Tag: williams

F1 2014: British GP Preview – 50 Years of Silverstone Splendour

Year upon year the world of Formula 1 undergoes changes. From rule changes to regulation shifts to not-so good looking cars. Yet, through all of its transformations and guises the lineage of Formula 1 has always been protected, honoured and celebrated.

Nestled in the English countryside of Northamptonshire Silverstone will celebrate its 50^th year of hosting the British grand prix. In recent history Lewis Hamilton’s stunning 2008 victory lingers one of the most memorable. The masterful drive in treacherously wet conditions remains one of Hamilton’s finest. After failing to score in the previous two rounds Hamilton’s natural talent shone in difficult conditions and earned him a first victory on home soil. It proved to be the turning-point in the 2008 season at the end of which he would be crowned world champion.

In 2014 the Silverstone circuit and its facilities look slightly different but remains a cherished challenge. After announcing a 17-year deal with Bernie Ecclestone Silverstone was unveiled in 2011 with a new pits and paddock complex in addition to an in-field sector after the Abbey chicane. Importantly, the glorious sections of Maggots, Becketts and Chapel and Copse corner have been preserved.

Silverstone is a circuit characterised by high speed corners and one which tests aerodynamic performance to the limit. This combination may bode well for Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo. The Red Bull RB10 is clearly not the fastest package on the grid however the Milton Keyes factory has produced a good chassis which only limitation is its power unit. The root of Red Bull’s issues in 2014 has been due to under par Renault ‘engine.’ The French manufacturer has continually tried to optimise performance but the reality is that the Renault power unit baseline is significantly lower than that of the Mercedes which makes catching up nearly impossible.

Were Red Bull equipped with a Mercedes power unit we may have seen a significantly closer fight for the title. But at least for now Christian Horner and Red Bull are sticking with Renault power which has led them to four consecutive world championships.

Nico Rosberg won for Mercedes at Silverstone last year in the midst of several Pirelli tyre failures. Lewis Hamilton was one who fell victim to the suspect rubber in 2013 and is a driver who needs to make in-roads on his championship-leading teammate. Hamilton, twenty-nine points adrift, needs to finish ahead of Rosberg this weekend if he is to keep the championship dream alive. Yet, Rosberg’s crafty, under-the-radar manner will aid him on a weekend where all the focus and pressure shifts to home-grown hero Lewis Hamilton.

On the back of a strong weekend in Austria the Williams team are worth keeping an eye on if only for the possibility of finishing best-of-the-rest. The Grove based team has finally unlocked some of the pace and potential it displayed in pre-season testing with a first-ever podium finish for Valtteri Bottas. Williams’ qualifying pace in Austria was owing to its ability to get the tyres up to temperature much quicker which will be handy in the cooler British conditions.

History will me made in the first free practice session for the British grand prix as Williams development driver Susie Wolff takes to the track. Wolff will become the first woman to take part in an official F1 session in 22 years. Go Susie!

Ferrari’s hit and miss season, with decidedly more miss, is set to continue as the team has ruled out the possibility of closing the gap to Mercedes. As a result of homologated engines and the team reaching the limit of improvements it can make on the power unit The Maranello team will turn its attention to the 2015 season.

Theoretically when it all shakes out towards the end of the season Lewis Hamilton should have enough in his armoury to beat Nico Rosberg. However, theories are just that – a combination of ideas based on speculation. What Hamilton needs is a dominant performance on the track starting at Silverstone.

July 3, 2014
F1 2014: Austrian GP Review – Nifty Nico Bests Hamilton

What was once old was made new again as the Formula 1 paddock jetted into central Europe for the Austrian grand prix for the first time in eleven years.

The practice sessions suggested that the weekend would follow the familiar pattern of Mercedes domination. However, Saturday qualifying was turned on its head as the Williams pair of Felipe Massa and Valterri Bottas stunningly locked out the front row of the grid.

The two Williams drivers were able to spring this surprise due to some good luck but also by delivering a great turn of pace. Pole position for the Austrian GP was Felipe Massa’s first since the 2008 Brazilian GP. Nico Rosberg lined up third while a mistake from Hamilton relegated him to ninth with no time on the board.

Massa led away from the start but teammate Bottas fell to third behind Rosberg. It was Hamilton who blitzed the start to end the first lap in a sensational fourth position. The Williams and Mercedes cars were closely matched for pace on the supersoft tyres and it was Mercedes who led the way into the pitlane. Both Williams drivers were able to complete two more laps but it would cost them track position as Rosberg emerged to lead the train of Bottas, Hamilton and Massa.

In the lead of the race was Force India’s Sergio Perez who started in 16^th position. On the soft compound tyres the Mexican was able to run a long enough first stint to put him in the lead of the race. Despite a five-place grid penalty, from Canada, he was able to deliver consistently fast laptimes without putting a wheel wrong for all of the 71 laps. Checo is known for his ability of making the most of alternative strategies. Add to the fact that he had to overcome a grid penalty and his sixth place finish was one of the drives of the day.

As the Force India driver eventually pitted Rosberg was promoted to the lead of the race and by the end of the second round of stops the Mercedes pair were line astern in first and second. However, the Silver Arrows did not disappear into the distance as in previous races as Valterri Bottas kept the pair honest. The Finn translated his front-row starts into his first podium in Formula 1 ahead of teammate Felipe Massa who saw off a late charge from Fernando Alonso.

For Ferrari there was little good news and a fifth place finish Alonso left uninspired by the performance of his car. Similarly, Kimi Raikkonen endured a difficult afternoon after he was told to slow down and cool his brakes after only the second lap of the race. Raikkonen scored the final point on offer in tenth in what was yet another nail in Ferrari’s 2014 coffin.

McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen finished seventh while teammate Jenson Button’s gamble on a long strategy didn’t yield the same results as that of his former teammate Perez. Button eventually finished eleventh.

Regardless of the fact that the Red Bull company owns the circuit its two teams endured a dreadful afternoon. Sebastian Vettel suffered his third retirement of the season when his Renault power unit failed. Both Toro Rosso’s drivers joined the retirement list to leave Daniel Ricciardo as the only Red Bull driver in the race. The Australian was able to finish eighth after overtaking Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg on the final lap of the race.

Red Bull team Principal Christian Horner branded Renault’s performance as “unacceptable” and insisted that the supplier overcome its issues quickly. “There needs to be change at Renault. It can’t continue like this. It’s not good for Renault and it’s not good for Red Bull,” said Horner.

Sebastian Vettel became the first beneficiary of new driver rules instituted after the Canadian GP. The incident at the end of that race between Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez has prompted race stewards to take a more lenient approach in dishing out penalties to drivers. A driver will be given a penalty only if he is found to be 75% responsible for causing a collision. On Sunday Vettel lost part of his front-wing in a collision whilst trying to overtake Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez. Under the old rules Vettel would have been given a drive-through penalty for causing a collision.

The race ultimately culminated in a fight between Rosberg and Hamilton. The gap between the two was only two seconds but Hamilton was unable to make an impression on Rosberg. Victory in Austria has given Rosberg a 29 point lead in the championship. The German is yet to finish outside the top two in 2014 and it is this sort of consistency which could just be enough to undo Lewis Hamilton.

June 23, 2014
2014 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix: Sunday Press Conference

DRIVERS:

1st Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

2nd Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

3 rd Valtteri Bottas (Williams)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Mark Webber)

Q: Another dominant one-two victory for Mercedes, so Nico what a very, very special for you again. Three now in the season. You capitalised on a very, very good qualifying and now another victory. Run us through it. Lot of control on the brakes by the sound of it, managing issues at the end there?
Nico Rosberg: Yeah, it wasn’t the easiest of races – trying to manage certain things that were a bit on the limit on the car. But in the end I had a very, very fast car again, so it was fantastic to win today. It’s great also to get a one-two here in Austria and it’s great to come back here to Austria. I mean Austria for sure deserves a race. The fans have been amazing, the atmosphere has been spectacular this weekend, so thank you very much for that and yeah it’s been awesome.

Q: Lewis, over to you mate. Well done. A good recovery after a tough qualifying. In terms of… mega first lap, right on Nico at the start there after the first lap. In terms of pit stops, are you happy with your positioning because I’m a bit worried about how much time you’re losing in the pits. The guys… good stops for Nico but are you happy with the positioning on that? Also at the end of the race did you have to manage any issues and could you fight Nico?
Lewis Hamilton: I don’t know. I have to have a look at the feedback and just see what the team say about the stops. Maybe my positioning is not right, you know obviously in those situations you’re just pushing. But the guys have done a fantastic job. As Nico said, to get another one-two here is just incredible. This track has been fantastic and the fans have been insane this weekend, so thank you all for the support.

Q: Congratulations Valtteri – first podium. It’s an incredible feeling up here isn’t it? Run us through the race. Obviously starting on the front row. Obviously these guys have a lot of big experience on the big occasions to close a race out but you really drove a clean race. Run us through it, are you happy with it?
Valtteri Bottas: Thanks Mark. Really, really happy. Difficult to put into words really. Just really thankful to the team for giving me this car. It’s been a long way for us since last year, I mean, and many, many years at Williams and now it’s so much better. The race was exactly what we needed at this point – clean, nice, everything went like planned really. The car was good for the podium this time and I’m just so happy.

Q: Well done, and big points for Williams, which is fantastic. Final one for you Nico. A 29-point lead, off to Silverstone, a track that you know well; a track that I tried to catch you on in the last few laps last year but you’ve had a couple of good wins there and you’re very strong at Silverstone, Lewis’ home track, so the battle continues. Looking forward to that race; home race obviously for Mercedes as well. So how’s the feeling for that one?
NR: Yeah, for sure, looking forward to the next one; home race, so it would be awesome to do another one-two there, that would be great to give something back to all of our colleagues back in the factory. So I’m looking forward to that.

Q: Nico, congratulations, Mercedes sixth one-two finish of this season, your third victory and you’ve now extended your championship lead, as we’ve heard, to 29 points. Clearly strategy was an important part of the story today – but did the race turn out as you had expected it to when you were sitting on the grid?
NR: To be honest yes it did. Pretty much exactly like we were trying to make it work. OK, I thought I would get Valtteri at the start and I did – but then they’re quick on the straights and he just went flying straight by me again, which was not good. But I knew pre-race that even if I am third after the start, the chances are still very good to make it and win the race because we have just a little bit more pace and less tyre degradation than the Williams – we expected to have less at least – so we could go aggressive on the stops and that’s what we did and it really worked out well and so I’m, yeah, extremely happy with that result. Also, great to extend the championship lead, which was really my goal coming into Austria.

Q: Lewis, obviously the platform for your result today was that stunning start, off the grid from ninth into fifth on that opening lap. Tell us about that and then also about how you made your way through the field. Clearly that second round of stops was important for getting in front of Valtteri.
LH: Yep, it was a good start. We’ve been working very hard on our starts throughout the year and the team have done a great job to help out with that, and yeah, so I got one of the best starts I’ve ever had really and positioned the car in the correct places. It would have been great if I’d started where perhaps I should have started this weekend – but damage limitation. To get from ninth to second and be pressuring Nico at the end of the race really shows the pace that I had this weekend.

Q: Valtteri, your best-ever grand prix finish to follow up your best-ever qualifying performance yesterday – you’re starting to really make your mark on the sport. I guess the decisive moment for you was the first round of stops with Felipe and getting ahead.
VB: Yeah, I think overall the best-ever weekend. So, really happy. Really happy for us as a team. We were really strong the whole weekend and that’s down to all the hard work. Of course it was a good track for us. You never know what’s going to happen in the next race but overall we are making progress. Step-by-step we are getting there, getting closer to the positions where we belong. I’m really happy. The race today: it was really nice to have a really nice, clean race. Good points for the team. We’ve had some issues lately, been a lot of talk, not maximising car we had but I think today we showed what we can do.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question for Nico and Lewis: can you tell us more about the final five laps, about the chance to overtake Nico for Lewis and the chance to finish first for Nico?
NR: Well, I generally felt comfortable in the last few laps. I thought that I could keep a nice gap and just on the last lap my tyres dropped away a little bit but as soon as they got past the first couple of hairpins, I knew that I was going to be fine so it wasn’t as close as maybe some other races have been recently.
LH: There wasn’t an opportunity to overtake.

Q: (Livio Oricchi – Universo On-line) For Nico and Lewis: 29 points difference between both of you. It means that in one race, it is not possible to change the lead. It means that Nico would be the leader of the championship. What’s your analysis of this Nico and you also Lewis?
NR: Well 29 points, yeah, for sure it’s a nice gap but it’s still so early in the season. I really like to concentrate on each weekend and keep on trying to make the most of them and enjoying the moment, also with the car that we have. It’s so great to come to the next race at Silverstone, our home race, with the best, knowing that if I do a good job I can do pole and win the race. So I’m more taking it step-by-step and every weekend my aim is to extend the championship lead which I managed to do this weekend.
LH: Well, Nico’s done a great job. He’s finished every race and fortunately hasn’t had any car problems so it’s inevitable.

Q: (Kate Walker – crash.net) Lewis, after one your stops – and I can’t remember which one – we actually saw some flames coming out of your front right. To what extent was the braking problems that you suffered hampering your ability to really take the fight to Nico in the final laps? I know he had issues too.
LH: Yeah, I think it was probably the same for both of us, maybe, I don’t know. I need to check later but it was constantly an issue during the race. Obviously I was following people all the time so that’s not always the best but I was being told to back off quite a lot, unfortunately. The last couple of laps I tried to eke it up a little bit more but still I had to be cautious, but I’m just grateful I finished. I didn’t finish the last race, that’s really got to be goal for the next few races, trying to actually finish.

Q: (Chris Medland – crash.net) Question for you, too, Lewis, about the pit stops. You lost 1.9s across the two stops to Nico, very evenly split in each stop. Is that frustrating, because for a long time you were running about 1.9s behind Nico at the end and did the team tell you the reasons for it?
LH: They haven’t yet. I didn’t even know I lost that much time, they didn’t feel that fast. Could be my positioning. I don’t know. I’ll obviously investigate… obviously it is frustrating when you lose time because you’re constantly doing everything you can to gain a tenth here, a tenth there, so when you lose quite a chunk… two seconds over two pit stops it’s tough but the guys… at least we haven’t really made any mistakes. If we step back a little bit and look, we’ve had so many one-twos this is just incredible this year so I’m hoping in the future we won’t have those problems.

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Valtteri, do you think with a slightly different strategy the win could have been possible today because your pace was quite strong and you were simply undercut by first Nico and then Lewis at both pit stops?
VB: Yeah, it’s a difficult one. We need to always – like we always do – we need to analyse if there’s anything we could have done better. It’s difficult to say. Today it was difficult to know the real difference between the option and prime because the prime tyre has been taking quite a long time to warm up so we really thought it would be really difficult to undercut because it takes many laps to warm up and get a good pace after the supersoft tyre. Yeah, we need to analyse, it’s difficult to say. Yeah, too early to say. For the moment, I’m really happy with what we’ve done as a team, third and fourth. Obviously we always aim for better.

Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe Kiadoi) Nico, if you will win the championship this year, will you let grow a moustache like your father?
NR: Maybe. Yup.

Q: (Istvan Janos Simon – Auto Magazine Hungary) Lewis, you seem to have a brake problem; this problem is coming back since Montreal or maybe even before. You’ve had this problem during this race. What can you do against these troubles, to get over it finally? What can you do together with the team?
LH: I don’t know. Going into the race I wasn’t aware that we had a brake problem, so it was news to me when we started to… when they started to speak to me about it. We had the problem in the last race but the last race was the rears and in this race it was the fronts, a little bit different perhaps. I’ll be guessing what’s gone wrong but it didn’t look like it was the same as Nico; maybe it was, I don’t know. I think they said maybe it was. We just need to make improvements.

Q: (Eli Shaouly – Automagazin Israel)Question to Valtteri and Nico: yesterday at Williams you looked in a way pretty sure you wouldn’t win the race and Nico, you were pretty sure that you would win the race in yesterday’s conference. What made you so confident in the result?
NR: Because generally I still believe that we have the fastest car and we had very good long run pace on Friday, that’s the race practice. We were quick there and I didn’t get the best out of it in qualifying, so I was pretty confident that the chance would be very good. Of course, you never know how to overtake and things like that, but it all worked out well.
VB: Yeah, I agree really. I think that from all the data that we had from practice we knew that in the race it’s going to be difficult and overall Mercedes have still got the quickest car but we really nailed it yesterday so we knew that maybe Sunday could be difficult but actually it was a bit better than I expected. We were really close to them on pace.

Q: Was that because it was 14 degrees warmer today than it was on Friday, do you think?
VB: Difficult to say that was the factor or not, I don’t know what Mercedes did just before qualifying with the car set-up. I don’t know. It’s difficult to say; we need to analyse.

June 22, 2014
Austrian Grand Prix: Saturday Qualifying Press Conference

DRIVERS

1st Felipe MASSA (Williams)

2nd Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

3rd Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

TV UNILATERALS

Felipe, pole for the first time since, I think, Brazil 2008. Describe your emotions now.

Felipe MASSA: Yeah, I’m so happy with what’s happened today with us and our team. It was such a great moment. It was already long time when I had my last pole position, which was, yeah, in Brazil, 2008. So, such an incredible moment. For sure we need to concentrate on the race tomorrow, you know, it’s a difficult and important race for us. But I think it’s a great moment. The best place to be is here in the first place. It’s something that I got the chance to be many times in all my career and I am again now. After a long time I couldn’t be in this place and I hope this is just the beginning of maybe some great possibilities to be here again, not just in the qualifying but also in the race. The race is tomorrow but I’m so happy, very emotional – not just for me but I think it’s a similar feeling what I feel and what Williams feel as well. Williams Martini had an incredible career in the past and they are back to the top, they are back to the fight. There is still a lot to do but the work is going on the right line. I’m so pleased for me and for Williams Martini as well.

Very well done. Coming to you Valtteri. Your best ever Formula One qualifying in second place. You were in provisional pole though, but it looked like a mistake on your last and it ended up very close with Felipe, I believe only nine one hundredths of a second the gap between you.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah best position so far in my career, so one more place to go. Well done Felipe. I’m really happy for us as a team. This result is really good at this point. We’ve made some big, big steps from last year and now we get a result like this. Of course it’s only Saturday but still we can see that all the hard work really starts to pay off. I’m really happy for us. As Felipe says the race is tomorrow, so we need to focus on that. It’s going to be a different story tomorrow, it’s not going to be easy to keep the Mercedes cars behind for sure, and even some other cars like Ferrari and Red Bull are going to be strong. Yeah, not a bad day today but we just need to keep focused now.

Very well done. Nico, coming to you now. Championship leader but it’s not the first time that you’ve not been on the front row of the grid. Did you expect to have these two cars in front of you and what happened today for you?

Nico ROSBERG: No, of course, I definitely didn’t expect the Williams to be ahead of me today but they did a good job and it just didn’t come together perfectly for me. I also lost out on that last lap because of Lewis spinning in front in the corner, so I couldn’t do that lap. You have to lift off two tenths of a second you know and doing that, to do at least two tenths you have to do three tenths and it’s just… it wouldn’t have been possible to improve on my lap time so I backed out of it. So that definitely cost me today but that’s just the way it is. But still third place is OK, it’s OK to start from there tomorrow and I have a quick car in the race, so I’m still looking forward to it and I’ll make the most of it.

Well done. Coming back to you Felipe. Obviously the race tomorrow, but there’s a big football tournament going on at the moment in your home country. I guess though that all eyes will be on you in the early part of tomorrow, what do you expect?

FM: Yeah, I think there is a lot going on in Brazil in this moment so I really expect that we can have a great show, a great show for everybody which is looking, you know the World Cup in Brazil. So I hope the best definitely for the World Cup in Brazil but I hope the best for Brazil. Just before I go to the car my son gave me a little Neymar, a little one, so I bring the little one to the car and I put on the side of my helmet. It was a nice feeling. I’m a great fan of football, so I hope we can have a great World Cup. I know what it is to win at home so I can imagine winning the World Cup at home is like a dream come true, not just for the players but also for everybody which is watching, so I really hope the best for Brazil.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Felipe, it was noticeable this morning in Free Practice Three that you guys were working on qualifying from fairly early on. Was it a real plan here to really focus on qualifying and do the best possible job that you could do here this afternoon?

FM: Well, it was not different, what we was doing this morning compared to the other races. We were doing similar working compared to what we was doing before, so definitely… also the Saturday the qualifying is the main focus y’know, but it was no different to what we did in the other races so… but I mean it’s pretty clear that our car was good, our car was competitive and it shows really a very good performance today and also yesterday since we started, both tyres it shows good performance. And it shows again in the qualifying that definitely we are a little bit surprised – we expect maybe Mercedes to be a little bit heavier, y’know? Just preparing the qualifying to put the right level of fuel and be like they were in the last races. Maybe not a big gap because this is a small track but, yeah, it was a little bit of a surprise – but it was a great job from us. From both of us, from the team, from everybody.

Q: Valtteri, it’s obvious, as Felipe was saying, the car is working well. But it seems this year, your team, when you’ve bought updates to the car, they’ve worked straight away. Obviously the correlation is very good between the wind tunnel and the race track and everything seems to be pointing in the right direction.

VB: That is true. We haven’t been making any bad updates. We’ve always… if we have bought something it has always worked and that has been a big improvement from last year. We can really put all the energy into the right direction, developing parts and knowing that they will work, so, no energy wasted there so that’s good. Like Felipe said, I’m really happy for the result today. For us as a team it’s a great achievement. Of course it’s only Saturday but we are really looking forward for tomorrow, trying to get some really good points with both cars. So, we really just need to focus on that.

Q: Nico, some thoughts from you. Obviously still a good chance for you to win the race tomorrow, taking on these two gentleman here. And also some thoughts on your team-mate who’s going to be starting down in ninth.

NR: Yeah, chances for the race are obviously good from P3. It’s more difficult than starting on the front row, of course, but it’s still a good chance there because I think it’s possible to overtake on this track. First stint, also, the tyres are going to degrade massively on the Option, so already there maybe at the end of the stint there’s a little bit of a chance. And I’ll have a good race car for sure. The balance was not ideal today in qualifying but definitely more a race car. So, in the race I’m sure I’ll be more happy with it. So I look forward to trying to make the most of it. Points-wise also with Lewis starting in ninth, that’s of course for the team not good but for me it’s, yeah, good that way. I need to make the most of it and try to extend the gap tomorrow.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo Online) Nico, last race Mercedes didn’t win after six races in a row winning everything. Here, the first competition with qualifying ended with Mercedes not starting again in the first position. It’s just the circumstance of the competition or the opponents are really approaching your team?

NR: It’s a short track here and still we have the fastest car, even today, it’s just that I didn’t get that second lap to give it a go and my first lap, the balance was not good. In general also today my balance was not good because I’d worked more for the race – but I didn’t expect it to be that bad. I didn’t expect to be that uncomfortable. But anyways, not it’s third and for the race I’m sure I’ll have a good car, so, I think that’s a very small view that we’re taking now: two races, no wins, no pole… or no pole now. But I still think we’re dominant and definitely have the fastest car and I hope it’s going to stay like that for some time to come.

Q: (Michael Shields – Reuters) Felipe Massa, how does it feel to be starting from the pole position? I think this is the first time since 2008.

FM: Yeah, it’s the first time since 2008. I think it’s always the best feeling we can have. Being the quickest on the track against everybody, it’s always the best feeling a driver can have. A driver always works and fights to achieve this. It’s definitely a great moment, this qualifying. Only, work for tomorrow is very difficult. Long and tough race but, y’know, is a good start.

Q: (Sarah Holt – CNN) Felipe, you had a chance to win in Canada last time out and you’ve spoken passionately about the events that happened there since then. Do you think that tomorrow you’ve got a cool head and Williams has got the race pace that you need to make it a win this time and keep Valtteri and Nico etc at bay?

FM: Well, I think that depends on these guys here. We need to try to do the best we can. I think we have a good car, definitely we show a very competitive car since yesterday morning. I think what happened at the last race is past. I think you cannot live the past, we need to live in the present and the future. We lost some opportunity, we lost great points in Canada. Unfortunately we had some problems in the first pit stop when I lost four or five seconds and that put me in a difficult situation for the race but I had incredible pace as well and looking what happened with the Mercedes, it would definitely have been possible to win. I was in front of Ricciardo and he won the race. Normally my pace was also good to fight with… to be in front of him. The race is tomorrow, it’s a different situation, we’re starting in a better position which is always a help and we need to see how Mercedes will be tomorrow in the race but we will try everything we can, definitely.

Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Alpha TV) Felipe, we saw a very touching emotional moment with your wife and son. After all the troubles you had with the accident and the difficult times that came after that, how important was the support of your family all this moment, and what did your son tell you, or what did you feel when you looked at him at that moment?

FM: Actually, I was also very close to my family. When I was a kid, with my father, my mother, my brother, my sister – we were always together at the races. I have always had great support from my family and then after, with my wife, my son now. It’s a great moment. When I saw him, it was just like… he never saw me in first place so it’s the first time. I think that makes the father feel nice, a good feeling, to see that your son is looking that you are in first place so it’s a great feeling, it’s a great moment and for sure, it’s part of my motivation. He’s part of everything I’m doing for my career, so it’s definitely a great feeling. I hope we can have a great race tomorrow as well with him watching and my wife and all my family as well from home.

Q: (Sven Haidinger – Sport Woche) Valtteri, what influence did the arrival of Pat Symonds have on your team and on the performance of the car?

VB: I think we can see it in the performance. I think the results have shown that he’s been one of the key persons for Williams to come back to closer to the positions where we belong to be in the races. As soon as he arrived, many things started to change and are still changing. Every week, as a team, we are still getting stronger and stronger, so we are definitely on the right way and that is thanks to Pat but also many other people in the team.

Q: (Anthony Rowlinson – F1 Racing) Felipe, has the change of team environment to Williams allowed you to find your best form again?

FM: For sure, I had a great time with Ferrari. I’m not a guy who is trying to speak bad about the past. I have had an incredible time in my past and I really enjoy everybody from Ferrari, but I feel that sometimes a change helps. Always when you are in the same place for many years… also I had a difficult moment as well, you know, it was good to have a change. I think it was good for the motivation and everything, so I think it was definitely positive, this change and I really really feel happy with Williams Martini with really great people. I think they work 110 percent, happy, and they really believe in my job, they really believe in what I say and I think that’s really positive. It makes me feel better, it makes me feel nice and it makes me feel very important inside the team.

Q: (Mikhail Rudoi – Autodigest Belarus) Valtteri, tomorrow, when you will see green lights, how do you think? You will concentrate not to lose second place or you will try to attack Felipe to the first turn?

VB: I think you always try to do the best you can. I think it really depends how good a start you get and it depends on the situation, what kind of start the other cars around will get and then you see how is the situation but I think both of us, me and Felipe, we really need to just try and do the best we can, try and go as forward as possible after the first corner and the first lap and keep the position as long as possible. We know that Mercedes’ race pace is going to be really really strong so it’s not going to be an easy day tomorrow but we will do our best.

Q: (Eli Shaouly – Automagazine, Israel) Felipe, it’s the first time that somebody actually beat Mercedes fair and square this season. This actually looked closed, like finished, one or two races ago. Do you think it’s now a new opening, do you think you can handle a big challenge to them or do you think it’s just one track that is very unique and the future will be different? Maybe also Nico can answer this?

FM: Honestly, we cannot forget what Mercedes has been doing up to now. We cannot forget that they didn’t have a clean qualifying as well. For sure, for the moment they are in front. For the moment, they are stronger. I hope, during the championship we can close or maybe can even pass (them). This is what we’re always working for, you know. But I think it’s not enough to say that we are there with Mercedes. I think that for the moment we don’t know. For the moment is maybe this track helps us definitely, but we don’t know. As Valtteri just said, I think we will see a very strong Mercedes tomorrow, so we need to be ready for everything, we need to be ready also that finishing behind them is still an incredible job for us.

NR: I still think we are the quickest team and car at the moment, but we are always keeping a close eye on the opposition and today Williams was definitely close, so we need to keep on pushing. Today was Williams, two races ago it was Red Bull that were getting closer so we need to go for it, but I’m confident that we can keep up the development rate and stay ahead.

June 21, 2014
Massa takes all Williams front row pole in Austria

The Williams team have been at the brink of something great for the last few races now and they have done it in Austria! Felipe Massa will lead an all Williams front row to start the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring tomorrow.

This brings to an end Mercedes’ front row streak and brings a whole bucketload of new excitement ahead of tomorrow’s race.

Massa banged in a brilliant lap for his Williams team, ringing in a time of 1:08.759, four tenths off Michael Schumacher’s 2003 lap record of 1:08.337. Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas also put in a special lap to lock out the front row with a 1:08.846. Who could have predicted this result? Certainly not Nico Rosberg who brought his Mercedes home in third place and in the post qualifying press conference said he never expected to see the two Williams drivers ahead of him.

Massa hailed a “great moment” for his Williams team stating at the press conference, “I’m so happy what’s happened today with us, our team it was such a great moment, it was a long time I had my last pole which was Brazil in 2008”.

“It’s such an incredible moment, for sure we need to concentrate on the race as it’s important but this is the best place to be, in the first place, it’s something I got the chance to be many times in all my career. Now I’m here again, after a long time that I couldn’t be on this place. I hope this is the beginning of great possibilities to be here again also in the race. It isn’t just emotional for me but I think is similar for what Williams feel as well. They had [an] incredible career in the past and they are back to the top, back to the fight. There is a way to go but I’m so pleased for me and for Williams.”

Mercedes had looked fastest throughout this afternoon’s qualifying session but it all fell apart in Q3 for both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton will start 9th from the grid following a nasty little spin with Rosberg claiming that his teammate’s spin hampered his chances of getting the pole position.

Hamilton lost the rear of his car under braking at Turn 2 which sent him into a 180 degree spin and out of contention. This after his first attempt at a pole time was disallowed after he ran wide at Turn 8 and left the track which the stewards had warned before the race would result in times being deleted.

Bottas also made a mistake on his final lap which could very well have been the difference between himself and Williams teammate Massa.

Fernando Alonso was fourth fastest in his underwhelming Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat. Kimi Raikkonen opted not to set a competitive time in Q3 and qualified 8th. Nico Hulkenberg rounds out the Top 10 behind Lewis Hamilton after deciding not to set a time at all in Q3.

Your full timesheets are below. Tomorrow’s race is all set for action and we can only wonder how the Williams duo will hold back the Mercedes team for the race. Join us for live commentary on Twitter and don’t forget to enter to WIN A VIP EXPERIENCE AT THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!

June 21, 2014
Bottas puts Williams on top in FP3

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas set the quickest time during FP3 ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.Bottas set a time of 1:09.848 to end the session 0.050s faster than Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton at the Red Bull Ring.

Felipe Massa was third fastest, and Daniil Kvyat put his Toro Rosso in a surprise fourth place. Nico Rosberg had a couple of off-track excursions during FP3 but ended the session fifth fastest ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.

The Top 10 were rounded out by Kevin Magnussen, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

Sergio Perez, who finished in 15th place on the timesheets, ran wide twice at the final corner, airlifting his Force India the second time around.

Max Chilton and Jenson Button were both unable to set a time on option tyres due to mechanical problems. Button damaged the floor of his McLaren which will need replacing before qualifying, along with his right rear brake caliper.

The session was a positive one for Ferrari and reports are that they will be running their new set up for qualifying and the race tomorrow.

It’s highly unlikely that anyone will snatch the top places away from the Mercedes drivers come qualifying later on, but if anyone poses the slightest threat right now it’ll be the Williams duo. Keep your eyes on that team, they’re really progressing nicely!

Your full FP3 timesheet is below. Join us 2pm GMT+2 on Twitter for live chat and commentary throughout the session. And don’t forget to enter to WIN A VIP TRIP TO THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX!

June 21, 2014
Hamilton snatches top spot for FP2

Lewis Hamilton snatched the top practice spot back from Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg during FP2 ahead of this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix. His lap time of 1:09.542 was more than three tenths quicker than his German teammate’s best effort.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso again registered the third fastest time of the session, ever so slightly ahead of the Williams pair of Valterri Bottas and Felipe Massa, who continue to show promising form.

Sebastian Vettel finished sixth fastest for Red Bull Racing, with Jenson Button ending the session in seventh place.

Daniel Ricciardo had a nasty slide at the penultimate corner on his way to eighth place. Kevin Magnussen and Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top 10.

Your full timesheet for FP2 is below.

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June 20, 2014
FIA to Further Investigate Perez-Massa Crash

The FIA have announced that they will further investigate the incident between Williams’ Felipe Massa and Force India’s Sergio Perez at the Canadian Grand Prix.

The crash, which Perez was penalized for, happened in the closing stages of the Canadian Grand Prix when Massa attempted to pass a struggling Perez into turn 1. The TV pictures showed Perez jinked a bit to the left which resulted in contact with Massa which sent the pair of them careening into the barriers with Massa narrowly avoiding contact with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

The hearing will be heard by the Austrian Grand Prix stewards at the Red Bull Ring tomorrow, after a request from Force India, who say that they have new evidence to bring to light.

Below is the statement from the FIA:

The FIA has received a request from Sahara Force India F1 Team, the entrant of Car 11, requesting a review of the Stewards’ Decision (Document 44 of June 8, 2014) in accordance with Article 13.10 of the FIA International Sporting Code. The request refers to the emergence of “new elements”.

The FIA has been advised that it is physically impossible for the Stewards of the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix to process this request prior to the Austrian Grand Prix and in accordance with Article 13.10.1 of the Code, has designated the Stewards of the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix to:

1. Determine as to whether or not a new element exists under Article 13.10.2 of the Code; and
2. If such an element is determined to exist, convene a new hearing to consider any such new element(s).

In order to determine whether or not a new element exists the Stewards will convene at 09:00 hrs on Friday June 20, 2014. The driver and team representative of Car 11 are required to attend to present their case as to the existence of any new element(s).

In the event that the Stewards decide, in accordance with Article 13.10.1 of the Code, that a new element(s) exists, a hearing will be convened at 1600 hours on Friday June 20, 2014. The drivers and team representatives of Car 11 and Car 19 (Felipe Massa – Williams Martini Racing), will be required at this hearing.

Photo courtesy Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team

June 19, 2014
F1 2014: Canadian GP Review – Ricciardo Wins Canadian Stunner

There is something about the combination of the circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Formula 1 that delivers the most astounding races.

It didn’t come as a surprise when Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locked out the front row of the grid. Nor was it unexpected that the two fought a close battle for the lead of the race into turns one and two. It was expected when the pair of them comfortably pulled away from the rest of the field.

First, a crash between Max Chilton and his Marussia teammate Jules Bianchi brought out the safety-car. A significant amount of clean-up was required which had the safety-car out for seven laps. Yet, this would be the least dramatic ‘incident’ of the afternoon, by far.

As the race resumed it seemed like any other afternoon in the 2014 season for the Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. The two Silver Arrows ran within a few seconds of each other and pulled away comfortably from the rest of the field. However, Formula 1 never fails to dish up the most unexpected and the seemingly predictable was about to be obliterated.

Lewis Hamilton, known for his performances around the Canadian circuit, began to make serious charge for the lead of the race by closing the gap to Rosberg to a couple of tenths. As they battled wheel-to-wheel a sudden loss of power struck both at the exact same time. The high temperatures had caused both cars to suffer a devastating MGU-K failure. It meant that both Mercedes’ had lost all of its hybrid power.

The seemingly invincible pair were losing up to three seconds a lap. Too much astonishment Williams’ Felipe Massa emerged as the leader of the race after the first round of pitstops. A momentary recovery for Lewis Hamilton had the Brit in prime position to take over from Rosberg but he ran wide at the hairpin and lost the advantage gained in the pitstop phase. It went from bad to worse for Hamilton as he was forced into retirement with brake failure.

A trip into the pitlane for Massa gave the lead back to Rosberg but the Mercedes was significantly compromised. A throng of cars led by Force India’s Sergio Perez and including Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel quickly closed the gap on the Mercedes. Miraculously, Rosberg was able to hang onto the lead despite running with 160 less horsepower than his pursuers.

The train of cars was quickly joined by Felipe Massa who had armed himself with fresh rubber. It seemed as if Sergio Perez had worked a one-stop strategy to a tee. Perez, known for his ability to run long stints, managed to hold Ricciardo at bay but a daring move around the outside of turn 1 gave the Australian second place.

The Red Bull driver closed the gap to Rosberg and with the help of DRS down the back-straight snatched the lead of the race into the final corner. While Ricciardo crossed the line to start the final lap of the race the drama was far from over. A spot on the podium beckoned Felipe Massa but as the Brazilian lined up a pass on Perez into turn 1 he tagged the back of the Force India. The duo, barely avoiding Vettel’s Red Bull, crashed heavily into the barriers. Both drivers experienced an impact of 27G but were declared fit by medial personnel. After an investigation the stewards announced that Perez had been given a five-place grid penalty for the Austrian GP for “changing his line” into the corner.

As if the result was not astonishing enough Jenson Button brought the McLaren home in fourth place. The former champ started the final lap in eighth position but benefited as Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso tripped over each other.

Fernando Alonso counted himself as “lucky” to finish as high as sixth as the Ferrari continues to struggle for performance. Despite bringing several upgrades to the Canadian GP the F14T showed no improvement whatsoever. Kimi Raikkonen endured a similarly miserable race as early brake issues and traffic added to the gloom. A spin at the hairpin, attributed to a power delivery issue by the power unit, dropped the Finn out of the points. Raikkonen eventually finished tenth but the Maranello team has serious questions to answer after yet another failed attempt at development. The 2007 champion must hardly recognise Ferrari in its current depressing guise. It’s a far cry from the team with whom he won two constructors’ and one drivers’ title.

Daniel Ricciardo may have benefited from someone else’s misfortune but the courageous move around the outside of turn 1 on Perez and the never-say-die style of the Australian is what made him one of the most popular winners in the paddock.

Sometimes the nice guy does finish first.

Photo Credits:
Red Bull images via @redbullracing
Lewis Hamilton retiring via @LewisHamilton
Massa-Perez crash sequence via @WSFMR

June 9, 2014
Canadian GP Qualifying: Rosberg narrowly beats Hamilton to pole

Nico Rosberg secured pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix after putting in a rocket fast final lap in qualifying denying teammate Lewis Hamilton the pleasure of his fifth pole position.

Hamilton dominated the entire weekend in Montreal but a mistake heading into Turn 8 on his final lap meant the Briton had to settle for second place on the grid. Rosberg beat Hamilton to pole by less than a tenth of a second.

Qualifying got underway with only 21 cars after Esteban Gutierrez crashed in the final practice session today, forcing Sauber to change his chassis. Valtteri Bottas was first out on track and posted the initial benchmark at 1.18.270 but teammate Felipe Massa went half a second faster to occupy the top spot on the timesheets until Rosberg came around to put his Mercedes up in first place.

Pastor Maldonado dropped out of Q1 once again – for fifth out of six times this season. He pulled his stricken Lotus over into an escape road ending his session. Things just aren’t going right for Maldonado at all this season and his Venezuelen sponsorship is already rumoured to be at risk.

With 16 seconds left on the clock, Marcus Ericsson brought out the red flag on the session when he binned his Caterham at turn nine. The session did not restart and Maldonado, Chilton, Bianchi, Kobayashi and Ericsson were eliminated from the proceedings.

Q2 got underway with Adrian Sutil first out on track with the entire field heading out on the supersoft tyres. Felipe Massa was the early leader in the session ahead of his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, and former Ferrari teammate, Fernando Alonso. The two Mercedes drivers only headed out a little later in the session but neither could shift Massa off the top of board with their initial efforts. It became clear that the Mercedes duo were not as strong on the supersofts as the Williams drivers were.

Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat and Adrian Sutil were all eliminated at the end of Q2.

Q3 saw Bottas first out on track for a bit of clear air, setting the first benchmark at a 1.15.550. Rosberg was the first of the Mercedes to cross the line, going six-tenths quicker than Bottas. Hamilton also managed to go quicker than Bottas but fell just short of Rosberg’s time putting the German on provisional pole.

Both Rosberg and Hamilton made slight improvements on their final runs but Hamilton just couldn’t find the pace to match his teammate and a small error into Turn 8 likely cost him the pole position. Sebastian Vettel pulled a rabbit out of the bag and pushed out a flyer to qualify third ahead of the two Williams drivers, Bottas and Massa respectively.
Daniel Ricciardo qualified sixth ahead of Alonso and Vergne, with Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen rounding out the top ten.

Hamilton will no doubt be frustrated to not have been able to convert his dominant performance throughout the weekend into a pole position but the Briton seemed to take it in his stride today and seemed pleased to have another all-Mercedes front row. “Let’s go make history tomorrow,” Hamilton said at the post qualifying press conference.

History will indeed be made whatever happens tomorrow. We’re all set for a crack-a-lacking race and the stage is all set for a good battle upfront between Rosberg and Hamilton. The Williams drivers are looking exceptionally strong and they are definitely making a mark on the grid this weekend.

Please join us on Twitter for live chat and commentary as we watch it all pan out at 8pm GMT+2.

Full timesheets and your chance to win a VIP trip to the Belgian Grand Prix are below.

June 7, 2014