Tag: williams

Williams Apologises to Bottas for Pit Stop Error

The Williams F1 Team have apologised to their driver Valtteri Bottas for the pit lane error which lead to a drive through penalty.

After loosing a few places in the opening laps of the race Bottas managed to stabilise his place and was running 6th before the first round of pit stops. He was called in to pit for a new set of options on lap 8. The pit stop went of smoothly but the Williams team fitted Bottas’ car with three soft compound tyres and one medium compound tyre. He was handed a drive through penalty for the incorrect tyres which he took on lap 15. Bottas pitted again on lap 21 and finished the race in 9th.

When asked by Sky Sports F1 about the the incident, Head of Performance Engineering at Williams, Rob Smedley could not explain what had happened.

“I am clearly disappointed with what has happened to Valtteri,” said the Briton.

“As a team we have made a mistake, and on behalf of the team I am very sorry that we cost him what could have been a podium position.

“There will be an investigation into the processes in place to understand what happened fully, and to put in place a procedure to stop this happening again.”

When asked about how he felt about the incident, Bottas had this to say when talking to Autosport:

“It’s very disappointing, I’ve never heard of anything like this happening.

“But what can you do? For sure that cost us a lot, looking at the times in the end without that penalty we might have been fifth or something as I was at the front of that pack.

“But our pace was not enough to be top three, which was our aim, so it was not our day.”

August 23, 2015
2015 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix: Saturday Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

TV UNILATERAL

So Lewis, your sixth consecutive pole. You must be pleased, particularly with the way you achieved it, but I guess also, after Hungary, a little cautious about its significance, with the race coming up tomorrow?

Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, really happy today with the performance of the car and so far this weekend the performance of this team, they’ve been doing a fantastic job and the car’s been feeling great on the circuit. This is a circuit where if you can get the right balance it’s definitely one of the most fun to drive. Of course, very conscious that pole position is a great thing to have but it’s a long race and it’s a long, long stretch down to turn five. But I’m just happy with today. My goal today was to get pole position and in qualifying Nico was very close and my last two laps were the two best laps I had all weekend, so I’m very, very happy with them. Again just really grateful for the big effort, the big push the team continue to put in to give us the car that we have.

What was very noticeable in the final part of qualifying was your performance in sector two. That’s what really made the difference today over Nico – you nailed it.

LH: Sector two, I would say probably in the past it’s always been a weak point. I know all the lines but could never really put the corners together. Definitely, particularly on those two laps, that was a very, very strong area for me.

Well done. Nico, on top on Friday and going into qualifying, Lewis on top at the end of qualifying. Are you disappointed with that and the margin, and the same point really about sector two, where was it getting away from you there?

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, for sure disappointed. I lost it a bit this morning in free practice; we went the wrong way. Then it came back really nicely though and I had a good balance in qualifying, so I was happy with that, a good team effort, so thanks for that to get my balance back so I could push well. Yeah, just Lewis too quick in the end. Just found that little bit, or quite a lot extra, which I didn’t have in my pocket. That’s it, so of course disappointing. But then again, with the new starts situation, where we’re having to do everything ourselves now, there’s a lot more opportunity tomorrow, even at the start. And the run down to turn five: you know here it’s possible to overtake, we’ve seen that many, many times, so my hopes are for sure still high.

Q: I have to ask you, obviously yesterday a very frightening moment with the tyre issue – have you fully understood it? Did it have any effect on today?

NR: Well, yeah, the problem is that we don’t really understand it. There are theories but there’s no real evidence so that’s a bit worrying for sure. But we’re keeping a very close eye on it and we’ve done some measures to make sure it doesn’t happen again. So we’ve done the best we can and just hope it all works out and stays together.

Q: Coming to you Valtteri. First time in the top three for qualifying in 2015 this season. Great response from you and the team.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Thank you, yeah, good to be back in the top three in qualifying. It was a good session for us. We knew after the practice when we look at the time sheets that there’s so much more we can do when we put everything together in the car. So we managed to get the balance fine-tuned really well for the qualifying and the car felt good through the whole session. Didn’t need to really adjust the front flap or anything a lot so it was pretty well balanced. Then in Q3 it was up to me to try and put the lap together, try and put every corner together – which is not easy in this kind of track but yeah, had two good runs in Q3 and luckily that was enough for P3.

Q: Obviously Mercedes have a good margin ahead but it’s been close throughout behind the Mercedes. Are you a little bit surprised with the performance, relative to yourselves, of Red Bull and Ferrari in particular this afternoon?

VB: Analysing everything after the practice we knew it was going to be really close after these guys. So, we knew P3 could be possible if we get everything perfectly and it was close and we managed to get everything right and this was the result.

Q: Coming back to you Lewis, Nico referred to it a moment ago, new start procedures for the grand prix, it’s much more down to you. The last two races at Silverstone and Hungary have seen you guys not making the best of starts with the old system. Have you had a chance to prepare to the level of satisfaction you wanted and how do you feel about the starts tomorrow? Is it going to help you or hinder you?

LH: Well, the team have done a lot of analysis and I’ve been in factory, the same for Nico, practicing and getting ready on the simulator, and then all this weekend we’ve been working on it – so we are as prepared as we could possibly be. And… yeah, I think we feel relatively good about it. It should be the same for everyone and I hope that… it’s good for us but I hope it provides an exciting start for the fans to watch.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, is this the greatest jump you have done from practice to qualifying performance?

VB: Could be the biggest, possibly, but it’s also the longest track so relatively so. We were quite far away but we knew all the time how much we could improve and so we were not too worried at any point. We knew this kind of result could be possible if we got everything perfect.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport magazines) Valtteri, just following on from that, you improved the car to be third fastest in qualifying but overall, what’s your feeling of the race pace of the car?

VB: Well, we didn’t get that long runs yesterday because of the red flags and everything but what we saw yesterday was that Nico and Lewis… they will be a bit out of reach if the race is a normal one, but after that it’s going to be really close between us, Red Bull, even Force India looks quick, today even Lotus but it’s difficult to predict in detail but it’s going to be close.

August 22, 2015
Lewis Hamilton takes dominant Belgian Grand Prix pole

Lewis Hamilton easily claimed his 10th pole position from 11 races topping qualifying ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton set not one, but two, laps fast enough to take the top position during Q3 and finished the session almost half a second ahead of his team mate with a time of 1:47.197.

Team mate Nico Rosberg, who made a mistake at Stavelot on his first lap did manage to improve on his second run but finished 0.458s down on Hamilton nonetheless.

While Mercedes locked out the first row of the Belgian Grand Prix grid as expected, Ferrari had a difficult day on their hands. Kimi Raikkonen was knocked out in Q2 after having to retire his car due to a power unit problem. The Finn himself was unsure whether he would need to replace the power unit but the team will obviously be working feverishly to solve the problem before tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel managed only ninth place for no apparent reason at all.

Valtteri Bottas took the third position – 1.3s behind Hamilton with Romain Grosjean qualifying in fourth place. He will be dropping to ninth though due to a gearbox penalty which means that Sergio Perez who finished in fifth place, will start fourth on the Belgian Grand Prix grid.

Daniel Ricciardo will start his Belgian Grand Prix from fifth place, ahead of Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado and Sebastian Vettel.

Carlos Sainz Jr. made it to Q3 but could not set any sectors alight on his only flying lap for the session.

Nico Hulkenberg was eliminated in Q2 after locking up at La Source, while Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was also unable to convert Friday practice pace and finished in 12th position.

Marcus Ericsson claimed the 13th spot for Sauber, with Raikkonen behind him in 14th. According to the team he suffered a drop in oil pressure at Stavelot which saw his Ferrari slowly crawling to a halt.The session was briefly Red Flag to allow Raikkonen’s car to be safely removed from the circuit.

Young Max Verstappen chose to not set a Q2 time in order to save tyres on account of the grid penalty he will need to take.

Felipe Nasr failed to make it out of Q1 for the third race in a row after placing 16th, missing the cut-off point by a tenth of a second.

Both McLaren drivers failed to make it through to Q2 in what is really just a torrid time for the team, and both drivers. Jenson Button finished half a second ahead of Fernando Alonso in the intra-team battle at McLaren, but that was still a full second off Felipe Nasr’s time.

Both Button and Alonso will drop to the back row of the Belgian Grand Prix grid due to engine penalaties, behind the Manor Marussia duo Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi.

With rain on the cards for the Belgian Grand Prix tomorrow, we are all set for a spectacular race! Follow us for live updates and race banter on Twitter @F1_Madness .

August 22, 2015
F1 2015: Hulkenberg – “I’ll be in a good car next year”

German Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg says that he has “good options” for 2016.

The 24 Hour Le Mans winner is F1’s perennially overlooked but highly rated driver but despite this believes that he has a few options to consider for 2016. “There are a few good options out there, and I’m pretty confident I can put something good together and that I’ll be here next year in a good car,” says Hulkenberg.

Hulkenberg’s F1 career started with Williams in 2010 before moving to Force India for the 2011 and ’12 seasons. He spent the 2013 season as a Sauber driver before returning to Force India at the beginning of 2014. Hulkenberg’s year at Williams wasn’t a stellar one by any means but a return to the Williams team isn’t out the question. The British team, who holds the option to extend Valtteri Bottas’ contract, has not yet announced its driver line-up for 2016.

The 28-year-old was linked with a possible to Ferrari but never expected to make the move to the Italian team.

August 21, 2015
F1 2015: Bottas Distracted By Rumours

Finnish Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas says that the persistent rumours linking him to the Ferrari seat have been distracting.

Over the last several months the Williams F1 driver has been constantly mentioned as a possible replacement for fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen. However, after Ferrari’s announcement that they have re-signed the 2007 champion Bottas has said that the rumour mill has strained his relationship with Williams.

“It doesn’t do any good for mine and the team’s relationship. It’s not fair for us, to have those kind of rumours. It’s also not fair for Kimi or Ferrari. Now it’s easier, everyone knows more or less what is happening,” Bottas told AUTOSPORT.

The driver confirmed that talks are currently underway with Williams who holds the option to extend the Finn’s contract for 2016.

August 21, 2015
F1 2015: Belgium GP Preview – Spa Set To Resurrect Formula 1

In several aspects there is much turmoil that surrounds Formula 1. There is no argument though that the sport returns, after its month-long hiatus, to the greatest circuit in the world, Spa-francorchamps.

The glorious Belgian circuit situated in the heart of the Ardennes forest encompasses everything that is great about Formula 1. Its spectacular corners like Pouhon are real testers of skill and courage and its dizzying rise up to the crest of Eau Rouge is one of the most famous sites in all of motorsport. The 7,004 kilometre layout is a blend that demands both downforce and straight-line speed with several dramatic elevation changes.

There is something about the legendary Spa circuit which has lent itself to the creation of many memorable moments. It was here 1991 that a young Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut and where, in 1992, he would take the first of his ninety-one career victories. Schumacher remains the most prolific winner around the famous circuit with six victories while Kimi Raikkonen, of the active drivers, has won the race on four occasions.

Last year’s race was remarkable for Daniel Ricciardo’s popular victory considering his team’s lack of performance up to that point. It was memorable too for Nico Rosberg’s exasperated attempt at overtaking teammate Lewis Hamilton into Les combes, the upshot of which was a collision between the two and a boatload of tension for the team.

As the season approaches the halfway mark frustration has clouded many a team’s and driver’s campaign in 2015. After a stellar first year with Red Bull Racing which included three victories and several podium finishes Daniel Ricciardo had expected to have a go at winning the title this season. However, the engine produced by Renault and what Red Bull has offered the Aussie hasn’t been enough. “I came into this season on a high from last year and I was really ready to fight for the title. Mentally I was prepared for doing that.” Ricciardo told Autosport. “It’s not been easy to be honest.”

The Williams team has experienced their own form of frustration having lost ground, and pace, to Ferrari. Despite the team staging a fight back by beating Ferrari in Austria and Silverstone there have been some bizarrely poor weekends, performance wise, such as in Monaco and Hungary. The Belgian track should allow the team to produce a decent result given their low drag aero package and the handy Mercedes power unit at their disposal.

For Mercedes things may not be a given this weekend as the new rule around the starting procedure comes into action. The new regulation will mean that the assistance from the pitwall is restricted and will put the driver in control of the start. In both of the last two grand prix starts Mercedes has been swamped off the line and there is a feeling that this regulation could create further problems for the Silver Arrows. Hamilton has suggested that the starts could even be “disastrous.”

Ferrari went into the summer break with an incredible victory at the Hungarian grand prix in the bank. At Spa Ferrari probably shouldn’t be in the reckoning for victory if you consider that the circuit has a tremendous emphasis on engine power. Yet, there is something about Spa-Francorchamps and Kimi Raikkonen that makes for an extraordinary combination. The Finn won here in 2009 with a dreadfully underperforming Ferrari and last year finished fourth in a significantly underpowered car. So, it may not be too incredible to propose victory number five around the famed circuit for the Iceman.

August 18, 2015
Williams Encouraged By Friday Pace

The Williams F1 team were encouraged by their pace in Friday practice ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix race on Sunday despite finishing both sessions in the middle of the time sheets.

They say that the upgrades they have brought to the circuit seemed to have worked and that the car seems competitive on high and low fuel runs.

“It was a reasonably good day,” said Head of Performance Engineering Rob Smedley.

“We brought some new components in a constant bid to improve our package which seem to have worked from what we have seen so far,” he continued.

“It has been extremely hot today and the car looks competitive on short and long runs with both low and high fuel which is encouraging.

Felipe Massa was happy with his performance on the day and feels that they will be able to challenge Ferrari this weekend.

“The way the day has panned out it is clear we have the potential to have a good weekend and fight with those closest to us in the championship,” said the Brazilian. “It won’t be easy but we have more to give than was shown today.”

While the car performed well in the hot conditions, Massa says that the cooler temperatures forecast for Sunday’s race will aid them in controlling tyre temperatures.

“The temperatures will be cooler for Sunday which should help us control the tyre temperature a bit better.”

Photo credit: Williams Martini Racing Formula 1 Team

July 24, 2015
Broadcast Times for the 2015 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix

Round 10 of the Formula 1 World Championship heads to Hungaroring in Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The week had begun on a rather somber note with the passing of Jules Bianchi. Bianchi finally succumbed to his injuries after a 9 month fight since his crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. An unbelievable talent taken away from us too soon.

The Hungaroring has been hosting F1 races since its inaugural race in March 1986. There have been a few modifications and upgrades made to the track but it has largely remained the same.

The track is is a medium-to-low speed circuit which needs a high downforce setup on the cars. The flowing nature of the track in the middle sector makes overtaking difficult as there is just one line drivers can follow through it. The most popular overtaking spot is down the pit straight with DRS into Turn 1. Some drivers have made some spectacular moves around the outside at the long left handed Turn 2.

Ahead of the race weekend a number of teams are expecting strong performances before the official F1 summer break. Ferrari have been saying that the warm temperatures favor the SF15-T and are expecting a strong performance from both of their drivers.

Williams are expecting a tough weekend as their car is more suited to high speed circuits. They have, however, taken steps to minimise the impact for the weekend.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso expects a much better second half to the season after a very difficult first half to the season. The team are planning big updates after the summer break.

Race times will be at the “normal” time for everyone in Europe and Africa. All times are GMT+2

Free Practice 1: Friday 10:00

Free Practice 2: Friday 14:00

Free Practice 3: Saturday 11:00

Qualifying: Saturday 14:00

Race: Sunday 14:00

July 22, 2015
F1 2015: Hungarian GP Preview – Racing At The ‘Ring

Formula 1 returns after a three week break to the Hungarian grand prix. However, the excitement has been significantly dulled. The passing of Jules Bianchi has been a surreal and deeply unfortunate reality.

While the mood is solemn the best way to honour the life of Jules Bianchi is by putting on a great show around Hungary’s Hungaroring circuit.

It’s a special place for both McLaren drivers as it is the venue of their first wins in the sport. In 2003 a fresh faced Fernando Alonso took the chequered flag in his blue and yellow liveried Renault and in 2006 Jenson Button turned on the magic on a damp circuit in his BAR Honda to take the top step of the podium.

Times have changed since then for these two who now find themselves teammates at a struggling McLaren Honda team. The 2015 season has been arduous for all involved but Fernando Alonso believes that the Hungaroring and the second half of the season will hold some opportunities for McLaren to show the gains it has made. “I think the second part of the year will show a completely different McLaren, much more competitive,” says the Spaniard. “The steps that are coming are quite big. This is not too difficult when you are at the back of the grid and two seconds off the pace – every step then is half a second or eight-tenths. When you are fighting for a podium you [only] gain 0.1s every two weeks. I think we will get much closer to the top guys in the second part of the championship.”

The Hungaroring’s layout is a flowing mixture of low to medium speed corners with a few elevation changes. This coupled with the lack of any significant straights decreases the demand on the power unit. Due to its flowing nature the circuit offers, in most areas, offers only one ideal line which will limit the chances for overtaking. Consequently, a good qualifying position becomes a major strategic advantage.

Pirelli have selected the medium and soft compounds for the weekend and expect the combination should provide a good balance between performance and reliability. “This selection is soft enough to provide the mechanical grip needed to negotiate all the corners, yet hard enough to withstand the punishing weather conditions and track layout of the Hungaroring. This is not always the easiest circuit to overtake on, so tyre strategy can make a real difference,” says Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery.

Ferrari experienced a difficult British grand prix but Kimi Raikkonen thinks that this was a once-off. “We’ve seen at other circuits it depends a lot on the layout of the circuit and what tyres we run,” said the Finn.”I expect it to be a different story in the next race and at different circuits again. Hungary I’m sure it will [be better]. Silverstone was not the ideal weekend. The others were a bit faster. I’m sure it will be a bit more easy there but we will see.”

Williams delivered a considerably better performance at Silverstone which led Rob Smedley to believe that the team is capable of beating Ferrari to second place in the constructor’s championship. The team believes that a steady stream of small upgrades at every race will make the difference but remain realistic about their potential this weekend. “We know we are still missing a bit in the low speed and we are big enough to hold hands up and say that is the case,” says Smedley.”We’re looking at all sorts of ways of recuperating that.”

For nine months all motorsport fans had hoped to receive the news that Jules Bianchi had woken up and was well on his way to recovery. Sadly, this news will never come and his enormous potential will remain unfulfilled. It is the worst possible outcome but it is not the end of Jules’ legacy. It has reaffirmed the commitment to safety above all else and that is a gift of which the impact and importance cannot be measured. Ciao Jules and thank you.

July 21, 2015
F1 2015: British GP Review – Hamilton Shines At Silverstone

One-hundred and forty thousand fans were treated to quite a race around the famed Silverstone circuit.

Lewis Hamilton thrilled the home crowd with pole position on Saturday ahead of teammate Nico Rosberg while Williams locked out the second row of the grid. At this point you would’ve been forgiven if you’d assumed that it was going to be another Mercedes dominated afternoon. Felipe Massa rocketed off the starting line and straight into the lead of the race followed by teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The Finnish Williams driver soon fell prey to a determined Lewis Hamilton but held of Nico Rosberg to settle in third. An accident involving both Lotus and both McLaren’s brought out the safety car and saw the end of the race for Romain Grosjean and Jenson Button. Fernando Alonso clunked into the side of his teammate but was able to continue after a stop for a new nose.

The restart of the race saw Hamilton launch an attack on race leader Felipe Massa but the canny Brazilian held his line and the position. The move sent Hamilton off the circuit at Club corner and into third as Valtteri Bottas seized second place. The fight for the lead of the race was a welcome sight and more so was Hamilton’s doggedness. In truth Hamilton’s championship fight is not with Massa and he couldn’t have been faulted for choosing the cautious route, but he didn’t. At the heart of Lewis Hamilton is still an out-and-out racing driver whose sole ambition is to win and that is what he put on display in that move.

The Williams driver couldn’t manage to run away from Mercedes but they were holding their own. As if to underline the difficulty of overtaking in Formula 1 Felipe Massa was able to resist a visibly quicker Bottas during the phase of the race. The Williams pitwall initially called off the fight between their drivers but quickly changed course and gave their drivers the freedom to fight. Despite this Bottas was unable to overtake his teammate.

Lewis Hamilton was the first of the frontrunners into the pitlane and used the undercut to perfection as he took the lead of the race as the two Williams made their respective stops. The front running back had now reshuffled with Hamilton in the lead from Massa, Rosberg and Bottas.

It wouldn’t be Silverstone if the weather didn’t have some sort of impact on proceedings. At first the rain was steadily falling on one side of the circuit while the other remained bone dry. As drivers were slipping and sliding their way around several drivers including Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso gambled with a switch to intermediate tyres. It proved a touch too early for Raikkonen who shredded his intermediates on the drying surface.

Lewis Hamilton timed his tyre switch to perfection as the rain started falling once more as he exited the pits on the green-walled intermediate tyre and retook the lead of the race. Rosberg made his stop a lap later and emerged in second place where he would remain until the chequered flag. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas chances of the podium evaporated as the pair struggled for pace in the wet conditions. The duo eventually finished fourth and fifth as a slightly later call for intermediates from Vettel meant that the Ferrari jumped both Williams’ into third place.

Red Bull Racing’s Daniil Kvyat finished sixth while Nico Hulkenberg brought home his heavily revised Force India in seventh ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. The sister Force India of Sergio Perez finished ninth ahead of Fernando Alonso who ended a miserable non-point scoring run with tenth place.

To win on home ground is something special and Hamilton has now done it three times. This win is an invaluable boost of confidence that could carry him all the way to that coveted third world championship title.

July 6, 2015