F1 Madness

Tag: toto wolff

  • Niki Lauda says it’s not Mercedes’ job to make F1 entertaining

    Niki Lauda says it’s not Mercedes’ job to make F1 entertaining

    Mercedes team boss Niki Lauda has dismissed suggestions that the dominance of the Mercedes team is making Formula One boring. He says that the team is focused on “winning every bloody race” rather than the overall spectacle.

    Mercedes took a comfortable 1-2 at the Canadian Grand Prix with the nearest rival Valtteri Bottas crossing the line an insane 40 seconds later. The team looks unlikely to be challenged on pace this season having already won 22 of the 26 races since the start of the V6 turbo era.

    Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Canadian Grand PrixWhen asked if the rather boring Canadian Grand Prix was a good day for Mercedes but a bad day for F1, Niki Lauda said, “Guys, I’m not here in charge of your politics. I can only run, with Toto [Wolff] together, the team in the best possible professional way. Win every bloody race, that’s what I’m here for and the rest I don’t know.”

    When it was suggested that Mercedes should lead the change to increase the spectacle of Formula One, Lauda replied, “We do take a lead for the sport, we win the races for you. Look at the Canadians – 12% more people here for this so-called boring sport, you are trying to tell me, with no noise. Only Canadians are crazy here. I just said to Austrian TV ‘you crazy Austrians, think like the Canadians and all come to Spielberg!’”

     

    Niki Lauda Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

    Lewis Hamilton Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas

     

     

  • Niki Lauda orders investigation into “unnacceptable” strategy call

    Niki Lauda orders investigation into “unnacceptable” strategy call

    Mercedes team boss Niki Lauda has called on fellow big chief Toto Wolff to launch a full investigation into what he called an “unacceptable” strategy call by the Mercedes pit wall at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    Hamilton had dominated for the majority of the Monaco GP but lost victory as a direct result of a completely unnecessary pit stop under a late safety car. Changing tyres saw Hamilton drop back behind both Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg and Ferraris Sebastian Vettel. Lauda insisted that the mistake needs to be fully investigated by the team.

    Lauda apologised to Hamilton and his engineers, “Honestly, I really feel sorry,” he said. “I apologised, even to his engineers over there, because this is for me unacceptable.

    “Nevertheless, Toto, I gave him the order to analyse it properly and see where the mistake was made. But absolutely the decision to bring him in was completely wrong.”

    Lauda said that there was confusion between Hamilton and the pit wall just before he pitted.

    “I was listening to the talks – the talks were going forward and backwards – and there was too much confusion. In the end it was the wrong decision, no question about it.”

    Photo Credit: Niki Lauda, Toto Wolff – Mercedes AMG Petronas

  • Mercedes Apologises to Hamilton

    Mercedes Apologises to Hamilton

    Mercedes Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff has apologised to Lewis Hamilton on behalf of the team following the late pit stop mistake at the Monaco Grand Prix.

    Hamilton was leading the race when a late safety car was deployed because of Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen colliding with Lotus’ Romain Grosjean. Initially the virtual safety car was deployed which meant drivers are to stick to a delta lap time. A short while after that the Safety Car was deployed. This prompted Mercedes to ready their pit crew for a pit stop. Hamilton, who had built up a considerable gap to second place man, Nico Rosberg, pitted under instruction from the team. The gap, which was anticipated to be enough for Hamilton to rejoin back in the lead was not large enough and when he emerged from the pits he lost two positions and was running in 3rd.

    There was a bit of uncertainty between Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton as to who crossed the safety car line ahead at the exit of the pit lane. In the end, replay’s showed Vettel crossing the safety car line ahead of Hamilton by about half a car length.

    When the race ended Hamilton was distraught. He took his time returning to parc ferme and even pulled over at the Portier corner for a while. Supposedly to collect himself. He got going again and returned to parc ferme. On the podium he was visibly upset choosing not to say much in the podium interviews.

    Toto Wolff, after the race, apologised to Hamilton said that they had got their maths wrong by miscalculating the gap between Hamilton and Rosberg.

    “First of all, we must apologise to Lewis,” said Wolff

    “We win and we lose together and what I am proud of in this team is that we take collective responsibility,” he added.

    “But this is a day when we simply have to say sorry to our driver, because our mistake cost him the victory here.

    Toto Wolff_Pit Wall“What happened? In simple terms, we got our numbers wrong.

    “We thought we had the gap for Lewis to take fresh tyres and come back out in the lead behind the Safety Car, ahead of Nico and covering off any risk of another competitor taking fresh tyres.

    “But the calculation was incorrect and he came out in third place. It was our decision to call him in and our mistake, pure and simple; in these situations, a driver trusts his team.

     

    Wolff lauded Hamilton for the sportsmanship he showed after the race.

    “Lewis had driven flawlessly until then and really delivered a perfect weekend, with a stunning pole lap and a masterful race.

    There’s nothing more to say other than to highlight the grace with which he handled the situation; he was a leader and a true sportsman this afternoon.”

  • Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2015: Thursday Press Conference

    Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2015: Thursday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES:

    Paul HEMBERY (Pirelli)

    Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault Sport F1)

    Franz TOST (Toro Rosso)

    Robert FERNLEY (Force India)

    Toto WOLFF (Mercedes)

    Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Let’s start with a general question to all of you. What did you think of what came out of last week’s F1 Strategy Group, some of the proposals that have been put forward for 2017 and if we could start, perhaps, with Christian?

    Christian HORNER: Well, as you know, we’re not supposed to talk about the content of these meetings and referring to the press release it was a very positive meeting and lots of good things talked about for 2017. There was obviously a large amount of discussion about the future and about current issues. I think there is positive work going on regarding the 2017 chassis. There were debates about refueling, whether that should be reintroduced or not. Differing opinions on that. It was a constructive meeting. I wouldn’t say that we nailed down a whole load of decisions out of it, but certainly a lot of discussion about the relevant topics at this point in time.

    Toto?

    Toto WOLFF: There’s not a lot to add to what Christian said. It was a good meeting in relation to the 2017 regs. We all agree that we want to reintroduce quicker cars, get the lap times down by five to six seconds. Make it more of a driver formula, maybe get rid of the electronic start procedures, go back to more conventional clutches. Refuelling was discussed, with many various opinions. But we all agreed that this is what should be happening, so it was good.

    Robert?

    Robert FERNLEY: I must have been at a different meeting. I don’t think it was a good meeting at all. After 18 months I think we failed totally to agree on any form of cost control. There’s absolutely no way there is going to be any equitable distribution of income. Power units are going to remain the same. And whilst I agree that there were some good discussions on 2017, the fundamentals of Formula One weren’t addressed at all.

    Paul?

    Paul HEMBERY: Yeah, I guess there were a couple of points that came out that relate to tyres. One was regarding the choice of compounds made by the teams and we’re working in that regard with Charlie [Whiting] and the FIA to come up with a proposal that meets that requirements, that gives us a level of safety in the choices made and also to provide something interesting for the fans. That’s ongoing but it looks positive, what we’ve seen so far. Then 2017, obviously we don’t know whether we will be here or not but the idea of going to wider, 420 width tyres, was something we feel is a good idea.

    Franz?

    Franz TOST: I wasn’t involved in the meeting; therefore it’s difficult to evaluate the contents. What I miss is the discussion how we can come down with the costs and how we will find a way to create an interesting – apart from the technical side for the future – but we will see then the 2017 regulation is being discussed and then we will see what will come the result.

    And Cyril, what did you glean from it about 2017?

    Cyril ABITEBOUL: Well, 2017 seems a bit far away. But we’ll get back to that a bit later. I think it was an interesting meeting, as always. Formula One is a very sophisticated and complex environment, so it’s very difficult to agree on one single set of measures that can address the issues. I think to a certain degree everyone agrees on what has to be done, what has to be delivered by Formula One in the future. So I think it’s good that we share a vision. It’s very much how we get from where we are today to that vision that is now the topic for discussion.

    OK, I’m sure that others will come back this point later in the session, but let’s just move on to individual questions. Franz if we could start with you. Obviously today the running was a bit truncated by the weather but in the first session and the beginning of the second, it looked like your two drivers, Verstappen and Sainz, were up to speed very quickly, with Verstappen setting the second fastest time this morning. How impressed were you with what they did?

    FT: I think we have the ingredients together that both cars have to be in qualifying three and we have to finish in the points. We have a good car, a competitive car. Both drivers do a very good job. The team is also improving. Therefore I don’t see why we should not score a lot of points, so I’m quite optimistic.

    Well, the car obviously looked good in Spain as well. Is the car more consistent? Because that is certainly is something you needed coming from last year, right?

    FT: The car is more consistent. The car is more controllable, especially under braking and in acceleration. The car is easier to drive as was the case in the years before and as a result of this of course the drivers have a good chance to get the most out of the car without making any mistakes.

    Paul, coming to you, we didn’t get the chance to see the revised supersoft tyres today, they stayed in their blankets in the second half of FP2. Obviously they are going to be run at the next few races. A bit frustrated by that and how do you expect it go here over the next couple of days?

    PH: Well, it was probably more frustration for the teams. The only thing we gained was the resurfacing. It doesn’t seem to have changed very much. It’s a very low-impact circuit from our point of view, so we don’t envisage any issues.

    Going back to the meeting last week. One of the things that was proposed was that the teams should be able to tell you which two tyre compounds they want you to bring for them for grand prix weekends. How do you feel about that suggestion and also the whole notion of making the cars, as Toto said, five to six seconds a lap faster?

    PH: Well, it touches on what I’ve already mentioned that we’ve taken on board those comments and we’re working on a solution with the FIA that meets that requirement but also guarantees that we have a level of security over the choices made but also giving the sport itself some interesting elements. So, we’re confident and I think from initial discussions we’re on a good road to finding a solution for that. Going quicker? It depends on how you achieve that. Wider tyres would certainly help that. From a tyremakers point of view you’d want to know how you can contest that. We have limitations on testing today and if the cars are going to change dramatically you wouldn’t really want to end up in Jerez in February, in the winter trying to find out if it’s going to be workable solution or not. The principal is fine, there needs to be a little bit of work I’m sure done on the practicalities.

    Thank you. Robert, you were one of the ones proposing this free tyre choice idea, what do you like about the concept?

    RF: I like the fact that it brings the decision-making down to the teams and I think it will bring variability in terms of the racing tactics of what goes on and I’m really pleased that Pirelli have embraced the idea and are coming up with a solution that will give them the safety as well as the team a little bit more choice.

    On a Force India-specific note, what’s the latest on your revised 2015 package? What’s the forecast on when it’s going to be out and the latest forecast on the performance gain it’s going to give you?

    RF: Well, they’re encouraged by performance gain, I think that’s [what] I’m getting through from the engineers. Hopefully it’s still on target for us for Austria. I would like to think we could do it for the race but it’s most likely going to be the test.

    Cyril, coming to you and going back to the Strategy Group meeting, one of the things that was voted was not to have a fifth engine this season, what’s your reaction to that?

    CA: Obviously I regret it, because that’s something that would have facilitated a bit the situation of our two customer teams given the different reliability issues we’ve had so far this season. Having said that, we knew the rules, it’s four engines for everyone, so that’s what we have to comply with. The only comment I would make is that we don’t that as something that is a huge penalty. I know there is a lot of frustration but ten places penalty – maybe I should not say that because maybe the FIA will make it worse in the future – but ten places penalty in tracks when you can overtake, assuming you have the power, the right set-up and so on, basically a car that out of place at the start can quite easily make it during the race, which are long races. So, I’m sorry for my customer teams but I don’t think it’s a big game changer to the championship.

    Monaco is always an important race for Renault on a number of levels, what sort of shape are you in this weekend?

    CA: Honestly, we want an easy weekend. We want a trouble-free weekend. I’m not going to say that we have more power, more performance because it would be an unfair misrepresentation. Right now what we want to have under control is the particular reliability crisis that we suffered for the start of the season and then be back to resume the performance plan that we had on the shelf for the remainder of the season.

    Toto, obviously Nico got some momentum into his championship with the win in Spain last time out. Lewis Hamilton said he’s very keen to take pole and win here after two years of being on the wrong side of things from Nico. How does the rivalry look from inside the team? How’s this heading towards Saturday’s final runs in Q3 and the race on Sunday?

    TW: The rivalry has always been intense on track and we’ve seen it from the start of the day. They were both out there in anger, pretty competitive lap times straight from the beginning. And it’s good for the team because it pushes the team, it pushes the two to new levels, competing against each other, so for Thursday, we can be pretty satisfied.

    Obviously the news this weekend is the new contract with Lewis Hamilton. Why did you chose to declare… to announce that it is a three year term and are the values that are circulating around in the media vaguely accurate as to the value of the contract?

    TW: You know the discussions around the contract have been out there for quite a while. We had the terms already a couple of weeks ago and declaring that it was a three year term seemed reasonable to us, in order to show that it’s a long term relationship and stability is important for us. On the figures out there, I can’t really comment. The only thing I can say is that there have been lots of nonsense out there as well.

    Christian, congratulations first of all on your marriage. Here in Monaco, Daniel Ricciardo has said that this weekend should see Red Bull Racing’s best result of the season. Do you share his optimism?

    CH: Well, first of all thank you, I’m technically on honeymoon with all of you! Daniel Ricciardo, he’s always excelled at this circuit, always in the lower categories as well. Of course the power unit plays a smaller role at this circuit of all the circuits that we go to in the year, so hopefully, as Cyril’s pointed out, if we can have a reliable troublefree weekend… already in free practice, both drivers have fared pretty decently so far.

    There’s been some pressure from your director, Dr Marko, on Daniil Kvyat recently. What’s your view on what Kvyat’s done so far and what he needs to do?

    CH: I think… Helmut’s comments… I’ll come back to that in a minute. He’s always called things as they are and I think that Daniil Kvyat’s had a tough run so far. Things haven’t gone cleanly on his side of the garage, he’s had some good races and he’s had some times that he’s struggled with. But he’s young, he’s developing all the time. We can see a great deal of potential in him, you can see it even in that last wet run at the end of P2. He’s going to mature and develop. Helmut’s always had a habit of calling things as they are. I recall going back to Mark Webber’s time… After this race in 2010 we went to Turkey. As we know, Mark and Helmut didn’t always see eye to eye and they (Mark and Sebastian) had that crash in Turkey. We ended up back in my office and it was an opportunity, I said to Mark, to get everything out, address your issues with Helmut. And I said to Helmut before the meeting, whatever he says, take it on the chin and agree. And so Mark went through all the issues that he had, told him what had pissed him off about Helmut, blah, blah blah, and Helmut took it on board and said ‘yes, OK, I agree, OK’ and then he said ‘anyway, the next race in Valencia is very important to us and you’ve always been shit in Valencia!’ And Mark, thankfully, saw the funny side but it explains some of the straight talking that Helmut tends to have.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) Question for Mr Tost, Mr Horner and Mr Wolff. How do you rate P2 this morning by a driver who never drove here before? How should we evaluate it?

    CH: I thought it was super. For a guy that can’t rent a hire car yet, I mean it’s enormously impressive. 17 years of age… I think the two Toro Rosso drivers actually have done a wonderful job this year and, you know, I think it’s one of the positive stories in Formula One at the moment is those two young rookies that Red Bull have given a chance. They’re here on merit and it shows that the junior programme is most definitely working.

    And Toto? You were in a bit of a tug-of-love with Red Bull over his services. Are you beginning to regret you missed out?

    TW: No, I think it was clear that what Vestappen was offered was a deal he had to go for. You can see that, in the right car, with the right team-mate, they push each other. It’s two of the best boys, young boys, out there. And clearly for Max, finishing P2 on a track he has never been to, in these conditions, is good – but as Christian said, I wouldn’t underestimate Carlos’ performances either. I think it shows, if you have two team-mates who compete on a similar level, they push each other and the rivalry is very good – but obviously Franz will know much more about it.

    Franz, do you want to add a bit more?

    FT: Yeah, we all know that Max is very, very high-skilled driver, therefore Red Bull took him into the programme and bought him into Toro Rosso, and what I was impressed, how he achieved this really, really good time in P1. He went out in the morning and from run to run he improved his lap time without making any mistake. No locking, nothing. His car control and his feedback during the run was really, really extraordinary. I’m really, really happy he is in the team and I’m convinced he will show some other great runs – hopefully in qualifying, because this counts – and also in the race. I think that we will have some success with him also this year – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him – earlier or later – within the first five.

    Q: (Pierre Van Vliet – F1i Magazine) Question for Cyril. What is the deadline for Renault to decide about its future in Formula One, knowing that your current contract runs to the end of 2016, if I’m right?

    CA: Yeah, we have contracts that run with those two gentlemen until the end of 2016. I guess the deadline is 31st December 2016. No, joke apart. We have no deadline, no rush. I think right now the deadline and the big target is to get engine under control, both from reliability and performance perspectives. Once this is done we can secure some longer-term stuff. And I’m sure right now this is a concern for our customer – will we be capable of dealing with the regulation, with dealing with the trouble that we have right now? So, I think this is a concern for them, this is a concern also for us, so this is what we have to address in priority before thinking about anything else.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Christian, I’d like to come back to something you said, and also something you said Toto, namely that you can’t really discuss the Strategy Group and you can’t really talk about things. Autosport and F1 Racing have just started a fan survey, they’ve had 25,000 responses in 24 hours – which tells me that there’s an awful lot of fans out there that actually want to be heard. Yet, this 21st Century sport with 500million followers is actually living up to 15thCentury Masonic Society levels of secrecy. Is this really the way to go forward?

    Toto, do you want to start?

    CH: Are you in the Masons?

    TW: What are the Masons?

    CH: I couldn’t tell you that…

    TW:  You know, whatever we discuss in the Strategy Group, bizarrely ends up in the media ten minutes later – or even earlier – during the discussions. Sometimes we need to make up our mind in there and discuss. We don’t have always the same opinion but it’s a matter of pushing the sport forward. And for the sake of the sport. And whatever solutions we come up with, it’s all shit. We are discussing making the cars faster, five or six seconds, wider tyres, more spectacular cars, more g-forces, the things we have mentioned before and the topic of refuelling. The only thing I can read after the meeting is that refuelling doesn’t make any sense. Interestingly, you asked the drivers yesterday on the very same podium and they all love it. So I think we must stop talking the sport down. I’ve mentioned that a couple of times in here. And one of the rules we have established – and Bob is new to the group so maybe we have to reemphasise this is that we shouldn’t talk the sport down. We should push the sport up. We need all of you, plus us, to re-emphasise on the good points, on the attractive bits of the sport and try to make it better. It’s not always an easy exercise.

    Robert?

    RF: Well, to a certain degree I agree with Toto. I think that the problem I have is that I don’t think the Strategy Group is fit for purpose and we should be looking at something where we have a clear programme that delivers results. We’ve have 18 months or two years of Strategy Group work with nothing coming out of it. I think we need to look at the system in a better way. In days gone by, with Max and Bernie in charge, there would be none of that. We would know exactly where we’re going. I don’t think you should have the teams making decisions on where Formula One should go. The teams should be told where Formula One is going.

    OK. Maybe offer that one to you Christian – because you did say, didn’t you, at one point before the meeting that it should be taken out of the teams?

    CH: Well yeah. I mean it’s rather predictable. Bob’s going to ask for more money, Toto’s going to not want to change anything and we want to change engines. So every team has got its own agenda and it’s going to fight its own corner. I think that the sport is governed by the FIA and it’s promoted by FOM. It’s those guys that need to get together and say ‘what do we want Formula One to be?’ Yes, we want it to go quicker, we want cars to be more aggressive to drive – but you’re never going to keep everybody happy. I think that Bernie and Jean need to get together and say “this is what we want the product to be, this is how it needs to be governed,” and then give us the entry form and see if we want to enter or not. Because I think putting it in the team’s environment to try and agree a set of regulations – you’re never going to get everybody on the same piece of paper.

    Cyril, you were nodding…

    CA: I think it’s right – except the bit on the engine – I fully agree with what Christian just said, obviously. I think it needs a very strong leadership with a very small group of people. I have to say that I was invited to that Strategy Group and I obviously enjoyed that for Renault because Renault is spending a lot of money in the sport. I mean we were as an observer. But one thing that struck me is that there is actually lot of people in this Strategy Group. One comment about the transparency – I don’t think this type of meeting would be broadcasted or communicated on in other sports, so I don’t think that we are that old-fashioned in that respect. And again, also people underestimate the complexity of Formula One and the knock-on effect of every single thing that you change. The things that you are doing something for one positive and actually the knock-on effects are huge. And sometimes I think it’s good that you trust us and Formula One Management in general, that we are doing the right things in general. We are in the same boat, we should not criticise each other.

    Franz – do you have anything to add to this?

    FT: Well, first of all I think the contents of a strategy meeting discussion should not be immediately published because it’s just a discussion. It’s not that anything has been decided so far and once a decision has been made, of course this has to be announced and therefore it’s not necessary to write and talk about everything what is being taken into consideration. I think that the Strategy Group itself, as Christian mentioned before, with this constellation, never will come up with a proper solution. It should be Bernie and Jean together, they should decide what we have to do. They even should not ask the teams because the teams never will come up with an agreement.

    And final word on this from Paul.

    PH: I think Christian and Franz put that very well. That in any sport it shouldn’t be the competitors that are involved in deciding changes. As Christian said, defining between the FIA and FOM how the sport is going to be, and then the teams can decide whether they want to adhere to those guidelines. So, I’m fully with the two points made by Franz and Christian.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Franz. You seem to be… obviously you know all about Max’s potential but he even seemed to surprise you today with his drive. You say he could finish top five before the end of the season. How long to you think is realistic before he’s challenging for a podium?

    FT: Depends how many cars not finishing in front of us. The smaller, the better the chance he will be on the podium. We must be realistic. There are teams and cars in front of us. They have double of the budget than us. They have fantastic, good competitive package and it’s not easy to compete against them – but nevertheless we have two drivers and, as I have explained before, we have also a car which is quite competitive and once – maybe special whether conditions, maybe it’s raining or whatever – will help us to bring one of the drivers to the podium.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Just getting back to the previous question regarding the Strategy Group. Bearing in mind some of the comments that we’ve just heard, is it time now to disband that group because it’s had its day, it’s had its time, it’s had its opportunity and quite clearly it just isn’t working?

    RF: Well, I don’t think it every had its day. End of story.

    Toto?

    TW: You need… this is a professional sport. It’s a global platform. It needs to have a proper governance. And I think if we wish for dictatorship, I can see us sitting here in two years and complaining that it’s going in the wrong direction. It is always tricky to find the right government. You vote for one government, you wish for the other one to rule, and the other way around.

    CH: I think it’s difficult. It’s a forum where strategic things are discussed about the future. It’s not a decision-making forum. That should go either up to the Formula One Commission or down to the working groups. I think, you know, it’s difficult. If you pick up on Bob’s comments, then yeah, the only thing the Strategy Group has unanimously agreed on and implemented this year is the fact that the drivers should wear the same crash helmet for the entire season. Is that a success of the group? Not really. Is it a worthwhile forum? I think it is – but I think the structure of how regulations are implemented, that’s what we need to look at. As I say, I think the promoter, he’s promoting the show, he’s got to sell a product and that product’s got to be appealing to the fans. And he needs to be listening  to the 25,000 people writing in. The people around the world: what do they want? What do they want Formula One to be? And then as teams, as competitors, we have to abide by a set of regulations that the FIA should write. Sporting and technical. And at that point you have a choice: whether you want to be in or be out. But every year, the entry form comes out and we all sign on the dotted line.

    Franz.

    FT: Formula One is entertainment. What the fans want to see: they want to see entertaining races; they want to see overtaking manoeuvres and so on. If, for example, one, two, three cars or whatever are one-and-a-half, two seconds ahead of the rest of the field, this cannot be in the interests neither of the other teams not – and this is more important – of the fans. The fans want to see fights. If this is not the case. If this we cannot deliver, then let me say, the responsible people should sit around the table and say, “look, we have to chance the regulation in this way, that we can improve the show,” or whatever. This doesn’t happen because we are discussing too much and we have too many useless meetings.

    Paul – presumably you have data on the number of overtakes now compared to the times when there was refuelling, for example, in the background, that kind of stuff?

    PH: Yeah, of course. I think if you talk enough to enough people, you’re just going in circles. That’s always the case in most forms of business. So, there’s a clear need for direction and strategy. Coming from a sponsors point of view, we obviously would like to see what the plans are going forward to grow in markets where our business is important – so in Asia, in the USA, Latin America is always very important, even Russia. We look forward always to understanding the results of these meeting groups to see what impact it could have on the sport and the interests of the sport worldwide. So, as long as the direction of the sport is clear, we’re happy. But clear there is a number of people not so happy clear, we’re happy. But clear there is a number of people not so happy at the moment and they maybe need a change.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Christian and Toto, on the subject of surveys, the drivers are launching their own through the GPDA. How do you view that? Do you take it as a sign that the strategy group seems to have not been able to agree much more than helmets not changing? That the drivers feel the need to step in to this space where they haven’t really before, especially not from a GPDA point of view?

    CH: Well, I’m not sure that it’s the drivers’ specialist area. The GPDA was essential set up as a safety group, to look at circuit safety, drivers’ safety, drivers’ protection. It’s great that they feel that they want to engage with the fans. I’m sure they’ll be willing to put a lot more time in and get out there and meet them.

    TW: I think that Alex was very innovative always and pushing this, and having the idea of a survey is a great thing. It’s going to give us additional input, maybe some interesting findings, that it’s not that easy to actually draw the right conclusions. But the drivers are the essential part of the show so for them to be involved and get engaged is a good thing.

    Q: (Joe van Burik – NU. NL) Question for the front row: there was no driving for 60 minutes in the second practice session because of the rain, this while many concerns are voiced about declining viewership and spectator numbers. Isn’t this a strange situation then?

    RF: I think it’s very unfortunate from the point of view of all the fans that are here and obviously for the TV companies but it’s also very difficult from a team point of view. There’s a high risk of incident in Monaco and it’s unlikely that we’re going to have any rain on Saturday or Sunday. I think you tend to push the limits a little bit too far sometimes. There’s nothing to learn, particularly, if it’s a dry Saturday and Sunday, in going out in the wet and there’s everything to lose, so while my sympathies are hugely there with the fans and the TV companies to fill the time, there is a reason why that’s done, because the drivers want to be out on every lap that they possibly can be, and as a team we want to be out on every lap so it’s not done in any way to be negative to the show.

    TW: Bob said pretty much everything. There is a risk of putting the car in the wall and that makes things complicated for the weekend. The forecast at the moment is much better than what we saw today and it’s Thursday afternoon. Maybe the real impact for spectators and fans starts Saturday.

    CH: Well, we’ve only got four engines so if we’ve had a few more engines maybe we’d do a few more laps. No, I think Bob’s point… you have to make a decision. The first thing is ask the spares guy how many spares we’ve got: not many, OK, so we’re not going to do many laps then in conditions like this, particularly as the forecast is hopefully to get better for the rest of the weekend. It’s a tactic towards your Grand Prix weekend unfortunately.

    Q: (Sebastian Scott – racedepartment.com) Paul, you don’t know if you’re going to be here in 2017. Would you welcome a tyre war with rival tyre manufacturers or even multiple tyre manufacturers, or would you prefer to offer teams four compounds a race?

    PH: Well, we don’t write the rules for Formula One. We’re involved in over 250 championships of which about 90 are open competition, so it depends what the sport wants and then you’ve got to understand the rules, what the cost implications would be so you can’t really have an answer until you know the parameters. At the moment the tender will be for a single supplier so 2017, I might be here or I might be sat on a boat having some champagne and watching it. Probably better to be sat on the boat actually. Yeah, it’s a phase that you go through with various championships so there would be a phase of where the FIA will evaluate the technical competences of people who want to supply and then there’s an aspect that is the important bit which is the commercial aspect with the promoter. So there’s a timetable set out and we will obviously know before the end of the year.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Toto, based on the numbers that are going around about Lewis’s stipend for the next three years, by my estimation he will be earning about five times as much as Dieter Zetsche for working ten per cent of the time. Will he really sell fifty times as many cars as your CEO?

    TW: Dieter, I can’t even comment on that question. This is a market and in that market you have a value or you don’t. Lewis is one of the best racing drivers out there, maybe the best at the moment and he has a huge value for the brand and fundamentally this is what drives his value and this is a classical win-win situation for the team and for himself.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Just following on to the question to Paul earlier about a tyre war; to the four team principals, is that something that would appeal to you, to have a choice of tyre manufacturer? Fernando Alonso spoke very strongly in favour of it, bearing in mind he recalls the Michelin-Bridgestone days of the early 2000s.

    FT: I just hope that no tyre war will come, that means no other tyre manufacturer, because this means that two teams will get the good tyres and the rest will just get this crap, because like it was before, when Michelin was in, it was Renault therefore Alonso has good memories and Bridgestone with Ferrari, therefore Michael was so successful, one of the reasons, yeah? If this comes back, it’s the same story: the two tyre manufacturers, two teams which get good tyres; three tyre manufacturers  three teams and the rest just get what the others don’t like. That means the complete competition would drive in a completely different direction. Then we would have, after now the power unit Formula One, we would have the tyre Formula One. Once the power units are stabilised, we open the next problem.

    CH: I think Franz summed it up splendidly, that one make tyre is equality for all of the teams. I think that in the times of tyre wars then of course effort does have to go behind your leading charge and it will drive costs up immeasurably as you have to develop your car around a specific tyre so I think it’s been one of the successes in having a sole tyre and I think that that’s one of the reasons for example that Red Bull has been able to achieve the success that it’s been able to achieve as an independent team, which we perhaps would never have been able to enjoy in the event that there was open competition with tyre manufacturers aligned to automotive manufacturers, which is of course is where their core income comes from.

    TW: We (Franz and I) are both Austrians therefore we use the same words.

    RF: Yeah, I think putting on the positive side of what Formula One has done well and I think the single tyre choice is one of the things that it has done very well and we shouldn’t change.

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Question for Cyril, Christian and possibly Franz: it’s now pretty obvious you’re not going to get any more than four engines. You’ve openly said that you’re going to expect to take more than four engines; when do you expect to take the first grid penalties? Will it be done strategically? And how will you handle it through the year?

    CH: I think it’s inevitable that we’re not going to do the rest of the season on one power unit so hopefully it will do another couple of races and then of course you try and introduce your additional engines strategically – you may not have the choice to do that. But we’ll deal with it as and when it arrives and of course if you replace the whole engine, that’s a different scenario to replacing just the combustion part of the engine for example, so different penalties for different elements of the engine that you have to replace.

    CA: Nothing to add, that’s exactly what we unfortunately have to take into account when we elaborate one plan when we elaborate an engine allocation plan. We try to mitigate the damage to our customer teams from a sporting perspective. It will happen, maybe twice per car unfortunately. Now we have to deal with  that just like an extra parameter, just like an extra constraint.

    FT: Everything has been explained by Christian and by Cyril. We wait and see how long the different parts are reliable and then we have to go for it anyway. I just hope that it’s not here for Monaco and for Budapest. The rest, I’m quite open.

  • F1 2015: Bahrain Grand Prix – Hamilton Brilliant in Bahrain

    F1 2015: Bahrain Grand Prix – Hamilton Brilliant in Bahrain

    It’s no secret that several past Bahrain Grand Prix had been a bore fest. However, since the introduction of a night race two years ago the desert circuit has come alive.

    Lewis Hamilton’s dominant start to the 2015 season continued with yet another faultless victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pole position by four tenths of a second over Sebastian Vettel was the precursor for an even more authoritative performance in Sunday’s race. Seemingly always in control, Hamilton’s latest victory is his third of the season.

    Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Bahrain Grand PrixFerrari would have wished that the Bahrain Grand Prix was a few laps longer than the allotted 57. An alternative strategy had Kimi Raikkonen within three seconds of race leader Hamilton as the chequered flag beckoned. But the second step of the podium was the best result possible for a team who has once again underlined their staggering progress.

    For most, the final stint of the on the softer option tyre would’ve been the headline grabber. After all, the Finn closed down a nineteen second gap and took second place from Nico Rosberg. But it was the middle stint of the Bahrain Grand Prix that defined Raikkonen’s race. While Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel opted for the option tyre at the first stop, Raikkonen fitted the harder medium compound tyre. Logic dictates that top three should’ve been lapping at a quicker pace than Raikkonen given the off-set of tyre performance. Yet, Raikkonen delivered a stunning stint on par and occasionally quicker than those ahead of him.

    2015 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG PetronasLewis Hamilton’s Bahrain Grand Prix drive was faultless and far superior to his teammate who is considered somewhat of a Bahrain-specialist whilst Kimi Raikkonen’s incredible pace on the softer tyre nearly netted him a victory.

    It’s difficult to choose a driver of the day between the top two finishers but it bodes well for the rest of the season.

    Sebastian Vettel endured an off-colour afternoon as several errors cost him a shot at the podium.

    Bahrain Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel off trackAn off track excursion while trying to maintain his position ahead of Rosberg caused the German some front-wing damage and any chance at a podium finish.

    A late-race fight with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas added some flavour to an otherwise disappointing race but the German was not able to take fourth place from the Finn.

    Timing was everything as Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo crossed the line for sixth under an enormous plume of smoke as the Renault engine let go mere meters from the finish line.

    Bahrain Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo crossing the line with a blown engineThe spectacular, and smoky, end of Ricciardo’s engine doesn’t bode well for the remainder of the season as the Aussie has now used his allotted four engine units.

    Lotus Romain Grosjean put a fine drive for seventh ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez in eighth.

    Daniil Kvyat recovered from a difficult weekend to finish ninth while Felipe Massa’s race was compromised by a clash with none other than Pastor Maldonado. The Brazilian suffered floor damage which hampered the performance of his Williams and ultimately finished tenth.

    Fernando Alonso dragged the McLaren-Honda into eleventh place but it was dreadful weekend for teammate Jenson Button who suffered issues throughout. The calamity came to a head as the 2009 champion was unable to start his 100th race for McLaren with a suspected electronic issue.

    Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff confirmed after the race that Hamilton and Rosberg struggled with brake issues towards the closing stages. While Rosberg blamed the brake issue for losing second place Hamilton dismissed it as “not really a problem.” Rosberg did show some fight with the two Ferrari’s but didn’t threaten Hamilton at any stage of the weekend. The difference in mentality between Rosberg and Hamilton is noteworthy.

    The Spanish Grand Prix around the circuit de Catalunya is three weeks away. It is at this the point of the season that the first big upgrade packages are introduced. It could be a significant moment in the 2015 season which turns the championship fight into more than just a Mercedes show.

    Photo credits:

    Lewis Hamilton, Bahrain Grand Prix first place trophy: Mercedes AMG F1

    Kimi Raikkonen, Bahrain Grand Prix second place trophy: Scuderia Ferrari

    Lewis Hamilton, Bahrain Grand Prix winner on the podium: Mercedes AMG F1

    Sebastian Vettel off the Bahrain Grand Prix track: Screenshot from SkySports F1

    Daniel Ricciardo crossing Bahrain Grand Prix finish line: Screenshot from SkySports F1

  • F1 2015: Chinese GP Preview – Advantage Mercedes in Shanghai

    F1 2015: Chinese GP Preview – Advantage Mercedes in Shanghai

    If you’re not mulling several burning questions and theories at the same time then you’re more than likely not thinking about Formula 1 and the upcoming Chinese grand prix.

    The biggest of these burning questions is whether Ferrari’s stunning Malaysian grand prix victory was indicative of something or just a flash in the Mercedes dominated pan. But things are rarely ever as simple as either answering yes or no either way. This is after all Formula 1 and there are a plethora of variables and circumstances that have to enter into providing a carefully thought out response to this poser.

    The biggest determining factor will be the temperature. In Malaysia the scorching track temperature played to Ferrari’s strength but it wasn’t the only advantage they put on the table. In comparison to Mercedes the Ferrari driver’s did a much better job at managing their tyre degradation.

    The Pirelli tyres are far less temperamental than when they were first introduced to Formula 1 but the benefit of eeking a bit more performance out of them than the competition is a big advantage. The temperatures in China won’t be anything like that of Sepang but the track surface is quite an abrasive one. Add to this that Pirelli have selected the medium and soft compounds for the weekend and Ferrari is still in with a shout.

    shanghai_international_circuit65a8dd6515e2c7fb2df1Sebastian Vettel’s win in Malaysia doesn’t mean that he or Ferrari will be able to consistently beat Mercedes. But it’s given Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his team something to think about. “In two weeks you are caught up and you lose the race fair and square on track which is a bit of a wake-up call, which is good for us.”

    The pace of development in Formula 1 has always been staggering but never quite something you can get used to. In 2014 Williams were, by far, the second quickest team on the grid and even locked out the front row for the Austrian grand prix. Several months later the Grove based team has, so far, fallen short of the frontrunners. We are missing race pace – and quite a big amount,” said Valtteri Bottas. “With the ideal race, starting at the front, the gap wouldn’t be that big but it is too big, much bigger than we expected.

    The FW34 Williams shouldn’t have too bad a time of it this weekend because China’s Shanghai circuit is a marvellous mixture of intricate, technical corners and wide-open straights prepared to test the limits of the modern F1 hybrid technology. Turn one is a test in patience as it makes a 180 degree turn before accelerating into a slightly off-camber turn two.  “The circuit has a very long straight, where a good top speed is important, and an interesting mix of low, medium and high speed corners. In addition, it has several technical sections where unique corners, such as turns one and 13, lead straight into further corners requiring a good car balance and precise driving,” says Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering at Sauber.

    Lewis Hamilton_Malaysia 2015All the teams like coming to these parts too. It’s bustling juggernaut economy and bustling automotive industry is a big target for the manufacturer’s involved in the sport. Achieve commercial success in the densely populated Chinese region and you’ll be smiling at the way to the bank.

    There will be more than just the battle up front to whet the appetite this weekend. The Lotus F1 team maintain that they have made big gains from last year but have not yet been able to show this on track. If they are able the fight in the mid-field, with Toro Rosso and Sauber, may yield quite a battle.

    The saying goes that you’re only as good as your last race. In this case it means a dazzling Ferrari victory and Mercedes being, slightly, found out. But the pragmatic part of the brain will remind you that though Ferrari’s victory was stunning it is still up against the juggernaut of Mercedes. Then again, pragmatism is terribly over-rated.

  • Mercedes ready to up their game for China

    Mercedes ready to up their game for China

    Following their defeat in Sepang, Mercedes says it has assessed every aspect of the Malaysian Grand Prix in order to ensure that the team overcomes the threat posed by Ferrari.

    Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says that the team left Sepang with a whole lot to think about and saw Mercedes realise that Ferrari can indeed pose a threat for the entire 2015 F1 season. They are however ready to up the stakes and raise their game. According to Wolff, Mercedes are ready to bounce back and look forward to reclaiming the top step of the podium at the Chinese Grand Prix this coming weekend.

    Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff, at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1“We left Malaysia with plenty to think about,” Wolff said. “It may have been a good result for the sport – but for us, it was a wake-up call. This is something you cannot afford to happen often and, although we had two cars on the podium, we have been looking very carefully at every area where we could have performed better.

    “Our opposition has raised its game and we must now raise ours even further; as we have said since Melbourne, we expect a season-long battle for both world championships and we must maximise every opportunity. China is the next chance to do that – a circuit which has been a good hunting ground for the team.

    “Lewis [Hamilton] has a great record here and for Nico [Rosberg], it’s where he made his first step into the winners circle. We have the weapons at our disposal – and we need to make the most of them this weekend.”

    Lewis Hamilton's post race interview following the 2015 F1 Malaysian Grand PrixDefending F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton also said that Mercedes have been working hard on analysing the Malaysian defeat in order to best prepare for the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix. While there is room for improvement, Hamilton is confident in targeting the front of the pack again.

    “Malaysia was a tough weekend. It always is with the heat – but with car problems on Friday, rain during qualifying on Saturday and a race which didn’t go to plan on Sunday, this one was particularly challenging,” Hamilton said. “I think ultimately we made the best choices we could – but there is always room for improvement and we’ve been working hard to analyse everything for the next race in China.

    “The circuit itself is a different challenge to Albert Park and Sepang – but it’s one I really enjoy and it suits my driving style quite well. I won the race last year and have only finished outside of the podium places twice, so the target is definitely to build on that and get back to the front.”

    Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1Team mate Nico Rosberg is also eyeing the top step of the podium and fancies his chances on Sunday, especially considering his special history at the circuit.

    Shanghai is a great circuit for me. It’s where I got my first pole and my first win back in 2012 – my third season with the Silver Arrows. It’s not been a perfect start to my sixth year with the team and I’m determined to turn that around this weekend. Of course, my team-mate will have other ideas – and so will my compatriot in the red car, I’m sure. But this is a track that has always suited me well, so I’m aiming to put in a strong weekend.”

    Technical chief Paddy Lowe pointed out theat tyre management was a major concern for Mercedes following the Malaysian Grand Prix, where Mercedes were unable to match Vettel’s two-stop strategy. He also confirmed that Mercedes have a number of new aero developments for Shangai which the team expect will make a big difference to their performance.

    Mercedes admit tyres a definite factor in their defeat at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1“The most significant weakness was our tyre management during long runs,” Lowe said. “Exceptionally high track temperatures – even by Malaysian standards – contributed to this, however it is essential to have a car which performs at all circuits and in all conditions, so there is work to be done on that front.

    “China presents a different challenge. Temperatures can vary dramatically year-on-year, but are generally quite low. It’s also a front-limited circuit – the opposite of Sepang – with a good mix of corners and a long straight, so it will be interesting to see how the different cars perform at yet another circuit characteristic for this new season. It is now clearer than ever that there is serious competition for this world championship, so we will continue to work flat out for performance gains. We have a range of new aerodynamic developments for Shanghai and are targeting an improved performance from Malaysia.”

    Photo credits: All photos credited to Mercedes AMG F1

  • Toto Wolff thinks Ferrari’s victory is “good for Formula One”

    Toto Wolff thinks Ferrari’s victory is “good for Formula One”

    The Mercedes team did not stand a chance at stopping four-time Forumula One champion, Sebastian Vettel, from cruising to his first Ferrari victory at this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
    Vettel won the race on a two-stop strategy, while his Mercedes rivals opted for three stops. Mercedes Head of Motorsport Toto Wolff however, in an interview with Formula One’s official website, insisted that Ferrari’s unstoppable pace was not to be credited to strategy. While it was a bad day for Mercedes, Wolff thinks it was a good day for Formula One.

    Here’s what he had to say in his interview with F1’s official website:

    Q: Toto, did Ferrari win the race or did Mercedes lose it?

    Toto Wolff: Well, Ferrari deserved to win today. So they’ve won the race! Sebastian did a fantastic job and they executed the strategy in the right way – and it is fantastic for Formula One after all the talk about a boring race in Melbourne, and that Mercedes would run away with the championship. Here you had a sizzling race! We saw on Friday that Kimi’s long runs were impressive, which makes me believe that it was the best long run on the weekend up until the race. My guess is that we couldn’t have matched the long run pace of Ferrari today on the option tyres. Lewis’ tyres were finished after 14 or 15 laps – they were able to do much more.  So we were pretty sure that a three-stop strategy was the right call and I doubt that we could have pulled it off with only two stops.

    Q: Does Ferrari’s pace worry you for the races ahead?

    Toto Wolff: Yes, that is worrying. Especially if you have the kind of track temperatures that we had today. They have been able to go faster than us over the long runs, so we need to analyse why that was the case. It clearly shows that this year is not going to be an easy one for us – gone are the illusions of a walk in the park!

    Q: Why is it that in Melbourne you looked unbeatable, and yet here you were suddenly second fastest?

    Toto Wolff: The conditions here were completely different. Remember, last year in Malaysia we also struggled against Daniel Ricciardo in the race, so these are not our conditions – this extremely high tarmac and ambient temperature. Probably we were a bit too aggressive on set-ups that pushed us into the direction of three stops – all the algorithms showed that this was the right way to go. But we got stuck in traffic and damaged the tyres following cars, and there you have it.

    Q: You had a very early first stop after five laps – is that a regret in hindsight?

    Toto Wolff: Afterwards you are always smarter! But we took this decision all together. We haven’t made any strategic mistakes in the last one and a half to two years, so it doesn’t make sense to point a finger at a single event. We need to find out why we’ve been struggling on the long runs in these hot conditions. This is the main thing we have to look at in my viewpoint.

    Q: Did you expect Ferrari to catch up so massively in these last couple of weeks?

    Toto Wolff: No, we definitely did not expect it to happen at that pace. We were pretty dominant in Melbourne. We are always a bit sceptical about our own advantage – that’s why we believe that you always have to keep sharp and keep developing in order not to be caught up – and then in two weeks you are actually caught up by a Ferrari. We lost the race fair and square! Yes, it was a surprise, but it was also a wake-up call. Which is good!

    Q: What do you expect then for China?

    Toto Wolff: If I was to be optimistic I would say that Malaysia was difficult last year and it continued to be this year as the temperatures are the same. We suffered from these temperatures, so there you have your result. But that would be pretty naive: Ferrari have done a good job. They have a good engine, a good car and great drivers, so we will have to sit down in the next days to analyse the situation and see where we have to improve and probably take some developments forward. We need to increase the pace of our development.

    Q: At mid-distance the team told both drivers that they were on target for a one-two victory. That was all gone in the second part of the race. Where did the confidence for such a message come from?

    Toto Wolff: Today strategies are no longer gut decisions but algorithm and scientific research. We have the best guy in the paddock in terms of strategy, and today we relied on the information we collected over the weekend. So we were right about our own pace – just not about the pace of the Ferrari.

    Q: When he realised what the outcome of the race would likely be, Lewis got a bit bugged out in his radio conversations telling his engineer: ‘don’t talk to me in the corner’…

    Toto Wolff: Lewis was not bugged out. This race was very difficult to read from a driver’s perspective with so many stops and then realising that your main competitor was on a completely different strategy that seemed to pan out – that is of course an irritation. And we weren’t really good on radio messaging today! (laughs) There were a couple of wired calls!

    Q: Bernie Ecclestone said yesterday that he is certain that Lewis will win his third title. But now everything has been blown wide open, and Ferrari don’t look like one-hit wonders…

    Toto Wolff: That is Formula One at it’s best: the speed of development is amazing. Now we have to work to turn things around again. It was always clear that the winning streak wasn’t going on forever! We have been beaten fair and square today!

    Toto Wolff Photo Credit: Mercedes AMG F1

  • F1 2015: Malaysia GP Review – Vettel Takes Poignant Ferrari Win

    F1 2015: Malaysia GP Review – Vettel Takes Poignant Ferrari Win

    Ferrari has won the Malaysian grand prix and no this is not a very long typo and neither is it something that the Mercedes F1 team ever saw coming.

    Sebastian Vettel has fulfilled a long held dream by becoming a race winner with the famed Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team. For the majority of last year Vettel readily admits that he was well below par in the 2014 Red Bull. But the now Ferrari driver definitely showed up on Sunday. The former champ’s worked a two-stop strategy to perfection to win the Malaysian grand prix from Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

    From the first laps that were turned in the first Friday practice session Ferrari’s SF15-T showed an extremely good pace that was comparable to the mighty Mercedes. But surely, it was just a bit of showiness by Ferrari and they were running light on fuel. Surely it was too incredulous to even suggest that any team could match the beast of a Mercedes. Yes, Ferrari had made strides but a full blown resurgence was a long-off goal that they hope to reach in the future. But one of the reasons why we love this, and many other sports, is for the spectacular and the astonishing comeback.

    Ferrari’s comeback from the doldrums has been nothing short of majestic. Yes it is only one race victory but consider that they have come  all the way from the proper mess of 2014 to a fair and square victory in Malaysia then it’s exceptionally clear that it has been a monumentally impressive effort from all involved.

    While Seb Vettel delivered an astonishing drive to claim victory the eye-catching pace wasn’t restricted to only his Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen suffered a left-rear puncture early in the piece, dropped down to eighteenth, finished comfortably in fourth place but still rued what he termed a “poor” weekend. “Obviously for the team it’s a pretty good result. It could have been better but I think we did the maximum with what we had today,” said Raikkonen.

    Valtteri Bottas_Malaysia 2015 GridThe Williams pairing of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were surprisingly absent from proceedings. The team that ended last season closest to Mercedes were involved a couple of dices in the lower half of the top ten initially but made no impression on Mercedes or Ferrari. A distant fifth and sixth place all they have to show for an otherwise disappointing afternoon.

    Amid the Ferrari euphoria 17-year-old Max Verstappen crossed the line in seventh to become the youngest ever points scorer in the 65 year history of the sport. The Dutchmen didn’t luck into his impressive position either he pulled off a few scintillating overtakes and finished ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in eighth. The 2015 season is only two races old but it is rather difficult not to be excited by Verstappen’s unmistakable talent.

    A poor day for Red Bull Racing resulted in ninth and tenth for Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo. The 20-year-old Russian can hold his head high after surviving a clash with Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and beating highly-rated teammate Ricciardo. McLaren showed progress but still failed to reach the chequered flag with either Jenson Button or Fernando Alonso. The Manor F1 team is a worthy mention who after crippling software issues in Australia managed to get Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi to the end of the race.

    podiumWhat makes Ferrari’s victory so much more impressive is that it was achieved, on track, through sheer pace. There was no mistake from Hamilton or Rosberg, or a technical issue with the Mercedes. Some will point to a strategic error by Mercedes but that didn’t have as much of an impact as many want to believe. The simple, but astounding, fact is that Mercedes were out-paced. Kudos to Toto Wolff for admitting that Mercedes were justly beaten.

    The extraordinarily high track temperature was in Ferrari’s favour whose tyre conservation is a thing of beauty. But the SF15-T is a quick car and this highly emotional victory will do their morale a world of good. More than that, this win by Ferrari marks a good day for Formula 1. Mercedes’ dominance has been staggeringly impressive but not exactly helpful in the entertainment stakes. Now there is a possibility of a real fight for victories if not the big championship prize at the end of it.

    As the German and Italian anthems once again rung out for a victorious Ferrari driver there will have been more than a few teary eyes. The moment was filled with nostalgic memories of the greatly revered Michael Schumacher with whom the combination of these two anthems was so synonymous. Vettel reflected on his early days of peeking over the Maranello fence to watch the great man put the scarlet Ferrari through its paces. Now Sebastian Vettel has emulated his childhood idol with a terrific victory that he will remember for the rest of his life. Grandé Seb!

    Ferrari images courtesy of @ScuderiaFerrari

  • F1 2015: Malaysia GP Preview – Sepang First True Test

    F1 2015: Malaysia GP Preview – Sepang First True Test

    The first race of the season around Australia’s Albert Park circuit is a highly anticipated one. It’s the keenness to kick off a new F1 season which gives the streets of Melbourne that distinctive feeling of excitement. Its twenty-five points awarded to the winner are no less important than some of the more iconic races on the calendar but it can often disguise the teams’ true form and potential.

    The second round of the season, around Malaysia’s Sepang International circuit, will highlight those who have taken a genuine step forward. Equally, the dazzlingly high-speed corners and tantalising long straights of Sepang is also going to emphasize any shortcomings a car might have.

    Not much has changed at the sharp-end of the grid which Mercedes still, comfortably, dominate. But behind the silver arrows’ Williams and Ferrari appear to have traded places in the competitive order. Much of the Ferrari turnaround is down to the notorious power unit. Not long ago the Ferrari power unit more closely resembled a slow trotting donkey than its famed emblem of the prancing horse. But the Maranello team has produced a unit worthy of its heritage with a rumoured initial 80 horsepower gain since last year. It even has Williams raising a few eyebrows and admitting that the Ferrari unit may be “a bit quicker” than their Mercedes. This has made such a big change at Ferrari that it’s even spurred to normally tacit Kimi Raikkonen into a notably bullish state. “I believe in the race, we are not far from Mercedes. I’m sure we can be up there and fight at the front,” said Raikkonen.

    Valterri Bottas, Australian GP QualifyingAt this stage no there has been no news on Valtteri Bottas’ readiness after suffering a partial muscle tear in the Oz quali session. If Bottas is not Finn he will undoubtedly be missed by Williams who will likely find themselves in a spicy fight for the podium with Ferrari. The lofty predictions for an all-out fight could not happen thanks to the temperamental weather system in the area.

    Of the things that will happen this weekend Red Bull whinging and finding fault with Renault is a given. If their problems were evident Down Under then they will be glaring in Malaysia because Sepang is a power hungry circuit and Red Bull has nothing to feed it. So unhappy is Red Bull with the competitive order that Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has threatened that Red Bull will quit the sport because of its current regulations. Team boss Christian Horner suggests that the FIA should look into an equalising engine performance to close up the field. It’s quite ironic, and perhaps even a bit hypocritical, given Red Bull plethora of victories during Vettel’s four consecutive championship seasons.

    Christian Horner Pit WallLet’s be clear Red Bull may have won four consecutive drivers and constructors championships but it doesn’t have the legacy of a Ferrari or Williams or McLaren so its threat to quit the sport doesn’t elicit the same fear. In the meantime, they’ll do their PR image a huge favour by taking it on the chin and focusing on the track. The form suggest that their fight will be for the lower points paying positions with Lotus and Toro Rosso and perhaps on a good day they may even challenge for a top five place.

    Malaysia will provide a more realistic pecking order which will unquestionably be headed by Mercedes. It is ridiculous to suggest that the mighty Silver Arrows will face any form of pressure but it will be fascinating to see Sepang reveal Ferrari’s true progress.