Tag: Pascal Wehrlein

F1 2017: Spanish Gp Review – Hamilton Fights To Spanish Win

For eighty-eight percent of the time all races around the circuit de Catalunya have been won from pole position. While this stat was re-affirmed in 2017 by pole sitter Lewis Hamilton’s victory it was nearly as straightforward as that.

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were made to work hard for all of the sixty-six laps of the Spanish grand prix. A clever switch on tyre strategy, which had the Brit on the quicker tyre at the end of the race, provided the opportunity for victory, which Hamilton translated into the 55^th win of his career.

The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel dominated the first half of the grand prix but a combination of Valtteri Bottas serving as a blocker for Hamilton and a slow call on strategy, cost him the top step of the podium. Ultimately the pair finished less than four seconds apart. It was nearly as satisfying an afternoon for their teammates. Kimi Raikkonen retired on lap one with a broken steering-arm following clash into turn one between Bottas, Raikkonen, and Verstappen. The incident also brought Verstappen’s race to an end was, rightly, deemed to be a racing incident. Later in the piece Bottas Mercedes engine expired putting him out of the race. Though no fault of their own, Raikkonen and Bottas’ retirements could be significant. It could begin the process of Ferrari and Mercedes needing to discuss which driver to back in the fight for championship. In a battle that appears to be as close as the 2017 is there isn’t much more time before this call will need to be made.

The retirements meant that Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished third but it was a day that the Austrian team will want to forget as soon as possible. The expectation that Red Bull’s highly anticipated upgrade package would push them towards the two front running teams was emphatically crushed by the fact that Ricciardo finished some seventy-five seconds adrift. This margin is especially worrying considering that the Spanish circuit is predominantly focused on aerodynamics. Nevertheless, the characteristics of the next grand prix in Monaco should alleviate their pain somewhat. But it’s still unlikely that they’ll trouble Ferrari or Mercedes should all things be equal.

Force India continued their impressive run with yet another double points finish. Sergio Perez in fourth and Esteban Ocon in fifth underlined what a stellar job this privateer team is doing with, likely, a quarter of the budget of the bigwigs. Renault too is continuing to make progress as Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth overall. Spanish driver Carlos Sainz finished seventh in front of his home crowd in the Toro Rosso while Pascal Wehrlein upped his stock in Formula 1 with a fine eighth place finish in a Sauber which has been difficult to drive this year. Sauber’s point score now means that McLaren are the only team with zero points on the board.

Dannil Kvyat came from twentieth on the grid to ninth while Romain Grosjean snapped up the final point in tenth for Haas. Perfomance-wise it was a better weekend for McLaren but Fernando Alonso could still only manage twelfth place by the chequered flag.

Notably nearly all the drivers remarked on the physicality of the race and how they were on the limit for all of the 66 laps. This is in stark contrast to last year where drivers were cruising around five to six seconds off the pace in order to conserve their tyres. A tip of the hat then to the FOM, FIA, and Pirelli doing their bit to provide a more intense experience for drivers and spectators alike.

One of the most fascinating developments to emerge from the weekend is that despite the fact that tens of millions of rands have been spent on upgrade packages and countless man-hours have been invested the battle between Mercedes and Ferrari appear to be as close as ever. For fans it couldn’t be better news as it means an enthralling season in prospect.

May 15, 2017
F1 2017: Spanish Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Mercedes Lead The Way

Lewis Hamilton led the way from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in the first free practice session of the Spanish grand prix.

The ninety-minute session was topped by Hamilton’s 1:21:521 which was 29 thousands quicker than Bottas’ P2 time. The two Ferrari’s followed in third and fourth with Raikkonen setting a 1:22:456 ahead of Vettel, on a 1:22:600.

Early in the session Fernando Alonso’s McLaren spectacularly expired after only a half a lap out of the pitlane. The team reported a rather obvious engine failure while Alonso left the circuit for a round of tennis. The Renault of Sergey Sirotkin suffered a water leak which limited his running in the session to only ten laps.

While several teams utilized the session to evaluate new upgrades and updates to their cars it remains to be seen what sort of impact these new updates will have on the pecking order.

Final Free Practice 1 Standings:

May 12, 2017
F1 2017: Russian Gp Free Practice Three Report – Ferrari Maintain Top Billing

Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time in the final free practice session ahead of the Russian grand prix.

Ferrari driver Vettel set a fastest time of 1:34:001 ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in second. Valtteri Bottas slotted in third ahead of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Meanwhile Jolyon Palmer didn’t get out of the garage as his Renault required an engine change in addition to the safety cell that had been replaced last night. For Red Bull the best position went to Max Verstappen in fifth with Daniel Ricciardo setting the eighth quickest time in the one-hour session.

Expectations are for a close battle for the front row of the grid in the qualifying session for the Russian grand prix.

Final Free Practice Three Standings:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3): Game on… #RussianGP 🇷🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/9vAitUThZv

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 29, 2017

April 29, 2017
2017 Russian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

PART TWO: DRIVERS – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Pascal Werhlein (Sauber)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kimi, you’ve been knocking on the door of a podium at every race this year – but judging by your radio messages, you’re still not happy with the car. What feeling is it giving you and how does that change over the course of a grand prix?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: I’m more happy now that I was probably first race. I think in the last race it was pretty good, I was very happy with it but qualifying not so, but the race itself was good. Then we had pretty average Saturday, so the starting place already was not very good. Then pretty bad first lap so was a bit off. Bad start then couldn’t really get past Felipe in the beginning. Then got past him, we had very good speed but then Safety Car was a bit unfortunate after our pitstop. Then the feeling was pretty good. So, you know, you have to make the Saturday better and then obviously you can use the speed.

Q: How do you see things panning out this weekend between Ferrari and Mercedes?

KR: I don’t know, you tell me. We’ll see tomorrow how it goes. It’s been pretty close between everybody so far, it the first three. You wouldn’t expect it to be a whole lot different here – but who knows.

Q: Can you say that there are still a few things for you to iron-out with the car? But is this still the best Ferrari you have raced in Formula One?

KR: You cannot really compare from the early days but comparing the last few years, then yes. I drove a very good Ferrari when I came first time in Ferrari and, you know, it’s a good car, good package but we have to improve it all the time like anybody who does it but yeah, we just need on my side to put things a bit more better where we want it to be and I’m sure we’ll get the results that we want.

Q: Daniel, I want to start with a technical question. You struggled with tyre temperature in Bahrain, with track temperatures not expected to be that high here, are you worried that the issue will be the same at this grand prix?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Not worried. I think we learned a bit from that. We had the test on Tuesday after the race. We experimented with a few things, so I don’t expect to be in that position again. So yeah, we’ll see. We know that this track is one where you sometimes circulate for a bit and then do a push lap. The tyres maybe aren’t’ there on that first lap for, say, qualifying but I think for the race we should be OK. We’ll be alright.

Q: The team is planning to bring pretty much a new car to the Spanish Grand Prix in a couple of weeks’ time. What do you expect from that car – and what are the major problems with the current car that need addressing?

DR: I expect… I’ll use the word hope, not expect. I hope for a bit of a bullet: something fast. We want to be in a three-way fight with Ferrari and Mercedes. So, that’s what I would hope for: something that puts us in that fight. I look back at least year and think here in qualifying we were over 1.5s off pole and then we went to Barcelona and we were about half a second off pole and we made some gains and then obviously in Monaco we were quick. It’s a time of the year where we should start to see these updates take place and some performance really start to come out of the car. I’m hopeful of that. We just need a bit of everything now. We’ve talked a bit about downforce, feeling a bit in the rear. We’ve had a bit of time to look at Ferrari: they’ve been in front of us for a few races and can study them for a lap or two before they get too far away and yeah, they look strong. Mercedes as well: they’re just carrying a bit more grip in the rear and that’s where all the lap time is in these cars these days.

Q: You say you want a bullet – but the guys next to you aren’t standing still. Are you confident the upgrade in Spain is going to be enough to make it a three-way fight at the front?

DR: I hope so. I’m confident it’s going to be better than what we’ve got now and for now that’s all we can ask for is an improvement. A bit like last year: we made that step and were able to just keep chipping away at it. I think to make that first step is important. I believe we will get that in Barcelona and then let’s see where it puts us. If it puts us within half a second, then I think we’re in striking territory soon after that.

Q: Pascal, great first race back in Bahrain. You then completed 91 laps during testing, so is it safe for us to assume you’re now back to full fitness.

Pascal WERHLEIN: Yes. Really happy to be back, first of all. I think my first weekend was great, P13 in qualifying, P11 in the race, so couldn’t be more happy about my first weekend. Then obviously the test after the race went well. Nearly did 100 laps and just feeling more and more confident with the car, and also with the team and all of the procedures. Just looking forward to start my season finally now.

Q: Looking back, how tough, in hindsight, was your recuperation – physically and mentally – to get yourself back to full racing fitness, how tough was it? You posted a picture of you on social media wearing a neckbrace. Was there ever a moment when you felt your career slipping way or were you confident you’d get back and have the sort of race you had in Bahrain?

PW: No, I fought, of course, very hard to come back and also with the people around me which helped me massively to come back as soon as possible and as quick as possible. We knew that it’s a matter of time but obviously to break a few vertebrae it will take a bit of time and y’know, still it took me only ten weeks to come back to racing and I’m very happy about that. I think, when I posted the picture after Bahrain, people realised more which injury I had, and yeah, as I said, just really happy to be back and to start.

Q: Daniel has just been telling us about the rate of development at the front of the grid. Given that’s the case, how crucial are the next few races for you, to get points? Do you see the next three as the best chance?

PW: I don’t think so. Of course we have a disadvantage, especially, I think in the second half of the season with the engine because we have last year’s Ferrari engine but I think we can make bigger progress with the car, then second half of the season, the engine is a disadvantage. Let’s see how the season goes, I will do my best and I’m sure everyone in the team does as well and hopefully we can score a few points.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) The latest information from the FIA says that the cockpit shield has received the nod over the halo for 2018. First of all, which of the two systems do you prefer, what do you think of the shield in any event?

KR: Well, I have seen a bit of the shield, of what they showed to us. Until we try, it’s very hard to say how it is. Is it better than the halo? I don’t know. Look-wise, I don’t think there’s much difference between either of them.

DR: Yep. Like Kimi said, we got a presentation in China, I think, all us drivers, about the new shield. I think yeah, we’ve still got to see a bit more but yeah, first impressions seem OK and I guess we’ll now try and get some development on that and then start to run it in some practices as soon as they can put it on the cars and then get some more feedback on it. It’s good that they’re still obviously looking for this head protection stuff so that’s positive.

PW: I didn’t see the shield yet as I wasn’t in China so I don’t know how it looks. I think it looks similar to the new idea last year, no?

DR: It’s like a middle of the road look. It looks alright actually.

PW: I think the halo looked a bit strange so the version of last year of Red Bull. I liked it quite a lot, it looks like a spaceship and very futuristic. I liked it. If it looks similar, it’s good. If it’s more safe, it’s good for us drivers.

Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Kimi – a similar question that I put to Valtteri – 34 points between yourself and your teammate right now. Have you had a conversation with management about your role in the team this year? Has Sebastian been identified as the number one driver?

KR: No. Obviously we have our talks at the beginning of the year. We know exactly what we are supposed to do between us as drivers and that hasn’t changed. If it comes to that at the end of the year when either one has no chance, purely on points, then obviously things will fall into place but apart from that, I don’t see anything happening until then.

Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) Kimi, can you tell us more about your businesses outside of F1? Is it true that you have a karaoke bar in Helsinki? And how can your fans find it to sing some songs, maybe? And do you sing yourself?

KR: I do some other stuff than F1 in my life but I’ve no interest to tell what I do or where I do. Do I go in bars? Yes, lately less, no time, unfortunately. I’m involved with a few things.

Q: But Kimi, can you sing?

KR: Can I sing? Badly. But I can sing. But I don’t think it’s the point of that. It’s more fun than actually trying to sing.

Q: (Lasse Lehtinen – Ilta Sanomat) Kimi, you’ve been pretty frustrated in the races during this season. What has helped you to handle these disappointments?

DR: Karaoke!

KR: No, it’s the normal story I would say. Every year… in any race that you don’t do as well as you hope it’s never going to be fun or easy. It can look either way. I’m lucky that I haven’t been in the position that I have won all the time, so that you get used to these things but on the other hand you would rather be in that position. It’s worse fun. It’s very normal stuff, you know. I want to do better and the fact is that if you don’t do as well as I want then for myself it’s never going to be fun. It’s always more fun when we do have a good result. It’s just go to the next race and try to do better.

Q: (Marco Mensurati – La Repubblica) Kimi, in Shanghai, Marchionne was not so fine with you. We heard him talking not so gently and I would like to know about your relationship with him and with the team? And the second one: how long do you think your career will last?

KR: As far as I’ve spoken to our personnel it has always been fine. I know that there’s some things that have been said and written but for me, you can find so many nonsense stories in newspapers, on the web, that I trust much more how my relationship is personal with the team or with him. For me it’s all fine. Like I said before, I expect a good result from myself; when I don’t get them I’m unhappy with myself so if the people aren’t happy that’s fine because I’m not either so it’s not really a big deal for me. What comes to my future I don’t know. There’s always a lot of talk on that since years. I’m not going to try and I’m not going to do this and that. My first thing is that I want to do well and then we’ll see what happens after this year. It’s definitely not the first thing in my mind right now. My first thing in my mind is to do well and here and then the next race and whatever that brings we will see in the future. I have a good relationship with him, I know him well and it depends on many things.

Q: (Flavio Vanetti – La Corriere della Serra) Again for Kimi: can we say that Ferrari is definitely at the same level as Mercedes or is Mercedes still having something more than your team?

KR: I think there are many different ways to look at things. If you look at pure results, if you look at qualifying results. It depends what you look at but I think as a team they have done a very good job for us to bring the car to the level that we have and obviously it’s up to us to make the best out of it. Seb has done good races. As a team I think we’ve come a long way from the last few years. Yes, there are still things that we have to improve all the time and do better but that’s the same with everybody. Are we at the same level as them, Mercedes? I don’t know. It’s not far off, let’s put it that way. In qualifying, I think they’ve been a bit stronger I would say but then in the race it seems to even out. That’s a bit the same trend as it’s been the last few years, that they seem to find something extra on one lap and then it evens out a bit in race conditions. I think it depends a bit on the circuits where we go but we have a good package and we have to make the best out of it.

Q: (Angelina Grebtsova – Nation Magazine) To you all: which is your favourite track?

DR: Favourite track? To drive on: Monaco. Yeah. It’s unique. It’s so tight and twisty and the whole weekend is great as a spectacle but for pure driving and as far as adrenalin goes that’s a stand-out above the rest.

KR: I don’t think there’s one bad circuit but I enjoy maybe Spa, Monaco. I guess they’re quite opposites. There’s a lot of nice places but maybe those two.

PW: For me it’s Macau. It was very impressive to be there in Formula Three. I think I was 16 or 17 and driving with a Formula Three car at 280kph on a street circuit was something very impressive and the track is also very nice.

Q: And Pascal, a Formula One track as well?

PW: Maybe it’s becoming a Formula One track in the future. No. I love street circuits so maybe Singapore.

Q: (Angelique Belokopytov – Autodigest) Daniel, your lack of performance, if I can call it that, is it all on your car or is there something missing in the driver and if yes, what is it?

DR: No, nothing’s missing in the driver. I haven’t forgotten anything. I think just with the car – we know that we can do better, I guess. I think we’ll see that in Barcelona. I think the team’s learned a lot from the past, from testing but also the past few races and also with our feedback, myself and Max’s feedback, I think we’ve been targeting the same things and I think now the team has really understood the point on the car to work on, to focus on and that’s why now they’re bringing this update for Barcelona and that’s as soon as it can come. That’s pretty much that, so for everyone asking why isn’t it here for this weekend… it takes time to build the parts, basically, and then to put them on the car. They test them and then it takes time for the development and all the process but from Barcelona we should be good. From a driving point of view I feel good, very good.

Q: (Darya Panova – F1 Only) What is the main feature of Sochi for you?

KR: I think it’s a nice place to come. The circuit is quite good. It’s been a bit tricky over the last three years. It’s just been very slippery – at least for us – but it’s a nice place to come. Everything is new, everything is well done and I enjoy coming here. It’s a beautiful place.

PW: I like the track so I’m looking forward to driving turn three, hopefully flat this year. It wasn’t possible last year in the Manor. I think there are some nice corners also, the one after the back straight, hard braking into a left hander. It’s very easy to lock up the tyres. There are a few nice places as a street circuit but with a bit more space so you can lock up, you can go a bit wide sometimes so it’s a good track.

DR: Yeah, I think the low grip makes it quite tricky, quite unique and a lot of the corners are flat so there’s not really any camber, any positive banking to kind of pull you round the corners so when it’s slippery and you have like a flat corner then it’s a lot more easy to slide and it’s harder to sometimes find the grip so that’s a challenge but quite a fun one. There’s not many tracks we go to now with that feature and yeah, as Pascal said, I guess it’s turn 13 I believe, after the back straight, braking for there is quite tricky. That’s a good one, it can be a passing opportunity as well. If you can pull off a move there it’s normally a nice one.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Kimi, we saw in the tests in Barcelona, bends number nine, ten that you could brake on the entry, you didn’t have a lot of understeer, and this year you have complained on the radio – we have heard that – that you suffer with understeer. Maybe it’s one of the reasons for a lack of performance between you and Sebastian. What has happened from the winter test to now? And to Daniel, you said about the development of the car; what about the power unit? Is there a development from Renault, from Australia to now?

KR: I think people always look at the lap times in testing and obviously if you’re the fastest they think everything is perfect but I think the problem is also that you do testing in one place, one circuit and any other circuit is usually a chance to set up and we’ve been not far off but off enough to not be 100 percent happy and like I said, last race already we were a lot happy so let’s hope that this weekend we are even better off and go from there. So just small things but they all make a difference.

DR: Yup, power unit – we’ve had a little bit since Australia, so it hasn’t been an upgrade but we’ve been able to squeeze a tenth out of it since then, I would say, and I think around Montreal we’re looking for let’s say that power unit upgrade where we should hopefully find a couple of tenths or something like that. Yeah, we’re obviously still trying to get chassis and power unit stronger but yeah, the big upgrade has not come yet.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, last week or two weeks ago you were in Holland to see the motocross World Championship because you have a team there. Could it be possible to see you there, managing the team when you finish Formula One? You are 37-years old, you said before you are focused on the season to improve yourself but you are in your mind drawing that line to say OK, now that’s enough for me, I want to change my life?

KR: I don’t want to change my life. I’m happy with my life. I’ve had the World Championship team for many years. I enjoy going there when I have time. Unfortunately I’m quite busy with a lot of stuff so not enough time to go often but it’s good fun, it’s different to here so I enjoy it also on that side but like I said, we will see what happens in the future. I’ve been in the same position for many years. People always question me on many things but I’m not in a hurry to decide anything and whatever the future brings is what I want also and we will see.

April 27, 2017
F1 2017: Chinese Gp Preview – China Set For Mercedes Reaction

From the quaint streets of the Albert Park circuit in Australia the Formula 1 paddock heads the grand architecture of the Shanghai International circuit in China for the second round of the 2017 season.

Remarkably, F1’s latest visit to China marks the 14^th year that the Shanghai circuit has been on the calendar. There is a bit of history about the circuit too. Its inaugural race in 2004 was won by then Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello and in 2006 Michael Schumacher scored what would be his 91^st and final victory. A year later Kimi Raikkonen’s win in changeable conditions would set up an unlikely championship triumph while, in 2012, the Chinese grand prix was also the very first race win for the reigning champion Nico Rosberg.

Nevertheless, while these stats and victories remain firmly in the history books the 2017 crop arrives with what is still very much an era in its infancy. While Ferrari has won the first race of the season the Shanghai International circuit demands a far different type of car performance. For one, this circuit is far more front limited which means that a car will need to work well with its front tyres to set competitive lap times. The tyres too will be tested more than in Australia as the Chinese circuit is far more abrasive.

Tyre wear may prove to be a significant factor, especially for Mercedes. It was this issue that Lewis Hamilton singled out as the reason for his defeat by Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari. What’s more, in Australia it was clear that Mercedes W08 is not as comfortable following other cars as the Ferrari appears to be which, by itself, can substantially influence tyre degradation and wear.

However, these aren’t the only issues Mercedes are facing and the team has admitted that it needs to reduce the weight of its 2017 car. An overweight car not only costs lap time but also takes away the teams ability to position ballast in the car to aid handling. What’s more, Haas team principal Guenter Steiner thinks that Ferrari’s 2017 power unit might be on a par with than that of Mercedes, if not better. The make up of the Chinese circuit, which includes several high speed corners, and long straits, will be a good test of Steiner’s theory.

But by no means is Mercedes ruled out of taking the top step of podium this weekend. The prediction of fairly low temperatures for the race weekend will be in their favour as cooler condition will mean less overheating of their tyres. But they’ll have to work hard if they are to withstand the threat of Ferrari. For Red Bull the fight is highly unlikely to be for the podium considering the deficit of the Renault engine to that of Mercedes and Ferrari.

Several critics have railed about the difficultly of overtaking in 2017. The detractors felt vindicated by the overall lack of overtaking in Australia but Albert Park, as a semi-street circuit, is not the best barometer in this case. While the jury is still out in what is still a fairly immature point of the season the Shanghai International circuit, thanks to its two long straits, will offer more overtaking opportunities. It will not be definitive but it will begin to reveal how easy or difficult overtaking will be in 2017.

Since the start of the hybrid era in 2014 Mercedes have been an unstoppable juggernaut only rarely tripped up by themselves. In these three years the world has witnessed how the Mercedes team runs and conducts itself as the dominant force. At the start of 2017 they are by no means down and out but are, at the very least, perceived to be ever so slightly on the back foot. Therefore, it will be fascinating to observe how they respond.

April 6, 2017
F1 2017: Australian Gp Review – Ferrari On Top Down Under

For the first time since the hybrid era started in Formula 1 a team other than Mercedes is leading the world championship. That team is Ferrari and the driver is Sebastian Vettel.

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that a Ferrari claimed the top step of podium as all signs in testing pointed to the fact that the Italian team had built a good car. While not too surprising, it was a breath of fresh air. Consider how refreshing it is to have a red car cross the finish line when you take into account that this is the Ferrari victory since the 2015 Singapore grand prix and the first time since November 2008 that Ferrari has led the constructor’s championship.

It was a measured start to the grand prix that Lewis Hamilton led into turn one from pole position with Vettel in close attendance. There was however a coming together of Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Marcus Ericsson’s Sauber a bit later in the lap. While the rest of the pack sorted themselves out Vettel was glued to the back of the Mercedes exhaust, this time Hamilton wasn’t simply scampering off into the distance.

This meant while Hamilton could control the front of the race he couldn’t run at too conservative a pace. This meant that Hamilton was not able to extend the life of the ultrasoft tyres and was forced into the pitlane ahead of the Ferrari. This gave Vettel the impetuous to push ahead and take the lead of the race.

Hamilton’s early visit to the pits came a surprise too many as the new-for-2017 pirelli tyres have a much long lifespan than their 2016 counterparts. Nevertheless, the three-time champ emerged behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and was stuck behind the Dutchman for a handful of laps while Vettel pulled away up front.

Mercedes, and Hamilton, would have you believe that this is where the race was lost but Verstappen didn’t play as big a role. Firstly, Hamilton dived into the pitlane because he’d exhausted the tyres and was losing grip. Secondly, while he did lose a few seconds behind Verstappen he wasn’t stuck behind him for the remainder of the race, in fact, it wasn’t even half distance yet. The simple fact is that the Mercedes just didn’t have the pace to beat the Ferrari.

Post-race Hamilton bemoaned the inability to overtake Verstappen. Given the unique characteristics of Albert Park it’s not yet clear whether overtaking in 2017 will be more difficult. Shangai, in two weeks time, should be a better barometer. But again, this didn’t seem like a valid point as several other drivers pulled of overtakes, including a stunning double-overtake from Force India’s Esteban Ocon on Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg. But we’ve seen before that the Merc isn’t a car that runs as efficiently as others in dirty air, and it seems, at least from Australia that it’s an issue that haven’t gotten on top yet.

Valtteri Bottas impressed with his performance in third only two seconds off Hamilton. Ideally he’ll want to be ahead but he’ll take a lot of confidence from the margin to his teammate in only his first race with the team. Kimi Raikkonen came home a distant fourth and said that understeer in the first stint on the ultrasoft tyres put him in no-mans land. But when he swithced to the soft tyre he was able to run the pace of the top three and set the fastest lap of the race. Was fourth ideal? No, but the important thing is that Raikkonen and the team indicated that they knew where they’d gone wrong on the set-up and know what to fix for China in two weeks time.

Max Verstappen, in fifth, brought the Red Bull home in a predictable position given the team’s pace. Daniel Ricciardo never recovered from a qualifying crash as he first broke down on the lap to the grid then joined the race two laps down only to break down again.

Verstappen, in fifth, ended up pretty much where you’d have predicted for Red Bull. The unretired Felipe Massa was sixth for Williams ahead of the Force India of Sergio Perez and the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz in seventh and eighth. Daniil Kvyat was ninth in the other Toro Rosso ahead of Esteban Ocon’s Force India in tenth.

It was a day to forget for McLaren as Stoffel Vandoorne finished last and Fernando Alonso retired with suspension failure. What is evident for the Honda-powered team is that 2017 will be another painfully long season.

After Friday practice Hamilton was crowned champion at least seventeen different times and Ferrari had no chance of even getting close to the Mercedes. Just as it was premature to write off Ferrari after Friday it is equally unwise to declare them the team to beat after one race. It’s a new formula with a lot of room for improvement throughout the season. Even if a team dominates the first races it doesn’t mean that they will be the team to beat at the end of the year. The learning curve on these cars will be enormous.

But Ferrari’s victory is no fluke, or once-off, the SF-70H is a good car that has every possibility of taking the fight to Mercedes through all of the nineteen remaining races.

March 27, 2017
F1 2017: F1 2017: Team-by-team Guide, Part 2

McLaren – Fernando Alonso & Stoffel Vandoorne

Given the results it’s produced over the last two seasons it’s safe to say that McLaren’s renewed partnership with Honda has been miserable. As proud and prominent a company Honda may be there is no doubt that they underestimated the task of re-entering the sport.

Fernando Alonso and 24-year-old Stoffel Vandoorne will drive for the team in 2017. In the 2016 Bahrain grand prix Vandoorne made his debut as Alonso sat out with fractured ribs from a crash in Australia. The Belgian driver not only out-qualified teammate Jenson Button but when on to finish in tenth, scoring one point for the team. What was most impressive about Vandoorne’s grand prix debut was the ease with which he slipped into the role of race driver. There were no wild off-track moments and hardly any mistakes. Regardless of the car’s performance in 2017 he’s unlikely to rattle Alonso’s cage but he has already revealed himself as a driver to watch.

For a driver of Fernando Alonso’s caliber 2017 will be catalyst for his future in the sport. It’s unlikely, if McLaren were to underperform again, that he would stick around for much longer. It’s unlikely that he’ll slip into retirement either given his hunger for success. Come 2018 there is likely to be a plethora of options and all of them would welcome Alonso with open arms.

Toro Rosso – Carlos Sainz JR & Daniil Kvyat

The sister Red Bull team should have had a much better 2016 season. But running a year-old Ferrari engine encumbered it. This season they revert back to Renault power and with a good chassis they could, potentially, threaten a team like Force India.

For one of its drivers, Russian Daniil Kvyat, it’s likely the last chance to make a real impression. His very public demotion from the Red Bull team last year was a spirit breaker and he took months to show some sort of recovery from it. But he did so as he fiercely held off her replacement Max Verstappen at the 2016 Singapore grand prix. On the other side of the garage Carlos Sainz Jr. must underline the enormous talent shown in the previous season. If he does, a better drive at a bigger team is definitely in his future.

Sauber – Marcus Ericsson & Pascal Wehrlein

In the nick of time the Swiss-based team was given a new lease on life from Swedish investment firm, Longbow Finance. Though an independent team Sauber has rich history in the sport. Much credit must go to Monisha Kaltenborn and her team for continuing to fight for a team in a near financial death spiral. Sauber has already stressed the importance of chassis design and development in the new season. Thanks to relatively comfortable financial position the team will be able to maintain a program of development in 2017 unlike in 2016.

Marcus Ericsson remains as driver and while his performances have been solid an uncompetitive car has dwarfed them. Pascal Wehrlein slots in alongside and has a lot to prove to the paddock and himself. He will feel hard done by for not getting the Force India or Merc drive. But there’s a reason he didn’t get – the powers that be didn’t think him ready to step up. 2017 is his chance of changing that opinion not just on the track but in the garage too.

Renault – Nico Hulkenberg & Jolyon Palmer

The French team is very much in a re-building phase and wouldn’t expect to make a massive splash in the new season. But their expectation will be to see a steady improvement throughout the season.

With several crashes and lackluster showings Jolyon Palmer has not impressed in the Renault. And now he’ll be matched up against one of the most highly rated drivers on the grid in Nico Hulkenberg. German-driver Hulkenberg is the sort that fits well into any team but is running short on time to make it into one of the top teams in the sport.

Haas F1 – Romain Grosjean & Keven Magnussen

The American-owned team started the 2016 season like a house on fire. That fire has dampened slightly but it is still a team of immense potential that is run, by Gene Haas, in the best way possible.

There is a sense of unfulfilled potential when you think about Romain Grosjean. His stint in the Lotus a few seasons ago looked like it would be the springboard to greater things but it hasn’t worked out for the Frenchman. But he’s a quality driver who should easily have the measure of teammate Kevin Magnussen if he can learn how to drive around the issues that may be present in the 2017 Haas car.

February 17, 2017
Wehrlein Joins Sauber for 2017

The Sauber F1 Team has completed driver line up by announcing Pascal Wehrlein will partner Marcus Ericsson for the 2017 season.

Wehrlein’s future has been in the balance at the end of the 2016 season. He was in the running for a seat at Force India until Esteban Ocon was announced. A few weeks later Wehrlein’s name was being mentioned with a potential move to Sauber. Mercedes have seen quite a bit of potential in the young German and were keen to keep him in F1. This move to Sauber keeps him in the running for a potential Mercedes drive in the future.

“I am very delighted at being a part of the Sauber F1 Team for the upcoming Formula One Season. It is a new challenge in a new team, and I am really excited and looking forward to this new adventure,” said Wehrlein.

“Our objective is to establish ourselves in the mid-field and to score points on a regular basis. That being said, I will do my best to support Sauber.

“Now I am looking forward to meeting everyone in the team and to tackling the preparations for the 2017 season.

“I want to say a big thank you to Sauber for trusting in me and giving me this great chance. And surely, a huge thanks also goes to Mercedes for the support.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal had the following to say about Wehrlein’s move to Sauber:
“We are very pleased to confirm Pascal Wehrlein as our second race driver for the 2017 Formula One World Championship.

“Pascal has shown his talent throughout his career – in single seater racing as well as in the DTM.

“Last year in his rookie Formula One season, he proved his potential by scoring one point in the Austrian GP in Spielberg.

“There is surely more to come from Pascal, and we want to give him the chance to further grow and learn at the pinnacle of motorsport.

“I am confident Marcus and Pascal will form a solid combination for 2017.”

January 16, 2017
2016 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

DRIVERS – Jolyon PALMER (Renault), Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso), Pascal WEHRLEIN (Manor), Kimi RAIKKONEN (Ferrari), Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Fernando, there’s been a lot of talk about your starts this year and the fact that in the last five GPs you’ve made up 29 places on the opening lap! Making up places is something you’ve consistently done – in circumstances you’ve had to do it of course – but can you explain a bit about your starts; is it experience, instinct or is it just pure risk taking?

Fernando ALONSO: I think it’s a little bit of everything probably. A little bit of luck as well. Sometimes you try to recover places and you try to choose a line into turn one – left or right – and you never know what if going to happen in front of you. It’s a little bit of luck also that you need. Over probably 16 years of Formula One, I recover many, many places so it cannot be only luck every single year. Yeah, probably doing a lot of Playstation and starting last – it’s good practice!

The results seem to be coming through now more consistently for McLaren-Honda, outside of the top three teams on a more consistent basis. Are you seeing the things you need to see at this stage from the team to give you confidence you can fight for podiums more regularly next season and what’s the plan for the new engine you ran in Sepang?

FA: I think let’s say we are happy with the progress we made this year and definitely we are able to fight with some competitive teams there, like Force India, Williams, and now we finished now like four times seventh after the top three teams in the last five races. Definitely a step forward that we are enjoying, this process of starting to be competitive but I think looking for next year I don’t think we can see anything that is clearly positive or negative. Everything will change massively so we need to work and to be very focused on next year’s car in a way now that is only theoretical – simulators and wind tunnel numbers and dyno numbers etc. I don’t think the performance of the actual car is a reference for next year. So that’s one thing. Yeah, we want to be more competitive next year. I think the biggest step has been done, from last year to this year, but we need another big step next year, which is going from the last Q3 spot and some points to fight for podiums and wins. I think it’s still possible. We have the potential, we have the facilities, we have the talented people. This project, as we have said many times, it’s a question of time that we will be able to win. Hopefully we are trying to make it as short as possible and let’s see. With the new engine, actually it’s just an engine that we fitted in Malaysia just for reliability issues more than performance. Also, we didn’t have engines to finish the season, so we chose Malaysia to fit new engines, to pay the penalty and then have the rest of the races without any more concerns. We plan to use that engine here but, as I said, the engine has exactly the same power, so we will fit the engine and we will try to do our best.

Thank you. Lewis, coming to you: this has been a happy hunting ground for you recently, with victories in the last couple of years as you moved towards those two world titles. How do you feel going into Suzuka this year?

Lewis HAMILTON: I feel same as probably last year. I feel good. Excited to get on track, the weather’s great today, I love being here, so ready to get going.

What did you do then in the three days since Malaysia and what conclusions did you come to when you were thinking about the race: were you concerned about the championship position or were you satisfied about the way you drove, that you did everything right?

LH: I haven’t been thinking about the last race. Usually when I leave the racetrack I think about a lot of other thing. I have a lot of other stuff going on. I was in Tokyo, enjoying my time. I love being in Tokyo. One of my favourite cities, it’s in my top three favourite cities in the world. That’s about it.

Any thoughts on the way you performed in Malaysia?

LH: Yeah, it was good, happy with it. I hope that I can continue performing like that.

OK. Pascal, looking ahead to the new car Formula One cars of 2017 that Fernando referenced earlier on, you’ve done quite a lot of development work for Mercedes and Pirelli recently, what are you impressions of the changes, particularly with reference to the tyres?

Pascal WEHRLEIN: It’s faster, but I think I cannot tell you in detail how it was. So yes, it’s faster and therefore more fun, but apart from that I can’t tell you, sorry.

What about your own racing programme for next season? Are you likely to stay put with Manor but are there other options for you?

PH: Let’s see. At the moment there are discussions going on and in the next few weeks I think I will know more.

Fair enough. Kimi, you’ve already scored more points at this stage, you’ve gone past your 2015 points total, with five race to go and you’ve scored in more grands prix than your team-mate has, do you feel satisfied?

Kimi RAIKKONEN: I think it’s a bit difficult to be satisfied with where we are right now. Obviously we want to be in better places, fight in the front, but this is what we have right now. We always try to do our best but obviously the places where we’ve been recently are not, for sure, where we want to be as Ferrari, but we have to keep working and giving our best and hopefully, sooner rather than later we will be up there.

Picking up on what Pascal was saying, or not saying, about 2017, you are one of very race drivers that has done test work on the 2017 tyres with Ferrari’s mule car. What can you tell us about the difference in feel, for example, and what we can expect next year

KR: It’s very early days. There’s nothing to really compare, apart from some lap time from the previous race there or testing, but obviously the conditions are different and a lot of things are… there’s a bit more grip but to be fair it’s very early days for Pirelli’s new tyres, so I think we are only going to really see what we have once we have the proper cars next year and the tyres in the first test and the cars are far from what they will be next year, what we’re using in testing. I think it will be faster, but how much and how it’s going to be, how the car is and the tyres together, it’s too early to say.

Q: Jolyon, coming to you, congratulations on your first championship points finish in Malaysia. You were actually in a points-paying position for much of the race – what made the difference for you last weekend in getting the result?

Jolyon PALMER: Firstly, I’d say performance-wise we were definitely quicker than we have been. I think on Friday we knew that on quali and also on the long runs we were looking quite good. And then in the race a mixture of keeping the tyres alive and good strategy because starting 19^th there was quite a lot of work to do. We did one stop and we used the soft tyre which was quick to the end. So, I have Carlos putting me under a bit of pressure but we managed to keep the pace up and make the one-stop work.

Q: You’re 3-3 in qualifying with your team-mate for the last six races. Do you feel now that you’re getting a chance to show what you can do? Again, what’s making the difference?

JP: Well, I feel that the early part of the season was quite difficult but I think after Monaco everything’s been pretty close all the time with Kev. So, I don’t think the last six races, it could be the last ten races is more accurate really, between us there’s never much. Malaysia I think qualifying wasn’t my strong point to be honest. I think I was doing quite well until qualifying but at least I recovered in the race. I think we’re showing what we can do, both of us, pushing hard, always close and I’m sure it’s going to be the case to the end of the year.

Q: Carlos, you qualified strongly in Singapore but got caught up in that start line incident and other results have slipped away recently. Are you getting a bit frustrated with the second half of your season?

Carlos SAINZ: No, I wouldn’t use the word frustration to describe that tough end of the season we’re suffering at the moment in Toro Rosso. Singapore was obviously a very big opportunity missed, starting P6, we knew we had the pace to finish at least in the top six, which is when you are fighting with McLaren and Haas for those P6, P7, it’s a lot of points but you cannot keep thinking too much about it. We went to Malaysia; we knew we were not going to be as fast as in Singapore and it got confirmed – but yeah, we are trying to extract the maximum performance out of the car every race, we know our performance can vary a lot from circuit to circuit and we just need to go race-by-race seeing where we stand in every race.

Q: We’ve heard a little about the 2017 cars, they’re obviously going to be quicker but how are you feeling about the physical side of driving next year? Looking at Malaysia, quite a few drivers said it was tough – I’m interested to know with much faster cars, higher cornering speeds next year, to what extend next year are you all going to have to step up the training in view of that?

CS: I think for sure we will need to. It’s not a secret we will need to do a step in our physical condition for next year. Already Malaysia this year we were in qualifying nearly as fast as the lap record; the race, because of the tarmac change, was 3-4 seconds per lap quicker than last year and you could already feel it. It’s a challenge that I always welcome. At the end it means OK, more time in the gym, more time on a bike – but it means that also in the race a physical limitation comes into play and it’s where you can make the difference. So, I will welcome it. Also the challenge of driving a faster car is always more difficult, always more selective with drivers, so it can only do good for Formula One.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Manuel Franco – Diario AS) First question for Fernando Alonso, second for Carlos Sainz. Fernando, what’s your opinion about Ferrari’s situation because when you leave all people say were wrong – what’s your opinion now? And for Carlos, last year you were first in FP1 in your first time at Suzuka in rain – are you praying for rain again in the race?

Fernando?

FA: Nothing really to comment. They are struggling a little bit now but it didn’t change probably the situation in the last couple of years but yeah, I wish always the best for Ferrari. I will have always Ferrari in my heart. So, hopefully they can improve. Thanks for asking. It’s been a long time that they didn’t ask me about Ferrari. Especially after they won Malaysia last year.

Carlos?

CS: I have very good memories of Suzuka last year: first time in Japan; first time in this circuit and first in FP1 in the rain. So… yeah. I know the lines, I know that Toro Rosso normally performs pretty well in the rain, so I would welcome it. I always welcome the rain but particularly these last five races. We need some of that now to score a strong result. There’s some showers around for Saturday and Sunday, so I think also for Formula One, and apart from me it’s always good to have some mixed-weather races.

Q: (Kate Walker – Motorsport.com) Two questions for Fernando please: first of all, I was wondering what you think of Honda’s philosophy and of their engineering ability? And secondly, I was wondering if you could say how you find working with Honda compared with working with Renault and with Ferrari?

FA: I found it very interesting from day one working with Honda, the philosophy and the approach they have to racing in general and I think to some extent to life. It’s interesting and I’m a big fan of Japanese culture and Japanese traditions and I think they translate that also into their racing philosophy. They’ve been following their programme, sometimes for us as sportsmen or fans. Sometimes it’s frustrating because we want everything now or everything tomorrow but that is not this magic solution in Formula One. Everything requires some time but yeah, they are doing the job, they are doing the maximum. They are, as I said, they are following the times, everything made in Japan, only with Japanese people and it’s their mission, let’s say, so I’m extremely happy to feel part of this project from day one. Now that the results are coming, I also think they are a little bit more motivated and they are starting to be more creative, let’s say, in terms of design and progress. So, happy and compared to other big manufacturers, big car manufacturers, I think it’s just that. The way they work, the discipline, working and the loyalty also. All the engineers we have in our team, they’ve been working for Honda all their lives, from university. So the university they chose, one way to the other, they chose Honda and they will be with Honda for all their lives so that’s quite different to our culture and also I’m learning a lot.

Q: (Luc Domenjoz – Le Matin) Lewis, in Sepang you said after the race that possibly ‘the high power’, using your words, would prevent you from winning the championship, so at this stage of your life, how important is religion for you in your culture, in your day-to-day life?

LH: It doesn’t change, nothing’s changed. I just said it appears that currently the guy above doesn’t really want me to… perhaps doesn’t want me to win right now. But I’ve made a point on my Instagram so I don’t really have much more to say about it.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) Kimi, you say you can’t be happy with where you are right now. You’re currently fourth in the championship, third is within reach so two questions: would it make a difference to you if you finished third, fourth or fifth? And would it make a difference if you finished ahead of your teammate?

KR: Not really. We are here to try to win and anything less than winning is obviously not why we are here or why all the guys in Ferrari work hard to try to be best. So obviously not winning… second is better than third but it’s not an awful lot in the end. It’s been a more solid year and more consistent, and things are running most… but like I said, we want to be back in the front and fighting consistently for putting ourselves at least to have a good chance of winning. So that’s the aim and then obviously after that it depends on many other things also but we are lacking speed a bit but we’re not giving up and we keep trying and improving and I’m sure we’ll get there. It just takes time. In a way it’s been better than the last few years but it’s still not what we want.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) Lewis, is there anything you can share with us what you’re looking at?

LH: Hunh? Yeah, no, just… it’s quite funny, just some snaps of us drivers, it’s quite funny. That’s about it. Hey man, we’ve been doing this a long long time and it’s the same each time so got to keep adding new things to it.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, I’ve noticed you’ve posted a series of messages on Facebook about your team last night. I was just wondering why you decided to do that?

LH: Been planning to do it for a while. We’ve been building that up for a couple of weeks already, so it just turned out to be the appropriate time to do it.

Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Lewis, a lot of your fans, after the race on Sunday, they kind of felt the sense of injustice about your engine blowing up and some of them saying that they think Mercedes are favouring Nico, as they’ve said at different points in the year. I just wonder what your message to them is?

LH: Well, they just go on my Instagram. I’ve put all my feelings on there so… They have the right to their own opinion but as you see from my posts, you see how passionate I am about this team and about my guys so…

October 6, 2016
Haryanto Dropped From Manor Line up, Ocon Announced as Replacement

The Manor F1 Team announced on Wednesday 10 August 2016 that it will drop Rio Haryanto from it’s driver line up after failure to meet his contractual agreements.

His replacement at the team, Esteban Ocon, will drive for the team from the Belgian Grand Prix onward.

Haryanto became Indonesia’s first F1 driver when he was announced as a Manor driver for 2016 with backing from the Indonesian government. In weeks leading up to this announcement it was an open secret in the F1 Paddock that Haryanto would not be in the Manor car after the summer break.

Manor has offered Haryanto the role as reserve driver for the remaining 9 races in the season. There is no word on who will partner with Pascal Wehrlein from the Belgian Grand Prix but an announcement is expected soon.

Racing Director Dave Ryan was quoted saying: “Rio has been a much-valued member of our team since January, when we signed a contract with him for this season. Some time ago, his management indicated that they were experiencing difficulties honouring the obligations of that contract beyond the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“Rio’s team have worked tirelessly to try to resolve that situation with his Indonesian backers and we have supported those efforts as much as possible, including allowing Rio to race in Germany.

“Unfortunately we reached a point where, in the best interests of the team, we were forced to explore other options for the remainder of the season.

“We are very pleased to continue our support for Rio’s Formula 1 ambitions, by offering him a Reserve Driver role for the rest of the current season. We very much hope that he will accept that offer.”

Speaking about his call up to F1 Ocon said: “I’m thrilled that I’ll be making my Grand Prix debut with Manor Racing later this month, and at Spa, of all circuits, which is the next best thing to my home race.

“I’m ready for this exciting step up, thanks to the experience I’ve gained as a Formula 1 Reserve Driver this season.

“I’d like to thank Renault Sport F1 Team and Mercedes-Benz for working together to make this happen, and to Manor Racing for the opportunity, which I’m going to grab with both hands.”

Photo Credit: Manor Racing Formula One Team & Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

August 10, 2016