Tag: nico rosberg

F1 2015: Brazilian GP Free Practice 1 Report – Hamilton Quickest

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton topped the timing sheets in the first free practice session for the Brazilian grand prix.

The one-a-half hour session got underway with the track temperature soaring towards the 40 degree centigrade mark. The track surface provided a low level of grip for the drivers as they re-familiarized themselves with the famous Interlagos circuit. The Mercedes driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg traded quickest times during the initial part of the session before the Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel took to the track.

Ultimately, Vettel and Raikkonen ended the session third and fifth fastest. The Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was fourth fastest with the newly upgraded internal combustion engine, from Renault, fitted to the Aussie’s car. No major incidents came to the fore during the session save for a few lock-ups into turn one and late session spin, into turn 4, for Raikkonen.

Local heroes Felipe Nasr and Felipe Massa ended their session, for Sauber and Williams, in fourteenth and seventeenth respectively.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings:

November 13, 2015
F1 2015: Brazilian Grand Prix Preview – Brazil – A spectacle for the ages

In the last several years the Brazilian grand prix has moved around quite a bit on the F1 calendar. It’s gone from the second race of the year to being the season-ender a few times. Now, it finds itself settled as the penultimate race of the year. But regardless of when the Brazilian grand prix is run it always delivers a stunning show.

History reveals that the land which the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace is built on was first bought with a housing development in mind. Luckily, part of the Sau Paulo land was not suitable for housing and a so a racetrack, named Interlagos, was born. Several decades later the successful arrival of Emerson Fittipaldi on the world motorsport stage became the catalyst for a Brazilian grand prix in the 1970s. By 1981 Rio had taken over as host of the Brazilian grand prix. But thanks to the fervour that surrounded Ayrton Senna, a Sau Paulo native, the race has returned and been run at Interlagos ever since.

The circuit isn’t a long one at 4.309 kilometres and its lap record is just shade over seventy-one seconds. It doesn’t have any corners in its layout to really trouble the drivers either. “There’s just not a corner that gives you any real satisfaction. I don’t want to make it sound dull, because it isn’t, but like Russia, there isn’t a corner that makes you go ‘Woooo-Hoooo!’ It needs a few more corners and something really high speed,” says Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. “There’s a couple that look good on paper but because of the cambers, you never really have the grip to go barrelling in.”

From the Aussie’s perspective it doesn’t sound very challenging and it looks like it could be a bit of a damp squib. But somehow, year after year, the circuit and the boisterous fans combine with an untouchable force to deliver astounding Brazilian Grand Prix races.

The stunning 2012 race in which then Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel had to fight back through the field after a first-corner incident comes to mind. In 2007 Kimi Raikkonen beat the odds to win the driver’s championship. In 2008 the driver’s world title race between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa climaxed in the most dramatically breathtaking fashion. As local hero and Ferrari driver Massa crossed the line as world champion only to be denied as McLaren driver Hamilton found his way past the Toyota of Timo Glock on the last corner of the last lap. These stunning races are merely what are in the recent memory bank of Formula 1. The Brazilian grand prix has been delivering this kind of drama for decades.

Last year Nico Rosberg put together a faultless weekend to win from pole. It comes as no great revelation that Mercedes is the overwhelming favourite for victory going into the weekend. However, there are a few factors that could change the outcome of Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix. The weather around the Interlagos circuit looks set fair with temperatures predicted to reach into the early 30s. It will mean a considerably high track temperature which will play to the strengths of the Ferrari, as it did in Malaysia.

The factor of racing on home soil should never be diminished and given Felipe Massa’s adoration for his home race he will undoubtedly feature in some way this weekend. A podium finish may not be out of the question for the Williams driver.

Often we try to predict what will happen over a grand prix weekend. We base our view on car performance in relation to a specific layout, weather forecasts, and occasionally a gut feel. But in Brazil you do so at your peril. Because this race has the uncanny ability to surprise and deliver a spectacle to the level no one can possibly imagine.

November 11, 2015
F1 2015: Mexico GP Review – Rosberg Rises To The Occasion

What a difference seven days has made in the life of Nico Rosberg. Seven days ago the Mercedes driver was sulking his way through a podium ceremony in Texas and had become part of the Twitter-dubbed ‘cap-gate’ saga.

But seven days later all was right again in the world of Nico Rosberg. He’s still come second to his championship winning teammate in the greater scheme of things. But he’s won the Mexican grand prix in a straight-out fight with Lewis Hamilton. There was sense of consistency as Rosberg secured a fourth straight pole position. The expectation, created over the same last four races, would have been that the German would again succumb to the craftier Hamilton.

In Mexico, he beautifully controlled proceedings and never allowed Lewis Hamilton even a momentary chance at victory. There has been much criticism heaped on Nico Rosberg, some even from this column. His performance on Sunday is perfect example of why Rosberg is criticised. Inherently, most criticism comes from a place of frustration. The frustration with Nico Rosberg is confirmed in his two last performances – decidedly average in Austin and unassailable in Mexico. The last race proves that Rosberg does have the skill to beat his illustrious teammate.

Then again, it could be argued that Rosberg beat a far more relaxed Hamilton. A Lewis Hamilton who is who is fighting with all of his powers to win the world championship is a far different and defiant prospect. However, Mexico proves that Rosberg does have the ability to do so, on occasion. But now he needs to couple that ability with the mental fortitude to take on, and beat, a three-time world champion. The psychological strength needed to be a successful Formula 1 driver is equally as important as the racing prowess. With only two races remaining in the 2015 season Rosberg must find a way to unlock the mental barrier in 2016.

As the two Mercedes wrapped up a one-two finish it was Williams’ Valtteri Bottas who came through to take the final step on the podium. The Finn collided with countryman Kimi Raikkonen earlier in the race. However, this time the roles were reversed as Raikkonen retired with right-rear suspension damage Bottas was able to continue and see the chequered flag.

It was a day to forget for Ferrari as Sebastian Vettel too crashed out of the Mexican grand prix. It marks the first time since 2006 that Ferrari has suffered a double retirement. Vettel endured a lacklustre race after suffering a puncture early on in a tussle with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo.

It was Vettel’s crash on lap 52 that brought out the safety car. It bunched up the field and allowed Bottas to overtake the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat for third. While Kvyat was demoted to fourth he led home teammate Daniel Ricciardo in fifth. Felipe Massa was sixth in the other Williams ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg in seventh. Local hero Sergio Perez opted to play the long game on tyre strategy and finished eighth. Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen finished ninth ahead of Lotus driver Romain Grosjean who wrapped up the final point on offer.

The sense of occasion as the Mexican grand prix returned to the F1 calendar wasn’t lost on anyone. More than one hundred thousand fanatical supporters packed into the grandstands and vociferously displayed their enthusiasm and love for Formula 1. While the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez didn’t quite deliver the racing spectacle that was hoped for it more than made up for it in atmosphere.

November 2, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Nigel Mansell)

Viva México! What a race ladies and gentlemen. What a brilliant race we had. Can we get the drivers to come down here; get closer to you. We’ll talk to Nico. Nico, what a flawless drive. My goodness me, you were probably wondering what you had to do when the Safety Car came out. How does it feel?
Nico ROSBERG: Que tal México! Yeah, amazing; amazing day. Great race, great battle with Lewis, he drove really well. Just really, really happy to get the win and this is really the best podium of the year, what a place to do it.

Absolutely incredible, may I congratulate you. I couldn’t wish for [a better] winner, all three on the podium, absolutely incredible. And what do you think of the crowd. It’s unbelievable isn’t it Nico?
NR: Absolutely awesome! Muchas gracias.

OK, across to Lewis now, ladies and gentlemen. Lewis, you pushed really hard and when the Safety Car came out you had younger tyres, the crew did a brilliant job in the pit stops, you were pushing hard but you couldn’t quite do it today.
Lewis HAMILTON: No, Nico drove a fantastic race and it’s just been fantastic to be here in Mexico. I’ve never seen a crowd like this; it’s like football game. The fans have been amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this.

Well, you’re a great champion and I’ll tell you, Nico, you’ve just beaten Lewis absolutely fantastically. Let’s go across to Valtteri here, such a well-deserved podium today, ladies and gentlemen, so well deserved. An exciting race, you had a little flirtation with a Ferrari there, what did you make of that?
Valtteri BOTTAS: First of all, I have to say a big thanks to the team. We did a mega job today. We were racing like a race-winning team, so I’m really proud of that. Yeah, obviously it was not that easy a race, a bit of contact with Kimi. It didn’t have to end like that. It was a bit of a shame for me, there was nowhere to go, but that’s racing.

But great for you today, a great podium, congratulations. The last word with our winner Nico Rosberg. Nico, the last word’s with you.
NR: Muchas gracias por la apoyo!

Q: Nico, you looked in control throughout that race but were there any nervous moments and how much was tyre management an issue? Did you ask for that second stop for safety because of the wear on the first set you changed?
NR: At the time I wanted to do just… I didn’t want to come in because I was really comfortable at the time, I had a good gap to Lewis so it sort of reset things a little bit, going on another set of tyres – so I wasn’t too happy with that but I understand that it was the better thing to do – especially in light of the Safety Car that came out because it was important to have fresher tyres at that point in time. I’m happy I was able to control the race. The only moment that was a bit difficult was on the restart with the cold tyres – but it was OK.

Q: Lewis, can you just talk us through your thoughts on the team strategy regarding that second pitstop – and did you think you could get to the end?
LH: It doesn’t really matter now but good race, the team did a great job, Nico drove really well today, no mistakes, no gust of wind and… yeah, it was very difficult to follow here but what a crowd we had today, it was just incredible. I gave it my all, it was quite fun actually just to be able to push and not really have to be worrying about points or anything like that. Just go out and just race. That was one of the fun races for me.

Q: Valtteri it was a very eventful race for you. Hard-earned third place. Can you talk us through it and also tell us your thoughts on that moment with Kimi?
VB: Yeah, overall really good race, plenty happening but it ended up well. First of all I have to say a big thanks to the team. I think as a team we did a great job today, especially with the strategy. The guys were really on it, so really pleased with that. Obviously from the start, the first corners were quite tricky but managed to gain some places as well as further places during the race. The latest one with the Safety Car restart with Daniel. There was the contact with Kimi. We had a contact in Russia but this was just unlucky that we got together again. I was trying to overtake him in Turn Four-Five and there was just no room when I was inside into Turn Five and then we collided – which is a shame because it didn’t have to end up like that but for me, I had no space to go. So, yeah…

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Valtteri, as you say, two clashes with Kimi in the last few races. Is it time for you and him to sit down and have a bit of a chat?
VB: I don’t know if there’s anything to really speak about. For me, we were racing hard, obviously, and normally, what I’m used to in those kind of situations, there is enough for two cars when you go into a chicane like that but this time there wasn’t. And of course I’m not going to back off, I’m fighting for the positions. I was calculating the risk, I think there was a decent possibility to get through. But, hey, it ended up like this. I don’t know if there’s anything really to speak about. Unlucky that it was us two that collided again.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globo Esporte) Lewis, were you on the limit during the race or the fact that you won the world championship in the last race, maybe you didn’t give that extra power that you normally use during the race?
LH: Not at all. I was pushing the whole way it’s just that you can’t follow. Soon as I’d get four, five, a few car lengths behind, just to lose the aero, and he had perfect aero so it was impossible to get close enough but I had good pace – but as soon as you get closer and closer and closer you lose all your downforce, so…

Q: (Ricardo Roura – Reforma Cancha) For all three drivers, your opinion of the Mexican podium this afternoon.
NR: The Mexican podium? It’s the best podium of the year, I think, to be in a stadium like that and the atmosphere and the energy was just unbelievable, so I’m really thankful to all the Mexican people and to all the people that have been here today, for the massive support also. Really special.

Q: (Christopher Joseph – Chicane) All three of you have mentioned the stadium and mentioned the crowd; is there a real feeling of energy as you enter that section of the track, and does it give you a lift?
NR: During driving it’s really difficult because I’m just so focussed on what I’m doing, I don’t look around, so it’s more after the race and after qualifying when I’m aware of that and take it all in because it’s just unbelievable.
VB: Yeah, I agree. When you drive here, you don’t really look around but after the race you have the time and I was lucky enough to be on the podium, because it was incredible really, just got goosebumps and everything, it was pretty special and I think the best drivers’ parade I’ve ever had as well and really a lot of support from the fans.
LH: It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen; in the whole entire time I’ve been in Formula One, I’ve never seen anything like it, this crowd.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport Magazines) Valtteri, on that last restart, you were on the medium tyre whereas Daniel was on the softs. How difficult was that and how did you set that up, for the pass?
VB: Well, I think it was a really good call from the team; they knew that I would come back after the pit stop in the same position than before the safety car. And why we opted for the medium was that it is a lower working range tyre, it works better with lower temperatures so it seemed to work. I saw Daniel sliding in the last corner and I managed to get really close and then got through.

Q: (Eduardo Polaco – AutoBild Mexico) Did you feel the track different from practice because some of you said that it was very low grip at the beginning, so was there a difference?
VB: Yeah, I think it was improving on every lap during the race, actually, so the lap times were getting quicker and quicker so every session, every lap of the weekend so maybe next year we actually have some more grip which would be nice.
LH: I think they should make special tyres for this race. We need more grip.
NR: Well it’s normal, you know, a new track, it takes a bit of time because the asphalt is just so smooth so it’s the normal story like we’ve seen with most of the new tracks lately. It’s just one of the challenges that we’ve had this weekend but it’s all good, you know, and it’s been a great track, they’ve done a great job with it, so I think the whole race has been an amazing success for F1.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Before the race, almost all engineers from all teams were quite concerned about the brakes and engine temperatures. How difficult was it to make the brakes survive and keep the engine temperatures at a good level?
LH: It was fairly easy, it was fairly easy. There was not really much degradation on tyres, if any, and the brakes, yeah, you just have to do a little bit of lifting and coasting but it’s no different to anywhere else.
NR: No, the team did a great job so we were fine. There’s been other races that were more critical; today was no problem.
VB: Yeah, not a big problem. I think if we would have been following other cars for a long time then maybe but all good.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globo Esporte) Nico, your start was decisive for your winning. In the last few races you didn’t start well; can you describe your procedure of starting?
NR: Well, it’s just like everything else. I’ve been working on it to try and get everything perfect and today it worked out to be first and that was important, maybe the most important part of the race, so I’m very happy about that.

November 2, 2015

2015 Mexican GP results

Full results of the 2015 Formula One Mexican GP.

Nico Rosberg managed to keep a cool head and at the same time keep Lewis Hamilton from his goal of winning the first Mexican GP on the new circuit. Despite Hamilton coming very close in the end, it was just not close enough to snatch the win away from the German.

Below are the Mexican GP results. Keep you eyes peeled for our race review.

Pos	Driver	Team	Laps	Gap
1	Rosberg	Mercedes	71	1h 42:35.038
2	Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+ 0:01.954
3	Bottas	Williams	71	+ 0:14.592
4	Kvyat	Red Bull	71	+ 0:16.572
5	Ricciardo	Red Bull	71	+ 0:19.682
6	Massa	Williams	71	+ 0:21.493
7	Hulkenberg	Force India	71	+ 0:25.860
8	Perez	Force India	71	+ 0:34.343
9	Verstappen	Toro Rosso	71	+ 0:35.229
10	Grosjean	Lotus	71	+ 0:37.934
11	Maldonado	Lotus	71	+ 0:38.538
12	Ericsson	Sauber	71	+ 0:40.180
13	Sainz	Toro Rosso	71	+ 0:48.772
14	Button	McLaren	71	+ 0:49.214
15	Rossi	Marussia	69	+ 2 Laps
16	Stevens	Marussia	69	+ 2 Laps
	Nasr	Sauber	57	Brakes
	Vettel	Ferrari	50	Accident
	Raikkonen	Ferrari	21	Accident Damage
	Alonso	McLaren	1	MGU-H

November 1, 2015

2015 Mexico GP Qualifying: Rosberg beats Hamilton to Mexican pole

Nico Rosberg bounced back from his US grand prix disappointment today by secured his fourth straight pole position after topping the timesheets of the qualifying session ahead the Mexican Grand Prix.

Rosberg set an initial time of 1:20.120 and then lowered his benchmark to a 1:19.480 with nobody able to improve on the final Q3 lap.

In the end, Rosberg’s time was 0.188s faster than his Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton with the two securing yet another front-low lock-out for the team.

Rosberg seems to have left Austin and the lost championship title behind, and revealed his pleasure at securing the Mexican Grand Prix pole position. “I’m quite pleased with the first half of the weekend,” said Rosberg. “I have to thank my engineers because we nailed the set-up and I felt great in the car.”

Hamilton was very relaxed about losing out on the pole position, clearly not allowing too much space for Rosberg to get too comfortable psychologically. Hamilton says he thinks that the long run down to Turn 1 makes second on the grid better than pole position for tomorrow’s Mexican Grand Prix. “It’s actually the best spot to start, second or third, because there’s a long way down to Turn 1 like Russia – I think it’s longer than Russia,” Hamilton said. “I’m happy with my spot. The races have always proved to be quite good ones for me so I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Though he did briefly hold provisional pole in Q3 before Rosberg’s second lap on the soft tyre, Hamilton admitted that rosberg did a better job on the day but was quick to add that his set-up is more geared for the race.

Sebastian Vettel finished the qualifying session third fastest in his Ferrari, beating Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

The Williams F1 team took up sixth and seventh positions with Valtteri Bottas finishing ahead of team mate Felipe Massa. Massa clocked the highest top speed of the 2015 F1 season during qualifying, reaching a peak of 364.3km/h during Q1.

The altitude of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez – over 2,200 metres high – means that drag and downforce is reduced due to only 78 per cent of the oxygen being available compared to sea level.

Top speeds are also aided by the medium-speed entry onto the pit straight, which is 1.2km in length and DRS-assisted.

Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas ranked up second on the list at 360.8km/h.

Max Verstappen hailed his qualifying session in Mexico as one of the top performances of his rookie Formula 1 year after grabbing eighth place on the grid. “It was one of the best to be honest,” Verstappen said. “I mean it’s not our favourite track and in the end, especially if you miss FP2 which is quite crucial to set up your car, we were struggling in FP3 to find the right balance. I think we managed to turn it around very quickly for qualifying and it was a bit of a thriller in Q2 with the last lap, I’m very happy I could put that one in.

“It was very tense. I saw I was three tenths down and so I was like ‘don’t f**k this one up”. Then I managed to do it, so I was quite happy with that one.”

Force India only sent Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg out for the final moments of the Q3 qualifying session and the duo finished as the slowest of the runners in the session.

Carlos Sainz Jr. set the 11th quickest time for Toro Rosso and Lotus claimed 12th and 13th with Romain Grosjean beating team mate Pastor Maldonado.

Marcus Ericsson made it through to Q2 and set the 14th best qualifying time for Sauber while Kimi Raikkonen had a miserable day finishing in 15th place.

Having stopped on track during final practice, Raikkönen only returned to action in qualifying but spun at Turn 1, citing a brake problem with his car. Raikkonen will start ahead of only the McLaren drivers.

Fernando Alonso was 16th quickest but will drop to 19th due to an engine penalty, with Felipe Nasr finshing 17th for Sauber. Alexander Rossi again managed to out-qualify Manor Marussia team mate Will Stevens.

Jenson Button was not able to participate in qualifying due to a power unit problem that forced him out of the final practice session.

Button was set to start last even if he had participated in the session after having to take a 50 place grid penalty.

November 1, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS
1st Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2nd Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3rd Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

TV UNILATERAL
Nico, first of all congratulations, your fourth pole in a row. Qualifying is proving very strong for you at the moment, what was the key today?
Nico ROSBERG: I don’t really have a precise explanation. I just felt good all weekend. I’ve been quick in all different sessions and found a good balance in qualifying. So thanks to my engineers in the team I was able to push and got a really good lap in.

Thank you. Lewis, if I can come to you. You looked good in Q2, you were on top in Q2, but that 50th pole is proving tricky. Were there any mistakes in Q3 on your final lap?
Lewis HAMILTON: Not really, no. This weekend Nico has been quick and I’ve just been chipping away at it. There were a couple of moments where the car felt pretty spectacular but otherwise generally there are some areas where, for sure, I could improve both in my driving and also with the set-up. But we have quite a bit of a different set-up this weekend, so perhaps the avenue I went might not be the perfect one for qualifying but it’ll be good for the race.

Thank you. Sebastian, you tried everything, [but] Mercedes [were] too quick today. Was the drop in temperature in that final session a factor at all for you?
Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t think so. In the end we were hoping for it to be a bit closer but in the end it wasn’t. I think already already in Q2, in Q1 to be fair, with the hard tyre they looked very, very quick, so it was difficult. I tried everything. I was very happy with the first attempt in Q3. On the second one I probably pushing too hard and I didn’t go any faster. Yeah, I don’t think it is fair to blame it on the conditions or the track. In the end they were just a sniff too quick. But who knows what happens tomorrow. Seems to be a fun circuit. Finally it starts to rubber in a bit. Yesterday it was very slippery. It’s good fun and it’s nice to see so many people coming, so I think it should be exciting for all of us tomorrow.

Thank you. Nico, returning to you, how do you turn this into a win tomorrow and how badly do you want it to turn into a win tomorrow?
NR: It’s a good start, for sure, starting from pole. It’s going to be a long run down to turn one, so it’s going to be an exciting battle. Then I’m sure we have a good race car. It will be interesting tyre-wise. There was some stuff going on on Friday, which is going to be not so easy to handle in the race but we’re prepared well, so looking forward to it.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Nico, congratulations, you’ve looked comfortable all weekend, it this ‘Angry Nico’ fighting back?
NR: No, definitely not. There’s no difference, it’s attack like always. It’s three more races to go, great to be here in Mexico, great track, I really enjoy driving here, so business as usual.

Q: Lewis, P2 hasn’t proved too much of a problem for you in recent times, there’s a very long run down to Turn One as well. Is that your target for the race tomorrow?
LH: Actually coming into the weekend it’s one of the best spots to start, second or third because it’s a long, long way down to Turn One. Just as in Russia. I don’t know if it’s longer than Russia but I’m quite happy with my spot. As you’ve said, the races have always been proved to be quite good ones for me so I’m excited for tomorrow and, yeah…

Q: Sebastian, it’s looked close this weekend. Did you think pole was on?
SV: Well, now we’ve just finished qualifying… no! If we talk about another tenth I think it’s always normal for us to say “yeah, one-tenth here or there, could have squeezed a bit more,” but I was reasonably happy with my lap and I think we were missing four-tenths in the end so the gap was probably too big. We have to be fair and say congratulations to Nico who drove a very good qualifying and put in a very strong lap.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Seb. In your opinion, it will be possible tomorrow to match Mercedes considering your race pace especially with medium tyres?
SV: Well, I can’t predict what’s going to happen but usually we’re always a bit stronger, compared to them, in the race. As Nico touched on with the tyres, could be crucial tomorrow, the circuit is very slippery and I expect it to be slippery again. There might be some rain overnight so might be a bit of a reset for the track. To answer your question, we will have to wait and see tomorrow – but I hope so.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) What happened at the end of qualifying, because everybody seemed to be slower than before?
NR: I was a tenth off my (best) lap, I think, so it was a good lap, just not as good as the previous one.
SV: Sounds like a good excuse! I did the same, I was a tenth off, it was a good lap, just not as good as before.
LH: Yeah, I just wasn’t quicker on that lap.

Q: (Christopher Joseph – Chicane) To all of you, we touched on altitude on Thursday. I just wondered if you’re feeling any physical effects after qualifying and in general, out and about in Mexico City?
LH: No issues, it’s tough out there as usual and it will be interesting for the race tomorrow for sure with the altitude. It does make a difference. And otherwise, so far I’ve had the best time here, I had the best tacos last night and I’m going to go back and have them again tonight and tomorrow night and probably the next night as well. I’m enjoying my stay.
NR: The only time I felt it was running round the track where for sure I had a higher heart rate on Thursday but in the car, not really, it’s been fine.
SV: I think it’s fine, we have a very very long straight to rest so that helps. Other than that, I think it’s great for us, it’s exciting, a lot of people. I think the size of the grandstands here seem to be at least double to other places and still full so it makes it very special for us.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globo Esporte) Lewis and Nico, there’s no way not to ask you (this question) considering what we saw in the last few races; will there be any conversation between you both considering the start tomorrow?
NR: It’s no different, you know, it’s always going to be a battle and what’s in the past is in the past and now we move forward, it doesn’t change.
LH: The same as he’s just said.
SV: Can you make sure you take both of you out so I can go through? Yes? No? I tried.

October 31, 2015

Rosberg Tops Final Practice Session for Mexican Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets in the final practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix.

Rosberg’s time of 1:21.083 was 0.084s faster than Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton. Third place Daniel Ricciardo finished the session 0.118s off Rosberg’s pace after setting a best lap of 1:21.201 for Red Bull.

The session got off to a rather busy start. A number of drivers made their way onto the track as soon as the light went green at the end of the pit lane. Few minutes into the session, McLaren’s Jenson Button complained about his ERS not recharging. He was told to pit and that was the end of his session after an electrical problem was discovered in his new engine. McLaren confirmed that they will revert back to the engine he used in FP1.

A few minutes after Button’s calamities, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen came to a stop off the track after flames were seen out the back of his Ferrari. A Ferrari spokesperson later said that it was a faulty lambda sensor on the engine. The problem did seem worse than it was and we could see Raikkonen taking a 10-place grid drop for an engine change.

Drivers still struggled with the lack of grip with a few running wide at the esses and a few lock ups.

Seeing that the top 5 are separated by less that half a second, qualifying is going to be incredibly close.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Gap
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:21.083	–
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:21.097	0.014
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:21.201	0.118
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:21.294	0.211
5	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull	1:21.530	0.447
6	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:21.603	0.520
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:21.772	0.689
8	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:21.775	0.692
9	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:21.945	0.862
10	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:22.010	0.927
11	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso	1:22.039	0.956
12	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	1:22.042	0.959
13	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:22.184	1.101
14	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:22.871	1.788
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:23.065	1.982
16	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:23.067	1.984
17	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:24.648	3.656
18	Will Stevens	Manor	1:25.654	4.571
19	Alexander Rossi	Manor	1:28.176	7.093
20	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:29.336	8.253

Photo credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team

October 31, 2015

F1 2015: Mexico GP FP2 Report – Rosberg Fastest For Mercedes

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg set the pace in the second free practice session in Mexico.

Conditions looked slightly better than the first free practice session which started with a damp circuit. However, on his first lap of the afternoon Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen clouted the barrier and in the process destroyed the left front suspension of his car. This prompted a short red flag period in order for the stricken car to be recovered.

A second, albeit short, red flag session came about as the Lotus of Romain Grosjean grinded to a halt with a suspected gearbox issue. Earlier in the session Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was lucky to only lose his front-wing in a high speed collision with the barrier.

Despite an improvement in laptimes from the tyres the circuit conditions remained tricky with several drivers running wide, spinning and having to compensate for extremely low grip.

Halfway through the session spots of rain were visible and intensified as it ten minutes to go on the clock. Nico Rosberg set the most laps, at thirty-six, in his Mercedes and was followed closely on the timing sheets by Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

Final Free Practice Two Standings:

October 30, 2015
F1 2015: Mexico GP FP1 Report – Verstappen Tops

Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen topped the timing sheets at the end of the first free practice session for the Mexican grand prix.

The talented teenager set the fastest time according to the timing screens but in reality the laptime was achieved by cutting one of the corners on the Autrodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The session started in slightly damp conditions which forced all drivers onto the green side-walled intermediate tyres for the initial installation laps. The circuit appeared to dry relatively quickly as the intermediate tyre became obsolete and eventually replaced but the white-walled medium compound tyre.

Whilst conditions proved slippery with several drivers having off track excursion no major incidents were noted during the one and a half hour session. However, the Mercedes team were the first to encounter brake temperature issues. Shortly after overtaking Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel both the rear brakes on Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes caught fire. The sister car of Lewis Hamilton was also warned on escalating brake temperatures. It wasn’t only confined to Mercedes as Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen was also told to cool his brakes.

In the most peculiar fashion McLaren’s Fernando Alonso later toured around the completely dry circuit on the intermediate tyre. As it turns out the team had noticed a cut on the set of slicks the Spaniard had run earlier in the session and didn’t want to risk the same occurrence on a second set of tyres.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings:

October 30, 2015