Tag: red bull

2016 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

TV UNILATERAL

Nico, many congratulations. Was that session as smooth on the inside as it looked from where we were sitting?

Nico ROSBERG: No, we had a difficult weekend up to now, especially this morning. We were seriously off the pace on one lap, so it really wasn’t so easy coming into qualifying. But we got the job done in the end. We really made quite a few changes on the car coming into qualifying and we found the right way. It all came together and it was feeling good, so I’m very pleased about that one.

Congratulations. Max, coming on to you, this is you first ever front-row start and you become the youngest every driver to start on the front row of the grid for a grand prix. Just 0.1s behind Nico, do you think pole position was on today?

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I mean, you can always do a better job. But also I think also Nico could have done a better lap; it’s always when you put everything together. But I think in the end to be so close to them on a track with some long straights, we can be very pleased with that. The whole weekend has been very smooth, even though I had some little issues this morning. From there on the mechanics did a great job and in qualifying the car was working really well, as you could see in sector two. I’m just very pleased to be second here in front of my fans, it’s just a great motivation when you see them next to the track.

Congratulations to you. Kimi, how is the car performing this morning, it looked like there were some nervous moments in Q2 when you went back out for a second run?

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: No, it was our plan. There wasn’t really anything odd going on. Obviously in the last qualifying I ran wide in the first try and that wasn’t ideal. But the second run was pretty good, but comparing to my Q2 lap I lost a few tenths in the last chicane, so obviously the pole position was there, so it was a bit disappointing because obviously once we are close by there it would have been nice to get it. But tomorrow is the race and I think if we compare it to the previous few races we have to be satisfied with where we are after qualifying.

Thank you Kimi. Coming back to you Nico: you’re on pole, your main championship rival will be starting from the back tomorrow, just give us your thoughts going into the race?

NR: Well, happy to be on pole but the only thing is it’s going to be a very challenging race, because the tyres are extremely difficult out there this weekend and strategy and everything, it’s going to be very, very interesting. I think we’re going to see a bit of everything, let alone with Max being on supersoft and Kimi on soft. Is that the case? Yeah, Kimi on soft. There are going to be a whole load of things going on. It’s definitely not going to be an easy one.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Nico, you said a moment ago that you had a few set-up problems yesterday. Can you elaborate on what they were and what you did to resolve them?

NR: We just weren’t quick, because it’s very, very hot out there and because the Pirelli pressures are very, very high for this weekend and so it was just a bit of a different world out there and we really had to change a lot of things and adapt but great to see how we managed to turn it around and get there eventually, just in time for qualifying, because even just this morning in FP3 we were quite a bit off the pace still.

Thanks Nico. Max, coming to you, what does it mean to you to break this 55-year record that had belonged to Ricardo Rodriguez, to be the youngest driver to get a front-row start?

MV: To be honest, not that much. I’m just very happy to be on the front row in Spa in front of all my fans. I mean, it’s great to break a record but I want to break other records.

Thank you Max. Kimi, just your thoughts, a few more thoughts please going into tomorrow’s race, because you have opted for more supersoft tyres than any of the other front-running teams, do you think that will compromise you?

KR: No, it shouldn’t. You never know what will happen tomorrow, but ideally we should be just fine. Tomorrow will tell but obviously it’s probably more tricky than anyone expected, because the conditions are not exactly normal Spa conditions. It’s a bit tricky with the tyres, but it’s the same for everybody and I think what we have is enough for what we want to do, so it should be fine.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS.NL) For Max, how frustrating was it this morning knowing that there’s tens of thousands of Dutch people and not be able to drive?

MV: I think it was even more frustrating for myself knowing that I couldn’t get the laps in. Of course it’s great to drive in front of your fans, to show yourself – but I couldn’t get my references in for qualifying. But luckily it was not a big issue and we solved it in time. From there on it was just a very good qualifying.

Max, do you think you could have found more pace in qualifying, had you been able to run this morning?

MV: That’s always very difficult to say. I think it just gives you a better reference straight away. On the other hand, we should be on our limits quite easily and I think after one run in qualifying it was there again. So maybe, maybe not.

Q: (Oana Popoiou – F1 Zone) A question for Kimi. Ferrari seems to be back to a better shape this weekend, can you tell us what is different from the previous races?

KR: I have to say, like I said earlier, it’s nice to be so close but obviously we’d rather be on pole position. I thought we had a good chance. I lost some time in the last chicane but… these conditions, it’s very hot, it’s tricky with the tyres for everybody… I don’t know. If we would know, it would be much easier to be at least in this position always. It has changed quite a few times this year, depending on circuits and conditions, so… who knows?

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To Max. You start on supersoft tyres and your team-mate with soft tyres. We knew this weekend the supersoft does not permit too many laps. What is the strategy exactly you are planning?

MV: To start on the supersoft and then see where we end up after a few laps. We have some different strategies out there but I think at the end of the day, yeah, I have to box a bit earlier – but after this there are a lot of laps to go and we’ll see what happens.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Max, why in the first place did you not try it on soft in Q2? Didn’t you have trust to do it?

MV: Because I decided, together with the team, that I wanted to run the supersoft. I think that’s the best strategy to go into tomorrow – but we’ll see how it pays off.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, how crucial is the first stint of the race for the result? There seems to be different kinds of compounds for the top drivers.

KR: Obviously the start and the first laps is very important in every race. I don’t think it will decide what happens for the whole race. It will be quite a tricky race for everybody with the tyres and with the conditions. It’s not going to be very easy but hopefully we make the right choices when it comes and get the best out of it – but for sure it’s not going to be very easy.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Speed Sport / Auto Action) Following up on what Kimi was talking about, for Nico and Kimi, how do you see the start playing out? Very short run down to the beginning but the guy behind you has very sticky tyres.

NR: I’m feeling good about it. Starting first. Usually you can manage to keep first position all the way up the hill but yeah, of course, need to get a good run through Eau Rouge but it will be OK.

Kimi?

KR: I don’t think there is an awful lot of different on the start between the tyres. Theirs is maybe a little bit better with the supersoft but as long as we do a proper start it should be fine.

Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) We all know about Eau Rouge and how exciting it is but also that circumstances change each year. Which is the hairiest corner on the circuit for you all this year?

NR: The hairiest is maybe turn 10, turn 10 is pretty challenging because if you run a little bit further out and you get onto the Astroturf it can flick you off into the tyre barrier so that’s one of the toughest ones.

MV: I agree.

KR: Every corner can go wrong but Eau Rouge has been less of a challenge for some years but I think in the race it might become a bit more tricky again. Overall, I think there are a lot of nice places – corners – here.

Q: (Walter Koster – Saarbrucken Zeitung) Nico, pole number 28, do you regret that your teammate has not fought with you and therefore is this pole less important? I know, pole is pole.

NR: I’m very happy because it was a battle out there, everybody behind was very very close and I managed to get the lap and get the pole so I’m definitely very pleased with that one. That’s it.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS.NL) Kimi and Max; Kimi, you’re again just behind Max Verstappen. It seems like you spend a lot of time this year looking at his back. Do you know how to overtake?

KR: Who knows in the first corner but it’s a normal race and we will see what happens? Try and make a good start and go from there.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Kimi, in the first outing in Q3 you had been on the gravel I think in turn 14; did that compromise your last run in terms of taking risks?

KR: Not really, obviously it would have more easy if I hadn’t run out. The lap was also very good, the first one but really in the last chicane I got a bit of understeer and lost a couple of tenths compared to my Q2 lap. For sure we had a chance to put it on pole and I guess it would have been more easy not going off in the first run and having a decent lap there but that’s how it is.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Nico, it looks like Red Bull and Ferrari are closer on this track. Do you have this impression? Do you think during the 44 laps, considering the tyre question in this Grand Prix, they can even challenge Mercedes more?

NR: Definitely, it’s a very different situation out there with the temperature and the tyre pressures that we have and they are very close, yeah, and so tomorrow it’s going to be a very very demanding race against both of them. I think the best long run for now is from Red Bull on Friday. I think.

Q: (Barna Zsoldis – Nemzeti Sport) Nico, starting from pole in Germany and Hungary as well, you lost the first position quite early. Any negative thoughts or feelings because of that?

NR: It’s even shorter to turn one here so that’s a very good thing.

August 27, 2016
2016 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

EAM REPRESENTATIVES – Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Claire WILLIAMS (Williams), Monisha KALTENBORN (Sauber), Eric BOULLIER (McLaren), Frédéric VASSEUR (Renault), Robert FERNLEY (Force India)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Eric, if we could start with you please. Let’s start by talking about the updated power unit you’re running in both cars this weekend. Where is it better than the old one and do you have any further reliability worries after what happened to Alonso this morning?

Eric BOULLIER: As whole it’s very easy to understand. The first is engine power from the ICE and obviously the power recovery you can get from the turbo and the MGU-H. So on that [Honda] did a brilliant job to improve both compounds, let’s say, on both systems. In terms of reliability, no, we don’t have any concerns. It was a small issue, which cost us a full power unit this morning and the session but you could see in practice two both cars ran faultlessly, so I think it’s far?

Can you put a number on the lap time gain you’ve found with this power unit?

EB: Yes I can, but I will not share it with you!

We’ve seen former motorsport director of Volkswagen Jost Capito with McLaren this weekend. When does he start with the team and can you explain to us where he’ll fit into the current management structure?

EB: Yeah, it’s very easy. He’s going to start very soon; it’s a question of days. He is here this weekend as an observer, that’s why he’s not wearing any team uniform. He’s going to be CEO of McLaren Racing, so chief executive officer.

Thank you, Eric. Claire if we could move onto you. I’d like to start by talking about drivers. Your technical boss Pat Symonds was quoted recently as saying that Williams is ready to sign a top driver. Now, one of the interpretations of that is that you don’t currently have a top driver, do you agree with him?

Claire WILLIAMS: I think actually Pat’s comments in that article that came out over shutdown were comments that were made in January, so it’s quite odd that they are now brought out. But Pat, when he was making those comments, was making a reference to one particular driver. It was not in reference to our current two. I think as we have said very clearly we are very happy with the job Felipe and Valtteri have done for us. I know everybody is waiting for our announcement now that lots of other teams have made theirs, but we are not ready to announce our line-up for ‘17 yet but we are working through all our options but I hope we will be able to make that announcement shortly.

When do you think we will get an announcement from you?

CW: By the end of the year.

OK. Moving on to Spa: this is a track where you have traditionally been very strong, although you seemed to have a few issues this afternoon, just 16^th and 17^th fastest. How confident are you of a good result this weekend?

CW: I think after our performance in the past few races where we expected the circuits to suit our car, it wasn’t the case for a number of reasons. We’ve obviously been working hard to try to analyse where we are going wrong and it is really frustrating fro the team and we do have a really tough battle with Force India at the moment – we don’t want them to take our fourth in the championship. It’s going to be another tough weekend, as much as this circuit does suit our care, but there are also elements of it that don’t. So I don’t know. After today’s performance, where we’re finishing 16^th and 17^th, we obviously had some issues, I’m not entirely sure where we are going to finish on Sunday but I certainly hope it’s in the points.

OK thank you Claire. Bob, Force India is another team that has a very good record here and things clearly going very well for you so far – third and fifth quickest this afternoon. You’re quick here today, do you have Williams in your sights, do you think you can beat them this weekend and what about the Constructors’ Championship?

Robert FERNLEY: Well, I think we’d like to beat them, but I think you have to look at it that probably Spa and Monza are going to be quite critical races, because as you rightly said earlier, they do tend to favour Williams. So, at the end of Monza we need to look at where the situation is and whether we’ve got ‘game on’ for a hard fight until the end of the season. I think these two races are quite critical because historically and on normal expectations you’d expect Williams to be stronger.

Let’s talk about drivers as well. Vijay Mallya said at the British Grand Prix that both Nico and Checo are under contract for 2017 but Checo has said that he’d make a decision after the summer break. Has he done that?

RF: Well first of all both Checo and Nico are both under contract and that’s the normal way you would work as obviously we need continuity in the drivers, we’d very much like to keep the two together, but with Checo come highly sophisticated and complex commercial negotiations and those obviously have got to play their part as well. But that can only come after we’ve secured the two drivers in the first place. That’s the process we’re under now and I would be very surprised if we’re not staying with the two drivers in 2017.

Fred, coming to you, your driver situation is equally fluid, so when do you expect to make a decision for next year?

Frédéric VASSEUR: Quite similar to Claire, before the end of the year. We are not under pressure to take a decision. We will take a decision in the next few weeks or months.

Are drivers for 2017 a priority for you or is it more important to get the technical structure of the team sorted?

FV: Drivers is the priority for everybody, you can’t race without being concerned by the drivers. [Remainder of answer inaudible]

What is the likelihood of Esteban Ocon coming back to you for next year as a race driver, because he’s done some FP1 sessions for you this year, he’s now gone to Manor. Is he a possible for next season for you?

FV: It is possible. Don’t worry we will take a decision soon.

Q: Monisha, like Renault, Sauber are rebuilding. Now that you’ve had new investment, what is the plan for the rebuilding? Is there a timeline?

Monisha KALTENBORN: Well, you want to do things as quickly as you can because we still have to achieve a few things this year and there are not than many races left. At the same time, we have such a big change coming up for next year where you also really don’t want to lose time, and get on straight away to that year. We are already in that process but now, with the new ownership we have, the trust we’ve been given, we are of course on a very different basis. Simultaneously and very quickly we have to look at the technical structures, people, drivers, the financial status. All of that has to be done actually in parallel, and is already happening.

Q: You said you still have things you want to achieve this year. Is one of those scoring points? You’re the only team on the grid that hasn’t done that this year, so we’ve got upgrades on the car this weekend, are we going to see more as you keep pushing to get that point?

MK: We’ll see a few bits and pieces still coming but nothing really extremely big because we are already on to the new car – but staying where we are is certainly no option. Now, we’ve had a season before where we didn’t score points. It had many reasons but it’s not enough to say that we’ll just manage it somehow again. We have to score at least a point, if not more and make sure that we’re getting back into the usual routine, the way we’re used to working.

Q: Christian, the team moved ahead of Ferrari at Hockenheim, last time out, on the evidence of today, you’ve stayed ahead. What are the prospects for the coming races. Do you see yourselves as staying ahead of Ferrari? Can you challenge Mercedes?

CH: They’re two very different things. One, staying ahead of Ferrari, obviously that’s our target and goal. I think the next two races represent our biggest challenges of the nine races remaining. Very power-dominated circuits, here at Spa and Monza in a week’s time. I think Mercedes, we know there’s a significant gap to. We’ve been closer at some races than others. Hopefully there will be opportunities in some of the race venues coming up – circuits spring to mind like Singapore – that we can give them a harder time. And, of course, they’ve got some issues to deal with this weekend with one of their cars. So that represents other opportunities.

Q: How important is second place in the Constructors’ Championship to you – or is it all about 2017. Is that the only thing that matters?

CH: It’s worth a few million pounds, obviously, like all these positions do, so it has a significant value to us. So there is a big push to carry the momentum that we’ve built over the last few races, right to the last race in Abu Dhabi. And then, of course, behind the scenes, as with all the teams, there’s a big development programme under way on the 2017 car with a big regulation change coming. So it’s a busy time, certainly in the factory at the moment.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Marc Surer – Sky Germany) A question for Fred Vasseur. Today, I think it was a premier that a car started on the track. Can you explain, first of all how it stopped and secondly how you got it restarted?

FV: During the session we had a sensor failure and we stopped the car, we decided to stop the car. Then we restarted the car with the MGU-K and the battery. It’s not the first time we did it. I think all the other teams did it in the past.

Q: (Oana Popoiou – F1 Zone) Question for Mr Fernley. Force India has a good chance this year to finish fourth. Is there a compromise to be made by focussing on the battle this year and developing the next year’s car?

RF: No. They’re two completely separate programmes. The battle obviously is for us to take to Williams. Williams are in the lead, they’re an extremely competitive and competent team and we’ve just got to battle hard to try to overtake them. As far as the ’17 car is concerned, that’s a factory issue and we’re flat-out in the factory, as I’m sure all the other teams are as well. So they’re two separate programmes entirely.

Q: (Thomas Lund Hansen – Morgenavissen Jyllands Posten) I have two questions for Mr Vasseur. You’ve said that Renault needs a leader. What characterises a leader and does Kevin Magnussen have these qualifications?

FV: We have to build up the project on a driver because I think it’s also a catalyst for the project, for the team. He needs to motivate the team. If you have a look at the success stories of the past, Sebastian with Red Bull or Michael Schumacher with Ferrari, all the good story and long success stories was built up also on the drivers. We have to do the same for the next six or seven years. Kevin is doing the job. I won’t come back on the fact that I have to take a decision on the drivers. I will do it quite soon, be sure, he is doing the job. We know that we have to improve too on the structure and it’s not a question just on the drivers be sure. I’m happy with my guys.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) The current engine regulations took over five years to agree and they currently have about four and a bit years left to run before they expire at the end of 2020. We have an interesting spread here in that we have four customer teams, an exclusive partner team and a manufacturer. When do you believe that we should start looking at the new regulations for 2021 onwards and also what would you like to see included and enshrined in those regulations?

CH: Well, it’s very simple really: cheap, loud, fast engines. I think what we have now… obviously to abandon that fully would be irresponsible, an awful lot of development and R&D has gone into these engines but I think cost is a significant element, particularly for the teams that are paying for the engines. I think that we’re addressing the chassis side of things already for next year, making the car more aggressive, faster and so on, I think one of the elements that is missing from Formula One at the moment is the sound and I think that’s a key aspect that needs to be addressed in engine regulations moving forward. But probably not moving too far away from the architecture that we currently have. I think to rip it up in its entirety this far into the game would probably be the wrong thing to do.

EB: I think that if you want to address the cost and obviously the convergence of performance we believe that the regulations should be extended after 2020 with the current ones. As Christian said, part of the show is maybe we miss better sound or better quality sound for the engines so that’s something that needs to be addressed technically but clearly if you have stability in the regulations and some longer term projects, obviously the convergence of performance will happen quicker and the cost will go down.

CW: I would echo what Christian and Eric have said. Obviously from an independent team’s perspective whereby we are a customer, having those regulations outlined beyond 2020 and stabilised inevitably will help us if we are to go out and look for our own engine partner past 2020 when our Mercedes relationship will come to an end will be really important. I obviously believe that the hybrid element of the current power unit is part of the architecture that we should maintain. I think it’s a very important message that Formula One can send out but yeah, I would echo everything that Christian and Eric have said.

FV: It’s quite similar to everybody else in that if you want to have more exciting racing then to close the gap between everybody, we need to get the convergence on the engine also and by the way, we would be able to reduce the cost for the future, but if you drastically change the regulations you will increase the costs because you will have to do research and development and at the other end you will increase the potential gap between everybody. But I think we have to stick to the current ones and for sure we have to adapt some points because it makes sense but not to change the regulations drastically.

MK: As an independent team that pays for its engines, for us of course the costs are extremely important and one thing is with stability to bring the cost down but equally important is the changes. Ancillary costs can get very high and this is something which independent teams equally suffer from because in addition to the costs with the engine itself brought in which were much higher than the previous engine, the costs you had around building that engine in the chassis side were extremely high for us so stability is very important. Of course as Christian said, you have to keep in mind that the show has to be a good one and we have seen this time a lot went wrong in introducing the engine. At the same time, you also have to make sure that the interests of the manufacturers are looke at because they have vital interests in introducing certain technologies. So I think looking at all these very different positions, it’s very important to start talks now, because we’ve seen in the past that engines were cancelled overnight, whilst different concepts were introduced, we really need a long time to be able to agree something sensible and not again be in a situation where in six months time you have to decide something.

BF: I think I would endorse what Christian said. We need to have something that’s very competitively priced, addresses the issues in terms of noise but I think we’re fooling ourselves if we think that as independent teams we have any say in these things. At the end of the day the manufacturers will decide what they’re going to do and we will be given a take-it or leave-it situation.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) For M. Bouillier, yesterday Fernando Alonso said he is not enjoying this Formula One. I would love to know what are your feelings about that, what it means to have a driver who is not enjoying driving?

EB: Well, I think we have been working on changing the regulations for next year and as McLaren was concerned we were pushing a little bit harder. It’s true that the regulations today… drivers enjoy qualifying today because we are now breaking records so I think it’s fast enough. Drivers enjoying driving a physical car to drive and clearly Fernando is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid so he remembers the cars in 2005 and 2006 where they were much more lateral Gs than cornering speed and this is what the drivers like. I think next year’s regulations will fix part of or most of the issues actually. They may have today by not enjoying the cars, the tyres get fatter, the cars… now you have to save fuel, save tyres to be competitive during the race and I think by changing the regulations they will enjoy it more. So we have discussed this matter many times, it’s understandable and I think F1 anyway should have this wow aspect. When a young driver comes in and realises that F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport and even including driving the car is the most difficult car to drive.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS.NL) Christian, it’s been a long time since Red Bull had a one-two in a race. Imagine there’s a possibility on Sunday in the closing stages, Ricciardo leading the race, Verstappen very quick, wants to win his home race. How do you prevent Mercedes-like problems in the closing stages?

CH: Well, we talk about these things beforehand, you discuss tactics, you try and come up with set rules in certain situations and then the race starts and everything gets forgotten. The guys are racers at the end of the day and if we were in a fortunate enough position to be racing for a victory and you’ve got a driver racing in front of – well, I think half of Holland is coming here this weekend by the looks of things – I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t go for it. I think it would be wrong for us to interfere with a race like that. All we ask of the drivers is give each other enough space to work with. If you’re going to race each other, race fairly and remember you’re carrying the aspirations of the 750-odd people that you represent when you’re driving those cars. It’s not just about the drivers.

August 26, 2016

F1 2016: Belgium Gp Free Practice 2 Report – Verstappen Quickest

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set the quickest time in the second free practice session for the Belgian grand prix.

The second free practice session ran in pristine sunshine during which Dutch driver Verstappen set a quickest time of 1:48:085 ahead of his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg set the third fastest time ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and the sister Force India of Sergio Perez.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton ended the session sixth and thirteenth quickest on the timing sheets. Neither Mercedes driver ran the quickest supersoft tyre. The number 7 Ferrari of Raikkonen was seventh quickest without a clear run on the red-walled supersoft tyre while Haas F1’s Romain Grosjean was eighth overall. McLaren’s Jenson Button and Esteban Gutierrez in the Haas rounded out the top ten. The Williams duo endured a tough session as Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa ended 16th and 17th overall.

The long runs revealed a comparable pace on the yellow-walled soft tyre between the two Red Bull teammates with Vettel a few tenths adrift in the Ferrari. Hamilton, who will start the race from the back of the grid due to penalties, ran a long stint on the medium compound tyres which consistently hovered in the mid 1:55 bracket.

Final Standings Free Practice 2:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Best Time	Gap	Laps
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:48.085	–	27
2	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:48.341	+0.256	27
3	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:48.657	+0.572	30
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:49.023	+0.938	27
5	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:49.100	+1.015	27
6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:49.161	+1.076	33
7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:49.244	+1.159	30
8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:49.419	+1.334	20
9	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:49.419	+1.334	23
10	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	1:49.648	+1.563	23
11	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:49.716	+1.631	31
12	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:49.772	+1.687	30
13	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:49.782	+1.697	33
14	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:49.916	+1.831	25
15	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:50.083	+1.998	27
16	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:50.151	+2.066	19
17	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:50.157	+2.072	29
18	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:50.194	+2.109	25
19	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:50.375	+2.290	34
20	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:50.562	+2.477	32
21	Esteban Ocon	Manor	1:50.659	+2.574	25
22	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:50.719	+2.634	24

August 26, 2016

F1 2016: Belgium Gp Free Practice 1 Report – Rosberg On Top

Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg topped the timing sheet at the end of the first free practice session for the 2016 Belgian grand prix.

The Formula 1 season resumed after its summer break with the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit bathed in glorious sunshine. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg set the quickest time of the 90 minute session with a time of 1:48:348 ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton who set a time of 1:49:078. Both Mercedes drivers set their quickest time of the session on the red-walled supersoft tyre.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen set the third quickest time at a 1:49:147 but only ran the yellow-walled soft tyre. Sergio Perez was fourth for Force India as the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top five.

Several drivers including Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo ran the Halo head protection system in an installation lap as further development ahead of the introduction of the system. Pirelli further offered teams two prototype set of tyres to test in preparation for 2017. The test tyres were focused on the construction of the tyre as opposed to outright performance.

Renault’s Jolyon Palmer lost the last twenty minutes of the session with a technical issue. However, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso failed to set a lap time as his car suffered a water leak early in the session. It has been confirmed that Lewis Hamilton will incur a 15 place grid penalty after changing two elements his power unit.

Final Standings Free Practice 1:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Best Time	Gap	Lap
1	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:48.348s	–	27
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:49.078s	0.730	25
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1:49.147s	0.799	24
4	Sergio Perez	Force India	1:49.274s	0.926	23
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:49.768s	1.420	19
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:49.782s	1.434	24
7	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:49.865s	1.517	24
8	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1:50.088s	1.740	21
9	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	1:50.394s	2.046	31
10	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas	1:50.583s	2.235	21
11	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:50.899s	2.551	18
12	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:51.122s	2.774	28
13	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:51.125s	2.777	16
14	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:51.424s	3.076	17
15	Felipe Nasr	Sauber	1:51.768s	3.420	19
16	Esteban Ocon	Manor	1:51.787s	3.439	26
17	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:52.308s	3.960	19
18	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:52.407s	4.059	18
19	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor	1:52.837s	4.489	23
20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	1:53.053s	4.705	20
21	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:53.089s	4.741	20
–	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	–	–	3

August 26, 2016

F1 2016: Belgium GP Preview – Spa, Unparalleled Greatness

It is almost as if it’s scripted that Formula 1 returns after it’s summer break to the greatest circuit in the world. Belgium’s majestic Spa-Francorchamps is set in all of its famed glory to host the 13^th round of the 2016 season.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Spa is often rated as the most popular races by fans. The circuit, 7.004 km in length, boasts several overtaking opportunities, significant elevations changes, and a bevy of challenging corners. It provides an equally stern test to the cars as it demands an efficient aero package through its high-speed corners, and good power out put and delivery for its long straights and climbs.

It’s not just a great circuit on paper either. Since it’s first race in 1950 Spa has delivered victors, moments, and memories that will last forever. From Mika Hakkinen’s stunning pass, for the lead, on Michael Schumacher and backmarker Ricardo Zonta in 2000, to Kimi Raikkonen’s 2004 win from tenth on the grid, to Mark Webber’s spine-tingling 2011 overtake of Fernando Alonso around the outside into Eau Rouge.

In 2016 another chapter is ready to be written into the glorious history of this mythical circuit. Mercedes start the weekend as favourites but it’s not a given that they’ll dominate the 44 laps on Sunday.

The tyres selected by the sharp end of the grid have revealed quite a big disparity between the front running teams. Mercedes has chosen the conservative route on tyre selection, as each of their drivers will have only four sets of the red-walled supersoft tyre. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Vettel and Raikkonen have opted for seven sets a piece of the supersoft tyre. Ferrari has shown a preference for the supersoft tyre throughout the first half of the season, which could have factored into their decision making. The cooler temperatures and difficulty in heating the tyre to their operating temperatures would have been another consideration for Ferrari.

As fascinating as the tyre strategy could turn out this weekend it may not play out at all. This circuit, situated in the foothills of the Ardennes Mountains, is notorious for its changeable and unpredictable weather. Add to this the vastness of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and it often results in rain at one end of the track while sunshine dominates the other half.

There is also the question of spotty reliability of Lewis Hamilton’s side of the garage. The unreliability that dogged his early season means that Hamilton, already on his fifth engine element, is close to incurring a grid penalty. A sixth engine would mean a painful ten place grid penalty however it has been confirmed that Hamilton will take the ten place knock at the Italian grand prix.

Ferrari hasn’t had the season that they and most expected them to have. Nevertheless, team principal Maurizio Arrivebene has confirmed that there will be another engine upgrade but has not confirmed whether it will be forthcoming in Belgium or Italy. They do have Raikkonen in their arsenal who has been dubbed The King of Spa. But before the summer break they had clearly fallen behind Red Bull.

This next round of the 2016 F1 season has everything going for it. The best drivers in the world sweeping through Eau Rouge, Pouhon, and Blanchimont on the greatest circuit ever built is surely a match made in Formula 1 heaven.

August 24, 2016
F1 2016: Mid-season Review

Formula 1 is two weeks into its mid-season break, which provides the perfect occasion to reflect on the first half of 2016.

Mercedes brilliant but not without bruises

The reigning champions rocketed out of the starting gate in 2016 and haven’t faced a consistently noteworthy challenge from anyone. Nico Rosberg obliterated the competition with four victories in a row and built a commanding lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the driver’s standings.

It appeared that Rosberg had finally mastered his mental demons and would make a serious bid for championship glory. But Lewis Hamilton was calm the face of Rosberg’s domination and sometimes even a bit detached from his points deficit. Nearly a decade and several clutch moments in the sport provided Hamilton with an abundance of experience and the knowledge that the championship was far from out of reach.

He not only closed the gap but also took over the lead on the driver’s table going into the break. The nagging question about Rosberg’s psychological toughness has roared back to life especially after that controversial collision with Hamilton in Spain and Austria.

While Rosberg and Hamilton rub carbon fibre instead of wheels Toto Wolff and co has threatened to enforce team-orders. But this is unlikely to happen, as neither driver will accept it. The championship is far from over but it’s clear that right now Hamilton has the edge on form and crucially in mentality.

Red Bull storm back into contention

The team started the season with Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat in the cockpit of a car seriously lacking in grunt. Two vital changes turned the season around for the Austrian team. First, Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in favour of Max Verstappen. The young Dutchmen immediately repaid the faith but winning the Spanish grand prix.

The second big change came in the form of a power unit upgrade from Renault. It not only catapulted Red Bull past Ferrari on pace but summarily halved the gap to Mercedes. Yes, there is still work to be done for Red Bull to be serious competition for Mercedes but the manner in which they’ve recovered their 2016 season is an impressive feat.

Ferrari stutter

In pre-season testing the Italian team looked set to challenge for victories and perhaps even a championship title if thing well, it didn’t. In Australia the wrong strategy call kept Sebastian Vettel from victory. Several dubious and costly strategy calls would follow throughout the first half of the season.

With that several gearbox penalties dogged particularly Vettel as he started race after the race down the grid. Team principal Maurizio Arrivabene finally admitted that their aggressive approach might have cost them points on reliability.

But the biggest blow came with the departure of chief technical director James Alison. Whatever the reason for Alison leaving the team it’s never a good sign when a senior member leaves a team midway through a season. Rumours are abounding that Ferrari are trying to bring Paddy Lowe and James Key into the stable. However, while both these men as exceptional at their respective jobs bringing them in at this point is unlikely to have a significant impact.

Ferrari is flailing in a manner that is unbecoming to its history and the only reason why it’s not being called catastrophic is because of their two drivers who somehow wring results out of their car.

McLaren moving forward

Honda has slowly but surely started to claw its way up the grid. Both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button making regular appearance in the top 10 of qualifying and scoring the odd handful of points.

Though it’s still not where either of these champions want to be the Japanese manufacturer is doing just enough to keep Alonso and Button satisfied and believing that 2017 may be their year.

Haas’ good start fades

The American Haas team started the F1 season in spectacular fashion with Romain Grosjean. Several solid point scoring races and brilliant strategy calls belied the fact that this was a new team in Formula 1.

However, as the season progressed so the good times were consigned to the past. As other mid-field teams like Force India began to move forward and evolve their cars Haas seemed to stumble. Gone were the regular points scores to be replaced by a confused and frustrated Frenchman over the radio.

The good news for Haas is that Esteban Gutierrez’ performances have improved from the start of the season. There also isn’t an impression of negativity from the pitwall or the team boss. They are well aware that trying to hack it as a new team in F1 is a difficult prospect. They’re keeping their eye firmly on the ball and that’s what matters.

Force India resurgence

The season started rather mundanely for Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. But a genuine improvement has allowed the team to close the gap to Williams in the constructor’s championship.

While Sergio Perez has scored two podiums Hulkenberg has none. Some would be surprised at this stat as Hulkenberg is so highly regarded in the paddock. If the team can keep the car competitive in the mid-field the fights between its two drivers should develop into one worth keeping an eye on.

The F1 season returns 26 August with the Belgium grand prix.

August 15, 2016
F1 2016: German Gp Review – Hamilton Surges, Rosberg Falters

After the Saturday qualifying session Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was on top of the world after delivering a stunning lap, for pole, under extreme pressure.

But the German’s euphoria on home soil was short lived as teammate Lewis Hamilton rocketed into the lead of the race. Hamilton went on to taste the sweet success of victory at the German grand prix while teammate Rosberg stumbled at home.

Not only did Rosberg fall behind his teammate but also both Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. For several fleeting moments it appeared that Rosberg would have the pace to recover to second place. But the afternoon went horribly pear-shaped for the Merc driver. In an attempt to overtake Verstappen he tried an Austria-esque move, which, again, didn’t pan out. It resulted in a 5-second penalty and despite being in the cockpit of the most dominant car on the grid Rosberg slunk home in fourth place.

After the Russian grand prix Rosberg had a 43-point lead over Hamilton. But now we’ve seen a 62-point swing in Hamilton’s favour. There’s only so many times you can accept losing points to a teammate before it becomes awkward. Yes, there is still half a season to go but this dramatic swing in points will do nothing to quell the questions Rosberg’s psychological make-up.

Red Bull Racing completed a satisfactory day at the office with their first double podium since the 2015 Hungarian Gp. Ricciardo led home teammate Verstappen and ensured that Red Bull head into the month-long break ahead of Ferrari in the constructors standings.

With 5^th and 6^th for Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari have big concerns heading into the summer break and are now behind Red Bull not only on points but also in terms of raw pace.

Nico Hulkenberg delivered the best Force India could hope for with seventh place while drive of the day belongs to McLaren driver Jenson Button in eighth. The Brit summarily out-performed his highly acclaimed teammate Fernando Alonso who finished twelfth.

It was easy to discern the great spirit of the two McLaren drivers from the radio comms between them and their pitwall. It hasn’t been easy for these two champions to endure this car but it does reveal a great deal of their passion for racing for still being as spirited as ever behind the wheel.

Hamilton now leads the driver’s standings by 19 points. There is no doubt that Rosberg is a talented driver but the questions and doubts about his mental strength will be raised once more.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

August 1, 2016
2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Kai Ebel)

Lewis, congratulations. First of all, give us inside view of your rocket start, that we all have seen there?

Lewis HAMILTON: Well, first please let me start with a big thank you to all the fans that have come out here in Germany. To see so many people here… great sportsman(ship) from the people here. I’ve got a lot of fans out here and I just appreciate you all coming. What a race! Obviously yesterday, second place, but what a great start. My engineers did a fantastic job. The balance was amazing. It was just about keeping it cool and looking after the engine. I’m just so happy that I can be up here for Mercedes-Benz, who I have been with since I was 13, so this is a very, very proud position for me to be in, so big thank you to the team who, as I said, did an amazing job.

I see from the expression on your face that you changed totally from yesterday to today and then you had the guys from Linkin Park here, so they brought you a lot of luck?

LH: I think to day I didn’t make any mistakes, so in my heart I’m happy with what I did today. I came to do a job… yesterday wasn’t perfect, but you learn from those things and today was a real show of looking at the glass half full and filling it up today.

Right behind you was a big bullfight, led by Daniel Ricciardo who smells really of champagne. So after this champagne shower, how about some German beer?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I had a little bit yesterday at the autograph session. This is two weekends in a row now with a podium and one of the most refreshing things is seeing so many fans back in Germany. It’s obviously great to have the race back here after a year off. So thanks for all the support. Thanks to Red Bull Racing. I think it’s the first double podium for us in over a year. So it’s awesome to close out the first part of the season. And mum and dad are here. It was my dad’s birthday yesterday, so… they don’t get enough recognition, so thank you guys.

Daniel, tell me just quickly, how could get by this guy [Verstappen] really quick and supported by so many Dutch guys here?

DR: That I see a few Australian flags around. There are a few more Dutch, but I appreciate the Aussie ones, so thanks guys. It was a race of strategy at first. It was really close in the first corner with myself and Max. He had a good run on the outside and then on the supersoft I was much more comfortable and we had good pace for the last half of the race. We really capitalised on a good day. We had a good car. Obviously we couldn’t win but second and third isn’t too bad, so thanks again.

Max, coming to you, being on the podium in front of lots of kinsmen here from the Netherlands. So, first of all, tell me about the start and why you couldn’t hold it then in front of Danny?

Max VERSTAPPEN: We had a good start and from there on I think the pace was pretty good. I was enjoying it and then we chose to do two different strategies on the cars so I let Daniel by and from there on I think we played really well as a team. To get a double podium out of it was the main target and to score more points than Ferrari and that’s what we definitely did today.

Third position: is it enough to make a party tonight or you’re going home on the German autobahn with all those guys in the caravan?

MV: I am going home but it will be a nice homecoming that’s for sure.

Thanks you so much. Coming back to you Lewis, you must feel like in heaven – four in a row now. So once you’re in heaven, now we have a big break, how about some skydiving, because you love adventure holidays?

LH: I won’t be going skydiving, but I’ll definitely be relaxing. I’ll have my dogs with me and with family and friends. I think the whole team – everyone back at the factory and everyone here – have worked so hard this first half of the season and they all need a break, so I think it’s really well earned by everyone, so thank you.

Q: Lewis, just after the national anthem I saw you standing, for a long time, staring down the inside line into Turn One. Just considering it, presumably visualising it. It obviously worked.

LH: I was kind-of touched after the national anthem. The lady sang so beautifully. After that it was really just trying to stay… keeping cool, trying to see the line, because the track’s actually not flat there. It’s uphill from me going across to where Nico was and yeah, of course, I needed to put my car alongside him somehow. I was hoping for a great start. Those starts have been inconsistent and you never know what you’re going to get. But just trying to understand the circumstances ahead of me. But first, I want to say a big thank you to this team. It’s been a hard slog for everyone in the team, for the whole year and obviously with ups and downs and the difficulties that we’ve had, the real strength that we’ve shown, through and through, these last races has been inspiring for me. Seeing them coming back, week after week, the work that gets put in, inspires me to drive like I did today. So, I really owe it to them and excited now, get to go on holiday. This is the best way to go on holiday.

Q: Daniel, a Red Bull double podium as you just mentioned there and Red Bull now up into second in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Ferrari by 14 points going into the summer break. Obviously the story of the race was the split strategies: you and Lewis both going onto the soft tyre, Max and Nico going onto the supersoft. It obviously worked out well for you today but you also looked, the way you were driving, it looked like you had a taste for it today. You were pushing very, very hard and trying to get onto the back of Lewis.

DR: Yeah, definitely. We obviously wanted to finish the first part of the season on a high and after Friday’s long runs we knew we would probably be more competitive in the race stint than we were in Budapest. And obviously we had a little sniff at the start of the race in Budapest, so yeah, we knew that we could have something on. I was trying to make the most of it as always but knowing we probably had a better chance today, it was obviously a nice little motivation to try to make the most of it. The start initially felt quite good, obviously Nico’s was quite poor so we got past him, and then I covered the inside in Turn One but then Max had a good run on the outside and it was very close with us. We obviously kept it on track, much to my disappointment he pulled off the move at Turn One. Then it was trying to keep Nico back on the first lap. It was a good little battle there for a few corners and that was quite important for my race, to then keep him behind and focus on what I needed to do. The first two stints, we went supersoft-soft. We were in the race but nothing… I wouldn’t say the pace was enough to really make a massive jump on the lead, or the top two – but then once we put the supersofts on, the last two stints, that’s where I really felt like I could push the car. It came alive, and that’s where in the end we got the second place. We had good pace and it was nice. As Lewis said, nice to go on the summer break with a result I’m happy with. Two weekends in a row now it’s a podium and, for the team, we’re now second in the Constructors’ so I think we can be really proud, both of us, to split the Mercedes today. It’s a really good effort.

Q: Max, coming to you, obviously you were on the other side of that split strategy. You complained in the second stint that the supersoft was not the race tyre for today. Tell us a little bit about that, and why not, and also tell us in detail about your fight with Nico Rosberg for which he was given a penalty.

MV: First of all, the start was good. So I went from fourth to second so I was happy with that. I think in the first stint the pace was pretty good. I could see Lewis and he was not pulling away too much, so I was just controlling it and from there on we went onto the second set of supersofts but they felt pretty weak and easy to destroy the tyres. Yeah, just didn’t feel great. I couldn’t really push in that stint so I had to back-off. Once I got onto the soft tyre, yeah, it was a little bit better but of course the soft is not as strong as the supersoft tyre, so I saw Daniel behind me charging on a supersoft because Nico passed me and pushed me a bit wide, so he got a five-second penalty for that. I was still following him but then, of course, Daniel with the supersoft was charging, so I let him go by, and from there on, yeah, it was pretty OK, and once I went onto the last set of tyres, the pace was there again but once you are behind someone within two seconds, you can’t really push any more. You are just understeering and you are waiting. That was it. In the end it is a good result for the team and we are in front of Ferrari now and that was the main target. I think as a team we can be happy.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Max, you mentioned that you let Daniel past to help the team. Would you have done the same if it was for the first place?

MV: I don’t know, ‘cos we are not driving for the first position. Difficult to answer that one.

Q: (Dominik Sharat – Motorsport Total) A question for Daniel. Daniel, we heard you saying about Esteban Gutiérrez, “he’s one of my favourites, I love this guy”, what was the reason for that?

DR: errr… yeah. To be honest, off the track, I have no problem at all with Esteban. I think he’s actually one of the nicer guys – but just on the track just lately, it’s come up the last few races that a few of us haven’t been that impressed with the blue flags. We’ve discussed it in drivers’ meetings. I’ve been in the position and I know it sucks, it sucks to move out of the line and let the leaders through – but it seems particularly the last three races in a row… everyone is doing an OK job and it seems like he’s doing a less good job than the others. A bit of frustration obviously. I was trying to say it as politely as possible but, yeah. I think because he’s been told already, he knows that a few aren’t that impressed with his blue flag handling. I thought by now the message would have gone through but for me at least today… I lost more time behind him than anyone else.

Q: (Volkskrant – Lennart Bloemhof) Question for Max. Which feeling is dominant: the joy of getting on your fourth podium in this short season or the disappointment of finishing behind Ricciardo again for the second race?

MV: I’m not really interested in the feeling at the moment. It’s a good result for the team, that’s what I said, that’s the most important.

Q: (Jens Nagber – Bild) Question for Lewis. What happened to your starts compared to the beginning of the season, what do you do better now?

LH: It’s kind of the luck of the draw. We have worked very, very hard. Obviously I have a guy that I’m working with very, very closely and it’s been an up-and-down season and it’s not his fault or not my fault, it’s just the way these new clutch-regs are and how sensitive the clutches are. I think we’ve worked, and worked and worked, and just consistency and really trying to be precise with the whole procedure. And I think today the procedure, the last two races, the procedure’s been spot-on, pretty much. Today was definitely the best one I would say. Yeah, it’s just a work in progress.

Q: (Graeme Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Max and Daniel, was it something that you spoke about before the race, the possibility of switching positions if strategy called for it or was it a bit of a surprise, Max, to be asked to cede your place?

MV: No, I think in general, on this track, you have a lot of possibilities so definitely we talked about it and I think we did a good job on that today.

DR: Well, firstly, top of the morning to you, Graeme. Oh! Scottish!

MV: He’s had a bit too much champagne, that’s the problem. I think he’s drunk!

LH: It’s the mixture of champagne and his foot juices.

MV: Sweat and champagne is a bad mix, I think.

DR: I wanted you to ask me a question all weekend and I was waiting to say that and I just blew it! Alright. Sorry. Viva Scotland. Yeah, it wasn’t really the intention to do a three stop at the start of the race. We knew there was a possibility but it was to try and do two and then it looked, as the race was going, that it was more and more likely a three. I think how it worked – because both myself and Max were in front of Nico at the time, we’d split the Mercedes, one of us was trying to cover what Nico did and that then allowed me to try something else and that was I think the reason why we split the tyres. As I said, the supersoft worked a lot better, I was happier with that tyre the last two stints. That was how I guess I got the second place. I think that was all it was and obviously once I caught Max, I think it was in the second last stint, I had the DRS but he made life easy for me so that was, let’s say, a good little bit of teamwork for us and obviously the team was happy that we played nice and got maximum points today.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Daniel and Max, OK you said in Hungary that you expect better performance than in Hungary. What do you expect in Spa which will probably suit your car?

DR: For us… to be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet but I think our performances this year are much more representative of 2014 and 2014 Spa was very good, for me, particularly. This year, I think we’ve surprised ourselves on some circuits. Coming in to this weekend, after Friday we saw our long run pace and it looked good but before Friday we didn’t really expect to have two Red Bulls on the podium here. Let’s see what happens in Spa. I think we will have a pretty good car around there. I think for now our target is keep being at least second best. Obviously we want to win but if we can keep staying ahead of Ferrari then that’s good for us for now. As you say, I think we were within ten seconds of the lead today and that’s obviously a nice start so hopefully Spa can be a bit closer again and keep chipping away.

Q: Max, I guess judging by the crowd today, one of the things you can expect is a lot of support, right?

MV: Yeah, I think so. Already here, my feeling was that I saw more Dutch flags than German flags. It was very nice to see and the track is just great to drive and hopefully the car will work again. We didn’t expect to be that competitive here and normally Spa should be more competitive so let’s see. I think this was a very good weekend and hopefully we can have a good weekend again in Spa.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, at the end of the race, these guys were only six or seven seconds behind you; what do you see for Spa-Francorchamps which looks like a good circuit for them?

Q: Is Spa potentially a place where you might take your engine penalty?

LH: It depends. Today I saved my engine a lot which is why they closed up as much as they did. I only needed a six second gap really, they wanted me to keep six seconds. It went from eleven to seven quite quickly and then I had to get back on it, but generally I was looking after the engine up front and never felt like I was under threat. Without a doubt, they were fantastically quick this weekend. I think naturally it wasn’t a problem for me but obviously I assume Nico struggled behind them so it’s still… it looks like it’s going to be close. I think Spa… hopefully I’ve saved enough of my engine today hoping that I would be able to use it at the next race. It will either be the next race or Monza, because I’m going to run out of engines soon.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Lewis, I would love to know if in this race it didn’t matter about pole position. It’s important but anyway you went in front. I want to know for Spa, do you have the same feeling, even if you are in second place (on the grid) if it’s possible to overtake, what are the possibilities in Spa?

LH: Every track is different for the start in terms of what follows from the actual start. Spa is a very very short stint down to turn one. I’ve been in first before and then you get towed massively up to turn three or whatever it is. Les Combes? I don’t know the names of all the corners. It’s a difficult one. Sometimes if you’re in second and you think you’re going to tow someone and then you get perfectly alongside… I think for us it’s still the best position for us to be in. But the last two races have showed that pole is not everything and obviously the starts can really make a difference, so I will continue to work on the starts as I have been and try to continue to hopefully improve them.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Max, going back to the battle with Nico in the hairpin, when did you realise that he was going to overshoot the braking point and have you been sure right away that it had to be a penalty for him?

MV: Well, I think pretty sure that he was quite far, so he braked really late and at one point I thought he was going to run into me so I opened up and then he didn’t turn in, he was just driving straight so I had to go off the track otherwise we would have crashed. That’s not very handy. Lewis knows. That happened and he got a five second penalty, so for me it was just trying to stay within these five seconds to get him back after the pit stop.

Q: (Joe Van Burik – De Telegraaf) Max, can you explain why the supersoft tyre did not work for you as the race tyre?

MV: I don’t know, it’s a bit tricky to say but I think when you are on high fuel and you go on a very soft tyre it’s always a bit harder on that tyre and I maybe didn’t have the right wing offset. Yeah, it made it a lot harder so I think that’s why… maybe with the track quite hard on the tyres it just didn’t work out well, and then of course, when you go to the end of the race, a softer tyre works pretty well because then the car’s a bit lighter and it doesn’t push that much on the tyre.

July 31, 2016
2016 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

TV UNILATERAL

Nico, under pressure there: only one run in the end in Q3 after, we understand, an electronics glitch on your first run. How satisfying is this pole under those circumstances?

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it was a great feeling. Just a great lap. Not only was it just one lap that I had but I also had extra fuel to make sure that I would have an extra shot if a mistake or something happens. So I had fuel for three laps. So that was some more time in the bag there, so I was really satisfied with that one. That was really cool.

Very well done. Lewis, a little lock-up there, I think into the hairpin, on your final run, only a tenth off Nico. It looks like it’s been a little bit of a tricky weekend, but did you feel it was all coming together for you in qualifying?

Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been a good weekend, I had no problems. I had the pace today I just didn’t finish it off in the last lap, so…

Was it the lock-up ?

LH: I didn’t really have much of a lock-up. It was subtle; I didn’t lose any time.

Thank you for that. Coming to you Daniel, obviously a very close battle between Red Bull and Ferrari there. Do you feel though that you could have been a little bit closer to the Mercedes in the end than the two and a half tenths that it was?

Daniel RICCIARDO: I think we got pretty close to be honest. My first lap in Q3 was really good and I knew there probably wasn’t that much more on the table in the second run and in the end a couple of mistakes in that run. There was maybe a tenth or so in it with the perfect lap, but not enough to challenge the pole. We’re close enough. I said yesterday that if we could be within half a second that’s not a bad day in qualifying, so hopefully it means something tomorrow. From what I understand we might have different tyres available for us for the race, so hopefully that makes it interesting.

Just coming back to you Lewis: your thoughts ahead of tomorrow’s grand prix? It’s going to be another tough battle in prospect?

LH: It’s should be a good day for Mercedes. That’s the goal and yeah, we’ll race it out.

And the final word from our pole sitter: your thoughts Nico then, the race in prospect? Another tough battle in prospect, not only with Lewis but with Daniel as well, and any worries for you on the electronics glitch going forward into the grand prix?

NR: No, I don’t know what it was. It just suddenly… how do you say… it just suddenly lost the throttle. So just cut completely the engine, just at the end of the lap. That was disappointing but I’m sure we’ll fix it for tomorrow. It’s never happened before, so I’m sure it will be OK. Definitely it will be an exciting race against Lewis and the Red Bulls and maybe also the Ferraris but they’re a bit further back it seems.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Nico, maybe you could just tell us a little bit more about what you experienced with that electronics glitch – and also, I’m interested in the mental reset after that. You obviously get yourself psyched-up, you know you’ll have another run but to know it’s all on that one lap after you’ve had a setback, just tell us about that mental reset you have to do.

NR: Yeah, it was frustrating at the time because it was a good lap and then to lose it two corners from the end in a way that I’ve never experienced before was definitely tough in that moment. And then also to know that I had to put extra fuel for the last run, to be able to do three laps because just to have a little bit of a contingency plan in case lap one doesn’t work out. And then, yeah, just very happy with that first lap. That was awesome, it really came together well. Yeah, so as a result it was quite challenging to do that last run.

Q: Lewis, obviously it’s been a very strong couple of months for you. You’ve come right back to the point where you’re now leading the championship going into tomorrow’s grand prix. Just tell us a little bit about the importance for you of going into that summer break with a win under your belt. Is that something you particularly target? And how do you look back on this last few weeks?

LH: I think the importance is not particularly relevant. We’ve had, what, five out of six races wins, so it’s been a good mid-stint of the season, and hopefully tomorrow we get the first or second and that’ll still be great. We’ll still be in good position. Of course, every race you approach to win.

Q: Daniel, going into tomorrow’s grand prix, just looking back on your comments yesterday after the long runs, it seemed that you felt reasonably optimistic in terms of your pace relative to these guys. So tell us a bit more about that.

DR: Yeah. I felt that, on low fuel yesterday, Mercedes had a pretty good buffer over everyone and the long run pace we looked to be closer than that, so that was giving us a bit of optimism coming into Sunday. Obviously today we’ve got a bit closer on one-lap pace than we were yesterday so let’s see. Hopefully it translates into something tomorrow. Even to put a little bit of pressure on them at some point in the race would be nice. But yeah, we’ll see. Obviously tomorrow, you never know what can happen, and racetracks change day to day with the temperature and whatever but yeah, obviously we’re looking pretty good. Obviously a lock-out with the second row and hopefully we can do something with it.

You hinted there that you have something different on the tyres there, so you think obviously strategies going to play a big part in the race tomorrow.

DR: Yeah, from what I understand, we’ve got different tyres available for the race, so there could be some different strategies amongst the first few cars. Hopefully it works out. If it does, the fans might have a race on their hands.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Dan Knutson – Speedsport and Auto Action) Nico and Lewis, last weekend the start and the first couple corners set the race. How much different is it this weekend and how much easier is it to get past on this track?

NR: It’s a different world here because you can overtake on this track if you get a significant speed difference. Nevertheless it’s still going to be a good battle off the start and in the first couple of corners, for sure.

LH: It’s a much easier track (on which) to overtake. But that doesn’t mean you can but it is much easier, it’s one of the easier ones.

Q: And your thoughts just on that first corner and then the run down to turn two?

LH: Only one car can go through turn one so it’s whoever gets there first.

Q: (Graeme Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Lewis, you said earlier that you just didn’t get it done in the final qualifying lap. Did you feel that pole was on today, was there a particular mistake or something else that denied you?

LH: Well, I’d been first in every qualifying session so yeah, it was definitely on. I was two tenths up on the lap and I just didn’t finish it. That’s it.

July 30, 2016
Rosberg secures pole position for German Grand Prix

Nico Rosberg secured pole position for his home German grand prix, beating Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton by just over a tenth of a second. Hamilton drifted a little at Turn 1 and locked up into the hairpin on his final lap, pretty much costing him the pole position.

Rosberg had suffered an electronics issue on his first Q3 run to take the top spot with a 1:14.363. Rosberg’s lap was outstanding and held nothing but signs of sandbagging by the Mercedes team during the FP3 practice session.

Lewis Hamilton had been under investigation following FP3 – for an unsafe release. The stewards decided to fine the Mercedes team, but there was no penalty for Hamilton so he will retain his 2nd place.

The second row of the German Grand Prix grid will be locked out by the Red Bull team of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

Kimi Raikkonen beat Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel to fifth place and Nico Hulkenberg, Valterri Bottas and Sergio Perez lined up behind them. Felipe Massa rounded out the Top 10 for the Williams F1 team.

Esteban Gutierrez finished 11th – only just missing out on his first Q3, ahead of Jenson Button for McLaren. Carlos Sainz Jr is under investigation for impeding Felipe Massa at Turn 2.

Fernando Alonso finished in 14th place ahead of Romain Grosjean who will have to take a five place grid penalty for his gearbox change following FP3.

Jolyon Palmer finished 16th for Renault ahead of team mate Kevin Magnussen who has Pascal Wehrlein lining up behind him.

A frustrated Daniil Kvyat lined up 19th for Toro Rosso with Manor’s Rio Haryanto beating both Sauber drivers, with Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson at the back of the grid.

Join us tomorrow on Twitter @F1_Madness for live chat and commentary throughout the German Grand Prix.

July 30, 2016