F1 Madness

Tag: mercedes

  • F1 2015: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Dominate In Montreal

    F1 2015: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Dominate In Montreal

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

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

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

    Fernando Alonso_Canada 2015The McLaren drivers have been measured in their comments to the press since the start of the season but the frustrations are starting to show. First it was Jenson Button who described the McLaren as a scary car to drive which he then promptly walked back with a bit of PR spin. And then there is Fernando Alonso who remains adamant that he does not regret his departure from Ferrari.

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

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

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

    GP CANADA F1/2015Just when it looks as if Ferrari has taken a step towards closing the chasm to Mercedes it’s found to be off base. The long run pace in the second free practice session suggested that the Ferrari was looking in great shape to take the fight to Ferrari. Besides the reality that Ferrari is still off the Merc pace, circumstances combined to make it a difficult weekend.

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

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

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

    Canada 2015_StartLast year’s Canadian Gp winner Daniel Ricciardo described his race as horrible beyond his wildest dreams. And this less than pretty statement was followed with a threat from Renault, via Christian Horner, that they may quit the sport in 2016. Notably Carlos Sainz junior out-performed his highly fancied teammate Max Verstappen.

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

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

  • Renault Could Walk Away From F1 if 2016 Rules Are Not Changed

    Renault Could Walk Away From F1 if 2016 Rules Are Not Changed

    Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has warned that Renault may walk away from F1 if the 2016 rules are not changed.

    A loophole in the 2015 season rules was discovered and after a successful challenge by the teams, they were finally allowed to develop their engines during the season using a set number of tokens. Since the challenge, the FIA has moved to close the loophole and in season development of the engines during the 2016 season is now forbidden. The teams are required to use up their tokens and homologate their engines by 28 February 2016.

    With Mercedes in such a strong position in the championship for the second season running, they will want to maintain their advantage and oppose any change to the rules which Ferrari, Renault and Honda are pushing for. The rule change would require unanimous support from all the teams and with Mercedes in the position that they are in at the moment, it is unlikely they will agree to any changes in the rules.

    “The situation is we are at a precarious point in terms of Renault’s commitment to the future,” Horner said.

    “If you are effectively shutting that down [the engine development] in February, you are almost waving goodbye to them,” he added.

    Horner is calling for level heads to prevail at the FIA and Mercedes and he urges the parties involved to see the bigger picture and to consider the future of F1 as a sport.

    “Mercedes need to have a bit of a grown-up think about it, and the FIA as well, to say what is in the best interests of Formula 1.

    “If Formula 1 can afford to lose an engine manufacturer, then stick to February 28.”

    Renault have been on the back foot since the start of the season with their engines. They have fallen further behind with their development and they have not spent any development tokens this season. It’s been a tough first quarter of the season for them with Red Bull already using their 4th and final allocated engine of the season for both of their drivers due to unreliability. Red Bull have been rather vocal about their issues and place the blame with Renault.

    There were several high level meeting taking place at the Canadian Grand Prix where team bosses from Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren were present. Many believe discussions about customer teams have taken place and they may have taken place. But what about the engine rules? Surely there must have been a word or two about it.

  • Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Sunday Press Conference

    Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Sunday Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1st Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2nd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3rd Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Ted Kravitz)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    PRESS CONFERENCE

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

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

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

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

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

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

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    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.

    Nasr Crash FP3_Canada 2015When 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
  • Hamilton Quickest Then Crashes in Rain Hit Second Practice in Canada

    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 

  • Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Thursday Press Conference

    Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2015: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Sergio PEREZ (Force India)

    Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus)

    Daniil KVYAT (Red Bull Racing)

    Max VERSTAPPEN (Toro Rosso)

    Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    Felipe MASSA (Williams)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Pastor?

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

    Daniil, final word?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

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

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

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

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

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

    LH: Same as always. 100 per cent.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Max?

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

    Sergio, do you have any thoughts?

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

    Pastor?

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

    Daniil, final thought.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • F1 2015: GP Preview – Classic Canada

    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.

    Canadian GPThe 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.

    Canadian Grand PrixMercedes 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?

  • F1 2015: Monaco GP Review – Mercedes Bungle Monaco

    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.

    Max Verstappen crashes into Rimain Grosjean at the F1 Monaco Grand PrixThe 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 tyreRosberg_Hamilton_Monaco 2015 Podium 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.

     

  • Niki Lauda orders investigation into “unnacceptable” strategy call

    Niki Lauda orders investigation into “unnacceptable” strategy call

    Mercedes team boss Niki Lauda has called on fellow big chief Toto Wolff to launch a full investigation into what he called an “unacceptable” strategy call by the Mercedes pit wall at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    Hamilton had dominated for the majority of the Monaco GP but lost victory as a direct result of a completely unnecessary pit stop under a late safety car. Changing tyres saw Hamilton drop back behind both Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg and Ferraris Sebastian Vettel. Lauda insisted that the mistake needs to be fully investigated by the team.

    Lauda apologised to Hamilton and his engineers, “Honestly, I really feel sorry,” he said. “I apologised, even to his engineers over there, because this is for me unacceptable.

    “Nevertheless, Toto, I gave him the order to analyse it properly and see where the mistake was made. But absolutely the decision to bring him in was completely wrong.”

    Lauda said that there was confusion between Hamilton and the pit wall just before he pitted.

    “I was listening to the talks – the talks were going forward and backwards – and there was too much confusion. In the end it was the wrong decision, no question about it.”

    Photo Credit: Niki Lauda, Toto Wolff – Mercedes AMG Petronas

  • Mercedes Apologises to Hamilton

    Mercedes Apologises to Hamilton

    Mercedes Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff has apologised to Lewis Hamilton on behalf of the team following the late pit stop mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    Hamilton was leading the race when a late safety car was deployed because of Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen colliding with Lotus’ Romain Grosjean. Initially the virtual safety car was deployed which meant drivers are to stick to a delta lap time. A short while after that the Safety Car was deployed. This prompted Mercedes to ready their pit crew for a pit stop. Hamilton, who had built up a considerable gap to second place man, Nico Rosberg, pitted under instruction from the team. The gap, which was anticipated to be enough for Hamilton to rejoin back in the lead was not large enough and when he emerged from the pits he lost two positions and was running in 3rd.

    There was a bit of uncertainty between Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton as to who crossed the safety car line ahead at the exit of the pit lane. In the end, replay’s showed Vettel crossing the safety car line ahead of Hamilton by about half a car length.

    When the race ended Hamilton was distraught. He took his time returning to parc ferme and even pulled over at the Portier corner for a while. Supposedly to collect himself. He got going again and returned to parc ferme. On the podium he was visibly upset choosing not to say much in the podium interviews.

    Toto Wolff, after the race, apologised to Hamilton said that they had got their maths wrong by miscalculating the gap between Hamilton and Rosberg.

    “First of all, we must apologise to Lewis,” said Wolff

    “We win and we lose together and what I am proud of in this team is that we take collective responsibility,” he added.

    “But this is a day when we simply have to say sorry to our driver, because our mistake cost him the victory here.

    Toto Wolff_Pit Wall“What happened? In simple terms, we got our numbers wrong.

    “We thought we had the gap for Lewis to take fresh tyres and come back out in the lead behind the Safety Car, ahead of Nico and covering off any risk of another competitor taking fresh tyres.

    “But the calculation was incorrect and he came out in third place. It was our decision to call him in and our mistake, pure and simple; in these situations, a driver trusts his team.

     

    Wolff lauded Hamilton for the sportsmanship he showed after the race.

    “Lewis had driven flawlessly until then and really delivered a perfect weekend, with a stunning pole lap and a masterful race.

    There’s nothing more to say other than to highlight the grace with which he handled the situation; he was a leader and a true sportsman this afternoon.”