Tag: Valtteri Bottas

F1 2016: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Masters Montreal Strategy

As the 2016 Canadian grand prix developed Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel found themselves in front of an open goal. But a dubious strategy call saw the Italian team score an own goal instead.

From third on the grid Vettel rocketed into the lead of the race leaving the two Mercedes to bang wheels into turn two. Here Nico Rosberg got of worse and dropped down to tenth by the end of the first lap. Vettel looked to have a solid grip on the race and was comfortably holding off the second-place Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. But Vettel had committed to a two-stop strategy and divved into the pits on lap eleven.

Hamilton continued to lead until he pitted for soft tyres on lap 24. It brought him out in second place and eleven seconds behind Vettel where he simply bided his time with the knowledge that the Ferrari had a second-stop to make. Vettel’ second stop on lap 37 had him rejoining roughly eight seconds behind Hamilton. Despite being able to reduce the gap to about four seconds Vettel was nailed into second place as Hamilton ran his one-stop strategy to completion.

At teams like Mercedes and Ferrari nearly six hundred people attempt to combine the best of their abilities to put two cars onto the track. One of these people has the job of chief race strategist. This is the person who makes the call on when to pit and what tyres to run during a stint. It’s not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. It’s trying to make the right call under extreme pressure in the fastest sport in the world. But this high-speed game of chess demands absolute precision and anything less is catastrophic.

Without some unreliability or a bit of argy-bargy between its two drivers Mercedes has proven near impossible to beat over the last two years. So when the opportunity arises to do just that it has to be snapped up. While the circumstances may be different from the opening round of the season in Australia the result in Canada is the same – Ferrari find themselves in the lead of the race and surrender the initiative without rhyme or reason. Although Sebastian Vettel is refusing to blame the team for the strategy the reality is that Ferrari’s call handed Lewis Hamilton victory on a silver platter. Most galling of all is the fact that Vettel had the pace to beat Hamilton on track.

More than 40 seconds behind Williams’ Valtteri Bottas also made the best of a one-stop strategy to secure third and the ninth podium of his career. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen drove a brilliantly defensive final stint to hold of Nico Rosberg for fourth. The second Merc of Rosberg finished fifth after spinning ahead of the final chicane in an unsuccessful attempt to pass Verstappen. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took a disappointing sixth place in a race where he was constantly asked to “take it easy” and save fuel.

Daniel Ricciardo completed a fairly lackluster run into seventh ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg in eighth. Carlos Sainz delivered a stunning drive from 20^th on the grid to ninth by the chequered flag. Sergio Perez wrapped up the final point in tenth for Force India. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso ran a 55-lap stint on the soft tyre but ultimately finished eleventh while teammate Jenson Button retired early on with a suspected engine fire.

As Formula 1 heads to Azerbaijan for the inaugural race in Baku this weekend Hamilton dedicated his fifth win in Canada to the great Muhammad Ali. A resurgent Hamilton leaves Montreal nine points behind Nico Rosberg and with a definite and ominous spring in his step.

(All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

June 13, 2016
2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Michael Douglas)

Bonjour Montreal. It’s a pleasure for me to be here and an honour to be able to introduce our podium winners. Lewis, incredible. We have to talk about the first turn. You had Sebastian coming in on your left, you had Nico touching wheels on the right. Tell us about that.
Lewis HAMILTON: It was horrible. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to everybody who came out here today and made the atmosphere the way it is. Thank you everyone here. We come here every year and we have the best week. The city, they just put on such a great event. The ambiance, the atmosphere is better than ever. Today, I had another really bad start, I’m not quite sure why, I think probably I overheated my clutch. Sebastian and Nico got quite a good run down to Turn One, tyres are cold, big understeer, and I feel very grateful that me and Nico didn’t damage anything on our cars. And otherwise it was just trying to chase this guy down. He was so quick out there. The car felt fantastic and it was set up just right with great work from the engineers and mechanic. Hey man, I won my first grand prix here in 2007, so this just feels like such a blessing.

Congratulations Lewis, well done, fourth time?
LH: I think fifth time!

Yes, fifth time! Sebastian, nice to see you, wonderful, wonderful race. You had a phenomenal run earlier in the race, what were the issues later on?
Sebastian VETTEL: Lewis was a bit too quick! That was the issue. No, I think we had a great weekend. Obviously a fantastic start and then, yeah, lap one was a bit hairy, I just struggled to stop the car in the last corner. It was very windy today and maybe I struggled a bit with the wind from behind but I was pushing all race. I think we committed fairly early to a different strategy, which we were planning to come back. Obviously then Lewis had the chance to stay out and see what the tyres were doing and I think probably the tyres lasted a bit better than what we expected, so that made it quite tricky to refresh the tyres and close the gap but overall a great weekend for us. We struggled a little bit in the last couple of races and the beginning of the season and now to see that the car has performance and to unleash it, it was a really fun race, I really enjoyed it. I can only add on what Lewis said: thanks to the crowd, it’s great to come here. Friday, free practice, to have you guys here at the hairpin, all around the track, waving at us is making our job just much more pleasant, so this is a place we’ll have to come to forever I guess, so thank you very much.

Fantastic, a really, really wonderful run, congratulations. Mr Bottas, really nice to see you up here on the podium again. I think it was Mexico last see [the last time]. The season started a little slow but you’re coming on strong. How was the race for you today?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I’m really pleased with today. As a team, it was really a strong one for us, really good strategy, really good pit stop; the time was perfect, the car felt really good today. I felt I was pretty on it today. So it’s great to be here. I really want to thank Williams, thank you guys; everybody made an amazing job. Thank you Montreal, you’ve been really good to me.

Congratulations. Lewis, that’s two wins in a row, so how does the rest of the year look to you, what do you think?
LH: We’re going to just take it one race at a time. There’s still work to do. We’re going to continue to improve this car. There’s a lot of race so we’re really just trying to stay… we need to try to keep on a roll if possible. There’s a long, long way to go. These guys are getting faster and faster at Ferrari and Red Bull, so collectively as a team we’re just going to keep our heads down and keep pushing. Honestly I’m just overwhelmed with today. I remember, what was it, ten years, nine years ago here, and it feels just as great [as it did] back then.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Lewis, 45th career victory and your fifth in Canada, as you were quick to point out on the podium. You obviously lost the start to Sebastian, but you go this win I guess, in a way again, because for the second race in a row you were able to do a very, very long final stint on the tyres. How much of that was data about what the tyres would do and how much was pure feel?
LH: Well, firstly, if I may, I want to… I never really dedicate wins to anyone but someone who really inspired me so much throughout my life, Muhammad Ali, and obviously he passed just recently, so I’d love to be able to dedicate this to him and his family. The last 15 laps, for some reason all I could think of was him and Rumble in the Jungle, it was really, really weird. I was driving and I was just thinking of him, and thinking maybe he would be watching the race, I don’t know. So, that’s to him and his family. Rest in peace.
In terms of the tyres: It was really feel. The team obviously told us what the tyres could do, how far they would go. I wasn’t really sure how far the ultrasoft would go. I had already seen graining earlier when I was behind Sebastian. So I was a little bit nervous about it, but it seemed to last, which was great. I could have kept going on the ultrasoft, which was interesting; I had a good pace. Then we swapped. It was a long stint on the information we got before that that tyre could last quite a long time and it was just a beauty. I didn’t have to push too much on the tyre at the beginning, just looking after them, but very conscious that this guy behind was pushing. I was really enjoying the race with him, you know, just battling times here and there. He was so quick and it’s great to see how quick they are and they are really giving us a run for our money, and I just happened to be on a one stop. But fantastic job by the team. I’m really overwhelmed to think just how difficult this season was before these last two races and I feel incredibly grateful and very blessed to have had these two great weekends. I’m just going to keep working hard, as you can see I’m super-focused. For me I felt that today was one of my best races for a while, maybe not as good as the last one, but still really happy with it. Onwards and upwards hopefully.

Very well done. Turning to you Sebastian, got the feeling before the race that Ferrari might be able to win this, had that amazing start, and then obviously you committed to that two-stopper with the pit stop on lap 17 under the VSC. Was that because the team thought you wouldn’t be able to do what Lewis did and do that one-stopper and in the final part of the race did you think that a 13-lap tyre offset to Lewis would be enough to challenge?
SV: Yeah, I think that was the plan, so obviously we committed fairly early. We were in the lead. As the second car in the row, which was Lewis in that case, obviously you have the chance to choose – if the car in front pits you might pit, if the car front stays out you might pit. We committed fairly early to that strategy and I think I was probably the right thing to do in terms of getting to the chequered flag the quickest way. But obviously we lost track position and we didn’t expect that the soft tyre that Lewis put on… first of all the ultrasoft and then the soft would last as long. Myself, I was also surprised to see how long the supersoft lasted and then the soft tyre lasted until the end. As Lewis said, we could have kept going. The degradation wasn’t maybe as high as we expected. That’s maybe where we lost the race. But I want to make one thing clear: I’m not a big fan of blaming anyone or anything. I think it was a great weekend for Ferrari. We’ve had a difficult start to the season because we were never really able to show the true performance of the car and this was maybe the first clean weekend if you look at Saturday and Sunday. And actually I enjoyed the race a lot. Didn’t get the result I was hoping for, especially after the start, but I was enjoying it a lot. The last 30 laps I was just flat out – maybe pushing a little bit too hard at times. It just felt great. That’s what racing should be about. The tyres were fairly consistent. I really enjoyed chasing him down but a couple of laps to go I realised that he was just a bit too quick or the tyres didn’t drop enough.

Q: Valterri,, podium here for the second year in a row in Montreal. Same strategy as Lewis that got you ahead of the two–stopping Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen; tell us about your drive today and also those strategy calls?
VB: Thank-you, yes. It feels really good to be here again. Montreal has been pretty to me and pretty good to us as a team. For sure it was always going to be one of the good tracks for our car but really pleased with what we have done. Of course, today didn’t come easily. I really needed to thank the team for the decisions they made to commit to the one stop and also the stop lap, it was perfect. This stop was again, massively quick as we’ve seen all season so really thankful for Williams, for today and for the whole weekend. We need more of these kind of results. We just need to keep trying but just very happy at the moment.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Lewis, what happened at the start, more of the same?
LH: Yeah, the start was… I don’t understand it. This time I really don’t understand because practices have been good, the formation lap was amazing, dropped the clutch and the thing pulled away perfectly. Yeah, I stopped, did the normal procedure, let the clutch out and it just didn’t go anywhere. I’m really lost as to know what… Obviously I had really good pace today and that really got in the way. Had it been a longer straight, I would have been a sitting duck. I don’t really know what to say about it. And into turn one, these tyres, these ultrasofts, he(Sebastian) was lightning on the first lap but me, I had no grip. I got to turn one and I had this understeer and I thought that it was going to continue for the rest of the lap. I think the guys behind me were also tiptoeing but very close, obviously, between me and Nico which wasn’t intentional. But fortunately none of our cars were damaged.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) And second question is – as Sebastian has said, the cars are pretty good as you’ve said as well, you had a good view of them in the early laps. What’s the power like on the straight, how quick were they on the straight compared with you now?
SV: Quite quick. I think we’re quite quick.
LH: These guys were pretty quick on the straight. I didn’t get quite close enough to really gauge just how quick they are but I think it looked pretty close, I have to say. I was so excited with wheel-to-wheel racing but then he pitted after the VSC and I’m like shoot, I was a bit annoyed. Still it was a good battle at the time.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Speedsport Magazine) Valterri, as you say, a good track for you and the team. However does it give you confidence that you can now start to challenge Red Bull or was it just track and strategy specific today?
VB: It definitely keeps confidence for us that we can do good things. For sure, it is one of the good ones, as a track for us but I think as a team we did such a good job with the strategy but the car was also good today at the beginning and end of the race when everyone was on the same tyres, I did feel that I could put pressure on Kimi in front and even the Red Bulls, so that was a good feeling and even though some of them were on two stop and we were still on one stop and we put pressure, so that was good. I think the next few races should be good. Lot of confidence now and this really makes a lot of good for the team, a result like this, a motivation boost for the next ones.

Q: (Ralf Bach – AutoBild Motorsport) Seb, my impression is that we already saw the race from today in Melbourne, didn’t we?
SV: I don’t think that’s true. I think Australia, you can argue with hindsight, we would do a different strategy. If it’s that straightforward and easy to know what it’s like, then everyone is doing the right thing. As it turned out, we committed fairly early, maybe we were also hoping that the virtual safety car gives us a bit of an advantage and makes the two stop favourable but I will always defend our strategies, what we committed to as a team. I think there were other people as well, favouring the two stop. With hindsight maybe they would do a different job but as I said, that’s a decision we take as a team. Kept in hindsight it’s always easy. Put yourselves in the shoes of those on the pit wall, to make that call is quite tricky and you have to be really quick. Strategy-wise I think we have a very very strong team. I wouldn’t favour anywhere near to criticise them because the guys are really on the money and very strong, reacting very well and if here and there we maybe don’t do the optimum, that’s part of the job but overall I think we end up doing better choices than other people.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, was the tyre management here more difficult than in Monte Carlo because at a certain stage we saw one big, black stripe on one of your front tyres. Was that graining?
LH: Honestly, as Sebastian said, the tyres were really good today, I have to say. I guess with the cooler temperatures graining wasn’t really an issue. I think if it was hot like it was in P2, I think, maybe a one-stop wouldn’t have been possible but yeah, there was a small bit of… on the Ultrasoft there was a little bit more graining but on the soft there was hardly any graining at all. It was like a small band on the front left tyre but otherwise they stayed very, very consistent. Being so cool I think you just had to try to keep the temperature in them more than anything. I was really actually, for once, happy with the performance of the tyre, to be honest. They did a good job.

Q: (Jimmy Gordon – AP) Lewis, we heard you talk about Ali. Can you tell us what it was about his life or his career that made such an impact on you?
LH: I think it’s the same for everyone really. I think he was just a unique, iconic individual who had a character unlike anyone else’s and everyone aspired to be like him. I wish I could have spoken with the charisma that he would have, or the comedic side that he would have, that confidence that he could carry into a fight and outwit and outsmart his opponents. And then for the things that he stood for. Even more importantly politically, I think believing in who you are and not letting anyone dictate who you have to be. I think as a kid, when I saw that, I think I was like: ‘this is the guy I want to be like’. In terms of an athlete I hope one day I can be like him. Coming from a family of similar background in a sense of ethnicity, it was someone to look up to. Obviously in Formula One there was no one of the same colour as us as a family, so it was another athlete for me to look up.

Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Seb. Seb, during this weekend we’ve seen one of the closest gaps between Ferrari and Mercedes. Are you confident you feel you can be even closer to a win in the next race?
SV: First of all, I hope that you write exactly that tomorrow: that we were closer than ever. So, I think sometimes it’s a bit surreal. We are an Italian team. I think Ferrari stands for great passion and a lot of values in Italy and sometimes it seems like the Italian press is our biggest opponent. So, maybe you can write something nice, which would be a nice message for all the people in Maranello that are really working their arse off day in, day out to make a strong Ferrari car. I’ve never had a doubt. I know this car is a big step up and I think we had a mixed-up start to the season which was difficult because we were never really in the position to show what the car can deliver. Especially because Saturdays here and there weren’t great. So, I think this weekend was just normal. We had a great Saturday and great pace today. Just look at the opening laps of the race. I was pulling away, pulling a gap to… maybe not so much to Lewis but to all the cars behind. So, it felt great and the car felt great all weekend. So, really happy and happy with the progress the team is making. Again, I ask you to be a bit patient, a bit more patient. The team is on a great path, things are improving and I think we’re seeing results quicker than anyone else so far in the history of F1. So, I think we’re on the right track, it’s a great team and I’m enjoying it a lot.

Q: (Bill Beacon – The Canadian Press) For Sebastian. Can you go over for us what you did off the start? Where you planning that ahead of time? And what exactly did you do to slip by everybody and get first place?
SV: I know it sounds silly saying it now but I sort-of had the gut feel that I will have a good start. Obviously it depends on what the other people are doing but I had the feel that, when the lights went on… [to Lewis] I didn’t know what you were doing but I knew there would be a good start. I had a good feeling the formation lap and I think I reacted well, as well – without giving myself too much credit. I just… I don’t know… I felt it would be a good start. It was, so I was very happy with that and just went for it. Had a big lead in the first lap which, nearly all of it I gave away in the last corner and then it was obviously it was a bit more tricky to keep Lewis out of the DRS until a couple of laps in – until just before the Virtual Safety Car actually. I was a bit distracted, we chatted about it, I have to mention it, I don’t know why but I have to, there were two seagulls. I think it was a couple that wanted to commit suicide. They were at the apex of Turn One. Lewis obviously didn’t care, so he made up quite a bit of time, about half a second, but I didn’t do that couple that favour to say goodbye for good, so by the time Lewis came around they just flew off. Wasn’t fair! I brake for animals, Lewis doesn’t but… yeah. Then the Virtual Safety Car came and freezes the gap at that point.

Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Following on from that Sebastian, I wonder what you felt about the grip level on the in-field of the chicane there? You went through it three or four times just to get it right. What was the racing line like through there? You were very quick the first time you went straight on.
SV: Very quick on the first lap. Braking very late. I think I was a bit caught out by the wind, to be honest. I shouldn’t have – I had all the information but I was struggling a bit. It was very gusty and, here and there, got caught out. So, I was trying everything all around the whole lap. I was getting close to the wall: exit of Four; exit of the last corner, exit of Nine as well. So really trying everything. Eventually in there too much, which obviously loses you more than a second. And then yeah, I think I was around four and a half seconds to Lewis and then back to five and a half. Didn’t do myself a favour but I had to try. For some reason yesterday I was very good friends with the last corner and today not so much. So, yeah, not great from my side obviously to miss the braking. Quite tricky with a bit of bottoming. Just locked it three times in total and didn’t make it.

June 13, 2016
Penalties After the Monaco Grand Prix

Once again the Monaco Grand Prix lived up to expectations of being one of the most exciting races to watch this season.

Lewis Hamilton drove probably one of the toughest races in his career to take the victory. Daniel Ricciardo on the other hand will need some time to come to terms that his win was taken away from him.

The race, as with any race in Monaco, was not without incident. There were a few naughty boys around the track which inevitably led to the stewards having a busier afternoon than usual.

Pascal Wehrlein

Manor Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein was handed two 10-second time penalties and two, 2-point additions to his super license. The first penalty was for not “staying above the minimum time set by the FIA ECU under the virtual safety car.” and the second one was for ignoring blue flags. \

Daniil Kvyat

After electrical trouble at the start and being a lap down Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat was eager to make up the time and in his haste ended up crashing into the right side of Kevin Magnussen’s Renault into Turn 18. Kvyat dived down the inside into a gap that was only going to get smaller. He and Magnussen ended up in the barriers. Both drivers retired from the race.

Kvyat was handed a 3-place grid penalty at the next race which is the Canadian Grand Prix and 2-points on his license.

“The driver of Car 26[Kvyat], with two small collisions, left front (car 26)/rear right (car 20)[Magnussen], effectively created an overtaking space which in reality would not have been there if the collision had not occurred,” said a statement by the stewards.

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson made contact with his team mate Felipe Nasr after. Slower than his team-mate, Nasr was asked to let Erisson through. Nasr questioned the instruction at first. Frustrated behind his team mate Erisccon launched down the inside taking himself and his team mate out of the race.

The stewards decision was short and to the point. “Car 9 collided with car 12 in Turn 18″,” it read. Ericsson was handed a 3-place grid penalty at the next race and 2-points on his license. After the Monaco Grand Prix incident Ericsson is not on 6-points for the 12 month period.

Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was given a 10-second time penalty after the race for his contact with Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez at Turn 18.

Hamilton was under investigation for closing the gap on Daniel Ricciardo in the battle for the lead at the Chicane after the Tunnel. Hamilton had to cut the chicane going a bit too deep on the brakes while defending. Ricciardo saw the chance and went around the outside at the exit of the chicane. Hamilton moved over and shut the door on Ricciardo. No further action was taken by the stewards.

Kimi Raikkonen got out of shape in his Ferrari into the hairpin and clipped the barrier. After the contact with the barrier his front wing became lodged under his car. He proceeded to drive with his wing for a while hoping that it would work its way loose. He eventually retired the car at the chicane exit road after the Tunnel.

No Further action was taken by the stewards because Ferrari were able to prove Raikkonen drove to stop in a safe place.

“The driver, in evidence, stated that he thought initially that he could safely proceed to the pits to replace the nose. Radio messages confirm this,” said the decision statement by the stewards.

“The Team advised the driver that he needed to stop the car as soon as possible. The driver stated that he wanted to stop the car in a safe place and the first available place was the runoff area at Turn 10.”

May 30, 2016
F1 2016: Monaco GP – Masterful Hamilton Wins

If a race around the confined streets of Monte Carlo isn’t a big enough challenge the rain that came down made sure that it was emphatically more demanding.

Daniel Ricciardo started the Monaco grand prix from his first career pole position and would’ve felt he had half the job done. As the race got underway behind the safety-car there was no perilous side-by-side running into turn one with Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes or the fear of pushing slightly over the limit any into a barrier.

When racing did get underway Ricciardo quickly carved out a ten second to second placed Rosberg with Hamilton close behind in third. As the circuit started to dry Ricciardo dived into the pitlane for a set of intermediate tyres but the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton stayed out. It was this stint, on the full wet tyre, that won Lewis Hamilton the Monaco grand prix.

But for Hamilton to take his first victory of the season a lot of things had to go his way. First championship leader and teammate Nico Rosberg had to move over and let him by and this move revealed some Rosberg’s character. Regardless of his pace, as the championship leader, there couldn’t have been an argument against Rosberg if he didn’t move out of the way for his biggest rival. By giving way to Hamilton he showed himself to be a team man.

Still victory seemed a long shot as Ricciardo closed right onto the back of Hamilton on his quicker intermediate tyres. Each driver would have to make one more stop for slick tyres. However, as the Australian dived into the pits for dry tyres a communication error meant the team was not ready. A thirteen second pitstop for Ricciardo meant Hamilton squeezed into the lead of race.

Although demoralized Ricciardo refused to give up and hounded Hamilton for as long as possible. Nevertheless, the Australian was unable to take back the lead of the race and finished second. Not too far behind Force India’s Sergio Perez drove a stellar race to hold of the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel for third. Ferrari’s Monaco experience was an unforgettable one as Kimi Raikkonen retired early on after touching the barrier in the hairpin and getting stuck on his own front-wing.

Fernando Alonso showed his class with a fine fifth place finish for McLaren on their 50^th anniversary. The opportunistic Nico Hulkenberg snatched sixth place from Nico Rosberg into the final corner on the last lap of the race. Meanwhile Rosberg, running with suspected glazed brakes, finished seventh ahead of Carlos Sainz in eighth, Jenson Button in ninth, and the Williams of Felipe Massa in tenth.

The race was interrupted by several virtual safety car periods as drivers fell victim to the difficult conditions and notoriously tight circuit. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer crashed in the start/finish straight while Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat took out Kevin Magnussen. Max Verstappen was well on his way to recovering from a pitlane start but stuck his Red Bull into the barrier on lap 34.

To add insult to a serious lack of pace Marcus Ericsson attempted a bizarre move on his Sauber teammate Felipe Nasr into the final corner that ended in a double retirement for the team.

Some stars had to align for Hamilton’s first win of the 2016 season. But it was his masterfully controlled stint on a drying track with worn wet-weather tyres that sealed the deal. A car as dominate as the 2016 Mercedes often disguises a driver’s skill. But on this day not even this could overshadow Hamilton’s near impeccable feel and talent for driving a Formula 1 car.

All images courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport.

May 30, 2016
F1 2016: Spanish Gp Tyre Strategy

For the 2016 Spanish grand prix Pirelli nominated the hard (orange), medium (white), and soft (yellow) compound tyres.

The circuit de Catalunya in Spain has always dictated that track position is king. It was no different in 2016 as the two stop strategy of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen beat the the three-stopping Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo.

On the face of it, a three-stop strategy appears the quicker option as it allows a driver to keep his pace high without having to be too worried about tyre life. But the off-set of this wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit of having to make an extra stop.

Verstappen and Raikkonen mirrored each other’s strategies and made their final stop, for medium tyres, on lap 34 and 35 respectively. Though there was some concern over the tyre’s ability to last for the duration of the stint both Verstappen and Raikkonen were easily able to reach the chequered flag. Though Raikkonen spent most of the closing laps just half a second behind Verstappen he was unable to overtake the Red Bull.

It was here in 2012 that then Williams driver Pastor Maldonado held of Fernando Alonso to secure his only F1 win. Though Alonso was in the faster car in 2012 as Raikkonen was in 2016 neither were able to overtake.

Sebastian Vettel’s short middle stint on the soft tyre, and subsequent early stop, allowed him to jump Daniel Ricciardo for third. Although Ricciardo pitted later and challenged Vettel for third on fresher tyres he was unable to make it stick. Riccardo was forced into a fourth stop as his left-rear tyre let go with one lap remaining. But such was the pace of the front four that the Australian was able to limp back to the pits, make a stop, and still rejoin ahead of fifth-placed Valtteri Bottas.

Renault’s Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen were the only two drivers to run the orange-walled hard tyre in the hopes of gaining position while others around them made more stops. Palmer ultimately finished thirteenth while Magnussen followed in fourteenth.

Here is a look at all the driver’s tyre strategies:

May 16, 2016
F1 2014: Spanish GP Review – To The Max!

It’s old and outdated but never has it been more true – to finish first, first you must finish.

The two front-row starting Mercedes’ of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg know this saying well but putting it into practice became entirely too difficult. The teammates dramatic collision in turn four put them both out of the race on lap one.

Rosberg snatched the lead from pole starting Hamilton but had started the race in the wrong engine mode. While he fiddled with his steering wheel Hamilton saw his opportunity to regain the lead of the race and attempted to pass the German going into turn four. Rosberg, down roughly 17kph in his setting, saw the move and moved over crowding Hamilton. The reigning champion took the grass, lost control of his car and slammed into Rosberg.

The incident was investigated after the race but no penalties were forthcoming.

From the camera shots you could say that Rosberg’s move was a tad over-aggressive. But because Hamilton only had his front-wing alongside the rear-wheel of Rosberg’s car the number 6 Merc was within his right to make the defensive move. But come what may this is one of those incidents that will divide opinion and having each driver’s fans blaming the other as the guilty party.

Although this incident was dramatic it blew the race wide open. Between Red Bull and Ferrari it delivered a Spanish Gp that will be remembered for decades. Daniel Ricciardo now led the way from newly promoted teammate Max Verstappen and the fast-starting Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz.

The Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen made relatively quick work of Sainz and were now turning a quicker pace that the two Red Bulls ahead. Ricciardo pitted first on lap 11, Verstappen and Raikkonen a lap later and Vettel on lap 15.

Though Ricciardo and Vettel still led on the road after the first round of pitstops they strangely opted for a three-stop strategy. The Red Bull and Ferrari stopped again on 28 and 29 respectively relegating Ricciardo and Vettel to third and fourth. After their third visit to the pitlane Vettel was able to jump Ricciardo’s Red Bull setting up a great duel between the two for the final step of the podium. The Aussie tried a couple of bold moves to snatch third from Vettel but his left-rear tyre gave up with one lap to go. Such was the frontrunners pace advantage that Ricciardo was able to pit and still finish fourth.

Up ahead Verstappen and Raikkonen successfully ran a two-stop strategy. By now Max Verstappen had already become the youngest driver to lead a race and was now facing severe pressure from Raikkonen for the win. For twenty laps Raikkonen hounded the back of the Red Bull, half a second away from victory. But the 18-year-old soaked up the pressure, never put a wheel wrong and delivered a superbly controlled drive.

Sebastian Vettel made it a double podium for Ferrari in third ahead of Ricciardo. Much further down the road Valtteri Bottas brought his Williams home in fifth ahead of am impressive performance from Carlos Sainz in sixth. Sergio Perez finished seventh in his Force India ahead of Felipe Massa’s Williams in eighth. Jenson Button scored two points for McLaren in ninth while teammate Fernando Alonso was forced into retirement. Dannil Kvyat scored the final point on offer in the Toro Rosso.

The 15^th of May 2016 could’ve been just another day that hosted just another Spanish grand prix. Instead it’s been etched into the history of Formula 1 to be forever remembered as the day that 18-year-old Max Verstappen came of age.

May 16, 2016
Williams F1 2016 Spanish Grand Prix Quotes

Williams struggled for pace for most of the weekend. Felipe Massa’s Q1 exit was put down to bad timing. But with a good strategy the team were able to finish 5th with Valtteri Bottas and 8th with Felipe Massa. Massa’s 8th place finish came courtesy of a strategy change to a three stop strategy which he executed perfectly.

Felipe Massa

“It was definitely a very good race for us with some good points, finishing eighth positon from starting 18^th. It was a difficult race, and not on our best track to finish in the points, so I’m happy. I know we’ve lost points compared to Red Bull, but that’s the way it is. I am really happy for Max. I know what it means to win for the first time, and he is only 18-years-old at a top team. Looking forward to Monaco, I hope we can show that we have a better car for that type of track, as we have struggled there over the last two years. Monaco is Monaco though and anything can happen.”

Valtteri Bottas

“I think we got the maximum today and I’m pleased to get decent points. We know our car wasn’t quick enough this weekend, but we had a good result, so that’s positive. Of course we would like to battle for the podiums and wins, but it wasn’t possible this weekend. We need to keep pushing on the development and we need more pace on these type of tracks. We knew that if something happened we could gain a couple of places, otherwise it was always going to be tricky, but this is racing. A lot of things can happen and this time we took a small advantage from it.”

Rob Smedley – Head of Performance Engineering

I think Valtteri did a really good job. At the end of the first stint we asked him to push to overcut Sainz and Perez. We were about to call him in but we kept him on track so he could get the overcut, which worked well as Valtteri was very quick and pushing hard. After that, it was a straightforward race for him. Felipe’s race was much more complex. It was a much harder job to get those four points. I think we did a really good job in terms of strategy, which we switched around a little bit. We had planned a three-stop strategy, but we changed our tyre plan in the middle of the race to ensure Felipe had good pace to overtake and make progress when he needed to. We got him past the McLarens and onto the back of Perez, but he was unfortunately not able to pass at the end. That’s what we expected him to do in the race, and Felipe delivered. It was unfortunate he had to start from 18^th, but we’ve all made mistakes and we’ve got to learn from them and do better next time. The pitwall worked well today and the pitstops were fantastic again; the team seems to be building in confidence as our stops continue to improve. Unfortunately, the car’s pace isn’t quick enough at the moment. Red Bull may have won today, but we won’t stop challenging them. We’ll keep pushing them as hard as we can, and in order to do that, we need more pace from the car.

Photo credit: Williams Martini Racing Formula One Team

May 15, 2016
2016 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix: Post Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

TV UNILATERAL

Nico, congratulations. How nervous were, though, after making a mistake on that final attempt, with your helmet off and strolling down the pit lane that somebody might pip you for pole position?
Nico ROSBERG: Well, to be honest, I was quite confident that the lap was good enough out there, because in quali two, Ferrari was quite far away and I knew that Lewis was not able to participate in the last part of qualifying, so I was very sure that it was going to be enough. But you never know, your know, so there’s always still a remaining uncertainty and so I was glad eventually when Sebastian finally crossed the line that it was good enough.

Nico, we’ve seen Lewis had the same engine problem as he did in China, Sebastian has to take a five-place penalty – this championship’s just coming your way naturally isn’t it? Do you believe in good luck?
NR: Well I didn’t know these facts, I mean, of course I knew about Sebastian but I didn’t really know what Lewis had until now. I was just focused on myself out there and really going for it and feeling great about it. It was really going really well today. From Q2 onwards it just felt awesome. Of course the others have been unfortunate today, extremely unfortunate, and that makes my race a little bit easier tomorrow, but an F1 race is never easy. Of course even from where Sebastian is, where Kimi is and with Valtteri behind the opposition is still there and so still need to keep focused and get the job done as good as possible.

OK, turning to you Sebastian. How was today, obviously important to get a lot of laps in after losing a lot of time yesterday. Was it a good recovery today?
Sebastian VETTEL: I think so. Of course I would have liked the gap in the end to be a bit smaller. But yeah, I think in Q2 we saw that Nico in particular is very strong getting the lap in, so good job from his side. I think from us it was the maximum. Obviously we benefit from what happened to Lewis, which I’m not sure exactly what it was but it allowed us to go P2, which helps for tomorrow with the penalty. We are a bit closer, starting on the clean side of the track. I think we can have a good race from there. It should be quite exciting. The car feels good and yeah, I think all weekend it had been quite strong. Obviously we lost some time but obviously we made it up this morning, as you touched on, so it shouldn’t be an issue.

Of course, it’s second in qualifying, but with the gearbox penalty it will be seventh on the grid, ahead of any other penalties we don’t know about. How frustrated, if at all, are you getting with Ferrari’s unreliability?
SV: Not frustrated at all. Obviously it’s not nice if these things happen, because they don’t make your life easier, but equally it’s part of racing, these things can happen. They didn’t happen in purpose; they weren’t planned. But I think we are pushing very hard trying to catch up, which I think, especially in race pace, we’ve proven already this year. Obviously we didn’t have a properly clean race yet but maybe we’ll have one tomorrow, you never know, it’s a long race, a long way, especially around here, there’s a lot of things that can happen. So I think we have to wait and see, but you know, now it’s still April, tomorrow is May, it’s a long, long way to go, so it’s a long championship. At the moment I think it’s important to do your best to get the maximum points every single time and the rest you’ll find out anyways.

Thank you Seb. Valtteri, to you, how good does it feel not only to be third in qualifying but as it will be on the grid for the Russian Grand Prix tomorrow it will be second on the grid and nobody in front of you?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, he’s a little bit in front, but yeah, very good in qualifying. Really pleased with how it all went. This weekend has been very positive. We have some new bits on the car and the car has been feeling better. It’s also a good track for us. I’m glad we could maximise the qualifying today. Pleased with that but it’s tomorrow that counts. So far my Sundays haven’t been so great but I’m sure tomorrow we have a good chance to have a good one.

Nico a final thought from you: you’ve won every race there is so far this season, you’re on pole again, after a few times off the front row, you must be thinking that this is your race to lose tomorrow?
NR: At the moment I’m still feeling happy with how qualifying went, because it just felt awesome out there. The car was balanced perfectly and through the weekend we just progressed so much and then to hit it in Q2 and from then on it was just going really well and that’s what I’m really pleased about and I haven’t thought too much about tomorrow yet. Of course starting from pole position will be great. As I say, it’s never easy but the way the grid is it does help me out a lot for sure to try and get that win tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Nico, in China you said you had looked forward to the battle with Lewis and it didn’t happen. It didn’t happen here again today. That’s obviously gives you a good opportunity tomorrow but how disappointing is that for you?
NR: No, I can’t say I’m disappointed after today. All in all I’m really satisfied because it really felt great out there. It was awesome balance. We got my car together well for qualifying and from Q2 onwards it was just going great. Sao I’m really satisfied with that and that’s a good sign for tomorrow’s race and that’s about it.

Sebastian, the gap was quite significant, were you surprised by that? What’s the recovery plan for tomorrow?
SV: Well, obviously Nico starts from pole, which I think he deserves; he has done a great job today in all sessions. For us obviously with the penalty we are a bit further back. Kit would be nice to start on the front row, but it doesn’t happen. But nevertheless I think we can have a very good race. The car feels good. Obviously we know that on Saturdays we are probably a little bit still further back than we want and a bit further back than on Sundays, so high hopes for tomorrow. As I said the car feels good. I think we’ve done our homework, so I expect a strong race. Obviously it’s never easy when you start further back – overtaking is possible but usually people don’t wave you past, so we’ll have to work for it but it should be good fun.

Q: Valtteri, third time here qualifying in third place, you start second. Power was obviously a significant element of today’s qualifying. Did today’s qualifying bring Williams back to where it should be?
VB: Well, obviously we want to be higher than this, of course. I think this season it is extremely difficult to beat Ferrari and Mercedes. Of course we’re trying to really close the gap but it is nice that now, today, we’re clear of Red Bull and Toro Rosso who’ve been really challenging us in the last few races. So I’m pleased with today, with the result, and it gives us a good position for the race tomorrow to really make some good points. We need those points so, pleased with today. It was all about team-work and bringing some updates here, so also people at the factory have been doing the right job.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboSport.com) Nico, from Q1 to Q2 you did a great step in performance. Did you change the car? Did you put more power in the engine? And, also a question to Bottas: if your performance here related to the new aero front you have in the car or maybe to the characteristics of this track?
NR: Q2, that’s when it really came together for me. It felt just so great out there. It was mainly the front flap. Went up on the front flap to take away some understeer – so that was good. I thought there would be some downsides but it was just positives.

Valtteri?
VB: I think it’s both, to be honest. The updates we bring here, they help us a bit, and also the track suits us better than the first three races so far. So I think it is a combination of both – but I would really hope, I would like us to be better than the first three races in the coming races, so we need to keep progressing.

Q: (Vladimir Rogovets – Belarus Segoduya ) My question to Nico. Your partner Lewis Hamilton has a lot of problems this year and you, from last year to today are showing very, very good stability. How long will you be staying without engine problems?
NR: I need the crystal ball now. You have one? We look together! I don’t know, I can’t look into the future. You’re saying this year: it’s only three and a half races from 21. You can’t really say ‘this year’, it’s been a couple of races and yes, it’s been consistently working well for me and I’m happy about that but normally over a season – and especially over 21 races – in F1 things have always evened-out at the end of the year.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Sebastian wanted to challenge Mercedes this year but now it seems that the gap gets bigger rather than smaller. Is that a concern for you?
SV: I don’t know. Bloody Germans! Always pessimistic. Show some optimism! I think it’s only three and a half races. We’ve hah… yeah… quite a trip so far with not everything going according to plan. We could have won the first race if things go a little bit different. So overall, it’s not so bad. We have shown great pace, especially on Sunday, and that’s where you get the points. We know that we need to work and we are pushing very hard – but it’s not so easy. Mercedes is doing a great job, those two guys driving the car are going a good job, so it’s a difficult team to beat. We are not playing… it’s not a kindergarten, I think it’s for grown-ups and therefore the challenge is tough – but ultimately we want to be the best so we need to be ready to tackle the best and, so far, we’re very optimistic we can turn it around.

Q: (Krill Zaytsev – 66.ru) Question for Sebastian. After a penalty tomorrow do you have chances to get a podium. Here in Sochi there are lots of straights and your engine works good here – so do you have any chances to get up?
SV. Yes. Obviously when you qualify second, that’s were you sort-of belong. With a penalty you start further back and I think we’re quicker than those cars so I think we have a good chance to make progress. Having said that, it’s never easy. Yes, there are straights – but there’s also a couple of corners, we know it’s not so easy to follow, etcetera. So, we’ll see.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboSport.com) Sebastian. Once you would be penalised, did you expect your team-mate could be in the first row in order to help your team?
SV: Well, I don’t know how the session went for him, obviously. Once qualifying kicks off, it’s very difficult to know what happens on the other side. You’re quite busy yourself/. I think Nico said the same thing before: he doesn’t know what happened to Lewis. I don’t know if he had an issue but we’ve been fairly close this weekend, so I think it would have been ideal for him to be third today and therefore starting on the front row – but equally, being third and on the clean side is not bad either. It’s a long way to Turn One, so I think still as a team we are positioned probably as good as possible.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, have you found with the new power unit some benefit today?
SV: Well, we brought it here, it was always the plan, we brought it because we believe it is better. As of now, it is doing what it should, so I’m confident that it helps us today and tomorrow.

April 30, 2016
F1 2016: Chinese GP – Rosberg Makes Hay In China

For years we’ve been frustratingly calling for Nico Rosberg to up his game. With a third win out of three in 2016 he’s done it.

The German driver effortlessly converted pole position into victory as the chaos unfolded behind his Mercedes. However, it was second-placed starter Daniel Ricciardo who snatched the lead of the race off the line in his Red Bull. Behind this pair the two Ferrari’s of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, starting third and fourth, looked set to challenge for the race win until Vettel barged into the side of Raikkonen to avoid the sister Red Bull of Dannil Kvyat on his inside.

Although Vettel recovered to second place in the end it was a sloppy race for the four time champion. The clash with teammate Raikkonen caused damage to his front-wing which was required replacing. But it would be damaged again as he tried to find his way passed the Williams of Valtteri Bottas.

Visibility in F1 car is limited but into such a tight corner Vettel should’ve been aware of Raikkonen on his outside given that he started close to him on the grid. Though the German did his best to shift blame to Dannil Kvyat the Russian driver was well within his rights to place his car alongside Vettel’s Ferrari into turn one. Kvyat eventually finished third and despite a confrontation with Vettel after the race wasn’t unhappy at all to secure only the second podium of his career.

Raikkonen’s front-wing damage and punctured tyre meant into turn one meant he had to crawl around the entire lap to make it back to the pitlane. It dropped him right to the back of the field and onto an alternative strategy which had him running on the white-walled medium tyre in the middle stint of the race. The Finn had shown great pace throughout the weekend was able to resist an attack from Hamilton on quicker tyres. It left the soft, yellow-walled, tyre for the final stint of the race and with it Raikkonen was able to make up enough positions to ultimately finish fifth.

Even Lewis Hamilton was involved in the mess of the opening lap. After starting last following an overnight power unit change the Brit also lost his front-wing and sustained damage to his barge board into turn one.

In the lead of the race Daniel Ricciardo’s hopes evaporated as he picked up a left-rear puncture on lap three. Ricciardo was able to recover to fourth. If it wasn’t clear before why both Mercedes and Ferrari refused to provide the Red Bull team with an engine from their shed it is surely clear now. The 2016 Red Bull car is a great chassis, with two great drivers and all they’re missing is a great engine.

Debris from Ricciardo’s blown tyre prompted the deployment of the safety car and drivers took the opportunity to fit the more durable soft and medium tyres. Behind Raikkonen in fifth Williams’ Felipe Massa was able to hold onto sixth while Hamilton had to settle for seventh. Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen finished eighth ahead of teammate Carlos Sainz in ninth and the second Williams of Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top ten. Despite numerous incidents throughout the race all twenty-two cars saw the chequered flag at the end of the race.

Since the start of the 2016 season things haven’t been going Lewis Hamilton’s way. Less than ideal starts off the line, unreliability, and damage early in the last two races have severely tested the champion. He’s response has been to remain remarkably cool about it all. However, three victories and a thirty-six point lead in the driver’s championship for a perfect Nico Rosberg is getting to be a bit tight. It’s a good thing Lewis Hamilton likes a fight because he has a big one on his hands now.

(Featured image courtesy of Pirelli Motorsport)

April 18, 2016
Rosberg beats Ricciardo to Chinese GP pole, Hamilton last

Nico Rosberg resisted what seemed to be a mighty threat from Ferrari to claim the pole position in what turned out to be an action packed qualifying session ahead of the Chinese GP.

Kimi Raikkonen threatened to claim the pole with Rosberg trailing him after the initial Q3 runs but going too deep into the penultimate corner, and a perfect 1:35.402 lap from Rosberg handed the German the pole.

Team mate Lewis Hamilton, who already headed into qualifying with a five place grid drop for a gearbox change, will start from the back of the grid tomorrow.

Mercedes are still trying to fix the problem with Hamilton’s ERS but seem confident that they will be able to solve the problem in time for the race. Hamilton has won the last four Chinese grands prix – he’ll have to really earn his pounds tomorrow if he wants to make it five in a row.

Rosberg cruised his way through Q2 on Pirelli’s soft tyres, meaning that he will be starting the race on the soft compound rather than the super softs which are expected to only last only a few laps.

Ricciardo stormed through his final lap to start on the front row for Red Bull, finishing second – just over half a second down on Rosberg’s Chinese GP pole time.

Raikkonen managed to salvage third – the Finn very disappointed in his result after making the mistake into the penultimate corner.

After having his fans at the edges of their seats with the hopes that the Iceman would claim his first pole position since 2008, the disappointment was more than obvious.

Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel opted to go for only a single run in Q3 in a likely effort to save an extra set of tyres for the race but rand deep at the hairpin and finished only fourth.

Valtteri Bottas finished 5th for Williams with Daniil Kvyat, Sergio Perez and the Toro Rosso drivers behind him.

Nico Hulkenberg had made it through to the Top 10 Chinese GP pole shootout but could take no part in it after his front left tyre simply slipped off at a thankfully low speed during the final minutes of Q2 which brought out the second red flag of the session.

Interestingly there was no word of any investigation from the stewards into the incident.

Felipe Massa only just missed out on a slot in Q3 after being caught out by the red flag.

McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button also felt they had a chance of getting through before the red flag came out, with Alonso repeating a good few ARGH’s over his team radio after being told he wouldn’t be able to have a go at it. Button, just as frustrated responded with a, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

The McLaren Honda team looks to have made some good progress. Both drivers never got to show their true pace but they will however have a free choice of tyres for the race start tomorrow which could help them make out the deficit suffered today.

Romain Grosjean was 14th for the Haas F1 team with Felipe Nasr behind him.

Renault drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer finished 17th and 19th with Esteban Gutierrez splitting the pair in 18th place. Rio Haryanto finished in 20th place.

Pascal Wehrlein took part in only five minutes of Q1 after he lost control on a bump along the main straight and brought out the first red flag of the session. The delay lasted for 20 minutes as marshalls spent time drying wet patches of water.

Many fans took to Twitter to voice their frustration that such action was being taken for what really amounted to puddles considering the fact that these – the best drivers in the world – do have wet and intermediate tyres available. Wehrlein was running on slicks at the time.

Will Lewis Hamilton be able to fight his way through the pack and pose any sort of a threat up front tomorrow? One thing is for sure – this is definitely going to hurt his title prospects. Rosberg has the Chinese GP pole in his pocket, but not the race victory just yet … Perhaps the Ferrari team could unsettle things at the top a little further with both Raikkonen and Vettel hungry for a win. And, with Daniel Ricciardo in the mix up front, we could just be in for a proper cracker of a race tomorrow. Join us for live commentary, banter and opinions on Twitter @F1_Madness before, throughout, and after the Chinese GP.

Photo Credits: Screengrabs as broadcast by FOM

April 16, 2016