voice, everyone here and around the world, and it’s how you choose to… how you want to use it. Personally, it’s not the easiest, because yes, we are travelling around the world, we are racing Formula 1 cars and our carbon footprint for sure is higher than the average homeowner who lives in the same city, but that doesn’t mean that you should be afraid to speak out about things that can be a positive change and I’m always looking at things, and how I can improve the effect that I’m having on the world. I guess it’s something that over time I have become more and more aware of and it takes a while. It’s not a quick-fix thing. It takes time to understand the implications and I think it’s just about education and I’m just trying to highlight areas. Whether people choose to look into those, that’s up to them, but I’d feel like I wasn’t doing anything positive if I didn’t mention it.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / racefans.net) I had a very similar question to Lewis, so obviously it’s been answers. So, to the other drivers there, how do you feel about the environmental factors that Lewis has raised on social media. Are you also sort of active about the environment?

    SV: Yeah. I’m not following Lewis. I’m not active on social media but I think the point is very clear. I think you would be ignorant if you wouldn’t look at it and obviously, as Lewis mentioned, it’s very difficult, in a way, to us to get acceptance from outside, because we don’t have the smallest footprint because the races happen around the world. We do have to travel, so it’s part of our jobs. But I think in general, Formula 1 should do more. It’s a worldwide operating platform. I think we should send a much stronger message regarding this subject and I think personally – this is free to everyone – but I think everybody can do something, contribute a little bit and if the whole world would act like that, it would make a huge difference. I think it’s inevitable that change is coming and hopefully rather sooner than later.

    Antonio?

    AG: I completely agree with Seb, what he says. So nothing to add.

    Checo?

    SP: Yeah, I think it’s very important that we raise our voices. A lot of people hear us – especially for someone like Lewis. It’s very important. I see the messages that he sends often on his social media are good. A lot of people are following him, so if we can impact the world, if we can help a bit, I think we are obliged to do so. I don’t see anything wrong with that.

    Alex?

    AA: Not to much to add to that. I think what Lewis said was really good and… yeah, just because we’re in Formula 1 doesn’t mean we can’t care about the environment.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, just on those Instagram posts. In one of them you said you feel like giving up on everything and shutting down completely. I was just wondering what provoked you to say that and how your frame of mind is going into this weekend.

    LH: Well, I’m only human so, like everyone you have up and down days. I think that’s really what I’ve been trying to convey really, because I think it’s very difficult for people who are watching on social media to be able to relate to certain individuals who live in a celebrity world. A lot of people don’t realise that they’re also humans and they also have feelings and have the ups and downs. Some people do care, some people care less, or whatever. And… I don’t know. It was not the best feeling at the moment but I’ve got great people around me, I’ve had a lot of support from fans, I’ve had a lot of support from around my family. There’s a lot going on in my life at the moment and, I don’t know, I think I was just… well, anyway, coming into this weekend I feel very positive, back to doing what I love doing and… yeah, I think it’s just always trying to stay positive, which is not always easy but I think I’ve done really well in the past to stay positive for the majority of the time – but I think there’s a lot that goes on in our lives and I think it’s important to also be open. And the whole thing’s in… so I’m always very open, very transparent with my feelings, whether people like it or not but I’m super-focused still on these four races and what I can do to get the job done, as the team have done such a great job and I continue. I’ve got lots and lots of positive plans for the future for positive change.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Following up on the environmental issue, are you guys political. And the question is to all drivers – and I’m not asking if you have sentiments for any political party or anything – but do you support a party, not telling us who it is probably, do you care, do you follow the news, would you say you are political persons.

    AA: No, not so much. Is that OK?

    LH: I don’t think I’m particularly political. I watch the news as much as I can. I find it very interesting to watch what is happening around the world. I think it’s a scary time for all of us. There’s so much talk in all the different governments around the world and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of solutions, or they don’t seem to be coming up with a lot of solutions, so it definitely is a bit worrying but there’s not a lot that we can do individually except for just try to be better within our own bubble. And if you have a platform, try to project some positivity – but I’m not supportive of any particular party.

    Checo?

    SP: Nothing more to add to what Lewis said.

    SV: I think it’s not so much about knowing which party you want to support. I think, when you talk about the environment, supporting the planet. So, I think politics in a way have failed in the past, and at the moment we have seen, or we see in different areas that is critical and hopefully they will manage to get their act together and succeed in trying to find solutions that will help our planet and will help other problems that we have amongst ourselves, as in human beings, to try and improve the situation. In that regard I’m a supporter of the planet and, again, as I said earlier, I think change is coming. So I think it’s up to us to embrace it rather than ignore it before probably it’s too late.

    AG: Nothing too much to add.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Lewis, sorry to come back to the Instagram post. It’s already been mentioned about the criticism you received on the back of some of it. I just wondered how you deal with that, because obviously you’re trying to put out a positive message and people then come back with their own views on that. Does it ever get to you and how do you get over it?

    LH: I don’t normally spend a lot of time reading comments but of course I’m aware of that people have their own opinions and some people are going to be with it, some people are going to be against it. And that’s just the name of the game. I generally try not to let that kind of thing get to me. I think it’s important for all of us in life to feel good and feel like you’re doing something positive regardless of those that try to knock it down, the stuff that you do do that is positive. And yeah… just staying true to your values and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. And, as I said, I’ve got great people around me who are constantly lifting me up. So, there’s no… I’m fortunately not alone. I’ve got a lot of great people around me who, within my team, within my closest friends and family. Not all my family’s vegan but it doesn’t matter. They are also trying to make positive change in the decisions they make in their lives and I think that’s great.

    Q: (Fernando Alonso – motorlat.com) Sebastian, right now we talk about the things that help Ferrari with the motor upgrades but you already said that you have to focus on the slow corners. You as a team are thinking in balance all the performance in the track or what is the way you will approach this weekend?

    SV: Well, obviously for this weekend here it’s quite straightforward. Normally you think about the downforce choice you make – so trying to find the right balance whereas here obviously you put the maximum downforce on the car that you can, because of the difference in altitude and the air being thinner, so, as I said previously, the efficiency around this track is not so important. And yeah, to focus on the low speed corners in particular around here, other than trying to put every single bit of downforce on the car that you have, is trying to find the right set-up, finding the right balance, in terms of obviously extracting grip – but on the other hand, finding the right handling, the confidence in the car, looking after the tyres, getting the tyres in the window and all these small things. They do make a big difference for one lap in quali – but also then how you treat the tyres, especially throughout the race.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Lewis, you are very close to taking your sixth title, largely because you’ve had a such a strong season. Would you just consider how you got to this position? Are you able to identify what has been the most difficult challenges you’ve had to overcome, to be in such a strong position now?

    LH: I think every season you’re looking at it… obviously we got to the beginning of the year and people thought we were talking ourselves down and not showing our true performance. In actual fact it was reality. Ferrari had a good car at the beginning, perhaps it just wasn’t working that great earlier on in the season. I think our focus is just always trying to… the biggest challenges are always trying to understand these tyres. I think everyone has been on that case each year and there’s quite a different dynamic to them this season. So if you look at qualifying, for example, I think that’s an area which has probably been my weakest, even though I feel like I’ve been doing good laps but they’ve not been as good as others. I think the races have obviously been stronger and continued, I guess, on from last year but been very, very strong this season. But then I guess it’s also just been the balance of everything you’re doing outside of the sport, the obstacles you come across in the build-up to the races and just remaining consistent. Punching out these performances each weekend in, weekend out for us guys it’s such a hard task and I think people underestimate and undervalue how hard that is. Perhaps other athletes would understand because they go to competition after competition but it’s really hard because people turn on the TV and see a few hours of our weekend but there’s a massive amount of work that goes on obviously in the background, which you guys will know, obviously and I think it’s really just trying to continue to make… keep the team motivated, steering them in the right direction – because they can easily go in the wrong direction quite often with these cars nowadays.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Sorry to go back to the environmental stuff Lewis. You mentioned that your post came as a result of a down, a period that you mentioned highs and lows. Was there a particular moment that you can share with us which was the trigger for putting that statement out? And just as a follow-up; what sort of changes have you made to your day-to-day life to help the environment? I know there’s the diet but diet aside is there anything else which you’re doing which you can tell us?

    LH: I was watching a documentary and it was just sad to see the things that we are kind of not aware of. Again, it just inspired me to want to do more and reach out to those who perhaps don’t know some of the things that are happening. In terms of the things that I’m doing in my life, I’m trying to make sure that by the end of the year I’m carbon neutral at the end of the year. I don’t allow anyone in my office but also within my household to buy any plastics. I want everything recyclable down to deodorant, down to toothbrush, all these kind of things so I’m trying to make as much change as I can in my personal space. I told you I sold my plane over a year ago. I fly a lot less now, I’m trying to fly less through the year and mostly flying commercial so that’s been a big change in my habits. I’ve avoided trips as well, if I didn’t need to do it, been in the UK, for example, with family and going up to Bedfordshire and kind of stayed at Soho House for example, with the family instead of going on holiday. What else? Obviously I’ve changed my diet which is quite a drastic difference. I’m also pushing for… so for example I have a new smart electric hybrid at home – it’s not hybrid, it’s electric. I’ve sold several of my cars, some of them I don’t really want to sell because I still love them and I’ve worked hard for them and I don’t drive them a lot if I’m honest. And also, all the cars that I have, so Mercedes, I’m very fortunate that I get quite a few cars around the world, so I have three Mercedes in the States for example. Send them back and get new QCs. I have a Maybach in London for example. I think they’re bring the hybrid out at the end of next year for the Maybachs. However, right now that doesn’t really suit what I’m fighting for so I need to change that also for either an EQC or one of the hybrids they have. I’m constantly making changes. It’s not a quick fix. It’s not something you do over a short period of time, but I feel (Indistinct) that I’m making those changes  and I’m encouraging people around me to also… my friends are seeing me doing those and also being more conscious and also looking to do those kind of things. I work with the team who are also really pushing to be carbon neutral, also changing things in their canteen because there’s a lot of plastics which you will see here, for example, we have mostly just water which are biodegradable bottles. I’m working with Mercedes on the future plan with them, for example. Car manufacturers have all leather interiors. There’s no reason why we cannot have for the leather for the suede so I’m pushing to be a part of that change with Mercedes Benz. And what’s the last one? There’s one more. Oh yes, and obviously I work with Tommy Hilfiger, nearly 70 per cent of all the clothes that I’ve done are sustainable and either recycled fabrics of leather, faux suede and the goal is to have that 100 percent and I’m looking at some point that to be 100 per cent sustainable, hopefully in the next year or two. That’s also encouraged Tommy Hilfiger, who work in quite a damaging business or industry to also look into that and push that direction. I don’t know much more I can do at the moment. I still love racing and I want to continue with that. If you look at our sport, it’s shifted from… we use a third less fuel now, there is more I think that Formula One can do and I think they are putting plans together but I think we have to push all the industries, you have to push Formula One to do more and I think that they’re giving us a proposal later on, I think today, of the plans that they have in place and we’ll do whatever we can to support that.

    Q: (Yhacbec López – Motorlat) Seb, Ferrari has not won here, the Mexican Grand Prix, since 1990 so is this the biggest chance since F1 came back in 2015 to win the Mexican Grand Prix finally?

    SV: I don’t know. I think we can answer on Sunday. If yes, then hopefully we can make it happen; if no then we obviously come back again next year. Yeah, I can’t predict what’s going to happen. I feel confident, I think we have a strong package. There’s part of the track that should be in our favour. Other parts might be a bit more difficult but we will see how it works out. The weather could be a bit of a difficult role this weekend so we will see what happens.

    Q: (Arturo Escalona – Compania Periodistica ESTO) I would like to know your opinion about three more years of the Mexican Grand Prix? 

    SP: Well, those were great news for our country, for Formula One. I think Formula One is looking to have more races like Mexico. We don’t have that many where we go there and the fans are cheering – not just for me but for everyone up there. It’s just something that’s extremely good to have and you see places like Monza, England, those unique places that are, for us, very special so for me especially, it was extremely good to hear that the Mexican Grand Prix is for another three years, especially as it has grown so much in the past. Now can you say Formula One is very big in Mexico so I hope it carries on not just three years, more than that.

    LH: Oh great. I love coming to Mexico so it’s good for me. I think Mexico City is… Mexico in general has such a beautiful culture, the people have always been so warm and welcoming. I’ve got friends from when I lived in Switzerland who are still my dear friends today. And also I spend a lot of time in Colorado for example, a lot of the Mexicans are out there skiing with us. But this Grand Prix, it’s very very unique, obviously with the high altitude that we have here, it always put a huge demand on the drivers but also the cars. I didn’t think when we came here for the first time that we would have such a big turn-out consistently each year. I think it’s getting bigger each time they come and the atmosphere is really created by the people that come here, the people who come and support us. I see no reason for this Grand Prix to ever stop. The only thing I hope is that we can try to make sure that when we do come to these Grands Prix and we leave, we will leave a positive (indistinct) on the city in some way, shape or form, whether it’s working with certain foundations. Because I know there’s a lot of people in need within the city and within the country so I think there’s more we can do.

    SV: Yeah, I think it’s great to continue going to a Grand Prix where there’s passion for racing. I think that since we’ve come back – I don’t know how it was when Ferrari last won in 1990, how it was before, but certainly since we’ve been coming back since 2015 it’s been very positive, lots of people, full grandstands. It’s not the case everywhere we go so we should be very happy about the fact that we are allowed to come back.

    AG: Of course it will be my first time here but I did two FP1 in ’17 and ’18. The track is really nice to drive and we always see a really good race here. Also like the other say, the passion here is quite high, so really happy to continue to race here.

    AA: Yeah, first time here so excited. I’ve loved the food already: spicy and excited. Coming into the stadium is supposed to be really special so I’m excited to see that on Sunday.

  • 2019 Mexican Gp Preview: Bottas vs. Hamilton

    2019 Mexican Gp Preview: Bottas vs. Hamilton

    Only four races remain in the 2019 Formula 1 season and in this weekend’s Mexican grand prix only two drivers are still in contention to win the driver’s title.

    The result at the Japanese grand prix not only secured Mercedes a monumental sixth consecutive constructors crown but also insured that only Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas are in contention for the driver’s championship. Bottas’s victory in Japan was impressive but he still trails teammate Hamilton by 64 points with a maximum of 104 available in the last four races. It’s is a enormous gap to overhaul and Bottas himself knows that in order to do so he’ll need some luck on his side. “Everything’s possible although I’m realistic as well that I will need to be very lucky, that’s a fact, to win all the rest of the races but I don’t really think about that much at this point,” said Bottas.

    For Hamilton the prospect of a sixth crown looms larger than ever and he could clinch it this weekend. If he outscores Bottas by 14 points he will secure the title. But given the layout and characteristics of Mexico’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez it may not be all in Mercedes hands this weekend.

    The 71 laps of the Mexican grand prix will be run around the 4.304 km circuit situated in the heart of Mexico City. One of its most striking features is that sits nearly two kilometers above sea level. The high altitude, and subsequently thinner air, somewhat dulls the power output of the power unit but the long straits will still reward those with an advantage in the engine department. It has evident for some time now that Ferrari has surpassed Mercedes in terms of power output and delivery. And since turning a metaphorical corner in Singapore they have looked in much better shape, pace wise. It means that the prancing horses could well be the team to beat this weekend which plays more into Bottas’s hands than it does Hamilton.

    Mexican GPTraditionally, Red Bull would be expected to be at the sharp end in Mexico given that Max Verstappen has won here the last two years. However, the Dutchman seems less than enthused about his chances. “I don’t think there’s one track left this season where we can do a particularly good job. Several incidents since the summer break and an overall lack of pace has seen Verstappen drift away from the frontrunners. “So I think if we can fight for the podium [in Mexico] this time around, we’ve done a good job,” added Verstappen.

    Much of the crowd in attendance will be there to cheer on one of their own in the shape of Sergio Perez. Checo, as he is affectionately known, made his F1 debut for Sauber in 2011. His performances were impressive enough to net him a drive with McLaren for 2013 during which fifth was his highest placed finish. The early version of Checo Perez was often overly aggressive but his speed was evident too. It wasn’t enough for McLaren who cut the Mexican loose at the end of 2013. He took up with Force India, now Racing Point, and delivered some truly memorable performances including several stunning podium finishes. He is contracted to remain at Racing Point until the end of 2022. At 29 years old he chance at driving for a top team has likely gone but he is no less beloved in his native Mexico whom are likely to be out in full force and garb this weekend.