F1 Madness

Tag: nico rosberg

  • F1 2015: Chinese GP Preview – Advantage Mercedes in Shanghai

    F1 2015: Chinese GP Preview – Advantage Mercedes in Shanghai

    If you’re not mulling several burning questions and theories at the same time then you’re more than likely not thinking about Formula 1 and the upcoming Chinese grand prix.

    The biggest of these burning questions is whether Ferrari’s stunning Malaysian grand prix victory was indicative of something or just a flash in the Mercedes dominated pan. But things are rarely ever as simple as either answering yes or no either way. This is after all Formula 1 and there are a plethora of variables and circumstances that have to enter into providing a carefully thought out response to this poser.

    The biggest determining factor will be the temperature. In Malaysia the scorching track temperature played to Ferrari’s strength but it wasn’t the only advantage they put on the table. In comparison to Mercedes the Ferrari driver’s did a much better job at managing their tyre degradation.

    The Pirelli tyres are far less temperamental than when they were first introduced to Formula 1 but the benefit of eeking a bit more performance out of them than the competition is a big advantage. The temperatures in China won’t be anything like that of Sepang but the track surface is quite an abrasive one. Add to this that Pirelli have selected the medium and soft compounds for the weekend and Ferrari is still in with a shout.

    shanghai_international_circuit65a8dd6515e2c7fb2df1Sebastian Vettel’s win in Malaysia doesn’t mean that he or Ferrari will be able to consistently beat Mercedes. But it’s given Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his team something to think about. “In two weeks you are caught up and you lose the race fair and square on track which is a bit of a wake-up call, which is good for us.”

    The pace of development in Formula 1 has always been staggering but never quite something you can get used to. In 2014 Williams were, by far, the second quickest team on the grid and even locked out the front row for the Austrian grand prix. Several months later the Grove based team has, so far, fallen short of the frontrunners. We are missing race pace – and quite a big amount,” said Valtteri Bottas. “With the ideal race, starting at the front, the gap wouldn’t be that big but it is too big, much bigger than we expected.

    The FW34 Williams shouldn’t have too bad a time of it this weekend because China’s Shanghai circuit is a marvellous mixture of intricate, technical corners and wide-open straights prepared to test the limits of the modern F1 hybrid technology. Turn one is a test in patience as it makes a 180 degree turn before accelerating into a slightly off-camber turn two.  “The circuit has a very long straight, where a good top speed is important, and an interesting mix of low, medium and high speed corners. In addition, it has several technical sections where unique corners, such as turns one and 13, lead straight into further corners requiring a good car balance and precise driving,” says Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering at Sauber.

    Lewis Hamilton_Malaysia 2015All the teams like coming to these parts too. It’s bustling juggernaut economy and bustling automotive industry is a big target for the manufacturer’s involved in the sport. Achieve commercial success in the densely populated Chinese region and you’ll be smiling at the way to the bank.

    There will be more than just the battle up front to whet the appetite this weekend. The Lotus F1 team maintain that they have made big gains from last year but have not yet been able to show this on track. If they are able the fight in the mid-field, with Toro Rosso and Sauber, may yield quite a battle.

    The saying goes that you’re only as good as your last race. In this case it means a dazzling Ferrari victory and Mercedes being, slightly, found out. But the pragmatic part of the brain will remind you that though Ferrari’s victory was stunning it is still up against the juggernaut of Mercedes. Then again, pragmatism is terribly over-rated.

  • Mercedes ready to up their game for China

    Mercedes ready to up their game for China

    Following their defeat in Sepang, Mercedes says it has assessed every aspect of the Malaysian Grand Prix in order to ensure that the team overcomes the threat posed by Ferrari.

    Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says that the team left Sepang with a whole lot to think about and saw Mercedes realise that Ferrari can indeed pose a threat for the entire 2015 F1 season. They are however ready to up the stakes and raise their game. According to Wolff, Mercedes are ready to bounce back and look forward to reclaiming the top step of the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix this coming weekend.

    Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1“We left Malaysia with plenty to think about,” Wolff said. “It may have been a good result for the sport – but for us, it was a wake-up call. This is something you cannot afford to happen often and, although we had two cars on the podium, we have been looking very carefully at every area where we could have performed better.

    “Our opposition has raised its game and we must now raise ours even further; as we have said since Melbourne, we expect a season-long battle for both world championships and we must maximise every opportunity. China is the next chance to do that – a circuit which has been a good hunting ground for the team.

    “Lewis [Hamilton] has a great record here and for Nico [Rosberg], it’s where he made his first step into the winners circle. We have the weapons at our disposal – and we need to make the most of them this weekend.”

    Lewis Hamilton's post race interview following the 2015 F1 Malaysian Grand PrixDefending F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton also said that Mercedes have been working hard on analysing the Malaysian defeat in order to best prepare for the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix. While there is room for improvement, Hamilton is confident in targeting the front of the pack again.

    “Malaysia was a tough weekend. It always is with the heat – but with car problems on Friday, rain during qualifying on Saturday and a race which didn’t go to plan on Sunday, this one was particularly challenging,” Hamilton said. “I think ultimately we made the best choices we could – but there is always room for improvement and we’ve been working hard to analyse everything for the next race in China.

    “The circuit itself is a different challenge to Albert Park and Sepang – but it’s one I really enjoy and it suits my driving style quite well. I won the race last year and have only finished outside of the podium places twice, so the target is definitely to build on that and get back to the front.”

    Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1Team mate Nico Rosberg is also eyeing the top step of the podium and fancies his chances on Sunday, especially considering his special history at the circuit.

    Shanghai is a great circuit for me. It’s where I got my first pole and my first win back in 2012 – my third season with the Silver Arrows. It’s not been a perfect start to my sixth year with the team and I’m determined to turn that around this weekend. Of course, my team-mate will have other ideas – and so will my compatriot in the red car, I’m sure. But this is a track that has always suited me well, so I’m aiming to put in a strong weekend.”

    Technical chief Paddy Lowe pointed out theat tyre management was a major concern for Mercedes following the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Mercedes were unable to match Vettel’s two-stop strategy. He also confirmed that Mercedes have a number of new aero developments for Shangai which the team expect will make a big difference to their performance.

    Mercedes admit tyres a definite factor in their defeat at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1“The most significant weakness was our tyre management during long runs,” Lowe said. “Exceptionally high track temperatures – even by Malaysian standards – contributed to this, however it is essential to have a car which performs at all circuits and in all conditions, so there is work to be done on that front.

    “China presents a different challenge. Temperatures can vary dramatically year-on-year, but are generally quite low. It’s also a front-limited circuit – the opposite of Sepang – with a good mix of corners and a long straight, so it will be interesting to see how the different cars perform at yet another circuit characteristic for this new season. It is now clearer than ever that there is serious competition for this world championship, so we will continue to work flat out for performance gains. We have a range of new aerodynamic developments for Shanghai and are targeting an improved performance from Malaysia.”

    Photo credits: All photos credited to Mercedes AMG F1

  • Q&A with Sebastian Vettel on one of his “best wins yet”

    Q&A with Sebastian Vettel on one of his “best wins yet”

    Sebastian Vettel oozed emotion on the podium following his win at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix. The tear-filled eyes of the Ferrari driver and his entire crew made it easy to see how much the win meant to both Vettel and his Italian team. Despite being a four-time World Champion, Vettel spoke of his first victory for the team as one of his best wins yet. Here’s what he had to say to the media after his emotional first victory for the Ferrari team.

    Q: Congratulations Sebastian, it is not only Ferrari’s first win since Spain 2013 but also your first win since Brazil 2013. How would you rate the importance of this victory?

    Sebastian Vettel: I think it has to be one of my best wins, as I did not swap teams that much in the past, and winning for a new team is definitely a great relief. And in my case it is for sure a dream come true, since there is so much more to it in the background. Since I joined the team they have been phenomenal welcoming me, and since then we have worked incredibly hard together trying to improve a lot of things. On the way there I said many times that the potential is huge, and it is great to see that we were able to do such a great step over the winter. For sure there are a lot of changes happening in the background, which is never easy to accomplish, but everyone saw the positives of those very changes. I am just happy to go to work, and very passionate just to work for Ferrari. So I am sharing that passion now as well, and seeing all the guys from up on the podium gave me goosebumps.

    Q: Last year you were not happy with your own performance, how would you explain this?

    Sebastian Vettel: I was not able to get on top of the car, which was a good car. This year it is a different game, and not only a new team but also a new car. This time I had a good feeling right from the start. I was able to work right away with this new car, and there is a lot that we are trying to build together with the team. So it is very pleasant to have a start like that. For the next races we need to make sure that we are able to keep these good results and that we keep up the pace as well. Today is a very special day, as it was the first time that Mercedes got beaten fair and square since the introduction of the new rules, and they were not suffering from any special problems. So for sure this means a lot to us, as a proper win was quite some time ago for Ferrari, and also for myself.

    Q: How high are your hopes that you can be a championship contender alongside Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg this year?

    Sebastian Vettel: In general it is very simple, as Mercedes have a great package. Maybe here in Malaysia they were struggling a bit more, and also we were doing exceptionally well. For sure we would like to be in that situation for every race to come from now on, which is also our target. On the other side we have to be realistic as well, as they had a very big gap in winter testing and in the first race, which does not just evaporate. Our target has to be that the gap between them and us keeps getting smaller, as the gap will still be there. Also, we need to underline that it is us that is the team right behind them.

    Q: How important is it to get such an amazing result this early in the season?

    Sebastian Vettel: It is a great boost for the entire team. Ferrari had a horrible year last season, and they got criticised a lot from all sides. A lot of things have changed already, including one driver (laughs). And I do hope for the better, and I am very happy to join Ferrari. For sure this is a great day for the team and for myself, and it makes me very proud.

  • Toto Wolff thinks Ferrari’s victory is “good for Formula One”

    Toto Wolff thinks Ferrari’s victory is “good for Formula One”

    The Mercedes team did not stand a chance at stopping four-time Forumula One champion, Sebastian Vettel, from cruising to his first Ferrari victory at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
    Vettel won the race on a two-stop strategy, while his Mercedes rivals opted for three stops. Mercedes Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff however, in an interview with Formula One’s official website, insisted that Ferrari’s unstoppable pace was not to be credited to strategy. While it was a bad day for Mercedes, Wolff thinks it was a good day for Formula One.

    Here’s what he had to say in his interview with F1’s official website:

    Q: Toto, did Ferrari win the race or did Mercedes lose it?

    Toto Wolff: Well, Ferrari deserved to win today. So they’ve won the race! Sebastian did a fantastic job and they executed the strategy in the right way – and it is fantastic for Formula One after all the talk about a boring race in Melbourne, and that Mercedes would run away with the championship. Here you had a sizzling race! We saw on Friday that Kimi’s long runs were impressive, which makes me believe that it was the best long run on the weekend up until the race. My guess is that we couldn’t have matched the long run pace of Ferrari today on the option tyres. Lewis’ tyres were finished after 14 or 15 laps – they were able to do much more.  So we were pretty sure that a three-stop strategy was the right call and I doubt that we could have pulled it off with only two stops.

    Q: Does Ferrari’s pace worry you for the races ahead?

    Toto Wolff: Yes, that is worrying. Especially if you have the kind of track temperatures that we had today. They have been able to go faster than us over the long runs, so we need to analyse why that was the case. It clearly shows that this year is not going to be an easy one for us – gone are the illusions of a walk in the park!

    Q: Why is it that in Melbourne you looked unbeatable, and yet here you were suddenly second fastest?

    Toto Wolff: The conditions here were completely different. Remember, last year in Malaysia we also struggled against Daniel Ricciardo in the race, so these are not our conditions – this extremely high tarmac and ambient temperature. Probably we were a bit too aggressive on set-ups that pushed us into the direction of three stops – all the algorithms showed that this was the right way to go. But we got stuck in traffic and damaged the tyres following cars, and there you have it.

    Q: You had a very early first stop after five laps – is that a regret in hindsight?

    Toto Wolff: Afterwards you are always smarter! But we took this decision all together. We haven’t made any strategic mistakes in the last one and a half to two years, so it doesn’t make sense to point a finger at a single event. We need to find out why we’ve been struggling on the long runs in these hot conditions. This is the main thing we have to look at in my viewpoint.

    Q: Did you expect Ferrari to catch up so massively in these last couple of weeks?

    Toto Wolff: No, we definitely did not expect it to happen at that pace. We were pretty dominant in Melbourne. We are always a bit sceptical about our own advantage – that’s why we believe that you always have to keep sharp and keep developing in order not to be caught up – and then in two weeks you are actually caught up by a Ferrari. We lost the race fair and square! Yes, it was a surprise, but it was also a wake-up call. Which is good!

    Q: What do you expect then for China?

    Toto Wolff: If I was to be optimistic I would say that Malaysia was difficult last year and it continued to be this year as the temperatures are the same. We suffered from these temperatures, so there you have your result. But that would be pretty naive: Ferrari have done a good job. They have a good engine, a good car and great drivers, so we will have to sit down in the next days to analyse the situation and see where we have to improve and probably take some developments forward. We need to increase the pace of our development.

    Q: At mid-distance the team told both drivers that they were on target for a one-two victory. That was all gone in the second part of the race. Where did the confidence for such a message come from?

    Toto Wolff: Today strategies are no longer gut decisions but algorithm and scientific research. We have the best guy in the paddock in terms of strategy, and today we relied on the information we collected over the weekend. So we were right about our own pace – just not about the pace of the Ferrari.

    Q: When he realised what the outcome of the race would likely be, Lewis got a bit bugged out in his radio conversations telling his engineer: ‘don’t talk to me in the corner’…

    Toto Wolff: Lewis was not bugged out. This race was very difficult to read from a driver’s perspective with so many stops and then realising that your main competitor was on a completely different strategy that seemed to pan out – that is of course an irritation. And we weren’t really good on radio messaging today! (laughs) There were a couple of wired calls!

    Q: Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday that he is certain that Lewis will win his third title. But now everything has been blown wide open, and Ferrari don’t look like one-hit wonders…

    Toto Wolff: That is Formula One at it’s best: the speed of development is amazing. Now we have to work to turn things around again. It was always clear that the winning streak wasn’t going on forever! We have been beaten fair and square today!

    Toto Wolff Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG F1

  • 2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1st Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    2nd Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3rd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Eddie Jordan)

    Sebastian, you look amazingly emotional, what’s the matter with you? The last time we saw you crying you went on to win world championships.

    Sebastian VETTEL: It’s been a while that I haven’t been on the top step. It’s my first time obviously with Scuderia Ferrari. I’m speechless. Obviously a big change over the winter and the welcome the team gave me is just fantastic. The fans. I’ve only done two races but it’s a great atmosphere. I’m very, very happy. Proud of today, we beat them fair and square. A great achievement, we have a great car. Plenty of positives and I guess that’s why it is a bit emotional.

    I don’t need to tell you but now, having won here four times, no other driver has ever achieved that. So that’s another little one in the book.

    SV: It is bloody hot though! I think today is a very special day and will always remain a part of me. Thank you very much, as I said, to the whole team. Grazie. Thank you to the fans.

    Lewis, first of all, Arnie says ‘well done’ and he’s allowed me to come and talk to you today. He’s coming back to see you later. So, Arnie well done last race. Lewis, that was a surprise and you weren’t very happy with your car, we could hear what you were saying to your engineers. Tell us what was going on there?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Well, firstly, huge congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian, they did an amazing job. Jeez, they had some good pace today. I gave it everything I could; we did as a team. We knew coming into this weekend that they had made a step, we didn’t know how big but they were too fast for us today.

    Obviously you’ve converted so many… what, the last eight pole positions into wins. You just missed out today. Does that mean you’ve got to kick-start it again and start thinking about the strategy for the future?

    LH: We’ll just get back together as a team and try to figure out where we were losing time today. My balance wasn’t great particularly, so there are definitely areas we can improve on and I’m sure we’ll be fighting for the next race, which I’m really excited about.

    You talked with your engineers, we were a bit confused and you were a bit confused. You didn’t know whether you were going to have to stop again. What was that discussion or were you not supposed to hear that?

    LH: I don’t think I was supposed to hear it. In general the team did a fantastic job. I’m really grateful for the car we have. The fans have been fantastic this weekend. Thank you so much guys.

    Nico, another podium. I know you teased him at the last race, you said come on Sebastian, get a bit more speed and you can come up and join us guys. You didn’t think he was going to be there that quickly did you?

    Nico ROSBERG: No, but all I can say now, on behalf of our team is: game on, Ferrari!

    Absolutely, we saw that today. And in everyone’s interest, it is the most amazing thing, because we don’t want to see you run away with the championship and to see Ferrari up there fighting you, as obviously as Sebastian has said, fair and square, this was a titanic battle that everybody here absolutely enjoyed. Can I just ask you a question about tyres? You didn’t need to run the softer tyres yesterday morning in the first session and you could have done with that tyre today. Was that a mistake?

    NR: I don’t know the exact details about the strategy because it was quite complex out there. I’m sure we did a good job and congrats, Ferrari did an awesome job today and they deserved to win and we’ll be back next race.

    Indeed, I don’t have to remind everybody here that the first person to win in the modern era in a Mercedes was a couple of years ago, in China, which you won. Are you going to win there?

    NR: Yeah, China is a great track for me, so I look forward to that and of course we’re going for the win.

    And you’re going to beat this man here, which is obviously what everybody wants to see, we want a big fight with Lewis. Is that going to continue?

    NR: Definitely yes, I’ll be pushing him hard; definitely.

    Am I allowed to sit down here, because it’s been a very hot day and we can see… c’mon give him another round of applause. He deserves it after that. He’s exhausted, all of them are, all of the drivers, each and every single one of them. So Brazil 2013, I don’t have to remind you, that was your last win and you just didn’t look comfortable at all last year and now we see you back in the thing, waving your finger, emotional. The transformation! Tell us what it’s like?

    SV: I don’t know. I’m speechless. Last year was not a good year for me. I think we had a great car but I was just struggling to extract the performance. This year’s car seems to suit me very well. Obviously it’s a big change but the team has been phenomenal, welcoming me the first day. I remember when the gate opened in Maranello it was like a dream coming true. I remember the last time I was there was as a young kid watching Michael over the fence driving around in the Ferrari and now I’m driving that very red car. It’s incredible. The day today, the race, really spot on, the whole team was there, great strategy, great pace, we beat them fair and square, so thanks to the team, thanks to all the team in Maranello, really, really great day.

    Just before we sign off I have to ask you this: it was an inspired decision for Lewis, leaving McLaren to come to Mercedes, it made such a transformation to the great pace they’ve had in the last couple of years and it would appear it’s exactly the same for you. Do you feel it’s possible to win a championship in this car?

    SV: I hope so. That’s why I signed up! That’s our goal and that’s the mission – to bring the world championship back to Maranello. I think for today we have to enjoy the day. We know that these guys are incredibly strong and difficult to beat but today we did an excellent job and that’s what we have to keep doing for the whole year: try to get the best and then we’ll see where we’re at. We know there is a long way ahead of us but for now, to be honest, I don’t care. I want to celebrate today, I want to get pissed tonight, I don’t care.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, the emotion, and I think possible the tiredness as well after a very long and hard drive, is very clear, but you’re first win since 2013 and like your childhood idol you have won a grand prix for Ferrari. Just tell us how that feels and also clearly the strategy was a crucial part of that, the decision to stay out when the safety car was deployed, but you then had quite a lot to do to deliver?

    SV: A phenomenal day. How does it feel? It feels incredible. To see the guys when I was on the podium, to look down, it was an incredible atmosphere. I can only recall from the victories Fernando had with Ferrari and recall especially the victories Michael celebrated with the team – I think there were one or two – it’s incredible. To become part of that team is something special. It makes me very happy obviously. Last year was tough. The first win since more than a year’s time now. I definitely missed not just the champagne but the top step in particular. So great to come back after a tough season last year where I think I just didn’t get on top of the car. This year the balance of the car seems to suit me and has come my way, also I think Kimi’s way more than last year in general. Very pleased. The strategy today was also ace. So big thanks to the guys. They pulled in obviously, which I think we were a bit surprised by, but we saw on Friday that they weren’t too happy on the medium compound and Lewis was struggling in the first stint and I was able to keep up with him, which I enjoyed a lot. And then I knew I had to deliver, trying to make those tyres last and trying to go as fast as I can. Second stint he was chasing me down, which was tough, so he had a string second stint. In the end I think I was able to rebalance the car a little more and I was able to, yeah, have a solid gap the last couple of laps. But to be honest… I shouldn’t say it but I don’t know, I was shitting myself the last couple of laps because here and there the thought was coming to my head, I was looking at the top of the chassis and thinking “this is a red, you’re about to win” and then I thought, “OK, stop thinking that, otherwise you’ll miss the next apex or something”. Really, really a great relief I crossed the chequered flag and saw the guys, as I said, on the podium. So a really special day and a big thanks to all the mechanics and engineers and all the team in Maranello. There are a lot of people there and a lot of potential and power going into the project. I think we have done a massive step over the winter and it’s their victory today.

    Q: Lewis, coming to you, you’re still in the lead of the drivers’ championship after this race but as Sebastian was alluding to there, clearly it was a frustrating day for you. With the way that the car was behaving, with the way that the tyres were behaving and obviously with different strategies at play, do you still believe that was a winnable race for you?

    LH: Well, we have to give it to them, they did a fantastic job this weekend and big congratulations to Sebastian and Ferrari. We were not, and I was not, expecting them to be as quick as they were today. I think it’s great for the fans to see. I don’t really know whether, if I’d stayed out with him, whether that would have made much of a difference. They were probably just as good if not a little bit better perhaps on tyre deg. So I think it would have still been very, very close. But I think naturally after that first stop I had so much ground to catch up it was pretty much impossible.

    Q: Coming to you Nico, obviously as we’ve been hearing, the strategy was decisive today. Talk us through, from your point of view, the decision to come in under the Safety Car and to go onto the hard tyre in that second stint.

    NR: I think… it was the plan from before the race. If there’s a Safety Car on that lap, then we box. I think we didn’t expect so many people to stay out, probably, and also I didn’t expect, of course, to lose that much time in the pitstop waiting for people to go by. Because the pitlane was so wide, so we thought we could go alongside. So, those were the problems, and then just getting through the pack afterwards was very difficult and cost a lot of tyre degradation also. So that really put me on the back foot. I tried to fight back as much as possible but couldn’t quite get back to Lewis. Although I lost a lot from that pitstop phase, I’m happy that I got very close to Lewis, but not enough to attack or anything.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Haoran Zhou –  LETV) Question to Sebastian. The last time the German and Italian national anthems played in this sequence was in Italia. 2008 Italian Grand Prix. And the last time in red was 2006 Shanghai. Historic moment: describe your emotions on the podium when you hear the Italian national anthem.

    SV: Yeah, you’re right about Monza 2008. It’s true. Probably just as emotional. Look, I’ve been my entire life with Red Bull and celebrating that first win at Monza was unique. Then, I think winning the first time with Red Bull in China, 2009, was unique. This is just as unique. Maybe a little bit better because it means a little bit extra… I don’t know. It’s my dream. When I grew up, Michael was my hero and for all of us – and I speak for all of the kids at the go-kart track at the time in Germany – we were looking up to him and when he turned up every year and to look after us a little bit, it made our lives. So, that’s why I think today… I probably don’t understand yet how special it is. Very, very emotional. To see the guys there, and to realise at the parade lap, I really tried to soak everything in, enjoy the fans here around Malaysia and, yeah, I recognised obviously for the first time, all the Ferrari flags. So really, really happy and just proud. Especially proud to beat these guys because they have been phenomenally strong the last year and a bit, so to be the first one to beat them really fair and square, I think is an incredible achievement, so big thanks to all the guys back in Maranello.

     Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Congratulations Sebastian, you’ve won already your second race with Ferrari and it took more than that for Michael. Do you think it’s possible to start winning as regularly as he did?

    SV: You’re asking a lot! Probably you’re right, I guess you know the statistics – but I don’t think his car in ’96 was as good as our car this year and I think if we could get anywhere close to – and I’m speaking for the whole team, I’m speaking for both drivers – if we could get anywhere close to the victories he had with Ferrari then we’d be in a very, very good place. Yeah, very, very large footsteps – but the target is not to fill those, the target is ideally to leave some new ones.

    Q: (Cesare Manucci – Autosprint) Question for Nico. Can you describe the start when Vettel squeezed you against the wall?

    NR: Well, he left enough space, so it’s OK. I closed my eyes and went for it. It was exactly the same last year, so I expected him to leave the space again, just like last year – but all I can do is pray: ‘please leave some space’ and he did. It was enough, so it’s OK. But a centimetre more would not have been OK anymore. It’s OK. It was a good battle in Turn One also. Squeezed me again onto the inside so I had to sort of avoid a little bit or we would have touched but yeah, fair play.

    Do you want to comment on that Sebastian?

    SV: Well, I was surprised to see him again. Just like last year, yesterday, Déjà vu, a tenth behind Lewis in qualifying and then side-by-side with Nico into Turn One. I really wanted to get that tow off Lewis’ car, so I was trying not to be squeezed too much to the left but I had to give him room and then in Turn One obviously I tried to stay ahead – was crucial for our race – as you said it was hard but, well I hope, I just gave him enough room.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonese  – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Sebastian and one for Lewis. Sebastian, what did you think when you passed Red Bull and if today you reply to all the guys who think you won because you have the strongest car in the past at Red Bull? And for Lewis, if it was not a mistake at the end, don’t try to bring a set of medium used to try to attack?

    SV: Well, I saw that we overtook them – but I know the team inside-out and they are very strong and obviously now they are in a difficult time but I’m sure they will come back and be a strong competitor. I’ve been with them for a long time, I know their strengths and one of their strengths is to come back. The second part of the question: I don’t know. I don’t really care. I don’t think I have anything to prove. The person who puts the most pressure on myself is probably me. So, I expect just the best from myself and if I don’t succeed them I’m not happy. Last year I didn’t have much reason to be happy. This year I’ve been reasonably happy with what I’ve achieved so far. Everything else… everyone is free to have whatever sort of opinion they want to have.

    Lewis?

    LH: I think it’s impossible to do a fourth stop. I was already trying to chase down a 13s, or maybe a 16s gap I think it was. It would have been close to a 40s, or 30s gap if I’d done another stop which would have been impossible to close.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Sebastian said earlier that he could see you were struggling in that first stint. I just wondered if you agreed with that and indeed if that was going on. And just to expand on that previous question, the impression I got was whether he was asking whether maybe you should have run a set of used softs or mediums in that last stint instead of…

    LH: …the hards. Sorry, I thought you were talking about another stop.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) I think you questioned that on the radio as well, whether you could have been on mediums instead of… The first question was were you really struggling early on or just holding…?

    LH: Yes, I was. I was, definitely. Just generally, all day today, I was struggling with the balance, very very uncomfortable with the car, a lot of understeer in the low which inevitably snaps into oversteer everywhere, so I couldn’t really look after my tyres and I was doing everything with my controls but it really wasn’t… I couldn’t really find a good balance. When I went to the option tyre, the car was good or better so I was able to be a little bit more consistent and then closed down the gap. I hadn’t been told but I thought we would be going onto that tyre again at the end but we went onto the other one which wasn’t good for me as I’d experienced before, but I did the best job I could with it. I think ultimately the team made the best choices we could today and we’ll try to analyse and improve for next time.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, everyone was expecting you and Ferrari to be struggling much more in this part of the season; what is the secret of this transformation compared to last year: ideas, man, money? And did you expect to be able to win so early?

    SV: Of course not. I think for all of us we didn’t know, when we started in Melbourne, where we were, where the journey was going to start but I think the most important thing is that for both Kimi and myself, we had a very good feeling since the first test. We were happy with how the car feels and we were able to build onto that. We had some issues to solve which I think that just in time we got on top of so great job from the guys. So far, reliability has been very strong and I think today the key was to look after our tyres. That’s, I think, where we were able to close the gap a lot compared to Australia, compared to Mercedes. What it is, I think as I said, first of all, the guys have worked over the winter, tidied up a lot of things. Obviously I wasn’t around last year and I don’t know how last year’s car was but I was told that this year’s car is a lot better. I’m very happy with how the car feels, with the balance. It allows me to play and to work which I think is always crucial as a driver and then I think there’s a fresh wind, there’s a lot of new people. Some people have changed their position and so far I think the atmosphere is great, people are happy just to be there and do their job. They’re very passionate and I think that’s the most important thing. Everything else, of course, at this stage, is a bit of a surprise  for us but of course we take it. The most important thing again, just like after Australia, we need to confirm that in the next races and then gradually try to catch these guys.

    Q: (Wei An Mao – Titan Media) Seb, in two weeks you are travelling to Shanghai. A lot of Chinese fans have a special passion for Ferrari. Will that be extra motivation?

    SV: I think it will be special. Obviously I’ve always felt that there are a lot of fans, especially for Ferrari and especially for Kimi in China. I think if they wave the Ferrari flag then I feel they also wave it a little bit for me so I’m looking forward to that and obviously there’s always a great fan base for all of us, for the drivers and therefore China is a unique event. It’s a crazy track and crazy conditions, and anything can happen there but for sure, we will be very happy to go there after the great success this weekend.

    Q: (Wei An Mao – Titan Media) Lewis, in two weeks you are travelling to Shanghai; you have the most victories there. You’ve got three wins there, are you looking for the fourth one?

    LH: For me, going to China is one of my favourite races, simply because of the fans. Every time I… I don’t know how they know but from the moment we land at the airport they know we’re there. The weirdest thing is that I go to a restaurant… I leave the hotel and go to a restaurant and they beat me, even though they’re standing waving to me at the hotel, they beat me to the restaurant, so I don’t know how they do that. And then I leave the restaurant and they’re waving bye to me and they beat me back to the hotel. I don’t even know how they do it. There’s only one way! It’s amazing the support we get there and of course I’ve had some good races there. I think ultimately my assumption is that this weekend the heat got to us with the tyres and it will be a lot cooler at the next race, so I hope that we pick up our pace a bit more.

    Q: (Elmar Dreher – German Press Agency DPA) Sebastian, do you see Ferrari now on the level of Mercedes? How big is the gap still?

    SV: I think, as Lewis touched on, they probably struggled a little bit more with the heat today than they expected. Equally, I think we didn’t struggle with the heat as much as we probably expected, so both things put together made us very competitive today and able to beat them fair and square. For the next race, I think again, a completely different type of track China is a unique track is many ways, supposed to be a lot cooler. I think Mercedes were struggling with the hot conditions at this stage of the season, so we expect them to be very very strong, and they are the ones that usually set the pace. Today we could capitalise on their weakness a little bit and for the next race, we just try to race as hard as we can and see where it takes us.

    Q: (Chris Medland – F1i.com) Nico, you said that at the same stage back in Melbourne that you wanted Ferrari to get closer but obviously they’re more than closer now; what’s your feeling after the race? Is it good that you’ve got a competitor that’s from another team or is it a bit of fear that they’ve made such a big step in such a short time?

    NR: Big difference between get closer and beat us because they are faster, massive difference there. Happy? No, not at all. Definitely the opposite of happy. But for sure, on behalf of our team, as I said on the podium, bring it on. We’re going to fight back big time.

    Q: (Chris Lines – AP) Nico, at that first stop behind the safety car, you had to be stacked behind Lewis and that cost you several places. Was there any debate from you with the team about that or was that just a pre-arranged thing?

    NR: That was to be expected and everything, I knew that was coming, but I think we underestimated, afterwards, not being able to pull out into the pit lane because of other people coming somehow. Even that we had planned and we were planning to release me just alongside the others but maybe they judged it to be too risky and too bigger risk. I think it was also a Red Bull who was stacking with the other Red Bull and he was waiting and that meant that I couldn’t go or something like that so we need to look into that. And that definitely cost me a huge amount of time, so tried to fight back as much as possible, to get back at Lewis at the end of the race but I just lost too much in that phase.

    Q: (Nicola Pohl – Bild) Sebastian, is there anybody you dedicate this win to?

    SV: Well, I think it would be the team. As soon as the gates opened at Maranello I was amazed by the manpower, amazed by the size of the factory, the amount of people working in the race team and I think it’s a unique constellation on the grid that the team has, so probably dedicate it to all the teams there, to all the people there. Having been there a couple of times now, many times, and also been in the place where the whole company grabs lunch, to see the amount of people all sharing that passion, I think that since they’ve been waiting for that win for so long, I think it’s really dedicating it to them because they’ve done a hell of a job over the winter to get us in that position.

  • F1 2015: Malaysia GP Review – Vettel Takes Poignant Ferrari Win

    F1 2015: Malaysia GP Review – Vettel Takes Poignant Ferrari Win

    Ferrari has won the Malaysian grand prix and no this is not a very long typo and neither is it something that the Mercedes F1 team ever saw coming.

    Sebastian Vettel has fulfilled a long held dream by becoming a race winner with the famed Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team. For the majority of last year Vettel readily admits that he was well below par in the 2014 Red Bull. But the now Ferrari driver definitely showed up on Sunday. The former champ’s worked a two-stop strategy to perfection to win the Malaysian grand prix from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

    From the first laps that were turned in the first Friday practice session Ferrari’s SF15-T showed an extremely good pace that was comparable to the mighty Mercedes. But surely, it was just a bit of showiness by Ferrari and they were running light on fuel. Surely it was too incredulous to even suggest that any team could match the beast of a Mercedes. Yes, Ferrari had made strides but a full blown resurgence was a long-off goal that they hope to reach in the future. But one of the reasons why we love this, and many other sports, is for the spectacular and the astonishing comeback.

    Ferrari’s comeback from the doldrums has been nothing short of majestic. Yes it is only one race victory but consider that they have come  all the way from the proper mess of 2014 to a fair and square victory in Malaysia then it’s exceptionally clear that it has been a monumentally impressive effort from all involved.

    While Seb Vettel delivered an astonishing drive to claim victory the eye-catching pace wasn’t restricted to only his Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen suffered a left-rear puncture early in the piece, dropped down to eighteenth, finished comfortably in fourth place but still rued what he termed a “poor” weekend. “Obviously for the team it’s a pretty good result. It could have been better but I think we did the maximum with what we had today,” said Raikkonen.

    Valtteri Bottas_Malaysia 2015 GridThe Williams pairing of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were surprisingly absent from proceedings. The team that ended last season closest to Mercedes were involved a couple of dices in the lower half of the top ten initially but made no impression on Mercedes or Ferrari. A distant fifth and sixth place all they have to show for an otherwise disappointing afternoon.

    Amid the Ferrari euphoria 17-year-old Max Verstappen crossed the line in seventh to become the youngest ever points scorer in the 65 year history of the sport. The Dutchmen didn’t luck into his impressive position either he pulled off a few scintillating overtakes and finished ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in eighth. The 2015 season is only two races old but it is rather difficult not to be excited by Verstappen’s unmistakable talent.

    A poor day for Red Bull Racing resulted in ninth and tenth for Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. The 20-year-old Russian can hold his head high after surviving a clash with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and beating highly-rated teammate Ricciardo. McLaren showed progress but still failed to reach the chequered flag with either Jenson Button or Fernando Alonso. The Manor F1 team is a worthy mention who after crippling software issues in Australia managed to get Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi to the end of the race.

    podiumWhat makes Ferrari’s victory so much more impressive is that it was achieved, on track, through sheer pace. There was no mistake from Hamilton or Rosberg, or a technical issue with the Mercedes. Some will point to a strategic error by Mercedes but that didn’t have as much of an impact as many want to believe. The simple, but astounding, fact is that Mercedes were out-paced. Kudos to Toto Wolff for admitting that Mercedes were justly beaten.

    The extraordinarily high track temperature was in Ferrari’s favour whose tyre conservation is a thing of beauty. But the SF15-T is a quick car and this highly emotional victory will do their morale a world of good. More than that, this win by Ferrari marks a good day for Formula 1. Mercedes’ dominance has been staggeringly impressive but not exactly helpful in the entertainment stakes. Now there is a possibility of a real fight for victories if not the big championship prize at the end of it.

    As the German and Italian anthems once again rung out for a victorious Ferrari driver there will have been more than a few teary eyes. The moment was filled with nostalgic memories of the greatly revered Michael Schumacher with whom the combination of these two anthems was so synonymous. Vettel reflected on his early days of peeking over the Maranello fence to watch the great man put the scarlet Ferrari through its paces. Now Sebastian Vettel has emulated his childhood idol with a terrific victory that he will remember for the rest of his life. Grandé Seb!

    Ferrari images courtesy of @ScuderiaFerrari

  • 2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso)

    Felipe NASR (Sauber)

    Daniil KVYAT (Red Bull Racing)

    Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    Kimi RAIKKONEN (Ferrari)

    Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE:

    Fernando, if I can start with you. This has been a happy hunting ground throughout your career – you got your first pole here, you won with three different manufacturers – so a good place to come back from what was a difficult episode. What can you tell us about what you’ve been through in the past few weeks?

    Fernando ALONSO: Happy to be here in another Formula One season. I start one race later than I should be but, yeah, unfortunately I had the accident in Barcelona and following the recommendations by the doctors I missed the first race. But, yeah, happy to be here, as I said. Malaysia has always been a very nice circuit for me in my Formula One career. My first pole position was here in 2003, my first podium and then as you said three wins with three different teams give me the possibility always to enjoy this circuit and I know it’s going to be very tough this year to repeat such a result but, yeah, happy to be back in the cockpit and ready to enjoy the weekend.

    You’ve only done around 500km of testing with this car so far. How do you see the journey ahead and the challenge now to hit the targets the team has set?

    FA: Well, I think we need to be with the feet on the ground knowing that we are not in a position that we wanted and not in a position that we will be hopefully very soon. It will be like a test session for me, the first races. As you said I did in this car more or less the same number of laps that another guy do in one day, so obviously I’m not probably confident with the car in this moment and I will need to learn many things, not only on the driving style but also on the approach McLaren has to the weekends. So, many things to learn for me; very challenging moment of my career and ready to take it.

    Okay, thank you. Kimi, coming to you, obviously you had some problems in Australia towards the end of the race but the pace all weekend was good and you were close to your team-mate Vettel throughout, so it looks like it’s going to be a good in-house battle between the two of you. How do you see it?

    Kimi RAIKKONEN: Obviously we are in a much better position than we were say even at the end of last year so in that way it’s a nice place to be but obviously we still have to improve quite a bit. We want to be in front and we still don’t have the speed exactly, at least in qualifying, to be there. In the race I think we are a bit stronger compared to Mercedes. But I think it will be a fun year, obviously not an ideal start of the year and we got some damage from the start and had those issues in the pit stops but you know it can happen sometimes but at least we had pretty good speed. I’m sure we’re going to have strong races and good battles but like I said we still have some work to do to be absolutely where we want to be but we have done a good job so far.

    Can you tell us what it is about the chassis and the way it handles in particular that makes it a better race car for you personally?

    KR: I think it’s the whole package. It’s not just the engine we improved. Yes, we improved that a lot but we improved the chassis itself a lot as well. It’s the whole package, you cannot just point to one area that has been improved from last year, it’s the whole thing. I think how everybody works and it’s one team and things are going in the right direction and people are pushing and doing a good job. Like I said, it’s still early days. We still have to work hard and improve things but where we started, so far we have done a good job.

    Carlos, coming to you, a great debut obviously in Melbourne for you. It could have gone even better without the long pit stop. I guess you dream of your grand prix debut and then when it goes well, like it did, is it a feeling or elation or relief, or both?

    Carlos SAINZ: A bit of everything to be honest. It was a good debut, which I’m very happy with. It obviously gives you a boost of confidence and also a big boost of motivation to keep up the good work and keep improving because I’m sure I still have a lot, a lot, a lot to improve.

    Did all the attention that was on your team-mate Max Verstappen help to take the pressure off you a bit and allow you to perform better?

    CS: This may be a bit what it looked like from the outside, but obviously from the inside I perfectly know the amount of pressure I put on myself and the amount of pressure STR and Red Bull are putting on us and for sure I can tell you we have exactly the same amount of pressure to perform. So not really, to be honest, I think we were pretty equal in that sense and it was just a good weekend.

    Felipe, another rookie and another very good result in Australia with fifth place, which is the debut result ever for a Brazilian in Formula One. What does that result… it must be very emotional to even hear that… what does that performance mean to you and the team?

    Felipe NASR: It was very unique I have to say, coming from a very troubled weekend. My very first ever weekend in Formula One was not ideal the way it started, with all this trouble, going to court and everything else; missing first free practice, a track that I didn’t know. So it was a very good outcome to come up fifth in my first ever race and I think for the team as well it was something they really needed. It’s important. It shows the team was ready, myself was ready to put the things on the side and being able to deliver in the race. It was something very special.

    During the race you were able to keep Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull behind you and you were even able to drive away from him. So how do you feel about this car and how excited are you about what’s possible this year?

    FN: I was a bit surprised to see that happening. I knew the car had the potential to do it but to hold back Red Bull was unexpected. It could only show that the car has… the engine has done a good improvement over the winter, over last year. I think we need to take the profit from these early races to maximise our potential and getting the opportunities right. I think there are still teams struggling out there to finish races and we need to use that as an advantage for us.

    Coming to you Daniil, obviously a challenging first weekend to say the least for you and Red Bull, you qualified behind the Toro Rossos and didn’t even manage to take the start. What progress have you made with Renault since Melbourne in particular on the driveability of this power unit?

    Daniil KVYAT: I think we will only find the answer tomorrow to be honest. I hope we did. The whole team now is working really hard to overcome the difficulties we are facing right now but myself and the whole team we are used to working realty hard and that’s what we are going to do and we are going to try our best to put ourselves in a strong position once again.

    Last year, of course, you were in the points on your first visit to this Sepang circuit. What features of this track do you enjoy?

    DK: Well, generally, it’s quite a challenging circuit I think for all of us. It’s famous for the heat, for the warm, hot conditions. Generally this track has been good to me, I have been here a few times. I enjoy driving it here. It has a few fast, high-speed sections that you usually enjoy quite a lot as a driver. I’m looking forward to this weekend and hopefully we will keep moving forward.

    Nico, Melbourne looked like Mercedes had doubled the advantage in terms of relative fastest laps across the weekend over your nearest rivals compared to the start of 2014, but do you expect a smaller gap on this type of circuit?

    Nico ROSBERG: I don’t think it’s right to say that. Of course qualifying pace was very strong, yes, but more important is the race pace, especially from Kimi we saw an extremely strong stint, so not really fair to say that I would say. I think Ferrari especially have definitely closed the gap and are closer than our nearest rival was last year.

    Specifically this type of circuit, do you expect the gap to be smaller?

    NR: It’s very difficult to say. It’s early days, we need to wait and see how it goes here.

    You said after the race in Melbourne that you could follow Lewis but it was hard to mount an attack, so presumably qualifying is crucial to get the advantage this weekend to make sure you start the race on the front foot?

    NR: Qualifying is definitely important in this internal battle especially since we have the same cars but it’s not everything, because we have seen in the past, even in races, playing around the tyre order or things like that it’s still possible to overtake and this weekend here, there might be a bit more leeway in the strategy to try to launch a better attack.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Fendando Alonso_Malaysia 2015 PCQ: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, how long after the accident did you start to get memories of the accident back, what did you learn about it when you went to the factory last week and do you now believe that there was no problem with the car?

    FA: Everything was more or less as a normal concussion. So, I had this concussion, went to the hospital. I went to the hospital in good conditions. There is a time that I don’t remember from two o’clock to six o’clock or something like that, but everything again was normal due to the medication that they give you to go into the helicopter and to do some tests in the hospital.

    Everything was normal. I didn’t wake up in ’95, I didn’t wake up speaking in Italian or all these things that probably they were out there. I remember the accident and I remember everything that following day.

    Obviously with the team we have been very close working on that and with the FIA, they were very helpful all the times, and we were in close contact, all three parts constantly and yeah, there is not in the data anything clear that we can spot and we can say it was that, the reason. But definitely we had a steering problem in the middle of turn three. It locked into the right and I approached the wall I braked in the last moment, I downshift from fifth to third, and yeah, unfortunately on the data we are still missing some parts. Also the acquisition of date on that particular part of the car is not at the top so there are some new sensors here at this race and there are some changes we do on the steering rack and other parts and yeah that was the main thing. The last week at the factory was more a work on the simulator and trying to explain to me these new sensors and these new parts that will go on this race.

    Q: (Jaime Rodríguez – El Mundo) Fernando, after this episode, have you got more respect or more fear to your job?

    FA: No, not really. You know, at the end of the day we know motorsport is dangerous. We know that sometimes you have a big accident, spectacular and the car is completely destroyed and nothing happens, and sometimes you crash in a low speed corner or something, and it depends on the angle, depends on how you hit, or which part of the body you hit, you have more or less injuries. It is the same in the normal day life: sometimes you live an extreme life and nothing happens and sometimes you walk on the street and have a big issue. So, no more respect than before, it’s just, y’know, a very normal thing. I felt ready to go to Australia as well but I understand also the recommendation from the doctor that it was maybe too early and, yeah, we wait for one more race. That, obviously, creates even more feeling, no? But happy to be here, happy to help the team. Obviously we’re struggling a little bit at the moment and the winter has been quite difficult and the same at the first race. It was hard for me to watch on TV with the team not performing so well. So yeah, we are here to help and to give McLaren and Honda the experience that we can have, Jenson and me, and trying to recover from this form as soon as possible.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Fernando, you said “the steering just locked”. The steering is for a racing driver, let’s say, a very delicate thing in the car, like the brakes if it fails. If you still don’t know why there was a problem with the steering is that a thing that is worrying you despite the new sensors you have on the car?

    FA: Not really. I think, as I said before, together with FIA and with the team, we were constantly doing some checks, investigations, some possibilities, and as I said, there are some areas in the car that, instrumentation-wise are probably not at the level to see this problem. It’s like a problem that may occur, in this phrase, 20 years ago, Formula One did not have the technology to spot that problem. I’m sure that we are missing something on the data acquisition that we will spot in ten years’ time or whatever when the technology is available. So, that’s one reason and, yeah, I have zero doubt or zero concern.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – Daily Telegraph) Question for Fernando. Given that you remember the accident, as far as you are concerned, it wasn’t a driver error or, as the team put it, a gust of wind blew you off course in any way?

    FA: No, no, definitely not. I don’t know if you see the video but even a hurricane will not move the car at that speed. Also, if you have any problem or any medical issue, normally you will lose the power and you will go straight to the outside, never to the inside. In a Formula One car you still need to apply some effort on the steering wheel. So, that’s one thing. Honestly, y’know, obviously with an accident, with the repercussion of the accident, the news, being in Spain, a lot of attention on that day and probably the first answers or the first press conference that the team have, my manager, whatever, all the stuff around in these early days, it was just some guess. The wind, maybe other possibilities. That creates a little bit of confusion obviously – but you cannot say nothing for three or four days until I remember everything because these three or four days then will become even worse. So I think they say the theory of the wind, etc., but obviously it was not a help.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Apologies to the other five members of the panel but it’s another question for Fernando. With everything that’s happened over the winter and to yourself personally and to the team as well, one of the big things that’s been debated by the fans and I’m sure many journalists in this room is whether you’ve made the right decision, returning to McLaren. What would your reaction to that debate be?

    FA: I’m one of the happiest persons in the world. Yes, I am. I have a challenge in front of me. A tough challenge clearly. I think it’s difficult but it’s going to taste better when we do it. I grew up watching TV with McLaren-Honda domination and Ayrton Senna in the cockpit. I understand that we are now too far back and we will be heavily criticized and it will be fair to receive that criticism because we are not at the level we will be – but it’s nothing we can do now, just work, it’s a long-term project and all my career I experience some beautiful moments – even the last five years – with Ferrari we didn’t win the championship but it was a fantastic experience. But five was enough – I didn’t want to be seven years second or third so I prefer to risk and challenge for victory. Even if you need to take some risk for the first year.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) A question to Fernando. Coming back to the accident, can you remember one thing, if you lost consciousness before the first impact or not, and when, why?

    FA: No, I remember everything obviously. I don’t want to go through every detail because it’s going to be long but I remembered everything. It was Sunday morning, all the setup changes, the lap times, I think Vettel was in front of me before Turn Three but cut the chicane to let me go, exiting the pitlane. After the hit I was kissing the wall for a while and then I switch off the radio first, because it was on, and then I switch off the master switch for the batteries to switch off the ERS system just because I saw the marshals coming and, if not, they cannot touch the car. So, yeah, I was perfectly conscious at the time. I lost consciousness in the ambulance or in the clinic at the circuit but the doctors said this is normal because of the medication that they put you, just for the helicopter transportation and the checks that they do in the hospital: the MRI and the evaluation needs this protocol, needs this medication so this is normal that maybe you don’t remember.

    Is is normal the marshals didn’t touch the car?

    FA: This I don’t know.

    Q: (Manuel Franco – Diario AS) Two questions, the first for Fernando, the second for Fernando and Carlos. Fernando, what had you learned from the accident? About people, about you, about life? Second question. In this race will be three Spanish drivers: you and Roberto Merhi. With England and Germany it’s the country with most drivers in the race. What do you think?

    FA: What I learned is that I have so much support from so many people. It’s been amazing how many messages from people I’ve received. So many warm wishes from all the sport and government and everyone. Everyone was so interested. And in the Formula One paddock as well because even from the flight on Tuesday that I arrived here until today has been a very nice experience to see really, truly, wishes of health for me. That was something that I learned, probably, after the accident. You don’t realize until you have a problem, or you miss one or two races that, y’know, so many people are behind you and are supporting you. And then, about the race, yes, it’s nice to have three Spanish drivers. Hopefully we can see for many years. We had three previously with Marc Gené and Pedro [de la Rosa] and now hopefully we can have many more years because Carlos and Roberto, they are very young and they have good possibility and a good future and I wish they can stay very long.

    Carlos, your view on that?

    CS: For me it’s obviously great. I’ve always had a good relationship with Fernando and I now have a very good relationship with Roberto. I think the more Spanish the better and, yeah, that’s it.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Speed Sport) Accidents can happen to experienced drivers, so Nico, and Kimi, do you every worry about having accidents? Has there been a time in your F1 career where you maybe thought ‘I don’t want to go out?’

    NR: Yeah, of course sometimes I think about it and there is a certain element of fear when I’m driving sometimes but that, I think is natural, and holds me back sometimes to go too far beyond the limit. But it doesn’t make me slower in any way.

    Kimi?

    KR: I’ve had quite a few accidents in the past and last year one not so nice one. But it’s part of the game. If you make a mistake, you pay a price. It’s up to you. If you’re not prepared to take the risk or if you’re scared, I’m sure there’s plenty of guys that are willing to jump in a car and race. So, no, I think you… obviously it’s part of the thing but I think you have better chances to get hurt in normal traffic than on the race circuits.

    Q: (Byron Young – The Mirror) Fernando, the team was saying even up to a couple of days ago that there was nothing wrong with the car, and yet you’re saying the steering locked. How do those two statements work together?

    FA: Yeah, as I said before, I think it’s clear that there was a problem in the car but it hasn’t been found on the data at the moment.  It’s one of the things that I did also in the factory last week, not only the simulator but going – with all the engineers and all the data available –  going through the moments and there are some spots here and there but there is not a clear answer. So I understand completely and support the team until they find a clear answer that it was this or that, it’s impossible to say or to lie that it was this or that. They need to go much further. If they will find something any time, I don’t know because if after one month we didn’t find anything on the data, it is maybe because whatever part was the problem, it was not available on the data, so maybe it will never be.

    Q: (Byron Young – The Mirror) But they have gone further and say there is no problem.

    FA: Well, I don’t think that they say this any more.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, can you expect this circuit to give your car the same chance to have a good position , as you had at Melbourne? 

    KR: Well, I hope it’s better than Melbourne for me. Like I said, we had the speed and I think things are running smoothly, we just have to avoid mistakes. We had some bad luck at the start but the car’s been quick at every circuit we’ve been to so far so I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be here. I think it could be even better than it was at the last race. It’s a proper circuit and I think it will be good, fitting well at this circuit so we’ll just wait and see.

    Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) Fernando, do we now have a precise idea of the violence of the impact that gave you such big concussion?

    FA: No, I don’t exactly know the details.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) I’m a bit confused by this: there’s no problem, there’s nothing on the data, you’ve lost consciousness, someone said you didn’t lose consciousness, your team also said there was a gust of wind. It’s all just very confusing but one thing for me, if there’s no data and the team haven’t found anything, could the problem happen again?

    FA: Well, as I said, I think some of the confusion comes from the very early quotes and very early explanations because the attention was very high at that moment. The stress was very high, I was in intensive care, there was some urgency to say something because there was a lot of attention so that was probably part of the confusion. On the data, as I said before, I think there was some lack of instrumentation maybe on the car, to miss the exact problem and there are some actions taken for this race which are probably not necessary but there is extra care with some parts on the car that were unique to me, that I requested because of  my driving style when I joined McLaren  and here we will go back to the normal steering rack and things that they’ve been using with Jenson and Kevin for the last couple of years. Of course, there are some actions for this race and as I said, there is zero problem, zero worries on my side. Everything is OK.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, could you tell us exactly what happened this morning during the test?

    FA: Today, we’ve been through the normal processes as we have during the last month. As I said before, everything that I did or that happened in the last month were completely normal, the concussion, the rehabilitation, the checks, the extra checks, the recommendation to wait two or three weeks before any dangerous activity again, so everything went normal and this morning, again, it was a normal procedure after  a head injury to do an impact test with the FIA and some reaction tests and some examinations with the Malaysian Grand Prix doctors. Everything went as smoothly as possible and I have the green light, so that was a very positive moment.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) You’ve partially answered this before,  Fernando,  but seeing Ferrari is so strong, do you think that maybe you might have waited a little bit longer before leaving and  achieved some results?

    FA: Obviously, as I said, with the performance that we have right now, it’s easy to criticise our team and my decision, whatever, but as I said, I’m first of all so so happy that this is the most important thing. When you’re happy with yourself or you’re a healthy man inside, that is the first victory and that is what I am now, because I’m following my dream now. And secondly, I could  wait and achieve some nice results as you’ve said probably yes, but after 14 years of Formula One and two championships, a podium or fourth place or fifth place is no longer a nice result.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel –La Gaceta) Fernando, I would like to know your feelings after 14 years, watching a race on TV?

    FA: I don’t think I pick the best race to watch, probably. One, it was very early in the morning, so that didn’t help the enthusiasm for the race, and secondly, the number of cars on the grid and after the first couple of laps was obviously not ideal. Yeah, it was a strange feeling, no doubt that I missed being there, I missed driving. It was strange but luckily I’m here.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel –La Gaceta) Carlos, is it a big motivation for you to beat the new Ayrton Senna as you did in the first race?

    CS: For me the first motivation is always to extract the maximum potential from myself, focus myself and with self-confidence and knowing that you can extract the full potential from yourself then you should believe that you are in front of your teammate. I believe Max is a great talent, I believe he’s going to perform really well this year and he will be a very tough competitor but my main focus, as I said, is not to beat him but first of all extract the maximum potential from myself and that will put me  in a good position for sure.

    Q: (Byron Young – The Mirror) Fernando,  I’m a bit confused: how can you not be worried? From what you’re saying to us, the steering was locked, heading towards the inside wall. You’re fighting with the steering wheel so that’s a car problem, and you’re getting back in the car this weekend and you don’t know what caused that problem. How can you not be worried?

    FA: I fully trust the team. They’ve been looking at every single component of the car for a month, they’ve been simulating the efforts, they’ve been doing so many tests, they’ve been changing every single part that they had some doubts about so I think we have the safest car right now, because of all the studies that they’ve done. And after one month, I’m probably the most medically checked driver in history so we should be fine, both of us.

  • F1 2015: Malaysia GP Preview – Sepang First True Test

    F1 2015: Malaysia GP Preview – Sepang First True Test

    The first race of the season around Australia’s Albert Park circuit is a highly anticipated one. It’s the keenness to kick off a new F1 season which gives the streets of Melbourne that distinctive feeling of excitement. Its twenty-five points awarded to the winner are no less important than some of the more iconic races on the calendar but it can often disguise the teams’ true form and potential.

    The second round of the season, around Malaysia’s Sepang International circuit, will highlight those who have taken a genuine step forward. Equally, the dazzlingly high-speed corners and tantalising long straights of Sepang is also going to emphasize any shortcomings a car might have.

    Not much has changed at the sharp-end of the grid which Mercedes still, comfortably, dominate. But behind the silver arrows’ Williams and Ferrari appear to have traded places in the competitive order. Much of the Ferrari turnaround is down to the notorious power unit. Not long ago the Ferrari power unit more closely resembled a slow trotting donkey than its famed emblem of the prancing horse. But the Maranello team has produced a unit worthy of its heritage with a rumoured initial 80 horsepower gain since last year. It even has Williams raising a few eyebrows and admitting that the Ferrari unit may be “a bit quicker” than their Mercedes. This has made such a big change at Ferrari that it’s even spurred to normally tacit Kimi Raikkonen into a notably bullish state. “I believe in the race, we are not far from Mercedes. I’m sure we can be up there and fight at the front,” said Raikkonen.

    Valterri Bottas, Australian GP QualifyingAt this stage no there has been no news on Valtteri Bottas’ readiness after suffering a partial muscle tear in the Oz quali session. If Bottas is not Finn he will undoubtedly be missed by Williams who will likely find themselves in a spicy fight for the podium with Ferrari. The lofty predictions for an all-out fight could not happen thanks to the temperamental weather system in the area.

    Of the things that will happen this weekend Red Bull whinging and finding fault with Renault is a given. If their problems were evident Down Under then they will be glaring in Malaysia because Sepang is a power hungry circuit and Red Bull has nothing to feed it. So unhappy is Red Bull with the competitive order that Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has threatened that Red Bull will quit the sport because of its current regulations. Team boss Christian Horner suggests that the FIA should look into an equalising engine performance to close up the field. It’s quite ironic, and perhaps even a bit hypocritical, given Red Bull plethora of victories during Vettel’s four consecutive championship seasons.

    Christian Horner Pit WallLet’s be clear Red Bull may have won four consecutive drivers and constructors championships but it doesn’t have the legacy of a Ferrari or Williams or McLaren so its threat to quit the sport doesn’t elicit the same fear. In the meantime, they’ll do their PR image a huge favour by taking it on the chin and focusing on the track. The form suggest that their fight will be for the lower points paying positions with Lotus and Toro Rosso and perhaps on a good day they may even challenge for a top five place.

    Malaysia will provide a more realistic pecking order which will unquestionably be headed by Mercedes. It is ridiculous to suggest that the mighty Silver Arrows will face any form of pressure but it will be fascinating to see Sepang reveal Ferrari’s true progress.

  • 2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1st Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2nd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3rd Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Arnold Schwarzenegger)

    Congratulations.

    Lewis HAMILTON: How do you doing? What an honour to meet you. Arnold Schwarzenegger, man! Wow!

    It’s wonderful to be here in Melbourne, to be in Australia, and I was just asked to conduct the interviews with the winners here. I’m so excited about it as just for the last two days I was interviewing the fittest, the strongest people, the most energetic people in the world at the Arnold Classic and now I’m interviewing the fastest people in the world. So, Lewis, what does it feel like having won last year’s world championship and now winning the first race again.

    LH: Well, it’s obviously a real pleasure to be here, we have the greatest fans here today, thank you so much for all coming out. My team did an amazing job today and it’s an incredible feeling to continue on from last year but also to be up here with you man? I thought you were taller! You were taller in The Terminator.

    I’m not wearing my high heels! Let me just ask you how much physical training do you have to do to be in that kind of shape and to go through a race like that?

    LH: We all train very hard. People don’t actually realise that we are athletes. We have to train a lot. It’s incredibly physical in these cars. So I’m very honoured to be up here among these great drivers and with this team that’s doing such an amazing job.

    Well thank you very much, congratulations. Now a question for you [Nico Rosberg]. What does it feel like being second and do you think you are going to make up [ground] and maybe beat this man this year?

    Nico ROSBERG: Well, it’s a nice feeling to be second today because it’s an awesome start to the season for us as a team. Absolutely stunning car they’ve given us – unbelievable. Lewis has done a fantastic job this weekend. He drove like a world champion all weekend, so couldn’t quite beat him but for sure I was trying every single lap, all the way to the maximum, and I will do all year. I will give him a big run for his money and hopefully beat him. Also thank you very much to the organisers, you’ve done an amazing job this weekend, I’m sure you’ll all agree it’s been a fantastic weekend for everybody. And also, all of you, you’ve been great and put on a great atmosphere. Thank you.

    How much does concentration have to do with it to win this competition, this race?

    NR: Yeah, a lot of it is in the head, of course. Not only in one race but during the whole season, to keep your energy, your focus, but especially during one race. It is very demanding in the head, to not make a single mistake, and it’s challenging physically too. It’s tough.

    Well you’ve done a great job, congratulations, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in the next race. [Sebastian] what does it feel like now, being with Ferrari?

    Sebastian VETTEL: It feels great. It’s a very, very big honour. I’m very happy. Obviously it’s a great start to the season for us. We had a very good winter already; the team has worked phenomenally hard. We can very proud, I said to the guys, thank you very much, grazie mille, abbiamo una machina bella, we have a great car not only in qualifying but for the race as well and it’s great to join them and I’m really proud. There’s a lot of work ahead of us trying to beat these two and beat Mercedes but I’m sure we will.

    How much preparation goes in every day to prepare for a race like this?

    SV: It’s our job in the end. It’s not just turning up the weekends and doing the job, but all week. As Lewis said we have to be fit, so we have to train, we have to look after each here and there. I think I can spare pizza especially this year. It’s a full time job.

    Congratulations and for sure I will be watching you in the next race. I know [Lewis] that you are going to say now.

    LH/AS: ‘I’ll be back’.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Many congratulations Lewis on a fine 1-2 finish to start the season with and 34th career victory for you, your first win in Melbourne since 2008. The gap throughout the race between yourself and Nico opened and closed between a second-and-a-half and 3.5 seconds but did you feel totally in control from start to finish.

    LH: Nico was very quick throughout the race and it was really trying to manage the fuel and all that, and also the tyres, not really knowing where the limit of the tyres is in terms of how far they can go. But once you’ve got a two-second gap you try to manage that, there’s no need to eke out more. But when Nico turned up the heat I was able to react, which was good. Otherwise, it was a phenomenal race for both of us, Nico drove really well. Obviously Sebastian must have done a great job to be where he is today.

    Nico, coming to you, there was a message to you to save fuel at one stage in order to attack Lewis at the end of the grand prix. The attack didn’t seem to come, but how was it from your point of view and sum up you weekend?

    NR: No, no, the attack was most definitely there! Maybe you didn’t see it but it was there, for sure, inside the cockpit. But Lewis made no mistakes so it was just not possible to get closer than that, let alone try some of attempt to overtake. It was just a matter of saving a little bit of fuel in the middle of the race to then be able to go full on at the end of the race but I think Lewis did a similar thing. As soon as I started to save a little bit he saved as well, so he could push, so it didn’t really help me unfortunately.

    Sebastian, congratulations on a podium on your Ferrari debut. You did it largely through strategy. Massa pitted first, you put the hammer down for a couple of laps and it was enough to get you in front. Tell us about the emotion, first of all, on your Ferrari debut and how you achieved it?

    SV: It’s great. I’m over the moon in many ways. It’s great already on the parade lap to see… I don’t know, I think the Ferrari flags have been there before but I didn’t pay much attention obviously. But it’s great the support through the whole weekend. It’s an honour to sit in the red car. Obviously when your head’s down and you race and you try to push every single lap you don’t realise the colour so much but certainly when the chequered flag came out it was great to see and a great feeling, a great reward for the team. I think the car is a lot better than the team had last year. I think we can be very happy as a starting point. Still we lose a lot of time to those guys but I think in the race, potentially, we are a little bit closer than in qualifying trim but overall it’s great for sure. Very, very happy, very pleased and very proud of the way the team is tackling the grand prix. The atmosphere is great, the motivation is very high and everyone knows where we want to go. We want to make sure that life is not that easy for those two in the future.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Vincent Marre – All Race) My question goes to Sebastian Vettel: how will you rate this third position, emotionally inside you? Because you won a lot with Red Bull but this is a new challenge, a new team. How would you rate this one?

    SV: I think this was a great race for us. Obviously the start was not ideal, I was very close, I did not succeed to pass Felipe straight away and then we had a great strategy and were able to save some tyres to, yeah, go the opposite of the usual strategy to overtake someone through the pitstop, so that worked very well. Generally it has been very calm, very professional, led by the pitwall throughout the race. Of course it’s not a victory but for us today it feels like a victory. Obviously it’s a great relief after a horrible season last year to know that the car in general is working. People have done a great job both on engine and chassis sides, so big compliments to Maranello obviously. I’ve secretly been a fan, now official I can be a fan of Ferrari and since the day I got there, there is something magic about the place. I feel very happy. I had a very good time with Red Bull and certainly was able to learn a lot, the experience I can now bring into the new project as well. So, as I said, people are fired up and we know where we want to go.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, what happened in the first turn with Kimi? Did you touch, the two cars?

    SV: No… I don’t know. I think he had a better start for sure, I got a little bit back under braking and then I think I was side-by-side with him. I don’t think it was great for him because he lost a little bit – I saw that immediately. I couldn’t make corner one as tight as I wanted to, which made him lose a couple of positions but I understand we didn’t touch and I didn’t feel anything so…

    Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Question to both Lewis and Nico. We’ve seen dominance in qualifying, dominance in the race today. Is this it for the season? A two-horse race between you two for the title or can you envisage any of your rivals making in-roads into your supremacy?

    LH: I think Nico was just explaining… I didn’t know, I didn’t see the times or anything but I think the Ferraris have taken a huge step forward. It’s clear they’ve made one of the biggest steps. So we definitely cannot back off because I’m sure they’re going to be pushing. And I anticipate we might have a good fight with them at some stage this year…

    Nico?

    NR: I hope we can have a good fight. That would be awesome. I think the next couple of races we’re going to be leading the way for sure, and we’re going to try and keep it that way, but we know it would be good if they can come a bit closer, as long as they don’t come too close…

    SV: Be honest. Do you really hope so? Seriously? You finished 30 seconds ahead of us and you hope it’s going to be closer? So you hope you slow down? Is that what you’re saying?

    NR: I hope that you can give us a challenge! Because it’s important for the sport and for the fans. And I do think about the show. Half of me – or a part of me – thinks about the show because I want to give people a great time at home watching on TV or at the track. If you do come a bit closer, that would be awesome for everybody.

    SV: First suggestion, if you don’t mind, I think your garage becomes public for Malaysia and everyone can have a look. No? I’m joking.

    NR: You can come if you want, we can invite you…

    SV: OK, thank you for the invite, I’ll come.

    NR: Friday Malaysia, OK.

    SV: Engineers’ room? Debrief, I’ll be there.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Nico, in the final stages you were asking your race engineer about Lewis’ fuel consumption. You didn’t get an answer – but for both of you how much is it a race into the dark when you don’t know where the other stands with the fuel consumption – on a race where fuel consumption is really crucial.

    NR: Yeah, so, I put the question because I wanted to know exactly where Lewis was but he’s not allowed to tell me, so I never got the answer. I hadn’t thought of that at the time – but obviously that was not good. Because I thought if I would know if he was down or something, that would be really motivating and it would be great. But I had no idea. So yeah, I don’t know, not ideal in that situation, not very helpful. But anyway, all I could do is push flat-out and hope he had less. Which wasn’t the case…

    Q: (Paul Gover – News Ltd) So Sebastian, you, then, think it is a two horse race for the championship between these two guys

    SV: Well, first of all, they don’t have a horse on their car, they have a star so it’s a big difference, as I learned. You have to be realistic: this weekend it was in their hands and they did a great job, not just as a team, both individually. I drove the car to the limit. Lewis, as I think Nico said, had the upper hand so well done to him. For sure, as I said, they have a great package at the moment, existing from car and drivers which will be difficult to beat, it’s a  big gap. Thirty-four seconds down the road is a lot for everyone else. You can turn it around a little bit for the next Grand Prix, we can be closer but it could be even worse. I think in the first three races you really have to try and understand who is really strong and what are the gaps. So they are the favourites; they had a huge advantage last year and I think they did a good job in increasing that advantage for this year. It will be difficult but not impossible for us and the rest to catch up.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) To all three of you: before the race started five drivers were already out of the race: Bottas injured, two Manor and then Magnussen and Kvyat, so a quarter of the drivers were not on the grid. Don’t you think that Formula One is risking to lose some appeal when we have so few cars racing?

    LH: I don’t know what the circumstances are for the drivers that couldn’t start. I think two didn’t have a car but the others… All I know that in MotoGP, those guys are pretty hardcore. They drive with collarbones broken, ankles and all those kind of things. I would still hopefully drive if I had something damaged. I don’t know how it is for the spectators but of course we should have more cars. When we drive up to the back of the grid, before the formation lap, it’s a real long way from the last corner to the back of the grid. It used to be a little bit shorter run when there’s more cars. It would be great if we could get some more cars.

    NR: The fans looked like they had an awesome time today so that’s great to see. They were going crazy on the start/finish line under the podium, so that was nice. Great to have Arnold  (Schwarzenegger) on the podium, that was very very cool. Other than that, yeah, of course, we need to keep on re-inventing the sport and keep moving forward and keep adapting. But the process is in place, it’s a normal thing. There’s ups and downs, we just need to ride the wave and push on to keep improving the show as things change in the world.

    SV: Well, first of all I hope that Valtteri is OK. I don’t know the circumstances that led to the fact that he couldn’t race today but we hope that he’s back on the grid in Malaysia because that’s where he belongs. So all the best for his recovery. For the other cars, obviously it was strange to see people struggling to do the laps to the grid but I think it’s difficult. I think it shows how complex it really is, how difficult it is to master the challenge of making the car reliable for a Grand Prix and for the entire season so that’s why you really have to say chapeau to these guys and everyone who is able to extract clean races but also it’s great to see that this year we have a new competitor in the game with Honda. I think they have been very brave to face that challenge, even though now the price they’re paying is very high, but I’m sure they will come back. I think everyone has, more or less, been through that process with the exception of those guys (Mercedes) last year, so it seems to be part of the game but for sure it’s not great for the people. They want to see the cars and if the cars break before even starting the race that’s not right but what can I say? It’s a difficult challenge, it is complicated, maybe got a bit too complicated but for now it is what it is. The people still enjoy it so we need to do the best to keep it up.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Sebastian, Kimi had problems in both pit stops with his tyre changes; did that put any extra pressure on your stops?

    SV: I don’t know what happened. Obviously in the end he didn’t finish, I don’t even know what kind of problem he suffered, which is a shame because 50% of the team didn’t finish today; that’s not our target, I think it could have been a great race even if Kimi had a bit of a bad first corner. Still, I think he could have had a great recovery because the speed was there and as far as I understand he was on the way back. Regarding the pit stops, as I said, I didn’t see his pit stops. My pit stop was OK. Next time, though, I’m sure that he wants to have cleaner pit stops if that was the case.

    Q: (Vincent Marre – All Race Motorsport) Sebastian, among the races to come, which one do you feel will be the one that is easier for you, for Ferrari to catch up to the Mercedes? I think Malaysia will be difficult but what about Bahrain or Shanghai?

    SV: Easy, for us? I think if you look at the gap, nowhere is going to be easy. I think we have to focus on ourselves, make sure that what we learned this weekend we’re able to take into the next races. The most important thing now is that if we finish – we did finish right behind Mercedes today. We need to confirm that in the next race, that’s the priority number one, so we need to make sure that I was not just a one-off. We improve reliability. As I said, Kimi didn’t finish, which is a shame. We could have scored a lot more points today.

    NR: … that you find it a shame that your teammate didn’t finish?

    SV: Yes. I don’t know how much you like each other but Kimi and myself we get along, so I think it is a shame.

    NR: I though as a racing driver you might like it that you have a couple of points advantage over him now. I don’t want to get you off the foot there, sorry. Oops. Look at him, look at him go…

    SV: I can see your point. No, no. I can see that at the moment, where we are, we want to make sure we catch you guys and to do that we both need to score. Yes, I honestly think so and I honestly didn’t want to see the second car not finishing today.

    NR: Because I’m ready for it now, you caught me a bit off guard before but now I’m ready for it!

    Q: (Chris Medland – F1i.com) Seb, obviously you’re very relaxed, very happy after this result. You look very comfortable at Ferrari already. Can you just compare the emotions for yourself compared to 12 months ago, going into a tough season with Red Bull and this is like a real fresh start for you?

    SV: To be completely honest with you, 12 months ago I was already at the airport by now. Different story, obviously, I’m much happier to be here now, finishing the race, seeing the chequered flag. It’s a great Grand Prix so I think we all like coming here for a start but then, as I said, you cannot really compare, it’s a completely different situation. Last year, we had a very tough pre-season and on my side, a very tough first race so this year, as I said, changed teams, there’s a lot of new things, lot of things that I need to learn. I’m not yet on top of which will have to improve in the next couple of races but for now I’m very happy.

     

    Photo by courtesy Pirelli

  • F1 2015: Australian GP Review – Mercedes Canter to Oz Victory

    F1 2015: Australian GP Review – Mercedes Canter to Oz Victory

    If winter testing was anything to go by, then few would’ve expected the surprising war of attrition in the first round of the 2015 Formula 1 season.

    Even before the Australian GP got underway three drivers failed to make it to the grid.

    Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was deemed unfit to race by the FIA medical delegate after the Finn suffered a slight muscle tear in his lower back.

    In the event that Bottas will not be able to participate at the Malaysian grand prix the team will have to employ a reserve driver for the task. Susie Valterri Bottas, Australian GP QualifyingWolff has been ruled out of the equation as she only fulfils the role of test and development driver. Red Bull’s Danill Kvyat ground to a halt on the way to his grid slot with a suspected gearbox issue.

    The Saturday Australian GP qualifying session was far from decent for the McLaren team whose cars were the slowest qualifiers on the day. If it didn’t seem possible to get any worse Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren Honda made it all of a couple hundred meters out of the pitlane before expiring as huge plumes of smoke poured from the back before the race.

    The first corner was no less dramatic as Pastor Maldonado ended up in the turn two barriers with significant damage. A handful of minutes later the sister Lotus of Romain Grosjean pulled in to the garage with a loss of power. Grosjean was still quite chipper despite the double retirement and it has a lot to do with the car that Lotus has built for 2015. The long faces and awkward shoulder shrugs of 2014 are long gone for a team who truly have made a significant step forward. The first round of the season is always a tricky one, as RoGro rightly pointed out. It’s unfortunate that the Lotus’ weren’t able to showcase their progress but there is no doubt that will be right in the thick of the mid-team battle.

    The rookies weren’t too shabby either. Yes, only eleven cars made it to the chequered flag but managing an F1 car in today’s technological era is a rather complicated assignment. To do that while defending, or in some cases attacking, drivers far more experienced and still keeping it on the road is a job well done. Max Verstappen was set to become the youngest ever points scorer only to be felled by a mechanical issue. Team mate Carlos Sainz Jr gave Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen a bit of a punt at the first corner but apart from that lapse he was solid and brought the Toro Rosso home in ninth.

    Australian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz Jr vs Sergio PerezIn their decades long presence it’s safe to say that the Sauber team experienced one of the most challenging weeks in their existence. A menacing battle in the Victoria State court hung over the team for the majority of the Australian GP weekend as Giedo van der Garde staked his rightful claim on a race seat. Somehow, the team and van der Garde reached a sort of understanding and the focus was transferred back to the track. Rookie driver Felipe Nasr shone on his debut with a faultless drive into fifth place while team mate Marcus Ericsson pulled off a few tasty overtakes to finish in eighth. This result deserves a bit of recognition if you consider that Sauber was unable to score a single point in the entire 2014 season.

    If you were watching a television broadcast of the Australian GP you wouldn’t have seen much of the Mercedes duo but don’t be disappointed because neither did the rest of the field. Hardly bothered Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg strolled towards the chequered flag for yet another dominant one-two victory. Hamilton’s race was dotted with a few trivial threats from Rosberg on occasion but the German never got close enough to really make the reigning champion bat an eye. It is early days yet in the Hamilton/Rosberg battle but it was a decidedly effortless drive from Hamilton who simply managed the 58 laps towards inevitable victory.

    F1 Australian GP, Sebastian Vettel on the podium for FerrariHalf a minute behind, or eons as it’s known in F1 terms, Sebastian Vettel held off Williams’ Felipe Massa in his scarlet Ferrari to finish third in his first race for the prancing horse. Throughout the weekend Vettel’s absolute delight at being a Ferrari driver was almost palpable. The way he got down to business and the general joviality from the German is especially obvious.

    Alas, a combination of issues ensured that Kimi Raikkonen’s Australian GP race did not go according to plan. The hit from Sainz into turn one sent the car into anti-stall dropping the Finn down the field and later on a slow first pitstop lost the former champion roughly fifteen seconds. Raikkonen was making his way back through the field, at quite a clip, only to be forced into retirement with a loose left-rear wheel following his second stop.

    It was a disappointing turn for the team who has now confirmed their resurgence. Even though the Albert Park circuit is unique from the rest of the tracks on the calendar the Ferrari is a quick car. It isn’t Mercedes quick, nothing is, but the team will be buoyed by the pace that both drivers were able to turn. No one was sure whether the dramatic overhaul of the team was going to make a positive difference. It hasn’t just made a difference, this team seems completely transformed. There is real sense of optimism and dare I say even happiness from the Ferrari garage.

    Australian Grand Prix, Jenson Button vs Sergio PerezThe days of championship glory seem inordinately far removed from the 2015 McLaren team. Where previously nothing less than victory would have sufficed, now they see getting to the end of the race as “a massive step forward”. Jenson Button finished eleventh but that is stone dead last and even if tyre performance is taken into account he was still four seconds off the pace in qualifying. If there is a shred of a positive to the weekend for McLaren it’s the fact that they have gained valuable information about the car’s performance.

    Even more surprising than McLaren’s Honda woes is Red Bull’s downturn in form and Adrian Newey is placing the blame squarely on Renault’s shoulders. “We’ve got an engine which is quite a long way behind with no obvious light at the end of the tunnel with all sorts of failings,” said Newey. Daniel Ricciardo is already using the second of his four allotted power units and complained throughout the Australian GP weekend of bad driveability. “In terms of pace we’re not one second off, it’s more 2s, 2.5s off,” said Ricciardo.

    christian-hornerThroughout the past twelve months team principal Christian Horner, Helmut Marko and Adrian Newey have vilified Renault. To question the manufacturer’s commitment and to call its power unit rubbish every chance you get doesn’t seem like the way to encourage a good working relationship.

    Realistically speaking Red Bull were roughly two tenths a lap faster than Toro Rosso in Australia who share the same power unit. Whereas Mercedes were 1.4 seconds a lap quicker than Williams who also run a Mercedes engine. For that reason it couldn’t be all evil Renault’s fault but they are a convenient scapegoat.