INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Marc Marquez moves closer to title with a superb win; Rossi heroics in a three-way battle for 2nd

    Marc Marquez moves closer to title with a superb win; Rossi heroics in a three-way battle for 2nd

    Rossi, the show master, after taking 2nd at Phillip Island on Sunday. A MotoGP photo

    Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) took his sixth win of the year in a scintillating Phillip Island showdown, breaking away from an eight-rider fight for the win in the latter stages to take to the top step. After a tough race for title rival Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) as the Italian suffered an early run off and was only able to fight back to 13th, it leaves the rider from Cervera now 33 points clear in the standings. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) took second as he came out on top of a three-way fight for the podium, with teammate Maverick Viñales taking third. Viñales is now out of the Championship fight, 50 points back with two rounds to go.

    It was Marquez who got the holeshot but he couldn’t hold it into Turn 2 as a stunner from Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) saw the Queenslander slice through into the lead – and then start pulling away. Viñales was the man in third on the chase, as an incredible first lap then took another twist next time round into Turn 1, when Dovizioso went wide and dropped down to P20.

    Then the race was on for the Italian, as a seven-rider train at the front closed in on Miller in the lead. Rossi and Viñales were the first to get through, and a lead group of Marquez, Viñales, Rossi, Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Zarco began to fight it out.

    Marquez vs Rossi, Zarco vs Rossi, Viñales vs Marquez, Iannone vs Zarco…in one of the most aggressive and hard-fought battles of the season, decade or more, the passes came thick and fast – including a move for Zarco around the outside of Doohan corner – as rubber was left on the road; a little on opponents’ leathers and a little paint was swapped in one of the most incredible fights in history.

    Once Marquez was ahead, however, the reigning Champion was able to begin pulling a gap with five laps to go. Pulling the pin as the battle raged on behind him, the number 93 began to sprint away – and the fight to complete the podium was down to three by the final laps: Rossi vs Viñales vs Zarco.

    With some of the tightest lines ever ridden around the Island at times on that final lap, Rossi was able to take it – but all three were almost neck and neck over the line. And over that line behind the nine-time World Champion, it was Viñales just edging ahead of the Tech 3 of the Frenchman – taking third for a return to the rostrum but a definite end to his chance at the title. Zarco’s fourth, however, confirmed him as Rookie of the Year.

    After Iannone getting pushed back in the latter stages, Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) took fifth ahead of the Italian, with Miller, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and another double delight for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing completing the top ten; Espargaro just pipping Smith. Dovizioso suffered late heartbreak after losing out on the drag to the line to both Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) and coming home 13th, with Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team) and Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) completing the top fifteen.

    Sepang is now ready for business, with the next round soon on the horizon and 33 points swinging the pendulum in Marquez’ favour. But not everything goes to script, as Dovizioso found out at the Island – and the Italian won at Sepang last season. It’s time for a final stand.

    MotoGP Race Results
    1 – Marc Marquez (SPA – Honda)  40’49.772
    2 – Valentino Rossi (ITA – Yamaha) + 1.779
    3 – Maverick Viñales (SPA – Yamaha) + 1.826

    1st Independent Team Rider: 
    4 – Johann Zarco (FRA – Yamaha) + 1.842.

    eom/MotoGP press release

     

  • It is such a fantastic circuit to drive, I love it: Lewis Hamilton at CoTA, Austin

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

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    Cowboy Lewis, and you rode that car beautifully around there and you even left a couple of ‘11s’ on the lap coming down out of Turn 1. The first sector wasn’t perfect but the lap was good enough to beat everybody today?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, the team have done a great job. The track was very difficult today, guys. With the wind picking up, you’ve got a headwind into Turn 1, a tailwind out of Turn1. Through the fast section, sector one, there’s tailwind and then you’ve got a headwind into Turn 9 and so it’s shifting the whole way through the lap, so you’re kind of gauging how hard you can push and how hard you have to let off. But that’s why I love this track, man. It’s such a fantastic circuit to drive, I love it, especially when you have a car you can really drive, it’s great.

    And the heat as well, on those open parts of the circuit, it is so intense.

    LH: I mean, it’s always hot in the car. I think it’s just the right temperature today. It’s not too hot, the sun’s out, we can at least enjoy it, I mean the guys out here are not getting a sun tan but still… It’s going to be a great race tomorrow, it’s going to be a tough one, because looking after the tyres in these conditions is still tough but I’m the best prepared I can be.

    Sebastian, you needed this front row, man, didn’t you, to take this championship fight, to keep the pressure on him, to keep the heat on him. How much did you have to draw out of yourself for that lap, because it was a brilliant lap?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I was very happy in the end, but I was lacking a bit the rhythm, especially the transition of the first to second sector, it was quite tricky with the wind, so I struggled a bit there. But finally I got it right, in the last run, when it mattered. As you said, important obviously to get front row, because I believe our race pace is really good. I quali all year we’ve been just a little bit behind, so well done to Lewis, obviously, he did two great laps and yeah, looking forward to tomorrow now.

    All the talk this week has been about what Lewis needs to do to win the title this weekend. What you need to do is win this race, do you think you can?

    SV: Not just here, it would be good to win also the others. But we go day by day. We were lacking a bit of running yesterday. Today was a lot better. I was getting up to speed and it was there when it mattered, but the race is tomorrow. It’s a great track, a great place, a lot of people, so it should be a good day tomorrow.

    And a big run up to Turn 1 as well. Well done, many congratulations. Valtteri, not quite the front row today. I guess a little bit disappointed but the pace is there, the car looks great, how confident are you feeling for the race?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Definitely disappointing, you know. It was looking good for us and quite close with Lewis as well at some points, so disappointing, but there is always tomorrow.

    Well done. Lewis, back to you. Nick is here this weekend, adoring fans in the grandstand, which is pretty much your second home here in the States. I know how much you love it, you wrapped up your third title here, is it going to be four tomorrow?

    LH: I think It’s highly unlikely that will be the case. Sebastian did a great job today to bring the Ferrari back up there. Ultimately all I can do is the best I can of my abilities and we have to work as hard as we can to get maximum points. Sebastian is right there, so unless he makes a silly mistake, which is unlikely, he’s a four-time world champion, then we’re going to be seeing it continue on to other races.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Lewis, how good was that opening lap [of Q3], the one that followed and generally how are you feeling?

    LH: I feel fantastic. I feel very fresh and happy and naturally always wish that qualifying would go longer because it’s the most fun session of the weekend. In general, very happy with all of qualifying. The last was not spectacular but up until then generally very, very strong. The team have done an exceptional job all weekend in filtering all of the data that we’ve got to really put the car in the right place and enable me, again, have the opportunity to exploit that. This is such a fantastic circuit, because just the layout and the way the wind comes and intertwines with the corners, it really makes it challenging, you know, so when you are going through the ‘Esses’ it’s not all the same through them, then you come out and you’ve got a headwind and then a crosswind and then you’ve got a headwind and a tailwind. So you’re constantly dancing with the wind. That I do love. On the last lap, I got caught out by a bit of a gust but that’s how it goes but yeah really happy to be up here, especially in front of such a great crowd.

    And you had a low 1m33s on that first run, when you went out for that final run did you think that with a perfect lap it might be possible to get a high 1m32s or was that too much to hope for?

    LH: It never even crossed my mind! I don’t even know what time I did if I’m really honest! What was it?

    I think it was a 33.2 or something like that.

    LH: I think I was up on that last one. I think on a perfect lap I could get down into the 32s but it’s very hard out there in those conditions.

    Very well done, great job. Sebastian from your point of view it’s a story of recovery really. We saw your old chassis being wheeled out yesterday, a new chassis being built up overnight. Tell us about that process, how you got back into it, and how you feel to be able to split the Mercedes?

    SV: I think we are very happy with the result. It was obviously crucial to get that final run. Bit of a slow start. We had a couple of problems, I didn’t feel comfortable yesterday with the car, and we did hardly any laps. Obviously I lost the car very early in FP2, which didn’t help and I thought that there’s something not right. Obviously a big job overnight. The team was fantastic, the mechanics now had a couple of weekends in a row with a lot of work, with last-minute engine changes, now a chassis change overnight and they didn’t break the curfew. You know you’re allowed to use a certain time before everybody has to leave the garages and if you do that big job there is always a threat but I think they did another re3cord time to change. Obviously it’s not what we want, but obviously today was a lot better, I was much happier with the car. I’m glad it worked out. And not finding the rhythm straight away in quali, I struggled a bit in a couple of corners but I knew if I get them right I should be able to make a big step in the final run, so I was very happy. I think in the end we were closer than probably we even expected so for today, but for tomorrow I think if the car behaves like today it should be good.

    Valtteri, conditions this weekend for this session the hottest of the weekend so far, how did the car feel and what are you expecting from the race?

    VB: Well, as Lewis said it was quite a tricky session with the wind and every lap was always a little bit different. We have been making quite big set-up changes in the weekend and definitely made the car quicker but quite tricky car for me to drive at least. I just struggled really with the pace and the laps they felt good, I just couldn’t go quicker. Lewis did a good job again.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, you are the fastest guy all weekend. Do you think in race conditions you can keep also. In Malaysia you said you had doubts in the race, is it the same case here. And to Valtteri, you did an incredible first sector, in the strongest points of Lewis in this circuit, but then the lap was not so fast as the first part, why?

    LH: We know we’re often good through practice and qualifying but then the races are always a tricky one for us in terms of balance. We’re not terrible but you would think that we’re generally stronger in qualifying than we are in race, that’s been the case all year. But I think we’re good. I think I’ve got a good set of tyres, I think I’ve got a good balance for tomorrow. I’m looking forward to a good race with Sebastian and Valtteri. This is a track where you can follow a lot closer and even overtake as that race me and Sebastian had back in 2012 here, which was great, but I don’t plan on him getting that close but we shall see. But I think we will be OK tomorrow.

    VB: I didn’t understand the question.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) I said you did a fantastic first part of the lap, you were the fastest guy at that moment, but then the rest of the lap was not so good.

    VB: In Q3. Yeah, I couldn’t improve in the second run. The first run felt OK, but Lewis managed to gain somehow more from Q2 to Q3 and I couldn’t really. I couldn’t find any track improvement. Like I said it was not easy sessions, every lap was a bit different but there were no big mistakes, just small things here and there as I feel for all the drivers but there was just this big gap.

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Question for Sebastian. Would you compare the situation you had today in Q3 in the last lap with the one you had in Japan where you saw the gap was quite to the front runners? Or was it completely the opposite – because you knew he had to be a bit more on the safe side to get these two corners right. And which two corners was it?

    SV: Well, I struggled a bit into Turn Eight, so Eight-Nine then it’s a succession up the hill. Obviously, the wind was quite tricky all day really. In the morning, I thought it was fine. In the afternoon, I just started on the wrong foot. It wasn’t really a question of stepping down, or calming down. It was more a question of getting it right. The shots that I had before, I obviously tried. Maybe I did take a little bit more risk but it never really worked – and then yeah, I knew what I had to get right, so I got it right. That was the most important but obviously in Japan I was fairly comfortable, let’s say, front row, no matter what Valtteri was going to do, so I decided to take a bit more risk but it was very different here, obviously. My lap was very poor in Q3 and I knew that I had to deliver otherwise I would have been, I don’t know, not even top six maybe. Therefor the timing was just right.

    Q: (Jeff Gluck – Jeffgluck.com) Lewis, how has your relationship with the American fans evolved over the years? It seems like you’ve soaked up the relationship with the American fans and the adoration that they have for you. How has that evolved for you over the years here?

    LH: Yeah, I think it’s been an interesting journey for me. I think it’s… my love of America started many, many years before I even came to the States, watching movies and seeing these great cities, like New York and all over. My Mum actually saved up to bring me to New York for my 17th birthday and we had an amazing few days. It kind of grew from then. And obviously coming here, racing here, my first… my second grand prix win but first race in the US was Indy and that was an amazing feeling. A great battle that I had with Fernando, and then obviously moving here. I don’t know why it’s always gone so well for me here but there definitely is a… I do feel a lot of positivity here. It is such a great country, it’s got so much to offer. Obviously, you’ve got great mountains, great countryside, great seaside, great food. There’s not really anything it doesn’t have. Plus you’ve got NASA here, which is pretty awesome. Rocket! I like that. So yeah, and I generally feel like, obviously… naturally I think people, Americans really do relate to… they’re crazy into their sports, they relate to winners, and obviously the fact I’ve had the success that I’ve had here I think comes hand-in-hand with that relationship but I really do appreciate the support that I have here and it does feel like a second home for me. It’s a place that I try to spend as much time as I can in my off-time ‘cos it’s where I’m generally happiest.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) A question to Sebastian. You obviously didn’t do many laps yesterday. How much could you recover in P3, in terms of race preparation?

    SV: Not much. Obviously, we had a touch of a small long run, I think two timed laps, so we’re missing a bit. As the season progresses everybody gets better in terms of reading the sessions, understanding the tyres so I don’t think we’re in any weaker position. Would have been nice to do more laps but the little laps that I had this morning were fine. I think we know what we need to do. Now we see what the conditions are like. It’s supposed to be a bit cooler, we’ll see what the wind does. We have to react to those. That’s far more important that maybe what we’ve missed, because that has an impact on how your balance is in the first stint and then how you are able to feel the car push or not and then put pressure on whoever’s in front or disappear if you’re ahead, or whatever.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Questions to Valtteri and Sebastian. For Valtteri, three-quarters of the time you’re losing to Lewis is all in the last sector, he was three-tenths quicker than you. Is there something not to your liking in the car in that kind of corner. And for Sebastian, even though it’s not as bad as in the first two years, there’s still a difference in grip on the two sides of the grid. Does that worry you for the start tomorrow?

    VB: Yes, definitely the last sector in the qualifying I did struggle more. It felt more tricky for some reason than, for example, in some of the practice sessions. There’s been things I’ve been struggling with, with this car, with the brake modulation and front-locking and transferring the weight between the four wheels. It’s fine details but just struggled to get it together. Many times 13 and 15, lost a bit of time. Sometimes I got it right but still I couldn’t match Lewis in terms of cornering speeds, etcetera – but yeah, those are the longest corners, slow speed corners and normally the bigger differences are there.

    And Sebastian, the grip differential.

    SV: I don’t know. We see tomorrow. I saw Formula 4 race but they start on the other side, so the polesitter starts left. Anyway, the guy who started left turned in first into the first corner, so I don’t know. I don’t think there’s a big difference. We just need to make sure the cheerleaders tomorrow stay away from that side and they can get all excited on Lewis’ side.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) Lewis, you mentioned the rockets. F1 has a lot of high technology. A lot of it is kept hidden. What did you like about the high technology that you got to see at NASA?

    LH: Well, to be honest, a lot of the technology I saw quite pre-dated. The most impressive thing was the big rocket that was one of the first rockets to go up in the ‘70s, and the engine technology of the most power has not progressed since then, from what they told me. That was like the best they could do with it. I think the most impressive thing for it is that it had like 1.5million pounds of torque in those five engines, and the distance of the blast of the jet was like two or three hundred metres, which was awesome. I think it was just mind-blowing to see what they were able to do. How amazing the technology, and how great the scientists were back in the ‘60s, ‘70s when they were building those space rockets, and then obviously now they’re planning more missions to the Moon, and Mars, and the new space station, I guess they’re going to have to start designing and building the new space station sometime because the life of that thing’s about to run out. I think it was just great. There’s no other country that I’ve ever been… everyone around the world knows about the journey to space. You see the movies and it’s so fascinating, so to be there and actually speak to an astronaut who was the last one to go up to the space station and is going to be the one to pilot the next mission, I was like: “Can I join you? Or we can swap jobs, I don’t mind doing your job.” It’s just mind-blowing when you think of how many intelligent people there are there working. I think there’s something like 10,000 people working at NASA but I think there was a lot more in the earlier days and there are similarities to Formula One. Obviously on a much, much smaller scale but in terms of the science. Honestly, I’m a space geek. I was there and I was asking a million questions and I’d happily go and work at NASA if I had the brains to do so. I could definitely pilot one of those ships. No problem!

    Q: (Les Kaiser – Speed City) Lewis you half way joked when you responded “can I do with you?” How serious would you be if they approached you in another year or two to join them?

    LH: I would go immediately. I would go tomorrow. Generally, the trips are, like, two weeks, so I’d be back in time for the next trip. After the race, jump on the Shuttle, no problem. No, I really, really would love to go. I know someone that has gone up. It was quite expensive so I don’t know how that’s going to happen. If I win the lottery then definitely, I’m going to go.

    Q: (Peter Habicht – The Auto Channel) Question to each of the drivers: Formula One has often been described as a space race in motorsports in comparison to other forms of motorsport. Who or what about the hundreds of people that support your cars, your efforts, impresses you the most or strikes you the strongest?

    SV: Well, if you open the bonnet and you’re allowed to have a good look, which normally people unfortunately are not, they don’t get too close to the cars, then you’ll be impressed by how much stuff there is going on, especially with the new engines that we have, how complex they are. But still, we manage to get (them to be) more and more robust, run for longer with more power so obviously in the last couple of years that has been very crucial and there has been a big step in all areas on the power unit side. But I think really the most impressive bit is how everything comes together. You know you talk about the car in the end but it’s so much more. I know we’ve got the basic stuff: four tyres and yeah, for some people the cars look similar to how they looked ten, twenty, thirty years ago but how much has changed.  And seeing all that coming together, the planning of the project and how much work is going into the project and every year build a new car which is crazy but a completely new car. You try to improve, you try to come up with new ideas, solutions, better packaging, design, materials. You want to save weight. And then to see winter time, in that regard, is very very exciting to see it coming together and then firing up for the first time, driving out on the track for the first time. It’s really the work and brains of more than a thousand people. In the end, two drivers per team who have the chance to describe the feeling to drive the car so I think that’s really one of the most exciting bits. In my opinion, that also makes it a team sport because I can’t do it on my own, I’m not even close. You need every single one and you need to… I don’t know if you can compare it to an orchestra, you need to play in sync, perfect timing and then only then are you able to come up with a competitive package because the other teams that you’re up against are so good as well.

    VB: I have to say it’s how much every single person’s work actually makes a difference. Every single woman and man in a race team, whatever areas they work on, at the factory, in the race team, on the engine side, everyone’s work matters so much. All the credit goes to every single one in the team, there’s no one person who can make the big difference. It is, as a team, it’s really interesting to see, when a team works well, together, how big a difference you can make with the team spirit, and if everyone gives 100 percent instead of 99 percent and when there’s nearly a thousand people, it makes a massive difference and that’s nice to see.

    LH: I will try and keep it short but for me it’s the technology, it’s the design. I think the most impressive part is when you go back to the factory and you see what’s going on back then, a huge group of people with great creative minds coming together and really stretching the boundaries of the rules, legality-wise and advancing technology at a crazy rate. When you look at how they’re building these engines and the amount of test components you see they’ve failed and then they are able to dissect it and improve it for the next time, that for me is just mind-blowing when I go there, and I’ve been in the sport for a long time, obviously, but to see that every year, growing and improving and the process in which they do that, particularly quality control, has come so far forward which is probably why we are able to have the reliability, and that for me is the most mind-blowing thing.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To Sebastian and Lewis: at this race we can have the world title decided and we haven’t mentioned it in this press conference. Does it come to your mind at any moment? When will you take it into consideration?

    LH: Well, I mean it’s a bit like a game of chess. Obviously right now it’s check but there’s still a long long way to go. There’s still a hundred points available. Sebastian and his team are going to be working as hard as they can as are we. Who knows? It’s going to go to the wire I still think. In the next four races, I think they are going to give it a great shot and I’m going to do my utmost to try and defend and not only defend but really maximise and win these races. I want to win these races, that’s what I’m working towards and naturally, in winning races, points come and championships are won so that’s what I’m here to do.

    SV: Well, it’s pretty straightforward. I think we have to win and then we see what happens. Obviously we are not in the position that we would like to be but still we have a chance so we go for that and it’s pretty straightforward. We have the car, we had the car to win the last three races, didn’t happen, so I don’t see why the next four races we shouldn’t have the package to win so we start tomorrow.

    LH: Buddy, do you have a question for us? Do you have a question for us? You sure?

    Q: (“Buddy”) Are you excited to race in Austin?

    LH: Am I excited to race in Austin? Well I’m excited to meet you and yeah, I love racing this track, it’s so much fun, I think you’d love it. If I had a two-seater would like to go with me?

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport Magazin.com) Question for all three of you: it was pretty hot today, how much did you have to look at tyre temperatures, especially with ultrasoft in the fast flowing sector one or is the straight afterwards long enough to cool it down? How much was tyre temperature a concern for one lap today?

    LH: I think tyres are definitely… I mean there are a lot of high speed corners here, what’s really unfortunate is that TV’s not really able to show you the forces that are going through not only our bodies but the tyres, the car, how it’s flexing through these corners. I think here more than many of the other circuits through that first section you really can see the car shifting and turning. I don’t think people realise how tight those corners are and how ridiculously fast we’re going through them but it’s fantastic. With these tyres, they’re kind of like living tissue, you know? The temperature’s moving all the time so how you manage them on the out lap, whether you get a small slide or a bit of wheelspin affects the next corner and the corner after that. It’s kind of difficult to explain but it is really important to make sure you manage them in the best way possible to get the optimum performance for a lap and there is a knack to it for sure which obviously we are able to do.

    VB: Nothing to add really. We could actually push relatively hard. Obviously we needed to take care on the out lap but like the first sector, we could really go for it and the long straights, they definitely make it easier to cool them down a bit but like Lewis said, you still need to not go crazy with them.

    SV: Well first of all I don’t like the imagination of living tissue; that just sounds a bit… Yeah, I think we would like to push more but you obviously have to look after the tyres and manage them which to some degree is fine because it’s part of our skill set but still I prefer to be able to push more.

    Eom/FIA transcript of the press conference

  • Vettel to chase Lewis Hamilton from P2 at CoTA: US F1 Grand Prix

    Lewis Hamilton took one step closer to a fourth title with his 72nd career pole position at the Circuit of the Americas. The Briton’s path was shadowed by title rival Sebastian Vettel, however, with the Ferrari driver recovering from a tricky start to the weekend to claim a front-row berth just 0.2s behind the Mercedes driver.

    After handling problems on Friday, Ferrari opted to change Vettel’s chassis overnight and in the build-up to Q3 the German began to find the rhythm that had eluded him in practice.

    He couldn’t match Hamilton, whose time of 1:33.108 in Q3 confirmed him as the quickest in every session of the weekend so far, but Vettel managed to keep the title fight very much alive by carving out a half-second improvement on his opening Q3 lap to take P2 and a crucial front-row start that makes Hamilton’s quest to outscore the Ferrari man by 16 points a tall order should Vettel have an untroubled race. Third place in qualifying went to Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.

    In a busy opening to Q1, which saw the bulk of the cars on track it was Force India’s Esteban Ocon who set the early pace with a lap of 1:41.980. He was soon bounced out of P1 by Valtteri Bottas on supersofts, the Finn setting a time of 1:35.309.

    The traffic upset the opening run of Max Verstappen who abandoned his lap saying “it’s a big mess out there”. His engineer’s response was to tell the Red Bull driver that he had to make the next one count. And Verstappen obliged jumping to P1. He was quickly demoted to P2 by Hamilton with a lap of 1:34.899 that he then improved by seven hundredths to hold top spot.

    Behind Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas was third ahead of Vettel, Renault’s Carlos Sainz, Williams’ Felipe Massa and the second Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen. The Mercedes and Ferrari drivers all set the best Q1 times on the supersoft tyres.

    After the final runs a cluster of drivers battling to escape the drop zone fought their way into the 1m36.8s bracket. It was Haas’ Romain Grosjean who edged through to Q2 with a lap of 1:36.835. Seven thousands of a second behind and eliminated in P16 was Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. It was a painful exit too for newcomer Brendon Hartley, with the New Zealander in 18th place, behind Lance Stroll, but just five hundredths of a second behind Grosjean. Also out were Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein in P19 and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in P20.

    Hamilton was again the pace in the second session, setting a first run benchmark of 1:33.560 and eventually shaving just over a tenth off that to finish ahead of team-mate Bottas with Räikkönen third ahead of Vettel and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Verstappen, though, made the choice to set his Q2 time on supersoft tyres ahead of his 15-place grid penalty for the race.

    Hamilton maintained his grip on proceedings in the opening runs of Q3, laying a provisional claim on pole position with a time of 1:33.108. That left him 0.460 clear of second-placed team-mate Bottas, with Räikkönen third on 1:33.852. Vettel was in fourth, 0.759s behind his title rivals.

    And in the final runs there was no touching the championship leader’s opening lap, though Vettel pushed the Briton hard. The Ferrari driver found over half a second on his final run to seal a front row berth, but he still ended the session 0.239s down on Hamilton’s opener.

    There was a similar leap in the final runs from Ricciardo. The Red Bull Racing driver opened his Q3 account with a time of 1:34.130 to sit sixth, but in the final runs the Australian dug deep and found 0.553s to jump to the second row of the grid and fourth spot behind Bottas.

    There was no such improvement for Verstappen, however. The Dutchman made a small mistake in the penultimate corner and though he made a two tenths of a second improvement over his opening time, he had to settle for sixth place behind Räikkönen.

    Ocon took seventh for Force India ahead of Sainz, with McLaren’s Fernando Alonso ninth and Sergio Pérez 10th in the second Force India.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Esteban Ocon qualifies P7 ahead of Sergio `Checo’ Perez on P10

    Sahara Force India showed well at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday as Esteban Ocon qualified in seventh place ahead of Sergio Perez in tenth for Sunday’s United States F1 Grand Prix.

    P7 – ESTEBAN OCON – VJM10-04

    Q1 1:35.849
    Q2 1:35.113
    Q3 1:34.647

    Esteban: “I’m happy with the result today. The team has done a fantastic job once again and we have been strong in every session. We have a great chance to pick up a big bunch of points tomorrow. It was not an easy qualifying session for me because I did not feel well. I had a very bad headache and problems with my stomach. So I am glad to have made it through the session with a strong result. I now need to get some rest and try to recover to be ready for the race tomorrow.”

    P10 – SERGIO PEREZ – VJM10-02

    Q1 1:36.358
    Q2 1:34.789
    Q3 1:35.148

    Sergio: “It’s quite disappointing to end up tenth because I know I had the pace to be at least seventh or eighth. My qualifying was compromised in Q1 when Kevin [Magnussen] blocked me. It cost me an extra set of tyres in Q1 and it meant I went into Q3 with just a single set of fresh tyres. I had to do my final lap on used tyres and had to settle for tenth place. I can’t wait for the race tomorrow. I hope we can get a good start and make up for some of the ground we lost today.”

    ROBERT FERNLEY, DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL

    “Another strong performance with both cars making it through to Q3 this afternoon. After the grid penalty for Verstappen, we expect to line up in sixth and ninth places tomorrow, which gives us a great opportunity to score good points. We had to work hard yesterday and this morning to dial the car into this circuit – much more so than in Malaysia and Japan – but the team did a fantastic job overnight and took the right decisions ahead of qualifying. Sergio was a bit unlucky during the session and didn’t maximise the car’s potential, but the race pace is very encouraging for tomorrow. Esteban was a little under the weather during the session so to qualify in seventh place is a tremendous effort.”

    eom/Sahara Force India press release

  • MotoGP Phillip Island race: Sunday guide

    MotoGP™

    • Marc Marquez starts from pole for the fourth successive year in Australia. From his previous three MotoGP poles at Phillip Island he has had one win in 2015 and he has crashed out twice when leading the race.
    • In second place on the grid is Maverick Viñales, who finished third in Australia last year from 13th place on the grid. This is the first time Vinales has qualified on the front row in Phillip Island.
    • Johann Zarco starts from the front row for the fourth time in his rookie season, and his third position equals his best dry weather qualifying result that he had at the French Grand Prix. Phillip Island is one of just two current tracks where Zarco did not have a podium finish in the Moto2 class. The other one is Qatar.
    • Heading the second row is Andrea Iannone, which is his best qualifying result since the opening race of the year in Qatar when he qualified in second place on the grid. Iannone finished third on his last appearance in Phillip Island in 2015, having missed last season through injury.
    • Jack Miller is in fifth place on the grid, which equals his best ever grid position in the MotoGP class that he achieved last year at this circuit.
    • Pol Espargaro takes the final place on the second row, which is the best qualifying result so far for KTM in their first year in the MotoGP class. Espargaro has twice won at Phillip Island in the Moto2 class and finished fifth here last year, which was his equal best dry weather result of 2016.
    • Starting from the head of the third row is Valentino Rossi, who has finished on the podium in the premier-class at Phillip Island on 14 occasions, Six of those top three finishes have been achieved after qualifying outside of the top six places on the grid.
    • Aleix Espargaro is in eighth place on the grid, which is the fifth successive race he has qualified on one of the front three rows.
    • Bradley Smith starts from ninth place on the grid, which makes it two KTM riders on the front three rows. This is the best dry weather qualifying result for Smith since he was eighth on the grid in Mugello last year.
    • Cal Crutchlow, who won the race in Phillip Island last year, has qualified in tenth place on the grid.
    • Andrea Dovizioso is the highest placed Ducati rider on the grid in 11th place, which is his worst qualifying since Jerez when he was in 14th place on the grid.
    • This is the first time since the Australian Grand Prix in 2006 that no Ducati rider has qualified in the top 10 places on the grid.

    eom/MotoGP info

  • Marquez takes pole: Phillip Island

    Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) will be starting from pole at Phillip Island, as the reigning Champion took back the honour on his final lap after being threatened at the top by Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) and Motegi polesitter Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who now join the reigning Champion on the front row. Marquez’ key title rival Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) had a tough session, taking P11. Skies were dry, but it remained far from tropical on the Island.

    Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) heads up the second row as one of the key protagonists of the 2015 Island Battle was unleashed in Q2, with Jack Miller (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) another notable performance in P5 – equaling his best ever qualifying result, also gained at Phillip Island last season. Miller is also back on the grid for the first time since breaking his leg in training three weeks ago, making the second row start even more impressive.

    Sixth on the grid is yet another stunning display of progress for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as Pol Espargaro took the marque onto the second row – and in fully dry conditions. Espargaro has a good record at the Island, including the biggest winning margin in Moto2™ history in 2012.

    Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) – the man who led the charge from Q1 – took P7, with Friday’s fastest Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) just behind in eighth. Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who followed Rossi through from Q1, will line up ninth – making it both KTM riders in Q2 in the dry for the first time. In 2014, Smith took his first premier class podium at the venue.

    Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) crashed out on a hot lap and was left to complete the top ten, with Andrea Dovizioso just 0.067 seconds behind the Brit. A tough day at the office, ‘DesmoDovi’ will want to replicate his form from the early stages of the Japanese GP, when he moved through from P9 to get in the fight at the front and then take that stunning win. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) was P12.

    Just left behind in Q1, Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) will start thirteenth, ahead of Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Karel Abraham (Pull&Bear Aspar Team). Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) qualified in P16 after a big crash in FP3 – rider ok, but with a sprained left ankle. The Majorcan will be looking to his stunning record at smashing the pain barrier to move forward on Sunday. For full results, click here.

    It’s Phillip Island, it’s uncertain weather, and it’s 11 points in it. Make sure to watch the rumble Down Under on Sunday, with lights out at the slightly later hour of 16:00 local time (GMT +11).

    eom/MotoGP press release

  • Lewis Hamilton sets the pace at Austin’s Circuit of Americas: F1 US Grand Prix

    Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas as he beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen top spot in second practice for the US Grand Prix.

    The Mercedes driver had registered the quickest time of the weekend’s opening session to beat Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by more than half a second and in the afternoon Hamilton again went quickest, eclipsing Verstappen by 0.397s with a lap of 1: 34.668s.

    After an early phase on the soft Pirelli tyres, Hamilton made the switch to ultrasoft tyres, switched from traditional purple to pink in support of breast cancer charities this weekend, after some 35 minutes.

    He immediately shot to the top of the timesheeets ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas who had already deposed early pacesetter Daniel Ricciardo who has used supersofts early on. Verstappen then upped his pace on the pink-banded tyres to go second with a lap of 1:35.065.

    Vettel then stole into third place. The German, who had earlier suffered an off at the second last corner and recovered, put in his performance run as the session approached the half way mark. As in the morning session, Vettel’s time of 1:35.192 was again half a second off the pace of Hamilton. Vettel was unhappy with the feel of his car, however, and as Ferrari worked through cures he completed just 11 laps in the session.

    Bottas’ run netted a time of 1:35.279, good enough for fourth place but 0.6s behind his team-mate. After his early exploits on the supersoft tyre, Ricciardo’s ultrasoft run saw him finish 0.795s off the pace and 0.398s behind team-mate Verstappen. Kimi Räikkönen was sixth quickest for Ferrari.

    After putting in just four laps in the morning session after a hydraulic problem, Fernando Alonso recovered to seventh place in the afternoon, posting a time of 1:36.304 to finish 1.636s behind Hamilton. Felipe Massa was eighth for Williams ahead of the two Force Indias of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon.

    2017 United States Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.668 26
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:35.065 0.397 30
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:35.192 0.524 11
    4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:35.279 0.611 39
    5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:35.463 0.795 24
    6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.514 0.846 29
    7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:36.304 1.636 28
    8 Felipe Massa Williams 1:36.460 1.792 30
    9 Sergio Perez Force India 1:36.481 1.813 28
    10 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:36.490 1.822 34
    11 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:36.529 1.861 30
    12 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:36.534 1.866 18
    13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:36.761 2.093 40
    14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:37.285 2.617 17
    15 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:37.463 2.795 31
    16 Lance Stroll Williams 1:37.788 3.120 27
    17 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:37.987 3.319 41
    18 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 1:38.165 3.497 35
    19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:38.262 3.594 22
    20 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:38.387 3.719 26.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Force India’s Bob Fernley at FIA Friday press conference: Austin US GP

    PART ONE: TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Robert FERNLEY (Force India), Gene HAAS (Haas), Zak BROWN (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Zak, you’ve confirmed Fernando Alonso for next year. Some suggestion that it’s a multi-year agreement. Can you give us any insights into the scope of this agreement and his ongoing status with McLaren?

    Zak BROWN: Yeah, we’re very happy to have Fernando on board. It was actually done months ago and we just decided to announce it yesterday. Actually that’s not true, we just got it done. But obviously we’ve been speaking with him all season about it. We’ve structured an agreement that allows us to race together for the foreseeable future but everything moves very quickly in Formula One so right now we’re just focused on 2018.

    Now, we asked the same question yesterday to him: the Renault engine has won twice this year and had 10 other podiums, so are those the kind of results you are going to be expecting/demanding from your engineering department for next year?

    ZB: Yeah, we’re here to win races; that’s what McLaren has always achieved. Obviously the last few years have been very difficult. We have the drivers that we want, we have the support from our owners, financially, that we need, and we now have a power unit that has been winning races consistently, and championships, over the last decade, so I think we are well suited to get back on the podium next year.

    Thanks for that. Robert, coming to you, obviously another fantastic season for Force India, consistent points scoring and a clear position in the championship now. But if you stand still in Formula One you go backwards, so as management, what steps are you putting in place for the future development of this team, and how much does it depend on the package that Formula One presents you in the coming weeks?

    Robert FERNLEY: I think there are two elements to it really. One is that our goal, from our point of view, is to obviously maintain fourth and that’s not because we don’t want to move forward but it’s probably going to be very difficult. I think we almost have two leagues of Formula One at the moment, the sort of premier league with the top three teams and then the first division. And those are separated primarily with a significant payment coming in from FOM and until that’s bridged I don’t think you are going to see any difference.

    You had another team orders moment in Japan where Sergio was requesting to be allowed through. He didn’t mind the refusal that came because he said afterwards that it wouldn’t have changed the team result but can you give us a view on that decision-making process and how that team harmony is being managed now?

    RF: Well, it wasn’t really an order as such. Checo was pushing the boundaries a little bit. It was a very easy thing for us to say “just hold position” and Checo was very comfortable with that. It was already organised before we even started the race, if that’s where we were going to be, that would be the positions we were going to hold and as Checo rightly says it wouldn’t have made any difference to the team’s position in the end result.

    Gene, great result last time out in Japan, what does Haas do then for 2018. Robert has said he would like to maintain position and that would be a success in itself, but in what areas can you and your team move further up the grid?

    Gene HAAS: Well, obviously there’s a lot of dancing around in the garage in terms of engines and teams and packages changing, so I think that probably makes me more nervous than anything. Obviously if McLaren gets on the podium that’s probably going to push us down one position. You have Sauber going with a current-spec engine and Toro Rosso going with the Honda engine, which looks string again, so it could be a real challenge next year to even maintain where we’re at now, so I think that’s really what we’re looking for in 2018. Obviously we have to get better. We’ve got to race better, we’ve got to understand the car better and if we can improve that maybe we can maintain our position where we’re at now.

    The idea of setting up the Haas Formula One team was to broaden the reach of your business beyond the domestic market, so has Formula One so far worked for you in that sense?

    GH: It’s actually worked quite well. We had a machine tool show over in Hanover, Germany about a month ago and we had a Formula One car there and I probably spent about half my time explaining to customers what we’re doing in Formula One and I think it has put a little bit of intrigue into our business. People want to know who we are and what we are doing and I think it just leaves an imprint in people’s minds of well, “I know what these guys are going, and maybe I’m going to watch them”. It all works in terms of branding, marketing, even in a small niche business like machine tools.

    OK, thanks for that. Toto, it’s been a pretty impressive campaign from Lewis Hamilton, especially since the summer break – things like that pole position in Malaysia with a car that was clearly very difficult that weekend. Do you feel he’s gone up another level this season and what do you think has brought that about?

    Toto WOLFF: Yes I feel he has gone up a level. It’s the fifth year that we work together and in the car and outside the car he’s just made a big step forward and it’s very pleasing to see that. I think it comes down to the dynamic we have in the team. He gets on with Valtteri and that means there is no controversy at all trackside. We have a really good spirit between the engineering and the drivers, a good collaboration, and it’s lifted the whole team up.

    We’ve seen today that Max Verstappen has committed to Red Bull Racing until 2020. Helmut Marko said the other week that Daniel Ricciardo is on the market, would you rule out Mercedes taking an interest in him for 2019 and beyond?

    TW: We’ve renewed the contract with Valtteri. That means that our whole focus is on Valtteri and Lewis for next year, first of all to finish this year as good as possible, and then next year on the two and we haven’t thought beyond 2018.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speed Sport) The FIA is going to announce the new engine rules soon. What do you expect to see and what would like to see as far as engine rules for the future are concerned?

    ZB: Very much looking forward to seeing what the new engine rules are going to be. We’ve all heard snippets of what that might look like. I think everyone is in agreement. We need less expensive engines in general. We need less expensive racing budgets and certainly power units are an element of that. I think manufacturers in the sport are critically important, always have been, but at the same time it would be great to have an independent engine or two, that if you weren’t in a situation where you had a manufacturer or you had other options, would be healthy for the sport, as it has historically been. So hopefully rules will be put in place that will allow both manufacturers to continue to enjoy the success and benefit of Formula One, while allowing some independents to come in and provide some maybe more economical but yet competitive situations for engines for teams to choose engine partners from.

    TW: I think we are in a pretty good position at the moment because we have multiple manufacturers engaged in the sport, committed to the sport, contrary to many racing leagues where manufacturers have exited so we mustn’t forget that this is a solid pillar of Formula One. But I agree with Zak. We’re pretty easy with whatever rules come in. We believe that what the studies have said that technology is important as part of the USP of Formula One, so we shouldn’t make it low-tech, but equally making it possible for an independent manufacturer to come in, such as Aston Martin for example, would be good for the sport. The more brands we can attract, the more interesting it will be. The way we tackle the situation is we are very interested to hear what the FIA and FOM’s position is going to be and then go with whatever they suggest.

    GH: We’ve heard a lot of different technical variations on what the engine will be, so it’s hard to speculate. I think it’s certainly going to be simpler, they’ll probably drop the heat generating unit and I think that’s good but I kind of agree with the other voices here that we need to have a specification that allows a major manufacturer to come in an design an engine – and not only the engine but also the transmission – as just having the engine without the transmission really does limit your choices. So it would be nice to have a specification even for the transmission, so that you could get the entire package from the one vendor. These days the engine and transmission really are integral to one another and it’s difficult to separate them and make them work smoothly.

    RF: I think everything has been said. I would agree with all three.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) A continuation of this topic. I believe that one of the discussion points had actually been all-wheel drive, driving the front axle through some motor-generator KERS situation. Toto, I believe that Mercedes is certainly not anti that. What about the other three? Are you in favour of an all-wheel drive Formula One? Or does that go against, to use a hackneyed phrase, the DNA of Formula One?

    Do you want to start Toto and confirm the situation?

    TW: I think what I said before, technology is important. If there is an emphasis on maybe not having the -H any more, the heat recovery any more, how do we compensate for 60 per cent of electric energy that is being lost. There are various possibilities and front motors is one possibility. It’s not that we are absolutely stuck on implementing front motors but we have to discuss all possible technologies that can compensate for the lack of power.

    Robert, your thoughts on this.

    RF: I think that all technologies are welcome – but I think it’s also the key element of what we’re looking at from the engine point of view is to keep the cost down. So, if going to four-wheel drive or whatever combination we have of that is going to increase cost, then it defeats the object of where we’re going.

    Gene?

    GH: Well, four-wheel drive is entirely doable but like anything else, the details are the math involved. We’re talking to Ferrari a little bit about that and they basically came back and said, well, if we get rid of the heat generator and exchanged that for a front-wheel drive regenerative motor, then there simply wasn’t enough energy to be recovered. So, you know, you have to be careful. It’s the same trap Formula One got itself into when it selected this engine. It seemed like a simple idea but when you started doing the engineering it became very, very complex. Caveat to Mercedes, they got it right. The other teams struggled for a long time. So, I think we have to be very careful before we say “let’s just throw a four-wheel drive car out there,” because it could be another one of those ones where one team will probably hit a home-run and the rest of us will be struggling with trying to catch up with that. I think simple’s better.

    Zak?

    ZB: I don’t think we yet have a strong technical view. I think we’re more focussed on the criteria that we discussed earlier, as far as budget and competitiveness. I think that needs to be addressed. And then what technologies you use within those parameters, I think is to be discussed at a later date but we’re certainly not opposed to four-wheel drive.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) We keep hearing references to Liberty or the F1 Group presenting their vision of the engine formula going forwards next week – but I thought the FIA made the rules, and I know the engine manufacturers have been discussing the future engine formula for some months now – so can you explain that apparent paradox and exactly what’s happening please.

    TW: There is certainly an interesting fact-finding mission between FOM and FIA. We haven’t been involved and we haven’t heard anything. So we are keen to understand what the views are. There are two meetings scheduled in for the coming weeks to hear the opinions. So, I can’t really tell you more.

    Robert?

    RF: We have no involvement in it whatsoever, so we’re as blind as you are.

    Gene?

    GH: I guess there’s a technical delegation that gets together and discusses these things which we’re not part of. It’s up to them to come together. I think it’s usually the owner-builders that come to agreement on what they want to do and then the FIA rules on it. At least that’s somewhat my understanding. That’s probably where the confusion comes from: owners have their agenda, what they want to accomplish, and then the FIA obviously has what it wants – but it’s not really all that technically knowledgeable sometimes. Then the result is that we wind up with a product that doesn’t make anybody happy. I think this, and I didn’t address it earlier, I think the cost is incredibly important and trying to make a package that all the teams – or at least the lower teams – can afford is fundamental to even our survival.

    Zak, if it’s not clear what’s coming down the track, what would you like to have coming down the track? Maybe that’s another way of phrasing the question.

    ZB: I think you have to assume Formula One and the FIA are collaborating and communicating, so while one party may deliver ‘here’s what the plan is’, one has to assume both have been working very closely together, so I doubt it’s been authored exclusively by one party. Yeah, I think it’s been well-spoken about. The challenges and issues in the sport. Let’s hope there’s greater collaboration moving forwards, so when rules are introduced, technologies are introduced, they’ve been well thought through and from what I’ve seen, from being in Strategy Group meetings, being the new kid on the block, is not everything is always looked through, through as many lenses at is should be: technical; how is it for the fans; what commercial ramifications does it have? Things like the engine fin, that now blocks the branding on the rear wing – and I don’t think anyone has thought about that – but when you’re out talking to your partners, the rear wing used to be a very attractive sales position, less so now because of that engine fin. The conversations that I’ve been in, no-one has that conversation, so hopefully by everyone working more together, everyone will ask the right questions and we’ll end up with the right outcome.

    Q: (Olav Mol – Ziggo Sport) Question for Toto. Double question. All your customer teams, you have the best power engine on the grid. All the customer teams are trying but hardly get podiums, let alone wins. You said you’d never give an engine to a competitor who could beat you. Is that likely to change in the final two years of the current engine formula. The other one, because of that, you want to win but if you don’t win, would you prefer to lose to Ferrari or a customer team?

    TW: Tricky question. We are here in order to extract the best possible result and we have to consider obviously who to supply with an engine and one of the considerations is to not end up in a situation where it would further escalate the costs of our chassis division and end up in a spending war between the bigger teams because the engine factor is neutralised. So, that is one of the considerations we had in the past. Number two, who would I like to beat us. I don’t know, it’s very difficult. I think you have to, as a sportsman, honour whoever does a good job. A good enough job to beat you deserves to be there. This is why we all love the sport. It’s brutally honest. The stopwatch never lies. I can cope with whoever does a better job because it’s deserved.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Toto, taking what you’ve just said. Mercedes is in Formula One for three reasons aligning: sporting; commercial and technical. Under which circumstances then would Mercedes leave Formula One? If what didn’t happen?

    TW: When we re-entered Formula One as a team in 2010 it was a not a light-hearted decision. On the contrary, it was well thought through that we wanted to come back with a works team. So, there is no discussion at that stage about leaving the sport. On the contrary, it’s our core business: we build road cars and we build race cars.

    Q: (John Massengale – Speed City) Being an American F1 fan, it’s been exciting to watch what Liberty Media might do, everything from the small changes like adding miles per hour to the world television feed to things, like now, serious radio being announced and now the new over the top television changes. I want to ask, particularly Gene and Zak, about what you guys think about what Liberty Media’s done and anything we can expect?

    GH: It’s all good. I think they’ve taken a very very positive approach of being pro-active to changing things. I think they’ve opened the sport to more fans. I love the weekends. I think the weekends make it more of a family event. It’s interesting what they’re doing. And obviously they’ve done quite a bit. I think they’ve done more in this last year than we’ve seen in the few years I’ve been in Formula One. It’s all good and I know they want to add more races, there’s a lot of things on their agenda. It will be interesting to see when they actually put something down in writing for the teams and how they will respond to it but I think it’s all been very very positive.

    ZB: Yeah, I agree with Gene. We’ve seen a lot of activity this year. They’re trying new things, really engaging with the fans. You can tell there’s a real focus on the fan and I think if we get that right and we have hundreds of millions fans around the world, create new fans, then that creates a healthy eco-system for more sponsors, healthier teams, everyone can sell more products so we would have a great fan base and they are really focused on expanding that and I think it’s very early days, looking forward to the off-season, they’re not 12 months into the job yet, so they’re drinking from the fire hose and I think onwards and upwards and we’re going to have a very healthy sport moving forward.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Toto, you were talking about two upcoming meetings. One I imagine that you referred to as the engine presentation on the 31st but there’s also a strategy group meeting. Given the fact that the four of you represent teams that have got totally different business models, what would each of you like to see come out of that strategy group on November 7th?

    TW: Well, I can only speak for ourselves. The most important thing is that there is clarity on what the vision is from Liberty going forward, on chassis regulations, on engine regulations. We are pretty open to hear their opinion, as long as we have enough time to adapt and adjust and make our opinion be heard. That will be the priority from my point of view.

    ZB: I agree with Toto. My only build would be a timeline in which to implement… we’re never going to get all the teams totally aligned so I think it’s a case of you’ve got to kind of get 80 percent of the way there and then as owners of the sport make some decisions and then we get aligned so I’d like to just see it happen in a fairly quick manner so we can get on with it. And 2021 is around the corner. It would be nice to maybe see some of the things implemented before then. So I think just making sure it doesn’t drag out, which historically has happened in this sport when there’s been regulation changes and that becomes disruptive.

    GH: Well, they definitely need to finalise their ideas on paper because I think it’s going to take the whole of next year to sort those out and then you’re into ’18 and then there’s only a couple of years before ’19, ’20 comes around, so it’s very important for them to put things in writing so the teams can argue about them and back and forth with Formula One and FIA and teams and we can start some kind of a basis of opinion of what we want to do. We’re very interested in cost caps and engine specs and technology limits but it’s almost congress and trying to pass a tax reform or budget or something, it sounds like it could go on forever.

    RF: Probably very similar to everyone else. I think what you’re looking for is to get an in principal agreement on the strategy group which clearly determines the headline items of what we want to achieve and within that, the timing of when it’s got to be achieved by. I think those are the key elements to come out of the strategy group on the seventh. If we don’t achieve that, then it just keeps pushing it out.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) On this strategy group meeting, the presentation of so-called ideas, how much of a fait accompli are these ideas? Is it a take-it or leave-it or is it, as Gene says, a starting point for more discussions?

    RF: I’m hoping there’s been enough discussions over the last six months or more with all the various teams so I’m hoping that they’ve got a good feel for where they want to go and that we’re actually going to be voting on the principles of where we want to go. The headline items and as I say, getting the timescale in place for those to be adopted, so I would hope it would be a little more. I don’t think it’s a fait accompli by any means but it’s certain that we should have a very clear direction.

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) From all of you, just to get a maybe more specific idea or what your expectations would be at this strategy group meeting coming up in a few weeks? Anything in the top three things that you would like to talk about, like to hammer out, and as Gene pointed out, that this could be like trying to pass a Senate bill. Are you willing to go long hours into the night to hammer out something, to get something done and not leave it for the next meeting?

    TW: Well, most recently, I don’t think congress has come up with lots of decisions. We need to do a better job there. I think we need to respect, like you said before, all of us have different set-ups and this is what makes Formula One and actually you cannot be stubborn on your own position.

    What was the question? I think it needs a good discussion, on the lining of the vision we have going forward and then find the right compromise.

    ZB: Yeah, I would agree with Toto. I think we’re all very keen to get on with it. I think we’re all very vested in the sport and will stay and always work as many hours as we need to. I think I’ve got a commercial flight booked back so if it goes late I’m going to have to hop a ride with Toto. But no, I think there’s lots to discuss. I think it would be difficult to narrow it down to a top three.

    GH: I don’t think we really have that much of a voice in the strategy meeting. I talked to Guenther quite a bit about it but I think it goes back to what we said earlier, we need to get all these ideas down on paper and from then, I think that will be a tablet or something that you can go forward with. Right now, everything is just up in the air and it’s speculation so until someone actually commits to paper what the ideas are, you really can’t talk about them that much so if they could just come up with a one page summary of what they want to do I think that would be what I would like to see.

    RF: I would like a bit further than that. I would like to see a very clear proposal with ‘this is what we want to do, yes or no’ and we vote on it, maybe only in principle at the beginning with the clear objective of getting there within the timelines but I don’t think it should be a discussion programme. I think we’ve had enough time, over the last six or eight months to discuss it.

    Eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference

  • MotoGP to go with Michelin tyres till 2023

    MotoGP to go with Michelin tyres till 2023

    Couasnon, Director Michelin and Ezpeleta of Dorna at a press meet, Philip Island GP on Friday. A MotoGP photo

    Contract extension confirms the French firm will continue as official, sole tyre supplier of the premier class from 2019-2023

    Dorna Sports announced a contract extension with Michelin that will see the French marque continue as the sole, official tyre supplier to MotoGP until at least 2023. The five-year agreement, covering the 2019 to 2023 seasons, is announced at the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island, Victoria, as the countdown continues to the grand finale of another stunning season of racing action.

    Michelin, based in Clermont-Ferrand in France, joined MotoGP as sole supplier in 2016. Since then, the premier class has enjoyed two of the most spectacular seasons in the 69-year history of motorcycle Grand Prix racing – something both parties are delighted to extend for a further five years. As part of the agreement, the Michelin brand will also continue to be featured trackside at each event – and will be the title sponsor of a Grand Prix. The Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 2017 makes the perfect stage from which to announce this contract as MotoGP prepares to take on the fabled Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in another classic encounter.

    Pascal Couasnon, Director of Michelin Motorsport: “After two seasons that have seen tyre performance and strategy make a real contribution to the show delivered by motorcycle racing’s premier series, Dorna Sports has decided to extend its collaboration with Michelin as technical partner and exclusive tyre supplier to MotoGP for five more years. We are naturally delighted to have earned the confidence of Carmelo Ezpeleta and his team. Michelin intends to use its continuing association with Dorna Sports to continue developing ever-safer and more competitive racing tyres, as well as innovations that will go on to benefit our road tyres. Michelin is also delighted to continue working with the teams and riders who gave us such a warm welcome back after our absence from the championship and also to be able to build on the sense of pride felt by our staff following our successful return to MotoGP.”

    Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO Dorna Sports: “I am delighted that MotoGP and Michelin will continue their collaboration for a further five years. MotoGP has only continued to grow, excite and thrill fans since Michelin came on board as sole tyre supplier in 2016, and we are proud that our partnership will once again form the foundations of a further five years of stunning racing. This is fantastic news for the Championship, teams and riders as we look to the future.”

    eom/MotoGP press release

  • Sahara Force India at the US Grand Prix: Formula One practice report

    Sahara Force India at the US Grand Prix: Formula One practice report

    Esteban Ocon (FRA), left, with teammate Sergio Perez (MEX) at CoTA on Friday. A Sahara Force India F1 Team photo.

    SERGIO PEREZ – VJM10-02

    FP1 1:37.861 P9 20 laps
    FP2 1:36.481 P9 28 laps

    Sergio: “We can be quite happy about today’s work. We gathered a lot of data and we’re in a good place for the rest of the weekend, even if I wasn’t overly convinced about the development tyres we tried this morning. It’s going to be tight to be best of the rest, but I am confident we can do that: the car has been feeling good, especially in hotter conditions, so we have a good base to build on.”

    ESTEBAN OCON – VJM10-04

    FP1 1:37.808 P8 25 laps
    FP2 1:36.490 P10 34 laps

    Esteban: “It was a positive day overall, testing different things on the car and working towards the ideal set-up. Finding the balance hasn’t been as immediate and easy as it was in Malaysia and Suzuka, so we still have a little bit of work to do, but we are getting closer to where I want it to be. I have no doubt it will be much better tomorrow. We still need to find something in the slow-speed corners and that’s where we will concentrate this evening.”

    ROBERT FERNLEY, DEPUTY TEAM PRINCIPAL

    “Despite a damp morning session, we worked our way through the job list and collected information on all three tyre compounds. Track temperatures were quite cool in the morning, but rose in the afternoon to levels that are more representative of what we expect for the rest of the weekend. This is a challenging track on which to strike the right balance between the high and low-speed sections, and that is where we will continue to focus our attention tonight. By the time we were doing long runs at the end of FP2, both drivers were happier, even though there’s still work to do ahead of qualifying. Overall, it was a pretty standard Friday which sets us up well for the rest of the weekend.”