F1 Madness

Tag: red bull

  • F1 2017: Austria Gp Preview – Advantage Mercedes

    F1 2017: Austria Gp Preview – Advantage Mercedes

    From the confines of Baku City Formula 1 returns to the sprawling vista of Austria for the ninth round of the 2017 championship.

    Situated in Spielberg the Red Bull Ring is a short circuit consisting of nine corners in total. These corners are linked with several long straits and though it may be a power-dominant circuit its layout allows more than a few good spots for overtaking. “At any kind of power circuit like Austria you want to be smooth and get good exits in order to give yourself the best chance on the long straights,” said Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. “The compromise is always the aero package. In the middle to the end of the lap you want more downforce because the corners are quite fast but more downforce means you are slower on the straights, so the key is to find a good balance throughout the lap”.

    The Austrian circuit is of course owned by Red Bull which makes the weekend all the more important for the team. Ironically the layout of the Red Bull Ring and its demand on engine power has never been a Renault strong suit. Nevertheless, a minor upgrade, brought by Renault in Baku, has moved them slightly forward in terms of ultimate power output. What’s more, both Red Bulls ran relatively well in Baku, which is similarly in its demands on the power unit. It is perhaps unlikely that Ricciardo or Verstappen could, on pure pace, beat either Mercedes or Ferrari but likewise, they’ll likely not be challenged by either Williams or Force India who traditionally perform well at low drag circuits. Red Bull and their drivers are probably the most canny drivers on the grid and they will be close enough to snatch up any positions should something go awry.

    GP EUROPA F1/2016The Pirelli tyre compounds available this weekend, the ultra- and supersoft, would ordinarily play to the strength of the Ferrari. While they’ll still likely fair better on the ultrasoft compound the low level of degradation will limit any creativity on pit stop strategies. What’s more the ultrasoft tyre is effectively last year’s supersoft tyre and on a circuit where drivers made do with a one-stopper in 2016 it’s unlikely that any one team will carry a significant advantage.

    The FIA had announced that there would be no further punishment for Vettel behaviour in Baku during which he turned his Ferrari into the side of Hamilton’s Mercedes behind the safety car. While the outcome of the re-investigation has gone in Vettel’s favour it is an important weekend for the Ferrari driver regardless. As it stands Vettel remains in the lead of the championship but there’s no denying that Canada and Baku were messy races, which has somewhat, stalled Ferrari’s momentum. This will not be an easy weekend for Ferrari either. The circuit layout means that Mercedes start the weekend as clear favourites and you can bet that the media will still be posing questions about the Baku-incident. In fact, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Ferrari institutes a media blackout on their drivers this weekend.

    Sebastian Vettel - Italian Grand Prix qualifyingWhatever your opinion of Vettel’s behaviour and what sort of punishment he does, or does not deserve, he must deliver this weekend. The best way to put the last race behind him and to control the story is by delivering on track. It wont be easy though. Hamilton and Mercedes not only start the weekend as clear favourites and without the incessant and uncomfortable attention of the media, but, vitally, with a sort of momentum that can quickly become ominous.

  • 2017 Azerbaijan GP Free Practice 2: Verstappen Out Ahead then Crashes Out

    2017 Azerbaijan GP Free Practice 2: Verstappen Out Ahead then Crashes Out

    Max Verstappen finished the second free practice session of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on top of the time sheets this afternoon but ended his session by crashing out with just 30-second left in the session.

    The session was one of the most bizarre sessions yet. Nearly all the drivers ran wide off the track at least once with Jolyon Palmer falling victim to the barriers at Turn 8. The Brit took too much out of the entry kerb at Turn 8, which sent the car crashing into the outside barrier. Palmer’s crash brought out the red flags for a brief period.

    The locking up and low grip could be put down to the high tyre pressures mandated by Pirelli but overall, the low grip conditions made it tough for the drivers to get in a clean qualifying simulation lap.

    While Verstappen did set the fastest lap, at one stage it looked as if Ferrari was on course to take that honor. But Verstappen made sure he claimed the fastest time by setting a 1:43.362. The Red Bulls were split by the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas who’s time of 1:43.462 was just 0.100s off Versatppen’s time. Ricciardo’s 3rd fastest time of 1:43.473 was 0.111s off the pace.

    It was business as usual at McLaren-Honda when Fernando Alonso’s newly fitted (and upgraded) Honda engine expired with smoke pouring out of the back of the MCL32.

    At the end of the session with just 30-seconds left in the session Verstappen locked up into Turn 1. The rear of the car stepped out, he tried to catch the slide, but ran out of road and smacked the barrier damaging the front left and front right suspension with the rear taking most of the damage. Despite Verstappen’s crash Red Bull ended the day on top of the time sheets and are looking good going into Saturday qualifying.

     

  • F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp First Free Practice Report – Verstappen Quickest

    F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp First Free Practice Report – Verstappen Quickest

    Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the timing sheets in the first free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Baku grand prix.

    The 90 minute session got underway in glorious sunshine in the city of Baku. However, the second longest circuit on the grid proved quite slippery and dusty as several drivers endured spins and running wide at various parts on the circuit.

    While Verstappen’s 1:44:410, on SuperSoft tyres, was quickest enough for P1 it was his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, also on the SuperSoft compound, who set the 2nd quickest time overall. The first of the Ferrari’s was third in the form of Sebastian Vettel who set a 1:44:967. The first of the Mercedes was Lewis Hamilton who set the 5th quickest time for the session.

    There was a lengthy red flag period towards the end of the session at the Force India of Sergio Perez bounced off the wall at Turn 8 after clipping the entry curb. The damage sustained looked quite significant as both the front-right and left-rear corners of the car were torn off. It remains to be seen if the Mexican will make it out at the start of the second free practice later this afternoon.

     

  • F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

    F1 2017: Azerbaijan Gp Preview – Merc And Ferrari Battle in Baku

    In 2016 Azerbaijan became the newest addition to the Formula 1 calendar as it hosted the country’s first ever street-race in the capital city of Baku. F1’s favourite designer Herman Tilke envisioned and delivered a circuit, which combined the city’s uniquely historical buildings with the modern, and technical world of Formula1.

    The Baku City track, the third longest of the season, is an exercise in extreme opposites. While the mid sector of exceedingly tight and twisting corners is more akin to Monaco it is in stark contrast to the enormously long straits that dominates the first and final sectors of the lap and are more reminiscent of Monza. The circuit is the first counterclockwise track on the calendar and provides one of the most picturesque backdrops seen all year.

    The last time Lewis Hamilton steered his Mercedes around a proper street circuit was the Monaco grand prix. To put it mildly, thing didn’t go well for the Brit on those streets. Though the Baku race is similarly contested on the streets of Azerbaijan it doesn’t have too many parallels.

    GP EUROPA F1/2016There are a few factors in Hamilton’s, and to a greater degree Mercedes, favour this weekend. The longest strait on the F1 calendar will allow Merc to focus on its best feature, the engine. Further the Pirelli compounds on offer this weekend in the soft and supersoft compounds, which Mercedes favour far more than the ultra- and supersoft combo.

    From last year’s tyre performance it doesn’t appear that degradation is a big factor in Baku, which saw driver able to run long stints and make fewer pitstops. As there are fewer opportunities for a creative pit strategy on Sunday it ultimately increases the importance of qualifying well on Saturday.

    Similarly, there are a few factors that Hamilton will have to overcome this weekend in order to claw back the lead of the driver’s championship. The most important of these are undoubtedly the two Ferrari’s of Vettel and Raikkonen. Be it because of damage or unreliability the Canadian grand prix was a messy one for Ferrari. It was the type of grand prix that will, undoubtedly, harden their resolve of securing a good haul of points this weekend. Given their relative performance on other street circuits so far this year form dictates that the prancing horse will be no slouch around here either.

    GP AUSTRALIA F1/2017In 2016 the Italian team delivered a solid race here last year despite not being near the performance level of Mercedes. In far less competitive car than they have in 2017 Sebastian Vettel finished second while Kimi Raikkonen ran third for the majority of the race. Since the Monaco grand prix the team has vehemently denied any team orders are at work between its two drivers. It will make for interesting viewing should the Scuderia be faced with a similar scenario, to Monaco, this weekend.

    Valtteri Bottas could yet prove to be a factor for Hamilton too. The Finn is currently thirty-six points adrift of his teammate and that with a retirement in Spain. His first race win, in Russia, came on a weekend when Hamilton was inexplicably off the pace and he delivered in Monaco too and he firmly believes that in a head-to-head battle he has the measure of his teammate. “I think we [Hamilton and I] are very close, I don’t see a difference,” he said. “I believe in myself. But he was shown up in Canada on a circuit where he is considered to be somewhat of a specialist. It’s as perfect a time as any to beat Hamilton in a direct fight.

  • 2017 Canadian GP: Post Race Press Conference

    2017 Canadian GP: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (conducted by Sir Patrick Stewart)

    Q: Congratulations, Lewis. You might say that there’s nothing like a pleasant, quiet drive along the river on a Sunday afternoon in Montreal. But this was a little different, wasn’t it?

    Lewis HAMILTON: It was! I just want to start by saying thank you to this crowd — you guys have been amazing. Every year we come back, every year the crowd grows, the energy grows, the atmosphere grows. I don’t think anywhere in the world we do qualifying and have the reaction we have here, thank you!

    Q: It means something special to you, this track?

    LH: It is! I mean, I had my first pole here, I had my first win here ten years ago, and to repeat it this weekend is incredibly special. I really have to thank my team who made this possible, the guys back at the factory have worked so hard to really fix what we had in the last race, to bring it here and give it to the Ferraris. It’s great. Valtteri did a fantastic job to get collectively great points; I’m over the moon.

    Q: It’s a wonderful win, congratulations. Valtteri, congratulations. This is a good season, isn’t it? This is your fourth podium. Isn’t it? It is. How did it feel?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: It felt good! Thank you Montreal, again. It’s my fifth time racing here, and my third time up here on the podium, so it’s been a good place for me. It’s always good to be here, and as a team we really needed to get those points. After a tough race in Monaco I’m pretty impressed with what the team has done to get it together, and how much we have improved in two weeks is impressive. I’m just very, very proud to be a part of this.

    Q: And how does it feel, following Lewis like this around the track?

    VB: You know, in the beginning it was tough being behind the Red Bull, and then I was stuck behind one of the Force Indias for some time there. We split the strategy with Lewis, I went on soft. Initially we had [unclear] control of the race and I knew what I had to do to bring the car home. It was a good day for us.

    Q: Well, congratulations. Daniel Ricciardo! What an afternoon! You seemed to be having a lot of fun. But don’t you always have a lot of fun?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Today I don’t think I had fun till I saw the chequered flag! It was tough. I was defending the whole race, and we weren’t that quick to be honest. I had pressure, so I couldn’t afford to do any mistakes, and it was getting quite hot so concentration was being tested, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and it is awesome to be on the podium here, with all the fans. As Lewis said, it’s awesome. It’s amazing. [crowd roars] I think I hear something… I have to do something. [DR does ‘shoey’ then gives PS ‘shoey’]

    Q: This is becoming a ritual! Good vintage! Cheers! Congratulations. Lewis…

    LH: I’m proud of you for doing that! It’s something I couldn’t do. Have you seen how sweaty his feet are?

    Q: I don’t care – I’m on the podium for the first time; I’ll drink out of anybody’s shoe! You were in the lead for the whole race, from pole to the last lap. How does that feel? What impact does it have?

    LH: I’ll tell you that in a second, but can you read my mind?

    Yes. You are happy!

    LH: I’m just so honoured to be here this weekend, to match the record yesterday in qualifying. LIke I said, I work with a great group of people, I’m a small part of a big team, so a big thank you to everyone, and let’s keep it going for the rest of the season!

    Do you hear that, Canada? Montreal — what he said! Thank you! Thank you!

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, many congratulations. Amazing atmosphere, amazing win. Ten years you’ve been coming here to Montreal, you’ve had six poles and now you’ve had six wins. I believe that’s the first time in your career you’ve won the same race six times. Quite a day, quite a moment. I guess it was one of those days that worked out quite well for you — once you’d got Turn One, the strategy came towards you, you controlled the race; it must have been a great day.

    LH: It’s been an incredible weekend — I couldn’t be happier. Firstly, for the team to have come away from Monaco, everyone kind scratching their heads but everyone wanting to work, to pull together, which we did. I don’t think in the five years I’ve been with the team that I’ve seen them pull so well together and really work towards the same cause. Understand the car and then come here and deliver what we’ve delivered – a great blow to the Ferraris, I think, because Valtteri did a fantastic job to get a 1-2 – it’s our first 1-2 together – and it’s important points for the team. So, well deserved. It’s kind of crazy to think that I had my first pole position and grand prix win here years ago. It felt great; it felt very reminiscent of 2007 in terms of how the race went. Once we did the restart, once I got past the pit straight it was all under control from there. I had to manage the car, the tyres, it’s a long race! When you’re out there on your own it feels very long — when you’ve got 35 laps to go, you think it’s a long way. Just hoping that the car holds together, which it did. The crowd here — as I mentioned on the podium — every year they turn up in their masses, and the energy from them is as close to the British Grand Prix as anywhere else. Really, the energy’s fantastic — you could almost hear them through qualifying, just generally excited. The city’s been buzzing, as it is every year. I’ve definitely put on weight, because the food is great, and it’s very hard not to eat it. I’m just really, really happy and a big thank you to everyone.

    Q: Valtteri, as Lewis said it’s amazingly the first one-two of the season, really well done, really built on that aggressive start. The move on Sebastian Vettel crucial to the outcome today. Tell us a little bit about that and then also the decision to go with the soft tyre after had done, obviously, the same thing before you I think.

    VB: Yes, so first of all, like Lewis said, I’m also really happy for us as a team. It’s been really impressive to see in only two weeks what we have been able to do and improve with everything, with the team. Never seen a group of people, so determined to win and get back on top and now a one-two here is amazing. Really proud to be part of that. Lewis did a really good job all weekend and today. Obviously in the start I tried to do everything I can to be aggressive, to try and get ahead of Ferraris. Had a bit of a lock-up there, which was compromising my first stint – but I knew there was an opportunity. I kind of dived in. I knew that the inside line is the way to go, so that was good. Then, lost a bit of time behind the Red Bull and then after the stop behind the Force India. We decided to go for the soft based on what the team saw with other cars running the soft – but it wasn’t quite as good as I was expecting as well, so the pace was missing a bit in the second stint but still, I knew what I had to do in the end: bring the car home and get the points. Not maybe the ideal tyre for me today but I tried everything to make the most out of that.

    Q: Coming to you Daniel, third podium in a row. It’s becoming a habit. On the cool down your engineer said you “had a bit on today.” Obviously, a lot of it going on in your rear-view mirrors, so a word about that. There’s a bit of a controversy with Force India, Ocon asking to be allowed to have a crack at you. From what you saw, do you think he would have had a better chance than Pérez did? Be interesting to here your thoughts on that. And also, did you feel the same way as Valtteri, that the soft didn’t quite turn out the way you thought it was going to?

    DR: Yeah, if he wants to have a crack we can go at it in the car park in about an hour! It was tough. I had a race of defence. The soft, yeah, it was a bit slow to get going and then, for a few laps, I was able to pull away from Pérez and it looked like then maybe the supersoft was struggling. But then, yeah, I couldn’t get anything out really of the soft. It was really hard to find the grip and quite easy to make a mistake. Hard to be consistent every lap. And then, yeah, Pérez started coming again. For sure the supersoft I think was better – and yeah we weren’t particularly quick with that tyre but, yeah, just managed to put in as clean laps as I could. It was tricky with the level of grip the tyre had but also with the wind. The wind was throwing the car around quite a lot and that was tricky. And then a few laps to go I heard Seb was coming, so yeah, I couldn’t rest the whole race. It was a tough one, y’know. It was quite warm and tested the concentration and everything. Very, very happy. Got carried away on the podium and didn’t manage to thank the team but yeah, three podiums in a row. Happy with that. Obviously, we’re not the quickest car on the track at the moment but we’re managing to put it together on a Sunday. Yeah, it’s nice. It’s nice obviously. Max had his problems today, I’m sure he would have been up there as well. We’ll try to get both cars on the podium soon.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xero Xone News) Lewis, you were controlled, you were measured and you made this look, like Sir Patrick Stewart said, incredibly easy today. You’ve had a whole lot of milestones here and it seems like after the incredible, emotional weekend that you’ve had, I asked you on Thursday if this place is very special to you. Has today and this weekend made it even more special?

    LH: Definitely. It’s always been a special place for me, as I said, being my first grand prix win. I think every year I feel the fans have grown with me over these ten years and I think that it’s just my appreciation for Canada and the people here has just grown over the time. It’s crazy to think after ten years I enjoy driving every single lap just as much as I did ten years ago when I was 22 years old. I absolutely loved it the whole way today and I hope that I get many more experiences like that here.

    Q: (Bill Beacon – Canadian Press) This is for Lewis and Valtteri. How were you able to avoid all that mess on the first lap, and how do you think all that affected the race?

    LH: I’ve not really got much to say. I got a really good start, so I was generally in the clear. I think I saw in my mirror… I think it might have been Valtteri on the inside, I thought saw him lock-up, and I thought he was going to… I didn’t know who was on the right of me but I came out of Turn Two and saw that Valtteri was behind. You were behind?

    VB: Yeah, I was third

    LH: … so the Red Bull, I think, and then seeing the Ferraris further back, I was thinking ‘that’s fantastic for us’.

    Valtteri?

    VB: Yeah, I was trying to get in front of the Ferrari, that was only target for Turn One really. Had a good start, had a bit of a lock-up which compromised my first stint. The visibility was poor and it was difficult to see and I think I need a dentist as well! But it came out OK in the end.

    Q: (Mike Doodson – Honorary) Many congratulations Lewis. You said earlier this year how tricky this year’s car is to drive – but on the podium, you praised the team on the effectiveness of the updates they’ve bought this weekend. Does this mean to say it’s the end of Monaco-style upsets?

    LH: I wasn’t praising them on the updates because we didn’t bring any upgrades here. I was praising them on the due diligence they did after the last race. They really did such great work in terms of analysing where we’d gone wrong, all the different points, and then giving us a summary: ‘this is where we went wrong, this is what we think we need to do to fix it.’ And then putting it into action. It was just amazing teamwork. We came here, the car’s back to where it should be. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be like that every time but I think we learned a lot. And I’m happy that it was actually… even though Monaco’s a special one to win… I’m happy that it was that early in the season that we had learned those things. I think it should put us in a strong position from here moving forwards. We know which direction we need to be developing the car from now on.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, third with Williams, second with Mercedes here. Which one feels better?

    VB: This one, for sure because it’s… yeah, it’s my best result here ever, although it’s not first, it is second and second is better than third, so ’15, ’16, ’17 been on the podium here so Montreal has been really good for me – but this definitely feels better, for sure because of the result but first of all because it is our first one of the year to be one-two as a team. And also other results that we need. We are here to win the Championship and these kind of results we need, obviously. As a driver, I would prefer to be first rather than second. As a team, it is really good for us, I’m really proud of what we have done. It feels good.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speed Sport) For Daniel, of course: When you saw Max Verstappen go out, how much of a concern was that and did the team give you any instructions to avoid maybe having the same thing?

    DR: Yeah, I’m not sure of the reason. I still don’t know. To be honest, I’m not too fussed in terms of it doesn’t bother me whether the team tell me what happened or not. Obviously I’ve got my car underneath me an I’ve got to do the best I can with that. I think sometimes if you know, you try to… I don’t know, you might be hesitant. I wasn’t sure but I had a lot of switches to change constantly, so I assume that had something to do with it, to try and prevent maybe the same happening with me. It was pretty busy. There are some procedures we do to avoid system failure and all of that kind of stuff, so I presume that was the things I was doing. But fortunately there’s a long straight so you get plenty of time to do that, but it wasn’t so easy when I’m trying to look in my mirrors as well and do all these switch changes. I still don’t know exactly what happened to Max, but it was quite early in the race. I don’t think it was anything with the brakes, I guess it was something more terminal.

    Energy store.

    DR: OK. Alright. Yeah. Fortunately mine held up today.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – La Presse) To Valterri and Lewis. It’s unusual when a team is leading 1-2 very comfortably to split strategies. Was that planned or was that a consequence of Ferrari being on the back foot and trying things that were not normal to try in a race like this?

    LH: I think it was just because it was an unknown… They have explained that for the lead car to have taken the soft would have been a risk and depending on where the second car is and in terms of the gap behind them, perhaps it’s a worthwhile risk for the second car. That’s why they said they would try. Also, because I was quite comfortable on the ultrasoft, they kept me out way longer than my stop, which was to be lap 21 and in that period of time everyone had stopped behind me and I was able to wait a bit to see how everyone was doing on the different tyres and after they had seen one of the drivers on the supersoft and it was going well, Vettel maybe, they said this is the better tyre go with. We chose that and to be honest the tyres were great today. I had no problems with them at all.

    VB: I completely understand why we went to the soft. We spoke about it before the race and I was also up for it because of the temperatures being hotter today. I tried the soft tyre on Friday and it wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t just quiet up there as expected. I was personally expecting it to be better and if I could have chosen the tyre at that point when we stopped I would have taken the soft, just to try. The gap already to Lewis was quite big and there was nothing to lose really, just to try. But unfortunately it was the slower tyre today. It cost me some points but it didn’t cost me time.

    Q: (Jeff Pappone – Inside Track) Lewis, I’m just wondering with everything that has happened this weekend, the blazing pole lap, the helmet, everything fell together today, can this be considered one of the best weekends of your career?

    LH: I think it’s always difficult to say the best. I have been so fortunate. Motor racing has given me some great memories, from the early days when I was eight years old. And being in Formula One from 22 onwards I think there are just so many, I wouldn’t want to say one was more special than the other. The first grand prix win I had when my dad was here. The first grand prix I had when I finished third on the podium and seeing my dad coming out of the garage and we couldn’t believe that we were there; winning my first championship, there are just so many amazing memories, Each weekend you just want to arrive as a more solid, complete driver. I think this weekend I would like to hope being that I’m older, more experienced, further down the line, I would like to think I’m a lot more composed, a lot more complete as a driver. In terms of performance I would like to think it was one of the best weekends, yeah.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Does it feel any different to have a one 1-2 with Valtteri than it did with Nico?

    LH: It’s always a great thing for a team to achieve a 1-2, it’s always special. I think experiencing it with Valtteri is definitely different. I think the chemistry Valtteri and I have is different. I think the working environment we’ve both experienced this year is on a complete other level, on a professional level that’s been above any other year that I have experienced. That obviously comes from Valtteri’s maturity and how the team also works with us, to give us a fair platform to fight. As I said on the podium there, it’s pour first 1-2, it’s solid, solid points for the team. I’m sure Valtteri will say he didn’t enjoy his qualifying, because he was rapid in Monaco for example but it’s very difficult with the car we have at the moment. I know he is going to have many more wins to come and I that when he has those wins I am able to back him up and get those points for the team.

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) You’re heading for a third street track in a row after Monaco and Canada. Baku could be considered a combination of both. How will you be attacking Baku and will you using what you learned in Monaco there or from here and Monaco?

    LH: Definitely. You take each experience and you pile ‘em up. What we learned in Monaco will definitely impact Baku. It’s a much longer circuit; I think it’s very smooth, a lot more flat. Downforce efficiency is going to be important there, you don’t have to be as soft as for example you have to be here in roll and bumps. Last year I think I was very quick there; I just didn’t deliver. So the plan is to make sure I deliver. The trickiest part will be tyres I believe. I’m not sure which tyres we have, I’m sure it’s quite similar to here, but that’s going to be the tricky part, these tyres. Getting them in the window on such a smooth surface. That’s going to be the challenge for everyone. I’m excited to go back there. Now we know the place, I might try to get there a bit earlier to experience a bit more of Azerbaijan and sense a bit more of the culture. It always makes the experience much better when you get to live in the culture moment for a while, rather than just pop in and out; you miss so many great things.

  • F1 2017: Canadian Gp Preview – Can Mercedes Stem Ferrari Momentum

    F1 2017: Canadian Gp Preview – Can Mercedes Stem Ferrari Momentum

    Formula 1 swops Monaco for Montreal as it heads to the seventh round of the season around Canada’s Gilles Villeneuve circuit.

    The flowing circuit set in the heart of the St. Lawrence Seaway has become a classic on the F1 calendar, which often turns up unpredictable races. Although it’s one of the shorter circuits it’s flowing nature allows for close racing and, though limited, some chances for overtaking. While the average lap speed is significantly higher than at the last round in Monaco the close proximity of the walls and barriers create the impression of a street circuit. The demand on brakes is some of the highest experienced in the entire season.

    For the first time in more than a decade the ardent Canadian fans will have a local driver in the mix. Williams’ Lance Stroll will be the first Canadian to race on home soil since Jacques Villeneuve’s retirement in 2006. So far, Stroll’s journey into F1 hasn’t been an easy one with several retirements and a couple of mistakes making for a brutal introduction to the sport. Nevertheless, if the Montreal native is going to step up anywhere this would be the best place to do so.

    GP CANADA F1/2016In 2016 the Canadian grand prix was well within Sebastian Vettel’s grasp but it slipped through Ferrari’s fingers as they called an ill-advised strategy, which cost them victory. While the German comfortably held of second-placed Hamilton the Ferrari pitwall decided to opt for two-stop strategy while Mercedes ran a one-stop race, which ultimately resulted in the top step of the podium for Hamilton.

    The picture in 2017 looks far different than twelve months ago. This weekend Vettel arrives in Canada with a healthy lead in the championship and with a car quick enough to challenge for victory. However, there is a suspected reliability issue with the turbo unit on Vettel’s Ferrari. If the unit has to be replaced it could mean a five place grid penalty for the championship leader.

    But while it remains only a threat without official confirmation of a penalty Ferrari will be feeling confident ahead of the weekend. The efficiency of their aerodynamic package in 2017 has proven to the class of the field and should come into its own around the circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The most significant area in which Ferrari hold an advantage is its relatively big set-up window. The coveted sweet spot of balance between both axles of the car seem easier to come by for Ferrari than its championship rivals Mercedes. It is this specific factor that is Ferrari’s biggest advantage in 2017.

    Salut-GillesFurther to Ferrari’s advantage is the combination of ultra- and supersoft tyre compounds nominated by Pirelli for this grand prix weekend. The Ferrari’s liking of the ultrasoft tyre stems from its ability to bring the compound into its optimal working range quicker than Mercedes as was seen in Monaco and Russia. Still, Merc is far from out of the equation. The naturally cooler temperatures often experienced over the Canadian race weekend will be to the advantage of Mercedes as it decreases the operating temperature window of the tyre.

    The Canadian Gp weekend is an interesting one for Mercedes as both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have shone, to varying degrees, on this circuit. While Ferrari has shown no qualms in advancing the interests of Vettel, as the championship leader, it begs the question as to what call Mercedes will make should Bottas be in front of Hamilton.

  • Monaco GP 2017: Post Race Press Conference

    Monaco GP 2017: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Nico Rosberg)

    Q: Sebastian, great weekend, first Ferrari win in 16 years, how does it feel?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Unbelievable. I think it was a very intense race. I was hoping at the start to have a bit of a better launch but Kimi had a good start. I had nowhere to go, so I had to be patient. Then, there was a phase in the first stint that was really tricky, The tyres started to slide, I think you remember how that feels, it was quite uncomfortable. I think Valtteri and the pack was catching up a bit; we were facing some traffic. But then I had a… I don’t know, a second attempt, a second set of tyres. I had a couple of laps where the car was really, really good. I pushed, everything I had, because I knew if there is a chance to win then that’s it. So I was able to use that window and came out ahead, so at that point I could control the race. After the restart it was really tricky with the cold tyres. I think every one of us was really struggling, Daniel said he brushed the wall in Turn 1 first lap. So it was really difficult but after a couple of laps I was able again to control the gap to behind, so fantastic job, the team has done really well, so great thanks to them and a fantastic weekend for Ferrari.

    Q: Was that planned, that when Kimi comes in, you stay out a bit longer?

    SV: No, not really. I don’t think there… we couldn’t plan much. The plan was to try and pull away, which we did. Then, Valtteri had really good pace. I think we were struggling a little bit, both, with our rears and at that point the window opened. So as soon as Valtteri pitted, Kimi responded. For me, I think I still had a bit of a gap, nothing to lose in P2, so I tried to push as hard as possible and within two laps I was surprised myself to be able to pull a gap to be able to come out in front.

    Q: Congrats. Kimi, I think it’s fair to say the whole F1 community would have been very happy as well to see you get that win today. What are your thoughts? You lost it during the pit stops of course, what are you thoughts on that?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It’s hard to say really. Obviously it’s still second place, but it doesn’t feel awful good but this is how it goes sometimes and we go for the next race and try to do better but it’s one of those days that you wish you get a bit more.

    Q: I know how it feels. It is not a good feeling. But great result anyways. Daniel, a great recovery after a problem in qualifying. You’re pleased with that?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, happier today, for sure.  Just yesterday I felt that we had so much more to offer and it was just a shame not to be able to really show our potential around here. I got my chance today when Max and Bottas pitted. I had the track to myself for a few laps and just managed to get some good times, good times in those tyres. I did some consistent laps and got in the overcut, so I was happy with that.

    Q: Turn 1 after the Safety Car looked like a bit of a hit, was it scary in the car?

    DR: Yeah! I didn’t enjoy that. I wasn’t sure if I damaged anything and then I saw Bottas trying to get inside me. These tyres, man, when you get a Safety Car they’re like driving on ice. It was hard. That was not a fun moment, but happy to hold it.

    Q: Sebastian, back to you, the Ferrari car is looking good at the moment, do you think you are going to be able to keep it up for Canada?

    SV: We hope so. Canada is a completely different track but to be honest, for now I am just going to enjoy the win here. You know yourself, it’s very, very special to win here. I think we’ll have a fun night and then we have enough time to prepare for Canada.

    Q: Where’s the party?

    SV: I don’t know, you tell me! You won more times than me here!

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Sebastian, there are wins and there are big wins. First Ferrari Monaco victory for 16 years, as Nico was saying, first Ferrari one-two since 2010 and more importantly perhaps a 25-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the drivers’ championship, so what does today mean to you?

    SV: If you want the honest answer, I think it’s most important that we had a very, very good day, a win. A supreme day for Ferrari; it’s been a long time. Yeah, I think it means an awful lot to the team. I will not find the right words but for me it was a pretty special race. At some point I was thinking, “there must be a Safety Car” and then it came at the end when I didn’t really need it but fine. I dreamt all night about how to get ahead of the start because I knew that would probably be the only chance I would get. It didn’t work. Kimi had a good start, mine was OK, so I couldn’t really go anywhere. Then, I think in the first stint I was just trying to pace myself, trying to stay within range. At some point I was really uncomfortable with the rear tyres, they were sliding quite a bit. I think when the gap opened again that’s when Kimi pitted. I knew that if I have any chance that might be it until I get the call because Valtteri was on fresh tyres so it’s likely that he will go quicker, so I just tried to push as hard as I can and wait for the call to box. When it came and then when I came out ahead of Kimi even, I was surprised myself. But for sure I take it. It’s a great win. Those couple of laps were really crucial, I was pushing flat out. I had better laps than in quali today in the race. I was very happy with how the race went. The car was great. So to sum it up, it’s just been fantastic, a fantastic weekend for the team and a great reward. This team is working very hard. Obviously this year is very different to last year but the people are the same, the spirit is the same, so it’s important that we keep pushing, improving the car. We had again a couple of new bits for this race. Yeah, the next race will be completely different but I don’t really care now, just looking forward to tonight.

    Q: Kimi, coming to you, obviously you lost the race in the pit stops. The normal wisdom in Monaco is that when you’re leading you’re not the first one to make a move. But just before you made your stop we heard a radio message exchange with your engineer in which you were asking about pitting. So to be clear, were you asking for the stop or did they call it?

    KR: No, I was called in and that’s about it.

    Q: How do you feel about the first one to move?

    KR: I don’t know, obviously it didn’t work out very well for me. But apart from that, I have no idea. I mean… that’s about as much as I can say about it right now. I got the bad end of the story today. I mean it’s still second place but obviously it doesn’t count a lot in my books at least.

    Q: Thanks for that. Daniel, the story today was that the overcut was more effective: Hamilton gained six places, Sebastian got the win because of it, and you picked up two place spectacularly through that pit stop sequence. Extremely fast once you got some clean air. Tell us about your approach today?

    DR: Yeah I’m really pleased to be up here. You don’t often start fifth and get a podium here. It’s hard to make any positions. I was just frustrated yesterday because I knew we had so much more to offer here, so much more to give than what we showed. I felt like I didn’t really also get to show my pace around here. It was how the pit stops worked, the two cars pitting before me and that allowing me to show a bit more my pace. That was perfect and we got into a realty good rhythm, I think we were doing 16 dead, 16 dead and at the time I think that pace was really strong and I was able to do a good overcut. It was a good combination of obviously the lap times coming from me and the team leaving me out there and allowing me to run in clean air. That was fun. That definitely made my race. The Safety Car nearly ruined my race. At the restart I hit the wall in Turn 1. I hit it pretty hard, so I thought I had damage. I assumed I would have damage. And then I saw Valtteri. You don’t see much in these mirrors. I know Jenson has talked about it. Obviously he hasn’t been in the cars this year, but he has been vocal about it. You certainly see it here and I knew Valtteri was kind of there, in my blind spot but I just managed to hold on at the restart and then I was quite happy to see the chequered because the tyres after restarts are so tricky to get going.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Viktor Bognar – Magyarszo) Kimi, do you think it would have been possible to cover Sebastian if you are stopping later?

    KR: I don’t know. Obviously, this is what we got today. The end results. And obviously for the team it’s a great result. Who knows? This is really the end, we can say ‘if’ as much as we want but it doesn’t change anything.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Kimi, when you pitted you came out behind some traffic and Bottas was also behind Sainz at the time. Have you had an explanation as to why they pitted you at that point?

    KR: I don’t know. Obviously, I have just finished the race. I have no idea. Obviously they have reasons for whatever we did do. It doesn’t matter here or any other race. It’s not up to me to answer that.

    Q: (Ben Anderson – Autosport) Kimi, in the first stint, you seemed to have really strong pace in the early part and then from about lap 20 your pace dropped off quite substantially. Was there an explanation for that? Were you struggling with something in the car?

    KR: Not really. I think the worst place was when we had lapped cars and got stuck behind them on quite a few laps but apart from that the car was behaving well. Not really having any issues. I think we had to take it a little bit easier here and there but nothing to complain really. The most lap time we lost behind the lapped traffic but that’s about it.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) Daniel, yesterday you told us maybe you’d go for the overcut but was that a decision on the fly by the team – and how did the team decide whether to pit you first or Max first?

    DR: I’m not sure what position Max was in with the tyres at the time – I don’t know if he wanted to make the pitstop and try to undercut Valtteri. I assume that was probably the thinking behind it. Obviously I was at the tail of that pack and we had pretty good communication with my engineer. We were going back and forth and I think he had a pretty good idea of what my pace was and what I could do. Yeah, then once we got clear air, I think probably a couple of laps before that I closed in a bit on Max who I think was closing in on Valtteri, so we seemed to bunch-up. And it looked like they were struggling more, probably, with the tyres at that time, from what I could see, so yeah, I was happy certainly to stay out there. Then it was pretty evident that I could keep going quicker and quicker. So, it was nice to push. Especially… if you don’t start on pole here you’re normally in traffic for a lot of the race and you can’t really get a time to feel the car on the limit on Sunday – but it was good to get that block of laps in. Even though the tyres were sliding around a bit with the rear, it was still quite fun in that session of the race.

    Q: (Paul Johnson – Australian Associated Press) Daniel, obviously really encouraging performance with the pace you had today throughout the middle sector of the track. How encouraged are you moving forwards? Also, can you take us through exactly what happened coming out of the Safety Car into Turn One?

    DR: Yeah. Today I felt like, particularly that point of the race where we had clear track and were able to show our speed, I felt that was more representative of what we could of probably done yesterday. It was nice to at least show something this weekend and now at least get a podium for it. After the Safety Car… I knew getting behind the Safety Car, I could see Kimi in front of me trying to warm the tyres – well, keep them warm. I was trying to do the same: doing burnouts and trying to scrub the front tyres and get them going. They just turned to concrete blocks. They’re so slippery. So, I think we were all dreading the restart, to be honest. At one point you see it as an opportunity and I saw it as a potential opportunity to maybe jump Kimi but as the same time it’s… you see it as a potential risk. Coming into Turn One I didn’t feel like I came in hot at all – but as soon as I turned it, I just kept going straight and the wall got closer until I hit it. I think I hit it flush, which meant I avoided damage. Yeah, not fun.

    Q: (Mike Doodson – Honorary) A bit more about the same thing. There were several incidents at Turn One you may not have known about – several people, a couple of other people crashed there. The track was breaking up – did that contribute to your accident – or your smack of the wall?

    DR:  If I can use it as an excuse, sure! No, certainly not. It was in my control. The excuse I guess is just cold tyres. We can see the temperatures on our dash, so we’re aware when they’re cold. We can feel them, we don’t always need to see the numbers but I could see they were very cold. They just lose temperature really quick. We’re all aware of that but we’ll see. Maybe in years to come we can have a super, super, supersoft tyre for Monaco. I think will that be not only more fun in quali but avoid scary moments like that in the race. I guess it keeps it exciting for everyone at home.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Seb. Seb, you looked very emotional on the podium. What were you thinking about in those moments? And what does it mean to have 25 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton at this point in the season?

    SV: It’s a long way so I’m not really bothered about that. It was more the fact to stand up there and see the team. I think obviously, it’s a small part that we have here at the track but thinking of everyone else back in Maranello in the factory. We got a lot of hard times last year and this year everything seems to be upside down – but the team is the same, the people are the same so it’s really clear to them. I guess in these small moments you just realise that it’s a special group of people. If things go well, we’ll work hand in hand, we must make sure we keep the momentum up in the next couple of races – but I think we’re just having a great time. Obviously, we wanted today to have the one-two and we got it. So for the team obviously it means a lot. It’s been a long time – you know the numbers better than I do – since Ferrari won here and then to get a one-two is just fantastic. I think you can see when the guys are singing the Italian anthem. I think it’s impossible not to get goosebumps and feel very special standing up there representing them. For me, I think that’s what makes racing so special. I love driving, I loved driving today, I loved a couple of laps that I had where I could really, really push to the limit and I was so close to touch the wall, a couple of times I thought, ‘OK, I’ll lose the car’ and I just managed to get it back, so that’s obviously great fun. Big adrenaline around here because you don’t have any room for error – but then to have the rewards, standing on the podium, just send a message to base, to the factory, is what it’s made for.

    Q: (Beniamino Casadei Lucchi – Il Giornale) Question for Seb. It’s a fantastic victory. But now, if you were Kimi, what do you think?

    SV: Well, obviously I… we were right behind each other. In that case I think it’s normal that the lead car gets the priority because you go normally faster on the new set of tyres, and I when I got the lap times from Valtteri, he was doing 16.1, I think, and Daniel was a little bit faster with the old tyres with 16.0. I was, at that point, at 16.4, so I was a little bit slower, so I was assuming Kimi must do something like Valtteri. So I just… I knew that the team would call me as soon as we were really tight to Valtteri. We had a little bit of a cushion. I was just going flat-out, trying to go as fast as I can because for me it means that I’m staying ahead of Valtteri, first of all, and close to Kimi. I was surprised myself when I came out ahead. So, yeah, I think the warm-up on the supersoft was fine. Arguably you can say it worked for Daniel and for myself today, it worked well to stay out longer but I think if you were looking at it before the race then you couldn’t predict. We are racing, we get along well, I can understand that Kimi’s not entirely happy today. He drove well in the first stint and then obviously you get the message to go in. You do the pitstop and then you push. Obviously it’s a bad surprise when somebody comes out ahead. For me, I take it, there’s no reason to lie, obviously I’m very happy but I can understand obviously that he’s upset.

    Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriere della Sera) Seb, how do you feel to be the first Ferrari driver to win here after Michael Schumacher and compared to the other victories with Ferrari, does Monaco have something special?

    SV: Well, I think Monaco is always something special, it’s just the nature of the weekend: a lot of attention, a lot of people which is great, a lot of support. Definitely I felt that with the beginning of the season that we had, Ferrari fans and Ferrari flags are increasing so that’s nice. A lot of people screaming, from outside, Forza Ferrari. A lot of Italian lines which in the recent years maybe I didn’t get so much so that was great to see. It’s obviously a great day for the team. I’m just… I’m pretty exhausted now, to be honest, so I’m very happy and it’s great to get the points, it’s great to get the win so it’s been a fantastic day for all of us. To be the first one after Michael for Ferrari – I don’t know, I wasn’t aware (of that). I think the most important thing is that we won today. I’m sure there were occasions more recently where Ferrari could have won but the most important is what happens today.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Seb, there’s nothing wrong with team orders, they’re not illegal and you are the leading driver in the championship and it wasn’t clear before the race whether the overcut or the undercut would be the best strategy. So was there a plan to give you a chance to get ahead of Kimi at some point?

    SV: Not really. We spoke about the race before. It was clear that, as I said, I think they had the same plan to be honest so the lead car normally gets priority so if I had a choice at that point, sitting behind Kimi, if I was going in the pits first, that’s maybe what you like to do because you are sooner on the fresher tyres so I think it’s probably one of the rare occasions where the overcut turned out to be positive, so I’m really glad I made that work. From the team point of view, there was no plan of any team orders or anything and as I said, I can understand that obviously Kimi’s not happy, I would feel exactly the same, one hundred per cent the same, but as I said myself, I was surprised that the overcut… I don’t think Daniel had priority over Max going into the race. I don’t know where they are in terms of points and so on so I don’t think they look into that but I think the rule of thumb… the rule is pretty clear when you qualify ahead and you are ahead in the first stint, you get priority on the first stop and that’s what happened. As it turned out, obviously today it worked in my favour which, as I said, I will take it but we are a team at the end of the day and I can see that Kimi’s not happy.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) To Kimi and Sebastian, obviously now it seems that Mercedes is sometimes very quick but at other tracks they have serious problems. Of course it’s early in the championship but do you think this consistency of the Ferrari car can really win you the championship this year?

    SV: I don’t know.

    KR: It’s quite an early part of the year so we’ll see. It’s very hard to know what happens in the future but we will keep trying and try to make the best out of every weekend and just do what we can do. We cannot control what the others will do but no, I’m sure everybody will have some difficult weekends during the year. We will try to minimise those. When you have a hard time, try to make the best out of it.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Kimi, talking about lapping cars, do you think the blue flag for Button came out a little bit too… not at the right moment? The blue flag which signals to let you past immediately?

    KR:  I don’t know. There are obviously rules and I’m pretty sure I was – I don’t know if it was one second or one and a half seconds but I was pretty close in the hairpin and I was told that I have to be longer inside their time, so it was not enough to be once, it was something that I’d never hard before but anyhow that’s what happened and it cost a bit but that’s how it is.

    Q: (Stuart Codling – F1 Racing) Kimi, given that your team will have known that when you pitted you would emerge in the vicinity of traffic, with those two slower cars ahead, do you feel that you could have gone quicker in those laps, before your pit stop, had you known this?

    KR: I don’t know. We tried to figure out something that is impossible to know right now, at least from my side. No, obviously it wasn’t ideal to end up behind a lapped car and obviously it is something that definitely doesn’t help but the end result is what it is but we have to see. We just finished the race and I only know what happened and that’s it. Obviously I got second place but yeah, for the team good but not for myself, not so great.

    Q: (Marco Giachi – Paddock) Kimi, as a driver, could you reject the instructions? From a technical point of view, did you have enough information to decide by yourself or are you 100 percent in the hands of the engineers?

    KR: Obviously I can stop the car if I want! I’m driving it. We have a team, we work as a team and if you start… if you don’t believe what you’ve been told or how we work then it will get very complicated sometimes because we always try to work as best as we can and today, as a team, we won it one-two, that happened, but as for myself it could have been better, but like I said, we just finished the race  and who knows? We will talk about it and I guess there are some reasons for everything that happens in life but we will see. As a driver, I can obviously do what I want but that’s not how we work as a team. Simple as that.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Sebastian, did you expect that Kimi would stop on lap 33 before the first part of the race and then when you knew that, did you think this is my chance to overtake him? And were you informed of Lewis’s position during the race?

    SV: Well, I was told at some point where Lewis was but I didn’t really care so… You have to do your own race around here. Daniel clipped the wall at the restart, I brushed the wall on the laps to the grid so it’s really close. You try to go as close as possible to the walls and you must not allow yourself to drift away… your thoughts to drift away for even one corner so you need to stay at it. Small mistakes, like Ericsson had yesterday in qualifying, they have a big consequence and this can happen to all of us. We all try to chase the limits, we all try to go close. I wasn’t too keen to know what others were doing. Obviously we have a plan before the race. I didn’t look down and count and say OK, we are getting to the window but when I saw that Valtteri pitted, I saw it also on the screen, and then I was told that Bottas is in the pits at the same time, then I knew that he would try to undercut, otherwise what was the point for him to pit. If he believes that it’s faster then he will stay out and try to put us under pressure once we pit, so he was obviously waiting for his chance, went for it and then I was told in the same lap that Kimi’s obviously getting the pit stop and I know that I can’t pit at the same time, we were too close behind each other to come in on the same lap, so I knew that at least I get one lap, maybe I get two, I don’t know, depending on the gap to Bottas which increased again to three, four seconds before the stop. At that point I was just trying to go flat out, that was my race, obviously it made my race today which, looking at the final result, it’s easy to say but at that point it was impossible to predict.  When I heard the lap times of Bottas, the first lap, I think 16.1s, I was really… OK, I need to stretch myself. As I said, I was surprised that I could take so much pace from the car and I was going even below the 16s. At the same time, Daniel was lapping in 16.0s so there seemed to be a second tyre somehow, because the laps before I was struggling as much as Kimi was with the rears so yeah, I think there were a couple of laps where we weren’t comfortable at all, Valtteri was closing the gap, that was not the plan.

    Q: (Ben Anderson – Autosport) Kimi, when you look back at a race, do you feel that you were just unlucky with traffic and the way things fell or do you think Ferrari’s strategy just cost you the victory?

    KR: I don’t know. Like I said, I haven’t seen… I only know what happened when I was in the car but I haven’t seen the bigger picture. I only know that we came second, Seb won, the team got one-two, obviously great for the team, but the rest… Until we have our meeting then obviously you can see all the graphs, I don’t know.

  • F1 2017: Monaco Gp Qualifying Report – Raikkonen Reigns Supreme

    F1 2017: Monaco Gp Qualifying Report – Raikkonen Reigns Supreme

    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen delivered a breathtaking lap to secure pole position for the 2017 Monaco grand prix.

    The Finnish driver took pole position with a quickest time of 1:12:178 ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel to secure Ferrari’s second front-row lock out in three races. Raikkonen’s pole position was the first in 128 races with his last coming ahead of the 2008 French grand prix.

    While it was celebrations for Ferrari the Mercedes garage was not as joyful. Though Valtteri Bottas delivered with a fine third place Lewis Hamilton will start 13th after failing to advance beyond the second part of qualifying. While the Mercedes driver was caught out by yellow flags in the final sector of his last flying lap in Q2 the Brit had been struggling with setup for the majority of the weekend.

    The two Red Bull’s of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five while Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz underlined his credentials with the sixth quickest time. Force India’s Sergio Perez, seventh, Haas’ Romain Grosjean, eighth, Daniil Kvyat, ninth, and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg round out the top ten positions.

    While Stoffel Vandoorne was slated to start tenth despite clouting the barriers in Q2 the Belgian driver will drop three places on the grid thanks to a penalty incurred in the Spanish grand prix. Up until the trip into the barriers Vandoorne had delivered a wonderful performance in qualifying. And underlining the fact that the McLaren chassis is a handy one was stand-in driver Jenson Button who qualified in the top ten. Unfortunately, as has been the story of McLaren’s season the Brit will start from the back of the grid for penalties incurred due to changes to elements of the power unit.

  • F1 2017: Monaco Gp Third Free Practice Report – Vettel Leads

    F1 2017: Monaco Gp Third Free Practice Report – Vettel Leads

    Sebastian Vettel has set the quickest time for Ferrari in the third free practice session ahead of the Monaco grand prix.

    Vettel set a quickest time of 1:12:395 ahead of his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The first of the Mercedes drivers was Valtteri Bottas in third, 0.435 off P1, followed by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen in fourth. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton could only manage the fifth quickest time which was more than eight tenths off the pace.

    Force India’s Esteban Ocon was the only driver to clout the barriers at the exit of the swimming pool. Several other drivers missed braking points and took the the exit roads at Ste. Devote and Mirabeau but avoided any damage.

    Daniel Ricciardo ended the sixty minute session sixth fastest but with a brake-by-wire failure at the end of the session. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat set the seventh and eighth quickest times ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas and Stoffel Vandoorne in tenth. While McLaren showed an improved performance in the session, with stand-in Jenson Button also in twelfth, both drivers will incur grid penalties for Sunday’s race. Vandoorne will drop three places on the grid for a collision with Felipe Massa in Spain while Jenson Button has been hit with a fifteen place grid drop due to power unit changes.

    As qualifying is vital around the tight and twisting streets of Monaco it remains to be seen what Mercedes can put on the table for qualifying.

     

  • 2017 Monaco GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Monaco GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Andrew GREEN (Force India), Paul Monaghan (Red Bull Racing), Jörg Zander (Sauber).

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Andy, let’s start with you. Stunning start to the season: 53 points; clear fourth place and even breathing down Red Bull’s neck in the championship. With the resources that you have, how have you managed to do it?

    Andy GREEN: It’s been, yeah, it’s been a good start to the season but as we proved last season, you can’t take anything for granted and our lead over fifth place is a lot smaller than where we were behind the Williams last year. So, reminding the guys that it’s a long season and we’re only a quarter of the way through it with a long way to go where a lot can happen. So, we need to keep pushing, keep developing, do what we’re doing – we’re on a good trajectory at the moment – and not to slack and see where we end up in the end. So far it’s gone better than expected and I think we’ve capitalised as much as we could of in those first five races. I don’t think you look back at those first five and think ‘what if?’ I think we’ve basically got the best out of it.

    Q: In Spain only three cars finished on the lead lap, which is the fewest since 2008 so obviously, does that speak to the problem that the field in Formula One, with these new regulations, has become very spread out? Do you think that’s going to remain the case for the rest of the season?

    AG: I hope not. It was another point I did make to the factory last week. I hate being lapped. It just shows the potential that there is in these regulations and how much there is to find. We look at it as an opportunity to make the car even faster, knowing that there’s that much performance left in it.

    Q: Paul, coming to you, 75 seconds behind at the finish in Spain last time out but a clear and very promising looking P2 in practice today with last year’s pole-sitter. What’s your overview of today’s running and how competitive do you think you’re going to be this weekend?

    Paul MONAGHAN: It’s nice to see us nearer the sharp end than we’ve arguably been at points this year. Our overall competitiveness… it’s still hard to tell. I’m not sure Mercedes showed their full hand today. I think it’s going to be pretty tight on Saturday and you need to have a reasonable qualifying around here to then capitalise for Sunday. So, I’m not going to count any chickens yet. We just knuckle down, do what’s within our control, get the most out of our car, and get the most out of it on Saturday and see where we end up.

    Q: So where’s the shortfall been then in the first five races of this season – some way behind, as we said, in Spain. Is there still belief that you can catch them over the span of the season?

    PM: There’s belief, yes, and a strong desire as well. I think if we lost belief it would be a fairly early end to our season. So, there’s a strong belief, a strong desire and a real determination to get more out of this car and close on the others – because they’re not standing still and as such our development rate has to exceed those guys. I think it can. It’s fair to say that we’ve not extracted as much as we can in terms of points-scoring from the first four and there’s a little bit of performance coming each race. We set out on a pathway to catch them, let’s see if we can.

    Q: But where’s the shortfall? It’s fair to say you haven’t extracted the most from the regulations. You’d have expected, looking at the way they were framed, that this was going to play to Red Bull’s strengths, particularly on the aerodynamic side.

    PM: Well it’s strange thing, isn’t it? In that, within our own control is our own destiny and what others do will always be judged against that. And yes, it’s fair to say we don’t have the leading car at the present time. I wouldn’t want to say that it’s one area. It’s going to be several areas and it’s up to us to identify the ones that have the greatest returns that we can alter, capitalise upon those and get the most out of our car. It’s only what lies within our control. Can’t do anything about what the others do. We will identify the shortfalls – I don’t think it’s going to be a singular – it will be a plural, and we will chip away at them as we have been for some time now.

    Q: Jörg, welcome to you. Very valuable points, obviously, for your team in Spain that puts you ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’. How optimistic are you that you can stay there?

    Jörg ZANDER: First of all there was obviously a massive boost for the morale and motivation of the team. We actually didn’t expect us to be there in Barcelona. The upgrade package which we planned for Barcelona, we moved to this event. So somehow things seem to have been turned upside down. We didn’t expect us to be on P19-20 today. It was a bit more of a difficult start for us, into the season and it was affected by various parameters. As you know, we didn’t have Pascal for the first two races, so we had to go with Giovinazzi and, of course, that introduced quite a bit of a change to the operational side. So we had a very young, new driver into the car, which we needed to get adapted – but obviously, let me say, from a development point of view, we do understand that the car is behind, compared to our, let me say, defined competition, which is the midfield, primarily because we started pretty early in the season to develop that car, so we have to try and catch-up. But the parameter we fight here, of course, is time and it’s difficult to gain time over the competition. They have a certain time available as we have, so there’s not any difference. The thing is, of course, about resources, and these resources, we’re just about to configure and to adapt. We have made plenty of recruitments but these are all new people so there is a human factor involved, with regards to getting more out of this operation – and these are the kind of difficulties that we are fighting at the moment, let me say.

    Q: You mentioned today P19-20. It looked a bit of a struggle, lap time-wise. I was out on circuit. The car didn’t look too bad but the times were a long way off the next-slowest car. What’s going on?

    JZ: There’s definitely something wrong. It’s a little bit more work ahead of us. At the moment we don’t seem to get the tyres to work, at all. So, as I said, it was a bit of a surprise. We came here with a new aero upgrade which works according to the data, actually quite fine. So, as expected. We thought we could draw some more potential from it. Of course, now while the tyre temperature management worked very well in Barcelona and panned out very well for us on both compounds, supersoft and the medium, yeah, we do seem to struggle at the moment. The same is true of both compounds: ultrasoft, supersoft. We don’t’ really seem to be able to put the energy into the tyres that it needs to develop the grip which is required.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) A question to Paul. I read last week that Adrian Newey said that he was more or less not involved in the new cars. Not his car. Can you tell us how much involved he really was?

    PM: In terms of hours, I can’t tell you how he’s split his time. He’s part of our team, has been for a long time and continues to be so. He was involved in the process of developing the car and continues to be so.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Andy. Esteban was saying yesterday that he’s confident that he can get a podium this season. How confident are you that he can do that and how impressed have you been with his start?

    AG: Well, I can tell you how impressed I am: very, very impressed with the way that he’s come into the team, adapted, the speed at which he acclimatised himself to this track especially this morning, for me shows what a talent he is. Undoubtedly. I watched him for quite a long time in the simulator last week, pounding around the lap here, and his car control was incredible. He could put the front wheel through the barrier by an inch every time. He just needed to bring it back an inch! He’s an amazing talent. Can he get a podium? Well, we need to give him the car to do that – because ultimately on our current car pace and ranking, if everybody finished we would never get a podium so it would need a big slice of luck. But he has an uncanny ability to finish races. He races really well on a Sunday. He has a lot of mental capacity remaining, when he’s driving the car, which is a really, really good sign. If he’s given the opportunity, I’m sure he’ll take it.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) A question to Paul. I think if you look at qualifying in Barcelona, corner speeds of the new Red Bulls were quite encouraging. If that is so, how encouraging is that regarding the new upgrades. And also, has there been a change of philosophy towards more downforce versus less drag with the new update introduced in Barcelona.

    PM: OK, the first part of your question then. The changes made to the car for Barcelona yielded improvements to it, undoubtedly. There’s always a simulation target and then what the real car delivers – and the testing of the real car is usually imperfect. So, as far as we can tell, they’ve done what we expected to do – I’m encouraged by that – we did pick up a bit of speed. I think it gave the drivers more confidence and that’s another little bonus that you can take. In terms of change of philosophy, no, not really. We have efficiency targets that determine do pieces go on the car or not. It’s perhaps easier to judge that than it is your expected lap time gain of an update package. We’re not changing our philosophy: you can see how the car is set up; we’ve been pursuing that for some time and that remains. I think a change of philosophy at this stage would be, for us, unwise. What we do longer term is entirely our choice and our business.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Jörg, if we look at your career, you’ve always worked with very, very well-funded teams: Toyota, Honda, in sportscars Audi, with BMW-Sauber when it was manufacturer-backed. How difficult is it to reset the engineering mind set to operate and work in a team with a more modest budget the way that Sauber is right now?

    JZ: First of all, I think we have actually quite a good budget, so we have all opportunity that you can find in other midfield teams to do a decent development and dover those development processes.  So, from that perspective I think we are not too badly adjusted at all. The other point is that, the way I see Sauber is actually, from the point of talent level, actually quite good. We have very experienced people, very, very… people have a good talent, they are very competent. They have been in the sport for a long time, so I think you may want to look into the economic side of things, which are really decent but you have to look from a human resource point of view as well: what kind of quality level of human resource do you have available for your developments. I think Sauber is actually placed very well in that regard.

    Q: (Sam Collins – Racecar Engineering) There’s been a lot of talk about the frontal cockpit protection system being introduced for the 2018 season. What have you heard from the FIA and their research institute about what form it will take, in terms of technical regulations. Also, what’s the latest in terms of monocoque design and lead times in manufacturer to start working and introduce it into the car?

    AG: Well, there has been a meeting a couple of weeks ago, the first meeting for the installation of the Shield. We weren’t part of that meeting but there is another meeting tomorrow that we are having with the FIA to discuss it further. We’ve seen some preliminary models. We’ve been looking at how we integrate those into the chassis next year. There are a lot, a lot of question marks over it. There’s a lot of work to do in the timeframe that we have been given. So we need to make some smart decisions going forward. Hopefully we’ll be discussing that tomorrow, with a view to how we answer all those questions in the time period we’ve got.

    PM: To answer your question, ‘what’s the deadline?’ I think it depends which colour shirt you have on. We, as a team, can be amongst the later, but we are going to very, very tight to get this on to a car for ’18. I think the research into its functionality and protection, it’s got to happen almost in parallel with the installation, which makes it quite a tricky job, because whatever they change in terms of screen then has an implication to a chassis and if you have cut your patterns then you are in a fairly awkward situations. I think if it all happens in parallel then the cut-offs are going to be somewhat team dependent. As Andy said, there is a hell of a lot to get through to ensure that this is a thoroughly developed and sorted package to put on next year’s car.

    JZ: With regard to the deadline, so usually we would by the end of July, beginning of August, define the monocoque. Of course the fundamental question here is about the integration of the shield and the attachment, so there is a question about structural integrity, but again, as my colleagues said, we are going to discuss this tomorrow, so we need those detailed informations of course. At the moment, as far as I know, we want to test this system at some point in September, which I think is good. I think the enhancement of safety, improving safety is a fundamental let me say job of ours and I think we should support that, we do support this. But of course we have to makes sure that these things are worked out sensibly and that they fit within the time schedule. But we are working together with the FIA in order to achieve this, don’t we Paul?

    PM: Absolutely.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) I just wanted to follow up on what I was asking about Esteban before. Could you just talk about his capacity and desire to learn, because he has said that he does hours and hours of simulator work and, quote, “intense debriefs with engineers”, so that shows his application. Could you talk about his desire to learn and willingness to improve?

    AG: He’s like a school child. He’s like a sponge and he just absorbs information as fast as you can give it to him. His want and his desire are unquestionable. He absolutely wants this and he has the talent to do great things but he is going about it the right way. He’s doing it a step at a time. He’s doing the learning at the pace he wants to and that we allow him to do and I have no doubts that he is going to get to where he wants to be in a few years’ time.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) A question for everybody. Did you need to change the jack support at the back of the car after Laurent Mekies’ document, and what do you think about it, will it really help in the case of accidents?

    PM: To answer your first question: yes, we were requested to change, so we have changed. We’ve taken a bigger step than some of our competitors by the looks of it and we have done a new jack, we’ve modified the associated receptacle on the back of the rear impact structure. As for the note, well, it’s given to us, and it’s up to us to interpret it, deal with it, liaise with the FIA, achieve a design that design that satisfies them and equally that we could get here, and with a lot of hard work and dedication we’ve got a solution here.

    JZ: It’s the same for us. It added a little bit of complexity to our operations as well, but that’s what we have done. Of course, we have a Ferrari gearbox, so there’s a rear impact structure that is homologated by Ferrari. So we had to work this out in co-operation with our colleagues in Italy. So there was immediate action required which we did and yes, of course, we have had extra support here to make sure that it all works nicely. But then again, as I said before, it’s a safety critical subject, so we do understand and if there is urgency because of that then we would support that. That’s what we did.

    AG: We didn’t need to change our rear impact structure, we just changed our livery.

    PART ONE: TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Andrew GREEN (Force India), Paul Monaghan (Red Bull Racing), Jörg Zander (Sauber).

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Andy, let’s start with you. Stunning start to the season: 53 points; clear fourth place and even breathing down Red Bull’s neck in the championship. With the resources that you have, how have you managed to do it?

    Andy GREEN: It’s been, yeah, it’s been a good start to the season but as we proved last season, you can’t take anything for granted and our lead over fifth place is a lot smaller than where we were behind the Williams last year. So, reminding the guys that it’s a long season and we’re only a quarter of the way through it with a long way to go where a lot can happen. So, we need to keep pushing, keep developing, do what we’re doing – we’re on a good trajectory at the moment – and not to slack and see where we end up in the end. So far it’s gone better than expected and I think we’ve capitalised as much as we could of in those first five races. I don’t think you look back at those first five and think ‘what if?’ I think we’ve basically got the best out of it.

    Q: In Spain only three cars finished on the lead lap, which is the fewest since 2008 so obviously, does that speak to the problem that the field in Formula One, with these new regulations, has become very spread out? Do you think that’s going to remain the case for the rest of the season?

    AG: I hope not. It was another point I did make to the factory last week. I hate being lapped. It just shows the potential that there is in these regulations and how much there is to find. We look at it as an opportunity to make the car even faster, knowing that there’s that much performance left in it.

    Q: Paul, coming to you, 75 seconds behind at the finish in Spain last time out but a clear and very promising looking P2 in practice today with last year’s pole-sitter. What’s your overview of today’s running and how competitive do you think you’re going to be this weekend?

    Paul MONAGHAN: It’s nice to see us nearer the sharp end than we’ve arguably been at points this year. Our overall competitiveness… it’s still hard to tell. I’m not sure Mercedes showed their full hand today. I think it’s going to be pretty tight on Saturday and you need to have a reasonable qualifying around here to then capitalise for Sunday. So, I’m not going to count any chickens yet. We just knuckle down, do what’s within our control, get the most out of our car, and get the most out of it on Saturday and see where we end up.

    Q: So where’s the shortfall been then in the first five races of this season – some way behind, as we said, in Spain. Is there still belief that you can catch them over the span of the season?

    PM: There’s belief, yes, and a strong desire as well. I think if we lost belief it would be a fairly early end to our season. So, there’s a strong belief, a strong desire and a real determination to get more out of this car and close on the others – because they’re not standing still and as such our development rate has to exceed those guys. I think it can. It’s fair to say that we’ve not extracted as much as we can in terms of points-scoring from the first four and there’s a little bit of performance coming each race. We set out on a pathway to catch them, let’s see if we can.

    Q: But where’s the shortfall? It’s fair to say you haven’t extracted the most from the regulations. You’d have expected, looking at the way they were framed, that this was going to play to Red Bull’s strengths, particularly on the aerodynamic side.

    PM: Well it’s strange thing, isn’t it? In that, within our own control is our own destiny and what others do will always be judged against that. And yes, it’s fair to say we don’t have the leading car at the present time. I wouldn’t want to say that it’s one area. It’s going to be several areas and it’s up to us to identify the ones that have the greatest returns that we can alter, capitalise upon those and get the most out of our car. It’s only what lies within our control. Can’t do anything about what the others do. We will identify the shortfalls – I don’t think it’s going to be a singular – it will be a plural, and we will chip away at them as we have been for some time now.

    Q: Jörg, welcome to you. Very valuable points, obviously, for your team in Spain that puts you ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’. How optimistic are you that you can stay there?

    Jörg ZANDER: First of all there was obviously a massive boost for the morale and motivation of the team. We actually didn’t expect us to be there in Barcelona. The upgrade package which we planned for Barcelona, we moved to this event. So somehow things seem to have been turned upside down. We didn’t expect us to be on P19-20 today. It was a bit more of a difficult start for us, into the season and it was affected by various parameters. As you know, we didn’t have Pascal for the first two races, so we had to go with Giovinazzi and, of course, that introduced quite a bit of a change to the operational side. So we had a very young, new driver into the car, which we needed to get adapted – but obviously, let me say, from a development point of view, we do understand that the car is behind, compared to our, let me say, defined competition, which is the midfield, primarily because we started pretty early in the season to develop that car, so we have to try and catch-up. But the parameter we fight here, of course, is time and it’s difficult to gain time over the competition. They have a certain time available as we have, so there’s not any difference. The thing is, of course, about resources, and these resources, we’re just about to configure and to adapt. We have made plenty of recruitments but these are all new people so there is a human factor involved, with regards to getting more out of this operation – and these are the kind of difficulties that we are fighting at the moment, let me say.

    Q: You mentioned today P19-20. It looked a bit of a struggle, lap time-wise. I was out on circuit. The car didn’t look too bad but the times were a long way off the next-slowest car. What’s going on?

    JZ: There’s definitely something wrong. It’s a little bit more work ahead of us. At the moment we don’t seem to get the tyres to work, at all. So, as I said, it was a bit of a surprise. We came here with a new aero upgrade which works according to the data, actually quite fine. So, as expected. We thought we could draw some more potential from it. Of course, now while the tyre temperature management worked very well in Barcelona and panned out very well for us on both compounds, supersoft and the medium, yeah, we do seem to struggle at the moment. The same is true of both compounds: ultrasoft, supersoft. We don’t’ really seem to be able to put the energy into the tyres that it needs to develop the grip which is required.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) A question to Paul. I read last week that Adrian Newey said that he was more or less not involved in the new cars. Not his car. Can you tell us how much involved he really was?

    PM: In terms of hours, I can’t tell you how he’s split his time. He’s part of our team, has been for a long time and continues to be so. He was involved in the process of developing the car and continues to be so.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Andy. Esteban was saying yesterday that he’s confident that he can get a podium this season. How confident are you that he can do that and how impressed have you been with his start?

    AG: Well, I can tell you how impressed I am: very, very impressed with the way that he’s come into the team, adapted, the speed at which he acclimatised himself to this track especially this morning, for me shows what a talent he is. Undoubtedly. I watched him for quite a long time in the simulator last week, pounding around the lap here, and his car control was incredible. He could put the front wheel through the barrier by an inch every time. He just needed to bring it back an inch! He’s an amazing talent. Can he get a podium? Well, we need to give him the car to do that – because ultimately on our current car pace and ranking, if everybody finished we would never get a podium so it would need a big slice of luck. But he has an uncanny ability to finish races. He races really well on a Sunday. He has a lot of mental capacity remaining, when he’s driving the car, which is a really, really good sign. If he’s given the opportunity, I’m sure he’ll take it.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) A question to Paul. I think if you look at qualifying in Barcelona, corner speeds of the new Red Bulls were quite encouraging. If that is so, how encouraging is that regarding the new upgrades. And also, has there been a change of philosophy towards more downforce versus less drag with the new update introduced in Barcelona.

    PM: OK, the first part of your question then. The changes made to the car for Barcelona yielded improvements to it, undoubtedly. There’s always a simulation target and then what the real car delivers – and the testing of the real car is usually imperfect. So, as far as we can tell, they’ve done what we expected to do – I’m encouraged by that – we did pick up a bit of speed. I think it gave the drivers more confidence and that’s another little bonus that you can take. In terms of change of philosophy, no, not really. We have efficiency targets that determine do pieces go on the car or not. It’s perhaps easier to judge that than it is your expected lap time gain of an update package. We’re not changing our philosophy: you can see how the car is set up; we’ve been pursuing that for some time and that remains. I think a change of philosophy at this stage would be, for us, unwise. What we do longer term is entirely our choice and our business.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Jörg, if we look at your career, you’ve always worked with very, very well-funded teams: Toyota, Honda, in sportscars Audi, with BMW-Sauber when it was manufacturer-backed. How difficult is it to reset the engineering mind set to operate and work in a team with a more modest budget the way that Sauber is right now?

    JZ: First of all, I think we have actually quite a good budget, so we have all opportunity that you can find in other midfield teams to do a decent development and dover those development processes.  So, from that perspective I think we are not too badly adjusted at all. The other point is that, the way I see Sauber is actually, from the point of talent level, actually quite good. We have very experienced people, very, very… people have a good talent, they are very competent. They have been in the sport for a long time, so I think you may want to look into the economic side of things, which are really decent but you have to look from a human resource point of view as well: what kind of quality level of human resource do you have available for your developments. I think Sauber is actually placed very well in that regard.

    Q: (Sam Collins – Racecar Engineering) There’s been a lot of talk about the frontal cockpit protection system being introduced for the 2018 season. What have you heard from the FIA and their research institute about what form it will take, in terms of technical regulations. Also, what’s the latest in terms of monocoque design and lead times in manufacturer to start working and introduce it into the car?

    AG: Well, there has been a meeting a couple of weeks ago, the first meeting for the installation of the Shield. We weren’t part of that meeting but there is another meeting tomorrow that we are having with the FIA to discuss it further. We’ve seen some preliminary models. We’ve been looking at how we integrate those into the chassis next year. There are a lot, a lot of question marks over it. There’s a lot of work to do in the timeframe that we have been given. So we need to make some smart decisions going forward. Hopefully we’ll be discussing that tomorrow, with a view to how we answer all those questions in the time period we’ve got.

    PM: To answer your question, ‘what’s the deadline?’ I think it depends which colour shirt you have on. We, as a team, can be amongst the later, but we are going to very, very tight to get this on to a car for ’18. I think the research into its functionality and protection, it’s got to happen almost in parallel with the installation, which makes it quite a tricky job, because whatever they change in terms of screen then has an implication to a chassis and if you have cut your patterns then you are in a fairly awkward situations. I think if it all happens in parallel then the cut-offs are going to be somewhat team dependent. As Andy said, there is a hell of a lot to get through to ensure that this is a thoroughly developed and sorted package to put on next year’s car.

    JZ: With regard to the deadline, so usually we would by the end of July, beginning of August, define the monocoque. Of course the fundamental question here is about the integration of the shield and the attachment, so there is a question about structural integrity, but again, as my colleagues said, we are going to discuss this tomorrow, so we need those detailed informations of course. At the moment, as far as I know, we want to test this system at some point in September, which I think is good. I think the enhancement of safety, improving safety is a fundamental let me say job of ours and I think we should support that, we do support this. But of course we have to makes sure that these things are worked out sensibly and that they fit within the time schedule. But we are working together with the FIA in order to achieve this, don’t we Paul?

    PM: Absolutely.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) I just wanted to follow up on what I was asking about Esteban before. Could you just talk about his capacity and desire to learn, because he has said that he does hours and hours of simulator work and, quote, “intense debriefs with engineers”, so that shows his application. Could you talk about his desire to learn and willingness to improve?

    AG: He’s like a school child. He’s like a sponge and he just absorbs information as fast as you can give it to him. His want and his desire are unquestionable. He absolutely wants this and he has the talent to do great things but he is going about it the right way. He’s doing it a step at a time. He’s doing the learning at the pace he wants to and that we allow him to do and I have no doubts that he is going to get to where he wants to be in a few years’ time.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) A question for everybody. Did you need to change the jack support at the back of the car after Laurent Mekies’ document, and what do you think about it, will it really help in the case of accidents?

    PM: To answer your first question: yes, we were requested to change, so we have changed. We’ve taken a bigger step than some of our competitors by the looks of it and we have done a new jack, we’ve modified the associated receptacle on the back of the rear impact structure. As for the note, well, it’s given to us, and it’s up to us to interpret it, deal with it, liaise with the FIA, achieve a design that design that satisfies them and equally that we could get here, and with a lot of hard work and dedication we’ve got a solution here.

    JZ: It’s the same for us. It added a little bit of complexity to our operations as well, but that’s what we have done. Of course, we have a Ferrari gearbox, so there’s a rear impact structure that is homologated by Ferrari. So we had to work this out in co-operation with our colleagues in Italy. So there was immediate action required which we did and yes, of course, we have had extra support here to make sure that it all works nicely. But then again, as I said before, it’s a safety critical subject, so we do understand and if there is urgency because of that then we would support that. That’s what we did.

    AG: We didn’t need to change our rear impact structure, we just changed our livery.