INDIA in F1

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  • FIA president meet Euro Commission president

    On Tuesday 24 July, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, received a delegation from the FIA which included Jean Todt, President of the FIA, Carlos Barbosa, Vice-President of the FIA and President of the Automovel Club de Portugal (ACP), and the Director General of the FIA bureau in Brussels, Jacob Bangsgaard.

    On the occasion of this cordial meeting, Jean Todt set out to the President of the European Commission the FIA’s objectives with regard to both sport and mobility, mentioning in particular issues relating to road safety, environmental protection, the defence of motorists and the drawing up of a European sports policy.

    José-Manuel Barroso noted the convergence of views on the question of road safety and was pleased to see the FIA so committed on this subject, notably through its ‘Action for Road Safety’ campaign. This initiative complements the European Commission’s undertaking set out in its 2011 communication: “Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020”.

    It was established that there is a mutual desire to strengthen the links between the European Commission and the FIA. This could come about through the FIA’s taking part in working groups; for example the FIA could be granted the status of observer within the group of experts on European policy in matters relating to sport.

    Lastly, in the medical field, Jean Todt reminded the President of the European Commission that the FIA, through its foundation, supports medical research centres such as the Brain and Spine Institute [Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (ICM)] which works on treating among other things degenerative diseases of the brain – a field in which the European Commission also has an active role.

    Standby file

  • Red Bull escapne without sanction

    Hockenheim, 22 July 2012: After deliberation on Sunday morning, stewards at Hockenehim have decided to allow Red Bull Racing to compete without sanction in the German Grand Prix.

    Having discovered torque output irregularities in car numbers 01 (Sebastian Vettel) and 02 (Mark Webber), FIA Formula 1 Technical Delegate Jo Bauer referred the matter to the stewards. Bauer’s report said:

    “Having examined the engine base torque map of car numbers 01 and 02 it became apparent that the maximum torque output of both engines is significantly less in the mid rpm range than previously seen at other Events.
    In my opinion this is therefore in breach of article 5.5.3 of the 2012 Formula 1 technical regulations as the engines are able to deliver more torque at a given engine speed in the mid rpm range.

    “Furthermore this new torque map will artificially alter the aerodynamic characteristics of both cars which is also in contravention of TD 036-11. I am referring this matter to the stewards.”

    Three hours after Bauer’s report was released the FIA Stewards of the Meeting announced no further action would be taken. Their statement read:

    “The stewards received a report from the FIA Technical Delegate, along with specific ECU data from Red Bull Racing Cars 1 and 2. The Stewards met with the team representatives and the representative of the engine supplier Renault.

    “While the stewards do not accept all the arguments of the team, they however conclude that as the regulation is written, the map presented does not breach the text of Art. 5.5.3 of the Formula One Technical Regulations and therefore decided to take no action.”

    ends

  • I have a special relation with Hockenheim: Sauber

    FIA Friday Press Conference

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Mark SMITH (Caterham), John BOOTH (Marussia), Franz TOST (Toro Rosso), Norbert HAUG (Mercedes), Peter SAUBER (Sauber).

    Mark, if I can start with you. First of all, we’ve seen a certain number of developments over the last couple of races. How promising were those? Are we going to see further upgrades in the coming races as well?

    Mark SMITH: We took an upgrade to Silverstone. We were hoping for some dry running, which obviously was forecast very early on not to happen. That hampered us quite a lot actually. We genuinely believed we’d have the opportunity to have some dry running in Hockenheim and we’ve had very little so far. So really, we’re struggling to develop the car around the updates that we have, predominantly because of the lack of dry running. We know from the running we did at Silverstone we have performance on the car but we probably extracted about 40% of it at most.

    You have a team move coming up: how disruptive is that going to be? Obviously it’s planned to be as least disruptive as possible but it is mid-season.

    MS: It is mid-season, but it is during the two-week shut down, so it’s never going to be ideal but I think it will be fairly painless. One of the biggest challenges is probably the IT infrastructure. Work is already underway with respect to that. Things like CFD clusters represent the biggest challenge in that respect. The rest of it? If you think about the race team, they can live out of an F1 facility and operate anywhere in the world fairly self-sufficiently. So for the race team, post-Hungary, they’ll go back to Leafield and the rest of us will move after the shutdown on August 20th. The majority of us.

    John, you had updates at Silverstone as well, despite a difficult development period leading up to that. Did they show the promise you were hoping for and will they lift Timo back into the peloton as it were?

    John BOOTH: As Mark said, it was pretty difficult at Silverstone and again here to verify where we think we are. The upgrades were substantial and significant in that it was our first upgrade derived from the wind tunnel programme and our partnership with MAT. Some of it looks very promising so we take heart from that and we also have a few more bits here to give Timo that extra boost.

    It’s been 13 days since Maria’s terrible accident and everyone in the press room is very appreciative of the statements you’ve put out, particularly the last one, but in terms of questions still unanswered, there are still one or two. So where does that leave us, the press?

    JB: We had two priorities immediately after the accident, first being Maria’s welfare of course, that was foremost in our minds. The second was to start to investigate the cause and clear the car of any part of that of course, with Silverstone coming up. We established that but then revisited our findings straight after Silverstone and now we’re 100% confident that the car was not to blame in the slightest. As for the wider investigation, that is ongoing and will be a very long process, as in England it has to be, it’s taken very seriously there, as you know. It will be some time before we know the final outcome. It would inappropriate for me to comment any further on that.

    Question for the front row regarding German Grands Prix. We have representatives of Germany, Switzerland and Austria – how important is this German Grand Prix to you?

    FT: For me the German Grand Prix is a classic grand prix. In Europe from the history we have four grands prix which are very important. That’s Silverstone, one grand prix in Germany at the Nürburgring or the Hockenheimring, it’s Monza and Spa… and of course also Monaco. The German Grand Prix has a high level of importance and also, if you think how many German drivers in the meantime in Formula One and also Germany is a very healthy country from the economical side and therefore it’s very, very important that this grand prix takes place here in this country.

    Norbert, obviously very important for Mercedes…

    NH: Yeah, absolutely. It’s very special for us. We have more that one home grand prix: we have the British Grand Prix; we have another home grand prix in Abu Dhabi where our shareholder Aabar is at home but this, just 100km from the main facilities of Mercedes, from Stuttgart… I personally have great memories from when I was a young boy already I was here, looking mainly at motorbike races, so Hockenheim is just home turf – and it’s of course it’s good having a good performance here – we try. I remember winning 2008 with McLaren-Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, which is a great memory. And yeah, there’s a lot of spectators, a lot of guests, the Mercedes grandstand, a great programme there, a very busy weekend for all of us. It didn’t start in a typically Hockenheim way: normally it’s hot; today it was more the Silverstone way, which we experienced a fortnight ago. So, it seems to be the same tomorrow: rain again, and probably sun on race day – so parallel to what we experienced two weeks ago. But still, a very important race of course.

    Peter, is this as close to a home race as you get?

    PS: Yes, I think it’s a home race – similar to Monza, both grands prix are very close to the factory in Hinwil. But I have a special relationship with Hockenheim. I drove many, many races here. I started I think in 1967 with my first race here, with a Volkswagen Beetle.

    Question then to all of you again, on a similar subject: how important is the Nürburgring? It’s got problems of it’s own at the moment, can they be solved? How important is it that they are solved and it remains one of the homes of the German Grand Prix.

    FT: The Nürburgring as well has a very, very interesting and important history. Everybody in the world knows the Nürburgring who’s involved in motor racing. I just hope that all the politicians find a solution to get the money together that the Nürburgring will survive. Because in the meantime a fantastic infrastructure has been built up around the Nürburgring with all the hotels and, apart from this, there are many workshops where parts for racing cars have been produced. It would be a shame if people would lose their jobs from this. There are many, many races over there: the 24 Hours for example, and a lot of other races, and especially Formula One. I just hope that in future we will also have a race there because the Nürburgring is history for motorsport in general and especially for Formula One.

    And a huge heritage again for Mercedes, Norbert?

    NH: Yes, absolutely. There is a great heritage and I hope and think it will continue. We definitely have a DTM race at the Nürburgring after the summer break, the 19th of August, so that is confirmed. And I think there are good chances for a grand prix in the future – but it’s probably too early to talk about that and to speculate. I think they built great facilities and probably the plan was a good one but it didn’t turn out in the right way. I think what is very important to know is that the Nürburgring is booked in a fantastic way – so the industry has lots of bookings there, not only Nordschleife but also grand prix circuit where the Grand Prix takes place. I think this is a positive development for the Nürburgring: I just think they got in financial problems but hopefully they are solvable.

    Peter, I’m sure Saubers have raced there. Did the Beetle make it that far?

    PS: Not just the Beetle. ’86 we won the first sportscar race, together with Mercedes. I think with Pescarolo and Thackwell on the car. I think it’s important for this very traditional race track that the responsible people find a solution to save the situation.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Franz, we understand that Giorgio Ascanelli is out of the team or should we say on his way out of the team, and is certainly no longer in active service. Can you confirm exactly what his status is and what the reasons are behind this move, please?

    FT: I can only tell you that Giorgio Ascanelli is on holiday and there’s confidentiality between the two parties. That’s all that I can say to this.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Can you just, in general terms, make any comment as to whether it’s sensible to let your technical director be on holiday during a Grand Prix? Obviously we can read into this the fact that there is something clearly going on.

    FT: Sorry. I’ve said everything.

    Q:  (Sonya Kreye – Speed News) Norbert, the season is wide open – this is a more general question – is this for you more enjoyable or does it put stress on you?

    NH: Well, I would say it’s positive pressure and you grade your pressure inside the team.  None of the guys you see here on the podium doesn’t like to be in the best possible position, and the best possible position is ultimately P1, but you need to work very hard. This is a very very competitive environment. We’ve seen very very good races this year. We’ve seen surprising results. We saw guys winning who nobody probably thought would win, so it’s very good for the spectator. I think we have seven or eight teams that are in a position to clinch podium positions and as far as I can remember, that was never the case in Formula One. All the teams of course want to finally dominate. This is the plan but first of all you have to score points, then podiums then race wins, and it’s a very very good mixture for the spectator this year and yes, it is demanding but I think we all do what our destiny is, what we want to do and we are not forced to do this but we enjoy it; not every second, not if you have bad results, if you do not achieve what you wanted to achieve, but this is part of the game. Even more, you can enjoy the good part of it if you really got on the podium, if you get a race win, if you get a feeling like China, with Nico, that’s fantastic. I’m sure Peter can describe his feelings from Malaysia, fighting for victory which was a deserved result and a very positive surprise.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) To the four team principals: during the Silverstone weekend, an article was published in The Daily Mail in London in which Mr Ecclestone was quoted that commercially the Concorde Agreement was all agreed, saying that the commercial terms for the replacement of the present Concorde had been agreed with everybody. Could you four team principals confirm that you have actually signed a document with Mr Ecclestone, which forms part of the replacement for the 2013 Concorde?

    FT: Toro Rosso signed a Concorde agreement.

    NH: I’m not one of the four.

    PS: I think… we have an agreement with Bernie, yes. We have signed an agreement with Bernie.

    JB: We haven’t signed an agreement.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Mr Haug, you may not be a team principal but you are here as a Mercedes Benz representative. To the best of your knowledge has Mercedes signed a document with Bernie.

    NH: Well, I can only tell you that we are in constructive discussion still, so that implies that we didn’t sign yet.

    Q: (Matt Coch – pitpass.com) In terms of younger drivers coming up, how actively do you look at the supporting categories and the feeder series and how much interest do you take and how active a part do you play?

    FT: From my side, I only look at Formula Three races, Formula Renault races, the two litre and 3.5 litre, GP3 and GP2 of course and to get an overview of skilled drivers, because, as you know, Toro Rosso is a team which is responsible to Red Bull to provide good, young, skilled drivers.

    NH: Well, I’m looking at it, traditionally, as much as I have time. I’m following it as well as I can, if I’m not busy.

    PS: With Esteban Gutierriez we have a test and spare driver in the GP2 series, but for us, it is not possible to support some drivers and some teams in this series.

    MS: As a team we are obviously involved in the formulae and look closely at potential young drivers. As an individual, I have limited time to do that.

    JB: Yes, we are actively involved in GP3 and GP2 and in fact we gave our GP2 drivers a run out at Silverstone last week in the young drivers’ test, so we watch all categories but particularly GP2 and GP3.

    Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) Following on from the young driver testing, I was wondering if the other four guys could talk about where they’re planning their young driver test this year. I understand Mercedes is considering running in France. Is that correct?

    NH: No. It’s probably not finally decided.

    PS: We will test in Abu Dhabi, I think so. I hope we can do the test there with three different drivers and with Esteban Gutierrez of course.

    FT: As it looks now, we will also drive in Abu Dhabi, but it’s not 100 percent decided with which drivers we are running there.

    JB: We had a look at the calendar at the end of the year and Abu Dhabi would have meant that the mechanics were working or travelling for five consecutive weeks and five weeks away from home. We didn’t feel that we had the necessary manpower or human resource or parts for the car to conduct that kind of the test, so we opted to use Silverstone last week.

    MS: We plan to be in Abu Dhabi.

    Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Franz, this season has been a little bit disappointing for Toro Rosso. Could you just give an overview of what you think has gone wrong with the team, and where you can maybe improve to get the kind of results that you would expect?

    FT: The season’s not over yet.  So far we started the season quite well. We scored points at the beginning and then we struggled a little bit. For example, in Monaco, Jean-Eric Vergne was in seventh place ten laps from the end but then it started to rain a little bit and di Resta and some others passed him. In Valencia, Daniel had a good chance to score points but then he had a crash with Petrov. I think that we will come up with some new upgrades for the next races and I hope that it’s wet tomorrow here and on Sunday because it looks as if the car and the drivers together are quite competitive in the wet. And I’m quite positive and optimistic for the second half of the season.

    Q: (Stefan Skolik – Mannheimer Morgen) Can you comment on Michael’s accident at the end of practice, Mr Haug?

    NH: He just lost it. He was on the radio and he said ‘not fully concentrated.’ Things like that just happen, it’s not an ideal situation but we can recover, I’m sure.

    Q: (Vanessa Ruiz – ESPN Radio) Norbert and Peter mainly; we’re now reaching the middle of the season; how do you see the development? Do you believe that we already have the top three teams in a situation where it will be difficult for the others to catch up? Or do you understand that it’s still open as many people say, in terms of winning races?

    PS: I think it’s still open. It’s not so easy for us. Maybe it’s easier for Norbert, I don’t know.

    NH: I think it’s still open, and if you look, there were possibilities. I think Peter can tell some stories and has some memories of that. I have some where we didn’t score the points which were possible. Probably other people as well. But I would not say that there is a big gap at the moment. You really need to get your act together, get the set-up right and then, as I said before, we can have quite a few cars that are very competitive and I can see the situation not changing in the short term.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Talking about the young driver test – and here I’m talking generally, not a specific, this year situation – but if we have a look at some teams testing at Silverstone, some at Abu Dhabi, I believe that some are going to Magny Cours after Monza, others are looking at Jerez in early December; is it impossible for 12 teams to actually agree on three days out of 365 to go testing?

    FT: We were discussing this for a long time and as John just mentioned before, one of the main arguments against Abu Dhabi for some teams was that the mechanics would have been out for five weeks and then we decided, OK, to split the test with Silverstone, because teams which are situated in England wanted to do the test at Silverstone and OK, now a third race track, Magny Cours, has come into the plan and normally we should say OK, let’s do the test altogether, three days at the end of the season, but you know we are in a democratic world and therefore it was decided to split it.

    Ends

  • For Pirelli, Hockenheimring is a trip into the unknown

    Hockenheim, 19 July 2012: As the 2012 Formula One season hits its mid-point, round 10 of the championships sees the teams head for the German Grand Prix and the Hockenheimring, which returns to the calendar after its now traditional year off, says an FIA release.

    It’s been 10 years since a redesign saw the circuit change from a flat-out blast down two massive linked straights to a circuit offering perhaps a more complex challenge, although possibly a less viscerally exciting one

    Modern Hockenheim is a tricky race to set-up for. While the forest straights are gone, it’s still a relatively fast circuit and drivers will be on full throttle for upwards of 64% of the lap. The high-speed early part of the track, particular from turns two to six should call for a medium to lower downforce set-up but the circuit also features a tight stadium section where high downforce is needed, so a balancing act is required. Given the quick changes of direction encountered in the stadium section and through turns three and four, a stable car is also important.

    For F1 tyre supplier Pirelli, this is something of a trip into the unknown. The only recent experience it has of the track is from a GP3 race in 2010 and that weekend was often wet. As such the tyre company is bringing its medium and soft tyres, believing that the adaptable medium will cover most bases on a track defined by compromise.

    Five German drivers will start this weekend: Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Timo Glock and Nico Hulkenberg. Of the five, only Schumacher has won here before (in 1995, ‘02, ‘04 and ‘06). All will be keen to put in good performances on home soil, though for Vettel, who has 100 Drivers’ Championship points, this weekend may be particularly important in his efforts to keep pace with championship leader Fernando Alonso (129 points) and second-placed Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber (116 points).

    eom

  • Force India aim double finish at Hockenheim

    Hockenheim, 16 July 2012: After a disappointing show at the ninth round of the Formula One World Championship at Silverstone where both the Sahara Force India drivers failed to get points in the British Grand Prix where youngster Nico Hulkenberg missed out on points by a whisker losing in the last few laps because of lack of enough down force. 
    However, Sahara Force India looks forward to round ten of the season, the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and Team Principal Vijay Mallya sounded optimistic.
    The team has provided a link to the full pdf preview. To watch Nico Hulkenberg’s video preview of Hockenheim click on the following link: 
    After a challenging local race at Silverstone, Dr Vijay Mallya sums up the mood in the team and looks forward to a competitive showing in Hockenheim.
    How would you sum up the British Grand Prix weekend?
    It was certainly frustrating that we didn’t score points at Silverstone. We were really hoping to put on a good performance and were targeting a double points finish. The weather definitely played its part on Friday and Saturday, so we really couldn’t predict accurately what to expect for Sunday. One car was set up for the wet and the other for the dry.
    How disappointing was it to see Paul retire so early from his home race?
    The conditions would have suited Paul, who had the dry set-up. Unfortunately he made contact with Grosjean and that was the end of his right rear tyre. You have to expect things like this in F1, but it’s always disappointing when it happens to you.
    Nico nearly made the points – it must have been very frustrating to see him fall back right at the end…
    Nico did very well, although I wish he could have hung on to ninth. The bottom line is we followed a hard-hard-soft strategy. In the last stint we asked the soft tyres to last 17 laps and Nico was under pressure to defend his position. It was a combination of tyre degradation and Nico making a slight error when he locked up the rears. I guess Alonso lost his lead to Webber because he followed the same strategy and clearly the hard tyres were better at the end of the race. Anyway, there was a lot to learn and once again the unpredictability of the tyres played a very important role. We will come back in Germany with a greater sense of determination.
    You must take encouragement from seeing both car running strongly in the top ten once again?
    It’s satisfying to see that we are consistent top ten performers. We need that little bit of extra luck to get on the podium. Having said that, our immediate competitors didn’t have too much luck either – Perez and Maldonado were both going well, but they didn’t score. Sauber didn’t get any more points to increase their lead over us. We are still only three points adrift of Williams and 16 behind Sauber, so we have reasons to be optimistic going forward.
    F1 has not raced at Hockenheim since 2010, so there’s no Pirelli knowledge and perhaps a bit more uncertainty…
    Yes, it’s wide open in that sense. It’s also Nico’s home race. We have no time to take things easy. We have to take every race very seriously, with the same intensity and do everything we possibly can to earn more points.
    Nico on Hockenheim
    Nico Hulkenberg gets set for his home race.
    Nico, tell us what it means to be racing at home this weekend?
    It’s always a bit more special and it’s nice that I only live one hour away so I don’t have to catch a flight! The fans always support the race and help produce a good atmosphere, especially in the stadium section at the end of the lap. It’s fair to say that Michael and Sebastian are the main attractions, but the fans always show their support for all the German drivers.
    What memories do you have of racing at Hockenheim?
    It’s where I had my very first car race in 2005 when I raced Formula BMW – and I won both races that weekend. Since then I’ve raced there a lot in Formula 3 and I also raced there in Formula One with Williams in 2010. It’s a track I know very well and I enjoy the layout, although it’s a relatively short lap.
    Tell us about the main challenges?
    I think the most challenging corner to get right is turn one. It’s a quick right-hander that we take at well above 200 km/h and there is a tricky curb on the exit. Another important part of the lap is getting the hairpin right. If you get your braking wrong it’s easy to run wide and it’s the main opportunity for overtaking.
    Paul on Hockenheim
    Paul Di Resta reflects on Silverstone and looks ahead to racing in Germany.
    Paul, a short home race for you in Silverstone – how do you feel looking back on the weekend…
    It was a shame to end the race so early, but there’s no point getting frustrated. It could have been such a good race because we had taken an aggressive approach with a dry set-up on Saturday and I’m sure we could have come away with points. The contact with Grosjean was very slight and just one of those racing incidents, but it was enough to cut the tyre and that completely ended my chances.
    You’ve spent a lot of your career racing in Germany – what are your thoughts on Hockenheim?
    I know the track well from my days in the DTM and I am looking forward to getting out there in a Formula One car. It’s a fun circuit with some challenging corners and it’s good for overtaking, especially the slow hairpin at turn six. My favourite part of the lap is the stadium, where you can really feel the energy of the crowd. The double right hander onto the start/finish line is another special corner and it’s difficult to get it right. If you have lots of experience on this track you can gain a little bit of time through this corner.
    ends

  • Ma Qing Hua becomes first Chinese to drive F1 car

    Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire
    Thursday, 12th of July 2012
    Weather: Sunny – Air 17ºC, Track 22ºC
    Ma Qing Hua (Shanghai, China, 25/12/1987) – Chassis: F112-03
    Laps: 82 – Track length: 5.891 km
    Distance covered: 483.062 km – Best time: 1:37.829
    Silverstone, 12 July 2012: It was an historic day for Formula 1 and HRT Formula 1 Team today at the Silverstone Circuit where Ma Qing Hua made his debut at the wheel of the F112, becoming the first Chinese driver to drive a Formula 1 car at an official event.
    As opposed to the previous days, the weather permitted the first day of the Young Driver Test to take place without any setbacks and Ma Qing Hua was able to make the most of the test. The morning’s programme included short test stints for the Shanghai-born driver to adapt to the car and build up confidence at the wheel, completing 54 laps (318 km). These tests were carried out with both hard and soft tyres so that he could also experience the difference between both compounds. In the afternoon, Ma Qing Hua covered a further 28 laps (165 km) where he completed two qualifying stints, one with hard tyres and another with softs, start and pit stop practices and a final long distance stint.
    Ma Qing Hua satisfactorily completed the scheduled programme throughout the day, so the team has put an end to these tests and will head towards Germany tomorrow for the tenth Grand Prix of the season which takes place at the Hockenheim circuit from the 20th to the 22nd of July.
    Ma Qing Hua: “It was a fantastic feeling to drive a Formula 1 car for the first time; it’s not easy to put into words what I felt. Yesterday I found it hard to sleep and I tried to calm down by thinking that it was just another test. I think we did a good job and everything went according to plan, with good weather too. By being here during the Grand Prix, I learned a lot from my teammates and also to work as a team, as it is very important to give the right information to the engineers in order to optimize the performance of the car. In the morning we did the maximum amount of running to get used to the car, engineers and mechanics and buttons, and also to gain confidence. I’m very proud to represent China and be a pioneer for my nation in this sport. I’m confident that these tests and the ones that will come in the future will help motorsport to grow in China in the future and will grant more opportun ities for everyone. This is only a first small step but once more I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me and made this possible”.
    Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “We’re very happy to have given Ma this opportunity and also very satisfied and proud of how it went. We’ve got a lot of trust in him and he has responded by doing a good job. We’ve followed him for a long time and since he joined our programme he’s proven his ability and work capacity. And today he showed it once more with an excellent job. It’s not easy to drive a Formula 1 car and he made no mistakes. We want to take things one step at a time with him and this test was for Ma to have his first real contact with a Formula 1 car at every level. He did a great job and now we have to continue working so that he can continue to progress in his journey towards Formula 1”.

  • Double penalty for Maldonado

    Silverstone, 9 July 2012: Pastor Maldonado was hit with a double penalty by Silverstone race stewards after he collided with Sauber’s Sergio Pérez during the British Grand Prix on 8 July.

    Maldonado was running seventh on lap 12 when he came under pressure from Pérez who had climbed from 16th after making a good start. The Mexican attempted a move around the outside of the Williams but Maldonado lost control in trying to defend the position and knocked the Sauber out of the race. The Williams driver went on to finish 16th.
    After the incident a furious Pérez called for the Venezuelan to be hit with a stiff penalty.

    “First of all, before the race the FIA sent a bulletin saying you cannot defend your position twice,” he told Sky Sports. “Once the car behind has a front wing on your tyres, you cannot move again. He did that before the braking.

    “He just has no respect for other drivers.,” he continued. “It’s not a racing incident. It’s just the way he drives. I did this manoeuvre to Button and to Hulkenberg and they fight very hard but they leave the room. You cannot fight [with Maldonado], you cannot do anything. He is a very stupid driver.

    “Just look at the last races. He ruined Hamilton’s race [in Valencia], he ruined my race in Monaco by doing stupid things. I don’t understand why the stewards don’t take a serious decision with him. With Pastor they’re not doing anything that will teach him a lesson.”

    The FIA stewards reviewed the incident after the race and handed Maldonado the double penalty of a reprimand and a €10,000 euro fine.

    For his part, Maldonado said he had simply lost control of his car.
    “I tried to defend the place but on the entry when we were getting to the middle of the corner I just lost the rear,” he said. “I think the tyres were so cold, he tried to close my way, we were side-by-side so close, and when I had a little moment I just touched him with my rear tyre. Disappointing for him and me too because the race so far was going good, but this is racing.”

  • Mark Webber wins strategic race for Red Bull

    Silverstone, 8 July 2012: Mark Webber won a strategic British Grand Prix with a finely judged race that saw him take the lead in the last five laps.

    Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was second, ahead of Webber’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Behind the top three Felipe Massa drove a strong race to fourth. The two Lotuses were fifth and sixth with Räikkönen outgunning Grosjean after the Frenchman ran a compromised race having pitted in the early exchanges. Michael Schumacher took seventh for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton was eighth for McLaren after failing to make an impression on the race despite leading out-of-sequence for a short while. Bruno Senna was ninth for Williams and Jenson Button took the final point in the second McLaren, according to an FIA press release.

    Alonso had converted his pole position into a good lead at the start but Webber stalked him all the way. And with the Ferrari and Red Bulls running different strategies, Webber had the speed advantage when he needed it. He made his move on lap 48 of the 52. Alonso did what he could to defend but didn’t take any heroic measures – Webber was going through and both drivers knew it.

    Alonso started the race on the hard tyre, as did McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, the rest of the top ten opted for the soft tyre. Alonso made a good start and retained the lead while Webber hung on to second and Michael Schumacher kept third. Felipe Massa slipped past Sebastian Vettel into fourth. Alonso and Webber pulled away while Schumacher held up the field. The hard tyre was plainly the better rubber today, and Alonso used it to good effect, sprinting away to establish a lead of several seconds in the first stint.

    Being delayed but unable to make an impression on Massa, Vettel pitted early, taking on the hard tyre on lap 11. On the fresh, hard rubber he put in a brace of quick laps and managed to steal two places when everything played out. “I used the momentum and got past Felipe and Michael at the same time,” said the German. “We brought the right strategy which brought us back – but you always have a little more on the tyres at the end. I was a little bit too far away to get Fernando at the end – but I’m very happy with third today.”

    The real interest was ahead of him as Alonso was reeled in by Webber. Running two hard tyre stints, Alonso had pulled out a lead of six seconds over Webber – but the Australian started to come back late in the race. He took his second stop before Alonso and, with fresh hard tyres versus old hard tyres began to close the gap. Alonso pitted for his mandatory set of soft tyres perhaps earlier than he would have liked. It maintained his lead but Webber ate up the four-second gap as the Ferrari struggled on the softs. Webber made a textbook pass with the DRS down the Wellington straight, emerging in front out of the Brooklands corner.

    “It’s still sinking in,” said the Red Bull Racing driver afterwards. “It’s a very special victory for the team, being from just down the road. Thanks to the team for doing a great job – and thanks to all the fans for sticking with us over the last few days…”

    Alonso didn’t seem too upset, he emerges from Silverstone still leading the Championship, albeit by a reduced margin. “We lost seven points to Mark but we gained on the rest of the field, so a pretty good Sunday for us,” he said. He now has 129 points to Webber’s 116, with Vettel third on 100. In the Constructors’ Championship Red Bull moved onto 216 points with Ferrari moving into second on 152.

    ends

  • Mark was much quicker in the last stint: Alonso

    Silverstone, 8 July 2012: Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing team, who overtook Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, towards the close and Sebastian Vettel, who finished third attended the fourth and final FIA press conference at the Santander British Grand Prix, the ninth leg of the F1 World Championship on Sunday. However, Alonso retains his top spot in the drivers’ championship.

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS (by Sir Jackie Stewart) 

    Mark you must be a very happy boy?

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, thanks Jackie. I think it was a very interesting race. I thought at the start Fernando had very good pace. A bit of strategy here and there. Obviously, Fernando started on different tyres. But never gave up, kept pushing and it didn’t really work out for Fernando at the end. It was very, very close for him so we were there to capitalise. It’s a very, very special victory for the team, just down the road, a local team, so thanks to all the guys, It’s incredible for them. And for Renault another victory for them in the UK. So I’m very proud today. Thanks to all the fans for sticking with us for the past few days, it’s been incredible.

    Fernando I thought you were going to win the race. I won two British Grands Prix, you’ve won two British Grands Prix. It was pretty hot for a while.

    Fernando ALONSO: Yeah it was quite close today the victory. At the end in the last stint Mark was much quicker than us, and he deserved the win, so I congratulate him and congratulate the Red Bull team. But I’m very proud of the Ferrari recovery in the last few weeks and now we are fighting for the victory in the last three or four grands prix. So we’re heading in the right direction. As Mark said, thanks to all the fans. We had not so good weather during the weekend and they were cheering all the time for us. I hope they enjoyed the show today and see you all next year.

    And what about the championship? You’re still leading.

    FA: Yeah, still there. It’s the main target obviously for us. Today I think we lost seven points with Mark but we gained some extra points on the rest of the field. So I think it was a good Sunday in terms of championship points for us.

    Well done, Sebastian, a good race for you.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it was an interesting one. The start was not so good, I lost a little bit and lost a position to Felipe. I had a tough fight with him in the beginning. I nearly got past but it was really, really close. It was fun but I didn’t get past. Then we brought the right strategy to come back, which turned to be the right thing but obviously later on you always have a little bit of extra on your tyres. All in all, very happy. Mark obviously deserved to win today. Very happy with the result for the team. Thanks to all the fans out there because I think it was quite horrible the last two days not just for us but especially for them but obviously the sun came out today and the British summer showed its best. So looking forward to coming back next year.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Mark, well done. Just how much satisfaction did that win give you?

    MW: Oh, a lot. I’ve had a few now which is nice but this one is taking a little while to sink in. It didn’t look like a spectacular race maybe between Fernando and I initially, but it was one. A little strategy involved as well, particularly with ourselves, pacing the stints on the tyres, working out if it’s going to be two or three stops and how the tyres would behave in the race. Fernando starting on a different tyre and I knew he would have to run a different compound towards the end of the race as we had got the harder [more difficult] tyre out of the way at the start. I thought in the first stint that Fernando had he was in very, very good shape to probably close the win out, but it came our way in the last stint and I am absolutely over the moon, absolutely rapt. For the team, it’s local here, Wings for Life, all the photos on the car, great initiative, all that stuff, it’s a real good story. The fans here this weekend have put up with some horrendous weather but we’ve had a beautiful dry British Grand Prix. There’ll be some long trips home tonight but overall I’m very proud today. It was a very special victory as I say. I managed to get Fernando in the last few laps which was very nice and we got the win from there.

    And the timing is right as well, with three races in four weekend before the break. That’s important?

    MW: Ah look, we have a lot of races this year as you know. Melbourne was important, as will Brazil be. I’ve got a couple of wins now and also some consistent results as well. But we know how tight it is. I see Kimi finished ten seconds behind with fourth or fifth place or whatever, so it’s tight. As we saw with Seb, he lost a little but of time in the first stint and that can be your undoing. Sometimes I’ve had some of that medicine and it makes it hard to come back from there. So in the end you’ve got to grab these ones with both hands and I was very keen to grab with both hands today. I had a single opportunity to pounce and I wasn’t going to let that slip.

    It seemed to be in the middle sector that you were particularly gaining on Fernando in those closing stages.

    MW: I think Fernando, with the front left tyre, if you lose balance around this place, that sector the speed is very, very high, it’s very hard for the driver to do something. I could see that when I arrived on Fernando, reasonably close I got to see where he was struggling with his car. It was obvious that he was pushing as hard as possible but the balance wasn’t with him. That’s when you’ve got to smell the blood and you’ve got to go for it.

    Fernando so close but so far. When you first saw everybody else’s tyres and you were pretty much on your own [on the soft] was that a worry?

    FA: Not really. As Mark said before or later he cars will mix again. You have to put for the first 14 or 15 laps the soft tyres or in the last 14 or 15, so it was a similar timed race at the end over 52 laps. So I was not worried. Probably the start was the biggest worry because with the hard compound you know the start is a little bit worse. We tried to defend the position there. After that we were controlling the race more or less OK until the last stint, we were now quick enough and when Mark arrived I think he overtook very easy and there was nothing we can do. I’m happy with the second place. Now obviously, ten minutes after the race there is a strange feeling of losing victory. But it’s the same 18 points you get if you are third and you overtake the guy in second on the last lap and you are so happy, so it’s the same second place but different feelings in this ten minutes but I’m sure in one hour’s time I will appreciate it much more.

    And in particular having the pace you had in Valencia as well. That’s two races in a row you’ve been leading the race.

    FA: Yeah it was good in Valencia the car and here on a completely different track with a lot of high-speed corners the car seemed to perform very well. Also a fantastic race from Felipe, finishing fourth, so happy with the improvements in the car. I think still there is a last step to close with these guys, maybe they are a little bit quicker in some conditions on some circuits, so we need to improve those.

    And an interesting battle with Lewis. It wasn’t actually for position but on the road.

    FA: Yeah, it was close. I was with new tyres so I had a pace advantage but you know the McLaren is quite quick on the straights, so I overtook him on the exit of the corner thanks to the tyres and then he overtook me again on the straight and it was a difficult moment of the race because if you have a little contact or something you can lose your front wing or whatever and your race is over. You need to be aggressive, you need to try to no lose too much time in those overtakings but at the same time being a little bit careful.

    Sebastian, obviously for a Red Bull a great day with you first and third and also confirmation again of the pace you had in Valencia.

    SV: Yeah, I think all in all it was a good day. Obviously happy for the team, the factory is just down the road. It’s more or less our home grand prix and therefore definitely special and I’m sure we’ll have some drinks tomorrow.

    And an interesting battle with a group of four of you in the early stages.

    SV: Yeah, the start was not too good to be honest, I lost a little bit too much. I had too much wheel slip and I could see the first row disappearing. It was quite tight and with Felipe he had a better start and I lost the position to him. And then I think it was down to turn four it was extremely tight. I tried to defend the position to Kimi who was right behind. I think I damaged the front wing a little bit. Not sure how bad it was. But it didn’t turn out to be a massive disadvantage. So from there I got stuck a little bit. Once I got close to get past Felipe but he did a very good job, he very hard but very fair, so I enjoyed that a lot and then we did the right thing coming in a little bit earlier and used to the momentum and got past both Michael and Felipe at the same time, which was good. I was just a little bit too far away to get Fernando at the end so just a little bit off that feeling he described – you’re close and you get that second place in the end. I’m sure if the race had been a little bit longer then it would have been different but that’s how it is, so I’m very happy with third today.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Congratulations Mark. As you say this season will be nip and tuck but you have points every race but one, you’re the second guy to win twice – it must give you confidence that you’re going to be in the thick of this championship fight.

    MW: Absolutely, I’m not low on confidence at the moment. It’s going well. I think in Barcelona we didn’t help ourselves with the strategy in qualifying to put ourselves outside the Q3 by being too optimistic about the pace of the car for that Sunday afternoon. So, overall, so far so good. We will enjoy today’s result, really soak it up. That’s what’s important. You have to remember how hard we work for these results and tomorrow morning, it’s Hockenheim. That’s what it has to be about. I think it’s a long, long season. I’m not getting too fired up about any particular championship positions at the moment. But what is for sure is that I have a nice haul of points to keep going with. I’m not sitting on 20 points trying to start my campaign from here. So it’s going well so far.

    Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Mark, you are in second place in the championship. Now you’re ahead of Sebastian Vettel by 16 points. Will  you continue to attack, or let Sebastian Vettel overtake you?

    MW: Yeah. I think at Hockenheim we will let Seb through! No, honestly, I will try to give your question some decent respect. Look, it’s a championship for all of us. I’ve had a good run in the last few races. Obviously Seb had a retirement when leading Valencia so that’s the way it’s been. I’ve been there to have two very special victories so far this year, albeit in different circumstances. As I say, I would rather have the points that I have than those that some other people have. I’m not looking at who is third, fourth, fifth. I am looking at the little guy next to me and he’s going well as well, so we need to keep pushing hard.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – ClarkSport)Fernando, a couple of questions: how much did being on pole influence your decision on tyre choice? I wondered whether there was an element of being conservative at the start because you were on pole.

    And secondly, your second stint, was the length of that defined by covering Mark? Could you have gone longer in a perfect world in that second stint and perhaps made more use of the tyre at that point?

    FA: I think tyre choice was a little bit determined by the pace we saw in FP3, the little dry running that we had. We felt more confident on the hards so it was our preferred choice today. And then, if at any point of the race it had rained and we put on intermediates you didn’t have to use the softs any more so it was a better combination of possibilities that the hard gave us today.

    And then the length of the stint? I think the second was quite close to the limit of the number of laps. Maybe we could have lasted a couple of extra laps in the first one.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, this is more or less a similar question: when you stopped on the 37th lap, you had 15 laps ahead of you on the softer tyre. You did only 12 on the harder tyre at the beginning. Did you think you could finish the race in good conditions with the tyres.

    FA: No, I was confident in the tyres, to be honest, because Felipe used the soft tyre in the first stint and I think he did 14 laps, so 14 laps with maybe a heavy car in the first stint and we were 15 laps to the end with a light car. So we were quite convinced the softs were OK but they were a little bit slower, obviously a little bit too much understeer, so the balanced changed and killed the performance of the car a little bit and we were a bit too slow. We knew, more or less, that the soft was a little bit slower, so we needed to open up a gap in the first two stints when we were on different tyres to Mark and we knew that that gap was for sure getting closer and closer at the end when we put on the softs, and what we opened up at the beginning was not enough

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) And for both Red Bull drivers, after the astonishing performance in Valencia, if it hadn’t have rained here, did you expect more from the car during the race?

    MW: Obviously we got some confidence with our car in Valencia. I think that before then, we’d been finding our way with the new regulations, but I think we understood a little bit more about the RB8 in Valencia, and that has been an on-going process here. Potential is an over-used word but we’ve got to try and get the most out of the car in all conditions. I think we’ve definitely improved the car from Barcelona, this is an even quicker circuit, and also what you have to keep in mind is if you’re a little bit out of the balance window here – not with the tyres but I mean balance chassis-wise –  aerodynamically around here you are in big big trouble, so we had to tune the car as everyone did, as the weekend went on. We learned a lot in P3, the only dry running we had, so I think we’re very happy with the car around here. Probably not had the advantage that we had in… obviously Seb had a clean Grand Prix. I was in a bit of traffic but Valencia was probably a bit stronger, but here we won the race. So it turned out OK. Fernando wasn’t slow, but I think the team’s done a great performance with the car here.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Mark, this morning you told me that wet conditions would be better for you, given the temperature. Do you think that the temperature increase at the end affected your performance a little bit?

    MW: When I saw you this morning, we only had the (dry) running from P3, which, to be honest, wasn’t particularly smooth sailing for us. We had a look at what Fernando had done in that session and he looked very good on balance and his sectors were pretty strong, taking into account fuel loads or whatever, we thought Fernando looked pretty good, so we had that in mind, going into the race, obviously, how we would go. Don’t forget last year as well; he gave us a hiding during the Grand Prix as well through balance and overall high speed performance and grip, if you like, so Ferrari has always been pretty strong here, and Fernando as well. So in the end, a little bit surprised  that we were maybe as competitive as we were in the dry, but hey, it’s a great problem to have and we put together a great Grand Prix today.

    Q: (Sean McGreevy – CSMA Club Magazine) Mark, you’re consistently successful at Silverstone. What do you enjoy, what do you like about racing here?

    MW: Well, this morning I took the dogs for a run. The good thing about going home to them is that they don’t know if I’ve had a shit day or a good day, they’re always happy to see me. It’s good to be staying at home. All of us know how much we love hotels so it’s just good to be at home and even though it’s my job and it’s all sportsmen and women’s jobs to enjoy – whether you’re a golfer, tennis player, racing driver – you have to enjoy or get the most out of every venue that you race at but it’s only natural that there is… like Fernando in Barcelona, there is that extra little bit that makes you a little bit more relaxed and a bit more comfortable, which you try and replicate at every single Grand Prix, but with all due respect, it’s not the same at Hockenheim. I love racing everywhere but here it’s extra special. As I say, I won my first race here in ’96 in a Formula Ford so the love affair continues.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Sebastian, when you look at your lap times, you were OK in sector one and three, maybe even the fastest, but you were consistently lost out in sector two. What was the problem there?

    SV: I don’t know. I got told we lose a little bit too much in the second sector. We probably had a little bit of trouble in the fast stuff at the end of the race, so I think all in all we were quite competitive, but yes, we lost out in the second sector so we need to see why that was. Generally I felt pretty happy. In the last stint, to be honest, I wasn’t so happy with the car, I picked up a lot of vibrations. I don’t know why as I didn’t have a lock-up or anything. We need to have a look why that was. I have one question: does anybody have a clue about the tennis? What’s the score? Three all in the first set.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Mark, you said that from the outside the race was not spectacular; what is the main difficulty for you during that race? Managing the tyres, the start, overtaking Fernando?

    MW: Yes, understanding the pace to do and to have the range to split the race evenly, for a two stop Grand Prix. That was the main focus, to make sure that I could get to the stop lap which the guys were trying to predict me to hit, which pit stop lap they wanted me to hit, and get there with the best combination of pace and tyre life. Ultimately that is the best way to get to the chequered flag. Obviously you put a lot of faith in the pit wall. The guys are helping you to work out what level of pace you run at, and also balancing the car at the pit stops was important, working with the guys on the front wing. We made quite a big adjustment at the first stop after my first stint and then I was much happy with the car in the second and third stints.

    Q: (Manuel Franco – AS) Fernando and Sebastian, is the second victory for Mark and second in the championship a surprise for you?

    FA: No, not really. I think Mark had a difficult season last year with a little bit too big a difference than normal with Sebastian, but in 2010 he was leading the championship until Korea so he’s not new in this position of fighting for the World Championships. This year, with all the tricky conditions and all the different winners we saw in this strange championship so far, I think Mark is good with those difficulties.

    SV: Not much to add. Obviously I have the advantage in that he’s in the same team so I can see what he’s doing but I don’t think it’s a surprise.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere Della Sera) Fernando, you told us about your mixed feelings: are you more worried to have lost seven points to Mark or you will maybe be more happy to have gained on Sebastian?

    FA: I think at the moment, as far as I’m leading, I’m more happy than worried. If Mark was leading the championship, I would be worried about losing another seven points, but at the moment, the weekend in general has been fantastic for us, because we left Valencia with maybe an emotional win, a lot of points in our pocket, compared to our rivals in the championship and we arrived at Silverstone, a completely different circuit, we didn’t know how the car was performing here. We had a very difficult qualifying for everybody yesterday and we survived that qualifying with pole position and today we also had a tricky race. We didn’t know what the weather was doing and I think the car performed well, we avoided any contact, any accidents that might happen at the start or in some battles. We are again bringing home more points than we probably expected, because when we arrived on Thursday, if someone had told us that we would leave on Sunday with 18 points again, I think we would have been very happy.

    Q: (Ted Kravitz – Sky) Is it Federer you’re going for Sebastian?

    SV: Yes.

    Q: (Ted Kravitz – Sky) There was a message on the radio that you should use Torque Five or something like that. Was there a technical reason why you didn’t have Mark’s pace today, and looking to your home race in Germany, what are your thoughts on that, a race that I don’t think you’ve won?

    SV: No, we didn’t have any problems. When you face your stint, you know roughly how many laps you want to do etc.d and you try to manage the tyres at their best and you try to use the tools that you have in the car. Obviously you can change your front wing settings at the pit stop, but other than that, once you are out on the circuit, you haven’t got that much to play with. You can play a little bit with the diff, obviously adjust your driving and adjust the mapping from the engine point of view. It’s hard to bring it down to lap time, but it’s just more driver comfort, what you prefer at the time.

    And yeah, obviously I’m looking forward to the next race, looking forward to Germany. It should be a very good one for us. I feel the car is picking up speed, so I definitely feel happier since the last race. This one… I think we struggled last year here, in particular. Ferrari had the upper hand so I think this year we had a much better balanced car in that regard. So it seems we are on the right track so let’s see if I succeed this year. It’s a race like every other. Sure it would be very special to win, but I don’t score more points just by winning my home race.

    Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action ) Fernando, if there is a change in your team next year, would you like to have Mark as your teammate?

    FA: I don’t know. I think it’s just imaginary pictures. I need to put something on my shoes to be a little bit taller. That would be the only thing if I changed teammates. For the rest, it doesn’t matter. I would be happy with any teammate. I say again, I’m extremely happy with Felipe. Today, again, he showed the performance that he can do, with a normal race, trouble free etc. We will see what the team decides.

    Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Mark, does today’s result make a difference to where you might drive next year, given that you’ve got number two on your cap and that seemed like a number one drive?

    MW: It helps my situation to stay in Formula One. At the start of the year I didn’t have a contract, I’m pushing to get a contract for next year. Going reasonably well, got a few points, a couple of wins and I will work very hard to try and stay in Formula One next year. So, the answer is no.

    Ends

  • Tough outing for McLaren in qualy

    Silverstone (UK), 7 July 2012: McLaren endured a tough outing in qualifying for the British Grand Prix with Jenson Button failing to make it out of Q3 and Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth in the top-10 shoot-out.

    Button struggled in the opening phase of Q1 and as the clock ticked down to the end of the session found himself in the drop zone. However, after pitting for a second set of intermediate tyres in the closing minutes he suddenly found some pace and looked on course to jump up the timesheet, according to an FIA press note.

    But as he neared the end of his lap, Marussia’s Timo Glock spun exiting the final corner and came to rest across the grid. The yellow flags came out and Button’s lap was compromised. He ended up 18th and out of the following two sessions.

    “It felt completely different [on the second set of tyres],” he said. “I came out of the pits and could actually get heat into the tyres straight away and it felt good, whereas with the first set I came out of the pits and had front shuddering and just couldn’t get fronts up to temperature. The story of my year, really.

    “I gained almost 1.7s according to my dash compared to the previous lap time, which wouldn’t have just got me in [to Q2], it would’ve given us the quickest lap time,” he added. “It’s a pity but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

    Hamilton, meanwhile, scrambled through the rain-hit second segment to make it into the top-10 shootout. However, in the final session he too had difficulty in getting heat into the tyres and finished eighth, almost two seconds adrift of pole position winner Fernando Alonso.

    “It was difficult, it is always is qualifying in the wet, but we really struggled. For some reason the tyres in Q3 wouldn’t switch on,” Hamilton said. “The extremes worked really well, then I came in because I thought it was drying and that the intermediates would give us the best grip but I was just sliding like crazy.

    “I can’t for the life of me understand why the tyres didn’t switch on there,” he added. “It’s very rare that I can’t get my tyres working. I was pushing and pushing and there was no grip.”

    Both drivers, however, said they were confident of better performances in tomorrow’s race.

    “The car is quicker than what we did,” he said. “We’re not far away. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the front row but we can still push through tomorrow. From eighth, everything is still possible.”

    Button, too, was upbeat about his chances.

    “We don’t get that many tyres, so this could actually be a good thing,” he said of his failure to get out of Q1. “If tomorrow’s wet – which we think it’s going to be – then we haven’t put as much mileage on the tyres. You’ve got to take the positives, because it was a very unlucky session.”