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Category: Formula 1
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Hamilton tops FP2: Russian Grand Prix
Sochi, 28 Sept 2018: Lewis Hamilton headed a Mercedes one-two in second practice for the Russian Grand Prix, the 16th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Friday. The Drivers’ title leader beat teammate Valtteri Bottas by just under two-tenths of a second.
Hamilton, who comes into this weekend carrying a 40-point championship lead over chief rival Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, posted a time of 1:33.584 a third of the way through the session after bolting on a set of hypersoft compound tyres as the field set about qualifying simulations. The Briton’s time saw him finish 0.199s ahead of Bottas.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third fastest at the Sochi Autodrom, with the Dutch driver recording the best time of 1:33.827. That left him just under two-hundredths of a second clear of fourth-placed team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, with both driver just over four-tenths of a second off Hamilton’s pace.
After opening his Sochi account with the fastest time of the morning session, Vettel slipped to fourth in the afternoon, his time of 1:33.928 leaving him 0.543s adrift of Hamilton on a circuit where Mercedes have never been beaten in the race. The German’s Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen took sixth place in the session, though the Finn ended up almost half a second behind Vettel and 1.003s down on the P1 pace.
Best of the rest status went to Racing Point Force India’s Sergio Perez, whose seventh-place time was over 1.7s off Hamilton table-topping time. The Mexican driver was separated from ninth-placed team-mate Esteban Ocon by Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly who edged his French compatriot by just one-hundredth of a second.
Marcus Ericsson, who had made way for his 2019 Sauber replacement Antonio Giovinazzi in the morning session rounded out the top 10 with a good time of 1:35.295, 0.137s ahead of 13th-placed team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Kevin Magnussen finished in 11th place, four spots ahead of Haas team-mate Romain Grosjean. Carlos Sainz, who had given up his Renault to Russian tester Artem Markelov in the morning, ended his first session of the weekend in 12th place. Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was 14th behind Leclerc and Grosjean, with Brendon Hartley 16th in the second Toro Rosso.
The final places were taken by the McLarens of 17th-placed Fernando Alonso and team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, and then the Williams cars of local hero Sergey Sirotkin and Canada’s Lance Stroll, with the pairing more than three seconds off the pace.
2018 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 35 1:33.385
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 33 1:33.584 0.199
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 32 1:33.827 0.442
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 37 1:33.844 0.459
5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 33 1:33.928 0.543
6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 31 1:34.388 1.003
7 Sergio Perez Racing Point Force India 30 1:35.122 1.737
8 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 28 1:35.137 1.752
9 Esteban Ocon Racing Point Force India 33 1:35.147 1.762
10 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 35 1:35.295 1.910
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas 33 1:35.331 1.946
12 Carlos Sainz Renault 37 1:35.341 1.956
13 Charles Leclerc Sauber 32 1:35.432 2.047
14 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 35 1:35.568 2.183
15 Romain Grosjean Haas 35 1:35.911 2.526
16 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 29 1:36.024 2.639
17 Fernando Alonso McLaren 34 1:36.074 2.689
18 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 31 1:36.617 3.232
19 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 39 1:36.861 3.476
20 Lance Stroll Williams 35 1:37.001 3.616 -
It is a pleasure to debut and race in front of home crowd: Sergey Sirotkin
DRIVERS – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes), Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Sergey SIROTKIN (Williams), Charles LECLERC (Sauber)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Marcus, Sauber announced this week that Antonio Giovinazzi will be racing next season but you’re going to be remaining with the team in 2019, so just give us your reaction to the news about what’s happening next year.
Marcus ERICSSON: Yeah, it’s obviously disappointing to be not racing. It’s all you want to do; you want to race. It’s not good news for me, obviously. Still, I’m happy to be able to continue my relationship with the team but then yeah, let’s see. I want to race still, so I’m looking at different options on how to keep doing that and looking at everything really, what I can do, in what series and what it could be – but it’s still a bit early. It’s quite fresh, this news, so I need to look at my options. Overall, of course, I would like to stay.
Q: You said on social media ‘it’s not the end of the story – just the start of a new chapter’ but does it feel like it’s the end of the Formula One chapter, in your eyes?
ME: No. My goal is still to come back into Formula One. I think for 2019 that’s not going to happen but hopefully after that there will be possibilities to come back. That’s still the goal, to come back to Formula One.
Q: Sergey, moving onto you next. You raced here in what was GP2 but this will be your first Russian Grand Prix as a Formula One driver – so it must be a special weekend for you.
Sergey SIROTKIN: It is. It’s going to be special, for sure. Obviously being here almost every year, since F1 came here, I raced here in GP2 but it’s all quite different from being here as a race Formula One Driver. I can feel it already now, it’s a lot of attention, a lot of support, which is very nice to feel as a driver, it’s very nice to feel especially in the situation we are this year. I mean, it’s a lot more activity, it’s a bit of… y’know… I would say it’s a bit more difficult to manage all of that but I mean, I try to get the best from it, I try to get energy from it and keep going. So, it is a pleasure to be here and race in front of the home crowd.
Q: That’s the specifics of this weekend – but more generally, do you know what you’ll be doing in 2019 yet?
SS: I definitely know what I want to be doing. I’m not sure I can guarantee something right here, right now, but, I mean, I think it’s quite obvious, with the way everything is developing, I think it’s quite obvious what I want and it’s something that should happen quite soon. Yeah, I have no guarantees right now, right here, but at the same time I’m not too much worried about the future, let’s say.
Q: Valtteri, this will be Sergey’s first grand prix here in Formula One and this was the scene of your first Formula One victory for Mercedes last year – so does it bring back special memories, returning to Sochi?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Definitely. You never forget the first time. It was a good memory and it will be nice to be back here. Strong track normally. I’ve had pretty decent races so in that way it’s a nice approach to the weekend.
Q: You had more wins after this win here during last season but 2017 was the last time you won a grand prix. How do you go about turning that around this weekend?
VB: No wins for me this year yet but there’s still a bit of the season left and I come here with only one thing on my mind and that is being on the pole and winning the race.
Q: Charles, you’ve a few weeks now to digest where you’ll be racing next year, and you called it a dream come true, to be moving teams. Can we ask, in those dreams, have you started thinking about your first grand prix victory yet?
Charles LECLERC: No, not yet, it’s still very far away. First of all, I have to finish this season on a high, which is for now the main importance to me. There are still six races to go, so I’ll first try to focus on that. Obviously, it’s a dream come true to be racing for Ferrari next year – but I’m trying to take it out of my mind to focus fully on the end of this season.
Q: Focussing on that then, what is it you want to do with Sauber in these final six races. What are the things you still need to learn and work on ahead of your move?
CL: I think you can always improve. To learn, I still think I can learn in everything. So there is still a lot to learn. The target for the end of the season is to try to keep our form. It’s not going to be easy, because, as the team already mentioned, we started to focus, or the team started to focus, on next year’s car and I believe some of the other teams are still pushing a little bit to gain some positions in the championship – so it’s not an easy situation to be in, but we will try to keep our form.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for Marcus. The confirmation that you would be reserve driver obviously followed pretty immediately after Sauber confirmed its driver lineup. So, it’s not like you had to face speculation in public about what you would be doing or if you would drive for another team. So, how much notice did you get have? How aware were you that was coming? And did you have much opportunity to look at maybe Williams for next year or staying in F1 in a race role?
ME: I think when Kimi signed, I think that was bad news for me. I was still hoping but then obviously over the past weekend I got the information that Antonio had signed for the other car. And then yeah, my management were looking around a little bit but we decided to continue with Sauber and the relationship there, which we think is important. And then yeah, we go from there basically.
Q: (Andrey Kirsanov – Sputnik News Agency) My question is to Sergey Sirotkin, to our champion. As you know, the last edition of Formula 1 in Singapore, Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes, he won this edition. So what are your expectations for this edition in Sochi, how are you preparing and who are your main rivals in this time?
SS: Tricky question because everybody speaks that we are coming here to Sochi and that it should be a special event and so on and so on, but at the end of the day, in terms of preparation, how you build up your weekend, how you prepare yourself and how you do all your work with the team, it doesn’t really change much at all. It doesn’t matter if you go to Sochi or you go wherever else, every time you try to do your job, you try to do it as good as you can. If I could do anything better than I could I would do it a long time ago, I wouldn’t wait for here. So, I wouldn’t say there is anything different. I wouldn’t say anything different in terms of our opponents or whatever. So yeah, again we just try to do the best from where we are and maximise the situation and I’m afraid that’s it.
And your main rivals?
SS: It’s exactly the same as any other single race. First of all I think we should look at ourselves because I think it’s that type of track where we can have surprises, in both ways, in a good way and in bad way, and depending on that it will put us either closer or further away from the teams we want to be fighting with, so it’s quite difficult to say. But there’s not much movement around the field now anyway, so I would say nothing is going to be much different from what we saw in, let’s say, the recent three, four or five races.
Q: (Valery Kartashev – Racing News Agency) My question is to everybody. In Singapore, Lewis Hamilton said his passion for music and the fashion industry helps him to stay motivated, so my question is: do you have something outside Formula 1 that helps you to stay motivated and recharge the batteries?
VB: Yeah, I think everyone definitely has some things they have time to do between the races. I think for me personally it’s been always… I love sports. It’s a way of staying healthy and a way of getting rid of stress that we can experience with this sport. If I have free time, which I didn’t really have since the last race, but if I have, it’s nice to see the family, friends that you don’t normally get to see. Personally, I love nature, so sometimes a proper escape to hiking or some mountains or something is nice.
ME: Yeah, I’m a bit the same like Valtteri. I enjoy sports in general. I recently opened a paddle centre, so I play quite a lot of that with my friend. I enjoy that a lot. And then, I’m an ice hockey freak, so I watch a lot of ice hockey.
CL: First of all, what motivates me is the results. To me, it’s just trying to work as hard as possible to get the best result possible then on track. Then what relaxes me is just staying with the family and friends in Monaco. Nothing special to be honest.
SS: I would repeat what Valtteri says. I mean most of my life is anyway dedicated to the cars, so anything related to that – I’m never really going far away from it. Again, some type of training. I do like also to stay with the family, to go to see some nature, to be as switched off as possible at certain points from racing. So nothing really much unusual I would say.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) To all drivers, I start with Valtteri. You started third position and you became first before… at the end of the straight you got a good two from Sebastian, overtook him. And we saw this year also, Sebastian starting behind Lewis in Spa, the same situation; he overtook him after the starting grid and a long straight. Circuits like this, it’s interesting to maybe start from second position or even third rather than pole position?
VB: Yeah, it is tricky one here. It is an extremely long run into Turn 2. Last year I missed the pole by, I think, less than one tenth, which maybe in the end was good, I got a nice tow. But you also need a good start for that. I think still you would like to be on pole because from pole if you get a good start there is… I think if you look at the past, 2015 and 2016, who started on pole could keep the first place into Turn 2. It is a tricky one. Now I think there is a bit of resurfacing done, which affects position one and two. Normally when there is new tarmac it means there is more grip so potentially you would like to be in the first two places.
Marcus, you’ve raced here before, is this a circuit you can make big gains at into Turn 2?
ME: Yeah, I think when it’s a long run into the first braking zone, it’s obviously important with a good start but then you need to look for a good tow, especially these days with the heavy downforce cars, it can make a difference. But as Valtteri says, you still need a good start, to get the momentum on the people around you. But it definitely opens up a bit of a mixture of positions, because it’s such a long run, you know. Some other tracks, like Singapore, even if you do it a good start it’s difficult to make up from it, but here it can really make a difference and you can gain quite a lot of positions.
Charles, it will be the first time you race here, so is this something you look at when you come to a new circuit?
CL: Yeah, you do, but it’s quite difficult to speak when you don’t know the track. Starts haven’t been my strong point this year; I think I struggled quite a bit. But to know there’s a long straight will for sure help overtakes after the start, but apart from that I don’t really know what to say. I don’t know this track so…
Sergey, did you have a similar experience in GP2?
SS: I don’t really remember how it was in GP2, but for sure this kind of track, the speed you approach Turn 2 for the braking and the speed you actually want to brake down to for the apex, it’s quite a big offset, so you can still do something. But again, it all should start with a good launch initially. Without that, it doesn’t matter how long is the straight you won’t really be able to do much.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) In Singapore we had blue flags as a topic in the race and afterward. It seems to have a split opinion on their merit in Formula One. What are your respective thoughts on blue flags? Should they be dropped or do they still have a place? Could it be implemented differently? What do you think?
SS: Firstly, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced it as the leading car, obviously, so I can imagine that for the leaders it’s as painful as it is for us. It’s one story when you’re just finishing your race and you’re not really fighting but there are some other occasions when we’re still fighting for positions and for us it’s quite painful to find a good safe way for ourselves, first of all, to let the leading cars pass by. Honestly, I don’t think I have the best experienced to comment if I wish to keep that or if I wish to get rid of it but yeah…
CL: Well, in Singapore first of all, I would like to thank Sergey because if my strategy worked that well it’s thanks to him also.
SS: It was a pleasure.
CL: I think if it’s done well, it’s the right thing to have in Formula One but then in Singapore, it was a bit of a mess, I think. At one point, the marshals were waving yellow flags at me for several laps but I had nobody behind or more than one second or quite a lot more, actually. If it’s done properly I think it should stay but we just need to fix this issue for next year in Singapore.
ME: I think it’s always difficult with the blue flags and there are always arguments between the top cars compared to the guys they are lapping and it’s always two opinions there. I think we’ve tried 1.5 seconds, we’ve been down to one second and now I think it’s 1.2s. It’s difficult to find the perfect solution. I think it changes from track to track. In my opinion, I think 1.2s is a good compromise. It’s never going to be perfect, but I think it’s just part of the sport, part of the race and I think as it is now I think is the best solution in my opinion, that’s the most fair for both the top and the guys who are getting lapped as well. I can also understand the frustration in the case of Valtteri in Singapore, obviously, because it’s a track where it’s very difficult to get close enough but at the same the guys who they are lapping are also having a race and fighting for points so it is a very difficult subject but I think where it is now is a good compromise.
VB: Well yes, first of all I’m definitely happy to keep the blue flags. I’ve been on both sides, really. I’ve been blue-flagged many times as well. I think honestly, as Marcus says, it really depends on different tracks. Sometimes this new 1.2s rule is good and sometimes it’s a bit tricky to get close enough to trigger the blue flags, like what happened to me in Singapore but it is also going to be a compromise, it’s never going to be perfect. In the end, for all the lead cars lapping, it is the same. Sometimes you get more luck with it, sometimes more unlucky and that’s how it goes. For now it’s fine.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Sergey, what are your thoughts on the recent success of Russian drivers you met before, in two years’ time in the Formula One paddock? Is it a question of growing motor racing culture in your country or the chance to have big companies to support you?
SS: I think it’s a good question. I think it’s a bit of both generally, the racing getting more and more popular which obviously gives more chances, initially, for the drivers first of all, more like a base and I think we will see it even more in the future. Same for the companies: there are more and more companies and different organisations and so on starting to be interested in supporting the racing, whatever it could be. It could be drivers’ sponsorship, it could be like that here. Many companies supporting the track activity here in Sochi or other things similar in Moscow or whatever. Yeah, there’s definitely a lot more movement around this sport nowadays than there’s been, even when I started so it’s a good way to keep going and to improve it. I think it’s still just beginning and I think what’s going on on the base what we have today is going to come in quite a few years and I think it will be quite an impressive improvement.
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I felt like the longest race in my life… I am glad it’s over: Hamilton
Singapore, 16 Sept. 2018: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes who won the Singapore Grand Prix, the 15th round of the Formula One World Championship, attended the post-race mandatory FIA press conference along with Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, who finished in that order, here on Sunday.
Track Interview (Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: Congratulations Lewis, you are a serial winner. That’s your 69th victory.
Lewis HAMILTON: I’m spent. That was a tough race. But I have such great support here. We had a great start. The team have just never given up faith and belief in me and in Valtteri and in our ability, and it is a blessing. It was a long race. That felt like the longest race of my life, so I’m glad it’s over. Max put up a good fight as well, but what a day, what a weekend. I feel super blessed.
Q: My knees can’t take this, can we stand? A man of a certain age. It got interesting around lap 38, there was a little bit of traffic there and they were in their own battle. You had to go defensive with Max, tell us about that moment?
LH: Yeah, I was a little bit unlucky with the traffic. These guys were moving around, it was quite difficult to follow. I think Max was a little bit luckier getting by some of the guys in terms of what point on the track and the guys weren’t letting me by. Jeez, it was definitely close and my heart was definitely in my mouth for a minute but once I got clear of them I was able to put the pedal down and pull away.
Q: This has been an incredible September in your life, in all of the Septembers you’ve lived. You’ve won the Italian Grand Prix, you’ve been off launching fashion lines, you’ve come here and you’ve now taken the lead to 40 points over Sebastian Vettel. It doesn’t get much better.
LH: Definitely not. I mean they put up a good fight this weekend and I’m not really quite sure where their pace disappeared to, but as I said, I’m just grateful for everyone’s hard work, and the fans here. A lot of British flags come out Singapore, so thank you guys, love you, team LH all the way.
Q: Enjoy the moment, congratulations, fantastic moment. Max, come and join me up here. A brilliant result.
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was not bad. A shame from the first lap, but you can clearly see we miss top speed. But from there on the team had a great strategy so we could get back into second. Basically we did our own race, tried to follow Lewis a little bit and at the end we knew second was going to be result so you just bring it home.
Q: We saw you have a little stumble as you were coming out of the pit box, it looked like you were between gears, you were in second and then you went down to first. Even with that you still managed to get out in front of Seb.
MV: It was not a perfect getaway, but also behind the safety car it was almost bogging down, false neutrals, so a lot of problems but still, very happy with second.
Q: Well done, Max, great result. Seb, congratulations, but I’m a little bit confused. You were quick all through free practice on a track you’ve been exceptional on in the past, it just didn’t seem that you were in the fight today. Any ideas?
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it’s true. I think overall we were not fast enough. We didn’t have the pace in the race. But also I think we tried to be aggressive in the beginning and obviously it didn’t work out. After that I think I had a different race from the other guys, on a different tyre, and I wasn’t very convinced that we could make it to the end, but pitting wasn’t an option because you lose too much time in the pit stop. So we just focused on making it home.
Q: The hopes of the tifosi rest with you. Have you got some light at the end of the tunnel? Lewis has started to open that gap up and time’s running out. How optimistic are you for the future races?
SV: It doesn’t help. Obviously I’m mostly thinking about today’s race. I think today with the way we raced we didn’t have a chance. There might be something extra in the fact that maybe we were not quick enough but I think I said before the weekend we can only beat ourselves and we didn’t get everything out of the package.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Seb, you said it was pretty obvious what you have tried with the ultrasoft. But could you explain that a little bit, because even if you had jumped Lewis with the ultrasoft you would probably have been on the worse tyre for the rest of the race?
SV: Well, I mean, obviously the first stint was a cruise for most of it, and then Lewis was picking up the pace. Overall, if you see the gap in the end it is clear that we were not fast enough today in the race. We need to understand why. Obviously it’s largely due to how we decided to race, on which tyres, for how many laps etc. With what we did we tried to get to first position but Lewis was too quick and then… once you are ahead you can control the pace around here but we never got ahead, so it’s a bit pointless to answer.
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian, you said you and the team didn’t get everything out of the car this weekend. Can you just talk through the progression over the weekend, where you went in the wrong direction? And just in general, do you think the team is not necessarily making the right calls and doing the right things with the way they play the weekend to maximise your chances?
SV: No, I will always defend the team. I think the decision we took in the race, the decisions to try to be aggressive, if it works it’s great, today it didn’t work. Obviously it didn’t work by quite a bit and we need to look into that. But I believe we saw something and that’s why we go for it. Obviously inside the car it’s difficult to be on top of everything because you cannot see where you come out etc. We were aggressive in trying to get ahead, taking into account that we have to go through traffic, which in the end bit us also, to lose the second place. If it doesn’t work it is always easy to criticise but I will always defend what we did. Overall, we had a very strong package, both Kimi and myself, I think we looked very competitive throughout practice but in the end if you look at the race result we finished third and fifth. Like yesterday, probably not where the speed of our car belongs so that’s what I mean by saying we didn’t get everything out of ourselves.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, you said earlier that you didn’t expect to leave here adding ten extra points to your championship lead – so how big a boost is it to your title chances, winning here again, given that we always seem to think this is a Ferrari circuit?
LH: Well, we’re really just taking it one race at a time, knowing that Ferrari have had quite good pace for the last few races. Generally, whilst we’ve finished on front foot, we start on the back foot, kinda thing, each weekend – but with a mentality that, if we do a good enough job, maybe we’ll come out ahead. Right this second it definitely feels… it was a tough race. It was a hardcore race. The cars are much quicker than usual, and obviously that moment we had with the backmarkers and the crazy day we had yesterday, with the crazy week that I’ve had… the last two weeks have just been intense. So, I’m looking forward to a couple of days off, these following days – but, of course it feels great but I’ve been here a long, long time so I don’t let… I know I can’t get ahead of myself; we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to continue to remain humble and just keep working as hard as we can. So, right now, I just feel, job done. I’m really happy with it. Still lots of points available but with this performance, and this focus that we have as a team, I truly believe that we can deliver impactful weekends like this for the rest of the season. So that’s the goal.
Q: (Laurence Edmondson – ESPN) Question for Seb. Looking at the weekend as a whole, how costly were those lost laps in FP2, in understanding the tyres and putting together the race strategy?
SV: Not at all. I mean, I’ve done enough laps around here. Obviously, it’s never great if you miss out but I think Friday and Saturday morning we were first in practice, so I don’t think that made a big difference. And also, late on in the season, you know enough about tyres and you can read from other people, so I think we got all the information and the fact that I think today we made it until the end with the most laps on the tyre you probably least expect to go that far, shows that we didn’t have any problems with the tyres. But obviously, you know we had to manage our race differently than the other guys.
Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Question for Seb again. Did you guys pit earlier than expected because you misheard what Lewis reported on his tyre at the start of the race, in the early phase of the race?
SV: What did he report?
He said “I’ve got a lot left in my tyres,” and your engineer reported the opposite – which you didn’t believe actually. So did you pit earlier than expected?
SV: I did not believe it, I said it’s not true – because we were going quite slowly in the beginning, and I think a couple of laps after that, Lewis decided to push, so obviously, when your tyres are fresh you can choose the pace a little bit here and not be under threat because the corners that matter, you still have very good exits and it’s difficult to get close. So yeah, in the end I think we were fine in the first stint. We probably dropped back a little bit too much, so I think, overall, we did not have exactly the pace that we wanted – but also, if you are the first car it is always easier because you have nobody in front, you manage your tyres and then, at some point, you decide to go. Whereas if you are behind, you always need to be sort-of ready. If you drop back too much then you’re too far away, so it’s natural that, being behind, you lose quite a lot. Even if you go slower, being behind, you damage your tyres more than being in front, going slower. So, it was not a big surprise but that’s how the game is played here, and he did it very well, and they executed well. For us, we tried to do something, it didn’t work full stop and from their obviously we were more on the back foot and defence. So, we had a different race after that point.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Question to Sebastian. After starting the season so well, still got the fastest car, is there a sense now that you might be losing your grip on this championship?
SV: Well, Lewis said he didn’t expect to come here gaining ten points, we probably didn’t come here expecting to lose ten points – but, having had the race that we had, I think there’s a full justification for losing those ten points and we take it. Obviously, there is still a long way to go and a lot of points to score. I never believed that we had the fastest car by a big margin, as people said. I know that we have a very good car. I think we started the season well and then we were about half a second behind in qualifying and it was crucial to get back, which we manage to – and then we had a bit of a rough time but overall I think the speed is there but I think it’s a match in qualifying as much as in the race. Today, if anything, I think we were a little bit slower, which we need to have a look and understand – but also it’s difficult to draw the conclusion because our race, my race was very different. I was on the oldest tyres and probably on the tyre that was not supposed to last that long. You would probably like to go out and do the same stint on the same tyres, just to be able to compare – but that’s not the race that we had today. So, you know, that’s what it was this weekend. Russia, I think, has been getting better the last years for us, so it should suit our car as well. I don’t think we have any tracks to fear that are coming. I think our car is working pretty much everywhere and that’s a strength of our car, so no need to be afraid of what’s coming.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Sebastian, earlier you said you need to look as to why you were third and fifth and yesterday you had some questions about what happened in qualifying. Why is it that you can’t put your finger on what’s going wrong at the moment for Ferrari?
SV: I think first of all we’re not playing a silly game, we’re quite serious and it’s quite tough competition, so the level of competition is very high and if you have the slightest mistake obviously there are people there who are usually there to benefit from it. I think today, you know the race that we had showed that Max was there straightaway to benefit. Maybe sometimes you are lucky and it’s not showing as crucial but today it caught us and what we tried didn’t work and also caught us out so it didn’t help but I’m happy to try, I’m happy to try being aggressive to try and win. That was the ambition and especially on a track where it’s difficult to pass you need to try and figure something out. Yeah, but overall I think it’s not the result that we wanted and it’s a disappointment because we came here thinking that we are very strong. I think we were but not strong enough, not as strong as we probably wanted to be in terms of raw race pace. Yesterday, I still believe we could have had a better day but it’s history so – same as today – we need to look forward. There are a couple of differences that are standing out about yesterday, about today, things that we can learn from the others, because they simply did a better job if they finish ahead of us by half a minute, so clearly they did some things better than us.
Q: (Daan de Geus – Formula 1 Magazine NL) Max…
MV: They are like the Finnish, you know…
Q: (Daan de Geus – Formula 1 Magazine NL) Max, you and Red Bull earmarked this as the best opportunity of the second half of the season. How important is it to deliver with a good result, and does it change your expectations heading into these last six races?
MV: No. I mean. Yeah. Well, it’s quite straightforward. This race was better for us than Monza, for example, so I think we maximised the result with the problems we had with the engine which was a shame, because I was very happy the safety car was gone because I was almost stalling on the track so even my pit stop was not great. Yeah, looking forward to now… I don’t know which track will come up as maybe good again. Maybe Mexico a little bit but we lose a lot on the straight, so I’m not expecting it to be like last year but you never know. You always have to be positive I guess and try to be there if something happens.
Q: (Joost Nederpelt – NU.NL) Max, was there any point in this race – pace-wise – where you thought you could win this race?
MV: Laps to the grid, I think. No, you can’t pass, it’s impossible. You could see that once in the first stint when we were all going quite slowly, even if you wanted to push a bit more you can’t get close so you’re just following a train. Yeah, you just have to do your own race, try to look after the tyres and that’s what we did, that’s why we could do the overcut which of course was great and once I was in second again, I know I would just try to follow Lewis to the end and bring it home.
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian and Max, you had two battles, one on the first lap…
LH: Do you have a question for me?
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) You were just too good.
MV: Oh thanks, mate!
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Sebastian and Max, you had two battles, one on the first lap and one after the pit stop. Could you just talk through those battles and if you could have done anything differently to reverse them? Could you have stayed there first time Max and Seb could you have got ahead second time?
MV: They were fine. I was a disappointed the first one and I guess Seb was a bit disappointed the second one.
SV: That’s a good summary. I had a very good start, I tried in turn one but Max was covering the inside and from there I tried to line things up for the next corner which was successful and I got a bit of a tow from Lewis down the straight so that worked well. The pits it was tight so I lost it again, it was a pity, obviously.
Q: (Kate Walker – New York Times) Lewis, the perceived wisdom for most of this season is that you’ve got the second best car on the grid but you have also got the biggest advantage in the championship. Where are you finding these performances where you are able to outstrip both your car and your competitors’ equipment?
LH: Good question, thank you, I appreciate it. It’s hard up here because it’s like an anti-climax. Naturally it was a hard race but we need to keep the energy up because this is a special moment for me and for the team. Was it an exciting race, or not really for you guys? That’s probably why. I definitely heard a couple of people snoring here. Honestly, it’s just great teamwork, very very diligent engineering. The guys obviously back at the car, we’re constantly learning about the car and refining it but we’re bring out upgrades every now and then but it’s pretty much the same times as they (Ferrari) bring theirs. But it’s more understanding the tyres, it’s more getting more comfortable with hitting the nail on the head with the balance of the car and really just eking out each little bit and each weekend we’re got incredible communications. The debriefs are really really solid, there’s a lot of direction that comes from the debriefs. I give quite long debriefs nowadays and we work to the point that we leave no stone unturned, there’s not a single stone unturned each weekend that we arrive and so it’s a real collective, it’s just the strongest the team has ever been in terms of how we communicate. We’ve got great people in the team, both at the factory and here and it’s a real privilege to work with everyone and also we’re all so comfortable with each other and there’s a huge confidence within the organisation. And in terms of my driving, as I said, I have these others things that I do outside which are stimulating. I know there were questions at the beginning of the week whether it is distracting and naturally you come here and if I put one foot wrong, people are going to point to the things that I do outside as a result of it. You can see, it doesn’t affect my performance and if anything those things they add to the performance really. Healthwise, I’m super healthy. As I said, I went on a plant-based diet last year – here, actually, I started here last year – and it’s been the best year of my life physically.
Ends
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Faultless Hamilton cruises to Singapore win, stretches lead to 40
Hamilton wins in Singapore on Sunday. An FIA image Singapore, 16 Sept. 2018: Lewis Hamilton delivered a faultless drive from pole position to victory at the Singapore Grand to stretch his FIA Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship lead over Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel to 40 points.
Vettel was only able to manage third place after a bright start in which he passed front-row started Max Verstappen on lap one faded when the Dutch driver was able to reclaim the position during in the pit stops and Vettel was forced to run a conservative second stint on more fragile tyres than his rivals.
At the start pole position man Lewis Hamilton made a good start to keep Red Bull driver Vestappen at bay. Vettel, starting third, also made a good getaway and he on the approach to Turn 7 he was able to set up a move on the Red Bull and stole P2 as they swept through he corner.
Further back, Esteban Ocon and Force India team-mate Sergio Perez tangled, with the result that the French driver was bounced into the wall at the exit of Turn 3 and the Safety Car emerged.
When racing resumed at the end of lap four, Hamilton held his lead over Vettel and Verstappen, with the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas in fourth place ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen and the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo, who had held his grid position after the start.
The race then settled and by lap 14 Hamilton had eked out a 2.2s lead to Vettel, with Verstappen a further 2.3s behind. Daniel was now 3.5s behind fifth-place Räikkönen.
Vettel then made a pit stop on lap 14, taking on ultrasoft tyres. Mercedes responded by pitting Hamilton at the end of the following lap, though the championship leader was sent out on soft tyres. Max
Hamilton emerged from his pit stop ahead of Vettel, who then found himself lodged behind the slower Perez for a lap. The delay allowed Red Bull to pit Verstappen for softs, and after a 2.5s halt the Dutch driver emerged ahead of Vettel to once again hold P2. Vettel was soon reporting that his ultrasoft tyres wouldn’t last the remainder of the race and with track position counting for everything on the street circuit, the Ferrari driver was forced to drop back behind Max to nurse his ultrasoft tyres to the end of the race.
After Raikkonen and Ricciardo made their stops, with the Finn on softs and Ricciardo on ultrasofts, Hamilton once again led, with Max 4.5s. Vettel was now 2.6s behind Max, with Bottas fourth ahead of Räikkönen and Ricciardo, who was 10.8s behind the second Ferrari.
The race again began to settle, until shortly after the midway point, when Perez in attempting to get past Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, inexplicably swerved left and hit the right side of the Williams. Sirotkin was able to continue but Perez was forced to limp to the pits for long repairs and then received a drive through penalty for causing the collision.
At the front, Hamilton was now getting tangled up in backmarkers and that briefly allowed Verstappen to close in but the race leader was able to thread his way through the traffic, however, and the gap was soon back up to 3.3s.
Hamilton then controlled the pace with ease and after 61 laps crossed the line to take his 69thcareer win with 8.9s in hand over Verstappen who scored his sixth podium finish of the season to date and the 17th of his career overall.
Behind him, Vettel took third ahead of Bottas, Räikkönen and Ricciardo. Fernando Alonso was seventh for McLaren, with Renault’s Carlos Sainz eighth in front of Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and the second Renault of Nico Hulkenberg.
2018 Singapore Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 8.961
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 39.945
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 51.930
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 53.001
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 53.982
7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:43.011
8 Carlos Sainz Renault 1 lap
9 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1 lap
10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
11 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1 lap
12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1 lap
13 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1 lap
14 Lance Stroll Williams 1 lap
15 Romain Grosjean Haas 1 lap
16 Sergio Perez Racing Point Force India 1 lap
17 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1 lap
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 2 laps
19 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 2 laps
Esteban Ocon Racing Point Force India -
Hamilton takes pole with a blistering lap: Singapore GP
Hamilton takes Singapore pole on Saturday. An FIA image Singapore, 14 Sept. 2018: Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix with a blistering lap of the Marina Bay Street Circuit that left him three-tenths of a second clear of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton’s title rival Sebastian Vettel could only manage third place in the qualifying session of the night race, the 15th round of the Formula One World Championship here on Saturday.
In Q1, after Kimi Räikkönen set the early pace with a time of 1:38.534, red Bull’s bypassed the Finn with a time of the 1:38.153. Verstappen then slotted into P3 with his opening lap of 1:38.715.
Vettel, who seemed to back out of his opening lap, then found clear air to post a time of 1:38.218. The was good enough for P2 behind Ricciardo. Haas’ Romain Grosjean then arrived with a time of 1:38.685 to shuffle Verstappen down to fifth, as the clock counted down towards the final runs.
In the drop zone as those runs began were McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley and Williams drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin.
It was Ericsson who made the jump to safety in the dying seconds. The Swede vaulted to P13 and that dropped Haas’ Kevin Magnussen to P16 and out of the session. Eliminated behind Magnussen were Hartley, Vandoorne, Sirotkin and Stroll.
The end of the session was nervous too for championship leader Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes elected to run the first session on ultrasoft tyres and as better times came in from rivals in the closing stages Hamilton plummeted down the order. Fortunately for the Briton, he dropped only as far as P14 and he was through to Q2.
In the second session, Ferrari sent Räikkönen and Vettel being out on ultrasoft tyres looking to perhaps set a time good enough to be able to start on the set. Hamilton took top spot with a time of 1:37.344, with Ricciardo slotting into P2. Verstappen then bypassed both with a lap of 1:37.214. Vettel, meanwhile, was lodged in 10th, while Räikkönen was all the way down in P15 and telling his team the ultrasoft was “just too slow”.
In the final runs, both Ferrari drivers moved to hypersofts and Räikkönen jumped to the top of the order with a time of 1:37.194. Vettel caught traffic on his run and when Bottas improved to P3 after the flag, the Ferrari driver dropped to P6 behind Ricciardo.
Eliminated at the end of Q3 were McLaren’s Fernando Alonso in 11th place, followed by Renault’s Carlos Sainz, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, his team-mate Ericsson and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly.
In the first runs of Q3 Hamilton staked an early claim to pole position with a superb lap of 1:36.015. Verstappen kept the championship leader in his sights by taking P2 with a time of 1:36.344 and Vettel slotted into P3, although the German was almost six tenths of a second behind title rival Hamilton.
And that was how the top six order stayed. Verstappen went quickest in the second sector on his final run but he later said he was forced to back off in the final sector as he experienced an engine issue.
Vettel, too, began well, running quickest in the first sector but the lap slipped away from the German and he had to settle for third place ahead of Bottas, Räikkönen and Ricciardo.
Seventh place went to Force India’s Sergio Pérez, with the Mexican finishing ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Force India team-mate Esteban Ocon and Renault’s NIco Hulkenberg.
2018 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:36.015
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:36.334 0.319
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:36.628 0.613
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:36.702 0.687
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:36.794 0.779
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:36.996 0.981
7 Sergio Perez Force India 1:37.985 1.970
8 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:38.320 2.305
9 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:38.365 2.350
10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:38.588 2.573
11 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:38.641 2.626
12 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:38.716 2.701
13 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:38.747 2.732
14 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:39.453 3.438
15 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:39.691 3.676
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:39.644 3.629
17 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:39.809 3.794
18 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:39.864 3.849
19 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:41.263 5.248
20 Lance Stroll Williams 1:41.334 5.319 -
Kimi Raikkonen, 100th of a second faster than Hamilton: FP2
Singapore, 14 Sept. 2018: Kimi Räikkönen went quickest in the second practice session ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, though the Ferrari driver was just one-hundredth of a second clear of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Räikkönen, who will move from Maranello squad to Sauber in 2019, set the pace in the early exchanges on ultrasoft Pirelli tyres, setting the best time of 1:40.510 to edge Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
When the field moved to hypersoft compound tyres for their qualifying simulations, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas jumped to the top of the order before Hamilton bypassed him with a time of 1:38.710.
The Ferrari pairing of Räikkönen and Vettel had yet to complete their runs, however, and when they did it was Monza pole-position man Räikkönen who took top spot, 0.011s ahead of Hamilton.
Vettel might have deposed his team-mate but an error on his lap saw him hit the wall as he exited Turn 21. The impact damaged the right-hand side of the German’s car but he was able to drive back to the pits. He did not return to the action, however, and without a quali sim to his name, Vettel finished the session in ninth place.
In the earlier session Red Bull Racing had annexed the top two spots, running on hypersofts, but in the second session their qualifying simulations saw both drivers finish more than half a second off the pace, with Max Verstappen to the fore in third place with a time of 1:39.22 and Daniel Ricciardo a tenth further back in fourth place.
Verstappen’s session was also hampered by a mechanical problem, with the Dutch reporting an engine issues on the exit of the Turn 7. He later told the team that the problem was persistent.
Behind Ricciardo, Bottas finished in sixth place, just under six-hundredths of a second off the pace of the Australian.
Renault’s Carlos Sainz was next, though his seventh place was secured with a lap nine tenths of a second off the pace of Bottas and almost 1.6s behind Räikkönen. Eighth place in the session went to McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, just under two tenths faster than Vettel, while Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top 10 in the second Renault.
2018 Singapore Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 35 1:38.699
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 20 1:38.710 0.011
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 28 1:39.221 0.522
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 33 1:39.309 0.610
5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 33 1:39.368 0.669
6 Carlos Sainz Renault 36 1:40.274 1.575
7 Romain Grosjean Haas 33 1:40.384 1.685
8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 31 1:40.459 1.760
9 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 12 1:40.633 1.934
10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 35 1:40.668 1.969
11 Sergio Perez Racing Point Force India 30 1:40.774 2.075
12 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 37 1:40.812 2.113
13 Esteban Ocon Racing Point Force India 33 1:40.870 2.171
14 Charles Leclerc Sauber 37 1:41.062 2.363
15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 32 1:41.154 2.455
16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 32 1:41.164 2.465
17 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 38 1:41.542 2.843
18 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 36 1:41.615 2.916
19 Lance Stroll Williams 17 1:42.141 3.442
20 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 36 1:42.181 3.482 -
Leclerc is a long-term commitment and the decision is taken by me: Arrivabene
Arrivabene at the FIA Friday press conference. An FIA image Singapore, 14 Sept. 2018: Team representatives Maurizio Arrivabene (Ferrari), Frédéric Vasseur (Sauber) Guenther Steiner (Haas), and Gil de Ferran (McLaren) attended the customary Friday press conference of the FIA ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, the 15th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship here on Sunday. Transcript of the Friday press meet:
Maurizio, please can we start with you? Welcome. There have been lots of announcements coming out of Ferrari this past week. Your 2019 driver line-up is sorted, with Charles Leclerc replacing Kimi Räikkönen. Talk us through how and why that change has taken place?
Maurizio ARRIVABENE: How and why? It’s not clear? OK, I try to be clear. When you make some choices like this, that are related to the driver, you don’t have to look only at the short-term commitment but also at the long-term commitment. A long-term commitment means it’s not only for next year, it’s for the future of the team – how you are going to grow a young talent, and what you want to expect from him for the future. That’s very simple. It’s not a decision taken by Mr Simpson; it’s a decision taken by me, discuss it also with the top management, that is taking into consideration many, many factors. This has nothing to do with the respect that I have for Kimi, that is great, as a human being and a driver, but if you have to do a choice, thinking about the future of the team, I think we made the right choice, for us and for Kimi. And the way that we wrote the press release was absolutely intentional. We were using a different style, breaking a bit the rules of Ferrari, that is normally going to communicate this in one line, broke the rules, giving also tribute and respect to Kimi for what he has done with us and wishing him the best for the future, and the best for the future it’s here.
Maurizio, just a second question on that: Charles Leclerc has had a huge impact on Formula 1 this year. Just tell me how excited you are by him, as a driver and what you think he can achieve in the sport?
MA: The first mistake is to put too much pressure on the shoulders of this guy. It could be, potentially, a huge mistake. I signed with Charles in November 2016 or November 2015 the first contract in the Ferrari Driver Academy. In that contract we already designed and committed and signed and wrote his future in Formula 1, as we have done with Giovinazzi, the same thing. And that means we change a bit also the way that we organise the Ferrari Drive Academy but also how we are going to develop the talent for the future. So Charles Leclerc is not a big surprise, he’s one of the talented drivers that we have in Formula 1. Thank God, it’s a guy that he grew up with us and I hope that he is going to continue his career with us, at least until 2022 for sure. Having said so, if you look at the overall situation in the paddock, it’s an important sign that all the talent they are giving to Formula… look at Mercedes. They make a choice a couple of years ago with Bottas, a young driver, nearby a champion like Hamilton. This guy of McLaren for next year: they have Carlos Sainz with a guy that is considered a rookie. Next year Sauber have Kimi with Mr question mark and if you look at Red Bull they were brave enough to have Verstappen nearby Gasly. There is nothing strange in all of this but I think the good signal to Formula 1 is that we are striving to look for, to create the future champions.
Q: Thank you, Maurizio. Gil, if we can turn to you, like Ferrari, as Maurizio said, you have opted for youth, particularly in one of your cars. What is it about the performance of 18-year-old Lando Norris that made him a must-have for McLaren?
Gil de Ferran: Well, a lot of things, you know. I think, first of all, his racing record is impeccable. All the way from karting – he was the youngest world karting champion – throughout his career. And certainly what I have been able to observe every time he is in the car is… he’s a natural. He adapts very, very quickly, even in very unfamiliar conditions, with an unfamiliar car. Many times he is immediately on the pace and I think he’s also displayed a level of maturity during his Formula 2 performances this year that certainly I have been looking at more closely, that has been quite impressive and made us think that this is a talent for the future. I think we certainly believe he’s got tremendous long-term potential and we decided to go with that.
Q: With Carlos Sainz new to the team as well, there is certain lack of continuity on the driver front. What sort of impact do you think that will have?
MB: Certainly every time you have two new drivers it’s a more challenging situation because you have to learn how they are, how they operate. Everybody operates in a slightly different way. Certainly, as a team we aim to support the drivers the best we can, taking into account their differences. It certainly will take a little while for us to understand each other, how the team operates, how the drivers operate and tailor that support individually to Carlos and to Lando. Carlos is going into his fifth year of Formula 1 and although he is very young he is quite an experienced driver. Like I said before, he has shown quite well against different team-mates, so I think we’re very confident we have a good pairing.
Q: Thank you, Gil. Guenther, with Ferrari’s line-up, sorted for next year, where does that leave Haas with regard to your driver choice for 2019?
Guenther STEINER: I hope that we will announce our drivers in the next two to three weeks, so we will let you know when we are ready to announce it.
Q: Can you just give us your thoughts… I’m not asking for names but the performances of your current drivers?
GS: I think they’re doing pretty good! What more do you want to know – yeah, the money, the names, everything! I think we are performing pretty good this year, car-wise and driver-wise. We a few hiccups with one of the drivers in the beginning of the year but lately I think we are performing where we should be performing. Our drivers, at the moment, for us, looking in the future, we are a young team so I don’t think we are ready to develop any young drivers if you want to hear that.
Thank you for that.
GS: A pleasure!
Fréd, thank you for waiting. Yesterday in the press conference, Kimi wasn’t that forthcoming when asked about his move to Sauber, so can you just put a little bit of flesh on the bone for us. How did you persuade Kimi to continue his career with your team?
Frédéric VASSEUR: I don’t want to say, like my future driver, ‘why not?’ but I think for us coming from where we were last year… I had a look this morning on the FP1 of 2017, I think it is a huge opportunity to have in our car, in the Alfa Romeo Sauber, one of the three world champions who will race next year. It’s a huge opportunity for the team, for the brand, for everybody. We know that we are quite a young team also and we need to have someone leading the team with a huge experience and I think Kimi will fulfil all the parts of this.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Maurizio. How concerned are you by the errors being made by your lead driver in several races this year, and questionable race management decisions by the team – and what are you doing about them?
MA: Oh my God! Again! OK, I start from the second one and I want to be clear, once and forever. I mean, I would ask some of you, all of you, who is so crazy to give team orders to a driver at the start of the race? I mean, we do our thing with the maximum professional effort. Before the race we are looking at the video of the start of the race, our team manager is giving instruction on the best line to follow to the driver. The only team order you can tell to the driver at the first corner is “guys, I would like to have both of the cars OK.” All the rest, I mean, it’s nonsense. I explain to you the reason why. Kimi, in the case of Monza, was in pole position. Do we agree for once on this? He was in pole position right? Sebastian was 8m from him. How you think that Kimi can look on his side where Sebastian is? In your opinion, the order is “Kimi, please slow down when you start and don’t worry if Hamilton and all the others, they are overtaking you.” What are we discussing about? That is the answer to your question. And then, team order, do you think the team orders, they were invented in Monza last weekend? I don’t think so. It’s 28 years that I’m in Formula One and I always heard team orders. There are many ways to give it to the team: before, during, after. That’s not important. The problem in Monza is that you have no time to give team order to anyone, because at the third corner it’s happened what has happened. So, this is the reality. I mean, don’t expect me to give team orders to the driver at the start of the race, looking forward to the first corner. It’s too dangerous and it’s crazy.
And your assessment of Vettel’s performances this year?
MA: You call it mistakes but if you look in Formula One everybody is making mistakes. Bigger or smaller. If we are a team, we fail and we win together so I don’t want to point my finger at Sebastian. I mean, nobody was happy after Monza but think about the rest of the team. If in Monza I was pointing my finger at Sebastian, think about a problem on aero, a problem on the pitstop, a problem on the engine. The guys, they are responsible for the different areas, they could think ‘OK, if he’s pointing the finger at Sebastian, next time it’s my turn.’ It’s not what I want. The only mistake you see in front of you is me. I’m responsible for the team. When the result is not coming, it’s my responsibility. Not the responsibility of Sebastian or the engineer or the responsibility of the mechanics. It’s my responsibility. If you want somebody to blame, he’s in front of you. The job was done already. I tell you, you don’t need to continue, but if you want, I’m still here! But something that is very important, I accept any criticism because in three and a half years I didn’t want anything, OK? So I accept the criticism from everybody, especially from the people who won before me – but in good faith not in bad faith. Because bad faith is not correct. I’m a correct person and I would like to hear comments that are in good faith, and then I’m accepting everything. As I said, I didn’t want anything.
Q: (Joe Saward – Auto week) Maurizio, now you’re feeling talkative, can you talk about Ferrari’s attitude to the budget cap? Who makes the decision and what is your thinking and has it changed recently?
MA: I mean, you talk in general about the budget cap. Of course the objective of everybody is to save money, to reduce costs. Then, the question is not the ‘what’, it’s based on the ‘how’. How do we want to do it? How do we want to maintain Formula One at the pinnacle of motorsport as it is? How do we want to continue to develop cars that are beautiful, also for the public. I mean, it’s not an easy equation. Everybody, they go sometimes their way but I think at the end we can find the solution. I was looking at the car presented a couple of days ago by Ross. It’s a good exercise, I was asking our engineers what they thought about this, they said it’s a bit underwhelming in their opinion and it looks like an old champ car. But, you know, it’s an exercise. Sometimes we go up here to have this kind of result. I think this is the game that everybody plays. Concerning the future, you mean the Concorde agreement of course. Starting from the point, I spoke with our CEO and everybody, they want to save money, as I said at the beginning, to reduce the costs, not to save money, they are two different things. It depends how you do it. The decision, it is something that is not mine because it is going to be a strategic decision that is involving the overall group. I mean, if in somehow accepting an agreement that is not taking into consideration where the Ferrari is in the market and the DNA of Ferrari, I repeat, it’s a kind of strategic decision and it’s not under my responsibility. Of course, I give all the information we discuss about this but he is the person that is going to talk with the appropriate people.
Q: (Gaeton Vigneron – RTBF) Sorry to not be original but another one for you Maurizio. Starting from the point that Giovinazzi could go to Sauber, Kvyat could go to Toro Rosso, you could lose your two simulator drivers. My question is, are you ready for that, have you got an idea to get another one to fulfil this role – and Stoffel Vandoorne could be a driver for that?
MA: We are always ready for everything. No concern. You will see about the future of Giovinazzi I think in the next few weeks, so I’m not concerned at all.
Q: (Cheng Jin – Car and Fan) There’s a lot of rumours surrounding the future of Mick Schumacher because if he wins the F3 championship, he will get a super licence, so for Gunther and for Frederic, neither of your teams have announced their driver line-up for next year. Will you be interested in him? And for Maurizio and Gil, will you be considering putting him into your driver academy?
GS: I think there is quite a hype about Mick Schumacher and he’s doing very well at the moment in Formula Three. We haven’t looked at it, as I’ve said before. We, at the moment, as a young team, we prefer to go with drivers with experience, but I think there is a future for Mick Schumacher in Formula One so let’s see what he’s doing in the next years and what his plans are. Maybe he doesn’t want to go straight to Formula One.
FV: Yes, so far I don’t know if Mick has the 40 points for the super licence but honestly, I think there is a huge step between F3 and F1 and with the small number of test days we have during the winter, I think it’s – I don’t want to say impossible because we will see – but it’s quite difficult to do the step and it will make sense probably for him to do Formula Two or something like this. But he could have a link with a Formula One team, he could do some FP1… There are many ways to prepare for F1.
Q: One of those ways could be as a simulator driver, Gil. Would McLaren consider him?
GdeF: Look, obviously he’s doing very well in Formula Three and certainly he has a shot for the championship and the Formula Three championship is a very difficult one and I think a very good indication of how good you are so clearly he’s very good. We have not had any contact with him but we say as McLaren we are always looking throughout the motor sport arena globally, in a way. I think I would second what Frederic said: in a way I wish we had more opportunities to be able to work with young talent, perhaps more testing and different things like this, to be able to establish a relationship and help in the development of drivers like Mick.
MA: Concerning Mick Schumacher, the most important thing is to let him grow without giving pressure. The recent results were very very good and I wish to him a great career. With a name like this, that wrote the historical pages of the Ferrari history, I think the door at Maranello is always open of course, but without burning the step, that is, a Schumacher family decision but let the guys have fun. I always repeat this, being focused, concentrated but at the same time have fun and to grow up slowly but certainly. Then we will see about the future. How can you say no, in Maranello, to a name like this?
Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Fred, what do you expect Kimi to bring to your team next year that you haven’t got already and can’t get elsewhere?
FV: Clearly Kimi has huge experience in F1, I think he already told that yesterday. For the team, we are building up every single department and I think he will be very supportive in the process. I think from aero to design office to track engineering, tyre management, I think everybody in the team is more than welcome to have Kimi on board in the future. It’s a step forward for us for sure. This is on the technical side and on the more marketing and commercial side, for sure it’s a huge push and if you have a look at what we had last week in terms of social media, so it was probably the first time in our lives that we have so many connections. On both sides, I think it will be supportive for us.
Q: Fred, are there still a lot of people at the team who can remember him from 2001?
FV: Some, yeah. For sure, I was not there but some guys came to my office saying ‘ah, superb that Kimi’s back.’ But I don’t want to consider the fact that Kimi’s coming back that we have to think about the future, not about the past.
Q: (Joe Saward – Auto week) Fred, talking about Mr Question Mark, can you tell us how many possible Questions Marks there are? Is it just two drivers we’re looking at or are there more drivers to be taken into account?
FV: Please, the last two weeks for me have been a bit in a rush on the driver market and if I can have some days off from this? After Singapore we will sit down with all the persons involved in the discussions and we will take a decision quite soon because I think it’s also good for the team to have a clear answer but it will be soon.
Q: (Jake Michaels – ESPN) Maurizio, you said earlier that Kimi’s move from Ferrari to Sauber next year is the best thing for Ferrari and for Kimi. Can you explain why that’s the case and why the best thing for Kimi isn’t to stay at Ferrari?
MA: It’s quite simple. I also said that it’s very important to look at the situation of the team in perspective, perspective meaning two or three years. So in my opinion, that is justifying enough our choice to have a young driver for next year, to grow up and that’s it. It’s not a decision that is look on the actual situation or only to next year. My job is to look forward to the future of the team. That was the justification of the choice.
Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Maurizio, just to follow up on that, Kimi said yesterday it wasn’t his decision and wasn’t his choice. Can you explain how he took the decision and did he try and persuade you to change your mind? How did he feel about it?
MA: I think Kimi was funny also yesterday during the press conference. I try to be funny too. What did you expect Kimi to tell you, that Homer Simpson took the decision? Of course I took the decision but I have to say that the relationship with Kimi is so good that he understands. It’s not only a question of telling him this is the decision. If you do my job properly, it’s to take him through the process, and I took him through the process of the decision and he didn’t even try to say ‘yeah, I would like you to change your mind’ or something. He’s a professional driver. Then I heard many other things like ‘ah, you know, telling him in Monza was the wrong time.’ Think about if I had told him in Belgium and Sebastian was winning the race? Kimi was in the same position and then it was wrong to tell him in Belgium. So the right time is not written on the paper, but what is written on the paper is that when we sign contracts with a driver, we sign a contract with professional drivers. I always talk with my two drivers as professional drivers and I’m expecting from him the maximum of professional effort and to use all their professional skills and Kimi is one of them. Kimi was so nervous and so unhappy that I told him on Thursday, if I’m not wrong, in Monza but he was so unhappy that he made pole position on Saturday. We’re talking with professional drivers.
FV: I have to make him unhappy ever single weekend!
MA: Yeah, in fact that’s what I was thinking afterwards, because when I read some criticism and I said I accept the criticism, I was thinking OK, if it’s like this, I’m going to make him unhappy every weekend so he’s going to give us the pole position. Guys. We are talking about professional drivers not kids that they are driving at the luna park.
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Championship is still going to be tough: Hamilton
Thursday Press Conference in progress at Singapore. An FIA image Singapore, 13 Sept. 2018: The FIA Thursday Press Conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix of the Formula One World Championship was attended by Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso).
Transcript of the Press Conference:
Q: Kimi, if we could start with you please. You’ve been generating a few column inches this past week. Can you just talk us through what happened and why you’re on the move next year?
Kimi Raikkonen: I guess you know what happened. I don’t know what else you want to know. This is what happened. As we’ve said many times before, it’s not up to me, it’s not my decision in the end. Anything after that is obviously my decision but this is the outcome. At least we have an outcome.
Q: You say it wasn’t your decision to leave Ferrari, but it was your decision to go back to Sauber, so just talk us through why you’re doing that?
KR: Why not.
Q: What is it about the team? On current form there is quite a performance differential between Ferrari and Sauber, so what have you been told…
KR: Yeah, but then there’s a lot of differences between all the cars, you know. If you take other teams, there are not many cars, if you take this year, that are on the same level. That’s how it has always been. I mean, see what happens in the future so…
Q: But, Kimi, what have you been told about the performance? Tell us why you want to go back to Sauber?
KR: Because I want to. Why do you try to make it so complicated? I don’t know anything more than you guys, purely where they have been finishing. Obviously I don’t know what will happen next year, nobody knows what will happen next year when it comes to the speeds of the cars and the teams and obviously, we can always guess but we will see what we can do. Obviously, I have my reasons and that’s enough for me. I don’t really care what others think and as long as I’m happy with my own reasons, it’s enough for me.
Q: And you’re still passionate about racing? The fire…
KR: No, I’m not actually. Just by pure head games for you guys, I happened to sign and I’m going to spend two years there just not being happy.
Well, Kimi, thanks for the insight.
KR: No worries.
Q: Let’s move on. Kevin coming to you now: this weekend is your 75th grand prix, a bit of a milestone for you. Do you feel you’re part of the F1 establishment now?
Kevin Magnussen: I don’t know really. I haven’t thought of it like that. I didn’t even know it was my 75th race, so I’m just enjoying… it’s the best time I’ve had in Formula 1, at the moment. It’s great fun and I’ll see how it goes this weekend and will hopefully have a good race.
Q: Have you had any further thoughts about what happened between you and Fernando Alonso at Monza and will it affect your approach to qualifying here in Singapore?
KM: I’ll try to stay away from Fernando as much as I can! I think it was a pretty extraordinary thing that happened and it’s not something that will happen too often I think.
Q: Thank you. Brendon, coming to you, it’s your first time here in Formula 1, so can you just talk us through the preparations you’ve done for this grand prix. It’s hot, it’s a long race, just talk us through what you’ve done?
Brendon Hartley: Yeah, so everyone has told me that it’s the most physical race of the year, not only because of the heat but also the focus and stamina it requires is a long race and not many breaks on the tracks. In terms of training, not many changes. I think all of us drivers are very race fit. We’ve had a long season already and many races to warm up to a tough one like this. I’d say most of us drivers did a bit of heat training over the last week or so and for me, it was just adding a couple of extra layers on when I was training on my bike. I came out a couple of days early as well, just to get used to being here. Actually, it doesn’t feel as hot as I expected. I think in previous years it’s been hotter, but nevertheless, it’s going to be a tough old race. On top of that, I spent some time in the simulator, learning the track as best I can before hitting FP1 tomorrow.
Q: Expecting a few Kiwis in the crowd I guess?
BH: Yeah I actually me a few already on the streets of Singapore. It’s reasonably close for us, it’s halfway, so I’m kind of halfway home. There should be a few expats around and the Aussies always seem to give me a few cheers, so I think they try to adopt me as their own as well.
Q: We’ve heard from Kimi about his move to Sauber next year. What can you tell us about your plans for 2019? Have your talks progressed with the team?
BH: Not really chatting at the moment. I have a contract going forward. Obviously, there are always options and whatnot. I’ve been saying it for a while that the best thing I can do is focus on one race at a time and doing the best job I can. I know, and I’m confident about the job I’ve been doing behind the scenes with the team. I know I’ve got stronger every race during the season. The results don’t exactly show that, but I know that I am strong and I have been strong in the last five races and there have been a few circumstances which meant I wasn’t able to score points. I seem to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time a lot of the time but I’m also looking at myself, and what I can do better there. Honestly, I’m just focusing on doing the best I can one race at a time, and I hope that I’m on the grid next year, which is my goal.
Thank you, Brendon, good luck this weekend. Lewis, on paper this is meant to be a bit of a bogey track for the team, but you keep winning. You’ve had two victories here with the team. What are your expectations ahead of this weekend?
Lewis Hamilton: Honestly, I never even have expectations every time I come to a race, I must just tell you that. I guess ultimately our expectation is for us to give it our all and try to perform as well, if not better, than in the past races. Collectively, as a team, we have done a tremendous job in the past races and we want to try and keep that quality of performance.
Q: Your championship lead is now 10 times greater than it was at this stage last year – 30 points as opposed to three points in 2017. Talk us through that buffer. Is that a factor in your head and how you approach the race weekend?
LH: Honestly not. It might be subconscious but I’ve not really thought about it. I don’t change the way… at the moment there’s no reason to change. There are a lot of points still available so the approach is exactly the same as it has been all year long. It seems to be working, so we’ll just keep that up for as long as we can. But we do expect there are going to be some difficult races ahead. Obviously, Ferrari have been ahead of us for the past few races, so keeping up with them, if not passing them, is going to be tough.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Abishek Takle – Mid-day) A question for Kimi. At what point did you know that you wouldn’t be driving for Ferrari next season and when did the Sauber talks actually start?
KR: In Monza I knew, Obviously I know people from there [Sauber] from the past and basically, it started after that.
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Kimi, you said you still know people at Sauber and you’ve obviously kept ties with the team. Has it always been a bit of a thing in the back of your mind that it might be a nice thing to do later in your career, to go there, back to where it started?
KR: No. I don’t think it’s always been there. Obviously, you never know in the end what will happen. This is just how it ends up to be going actually, and yeah, I wouldn’t say there have been plans for a long time that this is going to happen, so…
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, you have said that you are only interested in winning. Do you have to find a new target for next year when racing with Sauber?
KR: I don’t know. I don’t think… I mean, obviously, the aim is always that. I mean, is it realistic? Who knows? You can only aim for the best, best positions and see what comes up.
Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Lewis, since we last saw you in Italy, McLaren have announced that Lando Norris will be driving for them next season. Just want to get your views on having a fellow Brit on the grid – and also, as a youngster, would you seek him out to give him advice at all?
LH: I wouldn’t give him advice. Obviously, if he asked for it, he could get it if he wanted. If I’m really honest, I don’t really look at nationalities. I don’t look down the order and think; ‘there’s another Brit’, or ‘there’s another German,’ or anything like that. I just… that’s not something that really appeals to me. England’s always producing good drivers. They have them; there’s quite a lot of them. It’s not like Formula One’s never going to have a British driver, so… yeah, wish him all the best.
Q: (Beatrice Zamuner – Motorlat.com) Question to all four drivers. What are your thoughts on the idea of fielding a third car to the grid.
KM: I think it’s kind of… it sounds quite exciting. I think it would be great to see three Mercedes and three Ferraris, but then from there, I don’t know whether it would be good to have 30 cars on the grid. I think the pitlane would be quite tight as well. It could be good, it could be bad. I don’t really know.
LH: I quite like the idea of more cars. More teams maybe, rather than three drivers in a team – would be a handful.
KR: I think if would be nice to have a lot of cars but then, I don’t know. So many things that it will change. It’s pretty difficult to work it out.
BH: From a drivers’ point of view I think it would be great to have more cars. From a team’s point of view and all the other logistics that would entail, I don’t really know, it’s not my place. It would probably make 2019 contract negotiations a bit easier! But yeah, actually, from a drivers’ point of view it would be cool. I’m also used to having a few more teammates than maybe some of the other drivers on the grid.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Question to Lewis. Obviously, you went to Shanghai for your fashion launch, you went back to New York, you’re now back here in Singapore. The other drivers talking about preparing and getting in shape. Is your ability now to step off the plane and switch from fashion business to F1 business? Do you find the ability to do that easier now in your career? And is that what keeps you fresh, coming into this week?
LH: It’s not that I find it easy. As soon as I leave the races I’m able to switch off. I’ve got, obviously other things that I’m doing, and in between, trying to fit in the training, for example, in the last week, has not been easy. But that’s not really how every single week goes for me – it’s just a hectic time for me with a lot going on in the outside world for me. But yeah, I mean, I’ve travelled a lot more than I have all year long in these two weeks. But I think yeah, from experience I’ve been able to move around even more than I have these past two weeks and still arrive and be able to switch into race mode. So, there’s not a single moment during those two weeks, whilst I have those other things going on, there’s not a single moment that I’m not thinking about racing, not thinking about the championship, how I want to arrive. Make sure, knowing that we’re coming to a difficult race, that you need to see if you can bring more to. So, there’s not a moment that I don’t think about it.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Just on that Lewis, do you think it’s a bit of a gamble tying the two together? The fashion and the travelling and the Formula One and winning the Championship.
LH: Not at all. Just referring to the question before, I get a lot of energy from these different things that I do. I find it stimulating and I think you’ll see that my results have shown that for the past several years. As I’ve said, I’ve travelled a lot more than I have this year. This has actually been the year I’ve travelled the least, at least in the last five years, so…
Q: (Masahiro Owari – Formula Owari Masahiro) Lewis, I’d like to ask about the Japanese Grand Prix, a couple of weeks later. Last year you broke the course record in Suzuka. Are you confident to break it again this year? And how important is winning at Suzuka for you, and for the Championship.
LH: Naturally, it’s very difficult to say how important that race is going to be from now, because we’ve got this race to go – but every race is obviously as important as the other – but we will, no doubt, if it’s dry, break the record again this year. Our car is two to three seconds faster, whatever it is, than it was last year, so someone will break the record for sure, continuously throughout the weekend. And it’s such a great race, as we all know. It’s such a great circuit that everyone loves driving. It’s going to be pretty crazy through that first sector with the amount of downforce that we do have on our car. So, I think everyone can be excited for that.
Q: (Ralf Bach – Sport Bild) Lewis, what do you think about the current Ferrari philosophy to let their drivers fight each other? It makes your life a little bit less difficult in the races. What do you think about it?
LH: Ferrari’s philosophy to let their drivers race? I honestly hadn’t even noticed it, if I’m really honest. They’re racing – it’s nothing to do with me. I don’t see how it makes my life… how does it make it less difficult? I still have to fight this guy (Raikkonen). How does it make it less difficult? If you watch the races, it’s more likely the position that they’ve put themselves in as opposed to the position we’ve put ourselves in. Valtteri’s been in the position to help in different scenarios. I don’t think you’ve seen many races where it’s been the same for them.Q: (Candra Kurnia Harinanto – Jawa Pos) Kimi, have you already thought that you will end your career at Sauber?
KR: There’s a big chance, for sure! I’m not interested in any numbers or records, purely what I feel is right for me and that’s it. We’ll see what happens in the future.
LH: How many seasons will it be?
KR: No idea. I was two years doing holidays.
LH: Yeah, but with two more years, how many seasons will that be in Formula One? Sixteen seasons.
KR: Yeah. Not a lot.
LH: Still a lot. I think it has to be admired.
KR: We’ll see. Hopefully I’ll stay healthy and all those things.
Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) Kimi, there have been some reports that you could be interested in taking up a management role at Sauber, once you’re done racing, whenever that is. Is this something you have on your mind for the future?
KR: There’s zero discussion on that. Obviously I’ve signed my contract as a driver and I hope I stay there as a driver. Who knows what happens in the future, in two years or whatever. When it’s all said and done, I’ve no idea. I don’t know myself. There’s always speculation and everything but I don’t have any contract about that.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today NZ) Brendon, there’s been a bit in the media about what Dr Marko has said about possibly ten drivers looking for a seat at Toro Rosso. Obviously, you’re one of those and that you need to improve. Have you been given any idea by him what he means by improvement or by the team, what they mean by improvement?
BH: Actually I’ve been improving all year and I haven’t really had a direct discussion about an exact result but it’s clear I haven’t finished in the points enough times, when you compare with my teammate. Some of that was out of my control, some of it part in my control but honestly, like I said before, I’m just focused – one race at a time – on doing my job and I’m very confident of the job I do behind the scenes and also I know that I’ve been improving the whole season. Yeah, just focused on Singapore this weekend. It’s a big opportunity actually for us at Toro Rosso. Historically the team’s done very well here. Last year they took fourth place with Carlos in some tricky conditions but if we take the last two races, we think this would be a strong opportunity for us. Everyone can see that I’ve been strong in certain scenarios but haven’t been able to capitalise so I think if what you’re referring to what he’s saying – I haven’t been following the press – but probably I need some more results in the points.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today NZ) Some more luck, maybe?
BH: There’s a bit of that too but I need to try and create as much luck for myself.
Q: (Stefano Mancini – La Stampa) Kimi, will you help Vettel to win his championship this year?
KR: I can only drive one car, obviously. There’s always a lot of talk, a lot of things which can be helpful, can not be. It’s always easy to say that this and this will happen but in theory, it’s so difficult to get it right in many ways so we will see what happens in the racing, if we’re close to each other and this and that. Obviously, we know our rules; it’s pretty simple.
Q: (Jake Michaels – ESPN) Lewis, you’re obviously in a tight battle with Ferrari this season but how wary are you of Red Bull this weekend and do you expect to see them fighting for the win?
LH: Not really sure… I’ve not spoken to the team as to… they’ll let us know in the meeting we have coming up, whether or not Red Bull will play a role in this weekend’s race but they’ve been there or thereabouts in quite a lot of the races, so you have to assume this is usually a good race for them. I think they’ve stopped developing their car quite a long time ago to focus on next year’s car, from what I’ve heard, so they’re just driving with what they have, that’s what I heard. I think this weekend, it’s a downforce circuit, they’re always good on their rear tyres as well so this should undoubtedly be a strong weekend for them, as it was last year.
Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Kimi, you’ve made it very clear that you’re racing for Sauber and carrying on racing because you want to but, as was talked about earlier, you’re carrying on to an age where a lot of drivers will have stopped, so what is it that Formula One gives you personally that makes you want to keep going?
KR: Racing, that’s about it.
LH: Talking to you guys.
KR: Yeah. Best time of the weekend, for sure! No, but honestly, I always said that I will stop when I feel it’s right for me. I don’t need to comment on how I feel. Obviously, the racing is the part that I enjoy most and that’s why we are here. Obviously, it’s always been a big part of the race weekend, all the other stuff which is normal for us, but it’s not the reason to come here. The reason is to drive and race. It’s not the big part of the weekend any more as it used to be because obviously everything changes a bit but that’s the only reason, really. The other stuff that comes with it, it’s very normal, it’s always been there. It comes with the package. It’s not often that you get a package where you only have the good things. It’s OK. We all know each other. It’s the same answers, same questions every time so it’s not too difficult.
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Formula 1 is a really exciting place, feels Chloe Targett-Adams
Following the unveiling of Formula 1’s draft 2019 schedule, F1’s Director of Promoters and Business Relations, Chloe Targett- Adams, look back on the key deals that have kept classics on the calendar, looks ahead to F1’s 1000th grand prix and explains why she believes F1 “is a really exciting place right now”Excerpts from an Interview:Are you happy with the shape of the 2019 schedule and what F1 has achieved, especially with regards to recent developments that ensure continuity for some of F1’s classic races?It’s always a really positive outcome when we renew long-standing promoter arrangements, such as with Belgium, and most recently with Japan and Germany. Having 21 races again is a big achievement for us and these races are important for all fans of Formula 1.It’s always a challenge when you are looking at the calendar. There are so many different factors that come into play. We’re working with each promoter on what’s going on in their region, in their city and their major events calendar, whether there are logistical, weather challenges etc. There are always going to be some unfortunate clashes, but we do the best we can to create the most viable calendar possible, a schedule that we hope keeps fans happy from March right through to the beginning of December.Last year the football World Cup complicated the scheduling of races, leading to the triple-header. Were there particular scheduling hurdles to overcome this time?The triple-header was a unique situation and it’s not one we are looking to repeat, because obviously it imposes incredible challenges on personnel and teams.When we look at scheduling our F1 calendar, we’re always aware that there are other sporting events happening – the Wimbledon men’s final around the time of Silverstone, NASCAR races around the time of the US Grand Prix and so on. There’s also the Rugby World Cup in Japan next year, at the same as the race in Suzuka, and there are other motorsport events across the year that we need to consider.We also look at what’s going on in the region, in the city. There can be religious festivals we try to navigate around, such as the Qingming festival in China in early April. It’s complex, so we have to work out what is achievable to create the best outcome for Formula 1, the teams, our race promoters, our partners and our fans.Are you pleased to be able to once again include the German Grand Prix on the schedule? Was it important to maintain its presence?Very much so. An incredible amount of work went on behind the scenes to ensure that we achieved a positive outcome in Germany.Following the previous German Grand Prix in 2016 there wasn’t much optimism about the future of the race, but this year’s event, which attracted a large and passionate crowd, proved that Germany still has an appetite for F1. Was that upswing a factor in getting a deal done?I think when we last raced in Germany in 2016 it was a very different place. It is hard really to understand how different when you have a year without an event. In not having a German Grand Prix in 2017 it probably meant that excitement about the race was something that needed to be seen first-hand, understood, and believed once more. So I think this year’s race did have a positive impact and we are looking at recreating that in 2019 and onwards, hopefully.Also, it is a big achievement to have Mercedes’ support in promoting and marketing the event within Germany. We’re extremely pleased that Mercedes has come on board. Hockenheim circuit was also incredibly proactive. I think they definitely saw a change in the F1 environment since their last race and that created a great platform on which to reach a good outcome to renew.How important is it for F1 to retain what you might call ‘heartland’ events such as Germany?It’s very important and if you look at what we’ve achieved this year in renewing with Belgium, Germany – not to mention Suzuka, which is a core part of the calendar and which celebrates its 30th grand prix this year – we are really determined to preserve the sport’s heritage as much as possible.It’s not just those events, though; it’s about maintaining continuity across the schedule. We were successful in renewing with Singapore and China last year as well. Asia is a very important market for us. It just shows it’s a really positive future for our race promotion business going forward.There are a couple of small changes from what might be called the ‘traditional schedule’, with Austin and Mexico swapping places and Singapore being back-to-back with Sochi. What were the reasons behind those moves?Mexico’s event has normally fallen around the Day of the Dead festival, which is a huge celebration in Mexico and which the promoter builds into their event spectacle. It was important for them to maintain that connection and build up to that event with the Formula 1 race scheduled on the October 27th date. It was a collaborative process with each of our race promoters and again I think we arrived at the right solution given what’s happening in the region at the time.With Russia, Singapore and Japan, ultimately it’s not easy to do any of those races back-to-back. It’s an incredible logistical feat. For the Sochi-Suzuka leg this year, we have six Jumbos going in and out and a very tight timeframe in Japan. So we were looking at how to make those races work in the most efficient manner for teams, mindful of all those factors. Talking with our internal teams and the race promoters, it seemed to come about that Singapore to Sochi and then rest for a week and before going to Japan, was the best outcome that we could reach with all those factors taken into consideration.In terms of the timing, you are gaining time by going from Singapore to Sochi, so there is value in that and we also look to keep the continuity in broadcast times between Singapore and Sochi to engage with the widest audience, which is important.Next year, of course, will see Formula 1 stage its 1000th grand prix, which is taking place in China. Do you have any plans in place for that event yet?Firstly, I’d say let’s not forget that Australia and Bahrain come before China and each is as important as any other race. Each is a massive celebration, though of course we will also be building up to that 1000th grand prix. Reaching our 1000th race is an incredible achievement for Formula 1. There are some plans in place and a lot more being considered as we look for ways to really excite all the fans around such a milestone. I can’t give too much away now, but watch this space.We’ve had a sequence of renewals, a solid draft calendar and plenty of enthusiasm about the future of races that might a few years ago have been the source of speculation. Can you point to a cause for that kind of optimism?We are now proactive and working with our race promoters collaboratively to see how we can deliver that year round value they are looking for in partnering with Formula 1, meeting their objectives and also engaging as many fans in their race locations with the race and also our many new initiatives from F1 Experiences to E-sports.Ultimately, I think Formula 1 is an incredibly exciting place right now. We’ve got a great calendar in place for 2019 and I am already working on 2020! -
Hamilton stuns Vettel with a fantastic drive in Ferrari’s home race: Italian GP
Monza, 2 Sept 2018: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a sensational 68th career win at Monza, beating Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen after starting third in the Heinekan Italian GP of the Formula One World Championship on Sunday.
Räikkönen was forced to settle for second place ahead of the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas after being passed by Hamilton nine laps from the flag. Vettel finished fourth after dropping to the back of the field following a coming together with title rival Hamilton on the opening lap of the race.
At the start, pole position man Kimi Räikkonen held his advantage to take the lead through the opening two turns. Behind him, though, Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who started from P2, was being pressured by title rival Lewis Hamilton and there was brief contact in Turn 1.
Hamilton continued to press and launched an attack around the outside of Vettel’s Ferrari into the second chicane. There was minimal room for manoeuvre and the pair collided, with Vettel being sent into a spin.
Hamilton was able to continue in second place ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had muscled his way past the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas as the start, but Vettel dropped to the back of the field.
At the back of the order there was also a collision at the start between Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson and Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley. The New Zealander suffered a blown tyres and he was forced to pull over at the side of the track.
That brought out the safety car and under the caution Vettel pitted for soft tyres.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo also pitted, taking on supersofts, and the pair were soon making their way through the field, with Ricciardo initially to the fore.
When the Safety Car left the track, Hamilton made the most of the re-start and passed Räikkönen into Turn 1. The Mercedes’ driver’s hold on the lead was brief, however, as Räikkönen fought back in the second chicane and muscled his way back to the front.
In the midfield, Vettel passed Ricciardo at the start of lap nine and by lap 17 he had hauled himself up to ninth place, but he was now 27.3s behind leading team-mate Räikkönen
Räikkönen made his sole stop, for soft tyres, on lap 20. Mercedes feinted a stop on the following lap but with his pace good Hamilton was told to stay out.
Behind them, Ricciardo’s race came to an end on lap 24 when smoke began to pour from the rear of his Red Bull. The Australian quickly pulled over and retired, his latest spec Renault engine appearing to let him down.
Ahead, Hamilton made his stop on lap 28, taking on soft tyres, but he emerged behind Räikkönen. Bottas was yet to pit, however, and as Hamilton rejoined over two seconds behind Räikkönen, Bottas was told to keep his fellow Finn behind him.
Bottas finally made his pit stop at the end of lap 35. He took on soft tyres and emerged some 3.5s behind Verstappen. Räikkönen now led again but with worn tyres that were beginning to cause the Finn problems. Hamilton, just half a second behind the Ferrari driver, was on much fresher rubber and began to exert heavy pressure.
Vettel, meanwhile, was busy making his way back towards the leaders after a second pit stop, for supersoft tyres, and on lap 39 he claimed fifth place. He was now 13.4s behind Bottas with 14 laps to go and lapping much quicker than the Mercedes man who was battling to get past Verstappen.
At the front, Hamilton made the decisive move on lap 45. He tucked in behind the Finn on the pit straight and then darted around the outside of the Finn’s Ferrari into Turn 1 to take a lead he would not relinquish.
Behind Räikkönen, third-placed Verstappen Max was now coming under pressure from Bottas. The Finn went to pass in Turn 1 but Verstappen took a very wide line and there was contact, with Bottas being forced to cut the chicane.
The incident was placed under investigation and Max was subsequently handed a five-second time penalty for causing the collision.
After Hamilton took his 68th career win ahead of Räikkönen, Verstappen crossed the line in third, but with Bottas and Vettel within five seconds of the Dutchman, the Red Bull man was classified in fifth place, from where he started the race.
Romain Grosjean took sixth place for Haas, while Racing Point Force India took their second double points finish in a row, with Esteban Ocon seventh and Sergio Pérez eighth. Ninth place was taken by Renault’s Carlos Sainz and the final point on offer went to Williams’ Lance Stroll.
2018 Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes –
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 8.705
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 14.066
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 16.151
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 18.208
6 Romain Grosjean Haas 56.320
7 Esteban Ocon Force India 57.761
8 Sergio Perez Force India 58.678
9 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:18.140
10 Lance Stroll Williams 1 lap
11 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1 lap
12 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1 lap
13 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1 lap
14 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
15 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1 lap
16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1 lap
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 lap
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 30 laps
Fernando Alonso McLaren 44 laps
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso
