Tag: mclaren

Rosberg Fastest in Truncated 3rd Free Practice for Canadian Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg took the honor for the fastest time in a truncated 3rd free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix.

With two red flags in the session Nico Rosberg squeezed in his fastest lap of the session on the option tyres after the first red flag which was caused by Sauber’s Felipe Nasr.

Nasr lost the back of the car after weaving down the back straight to try and put some heat into his tyres. The rear of the car stepped out and after correcting it he went straight on into the wall. The session was restarted with 12 minutes remaining. A short while later with just 7 minutes left in the session, McLaren’s Jenson Button stopped on the track at the exit of Turn 7. Before stopping on the track, Button was heard on the radio telling his team that something was wrong. “Massive loss of power, like the ERS isn’t working,” said Button. “I think we’ve got a bigger problem. I’ll stop the car.” The yellow flags were initially brought out and a few seconds later the red flag came out. The track marshals could not recover the car in time and the clock ran down to the end of the session.

When the session was restarted with after the first red flag the drivers headed out immediately and started their qualifying simulations. Rosberg set a time of 1:15.660 which was 0.573s faster than 2nd fastest man, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen who managed a 1:16.233. Romain Grosjean was 3rd fastest for Lotus with a 1:16.772. Valtteri Bottas was 4th fastest for Williams setting a 1:16.914, 1.254s off Rosberg’s time. Sergio Perez in the Force India was 5th fastest.

Finishing 6th fastest was Daniil Kvyat for Red Bull ahead of Felipe Massa in 7th. Sebastian Vettel, who was on a timed lap at the time Button stopped on track, could not complete his lap and had to settle for 8th fastest. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz finished 9th ahead of Pastor Maldonado in the second Lotus in 10th.

Marcus Ericsson, Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo finished 11th. 12th, and 13 respectively with Felipe Nasr setting the 14th fastest time before crashing out. Button ended his session in 15th with Max Verstappen in 16th.

Will Stevens finished higher up that usual for Manor in 17th with Fernando Alonso in 18th. Alonso had to undergo an engine change before the session had begun and sat out most of the session while the McLaren mechanics worked on his car. Roberto Merhi was 19th fastest.

Lewis Hamilton seemed to struggle in the session and was unable to set a representative time in the session. He had some concerns with brake balance earlier in the session and didnt seem to get on top of the issue. He was also caught out by the two red flags when setting timed laps.

With the session being a mixed bag it is a little difficult to gauge absolute pace of all the runners. We will only get a sense for it in qualifying.

Pos	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:15.660s	–	17
2	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:16.233s	+0.573s	20
3	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:16.772s	+1.112s	14
4	Valtteri Bottas	Willia:s	1:16.914s	+1.254s	17
5	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:16.993s	+1.333s	16
6	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:17.021s	+1.361s	19
7	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:17.122s	+1.462s	18
8	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:17.197s	+1.537s	18
9	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:17.396s	+1.736s	25
10	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:17.573s	+1.913s	12
11	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:17.578s	+1.918s	21
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:17.876s	+2.216s	14
13	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:17.892s	+2.232s	18
14	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:18.446s	+2.786s	12
15	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:18.473s	+2.813s	18
16	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:18.492s	+2.832s	18
17	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:19.822s	+4.162s	16
18	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:19.874s	+4.214s	3
19	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:20.231s	+4.571s	16
20	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:21.492s	+5.832s	9

June 6, 2015

Hamilton Quickest Then Crashes in Rain Hit Second Practice in Canada

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished on top of the time sheets in Free Practice 2 on Friday for the Canadian Grand Prix before crashing into the T10 hairpin tyre wall.

The session was truncated after rain started to fall with just a little under an hour into the session. With the threat of rain over the circuit, drivers headed out immediately when the session began. Both Ferrari drivers headed out immediately on the super soft(option) tyres and set the early pace in the session. After starting on the soft tyres(prime) the Mercedes pair then bolted on a set of the options where Lewis Hamilton set a time of 1:15.988 to go fastest. After setting the early pace in the session Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel ended his session in P2 0.316s off Hamilton’s pace with a 1:16.304. Kimi Raikkonen finished the session in P3 with Nico Rosberg in P4, half a second off the pace.

Long runs followed right after the timed laps where the pace between Mercedes and Ferrari looked very close. The new upgrades to the Ferrari engine seems to have brought them slightly closer to Mercedes.

With just a little under an hour in the session the rain started falling at the track. The drivers headed immediately into the pits and it seemed like that was the end of the action for the day. After a short break, Mercedes were the first to pull the trigger and sent their drivers out on intermediate tyres just as the rain started to fall a bit heavier. Hamilton was the first one out and at the Turn 10 hairpin aquaplaned and went straight on into the tyre barrier. The session was red flagged to recover Hamilton’s car.

The track remained quiet until the end of the session as none of the driver were prepared to risk it out on the wet track.

Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado ended his session 5th fastest with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in 6th. Romain Grosjean in the other Lotus was 7th fastest with a 1::16.864. Felipe Massa finished in 8th just a little over a second off the pace.

Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat had an early end to his session after suffering brake problems. His best time of 1:17.092 earned him 9th fastest for the session with team mate Daniel Ricciardo in 10th.

After heading out on the options early on in the session, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg ended up in P11 ahead of Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson in P12.

Carlos Sainz ended his session in 13th for Toro Rosso but not before complaining about lack of grip from his tyres during the session. Sergio Perez managed P14 with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso finishing 15th fastest.

Max Verstappen in the other Toro Rosso ended his session 1.669s off the pace in 16th with a best time of 1:17.657. Felipe Nasr was 17th fastest ahead of Jenson Button in 18th.

The two Manor cars of Merhi and Stevens finished 19th and 20th respectively.

Pos	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:15.988	–	22
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:16.304	0.316s	19
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:16.310	0.322s	20
4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:16.440	0.452s	22
5	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:16.600	0.612s	15
6	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:16.849	0.861s	18
7	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:16.864	0.876s	15
8	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:17.041	1.053s	19
9	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:17.092	1.104s	10
10	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:17.111	1.123s	16
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:17.120	1.132s	15
12	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:17.261	1.273s	17
13	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1m17.318s	1.330s	23
14	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:17.367	1.379s	20
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren/Honda	1:17.627	1.639s	21
16	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:17.657	1.669s	23
17	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:17.751	1.763s	21
18	Jenson Button	McLaren/Honda	1:18.135	2.147s	20
19	Roberto Merhi	Marussia	1:19.531	3.543s	15
20	Will Stevens	Marussia	1:19.734	3.746s	13

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team

June 5, 2015

Canadian GP memories: Jenson Button Wins Chaotic 2011 Canadian GP

Who can forget the 2011 Canadian GP? The race was heavily affected by rain and was chosen by Formula One fans as one of the most iconic moments in F1 in the official Formula One website’s 65 Years of F1 celebrations. Jenson Button came from 7th on the grid to win the Canadian GP saying it was “possibly my best win”. And we agree! It was a phenomenal race filled with all the unpredictable action and thrills F1 fans love to see.

June 5, 2015
F1 2015: GP Preview – Classic Canada

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 3, 2015
F1 2015: Monaco GP Review – Mercedes Bungle Monaco

To be perplexed is to be completely baffled or mystified as to what has happened. Suffice it to say that Mercedes ensured that entire Formula 1 fraternity was left entirely stunned.

Lewis Hamilton secured his first ever pole position around the famous streets and easily led his teammate from the starting grid as the red lights extinguished. The race settled quickly and the seventy-eight laps of the Monaco grand prix appeared to be nothing more than a formality as yet another victory beckoned for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

The Brit had a more than comfortable lead ahead of Nico Rosberg and was cruising towards the chequered flag. As the grand prix drew towards its conclusion Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen clipped the back of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus and ploughed headfirst into the turn one barrier. The Toro Rosso teenager was given a five place grid penalty at the next round for causing a collision. It first brought out the safety-car and prompted a serious malfunction of logic on the Mercedes pitwall.

Hamilton was called into the pitlane for a new set of supersoft tyres and emerged back on track behind Rosberg and Vettel. The fresher tyres on Hamilton’s car were negated by the notoriously narrow Monaco circuit as the championship leader went from assured victory to third.

The reasoning behind the stop remains remarkably vague. As neither Rosberg nor Vettel, in third, pitted for new tyres there was nothing to cover from Hamilton’s perspective who held a nearly 21 second lead. It was a peculiar call that saw a rightly morose Hamilton on the makeshift podium. An immediate debrief within the team revealed a miscalculation of the gap between Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel.

Call it a stroke of luck but there is much to be said for being in the right place as Nico Rosberg and his side of the Mercedes garage found out. A third consecutive Monaco victory takes Rosberg into elite company and only ten points off the championship lead.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel shadowed Rosberg for most of the afternoon and reaped the benefits of Mercedes mistake by securing second overall whilst holding off Hamilton. Red Bull enjoyed its best outing of the season with a fourth and fifth place finish for Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. Kimi Raikkonen paid for a lacklustre qualifying performance and an inability to overtake with sixth place on the day.

It was a good weekend all-round for Sergio Perez who finished seventh overall in what is effectively a 2014 Force India. After six races McLaren opened their points account with Jenson Button’s eighth place finish. It’s a welcome reward for the team as Fernando Alonso was once again sidelined, this time with a gearbox issue. Sauber’s Felipe Nasr and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten.

A major talking point of the weekend was the supersoft and soft compound tyres that Pirelli rolled out for the Monaco grand prix. A pronounced lack of grip and an inability to get enough heat into the tyres was a problem up and down the pitlane.

Of late there have been rumblings that additional tyre suppliers may be brought into the equation. Pirelli, along with the likes of Michelin, will have to bid in 2017 to be the official tyre supplier of Formula 1. Several drivers confirmed that the supersoft tyre could easily do half of the Monaco grand prix and the soft, yellow-walled compound, the entire race distance. While Pirelli are following instructions as to the make-up of the compounds it certainly is not conducive to entertaining racing Formula 1 so badly seeks.

Flashback two years ago when Pirelli’s supersoft tyre faced different criticism for all but falling apart after a handful of laps. In 2013, the tyres had to be coddled and cajoled, sometimes to the extreme, but even that produced a better show than the damp squib of a one-stop race with nearly indestructible tyres.

Ultimately, a race that was rather dull was infused with a dramatic plot twist that no one saw coming. While Lewis Hamilton is allowed his interlude of woe-is-me that is all it’s likely to be. The 2015 version of Hamilton is, mentally, much stronger than at any other stage of his career and by the time Canada rolls around will have consigned the incident to the history books.

May 25, 2015
First Points Finish for McLaren for 2015

With Jenson Button finishing the Monaco Grand Prix in 8th position, the McLaren F1 team together with engine partner Honda have picked up their first points of the 2015 season.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier has called it “a hugely positive step for the whole team” but he remains cautiously optimistic and says that there is still lots of progress to be made.

“Today, thanks to Jenson’s eighth place, our renewed McLaren-Honda partnership was rewarded with its first world championship points – a result that underlines that steady improvement,” said Boullier.

“Okay, we’ve now squirrelled away four world championship points, but, although Jenson drove very well, we won’t waste time celebrating that milestone,” he continued.

“Yes, it’s encouraging, but our ambitions run to far greater heights than eighth places. And we’ll achieve them, believe me.”

Button said that he quite enjoyed the race today, although it was very tough physically, it was enjoyable out there for him. He was also very happy that he was able to secure McLaren’s first points of the season.

“It’s been a positive day for us. We were hoping to score a point today, and we scored four. I certainly didn’t expect to finish eighth,” commented Button after the race

“At the start I lost a position to Nico [Hulkenberg], but got it back by going around the outside of him at Turn Three on the first lap, which was good fun. Once I got past Pastor [Maldonado], my race was basically about turning quali lap after quali lap: it was flat-out.

“That was tough – in fact it was pretty physical out there – but I really enjoyed it.

“I’m really happy for the team – we’ve worked hard to get into this position, and they deserve this. We have work to do, but this is a hugely positive step for us.”

Photo by courtesy Pirelli

May 24, 2015
F1 2015: Monaco GP Qualifying Report – Hamilton On Pole

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton secured pole position ahead of his teammate Nico Rosberg for Sunday’s Monaco grand prix.

The Mercedes pairing were well clear of the third placed Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel as they locked out the front row of the starting grid. Lewis Hamilton snapped up his first pole position start around the Monte Carlo streets with a three tenth margin over his Monaco-specialist teammate Rosberg. The German, who has won on the last two visits to the Principality, took to the escape road at turn one as he attempted to start his final run in the third part of the qualifying session.

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished best of the rest and will share the second row of the grid with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Daniil Kvyat wrapped up fifth with Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari round out the top six. Force India’s Sergio Perez delivered the performance of the qualifying hour as he set the seventh fastest time in a season which has so far been a struggle for the Indian-owned team.

Carlos Sainz out-qualified his teammate in eighth while Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado will line up ninth ahead of Max Verstappen. Romain Grosjean set the eleventh quickest time but a five place grid penalty for a new gearbox means he will start the race from 16th. It promotes McLaren’s Jenson Button to eleventh ahead of the other Force India of Nico Hulkenberg.

The biggest disappointment of the qualifying session was Fernando Alonso’s inability to show any of McLaren’s improvements as he ground to a halt in the first part of the qualifying hour. Elsewhere, Williams endured a woeful afternoon which will see Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas start the race in 13th and 17th respectively.

May 23, 2015
Hamilton doubles up on the dominance in Monaco practice

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton served up a double dose of dominance in today’s free practice sessions ahead of qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Hamilton set the pace early on in the first practice session at Monaco with an impressive run, finishing the session 0.149 seconds quicker than – and outshone only by – Toro Rosso rookie Max Verstappen, the clear star of the FP1 show.

Verstappen, who is not even old enough to rent a car – let alone drive one unsupervised on public roads, put in a magnificent performance. Young Max, son of former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen, had never raced around the tight, twisty and very unforgiving street circuit before and team principal Franz Tost was mightily impressed.

“He went out in the morning and from run to run he improved his lap time without making any mistake. No locking, nothing. His car control and his feedback during the run was really extraordinary,” he said.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner was just as impressed. “I thought it was super. For a guy that can’t rent a hire car yet, it’s enormously impressive, at 17 years of age.

“I think the two Toro Rosso drivers actually have done a wonderful job this year,” he added. “I think it’s one of the positive stories in Formula One at the moment, those two young rookies that Red Bull have given a chance.

“They’re here on merit and it shows that the junior programme is most definitely working.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo placed his Red Bull in third position ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Spanish F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr in the second Toro Rosso.

Pastor Maldonado ended the session in sixth place for Lotus, ahead of Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Nico Rosberg and Williams’s Felipe Massa rounded out the top 10, just ahead of the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

The track was slippery, starting off a little wet from overnight rain and several drivers had incidents in which their cars sustained damage and everyone struggled with grip due to not being able to generate enough heat in their tyres.

Hamilton seemed dominant throughout though and continued FP2 right where he left off after FP1. The Mercedes driver seemed to be on his own planet as the rain stopped play for much of the second practice session. He finished 0.74 seconds faster than team mate Nico Rosberg.

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were third and fourth in their Ferraris, ahead of Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat.

After only about 20 minutes of dry running, Roberto Merhi lost control under braking while heading into the harbour chicane and crashing into the barriers bringing out the red flag. Before the session could be restarted, the rain flushed out any ideas of running and soaked the circuit.

A few drivers did decide to head back out at the very end of the session, including a few drivers trying out Pirelli’s extreme wet tyres.

Nico Rosberg finished the session down in ninth place but Verstappen continued to impress, despite only just missing out on the sixth place on the timesheets being beaten to the position by his team mate Carlos Sainz Jr this time around.

McLaren seemed to be doing just a tad better, too – with Fernando Alonso, who is optimistic about being able to challenge for points this weekend, finishing in 7th place. Team mate Jenson Button finished 15th for the session.

There will be no practice sessions tomorrow. Please join us on Twitter @F1_Madness on Saturday morning for live coverage and chat during the third practice session, as well as qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix!

Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG F1

May 21, 2015
Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2015: Wednesday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber)

Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)

Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

Jenson BUTTON (McLAREN)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lewis, we have to start with you. Congratulations on your new contract. Why is Mercedes the right choice for you for the next few years?

Lewis HAMILTON: Well, hi, everyone. It’s the first time I’ve seen so many people in the room for a long time. Well, I mean, I’ve been with Mercedes a long, long time, they were a part of getting me to Formula One. When I signed in, what was it – ’97 – at McLaren-Mercedes, they were hugely influential in guiding me to Formula One and I’ve only ever driven for Mercedes, so it was natural to want to continue with them. Plus, obviously I joined this team and we’ve had amazing success. I’m very, very happy with the package and the group of people that I have within this team. So it was a very easy decision to make and it’s also great that the team wanted to continue working with me.

This is your ninth Monaco Grand Prix. You were the winner back in 2008, your first championship-winning season. Can you put into words what this event means to you?

LH: It’s a great race. It’s great fun. It’s another race. Naturally, it’s special for everyone. But it’s Monaco, I live here, it’s one of my favourite places in the world to go. The track is incredible. It’s the one track we have which is special on another level and it generally always turns our to be one of the most amazing weekends of the year. Not only for us but for people who get to come and enjoy the weekend.

OK, thank you for that. Jenson, coming to you, you’ve raced here I think 14 of the last 16 years – you’ve been here 16 years but you’ve raced 14 times – winner in ’09. Is the Monaco win still the most important one on your CV?

Jenson BUTTON: Good afternoon everyone. The win? Probably not so much. I think Monaco, as we all know, it’s very difficult to overtake [here]. So Saturday is probably more important than Sunday. Probably the most important pole position I’ve ever had, yeah, and that really made my weekend.

You expressed a few concerns about the car during the Spanish Grand Prix last time out. How have those been resolved and what sort of shape does McLaren-Honda present itself here in Monaco this weekend?

JB: Yeah, as you might have noticed, I was very outspoken. When emotions are running high you always exaggerate things. It was a tough race for me in Barcelona. It was good to have the test three days later, also in Barcelona, to really put everything right. The car felt much nice to drive, much more consistent, especially on the long-run pace. We also had some new parts to test for this season, but also specifically for here. It was a good test. So, really end of the test, happy and you could see how far we have come since February, as a whole team but especially Honda and the Japanese side of the team. There was so much more confidence within and really happy to complete the amount of laps we did but also to do a lot of very useful work. It was a really good day and hopefully we can carry that through to this weekend.

Thank you for that. Marcus, you finished 11^th here last year. Obviously you’ve switched teams since then. How do you think the Sauber will go this weekend?

Marcus ERICSSON: I think we have a good base to work from. I usually go well on street tracks as well, so I’m looking forward to this one. Like you say last year I had a really good race here, finishing 11^th. So hopefully I can finish a couple of places higher and get back in the points. I think that’s the main aim for us.

Qualifying for you started well this season but it’s not been so strong since China. What’s the reason for that and how do you feel about qualifying here in Monaco with all the walls and the barriers?

ME: Yeah, we’ve been struggling a little bit to get the maximum out on new tyres, whereas in the races we’ve been better. We’ve been working, I think especially in the test in Barcelona, we did some work on one-lap pace and we found some good improvements, so hopefully we can bring that here. Obviously this is very important to have the one-lap pace but I’m feeling confident and hopefully we can be back fighting for points again on Sunday.

Thank you for that. Valtteri, perhaps surprisingly you’ve never been in the points or even in Q3 here in Monaco, so is this year that you crack the streets of Monte Carlo?

Valtteri BOTTAS: I really hope so. The first year obviously was tough. We didn’t have that easy a car around here and not much space to fight for the points really. Last year was unlucky with engine failure but, yeah, with a normal race we should be able to get some points and I really hope they will be good points as well.

Well, Lewis has done his but there’s been a lot of speculation about your future. What’s the right place for Valtteri Bottas going forward?

VB: Well, that’s too early to say. At the moment I am completely focusing on getting the best results at this moment, as a team, working, with the best I can do to go forward. It’s too early to say, that’s all I can do.

Thank you. Romain, you’ve been in the points in the last three grands prix, getting back into the groove. Do you feel there’s scope to challenge Williams?

Romain GROSJEAN: Well, it’s one of the tracks where you always… you don’t know what’s going to happen, how the car is going to work. As everyone says, qualifying is the key around here. Sometimes there is a surprise – I don’t even remember… I went from P19 to P8 last year, after a first-lap puncture. You always have to do your best around the track and avoid any contact with the wall.

Tell us about your personal relationship with this track, because you won pole in GP2 but you’ve had mixed fortunes in a Formula One car. How do feel about this place?

RG: Yeah, I’ve been winning, I’ve been fast, sometimes too fast for to go our of the race… especially in 2013 when I had the confidence back with my and I was pushing hard. I think I crashed three times in free practice – that was far too much. But it’s all about confidence and finding the limit with the car. There are a few laps where you can really enjoy, which are the qualifying laps, where you take everything you have in the car and try to go around, which is a nice feeling and then when you’re leading the race from pole your life is a bit easier than on other tracks.

Coming to you Kimi, you’re another former winner of the Monaco Grand Prix. Is Monaco a race where Ferrari can hope to challenge Mercedes, given the nature of the circuit but particularly the tyres that are on offer this weekend?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It’s hard to say, obviously. We have go into the weekend and see how it goes tomorrow and go from there. But I expect us to be as good as we’ve been this year at least and then obviously whatever happens over the weekends we will see. But I think it’s a pretty normal race weekend for us, even though it’s always a special place.

Tell us your assessment of Ferrari’s latest updates, why you made the decisions you did in Spain? Obviously you’ve spoken a bit about that already but having reflected on that since Spain, what do you expect here and going forward?

KR: Obviously we think that they are good parts; otherwise they would not be on the car at all. No, there were certain things we wanted to learn and I was prepared to take the chance and work for the long future for all of us. I think we learned things and I’m sure that we will get them working 100 per cent in the future. Maybe here I think they should be fine. You know, every circuit, every condition is different. It was a bit of a tricky weekend for us but I’m sure we’ll be better here and in upcoming races. Like I said, it wasn’t ideal for us but the aim is to improve. We have come still a long way from last year and we want to improve and improve and we have to keep working.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) Lewis, I’m sure you looked at all options but you also said it was an easy decision to stay at Mercedes. So how much did you look at other options besides Mercedes?

LH: I didn’t really at all. I said to Mercedes from the get-go that I wasn’t planning to speak to anyone and I believe that they did the same.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Two questions for Lewis. Lewis, was there ever any doubt in your mind that you would not re-sign for Mercedes – because talks have been going on now obviously since the second half of last year. And, secondly, you’ll be 33 – sorry to mention that – come the expiry of this contract. Do you feel there’s another contract in you beyond that? Again, either with Mercedes or even potentially with another team?

LH: There was never any doubt, honestly. I was led to believe that the team wanted to continue with me and naturally with the success we’ve had and the relationship we have, it felt certain. That’s why I never, ever felt like a) I’ve got to sign on the dotted line now – kind of took my time and didn’t feel like I ever had to… kind of… I wasn’t being challenged elsewhere by another driver so… erm… which was a good thing. What was the next one?

You’ll be 33 at the end of the contract, have you got another one in you?

LH: That’s not too… that’s pretty young still, hopefully, which I’m grateful for. So yes, definitely. I definitely see me continuing past that.

Q: (Chris Medland – F1i.com) Question for Romain. Do you believe Lotus has the sufficient resources in terms of development to move up the top ten, fighting Red Bull and perhaps Williams?

RG: I think we are fighting Red Bull at the minute. We’ve been chasing them in Bahrain, we were probably as quick as them, if not quicker in Barcelona so it’s pretty nice. The next target will be to try to close the gap with Williams but we need to find some performance in the car to do so. So, y’know, I think we’ve got a lot of ideas in the pipeline and a lot of good people at the factory. It’s just a question of bringing the parts to the track.

Q: (Stuart Codling – F1 Racing) A question for Jenson. Autosport magazine has just launched a global fan survey today with the hashtag #fanfirstf1. Do you think Formula One fans deserve a greater say in the sport’s future – given that the Strategy Group doesn’t seem to be doing a particularly good job of it at the moment?

JB: I don’t know how to answer that now you’ve added that bit on at the end! But yes, I think the fans are very important, their opinions, and that’s exactly why the GPDA has a global fan survey which will be announced tomorrow at 1730 – but you knew that already. No, I think it’s massively important because we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fans. This is a sport that needs fans, we have millions of fans around the world and it’s always interesting to have their opinion. To see where they think the sport it, where they think the sport can go. Obviously we all have our own ideas, which is great, and I think the sport is in a good place right now – but there’s always room for improvement – as there is in any sport, especially a sport that’s always changing like Formula One in terms of technology and what have you. So, I think it’s really important, it’s going to be interesting to see how it goes.

Q: (Vladimir Rogovets – Sb Belarus) I have two questions for all drivers. Last time we talk a lot about the future changes in Formula One. For example, the ban of radio communication between the drivers and the teams. First question: your opinion about this ban. Second question: do you like to be not modern in the race without radio communication?

Kimi why don’t you answer the first one first about the radio ban. Has it made any difference to you at all?

KR: No. For me not – but overall I think it’s not such a big deal to anybody but obviously taking the radio out completely would change a lot and probably in the beginning we wouldn’t finish races but, y’know, I don’t think that’s the way of making F1 more interesting.

And what about the idea that, if the technology’s there, why shouldn’t you be able to use it?

KR: Yeah, I mean obviously something has to change for the future to make it more interesting, to make it more challenging for us also. It would be nice to see the cars going faster and all those things.

Valtteri, what do you think about all of this?

VB: I think it’s not a big deal really. Obviously the team can now give us a lot of information to help us. There was already some limitations during last year made and it didn’t make a big difference. Everyone in the team can always adapt to the new rules, so… yeah.

Romain?

RG: More or less the same as Valtteri. It doesn’t change your life. We have a bit more knowledge about those new technologies. It’s less important than it was last year to have information through the radios.

Lewis, you have much bigger screens now on the steering wheels, most cars, than we had last year. Is that compensating for the messages that were coming via radio on the whole?

LH: I wasn’t expecting another question – I thought Kimi answered it perfectly. Yeah, naturally the screens help give you more feedback. I don’t really have a particular care about either.

Q: (Sebastian Scott – racedepartment.com) Lewis, signing your three year extension, did you factor in the possible technical changes for the 2017 rules – or did that not really bother you?

LH: No, of course. It’d be very silly if I hadn’t taken that into account. That’s generally what you have to do every time you go into… you think about the future, you think about the long run, and naturally, as I said, when I joined this team, I knew where the team was going to, the plans and changes that we’re making to get to where we are now. I would, of course, analyse where the team plans to go, moving forwards –that’s why it was quite an easy decision.

Q: (Dan Knutson – AutoAction / Speed Sport magazines) All six of you, just yes or no, would you like to see refuelling return?

Marcus?

ME: I like it as it is now.

Romain:

RG: Don’t care.

Valtteri?

VB: I’ve never tried refuelling so maybe it would be nice to try.

All three gentleman in the front row did race with refuelling. Jenson?

JB: It’s not a question that has a yes or no answer is it? You obviously the safety aspect – the reason we went away from refuelling – and also the money, the cost. In terms of racing, I think it was great, back in the day when we had refuelling. If you had an issue on lap one, you could change your race around, you could do something different – whereas now it’s very difficult…

LH: He did say just a yes or no…

JB: Yeah, I know – but it’s rubbish as a yes or no question!

LH: I’m going to say yes.

KR: Yes.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboSport.com) We can expand this question. In general the packaging the Strategy Group is planning for Formula One 2016, 2017. In general, do you agree with wider cars, wider tyres, more horsepower and – mainly – one team supplying the car for another team?

JB: Wow. There’s lots of ideas that have been thrown around – which I think is a good thing. I think, as I said, there’s always room for improvement. For me, the best years that I raced in Formula One, the most fun from a driver’s point of view, was 2004. We had V10 engines, three litre, 900hp, they revved to 21,000rpm, we had a tyre war. It was great – but times change. The costs and everything have to be taken into account and I don’t really know where that puts us for the future.

Kimi, did you like what you heard from last week – the suggestions?

KR: I don’t really know. More or less. I think it would be nice. Would be good for everybody, and it would look much nicer. It would I think be more like it used to be and I think it’s the right way to go. Hopefully it happens – but we have to wait and see.

Valtteri: cars harder to drive, much faster…

VB: Yeah, why not. I see, yeah, what I’ve heard from it, it’s nice if the sport could keep developing – and I’m sure that every driver would like the quickest car you can get under you. That’s always more fun.

Q: (Christian – Der Tagespiel) Lewis, what exactly took so long for the negotiations? Was it simply the money and do you have an exit option in your contract or will it last three years no matter what?

LH: Well, firstly, it’s all confidential so I can’t answer that one. What took long was that… well, we started conversations in February . I took my time. Some weeks I thought about it, some weeks I didn’t. I never felt there was a particular rush. I had this year when I was still contracted so it wasn’t a case where I was studying it every single day. I would kind of go away from it, come back to it, go away from it, come back to it and just took my time really. And it was also the first time I’d ever done it so there was a lot to learn, there was a lot to learn, there was a lot of studying to do, to really understand everything. It was great. I earned my ten percent so I felt great!

Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Kimi, I’m sure you’re probably aware that your fellow Finn behind you has been linked with your seat for next year, should you or Ferrari opt not to exercise the extension in your contract. Would Valtteri be a good fit for Ferrari, knowing him as you do and knowing Ferrari as you do and if so, why?

KR: Who knows? Even though we are both Finns, we don’t know each other so well. You will have to ask Ferrari what they’re going to do but very certain what will happen and obviously it seems to be every year or every team I am in, it seems I’m being kicked out or a new contract or whatever. I’m not worried about it at all so time will tell, for sure.

Q: (Oliver de Wilde – La Dernier Heure Les Sport) Lewis, considering what happened last year in qualifying, does that change your approach for this year’s qualifying?

LH: No, generally the same. I arrive here just doing another new race. There’s a lot of areas which… I’m mostly focused on areas that I need to improve on, so it’s an opportunity, another chance. I’ve only won here once in 2008 and that wasn’t even a perfect weekend then so I’m still struggling for that perfect kind of weekend. There are some that the drivers here have had over the years so I’m looking for that.

Q: (Daniel Ortelli – Agence France Presse) Jenson, is the GPDA being consulted or listened to with regards to what might happen in 2016 and 2017? And how is that process going on if the GPDA is involved?

JB: Well, not yet but I’m sure we will be consulted. I think that we’ve got a lot to give, we’ve got a lot of opinions about how to make the sport better for us – obviously for us as individuals because that’s always going to be the case but for everyone else, I think there’s a lot that can be done. With the experience that we have of driving different cars and putting ourselves in different situations, we can help out and just give an opinion, so I’m sure that will be the case but it’s not the case yet, no.

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, at the moment when you sign such a contract which is obviously very very rewarding in financial terms, do you spend some time thinking about the beginnings, the first year of your career, and just how far you have gone, also in terms of money?

LH: I think about that every day, really, how far I’ve come. Generally, I’ve been here in Monaco the last two weeks, when I wake up and I go out onto my balcony and look over Monaco and I think ‘this is just crazy’, where from growing up in Peartree Way, coming out of the front doorstep and you look at a hostel in front of where I grew up and of course, I remember every single day like it was yesterday so it’s very very strange to me, to look over that view and you think, ‘wow’. I was just speaking to Jenson, just saying I remember sitting on my… I remember the exact time when I was sitting on my couch watching his first race, when he was 19, at Melbourne. My Dad’s living room was yellow, sitting there watching… obviously it was the weekend so I was still at school and everything. It’s just crazy how time flies. Nothing really changes, except that you can do more things. I do have the coolest job.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, qualifying being so crucial here, how much more pressure does that put on you when you’re qualifying has not been that great this year?

KR: Not any more. Obviously it’s not been ideal. If you think it’s not going to be ideal, it’s probably going to be better than expected. It’s always the important race, but every race is simple in qualifying. This might be a bit more but these days it’s not the easiest thing to overtake. The cars… we do our best, try and get things right all weekend long and be up there.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport.com) Lewis, you had a wonderful season last year until you came to this Grand Prix. Then you started facing a lot of problems. You only got the leadership of the championship in Singapore. Do you feel more prepared to face eventually new situations in this Grand Prix?

LH: I think generally in life I’m better prepared. I would hope that would be the case anyway, as you get older and wiser. I definitely feel more prepared than I ever have been in my life but also very wary that there will always be new things and always be bumps in the road up ahead, so lots more things to learn and new experiences which perhaps I’d not anticipated. But coming here, definitely this year, I feel much stronger to be able to deal with perhaps whatever is head of me.

Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Romain, Jolyon Palmer said last week that he expects to do ten or eleven FP1 on Fridays this year and the general consensus is that you will be making way for him on all of those Fridays. Firstly, how does this affect you and your race preparation and secondly, is there any reason why you’re not sharing this duty with Pastor?

RG: Well, it does affect you quite a lot in terms of preparation for the weekend. FP1 is normally when you test new aero parts and you can do a back-to-back and you know that you do three runs of five or six timed laps and you assess what’s the best part for the weekend and then you get a first idea of the car and then you can do a set-up change for FP2, prepare your diff map, your brake map and then go into FP2. When you only start in FP2 you’ve got five timed laps on prime, three timed laps on option and then you go into your long runs so it’s much harder to chose what is the right set-up and then you can make some changes overnight but again, the Saturday morning is the not the same fuel load and under the same track conditions. Yeah, it does affect you, I believe that’s why not everyone is doing it and the more time you spend in the car the better it is, especially when you have very little testing in a year. As far as I’m aware, at the minute, I will have to leave to Jolyon ten FP1 and this is as it is.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Lewis, unlike last year, assuming things go well, this year in Q3 you have the option to go out first. I just wondered what your strategy might be for that, if you’ve thought about that? Relative to Nico…

LH: Well I do have the choice this year which is good. It’s lucky that I get that in the sense that at the first race we tossed a coin, I guess Nico perhaps won in the first race and chose to go second and from race to race, there’s pros and cons to being the first car or wanting to be one of the latter cars in qualifying, and naturally here, yellow flags and all those kind of things are an issue. To be honest you could get it wrong either way. If you decided to go first and then on your lap there happens to be yellow flags, so… I don’t know. I think we’ll play to be as a team, me and my engineers decide. I’m confident that last year’s episode will not re-occur and so I don’t feel pressured either way. I’m just going with the mindset of trying to be even better than I was last year and do a better lap.

Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Jenson, we’ve got these surveys obviously coming out now. Are you confident that the results of them, that the powers that be will listen to these ideas and maybe even action some of them in the future of F1?

JB: I think our aim is just to put them in place and to see how it goes. I think that it’s very interesting to see which direction the supporters of this sport and the fans of this sport feel that the sport should go in. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to change anything, it’s just… it’s interesting for us as drivers but I think as us collectively in Formula One, to get a better understanding. And I don’t think it’s been done for a while, so I just think it’s necessary to do and hopefully we’ll get some positive results.

May 20, 2015
F1 2015: Monaco Grand Prix Preview – Magical Monaco Is Back

Often words are used to describe things and situations and just as often the true meaning of these over-used words are lost. But if you have ever looked for a true definition of opulence, then look no further than Monte Carlo.

The Monaco grand prix weekend is arguably the most looked forward to race on the F1 calendar. It’s the visual representation of what Formula 1 can and should be. It’s glamorous, drenched in money and diamonds, daringly fast and dramatically out-of-place.

The history of the famous Monte Carlo race alone is enough of a tale to weave the most majestic of Formula 1 stories. For around these famous streets the definitive legends of the sport artfully plied their trade. So rapt was the great Ayrton Senna with the Anthony Noghes circuit that he described it as the most extreme out of body experience he ever had behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, as if it was a sixth sense driving him around the narrow streets, centimetres from the barriers.

Even in the year 2015 this venue and circuit has lost none of its magnificent charm and remains the jewel in the Formula 1 crown. This means too that qualifying for the Monaco grand prix is as important as ever. It could spell the end before the weekend has even begun considering the definite advantage that Mercedes hold over one lap.

But don’t consign anyone else’s chances to the scrapheap just yet. In 2009, Jenson Button all-dominant Brawn secured the Monaco Grand Prix pole position by a few thousandths of a second over the lacklustre attempt of a car Ferrari slapped together that year.

Then there is the potential undercut on new Pirelli rubber. The supersoft is a choice this weekend and the performance advantage of this particular compound has been nearly two seconds in some circumstances. It has been the case so far this season that Ferrari are lot kinder to their tyres than Mercedes and they will undoubtedly be looking to exploit such an advantage this weekend. However, Ferrari’s advantage isn’t quite as clear-cut as that. Much will depend on the temperatures and it will have to err on the sizzling side of things for Ferrari to have a genuine leg up on Mercedes. Alas, if no one else can stem the Silver Arrows’ dominance this weekend at least the rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg should be quite intense.

Last year’s Monaco grand prix was shrouded in controversy thanks mostly to Nico Rosberg’s “mistake” in qualifying. It cost Lewis Hamilton the chance of snapping up the coveted pole position and put the fraying tension between the two on display for the world to see.

In 2015 the story reads a bit differently. Although Hamilton starts the weekend in the lead of the drivers’ championship for the first time this season, he is the one who will have to make the running around these famous streets. Consider Rosberg’s dominant win in Spain and add to the equation that he has quite an affinity for Monaco grand prix and has won on the last two visits to the Principality then it certainly looks like a leg up on his teammate.

The Monaco grand prix is literally the most regal event on the F1 calendar given that the trophies at the end of the race are presented by the Monegasque Royal family. Now all we need to know is who will be crowned maestro of the Monaco streets.

May 20, 2015