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  • 2017 Mexico Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Mexico Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Sergio PÉREZ (Force India), Pascal WEHRLEIN (Sauber)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sergio, if we can start with you, you’re the home town hero this weekend, just tell us how it feels to be racing in Mexico again?

    Sergio PÉREZ: It feels great. It’s a race that I’m waiting the whole season for. It comes really late in the calendar, but it comes at the right time. Just the atmosphere, the energy I get from the fans is something that is extremely amazing. So much support; from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave it’s flat out and yeah, so much looking forward to give the very best to all my fans in the track and off the track, to give the very best to them.

     

    Looking back to Austin last weekend, it was another strong race from Force India. You weren’t allowed to overtake your team-mate there but we hear that you will be free to race here in Mexico. Is that true and what can we expect from you guys this weekend?

    SP: Yeah, well in Austin and in Japan, for example, we knew that the priority was to secure fourth place in the Constructors’, which we are very close to doing so. So that’s the main priority. Then I think we have to gain the trust back; to show the bosses that we can race without any trouble. That’s the main priority. I think here we should be quite strong actually. We have a couple of upgrades on the car and I think the track should suit the car quite well, so definitely looking forward and to finish our season, which has been good, on a high.

     

    And free to race?

    SP: That I haven’t heard. You’ve heard it first. But probably yes, we should be able to race here.

     

    Pascal, there’s a lot of talk about 2018 in the F1 paddock at the moment. You’ve become one of the key players in that game of musical chairs. How close are you to signing a deal?

    Pascal WEHRLEIN: No news yet on this side but I hope… there are some discussions going on for next year and I hope we can fix something soon.

     

    Do you have a headline when you expect to hear something?

    PW: I have no deadline, no. The last two years it was always quite late. I just hope we can find something and sign a contract for next year and I would be happy.

     

    Your name has been linked to Williams, but are you hedging your bets, are you looking outside Formula One as well as inside?

    PW: I’m not looking outside yet.

     

    Well, good luck in that. Max, obviously you are here to discuss events in Austin last weekend. Having had a few days to reflect on what happened, what are your thoughts now?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: The thoughts are pretty similar, but I think in general it was a great race. I really enjoyed that. The pace of the car was great again. That’s now three times in a row we were really competitive and I just hope to continue that way here in Mexico.

     

    It got pretty heated after the race. Do you regret any of the comments that you made or any of the language you used?

    MV: Well, I think after a race the emotions run high, especially you have been taken off a podium, which I think I deserved, because I think the punishment was not correct, because everybody was running off the track in Turn 19, 8 and 9. Even in Turn 6 when you were behind someone you were cutting the inside, a lot of cars were doing it. And then also the fans, I think they loved it. It was a great move and then they tell you that you are gaining an advantage while overtaking someone. Well, if I was really gaining an advantage I would do it every single lap, which you are not, so I don’t think it’s gaining an advantage. Like I said, a lot of other people did it as well, they were cutting the inside of the corners, and then I’m the only getting penalised, is of course, I think, not correct. And then I think it’s quite normal that I get angry. Of course I could have used a few different words but at the end of the day I still think the decision is not correct.

     

    So the sentiment four days on is still the same?

    MV: Absolutely.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Max, you said there is the same marshal that penalised you, I think it was here in marshal. Who is this marshal please… Sorry he’s a steward?

    MV: I don’t want to name any names.

     

    Q: (Helmut Uhl – Bild) Max, how did you digest the disappointment? What did you do the last days?

    MV: I had an event on Monday and then I just stayed around Houston, because that’s where I had to be and played FIFA. I mean, at the end of the day I still had a great day. Of course I was not happy that they take away my podium, but you also have to look at the positives and that was that it was a great race, for sure. I’m still a happy person, because the speed was good.

     

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – Algemeen Dagblad) Max, besides you drove a perfect race, there was also some criticism in the Netherlands, maybe for the first time. What do you make of that? What do you think of that? 

    MV: As I said, I could have different words, for sure. But, like I also said, I was angry at the time, because I think it was not correct and I already said all the reasons why I think it was not correct. So you also have to understand a bit my point of it, but of course the words were not correct. But I can’t change that right now. It was not meant for anyone. I was not trying to offend anyone. Otherwise I would have named them by name if I was trying to offend someone.

     

    Q: (Manuel Franco – Diario As) My question is about Fernando Alonso. He will be competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona next year. What’s your opinion about that and would you compete in a similar race outside Formula One?

    SP: I think it’s good experience. Obviously, Fernando is wanting to experience that route a lot, with Indy, the 24 Hours and probably he might think of Le Mans. I think it’s a great, you know. I think it’s a great experience. It’s one of those races that you would like to do at some point. I went there actually last year to see my brother. He did the race the 24 Hours in Daytona, and it’s an amazing race and an amazing venue. It’s one race that I definitely want to do at some point in my career.

    PW: I’ve never followed it so far, but I have only heard positive things about it so probably I will follow it next year.

    MV: Of course the first priority is to stay as long as possible in F1, but if I like it then maybe I will do it, but I only want to do it with my dad. I think after F1 to get the same sensation is really hard, so I try to do that as long as possible.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com ) Max, sorry to come back to the subject but looking at the video your first reaction, looks like to avoid an impact with Kimi, then you look for the run-off area. Is that correct?

    MV: Yeah, of course. I think at one point he realised that I was trying to overtake him, so he tried to close the door, so you have avoid it. Then, of course, the Austin track gives a lot of possibility to run on the inside, like you could see the whole weekend. So, yeah, first was to try to avoid an accident and then to try and overtake him.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Sergio, it’s great to be home obviously. We know that you’ve helped put together a lot of money to help repair what’s been going on here in Mexico City following the tragedy of the earthquakes. I was wondering what you would have to say to some of your fans and your people who are watching this weekend who are looking to come to race and out behind what has happened recently?

    SP: Yeah, it has been a very tough couple of months for my country in general, not just Mexico City, but other cities. What happened was horrible. But it was amazing to see, so united Mexico, but not only Mexico, the whole world, how everyone supported Mexico was pretty special. I think that’s one of the reasons that this race is going to very special for the fans. I really hope that the fans that come here will have an amazing time and the ones watching at home, hopefully I give them an amazing race and a lot of happiness that they really deserve to have.

     

    Q: (Carlos Jalife – Fast Mag) Max, I was wondering, the pass was deemed illegal, although everybody liked it in Austin, but what can be done, what deterrent can be used so that this doesn’t happen again – for all the drivers. Obviously, there should be some self-discipline, but as this was lacking from everyone, should they use bananas, like they do in the first chicane in Monza? What would be your ideas about using a deterrent to avoid drivers using the extra metres?

    MV: It’s not self-discipline, I think we know quite well what to do and what not to do. But they never told us anything. Already from lap one in practice one, everyone was running wide. It was all fine. Then, of course, if it’s not mentioned, they never tell us anything, then of course we try to go as quick as we can. I think there is a very simple solution. Let’s put grass on the inside, or gravel or whatever, that you cannot cut over the kerbs. For example, in Suzuka I don’t think we have those issues, do we? So it’s quite clear.

    SP: I totally agree with Max. Nothing was being said before we didn’t have any guidance on that. That incident was very particular. Yeah, it’s definitely something that we need to definitely have a guidance on what is allowed and not allowed.

     

    Would you like to see grass on the inside as well, as Max has just suggested?

    SP: Yeah, in general I think the tracks have become very boring. If you go off you have 100 metres to go wide. I’m not saying you should put a wall, but I think definitely there should be a lot more gravel and if the driver makes a mistake he should pay more for it.

     

    Pascal?

    PW: Yeah, I’m not a big fan of bug runaways or sausage kerbs. Me, I would also prefer gravel or grass, it makes it much easier.

     

    Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Max, I think a few people in the paddock were quite surprised that you decided to take yourself out of the conversation, if you like, with Mercedes and Ferrari, and extend your future with Red Bull until the end of 2020? Can you tell me whether there was interest from both of those parties and why you decided to commit so early?

    MV: Well, I don’t speak about those things normally, but I feel good at the team and the improvements we made this year I think they have been the most of the whole grid, especially in the last few races, we have been really competitive. And also I think how we are going to start this next year will be better than how we started this year. I believe in the team and what is also very important is that you have people around you who really support you. They are good friends to you as well, and there is just a really good atmosphere in the team, so why would I give that up? At the end of the day, if we can sort out the horsepower deficit then I’m sure we can win races.

     

    Max, you talk about the atmosphere in the team, would you like to see Daniel Ricciardo stay in the team?

    MV: That would be good, yes, because the relationship is really good. And also in the team there is not like two sides, it’s like one big side. Everybody can be happy for each other if somebody has a good result, so I think that’s also very important.

     

    Q: (Jim Vertuno – Associated Press) Sergio, how would you describe your relationship with your team-mate at this point in the season? And do you suspect that given your popularity here that Mexican fans will be cheering for you and against him this weekend?

    SP: I think we obviously had a bad relationship since Baku and especially we hit a very low point in Belgium. But afterwards we had a good conversation between us only, no one was involved there in the team. I think since that point everything has changed you know, the atmosphere, not only between us, also the engineers and everyone, is really good. Having both sides working together has made a big difference. And especially going into next year it’s really important. It’s a massive challenge. We have to work together for the benefit of the team. It’s very important that in a team that both drivers are united. Obviously, you want to beat each other but it’s important to have that respect. I think that respect is in place now. It’s something that makes me happy and the atmosphere is good. I don’t think the fans will be bad to Esteban. Obviously they will support me a lot here but I see no reason why they should be bad to him. If anything, every  event we have done so far they have been very good to him, not only to him but to everybody else. They really like the sport and at the end of the day it’s just a sport and it’s how it should be.

     

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Max. Max, how much is it important for you to have the freedom to express your opinion, to be yourself, to have your own personality in Formula One?

    MV: I think it’s very important but that’s the way I am. I’m not going to hold back or lie. I’m just straightforward.

     

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – Ad Sportwereld) Again for Max, you said you were hoping teams would gather around and talk about this issue, so maybe things could change by being discussed. Did that happen, as far as you know?

    MV: I think not for the moment, but it will happen, yeah.

     

    Q: (Rachel Brookes – Sky Sports) Checo, how happy were you to hear that Max was staying with Red Bull until 2020, with the possibility of a Mercedes or Ferrari seat opening up in 2019. And have you spoken to either team? Does that interest you?

    SP: Well, going that far forward doesn’t really change anything.

    MV: I did it for Checo!

    SP: As a special favour for me? I hope that works in my advantage. No, seriously, it doesn’t change anything, it’s too far away. Let’s see how the season starts next year and we’ll see what opportunity comes up in the future. I expect there will be some changes next year. A lot of movement, so it’s good Max is staying there. I hope he stays a lot longer!

     

    Q: Pascal, we should probably throw that to you as well, you’re a Mercedes junior driver. The ramifications of Max staying at Red Bull. Do you think they could play to your advantage as well?

    PW: In my case we need to fix next year first and then think about 2019.

     

    Q: (Rafael Bolaños – Televisa) Checo, based on what you have done for the team in the past years, do you think you deserve to be the number one driver in the team?

    SP: No, I think it’s fair that there is no number one driver in the team. I think both drivers in any team should be treated equally, with the updates you get etc. At the end of the day the number one driver is always the one that scores the most points or can deliver the most for the team. And that’s my priority, to try to deliver the most for the team but, at the same time, help with the development, work together with Esteban to help the team, and move forwards – because considering the tight budget we have, and we’re fighting forces like Red Bull or Ferrari, it’s really difficult for us. We really have to work, all of us together, to try to move the team forwards, and I’m trying to improve that.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) To all three drivers. Last week there was a lot of talk on social media about the intro of last week’s race and how spectacular it was. It was very American. There were a lot of mixed view on that intro. I would like to get your take on what you guys thought of that intro. And for Sergio, do you think something like that could work here in Mexico?

    SP: I think if there’s a race that doesn’t need anything like that it’s especially Mexico. Mexico has been the greatest grand prix for the last two years and I believe that it will be the same. Personally, I like it for the sport. Having all the time the same… I think probably every race should have their own signature – because when you go to China or Brazil it’s the same: you have the same Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Everything is very similar. I think those things definitely help the sport. Personally, sitting there and waiting so long is not the best thing, especially before the race – but I think it was good for the sport and is good that some races think on something like this.

     

    Pascal, your thoughts?

    PW: I really liked it. Probably not for every race – it would be a bit too much – but, for example, some special races, I think, like Monaco, Singapore, something like this. I think it would be very nice.

     

    And Max.

    MV: Yeah, I think it was a good thing to do, but of course it was very American, so it will not work on every single track. We just need to see where it’s going to work – or not. Some fine tuning is always good but I think for the first time it was actually pretty well done.

     

    Q: (Septime Meunier – AFP) How would you rate Exxon Mobil’s work this season for Red Bull?

    MV: It’s been great, I think they have given us the biggest engine upgrade, so that’s always very, very positive. There are a lot of things still coming so I am looking forward to that.

  • 2017 United States Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    2017 United States Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    PART TWO – DRIVERS: Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Romain GROSJEAN (Haas), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault)

     

    Q: Let’s start with Fernando Alonso. Two-time Formula One World Champion who’s just announced a new deal with McLaren that I think will take you to 17 seasons in Formula One. Tell us your feelings, and also what remains for you to achieve here?

    Fernando ALONSO: Well, the feelings are great, obviously. It’s a good day for me, announcing next year, I will be back here with McLaren and obviously happy and proud to continue this relationship. It has been three difficult seasons for us, we are not as competitive as we wanted and now I think it’s time to change this situation and hopefully next year to be back in the positions that McLaren belongs and hopefully give something to our fans that have kept supporting us for the last three years. That will be the main thing for next year. As I’ve said, happy to arrive to this agreement at the end.

     

    Q: On that topic, obviously you’re switching to the Renault engine for next year which has this season so far won two grands prix and had ten other podiums. Is that the kind of thing you have in mind from McLaren-Renault next season?

    FA: We’ll see. I think every years the projects are a little bit different. You never know what you can achieve with the new cars. Sometimes you go to the first winter test and have a nice surprise and are quicker than you expect; sometimes you have bad surprises and you are a little bit slower and something is not according to plan. Let’s see what we can do next year – but definitely very happy again to have a Renault engine on my car. I have a very strong relationship with Renault from many, many years now. I’ve been working with them since then, even on my karting school etcetera, so extremely proud to also drive for a Renault engine.

     

    Q: And a final comment on the colour of your cap, all part of the Susan Komen initiative this weekend.

    FA: Yes. Obviously I think the whole of Formula One is given big support to all the women that are fighting constantly with breast cancer. I think we want to pass the message that they are not alone, they have a lot of support. With all the necessary things and controls they can make in advance, I think there are many, many hopes and they are not alone.

     

    Q: Romain Grosjean, on home soil – kind of – with Haas, off the back of a double-points finish in Japan that moved you up in the Constructors’ Championship as well, what’s the mood like in the team at the moment, going into this weekend.

    Romain GROSJEAN: The mood is pretty good. It has been since the first day, to be fair, even through the highs and lows. It was really good to have a double-points finish in Japan. Japan and Monaco, which are two very difficult tracks. So, it shows the team is doing great progress. We’re coming here of course very motivated as always. Pretty special grand prix because it’s the home race for the team. We just need to keep our feet on the ground and start from zero every weekend and build up from there but you know it’s only the second year of the team and we are fighting with Renault, Toro Rosso, Williams in the Constructors’ Championship – and they are teams that have been here for a very long time, so you can be very proud of that. We know where are our strengths, we know our weakness and we are working on that for the future – but I think there is a lot of potential in the team to move up the ranks.

     

    Q: On that subject, Fernando’s planning on moving up the grid next year, Nico’s definitely planning on moving up the grid next year. How are Haas and yourself going to move up the grid in the face of that competition?

    RG: Well who isn’t? That’s the real question! For sure McLaren is going to be a competitive team next year. We have less experience than others. I think that year was a really good test for us and knowing that we were coming with a change of regulation, to see what we could do. We’ve done pretty well. I’m thinking that, I’m hoping that next year we go up another level, which everyone obviously does – but I think, as I say, we’ve got more potential to unlock and we’re going to try to do that. We know where we’ve been good, we know where we haven’t been good and obviously now the key is to work on where we’ve been weak.

     

    Q: Nico, a new teammate in Carlos this weekend and going forward.  Do you expect him to give you a hard time this weekend in Austin, or indeed in the last four races or is that more likely to come next season?

    Nico HULKENBERG: No, definitely a harder time probably than so far this year. Obviously he’s got a few challenges on his plate, changing team at the back end of the season is not the easiest situation. There are a lot of new things that he has to get used to: car, team, people but I’m sure he will be on a decent level straight away. I look forward to working  alongside him. Obviously four important and intense races now ahead of us so yeah, we need to focus and do a good job.

     

    Q: Do you know him much already?

    NH: I’ve known him obviously from this year and last year, the time that he’s been in Formula One but probably get to know him a lot more in the next couple of weeks.

     

    Q: Obviously the Renault’s been quite an interesting story, the way it’s developed this year; pretty much since Silverstone it seems to me you’ve generally been the fourth fastest car in qualifying at most venues; where has that come from?

    NH: Well, it’s come from hard work, good development, everybody back at the factory has done a good job during these last couple of months and that’s it pretty much. We’ve brought updates for the car and transformed the car into a much better performing car on all sorts of different tracks so we’re in a good position. As we say, we still obviously have quite a bit to do this year. We want to not finish where we are now, in terms of team championship position, so it’s important for us to do a good job in the last four races.

     

    Q: So based on the growth that you’ve seen this last few months, obviously you think you’re going to be able to race Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull in 2018? Is that too much to expect?

    NH: I think that’s asking a bit much if you see the gap and the advantages they have at the moment. It’s a pretty difficult task to close that gap. I think if we can halve that gap, we’ve already done a very good job. It’s not that they’re not doing a fantastic job so TBC but obviously we will make up as much as we can.

     

    Q: Kevin, four points finishes in 2017 with a best of seventh, how would you sum up the season so far in terms of your own satisfaction?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I think it’s been an up-and-down season with a lot of potential and perhaps also some missed potential at times this year but we’ve still had some good races and the potential seems to be good in the car. When we’re quick, we’re very quick and competitive but our lows have perhaps been a bit too low. That’s something to work on for next year, consistency, and getting the car more regularly at its best. I think we can move towards that; whether we can be constantly fourth best team, I don’t think so. It’s not realistic at least but we will do what we can and see.

     

    Q: Now you and Romain are now noticeably more close together more often, starting to become a bit of a Force India scenario. How much are you enjoying that?

    KM: Well, we haven’t crashed into each other this year so it’s not like that but we’re enjoying it and it’s good that we’re both getting the most out of the car and just shows that we’re fighting hard and doing our best.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) Fernando, I believe it’s a one year contract extension you’ve signed; is that correct and if so what’s the thinking? Are you looking beyond next year, do you want options open?

    FA: We don’t talk too much about the contracts, the inside but no, it’s not one year.

     

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Fernando, just following that up, I’m told it’s a multi-year contract but presumably that’s got options in it. Do you then foresee potentially at McLaren if things go well next year and then maybe into the future Le Mans, Indy 500? Are these things that you’re talking about with McLaren as well?

    FA: We’ll see, I think it’s just talking too much ahead. We have enough to do for next year, to put McLaren again at the top of the grid and that’s the first priority right now. I think on my personal side there are no other priorities than Formula One at the moment but with a door open for different series and different goals that I always believed that you need to win in other series if you want to be a more complete driver, a better driver, because motorsport is not only Formula One. Even if it’s still the priority, we will see what the future brings.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Romain, you and your wife recently worked on a cookbook together, Cuisine and Confidences. Can you tell us a little bit about the book and what went into it, the journey that you take because it covers two things you love aside from Formula One, cooking and your family?

    RG: Yeah, it’s been great fun. It was just through meeting people and we met a guy called Patrick Rougereau and he’s been voted best culinary photographer in the world last year and he actually made my plate look pretty nice which it wasn’t always, so it was a good job. And it was basically… it was basically just a way to share my passion for cooking and every recipe has a story behind it for which my wife writes the text, so it’s all cooking that we do back home, either with the kids, with friends and so on. It was just a great thing to do and I thought it could be fun to see that a Formula One driver can actually do something a bit different than an autobiography and having a cookbook that can give a bit of an inside of our lives through recipes.

     

    Q: Do any of the other drivers have a passion for cooking? Nico, do you enjoy cooking?

    NH: No.

    FA: No

    KM: Just eating.

     

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volkskrant) Fernando, as somebody who now has experience in Indycar and also Formula One, how do you think F1 can win over American fans? Is the passion for racing different around here?

    FA: I think here it’s a little bit more relaxed; you know the atmosphere in the race, in the weekend… The races here are much more unpredictable, what the result can be on Sundays so that is quite attractive from a fan point of view. In Formula One, we know the starting grid on Sunday, we can write a paper now and sign and we will maybe miss one or two positions, maximum, and that’s the worst thing that we have and hopefully we can change that.

     

    Q: (Geoff Gluck – Geoff Gluck.com) Fernando, you’ve seen a lot of teams come in over the years but Haas F1 team has had pretty good success in their first couple of seasons. Have you been surprised at how well they’ve been able to do as a start-up team?

    FA: Yeah, definitely, it definitely has been a very good thing for the sport. I think what Haas has managed to do in the last two years is quite impressive. I think the first year we could argue that with the help of Ferrari or the agreements that they had, we will see a competitive team already from race one but I think with the changes of regulations this year etc I think they did an amazing job again, so two consecutive years in a very demanding sport like F1, competing at a good level is a great achievement  so hopefully we will see more teams coming with this commitment and with this kind of result and also with Haas with better results in the future will be great as well.

     

    Q: (Joey Barnes – Motorsports Tribune) Fernando, five months ago, you running in the Indy 500 got a lot of people’s attention obviously. When you reflect back at that time, what are the biggest moments you take with you and are you looking to potentially doing something like that again in the future?

    FA: Well the moment was… it’s difficult to pick up one moment of that month. If I had to chose one, it would be Sunday: the drivers’ presentation, the drivers’ parade ten minutes before the race. That was an amazing moment: 250-300,000 people in one venue was very impressive, the atmosphere there. But I think the whole months was very unique and opened the eyes a little bit of what I said before: Formula One is just one more series in motorsport, probably the most mediatic one, it’s a fantastic show and we all are very proud to be Formula One drivers and we dream from a very early age to become Formula One drivers but there are other motorsport series that are as good as that and you know I’m a fan of this one, so that was a good discovery for me. Obviously now, with the new McLaren deal for next year I can confirm that I will not be at the Indy 500 next year because there is Monaco Grand Prix on the same weekend and priority next year will be to perform well in Formula One but at the same time I can confirm that I will be in the Indy 500 in the future. I don’t if it will be ’19 or 2020 or whenever but it’s a race that I definitely will experience again.

     

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For all drivers: Austin will stay on the Formula One calendar probably but if there will be a second Grand Prix in the US, what circuit or what city would you like?

    NH: I’ll say Miami, because I think it’s a fun, cool town and to host the Grand Prix there woul be quite cool and spectacular I think.

    RG: Well, I think there would be many many places to get a great Grand Prix. Laguna Seca is a pretty cool track, I love Long Beach, Miami would be nice. Why not Las Vegas, so I think it’s such a big country that there are opportunities in a lot of cities.

    FA: Yes, the same. There are many places that could host a race. Even Indianapolis on the old circuit.

    KM: Yeah, Laguna Seca would be awesome, Watkins Glen, a city race in Miami or New York would be cool as well, so more races would be good.

     

    Q: (Jim Virtuno – Associated Press) Romain, you’ve driven for Haas now for two years; what’s your sense of Gene’s patience or impatience of the development of the team and do you sense that he’s in this for the long haul?

    RG: I think he’s the best team owner I’ve ever had. He’s passionate about racing and really loves it to a high extent and that makes the whole team just very enjoyable to work with. I think Gene was initially surprised how competitive and how complicated Formula One is but he’s now got it and he knows that what we’re doing is pretty good. Of course we always want more and if Gene is in Formula One it’s not too… I believe in the long term fight for eighth or sixth in the Constructors’ Championship but try to go for podiums or one win. We know the gap is big right now but that’s where the patience is. But again, as I say, he’s super passionate about the team, the racing, the whole Formula One and that love that he’s got for the race just goes through the whole team and makes it, as I say, a very very good team to work with and I believe a very successful team in the future.

     

    Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) Nico, you’ve obviously got used to having Jo in the car next to you throughout the season and knowing your own strengths and weaknesses against his. Does it refocus you at all when you get a new teammate, that sort of fear of the unknown change your approach at all?

    NH: You probably would have thought a little bit but then I think then on the other side I’ve done pretty well this season so far so I think I just need to keep doing what I’ve so far this year, that worked pretty well for me and I’m in a good spot, I’m confident, I like where I am so I won’t get distracted too much. I just need to focus, to get the best out of myself and my car and my crew and I think then I will be fine.

  • 2017 United States Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 United States Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Brendon HARTLEY (Toro Rosso), Carlos SAINZ (Renault), Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Lewis, five-time US Grand Prix winner, three-time F1 world champion, US Grand Prix always a big one for your, personally and for the team, no doubt many commitments in the run-up to the event, but I just wondered how much you enjoyed your hours spent at NASA yesterday?

    Lewis HAMILTON : Good morning everyone, super happy to be here of course and had an incredible day yesterday, having a bit of a comedown today. I was just buzzed all day yesterday because it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do. It’s always something I’ve been fascinated about, space and space travel particularly. So to actually go there… and I had a million questions. I’m sure the guy got fed up with me. I asked a lot of questions and I got to see a lot of great things, some of the new technology they are working on and yeah, I want to go back.

     

    You stand on the threshold of your fourth Driver’s world championship this weekend, but does a part of you regret that the fight has sort of gone out of it now with all the misfortunes that Vettel and Ferrari suffered on the Asian leg in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan?

    LH: No I don’t feel any type of way about it.

     

    But obviously you’ve got such a massive margin now. There was such a tension throughout the season up to September but there’s much less tension now from your point of view, approaching the races?

    LH: Nothing has changed for me, man. Everything is exactly the same as it was going into the last race, going into the second half of the season; it’s exactly the same mentally for me. Maybe it’s changed from your perspective, but for me it hasn’t.

     

    Fair enough. Thanks for that. Marcus, the seats are filling up now for 2018. Are you comfortable with the position you are in and do you have any guarantees about next season?

    Marcus ERICSSON: I think in Formula One when you don’t have a contract signed you can never be comfortable, so it’s important for me to push hard now in the last few races to show that I should be on the grid for next year.

     

    You’ve never been outqualified I believe by a team-mate here at Austin, what do you like particularly about this track?

    ME: I didn’t know that but that’s good. I enjoy this track. I think it’s the best one of the new tracks on the calendar. It has a good mix of very fast corners. The first sector is really good fun to drive and really challenging and I look forward to driving it with these new cars as well. I think it’s going to be quite impressive. It’s a good mix of corners on this track and it’s enjoyable to driver.

     

    Turning to Brendon Hartley, 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours winner, welcome to your grand prix debut. Tell us, who called who, what part did Porsche play in it all and where is it all leading?

    Brendon HARTLEY: Good questions. Actually, when it was announced that Porsche would stop endurance racing in LMP1 for next year, I called Helmut Marko and I said: ‘Look, I’m a different driver than I was 10 years ago, I’ve learned a lot, and if there is ever and opportunity I am ready.” He didn’t say much, he just said he got the message, and three months later he made the call. This happened very quickly. I didn’t know about it much sooner than the press did. It’s been quite a whirlwind of a couple of weeks to arrive here. Yeah, I’m pretty relaxed at the moment, all things considered. Really looking forward to getting out on track. Obviously I’ve had quite a bit of time to chat to the engineers, to go through some data, a little bit of time on the sim. But I’m looking forward to free practice one and see how comfortable I feel and working towards the race start on Sunday, which is a big moment for me, so yeah, really excited.

     

    When you say you are a different driver from 10 years ago, what was wrong with you as a driver 10 years ago that made it go wrong with Helmut and how have you changed?

    BH: I guess I wasn’t ready. I had some success in the early days, I won the Formula Renault championship, I became the reserve driver, had my first F1 test at 18 years old and I guess I just didn’t deal with the pressure. I stopped enjoying it, I wasn’t happy; I was pretty young and away from home. When the Formula One dream, so to speak, stopped in 2010, I picked myself up, I found endurance racing and yeah, I have learned a lot from that experience. Being in the LMP1 programme, a high-profile category, where there is a lot of pressure, probably not that dissimilar to Formula One in some ways, in that respect, in development of the race car, and working with team-mates has been great. I’m a lot stronger than I was back then, basically. I wasn’t ready at 18 years old. I like to think I’m ready now. I’m not very prepared for this weekend, I haven’t the car, I haven’t driven a single-seater since 2012, but I like to think that Porsche LMP1 has hopefully prepared me well.

     

    Excellent. Thank you very much for that. Carlos, splendid in yellow. You’ve made your move to Renault this weekend. Why? Why is it important to do four races at the end of this season, to get your head around the new team ahead of next year? In what ways will you benefit from this?

    Carlos SAINZ: First of all, I think that 2018 cars will be an evolution of this year’s cars. So every input I can have regarding this year’s car, every feeling I can get from every single area of the car, I’m sure it will help me for next year. On top of that, it’s always better to meet engineers, PR people, team bosses… start working along together with all of them four races earlier that gives us a bit of an advantage for 2018 rather than going straight into winter testing in 2018.

     

    So I think the thing we all want to know is how close can you expect to be to Hulkenberg’s pace in qualifying, your new team-mate this weekend, given the amount of time you will have with an unfamiliar car on Friday and Saturday in practice? What’s your goal?

    CS: Let’s wait and see, no? I think my main target has to be to go session by session. I’m the first one who wants to be on the pace straight away, but I cannot get too excited about that. I need to cover all the procedures, all the steps that I want to take, little by little, to get to know the car. I need to adapt myself to the car and I need to adapt the car to myself at the same time. That takes a bit of time and I’m going to go step by step and hopefully get there as soon as possible.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Équipe) Lewis, do you have any explanation of your strengths in qualifying, even when your car is not as good as you would like?

    LH: I think it’s just about know the car and knowing where you can push at those areas. Of course there are weaknesses but still you can find a way to exploit those weaknesses and just about get by. It’s been a fun car to drive because it’s not been perfect. So it’s then relied on a lot of your ability to balance it in uncomfortable scenarios or situations, which is something that I’ve always loved doing. It’s how I started in life, with not such a great go-kart when I was young, so that’s about it really.

     

    Q: (Joey Barnes – Motorsports Tribune) Lewis, the fun exchange with Takuma Sato on the podium got a lot of buzz here in the States. Talk about your interest, potentially, in the Indy 500 after getting a chance to have that exchange with him?

    LH: Honestly, it hasn’t inspired me to do the Indy 500. I’ve always respected it and appreciated it and I got to watch part of it when Fernando did it, which was super exciting. I love the idea of drivers being able to do more than one series. Just the other day I happened to get to drive a Formula One car on an oval, which was interesting. I have a huge amount of respect for those drivers; it’s quite scary when you approach those banks at the speed that they do. But I personally don’t have any particular desire to… maybe one day I’ll day I’ll have some fun and go out. Obviously I get lots of opportunities to do those things but I have no plans to go there and do anything serious.

     

    Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) Brendon, what have the team have said to you about their expectations for this weekend and longer term what may come after this weekend?

    BH: Actually, there have been no expectations set. To be honest, some of the team members I’m just meeting for the first time today, and yesterday during the seat fit. I made the seat yesterday. Nothing has really been said yet. Obviously I want to do the best that I can. I’m trying not to put to many expectations on it. In some ways I’m underprepared but obviously I want to do the best job I can. Nothing has been said by the team, and also, going forward nothing has been said yet.

     

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Lewis, you’ve talked about being on another level since the summer break. I was just wondering, what’s changed for you within the team, and maybe for you personally, over that break and into these races that’s allowed you to operate on that higher level of consistency?

    LH: I think it’s really just been that confidence of understanding the car a lot better this year, particularly in the second half of the season; knowing it’s strengths and weaknesses. Then, I would say that we are constantly evolving the process in which we work together, myself and my engineers. So we’d often hit the ground running with a balance I’m more comfortable with, which then naturally helps you easily step forward throughout the weekend in the right direction. And otherwise, just on my driving side, I don’t know, I think there are a lot of positive things happening in my life. There are a lot of interesting things forecast over these next 18 months, so I guess that’s an exciting and uplifting thing. So I’m arriving at these races, generally, with an abundance of positivity; it helps keeps your mind in the right place. Obviously, Toto and the team, Mercedes, have been incredibly supportive of all the different things that I’m into and the things I do and the way I move, which enable me to be in that position, and which are much appreciated.

     

    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Lewis, there are reports in some of the media that you might be considering taking a knee on Sunday during the US anthem. Can you clarify that? What is your position?

    LH: I don’t really have a position and I don’t have any plans.

     

    Q: (Joey Barnes – Motorsports Tribune) Brendon, looking at this track, in 2013, I go back to your event in the Grand Am endurance race. How fitting is it to have this F1 start here and how critical is it to come here to a place where you have all this track time?

    BH: Yeah, it’s definitely nice coming to my Formula One debut at a track I know very well. Like you say, it dates back to 2013 and I think I’ve driven here almost every year since. Actually, as a racing driver, learning a track, when you have enough experience, it can happen quite quickly. I think learning the car will be the bigger challenge. The big tyres, the big downforce that these Formula One cars have at the moment, obviously they are setting lap records at every track they go to. Yeah, I’m going to have a bit on my hands tomorrow and the track is only a small part of it. But yeah, looking forward to it.

     

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Brendon, what have the team told you about the chances of you continuing for the rest of the season?

    BH: Not much, actually, so I’m trying to just focus on the weekend and see how that goes and see what comes from it.

     

    Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Équipe) Brendon, have you asked Sébastien Buemi or Mark Webber for some advice on how to drive a Formula One?

    BH: Yeah, I’ve obviously… all the friends I have in the sport I’ve been asking for a bit of advice. I saw Mark this morning for breakfast. I saw Daniel, who is one of my best buddies as well, Daniel Ricciardo, I saw him two nights ago, I asked him for all the advice I could manage to get out of him regarding tyres. Yeah, some of it is going to come down to, like I say, driving free practice one, seeing how I go and then asking some of those questions. A lot of them aren’t really relevant until I’ve actually experience the car.

     

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, just following on from the question about the protest take the knee, I’m just wondering if anything had changed, you’d spoken to anyone, or anyone had spoken to you about not doing it, because you said you have no plans to do it on Sunday?

    LH: Of course there has been a lot of mention of it – not of the kneeling, but just of the whole situation here in America, so I get to speak to a lot of… I know black and white people that live here in America, so I get quite a view of what’s happening here in the States and opinions from Americans here about the movement, which I think is pretty huge, and which you’ve seen that I’ve posted about it, because I respect it highly, and I found that the movement that [Colin] Kaepernick started is awesome and I’m very much in support of it. But I’m here to win and that’s the top of my priorities at the moment and I’m not really focused on anything else at the moment.

     

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Lewis, Ferrari seems to have fallen into a technical crisis in the last few races. Do you expect them to react here? Sebastian could be a strong fighter at the end of the season as well?

    LH: I think he’s been a strong fighter all year and just because he’s obviously had a few issues technically, but I think still the car is as good as it’s always been. For sure they’ll have some sort of upgrade coming into this weekend. They’ve definitely had a couple of hiccups but I anticipate they’ll be very strong this weekend and for the last four races – so that’s why nothing changes for me. I’ve still got to continue to keep the pressure on and there’s no reason to back out, just got to keep pushing forwards.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, you’ve been a sheriff here the last four years. How would it feel to take this win, this Championship, a fourth World Championship here in the United States again, for the second time, in front of many children who look up to you or are inspired by you, by your story and would love to see you win here?

    LH: Honestly I think the talk of the Champion win this weekend I think is silly really. I mean, Sebastian is going to be… you can’t expect them to have a difficult weekend again. They’re going to be quick, they have an opportunity to win. The Championship, as long as it’s done in the next four races, that’s my focus. I honestly couldn’t care less if it’s here on the last race, as long as it’s done. I think winning here is the most important thing for me, particularly in the midst of all that’s going on in the country. I think that is a priority for me. You know what I’m talking about.

     

    Q: (Oliver Brown – The Daily Telegraph) Lewis, you spoke quite tantalisingly just then about exciting things happening in your life over these 18 months. I just wondered if you could flesh that out at all, whether there was anything in particularly helping to lift your spirits for race weekends at the moment?

    LH: I can’t tell you what it is, all top secret stuff but just positive things. When you’re a racing driver often you’re put in a box and there’s talk of you not doing much but being a racing driver and there’s a lot more to me than being a racing driver and I have a lot of great things that are happening. So, it’s just, after a lot of work, a lot of trial and error, a lot of pushback over the years, to see positive things starting to happen, things starting to move in the direction I was hoping it would eventually move – which you’ll see come to fruition in the next 12 to 18 months. That’s allowing me to take the pressure off and enjoy what I’m doing here, more than ever before.

     

    Q: (Kevin Lyttle – Austin American Statesman) Carlos, I wanted to ask you, your thoughts on COTA as a race track, and also on Austin as a Formula One city.

    CS: I’m actually particularly excited to make the debut with the Renault car in a circuit like Austin because you have every single kind of corner that you enjoy in Formula One in this kind of track. You have a long straight and then a big braking zone, you have a lot of long high-speed corners, high-speed changes of direction, medium-speed, high-speed. Because of that, I think it’s a great circuit for me to get to know the car in all these areas. Apart from that it’s one of my favourite grands prix of the season in the end. You know you have great vibes surrounding the whole grand prix, with the concert, with the fans here are particularly special and I’m going to enjoy the weekend because of that.

     

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) To Lewis, two things to clarify. There was a bit of a smile then, you said winning is the most important thing and you know what I mean. I’m not entirely sure I understood the end of your answer to that question. If you could just explain what you mean. And, forgive me if I’m reading too much into this but you said winning is the most important thing, and when we spoke in Malaysia you said about taking a knee, it wasn’t your anthem, there was plenty to consider. So would you therefore consider maybe staging a protest during your own anthem if you do win?

    LH: Like I said, I wasn’t even looking far away into it. I’ve not given it that much thought. And when I said ‘you know what I mean’, it wasn’t to everyone, it was to the gentleman at the front here. Yeah. As I said, I’m here to win. That’s my focus. I don’t really plan on allowing all the BS that’s surrounding the topic pull me down in my strive to winning this world title. I’ve worked hard to be where I am today and whilst I do have opinions and feelings towards the whole situation, as I’ve said, at the moment, no plans on doing anything.

     

    Q: (Mariana Jiménez – Récord) Lewis, you’ve said that you don’t have the title in your head right now but wouldn’t it be nice to wait until Mexico and get your first title there in front of the crowd?

    LH: I’m looking forward to going to Mexico, as I always do every year, I have a lot of support out there, I have a lot of love for Mexicans and… yeah… it’s just an awesome event to anyway, so to go there again, particularly after the last couple of years. I think every year it seems to grow in its attendance. I guess the organisers learn so much about how the event goes and improve it for the following year. Winning the World Championship is obviously the goal and of course I think about it every day. I think my drive naturally is to winning that World Championship so every bit of my energy goes towards that mission. Honestly, wherever it happens, I don’t mind if it happens in Mexico, I don’t mind if it happens here, I don’t mind if it happens in Abu Dhabi, as long as it happens. But definitely Mexicans know how to celebrate so, if it does happen there, hopefully I’ll get one of the sombreros and be in a party.

     

    Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) Lewis, if you’re to win this championship, would you say Ferrari have blown it. They’ve handed it to you on a plate.

    LH: If I was to win this Championship I think I would say that I’ve earned it.

     

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Another question for Lewis. You’re going to be the only British driver on the grid this weekend, which is the first time in your career. I was just wondering what you thought about that, the state of play in motor racing in Britain and whether you’re quite surprised you’re the only guy racing from Britain this weekend?

    LH: I don’t know how it is for the other drivers here but when you arrive you don’t think I’m here surrounded by members of… from where I’m from. So it makes no difference to me. I still work to raise the flag, and you do it as an individual, not as a team with other racing drivers, so yeah, that’s how it is.

     

    Q: (Jim Vertuno – AP) Brendon, there’s been a lot of expectation, speculation, that you were heading to Indy Car next year. Does this weekend change your plans there? What’s your future look like.

    BH: Nothing’s been confirmed for me for next year, so yeah, like I said before, I haven’t asked too many questions and have just been focussed on trying to do the best I can this weekend because I’ve got a fair amount on my plate to figure out and do a good job. So, I’m trying not to think further forward. But yeah, I was looking at Indy Car and I still am. Nothing confirmed for next season yet.

  • 2017 Japanese GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    2017 Japanese GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    PART TWO: DRIVERS – Stoffel VANDOORNE (McLaren), Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes), Pascal WEHRLEIN (Sauber)

     

    Q: Valtteri, if we could start with you, it hasn’t been the easiest for you since the summer break and you said on Sunday evening in Malaysia that this might now be the most difficult moment of your career. Can you elaborate on that? Why is that?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I think the main thing is just because, the only thing I want to do is to perform and to try and meet my goals what I set for me personally. I definitely haven’t been achieving those lately, so that’s why the feeling wasn’t so positive after the race. So, for sure it’s tricky because now, y’know, having such a good car and with potential for such good results, I just want to perform. So, that’s why.

     

    Q: Has the car become harder to drive than it was earlier in the year when you were winning races, getting pole positions?

    VB: I think the compromises we’ve been needing to do in some circuits to get it into the right window has been quite a challenge sometimes to drive around. I think Lewis has been able to extract a little bit more sometimes with a more tricky setup. Some things with the driving style always makes a difference and to understand those, you always kind of need that bad weekend to learn from it – otherwise you don’t know these differences. It’s not massive things, it’s small things but this sport is all about details and changing some things in your own driving, then it can sometimes be a bit of a challenge and then that way the driving maybe doesn’t feel quite natural at times – but that’s how it is. I see things positive because I think from all those difficult weekends we’ve had there’s been so much to learn from, so much to get better from. Like the race in Malaysia. I’ve had so many answers to my questions from that race. We’ve been trying to work out every single detail with the engineers and trying to understand, so I’ve learned massively again from last weekend. That’s why there’s always a positive.

     

    And talking about those details, is there anything when you look at the data that you can learn from a guy like Lewis Hamilton?

    VB: Yes, of course. From every team mate you can always learn something. From every single one. From every circuit there’s always a thing or two you can pick up, especially from an experienced, extremely quick driver.

     

    Q: Stoffel, tough times for Valtteri at the moment but you’ve had a cracking couple of races, seventh in Singapore, seventh last weekend in Malaysia. You must be feeling pretty good about things.

    Stoffel VANDOORNE: Yeah, lately everything has been going very well for me. I think it shows all the work I’ve been doing with the team – with the engineers, back at the factory as well – is paying off. And yeah, obviously feeling more and more comfortable with the car. It was great to have those two seventh places in Singapore and Malaysia – I don’t want to get used to being happy with seventh but I think considering the package we have it was definitely the best result possible, so very pleased with that and, yeah, five races left this year, which is hopefully five opportunities to make something good of it, so shows we have to keep pushing, keep working as hard as we can and who knows what is possible for the last couple of races.

     

    Q: You’re now ahead of Fernando Alonso in the World Championship. Can you share with us just some of that work you’ve just referred to. What have you been doing? What areas of your job have you had to focus on to turn things around?

    SV: It’s only my first season in Formula One so there were a lot of things I had to get to grips with, learn. I think definitely the troubled start to the season didn’t help with that in terms of the amount of track time we missed and, yeah, lately everything has had a much better run. The relationship between my engineers has developed massively as well and yeah, I think we go into every weekend very positive, very comfortable as well, knowing the areas we have to focus on. It’s very nice to see the results are paying off as well.

     

    Q: You won a Super Formula race here at Suzuka last year. How important is local knowledge? Is there something you gain from your year in Japan last year that might help you this weekend? Is there a trick to this track that you might know that the others don’t?

    SV: I think it’s always very good to know a circuit. Like you said, I have a lot of experience around this circuit. Done a lot of testing, a lot of racing in Super Formula here, and obviously have a win around here as well – which was a special moment. So looking forward to this weekend again, to discover this circuit in Formula One. I think with these cars especially it will be a very exciting track for everyone to drive around.

     

    Q: Pascal, now unlike these other guys, you don’t yet know what you’re going to be doing in 2018 yet you’ve outqualified your teammate, Marcus Ericsson, nine times, you’ve scored all of Sauber’s points this year. Are you confident that that will be enough to keep you in Formula One next season?

    Pascal WEHRLEIN: I hope so. My focus is on driving. This weekend – or every weekend – is another opportunity to show something. The previous races have been quite difficult for us and Malaysia was a bit better so hopefully we learned something from there and can have a better weekend this weekend.

     

    Q: How dependent on Mercedes are you to place you somewhere next season?

    PW: I am a Mercedes Young Driver so of course Mercedes is doing all the talks for me.

     

    Q: And looking ahead to next season, specifically with Sauber, obviously it’s been a tough time for the team this year but judging by what you’ve seen of next year’s car, how do you rate their prospects going forward?

    PW: For Sauber, you mean? So definitely a step forward is the engine, that they are running the current engine next year because now, especially, in the second half of the season we are struggling a bit with the performance there and definitely this is going to be better next year and then also hopefully with the car they are doing some steps forward.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Tatsuya Otani – Car Graphic) I have two questions for Stoffel. How do you look back at the development of the car during the season, for the chassis and the power unit respectively? And question two is: you raced for Honda last year here in Japan in the Super Formula championship; after your experience in Formula One Grands Prix, your image or your feeling of Honda has been changed or not?

    SV: As a team, I think we’ve progressed a lot since the start of the season. Obviously everyone knows the situation, how it was back in Barcelona during winter testing, when it was obviously a very tough time for everyone, even getting the car out on track was difficult. The first few races were complicated as well and I think every weekend there were positives to take; every week has been going better and better. We’re still not at the point where we are happy about our performance. We still know it’s a very long way to go but I think lately we’ve been able to score a couple of points which are definitely very valuable for the team. But like I said, there’s still a long way to go to compete with the top guys so plenty of margin.

    Q: And Stoffel, the second question, can you relate the two experiences of Honda last year and this year?

    SV: Well definitely my year in Super Formula helped me to work with Japanese people. I think the culture especially was very different so to come out here and discover something new, to work in a completely Japanese environment was not the easiest in the beginning, but I think it was a big challenge for me as well to kind of transform a team around me, to teach them some European lessons as well and to guide the team in a certain direction and then seeing the results of that was a nice challenge for me to do.

     

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Hallo Valtteri; you have been very open and honest, talking about your current problem. Aren’t you afraid that at that the same time you have been playing yourself down in public?

    VB: I don’t really… I’m not really interested about what people say in public. I know, like I said before, I know just my own targets, my own goals and if I don’t meet those, if I’m far away from those I’m not happy and then it’s tricky. I’m always very honest with myself and if there’s any single little bit I can improve myself and if I can look in the mirror and I can say I can improve something, normally I will improve it, one way or another. It’s been a very difficult few races that I need to learn massively from and especially from Malaysia but that’s now history. I’m now here and I’m looking forward. There’s been weekends when I’ve learned massively so looking forward to the next one.

    Q: Valtteri, to go public on those thoughts as Heikki just referred to is a surprise to some people.

    VB: Normally I just say things how they are and how things were. I was not happy, that’s it.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Pascal, this weekend will mark the ninth race since the big management changes earlier on in the year, so effectively almost half a season ago in terms of race count. How much has the team changed in that time and in what areas and does it now have a proper foundation for the future, do you believe?

    PW: About the foundation, I don’t really know. But definitely it has changed in the team, with Fred coming we have a very experienced guy and also some other guys joining the team so for next year’s car everyone can expect a good step. Then one of the first things he did of course was to re-sign the Ferrari deal and to put the current engine in the car which will be better.

     

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Valtteri, you’ve talked about what’s happened since the summer break but whilst your teammate’s been on the podium, you haven’t got within half a second of him in qualifying, it’s been a bit difficult. You said the compromises you’ve made but is it time to ask for a new chassis? Would that actually help some of your problems?

    VB: Well, if the team would find a problem with the chassis, with nowadays technology, before going just changing the chassis, you can find out if everything is alright and I trust the team as always, doing everything to make sure the car is in a good condition and well set-up. I trust the guys on that and who knows, maybe I’ve already asked before.

     

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) I’ll take that as a yes, you have.

    VB: Erm, no, not really, directly. I think… what was the first one after the summer break? It was Belgium. I had a poor performance in the beginning of the race and also the qualifying wasn’t great so I asked a lot of questions, you know, I just wanted to kind of take off any  things that could affect… I always want to make sure the machinery is good as well. So, like I said, I completely trust that the team is giving me a good car.

     

    Q: (Shigenori Ogura – Tokyo Sport) Stoffel, welcome back to Suzuka. I would like to know how do you feel now to be back in Suzuka and racing in front of your supporters in Japan?

    SV: Yeah, obviously very excited to be back in Japan in general, back in Suzuka. Obviously some very good memories from last year, racing here. I always had a lot of support from the Japanese fans and this weekend will be no different. If anything, it will be more. They always turn up with great surprises, great presents for all of us and it’s just great to see the atmosphere so I’m looking forward to this weekend. It’s a great circuit and just a great event for all of us.

     

    Q: (Gaetan Vigneron – RTBF) Stoffel, could we say that your improved results in so few races could be related to the fact that at one point you could chose your own set-up with your engineers?

    SV: Yeah, I think –  like I said before –  I think it’s just the way I’m working with the team, working with my engineers has developed a lot. I think having had the opportunity to have a bit more track time enabled us to kind of see what I needed from the car, for the engineers as well to understand exactly what I needed from the car. At this point we’re perfectly up to speed with that. There are no doubts any more. I’m very very comfortable as well. Every time I go into a weekend I’m just confident that things will work out, things will go and that’s a nice feeling to have when you jump in the car, to feel comfortable and the car will do what you want it to do.

  • 2017 Japanese GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Japanese GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Felipe MASSA (Williams), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Lance STROLL (Williams)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Felipe, let’s start by talking about your future. This time last year you knew what you were going to be doing, or not doing, in 2017….

    Felipe MASSA: No, I didn’t know anything last. What I decided didn’t happen.

     

    Well you weren’t going to be racing in Formula One, that was the plan, but there seems to be some uncertainty now. Where are you at ion your head, how much do you want to stay in Formula One and how much do you want to stay at Wiliams?

    FM: To be honest in my head I’m pretty relaxed, so I’m enjoying and trying to do the best I can in the last races this year and I don’t know what’s going to happen next year. But I’m quite relaxed. I’m quite keen to do maybe another season. I think I can do it in a great way. I can give a lot to the team, like I did already and I think maybe I can do another year. But I don’t decide; the team decides. Yeah, I’m pretty relaxed, trying to enjoy the races, trying to do the best I can in the car, trying to the give the best to the team, and that’s the most important thing. I’m talking with the team definitely for next year and we are in discussion. So everything has some directions around, so I have my direction as well to follow, like a professional driver, like I was always in my career in Formula One and I am very happy for that. That’s the way it is and definitely I can do a good effort for the team but we need to find a good solution to carry on in the right way, that everybody is happy. But anyway, I’m quite relaxed and definitely gave a lot to the team, to Formula One as well. If people are happy that I stay, I stay, and I will do everything I can to stay at the top level. But I’m quite relaxed and I’m trying to do my job in the right way in the last races and we’ll see what’s going to happen.

     

    When do you need to know by? Have you given the team a deadline?

    FM: Well, we don’t have a deadline. Definitely I think it would be good for the team and also for myself that we know what’s going to happen before the race in Brazil. We’ll see if this will be possible but I really hope so.

     

    Turning to matters on track now, you hold the pole position record here at Suzuka, for your Q3 time in 2006. Tell us a little about what’s the secret of stitching together a good lap here and indeed is there any advice you can give a rookie, like your team-mate Lance Stroll?

    FM: Yeah, I remember it was 2006, it was around 29.5 lap time. That was pretty amazing. A long time ago, many things change from that time to now. If you see also that the car we race now is one hundred and something kilos heavier than how it was the car in 2006. But maybe this year it can change. Maybe this year we can see some records around this track and I’m sure it will be great to driver the car we have this year on this track, which is definitely one of the best tracks in Formula One. I’m sure Sector 1 will be quite fun, but also quite difficult for all of us in terms of our neck and in the race and also to do one lap in qualifying will be pretty interesting, to see that feeling. Lance knows already the track, but definitely it is a different car so I think it will be nice for him to drive the car this year.

     

    Thank you. There is clearly a good dynamic between yourself and Felipe, and there’s a lot of speculation around who is going to be your team-mate next year. Do you have a preference?

    LS: We’ve had a really good relationship this year and we’ve done a good job to help the team score as many points as possible, between the both of us. But, at the end of the day, it comes down to the team, who are the drivers. I’ve just got to focus on what I’m doing, but definitely we have a good relationship this year.

     

    Is there one particular thing that you have learned from Felipe this year?

    FM: Many!

    LS: That’s it.

    FM: We should say, no?

    LS: No. It’s between the two of us. All in all, he brings a lot of experience to the team and I’ve been able to use him as a benchmark throughout my rookie season. He’s really helped to develop the car in many ways, with these regulations, and as well I think I’ve been able to pick up a few details along the way that I could apply into my work at the track, so all in all there have definitely been a lot of things I’ve picked up throughout the year.

     

    And you’ve now scored points in six of the last nine races. You’re looking very assured in the car. How much more confident are you now compared to Melbourne at the start of the year?

    LS: I’m a different driver to where I was in Melbourne at the beginning of the year. It’s just experience that you soak up through the year and every race there is always something that I think I could do better. I just feel that I’m getting better every single race and that’s just experience and time in the car.

     

    Thank you Lance. Daniel, can we start by talking about what you’ve been up to since the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend, have you been having fun in the Land of the Rising Sun?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: It can be a dark place… the sun doesn’t always rise (laughs). It can get emotional in Tokyo. But no, it’s been OK. A more positive experience in the last few days, was actually with this man here [Felipe Massa]. We went to the famous sushi… I’m going to get it wrong now, Sukiyabashi Jiro, and it kind of became more on the map to let’s say the western world after there was a documentary ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’ and I was told about it a couple years ago and I was like ‘oh, we’ll just call and get a reservation for tomorrow night’, but you’ve got to book like a year in advance, so two years later we finally made it. It was a good experience. Yeah but… well, anyway…

    FM: It was good to see his face, when some fish that he is not really keen to have…

    DR: I only started eating seafood a few years ago, like properly, like raw fish. I like some of it, but some is still new to me, but you don’t want to disrespect.

    FM: There was no salmon.

    DR: There was some different stuff, but anyway, it was a good experience for sure. And you’re in and out in 30 minutes, so it’s bang, bang, bang, but it was good. I did some Kendo as well, a Japanese martial art. That was quite cool and I enjoyed that. So two good experiences this week.

     

    You’ve been having a good time! Thanks for that. Well, let’s just cast our minds to the race last Sunday. Can you describe your emotions on Sunday night, because on the one hand you had scored your eighth podium of the year, but was there a sense of what if? What if, for example, you had got past Bottas sooner, what might have been possible?

    DR: I guess there was a small what if. If I had got Bottas or he hadn’t got me on the start I guess then my chances of having a battle with Lewis would have been higher. But I still didn’t look back on the race like ‘aw, it was a missed opportunity’. After the race I thought the start, I was like ‘if only I went to the outside I could have braked later and held my position’, but I think if I had pulled out early of Max’s slipstream to the outside, I think Bottas would have probably just gone through the middle of us. So in hindsight it would have been difficult probably to do anything better on the start. I was still happy, another podium. Although I won there last year it’s actually never really been a track I’ve… I wouldn’t say enjoyed, but had much success on, so to finish on the podium there in the last year I was going to take that, so it’s OK.

     

    Well, the car has been competitive on three very different tracks now, Monza, Singapore, Malaysia. Would you agree with Helmut Marko that it’s now the best chassis in Formula One?

    DR: We have to be close. If it’s not then we’re certainly close, and a lot closer than we were in the first handful of races this year. Like Monza, you surprise yourself on Sunday but then in Singapore, Seb puts a few tenths on us in quali. So you’re like ‘we do and we don’t, we do and we don’t’. Obviously, in Malaysia we were quick. If Ferrari has started at the front they would have been tough to beat. But we’re certainly close. If we’re not the best, we’re certainly close and I think this circuit is another chance for us to show that and I’m looking forward to it very much.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Daniel, Dr Marko has been quoted this week as saying that you are already on the market. Could you elaborate on that, are you aware of that, have you discussed anything with them and what does your future look like within the Red Bull family?

    DR: I mean the only thing I’m aware of is that my contract with them is at an end next year. I guess he’s referencing that. He’s not referencing next year, I guess.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) You hope!

    DR: Ha, ha! I’m 100%, well 99.999% sure I’ve got a seat with Red Bull Racing next year. But I guess he’s talking about beyond that, but nothing’s been said between us beyond next, so I guess he’s more stating facts than… I don’t think he has a plan yet beyond ’18. But yeah, I should be racing next year! He wasn’t too disappointed after Malaysia; I think he was OK, so I think I’m still OK.

     

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Daniel, in the beginning of the season you were not that close to Valtteri’s pace but in the last four races you have overtaken him twice and beaten him three times. Are you surprised at this change?

    DR: I think it’s been… we’ve been getting stronger. So, we have been able to compete more regularly now with Mercedes and yeah, since the summer break he hasn’t had as many – I guess – good performances compared to Lewis at least. I think it’s a combination maybe: he hasn’t performed at his best the last few races and we have got better, so it’s given us a chance to steal some points from him. Obviously my chance of winning the title is very, very, very little but there’s still a small chance at least to get top three again. Valtteri still has a good gap but if I can keep closing on this, then I’ll be pretty satisfied.

     

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Daniel, Red Bull are really good at developing through a season and getting better and better, as you’ve just said. From your perspective isn’t it about time they stopped developing through the season and started developing in the winter and gave you a car to win a championship from the outset. If that doesn’t happen next year, is that make or break for you with the team?

    DR: It’s certainly our plan. It has been obviously… I still don’t know why the last few years we’ve had slow starts and then found a way to come back. So I guess the idea is again what we learn, because there’s not many changes next year, what we learn hopefully from this year hopefully we take to next year and we start stronger. So yeah, that’s obviously the plan, that’s everyone’s wish and yeah, I guess we go from there. Look, if next year’s not a very competitive season at all then, of course, that will then, y’know, be addressed. At least… I feel I’ve said it every time this year but where we are now this year, you’d think next year we should be competitive. Hopefully as competitive as y’know, I would like to see. So, yeah. Mercedes has been winning for too long. We’ll try to change that.

     

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Mid-Day) To Felipe. It’s been reported that Williams are going to be evaluating Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta for next year. Knowing that, how does that factor into your plans for the future?

    FM: I think it doesn’t change anything for me. So… it doesn’t change anything for me. Williams know 100 per cent what I can give to the team and, even if you do a test with a car that is four years before, completely different. You cannot evaluate too much, as well. So, doesn’t change anything for me, to be honest.

     

    Felipe, will you attend that test?

    FM: No! I don’t know. I don’t know even if it’s true, that test, or not. I don’t know. To be honest… I don’t know.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Lance, on the topic that Felipe’s just mentioned about a four-year-old car, you’ve done a lot of testing with a four-year-old car and you’re obviously driving the current car. What comparison is there between the two? Do you believe that one could really evaluate a driver that way?

    LS: Well, the cars we drive today are really quick. Back then, in ’14, the cars were, I believe, the first year with the new regulations, so there has been a lot of development, obviously the rules have changed this year, so lot more down downforce, different tyres and all that. So, they are very different, yeah, we’ll see what the team thinks about it. It’s not up to me to decide whether it’s a good evaluation or not.

  • 2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    PART TWO: DRIVERS – Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso), Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso), Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber)

     

    Q: Pierre, the moment has finally come, you make your Formula One debut. You’ve had to be patient – how does it feel?

    Pierre GASLY: It feels amazing, honestly. Starting my first Formula One race this weekend is just a dream coming true for me. I worked really hard these past few years to make it happen and had to be patient but yeah, it’s worth it and I’m just so excited and really looking forward to this weekend.

     

    Q: So is it your expectation, understanding that this is a prelude to racing a full season next year in 2018 – and what are the plans around trying to finish off and win the Super Formula series this year?

    PG: It’s a really good question. At the moment I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks, so I’m just focussing, fully focussing on the weekend, trying to do my best, learn as quickly as possible. It’s a great opportunity for me to start next to Carlos who is on top of his game at the moment. So really good benchmark for me and I’ll try to learn as quickly as possible, focus on the weekend and then we’ll see what’s going to happen in the next few weeks a bit later.

     

    Q: Marcus, coming to you, you’ve obviously got very strong connections at Sauber but how does that square with all the initiatives going on around the junior Ferrari drivers? Where does it all leave you?

    Marcus ERICSSON: Yeah, nothing is done at the moment for me, so yeah, I need to keep pushing and do good, the last couple of races now to show that I deserve to be in F1 next year – so it’s important for me now, even though we are struggling a bit as a team to keep up with the other guys, it’s still very important races for me. So, yeah, big push needed.

     

    Q: The strategy of using the year-old Ferrari engines is clearly beginning to hurt now: everyone else is making real progress. What are you working on at the moment in terms of finding performance.

    ME: Yeah, like you say, with the old power unit it’s always going to be difficult towards the second half of the season. And now we’re really see in the last couple of races that we’ve been lacking quite a lot compared to the competition, so it’s tough – but we need to still, as a team, keep pushing and keep motivated and do the best we can to maximise the performance, and we can see crazy races, like in Singapore, it was an opportunity with a lot of things happening with the rain there – so it’s these types of circumstances that can play into our hands. Here in Malaysia as well, the weather can really play a big part. We need to be there to maximise and try to take the opportunities. I thing that’s the important thing to keep the motivation high and keep pushing as a team.

    Q: Carlos, obviously a career-best finish in Singapore on the weekend that your new deal with Renault was confirmed. What part did that good news play in the race outcome, do you think?

    Carlos SAINZ: Yeah, it was a great weekend all around, first with the news on Friday, then with Q3 on Saturday, fourth place on Sunday, probably one of my best weekends in Formula One, for sure. It didn’t really affect me, to be honest. I did everything that I’ve done this year. It just happened to be my best result in Formula One which is – on the other hand – quite nice to do it on that exciting weekend, no? Very proud of it. We did celebrate a bit on Sunday but at the same time, from one day onwards I was watching videos of previous years in Malaysia and I turned the page pretty quickly.

     

    Q: You’re only seven points, I think it is now, behind Williams in the battle for fifth in the Constructors championship so with the recent form of both teams and the tracks coming up, do you think it’s possible to finish ahead of them?

    CS: I think we have our chances but we will need to work hard, very hard to achieve it. We will need to be doing things really right on Sundays. We know that our pace at the moment is not the fastest of the midfield but we also know that on Sundays we have our little chances to score extra points and we need to make sure that whenever there’s a chance – like in Singapore – to score good points we do it because that’s what makes the difference in the midfield, when you have a race where you can score a lot of points. So hopefully, together with Pierre, we can achieve that target, also keeping an eye on Renault, McLaren behind us in the championship who are definitely starting to come on very strong towards the end of the season.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Carlos, you’ve known Pierre for a long time, what are your thoughts on him as a teammate and what kind of advice can you give him?

    CS: Well, first of all congratulate him because I remember back to my first Formula One race in 2015, it was a very special day, very special weekend. I think he deserves his chance in Formula One. He has done everything right to be here and I’m also sure Red Bull wouldn’t put anyone into our car that isn’t capable of being on the pace straight away and scoring points and helping the team, no? So extremely happy for him. I’ve raced him in World Series, I know how fast he is, I know the big talent he is so very happy for him.

     

    Q: (Manuel Franco – Diario AS) Carlos, for the second time, you will not be in free practice one for the Grand Prix. What is your opinion about this? Is it a problem for you?

    CS: Let’s say that I’m not happiest man, knowing that I will, for the second consecutive time, miss free practice one. Obviously at Singapore it turned out to be good because we still managed to get into Q3 and P4 but in a tougher weekend like Malaysia when I expect to have more to do in FP1, FP2, FP3 but hopefully like in Singapore we can do our best and come back strong like we did there.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Pierre, Esteban Ocon told us the delightful story about how you got into motor sport by testing his go-kart for the very first time. If you could expand on that and also how you felt when you saw him get into Formula One? Have you ever felt that you were going to lose out, because it took you a bit longer to get here eventually?

    PG: It’s a pretty long story with Esteban and I think we got to know each other since we were six years old. We are living more or less in the same place and we kind of grew up together in karting. I was happy for him when he got his opportunity in F1. It was first with the Gravity programme and afterwards with Mercedes and then he had the opportunity during his DTM season to go with Manor. It’s great for him but we were in different programmes; I was with Red Bull and I had to wait a bit longer for my opportunity but I never really compared my little career so far with his one. That’s about it.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Pierre, possibly next season there could be four French drivers on the grid. How great is this for you and for French racing: you could be up against Leclerc and Grosjean; how good would that be?

    PG: It would be amazing for French people, you know, also with the French GP coming back on the calendar. I think that’s a great opportunity for us as French drivers. It would be amazing to be all together, racing in Formula One. I remember 2005, I think, in karting, I raced together with Esteban and Charles in minikart. To imagine that we might be racing all together again in Formula One is something special. I think it’s good to have many French drivers, especially in 2018 with the French GP.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Pierre, how do you handle this situation? You have two Grands Prix. You must probably do something to show at least the potential to be in Formula One. You’re very young, it’s not so simple to handle this situation, at least emotionally. Technically it may be easier.

    PG: At the moment, I don’t know how many races I’m going to do in F1 so there is nothing confirmed. The team told me to focus on this weekend and try to do my best. I’ve been competitive in lower series, I’ve won the EuroCup in two litres, finished second behind Carlos in 3.5, I won the GP2 and they sent me to Japan this year and I’m fighting for the championship with one race to go. The pace will come. I think Formula One is brand new for me, it’s my first GP but there is no real target. Of course I’m here to learn as quickly as possible and to perform and perform with the team but at the moment, I think I need to take each session at a time, learn as quickly as possible next to Carlos and then we will see where we are. For me, I’m really excited about it, I’ve been dreaming about this weekend so many times and it’s finally happening so I’m just excited, I’m also a big competitor so of course I want to do well but then I also need to be objective, coming in with six races to go. For me, there will be many things to learn and I’m just going to try to do my best to learn as quickly as possible.

     

    Q: (Daniel Hicks – AFP) Pierre, when did you find out that you would be racing this weekend, because we only found out this week; and how difficult is it to prepare when you have such short notice that you’re going to be racing?

    PG: Of course I knew there were things going on with Red Bull but I didn’t know exactly what and then I travelled from Japan on Monday, I was racing last weekend in Super Formula in Sugo and then I travelled from Tokyo to Malaysia on Monday and then when I got here I received a text saying that I might be driving this weekend. I got really excited about it. Of course, tried to sleep Monday night, even though it was a bit difficult with all the excitement and then Tuesday morning I had the confirmation that it was confirmed and official and I was going to drive; amazing moment and great news.

     

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Carlos, you’re effectively on loan to Renault next year, so you don’t belong to Renault, you actually still belong to Red Bull. Where will your loyalties lie; will you be driving a hundred percent for Renault or will you have your eye more on the following season with Red Bull for example?

    CS: No, not at all. I think I will be obviously in my head a Renault driver and I will give everything I can to that team, to that manufacturer and in the future we will see but it’s not something I will think about during my 2018 season because my full focus needs to be in 2018 with Renault, no, although at the moment my focus is with Malaysia, Toro Rosso.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Pierre, you’re living the dream now, you’re here and you’re doing this on the last Malaysian Grand Prix. What are your thoughts and feelings on that?

    PG: For me, as you say, I’m living the dream at the moment. It’s pretty hectic since Tuesday. Everything’s going on and I’m just really excited about this last race. For me, I’m sure I will remember this weekend for the rest of my life. When you have such a dream coming true, to do it on the last Malaysian GP… I don’t know if we’re going to come back one day, probably on this track but for sure it’s a moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) And to Carlos and Marcus, what are your thoughts on this final Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend?

    ME: It’s a bit sad seeing Malaysia go. I think it’s a track that has a good mix of everything and also there have been some really good races here in the past in Formula One so yeah, in that way it’s a bit sad seeing it go.

    CS: From my side, I rate the Malaysian Grand Prix very highly. It’s probably one of the best track layouts we get to race on over the whole year with the fast corners, high grip tarmac like last year. On top of that, it is the most physically demanding track, or one of the most physically demanding, which makes it also quite special and quite a challenge for us so to miss it, yes, we will definitely miss it. Never say never, it can always come back hopefully.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Carlos and Pierre, obviously you’ve got the drive, Pierre that Daniil Kvyat is being kind of nerfed aside. Do you feel sorry for him at all, or isn’t there any room for this kind of feeling in Formula One?

    CS: Let’s say that in the middle of a season when you are so focused on your driving in 2017 you cannot really be affected by what’s going on in the other side of the garage. I’ve switched teammates in Formula One a few times now and I remain focused on my own job, trying not to think what goes on the other side, also because with Red Bull it just works like that. You need to be ready for that. I haven’t had the chance to speak with Daniil yet because I’ve been focused on this weekend but I’m sure I will.

    PG: For me, I didn’t have the chance to talk with him yet but of course unfortunately that’s how it works in this sport and being in my position, before I came to F1, I was waiting for this chance and then I had to take the seat of someone else. Of course I feel sorry for him, I think he’s a really good driver, talented and unfortunately it’s happening and I’m going to take his seat but I’m pretty sure we will see him back on the grid at some point maybe. We will see what’s going to happen in the near future.

  • 2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Start with a question to all of you. Clearly a painful moment in Singapore, three cars eliminated on the first lap of the grand prix, how do all three of you assess it now and how do you move forward?

    Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t think there’s much assessment necessary. Obviously on Sunday all three of us were unhappy, but you move on.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: It happened, you know. You can’t change it any more — it was just a very unfortunate moment. But there’s nothing you can do about it — we just come here and we try again.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Not really anything. Obviously moved on since Sunday, since the weekend.

     

    Q: Sebastian, you’re a four time winner here. Since the summer break you’ve gone from a 14 point championship lead to a 28 point deficit to Hamilton. You’ve obviously seen quite a fluctuation throughout this year and in your previous title-winning years. Do you still think it’s possible to get back on terms? Or do you rely on him to have problems?

    SV: I don’t know. I think we have a lot of races left. I think we have a strong car. I’m not too fussed about the amount of points. Obviously it’s never good to be behind, I’d like to be in front but we’re not so I’m not thinking about that.

     

    Q: Max, it’s your 20th birthday on Saturday. You’re committed obviously to Red Bull for next year. What kind of progress does the team need to make next year to satisfy you?

    MV: I think for next year, the team and I, we want to win, so that’s our priority and we’ll see what happens afterwards.

     

    Q: And Kimi, it’s the 19th and last Malaysian Grand Prix. You’ve raced in most of them, all but three, and you got your first win here. What do you think this event has contributed to the world championship over the years?

    KR: I think to start with it’s a very nice circuit, I think there’s been quite good racing over the years here. I think the layout obviously helps that, and conditions have been always tricky. I think everybody has got more used to it since the early days, but nevertheless I think the racing has been good and that’s the main thing. Obviously all the rest, it doesn’t matter because we are here for racing and if that’s good then that’s fine.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

     

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Question to Sebastian. A 28 point gap is tough for sure, but in some ways could it help you because there is maybe less pressure and you don’t have anything to lose?

    SV: I don’t look at it that way. I think it depends on the points you have at the end of the year or not, so yeah. As I said, if you would choose you want always to be ahead. I would rather not be a little bit behind, but overall it doesn’t change anything for how you tackle the last six races from here.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) Leaving aside yourselves, who would you each nominate as the most able driver out there, the best?

    MV: I find that one really difficult. I think you can only compare with your teammate, because you don’t know what’s going on in the other teams. Also, the car you know, it can suit you better, so I don’t know to be honest.

    SV: I agree with Max, I don’t want to answer.

    KR: I think it’s pointless to answer this one. It’s up to you guys, you’re very good on it at least over the years, so do it again and we can obviously read it then.

     

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Question for all three of you. Nineteen years of Malaysian Grand Prix, this is the final one. What have been some of your fondest memories of this race?

    SV: Obviously it’s a while ago, but for sure one of the nicest ones was 2015, my first win with Ferrari. It certainly was very special — we came here early in the season, at the very beginning of my time with Ferrari. There’s still a lot of very nice memories coming up, I’m thinking about that day, and how the race happened, what happened after the race. I had a really good time. I think the other races, I’m not sure I remember all of them, but 2013 obviously was a bit of a special one — which came with a bit of noise after the race — but still I think it was a good race.

    MV: Well, I haven’t done that many races but I always enjoy coming here. It’s a good track, and I think last year it was good to be second. I would have preferred to win, of course, but still you know for the team it was a great day. That’s my fondest memory. Hopefully this weekend will be better.

    KR: Obviously I won my first race here, it was a while ago now, but it obviously meant a lot. Then there was the win in 2008 with Ferrari, I mean it was a good fight with Felipe and obviously good memories, some bad memories over the years, but that’s when you go many times in the same place that will happen — you have some good years and some not so good. But it’s been pretty good.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Sebastian. You seem to have got over Singapore quite quickly, quite easily. How do you put that frustration aside so easily?

    SV: Well, I think it would have been more difficult if I had lost the car somewhere in the race and it’s obviously different but with collision at the start like that, I think we all three after the race, that was when we had to go to the stewards. What can you do? The lights went off, obviously, we did our starts, everyone was trying to move at the start and it was the way it happened. It ended up really bad for all three of us and that was it. Obviously I could continue a little bit more, but the damage was so bad that I had to stop anyway. Not much you can do — I think it’s part of racing. It’s also not the first time I’ve been in a situation like this and probably it will not be the last time. Hopefully it won’t happen again, but it’s part of racing. It happened, there’s not much you can do, and therefore not much point in trying to look at it again and again, I think it’s much better if your time and energy is spent looking forward.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) This is more or less in line with the last question to Sebastian and Kimi. Sebastian, you are the leader of the championship since the beginning of the season till Monza, and then you lost it and you saw your one race lead to 20 points. What is the psychological impact of that in you and in the team? Will you discuss it so that it does not interfere in the rest of the season?

    SV: I don’t think it’s necessary to discuss. As I said, with things like this happening, what can you do? We could have had major problems with the car, or I might have made a mistake, and it might be a different story. There’s something you need to change, some way you need to react quickly to make sure it doesn’t happen again, and it might be a different story. Looking at it now, obviously there’s been one race where we didn’t finish. Certainly didn’t help that Lewis scored a lot of points, but that’s the way it goes. Certainly we would all three love to have had a different race, championship yes or no. We just want to race, and that’s what we set out to do in Singapore. All three of us didn’t get very far.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Sebastian. At the beginning of this race, will you go about it in any, will you try to protect your lead, maybe be slightly less rash? How will you, what will be going through your mind on lap one of the race? And b, everyone’s saying — all the experts — that the next five races or so all suit the Merc rather than the Ferrari. How do you respond to that? You obviously I guess believe it’s all still alive?

    SV: Some might say that in order for them to remain experts we have to prove them wrong every now and then, otherwise they will maybe be out of a job if they are never wrong! The second thing is I wanted to say it was flattering that you said ‘when on Sunday you are starting from the lead’ — providing, obviously, that we qualify on pole, so it’s nice to have you on board as a fan! Not really. Every start is different, and the way Singapore happened you can look at it again and again; it doesn’t matter. First of all it’s done, and second I think it was pretty unfortunate for all three of us so we want to move on. Having said that, I can’t promise you now what will be on my mind on Sunday when I leave the grid, but normally I don’t, I never thought about the last race, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be focussed on seeing what I can do on that race start on Sunday.

     

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volkskrant) Question for Max. It was obviously not your first frustration this season. Do you still expectations for this race or is that already something you completely don’t have before a new race because of all the frustration you have?

    MV: I’m here, I always try to do well. It’s not my year in terms of Sunday finishes, but in general you have to try to stay positive, and to look at the positives. I think the speed is there, so we need to try again here in Malaysia, and see how competitive we are. It’s a bit difficult to say. But last year I think was pretty alright, and we’ll just try again.

     

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volkskrant) Question for all three drivers. How do you guys cope with the heat during a race weekend like this? Do you have any tips and tricks during the race? Is the preparation different?

    KR: I don’t think it’s an awful lot different, really. It’s obviously a bit more hot than other races, Singapore is quite hot. At least myself, I don’t feel that we do an awful lot different things and it’s probably drink a bit more, but that’s about it.  It doesn’t feel too bad in the past, at least in the car, you more feel it in the practice when you keep stopping in the box and all the heat comes from there, but during the driving it’s not too bad.

     

    Q: Sebastian? How much do you need to drink before the race in terms of litres?

    SV: I don’t know, I generally try and hydrate, I think everybody does. You’re always thirsty, and you sweat a lot, but you stay hydrated — there are no big secrets. I think at some point you try and not to drink too much because you don’t want to stop during the race doing another stop if you know what I mean, yeah. Once you go normally you sweat so much that it’s not really a big problem. Normally they say you should drink around two litres a day, at least, here I think it’s at least double on race day, maybe a bit more.

     

    Max, any special preparations?

    MV: I agree with what Sebastian and Kimi said.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Max. When you say you’re looking at next season, and we’ll see what happens after this, do you have a specific target in mind in terms of race wins? What are you actually aiming for next season?

    MV: I want to be able to fight for the championship. If you win one race and you win the championship, that’s wonderful. It’s a bit difficult to say at the moment, when you’re not in that position. Hopefully we are next year, but it’s a bit too early to say so. We just have to wait and see till we go to Melbourne.

     

    Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Seb. How would you feel about Max joining you one day at Ferrari. And to Max, how would you feel joining Ferrari with Seb.

    SV: I don’t know. I feel that you need to be prepared to race anyone on the grid, so obvioiusly Max is still quite young and has more years left than we have, but yeah, you never know. Obviously I have a longer contract now than him but Formula One… some things they take time. Other things they tend to change very quickly. So it’s a bit pointless to look too far into the future. For now I think we are pretty calm inside the team: myself; everyone – because we know what’s going on this year, what’s going on next year and then I think it’s more for the team as well…

     

    Max, your side of that.

    MV: Yeah, I mean, to be honest I don’t want to look too much in the future. I just want to focus on the job I have now and try to finish it off in a good way this season and then for next season, I know where I am and, well, before we finish next season is still such a long time, so, just have to wait.

     

    Q: (Livio Oricchio  – GloboEsporte.com) Sebastian and Kimi, the last results of the team were not so good: Monza and Singapore. Do you think it’s due to circumstnaces of the competition or maybe again Mercedes did a step forward that Ferrari didn’t and could not follow it, concerning the project of the six rounds to the end of the season?

    SV: It’s normal. It’s the way that people look at the races. If you then highlight the last two, certainly they were not good. We’re not proud, not happy with them. Singapore is fairly quickly explained: didn’t make it very far and then in Monza I think we didn’t do our best, Saturday and Sunday, probably a bit of a combination and, equally, Mercedes was very strong. So yeah, it’s been very tight all season. At Monza we didn’t have a very good weekend and lost a little bit, but still, I think we had a very good recovery from the Saturday that we had. So, yeah, I think it you look at those two races you can argue that they were not great – but I think it’s mostly Singapore where we didn’t race. Monza, I think third was not that bad, given that we were just not competitive to fight for the win.

     

    Kimi, your perspective.

    KR: Not really different. Singapore, Seb was first in the qualifying, I was fourth. So, if you purely compare to Mercedes, it was better. Obviously the race didn’t go that way but I don’t see why you would look at everything so negative. It’s your question, obviously. It’s up and down: some circuits are better for one guy and others for other guys – but it’s a normal story, every year it’s the same thing: some races go better, others not and there’s so many reasons for those. In the end the whole season is one season and in the end wherever the points are, are the best. It’s pointless to look at one race here, one race there. It’s over the whole year.

     

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for the two Ferrari guys and one for Max. The two Ferrari guys, I would like to know if you talked, after the Ferrari race to the president Marchionne. What did he say to you? And the second question, if you think you have the same chance here as Singapore, and for Max, if you lost the last chance to win a race this year, due to the characteristics of the track there in Singapore – or there is some other track that you can stay in front, and fight for the victory?

     

    OK, Sebastian, have you spoken to the president?

    SV: No, I haven’t. Not spoke but I’ve been in contact. Obviously not a great day, as you can imagine. Fairly quickly, the response also from the whole team has been very positive. It’s been a bad day, no doubt about it but I think by Monday – Tuesday, everybody moved on and there has been a lot of excitement in the factory. We had family days last weekend which obviously is very special for all the team members and all the Ferrari employees, so there has been a lot of positives, to be honest, and yeah, what’s done is done. You have to look at what’s coming. And that’s what we are excited about. The car is strong this year, we know that, we’ve seen that, so there’s plenty of positives to look forward to. And, yeah, I think that partly answers your second question, if the car will be competitive here. I think there’s so many things on paper and you tend to look and you tend to say one way or the other – but we have to go here, and that’s the good thing about racing, the part that I enjoy. You go here and you find out. That’s what you fight for, you fight for every centimetre, every tenth that you can find somewhere, over a lot of laps in the race or over one lap in quali, to make the difference. So, I’m sure that, as a team, we can make that difference.

     

    What’s your feeling Kimi? Is this a track that you think the Ferrari, as you feel it, will go well around, compared to Mercedes?

    KR: Very hard to answer. It’s like any weekend when we go we don’t really know our self any more than any of you guys. You are always guessing a bit how it’s going to be and hoping the best – and then we will see tomorrow some ideas. To be honest, some weekends you seem to start a bit better and more straightforward and everything seems to go more easily, and some you have to… you struggle a bit to find the right way and then come Saturday it turns out to be pretty OK, so, it’s impossible to really answer. I’m feeling we should be OK here, but I might be wrong. I might be right. I don’t know.

     

    Max, did you feel that was the last, best chance to win a race – or is there another one that you can see that Red Bull might win before the end of the year?

    MV:  It was definitely a good opportunity of course in Singapore. But never say never. A lot of things can happen. As you can see, the lights go out in Singapore and there are immediately three cars out. So, yeah, you have to stay positive and we’ll see what happens.

     

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Sebastian. I just wanted to get your thoughts on Charles Leclerc who’s going to drive in first practice for Sauber. Quite a promising driver, lot of expectation surrounding him.

    SV: Well, I mean, in terms of expectations, I think he has proven enough so I don’t think you need to have high expectations. Obviously he’s helped us a lot developing this year’s car, done a lot of work on the simulator and had a fantastic season so far in GP2, bit up and down at times but the speed I think has been quite incredible. I’m sure he’ll do well. I don’t think he needs a word of advice, or yeah, any sort of expectations. He looks like he loves racing, enjoys that, and that, I think, for me is the key recipe.

     

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) for all drivers, what will you miss from Malaysia next year when we are not returning?

    MV: I think the track in general. I always enjoyed driving the track, so I think that’s the biggest part we’ll miss. The heat, to be honest, maybe not so much.

    SV: I don’t know, I don’t think there’s one specific thing. It’s the mixture of the circuit, the conditions, the element of rain at any time during the day being possible. Yeah, I think it’s provided very good racing. I’m not obviously involved in why we’re not racing here any more but, who knows, maybe we’re back after a year break or two. I don’t know.

    KR: To be honest, I don’t know if we’re going to miss it. It’s a nice circuit but the only thing you see is the airport, the hotel next to the airport and the circuit, so you can choose from that what you’re going to miss.

     

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD) Question for Max again. You already mentioned your birthday. Is there time in a busy race weekend to spend some attention on a birthday, to do something for a birthday – or not?

    MV: Well, it’s so humid here and warm, you make a cake but who wants to eat cake on such a warm day?

    SV: I do!

    MV: I’ll bring it to the garage before quali.

    SV: ten to three…

    MV: It’s fine. Do I need to serve you as well in the car?

    SV: Yeah, five to three.

    MV: OK, I’ll wait a bit in Q1 and then go out…

    SV: No! Actually the quali’s at five…

    MV: OK, that’s a plan then…

  • 2017 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Jolyon PALMER (Renault)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Fernando, these 2017 Formula One cars were intended to be more physical. Everyone seems to have coped fine so far, but is this the race that the drivers are expecting to be really tough?

    Fernando ALONSO: Probably, yes. I think this one and the next one, Malaysia, will be the two races that will be more demanding physically, but as you said, I think there was more news in the winter than what actually we got when we went in the cars, so I think it’s going to be OK and no problems for anyone.

    And what news of you? Are you happy with the direction things are going with the McLaren? What have you been telling the team this past month or so?

    FA: Not much.

    Any idea when we will have some news from you?

    FA: As I said, I will think what is the best option and as I have said many times, whatever I do next year is because I want to win. I will not be around in any series to be fighting for top 10 or top 15, nothing like that. There are many options out there that I am studying, that I’m looking at. As I said, Formula One is my first and only priority and I will wait and make a decision on that before making decisions on other series. And at the same time, I want to give time to my team, after the last three years, with some struggles we went through together, to have time for them to make decisions, to see the future, next year’s car and after they take their decisions I will take mine. I want to stay loyal at least to that and not make any decisions without them making first their decision. So relaxed, happy and we’ll see what’s going on in the next weeks.

    Thanks. Lewis, world championship leader at the moment and also like Fernando a two-time Singapore Grand Prix winner, you’ve had four years without this guy in your face at grand prix races, battling you for the wins. Is it too strong to say that you have missed those battles and do you believe that he might be battling with you again next year?

    Lewis HAMILTON: I hope that he has got a car to fight with us next year, I think that only adds to the spectacle and the challenge. We want to see the best drivers and the best teams up there and it’s been a shame not to have McLaren where they have historically have been. So I hope that whether it’s with McLaren or wherever Fernando happens to be next year that he has the chance to be fighting with us.

    Obviously massive weekends for you in Spa and Monza and particularly that win in Monza and the all-time record on poles. Speaking of poles, pretty critical here. I think it’s seven of the last eight Singapore Grands Prix have been won by the polesitter and the only exception is you, when you broke down that time in your last race here with McLaren. So would it be too strong to say that your focus this weekend is on that single lap and perfect execution on Saturday?

    LH: I’ve not really put any thought into it yet; the work goes into it today. I think qualifying, of course, if that is the case… you can’t really overtake here, plus the cars are wider, so positioning is going to be very important, so getting the car set up right so you can execute in qualifying I guess is one of the key matters.

    And there is the feeling that you might be up against it a bit more here compared to Spa and Monza from the Ferrari side, and possible Red Bull as well?

    LH: I think Red Bull will be fast this weekend and it’s knowing that it’s not going to be easiest of weekends potentially, but man I’m coming with positivity and with the plan of winning this race. This is still regardless of if that is the case, the others potentially have a little bit more downforce, whatever it is, we have worked as hard we can to understand the car and we come here with full attack.

    Thank you for that. Jolyon, there has been a fair bit going on behind the scenes in Formula One in the last few weeks particularly around Renault and the teams it’s going to supply in the future. What does it all mean for you?

    Jolyon PALMER: Well, firstly, I’m just focused on doing the job I’m doing, so I try not to pay any attention to that sort of thing. For me, I have seven races this year to try to do the best that I can. Yeah, obviously it has been a bit of tough year. The last two races were much better, even if they didn’t show in the end. The performance has been there or thereabouts, so hopefully the car will be better on these tracks and we can finally get some points.

    Your role is pretty critical now in that very tight midfield Constructors’ battle. You’ve had, I think, five retirements, and four times this year you have been the first car to retire in a grand prix. Has it stopped you from showing what you can do in Formula One?

    JP: Yes, because clearly when the car is not working you can’t drive it, you can’t try to score some points. I think there have been a few places, Silverstone, for example, I didn’t even start the race and that was quite a strong race for us. Baku, I think 11 cars finished, I think a Sauber got the points and we broke down after, again, five or six laps. So definitely it’s not been ideal to have that level of reliability problems, but also in the practice sessions, to lose so much puts you on the back foot for the weekend. But the team has been working very hard at the same time in trying to fix it. Every time something happens we are finding out why, learning from it and we keep getting different problems. But hopefully we have put a stop to that now and I think, like I said, the car is going to be strong, especially in these next few races. So we’re going to have a good car, good reliability, good performance and finally I can show what I can do and score some points.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) A question for Jolyon. Much has been said about your possible future, although nothing has been announced. Would you car to say something about it, and if what is being said in the paddock happens, so you have a Plan B for an alternate drive next year?

    JP: I don’t care too much to talk about it. I know what’s happening. I think there will be announcement at some point in the future, not too long. For me, I’m excited about the future. I haven’t thought too much, but I’m excited for what’s to come.

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – Algemeen Dagblad) A question for all three of you: driving at night, what challenges or difficulties does that bring to you, and do you prefer it over day racing?

    FA: I don’t think it makes any difference to us to be honest. We get used to the night driving quite quickly and the vision you have at that moment, so it makes no difference on driving. Probably this race it’s nice to have it night. It looks good on television. It’s a very unique event. So, probably in my opinion I prefer to race at night because we have been racing at night all the time. In different circuits, maybe in hot places, hot countries, maybe at night is also a good idea.

    LH: Not really much more to add to that. I just feel the same way about it.

    JP: Likewise.

    Q: (Candra Kurnia – Jawa Pos) Lewis, in the last race in Monza, you said your Mercedes was a dream car to drive, and Valtteri also said that Mercedes found a different kind of stability. Do you think this would be a big advantage going into this weekend to fight Ferraris and Red Bulls?

    LH: I don’t think it’s going to be a big advantage. Our understanding of the car will potentially help this weekend. But you never really know where you are going to be able to place the car. So if we can get the car in a place where are comfortable and a bit like where we were in the last two races then we will definitely strong in the fight.

    Q: (John McEvoy – Daily Mail) Fernando, you obviously went to America to race and enjoyed the experience. Are there are options from America, maybe from Indy, if things don’t work out in Formula One for you?

    FA: There are options everywhere. And they are all very good. You just need to be patient and wait a couple of weeks.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Jolyon, there are some suggestions that you won’t be in the car in Malaysia and that you will be replaced by Carlos Sainz. Has the team told you anything about that, are you expecting to be at the car at the next race?

    JP: Yes, I have contract. I’ve got seven more races this year. There have been suggestions for the past 35 races that I might not be at the next one, or in the next few, so this is nothing new for me, it’s water off a duck’s back now. It’s the same, I think at probably most races this year it’s been the case and nothing has changed.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, five years ago you had to retire from the lead because of mechanical issues – can you still remember the emotions on that day and the days after – because I think it was the period when you made the final decision to switch to Mercedes. Do you consider this to be the best decision of your life?

    LH: I do remember the time. I can assure you it didn’t have a bearing on the decision. Obviously, I’d been with McLaren for many, many years and lots of success – so one race doesn’t mean that you make a decision that’s going to affect your whole life. So, still at that point we had one of the best cars, I was leading, it was an unfortunate scenario because the team worked so hard to deserve that win, so it was really unfortunate. I think I was pretty chilled afterwards, as far as I can remember, but… yeah, it was a long time ago. The following days… I was already part-way through negotiations and still weighing up my odds but negotiations were looking good so I was already halfway probably to my decision.

    The other part was: is it the best decision you’ve ever made?

    LH: Yeah. Formula One is like a game of chess and it’s really about picking your moves at the right time and hopefully you have enough options. We always have some options and we all have a decision to make. You hope you make the right ones. Of course, I felt strongly about the decision I made and felt fully confident in it. I could never have dreamed of it being as good as it was, or has been, but that was the hope. Again, another dream came true. It’s been a really great experience and one I wouldn’t change for the world, of course.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Lewis. Yesterday Mercedes announced Bottas for next season. It was not a surprise, of course, but how is it important in this final part of the Championship to have a team-mate that is sure for the future, so that maybe he can help you – or fight with you?

    LH: In all honesty, it doesn’t make any difference to this season: doesn’t change my job, doesn’t change his job, so it has zero impact on that for me personally. I think maybe for him, I can only assume it’s a good feeling to have your next year covered. So yeah, I’m sure he’s… but again we knew it was going to happen so it’s not changed anything.

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Question for all three of you to follow-up on an earlier question. Of course, the new F1 game shows Monaco at night. I’d like to know from you guys what other tracks can you think of that would be great to run at night?

    JP: I prefer Monaco in the day, to be honest, because it’s a spectacular place. You’ve got the harbour there, obviously, so I think it’s pretty iconic in the day. This is a nice one to race at night, also Abu Dhabi: you’ve got the lights, got a lot going on there, and Bahrain as well. It was super-hot there this year, so it was even nicer to race at night – but the day’s fine also, I don’t have a big problem with that. I think the race where we race at night there’s a lot of infrastructure, a lot of lighting, a lot of great, iconic things that work at night but I can’t imagine Silverstone, for example, looking so spectacular, there in Northampton. But I think some races are good in the day, some are good at night.

    Fernando, any you think might work?

    FA: Ah, I don’t have a strong opinion on that. It’s hard to image some circuits that historically has been at night, like this one, changing for daytime. And vice versa. I think it’s OK as it is. I don’t imagine any current races at night.

    How about you Lewis? Any thoughts about where might work?

    LH: Not really put much thought into it. I think this track is great being at night. I think it makes a big, big difference. I think the day it would be a lot less exciting. Being at night time makes it a real spectacle. If you look at places like Bahrain, which is a beautiful place and a fantastic circuit, in the daytime, firstly it was just too hot to race really, and then, I don’t know, just wasn’t… when it’s at night you really get to see the sand dune kind of things that are the real features of the surroundings of the circuit. So, I think there are some circuits we could do at night time that would be a bit better. I’ve not really thought of which ones. I think it’s quite cool. Maybe a race where you have it one year in the daytime and one year it’s in the night time. I think it’s a cool feature.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Jolyon, if I understood you correctly earlier on, you said that you knew what was going on with your future, that there would be an announcement soon, and then you said you also had a contract for another seven races but we know that in Formula One contracts are negotiable. If you know exactly what’s going on with your future, then you must know whether you’ll be in Malaysia or whether it’s negotiable. Which is it?

    JP: I said I’ve got seven races to do. I’ll be in Malaysia. I’ll be racing until Abu Dhabi. I’ve already said the same.

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Question for Fernando. In Spa I asked Zak about your participation potentially next year at the Indy 500, assuming that you stayed at McLaren, and he was emphatic and said no. He said you would be required to be in Monaco next year because they expected to have better performance and it wouldn’t be a situation like this year. A) does that affect your decision in whether you stay or whether you go to another team and B) does that mean, if you do stay at McLaren, temporarily the dream of the triple-crown is put on hold for a while?

    FA: The triple-crown is a clear target for me in the future and there are three races there, so if one of those, the Indy 500 is together with Monaco, as we know, there is another one still to complete, so triple-crown is still on going at the maximum speed but yeah, I agree the same thing that Zak said: if I remain in Formula One it’s because I believe I can win next year. So, that will ease the decision a lot because I will be in Monaco because I don’t want to lose any points there. So, priority if Formula One, as I said before, and winning here, and triple crown is in the background. As I said, there are three races, not only Indy. So, there are many possibilities to do a fantastic 2018.

    Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel Four) Fernando, at Monza you were a bit unhappy that Jolyon didn’t give you the place back in the battle you two guys were having…

    FA: Not with him. That was your theme the week later and the news, that they changed… with all the engine saga. The news turned a little bit. I was not happy with the stewards and the FIA.

    Did you talk to the stewards any further, and will you talk to them more in the drivers’ meeting?

    FA: I will talk tomorrow but there is not much to talk, y’know. I mean, they make a mistake, they know already so there is not much to talk.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Fernando, just following on from what you were saying about Indy next year, not being able to do it, does that mean you’re focussing on maybe doing Le Mans next year instead – because I don’t believe that does clash with a race?

    FA: There is nothing as yet confirmed. As I said, my plans didn’t change. I’m waiting for my current team to make up their decisions and after that to negotiate whatever possibilities I have here, which is my first priority, and the triple crown, to win it one day, I think that will put me in a good level of a complete driver that can win in any series at any time. So those objectives are still there. As I said, for my fans and for motorsport lovers, they will have a fantastic 2018 season, so the plan is ongoing and very good news is coming.

  • 2017 Hungarian GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    2017 Hungarian GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 2

    PART TWO: DRIVERS – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull), Sergio PÉREZ (Force India), Stoffel VANDOORNE (McLaren), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas)

    Q: Session one we had a lot of talk about the implementation of the Halo cockpit head protection in 2018. I’d just like to get each of your thoughts on that. Perhaps we could start with Max.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: OK, yeah, I don’t like it but of course at the end of the day you have to respect the decision of the FIA. I think since we introduced the Virtual Safety Car, that reduced a lot of risk when you are speeding under the yellow flag in the race and then also with the wheel tethers, they are quite strong at the moment so I don’t think you will lose a wheel very easily, and when there are parts flying around from the car, it’s not really going to protect you. So, I don’t really understand why we should need it.

    Sergio?

    Sergio PÉREZ: I’m in favour of it. Whatever has to do with safety, safety always comes first. I think if we had the Halo by now, the last six, seven years it will have saved at least a life. That’s worth the risk that the FIA is taking with that. I think once we implement Halo the teams will improve. I think Halo needs a lot of work by now – but I’m sure the system will be improved a lot. We have very clever engineers in Formula One and now that all the teams know that it has to be in place for next year, I believe they will improve it a lot.

    Kevin, your thoughts?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I’m also against it. I don’t think it’s what Formula One is about. I think there should be a limit or, at least, a more clever way to improve the safety. I don’t think the Halo is the right way. In general, I don’t agree that safety always is number one. I think there is a limit where it becomes too safe to be exciting. Part of the reason Formula One is popular is because of the element of danger. It’s moved on a huge amount in the last 30 years and that’s been very good – but I think it’s safe enough now that I can say it’s exciting and it’s right. It feels right to go racing. We could always make it more safe, we could make the cars go maximum 80km/h and it would be completely safe – but it would be very boring. You can always make it safer but you will make it less exciting and that’s my problem with it.

    And Stoffel, your thoughts?

    Stoffel VANDOORNE: Yeah, I think aesthetically it’s definitely not the nicest thing we’ve put on the cars and I think a lot of people agree with that – but we’ve been pushing to improve cockpit safety, to improve head protection. I think the FIA have done a lot of investigations on what would be the best solutions, trying a couple of different solutions with the screen being tested in Silverstone as well. I think for them that was the best solution. So, yeah, I don’t think it’s a big surprised to see it in 2018 on the cars.

    Q: Max, if we can come back to you now. It’s been a difficult opening ten races of the year for you; five retirements but Red Bull team principle Christian Horner has said this week that in adversity, you’re becoming a better driver. I just wondered if you agreed with him.

    MV: It’s nice to hear. No I think it’s always the target to improve every single year so I think I definitely improved again compared to last year but it’s a bit difficult to… or it was difficult to show, of course, when you retire but luckily in Silverstone I had no issues but we still need to be honest to ourselves and now there was an issue on the other car, so we still need to be more reliable I think. We’ll start here in Hungary and see how it goes.

    Q: And how do you rate your chances this weekend? Red Bull’s been on the podium every year for the last four years; is that your expectation? 

    MV: We have to wait and see how the updates will work but also from the guys ahead, because they are not standing still. So hopefully we will be close but of course in Silverstone we went a little bit in the wrong direction but if you look to the previous races I think we were actually catching up so let’s try to continue in that way and hopefully we will find a good balance and then I’m sure if there are some things happening like they always do here I think in Hungary, then we have a good chance.

    Q: Sergio, coming back to you: the Hungaroring hasn’t been that kind to you during your Formula One career. I just wonder, given the team’s form this year, how confident are you of being competitive? 

    SP: I think yes, we have improved the car in terms of making the car more consistent. We might not have a circuit where we go really well and one that we go really badly. I think we’ve been in our fight, in the midfield, we’ve been the most consistent team and that’s thanks to the car being consistent pretty much on every track. So I think here we can be in the challenge. I think obviously we will have the McLarens, the Haas, the Renaults, the Toro Rossos  – they will be quite strong around here. But I expect ourselves to be in that fight, in that mix and hopefully score very good points on Sunday.

    Q: The driver silly season is in full swing and I would just like to ask you about that if I may. Force India has clearly made a step forward this year; are you confident they can make another step next year and do you want to make that step with them?

    SP: I think the team has been moving forwards every year, you know? Although last year we achieved the same position which we have now which is fourth, I think we have consolidated that four place. I think the team is moving forwards; there is a lot more interest in terms of sponsorship into the team, more investment but it’s not easy to make the next step with the big boys, with the big teams, it’s not easy. In terms of my future, I just hope that once I come back to the next race, after the summer break, I can have a new contract.

    Q: A new contract with Force India. 

    SP: That would be good you know, but you never know what will happen.

    Q: Kevin, talking of contracts, Gene Haas has confirmed that both yourself and Romain will remain with the team in 2018. How important is that stability both for you personally and for the team? 

    KM: I think it’s important for both. I knew, when I signed the contract, there were two years, so it’s not news for me but it’s good of Gene to tell everyone and make it… now we will have the questions so hopefully no more of those kind of questions for the rest of the season. It’s nice to be in that situation because for the last two seasons I’ve done in Formula One it’s been always frustrating to talk about contracts every races in the last part of the season. Now, it’s clear what the plan is so we can focus on racing and just push freely and not worry about anything – just go racing as hard as I can.

    Q: And do you work well with Romain? 

    KM: Yeah, I think so. It’s a good relationship and I think the support we have from the team is fantastic. It’s a very good environment to be in as a driver. The trust that we get from the team is very big and I think we’re both performing well and I can certainly learn from him and I hope he can learn from me as well so we can push each other forward and help the team that way.

    Q: Stoffel, so halfway through the season, how do you reflect on progress, both for you personally and for McLaren?

    SV: Yeah, for us it’s been a difficult start to the season, Not a surprise, I think we’ve had a lot of technical problems to start which compromises a lot of our running, let’s say, but I think since we’ve made good steps forward. It’s still not perfect, we know that, there’s still a long way to go but we’ve definitely improved on the chassis side, engine side as well, so I think everything is going in the right direction. We’re still a long way off, that’s true but I think the recent races have shown some good progress and yeah, I’m comfortable with the car which is performing very well like this weekend as well for us should be a good opportunity so yeah, I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season to hopefully continue that trend.

    Q: You said a moment ago you’re still a long way off but equally this weekend should be a good opportunity; what is it about the Hungaroring that lends itself to your car? 

    SV: It’s a very twisty circuit, a lot of corners, we know our chassis is performing well in these corners. It’s a bit like Monaco without the walls, let’s say and it’s also one of the circuits where the power sensitivity is a bit lower. On paper it’s a chance for us, this weekend but yeah, it’s not a given for sure, so we need to be focused on getting the maximum out of our package and then hopefully we will be rewarded with a good result.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) We’ve got a big weekend, summer break coming up. Where are you guys going: Barbados, anybody for California, anybody for Hawaii? What have you guys got planned for the summer break? 

    KM: Not too much, really. I’m going to relax as much as I can, recharge the batteries. I have no plans so I will see what I do.

    SP: For me, no Barbados. I go to California.

    MV: Yeah, some friends and family holiday.

    Q: Are you going to tell us where? 

    MV: No.

    SV: I know where Maxi is going but… I’m going to Montenegro with a few friends and then the rest of the time I’ll just chill out in Monaco.

    Q: (Tomasz Kubiak – SwiatWyscigow) Question to the three drivers who took part in last year’s race: the track limits were enforced electronically then. Were you in favour of that solution over some of the aggressive kerbs that are damaging the cars on some tracks?

    MV: It’s not ideal for our car because of the ride height we are running. It’s easy to destroy your front wing or the front of the floor so it’s not great and I think we can still fine tune it a bit but in one way you have to stay off them. It’s not too bad but it’s not fantastic yet.

    SP: I think it will be very difficult, you know, to have this electronic system where it slows you down and then you can create a massive shunt behind you so I don’t think it’s the right way to go. These cars go really fast, they’re not like indoor karting where if you are crashing around, they can slow you down. The difference in speeds can be really big so I don’t think it’s the right way forward: going off and manually, electronically reducing your speed.

    Q: So you think the kerbs is a good solution. 

    SP: Yes, I think so.

    KM: I think the kerb’s fine.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Max, Mercedes announced that they’re going to go into Formula E. I just want to know what you think of the sport; do you think it’s exciting, perhaps not fast enough for somebody like you? What do you think of it?

    MV: It can be a bit faster, I think but that will… you know the evolution with the cars for sure, that will be done and I think the rest… yeah, there are some exciting races, absolutely. I try to watch it and I think you also have to get rid of the pit stop where you have to jump in another car but of course that’s going to happen, so we will see what happens there.

    Q: (Péter Vámosi – Vas Népe) Checo, if you had the opportunity to rename the Force India team, what would it be? And of course is there any real opportunity that it will be Brabham? 

    SP: Force Mexico or Force Checo. Checo would be good. Couple of ideas for Vijay. I think the team is definitely moving in the right direction. Hopefully, very soon we can find out which name we will have for the future. I don’t know anything about Brabham.

    Q: (Velimir Veljko Jukic – Auto Fokus) For all drivers: next year, you will have more protection so will you risk more and push even more harder, even harder?

    MV: That would mean you’re doing a very bad job at the moment so I don’t think so.

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – Algemeen Dagblad) Max, I know it’s hard to predict what an upgrade will do but what are you hoping for realistically? 

    MV: That we can close the gap to the guys ahead. I think that’s the obvious target for us at the moment and then we will see what happens.

    Q: (Erik van Haren – De Telegraaf) Max, do you think this track is better for you guys and especially as at Silverstone you said you didn’t have enough pace there, when you look at Ferrari and Mercedes? Do you think it will be better for you here? 

    MV: We hope so. In general it should be a little bit better for us, also like Stoffel said, the power sensitivity is not as big. But still, you need a good balance and we have to try and work on that.

    Q: (Sura’nyi Géza – Heves Megyei Hirlap) To all drivers: going back to the halo thing, do you think it’s disturbing for a driver from the point of view that it’s difficult to see from the car when the halo is on and do you think that it will impact your driving? 

    KM: I think it could have an effect on tracks that are uphill, for example, turn one in Austin or Eau Rouge at Spa, you could struggle to see the top. But I’ve tried it once but not for very long so… Those laps didn’t feel great, it’s not a nice sensation to have something right in front of you.

    SP: Yeah, I agree with Kevin. I tried it twice, I think, last year, just for a lap so I’ve done two laps with it, installation laps. I don’t really have a lot of information with it. I don’t know if we’re going to be using the same halo as the one we tried last year, I don’t know if it’s going to be improved or if anything can be done in that respect.

    MV: The one I tried I didn’t like the visibility and the thing in front of you so yeah, it’s not great. Don’t like it.

    Q: Stoffel, have you tested the halo? 

    SV: No, I haven’t, I haven’t tried it so I think those guys have a better vision of it as they’ve tried it so I don’t know.

    Q: (Viktor Bognar – Magyar Szo) To all drivers: just following up on the previous question: are you worried that sticking the halo in front of your eyes will take away some of the excitement of driving a Formula One car? 

    Q: Stoffel, you haven’t tried it, are you nervous about having the halo and will it take some of the excitement away? 

    SV: It’s difficult to say. For sure it will be different. Everything is always different when you put something new on the car and I think like the other drivers said, visually I think it will be a bit strange in the beginning but no one’s really done a proper run with it, no one’s really done a full day with it and seen how they adapted to different scenarios. I think we will have to wait and see until we actually get to do proper running with it.

    MV: I think that as soon as I have that thing on my car I don’t like it and I’m not even sitting in the car so the excitement has already gone before I’m even sitting in the car.

    SP: As Vandoorne says, we are really far from that. Nobody has really done a day with it so we will see how it goes in Barcelona, the first time we will try it on track.

    KM: Yeah, I agree with Max. It takes away some of the passion that Formula One is all about. When you look at the car it’s ugly. Formula One cars aren’t ugly, they’re not meant to be ugly. That’s the reason that a Ferrari is more exciting than a Mazda, it’s something passionate and if it looks shit, it is shit.

  • 2017 Hungarian GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    2017 Hungarian GP: Thursday Press Conference – Part 1

    PART ONE: DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Nico HULKENBERG (Renault)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Gentlemen, if we could by getting your thoughts on the Halo cockpit protection that is going to be introduced from the start of 2018. Sebastian, if we could begin with you, what are your thoughts about the Halo and how do you feel it compares to the Shield you tested at Silverstone two weeks ago? 

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I wasn’t a big fan of the Shield, mostly for the reason that it was impacting visibility. The Halo test I did, I think it was last year in Abu Dhabi, and for sure you need to get used to it but at least it didn’t impact on the vision, so I think that was the biggest difference. Obviously there has been a lot of talk, as I got it, but I think overall you need to understand that it is a decision that helps us in the car in case something goes very wrong. For sure, if you look at Formula One, the way Formula One cars look and so on, I can understand if people say it doesn’t belong on a Formula One car but on the other hand I think times are changing, you are moving forward and I think if you put it very clear, then it also should be very clear for everyone and there shouldn’t be a doubt in your mind whether to introduce it or not. I think if you offer the system as it stands, with the power that it has to give us additional protection, offer that to Justin Wilson some time ago, I think he would take it and we would all be happy to take it to save his life. Now we can’t turn back the clock but I think knowing that something is there that helps us in scenarios it would be ignorant and stupid to ignore. Regarding the looks: as I said, I like Formula One cars of the past and so on, but there are also elements that I like nowadays. I mean, racing cars with wings that Formula One cars didn’t have until I think late-‘60s or [early] ‘70s, so now that’s part of it. There are plenty of other examples – we had V12 engines, which I would like to go back to, and we don’t have anymore. But overall, it’s supposed to help us and I think that’s what we need to remember.

    Q: Fernando, you’re the most experienced driver in the room with 280 starts to your name, what are your thoughts on the Halo?

    Fernando ALONSO: I tend to agree with everything Sebastian said. First is the safety and if this device can help in many of the fatal accidents that we had in the last 10 or 15 years, as has been proved by the FIA, I think we are all happy to implement the device and we are all happy to have some of our colleagues, if we could go back in time and save their live we would be all happy. That’s the first and only thing we should talk about. Then, the aesthetics: I don’t care too much to be honest. Formula One has changed a lot. Even from my first year, in 2001, until now, the cars look very different. The height of the front nose, the height of the cockpit [surround] to protect the helmet area, you know. Forty or 50 years ago they didn’t have seatbelts in a Formula One and when seatbelts were implemented there was not any debate. If they had to fit it in Formula One… it’s fun to drive with no seatbelt… it should be like that. For me there is no question, I’m happy to implement any extra head protection for next year. If the FIA studied and developed the Halo and this is the most effective way to protect the head of the drivers it’s more than welcome in my opinion.

    Q: Nico, you’ve expressed your reservations about Halo in the past. Now it’s here, what’s your reaction? 

    Nico HULKENBERG: I’m still going to race. I won’t retire for sure. But yeah, I was never a big supporter of Halo or of additional head protection. I’m still not but it’s not my decision, it’s the FIA making the safety rules and requirements. So it is what it is, I will accept it and get on with it.

    Q: Can you elaborate on why you’re not a fan?

    NH: I think there is that element of if they fix the looks; it doesn’t look pretty for sure. It will protect against something, the freak accident, accidents that’s one out of a million. We have security and the protection of the cars gets better, these tethers that keep the tyres get better and better every year and give even less chance of a tyre or heavy things flying round, so I’m not sure that this additional protection is necessary because all the other areas keep improving and we’ve compromised the looks quite a lot.

    Q: Marcus, your thoughts on the implementation of Halo? 

    Marcus ERICSSON: I think it’s positive. I think like Fernando and Sebastian said safety should be prioritized. I think the FIA has done a good job to really look into it and if this is a best solution at the moment I think it’s a no-brainer to go for it for next year. If it can save someone in the future, it’s great. Also, I tested it last year and when I drove with it I didn’t really notice it all, so I think it’s a good thing that it’s not going to change anything when you drive, that you have the same feeling when you drive. Yeah, it maybe doesn’t look the prettiest but I think it’s also something we will get used to. It’s always when there are big changes in Formula One it doesn’t look so pretty at first, but then people get used and I think it will be the same thing with the Halo.

    Q: Sebastian, this is your 50th start for Ferrari, a milestone reached by only 13 other drivers. How do you reflect on your two-and-a-half years with the team and what does the future hold? 

    SV: I think time is moving quickly. Obviously, I have been very busy. I think the whole team has been very, very busy trying to get back. I think this year has been very, very god for most of the year so far. Overall, very positive. I’m really enjoying it. I think it’s great to be part of the Ferrari family and as I said we are all focused and determined to get Ferrari back to where it belongs, so that’s our mission let’s say, our target, our goal and yeah, that’s what we’re working on.

    Q: And beyond the end of the year? 

    SV: Well, it’s true that I haven’t got a contract yet but I think the primary objective at the moment is not to look at papers and worry about those, I think it’s to make sure that we get some good results. Obviously we have another race and another opportunity here before the summer break and then there is a bit more time.

    Q: Fernando, does the layout of the Hungaroring present you and McLaren with your best opportunity so far?

    FA: Yeah I think so. I think Monaco was also a great track, in terms of the characteristics of it. I was not there, so this is really the first time that I had this possibility of hopefully feeling competitive and feeling the possibility to be there in Q3 and then in the points, if something happens in front of us maybe to get even a better result than this, maybe seventh or eighth, that is the maximum you can fight for at the moment. So definitely an important weekend for us. We paid some penalties in the last two races to arrive here with some more freedom of engine choices and something more in the pocket, so hopefully it pays off this weekend.

    Q: Nico, a tremendous weekend for you and the team at Silverstone. Can the pace there translate to this race track?

    NH: Yeah, I think this weekend I feel it’s a bit more of a true teller. For sure, I think at Silverstone, with the upgrades we brought, it was definitely a good step forward but I think Hungary here, these track characteristics, will be a true teller for us of where we stand. Interesting days ahead. I’m also excited to see how the car feels, the way we pan out. We have some additional upgrades again this weekend. The team has got some good momentum, pushing quite hard and bringing new bits to every race, so it all feels very positive, so we’ve got to keep working in that direction.

    Q: Marcus, could we just get your reaction to the news that Fred Vasseur is the new team principal at Sauber? 

    ME: I think it’s good news. I think Fred is a very respectable (sic) person in the paddock and he has done a lot of great things in motorsport in general. I don’t know him that well yet, but I went straightaway after Silverstone down to Hinwil to sit down with him and, yeah, I got a really good feeling talking to him and he had some really good ideas on how to structure the team for the future, both short- and long-term. Obviously, this is the first weekend he’s working on track with the team, but I think all in all it’s good news for the team. There are a lot of good things happening. Also we have some updates on the car this weekend as well, so exciting times for Sauber.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Sebastian, it’s said that this is a very tough race for Ferrari, because you need to react from Silverstone otherwise Mercedes could get a bigger advantage. Do you agree or not? Do you still believe that the season is long and that you have chances in the future?

    SV: I think I had a lot of tough races in my past already. I think it’s normal that there is always talk about this race or the next race coming up based on the race you had. I’m no stressing too much. I think on paper this should be a good race for us. Let’s see how we get going. Certainly, looking back, Silverstone wasn’t a great weekend for us. At the same time I think things were going quite good for Mercedes, so I think it has been the other way round as well this year. I’m not stressing too much. I like the track, I’m just going to enjoy. Everyone here, we know what we have to do and that’s what we plan to do, so the fact that it’s the last race before the summer break or the race after Silverstone, that maybe wasn’t good for us, doesn’t change anything. You can score as many points here as anywhere else. But, as I said, it’s a nice race, so I think we need to make sure we enjoy.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte) Sebastian, after the Monaco Grand Prix you had a 25-point advantage over Lewis and also Ferrari was first in the Constructors’ Championship. Four races later Ferrari is behind and you have just one point in the difference. It looks like Mercedes did a better a job in developing the car. Fernando, in the case of the accident you had in Australia, the Halo, what would be the influence of it?

    SV: I can’t disagree with what you said because it’s based on the points that we have today but I think you need to look at the races. Obviously, you know, we didn’t get the best races in the last couple. Saying that I think we were very close to winning in Austria. I don’t think we were lacking any speed there and that’s only two races ago. Now, as I said, Silverstone for sure was not the best race for us, but sometimes shit hits the fan and then it’s not so pleasant. In many ways it was not such a good weekend for us. Obviously the last two laps didn’t help, but these things happen. Sometimes you suffer a puncture. It will not be the last one, unfortunately, in my life, and it has happened to all of us. You have a lot of races, some will be better, some will be worse. Now, the last couple were maybe not fantastic but I’m very positive. We come here and we know the car is strong, we know we have a chance to fight for victory and that’s good news, so I think we should look at the positives rather than looking at one race where maybe things didn’t go well for us and it turned out to go well for them. I think if you look at the week after Monaco, we were quite happy, maybe Mercedes wasn’t. In the end., you shouldn’t get distracted from short-term results. Rest assured, we were not happy with the result in Silverstone. There were some weaknesses. It was a very good weekend for us in terms of what we learned about the car to go forwards and in fact I think we have some bits here that should help us and the plan is to keep pushing. So, as I said, the determination, the commitment is very high to make sure we stay at the front.

    FA: I think nothing really will affect the exit from the cockpit, as I understood from the FIA studies, so that will be the same for me. Definitely, while you are in the air, my only worry there was if something could impact with my helmet. If I had the Halo there I would probably be a little bit less afraid of any injury, so happy to… not to repeat it, but happy to wear it.

    Q: (Roksana Cwik – SwiatWyscigow) Sebastian, after the Silverstone tyre failures, what has been done at Ferrari to ensure it won’t happen again?

    SV: Obviously we looked into it with care. It impacted on my race, on Kimi’s race, and obviously we are trying to find the reasons for it, together with Pirelli, to find and understand. In my case it was a slow puncture that started already some corners before. Unfortunately, if you want to say, a little bit too late, so we couldn’t react and get into the pits straight away. We spent a lot of time on the tyre. Obviously it wasn’t fresh anymore. I could feel the degradation. At the time we thought it was fine. It’s one of those things that with hindsight it could have been easy for us to get a new set and to come back. But at the time you have the track position, you don’t know other people are doing, you don’t know how much they are struggling with their tyres at the end of the race and so on. I think we took a lot of action trying to understand first of all what happened and then a lot of action trying to understand what we could have done better and what we will change in the future when we are in a similar position.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Question for Fernando. In Silverstone you had dinner with McLaren people and after this dinner they said we are really lucky, we have hopes that Fernando will stay next year. What do you have to say about that?

    FA: Nothing really. I mean, we had dinner there, we have some grands prix that the whole McLaren people are there, so we had some conversations for the future as well but nothing really changed. My opinion or my wishes for next year which remains the same.

    Q: (Péter Vámosi – Vas Népe) Question to all Monaco winners and Le Mans winner. First of all what do you think of Porsche’s exit from World Endurance Racing and Championship and what do you think, can you make the triple crown now, like Graham Hill in the past or is this possibility gone now?

    Let’s start with Nico.

    NH: Yeah, obviously a pity in a way to see Porsche leave the WEC Championship. I guess they came back, they were there now four years, won it three times in a row so I guess you could say mission accomplished. They’re probably looking for a new challenge now. It was only down to two manufacturers, so probably need something new, something more challenging. Definitely a bit of a shock to the system there.

    Fernando, the triple crown?

    FA: I think it’s still there. It’s not that you cannot win Le Mans with another manufacturer, y’know? Arguably now Toyota will be very favourite next year. And then the Indy500 it doesn’t affect. Porsche was not there. So did they confirm today they stop the programme? I didn’t know.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, you said that you have made your analysis about what happened with the tyre in Silverstone – but what was the conclusion? Could you have done anything to avoid them or was it just a freak incident that both of the cars had either a puncture or delamination and you could have done nothing about it.

    SV: Excuse me for being sarcastic, we could have pitted. So then… for sure it doesn’t happen. Yeah, as I said, there’s plenty of things that we learnt. We’ll probably take action next time and try to avoid. As I said, from my point of view, I got the explanation and then you move on, you can’t go back and change it. I obviously was inside the car, we talked about the tyres before it happened and, as I said, they didn’t feel fresh, I reported – but I was also sure they would make it. Then, two laps, you could argue, two laps more, two laps less, so with hindsight now it’s easy but it has happened. It has impacted our race. We can’t change that, what we can change is next time we face maybe a similar situation.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Motorsport . com) Question for Sebastian. I know you opened the conference by talking positively about the Halo from your own personal opinion. I believe that last year you, as a GPDA director, along with the other directors, wrote to the FIA talking about having canvassed the other drivers, both current and reserve and found widespread support. Have you spoken to your fellow drivers now that the Halo has been implemented? Are you finding the same level of support? What’s the GPDA stance, rather than your personal one, please?

    SV: Well, our GPDA stance is very simple. Obviously the GPDA is there to support and try to look from a drivers’ voice into things that can be improved in terms of safety. That’s our main interest and has been in the past. So, I think it’s very clear. More or less one year ago we got a presentation here. Shortly after, or right after the drivers’ briefing about the Halo, about its consequences, about the outcome in various accidents, whether it was better, worse or neutral, and the result was very clear, it was better to neutral depending on the accident obviously. So, right after that, as far as I remember – it’s a year ago – we sent a letter that we appreciate the fact that FIA is continuously trying to push and trying to find new solutions to give us more support on track to help push safety. We asked them, as much as we can, to keep doing exactly that. So, look further into it and so on. As I understand, I think it was agreed about a year ago anyways, that we will have addition head protection for ’18. Now it has been just confirmed. Bit surprised to see the surprise about the decision but, as I said, not just from my personal point of view, I think the majority of the drivers appreciate the fact that we go forward now. As I said for aesthetics, it’s always difficult to please everybody opinion but I think the Halo system that we saw last year will probably not be the one that we see next year and the year after and the year after. It’s one of those things that maybe they start off not so good looking and then they’re actually not so bad.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Nico and for Fernando. I’d like to know your thoughts on Formula E as a sport. Mercedes have decided to go there next year and you two have raced in other categories. Wanted to know your thoughts on that sport.

    FA: I don’t have a strong opinion because I never saw the real car, I never had too much interest on the details. Difficult to have an opinion of that – but I respect a lot other series out there, apart from Formula One. They race in the best cities in the world and they are promoting this Formula E in a very good way. So, y’know, as I said, I respect the series and maybe one day I get more interested but now I don’t have a strong opinion. It’s clear it’s attractive for some of the big manufacturers and things like that, as Mercedes show with the announcement. So, y’know, they’re doing a good job.

    Nico?

    NH: Yeah, for sure, the fact is it’s growing. More and more manufacturers are getting involved, obviously many car manufacturers are going more the hybrid and electric car route, so there’s good support for the series. Personally, I’ve never been to a race or seen the car or driven or anything so also can’t comment too much about it but think the setup as such is working. Will be interesting to see where it goes in the next couple of years.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) To Sebastian, what is it that’s delaying you about signing the new Ferrari deal and when do you expect there will be news on who you’re going to sign for? Re-signing or moving somewhere else.

    SV: As far delaying, I think the fact we are working hard, both from the team’s point, my point, I think we have other things to do right now, so, as I said, in the summer there’s a bit more time. There’s a couple of weeks’ stretch  where there is no race but for now I think the focus is extremely high on working on the car. So, for me I’m obviously not designing the bits but trying to give as much feedback as I can, trying to spend time in the simulator, generally talking to the team. That, at the moment, has priority. As I said, a piece of paper can be signed fairly quickly so that’s not a problem.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) To follow up on that, Sebastian, Ferrari have said they’re ready to renew your contract whenever you are. Do you want to stay with the team?

    SV: I don’t see why not. I think… I’m certainly not ready this weekend, and last weekend, so, as I said, I’m not in a rush, I don’t think the team is in a rush, as far as I understood, I think I have a good contact to the team, I think they would tell me otherwise so, as I said, there’s no problem, nothing wrong.

    Q: (István Simon – Automagazin) My question is to Nico Hülkenberg. After the grand prix we are going to have a two-day FIA Formula One test here at the Hungaroroing and one of the big names, in fact the biggest name to participate in the test is Robert Kubica who will be testing a Renault car, 2017 car. What are your feelings towards him as a possible team-mate to you for next year or even this year? Are you going to follow his process closely? Have you been asked by the team to give any advice to him how to drive this car?

    NH: Firstly I think it’s a great comeback for him personally after the accident and the difficulties he has been through to have this opportunity and chance to test the current Formula One car. We all knew that he was one of the really good drivers before his accident and could have had a really great career. So, yeah, for sure I will follow. I won’t be here but for sure I want to know how he’s getting on. It will be very interesting to see how it works. Team-mate question, to be honest I’m really relaxed about who is the team-mate. Team-mates, you always have a team-mate. You work with him, you get on with him, obviously it’s a competitive relationship but it doesn’t matter really who it for me. So, I’ll sit back and wait and see