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It feels good to start in the top-3, says Jehan Daruvala
THOUGHTS FROM TSUNODA, MAZEPIN AND DARUVALA
FIA Formula 2: Hello and welcome to the press conference with the top three qualifiers for this weekend’s FIA Formula 2 Feature Race here at Sakhir. We are joined by pole-sitter Yuki Tsunoda for Carlin, in second place is Nikita Mazepin for Hitech Grand Prix, and third is Jehan Daruvala, also for Carlin. Yuki you really needed this pole after last weekend, and you delivered under pressure. Just how happy are you with today’s result?
Yuki Tsunoda: Like you said, I’m really happy. Especially from last week in Qualifying. I did a big mistake and I felt really sorry for the team. I’m really happy with the drive to say thanks to Carlin for today, for the pole. I’m really happy, and a really big thanks to Carlin.
FIA Formula 2: I was going to ask you about the team actually, with both yourself and Jehan up here. Quick in practice, quick last week here. Do you think you’ve got the quickest car for the race as well?
Yuki: I really, fully, trust my team. Especially the engineers and mechanics. I think we’ll also have a strong pace as well for tomorrow. But you can never expect much for tomorrows race. It’s a different track, well a different layout. I think there’ll be a lot of overtakes. You can never expect. We don’t know how we’re going to be tomorrow on the pace. I’ll just do my job and we’ll see what’s going to happen.
FIA Formula 2: Good luck tomorrow, thank you. Nikita, second place matches your best result in Formula 2, which you achieved at Spa this year, I think. Just how good did the car feel out there today?
Nikita Mazepin: I think we were strong. Obviously, it’s a new track and let’s say a pretty strange one. It reminds me of going back to karting days when the lap was a minute or so. You obviously cross the start/finish line a lot quicker. There’s also a lot more cars around you, and everything is just different. It’s a nice challenge for everyone. It’s the closing weekend of 2020, so it’s nice to get a bit of spice there. In regard to Qualifying, I think I started off pretty calm, and it became pretty messy towards the end. We were very close, I think the pace looked strong, but not close enough. However, tomorrow is the big day I believe.
FIA Formula 2: It is indeed. I know you didn’t quite get pole, but you are still just in the title fight. With Callum (Ilott) starting in ninth and Mick (Schumacher) all the way back in at least 18th, it could be blown wide open tomorrow. Had you written your chances off coming into this weekend? Do you like them a bit more now?
Nikita: I think you know me reasonably well by now. There is no way I’m going to be writing the chances off for myself before the mathematical chances are out. That’s for sure. To be honest, I don’t want to sound like I’m the wrong man for the job but I’m not really thinking about the title. I’m just enjoying my last moments with my team. Like I said, it’s the closing weekend. I’m definite what I’m going to be doing next year, and the guys are doing a fantastic job. I’m just enjoying the Qualifying that I’ve done with Hitech GP.
FIA Formula 2: Well done today and good luck tomorrow. Jehan, your first podium last weekend and now another top three Qualifying performance to go with Sochi. You’re in really good form at the moment.
Jehan Daruvala: Yeah, like I said last week, things are starting to come together. Last week we were really strong as well, both me and Yuki. We were both out of place in Qualifying. We hit the ground running in practice and we both did a couple of good laps in Qualifying. It feels good to start in the top three. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.
FIA Formula 2: You said you both did good laps – the gap to Nikita was just nine thousandths of a second. We knew it would be close around here anyway, but do you think you left that out there somewhere?
Jehan: Yeah, I was kind of under-powered on the acceleration out of Turn 1, and I didn’t make the most of it. The next lap I found almost six or seven hundredths in the first sector, but the rears were done by then. I think pole was definitely a little bit out of reach, but a front row lock out for the team was possible.
FIA Formula 2: We’ll see how tomorrow goes for you. Yuki, just returning to you. You need a perfect weekend to be able to have any chance of winning the Championship. You’ve done the first part of that. You mentioned that you think the race will be difficult – how hard do you think it will be if you’re leading into Turn 1? Are we going to see a lot of slipstreaming and overtaking tomorrow?
Yuki: I don’t think so, well of course there’ll be overtakes, but I think the FIA made the distance of the DRS zone a little bit shorter into Turn 1, so that will cause a few difficulties compared to last week. There are only a few corners in the middle sector and it’s hard to make a gap from those corners. Still, I think there’ll be a lot of overtakes. I’ll just do my job. In this Qualifying, I think my Sector 2 was really good compared to others. I think that makes a big difference in my lap time compared to others. I have pretty good confidence in the pace. Like I’ve said, the race pace at Carlin last week was really strong, so we’ll just do our jobs.
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Ghosh leaves MRF and joins JK Tyre to partner Gill in #INRC2020
New Delhi, 3 Dec 2020: Former INRC champion and K1000 champion Amittrajit Ghosh left the Reds and joined Yellow on Thursday as the famed Yellow team, JK Tyre unveiled it’s team for the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship to begin at Itanagar for the first two rounds. The King of Indian motorsports, Gaurav Gill, will now have his long-time Mahindra teammate in yellow colours too.
Gaurav Gill with experienced Musa Sherif as co-driver and Ghosh with trusted Ashwin Naik will still be driving XUV300 vehicles, but the factory team entry from Mahindra is missing this year. The thrilling, new compact #MahindraXUV300, then gave some initial hiccups to Gill, the multiple National champion, came back from the blues of Jodhpur, and asserted his supremacy once again, winning the Popular Rally in Kerala. Mahindras have allowed both the top drivers to rally with their vehicles this INRC.
Amittrajit Ghosh of Kolkata leaves MRF and turns out in JK colours for INRC 2020. A JK Tyre image Arjuna Awardee Gill, will lead the team’s challenge once again as Yellows will be alone with their long-time rivals, Reds missing in action this year.
“Gill and Ghosh are two of the country’s finest drivers. Their testing and feedback of our products and development will add tremendous value in our endeavor to return to Indian rallying bigger and better,” Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsport, JK Tyre, said.
“We are happy to have them lead our challenge. Not just that, even in these unprecedented difficult times, India’s finest talent have found support of JK Tyre, country’s biggest patron of motorsport, adding up to 24 members who will be sporting our colors in the event.”
Among the accomplished drivers who will turn out in JK Tyre’s canary yellow colours are Dean Mascarenhas from Mangalore (former INRC champion; with navigator Shruptha Padival), Suhem Kabir from Coorg, Fabid Ahmer from Cochin and Syed Salman from Mysore amongst others.
Besides the above, standing true to their ethos of promoting and nurturing young and local talent, JK Tyre is also supporting 4 local teams from North East which includes an all-girls team.
Phurpa Tsering (with Yashwardhan Kumar), Ms Nabam Asha (Ms Dinky Varghese), Hage Naku (Hage Bitu) and Pem Sonam(with Lenin Joseph) are sure to get a lot of support from the fans in Arunachal Pradesh.
The INRC season gets underway in Arunachal Pradesh on December 16, with two back to back rounds. The third round will be held in Coimbatore and the final one in Bangalore.
They will be competing in various INRC categories in different cars but will have only one common theme: JK Tyre.
“We are looking forward to an interesting competition in the challenging terrains of Arunachal,” Gill said, revealing that he has been preparing for the season with renewed vigour. “I am happy to be back with JK after a brief hiatus,” Ghosh added.
About JK Tyre Motorsport:
JK Tyre has been closely associated with the world of motorsports for almost three decades back. The company laid down a long term plan to popularise and promote the sport in the country. Its first target was to change the notion that this was a sport for the elite. So it packaged and redesigned it in a spectator-friendly way, drawing the masses to the sport.
The company then endeavored to spot, nurture and sharpen the drivers to turn them into world champions. With this goal in mind, we conceptualized the JK Tyre National Racing Champion in 1997. Our efforts started paying dividends in just a few years’ time, with the likes of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok going all the way to the F1 rung, the highest level of single-seat racing in the world. Since then, a number of stars emerged, including Armaan Ebrahim, the Maini brothers (Kush and Arjun), Anindith Reddy Konda, amongst many others.
Before all this, JK Tyre had a successful stint in rallying too, conquering the scene in the early 90s. At the same time, gradually, we moved on to various disciplines, including cross-country rallying and off-roading, leaving a mark in each of them with their unique and innovative ways.
JK Tyre Motorsports is also very proud of the role it has played in bringing women into motorsports in a big way. Apart from encouraging them to get into the sport through karting as kids, we also gave them opportunities in various national championships. Last year was particularly rewarding for us as an All-Women Racing team was introduced for the first time in the LGB 4 category. In addition, the company also undertook various other initiatives to encourage them to try motorsports, even if for fun to begin with.
To supplement JK Tyre’s entry into the two-wheeler market, the JKNRC hosted the Suzuki Gixxer Cup and the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup categories and saw enthusiastic participation from across the country.
Today, the company is synonymous with motorsports, and even more so with racing, creating a lot of goodwill for the brand. Right from budding racers to accomplished drivers in the country, everybody owes their rise and success to JK Tyre.
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Horrific F1 accident and miraculous escape puts safety in perspective
Seven-time world Champion Lewis Hamilton took his 5th consecutive victory of the season as Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon completed the podium in a race which was overshadowed by the horrific accident and miraculous escape of Haas driver Romain Grosjean. This case of accident was handled by traffic accident lawyers based in Highland area. You can also get their help if you want to deal with legal accident issues. You can get info from moto accident lawyers based in Atlanta area based, if you need help with car accidents. Since accidents are inevitable on the road, it is a smart move to hire personal injury attorneys located in Riverside, CA area who can help legally.
London, 30 Nov 2020: With a 5th consecutive win, Lewis Hamilton won his 11th race of the season ahead of Max Verstappen in P2 and Alex Albon completed the podium for Red Bull’s first double-podium since the 2017 Japanese GP, even as the race finished under the safety car.
The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively, their 22 points haul shooting McLaren to 3rd place in the Constructor’s Championship overtaking a disappointed Racing Point, as Sergio Perez, running in third was forced to park the car with an MGU-K issue with three laps remaining. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finished in P6 ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo in P7 and teammate Esteban Ocon crossed the line in P9. Valtteri Bottas placed his Mercedes in P8 as his race was compromised by tyre puncture and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the top-10.
Daniil Kvyat finished P11 in his AlphaTauri. Kvyat’s future looks uncertain in F1, as F2 star Yuki Tsunoda is tipped to replace him next year. George Russell dragged his Williams FW43 to P12 ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who was seemingly unhappy about the antics of his Monegasque teammate during the race. Nicholas Latifi finished 14th ahead of both Alfa Romeos of Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen was P17 and was the last person to be classified. The injury attorneys from The Galvan Law Firm, PLLC can help with the legalities when it comes to accident cases. Accidents are not always road accidents. You can get help with construction accidents too.
Sergio Perez, who had heartbreak as he retired from a podium position with an engine failure, was philosopohic. “It’s really hard for both myself and the team to take today’s result, but in the grand scheme of things, it almost becomes irrelevant after Romain’s crash at the start. At the end of the day, it’s either one more or one less podium or trophy for me, but the important thing is that Romain is still with us and that he’s ok. I wish him all the best.”
Racing Point scored no points as Lance Stroll too DNF’d after his car was flipped over with contact from Kvyat’s car. The story of the day was Romain Grosjean as his car plunged through the barrier after turn 3, split in half and was engulfed in fire. It was a technological miracle that Grosjean was able to get out of the car and was saved. The day belonged to Dr. Ian Roberts and Medical car driver Alan van der Merwe and all the marshals who responded to the accident. In all the hullabaloo, the tweets, the articles and stories around the world has forgotten the `unsung heroes’, the Marshals, who were the first to reach the spot with their fire extinguishers. INDIAinF1.com is trying to get their names with a special article soon.
The start of the race was hectic. Bottas lined up 2nd on the grid but fell down to P6 as he had a bad start and was overtaken by Verstappen, Perez, Albon and Ricciardo. Meanwhile, behind Grosjean saw free space on the right-hand side of the track and tried make through. In the process he tagged Kvyat and his car plunged into the barrier at 221 kmph, bursting into flames. The session was immediately red flagged and cars returned to the pitlane.
There was a delay of one hour and 25 minutes as the charred Haas car was recovered and the barriers repaired. Meanwhile, video footage of the incident appeared as all the drivers looked visibly shaken by what had happened. Positive news came about that Grosjean was conscious and was being taken to a hospital for a checkup.
The race would be initiated by a standing start. Bottas this time started from P4 as he was in that position before the safety car line 2. The race started on lap 3 as everyone lined up on the grid. Vettel was unimpressed by his teammate Leclerc’s dive-bomb on him in turn 1, which according to the German ruined his race. Meanwhile, a bit ahead Stroll was tagged by Kvyat and sent barrel rolling. The safety car was called out as Stroll emerged from his car unhurt and his car recovered. Bottas, had a suspected puncture and therefore, pitted under the safety car for hard tyres to rejoin in P16.
Racing got underway on lap 9 with Hamilton leading the way, Verstappen and Perez following him. Leclerc was running in P7, by lap 13 he fell down to P10 as he was overtaken by future teammate Sainz, Ricciardo and Gasly. Ricciardo was the first person to pit among the midfield on lap 16, changing from mediums to hards. Ocon, Kvyat and Norris followed suit. Hamilton was the first to pit of the leaders on lap 19, Albon following him in, the same lap. Hamilton bolted another set of mediums, while Verstappen and Perez pitted on the next lap for hard tyres. Meanwhile, Sainz had managed his soft tyres to last till lap 21 and pitted for medium tyres.
The second round of pitstops occurred on lap 34, as Verstappen pitted for another set of hard tyres as he was unable to cut into the 4-sec lead of Hamilton. Albon followed the Dutchman. Hamilton was brought in on lap 35 for hard tyres and subsequently, Perez did the same thing on lap 36.
Behind, Ocon had pitted on lap 34 and undercut Ricciardo when he emerged out of the pits on lap 36, Renault teammates seemingly tripped over each other and lost time. Norris and Sainz pitted for hard tyres on lap 38 and 39 respectively. Gasly, on the other hand, was trying an audacious one-stop after switching to hard tyres on lap 25.
Albon, Norris and Sainz overtook Gasly and slotted into P4, P5 and P6 respectively. Everything unravelled for Perez on lap 54 as his car started producing plumes of smoke from its exhaust. Ultimately the car caught fire and he retired from P3, what could have been his second successive podium. This promoted Albon into the podium position. Meanwhile, Verstappen had pitted for medium tyres on lap 46, to set the fastest lap. Due to the recovery of Perez’s Racing Point, the Safety Car was deployed again.
The race finished under safety-car conditions for a second consecutive year in Bahrain as Hamilton took the victory at the chequered flag and both Red Bull drivers completed the podium. McLaren were the happiest of the midfield teams as they outscored rivals Racing Point who scored zero and Renault who wasted time by having an intra-team battle between Ricciardo and Ocon. It was a day to forget for Bottas as bad luck struck again and he could only manage P8. Same goes for Ferrari as Leclerc managed one point and Vettel finished outside of the points.
Sunday belonged to all the marshals and medical staff of the FIA for bravely handling the situation of Grosjean. It also shows how far the safety of racing and F1 has advanced and that racing is and will always be dangerous. Each and every driver should be respected, for every time they step in a car, they put their life on the line and it is not as easy as it looks.
Mercedes dominated this weekend especially in terms of qualifying and race pace. Returning to a familiar circuit showed that Mercedes W11 is still the fastest car on the grid and Turkish GP qualifying result was down to extenuating circumstances. Red Bull closed the gap in terms of race pace but were ultimately unable to challenge Hamilton at the front. Racing Point had a weekend of `what could have been’ as they were pointless at the Sakhir international circuit. Stroll’s unfortunate incident and Perez’s car’s unreliability has made achieving P3 in the constructor’s championship much more difficult. They showed Red Bull challenging race pace as Perez was able to keep a check on Albon throughout.
McLaren may not have been the fastest midfield car but made most of the opportunities that came their way. They are still behind Racing Point in terms of car performance. Their Anglo-French rivals Renault faltered too, as strategic errors and teammate battles cost them higher-finishing positions. Renault showed good qualifying performance as they were able to beat both McLaren and AlphaTauri. AlphaTauri have shown improved qualifying pace in recent races as once again both their cars made it to Q3. Gasly finished an impressive P6 while Kvyat too finished on the fringes of points as once again clever strategy had enabled them to challenge the upper midfield. Ferrari had a dismal weekend as they were unable to make to Q3 and salvaged one point from the race. All this owed to their inferior power unit for 2020, and as the Sakhir circuit is a power-limited circuit, their weakness was magnified.
Williams showed improved race pace as both drivers finished ahead of Alfa Romeo and Haas drivers. This bodes well for them looking ahead for 2021. Alfa Romeo and Haas too were plagued by the Ferrari engine as horsepower disadvantage to rivals meant they neither could make it to Q2 nor challenge for points on Sunday.
Saturday Qualifying results were:
P1: Lewis Hamilton- 44 (Mercedes) P2: Valtteri Bottas- 77 (Mercedes) P3: Max Verstappen- 33 (Red Bull) P4: Alex Albon- 23 (Red Bull) P5: Sergio Perez- 11 (Racing Point) P6: Daniel Ricciardo- 3 (Renault) P7: Esteban Ocon- 31 (Renault) P8: Pierre Gasly- 10 (AlphaTauri) P9: Lando Norris- 4 (McLaren) P10: Daniil Kvyat- 26 (AlphaTauri) P11: Sebastian Vettel- 5 (Ferrari) P12: Charles Leclerc- 16 (Ferrari) P13: Lance Stroll- 18 (Racing Point) P14: George Russell- 63 (Williams) P15: Carlos Sainz- 55 (McLaren) P16: Antonio Giovinazzi- 99 (Alfa Romeo) P17: Kimi Raikkonen- 7 (Alfa Romeo) P18: Kevin Magnussen- 20 (Haas) P19: Romain Grosjean- 8 (Haas) P20: Nicholas Latifi- 6 (Williams) -
Mahindra racing become 1st manufacturer to commit to Gen3 era: Formula E
Mahindra Racing today announced its commitment to the Gen3 era of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, becoming the first automotive manufacturer to sign up for the generation that commences with the 2022/23 season.
As Formula E begins its first season as an FIA World Championship, Indian manufacturer Mahindra has reaffirmed its strong, long-term relationship by committing to the Formula E Gen3 era, starting in 2022. The Mahindra Group aims to put half a million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2025 and believes in Formula E’s ongoing role as an essential proving ground for future race-to-road electric vehicle and sustainable mobility technologies.
One of Formula E’s founding teams – and the only Indian manufacturer – Mahindra Racing has so far claimed four E-Prix victories, 18 podiums, and 690 championship points. Mahindra Racing was also the first Formula E team to be awarded the FIA Environmental Accreditation Three-Star rating, demonstrating excellence in sustainability practices.
Gen3 marks a new era of performance and efficiency benefits including more powerful, lighter cars, fast charging and cost controls, all with the aim of increasing the intense and unpredictable racing Formula E has become known for. The work that FIA and Formula E have done together to shape the Gen3 era focuses on delivering a new generation of progress, reaffirming Formula E’s position as the pinnacle of electric racing while increasing road relevance for manufacturers even further.
The ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is currently testing in Valencia ahead of its Season Seven debut in Santiago, Chile in January with two races each staged at 19:00 CET (15:00 local time) on January 16 and 17.
Jean Todt, FIA President, said: “Ahead of another important technical milestone for the FIA Formula E World Championship, I salute Mahindra Racing as the first manufacturer to commit to the next era of the discipline. The Gen3 race car will indeed further establish the principles that have made the championship successful. It is positive to see a founding team continue with us on a shared mission to develop electric vehicle technology and promote sustainable mobility.”
Jamie Reigle, Chief Executive Officer of Formula E, said: “We see Mahindra Group as a key player in the future of mass-market electric vehicles. It’s a testament to the shared purpose of Formula E and its partners that we have one of our founding teams, Mahindra Racing, already committing to Gen3 in anticipation of the 2022/23 season. Gen3 brings with it an unparalleled opportunity for innovation from a sporting perspective on the track and technological advancement on our roads. We’re thrilled to have Mahindra Racing joining us on that journey.”
Dilbagh Gill, CEO and Team Principal of Mahindra Racing, said: “By committing early to Gen3 Mahindra Racing is continuing its journey, which it started by becoming the first OEM to sign up to the championship back in 2013. As the greenest team in motorsport, Formula E is the perfect home for us; a place where we can demonstrate our performance and sustainability credentials both on and off the track. Our future focus is on race winning performances that we can all be proud of and some exciting new projects in the engineering services space. In short, we’re here for the long run; we are not building something for today, we’re building something for tomorrow.”
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After a dangerous crash and red flag stoppage, Hamilton gets back to take 95th win
Sakhir, 29 Nov 2020: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took his 11th win of 2020 ahead of Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen and Alex Albon in the FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix the 15th of the 17 round World Championship. The race was red-flagged soon after the start due to a major crash involving Haas driver Romain Grosjean. It is Hamilton’s 95th career win.
When the lights went out at the start, Lewis Hamilton made a good start from pole position to take the lead. Front-row starting team-mate Valtteri Bottas got away poorly, however, and that allowed Verstappen to take second place. Sergio Perez who went around the outside of Bottas to take third ahead of Albon.
Further back the field Racing Point’s Lance went wide on the right after to avoid tussling cars ahead, then one of the Alfa Romeos left the track on the left and rercating to the situation in front of him Grosjean moved swiftly across the track. He was unsighted however and hit the AlphaTauri of Daniiil Kvyat. The Haas went straight off track at high speed and through the Armco barrier. The car was torn in two and burst into flame. Miraculously, Grosjean was able to clamber out of the burning wreckage and was helped to safety by the FIA Medical Car crew of Dr Ian Roberts and Medical Car driver Alasn van der Merwe. The red flags were immediately displayed. Grosjean, who was said to have sustained only minor burns to his hands and ankles, was eventually flown to hospital for further checks and later posted video of himself safe in his hospital bed.
After an 80-minute delay to remove and replace the damaged barrier, the race began again but the second start was also incident-packed. Hamilton again got away well ahead of Verstappen and Pérez but behind them there was contact between Stroll and Kvyat, with the result that the Canadian driver’s car was flipped upside down.
Stroll was unhurt but the safety car was deployed and during the caution Bottas pitted due to a puncture caused by debris. The Finn’s misfortune moved Albon to P4 behind Pérez.
When the safety car left the track, Hamilton managed the re-start well to keep Verstappen at bay as Pérez also made sure to keep Alex at arm’s length. Behind them Leclerc tried to pass Ocon for P6 but the Frenchman defended well to fight off the Ferrari.
Hamilton was the first of the leading cars to make a regulation pit stop and the Mercedes driver moved to medium tyres. Albon pitted at the same time and made the same switch. Verstappen made his first stop a lap later and instead moved to hard tyres.
At half distance, Hamilton led Verstappen by 4.8 seconds, while Pérez was 16 seconds further back in P3, 3.7s ahead of Albon. The man on the move during this phase of the race was McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, with the Spaniard making his way past both Renaults to take P6 behind team-mate Lando Norris.
The Red Bulls were the first of the leaders to make final pit stops, with both Verstappen and Albon pitting at the end of lap 35. The Dutch driver’s stop was slow though and he lost ground to Hamilton who made his second stop on the following lap.
The race then settled again, and it looked like the order would stay the same until the chequered flag. With a sizeable gap back to Pérez, Verstappen opted to pit again in the closing stages and after taking on a set of medium tyres the Dutchman grabbed the fastest lap of the race and an extra point with a time of 1:32.014.
Behind him, it looked like Pérez was on his way to a second successive podium finish but with just a few laps to go the Mexican’s engine expired and Albon swept past to claim the second podium of his career. Behind the Thai racer, Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren ahead of team-mate Carlos Sainz, with AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly sixth ahead of Ricciardo, Bottas, Ocon and Leclerc.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 57 2:59’47.515
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 57 2:59’48.769 1.254
3 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 57 2:59’55.520 8.005
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 57 2:59’58.852 11.337
5 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 57 2:59’59.302 11.787
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 57 2:59’59.457 11.942
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 57 3:00’06.883 19.368
8 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 57 3:00’07.195 19.680
9 Esteban Ocon Renault 57 3:00’10.318 22.803
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 2:59’48.335 1 Lap
11 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 56 2:59’49.415 1 Lap
12 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 56 2:59’49.926 1 Lap
13 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 56 2:59’52.774 1 Lap
14 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 56 2:59’53.116 1 Lap
15 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 56 2:59’56.693 1 Lap
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 56 2:59’57.689 1 Lap
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 56 3:00’09.772 1 Lap
18 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 53 2:51’46.894 Power Unit
Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 2 1:25’06.986 Accident
Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 0 Accident -
Mahindra Racing’s Alex Lynn tops times: Formula E test Day 2
Valencia, 29 Nov 20: Mahindra Racing’s Alex Lynn shot to the top of the timing screens on day two of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship test in Valencia today (29 November), as teams took part in a race simulation as part of their season seven preparations.
For much of the second day’s running around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in the Mediterranean port city, defending champion António Félix da Costa’s morning benchmark for DS Techeetah looked unlikely to be troubled, but Lynn – who contested the six end-of-season Berlin races for Mahindra back in the summer – had other ideas.
As the chequered flag was unfurled at the end of the afternoon session, the Briton flashed across the line in a time of 1:11.941, a scant seven thousandths-of-a-second quicker than da Costa’s earlier effort. Indeed, on the combined timesheet, scarcely seven tenths-of-a-second covered the entire 24-car field – promising a sensational season of racing ahead in the all-electric single-seater series.
As he was yesterday, da Costa was a factor throughout and ended up second overall on a 1:11.948, with the following three drivers all similarly posting their fastest laps in the morning. Maximilian Günther placed third for BMW i Andretti Autosport (1:12.049), ahead of Nissan e.dams’ Oliver Rowland in fourth (1:12.161), with two-time title-winner Jean-Éric Vergne putting both DS Techeetah cars inside the top five in fifth (1:12.184).
Impressive rookie Jake Dennis improved three places on his Saturday form to claim sixth position with a best lap of 1:12.306 for BMW i Andretti Autosport, not far behind team-mate Günther.
Underlining the close and competitive nature of the championship heading into the forthcoming campaign, the next four drivers all finished within barely three hundredths-of-a-second of Dennis’ time. Sam Bird wound up seventh for Panasonic Jaguar Racing (1:12.315), with Saturday morning pace-setter Edoardo Mortara eighth for ROKiT Venturi Racing (1:12.323). Robin Frijns (Envision Virgin Racing) and Lucas Di Grassi (Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler) completed the top ten, both stopping the clocks with an identical time of 1:12.338.
Former champion Sébastien Buemi placed 12th for Nissan e.dams (1:12.350), just ahead of last season’s championship runner-up Stoffel Vandoorne (Mercedes-Benz EQ) in 13th on a 1:12.376. After leading the way yesterday, Porsche’s André Lotterer concluded day two in 16th position (1:12.422).
During the afternoon session, all of the drivers participated in a full-length ‘test race’ simulation, which included full-course yellows and a safety car intervention.
Following a day of off-track activities tomorrow, testing will conclude on Tuesday (1 December) with one final six-hour session beginning at 09:00 local time.
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Romain Grosjean jumps out of the huge ball of fire, survives a dangerous crash
Sakhir, 29 Nov 2020: Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean escaped safely from a huge ball of fire, as his Haas car met with a huge crash and hit the barriers and the car caught fire immediately in the very first lap of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship double leg here on Sunday.
The race was red flagged and stopped immediately. The car hit the metal barriers with such force that it split into two pieces and burst into a huge ball of flame. The driver, Grosjean, had a miraculous escape and it was a pleasant surprise to see him jump out and he was guided to safety as marshal used fire extinguishers to douse his racing suit. The Frenchman ejected himself out of the car but was assisted later and taken to the medical centre. Later, Formula 1 tweeted, quoting Guenther Steainer, Haas Team Principal: “Romain is doing okay, I don’t want to make a medical comment but he had light burns on his hands and ankles. Obviously he’s shaken… I want to thank the rescue crews who are very quick. The marshals and FIA people they did a great job, it was scary.”
I’ve not seen that much fire and an impact like that. Romain started to get out of the car himself which is pretty amazing after an impact like that. All the systems we’ve developed, the halo, the barriers, the seat belts – everything worked like it should, said Alan van der Merwe, Medical Car Driver. Since it is still the first lap, the medical car was behind and they immediately came to the rescue of driver, who ejected himself out which was a huge tribute to safety measure implemented by FIA in the recent years.
Indian F1 driver and current F1 commentator Karun Chandhok was one of the first to react and he tweeted: “Oh. My. God. Romain (@RGrosjean) may be the luckiest man on the planet today. So, so happy to see him get out of that car. He would not have escaped from that a few years ago. The FIA’s work in the past 5 decades has saved his life.” He said adding a hashtag `Lucky’.
“It was the chassis structure around the fuel tank that failed, leaving the fuel tank exposed. The component lying on the floor at the rear of the chassis is the battery pack, tweeted Gary Anderson, former Jaguar and Jordan F1 Technical Director and F1 Commentator. Karun agreed and added: “I could see the engine mounts off the back of the chassis. Having 100 litres of fuel and batteries exposed like that was explosive… So lucky Romain was conscious.”
FIA president Jean Todt said: So relieved that @RGrosjean is safe. Thanks to Dr Ian Roberts and the @FIA teams for their courageous and efficient intervention. We have always put safety at the top of our priorities and will continue to do so.” His tweet with a photo of Grosjean jumping the barrier received 2500 likes within 20 minutes.
One Ferrari fan posted praising the Halo, which was introduced by FIA as a safety measure: “French journalist @Julien_FEBREAU received a message from Jules Bianchi’s mother that said: “They introduced the Halo following my son’s accident and the Halo saved Romain’s life today. This is great. I’m glad that he’s okay.”
BBC’s Chief F1 writer Andrew Benson said: “Grosjean hits the wall head on at the exit of Turn Three and the car splits in two behind the cockpit. The front of the car appears to have separated the barrier in longitudinally. Looks as if the halo could have been crucial in saving Grosjean, at first evidence.”
Lance Stroll crashes after Re-start
The race was restarted after about 90 minutes and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll had a crash and landed upside down but safely came out of the car and the race continued under yellow flags and safety car. Stroll gave an okay on the radio and walked out to safety.
At the fag-end, Stroll teammate Sergio Perez, in third place saw his Racing Point catch fire and had to pull out leaving both McLarens finish in 4th an 5th to overtake Racing Point for third place in the Constructors’ title and millions more in funds.
FIA Statement
The FIA advises that an incident occurred during the opening lap of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix today, 29/11/2020, involving car #8, Romain Grosjean.
The driver was immediately attended to by emergency and medical crews. The driver self-extricated, and was conscious at all times. He was taken to the medical centre before being transferred to Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital by helicopter where he is undergoing further evaluation.
Updates will be given when further information is available.
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Easy win for Shwarztman; Ilott, Daruvala crash out: F2
Sakhir, 29 Nov 2020: Robert Shwarztman made a dominant return to the top step of the Formula 2 podium, leading the Sprint Race from lights-to-flag in Sakhir for his fourth win of the season and his first since Round 7.
The PREMA racer beat out his Championship rival, Nikita Mazepin, who moved up to third in the standings and kept himself in the title fight heading into the season finale. Louis Delétraz clinched his fifth podium of the year in style, making up 13 places with a stunning charge through the field from 16th.
Championship leader Mick Schumacher will take a 14-point lead in the final round of the year, finishing in seventh, with his main rival, Callum Ilott failing to score after a collision with Daruvala. Yuki Tsunoda was also unable to score after a coming together with Marcus Armstrong in the opening laps left him with a puncture and chucked him to the back of the field.
AS IT HAPPENED
Shwartzman stuttered ever so slightly off the line, as Tsunoda dived through the middle and attempted to take the inside line at the first turn, but the Russian recovered superbly, defending the position at the corner and getting back ahead.
Tsunoda’s teammate, Daruvala, got an equally strong start from sixth, lunging up to fourth when the lights went out and getting ahead of Schumacher and Mazepin, who both lost a position. The title rivals began a back and forth and Schumacher narrowly avoided contact as Mazepin budged past him at the first corner.Tsunoda’s strong start came unravelling as contact with Armstrong left him with a puncture on his right rear and forced him into an unwanted pitstop on Lap 2, returning 21st. Meanwhile, Shwartzman had broken away from the pack, building a 2.6s gap over Armstrong.
Racing was brought to an abrupt halt as Theo Pourchaire’s fire extinguisher went off, forcing him to pull over onto the side of the road and retire, bringing out a Safety Car. Delétraz made the most of the opportunity, diving into the pits and switching to the medium tyre.
Shortly after the restart, Daruvala got caught up in a three-car collision at Turn 10. Ilott had spotted his title rival, Schumacher, lock up on entry and attempted to dive down the inside, but locked up himself and collided into a helpless Daruvala, who was sent spinning out.
Schumacher managed to get away scot-free, but Ilott wasn’t as lucky, with the UNI-Virtuosi man forced into the pits for a new front-wing. His misery was then compounded as he was handed a drive-through penalty, which all but ended his chance of points.
Meanwhile, Pedro Piquet had made the most of the carnage, slipping past Schumacher and nabbing P4, before the Virtual Safety Car was deployed to clear up Daruvala’s Carlin.
Race leader Shwartzman brushed off the restart to continue his assault to the chequered flag. Armstrong wasn’t as fortunate. Despite initially pulling away cleanly, Mazepin fired past for second and left him to deal with the plucky Piquet.
The Charouz racer was immediately on his tail, sliding left and right as he searched for a gap, eventually finding space and firing past. Schumacher was under pressure behind him, as Guanyu Zhou lunged in-front for fifth.
Deletraz was making the most of his fresher medium tyres, darting through the pack and into the points. Moves on Christian Lundgaard, Schumacher, Zhou and Armstrong all followed as the Swiss racer stormed towards a potential podium place.
Standing in his way was his teammate, Piquet, but the two never got a chance to battle as the Brazilian suffered from a mechanical issue and was forced to pull over and retire – ending his chance of a maiden podium.
Shwartzman cruised to a fourth win of the season ahead of Mazepin and Deletraz. Armstrong retained fourth ahead of Zhou. Schumacher and Drugovich took the final two points places.
Schumacher leads the Drivers’ Championship with 205 points, 14 ahead of Ilott on 191. Mazepin is up to third with 162, ahead of Shwartzman 159 and Tsunoda on 157. In the Teams’ Championship, PREMA are first are first with 364 points, ahead of 316.5 and Hitech Grand Prix on 266. Carlin are fourth with 208 and ART Grand Prix fifth with 201.
KEY QUOTE – ROBERT SHWARTZMAN (PREMA RACING)
“I am happy to be back here – it took a while. This is my first win since Spa. I am really happy with the work that the team done, because we had a big problem with our pace at the beginning of the weekend. We finally managed to get better and during the race, everything was going well.
“There was a Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car, but I did a decent job at the restart, so in the end it was a comfortable race. A good job from the team and a big thanks to them.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
The field will have just a few days to catch their breath before the season finale takes places here in Sakhir, Bahrain on December 4-6. Schumacher will be looking to clinch the title at the earliest opportunity, with Ilott and Mazepin now his main rivals.
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Arjun Balu finally gets a National title for Race Concepts in their 6th year
Chennai, 29 Nov 2020: The Gentleman of Indian Motorsports, and one of the best talent India has produced, Arjun Balu of Coimbatore was crowned National champion in the ribbon event, the Indian Touring Class in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship which concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.
His team Race Concepts, which started six years ago, got all the monkeys off their back and won the championship fair and square and the Joel Joseph-led team, which had many talented drivers had to put up with some `off-the-track-excursion’ tactics by many a veteran driver. In the first few years, it was Deepak Chinnappa, turning out in Race Concepts Eneo colours, who was shunted out in Coimbatore and the `tactics’ went on in different ways to deny the talented and hard-working outfit, points in the title race and Arjun Balu too, a decent winner in many rounds of the Indian National Rally Championship, lost the title by a narrow margin the last two years, despite his best efforts and for reasons which are not in his control. This reporter has watched all the races of Race Concepts in the first five years before missing this year’s rounds due to Covid-induced restrictions on media and spectators as per government guidelines.
“This is our first championship win in six years. It has been a long and difficult journey with many ups and downs, but eventually, we clinched the title. I owe it to all the members of the Race Concepts team that worked long and hard to get us here,” said Joel Joseph.
From left: Raghul Rangasamy (Super Stock), Arjun Balu (Indian Touring Cars) and Tijil Rao (Formula LGB 1300) who were crowned the 2020 National Champions at Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) on Nov 29. All photos by Anand Philar A hugely relieved Balu, after sealing the championship with a race to spare, said: “After winning Race-1, I knew I needed just seven points from Race-2 to clinch the championship. So, I held the position through the 10 laps for P2. This championship win is most special and most satisfying for me. The previous two seasons, I missed the title by a whisker (to Ashish Ramaswamy and Dhruv Mohite) despite enjoying big leads early on. This title is also a tribute to Joel Joseph and his Race Concepts team which worked so hard, sparing no effort to make sure I get a competitive car.” A gentleman racer as humble as ever!
Also clinching the drivers’ titles in their respective categories were Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy of Performance Racing (Super Stock), 17-year old Bengaluru collegian Tijil Rao of Momentum Motorsport (Formula LGB 1300) and Thrissur’s Diljith TS (MRF Saloon Car series).
Tijil Rao, number 12 blue car, in action before clinching the title in FLGB1300 title. Balu, who was runner-up in the previous two seasons, endured a difficult, rain-affected weekend and did just enough to pick up crucial points by winning Race-1 and finishing second in Race-2 before retiring in Race-3 after a shunt. Dhruv Mohite of FB Motorsport won a double to help his team take the team championship.
Meanwhile, Rangasamy made up for a non-finish in Race-1 by surging to win in the next two outings for the title. In contrast, young Tijil Rao went without a win this weekend, but three podium finishes in the four races ensured him the crown.
The 2020 season was drastically impacted by the pandemic and was reduced to three rounds instead of the scheduled five. The first round was held in February and the remaining two this month behind closed doors while following the Covid-19 protocols.
Dilijith, the champion in the MRF Saloon Car Series for 2020. Indian Touring Cars: Race-1 (8 laps): 1. Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) (15mins, 31.003secs); 2. Keith D’Souza (FB Motorspor) (15:35.528); 3. Dhruv Mohite (FB Motorsport) (15:42.847). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Mohite (19:34.316); 2. Balu (19:36.706); 3.D’Souza (19:37.940). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Mohite (15:49.069); 2. D’Souza (15:49.378); 3. Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) (16:31.373).
Super Stock: Race-1 (8 laps): 1. Alisha Abdullah (Race Concepts) (16:41.042); 2. Vineet Abhiram (Race Concepts) (17:02.885); 3. Sridhar Nagaraj (Race Concepts) (17:24.841). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (20:27.517); 2. Raja Rajan (Performance Racing) (20:28.739); 3. Rithvik Thomas (Race Concepts) (20:43.616). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. Rangasamy (16:33.837); 2. Alisha (16:50.086); 3. Sridhar Nagaraj (16:52.214).
MRF Saloon Car Series: Race-1 (8 laps): 1. Sreeram Sridhar (Chennai) (17:30.244); 2. Diljith TS (Thrissur) (17:31.226); 3. Chandresh Tolia (Mumbai) (17:42.636). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (19:35.644); 2. Diljith (19:38.741); Sreeram (19:42.939). Race-3 (8 laps): 1. A Balaprasath (Chennai) (17:24.875); 2. Korada (17:26.241); 3. Diljith (17:27.661).
Formula LGB 1300: Race-1 (8 laps): 1. Viswas Vijayaraj (DTS Racing) (15:30.277); 2. Tijil Rao (Momentum Motorsport) (15:30.408); 3. Prithveen Rajan (Joba Racing) (15:30.588). Race-2 (10 laps): 1. Prithveen Rajan (Joba Racing); 2. Mohamed Ryan (M Sport); 3. Tijil Rao. Race-3 (8 laps): 1. A Balaprasath (M Sport) (15:23.138); 2. Raghul Rangasamy (M Sport) (15:29.350); 3. Ryan (15:29.724). Race-4 (7 laps): Viswas Vijayaraj (15:26.300); 2. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsport) (15:27.162); 3. Tijil Rao (15:28.427).
National Champions:
Indian Touring Cars: Driver – Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts, 151 points). Team – FB Motorsport (262)
Super Stock: Driver – Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, Performance Racing, 154). Team – Race Concepts (289).
MRF Saloon Car Series: Diljith TS (Thrissur, 113).
Formula LGB 1300: Driver – Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, 122). Team – Momentum Motorsport (215).
About Madras Motor Sports Club
Since its humble beginnings in 1953, the Madras Motor Sports Club has grown in stature as the hub of motorsport activity in India. Having moved from Sholavaram to its present location in Sriperumbudur in 1979, MMSC has kept pace with changing times by upgrading facilities. At a cost of about Rs 20 Crore, the MMSC built a pit complex comprising 20 garages, VIP hospitality suites and a viewing gallery, on the eastern side, apart from a second Paddock on the western side with its own short circuit. The Control Room too was upgraded with state-of-the-art hardware while the track itself was improved to meet the exacting FIA standards for Grade-2 certification. The facilities are also extensively used by various vehicle manufacturers for testing their products, displays and corporate days.
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That’s the most important thing: to enjoy what you are doing, says Hamilton
DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Q: Max, a very familiar qualifying position for you. It did look at one point like you were really putting Valtteri under pressure for that front row. Did you leave anything out on the race track?
Max VERSTAPPEN: No, I don’t think so. My lap was pretty good, just lacking a bit of rear grip in the lower speed corners to my liking. Overall I think it was quite a decent qualifying and let’s see how we will go tomorrow in the race because it is very hard on tyres, so I hope we made the right compromise on that.
Q: You say you made the compromise so what can we expect tomorrow? From what you’ve seen through free practice how hard can you push the Mercedes?
MV: It’s always a bit difficult to say. I definitely do think they picked up their pace today so tomorrow it will be hard to beat but we have different tyres available so let’s see whether that works to our advantage or not. I just hope it will be an exciting race; that’s the most important thing.
Q: Your teammate Alex lines up beside you, as a sort of rear gunner. Does that give you extra support when you are going into what is a tricky first corner here.
MV: Yeah, well let’s see what happens. I’ll just try to focus on myself and try to stay close to the Mercedes cars and I’ll see if somebody can follow us.
Q: Valtteri, well story of the season really. You are close but just a little bit lacking in the outright performance to Lewis. You have the opportunity to see the live data during qualifying, where were you better than Lewis on the lap and where did he have the legs on you today?
Valtteri BOTTAS: I don’t really know actually. It felt good and that’s the problem, when it feels good and that you are extracting everything out of the car but the lap time is not there. That’s the most confusing part. Yeah, I can’t really say much at the moment. There were no mistakes and the last lap I thought was really good. It’s just like small things here and there. There’s no one clear corner, so I need to find out, but at least it’s another front row lock-out for us.
Q: That gives you a good opportunity as it is a tricky run down to that first corner. It sounds to me that instinctively you know that was a tidy lap and you say the time is just not there. Do you think that you have an underlying issue in terms of the performance of the car or do you think it’s just one of those things, today the car doesn’t give you the feedback?
VB: I don’t think there’s any underlying issue really with the performance of the car. I think it’s there and the long runs were good so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
Q: Lewis, your 98th pole. By the end of the season you could have done a century. That could be a nice number to round out what has been a championship-winning year. It doesn’t look like the celebration of winning that seventh title slowed you down any!
Lewis HAMILTON: That’s because I didn’t really celebrate too much. I really didn’t celebrate to be honest. I was training and making sure I was ready for this; keeping my mind and my eye on the ball. This is the continuation of what we are able to do together as a team. I continue to be amazed by my guys that work so hard weekend-in, weekend-out. Now they’re away from their families for three weeks. No matter the seasons throw at us it’s always a really tough year and I appreciate them. To be out here in Bahrain and put laps like that together… I came today and I was like ‘let’s just have fun and enjoy’. That’s the most important thing: to enjoy what you are doing. I think with the pressure a little bit off, it’s a bit of a release to go and drive like I just did.
Q: I’ve heard you before that you’ve never driven the perfect lap. That you aspire to it but there’s always somewhere you could have improved. So what was this Bahrain pole like?
LH: What was the lap like?
Q: If there was more time to be gained, could you? And why didn’t you?
LH: I am on the ragged edge naturally. You know how it is on a lap. It’s about trying to find that perfect balance. You want to take quite a lot on the way in and keep the exit. You want to have your cake and eat it. It’s about just chipping away at it during the lap. I think the lap started off really well. There was probably a little bit of time in Turn 1. Just a little underperformed I would say a little bit towards the apex but after that it was good. Six was a little slow; I probably could have gone a little better there. I could talk you through the lap and I can tell you there is always a little bit here and there but the next lap I go out maybe I’ll improve there and lose somewhere else. Otherwise it was a very clean lap. I generally stayed about two and a half tenths up throughout it, so I was really happy with it.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, a tremendous lap to taker the 98th pole of your career and your 10th of 2020. You found half a second on your final lap of Q3. How pleased were you with how it all came together?
LH: Yeah, well it has been a good weekend so far in terms of the steps we have taken and understanding the car. It was quite a difficult day yesterday, with practice and using different tyres; it was quiet confusing. But today has been a good day. We did some really good work overnight and the decisions we took after P3 into qualifying were pretty spot on. I was really happy with the car from the get-go in Q1. All the laps had been good and then I got to Q3 and Q3 run one was OK, but there was plenty of room for improvement. Fortunately I managed to do that on the last night, so really happy with that and really grateful to the guys who I think this weekend seem a little bit more relaxed, naturally, as the pressure is off. I think we are all enjoying it a lot more. It’s definitely more enjoyable when you don’t have the pressure as much and you can just do what you do to the best of your ability without any additional added pressure.
Q: After the slippery conditions of Turkey last time out, how much fun was it to push on a track like this?
LH: Oh man, it’s been night and day. To go from there to here where it’s a really aggressive track surface on our tyres, naturally. It’s not even too hot here. In times before we have come here and it’s been 50˚C or 60˚C, track temp I mean. The track is not even at 30˚C. But it’s high-speed corners and there’s a lot of surface temperature that we create with these tyres. That’s why you see us going out and doing these laps, back to what we used to do earlier on in the season. The car feels so much better when the tyres are working naturally, so I much preferred driving this weekend.
Q: Valtteri, you pulled yourself onto the front row in the dying moments of the session. Just talk us through the lap at the end of Q3?
VB: The end of Q3 lap was actually really good. It felt like there was not much more to really find, that was the feeling when I crossed the line, so I was pleased with that. But obviously it wasn’t enough for pole and I was quite surprised when I saw the gap. I think we ended up with quite different set-ups, with Lewis, and we’ll see if that makes any difference tomorrow. He’s had a really good weekend overall, every session and all the time I’ve had the feeling that I definitely have the speed but I haven’t quite put it all together. I got it together at the end but obviously it wasn’t enough.
Q: Is it unusual for Lewis and you to have different set-ups?
VB: No, not at all. There have been times when it has been nearly identical and times when it has been different. That’s how it goes.
Q: Max just one tenth of a second off Valtteri in P2. How good was your final lap in Q3?
MV: Yeah, it was alright to be honest. Just following a bit the track progression and stuff and yeah, not much to say really, it was alright.
Q: Are you pleased with your car’s performance relative to the Mercedes so far this weekend?
MV: you always want more. But it’s more important to just stay realistic and work on the little things, right? And there is of course still some work to do. Overall, I think the weekend in general was pretty positive, just lacking a little bit too much in qualifying I think. I don’t know why that was exactly. We have to find out. But first we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. It’s quite aggressive on tyres here so hopefully it will be quite an interesting race.
Q: Do you think you are in the running for victory tomorrow?
MV: This is always difficult to say at the moment. First we’ll have a good sleep and then find out tomorrow.
Q: How much track evolution was there during the session?
MV: I think initially in Q1 it was really big, because you have to drive off the rubber of the previous categories. I don’t know what was driving before, the Porsches I think. I was one of the first cars on track, which was maybe not the best choice but the lap was good enough. From Q2 to Q3 the steps were smaller but the evolution was there.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for both Mercedes drivers. You did a lot of testing yesterday with the 2021 Pirelli tyre. Do you think you are a bit on the back foot when it comes to race simulations for this weekend?
VB: I would say that we compromised performance for this weekend to try to learn about the tyres that could be the tyres for next year. Obviously as a team we have won the Constructors’. Lewis has won the Driver’s so it’s better to focus on the future. So, for sure a little bit compromised as you’re trying different tyres. As a driver it’s more difficult to find the rhythm and, for sure, we lacked a bit of long runs with the car on tyres. I believe we still have a strong car but, as always, there is question marks. I think Red Bull is pretty good on the race pace.
Lewis, more question marks as a result of running the prototype tyre yesterday?
LH: A bit like what Valtteri said. Naturally, it’s a small compromise but I think ultimately it was the right decision for us in terms of the findings and the learnings that we decided to try to gain. I’m pretty happy with where I have my car, I think. It’s not the first time we’ve raced here so we’ll have just make do with what we have. The Red Bull’s and Max have been incredibly fast this weekend, as we’ve seen through practice. I think maybe in the race they’re potentially faster than us, so we will see that tomorrow. Hopefully it’s close between us.
MV: At least you enjoyed driving the prototype tyres, right?
LH: [laughs] How did you like it?
MV: I thought I was having difficulties – and then I was behind you, and then I saw you driving and thought ‘mmmm… I think I’m good’.
LH: Yeah… drifting.
MV: Maybe they should make it a drift championship next year…
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Question for Lewis please. You can get to a century of poles before the end of the year, so with the title in the bag, how much of a motivating factor is that and how proud would you be of reaching three figures? It’s a feat that no other driver has got anywhere near to doing before.
LH: I really haven’t even thought that far, and honestly I think it’s been such an incredible year so anything from now is just an added bonus. I think it’s close between the three of us and we’ve got a couple of tricky races ahead of us, I think, also. It’s not something I’m thinking about. I’ll get there eventually but it’s not necessary it’s in the next two – but I’ll be pushing as hard as I can, that’s for sure.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Question for Lewis, and maybe Valtteri if he’s got anything to add. Mercedes said it’s stopped developing the 2020 car a while ago – so is it surprising to still have an advantage of several tenths over the Red Bull? And do you expect the knock-on effect to be significant as that obviously has an impact on preparations for 2021 and then you can devote more work next year to 2022 etcetera, etcetera.
LH: I think… the thing is, we’re always learning about our car, even if we’re not bringing upgrades. They are still developing, naturally, it is still fundamentally the same car next year so we’re constantly trying to understand the characteristics of our car more and the demands and things that we need to move the car forwards, so there’s a lot of work that goes on in the background. Yes, we have not brought updates because there are shifts and changes for next year and if definitely is amazing that we have been able to continue to improve. Whilst we’ve not brought updates we have continued to improve through the season, particularly after we’ve stopped developing the car because we’re understanding the tyres more and understanding the whole package more and more and refining how we use it more and more, so I think it’s been a really interesting process – but that’s how it often goes. I think we’re in a good position in terms of trying to prepare for next year but I haven’t’ been to the wind tunnel or anything, I haven’t been back to the factory hardly at all this year, so I have no idea where the next package is – but I have naturally full faith in the squad back at the factory. But you’ve seen the Red Bulls also continuing to improve. I think they have a very, very good car and perhaps with some more development of their engine I think they would even closer next year.
Valtteri, anything you’d like to add?
VB: No, I think Lewis said pretty much everything, nothing to add.
Max, are you surprised by the gap to Mercedes?
MV: No, not really. I mean we are pushing hard, of course, to close it but we know there are some weaknesses in the car that we can’t fix this year so we have to wait until next year. Of course, I would have liked to be closer but we’re just learning about this car. Of course we know we have to make some changes for next year and we will try to put it all together for next year and hopefully then we will be closer.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to the two Mercedes drivers please, and following up on what Lewis said at the start about the good work you guys, or the team, did overnight. The team also said that you didn’t do much or any set-up work on the cars because you were focussed on understanding those 2021 tyres, so how much did that change what you had to do when you finally got out on track in FP3 today, and were you still finding handling improvements as qualifying went on?
LH: It felt like a test day, a tyre test say, the days that I generally am not a fan of. I hate test days…
MV: I love them!
LH: Oh God! Fortunately it didn’t last too long, fortunately, but when you’re hopping between different tyres and you’re feeling different things, it makes it very difficult to know where the balance is. As you go on from one to the next you forget what the balance is on the most important tyre, which is the tyre that you’re racing on, so it can be very, very confusing and, at times, frustrating. You’ve just got to remember what the goal is. I still think that we got a decent amount of information at the end of yesterday, and I didn’t feel too compromised in terms of getting the set-up for today. Once you set the set-up for qualifying obviously it is what it is – but I think we looked pretty good with the direction that we took, I think. In terms of where we are tomorrow, we haven’t had any real long runs on the Medium or the Hard tyre, so it will be interesting to see how that goes tomorrow.
Valtteri?
VB: Yeah, you definitely lose some time for the set-up work but it’s nothing new really, this season. We’ve had races where it’s been racing on Friday or race weekend with just one practice but looking back this weekend, if I’d have had one more session I’d have probably tried something different based on the result today in qualifying – but the rule is when you qualify, you can’t change the car any more, that’s what it is, but I just really hope it’s good for the race trim.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) A question from memory here but I think that was Lewis’s tenth pole of the season, now looking for his 11th win of the year. I just wondered is there’s anything that Valtteri and Max think that they can do just to stop him in his tracks because we know he’s run away with the title but he keeps winning even now that the pressure of that has gone? Is there anything that they can do to stop him?
VB: Is there anything to stop Lewis? Of course there, we’re trying. I’ve tried my best and even though he’s got the title this year, knowing him from the previous years and how he is as a racing driver and how most racing drivers are – you’re here to win, you try everything you can – and I’m here to win as well. I know that starting from second on the grid, there’s all the opportunities but you need a perfect race. For sure, we’ll push hard and try and not give up. I’m pretty sure that’s what Max is thinking as well.
MV: Well, I think, as Lewis is showing, he’s definitely one of the best drivers ever in Formula 1 but at the moment I don’t have the same, like, equal chances, let’s say it like that. That doesn’t take away anything from Lewis but yeah, I’m just pushing as hard as I can with the material I have and sometimes it’s closer, sometimes it’s a bit further away. Some races it looks pretty competitive. Today was less competitive.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport.com) Lewis, during qualifying we could see on the driver performance page that the first mini sectors of your pole lap actually weren’t quicker than the one before, only towards the end of the first sector you really started to push. Was that a conscious decision to save tyres or did you just mess up in the first corner?
LH: Hunh. Attention to detail, that’s super detail.
MV: It sure is like +0.005s or something
LH: Well, I guess I can’t really answer that too well because it’s giving away trade secrets. I can tell you that I didn’t make any mistakes. Look, we do these really slow out laps and each time we’re trying to have the tyres in the optimal window for the start and each time we go out, they can vary between one and five degrees so most of often the result of that discrepancy is tyre temp and they generally get better to a point in the lap and then they start going over temp and then you start struggling with the tyre a little bit more and so that’s some of the answer.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) On the subject of the 2021 tyres – this is for all three of you – most of the drivers appear to have been pretty unhappy with them. Is there any going to be any pressure or has there already been any pressure applied to Pirelli or the teams to stick with the current tyres next year?
LH: Come on Max, give it what you’ve got man. Come on. We need you.
MV: You want me to repeat what I said yesterday? I think it’s important that we discuss these things, you know? Yeah, I think that’s the most important… we just have to talk to Pirelli and I hope they also listen a bit to the drivers. We anyway are cutting the downforce with the floor, right, so I think naturally the pressure on the tyres will be a bit less. I mean with the pressure we run in the tyres anyway it’s almost like a balloon, so I don’t think you can go much higher so I don’t think we need… well, if they would be faster than yeah, great, amazing, but I don’t think they are and of course the cars are not fully set up for these tyres but honestly, the difference we had yesterday in practice is not set-up, like you can adjust a few things but if the tyre is not turning, it’s not working, then you can turn the car upside, it’s not going to be the same speed. Yeah. I hope we will not use them but let’s see. Was that an honest answer?
LH: I already said too much yesterday about it. The problem is for me is that I – I mentioned it yesterday – I see all the guys from Pirelli and I really have so much respect for the guys here. I think I’ve got a good relationship with the majority of them. It’s difficult for us drivers to say… we try to be constructive, we try to be supportive in the back and nothing changes. And then even when we say something not too positive in the media nothing changes so… I do miss the tyre war that used to happen in Formula 1. I think with that it’s great. When you don’t have any competition you’ve got no one to base yourself on. Just imagine us as a team or for Max and his team and none of us were here, they wouldn’t develop as they do now because they’re chasing and competing against other people. Formula 1 needs to do something different in the future and that’s something we need to do.
VB: There’s not much more to add. Obviously our understanding with the new tyres, the main difference was in terms of reliability, so they got a lot heavier like just because there’s more material to try and prevent any punctures or failures that we had which is an important thing, but then on the other hand, the performance was not quite there, as expected, so quite a bit slower and not that nice feeling to drive. I wasn’t a big fan of those tyres, personally, but obviously… I don’t know who decides in the end what tyres we’re going to be using next year but we’ll see.
LH: Can I just say that the tyre that we do have right now it’s been a really good tyre, it really has. It’s been the best tyre that Pirelli has given us apart from that hyper or ultra or whatever it was, the hypersoft, which was a good compound for one lap, it was pretty awesome. I’m personally happy to continue with the tyre that we have. Of course we would want more grip moving forwards but that’s definitely not what we’ve been given so far.
Ends
