INDIA in F1

Author: David Bodapati

  • Hamilton takes 71st career pole: Japanese GP

    Lewis Hamilton took his 71st career pole position and his first at Japan’s Suzuka Circuit as he beat Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas by three tenths of a second with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel third. However, title contender Vettel will start alongside championship leader Hamilton on the front row as Bottas is set for a grid penalty due to an unscheduled gearbox change.

    Hamilton set the pace in Q1, rising to the top of the timesheet around 10 minutes into the session with a lap of 1:29.047 on soft tyres. He was followed by Kimi Räikkönen, the Finn recovering from an FP3 crash to post a time of 1:29.163. Raikkonen’s earlier crash had, however, necessitated a change of gearbox so he will face a five-place drop down the grid for tomorrow’s race. Max Verstappen took third place in Q1 ahead of Bottas, Vettel and sixth-placed Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull.

    The opening session was brought to an early end after just under 17 minutes when Haas’ Romain Grosjean crashed heavily at the end of the Esses section of the track. The red flags were immediately shown.

    With just 1m18s left on the clock there was not enough time available for any drivers to complete a warm-up lap and cross the start/finish line before the chequered flag fell, so the decision was taken to not restart the session. Thus, eliminated at the end of Q1 were 16th-placed Grosjean, Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, Williams’ Lance Stroll and the Saubers of Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein.

    Stroll was somewhat unfortunate as he claimed to have been blocked by Force India’s Sergio Perez earlier in the session, a complaint that resulted in stewards investigating the incident. However, after viewing footage from multiple angles, the stewards ruled that no further action was necessary.

    Hamilton seized an early advantage in Q2, claiming P1 with a time of 1:27.819. He was followed by Vettel, though the German was over six tenths adrift of his title rival. Bottas took third place on his opening run with a lap of 1:28.543 set on soft tyres, with Verstappen fourth ahead of Ricciardo. Sixth place went to Raikkonen, who  opted to complete his first run on soft tyres and he will start on that set.

    The Red Bull drivers elected to stay in their garage for the final runs and though Hamilton took to the track, he eventually abandoned his run despite being quickest through the first two sectors. Vettel improved to a time of 1:28.225, while Bottas took third on soft tyres, which means that like Räikkönen, he will start on the soft compound.

    In the drop zone ahead of the final runs was 11th-placed Fernando Alonso who had been edged out of the top 10 by just five hundredths of a second by McLaren team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne. Also in danger ahead of the final runs were P12 man Nico Hulkenberg of Renault, followed by team-mate Jolyon Palmer, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz.

    Alonso was the only driver to escape the danger zone, with the Spaniard displacing Vandoorne to take 10th place, but it was something of a Pyrrhic victory as Alonso is set to take a 35-place grid penalty for changed engine elements. Vandoorne will therefore get a choice of starting tyre but will move up into the top 10.

    At the end of the first runs of Q3, Hamilton sat in provisional pole position with a time of 1:27.345. That put him a comfortable 0.452s ahead of second-placed Vettel, with Bottas third ahead of the Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Verstappen.

    And the Briton proved to be untouchable in the final runs. He made a marginal improvement to 1:27.319 but it wasn’t necessary. Vettel could only find six thousandths of a second over his opening time and that allowed Bottas to claim P2 with a lap of 1:27.651.

    Bottas, though, will drop five places and Vettel will therefore start on the front row ahead of Ricciardo and Verstappen who qualified fourth and fifth respectively.

    Raikkonen was sixth in qualifying ahead of Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. Felipe Massa was ninth for Williams while Fernando Alonso was tenth.

    eom/FIA press conference

  • It is a real surprise, says Hamilton about his pole: Malaysian GP

    It is a real surprise, says Hamilton about his pole: Malaysian GP

    Hamilton after taking the pole in the Malaysian GP on Saturday. An FIA image

    DRIVERS: 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes); 2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari); 3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS (conducted by Johnny Herbert)

    Lewis, what a great result for you. You must be very happy. That looked like a pretty decent lap?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Firstly, look at this crowd. I know it’s our last grand prix here but this is the best crowd I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for all the support. We had no idea how it was going to go today. I’m sorry for whatever happened to Sebastian, because obviously he was very, very quick through practice. But somehow we turned it round. The engineers did such a great job yesterday, the car felt great, for both Valtteri and I, and so it’s a real surprise to be up here with these guys, so I’m very, very grateful.

    Kimi come and join us. What a try that was! Happy with that? I’m sure you wanted just a little bit more. I would have thought you would have done one of the old karting moves – jumping up and down in the seat, leaning forward. Maybe you should do that next time. 

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, it’s OK, but obviously when you get that close it’s disappointing. I made the most out of it. Yes, there are always places you can improve, but you are never going to get it 100% perfect anywhere. You always find some things you can improve, but I must say the car has been behaving nicely all weekend and it’s been a pleasure so far. We’ll try to get further than 100 metres tomorrow, and let’s see what we can do.

    Tomorrow is going to be important, obviously you have been on the front row before but this is going to be an interesting little drive towards Turn One. Are you ready for this? This crowd is looking forward to a big race tomorrow, yeah?

    KR: Yeah, obviously it’s a long way, so if you make a good start you will benefit quite a bit from it. It’s a pretty tight first two corners and a lot usually happens. We’ll try to make sure the first two corners go well and go from there. I think we’re going to have a very good race car, so let’s see.

    Well here’s a man we’re going to get on – the birthday boy, that you got on very closely with in the last race. Hopefully that’s not going to be the case. Max, happy with that result? You seemed to get the best from the car. 

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I think it’s good for us in qualifying to be in this position. I mean it’s always good to drive on this track, especially in qualifying – Turns 5 and 6 are flat out, so it’s a lot of fun. And also the crowd – it’s amazing how passionate they are. So on my birthday to be third here is perfect.

    LH: I thought you were 19?

    MV: Twenty now.

    LH: Twenty now! Does he look much younger than me?

    I’m sorry to say, yes. Lewis, tomorrow, the race is going to be so important. We know what happened the last time out, but this is a long run up to Turn 1, but you must be looking forward to it, because this is the perfect situation for you.

    LH: It is. Obviously we are going to have a tough battle with these guys. Particularly the Red Bulls had really great long-run pace yesterday, and today I think. I’m hoping our car has moved in the right direction for the race run but we’ll see tomorrow. But there is a long, long run down to Turn 1, so lots can happen. But exciting to see all these guys coming out tomorrow and hopefully [it will be] the biggest crowd we’ve ever had.

    You’re going to be after the perfect start, Kimi, Max, tomorrow you’re going to want to get in front of this guy, who is the man who is going to do that.

    MV: I don’t want to be sandwiched – that’s the only thing.

    Kimi?

    KR: I don’t want to be hit.

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Lewis, fifth Malaysian pole position, four years in a row here, and becomes the first man in Formula One history to get into the 70s of pole positions. What a turnaround from yesterday, and even from this morning. Seven tenths of a second ahead of your team-mate suggest that was a moment of inspiration. Tell us about it.

    LH: We had such a difficult day yesterday; it was difficult to know where we stood. I didn’t sleep very well, just like all my engineers as well, because we didn’t know whether we would fix the issue or not. But today we arrived and the car was much better but still I think it looked like the Ferraris were a little bit ahead. We had some big calls to make going into qualifying and then those laps were, particularly the last one, the first Q3 lap, was very well put together, a very nice lap. I don’t really know where it came from, to be honest, so I’m a little bit surprised at myself. As I said, it’s a surprise to be up here. I’m very grateful. These guys have been driving exceptionally well all weekend. It’s always a special thing to be able to extract a little bit more out of the car than it’s particularly willing to go. That’s what I’ve always enjoyed, since my dad would say… my first go-kart was fifth-hand or something like that, and he’d say it was like a four-poster bed. Not that my car was a four-poster bed today but I was hoping I could extract a little bit more out of it.

    You acknowledged in Singapore that you had a slice of luck with what happened at the start, and a slice of luck with your main title rival Vettel starting from the back of the grid. You’ve got to capitalise on it, so will Valtteri have a part to play in it as Vettel comes through the field?

    LH: I haven’t really thought… I don’t know what happened to Sebastian. I mean, he would have been up there with us, he’d been driving well all weekend, very, very quick, between him and Kimi. Very unfortunate for him, but of course we just have to continue to focus on our job and try to maximise on every opportunity that we get collectively. Hopefully we are in a good position for tomorrow. Obviously we have put ourselves in the best position for tomorrow but we still have a tough race ahead of us, so we’ll just try and keep our heads down and hopefully those behind me and it will just unfold the way it unfolds.

    Q: Kimi, it equals your best qualifying performance here in Sepang: 0.045 of a second off pole position. A lot of weight on your shoulders obviously in qualifying from the Ferrari team with Vettel in trouble. You were on target, it seemed, until the final corner – tell us about it.

    KR: Well, I don’t know. Obviously, I only know how it was and I think overall, the whole weekend, it’s been pretty straightforward. The car’s been handling well. I think we were quite happy all day, also in qualifying but, y’know, you can always improve here and there. I don’t think you ever going to make an absolutely perfect lap and it’s a bit more painful when you get that close, for sure. There’s places that you improve a little bit and it’s just enough – but it wasn’t today. Obviously was a shame for the team, with Seb’s issue, whatever, not having him in the qualifying – but that’s how it goes sometimes. I think the car’s [inaudible] very well but to try to fix it and then obviously had some problem. It’s a shame for him. Sure he will be good tomorrow. I’m happy but I’d rather have qualified in first place but I think tomorrow is a long race, it’s going to be tough for tyres and I think we should have a very good car tomorrow. I have a good feeling about it.

    Q: Max, happy 20th birthday. Going well so far…

    MV: Thank you very much!

    …strong weekend thus far. I think it’s the 11th time now this season you’ve out-qualified Daniel, so once again very strong qualifying performance. Four-tenths off today in qualifying but do you feel with what you saw yesterday in the long runs, quite low degradation, the car looked quick, obviously, the faint possibility of rain as well, that there’s room for optimism in the race tomorrow.

    MV: Well, for sure, if it rains, then then I think we always have a good opportunity. I think in the dry today, I’m actually very happy that I’m here in third because this morning – afternoon, the last session – I was struggling a lot with the balance of the car. Actually, the whole weekend has been up and down in terms of happiness with the car but we managed to do a good qualifying again. Really happy with that, of course. The car, except maybe the final run in Q3, before that was really well balanced, so I can’t complain. I think we could have been a bit closer, definitely we couldn’t have beaten them today but for us, to be third here, on this track, is perfect. Also, in the long runs, it was all looking good. If it’s good enough, I don’t know. We’ll see tomorrow. From my side, I want to have a good Sunday finally. Because every time on Saturday it’s always going well, but on Sunday I haven’t scored a lot of points.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, in the long runs yesterday you didn’t show good performance and today you have very good performance in one lap. Do you have an indication with this new setup for the race?

    LH: Yeah, in the P3 we did a long-ish short run, only five laps. I think the car was in a much better position but I think we were something like four- or five-tenths off the other guys. So we shall see tomorrow whether that is still the case – but I think we made some changes going into qualifying that should suit the car better for tomorrow, so I’m hopefully that we will be there or thereabouts.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Question for Max, as you turn 20, you’re no longer a teen sensation so to speak. What is the highlights of your career. If you had to choose, for example, between Interlagos, coming through the rain and that victory on your debut, which would you choose?

    MV: It’s difficult. To be honest, I think my best memory is still from go-karting, when I won the World Championship, because you always dream of it, to achieve something like that, and especially… I worked really hard with my Dad, to achieve something like that, because he was my engine tuner, he was my mechanic. We have travelled the world together since I was four years old. I think I was 15 at the time. You win the World Championship in the highest category in go-karting. That was very emotional. Then the victory in Spain was also very emotional at the time – but I want to win a race on merit and not with luck. So that hasn’t happened yet, so I think still that victory in go-karting is more satisfying.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, in Monaco you won the pole with the same margin as you did lose it today. How big is the difference in your feeling compared to that Monaco?

    KR: It makes no difference to compare what happened in Monaco with here. I don’t really care what’s the time difference, or position today. It’s what happened. We came second, I’m pretty happy because things have been running pretty smoothly all weekend and I think we’re going to have a good car tomorrow, at least so far that’s how it’s been. You always look for more and for sure there’s always things to improve, to go a bit faster and that little bit would have been enough today.

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, once again Beast-mode. You find a way to really turn it up when your back is against the wall like this, again we’re seeing this level that you can’t figure out where it’s coming from. What is it, the many fans out there that, the Union Jacks, all the Lewis Hamilton fans, team LH is out there, coming thousands of miles to watch you race at this last Malaysian Grand Prix?

    LH: Well one thing for sure, the support is… I mean, we’ve been coming here for ten years and it’s known not to have a very attendance here but the crowd already from Thursday was pretty awesome and today, every time you leave the garage, every time you come in, I can see all these flags opposite my garage. It’s the most… in all the ten years put together, today was more than all of those. Incredibly grateful for that. Of course, I get a lot of energy from that, and from special people I met, I met this young kid, Brandon, the other day who just was the highlight of the week, and then I guess always digging deep. I’m very, very grateful that the laps have come at the right time, throughout qualifying, because you know you approach it and you hope that you’re able to execute at the right time – but it’s not always… you’re never always on point but so far this weekend and particularly, obviously, just now, that lap, the one that really counts was the one I need and the one that I got. So it’s a combination of a lot of things, but my team worked so hard last night to really try to… I think they were here until 2am, trying to understand the car and make sure we made the right steps with real good analysis, so I’m grateful for all that hard work.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, you took the old aero package today, your teammate the new one, was it your decision, was it a joint decision and why did you take the decision to go back to the old one?

    LH: How do you know that? Hmm? Did Niki tell you that? We came with an upgrade that was supposed to be better but we were unsure yesterday because we were so far off. We went back to one car trying one, the other car trying the other. Before qualifying I was thinking of going back to the new package because Valtteri’s and my times were very similar and Valtteri seemed really happy with it and so I didn’t want to carry a penalty going into qualifying. You want every little millisecond you can get but there wasn’t really enough time so we ended up staying with it and also it was kind of a risk, changing the car again for qualifying and maybe getting something wrong and so we just… that was really why we ended up staying with it but fortunately I’d done P3 with it so I was quite comfortable with where I was and it provided a stepping stone in terms of making the set-up change. Ultimately it was down, it is down in performance but fortunately it didn’t make a difference.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Lewis, did that experience of having a home Finnish sauna help you to beat this other Finnish guy because you seem to be sweating less than him?

    LH: Did you say the home Finnish sauna? I haven’t been in it for a long time. I used the sauna here but it’s not as good as a Finnish sauna. I used the one in KL. Kimi, do you still use a sauna? You do? It doesn’t strike me as a usual Finnish guy, Kimi, but for me, coming from England, this is a sauna here. It’s bloody roasting.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – De Volksrant) Max, touching upon the extension of contracts for China and Singapore and the possibility of new races being added in the near future, how do you feel about a calendar with 24 races? I believe Fernando Alonso isn’t a fan of expanding the calendar and Lewis isn’t that fond of it as well, I heard.

    MV: I think 21 is more than enough. I think it’s already quite a lot.

    LH: Shit. Is it really 24? They’re talking about 24?

    MV: Yeah. Yeah, I think it’s quite a lot. So I may…

    LH: He’s young, he’s got…

    MV: Several family and friends. Racing is one part but you also have your private life, away from racing, but you don’t really see them a lot, so I think if you’re going to do 24, 25, it’s not only for the drivers but also the mechanics. I think it’s better to get a divorce straight away.

    Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) Lewis, I guess we have got three top teams again after the start of the season where it was mainly Mercedes and Ferrari. Are you happy with more battles? Does it make it better?

    LH: Absolutely, absolutely. I think we need even more than that. Red Bull have really stepped it up, stepped up their game in the last… through the last race and coming here and it’s great to see them performing so well. We obviously want them to be even closer so it really mixes things up. I was hopeful they were going to be even quicker today but I don’t know what happened, whether they lost a little bit of pace or not. But yesterday they were looking fantastic but again, their long run pace in the race here is often very very good so without doubt tomorrow they will be on our tails, I would imagine. In the past they’ve always been great here and looking after their tyres and keeping the temperatures low. I think it’s great, I think it’s more exciting for the fans. Wouldn’t it be great if we had Williams back there and McLaren back there and then there would be a real race.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Kimi, your teammate is in the back, he’s fighting for the championship. You on the first row, do you think you can believe also the team can ask you to change the strategy in order to take maximum possible points from Lewis, keeping that in mind?

    KR: What do you  mean exactly, because as a team, we want to get maximum points out of any race with two cars and obviously for Seb we hope he’s going to make a good recovery but it’s not going to change my  race. We’re always going to try and make the fastest race and I don’t really know what else…

    eom/FIA transcript of the press conference

  • Sai Rahil wins championship on debut; Jagan takes the fight to the last race: 2w Nationals

    Sai Rahil wins championship on debut; Jagan takes the fight to the last race: 2w Nationals

    Amarnath Menon. Photos by Anand Philar

    Chennai: Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing), who celebrated his 29th birthday a few days back, gifted himself with a victory to take a six-point lead on the Super Sport Indian (165cc) leaderboard in the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the MMRT track, here on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, 21-year old from Kozhikode Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing) clinched the title in the Super Sport Indian (300-400cc) class with a race in hand while 19-year old Commerce student from Hyderabad, Sai Rahil Pillarishetty, racing in his first season, bagged the championship in the Novice (Stock, 165cc) class.

    Going into today’s race, Jagan trailed Rajiv Sethu (Honda Ten10 Racing) by one point and the victory took the TVS Racing star’s tally to 147. Sethu, who had led briefly when Jagan ran wide in the third lap, finished second to concede lead in the championship standings. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) came in third.

    “I am happy to win today. The bike felt good. I made a small mistake in the back ‘D’ when I ran wide and Sethu moved past me. But I overtook Sethu soon after and in the last two laps, opened up a good lead,” said Jagan who is seeking his third straight title.

    For 18-year old Sethu, also from Chennai, it was so near yet so far. He did well to get to the front and even clocked the fastest lap of the race (01min, 57.964secs), bettering his qualifying time (01:58.987), but missed a gear at Turn-9 when on the attack in the penultimate lap and it allowed Jagan to open up a winning lead.

    “Obviously, I am very disappointed. I had better pace today than in qualifying, but one mistake when I was on a charge, cost me. Tomorrow, I hope to do better. The pressure will be on Jagan since he is in the lead,” said Sethu.

    Earlier, Amarnath Menon rode a relaxed race and collected just enough points to seal the championship with a fourth-place finish behind winner Deepak Ravi Kumar (Moto-Rev), Vivek Pillai (Rockers Racing) and Shreyas Sannake from Miraj.

    Menon, who had started the season with five victories in six races, collected 12 points today, to take his aggregate to 167 while Ravi Kumar, his third win in a row, moved up to 141. Thus, second race tomorrow, with a maximum offering of 25 points, will be of only academic interest.

    For Sai Pillarishetty, it turned out to be a glorious debut season. He finished third in the concluding race of the Novice (Stock, 165cc) class, behind Anup Kumar (RACR) and his Sparks Racing team-mate Peddu Sriharsha, also from Hyderabad. The podium and 15 points took Pillarishetty’s tally to 76, eight clear of Sriharsha.

    In the Pro-Stock category, seven points separate leader Aravind Balakrishnan (Honda Ten10 Racing) and Aravind Ganesh (Moto-Rev) after they finished sixth and fourth, respectively, with one more race to be run on Sunday. S Sivanesan (Team Alisha Abdullah),

    Naresh Babu J (RACR) and Kannan Karnan (Rockers Racing) took the podium spots in that order.

    The results (Provisional):

    Super Sport Indian (165cc) – Race 1 (6 laps): 1. Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) (11mins, 53.965secs); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Honda Ten10 Racing) (11:57.114); 3. KY Ahamed (TVS Racing) (12:06.530).

    Pro-Stock (165cc) – Race 1 (6 laps): 1. S Sivanesan (Team Alisha Abdullah) (12:47.252); 2. Naresh Babu J (RACR) (12:47.740); 3. Kannan Karnan (Rockers Racing) (12:57.695).

    Super Sport Indian (300-400cc) – Race 1 (6 laps): 1. Deepak Ravi Kumar (Moto-Rev) (11:47.513); 2. Vivek Pillai (Team Rockers Racing) (11:54.266); 3. Shreyas Sannake (Miraj) (12:02.177).

    Novice (Stock, 165cc) (6 Laps): 1. Anup Kumar M (RACR) (13:04.723); 2. Peddu Sri Harsha (Sparks Racing) (13:06.988); 3. Sai Rahil Pillarishetty (Sparks Racing) (13:14.288).

    MMSC One-Make Championship (Novice) – Honda CBR 150 (Race 1, 5 laps): 1. Amala Jerald (Chennai) (11:04.351); 2. Vysakh Sobhan (Kerala) (11:04.414); 3. Satyanarayana Raju (Hyderabad) (11:05.354).

    TVS Apache RTR 200 (Race 1, 6 laps): 1. Anup Kumar (Chennai) (13:19.668); G Balaji (Chennai) (13:19.991); 3. Shankar Guru A (Chennai) (13:20.282).

    Yamaha R15 Novice (Race 1, 6 laps): 1. Sai Rahil Pillarishetty (Hyderabad) (13:48.089); 2. Nithish Kumar M (Coimbatore) (13:48.512); 3. Aswin Kumar (Chennai) (13:57.651).

    eom/AP Media Comm. press release

  • Tangirala Soumya among 8 to join Randstad Williams Engineering Academy: F1 in schools

    Tangirala Soumya among 8 to join Randstad Williams Engineering Academy: F1 in schools

    Soumya Tangirala, image courtesy Evening Express

    Tangirala Soumya, one of the F1 in Schools finalists, is among the eight students to join the Williams programme that prepares youngsters for engineering positions in Formula One.

    Soumya, an Aberdeen Grammar school student and an Indian origin 16-year old girl, took part in the STEM challenge world finals at KL along with teammates Arran Brunning, 17, Cameron Roe, 16, and Faraj Monnapillai, 15, according to a news item in the eveningexpress.co.uk . They represented Scotland, as the best team and country representative. The team name is Volcan.
    But only Soumya and Brunning got selected for the Academy, an extra-curricular e-learning and vocational skills programme.
    This is a staged programme that sees Williams support the students until the completion of their university studies. The curriculum includes motorsport engineering themed learning via an e-learning portal. It also includes a variety of work placements and mentoring opportunities with senior Williams engineers, adds a release from Williams.
    Williams has announced the students selected to join the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy, the third intake of students to join this innovative education initiative that sees Williams and Randstad mentor students from around the world as they bid to secure a career as a Formula One engineer.
    Eight students were selected from a pool of 25 candidates competing in the 2017 F1 in Schools World Finals held in Malaysia, from 25-27th September. F1 in Schools is a global not-for-profit STEM competition that sees students design, build and race miniature racing cars.
    Following a series of practical and written challenges set by Williams engineers, a joint Williams and Randstad assessment panel chose the students that will join the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy from 2017. The students chosen demonstrated the passion, commitment and raw skills needed to join this exclusive programme.
    The students were announced during the F1 in School’s World Finals Gala Dinner in Malaysia, by Williams’ Head of Performance Engineering, Rob Smedley, and Randstad Malaysia’s Country Director, Ryan Carroll. The Class of 2017 are:
    Michael Farrell, United Kingdom
    Richard Grimes, Ireland
    Yaren Chakmak, United Kingdom
    Soumya Tangirala, United Kingdom
    Aaron Morris, United Kingdom
    Kyle Winker, Australia
    Christopher McKelvain, USA
    Arran Brunning, United Kingdom
    In Year One of the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy, students complete a series of motorsport themed e-learning modules that have been developed by Williams. Each student is assigned to an experienced Williams engineer acting as a mentor for the students, guiding them through the e-learning activities and providing advice on a career in motorsport. This is complemented by a number of practical experiences for the students. Randstad uses its extensive experience of global education systems and vocational skills training to help Williams in the ongoing assessment of the students, and also provides practical careers advice and work experience opportunities to the students in their respective home countries.
    Launched in 2015, the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy was designed to identify the best and brightest minds from around the world and embed them into our organisation from an early age. The students still attend school and university; our programme supports and goes a step beyond their traditional education. Students involved in F1 in Schools can apply to the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy to be in with a chance of being selected for this exceptional training opportunity. This is a competitive scheme, with each cohort of students gradually whittled down in numbers based on performance criteria and the ultimate goal is for successful graduates of the Academy to join Williams upon completion of their university studies.
    Speaking about this year’s selection process Jakob Andreasen, Chief Operations and Performance Engineer at Williams, said: “I have been really impressed and inspired by all of the students that have taken part in the Randstad Williams Engineering Academy assessment centre. Every day, we as a team have to overcome a number of challenges by working together and communicating well to solve the problems in front of us. And that’s exactly what the students have demonstrated this week.”
    Ryan Carroll, Randstad Malaysia’s Country Director, added: “The undersupply of STEM talents is a worldwide issue. We are glad that Randstad can be a part of this meaningful partnership at such an early stage of the students’ academic careers illustrating our commitment to engineering training and recruitment. Hopefully with this, we can address the skills gap and move people and businesses forward. We have all been truly inspired by the young people that have taken part in this week’s Randstad Williams Engineering Academy.”
    eom/Williams Press Release
  • With new updates, Force India looking forward to stabilise its 4th place: Malaysian GP

    With new updates, Force India looking forward to stabilise its 4th place: Malaysian GP

    Malaysian GP preview File photo from Sahara Force India

    Sepang, 26 Sept. 2017: Sahara Force India looks forward to the Formula One Malaysian GP at the Sepang F1 International Circuit which will be hosting its 19th and final F1 race this year. The Indian outfit has been punching about its weight and despite meagre financial resources has come fourth in the standings last year and the reward money for the slot in the top-four of the Constructors’ standings helped the team to continue its good running this year too.

    Currently, the team is doing much better than last year and is firmly placed 4th at this stage in the team points with both the drivers confirmed for 2018. Force India has 124 points, 65 points ahead of fifth-placed Williams Mercedes with six races to go.

    The Sepang circuit may not suit the Silverstone-based team, but with new upgrades coming up, the team management and drivers feel that they can get some more valuable points at the resurfaced circuit which is known not only for its hot and humid conditions but also abrupt and sudden bouts of rain which can change any equation on the track.

    Speaking from England, Team Principal Vijay Mallya said in a release: “Leaving Singapore with 11 points to help consolidate our fourth place in the championship was a very satisfactory outcome from a tricky weekend. It reminds us that even after a tough qualifying session, there is always plenty to fight for on Sunday. We also took a lot of positives from the pace of the VJM10 during the race and it’s clear that we have the potential for some more strong performances in the final six events.

    “This weekend is the last visit to Sepang for the foreseeable future and hopefully we can sign-off with some points. It probably won’t be our strongest circuit of the year, but we should be competitive, especially with the updates we continue to bring to the car. The drivers enjoy the quick corners and it’s always been a good track for overtaking and competitive racing. It’s sad to say goodbye to a circuit, but Malaysia can be proud of the events it has staged during the last 19 years and Formula One has always been given an extremely warm welcome by the fans.

    Confirming the drivers early in the season has its advantages and the Indian liquor baron, who is facing charges and stuck with a travel ban, felt that: “We head to Sepang having recently confirmed Sergio will remain with the team alongside Esteban in 2018. I’m extremely happy with the job both drivers are doing and delighted that we have stability with our line-up. Getting this all finalised relatively early in the year is always helpful. We can simply focus on maximising the final six races and plan effectively for next year.”

    The drivers too are confident that they can pull out one more successful round with a double points score. Recently, the two have clashed on the track which triggered a media trial and the management too has dropped its policy of allowing the drivers to race and warned them to be careful on track so that there will not be any such DNFs in the future. The team orders had their effect and both the drivers buried their hatchet and have promised to be more `professional’. Sergio Perez, who had his first podium here with a 2nd place in 2012, has good memories and is raring to go. He currently has 68 points and is in 7th place while Esteban Ocon is just behind with 56 points in 8th.

    Sergio Perez: “Malaysia is a place that means a lot to me. It’s where I got my first ever podium in Formula One, in 2012. After Singapore, it’s another very hot race. I think last year’s was the hottest race I’ve ever experienced during my whole career, so I expect to sweat a lot on Sunday!

    “The weather is so unpredictable, you can have a big storm all of a sudden and then it can dry up again in five minutes, because it’s so warm and humid.

    “Every year, Malaysia has been a special race because of the heat and the characteristics of the track. I’ll be really sad to see Sepang disappear from the calendar. I hope to see all the Malaysian fans at some other race and I hope they keep following us online.”

    Esteban Ocon: “Sepang is such a beautiful track. I really love it. I enjoy chicanes and there are quite a few in Malaysia, with some nice combinations of fast and medium-speed corners. When you have a good car in qualifying, you can just feel the grip; it’s very enjoyable. On the other hand, it’s a very tough race because of the heat and humidity. The rain can play a big part – at least I am told! Last year everyone kept telling me that, but it was just mega sunny and warm all weekend. It’s sad we will be racing here for the last time because it’s such a cool track. I am going to miss it.”

    Sahara Force India’s Chief Race Engineer, Tom McCullough, looks ahead the challenge of Sepang: “Malaysia is another race where the weather will be very hot: last year, we had track temperatures up to 60C. The conditions can be very unpredictable and there’s always a chance of rain showers, in particular during the early evening qualifying session at 5pm. In this regard, the conditions are very similar to what we saw in Singapore, with extreme heat and humidity; the main difference being the start time of the race, with the lights going off in the heat of the day at 3pm. The Sepang track features a good mix of low, medium and very high-speed corners, so the set-up needs to accommodate a large speed range. The track was resurfaced prior to the race last year, which improved ride response and reduced tyre degradation. It will be interesting to see how the track surface has evolved since.”

    eom/with inputs from SFI press release

  • Aaroh Ravindra extends championship lead by a point: Meco Karting Nationals

    Bengaluru, 24 Sept. 2017: Rayo Racing’s Aaroh Ravindra extended his championship lead by a mere 1 point at the end of Round 4 of the Meco FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship. The Mumbai lad kept a cool head and finished both the pre – finals and finals in 2nd position.

    Earlier in the weekend, it was Bangalore racer Nirmal Umashankar from M Sport Racing who bagged pole position with a time of 54.864 ahead of Manav Sharma of BPC Racing. Aaroh could only manage third.

    Heat 1 and 2 saw Nirmal win ahead of Aaroh and Manav. This ensured that Nirmal started on Pole for the Pre-finals. As the green flag was waved, Nirmal got a good start and managed to block Aaroh, who in turn managed to block of Manav. The three racers fought throughout the 18 lap pre-final, but neither racer was able to make a move and the trio finished in the same order. The immensely close finish saw the top three cross the finish line within 0.7 seconds!

    The 20 lap final looked as though it would finish in a similar fashion, when the top three started in the same order. The trio quickly pulled away from the rest of the pack and once again none of the racers seemed to be able to mount a challenge in spite of being within the same second. On lap 15, Aaroh made a move on Nirmal into the U bend. However, he was unsuccessful and immediately paid the price as Manav seized second from Aaroh. Soon, Manav made a move for the lead and succeeded in holding position. Aaroh once again made a move on Nirmal and this time was able to make it stick. He soon went after Manav, but was unable to make a move by the chequered flag. Manav hence won his first race of the season, while Aaroh’s second place meant it was the first time this season he has not won the final. Nirmal sealed the third spot, in another extremely close finish that saw the top three within a second. Aaroh’s charge in the last few laps also saw him bag the fastest lap of the race and increase his overall lead in the National Championship by an additional point.

    The Junior Category too, witnessed close racing for the top 2 spots. Yash Aradhya of M Sport Racing started on pole in the final ahead of his team mates Sai Sanjay T and Shahan Ali Mohsin. A small mistake by Yash allowed his team mate to overtake and eventually it was Shahan who won ahead of Yash and Chirag Ghorpade from BPC Racing.

    The Micro Max Category saw Yashas More start on pole and win the final ahead of his Birel Art team mates, Rishon MR and Arjun Rajiv.

    “Although I was fast through the weekend, Nirmal seemed to be just a bit faster than me. Each and every race had all three of us finish extremely close. I wish I could have made my first move stick, in the finals, but second is not bad, although it would have been better to win. I must thank the team for the excellent setup that I had in the final and I am grateful to all my sponsors” said Aaroh after the race.

     

    eom/press release

  • Top two-wheeler talent on view as Asian Road Racing Championship returns to Chennai

    Chennai, 21 Sept. 2017: Shankar Sarath Kumar  and Rajiv Sethu of team RAMA Honda by NTS T.Pro Ten10 are India’s sole full-season riders in the  Super Sports 600cc and Asia Production 250cc classes respectively as Asian Road Racing Championship returns to the Madras Motorsports Race Track here on Friday.

    The three-day event will witness World-class and heart-stopping action after a four-year interval as the premier Road Racing Championship in Asia boasts of the cream of the region’s two-wheeler racing talent competing across the three categories of Super Sports 600cc, Unberbone 150cc and Asia Production 250cc.

    Riders from Australia, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Chinese-Taipei, besides the two Chennai-based Indians are in the fray for the fifth round of the championship.

    The ARRC field includes a clutch of riders with exposure at the World championship level and contesting in the SuperSports 600cc, Asia Production 250cc and the Underbone 150cc classes. Also on the weekend card are double-header support races in the Honda CBR 250 (Open) and TVS Apache 200 (Open) categories.

    MMSC president Ajit Thomas said: “We once again welcome the Asia Road Racing Championship fraternity to Chennai, the spiritual home of Indian motorsport. We last hosted the ARRC at the MMRT four years ago and it is our privilege to yet again present the cream of Asia’s two-wheeler racing talent some of which have excelled at the World level.

    “It has always been MMSC’s philosophy and tradition to organize and promote the sport at all levels. This year, we introduced a separate category for Girls in the two-wheeler National championship and we are happy that it evoked good response. So, hosting the ARRC has been a natural progression for us at the MMSC.

    “We at the MMSC have also striven to attract two-wheeler manufacturers and our efforts have resulted in India’s top brands such as Honda, Suzuki, TVS, Yamaha, KTM, Bajaj and Royal Enfield, participating in our events in one form or other.”

    Reflecting on his chances, 24-year old Sarath Kumar said:

    “Obviously, I am very excited to be racing on my home track and in front of our fans. The expectations will be high and that adds to the pressure, but quite inspiring.

    “More importantly, thanks to all the hard work that MMSC officials have put in, we as riders can be proud of an international class paddock. The track conditions too are superb and I am hoping for a dry weekend without rains, but that is something nobody can control.

    “As for my realistic target, it is to get my lap time under 1:46 (one minute, 46 seconds) which will get me closer to the front bunch of riders. The 600cc field is very strong and has plenty of experienced riders with World Championship exposure. So, you can expect a very high level of competition.

    “Compared to last season when I was recovering from a knee injury, I am in better physical condition this year and am able to push more. My pace has improved, but the big problem is that I do not get any track time on the 600cc bike between races or pre-season.

    “Here in the National championship, I ride the 250cc bike and so, when I get to the ARRC, I have to adapt to the bigger machine. It takes time and lot of effort. The progress can be a bit slow. However, this weekend, I will do my very best to deliver a good result.”

    Rajiv Sethu, 18, said: “It has been a learning process for me in the ARRC this season. I have been improving with every outing and this weekend, I want to do better than my previous best finish of 16.

    “The competition in the 250cc class is extremely tough with many riders capable of winning. The conditions here at the MMRT are excellent, and we can expect high quality racing.

    “My goal is to stay with the leading bunch, and racing on my home track, I do not want to disappoint the fans. I have been in good form in the ongoing National championship and I hope to carry that form into this weekend.”

    eom

  • Jehan Daruvala finishes 5th in Race 3; Trails 2nd in Rookie standings with six races to go

    Jehan Daruvala finishes 5th in Race 3; Trails 2nd in Rookie standings with six races to go

    Jehan Daruvala signing autographs at Nurburgring on Sunday. Image courtesy James Gasperotti
    Action image of Jehan Daruvala on Sunday. Image by James Gasperotti

    Bangalore, 14 Sept 2017:  Touted as the best racer to have a chance to be the next Indian in an F1 car, Sahara Force India Academy Racer, Jehan Daruvala continued his maiden F3 season with another podium miss but he managed to get strong points in Round 8 of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Nurburgring in Germany on Sunday, 10th September.

    Meanwhile, at the 3.629 kilometres long Nürburgring sprint circuit, Lando Norris (Carlin) extended his lead in the Championship drivers’ standings. The Brit scored his ninth victory of the season and now has an advantage of 73 points from Maximilian Günther (Prema Powerteam), who is second in the drivers’ standings. Next to McLaren protégé Norris, British driver Jake Hughes (Hitech Grand Prix) and Estonian Ralf Aron (Hitech Grand Prix) stood on the podium for the prize-giving ceremony.

    The third FIA Formula 3 European Championship race at the Nürburgring had a turbulent start. Callum Ilott (Prema Powerteam) took the lead from Norris and Hughes while Guanyu Zhou (Prema Powerteam) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Carlin) collided in the first corner. For both drivers involved in the accident, the race was over and the safety car was deployed. Also on the opening lap, there was contact between Joey Mawson (Van Amersfoort Racing) and Tadasuke Makino (Hitech Grand Prix), after which both drivers had to turn into the pits for quick repair works on their cars.

    According to a press release received here on Tuesday, the Indian teenager and former second runner up in the World Karting Championship started tenth in Race 3 and climbed up the order to finish fifth.

    The famed Nürburgring racetrack, notoriously known as ‘Green Hell’ once upon a time, was the host for Round 8. Jehan put up a strong performance to finish in the points in all three races of the weekend around the 5.148 km long GP Strecke layout. A full grid of 22 drivers battled for top honours in unpredictable conditions as intermittent rain and sunshine made all sessions extremely tricky in terms of tyre choice and setup.  

    The 18-year old from Mumbai showed immense skill and maturity to stay out of trouble throughout and his consistency ensured that he finished in the points in all three races with a best finish of 5th in an incident-filled race three.

    FIA Formula 3 is the toughest junior racing category in the world, having produced some of the best racing talents ever known including Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Ayrton Senna & Michael Schumacher.

    Jehan qualified 10th for the final race of the weekend and had a good start as the lights went out. The Mumbai teenager did well to keep out of trouble as drivers clashed and clattered around him. Going into the steep downhill turn one, he stuck to the inside while Ferdinand Habsburg and Guanyu Zhou came together and retired instantly. With chaos reigning all around him, Jehan kept his head down, picking off his opponents one at a time. Shortly thereafter, the safety car was deployed and by then Jehan was already in a strong sixth place.

    As the field circulated behind the safety car for a few laps, attempting to keep their tyres and brakes warm for the restart, it was clear that the bunched-up field would result in more overtaking opportunities as drivers prepared to go racing once again. Jehan ensured that he placed his car perfectly behind Japanese racer Marino Sato in fifth place; and managed to overtake almost as soon as the race went green.

    The top five group including Jehan proceeded to break away from the rest of the pack and Jehan was embroiled in a close dual with Callum Illot, but the British racer defended strongly. As the race progressed, a yawing 10-second gap separated Jehan from the sixth place finisher by the time he crossed the chequered flag. McLaren Junior – Lando Norris won the race ahead of Jake Hughes.

    “It was a pretty tough weekend in terms of conditions which were never consistent but we were able to stay in the points and finish in the top five in the last race so I think it was good work all around”, said Jehan.

    The Indian driver is now sixth in drivers’ overall standings and second in rookie standings with two rounds to go and while there is a considerable gap to fifth placed Briton Jake Hughes in the overall tally, Jehan is focused on finishing his rookie Formula 3 season in the top five. “With only Spielberg and Hockenheim remaining, I want to finish in the top five in the championship. There are still six races to go and so I am really looking forward to concluding the season on a strong note”, he added.

    Jehan will now race at the Redbull Ring at Spielberg in Austria on the 23rd & 24th of September.

    eom/press release from Rayo Racing

  • Mercedes AMG Petronas partners with Rubric to efficiently manage race data

    Bangalore, 13 Sept. 2017: Vishal Krishna is a good friend and former colleague at the New Indian Express. Of late, we lost touch but I have been reading his stories after I encountered his story tweets and read this one when, the subject of our present story, BIPUL SINHA visited India last in July. This Business Editor’s piece will give you a fair background of the start-up that inked the deal with the top F1 team today.

    “When four technocrats come together to start up, a technologically profound and disruptive company like Rubrik happens,” Vishal wrote. “Bipul Sinha, Arvind Jain, Soham Mazumdar and Arvind Nithrakashyap joined hands to put together a technology that can pull data of an organisation from public and private clouds in an instant, making a CTO’s life a lot easier,” he wrote in yourstory.com.

    You can read the story here:  https://yourstory.com/2017/07/startup-rubrik-data-storage-emc-hitachi/

    Ok coming to the news, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, the top F1 team, on Wednesday confirmed a new team partnership with Rubrik, specialists in Cloud Data Management. Ribric, one of the fastest growing enterprise software companies in the Silicon Valley will work with the team to accelerate the protection of race data. Mercedes will use Rubrik’s data backup and recovery technology at their headquarters to improve data management, a press release said here today.

    Mercedes are currently leading the Constructor’s World Championship in Formula 1 with lead driver Lewis Hamilton gunning for the F1 Driver’s Championship. Valtteri Bottas is the other driver who has become a strong teammate for Hamilton in his first year at the marque outfit.

    With data volumes, backup and recovery requirements becoming ever more demanding in Formula One, the team is investing in class-leading technology in order to stay ahead. Specifically, the team will be using a multi-node Rubrik cluster at their Brackley headquarters to protect the team’s critical race data.

    The team will also use Rubrik’s REST API (Application Programming Interface) to integrate with their current tools to analyse their data utilisation. With this information, the team expects to become even more efficient in how it manages and utilises the vast volumes of race data.  Recognized by Forbes on the Cloud 100 and as a Next Billion Dollar Startup, Rubric is expected to efficiently manage the race data to yield high-performance results.

    “We are delighted to welcome Rubrik to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport,” commented Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “In the fast-moving world of information technology, it’s essential to be right at the forefront, particularly for us in the area of data management, and we look forward to working with Rubrik to maximise our potential in this area.”

    “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport is at the forefront of adopting new technologies within the racing world,” said Bipul Sinha, co-founder and CEO, Rubrik. “Rubrik’s cloud data management platform will enable the team to access and manage critical race information, providing them with a new competitive edge. We are excited to partner with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport to turbocharge their innovative approach to data management and contribute to their continued success.”

    eom/david/with inputs from Mercedes release

  • Force India gets ready for Singapore Grand Prix

    Sahara Force India is currently in the fourth place in the constructor’s championship as they finish the European races and come to Asia with this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.

    Team principal and co-owner Vijay Mallya says: “It feels pretty good for our team to be sitting in fourth place in the championship as we get ready for the Singapore Grand Prix. The strong showing in Monza brought us our tenth double points finish of the season, which is a tremendous effort by the entire team.

    “With seven races to go, the season is rushing by quickly and we just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year long. It’s about being consistent, picking up the points and taking our opportunities.

    “We haven’t eased off. Development of the VJM10 continues and will bring benefits for the 2018 car too. We are still bringing new parts to the track and both cars will have developments this weekend.”

    Senior driver Sergio Perez says: “Singapore is definitely one of the toughest races in the season. It’s so hot and humid; a real test for the driver, but I am well prepared for racing in the heat. Sometimes you feel really uncomfortable in the car and you just want the race to be over as soon as possible. It’s hard to breathe, you are sweating a lot and the sweat goes in your eyes! But it’s still a special night and one of the best races of the year.

    “I have been in the points every time I have raced in Singapore and I hope I can extend my record. It’s hard to single out a specific corner in Marina Bay because I really like them all. I love street circuits in general and this is a special lap. There’s no room for error – the wall is always next to you; one mistake and you’re out.

    “Our objective is obviously to score points in Singapore and in all the races to follow. The season may be nearing an end, but there are still some very important races ahead of us and we want to make sure we do our best to stay fourth in the championship.”

    Driver Esteban Ocon says: “There’s something special about Singapore. You race under the lights and the atmosphere is unique: it feels really glamorous and all the fans and guests are partying through the night during the race. On the other hand, it’s very hard physically. It’s hot and very humid, and you lose a lot of fluids when driving. It’s one of those places where everything needs to be perfect in the car, because you’ll struggle a lot if you’re not in the right position or there is something wrong with the seat. You try to prepare as best as you can for days like these; you train in hot places and try to maximise the performance of your body.

    “The weird schedule doesn’t affect me. I like that we stick to European times: we wake up late, the days are shorter and you’re able to sleep a lot. It’s my favourite weekend schedule – I am someone who sleeps a lot and in Singapore I can get my 12 hours per night!

    “The lap has some really interesting sections. For a street circuit, it’s very fast, but my favourite part is the twisty part in the middle of the lap, where you’re so close to the wall all the time. There are a lot of beautiful buildings next to the track and when they are all lit up at night the place looks very beautiful.”

    Sahara Force India’s Chief Race Engineer, Tom McCullough, shares his insight about the race under the lights in Singapore.

    “Singapore is the original Formula One night race and is as different a track from Monza as it can be. It’s an anticlockwise track and it has the highest number of corners in the calendar – 23 on the official map. The corners are quite evenly balanced between left and right and most of them are tight, low-speed turns. Qualifying will be very important as there aren’t many overtaking opportunities: despite this, races are often very entertaining and the Safety Car is a common sight. It’s a tough weekend for both the drivers and the team members: it’s hot and humid, even at night, meaning hydration is very important. The drivers, in particular, need to be in perfect shape: Singapore is the longest race of the year and one in which they will need to be confident in the car and precise, as the walls are unforgiving and there’s no room for mistakes.”

    eom/with inputs from Sahara Force India release