INDIA in F1

Tag: Daniel Ricciardo

  • F1: Daniel Ricciardo takes pole ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton

    F1: Daniel Ricciardo takes pole ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton

    Daniel Ricciardo celebrates after taking Monaco pole on Saturday. An FIA image.

    Monaco, 26 May 2018: Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo powered to a second career pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix claiming top spot in qualifying four tenths of a second ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton at the qualifying session of the Monaco GP, the sixth round of the Formula One (F1) World Championship in the principality here on Saturday.

    It was bittersweet for Red Bull, however, as while Ricciardo will start from the front of the grid, Max Verstappen will start at the tail end of the order after gearbox damage from a crash in FP3 ruled him out of qualifying.

    Ricciardo was quickly on the pace and with his first flying lap he took P1 with a time of 1:12.769. The Australian hit a wall of traffic at the end of the lap, however, and as such his P1 time was quickly bypassed by that of Kimi Räikkönen.

    Ricciardo was quickly back in front, though, finding a gap in the traffic to post a lap of 1:12.013. That was good enough to keep him in P1 until the flag fell, with the Red Bull driver eventually finishing four tenths of a second ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Räikkönen.

    In the final runs, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc went off at Ste Devote and brought out the yellow flags. That compromised a number of final runs and in the end out went Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley, Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Williams’ Lance Stroll and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Ricciardo was again to the fore in Q2, quickly muscling his way to the top of a timesheet with a lap of 1:11.353 that left clear of Vettel and Raikkonen. He retired to the garage immediately, content to wait it out and see how the session evolved.

    Further back, Mercedes gambled and bolted on ultrasoft tyres for their drivers’ first runs, hoping that the purple-banded tyres would yield a lap time good enough to earn a Q3 berth and allow them to start on the more durable tyre on a circuit where track position is paramount.

    The strategy quickly proved the wrong one, however, and with the session edging onto the final five minutes and with Hamilton 10th and Bottas 14th the team switched plans and pitted both for hypersofts. Hamilton blasted to third with his first flyer and Bottas followed to take fifth.

    The Ferraris of Räikkönen and Vettel found more time on their final runs to claim second and thirds respectively behind Ricciardo and Hamilton dropped to fourth ahead of his team-mate.

    At the bottom of the top 10, the improvement of the Mercedes bounced Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly to P12, but the Frenchman did a good job to find time on his final runs to claim P10 with a lap of 1:12.313.

    That meant that out went Renault’s Hulkenberg in P11, followed by McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and Haas’ Romain Grosjean.

    Ricciardo again set the pace in Q3 and this time it was by a significant margin. Bottas was first across the line to take provisional pole, but he was quickly dropped down the order by Hamilton who set a lap of 1:11.261. Ricciardo though was flying and when he crossed the line he was 0.451s up on Hamilton and the only man under the 1m11s mark.

    And so it proved. Vettel found time on his second run to climb above Hamilton, but neither could get near the Red Bull driver, who was going even quicker until he was told that his opening time had secured pole. He backed out of his final run and settled for the lap of 1:10.810 that now stands as the fastest ever lap of Monaco.

    Behind third-placed Hamilton, 2017 pole position man Räikkönen was fourth ahead of Bottas, Force India’s Esteban Ocon, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Renault’s Carlos Sainz and the second Force India of Sergio Perez. The top ten order was rounded out by Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly.
    2018 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:10.810
    2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:11.039 0.229
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.232 0.422
    4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:11.266 0.456
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:11.441 0.631
    6 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:12.061 1.251
    7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:12.110 1.300
    8 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:12.130 1.320
    9 Sergio Perez Force India 1:12.154 1.344
    10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:12.221 1.411
    11 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:12.411 1.601
    12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:12.440 1.630
    13 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:12.521 1.711
    14 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:12.714 1.904
    15 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:12.728 1.918
    16 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:13.179 2.369
    17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:13.265 2.455
    18 Lance Stroll Williams 1:13.323 2.513
    19 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:13.393 2.583
    20 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing.

  • Free Practice 2: Daniel Ricciardo in charge again as Red Bull dominate in Monaco

    Free Practice 2: Daniel Ricciardo in charge again as Red Bull dominate in Monaco

    Daniel Ricciardo….blowing hot in Monaco. Photo: Red Bull Racing

    Monaco, 24 May 2018: Daniel Ricciardo is in the mood to impress in Monaco this weekend, with the Red Bull star setting a new track record to top the timesheet for the second time on Thursday. His team-mate Max Verstappen was two-tenths back, while the nearest challenger in a rival car, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, was over half a second off the pace.

    Lewis Hamilton, who was the leading Mercedes in fourth, spoke of Red Bull’s race-winning potential during Wednesday’s press conference, and they certainly demonstrated their pace in Monte Carlo by following up on their one-two in FP1 with another hugely confident-looking 90 minutes of running.

    Raikkonen came home fifth for Ferrari – 0.702s behind Ricciardo – closely followed by his fellow-Finn Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. Renault were the fourth quickest team in the day’s first session and they repeated those exploits in FP2, although it was Nico Hulkenberg – and not Carlos Sainz – who came home seventh.

    Sainz had to settle for tenth, trailing the McLaren pair of Stoffel Vandoorne and ninth-placed Fernando Alonso, who was able to get in a healthy 42 laps after his MCL33 suffered a brake-by-wire issue in FP1 – restricting him to just 16 laps.

    As in FP1, there was a mixture of tactics on show in the early stages of this session. Mercedes split their strategy, sending Hamilton out on the supersoft tyres and Bottas on the purple-marked ultrasoft compound, which the two Ferraris also started on, while the Red Bull pair were on the hypersofts.

    Red Bull were in charge in the opening session, and they set out to stamp their authority on FP2 with the Prancing Horse of Vettel splitting early pace-setter Verstappen and Ricciardo. The drivers were looking to build momentum but were temporarily forced back to the pits when the red flag was brought out to allow for repair work to be carried out on a drain cover between Turn 4 and Turn 5.

    When the action resumed, traffic was proving to be a problem on this tight and twisty circuit. Ferrari’s Raikkonen was among the drivers to improve on his first two sectors, but a slow-moving rival stopped him in his path – with Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin not proving popular with the Finn.

    At this stage, Verstappen was keeping his nose clean. That was, however, until he slowed right down on his approach to the hairpin in order to let Grosjean past, and despite the best efforts of both drivers, they had a very minor coming together.

    Despite Verstappen’s wing making contact with Grosjean’s rear tyre, there was no damage to either car, and the Dutchman was able to jump back to the top of the leaderboard after Vettel, only fourth fastest in FP1, temporarily set the quickest time.

    With all the top three teams running on the new hypersoft tyres, could Mercedes or Ferrari better Red Bull’s pace? They were trying, but then Ricciardo popped up with a superb 1m 11.841s to move into the lead. And neither rival could get ahead of the charging Red Bull pair, with the Australian pipping his team mate for the second time on Thursday.

    This time it was Ferrari who were Red Bull’s closest challengers, but a 0.572s gap between Vettel and Ricciardo suggests they have some catching up to do in FP3, as do Mercedes.

    In the middle of the field, Renault had an impressive afternoon and McLaren enjoyed a better 90 minutes – but Haas endured an underwhelming session, with their drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean coming home in 16th and 18th respectively.

    Where does it leave us heading into Saturday? Red Bull seem on track for their first pole position of the season – but expect Mercedes and Ferrari to have something to say…

    Verstappen escapes penalty after reversing to re-join

    Verstappen escapes penalty. Photo: Red Bull Racing

    It’s not often you see a Formula 1 driver reversing, but that’s what Verstappen resorted to after getting his braking wrong into Ste Devote during Monaco GP first practice. The Red Bull driver had a big front-left lock up on the approach to the first turn and opted to take to the escape road rather than attempting to make the corner.

    Rather than spin the car round, he engaged reverse and moved back on track, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel cutting the corner to avoid Verstappen.

    The Stewards investigated whether Verstappen had returned to the track in an unsafe manner, but after speaking to the Dutchman and reviewing footage, they deemed no further action was necessary.

    They said yellow flags had been waved to warn other drivers Verstappen had run off track at the first corner and Verstappen had rejoined in a manner “that posed no danger to the other drivers”.

    Verstappen was second quickest in first practice, 0.154s slower than Ricciardo, as the duo lay down a marker on a weekend where they are expected to challenge for pole position and the victory.

  • Free Practice 1: Daniel Ricciardo sets early pace, leads Red Bull one-two in Monaco

    Free Practice 1: Daniel Ricciardo sets early pace, leads Red Bull one-two in Monaco

    Red Bull dominate FP1 in Monaco on Thursday. Photo: Red Bull Racing

    Monaco, 24 May 2018: Can Red Bull secure their first pole of the season in Monaco? The early signs are certainly positive, with Daniel Ricciardo edging team-mate Max Verstappen in the opening practice session on Thursday, while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was three tenths behind the pace-setter.

    It was an impressive early showing from Red Bull in Monte Carlo, with their two drivers mastering this tricky street circuit on Pirelli’s new hypersoft tyres. Sebastian Vettel was the quickest Ferrari in fourth, just ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen, and it was another strong performance from Renault’s Carlos Sainz, who came home sixth.

    The other Silver Arrow of Valtteri Bottas had to settle for seventh, with Force India’s Sergio Perez winning the battle for eighth ahead of Romain Grosjean in the Haas. Sergey Sirotkin – rock bottom of the drivers’ standings with no points – has had a difficult start to his maiden Formula 1 season, but will be boosted by his P10 for struggling Williams.

    The teams didn’t waste any time to get going at the iconic Circuit de Monaco, with the drivers heading out on all three different tyre types, including for the first time at a race weekend, the pink-marked hypersoft compound.

    It was on those tyres that Red Bull and Ferrari started the session, while Mercedes – winners of the last two races in Spain and Azerbaijan – opted for the ultrasofts, and it was Bottas who set the first timed lap of FP1.

    There is no margin for error at this tight and twisty track, and Williams’ Sirotkin found that out the hard way. The Russian kissed the wall on the home straight and limped back to the pits with a flat tyre – and Grosjean later had a similar impact with a barrier, but escaped without any damage.

    Red Bull were the team on top during the opening 40 minutes, before Mercedes showed their hand after bolting the hypersofts – which in testing have been around a second a lap quicker than the ultrasofts – on both cars.

    And it was Hamilton who was first to give a glimpse of their potential pace on the softest tyres this weekend, the Briton just three-tenths slower than last year’s pole time of 1m 12.178s. So what about Ferrari? They were going about their business quietly at this stage.

    It certainly wasn’t a quiet session for Verstappen. The Dutchman later regained top spot and then suffered a huge lock-up heading into Turn 1. He escaped down the run-off area and avoided any damage to his Red Bull, but is under investigation by the stewards after reversing back on to the circuit.

    With the hypersofts getting their first run-out here, the times are expected to tumble all weekend and Ricciardo eventually went quickest with a superb 1m 12.126s – faster than Raikkonen’s pole here in 2017.

    The rest of the session was without major incident. Renault, currently fourth in the constructors’ standings, were once again ahead of their middle-order rivals, with Sainz leading that charge. Kevin Magnussen, meanwhile, struggled with a connector issue on his Haas and finished bottom of the pile with just seven laps on the board.

    Little can be taken from FP1, with teams adjusting their set-ups throughout the session, but the early signs are certainly positive for Red Bull. Their title rivals Mercedes and Ferrari both predicted Verstappen and Ricciardo would be quick here in Monaco, and they didn’t disappoint.

  • Ferrari-Mercedes renew battle in Barcelona; Red Bull in frame as one of favourites

    Ferrari-Mercedes renew battle in Barcelona; Red Bull in frame as one of favourites

    Sebastien Vettel (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) all set to renew their rivalry. Photo: formula1.com

    Barcelona, 10 May 2018: Four rounds ticked off the Formula 1 calendar, and this season has certainly kept us on the edge of our seats. We’ve had two triumphs for Ferrari, and one apiece for Red Bull and Mercedes. So, who has the momentum as we head to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix?

    It’s very hard to say indeed. Last time out, Baku provided us with a chaotic and thrilling race with Ferrari looking on course for a third win of the campaign before the Red Bull collision set off a chain of events that ultimately conspired to hand Mercedes their first victory of 2018.

    The Silver Arrows still trail their rivals in red by four points in the constructors’ standings, but Lewis Hamilton’s latest triumph – his first of the season – gave him the lead ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship after four races this season, the Briton having waited until after round 13 to move ahead last year.

    Mercedes have locked out the front row in Barcelona in four of the past five years, but their qualifying prowess has already been questioned this year – Azerbaijan was the third race in a row they have missed out on P1.

    But as we’ve seen already this season, it won’t just be about Mercedes and Ferrari this weekend. In fact, perhaps most of the attention will be on Red Bull, following the clash between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in Azerbaijan.

    They have now suffered two double DNFs in the past three races, having previously not suffered one at all since the 2010 Korean GP – and after being read the riot act, their drivers will be desperate to avoid more contact in Spain.

    Barcelona is a track all the teams know extremely well – but who will come out on top?

    The form book

    Looking at the stats, Mercedes have every reason to be confident on their return to Barcelona. This track has arguably been a demonstration of their dominance in the turbo hybrid era.

    In 2014, they locked out the front row with no other car within one second of pole. In 2015, this gap dropped to 0.777s, then 0.680s in 2016, before Vettel narrowed it to 0.051s last year and became the first non-Mercedes to start on the front row here since 2012.

    The qualifying stats suggest the winner will need to come up with the goods on the Saturday. Twenty-four of the 27 Grands Prix in Catalunya have been won from the front row (89 per cent), the highest ratio of any circuit on the calendar with at least 10 previous races, such is the difficulty of overtaking at the Spanish venue.

    Over the last decade, though, we have seen plenty of different drivers triumph, including shock victories for Pastor Maldonado in 2012 and Max Verstappen – on his Red Bull debut – in 2016. Hamilton’s victory last year ended a run of 10 different winners in the same number years in Spain, but could we see another new winner this year? Neither Ricciardo nor Bottas has triumphed here, but both have been in terrific form.

    This is a race where, traditionally, the teams bring significant upgrades to their cars, so whilst no one is expecting the established top three to be toppled, in the supremely tight midfield there could be movement. McLaren, in the midst of a tight battle for P4 in the constructors’ championship with Renault, are one of the teams bringing significant revisions.

    Both teams have Spanish drivers, but it’s Renault’s Carlos Sainz who has the better recent record at Barcelona, finishing the last three races in ninth, sixth and seventh. Alonso, meanwhile, hasn’t scored points at home since 2014 when he was still driving for Ferrari.

    Elsewhere, several teams will be looking to carry momentum into Spain. Force India’s surprise podium in Baku, with Sergio Perez landing P3, kick-started their season, while Toro Rosso were boosted by Brendon Hartley’s first points-finish last time out.

    Sauber’s Charles Leclerc also scored points for the first time, while Williams got their 2018 campaign underway with Lance Stroll scoring four points for P8.

    Source: Formula1.com

  • Spanish Grand Prix: A statistical perspective

    Spanish Grand Prix: A statistical perspective

    Barcelona, 10 May 2018: This weekend’s race will mark the 28th edition of the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Michael Schumacher tops the all-time winners list, with an impressive six triumphs here. When the drivers take to the grid on Sunday, there will be five previous victors among them – Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

    The Stats That Matter

    • Hamilton is looking to join a small list of F1 legends to win at this circuit for a third time. Should he triumph on Sunday, he’ll be on the same number of wins as Mika Hakkinen and three behind Michael Schumacher.
    • The Briton, who won from pole here in 2014 and 2017, certainly enjoys coming to Spain. He hasn’t been off the front row here since his final year for McLaren in 2012, when he took top spot in qualifying only to be excluded for having insufficient fuel.
    • Despite leading the drivers’ standings, the four-time World champion has been suffering somewhat of a qualifying drought recently. He took pole in Australia, but has been outqualified by team-mate Bottas in four of the last six races.
    • Vettel has surprisingly never been on pole in Catalunya. But the Ferrari man has been in superb qualifying form this season, topping the timesheet at the last three races.
    • Baku ended Raikkonen’s longest run of front-row starts (3) since Spain-Monaco-Europe in 2005, but he still finished on the podium for the sixth time in the last eight races.
    • The Finn has set the theoretical best lap of qualifying at the last two races (adding up the three best sectors from any lap), without having taken pole at either of them. Consistency in Barcelona could see the Ferrari man take P1.
    • Two years ago, Max Verstappen’s triumph saw him become F1’s youngest-ever winner at 18 years 227 days, become the first Dutchman to win in F1 and the first man to win on a mid-season debut for a team since Juan-Manuel Fangio for Mercedes in 1954.
    • Force India will be hoping to spring another surprise. Perez finished fourth in Barcelona last year, his and team’s best-ever finish on this track. The Mexican is attempting to score back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in his and his team’s history this weekend.
    • Nico Hulkenberg has not been eliminated in Q1 since the 2015 Spanish GP, and this is the only circuit at which the German has never qualified higher than 10th in his F1 career (seven previous visits).
    • It’s safe to say Pierre Gasly has endured an action-packed start to his first full season in F1. And there’s no reason he cannot replicate his fourth-placed finish in Bahrain this weekend. He has scored more podium finishes in Catalunya than on any other circuit in his GP2 career, with three podiums in four starts in 2015-16.
    • Not including retirements, Nico Rosberg, who started the 2013 race in P1, is the only pole-sitter to finish outside the top-5 in a Spanish Grand Prix – regardless of venue – in the history of Formula 1.

    The circuit

    This Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is familiar territory for Formula 1 teams. Not only have they raced there every year since 1991, they also take part in extensive testing at the track.

    But this does not mean they’re in for an easy ride. In fact, the venue’s mix of high and low-speed corners plus its new track surface will once again provide the drivers with a physical and mental challenge.

    Teams often struggle to find and execute an optimum set-up here, when you consider tyre wear is particularly high and the varying winds that cut across the circuit.

    Turn 1 provides spectators with one of the best places to watch given it is one of the track’s few overtaking opportunities. The drivers, however, tend to find the latter stages of the track the more challenging. In particular, the final two turns require a fast exit in order to maximise speed down the start-finish straight into Turn 1.

    Source: Formula1.com

  • Aero changes to promote overtaking approved for 2019 Formula 1 season

    Aero changes to promote overtaking approved for 2019 Formula 1 season

    Paris, 01 May 2018: Formula 1 aerodynamics are set to get simpler in 2019 with one simple purpose in mind: to promote closer racing and more overtaking. Following a presentation made to the F1 teams at the Bahrain Grand Prix regarding proposals aimed at promoting closer racing and more overtaking in the Formula 1 World Championship, the Strategy Group, the F1 Commission and the World Motor Sport Council yesterday approved a number of regulation changes for the 2019 season.

    The changes, approved by e-vote, are as follows:

    • Simplified front wing, with a larger span, and low outwash potential
    • Simplified front brake duct with no winglets
    • A wider and deeper rear wing

    The vote follows an intense period of research into the FIA’s initial proposals, which were made with the support of the F1 Commercial Rights Holder, conducted by a majority of the F1 teams. These studies indicated the strong likelihood of a positive impact on racing and overtaking within F1 and as such have now been ratified for implementation in 2019.

    The approved changes are separate to the ongoing work being undertaken in regard to defining Formula 1’s regulations for 2021 and beyond.

    In addition to the aerodynamic changes ratified on Monday, the FIA is continuing to evaluate a range of other measures aimed at encouraging closer racing and boosting overtaking in F1.

    A raft of other measures have already been put in place for 2019, including an increase in race fuel allowance to allow drivers to race at full power for longer, the separation of driver weight from car weight to end the disadvantage of heavier drivers, and the requirement that drivers wear biometric gloves.

    Ross Brawn, Managing Director – Motorsports (F1) says: “One of the key episodes of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was the collision between team-mates Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. I don’t want to comment on who might be held responsible or how a team should manage these issues during a race, but I do think the Steward’s decision to reprimand both drivers was the right course of action.

    “But I would like to highlight a technical point. Once Daniel had settled for his line, and Max had changed direction blocking that line, the Australian became a passenger. The downforce loss experienced by Ricciardo in the wake of Verstappen’s car would have made it unstoppable. We often think of downforce applying in cornering, but the impact the extra grip has in braking is huge. Take away that grip in braking and what happened on Sunday was inevitable.

    “Whilst this was a very severe example, it did highlight once more the need of finding a way to develop the rules to make the cars more raceable in these conditions.

    “The decision of the Strategy Group and the F1 Commission taken yesterday, sanctioned by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, to approve a number of aerodynamic modifications, aimed at promoting closer racing and more overtaking for the 2019 season is definitely an important step.

    “It’s also important to note that the decision has been taken after an intense period of research into the FIA’s proposals, which were made with the support of Formula 1 and, conducted by a majority of the teams. A good spirit, a good way of working together for a better and more spectacular Formula 1, which is what the FIA, Formula 1, the Teams, and most importantly, the fans want. Bravo.”

  • Miracle in the garage and strategic pit-stop contributed to my victory: Dainel Ricciardo

    Miracle in the garage and strategic pit-stop contributed to my victory: Dainel Ricciardo

    Daniel Ricciardo exults after winning the trophy. Photo: FIA

    Shanghai, 15 April 2018: Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was obviously over the moon following his spectacular victory in the China Grand Prix here today, and first up, thanked his team for performing a miracle of sorts that helped him start the qualifying session after a blown engine in the third Free Practice earlier in the day.

    The Aussie, speaking at the post-race podium interview, also acknowledged that the pit-stop during the Safety Car period paid rich dividends as also his brilliant overtaking moves that put him ahead of the chasing pack in the latter part of the race.

    Excerpts from the Podium interviews conducted by Martin Brundle:

    Martin Brundle: Daniel, what an absolute star. What a race! Your sixth victory, but is that the sweetest one?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I don’t know what it is, I don’t seem to win boring races, they’re all pretty fun. That was unexpected. Put ourselves 24 hours ago and I thought we’d maybe be starting at the back of the grid. Firstly, thanks to the boys yesterday. I thanked them after qualifying but today is the real reward for that work. So thank you to everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the mechanics worked their butts off, so…

    MB: And the team had their brain in gear didn’t they, under the safety car, getting you in the pit lane. Double stacked the car twice, so the pit crew was on it as well?

    DR: It was hectic. I heard ‘safety car’ in Turn 14, and they said ‘we’re going to double stop, come, come, in the box’. It happened very quickly but very decisive moves, winning moves also from the team, so thanks a lot. Yeah, fat lip and all I got the win.

    MB: Just take us through one of the great overtakes – maybe on Lewis? That came out of nowhere down to the Turn 14 hairpin.

    DR: Yeah, sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it. So, there we go. I enjoyed it very much.

    MB: You still made the apex somehow, extraordinary?

    DR: Yeah, obviously we had the soft tyre, so I knew I could get a little bit more out of the braking than them. A lot of the time you get one chance to try, so I made the most of every opportunity.

    MB: You were a little closer to Valtteri when you passed him than you are now, but Valtteri, kind of bittersweet. Your 100th start but the safety car didn’t play into your hands and left you on some slightly older tyres and struggling a little bit.

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, you know, the race was going pretty well for us and we were looking strong all the way, until the guys, during the safety car, stopped and we were in trouble then with Daniel and nearly with Kimi in the end. It is disappointing. We were giving everything we had and it kind of felt like we deserved victory… but not today.

    MB: Without the safety car, do you think you had enough grip and pace to keep Sebastian behind you and take victory?

    VB: It felt like everything was under control so far. I had no major drop-off in the end, so I think we could have done it, but this is racing, these things happen.

    MB: Kimi, wow, it looked like you were a bit out of position. It looked like you were struggling a bit. They kept you out a long time before the pit stop. Then the safety car played into your hands and you had great speed and you got yourself back onto the podium.

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think we made a good start and then got, unfortunately, blocked a bit and passed in the first corners. I struggled a little bit following people in the beginning. On my own I wasn’t too bad, but far from ideal at the start of the race and then obviously we stayed very long out. A little bit of luck with the safety car. I had good speed on the mediums but in the end we would have needed the soft tyres to really go for it. But I think I was kind of OK in the end, but once I got close I had much more speed than Valtteri but once you get close it’s so difficult to follow people, to get a good run you need much better tyres to get that proper run and you can kind of offset yourself. But I’ll take what I got, because at one point it didn’t look good at all.

    MB: Daniel, I just want to go through the other overtake, when you passed Valtteri into Turn 6, because that looked a little bit touch and go.

    DR: It was close. I think it was hard but fair. I saw him defend, so I wanted to go shallower, but then he came a bit more… I thought about pulling out. No, I’m just kidding! I knew there would always be enough room and the tyres had pretty good grip, so worst case I went wide and I’d have another crack somewhere else.

    POST-RACE FIA PRESS CONFERENCE:

    Q: Daniel, many congratulations. In winter testing, if someone had said to you “Red Bull will win a race this year before Mercedes,” what would have been your reaction?

    DR: Good job. Yeah, pretty cool. Holy Testicle Tuesday! I don’t know. I’m sitting here, reciting everything in my head what just happened. Yeah, awesome. Even after yesterday. I’ve only got six, it’s not a whole lot but the wins seem to come under always some circumstances. Baku, and this one now where we really thought we were going to start the race at the back. We didn’t think we were going to get out in qualifying and, just over 24 hours later, now to be here, it’s… this sport’s crazy. A week ago I was with my head down after two laps on Sunday. Yeah, frustrated at the sport, frustrated at all the variables that are involved in the sport. Sometimes I question why I chose this sport because there’s so many other things out of your control and it does get you down a lot – but then when you have a day like this it’s worth fifty of those bad ones.

    Q: Valtteri, coming on to you. A lot was made yesterday after qualifying about the team having set the cars up for the warmer temperatures that we had today in the grand prix. How was the balance of the car?

    VB: I think the balance was OK. Like actually it felt OK yesterday, we were just not quite quick enough with the ultrasoft, so yeah, today we only used soft and medium and I think on the soft it was next to nothing, the difference to Ferrari. We were as competitive as them. I think with the medium it was pretty much the same case. So, for sure, starting the race from the second row makes it more difficult. It’s a shame what happened in the end because we really took the opportunities in the beginning of the race start, during the pitstop. After the pitstop everything was going fine. And then with the Safety Car we just got a little bit unlucky – but that happens sometimes. It’s difficult to accept that quickly, after the race – but that’s F1.

    Q: Talk us through the undercut. Were you surprised to come out ahead of Vettel?

    VB: No. We knew that it is possible with this kind of gap, if you get everything perfect, coming in, in the box, into the pitlane and all that. If you can switch on the tyres quickly, it’s possible. That’s why we stopped at this point. It was perfect timing from the team. I think it felt it was my quickest stop I’ve had with the team. So, everything just went really well. Good out-lap. So, we knew it was possible.

    Q: Kimi, can we get your thoughts on the pecking order now. Because Ferrari were so quick in qualifying yesterday, yet here you are in third place.

    KR: It’s very hard to say. I think if you ask anybody, it’s a bit tricky to give you an answer. I think today a lot of the end results depended on whether you had better tyres than others, when you could offset yourself to the others. Obviously, it’s part of the game. A big part of the game. And here it made a big difference. And the safety car playing in there. So, like pure speed, with everybody on the same tyres… it’s difficult, very difficult to say in a race. I think it’s nice like that, for everybody to watch, because nobody really knows, everybody would love to know, nobody really has because it changes from race to race. And such a small difference makes a big difference in the end results. I think you just have to wait and see. I think it might change from race to race and who runs what tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: Daniel, you’ve pulled off a lot of spectacular overtakes already in your Formula One career, not just to win races. Where does the overtake on Valtteri today rank and can you just talk us through what was going on in the car and going on in your head at the beginning of that process, through the overtake and afterwards?

    DR: Yeah. Opportunity be knocking! That’s what I would say. I could tell that obviously we had the advantage coming in at the safety car and having those softs. Yeah, I sensed the opportunity. Initially it was ‘OK, maybe now we can fight for the podium’ and at the rate that we were going through the field, and I could feel the tyres were holding on well, then it was obviously fully set on the win. Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously I had pace over all the guys that I got ahead of but you still don’t want to sit behind for too long. I saw Valtteri defend but I was kind of committed already from turn three that I was going to try. It was cool, it was close but I would say close but fair and it’s cool when you go wheel-to-wheel and I think it’s fun for drivers and it’s good TV so I enjoyed it. It makes it a bit sweeter than just maybe cruising past on the straight so that was a lot of fun.

    Q: And Valtteri can we just have your take on that overtaking manoeuvre?

    VB: Well, yeah. I was defending, obviously I saw him very close in turns one, two, three. He got a decent exit as well. He was closing lap after lap with pretty big gains. Yeah, from my side there was not much to do. I tried to defend but ultimately, with the better tyres, he could really brake quite a lot later and got inside. Like he said, it was all fair and like this. I think it was just a matter of time, with the pace he was going.

    Q: Daniel, why didn’t you share your shoey with Valtteri and Kimi?

    DR: To be honest, actually I don’t know if I’ve ever offered it to Kimi but to be honest I sprayed most of the champagne so I didn’t have that much more and obviously I saw my number one mechanic Genty (Chris Gent) and he was the priority at the time. There wasn’t enough to go round today unfortunately. Hopefully there’s plenty more opportunities.

     

    Q: Daniel, you kept your cool throughout the race. What was in your mind when you saw that Max had made a mistake and you overtook him?

    DR: I could see it coming a few corners before. Obviously I saw he was close to Lewis out of ‘three’. I wasn’t close enough to be involved at that moment so yeah, I was just watching, I guess and obviously if there is some contact, I’ve got to then position myself and try and be prepared. Yeah, then I saw he was trying on the outside of ‘seven’ and I could see them both drift wide and I could see that one car was probably not going to make it, so the difficult thing was then when Max went off track I wasn’t sure if he was going to slide back across, hold the line, so that was quite tricky initially, but then I could see he was coming on with quite a bit of speed so then it was quite easy in my mind to cut across the inside to let him go. But yeah, even those things, they happen so fast and you’re still in the heat of the battle so it’s quite hard to always pick the right move. Fortunately I didn’t really lose any time with that and yeah, it was pretty close, so I don’t know what the viewers thought but it seemed like it was a pretty close battle.

  • The smiling assassin Shanghais the leader in China to set up thrilling scenario!

    By Harish Samtani

    Shanghai, April 15: Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver for Red Bull, just tossed a spanner in the works of Ferrari and Mercedes with a superlative performance in the third chapter of the 2018 Formula 1 calendar.

    His team did very well to pull him back from the precipice of the cliff and just a gasp away from qualifying last. Red Bull mechanics should pat themselves by shoehorning an engine in last minute and send him on his way. And also for alertness on their race engineers who brought him and Max Verstappen in and put them on soft tyres right away when the safety car interrupted the proceedings while the rest mostly were on a slower medium compound that was meant to last the distance.

    Ricciardo returned the favour in style by bringing home the trophy. A catastrophe converted to a trophy in just under 24 hours may make a bad pun, but you get my drift.

    The racing itself must have brought tears of joy to any F1 fan regardless of their heroes. A safety car on lap 30 created by the coming together of Gasly and Hartley led to the exciting situation that followed, but who cares as to how. Just bring it on!

    Daniel Ricciardo exults after winning the trophy. Photo: FIA

    Meanwhile, if one were to pretend that all this did not happen, Ferrari had only themselves to blame for throwing away a win by bringing in Vettel too late into the box for his one tyre change. This only goes to show that human beings have their silly moments regularly!

    While Hamilton is not having the best days in his racing life momentarily, he also seems to have become a little mellow. Good for him but not so for his F1 career! His teammate Bottas, on the contrary, may not be the most-spectacular driver on the grid but he may be doing something right, just by staying out of trouble. It’s early days yet and picking up valuable points in these stages is going to serve him at the fag end of the championship.

    With three teams now in the fray, every point is worth its weight in gold. DNFs will play an important role in the F1 version of snakes and ladders. With the scramble up, the middle and down the grid, stress will tell and the ultimate winner will be not only being a result of a champion driver but a calm professional team to boot. This year has the potential of turning into one of the finest battles in recent times. Is this the perfect time of entry for Liberty, the new owners of F1? Probably yes.

    The quality competition was expected of course but not with such aggression by a few players who are giving the stewards a massive headache and tough decisions to make. When Verstappen collided with Vettel in the 43rd lap, he, in my opinion, got away cheap by getting just a 10-sec penalty.

    Anyway excitement, however, contrived by such incidents serve a larger purpose and The Show will, and must go on!

     

  • Brilliant Ricciardo wins Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Bottas; Vettel finishes eighth

    Brilliant Ricciardo wins Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Bottas; Vettel finishes eighth

    Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull celebrates after winning the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday in Shanghai. Photo: FIA

    Shanghai, 15 April 2018: Daniel Ricciardo took a thrilling victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the Formula One World Championship, here on Sunday. While Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari who won the first two races of 2018, could only finish eighth, reigning World champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth. Both Force India cars finished just outside points with Esteban Ocon taking 11th ahead of Sergio Perez in 12th.

    Benefiting from a mid-race safety car to rise from sixth to first in a handful of laps, thanks to fresh tyres and brilliant passing moves, Daniel Ricciardo, was at his best and did not hesitate to do his `shoey’ drinking from the winning shoe, once again.

    Mercedes’s Valtteri Bottas finished second ahead of Kimi Raikkonen as pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel dropped to eighth place following a collision with the second Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

    At the start, Vettel made a slightly slow getaway and as Räikkönen got away well, the German moved right to cover his team-mate. That allowed Bottas to go around the outside of the Finn and steal second place.

    Behind them Verstappen made an excellent start from fifth place and was quickly past Hamilton through Turn 1 as the Briton tried to attack Räikkönen. Verstappen then closed on the Ferrari driver and made a good move past the Finn to take third by the end of the first lap.

    The first stint saw Vettel etch out a lead of more than four seconds over Bottas, who in turn built up a five-second gap back to Verstappen, with Räikkönen fourth and comfortably ahead of Hamilton. The race then settled until the first round of pit stops.

    Verstappen was the first of the front-runners to stop, arrowing into the pit lane at the end of lap 17 to take a set of medium tyres. Seconds later he was followed by sixth-placed team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who also moved to mediums as Red Bull enacted an impressive double stop on the same lap.

    The move was designed to give both drivers an opportunity to attack the Mercedes driver in front of them but when Hamilton pitted he was able to rejoin ahead of Ricciardo. It was a similar story for Verstappen whose stop failed to dent the advantage enjoyed by Bottas, who was able to pit and rejoin ahead of the Dutchman

    Vettel was next in and as the German moved to medium tyres Mercedes told Bottas that he had to push as hard as possible. The Finn obliged and Vettel exited the pit lane to see Bottas sweeping past him.

    The race was now led by Räikkönen who had yet to pit. As the Finn’s pace ebbed on fading tyres, Ferrari tried to use him as a bulwark, backing Bottas towards Vettel. The Mercedes driver was alive to the threat, however, and attacked, passing Räikkönen on lap 27 in the slow ‘Snail’ section of the circuit.

    The complexion of the race changed moments later when the two Toro Rosso drivers collided at the hairpin, with Pierre Gasly running into the back of Brendon Hartley, scattering debris across the track.

    The Safety Car was deployed and Red Bull took the decision to again double stop its drivers, this time for soft tyres. With the other front runners staying sticking with their medium tyres, it proved a decisive move.

    Verstappen rejoined in fourth place behind Hamilton and Ricciardo sat in sixth behind Räikkönen, but their tyres soon gave them a pace advantage and on lap 37 Ricciardo muscled his way past Räikkönen to claim fifth. Ahead, Verstappen was pressuring Hamilton and attempted a move. Hamilton was not for moving, however, and the Red Bull driver was forced off track as the Mercedes man tightly held the racing line.

    That allowed Ricciardo to move past his team-mate and take up the fight. The Australian was more decisive and dived down the inside of Hamilton into the hairpin to claim third place.

    Ricciardo was now in full flight and after dismissing Vettel with relative ease he closed on leader Bottas. The Finn tried to defend as the Red Bull driver again attacked at the hairpin, but despite the gap narrowing, Ricciardo somehow slotted through and then kept control on exit to take the lead.

    Behind him Verstappen was also lining up a move at the hairpin to pass Vettel. Again though it didn’t work and the pair collided, with Verstappen dropping to fifth and Vettel to seventh.

    The Red Bull driver made it back to fourth past Hamilton but then was handed a 10-second time penalty by stewards for causing a collision.

    In the final laps Ricciardo stretched his lead over Bottas to eight seconds, who slowly fell back towards Räikkönen. The Ferrari driver made several attempts to get past but couldn’t find a way and the flag fell with Ricciardo claiming his sixth career win ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen. Hamilton was fourth ahead of Verstappen with Hulkenberg fifth.

    Vettel had held seventh until the closing stages but on the penultimate lap he was passed by Alonso in bold move that left the Ferrari driver complaining that the move was illegal. The stewards, however, ruled the pass to be a fair one. Behind the German the final points positions were taken by Sainz and Magnussen.

    2018 Chinese Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing –
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 8.894
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 9.637
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 16.985
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 20.436
    6 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 21.052
    7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 30.639
    8 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 35.286
    9 Carlos Sainz Renault 35.763
    10 Kevin Magnussen Haas 39.594
    11 Esteban Ocon Force India 44.05
    12 Sergio Perez Force India 44.725
    13 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 49.373
    14 Lance Stroll Williams 55.490
    15 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 58.241
    16 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1’02.604
    17 Romain Grosjean Haas 1’05.296
    18 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1’06.330
    19 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1’22.575
    20 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 5 laps.

  • I am over the moon right now: Lance Stroll

    Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan.Sunday 25 June 2017.World Copyright: Steven Tee/LAT Imagesref: Digital Image _O3I4034

    DRIVERS: 1 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing); 2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes); 3 – Lance STROLL (Williams)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS  (Conducted by David Coulthard)

    Q: Did anyone predict this podium – I don’t think so! Congratulations. Can you believe you’ve won the grand prix from 10thplace?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Not really. It was a crazy race. We knew the podium was a chance after the re-start but then we heard the problems with Lewis and Seb. It was just a crazy race. I made an unplanned pit stop at the beginning. After a few laps we had some debris I think in the brakes so we had to stop and clean it, so we dropped back to I think 17th place. Did I think then that I would the race today? Absolutely not. I would have put all of my money on it that it was very unlikely. Crazy race. This is the race we expected last year, with all the safety cars and all the chaos and we got it this year.

    Q: Well, it was a fantastic comeback from a difficult quali. You kept your chin up when we spoke to you after putting it in the wall there, so it just goes to show you never give up.

    DR: Yeah, obviously yesterday I was disappointed with the mistake but hey, I guess you have to make these to try and find that last little bit. I knew today would be a different outcome and yeah, I said it yesterday, we had to stay out of trouble and it certainly paid off today. Big thanks to the team, Red Bull Racing, it was nice to get one car home and on the top step, so thanks guys and thanks everyone that came out.

    Q: Valtteri, right on the line. You were a lap down in last place and you come through and deliver a result for the team, you must be mighty relieved? 

    Valtteri BOTTAS: It’s what Daniel also said: just a crazy race with so much happening. I was one lap down in the beginning and during the safety car I had to overtake everyone and catch them again. But this just shows you should never give up, you never know what is going to happen in the race. Just kept the head down, kept pushing, and team also during the red glad managed to fix the car a little bit so they did a really good job during that. I really enjoyed it and just had fun. But shame, in the end, that Daniel was just too far away but you know, taking the circumstances at the beginning it’s a good result for us.

    Q: Well, tell us about that, you seem to be magnetically drawn to your countryman. You and Kimi came together? What’s your view from the cockpit? 

    VB: Yeah, going into Turn 2 I was on the inside and he was on the outside and there was no space for me to go apart from over the kerb and when you go over the kerb the car obviously jumps and I couldn’t keep the line, so I think another racing incident to be honest but it’s just unlucky that it’s me and Kimi again.

    Kimi took full responsibility.

    VB: OK…

    Q: No, he didn’t, but it was great to see you believe that for a moment. Right, the man who is going to feel that he won this grand prix. One of the youngest ever podium finishers – Lance Stroll. Fantastic feel free to full express all the emotions. Your father is down there. It’s all come good in the past two races.

    Lance STROLL: Yeah, I’m just lost for words right. I don’t even know what to say. I can’t quite realise what just happened. It was a hectic race… people crashing. We just stayed out of trouble. I just kept my head cool and took it to the end. I just lost out to Valtteri there in the end. I think that was probably one of the closest finishes of all time. But what a race! I couldn’t believe coming into the weekend that I would be standing on the podium. It’s amazing.

    Q: Well I know your father has broad shoulders but I can see a tear in his eye from up here, so I think you’re going to get a monster bear hug when you come down from here? 

    LS: Just the whole team, it’s amazing.

    Q: You were voted by the fans of Formula One as the driver of the day as well, so you’ve really punched through and connected with the public. 

    LS: I was chatting to Daniel and saying motor sport is a love/hate relationship. We’ve had a couple of hard race but the last two races have been amazing and I’m just over the moon right now.

    Q: Fantastic, very well deserved. Daniel, another line from you? You’ll take the wins when they come. You seem… you could see the smile almost through your helmet when you were in the cockpit, but now you seem a bit calmer than I was expecting. You’ve just won your fifth grand prix!

    DR: Honestly, I’m speechless. After the race on the cool down lap I was kind of just giggling; giggling like a little schoolboy.

    [Coulthard unties Ricciardo’s bootlaces]

    DR: You want some?

    Q: I think your podium colleagues need a little celebration.

    DR: Well it’s Stroll’s first podium, so he certainly deserves one. Is he old enough to drink?

    LS: You realise this is going to scar me for life! Oh, my God, I’m too young for this. It’s like there’s some dirt in there as well.

    [Both drink from Ricciardo’s race boot]

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Daniel you said this is taking a while to sink in, but how does this victory, the fifth of your career, compare to the ones before, particularly that first one in Montreal, where you took the lead with three laps to go? 

    DR: I don’t know. I think I have been pretty fortunate. I’ve only had a few victories but I think pretty much all of them have come under pretty crazy circumstances or the races have been far from dull. Obviously all of them are special. Today was just crazy. We haven’t been necessarily the quickest car on track or all weekend. I said it yesterday after my crash in qualifying, I said ‘be there and capitalise on opportunities’ and I certainly capitalized on all the re-starts where I was able to gain at least one position if not more. Then we had some fortune, with Lewis, I think he had a loose headrest or something and he had to box and then Seb has his penalty behind the safety car. It was crazy, there was so much going on, but it was fun. It was fun to be in the battle for the most part and towards the end, obviously once I got the lead it was just trying to keep the laps I could. As I said, we knew we weren’t setting probably the quickest times on track but I knew if I kept that rhythm it was enough to win. Now it’s sunk in a bit more, I’m obviously very happy.

    Q: And after you made that unscheduled pitstop near the start of the race to remove some debris, was the car behaving as you wanted it to?

    DR: Yeah, it got better after that. We pitted very early on, I can’t remember what lap but I assume it was within the first handful of laps. I think it dropped me back to 17th on one of the restarts or something. How we’re here a few hours later, I don’t know – but it was cool. It was a lot of fun. Thanks to the team, thanks for… yeah, making it happen today. It’s cool. Nice feeling.

    Q: Coming to you Valtteri, can you explain how your goals today fluctuated. Second on the grid, what did you think was possible? A lap down at the end on lap one and then, of course, you’ve ended up in second place. Just talk us through that race.

    VB: Yeah, like Daniel said, it was a completely crazy race and especially for me. Had a puncture in lap one with the contact with the Ferrari in Turn Two. I was one lap down, had to overtake everyone, under the Safety Car. Catch them. There was another Safety Car, which really helped me out and just, y’know, step-by-step started to go forwards. For me, obviously, the goal going to the race today was to fight for the win, and after lap one, what happened, you can’t really set a goal. For me, I just tried to keep my head down, keep pushing and take maximum out of every single corner, every single situation and, yeah, ended up really good for us in the end. We managed to get some more points against Ferrari and some good points for me personally as well. But yeah, just… don’t really know what else to say! Crazy race. Well done to Daniel and especially to Lance. His first podium. I know the feeling, it’s a good one. Enjoy it mate!

    Q: Let’s come onto Lance. Lance, you got your first points in Formula One two weeks ago at your home grand prix in Canada. Now your first podium in your eighth grand prix. Just describe your emotions.

    LS: That’s tricky right now. I’m a bit lost for words. It was such an intense race. A crazy race. So much happened. The red flag… hopping out of the car then having to get back into the car and having to reset and everything… it just all happened so quickly but I think today what we did well was just stay out of trouble. We let some of the other drivers make mistakes and took it to the end. Just lost out to Valtteri in the end. He came pretty quick towards the last couple of laps. Still extremely happy with the result today. I can’t really describe how I feel, it’s beyond amazing. Yesterday was such a great day already and starting to get back to grips with the car. I had a couple of races where Saturdays didn’t go too well, and then we got back into Q3 since China yesterday and that was really a breakthrough for me. Today to come away with a podium is absolutely amazing. And the shooey at the end, that killed it. Still sitting in my gums… Kidding aside, I’m so happy for myself, for the team, for everyone. A day to remember.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Lance. You faced a lot of criticism earlier in the season, you were really up against it and you had to defend yourself from waves of possibly unfair criticism as well. Do you feel that you’ve proved a point today – and how pleasing is that for you?

    LS: I don’t think I proved a point. I don’t listen to that stuff. It’s just noise, y’know. It was there last year when I had a perfect year so this year when I had some tough times, it’s probably still going to be there. It’s just people talking. I’m just happy for myself, happy for my team, my friends, family. Everyone who’s in it with me. That’s all that matters. The rest is all just noise in the background and I don’t really care for it.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte) To Lance. What happened? In Canada you had self-confidence, we could see that in the track and also here. You feel more comfortable in the car that you can take more risk and go to the limit? And from the outside we saw, maybe,  a different driver?

    LS: Yeah. I think it just takes a bit of time. And there will still be hard weekends moving forwards. Sometimes I’m perfect but no one, I think, understands that sometimes a jump from F3 to F1 is quite big and it took me a bit of time to understand what I wanted from the car. This weekend we took a very different direction with the setup. We kinda shifted away from that setup after Bahrain. We started in Barcelona taking a different direction with the car and we came back to it this weekend. I’m much more competitive, similar to the beginning of the season, China, Bahrain, when I was in Q3, P11 in qualifying, much more competitive. And this weekend we came back to that set-up and it gave me a lot more confidence with the car. I feel like I’m able to really drive the car now and push the car, and it gives me a lot of confidence and comfort and I think that’s a big reason why I’m much more competitive this weekend. But also, there’s so many other things in the background. I’ve really improved my driving style, adapting to Formula One and I need to keep working on little things moving forward. It’s not finished yet – I still can improve a lot. It just takes a bit of time. I think sometimes people don’t realise that. This year is a very different formula for me and I just need to experiment it and try different things and come back and figure this and that out. I think that’s a big part of the reason why sometimes it’s tricky. This weekend it was good. It’s just about improving myself, the car, what I want from the car. Yeah, it’s a process. You just have to hang in there and keep driving.

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD Sportwerld) Daniel, you’re one of the lucky, fortunate guys today. Your teammate was one of the unlucky guys again. Do you feel pity for him?

    DR: Yeah. Look, I do understand. Obviously I’m super happy to be here but yeah, Max has had two races in a row where I guess where he’s been in strong positions and it hasn’t worked out for him through, I believe, no fault of his own. Today as well. Yeah, obviously he’s going through a harder time on the fortune side of things right now but he’s driving well and I think he knows that. Obviously he’s missing possible podiums and chunks of points here and there but for sure he’ll bounce back. It’s frustrating and I’m sure he’s annoyed right now but he’s driving well, as I said, and he knows it so I’m sure he will continue to persist and be strong and we’ll keep pushing each other so that will continue to be important for both of us and the team as the season goes on.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) For Daniel, Lewis pitting to replace the headrest and Sebastian getting his penalty came at the same time. You probably heard both at the same time, so did you believe then that you could win or did the realisation come when you saw how far behind they were? 

    DR: Once they had their penalties and whatever was going on, yeah, I certainly believed I could win but you never know, obviously, until it’s the end but sure, I believed the race was then in my hands so I kind of understood more or less the lap times the guys around me were doing and I knew the gap I had so I was just trying to be consistent with the times I could do, more or less, and that was that. So yeah, just trying to match those times and get it home to the finish. It was nice on the last lap, I could finally smile a little bit.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) For Valtteri, how difficult was it to keep going, especially in the first part of the race when you were behind the Saubers and the McLarens and all that and did you, with 14 laps to go when you got clear of Ocon, and you were 14.5s behind, did you still really believe it was possible to get it on the podium? 

    VB: So, for me, when I got the message about the headrest I actually… I think I got the message wrong, I thought it was Sebastian’s so I thought he had a double problem so I was really surprised that at some point Lewis was behind me. But anyway, like I said before, it was difficult to set a target really, what is achievable, but once I got through Ocon, I was already in a good position and the team gave me the gap to Lance and also the possible place difference if I did everything right. Then I just really focused every single corner, every single lap absolutely perfect and pushing the maximum there was in the car, there was in the engine, in the brakes and really glad I managed to get a couple more extra points in the end. Just tried to keep my head down and keep pushing.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Lance, you mentioned before when you were growing up, I think, watching Formula One on Sunday mornings with your father and with Michael Schumacher as your idol, I believe. Could you talk about those days? 

    LS: I’d watch the start and then go and do something else but they were good days. Growing up, I’d always been into cars and motor sport, Formula One. Michael was really my hero, growing up as kid, a true champion on and off the track. Yeah, he was just someone I really looked up to and I still look up to. So those days were special and we’ve definitely come a long way and to be sitting here today on the podium, in a Formula One Grand Prix, is a part of the dream come true, I guess you could say.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte) Valtteri, we were expecting that you could overtake the safety car but it took so long to overtake in order to enter in the lap that gave you the chance to finish second. You were there in the cockpit. Were you maybe pressuring the team to ask why I can’t overtake the safety car?

    VB: Yes, I was actually asking. It was a long time I had to wait to get through the cars in front and the safety car and I was asking for the permission and then once the track was clear, then they gave me the permission so it was very late, I had no time to catch up with everyone but after that, not so long, there was another safety car which allowed me to close the gap and that gave me the opportunity for this podium today.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Debris was a main concern today; there were safety cars because of that, the race was stopped because of that. Is this something we have to accept can happen every time we come here or do you think there’s another way of doing things? 

    DR: It’s hard to say right now. It seemed like it was the right call. Obviously for us it’s hard when you stop a race, we’ve got our adrenalin and we’re in that race mode so to then stop, get out and then, as Lance touched on, you reset but yeah, there was a lot and I guess that was the right thing to do a) for punctures and then b) for when another car runs over it, then the debris flies and it can become dangerous as well for us when travelling at speed and then hitting it. I believe they did the right call today. As for the future, right now I’m not sure if they could make this better. Perhaps we’ll talk about  it in the future, yeah.

    VB: I don’t know really if there’s any solution to make it better. On street circuits you get more collisions and more debris and I think it was good to have a red flag because I was coming from behind and there were relatively big amounts of debris and actually some pieces of carbon were flying and hitting my helmet and visor as well. I think it was a really good call  to have a red flag.

    LS: I think they’ve said it all. It was a good call in my opinion and they see more than we do. So surely they took the right decision.

    Q: (Teymur Maksutov – Sportbox) Can you describe your emotion about Baku city circuit? Last year we didn’t see any safety cars and crashes but this year there are a lot of safety cars, red flag and crashes. What’s your opinion about this weekend and this race? What do you feel now? 

    DR: I think this was the race that we expected last year. Last year, as you said, there were no safety cars or anything but we were really surprised and this year we got it. To be honest I’ve enjoyed the two years that we’ve come here. Even after my crash yesterday I wasn’t bitter with anything that the circuit provided. Part of me actually enjoys that risk and reward with the street circuits and you make a mistake, you pay the price. I thought it was a lot of fun this weekend. It’s a challenging circuit, it’s not easy and the racing is intense, you know. It’s tight and twisty but then you’ve got the long straight to really make things happen and overtake so personally I think it’s got it all. I’ve been pretty happy the first two years I’ve come here.

    VB: I agree with Daniel. I enjoy coming here. I like the place, the weather is nice and the track is really challenging. We always love a challenge. It’s very different to any other street circuit on the calendar or any other circuit anyway. For me it’s a good race to have and today showed that it is pretty exciting as well.

    Q: And Lance, of course, it’s your first visit here. 

    LS: I didn’t enjoy anything about this weekend! That was a joke!

    DR: I want to know. He got ninth and crowd surfed so what are you going to do after a podium?

    LS: Kidding aside, I really enjoyed driving here, I’m really looking forward to coming back here again next year. It has everything: high speed, you can overtake, it’s technical, I agree with what Daniel said. You have to know where the limit is and then once you go over the limit push back. I think that’s kind of the feeling you get here, Monaco, Singapore – I haven’t been yet – but the same style. Those are the tracks that I enjoy to drive most, even though sometimes it’s a bit of a pain when you touch the wall and you get a puncture, you shunt. That’s kind of the beauty of driving these city circuits.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte) Daniel, you and Max have made it clear that you have had some difficulties with your power unit up to now. But on a very demanding circuit for power units, you could control the race being in the front. Does it mean that with the new specification of power unit here and the good chassis that you seem to have now, you can expect Red Bull to be stronger? Also at the next race in Austria? 

    DR: I think this weekend we certainly… we looked pretty good in the speed traps and as I mentioned on restarts I was always moving forward. There was all different types of power units in front of me on several restarts and we were able to – if not pass them, hang with them. Obviously we had a few little updates this weekend and it seems to have helped so yeah, it’s positive, it’s positive. I believe that Max’s issue was maybe due to some debris after the first lap and that maybe got caught and everything overheated so I don’t think his problem was necessarily a genuine one from that respect and obviously we saw some good performance at least from mine in the race. Yeah, we’ll move forward and try and get stronger and stronger.

    eom/FIA press release