F1 Madness

Tag: williams

  • F1 2015: Singapore Free Practice 1 Report – Rosberg Heads The Field

    F1 2015: Singapore Free Practice 1 Report – Rosberg Heads The Field

    Nico Rosberg has topped the timing sheets in the first free practice session for Sunday’s Singapore grand prix.

    The Mercedes driver topped the 1 and a half hour session throughout with teammate Lewis Hamilton a scant three tenths off his ultimate pace. Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo showed strongly in third ahead of both Ferrari’s of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

    The feared murky conditions appeared to have no impact on running as dusk quickly gave way darkness as the floodlights took over. Several drivers showed their prowess as they handled some impressive power slides into turn one. Apart from a couple of brushes with a few barriers the drivers were keeping their noses clean. That was until the newest F1 rookie Alexander Rossi crashed underneath the grandstand, destroying the right-hand side of his Manor F1 car. The American driver has been catapulted into a race seat and will compete in five of the last seven race weekends.

    McLaren’s Fernando Alonso showed an improved turn of pace to end the session 11th fastest. Williams, who usually play it close to the vest in the early part of the weekend, were 6th fastest with Valtteri Bottas while Felipe Massa seem to run the standard program as set the 17th quickest time overall.

    Final Free Practice 1 standings:

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  • F1 2015: Singapore GP Preview – Scores To Settle In Singapore

    F1 2015: Singapore GP Preview – Scores To Settle In Singapore

    Formula 1 has swopped the sprawling European country side for the city lights of Singapore as the paddock readies for the thirteenth round of the championship.

    As far as street race go the Singapore grand prix doesn’t have that much in common with its so-called Monegasque counterpart. While the Monte Carlo grand prix is steeped in regal history Singapore brings a more modern feel to the paddock.

    Singapore made its debut on the calendar back in 2008 as F1’s first ever night race. It would become known for the controversial, pre-planned, crash of then Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. It was later uncovered that team principal Flavio Briatore has ordered the young Brazilian driver to deliberately crash and induce the deployment of the safety-car to aid teammate Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard would take a second victory around the streets as a Ferrari driver in 2010. It’s a happy hunting ground for Sebastian Vettel too who has seen the chequered flag first on three occasions.

    The Marina Bay circuit is a five kilometre test of extreme concentration under intense conditions. Was the race only a handful of laps we’d scoff at the idea that this floodlit circuit could be seriously hard work for drivers. But with sixty-one laps, each with twenty-three corners and oppressive humidity the Singapore grand prix demands both physical and mental concentration of the highest order.

    MOTOR-RACING-PRIXThere could be more than two Mercedes in the mix as well. The importance of horsepower can be played down somewhat around a street circuit which could open the door for a few contenders. In Hungary and Monaco Red Bull Racing were well in the mix with both Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.

    If there increased competitiveness is a given this weekend then this is the only clarity that the once near unbeatable team appear to have at this moment.  The uncertainty of the team’s future is being fuelled by the fact that its deal with engine supplier Renault runs out at the end of the season. As it stands, it looks as if the only two choices on the table for the Austrian team are either a year-old Ferrari engine or an abrupt adios to the sport. Renault itself is believed to be close in taking a 65% controlling interest in the Lotus team.

    Amid the imminent French takeover the struggling Japanese sits Ferrari who will fancy their chances this weekend.  Whilst team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has been singing the praises of his drivers the engine department delivered an upgrade for Monza with which Raikkonen was pleasantly surprised. While Singapore doesn’t demand the same straight line speed as Monza the upgrade would have brought a slight improvement to the driveability and power delivery to the engine which is important around the twisting streets.

    Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg at the F1 Malaysian Grand Prix - Image credit: Mercedes AMG F1Two weeks ago Sebastian Vettel delivered a morale boosting second place at the team’s home race. But a boost in confidence won’t be enough to halt the Lewis Hamilton behemoth. It has to start in qualifying where it’s going to require another exceptional run in qualifying if they are to have any say in Sunday’s proceedings.

    A 53 point chasm sits between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and while the numbers are against the German it is in the mental game where he has taken the biggest beating, even without the Monza failure. If Nico Rosberg has the psychological ability to fight back he must now lay it all on the line.

  • Felipe Massa delighted with ’emotional’ Monza podium

    Felipe Massa delighted with ’emotional’ Monza podium

    Felipe Massa was ecstatic with the achievement of his second podium of the 2015 Formula One season at the Italian Grand Prix.

    The third position finish was a repeat of his podium finish last year when he also collected the trophy in front of his former Ferrari team’s fans.

    “It’s really emotional to have been on the podium,” Massa said. “It was a difficult but fantastic race, I didn’t have the best start but I was still able to pass cars so it was good enough.

    “I worked hard to open the gap to Valtteri [Bottas], but when I pitted early it gave him the advantage on tyres at the end of the race. It was hard to keep him behind as he really wanted it, but I just about managed it.

    Felipe Massa, delighted with his Monza podium at the F1 Italian grand prix“I am delighted for myself and the team, we got a lot of valuable points. It’s special to be up on the podium at Monza again, and I really thank the team for their effort today.”

    Massa’s Williams team mate Valtteri Bottas finished a mere 0.3s behind him in fourth place and laments a few minor issues.

    “It was a good result for the team today, good points which is important,” Bottas said after the race.

    “My pit stop lost me too much time which was crucial for the second part of the race. I managed to get extremely close in the end but it was too late.

    “As I saved my tyres and brakes I was able to attack in the final laps but we had system issues on the last lap, so we need to investigate what happened because I also lost an opportunity there.”

    Photo Credits:

    Podium image courtesy of Mercedes AMG Petronas

    Massa press conference image screengrab courtesy of Sky F1

  • F1 2015: Italian GP Review – Hamilton Strolls to Victory

    F1 2015: Italian GP Review – Hamilton Strolls to Victory

    The Italian GP wasn’t one that was ever going to set your heart aflutter but it delivered its fair share of drama.

    The Saturday qualifying session delivered a dream result that elated Ferrari’s fanatical tifosi. Kimi Raikkonen delivered a stunning lap just two tenths shy of pole position to line up his scarlet Ferrari in second place while teammate Sebastian Vettel completed the top three.

    It was Lewis Hamilton however who ran the show on Sunday much like he did on Saturday to secure a staggering seventh consecutive pole position.  Most were drooling about a possible Italian GP battle between the Ferrari’s and Lewis Hamilton’s number 44 Mercedes. Alas, a disastrous start for Raikkonen and all-round lack of pace for Vettel meant Hamilton could stroll through the 53 laps to eventual victory.

    As the red lights extinguished so did Raikkonen’s chances as he remained achingly motionless in his grid slot. As it were, Raikkonen reported that when he released the clutch nothing happened after which the car engaged the anti-stall function. It dropped the Finn to dead last but a dogged drive through the field netted the 2007 champ fifth place.

    GP ITALIA F1/2015The simplicity of Hamilton’s task in the lead of the race was evident as he increased his pace at will. He built a substantial gap over Vettel which could’ve been considerably bigger if he had wished it so. Yet, the sister Mercedes wasn’t enjoying as easy a weekend. A failure in free practice three forced Rosberg to take an older engine onboard which landed him only fourth in qualifying. It looked to be going slightly better in the race as the championship runner-up was able to leapfrog Williams on strategy. The German was even able to take the fight to second-placed Vettel and was set to launch an attack on the Ferrari. However, a spectacular engine failure brought a fiery end to Rosberg’s ItalianGP and most probably his championship aspirations.

    A spicy fight between Williams’ drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas highlighted the closing stages of the race. Despite significant pressure from behind Massa was able to resist his Finnish teammate and secure third much to the delight of deputy team principal Claire Williams.

    The Pirelli tyres seemed to be, mostly, out of the spotlight when compared to the aftermath of the Belgian grand prix. But a suspected breach in tyre pressure regulation, by Mercedes, was noted by the Italian tyre supplier. Both Hamilton and Rosberg’s cars were found to be below the specified tyre pressure and were subsequently referred to the stewards.

    GP ITALIA F1/2015In hindsight the instruction given to Hamilton to increase the gap to Vettel makes sense. At the time however not even the driver was sure what to make of the message coming from the pitwall. It is clear now that Mercedes were trying to avoid losing the Italian GP victory should a time penalty be imposed. As it turns out the stewards, after meeting with Mercedes personnel chose to take no further action.

    While some might term this a lucky escape for Mercedes the details as to how and when tyre pressures are measured remain a tad sketchy. If the pressure were measured at different times it could turn out that Mercedes could well have been within the regulations. There is likely to be clarification on the measuring of tyre pressures in the near future.

    As the newly blonde Lewis Hamilton looked out at the fervent Monza crowd there seemed to be a moment of realisation for the Brit. A comprehension of the very special moment he is experiencing in his glittering career. Are we seeing a soon-to-be three-time world champion in the form of his life? A 53 point gap to second place seems to suggest it.

    All photos by courtesy Pirelli

  • 2015 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    3 – Felipe MASSA (Williams)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by George Lucas)

    This is amazing, simply amazing. Congratulations Lewis, you did a great job. You told me earlier when I was kidding you about these close call races of one or two seconds, I said ‘why don’t you win by 20 seconds?’ and you said ‘I could do that, I think’. Well, you did it in spades; I bow to you, you did a great job.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Thank you. Today… look at this crowd, it’s incredible. Unbelievable fans here. I couldn’t have done it without my team. I couldn’t have done it without my team. I don’t know if anyone can hear us. This team is just remarkable and what we have achieved together is so special, so I’m incredibly grateful to them for really working so hard through the weekend, through the last weeks, through the whole year to give me the car I had today. These guys also did a great job.

    Sebastian, I’ve been to the factory a few times and everybody has been talking about the new engine. Did the new engine live up to your expectations?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well look at this. I think this says it all. Grazie a voi! Grazie tifosi! Questo anno è incredible… Grazie, a tutta la squadra dico ancora grazie.

    Felipe, how did it feel when you were coming up to the finish line there and your team-mate was only inches away from you?

    Felipe MASSA: It feels very tough! I’m getting old for that! I even said to the team I’m getting old! The last three laps of the race I was fighting with my team-mate. It was very difficult but we managed to be here. Grazie mille a tutti. Sono molto contento di essere qui con voi. Questo podio é meraviglioso. Questo rettilineo è fantastico. Grazie davvero. Siete tutti nel mio cuore.

    So Lewis, one last question: Do blonds have more fun?

    LH: I hope so! Thank you everyone. Thank you to all the fans. You are the greatest fans here. Grazie a tutti.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Lewis, the technical delegate has referred the team to the stewards saying that “the minimum measured tyre starting pressure of the left-hand side rear tyre of car number 44 was 0.3 PSI below the specified minimum tyre starting pressure” and a representative of the team is asked to go to the stewards. Do you have any comment to make on that?

    LH: Not really no.

    You’re not aware of it?

    LH: I wasn’t aware of it, so…

    The team was asking you at the end of the grand prix to build a gap. You weren’t sure what that was for, presumably that was linked to this issue?

    LH: Maybe.

    They still haven’t told you?

    LH: No.

    Lewis, your 50th grand prix start for Mercedes, your third win here in Monza, seventh of the season, 40th of your career, now one short of Ayrton Senna, who I know was an idol of yours growing up. Really, obviously, the start was always going to be decisive. You took a defensive line, Sebastian had to go round the outside and from there on you seemed to be completely in control of the afternoon. Tell us about that and also the emotions of the afternoon from start to now?

    LH: Yeah, this weekend has been just fantastic. It has been a perfect weekend for me. I don’t know if I have ever had a weekend like this. This circuit is such a special one for… I think it’s the same for all the drivers. When you stand on top of that podium you feel incredible pride and incredibly proud to be amongst the greats that have stood up there and when you see a sea of fans – a lot of them in red – but the sea of fans is just unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s very emotional when you are up there. The race was fantastic. I got a good start. I think we all probably got a difficult start and managed to hold ground. Sebastian was really fair into turn one and after that it was really just chipping away, looking after the tyres, trying to look after the tyres whilst chipping away… trying to take time away, increase the time, the gap behind. I was generally able to control it really after that. I felt comfortable. The car balance I really got perfect for the race. Perhaps not so much for qualifying but perfect for the race. It was actually one of my favourite balances I’ve had through the year, in the actual race. The last few laps I was told to push and I’m thinking I’ve got quite a big gap already, so, for me, I was a little taken aback by it, but nonetheless I still managed to pull it out and do what they asked me to do. Big congrats to Sebastian and Felipe. I know these two have been pushing hard for a long, long time, so I feel proud to be up here with them as well.

    Q: And you were 29 points behind coming here last year. You’re 50 points ahead going away, over 50 points ahead going away this year.

    LH: I don’t understand…

    Rosberg retired

    LH: I wasn’t aware of that. Oh. Wow. I think our performance, my performance today, I have to really take my hat off to my team: they’ve done a remarkable job the last two years and I can’t thank them enough. The constant attention to detail. Improvements they’ve been doing back at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth is just… I’ve never seen it before. Incredibly grateful for everything they’ve done.

    Q: So Sebastian, you “were very fair in Turn One,” says Lewis. You gave it a go. Did you think it might be on?

    SV: I had to! Obviously I was on the outside so it was going to be difficult. I was a bit deeper on the brakes but yeah, I mean I have to give way, he’s on the inside, the first corner goes to the right. It’s a tricky one. We’ve seen across the various years you can get it wrong so I was quite happy. Tried to focus on the exit. He got a magnificent exit out of Turn Two so I couldn’t really get a run on him. I was trying – but I couldn’t get a run on him into Turn Four. After that I though, after the first couple of laps, I think at some points we were similar in lap time, he was only a tenth quicker for one or two laps, I thought that maybe now we get a chance to close the gap but then he just seemed to… in football you call it the second lung. I don’t know – that’s a German saying, it makes no sense in English – but he just seemed to find an extra switch and he was pulling away. I think myself, Felipe and the cars behind, we seemed to struggle with tyres, so we’re losing pace whereas Lewis just kept doing what he was doing in the first couple of laps. So it was quite incredible to see and no chance to stay close to him. After that our race was pretty isolated but I knew I had to keep pushing. Seeing the pace that Lewis had, I knew that Nico eventually will have the same pace. He did in the end, he was closing the gap, it was getting quite tight but I think we could have managed and get the place even with Nico not retiring. So, in the end, to sum it up, it’s fairly simple, it’s the best second place I ever had. The emotions on the podium is incredible. If we take this away from the calendar for any shitty money reasons I think you are basically ripping our hearts out. We are here, we are racing and this makes it so much more worthwhile. It’s what we’re here for. You stand on the grid, you look to the left, you look to the right, people are just happy to be part of it and it makes our day. So, simple as that. It’s incredible. So, thanks for this emotion on behalf of all the Ferrari team. Thank you.

    Q: Felipe, on the podium here in Monza, second year in a row. Start obviously decisive for you as well because Kimi just didn’t get away, you were very, very quick on to that and at the end you had a little bit of a tussle with your younger team mate once again, which you seem to be enjoying.

    FM: Yeah, it’s really emotional to be here. It’s a fantastic race, very difficult from the beginning to the end, just trying to make the gap and then, the start was OK. It was not really that fantastic a start I had but it was really good to overtake cars and to manage to be in the position compared to the guys behind, so happy for that. But also, just the pace. Trying to open the gap against Valtteri. I went to the pitstop a little bit early and he stays on the track for a few other laps which helps a lot his tyres for the end of the race. Maybe I opened the gap anyway and we were doing good lap times to maintain the gap but at the end I started to lose performance on the rear tyres and he was catching me with better tyres as well. So, in the last three laps it was pretty difficult. He was catching me a lot, he was quicker than me. The only problem was the traction: he has better traction. So, I managed to fight, and getting to the podium was tough, three laps but I’m so happy for the position, so happy for the team. I think we managed to score great and fantastic points today. And also in this amazing place. Being on the podium here, with the whole straight of people so we cannot even see any asphalt, y’know. Even in Corner Three, from the podium. So it’s really, I mean, definitely the best podium and very human. A very hot, human feeling when you see all these people.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, as you have said, there was a phase early in the race when you were just a couple of tenths slower than Lewis but then it has increased quite a bit. Why do you think this was? Was it just that your tyres didn’t hold up so well because it was the end of the stint or was it because you weren’t able to use the same engine modes as yesterday in qualifying?

    SV: No, I think it’s pretty simple. I was falling asleep! No, I was pushing as hard as possible and Lewis, I think, to some extent, did the same and yeah, I think you could see on my lap times also Felipe’s – I got updated by radio that the lap times kept dropping so I guess we were struggling more with the tyres than Lewis was because he was able to do the same lap time on lap 22 as he did on lap four which is quite impressive. Obviously we had run down some fuel but tyres are 20 laps older. I think he said he felt well with the balance of the car which makes a huge difference so that’s that. They were quick on race pace, quicker than us but potentially they had a bit better tyre wear or tyre degradation, let’s put it this way, so I think that made the difference. On the first three laps I had a bit of hope and then, to be honest with you, I saw them going away, so yeah, that was that.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, have you already received an explanation, either before or after the podium, because you had to push, because there was a problem with the investigation of the tyres. Had they already explained to you or was it something else?

    LH: As I just said, I don’t even know about it.

    Q: What was the second question? There wasn’t one.

    FM: He’s amazing, he never asks one question, always two! I think he has a fever.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Lewis and Sebastian, what kind of help could you get with lower tyres pressures?

    LH: 0.3 lower? Not really a huge amount on one rear tyre.

    SV: Well, it’s difficult to judge now because  I don’t know what was going on. I think it’s not fair to hand that question to Lewis because he doesn’t know what’s going on, so that’s that. In principle, the tyres last a bit longer, but as I said, I don’t think… In a lot of respect and fairness he did a very good job today and you have to accept that.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) To all of you, after such an emotional podium ceremony, what are your feelings when you hear that the future of Monza on the calendar is uncertain?

    Q: Well, Sebastian has already made his feelings very clear on that one…

    LH: I think we all have really. As I said on the podium, I said at the beginning here, this is one of the best tracks in the world. This has to stay here for moral reasons. As Felipe is saying, all those fans out there who come every single year. Are you going to take this Grand Prix away from us and put on another one, that would not have the same feeling, or would not have the special impact so we definitely have to keep this.

    FM: I don’t think they can take it out. The history of Formula One, this is history here, here is part of what is Formula One… everything that Formula One grows is a lot thanks to these races as well, to these people. We race for the people and when you see the podium with a lot of people like that and they’re screaming and crying, I don’t think we can lose that. This is part of our blood and we cannot lose this type of races. I really like to go to new countries, we go to amazing countries, countries that I even didn’t know what they meant before and then I love to go there, many different countries and I’m really in favour to go there but you cannot lose something which is inside the blood as well.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, I think it’s highly unlikely because Lewis finished more than 25 seconds ahead of you so even if he gets a penalty I don’t think it will change the order but if he would lose the victory and you would win the Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari like that, what would be your emotions?

    SV: Well, it doesn’t change anything, emotions. I was second on the podium and that’s the emotions I got and I’m grateful for them. I had a great car today, not good enough to win but good enough to just finish second.

  • F1 2015: Italian GP – Hamilton On Pole, Ferrari Shines

    F1 2015: Italian GP – Hamilton On Pole, Ferrari Shines

    Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh consecutive pole position for Sunday’s Italian grand prix.

    Bright sunshine bathed the famous Monza circuit as the one hour qualifying session got underway.

    Both McLaren’s failed to get out of the first part of qualifying as Jenson Button lapped a fraction faster than teammate Fernando Alonso to set the sixteenth fastest time.

    monza-verstappen-engine-coverToro Rosso driver Max Verstappen, who will serve a grid penalty, did not set a time and lost some bodywork in his short qualifying session.

    The second part of qualifying saw Lotus driver Romain Grosjean advance into to the top ten shoot-out for the first time at the Italian circuit. Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson too made into the top ten battle but is under investigation for impeding Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg earlier in the session.

    The final part of qualifying commenced with the expectation of a showdown between Lewis Hamilton and teammate Nico Rosberg. However, Rosberg’s subsequent change to the older spec engine, after a reliability issues in FP3, compromised his run. According to Rosberg the team had to revert to an engine that has completed six races. It showed in the laptimes too as the German was only able to set the fourth fastest time.

    Lewis Hamilton secured his seventh consecutive pole of the season but it was Ferrari who gave the Tifosi reason to cheer. Kimi Raikkonen will line up his Ferrari in second place after setting a time a mere two tenths off Hamilton’s pole lap. Sebastian Vettel will start third in the sister Ferrari and share the second row with Nico Rosberg. Williams drivers’ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will start fifth and sixth respectively.

    monzaquali

  • F1 2015: Free Practice Three – Hamilton Heads Vettel

    F1 2015: Free Practice Three – Hamilton Heads Vettel

    Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in his Mercedes for the final free practice session ahead of Sunday’s Italian grand prix.

    The Mercedes driver set a time of 1:24:554 two and a half tenths clear of Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. Nico Rosberg in the sister Mercedes was third quickest ahead of the two Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

    The session got off to a quiet start as the teams opted to stay in their respective garages while the circuit dries. Overnight and early morning rain had cleared up by the start of the session by the famous Monza circuit was still sporting some wet patches in the early part of the session. After roughly half an hour drivers took the track to set for a final check before the qualifying session.

    As the circuit and lap times improved lap by lap it was ultimately Lewis Hamilton who set the quickest time of the day. There was more woes for the Red Bull team as Daniel Ricciardo was ordered to stop and not shift gear at the exit of the Roggia chicane. Manor F1 driver Will Stevens set the fifteenth fastest time overall ahead of both the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams.

    The qualifying session is expected to be run in dry and sunny conditions. Lewis Hamilton’s seventh consecutive pole position looks to be under threat only from teammate Nico Rosberg at this stage.

     

    monzafp3

  • 2015 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    2015 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix: Thursday Press Conference

    DRIVERS:

    Marcus ERICSSON (Sauber)

    Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    Carlos SAINZ (Toro Rosso)

    Felipe MASSA (Williams)

    Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Nico maybe we could begin with you, congratulations, I understand you became a father. How will it change you and have you decided on a name yet?

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, for sure it’s been very exciting, very intense of course. Big respect for all the mothers of this world – unbelievable. No, very emotional and super happy. Very excited.

    You’ll obviously be losing a little bit of sleep then in the coming weeks but you’ve also been losing a few places off the start line lately, with both the old and the new rules on starts, so it’s now three races in a row, making race day a bit more complicated for you. What thoughts have you and the team had on that and how you are going to address it, as particularly here in Monza it’s a long run to turn one so any loss off the line would be amplified by turn one?

    NR: Yeah, it’s true that starts have not been our strength lately, so we’ve been working on it a lot, making progress and then of course the rule change also came in right in the middle of, or off the back of two starts that hadn’t been fantastic. So it’s a work in progress and we need to improve for sure, we know that, and we’re all getting into it.

    Thank you. Sebastian, when you started with Ferrari you said you were living the dream and here you are, at Monza, a Ferrari driver, in front of the tifosi. Can you put into words the sense of pride, responsibility, expectation, dare we say even emotion that comes with the job?

    Sebastian VETTEL: No! Well, I’m about to find out. Obviously I’ve heard lots of good things. I’ve been here before so obviously [I have seen] the passion for Ferrari, so obviously very much looking forward to becoming part of that. If we do well, which is our target, and we manage to be on the podium on Sunday I’m looking forward to not receiving booing for a long time. So, yeah, plenty of stuff to look forward to. So far we have had a great season. This is our home grand prix as a team and since I didn’t have a home grand prix this year I adopt this one as well and hopefully we can make it a good one.

    Now, you made you feelings very clear to the media in Spa about Pirelli and the tyre failure. Having now seen the results of the investigation, what are your considered thoughts on the matter?

    SV: Well, first of all I think there was a lot of stuff explained or written that I think was not correct, the way it was expressed. I think it was very clear what I said. I think the most important point is that obviously we have been looking into the issue we had very clearly and Pirelli has been supportive and very open in the discussions, so I think that’s the most important thing and we need to make sure that we learn from that. Other than that we are in Monza now and, as I said, there is plenty of other stuff to look forward to.

    Thank you for that. Felipe, coming to you, obviously confirmed for 2016 [at Williams]. On the podium here last year, third for Williams and you’re always popular here with the fans thanks to your years with Ferrari. Given Williams’ chassis and engine characteristics can you dream of maybe moving to a higher step on the podium on Sunday of this weekend?

    Felipe MASSA: Yes, for sure. Dreaming is for free. You always dream about the best, about winning the race. Here is one of the best places to be on the podium, to see the whole people, the whole straight [full] of people, especially. Last year that everybody was also happy that I was there on the podium, screaming my name, I think it was so nice, so I’m really looking forward for another one and definitely we dream even to get a better position than third. When you go to the grid you’re thinking about doing the best and thinking about the victory. That’s what I’m doing every race and it’s another one where I will try everything I can to be there.

    If we you look at your recent record, you out-qualified Bottas six-five this season, finished ahead of him in the last four races and moved ahead of him in the championship. What’s driven this strong run of form for you?

    FM: I think last year I was very competitive as well with my team-mate. We were fighting the whole season I would say. The only thing is that the results of the race are a lot more consistent this year. Last year I had a lot of problems, many races where so many things happened and I couldn’t finish in the position I was supposed to. I think this year the situation is a lot more consistent and I managed to score points and finish more or less where I was supposed to in most of the races. I think that’s really good, but we have many races to go and you always want more.

    OK, thank you for that. Daniel, coming to you, you obviously come from an Italian family that emigrated to Australia. When you come here how Italian do you feel and how have the Italians welcomed you in the last few days during all the various promotional activities you’ve been doing?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I start talking with my hands a bit more! It’s automatic: you arrive in Italy and you start using your hands. What was the question?

    Apart from how Italian you feel, how have the Italians welcomed you in the past few days in the various different things you’ve been up to?

    DR: It’s always a warm welcome here, for sure. The fans are… I’ve always said it, they’re passionate; they’re full on but they’re great. They love the sport, they love getting close and having their moment and stuff. It’s pretty cool walking into the paddock. It creates a bit of a road block but… I think it’s the craziest paddock entrance we go to all year in terms of the fans spreading their love, but it’s nice. I remember the warm-up lap here last year, I think I crossed the second Lesmo and there was a flare blowing across the track… it’s unique, so it’s cool.

    Red Bull has yet to lead a lap in 2015 and you’ve spent a fair chunk of the races somewhere between P5 and P7. Tell us about how you’ve set targets for the remainder of the season and also about the decision on power units for you and your team-mate this weekend?

    DR: Looking now towards the last part of the season, the last couple of races have been our strongest, as of late, Budapest and Spa have gone well for us. I think in terms of understanding the car we’re much more on top of it now than we were earlier in the season. I think the chassis is back to a really strong level. Monza’s not obviously a circuit that suits us particularly. We’ve got the penalties as well, so you know that’s obviously a strategic things as well – take the penalty here rather than in Singapore where we expect to be very competitive. Then, yeah, have some fun here on Sunday, come through the field as far forward as we can and then Singapore, we can really fight for a podium there.

    Coming to you Marcus, 25th birthday celebrated yesterday, happy birthday. Scored points in the last two races consecutively and beaten your team-mate in the last four, do you feel it’s all starting to come together?

    Marcus ERICSSON: Yeah, I think my form, like you say, has been strong now lately and it’s nice to see. I’ve been working a lot with myself, trying to change my approach during a race weekend, focusing more on myself and not other people, what they are doing. It’s nice to see that it’s giving results on the track. I just need to continue that form, not relax but continue to work really hard to continue that way.

    New start regulations in Spa; it wasn’t the smoothest start for you. What happened there and what do you generally think of the new rules?

    ME: I think I did quite a good start. I gained a position, so for me it was pretty good. For me, it doesn’t make a big difference. It’s a bit more feeling for us drivers than there has been before. It’s very similar to how it was in GP2 and I was always a strong starter in GP2, so for me it’s not a problem.

    Thank you. Coming to you Carlos, another birthday celebrated, 21 years old now. If we look at your performances, you’ve reached Q3 six times and out-qualified Verstappen 7-4, yet the results show four consecutive retirements from the races and a best result of eighth. Are you getting concerned that the performances are being overshadowed by the results and the retirements?

    Carlos SAINZ: No, not really. It’s not my main concern at the moment, because at the end, what is under my control everything is going so far quite well. The retirements are obviously totally out of my control, but four consecutive ones is a tiny bit too much. But I’m confident that this well end soon and I’m confident that it will start playing a bit to my side now and we can have a smooth second half of the season and start finishing races and going back to where we were at the beginning of the year in terms of points and position.

    We mentioned that you’ve out-qualified Verstappen to this point, have you been surprised by the speed you’ve been able to find in qualifying?

    CS: Well, you never know what to expect when you come to Formula One. I just know that last year in World Series I made a very big step forward with myself in qualifying and in the race and I just brought it to Formula One this year. You never know how you are going to be, you never know how you’re speed is going to be in Formula One. What I am quite sure is that Saturdays this year have gone very well for me and I am performing at a very decent level. I just need to make sure now on Sundays I perform at the same level and we finish races and I’m sure we’ll be in a good position.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Agris Lauznieks – Kapitals Lativia) This is last race in Europe this season. What are your thoughts about the opportunity to add extra races in Europe, especially northern Europe – to do Riga Grand Prix in Latvia. How would you feel about it?

    NR: I’ve heard great things about Riga, I’ve got a good friend from there also so that would be fantastic but I don’t know. Races in Europe are great, wherever they are to be honest, so it’s always good to have more of those.

    Sebastian, anything to add?

    SV: Not many things I know about Latvia. But yeah, would be, I think, a nice place to go to. I think in general it’s a bit of a shame that we don’t have a grand prix in northern Europe, also Scandinavia because people are quite passionate and crazy about racing. I’ve been to Rally Finland some years ago and I was wondering why we don’t have a Formula One grand prix but I guess that, especially next year, we have quite a lot on the calendar so it looks sort-of busy now – but maybe in the future.

    Marcus, maybe you can tell us why we don’t…

    ME: I think we should have a snow race in Sweden – that would be something! I don’t know. Like Sebastian was saying, we have a lot of passionate fans in all of Scandinavia and northern Europe so it would be very nice to have a race somewhere in these countries, for sure.

    Q: (Vladimir Rogovets – Sb Belarus) My question is to Felipe Massa. Today here you are between the very young drivers and in the race you are very quick and very competitive. My question, where is your personal secret to be very young and very quick?

    FM: I still feel young, honestly. Definitely when you here with 21 years old, 17… it’s really young, definitely. I think you just need to… I always do my best. I feel quick, I feel competitive and definitely the experience helps in so many areas. I’m happy for what I’ve learned with these days and, definitely also when I see you are competing with young drivers and you show good speed in the qualifying, in the race good performance is always nice – nice feeling, so we always compete for the best result you can. That is what gives you pleasure. I can say I have many pleasures in racing and by the result I finish in races – sometimes not, something yes, this is part of our feeling. I still feel good motivation and I’m not finishing the race tired or whatever, so I think that’s what counts at the end.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi, La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for Nico Rosberg. Nico, before you talked about the birth of your daughter. I would like to know if you can compare the happiness of that to some other things in our job, like victory and nervousness. If you can compared nervousness in that moment? And a technical question about the gap with Lewis. The gap has increased a lot in the last two races, do you think this is one of the last chances to recover? To change the direction of the championship?

    NR: Emotions extremely intense, more intense than any racing success or anything like that. And also, yeah, because there’s factors… love and health and all these things playing a part. That’s definitely more than a race victory. Then the gap to Lewis, yeah, points of course it’s gone in the wrong direction but it’s just over one race difference so I’m very optimistic and pushing and definitely want to try and close that  back down now.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) To Sebastian, Felipe, Daniel and Nico. Are you satisfied with Pirelli’s explanation for the tyre failures in Belgium – especially as a couple of you described them as unacceptable over that weekend? And to Sebastian personally and additionally, have you raised your concerns, as expressed after Spa, with Bernie, who’s deciding the new tyre supplier?

    SV: I think in all honestly I had a bit more insight because I was obviously one of the two cars that had a failure during the weekend in Belgium – a bit more insight on what was going on after the race in terms of the analysis and so on, than probably Felipe and Daniel. I’m not sure about Nico. But yeah, from what I mentioned also before, it has been very professional, the way it was handled. It was taken very seriously. And obviously our target is to improve the situation. I think it’s natural that you always try to improve your product. I think if you look at the cars, if you talk about the cars today, the cars are quick and so on, and the cars are safe. They’re surely safer than they have been 30 years ago but there is still room for making them safer: we still have accidents and so on and still some things can happen. It’s a one-way street: you want to make progress and keep making progress. So I think that’s more important than any sort of press release, the feeling that I got when I spoke to the engineers and spoke to Pirelli.

    Nico?

    NR: It’s being handled with extreme precision and a lot of energy is going into it, which I’m happy to see, of course. It requires that also. I’m confident that we’ll be here and driving safely.

    Felipe, what were your reflections on Spa?

    FM: I think maybe they know better than me. They were there, they were inside. All these problems the two cars had in Spa with the tyres. For me it’s a little bit more difficult to explain. We want to be safe. What we want is to not have this problem happen – or maybe to understand 100 per cent why it happens and change whatever needs to be changed to give us the most safe tyres and the most safe opportunities to race and to risk ourselves in a safe way – which is what we want. Don’t know what they changed from there to here, but for sure if they change somethings from Spa to Monza, maybe with the tyre pressure and everything. So we need to understand if really they understand what’s happened or not – which is the most important thing. We always want the most safe car or tyres to race.

    Daniel?

    DR: That’s right. It’s all been covered.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) With all due respect, Daniel, I don’t think it has all been covered. I’m still at a loss, guys; are you satisfied with Pirelli’s explanation? They say as well, in the press release, there were 63 cuts to tyres over the course of the weekend. We know two of them, for Sebastian and Nico, did any of you other guys experience cuts on your tyres? Did your teammates experience cuts? Is this statement right? Were there that many cuts? Was the track that dirty because of all the debris?

    DR: There was blistering. I don’t really know the difference in a way, the details: what’s a blister, what’s a cut? Yeah, we experienced some blistering. Certainly not the first time we’ve had it in Spa. It’s pretty common around there. Yeah, so we did see some activity, I guess but there again, not the first time. It’s probably hard to be as attached to it as Nico or Seb. Obviously I wasn’t in the car but I still saw it and I feel their concerns or their disappointment with the situation. I think what Pirelli’s put out has been as much as they can for now. That’s all they can say really is that we’re working on it. Obviously they’ve given us some answers so, yeah, that’s just where it is for now. It’s hard to predict what will happen now in the future.

    Q: Carlos, any cuts in your team?

    CS: No, not really. I think they’ve given us an explanation, the reasons. I hope they’ve done their job properly. I’m convinced they have because they are the first ones that don’t want to put us drivers at risk so they are giving us those explanations and I’m convinced that at least it will not happen again and we can race safely here in Monza. And if it does happen again, then maybe we need some more investigation.

    Q: Marcus, did you have any cuts in the Sauber team?

    ME: Yes, we had some issues with some cuts on some tyres but I think they came from debris on the track. That was the explanation that we got. I didn’t experience anything else, not any problems with my driving.

    Q: Felipe, Daniel just said it’s quite a common problem at Spa. Could you explain to us why Spa, why it’s particularly common that you pick up debris there?

    FM: No, I don’t believe it should be common. Debris we have every race. Some races we have more debris than others. For sure, the tyres should be strong enough to accept the debris or what we have beside the track. I don’t think it’s common. We had cuts as well during the weekend.

    Q: (Kate Walker – motorsport.com) More about the tyres, I’m afraid. We know that you guys all have Pirelli engineers embedded in your garage, giving you advice on cambers and pressures and whatever else. To what extent, in each of your teams, is that advice listened to? Do they have real input in the strategy? How can things go wrong when you’re supposed to have an expert with you, telling you what to do safely?

    NR: Well, sometimes there are strict things that you must follow and other times there are just suggestions on everything. I’m not sure… we handled everything accordingly in Spa and made modifications also throughout the weekend to make sure we were running the tyres as safely as possible, according to guidelines given by Pirelli. I don’t know about them, what their situation was. I can just say that we did manage things, yeah.

    SV: I think it’s fairly simple. There’s a lot of things that you have to stick to because it’s part of the rules. Also the FIA is checking so you can decide not to listen but then obviously you risk to be disqualified, so I don’t think there’s any team taking that risk. And then there’s other things that you talk about and use the expertise of the Pirelli engineer inside your garage and I think it would be stupid not to listen to him, for all of us, for all the teams, because obviously they have knowledge that we can’t get about their tyres etc, so of course we take it very very seriously.

    FM: Yeah, I think the same, not really more to add.

    ME: Same, same stuff, yeah.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Seb, sorry to labour the point slightly. After the race in Spa, among many other things you said was that the current situation was unacceptable. If I can put it this way, is the situation now acceptable to you and any of the drivers who want to chip in?

    SV: Well, I think it is not acceptable to have a blow-out at that sort of speed, out of the blue and I think that’s what I said also after the race, so there’s nothing really to add. But, as I said before, I think the investigations that have been going on, the stuff that obviously has been analysed and talked about, explains some of it, maybe not all of it yet but it’s still ongoing and obviously, as I said, the most important thing is that we make sure that we make progress. At the moment, from Pirelli’s side, it looks very very professional, they handle it with extreme care, and I think things are going the right way.

    Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) So has enough changed from Spa to here? Is the situation more acceptable?

    SV: Well, I think there are some short term changes, as I learned, if we talk about tyre pressures, for example. We obviously see how it feels but if that’s a short term reaction within those couple of days or weeks that we’ve had, that’s one thing. Then obviously long term I think we need to understand properly what happened. I think it’s very clear that everybody is trying to do their best. I think we had a situation a couple of years ago which wasn’t acceptable and there was immediate change and we didn’t have problems afterwards so you can see that the professional approach does work and usually leads to the right result.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Felipe, I would like to know if something has changed in the team after the mistake they made with Bottas’s car when they put on the wrong compound, please?

    FM: Well, it should, definitely. We always work for trying to do everything in the correct way, in the best way we can. Sometimes mistakes can happen in our working but for sure mistakes happen which we cannot repeat, so definitely we are always trying to improve things when we see they are not working in the way we want, so we want to be perfect, we want to do everything correctly. This is part of the working we are doing from race to race, the changes we are doing from race to race and whichever mistakes or things that can happen we are always working not to repeat and that’s what we’re doing as a team.

    Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Daniel, you’ve mentioned that you are starting to understand the car better, and it was obviously in Spa, the efficiency is there, you were very quick in the second sector in spite of running a very skinny rear wing but the top speed was not there. Do you think that Red Bull again has one of the best cars on the grid and again, is it obvious that now the engine is the biggest hindrance for you?

    DR: I think we’re now back at a level we were at last year. We knew the chassis was strong, we felt most of our deficit was the power and then yeah, I think earlier this season it looked like we obviously had issues on both sides, the chassis… obviously I had experience from last year and I didn’t feel like it was where it was last year so I thought we had similar deficiencies on both sides but yeah, we’ve had quite a few updates since. All year we have updates but I’d say since Silverstone it’s really come on strong and we seem to be in the window a lot easier now with getting the car there so I’m definitely a lot happier with where the chassis is now. I feel it’s like we were last year and then yeah, the power we know, we’re trying to make up what we can but we know we started too far back and it’s… I don’t like the word impossible but it nearly is impossible to make all that gap back in one season so I think that’s what it is for now. We’re always going to be somewhat down for the rest of the season, that’s why we look at Singapore and some of these circuits which are obviously a lot less power-dependent, a lot more chassis and we look at those as potential podiums for us.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS.NL) Sebastian, can you take us back to a couple of years ago, your first victory here and also explain why it is harder this year to win here for Ferrari than back then for Toro Rosso?

    SV: I don’t know yet. I don’t know if it’s harder yet. Obviously it was a miracle that was happening in 2008 so only positive memories of the whole weekend really. But yeah, some years later, obviously another highlight and I’m looking forward to it and obviously can’t promise anything but for sure I can promise that we will give our maximum, trying to have a very very successful home race. I think that I know a lot more than I knew in 2008 so in this regard it should be easier but obviously it’s never easier. If you look on paper, it looks like a simple track with low downforce but still it’s also very technical so for us drivers it feels that the car is moving a lot, it feels very light under braking so it’s still a big challenge around here. You need to get the braking points right etc so it’s not that straightforward and obviously I’m sure that people expect a lot from us, but I think the one thing that we can promise now is that we will give everything we have.

  • Massa and Bottas to Stay on at Williams Till 2016

    Massa and Bottas to Stay on at Williams Till 2016

    The Williams F1 Team have confirmed that both Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will remain at the team till the end of 2016.

    The announcement was made on twitter by both the drivers in a video.

    Earlier in the year, Valtteri Bottas was linked with a move to Ferrari if Kimi Raikkonen’s contract was not renewed. In a very early move, Ferrari announced that Kimi Raikkonen will stay on at Ferrari for another year. This effectively closed the door on Bottas’ move to the Maranello based team.

    Massa was expected to remain at the Grove based team for another year but Bottas’ future was up in the air for a short while until today.

    Speaking after the announcement, Massa had this to say: “I am very happy to be a part of the Williams family. I am in my second year here and am so pleased to be staying as we are working very well together as a team.

    “They respect me a lot and the results are there, and it has been so nice to be part of the big turnaround the team has seen since the end of 2013.”

    “I can’t wait to carry on and continue pushing even more for the team, and for myself.”

    “Thank you to Frank, Claire, Mike, Pat and the whole Williams team for their ongoing support and belief in me, as we build on what is already a great relationship.”

    “I am really pleased to be staying with the team for a fourth F1 race season,” said Bottas.

    “We have been getting stronger as a team and I look forward to what next year will bring, as I believe we can achieve even stronger results than what we have seen so far.

    “I can’t wait for 2016, however I am still fully focused on this season as we still have plenty of challenges to achieve.

    ” I must thank Frank, Claire, Mike, the Board, and everyone at Williams for their continued trust in me.”

     

     

     

     

    Photo Credit: Williams Martini Racing Formula One Team

  • F1 2015: Belgian Grand Prix Review – Hamilton Wins, Vettel Fumes

    F1 2015: Belgian Grand Prix Review – Hamilton Wins, Vettel Fumes

    There was a bit of commotion even before the Belgian grand prix officially got underway. Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg waved desperately from the cockpit of his car on the starting grid moments before the red lights were extinguished. It turns out that the German had a mechanical issue that would end his race before it even started.

    But this was nothing in the face of the drama that would develop towards the end of the race and subsequent fall-out of it all.

    By all accounts Ferrari’s Spa weekend was dismal when measured against the high of the Hungarian grand prix. The woes started in Saturday qualifying as Kimi Raikkonen grinded to a halt in the second part of qualifying with an oil pressure problem. The misery didn’t end here though the Finn was further hampered by having to drop five places on the grid for a gearbox change. Raikkonen eventually finished seventh in the race after a difficult time of trying to look after his tyres. Perhaps the Iceman can console himself with his freshly signed 2016 contract.

    Vettel Typre Blow Out_Belgium 2015For Sebastian Vettel, in his 150th grand prix start, it looked to be going slightly better. The German scrapped his way into third by daring to run a one-stop strategy. But a spectacular failure of his right-rear tyre two laps from the end of the grand prix dropped him out of the running. The four time world champion was fuming in the post race interviews during which he lambasted Pirelli and its tyres. The Italian tyre manufacturer released its own statement in which the blame tyre wear as the reason for the failure.

    This conclusion would be acceptable if it were true. If we are to accept Pirelli’s version of events, and the tyre was worn down to the point where it could explode, his laptimes would’ve been significantly impacted before the tyre exploded. The truth is that while Vettel was lapping slower than the charging Romain Grosjean he was only seven tenths of a second off the Frenchman’s pace.

    Valtteri Bottas_Belgium 2015Further, Ferrari was informed that the medium compound tyre would be able to endure forty laps around the Spa circuit. Vettel’s tyre blew up after only twenty-seven laps on the car. What we have learnt is that Pirelli is awfully good at shifting blame away from themselves.

    Two years ago, at the British grand prix, they blamed a slew of tyre blowouts on aggressive tyre pressures by teams and sharp kerb edges. After Saturday practice they attributed Nico Rosberg’s spectacular blowout in Blanchemont to an “external cut” as the reason for the tyre failure. Yet, Rosberg denied going off track or running over debris and confirmed that they “didn’t understand” the failure within the team despite Pirelli’s conclusion.

    Tyres seemed to be at the forefront in Spa as the Williams pit crew fitted three medium and one soft compound tyre to Valtteri Bottas’ car. It was insult to a lack of pace for Williams who didn’t perform at all well around the famous circuit. Rob Smedley confirmed the team’s disappointment at finishing sixth and ninth with Massa and Bottas respectively.

    spa-grosjeanRomain Grosjean was a surprise but welcome third place finisher in his black and gold Lotus. The Frenchman maintained impressive pace throughout the weekend and topped it off with a third place finish in which was arguably the best drive of the day. Grosjean admitted to “crying on the last lap” such was elation at the result. Respect to the smiling Frenchman who’s kept his head up through some incredibly difficult times with this team.

    And amidst the drama and tyre sagas was a serene and very smiley Lewis Hamilton with a second Spa victory in his pocket. Never apparently under pressure the Brit led and controlled all 43 Belgian grand prix laps with consummate ease. Teammate Rosberg finished in an ever-present second place but is now twenty-eight points adrift of Hamilton. At this stage it doesn’t seem as if the multi-lingual Rosberg has any sort of answer to his teammate’s pace. It’s looking all the more as if Hamilton is transforming himself from the reigning champion to the champion-elect.