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Category: Formula 1
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We learned a lot today: Nico Hulkenberg, Sahara Force India
Sahara Force India completed a solid day of practice in Sepang in preparation for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix.Nico Hulkenberg VJM07-04FP1: 1:41.642 P8 19 lapsFP2: 1:40.691 P10 34 lapsNico: “I think we can be satisfied with what we learned today. We worked through the programme and there were no big issues on my side. Of course, the hot weather here means conditions are tough and we found that tyre management during the long run was quite challenging. It’s even more difficult this year because there is more wheelspin with these engines and the rear degradation is quite high. We collected the usual data for the tyres and the set-up, and I think there is still room for improvement. I need some more grip and we need to tweak the balance before final practice.”Sergio Perez VJM07-02FP1: No time P20 2 lapsFP2: 1:41.671 P16 25 lapsSergio: “Not an easy day because I missed most of the morning session and that has limited my running on the hard compound. In the afternoon we tried to improve the car, as well as learning about the tyres, but I still feel we need to make a big step tonight to be ready for qualifying. The tyre performance gap between the hard and the medium compound is not that big, but we suffered with high degradation on both tyres.”Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer“Apart from some lost track time for Sergio this morning, which resulted from a fuel system issue, our preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix has gone largely to plan. We met our mileage target for the tyres and signed off the cooling solutions we have in place for this weekend. The long run performance looks competitive, although coping with the high tyre degradation will be critical come Sunday afternoon.”
Sergio Perez in Sepang on Friday. A Sahara Force India photo eom/Sahara Force India Press Release
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Hamilton tops time sheets in FP1
Sepang, 28 March 2014: It was hot and humid and nothing unusual about it. And as predicted, the rain did arrive. And in Malaysia, when it rains, it does not simply rain. It pours!!!
And talking about predictions, our website predicted Hamilton to win this week-end and it is no big deal. the logic is Rosberg won the first race in Australia and with Mercedes domination, a foregone conclusion, and the initial glitch covered up, Lewis Hamilton has his best chance to chalk a winning route for the season.
And true to the expectations, the former world champion went quickest in the opening practice session ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg to top the time sheets in the first session today.
Hamilton’s timesheet-topping lap came roughly an hour into the session his time of 1:40.691 being good enough to see off Raikkonen, who finished 0.152s down on the Briton. Raikkonen, who looked to have overcome some of the handling problems that hampered his race weekend in Melbourne two weeks again, finished three tenths of a second clear of Rosberg.
Early in the session Rosberg had a nervous moment, locking up on entry into the pitlane and lack of grip on the dirty and dusty track was a problem for many during the session, including Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who spun in Turn 8 and Hamilton, who went off at Turn 11 in the session’s closing stages.
The high heat and humidity in Sepang had been predicted to cause problems for F1’s power units and a number of team’s encountered reliability problems in the morning session.
Kevin Magnussen lost power in his McLaren at the pitlane entrance, while Lotus again suffered major problems, with Romain Grosjean stopping on track after just two laps with a problem with his MGU-H. Team-mate Pastor Maldonado, meanwhile, spent most of the session in the garage and then on his first lap out his Lotus expired in a pall of smoke. Sergio Perez too hit trouble, the Force India driver completing just an installation lap during the session.
With Rosberg third, the morning’s fourth-fastest time went to McLaren’s Jenson Button, with team-matre Magnussen fifth. Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was sixth with a lap seven tenths off Hamilton’s pace. World champion Sebastian Vettel finish in seventh place, a futher tenth of a second back. The top ten order was rounded out by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and the Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.
2014 Malaysian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 Result
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.691 19 laps
2 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:40.843 0.152 20 laps
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.028 0.337 19 laps
4 Jenson Button McLaren 1:41.111 0.420 20 laps
5 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:41.274 0.583 18 laps
6 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:41.402 0.711 15 laps
7 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:41.523 0.832 9 laps
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:41.642 0.951 19 laps
9 Felipe Massa Williams 1:41.686 0.995 23 laps
10 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:41.830 1.139 22 laps
11 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:41.923 1.232 14 laps
12 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:42.117 1.426 20 laps
13 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:42.365 1.674 21 laps
14 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 1:42.869 2.178 21 laps
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:42.904 2.213 23 laps
16 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1:43.825 3.134 18 laps
17 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:45.775 5.084 24 laps
18 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1:46.911 6.220 10 laps
19 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:51.180 10.489 5 laps
20 Sergio Perez Force India No time 2 laps
21 Pastor Maldonado Lotus No time 2 laps
22 Romain Grosjean Lotus No time 4 laps
Hamilton at Sepang on Friday after the first Free Practice session. A Mercedes AMG Petronas photo -
The new F1 is good because it changed the pecking order: Nico Rosberg
DRIVERS – Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham), Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus), Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Valtteri, we’ll start with you. Quite a race in Australia, 15th to sixth, hit the wall, back down to 15th, back up to sixth again, very eventful. But what do you think was possible that day?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, really eventful. If we look at it as a whole race we need to be happy. With the result we have more points, double the points than last year. So it’s a good beginning for us but it could have been better. We could have definitely, without my mistake, been fighting for the podium.
Tell us a little bit about what these cars are like to drive. Obviously less rear end stability, more of a handful into and out of the corners. How are you finding it so far?
VB: Yeah, the cars have quite a bit less downforce than last year so you’re sliding a bit more, with more engine power also it makes it a bit more tricky, but I like it. I really think the cars are good fun to drive. I hope it looked good from outside I think we made an exciting race with the new cars, new engines, so I think it’s good.
Coming to you Daniil. Obviously the youngest ever points scorer with that result in Australia at the age of 19. How do you feel about that and the start you’ve made?
Daniil KVYAT: It was a good race, also eventful for us. It was everything new for me, so obviously many things to learn during the qualifying, the race, so it was good. P10 is an OK result but we always want some more. In the end, we would always like to get some more points in the future and the more we get the better it is.
I wonder if you could talk about the step up [to Formula One]. Prior to this the longest race you’ve ever done is 35 or 40 minutes, before you raced in Australia and then of course, the challenge of this weekend in particular so soon [into your F1 career]?
DK: Yeah, you’re right, it was a very long race but I found a good rhythm and it wasn’t looking so long anymore. Here it’s going to be a bit different because it’s much, much warmer. Let’s see how this challenge will be done. It’s hard for me to say now but for the moment it’s looking pretty hot but it shouldn’t be a big problem in the end.
Coming to Kamui. Welcome back to Formula One. How does it feel to be back?
Kamui KOBAYASHI: Hi, first of all I think I have to say it’s great to be back in Formula One. I think after one break doing like GT… I think definitely I enjoyed GT but Formula One is one of the top categories and I also think I was missing the development and of course racing with the top drivers, which I think is one of the most exciting times, so I’m very happy to be back.
Obviously, quite a tough opening weekend for you in Australia. What has the team learned, first of all about what happened at the start and also about the general problems you suffered at the weekend, and how much have you been able to put right?
KK: Well, first of all, unfortunately I think that in 2014 the first crash is myself is not really good! But it’s not really fault, it’s coming from the system. I do anything without the rear brake and that was the first proper braking. I mean, at this point I felt straight away, I felt panic, I was a little bit crazy because my car doesn’t stop and I can’t avoid… I feel very sorry for Felipe, just… I don’t want to crash of course like that and I don’t want to end up like that. That’s what happened, a racing accident, so I think we have to find what is really the problem, but we have to find out that it never happens the next time. I think through the week, I’d say it was a very difficult week for us because we missed the complete Friday and we went to FP3. Unfortunately we had not much time to change any settings between practice and qualifying. So, I think we went to Q2, which is very happy but I think we have to look at more potential from what we have. Still we didn’t bring any potential from the car. S I’m quite excited, looking forwards to this weekend. This week is our home race, so it’s very important to having a great result and of course I think a lot of Malaysian fans are excited about Formula One, so hopefully we can achieve something.
Q: Pastor, obviously, like Kamui, it was a tough weekend for you in Australia. Not too many laps on the board. How much has the team been able to do in the time since then?
Pastor MALDONADO: The pre-season, it was quite tough for us. We’ve been working very hard and trying to push to solve all of the problems. These kind of problems, when you get at the bottom of the problem, you see that they are not huge problems: easy to fix but it took so much time from the test. In the first race again. So I think we miss free practice, even on Saturday, quali, so we’ve not been able to do proper long runs and to see our real potential of the car because of this kind of issues we’ve had. And now I hope to have a better weekend. We’ve been working hard again to try to improve. We improve quite a lot for the race. We had never been able to run for more than 10 laps together and during the race we did more than 30 laps with both cars – which is a step forward. Now we are fully focussed on finishing the race and I think if we finish the race we will be in a good position to fight for good places.
Q: From the running that you have done, what’s the car telling you? What does it feel like? Are you optimistic about the potential of this car?
PM: It is very difficult to say, just because everything is new for us. We will need some more time in the car, especially to explore the potential of the car. It’s very difficult to say. The feeling is not bad but against the other teams we need some more time in the track and try to do our best to catch them. I think it’s going to be a very tough beginning of the season but again things are changing quickly in Formula One. We’ve been working very hard, the team is quite good on reacting and hopefully this race will be much better for us.
Q: Kimi, seventh in Australia and a bulletin from the Ferrari team since then with some quotes from you saying that one of the problems was the brake-by-wire system in particular. Would you give us a bit more detail on that?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: ah, I don’t know where that came from. It’s not the issue. There is nothing wrong with the system. Somebody asked me after the race and I said ‘it’s not that’ – because they kind of said ‘is there some issue?’ It’s not true. But just mainly setup to get the car as I like it, as I wanted to have it and I’m sure once… we’re making some stuff for me, so hopefully once we get those it will get a bit more easy to get a bit more feeling in the front end. But it will take a little while. Obviously not the ideal start for the year, for the team, not what we obviously want to achieve. We want to do much better results but after all the difficulties over the weekend and how difficult it was, how many areas, just the small things. At least we got something out and it’s going to be a long year, so hopefully we can now build on it. We have plenty of good people and they’re working flat out as a group to improve things. So, we still have things to do but I’m sure we can keep progressing.
Q: With the nature of this particular circuit, do you think that you and we will be able to see more of what this Ferrari car is capable of this weekend, perhaps than we did in Australia?
KR: I don’t know. Every circuit is different. Obviously it is very hot, humid here, slightly different tyres here I think, so I have no idea. Even from the past years it was very difficult to say from race to race and especially with this new year with new rules. It will be hard but hopefully we get a bit better feeling and overall have a bit more experience and all the things run the weekend through a little bit more cleanly and hopefully get the better results.
Q: Nico, obviously the winner in Australia, your fourth career win. What’s the reaction been like? What’s the feedback been like? How have you spent the last ten days or so? Has it been more special than the other wins?
Nico ROSBERG: Well it’s been a fantastic start to the season, definitely, yes. I think the whole team has done a great job with these new regulations, with the car and engine and powertrain that they’ve built and yes, it’s been great to win the first race, for sure, fantastic. But now… went on holiday after that, so obviously the holiday was a little bit better, thanks to the win but now back to just fully focussed on getting the most out of this race.
Q: Obviously it’s well-chronically that it was an eventful race for you here last year, particularly towards the end. Do you expect it to be another tight, close in-house battle this weekend?
NR: That would be a great thing. The chances are… yes, that we will be right at the front because it seems that we have a bit of an advantage over the other people. Of course Melbourne is not a benchmark, as a race, so we need to be a bit cautious with that but I think we’re looking good, so for sure it will be possible to do a great result again here.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Kate Walker – crash.net) For all of you: we’ve heard quite a lot of negative headlines, negative news reports about the new formula. I’d like to get some positive feedback from you on what these new cars are like to drive and how much fun they are to race.
DK: Well, it’s quite popular to criticise Formula One nowadays, I think, and there is always some new technology coming and it has happened for me to debut in a new Formula One, let’s say. It’s quite interesting, I would say. The standard, with the new technology, has to change at some point and I think it’s quite interesting. It’s still fast,
Nico Rosberg (left) and Lewis Hamilton pose with Twin Towers as background in a promotional event of Petronas in KL on Wednesday. A Petronas Mercedes team photo it’s going to be faster all the time and we will see at the end of the year how much better it is or not, so it’s early days.
KK: I think I definitely enjoy driving them because of course it’s definitely not easy at the beginning but I remember there were quite similar headlines before, but after a few years or a few months everybody forgot, so I don’t think it’s a big problem. But for us we’re still enjoying driving. It’s more challenging to drive in dry races, so I’m pretty happy.
NR: I think it’s been all good for F1. It’s changed around the pecking order which is definitely good for everybody because the same guy winning last year… we needed a bit of a change to that, so that’s been good. The cars are great to drive, that’s fine, so I think it’s all good.
KR: I don’t think it’s awfully different as a driver, to compare last year’s cars to this year’s. Obviously there are some small detailed issues but it’s the bigger issues that make a difference for me, just to be in a different team. Every team feels a bit different, different cars. It doesn’t really change an awful lot as a driver.
PM: To be honest, I don’t have much to say, because I’ve not spent a lot of time in the car at the moment. It’s quite early, but it doesn’t feel a lot different to what we had in the past. For sure, it’s a more complicated car, especially for the technicians, for the engineers in the paddock. For us, it’s a bit easier on the steering wheel. It’s a bit more complicated but it’s what we have at the moment. It’s the same for everyone.
Q: (Elmar Dreher – DPA) Nico, with a win here, you can equalise the five wins by your father. What does that mean for you, and how confident are you to win here?
NR: I understand that it’s interesting to make comparisons and that, and even I find it interesting. After Australia, I read that he also won the first time… at the first Australian GP, 29 years ago. It’s fun to read those things but I really don’t think about that. I don’t compare. I’m proud of what my father achieved but I’m just focused on my job and getting the most out of it and definitely, yes, I’m optimistic for the weekend and there is a possibility to win.
Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agencia EFE) Kimi, how has your relationship with Fernando Alonso developed if it has, in any direction, since you guys have become teammates?
KR: It’s good, it always been good. Now, obviously, it’s early days but there was a lot of talk in the media from you guys, different people saying different things, but it’s been good. But the team has been trying to improve things and get the team to where we want to be.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did you have any temptation to go to drive the simulator to get better settings for you?
KR: No.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Kimi, can we say that Ferrari will be more able to attack Mercedes and the other teams here?
KR: Like I said before, we don’t know how it’s going to be here. I would say it’s a different circuit, it will be very hard for the cars, the heat. We have to wait and see how we can do. Obviously we learned quite a bit on things from the last race but then it’s the same for every team. Hopefully we can be a bit more happy and see where we end up.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) To all of you: now that the first race is out of the way, do you have a fair idea of who stands where in the pecking order? Or given that Albert Park is a unique circuit, is it still very much a step into the unknown?
VB: I think we have some kind of idea where every team is. Of course, like Nico said before, Melbourne is maybe not the best benchmark, a little bit different track than most of the others. We will see here, and of course, all the teams are going to improve so much race by race, especially when we get to Europe. Some kind of idea but it can change.
Q: So where do you think you are? Second? Third fastest car?
VB: Somewhere there, hopefully. It’s been a good start for us, hopefully we can maintain it because everyone is going to improve a lot, so I would definitely see no reason why we couldn’t find four top six positions.
KR: I think we are more or less where we finished.
NR: I think we look to be the quickest at the moment which is fantastic but we need to be careful with that and the opposition is not asleep, they’re pushing like crazy.
Q: Daniil, Toro Rosso got two cars into the top ten in qualifying and the race in Australia which they didn’t do the whole of last year, so where does that put you in the pecking order at the moment?
DK: Well, I hope in the points quite consistently. It would be good for us. If then we can use the conditions to our best, then hopefully we can go as high as possible, it’s always what we are fighting for and the higher the better.
Q: Pastor, hard to say?
PM: Yeah. No.
KK: Same. Sorry.
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Sport can be a very big inspiration: Sebastian Vettel
Vettel with Laureus Sportsman of the Year award on 26 March 2014 at KL. Photo by Laureus Academy KUALA LUMPUR, 26 March 2014: “Sport can be a very, very big inspiration,” said Sebastian Vettel after receiving the Laureus World Sportsman of the year at a glittering awards ceremony where scores of sporting greats assembled and three of the most exciting young sports stars of their generation, who have proved world-beaters despite their age, have been honoured at the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards here on Wednesday.
The first time a Formula One World Champion was awarded the Laureus Sportsman of the Year was in 2002 and it was none other than the great Michael Schumacher and `your’s truly’ remembers reporting an F1 race live for the first time. And yes, I had the privilege of doing an interview with Michael that year to become the first Indian journalist to do so. At this time of celebrations here, the whole India in F1 team remembers Michael Schumaker and his family in our prayers.
Michael went on to win the award again in 2004 and now after 10 years, it is Vettel followed in the foot steps off his hero.
For the record, Vettel, the youngest four-time Formula One world champion in history at 26, was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, US swimmer Missy Franklin, at 18, became the youngest ever winner of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award, while Spain’s Marc Márquez received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award, after winning the World MotoGP Championship at just 20 years and 266 days.
Evergreen David Coulthard was the first to arrive while Sahara Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg was the next. Lewis Hamiltoon and Laureus ambassador Nico Roseberg were also present after their Meet the fans event at the twin towers which drew a huge response. Felipe Massa drew a hug applause and that was it from the F1 world while Mick Doohan is a Laureus hero himself and the award to Marc Marquez made it two heroes from the motorsports world tonight. However, the Red Bull team missed the Team of the Year Award with football giants Bayern Munich taking the honours.
There was double delight for both Germany and Spain when the Awards were announced. Bayern Munich joined Vettel as winners, taking the Laureus World Team of the Year Award, while tennis maestro Rafael Nadalreceived the Laureus Comeback Award to celebrate, with Márquez, a wonderful night for Spanish sport.
The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.
Sebastian Vettel’s success was particularly satisfying for the young German racer, who had been nominated five times for a Laureus Award, before finally winning. His fourth straight World Championship in 2013 saw him join motor racing legends Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost, who all won at least four times, but he did it more quickly than them – at just 26 years and 116 days.
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Missy Franklin was the sensation of the World Championships in Barcelona, becoming the first woman swimmer in history to win six gold medals at a single World Championships – three individual and three relay – at the age of just 18. She continues to refuse prize money and endorsements so that she can maintain her amateur status in college.
Bayern Munich were presented with the Laureus World Team of the Year Award after becoming the first football club to complete the treble of UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. Six of their players were nominated for the FIFA Player of the Year Award: Philipp Lahm, Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Spain’s Marc Márquez was presented with the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award after becoming the youngest ever MotoGP world champion, at 20 years 266 days. He also made history by becoming the youngest winner of a Grand Prix, in Austin in April, at 20 years 63 days.
It was Márquez’ first Laureus Award, but his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal secured his third Laureus Statuette, when he won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award, returning after a seven-month absence because of injury to win the French Open and US Open Grand Slam titles and regain his No 1 world ranking.
France’s Marie Bochet, aged 19, won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award after becoming the first athlete to complete a Grand Slam of all five events at one Alpine Skiing World Championships.
Britain’s BMX star Jamie Bestwick, now based in the United States, won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award after becoming the only athlete in X Games history to win eight straight gold medals, two more than legends such as Tony Hawk and Shaun White.
The Laureus World Sports Academy presented two additional discretionary Awards. The Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was won by the Afghanistan Cricket Team, who qualified for the Cricket World Cup for the first time in their history, and the Laureus Sport for Good Award was presented to Magic Bus, the sports-based community project in India.
The Awards Ceremony was held at the Istana Budaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx performed to the star-studded audience.
German actor Daniel Brühl, who played Niki Lauda in the film Rush, was present along with Chinese supermodel and actress Du Juan.
(with inputs from Laureus release)
eom/KL
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Magic Bus, India, Vettel, the heroes at Laureus Awards Gala at KL
File photo German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing in Singapore by FIA. Vettel won the Laureus Sportsman of the year award in KL on Wednesday. LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD PROVES
JUST THE TICKET FOR SPACIE’S MAGIC BUS
- Sports-based project is transforming the lives of young children in India
- Magic Bus a strategic partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
- ‘This is a magical moment for the Magic Bus’ – says Matthew Spacie
- Global TV audience watches Laureus Awards Ceremony in Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR, March 26, 2014 – The great success achieved by Magic Bus, an innovative project that is transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children in India, has been recognised at the Laureus World Sports Awards with the presentation of the Laureus Sport for Good Award.Magic Bus, founded by Englishman Matthew Spacie and based in Mumbai, aims to take children out of poverty through a programme of mentoring and coaching. Since 2001, the Magic Bus programme has grown to embrace over 300,000 children in 12 states each week and Spacie’s ambition now is to reach out to one million children by 2016.
Magic Bus, which has received funding from Laureus since its inauguration and which has been a strategic partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation for five years, is the product of Spacie’s fascination for India which began when, as a 17-year-old taking a break from academic studies, he worked in the Howrah leprosy centre near Kolkata.
Later, while playing rugby for Bombay Gymkhana Club, Spacie sought to use the offer of involvement in the game to improve the prospects of young boys living on the streets and in slums
Magic Bus, which now looks after both boys and girls, was born out of that initiative and Spacie has plans to extend the idea, centred around sports-based activities and a solid contingent of volunteers, to other countries.
After receiving his Award from Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Spacie said: “Fifteen years ago the Magic Bus was started because outside my office there were 15 street boys who one day decided that they wanted to change their journey in life.
“It is now an organisation which has 300,000 children every single week attending our programme on this amazing journey from childhood all the way to livelihood and out of poverty.
“It is a great tribute to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation that they see the longevity of partnerships like Magic Bus which shape the destiny of so many young people. This Award is really for the tens of thousands of young people in our programme who graduate every year and who have decided to shape their own future.
“Thank you very much to the Academy. This is a magical moment for the Magic Bus.
The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.
The Awards Ceremony was held at the Istana Budaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx performed to the star-studded audience. German actor Daniel Brühl, who played Niki Lauda in the film Rush, was present along with Chinese supermodel and actress Du Juan.
The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy present were: Giacomo Agostini, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Deng Yaping, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tony Hawk, Michael Johnson, Franz Klammer, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Ilie Nastase, Alexey Nemov, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson and Steve Waugh.
Other sports guests included:
Vitor Baia, Robert Baker, Kenny Belaey, Jamie Bestwick, Marie Bochet, Ronald de Boer, Annabelle Bond, Daniel Brühl, Bob Burnquist, Eric Cantona, Fabio Capello, Dan Carter, Lee Chong Wei, David Coulthard, Johan Cruyff, Nicol David, Deng Yaping, Du Juan, Paulo Ferreira, Nacho Figueras, Emerson Fittipaldi, Missy Franklin, Maya Gabeira, Stephanie Gilmore, Ruud Gullit, Lewis Hamilton, Raphael Holzdeppe, Nico Hülkenberg , Philip Köster, Michael Laudrup, Tegla Loroupe, Steve McManaman, Marc Márquez, Felipe Massa, Gaizka Mendieta, Luis Milla, Hidetoshi Nakata, Antonis Nikopolidis, Sophie Pascoe, Nico Rosberg, Sarah Louise Rung, Axel Schulz, Jimmy Spithill, Angelika Timanina, Sebastian Vettel.Among other guests present were Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia; YB Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Malaysia Minister for Youth and Sports; YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri, Malaysia Minister of Tourism and Culture.
The Awards were announced in seven categories. The winners are:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Sebastian Vettel
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Missy Franklin
Laureus World Team of the Year: Bayern Munich
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Marc Márquez
Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Rafael Nadal
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Marie Bochet
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Jamie BestwickThere were two additional Awards: the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was presented to the Afghanistan Cricket Team and the Laureus Sport for Good Award was presented to Magic Bus, the sports-based community project in India.
eom
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Red Bull Racing appeals stewards’ decision on Ricciardo result
A Red Bull (Webber Abu Dhabi 2013) file photo by Pirelli Paris, 21 March 2014: An appeal was lodged by the Österreichischer Automobil-Motorrad und Touring Club – Oberste Nationale Sportkommission für den Motorsport (ÖAMTC-OSK) on behalf of its licence-holder Infiniti Red Bull Racing against the decision No. 56 dated 16 March 2014 of the FIA Stewards of the 2014 Australian Grand Prix counting towards the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship, according to an FIA release.
On 16 March 2014 the panel of the stewards decided to exclude car No. 3 (driver Daniel Ricciardo) from the results of the race as it was found being out of compliance with the Technical Regulations (the Technical Delegate reported to the Stewards that car No. 3 exceeded the required fuel mass flow of 100kg/h).
India in F1 dot com already reported the event and feels the Red Bull management has played with the rules and many experts and seniior journalists are of the opinion that they had to face the consequences. though it was a bad result after good start for Ricciardo in his first Red Bull race it goes without saying that he gained advantage due in the Australian GP.
On 20 March 2014, the Österreichischer Automobil-Motorrad und Touring Club – Oberste Nationale Sportkommission für den Motorsport (ÖAMTC-OSK) on behalf of its licence-holder, Infiniti Red Bull Racing, decided to appeal this decision before the International Court of Appeal.
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Sahara Force India in driver development partnership with Hilmer Motorsport: GP3
KL, 25 March 2014: Sahara Force India is delighted to announce a further expansion of its driver development programme as it enters GP3 in partnership with Hilmer Motorsport.The expanded programme, which will see Hilmer compete in the series with three cars under Sahara Force India colours, follows a similar deal for the GP2 series. Together with Sahara Force India’s successful Academy programme, the GP3 partnership represents a logical step towards creating a full motorsport ladder for talented drivers.The GP3 team will make its first on-track appearance at the Jerez test on April 10-11, while the racing debut will take place in Barcelona at the beginning of May.Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director of Sahara Force India:“Our partnership with Hilmer to field a GP3 team reaffirms Sahara Force India’s commitment towards developing a new generation of drivers. Combined with our support for grassroots karting, our presence in GP3 and GP2 lends valuable support to up-and-coming racers and will help them to realise their potential.”Franz Hilmer, Team Principal of Hilmer Motorsport:“We are very happy to announce the expansion of our collaboration with Sahara Force India. After the partnership with our GP2 team we are very proud that our GP3 team will also contest under the Sahara Force India banner. It is a big but also logical step for us in the development of ambitious talents and with teams in GP2 and GP3 we are present in the two major junior formulas. We offer an ideal platform to young drivers and our target is to prepare them as effectively as possible on their way to the pinnacle of motor racing.”eom -
Vijay Mallya on Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix race
Kuala Lumpur, 24 march 2014:Nico Hulkenberg, a Sahara Force India photo Team Principal, Dr Vijay Mallya, summarises the mood in the camp ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.How would you sum up the first race in Melbourne?“Australia was definitely a respectable start, without a doubt, and probably the best start we’ve had since I took over the team. We went into the race feeling good and confident. We were concerned initially about reliability, but I think the number of laps we were able to put in during Bahrain testing gave us the confidence that we were on top most issues. The fact that both the cars finished the race is a good way to start the season.”Are you pleased with the performance of the car?“Clearly the VJM07 is competitive: Nico finished sixth with a strong drive and I dare say Checo would have been higher up had he not had a first lap puncture. The fact that he finished where he did after three stops speaks for itself. Obviously there are reasons to be pleased, but we still realise that we need to find a bit more performance if we want to challenge for podiums. That’s what we are focussing on right now.”How is the team coping with the steep learning curve of the new technology?“Whenever I spoke with the engineering team over the winter, it became clear the biggest unknown was the complexity of the car and consequently the reliability. It wasn’t as if the designers and engineers were working with a familiar car that they already knew how to upgrade and tweak. Here everything was new. For example, nobody really knew what cooling was required and optimising that was a major job during testing. I think we have gone up the learning curve successfully and we have a good understanding of the car and all the new technology that’s gone into it.”What’s your overall view on the new formula?“The change to the 1.6-litre V6 with the ERS has had its fair share of debate. Yes, it’s complicated; it’s very sophisticated and it’s unknown territory, which led to a lot of speculation. In the Bahrain tests, when some of the bigger teams completed limited mileage, it simply fuelled this speculation. So to see so many cars finish the race surprised a lot of people. It shows that teams have got on top of their game and the uncertainties have been reduced to a large extent. Now it’s a question of really concentrating on trying to find the competitive advantage.”What can we expect this weekend in Malaysia?“The weather in Melbourne was relatively cool so I’d like to see what impact the warmer climates of Malaysia and Bahrain will have on performance and competitiveness. Effective cooling will be a priority this weekend. If we can reproduce the performance level we showed in Melbourne that will be a good starting point.” -
Ricciardo disqualified for fuel flow irregularity; Red Bull to appeal
Ricciardo(left) loses his second place after stewards disqualification. An FIA photo Melbourne, 16 March 2014: Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo has been excluded from the Australian Grand Prix result, after FIA officials said his RB10 had “exceeded consistently” the new fuel flow regulations in place for this season. Ricciardo had finished the race in second place.
The stewards’ decision said that FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer had reported that Ricciardo’s car had exceeded the required fuel mass flow of 100kg/h governed by Article 5.1.4 of the 2014 Formula One Technical Regulations.
In reaching their decision to disqualify Ricciardo the stewards stated that they had taken into account a history of the sensor fitted to the car in that on Friday of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, during FP1, the sensor fitted to measure fuel flow showed a “difference in reading between the first three and Run 4. The same readings as Run 4 were observed throughout Practice 2.”
The team then used a different sensor on Saturday “but did not get readings that were satisfactory to them or the FIA, so they were instructed to change the sensor within Parc Fermé on Saturday night. They operated the original sensor during the race, which provided the same readings as Run 4 of Practice 1, and Practice 2.”
The stewards added that the FIA technical representative in charge of the sensors “instructed the team to apply an offset to their fuel flow such that the fuel flow would have been legal.”
The verdict added that “the technical representative stated to the Stewards that there is variation in the sensors, however, the sensors fall within a known range, and are individually calibrated. They then become the standard which the teams must use for their fuel flow.”
The stewards’ statement continued by saying that Red Bull Racing then stated “that based on the difference observed between the two readings in P1, they considered the fuel flow sensor to be unreliable. Therefore, for the start of the race they chose to use their internal fuel flow model, rather than the values provided by the sensor, with the required offset.”
During the race, telemetry readings showed that the fuel flow was too high and that the team was informed of the issue and was given “the opportunity to follow his previous instruction, and reduce the fuel flow such that it was within the limit, as measured by the homologated sensor… the team chose not to make this correction.”
The stewards thus found that the team chose to run its car using its fuel flow model, without direction from the FIA and in violation of a procedure contained within a prior technical directive, and that even though there were differences in readings in FP1 the sensor fitted remained “the homologated and required sensor against which the team is obliged to measure their fuel flow, unless given permission by the FIA to do otherwise.”
The statement concluded that the team could have run within the allowable fuel flow and that “regardless of the team’s assertion that the sensor was fault, it is not within their discretion to run a different fuel flow measurement method without the permission of the FIA.” They thus excluded Ricciardo from the result.
Red Bull Racing immediately announced its intention to appeal the decision and therefore the race result remains provision, pending a hearing.
The full stewards’ decision can be found here:
http://www.fia.com/championship/fia-formula-1-world-championship/2014/australian-grand-prix-event-documents -
Nice to be the first Aussie on Aussie podium: Ricciardo
DRIVERS
1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Kevin MAGNUSSEN (McLaren)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Alan Jones)
Well Nico, well done. I couldn’t think of a better start to the season. What a great start to the 2014 championship. A great start to the new era of Formula One.
Nico ROSBERG: Yes, I mean, already it’s been an amazing time here in Melbourne. Thanks to all of you, you’ve made it all the more special, all your support has been fantastic this weekend. Even though Daniel got a little bit more support than us. Anyway that’s normal. It’s been an amazing day. I’m just over the moon really. It’s incredible, everybody has worked so hard over the winter and now to have such an amazing Silver Arrow to drive is just unreal. This thing was unbelievably quick today and the reliability was good also, so it was just the perfect start to the season. I’m really thankful to Mercedes, they have done an amazing job over the winter.
Well, all your hard work has paid off well and truly.
NR: Yeah, for now yes. Today, definitely.
Daniel, g’day. You were thinking you may not even finish, let alone be on the podium.
Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah. Two or three weeks ago I would have bet pretty everything I have that we would not be standing up here. Full credit to the team for an unbelievable turnaround. I don’t understand how they did it but they did, so thank you guys. And, of course, the Aussie fans. Wow, completely overwhelming. No words. I’m trippin’ balls right now.
There’s a bloke up in Noosa that’ll be very happy too.
DR: Yeah I thought I’d do a stack just to commemorate Mark as well. It’s an Aussie thing, but yeah, really pleased to be up here. First Aussie on the Aussie podium, so that’s really nice to have. Thanks everyone.
Well you’ve done us all proud. Good on you, mate. Kevin, well done. First Dane on a Formula One podium.
Kevin MAGNUSSEN: It’s hard to believe really. It just seems so unreal. What can I say. The car was so much better than it’s been at any point. We just keep improving the car. I had just exactly what I need the whole race. The preparation we’ve done this winter has been fantastic. I’ve never done a Formula One and testing is so limited, so big congratulations to the team for doing such a good job.
Well, your father is racing on the other side of the world this weekend as well, so he’s got something to live up to.
KM: I think they did the race already, so I’ll need to see how it went. I wish he could have been here. It’s a great day.
So you’re looking forward to the next one obviously?
KM: Yes I am – great things ahead.
Nico, what are you going to do now between here and the next one?
NR: We’ll definitely evaluate everything that we’ve learned now from this weekend because for sure there’s some way to go. We still can improve a lot. We must, because our competitors aren’t going to be asleep. Definitely they are going to try to catch up quickly, So just try to learn as much as we can, improve the car, go on holiday a little bit next week and then get ready for Malaysia.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Nico, what a start, what a race, what a win.
NR: Yeah, the start was just… off like a bullet – or off like a Silver Arrow – thanks to Evan he did a great job on my start – my engineer who’s responsible for that. And then after that the car was just really, really quick today and the whole team did such a good job on it. Engine: really good engine, not much of a problem with fuel consumption, didn’t have to worry much about that, pretty much as usual. It just all worked perfectly. Reliability was great. So, fantastic. I’m just so happy for everybody. They work so damn hard, I don’t think people can really imagine how hard everybody works in my team and I’m sure in other teams too – so that’s just the best reward possible. To dominate in such a way the first week, the first race out.
Q: Big winning margin, obviously a lot of pace in the car and there was a lot of radio communication about extending that middle stint – which you seemed to be able to do quite comfortably.
NR: Yeah, got into a bit of a strange situation in that middle stint because I got graining on the front and then somehow I was losing temperature and somehow it started to get really difficult out there. So, I thought I was going to have to come in soon and they just said try to stay out, try to stay out and I did and then the graining cleared on my tyre and I was off, I was able to go again. It was a bit of a strange period but then it was fine again after that.
Q: Dan, as you said on the podium, what a turn around – does this exceed your wildest expectations of your first race with Red Bull?
DR: Definitely. If I look back at where we were three weeks ago – or however long ago it was, definitely. We’ve never done a race distance up until today, so we didn’t really have much confidence we’d see a chequered flag, let alone see it in a podium position. Obviously, as Nico said with his team, the same for ours. They really worked hard over the winter and really clawed back a massive margin. Obviously we still don’t have the pace of the Mercedes but it’s a result that we will definitely take today and we can make a lot of progress from here. So, pretty happy. It’s a bit overwhelming for now but an unbelievable day.
Q: I think we could hear your smile over the team radio at the end there but talk about the support from this Australian crowd here today – and the whole weekend.
DR: Yeah, it’s been a lot. It’s been a crazy amount. The support for Formula One in general. They’ve been really behind this event and always when the drivers rock up at the circuit, everyone’s cheering for everyone and wanting autographs. Obviously there’s been a bit more for me, being the only Aussie on the grid this year and that’s just been more than I could have possibly expected. At times a bit embarrassing. Everyone knows who I am now – but it’s cool. Very positive.
Q: Kevin, no podium for McLaren in 2013. You go on the podium in your first appearance in Formula One. You were pinching yourself in the press conference here on Thursday to be in the company of world champions and race winners and stars. You’re a star yourself today.
KM: Yeah. Nico was just saying, ‘Mate, you’re on third!’ I can’t believe it. It’s not a win but it definitely feels like a bit of a win because, as you said, the team is coming off a difficult season and they really wanted to come back and they’ve worked so hard over the winter. And working with a rookie as well who hasn’t got experience. It’s been tough for them, for sure – but they’ve done such a good job, made me feel really at home and made me feel comfortable with everything. Yeah. I couldn’t have asked for more.
Q: Just talk us through the final stint because you started closing up quite a bit on Dan, then you started pulling back a bit, then it was a bit erratic.
KM: I think me and Dan had pretty similar pace but obviously you can do stuff with the engine to try and push for a few laps and then you have to back off because you have to harvest the energy again. And you’re fuel saving as well and then stop for a few laps and then you begin again and you have to do more and catch that up. I guess it makes it exciting from the outside because it creates opportunities for overtaking but it just wasn’t enough today. I didn’t have enough pace to get past Dan.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, congratulations. How does it feel to lead the championship for the first time in your life, and actually be the first Rosberg in front since Keke in 1982?
NR: Mr Statistics! It feels… I don’t think about that. I’m really just in the moment. I have an unbelievably quick car or I had an unbelievably quick car today. That gives me a lot of… you know, it’s such a pleasure to drive. It’s such a great feeling and I really look forward to the next races so much now, having this.. it’s so fast, it’s great. Of course, it’s still going to be tough and reliability is not 100 percent sorted, there’s still lots of work we need to do and there’s a lot of work ahead of us but it’s a great start and I’m just excited about the result today and sharing it with the whole team. It’s just fantastic.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Daniel, naturally you’ve always believed you could do this, but now you’ve done it, you’ve got the podium, you’ve run at the front. Tell us how this gives you confidence and momentum going into the championship and running at the front for the rest of the year?
DR: Yeah. A lot, I guess. Yeah. It’s nice to be up here. Even yesterday during the post-qualifying press conference, that was already a nice little boost, to be up in that top three and now to be here. It’s strange, because I guess it’s expected to see Nico up here but to have Kevin as well, feels like we’re back in World Series by Renault or something. So it’s a bit surreal still, but I’m sure tomorrow it will all sink in. Yeah, a lot of confidence, I’m really happy with how the whole weekend has gone. Dry and wet conditions, showed a lot of confidence and some good pace. Obviously I’ve got to continue this now but the team has to be pleased with what they’re seeing at the moment.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Nico, you talked about the reliability of your car but obviously a different story for your teammate in what happened to him in first practice and also at the start of the race today. Does that bring any concerns for Mercedes, for yourself going forward as well, that the car isn’t as bullet-proof as we perhaps saw during testing?
NR: Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to the other car but for sure it’s a fact that we’re not 100 percent sorted yet. We know that and the team did a great job to get my car working so well in the race today but there’s still work to be done. We have two weeks now. We need to identify all the things that we can still do better because even leading up to this weekend, there were still a lot of changes on the car and you don’t really want to be doing that just going to the first race. And also in testing there were still a couple of problems at the end there, so great job, but still things to get sorted.
Q: (Jacob Polychromis – F1Plus.com) Daniel, in a weekend where the AFL season started in Melbourne, you still managed to outshine it – perhaps our international guests don’t appreciate how huge that really is but we do. What does that mean to you to essentially become Australian sporting royalty?
DR: Obviously there’s been a lot of support for me this week but the support everyone has shown for Formula One, it’s made headlines every day in the papers, I think. As I said, the crowd was amazing, not only for me but for every other driver this week, they’ve showed incredible enthusiasm for the event and if there’s any doubts that the Oz Grand Prix won’t last, I think they definitely put a stamp on that this year and I’m sure it will keep kicking for a while now, so really pleased to be a part of that.
Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Kevin, can you say if you had any problems with your car today?
KM: If I had a problem? No, no issues with the car that we weren’t expecting. We didn’t really know what to expect but luckily we didn’t have anything really that came up that we couldn’t handle so again, big congratulations to the team and to Mercedes for providing such a reliable power unit. It’s quite impressive in the first year.
Q: How about the fuel, was that ever a concern?
KM: No, I probably saved a bit too much in the beginning which turned out to be alright because then I could give Daniel a little bit of pressure at the end and I didn’t have to save fuel so much which was good. It’s something I will certainly learn more about and get into a rhythm with.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico and Daniel, that was the first start with a V6 turbo. Has it been any different to the starts you have been used to with the V8s?
NR: There are some small bits and pieces that are different, yeah, and then getting away, upshifting through the gears, getting that right, but in the end it’s not too far apart. I think my start was spectacular today, it felt great, felt like last year.
Q: Dan, you hadn’t done too many practice starts before this weekend.
DR: No, not too many. Yeah, it wasn’t perfect but I think probably Nico was the only guy that had a good start from what I saw today and the rest were pretty average but definitely upshifting through the gears with the torque we have with the V6 turbos this year, it is a bit more difficult to manage the wheelspin but as we saw, I don’t think everyone really has it right yet. We managed to do a sufficient enough job today but there’s still a lot of progress to make with launches.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Daniel and Nico, how difficult was it to manage the fuel during the race? Was it easy?
NR: Yeah, yeah, honestly our engine I think even there, they’ve just done a power unit not just engine, they’ve done a great job because it’s not much different than last year, a little bit more than last year but it’s really straightforward and quite easy and this being the most difficult track, it’s really impressive.
DR: Yeah, I think at the start of the race it was a bit of guessing. Some laps I would try and push and not really conserve and then when I felt I had enough gap then I would start conserving. We were basically learning all the time today. First time that we’ve done a race distance so I think we’ll take a lot out of it but in the end I think the system we have to reach the fuel target is not bad, considering we haven’t done too much work on that yet. I think we survived quite well.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Nico, a certain Mr Ecclestone predicted that you would win this year’s championship. Do you think that favouritism is now justified by this result today?
NR: Of course I heard about that and I’m thankful for such a statement. It’s always a boost when it comes from Bernie but other than that, I don’t think about that too much at the moment. There’s a long way to go and it’s just been a great day today, great win, great start to the season and just leave it at that.
Q: (Tony Schibeci – SEN Radio) Nico, Malaysia is normally the next week after Australia. This time it’s two weeks away. Is it an advantage for you to have that two weeks or is it a disadvantage because it allows everyone a bit of extra time to get their cars closer to where you’re at?
NR: I don’t know whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage but for sure we’re going to use that time well to further improve our car, make it quicker, more reliable, so it’s going to be a very useful gap now in between the two races.
Q: (Sam McClure – Radio 3AW) Daniel, already today you have achieved what Mark Webber couldn’t, finish on the podium in his home Grand Prix. You’re going to be the new face of Australian motor sport in the papers today, in the news tonight. How does that make you feel?
DR: I don’t know. Obviously really nice but even when I flew into Melbourne this week, it was a bit embarrassing to see my face on a few billboards. I don’t know. It’s obviously nice, all the support is great but I don’t know. The fame is something which I guess maybe I will still have to get used to but it’s nice, really nice to give the fans what they wanted to see. I know they went crazy yesterday when we nearly got the pole and then to back it up with a podium today is great. I think half of Perth is here as well this weekend. I told all my family to stay away from the pits, didn’t need any extra distractions but I’m sure I will catch up with them tonight and enjoy a beer and relax a little bit before Malaysia.
Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Nico, today we saw you dancing a little bit to Get Lucky going to the drivers’ parade. It looks like you were really confident, in spite of having Lewis on pole position. I want to know if you’re going to dance a little bit more to get Get Lucky in every race?
NR: I was very optimistic for the race today because we just prepared really well for it and so I was confident that we could do well and so I looked forward to it and from the start it just all went fantastically.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kevin, McLaren is leading the Constructors championship, do you think you can hang on there with a rookie and a champion driver together?
KM: Yeah, who knows? We will certainly try our best. I know the team is massively motivated to stay on top and they are a team that should be at the top of Formula One. So, what can I say? I’ll do my best and they will do their best. Who knows?
Q: (Chris Medland – crash.net) Daniel, how much of that gap to Nico do you think can be closed just from some consistent running that you’ve got now?
DR: I think it will definitely get smaller and hopefully not bigger over time. I think there’s still a lot to learn today and once it all settles down and I go through the meeting with the engineers tonight I will start to… Now I’m obviously on a high but then I’ll start to break it all down and become critical and places where we can improve. I’ll definitely try and help the guys out with that. Obviously I would like the gap closed. He was pretty far away in front today and obviously second is great but it would be nice to at least have seen him on the straight and not five corners ahead.
Q: (Ralf Bach – R&B) Kevin, one question: I think Mercedes is a very good engine. Would you like to stay with it next year?
NR: Careful. He’s really dangerous so best to say no comment.
KM: No comment.
NR: When he asks a question, no comment.
KM: I’m happy just to be with McLaren. I think what Mercedes and McLaren have done together is amazing and really looking forward to what’s coming ahead.
Ends
