F1 Madness

Tag: max verstappen

  • 2017 Malaysia Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2017 Malaysia Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

     

    TRACK INTERVIEWS (conducted by Johnny Herbert)

    Lewis, what a great result for you. You must be very happy. That looked like a pretty decent lap?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Firstly, look at this crowd. I know it’s our last grand prix here but this is the best crowd I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for all the support. We had no idea how it was going to go today. I’m sorry for whatever happened to Sebastian, because obviously he was very, very quick through practice. But somehow we turned it round. The engineers did such a great job yesterday, the car felt great, for both Valtteri and I, and so it’s a real surprise to be up here with these guys, so I’m very, very grateful.

    Kimi come and join us. What a try that was! Happy with that? I’m sure you wanted just a little bit more. I would have thought you would have done one of the old karting moves – jumping up and down in the seat, leaning forward. Maybe you should do that next time. 

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, it’s OK, but obviously when you get that close it’s disappointing. I made the most out of it. Yes, there are always places you can improve, but you are never going to get it 100% perfect anywhere. You always find some things you can improve, but I must say the car has been behaving nicely all weekend and it’s been a pleasure so far. We’ll try to get further than 100 metres tomorrow, and let’s see what we can do.

    Tomorrow is going to be important, obviously you have been on the front row before but this is going to be an interesting little drive towards Turn One. Are you ready for this? This crowd is looking forward to a big race tomorrow, yeah?

    KR: Yeah, obviously it’s a long way, so if you make a good start you will benefit quite a bit from it. It’s a pretty tight first two corners and a lot usually happens. We’ll try to make sure the first two corners go well and go from there. I think we’re going to have a very good race car, so let’s see.

    Well here’s a man we’re going to get on – the birthday boy, that you got on very closely with in the last race. Hopefully that’s not going to be the case. Max, happy with that result? You seemed to get the best from the car. 

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I think it’s good for us in qualifying to be in this position. I mean it’s always good to drive on this track, especially in qualifying – Turns 5 and 6 are flat out, so it’s a lot of fun. And also the crowd – it’s amazing how passionate they are. So on my birthday to be third here is perfect.

    LH: I thought you were 19?

    MV: Twenty now.

    LH: Twenty now! Does he look much younger than me?

    I’m sorry to say, yes. Lewis, tomorrow, the race is going to be so important. We know what happened the last time out, but this is a long run up to Turn 1, but you must be looking forward to it, because this is the perfect situation for you.

    LH: It is. Obviously we are going to have a tough battle with these guys. Particularly the Red Bulls had really great long-run pace yesterday, and today I think. I’m hoping our car has moved in the right direction for the race run but we’ll see tomorrow. But there is a long, long run down to Turn 1, so lots can happen. But exciting to see all these guys coming out tomorrow and hopefully [it will be] the biggest crowd we’ve ever had.

    You’re going to be after the perfect start, Kimi, Max, tomorrow you’re going to want to get in front of this guy, who is the man who is going to do that.

    MV: I don’t want to be sandwiched – that’s the only thing.

    Kimi?

    KR: I don’t want to be hit.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Lewis, fifth Malaysian pole position, four years in a row here, and becomes the first man in Formula One history to get into the 70s of pole positions. What a turnaround from yesterday, and even from this morning. Seven tenths of a second ahead of your team-mate suggest that was a moment of inspiration. Tell us about it.

    LH: We had such a difficult day yesterday; it was difficult to know where we stood. I didn’t sleep very well, just like all my engineers as well, because we didn’t know whether we would fix the issue or not. But today we arrived and the car was much better but still I think it looked like the Ferraris were a little bit ahead. We had some big calls to make going into qualifying and then those laps were, particularly the last one, the first Q3 lap, was very well put together, a very nice lap. I don’t really know where it came from, to be honest, so I’m a little bit surprised at myself. As I said, it’s a surprise to be up here. I’m very grateful. These guys have been driving exceptionally well all weekend. It’s always a special thing to be able to extract a little bit more out of the car than it’s particularly willing to go. That’s what I’ve always enjoyed, since my dad would say… my first go-kart was fifth-hand or something like that, and he’d say it was like a four-poster bed. Not that my car was a four-poster bed today but I was hoping I could extract a little bit more out of it.

    You acknowledged in Singapore that you had a slice of luck with what happened at the start, and a slice of luck with your main title rival Vettel starting from the back of the grid. You’ve got to capitalise on it, so will Valtteri have a part to play in it as Vettel comes through the field?

    LH: I haven’t really thought… I don’t know what happened to Sebastian. I mean, he would have been up there with us, he’d been driving well all weekend, very, very quick, between him and Kimi. Very unfortunate for him, but of course we just have to continue to focus on our job and try to maximise on every opportunity that we get collectively. Hopefully we are in a good position for tomorrow. Obviously we have put ourselves in the best position for tomorrow but we still have a tough race ahead of us, so we’ll just try and keep our heads down and hopefully those behind me and it will just unfold the way it unfolds.

    Q: Kimi, it equals your best qualifying performance here in Sepang: 0.045 of a second off pole position. A lot of weight on your shoulders obviously in qualifying from the Ferrari team with Vettel in trouble. You were on target, it seemed, until the final corner – tell us about it.

    KR: Well, I don’t know. Obviously, I only know how it was and I think overall, the whole weekend, it’s been pretty straightforward. The car’s been handling well. I think we were quite happy all day, also in qualifying but, y’know, you can always improve here and there. I don’t think you ever going to make an absolutely perfect lap and it’s a bit more painful when you get that close, for sure. There’s places that you improve a little bit and it’s just enough – but it wasn’t today. Obviously was a shame for the team, with Seb’s issue, whatever, not having him in the qualifying – but that’s how it goes sometimes. I think the car’s [inaudible] very well but to try to fix it and then obviously had some problem. It’s a shame for him. Sure he will be good tomorrow. I’m happy but I’d rather have qualified in first place but I think tomorrow is a long race, it’s going to be tough for tyres and I think we should have a very good car tomorrow. I have a good feeling about it.

    Q: Max, happy 20th birthday. Going well so far…

    MV: Thank you very much!

    …strong weekend thus far. I think it’s the 11th time now this season you’ve out-qualified Daniel, so once again very strong qualifying performance. Four-tenths off today in qualifying but do you feel with what you saw yesterday in the long runs, quite low degradation, the car looked quick, obviously, the faint possibility of rain as well, that there’s room for optimism in the race tomorrow.

    MV: Well, for sure, if it rains, then then I think we always have a good opportunity. I think in the dry today, I’m actually very happy that I’m here in third because this morning – afternoon, the last session – I was struggling a lot with the balance of the car. Actually, the whole weekend has been up and down in terms of happiness with the car but we managed to do a good qualifying again. Really happy with that, of course. The car, except maybe the final run in Q3, before that was really well balanced, so I can’t complain. I think we could have been a bit closer, definitely we couldn’t have beaten them today but for us, to be third here, on this track, is perfect. Also, in the long runs, it was all looking good. If it’s good enough, I don’t know. We’ll see tomorrow. From my side, I want to have a good Sunday finally. Because every time on Saturday it’s always going well, but on Sunday I haven’t scored a lot of points.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, in the long runs yesterday you didn’t show good performance and today you have very good performance in one lap. Do you have an indication with this new setup for the race?

    LH: Yeah, in the P3 we did a long-ish short run, only five laps. I think the car was in a much better position but I think we were something like four- or five-tenths off the other guys. So we shall see tomorrow whether that is still the case – but I think we made some changes going into qualifying that should suit the car better for tomorrow, so I’m hopefully that we will be there or thereabouts.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Max, as you turn 20, you’re no longer a teen sensation so to speak. What is the highlights of your career. If you had to choose, for example, between Interlagos, coming through the rain and that victory on your debut, which would you choose?

    MV: It’s difficult. To be honest, I think my best memory is still from go-karting, when I won the World Championship, because you always dream of it, to achieve something like that, and especially… I worked really hard with my Dad, to achieve something like that, because he was my engine tuner, he was my mechanic. We have travelled the world together since I was four years old. I think I was 15 at the time. You win the World Championship in the highest category in go-karting. That was very emotional. Then the victory in Spain was also very emotional at the time – but I want to win a race on merit and not with luck. So that hasn’t happened yet, so I think still that victory in go-karting is more satisfying.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, in Monaco you won the pole with the same margin as you did lose it today. How big is the difference in your feeling compared to that Monaco?

    KR: It makes no difference to compare what happened in Monaco with here. I don’t really care what’s the time difference, or position today. It’s what happened. We came second, I’m pretty happy because things have been running pretty smoothly all weekend and I think we’re going to have a good car tomorrow, at least so far that’s how it’s been. You always look for more and for sure there’s always things to improve, to go a bit faster and that little bit would have been enough today.

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, once again Beast-mode. You find a way to really turn it up when your back is against the wall like this, again we’re seeing this level that you can’t figure out where it’s coming from. What is it, the many fans out there that, the Union Jacks, all the Lewis Hamilton fans, team LH is out there, coming thousands of miles to watch you race at this last Malaysian Grand Prix?

    LH: Well one thing for sure, the support is… I mean, we’ve been coming here for ten years and it’s known not to have a very attendance here but the crowd already from Thursday was pretty awesome and today, every time you leave the garage, every time you come in, I can see all these flags opposite my garage. It’s the most… in all the ten years put together, today was more than all of those. Incredibly grateful for that. Of course, I get a lot of energy from that, and from special people I met, I met this young kid, Brandon, the other day who just was the highlight of the week, and then I guess always digging deep. I’m very, very grateful that the laps have come at the right time, throughout qualifying, because you know you approach it and you hope that you’re able to execute at the right time – but it’s not always… you’re never always on point but so far this weekend and particularly, obviously, just now, that lap, the one that really counts was the one I need and the one that I got. So it’s a combination of a lot of things, but my team worked so hard last night to really try to… I think they were here until 2am, trying to understand the car and make sure we made the right steps with real good analysis, so I’m grateful for all that hard work.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, you took the old aero package today, your teammate the new one, was it your decision, was it a joint decision and why did you take the decision to go back to the old one?

    LH: How do you know that? Hmm? Did Niki tell you that? We came with an upgrade that was supposed to be better but we were unsure yesterday because we were so far off. We went back to one car trying one, the other car trying the other. Before qualifying I was thinking of going back to the new package because Valtteri’s and my times were very similar and Valtteri seemed really happy with it and so I didn’t want to carry a penalty going into qualifying. You want every little millisecond you can get but there wasn’t really enough time so we ended up staying with it and also it was kind of a risk, changing the car again for qualifying and maybe getting something wrong and so we just… that was really why we ended up staying with it but fortunately I’d done P3 with it so I was quite comfortable with where I was and it provided a stepping stone in terms of making the set-up change. Ultimately it was down, it is down in performance but fortunately it didn’t make a difference.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Lewis, did that experience of having a home Finnish sauna help you to beat this other Finnish guy because you seem to be sweating less than him?

    LH: Did you say the home Finnish sauna? I haven’t been in it for a long time. I used the sauna here but it’s not as good as a Finnish sauna. I used the one in KL. Kimi, do you still use a sauna? You do? It doesn’t strike me as a usual Finnish guy, Kimi, but for me, coming from England, this is a sauna here. It’s bloody roasting.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – De Volksrant) Max, touching upon the extension of contracts for China and Singapore and the possibility of new races being added in the near future, how do you feel about a calendar with 24 races? I believe Fernando Alonso isn’t a fan of expanding the calendar and Lewis isn’t that fond of it as well, I heard.

    MV: I think 21 is more than enough. I think it’s already quite a lot.

    LH: Shit. Is it really 24? They’re talking about 24?

    MV: Yeah. Yeah, I think it’s quite a lot. So I may…

    LH: He’s young, he’s got…

    MV: Several family and friends. Racing is one part but you also have your private life, away from racing, but you don’t really see them a lot, so I think if you’re going to do 24, 25, it’s not only for the drivers but also the mechanics. I think it’s better to get a divorce straight away.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) Lewis, I guess we have got three top teams again after the start of the season where it was mainly Mercedes and Ferrari. Are you happy with more battles? Does it make it better?

    LH: Absolutely, absolutely. I think we need even more than that. Red Bull have really stepped it up, stepped up their game in the last… through the last race and coming here and it’s great to see them performing so well. We obviously want them to be even closer so it really mixes things up. I was hopeful they were going to be even quicker today but I don’t know what happened, whether they lost a little bit of pace or not. But yesterday they were looking fantastic but again, their long run pace in the race here is often very very good so without doubt tomorrow they will be on our tails, I would imagine. In the past they’ve always been great here and looking after their tyres and keeping the temperatures low. I think it’s great, I think it’s more exciting for the fans. Wouldn’t it be great if we had Williams back there and McLaren back there and then there would be a real race.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Kimi, your teammate is in the back, he’s fighting for the championship. You on the first row, do you think you can believe also the team can ask you to change the strategy in order to take maximum possible points from Lewis, keeping that in mind?

    KR: What do you  mean exactly, because as a team, we want to get maximum points out of any race with two cars and obviously for Seb we hope he’s going to make a good recovery but it’s not going to change my  race. We’re always going to try and make the fastest race and I don’t really know what else…

  • 2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Start with a question to all of you. Clearly a painful moment in Singapore, three cars eliminated on the first lap of the grand prix, how do all three of you assess it now and how do you move forward?

    Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t think there’s much assessment necessary. Obviously on Sunday all three of us were unhappy, but you move on.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: It happened, you know. You can’t change it any more — it was just a very unfortunate moment. But there’s nothing you can do about it — we just come here and we try again.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Not really anything. Obviously moved on since Sunday, since the weekend.

     

    Q: Sebastian, you’re a four time winner here. Since the summer break you’ve gone from a 14 point championship lead to a 28 point deficit to Hamilton. You’ve obviously seen quite a fluctuation throughout this year and in your previous title-winning years. Do you still think it’s possible to get back on terms? Or do you rely on him to have problems?

    SV: I don’t know. I think we have a lot of races left. I think we have a strong car. I’m not too fussed about the amount of points. Obviously it’s never good to be behind, I’d like to be in front but we’re not so I’m not thinking about that.

     

    Q: Max, it’s your 20th birthday on Saturday. You’re committed obviously to Red Bull for next year. What kind of progress does the team need to make next year to satisfy you?

    MV: I think for next year, the team and I, we want to win, so that’s our priority and we’ll see what happens afterwards.

     

    Q: And Kimi, it’s the 19th and last Malaysian Grand Prix. You’ve raced in most of them, all but three, and you got your first win here. What do you think this event has contributed to the world championship over the years?

    KR: I think to start with it’s a very nice circuit, I think there’s been quite good racing over the years here. I think the layout obviously helps that, and conditions have been always tricky. I think everybody has got more used to it since the early days, but nevertheless I think the racing has been good and that’s the main thing. Obviously all the rest, it doesn’t matter because we are here for racing and if that’s good then that’s fine.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Question to Sebastian. A 28 point gap is tough for sure, but in some ways could it help you because there is maybe less pressure and you don’t have anything to lose?

    SV: I don’t look at it that way. I think it depends on the points you have at the end of the year or not, so yeah. As I said, if you would choose you want always to be ahead. I would rather not be a little bit behind, but overall it doesn’t change anything for how you tackle the last six races from here.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) Leaving aside yourselves, who would you each nominate as the most able driver out there, the best?

    MV: I find that one really difficult. I think you can only compare with your teammate, because you don’t know what’s going on in the other teams. Also, the car you know, it can suit you better, so I don’t know to be honest.

    SV: I agree with Max, I don’t want to answer.

    KR: I think it’s pointless to answer this one. It’s up to you guys, you’re very good on it at least over the years, so do it again and we can obviously read it then.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Question for all three of you. Nineteen years of Malaysian Grand Prix, this is the final one. What have been some of your fondest memories of this race?

    SV: Obviously it’s a while ago, but for sure one of the nicest ones was 2015, my first win with Ferrari. It certainly was very special — we came here early in the season, at the very beginning of my time with Ferrari. There’s still a lot of very nice memories coming up, I’m thinking about that day, and how the race happened, what happened after the race. I had a really good time. I think the other races, I’m not sure I remember all of them, but 2013 obviously was a bit of a special one — which came with a bit of noise after the race — but still I think it was a good race.

    MV: Well, I haven’t done that many races but I always enjoy coming here. It’s a good track, and I think last year it was good to be second. I would have preferred to win, of course, but still you know for the team it was a great day. That’s my fondest memory. Hopefully this weekend will be better.

    KR: Obviously I won my first race here, it was a while ago now, but it obviously meant a lot. Then there was the win in 2008 with Ferrari, I mean it was a good fight with Felipe and obviously good memories, some bad memories over the years, but that’s when you go many times in the same place that will happen — you have some good years and some not so good. But it’s been pretty good.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Sebastian. You seem to have got over Singapore quite quickly, quite easily. How do you put that frustration aside so easily?

    SV: Well, I think it would have been more difficult if I had lost the car somewhere in the race and it’s obviously different but with collision at the start like that, I think we all three after the race, that was when we had to go to the stewards. What can you do? The lights went off, obviously, we did our starts, everyone was trying to move at the start and it was the way it happened. It ended up really bad for all three of us and that was it. Obviously I could continue a little bit more, but the damage was so bad that I had to stop anyway. Not much you can do — I think it’s part of racing. It’s also not the first time I’ve been in a situation like this and probably it will not be the last time. Hopefully it won’t happen again, but it’s part of racing. It happened, there’s not much you can do, and therefore not much point in trying to look at it again and again, I think it’s much better if your time and energy is spent looking forward.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) This is more or less in line with the last question to Sebastian and Kimi. Sebastian, you are the leader of the championship since the beginning of the season till Monza, and then you lost it and you saw your one race lead to 20 points. What is the psychological impact of that in you and in the team? Will you discuss it so that it does not interfere in the rest of the season?

    SV: I don’t think it’s necessary to discuss. As I said, with things like this happening, what can you do? We could have had major problems with the car, or I might have made a mistake, and it might be a different story. There’s something you need to change, some way you need to react quickly to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and it might be a different story. Looking at it now, obviously there’s been one race where we didn’t finish. Certainly didn’t help that Lewis scored a lot of points, but that’s the way it goes. Certainly we would all three love to have had a different race, championship yes or no. We just want to race, and that’s what we set out to do in Singapore. All three of us didn’t get very far.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Sebastian. At the beginning of this race, will you go about it in any, will you try to protect your lead, maybe be slightly less rash? How will you, what will be going through your mind on lap one of the race? And b, everyone’s saying — all the experts — that the next five races or so all suit the Merc rather than the Ferrari. How do you respond to that? You obviously I guess believe it’s all still alive?

    SV: Some might say that in order for them to remain experts we have to prove them wrong every now and then, otherwise they will maybe be out of a job if they are never wrong! The second thing is I wanted to say it was flattering that you said ‘when on Sunday you are starting from the lead’ — providing, obviously, that we qualify on pole, so it’s nice to have you on board as a fan! Not really. Every start is different, and the way Singapore happened you can look at it again and again; it doesn’t matter. First of all it’s done, and second I think it was pretty unfortunate for all three of us so we want to move on. Having said that, I can’t promise you now what will be on my mind on Sunday when I leave the grid, but normally I don’t, I never thought about the last race, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be focussed on seeing what I can do on that race start on Sunday.

     

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volkskrant) Question for Max. It was obviously not your first frustration this season. Do you still expectations for this race or is that already something you completely don’t have before a new race because of all the frustration you have?

    MV: I’m here, I always try to do well. It’s not my year in terms of Sunday finishes, but in general you have to try to stay positive, and to look at the positives. I think the speed is there, so we need to try again here in Malaysia, and see how competitive we are. It’s a bit difficult to say. But last year I think was pretty alright, and we’ll just try again.

     

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volkskrant) Question for all three drivers. How do you guys cope with the heat during a race weekend like this? Do you have any tips and tricks during the race? Is the preparation different?

    KR: I don’t think it’s an awful lot different, really. It’s obviously a bit more hot than other races, Singapore is quite hot. At least myself, I don’t feel that we do an awful lot different things and it’s probably drink a bit more, but that’s about it.  It doesn’t feel too bad in the past, at least in the car, you more feel it in the practice when you keep stopping in the box and all the heat comes from there, but during the driving it’s not too bad.

     

    Q: Sebastian? How much do you need to drink before the race in terms of litres?

    SV: I don’t know, I generally try and hydrate, I think everybody does. You’re always thirsty, and you sweat a lot, but you stay hydrated — there are no big secrets. I think at some point you try and not to drink too much because you don’t want to stop during the race doing another stop if you know what I mean, yeah. Once you go normally you sweat so much that it’s not really a big problem. Normally they say you should drink around two litres a day, at least, here I think it’s at least double on race day, maybe a bit more.

     

    Max, any special preparations?

    MV: I agree with what Sebastian and Kimi said.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Max. When you say you’re looking at next season, and we’ll see what happens after this, do you have a specific target in mind in terms of race wins? What are you actually aiming for next season?

    MV: I want to be able to fight for the championship. If you win one race and you win the championship, that’s wonderful. It’s a bit difficult to say at the moment, when you’re not in that position. Hopefully we are next year, but it’s a bit too early to say so. We just have to wait and see till we go to Melbourne.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Seb. How would you feel about Max joining you one day at Ferrari. And to Max, how would you feel joining Ferrari with Seb.

    SV: I don’t know. I feel that you need to be prepared to race anyone on the grid, so obvioiusly Max is still quite young and has more years left than we have, but yeah, you never know. Obviously I have a longer contract now than him but Formula One… some things they take time. Other things they tend to change very quickly. So it’s a bit pointless to look too far into the future. For now I think we are pretty calm inside the team: myself; everyone – because we know what’s going on this year, what’s going on next year and then I think it’s more for the team as well…

     

    Max, your side of that.

    MV: Yeah, I mean, to be honest I don’t want to look too much in the future. I just want to focus on the job I have now and try to finish it off in a good way this season and then for next season, I know where I am and, well, before we finish next season is still such a long time, so, just have to wait.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio  – GloboEsporte.com) Sebastian and Kimi, the last results of the team were not so good: Monza and Singapore. Do you think it’s due to circumstnaces of the competition or maybe again Mercedes did a step forward that Ferrari didn’t and could not follow it, concerning the project of the six rounds to the end of the season?

    SV: It’s normal. It’s the way that people look at the races. If you then highlight the last two, certainly they were not good. We’re not proud, not happy with them. Singapore is fairly quickly explained: didn’t make it very far and then in Monza I think we didn’t do our best, Saturday and Sunday, probably a bit of a combination and, equally, Mercedes was very strong. So yeah, it’s been very tight all season. At Monza we didn’t have a very good weekend and lost a little bit, but still, I think we had a very good recovery from the Saturday that we had. So, yeah, I think it you look at those two races you can argue that they were not great – but I think it’s mostly Singapore where we didn’t race. Monza, I think third was not that bad, given that we were just not competitive to fight for the win.

     

    Kimi, your perspective.

    KR: Not really different. Singapore, Seb was first in the qualifying, I was fourth. So, if you purely compare to Mercedes, it was better. Obviously the race didn’t go that way but I don’t see why you would look at everything so negative. It’s your question, obviously. It’s up and down: some circuits are better for one guy and others for other guys – but it’s a normal story, every year it’s the same thing: some races go better, others not and there’s so many reasons for those. In the end the whole season is one season and in the end wherever the points are, are the best. It’s pointless to look at one race here, one race there. It’s over the whole year.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for the two Ferrari guys and one for Max. The two Ferrari guys, I would like to know if you talked, after the Ferrari race to the president Marchionne. What did he say to you? And the second question, if you think you have the same chance here as Singapore, and for Max, if you lost the last chance to win a race this year, due to the characteristics of the track there in Singapore – or there is some other track that you can stay in front, and fight for the victory?

     

    OK, Sebastian, have you spoken to the president?

    SV: No, I haven’t. Not spoke but I’ve been in contact. Obviously not a great day, as you can imagine. Fairly quickly, the response also from the whole team has been very positive. It’s been a bad day, no doubt about it but I think by Monday – Tuesday, everybody moved on and there has been a lot of excitement in the factory. We had family days last weekend which obviously is very special for all the team members and all the Ferrari employees, so there has been a lot of positives, to be honest, and yeah, what’s done is done. You have to look at what’s coming. And that’s what we are excited about. The car is strong this year, we know that, we’ve seen that, so there’s plenty of positives to look forward to. And, yeah, I think that partly answers your second question, if the car will be competitive here. I think there’s so many things on paper and you tend to look and you tend to say one way or the other – but we have to go here, and that’s the good thing about racing, the part that I enjoy. You go here and you find out. That’s what you fight for, you fight for every centimetre, every tenth that you can find somewhere, over a lot of laps in the race or over one lap in quali, to make the difference. So, I’m sure that, as a team, we can make that difference.

     

    What’s your feeling Kimi? Is this a track that you think the Ferrari, as you feel it, will go well around, compared to Mercedes?

    KR: Very hard to answer. It’s like any weekend when we go we don’t really know our self any more than any of you guys. You are always guessing a bit how it’s going to be and hoping the best – and then we will see tomorrow some ideas. To be honest, some weekends you seem to start a bit better and more straightforward and everything seems to go more easily, and some you have to… you struggle a bit to find the right way and then come Saturday it turns out to be pretty OK, so, it’s impossible to really answer. I’m feeling we should be OK here, but I might be wrong. I might be right. I don’t know.

     

    Max, did you feel that was the last, best chance to win a race – or is there another one that you can see that Red Bull might win before the end of the year?

    MV:  It was definitely a good opportunity of course in Singapore. But never say never. A lot of things can happen. As you can see, the lights go out in Singapore and there are immediately three cars out. So, yeah, you have to stay positive and we’ll see what happens.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Sebastian. I just wanted to get your thoughts on Charles Leclerc who’s going to drive in first practice for Sauber. Quite a promising driver, lot of expectation surrounding him.

    SV: Well, I mean, in terms of expectations, I think he has proven enough so I don’t think you need to have high expectations. Obviously he’s helped us a lot developing this year’s car, done a lot of work on the simulator and had a fantastic season so far in GP2, bit up and down at times but the speed I think has been quite incredible. I’m sure he’ll do well. I don’t think he needs a word of advice, or yeah, any sort of expectations. He looks like he loves racing, enjoys that, and that, I think, for me is the key recipe.

     

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) for all drivers, what will you miss from Malaysia next year when we are not returning?

    MV: I think the track in general. I always enjoyed driving the track, so I think that’s the biggest part we’ll miss. The heat, to be honest, maybe not so much.

    SV: I don’t know, I don’t think there’s one specific thing. It’s the mixture of the circuit, the conditions, the element of rain at any time during the day being possible. Yeah, I think it’s provided very good racing. I’m not obviously involved in why we’re not racing here any more but, who knows, maybe we’re back after a year break or two. I don’t know.

    KR: To be honest, I don’t know if we’re going to miss it. It’s a nice circuit but the only thing you see is the airport, the hotel next to the airport and the circuit, so you can choose from that what you’re going to miss.

     

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD) Question for Max again. You already mentioned your birthday. Is there time in a busy race weekend to spend some attention on a birthday, to do something for a birthday – or not?

    MV: Well, it’s so humid here and warm, you make a cake but who wants to eat cake on such a warm day?

    SV: I do!

    MV: I’ll bring it to the garage before quali.

    SV: ten to three…

    MV: It’s fine. Do I need to serve you as well in the car?

    SV: Yeah, five to three.

    MV: OK, I’ll wait a bit in Q1 and then go out…

    SV: No! Actually the quali’s at five…

    MV: OK, that’s a plan then…

  • F12017: Malaysian Gp Preview – Must Win For Ferrari

    F12017: Malaysian Gp Preview – Must Win For Ferrari

    To finish first, first you must finish. These are likely the words that have been rolling around Sebastian Vettel’s mind following the start-line crash in Singapore, which now has him at a 28-point deficit to Lewis Hamilton.

    There’s little doubt that this weekend’s Malaysian grand prix is vital for Ferrari’s and Vettel’s championship aspirations. The Formula 1 paddock travels little more than 300 hundred kilometers to Sepang, just outside the city center of Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia for this weekend’s 15th round of the 2017 season.

    The Malaysian circuit, famed for its hot and humid conditions, has been on the F1 calendar since 1999 and is making its final appearance in 2017. As, arguably, Herman Tilke’s most-liked circuit design the Sepang International circuit is one of the biggest technical challenges of the season. It’s combination of medium and high-speed corners and the ever-present long back- and start/finish straits means that somewhere drivers and teams will have to compromise on the car set-up.

    Some in the paddock will have you believe that the Mercedes will stroll to victory this weekend given that the Malaysian circuit suits the Silver Arrow to a tee. While the strengths of the Mercedes are likely to be highlighted by the more aero-dominant sector of the lap Ferrari are unlikely to simply be reduced to also-rans. Kimi Raikkonen believes that Ferrari can be in the mix for victory this weekend. “You [the media] assume that it’s difficult. We don’t,” said Raikkonen.

    “We go there [to Malaysia], it’s another race, another weekend, and we go there full of fight and we’ll do our best”. Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene echoed Raikkonen’s sentiments by saying that the battle is not over but has simply become more difficult.

    Sebastian Vettel - Italian Grand Prix qualifyingWhile the two main rivals in the 2017 championship dominate the headlines what then of Red Bull cheekily snatching the prize from both of them. The stats suggest that the Austrian team has indeed made significant progress since the start of the season. And while they’ll be snapping at the heels the top step of the podium, barring unreliability, crashes, or a sudden and opportune cloud-burst, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are unlikely to have the raw pace to match Merc and Ferrari.

    As if to add more intrigue to the mix Ferrari and Mercedes have chosen different tyre strategies for this weekend too. With the medium, soft, and supersoft compounds available Mercedes has chosen to focus more on the yellow-walled soft tyre. With five sets available to Hamilton Mercedes have looked especially strong on the soft tyre on several occasions this season. In contrast, Ferrari has chosen to focus on the supersoft compound by selecting nine sets each for Vettel and Raikkonen with Red Bull taking a similar approach to Ferrari. The weather forecast, never devoid of the threat of a thunderstorm, predicts scorching temperatures for the duration of the weekend, which could swing the advantage to Ferrari and the supersoft compound.

    There is no doubt whatsoever that Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel must win the Malaysian grand prix in order to keep their championship hopes alive. Ferrari has been adamant that they are, categorically, not out of the championship. It’s time now to underscore their bullish belief where it matters most – on track.

  • F12017: Singapore Gp Review – Ferrari Pain, Hamilton Gain

    F12017: Singapore Gp Review – Ferrari Pain, Hamilton Gain

    IN 2008 Singapore became part of Formula 1 as the first night race on the calendar. Fast forward a decade and delivered another first by becoming F1’s first ever night race in the rain.

    As uncertainty ran rampant the rain wasn’t enough to induce a safety-car start. Sebastian Vettel, after producing a scintillating lap on Saturday, lined up in pole position with Max Verstappen alongside. The Singapore grand prix should’ve been one where Ferrari could inflict serious damage, in terms of points, on Mercedes given that Hamilton and Bottas were fifth and sixth respectively. But yet again Formula 1 has proved itself to be the most unpredictable sport in the world.

    Both the front-row starters, Vettel and Verstappen, were solid if unspectacular off the start-line. In contrast, the fourth-place starting Raikkonen hooked up his start perfectly and rocketed to the front. However, Vettel, in trying to cover his position swept across the track to block Verstappen not realizing that Raikkonen was on the other side of the Dutchman. It resulted in an enormous crash which brought an end to all three’s prospects and collected Fernando Alonso for good measure.

    Singapore 2017_StartAfter the fact the crash was deemed a racing incident, and rightly so. While many would cast Vettel as the villain for cutting across the circuit this reasoning would be tenuous, at best. Firstly, Vettel wouldn’t have known that Raikkonen had made an amazing start and was on the other side of Verstappen. Some would argue too that Vettel shouldn’t have cut across the circuit in the manner that he did but consider the fact that any driver, in any conditions, in any race, would have done the same. In fact, cast your mind back two weeks to Hamilton cutting across the track in Italy, in exactly the same manner, to cover the Williams of Lance Stroll.

    Whatever your opinion on the incident the one thing everyone would agree on is that it was a disastrous day for Vettel and Ferrari. Where he was expected to take back the lead in the driver’s standings Vettel leaves Singapore significantly on the back foot. Because through all the chaos Lewis Hamilton emerged in P1 and was never troubled on his way to the chequered flag. The expectation that Daniel Ricciardo could take the fight to the Merc was nipped in bud early on as the Aussie had to manage an oil leak from as early as lap 15.

    Valtteri Bottas may have finished an uninspiring third but with it has ensured a more than one hundred point lead for Mercedes in the constructor’s standings.

    0069In fourth Carlos Sainz delivered the drive of the day while Sergio Perez in the Force India snapped up fifth place. In sixth, and scoring his first points of the season, was Renault’s Jolyon Palmer who is to be replaced by Sainz in 2018.

    Stoffel Vandoorne was able to translate his good form to a seventh place finish for McLaren while Lance Stroll, Romain Grosjean, and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top ten.

    As Ferrari rue what might have been Hamilton’s victory has gained him a twenty-eight point lead in the driver’s standings with six races remaining.

    On such things do world championships turn.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport

  • No Further Action on Turn 1 Carnage at Singapore GP Race

    No Further Action on Turn 1 Carnage at Singapore GP Race

    The FIA race stewards have decided that no further action will be taken following the Turn 1 carnage at the start of the race for the Singapore Grand Prix which saw both Ferrari’s and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen collide subsequently putting them out of them out of the race.

    After average starts from both Vettel and Verstappen, Vettel cut across the track to defend his position on the run to Turn 1. Raikkonen, who started 4th, had a better start that Verstappen who was lined up directly ahead of him on the grid. Raikkonen went down the inside of Verstappen and was almost clear of the Red Bull when Verstappen’s rear left tagged Raikkonen’s rear right, swinging the Ferrari around the front of the Red Bull and into the side of his team mate Vettel.

    The move left Verstappen with no where to go and the “pincer” like movement executed by the Ferrari’s contact looked inevitable.

    All three drivers were summoned to see the stewards after the race and after meeting with teams they decided that no driver was wholly to blame for the incident.

    In a statement the stewards said: “The Stewards examined video evidence and heard from Sebastian Vettel,the driver of Car 5, Kimi Raikkonen, the driver of Car 7, Max Verstappen, the driver of Car 33 and the team representatives.

    Singapore 2017_Start“Driver of Car 7 had a very good start and was able to attempt overtaking of Car 33 on the left hand side.

    “At the same time, Car 5 which had a slower start, moved to the left hand side of the track; Car 33 and Car 7 then collided resulting in a chain collision with Car 5 and ultimately Car 14 (Fernando Alonso) at the next turn.

    “Cars 7, 5 and 33 had to retire immediately as a result of the incident; and Car 14 retired some laps thereafter.

    “The Stewards consider that no driver was found to have been wholly or predominantly to blame for the incident and will therefore take no further action.”

  • 2017 Singapore Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2017 Singapore Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

     

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (conducted by Will Buxton)

    Sebastian, the crowd went crazy, the noise was huge when you crossed the line, and deservedly so. That lap was absolutely massive. You struggled yesterday, where did you find that time?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Oh, I don’t know. I struggled also this morning, or this afternoon. I shouted probably as loud as them, it was unbelievable. I’m still full of adrenalin, so maybe whatever I say doesn’t make any sense but, yeah, I love this track. The car was tricky but it came alive and it was getting better and better and better as the night progressed, so really happy we got it done.

     

    And these guys have been so quick, and there is no margin for error around this circuit. To take those kind of risks, to push… there’s a little bit down there, that’s how close you pushed, all the way to the edge and a little bit over it as well. In terms of laps you have set for pole position where does this one sit, because I can see you are shaking a little bit? 

    SV: I don’t know, I think I need to calm down first. But for now, very, very happy. The car was amazing and it’s an amazing track if you feel that the car is coming alove and you can do what you want to. I knew we had it in us; it was a bit of a struggle to get there, but now I’m just happy.

     

    Huge. Many congratulations. Max, wow, it was going to take something special to beat you today and that was a special lap. But the pace you’ve shown all weekend, this has got to be promising for you?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it is. Just a shame we couldn’t put it on pole, I think the final lap was not great. But we were quite close and I’m pretty happy with that.

     

    We’ve seen how hard Sebastian has had to push this weekend to beat you guys this weekend. It’s not the first time he’s done it. Are you hoping for more of that from him tomorrow?

    MV: Hopefully for him, not. We’ll see. During the race it will be difficult to pass him so we will have to see in the first lap.

     

    Awesome. Daniel, are you asking the man how he got that lap out of the car?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I’m a little envious today. I will accept a little bit of defeat but I’m still confident we’ll get victory. I think we’ve got a good package. Seb turned it on in qualifying but I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

     

    So better race pace then them tomorrow?

    DR: Yes.

     

    Now Max… Daniel come down. Now last time you started alongside each other, back in Hungary, there was a little bit of a ding-dong between you on the first lap. There’s going to be none of that tomorrow. Christian isn’t going to be tapping his foot is he?

    DR: What happened?

     

    Is it all forgotten then?

    MV: I mean that race happened. Now we’ve got Singapore. We’ve got great starting positions, so we don’t think about that.

     

    Good stuff, thanks guys. Seb, have managed to calm the shakes down a little bit. Lewis is starting back on the third row of the grid tomorrow.  How much do you need this win in the championship fight?

    SV: I don’t know. I’m happy that we got the car where it deserved to be and we take it from there. Tomorrow is a long race; these guys are very, very quick. We had a difficult night yesterday, a better night today and I’m sure the car will be like today, tomorrow but I’m sure it will be a very close race.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Well, many congratulations Sebastian, your fourth pole in Singapore – bit of a specialist around this place – and your 49th career pole, just one short of the magic 50. But a really open session, one of the most open sessions for a while. And one can just sense in the way you came over the radio at the end, not only a great effort but also a great emotion. Tell us the feeling?

    SV: Yeah, it’s a long lap. There are a lot of corner – a lot of things to get right, and equally a lot of things you can get wrong. No, I’m really happy. Obviously the weekend so far has been a bit up and down for us. Yesterday was difficult. This afternoon was difficult. Tonight the car really came alive and it was just getting better. These guys were extremely quick. Q1, I didn’t know how the hell I was going to find a second and a half. But then, by Q2, the car was like a switch, from off to on – much better. I knew that the track would ramp up but probably I didn’t expect it that much. But, yeah, at the end, Q3 I was very happy with both my laps. A bit lucky in my final lap, because I brushed the wall quite severely out of 19. It was not just a little brush; it was actually a hit. I thought, “OK, I have to keep going”. It was fine until I approached the last corner; I had huge vibration. Thankfully there was only one corner left but I really pushed as hard as I could. I knew in the final run that even if I had the upper hand going in, these guys… the track would come up, these guys would have something in their pocket, so I needed to get it absolutely right. I was very relieved when I crossed the line. I looked at the screens behind and I waited for the call. I knew that Daniel was behind me so… I was very, very happy obviously. I think right now I’m starting to cool off.

     

    While you’re doing that analytically, that’s the bit you can control. The bit you can’t control is where your championship rival is – Lewis Hamilton. He’s not only got these two cars between you and him, you’ve also got your team-mate as well. Just purely looking at the race, you must be pretty pleased about that?

    SV: Yeah, I mean, we have a long race and a lot of things can happen. Certainly grid position is king or crucial, but still it’s a long race. The fact that our car was good this evening I think is promising for tomorrow. Yesterday we had a scrappy car, I lost the car, I had damage, so the runs after that were compromised. But the feeling was there. I knew that the car has got it, we just needed to get it out and that’s what we did tonight. I’m confident for tomorrow. For the others? Max is next to me, so first of all I guess I’m racing him and then Daniel and so on and so forth, so not too bothered where other people are. I think there is a long race ahead and there are a lot of things we need to get right, so we should focus on ourselves.

    Q: Max, almost, almost that first pole, almost the first ever teenage Formula One polesitter. This place is all about ramping it up, as Sebastian’s just said, tell us why you couldn’t find that step in the final run in Q3.

    MV: I think I did – just not as much as Sebastian but all in all I think the weekend was a good progression, getting better and better. And qualifying also was constant improvement. Even though the whole weekend we’re a bit down on power. I don’t know why, we couldn’t really solve it. Lost a bit of top speed there. It’s not idea but at the end of the day, to be second here, on this track, I think is very promising. We are not too far off so I can be quite happy with this qualifying.

     

    Q: Daniel, we could tell by one of the radio messages partway through the quali, you couldn’t quite live with these two in the final part of qualifying. There’s clearly some disappointment there but you told us yesterday that you think you can win this race. You’re the man who takes his opportunities on a Sunday, do you still believe in it?

    DR: Yeah, I still believe so. Today I’ll accept a little bit of defeat but there’s still a lot to play for tomorrow. For sure I would love to be in Sebastian’s position today. I thought pole would be on but yeah, we couldn’t quite run with him in that last qualifying. It’s a long lap, you gain a bit, you lose a bit, you kind of say ‘I could have got more there’ but I think the gap was, in the end – three or four tenths – was quite significant. So yeah, look at what we can do tomorrow. I think it’s really on the cusp of one and two stops, so it’s going to make it exciting. You might have to carry us out of the cars tomorrow but I’m sure I’ll have a very strong race and get, yeah, get some big points.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Question for all three of you. How much would you say your car is developing during qualifying session – just in terms of power output. Do you have something for Q3 special in the engine or is there nothing coming once you’re in the qualifying.

    SV: Well I think it’s normal that you start off a bit more conservative and then ramp it up. If you look at the importance of the session Q1 is the least important – I mean it’s very important to get through but least important to set a really, really competitive lap time. Q2 you need to make it to the top ten, obviously I think the quick teams have the luxury that they have a very quick car and it’s not a big secret we run a bit more conservative in the beginning and then gradually progress so that by Q3 obviously yeah, we ask for maximum power.

     

    Is the same true for the Renault engine, Max?

    MV: Maybe not as much. A little bit. Fine tuning. We know that we have to still work hard to improve, so it’s still not, of course, where Ferrari or Mercedes is.

     

    And Daniel?

    DR: No further comments. I mean, once qualifying starts we pretty much put it all in, so yeah, no secrets for Q3.

     

    Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) Question to all of you. This race is usually one of the most demanding of the year in terms of physical conditions. What do you expect for tomorrow with the new cars – will it be much more harder than last year and how did you prepare for that?

    DR: Eat lots of pizza, drink lots of alcohol. It’s really important to dehydrate yourself before you get here! No. These two… it’s funny, the irony is that we go from probably the least physical is Monza, all the long straights, and it’s normally a quick race in terms of time itself, so you go from the easiest race of the year to the two hardest with Singapore and Malaysia. So, all last week I was just home, training and trying to get acclimated to the hotter conditions. And yeah, how much you need to drink is something as well: so simple. Yesterday I felt like I had a bottle in my hand all day and I was still struggling to go to the toilet, you sweat it out so much, so yeah, you’ve just got to stay on top of it. End of tomorrow you’ll see it in our faces, and Malaysia as well.

     

    SV: Just to get that straight, you were struggling to get to the toilet because you were struggling to keep balance because you were drinking so much, or…?

     

    DR: ah…

     

    SV: Don’t worry, you’ll get it back.

     

    DR: So what do you do?

     

    SV: Basically I think you try to prepare the whole year as much as you can. This year’s cars are more physical, I think that’s more fun. This race has always been the biggest challenge in terms of what it demands from the driver. It’s a very long track, a lot of corners, it’s hot, humid, a night race, so no room for error. Yeah, all these things together, the race is very long, as Daniel touched on, in terms of preparation, not so much I get. There’s no big secrets ramping up to the Grand Prix, you just try to be recovered once you get here. I like the Finnish culture so I did a couple of sauna intervals. Maybe that’s something special just to get used to the hot weather.

     

    What about you Max, what did you do?

    MV: I think you always try to prepare as well as you can but it’s always going to be hard. If you train a lot – or not, when you come here you’re going to sweat a lot. It’s just very tough because there are not a lot of straights where you can just rest – because even the straights here you have to turn a lot and you’re always busy. Bumpy. Lot of concentration going on because there are so many corners here, so for sure it will be a tough race – but hopefully when I’m in the lead I can just, like, slow down a bit and we can cruise home. Right? Is that OK for you? No?

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, how do you change on the car between yesterday and this afternoon and tonight? How is the balance between your effort and the effort of the mechanics?

    SV: I think it’s been phenomenal, the amount of work. Obviously yesterday we were a little bit caught off guard. The car wasn’t behaving the way we wanted it to but it’s been pretty special, I think:  the amount of effort that has gone in overnight, the support from Maranello. Charles (Leclerc) has been in the simulator – usually it’s swapping between Antonio Giovinazzi  and Charles so that’s very very important for us. They answered a lot of questions that we couldn’t, simply because we didn’t have time enough and a lot of questions remaining. And then, as I said, a lot of support from the factory, the guys down here – I don’t know when they went to bed, probably around lunchtime. The car was a lot better today but as I said, obviously with the conditions, I think it was helping us as well. The car really came alive towards the evening or throughout the evening, which I think is mostly the track. We went out very early this afternoon and very early in qualifying as well so maybe not ideal but the car was better today than it was yesterday, for sure.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, you are the winning-most driver here on this track; what is the secret to win so much on this track, which is…

    SV: I guess I was lucky I didn’t brush too many walls. Usually I got it done by latest Saturday, like today. It’s a long race, anything can happen. For sure it helps the further up you start but still it’s a long race. I don’t know if there are any secrets. It’s always a place that I enjoy and it’s the sort of race that you want to go to to test yourself as well, because it’s such a big challenge, but equally you don’t want it to start because you know it’s going to be so tough. For sure I will be ready and excited to start tomorrow to see what we can do. For sure we’re in a good positon so we have lots of reasons to look forward to.

    MV: Do you think you’ll have a good start?

    SV: Yeah.

    MV: I hope not.

    DR: Your starts haven’t been that good, have they?

    SV: Yeah, they have been. Monza, no, but the other ones have been.

     

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) To all three of you: Seb, do you have a different risk assessment at the start in the first corner when you’re challenging against two guys who are not in the championship battle? And for Daniel and Max, the same question, just the other way around…

    MV: Am I not in? Am I not in the championship battle?

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Probably not, sorry.

    SV: I guess the answer to your question is no because I don’t think anybody on the grid has the intention to stop the race in the first corner. I think you’re focusing on the start and then you go from there. No, I guess is the answer to your question.

    Q: Max, nothing to lose? Go for it from the start?

    MV: Yeah, but controlled, right? I mean you always go for it if there is a gap and if it’s possible but if not you just settle down and you go into the race and like Sebastian said, it’s a very long race so a lot of things can happen.

    DR: For sure, you know my intention is always to try and go forward. I think here, a track where it’s hard to pass, obviously the start is a big opportunity so yeah, the intention is to go for it but see what happens. It always seems to tighten up at turn one but we’ll see, see how we go. I think mathematically I can still win the championship so I might just play it real conservative and settle for a top six or something!

     

    Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Sebastian, you had a close look at the Red Bulls after the session, what did you find out about the cars?

    DR: He misses us.

    SV: It’s probably the best chance to… well, it looks like ours, yeah. I actually asked them yesterday already if they do the parts in blue as well because…

    MV: Yeah, we can swap?

    SV: Probably it’s the best time to look at the cars. I mean, what do I understand, basically, but it’s interesting to have a look.

    MV: Emotional.

    SV: Yeah, close to tears.

     

     

    Photo Credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula One

  • 2017 Singapore GP: Friday Practice Round Up

    2017 Singapore GP: Friday Practice Round Up

    It was all Red Bull on Friday for both Free Practice One and Free Practice Two at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore. Daniel Ricciardo topped both sessions leading the way for Red Bull and sending an early warning to Ferrari and Mercedes.

    Free Practice 1

    FP1 got off to a bit of a damp start after some afternoon rain. Early runners were caught out at a few places where the track was still damp but that did not stop Lewis Hamilton from setting the early pace in the session.

    The session was topped by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo with a session best time of 1:42.489. Splitting the Red Bull’s was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel 0.109s off the pace with his session best time of 1:42.598. Max Verstappen in the second Red Bull was 3rd fastest of the session with a a best time of 1:42.610.

    Although he set the early pace, Hamilton could only manage 4th fastest ahead of Sergio Perez in the Force India in 5th and team-mate Valtteri Bottas in 6th. Bottas struggled for pace for most of the session. Fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen finished 7th fastest in the second Ferrari 1.245s off the pace.

    Finishing 8th was Fernando Alonso in the McLaren. While he should be happy that McLaren will be running Renault power from next year, he just cant seem to resist taking a few pot-shots at Honda over the team radio. “For info. We could be P-1,” quipped the Spaniard sarcastically  when told he was 7th fastest on the time sheets.

    Nico Hulkenberg was 9th fastest for Renault with Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso rounding out the top 10.

    As usual in Singapore and with a street track, there were lots of lock ups and off track excursions with a few spins thrown in for good measure.


    Free Practice 2

    Free Practice 2 takes place under the lights in Singapore and the session is more representatives of the times teams will set during qualifying and the race.

    Once again the Red Bulls dominated the session with Daniel Ricciardo once again outpacing his team mate to finish fastest. Verstappen finished 2nd fastest, just a touch over half a second off the pace. Ricciardo set a new track record around the Marina Bay Street Circuit of 1:40.852. Ricciardo’s time blitzed last years FP2 time by 3.3s.

    It was a challenging session for Ferrari with Vettel unable to set a fast time on the ultra soft after being blocked somewhat by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson. Vettel abandoned those plans after slapping the barrier with the rear right of his Ferrari. Thankfully for the German, his Ferrari came out of the incident unscathed and he was able to complete the rest of the session without much fuss.

    Mercedes looked to have got things together by finishing behind the Red Bull’s in 3rd and 4th with Hamilton leading Bottas. The Silver Arrows have quite a lot of work to do as Hamilton’s time of 1:41.555 was 0.703s off Ricciardo’s best time.

    There were offs from Hamilton, Alonso and Sainz. The latter got into a sticky spot when reversing out of the run of area. An at speed Sebastian Vettel nearly made contact with the reversing Toro Rosso.

    Drivers were clearly testing the limits of the track with Romain Grosjean, Lance Stroll, Max Vesrtappen, Kevin Magnussen and Vettel tagging the walls. After Vettel tagged the wall, the VSC was deployed to allow marshals to repair the advertising board Vettel had ripped off.

    Red Bull looked top of the pops in the long runs with what looks like a significant pace advantage over the Ferrari and Mercedes. If Red Bull lock out the front row in qualifying on Saturday the pair could cruise home to a 1-2 victory.

    There’s still FP3 to go and a lot can still happen.

     

    Photo credit: Red Bull Racing Formula One Team

  • F1 2017: Italian Gp Review – Hamilton Dominates At Monza

    F1 2017: Italian Gp Review – Hamilton Dominates At Monza

    If you thought that you were somehow transported back to 2016, or even 2015, during this weekend’s Italian grand prix you’d have been forgiven. The level of domination that Mercedes and their drivers delivered to win the latest round of the 2017 season was simply staggering.

    By the end of 53 laps of the Italian grand prix there was half a minute, and a Bottas shaped Mercedes, between Lewis Hamilton and the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Not only that, but Hamilton’s dominant win also secured him the lead in the driver’s championship for the first time in 2017.

    As the rain played havoc with Saturday qualifying it was, again, Hamilton who delivered a spectacular lap for pole. With 69 to his name he now holds the record for the most pole position in the history of the sport. Such was the farcical penalty count at this weekend’s grand prix that despite qualifying in the top three both Red Bull drivers dropped effectively to the back of the grid. It promoted Williams’ Lance Stroll to the front row and into the history books as the youngest ever front row starter. Similarly, another up-and-comer in the form of Esteban Ocon lined up his Force India in third. Meanwhile, after a miserable session, the best Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen, was fifth and teammate Vettel sixth.

    With the younger drivers right at the sharp end there was trepidation in air ahead of the start. However, they were very well behaved, if not a bit too cautious, and got through the start unscathed. It allowed Hamilton the perfect buffer to get away in the lead of the race from which he never looked back.

    While Bottas made relatively short work of Stroll and Ocon it was clear that he was maintaining position behind Hamilton who now appears to have the backing from Mercedes for the championship. While Vettel got into third relatively quickly there was nothing he could do about the pace of the Mercedes. On home turf Ferrari would’ve undoubtedly been disappointed with their performance but they wouldn’t have been overly surprised by it.

    M132570The low downforce configuration of Monza and the fact that 79% of the lap is spent at full throttle is Mercedes territory through-and-through. When they consider the weekend’s events Ferrari and Vettel will likely come to the conclusion that it could’ve been worse. Late in the race Daniel Ricciardo, on an alternate strategy, mounted a charge on third and fell only a few seconds short of snatching it from Vettel. Verstappen’s pace too suggested that he could’ve been a factor were it not for a puncture incurred in a first corner clash with the Williams of Felipe Massa. As it stands Hamilton takes a three-point lead to the Singapore grand prix where Ferrari is expected to lead the way.

    As Hamilton, Bottas, and Vettel completed the top three with a charging Ricciardo in fourth Kimi Raikkonen trundled home in fifth. In sixth was Esteban Ocon, followed closely by Stroll in seventh and Williams teammate Felipe Massa in eight. Sergio Perez was ninth in the other Force India while Max Verstappen recovered to tenth, albeit a lap down. The anguish continued for McLaren with a double retirement who are expected to announce a 2018 deal with Renault within the coming days which will likely be followed by a confirmation that Fernando Alonso will be remaining with the team.

    The Italian grand prix marks the final European race of the season. Formula 1 next heads East to Singapore’s Marina Bay Street circuit where Ferrari is expected to dominate.

  • Penalty Fiesta at the 2017 Italian Grand Prix

    Penalty Fiesta at the 2017 Italian Grand Prix

    One of the things the 2017 Italian Grand Prix will be remembered for is the number of engine penalties handed down to drivers over course of the weekend.

    Some would agree that the situation is quite laughable as only one driver will start in the position that he qualified in and that’s the pole sitter, Lewis Hamilton. It’s so comical that Kevin Magnussen who failed to get out of Q1 in 16th position will start in 10th.

    Penalty Round up

    Daniel Ricciardo (Car 3) – Red Bull Racing

    Total drop of 25-grid position

    • 10-place grid drop for 6th MGU-H
    • 5-place grid drop for 5th internal combustion engine (ICE)
    • 5-place grid drop for 5th Turbo Charger (TC)
    • 5-place grid drop for new gearbox

    Carlos Sainz (Car 55) – Scuderia Toro Rosso

    • 10-place grid drop for 5th MGU-H

    Fernando Alonso (Car 14) – McLaren Honda

    Total drop of 35-grid places

    • 10-place grid drop for 9th TC (1st 9th element used)
    • 5-place grid drop for 9th MGU-H (remaining element used)
    • 5-place grid drop for 7th ICE
    • 5-place grid drop for 7th MGU-K
    • 5-place grid drop for 6th energy store (ES)
    • 5-place grid drop for 5th control electronics (CE)

    Max Verstappen (Car 33) – Red Bull Racing

    Total drop of 20-grid places

    • 10-place grid drop for 5th ICE (1st 5th element used)
    • 5-place grid drop for 5th MGU-H
    • 5-place grid drop for 5th TC

    Nico Hulkenberg (Car 27) – Renault Sport

    • 10-place grid drop for 5th MGU-H (1st 5th element used)

    Jolyon Palmer (Car 30) – Renault Sport

    Total drop of 15-grid places

    • 10-place grid drop for 5th TC (1st 5th element used)
    • 5-place grid drop for 5th MGU-H

    Stoffel Vandoorne (Car 2) – McLaren Honda

    Total drop of 25-grid places for new ICE, MGU-K, MGU-H and TC

    Romain Grosjean (Car 8) – Haas 

    • 5-place grid drop for new gearbox.

    Sergio Perez (Car 11) – Force India 

    • 5-place grid drop for new gearbox
  • 2017 Italian Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2017 Italian Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    GRID INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Davide Valsecchi)

    Lewis your lap was wonderful, 1.1 seconds in front of this guy. You were amazing.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Thank you man, grazie. I appreciate your excitement. I’m just as exvited.

    We’ll give him the chance to take the helmet off, and in this time, wonderful, first row. I’m sorry for you, you will not start from the front row but your lap was amazing and your performance in Q3 was just a step over.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was a tricky qualifying, but I think also in the beginning of Q3 also sliding around a lot. But then I tried to cool down the tyres and in my final run everything worked pretty well, so happy with second.

     

    Very well done. Ricciardo, tell me how was your lap. You were struggling on this circuit but today, from the outside, it was just amazing looking at you champions driving so well.

    Daniel RICCIARDO: It was fun. Q1 and Q2 were quite terrible actually. I was struggling a lot and then Q3 we just seemed to get a bit better rhythm, the tyre had more grip. At the end we were pushing a lot but it was close. I’m glad we could do qualifying for all the fans. It was important we did this today.

     

    Thank you so much, very well done. Lewis, just half an hour ago you were playing your Playstation and now you broke the record and made the history of this sport?

    LH: Yeah, firstly, Italy I love you. I’m so happy to be here. Even though we’re in Ferrari’s homeland we have such great support here, even for Mercedes, so I really appreciate all the love. To do this here at such a historic circuit, such a beautiful country… I’m going to have some pasta tonight to celebrate.

     

    Please, tell me about tomorrow, how will it be, the race? One of your contenders is not there with you and so tell me, front row, first corner, not easy to manage, so how will it be, your race tomorrow?

    LH: Obviously it depends on the weather. I heard it’s going to be dry tomorrow, so hopefully it’s a normal Italian beautiful day. It’s going to be tough potentially with the temperatures. It’s great to see that Red Bull are up there, they obviously did a fantastic job. I have not seen the list of where everyone is, but honestly, I came across the line and I didn’t know if I had it, but it felt like a good lap. But, I can’t believe it – 69. I can’t believe it; I’m so grateful. God bless you guys.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Lewis Hamilton, record breaking 69th Formula One pole position and less spoken about but also significant, all-time record polesitter here at the Italian Grand Prix? Congratulations Lewis, you punched the air as you crossed the line after a qualifying lap, so I guess it’s significant, it clearly means a lot to you for a lot of reasons. And I guess every record up to now is something where you have been chasing and from now on it’s up to the others to catch you.

    LH: Yeah, it’s very hard to find the word to explain how I feel, I’m trying to figure it all out right this second. These guys definitely made me work for it today, which I’m grateful for. The weather has been incredibly tricky for us all. Yeah, I can’t believe that so much time has passed, so many great experiences, a lot of difficult times. But what a day. To come here in this beautiful country and with this usually English weather and to be massively challenged. It was very difficult to see out there; it was very difficult to see the lines and very easy to make mistakes, as always in the rain. The second to last lap was OK at the beginning and then I backed out of it, hoping I’d get one more lap and there’s a lot of pressure for that last lap. There could have been a red flag, a yellow flag or something like that, so a lot to risk, but I gave it everything. It probably won’t sink in for a long time. I’ve got to say a big thank you to my team for making it all possible, the guys back at the factory for continuing to support me and for Mercedes, we’ve got a lot of the sponsors here from Petronas and from Mercedes Benz, who have been sponsoring me for a long, long time and supporting me and being right behind. So I’m grateful for that. And to my family, hi! Thank you so much for all the support. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years but I’m really grateful for all the support. And also for the fans. I enjoyed chatting with them just before qualifying, or during the break, and I’m grateful to FOM for allowing us to do that because it’s usually not allowed. But yeah, an epic day and truly blessed.

     

    Very well done. Max, great performance today, you had provisional pole right up until the last car crossed the line – Lewis. Your feelings on how you went today and where do you believe you’ll start the grand prix tomorrow and what do you think you can do from there?

    MV: Yeah, I think start 15th. That’s what they told me, we’ll see tomorrow. It was quite a good qualifying I think. Everything was working well. Just in Q3 I was maybe not as happy as I was in Q1 and Q2, just sliding around a bit more and just couldn’t get the grip, especially in the last sector. But my final lap was pretty OK and I head I was on pole and my engineer was telling me all the sector times and I said “stop, stop, just tell me what Lewis is doing” because he was the one to beat. He said “he’s going purple” and I was like, well, to be second here with the car, the whole package we have I think we did a very good job and it was nice again to drive in the wet.

     

    Daniel, it was intermediates in Q1 and Q2 but the order really changed about in Q3 moving onto the wet tyres. Ferrari fell away at that point. Can you put into words for us what was different about Q3 from Q1 and Q2 and thoughts about your own performance?

    DR: Yeah, Q1 and Q2 were nowhere. If you heard, I don’t know, but on my radio I wasn’t too impressed, just with the level of grip. We were struggling with everything and we were just slow. It just felt like the tyres were… as if we didn’t have blankets on them or something. So it was just cold and slippery. We got into Q3 so we weren’t nowhere, but for normally our competitiveness in the wet, certainly struggling and then Q3 we went out on the extremes and to be honest already on the out lap I had a lot more grip than I had in Q1 or in Q2. I think there’s something there, whether we learnt it, or we’ll have a look, but it was a different car in Q3 so… I think we topped it early on in that session, in Q3, and then obviously Max came through Lewis and we had a charge at the end. It was close – not Lewis’ lap at the end, I mean not Lewis’ lap at the end, but close with Max behind, and I think with Lance behind, all within a few tenths. It was alright in the end, good recovery, nice to be up here on a Saturday. We’ll obviously fall away back a bit tomorrow. I think 18th is where I’ll start. If I didn’t put in a good Q3, I probably would start 19th, so we’re good, we’re alright. Yeah, Q3 was a saviour!

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, many, many congratulations on a historic pole position. They say it’s not the destination it’s the journey: what has this journey been like as you continue to light the stat-book up with all the milestones that you have had this year.

    LH: Well, firstly, I just actually wanted to recognise and acknowledge these two here who’ve done a fantastic job today which really shows their ability and while they perhaps don’t have the right package currently, hopefully in the future they do, because we need to see these guys up here with us more, battling. They should be in the fight with us. With Ferrari and Mercedes. So, fingers crossed. They’ve clearly shown today the capabilities.

    I’ve read that some people say it’s not about the journey or where you begin, it’s about the finish. I tend to think it’s tends to be more important about the beginning and the middle and not necessarily where you’re going, so yeah, about the journey. I think there’s been so much learnt over these years. So much growing, as there will continue to be growing to do. Today was a real challenge with the break. You’re in the zone for a second and then you get out of the car, you have 15 minutes to chill, then you get ready, get in the car, then you have to get back out, it was a real challenge to try to continuously try to keep your mind, not drained of energy while being in the zone but trying to step out of it and step back into. After playing the Playstation I was kind of a bit nervous whether or not I still was in the zone! But I was grateful when I got back out. Racing in the rain is… being in the wet in these cars is as great as its been in the other cars that we’ve had – but it’s such a challenge and this is such an epic circuit because unlike the new circuits the grip is often off-line – which is a normal characteristic of an older circuit, and so you get to utilise that. So, going out, finding where the grip is, as opposed to a new surface – like the straight for example – which a lot of the new tracks have, makes it a lot more fun. So, I really, really enjoyed it.

     

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Gentleman, at some phases it seemed quite difficult to choose which tyre to be on. Could you explain what was the difference in behaviour and were you satisfied with the Intermediate and the Wet tyre – and which parts of the track were particularly critical?

    MV: I think the whole year already, the Inter, compared to the years before when I was driving, I think it’s really difficult. Really hard to switch on. Last year, for example, all the time when we went to an Inter, you felt quite comfortable. The tyre was working, it was quite a soft tyre. And now it just feels very hard. Locking a lot, so you just can’t create any temperature in the tyres because you’re sliding around everywhere and that’s why it was very tricky. It was actually, for my feeling, dry enough for an Intermediate but still the Wets were faster: they were a bit softer, creating a bit better temperature so you can attack the brakes better. That was very difficult in Q1. Then in Q2 at one point the Inters became a bit better because it was quite dry. Then in Q3 it started raining again quite a bit, so straight away we said, let’s go back to the extremes, and that was definitely the right choice.

     

    And Lewis, which were the trickiest parts of the circuit, in these conditions today? And also, the pit straight was a bit dicey at the very beginning.

    LH: Yeah, the pit straight was always, being that it’s a new surface, the water really stays on it. It doesn’t disappear. So, the first part, definitely, picking up the braking zone into Turn One. And then probably out of Turn Two, traction’s terrible there. And then you get to the mid-section which is fun and it’s not too bad. I would say Ascari was challenging, particularly the exit. Definitely… probably the most challenging part.

     

    DR: It should have been Inters, I felt, with the level of water. I don’t know if it was Q1 or Q2 – it’s a long day – but the point where we went off extremes to Inters, I was sure the Inter would just be a lot more grip, but it just felt like it never really switched on. Just a very cold feeling and really low grip. I think the problem is then, because you can’t get into the tyre, because you’re sliding around and can’t really attack it, then it’s not really gaining temperature – so, unless it was drying a lot it was hard to get the Inter to work. At least that’s what we found today. It was a surprise, for sure, I thought the Inter would have been stronger in those conditions.

     

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) Daniel, when you took the TV camera into the Mercedes garage, did you spot anything interesting on the car?

    DR: Yeah, a lot. I drew up a few things. There’s this gap that’s about 5.6mm below the rear end plate and that’s key. So I definitely saw a lot. These guys were busy playing Playstation, I think! I was just playing around, trying to entertain the fans. I know Lewis touched on it, but, yeah, it was very nice of them to stay out in the rain today and I’m glad that we got it done. At least the wait was worthwhile.

     

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) To questions for Lewis. One, did you have the same feeling about the Intermediates as the two guys either side of you, and secondly, can you talk a little bit more about the balance between it being fun to drive in the wet and all the challenges that come from driving in the wet and how much fun is that car of yours in those conditions – and how much of the character of the car comes through still in the wet?

    LH: The Inters, definitely it was a problem for everyone. I think we went out of them and… yeah… people are probably wondering what it means when you’re in the window and everything like that but it’s all about temperature, obviously and basically, when you’re below the temperature they’re just rock solid and so when you turn in they’re just sliding and they’re not working with the asphalt. Then, if you’re lucky, and it’s a little bit drier… we were basically just on the crossover and then a lot more rain came down, I think for Q3, so we really had to come in, it made no sense being out on that tyre. We just couldn’t go fast enough to generate enough heat and it because very, very tricky. Easy to spin off. And when you got back on the extremes, massive difference, a lot more grip, a lot more traction, tyres were working, clearing the water better. But, y’know, in Formual One you generally set the car up for the dry. Unless you know it’s a wet weekend where you can then focus on a softer set-up, here in the dry it’s more a stiffer setup you would go for – so when you get to the wet, you’re driving a stiff car and there’s not a lot of give, the flexibility in the car is very little. It definitely makes it a little trickier. But then it means it’s more like a… I don’t want to say a bull, because of these guys, but yeah, it’s a lot harder to tame it, because it’s so much more pitchy, and snappy, and then finding the groove, finding the dry patches, how quickly you get on power, it’s easy to go too deep into a corner and then you’ve got these long straights and you don’t get the exit onto those long straights. It was an amazing challenge and one that I love. And I know these guys enjoy it too.

     

    Q: (Inaudible) Lewis, congratulations, could you please describe what it means to you to have a record that has been held Michael for a very very long time?

    LH: I wish I was better with words, to be honest. I wish I had something really… something iconic to say but… I heard that it’s only switched hands a couple of times in the fifty years or whatever it is – sixty years or whatever. It’s just, again, a bit like at the last race, just growing up, watching this sport as we all have and witnessing greatness in other individuals such as Michael and just dreaming of one day doing what he’s doing or they’re doing and then actually to be there many years later. We are… and I am living proof that dreams are something that can come true so I think it’s really cool for young kids to be watching today because it’s probably hard to imagine it but I was once going there, in their position and dreaming of doing what I’m doing today which they perhaps are and very proud for what we, as a family, have achieved and it’s crazy. If I stopped now… but you know Vettel’s not far behind so I’ve got to keep going, I’ve got to keep extending it otherwise he might catch it and so I’ll stick around for a while and try to make life hell for him.

     

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Gents, were you surprised that nothing was done for about two hours to clear the standing water from the track?

    LH: What could they have done?

     

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) The blower didn’t go out until two hours…

    LH: It was still raining so it wouldn’t have made any… by the time the blower would have gone a hundred meters the water would have been back where it was. Maybe we could have gone out and if all us cars were out there maybe we could have cleaned a bit of a line. But we saw Grosjean go off so it was tricky.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To all of you: I don’t want to throw water on your enthusiasm for this wonderful qualifying by projecting the race tomorrow. Probably dry conditions; what do you project for the race, all of you, considering the unusual grid; Stroll second, Ocon third, Ferrari in the back, Kimi fifth, Sebastian sixth?

    LH: I think it’s… well we will see. Hopefully it’s dry but obviously today would have cleaned the track so tomorrow is going to be green and obviously depending on the temperatures it’s going to make a difference but yeah, I’ve only just remembered so unfortunate for these guys because they did such a great job, it would have been awesome to have kept them there and had them more of a buffer to the guys behind but it’s great to see the youngsters… did you say Ocon and Stroll? Wow, that’s awesome. All these young kids coming through, keep me on my toes. I think it’s great because I know Ocon and Lance have also been driving so well this year and to come into a series when the cars have changed, a lot more physical than they had before, much more of a challenge, really thrown in at the deep end, they’ve done a great job, so to come to this awesome circuit and be where they are shows great promise for their futures.

    MV: We’ll see tomorrow. No but it’s not a great starting position but I think in terms of pace we can definitely get into the points but it’s a bit of a shame for me that Williams and Force India, they start that far up so that’s why I think they will gain quite a bit of time on us in the first three laps but we will try our best and we’ll see where it ends up.

    DR: Aaaah, probably challenge Lewis for the win!

     

    Q: (Frank Woestenburg – De Telegraaf) Max, after the red flag it took quite a long time before the session was restarted. Do you think it took too long and that maybe… and do you think the people who make the decisions are maybe too conservative?

    MV: To be honest, we did qualifying so I’m happy that we did it today instead of tomorrow, otherwise we wouldn’t be sitting here, I think.

     

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Just a general question to all three: of course it’s only hypothetical but in a similar situation in future, would it be practical to allow everybody to go to wet set-up for qualifying, even if we knew the race was dry, just to get it out there? Would it make any difference anyway and could you do it that quickly, could you convert the cars?

    DR: I think it would take quite a long time. Yeah, I don’t know. It would help with grip, I don’t know how much it would help with aquaplaning and stuff. Yeah, for the amount of time and effort it would take it’s probably not worth the actual reward in my opinion.

    LH: I think it would be kind of neat to be able to change the set-up, as long as you get… on Sunday, you can’t change the set-up for Sunday if it’s going to be dry for example but it would be kind of neat, it would put in a little bit more of spice in the dynamics. Adding downforce would have also helped today, switched on the intermediate, for example maybe.

     

    Q: (Natalya Panteleeva – Automotorgr.ru) Daniel, you said that you have finished with your tradition with shoey…

    MV: He has a lot of tradition. You don’t know Dan yet.

     

    Q: (Natalya Panteleeva – Automotorgr.ru) … but when you become World Champion, will you carry on the tradition to have a drink from your shoe or will be invent something new?

    LH: Like eat your socks!

    DR: I don’t know. We’ll see. Hopefully I’m not old by then. If I am old by then, maybe I’ll also think drinking out of my shoe is disgusting.

    LH: How old are you now?

    DR: 28.

    LH: I thought you were at least 35.

    DR: I don’t know. To be honest, it’s a good question but I haven’t thought about anything like that. Even when I did the shoey I didn’t expect it to become a bit of a thing.

    LH: You did.

    DR: I didn’t really, it wasn’t… You’ve still yet to do one so… We’ll see, hopefully I’ll get to cross that bridge one day, one day soon and maybe, maybe. Thanks for having faith.