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  • 2016 Formula 1 European Grans Prix: Friday Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 European Grans Prix: Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES:

    Frédéric VASSEUR (Renault)

    Roberto BOCCAFOGLI (Pirelli)

    Eric BOULLIER (McLaren)

    Gene HAAS (Haas)

    Toto WOLFF (Mercedes)

    Claire WILLIAMS (Williams)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    If I could start with you Eric: you had both cars in the points in Monaco a couple of races ago but it was a tougher race for you in Montreal. How do you reflect on the team’s performance in Canada?
    Eric BOULLIER: We know obviously that some track layouts are suiting are package, chassis, power unit, and some others are not. Clearly you have a long straight line in Montreal and downforce level obviously different from the other track layouts, so you have to specifically design your downforce levels there. Conditions were better for us on one lap on Friday and Saturday but the race was a bit difficult and we had also a slow stop due to a technical issue. But I think we are still on the move and proving every weekend that we are improving by bringing more updates and I think this is a positive.

    Well, where do you go from here? IN terms of development, the drivers want you to keep pushing for 2016, but is the prudent thing to focus on 2017 now?
    EB: I think you still have to mix both of them. We don’t want to stop developing this year’s car. Even if there is a strong change for next year into the technical regulations I think we can still carry over some of the development we are having now.
    Thank you. Gene, if I could come to you: Esteban Gutierrez appears to be growing in confidence while Romain Grosjean has struggled a little bit more in recent races. How do you explain the shift in performance between your two drivers?
    Gene HAAS: I think a lot of it is just the learning curve of trying to get the tyres to work. We’ve struggled with tyre temperatures. We’ve had issues when the Safety Car comes out that once the tyres come out of their optimum temperature we just lose pace rather quickly. So that’s probably the biggest problem – trying to maintain the tyre temperatures, especially when you’re in back of the pack where you’re always going to be a few seconds off the leaders and that differential makes a huge impact on how hard the tyres are worked and also their temperature.

    You had an emphatic start to the season, but your last points finish was in Russia and after a strong start to the campaign do you feel that you are now starting to lose out in the development race?
    GH: No, not really. Actually, I think the team is coalescing together quite well. There’s no more scrambling to figure out why this didn’t work or that didn’t work. We had a lot of problems with the simple things like radio communications and electrical boxes and at the last few races we don’t have those issues anymore. So they’re starting to sort out how the cars work, what it takes to put them together. So I think I feel very, very comfortable with the progress the team is making.

    Thank you. Frédéric, you’ve said on many occasions that this is a transitional year for Renault, but only the one points finish so far, so how do you assess the team’s performance?
    Frédéric VASSEUR: To be honest, even if I told you it is a transition year, we have to stay focused and don’t give up the season. It’s very important to keep everybody under pressure. For sure the last two races were a bit difficult and we had too many issues. But we are on a good improving curve and I’m sure we will be quite soon.

    Those issues that you refer to in the last couple of races: both drivers had accidents, unfortunate, but how do you sum up the job that Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer are doing for you?
    FV: You don’t have to forget that Jo is a rookie and Kev didn’t run last year and I think so far they did a good job. For sure we had some crashes over the last weekend but so far they did a good job. I think they are improving in terms of collaboration with the team and we are on a good direction.

    Roberto, today the FIA has rubber-stamped Pirelli’s new three-year deal with Formula One. What does that mean for both Pirelli and the sport?
    Roberto BOCCAFOGLI: For Pirelli it means a big satisfaction of course. As we can imagine it is the final step of a very long path. We know already for quite a long time that we are remaining in Formula One for the next three years, but when it gets ‘officialised’ by the FIA it gets really true. Now it is. We found a very good agreement, a very good collaboration. Everybody knows that next season many new things will be happening in Formula One from the technical point of view and also many modifications are very strongly related to the new tyres for next year. We are ready to start our job, which is a very important job for next season.

    Well, you gave us a glimpse of those tyres at the Monaco Grand Prix a few weeks back. What can you tell us about the testing programme that you are going to do with the 2017 tyres for the remainder of this season?
    RB: With the 2017 tyres things are still to start. They are expected to start for possibly, for us, hopefully, in August, very shortly after the grand prix in Hockenheim. We have 25 days’ testing with these wider tyres. As everybody knows we will start with three teams. Many details still need to be fixed but we know the three teams are Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. We should be starting very early in August and then we should be testing again immediately in September before going away from the long hauls to the east and to America and possibly a last testing session by the end of the championship. It is a very big job to be done.

    Thank you. Claire if I could come on to you please. It was a frustrating start to the season in many ways fro Williams, so how much of a shot in the arm was Valtteri’s podium last weekend in Canada?
    Claire WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was great for everybody in the team to have that. It’s been a long time coming. I wasn’t there, so I was gutted. I did tell Valtteri not to dare get a podium in Canada if I wasn’t there, but he did and it was great for the team to have that and I think we have come here really much more motivated. This hopefully will be a good race for us as well. We’ve got a string of races coming up where the circuits will all suit our car, so hopefully we’ll have a positive few races in the next ones to come.
    Q: Let’s talk about third place in the Constructors’ Championship. You currently lie fourth, 49 points behind Red Bull Racing. Do you feel you have to strike now, at these tracks that you’ve just mentioned if you’re going to stand a chance of regaining that third place?

    CW: Yeah, I think we absolutely have to capitalise on these races: this one here and then obviously the ones coming up in Austria, Silverstone, etcetera. They will suit our car and we have to make the most of it. But then that’s not to say we haven’t got to ensure we have a chassis that can compete competitively at all the circuits so that we can take the fight to Red Bull. Obviously all the work’s still going on in the factory to make sure the car remains competitive – or as competitive as it can be for the remaining rounds. Because we do want to take the fight to Red Bull. We aren’t happy lying in fourth. Unfortunately that gap’s opened up a little bit but we have to work hard and make sure we can keep closing that gap and taking the fight to them.

    Q: Toto, both of your cars were passed by Sebastian Vettel at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix. Can you just talk up through what went wrong and why with both of your cars?
    Toto WOLFF: The purpose of the change in regulation last year was to make the starts more unpredictable and more variable – and this is exactly what’s happening. You cannot see a pattern throughout the field that some teams always get it right or some teams always get it wrong. We have had some amazing starts before Montréal and in Montréal both of the cars didn’t really have a good getaway. This is now the nature of the sport. Having said that, you still need to optimise – and there is room for optimisation in the clutches and its operation and the execution with the drivers, all needing to remember it’s a tricky operation. But we’re working on it.

    Q: We’ve seen in the last few races a momentum swing from Nico Rosberg’s side of the garage towards Lewis Hamilton. After Nico’s strong start to the season, how do you feel he’s coping with his current difficulties?
    TW: We always have the discussion that if one wins and the other one doesn’t, is there the change of momentum or has the balance swung? It didn’t. As a matter of fact, both of them are very close: Nico had a brilliant run, winning seven races in a row and it was clear that would eventually stop, and it did. And the balance has swung more towards the direction of Lewis and some of the other drivers and that’s normal: it doesn’t mean that he’s going to fall into depression because it doesn’t continue. These guys are very professional and they don’t swing a lot emotionally or mentally – so I have no doubt it is not a big issue for him.

    Q: Is there any evidence the current contract negotiations are weighing on Nico’s mind?
    TW: No, first of all he had a brilliant adviser who is pretty experienced in negotiating good contacts, and that was very clever because he took himself out of it and I don’t think it affects him at all.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Chris Lines – AP) Question for Roberto. There were reports from some of the teams that the damage on the tyres today from the kerbs, getting cuts and that kind of damage on the tyre. Could you tell me, did you notice anything here in this circuit damage-wise that was different to what you would get in a normal practice session.
    RB: We saw during the season some cuts which were, I just want to underline, cuts with no air loss. We told it to FIA as a normal procedure because we normally say, we normally tell FIA when we see something on our tyre which could mean something strange on the track. We simply told FIA. FIA made their checks, you know what was going on afterwards and… nothing strange.

    Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel Four) Question for Toto and for Eric. Can we have a summary of today’s running? It’s the first time we’ve been to this Baku street track, so what kind of feedback are you getting from the drivers? Is it as we expected? How’s it going to be in terms of setting the cars up for tomorrow and are we likely to see positions change quite a lot for tomorrow when we get into qualifying, do we think?
    TW: For us it went pretty well. Immediately you realise when you put the car down and you just hit the sweet-spot or not. Today that was the case. The track has everything: it has that high-speed straight line, we’ve seen more than 350km/h, that’s pretty exceptional, and then the very narrow part through the old city. It’s still a matter of getting the tyre in the right window mechanically and aerodynamically – and that has functioned pretty well for us. I personally find the track very exciting: it’s something new and certainly very challenging for the race, in terms of virtual safety cars and safety cars. Probably strategy’s going to play quite a crucial role on Sunday.

    Eric?
    EB: Well first, the drivers didn’t complain, so that means it must be good. And I agree with Toto: it looks a fantastic place. The general feedback from the paddock is very positive. I think you know with the tools we have at home now, the simulation tools, we can see the car was more or less set up for this track. We see there is huge track evolution: this is the first time we are running on this track, the tarmac is very slippery. Couple of glitches this morning obviously but this is normal when we hit a new venue. But I think globally it was a positive day. It is a track where over the weekend there will be huge track evolution, long straight lines so favouring the higher power PUs, so I think the show on Sunday will be good, will be great. You could see a lot of cars went off in the runoff, so that means it is going to be a challenge as well for the race as well on Sunday.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport Total.com) There is the long straight at the end of the circuit; is slipstreaming between teammates going to be an issue or Saturday, or something that you might consider?
    FV: I think that will be difficult to manage, because you will disadvantage one of your two drivers so I don’t think anybody will play this kind of game.
    CW: Nothing to add.
    GH: Well, I talked to the drivers a little bit. They really like the track, they like the high speed straightaways. I don’t know so much about slipstreaming as much as it is getting your brakes to work, very very high speeds going into a left hand, right hand turn, you have to get that right and I think that’s really where they’re going to pull a lot of their times, getting the brakes to work.
    TW: Since I have been in motor racing in the early nineties, I have never seen slipstreaming between two teammates work for both of them in any category so I don’t see that really.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Question to Claire; Claire I would love to know… you have been given a big honour just a few days ago, coming from the Queen. I would love to know how important that is for you and what it really means for you and if you ever expected anything like that?
    CW: No, I’m still a bit speechless about it to be honest. I never expected it and it is a real honour to receive an award in the Queen’s birthday honours. But from my perspective, it’s a team effort, we always say that at Williams. I wouldn’t have been able to have done what I’ve done without the support of all seven hundred people at Williams, so the honour is for everybody at Williams, not just for me.. I’m just the figurehead that gets to run it after their name but is an enormous privilege and I’m delighted that we have it.

    Q: (Chris Lines – AP) Toto, do you have any diagnosis yet on what happened with Nico, why he had to pull over? He called it an engine and drive issue.
    TW: We don’t know yet. We have to look at it, what exactly it is so I can’t really give you a comment on that at the moment but it’s a Friday engine so whatever the outcome is, it’s not dramatic.

    Q: (Christof Becker – Frankfurter Allegemeiner Zeitung) Question to follow up on some of the discussions on the situation of human rights here in Azerbaijan which was going on yesterday. You will have heard what Bernie Ecclestone has said. About the situation today that there were reports that an Azeri news agency did not get accredited although the situation here is being said or handled differently than before at other races of Formula One, there have not been any calls for boycotts. What are your thoughts on the situation here?

    TW: Look, I think we are responsible for sport, for the sports and sporting side and sport should unite and not divide and I think if we can add our bit in bringing people together and putting on a good spectacle then this is all we can do. The federation and the commercial rights holder are fundamentally responsible for hosting the race. It’s not that we are closing our eyes, on the contrary, but we need to know what we need to do and this is sports.

    CW: As Toto said, we are not politicians, we run sports teams and we’ve come here to race. Bernie and Jean believe that it’s right to race here and we go where the calendar asks us to go. And from our perspective, I think the organisers have done a fantastic job of putting on some great facilities for us to do that, but as Toto says again, sport is supposed to unite people and we just want to put on a good race on Sunday.

    GH: … it’s a very controversial topic. I know in the US human rights are extremely important and the American people have a tendency to throw their weight around to make sure that people do get treated equally in the world. But I think, as Toto said, I think racing is a sport that brings people together to see that differences between people can be overcome. Sometimes when I go to races – like I was in Russia  and I think the US has had a long history of rub-ins with Russian people but they are so friendly and it was so great to be there. So I really think that our sport can help smooth over some of those problems and hopefully when the politicians get to it, they can come to an agreeable solution.

  • F1 2016: European Gp – Free Practice 1 Report – Hamilton Tops Baku Practice

    F1 2016: European Gp – Free Practice 1 Report – Hamilton Tops Baku Practice

    Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time in the first free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Baku grand prix.

    The first ever official Formula 1 session in Azerbaijan got underway in splendour as the cars and drivers had their first look at the Baku City circuit. Aesthetically the circuit and its surrounds create a terrific view with the architecture around the circuit making the biggest impression.

    Several drivers took their time to get the proverbial eye in around the long lap. Turn 15 claimed the most errors with several drivers taking to the escape road a few times throughout the session.

    Daniel Ricciardo became the first victim of the new circuit as he heavily clouted the barrier at turn 15 with the right-rear of his Red Bull. The incident brought out the red flag for several minutes as marshals took about clearing the debris and stricken Red Bull.

    The rest of the session ran to plan for most of the teams. However, Max Verstappen’s session ended earlier than scheduled with an oil leak. Similarly, Lewis Hamilton’s session came to a premature end as he flat spotted his tyres with several minutes of practice remaining.

    While the two Mercedes drivers led the way with Hamilton in first and Rosberg in second the Williams of Valtteri Bottas set the third quickest time overall. Fernando Alonso set the fourth quickest time ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in fifth.

    Free Practice 1 Standings:

    Screen Shot 2016-06-17 at 12.34.36 PM

  • 2016 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 European Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso)

    Nico HULKENBERG (Force India)

    Rio HARYANTO (Manor)

    Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

    Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

    Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Fernando, you were here earlier in the year in your capacity as an ambassador for this race. How much has changed since then? 

    Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, a few things have changed then. Obviously the circuit now is ready and all the garage, the pit lane, the grandstands and also the weather! It was quite cold in March and I remember to have two jackets walking on the circuit and now it’s quite hot, windy and the race will be different on that aspect. But I think the job they have done is fantastic. Everything is ready. Also the fans are well into F1 and they are very prepared, very enthusiastic for the race on Sunday and everything is ready for a good show.

    In terms of the layout, which bit looks most interesting? 

    FA: A few things that we need to discover in the car. Obviously walking is always different, in the simulator it’s different, so let’s see. Turn 8, 9 and 10, the narrow section on the uphill will be quite interesting to drive there and see how we can maximise the car limits there. The very unique theme on this circuit is probably the straight-line speed, which will be very high, and to be on a street circuit those kind of speeds will be quite unique. We need to check if it’s really flat out from Turn 16 to Turn 1 or if Turn 19 and 20 you need make a lift there. Anyway, it’s quite interesting and will be for some teams a little bit more painful, probably for us, in terms of the distance on the straight. I should have made some modifications when I came here in March to make it a little bit slower, but that’s the way it is and we will see.

    Thank you Fernando. Valtteri, if we could come on to you. Montreal marked your first podium of the year. How much of a sense of relief was there in the Williams team? 

    Valtteri BOTTAS: It definitely makes a difference to the team, having a good race by the team, with the strategy and pit stop and everything, it was a good weekend, especially Sunday was a very strong performance by us. It always does give a lot of confidence to every single guy in the race team but also at the factory to push even harder. So yeah it is overall a good positive feeling in the team. We know we can do good results, so it’s nice to continue from here.

    Was that result track specific or are we witnessing the start of a mid-season resurgence from Williams?

    VB: Montreal definitely was one of the good tracks for our car, really its within the strengths of the car, but there are still plenty of good races to come. I don’t think this is going to be too bad for us and also the next three races after. I’m pretty sure we can still, with a good weekend, if we keep developing the car, we can fight for the podium and that should be the goal for us as a team.

    Thank you. Rio, if we come to you. You’ve been making steady progress this year. You’ve outqualified your highly-rate team-mate three times. Are you feeling comfortable in the car now? Just give us a resume of how you feel it’s gone so far in 2016? 

    Rio HARYANTO: Yes, I have been progress every time, each race. It feels great to be able to be fighting quite close between the team-mates but our goal is still quite a long way, we wanted to really improve and to get the best results we can for the team.

    Just give us a word on how things are back home in Indonesia, the popularity of Formula One there and how it’s growing?

    RH: I think it’s been really good. The popularity has kept increasing and I believe that as they have broadcast the Formula One races on the national channel the popularity is increasing and I think it’s good for Formula One.

    Thank you. Nico, points finishes at the last two races in Monaco and Montreal. Can we expect to see you continue that rich vein of form here in Baku? 

    Nico HULKENBERG: Yeah, I hope so. Obviously it’s a new venue: no data, no knowledge, no previous laps here, so everybody starts from scratch pretty much, which could be interesting. Obviously the track looks quite exciting, as we’ve all seen now. I think we’ve made a massive step since Barcelona with the car. The upgrade there really made a big change to our game. Since then we’ve really been a points scoring contender on every track, so I feel confident that we can keep it up, yeah.

    You say everybody starts from scratch. Just give us a few words on how a driver prepares for a new race like this. Is there much correlation between the simulator and how much will you be relying on those opening laps tomorrow? 

    NH: I think it’s different from team to team. Some teams have a simulator, they have the track already, we don’t, so for us it’s really going to be starting from scratch, those opening laps are going to be very crucial and important – discovering the track, finding the limit, getting the lines etc. Correlation of simulator, sometimes it’s really good, sometimes not so good. I guess at the end we all have to come here, do the real thing, learn and work from there.

    Thanks. Carlos, coming to you, 20th to ninth last weekend in Canada, how satisfying was that result? 

    Carlos SAINZ: It was very satisfying, especially after the disappointment on Saturday, as you can imagine. To manage to recover well and come back from 20th to ninth was an achievement not only for me but also for the team. We had a bit of a scrappy Sunday in Monaco with some issues on the pit box and all that side and we managed to arrive to Canada and we managed to put on a very good race from the back, with perfect strategy, perfect pit stops and it was a also relief in those terms. Yeah, to manage to split the two Force Indias coming from all the way back was a huge achievement and now we need to keep working, because we need to keep this up and keep going for it.

    How difficult is it going to be to keep it up, because other teams are getting a lot of engine upgrades at the minute? How do you rate the competitiveness of the Toro Rosso now with the year-old Ferrari engine? 

    CS: It’s going to be tough. Already you know… you put an example, in Australia we managed to qualify P5 and P7 and now in places like Canada or Azerbaijan we will struggle to get into Q3, so for sure we are going a bit backwards. We haven’t put that many upgrades on the car since Australia, but thanks to the good effort of the team we are not that much falling back, no? And we are still in the game, we are still fighting for P5 in the Constructors’, with the same car as in Australia, which is a huge achievement, even though you take into account how many upgrades Force India and McLaren are bringing and we are still there trying to hold on.

    OK, thank you. Sebastian, thank you for waiting, on to you. Now, this is a coastal location, there is probably going to be a lot of seagulls around, so how do you think that is going to affect your race?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, technically I think it’s a lake; it’s not a sea. I think I read some… before I knew we would be coming here, I read some years ago that it is the biggest lake in the world. So I shouldn’t be afraid of any seagulls. There will be some, but hopefully they won’t sit in front of the car.

    Canada was Ferrari’s most competitive showing of the season. Is that the pace that you have been threatening to do all season or did the upgrades make the difference? 

    SV: For sure, upgrades help. I think everything we brought to Canada – there was a lot of talk about the turbo update – did make a difference, so that was good. But I think it was just a clean weekend in particular, because the weekends before were a bit messy, in particular in qualifying we weren’t able to show the pace or release the pace of the car, so in this regard Saturday was strong. I think we qualified where the car belongs and on Sunday we had a trouble-free race. Obviously we were able to put Lewis under a lot of pressure, because simply the speed was. I think you just seem to a nicer and easier Sunday where you can do your thing if Saturday goes well and this has to remains the target. As for here, as we’ve been through, it’s a completely new track, but it looks very, very exciting, so I’m very much looking forward to it.

    Would you say that Canada was Ferrari’s cleanest weekend of the year so far? 

    SV: Well, certainly for me it was. I think it’s also a track where last year we have been fairly competitive. It’s probably right to say the characteristics suit us, but I think we should be strong everywhere to be honest, so yeah, the weekends before weren’t entirely clean.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-total.com) I realise that this is a hypothetical question but if you put all the drivers in the same car on an average track like Barcelona, what do you think would be the difference between the fast and slowest driver? And Sebastian, after Canada, did you have an offer from the World Wildlife Fund or PETA or similar organisations?

    SV: No. I start on the first question. I don’t think it would be much, a lot less than what we see now, we know that. I think Formula One has always been like that. I don’t know, to give you and idea, I’d probably say half a second.

    Would you agree with that Fernando? If you were all in the same car – half a second? 

    FA: Very difficult question, I don’t know… maybe.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, how would you rank this latest podium of yours compared to the eight previous ones and how much that meant for you personally? 

    VB: I actually think, yeah, that must have been one of my best ones, because it was one of my best races. I think that was the feeling after the race. I managed to get that long stint to work, with consistent lap times, and you just do feel as a driver when you do a good race compared to some of the other races and I had this feeling after. But it’s difficult to say exactly which one is the best, but of course I’m not too pleased because I want to win races. I’m not 100% satisfied with being third. That’s always the goal. But, of course, it’s been a difficult season for us so that’s a good result for everyone, for me, but we definitely want more.

    Q: (Joe Saward – Auto X) Just a question about this circuit: it’s very, very fast, did the drivers get any input on the design? Because Turn Three, for example, you’re going in there at very high speed and there’s about 50m of run-off area. Do you have any thoughts about the circuit, or were you involved at all?

    FA: No, obviously we don’t get involved in any of the layout or any of the decisions but, yeah, there are some corners that probably we will talk about. Some others that we need to go on the car first and see how they feel. We saw Singapore also making some small modifications to some corners year after year until we find a good compromise. I guess it’s going to be quite similar here. I think next year maybe some tweaks can be done after we go in the car. But yeah, in terms of safety I think FIA, y’know, ran many simulations in terms of how to make the run-off area safe enough. Obviously some of them are more than enough, some of them, maybe they look small but it’s always better than Monaco, for example. It cannot be any worse than that.

    Does anyone have anything else to add. Nico?

    NH: No, perfect answer.

    Q: (Oana Popoiou – Fanzone) Rio, could you tell us how much a driver can learn while racing for a team that struggles in terms of performances?

    RH: I think as a rookie you can certainly learn a lot on your first year with a team like Manor. I think this year they have made huge progress, a huge step compared to last year and certainly in some occasions we’ve been able to race with some other teams as well, like Sauber and Renault – so I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel – Autohebdo sport) A question for Fernando and for Carlos. Question is very simply: who will be the first Spanish driver in the table at the end of the championship?

    CS: Hopefully me! I don’t know. It looks tough because Honda keeps bringing upgrades, McLaren keep improving and improving so we will not know where they will end up at the end of the year. But obviously I will try to do my best to keep it up there. I think now we are equal? More or less same points. If we’ve been ahead for seven races and he’s still fighting with us – it means it could be a good fight from now on until the end of the year.

    Fernando, will you be ahead?

    FA: We’ll see obviously. I would be happy if Carlos is ahead this year and I’m able to fight for the championship next one. It’s not a huge satisfaction to finish ninth or tenth or whatever. Definitely I will be in front of Carlos at the end of the year anyway! I miss two races this year and we are equal so…

    Q: (Ben Edwards – Channel 4) Question for Sebastian and Fernando: any concerns about the pit entry here because it looks as though it’s a pretty fast approach and then it’s a chicane before you get to the speed limit. Any concerns about that?

    SV: No, actually I don’t understand why this has been the second type of question of the same nature. I walked the track and I was looking on the track, not so much on the runoffs. I think it looks exciting. I’m thrilled to get in the car tomorrow and excited to get out and get a feel. Pit entry looks a challenge – but then again I think that’s why we’re here. And, as I say, I certainly have the plan to stay on track and not use the run-off or the off-track.

    FA: Same. Let’s see in the car, how it is. Similar to Brazil a couple of years ago maybe, and some other pit entries. It was no problem.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) I would like to know, from all of you, in normal conditions in a new track how many laps do you need in a new track to find the limit?

    VB: Well, to find the absolute limit you won’t be able to build up all those small details until the qualifying really. Normally in qualifying you manage to do the best lap of the weekend – but you get very close to that very quickly, I think, with all the preparation we can do nowadays: simulator etc., In Practice One you already have, after the first run, second run you are already very close to the optimal lap time you can do in those kind of conditions. It’s not that long.

    Nico, you don’t have access to a simulator. How long until you’ll be exploring the limits tomorrow?

    NH: I don’t know. At a guess after ten laps you have a really good idea of the track. You have it in your mind by then. You know what’s coming. From there onwards it’s work-in-progress really. You keep finding little bits here and there. The track will progress as well: there will be more rubber so it will keep moving on and go faster and faster, so you just have to go with that. But, I think, to give you a number, ten laps and you’re at a pretty good level.

    Fernando. Ten laps for you as well?

    FA: Two!

    SV: I do it in one and a half!

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – globoesporte.com) To all drivers. From the exit of bend 12 to the braking of 15 you have bend number 13 & 14 in the middle. Looks like flat-out all the time and wall both sides: like oval in principle but in a straight circuit. Would you comment on that please?

    CS: From the laps I did on the simulator, looks like it could well be flat with some good walls waiting for you. Maybe behind a car with a bit less downforce it becomes more tricky. But the interesting part, I think, comes after those two flat-out corners. That is a good downhill that you brake and turn that is, again, not much run-off area so I remember the simulator being quite tricky there and hopefully it stays the same tomorrow and is a challenging corner. The more challenges at the end you face, the more exciting it is for the driver, the more open to mistakes also for the driver, and maybe the more exciting qualis and races that we have. Looks definitely an interesting point on the track.

    Sebastian?

    SV: Well, again, I’m trying to look at what’s coming rather than what I pass. I think the whole part there looks very exciting, starting from Turn Eight. Basically going around the old town. It’s nice to see, when I walk the track, it’s quite some gradient. It goes up, there should be a blind apex around 10-11, which is a big challenge and then obviously those two corners you mentioned at fairly high speed. In terms of safety standards, I think they’ve done everything they could. I’m a lot happier to have the wall that close to the track rather than have a run-off and then some tyres or something waiting for you. Plus there’s a safer wall which is working well, also in tracks like Brazil. I think in that regard should be fine. And the whole bit leading around the old part of the city looks quite spectacular. Hopefully it feels like that as well.

    Q: (Jose Carlos Carabias – Journal ABC) Question for Fernando. In this moment of the season do you believe in your car or are you thinking in the next year?

    FA: I think a little bit of both. Obviously we want to be fighting for the World Championship. We are not in that position this year and we are making, I think, progress and we are moving in the right direction to achieve that goal in the future but still a long way to go for us. Definitely we need to think on next year’s car, next year’s project and put some focus on there and try to be more competitive next year. At the same time we cannot forget 2016 yet because we are only in June, many races to come, many good possibility to score points, to go a little bit higher on the Constructors’ Championship that will help the team also for next year. And some of the progress and updates we can bring this year will be quite useful for next year as well. Especially on the power unit side. That doesn’t change so much in the regulations. So, still working on both projects and still very motivated to score many points this year and to do a good season.

    Q: (Alex Popov – Match TV) This is to all drivers about the ultrasofts, because we used it for two consecutive races, Monaco and Montreal, so how much did you rate it and will you miss these tyres here? 

    NH: It’s difficult to say without having done a lap here but personally I’m always a fan of the softer compound because they simply give you more grip, especially on one lap in qualifying, so it’s more fun, naturally. I think they performed quite well in Monaco and Montreal. Here we just have to work with what we’re given but we know it’s not here.

    VB: Not a lot to add really. Of course it gives you more grip which is nice but on the other hand it wears more and it’s completely unknown if it would be any use here. I doubt it a little bit, because of the track temperature. It’s difficult to say.

    SV: Well, I think it was working fine, the grip is high, the principal problem that we had in the last Grands Prix to be fair was that it was cooler than we all expected. We raced in Monaco, it was wet and it was only just shy of 20 degrees ambient. We raced in Canada, it was quite cool, again, so I think the tyre will work better when it’s hotter. I think that’s what it’s made for. Here it should be hot, it shouldn’t be wet but given that it’s the first year, the first race here, it’s unknown how the track is and how the stress on the tyres will be, I think you can understand the choice. For sure, as a driver, the softer the tyres, the quicker you go, the more fun you have so in this regard maybe we miss it but it should be fine with the tyres we have.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – globoEsporte.com) We have a uncommon situation of a straight of 2000 meters. I would like to hear your comment about that, concerning the brake temperature, the tyres and mainly the DRS that you’re going to use in the middle of the straight. 

    FA: Well, I think all the circuits have their own unique features and this one will be the longest straight in the calendar, the longest straight on any circuit in the world, so that will be challenging in terms of set-up of the car and making your preference in terms of downforce and the settings so that will be a good thing, I think, for F1 and yeah, I don’t have any concerns about brakes or anything like that, so I think it’s OK. Definitely Monaco is Monaco, a very unique circuit and a very unique event. Singapore: racing at night and all the things that are unique there. Valencia was a little bit of a unique circuit and with unique features and here in Baku it’s a similar thing. All the street circuits have one thing and the long straight will be this one, I think we will talk about it with Baku.

    VB: I don’t think it’s too bad for us, that kind of straight but of course we need to see. Of course, this track with that long straight it makes it more difficult because for that straight we probably need to run a little bit less downforce so it means that you’re maybe struggling slightly more in the corners but you need to find a good compromise and I’m sure that’s what everyone is going to focus on quite a lot in practice, to find the right set-up in terms of aero.

    Q: Carlos, with that year-old Ferrari power unit, are you going to have to trim the car quite heavily down this long straight? 

    CS: I don’t know, maybe we need to take off the rear wing! It could be a challenge for us, for sure. We will be working a lot on the set-up to try to find a good compromise but you know in Canada we were expecting to be weak and we were not at all weak, we actually had really good pace in the race, so it doesn’t mean that because of that long straight here we cannot compensate with our good car, our good package and be strong. Obviously we are not going to be as fast as in Monaco or Barcelona for sure but hopefully we can still fight the teams that we are fighting now – Force India, McLaren – for those top ten positions.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Question to Seb and Fernando as the most experienced guys here and especially Fernando as an ambassador. I know this is likely to be a slightly unpopular question because you’re here to compete, first and foremost, but the race does take place against the wider backdrop and several respected organisations have been critical of the human rights situation here in Baku. Unlike in Bahrain, I don’t think anyone’s calling for a boycott or anything like that, they just ask leading figures in the sport to offer their views on the situation and whether they would ever criticise the regime here. I just wonder if that’s anything that even enters your head before a race or if that’s something you would ever get involved in? Did you think about politics at all before you agreed to be an ambassador for the race here?

    FA: Well, I think we completely rely on the FIA in terms of the places and the venues we race. On that aspect – at least in my case – I think we never think any further than that. I totally put all my trust and my confidence on the federation and on the decisions that they make. If we are racing here it’s because everything was good for them and so it’s good for us. We are promoting the sport around the world and we are promoting the values of the sport around the world and that will always be welcome in any country.
    SV: Well said, nothing to add.

    Q: (Joe Saward – AutoX) Just to ask each one of you, how many simulated laps have you done of this track so we get an idea of who’s done what? 

    RH: Well yes, I think firstly it’s good for track familiarisation and secondly again, we don’t know much what to expect but it’s good to have a rough idea of the long straights and the corners.

    Q: (Joe Saward – AutoX) Just a number, number of laps? 

    RH: About 80 laps.

    NH: (Indicates none)

    CS: Good question, around 80, 100, it’s quite a long track so you cannot do many.

    VB: I don’t know the exact number but I think more than a race distance, plus a couple of laps running.

    FA: I didn’t make any, zero.

    SV: One this morning and in the simulator, between 50 and 100, I don’t remember. Maybe 70, something like that.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport Total.com) Obviously this weekend Le Mans is going on, the 24 hour race and this is a question to Fernando and Nico in particular. Are you going to follow the race and if so, do you have any favourites as to who is going to win it? 

    NH: You ask if I have a favourite or not? Obviously I’m supporting Porsche and my guys from last year. I’ll be quite busy here but I’ll follow it as much as I can and tune in or watch the live ticker and try to follow it a little bit.

    FA: Yeah, same, perfect answer!

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Seb, people talk about winning teams, like Mercedes, they get in the groove, they get used to different situations arising and conversely, people talk about a team forgetting how to win. Do you think there’s any merit in that argument whatsoever, people saying that because Ferrari haven’t been winning ten races a year for the last five years they become a bit less agile in dealing with situations at the front? 

    SV: Well, I don’t know about other teams but I disagree when it comes to us. Obviously I joined the team last year and I think it’s a very strong team and I think in the end the mentality is responsible for the fact whether you win or not. Ultimately, obviously, every day you can chose one hundred different reasons. First of all, if you’re competitive enough or not, usually that’s one of the main reasons but in terms of mentality, I see a team full of winning people. I think there’s definitely the desire to win from everyone involved. This is also one of the things that makes me very confident that we will start winning sooner or later. Of course the ambition for anyone involved is always to win, some achieve it and some don’t and there are reasons for that, as I said. If you look at the cars’ performance etc which will help you or not but I think what really makes you a winner is not just the fact that you have a car that’s quick enough, it’s the people that operate the car ultimately and in this regard I think we’re a very very strong team. We can be stronger, so there’s stuff that we can learn and will always have to learn but I haven’t seen a winner yet – a winning team or a winning person – that has learned all the lessons in life or everything there is to learn and in this regard we’re complete. I think naturally if you look at our sport, the way it’s changing, evolving etc, there’s always things that you can learn as a team. There’s definitely things you can learn as a driver, how to drive the car so yeah, I think this never stops but I think it’s the mentality that is most responsible for whether you make it or not.

  • F1 2016: European Gp Preview – In with the new

    F1 2016: European Gp Preview – In with the new

    Too many times new F1 circuits are talked up and promised to be glorious showpieces that will electrify the racing. And then you end up with Valencia, a dull F1 street circuit somewhere in Spain that evokes more winces than grins.

    But the new hosts of the European grand prix may have hit on something special.  As the most recent addition to the F1 calendar Azerbaijan’s Baku City circuit promises much from the initial glimpses of its layout. At six kilometres it’s second in length only to Spa-Francorchamps and with twenty corners behind Abu Dhabi’s 21 and Singapore’s 23. But the most arresting feature of the circuit is slim width in certain areas of the track. It’s not pancake flat either, in fact it has significant elevation changes and even a cobbled section.

    Because it is temporary circuit it isn’t required to subscribe to the FIA sporting code which stipulates a width of twelve meters, with an additional three meters on the starting grid. While the circuit has some areas which stretch to thirteen meter width its narrowest point, on Aziz Aliyev Street, is just 7.6 metres wide. The average speed of lap is currently projected at 210 kph and a top speed of 340 kph.

    From an early perspective the Baku City circuit has many positives going for it; high-speed, tight sections, fast corners and for a street circuit, a longer than usual lap. Already it bears some similarities with China’s legendary Macau circuit.

    Here a look at Azerbaijan’s Baku City circuit

     

  • F1 2016: Canadian GP Review – Mercedes Masters Montreal Strategy

    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.

    GP CANADA F1/2016At 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.

    GP CANADA F1/2016More 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 20th 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)

  • 2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Post Race Press Conference

    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.

  • F1 2016: Free Practice Report Canadian Gp – Hamilton Leads

    F1 2016: Free Practice Report Canadian Gp – Hamilton Leads

    Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has set the fastest time in the first free practice session ahead of the 2016 Canadian grand prix.

    The first free practice session got underway in sunny conditions and a balmy track temperature of 21 degrees celsius. As teams slowly began to find their way around the famous circuit Gilles Villeneuve the Williams of Felipe Massa made heavy contract with the barrier at turn one. The Williams, stricken and heavily damaged at the rear, brought out the red flag for several minutes.

    Several drivers opted for a run on the purple side-walled ultrasoft tyre but it delivered inconclusive results at this early stage of the weekend. With half an hour remaining Lewis Hamilton had set the quickest time on the red supersoft tyre, a 1:14:980. Teammate Rosberg wasn’t far off at this stage in second place with a gap of 0.182.

    Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto showed well in the Manor by running ahead of teammate Wehrlein, Renault’s Magnussen and Palmer and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson for the majority of the session. Haryanto eventually finished the session  18th overall.

    At the end of the 90 minute session Lewis Hamilton set the quickest time overall with a 1:14:775 ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

    Final Free Practice 1 Standings

    Screen Shot 2016-06-10 at 5.33.14 PM

  • 2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2016 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS – Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber), Sergio PEREZ (Force India), Felipe MASSA (Williams), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Daniel, let’s start with you, our 2014 Canadian Grand Prix winner of course. You didn’t want to hear what the team had to say after the last race in Monaco, so how have the conversations gone since, around strategy decisions, the pit stop issue and how have you personally got over the disappointment?
    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I gave it a few days to cool off. I definitely felt after the race that I wasn’t in a place, probably no one was in a place to try to resolve what happened. For me it just get away for a few days and then address what happened once we’d cooled and settled. So I spoke to various people in the team and they basically explained what happened at the time and the situation. It was obviously important to hear the explanation but I think more important how to move on from it and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again. They’d done a lot of things since then back at the factory and they have set up some new parameters and things that will happen during pit stops and before pit stops to make sure that these things don’t happen again and to make sure that tyres are ready and that various compounds are ready at once. So, yeah, obviously from my said now I’ve moved on. It’s obviously good that they’ve… I knew they were going to take it seriously because it was obviously a big disappointment for all of us, but I’ve been assured that if we’re in that position again then it won’t happen, so that was obviously what I needed and what I wanted to hear.

    With the Renault engine upgrade, which seems to be pretty valid there, as well as the nature of the Red Bull chassis and of this circuit layout here in Montreal, is there a realistic expectation that you can bounce back with this weekend with a win?
    DR: In my mind there is. That would obviously be a lovely way to bounce back. Let’s see, I think realistically Mercedes are still going to be, as expected, the ones to beat. I expect that we can be the next best, or I hope we can be the next best. But it’s hard, you know, Ferrari have been there and surprised us sometime and then been less surprising on other occasions. You never know, but I do believe we’ll be the next ones in line behind Mercedes and how far we’re behind Mercedes I’m not sure but hopefully close enough to again put some pressure on them and grab a win.

    Marcus, coming to you, a little bit of ice hockey this week with Valtteri Bottas. Who’s the more aggressive on the ice, you or him?
    Marcus ERICSSON: Most aggressive? I don’t know, but obviously Sweden and Finland have a big rivalry in ice hockey and it was a fun event and he was very good on the ice I have to say.

    Speaking of aggression, there was a self-destructive situation between you two Sauber drivers in Monaco. Do you and the team just have to accept that as Sauber isn’t really racing any other team you’re going to be racing each other like this week in week out?
    ME: No, it shouldn’t be like that of course. Now it happened in Monaco and we all spoke about it and discussed it and we cleared the air about it. We had different opinions but it’s all done and settled now and we are looking forward to Montreal together as a team.

    Thanks. Felipe coming to you, you’re scored points in four of the last five Canadian Grands Prix, you’re the only driver this season to have scored points in every round and you’ve been ahead of your team-mate 60% of the time. How satisfied can you be with that?
    Felipe MASSA: Well, satisfied, when you score one point, is not really the right answer. I really hope we can score more than what we’re doing. You always want more. It’s on the consistent side in terms of scoring points but we need to work to get a little bit more than one point like we did in Monaco and getting closer to the top five at every race, that’s what we want to do, that’s what we’re working for and I really hope that we can carry on scoring a good amount of points at every race.

    Williams has owned third place for the past few seasons but that looks to have slipped to fourth this season, and Force India in the last month or so have been coming for you as well. What’s holding you back?
    FM: Well, I think that Red Bull is definitely the team that has grown most and as everybody could see, they even won races this year and they were fighting to win even the last race, so I think with the other teams we are fighting a good way. Definitely Monaco was not the best track for us but I’m really looking forward to being competitive back here and even in the next races and be back on this important fight to maybe even fight for the third, which would be not so easy, but to keep our fourth position also I think we can do and we’re fighting for that.

    Thank you for that. Kimi, coming to you, three podiums from the opening six rounds is your best start to the season since 2013, but do you and the team feel that you have fallen behind Red Bull rather than closed on Mercedes?
    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: I wouldn’t say it like that. We know what we’ve done, we’re definitely more strong in the car and other areas than we were last year. Maybe the results haven’t showed it exactly, but it’s not been the easiest start for us as a team, but we know that as long as we do our stuff and keep working it will pay off. As I say, it’s not been what we’re looking for exactly, but the package has improved and we’re working on that all the time. We know our weaknesses and where we have to improve. Obviously you always look for better results and wins, putting the two cars up there, but so far it’s been a bit tricky this start of the year, but we are more or less there, so we keep doing the same things.

    A significant update to the car is a pretty traditional thing for Ferrari in Montreal, so the turbo update you have this weekend has been long awaited. Will this now allow you to fully exploit the power unit?
    KR: We fully exploit it all the time. This is a step forward. How much, time will tell. It’s a new part and we would never put any new parts on the car if we didn’t think it improves, but is it going to be what kind of step? I don’t expect any miracles suddenly but it’s the right direction and it’s something that’s been for a while that we’ve been waiting to have it. It’s more like any other new parts we bring, it’s not suddenly something magic, so it’s a very normal work in progress for us as a team, as Ferrari, and it’s going in the right direction all the time.

    Thank you for that. Jenson, coming to you, a former winner of this race, the epic wet race of 2011, two other podiums here in Montreal in 15 appearances at this track. Tell us what makes this place special for you, and what’s the best way to drive it?
    Jenson BUTTON: Wow, what makes it special? I think it’s always your history that makes a place special, isn’t it. First time to every circuit, it’s nice, but it’s the history and your experiences there that makes a place special. 2011 was very special. You know me, I’m a trouper, and it’s about fighting through and never giving up. So, it’s always those special experiences that make an event for me.

    And the best way to drive it? The best way to be quick here?
    JB: To be fair, you need a car that is efficient. You need a car that’s good on braking. I suppose every circuit is the same, but those are specifically important areas/. It’s having confidence to use the kerbs here, carry speed and when the weather is like this, making the right calls.

    A bit like Felipe, it’s not been big points, but you have scored in the last three races, from a fairly consistent P12, P13 on the grid. Where is the step coming from to get into Q3 and challenge for he bigger points?
    JB: For big points, I think it’s going to be a while before we’re actually going competitive enough to fight for big points, but we are making good progress. People would think that this isn’t a circuit that would suit our car, but it’s going to be alright. We’ve come here with some upgrades, which should help us. It’s not big but it should help us. We are very efficient in terms of our car. I know that Exxon Mobil had been working very hard with Honda with fuel. We have an upgrade here, which should help in that areas, so, yeah, we’re positive.

    Q: Sergio, coming to you, fantastic podium last time out in Monaco. Your sixth in Formula One. You scored one here back in 2012. Is there a sense of optimism that you can continue this strong run?
    Sergio PÉREZ: Well, Monaco was a very special race under certain conditions and to get into the points , everything worked perfectly for us: with the strategy; with all the calls that we did in Monaco. So it was a race under very special conditions. We are expecting something similar here for Sunday but you never know. I really hope we can carry the form, y’know? Probably podiums is not the realistic word for us at the moment but certainly continue the progress and keep scoring points and aim to beat Williams, which is the team ahead of us, which is going to be difficult but I think we are making good progress and we are getting better and better every race.

    Q: With 100 grands prix on the board in what’s been essentially a career of two parts, where do you go from here? Do you sense that there is a chance to move back to a top team?
    SP: You never know. To be honest I’m not really obsessed with that. If that happened that would be a great opportunity to me and I really hope in the near future I can have the opportunity to be in a car that can give me the opportunity to win. But right now all I can do is to focus on this weekend, do my best for this one and then after this one think about Baku and whatever. The most important thing for me is to focus on the present and try to keep doing the job that I’ve been doing so far.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Daniel, I’m interested to know in the debrief whether or not, in the context of other dramas we’ve had at Monaco over the years, drivers missing the red light for scrutineering, Lewis’ obvious problem last year with the call, whether or not Monaco itself is a function of the issue that happened, because of the tightness of the garage, the general confusion of Monte Carlo, or if it was something that could have happened anywhere?
    DR: I think… yeah, the nature of the pits and everything in Monaco, it does make it harder to move around. The garage is small. Whether it would have been a different story at another track, I’m not sure. I think it came down to a late call, a late change of heart. Basically after the team saw what tyres Lewis had put on, they decided to change their decision. Let’s say we were always intending on using one compound and once they saw Lewis change, or go to the UltraSoft – I think the team probably expected him to use a SuperSoft – then it got them thinking and then it was all a bit last-minute. So, whether a last-minute call, say at Barcelona, would have allowed that to happen a bit more fluently, I’m not sure. Yeah, I think the call was just a bit rushed and with Monaco being what it is, it was probably just a bit chaotic for the circumstances. I think it all probably added up: small garage; the intensity of the whole weekend and that track and what it does probably didn’t help. Yeah.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonese – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Daniel and one for Kimi. For Daniel, is about the ambition of this season. After the win of your team-mate in Barcelona, the pole position and nearly victory in Monaco, if you wish that the car is going well here, you can think even to fight for the Championship this year? And for Kimi, we would like to know about your future, if you have a deadline with Ferrari to decide what happens next year?
    DR: Yeah, coming into the season, didn’t expect to be… probably didn’t expect to be third in the Championship but after so many races in, and yeah, we’ve seen no points in Russia and could have got more in China without the puncture, and the last two races, we could be very close to probably… yeah… we’d be very close to the front of the Championship right now. So, you know, I’m still not looking at that yet. I would love to be in a position in a few races time and say yeah, we can fight for a title this year. I think that would be a pretty nice, unexpected fight and story for F1. I think this race will be pretty telling. If we can be competitive here, you never know. It’s still a long-shot, for sure, but if we can be competitive then sure I believe in myself that I can fight and do what I’ve got to do to put myself in a position come the end of the year. So, fingers crossed we can… Barcelona and Monaco isn’t… wasn’t a one-off. I hope we can fight again for the rest of the season. And I believe we can: whether it’s a win or a podium… to be continued.

    Kimi, second question was to you, is there is a deadline in terms of your future with Ferrari?
    KR: I don’t know anything more. You guys seem to be knowing a lot every week, this and that. It’s not in my decision in the end. I always said I’m happy to be here, I hope I will be here for helping Ferrari get where we want to get as a team. What happens in the future, we will see.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Daniel, first Spain then Monaco. How much have these two events damaged your relationship with the team – have you forgiven the team absolutely and totally for these two incidents?
    DR: Yeah, obviously, as I said after Monaco I was happy to keep some distance for a few days. For myself as well, it probably wasn’t healthy to just address it straight away. But yeah, for sure, for a few days I was upset I guess, and obviously ruing some missed opportunities – but it’s one of those things: it happens; it’s unfortunate it happened back-to-back. That, how do I say, expanded the feelings and the emotion a lot more. But yeah, I’ve moved on. I’ve still obviously got a lot of faith in the team and I don’t doubt things with them moving forwards. For me it’s obviously really important this weekend to execute a perfect weekend from my side and from the team’s side and get back on track. Because obviously we’ve shown we have a good car, we’ve got good material. It’s just trying really to maximize it. The last four weekends I’ve left Sunday feeling I should have got more. So yeah, this weekend it’s just to try leaving on Sunday knowing that we’ve maximized everything from both sides.

    Q: (Jérôme Bourret – L’Equipe) Braking is of course something crucial here. Could you please tell us something about how difficult it is to find the right braking lap after lap during the race – and how demanding it is from a physical point of view?
    JB: I think the race is fine in terms of braking. I think with the way that the cars are these days it does make it a little bit trickier with the deployment that we have that is obviously different to qualifying – well it is for us, I don’t know if it is for everybody else – and also there will be fuel saving here so – and again I don’t know if it is for everyone else – but that does change your braking. It changes the brake temperatures, obviously. So you have to be very careful of that and it’s studied throughout the race. But for me the more difficult time to get your braking right is qualifying. Because you’re right on the edge: it’s bumpy; easy to lock wheels – but you’ve got to have that confidence in the car to brake as late as you can because there’s a lot of lap-time there.

    Felipe, what’s your perspective on this? You’re obviously running a Mercedes engine, will you be fuel-saving on Sunday? And your thoughts on the braking.
    FM: For sure it’s a track that you need to have a good… brakes need to work well so it’s easy to get… we saw in the past many teams struggling with overheating problems in the braking. We need to be careful, try to use everything in the proper way to have no problems. Actually in all these two and a half years that I’m here with Williams, we never had a problem on the brakes so I don’t really see we can have any problem during the race. I think the fuel consumption can be an issue for everybody here, so we need to wait and see how it’s going to be tomorrow and the numbers and prepare the race in the proper way.

    Sergio, anything to add?
    SP: Yeah, I think Montréal is very hard on braking, especially in the race if you are in the traffic and it’s hot on Sunday – which doesn’t look like. It can be really demanding on the brakes with the brakes overheating. And, as Jenson said, we’re going to be fuel-saving, all of us, on Sunday if it’s a straightforward race. That makes it a bit easier in a way, on the brakes, but it can always be quite tricky. I think the most challenging day for the brakes is Saturday. Saturday in qualifying you really have to be on the edge and there’s a lot of time to be gained under braking. So you have to have the confidence to approach it well.

    Q: (Alexander Govorov – Championnat.com) Felipe, the last couple of years in Montreal Williams was very strong, but you’re struggling on slow tracks. Do you see the race in Montreal as an opportunity to be back in the top six and maybe fight for the podium?
    FM: Yeah, definitely. I really hope we can be competitive on this track, not just this track but maybe Baku can be a positive track for us, Austria, so I’m really looking forward that this next race can be a circuit that we can be strong on, maybe fighting for the top five, maybe a podium because that’s what we want and we will try.

    Q: (Leigh Diffey – NBC Sports) Jenson, there’s an abundance of information for us all to look at to see how things have improved, whether that’s lap time or your qualifying spots or race results, but what are the immeasurable things that have changed within the team? Has there been a shift in morale or a change of tone in conversation? Just take us inside the team.
    JB: Yeah, from the outside, you always ask the questions: where is it, when are you going to be competitive? And then you get… every time I speak to the press it’s how about now? How about now? How about now? How about now? It’s unbelievable, the pressure from the outside but from the inside we know where we are, we know we’re improving and I think the atmosphere in the team is very good. Fernando and myself are both very experienced, I think we bring a lot to the team in terms of our experience and direction and there is a lot in the pipeline. It’s always very difficult because we’re in a season where we want to get the result we can, as everyone does, and I think it’s the same for everyone. With a regulation change next year, it changes everything, in terms of how much effort is put into that single season. But I’m happy with the progress that’s being made there is a good feeling. We feel that a lot of the time we are getting the maximum out of the car which is the main thing right now and yeah, we’re still quite a way off the pace but it will come, it is just a matter of time but it always takes a lot longer than you want.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Daniel, sorry to harp on about this but how did the reconciliation come about? Did you make the ‘phone call, did they call you, did you just arrive at the factory or how did that happen?
    DR: It was all over the ‘phone. I let it cool a couple of days and then I spoke to Christian, I spoke to my engineer and obviously Christian just explained… obviously apologised on everyone’s behalf and just explained what went down and the reasons why there was confusion and why obviously the tyres weren’t ready and this and that. So that was really the ‘phone call with Christian and then I spoke to Simon, my engineer, that was later in the week, after they’d got a chance to spend some days in the factory and basically just to hear what they’d put in place. And also I questioned… because everyone highlighted the second pit stop which was where effectively we lost the race but I questioned the first pit stop as well because that was the one… already when I came out behind Lewis, I was like ‘well, we’ve put ourselves in a race now with Lewis which we didn’t have to be in so…’ I just wanted to make sure that the first pit stop was being addressed as heavily as the second one and then Simon obviously explained that they were not looking into that but acknowledging that that was also, I would say, a mistake. So yeah, it was just to get some clarity on everything. Yes, there’s going to be some new software they’ve now put in for strategy and some live stuff during the race that can obviously make us more prepared, and if there are some late calls again, to make sure that everything’s put in place. Yes, obviously I had plenty of questions to ask but they answered them with confidence and that’s all I needed to hear.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Sergio, it wasn’t that long ago that you were certainly heading for a podium if not a win here. Big shunt with Felipe but I noticed you and Felipe are now big mates at the back there, chatting away, having a laugh. I wonder when you come back here whether you think about that and how that incident in your mind has been resolved, whether you think it was 50-50 now?
    SP: I still think it was his fault. But I got the penalty though. Well, it was a long story after that.
    FM: Very long.
    SP: But yeah, that day I was so close to win the race, actually. I remember Rosberg had an issue in the last laps and I was getting really close to him but then I had an issue as well with the brakes actually, my brakes were quite overheated, I had a problem with the BBW(brake by wire) so that was hurting my brake balance a lot, I was losing a lot of lap time with the brakes and I lost the place to Daniel and he went on and won the race. But in general that day was an extremely good race for me and we found ourselves in a position that we were not expecting to. Unfortunately, on the last lap, it all went to bad with a crash but it was a really good race and we were close to win that day.
    FM: My thoughts? So we crashed, it was really bad for both of us and I hope this thing doesn’t happen any more. But I was not penalised!

    Q: (Robby Pacicco – Popular Hispanics) Felipe, last year you had a little intruder on the track while you were racing. Did you adjust your race strategy for another groundhog this year?
    FM: Here is a place that you can maybe see that. I hope they stay safe in their place. It can maybe happen but it must be really dangerous what happens to us or to the race. It was fun actually.

    Q: (Leigh Diffey – NBC Sports) Kimi, there’s been a lot of discussion about braking today. For the last two years in a row, going up into the hairpin, exiting the hairpin, you’ve spun in exactly the same manner and you even said on the radio to the team last year ‘that was the same as last year.’ Have you guys got to the bottom of what that was and how that happened two years in a row at the same corner?
    KR: I’m pretty sure we have but hopefully I’m not wrong on Sunday but it’s quite frustrating in a way the last couple of years but we knew the issues and we took care of it in our mind but actually it never happened in any other thing. The first year it happened in practice but last year, because we knew what the problems( were) then kind of tried to even force it in practice and nothing happened but then in the race (it happened) again. I will make sure this year it’s not going to happen hopefully. I think we’ve learned now since that.

  • Penalties After the Monaco Grand Prix

    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. \

    monaco-kvyatDaniil 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.

    monaco-sauberMarcus 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.

    monaco-kimi-outKimi 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.”

  • F1 2016: Monaco GP – Masterful Hamilton Wins

    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.

    GP MONACO F1/2016Still 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 50th 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.

    GP MONACO F1/2016The 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.