F1 Madness

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  • 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

     

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Mark Webber)

    Q: Valtteri, you’re impressive mate, you’ve even turned up with no car. How did you get pole with no car?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: I’m a good runner!

    Q: You’re a very good runner. Also, I know your wife is here, so did she bring you some luck, because she doesn’t come to too many races, so it’s a special pole, your fourth career pole. To beat Lewis, we know how tough it is, so run us through your session tonight.

    VB: Yeah, of course family support is always nice first of all. Today things were really getting better and better for me in the practice session and also in the quali, I just managed to find time here and there and it was all under control, and I just felt very good in the car. The Q3, run one lap was really good and so that was enough for pole and so I’m really happy.

     

    Q: Sensational, mate, really good effort. Lewis, pretty handy lap from him wasn’t it? 

    Lewis HAMILTON: What a lap. He just had an incredible qualifying and congratulations to him. How you guys doing? You good? We have a great crowd here today. The last qualifying of the year, I gave it everything, but I seem to have lost a little pace going into qualifying, Valtteri did an exceptional job, so really, really happy for him.

     

    Q: Yeah, but it’s easily done here to overcook the last Q3 lap isn’t it? It’s such a Mickey Mouse sort of track, so easy to overcook that rear tyre. We saw you run maybe a bit wide off the back of the straight right?

    LH: Yeah, I think just overall it was just little bits here and there. I was up, I think, a tenth and a half out of Turn 1 and then I lost it in Turn 5 and 6. Either way it’s been an incredible year of qualifying and one that I’ve really enjoyed and it’s great to see so many British flags here, so many people here today, so I appreciate it.

     

    Q: Good job, mate. Sebastian, well done, mate. It was a bit of a Mercedes show tonight unfortunately. You’re handy around here, but you couldn’t fight enough for the pole position, right?

    Sebastian VETTEL: I was going to say: I’m getting better, you always had the edge here in qualifying. It think it was a good session. Obviously a bit of a shame to be that far back, but tomorrow we see, on race pace I think we can be a bit closer, but they have been very, very strong. Valtteri obviously had a mega lap, so congrats to him. We’ll see. It should be a fun race. Overtaking is not always straightforward but not impossible here, so let’s see.

     

    Q: Good luck, mate, I’m sure you can give them a good crack. We’ll finish with Valtteri, we’ve got to convert this into a win haven’t we. Run us through your emotions about how you’re going to get the job done tomorrow and beat this legend that’s had pretty big season?

    VB: Yeah, I was so gutted in Brazil, in the last race, being on pole and missing the win, so I have a clear target for tomorrow and I’m sure you guys will support me, so thank you.

     

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Valtteri, pole number four, your first here in Abu Dhabi, two and a half seconds inside last year’s pole time, and a great fight against your team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Two in a row as well, so tell us about your emotions. You were very excited after the pole in Brazil but I wonder after what happened after the start are you containing your emotions and saving them for this time tomorrow night?

    VB: Yeah, thank you, definitely a good feeling. It’s only the fourth for me. It was just a really clean session for me, everything was really seamless. The team did a really good job on the timing, what time to be on the track, and we had to make very minimal changes during the qualifying to any settings really. I could just really focus on the driving itself and finding lap time here and there. I managed to get pretty much everything together in Q3, run one. It was a good lap. In the end that was enough for pole. I know the day is tomorrow and there is no point in getting too excited. Of course, you need to enjoy the good feeling, but it’s only today and tomorrow is the day that counts.

     

    Q: Lewis, it’s been a strong weekend so far, you’ve looked good in all conditions. You were nine one thousandths of a second up on Valtteri’s time going into the final part of the lap. Was it that last exit of the corner where it got away from you? Tell us about that and also how you plan to turn it round tomorrow?

    LH: First of all, congratulations to Valtteri, he did an exceptional job through qualifying and it’s great to see to him performing at this level, particularly at the end of the season, which puts him in a great position for next year. For me, I was good through practice and P3 was great and then I made some changes in anticipation of the track cooling and in hindsight it probably wasn’t the right one. But it was nice to experiment, which I hadn’t really done all season long. I experimented and then I struggled a little bit with the balance generally through the laps. I think at the end I was a tenth and a half up out of Turn 1 and then I lost it somewhere else in the rest of the lap. Nonetheless it was fun to be out there challenging, the last qualifying of the year, finally it’s done and we can just get on with the race tomorrow. It’s a very hard track to overtake, there are a couple of opportunities but I’ll give it everything I’ve got that’s for sure.

     

    Q: Sebastian, half a second the margin to Mercedes. Maurizio Arrivabene, on the pit wall, shook his head when he saw the gap. Were you shaking your head as well? Was that a little bit more than you expected in this qualifying session, and can you turn it around in the race?

    SV: Overall we tried everything. I think the balance of the car was good all weekend. We trimmed it in the right way. Practice this morning was a bit tricky but qualifying really came together, so I’m quite happy with that. The gap is big but also it’s a long lap, so naturally the gaps are a bit more spread. I think in the race we usually get a little bit closer. Qualifying we’ve seen all year that we’ve never had the car to put half a second between us and somebody else. For the race I’m fairly optimistic. I think yesterday was good, we tried some stuff, so we’ll see how close we get tomorrow. We touched on overtaking – it’s not the easiest one but it’s not impossible, so let’s see what we can do.

     

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Sebastian tomorrow in your mind you will have the attempt to try to win or the defence of the second place in the championship?

    SV: What do you think? I think we’re here to race. Obviously it’s important to seal second place. We are in a better position than Valtteri but he starts the race from a better position than we do. Let’s see. It’s a long race but we’re here to race and the ambition obviously is to win, to get to the podium. We had a bit of a wobble finding our places, Lewis and myself, where’s second, where’s third here in the press conference, so it’s always better to aim for the middle I guess.

     

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Another one for Sebastian. Earlier this week you said you were determined to take Ferrari to the top – but it was hard. Just how hard do you think it’s going to be? Is it going to be next year, or the year after?

    SV: Well, I don’t know, we haven’t achieved it yet. I think, as a team, we’ve taken some big changes. I think overall it’s heading in the right direction. We have a very competitive car, we’ve had a very strong year. Obviously we would have liked it to be a bit different at the end but yeah, it doesn’t matter now. We look forward. The year is more or less over, we have one more race and we want to finish with dignity. We want to show that we’re here to fight and we want to get Ferrari on the podium and ideally win the race. Let’s see what we can do – but overall it is hard, but everybody involved, you can ask the same question, they’ll give you the same answer. I’m obviously one of the drivers that’s driving the car, that’s my main job but overall I think we’re all seeking to improve and so far I think we’ve done pretty well. If we can do another big step like that, we’re heading in the right way.

     

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Congratulations Valtteri. Did you need that killer instinct? Or how did you take that pole?

    VB: I think I didn’t change my approach from last weekend in any way for the qualifying, and, like I said before, it was really clean, nice and clean session and I just managed to find time run by run from different corners. The car was feeling much better than at any other point this weekend. That allowed me to really work on the details. Found enough details to be on pole.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Sebastian and a question for Bottas. For Sebastian, it seemed like you lost a lot of time in sector two. There is something lacking in the speed? And for Valtteri, if I don’t make a mistake, you won just once starting from the pole. How important after what happened in Interlagos will it be to start well tomorrow and then keep the position?

    SV: I think you’re referring to the time-loss compared to the best overall time in sector two which – I don’t know – maybe Valtteri or Lewis had? I mean, it’s a long sector but there are a lot of straights. I think the corner bit we got it right, I was fighting a little bit throughout qualifying with the sequence of Five, Six, Seven, so I’m looking forward to get back and have a look. Overall I was pretty happy with the car around the lap, in particular, compared to previous years in sector two. But yeah, I saw as well that we’re losing quite a bit of time, so I don’t know. I guess it’s probably on the straights but we need to see.

     

    Valtteri?

    VB: Yeah, of course, when you start from the pole, the only target you have anyway… well, if you start from the front row or second row, you still have a realistic chance to fight for the win but pole is the best place to start and a win is obviously the only target. And yeah, I might have won only once from the pole but it’s not so many poles I’ve had and yeah, so, I’m looking forwards to tomorrow, it should be interesting.

     

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Congratulations Valtteri. You said  two days ago that this track is not your favourite one – but do you like it  now? A little bit more after this pole? And how much did you enjoy the lap?

    VB: Well, I never said I don’t like it. I said for me it’s average. Well, of course, it’s always nicer when you have good memories from a circuit – like a pole position. But yeah, it’s not real the point. The point is to be performing in every single track. So, that’s going to be the goal in the future.

     

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Lewis, Turns Two, Three and Four looked very impressive from the outside. I wonder if they now come under the heading of ‘easy flat’ or whether they are very demanding corners still and what they’ll be like on a heavy fuel load. Interested to get your input on that. And secondly, your first qualifying lap in the Q3. Watching from the roof it looked like you braked slightly too late at the end of the straight and ran a little bit wide – but I don’t know if that’s an optical illusion from where we were watching, or not.

    LH: It’s not like Eau Rouge, where Eau Rouge is a lot straighter, more simple. It’s still, Turn Two and Three, whilst it is flat, you feel that Turn Three is kind of… you feel the rear of the car moving a little bit. When you put heavy fuel on, it actually gets a little easier because you’re just slower in general. So, the car is a lot better through there this year than it was last year, obviously – but they’re still considered corners and they still put a huge amount of heat into the tyres, so you do take a lot of consideration when you enter them. And, you’re talking about Turn 8 or 11. On the first one… I think that’s the place where Valtteri was slower on the way in, quicker on the way out. I was… I’m always late on the brakes and brake as deep as I can into the corners. I think on at least one of the laps I had a small under-rotation into there. Nothing too crazy but it put a bit of understeer into the car. In general, yeah, it was a session of which I had to push a lot. P3 I was much more comfortable with the car, and then yeah, into this session it was not the case and it was like ‘ah, I’ve got a serious fight on my hands here’. I gave it everything I could but it was on the knife-edge and ultimately Valtteri did the better job.

     

    Q: (Graham Cagyill – The National) Question for Sebastian. The last time you were in a championship season when you missed out on the title and you had a chance of winning it was 2009. When you missed out to Jenson and you came to Abu Dhabi for the first time, and you went on to win this race and went on to win the championship the following season – so I was just interested to find out how much that win in 2009 helped you in your confidence for 2010 – and do you think something similar tomorrow could help you for 2018?

    SV: Well, I’m a lot older than I was back then for a start. A lot wiser. I think, yeah, 2009 for myself was obviously the first time that I found myself in the front of the field, every now and then, and also for the team back then. I think yes, it did give us huge momentum for the year after, for the winter. I think the whole year gave us confidence. Then 2010. We had an incredible car and it was very close, to win the championship, I think we should have done better – but yeah, I had my mistakes, I think we have some here and there. Bu tin general I think the last race is important. Obviously if you’re not in the fight for the championship, it still is important to set things up for the winter, just give a boost to the whole factory. So let’s see what we do. I don’t believe that the result tomorrow determines next year – but for sure a good result always helps you, gives everyone a boost over the winter, so we try our best.

  • F1 2017: Abu Dhabi Gp Free Practice 2 Report – Hamilton Fastest

    F1 2017: Abu Dhabi Gp Free Practice 2 Report – Hamilton Fastest

    Lewis Hamilton led the way at the end of the second free practice session for Mercedes ahead of the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

    Hamilton’s fastest time of 1:37:877, a circuit record, was 0.149 quicker than the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel. Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen, and Valtteri Bottas completed the top five at the end of the ninety minute session.

    Unlike the earlier session in the day the second free practice session provided a much clearer picture of what the rest of the weekend could look like. And while Mercedes and Ferrari were nip and tuck in terms of long run pace Red Bull, especially in the case of Verstappen, were slightly adrift of the ultimate pace. However, several factors could be contributing the Red Bull’s seemingly slower pace not least of all being power unit reliability.

    Similarly, Hamilton’s looks set fair for Sunday’s race given the much fresher engine in the back of the Mercedes. Nevertheless, Vettel doesn’t look far off and shouldn’t be written off.

  • F1 2017: Abu Dhabi Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Vettel Leads

    F1 2017: Abu Dhabi Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Vettel Leads

    Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time in the first free practice session ahead of Sunday’s season ending Abu Dhabi grand prix.

    The Ferrari driver’s quickest time was only a tenth quicker than that of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third, a further 0.026 off Hamilton’s time. Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top five.

    While teams and drivers completed a formulated run program for the first session of the day the first practice around Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit is one of the least representative sessions of the entire season. As the qualifying session and race will be run during twilight and into the evening the temperatures experienced in these sessions will be far removed from what is presented in Friday’s FP1 session.

    Nevertheless, several teams including McLaren and Ferrari made the most of the session by completing several aerodynamic test. It’s likely that they’ve run the various parts with an eye on 2018. It was also revealed that following Sunday’s race Liberty Media will reveal the new F1 logo.

  • F1 2017: Abu Dhabi Gp Preview – Much to gain at Season Finale

    F1 2017: Abu Dhabi Gp Preview – Much to gain at Season Finale

    The final round of the 2017 F1 season is upon us as the paddock heads east to the twilight race of Abu Dhabi.

    Introduced to the calendar several years ago the Yas Marina Circuit has delivered resplendent views of F1 cars at dusk for since 2009. With no expense spared the circuit and surrounding facilities are, arguably, the grandest of the lot. Complete with an its Ferrari World theme park and several thousand coloured LED lights all the facets of the Abu Dhabi combine to deliver a visual spectacle of note.

    Despite not being known for delivering the most memorable on track racing the Abu Dhabi based circuit has nevertheless seen the creation of several memorable moments for the sport. It was here after all, in 2010, that Sebastian Vettel won his first world championship title and here too where Kimi Raikkonen, en route to victory, uttered the now famous “leave me alone, I know what I’m doing” radio message.

    In 2016 Lewis Hamilton turned over every trick in his book to win the title and even attempted to back rival Nico Rosberg into the clutches of other cars with the hope that he would be overtaken and thus not win the title. Alas, none of Hamilton’s moves had done the trick and Rosberg took a well-deserved win. It’s a far different story twelve months later. Not only does Hamilton arrive in Abu Dhabi as a four-time champion but also there’s no Nico Rosberg on the other side of the Mercedes garage. Instead, it’s Valtteri Bottas who sits in the other Mercedes cockpit and who has a lot to prove. It’s been a lackluster second half of the season for Bottas who has summarily been blown away by Hamilton. While he scored a pole in Brazil he folded at the first sight of the front-wing of Vettel’s Ferrari. He needs a big performance this weekend in order to beginning righting his ship for 2018. If not, Hamilton may well blow him away, again.

    RedBull_AbuDhabi2013Similarly, Daniel Ricciardo could do with putting one over teammate Verstappen who has stolen the limelight from the Aussie this season. The Yas Marina circuit, 5.5 kilometers in length, does have several long straits in its layout but the second, more technical sector, should play to the Red Bull’s strengths. “ The final sector at Yas Marina is actually quite technical so you have to be really precise there, but it should also be our strongest part of the track” said Verstappen. “There are quite a few overtaking opportunities to make the race interesting, before the long straight at the hairpin and then at the end of the straight under braking for the next chicane section”.

    While the constructor’s championship has been settled at the top of the standings the battle for sixth is going down to the wire. Only six points separate Toro Rosso, Renault, and Haas and with the promise of a big pay day for finishing sixth the battle between these three teams could be the highlight of the weekend.

    Through nineteen rounds and 1147 racing laps there’s still much to play for and gain the final race of the 2017 season.

  • F1 2017 Brazilian Gp Review – Vettel Win Lifts Ferrari

    F1 2017 Brazilian Gp Review – Vettel Win Lifts Ferrari

    As the Brazilian crowd bid an emotional farewell to local hero Felipe Massa, it was Sebastian Vettel who delivered a controlled drive to victory for the first time since July.

    Pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas was pipped off the line by Vettel’s Ferrari and never truly threatened for the lead of the race. Besides snatching pole by less than half a tenth it’s been a difficult few months for Bottas with several off-colour performances littered throughout the second half of his season. Nevertheless, his pace wasn’t far off Vettel’s at all and it was perhaps only the lack of courage into turn one that cost him victory in Brazil.

    The end of seventy-one laps saw the top three covered by roughly five seconds with Kimi Raikkonen taking the final step of the podium. The Ferrari driver, on 40 lap old tyres, valiantly held off a charging Lewis Hamilton who had scythed his way through the field to go from the pitlane to fourth by the end of the race. Hamilton’s uncharacteristic crash in quali may have reduced him to a pitlane start but the silver lining was a Mercedes power unit at full tilt and a newly crowned world champion willing and able to pull off several excellent overtakes. Despite a lap time advantage of more than 1.5 seconds and fresher tyres, he was ultimately not able to take third place off Raikkonen.

    29The last few weeks have been trying for manufacturer Renault and the teams they supply in the pitlane. So much so that a spat broke out between Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul and Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost. While Alain Prost stepped in to pour some cold water on the otherwise spicy discontent from both sides it is obvious that Renault is struggling towards the end of the season. So much in fact that they’ve ordered all teams running the French manufacturer’s power unit to turn down the performance output because of reliability fears.

    It explains then what happened to Red Bull’s early weekend pace, as it was nowhere to be found on Sunday. With the deficit, the best Max Verstappen could finish was fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in sixth who started from the back of the grid due to, you guessed it, engine penalties. Power units continue to be the biggest talking point in F1 with the first meeting on what 2021 regulations could look like having already taken place. More seriously, however, is the fact that in 2018 teams will have a maximum of three engines to complete the season with and going beyond this allocation, which they undoubtedly will, means triggering grid penalties. It’s a ridiculous requirement given that no team will be able to stick to it and it should be redressed as soon as possible.

    17On the track, Felipe Massa delivered a typically plucky performance to hold on to a solid seventh place finish ahead of Fernando Alonso in eighth. Sergio Perez, merely a tenth behind Alonso, had to settle for ninth while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top ten.

    To say it’s been a difficult few months for Ferrari would likely be one of the biggest understatements of the year. After all, as they headed into the summer breaks after the Hungarian grand prix they had every expectation of winning the championship. But it all went horribly sideways as that Hungarian Gp turned out to be Vettel’s last win. His win Brazil, a controlled drive from the front for all of the 71 laps, will be shot in the arm not only for him but for everyone in Maranello, after all, 2018 isn’t that far off.

    (All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

  • 2017 Brazil Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2017 Brazil Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Johnny Herbert)

    Valtteri, well done, your third pole position, perfect timing for you. How do you feel?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it feels good. Still a bit shaky. It’s a good feeling. It was just a nice lap. It was so close with Sebastian all the way through the qualifying and sometimes with Kimi as well. I got a good lap in the end. Obviously Lewis was out in the beginning, which is a shame for us but I’m happy I could stand up for us as a team.

     

    What happened to Lewis is part of racing, there’s nothing you can do about that but you did a great job today. What a brilliant position for you to start. This is track where it’s not the easiest to overtake and this is a chance for you to control everything tomorrow.

    VB: Yeah, it’s really good to start on the pole from here. We have a good car. It’s going to be a close race still with Ferrari, but I’d rather start from the pole, rather than, for example, P3, so looking forward to tomorrow.

     

    Sebastian, today, happy with that performance? I’m sure you would have loved that 51st pole, but it’s a good place to start tomorrow.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it’s alright. It’s not so much about tomorrow but about today. For tomorrow I think it’s fine but I would have loved to be ahead. It was close. I think I chickened out a little bit on the brakes for the final run into Turn 1 and lost a bit too much time. From there the lap was fine. I knew I had a bit left in the last sector, in the last corner, which I got, but by then I was already too much behind.

     

    But overall the car isn’t in bad shape for you. It sounds as if it’s there but it didn’t get it all together?

    SV: It was not that bad. I was happy with my first lap. I think it was OK. Three hundredths, you always think there’s some place you could have got that but as I said for tomorrow our long run [pace] looked good, in particular against Valtteri, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.

     

    Kimi, happy for today?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: So, so. I felt it could have been better but it was a bit tricky sometimes to get the tyres into the right window for the first two corners to be confident under braking. The last run was better but it wasn’t good enough.

     

    It seems to be key today with these cooler conditions. It’s just made it that little bit more difficult. But generally Ferrari are in good shape for the race I would guess?

    KR: Yeah, I think we improved the car for today. Obviously the weather can change quickly here, so we have to wait and see what it brings tomorrow. It’s going to be a long race and we’ll do our best.

     

    Valtteri, tomorrow is going to be special because of how close it is and that is really going to be down to how many mistakes you don’t make during the race?

    VB: I agree. It’s not such an easy circuit to overtake on, so avoiding mistakes is one thing. The start here is always exciting. It’s going to be a long race. We know São Paulo, plenty of things can happen. I’m looking forward and again thanks to all the people for their mega support.

     

    Q: Valtteri, congratulations, your third career pole position, your first here in Brazil and a new track record, 2.4 seconds inside the 2016 pole. A perfect final lap. You had some work to do, obviously, after the first run and a great effort, I guess, in your mind, after a tough month for you. You’ve bounced back in the strongest possible way, particularly on a day when Mercedes needed you to stand up with what happened with Lewis.

    VB: Thank you. Yeah, of course very happy with the qualifying from my side and also from us as a team. Except the unfortunate off Lewis had in the beginning. It was then in the end only me. Happy I could deliver and happy I could put it on pole. So, yeah, the laps were getting better and better really, like with every one and it was, all the time, very close, so I’m pleased that in the end in Q3, I got a good lap and it was enough for pole. So, very pleased.

     

    Q: It’s always fine margins here Sebastian, you were fastest in the first run in Q3 but couldn’t improve. Unusual for you to leave the door open for a rival. What happened?

    SV: Well, I was very happy with the first lap, so yeah, I knew that in the last corner, in that first attempt in Q3, I had a little bit left because I lost the rear a bit, so I wanted to get there about the same and then I knew I could gain some time but yeah, I chickened out a little bit too early in the first corner, braking a bit too early, the grip was there, so I lost some time compared to the first run. Then I managed to stay there and got what I thought I will back in the last corner – but it wasn’t enough to come back. So, yeah, not ideal but overall I think a very positive day for us – both of us, I believe, looking at the gaps yesterday and today, so, very happy.

     

    Q: And Kimi, two of you versus one Mercedes. Unusual situation, from a strategy point of view that gives you plenty to play with, ‘cos he can’t cover both of you. Thoughts about that and also your performance today.

    KR: Obviously, we’ll see that tomorrow, what it will bring but today was a better day than yesterday, for sure. The feeling was pretty good on some laps but it was a bit tricky to have full confidence in the first corner to be sure that the tyres will work well and you don’t lock the wheel. That was really the most difficult. Some sets seemed to be more easy than others and the last set actually I had more grip than I expected. But yeah, not ideal but not too bad. I think the car is very good, position, the handling, so tomorrow is a race and it should be OK.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Livio Orrichio – Globoesporte.com) Valtteri, you have been facing some difficulties in the last few races, especially in qualifying conditions, and here since the first day you are very fast. What is it? The circuit? The characteristics of the car and the circuit? Self-confidence?

    VB: Well, for sure, sometimes it’s been more difficult, sometimes better – and that’s how it goes in racing – but I think the line, the graph for me has been all the time on the up and been feeling better and better with the car and just working hard on the issues we’ve been having, I’ve been having. Learning lots and, again, feeling better and just managed to learn from the mistakes and from the tricky sessions. Last few weekends has been a lot better, like last race in qualifying it was about hundredths between me and Lewis and it’s been the case all weekend here, so yeah, obviously, a shame he wasn’t any more in Q2 and Q3 but still I’m very, very pleased with the performance.

     

    Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Sebastian, bit of a slow start yesterday, then really close today. What can we expect from tomorrow’s race, especially with Lewis obviously not in the race for victory?

    SV: Don’t think it makes a difference. Obviously Valtteri’s on pole; it will be difficult to beat him but I’m confident we have the pace, especially on the long runs. I think it’s more of a surprise today that we got that close. If it’s that close, you obviously wish to be ahead but tomorrow should be a good race. We will see what happens. Interlagos is always special, there’s always something that happens in the race so let’s stay out of trouble and have a good race.

     

    Q: (Rodrigo França – Revista VIP) To Sebastian and Kimi: the weather forecast for tomorrow is a sunny day and 28 degrees, a lot hotter than today. This is good for Ferrari? Are the race times more competitive than in qualifying?

    SV: I think it’s OK, I think it’s like yesterday. I think we improved the car for today. Obviously it always feels a bit better when it’s colder but it should be fine. Usually in the race we are quite strong. If it’s hot, I don’t think it hurts us but then again today it was forecast wet, it wasn’t, so who knows? Maybe it changes tomorrow.

     

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) A similar question to Valtteri: do you think the tyre strategy will be pretty straightforward tomorrow, given it’s dry and hot?

    VB: I do think there’s not that many ideal strategies, so I think it can be quite straightforward but like Sebastian said, many times it’s been a really interesting race here with plenty of things happening so who knows? We are not too worried about the hotter temperatures, because I don’t think it’s actually going to be that far from yesterday – maybe a bit hotter than P2 – but everything still seemed to feel OK for us and we didn’t go crazy with the set-up for qualifying so we still kept an eye on the race but obviously tomorrow we’ll find out if we have the quickest car or not.

     

    Q: (Rodrigo França – Revista VIP) Question for everyone: the new system with the blue flags that will appear on the cockpit of the driver that is receiving the blue flags, do you think this will work out tomorrow, the first time here in Sao Paulo?

    VB: Well, first of all it’s been a long time that we get a blue flag in the cockpit, the lights, I think.

    SV: Not for you.

    VB: But the boards yeah, first time, so obviously when there’s a train of cars, then it’s maybe more precise, showing who needs to back off but it should be good.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Hamilton is already World Champion but the second place in the championship is open. Does it stimulate you even more to keep your second position, Sebastian? And you, Valtteri, does it give you more stimulation to be second in the World Championship?

    SV: Look, obviously, we were on target to win; obviously that’s not any more in reach so the maximum stimulation we can get is to finish second so that’s what we try to do. If we don’t manage to do that then we’ve failed, so we’ve failed once this year already, I don’t want to fail again. The motivation is very high to make sure we stay ahead and we beat Valtteri tomorrow and in Abu Dhabi.

    VB: Yeah, same for us. It’s always good to have a target, makes you work harder and try harder so our target is to try and still get second place in the championship. It is possible but obviously he’s leading by 15 points so we really need to have a strong race here and also in Abu Dhabi.

     

    Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Valtteri, was pole something like a kind of a gift to those crew members who had the incident yesterday in the night?

    VB: Well, I spoke with them this morning and I said we are going to put it on pole and it’s going to cheer everyone so I’m glad it happened actually. Obviously first of all, very happy that everyone is in one piece and nothing happened physically to anyone but obviously pretty bad situation to be in but yeah, just happy everyone is still here.

  • Bottas Fastest in Closely Fought Brazil GP Free Practice 3

    Bottas Fastest in Closely Fought Brazil GP Free Practice 3

    Valtteri Bottas finished fastest in a very closely fought the final free practice session for the Brazil Grand Prix.

    It was so close in fact, the top four were covered by 0.058s. with Bottas the fastest for Mercedes with a best time of 1:09.281. Team-mate Lewis Hamilton was 2nd fastest with a best lap of 1:09.284, just 0.003s off.

    The two Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were 3rd and 4th fastest respectively. Raikkonen edging out Vettel this session with a 1:09.326, to Vettel’s 1:09.339.

    It was close between the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers as they battled each other for the fastest time lap after lap on their qualifying simulations. It was Mercedes who eventually took the honours of the session.

    Struggling for some pace in the session was the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo in 5th almost a second off the pace. Team Principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1 during the session that he does not think they can trouble Mercedes and Ferrari during qualifying but he hopes that they can get close. Verstappen in the second Red Bull finished his session 9th fastest with a best time of 1:10.495. The Dutchman complained about under-steer on his Red Bull and then spun at Turn 14 after dipping a wheel on the grass.

    It was another good session for Alonso finishing 6th fastest ahead of the two Pink Panther Force India’s in 7th and 8th. Perez finishing ahead of Ocon this session.

    Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10 for Renault this session after some difficult in the beginning of the session.

    Lance Stroll’s session got off to a bad start after a terminal engine/gearbox problem put him out of the session. Williams say that they will have to change the engine and the gearbox before qualifying.

    The issue of traffic has cropped up once again this session. Drivers were finding it tricky to get out of the way of faster drivers and to set lap times. This could make qualifying interesting.

    It’s going to be another Mercedes-Ferrari show down in qualifying with Hamilton looking likely to take pole position.

  • 2017 Brazil GP Friday Practice Round Up: Mercedes Dominate the Day

    2017 Brazil GP Friday Practice Round Up: Mercedes Dominate the Day

    Mercedes dominated the Friday Practice sessions for the Brazil Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. Fresh off winning the championship Lewis Hamilton finished fastest in both practice sessions showing no signs of easing off now that he’s won the championship.

    Free Practice 1

    Hamilton eventually set the fastest time of the session over team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes. Hamilton’s 1:09.202 came courtesy of the super soft compound tyres. Bottas was not that far off with a session best time of 1:09.329. The two Mercedes drivers duelled for most of the session for the fastest time but it was Hamilton who eventually prevailed.

    With just a touch over half a second off the pace was Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in 3rd fastest for the Maranello based team. Raikkonen’s best time of 1.09.744 was 0.542s off the pace.

    Splitting the Ferrari’s were the two Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Danieel Ricciardo in 4th and 5th fastest respectively. Verstappen’s time was just a whisker off Raikkonen’s with the Dutchman crossing the line 0.006s slower than the Finn.

    Sebastian Vettel in the other Ferrari was 6th fastest more than 0.7s down on Hamilton’s benchmark.

    In his second final home race, Felipe Massa ended the session 7th fastest just a touch over one second off the pace.

    McLaren got both their cars in the top 10 with Vandoorne 8th fastest and Alonso 10th. The McLaren’s were split by Esteban Ocon’s Force India.

    It was not the best of sessions for Toro Rosso after Brendon Hartley suffered from an engine problem. This was an engine where they had just replaced his MGU-H. Pierre Gasly managed to only complete 7 laps for the session.

    Making his F1 debut was George Russel in the Force India. He did an impressive job to finish 12th fastest.

     

    Free Practice 2

    Hamilton picked up right where he left off and set the fastest time in FP2. His time of 1:09.515 was slower than the morning sessions time but was enough to get him the top spot.

    The session was much closer than FP1 with the top 5 covered by 0.5s.

    Mercedes looked incredibly strong out on track in the long runs and over one lap. Bottas and Hamilton traded fastest lap times but once again it was Hamilton that emerged fastest with Bottas 0.048s off.

    Daniel Ricciardo took the third fastest spot of the session after a relatively late run on the super softs.

    Splitting the Red Bull’s this time was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in 4th with Max Verstappen in 5th ahead of 6th place man, Kimi Raikkonen.

    Esteban Ocon once again featured in the top 10 and places 7th fastest beating the Williams of Felipe Massa in 8th.

    Nico Hulkenberg got his Renault into to 9th place with McLaren’s Alonso rounding it out for the top 10.

    There were a few problems for Alonso earlier in the session after he reported deployment problems. The McLaren was back in the garage for a short while before he was back on track.

    Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson cut down his track time after a spin at Turn 11 shunted him into the barrier. He made it back to the pits after the impact and it seems there was no damage to the Sauber.

    Haas’ Romain Grosjean also spun at T4. He was able to carry on but complained of vibrations from the rear of his car. He was eventually called into the pits.

     

  • F12017: Brazilian Gp Preview – Free-for-all at Iconic Interlagos

    F12017: Brazilian Gp Preview – Free-for-all at Iconic Interlagos

    For all the innovation that Formula 1 continues to deliver there are some things in the sport that, untouched by too much change, remain and embodies the very essence of the sport. One such example is the Brazilian grand prix and the famed Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

    For decade after decade the Interlagos based circuit has delivered on everything a Formula 1 race should be. Through scorching temperatures and rain-soaked afternoons the Brazilian fan’s euphoria for F1 has always been palpable. And it has, since 1973, been driven by some of the most dramatic and memorable races in the history of the sport.

    There have been many highly emotional Brazilian grand prix throughout its history but none more so than Ayrton Senna’s majestic 1991 win in the McLaren after which he was so physically exhausted that he had to be extricated from the cockpit. In the decades since there’s been no let up on the drama with several of the most theatrical moments coming in the 21st century. In 2005 Fernando Alonso became, at the time, the youngest world champion and two years later, in 2007, Kimi Raikkonen won his world title in what had been, arguably, one of the most fascinating championship battles of all time. A year later thousands of Brazilian hearts sank as Lewis Hamilton snatched the title from local-favourite Felipe Massa, literally, on the last corner of the last lap whereas the 2012 grand prix marked the final race of the great Michael Schumacher storied career.

    Felipe Massa 2008The circuit, at roughly 4.3 kilometers, isn’t a long one and a lap time below seventy seconds is likely, especially for quali. Besides having the iconic, and tight, Senna S as Turn One its three sectors stand in contract to each other. A strait and several medium to high-speed corners dominate the first part of the lap while the middle sector is the more technical section before its capped by Junção, the final climb up the hill to the start/finish strait.

    Despite not having a Brazilian world champion since Ayrton Senna the fans have shown a fanaticism for the sport and other Brazilian drivers as fervent as you’re likely to see anywhere in the world. One driver responsible for inspiring said passion is Felipe Massa. The Williams driver has announced his retirement at the end of the 2017 season making this weekend his final Brazilian grand prix. Though never a world champion Massa has inspired countless fans, colleagues, and contemporaries with his incredible talent, generosity, passion, and sportsmanship. Obrigado Felipe.

    Nico Rosberg_Brazil 2014The fact that most positions in both the drivers and constructors championships have been settled adds a further element to this weekend’s Brazilian grand prix. No longer do teams such as Force India have to impose team orders on Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon. Now they’ll be free to race and bang wheels to their heart’s content and this directive, pretty much, goes for everyone up and down the pitlane too.

    While the forecast predicts a dry race weekend the weather for the Brazilian grand prix has always been, at best, uncertain.

    One thing that is a certainty however is that there has rarely been a dull Brazilian grand prix and it shouldn’t be any different in 2017.

  • F12017: Mexican Gp Review – Verstappen Dominates Tense Mexican Gp

    F12017: Mexican Gp Review – Verstappen Dominates Tense Mexican Gp

    Formula 1 is a sport where just about everything is engineered and managed to the most minute of details. However, despite the near obsessive level of attention to detail the volatility of the human factor often still has the biggest impact.

    In Mexico Max Verstappen made his presence felt as he barged his way into the lead of the race from his front row starting position. Though Verstappen, pole sitter Vettel, and Hamilton were three abreast into the first turn it was the Dutchman that barged his way into the lead of the race and not only left Vettel and Hamilton battered and bruised but also at the back of the field. Hamilton was left limping back to the pits with a right-rear puncture while Vettel too was forced into the pitlane for a new front-wing. It certainly wasn’t the afternoon Mercedes or Hamilton had envisioned but as Vettel wasn’t running first or second he was still on course to take the title.

    The radio chatter between Hamilton and the Mercedes pitwall clearly revealed that there were more than a few anxious moments in the cockpit of the number 44 Mercedes. As it where, despite several thrilling overtakes Vettel could ultimately only recover to fourth. It meant that Hamilton’s own ninth place finish was enough to crown him the 2017 driver’s champion in what was one of the most intense championship deciders in quite some time.

    08For Max Verstappen, well ahead in P1, it was a far less stressful afternoon. In fact, such was his pace that the 20-year-old had to be told several times to slow down. Even so, no one had an answer for his pace around the Mexican circuit, which rewarded the aerodynamic efficiency of the Red Bull to a tee. Verstappen’s sterling drive left him nearly twenty seconds clear of the second placed Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen completing the top three. With such a spectacular win, the third of his short career, it’s clear that the future of Formula 1 is good and very quick hands.

    Behind Vettel Esteban Ocon was fifth for Force India with Williams’ rookie Lance Stroll delivering another impressive drive to finish sixth. Local hero Sergio Perez was seventh while Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso completed the top ten. It was difficult day for Renault as both Sainz and Hulkenberg were forced into retirement alongside Ericsson, Hartley, and Daniel Ricciardo who suffered a MGU-H failure on the Red Bull.

    44There will be some who say that Hamilton’s 2017 victory in the driver’s championship eventuated only because of Ferrari’s unreliability but it simply isn’t the whole story. While a driver can only be as good as his car the Mercedes hasn’t been the quickest car this year on several occasions. But still Hamilton’s relentless ability to churn out performances, especially in qualifying, is admirable and what has won him another world title.

    Expectedly, questions of whether he can or should be considered one of the greatest drivers of all time will abound. But it’s a difficult question to answer given how the sport and its drivers have transformed in its six decades of existence. There likely isn’t a definitive answer to this question, which will probably always boil down to personal opinion. But what is indisputable is the fact that Lewis Hamilton is easily one of the best drivers of his generation. Hamilton’s championship triumph also means that he stands alone as the only British driver with four titles. Take a bow Lewis Hamilton.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport