INDIA in F1

Category: Formula 1

  • Make sure that the teams can be run in a sustainable way: Kalteborn

    Make sure that the teams can be run in a sustainable way: Kalteborn

    Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber team principal at the FIA press conference on Friday. An FIA image

    PART TWO: TEAM REPRESENTATIVE – Maurizio Arrivabene (Ferrari), Christian HORNER (Red Bull), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Christian, there was talk of the Red Bull for this Spanish Grand Prix being a substantial step ahead of the car that started the season. How different is it in the end, and how satisfied are you with the performance on day one?

    Christian HORNER: I think it’s probably been overstated slightly in various media outlets but it’s a pretty significant upgrade, it’s an aerodynamic upgrade, most of which is pretty visible. It’s the knock-on from those elements and probably the bits that you can’t see that obviously involve a great deal of work, a great deal of time and effort from back in the factory. They’ve done an incredible job to get it all turned around and on the car in time for today’s running.

    Q: Cyril Abiteboul was with us a few moments ago in part one and told us that the full potential of the Renault 2017 engine would really come with the third iteration of the season. What’s your view?

    CH: Well I was trying to ask him the question at the back that you wouldn’t give me the microphone for in the previous version, because I was very keen to learn when that third edition will come. Obviously for us, the sooner the better. It seems that Renault has chosen a path that is showing true potential but I think they’ve got some complications in terms of being able to extract the power unit’s full potential. Hopefully they’ll be able to release that sooner rather than later.

    Q: Yesterday, here in the press conference, we talked with the top drivers about the driver market and possible moves for next year. Is it the case that you know already that both of your drivers are locked into your team for 2018?

    CH: Yes, absolutely.

    Q: Monisha, moving on you. Obviously you announced the Honda deal which means that eight months from now you’ll be bolting a Honda into your 2018 car to go testing. How far up the road from where they are today do you expect them to be at that point?

    Monisha KALTENBORN: Well, we certainly expect that they’ll have sorted out all the issues they have been facing so far and we expect that to also happen still in this season. Looking at the talks we’ve had with Honda and having seen their facilities, knowing how determined they are, we have no reason to doubt that.

    Q: Are these conversations that you’ve had with them for some time? In Honda just generally about participation together with you?

    MK: It’s been going on for some time but, you know, we looked at all the options we had. We had a couple of talks going on for a long time.

    Q: What does the Honda partnership allow you to do from the point of view of sponsorship, driver choices etcetera, does it open things up for you?

    MK: Well, regarding drivers, I’ve said before, at the end of the day it’s the team’s decision, and also the team’s responsibility to have good drivers. And like we’ve done in the past, even with our current engine supplier, Ferrari, that we’ve discussed these kind of issues with the key partner. And we have also taken drivers from our engine supplier because it was the right thing to do there. It’s something that we’re open to and we’ll see how it pans out. In terms of sponsorship I think it’s far too early to look at these things. We’ve just announced the deal. So we’ll see how that develops as well.

    Q: Maurizio, could you have imagined that, after four races, your driver would be two wins to the good and 13 points in the lead of the Drivers’ Championship, much of that, I guess, you would say, by being bold, which is what you called for the team to be, you and Sergio Marchionne.

    Maurizio ARRIVABENE: OK, we are happy, of course, we were not expecting to be here but I’ll add that the hard work is paying back, so, I mean I’m very, very pleased for the overall team, for the guys that are here, the guys in Maranello, that they are working very, very hard. Having said so, I saw how Red Bull was growing here in Barcelona and how they are competitive. Mercedes have to defend the title of the World Champion, and we are still focussed on the race after race work and we try to do all our best to make the race interesting.

    Q: We spoke with Toto a few minutes ago in part one of this press conference about the dramatic-looking car that Mercedes have brought here this weekend and asked him if he was satisfied with the performance of it. What are your thoughts on how of the balance of competitiveness between you and them, where that lies now going forwards through this weekend and the next few races ahead of us?

    MA: One of the lessons that we learned last year is to look at all of our competitors. Visually the Mercedes is very impressive because yesterday we were looking at the Mercedes but we were looking also at the Red Bull and you have two schools: one that is the one of Mercedes that is quite interesting, creative and surprising, the other one is the Red Bull school where maybe something is not really evident but it’s extremely efficient. We need to take in consideration what they do, to be able to compete with them and to continue our development. One of the mantra this year is that we are looking, if there is something interesting, we are investigating, but we follow our way, we have our programme and we want to continue to follow our programme without distraction.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Kate Walker – Motorsport network) I’m sure you’re aware that the FIA are currently celebrating all of the volunteers who allow motor sport to happen in every category. I was wondering if you could give us your thoughts on the importance of celebrating these men and women and any sort of positive experiences you’ve had with circuit officials around the world?

    CH: It’s quite incredible the job that they do, not just at Formula One events but racing events and categories around the world, from club racing upwards and quite an awful lot of them are doing it out of the love of their hearts, their passion for the sport. Again, all the medical assistance, the doctors etc etc, I’m only full of admiration for them and without them we quite simply wouldn’t be able to operate. They make it look easy but do a wonderful wonderful job.

    MA: I’ve a good case that is when I was young and crazy for Formula One that I tried to apply to be a voluntary marshal but my objective was only – the money was not a lot in my case – just to be near by the car and to see the race. Then they asked a couple of questions, they discovered that I was just a Formula One supporter and they threw me out. This is really… I have to say Chapeau to the Federation because that means that the guys are not only passionate for Formula One, they are here  working for free but they are also experts in the world that they are doing for all of us who have a great respect for all of them.

    MK: Well, I think it’s very important that you have a day like this because this is really the moment that you can focus on all the volunteers who are doing such a great job. They are doing it really out of passion and without them, like Christian said…  such difficult  situations can be sorted out and just have such a smooth way things go so we should try to really show, like this, so many more examples where people are in the sport at whatever their level, whatever category , that it takes so much more than just what you maybe see during the race, the teams or the drivers, it takes so many more people to bring across all this.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Maurizio, we saw in P1 big time differences between the Ferraris and the Mercedes. Did you have any issue and how was it so big? And the second question: do you believe that Mercedes still have an advantage on a single lap and it’s tough to catch them now?

    MA: I received the same question in Australia on Friday, I remember, and the gap in FP1 was the same, it was one second between us and Mercedes. On that occasion, I answered the question as I answer today. Chapeau to Mercedes for what they have done but we are not going to change our programme. We have a programme for this weekend, starting from Friday, improving Saturday and looking also for Sunday. This is what we want to do and what we are focused to do. Having said that, as I’ve said many many times, they are the World Champions and they have to defend their title of course. They are stronger, they are the reference for all of us and what we have to do is just try to create them some problems.

    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Maurizio, nice to see you here on a Friday. We’re seeing more of your drivers on a Sunday but a lot less of you; Liberty Media want the teams to do more for the fans, more media. I think I’m right in saying your team is probably the one that does less media this year than last year. Could you perhaps explain some of that and is that because it was a distraction last year, is it stress reduction or… what is the thinking behind it?

    MA: I’m surprised, honestly, because we were doing social media for two races on Thursday with one driver and then we continue to do what we were doing last year, so what are we talking about? This is my simple answer. Liberty, of course, they would like to have more and more and more interviews but they are also talking about digital so we try to balance the first two races and now we are back to what we were doing in the past so my opinion… all of you have the newspaper (version) but they also have a digital version of the newspaper so I don’t see where the problem is. We are really focused on what we are doing, that’s true.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Maurizio, just to follow up on that, but I thought you would usually speak after the race…

    MA: Yes, if you received the press release, I’m putting a statement on paper what we are going to think. It’s also true – your colleague mentioned Liberty before. One of the things we are pushing for is to have the driver that somehow they are the heroes of the show. The role of the team principal is to manage the team, to put the driver up, to do their job. At the moment, we are really really focused and I am focused with all the team to do their job and I tell you, it’s quite hard to fight with a monster like Mercedes and to look at what these guys are doing, so that’s a question of concentration, to give statements to the media when we have to do it, on Sunday after the race. That’s it, there is no other intention.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Sure, I was slightly distracted. What I was going to ask you – though it’s useful in a sense than just a statement, that we can ask you things and you can respond to them rather than it’s just a blank statement that we can’t really get back to. But that’s slightly by the by. I was actually going to ask you, before that, was would you rule out having Fernando Alonso back as a driver at Ferrari or not?

    MA: Ah, this is the real question! Is there a reason why you want me to talk… It’s not different to the answer that I gave to you before. You need to understand the spirit of our team this year. We are really working as a team and the two guys, the two drivers, they are part – an integral part – of this team. We are so concentrated on what we are doing, we are working so hard, all together that the conversation about contracts is not a priority. I don’t want to be… I tell you the truth. We are working well together, we are feeling very very well together so we want to do our best, to work on the performance of the car and for us it’s… the contract is not a priority. The atmosphere is great, why we have to start talking about something that is distracting us? We look each other in the eyes and we understand that we are a team.

    Q: (Martin Vriezema – NOS) Christian, we just had an interview with Max and he said in a very realistic way ‘we are still the third team.’ And there was also a bit of frustration, maybe he was a little bit sad even. How do you deal with this ambitious driver who realises he’s not the number one yet… which also counts for Ricciardo of course, and do they ask for a different approach from your side?

    CH: Well, first of all, he’s probably right in his observation that yes, today we are still currently the third team but I think it has concertina-ed, I think we are closer to Ferrari and Mercedes than we’ve been at any points so far this season. I think we’ve bought some performance to the car. There’s still some fine tuning that needs to be done and understanding of what we’ve introduced but I don’t sense any frustration with him. He’s focused, he’s motivated, he goes for it on every lap that he’s out on the track. He’s enjoying being a Grand Prix driver. Of course he’s hungry and ambitious but that applies to Daniel as well. I don’t sense any frustration; he’s certainly not requesting any change to our approach. He can see the effort that’s going on behind the scenes, the hours that people are working, because it is a sport at the end of the day and department after department are competing against some enormous adversaries in the likes of Ferrari here and obviously Mercedes.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Christian, about six or seven years ago you seemed to be totally opposed to any form of cost-control, cost caps etc, yet recently you’ve been reported as coming out as saying that you’re in favour of some sort of budget cap. Why do you think it could now be controlled when a couple of years ago it couldn’t be and also some input from the other two if they would like to comment on that as well?

    CH: Well, firstly, just to clarify, I’m not at all in favour of cost caps. I think they’re unworkable, un-policeable and our biggest concern throughout that whole discussion four or five years ago was how on earth do you equate what’s going on within a subsidiary company of an automotive manufacturer within research and development? So I’m not in favour of a cost cap, what I am in favour of and I would expect probably every Grand Prix team to be in favour of is to try and control the amount that we’re currently spending through perhaps simplicity of the regulations, perhaps de-cluttering the regulations because Formula One moves at such a pace that every area is under scrutiny and that means spend and that drives spend and I think there’s an opportunity with a new commercial rights holder in conjunction with the FIA to really look at what are the key cost drivers and go upstream and deal with those and then that will naturally have an effect on the outcome of how much you can and can’t spend, and there’s certain aspects that, you know, people sitting in the grandstand today have no idea about and probably know interest about in terms of some of the technology that we’re all spending a fortune on, so I think simplification would definitely be an effective way forward.

    MK: Well, it’s good to hear that from Red Bull because we, together particularly with Force India, have been exactly saying this, that we need to get the costs down and at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter to us if you have a budget cap or you have other tools of cost control, they should look at prescriptive parts if you makes the rules simpler. The important thing is to bring these costs down and actually make sure that the teams can be run in a sustainable way and then focus on the show and I think now, listening to the new owners of the sport, we certainly see that they share this view and they will actively work on this, I hope very soon, and present their proposals.

    MA: I think before talking about a cost cap we need to understand how in the future the actual commercial owner wants to grow the business of Formula One, to create more interest and also to work on the split-up of the relationships of Formula One and how we are in the hands of everything we are doing, especially (inaudible). I remember that we were talking about digital – I mean Liberty, not us – they were talking about digital that is representing only the one per cent of the potential commercial business for the future, so this is an area that we need to work on. Concerning the cap, I always said that we are in favour of cost reduction, then there is not a perfect formula to do it but for sure we are ready to take into consideration any kind of sporting regulation that they could help to reduce the costs without touching  the performance, because if you reduce the costs and the performance is going down then you have no spectacularisation somehow. So I think this is what I said in the past and what I continue to remark for the future. It’s also important to understand how is the commitment of the so-called small teams because compared to other sports they are not small at all. I think we also need people who are really committed to this sport. They want to work in the profession and they are also well-equipped financially. I think the worst image that Formula One could have is people who are building up a team, they are coming in for two or three years and then they are going out. Those are question that we need to ask of ourselves together with, as Christian said very very well, together with regulations  that are helping all of us to reduce the costs.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Christian, you have had a couple of brake issues this year which have hurt your race performance. You seem to be on the same brake material as Ferrari; I’m assuming therefore it’s not related to that. I wonder if you could just talk us through that. It’s a bit strange.

    CH: We’ve had two issues, one in Bahrain and then one obviously at the re-start in Sochi. Whilst the outcome was the same, the failure was different. In the failure that Max had in Bahrain… it was actually a crack that allowed hot air to blow over a seal on the caliper which then failed and then he lost hydraulic fluid in the caliper itself, so that was an incident within the brake drum. The incident with Daniel was far harder to understand because it was after a safety car so the car had been going slowly, the brake temperatures were all under control and then he obviously had what was an instantaneous failure pretty much at the restart and there’s been an awful lot of work and analysis going into that and we believe we have a solution that we’ve tried and tested hopefully today.

    eom/FIA transcript of the press conference

  • Disparities in FOM payouts, not acceptable but we will wait for liberty…: Bob Fernley

    Disparities in FOM payouts, not acceptable but we will wait for liberty…: Bob Fernley

    Bob Fernley at FIA press conference on Friday. A Sahara Force India image

    PART ONE: TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault), Robert FERNLEY (Force India), Toto WOLFF (Mercedes)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Today is the FIA Volunteers’ Day and there will be a ceremony later this afternoon on the pit straight to honour their contribution to motor sport. Perhaps a word from you all on the work of the volunteers?

    Toto WOLFF: Well, we wouldn’t be able to go racing without the volunteers and it’s something that isn’t so visible to the public that with the many devoted and engaged people, all around the world on the racetracks, they enable us to put on a show, so it’s definitely a good little exercise to do and honour them.

    Cyril ABITEBOUL: Nothing much to add. Motor sport is a bit strange in that it’s just a few that get elected to race or even be in the garage but it’s a sport that involves a lot of people, whether in the garage, mechanics, at the factory, but also around the track and taking part with the federations around the world. Yeah, it’s a great opportunity to honour their ongoing commitment.

    Robert FERNLEY: Yeah, without doubt they are the unsung heroes of motor racing across the board, not just for Formula One. We must remember that they do great work outside Formula One, which we’re very focused on. I think people forget that weekend-in, weekend-out they’re there, so great honour.

    Q: Thank you. Moving back to you Cyril. Good qualifying pace so far this season, but perhaps not unlocking all the race results you might have hoped for. Why is that?

    CA: Well, part of that is it’s still a year where we are still in a construction phase. So in talking about construction it’s easier to qualify and extract maximum performance off a given package on one lap, on a short run, which is what we are doing consistently since the start of the season. We know also that we have fragile reliability and that’s really our area of focus. It is hitting us regularly, during races and also during Fridays, in the preparation of the race typically. Usually we have a good group of people who is managing or setting up the car properly for qualifying but when it comes to really managing the car and fixing the issues for a longer run, that’s really down to how reliable we have been over the weekend. So that’s really something that is hitting, which is biting on regular occasions, so that is the area of focus for the time being. We also have a great qualifier in Nico. He’s also clearly leading the way on race pace. Jo has not been very favourite in the conditions… he’s had on many occasions adverse conditions in his weekend. The only weekend he had a clean weekend, which was in Bahrain, he managed to be in Q3. So that is what we are trying to repeat because we think that the car also has a better pace on Sundays, so that’s the target for this weekend.

    Q: From which race onwards are you hoping to unlock the full potential of this 2017 Renault engine?

    CA: The full potential of the engine is something that will take a number of races with the existing hardware. You know that constant development, that constant improvement… based on the existing hardware there is more to come in performance and that’s really down to how quickly we can fix the reliability issues. I guess that will be down to the introduction of power unit number three. We may or may not change the hardware to extract more power but irrespective of the hardware there will be more power coming that’s for sure. So it’s all down to the engine introduction plan.

    Q: You mentioned Jolyon Palmer there, obviously he has had a few difficulties. What are you saying to him behind the scenes and what do you foresee for him for the rest of the season?

    CA: Well, the main thing we have done is that we’ve been through what has happened since the start of the season, including the winter test, when we were in Barcelona and he already had difficult conditions to deal with. So, limited mileage over the winter, a number of reliability issues in preparation for the first four races, which has not been helpful, and clearly he has a very talented team-mate, which is clearly showing what the car is capable of. But having said, Nico is not a magician, and that’s what I’m telling him. He has shown that on occasion he has definitely the pace to match his team-mate, so it is on that we are focusing. And we are making sure that he now has a clean weekend so that he can build his confidence, that we can rebuild his confidence in himself.

    Q: Robert, double points in every race so far, you’ve got to be happy with the way your 2017 season has started and with both of your drivers appearing to be well and truly on it?

    RF: Yeah, from our point of view, after the testing in Barcelona we knew we had a slight performance deficit and it was always going to be down to making sure that we extracted the optimum from the races and the team, the drivers, fantastic job, absolutely superb.

    Q: So the big question is can you keep it going? You’re up against some fairly tough opposition in this midfield, not least Cyril. Of course you’ve got Williams to think about, Toro Rosso as well. How important is the update pack you’ve brought here this weekend and what has it given you so far?

    RF: I think like all teams we’re looking for direction more than physically upgrading at the moment. It’s the direction that we need to be able to develop for the rest of the season. I think what we have seen so far is very promising and we’ll take it through going forward for the next races. Hopefully Renault’s problems will remain large ones and we can keep going!

    Q: Toto, first of all a word on this dramatic looking, updated car that you’ve brought here this weekend. Did it perform according to expectations during the practice sessions?

    TW: Yes, so far we are happy with the correlation and the results of the two Friday sessions and the car certainly looks very sophisticated. But it’s the interaction of all those bits that overall should make us achieve a performance gain. But Friday is pretty early days in the weekend. Tomorrow afternoon you’re going to see whether there is a real effect.

    Q: Valtteri Bottas won his first race last time out. You’ve had an interest in him for many years, what did you feel personally to see him winning a Formula One grand prix?

    TW: I’ve known Valtteri for 10 years so it’s clear that achieving his target to win a race is something special but in my position it’s about the team’s interests and having a Mercedes winner is great. Having a Mercedes challenger for the world championship or even winning a world championship and I’m behind both of them and we’ll be cheering whoever wins.

    Q: It was important that he won, with an all-Ferrari front row for that race in Russia. It could have been costly for you in the world championship, when Lewis was clearly having an off day. What did the debrief reveal?

    TW: Valtteri had a very good day because he was able to exploit P3, which is probably the best starting position in Sochi and used the slipstream down to Turn One and from thereon controlled the race. Considering that a four-time world champion was close behind him in those last laps, he did a very good job. As for Lewis, he was in traffic. We were a bit marginal with the cooling and that’s why he had a car that was not able to deliver maximum performance at all times. We could see that there were glimpses of performance but if you run into hot air and the car is heating up too much there’s not a lot you can do. From there it’s a difficult situation for the driver and the team and there wasn’t a lot we could do.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Peter Windsor– Motorsport Network) Toto, what about Lewis’ problems in sector three? We heard talk of diff, traction that wasn’t that happy with. What were you able to look at after Russia? I presume there was nothing broken on the car or anything like that, but can you give us more insight into what the problem was for him?

    TW: The interaction between the chassis, the suspension and the tyres is new ground for every team. And you need to understand how you make each of those various tyre compounds function. We tried to fix out, we tried to cure a problem that was created in the interaction of those two components by giving different diff settings or by trying to switch the brake balance back and forth. Just to give it a go or give it a try. It is a more fundamental issue. You need to have a car that is stable in the window, that has the basic performance and then translate that into qualifying performance and race performance and if you add to the equation a new compound or various new compounds it becomes a difficult exercise and that is one of the key topics we are looking at the moment.

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) The FIA has mandated that all driver numbers and driver names are clearly displayed on cars from this race onwards. Looking at it this morning it seems that some teams have embraced it wholly and included it in their new colour schemes and that others have perhaps paid lip service to it. Could all three of you give your opinion on it and whatever you think it’s a good move?

    RF: I think it’s a good move from the FIA, probably overdue in all fairness. I think that perhaps some time out, when all the commercial agreements that we currently have, that’s across all the teams, come to an end they should standardize where the numbers go and make sure everything is clear for everybody going forward. At this point I think you have to do the best you can with whatever you have from a commercial agreement and I think all of the teams have tried their very best to embrace it.

    TW: Bob just summarized it pretty well. It’s trial and error. We played around with various designs. Some of us like the look of it, some of us don’t. We took a little bit off after P1 and just have the number now. But with all aesthetics, it’s mixed feelings.

    CA: Exactly the same. It’s a good move from the FIA. It’s something that maybe should have happened earlier and hopefully they will make sure to standardize. Just like in any other sport, where you know where to find the name and number of any player on the soccer field or anything. That’s the sort of thing where you want to have a standard position, so as mentioned as soon as the sponsorship contracts are falling out you want to make sure to seize the opportunity, that window, to impose what it is should be. Formula One. Formula One should be at the top of the sport in terms of presentation, the standard of presentation, so that’s what should happen sooner rather than later.

    RF: Just to add to that, I think it’s the number that is more important element, because now that the drivers have got numbers throughout their career I think the promoters would ideally like to see the number prominent rather than worrying too much about the same, so I think that would be the right move going forward.

    Q: (Sven Haidinger – motorsport-total.com) Toto, the Mercedes car is a little bit difficult in terms of the set-up to get it into the right window. Are you missing Nico Rosberg a little bit in terms of that, because Lewis has taken the set-up a couple of time from him and he’s one of the most experienced guys in the team or has been?

    TW: Certainly if you have the experience of Nico who has been in the team for a long time it is always helpful, but Valtteri has filled those shoes pretty well. He’s similar to Nico, an engineering-minded driver, and it’s more in those early stages of the season to understand the basic product, the car, the architecture of the car, suspension, kinematics, so I wouldn’t see it as a deficit.

    Q: (Sam Collins – Racecar Engineering) It looks like the UK is heading towards a so-called hard Brexit and that could have serious implications for the Formula One teams based in the UK, especially for the ones with engine suppliers who are based outside the UK, such as Cyril and his customers. With no single and no freedom of movement of EU citizens into and out of the UK, what implications do you forecast it having for you, what contingency plans have you put in place – that in respect of customs reflecting the lead times and recruitment going forward for the 2019 season?

    CA: Thank you for the question! We will have to see, because there were already a number of forecasts when Brexit happened that a number of things would happen which have not happened so I don’t think it’s for me to comment on what’s going to happen or not. The main elements will be currency and it has had frankly a positive impact on all of the UK-based teams so in that respect that’s good news for us strangely. We have to see long-term how that evolves because that is not a situation that is sustainable. Then we will have to look at the movement of staff, because clearly we need to attract talent from everywhere around the world and we need to make that the UK remains a place that is welcoming talents from wherever they are. We have lots of movement of staff between France and the UK. That’s something we will look at carefully. When it comes to transfer or goods that is something that is not bothering us, in the sense that the engine, if that’s what you are referring to, are actually leased, the ownership is not passed on to the UK entity and that’s the same with all our customers, so VAT should be neutral in that respect. Obviously we have to be careful but when it comes to be contingency plans, no, we don’t really have a plan as we are building new buildings in Enstone in the UK, we don’t really have a plan to move that we are currently building somewhere else. We are still assuming that people will be reasonable and we trust the UK to protect their industry and motorsport is an important industry for the UK.

    TW: Cyril has given us a 360˚ view. There’s nothing to add to that. We are monitoring it. Hopefully it will turn out well. I like to work in the UK and I’d like to continue to work there.

    RF: Unfortunately I’m probably a little bit older than these two and I remember when we used to do it before we had the EU, so it’s not an issues and we still do an awful lot of races today where we still go through an awful lot of compliance issues so I don’t really see it as an issue at all.

    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) A question for Bob really. Some projected figures came out during the week about FOM payouts to teams for 2017. There are no great surprises but yet again your team, despite finishing fourth, seems to be getting less than half than the top three and less than McLaren even. Just some comments on how you see things panning out with the new owners and whether you see any progress being made on redistribution in the future?

    RF: I think my position on this is pretty clear. I have been very much a strong voice against these type of things for the last couple of years. But I think what we have to do now is support Liberty and the new owners as they are making noises and definitely looking into trying to address both costs and income distribution. Let’s give them an opportunity, the key thing is to support them going forward. The disparities are not acceptable as far as we are concerned, but as I say I think time will tell.

    Q: (Sergio Alvarez – One Magazine) Question for Toto: do you believe the changes in your technical direction may have hindered your understanding of the car? How are you managing the transition in the technical department from Paddy to James Allison?

    TW: There are figureheads that are present in the media: some more, some less, that represent the team – but it’s an organisation of 1,000 people – almost 1,000 people – that run a team and especially in the area of tyres, race delivery, race track engineering, the situation is unchanged. We have a great team that is there, that has been in place for many years, that is looking after these components – and I’m extremely happy with how they’ve tackled the situation until now.

    Q: (Sef Harding – Xiro Xone News) This is for all three of you, since Fernando Alonso’s announcement to go to the Indy 500 there’s now a debate created between IndyCar and the comparison to F1 and the differences in terms of show, presentation, and as you Mr Fernley said earlier, the presentation, would you be willing to work in depth with the new owners to make a better show for the viewing audience as well as the fans in attendance that come from all over the world to watch the sport in terms of opening up the paddocks more, making it more accessible for the drivers, making it more accessible for the pits. We saw that they bought down a two-seater car and are giving tours now. Would you be willing to do the same for viewing fans that are coming to the race?

    RF: Having done both IndyCars and Formula One I can speak from a reasonable amount of experience on that. IndyCars is a fantastic show, especially the Indy 500, there’s no question of that. Can we get more access? I think we can. I think we can learn a little bit from IndyCars but overall we are Formula One and we’ve got to keep that identity as well. I think that Liberty understand that. I think they’re working to getting it more inclusive but, on the other hand, keeping it where it needs to be – which is slightly exclusive as well. So it’s a balancing act and I’m sure they’ll do a great job. They have all the expertise to be able to look at that.

    Toto?

    TW: Yes, the Indy 500 is one of the great races and the concept is completely different to what we have. The oval, per se, gives different access and it’s a one-a-year event. If you look at the IndyCar series overall, they’re far away from where we are. Having said that, I think Fernando going to Indy is a great opportunity for him, it’s an opportunity to create some good news around the team again, and they need that, and it has given Formula One more exposure in the US, so overall I think it is a good exercise.

    Cyril?

    CA: Yeah, I would agree that there is definitely lots to learn from other sports. To a certain degree we tend to, y’know, we’re not necessarily all very old but we still spend quite a lot of time in Formula One, so having some people showing us what can done outside – whether it’s new owners, new management but also F1 drivers getting experience outside F1 and returning to Formula One, I think it’s great. We need to constantly benchmark. We are in a competition – not just in Formula One but Formula One is in a competition against other sports properties – whether motorsports or other forms of sports – because that’s where all sponsors, all carmakers, all fans will look. They are benchmarking us, even if they don’t realise they benchmark: they always have multiple choices when it comes to looking at a programme, buying tickets… they cannot follow all the sports so we have to make sure to remain at the top of the offer. And that’s great, to finally have the opportunity of a fresh breathe of new air coming and influencing us – but as mentioned by Bob, we need to keep our identity. I think this exercise will kick off under the influence of all these new sorts of people: what is the core identity of Formula One? That will be an exciting exercise to do, starting with, for instance, engine topics.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Primary question to Toto and then a follow-up question to the other two. Toto, there’s a very strong rumour, or suggestions, that Mercedes-Benz is going to offer some form of technical assistance to Honda. Would you care to comment on that please. And then to the other two, should such a concept of one winning engine manufacturer helping another one, should that be allowed in Formula One.

    TW: At that stage I wouldn’t want to comment.

    You’re not excluding it then?

    TW: I’m not commenting.

    Cyril?

    CA: I cannot comment on a no comment.

    Bob?

    RF: I’ll comment! As a team that’s not only paid for its engines but contributed to the development of them I would certainly be very negative towards sharing that technology with another team that it a competitor of ours.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) A question to Toto. Is there a possibility or, let me say, how big is the possibility that next year drivers, by example Fernando Alonso or Stoffel Vandoorne, driving a Mercedes engine without moving to your team?

    TW: What are the options? They are driving a Honda engine like it is today and it looks like this is the current situation or different engines. I think it’s important for Formula One… Honda is important for Formula One. It’s a massive and very successful company and I have no doubt they will eventually be where they expect themselves to be. So, I don’t think they are going to drive a Mercedes engine.

    Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) This is for Toto. Bit more lighthearted. You and your fellow Austrian Niki Lauda seem to be the TV face of Mercedes AMG. You’ve known each other a long time. I wonder if ever you’ve ever had any disagreements with him on strategy or whatever – if you could let us in on any of the little disagreements you might have had in the course of your association.

    TW: Well, we’ve been doing that for quite a while. We had a certain period at the beginning of our relationship where we were both thrown into the team, where we needed to find a way of making decisions in a committee and not alone like we’ve both done our whole lives. But since then our relationship has contributed in a good way, I believe. He’s a completely different personality. For me, he’s the personification of pressure – and pressure’s good sometimes. He certainly has a lot of experience and has been around for many years and I enjoy working with him. Niki says he has no friends – but when we won one of the last races, we were on a flight together and in the plane he had an emotional moment and said he hasn’t got any friends – but he has a half-friend now. So I consider myself our-performing some others. He’s somebody that I value and enjoy being around. Disagreements? Permanent disagreements for the benefits of the company. We are able to come into discussions with two different standpoints and walk out with one – and that’s good.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) Toto, just building on what Dieter said, in this new open world of disclosing things to the media, which Liberty Media say that they’re in favour of. Can you really not elaborate, in the name of openness, about what you’re doing with Honda? The work that I’m sure many thousands or millions of fans in Formula One would wish to know, which in a sense, strikes me as quite straightforward, to be upfront about the work that you guys might be doing with them in developing their engines.

    TW: I understand your standpoint. We are not doing anything for Honda. That is the current status quo. So, unless that situation changes, I don’t want to contribute to rumours out there, that are false and I think are damaging for Honda and create hardened standpoints from teams or from other stakeholders. We’ll see what happens.

    eom/FIA transcript of the press conference

  • Just a bunch of small things, all added up: Hamilton on what went wrong at Sochi

    PART TWO: DRIVERS – Marcus Ericsson (Sauber), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Marcus, Sauber’s announced an engine partnership with Honda, are you pleased with the Honda deal and does it push you towards a long-term commitment with the team?

    Marcus ERICSSON: I think looking at it right now, it’s obviously not maybe the best decision because Honda is struggling quite a lot at the moment but I think in the longer term for the team, I think it can be a very clever decision because I’m sure Honda sooner or later will get it together – but yeah, let’s wait and see. At the moment, it’s maybe not the best one.

    Q: And what impact does it have on this season in terms of preparation for next year. Does it impact the way you approach things? Does it impact you as drivers?

    ME: No, not really, I wouldn’t say. We have the engine we have at the moment and we need to maximise our season and focus on that. And then, as every team, at some point you need to start looking at the next season and focus the development for next year but at the moment all our focus is on this season and trying to catch up that midfield group.

    Q: Lewis, you’ve been very consistent for so long, it seemed odd that Sochi went the way it did – have you figured out what happened?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it was just a bunch of small things all added up in one pot. Nothing in particular, no single one thing that was bigger than another, that just led us in slightly the wrong direction. Should be better this weekend.

    Q: The team was talking about the difficulty of getting these tyres into a particular window. Is that a contributing factor? Is it less likely to be a factor this weekend, for example?

    LH: It’s a tyre issue in the sense that the tyre’s working range is quite small, so yeah, the whole weekend I generally wasn’t in the right window with it.

    Q: Obviously if you couldn’t win, it was a good job that your team-mate Valtteri Bottas managed to finish ahead of Vettel. How pleased were you personally for Valtteri and what do you expect from him now that he’s got that first win under his belt?

    LH: Well, I’ve said from the beginning of the season that he was in competition, so it’s no surprise that he would eventually get a win. But I was actually very happy. You saw at the end of the race I could at least be happy and share in the glory of the team beating the Ferraris still and keeping us in the lead of the Constructors’ Championship. I was proud of what we had achieved – I just wish that I could have backed him up, in the sense of getting a 1-2, but we can work on that maybe this weekend.

    Q: Max, it’s 12 months since you sat in this room, having just made the switch to the Red Bull team and what a weekend that turned out to be for you. Your learning curve has been more or less vertical since then, but I wonder in what areas do you feel that you’ve made real improvement, from 12 months ago to now?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Difficult to say…

    LH: You’ve got your driving licence now!

    MV: I already had that back then.

    LH: No you didn’t!

    MV: Five months already.

    LH: I was saying he’s got his driving licence now. It’s a big step.

    MV: Yeah, I think it’s just general experience, both in life and in racing but nothing major, I would say, in terms of driving the car faster or anything. It all adds up to little things and if you feel better in the car, you understand the car better.

    Q: What about the way you deal with these guys and particularly the ones at the front?

    MV: Well yeah, you’re driving more amongst them compared to what I was doing before but that was always the aim and the target once I moved into Formula One. Natural process, I guess.

    Q: So we know you have a heavily updated car here. Can you put in context for us just how different it is and what were the key areas for you that needed to be addressed in how it handles?

    MV: I think, first of all, everybody is bringing quite a few updates. Hopefully our updates will bring us a little bit more to the front but I think in every area we can always improve so I think that’s what we are aiming to do with the car. Yeah, you see a few differences on the car and hopefully we can close the gap a little bit here already and then go on from there.

    Q: And in terms of what you wanted to fix and how it handles?

    MV: Every area, it needs to be faster everywhere.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Sef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Lewis, you’ve often been referred to as the Jedi Knight of F1 and it is Star Wars – I refer to you as the Jedi Knight of F1 – and this is the month that we celebrate Star Wars so the question to you is what colour Lifesaver would you chose? This is a very important question because it’s going to go on social media because it determines what side of the force you are on?

    LH: Well, firstly it’s kind of exciting to have a lot of different questions, much nicer different questions! I want to be purple but I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, obviously good friends with George [Lucas] and a huge admirer or what he created, Star Wars. I think it’s frigging amazing, excited for the… seen every one. I’m excited to see what comes next.

    Q: (Oana Popoiu – F1Zone.net) To all of you: Kimi Raikkonen drove half of the Russian Grand Prix knowing he had Valtteri Bottas behind and not Lewis Hamilton. How important is it for you to know what driver is behind you? Do you drive differently, knowing it’s one or another?

    ME: No. Usually you know who is behind you if you’re in a close fight with them. If there’s someone who is not that close then it doesn’t really matter but I would say there are some drivers  who are maybe more aggressive than others but then in the end we all respect each other and race in a good way.

    LH: I always know who’s behind me but it doesn’t really make any difference.

    MV: Yeah, I think it shouldn’t make a difference and if you don’t know, look at your pit board. It’s standing on the pit board.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, this is obviously the first year you’ve come back to Spain since your crash last year with Nico. I was just wondering firstly what you drew from that experience as a driver and as a person and secondly of the subsequent reports that you threatened to… or you offered to quit Mercedes after the crash? So did you offer to quit Mercedes after the crash with Nico last year in Spain?

    LH: I did not.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) And secondly what did you learn as a person and as a driver from that experience?

    LH: Not much really, it was a racing incident. I’ve had lots of crashes during my career and that was just another one. We got through it pretty smoothly or as smooth as it could be, I would say, and yeah, went on and won many more races after that.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To all drivers, starting with you Lewis, you said that the main problem you had in the last race was to take the tyre in the window temperature and here you have the hardest tyres that Pirelli supplies in Formula One. Do you think it can be an issue here?

    LH: The tyres are definitely… there seems to be quite a small working window and it’s a new tyre for us also. I think we are all learning as we go from race to race and I think for some cars perhaps it works immediately than for others. There’s different preparations. If you look at Bahrain, for example, the Red Bulls drove as slow as they could on the laps to prepare for qualifying but still had the tyres ready whereas the Ferraris were flat out through the warm-up laps so there’s a different approach for everyone. It’s a new tyre which is exciting. They are very very hard tyres so a hard, safe tyre basically. It’s going to be interesting this weekend to see how they work.

    MV: I think in general in Sochi it’s not a lot of grip and then combined with a tricky warm-up, it just makes it a bit more difficult. It was quite difficult to get the tyres in the window and you could see a lot of build laps or second timed laps which were faster so I think that will be a little bit different here where the tarmac is a bit more rough so harder on the tyres. But yeah, we have quite hard compounds so we’ll see. I think in general you always try to go for the softer compounds, also here but yeah, I think the warm-up is still critical.

    ME: I agree with the guys but the only thing really apart from that I could say is that I think this weekend we could probably live with another step softer. I think the hard tyre is not really useable. I think a supersoft for qualifying would be quite nice.

    Q: (Sef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Max, there was a question about there was some disappointment in Sochi about the race and there wasn’t much overtaking. Do you disagree with that, do you feel that there is better racing, at least in the last four races, that there has been a better show for everyone to watch now?

    MV: Compared to…?

    Q: (Sef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Compared to Sochi.

    MV: You mean last year? This year’s better racing compared to… Yeah, I was a bit surprised that there was only one overtaking (manoeuvre) in Sochi. Yeah, it’s just harder to follow with the cars. And then with tyres which have a long life, only one pit stop and I think you could have done no pit stops actually in Sochi. It makes it all a bit harder. I think in Bahrain where you’re struggling a bit more with the tyres you could see there were five cars behind each other, challenging a bit more so yeah, I think we need to be at least a bit softer on the tyres or something to get a bit more exciting racing again but then on the other hand the cars are wider so they create a bigger wake around them, once you are behind one another you lose a lot of downforce especially with the higher cornering speeds we had. It all makes it a bit more tricky.

    Q: (Mark Tisshaw – Autocar) Lewis, what do you think of the progress Max has made over the past 12 months?

    LH: Pretty bad, to be honest! He burst into Formula One, obviously did an amazing job and I remember last year the great race that he had when he moved to Red Bull and he’s remained a strong component.  He’s obviously grown, he’s got a long way to go, still 18 still?

    MV: 19

    LH: So he’s got an incredible career up ahead of him.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, last year (here) obviously was a massive talking point. Have you spoken to Nico since he’s retired? I know that you share the same Monaco apartment (block) but I just wondered if you’ve bumped into each other just to have a chat or anything like that?

    LH: We have not. I think that’s the… actually the one time I’ve seen him I was running through the streets in London. It’s kind of a strange… running from Covent Garden all the way down to the Thames and the Thames down to Battersea kind of area and back up near Parliament and I was just running on a random street and someone started running behind me and then there was a crowded sidewalk but someone started running behind me and I looked back and it’s… Nico’s obviously seen me on the road as he’s going through somewhere in London and he’s jumped out (of the car) and run alongside me so we stopped and had a chat for a bit there. That’s the first time that I’ve seen him since…

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Who was quicker?

    LH: Well, he was trying to catch up so…

    Q: (Pilar Celebrovsky – The Paddock Magazine) Max, Lewis said in China that he and other drivers still learn from you and the way you drive in wet conditions, but what can you learn from Lewis in normal conditions?

    MV: I think it’s a bit tricky when you’re not in the exact same team because then you have a lot more information, but still if you see some races, some overtakes, some starts, some shit races, what happened during the race, whatever, tyre management, you always look to your competitors as well, what they are doing, what they are doing differently in terms of lines throughout the whole weekend. You always try to learn something, every single weekend.

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD Sportwerld) Max, could you tell me something about your feelings, coming to this Grand Prix after a year? There’s a lot of Dutch people at the side of the track, thousands I think. Does that affect you in any way, tensionwise, that sort of thing?

    MV: I don’t think it did last year. I think last year was more intense. It’s always good to come back here but it’s 2017 now, 2016 has gone. Of course it was a very positive weekend but now I just want to look ahead and do my race.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volkskrant) Max, last year you earned the title of race winner in F1, that’s a title for life. Can you say something about that and did it change your status in F1?

    MV: It was nice but I want to win more races than just that one. It’s nice but that’s not what I’m here for, for one single victory. I want more.

    Q: (Rebecca Clancy – The Times) Lewis you said in Russia that it was a few things that came together, nothing in particular. Do you have confidence this weekend that you won’t have those same problems and just secondly, is it nice having Roscoe here and is Coco here as well and does it kind of keep you grounded and do you enjoy having them around during race weekends?

    LH: I think coming in to this weekend I think we definitely have a better understanding… a good understanding of what went wrong on our side of the garage and there’s been a huge amount of analysis as there always is from race to race. I think we’ve definitely grown from the experience, both having a win, having a fast car and obviously having a car that struggled in so many areas. I definitely think we are better equipped now but I can’t really say it’s going to be better this weekend. I assume it will be but there are lots of different challenges this weekend with new upgrades for everyone. But we’ll be doing a lot of work tomorrow to get the car in the right place. I’m always on the move so it’s great to be able to have your animal, pet with you and I’m sure… this one here is stressing a little bit about the fact that I’ve got the dog in here but…

    MV: He’s sleeping.

    LH: Yes, he’s sleeping but I thought that… I don’t think anyone in the whole of history has probably brought their dog to the press conference so I thought I’d try and do something new.

    Q: (Giles Richards – Guardian) Lewis, can you tell us whether you think Valtteri is a credible threat to you in the battle for the World Championship this year and secondly, whether you’ve had any discussion with the team about when they might back one or the other of you to go for the Drivers’ championship?

    LH: I’ve not had a chat about the backing off because there’s no need to. And of course he’s a credible competitor, he was when he joined. I think it was many of you and perhaps people who are fans, whatever, came with preconceived ideas of how he was going to perform and he’s proved everyone wrong so fair play to him and he’s going to remain a competitor through the rest of the year so the fight will go on and we’ve stated our relationship with a really great foundation I think, a respectful foundation and I think that will continue.

    Q: (Iolande Skinner – Motorsport Monday) Marcus has the change to the Honda engine for next year… how’s that affected you mentally? Are you feeling more motivated or less motivated? What effect has that had on you?

    ME: First of all, I only have a contract for this year so I have to wait and see for that but like I said before, for the team, I think in the longer term it’s a good decision. Shorter term, I think we have to wait and see how Honda performs for the rest of the year, to be certain what Sauber gets for the beginning of next year.  But yeah, for me, all my focus now is on this season. We have the Ferrari power unit that we need to make the most of and yeah, develop our car as good as we can and try and make as good results as possible.

    eom/FIA transcript of the press conference

  • Arjun Maini takes a big step towards F1 seat, joins Haas team as Development Driver

    Arjun Maini takes a big step towards F1 seat, joins Haas team as Development Driver

    Nineteen-Year-Old Racer born and brought up in Bengaluru will be the third Indian to race in Formula One, if he gets a drive, and the position as Development Driver is a right step in that direction

    Bengaluru, 11 May 2017: Motorsports fans and aficionados got a breath of fresh air with the pleasant news this afternoon that Arjun Maini, an Indian GP3 racer, will make an entry into the world of Formula One. After a gap of five years, an Indian will become part of an F1 team again to fulfill the much-awaited dreams of many a racing fan.

    Haas F1 Team announced from Barcelona on Thursday that it has signed Arjun Maini as a development driver ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. Maini will join the team alongside 18-year-old American Santino Ferrucci. Haas, the American team, has been racing in the F1 2017 season, with Kevin Magnussen and Romain Gorsjean as its main drivers.

     

    Bengaluru boy, the 19-year-old Maini, is competing in the GP3 Series for Jenzer Motorsport after running 14 of the 18 GP3 Series races in 2016. Despite missing the first four races, Maini finished 10th in the championship standings with a best finish of second, the podium he earned on July 23 at the Hungaroring in Budapest.

     

    Maini has interacted with the media today at the Haas F1 Team hospitality in the paddock at Circuit de Barcelona but was not immediately available for comments. However, he sent his quotes through an email through the team.

    “It’s an honor to be a part of Haas F1 Team’s driver development program,” Maini said. “All of my racing to date has been with the focus of becoming a Formula One driver, and this opportunity puts me one step closer to my goal. I am eager to learn, understand and experience how a Formula One team operates. Everything I learn can be used immediately in GP3 while preparing for my ultimate goal of Formula One.”

    Sponsors and big-finance plays a big role in getting a seat initially in F1, even for talented drivers and it is heart-warming to note that Maini made it without paying funds. But apart from the huge money required in the process of gaining an entry into F1, drivers face a huge challenges of different kinds.

    To compete and develop as a competent driver of high standard in India has been a big challenge and the youngster and his supporters, especially his father Gautham Maini, have patiently and painstakingly endured the hardships to see his potential blossom into a development driver slot and the real battle begins now as he makes the last push for an F1 seat.

    A few years back, India’s youngest F1 driver, Karun Chandhok was impressed by the talent and dedication of Arjun Maini and stated that he looks forward to helping the teenager become India’s next Formula One driver. And true to his promise, the current F1 commentator and Le Mans driver played a mentor’s role to get Arjun the break through.

    To put Arjun’s qualities in right perspective, it is best to remember what Karun said when the youngster was just 15: “Arjun has no ego and he is ready to listen to advice from team and people like me who have been there and done it. A lot of drivers are out there, but the only thing that will set you apart in today’s world is the hard work you put in outside the car with the engineers and the dedication you show in fitness training. Arjun has worked sincerely in that direction and grasped the nuances fully and I can assure you that his work ethic is fantastic.”

    In an email message from the Spanish paddock to www.INDIAinF1.com, Karun said: “I’ve been managing Arjun along with his father for the past few years. Since the back end of last year we were working on a link with an F1 te

    Karun interviews Arjun in the paddock. A Haas image

    am and it took a few months for his dad and I to work with Guenther Steiner and the team at Haas F1 to get here. It’s a good first step into the F1 world and Arjun will learn a lot. How we convert this to a race seat in F1 will largely be down to his season in GP3 which starts this weekend.” 


    “Still, I feel very proud to be one of India’s only 2 F1 drivers thus far, and I hope to help him expand that club in the future,” he concluded.

    With a rich heritage in Indian Motorsports, J.K.Tyre has supported Arjun since the age of 9. The company seeks to promote and nurture young racing talent in India and have backed almost all the Indian drivers who have made a mark globally. Arjun is proud to continue his association with the company that has backed since his karting days into 2015, and has seen him race primarily across Europe.

    Talking to this website, Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsport, JK Tyre Motorsport, said: “The kid is on the right track. A good opportunity has come his way. I only pray he proves his worth going forward and convert this prospect into a seat in the highest echelon of motor sports.”

    Like Ferrucci, Maini will be embedded with Haas F1 Team at every opportunity, attending races and tests throughout the year while also participating in the team’s simulator program.

    Haas F1 Team made its debut in 2016, becoming the first American Formula One team in 30 years. Now in its second season, Haas F1 Team is looking to build upon its impressive first year, where it finished eighth in the constructors standings with 29 points.

    “As Haas F1 Team continues to mature, we must look toward our future and develop potential talent,” said Guenther Steiner, team principal, Haas F1 Team. “Arjun was successful in karting and has transitioned well to various Formula series and now GP3. We’ll keep a keen eye on his progress this year.”

    The GP3 Series runs in conjunction with Formula One May 12-14 at Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya, July 7-9 at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, July 14-16 at Silverstone Circuit in England, July 28-30 at the Hungaroring, Aug. 25-27 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, Sept. 1-3 at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy and Nov. 24-26 at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The only non-companion race weekend is the penultimate round Oct. 6-8 at Circuito de Jerez in Spain.

    Maini earned his first title in 2007 when he won the Rotax Mini Max National Championship. Numerous wins and podiums followed before Maini began the transition to open-wheel machines. He won the 2013 Formula BMW Super Six Series in Asia and finished second overall in the 2014 BRDC Formula 4 championship with four wins, 10 podiums, five poles and six fastest laps. In 2015, Maini competed in the Toyota Racing Series New Zealand and finished fourth in the standings with two wins, five podiums, three poles and two fastest laps – a performance that led him to GP3 in 2016.

    Haas F1 Team debuted in the Formula One World Championship in 2016, becoming the first American-led Formula One team since 1986. Founded by industrialist Gene Haas, Haas F1 Team is based in the United States on the same Kannapolis, North Carolina, campus as his championship-winning NASCAR team, Stewart-Haas Racing. Haas is the founder of Haas Automation, the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America, and he is chairman of Haas F1 Team.

    eom/Haas press release

  • Our planned updates, will hopefully give us a bit more performance: Perez

    Sahara Force India looks ahead to round five of the Formula One season in Barcelona, Spain.

    Sergio: “Barcelona is a track that really tests a Formula One car. There are some quick corners that feel very special, such as turns three and nine, where you can appreciate the aero performance of these 2017 cars. It’s always a difficult track for overtaking and so there is extra emphasis on qualifying well.

    “When you get to Europe, you feel that the season is in full flow. It’s race five – a quarter of the way through the season – and the year is flying by really quickly. I’m very proud of the team and what we have achieved so far. To be fourth in the championship as we arrive in Barcelona shows that we’ve done a really good job in the races so far. Russia was another example of a weekend where we maximised all the opportunities.

    “It’s hard to know what to expect this weekend. I think all the teams will bring new things for their cars and it’s the same for us. We have planned updates, which will hopefully give us a bit more performance.”

    Esteban: “I’m feeling positive after our performance in Sochi. It shows the results we can achieve when everything goes to plan because we improved the car during each session. The team did an awesome job because I felt comfortable in the car and could really push. It’s a good sign for the races to come and I feel we have lots more potential to find with the VJM10.

    “Coming back to Barcelona is an opportunity to see how much we have improved the car since winter testing. It’s a track that shows your strengths and weaknesses because there is nowhere to hide. It’s all about aero performance and having confidence.

    “I’m quite pleased to be back in Europe. It’s closer to home and it just feels a bit more familiar because I’ve raced at Barcelona so many times when I was younger. I really enjoy the flow of the lap and there are corners, such as one and two, where you can’t afford to make a mistake because it hurts your speed all the way through turn three. The final sector is also very technical and you need to be very precise with how you position the car to ensure you don’t lose any time.”

    Vijay Mallya: “Ahead of the European leg of the season, we can look back on the start of the year feeling pretty happy. We continued our 100% points-scoring record by adding another 14 points in Sochi to consolidate our fourth place in the championship. I’m proud of the team and how we are performing. We’re taking our chances and racing intelligently. Sergio’s remarkable consistency continued with a fourteenth straight points finish, while Esteban secured his best ever result in Formula One with a seventh place. To have scored points with both cars in every race gives me confidence for the rest of the year. We want to hold on to fourth place. Our planned development programme will continue in Barcelona where hopefully we can take another step forward with the VJM10.”

    Sahara Force India’s Technical Director, Andrew Green, shares his views about the Circuit de Catalunya and its challenges.

    The Circuit de Catalunya is a track we know very well because of pre-season testing, but it’s very interesting to see the development in the car that took place since we were last here. Mid-May is also very different from February: the increased temperatures make it a very different track from the one we tackled back then. Compared to Russia, it’s a much harder test for the tyres and we expect wear and degradation to be much higher. It is one of the reasons we are using the three hardest compounds in the range – soft, medium and hard. As a circuit, it is a challenge from turn one to the final corner. Driver, car and tyres do not get much rest, although it is fairly easy on the brakes. You have medium- and high-speed corners making up most of the first two sectors, while the final one is mostly low-speed, meaning you have to find the right compromises when setting the car up. Overtaking is very difficult, so qualifying position is crucial: the Saturday afternoon session will be a very interesting fight.

    Key Points:

    • Combination of low, medium and high-speed corners making it an all-around test for the car
    • High deg means we will see the harder compounds make an appearance
    • Many teams bringing upgrades for the start of the European season so watch out for surprises.

    eom/Sahara Force India press release

  • It’s more than 80 races for me, but it is worth the wait: Bottas

    DRIVERS

    1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Eddie Jordan)

    Valtteri, tell us, what does it feel like, your first ever win in grand prix racing?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Amazing. It took quite a while, more than 80 races for me, but definitely worth the wait, worth the learning curve. This strange opportunity came to me in the winter to join this team and they made it possible today, so I really want to thank to the team, without them it wouldn’t be possible, so feels amazing.

    It’s like a fairy tale isn’t it? Four or five months ago you were going to drive with Williams, a particularly good team, but you got the chance to come to this team – a winning, world champion team – and you’re one the top [of the] podium at the moment.

    VB: yeah, we’ve had a tricky beginning of the year, you know the fight with Ferrari was again very close. We managed to be on top, but we need to keep pushing, we need to keep finishing with both cars all the time one and two, that’s the plan. But just very, very happy now.

    Just going to interject here for a second because we see Toto down there and he of little faith gave you a one-year contract. I’ve got a pen Toto, we need a three-year extension on that minimum with proper money, is that OK? Coming back to you… where’s he gone. [Sebastian], Felipe Massa, tell me about him, what happened on that last lap?

    Sebastian VETTEL: I obviously tried everything to catch Valtteri and maybe I thought there might be some opportunity on the back straight. I was sure [Felipe] would lift around Turn 3, it’s flat out, and let me be, so I wouldn’t lose much time, but then I think I just wasn’t sure what he was going to do and I ended up losing a bit more than I was hoping for. But it doesn’t matter. This is the man of the race today, big congrats to Valtteri, it’s his first grand prix win, so it’s his day.

    Very well said. I have to ask you, your strategy: you ran much deeper into the race on those tyres and it looked like it was paying off.

    SV: Not really, we didn’t come out ahead. Yeah, we had fresher tyres in the end. Obviously there was a gap to Kimi behind and we just decided to try and extend as much as possible to hope for maybe Valtteri running into trouble with traffic, us having a clear track. That was the plan. So I think we tried everything, but obviously we lost the race at the start, which was a bit of a shame. I had a good start but…

    I was going to ask about that. You were a bit unlucky, both of you, on the front row of the grid but you have the longest run to the first corner but you got out-dragged?

    SV: Yeah, that’s basically it. I think our start was basically a match with Valtteri, maybe he gained a bit of momentum in the beginning but then obviously he had a massive tow. I defended the inside but by the time we approached braking he was already in front and able to shut the door on me, so well done, and that’s where he won the race. And then he did a superb first stint, I couldn’t stay with him, he was very, very quick all; race, no mistakes and as I said – man of the race.

    Ladies and gentlemen, year on year Kimi has been voted the most popular driver in Formula One and you have your fans here.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I’m very happy that I have here support but whatever country they come from I’m very happy to have the. Unfortunately today we could only give third place but we try next time more so.

    We have to talk about the podium and the lock-out on the front row. We weren’t sure how it would wind up and today both of you are on the podium. It shows a great sign for the future of this season and the championship and the excitement of it?

    KR: Yeah, I think I have had a little bit of a rough start to the season. Far from ideal but this weekend for sure has been a step forward. We have been more happy with how things have been running but we still only finished third. We lost out at the start and then not a lot happened after that. We keep trying and keep improving and I’m sure we’ll get there, but it’s all about… all the small details have to be exactly there and then you will get the first place. The four or five of us are very close most of the time, so it’s the small differences that make a big difference in the end.

    Valtteri, special day for you as we have already said. You also got driver of the day; that’s another little celebration you didn’t know about. Got to talk to you about that start: [Sebastian] said you more or less but you couldn’t have, you absolutely out-dragged both of them.

    VB: Yeah, I mean, I think here normally starting from the second row is not too bad. I had a good start, if anything maybe slightly better than the guys in front. Obviously slipstreaming managed to get the inside for Turn 1. That was OK, but I’m a little bit more happy about the safety car restart actually.

    He has big shoulders, he has a lot to live up to because he’s got Kimi, Keke Rosberg and of course Mika [Häkkinen], all world champion Finns. Are you going to be the next world champion Finn?

    VB: For me that’s the only goal in my career, so we will keep pushing for that.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Valtteri, has the reality of what you’ve just achieved sunk in?

    VB: No. It’s going to take a while. I have to say, normally I’m not that emotional but hearing the Finnish national anthem is something quite special for me – felt good. But it is a little bit surreal: first win, and hopefully first of many. It was definitely one of my best races, personally, ever. It’s a good feeling and just, yeah, happy.

    Q: How was the pressure towards the end of the race when you had Sebastian gaining on you and you were hitting traffic?

    VB: It was OK. Just the main thing was with the lapped cars and trying to get past those and with these new cars we definitely lose more downforce, already two seconds, three seconds behind, so it was tricky to get close and pass them without losing time. That was the main thing at the end and I wasn’t quite happy for a few occasions. I also had one lock-up, maybe 10 or 15 laps to go, which hurt a little bit the pace. Other than that it was OK. I did ask for a bit more radio silence from the guys on the pit wall, just for me to get on it and focus for it and feel a bit more like home. Quite nice and quiet and that helped.

    Q: How much confidence do you think this victory will give you going forward?

    VB: I think a lot. I’ve always know I could do good results if everything goes right. I always trust in my ability but it’s nice to get confirmation that the results are possible, that anything is possible, so definitely good to continue from here.

    Q: Sebastian, in reality it all came down to the start, didn’t it? How was your getaway from pole position?

    SV: I thought it was OK. [To VB] Was it bad, my getaway?

    VB: I had a little bit better one…

    SV: Well, later on, yes. No, I thought there was a bit in the very beginning where I could have been a bit more aggressive but it was a bit hard to tell because for the formation lap, for some reason… I have the time of day in the car and it was two o’clock and the lights didn’t go off. So I was ready to go. I don’t know why there was a delay. Maybe whoever’s responsible to turn the lights off, didn’t turn the lights off! What I mean by that is that I didn’t get a proper read of how the grip was at the grid, so I think I ended up maybe a bit too conservative. Still, I had a good start. I had a look in the mirror, mine was I think better than Kimi’s. I saw Valtteri coming and I thought ‘OK, it will be close’ but it felt like I had a tent dragged behind me and he was gaining a lot. He was able even before we hit the braking to come back and shut the door. So I did well but nothing I could have done, I had the outside line but nowhere to do so in reality that’s part of where we lost the race. And then the first stint: we were just not quick enough to stay with him. In the end of the day we can talk about my race but today is Valtteri’s day. He drove a fantastic race, he had incredible pace. Also, if you look all weekend where he’s been compared to his team-mate, so, y’know, he’s done a superb job, it’s his day and he deserves to win today because he drove better than all the rest of us. So… it’s not easy to swallow. I would have loved, obviously, to come back but that’s the way it was today. Well done.

    VB: Thanks.

    Q: Kimi, coming to you, similar problems to Sebastian at the start? Just talk us through your getaway.

    KR: I had a pretty poor start, comparing even to Seb. Got wheelspin straight away and then I really thought I was going to lose a lot more but then luckily, both of these cars went side-by-side and I started to get the tow and I managed to stay ahead of Lewis in the end. But, I don’t know what happened. It was slippery and lost a lot, so, not ideal. If you look last year it’s all about starts, and if you lose a place in those, it’s going to be a boring race. Not a lot happened after that. Mercedes, Valtteri was a bit too fast but then we were kind of holding our positions but nothing really happened the whole race, so, yeah, all about the start. Happy for Valtteri. People always think that we have something against each other because we have come close to each other and into each other a few times but no, I’m very happy for him to win. It doesn’t mean that I’m not happy if Seb wins. It’s good for him and things will turn out to be for sure good for him. It’s going to be close between both of the Ferrari and both of the Mercedes drivers this year, so it will be exciting – but unfortunately a lot of times it will depend of what happens in a first lap. That’s how it’s going to play out. Hopefully it goes better. I’m more happy this weekend but obviously not happy to be third but this is how it goes sometimes.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To both Ferrari drivers: do you think if you had jumped in front of Valtteri and Lewis do you think you could have kept the leadership of the race considering the pace of Bottas with the ultrasoft – if you were surprised with that. And also, for you Kimi, were you surprised that Bottas was in front of you?

    KR: At what point?

    During the race you said on the radio that you were surprised that Bottas was in front of you.

    KR: Yes, because I was not sure which one it was in the front of the race. I was asking – I was not sure because it was a bit confusing for me after the pitstops. Obviously I realised straight after. For me it made no difference: there was one Mercedes in front of us. I didn’t ask before.

    And Sebastian, had you got the jump on Valtteri and made it to Turn One first, are you confident you could have stayed ahead?

    SV: Well, it’s difficult to pass, let’s put it that way. I think it would have been difficult for Valtteri to put a lot of pressure on, even though I would say he had superior pace in the first stint. I think if you look at the stint I was struggling in the beginning, then sort of froze the gap and then was able to close. Now, if Valtteri’s closer to us, let’s say if we were in the lead, then obviously I don’t know the gaps behind, whether they have changed their strategy or not – but didn’t turn out to be that way but for sure, if we had track position then I think we had the pace also to keep it. At the end I think we were quicker on the supersoft but we were behind so, yeah. Also I was on fresher tyres so it’s not entirely fair. Overall he was a bit quicker in the first stint. For the race overall it was a good match, so yeah, the first lap mattered. As I said, he executed the start well, which obviously this year is crucial. It was in our hands so he did a good job and then he drove a very good first stint which didn’t give us the opportunity to put him under pressure and do something around the stop because we were simply too far away.

    Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) Question for Valtteri Bottas. Valtteri, I have a theory about your win, please tell me am I right or not. I think that you won because you were very angry about all of these questions what it’s like to be number two in the team and so on. You were so angry you won and now you are number one, yes?

    VB: I don’t think that was the reason for the success this weekend! Good theory but I don’t think it’s right. It really doesn’t matter in the car if you’re angry or not. Anyway you are doing your best. When I drive there is not much emotion in there. I’m just trying to get everything right and get every lap, every corner perfectly. All the questions, all the speculation, number two driver and so on, it doesn’t get into me. It doesn’t matter.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian. Now you turn to the European leg of the Championship with 13 points of advantage on Lewis. How much is it in accordance with your dreams and how much is it a surprise?

    SV: I don’t know if I have an answer for you. We had a good run up in Barcelona at the tests, so looking forwards to Barcelona, the car felt good. I think we’ve improved it from early March to now – but yeah, I don’t need to think about the Championship because you’re kind enough to remind us where we are. I think we’ve had a very good start. It would be wrong to sit here and say that’s what we expected – but we’re here to win, we’re here to do our best. If we look back I think we have more or less extracted the maximum. So very happy with where we are as a team – but we can still learn and we can still improve and I think that’s the way we go forward. Nothing is for granted, Barcelona is just another race and we have a lot of races to go this year. But before that we have two weeks’ time to look at what we have done so far and improve. Today I think the speed in general was there, the balance dropped away from me a little bit in the first stint. I struggled with the fronts and couldn’t attack as much as I was hoping for and as much as I was probably able to in qualifying. So things that we could have done better but the race is done today so yeah, I’m generally looking forwards: we have a strong car, a strong team, the spirit is good, so lots of positives.

    Q: (Tony Dodgins – Channel 4) Valtteri, I think in Australia and last summer you struggled in the first stint on the softer compound. Today, Sebastian said he couldn’t stay with you. Have you made progress on that generally or is it surface specific here and did that surprise you?

    VC: Well, I think it was very different to Bahrain, for example, with the temperatures and the surface of the tarmac and the track layout, so I can’t say we’ve fixed some of the issues we had in the last race but I think we did a better job here in general, to get most out of ever being in these conditions on this track. I think from Friday until Saturday, Sunday we made good progress, we managed to optimise everything and that made the win possible today. We were a little bit afraid of struggling at the beginning of the stints but that didn’t really seem to be the case and also the tyre life was good compared to Ferrari so the guys did a very good job this weekend.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Two questions for Valtteri: you talked about the start but the restart was even better because you were more than one second ahead of Sebastian as you crossed the line, so talk us through that and just before your pit stop you were losing a lot of time behind backmarkers. Were you frustrated there or did you know that you needed those extra laps because the pace on the harder tyre was not so good?

    VB: The restart was very good and kind of a surprise actually by the gap but that was good. Obviously it worked. You have few opportunities where you start going. I think the main thing is not to catch the safety car before the safety car line but that obviously worked, so that was good. Yeah, the back markers, getting through the traffic, that was the main worry for me and especially at the end of the race, that was losing more time with these cars, following… already when you’re within two, three seconds and you start to lose some lap time, especially in the mid-sector in those medium speed corners so that was quite tricky and I wasn’t quite happy at times but I always knew that Seb and Kimi behind would have the same problem as I had with the guys so in the end it was OK.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Valtteri and Sebastian, is there any technical explanation about what happened before turn two and the overtaking? Was it just a question of the slipstream or was there some technical explanation?

    SV: I didn’t see much. You had a better view, I guess.

    VB: Yes, so from my side I felt like I had a good start, maybe initially slightly better than Seb but very close I think, and obviously here the slipstreaming is the main thing. It’s nearly one kilometre into turn one. If you can get a tow, you can carry the speed and I managed to do it, even though I was on the outside I managed to get in front of Seb and close the door and that was it really.

    SV: The straight was a bit too long so maybe we can move the grid further up. For me there was not much I could do. I think it was a drag race. Obviously I didn’t have a tow. There was a bit of headwind as well, the wind was blowing the wrong way so it’s another 10/15kph off, the speed that you lose with the wind blowing against you rather than from behind. I guess it helped him but it didn’t help me today.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) For sure you don’t have a crystal ball but next race most of the teams will present very different cars and these changes have been conceived using all the knowledge gained in the first four races of the season with these new regulations. What do project for the next phase of the season with all these cars? Do you believe it’s possible there can be some dramatic changes to what we have been seeing until now?

    VB: I think it’s just going to get quicker, every car is going to get a lot better through the season and always when there’s a big rule change and the progress is bigger, the steps are bigger, the performance… more lap time gained during the year. I think it’s going to be the same for each team and I think the top teams with more resources can obviously improve more. Hopefully we can improve more but I don’t think there will be anything dramatic; just the cars are going to be quicker, more downforce really and better tyre understanding with the tracks and all of the compounds.

    SV: Well, I was just thinking whether I should buy a crystal ball. So many times we get questions up here, looking into the future. You said we don’t have one, which is right, which is why I was thinking maybe I should get one. I think it will be same as everything else. It will be a surprise, I think it will be a very close race between Mercedes and us, I hope, and I also hope that Red Bull find some pace. There’s a lot of rumours around. They are a strong team, they know how to build a quick car so I expect it’s a question of when rather than if but the sooner, the more exciting it will be but for us. I’m confident that we have the right people, the right tools on board and we will make progress. It obviously depends on what others are doing.

    KR: We’ll see what happens in two weeks at the next race. There’s always a lot of talk because it’s the first real European round. Let’s wait and see.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Valtteri, you spoke on the podium about Nico Rosberg, the chance his retirement gave you for the possible victory. Have you planned to go and see Nico when you are back in Monaco or will you call him tonight?

    VB: I didn’t actually speak about Nico. Obviously I respect him as a driver and World Champion and everything but I just said there was this strange opportunity for me that happened in the winter that made this possible. You never know in life what’s going to happen and it was a great opportunity. I wasn’t planning on calling him really. I think I’m going to call my wife first and then see who I’m going to call afterwards.

    eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference

  • Bottas takes career’s first win: Russian GP

    Bottas takes career’s first win: Russian GP

    Bottas celebrates after winning the Sochi GP on Sunday. An FIA image

    Sochi, 30 April 2017: Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas withstood sustained late-race pressure from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to take his first Formula One victory after rising from third on the grid to take the lead at the race start.

    When the lights went out at the start, Bottas pounced, with the Finn getting a tow on the long run to the first corner to power around the outside of Räikkönen and Vettel to claim the lead.

    Through the first stint, Bottas built a slim advantage but after the drivers’ single stop for supersoft tyres Vettel began to close in and over the final 10 laps exerted heavy pressure on the Mercedes drivers, narrowing a five-second gap to less than a single second by the final two laps. Bottas held on though to take his maiden grand prix win ahead of Vettel and Räikkönen. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth.

    “It took quite a while, more than 80 races but it was worth the wait, worth the learning curve,” said Bottas. “This strange opportunity came to me during the winter to join [Mercedes] and I really want to thank them. Without them this would not have been possible.”

    Prior to the start, Fernando Alonso was ruled out of the race on the formation lap. the Spaniard complained of a charge issues and though a resets were attempted he was forced to pull over and stop at the pit lane entrance.

    When the race eventually got going Bottas roared past and into the lead ahead of the two Ferraris. Behind them Hamilton was trying to hold fourth from Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo. The pair banged wheels and Ricciardo was sent slightly wide. That allowed Max Verstappen to slip past his team-mate down the inside and also gave Williams’ Felipe Massa the opportunity to pass the Australian.

    Further back, Lance Stroll spun his Williams and dropped down the order but at the rear of the field there was a more dramatic incident as Renault’s Jolyon Palmer collided with Haas’ Romain Grosjean. The Safety Car came out and the field bunch behind Bottas, Vettel and Räikkönen.

    Ricciardo, meanwhile, was struggling in P7. He began to slow, reporting that he had a brake fire on the rear right. He was told to pit for checks but when he did the issue was deemed terminal and the Red Bull man was forced to retire from the race.

    At the front, Bottas was beginning to exert a degree of control and by lap 13 the Finn has eked out a gap of 3.7s to Vettel, with the German a further 3.7s in front of Räikkönen. Hamilton was two seconds behind the Finn, while Verstappen was almost nine seconds further back in fifth place.

    As the race headed for the 20 lap mark Hamilton’s engineer began to express concern about the car’s temperatures and the Briton was soon informed that the temperatures were at the limit. The Briton pushed on, however, and soon had 16.0s in hand over fifth-placed Verstappen. As the gap widened he asked to be kept informed about the temperature issue. At the front Bottas was no running five seconds clear of Vettel, with Räikkönen now almost 11 seconds off the lead.

    The first pit stops occurred on lap 22, with Massa pitting from seventh for supersofts and rejoining in P10. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, as well as McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who also served a five-second penalty for an earlier track limits infringement and Force India’s Esteban Ocon, who pitted on lap 26.

    Race leader Bottas was the first of the front runners to pit, on lap 27, with the Finn taking on supersoft tyres. Räikkönen, complaining that his rears were gone, was the next in on lap 29, joined by Verstappen, while Hamilton made his stop for the red-banded Pirellis on lap 30.

    Vettel, though, soldiered on and on lap 32, the German’s race engineer Ricardo Adami, radioed through to tell his driver “we are staying out, we are staying out, this is good”.

    Vettel extended his lead over BOT to 20.6s before his pit stop on lap 34 but despite the good work it wasn’t enough to overhaul the Finn and when the Ferrari rejoined he was 4.7s behind the Mercedes driver.

    Vettel began to close the gap however and when Bottas locked up at Turn 13 on lap 39, the gap narrowed to 3.0s with Vettel lapping eight tenths quicker than the leader. Three laps later it was down to 1.5s.

    Bottas, though, was in control and as they weaved their way through traffic, the Finn edged ahead slightly. The gap ebbed and flowed then, but only ever by tenths of a second and after a final push over the last seven laps Bottas eventually crossed the line to take his first career F1 victory, scored in his 81st grand prix start. Vettel’s second place means the German heads to the next round in Spain with a 13-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Hamilton who finished fourth behind Räikkönen. Vettel now has 86 points to Hamilton’s 73. Bottas’s first win leaves him third in the standings on 63 points, 14 clear of Räikkönen.

    In the Constructors’ standings, the win and fourth place for Mercedes puts them at the head of the title race, though the defending champions have just a single point in hand over Ferrari.

    2017 Russian Grand Prix – Race
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1h28m08.743s
    2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 0.617s
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 11.000s
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 36.320s
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:00.416s
    6 Sergio Perez Force India 1:26.788s
    7 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:35.004s
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:36.188s
    9 Felipe Massa Williams 1 Lap
    10 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1 Lap
    11 Lance Stroll Williams 1 Lap
    12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1 Lap
    13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 Lap
    14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1 Lap
    15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1 Lap
    16 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 2 Laps
    – Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Brakes
    – Romain Grosjean Haas Collision
    – Fernando Alonso McLaren Not started
    – Jolyon Palmer Renault Collision

    eom/FIA press release

  • As always, tomorrow is the day that counts: Bottas

    As always, tomorrow is the day that counts: Bottas

    Vettel poses with teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Valteri Bottas (left) after taking pole on Saturday in Sochi. An FIA image

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

     2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

    3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Q: Sebastian, it was an incredibly tight battle at the front and a last-minute, do-or-die effort from you seemed to make the difference. Talk us through the session.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I had a good start to the session, to qualifying this afternoon. I was feeling reasonably comfortable. But then I think in Q2 I lost a little bit the rhythm, so, my final run in Q2 which I thought would just give me enough of an idea for Q3 for the final segment, would put me in place, and it went wrong. I locked up, lost a bit the rhythm and then in Q3 the first run was not really tidy so I left it to the end and, yeah, got a good lap it. It proved I think in the last sector, I think I made up some time compared to my lap before. I knew it would be tight and I knew I would be the first one across the line and by going quicker than what I saw on the screen before than Kimi I knew, for now, I’m ahead, but then I immediately and asked about everybody else, “tell me about the others”. My race engineer Ricardo told me “they are closing the lap, they are closing the lap”. I said: “yeah, let me know, let me know, how are the sectors, how are the split times?” The first one I got was Valtteri who didn’t manage to improve and then when I got the message that we got it, I was over the moon. So yeah, a big thank you to the team, I think the car was phenomenal this afternoon. It’s really a pleasure to take a seat and go around with low fuel and just try and push it to the limit. If you have a rhythm here it feels fantastic, so glad I got it back and big thanks to the team. It’s a team effort and it’s a great result to have both cars on the front row. But it’s only part of the job, the main job is obviously tomorrow but for now it’s an important step. We managed to improve a little bit. Maybe the circuit came our way as well but it’s a very good result and I’m sure everybody is very happy and very proud so we’ll enjoy that but in a couple of hours we’ll start focusing on the race

    Q: Many congratulations. Coming to you Kimi, your second place gives Ferrari it’s first front row lock-out since the French Grand Prix in 2008. You were so close to Sebastian. How frustrated are you to be on pole? 

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Obviously the aim is to be on the front. The feeling has been more better this weekend and now we just got some traffic on the pout lap on the last set and couldn’t really make the tyres work as well as the first run and it was a bit more tricky. It was thereabouts and then I just got it back in the last corner but it didn’t pay off. I’m happier than previous qualifyings but obviously I think we had all the tools to be in the front today but a one-two for the team is not bad.

    Q:Thank you Kimi. Valtteri, this is the first time this year that a Mercedes hasn’t started from pole position. Quite simply, how good is the Mercedes relative to the Ferrari here in Russia?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I think we can clearly see from the result that Ferrari was quicker today. We were close in the end but not quite enough. To be honest all weekend they have had the upper hand and they have been able to extract much mire, especially from the ultrasoft tyre, and that’s where we really struggled yesterday. We made improvements for today but obviously not quite enough. Still, good team effort to get very close and we’re on the second row. As always, tomorrow is the day that really counts and I think a second-row start is that much of a bad thing – it’s a pretty long run into Turn One.

    Q: Thanks. Coming back to you Sebastian: is Ferrari back?

    SV: From where? I think if you look at the first three races then I think we had a good start to the season. Obviously in qualifying Mercedes has been very, very strong. As I touched on, maybe the track, maybe how we handled the tyres, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter in the end; we are in front which is a good thing. As I said, it’s a great achievement. We managed to improve the car a little bit for this race. It will be very close tomorrow, especially over a long run. Valtteri had good pace yesterday. We’ll see. But as I said, for now we’re full of joy. We’re very happy that we’re back – at least if you talk about the front row for Saturday and obviously we’ll try and take the momentum into the race tomorrow.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Sebastian, how important is it to have your team-mate alongside you on the front row tomorrow?

    SV: Well, if I could choose I would put Kimi alongside and I think he would say the same. But I think for the team it’s a great day today. Mercedes has been very, very dominant the last years in qualifying, so it’s good to get there, get closer. It was again very close with Valtteri. I don’t know his last lap but the Q2 lap and his first lap in Q3 was very, very strong. I think it’s been a mega qualifying. The car was really nice to drive and it’s a track when the car comes alive it’s really pleasant.

    Q: Are you surprised to be on pole?

    SV: Yes and no. I was eyeing… you are always eyeing for pole when you go into qualifying. I think I was eyeing also the last couple of events but I had to learn harshly that in Q3 we weren’t quite ready, so today I don’t think I ever looked at it and said: “OK, today we can do it.” I knew that we can do well, and I knew the car was good, but I didn’t know what they might be able to find for the last part of qualifying, so yeah, to sum it up I knew we were strong, I knew we can do it, but I didn’t know how strong in relation to them.

    Q: Kimi, different strategies for Ferrari and Mercedes during that session, you guys going out on the supersoft tyres at the start of Q1. Just talk us through how the whole qualifying session played out.

    KR: It played out as we planned it. We did what we planned to do and obviously the end result turned out to be pretty OK for the team. We’ve seen often people run different tyres in the first qualifying. Doesn’t really matter which tyres you run most of the time. That’s what we chose to do and then just go from there.

    Q: How’s the race pace of the Ferrari?

    KR: I think it was good yesterday but obviously tomorrow is the race and we have to see. I’m sure it’s going to be a close fight and we have to make a good job out of it, so let’s see.

    Q: Valtteri, coming to you, are you surprised by the pace of the Ferrari this weekend?

    VB: I think definitely, yeah. Me personally and as a team, coming into this weekend probably we were thinking, y’know, it’s going to be better than Bahrain but so far it’s turned out to be not so good and Ferrari seems to be doing something better. For sure it’s disappointing for us to be… not to be on the pole. I mean we did a good improvement from yesterday to today I think but it wasn’t quite enough and we definitely have some work to do but tomorrow is a different story. It’s going to be a long race and, again, difficult to predict but I think it’s going to be close.

    Q: Is there one specific problem with the car or is it just simply that the Ferrari is faster?

    VB: You know, I think before the qualifying, the only problems we really had was extracting the most out of the ultrasoft tyre. Like I said, I think we mad eit better but I don’t know if it’s because of the tyres or because of the car. For sure they have a very good car and we are struggling to compete with them but we can. It’s a long season ahead and tomorrow is another day, so we are going to do everything we can as a team to be in front of them.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) To Sebastian and to Kimi, you already said about that in the Q2, in the first exit you didn’t get the maximum out of the car. From the outside we had the impression that both of you didn’t reach the limit, maybe thinking of the start of the race, using that tyre for the start of the race, not using the limit of the tyre, not going to the limit of the tyre. Is there any meaning in that?

    SV: Not really. I think, yeah, obviously we evaluated two different things Q2, we did one run with only one lap and another run with two laps and I wanted to push the limit on the first one and on the second one, as I said, I was feeling quite well up to the point where I locked the front and went straight into Turn 13. So… yeah, the plan was to go full steam ahead and see how fast we can go. Also because Valtteri had put in a very strong lap already in Q2.

    Kimi, anything to add?

    KR: No.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) I have a question for Sebastian and Kimi. Sebastian, do you feel that you are in the same condition you were in at Red Bull during their dominant era. Is Ferrari starting a new dominant era like Red Bull when you were there. And for Kimi, if you think this Ferrari seems very close to the Ferrari in that fantastic years 2007-2008.

    KR: They’re all different cars. There’s no way that we can compare. It’s ten years ago so different rules, different tyres, different a lot of things. So, maybe we have a good package. Estimating how does it feel comparing to the old cars… doesn’t really matter how that plays out as long as we can be faster against the cars that we are racing now.

    SV: I think I’d agree with Kimi. It’s difficult to compare those kinds of things – but I don’t like the word ‘dominant’. I think you work hard, you go fast and then you deserve to do well. I think we’ve been working very hard, last year as well, we didn’t go so fast, this year we go a bit faster but it’s only a couple of races in. I think at the moment it’s more important to enjoy the fact that we are doing well. The spirit is good, that’s what we want to keep up. Then, for the remainder of the year… not really interested at this point.

    Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) Question for both Ferrari drivers about team orders. Seb, if tomorrow will be in front of you, will you ask the team to pass, and Kimi, will you let Seb pass you without fighting?

    SV: I think it’s simple. If I’m in front then he wants to pass me, if he’s in front I want to pass him. I don’t think it makes any sense to ask for help from outside. We know that we’re free to race and that’s what I believe and I know we’re both here to do. Today obviously was very close, I expect it to be very close tomorrow and we see how the race goes.

    Kimi?

    KR: No more to say about it. We know what we do and we race for Ferrari and that’s it.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian, did you expect to need more time to see the car competitive for the pole position? Or it’s the proper time so you achieve this result at the proper time?

    SV: Well, let’s put it this way, coming here I think on paper Mercedes looks very strong. I think they are very strong, they looked very strong yesterday. As Valtteri touched on, maybe they weren’t completely comfortable with the tyre treatment, whatever, getting up to temperature. Makes a big difference around here, whether you have the confidence or not. On our side, we focussed on what we had to do. I think we had a plan, we executed it well, I believe and had a good feeling for the car and obviously it’s a great reward to have both cars in the front row. Now, we’re not here to look at what other people are doing: we’re here to look after ourselves but I’m sure tomorrow it will be tight with Mercedes. But, as I’ve said many times, I’m happy we got the result today and for the team obviously it’s fantastic.

    Q: ( Jelena Leppanen – Ilta-Sanomat) Question to Kimi, you said already yesterday that you’re pretty happy with how the car works out. In which way does it feel better compared to the previous races?

    KR: It’s always specific for each circuit so you cannot really compare how it is in one place – because what you need in other circuits might be a completely different story. Overall it’s just been more easy to… normal to drive. I think we started well, in the correct areas, so it’s always more easy to go from there. That side has been much better this weekend so I’ve been happy and doing some changes and improving. Small things but it makes a big difference in the end.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Sebastian, how do you explain the good pace on Saturday? Is it that the car improved since the last race? Does the circuit suit you or did you just understand the tyres better?

    SV: I think the track, the corners, the layout, is not not bad for us, for sure. I think last year we were very strong here. If you look at the performance in sector two it was strong here last year, it was very strong. Obviously it’s completely different but still, some stuff you can compare and we were strong last year, strong this year. As I said, I don’t know how much Mercedes were struggling or not but, to be honest, I don’t really care. It’s more important for us that we do what we need to do and we didn’t have any problems. We had smooth sessions so far this weekend and, as I said, the car felt really good. I think it’s a track where it’s important to have the trust in the car, so you can sort of let go and attack. And I think that was the case for both of us. How much Mercedes were struggling or not… I don’t know.

    Q: (Victory Gavrilova- Ufa City News) For Kimi: were you angry that the team did not want your training time was finishing yesterday? And did you manage to complete all the work planned for today?

    KR: We did what we planned today. I wasn’t angry with anybody; I don’t know that I got right what you’re asking. I was disappointed that we ended up having a bit of traffic but I think everybody knows that here you get the tyres working or it’s a massive difference how the lap time pans out but we ended up having a bit of traffic on our out lap on our last try and it was enough to make it a little bit tricky. I’m happy with second place but we had everything for doing even better. I’ll take it but tomorrow is another day. I think over the weekend things have run quite smoothly and that’s obviously been a big help.

    Q: (Anton Tikhiy – The Independent Sports Newspaper) Sebastian, today the weather is rather warm and dry and tomorrow probably it will be the same. If we’re talking about a great battle between Mercedes and Ferrari, how do you think… which side it will be better, this type of weather?

    SV: I think it’s a lot better when it’s warm and sunny. I think people in the grandstands enjoy it a lot more so they don’t need to bring their umbrellas which is good. For the rest, I think if it’s tight and a good race then they also like that, so let’s hope for a good one. (To Valtteri) You prefer cold? That’s because we’re in Russia and it’s supposed to be cold! In the end, you have to deal with the conditions that you have. I think it’s about twenty degrees. I don’t know if that’s the warmest it ever gets here but it’s nice. The last couple of years it was a bit cooler, so it’s nice to have it a bit warmer.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Valtteri, Mercedes made a step forward since yesterday to today; we saw that in free practice and also in qualifying but you cannot touch the car before the race tomorrow. You found a compromise in your set-up for qualifying and race, do you believe you can be as strong in the race as you were in qualifying?

    VB: I think the changes and the improvements we made from yesterday to today should help us in the race also. Everything just went in the right direction with the tyres and yeah, if the conditions are more or less like today I think it’s going to be OK. Obviously we’re not confident that we have the quickest car around here and that is the case and Ferrari is very strong here. I think, as we’ve seen in all of the first three races they have a good race pace and we think it’s going to be the same case tomorrow so it’s going to be a close one again.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, in Bahrain you said after the race you compromised the qualifying a little bit, thinking about the race. Could you tell us if you worked in a different way here?

    SV: I don’t remember what I said in Bahrain. I get a lot of questions; I have to come up with a lot of things. You try to improve the car, no matter what. I think the days – maybe when you started and people were talking about qualifying and race set-ups – it’s not like that any more.  I think you try to extract maximum performance whenever you can, so for sure there are some things that might help you in the race over qualifying but we also made some changes, to get more out of the car, which worked and which will also help us tomorrow. We didn’t compromise here one way or the other.

    Q: (Slava Karpov – Radio Sport) Kimi, you are a favourite driver among the Russian fans; what do you think of this and do you feel this support?

    KR: Obviously I’m happy to have the fans here or anywhere around the world. I must say it’s nice to come here. There are not many places that have beautiful mountains behind and snow. The weather is perfect this weekend so it’s a great place to come in my view and the circuit is fun. Like I said, I will take any fans that I have, here or anywhere else.

    Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) To both Finnish drivers: why are you so successful on this track? We remember Valtteri was on the podium in Sochi, Kimi has been on the podium in Sochi. Why are you so successful here, maybe because it’s slippery asphalt and Finnish people love sliding and slipperiness?

    VB: It’s not actually that slippery asphalt compared to Bahrain, for example. I think we have had more grip here so that’s not the explanation. Obviously you like some tracks more than the others but I think in the past, for Williams, this used to be a good track in general and I don’t know if I can explain it more than that. I think the track is nice and I enjoy it.

    KR: I don’t think I have had very good results here. In the past years it’s been very slippery, at least for me, but this year the rules and conditions are better. It’s not really any different here to any other place.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) To the two Ferrari drivers: the only negative – if you can say that it’s negative – point of this weekend is that you have to again change the turbocharger and it’s the third element. Do you believe that it will be an issue for the end of the season?

    KR: You’re always very good to always find negative things about us.

    SV: He’s Italian, he should be over the moon. Everybody in Italy I’m sure is very happy now and you’re the only Italian in the world that finds a reason to be negative. You should be ashamed.

    KR: It’s a planned change and I’m sure we’ll be fine with it. Obviously I’ve had one failure that we will not be able to use but the others are still fine and we will run it as we want and they are there to be used and re-used whenever you feel like it.

    SV: Maybe I think you will have a great chance to get a German passport because usually Germans always find a reason to complain. If there’s a hard time when you get back to Italy you’re welcome to Germany.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Ferrari dominates in Free Practice

    Sochi, 28 April 2017: Ferrari continued to set the pace at the Sochi Autodrom with Sebastian Vettel heading up a Maranello one-two ahead of team-mate Kimi Räikkönen in second practice ahead of Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix.

    The Finn had been quickest in the morning session beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas by four hundredths of a second on supersoft tyres. However, when the teams moved to the qualifying simulations and the ultrasoft compound in the afternoon, Vettel, who had finished in P5 in a scrappy opening session, made an emphatic step putting almost three tenths between himself and his team-mate and finishing almost seven tenths of a second clear of third place Bottas.

    The German’s qualifying run start with a momentary note of concern as he reported an “engine hesitation” but after an opening lap, Vettel’s second ‘push lap’ yielded a time of 1:34.120, 0.263s up on team-mate Räikkönen.

    Mercedes could find no response to Vettel’s pace and Bottas finished 0.670s off the pace, with tean-mate Lewis Hamilton three hundredths of a second further behind in fourth place.

    Fifth place in the session went to Max Verstappen whose qualifying run resulted in a three tenths of a second advantage over sixth-place team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. The session ended in disappointment for the Dutchman, though, as he was force to pull over at the side of the track 20 minutes before the end, reporting a power loss.

    Behind the top three teams the midfield battle again looks tight, with just three tenths of a second separating seventh-placed Felipe Massa of Williams from tenth-place Sergio Perez of Force India.

    Massa finished just six hundredth of a second clear of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen just under two tenths further back in ninth place.

    Elsewhere, Fernando Alonso was a decent 12th for McLaren, finishing behind the second Force India of Esetban Ocon, but there were more problems for the team as it was forced to change Stoffel Vandoorne’s power unit.

    Lance Stroll was the only driver not to use ultrasoft tyres during the session, with the result that the second Williams driver finished in 19th place, 1.5s slower than team-mate Massa.

    2017 Russian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 36 1:34.120
    2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 36 1:34.383 0.263
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 36 1:34.790 0.670
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 34 1:34.829 0.709
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 15 1:35.540 1.420
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 26 1:35.910 1.790
    7 Felipe Massa Williams 39 1:36.261 2.141
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 38 1:36.329 2.209
    9 Kevin Magnussen Haas 31 1:36.506 2.386
    10 Sergio Perez Force India 38 1:36.600 2.480
    11 Esteban Ocon Force India 39 1:36.654 2.534
    12 Fernando Alonso McLaren 27 1:36.765 2.645
    13 Jolyon Palmer Renault 22 1:36.771 2.651
    14 Romain Grosjean Haas 31 1:37.039 2.919
    15 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 36 1:37.083 2.963
    16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 25 1:37.125 3.005
    17 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 35 1:37.300 3.180
    18 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 30 1:37.441 3.321
    19 Lance Stroll Williams 36 1:37.747 3.627
    20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 29 1:37.819 3.699

    eom/FIA press release

  • It’s a privilege to have a home race: Kvyat

    Sochi, 27 April 2017: Part one of the FIA Thursday Press Conference ahead of the fourth round of the Formula One (F1) World Championship to be held here on Sunday.

    DRIVERS – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes), Romain GROSJEAN (Haas)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Daniil, welcome and happy birthday for yesterday. It is of course a home race for you but that means an awful lot of commitments. Were you able to even enjoy your birthday?

    Q: Daniil KVYAT: Yeah, I was. Obviously you have to expect that you have a bit more things to do at your home race. I think it’s a privilege for any driver to have a home race and it’s a privilege for me. Of course I was in Moscow a few days earlier for a few events and here also yesterday was quite a busy working day for me to be honest, but it was still enjoyable, I was surrounded by nice people and it was all quite nice. I learned how to do curling, so now another sport on top.

    Q: This is the fourth year of the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi? How do you feel the popularity of the event has grown during that time?

    DK: You know, to be honest I think that since year one there has been quite full grandstands, so it’s been quite good already. Not too much to add since the first year, so it’s a point to maintain this. We will see this year but I am expecting to see quite a lot of people here on Sunday and the weather is nice so everyone should enjoy. Hopefully the race is going to be interesting and that’s it really. I am pleased to see this.

    Q: Let’s talk about your on track performances: you scored points in Australia, but you haven’t had much luck since then. How do you assess your season so far?

    DK: First of all, it was already a privilege to finish the race in Australia, for me. It was a good start but for me it was more important to know that we have the pace to do good results. As you said, China and Bahrain were a bit not our kind of weekends. More important for us to know that we have a package to do things well. The team is operating extremely well this year from the operational side of the things – very professional, especially considering how tight the midfield is, every little thing makes a difference for us. It’s actually quite interesting. Very interesting every qualifying session. You are putting yourself at the limit and the same in the races. It’s very interesting to be there.

    Q: Tell us a little bit more about this year’s car. What are its strengths and weaknesses?

    DK: Our car in particular, I would say, is quite universal. It’s been a similar kind of performance in every track so far – Australia, China, Bahrain, it’s always similar, fighting for points, Q3s. Like I said before, you have to put everything well together and the difference between the fourth best team and the seventh best team is very, very narrow.

    Q: Thank you for that and good luck for the weekend. If we come on to Valtteri now. Valtteri, you made a step forward in qualifying last time out but to use your own words the race was a disappointment. Given you have a record here in Sochi, are you confident that this is the place to make that final step?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I think definitely it has been getter better in each qualifying of the year and feeling that I can definitely extract more and more out of the car and had a nice lap in Bahrain on Saturday but, yeah, it is Sunday that counts and to be honest I think the first race of the year in Melbourne, as a Sunday, was the best one for me. It was the most trouble-free race for me. Been having quite a few difficulties in China and Bahrain – technically, with different kinds of things in the race. So hoping for a good one here. We have a strong package and obviously the fight with Ferrari is extremely close and every single bit is going to count, so yeah, just hoping for a good weekend.

    Q: You just referenced the technical problems you had in Bahrain. But you then went and did 143 laps in testing after the grand prix, during which you said you’d learned a few tricks. I just wondered what those tricks might be?

    VB: Like I said, it’s all about fine details with the fight between us and Ferrari and obviously it’s very close between team-mates as well, so every single bit helps. It was quite critical in Bahrain with the tyres, in terms of keeping them in the right window and with the tyre pressure issues we had it made it even more tricky. Bahrain testing allowed me to try a bit of different things for that really – how to manage the tyres. In terms of race pace and temperatures and pressure and everything we could experience a lot of different things. We found small things as a team, but small things are going to help. It is completely different conditions here in Russia, different tarmac, different temperatures, so we are facing different challenges here.

    Q: Just finally, you’ve now completed your first 100 days as a Mercedes driver. How would you sum it up, how’s it gone?

    VB: Busy! Especially since January when everything was signed and announced it has been a busy time. But I have to say these 100 days, I’ve never in my life learned so much in that short period of time. I feel like I’ve been developing well. I’ve managed to get really into the team, I feel completely part of the team and I feel like I’m in a very good place. The team is really helping me with that. I’ve learned massively but that’s going to continue.

    Q: Thanks for that. Romain, first points of the year last time out in Bahrain. So, how confident are you of another good result here? Do you even know yet how good this year’s car is?

    Romain GROSJEAN: It’s a shame we’re not at the next press conference – I always said I was going to wait four grands prix to see what the car was capable of doing. We’ve had three different track right now and Sochi is the fourth one – very smooth tarmac and last year we had ups and down. This year it looks like the car has been strong everywhere. Only first point in Bahrain but I reckon we should have scored points in Melbourne and in China, we had a little bit of bad luck. So far, so good. Just waiting that grand prix to see how the car is going around and if we can get all we want and if we can get the tyres to work properly and so on. If that’s the case then we know we should be pretty good everywhere and then it’s just going to be down to development.

    Q: Can I ask you about the test last week in Bahrain. You tested Carbone Industrie brakes. How did they compare with the Brembos you have been racing? Are they the solution to the braking problems you’ve had for pretty much the last 18 months?

    RG: To be fair to Brembo, the last update in brakes we had that arrived in China were much better. It took a long time to get them. So then I was not screaming to change to Carbone Industrie but it was in the pipeline, so we tried them, and both drivers were pretty pleased with them. We felt like we had more control under braking. I’m very sensitive to my left pedal, so I really need to get good brakes to get good confidence and push the car to its maximum limit. So we are going to run them here. There is still a little bit of work we need to be doing around the mapping and finding the solution around those brakes but I think yeah, definitely it’s going to help me a little bit to find the last few hundredths.

    So just to clarify you are going to run the Carbone Industrie here in Russia?

    RG: Yes.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Valtteri, as you mentioned, your qualifying has been getting better and better but your race pace has not been what you expected. But it’s especially in the first half of the races that you seem to be struggling more, when the car is on full tanks. Have you find out why is that and in testing in Bahrain did you find a remedy for that?

    VB: Yes, so like I said, I think Australia was the only race when everything was actually working as it should in the car. There was a small mechanical issue in China which was affecting the balance of the car quite a lot and it made the race overall quite tricky. Plus, I didn’t maybe do the best job with the softer compound in the beginning. And in Bahrain my race was compromised with the issue we had with the generator on the grid, meaning the tyre pressures were way too high and the first stint was very poor. We were hoping the second stint would be better, so we fitted another set of supersofts. It was better, but we didn’t manage to be really in the window with the supersoft. At the same time Lewis changed to softs and that was why there was a massive difference with the pace and then we were on different strategy, different points of having the stops and to be honest it made me look really bad in the race and slow, but for sure we had some issues as well. But I feel that with a normal, trouble-free race the good results will come and we can have a strong result with both cars, definitely.

    Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) A question for Daniil Kvyat. Dany, if Max Verstappen strikes somebody off the start, will Dr Marko replace him by you?

    DK: It’s a question for Dr Marko, not for me.

    Q: (Simon Lazenby – Sky Sports) A question for Valtteri. Valtteri, it looks like it’s going to be tight, obviously, between yourselves and Ferrari this year. With that in mind, have you had a conversation with Toto or any of the management about when one of you or Lewis might become the number one or number two driver?

    VB: No, we have not had the conversation because I don’t think there is any need to. This team never really has had number one or number two drivers and is not planning to. It’s always trying to give and equal chance for both drivers. But what is different this year is, for the team the last three years, the gap to the second quickest team has been bigger. So maybe every single detail – letting the drivers race hard, or one being stuck behind the other at times hasn’t cost anything. But I do understand the fact that this year it can cost points. If for any reason, like for me In Bahrain, the pace of the other car is not good then the team needs to think and be clever and not to lose any points. We’ve only had three races this year and I feel all my good results are still on the way, so at least I am not thinking about anything like that and I’m sure also for the team there’s no need to.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Based on the latest information from the FIA, it appears as though the cockpit Shield has received the nod for 2018 over the Halo. What do you think about the Shield and which one would you prefer the Shield or the Halo?

    RG: Can we choose nothing. I haven’t been a big fan of the Halo and I’m not a huge fan of the Shield either. I don’t want to stop the safety. I think safety in Formula One has to be the number one priority but I don’t want to change what I’ve known as Formula One since ever and the next step is to put a closed canopy on top of the helmet and I don’t want to see Formula One being closed cars.

    DK: I agree with Romain, you know, I think it’s enough for now the way Formula One should look should remain the same. I think we have enough protection so far. Of course if there are good ideas they should be considered but so far I am quite against it to be honest, both of those options.

    VB: I don’t mind the Shield. I think it looks quite OK. I think it’s definitely a good step compared to the Halo. That’s my personal view, how it looks, so I don’t mind that. I think the safety aspect is always important. It’s always important to keep things improving, developing – safety always needs to be improved. So I wouldn’t mind trying out the Shield, seeing how is the visibility and if there are any other issues with that. But I think in terms of safety it would be a good step compared to what we have now.

    Q: (Marco Mensurati – La Repubblica) A question for Valtteri, again about his first 100 days in Mercedes. When you signed, did you expect that it would be so hard, so difficult and which is so far in your opinion the biggest mistake you made?

    VB: I can answer the second question first: spinning behind the safety car in China, I think that’s the biggest mistake I’ve done, it could be through my career most likely…

    RG: I’ve done it, no worries…

    VB: Yeah? Hopefully the last one

    Daniil, have you done it?

    DK: No, but on the out lap…

    Everybody’s done it. Back to you Valtteri.

    VB: For sure I always knew it was going to be a big challenge: a late change of team in mid-January, going up against Lewis, probably one of the quickest drivers ever, so I always knew the facts of changing team. I have to say there was quite a bit more stuff to really get good at, in terms of really learning how the team operates and how the team is setting up the cars – different kind of tools to what I’m used to, and a different way of thinking in some ways. Getting to understand that 100% there has been quite a bit of work. Obviously all kinds of other things: how the car behaves mechanically, new tyres, new cars, which is the same for everyone. So I wouldn’t say I underestimated the change, but it’s definitely been a challenge as I expected but like I say, I’m getting there. My goal was to be able to extract everything there is in the car in the first race, first qualifying. I don’t feel like that I maybe achieved. But also allowed myself some time, not to put too much pressure. I knew that it’s not going to be easy. But like I said, feeling very comfortable now, good with the car, good with the team. Overall a good feeling, just happy to continue and get some results.

    Q: (Andrey Kartashov – Tas News Agency) Question to Daniil. Do you feel the pressure of racing in front of your home stands and what is a decent result here in Sochi for you?

    DK: I’m racing now fourth year here at home. It’s always been a busy week off the track but to be honest on the track starting on Friday it’s been like any other weekend from that point of view – you go out in FP1, you start working on the car set-up with the tools you’ve got. Same position in FP2, FP3 and then you’ve got qualifying and then you’ve got the race. Nothing has really changed for me in those three days of sporting work. It’s important to just focus on your own job and try to do your best.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Question to all drivers. We have seen this year some difficulty to take the tyres to the temperature of the window and here’s a circuit where you have very low tyre wear. Can it be an issue here? And, for Valtteri, can it be an advantage considering you fight with Ferrari which keeps more the tyres but has some difficulty to reach the temperature of the tyres?

    VB: I think this year we’ve struggled a bit more with higher temperatures. I think that’s been a bit of a trend and something we’ve been working very hard on. I think we’ve also managed to find some things in testing in Bahrain. So yeah, I think we prefer these kind of conditions to very hot – but it’s not something we are counting on. We need to keep working on everything. It will be interesting to see how we compare. My estimate is that, again, it is going to be very, very close with Ferrari. We’re talking hundredths, maximum tenths. So, it’s going to be interesting.

    Dany, how about you?

    DK: I think, you know, obviously Pirelli has changed a bit their approach from the last few years to this year, obviously with the big regulation change. So, it’s perhaps slightly more conservative with their compounds but at the same time here of course they’re bringing their softest compounds. In the past this track historically has been very interesting on the tyres. It’s quite different, standing out, and every year we have to understand how to make it work in the correct way. So I think this weekend also will be interesting, but obviously having ultrasoft here as a qualifying compound should be a bit more helpful – but we have to find out only on Friday.

    Romain?

    RG: Yeah, I think tyres have been easier to work than last year, to put in the window, with more downforce on the car. Warm-up was a big issue for Pirelli, or a big concern initially, but I think we haven’t had too much warm-up issue. Here, of course, it’s more tricky but again we’ll see how it goes. We’re hoping with the ultrasoft that warm-up will be good enough and then in the race with the fuel anyway it should balance out and be pretty OK.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) To Valtteri. If you were given an instruction in this race to move over for Lewis, a) would you do that? And as well as that, if they sat you down more broadly over the next few weeks and said: “look, there’s only one way we can get a driver to win this year and we’ve got to back Lewis to do it”, would you agree to do it? Would you say “I understand why I’ve been brought in and that’s the job I’ve got to do. My wages arrive through the Mercedes management and I’ll do their bidding.” Or would you say “no, I’m not there to do that, I won’t yield an inch to Lewis.”

    VB: Your question is very hypothetical. There’s a lot of ‘its’ and I definitely haven’t thought that far about things and I don’t think that is going to happen. So, I prefer not to say much to that – but, y’know, example, if I have some issues in this race, for whatever reason, we are in different strategies or Lewis is stuck behind me, or something, if the team tells me to move over, I will, because we are doing this as a team and our target is to get maximum points for the team. And, of course, as a driver I’m going to do everything I can not to be in that position and have my own race. I like personal results as well but I’ve always been a team player, in the long term that is going to reward you, and the team – but in terms of what’s going to happen in the future between me and Lewis and team orders and so on, y’know we are not planning anything like that. I’m sure we are going to be racing very hard together on track but, like I said before, this year the team needs to be more careful and maybe more clever in terms of how we collect every single point possible in the race. And that one, I completely understand. Nothing more to say.

    Valtteri, if you’re quicker than Lewis, would you expect him to move over for you?

    VB: Of course. If the team thinks there is a possibility to gain more points or, if we are in any way allowed to race freely, it’s no different. We are being respected and handled the same way. It can all be vice versa in this race or the next one. Who knows?

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Romain Grosjean. With the test of the new brakes, did you have time during that day in Bahrain to test other things – new setups?

    RG: Yeah. The brakes actually was not the first test item of the day. We tried different mapping in the car and them over the lunch break went to the brakes. We didn’t lose a lot of time to set them as we wanted – but then had Kevin had a similar problem on the next day. We collected more information, so yeah, we had a very productive testing and hoping that everything we’ve done is going well and we’ll see on track tomorrow.

    Q: (Inaudible) Question for Daniil. Obviously a lot has changed since last year here in Sochi for you. Could you tell us a little bit about your past year. Must have been difficult, maybe, sometimes for you?

    DK: How would you guess! I would say in the end it seems like just some pleasures in my memory to be honest. Now the situation is quite different and it seems like every time I get out on track with the car it all feels quite comfortable, it all feels quite under control. And, as I said, every race is an opportunity for us to do well and that’s how it feels. Sometimes this feeling was very inconsistent, of course, last year, which I guess is normal – but now it seems like it’s back to me. And yeah, the confidence with the car is good, the pace is there and I think we’re only on race four out of 20 so it all looks encouraging for me, so prefer to look ahead rather than behind.

    Q: (Darya Panova – F1 Only) Question to Daniil Kvyat. Happy belated birthday. What is the most memorable gift you got yesterday?

    DK: Thanks! We had a book presentation yesterday about my junior career so it was very nice. A very nice gift. I hope it will be interesting for the young guys from Russia to read. This was actually the idea of showing a bit the curtains from inside the house: how it works, the traditional way to Formula One – but there is not a single word about my Formula One career, of course. Also a game, backgammon, from my father was a very nice gift. So yeah… I can’t think of anything else.

    Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) To Valtteri again – you get a lot of this now you’re at Mercedes – you seemed as though you’ve got on well with Lewis. How would you describe the nature of your relationship. Do you speak regularly? Do you see him at the racetrack, do you exchange many words? How does it work on a day-to-day basis?

    VB: So far it’s been very good with Lewis, being his team-mate. I feel we have a good professional team-mate relationship – something I’m very much used to with Williams, with Felipe. We don’t see outside the racetrack. Every now and then we might see each other at the factory – like last Tuesday – and obviously we see each other on the race weekends, sit in the same meetings, y’know, I don’t know, it’s a normal team-mate relationship for me. So far it’s been good: we both respect each other, which is good, and we both can work well as a team. We’re both really trying to help the team because every single thing this year is going to count if we want to win the title. So we are really giving everything we can to make us stronger. So far, very good.

    eom/FIA transcript of the press conference