INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Mechanics, the unsung heroes that hold F1 aloft

    For the HRT hotline this week the theme was “in-charge of mechanical” and answering the  questions has been Richard Pegram, chief mechanic. Here are the answers as per a HRT release:

    Emilio Bello @ EmilioBelloV
    What training do you have? Do you make yourselves the pit stops? if so What will be notified in advance of the stop?
    I was an intern as a mechanic and then got a job in motorsport. It started as a hobby and eventually became my job. I went climbing in the different categories for several years before coming to F1. And yes, we do the pit stops.The timing with which we warn varies with the length of pit lane and the path but is between 20 and 60 seconds.
    javier navarro @ JanaluNavarro
    All mechanics make the same assignments or there is a specialty of areas: gearbox, brakes …
    Everyone has their area in which it specializes. Some may work in various parts of the car and others are more specific.
    @ victor curly viceeme
    Where is the battery located in the car? Does everyone have the same place?
    At the bottom. The other cars will imagine that the same area too so that you keep the center of gravity.
    Gines Haro Zamora @ GinesHaroZamora
    There is much talk of the Kers and DRS What are and what makes the car to go faster?
    The DRS is a system for reducing drag that allows the car to open one of the “flaps” of the rear wing at a specific point of the circuit, allowing the car to have less wind resistance with increasing speed and reducing the downforce. The KERS is a way to generate more force when using the brakes.
    David de la Fuente @ BiGFooT475
    What is the minimum time they have achieved in a pit stop? What about practices at the factory or free?
    In a race between 4 and 4.5 seconds. And practicing 3.2 or 3.3 seconds.
    Lia Seren @ raikolia
    Now begins the European Championship, for whom are the stakes in your garage?
    Spain!
    Lia Seren @ raikolia
    What is it that you like to work in F1? And the least?
    It’s the best of our profession, you can not get higher. What is heavier sometimes work long hours, days that do not sleep, and also get to travel fatigue, but nothing to really dislike this work.
    Snoopy @ JJ25CC
    You are the best mechanics in the F1. How does it feel when your FIERA, the F112 is the most improved car this year?
    I am very proud of what we have progressed in the last 6 races and everyone is quite happy but we still have much to do.
    Matthew Torres @ terminator4992
    What is the hardest part of your job?
    Be aware of car maintenance, it will not leak anything, and cope with the stress of having to do things within a very short time and very demanding.
    Angel Iglesias @ Gelanigle
    Who is more on top of you, Peter and Toni? Regards and good job Iberian warriors
    A very complicated question! Both work together because you can not do their work without the other. My work is perhaps more influenced by Toni but many of the decisions he makes sure he has much to do with the view of Peter. So the two are over.
    Angel Iglesias @ Gelanigle
    How long you need to assemble a complete car before each GP? Do desmontáis integers between races?
    Typically 3 days. Do not dismantle completely, depends on how many miles has the car and when he has to review certain parts. After Monaco to dismantle the chassis and returned to Madrid in the piece, but it depends on many things.
    JOSE A. DELGADO @ tenista1971
    What part of the car is more difficult to ride?
    The fuel tank. It is quite complicated and difficult to get inside him.
    Germain Lopez @ Hellacopter79
    What are the first factors, or what are the most critical when raising any set-up in each GP?
    The circuit, we have different setups for different circuits but once there the weather is a factor too.
    Robert Ferrando @ rofear
    How many sensors have the car and how many meters of cable?
    150 sensors including engine and transmission, and 1,500 meters of cable.
    Pippercillo @ pippercillo
    Hi team! Can you modify the Cosworth engine or use it as you must supply it? HRT Force! push push!
    I rode like what we provide. We do not touch anything in the engine, for that Cosworth has its own technicians who are responsible.
    ends

  • Rainmaster Narain manages 44 laps; Hopes for rain

    Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal
    Friday, 8th of June 2012
    Weather: FP1: Sunny – Air 24ºC, Track 28ºC

    10.00 – 11.30 FORMULA 1 PRACTICE SESSION 1
    Pedro de la Rosa F112-02 #22 20th (26 laps) 1’18.182
    Narain Karthikeyan F112-03 #23 22nd (23 laps) 1’19.354

    14.00 – 15.30 FORMULA 1 PRACTICE SESSION 2
    Pedro de la Rosa F112-02 #22 21st (27 laps) 1’18.908
    Narain Karthikeyan F112-03 #23 23rd (21 laps) 1’19.378

    The first day of the Canadian Grand Prix got underway today at the legendary Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. In the morning the team focused on testing the two types of tyres, softs and supersofts, since the forecast was for rain in the afternoon. Both drivers put in a good performance and Pedro de la Rosa finished the session in 20th, completing 26 laps, and Narain Karthikeyan in 22nd after 23 laps, finishing ahead of their main rivals, said a HRT release.

    HRT car in the Friday practice at the Canadian GP in Montreal. HRT pic.

    In the afternoon the team continued to test the upgrades which were specifically brought for this Grand Prix, especially the rear wing which was designed for this circuit, and they responded as expected, completing the planned programme. The only down side was that Narain suffered some problems with the front left brake which forced him to come into the garage to not force the issue. De la Rosa finished the session in 21st position and Karthikeyan in 23rd.

    The bitter side of the day took place towards the end of the first practice session when the number 1 mechanic on Pedro’s car, Craig Stubley, suffered an accident in pitstop practice. Fortunately it was just a scare and he only suffered some bruising and a swollen right knee.

    Pedro de la Rosa: “it looks like we’ve taken a significant step forward here in Montreal. Our set-up is working well, our top speed is good and, overall, the car is working well. I’m happy that my mechanic is well, it’s a huge relief because I was very worried for him. We were quicker than the Marussia’s in the morning and the afternoon but both the car and myself can improve. The rise in temperature expected for tomorrow is good for us we’re struggling to heat up the tyres in the last sector and that will help us”.

    Narain Karthikeyan: “Today wasn’t a bad day, we made some changes to the car and it responded quite well. We improved a lot from the morning to the afternoon and we got the most out of what we had but we still have to improve tomorrow. I had a problem with the front left brake which didn’t allow me to do a heavy fuel run so we’ll have to work on that for tomorrow”.
    Earlier, Narain said: “The Canadian Grand Prix is a race only because it is a cross between a street circuit without loopholes, like Monaco, and a road course. I really like the track and finished the wild last year’s race in 14th position, before receiving a penalty. The weather conditions are often unstable in Montreal, so maybe that will give us a chance. In addition, we bring a new rear wing being a low downforce circuit. We must continue to progress, as we did in Monaco, reducing the distance from the top and our rivals. ”

    Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal, said: “Before anything I would like to say that we’re very relieved because our mechanic, Craig, is well after this morning’s incident as we were all very worried. As for the racing, we tried out the wing that we specifically brought for this circuit and it seems like the car’s balance is good and it’s working as expected. Our only weak point was the brakes but it’s something we’re going to continue working on to improve. We’re comfortably inside the 107%, so this is confirmation that the wing is working well. Tomorrow we will evaluate again how the upgrades are performing but we’re running well”.

    Earlier, a HRT press release said: The Formula 1 World makes a quick stop in Montreal, in full European season, to dispute the Canadian Grand Prix. The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve brings back fond memories for HRT Formula 1 Team and it was here that the Spanish team achieved the best result in its history in 2011 when Tonio Liuzzi crossed the line in 13th, after an epic race that lasted 4 hours 4 minutes 39 seconds by heavy rains, making it the longest Grand Prix in the history of Formula 1. The team arrives in Canada after securing his best result so far this season after the 15 th position in Monaco and Narain Karthikeyan will look to continue in this line up.

    The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is a track that combines long straights with slow corners, testing the reliability of the cars. Cooling and braking stability are fundamental and tire degradation is high by the constant acceleration and hard braking.
    Pirelli has chosen his soft tires and super-soft for this Grand Prix.
    Pedro de la Rosa: “The Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve really like and have always had good races there. The races are very open, with many opportunities for overtaking under braking as the first corner and the last chicane. Asphalt has a very large developments throughout the weekend, making it a very special circuit in the way of running the tires. The hardest part is learning to play the track. With a good top speed, braking and traction can be competitive and it is important to a tune similar to Monaco to make the car go faster cornering. arrived with a new rear wing of low demand, especially designed for Canada, and intended to continue our progression of Monaco. After my retirement in Monte Carlo, I have even more desire to do well in Canada. “
    Luis Perez-Sala, Team Principal: “In Montreal runs one of the most iconic Grand Prix. As a pilot I liked because it was a different circuit, with many braking and acceleration and several places to overtake. For the computer is also a site especially because this was achieved the best result in team history last year. In Monaco we did well and this circuit may also be favorable because our car performs well in braking and traction have improved, which are two important aspects Canada. Our weakest point is the fast corners and here are few. The biggest handicap may be not having KERS, but we bring a special rear wing for this circuit that we hope to become more competitive. We have been encouraged after the success achieved in Monaco, Narain wants to continue its momentum and Peter gets more motivated than ever after his good performance throughout the weekend ended in abandonment. “

    ends

  • New updates, a big push for Sahara Force India: Green

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Andrew GREEN (Force India), Antonio CUQUERELLA (HRT), Graeme LOWDON (Marussia), Jonathan NEALE (McLaren), Mark GILLAN (Williams).

    Antonio, today there was an incident in the pitlane with one of your mechanics and Pedro De la Rosa. Just to clear up any misconceptions or any misunderstandings, can you tell us how your mechanic is?

    Antonio CUQUERELLA: The mechanic I think, happily, is OK. He just got some bruises and a swollen knee. So, it looked worse when it happened but luckily he’s going to be back with us tonight from hospital. Some checks have been done but nothing important. He’s going to have some pain but in a few days he’s going to be back to work.

    No broken bones?

    AC: No, no.

    Andrew, your drivers are expecting updates, at least Paul Di Resta told us so yesterday. What’s the situation? Are you going to be able to deliver those updates?

    Andrew GREEN: We’re going to follow the same plan as last year, which is we’ll continually bring new part to the track every race, as a strategy that we’ve followed before, as most teams do. Yeah, we will deliver what we can, that’s our target. There are updates here, there will be updates in Valencia, there will be a bigger one at Silverstone. That’s the idea. We’ll keep pushing. It’s incredibly tight and fractions of a second can mean multiple places on the grid. It’s harder than ever. There’s a big push back at the factory – more than ever.

    Both drivers very well placed in Monaco, and today as well. How well are those two working together and how good is it to have two competitive drivers, perhaps pushing one another as well?

    AG: Very important. It’s also important that they’re both team players. They know that they want to push the team forward, they’re not just individuals, and they work as a team. We all work as a team pushing the team forward and they get pulled along with that. They both work together very well. It’s good that they both push each other. They’re both very talented, extremely talented. We’re very very happy with the way they work. It’s a nice place to be.

    Antonio, you’ve been in our new premises now for over a month. Are you beginning to see the benefits of that?

    AC: Absolutely. Now we are all together under the same roof and that has been a massive step forward for us. The factory is a much better place. It’s a place we can work together and communication-wise it’s of course much better. Assembling the cars, engineering, marketing, finance, all departments are together. It’s normal for everybody but it wasn’t for us, so it’s a big step forward.

    I guess it’s not working at 100% of what you hoped, so what sort of percentage is it?

    AC: Well, we still have two big departments that are recruiting people, you probably have seen a lot of advertisements, but I would say we are probably at 60 per cent. I hope that at the end of the year we should be at 90%.

    Graeme, same thing with you really. You’ve moved into new premises. How much of a difference has that made?

    Graeme LOWDON: It has made quite a big difference. Three years in Formula One and we’re on to our second factory already. I think the main thing, that has already been said, is that it improves communication and that’s been a big help. So, we’re quite happy with the location we’re in now.

    I believe you’re going to the Fan Forum in New York on Monday. What are the thoughts behind that?

    GL: I think all the teams are pretty much the same. Effectively, we’re racing teams but we’re manufacturing businesses working in a global market and you can’t ignore North America. No company with global aspirations if you like can ignore such a big market. Formula One has been out of North America for a few years now and I think it is a very important marketplace. One thing we do know is that there is a huge response from the fans. They want to get close to the teams, they want to understand what’s happening and it’s a really good thing that we can take our drivers, talk to the fans, interact with them and really understand what it is that they enjoy about Formula One and try to give a little bit back. And, as I say, it’s such an important marketplace with its heritage and its history, and you look at the car manufacturing base in North America as well, I think we have to make a really big effort and try to put on a great show for all the fans.

    Jonathan, today we saw Jenson in the pits for rather a long time. What actually happened there?

    Jonathan NEALE: We had a mixed day today. Jenson this morning in P1 had an oil leak, which was leaking onto the clutch, and we thought we’d fixed it. The oil leak was in the gearbox. The mechanics did a great job in rebuilding, repairing the seal but as soon as we fired the car up we could see there was a secondary problem that hadn’t revealed itself before that time. And unfortunately we had to change the gearbox and the whole rear end of Jenson’s car. So, disappointing that we didn’t get the mileage in that we were looking for. But I have to say, hats off to the mechanics, anybody who was pointing  a camera in the garage… and on Lewis’s side as well, the moment that Lewis’s car left the garage, all of the mechanics came across to help Jenson get running and that was terrific. But on the other hand a great day for Lewis. We know that the pace is in the car here, it looks strong today – today is today, and listening to what’s going on around us, who knows what tomorrow brings? But yeah, I think we’re here to race hard this weekend, and getting Jenson out was really important. You could see him setting green sector after green sector. This is a circuit where you have to build: build confidence and feel that the car is underneath you. We saw a few people visit the wall this afternoon, and to be quick around here you’ve got to get close.

    How much of a worry are two little deficiencies within the drivers: we’re used to seeing Lewis winning, for example, but he hasn’t yet won this year, and Jenson seems to have just had a few races of… I don’t know if you call it bad luck or what it is. How much can you build those performances back up?

    JN: I think we can build them up well, actually. You’re right, we’ve had a couple of ups and downs in the last few races, some operational issues which hopefully we’ve put behind us now. We’ve got two strong drivers. Lewis put the car on pole by over half a second in Spain – which is a pretty demanding circuit as colleagues here will attest – so we know that the package is good but it’s very tight this year. Six races, six different winners, five different constructors at this time. As I said during the week, great if you’re a fan of Formula One, stressful if you’re trying to be consistent. But consistency is what it’s about.

    Mark, looking back at Monaco, particularly after the victory in Spain, where do you think you could – or should – have been in Monaco? Could you have been better off in Monaco?

    Mark GILLAN: Yes, obviously after the Barcelona win we were very much on a high. Going into Monaco we had high expectations and I think the car certainly was… we should have been good enough for P4-P5. Obviously it was disappointing: there were a range of issues that hit us through the weekend and I think that as a team collectively we could have done a better job. We look to make amends this weekend.

    Q: What sort of effect has Renault’s return had on the team?

    MG: It’s had a massive impact. They’re very impressive as an engine manufacturer and they’ve slotted in seamlessly with the team. A very very good relationship has built up very quickly and things are going very well with them.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Sebastien Templier – La Presse) Mark Gillan, you tested a new rear wing today, I guess. So what difference did it make? Did it improve the car today?

    MG: We have a new rear wing here this weekend for Montreal. It was tested with Pastor this morning and run by both drivers this afternoon and it’s working well.

    Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC Sport) For all teams, just about the tyres… we’ve all been talking about the tyres so much this year already, but how much data have you now been able to gather from the first six races and now, with that data, can you really now begin to get an idea of what to do with these tyres in lots of different conditions? Presumably there are some pretty serious computers trying to work on this at the same time as people intuitively are trying to get the settings right.

    JN: Have we got enough data? Yes, as you can imagine we have a huge amount of data as everybody else has. In terms of making sense of it, it’s not a trivial question. The interaction between track temperature, the vehicle dynamics of the car, the driving style, the ability of cars… we’ve seen at different circuits different  people have been able to switch the tyres on very quickly and others taking much longer to warm up. We’re all chasing the same thing, which is the first team to become consistent and get them in the sweet spot. I think we’ve seen it on a couple of occasions ourselves where we’ve had – particularly with Jenson – a car in the right place on a Friday and then not on a Saturday, because that elusive thing has slipped away from us. So they’re definitely more peaky than they have been. I wouldn’t like to claim for a minute that we’ve cracked it. We’re working harder, we think we understand more about it but it’s hard work.

    MG: I would agree with Jonathan. It is a very difficult problem and it’s interlinked with the whole car/vehicle dynamics, the aerodynamics of the package, the drivers’ styles and the driver is obviously an incredibly important part of the tyre management. So tyre management this year is key, and it’s not just about the long runs, it’s also about qualifying position because it has become more difficult and managing the tyres through the weekend, so the link between the driver, the car and understanding of the tyres is really crucial this year, and a lot of effort from all the teams will be going into that.

    AG: I agree with the front row. I would just add that just when you think you’re beginning to understand them they go and do something differently.

    AC: I think this is not just technical but it is good for the show that different teams can sometimes strike the maximum in some conditions and in other conditions, completely different, other teams can strike better. That, I think has been proved to be good for the show. Technically we all like to understand everything but the proof is that all the teams didn’t manage to understand things at the same time.

    GL: The tyres have really created a fascinating problem and that’s what Formula One is all about. This is the ultimately team game. The drivers are the heroes but you can’t run the team with just two drivers, it takes an awful lot of technical knowledge and as you said as well, intuition, as well as all of that data. You can be swamped with data and go down blind alleys and that kind of thing. I think what we’re seeing now is all the teams are presented with exactly the same problem, and this is what this team sport is all about: who can solve it with the resources that they have and come out on top on Sunday, on race day.

    Q: (Jeff Pappone – The Globe and Mail) To follow up on that, I’m just wondering if there’s going to be a point in this season where you figure out the tyres and there’s going to be a definite pecking order like there has been in previous seasons, or do you think this is going to continue all year?

    JL: Well that’s the plan. Of course, every one of us – Mark, Graeme, the guys here – we’d love to be the first to figure it out and get some kind of advantage. I don’t think it is going to quite solve itself like that. It’s still a meritocracy. All the wins so far have been well-earned. The guys at Williams did a fantastic job getting a win there and other teams as well, but I don’t think it’s just suddenly going to snap and come good, because it’s not as if we’re trying to solve something that’s inherently an issue with the tyre, it’s tyre/car/package/circuit/ambient temperature and driver, so it puts us in a different position. I think that’s what makes it exciting so I think it will keep things lively all year. As much as I would love to get it sorted out tomorrow, I don’t think we will.

    MG: I would just say that it’s an incredibly complex problem. The tyres are very non-linear and something that we’re all chasing so you go from track to track, even with the same compounds and you have to be very careful not to assume anything and collect all the data, so the Friday running becomes a very important part of the data analysis.

    AG: I think we’re all trying to solve the same problem, but I think every team will probably end up with the same solution.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Association Press) Jonathan, you discussed Jenson’s problems with the car in some detail earlier on. However, Gary Anderson who, I’m sure you know well, is the BBC’s technical analyst, has had a right pop at the team saying that you’re a World Championship-winning team with World Championship-winning drivers taking four hours to fix a gearbox issue;  that’s not just good enough, to use his words. What would you say back to him?

    JN: Well, he’s entitled to his opinion. I think it helps if you’re standing a bit nearer the problem. He’s right, though. In terms of these things we don’t want to happen, they’re not designed to happen, but Formula One cars are designed to be right on the edge. We’re all pushing very hard which is why the grid is very close. From time to time there will be a technical problem. It certainly wasn’t trivial, and having been back over it this afternoon, I don’t think that we missed anything in our first diagnosis that would have led us to believe that we were going to have the problem that we did after lunch. He’s entitled to his view.

    Ends

  • FIA awards young female a drive in low-cost educational Formula

    Fifteen-year-old Lina Von Schedvin has been selected by representatives of the CIK-FIA and Women in Motorsport Commission to receive a funded drive in the 2012 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. Lina, from Sweden, won this opportunity following a shoot-out against eight other young karters vying for a drive in this low-cost educational formula.

    Lina said: “I am obviously delighted to have won this selection. I have learnt many things and being able to receive the advice of Cathy Muller was a privilege. She is so experienced with karts and cars. I wish to thank the Women in Motorsport Commission and the CIK-FIA for having implemented this selection and for enabling me to compete this season in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. I look forward to starting!”

    Working in association with the FIA’s National Sporting Authorities around the globe, nine aspiring female kart racers were invited to attend a two-day assessment process in Friuli, İtaly. The youngsters, all under 15 years of age, were put through their paces both physically and mentally, taking part in activities designed to assess their movement, agility and reflexes, the reaction of their bodies to stress, as well as their knowledge of karting history and sporting regulations. The second day the young karters took to the wheel at the Friuli circuit to demonstrate their speed and racing ability with brand new karts supplied by Parolin.

    Lina – deemed as the driver to have demonstrated the greatest potential – receives a free entry to the 2012 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and a €5,000 prize fund, along with a Parolin-FIM-LeCont kart from the official supplier and free overalls.

    The 2012 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy takes place over three races, in addition to the official pre-season test session. And, this season, race weekends will also address highly-important issues relating to safety, driving conduct and the anti-doping code. All competitors will compete on equal terms in karts provided by the official equipment supplier.

    FIA Women in Motorsport

  • Can Hamilton reach “seventh heaven” ?

    Montreal, 8 June 2012: Double Monteal winner Lewis Hamilton put his McLaren at the top of the order with 20 minutes of the session remaining, setting a time of 1:15.564. It left the Englishman a tenth ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel with Nico Rosberg third for Mercedes, Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari fourth and Mark Webber fifth in the second Red Bull. The top five were separated by just three-tenths of a second at the Giles Villen.

    Unusual for FP1, the session was a busy one with many of the field going beyond the 30-lap mark and Kimi Räikkönen managing 41 for Lotus. A few drops of rain were falling but the forecast for the afternoon suggests showers are on the way: everybody therefore wanted to maximise their dry running in the morning.

    One man who failed to do that was Heikki Kovalainen who, having completed sixteen laps at the halfway mark, hit the wall hard at the exit of the turn 8-9 chicane. His Caterham suffered significant damage to the righthand side and, with the track covered in debris, the session was red-flagged. Kovalainen swiftly emerged but some time was lost as the marshals swept the circuit clear. Caterham tweeted that their driver was unhurt and had explained he simply lost the car on the exit: ‘Heikki’s had an off but is back in the garage & is fine. He says he lost the rear a little and just couldn’t hold it so ended up in the wall,’ said the Caterham feed.

    After a delay of 12 minutes the pitlane re-opened and cars streamed out onto track for the last half-hour. One man not re-emerging was Jenson Button, McLaren mechanics had the rear of his car stripped down and were working on the gearbox.

    With the track rubbering-in and many teams moving from the soft to the supersoft tyre for the last part of the session, faster times continued to be set and the order was far from static. Red Bull in particular were moving up, though Vettel seemed to be unable to set a properly flying lap, hitting slower traffic at the wrong parts of the circuit on many of his laps. His final tour jumped him up into second place but Hamilton had done enough to lead the order.

    ends

  • Massa looking for better show by Ferrari

    Massa in a pensive mood in Canada on Thursday. FIA pic.

    For a man with eleven grand prix victories, finishing sixth would rarely be a cause for celebration but having endured a tough opening to the 2012 campaign, Felipe Massa believes his result in Monaco signifies a better understanding of how his car works and bodes well for improved results in the future.

    “I think it was a better race, a clean race where nothing wrong happened. There was good pace from the first session,” said Massa in Thursday’s FIA press conference. “I hope we can use that to do things even better here and all these races until the end of the year. I think it was a positive weekend even if we cannot be so happy to finish sixth, y’know? I think it was a good start.”

    Monaco was also the first time Massa has appeared in Q3, and the Brazilian is confident that the lessons learnt in the Principality contain information that will translate to other circuits. “Definitely Monaco is different to many other tracks but I think it helped a lot,” he added. “I’m really looking forward to understand that direction and be stronger and stronger all the time.”

    Whether or not Montreal will provide a circuit suited to Ferrari is “very difficult to say,” claims Massa, though he expects to carry his personal form into the race. “I feel much better in the car. I’m really looking forward to carry on like that, improving, getting stronger race by race, and fighting for many good points and even looking for victory and podium. This is really the target and I feel much stronger in the car now compared to the beginning of the season.”

    ends

    Massa of Ferrari in a pensive mood on Thursday ahead of Canadian GP. FIA pic 2012

  • We are stuggling with Pirelli tyres: Force India’s Paul

    Montreal, 7 June 2012: Following drivers attended the FIA first press Conference on Thursday at Montreal ahead iof the Canadian GP on Sunday: Paul DI RESTA (Force India), Jean-Eric VERGNE (Toro Rosso), Sergio PÉREZ (Sauber), Felipe MASSA (Ferrari), Mark WEBBER (Red Bull), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren).

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Paul, if I might start with you, a good weekend with both cars getting into the top ten in Monaco. How good is the dynamic between you and Nico [Hulkenberg]? Is there a fair amount of pushing one another and a good partnership?

    Paul DI RESTA: Yeah, Monaco was a good weekend for the team. Obviously where we qualified… we went forward and were lucky with some cars not finishing. But, I think to achieve what we did there was a massive result for the team. I think me and Nico have a good relationship, we’re obviously pushing each other along but also trying to develop the car because we feel that we’re a little bit behind the likes of Sauber and Williams at the moment. And to overcome that we need to be doing a good job in the race. Over the weekend you’ve got to maximise what you have, and that’s what we’re going to try to achieve again this weekend.

    Do you feel that you just need to hit the Pirelli sweetspot, or is it more than that? Is it, as you say, the development, and even do you look at the results of Maldonado, Sergio for example in Malaysia, and say ‘hey, that should be us.’

    PdR: I think the tyres are difficult, we’re not going to deny that but I think we’ve achieved that at some tracks and that’s where we saw some good results for us. Certainly Bahrain, we got the car in an operating window but I think it’s a bit more and we need to understand the car a bit more in terms of what we’re bringing in terms of upgrades. That’s what we’re trying to achieve. But I have every confidence the team will achieve that because last year our development rate went very high from mid-season, so we’re certainly hoping we can do that this year. I don’t believe we’re getting the maximum out of the car yet but we’ll try to achieve that this weekend again. It’s a different philosophy, obviously, being a bit lower downforce here. So hopefully that will suit us slightly better.

    And are you expecting to go up a gear in terms of development in the middle third of the season?

    PdR: I think so. It wasn’t a secret that we struggled at the beginning of the year, to what we initially first thought. Since then we’ve rapidly moved on. If we can do that… I think we bought  a good upgrade to Barcelona. We obviously developed that forward over that weekend. Monaco was difficult to understand how much so I think here will probably be a truer reflection on what we can expect for the up and coming races.

    Jean-Eric, first of all I understand you are nearly a Canadian, you have been here so long.

    JEAN-ERIC VERGNE: Yeah, I can fake the accent.

    Tell us what you’ve been doing, because you’ve been here a few days

    JEV: I got invited to a nice hotel at Sacacomie to the north of Montreal. I was in the middle of nowhere and had a few days relaxing, doing some sport, it was quite nice.

    And the Cirque du Soleil?

    JEV: Yeah, I was there yesterday with Daniel Ricciardo. In the morning we were training, learning a couple of tricks with the guys in their factory, and then at night we get invited to the show. It was quite amazing to see.

    And how much have you learnt?

    JEV: I learnt to go high, and there was a circle thing [German Wheel], you had to go inside, upside down. Motorcycles as well. It was OK.

    In terms of racing, obviously you had a good race at Monaco, overtaking Michael Schumacher. That must have been a pleasant moment. Looking at your qualifying. You’ve been out-qualified by Daniel 5-1 but you’ve out-raced him 4-1. Is that a fair assessment?

    JEV: I have to say qualifying is quite hard, compared to what I was expecting. I guess it’s going to come: I have the speed, I can show it in the racing. Monaco, unfortunately I hit the wall before I could make a good lap, so, yeah, I wouldn’t say unlucky but I pushed a bit too hard and didn’t get a proper time. It’s just a question of time, I have to take it easy, I know I have the speed and I know I have a car to be able to be in the points sometimes. So yeah, I think that will come.

    I read that you say this is your favourite circuit – but you’ve never raced here…

    JEV: On the Playstation! It’s a track I like; I’ve been driving on it as well in the simulator and I quite enjoy driving on it. I hope it’s going to be the same in reality tomorrow.

    Sergio, you only did three laps last year. Do you remember much about the circuit?

    Sergio PÉREZ: Not really, it is not a circuit that I know well, not really from the few laps I did in FP1 last year, because after the accident I could not race here. So, I had to go back home after FP1. Hopefully this weekend can be a lot better. I think we have a very competitive car and we can fight for a podium here.

    Have you done a lot of laps on Ferrari’s simulator?

    SP: I’ve done some laps in the simulator as well. I think it’s a circuit where it will not be a problem to get up to speed because I’ve done enough laps already in FP1 last year.

    Since Malaysia, things don’t really seem to have slotted into place. Malaysia was such a high point but it doesn’t seem to have continued. What’s required to get back to that situation?

    SP: I think it’s just a matter of putting everything together. We have enough speed, we have had very unlucky races since Malaysia. Like China, for example. The only weekend we didn’t have the speed was in Bahrain. We had a lot of degradation. All the other weekends, Barcelona I was in fourth place but then I had a puncture; Monaco in qualifying we had the speed to fight for a win, I think, but then we had a problem with the steering wheel and I just went straight. I think the speed is there and everything is there and it’s just a matter of luck. We have been very unlucky in the last few races.

    Felipe, things seem to have come together for you at the last race. Can you carry that on and also take what you learned in Monaco to other circuits?

    Felipe MASSA: Yes, sure. I think it was a better race, a clean race where nothing wrong happened. It was good pace from the first session. So, hope we can use that to do things even better here and all these races until the end of the year. I think it was a positive weekend even if we cannot be so happy to finish sixth, y’know? I think it was a good start.

    Monaco is so much of a specific circuit, is it possible… did you really discover something there.

    FM: Yes. We discovered things that for sure can be the direction for the other tracks as well. Definitely Monaco is different than many other tracks but I think it helped a lot to understand things that we didn’t understand before and I’m really looking forward to understand that direction and be stronger and stronger all the time.

    Do you regard this as a good circuit anyway for Ferrari?

    FM: I think it’s very difficult to say. Here is a track that you have a lot of slow corners, chicanes, hairpins and a very long straight. Looking at what’s going on this season, every track is very difficult to say if this is the right track track for us or not. So we need good speed as well. It’s something we have been working since the beginning of the year to improve, our speed on the straight. Here we know how important is that. So, we wait and see. It’s difficult to say before.

    Mark, obviously a winner of the last grand prix and you’ve been playing Action Man since then, how was the sky diving?

    Mark WEBBER: Oh yeah that was good yesterday, the first time I’ve done it. It was in a wind tunnel, so it obviously wasn’t real sky-diving but it was great to catch up with Jon [DeVore] who is a phenomenal Red Bull athlete from California. He does a lot of… he was in the Transformers film with the wing suits, so those guys are incredible, what they did. We did a few tricks yesterday with a car and a parachute and it was really good, I enjoyed it. I don’t know if I’ve got the bug to jump out of planes to be honest but I enjoyed it. But the highlight for me between races was going to the Isle of Man TT. It’s an absolutely amazing sporting event if you love motorsport, it’s a must to go to. And to see John McGuinness, a friend of mine, win again, all of the riders are obviously heroes but John’s had such a great record around there it was really good to see all that come together again for him. Took some mates and we had just an absolutely great time. It was really good, last Saturday.

    And some Action for Road Safety work this morning, I believe.

    MW: Yeah. I’ve been doing some work for the Action for Road Safety campaign. That went well.

    You were a winner obviously in Monaco, you’ve done nine Canadian Grands Prix, just in case you’ve forgotten, you qualified second in 2010, finished third in 2011 and you’ve had only one retirement here. So what are your thoughts about this race? Is it a good one for you?

    MW: Yeah, I like driving here. It’s a good mixture, in terms of the street circuit sort of feel of it, but also with low-ish downforce. Obviously the cars won’t be in the Monaco configurations, so we’ll have to look for the top speeds. Yeah, you still need a pretty good car here, there’s no question about that. There’s quite a bit of time to be gained and lost here if you get it together [or not]. I enjoy it here. It always throws up a bit of an oddball race. I think that we need to see how the marbles go, the brake wear, incidents, safety cars. It’s always been like that the Canadian Grand Prix. Even ‘the Nige’ – I think he turned the car off at the last corner, so there’s always drama at this event. So looking forward to it.

    Jenson, talking of drama, you had it all here last year: qualified seventh, went back to last and came back to win. And yet apparently you’re concentrating on qualifying. But qualifying seems to go out the window here.

    Jenson BUTTON: Yeah, it did last year. It’s something you obviously still want to do – get as far up the grid and make your life as easy as possible on Sunday. As Mark said, a lot happens around here. Last year we obviously didn’t have the marbles but we had everything else we could thrown into the mix but we if we have a dry, hot race that’s something we’ll have to watch out for – we’ll have a lot of marbles on the circuit, as we’ve found in previous years. It’s a tough race, a tough race to get the car spot on but last year it definitely went our way.

    Let’s hope it goes your way this time because you are getting a little bit left behind in the championship. Is that something that you’re feeling?

    JB: To be fair I purposefully haven’t looked at the points for the past few races but I don’t think anyone is streaking ahead in the championship. As we have seen it’s been a very mixed bag over the first six races. But yeah, the last few races, I’ve retired twice and I’ve scored two points in the other race. They haven’t been my finest weekends. So, yes, I need to score some good points this weekend to get it back on track. I think we all come here hoping for a victory, aiming for a victory, but as we’ve seen for most of the season just being consistently in the double figures in terms of points is key really to fighting at the front this year. Looking forward to the weekend. I have some very special memories here, especially last year, but also 2010 and back when I qualified in pole here before. So looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we’ve got to play with.

    The McLaren GT car is also performing pretty well, I think it won both races in Navarra last weekend. Is that something that rubs off a little bit on the grand prix team as well?

    JB: We hope so! It’s very different obviously to Formula One, but those guys have been working very, very hard for the whole season to get it competitive, so yeah, it’s great that McLaren have had two back-to-back victories in Navarra last weekend.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Adrian Huber – Agencia EFE) A question for Felipe. Last week, Fernando said in Madrid, at the opening of the Ferrari store, that he was very much confident that you are from now on going to be scoring tons of points, fighting for podiums, even for victories maybe. Does this give you further impulse and are you aiming for better goals this season?

    FM: Yeah, for sure. I feel much better in the car. I think you know improving helps a lot the way of driving, especially for my driving style. I’m really looking forward to carry on like that, improving, getting stronger race by race, and fighting for many good points and even looking for victory and podium. This is the really the target, the direction and I feel much stronger in the car now compared to the beginning of the season.

    Q: (Daniel Bastien – FM103-3) Due to the high competitiveness this season, Jenson recently said he’s worried that anyone can win a race. Do the other drivers share that concern?

    JB: I think I said that the worry is that fans think we could all win, we could all lose.

    SP: I think anyone can win a race. You never what will happen in any race, so there is always the chance for every driver to have a nice surprise. I think especially this year, most of the top teams and also the middle teams are really close together, so it can be a surprise like it has happened this year with Pastor winning, so some others might come during the year.

    J-EV: I don’t really have much to say. I think he [Pérez] has said everything. I think maybe he forgot his second place as well! I think everything is possible. We just have to be at the right moment, in the right place, with a good car. So, yeah, maybe.

    PDR: There’s not much to say. I think it’s unfair to say that anybody could win but I think if you get the car in a sweet spot over the weekend, you need to be prepared and you can make a massive step forward.

    FM: The same.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A pair of questions for Felipe : first question is about the exhaust system. You will compare, both of you Ferrari drivers, the exhaust systems and I would like to know what is the target for that: if it is to find more downforce, traction and so on? And the second question is if you can clarify your answer in an interview that you gave during the week about the future? You were quoted as saying ‘if I can’t drive for Ferrari any more, I would prefer to do something else.’ Would it possible to see you, in the future, like Barrichello in IndyCar for example?

    FM: Well, the exhaust – we have some pieces to try here. The important thing is to find out some things. How much better, it’s difficult to say, we just need to try it, on the track, to see if it makes the car stronger, so we will see.

    (With reference to the second question) I didn’t really say what you said. I said for sure, in the future, the most important thing is to think about the present, thinking about race by race, the results. Try to carry on in the direction that we took in the last race, making good points and for sure, after August, we start to see (look at) what will happen in the future. I didn’t say ‘if I’m not at Ferrari any more, I will stop.’ I didn’t say that. I said ‘if I need to go to a small team, maybe I will think about doing something else.’ I’m here, always want to race, to fight for victory and that’s what I did for many years, and I’m looking forward to getting back to fighting for victories and the championship. I trust myself, as I said, it’s important to… the season didn’t start as I expected, but I think things are getting better so it’s important to carry on like this and I think if we do, it will be much easier and we will find a good direction for the future, to stay in Ferrari or find a good direction in which to race.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Jenson, you started the season with McLaren as a favourite, you won the first Grand Prix and since then, you seemed to have struggled to score big points. Do you have an explanation?

    JB: We could go through every single race. The second race was a mistake on my part and then in China we had a good chance of challenging for victory and we finished second, which, this season, getting consistent second places we would be leading the championship. That was a very good result but then the last three races have been a little bit more difficult. Some of it has been (because of) Saturday afternoon, but not all of it. When you put yourself in a difficult position in qualifying, you can either get unlucky or lucky at turn one, especially around a place like Monaco, and obviously we got very unlucky. Yeah, it just hasn’t really fallen into place. It’s a very competitive season in F1 and I think if you do have a mistake or something goes wrong where you don’t have luck on your side, you can be outside the points, or you can be scoring small points which in previous years would be a shock really, to be scoring two or three points in a Grand Prix when you’re driving for McLaren, but this season is very different. There are, if you look at the history in the sport, there are big teams, you would say, but this season you wouldn’t pick out McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull as being the big teams in the sport. It’s massively competitive. It just hasn’t gone my way and the team’s way over the last few races but that will turn round, and we will be back scoring good points.

    Q: (Randy Phillips – Montreal Gazzette) Jenson, can you just go back to last year: an incredible race, you said it was one of the best of your career if not the best. How long did it take you to decompress after that and really take in everything that happened that Sunday?

    JB: I can’t really remember much from that night and I lost a bit of memory as well. As soon as I got back to the hotel really, after any win, as we know, it’s a very special feeling crossing the finishing line and seeing the chequered flag first, celebrating with all your friends and family and the team. But that one was very different. I wouldn’t say it was a shock victory but it was unexpected at many points during the race, so it really did mean a lot and the adrenalin was still pumping through my veins for many hours afterwards. But yeah, I’ve watched it back, even this season I watched it back. With ten laps to go, you think it’s impossible that I could have won that Grand Prix, so a special weekend. Hopefully we can have some more like that over the next few years, but that doesn’t happen very often. I cherish that memory very much.

    Q: (Randy Phillips – Montreal Gazzette) Mark, as one of the six winners so far this year, can you speak of the competitive aspect of it, how we have more teams involved, more drivers, like never before?

    MW: Yeah, I don’t think there are many top teams at the moment. Obviously it’s very tight between everyone’s performances. It looks quite sensitive to venue, quite sensitive to temperatures, quite sensitive to drivers, even. It’s quite open, and that’s why we’ve seen some different results, different podiums, different winners, like we haven’t seen before. I think that the teams which were not very good with the regulations last year, like Ferrari, Williams, Sauber – they were not very quick with the blown floor – they had a good step this year, coming back to the people that made the blown floor very strong, like McLaren and Red Bull. That’s the way it is.

    Q: (Julien Febreau – L’Equipe) Mark, you are actually level with your teammate in the championship. Are you afraid that the situation could create some tensions in your team, as in 2010, or do you think that your team has known how to learn from the past?

    MW: It’s a good problem to have.

    Q: (John Lu  – TSN Canada) This question is for any of you who have had good experiences here in Montreal, at this venue. Open House Thursday has been one of the traditions at this track but at the pits today, due to forces outside of the track, just wondering how you feel that fans have not had the opportunity to interact with you this week, like they would have in years past?

    MW: I think in some cases it’s disappointing. We come here, it’s a sensational event for the whole season as one of the top few Grands Prix of the year; fans-wise, drivers, mechanics, photographers, journalists, everyone loves coming here. The city really embraces the event, the restaurants go for it, the driver parade lap here is one of the best parade laps we do in the season. So there’s a huge amount of positive aspects which we’ve had here. For a long long time, the Canadian Grand Prix has been held here in a very very positive fashion. Obviously I’m not completely up to speed with what’s going on with… like you say, some of the students are not happy with certain things. I’m not saying it’s a minority, but sometimes when there’s a little bit of tension then some other people can lose out. Like you say, some fans wanted to come and see the track today, so that’s really unfortunate. I’m sure that the weekend will go well. We want to put on a very very good weekend for everyone in Montreal and Canada and that’s the focus for everyone in Formula One.

    FM: We want to see all the fans, all the young people, students, everybody, we want to see them here with us, enjoying the sport, enjoying Formula One  and I hope everything becomes normal with this situation. For sure, for us we feel sad for this situation. We just want to see them here, enjoying themselves and enjoying the sport, nothing else but that.

    JB: I think it’s just a precautionary thing. It’s the start of the weekend, and we hope for a very exciting weekend and this is a big weekend for Formula One but also for Montreal. If you listen to the radio here, it’s non-stop talking about the Grand Prix. Hopefully this can be put behind us and we can concentrate on having a great weekend and putting on a great show for all of the fans who want to come and see us and enjoy this great sport. I’m sure the fans have good memories of last year especially, but also previous years. The city of Montreal really comes alive over a Grand Prix weekend, they really embrace it and hopefully that won’t be any different this year.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – Gazzetta dello Sport) Mark, the FIA has declared illegal the pierced floor that Red Bull has been using in the last few races. Will it be a disadvantage for you in the coming races, and what do you say when people say that you and Sebastian won races using an illegal car?

    MW: Well, to answer the first part of your question, I would not know if the floor is changed or unchanged, so on the driving side, we’re very optimistic that the change won’t make much difference at all. You won’t believe us but we had some changes for Valencia anyway which included no hole, irrespective of the rule change, so that’s what we were doing.

    In relation to winning races with an illegal car, I’m happy to be called lots of things and I’m happy to have criticism about my driving and lots of stuff, but I will not take criticism in that respect. It completely pisses me off to be honest, because the car has passed every single, every single technical regulation after the race. All of the teams that were against it did not make any protest after Monaco, the car passed the test after Bahrain, the car passed the test after Monaco and now there has been a clarification on the rule, and the rule now is different and we had a car that was legal for the first part of the season and now the rule has been changed and we will start again, so looking forward to it.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark, Red Bull has never won the race here, even in the season when you won almost everything. Are the circumstances very particular in this Grand Prix or does it just not suit your car?

    MW: It just looks like in ’09, ’10, we probably didn’t have the best car in low downforce or lower downforce. The team has been competitive for two or three, four seasons now and as you say, the Montreal win has not been there for us. Obviously Seb was very close last year but lost the concentration at the end and Jenson was there to capitalise. I think that judging by how the start of the season has gone, there is every chance that we can still do well here. If you look at Spa and Monza last year, we were very very very strong in those low downforce configuration track, actually stronger that we were on the other tracks but I don’t think that will carry over to this weekend. I think that there’s no real form card. We come here confident but not crazy on confidence. We know we have a lot of tough competition but I think Fernando was the last guy to win here with a Renault engine, so that’s something that they would like to win here again. They’ve had a lot of amazing success together with us at Red Bull, so as you say, it’s a bit of a scalp which would be nice to get. But again, it’s a nice problem to have when you’ve won so many races around the world in the last few years, but we would like to get Canada on track for Red Bull. When you’re aiming high, sometimes you don’t always get the goals.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) To all of you, a World Champion, Jacques Villeneuve, said this generation of drivers are all Daddy’s boys.

    JB: I’ll make a comment. Jacques has a very unusual way of answering questions but you’ve also just picked out one piece of his interview. Basically, the more important part of his interview is him talking about safety and the way that back in the seventies the drivers were more aware of there being a lot more risk and the possibilities of fatality. I think he was stating that these days racing has got safer, and the circuits have got safer, and he was talking about the manoeuvre with Nico and Lewis in Bahrain and he was stating that he didn’t think it was correct. That’s what he was saying. But that’s quite normal for you to pick out that sentence.

    Q: (Mineoki Yoneya – La Vie Creative) Can I ask you about your helmets ; how and where did you decide the colour schemes of your helmet and do you have any favourite points on it?

    MW: I designed my helmet in school classroom. It was a science lesson but I was very bored in the lesson so I was designing my helmet. I even remember the teacher’s name. She wasn’t very happy but I got some ideas and eventually I wanted to run with the Australian flag colours and then have the green and gold on top which are the sporting colours of Australia. Obviously I’ve lost a little bit of the green now at Red Bull because they don’t like green so much but it hasn’t changed. I want to keep it like that. It’s not super-exciting, but it’s close to me, I’ve had it for my whole career, so yeah, it was my design and I will start and finish with it.

    JB: Mine was back in ’94. I didn’t actually design it, someone else did but it’s changed over the years but it’s kept the same idea with the Union Jack – the Union Flag – on the back. It’s got JB on the side, it’s obviously personal to me. I’ve changed the colours now and again over the years but it’s back to being pretty standard now which is nice.

    FM: Well, my helmet’s design was from my father. My father used to race for fun but the colour was different. His colour was blue and orange and I changed it to blue, yellow and green, my country’s colours. I’ve used the same design since I started. For sure it gets a little bit more and more daring with the ears but it’s similar to how it was before. I think the helmet is like the face of the driver, I don’t really like to change it so much because it should be similar to when you started, you know. So I just changed the colours and the design was from my father, so I really enjoy it.

    ends

    Ends

  • Sahara Force India inch closer to 7th place

    File picture of Nico Hulkenberg who helped Forced India double finish at Monaco. Sahara Force India pic.

    Monaco: The only Indian Formula One team Sahara Force India has a pair of two foreign drivers in Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg who powered Force India to a double finish in points getting their team ten valuable points to inch closer to seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship after they finished seventh and eighth respectively at the Monaco Grand Prix, the sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship which saw a sixth different winner this season..

    With Sauber finishing out of the points, after Sergio Pérez see-sawed up and down the order to eventually finish 11th and Kamui Kobayashi retired due to damage sustained in a first-corner incident in which he hit the stranded Lotus of Romain Grosjean, Sahara Force India are now 13 points behind the Swiss team, on 28 points.

    After the race Di Resta paid tribute to his team’s strategy in helping him climb from 14th on the grid to his seventh-place finish, his fourth points haul of the season. “We went aggressive with the strategy and I have to say the team really optimised it,” he said of the decision to start on new Soft tyres before taking on Supersofts after 35 laps and making them work until the chequered flag. “The secret was managing the tyres and trying to find clean air when we could.

    “The car felt really good, much stronger than yesterday, and that allowed me to push when we needed to,” he added. “Fortunately, the rain held off at the end because that could have had a big impact on the end of the race. It’s great that we managed to get both cars in the points and we can celebrate tonight.”

    Hulkenberg, who had started ahead of Di Resta in 10th, was on a reverse programme, starting on Supersofts and then moving to Softs after 29 laps. The German, however, blamed traffic and the slow Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen for his eighth-place finish. “For the first few laps I was running with Michael [Schumacher] and we were stuck behind Kimi, who was struggling on the Supersofts, but it was difficult to get by,” he said.

    “Unfortunately, Kimi stopped on the same lap as me so I remained behind him and we came out in a lot of traffic, which is when Paul jumped ahead of me. The rest of the race was quite uneventful and I just focused on looking after the tyres. It’s a great result for the team and we should be happy with the result.”

    ends

  • The guys are drinking a lot of Red Bull: Webber

    Mark Webber of Red Bull makes it three in a row for the team at Monaco. –FIA photo.

    Monaco: The following drivers attended the final FIA post-race press conference for the podium finishers here on Sunday: Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing) whose first place finish made it a three in-a-row for Red Bull at Monaco while Nico ROSBERG of Mercedes and Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari) came second and third.

     TV UNILATERAL

    Mark, your second Monaco win, you won’t have a closer one than that, how are you feeling?

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, I’m feeling incredible mate. It was a very interesting race. Reasonably straightforward at the start: getting the gap on the Supersofts, just managing it with Nico. Obviously we had a bit of a gap over the rest as well, so both of us were getting away, and it was just a matter then of trying to get back into a reasonable gap. Also, the weather was threatening around that pit stop window as well and we weren’t sure if we should go a bit longer there and put a set of inters on if it rained or whatever. But Nico went for it, went early with the undercut, so obviously a few people had to react to his first chess move, and then the next phase of the race was very strange. It was very hard to get the Soft tyre warmed up, the harder tyres in terms of Prime tyre, and Seb, obviously, had his in and it wasn’t wearing down that much. So he was then coming back into the picture with his strategy. We were all trying to get temperature and at the start of the stint I had very, very low front grip and I had to manage that and move the brake balance around and things like that trying to get everything organised, and [I was] managing Nico and everyone else. But also, Seb’s going ‘Hmmm, this is interesting’, so I didn’t want him to get the magic 21 seconds, to make sure he couldn’t do the stop and get the victory – that wasn’t part of the plan. I managed to sort that out and I could concentrate on Nico again and then get the car to the end. But the rain – as Fernando said coming across in the car, there were times when he was praying for rain, saying ‘good, come on, rain, rain’, and then when it started he was saying, ‘no, no, I don’t want it to rain’. I think it was like that for everybody, except for me, because the first guy there is always tricky. So, amazing day for the team and myself. Yeah, so I’m really, really happy to have won here again. A great memory for me. Fantastic.

    Nico, so close at the end – 0.6 seconds behind Mark. You tried a number of different things and you probably hoped for the rain as well but in the end I guess it wasn’t to be.

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, in general. At the beginning it was pretty straightforward. I was hoping for a good start, I had a good start, but Mark had a pretty good start too. That was it then. And then, it was just a matter of tyre management and everything and I must say I was a bit surprised by how strong we were not only in qualifying but also in the race. I think, at the end of day, for the weekend, we probably had the fastest car out there, in qualifying and the race, which is great to see, because we’re just making progress all the time, so that’s fantastic. Unfortunately, it didn’t come together perfectly, so P2, it could have been P1 I think this weekend but there we are. No, I’m very happy with second place of course. It got a bit difficult there in the end, with the rain and the warm-up of the harder tyres but I’m very pleased.

    Fernando, fifth on the grid, third at the finish, you now have sole control of the World Championship lead. Does this feel like a win to you?

    Fernando ALONSO: Well, our target obviously was to try to finish in front of Sebastian, in front of Lewis – they were with us in the World Championship. And if you go race by race you concentrate on different drivers. The next one will be Mark, now he’s second in the championship. So, it will be interesting also this season with constant development of the car and the constant surprises we are having every race – you never know which one will be on pole or take the race win. Everything went smooth after the start, but I had a contact with Grosjean. At that point I thought maybe the car was damaged or something but the car was perfectly fine so I keep running. I felt good, I felt competitive but in Monaco it’s difficult with the traffic, to manage the traffic. We overtook Hamilton at the stop, with a perfect time, a perfect pit stop again. Thanks to the team I think we are in a privileged position and well done to all of them.

    Mark, back to you. The start, obviously, was decisive and as you say, you got a good one. It’s not always been your strength. Tell us about today’s.

    MW: Yeah, it went well. The first initial getaway was very good and control after that was good, but I knew straight away it was enough to get to turn one in good shape, so that was important. The next thing was the pit stop. When Nico went two laps short – aggressive underneath me in terms of pit stop, I thought ‘I hope he can’t get the tyres in’. But I was happy. Obviously I have full trust in the guys doing the strategy that he wasn’t doing much more than me or in traffic or whatever. So that was the next key phase and then obviously down to the driver in terms of concentration to the maximum.

    Nico, tell us about how the strategies here this afternoon, because the way this race unfolded wasn’t really the way it was predicted. There were expectations of two stops. Tell us how things changed during the race.

    NR: Well, it was pretty straightforward. You know, there’s two way to beat Mark. One is to go really long and hope that I’m that much faster in the end, which is even more difficult. The better chance was to go short and hope that I could put in some really good lap times straight away out the pits. But with the one lap it was just difficult and that’s why I couldn’t go fast enough to beat him on the track.

    Fernando, you mentioned avoiding the spinning Romain Grosjean in the Lotus. Just tell us in a bit more detail what it was like to see that car go through 90 degrees and work out what to do next.

    FA: Well, I had a fantastic start and in the first 10 metres I was side by side with Romain and I was passing Lewis as well but it was fair. They went close to each other and I put the car in the middle I think I touched Romain with my rear left and his right front and after that touch he spun. We were lucky that nothing was damaged on the car. After that spin of Romain, positions mixed a little bit. I think I saw Vettel like position five or six after the start. So some people were hurt and some people gained some advantage.

    Back to you Mark, you’re the sixth different winner in the first six grands prix of the season – never happened before in Formula One. What’s it like to be part of this amazing season?

    MW: Pretty good. I think we’re a little bit… like Fernando said, it’s up and down quali and the races are hard to predict so even for us, how we judge how the grand prix is going to unfold is not particularly straightforward. That is sometimes frustrating for us, because we’d like to push the limit and get the most out of everything we have, but we have to leave margin in not only strategy but also in driving and all that sort of stuff. So it’s different to how it was in the past. So maybe we’ll have seven different winners after Montreal, you never know. But hopefully we can get a bit of routine now. I think we got the maximum; we absolutely got the maximum out of this weekend. We were very, very fortunate to get pole. I was very, very happy with my lap. Then we knew that he race was our, not to lose, but it was a very, very special victory for us today. So, more to come hopefully.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Well done Mark. Was it any easier the second time? I don’t suppose it was.

    MW: This one was harder. Obviously the strategy was very different but we knew that from the start of the race that it was going to be different to the 2010 victory if I managed to try to win here. The start of the grand prix was reasonably going to plan on the supersoft. Pretty happy with how long that tyre went but we still couldn’t quite get the gaps that we were after in terms of the mid-pack. Obviously Nico went for it, a bit shorter, and I was a little surprised that he went then because the tyres were still going not too bad – but it was worth a go.

    And then the race started to take a little bit of a different phase because then we had… going to the prime tyre – the soft – wasn’t our ideal. We had to run it, obviously, but it was a very tricky tyre to get started. Obviously Seb was in the groove and underway and he was doing some very quick lap times in that part of the grand prix. And it was hard for us to get going, so I had to keep an eye on the Sebastian gap but also manage the… we needed to finish the grand prix on those tyres.

    So when Seb pitted, then I could revert my concentration back to Nico. It was pretty good after that. I must say that there were a lot of marbles on the track. Marbles are tricky, especially at Turn Three, the track was incredibly narrow there, it was just one car width wide, and then the rain. And it’s always tricky when you’re the first guy arriving into corners when it’s sprinkling. So, again, on other tracks and in different conditions, a little bit of rain like that, you wouldn’t really have to back off so much for it but all of a sudden the car is wheel spinning, the front’s not biting, and around this place that’s not very encouraging. Particularly when you’re in the lead with only ten minutes to go in the race. So it required me then to really, really control the race and get the car home.

    The start was key, the pitstop was key, both of them went well. I did a little bit of work in between and we got an incredible victory that I’m very, very happy with. It’s great memories for me to win here twice, fair and square off the pole positions. So I’m happy. Nico kept me honest. I had him under control but he drove well as well, and after that I didn’t see what else happened – but yeah, it was good grand prix.

    Nico, at the start was there anything you could have done any better?

    NR: No! My engineer and my team gave me a great start – but the problem was Mark had a great start too. I got away really well but he did too. We were miles clear of everybody else but not enough to get him. And from then on Mark drove a really, really good race, very controlled and at all times in control of what he was doing and in control of me also. So there was not much I could do. But in general it’s been a really good weekend for me, for the team and I have to say that I think I had the best car out there today, that was my feeling, so that’s really cool and lets me home for a lot more in the next few races. It’s really nice to see how we’re progressing so quickly.

    You got a lot closer in the rain, in the wet conditions, did you have any plans how you were going to get past?

    NR: No – I was hoping I might get a chance or something but my tyres were really struggling too and also I had Fernando behind me and at times it was very difficult, just front and rear warm up, tyres lost temperature and then they picked up again towards the end. So it was a little bit easier in the end but very much on the limit.

    What does it mean to be standing here on the podium here in your home town, as it were, your home country?

    NR: It’s very special, having grown up here. It’s great. The way through the tunnel is my way to school, so it was fantastic and I’m very happy.

    Fernando, I guess the crucial thing was jumping Hamilton at the pit stop?

    FA: Yes. I think the start was the first point where we had the opportunity to gain some places, we did a great start again. We had to lift off because there was no space between Lewis and Grosjean, if not we could also overtake Lewis at the start and maybe the race was different. It was good being fourth in the first corner and then Lewis had quite big degradation because he was so slow and before the pit stop we get close and then with one extra lap it was enough to jump him at the stop. I think the tyres were surprisingly good, surprisingly consistent, so with the warm-up problems and the pace that we had after the pit stop, I think if we run longer with that tyre maybe there was the chance to win even more positions, as Sebastian tried to do. So, that was close but it is always difficult to predict. I think it was surprisingly good, the supersoft, and maybe surprisingly difficult to warm up the softs. You never know – only after the race.

    Did you have any plans at the end? You were all so close…

    FA: If rain, then yes. I think at 20 laps to the end they said ‘maybe rain is coming’. And I said, if rain is coming we have to attack. We would put on intermediate tyres and there is always a better chance to overtake in the wet than in the dry. We were out there ready to risk, because victory in Monaco means a lot. So, we were optimistic on that, but then five or six laps to the end with the drops of rain that we had, I think we were all praying ‘no more rain’ because it was so difficult. As Mark explained, the difficulty of being the first two or three cars, you don’t know how the next corner will be. You have a little snap, a little bit of front problem in the corner before, you see all the drops on the visor on the straight and when you approach the next corner at 250kph, how wet will be that corner? You never know. At that point, five laps to the end, we all, I think, want to keep positions and finish the race as we were.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Mark, were your settings very different from Seb’s? And is it one of the keys to your victory today?

    MW: I think, in general, qualifying has gone very well for me this year. Seb got me once in Bahrain, the rest have gone for well for me. Set-up-wise, we’ve always been pretty close, we always work very well as a team, to get the most out of both cars. He made some changes before qualifying, which – it looks in hindsight he wasn’t particularly happy with. That’s how it is sometimes for us drivers. Obviously we get it wrong and we get it right. Round here, if you haven’t got the confidence, then you’re not quick, which happened with Seb. He didn’t have the confidence in qualifying and he couldn’t produce the times, so that can happen at any venue. If you want to look at the battle between us then it was key that obviously qualifying went well for me but then I had my own battle with these guys, so if I just relaxed and tried to bed in by one tenth, I would have qualified eighth, so I need to keep my finger out and keep going.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Mark, you and Seb are tied three points behind Fernando. You’ve said before that wins are what you really need for a championship; you got 25 points today. How much does that boost your championship bid?

    MW: It’s timely off the back of a difficult weekend for us in Barcelona, through a few small things that we got wrong, and ultimately we paid for that with no points in Barcelona. Up until then, generally, we’ve got the maximum out of most weekends, and that was the case this weekend. So that’s all we can keep doing, Dan, is getting the most out of each weekend. In Shanghai, Nico was untouchable, Barcelona the Williams was quick. So we need to be scoring all the time and then when days like this come along you just cannot let them go at all. You have to grab them with both hands and feet and hang on to them like hell. That was the plan today but consistency is nice, but wins are what wins championships – well, DNFs can shag championships as well, but you need to win and then keep consistent.

    Q: (Jaime Rodriguez –El Mundo) Fernando, you seemed extremely happy on the podium. What does it mean for you to be leading the championship, and what is the secret of this change in the team?

    FA: I was happy all weekend. Yesterday there was some disappointment in the atmosphere around the result in qualifying, because we had been strong in free practice and then maybe people expected us to be fighting for better positions in qualifying, but inside the team we were extremely happy. We were fifth and seventh for the first time in 2012, both in Q3 after fighting to get through in some of the races one month ago, so this was definitely a very strong weekend with a good qualifying position and I think a good race position as well. In fact we overtook some other teams in the Constructors’ championship today with some good points, finally, so I was happy for that, happy for the direction or happy for the momentum that we seemed to have kept from the Mugello test so that we brought some updates for the car. Everything seems to work, not as at the start of the championship when some of the updates were negative and we were a little bit lost, so now we are happy not for the result, not for the pace which we understand that we need to improve – we are not the fastest out there – but happy for the direction that it seems we are in. Everything that we put on the car seems positive, so the next couple of weeks will be important.

    Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) Mark, at what stage did you think you had the race won?

    MW: Lap 78, out of turn 19. That’s Monaco. I watched the 1983 or ’82 Monaco Grand Prix. Prost was leading with two laps to go and he crashed. So you never get ahead of yourself around here, because you’ll get bitten in the arse really hard. So after the last corner was when I thought I was going to win.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Fernando, the lap before your pit stop, you had two purple sectors. Was the set of tyres good enough to do again the next but one lap and could you have possibly jumped Nico or even Mark?

    FA: Yeah, definitely I think so, but as I explained before, nobody predicted the problems with the soft tyre warm-up today. The temperature, the track conditions, whatever it was, the soft was not very quick at the beginning, so when the people around us stopped, you need to make a decision. At the same time, nobody predicted that on lap 30, the supersoft would do pink sectors every lap. Knowing now what Sebastian tried to do and how our in lap was and the tyre state on that lap, with a few more laps, for sure we could jump Nico and Mark.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark, last year, at the same Grand Prix, you had a completely different situation than you have today, mainly compared to your teammate. He had won several races, you nothing, even inside the team it was different. Can you tell us what is the big difference between last year and this year?

    MW: Yeah, last year was a little bit of a mystery to be honest. The gap sometimes was really really extreme and it was hard for me to understand why it was like that sometimes. I think there was also a factor of me getting on top of the tyres but it wasn’t all of it. I didn’t feel that I had lost that much form but as the season went on, obviously things got a bit closer and a little bit better. But you’re correct in your question, the first five months was very tough and I was in a different category to the other car, whereas this year it’s much much more like 2009 or 2010, which is nice.

    Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Mark, Red Bull Racing won today and the last two Grands Prix in Monaco. How do you do it?

    MW: Well, we’ve been on pole position for the last three years here as well, which is a big help. 2010 was a similar race – actually the last three have been similar. I think they’ve all been one stop races, obviously different safety cars. Sebastian had a red flag to help him a little bit to get him over the line last year, but generally I think that we’ve had a very very good car every time we’ve come here. I think this year is probably the weakest car we’ve had here in the three years that we’ve come here, but it was still enough to win, so the other years were a little bit more straightforward, this one was much much more difficult. I don’t know, maybe the guys are drinking a lot of Red Bull and it gets them in the zone for the special weekend, but they’re very fortunate we’ve won three in row here and it’s a brilliant effort from the team.

    Ends

  • Webber throws up a new winner as 2012 F1 opens up

    Monaco, 28 May 2012: 

    From pole position Webber got a good start on Sunday, got to the first corner ahead of Nico Rosberg and never looked troubled. 78 laps later the first six crossed the line nose to tail, but this was rather more exciting than that suggests. Behind him Romain Grosjean spun after contact with Michael Schumacher. Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber hit the spinning Lotus and both were out. The sixth race of the season also threw up a new winner in Webber to make it six different winners in six races at the principality of Monaco. Thus Webber became a double winner at the street circuit and joined the exclusive club

    Webber, 2nd from left, poses after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. An FIA photo.

    .

    The safety car was deployed, the order behind it was Webber leading from Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Alonso, Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Räikkönen, Schumacher, Nico Hulkenberg and Bruno Senna. The variable in play was that Vettel, like Button and di Resta further down the order, was on the soft tyre, the other leaders were using the supersoft. Rosberg was the first man in for tyres, stopping on lap 27. Webber followed two laps later and got out comfortably in front of Rosberg. Hamilton, Räikkönen and Hulkenberg stopped at the same time.

    One lap later Alonso came in and picked Hamilton’s pocket. Schumacher stayed out until lap 34 and jumped Räikkönen. The Finn had emerged behind the Marussia of Charles Pic and, with no way through, was forced to lap three seconds slower than Schumacher for several tours. Vettel led the race and began to put in a series of fast laps. His hope would have been to build up a cushion of over 20 seconds to be able to stop and retain his lead, but Webber began to pace himself against his team-mate and Vettel’s lead never got above 18 seconds. Finally it began to decrease as his tyres went away: he pitted on lap 46 and emerged in fourth, having jumped Hamilton and Massa.

    “I was a little surprised that [Rosberg] went then because the tyres were still going not too bad – but it was worth a go,” said Webber in the FIA press conference after the race. “The prime tyre was a very tricky tyre to get started. Obviously Seb was in the groove and underway and he was doing some very quick lap times in that part of the grand prix. And it was hard for us to get going, so I had to keep an eye on the Sebastian gap but also manage the tyres. So when Seb pitted, then I could revert my concentration back to Nico. It was pretty good after that.”

    Schumacher was forced to retire from seventh with a fuel pressure problem and then rain began to threaten but only a few drops fell on the circuit. It was enough to make Webber drop his pace by a few seconds and the leaders bunched behind him.

    “It’s always tricky when you’re the first guy arriving into corners when it’s sprinkling,” said Webber. “On other tracks, a little bit of rain like that, you wouldn’t really have to back off so much but all of a sudden the car is wheel-spinning, the front’s not biting, and around this place that’s not very encouraging. Particularly when you’re in the lead with only ten minutes to go in the race. So it required me then to really, really control the race and get the car home.”

    Despite the first six being covered by two seconds, no-one attempted anything desperate in the damp laps. “I was hoping I might get a chance or something but my tyres were really struggling too,” said Rosberg. “Also, I had Fernando behind me and at times it was very difficult, just front and rear warm up, tyres lost temperature and then they picked up again towards the end.”

    Alonso, whose third place lifts him into the championship lead, agreed. “Five or six laps to the end with the drops of rain that we had, I think we were all praying ‘no more rain’ because it was so difficult.”

    What rain there was soon abated and the track dried, allowing the front runners to resume lapping at their previous pace. Webber took victory, pushed across the line by Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton and Massa. Further back Force India had a good day with di Resta and Hulkenberg seventh and eighth. Kimi Räikkönen was ninth for a disappointed Lotus and Bruno Senna took a consolation point for Williams.

    Alonso leads the Drivers’ Championship on 76 points, closely followed by Vettel and Webber on 73 each. Red Bull Racing had a fine day and extended their lead in that competition to 38 points, with 146 to McLaren’s 108.

    “It was a very, very special victory today, and hopefully there’s more to come,” said a jubilant Webber. “The start was key, the pitstop was key, both of them went well. I did a little bit of work in between and we got an incredible victory that I’m very, very happy with. It’s great memories for me to win here twice, fair and square off the pole positions. Nico kept me honest. I had him under control but he drove well. It was good grand prix.”

    ends