INDIA in F1

Category: Formula 1

  • Rain helped us a bit to gain pole position: Vettel

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    2 – Felipe MASSA (Ferrari)

    3 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
    TV UNILATERAL

    Sebastian, a late call for a second set of intermediate tyres in Q3 and it worked out well for you.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I think generally an interesting qualifying session. We knew that rain was the on the way and then… to be honest we expected already some [rain] at the beginning of qualifying but it didn’t come, so going out on dry [tyres]. Obviously I think we had a bit of a different approach to other people. Q2 was quite on edge I would say, so probably the rain helped us a little bit. Otherwise I think we would have had to go out again. But in that case it was just enough to go through to Q3. Then in Q3 with the circuit drying, it was clear it was better to change tyres. We confirmed that pretty early. I think we did the right thing. Very tricky because you don’t know if there’s more rain coming or not, but we took the decision. Bit surprised by the gap but a decent lap and I was very happy obviously. It was quite tricky because some parts of the track were still wet and others were dry but overall a very good session for us. We managed to save some tyres, which could be crucial tomorrow, so we’ll see what we can do.

    Felipe, ahead of Fernando on the grid once again, as in Melbourne. Ferrari [look] good in the wet, did the rain help you?

    Felipe MASSA: Well, I would day maybe yes. I don’t know if we were able to be second and third in the dry as [there were] some other quick cars, like Webber, Kimi, maybe Mercedes as well. So I think it was a good qualifying for us. We took the right decision at the start to change tyres and managed to put a good lap together as well. I think maybe the rain helped a bit.

    Fernando, in third. You won here last year obviously and you’re in the top three on the grid now. What’s your approach to the race tomorrow?

    Fernando ALONSO: Try to do a good race and try to score as many points as possible. We are not sure about the performance, the car in race pace. Obviously every long run we do is a little bit inconsistent – sometimes we are OK, sometimes not – and we need to see tomorrow how the race goes. We did not have big problems in the long runs on Friday. In Melbourne the race pace was OK, so no reason not to be optimistic for tomorrow. But we’ll see what we can do.

    Sebastian, back to you. You went from pole to third in Melbourne, what’s the story going to be tomorrow?

    SV: Well, I think if you start in the front you always want to finish there as well. Obviously as Fernando touched on, it will be a long race and difficult to know the true pace. We confirmed more or less what we saw in Melbourne. I was very happy with the balance of the car once again. I think also considering where we were last year here, a big step forward. But these days racing is a little bit different. Hopefully we’ll find the right amount of percentage less than 100 per cent to start the race tomorrow. Managing the tyres will be crucial and then we go from there. We know the pace is there so hopefully we get to the chequered flag in the same position.

    Q: Sebastian, in Q1 it looked like you were trying to not take too much out of that set of tyres, so that you could use them again in Q2, and you ended up 15th. So, were you living a little dangerously? Was your heart beating a little faster than normal?

    SV: Yeah, obviously it’s difficult to know how quick you go if you don’t try to go 100 per cent – which I think it’s fair to say that we tried that. Yeah, was quite tight in qualifying, I think, in dry conditions. And across the line I knew that maybe it’s not quick enough but it turned out to be just OK. Obviously we were running quite late and we could see if other people… well I couldn’t but the team could see if other people are going quicker. And once it was enough we obviously came in to save the tyres because we used them again in Q2 and it was just enough to get to Q3. Obviously there was a bit of rain on the way and I had a little bit of rain on the track as well. I don’t think it really slowed me down, for cars that came after me I think it was a little bit more tricky up to a point where it was just too wet for dries. So once it was clear the rain got worse, it was also clear to us that our plan worked out with a little bit of help from the rain. Good to save the maximum amount of tyres possible.

    Q: A number of teams had problems with weather radar during the course of the session. Can you confirm whether you at Red Bull have some extra set-up, some individuals that are placed around the circumference of the circuit that are giving information, or do you have any additional information.

    SV: Well, I think we use what everyone is using, so mostly referring to the radar – which we know sometimes is very accurate and sometimes is not. To be fair, in this place, I think it’s very tricky to be very precise because the weather changes so quickly. Also, considering the amount of rain that comes down and the circuit not really changing, it’s quite impressive, which I think is related to just this place, high temperatures etc. We saw it yesterday during practice. The rain came down and there was steam on the track. I didn’t have an effect for a long time, until it rained hard and then obviously you have to come in and change tyres. So it was similar in that regard but in terms of what we do, I think it’s more or less what other people are doing as well.

    Felipe, in terms of the information you were getting about the weather, can you track your thoughts through the course of that qualifying session and how you thought it was progressing for you?

    FM: I think it was pretty good. Even on the… we go out, I did one timed lap and it was a pretty good lap straight away with the conditions, which was more water on the track. And then I stop, I change the tyres, looking at many people stopping as well. I go out with a new set, track was already quicker because already the dry line starts to appear. The rain was a bit less, so even in one lap you find a completely different track, so the track was much quicker. I managed to put a good lap together. Even if already I have a bit of graining in my first timed lap because the track was too dry maybe for the Inters. So, maybe I was suffering a little bit on the second and the third sector – but I mean maybe everybody was having similar problems. Anyway, the lap was good, so it was a good start for both of us. I think maybe since a long time we don’t start both cars with a good pace as well in the top three. I think it’s a good job for the team as well. For the team that was preparing this car in the winter as well. So, I’m really looking forward for the race tomorrow. It will be a difficult long race. Anything can happen with degradation, with strategy, with rain. But let’s concentrate to do the best we can tomorrow.

    Q: From what we’ve seen so far in the practice sessions, obviously the tyre degradation different for some teams from others, how decisive is the strategy for tomorrow and what are your thoughts on what we’re likely to see?

    FM: Very important. I mean, we know how these tyres behave with the high temperature. For sure you have teams which suffer a little bit more than the other teams. So, we need to concentrate on doing the right job. For sure, if I do the right job it can also be many positions at the end of the race.

    Q: What about from your perspective Fernando? What have you learnt so far from the practice running that will help you in the grand prix tomorrow?

    FA: Well, I think we need to use all the information we have from yesterday in the long run pace and also in this morning a little bit. Also, in qualifying, I think all the laps you do in this race track are important due to the changes that constantly you have: the temperature, the weather conditions, etcetera. So for tomorrow I think we expect some rain around – like all the afternoons here, so if it arrives before the race, at the start of the race, in the middle of the race, at the end of the race, we don’t know, so we need to be ready for any change. The only good thing, the only positive thing that we have is that the car performed really well in both conditions: in rain and in dry conditions. So, we are not afraid of what is coming from the sky. Whatever arrives, we will take it and hopefully we will be competitive.

    Q: Talk a little bit about the timing as well of decision-making. Obviously today it was important to get the timing right. Wet conditions like we had here last year when you won the race, it was really important – because it’s a long lap here – to make the timings right. How important is that within the team to get the decisions clear?

    FA: It’s very important. I think here the characteristics of the circuit are quite… extreme let’s say, in terms of tyre stress, so to do a extra lap with the wrong tyre can cause you a lot of time – or more than at other circuits. So we need to be spot-on the decisions tomorrow. We need to be very concentrated because there is no room for mistakes tomorrow in the race.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, you are experiencing something new at Ferrari now and maybe also in your Formula One career: your teammate is as fast as you, maybe even faster. Does it stimulate you?

    FA: I think I’ve been racing 27 years now in motor racing – I’m getting old – so it’s not the first time that we have very close competition. It was very close the last three years as well, but I know that for you it was not that close in terms of results because I think Felipe had some bad luck, some incidents sometimes, some mechanical problems other times but the last three years was much closer than I think that it looked in the points at the end. So this year it is again very close, no big difference, maybe a little bit closer and for sure the last two races we are behind on the grid but so far on Saturday there are no points so we need to keep working for Sunday. It’s the best news for the team, because we need to have a competition between the two drivers in the team, we need to share information between the drivers in the team and now I think all the data that we have from free practice, from qualifying for everything is very useful to compare and to analyse to make ourselves better, so this is only good news for the team and we will push each other to our own limits and this is good news for the team.

    Q: Felipe, do you want to respond to that? Do you feel completely re-energised?

    FM: Yes, sure, I feel very happy, very automatically driving the car. I like the car that we have this year much more compared to the car we had last year. I think I understand a lot more the direction for the set-up and everything – we even understood that last year, from August to the end of the year. I feel really happy driving the car. When you try to do something you don’t feel comfortable with you maybe cannot do the perfect lap with the car so I think that’s really important for me, for the team. The best thing for the team is always to have the best drivers finishing in the best positions, so that’s really a positive point for the team and for myself as well, for Fernando, so I think it’s a good direction.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Sebastian, you mentioned that the rain helped you a little bit in the end, but looking at your pace in the dry, do you think you might have been able to take pole had the rain stayed away?

    SV: It’s difficult to say now. What I meant obviously was that I think the timing helped in that regard, not getting to Q3 – I think we had the pace to do that on our own. It more helped in regards to saving a set of tyres for tomorrow, depending on the conditions and in general – it’s difficult to say – but we were looking quite competitive all weekend. I was feeling happy in the car so there’s nothing that speaks against that but would/could/should – we don’t know so I think the pace set in Q2 by Nico, I think, who was fastest, was a pretty good lap. We had a strong car but whether it was enough to beat that time or not I don’t know.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Felipe, you’ve now outqualified Fernando for the last four Grands Prix; after all you went through last season, do you feel that your performances now are a response to all those critics who wrote you off last season when your future was so up in the air?

    FM: Well, I feel comfortable in the car. I think whenever you feel comfortable you can do a good lap and you can use the car to the maximum, it’s possible. It was really clear that I was not comfortable last year and the year before, so many things around the car, bad luck, around myself as well, so there were so many things that were not working in the proper direction, but now they are  and I know how quick I can be, I’ve showed that many times in the past. If everything works well, we can be competitive, it’s pretty sure about that. I believe in myself and I think it can be really important for the team, for Fernando as well, for everybody. We need a stronger team, a strong position and fighting for the best position in every race so I’m happy, that’s a good direction.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel – La Gaceta) Fernando, are you looking to pass these guys in the first corner or are you confident of the car in race conditions and you must wait during the race?

    FA: Well, I think the start will be the first opportunity. I think if everything goes normally I will have a very good start so we  should be able to at least maintain the position, if not attack, so we will see how are the first meters tomorrow. I think that in this Formula One that we are experiencing today, the start is very low priority. I think that 56 laps is a very long race, a lot of strategy calls to make, a lot of tyre issues that everybody needs to get through during the race. Some people maybe look better in the first part, some people maybe look a little bit better in the second part or approaching the stints. I think the start, as I said, these days is of less importance than in the past but for sure tomorrow we will try to do a good start, similar to Melbourne – hopefully – and try to be first and second in the first part of the race.

    Q: (Cristobal Rosaleny – Car and Driver) Fernando, do you think having Kimi in seventh place on the grid is good news for you, because maybe Sebastian has been struggling more with the tyres this weekend?

    FA: As I said, I don’t think the (grid) positions are very important these days or the first lap positions. If you have a good race pace, as I think Kimi has or Lotus has, I think they will arrive sooner or later in the race and will put some pressure on us, so I think we need to be very calm. Kimi started fantastically well in Melbourne, winning the race, he’s very strong this weekend here but the race and the championships are both very long and it’s not only Kimi fighting for the championship, so we will see. I think at the moment it’s very close, Red Bull is strong, Mercedes very strong, again today, as Seb said now, in Q2 Nico’s time was quite impressive so there are four or five teams that at the moment are on top of everybody. We also need to be competitive in the race to develop the car if we want to win the championship.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Felipe, we heard Fernando’s evaluation concerning the race pace. Is it the same for you or is it different?

    FM: Well, yesterday we didn’t have so much time to do a long run on both tyres, so we don’t know. I don’t know. I think it’s difficult to be sure how it’s going to be with the car on race pace, because yesterday I did a long run on the medium tyres but not many laps and then it started raining. So I don’t know. I think maybe it can be that our car is better in the race compared to qualifying, compared to normal conditions in the dry, but we need to wait and see tomorrow.

    Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1Live) Sebastian, what is more interesting for you, rain or dry and why?

    SV: Well, if it’s dry we obviously saved some tyres today that could help. If it’s wet, I’m not sure we have enough. It doesn’t make a big difference. I think we have to go with the conditions, fortunately they’re not in our hands, so obviously it’s good for you but also it’s very exciting for us, as Fernando touched on, finding the right lap to make the call to come in or stay out. We’ve seen in the past that sometimes you are just on the spot, sometimes you are not, so it can make a big difference to the race but if that happens, it’s very exciting for us inside the car as well. In wet conditions generally, I think you drive the car with much more feeling. It allows you a little bit more to overcome a lack of pace or something like that during the race or overtake someone. Nevertheless, I think we need to be focused every single lap and go from there.

    Ends

  • Kimi tops with Friday times

    Sepang, 22 March 2013: Kimi Räikkönen topped the times on the first day of running as the second round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship – the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix – got underway at the Sepang International Circuit.

    Kimi set a 1min 36.569secs lap in an afternoon session which was interrupted by a minor rain shower, while Romain Grosjean was sixth fastest. The team evaluated new front wings on both cars with a new exhaust and related bodywork also featuring on Kimi’s car.

    Meanwhile, Sahara Force India was back in action today as Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta completed their free practice programmes ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Paul was P8 to Sutil’s P10 in the second FP session today.

    Adrian Sutil      VJM06-03
    FP1:     1:37.769            P6        17 laps
    FP2:     1:37.788            P10      10 laps
    Adrian: “The morning went OK and the balance was quite good. We made a change during the lunch hour to cure some oversteer and my general feeling with the car is good. I missed out on some running this afternoon, but I think the rain interrupted things for everybody so I didn’t miss too much dry track time. I still managed a run on the hard and the medium this afternoon so I’ve got a feel for both the tyre compounds.”
     
    Paul Di Resta   VJM06-04
    FP1:     1:37.773            P8        15 laps
    FP2:     1:37.571            P8        30 laps
    Paul: “I think we’ve had a reasonable day. We’ve got some tyre data and first impressions suggest that our performance level is pretty similar to where it was in Melbourne last week. Hopefully we can continue the progress overnight. Generally I’m fairly happy but, as always, there’s some work to do tonight to make sure we’re comfortable on both the compounds going into the race.”
    Jakob Andreasen, Chief Race Engineer
    “A fairly typical day in Malaysia with dry running this morning and a light shower in the afternoon session. On the whole we got through the bulk of the programme and both Paul and Adrian seemed pretty content with the handling of their cars from the start of running. Adrian’s afternoon session was cut short as a precaution, but it did not cost him too much dry track time relative to the others. Paul clocked up 30 laps this afternoon, running both the hard and medium compounds, and is in good shape heading into tomorrow. We don’t have as much long run data as we would ideally like, but we have enough information to make some sensible predictions.”

    Lotus team quotes as Kimi runs on top again

    Alan Permane, Lotus Trackside Operations Director sends his technical programme notes:

    – We evaluated a new front wing on both cars.
    – Kimi ran with a new exhaust and outlet package in both sessions.
    – Pirelli’s hard (orange) compound tyre was used in the first session, the hard and medium (white) dry tyres as well as the intermediate (green) in the afternoon.
    – The second session saw rain-interrupted long runs on both tyre compounds.

    What we learned today:
    – The E21 ran reliably, giving strong performance on all tyres and in all weather conditions.
    – The new front wing works well and will be retained for the rest of the weekend.
    – The new exhaust package works well and will remain on Kimi’s car for the rest of the weekend.

    Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03
    Free practice 1: P2, 1:37.003, 15 laps
    Free practice 2: P1, 1:36.569, 28 laps

    Kimi: “It was a pretty good day. We tried changing a few things on the car and made progress with where we wanted to be at the end of the sessions. We had some running in the wet which you often get around here and the car feels fine. We ran pretty heavy today so I don’t know how we’ll be when everyone is light for qualifying, but I’m happy with where we are and expect we’ll be reasonable tomorrow.”

    Romain Grosjean, E21-01
    Free practice 1: P10, 1:37.915 17 laps
    Free practice 2: P6, 1:37.206, 26 laps

    Romain: “We’re still working on the setup of the car as it’s not quite right for me and it’s difficult to understand why exactly. The new front wing does feel better than the one before so that helps. Kimi was running an updated aero package which looks to be an improvement so we know there’s more pace to come in that area, but there are still things we can do with the current specification once I get everything working for me. It was pretty hot out there – quite a contrast to Melbourne – but I felt comfortable and I’m looking forward to making some improvements tomorrow before we head into qualifying.”

    James Allison, Technical Director: “I’m happy with our day’s work. We came here this week seeking reassurance that our car would be equally as competitive in a very different set of conditions to what we saw in Australia, and the early indications are that it looks reasonably useful. The upgrades we’ve trialled today also appear to be working well. Although both drivers ran the new front wing, Romain was at somewhat of a disadvantage in not having the latest exhaust variation and related bodywork on his car, so he can take heart from a healthy position on the time sheets. The only slight interruption to proceedings was a compromise to our long run programme once the rain arrived, but this actually proved to be pretty useful in itself as we now have a better understanding of the crossover point for the intermediate tyres. Overall it’s been a very productive day.”

    ends

  • Splitting strategies is to attack for points: Bob Fernley

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Bob BELL (Mercedes), Cyril ABITEBOUL (Caterham), Robert FEARNLEY (Force India), Sam MICHAEL (McLaren), James ALLISON (Lotus), Pat FRY (Ferrari)

    FIA Friday PRESS CONFERENCE

    James, can we start with you? A great win for you and the team to start the year off in cold conditions in Melbourne and from what we saw this afternoon can we conclude that you’re pretty quick in the heat as well?

    James ALLISON: The weekend will tell but it’s been a good day so far and the car seems quite happy here.

    Is there any circuit that you fear from here?

    JA: All of them! You just take them one at a time. It would be good to come away from here, if we can, competitive. So I think doing well in cold and doing well in hot would be good.

    Will you able to maintain that development throughout the 2013 season against your main rivals?

    JA: I think our team has got a reasonable history of keeping up with, and sometimes exceeding the general development race that happens during the season.

    Can you say anything about the way Kimi Raikkonen drove in Melbourne. There seems to be a surge of confidence really. He’s gone up a level has he, since last year?

    JA: He’s certainly very, very relaxed and confident this year. He drove the race incredibly patiently. I think he knew he had a good car under him. He knew he didn’t have to scamper up behind the group in front and he looked after the tyres, only going quickly when he needed to. It was just a very mature and smooth, fast race.

    Bob Bell, last year the Mercedes was very good in cold conditions, perhaps less good at places like this. Have you addressed that with this car?

    Bob BELL: Yes, I think we very much hope we have. We put a lot of effort in over the winter to really understand what the issues with last year’s car were. We had a pretty reasonable winter test in cold conditions. Of course Melbourne, as you said, was cold as well. We’ll see when we come away from here whether we’ve actually got on top of those issues. I think we’re pretty upbeat, pretty confident we’ve achieved that.

    What differences have you noticed in the way you’re operating as a team with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton?

    BB: Lewis, no question, is a new dynamic for us and that always happens with the introduction of a new driver, particularly one as competitive as Lewis is, so he’s a real motivational force in the team and indeed for his own team-mate. I think he’s lifted all of our game. He’s driving us; he’s clear about what he wants, what direction he wants to go in, and that is sympathetic to where we were going anyway, so I think it’s going very well.

    What effect do you see he’s had on his team-mate Nico Rosberg?

    BB: Team-mates naturally always want to outdo each other, so if you bring a new one in, if that raises his game then I think his team-mate will try and follow suit. It’s perfectly natural healthy competition.

    Pat Fry from Ferrari – second place finish in Australia, ahead of Red Bull. You’re leading the Constructors’ Championship going into this race. What was the feeling, the mood like in the post-race debrief?

    Pat FRY: I think people were pleased with the race pace of the car. It was quite obvious that Kimi was going to be two-stopping. I think you could see him two seconds back from the group, as James mentioned. I don’t think we could have followed suit and competed on a two-stop which is why we went for the aggressive three-stop, which got us through the traffic. All in all, it’s one those… with that and the 60km/h pit lane limit, it’s always that balance between two-stop and three-stop. We weren’t brave enough to make the two-stop work. Kimi was, so good luck to them, or well done to them. We just need to keep on working on the pace of it. It’s nice being second but you always want to win don’t you.

    What are your thoughts about the pace of Lotus, the way they’ve started the season?

    PF: It is very good. I don’t think we would have been brave enough to have attempted a two-stop there, so yeah, I think they’ve done well.

    Can you talk a little bit about the renaissance of Felipe Massa? Obviously he was strong in the second half of last year, he out-qualified Alonso in Melbourne and raced ahead of him for two stints. What is it that’s changed in him do you think?

    PF: It’s hard to say really. He’s got a good attitude. He’s driving very well. Very sensible not overdriving the car. If you look at last year the first half was a bit of a struggle, the second half was a lot better and he’s continued that form into this year, which is obviously good for us as a team in the Constructors’ [Championship].

    We’ll come to Bob Fearnley from Force India. Force India obviously led the last race of 2012 in Brazil and you led twice in Melbourne last weekend en route to seventh with Adrian. What’s the outlook, do you think, for the year ahead?

    Bob FEARNLEY: I think the Brazil race was on merit to a degree what we did in Melbourne obviously was tyre choice. It was very nice to be there but it was the result of strategy more than anything else. Overall, I think the performance of the car and team is quite good at the start of the season.

    Q: And what was the problem for Adrian Sutil? We saw him in his shorts with half an hour to go.

    BF: We had an oil seal problem. We just needed to stop it to make sure there was no damage to the engines.

    Q: Can you talk a little about Sutil, his return from over a year out of a Formula One cockpit, very little testing. Were you surprised by his performance?

    BF: I wasn’t surprised after his test in Barcelona. I think in Barcelona, when Adrian came in, if anybody could have put together a perfect assessment of a driver coming in for a test it was that occasion. I think Adrian did a great job and didn’t surprise me at all in Melbourne.

    Q: Cyril, Caterham one of I guess three teams that were perhaps a little disappointed with performance in Melbourne – perhaps along with Williams and McLaren – what’s going on behind the scenes at Leafield that gives you confidence going forward?

    Cyril ABITEBOUL: Clearly, I think that we have chosen to go for a strategy that is a little bit different from other teams, in the sense that we do not operate our new car for now. We have strategies that will make the car evolve according to different packages, the first of which will come in Bahrain. So we are running right now on hybrid car, so we are pretty much where we expected it to be. It doesn’t mean it is where we wanted it to be. Having said that, we have been analysing clearly the difference, the gap between Marussia and our car. First we want to diminish a little bit the fight between Marussia and ourselves. We are just competitors and we would like to make our way up through the grid, not backwards but up towards the front.  Clearly we see most of the developments that we did over the last year, the last 12 months, we think they made two-thirds of the difference over the last 12 months and only one-third over the winter. And of that one-third only half is coming from KERS. So I think that we have a real chance to be optimistic. Some good stuff is happening in the wind tunnel. Obviously we want to make sure this is translating into reality in Bahrain.

    Q: Obviously it’s a home race for your Malaysian shareholders. How’s it looking for this weekend?

    CA: It’s looking pretty much similar to the last weekend in the sense that it’s going to be on the edge with Marussia. I think the utilisation of tyres and driver familiarisation, driver mistakes also can make a difference so this is what we are getting ready for. We are going to have our shareholders present, so we want to make sure we have a good show at that moment.

    Q: Sam, the team and drivers were very open in Melbourne about the problems that you were suffering with the car. Can I ask you what went well that weekend?

    Sam MICHAEL: I think we got close to extracting most out of the car. First of all it goes without saying that we’re not… there’s no-one in McLaren who’s satisfied with where our performance is. So we’ve spent a lot of time in the last few weeks – before Melbourne as well because we had all the signs there from winter testing – going through data and analysing exactly what we need to do to improve the car. We’re about winning races, as we proved at the end of last year. We made some quite substantial changes to the car with a view that over the course of the season they would pay us back in terms of wins. I’d say that we… all of the people inside the group at the moment are focussed on understanding the 28 and turning it into a winner as soon as possible.

    Q: Presumably you’ve considered – you won the last two races of last year – you’ve considered bringing last year’s car? Have you now ruled that out as a plan?

    SM: All of our focus is on the current car. That involves understanding it, doing tests, we’ve done a lot of testing today actually on the circuit, we’ve done a lot of work in the factory in the last four or five days since Melbourne, making some encouraging progress in those areas, so right now all of our efforts are concentrated on the current car.

    Q: What does your experience tell you about how long it will be before you’re challenging the two gentlemen [Fry, Allison] to the right?

    SM: As soon as possible – but it’s very hard to make predictions because when you’re trying to unlock two or three different areas on the car, my experience tells me it’s very unpredictable to know when that’s going to happen. What I will say is the past history of McLaren as a group to recover from situations like this is extremely strong and consistent. They’ve done it before and I don’t see any reason why the engineers won’t do it again this time – especially based on the activity that I’ve seen and we’ve all been involved in over the last couple of weeks. I think it won’t take long for us to be back up there – that’s the target.

    Q: It looked like Jenson Button in particular was a bit closer to the pace when the conditions got more changeable after the rain. Are you hoping for more of those conditions over the weekend?

    SM: Hopefully. That was a trend that we saw in Melbourne as well – that we were extremely competitive on intermediate conditions. Not so much on full wets, and the slicks… we know where we are. We’ll see what happens. Normally here it’s full wet or nothing. It’s one of those one zone-type tracks.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) To the two engineers plus anyone else if you’d like to contribute: last week we had qualifying delayed and then run on Sunday. We’ve had races red-flagged here and postponed – it’s been happening more and more recently. Is there any way the sport can put together regulations where we can minimise the number of either red flags or postponements to give the fans what they really come here to see and pay for?

    PF: I think that with the conditions you sometimes get here, there’s so much rain, it would just be impossible to run so I think we can try and make the cars safer to run and I think we have but purely down to the… is there a tyre good enough for the conditions… there was a downpour in 2009, wasn’t it… you’re never going to make something that can survive that kind of situation.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Sorry, I’m talking generally, not just about here, because we’ve had it in Canada and all over the place. So I’m saying should we not be looking at a committee to investigate some way of overcoming this, not necessarily just here in Malaysia?

    PF: I just think that for me, personally, I just think it’s a very difficult thing to overcome. With that much water, it’s not safe to run. Whether the FIA want to get a committee together to try and understand and see if it is possible to run in that, that’s entirely up to them.

    JA: I haven’t got a lot to add. You know, you’ve seen it. The spray becomes impenetrable very quickly and the cars start to aquaplane. You could do something about the aquaplaning to an extent, with a different set of tyres, but the spray would still be an issue and there would still come a point where the aquaplaning would dominate, especially at places like this so I don’t think technically there is much of a solution. We just have to wait for when there are conditions that a car can run.

    BF: Not unless anybody’s got a quick connection to the man upstairs, no.

    BB: No, I don’t think I can add anything to that. I think the teams are genuinely busy enough trying to design the car to meet the existing regulations. I’m sure the FIA have it within their power to investigate these things and see whether something could be done but as far as the teams are concerned, we’ve just got to get on and do the best job we can within the regulations as they currently stand.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Mr Fernley, over the last few races – last season, we saw it last week as well – you guys seem to have made a deliberate decision on the pit wall to split your strategies and do almost opposite things with your two drivers. Is this a lack of confidence in your strategic decisions, or is it something more deliberate?

    BF: I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence. I think I would have thought that Melbourne was obvious, that you’ve got one driver that’s qualified on a supersoft and then you’d be the first of the contenders running on the medium. I didn’t think there was anything risky in that at all.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) It just seems that with that kind of approach, it’s not just in Melbourne, we did see it in 2012 as well, that it will give one driver the opportunity to finish really well and the other less so. Not that you’re favouring one over the other, it was an even split. I was just wondering what the thinking behind that approach was?

    BF: Well, I think in 2012 you’ve got a slightly different process there because obviously we were defending – not defending, actually we were attacking and trying to get our position back from Sauber, so what you’re trying to do is maximising the opportunities for optimum points and that would be the reason for the main split of the strategies. But where possible, you’re always going to go for an optimum strategy for both drivers and we would do that. I think in Melbourne that was an optimum strategy for both drivers.

    Q: Speaking of two different drivers, James, what’s the situation with Romain Grosjean? He’s not been quite on Kimi’s pace in the first Grand Prix and obviously again today he seems to be a bit behind; what’s your analysis?

    JA: Romain showed us over and over again last year that he is a driver with a lot of pace. That’s the one really valuable commodity that a race driver has and he’s got that. He’s not had an easy weekend either here or there, because we haven’t been able to provide two cars in exactly the same configuration on either occasions so in Melbourne on Friday he was running a step behind Kimi in terms of his aero package, and then he had the upgrade for Saturday morning but then Saturday was disturbed by the weather as we all know.  Here, once again, we only have one set of kit and we’ve chosen to run that with Kimi and Romain is disadvantaged for that. It’s a feature of not having in-season testing that you try to upgrade the cars as fast as you can and generally speaking, that means that you’re always going to have one set of kit ahead of the second set and that almost inevitably means that one driver gets to try it before there is a second one available. We will always try to get two sets available but not always possible. So he’s had a difficult set of circumstances and he’s also up against a teammate who is really firing on all cylinders so those are the two things.

    Q: (Alex Popov – RTR) Cyril, can you clarify the story of a possible merger with Marussia?

    CA: Yeah. I think we provided a comment – both Marussia and ourselves – regarding the fact that there have been some discussions over the Christmas period but clearly I think we all know that business, we all know Formula One, we know that it’s quite a fluid and versatile environment. To be honest, I’m not that old and since I’ve been in F1 I think I’ve maybe heard ten times about mergers, including four big names, so there is nothing very big in that. We looked at that, we looked at whether it was making any sense, it didn’t make any sense, it didn’t happen. End of story.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Pat, are you confident you can have the same pace as Lotus or even better in this race compared to Melbourne?

    PF: I think our race pace should be OK here, similar to Melbourne. In terms of tyre degradation I’m not sure yet. We need to go and look at the numbers. Obviously today’s running was a little bit mixed up. When everyone was doing their long runs this afternoon, there was rain in turns six and seven, so we need to see. Hopefully we will be able to get the degradation under control as well.

    Q: Is it likely to be another race where doing one less stop than your rivals is one of the keys to success, do you think?

    PF: I’m not sure how close we are to a three to four changeover or a two to three changeover. We need to have a look through the data and see really. I’d like to see James try and two stop here on Sunday.

    Q: James, do you fancy it?

    JA: Generally speaking this track is one stop more than Melbourne, so I think that might be a bit brave.

    Ends

  • Kimi not hyped about season’s first win

    Kimi, as the anthem is played after his win in Australia. File photo by Lotus F1 team.

    DRIVERS – Esteban GUTIERREZ (Sauber), Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams), Giedo VAN DER GARDE (Caterham), Jules BIANCHI (Marussia), Kimi RAIKKONEN (Lotus), Max CHILTON (Marussia)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Kimi, great win for you and the team to start of with, in cold conditions. How do you and the team feel about being able to repeat that performance level in the heat of Malaysia?

    Kimi RAIKKONEN: We don’t know yet. Last year we were pretty good when it was hot and actually it was better for us, but obviously we haven’t run in this kind of conditions and the winter has been very cold, so I have no idea. But if it’s anything like it was last year we should be pretty OK, but we have to wait and see how it goes.

    One notable detail from the Melbourne weekend is that you were over a second slower than the Red Bull in qualifying, but you turned it round to be over a second faster than them on your fastest race lap. What do you put that down to?

    KR: I wouldn’t say that the qualifying was a very normal situation with all the weather – it got delayed and all that stuff. But if it was normal dry conditions I’m pretty sure we are more close. We will wait and see when we get a normal qualifying. Then, I’m sure we are not a second behind, or 1.4 seconds or whatever it was.

    Esteban, coming to you. Youngest driver in Formula One and the best-placed rookie in Australia in 13th. A tricky Sunday for the Sauber team with your team-mate not starting the race, but what did you take from the weekend?

    Esteban GUTIERREZ: Well, for me the experience was very important. Being able to say that I finished my first Formula One race is already quite a good step. And from then on, taking the experience into account, I will try to improve on the points where I can improve following this second challenge here in Malaysia. It will be very different circumstances but I think it’s going to be a very exciting one.

    Can you talk about the pressure of expectation, given what Sergio Perez did here last year in a Sauber and what he went on to do in the rest of the year?

    EG: It is obviously something that is there but I’m not going to think about it because it’s different circumstances. I think the weather is varying a lot here and it’s playing a big role in how the race is going. I’m going to try to do my best, going at my own pace and improve where I can improve, step by step.

    Valtteri, you finished 14th in Melbourne, outqualified your team-mate [Pastor] Maldonado and finished the race. What did you take away from your debut?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Of course I learned a lot in my first grand prix. It was tough but it was nice to see that everything went without any bigger problems. Of course we would have liked to finish the race in a much higher position and everyone was expecting much more from us, including us. From my side I think it was not a bad first race but definitely we didn’t finish where we wanted to.

    As you say, the team is not where it wants to be. Why do you think the car is struggling?

    VB: Well I’m not going to go into the details now but we understand now better what went wrong, because the car has potential. The performance is there and we just need to get it out really. And for this grand prix already we think we can fix some things. We will see tomorrow a little bit more where we are.

    Jules, 11th-fastest race lap en route to a 15th-placed finish on your debut. It’s a performance that’s got you on a number of people’s radars already. What did you think of it?

    Jules BIANCHI: Well, honestly it has been a really nice weekend for me in Australia even if it was quite a late call for me because I didn’t do all the pre-season testing. Anyway, I was really happy. I just tried to enjoy and see what we were able to do in the race. Obviously the race went pretty well. We had a good start, everything was good, and we did a good result. We know what we have to improve and we will try to do that for the next few races.

    You were with Force India of course in February in testing and you only had on test with Marussia before Australia. What do you think is possible with this car this season?

    JB: I think I was really surprised when I drove it for the first time. My expectation was a lot lower than that. I was really happy when I drove it. I think we can do good results. We know what we have to improve again, so we’re just trying to do that, trying to improve the car and trying to improve myself as well, because I’m new in the team, new in Formula One. I want to show people what I am able to do, so I will try to do my best for all the other races.

    Max Chilton, coming to you. Seventeenth in Melbourne for Marussia on your debut. Things have obviously happened pretty quickly for you, getting into Formula One at 21. How are you settling in?

    Max CHILTON: I feel comfortable. I felt ready when the decision was made that I got the race seat. I believe in myself, that I’ve got a good chance. I think this year the Marussia car has got a good chance of moving its way up the field. I feel at home, the team are fantastic and I’ve now got a really good team-mate to work with and I can maybe learn from, and maybe he can learn from me, so it’s a winning formula.

    You obviously know this track; you raced here in GP2 and finished on the podium. What do you think of it?

    MC: Yeah, it’s a very challenging circuit, it’s got some long, high-speed flowing corners but then you’ve got some technical stuff to get out of the corner onto a long straight, which is very important. The main thing with this circuit is the heat. It was a tough race last year, but I can tell that it doesn’t feel as hot as last year, so I don’t need to worry about that. We just need to focus on getting the most out of the car and beating our rivals.

    Giedo, you out-qualified your team-mate and got an 18th-place finish in Melbourne. What did you take from your first experience of Formula One?

    Giedo VAN DER GARDE: It was a tough race. Max hit me in the first stint, so the floor got damaged quite badly. Anyway, we managed to finish the race and it was a good experience for me. I learned a lot with the tyres. Now this is the next step and we’ll see what we can do here.

    Looks like you’re starting out the year chasing Marussia. Do you see reasons in the pipeline to be positive?

    GVDG: I think with here you never know what the weather is going to be. I think we looked quite strong, I have to say, so I hope for a bit of rain here. And then the next two [races] we know we still have the same car and in Barcelona we’ll get a big upgrade, so let’s see where we are then.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) Question for Esteban: very impressive 30-lap stint on the mediums in the race, obviously you weren’t able to compare data with Nico but did that come quite naturally because the Sauber’s renowned for being quite easy on its tyres. Was that something you put down to the car or something that came naturally for you?

    EG: Are you referring to the long stint?

    Q: yes

    EG: Yes, I think from that point of view, I think the tyres are playing a big role in the race and it’s something that I really focussed a lot to try to find the best compromise into the speed and the long stint I could do. It was a very long stint, at the same time we found out we had a slight flat tyre through that stint, so it also was the balance was switching a little bit, especially at the last of the stint. So, I think it’s just a matter of finding the right compromise of how quick we can be and also how long we want to keep the tyres. As we can see, Kimi did a very similar strategy and he was able to be a lot quicker, so there’s something that definitely we can find and we will be looking into that.

    Q: (Alex Popov – RTR) Question especially for Valtteri and Esteban. You have a very tough challenge inside your team because Pastor already won the race and Nico nearly won the race in Brazil. You prefer this situation or you prefer the situation with a little bit less level for your team-mate for the first year?

    VB: I prefer it. Pastor is a very good reference. He is a quick driver, it’s his third year at Williams now and definitely for me it’s good to compare to him and good to see from him if I have some things to improve. Hopefully we will be close and hopefully I can keep up in the beginning of the season and I try to improve and then get better. Definitely a good reference and I prefer that.

    EG: I think a little bit the same as Valtteri. I think it’s good to have a good reference, especially knowing that Nico is a very quick and consistent driver and yes, it was not the ideal situation for him not to do the race in Melbourne but it would be nice to have that reference up until this race but now in this race let’s hope for a good reference to get that reference and try to move on.

    Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC) A two-part question for Max and for Kimi. Max, first of all, can you talk to us about the difficulties when you’re being lapped by the leaders? What you’ve got to learn, what gets more difficult from that point of view? And Kimi, with five rookies out there, did you find any problems yourself when lapping the guys coming into Formula One? If you could just talk about that.

    MC: Well, the team over the winter testing did give me some guidance of the best way to do it, and they did say it is an art and it will take you a few races. I definitely felt, at the start of the race in Melbourne, when obviously the blues started to come earlier because we had to do a nose-change, I was getting the blue flags earlier than expected. Our races are planned to be as fast as you can to the blue flags and then your race  slows down – and that came sooner than we thought. But, I could definitely tell after 20 laps, the blue flags, where to do it. And the time you can save – and it is a huge time-saver. Obviously you don’t want to disrupt the leaders because their race is more important than ours but our race is still important, so you need to do the best for the team by not losing too much time. I think after the next few races I’ll be fully comfortable and you just naturally know where to do it and lose the least amount of time possible.

    KR: Last year for sure there was some cars and teams that were not very easy to get past when you were lapping them but at least in the first race it seems to be a bit better. So, I have no complaints on that. Of course it’s some days difficult to let people past, to move off the way quick enough but for sure everybody’s trying to do their best and if something goes wrong obviously they get penalised – so it was OK in the first race at least.

    Q: (Ben Waterworth – Richard’s F1) For Kimi, been ten years since your first victory here in Sepang ten years ago. Special place for you here in Sepang? And win be a perfect anniversary present for it?

    KR: It’s not really any special place. I mean, of course it was nice to win the first race but we really should have won the year before, so it’s nice to come back here – I don’t enjoy the heat and the humidity of the place but the circuit is nice so, we know how it’s going to be more or less here. It usually gives a good race and that’s the main thing. Hopefully we can have another good weekend and score good points.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, do you expect the hot weather helping you and the team to find more speed from the car?

    VB: I hope so, because I think one of the problems was – a little bit – the tyre warm up. Getting the tyres to work properly but, y’know, it’s quite unknown, and it’s the same for everyone. No-one has run these tyres in these conditions. We will see tomorrow; we will experience the tyres – but I do really hope so.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) We often get views from some of our viewers that there shouldn’t be blue flags in Formula One and that everyone has a right to be racing out on the circuit and shouldn’t have to move over and it’s an art to overtake a back-marker or a front runner. I just want to know from a few of you, do you think there should be blue flags in Formula One? Kimi and the rest of the rookies…

    JB: Well, obviously I think it’s normal that we have to move the way out because they are fighting for the victory and we are lapped, so when we are lapped I think it’s right to give the place to the leader. So, yeah, I think it’s normal rules to have blue flags.

    GVDG: I agree. I think you should let the leaders past, they’re fighting for the win.

    Q: Esteban, it must be strange going when you’re going at the front. Obviously your car’s a little faster than some of these other ones but when you get used to racing at the front, then you have to let cars through, that mental adjustment – I guess you hope it doesn’t last too long in Formula One.

    EG: Yeah, that’s true! I hope I don’t see much blue flags this season but I agree with Jules’ and Giedo’s comment. Really, I don’t have much comment about it.

    Q: How much do the older drivers and experienced front runners take a lead on this in drivers’ briefings?

    KR: There’s not much talked about. Everybody knows what they have to do. They’re not racing for the first time, they’ve been racing for a long time. Like I said, it’s sometimes easier to let people past than other times. Of course, you understand that they don’t want to lose too much time but it’s more important for them to move over because some days they can really make a difference as to who wins or who not. In the end, if you don’t want to get blue flags you should be in the front, simple as that.

    Q: (Michael Casey  – Associated Press) Kimi, how does it feel to have a target on your back coming into the weekend?

    KR: There’s no target. We don’t do anything different this weekend than we did in the previous race or last year. If people think that we are leaders, it makes no difference to our work, what we did or what we’re going to do this weekend or any other weekend. Like I said, we try to do best and hopefully we can score some good points.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Jules, you had a very good race (in Australia) but you had so little testing; do you see yourself making some really big steps when you get some more track time?

    JB: Obviously it would have been better for me to have more testing but my race was good and there’s much more to come from my side, specially to set the car up well, because I don’t know the car. I only did one and a half days before the race, so I think it’s something I need to get used to and for sure I will have more performance after that. But I think I’m already at a good level, for sure. I trained a lot last year with Force India and the year before with Ferrari, so now I feel ready to race in Formula One, that’s why I am here. I still need to improve but I’m already happy with that.

    Q: And how much is the simulator helping you in this situation?

    JB: Well, obviously I did a lot of simulator preparation before the race in Australia and it was really helpful, especially because I didn’t know the track and the same for this track, so it’s something really useful.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Question for the rookies: when you step up to Formula One obviously the physical challenge is a lot tougher but specially for a race like Malaysia which is known to be hot. Is there any sort of special physical preparation that you will do in the run-up to such a race?

    MC: Obviously the step up from the junior categories is mainly that the race lengths are… we’re used to probably a race of an hour maximum. These can go on for a limit of two hours but usually around 40 minutes(longer) so that 40 minutes does make a difference and also the G-forces, but the powered steering makes it a lot easier. Physically, you just need to be more specific on what you’re working for, it’s not a big leap up, you just have to make it a lot more specific and focus on the areas where you need it. But for races like this, with the heat, there’s not really certain training you can do… you can do heat chamber work, you can do a bit of that which will help but the main thing is making sure your body is always hydrated to its absolute maximum and that’s key. If you’re not hydrated then you will suffer pretty quickly.

    GvdG: I think you try to come here as soon as possible to get used to the hot weather. You use a kind of different philosophy with food, you use a lot of salt, you drink a lot during the whole day. I think we drink up to five or six litres, so you pee quite a lot. I quite like the heat so let’s see how I feel after the race.

    Q: Valtteri, do you get all the secrets handed down from the Finns who have gone before you like Kimi and Mika Hakkinen?

    VB: Well, of course, we have the saunas in Finland, so maybe that helps with the heat. I think it’s just a hot race and that’s the key. No special preparation. Of course try to be outside a lot to get used to it a little bit but in the end the fitter you are the easier time you’re going to have in the car.

    Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) Kimi, just wondering if you got a chance to celebrate the win last Sunday, or if you were on a flight going somewhere? What would you be up to?

    KR: I came here directly on Sunday night. For sure, if you want to you can always… it’s not about that. I had a flight booked here anyhow so I came here.

    Q: What’s your view on days when you win, because in sport you have so many days which perhaps don’t go quite so well. When you actually win, is it very important to you to be a team, to celebrate with a team, to enjoy the good moments?

    KR: No. Like I said, first of all they( the team) are always very busy packing up everything at these kind of races so they don’t have so much time either. I had a flight in the evening, so we just had a quick briefing and then I had to go to the hotel to pick up my stuff and go. For sure they had some celebration. It’s just one race and hopefully at the end of the year we can have a good celebration.

    Q: (Velimir Veljko Jukic – Auto Fokus) We have a couple of rookies here and normally you have reached the first level to the biggest category, but probably there are some big secret wishes which you don’t talk about. Would you maybe reveal your secret wish to this audience?

    JB: I don’t think there are many secrets in Formula One. You just need to work out a lot and be ready for that. I don’t see any secrets.

    GvdG: I think it’s a dream come true (to drive in Formula One). You have worked all your life to get here and it’s great to be here but to be honest, if you’re in the back, some things are different: blue flags, the start is different again, the procedures with the steering wheel. There’s a lot of stuff which is quite different to GP2 but I’m enjoying it. The team is letting me learn a lot and I’m making it step by step.

    Q: Esteban, you’ve made it to Formula One but does the journey really begin here?

    EG: I think that I try to take a very natural approach, try to see every race as one more race, as if it was back in Formula BMW in 2007… it doesn’t really make a difference because that helps me to keep the focus on the most important things. Now, for me, the dream is not only to be in Formula One, the dream is to be successful in Formula One and I want to work my way step-by-step to try to achieve it.

    Ends

  • Button calls on young people to become scientists of sports

    McLaren logo

    To coincide with national science and engineering week, Jenson Button has called on young people to stick with science and maths in school.

    The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver is backing a campaign run by GSK, in partnership with the McLaren Group, called ‘Scientists in Sport’, which uses the excitement of sport to inspire young people to study science, technology, engineering and maths.

    Part of the campaign is a ‘Fast Forward Challenge’, where budding scientists are challenged to devise a test which could be used to improve a Formula 1 driver’s reactions.  Winning schools will be given an opportunity to visit the McLaren Technology Centre and put their test into action with one of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

    Speaking from the Australia, where he is about to begin the 2013 Grand Prix season, Jenson Button said: “The speed, drama, noise and glamour of Formula 1 may seem very different from a school science lesson, but our sport wouldn’t exist without the tireless work and dedication of some of the world’s cleverest scientists, engineers and mathematicians.

    “That’s why I think it’s so important for young people to stick with maths and science at school. In the future they might just find themselves designing a new grand prix car, or working in the pits analysing telemetry data. And, while not everyone can be a racing driver or work in Formula 1, maths and science can open up some amazing opportunities.”

    GSK’s Scientists in Sport campaign was officially unveiled at the Big Bang Fair – the national science fair, which runs from the 14th – 17th March and will be attended by around 60,000 secondary school students and their teachers.

    A new, interactive Scientists in Sport website is now live, visit www.scientistsinsport.com for more information and follow the campaign at @GSKScience.

    ends

  • Sahara Force India looks to build on good start: Mallya

    Sepang, 19 March 2013: Sahara Force India looks forward to round two of the FIA Formula One World Championship in Sepang on March 24. The team started the season with a bang with a double points finish in Melbourne last Sunday and is looking forward to more points in Malaysia.
    Team Principal and Managing Director, Dr Vijay Mallya, reflects on the team’s best ever start to a Formula One season.
    The first back-to-back races of the season mean we are already heading to Malaysia for the second round of the Championship. We have scored points in Sepang the last three times we raced there, including a double-points finish last year, and I believe we can build on the early-season momentum to bring home a valuable result.
    Last weekend’s race in Melbourne was a great demonstration of how far the team has come lately: to race against the established front-runners on merit shows the quality of our car, of our driver line-up and of the work everyone in the team is producing every day, whether at the factory or at the circuit. We have led the last two races and hopefully soon we will have a special result to repay all that effort.
    With improved results come increased responsibilities: the whole world of Formula One – our rivals, the media and the fans – now look at Sahara Force India as a competitor for points at every race. It is our duty to sustain this scrutiny by going out every day and performing to our best to keep challenging the top teams in the world.
    “The 2013 Championship is just at the beginning, and it is important not to get carried away with enthusiasm: we will need to channel this positive energy into consistently good performances and continue to improve. We are on a good road, and we must all keep progressing,” the Indian liquor baron concluded.
    Paul di Resta on Malaysia
    Paul, what’s your overall feeling about finishing eighth in the first race?
    It’s positive to have four points on the board already, but it’s a shame I was stuck behind Jenson at the beginning of my second stint. He was running a three-stop race and essentially that’s what lost me a lot of track position. We’ve got some things we need to pick up on and we can definitely make some improvements, but we’re in a good place to start the season. Also, we’ve seen already that we can make a stop less than some of our competitors so let’s see if that remains the case in Malaysia.
    Any thoughts on Malaysia?
    You never know what to expect! It could rain, or it could be dry. Temperatures are going to be high, degradation is going to be high, but I think our car is going to suit the warm weather. We’ve had a reasonably strong performance for the last couple of years in Malaysia, so I think we should go there feeling quite optimistic. We have a few days to conquer the jet lag and hopefully be fighting fit.
    Is it a track you enjoy?
    I think it is probably one of the most complete tracks of the season. It was the very first of the new generation tracks and it has nice flowing sections, some slow bits, as well as high-speed chicanes. I think it’s one of the better tracks on the calendar. Along with the next one in Shanghai, it’s one of the tracks I enjoy.
    Adrian Sutil on Malaysia
    Adrian, you had an incredible race in Australia. How would you sum it up?
    It was a great feeling! We were on a different strategy and we knew we would probably go to the front quite early in the race, but we never expected to be leading for such a long time. It was a surprise for everyone and even more of a surprise that we could keep all the cars behind us while doing really competitive lap times. I actually pulled away from Vettel at one stage in the race. I knew the car was fast, I felt good, I felt confident. On the supersofts I had to give up a few positions, that was normal, that was our strategy because you had to be on them at least once. But I’m not disappointed at all, seventh place is a good way to start the season.
    You’ve fought with drivers from the top teams before, but in the rain or other unusual circumstances. Is it different when everyone is flat out?
    In the rain it’s easier sometimes to be at the front and race with the top teams, but in the dry it’s more difficult and normally never happens. It’s amazing to see that it was possible in Australia and don’t forget that Nico [Hulkenberg] led for this team at the final race of last year too. There are opportunities, and if you believe in it, you can take those chances. If you don’t believe you can win, you will never win. It’s just an approach, I think. It’s important to set your mind. It’s sometimes hard because we are usually in the midfield, but you should always think a step further.
    Any thoughts on going back to Malaysia?
    I finished fifth in 2010, so I have some good memories. It’s not my favourite track, but it depends on the car. If the car is quick and stable, you enjoy it more, but sometimes you really struggle with the balance, and then it’s a real challenge – the corners are so long, you need a lot of aerodynamic grip. It’s a track I like to drive, but it’s not like a Monaco or a Spa. I don’t really know what effect the high temperatures will have because we haven’t had them during testing. I think the weather in Australia suited us quite well, so let’s see how Malaysia is.
    Paul di Resta took 8th place and four points in Melbourne last Sunday. A Sahara Force India photo

    ends

  • Kimi talks about his first win of the season and Sepang

    The F1 bandwagon starts arriving in Sepang, Malaysia for he 2nd GP. A Lotus photo.

    After his success in Melbourne and now the dust has settled, the Iceman talks us through just how good that win felt, and how he will prepare and look forward to trying to achieve the same in Malaysia.

    What are your main memories of Sepang as a circuit?

    Malaysia has been good and bad for me in the past; I’ve had a few bad races there but I’ve also won three times at the circuit including my first Grand Prix victory so it’s nice to go back to where it all began with my first win. For sure I will always remember that my first win came in Malaysian Grand Prix in 2003.

    As it’s the location of your first win, does that mean it’s a special place for you?

    I would not say that circuit is more important for me – it’s not that special for me – but it’s quite a nice place to race at. I like it and the challenge is always at the highest level in the beginning of the year in the heat. It’s also one of those circuits where it usually rains sometime during the weekend. So you have to plan the programme with that possibility, too.

    Winning the first race of the season automatically means you’re leading the Drivers’ Championship; it must be a pretty good start to your year?

    It feels good but it’s only after one race. It doesn’t really change our aim and how we approach this year. Definitely, we are happy with the win but there is an awful lot to still to do to win the championship. We seemed to have a good car in Albert Park, so hopefully it works well in the next races also.

    Is a win so early in the season more important?

    A win’s a win, it doesn’t really matter when in the season you get it. Of course I’m happy that we didn’t really have to go full speed all the time so it’s kind of a good sign, a good race for us, but as I said, it might be a completely different story in Malaysia, so there’s nothing to jump up and be so extra happy about. It’s a long season and in the end we want to be on the top for all the races and it’s going to be a hard season for that. Everything worked well in Australia, we had no issues with the car all weekend, the car’s been good and the team has been working well. It’s good to come back from winter testing where I probably did the least laps of everybody, in that respect we didn’t have a very special winter.

    What are your thoughts looking ahead to Malaysia?

    It’s a difference place, it’s going to be much hotter there so it’s very difficult to say how the cars will feel, who will be fastest after having done just one race. I think we have to do two or three races before we really know who is where and what’s going to happen. It’s probably going to rain again in Malaysia at some point but it will be a different circuit, different conditions. Our car worked well in Australia and usually – at least last year – in hot conditions it’s been good for us so hopefully it will turn out to be a good weekend.

    Do you think the team can maintain the initial momentum?

    There was a big question mark last year over whether our team could keep up with the development of the bigger teams and I don’t think we did a bad job. Of course it’s not going to be easy for us. I’m sure we have the people and all the tools to make it happen. Budget is always a factor and it’s no secret that we don’t have the same money as Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes. If we did have more sponsors I’m sure we’d have a better chance in the battle against those teams. It’s a long season. If you do things right it will go nicely but one thing can change the whole year. You do a few things a little bit wrong it can turn around and go downhill after that. So we just have to do our normal things, like we did last year and put the good effort into new parts and if we’re happy we keep them and if not we have to look more closely. But like I said, so far it has been good, so there is no reason why we can’t keep it up.

    Romain Grosjean: “I’ll arrive in Sepang fresh and ready to deliver my best on track”

    Romain Grosjean talks us through his plan of attack for Malaysia, and just why Sepang International is one of his favourite circuits of the Formula 1 season.

    Sepang International is a circuit you like a lot, why?

    Sepang is probably my favourite track of the whole season. I first raced there in 2008 as part of the GP2 Asia Series and I really loved the circuit. It’s nice and wide, with fast flowing corners and a lot of undulation which makes it great fun to drive. The last corner is a tricky one, but I enjoy everything about racing there. Well, maybe not the heat and humidity, but at the end of the day it’s just another challenge for the drivers! I’m really looking forward to it.

    Talk us through your race in Melbourne, it wasn’t quite what you wanted?

    Yes, it’s a shame as everything looked positive after qualifying in the morning, but in the race something felt wrong with my car. I sat down with my engineers to analyse where the problem came from and we hopefully will be able to perform better in the future. The car felt so good at times over the weekend, but then at other times it wasn’t where I wanted it to be. It meant that the race felt long and pretty difficult for me. We know that Albert Park can be a tricky circuit to understand and the weather certainly didn’t help us. It was very frustrating and I’m disappointed for the team and for myself as I wanted to start the season with a strong result. But I’ll sit with the engineers and work out how best to improve for the race ahead, and we’ll work hard to achieve the maximum, as always. If the car is capable of being on the podium then I want to be there.

    After a frustrating race do you simply press the reset button for the next event?

    Pretty much. Of course, you want to be able to use everything you’ve learnt, but you always approach a race wanting to do your best and you don’t let a result which wasn’t as good as you wanted get in the way of that. I’m having a very short break between Australia and Malaysia to let me recharge my batteries so that I’ll arrive in Sepang fresh and ready to deliver my best on track.

    The good news is that the car looks strong in terms of performance. Does this give you confidence going to Malaysia?

    Clearly Kimi’s car worked very well in Australia and the fact that mine felt good at times over the weekend gives us a clear target for where we want to get the setup and a guide of what the car is capable of. I want to be scoring 25 points in a Grand Prix for the team. I’m working closely with my engineers to understand exactly what is required to ensure the E21 is at its best for me. Knowing that we’re very close to getting the car where I want it is certainly promising.

    How difficult is Sepang in the wet?

    Last year it was difficult for sure, but we’ve made some good improvements in our wet performance which we were able to show in the difficult conditions in Australia. This means I’m confident we can put on a good show no matter what the weather.

    Back to back races always put an extra strain on the team, especially when heading to a climate like that of Malaysia. How do you plan to recover and prepare for the next race?

    There are a few things that help in these situations. Firstly, it’s important to continue your training regime as normal, no matter how much you may want to just sleep! Then the key is to adjust your body to the time difference and climate, particularly the latter in Malaysia where the heat and humidity make it one of the most difficult races of the year physically.

    ends

  • There’s an awful lot more to do: Kimi after Aussie win

    DRIVERS

    1 – Kimi RAIKKONEN (Lotus)
    2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing )

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

    (Question inaudible)

    Kimi RAIKKONEN: It’s the first race, so you don’t really know how it’s going to go, how the tyres are going to be. I didn’t really do any long runs in the winter. I knew that I had a good car, so I had a feeling that it was going to be a good race but you have to get through the first laps and then go from there.

    And you did a 1:29.2, the fastest lap of the grand prix just before the end. Just having a bit of fun?

    KR: No, I mean Fernando was catching me at some point, when I was taking it a bit more easy and there was some traffic, so I just wanted to make sure that if the rain comes or something happens we have a bit more gap. I was still taking it pretty easy. Like I said, the car has been very good all weekend and it was a pretty nice race, not so difficult.

    Fernando, second place. How are you feeling about that?

    Fernando ALONSO: Fantastic. Obviously it was fantastic race, with fighting all through the race. Big thanks to the fans all weekend. We felt sad yesterday when we postponed the qualifying until today, because they were in the grandstands with the rain, the windy conditions and at the end we didn’t run. So today we had to put on a good show for everybody and I think we did it, because the race was action every lap. I personally enjoyed it. Obviously at the end it was a little bit sad not to be able to win the race, but Kimi was fantastic today, the Lotus car as well. We need to congratulate them for a fantastic race.

    You made some pretty bold moves when you came out of the pits after your stops. You really had to push, with Adrian Sutil and generally you had to push hard for that.

    FA: Yeah, it was not an easy race. At the beginning traffic with Sebastian and Felipe and then traffic with Sutil, some tricky moments. But at the end, as I said, extremely happy. We had a very difficult start to the season two years ago and last year as well and this year is very different. We feel much more optimistic. The car is responding well, we are competitive so we have a very interesting season ahead of us.

    But isn’t it very worrying that they could do two stops? I’m assuming you couldn’t do a two-stop race.

    FA: It is a worry, yes. Obviously Lotus did a very good job. Kimi was driving fantastically all through the race and he managed two stops, so we need to analyse what we can do for the next race. We have only four days to work on the car to prepare for the next race and I think he will again be a tough opponent.

    Sebastian, only third today but the crowd are obviously very appreciative of what you did. But what happened to the Red Bull pace we were expecting?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think first of all we can be happy with today. Obviously we wanted more. Clearly when you start from pole you want to win. I think we could see after a very good start, and a good first two or three laps, that the tyres were falling apart and we couldn’t go as long as other people. So congratulations to Lotus and especially to Kimi, I think they did the best job today. An little bit of a surprise when I saw on the pitwall that I was lacking one position to count because I knew Fernando passed us at the stop but I didn’t know where the other car was coming from but I think they had incredible pace. Same goes for Ferrari. I think we were third-quickest today and very happy to get third place.

    Do you think it was just the conditions, the track temperatures or are you seriously worried about the pace of Lotus and Ferrari?

    SV: No, I’m not worried. I have to admit sometimes that other people are faster. I think we can be very happy today.  We had a great qualifying session this morning and this afternoon unfortunately didn’t quite work the way we would have liked but it’s a long season, a long way ahead of us, so good points to start. Surely we wanted a little bit more but there’s no reason to be disappointed.

    You didn’t win the first race of 2010 or 2012 but you went on to win those championships, so I guess it’s not the end of the world?

    SV: Yeah, I think there are always statistics that can work for you or work against you but at this stage…  it was very good fun today, tricky to manage the tyres, but I’m very happy to be on the podium here, it’s always a nice grand prix so looking forward to next week.

    One quick word with our winner Kimi Raikkonen: Kimi, you lead the world championship. You had two years away rallying, you came back and won a race last year did a great job but here you are leading the championship again. How does that feel?

    KR: It feels good but it’s only after one race. It doesn’t really change our aim and our work for this year. Definitely we are happy with the win but there is an awful lot to still do to try to win the championship. We seemed to have a good car here and hopefully it works well in the next races also.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Kimi, did you believe from that seventh position the win was there for you today?

    KR: I was pretty disappointed this morning after the qualifying. Obviously there was only one lap really on the dries and I took it a bit too easy and got a bit of a small mistake in one corner. It was more timing and getting it right than really the maximum speed from all the cars, so not the ideal starting place but it was still ten places better than last year, so not a disaster in that way. I knew that my car is quite good. It’s been feeling good all weekend and when we did the longer run it felt good. We only destroy the front tyres so we knew if we get the front tyres lasting it should be fine. In a way I was pretty confident – but of course you have to get through the start and the first lap and it’s the first race so you never know what’s going to happen with the conditions and the circuit after the rain and with tyres, so there’s a lot of question marks. I felt I had a good car and it turned out to be pretty good.

    Q: Alan Permane said to you, on the subject of tyres in parc ferme, “we got it absolutely right today.” Was that just one of the ingredients where everything seemed to fall into place for you?

    KR: Yeah, I mean our plan was to do two-stop and it’s always difficult, especially the first races, to really know when to stop, and not doing it too early and not too late. We got it, like he said, exactly right. The team worked very well and we had a good plan, and we follow the plan and it work out perfectly for us. I could save the tyres and I could go fast if I needed and I could really drive very easily. One of the easiest races I’ve done to win the race. Hopefully we can have many more of this kind of races.

    Q: Fernando, turning to you, you had to stop one more time, was there ever a chance that the Ferrari could run longer? Was it the way that the car wore out the tyres that cost you victory today?

    FA: I think it’s difficult to know if we could do two stops today. You need to commit, more or less, to one strategy before the start of the race because you race differently.  Obviously we were attacking, we tried to pass Sebastian in the first part of the race, Felipe and me. We could not do it in the stint. In the second stint we were again also behind Sutil at that stage of the race. I think we felt all these things against… maybe you can go a little bit longer in the stints but we have to stop, try to overtake these people that we felt they were slower than us in the race and if you commit to that, obviously there is not a way to find a two-stop so, I don’t know, the race without traffic… could be.

    Q: Your team-mate Felipe Massa got the better start, how surprised were you to see him get off the line so quickly and how much of an effect did that have on the early part of your race?

    FA: No, well, I had a much better start than Felipe and a much better start than Hamilton especially but they close each other in the middle and I have to lift off. If not, with a longer straight I think I could arrive second easily in the first corner but it was a little bit problem there and then Nico also was very aggressive on the first corner, so it was not easy start and obviously in the first race no-one wants to take an extra risk. But yeah, that was not a help in the first part of the race and then some traffic all through the race. First with Sebastian and Felipe and then with Sutil, Hamilton, Rosberg, Sutil again and two people, I think one Caterham and one Williams that, obviously it is a first race for them but it seems they were not very concentrated today.

    Q: Sebastian, Adrian Sutil’s name has been mentioned a couple of times. How big a thorn in your side was the sight of that Force India out in front?

    SV: Well I think in the end you have enough laps in the race to even things out. Surely it didn’t help at that stage but, y’know, it’s pretty simple: if we had the pace we should have passed him. We didn’t. I was quite a bit quicker when I arrived at the back of him but then couldn’t pass him. I think running in traffic it has quite a negative effect on tyres. The same for the people behind me so I wasn’t that afraid there was a lot of pressure from behind because I knew that they will be in the same problem that I was with the car in front and, yeah, at some stage even he pulled a little bit away. So, as I said, I don’t think, considering all the laps in the race, it made a massively difference. We jumped him after the stop. Yeah, it was quite a good overtaking into turn three, I think. And it was important, I think, to get past. Obviously Fernando, I think, stopped a lap earlier and was on the fresh tyres so he could use the momentum to get past the group, which worked well for him. After that though, we could see that he was a little bit too quick for us today and in the last two stints he was pulling away. I have to admit I was quite surprised when I was still missing one position in my calculations because all the cars that I saw made sense but I never saw Kimi in the race but he ended up way ahead of us and then I saw him on TV, and then saw that Fernando was then second and Kimi was leading. Overall, as I said before, very happy with third place. I think surely when you start from pole, you want to win but I think we can be happy with the pace all weekend. The car left a very good impression. The whole team seemed to operate very calmly and considering it was the first race of the season we seemed to just continue where we stopped last year. So yeah, I think it was a good day for us. Obviously there’s a bit of homework to do, regarding the tyres. I think two-stop was out of our range today, so we’ll see where we are next week.

    Q: But did it surprise you that starting from pole the pace wasn’t there to go on and win the race?

    SV: Well I think the pace was there. The naked pace. Qualifying was pretty good for us. I think we had quite a good run, and then also the first two laps of the race were pretty good and also the first two laps on each set of tyres felt pretty good – but yeah, obviously after that we couldn’t keep it up and surely the times set in the front, from Fernando but Kimi especially, were quite impressive considering the amount of laps on the tyres. So, we couldn’t do that and that’s why, I think we lost out a little bit today. But, as I said, it’s a very tough, very long grand prix and very nice to be on the podium at the end. We have quite a good record here so I’m happy that we had another podium finish today.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR 

    Q: (Leonid Novozhilov –  F1Life) Kimi, do you give a chance to your opponents in Malaysia?

    KR: It’s a difference place, it’s going to be much hotter there so it’s very difficult to say how the cars will feel, who will be fastest after having just one race. I think we have to do two or three races before we really know who is where and what’s going to happen. It’s probably going to rain again in Malaysia at some point but it will be a different circuit, different conditions. Our car worked well here at least and usually – at least last year – in hot conditions it’s been good for us so hopefully it will turn out to be a good weekend next week.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, I know how much you love winning. When it comes easily like this, in the first race, does it mean even more to you?

    KR: A win’s a win, it doesn’t really matter how you get it. Of course I’m happy that we didn’t really have to go full speed all the time so it’s kind of a good sign, a good race for us, but as I said, it might be a completely different story in the next race, so there’s nothing to jump up and be so extra happy about, because it’s a long season and in the end we want to be on the top for all the races and it’s going to be a hard season for that. As I said, everything worked well, we had no issues with the car all weekend, the car’s been good, the team has been working well. After the winter test, when I probably did the least laps of everybody in the winter, we didn’t have a very special winter. As I said before, we didn’t have a very special winter the previous year and not this winter, but the car has always been good in the race so so far so good and hopefully it goes like this.

    Q: (Manuel Franco – Diairo AS) Fernando, what’s been the biggest surprise for you today, Red Bull, Ferrari or Lotus?

    FA: I think none of them, to be honest. At Ferrari, we had a good winter and the car is more or less as we expected. Arriving here and fighting for the podium was the aim of the team and the goal of this winter, to reduce the gap and to arrive at the start of the season with a competitive package. I think the goal was achieved. In the winter the car felt good and the understanding of the car was good so being on the podium here is some kind of job done, let’s say. Lotus, we saw in winter they were very quick and we saw this weekend they were very quick and very consistent, so they had a fantastic weekend, they deserved victory, and then Red Bull is the quickest car at the moment, first and second in qualifying, first and second in practice, nearly, and then in the race they saw a little bit of degradation but that doesn’t mean that they are not the fastest.

    Q: (Christopher Joseph –  The Vancouver Sun) Fernando, what did you learn about the car today in the race that you didn’t know after testing?

    FA: You always learn some things for sure but I will talk with the engineers now in the debrief about the competition. When you run close to other cars in the first race, you always discover some weak points of the car and some strong points and today was a lot of fights, a lot of traffic, a lot of action, let’s say, in the race and it was pretty clear for us some of the strong points of the car and some of the weak points that obviously we will keep between us.

    Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Kimi, that seemed to be a very popular win judging by the crowd reaction out there. Can we perhaps expect a re-release of the ‘I know what I’m doing’ t-shirts? They’re pretty popular, I gather. They only had a hundred released and they sold out. Can we have a few more?

    KR: No. That was last year and nothing to do with this year or this win. It was just people asked for them and we made them but now it’s not going to happen, not from me at least, maybe somebody else. There’s nothing planned. It’s happened before many times, as I said, but this time it came on TV so I’m sure some odd things will come through even this year. Maybe it gets on TV, maybe not.

    Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) Sebastian, on the first lap you were able to establish quite a margin at the start; do you think that strategies like Adrian’s will actually affect your own strategies mid-race or do you really have to concentrate on your own, what you’ve already planned out before the race?

    SV: Well, you mentioned two things. On the first stint I was very happy initially to get a good start, defend the lead, then I think I was able to pull away but after two laps, I felt that I could be in trouble. The tyres started to go away from me and as we could see, Ferrari, Felipe and Fernando were catching up and then in the stint after that, we were running into the back of Adrian, but as I said before, surely it didn’t help, especially losing the position to Fernando, but then I think you should look at the whole race. They left a strong impression but I think it should have been very difficult to keep him behind all the race. For sure, in that moment, it was that one particular lap where he decided to pit a lap earlier and jumped the group. So you can argue that for sure, at that time, the traffic didn’t help, especially because as I mentioned earlier, in traffic, you start to slide around even more and then lose more of the tyres, so we struggled with that today but again, I’m not blaming anything or anyone because there’s plenty of laps in the race where you can make it up again. P3 I think was the best we could get today.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, did you have any indication during the winter tests, or even Friday here, that you could face this kind of problem with your tyres during the race?

    SV: Well, I think in winter testing everybody had trouble to make the tyres last. It seemed to be very inconsistent in Barcelona, very dependent on the day you were running, depending on the conditions. I think we ended up today with similar conditions but it’s a completely different track. I think the amount of laps covered today were not even out of sight, they were out of thought I think in Barcelona for everyone. I think there has been a certain trend; if you look at Lotus last year, looking after the tyres, if you remember, a couple of key races such as Montreal, where they seemed to be the only team to make a one stop possible, whereas I think Fernando and myself struggled and had to pit again. It was quite a messy race at the end but I think you always learn along the way. We had a plan today before the race which I think was different to Kimi’s and probably very similar to Fernando’s or Ferrari’s. Adding up with our tyre wear, I think that’s where we finished today.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Another tyre question for you, Sebastian: over the last few years your car has been known for its downforce, it’s been a really good advantage for you. Do you think that might actually be an Achilles heel this year, that you’re wearing out your tyres more quickly than the competition?

    SV: Well, it depends, I think. At the end of the day, surely there were times when we had plenty of downforce compared to other people, but I think these times are over, not just this year but way before that. I think we sometimes have the ability to compare a little bit to other people and the magic days when we were covering a lot more speed in high speed corners, I don’t think they are happening any more. I think we are still very competitive but I think there’s a lot more to it than just the raw downforce level. You could argue that with more downforce you go faster, you’re asking more of the tyres, all of those things, but I think overall there’s a certain trend where some cars seem to work pretty well in some conditions. As Kimi touched on today, he was struggling with front tyres; I think for us it was more evened out. We had both axles running away from us. I’m not sure about the Ferraris but looking at their tyres during running, it looked pretty similar to us, so especially at the end of the stints. Then again, every day can be a bit different. I think you need to be very careful to find a real trend but I think there have been a lot of races where we have been looking after the tyres pretty well and they will come again. For sure, today we were a little bit behind but next week is another race and completely different conditions, as Kimi said, so we will see what happens there.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti –  Corriere della Sera) Kimi, can you compare the feeling that you have now with the one you had in 2007 when you won with Ferrari?

    KR: For sure a win is always a  win so in that way we have a good feeling, the best start that you can have in the first race of the season, but of course many things have happened since then. Still, I won here and it’s nice to be winning the first race again. But we started in seventh place and had to fight through the positions to win in the first place and I led more or less all the race. Different years but a similar feeling because obviously we won the first race and leading the points.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Fernando, the question was already asked to Sebastian but I think it was a little bit inconclusive. We saw this weekend two completely disciplines: in practice Red Bull was dominating with a big pace difference, then all of a sudden, in the race, we have to say that the Lotus and the Ferrari were faster, whether in traffic or on an open track. How do you explain that?

    FA: I don’t have an explanation to be honest. It’s not new. We saw in the last three years that Red Bull are untouchable in qualifying and in the race everything is much closer. And we saw McLaren sometimes winning the race and sometimes us. Lotus, I remember last year, in Hungary I think, in Bahrain, they finished on the podium and in qualifying they were not as quick as the Red Bulls so we need to find some extra pace in qualifying because if not, they will always start on the front row.

    Q: (Erkki Mustakari – Finnish News Agency) Kimi, through the years we have seen that whoever can develop the car best through the season has the best fun towards the end of the year. Do you think Lotus has enough resources to keep up the work because there are not many ways you can go from here because you started by winning?

    KR: Yeah there was a big question mark last year in our team whether we can keep up with the bigger teams. Of course it’s not going to be easy for us. I’m sure we have the people, all the tools to make it. The money is a big part of the thing. For sure we don’t have the same budget as Ferrari or Red Bull or Mercedes but we could show last year that… we did pretty well on the money and the things we have. I have no doubt we have the people and the tools but of course if we get more money it will help and it will give us a better chance and more fair play against the bigger teams. Like I said, we have good plans, and if we can follow it up it might be good, it might not. It’s a long season. If you do things right it will go nicely but one thing can change the whole year. You do a few things a little bit wrong it can turn around and go downhill after that. So we just have to do our normal things, like we did last year and put the good effort into new parts and if we’re happy we keep them and if not we have to look more closely. But like I said, so far it has been good, so there is no reason why we can’t keep it up.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Fernando, the same three guys were on the podium in Abu Dhabi in the same order.  From your point of view were there any similarities in your fight against Kimi in this race compared to Abu Dhabi.

    FA: I don’t remember too well but I don’t think so. It was a very different race. I think we were closer to victory in Abu Dhabi or closer than what we were here today. We didn’t have the pace to fight with Kimi today. He was too fast for us and he did a fantastic job. I think in Abu Dhabi it was different with the safety car. I think with 15 or 20 laps to the end of the race we really had the opportunity there to fight for victory and today they were too fast.

    Q: (Cristobal Rosaleny – Car and Driver) A question for Fernando. Could you please describe the decision process about the second stop because it was the main point of your race and Felipe is not so happy with that. It was two or three laps later.

    FA: There is always the flexibility to anticipate the stop, delay the stop. There are some kind of laps that you programme before the race to do the stops as you predict more or less with the simulations etc. But there is always a margin of three or four laps shorter or longer depending on how the race goes. How the race goes is the tyre degradation that you are facing through that particular race or the traffic you are facing through that race. In my case we felt we were a lot faster than the cars in front. We stopped in lap 20 or 21. We felt we had more pace for 18 or 19 laps so it was the right time to start. It was too early then maybe that compromised the full potential of the three stops. For that we could not maybe fight with Kimi because it was too early also for three stops, I think lap 21. It was enough to jump three place though, Sebastian, Felipe and Sutil. So it was a very good decision at the time but what we didn’t know at the time was the pace of the Lotus. So they did a better job than us and maybe we did a better job than the others in the front.

    Q: (Phil Branagan – Motorsport News Australia) A question for Sebastian, a question about tyres. I don’t know if you’ve seen the weather forecast for Malaysia next weekend but it’s rain Friday, Saturday, Sunday.  Given the tyre wear of your car in the dry this weekend. Are you thinking of a conservative game plan for this weekend or is it business as usual?

    SV: Let me answer with a question back. Have you ever been to Malaysia? It rains every day! It doesn’t really make sense to look at the forecast. It’s one of those places where there’s always rain at some point in the day.  Yeah, I think it’s a completely different place. I think last year we cannot take as a reference because we had different issues with the car. I think starting with the season this year the car seems much more balance and I’m much happier, in a much happier place. So, looking forward to next week. It will a lot hotter, naturally there is a risk of rain, thunderstorms. We’ve got rain tyres and intermediates, so we should be fine but in terms of approach there’s not too much difference. I don’t think you can take this race as a reference because the circuit is too different and as I said, the conditions will be different plus the tyres we use are different again.

    Ends

    Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus after winning the Australian GP on Sunday. A Lotus photo.

  • We got into the groove: Vettel

    Melbourne,  17 March 2013: The rolex Australian Grand Prix qualification was not completed on Saturday as rains and fading light after Q1 forced stewards to conduct Q2 and Q3 on Sunday morning. So this Press Conference was held immediately after the qualification on Sunday morning.

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    2 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, surely that was the best way possible to start the season?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yes, obviously it’s been a very good weekend so far for us, I have to say. Obviously, we came out of winter testing and didn’t know what to expect, but since Friday we got into the groove, I had a good feeling with the car, so I think we confirmed that in all conditions. Obviously a bit tricky yesterday and I think it was the right decision to call off qualifying and continue today but the main task is coming this afternoon.

    And the team seemed to run it absolutely right. I think you probably had another lap to go if necessary right at the end?

    SV: Yeah, but then obviously with these conditions there is the fact of always getting quicker just because the circuit dries up and you get more confidence, you know, the exits of the corner when you turn in. You can adjust the amount of risk you take but obviously there is always the tyres. The supersoft used by the majority of people, or everyone, is very good for one lap but you can definitely feel the step down in grip, so we’ll see what happens this afternoon. But for now a perfect result for us as a team. Mark in second, so I think it’s a great way to start the race but it will be a long race. Weather-wise I’m not sure what is going to happen, probably a little bit better than it was so far but we’ll see.

    And surprisingly, perhaps, this is fairly similar to Barcelona testing in terms of temperatures.

    SV: Yeah, so that’s what we are going to find out – whether it’s similar in terms of tyre wear this afternoon. Could be quite funny. I think it will be all about watching after the tyres. We’ve had a lot of practice in winter testing, the temperatures were very different; the circuit was very different. I think that’s the main difference, even though now it seems a bit cooler than the last couple of days.

    Mark, you’re equal best ever grid position here. What are your hopes for this afternoon?

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, first of all I think it was a great job from the team. Very, very tricky in those conditions and also very easy to make errors on any side – driver, procedurally, planning, all sorts of stuff. We survived the small bullets yesterday and then also got through today’s session with not far off the maximum we could get. In the end it was very chaotic, very difficult to get all the planning right. I think all the drivers are probably quite frustrated that they didn’t put slick a little bit earlier because it was just the third sector that was a little bit wet and you’re not quite sure h0ow the slick will take – the intermediate was well out of bed, you’re not sure how the slick will go. In the end it was a good quali and as you say this afternoon we’re now in a position to have a good afternoon. Five per cent of the job’s done. We know that the big stuff’s this afternoon, looking forward to the race. Unusually we finish quali and talk to you guys and we’ve got to get ready for the race now. Certainly we’re ready for it. I’m ready. The team’s ready, so looking forward to it.

     Q: What can you do about that chap [Sebastian] beside you?

    MW: Well, yeah, there’s got to be some calls made today on tyres and strategy and see how the balance of the cars are, and yeah, so it’s going to be a tight grand prix, potentially. But also if you’re not in the window with the tyres or having the balance where you need to be… it’s so early in the Championship for all of us on these tyres and working out how we’re going to execute a long grand prix, so things can blow open as well. I think we’ve done as much as we can in Europe. As you say, temperatures are very similar to Barcelona today – if not the same. 13 [°C] track or something like that. Quite uncanny really – but that’s just the way it is. Seb’s always a strong competitor and he’s one of many out there that can go OK – but I’m confident I can have a good race.

    Lewis, looking back at yesterday afternoon, I guess it’s quite a relief to be sitting there.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Definitely, definitely, the guys did a fantastic job to get us out on time. It was very tricky out there but I’m very happy I got the job done. Obviously these guys [Sebastian and Mark] were incredibly quick but I’m really happy with the job we’ve done. And to be this far up coming into this season – I said yesterday that it was a blessing they moved it to today and it really was.

    Presumably you were able to put on a new rear-wing because it was damaged – even though the cars were in parc ferme?

    LH: Well, it was during the session, so yeah.

    Third-fastest with a new team as well, that must be a great satisfaction.

    LH: It is: it’s incredible. What an incredible job the team have done. To come from last year where they were struggling quite a lot to now. I really feel we have a car that we can really work on. It’s a great foundation to build upon throughout the year – so keep up the good work guys.

    Questions from the floor

     Q: (Oleg Karpov – Klaxon)  Lewis, Jenson is more than two seconds behind. What are your thoughts about that? Is it a little confirmation for you that you did the right choice in the winter?

    LH: I don’t look at it like that. I think our position and how the car’s behaving and how I feel in the team just confirms to me that I feel like a made a good choice. I never looked back once I made the choice and I didn’t have any regrets about it. I don’t know what difficulties they’re having but they had a fantastic car last year so I have no doubts that they’ll pick it up. Sometimes in the team, when I was there, we had rough starts but the team are very strong in putting it back together.

     Q: (Jacob Polychronis – F1plus.com) Mark, I think out of the three drivers you look the most pleased and happy. However, it obviously wasn’t ideal with the preparations for qualifying, considering it’s on Sunday morning. I wonder if you would explain how you readjust and how much of an inconvenience it is really?

    MW: We’ve been in this situation a few times, not many, but I think we had Suzuka in ’04, Suzuka again in 2010, so we’ve had a few events where we’ve had the horrible situation for everybody – fans, you guys, us, teams – to have that big delay, tomorrow trying to get that gap in the weather. Yesterday, they also had to manage the problems with the lights so all in all, you’ve just got to take the moments as they are and deal with what’s thrown at you at that period in terms of yesterday afternoon and then last night you re-group, let’s say, very very quickly But then knowing you’ve got a big day today and coming here a lot earlier than normal for a race weekend, things have to be shuffled around a lot in terms of procedure in the garage, also driver preparation. It’s really just like a Friday really, but it counts, so a short run in the morning then long runs in the afternoon but it really really counts. It’s the race, you’ve got to put everything together for. I think the experience helps as well. I think we saw yesterday with the young guys getting their head round that sort of stuff is quite overwhelming to start with probably on a very tricky circuit as well; it caught out a lot of us out so in the end experience also counts in those conditions and this scenario.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) We saw in Barcelona, in similar conditions, after some laps there was a lot of graining in the tyres. What do you realistically expect from the beginning of this race, first pit stop on the fifth or sixth lap and then plus ten or 12 laps another pit stop? What can you realistically expect?

    SV: I think it’s unknown at this stage. What we can say is that it’s surprisingly cool here today, probably cooler than we all expected but also we have to see that it’s a different circuit so we have seen that all of us were struggling a lot to make the tyres last more than a lap or two in Barcelona but this is not Barcelona. It’s much easier on the tyres but then again, it’s still pretty tricky to make our way round so we will see. We saw a little bit on Friday when the temperatures were very different and I think tyres weren’t holding up too badly but it could be all different this afternoon. I don’t know what’s realistic; it could be a couple of laps or it could be a couple of laps more. I think we need to go with what we have.

    MW: I think that it’s a product which is very very challenging for us, no question about it. There are periods where the tyre isn’t strong enough to handle the lap times a Formula One car can do, the same as in Barcelona we saw the tyres really really under incredible load, and as Seb touched on, it struggles to finish four laps in Barcelona so it’s really us understanding how we can get the most out of short runs and then long runs. It’s no surprise that some of the races towards the end of last year – Korea for example – that they were quite conservative on strategy and these ones are probably not going to be like that today, so we will learn more today and we will then pass the information on to Pirelli and maybe they can learn a bit more as well.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Sorry Seb, we didn’t have any sound in the media centre at the start of your questions. We’ve got the sound back now, so would you just give us the run-through of your pole, it looked quite easy?

    SV: Well then you should do it next time and I will take the day off. Definitely not easy in these conditions. I had a surprising feeling when I went out for Q3 because the circuit already looked very dry but obviously once we committed to the time schedule, there was no way back and I had two good runs, one on the inters and one on the dries, and on the dries I think I got into the groove and the car felt pretty much in balance similar to what I had on Friday, so I was happy and ready to push on the lap. Obviously it’s always tricky to find the limit in these conditions, especially around the fast bit: turns 11 and 12 were still a bit wet  so there was one dry line but overall pretty happy with the lap and as soon as I got confirmation that it was enough I pulled in to save the tyres.

    ends

    Sebastian Vettel during qualification on Sunday morning. A Pirelli photo

  • Vettel on pole for season opener; A Pirelli view

    Melbourne, March 17, 2013 – Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel claimed his 37th career pole position at the Australian Grand Prix using the P Zero Red supersoft, after an unusual qualifying that was split between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

    Q1 took place on Saturday as usual with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg going fastest on the Cinturato Green intermediate in the early stages. As the rain fell harder, Q2 and Q3 were postponed after multiple delays, with darkness drawing in and more rain expected.

    Meanwhile, Sahara Force India delivered a strong showing as qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix resumed this morning. Paul Di Resta qualified in ninth, while Adrian Sutil ended the session in twelfth, according to an SFI release.
    Paul: “We came here with intentions of reaching Q3 so it’s a good way to start the year. I think we got most things right today, especially the timing of the switch to a fresh set of intermediates towards the end of Q2. Ninth position is a good place to be starting and it’s on the cleaner side of the track too. It’s difficult to predict much for the race, just as it’s hard to predict the weather, but we’re in a strong place to start the race. Our long runs on Friday looked competitive and consistent so we will go into the race with maximum attack and aiming for points.”
    Adrian Sutil: “The track conditions were much better this morning, but it was still tricky and I didn’t feel that comfortable on the damp track. The key to Q2 was the timing of your lap and we probably changed a bit too early to the new intermediates because there was only one quick lap in those tyres. I had time for another lap, but my tyres were going off and I could not improve. Even so, I’m quite happy with the session and it’s not bad to end up twelfth in my first qualifying session back with the team. I can feel there is more to come and I felt good in the dry conditions on Friday, so I hope we carry that into the race.”
    Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
    “We’re feeling pretty positive with our qualifying showing this morning and our performance level is about where we expected. The conditions remained tricky with a damp and drying track, but we managed to get Paul through to Q3 and that was a clear objective. Adrian didn’t feel totally comfortable in the wet, but given that this was his first qualifying session for over a year, twelfth place is a good effort. The weather forecast for the rest of the day looks uncertain, but our strong showing on Friday gives us every reason to be optimistic this afternoon. Points should be in reach for both cars and will remain our objective.”
    Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing began the season in style taking pole position in Melbourne on Sunday morning. A Pirelli photo

    All 16 eligible drivers started the second session at 11am on Sunday using the Cinturato Green intermediate tyre, with track temperatures of 13 degrees centigrade and ambient temperatures of 15 degrees. With five minutes to go, McLaren driver Sergio Perez was the first to move onto the Red supersofts. However, the track was still not ready for slicks, with Rosberg again going fastest in Q2 on the Green intermediates and the slick tyre runners eliminated.

    The final qualifying session also started on intermediate tyres, with McLaren’s Jenson Button the first driver to go out on slicks. But with the track drying all the time, pole position was set in the closing seconds – with Vettel actually crossing the line for his lap with just one second to go.

    The final free practice session on Saturday morning was also characterised by wet weather, with Lotus driver Romain Grosjean going quickest.

    Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “The pressure was on everybody with Q2 and Q3postponed until this morning, but safety always comes first. With the risk of drivers aquaplaning on standing water, or losing control over the many slippery painted white lines that are a particular feature of this street circuit, it was the right decision. Judging the crossover point proved to be the key to qualifying today. The rapid warm-up and peak performance of our supersoft tyres enabled the leading drivers to push with confidence during Q3 even when the track was not totally dry. With not so much information to go on from qualifying, it will be interesting to see how the different race strategies pan out. Due to the low temperatures we experienced some graining on the supersoft, but it was still the most effective tyre for the conditions in qualifying.”

    The Pirelli mystery strategy predictor:

    The strategy, as usual, will depend on the weather and the speed of each car. If it rains, then the strategy is much harder to predict – and the teams will just have to rely on any opportunities that come their way.

    Likely winning strategies are as follows:

    • The fastest strategy looks likely to be a two-stopper: Start on the Supersoft / 1ststop: change to Medium on lap 14 / 2nd stop: change to Medium on lap 36.
    • The second fastest strategy is a three-stopper with a start on the Supersoft / 1ststop: change to Medium on lap 8 / 2nd stop: change to Medium on lap 23 / 3rd stop: change to Medium on lap 40.