F1 Madness

Tag: shanghai international circuit

  • F1 2019: Chinese Gp Review – Merc Make it Three in a Row

    F1 2019: Chinese Gp Review – Merc Make it Three in a Row

    For all the hype that surrounded the 1000thgrand prix event the Chinese grand prix didn’t underscore it in the way many would have hoped for.

    For the seventh time in his career Valtteri Bottas lined up in pole position alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari locked out the second row of the grid with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc respectively. Bottas’ sojourn at the front was short-lived though as Hamilton steamed in the lead of the as soon the red lights went out.

    Behind Leclerc got the better of Vettel into the ever tightening turn one but neither Ferrari seemed able to keep in touch with the Mercedes’ who were steadily disappearing up the road. The opening stint of the race suggested that Vettel had a dash more speed than Leclerc and Ferrari agreed as they ordered the Monegasque driver to let his teammate through. Ferrari’s decision to employ team orders were met with displeasure not only by fans but also by Leclerc himself who voiced his annoyance on the radio. This marks the third time in three races that Ferrari has issued team orders and it was only Leclerc’s choice to ignore the call in Bahrain that meant they weren’t instituted on that occasion.

    Ferrari will have their reasons for issuing team orders this early in the season. But it’s unlikely that many would agree with or accept those reasons. What it is indicative of is that Ferrari still has not learned from past mistakes. In the days of Schumacher team orders worked a treat for Ferrari but then they had the quickest car by a country mile. That certainly isn’t the case now and they need to understand that attempting to fight for a championship with one car is not a winning strategy. They will calm things down with Leclerc but for how long will it suffice before it starts affecting his morale? Strategic decision-making has been one of Ferrari’s most glaring weaknesses over a number of years and what we’ve seen so far in 2019 is that they have not done anything to address or rectify this.

    800_shanghaisunday1-637755It’s the polar opposite at Mercedes as they secured a third one-two victory in as many races. Lewis Hamilton led easily from teammate Valtteri Bottas who in turn matched the race leader’s pace without facing any real threat from Vettel in third. What is absolute fact so far in 2019 is that Mercedes’ W10 is the quicker car for now. But it isn’t the only area in which the team is head and shoulder above their closest rivals. If you were to look for a tangible example of the organizational excellence and strategic brilliance of this team then you need not look further than lap 37 of the Chinese grand prix. The pit crew turned around both Hamilton and Bottas within seconds of each other and it was seamless brilliance. What’s more it was a message, a statement of intent that if Mercedes are to be beaten in 2019 then it will require near perfection from that team.

    While Merc strolled to the chequered flag and Vettel salvaged third for Ferrari Max Verstappen was fourth for Red Bull and never in contention for the podium. Ferrari’s dubious strategy meant Leclerc eventually finished fifth with Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull significantly adrift in sixth. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo scored his first points of the season in seventh with Sergio Perez in eighth Racing Point. Kimi Raikkonen maintained his and Alfa Romeo’s run of finishing in the top ten in 2019 with a ninth place finish but driver of the day goes to Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon. The Thai driver was forced to start from the pitlane after a 49G crash in the final practice session precipitated a change of chassis. Albon drove remarkably well to go from the pitlane to tenth place by the time the chequered flag dropped.

    With two wins from three races Lewis Hamilton holds a four-point lead over teammate Bottas in the driver’s standings. More importantly the gap to Vettel and Leclerc already stands at 31 and 32 points respectively. It might only be three races into the season but if Ferrari has any designs on trying to win either title in 2019 they must address their glaring weaknesses and it has to start with their decision-making.

    All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport 
  • F1 2019: Chinese Gp Quali Report – Bottas leads Merc One-Two

    F1 2019: Chinese Gp Quali Report – Bottas leads Merc One-Two

    Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas has taken pole position for the 2019 Chinese grand prix.

    By a mere 0.0023 Bottas bested teammate Lewis Hamilton and in the process ensure a front row lock out for Mercedes in Formula 1’s 1000th race event.

    Sebastian Vettel put his Ferrari in third, some three tenths adrift, and ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in fourth. Leclerc, who scored his first podium finish in Bahrain, was merely ten milliseconds off Vettel but still bemoaned the fact that he “messed up” his final run in Q3.

    Elsewhere, neither Red Bull driver was able to improve on their first run in Q3 as both Verstappen and Gasly missed out on crossing the finish line in time. As it stands Verstappen will start fifth with teammate Gasly alongside in sixth. Daniel Ricciardo got the better of his Renault teammate Nico Hulkenberg and the pair will line up seventh and eighth for the Chinese grand prix.

    Similar to Red Bull neither Haas too tripped over themselves and failed to make the finish in time to set a laptime. Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean will start the race in ninth and tenth respectively.

    Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso is the first driver, in eleventh, with free tyre choice. Kimi Raikkonen, who reported a loss of power on the straits, will start thirteenth in the Alfa Romeo. The Finn’s failure to advance to the top ten shootout breaks a run of 53 races in the top ten.

    Alex Albon is likely to start the Chinese grand prix after a hefty crash in Free Practice Three saw the Toro Rosso driver unable to partake in the qualifying session.

  • 2019 Chinese Grand Prix: Free Practice Roundup

    2019 Chinese Grand Prix: Free Practice Roundup

    The 1000th Formula 1 World Championship event got underway in Shanghai China with Sebastian Vettel taking the honours in Free Practice 1 on Friday morning. Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes put his name forward with the fastest time of the afternoon in Free Practice 2.

    Free Practice 1

    Vettel shook off the demons from the Bahrain Race and was top of the time sheets in FP1 finishing the session with a best time of 1:33.911. Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes was 0.207s adrift of the German’s benchmark. It should be noted that Vettel had only run the harder compound tyre whereas Hamilton had switched to the softer compound for a run.

    Not far off Hamilton’s pace was Charles Leclerc with a session best time of 1:34.167. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen managed 4th fastest 0.423s off Vettel’s time ahead of the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas who could only manage 5th fastest.

    Best of the rest in P6 was Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo with a 1:35.239, 1.328s off the pace. Behind the Australian was Pierre Gasly in P7 just narrowly edging out Daniil Kvyat in the Honda powered Toro Rosso in P8. Gasly, like Vettel, did not use the softer compound tyres.

    Lance Stroll finished 9th fastest for Racing Point with Haas’ Romain Grosjean rounding out the top 10.

    The session was not trouble free however. Stroll had a spin in coming out of the final corner while Alfa’s Antonio Giovinazzi had power unit issues which curtailed his session.China 2019_FP1 Classification

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Free Practice 2

    After a wobbly start to the session, Valtteri Bottas ended FP2 on top of the time sheets with less than a tenth between himself and second fastest man, Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari. Bottas set a 1:33.330 on his qualifying simulation, with Vettel 0.027s off Bottas’ benchmark.

    Finishing in P3 for Red Bull was Max Verstappen. His time of 1:33.551 will no doubt put Red Bull in good spirits and it looks like they will be in the mix in the race.

    Finishing 4th fastest was Lewis Hamilton. His time of 1:34.047 was 0.707s off Bottas’ benchmark. Hamilton did have some issues with debris on track which made setting his fastest lap a little tricky.

    Charles Leclerc only managed 7th fastest. The Monegasque driver was unable to hook a flying lap during the session. His issues were further compounded by a cooling issue on his Ferrari, which meant he sat out the final 30-minutes of the session.

    Lando Norris continued his good form of free practice finishes by ending his session 9th fastest. Mclaren team mate Carlos Sainz finished his session 6th fastest just behind the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg in 5th.

    Daniel Ricciardo, looking a touch more comfortable in the Renault, finished 9th with Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10.

    The pace between Ferrari and Mercedes looks close over one lap and over the long run pace. Red Bull are not far off and could fancy themselves a podium and will be waiting in the wings if Ferrari or Mercedes make any mistakes.

    China 2019_FP2 Classification

     

  • F1 2019: Chinese Gp Preview – 1000 and counting…

    F1 2019: Chinese Gp Preview – 1000 and counting…

    At the end of the 2019 season I will have, officially, covered twelve complete seasons of the Formula 1 world championship. While this is not trivial by any means consider that this weekend’s Chinese grand prix marks the 1000thworld championship race.

    Without fail there are two questions I am asked. Almost always the first question is who is the best driver of all time? While it gives rise to superb conversations and debates the question is impossible to answer. For one, it is impossible to compare different eras of the sport given how much it has changed. If you’d have told Jim Clark that one day Formula 1 would not only be the technical and engineering pinnacle of any motorized sport in the world but that it would also lead the way in terms of safety he probably would’ve scoffed at such impossibility. In this era death was expected and several of the sport’s most dazzling drivers, including Clark, died in the cockpit of a racing car.

    In the 1950s Juan Manuel Fangio won five world titles with his tally of race wins reaching twenty-four. Imagine how staggered he would’ve been to know that someday a German driver named Michael Schumacher would not only win seven titles but also rack up a staggering ninety-one race wins. In 2000 a rookie named Jenson Button made his debut for Williams at an exceedingly young twenty-years-old. The mutters were that, at only 20, the young Brit couldn’t possibly be ready for F1. Imagine the outrageous thought then that less than two decades later Max Verstappen would make his F1 debut at a mere 17 years old.

    In its 999 races Formula 1 has endured great tragedy, celebrated the greatest champions, and made inconceivable advancements. Fans have lived through and run the gamut of emotions from drama to extreme stress to anger to unbridled passion. And that just in the first two races of the 2019 season!

    Ascari chasing Fangio at the 1954 Italian Grand PrixThe second question that is consistently asked is why Formula 1? But here is the real question: How do you condense such passion, such unadulterated bliss and glorious emotion to just a few words? This is the deepest truth – It’s the greatest sport in the world and I am irrefutably richer for getting to live every magnificent moment of it. Here’s to 1000 more.

    Amongst the celebrations and nostalgia there is a race to be had this weekend. As the third round of the season the Chinese grand prix was the last of Michael Schumacher’s career wins in 2006. On the calendar since 2004 the Shanghai International circuit has delivered a fair few crackers in its time. It could even be considered as the watershed moment for Mercedes when in 2012 Nico Rosberg scored the team’s first race victory since its return to the sport.

    Last year a masterstroke on strategy from the Red Bull pitwall allowed Daniel Ricciardo the opportunity to pull off a remarkable string of overtakes that ultimately culminated in a thrilling and memorable victory for the Aussie. Twelve months later Ricciardo, now a Renault driver, arrives in China with a completely different mindset and slightly on the back-foot. The 7-time grand prix winner has admitted to still needing to understand the idiosyncrasies of the Renault before being able to unleash his considerable talent. Similarly, Pierre Gasly, teammate to Verstappen at Red Bull, has struggled in first two race weekends and will have to up his game before being catapulted out of the seat by the ruthless Dr. Marko.

    Michael SchumacherThough it’s only two races into the 2019 season there are no such difficulties for Charles Leclerc who has settled in quickly at Ferrari. A devastating mechanical issue robbed him of victory in Bahrain but he is well served by accepting it as part of the sport.

    The good news for Leclerc is that his Ferrari team is confident that the Bahrain-issue caused no lasting damage to the engine and he will be able to race it in China. What’s more, while he rightly receives plaudits for his performance his teammate, Seb Vettel, is once again putting out fires in the media who have begun to ask uncomfortable questions of the German following his spin in the last race.

    Meanwhile, Mercedes will arrive in China with a quiet confidence. Leclerc may have outpaced them at the last race but they are beginning to understand the W10 more and more. Merc have also won four of the last five Chinese grand prix and it is generally a track where they excel. All that is missing then is Red Bull. While Honda is still not on par with Ferrari and Mercedes it has clearly made progress in 2019. It isn’t the only culprit either for Red Bull’s lack of pace in Bahrain. Instead teamboss Christian Horner has highlighted a need for improvement on the chassis and aero package.

    The questions then for this weekend is if Charles Leclerc can once again outpace his four-time world champion teammate or whether Mercedes will have a pace advantage. The ever-tightening battle in the mid-field certainly won’t relent either and with Kimi Raikkonen confirming that following one another is now easier it sets up then for overtaking fest like no other.

  • 2018 Chinese GP: Post Race Press Conference

    2018 Chinese GP: Post Race Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

     

    Daniel – what an absolute star. What a race! Your sixth victory, but is that the sweetest one?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I don’t know what it is, I don’t seem to win boring races, they’re all pretty fun. That was unexpected. Put ourselves 24 hours ago and I thought we’d maybe be starting at the back of the grid. Firstly, thanks to the boys yesterday. I thanked them after qualifying but today is the real reward for that work. So thank you to everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the mechanics worked their butts off, so…

     

    And the team had their brain in gear didn’t they, under the safety car, getting you in the pit lane. Double stacked the car twice, so the pit crew were on it as well?

    DR: It was hectic. I heard ‘safety car’ in Turn 14, and they said ‘we’re going to double stop, come, come, in the box’. It happened very quickly but very decisive moves, winning moves also from the team, so thanks a lot. Yeah, fat lip and all I got the win.

     

    Just take us through one of the great overtakes – maybe on Lewis? That came out of nowhere down to the Turn 14 hairpin.

    DR: Yeah, sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it. So, there we go. I enjoyed it very much.

     

    You still made the apex somehow, extraordinary?

    DR: Yeah, obviously we had the soft tyre so I knew I could get a little bit more out of the braking than them. A lot of the time you get one chance to try so I made the most of every opportunity.

     

    You were a little closer to Valtteri when you passed him than you are now, but Valtteri, kind of bittersweet. Your 100th start but the safety car didn’t play into your hands and left you on some slightly older tyres and struggling a little bit.

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, you know, the race was going pretty well for us and we were looking strong all the way, until the guys, during the safety car, stopped and we were in trouble then with Daniel and nearly with Kimi in the end. It is disappointing. We were giving everything we had and it kind of felt like we deserved victory… but not today.

     

    Without the safety car, do you think you had enough grip and pace to keep Sebastian behind you and take victory?

    VB: It felt like everything was under control so far. I had no major drop-off in the end, so I think we could have done it, but this is racing, these things happen.

     

    Kimi, wow, it looked like you were a bit out of position. It looked like you were struggling a bit. They kept you out a long time before the pit stop. Then the safety car played into your hands and you had great speed and you got yourself back onto the podium.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think we made a good start and then got, unfortunately, blocked a bit and passed in the first corners. I struggled a little bit following people in the beginning. On my own I wasn’t too bad, but far from ideal at the start of the race and then obviously we stayed very long out. A little bit of luck with the safety car. I had good speed on the mediums but in the end we would have needed the soft tyres to really go for it. But I think I was kind of OK in the end, but once I got close I had much more speed than Valtteri but once you get close it’s so difficult to follow people, to get a good run you need much better tyres to get that proper run and you can kind of offset yourself. But I’ll take what I got, because at one point it didn’t look good at all.

     

    Daniel, I just want to go through the other overtake, when you passed Valtteri into Turn 6, because that looked a little bit touch and go.

    DR: It was close. I think it was hard but fair. I saw him defend, so I wanted to go shallower, but then he came a bit more… I thought about pulling out. No, I’m just kidding! I knew there would always be enough room and the tyres had pretty good grip, so worst case I went wide and I’d have another crack somewhere else.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Q: Daniel, many congratulations. In winter testing, if someone had said to you “Red Bull will win a race this year before Mercedes,” what would have been your reaction?

    DR: Good job. Yeah, pretty cool. Holy Testicle Tuesday! I don’t know. I’m sitting here, reciting everything in my head what just happened. Yeah, awesome. Even after yesterday. I’ve only got six, it’s not a whole lot but the wins seem to come under always some circumstances. Baku, and this one now where we really thought we were going to start the race at the back. We didn’t think we were going to get out in qualifying and, just over 24 hours later, now to be here, it’s… this sport’s crazy. A week ago I was with my head down after two laps on Sunday. Yeah, frustrated at the sport, frustrated at all the variables that are involved in the sport. Sometimes I question why I chose this sport because there’s so many other things out of your control and it does get you down a lot – but then when you have a day like this it’s worth fifty of those bad ones.

     

    Q: Valtteri, coming on to you. A lot was made yesterday after qualifying about the team having set the cars up for the warmer temperatures that we had today in the grand prix. How was the balance of the car?

    VB: I think the balance was OK. Like actually it felt OK yesterday, we were just not quite quick enough with the ultrasoft, so yeah, today we only used soft and medium and I think on the soft it was next to nothing, the difference to Ferrari. We were as competitive as them. I think with the medium it was pretty much the same case. So, for sure, starting the race from the second row makes it more difficult. It’s a shame what happened in the end because we really took the opportunities in the beginning of the race start, during the pitstop. After the pitstop everything was going fine. And then with the Safety Car we just got a little bit unlucky – but that happens sometimes. It’s difficult to accept that quickly, after the race – but that’s F1.

     

    Q: Talk us through the undercut. Were you surprised to come out ahead of Vettel?

    VB: No. We knew that it is possible with this kind of gap, if you get everything perfect, coming in, in the box, into the pitlane and all that. If you can switch on the tyres quickly, it’s possible. That’s why we stopped at this point. It was perfect timing from the team. I think it felt it was my quickest stop I’ve had with the team. So, everything just went really well. Good out-lap. So, we knew it was possible.

     

    Q: Kimi, can we get your thoughts on the pecking order now. Because Ferrari were so quick in qualifying yesterday, yet here you are in third place.

    KR: It’s very hard to say. I think if you ask anybody, it’s a bit tricky to give you an answer. I think today a lot of the end results depended on whether you had better tyres than others, when you could offset yourself to the others. Obviously, it’s part of the game. A big part of the game. And here it made a big difference. And the safety car playing in there. So, like pure speed, with everybody on the same tyres… it’s difficult, very difficult to say in a race. I think it’s nice like that, for everybody to watch, because nobody really knows, everybody would love to know, nobody really has because it changes from race to race. And such a small difference makes a big difference in the end results. I think you just have to wait and see. I think it might change from race to race and who runs what tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Daniel, you’ve pulled off a lot of spectacular overtakes already in your Formula One career, not just to win races. Where does the overtake on Valtteri today rank and can you just talk us through what was going on in the car and going on in your head at the beginning of that process, through the overtake and afterwards?

    DR: Yeah. Opportunity be knocking! That’s what I would say. I could tell that obviously we had the advantage coming in at the safety car and having those softs. Yeah, I sensed the opportunity. Initially it was ‘OK, maybe now we can fight for the podium’ and at the rate that we were going through the field, and I could feel the tyres were holding on well, then it was obviously fully set on the win. Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously I had pace over all the guys that I got ahead of but you still don’t want to sit behind for too long. I saw Valtteri defend but I was kind of committed already from turn three that I was going to try. It was cool, it was close but I would say close but fair and it’s cool when you go wheel-to-wheel and I think it’s fun for drivers and it’s good TV so I enjoyed it. It makes it a bit sweeter than just maybe cruising past on the straight so that was a lot of fun.

     

    Q: And Valtteri can we just have your take on that overtaking manoeuvre?

    VB: Well, yeah. I was defending, obviously I saw him very close in turns one, two, three. He got a decent exit as well. He was closing lap after lap with pretty big gains. Yeah, from my side there was not much to do. I tried to defend but ultimately, with the better tyres, he could really brake quite a lot later and got inside. Like he said, it was all fair and like this. I think it was just a matter of time, with the pace he was going.

     

    Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Daniel, why didn’t you share your shoey with Valtteri and Kimi?

    DR: To be honest, actually I don’t know if I’ve ever offered it to Kimi but to be honest I sprayed most of the champagne so I didn’t have that much more and obviously I saw my number one mechanic Genty (Chris Gent) and he was the priority at the time. There wasn’t enough to go round today unfortunately. Hopefully there’s plenty more opportunities.

     

    Q: Kimi, would you accept a shoey?

    KR: Lucky for us…

    DR: Maybe next time. It’s a privilege.

     

    Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Daniel, you kept your cool throughout the race. What was in your mind when you saw that Max had made a mistake and you overtook him?

    DR: I could see it coming a few corners before. Obviously I saw he was close to Lewis out of ‘three’. I wasn’t close enough to be involved at that moment so yeah, I was just watching, I guess and obviously if there is some contact, I’ve got to then position myself and try and be prepared. Yeah, then I saw he was trying on the outside of ‘seven’ and I could see them both drift wide and I could see that one car was probably not going to make it, so the difficult thing was then when Max went off track I wasn’t sure if he was going to slide back across, hold the line, so that was quite tricky initially, but then I could see he was coming on with quite a bit of speed so then it was quite easy in my mind to cut across the inside to let him go. But yeah, even those things, they happen so fast and you’re still in the heat of the battle so it’s quite hard to always pick the right move. Fortunately I didn’t really lose any time with that and yeah, it was pretty close, so I don’t know what the viewers thought but it seemed like it was a pretty close battle.

  • 2018 Chinese GP: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    2018 Chinese GP: Post Qualifying Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

     

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    (conducted by Davide Valsecchi)

    Q: Sebastian, what a lap, it was just amazing. And then the last sector, how good it was, it was something unbelievable.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I was happy with the whole lap, not just the last sector. The car was really amazing. It just kept getting better, so really happy. I knew that on the first lap I had some mistakes. I lost the rear at Turn 3 at the exit of the low-speed, and then 6 again, so I was a bit beaten up, but then I knew that if I got a tidy lap and I have a little bit of margin then I could push.

     

    Q: Do you ever check the reaction of the fans? They love it!

    SV: Yeah, really good. Also in the hairpin, in Turn 14, just under braking, outside, I see the people going crazy. It’s really nice.

     

    Q: Kimi, you were on pole just until the last sector of Sebastian Vettel. You have to be proud of your quali? I know it must be disappointing but your drive was excellent today.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It was OK, but not good enough. It’s not exactly what I wanted, so, yeah, we go tomorrow and see what we can do.

     

    Q: About tomorrow: what do you think you can do?

    KR: Well, we try to improve. Obviously it’s going to be a long race. We need to stay out of issues and go from there and see what it brings.

     

    Q: Valtteri, how was your quali? It seemed that you were struggling a bit but then just at the end you could improve. What do you think, how was your Mercedes today?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: I think for us it was quite straightforward honestly, as a qualifying, run by run understanding the tyres, getting them to work better. But we never could achieve similar grip levels to Ferrari today.

     

    Q: Let me check it out, tomorrow, first row, Turn 1, how is it going to be?

    SV: I don’t know. We find out tomorrow. Looks like on Kimi’s side there’s more rubber, so I need a good start!

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

     

    Sebastian, just talk us through that session and how you built up to that incredible time of 1:31.095?

    SV: Yeah, it was indeed a crazy session – the car was unbelievable and it just got better. I think right from the first lap in the first of part of qualifying, in Q1, I was really happy and in the end we didn’t have to do much on the car. I didn’t have to fight so much finding the last fine tunings. I was very happy with the settings I had from the beginning. Usually you change quite a lot, you change your mind… it was tricky, because also the wind was changing, sometimes more, sometimes less, and a bit gusty as well. Trying to look around the lap to see where the flags are, trying to get a reference. The last lap in Q3 I knew I could step it up. I knew I had a bit more in me, because on the first run I had two moments, out of Turn 3, accelerating I was probably a bit keen. The same out of Turn 6, I lost the rear twice, so I lost a bit of momentum in those places. So I knew that I had a little bit more and obviously in the last lap I got it all together and very happy that when I crossed the line I was looking up to see the screen and I saw something green, which is usually good, and little bit of purple. Really pleased; it was a tight session but I think again a great result for the team.

     

    Your car seems to be getting stronger by the race. Are you surprised by the gap to Mercedes this weekend?

    SV: Yes, we are. I think the first three races have been a bit different now. The tracks are quite different to each other and to have that much of a gap is a bit of a surprise. But I think it’s also a track where you just need to get in and find that sweet spot and if you are a little bit out then easily you drop a little bit of time, so I wouldn’t be surprised tomorrow if that gap disappears and it will be a very tight race. Obviously, I wouldn’t mind if it stays there but I think it will be a tight race amongst the top three teams, and a long, tough race, but obviously it’s good to start from the front.

     

    Q: Kimi, coming on to you, you’ve been hooked up all weekend. Very, very close to your team-mate. Just talk us through the session from your point of view.

    KR: I think it was pretty straightforward. Not much really happened. Obviously after the morning it was a bit unknown where I was going to be with the wind and everything. I was pretty OK. Not much to say that was wrong. For sure there are things that we can improve always – but that’s a never-ending story. It was close. How close I don’t even know but close enough to make a difference, a few corners here and there. So, yeah, not ideal but tomorrow is another day. We’ll see what happens.

     

    Q: You say tomorrow’s the day. You’re going to be starting the race on the soft tyre, as are the top four drivers. Was that a straightforward decision – or were you tempted to start on the ultrasoft?

    KR: It was quite an easy decision, at least in the minds. If you cannot be fast enough… that we only find out in qualifying always but I think it was quite straightforward decision. We’ll see how it plays out tomorrow. It’s a bit unknown tomorrow.

     

    Q: Valtteri, just talking about that gap to Ferrari. Sebastian has already told us that he’s surprised at the size of the gap. Are you?

    VB: Yeah, we are. We thought coming into today that we would be fighting for the pole position but it was definitely out of reach today, there was nothing in the lap that we could have gained that much. I think there’s a little bit in terms of getting the tyres absolutely perfect for the lap – but it’s not half a second. You could feel it if it would be that big. So, I think they have a really strong car. We can see it, especially in long corners, Turn One-Two, they make some good gains to us and obviously not without any speed difference on the straights, they can keep the gains they make in the corners – so we definitely have work to do but yeah, tomorrow is a different day. Again, a long race ahead and like we saw last weekend it probably will be close. Hopefully we can make it up tomorrow what we lost today.

     

    Q: Can we elaborate a bit more about tomorrow. Do you think you’re going to have a more competitive race car than you had today?

    VB: hmmm… it’s difficult to say. We expected to go into today, that we would be fighting for the pole. From our numbers, it’s going to be very close between us and Ferrari – but as they were quicker today, we don’t know. But we will for sure try with everything we can. Obviously, we start on similar tyres so there’s not going to be massive differences with the strategies but yeah, we need to try and take the opportunities.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for Kimi. Kimi, the first two sectors of your final lap were the fastest in the session so far, what happened in the final sector?

    KR: Nothing really. I lost some time but… I don’t know why. It wasn’t like I did some big mistake but yeah, need to see, I don’t know right now.

     

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Question for the two Ferrari drivers. It’s always a balance between race pace and qualifying pace. Now, as you’ve seen the gap to the Mercedes, do you feel you’ve sacrificed race pace a bit too much for qualifying pace?

    SV: No. No, I think we try to look at both, obviously, and tomorrow the forecast is quite different so I think we kept that in mind. Obviously we see how it works tomorrow but the answer is still no.

     

    Kimi, anything to add?

    KR: I honestly don’t know how you could sacrifice something today to be better tomorrow. We have nothing that you could change like that. I never… as long as I remember, there has never been a case like that. You have somehow different setups for two days. It’s what you have. If it’s fast in qualifying it’s fast in the race, if it works.

     

    Q: (Yiyi Duan – Titan Sport) Kimi, very good qualifying lap but still not good enough so what details do you think can be improved if you want to overtake your teammate, if it’s possible, in tomorrow’s race?

    KR: Well, obviously first of all we need to make sure that we run a troublefree race. Obviously that’s the first point and then we have to see how it pans out, obviously, so it’s a long race. We know what we’re going to do between ourselves so there’s nothing… I think the start will be a big part of it and who knows? We will see how it pans out and what it brings but we need to make the best out of it.

     

    Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Valtteri, you mentioned that you were struggling to find the grip level that you had yesterday. Was it because of the low temperature, does that mean that your car is less competitive under low temperature conditions?

    VB: Well, I think the grip levels came up, for sure, from yesterday so in a way it was better but I think I said, I just struggled to find as much grip as Kimi and Seb. I said maybe some part of it can be from the tyres but I think some of it must come from the car. I don’t know if yesterday… it’s (tomorrow) going to be quite different to today, definitely warmer, a few degrees warmer with the air and definitely on the track; with the sun it’s a question mark. But we don’t think we are less competitive on a cold track. I thought we struggled a bit in Bahrain with the heat! For sure, we always need to understand everything better but for sure we need to make the car better as well.

     

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Seb, you had some problems yesterday; I don’t think the balance was alright and on the long run the lap times dropped a bit. Why did it go so much better today? Did you change something dramatic in the car or what happened?

    SV: We made some small changes but I think it was already pretty OK yesterday afternoon. I think in the long run I was catching traffic and (on) the other one it started to rain so I think for everyone it was a bit compromised, the amount of laps that you got. Yeah, I think overall I was happier today. Obviously it helps a little bit to focus on one lap as well, if you get the P3 session right you get the better feeling for the car so between practice and qualifying we didn’t do hardly anything. I think the overnight changes that we did, they were working and they made the car a little bit better. I was a little bit happier with the front end overall. I hope we can carry that momentum and feeling, obviously, into the race tomorrow.

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Valtteri, are we seeing a recurrence of Mercedes’s struggles on the softest compound Pirellis from last year? And in those scenarios why do you think you are able to get more out of the car than Lewis?

    VB: I think we saw in the races before that in general we’ve been a bit better with the harder compounds. That is something that we’re still working on, to get more out of the softer compounds and I think Ferrari is doing something better on that so yes, for that. I think the gap between me and Lewis was really small, it’s been quite small all weekend so it’s about fine details. I haven’t seen the lap so it’s difficult to say, really, why I was ahead but yeah, it’s been close between us all season so far so that’s how it is.

     

     

    Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula One

  • Vettel Fastest in Final Chinese GP Practice

    Vettel Fastest in Final Chinese GP Practice

    After a closely contested Free Practice 2, Sebastian Vettel pulled clear of the pack and set the fastest time in FP3 for the Chinese Grand Prix.

    Vettel’s quickest time of 1:33.018 put him 0.451s clear of team mate Kimi Raikkonen who was second fastest with a 1:33.469. Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes was 3rd fastest 0.743s off the pace.

    Verstappen’s best time was a 1:33.969 nearly a second down on Vettel while Hamilton finished 5th fastest just over a second off the pace.

    Magnussen was best of the rest for the session in 6th for Haas ahead of Sergio Perez in the Force India. Esteban Ocon was 8th fastest.

    Carlos Sainz continues quietly with his good pace over the weekend by getting his car again into the top 10, this time 9th fasetest while Sergei Sirotkin in the Williams rounded out the top 10.

    Conditions this morning in Shanghai were quite cold but drivers were keen to get out and start setting times. After the rains last night the rubber on the track was washed away and the drivers were presented with a clean track this morning. The low track temperatures certainly affected some of the drivers’ runs on the harder compound tyres.

    Hamilton was struggling for grip on the soft tyres. He had a few wide moments at Turn 10 and a few lock-ups. It was capped by a spin at the exit of Turn 10. It was not just Hamilton, Bottas was struggling for pace as well and the Mercedes cars did not look comfortable in the cold conditions.

    If a speed differential was giving Red Bull headaches, Ricciardo’s engine problem compounded things further. The Australian’s car had thick white smoke billowing out of the back. The Red Bull mechanics were lucky enough to get the car back and could start with the engine change before qualifying.

    Ferrari look like they have the pace advantage over one lap if the times in FP3 are anything to go by, but Mercedes will come back and mount a challenge to the scarlet cars.

  • 2018 Chinese GP: Friday Press Conference

    2018 Chinese GP: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Maurizio ARRIVABENE (Ferrari), Robert FERNLEY (Force India), Franz TOST (Toro Rosso)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Franz, can we start by looking back at the Bahrain Grand Prix. How satisfying was Pierre’s fourth place and can you give us some idea of the emotion within the team and at Honda after the race?

    Franz TOST: Well, it was a very emotional race result of course, because the fourth place we didn’t expect. We expected to show quite a good performance and realistically I expected a place between eight and ten. At the end it was the fourth place. It was a big positive surprise and I’m very happy, especially for Honda after the difficulties they had in the past, and also for Toro Rosso of course, and for Pierre. Pierre drove a fantastic race, without any mistakes. He deserved this fourth position and I hope that we can continue in a similar way. Not always in the fourth position of course, because we must not forget that three cars in front of us did not finish. They were faster, like Kimi Räikkönen, then Verstappen and also Ricciardo. But nevertheless, it was a good performance.

     

    One of your most satisfying results in Formula 1? You, personally?

    FT: Of course one of the most satisfying results, especially thinking about Honda, because we last year, in December, we had many meetings in Tokyo and I promised the president that we would have a successful season and a successful future, and this was the first step. Therefore, I was quite satisfied to have this good result.

     

    You’ve already said that Pierre drove a fantastic race, but Brendon had a more difficult weekend. What can we expect from him this weekend and going forward as well?

    FT: Brendon was also quite good in the qualifying. He missed Q3 just by one tenth. The race went a little bit in another direction because he had a collision with Pérez and he got the 10-second penalty and after this penalty he was not anymore in a position to score points, although I think if the race had gone for another three to five laps maybe he could have finished in 10th position. He drove a good race. Brendon is doing a good job, because you must not forget that most of the tracks, he doesn’t know. Also here, he is the first time with a Formula 1 car, he was here in LMP1. It’s not so easy to get everything together with these real strong midfield competitors and I am quite convinced that Brendon is on a good way and he will quite soon be close to Gasly.

     

    Thank you. Bob, turning to you, a point for Esteban in Bahrain demonstrated progress for Force India, but it hasn’t been the easiest of starts. How do you assess the opening couple of races, and the winter as well? 

    Robert FERNLEY: Well, I think actually it’s probably misleading. As a team, we have actually improved race-on-race, both for Australia and for Bahrain, by quite a significant amount. In terms of the opposition, they have improved even more, and the reliability is there. Last year we probably flattered a little bit to deceive getting the points early in the season, while we were very strong towards the end of the season. And I think it’s probably the same now. We had a good baseline programme for Bahrain in FP1 and FP2, which paid off, and you could see the difference in qualifying. We didn’t have a particularly good race: Checo had his incident on lap one, which basically took him out, and Esteban had a bad re-start, and we got betwixt and between a strategy that really didn’t pay off for us. I think hopefully we’re getting back on track again and the team under Andrew Green will do a great job of bringing the car forward.

     

    You made a reference there to the midfield closing up. Can you give some feeling of how difficult the task ahead is? Not only for Force India but for everyone in that midfield? What’s the secret for your guys to finish fourth this year?

    RF: I think it’s, well, like all times it’s down to reliability and being able to maintain the pace all the time. If you look at Bahrain, and looking at two or three teams, if you look at the Haas programme, one was in Q3, one dropped out in Q1. If you look at the McLarens, they just got the set-up slightly wrong and didn’t have the pace to get to Q3. It’s literally a tenth or two and that’s the difference in making Q3 and not.

     

    Can you remember a time when the midfield was as tight as this?

    RF: Not in recent years, no. I think it’s tremendous. The battle for that fourth place in the championship is going to be extremely interesting through the year.

     

    Thank you. Maurizio, two races, two victories for the team, it’s been a tremendous start. But first, and most importantly, how is Francesco Cigarini, the mechanic who was injured in Bahrain last weekend?

    Maurizio ARRIVABENE: Francesco is fine. He went back to Italy yesterday, so it’s all under control.

     

    And how is he? Is he in good spirits? Have you had the chance to catch up with him?

    MA: Of course, as team principal I was talking with him every day. He’s at home, it’s all OK.

     

    Fantastic news. As I say, two victories so far and Sebastian is sitting pretty at the top of the championship. He seemed happier with his car in Bahrain last weekend than he was in Melbourne. Can we expect further progress on that front here in China as well.

    MA: We are at the early stage of the season. The performance of the car is changing and it is really related to the track. So track versus other track, they are changing the performance. They have different characteristics. So I think at this early stage we are happy for the results that we have. But in the meantime we know that the season will be long. Here, for example, in China we will see Mercedes and Red Bull quite strong, but we are not here to surrender.

     

    Maurizio, can we have a quick word from you about the performance of Kimi Räikkönen this year? He seems to have hit the ground running, he’s performing well.

    MA: Yeah, I’m quite happy about the performance of Kimi. He is in good physical form, which for him is very, very important, because, if you remember, a couple of years ago he has a problem with his back but now he is recovering well, he’s really fit, and focused on his job.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Maurizio, can you explain why Kimi was given the green light to leave in the pit stop in Bahrain and what has changed in the procedure for this weekend?

    MA: Just to make it clear, once, forever. First of all, the team was hurt. We have a person who was injured, so it was in our interest to review the overall procedure. We done our review, together with the FIA have to say, as they are caring about safety, as we are caring about safety. We went through all the procedure. We have a procedure to ensure that the pit stops during the race are done in the most safe mode. In this case we have three factor – one involves human control, the other involves mechanical, the other involves electronic device. What’s happening there is we have a mishandling of the rear left. It was not perfectly read by the electronic device that gives the green light. We went through all the procedure together with the FIA, making sure that this thing doesn’t happen again, and it’s in our interest, because we care about our people, before anything else.

     

    Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xinhua News Agency) This is to Franz. We talked just now about your fourth place last time out in Bahrain and we know that the McLaren-Honda partnership wasn’t that successful over the last three years or so. Do you think it’s a case that Honda is a better fit for a team like Toro Rosso than it was with a team like McLaren, for example?

    FT: I don’t know the circumstances which happened at McLaren and I do not want to comment on this because this is past tense and I was not involved – therefore I cannot come up with any conclusions. The fact is Toro Rosso has a fantastic relationship with Honda. We work very closely together, we worked quite hard during the winter months to sort out all the problems which maybe occurred in the past and Honda worked very hard to come up with a reliable and competitive engine. The last two races they proved that this is the case and I am really optimistic for the future.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) To all three of you but particularly to Maurizio. Your comments please about the Liberty presentation last Friday and whether Maurizio, Ferrari is satisfied with what was proposed in terms of either bonus structure, financial structure etcetera. And the impact on your team of the necessary reduction in headcount.

    MA: First of all Dieter, I was not commenting on the meeting that we have. We were listening to the presentation and any kind of decision related to our further strategy or decision, they are related to our CEO. That is the one that has the responsibility to take this kind of decision.

     

    Bob, anything further to add?

    RF: Not really. I think we have to remember this is work in progress. It’s not something that really is for discussion at this point. It’s something that’s presented to us. It will go another few rounds yet before something becomes more concrete. I think it’s too presumptuous to start thinking that we’ve got the process in place yet. I think it’s too early.

     

    Franz, anything from you on that?

    FT: I support all the points which Liberty Media presented and I hope that they will realise it.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Maurizio about the matter of the meeting. It’s difficult to comment but I would just like to know if Ferrari refuse totally the budget cap or if there is a door open to discuss something like this – maybe with different figures. And, about the new distribution of money, if it’s something that you don’t want to discuss at all with Liberty or there is some chance to speak about it.

    MA: I have to point out that it’s not difficult to make a comment. It’s simply not my job. It’s the responsibility of my chairman.

     

    Q: (Steve Wade – AP) Forgive me, I came in late. Can you explain again the condition of your mechanic and if you’ve been to see him, been in contact with him.

    MA: The first comment is that he’s back in Italy, he’s at home and he’s OK.

     

    Are you in contact with him?

    MA: Of course. As the team principal I’m in contact with him. His name is Francesco but he’s not St Francesco. Blessing the hurt who doesn’t need hero. This is Bertolt Brecht, it’s not Maurizio.

     

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Question for Maurizio. Although it’s not your job to discuss the proposals, it would be your role to implement any changes to Ferrari as a result of the proposals. Toto Wolff has said a budget cap of $150million is not achievable. Could such a thing be achievable for Ferrari?

    MA: I mean we are reading the overall document. We are discussing and, I mean, we will see in the future if it’s achievable or not.

     

    Q: (Gaëtan Vigneron – RTBF) Question for Franz. There is always a technical aspect in a relationship but there is a also a human one. What did you try to do to build a respectful relationship with Honda with the kind of harmony that was maybe a little bit missing in the past years with another team?

    FT: The Toro Rosso team from its nature is a very friendly team with Italian mentality. I must say that we never had any frictions from the very beginning onwards we had a good cooperation. In addition to this, we organised some workshops for our engineers and employees who are working together with the Honda people, to understand the culture, to understand the way of thinking, because the cultures between Europe and Japan are different. I must say that they found a really good way of working together without any problems and I am also convinced that this will continue in this way. From the technical side, as I mentioned before, we had a couple of technical meetings in December where we discussed different topics and where both sides started immediately to work on this and we are still quite close, cooperating together because we want to develop the car as well as the power unit also during the season. From this point of view I must say Toro Rosso is in the best situation we have ever been – because we are now much more involved in the complete design process, regarding the car and how to fit in the power unit, how to design the cooling system, the exhaust system, where to put the electric boxes and so on. I think, especially for next year, this will be a big advantage from the complete car design point of view.

     

    Franz, are there Honda engineers based in Faenza?

    FT: No, the Honda engineers are based… some of them are based in Milton Keynes, because Honda has there as well an R&D department, but most of them are in Sakura and our engineers are flying to Sakura, to Japan when there is a special programme on the dyno or wherever because we are now much more involved also in the dyno runnings. We started already in November/December with the gearbox, and engine and gearbox tests and gearshifts and all this kind of stuff and we also are currently running a programme in Sakura.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, RaceFans.net) Bob, you said earlier on that this is a work in progress, this Liberty presentation. To all three of you, what is the deadline needed before it’s really firmed up and proposals are made and accepted and regulations, because we only have two and a half years left before the current agreements expire?

    BF: I am hoping that most of it will be done this year, perhaps the financials will take a bit longer but I would have thought that the engine regulations would have to be out reasonably quickly. It’s more to do with the engine manufacturers than it is us. We’re a customer team so we’re not really involved in that, Dieter, but I’m sure those would have to be done this year to give everybody the right opportunity and I would have thought that early next year – this time – we should be looking at chassis regs and anything else that’s surrounding that; cost controls or whatever, should be in place as well.

    MA: They give us a deadline for the end of May, I think. I hope that this deadline is going to be respected. It’s a bit early somehow but it’s far if you’re looking at the situation from another point of view, a technical point of view. Concerning the engine, we, Mercedes, Renault and Honda sent a letter a month ago explaining in detail our position. Now, it’s quite clear.

    FT: I think the power unit regulation has to be finalised soon, May, June, otherwise I don’t think it’s possible for new manufacturers to come into Formula One because time is running away, ’21 is tomorrow and I think that Liberty Media is aware of this and the rest we will see.

     

    Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) I’ll try my luck with a question to Maurizio: Maurizio how would Ferrari react if you were to lose your historic right to veto any regulation change under Liberty Media’s new governance plans?

    MA: We’ll let you know as soon as we go deeper into the conversations. You can see a smile on our face or not.

    BF: Veto the question.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, RaceFans.net) Maurizio, Bob has said that he would like to see the engine regulations firmed up this year then the chassis in a year’s time and the money thereafter. From a Ferrari perspective, can one actually split it, given that to Ferrari all three are very very important elements which would be basically decide your way forward?

    MA: All the elements are important because they are somehow linked together so soon we will find an agreement if any, related to the various topics that are into the proposals and then we can go.

    BF: Just to clarify Dieter, it would be nice to have everything done in one go but I’m giving you the timelines that might be realistic rather than (those that) are absolutely necessary.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Maurizio, about the sporting situation now, I would like to ask you what makes you more proud about this season?

    MA: As I said at the beginning, we have only had two races now. The season is very very long so as I said before, the car behaviour changes from one track to another. I can see here, for example, Mercedes and Red Bull are quite strong but we are not here, as I said before, to surrender. You came later, I suppose. You were not here.

     

    Q: (Yang Guang – China Radio International) My question is about the circuit; there were a few slides in the morning practice, so how would you assess the condition of the Shanghai Circuit and what are your strategies for the following sessions in terms of the weather conditions?

    MA: Talking about the strategy, can you ask this question to Horner and Toto and then you let me know? Talking about the track, yeah, it’s a fantastic track, it’s very different versus Australia and Bahrain where we competed. I think it’s great to be here because we feel that Chinese people really support Formula One and I think that in the future and I hope that in the near future they are supporting further because the infrastructure here is great.

     

    Q: And Bob, your strategy going forward for the rest of the sessions?

    BF: If you could control the wind, that would be the strategy! I think that it’s a wind related issue today, it’s very strong and gusting so it’s causing a few issues for the drivers but the track is fantastic and it’s a great facility. We just look forward to being able to optimise the set-ups.

    FT: There’s not much to add. Yeah, it’s a fantastic infrastructure here, it’s a really nice racetrack, we always like to come here. Unfortunately the weather is not as beautiful as it could be because it’s a little bit cold and the wind is blowing a lot which has a big impact on the behaviour and the balance of the car and the strategy is to do as many laps as possible because our drivers need to learn the track and they will do some long runs today in the afternoon and then we will see.

    MA: I would like to say something concerning Bahrain. I would like to thank our doctor, our team doctor, the medical staff of the FIA and also the authorities in Bahrain, they immediately granted to us the best doctors in Bahrain to do the surgery and they were assisting us 24 hours (a day) literally, so thanks to all of them.

  • 2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso), Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Pierre, if we could start with you please. Let’s start by reflecting on your sensational result in Bahrain last weekend. How do you reflect on what happened there, and what kind of reaction have you had around the world?

    Pierre GASLY: I must say it’s been amazing. First, just personally, y’know? It’s a big investment for a long time, since I’m a kid. It’s a lot of work, a lot of preparation and, of course, it’s my best result in Formula One – but just to see that all the work I’m doing at the moment is paying off and actually we are going in the right direction, so of course, I’m really happy about it. And secondly, for the team, it’s only our second race with Honda and already we can see that we are actually going in the right direction, communication-wise everything is going well and the car is competitive. So, this was really amazing, and also the support I got afterwards, after the weekend, I’m just super-impressed. A lot of articles, a lot of TVs, and media writing as well. It was something impressive but really nice, a lot of support from the people as well. So, it’s been great.

     

    Q: You say the car is competitive. Do you think the performance will translate to a track like this one?

    PG: I’ll tell you tomorrow! I really hope so. I think definitely we understood much more about our car potential, car setup, about the tyres but still we need confirmation, as you say, and I think this weekend will be a good opportunity to see if… definitely to judge our baseline and see if the potential is the same on other tracks. Definitely we need to be quite careful. Bahrain has been so good for us and I don’t know if it’s going to be similar on other tracks. So yeah, hopefully it’s going to be the same but we’ll find out tomorrow.

     

    Q: And are you coming into this weekend feeling very confident?

    PG: Yeah, definitely, we feel more confident than we were, for example, in Melbourne or for Bahrain. This is going to be my first time in Shanghai, so it’s also going to be a new track for me. We’ll probably take a bit more time to adapt myself but definitely we are a bit more confident but still we need to be careful – because we have no guarantees about the performance – we know it’s really tight in the midfield. In Bahrain, the car was just fantastic in terms of balance, in terms of grip – but we know that if we don’t get everything right, suddenly if you lose two or three tenths you can be at the back of the midfield and it changes your weekend completely. So, we need to be quite careful and just make sure we do the right things.

     

    Q: Marcus, you’re another man celebrating a tremendous race in Bahrain. How do you look back on last weekend’s events?

    Marcus ERICSSON: Yes, like you say it was a great race for us, great to be in the points and also a great reward to everyone in the team. It’s been a lot of things happening over the winter. We’re coming from two very difficult years, where we’ve been always at the back as a team, and then this year we’re coming into the year with Alfa Romeo coming on as a main sponsor, and partner to the team and it’s like a new chapter for Sauber. It’s been a lot of work put in to make a step forwards and to move up the grid. And to be already at the second race of the year in the points, it’s, I think, a great result, a great team result and a great boost for everyone. So yeah, it was very nice. And also for myself personally, I was super happy to be back in the points. It’s been a long time. So, yeah, overall it was very positive.

     

    Q: Tell us a little more about that. It’s been 50 races since you were last in the points. How much of a relief was it?

    ME: Of course, it was big relief. I think I’ve had four times P11 since then. So, I was close a lot of times, and had some great races but it’s very difficult when you’re in the worst car on the grid. Some races I had a perfect race – and finished P14 or something like that. It’s frustrating, but, yeah, of course we’re all here to try to score points. So to be back in the points last weekend was a great relief.

     

    Q: You say last year’s car was the worst on the grid. How good is this one?

    ME: I think we have a very solid baseline to work from. Like Pierre said, the midfield is very, very close and I feel that we are very much in that midfield – but probably in the lower part of that midfield at the moment. But also like Toro Rosso showed last weekend, if you make a step you can really move quickly up or down in that midfield group. So, first of all I’m just very happy that we part of that group on pure speed. Now we need to work even harder to try to improve that position – but I know everyone does, both here on track and also in the factory and we have a lot of things planned for the season. We need to keep working hard, keep pushing hard and then we should be able to fight every weekend.

     

    I’m sure you’ll keep doing that Marcus. Thank you very much. Max, coming to you now. As much as the other guys had a good weekend in Bahrain, it was a very frustrating one for you and Red Bull Racing; I think it was the team’s first double retirement since Korea in 2010. Can we start by talking about the car? You were very bullish about it in winter testing but now that we’re a couple of races in, just how competitive is it?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: The car is very quick, I think especially in the race. I think we know in qualifying we are losing out a bit, just on pure performance, on top speed. But as soon as that all calms down a bit in the race, yeah, I was very confident, for example, before we went into the race to still move up a lot of positions, because I think the car was definitely capable of just driving back to the podium. So yeah, I’m just looking forward to get started again here, because we have a good package, and there are a lot of good things coming. So, yeah, ready to go.

     

    You made a very good start on Sunday and then there was the incident with Lewis Hamilton. Just one week on how do you reflect on what happened with Hamilton? Have you seen it on TV?

    MV: I was in the car. So I felt it, I saw it! That’s racing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You can say whatever you like about the incident. I think I had a fair shot at it. It was nothing crazy, nothing risky. But yeah, unfortunately this time it didn’t work out. Looking back, for example, in Mexico last year it did work out. This time we gave each maybe not enough space, but that’s racing as well at the end of the day. Like I said, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad.

     

    Have you spoken to Lewis since the incident?

    MV: No.

     

    So looking ahead to this weekend, how important is it for you to get into the points and might we see a more conservative approach this weekend?

    MV: It’s always important to score points and that’s always the target, but we are here to finish on the podium or win races – that’s why we’re here. That’s what I will try to do again this weekend. So, for me, there won’t be a change.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Phil Duncan – Press Association ) Max, did you hear what Lewis had to say after the race? Do you think you will have a chat with him this weekend? And do you think that you will address your driving style going forward?

    MV: No. I might have a talk with him. It depends if it’s really necessary. But why should I change something. I don’t think I did anything wrong in terms of my approach. I was just trying to overtake a car. I think it was a fair chance. I went for it. For example, last year in Mexico it could have gone wrong as well – maybe for me, maybe for another car. As you could see in Mexico it did. It’s racing; it’s very simple. I don’t understand why everybody is so on top of the topic. Those things happen in racing, you know.

     

    Q: (Jaap de Groot – De Telegraaf) Max, reflecting on what happened last week in Bahrain and thinking back to last year here. You also started at P16 and finished third. Remember the first lap? That was fantastic. Is that also for an inspiration? You talk about Mexico but over here you even did a better than that, taking over your opponents.

    MV: Yeah, it was. That race was starting on wet tyres, so it’s always easier to get past people if you have a good feeling and a good car. So yeah, always in the dry it’s a bit more tricky. Sometimes you have those first laps where everything works out perfect.

     

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Pierre, your result in Bahrain was Honda’s best since it came back into Formula 1. It’s obviously made a clear step in reliability – the changes it introduced after Australia. Performance-wise, what are you expecting this weekend? The energy recovery system has always been its limiting factor and there is a long back straight here and a long start-finish straight as well.

    PG: We expect to be quite competitive, after what we learned from Bahrain. But as I say, we don’t know if we’re going to be on top of the midfield, if we are going to be in the middle, we just know that to have a similar performance as Bahrain we really need to be on top of everything and just make everything perfectly. The track layout, for sure, is not one of our favourites, or is not going to be as easy, with the long back straight. But still you need to have a really strong car in the middle part of the track, so I think we can still expect to be competitive. But to have a clear picture, we have done only two races. We were pretty slow in Melbourne. We were very competitive in Bahrain, even faster than what we expected, so it’s still difficult for us to know for us exactly where is the performance of the car. I think we are going to be in the fight for the midfield, but hopefully on top of it.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Gasly, we heard after the race in Bahrain that you said that we are in the fight now and it seems that it was a reply to what Fernando said the week before. So I would like to know your comment on that.

    PG: It was simple, it was just a little joke, that’s it. I think we need to give credit back to Honda. In the end, they have had a tough three years with McLaren and to finish P4 in the second race with them was just amazing, so it was a way to give them credit, because they are working really hard and yeah, I think they need credit for the hard work they are doing. But don’t get me wrong, I must say I had pretty tough messages after that, after the race, by some Spanish people who are actually quite crazy. I have huge respect for Fernando so I’m just making it clear. Don’t get me wrong. Fernando for sure is one of the best drivers of all time in Formula One, and one of the drivers I looked up to when I was young, one of my idols actually. No, I have huge respect for him, so it was nothing related, just a high comment for Honda because I think they deserved the credit.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Ericsson, you talked before about a new chapter with Alfa Romeo. I would like to know exactly how the situation is now, if you can compare it to last year? So what does it feel to be the first driver to collect points with the Alfa brand on the car?

    ME: Like I said, for the team, it’s like a new chapter this year. A lot of things have been changing over the winter, especially, obviously, with Alfa Romeo coming on board, a lot of new people coming in to the team. A lot of things changing, completely different resources. It’s been a big change and you can feel it inside the team. You can feel the motivation is very high, people are believing again. It’s a big motivation to move up the grid, whereas it’s been more about the team surviving the last few years, so it’s not so much been pushing for performance, it’s been more pushing for trying to survive every week, every race. Having that mindset, it’s then difficult to get the results whereas now we go into the season to push, to make results and to move up the grid. It’s just a completely different mindset. For me, that’s been very nice to see. So far it’s been very good, but we still have a long way to go and we need to keep working hard but it’s been very positive.

    On the second part, to score points, being the first one in this new chapter with Alfa, I think it’s something that makes me proud. First of all I’m proud to represent Alfa Romeo in Formula One again, I think it’s a very legendary brand. It’s very special to represent them in Formula One again and of course to score points with them.

     

    Q: How much of a step forward is this year’s Ferrari power unit compared to the year-old one you were using in 2017?

    ME: It’s very big, not only in power but in everything: driveability, energy management and all those things. It’s a very very big step. It’s nice not to have that handicap like we had last year because it was a very big disadvantage last year.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) Max, if the way you were driving you believe was fine, why do you think Lewis was moved to have a go at you?

    MV: Why? Because it’s quite easy and simple to blame the younger driver. That’s the only way I can see it. Like I said, these things happen. There’s no reason for me to change anything.

     

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – AD Sportwereld) Max, if you would make a list of your favourite tracks, where would Shanghai be in that list?

    MV: Somewhere!

     

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – AD Sportwereld) Top five or lower?

    MV: Yeah, it’s good actually, yeah, especially for racing, I think it’s a good track, so it’s definitely on that list.

     

    Q: (Jaap de Groot – De Telegraaf) Max, in Bahrain, several things went wrong with you and the car of Ricciardo. Did the team already analyse the whole matter and could you give me some information on that?

    MV: Yeah, from my side, we put a new wheel on the car, a new floor, because that was destroyed. No, I think it was mainly more from Daniel’s car of course and in the race I think we had the problem quite similar to me last year in Canada and I think in testing this year as well. So it’s definitely something to look into but what can you do about it? It’s something that Renault needs to sort out. They are of course working really hard on that. They will again try their very best to provide us with the best possible equipment here. I’m actually not too worried about it and at the end of the day, if it happens it happens. You can’t prevent it.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Very quick question to Max: did you have to change the gearbox for this race or not?

    MV: Why? I retired anyway so I can do those kind of things.

  • Formula 1 2018: Roll on China

    A short turn around and we are already at Round 3 of the Formula One World Championship in Shanghai, China.

    This year marks the 15th iteration of the Chinese Grand Prix on Formula 1 Calendars. The race has been a staple on the F1 calendar since 2004.

    The 5.451 km circuit, with its 7 left and 9 right turns in the F1 configuration has a good mix of fast-medium speed corners with a bit of slow corners thrown in for good measure with its party piece being the 1.175km back straight. There are some good overtaking opportunities on the back straight with or without DRS. The long, reducing radius, Turn 1 which leads into T2 is another good spot for overtaking as drivers can take different lines to get the drive to setup a pass into the Turn 6 hairpin.

    Mercedes on the back foot?

    Mercedes head into the Chinese Grand Prix as somewhat favorites. The Shanghai Circuit has been a happy hunting ground for them in the hybrid era with a Silver Arrows winning the Chinese Grand Prix each year since 2014. History certainly favors them. On the other hand, no driver has failed to win the Drivers Championship after winning the first two races since 1982. Both Mercedes drivers will want to get their first victory of the season out of the way, Hamilton more so as he’s the current defending world champion.

    So where does that put Ferrari? The circuit being a front limited circuit, could make things a little tough for them, but they’ve shown since the start of the season that they can get over their issues rather quickly. A new floor update is scheduled for this weekend which could put them in the running once again. The cooler temperatures in Shanghai may play into the hands of Mercedes, but that’s never stopped the Ferrari’s before from getting close.

    Kimi Raikkonen has been in good form lately with the 2018 Ferrari more to his liking and with his early retirement in Bahrain will be aching to get going again an hopefully another victory. Whether Ferrari let that happen with be another conversation on its own.

    As for Red Bull, they’re coming into the weekend with something to prove. A double DNF in Bahrain and a 4th and 5th place finish in Australia doesn’t reflect their true potential. While they cannot match Ferrari on one-lap pace and by extension Mercedes, they know fully well that their race pace is quite good and they are able to keep up. Bahrain was shaping up to be a 2 way battle up front but their double DNF put an end to that quite early in the race.

    Best of the rest

    At the moment no midfield manufacturer can claim that title outright. In Bahrain it was Toro Rosso based on Pierre Gasly’s 4th place finish in the race. It’s an extraordinary start to the season for the Faenza outfit and their engine partner Honda. This in stark contrast to how Honda started with McLaren. Toro Rosso look like they’ve got their processes in place with Honda and they seem to be working well together, and Honda is delivering.

    It’s close between Haas and Renault at the moment. The only thing counting against Haas at the moment is their consistency and their ability to maintain the development curve. McLaren are not too far either and their race performance shows that they could possibly sneak ahead of the works team and Haas later in the season.

    Sauber who have taken some points in Bahrain will want to build on that points finish and no doubt will try to get higher up the order.

    China 2018_Selected SetsPirelli Skips a Step

    In Bahrain it can be said that Pirelli got their compound nominations spot on. There were many strategy variations and options which made for very interesting racing and gamesmanship between the teams. For China they’re bringing the white marked medium compound, yellow marked soft compound and the purple marked ultra-soft compound, skipping the super soft. Part of the reason why they can skip a compound for china is that the asphalt is smoother than in Bahrain. The rough asphalt would’ve shredded the ultra softs.

    “The new wider range of 2018 P Zero compounds have allowed us to come up with some nominations this year where there is a gap in the tyres selected,” explains Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of Car Racing.

    “There’s quite a big gap from medium to the softer compounds, which are quite close together (with the exception of the hypersoft). So, by missing out the supersoft in China, we end up with three choices that are quite evenly spaced out, which in turn opens up several different possibilities for strategy.

    “These strategy calculations have, of course, already begun, with teams selecting different quantities of the ultrasoft heading into the race, and we could also see some different approaches to qualifying as well.

    “With China being an unpredictable race anyway, thanks to a number of different overtaking opportunities and notoriously variable weather, this tyre nomination introduces another parameter, which should hopefully contribute to an even better spectacle.”