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Category: Formula 1
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Rosberg closes title gap with victory in Brazil
File photo of Nico Roseberg after taking pole position in Austin 2014. An AMG Mercedes Petronas image Nico Rosberg kept his Formula One title hopes very much alive with a superbly controlled drive to Brazilian Grand Prix victory ahead of Lewis Hamilton to close the championship gap to his team-mate to 17 points as the season head towards its double points finale in two weeks’ time.
Felipe Massa took a hugely popular third place for Williams, while Jenson Button finished fourth ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel.
At the start, Rosberg held his advantage, making a good getaway to lead the field through the Senna S. Behind him, Hamilton slotted into second ahead of Massa and Bottas with Button fifth. Vettel lost out, however. After starting sixth, he was quickly put under pressure by McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. The Red Bull man ran wide at Turn Four and was passed by both. That dropped Vettel to eighth, just in front of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and 10th-placed Esteban Gutierrez, who had moved ahead of Kimi Raikkonen at the start.
Massa was the first of the frontrunners to shed his starting soft tyres on lap six and rejoined in P16. It was a troubled visit to pit lane, however, as he was immediately handed a five-second stop and go penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
His switch to medium tyres prompted a flurry of pit lane activity, with the bulk of the field pitting for the prime tyre.
The exceptions were Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and Sauber’s Adrian Sutil.
By the time all of the soft-tyre starters had pitted, the order on lap 11 saw Hulkenberg leading from Kvyat, with Rosberg third ahead of Hamilton. Grosjean was fifth ahead of Massa, who had yet to serve his penalty, while Bottas was seventh ahead of Sutil, Button and Magnussen.
Robserg resumed the lead of the race as the field completed lap 13. Having already dismissed Kvyat, he swept past Hulkenberg. With Hamilton stuck behind the Force India in third place, Rosberg was quickly able to carve out a two-second gap over his title rival. Hamilton eventually got past the Force India at the start of lap 16 but was now 2.4s down on Rosberg.
Hulkenberg was the first of the medium tyre starters to pit on lap 17 and two laps later Kvyat ventured into the pit lane. Sutil, still out on track on his mediums, was clearly struggling with his opening set. He was quickly passed by Alonso and Vettel to drop to 11thand then elected to pit. It wasn’t a smooth visit, with his crew struggling to replace his right rear tyre. He lost time and rejoined in last place, where would eventually finish. Grosjean was the last of the medium starters to pit, after a long 25-lap stint.
Vettel also chose to pit at the end of the same tour and that sparked the second round of stops. Rosberg pitted for more mediums on lap 27, with Hamilton assuming the lead. The Briton attempted to push, to make up time during Rosberg’s stop, but he lost control at Turn Four and spun off into the run-off area. He continued on but after his own stop his found himself more than seven seconds adrift of his team-mate.
Bottas, meanwhile, was in trouble in his pit stop. He appeared to have a problem with his belts and lost considerable time as his crew made adjustments. The delaye dropped him to 12th behind Ricciardo.
Raikkonen, too, had trouble in his second stop, which came late, on lap 36. His crew dropped the car off the jacks before the front right wheel had been properly attached and the car had to be lifted again to remedy the problem. Whatever good work Raikkonen had put in during his long second stint was immediately undone.
On track Vettel was marching forward. Having passed Alonso and Magnussen in his second stop, he quickly made his way past the out-of-sequence Kvyat to take P5 just after half distance.
It was a less successful outing for his team-mate however. On lap 39 Ricciardo slowed and radioed through that he had a brake issue. He pitted on lap 40 and retired.
Bottas’ woes continued too. He made a third pit stop on lap 43 but it was again a slow one as his team took time to make an adjustment to his front wing. He rejoined in 16th place.
At the front, Hamilton was pushing hard and on lap 46 he was just 1.9 seconds behind Rosberg, with Massa third, Button fourth and Vettel still in P5 ahead of Alonso.
Vettel was the first of the front runners to make a third stop, heading in for more mediums on lap 49. Rosberg was next in, on lap 51 for the same compound. He was quickly followed by Massa and Button on the same lap. Williams’ pit lane errors began to mount up as Massa pulled into the wrong box before having to trundle forward from the front of the McLaren garage to his team’s pit box.
Hamilton made his third stop on lap 52, bolting on a final set of medium tyres and quickly began to close in on Rosberg. On lap 53 he was 0.7 seconds behind the race leader and within DRS range. Rosberg responded with a race fastest lap but the Briton pushed hard to better that and close to 0.6.
Behind them Massa held third despite his pit lane issue, while Hulkenberg and Raikkonen were in fourth and fifth respectively, though question marks remained as to whether the Finn would try to race to the flag on his ageing medium tyres or have to pit again.
Hulkenberg made his final stop on lap 61 and dropped back to eighth. Raikkonen, meanwhile, was in trouble. His tyres began to fall away and though he tried to defend he was soon passed by both Button and Vettel.
The order then, with nine laps to go was Rosberg, six tenthsa of a second ahead of Hamilton, with Massa a further 31.7s behind. Button was now fourth ahead of Vettel, with Raikkonen clinging to sixth on his fading tyres. Alonso was 1.7s behind his team-mate, with Magnussen eighth ahead of Hulkenberg and Bottas.
After a fascinating five-lap duel, Alonso finally passed Raikkon on the pit straight on lap 68 to take P6.
Ahead, though, the order remained unchanged. Hamilton could find no way past the coolly, controlled Rosberg and after 71 laps the German took his fifth win of the season and his first since his home grand prix in July.
To the delight of the Sao Paulo crowd, Massa took the final podium place for his first trophy since the Italian and Prix. Button was fourth ahead of Vettel, with Alonso sixth. Raikkonen, in seventh, was the only driver to stick to a two-stop strategy and make it work and might have been further up the order had his second stop not gone wrong. Hulkenberg scored four points with eighth, while the final points positions were taken by Magnussen and Bottas.
2014 Brazilian Grand Prix – Race
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 71 Winner 1 25
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 71 +1.4 secs 2 18
3 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 71 +41.0 secs 3 15
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 71 +48.6 secs 5 12
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 71 +51.4 secs 6 10
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 71 +61.9 secs 8 8
7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 71 +63.7 secs 10 6
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 71 +63.9 secs 12 4
9 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 71 +70.0 secs 7 2
10 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 70 +1 Lap 4 1
11 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 70 +1 Lap 17
12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 70 +1 Lap 16
13 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 70 +1 Lap 15
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 11
15 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 70 +1 Lap 18
16 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 13
17 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 63 +8 Laps 14
Ret Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 39 Suspension 9 -
Caterham F1 team raises over 1 million pounds in 48 hours of crowd funding
CATERHAM F1 TEAM RAISES OVER £1M IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS AND IS WELL ON ITS WAY TO RAISING THE £2.35M IT NEEDS TO RACE IN ABU DHABI AS A STEPPING STONE TO ITS LONG TERM SURVIVAL
Sunday 9 November 2014The Caterham F1 Team launched the #RefuelCaterhamF1 project on Friday 7 November in order to power the team to go racing in Abu Dhabi and hopefully beyond. The team will reward both fans and sponsors in this unique opportunity to be the driving force behind the team by Crowdfunding its return to the grid.
Companies and fans can get involved by heading to the Crowdcube website, www.crowdcube.com/
caterham, and pledging the amount they wish to give, from just £5. Supporters will receive unique rewards, from support badges and T-Shirts to a once in a lifetime opportunity to get their name on the Caterham F1 car competing in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The opportunity to support Caterham F1’s return to the grid and to receive unique rewards will close when it reaches its £2.35m funding target or on Friday 14 November 2014, whichever is sooner. Finbarr O’Connell, Caterham Sports Limited administrator and interim Caterham F1 Team Principal: “Everyone involved is incredibly grateful and excited to have raised over £1m of support in less than 48 hours. The Caterham F1 Team is almost half way to its funding target. I am not packing my toothbrush as yet though and there is still a lot of fundraising to be done by the Team. However, it is clear that this campaign is becoming international and I have been contacted by media organisations from all over the world since Friday. The Caterham F1 Team have been approached by a number of people and organisations who have offered their support in different ways —from Simon Ward, the artist, offering to produce an original artwork, and 500 prints of it, to trading partners who are offering their support as they want to see the Caterham F1 Team back on the grid.
“Most importantly, a new financially sound interested party has entered the arena and is considering acquiring the Team. This new interest is wholly due to this campaign.
“It will be a very novel moment in Abu Dhabi when the Team’s supporters will be able to watch the race in the knowledge that they put the Caterham F1 car on the grid.
“There has been some confusion with regard to the purpose of the Crowdfunding Project. Clearly, the plan is not to run a F1 team by using Crowdfunding but rather this funding is providing a stepping stone for the Team to a new financially sound future. If teams don’t race they are at a huge disadvantage as regards a potential purchaser making a very expensive purchase decision and this Project gives the Team the ability to showcase itself and especially its cars.
“I have been very grateful for the support the Project has had from F1 thought leaders like Eddie Jordan, a fellow Irishman. Whilst I am also incredibly grateful to Renault and Total for their support of what the Team is doing I really want people to focus on the other human engine to this Team, being 200 people in Leafield, in the Prime Minister’s constituency, who have been working without pay for the last 6 weeks in order to rescue this Team. Without them there would be no Team and they deserve everybody’s support.
“We are working non-stop to get the Caterham F1 Team back racing and one of our most useful, innovative and effective options right now is Crowdfunding. We want to get as many sponsors and fans as possible involved this week and make our comeback something we can all be part of and proud of. This team deserves a future and I know that there are plenty of fans and companies out there that agree with us, so I can’t think of a better way to get us all together and show our support to the team than this one, the Caterham F1 Team #RefuelCaterhamF1 project.
“In order to make this happen, we’ve teamed-up with Crowdcube, the world’s leading Crowdfunding platform, which has raised £45m (£46m as of today!!) for more than 150 organisations since 2011. If we don’t hit the target by next Friday, obviously the pledged funds will be returned (or people can, at their choice, retain the rewards they have already funded, as many have already asked) but right now we are hopeful for the future of the Team and we are confident that the Team showing the world that it can race again will lead to a bright future under a new owner on a proper financial footing.”
Ends
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Rosberg takes pole position at Interlagos; Hamilton raring to go
Mercedes driver wins pole position trophy after securing 10th front-of-grid start of season. Hamilton qualifies second ahead of Massa.
Sao Pa
Rosberg takes pole for the Brazilian GP. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image ulo, 8 Nov 2014: Nico Rosberg won a thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying battle with championship rival Lewis Hamilton to take his 10th pole position of the season, and F1’s new trophy for most pole positions in a season. Felipe Massa took third position in front of his ecstatic home crowd.
Quickest in every session of the race weekend up to qualifying Rosberg continued that form in the opening two segments of the hour-long session and held the advantage after the first runs in Q3.
Hamilton, though, was determined to take the fight to the German and despite a lock up on his final flyer, a superb final sector earned him provisional pole position. Rosberg was midway through his own final lap, however, and running marginally quicker. His final sector was good too and he crossed the line three hundredths of a second ahead to claim his 10thpole and keep his championship hopes alive.
With forecasters saying the session would run under a 40 per cent chance of rain, the opening 18-minute segment saw most drivers take to the track on soft tyres, though a few including the Williams and McLaren cars began on mediums.
As expected the pace was set was by the Mercedes drivers, with Hamilton and Rosberg swapping fastest times. The championship leader took P1 with a triplet of purple sector times but then was dislodged as Rosberg went event faster with his next run.
By the time the final runs were being plotted Rosberg led from Hamilton with Alonso, who had earlier complained of starting the session with low battery power, in third place ahead of Massa and Bottas.
The quartet in the danger zone were Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne, Pastor Maldonado in the second Lotus and Sebastian Vettel who had yet to set a time.
The champion too complained of charging issues and his first timed lap left him rooted to the foot of the timesheet. His next lap was much better, the German jumping to safety in 12th place.
There was no escape for the others in the drop zone, however. Vergne slide wide on a first flyer and that chance was gone. He attempted a second quick lap but he could find no improvement, as he pulled into pit lane he told his team the car was “undriveable”.
Grosjean and Maldonado were also eliminated, while the man who dropped back to fill the hole left by Vettel was Force India’s Sergio Perez, who is also facing a seven-place grid Q2 saw penalty tomorrow.
In Q2 the first runs saw Rosberg again head the table with a lap of 1:10.303, some four tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton. Bottas slotted into third, four hundredths of a second down on Hamilton, with Massa fourth ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.
In the drop zone after the first runs were Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and the trio of Adrian Sutil in the second Sauber, Daniil Kvyat in the remaining Toro Rosso and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo yet to set a time.
In the end Kvyat chose not to run and with part of an engine replacement penalty still to take he’ll drop seven places further back than his P14 qualifying slot.
Ahead of him Gutierrez also missed the cut qualifying in 11th place, with the Mexican being knocked out by Ricciardo, who eventually finished eighth. Also ruled out were Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg in P12 and Sutil in P13.
At the front Mercedes were confident enough of making the grade that neither Rosberg and Hamilton made a second run. Nobody could top Rosberg’s first-run time, however, though Massa closed to within five hundredths of a second of the German. Bottas went third ahead of Hamilton, Button and Vettel. Raikkonen was seventh ahead of Ricciardo, with the last two Q3 spots being taken by McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen and Alonso.
In Q3 the first runs saw Rosberg improve yet again, the German shaving 1500ths of a second off his Q2 best to hold P1. Hamilton was second, just three hundredths down, ahead of Massa who got to within a tenth of Rosberg’s time to send the crowd wild at his home race.
The final runs were incredibly close. Hamilton was the first to show his hand and despite a big lock-up into the Bico de Pato corner he claimed provisional pole position thanks to a superb final sector.
Rosberg was out on track however and as he entered that final sector he was marginally inside Hamilton’s best. He managed to hold the advantage too to take his 10th pole position of the season by just three hundredths of a second.
The result also earned him F1’s new pole position trophy as Hamilton, with eight poles to his credit, cannot now catch his team-mate.
Behind them Massa took third ahead of Bottas with Button an excellent fifth for McLaren ahead of Vettel. Magnussen qualified in sixth position ahead of Alonso, Ricciardo and Raikkonen.
2014 Brazilian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:10.347 1:10.303 1:10.023 14
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:10.457 1:10.712 1:10.056 14
3 Felipe Massa Williams 1:10.602 1:10.343 1:10.247 17
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:10.832 1:10.421 1:10.305 17
5 Jenson Button McLaren 1:11.097 1:11.127 1:10.930 16
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:11.880 1:11.129 1:10.938 19
7 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:11.134 1:11.211 1:10.969 16
8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:11.558 1:11.215 1:10.977 18
9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:11.593 1:11.208 1:11.075 20
10 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:11.193 1:11.188 1:11.099 18
11 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:11.520 1:11.591 18
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:11.848 1:11.976 14
13 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:11.943 1:12.099 17
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:11.423 9
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:12.037 8
16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:12.040 10
17 Sergio Perez Force India 1:12.076 9
18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:12.233 7
eom/FIA press release -
Very emotional to be here in Brazil: Massa on P3
DRIVERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Felipe MASSA (Williams)
TV UNILATERAL
Nico, fastest in all practice sessions, fastest in all qualifying sessions, I guess you would call that a perfect job? How are you feeling?
Nico ROSBERG: Perfect job only if it works out tomorrow, you know, unfortunately. Up to now, of course, it’s been going well and it’s the best place to be in tomorrow but of course I need to make it happen in the race, unlike Austin for example.
Well, very well done. Lewis, a very small margin in the end, a matter of a few hundredths of a second. It looks like you’ve been chasing Nico a little bit all weekend but it seemed to come together; a little mistake possibly in Turn 10 on that final run, but how important for you is it to win tomorrow’s race, how important to just collect points?
Lewis HAMILTON: Just to comment on qualifying: it was great fun, Nico did a great lap and I lost a little bit of time in Turn 10 and perhaps a tiny bit in Turn One. But it was great – just having to keep on going out and fighting. That’s what qualifying is all about and it should always be that kind of gap, that close. So, really exciting and I hope people enjoyed that. And then, of course pole position is the best place to start here but it’s a long race tomorrow. It should be quite exciting with all the pit stops and the weather we don’t really know, so I’m here, I want to win, just as much as anyone else here, so I’m going to work as hard as I can tomorrow and hope we get have a race at least.
Very well done and coming to you Felipe: third place for you and tremendously well received by the Brazilian crowd here. Emotional for you?
Felipe MASSA: Yeah, very emotional. Very emotional to be here in Brazil and to have a competitive car, to start in the top three. I didn’t use everything I could from the car because I just got a lot of traffic, a lot of problems on my last set, that my car wasn’t… we couldn’t leave the engine on, so it was a lot of problems to leave the garage, so I left in the last moment with a lot of traffic around, with Magnussen. So I couldn’t improve my lap time and everybody was improving a little bit on the second set and I was not going to improve maybe enough to beat them but maybe to get very close. So it was very tight between the team-mates. It was very tight between them and very tight between me and Valtteri. But I think that’s a good thing. I’m so happy and I hope that it’s just the beginning and the start for tomorrow, a good result for us as well.
Very well done. Back to you Nico: the points situation obviously means you need to win both the last two races…
NR: Not true.
Well, possibly, shall we say! You’ve been very calm all weekend. I wonder if the pressure is different now you’re in the position you’re in, compared with earlier in the season?
NR: Pressure: it’s pretty much similar. The adrenaline is there, the tension, the excitement, it’s not been changing that much. I’m just here; I’m going for it. I’m pushing myself to stay optimistic all the time. Naturally I am optimistic also. Learn from Austin; I know what I need to do better. So, from that point of view, good to go for tomorrow.
Q: Nico, as we said before, perfect run up to now. Tomorrow is what counts and, of course, this is a particularly tricky first corner, isn’t it? I guess it’s not ideal to have your team-mate alongside you because an awful lot can go wrong in that first Senna S, can’t it? Talk us through your thoughts.
NR: I’m sure the start is going to be great to watch but being on the clean side of the grid, and it’s not such a long run down to Turn One, so that should definitely be helpful.
Q: Lewis, your perspective on Turn One as an opportunity for you to get back on terms, and also whether what happened here six years ago, winning your title here, whether you’re going to be able to channel that into your performance tomorrow.
LH: I’ve not really thought too much about the past here but, as I said, I’m here to win. Going to try to get off the line as quick as possible tomorrow and if I have a shot into Turn One tomorrow, I’ll take it. Otherwise, it’s a long race, 71 laps here so there’s lots of… should be several, two or three stops, so lots can go on during the race. So I’m generally excited and it’s not the only opportunity off the start. Yeah, we just, as I’ve said at all races, I just hope that we can race at least.
Q: Felipe, obviously that’s your best qualifying since Germany – but particularly exciting for you, I guess, is the margin. How close you were to these Mercedes around this track. Your thought on that and also on what you can do in the race. Can you challenge them?
FM: Yeah. Definitely good qualifying today, very tight between us in our team, me and Valtteri. Nico and Lewis as well. They were very, very close to each other so it was not an easy qualifying. I managed to do a good lap straight away but I just had a problem on the second set. Traffic, problem with the engine that it was not firing up. The car is good. I would say the car is competitive and we need to understand how the tyres will behave tomorrow in the race. The weather as well – but I think… I will try everything I can for my best race. I really hope that it can be possible to have some opportunity, even with these two guys. I will try.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo Online) Nico, this weekend looks a lot like the Austin weekend. But after your pit stop (in Austin) you suddenly lost performance and Lewis overtook you. What happened exactly and do you think the story will be different here?
NR: You say this looks similar to Austin. I don’t know why. Just pole position. I understand what I needed to improve in Austin: I didn’t find my rhythm in the race and I understand that, we looked at it and so I’m confident that I can improve that for tomorrow. Anyways, it’s a different situation: different track, here we’ve done more long runs, we even did a long run this morning which will help, in exactly the same conditions as we expect tomorrow. So all those things should be very helpful.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo Online) Lewis, would second place already be a good result for you here, even with Nico winning the race? Will you be more conservative or will you go for it, trying to get your sixth victory in a row?
LH: I’m just repeating again: I’ve come here to win so the priority target as always to try and win the race. Of course, on top of that, I want the team to have another one-two which is going to be our target. We know the Williams are very close. Hopefully we’ll have a good battle tomorrow.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, we have seen a Williams which is very very fast in the last sector. Do you think that tomorrow you could have the chance to beat Mercedes if you can manage to stay close to them at the beginning of the race?
FM: I think we were very fast last sector but even also in the first sector. We were just losing in the second sector which is where you need more downforce, and it’s pretty cle
Nico Rosberg takes Brazilian pole. Massa (left) takes P3 and Hamilton raring to go from P2. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image ar what we’re missing a little bit during the championship but it’s also true that we have a good car. We have a competitive car and I don’t know if we will have the chance to be more competitive than Mercedes tomorrow but I hope we will have the chance to be in front of at least one of these guys and I will do everything I can. We know that this race is very important for us and for me, as a Brazilian, and therefore these people as well who are watching and supporting me, so I will try everything I can.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico, you mentioned the wrong settings; did that happen by accident or didn’t you know or did you find out during driving that other settings would have been better?
NR: No, it was not by accident. It’s a progression, from one run to the next and you learn, with every run. But then the decision is, OK, I know my settings are wrong but if I change them now, the car will be different and that can be quite risky because in qualifying I’m really going flat out on the absolute edge and when I’m on the edge and the car is different, it’s not necessarily going to be quicker and it’s more risky so I just took the decision to stay as it was and that was the right decision, so that worked out well.
eom/FIA release of the transcript
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Rosberg continues to set the pace at sweltering Interlagos
Title hopeful again beats championship leader Hamilton by two tenths of a second as track temperatures hit 57 degrees.
Sau Paulo, 7 Nov 2014 (IST Sat morn):
- Nico Rosberg tops both Free Practice 1 and 2 at the Interlagos in Sao Paulo on Friday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
Nico Rosberg continued at the top of the timesheets in Interlagos, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to top spot by the same two tenths of a second margin he had enjoyed in the morning session.
Rosberg spent the early part of the session trailing Hamilton on the prime medium tyres but when the switch was made for option soft tyres, the German stretched his legs to take P1 with his first flying lap.
Hamilton tried to respond but on his opening flyer he ran wide Mergulho corner and ended up six-tenths adrift of his title rival. Unlike many other drivers Hamilton managed to improve on his second quick lap but he could get no closer to Rosberg than 0.2s.
Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest, half a second behind Rosberg, while Daniel Ricciardo, who had finished tenth in the morning session, improved to fourth fastest in the afternoon session, with the RB10 looking much more surefooted in the second practice period. Behind Ricciardo came the Williams cars of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.
While Raikkonen enjoyed a decent afternoon, despite a spin, team-mate Fernando Alonso had a more troubled outing, the Spaniard being forced to pull over at the side of the track with an engine fire. Ferrari later said that the power unit involved was a high mileage example and the incident was of no major concern, though Director odf Engineering Pat Fry said it had been a shame that Alonso was sidelined for the final 20 minutes of the session. Despite the setback Alonso still managed the afternoon’s seventh fastest time.
Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat was ended up up eighth ahead of the second Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, who, like his team-mate appeared more comfortable at the wheel of his RB10 than in the morning.
Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10, beating the lead Lotus of Pastor Maldonado by just two hundredths of a second.
Elsewhere, Esteban Gutierrez, who suffered electrical problems in the morning, also encountered problems in second session, the Mexican stopping with 13 minutes remaining and bringing out the red flag.
Jean-Eric Vergne also hit trouble. The Frenchman missed the morning session due to Max Verstappen taking over his Toro Rosso and Vergne’s first taste of the new Interlagos surface lasted just five laps before he pulled over at the aside of the track with a power unit problem.
Just 17 drivers ran during the session, with Sergio Perez unable to participate after Force India reserve Daniel Juncadella crashed his race car during the morning session.
2014 Brazilian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:12.123 36
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:12.336 0.213 36
3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:12.696 0.573 32
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:12.956 0.833 24
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:13.035 0.912 31
6 Felipe Massa Williams 1:13.099 0.976 27
7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:13.122 0.999 20
8 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:13.254 1.131 35
9 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:13.333 1.210 28
10 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:13.479 1.356 33
11 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:13.497 1.374 33
12 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:13.714 1.591 37
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:13.882 1.759 32
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:13.902 1.779 25
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:14.204 2.081 36
16 Jenson Button McLaren 1:14.209 2.086
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:17.171 5.048 31
18 Sergio Perez Force India No time 5
ends -
Minimal changes in Pirelli tyres for 2015: Pual Hembery
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Paul MONAGHAN (Red Bull Racing), Pat FRY (Ferrari), Paul HEMBERY (Pirelli) Rob SMEDLEY (Williams), Sam MICHAEL (McLaren)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Paul Hembery, if we could start with you? Interesting day today to say the least. Obviously a new track surface here at Interlagos [along with] your choice of soft and medium tyres for this weekend. What did you learn today, particularly in the extremely high track temperatures, up around 57-58 degrees [Celsius]?
Paul HEMBERY: Well, the track is very different from last year. We’ve lost a lot of the macro roughness, 50% less than last year, so it’s a very smooth track and in the first sessions we saw a lot of oils coming out from the new tarmac that we’ve got out there, which you get from new surfaces. So a lot of graining going on in the first run on the tyres in P1. It improved a little bit through the day. Having said that it’s a strong pull for something like the softer compound here when you get up to nearly 60 degrees on the track. A little bit of blistering we started to see on the front tyres. But who knows what the rest of the weekend is going to hold. Nobody foresaw having this high temperature today, so there are still a few question marks, I guess, for the rest of the weekend.
What about 2015 tyres? Give us an insight, if you could, about your thinking, what you want to achieve on strategy, performance, that kind of thing?
PH: Well, we’re not planning any great changes. We’re trying to improve a little bit the footprint area of the tyre, which is what you do as a tyre maker. Compounds? Well, again minimal changes. Maybe working on some of the temperature ranges of some of the compounds, but not planning anything dramatic. Primarily because we still want to understand what these technical guys are going to come up with in terms of developments for next season. They’ve had a year to understand the new regulations and we are expecting some quite strong improvements during next season.
Thank you very much. Rob, coming to you, same first question for you as it was for Paul, but from a team’s point of view. What did you find today running with these tyres on this new track surface? Anything you’d like to share with us about it?
Rob SMEDLEY: I think that the track improved quite dramatically through the first session as Paul just said. There were a lot of oils coming out. As you put Formula One cars over the surface you impart a lot of load into the surface and the oil comes out. I think that’s quite normal. And as it did the track gripped up a bit, between the first and the second set there was quite a big track evolution. We started the second session about 17 or 18 degrees hotter than what we finished the first. We were 56 degrees, I think, track temperature, about 34 or 35 ambient and that went up to 57-58 at the end we were measuring at the end. So they were quite extreme temperatures. On the old surface round here with that tyre of temperature you’ll get quite a lot of degradation. And that’s why I think everybody put the option on and the people who looked best on it were simply the people who’d run least in their short runs. Anybody who’d run four or five laps, as our cars had done, we grained the rears and blistered the front. But I think that’s quite normal for these track temperatures. We’re predicting, for what it’s worth, that it will be quite different conditions for tomorrow and Sunday. I think the main thing to take out of it, as always, is that Friday, yes it’s important and it’s good to go and do your homework, but the track can change quite dramatically for the rest of the weekend.
Q: Felipe, yesterday in the press conference was very optimistic about the next steps for Williams. They’ve obviously been a midfield team for a while now but the car and the technology are clearly on the point of being race-winning again. What needs to be done about developing the mentality of the team to that point as well?
RS: It’s a long-term project. You have to change cultures and methodology within the team and, like I’ve always said since I arrived at Williams, it’s very easy to change process, you can change process in a week – but it’s much more difficult to change culture, y’know? The team’s got to get back to being able to win. Being ready to win. Being pretty much ready to beat everybody. If you look at the most recent success – bar Mercedes – in F1 then it’s Red Bull. They started off some years back with not the quickest car and certainly not the best operation and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me saying that. And right now, in terms of their chassis, they still have a fantastic chassis, in terms of how they operate, they operate very well – but it’s because the same core group was there for a long time. And that’s what we have to do at Williams. I think we’ve got reasonably sensible people there now, there’s a good level of competence, a good level of young talent as well – which is always important – it’s not just the people at the top end who make all the decisions but the people who actually do the work as well. And yeah, for the moment it’s working. There’s more to do. We have to go further but as long we stay on the road that we’re on, hopefully it will work out.
Q: Pat, tell us about the contrasting day for your two drivers: obviously Kimi at the top of the timesheets in FP2 and the fire for Fernando. Is that going to mean a penalty?
Pat FRY: The fire, it’s a high-mileage Friday engine to be honest. I’m sure every team’s in a similar boat so it doesn’t really affect the strategy that we run on a Saturday and a Sunday, so that side of things, it looks more spectacular and it’s hard work for us to clean it all up but it’s not that big a deal. I think this morning we, like most people, we struggled with graining of, particularly the right front, and it takes a little bit of a while for us to work out how to deal with that. As the track improved the graining reduced significantly in the second part of FP1. We’ve been trying different setup options with Kimi and he seems happier. We’ve been reviewing… it’s been a constant battle for us to try and work out and give him the front end he wants in the car. We’re a little bit closer and it shows that, if we can give him the car that gives him the right feedback, he’s right there and right on the pace. So, I think that side of things went reasonably well. Long run pace, it’s hard to say really. I think everyone’s long run was disrupted by, firstly, the red flag we caused and then the following red flag. On Fernando’s side, again, similar comments with graining and car balance. I think everyone’s struggling a bit with the tyres and the way they’re behaving here. But yeah, we didn’t get a clean lap on the very first lap but other than that I think they’re relatively close together.
Q: Tell us how the Mattiacci long-term plan is manifesting itself in the technical department.
PF: I think, like all these things I’ve said to you before, to stop and look at what you’re doing and realise where… or start thinking long term, is definitely what we needed to do. It’s good that we’ve done that. Some of the changes that have been emplaced are already paying huge dividends in the way we’re developing next year’s car. Only time will tell really. There’s a huge amount of catching-up we need to do but at least there’s the drive to improve the technical process, invest where we need to. It’s a long-term process but the right path is there to get us back to the top.
Q: Sam, you’ve obviously announced that you’re leaving Formula One after a long career at the end of this season. Why have you decided to leave the sport and what are your plans?
Sam MICHAEL: Thanks James. First thing I wanted to say was that it’s been really been an honour and a privilege to work alongside all the engineers and technicians and drivers, media and all the people that make up Grand Prix racing. It’s an incredibly privileged position to be in and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. There are some fantastic people in this business, it’s one of those businesses where there’s lots of different characters and a great deal of diversity but the one thing that bonds us all together is that we’re all racers. We always have conflicts and fights about whether it’s technical regs or sporting regs or who said what or did at different times. We’re all here to do the best thing for Formula One and if it didn’t exist like that then we wouldn’t be here. It’s been a fantastic run, 21 years with four different teams and I looked at it and thought it’s time to go back to Australia. Looking forward to that, probably spending a bit more time with my family. As you know, yourself, motor racing itself is an incredibly selfish business when it comes to families and I think it got to the point where I thought if I don’t see my kids grow up at this point then I probably never will. So that was basically the driving factor behind it. It’s been a great trip and that’s it.
Q: What’s your favourite period?
SM: I’ve enjoyed all of it really. As I said, I’ve been very lucky to work with some pretty inspirational people right from the beginning with the two Peters, Peter Collins and Peter Wright, the infamous Eddie Jordan, obviously Gary Anderson who was a good teacher at the time, then Frank and Patrick and then obviously Martin and Ron. You could look at each period and say that when you’re winning Grands Prix, they’re the most fantastic results and the highlights, but there’s actually lots of other little areas and little wins that you get, whether it’s coming up with a new technology before someone else in a team, results where you’ve driven from the back… I think of things like when Alex Wurz drove from the back in 2007 and got to the podium. I think of Nico Rosberg’s first Grand Prix in Bahrain where he started a lap down effectively and got back to seventh and had fastest lap of the race. There’s all the wins as well that I had in those teams. I think all those moments are the ones that bonded a race team together and they’re the ones that you remember the most.
Q: Paul Monaghan, great year, obviously for Daniel Ricciardo: three wins, third in the drivers’ championship. Less so for Sebastian Vettel who admitted yesterday that ‘Ricciardo has simply done a better job than me.’ What’s the technical explanation for these two very different seasons?
Paul MONAGHAN: We present two equal cars to the drivers and I think you have to ask Sebastian for a little bit more explanation of his side of what he meant. We service both drivers with the best equipment we can, treat them equally, allow them their requests where we can and field them onto the track in the best state we possibly can. I would have said Sebastian’s coming off five very intense years, isn’t he, and he’s been phenomenally successful and I suppose it concludes with we wish him well.
Q: Well, you’re turning a page, obviously. You’ve got Daniel Kvyat coming in; when do you get to run him for the first time, and more importantly, do you think he’s ready?
PM: He’ll be ready. He’s had a season, hasn’t he? He’s had some glamorous moments. In terms of running him, I think it’s going to be in February and yeah, looking forward to it. It’s a new challenge for us, isn’t it? So off we go, we’ll see what happens.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Rob, Pat Symonds said Alonso could be a disturbing factor for a Williams that is still growing and trying to become a top team to win again. Do you agree with that?
RS: Well, I don’t exactly know what Pat said so I can’t really comment on that. I’m sure that’s not verbatim what you’ve just said to me, it rarely is. I think that Williams is, yes, growing, yes, in a state of transition. But I don’t think that anybody would be a distraction. I think that it’s up to us to be able to integrate people into the team, whoever they are. If they’re good and they offer something, then it’s up to the management and the rest of the team to be able to integrate them. Don’t take this away as a quote that I think that Fernando Alonso’s coming to Williams because he isn’t. You’d have to ask Pat to explain further on what he said, but as far as I’m concerned, I think that Williams is open to everybody.
Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC TV Sport) A question for Paul: I know there were very interrupted race runs that everybody was doing this afternoon but Red Bull did look pretty good. Do you think you can give Mercedes a bit of a run, particularly if the weather conditions change this weekend?
PM: Yes, in summary to your question, we’ll set out to try and win the race. If it’s dry and the race is as we might expect, then we’ll probably watch the Mercedes. If you throw in a bit of inclement weather, a few unexpected pit stops, we’ll do our utmost to finish at the front, yes.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Paul, I would like to follow up on what Rob had said about the core group of people who of course will no longer be around: for example, Adrian’s moving on, Sebastian’s moving on, I believe Rocky is moving on as well, so there will be a total restructure. How do you people see that restructure working internally? Will there be an announcement of people starting to move into positions?
PM: Well, I have to correct you on two out of three points you’ve made. Sebastian is departing the team, he’s one part of the team. We wish him well. Adrian’s not leaving, he’s taking a step back, but he’s still around. Rocky’s staying with the team so the core team to which you refer is still there and I think, as Rob said, we’ve been together for a long time, we work well together, we’re a close knit team so people are changing positions, structures have been in place for a little while now so I don’t envisage a great change in a short period of time. I think, from the outside, you will struggle to see very much in the way of differences and as the core team is staying together, then we expect to be strong if not stronger next year.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Pat, we’re hearing in the past few weeks different stories about the new Ferrari, first that it was delayed and that the data was not as good – even worse than this one, then that there have been some improvements. What can you say about the work that you are doing in Maranello? Where are you standing? What are you foreseeing?
PF: Well, I don’t know where you get your information from, to be honest. Yeah, we’ve set ourselves some strong challenging development targets on both the power unit side and on the chassis side. There’s obviously a huge gap we need to catch up. I think things are progressing reasonably well. Have we reached our target? No, far from it but I guess there’s four and a half months to go still – at least – but things are coming along and improving on both fronts really, so I think there’s been good progress there. All the teams are working well together, so only time will tell how much performance everyone else is going to put on. So we’re doing the best we can with the resource we’re applying, so it’s going OK.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action/National Speedsport News) Sam, do you plan to be involved in racing when you get back to Australia? And would you consider being involved in the V8 series down there?
SM: Thanks Dan. I think at this point in time, the first thing I want to do is get back to Australia. I’m still on this side of the world (Europe), get back there and get everyone – my family – established and then decide what I’m going to do next. Since it’s become public, it’s been a really interesting time with some quite fascinating and interesting projects but at the moment I’m not going to make any decision until I’m back there. Spend a few days on the beach first. Thanks.
eom/FIA release of the transcript
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There’s not enough for me to win, I need to rely on something happening: Nico Rosberg with two races left
File photo of Hamilton left, and Nico Rosberg at Hockenheim on Friday. An Mercedes AMG Petronas image DRIVERS – Kevin MAGNUSSEN (McLaren), Adrian SUTIL (Sauber), Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus), Jean-Eric VERGNE (Toro Rosso), Felipe MASSA (Williams), Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Nico, if we could start with you? It’s the first time this year, in this championship, that the championship itself is out of your hands, in the sense that two wins, here and in Abu Dhabi, won’t be enough. Do you feel you need to rely on a little bit of luck then and this venue might provide it?
Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it’s clear that I need to rely on something happening. Yeah, for sure there’s not enough for me to win, unfortunately, but that’s the way it is. Anyways, in sport so much can happen, so I’m still very optimistic.
You had a rich run of form from Monaco through to Hockenheim. How would characterise the period since then?
NR: A less rich run of form! What is it? Lewis has done a little bit of a better job since then. That’s it, pretty simple, but as I say, still two races.
OK, thank you. Felipe, coming to you: obviously, you’re a two-time winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Do you feel that with this car this year is your best shot of getting back on the podium, since that great win in ’08.
Felipe MASSA: Yeah, I think so. Anyway, I was on the podium in 2012. It’s a fantastic track for me. A track that I had great results. As you said, two victories, almost three I would say. Three pole positions. I always love this track. I won many races [here] even before Formula One. So I started my career here, on the other side of the wall, which is a go-kart track, at the top. I love this place. I love the energy that I feel here and I’m really looking forward to having a fantastic weekend. I hope our car can be as competitive as shown in the other tracks here as well. We’ll see how far we can be, or maybe even in the middle of these guys here on the left [Mercedes]. Trying to get all the opportunities to have a great race here.
You’ve obviously been a key part of Williams’ renaissance this year. With all the experience you have, tell us how you feel this team can become more competitive in 2015?
FM: Well, first of all you cannot forget how much we grow from the first race until now. I think maybe… I would say it was the team that grows more during the championship. It was a team that gets better, that improved the car in the top level, from the first race to the last race, looking at where we started and where we are now. So, I think definitely the team… when we started at the first test and where we are now, the team changed completely the organisation, the mentality. We are still changing, there are still some improvements we are working to be there before the first race of next year. But I really believe in this team. I think this team has everything to be even more competitive, it has everything to be fighting for victories and I really, really hope for championships as well.
Kevin, coming to you, obviously clear progress for McLaren on the car side in the last few grands prix, that’s clear to see. But the car still seem to have a narrow sweet spot in terms of getting the most out of it during a race weekend. What’s going on there?
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: A lot of it is down to the tyres, making the tyres work. It’s seems that sometimes we get it better than others. Sochi was an example of where we got the tyres working very well and I think Austin was an example of where we didn’t. It’s a little bit hard to understand but we’re trying out best.
Since the summer break you’ve had pretty strong form yourself personally, especially in qualifying. Do you think you’ve done enough to book your seat for 2015?
KM: I can only say I hope so. I think I’ve learned a lot. I’ve improved a lot in many areas and yeah, I’m sure I have a lot more potential even from where I am now. So, I hope so.
Thank you very much. Pastor, coming to you, first points in Austin, a very strong performance. Tell us about your and Lotus’ fight back?
Pastor MALDONADO: It was a very tough season, especially at the beginning, even not able to run the car as we wanted. It was not maybe the best way to start to work with a team. But we did a great job to try to put everything together, to get better and better and at some point we decided to be focused on next year’s car. But the team seems to be quite good, very competitive in terms of spirit. They are used to being in the front. They know how to do a good car, so let’s hope the best for next year.
How do you feel about opportunities for this weekend? This track is always very unpredictable and the weather forecast looks like it’s going to be pretty wet throughout the weekend. A lot of variables there. Opportunities?
PM: Yeah, the main objective is to maintain the performance we had last week in Austin, so we think, as a team, we can continue to fight for the points. That is the main focus at the moment.
Q: Adrian, coming to you, obviously Sauber have announced both their 2015 drivers, so in what direction does your future lie, do you feel?
Adrian SUTIL: I don’t know, so I will see what is possible, what I want and also… yeah, it’s quite a few things to think about and I can’t really say more at the moment.
Q: Are you optimistic that you’ll be in Formula One next year?
AS: At the moment, I don’t know. Maybe. F1 is unpredictable – but as I said, there are a few things to think about first and then the team has to comment the rest.
Q: Obviously great performance in qualifying in Austin, you must have been so disappointed the way that first lap turned out. Have you spoken to Sergio [Pérez] afterwards? Have you been back through it?
AS: No, we didn’t speak. He didn’t apologise, to be honest. But anyway, that’s how it is. Shame, it was for sure a good chance for points. It was a very nice qualifying, it was good to be in Q3 finally with this car. It has been quite a challenge this year, to be honest, so we didn’t expect it – but for some reason it got better and better through the qualifying session and especially on Saturday, the car was better than ever before, so, many things to analyse. We try it of course again here. I look forward to the race weekend. Big chances with weather looking very wet and I think everyone knows how the weather can turn out here in Brazil. We have seen many exciting races.
Q: Jean-Eric, coming to you, some encouraging noises that you may get a chance to retain your Toro Rosso seat for next year. Can you tell us about progress on that and progress on any other options you might have in Formula One?
Jean-Eric VERGNE: Well yeah, there were some good words from many people, especially from Franz [Tost]. Well, you know, it would be a good thing to stay with this team, I really believe in it and I think this year we did get a lot stronger and next year we’ll be again on this up-trend, so I believe we can be again in a better position next year so hopefully we can continue. But you never know. And I don’t know much more about the situation than this.
Q: It’s clear from watching you race in the last period of time, just more recently, that there’s a lot of passion in your driving. Is that coming from the adversity that you’ve been through, the setbacks, or is it anger? What’s driving it?
JEV: Definitely not anger. I believe that I’ve done many races in the past like this but unfortunately the beginning of the year I had a lot of DNF and obviously, when you don’t finish the race, people don’t remember what you’ve been up to in the race. That was a little bit of a shame. I haven’t changed anything. I drive with a lot of passion, I love racing, that’s what I do best and it doesn’t matter what I do next year, I continue, I don’t continue, I’ll always give my best to a hundred percent and try to have the most fun possible. This is when you perform well.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Elmar Dreher – German Press Agency) Adrian, I can imagine that you are very frustrated. Can you describe a little bit your feelings about this bad situation for you?
AS: Well, I’m not frustrated but that’s just how it is in F1 since many years. It’s a little bit a different business. That’s all I can say right now. I look forward to the race and that’s it.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriera della Sera) Nico, we know the championship will not finish here in Brazil. Is it an add-point from a psychological point of view that you can have a last chance in Abu Dhabi?
NR: It’s… for sure it’s great. Great news that for sure this year I have a chance to win the championship the way it is now. That’s a good thing. I’m also happy because it’s good for the fans that it’s going to be exciting until the very end. And, yeah, for sure it keeps me very, very optimistic.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Nico, Lewis said that what happened in Spa was kind of a war for him and since then he changes his attitude and everything. What has it changed for you since then and what do you think you have to do now to change the results of the last five races?
NR: Did he say we’re at war? I don’t think anything has changed. It was an intense battle before and it still is an intense battle now. So, I don’t know his exact opinion on things but for me nothing has changed since then.
Q: (Claudio Nogueira – O Gobo) Felipe, can you make an overall evaluation of your first season with the Williams team?
FM: Starting with the team, the team did a fantastic season, looking at how they were last year and looking at how they are now. I think the team did a fantastic season in terms of what I was saying before: improving the car and working in the good areas. We lost some opportunities, I lost many opportunities during the season, so many races that I couldn’t finish for different reasons. Some unlucky races as well, I would say. But I think now, I would say maybe from the middle of the season, things were a lot more consistent for myself, for the races, and I really believe that we can still do a great two races for the end of the championship. I’m really working and looking forward to having a very consistent and good season in 2015.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Kevin, two part question: first of all, I take it you still don’t know exactly what your future is for next year, and secondly, then, if you don’t know what your future is, do you feel a bit let down by the team, that in your rookie year, after you’ve done your best to try and perform on the track, you’ve got two races to go and they still haven’t told you whether you’ve got a drive next year or not?
KM: They’re not doing that to annoy me. They have a reason for it.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports F1) Do you feel let down?
KM: No, because I understand why I’ve not been told yet. Some things are still not sorted out from their side and if they could let me know, they would. Yeah, I can only just wait and see what happens. I’m not planning anything else, I’m not looking for anything else. I’m planning as if I’m here next year, so that’s what I’m working for and doing my best to get to.
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Adrian, I understood you had a two year contract and it seems that it’s only one year. Is this something you have to talk to Sauber about resolving? You alluded to some issues to sort out still.
AS: Yes, there are certain things to talk about, definitely, yes. They’ve confirmed two drivers but that doesn’t mean the drivers can drive and it doesn’t mean that the team’s going to drive. So there’s no real change from last weekend to this weekend. It’s just an announcement and now, of course, my situation, I think I have to do some talking, to sort out the things.
Q: (Luiz Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) I don’t know which drivers have done a track walk or saw the new pit entry and pit exit but if somebody can comment on what they saw? Maybe Felipe?
FM: Yeah, I saw it. The pit exit is more or less similar, a little bit more inside and I would say corner two is more safe, because the wall is a bit further away, so we won’t see some crashes which we saw many times. I think that corner will be a lot safer now. And the pit entry, I would say, was a good job. You still have the wall there, in a similar place – this is the only thing that we need to be careful of, but the pit entrance is better so I would say it’s more safe, it’s better and I really hope we will see no accidents or less accidents than we saw in the past there. Anyway, we need to drive to see exactly but it looks OK by looking but we just need to drive to be sure about it.
Q: (Andy Benson – BBC) At the beginning of the year, Nico, you were quite outspoken against double points, you didn’t like it.
NR: I do now! It’s really a fantastic idea.
Q: (Andy Benson – BBC) I’m coming to that, yeah, and last weekend you were also saying you didn’t like it but you could see the positives. If you end up winning the championship because of double points now, the way the season’s gone, some people will say that it was a hollow victory or it shouldn’t have happened or whatever. How would you respond to that?
NR: I wouldn’t respond. Everybody can have their opinion and in sport it’s the points that count in the end and of course, then you can debate who deserved it more or less. That’s always going to be the case.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, we heard that Felipe Nasr is going to race for Sauber next year. You know him pretty well, he’s been the third driver for your team. What do you think he can bring to Sauber and what do you say about him as a driver?
FM: Well, I’m happy for him. I think for Brazil it’s great to have another Brazilian driver racing. I’m quite close to him, we’ve worked together the whole season inside the team. He’s in GP2, maybe his third season in GP2 so it’s his time, his opportunity to go to Formula One, otherwise it starts to be a little bit more difficult after that so I’m happy that he had his opportunity, his chance and I hope the best for him. I hope the best for him and I hope that we can bring our Brazilian flag on the top now with two drivers, not just one, and I hope the best for him. Definitely, it’s not a great moment for Sauber. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to be next year, his team, I don’t know which car and how competitive they can be, seeing that they are suffering a little bit of crisis and crisis is not good for everything you’re doing but anyway, I hope the best for him and I hope he can have a good start and a good experience and being in Formula One for a long time, not just for a few years.
eom/FIA press release of the transcript
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Our battle for fifth is a bit more complicated but is not yet over: Vijay Mallya ahead of the Brazilian GP
Team Principal Vijay Mallya and the drivers Nico Roseberg and Sergio Perez, who failed to get any points at Russia and the USA look forward to this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix; Excerpts from an interveiw:Vijay, the team was out of luck in Austin – do you expect a change of fortune this week?“The bad luck we experienced in Austin is part of the game and I’m pleased to say it’s very unusual to see our two cars fail to take the chequered flag. Our consistency and reliability have been strong for the most part of the year and we simply have to take a weekend such as Austin on the chin. Our battle for fifth in the championship is now a bit more complicated, but it’s not yet out of reach. It’s a shame that Checo will have a grid penalty in Brazil, but Interlagos is a track that lends itself to overtaking so hopefully he can recover some of the lost ground.”Brazil usually produces an interesting race and it’s been good to the team in the past…“The last time Nico Hulkenberg raced for us in Brazil, he almost won the race! It remains one of the most memorable moments in the team’s history, but it’s also a painful memory because we came so close to our first victory. It’s a track that both Nico and Sergio love and perhaps we can expect some more magic moments this year, especially if we get some of Sao Paulo’s famous unsettled weather.”Driver’s View: Nico Hülkenberg
Nico Hülkenberg talks about racing at Interlagos.Nico: “Brazil is always a highlight of my season and it’s one of the events I enjoy the most. If you look at my record at Interlagos it’s a circuit where I have always performed well. I enjoy the country, the atmosphere, the Brazilian lifestyle and all that surrounds the event seems to have given me a special boost in the past and hopefully it will happen again. Obviously this is a new year and we will need to prepare for this event well: Interlagos can always throw a surprise with the conditions and this could be a challenge for which we need to be ready.“The track itself is a proper old-school circuit: you don’t have the vast expanses of more modern tracks, everything is bunched up together – it feels almost like a karting track. It’s a very cool layout with some iconic corners, and it has a lot of Formula One history.”Driver’s View: Sergio PerezSergio Perez gets ready for the penultimate race of the season.Sergio: “Interlagos is a great track and makes for a very enjoyable weekend. The circuit is very rewarding to drive in an F1 car – you can attack in almost every corner and it requires absolute commitment. There are quite a few overtaking points and I have had some special battles there in the past. You have some very fast corners and a very complex middle sector: there are changes of elevation, cambers and it’s very twisty, it’s very difficult but it gives you such a great feeling when you get it right.“Brazil is a great country to race in – the public has a real passion for Formula One and this creates a great atmosphere. The country has created so many big names in our sport, none more so than Senna: he was fully devoted to racing and was a unique driver and man. You can see his spirit lives on at this track and this is reflected in all the fans in the grandstands. The other thing I always remember about Interlagos is the traffic – it can be a bit of an adventure to get from the hotel to the circuit but it’s all part of the experience!”Driver’s View: Daniel JuncadellaDaniel Juncadella will take part in his second 90-minute Free Practice session duringFriday morning at the Brazilian Grand Prix. This will be the third time this season that the Sahara Force India reserve driver joins an official session, after appearances in FP1 at Silverstone and during the first 30 minutes of Italy’s first practice session back in September. The 23-year old will take the wheel of Sergio’s VJM07.Daniel: “I’m very happy to be given another chance to drive the car this weekend in Brazil. I feel confident after my outings in Silverstone and Italy and I look forward to continue gaining more experience with the team. The Brazilian track brings back good memories, as I achieved two podium finishes back in 2008 when I raced here at the final two races of the Formula BMW American season, but I can’t wait to go back and see what it’s like to drive it in an F1 car! The fact that I know the track and that I’m not new to the team anymore will definitely be two positive elements that will allow me to focus on my driving and on doing the best job possible for the team straight away. After finishing my DTM season much stronger than we started it, I now look forward to my third FP1 outing and I’d like to thank Sahara Force India for this opportunity.” -
Hamilton extends title lead with third career US GP win
The Victor and the Vanquished: Hamilton celebrated after extending the championship lead while Nico Rosberg (background) ponders in Austin on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team image Briton now 24 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Rosberg with three races to go. Ricciardo third in Austin.
Austin, 2 Nov 2014 (IST Monday morning): Lewis Hamilton extended his title lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg to 24 points, as he took a comfortable third career US Grand Prix win after passing the German for the lead as the race approached its midpoint. Daniel Ricciardo finished third for Red Bull Racing.
Having claimed his ninth pole position of the season on Saturday, Rosberg led the race through the opening stint, but when the Mercedes duo made their first visit to the pit lane for medium tyres, Hamilton found more pace than his team-mate on the prime rubber and on lap 24 completed a bold move on the German into Turn 12 to steal the lead. Rosberg fought back but Hamilton always had a reserve of pace in hand to eventually take a comfortable 10th win of the season.
At the race start, behind the Mercedes pair, Felipe Massa passed team-mate Valtteri Bottas to claim third position. the Finn was then forced to defend hard as Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso attempted to pass but managed to kept hold of fourth.
Ricciardo, meanwhile, had made a poor getaway. He dropped to seventh behind McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen but soon claimed a place back, easing past Magnussen as the Dane was too cautious into Turn 12.
Behind them, Sergio Perez overcooked his entry into the corner and hit Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari. He then cannoned into the Sauber of Adrian Sutil, ending the German’s race. It was bitterly disappointing for Sauber, who had yesterday seen Sutil claim their first top 10 qualifying position of the season and put the team in a good position to claim its first points of the year.
The safety car came out and many cars pitted to change tyres. Sebastian Vettel was one of those, pitting twice and eventually emerging on medium tyres.
When the safety car peeled off track at the end of lap four, Rosberg kept his lead ahead of Hamilton and the Williams duo of Massa and Bottas. Ricciardo, meanwhile, muscled his way past Alonso on the outside of Turn Two to steal back fifth place. Behind Alonso, team-mate Raikkonen was seventh ahead of Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne and Romain Grosjean in the second Lotus in 10th place.
Maldonado, though, was in trouble. Placed under investigation by the stewards for speeding under the safety car – along with a clutch of other drivers – the Venezuelan was handed a five-second stop and go penalty, as were Vergne and Gutierrez.
The first round of planned pit stops began on lap 15 as Massa and Ricciardo dived toward the pit lane. Massa took on more softs, while Ricciardo opted for mediums. Rosberg made his stop on the next lap, taking on medium tyres. He was followed by Valtteri Bottas.
The single lap extra that Bottas had to put in over Ricciardo cost him, however, as the Red Bull driver used the undercut to sneak ahead as Bottas rejoined. Hamilton, meanwhile, pitted on lap 16 and like his team-mate took on medium tyres. Elsewhere, Maldonado and Vergne took their penalties during their pit stops and that allowed Grosjean to move ahead of the pair.
At the front, on lap 21, Rosberg was just 1.4 seconds ahead of Hamilton and by the time the pair crossed the line at the end of the tour, the championship leader had narrowed the gap to one second and was inside DRS range. Seven seconds further back, Massa continued in third, two seconds ahead of Ricciardo who had now built a three-second lead over Bottas.
Magnussen was now fifth for McLaren, ahead of team-mate Button who was being heavily pressured by a hard-charging Alonso. The Spaniard probed and pressed and eventually found a way through at Turn One on lap 24 to steal eighth.
A bigger change of position was taking place at further up the track, however. As Rosberg and Hamilton headed for Turn 12, the Briton spotted a gap and dived down the inside. He made the move stick and took the race lead.
At the edge of the top 10 Vettel was struggling badly. The champion, who was running considerably slower than his team-mate, had already complained about the mysteriously poor pace of his car and now was suffering with bad understeer. On lap 25 he was brushed aside through Turn One by Grosjean and then, almost immediately by Vergne, who was now 10th.
As the front-runners’ second stops began, Ricciardo, in fourth, visited the pits for more medium tyres on lap 32. Massa, in third, came in a lap later but a slow halt as his team fitted medium tyres allowed the Red Bull driver to steal third as Massa exited the pits and the pair ran up to Turn One.
Hamilton and Rosberg, meanwhile, made their final stops, with both taking on medium tyres. Rosberg had been told to push hard while Hamilton pitted ahead of him, but he could find no gain and a slightly slower stop than Hamilton’s left him in second place, 3.6s down on his team-mate.
Rosberg wasn’t defeated, however. On lap 36 he put in a race fastest lap, a 1:42.381 to run almost a second quicker than his title rival and the gap dropped to 2.7s. Hamilton was immediately informed of the fact by his race engineer and upped his pace, setting a personal best for the race of 1:42.618. Rosberg was pushing too, however, and maintained his assault by logging a 1:42.718. The duo continued to trade fastest laps, but with Hamilton seemingly able to respond at will the gap eventually began to stabilise at 2.5s.
Alonso, in sixth, was the last man to make a scheduled stop, on lap 44 but when he emerged he was beaten into Turn One by Vettel. The German, on older medium tyres, couldn’t hold out for long against the soft tyre-shot Ferrari driver and Alonso soon stole back the position on lap 46.
With 10 laps left Hamilton led Rosberg by 2.4s, with Ricciardo third. Massa was now fourth in front of team-mate Bottas, with Alonso sixth ahead of Vettel. Then came the McLarens of Magnussen and Button, while the final points position was occupied by Grosjean, who had Vergne in close attendance.
That order wouldn’t hold, however. Vettel briefly dropped out of the top 10 on lap 49 to make a fourth pit stop, during which he took on soft tyres. He was soon scything through the pack as further ahead Vergne also attempted to climb the order.
The Frenchman put a late, strong-arm move on Grosjean to claim ninth, which drew the attention of the stewards for investigation after the race, and then overtook Button for eighth.
Vettel though was marching on and soon brushed passed Grosjean, Maldonado, Vergne, and Magnussen to rise back to seventh place. Maldonado passed Vergne for in the final corners but the Venezuelan had to take a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane during an earlier stop.
The flurry of action meant that Hamilton won, 4.3s ahead of Rosberg, with Ricciardo taking his eighth podium finish of the season.
Massa finished fourth ahead of team-mate Bottas, while Alonso was sixth, just half a second ahead of Vettel who spent the final lap desperately trying to pass the Ferrari. Magnussen was eighth with Vergne ninth when Maldonado’s penalty was applied as he crossed the line. The Lotus man still held on to a point, however.
2014 United States Grand Prix – Race
1 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 56 Winner 2 25
2 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 56 +4.3 secs 1 18
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 56 +25.5 secs 5 15
4 19 Felipe Massa Williams 56 +26.9 secs 4 12
5 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams 56 +30.9 secs 3 10
6 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 56 +95.2 secs 6 8
7 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 56 +95.7 secs 18 6
8 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 56 + secs 7 4
9 25 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 56 + secs 14 2
10 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 56 + secs 10 1
11 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus +1 Lap 16
12 22 Jenson Button McLaren +1 Lap 12
13 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari +1 Lap 8
14 21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber +1 Lap 15
15 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso +1 Lap 17
Ret 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +40 Laps 13
Ret 11 Sergio Perez Force India +55 Laps 11
Ret 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber + secs 9
eom/FIA transcript -
It has been an incredible place, a big thank you to the American fans, says Hamilton
DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Mario Andretti)
Hello Austin, another exciting and beautiful race in the record books. Amazing, guys. All my deputies here. Lewis, if my math is correct it’s your tenth win this season, a 24-point lead in the championship. Oh my gosh. Three races, two wins and a second, is there anything you can tell me about your secret here?
Lewis HAMILTON: You know, this is an incredible place. I’ve got such great support here, so a big, huge thank you to the fans here. Again, I’ve been so fortunate – I’ve got an incredible team, an incredible and I had a great competitor today and I’m really grateful to be up front. I’m really excited. It’s such a privilege to be representing my country and to be at the top of the driver wins is really quite special.
A beautiful job, obviously. You had work to do. You’ve done that in the past. You made a beautiful pass on your friend here Nico and I think you might have caught him by surprise a little bit but after that in clear air it looked like clear sailing, because it looked like the car just worked perfectly for you?
LH: The car was great today, but you know what, where’s the Stetson? Can I use your hat?
MA: In a minute… I’m still on official duty.
LH: Oh yeah, you’re the sheriff.
Nico, great start, brilliant pole. It looks to me like you were caught a little bit by surprise on that overtake early on in the race and once Lewis got into clear air it seemed like you had a tough time. Nevertheless a one-two, many times this year, a brilliant performance by both of you and kudos to Mercedes.
Nico ROSBERG: yeah, it definitely kind of sucks to me today, but that’s the way it is (inaudible). It took too long for me to find my rhythm. Once Lewis got by I found my rhythm, but it was too late, so that kind of sucked. But anyways, thank you to all of you; you’ve been fantastic today. As I see, you’ve had a great time, that’s important and it’s great that F1 is in Texas.
Seventy-five points still available before the end of the season, so the fight is still open right. Daniel, wow! Eight podiums this season, you’re just right there aren’t there aren’t you? Keeping these two pretty honest aren’t you? That’s fabulous to see.
Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah we’re doing what we can. We all had a great weekend. So, firstly, thanks to all the fans. It’s honestly a pleasure to come out here. Austin’s great – the circuit, the facilities, the town, everything’s good. So thanks to Red Bull for giving me the package to fight for the podium today and I’m really happy with third place.
That was brilliant obviously as I said. Some of your overtakes are textbook. As a young man it’s amazing. It’s fun to watch, honestly.
DR: Thanks. This place is great. You can overtake here, there are a lot of opportunities. I got Magnussen on lap one and then Fernando on the restart, so it wasn’t too boring out there.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, well done, what an amazing run of races you’ve had, these five victories, absolutely fantastic. How have you felt about those?
LH: It’s been an incredible run. This whole season has been incredible really. Just an unbelievable job done by the team. Nico was very quick in qualifying yesterday. Obviously I said I had a couple of problems and I corrected them today and, never know how the race is going to go but I pushed as hard as I could, particularly in the first stint. And the second stint I seemed to be even quicker on that stint. Once I got past Nico it was really just about controlling it. Coming here today, just having that same determination and hunger to get that win. And, as I said, there’s not a better crowd really to do that in front of.
Q: Tell us about that overtake. How did that happen? How did you feel about that? Was it all DRS? How did it actually happen?
LH: It’s obviously a very good circuit to be able to follow but it’s not easy and it was very hard through the middle sector to try to stay as close to him as possible and get as close as I could to the DRS zone. And I was quite a bit back, I would say, but I felt very confident, there was a big headwind into 12, and I just felt like I was waiting for the moment really, to just be just close enough to throw it up the inside. And that’s what I did. There’s a kind of… you have to decide how much of a risk you’re willing to take. Nico wasn’t defending there really so almost caught him unaware. And after that, really I was just trying to maintain it. But what an incredible achievement. I’m so grateful. Big thank you to all my team and to my family because the results that I’ve had and the amount of wins that I’ve had wouldn’t have been possible without those people.
Q: You talked yesterday about brakes and also a little bit about a flat-spot. There was no sign of that during the opening laps?
LH: No, there was no problem. Fortunately it was a small one. But when the Safety Car came out I did have that big difference of around 100°C between the left front brake and the right front, so was trying very hard to keep it as high as possible but fortunately once we got going again it started to rebalance itself and I didn’t have too many problems. Locking was still there but it didn’t seem to hinder me.
Q: Nico, great start again the overtake saw you back in second place. What happened there?
NR: Yeah, the start was good so thanks to the team for that, that worked out really well. It’s pretty simple that I didn’t find my rhythm early on. It took a long time, like all the way until after Lewis passed me. In the overtake, I knew there was a chance. Maybe he would try or not, so I went kinda, halfway defensive but Lewis just did a good job and that’s it. Five or ten laps later I started to find a better rhythm and then I felt OK – but it was unfortunately just way too late.
Q: At one point, for something like five laps in succession, you were lapping so close, the two of you, within thousandths of a second of one another, I guess that when you’d found the rhythm.
NR: Yes. That’s the period went I started to feel more comfortable. I never gave up in this race, of course, I was just fully determined all the way to try and put the pressure onto Lewis, try and get a bit closer, but it just wasn’t possible today.
Q: And you radioed in that you hit a kerb at some point. Was there any lasting effect from that?
NR: No, it’s just that with these kerbs around the back there, if you take a little bit too much, they’re quite high and it was a little bit of a thump but everything was OK. Again, they’ve built a good car. Robust.
Q: Daniel, fantastic pace to get past both of the Williams. It looked like the car really came into its own in the middle of the race.
DR: Yeah. I think we had good pace. Williams were strong. I think we used good strategy to get ahead of them basically, and that paid off. But yeah, the first few laps were fun. We dropped a few places on the start but then got Magnussen into 12 and then Alonso on the restart so, couldn’t really hang with the Williams at first but it seemed like the longer the stint went, the more pace we had. Really happy with third. As we know, Mercedes are a bit out of reach, so third I think was the best we could do today.
Q: And when you had the Williams behind you, within the DRS capability as it were, a slippery Williams with a Mercedes engine, you must have thought it was all over.
DR: Yeah, Felipe was coming on strong at the end. I could see him. At the beginning of the stint I pulled but then he came back stronger than he expected. I don’t know if he had DRS or not but I was trying to do a little bit down the straights so he couldn’t get too much in my tow. But anyways, I think we held on pretty comfortably in the end but they had good pace and kept me honest until the last lap.
Q: So really happy to be on the podium.
DR: You betcha!
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Sef Harding – Zero Zone News) Lewis, you’ve been focused out there like a Jedi knight this season. Big numbers for you: this makes five in a row and ten wins through the season. Did everything just come together for you today, once you had the car hooked up?
LH: I like the Jedi knight reference! That’s cool. Yeah, today, just really doing my homework. Before the race there’s a lot you can do to really understand what opportunities could come up and in different scenarios, how you approach it and I felt very much on top of that as I have done for quite some time. Just went into the race with the belief that I could win it. Incredible support from my fans, even from when I was in New York this week. The support from my fans and the tons of flags out there and team tops and team caps, I really am so grateful for that support that I have here in the US. It’s amazing. I hope it continues to grow over the years. Great weather, the circuit’s just fantastic. I went into the race thinking I need another race just like 2012 and it was just like that. I was catching him through exactly the same points at which I was catching Sebastian. There wasn’t a moment in the race when I didn’t think that I would get him. Once I was past, as I said, I was able to relax for a second and really try to manage the tyres, because I knew that perhaps he would push at some other point. And so I was always having to respond. It’s such a great feeling when you have a race like that, it just feels great that you’ve really done it as best as you can.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action/National Speed Sport News) Daniel, as you said, a slow start. What happened at the start and also, looking forward to next weekend, the Red Bull is second best here, how will it be in Interlagos?
DR: I don’t really want to talk about the start! We’ll see. I feel that it was my fault today. It just didn’t feel like I got the procedure right but I will have to look back and see the ins and outs. But I think it was… for getting off the line poorly, I think we had good damage limitation. Yes. Think I picked a better line in turn one and then, as I said, got Kevin back in turn 12 so in the end we only lost one spot. I think it could have been a lot worse. Yeah, we’ll work on that and then Brazil, hopefully we’re strong. In the past, it has definitely been a good track for Red Bull but I think, again, it’s going to be that last step on the podium that we’re going to fight for. I don’t know. I would like to say that I could catch these two but I think I will be happy with third but let’s see how we go.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo OnLine) Nico, now there are 24 points difference to Lewis; do you go to the two last races with the same approach until now, or emotionally inevitable that it affects you? And Daniel, can you describe the manoeuvre to overtake Alonso and then Massa in the operation of pit stops?
NR: Same approach from me: fully committed, full attack, try and be on pole in qualifying and then win Interlagos and that’s it. There are still many points to be had and a lot can still happen. Same as all the time.
DR: Fernando on the restart; I don’t think that, from memory, the two Williamses didn’t get a great restart so it sort of bunched us all up. We were close and I saw Fernando cover a bit but it’s so wide at turn one, I knew there was a bit more room on the inside. I guess I committed to that, already out of the last corner when I knew I was close enough and that worked, so that was good but then Massa or Valtteri cut in late. I was very shallow on the apex and I nearly actually collected the Williams but I’m sure Fernando was watching me and saying ‘it’s all over here. He braked too late. Silly boy.’ It was close but that worked well and then I think just the undercut worked to our advantage. I don’t know if Felipe had a slow pit stop or not but yeah, that probably helped us out and I think our pit stop was pretty quick so that was the story there.
Q: (David Estrada – The Port Arthur News) Lewis and Nico, you guys had a very similar tyre- changing strategy today. Do you think it was done intentionally, to level the playing field between you two? And do you guys see that continuing in the future races?
LH: It wasn’t because of that. It was because if you look at some of the races, you have been able to offset. Usually the first driver will have the optimum strategy, but then the second driver usually has… say it’s option, prime, prime, the second driver would have a chance of doing option, prime, option but the option’s quite weak here so you had to run option, prime, prime. It was much much slower to run an option, so then we were both on that strategy and that’s why I had to push so hard to make sure I got by as soon as possible because I wouldn’t have that opportunity later on.
Q: (Matthew Walter – Bleacher Report) Lewis, now if you were to finish second in the next two races, no matter what Nico did, you would still be World Champion, so does this change your approach at all, in terms of maybe being a little bit more conservative, taking fewer chances or is it the same for you?
LH: It doesn’t really change, same as for Nico really, because we’re hunting for those points. I think during the year you have to be balanced in the risks you take and I think that so far I’ve not been taking too many risks. I’ve done what I’ve needed to do to get by in the safest way, in the cleanest way, which has worked all year, so I should just continue to do the same. Even in this race, I was looking after the car, trying to nurse it home and make sure that it had no problems, and I think really you’ve just got to keep going until the last chequered flag.
Q: (Steve Aibel – Drafting the circuits) Daniel, the atmosphere here in Austin and Texas, you seem to really have embraced. You’ve talked about Sixth Street, wore a cowboy hat but the thing that I think really embraces you to the State is that number on your hat. Is there any way you can talk about the three and the influence of Dale Earnhardt in picking that number?
DR: Yes, you’re absolutely right. I love this place. I’m definitely not alone but yeah, it is special, it’s cool. And then yeah, the three. I was a big fan of Dale Earnhardt. I’m a fan of motorsports but I’ve followed NASCAR since I was very young. It was follow Dale and it was my first go-kart number as well. When Formula One said you can pick your numbers this year, it was a no-brainer for me to chose the three and then once they agreed I could run it, I thought what better way to have the style of Dale on my helmet. Yeah, it’s been pretty cool. Dale Junior has seen that we’ve spoken via social media a little bit and it’s really nice that he’s supportive of that. So really quite honoured, obviously, to represent that in Formula One.
Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Lewis and Nico, no matter what the result is at the next race, the Abu Dhabi race will be the determining who wins. There’s fifty points on offer, various scenarios and mathematical computations can be played out. Any views on this, how you approach it?
LH: I think I just said I would do exactly the same. There isn’t much more to add to it, just going to be exactly the same as I approached this weekend and previous races: I want to win.
NR: For me, that’s great to hear of course, because then there’s a definite shot at the championship this year, even with the points that I’m now behind and anyways, there’s still Brazil to come so in Brazil it’s even possible to completely turn it around. You never know what will happen there so I’m sure it will be an exciting end to the season. I hope it’s going to be exciting for the fans, that’s the most important thing also, that we put on a good show which I think we managed to do today. I look forward to the last two races. With the car that we have, it’s awesome, it really is.
Hamilton celebrates and thanks fans after winning the US GP in Austin on Sunday (Monday morning IST). A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
