F1 Madness

Tag: renault

  • 2019 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Daniel RICCIARDO (Renault), Romain GROSJEAN (Haas), Robert KUBICA (Williams), Lando NORRIS (McLaren)*

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Romain, if we could start with you, please. Many congratulations, it’s just been announced that you are staying with the Haas team in 2020. Please can you give us your reaction to this news?

    Romain GROSJEAN: Yeah, good evening. It’s great, obviously great news. I will be will be with team for a fifth consecutive season. We’ve built this story since day one and it feels like the story is not yet over, so very, very happy to carry on with the team. Obviously this year has been a challenge but also it’s been a good year in terms of growing up for the team and understanding what went wrong and how can we move on in the future. Looking forward to many more races in, black and gold for now, but under the Haas colours.

    Q: You say this year has been a challenge. How confident can you be that 2020 is going to be better?

    RG: You never really know but I guess that the team has worked really hard and has made some good understanding this year from the drivers’ feedback and from what we have seen. It’s a bit of a similar situation to 2017 to 2018 where in 2017 the car wasn’t as fast as we wanted and then in 2018 we had a very competitive car. Yeah, I have got confidence that we will bounce back, to which level you never know, but hopefully to a good one where we can fight for some fun races.

    Q: Many congratulations Romain. Robert, while we’re on the subject of 2020, is there anything you can tell us about your future?

    Robert KUBICA: Yes and not. First of all, we are looking forward to the next year and looking forward to different opportunities but yeah, in order to evaluate our opportunities I have taken the decision that I will not continue more with Williams [after] this year. I will stop at the end of this year with the team. Which is a decision that I took, which opens a bit the opportunities for me for the future in different scenarios and now I will evaluate what is possible.

    Q: Do you want to stay in Formula 1 next year?

    RK: Well, I always say that I took a lot of energy, a lot of time for me to recover and come back to the sport and since I joined back Formula 1 I would like to stay. I said that this year it would be say a goal to remain in Formula 1. But yeah, of course my answer would be, yes, but not at any cost. And I think I have to first of all do what will bring me back a bit of joy in racing. Of course this season has been very tough from a performance point of view but it has also been very demanding, being back in Formula 1 after a long time is not easy – especially when you are in a difficult situation, as we are. But still nevertheless I have to thank the team for the opportunity and we will see what the future will bring.

    Q: Well, thank you and best of luck with that? Lando, it’s been a slightly frustrating period for you since the summer break. How easy has it been to shrug it off, particularly the last-lap retirement at Spa?

    Lando NORRIS: It’s not been too bad to be honest. As much as I’ve been annoyed and disappointed… (laughs)… stop it!

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I gave him 10 seconds. I knew you’d start laughing within 10 seconds.

    LN: I don’t want to! OK, as much as it’s been annoying and disappointing, especially at Spa – last lap and I was on for my best result – and at the moment for us, as a team, we haven’t had the best few weekends in a row, and especially after Monza, Renault caught up quite a bit in the championship, so it’s been tough for me because when you’re on for such a good result – I know it’s fifth and not a win and so on, but for us and for myself it’s still a big achievement – I’m a little bit annoyed. At the end of the day we’ve still been working hard. We’ve shown at points what we can do, we’ve showed it in other areas, but at the end of the day, it happens. It wasn’t in my control. It wasn’t in my engineer’s control. It’s just something that happens in Formula 1, so I just have to move on.

    Q: And looking ahead to this weekend, it’s your first experience of the heart and humidity of Singapore and what can we expect from McLaren this weekend?

    LN: Personally, I’ve been here, maybe a bit too long, but I’ve been here since last Thursday. Not for any reason in particular apart from getting used to the place. Cycling the track a bit. Getting used to the temperature, the humidity and so on. Everyone says this is the toughest race of the year for the drivers…

    DR: You’re sweating already…

    LN: I know! Everyone says this is the toughest race for the drivers physically, for the concentration you have to have on the track, and then in combination with the heat and so on, so yeah, I’ve done everything I can training wise, but I’ll find out on Sunday.

    Q: The car?

    LN: I don’t know. I want to be hopeful and say it’s going to be better than Monza, because Monza I don’t think was the best for us, even though Carlos qualified well, I don’t think it was the easier track compared to some of the others, so I’m hoping that this weekend we can be a bit stronger but at the same time I think we all know it’s going to be quite a difficult one.

    Q: OK, well good luck with it. Thank you Lando. Daniel, you scored your best result for Renault at Monza. Was that result the shot in the arm you needed?

    DR: I don’t like needles, so normally I don’t like a shot in the arm. It was definitely good for us. I think it had been a while since we had a big result like that – obviously Canada was the standout in the first half of the year. I think Spa was a pretty positive weekend for us up until the start of the race. I think we were on for a decent result there, but then to back it up in Monza, and both cars to do it, was really good; definitely strong from the start of the weekend. Obviously it’s nice as a driver to get the result, but definitely for the team to get that, I think they had been craving a strong result, from both cars as well, and to get us back in the points, or in that points battle we’re in. Obviously McLaren were running away with it but we made some good ground. So yeah, that was good. I think I made an emphasis afterwards to kind of tip my hat to the engine guys, especially the guys working at Renault in Viry. To get a big result like that on power circuit, not many would have predicted that, especially in the last few years, so to come out there and do it in Monza I think was a big pat on the back for them.

    Q: And looking at this weekend: you’ve had good results in Singapore, with four podiums, so what about the car? What can expect from you here?

    DR: I don’t know. The last few races we seem to perform better on lower downforce circuits, but going back to Monaco that’s the most similar circuit to probably here and we qualified quite well there so. I think we do have the potential to be good on this circuit as well. I don’t think it comes as natural for us or our car at the moment. But I definitely think we can put it together, so we might have to work a little bit harder for it but I think the pace is ultimately there in the car, we just have to find it. But it’s a fun one. As all the boys really said, it’s physical, it’s hot, bumpy but street circuits, they’re a good time.

    Q: Thanks. Lewis, you’re gunning for your fifth win here in Singapore and after the battles with Ferrari at Spa and Monza and Red Bull prior to the summer break, how tough are you expecting this race to be?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Well, this is one of the toughest races of the year, if not the toughest, physically and mentally and then we come here each year, it shifts between the Ferraris, the Red Bulls and us. Last year the Red Bulls… they’ve particularly been quick over the years and we anticipate that they they’re going to be strong this weekend. And again, I have no idea whether Ferrari will be quick, as they have been in the last races, or not. We’ll just focus on ourselves and try to make sure we extract the most we can. We’ve not really performed that well over the last couple of years but we’ve come out with not such bad results due to other circumstances so I hope that we fare well.

    Q: Any concerns about the performance of your car in the heat following the cooling issues you had in Austria earlier in the year?

    LH: I’m sure that’s definitely on the radar. It’s not really the hottest that we’ve seen so far, so fingers crossed it stays something similar to this but of course if the rain comes or whatever, if it gets hotter through the weekend it could change.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to all of the drivers. What are your thoughts on the new ways you are dealing with hard racing? Second question, is the haze in Singapore a concern for you as drivers?

    LN: I think they’ve dealt with it fine. To be honest, I haven’t seen everything what happened between Lewis and Charles in Monza but I think it’s fine. Compared to some other categories, you get a lot more racing than we have had in Formula 1. Or, let’s say, in the past few years. This year’s maybe a little bit better. But when we get a chance to race, I think it’s better – everyone says it – just let us race. We can have some battles and, if a bit of contact comes every now and then, I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I think that, sometimes, part of it…  obviously you do have to look into it and if it’s anyone’s blatant fault or anything’s done intentionally, then that is unfair. I think the chances of us just racing, having fun, I think that’s part of Formula 1, so from my side, that’s fine. The haze… I don’t know. I think it’s fine…

    DR: You look a bit funny…

    LN: I’ve been here the longest out of anyone, I think, so if anyone was starting to be ill, or not feeling good… I think I’ll let everyone know.

    Q: Daniel?

    DR: On the racing stuff, actually I think Lando covered it very well. There’s a little bit of touching, and there’s pure dirty driving, or dirty racing – but I think a little bit of… I mean I obviously saw the replays of Monza. It was certainly tight and, yeah, a bit on the edge with giving room…

    Q: Are you referring to Lewis and Charles?

    DR: I think so! I think that’s where the question came from right? You were looking at Lewis the whole time so I figured it was about that! Yeah, it’s a tough one – but look, I think Lando covered it well. If we remain with a certain level of respect, it’s fine. But if you’re repeating a little bit of dirt too often, either you get payback from the driver or, I guess the stewards should intervene. For now, I think we’re doing OK with controlling it. Obviously at times as well in the car, in the race, your temper and emotions can take over, so maybe your initial feeling is harsher than maybe what you think afterwards once you’ve reflected but generally  I think that they’re doing OK. It’s hard. Unless you’re in the car, unless you’re in our position, with our point of view, it’s really hard to get it perfect every time so we have to sympathise with them a little bit. It’s not as easy from the outside.

    Q: Haze and pollution?

    DR: It’s been OK for now. No further comments.

    Q: Lewis, hard racing?

    LH: I think they both answered it pretty well, so I don’t really have much more to add to it, to be honest. The haze should be fine. Maybe we’ll see more of it on Sunday. If you ask everyone, we’re going to be here for ever if we all answer it.

    Q: But you have no further comment with what happened at Monza with Charles?

    LH: No. Moving forwards. Nothing we can do about the past. I’m down for hard racing. We’re good.

    Q: Romain?

    RG: No comment! Just the same thing.

    Q: Robert?

    RK: Exactly the same. I think what is the most important is consistency – and that’s it.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / racefans.net) Robert, you say you took the decision to pursue other career opportunities outside of Williams. Was Orlen involved in this decision? And also, are you looking at simulator positions next year with Formula 1 teams?

    RK: Yeah, so first one, it was my decision, so of course I know there are some consequences which then Orlen follows my decision but this is a completely different topic. It has been only, purely, my decision. Regarding simulator, I don’t want to go too much into the details but, as I said, I will evaluate different opportunities. I will be very surprised if I was doing only simulator. I will be very surprised if I will not be racing next year.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Robert, how proud are you of the job that you did to get back into Formula 1? Does that outweigh how this year has gone. And, to the other four, you know how hard it is to be an F1 driver, to be at this level. How impressed are you that Robert got back to here – and what do you think F1 loses by him not being on the grid next season?

    RK: I forgot the first bit! How proud? I’m not really the kind of guy that is proud but for sure it has been a long journey. I have repeated this for the last two years. It is always the same story, nothing changes. It has been extremely hard for me but nevertheless I still think I make the right decision. Of course, everybody from Williams, myself, we are on the same boat and we would appreciate better performance and better results this year and an easier life. In the end it is a very difficult and very tough season for everyone from Williams. But I just have to move forward and that’s how it is, and this is the outcome, the reason I took the decision. Yeah, regarding the others, y’know, you make the question to them but I think we can skip it. It will take a long time anyway.

    Q: Well, let’s ask Lewis – you’ve raced Robert the longest out of anyone here. The impact he’s made since he’s been back in F1. If he doesn’t find another seat next year, how much will Formula 1 miss him?

    LH: That’s definitely put me on the spot. I’ve known Robert probably the longest; we started racing together in go-karts, like 1997? 1998. For me, Robert’s one of the most talented drivers I’ve competed against. As I say, from that beginning I already saw the talent that he had, and when he got to Formula One…

    RK: It’s been a long time!

    LH: It’s been a long time. What’s remarkable is the strength and determination he’s shown. Particularly through the incident he had. Not a lot of people can come through those circumstances and come back, make it back into the sport and deliver against others who don’t have the same situation that he’s been in. I think it’s been great to have him back. It’s definitely not the same scenario as when he was obviously in a more competitive team back in the day – but I think he’s done great this year. We need the best talent in the sport and we obviously need them to be as high up as possible creating a part of the show. So I hope he stays. I understand his position and I don’t know what’s given him the reason to make the decision but I hope there’s a position for him next year.

    Q: Would anyone else like to say anything?

    RG: He’s an inspiration for anyone that had a bad experience. First time I spoke to Robert was 2009 in Abu Dhabi, I think. We were supposed to be team-mates in 2010. I was very, very much looking forward to it. It didn’t happen. Then obviously I followed Robert as the third, or reserve driver at Lotus when he had his accident and then the way he came back. In motorsport he is an example, but also in life generally, to come back to the highest level and, as you say, fight the way he fought back is very impressive.

    Q: (David Coath – Motorlat.com) Lewis, your pole position lap last year is still being talked about today. What does it take to get into a zone like that on a street circuit of all places?

    LH: To be honest, it’s a bit of a blur, the whole lap. I don’t know who was driving… It was obviously a special lap from our side. I’ve been to this track since 2008, obviously, tyre temperatures are a huge issue. You get to the last sector and the tyres are dropping off, it gets a little bit trickier, it’s obviously such a long lap. I think it was just a combination of everything. The previous sessions had been up and down, probably hadn’t put a good lap together all weekend and it just happened to be right lap at the right moment. The chances of that happening are quite slim but it just happened at the right time where the stars were aligned, I guess. But more so the temperatures and just the flow ended up right but the focus that you need here, as all these drivers will know, is just very intense, positioning is everything and timing, really getting yourself into a rhythm is really key here to maximising the width of the circuit and the potential that’s in your car.

    Q: (Wojciech Paprota – SwiatWscigow.pl) Lewis, some days ago you unfollowed everyone on your Instagram and now you basically don’t follow anybody including myself, unfortunately. Does it mean that social media has been some sort of a distraction for you?

    LH: I don’t think I was following you before, anyway, so it shouldn’t really affect you. No, I think I just wanted kind of a fresh slate. I feel like social media is such an incredible platform naturally. I just noticed that for me – I don’t know how it is for you guys – but you wake up and the first thing you do is turn on your Instagram and check what’s happening. You’re always catching up and I just decided to change… I wake up now and I have a bit of a read, I start my day differently and I’m hardly ever on it and this has made a big difference to my life, personally. I do sometimes miss not being able to see what my friends are doing, particularly. And then sometimes obviously people come up and say ‘hey, you’re not following me but you follow that person’ so now I don’t follow anybody and no one can complain. But if I want to see what my friends are up to I have to go and type their name in now and it’s not so easy to go back to follow everyone because I was following like six hundred people or something before so…

    DR: He wasn’t one of them!

    LH: No. But I still follow everyone closely, like I look at everyone’s Instagram particularly within my sport just to see what they’re up to and I still support people. I just don’t feel like you should be forced to have to follow people to show that you support them.

    Q: (Cezary Gutowski – Przeglad Sportowy) Robert, you’ve been here for a while so I would like to ask you what was maybe your biggest challenge in motor sport, the thing that you are most proud of, that you’ve done so far?

    RK: I think honestly, if you take out the results which for sure in motor sport, they have a big influence, probably it is the last seven, eight years, put it together. Not one single moment but it has definitely been the biggest achievement of my life, probably, to come back to achieve what I have managed to go through, what happened and still managed to race.  Being back on an F1 grid was definitely the best end of period, the best final which I could deserve and which I could imagine.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, can we talk about the haze? I know that everyone has brushed it under the carpet a little bit but what sort of measures are in place for feedback to you, just how important that air quality is? When you’ve got locals saying it’s approaching dangerous levels and it’s quite significant for them, as athletes, I just wondered how you safeguard yourself? Do you have special filters on your masks or is there anything you can do or do you just put your faith in the FIA and just assume that everything’s going to be OK?

    LH: Honestly, I’ve not… we all have doctors on hand. It’s not been brought up as an issue for us but I am conscious of it. Naturally, I don’t know how it is for the drivers but you blow your nose after a race, dirt, soot comes out of your nose. You’ve got the carbon that you’re breathing in. Clean air is naturally an important part. I’ve been told not to go for a run outside, for example, because it won’t be great for me but I don’t know how it’s going to impact us in the race but I think tonight and tomorrow I will be speaking to my team. There’s not really a lot we can do, we can’t have anything else in our helmets so it is what it is, I guess.

    Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xinhuan News Agency) To Romain, in particular, next year Formula One goes to Vietnam which is not a country with a long history or tradition of motor sport. Do you feel that Formula One should continue to go and expand in new destinations like this, where they perhaps don’t have a history of motor sport or should the sport continue to focus on the traditional heartland in places like western Europe, for example?

    RG: It’s a good question and I don’t have the answer. There are definitely tracks which you want to keep racing on, that have a lot of history, but also some tracks now that have history, didn’t have any ten years ago like Singapore. Now everyone thinks that Singapore is a normal race but it only started in 2008. I don’t know. Obviously the number of races is limited by the human factor: should we do one year more in Europe, one year more outside Europe  and mix. Obviously there are tracks where you want to race and there are other tracks where you want to race also. I don’t know the answer.

    LH: It doesn’t really matter what I think. I think it’s been great to have new circuits. I think keeping the historic ones, where we had the biggest following because those are the people who really… that crowd that really makes the atmosphere, if you go to the UK for example. We’ve got to keep those. Losing Germany I think is a bit of a painful one for example. But I think adding new circuits… I think it’s good to go to new territories for sure, to expand our reach as a sport. I prefer that they do a street circuit that can maybe be taken down, it’s only temporary rather than, for example, India where they built that beautiful circuit and we don’t get to race there any more.

    DR: Selfishly, it’s nice to go to new destinations, it’s a chance to… I think we’re quite privileged to have this job and to be able to see new parts of the world. It’s sometimes an excuse to go and check out another place so from that point of view it’s actually always exciting for me because I know that I probably wouldn’t have travelled to all these places as a holiday destination if F1 didn’t take me there. I’ve discovered some pretty awesome places around the world through the calendar. I’ve never been to Vietnam so yeah, I’m excited to go there. And yeah, it’s a chance to open new fans up to the sport and I guess give a new crowd an opportunity to see what it’s like. Right now, I don’t see the downside of it, not at all.

    LR: I think that covers it all.

    RK: Yeah, I think everything has been said.

    Q: (Joost Nederpelt – NU.NL) Sebastian Vettel is under a bit of pressure right now at Ferrari with a strong teammate. Do you think he can bounce back and should we not write him off too soon?

    DR: I’m probably a decent one to answer for it because in times he’s maybe in a similar position to where he was in 2014 and he bounced back, I think, second race in 2015, I think he won in Malaysia from memory. He definitely has the ability to bounce back. All that’s going to take is one race. I think it’s just been a bit of an effect as well. Obviously it probably started – trying not to speak for him but at least from the outside – it probably started in Canada, obviously, the controversy there. It could have been his first win of the year and if that got done differently that might have changed the whole outcome of these next few races. You never know. In the past, he’s always been strong here in Singapore, so this could be the weekend for him, where he does turn it around but yeah, I think it’s just one… he’s one race away from turning it around. Obviously there’s a lot of things to deal with in this sport, especially when you’re at the top, it’s not just talent any more, it’s pressure, it’s head space, it’s where you’re at in your personal life and all this but you don’t lose your talent so can he still drive very fast? Absolutely. I think he’s just waiting for that weekend to put it all together and get himself back. It could very well happen this weekend.

    LH: I think Daniel answered it really well to be honest.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Lewis, Daniel spoke about the importance of headspace and off track pursuits. You obviously have a very active off track life. How important are things such as your fashion line and things like that to energizing you on track as well and contributing to your performances?

    LH: If I didn’t have those I would still be driving the way I do. I think they are just other outlets that for me personally work well for me and ones that I enjoy and give me energy, I guess, to continue on doing the other things that I love such as this job, which is not really a job, it’s a hobby really. But to each their own, we all do it differently, we all prepare in a different way, but it’s only been a positive for me.

  • F1 2019: Singapore Gp Preview – F1 Ready to Rule the Streets

    F1 2019: Singapore Gp Preview – F1 Ready to Rule the Streets

    After the back-to-back stops in Belgium and Italy Formula 1 heads off for the fly-away races for which the first stop is the Far-East Asian city state of Singapore.

    The Marina Bay Circuit, first introduced in 2008, is famed for being the first night race on the F1 calendar. It hasn’t been without controversy with the most contentious incident being the 2008 Crashgate saga. Then Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was ordered by Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds to deliberately crash in assistance of teammate Fernando Alonso. Luckily, the Singapore grand prix and F1 has moved on from then to deliver several memorable races on the city streets of Singapore.

    The 5.063 kilometer stretch around the harbour is comprised of a tapestry of twenty-three corners. The proximity of the barriers combined with the relentlessly nature of corner-after-corner gives drivers little time to relax and demands persistent attentiveness and concentration in fairly extreme conditions of 80% humidity and more than 30 degree ambient temperatures.

    Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel each have four wins a piece in Singapore. It was Vettel’s win 2015, seemingly out of the blue, that stopped Mercedes’ domination, albeit momentarily. Last year’s qualifying session saw Hamilton deliver, arguably, one of the most perfect quali laps of his career. The lap may have been only three tenths clear of second-placed Max Verstappen but the way he danced the Silver Arrow around the twisting Singapore streets will live long in the memory.

    Ferrari arrives on a tremendous high after winning in both Spa and Monza. But they also arrive with the understanding that it will be far greater task to take the top step of the podium. Given the characteristics of the Ferrari and its struggle in low speed corners it is almost inevitable that this weekend will be an uphill battle to beat either Red Bull or Mercedes.

    The story this weekend isn’t expected to be all Ferrari and Mercedes though. There is every expectation that Red Bull will be solidly in the mix for top honours, especially in the form of Max Verstappen who always excels on street tracks.

  • 2019 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Charles LECLERC (Ferrari), Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo), Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso), Nico HULKENBERG (Renault)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: A question for you all to start with. Confirmation came through last night that the Italian Grand Prix will remain on the Formula 1 calendar for at least another five years. Can we get your reaction to that and can you tell us what this race and this track mean to you? Sebastian, can we start with you?
    Sebastian VETTEL: Very happy obviously. I don’t know if I’ll be here for five years. I think it belongs in the calendar, so I’m very happy that it was confirmed. It’s not really necessary to mention the importance of the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari. It’s our biggest race of the season. It belongs here. Obviously for me, a lot of memories. The win in 2008, my first win, for sure was very special. The ones after that people weren’t so happy, but I guess nowadays they would be happy again.

    Q: Charles?
    Charles LECLERC: Obviously very happy. There’s nowhere else you can see as many passionate people as there are here. As Seb said, driving for Ferrari it feels very, very special and I definitely hope that I will still be here in five years.

    Q: Pierre?
    Pierre GASLY: Same comment. The passion you see in Monza is really special. The whole atmosphere during the weekend is really amazing. Plus, the track is really cool and usually good racing, so it’s fantastic news.

    Q: Nico?
    Nico HULKENBERG: Yeah, definitely good news. It’s always a good weekend and to secure another iconic European in the long term is very positive.

    Q: And Antonio?
    Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Of course, really important. For me it’s the home grand prix. My first time here in F1, so really great to have the news yesterday that we’ll be here for at least another five years. Good for Italy, good for Ferrari, good for Italian drivers, so yeah, really grateful.

    Q: Antonio, staying with you. You say this is your first time here in F1. You won the GP2 feature race back in 2016, which was a big moment in your career then. Can you compare your emotions now coming into this race, your first Italian Grand Prix?
    AG: Yeah, it’s incredible, I would say. This was one of the grands prix I always watched when I was young, of course supporting Ferrari. Back in 2016 it was one of the best races of that season and of my career as well – coming from last and I won the race in front of all the tifosi, my friends, my family, so it was a really great memory. Now I am here in F1, so I’m looking forward, I have a lot of people coming here to support me. I hope to have a good result and just enjoy my first weekend here in Italy.

    Q: Now, you’re the first Italian to race in the Italian Grand Prix since 2011. Why do you think it has taken so long for another Italian, you, to come through?
    AG: I think in go-kart already when you are young and you start to dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver, I think karting now has become too expensive, so there is not much support in Italy to give to the young drivers. I think we have a lot of good Italian drivers now, from watching now like some races in go-kart but of course it is really difficult to do already the next step from karting to Formula 4. I hope this can change. From my side, I did a lot of sacrifices. I was lucky to find [Ricardo] Gelael to support me until here, but it is not easy. This is one of my points that Italian drivers are not any longer in F1, but I think it’s difficult also for the other countries. But I’m really that Italy is back after a long eight years.

    Q: Thanks and good luck this weekend. Pierre, it’s been a very eventful month for you. Can you describe how you were able to re-set head of the race at Spa last week and get that great result?
    PG: For sure it’s quite a challenging time for me at the moment that I’m facing. Coming into Spa they were really busy and intense days – to get on top of all the new things with Toro Rosso, being back with the team, also a new crew around my car. It was just really intense ahead of the weekend. I tried to extract the best and deliver the best performance straight away and that’s what we tried to do. Yeah, I think just now I know that I have eight more races coming with Toro Rosso. I’m just trying to focus on myself, improve myself and to deliver the best performance I can for the team. For sure, what happened in Spa, it was really tough before the race on Sunday and it was difficult to keep the focus, especially in this kind of moment, it’s really tricky for everyone. It was tough mentally but it was important to deliver the best race I could for the team and for Anthoine and I think we can be really happy with the two points we scored for our first race back together.

    Q: What are you goals for the remainder of the 2019 season?
    PG: I think it’s quite clear – just be fast and deliver the maximum points for the team. They are in a good position in the championship and I will do everything I can to offer the maximum points to the guys.

    Q: OK, good luck with that and with this weekend. Nico, on the face of last weekend’s announcement regarding Esteban Ocon moving to Renault next year leaves your future uncertain. The 2020 grid still seems quite fluid, however, so are your plans taking shape?
    NH: Not concrete yet, but there are definitely talks going on. But I think it will still be a while. Like I said last week, the situation is what it is now, but it needs to be the right deal, a good sporting perspective, and I’m in no urgency or hurry to sign anything, just to have signed anything. I think there are options out there but nothing to talk about right now.

    Q: And looking ahead to this weekend, what can we expect from you and Renault, because it was a difficult one at Spa for you guys?
    NH: Yeah, it was a tricky weekend but quite rewarding in the end, getting four points back on the board. That was quite positive and we’re trying to take that momentum here. It’s obviously a new weekend, so a new approach and we’ll see how the car performs here. But there’s no reason to be skeptical about it. We’ll just be pushing and working hard and for me, in terms of my mindset, I just want to get the maximum out of it every weekend, take it weekend by weekend, enjoy it, and maximum attack.

    Q: Thanks for that, Nico. I want to come to both Ferrari drivers now. We saw a fantastic celebration at the Duomo in Milan last night. How was it? Sebastian, tell us what went on?
    SV: Very busy, packed! I think it’s very difficult to put into words. It’s a very iconic on it’s own, it it’s empty, that place, but with the red sea, or flooded with people dressed in red, it was definitely prettier than I remembered it. Probably I should never go back, because it’s never going to be as pretty. I think it was special for us as current drivers, but there were also a lot of recent drivers, older drivers from the past of the Scuderia, so I think that was a nice thing to get together and have a chat also later on with them. Obviously some of them are very around, but others you don’t see so often, so enjoyed that. A lot of old important cars, important pieces of the team’s history, so for me it was a great day.

    Q: Charles?
    CL: Yeah, it was unbelievable. I think Seb said nearly everything. For me it was also the first time I arrived here in Italy for the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver. Obviously I knew it was going to be special, but as a first day I could not expect any more. So many people, so much passion, it was just incredible and very, very impressive to see so many people coming together on a Wednesday for us and for Ferrari of course. It was crazy.

    Q: Staying with you, you’re now Ferrari’s youngest ever winner in Formula 1. You said on Sunday you were struggling to process what had just happened, so how do you reflect on that achievement now, a week later?
    CL: Obviously it was a very tough weekend for different reasons – obviously with what happened on Saturday, but also because we knew with the performance we had in the race it was going to be difficult because Mercedes were very, very strong with their race pace so it was a tough weekend. But in the end we managed to put everything together. I think there was great teamwork between myself and especially Seb, who did the job of keeping Lewis behind for a few a laps that have been very helpful for me towards the end of the race. Looking back obviously I am very happy that this first win is done. It’s always difficult to do this first step but once you do it, it takes quite a bit of weight off your shoulders and of that I’m very proud. Not much time to actually think about it because we are already four days later here in Italy and we need to focus fully on the job that we have to do here.

    Q: Sebastian, Charles made reference to the race pace of Mercedes at Spa, how do you think it’s going to play out here?
    SV: I can’t predict but I think it should be… It’s a similar track, very different but in terms of the way the cars are set up similar to last weekend. I hope we can be as competitive as we were there. In relative terms it’s difficult to say. For sure we’ve seen the trend that in qualifying we have a bit of an edge on these types of tracks, whereas in the race everything moves very close together. As Charles said, they were very quick last weekend, so I expect the main challenge to be looking after the tyres, finding the right set-up, the right balance in the car, to feel comfortable to extract the maximum. I can’t give you any predictions but I guess it will be very tight. I hope we have something to say. Obviously Mercedes has been in a position to win nearly every race this season but for us it hasn’t been like that, so the more chances we get the better it is for us.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Question for Sebastian. We saw Charles take his maiden grand prix victory last weekend. He’s made a very strong start to life with Ferrari, only 12 points behind you in the Championship. How impressed have you been with Charles start with the team and has he surprised you at all with how good he’s been this year?
    SV: No. I think it’s positive that he’s surprised probably a lot of people outside but inside I think we obviously… he’s been with Ferrari, with the Driver Academy for a while and it was clear to see that he has a lot of potential. I think he had a very strong rookie season with Alfa, so, y’know, it’s good to see that he’s right on the pace straight away and obviously form a team point of view I think the most important is that we work together, not against each other. That seems to work, so that’s important. Otherwise it would be a bit of a waste of energy. So, yeah, I think those are the key things. It’s obviously good, I think it was a big weekend for him last weekend, even though it was shadowed by the circumstances, the passing of Anthoine, so not great but as he said, obviously it was his first one and I’m sure he’ll be around for a while so there will be a lot more.

    Can I put that question to Pierre as well. Pierre, you’ve known Charles for such a long time. Have you been surprised, impressed by what he’s done with Ferrari this year?
    PG: I’m going to say no, because I know he’s like, super-talented and a super-fast guy but it’s the case and we know each other since we were eight years old. He’s been always on top of all the series he’s competed in. So, we’ve been team-mates. I was always surprised and impressed when we were team-mates how fast he was, and all the battles we had, so no, in a way, I’m not surprised but in a way it’s good that he proved it with his first win and I’m sure there will be many more.

    Q: (Joe van Burik – racingnews365.nl) Question to Charles, after the race you mentioned you didn’t say a word during the race. Can you describe the state of mind while you were going for that victory?
    CL: To be honest, I’ve got no ideas why I didn’t speak but the engineers… they thought there was something wrong on the radio actually because I was not speaking. I had nothing to say. They were giving me the information I needed, and that’s it. I just focused on the job behind the wheel, and that’s it.

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To both Ferrari drivers. I was wondering, in light of the sad events of last week, whether the drivers thought there was any consideration maybe needed be given to the nature of run-off areas. There’s been less and less gravel for reasons that are well-known, but whether that should be examined, whether gravel could actually slow drivers down and make them stick to track limits better. And b) is there anything that the GPDA have discussed about last week that you will now speak to the FIA about?
    SV: I think it’s a question for all of us really but I think the answer will probably be the same one – or should be the same one. I think what happened couldn’t be any worse. I think it will be examined in a very detailed way, which is, I think, correct and what everyone would expect – but I think to draw any conclusions now is probably not right. I think we need to have a full picture of a lot of elements. The ones that you mentioned are definitely part of those – but there might be, or there are, also others. Obviously I’m a fan of holding races in Spa, because it’s a great track, has a great history, a lot of the corners are very unique but for sure, we need to have a very close look and take some time to understand exactly what happened before drawing any conclusions.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Slightly following on from that question. There were some comments Jackie Stewart this week, who said that last weekend’s accident might serve as a bit of a wake-up call, and drivers perhaps are taking too many liberties, particularly on the first lap. I was just wondering what your responses would be to that?
    NH: I think obviously some of it is true. Tarmac runoff areas do invite us to keep pushing – because it doesn’t have an immediate consequence. I think it needs to be policed. There is always the right balance somewhere. Maybe it’s also a case where we need to have a customised solution for particular corners like Eau Rouge which is quite unique in the way that we don’t really see that corner until we come up on the hill and see what’s going on. But yeah, sometimes things get a bit hectic and out-of-control on lap one. I think more particularly – even though that wasn’t lap one it was lap two, but still, early in the race when everyone is very bunched up – sometimes you see that happening more in the junior series. We’ll see. They’re motivated, maybe a bit too excited but yeah, like I say, maybe there’s a solution for every corner a little bit different.
    SV: I think, looking back obviously he was racing at a horrible time where drivers passed away, not regularly but obviously a lot more frequently. So, for sure, you cannot compare his era to our era. Obviously he’s been around at that time, he’s been racing so he knows what it felt like and is able to judge whether it’s different or not. I don’t think we can have that judgement. But yes, again, as far as I understand it, it was a bit of a chain of happenings, of situations that led into the final accident but, yeah, I think we all had our moment on Saturday and obviously Sunday, going to the race track and driving the race but to some extent it’s part of motorsport. It is dangerous, it’s part of the thrill – but certainly obviously the last years have been a wake-up with the passing of Jules and now Anthoine. It shows that there are still things – even if people think it’s too safe and boring – I think there are still things we can do better, we must improve, we must work on, because I’d rather have boring Formula 1 championships to the end of ever and bring him back – so I think there’s no question about that trade.
    CL: On my side I think I was always aware it was a dangerous sport because any time you go at that speed it will always be dangerous. On the other hand, ever time I’m getting into the car, I’m going with the same mindset. I think we are all trying to do that. Even with what happened on Saturday, which was obviously extremely sad and I think it has shocked all of us. Especially the new generation, we haven’t known that – or actually the generation that is in Formula 1 like Seb, it’s a much safer sport than a long time ago, so yeah, at the end, once you are going into the car, you are trying to be in your zone, trying to think to what you need to do, and you need to race as hard as you can to finish as high as you can. So yeah, I think I’ve always been aware that there was some risk, but sometimes it’s obviously a shock when something like this happens.
    NH: I agree with all the comments.
    AG: Me too.

    Q: (Davide Russo – newsf1.it) Question for Charles. How would you describe your relationship now with Seb?
    CL: I think very good. I think we found the right compromise with Seb between competition and also working together to try and improve the car and to work for the team. I think this is extremely important for team-mates. Any time we are getting into the car I want to beat him as much as he wants to beat me – but whenever we are out of the car, we manage to share information, speak together and, yeah, just try to do our best to help the team to move forwards and to bring the car where it should be. I think it’s a very good relationship.

    Sebastian, how different is your relationship with Charles to the one you had with Kimi Räikkönen?
    SV: More words! That’s it. As Charles touched on, we try to work together. We try to push the team. Our car is not where we want it to be. I said earlier that we didn’t have the car and the ability to win every race so far, and that is our objective, so I think it serves both of us if we push in the same direction because I believe one day we will have that car and then we can fight it out.

    Q: (Umberto Zapelloni – L’Automobile) Can you give yourself a vote from one to ten for the first 13 races of this year?
    NH: Eight. That’s too short for you, right? You want more! Why not? It wasn’t a ten because it hasn’t been the best of seasons. I’ve also left out a couple of opportunities hence two away from ten.
    AG: I would say, looking back, I lost a lot of opportunities for issues or whatever. I don’t know. Five and a half? 5.5, yes.
    SV: I don’t know. We have had a question like that. I don’t remember what I answered so maybe I should say nothing now because otherwise I say something different. No, I don’t remember so I’m not going to go with that.
    Q: Five? Same as Hungary.
    SV: Well, we’ve had one race since Hungary. Was it after Hungary or before? I don’t know. Yeah, I think the bottom line is that we know we haven’t had the season we wanted so far. Obviously we started off in a good place in the second half and hopefully we can keep that up but we know also, being realistic, that Mercedes is the clear favourite. As I said, they’ve been in a position to win every race this year so yeah, that’s something that we haven’t been in and we need to get there, that’s the point.
    CL: Yeah, I also think I’ve answered one of those questions. I might change my answer but probably the six first races weren’t that positive for me so maybe around six. After that, more seven and a half. Bit happier in qualifying, especially and now I’m targeting to move a bit higher for the rest of the season.
    PG: I never like these kind of ratings so… It hasn’t been the best start of the year but now the new goal is to raise this mark.

    Q: (Zsolt Godina – F1Vilag.hu) Sebastian, we have seen some pictures of the new 2021 car in the wind tunnel. How do you like it and how will the new regulations affect your decision regarding the future?
    SV: I don’t know, I think we’ve probably also seen renderings from Renault in the past and other teams so I don’t know whether the pictures we’ve seen are actually what it will be because as far as I understand there are no regulations yet for ’21 so it’s a bit pointless to post pictures but maybe that’s what some people would like the cars to look like, I don’t know. I think that there are no rules yet for ’21, no decisions, no hard decisions so it’s a bit pointless to look at pictures. Yeah, I think there’s a great chance to make things better. I think we, as drivers, addressed our main points. Obviously it was very nice and very respectful that we had a sort of say or at least people asked our opinions for the first time ever in this kind of decision, the people who make the decisions asked our opinions. We were definitely pushing to keep things simple. We want closer racing. From our side, I think it’s very clear and then however the cars look, I guess it’s a bit secondary. I think if the racing is great and so on, then the cars will look great as well.
    Q: Will the regulations for 2021 have a bearing on your future?
    SV: Yeah, for sure. Obviously I don’t know how long the decision to stay with these kind of rules will be but obviously my contract now finishes next year. Everything after that is based on the new rules so for sure you have a look. As I said, I think it’s a huge chance for the sport to position itself in a better… or to be in a better place. Having said, it’s not that now everything is awful so I think we need to remember that. It’s a fine balance but every change is a chance – a chance to do better or worse and hopefully we do better.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) You spoke about the passion you saw from the Ferrari fans yesterday at the event. It’s been nine years since the tifosi have been able to cheer on a Ferrari driver to victory here at Monza. How much will it mean to you to end that drought and take that win and be up on that podium?
    SV: Well, we’ve been on the podium a couple of times but never on the top step, not that it’s a big thing. This is the biggest race for us, no doubt. It’s a big weekend. Obviously we saw the passion that there is yesterday and I’m sure we will see it throughout the weekend. So hopefully I’m sure it will give us a boost, how much, we will see. I mentioned before, it’s difficult to predict but certainly I think now is the time to sort of over-deliver. Yeah, it’s a big weekend so hopefully we can make it count this time. I think we have a good chance, so we will see. We’re ready, I guess.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Just along the same sort of lines: Sebastian does this race offer you your best realistic chance of ending your drought, if we can call it that: twelve months now since your last win. Must it be this weekend?
    SV: I don’t think so. I think we have lots of races ahead but I’m not looking to… I don’t know, where I am in ten races time; this is the weekend I’m focused on. As I said, we’re not the clear favourites. Obviously there are signs that we are aware of and put us in a good position but I think we have to be carefully optimistic and realistic. There’s a lot of elements during a Grand Prix that can make a difference. One lap is one thing but then obviously there’s a lot of laps on Sunday, plus the weather, plus, plus, plus. There are a lot of things. I don’t see it that way, I see it as a chance, simple as that, but then again, I think you always have a chance when you’re on the grid no matter where you start from but surely we want to make sure we start from the front which gives you a higher chance and then carry that into the race.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Charles, obviously it was a great day in your life to win your first Formula One race, albeit laden with other emotions but is there anything that you’ve done in the last few days to celebrate or bought yourself anything, and what does it feel like, generally, in your mind to be a Formula One winner?
    CL: No, I haven’t done much to celebrate that. Hopefully I will be able to celebrate after this one. As I said earlier, there was not much time to celebrate anything.
    SV: He asked what you bought.
    CL: I didn’t buy anything.
    SV: They tell me you bought a boat!
    CL: No, no, that’s not true! Obviously it feels good, it’s something that – until you get it, it feels very far away but once you have it it feels obviously very, very good and it gives you a bit of a confidence boost too, so it’s great. Now it’s done and I can focus on the future and hopefully many more will come.

    Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Nico, you didn’t always have the best of luck this season but suddenly in Spa that seemed to change. I think Pierre locked up, Antonio crashed out, Lando did not finish. Might that be a turning point for you in that season and do you feel you need a turning point in order to secure a seat for 2020?
    NH: If you look across a year, it levels out with luck. Sometimes it’s on your side, sometimes it’s against you. In Spa we did get lucky. We picked up two positions from other people who were unfortunate but yeah, I believe it does somehow, across a year, level out one way or another. I don’t think it needs to change for me to secure a seat. I just need to do my job, for me to focus on it and extract what I can from the car and basically perform. I think then it will all be good.

    Q: (Stephane Barbe – L’Equipe) Seb, we’ve seen in Spa a tense game in qualifying with drivers going slowly, looking for a good tow. Do you think you could have the same here in Monza, and what is the importance of the slipstream here in Monza in qualifying and the race?
    SV: Yeah, obviously if you look on paper, this is the place where you expect this kind of strange games. Yeah, there’s very little you can do to sort of prepare because it depends on the timing of the session. Here I think the lap is a bit shorter so maybe it buys you a bit more flexibility but yeah, we’ll see on Saturday. I don’t know if it’s going to be dry or wet but obviously in the wet there’s no point, not as much as in the dry. Yeah, it does make a difference, how much it’s difficult to quantify but certainly last year it made a difference and yeah, you need to be on the good side, obviously, and it also depends a bit on tyres, whether it’s easy to prepare them or whether it’s really critical. And then you need to make the trade between tyres being in the right window or being in position for the tow. Could be entertaining but you also hope that obviously you get a nice shot, at least one of the two.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Pierre, in a way, could it be more relaxing for you, driving for Toro Rosso than for Red Bull?
    PG: No. I think as a driver you always need to deliver the best of yourself with the car you have. Targets are exactly the same on my performance side.

  • F1 2019: Belgium Gp Review – Leclerc Takes Debut Win

    F1 2019: Belgium Gp Review – Leclerc Takes Debut Win

    After roughly a month long break the Formula 1 season commenced the second half of the season at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps circuit this weekend.

    Teams and drivers arrived in the paddock refreshed and raring to unleash their cars on the 7 km carousel that is the Spa circuit. In a brilliant display of superiority and skill Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc stormed to pole position on Saturday ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel. Regrettably, the excitement would be short-lived as a serious accident in the F2 feature race would claim the life of Anthoine Hubert and badly injure Alfa Romeo development driver Juan-Manuel Correa. The Columbian-American driver is reported to be in stable condition after undergoing surgery.

    At only 22 years old Hubert, the 2018 GP3 champion, celebrated two GP2 wins in France and Monaco earlier this year. Described as a kind person with an enormous work ethic Hubert’s early years were spent racing alongside and becoming friends with the likes of Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, George Russell and pole-sitter Charles Leclerc. The loss of Hubert is a deeply tragic and unfortunate reminder that as much as safety has advanced racing cars can never been one hundred per cent safe. It has served too as a reminder of the great camaraderie that exists in the motorsport fraternity. For as fiercely competitive as it can be, in moment of shock and sadness, display incredible compassion and togetherness.

    For only the third time in his career Leclerc lined up on pole position. The Ferrari’s power advantage on the long Spa straights were a clear advantage as, from the start, Leclerc held the lead. Further back the Turn 1 hairpin saw Max Verstappen into the side of Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo causing significant damage to both cars. While Verstappen was out of the race a few corners later with a broken driveshaft Raikkonen, despite massive floor damage, trundled home in 16th place.

    2019 Belgian GPSeb Vettel seemed to play the perfect strategy as he pitted on lap 15 for a set of medium tyres. He quickly closed the gap to Leclerc, Hamilton, and Bottas and assumed the lead of the race as the front three took to the pitlane seven laps later. However, it quickly became evident to the pitwall and Vettel that he wouldn’t be able to make it to the end of the race on the one set of tyres. By this stage Hamilton, happier on the medium compound, had begun to reel in the Ferraris’.

    With Leclerc only two seconds ahead of his teammate and Hamilton bearing down on the pair of them the Ferrari’s seemed defenseless. But Vettel took one for the team by staying out two laps longer in order to hold off Hamilton. It allowed Leclerc to build a roughly six second gap over Hamilton. It proved to be just enough for the Monaco-born driver who crossed the line only nine tenths of a second ahead of the Mercedes driver. Valtteri Bottas completed the podium in third while Vettel, after a second stop, came home in fourth.

    Lando Norris, voted driver of the day by fans, fell heartbreakingly short of a stellar fifth place finish as his McLaren expired on the last lap. It promoted Alex Albon to fifth in what was an impressive first Red Bull outing despite starting at the back of the field due to engine component penalties. Sergio Perez, with a new three-year deal in his pocket, was sixth ahead of Dannil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso. Nico Hulkenberg was seventh for Renault while Pierre Gasly and Lance Stroll secured the final points-paying positions in ninth and tenth.

    2019 Belgian GPThe help from Vettel proved invaluable for Leclerc as he secured his maiden Formula 1 victory. A first win in F1 is meant to be accompanied by unbridled joy and elation but for Leclerc it is marred by the death of his friend. Still, Leclerc put on a fine performance that he could well carry through to Ferrari’s home race this weekend.

    As prodigious as the Ferrari power was at Spa it could be ever more devastating to their competitors at Monza this weekend. There is little to suggest that we wont see Ferrari on the top step at their famed La pista Magica.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport
  • 2019 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault), Franz TOST (Toro Rosso), Otmar SZAFNAUER (Racing Point), Guenther STEINER (Haas), Toyoharu TANABE (Honda)

     

    Q: Cyril, big change on the driver front for you for 2020 with Esteban Ocon joining the team. First, can you tell us why you made that call?

    Cyril ABITEBOUL: First, I’d like to say it’s been a difficult call to make. Obviously Nico’s contract coming to an end at the end of this season, a decision had to be made as to whether we wanted to stay put with our driver line-up, or include a bit of a change. It’s been difficult because we all love Nico in the team. He’s been instrumental to the progress that we’ve made. We have struggled this season but last year he’s been instrumental in securing P4 in the Championship. He had a good seventh place in the Drivers’ Championship, which is clearly the best that we can targets but, you know, frankly, when you make a decision like that, you don’t just look at pure pace, you also need to look at the collective dynamic. And there is a dynamic we need to restart, reset into the team. And probably, we need to project ourselves into the medium to long-term future. So not just 2020 but also 2021, and what’s happening to his team-mate and so on and so forth. So that’s all of that but in particular the collective dynamic and what Esteban can probably bring to the team. Probably starving for racing, being super-happy to come back into racing, by nature, by construction because also he’s been out of a seat for a year. It’s all of these elements that we factored into the equation. Plus, also it’s important to say that we have, not a certainty because you can’t be certain of anything, but very high chances that Nico will be able to continue his racing career. So, just like it counted for us with Carlos last year, it’s also counted for us this year with Nico.

    Q: And will Ocon retain any ties with Mercedes from 2020?

    CA: No. He’s a Renault driver, that’s very clear. Mercedes will have absolutely no right on him for the duration of his contract. So, small difference is that his management company happens to be a racing team, and that’s Mercedes – but it’s a slightly different set-up from the set-up we had with Carlos last year, where that was on loan and not under contract with Red Bull – but he will be a fully-fledged Renault driver.

    Q: Guenther, Cyril mentioned there that he’s hopeful that Nico Hülkenberg will stay in Formula One next year. Is he a driver that you would be interested in hiring?

    Guenther STEINER: I mean sure. As Cyril said, and I think he’s right, sometimes you have to look at the whole dynamic of a team. It’s not all about the speed of a driver and if people like Nico’s on the market, for sure we need to look at that. We haven’t taken a decision as you all know. This is a thing you need to do as a team. To look what is around, how you can bring the team forward. I mean, we are not at our best this year, we were better last year, so we need to see where we can make improvements. If good people are on the market – in every area of the team, not only drivers, we look around and see if we can better the team and with that, can we better the performance of the team?

    Q: You say you haven’t taken a decision yet – when can we expect a decision from you?

    GS: I hope, honestly, in two to three weeks – because it’s good for everybody; it’s good for the team; it’s good for the drivers. It Romain stays, it’s good for him to know so he doesn’t have to worry. If Nico comes, it’s also good to give people a chance to make other decisions or to look around, so our aim is to decide in the next weeks.

    Q: Franz, Alex Albon has switched to Red Bull for the remainder of the season. What is your reaction to that change? Do you feel he’s ready for it?

    Franz TOST: The future will show. Don’t know yet. Alex did 12 really good races with us, he’s got 16 points and I must say, from the very first test onwards, I was surprised by his performance. If you remember right, I said after the first test that maybe he could become the surprise of the year. He is on a good way and I think that Red Bull will provide him with a fantastic car and therefore I expect good results from his side.

    Q: And it’s difficult for Pierre Gasly who’s coming back to Toro Rosso. You’ve been there before with Daniil Kvyat, who took a similar route. How long will it be, do you think, until Pierre gets over the disappointment of returning to Toro Rosso?

    FT: I don’t hope it’s a disappointment to return to Toro Rosso, he is welcome with us. It was only a short time he was not with us. He came to my office, I said to him: “ah, it looks like you were here yesterday.” No, he is really welcome and we have a really good relationship together, also between the engineers and if we provide him with a good car, Pierre will be back soon, I am convinced about this.

    Q: He spoke yesterday about being disappointed. Do you think there will be any problems with his motivation?

    FT: No, I don’t hope so. A Formula 1 driver must always be motivated and must always push the car to the limit and he knows that’s his chance, and therefore the motivation will be on a very high level.

    Q: Otmar, we’re talking drivers, Checo said yesterday that he hopes to make an announcement about his future soon. Is there anything that you can say on the matter?

    Otmar SZAFNAUER: Yeah, soon might be today!

    Q: Well, how about now…?

    OS: Well, I think we have a formal process of announcing, and yeah, he’s right, we will announce soon.

    Q: Can you describe the role that Checo has played in the team and how integral he is to the team going forwards?

    OS: I think both Cyril and Guenther mentioned it. There’s more than just speed and what you do on Sunday. It’s also developing the car and knowing the team, being able to compare your previous developments to the developments that you’re bringing and, because of Checo’s history with the team, of six years, he brings all that to the table. Lance, having great potential and a great talent, doesn’t have that history with the team, so you need a good mix. I think we’ve got that in Sergio and Lance.

    Q: And this race marks the anniversary of Laurence Stroll’s takeover of the team. Can you compare where it is now, compared to before the takeover?

    OS: There are many things that are different. The one significant thing is that we don’t suffer with the financial instability that we used to have, at all. That means we can plan our developments on the car, we can plan when we bring upgrades and they actually happen. We can plan our salary payments, which is helpful for everybody in the team. Apart from that, we have plans going into the future. There’s a new factory coming; we should get planning permission for that in October, probably start, have ground-breaking in the first quarter of next year. The plan is to actually move into the new factory in the break of 2021. So, although that won’t come to fruition for another 18 months, or so, those plans are happening today. We’ve added about 40 employees: we were at 405 a year ago; we’re at 445. And, like Guenther mentioned, if there are good people on the market, we’re interested for good people. We’re adding, we’re growing and we want to be more competitive. So, those are our plans going forwards – but it takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.

    Q: Tanabe-san, you’re running your spec-4 power unit here at Spa this weekend. What advantages is it bringing?

    Toyoharu TANABE: We bring performance improvement with the spec-4 PU. The purpose of the spec-4 is a performance gain. Because as always, as I’ve mentioned, we’re still catching up pace to make the gap between the top runners and then our teams. Honda should improve PU performance.

    Q: Only Daniil Kvyat and Alex Albon are using it this weekend. What’s the reason for that?

    TT: We discussed with our teams about the PU usage and then we considered the current position, and then usage for the rest of the season. So, then we decided this strategic application.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines/Racefans.net) A question to the four team principals. Next year’s calendar… according to the draft calendar announced yesterday will have 22 races, which you all had to agree to. Did any of you attach any specific conditions to agreeing to 22 races? And Cyril, more particularly, could you comment on suggestions that you requested an increase in the number of power unit components if the calendar went up top 22 races, please?

    CA: I can confirm that we did. We asked for the principle that is already agreed for 2021 to apply for 2020. The draft regulations, which are just draft regulations for 2021, there is a concept that if you go above 21 races there is extra component allocation. So that’s simply what we asked on the simple basis that it’s very late to change the duty cycle of any component for next year. There was a bit of a discussion, as always in Formula One, but eventually we reached a compromise in Budapest that everyone managed to stick to, for once in Formula One, and eventually it was good to confirm the 22 races. We are happy to have specifically the same number of MGU-Ks as internal combustion engines. That’s going to make the lives of the technicians, the mechanics in the garage, an awful lot of simpler. Sometimes we don’t really think about these type of things but they do make a difference, in addition to the prospect of penalty. That was the condition that from the outset we mentioned. Otherwise we are very supportive of an extension of the calendar.

    FT: As long as we get more money, if you have more races, I’m fine with it. On the technical side, from the power unit, has just been explained by Cyril, there’s nothing to add.

    GS: We kept a low profile and didn’t ask for anything.

    FT: Also not for money?

    OS: I think we also agreed to shorten the amount of test days we have because we’re increasing the calendar, which kind of makes sense and goes to wellbeing of the mechanics and all those that travel. One of the conditions we all agreed to, if I remember right, was a shortened winter test.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) To the four team principals please. Ross Brawn has talked about using the stable regulations next year to maybe trial some different race formats ahead of 2021. Would you be in favour of that and what sort of slightly different formats might we see?

    OS: I think last time we got together we did discuss about some formats on Saturday to maybe mix up the grids for Sunday. We’ve got further discussions I think between Monza and September (sic). If we are to improve the show there is nothing wrong with trying and seeing how it goes, get some fan feedback, and if people like it and it improves the show, I’m all for it.

    Q: Guenther?

    GS: Otmar said a lot there. What we are a little bit, I wouldn’t say concerned, but what we need to look at is that by changing the format the costs don’t go up – that we do more and don’t get more out of it. We need to carefully think about. There were a lot of things around but we didn’t get around to discuss the detail about it. So when we get to the detail there will be the difficulty because if we change format and it costs a lot more because we do everything differently, there is a point where it is not sustainable.

    Q: So, for example, what would you say to having qualifying races on a Saturday?

    GS: That costs more money, because you need more spare parts because you have two races a weekend, you know. You need more MGU-Ks, because they can break. So we need to consider all this stuff.

    Q: Franz, your thoughts?

    FT: You know, to change the race weekend format, maybe there are some good points in there. We will discuss it in two weeks, I think in Geneva we have another meeting. But the most important thing is that the teams and the cars are on an equal level on the performance side. You can have whatever format but if there are some cars far ahead of the others – one second or even more – then it doesn’t change anything. What we have to provide the fans is a good show and for this the performance of the different teams and of the cars has to be on a level within a few tenths of a second, like it is in the midfield. If you look currently there are three teams far ahead, but the midfield is fighting very close to each other with a difference of a couple of hundredths of a second and there are good fights in between the cars and they show good races and this is what the fans want to see and I don’t think this is so much to do with the format.

    Q: Cyril do you think the format needs changing in any area?

    CA: I think we could be a bit more progressive on the weekend format. I think we need to probably adapt slightly the format to the new audience, to the way that sport is being consumed. People are not really interested in sitting for two hours in front of the TV at two o’clock on Sundays, or three o’clock on Sundays. I think that’s something to take into account. Friday running in particular, with very empty grandstands, is for me a bit of a loss of an opportunity. So there is probably some improvement to be made. I think we need to be very careful about all detail associated with having some tests into next year, as again next year is tomorrow. The plans are made already; the engines are almost being built as we speak. So if you look at the amount of discussion we had to get to the 22 races, when we start talking about the detail of the consequence of changing the format even on a couple of races, I’m a bit afraid that we see that it is a bit difficult at this late stage of the season. So in my opinion we need to do that. But I think it needs to be done properly but with a global commitment, not just testing and maybe it’s a bit late already for next year, but clearly doing that for 2021.

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) – A question for Franz. You said there were no concerns about Pierre’s motivation in returning to Toro Rosso, but we saw when Daniil when returning to the team initially in 2016 how difficult it was for him to adjust back and how long it took it him to get over the demotion. Are there any concerns about that with Pierre and are Red Bull and Toro Rosso doing anything extra to help give him the support he may need?

    FT: If we see any deficiencies then of course we will support him in any way. He knows our team very well. Therefore, I think it’s a very short period to adapt to this situation and once more if the car works well and if he had a good race result and he has some success then his self-confidence is coming back and then Pierre will have the form he had before. Don’t forget that last year in Bahrain he finished in the fourth position. He scored many points in the 2018 season and I’m quite sure we will see Pierre Gasly showing a good performance very soon.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) Cyril, the team is not where you want it to be in the Constructors’ Championship. What do you need to change to get back up there?

    CA: Well, I think first you are right. The team is not where we wanted it to be. It’s a very clear regression against last year. Less points, Constructors’ Championship – it’s clear. But at the same time what’s clear is the areas of the team that need to be improved. In my opinion we have made a good step on engine power, as demonstrated by top speed on a number of tracks that are sensitive to that. Driver line-up, apart from the comments made previously, is a strong one. Mechanically the car is good. We know what’s missing and that’s simply downforce and aerodynamics and that’s clearly the current focus right now. We are looking at improving that and we will draw an assessment pretty soon and we will move from there.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Cyril, how near did you get last year to signing Esteban. Were there discussions with him, were there discussions with Mercedes? Did you almost get it over the line?

    CA: You’re talking about last year?

    Q: Yes.

    CA: I think it has been publicly reported that it has been discussed. It’s been discussed to a certain level of detail. The old story is publicly reported also. We had the opportunity of signing Daniel, which was an opportunity also, which was an opportunity that was discussed but never really certain. When it became certain we had to make a quick decision. An opportunity like Daniel is not an opportunity that happens on many occasions for a team like us in construction and it’s an opportunity we decided to take. But frankly I’m very happy that we managed all together – Esteban, Renault, Mercedes, Toto, myself – we managed to put that behind and decide what was best for everyone this year.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – Auto Hebdo) Cyril, Nico mentioned nationality as one of the factors behind Renault’s decision to sign Esteban. How important is it for Renault to have a French driver and also how tricky can it become for you and him if the performance does not improve enough next year?

    CA: Each time we sign a driver we create an expectation and by creating an expectation it becomes tricky. Just look at the situation of the team this year. I think a lot of the critics we have this year are also due to the fact that we created a lot of expectation by signing Daniel. It’s the same. Each time you make a decision you need to accept the consequence. On the nationality, frankly, I would not put too much down to that. It’s a plus, it’s a bonus, but it’s not an element into the decision. Saying that it is an element into the decision would mean that we have sort of changed our factors or parameters when we evaluated Esteban and that would not be fair to Esteban, just like it would not be fair to Nico or Renault’s management. It’s a plus but what matters is that he ends up in a good car also.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines/Racefans.net) There are suggestions that one or two teams could be coming in in 2021. Certainly there are some plans behind the scenes for these teams to try and enter. How do you feel about it? Should Formula One grow beyond the current ten teams?

    CA: Frankly and quickly – if it’s good teams, strong teams with good backing then it’s a sustainable project in my opinion, yes.

    FT: I agree. Twelve teams, it’s a good number and you never know what’s going on with any other team. That means we need as many cars as possible on the starting grid. I think 24 is also acceptable from the safety side and from the race track and also from the space on the tracks. I would welcome them, yes.

    GS: I think it would be a good thing to have more teams, as long as they are – as Cyril and Franz said – as long as they are well funded and high profile. But also what FOM needs to look after is the teams that are here. We shouldn’t go and just try to get new teams because new is better. It needs to be looked after, the teams that are here who are doing a good job, who made a big investment and just thinking more is better, that will not work as well.

    OS: Well, I think in the future with the cost cap being introduced and implemented then there might be room for 12 teams but we do have to be careful about getting the money distribution to be a little bit more equitable so that you can have 12 sustainable teams.

    Q: (Matthieu Mastalerz – FranceRacing.Fr) Cyril, you have said Renault underestimated the investments of top teams like Mercedes, which has increased more than expected. So is Renault, as a constructor, able or willing to increase its investment in order to reach its goal?

    CA: The problem with that is a question of timing, because even if you make the decision now, you are not going to be able to spend really more before a few years, because spending more means more people, more designers, more manufacturers, more people in production and so on and so forth. And if you compound that to the fact that there will be a budget cap introduced by 2021, it’s already too late. So no, I think in reality we have no choice but to a certain degree continue with our plan, carry on with our plan. Accept the change, accept the difficulty, not use that as an excuse but be extremely determined on what it takes to be more competitive in 2021. Some people will have to manage a reduction of their operation. We will be able to stay exactly where we are or increase slightly, because the budget cap is still a chunk higher than what we are operating right now. That’s the reason why we would have liked it to be a bit lower but we understand that it’s a good compromise and a compromise that should make us more competitive than where we are right now.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Over the summer break, we had an update from F1 and the FIA on the progress of the 2021 car and the regulations. There’s obviously still a lot to sort before 2021 gets finalised on track and all of the off track stuff behind the scenes. How happy are you with how things are progressing? Is there any concern that the three big teams are going to veto or block the extent of changes that you want to make the field closer?

    OS: I think we’ve got from now until the end of October to review, understand and come to a final decision. There are a lot of opinions in the room as to what should happen for the future. I believe we all want closer racing, that’s for sure. We all want F1 to keep its DNA of development and differentiation, that’s for sure. And most of us want a bit of cost-savings as well. So I think those are the considerations and we’ll all get together and hash it out and hopefully come up with a set of regulations towards the end of October that meets everyone’s needs.

    GS: I would agree with what Otmar said. I think we just need to sit down, all the teams, and see where we can take it and hopefully have a regulation soon, because there are different opinions and to discuss them all here… we could sit here a long time. There will have to be compromises found to get this regulation over the finish line and I think one way or another it will happen. If the big teams try to change everything it’s difficult for us but it’s the FIA, the governing body and the promoters which have an opinion as well, so let’s see what we can come up with until the end of October. But I think it will be… we will come to a solution but for sure not everyone will be happy, 100 per cent, and that’s normally when you reach compromises.

    FT: Yeah, there are a couple of sporting working group and technical working group meetings where all these new technical regulations are being discussed. So far I must say that the FIA and the FOM is going in the right direction. We know that we can come down with the costs which is covered by the cost cap and the money distribution should be much fairer than… We’ll come up with a different governance which is covered from the sporting and technical regulations side. We are going in the right direction. FIA and FOM should make the decisions. The date is clear, it’s the end of October and then we go for it. Up to now, I think we’re going in the right direction.

    CA: As far as we’re concerned frankly we need to focus on three important aspects. The budget cap, all the refinements, even though the principle is agreed but we need to get that done and really put in stone. Money distribution, like Franz said, we need something that is more equitable otherwise we will end up with the same disparity that we have now. And governance. We are less concerned about the details of the technical and sporting regulations because these things will happen anyway and we are prepared to increase more power to Formula One and FIA that has gone up their team in order to think what’s right for the sport. They’ve done a lot of research; they know what’s good for the sport but we want these three elements to be fixed and agreed as quickly as possible.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Franz, another question for you: picking up… you were talking about Max in 2015. Would you be able to reflect on what it was like working with Max through his first season in Formula One, how exciting was it playing that formative role in his future and was it immediately clear you had such a star on your hands?

    FT: You know Max was coming from Formula 3 and in those days there were a lot of people who said it’s too early for him to come into Formula One but then we gave him some possibilities to do FP1 sessions and he showed that he can do it. He had fantastic car control and he, from the very beginning onwards, had everything from the technical side under control also and therefore we signed him, or Red Bull signed him and we had a fantastic season together and his learning gradient was quite steep and then we know in the second season, 2016, after five (sic) races he went to Red Bull Racing, won the first race in Barcelona and from then onwards he is there as a driver and he made really big, big steps forward, big progress and for me, Max, now, is the driver who is able – as I mentioned, just before – to win races and to win the championship. He has all the ingredients together, which you need for doing this.

  • F1 2019: Belgium Gp Preview – Return From Hiatus

    F1 2019: Belgium Gp Preview – Return From Hiatus

    The summer hiatus is over and Formula 1 returns in true style at Belgium’s legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

    In the interim between races F1 has carried on its merry way of making headlines. Relatively early on in the summer break the somewhat inevitable announcement was made that after a string of lackluster performances Pierre Gasly will swop cockpits with Alex Albon from the Belgian Gp onwards.

    It’s a big knock to Gasly’s already tattered confidence but, at the very least, he has a chance to regain his footing as a Toro Rosso driver for the rest of the 2019 season. It won’t be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination but he should take heart from the fact that he wasn’t booted out of F1 and the Red Bull driver program entirely.

    As much pressure as Gasly faces to put his F1 career back on track Alex Albon faces exponentially more as a new Red Bull driver. The Thai-born driver is no stranger to success and many would go so far as to brand him a bonafide Karting superstar. He’s impressed in the lower Formula and at Toro Rosso too but the spotlight will become immeasurably more focused as he steps into a cockpit of a front-running car. He won’t be expected to beat teammate Max Verstappen from the word go but the Red Bull decision-makers are scrutinizing his performances. Should he perform well, which he definitely has the potential to do, he’ll all but seal his place at the team for 2020.

    M132185Pressure is everywhere in F1 and it’s found a home too in the cockpit of Valtteri Bottas. The Finn started the season with a bang but has faded in the last few grand prix weekends in comparison to teammate Lewis Hamilton. The pressure comes in the form of Esteban Ocon who is confirmed to be under consideration, along with Bottas, for the second Mercedes seat for 2020.

    However, Bottas may yet be safe as some rumours suggest that Merc could allow Ocon to be signed by Renault who is nearly always under pressure to be a put a French driver in the French works team. Where is the vacancy at Renault you ask? Some suggestions abound that Nico Hulkenberg could be off the Haas for next season in place of Romain Grosjean. Isn’t the silly season great?

    Ferrari too is under pressure. But then they have been under pressure to deliver a title for more than a decade now. The characteristics of Spa-Francorchamps should suit the 2019 Ferrari and its low-drag philosophy to a degree. Whether the red team will be able to get all their ducks in a row is another question. As Kimi Raikkonen’s triumph Texas last year remains Ferrari’s last race win the team will be desperate to get their name on the winners’ board for the first time in 2019. Spa may provide them their best chance of doing just that.

    There are few greater stretches of tarmac in the world than the 7.004 km Circuit at the foot of the Ardennes Mountains. It’s an old-school test of man and machine and demands precision, bravery, and respect. It’s a circuit seeping with nostalgia for all of the greats who has graced it before. It is Spa-Francorchamps.

  • F1 2019: Hungarian Gp Review – Hamilton Charges to Victory

    F1 2019: Hungarian Gp Review – Hamilton Charges to Victory

    For the first time in his career Max Verstappen secured pole position for the Hungarian grand prix with a breathtaking lap on Saturday. Not only was P1 a new experience for the Dutchman but so would be leading a grand prix from the front.

    For nearly all of his previous seven race wins Verstappen has been the hunter. However, the tables were turned and it was up to the Red Bull driver to control the race and maintain the lead while being hunted by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. And until the last third of the race Verstappen had been doing a mighty fine job of holding P1.

    But such was the pace of the leading pair that it created a colossal gap to the Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Vettel. A gap big and obvious enough for Mercedes to bring Hamilton into the pits for a fresh set of tyres. While Verstappen tried to eek out the laps on his set of hard tyres Hamilton was unleashed on fresh rubber and eviscerated the nineteen-second gap to the leader. Initially, Verstappen seemed able to respond and for the briefest of moments it seemed possible that he could hold the lead. But Hamilton delivered a blistering pace, sometimes more than two seconds a lap quicker, to be right on the Red Bull’s gearbox with four laps to go. He made short work of a defenseless Verstappen and career victory number 81 was in the bag.

    It’s gone from bad to worse for Ferrari in the first half of the season and Hungary was no exception. Sebastian Vettel, on an alternate strategy, was able to snatch the final step of the podium from teammate Charles Leclerc but it was an embarrassing outing for Ferrari who finished more than a minute adrift of the race-winner. Fundamentally, the 2019 Ferrari is lacking in downforce. So it doesn’t come as too much of a surprise then that they would struggle around the long medium speed corners of the Hungaroring. Still, to be more than a minute behind will smart all the way through the summer break.

    2019 Hungarian GPElsewhere, Carlos Sainz finished in a fine fifth place ahead of the ever under pressure Pierre Gasly in sixth while Kimi Raikkonen, in seventh, once again punched well above the Alfa Romeo’s weight. Valtteri Bottas finished eighth after suffering front-wing damage on the opening lap with a coming together first with teammate Hamilton and then Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris made it a double points score for McLaren in ninth while Thai-born driver Alex Albon secured the final point on offer in tenth.

    After pre-season testing the mid-field battle looked as if it would be an extremely close fight between several teams. And while it is for the most part still closely fought the opening half of the season hasn’t gone quite the way many would have expected. What has gone accordingly to expectation is that McLaren are well in charge of the mid-field battle with 82 points on the board. Toro Rosso too will be pleased with 5thplace in the constructor’s championship courtesy of Kvyat’s podium finish in Germany.

    But there are big question marks at Renault as they are not only being beaten by their customer team in McLaren but also by both Honda powered teams. For a works team it simply isn’t good enough and the French team will have serious conversations over the break. It could possibly result in some restructuring at the top with team principal Cyril Abiteboul likely the most under pressure.

    2019 Hungarian GPAlfa Romeo may not say so publically but they’ll be thanking their lucky stars for Kimi Raikkonen who has scored 31 of the teams’ total of 32 points in 2019. They might even try to extend the Finn’s contract which currently takes him to the end of 2020. Despite a significant uptick in investment Racing Point it hasn’t materialized in the way they would’ve expected. There is still half a season to go however and they may yet come good as that investment begins to filter through.

    So far 2019 has been a head-scratcher for Haas. Though the American-based team clearly has a quick car it’s only shown in brief flashes. By their own admission they have struggled to understand the car and are still trying to comprehend why and how of it. For Williams there has hardly been a more difficult time than this season. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, as a new upgrade package appears to have pushed the team closer to the rest of the field. The important thing now for Williams will be to continue with this trend.

    In Austria, Silverstone, Germany, and Hungary Formula 1 have delivered four stunning races in succession and the good news is that there is still half a season to go.  It re-starts with the famed Belgian grand prix on August 30.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport 
  • F1 2019: German Gp Review – Verstappen, King of the Ring

    F1 2019: German Gp Review – Verstappen, King of the Ring

    On its day there isn’t a sport that can match the drama, exhilaration, and rapture of Formula 1. And on a rainy day in Germany Formula 1 was most definitely delivered a race to remember.

    Saturday qualifying was as embarrassing a day as Ferrari has experienced in some time. Well set to claim at the very least one spot on the front row neither Vettel nor Leclerc made it to the final shootout as both cars suffered technical failures. It left Hamilton to pick up the pieces and secure pole position with Max Verstappen alongside on the front row.

    Though most of the weekend had seen the Hockenheimring drenched in sunshine race day was markedly different as the rain came down. It prompted a couple of formation laps behind the safety car but conditions were good enough for a standing start. It was Hamilton who led away cleanly from pole as bad start, similar to Austria, dropped Verstappen down the other. It allowed Valtteri Bottas into second while Kimi Raikkonen scythed his way into third.

    Charles Leclerc, starting tenth, made an impressive start to be running sixth within a few laps while Seb Vettel too charged his way through the back-markers to fourteenth. The first Safety Car was brought out by Sergio Perez’s crash, which triggered the first round of pitstops with driver’s swopping full wets for intermediate tyres. The race settled momentarily before the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was deployed for Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault that expired in a plume of smoke.

    As conditions improved drivers dived back into the pitlane for dry tyres. With Hamilton and Bottas still running one-two Verstappen struggled to heat his medium tyres and spun in the stadium section but rejoined without any damage. Again, the VSC would be called on as this time Lando Norris retired from the race with a loss of power.

    2019 German GPThe most dramatic sequence of events was just about to unfold. Leclerc, now in contention for the podium and even the race win, ran wide at the penultimate corner and slammed his Ferrari into the barrier and out of the race which prompted the appearance of the Safety Car. No sooner had Leclerc stepped out of his cockpit when race leader Hamilton lost control of his car at the same corner. Though the Mercedes driver too hit the barrier he was able to rejoin with the need for a few front wing.

    He dove into the pitlane but in doing incurred a five second penalty for failing to enter the pitlane before the bollard that indicates the correct pit entry. It wasn’t the end of Hamilton’s misery though as his arrival in the pitbox caught his team unaware. The pitcrew rushed around for the correct tyres and a new nose but thanks to the Safety Car and reduced speed Hamilton emerged in fifth overall.

    As the race ‘settled’ Verstappen was comfortably in the lead with Nico Hulkenberg in second ahead of Bottas. No sooner had the whispers begun spreading that Hulkenberg could be on for his first ever podium than the German driver found himself in the same barrier as Hamilton and Leclerc moments later. Yet another Safety Car was called on as drivers were back in the pits to swop dry tyres for inters. However, Lance Stroll and Racing Point gambled on dry tyres which worked a treat as the Canadian driver found himself in the lead as the rest of the field to the pitlane. Verstappen regained the lead of the race shortly afterward with Stroll desperately holding on to second ahead of Kvyat, Bottas, and Carlos Sainz. As Kvyat took second place from Stroll a few laps later it was going from bad to worse for Hamilton who flat-spotted all four tyres in a high-speed 360 in Turn 1.

    Mercedes’s day was about to get even worse when Bottas, just like Hamilton, spun at Turn 1. Unfortunately for the Finn he didn’t get away with it and destroyed the front of the Merc prompting yet another Safety Car.

    As the race re-started it was Vettel’s turn to come alive. He produced several brilliant overtakes and was past Sainz, Stroll and Kvyat in quick succession. It was a brilliant drive for Vettel who started 20thand last on the grid, kept his composure amid the chaos, and finished a fabulous second.

    2019 German GPUp ahead and well clear of the pandemonium Verstappen led serenely and apart from the earlier spin had no other issues. Apart from Mexico 2018 nearly all of Verstappen’s other race wins have come in dramatic fashion and Germany 2019 was no different. The seventh victory of Verstappen’s career was likely his most mature and reveals a driver ready to be a championship contender.

    While Verstappen marched to his second win in the last three races his teammate Pierre Gasly had a miserable afternoon. There were some good moments for the Frenchman but they were clouded by several off-track excursions before a coming together with Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon which put him out of the race. You cant help but feel as Gasly brought his damaged car to a halt it likely also marks the end of stint as a Red Bull driver.

    As impressive as Verstappen was it is undoubtedly Daniil Kvyat who deserves driver of the day for a sensational third place finish. It has been a long road back from the doldrums for Kvyat who was first replaced at Red Bull by Verstappen and later sacked by Toro Rosso. It couldn’t have come at a better time for the Russian driver who may find himself back at Red Bull in quick time.

    Elsewhere, Stroll eventually finished fourth ahead of Sainz in sixth who survived his own spin in the penultimate corner. Alex Albon made it a double-points finish for Toro Rosso in sixth. While the Alfa Romeo’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi finished seventh and eighth on the track the two cars were later given a 30 second penalties for a pre-race rule infringement of, effectively, driver coaching. Alfa have stated their intention to appeal the penalties.

    This promoted Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen to seventh and eighth while Hamilton too benefited by being elevated to ninth. It also means that Williams secured their first point of the season with the elevation of Robert Kubica to tenth.

    Although this German grand prix is likely the last for the foreseeable future it went out on a spectacularly high-note. There’s little time for F1 to catch its breath as the paddock head to the Hungaroring this weekend for the final race before the month-long summer break.

  • 2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Carlos SAINZ (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault), Alex ALBON (Toro Rosso)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Welcome gentlemen. A question to the two German drivers, please. Can you just tell us about the build-up to your home race here at Hockenheim and the emotions of racing at home? Nico, can we start with you please?

    Nico HÜLKENBERG: A fairly calm and steady build-up to be honest this year, which is quite nice. No particular events, just the usual day-to-day I would say. No, it’s good to come back here. I remember last year, I loved this weekend, it was an amazing atmosphere. Hockenheim was I think packed. Every grandstand ticket was more or less sold, and it was full of people and there was this magic atmosphere all weekend. I really enjoyed it here last year. It happened to be the best race of the season for me as well, so obviously it would be nice to repeat something like that, although sporting-wise we don’t seem to be as strong but of course we are going to give it our best shot. But yeah, happy to be back here and looking forward to a hot weekend.

    Q: Thank you. Sebastian?

    Sebastian VETTEL: yeah, it’s been pretty calm on the build-up, so pretty straightforward. Obviously I like this place very much, it’s pretty close to where I come from. We had a nice dinner together with the team last night, but other than that it’s been fairly calm. But like Nico said, very good memories of last year in terms of atmosphere. Obviously the final outcome wasn’t great, but overall the weekend was fantastic – the amount of fans, the amount of German flags, the enthusiasm around the track. Hopefully we can have something similar this year.

    Q: Your 10th German Grand Prix.

    SV: Yeah, here we go.

    Q: Here we go indeed. Thank you guys. Alex, turning to you, a frustrating race for you last time out at Silverstone with an electrical problem. Can you tell us about that problem and without it would a points finish have been possible?

    Alex ALBON: Yeah, it was a bit frustrating. Basically, the car was live, so we couldn’t really touch the car. I think the mechanics would have been a bit electrified if they did, so we had to stay out on track. It was frustrating, but it’s hard to say if we… I think we would have finished where we were before we had the issue. I think we were running about eighth, around there. Of course, it was just points missed, so that was a frustrating weekend, because we had two tough races before that, and that was kind of the time…. At Silverstone we were back on track and it was an opportunity to score some good points. Fortunately Dany did, so it wasn’t too bad at the end of the day.

    Q: So, a frustrating race for you at Silverstone, but how do you sum up the season so far, because half distance in the race here will be the halfway point of the 2019 season. So how would sum out how it’s gone and what have the team told you about 2020?

    AA: It’s going well. I would say I’ve had a few ups and downs. But yeah, I’m quite happy with how it’s gone so far. And regarding 2020, who knows? I think that’s in other people’s hands.

    Q: Thank you. Nico, same sort of question to you really. As we reach the halfway point in the season, how are you feeling about the Renault project, how has it evolved during your three years with the team and looking ahead, do you stick, do you twist? What are your plans?

    NH: Yeah, I think it’s fair to say that so far this season we can’t be entirely happy with what we have achieved. I mean, to start with we had a lot of issues and missed out on results. But, a little bit more disappointing is just where we are in terms of pace, the development rate, it’s not where we really needed it and wanted it to be. Behind the expectations this year, so probably maybe, all in all, as well, not entirely happy and if you look across the three years we can’t be entirely happy with everything we’ve done. Nevertheless, the outlook is good. We still see light at the end of the tunnel and we still believe we can catch up to some extent, how much is always difficult to say with entire certainty. Yeah, we’ll see what happens in the future and what happens to me as well. As for now, there is nothing set in stone, but I think it’s quite likely that I will remain with the team.

    Q: You’re 21 points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship now. Do you think that’s a fair reflection of the relative performance of the two teams?

    NH: Well, it is. That’s a fact. It is 21 points but I think we could be right up there with them, if you add up all the complications we had, all the missed results, problems, we should be there or thereabouts, but for sure McLaren are very strong at the moment and are probably one of our main competitors that we will be battling from here until the end.

    Q: Ok, good luck this weekend. Carlos, just to ask you about that battle with Renault. When you came into this season, did you expect to be ahead of them at this point?

    Carlos SAINZ: No. I think the right answer is no. I wouldn’t expect to be in front of Renault. There was a good trend going last year in Renault and I think we finished off the season quite strongly but McLaren was at that time in Abu Dhabi more than half a second behind in qualifying, pretty much in every qualifying. Then in the race, also, it was difficult to match, or to see Fernando and Stoffel battling more at the back than Nico and me. It was very difficult to predict that at this stage this year we would be in front. I don’t think we are in front. I think we are in front in the championship but we are very equal in performance and it makes the battle good fun, like it was in Silverstone, in Austria, in France, and we are happy to be battling with a team like Renault. I think just the objective of us two is to keep moving forward, both together, towards the top. Not looking too much to what Renault is doing, but keep looking forward, keep looking to Mercedes, keep looking to Red Bull, Ferrari and try to get that gap down.

    Q: You mention Austria and Silverstone. You raced very well at those races – 19th to eighth in Austria, 13th to sixth at Silverstone. So clearly you’re racing very well, but progress hasn’t been quite as sweet in qualifying. Why is that?

    CS: Yeah, it’s a good point actually. I’m not entirely happy with how things are going in qualifying. If you go race by race, it would be very easy to point out three or four races where obviously I was affected by issues away from my own. But what is important or what I feel is like I have the speed in the car. Every time I jump in the car I feel like I can extract the maximum out of it, I feel like I understand the car, I feel like I am quick every time I jump in, but then circumstances in qualifying they always come down to one lap then you’re whole qualifying picture looks bad, but what is important is that I feel speed, I feel comfortable with the car and I can prove it on race day and race days are going very well.

    Q: They are. Thank you. Kimi, coming to you, you’ve scored in seven of the 10 races so far, including the last three. Is that the level of performance and consistency you expected from Alfa Romeo when you joined them?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It’s hard to say, because obviously where they’ve been the last few years it’s not been the greatest. Last year they made good gains from half way through. So, very unknown. I just went into the season to try to do the maximum, to see what we get. We had a bit harder part, three or four races where we were not very fast. But we managed to recover from that a little bit. There is still a long way to go but I think it’s not been too bad, at least in their own book. So we’ll keep trying and try to make the car faster.

    Q: How much have you improved the car so far?

    KR: For sure we have improved. I don’t know how much. It’s depends on what you compare. Obviously we compare to the guys that are close to us and obviously we are still behind on pure speed but we bring as much as we can new parts and try to improve. At least usually the parts work very well, what we brought. So that’s a good thing. Obviously with a small team like us it takes a bit longer to bring new parts. But I think we are quite happy with how things have gone forward. But like I said, there is still an awful lot of work to be done to get more faster and to try to get closer to McLaren and things like that.

    Q: You’re happy with developments but how happy are you this year Kimi? How much are you enjoying Formula 1 in 2019 and how different is your experience now compared to last year?

    KR: I don’t think it’s a lot different. Obviously racing a bit more rearwards. But if you don’t count that the big picture hasn’t really changed. It’s a different team, but I’ve worked with some of them before. I think F1 hasn’t changed. We still this press conference, we have the same kind of meetings, interviews. That hasn’t changed, but obviously, outside of racing I have a bit more free time, so that is the nice part, but I don’t think it’s night and day what happened last year to this year.

    Q: Sebastian, let’s start by talking about the car. You’ve told us in the past that it’s tricky to drive. Can you tell us why it’s so hard to find the sweet spot of the SF90?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think we had occasions where things were looking very good and other occasions where it was a bit more difficult but I think that’s also pretty normal throughout the season: you have different tracks with different characteristics and sometimes the car feels more the way you like and other times less – but yeah, I think we have, after the first couple of races we were able to get quite a good picture of what was missing compared to the performance we seemed to have at the beginning of winter testing. With that, I think we’ve made progress. Obviously we are not where we would like to be, not as competitive as we would like to be, but I think overall, the understanding and the direction is going in the right way.

    Q: You say you’re not as competitive as you want to be – well, Red Bull have taken a step forward in recent weeks, so how do you see the pecking order at the front of Formula One now?

    SV: Well, I think obviously Mercedes does have an edge on everyone else, that’s, I think, pretty clear. Similar to previous years, they seem to struggle on tracks where tyre wear and degradation is a bit higher – like we’ve maybe seen in the last part of the race in France, or in Austria. But in terms of raw speed, they are the benchmark – and I think for myself and for us, that’s the benchmark. I think obviously between ourselves and Red Bull, it’s been sometimes closer, sometimes we were ahead, most of the times I believe we were ahead, sometimes we were behind but y’know, that’s not the objective. The objective is to fight for wins and to do so at the moment you need to be level or better than Mercedes.

    Q: And what would a victory here, on home soil, mean to you on Sunday?

    SV: I think it’s always special, first of all to have the opportunity to race in your home country; yeah, obviously I was very close last year, let’s see how close we can get this year. I think we are, y’know, a less strong position to start the weekend. Then again, I think we’ve seen some recent races, we’ve been very strong in terms of qualifying – but also race pace. So yeah, I think we’re fairly open minded. I’m fairly open-minded, to be honest. We start the weekend, see where it goes, obviously it’s going to be very hot initially and then probably cool off a little bit.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Kimi, you’re back at Sauber – or Alfa Romeo – the first team that you started with in Formula One. Is this full circle for you? Are you going to end your career here or do you consider moving teams?

    KR: I have no idea. I mean, obviously, I have a two-year contract, this and next year, and then we see what happens. No plans really. That’s about it really.

    Q: (Stefan Ehlen motorsport-total.com) Question to Sebastian. How badly do you want to win on Sunday, and how badly do you need to win on Sunday?

    SV: Not badly. Oddly I want to win, that’s for sure – but as I said, I’m also realistic. So, coming here, I don’t feel as we are the favourites but I feel we have a chance. For me, that’s the point of going racing. You have a chance of do well. So, that’s the objective and we will find out during the weekend. But certainly it’s a special place to me. It’s very close to where I’m from, it’s a lot of family around and friends close by. To find a good way to celebrate, I wouldn’t need to go very far, so that would be quite handy.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat)  Sebastian, Kimi will be shortly 40 years old, can you see yourself racing as long as that?

    SV: I don’t know – I’m not as handsome as Kimi now, so I won’t be as handsome as he is when I’m 40! I don’t know, there’s not much point thinking about it. Imagine if you had asked Kimi when he was 32 if he can imagine to race when he’s 40, I don’t think you would have got an answer. I don’t know, it depends on how the next years go. It depends, I think, on where the sport is going with the big run change that will or will not come for 2021, and then we’ll see what happens after that. I’ll be 40 in 2027, so I don’t know is the answer. Sorry Heikki!

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Question for Sebastian. You’ve said in the past you struggle when you’re not feeling the car. Can you tell us, are you feeling this car and, if not, is it compounding the weaknesses that it already has?

    SV: Well, I think it’s not… as I tried to explain earlier, I think it’s normal that sometimes you feel more comfortable and sometimes less. I think for us it was important after the first couple of races to understand what brings this inconsistency, where the strength of the initial feeling with this car has gone and why we’re not able to repeat it the way we would like. But I think we do have a very good understanding by now. I think we are trying a lot of things to obviously make it better, to find a direction. I think a lot of things we tried are very good, other things we tried we went back on but yeah, obviously there are some things that probably this year are different than maybe they have been before – but nothing that you couldn’t adapt to.

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Sebastian. What’s it like… it’s obviously been a long while since Ferrari won the Drivers’. Do you feel a sort of burden to lead them to victory to lead them after, what 11, 12 years? Does that sort of weigh on you? I mean, the sort of Ferrari dynamic, what it means to the nation. How do you feel bearing that responsibility?

    SV: It doesn’t feel like a burden, it feels like a privilege, y’know, to go out and race for Ferrari and obviously my mission or my goal, as well as the team’s goal, is to get back to, y’know, the – how do you say? – the winning ways. If we do that then we have a much better chance to fight for the Championship. Having said that, I think from when I joined and where we are now, obviously this year hasn’t gone the way we wanted after the last two years, but still, I think things are progressing in the right direction. In the big picture – but naturally the big picture doesn’t interest you if you are not currently where you would like to be. So, I think we all know that Formula One is a world where people are very short-sighted, which is also fair and part of the game. Like I said, overall, even if things look good, we still obviously miss that final step and that’s the most important step.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Question to Seb and Nico. How do you see the state of Formula One in Germany. Do you think it’s still as popular as it was 15 or 20 years ago – and in terms of drivers, behind you of course, there is a lot of interest for Mick Schumacher in Formula 2 but beyond him there doesn’t seem to be many German young talents – do you think it is because Formula One is not as inspiring as it was when you guys were growing?

    NH: I think, based and judged on last year, people were very interested. Like I said earlier, I’ve never seen that much interested since I’m in Formula One, since my career in Germany, and that was pretty amazing and nice to see. I think generally, Germans, we are known, we are a car country and we love our cars and the interest is still there. I think naturally some years it’s a bit more, some years it’s a bit less but I think yeah, we have a spoilt history in racing, so that’s also one thing to consider – but I think in general, the appetite and the interest of the population is still very much alive. And yeah beyond Mick, to be honest, I’m not really sure entirely what’s coming through the go-kart series and the young formulae, so can’t really comment on it.

    SV: I think obviously it’s normal that the biggest hype, I believe was when Michael started winning as he was the first German to win the Championship. Being the first, there is always more momentum and more interest – but as Nico said, I think the atmosphere last year proved that there is still very much an appetite for racing but I also feel that the German crowd is a very fair and direct and honest crowd, so maybe some things that have happened in our sport didn’t help the popularity. For the future, I think you need to draw, a bit, the bigger picture. I think, again, Germans are quite straightforward with the way they spend their money and unfortunately junior racing, starting from karting and through the series after that are – I think – way too expensive. Nico and myself we enjoyed each other in go-karts and racing each other. I think the background is not that dissimilar. I think giving us the same chance today, I think our career would stop fairly soon because we simply wouldn’t have the pocket money to do it. So, I think overall, to allow more kids – boys and girls – to start racing, the sport would need to be a lot cheaper, as currently I think it’s way too expensive and unaffordable for most.

    Q: (Manuel Sanchez – Il Tamburello.net) My question is for Nico Hülkenberg. Renault will be the first team to test the future Pirellis. How much advantage will have Renault with this?

    NH: When are we going to test those tyres? Honestly, I don’t know? I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.

    This weekend, it’s published that Renault will be the first team to test the new Pirellis…

    In October, Nico.

    NH: I think it’s very hard to say if that’s an advantage or not. I think all teams in rotation do tyre tests but, as far as I’m aware, you are kept in the dark as to what compounds you are testing and what kind of tyre it is, so it is hard for teams to take conclusions from that and use it for the future. So I don’t think it’s a big player or a big advantage.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – Press Association) Sebastian, just following on from the earlier question about racing for Ferrari, is this a team you would like to see out your career with or do you envisage racing for someone else?

    SV: Not at the moment. As I said earlier to Heikki that I don’t know how long I’m going to be here but I love racing, I think they’re the best cars to… the fastest there are. The joy that I get from driving is like it’s ever been and as I said, obviously the motivation is high to get the job done with Ferrari so that’s the two things that are, I guess, dictating whether I’m going to be around for long or not.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel Gomez – AutoHebdo Sport) Carlos, what is the secret to be the best of the rest?

    CS: At the moment there’s no secret. If I find it, I will obviously keep it secret. I think it’s a combination. I think it’s a combination of hard work done by the team and creating a package good enough to do what we are doing on race day. It’s a combination of good strategies come Sunday. It’s a combination of good starts, good pace when you need to have good pace and good development. Nowadays the midfield battle is so tight that you need to be on top of everything and be very good at everything and I think this year we’ve been very good at mostly everything and that’s why we are leading in that battle. We haven’t been the fourth fastest car every race weekend but somehow we’ve managed to score good results when we were not the fourth fastest car and in the midfield I think that’s important but my wish is to separate a bit from this midfield and see if the team can keep improving and keep separating itself from the midfield which I think this year is going to be nearly impossible to do. It’s more thinking in the future.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Sebastian, sorry to take you back to 12 months ago here. You had your mistake in the race; since then there’s been a few mistakes along the way, all the way through to Silverstone and the last race. How satisfied are you on your performances over the past twelve months? Is it fair to say that you haven’t delivered, given the car that you’ve been given by Ferrari? And do you feel under pressure?

    SV: Well, I always put myself under pressure so I can’t be happy, obviously, if things go wrong. I think some of the things, obviously, were bigger than others. I think the main thing is that – as I said previously – that we keep progressing in the right way but for sure if I get something wrong and make a mistake I can’t be happy with that. The pressure I put on myself after that I think is bigger than any external factors. This has been the same as long as I can remember. I think for me it’s the most honest and straightforward way to deal with it myself because I know what I’ve done wrong and what I’ve done right. I know when I had the opportunity to do well or not. I think you’re always your best judge, no matter what you do so that’s the rules by which I play.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Sebastian and Kimi, do you ever miss each other as teammates and can you say what the best qualities were about each other as a teammate?

    KR: The meetings are a lot shorter now, now that we’re not in the same meetings any more. Or in the same team. We see each other still. I enjoy it, for sure, it was very good but we were friends before and it never changed and it’s still the same so life goes on. I think it’s always been very honest with Seb so it’s easy, easy going.

    Q: His best qualities?

    KR: Straightforward, honest.

    SV: I can only return. Obviously now the meetings are not as short as they were which is a pity. Yeah, as Kimi said, we’ve sort of got on with each other before, had respect for each other and it’s the same now. Best qualities? Straightforward and honest! Yeah. No, I think the interesting thing is, even if, no, we look very different from the outside in terms of what people think but I think inside, as I said, we got along with each other fairly quickly right from the beginning and it’s probably because we share a lot of the same values and key to that is there were never any games or any attempt to play anything or… just no attempt to waste time, basically.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Seb and Nico, following the earlier question about the future of F1 in Germany, you mentioned Mick Schumacher. How significant do you think the return of the Schumacher name to an F1 race seat in the future could be for F1 in this country and also how important is it that he’s not rushed on that journey?

    SV: Yeah, I think it’s crucial that he’s given the time he needs. I think it’s fair to judge him and his racing like every one of us has been judged and will be judged but it’s not right to measure and compare too much to other people and to his father. I don’t think it’s fair. It’s a different time, different racing but for sure, as I tried to explain earlier, Michael was the one who set off a huge hype when we were kids and therefore the name Schumacher is one hundred percent known in Germany due to him. Obviously to have Mick at the doorstep of F1 and one day hopefully joining would be huge and hopefully a big boost for Germany. On top of that, despite the name, he’s a great guy, he’s a nice kid so I think our fingers are crossed for him. There’s been a time when I think we had a lot of Germans in Formula One – like six or seven – and everyone was wondering why and so on. Now we have two we don’t get these questions any more but back then I think there were zero French guys and now you have quite a lot of French guys in Formula One and very close so I think it’s just how it goes around but yeah, hopefully he gets the chance one day and does well and brings some more enthusiasm.

    NH: Yeah, not much to add. I feel and think the same as Seb said. I think he needs his time, of course, also to go through his development but I’m sure he will get his chance. But then for Germany that could be quite… obviously another big ignition to motivate people to go back to a Formula One race to watch so it could play a big part in that and it would be great to see.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian, a question about the past. I wanted to ask you about one of your most successful cars, the 2011 Red Bull RB7. What do you remember about that car and how challenging was it to get the most out of that, given that there was the exhaust blown downforce and you had to adapt your technique to get the most from it?

    SV: Yeah, obviously it was a very experimental phase because back then exhaust blowing was unknown and the effects of it and the logic behind it and so on. It was the first year where we really explored the limits, up to the point where we blew up a tyre on the grid because the plume and the hot air on the tyre obviously was coming at very high speed and made a big difference to how the car felt, made a big difference to how you had to drive the car, made a big difference to how you set up the car but I think we got the hang of it. I think key to one, a very clever way to design the car. Second was Renault’s input back then which I think they’ve been first in class and most extreme and probably the most brave to adapt and come up with solutions to help the demands of our aero department at the time. Obviously then it got banned and the years after, what people have been trying ever since is to find a way to get back because it’s proved to be so powerful. Season-wise it was a great season because I think we as a whole team matured a lot from little hiccoughs in 2010 so it was a lot more straightforward in 2011.

    Q: (Rosal Mohedano – MomentoGP.com) Carlos, Andreas Seidl has been in the team for some months now, has he changed a lot in the team to make a midfield car the top midfield car?

    CS: I think the credit of this year’s car is mainly due to what happened last year, all the development that happened during that second half of the season, where the team basically decided to stop developing the 2018 to try and understand why the 2018 car was so poor and the job done, obviously in the early months of this winter, going into March, the job of Andreas, what he’s doing very well now is doing a whole analysis of the situation that we are in in the factory, especially back in Woking and he’s just having an overlook and have a very good look into what can be improved and it’s more a midterm to a long term project. I think he’s quite advance and he’s going to start having a very big influence in the upcoming months but you need to give him time. I think when there is an environment of six hundred to eight hundred people like we are in McLaren at the moment, to notice any kind of change you need years, you needs months or even years to feel the change and that’s going to take time for sure.

  • F1 2019: German Gp Preview: The Case of Seb Vettel

    F1 2019: German Gp Preview: The Case of Seb Vettel

    Sebastian Vettel is a four-time Formula 1 World Champion. In all the noise and criticism that has been flying around the German driver it seems necessary to state this otherwise obvious fact. It needs mentioning because many a pundit, and several so-called pundits, has begun to question his prowess as a racing driver. They aren’t wrong in their criticism of his mistakes but they are wrong in their doubt of his ability and commitment.

    On numerous, if not two thousand, occasions some have stirred speculation that he may walk away from the sport. He did seem fairly disillusioned with the whole shebang after what happened in Canada but has confirmed, directly, that he has no intention of hanging up his helmet. In fact, he is contracted with Ferrari until the end of 2020. But that’s not provocative enough so ‘they’ continue to speculate about it week in and week out.

    The other favourite one-liner is ‘Well, you don’t see Hamilton making these mistakes’. It is quite silly to compare Sebastian Vettel to Lewis Hamilton. If you were making a direct driver-to-driver comparison, then have it at it. But F1 is never only about the individual and through that lens their situations could not be more different. Hamilton shows up to a grand prix weekend fully convinced that he will walk onto the top stop of the podium come Sunday afternoon. Yes, there are dozens of factors that can conspire to prevent this scenario but with all being equal he likely stands a more than 90% chance of winning. He is also in the most clinically efficient teams on the grid. Mercedes operate at a level that demands victory and anything else in inconceivable and unacceptable. More importantly they know how to win and how to solve their issues, almost immediately, if they don’t. In reality, his life is an awful lot easier than Vettel’s right now.

    Austria 2017_Sebastian Vettel_Thursday Press Conference Part 1Now Ferrari. Let’s not kid ourselves the Ferrari of 2019, heck of the last decade and a half, is not the Ferrari of the Schumacher-era. It doesn’t operate as proficiently as it should. That is evident, for example, in the repeated failure of upgrades brought to the car and in the calamity of their decision-making. This pressure isn’t only resting on the shoulders of those in the factory or even just top management. It filters through the entire organization and directly into the cockpit of Sebastian Vettel. Because he is fully aware that he is in car that has a deficit to Mercedes he pushes hard, sometimes over the limit. While Hamilton pushes his car to the edge Vettel needs to push beyond that edge to get on par with Mercedes and then the mistakes happen. Does this mean he isn’t a good driver? That he should retire from the sport? The answer is a resounding no.

    It doesn’t get any easier for Vettel as he returns this weekend to the German grand prix at the Hockenheimring. It is here, in 2018, where he crashed out while leading and handed Hamilton a handy 25-points. It seems as good a place as any then to start turning around his fortunes.

    Long straits dominate the first sector of the Hockenheimring making sector 1 fairly power dominant. The first overtaking opportunities of the lap comes at the turn 4 hairpin before the track evolves in a series of medium to fast corners that will test the aero efficiency of the car. The second half of the circuit layout of the circuit doesn’t inherently favour the strengths of the Ferrari but they have an opportunity to pull something together in Germany. It wont be easy to stop the might of Mercedes or to contend with the canny Red Bulls but Ferrari and Vettel must begin to find their way out of the messy position they find themselves in.