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Tag: F1
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Valtteri Bottas quickest again in Red-flag punctuated FP2
Portimao, 23 October 2020: Valtttei Bottas continued to set the pace in practice for this weekend’s FIA Formula 1 Portuguese Grand Prix with the Mercedes driver beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to the top of the FP2 timesheet in a session defined by two red flag spells.
The session began with a 30-minute spell during which teams tested unmarked 13-inch prototype slick tyres for next year, according to a run plan to be defined by Pirelli. The aim of the test was to validate the development of tyres for 2021.
During the test period it was Bottas who went quickest with the Finn setting a best time of 1:21.662, with Leclerc slotting into P2 thanks to a lap of 1m22.043s. Bottas’s time was almost three seconds of the timesheet-topping pace he’d shown on this weekend’s medium tyres in FP1, though fuel loads for the test were unspecified.
With a third of the session run, teams then returned to the work of this weekend and with medium tyres on board Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel soon jumped to the top of the order with a lap of 1:19.936. The German lowered the benchmark to 1:19. 175 but then had a small spin at Turn 14 on his next lap.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took up the challenge and improved to 1:19.033 and then improved to 1:18.535 before Bottas became the first man to move to a qualifying simulation on soft tyres. The red rubber provided immediate reward and the Mercedes man reclaimed top spot with a good lap of 1:17.940.
His was only qualifying simulation for some time, however, as soon after the Finn had set a new target time the red flags were shown when Pierre Gasly pulled over at the side of track with the rear of his AlphaTauri in flames. Running was halted for some 15 minutes as the fire was extinguished and Gasly’s car recovered.
When the action resumed with half an hour left on the clock most drivers returned to the track on soft tyres. Once again though the green light spell was shortlived as just five minutes later Verstappen and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll collided on track and the red flags were once again displayed.
Stroll, just back after testing positive for COVID-19 after the Eifel Grand Prix two weeks ago, was ahead of Verstappen into Turn 1. But amid confusion about the Canadian’s intentions on the lap, the Red Bull driver hit the right-rear of the Canadian’s Racing Point, with the result that Stroll was pitched into the gravel and Verstappen was forced back to the pits. The incident was placed under investigation by the stewards.
The session finally got going again with a little over seven minutes and again a stream of cars headed for the pit exit on soft tyres.
While the top two positions remained unchanged, with Verstappen lapping on mediums again, McLaren’s Lando Norris made the most of the short amount of running to climb to third on the timesheet with a late lap of 1:18.743.
Fourth place went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc with the Monegasque driver just under a tenths of a second behind Norris. Carlos Sainz took fifth place in the second McLaren, 1.1s behind Bottas and Vettel looked more comfortable with his Ferrari than at recent races as he took sixth spot 1.235s behind the pacesetting Mercedes.
The unfortunate Gasly was just three thousandths of a second slower than Vettel in seventh place, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished eighth ahead of Renault’s Esteban Ocon and the second Red Bull of Alex Albon.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Portuguese Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.940 32 214.919
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:18.535 0.595 34 213.290
3 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 1:18.743 0.803 35 212.727
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.838 0.898 34 212.471
5 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 1:19.113 1.173 32 211.732
6 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:19.175 1.235 34 211.566
7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:19.178 1.238 26 211.558
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:19.308 1.368 27 211.211
9 Esteban Ocon Renault 1:19.496 1.556 32 210.712
10 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 1:19.643 1.703 37 210.323
11 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:19.821 1.881 33 209.854
12 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 1:19.901 1.961 34 209.644
13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:19.987 2.047 28 209.419
14 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:20.465 2.525 33 208.174
15 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.490 2.550 34 208.110
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 1:20.680 2.740 29 207.620
17 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 1:20.729 2.789 33 207.494
18 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 1:20.867 2.927 32 207.140
19 Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 1:20.983 3.043 26 206.843
20 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:21.396 3.456 34 205.793 -
Poleman Bottas retires with a rare engine issue for Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton took a record-equalling 91st career victory, putting him on par with Michael Schumacher as Max Verstappen finished second and Daniel Ricciardo achieved his and Renault’s first podium of the season at F1 returned to the classic Nurburgring track.
London, 12 Oct 2020: Valtteri Bottas took pole position, out qualifying Lewis Hamilton for the first time in 5 races as Mercedes locked out the front row. Max Verstappen started P3 and Red Bull teammate Alex Albon lined up in P5, split by the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in P4. Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo in P6 & Esteban Ocon in P7. McLaren too started with both cars in the top 10, Lando Norris in P8 and Carlos Sainz in P10. Sandwiched between them was Racing Points’s Sergio Perez in P9. His ‘new’ teammate, super-sub Nico Hulkenberg qualified in P20 as he filled in for an unwell Lance Stroll. Sebastian Vettel lined up in P11 ahead of the two AlphaTauri’s of Pierre Gasly in 12th and Daniil Kvyat in 13th. Antonio Giovinazzi made it to Q2 for the first time this season as he started in P14, 5 places ahead of his veteran teammate Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen breaking the record of most starts by a driver in F1. Haas’ and Williams lined up in a two-by-two formation with Kevin Magnussen P15, Romain Grosjean P16, George Russell P17 and Nicholas Latifi P18.
Cold temperatures and no running on Friday due to fog cover, tyre wear and strategies were unpredictable. Pirelli predicted the one stop from soft to medium tyres as the fastest strategy.
Hamilton got a great start and pulled alongside pole sitter Bottas. Bottas was able to maintain his lead coming into turn 2 as Hamilton settled for P2. Behind Leclerc still maintained P4 but Albon lost out to Ricciardo. As the pack settled , Bottas had a 1.5s lead over Hamilton with Verstappen another 1.5s behind.
By lap 8 Albon pitted for medium tyres as he badly flat spotted his starting set of tyres. Ricciardo overtook Leclerc on lap 9, using his superior pace of the Renault car against the Ferrari. Dark clouds also started to appear on the horizon with few droplets making their way onto the track. Leclerc flat spotted his tyres and had to pit on lap 11, meanwhile, his teammate Vettel spun during breaking at turn 1 as he tried to avoid Giovinazzi.
Hamilton was 1.2s behind Bottas. Bottas made a decisive mistake on lap 13, locking right-front tyre and going wide into turn 1, allowing Hamilton to take the lead. By lap 14 Hamilton already had 2s lead over Bottas as he was forced to pit for medium tyres due to flat spotting his tyre into turn 1. Bottas emerged in P4 behind Ricciardo but quickly overtook him to settle into P3.
Lewis Hamilton, right, pats Valtteri Bottas for taking the pole in the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, Saturday – LAT Images for Mercedes Lap 15 saw Russell get punted off by Raikkonen which resulted in a puncture for the Englishman. He was unable to make it to the pits and eventually retired. This saw a VSC come out, giving a faster pit stop to the cars who were yet to pit. This played well in the hands of Hamilton and Verstappen as Bottas had already pitted. Ricciardo pitted too, coming out behind Norris, Perez, Sainz and Ocon.
Unfortunately, Bottas’s bad luck continued as in lap 19 he reported a power loss and had to retire the car, the first retirement for Mercedes in 2020. Ocon retired on lap 23 due to a hydraulic failure and Alex Albon retired on lap 25, again a power unit problem. Meanwhile, Norris too reported a loss of power in his McLaren but continued on. After Norris, Perez and Sainz pitted, Ricciardo was running comfortably in P3.
By lap 40 Hamilton had a lead of around 10s over Verstappen. Ricciardo was running in P3 as he was being caught quickly by Perez in his fresher tyres. Sainz had made his way to P5 and Norris was in P6 still struggling to overcome the power loss..
Norris’s car shut down on lap 45, bringing out the safety car as the top 6 cars pitted for soft tyres. Everyone struggled to keep temperatures behind the safety car. Hamilton and Verstappen seen complaining about the pace of the safety car on radio. Safety car ended on lap 50 as Hamilton made a quick getaway. Verstappen struggled for grip as Ricciardo challenged him for P2. Behind Hulkenberg after starting last, had made his way up to P8 and was challenging Leclerc for P7, who was overtaken by Gasly for P6.
At the chequered flag, Hamilton won the 91st race of his career and equalled Schumacher. Verstappen finished P2 and Ricciardo got a well deserved podium in P3- his first since Monaco 2018. Perez finished in P4, Sainz in P5 and Gasly in P6, another good drive after starting outside of the points. Leclerc managed to hold off Hulkenberg for P7. Hulkenberg was driver of the day as without any practice he managed to get points in P8. Haas’s Grosjean got his first points of the season in P9 and Giovinazzi completed the top 10. Vettel finished where he started in P11 ahead of ex-teammate Raikkonen in P12 . Magnussen finished P13, Latifi in P14 and Kvyat in P15.
Mercedes looked under threat from Red Bull during qualifying and interestingly all other teams closed up to Mercedes compared to their average gap in season. It maybe because there was no Friday running, therefore, Mercedes could not find the set up sweet spot and struggled a bit with tyres. They still managed to get a front row lockout and were never really challenged for the victory in the race. Hamilton yet again rewrote history by equalling Schumacher’s tally of wins. Red Bull looked to have made gains as they brought new front wing endplates which has improved the balance of the car. It may be an anomaly, but they were closer to Mercedes than they have been in previous races. Ferrari brought new barge boards and floor which has improved the performance of the car, especially in the hands of Leclerc as he qualified P4. Race pace still remains to be poor as both Leclerc and Vettel fell backwards during the Grand Prix.
Renault have been on the rise since the Belgian GP, this time resulting in a well deserved podium for Ricciardo. He has finished in the top 5 in the last 5 races which shows Renault has made gains in both qualifying and race pace. They may even be ahead of McLaren in terms of car performance, remains to be seen for the last third of the season. McLaren were unable to find the setup sweet spot- similar to Mercedes, therefore, had poor a qualifying. Race was much better as both Norris and Sainz were able to hold on to their positions without being challenged. Racing Point have made gains, especially since Mugello GP when they introduced an extensive side pod bodywork update. They seem to be on par with Renault during the race.
AlphaTauri are now 13 points behind Ferrari as the battle for 6th place in the constructors heats up. Their qualifying performances are not to behold but they always manage to get one of their cars in the points, this time Gasly in P6. Their race pace has been their strong pony this year and could overtake Ferrari if this trend continues. Alfa Romeo has looked like a much improved car since Mugello as Giovinazzi got into Q2 and finished in the points. Haas too seem to have solved their balance issues for this race, though, remains to be seen if this is the case for rest of the season. Williams has shown encouraging race pace and Russell thought he could have achieved points had he not been taken out by Raikkonen. This upward trajectory of Williams may soon enough see them on par or even ahead of Haas and Alfa Romeo.
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Hamilton equals Schumi’s record with 91st win
Lewis Hamilton took his 91st career victory with a dominant drive to the flag in the Eifel Grand Prix that puts him level with Michael Schumacher on Formula 1’s list of all-time winners. In cold and tricky conditions at the Nurburgring the Briton passed team-mate and early race leader Valtteri on lap 12 and thereafter drove faultlessly to finish ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo who scored the French marque’s first podium finish since 2011.
When the lights went out at the start, Verstappen held his starting place but when pole position man and early race leader Valtteri Bottas dropped out of the race with a technical issue Verstappen climbed to second place behind Hamilton and thereafter drove a composed race to the flag.
It was a more painful day for Alex Albon, however, with the Thai driver forced out of the race after 23 laps by stone damage to a radiator.
At the race start Hamilton made a better getaway than team-mate Bottas but as the pair headed into Turn 1, the Finn tried to hang on around the outside, a move that sent both Mercedes cars wide. Verstappen closed in but Hamilton and Bottas were swiftly back on track, with Bottas somehow squeezing through Turn 2 ahead of his team-mate.
Behind them Alex made a sluggish start from P5 on the grid and as he went into Turn 2 he was passed by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Thai driver tried to fight back but locked up into Turn 3 and lost ground to the Australian who quickly began to chase down Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The race settled briefly, but on lap 12, under pressure from Hamilton Bottas locked up and went wide into Turn 1 and the championship leader seized the chance to power past his team-mate and take the lead. Bottas then pitted and took on a new set of medium tyres.
Within moments of the lead changing hands, the complexion of the race changed again. George Russell was involved in a collision with Kimi Raikkonen when the Alfa Romeo driver braked too late into Turn 1 and lost and bounced the Williams off track.
Russell tried to limp back to the pit lane but the damage was too great and he was forced to stop at the side of the track. The brought out the VSC and during the caution Hamilton and Verstappen pitted, with both taking on medium compound tyres.
At the front Hamilton was now firmly in control of the race and at two-thirds distance the Mercedes driver was a little over nine seconds ahead of Verstappen who was now a massive one minute ahead of Ricciardo
However, what seemed like a foregone conclusion was briefly spiced up on lap 43 when Lando Norris pulled over at the side of the track, his McLaren finally succumbing to electrical issues that had plagued it for most of the race.
The Safety Car was deployed and that sparked a rush to the pitlane. Both Hamilton and Verstappen took on soft tyres under the SC, with Ricciardo also pitting for the red-banded rubber.
When the SC left the track, Hamilton held his lead but Verstappen, who had suffered a small lock-up in the final corners, was almost mugged by Ricciardo as they went into Turn 1. The Dutch driver recovered, however, and swiftly slammed the door on his former team-mate to reating second place. Ricciardo held third ahead of Pérez and Sainz but behind them Pierre Gasly completed a brave move past Leclerc to claim sixth place.
And there the order settled. After dismissing Ricciardo’s re-start challenge, Verstappen steadily opened a gap to Ricciardo, as ahead Hamilton eked out a small margin back to the Red Bull driver.
The only tussle remaining was the one for fastest lap. On lap 58 Hamilton powered to a purple time of 1:28.145, but as if to prove the point that the Bulls had closed in over the weekend, Verstappen found an extra reserve of pace on the final lap of the race to edge the Mercedes driver by six thousandths of a second.
Behind the top two, Ricciardo took his first podium finish since his win with Red Bull Racing in Monaco 2018, while Sergio Pérez took fourth for Racing Point. Fifth place went to McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, with the Spaniard finishing just ahead of Gasly and Leclerc. Racing Point supersub Hulkenberg finished in an impressive eight place after starting 20th and the final two points places went to Haas’s Romain Grosjean and Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Eifel Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 60 1:35’49.641
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 60 1:35’54.111 4.470
3 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 60 1:36’04.254 14.613
4 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 60 1:36’05.711 16.070
5 Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 60 1:36’11.546 21.905
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 60 1:36’12.407 22.766
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 60 1:36’20.455 30.814
8 Nico Hülkenberg Racing Point/Mercedes 60 1:36’22.237 32.596
9 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 60 1:36’28.722 39.081
10 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 60 1:36’29.676 40.035
11 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 60 1:36’30.451 40.810
12 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 60 1:36’31.117 41.476
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 60 1:36’39.226 49.585
14 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 60 1:36’44.090 54.449
15 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 60 1:36’45.229 55.588
Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 42 1:06’15.551 Power Unit
Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 23 36’51.535 Power Unit
Esteban Ocon Renault 22 35’10.341 Hydraulics
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 18 28’59.777 Power Unit
George Russell Williams/Mercedes 12 19’37.453 Collision -
Winning tomorrow is the only goal, says Valtteri Bottas
DRIVERS: 1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes); 2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes); 3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull)
TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Paul Di Resta)
Q: Max, P3, it looked like you were in the fight right to the end but you narrowly missed out. How was it?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was an interesting qualifying and after missing the whole of yesterday it was very busy today. Overall, I think at least in qualifying, just in Q3, where it really mattered, I was understeering a bit too much. When it’s so cold and you’re understeering, you’re graining the front tyres, so basically heating up the rubber, which cost me a bit of lap time. We’re getting closer towards Mercedes, which I think is very positive, so in a way, a little bit disappointed, I was expecting a little more, but it is what it is and overall I can still be wrong
Q: The positive, as you say, is that you’re closer to Mercedes. Does that mean you are going to race better, because generally you come closer to matching them on a Sunday?
MV: I hope so. It’s going to be even colder tomorrow, so it’s going to be even more interesting seeing what the tyres are going to do, how they are going to be behave. So let’s see. It’s a fun track to drive so I’m just looking forward to tomorrow and let’s see what we can do.
Q: Well done Valtteri. Three purple sectors, best of anybody, got the job done. Right time, full of confidence on the back of that win last time out?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Thanks yeah. It’s such a nice feeling when you get it on the last lap, your last chance. The last lap in qualifying for me was spot on, just what I needed. It was pretty tricky obviously with a short practice and with these conditions getting the tyres in a sweet spot on the out laps that was probably the biggest thing today.
Q: Was that the biggest thing to take in qualifying – tyre preparation – because you were obviously behind Lewis and he was dictating the speed but you got the sectors nailed?
VB: Yeah, of course, we were leaving more or the less the same time from the garage and it was his decision to go first and there’s still different things you can try to do on the out lap, whether it’s about braking or these kinds of things, but ultimately I got the tyres there and then the lap was really nice.
Q: Do you think you can take this on and win tomorrow?
VB: Of course I believe so. That’s the only goal for tomorrow, so hopefully we can have a good start.
Q: Lewis, it was a nice battle all the way to the end, Max was obviously in that as well. Is there anywhere you feel like you could have extracted a bit more to challenge Valtteri?
Lewis HAMILTON: I’m sure when I look at the data there will be something. It’s plenty of time, obviously, it’s two tenths ahead, so he did a great job and congrats to him.
Q: Back at the Nürburgring. Is it a track you like to drive? It’s nice to see the cars going around here after a few years of not being here?
LH: It’s an amazing circuit. It’s one of the historic circuits we have, so it definitely is great to be back here.
Q: What’s going to make the difference tomorrow, because obviously, the conditions are not ideal, it’s different to what we are normally used to? What’s going to be the biggest challenge?
LH: I don’t really know if I’m honest. I guess I’ll find out tonight. Naturally, the graining particularly in these conditions, being this cool. How the tyres behave. Whether it’s a one or two-stop. How long the tyres will go. Obviously, we’re all on the soft to start with at the start. Whether or not there’s a safety car. Going round behind a safety car in these conditions is going to be tough with these temperatures, so there’s a lot to play for tomorrow. I need to get my head down.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Valtteri, many congratulations, great lap on your final run of Q3. How much did you enjoy that?
VB: Yeah, of course, you enjoy it when you manage to put it on pole and especially when it’s the last lap that really counts and when you get a good lap and it’s enough for pole, it’s a really good feeling, one of those feelings and sensations why we do this.
Q: Of your three poles with this car this year, would you say that’s your most satisfying?
VB: I don’t know. I don’t really remember. It’s always a nice feeling, but yeah with that lap, that was pretty tidy, and you know, I got all the details right and you know, I was also struggling a bit in the first sector through qualifying but really in the last lap, I managed to get it all right, so it was a good feeling.
Q: And looking ahead to the race tomorrow, Valtteri, keen to keep the momentum going from Russia?
VB: yeah, of course, but again it’s going to be a new day tomorrow, so just need to focus on the small details that are going to matter, so the first of those is going to be the race start, so can’t enjoy the pole too much because tomorrow is the day that really matters.
Q: Well done Valtteri. Lewis, just pipped by your team-mate today. You were slower in Q3 than you were in Q2, where did the pace slip away?
LH: I’m not really sure. I’d have to go back and have a look, but definitely Q2 looked and felt good but when I got to Q3 it just didn’t feel good either run. Just the grip didn’t feel the same.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the session? With the lack of running yesterday, how much did that compromise your pace and the set-up of the car during qualifying?
LH: Well, I don’t think we need to be here on Fridays so it was totally fine for me.
VB: Much better with one practice.
MV: It’s exciting.
Q: Lewis let’s throw ahead to the race. Valtteri has already pinpointed the start, what are you thoughts on what’s going through your mind ahead of the race?
LH: Not too much right this second. I think I’ll just try to understand what happened today. Tomorrow is a long race. We’ll see tomorrow with the weather. It’s a lot cooler here. Not the easiest place to overtake either. But there could be lots of opportunities, so I’ll be pushing hard.
Q: Max, you were quickest after the first runs of Q3 but these guys just slipped ahead of you on that final lap. You must have through it was on for a while?
MV: Yeah. It’s always difficult to say but overall I think today has been pretty OK. The car’s been handling quite well, quali as well. I felt quite comfortable. Of course, there were a few little balance things I would have liked to get improved but, of course, short notice. Overall I think it was a good qualifying. I just struggle a bit with understeer – and I don’t like understeer but also this track, at the moment when it’s so cold, with the tyres, yeah, it just didn’t come towards us, dry qualifying. I think from the beginning it was fine but then it just slipped away a bit. When you’re understeering, you can’t carry that mid-corner speed through the corners, you have to V-style it a bit more and you lose a bit of time. Still, a good qualifying. To be that close to them.
Q: You guys were nearly two seconds faster than the previous qualifying record here at the Nürburgring. Can you just tell us what it’s like to drive these cars around this track?
MV: I mean any track! They are so fast. We get used to it but of course if we were to jump in a car of 2015 – 2016 it would be a bit of a shock to us for sure. But yeah, these cars are incredible. You have so much grip – but still when you’re pushing in qualifying you still feel you are lacking grip. You always want to go faster – but it’s still impressive stuff, to be that much faster on a track like this.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for all three of you. With proper preparation to the qualifying session, how much would you say is still in your package? One from the driver and also from the car?
VB: It’s so difficult to say a number but for sure no doubt that the more you have practice, you get all the fine details right and especially Friday you have the whole night between the sessions to look at things and learn about things from the car and driver. So, I think with more practice would have been a tiny bit quicker. I can’t say a number but honestly, I think currently, in the normal weekend, I feel like there’s too much practice. Everyone finds their ways and set-ups and the optimal things in terms of driving and the car set-up – but if there would be a bit less practice, maybe some teams can get it right, some drivers can get it right, and some don’t. I kind of like it with a bit less practice.
Q: Lewis?
LH: The same. There’s not really much more to add to it.
Q: Max, anything?
MV: yeah, for sure. You would go a little bit faster. Especially when you have little issues or whatever, you can go over it through a whole night. You can look at it back in the factory as well, work in the simulator and stuff but overall, like Valtteri said, we have a lot of practice. You also take your time y’know? To settle in. Now, that’s it’s only one session you’re straight away on it I think a bit more than what you would normally do in FP1 or whatever, so, it evens-out a bit but there are always little things that can be improved.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Question to Max. Max, this is obviously a very competitive performance from yourself. What do you put that down to? On the engine side is it slightly better because the straights are a little bit shorter so there’s no repeat of clipping or anything like that? And is the car just working a little bit better in recent races?
MV: I think the engine is the same. We brought a few upgrades, so the car is working a bit better. Of course, with only having run today there are still a lot of things to go through and analyse and optimise as well, because of the understeer I had in the car – but it’s definitely a good step forward, so we are on the right way. I just hope we can keep heading into that direction and keep improving.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) The record is still up for grabs tomorrow. Would it mean more to equal Schumacher’s venue at an iconic venue like the Nürburgring – a track where Schumacher has won five times?
LH: Honestly it wouldn’t make any difference. I’ve got my work cut-out tomorrow. It’s not something I particularly think about. If and when it happens, it’ll be great – but right now these two are making it pretty hard for me. I’m enjoying this battle I’m having with these guys.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Question to the two Mercedes drivers please. We saw you out on the Medium tyres early on in Q2. Could you just explain what the thinking behind that was – and were you ever really expecting to get through on that harder rubber? Thanks.
LH: I could have got through on that tyre. I wanted to start on it – just because I wanted to do something different – but the team chose for us to both be on the same tyre. We’ll see whether it was the right choice tomorrow. I’m sure it’s the right choice. I think the other one would have been a little bit hard.
VB: We tried obviously the Medium tyre this morning in the practice, once – but when he had it, it was a pretty green track and tricky to get a proper read off the tyre, how it’s behaving. When the track gets better, we tried it and for me, that run was quite poor. I couldn’t get enough temperature on the out-lap in the tyres. I’m happy to be on the soft.
Q: Max, just while we’re on the subject of Q2 and tyre choice, were you tempted by the Medium?
MV: No, because we made a plan to just stick with the Soft tyre.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, just following the question there. We know we do keep saying you’re not focused on the record, but we do keep asking you about it. Is it a case of just wanting to get it done and dusted and then focus on winning the championship? You just want to get that over and done with now?
LH: Not particularly, no. I just not really bothered by… I know you keep asking me questions about it. I can’t tell you. I don’t feel a particular way about it right now. I’m solely focused on trying to do the best job I can. If that gets me to that win then great but of course, I’m not looking short term, I’m looking further ahead, you know.
Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Valtteri, you mentioned that perhaps some drivers thrive more in this kind of situation, when there’s less track time, and based on history, going right back to Williams days, you’ve always been pretty strong when the track’s green, so I presume you consider yourself to be one of those. What do you think the reasons are? It kind of plays to your strengths in terms of picking up the track grip, just getting on top of the car to a certain level pretty quickly? Why are you so strong in that area?
VB: I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m any better than any other driver adapting to things. I’m sure that every driver in Formula 1 needs to be hugely talented and hugely reactive and adaptive to different conditions and to learn quickly, corner by corner, lap by lap. I don’t know. I really like it. I always like the process of finding the small details quickly and since a kid, driving different kind of things, whether it was ice and snow and all kinds of conditions, I’ve always like it and luckily from a young age I found it really interesting, the process of getting quickly to a certain pace and then better. I can’t say more. I think all the drivers here are talented, but I like it.
Q: Looking forward to Imola?
VB: Yeah, for sure.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Max, as you say, you’ve been getting closer to Mercedes in the last few races. I know you’ve been improving the car but has it improved in terms of nervousness which you were struggling with earlier in the year as well as just downforce and something, three tenths is normally the sort of margin in qualifying where you’re in the fight in the race, so do you think you can take it to them tomorrow?
MV: There are a few unknowns here, of course. We haven’t done proper long runs but yeah, the car has been improved throughout the year, of course, like a lot of other teams of course, but from our side, it was all about just calming everything down a bit and connect the rear with the front a bit more and that, so far, seems to work this weekend. I actually ended up understeering for once. That’s nice. We just keep on working. We know that (at) the start of the year a few things were not right. We tried to address it, we tried to learn and we tried to make it better and see what we can improve, also for next year that we don’t make the same mistakes.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Valtteri, in the context of today’s performance do you look back on your Russian win as perhaps a turning point, do you feel like you’ve unlocked a higher level of performance, so to speak, following that win?
VB: I can’t say that, obviously, and we haven’t raced in this race but at least today was good. I felt like I was performing well and obviously being on pole is a good achievement but it is the race that matters and I never had a doubt that I couldn’t be on pole but it’s… or win races but of course it’s a nice thing to get it, I can’t see it’s a turning point because I’ve been feeling upbeat all year long and I’ve been so close many times, anyway, this season, to win but it’s just things happened come together. If I could predict the future, I would say, yes or no for that question.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) To all three: I appreciate, as Max said, you haven’t had the chance to have any proper long running but we are expecting things to be even colder tomorrow. How might that impact the race, how will it affect your tyres and your tyre management driving? Will it have any different impact to other races we’ve seen?
LH: If it’s… jeez, any colder than this, we’ll have to… race with my scarf on, jeez. I think the usual effects from the track getting colder is the wear, usually or the load or the front tyres usually suffer a little bit more, we generally have a little bit more understeer potentially. If there are safety cars, restarting our tyres is going to be a struggle, that’s for sure but we’re all in the same boat. I don’t really know how far the tyres will go but obviously when it gets a bit colder, generally you can go a little bit further as they work in a slightly different range so yeah, I hope this is still exciting tomorrow.
VB: I think there are many unknowns for every team with their lack of running. There’s not much data, apart from winter testing in these kind of temperatures, so I think yeah, when you’re going to have to change the compound during the race from soft it’s going to be unknown how it handles and in the first thing so hopefully it can make it interesting.
MV: How about we find out tomorrow?
Ends -
Nico Hulkenberg to drive for Racing Point as Stroll unwell
Nico Hülkenberg will drive for the BWT Racing Point F1 Team in this weekend’s Eifel Grand Prix after Lance Stroll was taken unwell.
Lance did not feel 100% this morning and the team took the decision not to run him for the rest of the event.
Nico, who previously deputised for Sergio Perez at the Silverstone events, is familiar with the car and team already, and fortunately was in nearby Cologne.
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Toto Wolff reveals how Corona Virus is affecting the team behaviour
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Cyril ABITEBOUL (Renault), Toto WOLFF (Mercedes), Mattia BINOTTO (Ferrari)
Q: Let’s get straight to the biggest story of the week, which is the news that Honda are going to be pulling out of Formula 1 at the end of next year. Please can we start by getting each of your reactions to the news, starting with Cyril please.
Cyril ABITEBOUL: Well, I think the first element to say is that it’s never positive news when you have such an important participant to the sport of today and of yesterday that decides not to continue. I think the explanations, the narrative around their decision are clear and to a certain degree are shared by everyone in this world and in the automotive. We all appreciate the agenda of sustainability and to what extent Formula 1 needs to respond to that but we feel that actually Formula 1 is a great platform in relation to that so I think it just shows that we need to do more, better, stronger in response of the expectation towards this important topic of sustainability. The rest obviously is the sport and we have a bit of time to see the impact on the grid and on the different teams currently powered by Honda.
Toto, please, your thoughts.
Toto WOLFF: Yeah, I’ve a slightly different view. I think it’s a shame that Honda has decided against Formula 1. I believe it’s always a ratio of risk versus return. At the end of the day each of us needs to provide an ROI – Return on Investment – that makes sense. So, whatever capital you deploy for the investment in Formula 1 needs to guarantee or needs to return sensible marketing value and, if that is not the case, I can understand that somebody says ‘we’ve tried it and it didn’t function’. Unfortunately this sport is about, in my belief, not only about investment but also that all the investment doesn’t buy you success because it’s a long-term commitment that you need to provide. We have seen it with Mercedes: we had a couple of really painful years and managed to turn it around. In the past, OEMs came and left, many of them, including Honda, BMW, Toyota and many more and yeah, that’s unfortunate. I think it needs… Formula 1 needs a stable commitment from all of us and needs to have the buy-in from the board, saying ‘OK, we launch ourselves into this, it might be difficult, we’re setting our expectations low but at a certain time we will turn this around.’ But, at the end, we need to accept it. It’s certainly not great for us to lose an engine manufacturer It’s a problem for Red Bull so yeah, I’ll be missing those guys. They were a good part of the paddock.
Mattia?
Mattia BINOTTO: Certainly I think that we are all sharing that it is not great losing Honda. It’s not great to lose such a big engine manufacturer. Honda is certainly a big name in Formula 1. They have been a big name, they are today a big name. I think it’s a shame that we will have only three engine manufacturers, that somehow it’s something that needs to be addressed, try to attract more power unit manufacturers for the future. I think, on the other side, it’s not a surprise that OEMs are joining or leaving. As Toto said, it is not the first time. It has always happened – except one, which is Ferrari. I think somehow it’s something that has always happened. I think we know that Formula 1 is anyway in a good period. It will grow. Very positive, what is happening with the growth of F1 towards the business, towards the sustainability. I think we’ve got great challenges ahead, so I think we should… certainly it’s not great news but we need to keep positive because I think for F1 we’ve got a great future ahead and I think it’s somehow down to us to even try to improve it and to attract – eventually – new OEMs.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) It’s a question to all three please. One of the key differences between Honda and the respective manufacturers that you represent is that they didn’t have a works team underpinning the engine project at the same time. So, do you think there is any value in Formula 1 just being an engine supplier at the moment – and what would you like to see done to improve the value of being an engine supplier, even in the form of a spending cap for engine manufacturers or possibly prize money for the engine manufacturers?
MB: For us it’s no question. We are a team, we are as well a power unit manufacturer. It has always been like that in our history, and that’s a big value. So, I certainly would believe it’s an important value. What can we do to improve? Certainly the engines are very expensive today. The cost of the development is very high and I think if we compare to what it has been years ago, it has increased a lot. We need to control those costs, we need to try to reduce them. We just changed the regulations, as a matter of fact, tried to freeze as much as we could the engine developments, tried to reduce dyno running for the next years, which is certainly a step forward, eventually not sufficient. I think now we will have the opportunity of brand new regulations in 2026 and I think that by designing the new regulations, we need not only to decide what will be the technical choices or the technologies we intend to develop but to look at the cost of the product itself. I think when we were drawing or we decide for the 2014 regulations we’ve been much focussed on the hybrid format, much focussed on the technologies, making sure that somehow F1 was a platform of innovation – but we completely forgot the cost. And I think that in the last years the cost of the power unit has been certainly too high. Now, I think that it will be an important discussion that eventually we need to accelerate, try to understand the vision for the power unit format of the future, because it’s cost, it’s technology will be a key element again to attract new OEMs and if we can even eventually anticipate for 2026 I don’t know actually. I think the time is very short but we need to certainly accelerate the discussion and understand the format for the future.
TW: We have been on both sides. We have had a really successful spell as an engine supplier to McLaren but made the decision at the end of 2009 to buy a team because we saw more marketing value, better return on investment by owning a team – so we’ve seen those both sides. How the business case went for power unit manufacturers. It’s certainly not how it should continue in the future. When I joined Formula 1 with Williams in 2009 I remember the power units that they utilised, they cost US$20million and more. Today we have an obligation to supply at the price that is much below that. With the hybrid introduction, like Mattia said, it was an engineering exercise: what kind of engine can we actually develop? And we didn’t realise that we would have a fantastic engine with, today, more than 50 per cent thermal efficiency that doesn’t exist in any other sport. We started to message around it in 2014 with, chief Indian Bernie, that this is really all not good for Formula 1 and the noise is not enough and somehow you can’t sell your product by talking negative about it. So, we’re still lacking the messaging that these engines are fantastic hybrid technology but they’re much to expensive. So we need to introduce a spending cap for power units that’s clear, like we’ve done on the chassis side in order to make it more sustainable and in order to attract other OEMs in the future.
CA: I have very little to add because I fully agree with what’s been said. For Renault, it’s exactly the situation that we’ve experienced in 2015 when we asked ourselves whether to get out completely or get back in completely as a works team because, for us, at that time it had not got any better. There is simply no business case to support the positioning as engine supplier only given the cost of the technology and the very poor marketing reward you can get out of that whether you do a good job or a bad job. Having said that, you can imagine some teams that can be good at partnering with engine manufactures such that engine manufacturers do not need to buy into a team – but I guess that would also take a bit of different thinking than the thinking that is currently in place at Red Bull. Let’s be honest, we’ve tried that, we failed, that’s why we had no choice but to do what we are doing, which is running and owning a works team ourselves.
Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Cyril, I believe you’ve already spoken about this so I’ll address this question to Toto and Mattia – would you be open to supplying Red Bull with an engine supply beyond 2021 when Honda pulls the plug? I know it’s something you’ve both explored and talked about in the past and rejected it but would you be open to doing that in the future?
TW: No. Because… for various reasons… but the main being that we are supplying four teams including us. We are almost in a state that we can’t make power units for all of us so there is no capacity. But I have no doubt that Helmut will have a Plan B, as he said, and probably doesn’t need to rely on any of the current power unit suppliers.
MB: Obviously we were not considering it. Something that we need to start considering now. I think we have not decided, as far as I think it will be down to Red Bull eventually to look at us and ask for a supply. They are a great team, no doubt. I think that supplying them is as well a lot of energy, somehow, which is required but something which we need to consider and something on which we have no position yet. On which we need certainly to take our time to think at and have a decision. I think timing-wise, it’s very little time – because we need to organise ourselves, 2022 is just here behind, which is tomorrow, somehow. So, as we said, it was somehow sudden news from Honda and I think that now we need to consider something that was even not considered a few days ago.
Before we move on, Cyril, can you just clarify whether you have or have not had contact from Red Bull about an engine supply from 2022?
CA: I can confirm I have not been contacted by Red Bull in relation to engine supply. More seriously, I don’t think it’s a question of whether we are open or not open. To the question before. We know the regulation. When you are a participant to the sport you have to accept the rules. It’s part of the sporting regulation. So, we know what that is. We also know the details, including in terms of timing and as anyone can check in the sporting regulations, there is still quite a bit of time before we get there. As Toto has said, I can’t imagine that they don’t have a Plan A or Plan B and I think we are very far in the pecking order of the alphabet before they call us again. Yeah.
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for all of you. The discussion we’re having now, they sound a lot like the discussion of a few years ago when we made the plan for 2021, which is now 2022 when the power unit was on top of the list to change for the future. Now, nothing changed for the power unit but Honda pulled the plug. Do you think that Formula 1 missed the chance, and we should have had changes earlier than 2026?
TW: I don’t know the specific reasons why Honda left – because there certainly will be many layers that led to this decision and I think return on investment is probably the most important one. Should we have changed the regulations? The problem is that if we would have changed them earlier it would have meant an additional investment for all of us, which wouldn’t have been sustainable, and after a couple of years, three-four years, you’re starting all over again. Where we all came together: Honda, Ferrari, Renault and ourselves was that after 2025 would be the right time. Certainly, a cost cap and some kind of freeze needs to be introduced earlier – bearing in mind that we need the status where all engines are about equal. We don’t want to have a situation where we’re freezing power units and there’s big discrepancies in performance. But going forward, we need to all sit on a table, discuss what is the right technology for the real world; how can we simplify technology in order to spend less and then have a new format that everybody buys into from 2026 onwards.
MB: I think that the time was not mature enough to change completely the format earlier. I think we took main actions in the meantime, still tried to manage the situation, which have been cost reductions through the measures of dyno reduction and somehow partial freezing of the power unit itself in the next seasons. I think convergence was one of the other matters, which I think is somehow happening and will happen in the next years. If we would have changed eventually it would not have happened in the timing, which again I think that was should a good reason not to change at the time. And we should even not forget that anyway the regulations for the power unit are changing still. We’ve got E10 fuel for 2022 and we are pushing for a more sustainable fuel before 2026, so I think that in terms of sustainability there is much we are doing for the power unit and for F1 from now unit 2026 and we have adopted measures, as I said, for containing costs and I think convergence will happen. So it’s not true that simply changing earlier would have been the right move because again I think in terms of what’s useful for automotive eventually it was too early to understand.
CA: I don’t think we need to live looking back and we can’t live regret. I believe Formula 1 needs to be in control of its own agenda and have its own scheduling without being under the hook of any particular individual, and I’m not talking just about Honda, I am talking about any company in the sport. We are 10 teams; we have a number of manufacturers. But equally we need to move forward. I think that what matters most is that we define what is the right technology for the next generation. There are many technologies that are emerging. We see that the automotive world is full of doubts. A few years ago we were never talking about hydrogen. It’s a new thing up and coming. Will it be adequate or appropriate for Formula 1, who knows, I don’t know. I think it’s important to pause a bit, wait to make the right decision. But having said that maybe one thing that we could do is do a group that could be a joint group of people, of experts, between all manufacturers, just like we worked on breathing systems for COVID. It was amazing to see actually this collaboration between teams. That’s something we could do to do some advanced research, advanced study for the next generation of power unit to make sure that it is right in terms of show, in terms of cost, as Mattia has mentioned, in terms of competitiveness and in terms or marketing platform, and we should do that sooner rather than later.
Q: Thank you. Cyril mentioned COVID there, Toto, coming to you: you have had two positive COVID tests in the team this weekend. Please can you tell us what measures have been put in place to contain the spread of the virus?
TW: Yeah, so we are testing constantly back in Brackley. Everybody tested between Monday and Wednesday and there was not a single positive case. And then when we arrived we did a second test and one person was tested positive and was obviously quarantined and everyday around him that was in the car or worked with him also got quarantined and they had the second test now that is negative. And then we had a second positive test and also everybody who was around him was put in quarantine. We flew six people in from the UK; they were all tested. It’s certainly not a good situation because every person is very important but I guess this is something that is going to follow us for quite a while.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport.com) – Toto, you said in Russia that the penalty for Lewis was a bit too harsh in your view, because actually there was no clear cut regulation. As you said it was behind pit exit lights but what is behind. I think the FIA called it common sense. Do you understand why the FIA didn’t penalise Charles in Belgium for a similar infringement, although admittedly Charles was not as far down the line as Lewis was? And the same question to Mattia, please?
TW: I think as always with these things you must admit that you have a certain bias. There was no clear regulation. It said after the pit exit to the line and after the pit exit lights. Lewis took it quite far but still within what was said in the event notes. I felt additionally that the penalty was too harsh. Putting a reconnaissance lap breach, if it was a breach, into the race. We had speeding before in the pit lane and that wasn’t carried over into the race and then giving two five-second penalties for the same incident where he wasn’t at fault, because we told him he could do that, but he obviously went further than expected. We didn’t see thee first one on telly either. It’s probably too harsh, and this is what I said. At least the points were taken off. I think anyway, penalty points were invented for qualifying and race incidents that were deemed to be dangerous – yellow flag incidents or crashes that could have been avoided. Now we are having points for many infringements that are not safety critical and I think we need to think about that going forward.
Q: And Charles Leclerc’s in Spa?
TW: I saw Charles situation and it was the same – that he was after the position that was indicated in the event notes. He wasn’t that far down the pit exit as was Lewis but nevertheless he was still after the line. We have still some variability between penalties on one side, something that from the pure optics looked much less of an infringement, which was Charles, but nevertheless behind the line and behind the lights, and that was penalised an then on the other side you had a situation where Lewis was further down the line and still in the same position and was awarded two five-second penalties. We need to have a little bit of a more of a balance situation and as I said before two five-second penalties were in my opinion too harsh.
MB: Yeah, we do not comment on stewards’ decisions, so we fully trust what they are doing and somehow their decision. I think relative to Charles, I think that the situation was completely different in Spa. There was a Race Director’s note indicating that drivers could have somehow passed the line just to make that they were avoiding to have a queue in the pit lane. That’s exactly what Charles did, just passing by two metres the line, to avoid any queue, without having any advantage from that move. So, I think that situation was completely different and that’s simply our view on the Charles fact in Spa.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Just going back to Coronavirus. Whose side of the garage does it affect and how heavily do you expect it to impact Mercedes’ weekend here?
TW: Well, every loss of an important member in the garage affects the race but I think we have got it under control by having back up back in Brackley and they came and in that respect I think we should be in control of that situation.
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Another question on the coronavirus for Toto. Given that a positive for a driver could swing the championship, if Lewis or Valtteri were to test positive, what extra advice are you giving them on how they behave in between races, what they can do and what they can’t do?
TW: Obviously the drivers are the most restricted of the whole group, of the whole team. Certainly not a great situation for them because you almost need to live like a hermit and that’s what they are doing. They are at home. They are not going out for dinners. They are not meeting any other people. Within the team we do the debriefs via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. They are not sitting with the engineers in the room. They are sitting in their own rooms and we are avoiding as much as possible any personal contact with them. And we try do it as literally stepping into the car and keeping their distance as we belt them in and then drive. Because, as you say, that is really critical for the championship, if you miss a race or two. So, unfortunately for them, they need to live a life that is a bit secluded but we think the decisions we have taken are good and protect them. -
Double blow for Hamilton; Bottas gets his second win: Russian GP analysis
Valtteri Bottas took his second win of the season at the Sochi Autodrom, Max Verstappen finished P2 in his Red Bull and pole man Lewis Hamilton recovered to P3 after serving 10-second time penalty for practice start infringement.
London, 3 Oct 2020: Lewis Hamilton took pole position as Max Verstappen split the Mercedes cars in P2 and Valtteri Bottas lined up in P3 for the Round 10 FIA F1 World Championship last Sunday.
Alongside him was Sergio Perez of Racing Point. Renault and McLaren lined up in chequerboard pattern with Daniel Ricciardo in P5, Carlos Sainz in P6, Esteban Ocon in P7 & Lando Norris in P8. Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri started the race in P9. Alex Albon qualified a dismal P10 in his Red Bull but started P15, due to a 5-place grid penalty for changing the gearbox. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc lined up in P10, Gasly’s teammate Daniil Kvyat in P11. Lance Stroll had a mechanical issue in qualifying and therefore, could only start as high as P12 ahead of Williams’ George Russell in P13. Sebastian Vettel started in P14 after crashing his car in qualifying. Romain Grosjean and Haas teammate Kevin Magnussen started in 16th& 18th respectively, with Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi between them. The last row was occupied by Kimi Raikkonen and Williams rookie Nicholas Latifi.
Hamilton was already at a disadvantage regarding strategy as he had to start on the soft tyre, compared to Bottas and Verstappen who started o the mediums. This was due to Hamilton’s initial lap getting deleted due to track limits in Q2, then Red Flags barring him from setting the second lap.
The fastest strategy was a one stop, from medium tyres to hard tyres.
The race start was eventful. Bottas caught the slipstream from Hamilton and passed Verstappen. Behind Sainz went wide at Turn 2 and therefore, had to go through the bollards to join the track. In doing so, he hit the circuit wall and was out. His teammate Norris ran through the debris and damaged the steering of his car. Ahead at Turn 4, Leclerc tagged the rear wheel of Strolls Racing Point, thus, sending him spinning into the barrier. The safety car was called out.
The safety car came in on lap 5 and racing resumed with Hamilton in the lead, trailed by Bottas and Verstappen. Meanwhile, Russell, Norris and Albon had pitted under the safety car for hard tyres. Sergio Perez slotted into P5 after overtaking Ricciardo as Ocon was running in P4. On lap 7 Mercedes got the confirmation that Hamilton will get a 10-second time penalty (2×5-seconds).
Lewis Hamilton pitted on lap 16 for hard tyres, serving the penalty in the process and emerged in P11. Ricciardo had pitted one lap before to try and undercut Perez but came out in traffic and was unable to gain time on Perez. Ocon pitted on lap 18 and slotted behind Hamilton but ahead of Ricciardo. Perez managed to overcut Ocon on lap 20 as he too pitted for hard tyres.
Pit stops at Sochi. Graphic courtesy Pirelli Eventually Verstappen pitted on lap 25 for Hard tyres and Bottas followed suit one lap later. Bottas holding a steady 7-second gap to Verstappen. Hamilton emerged in P3 but 10-seconds behind Verstappen due to his penalty. Renault employed team orders and switched Ocon and Ricciardo, Ricciardo now ahead. In that process, Ricciardo cut turn 2 and got a 5-second time penalty. Leclerc who had pitted on lap 28, was behind Ricciardo and looked like he could take the advantage of his penalty.
Bottas scored his second victory of the season as Verstappen in P2 and Hamilton in P3 completed the podium. Perez had an uneventful race but scored good points for Racing Point in P4. Ricciardo maintained P5 as he finished well ahead of Leclerc making the time penalty of no consequence. Leclerc dragged the Ferrari to P6, their best result since the 70th Anniversary GP in Silverstone. Ocon got P7 as Renault managed another double-points finish. Kvyat and Gasly finished in 8th and 9th respectively, Kvyat coming very close to overtaking Ocon in the final laps. Albon occupied the final points paying position.
Vettel finished in P13, behind Ferrari PU customer Alfa Romeo’s Giovinazzi and Haas’ Magnussen in P11 & P12 respectively. Raikkonen crossed the finish line in P14, ahead of Norris in McLaren. The Williams cars finished P16 & P18, Latifi finishing ahead of Russell as Grosjean split them in P17.
Bottas won his first race since the season opener in Austria as Mercedes continued their dominant run this season. They have taken every pole position this season, 8 of them going to Hamilton. Mercedes have also won every Russian GP in the history of F1. Red Bull expected themselves to struggle at Sochi, having never achieved a podium finish here prior to 2020. Verstappen was able to split the Mercedes in qualifying and the race. On the other side, Albon struggled with the balance of the car as he barely made his way to the top 10. Ferrari brought upgrades to the under nose cape, barge boards and rear wing. These upgrades were more to do with correlation of data than performance. The upgrades performed as expected by the simulation which will give them a direction to develop their car. Ferrari have a long way to go if they want to catch the likes of Renault, McLaren and Racing Point.
Renault have unlocked the pace from their car since the Belgian GP. They got another double points finish. The drivers are happy with the setup and balance of the car. They seem to be on par if not better than McLaren when it comes to race pace. Encouraging signs for them then, for rest of the season and next year. McLaren showed improved performance compared to the Tuscan GP, especially in qualifying. They were running two different cars, Norris had the new Mercedes style slim nose whereas Sainz was running with their older specification of broader nose. The performance difference is yet unknown, but McLaren confirmed it is part of a bigger upcoming upgrade package and they were correlating the simulation data. As Sainz crashed out and Norris picked up damage their true race pace could not be seen this race. Racing Point are arguably the fastest midfield team as Perez managed P4 in the older specification of the RP20. Stroll once more had the upgraded version but unfortunately DNF’d due to Leclerc tagging him on the opening lap.
AlphaTauri too achieved a double points finish as they are making most of the opportunities awarded to them. Their car still lacks the pace to challenge the upper midfield teams consistently but given the right circumstances, they are able to beat them. Alfa Romeo have made strides as they are making it to Q2, but the lack of straight line performance still hurts them. Haas’ car has balance issues with both drivers complaining about it in free practice, particularly Grosjean being vocal on the team radio. Lack of upgrades this year and straight line performance of the Ferrari PU is accentuating their problems. Williams were encouraged by their performance at Sochi compared to last year, which proved the improvements they have made this season. Russell once more made it to Q2 as well. They struggled with tyre temperatures, therefore, could not make headway in the race. They have also managed to reduce the drag on their car, making full use of the class leading Mercedes PU to give them a higher straight line speed.
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Valtteri Bottas takes 9th career win ahead of Verstappen
Sochi, 27 Sept 2020: Valtteri Bottas had a brilliant start from P3 and challenged poleman Lewis Hamilton but settled into P2 at the second corner but the six-time champion was penalised with two 5-second penalties and thus Bottas clinched his second win of the season and ninth of his career in the Russian Grand Prix, the 10th round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday.
The Finn took 26 points, with an additional point coming for the fastest lap and Hamilton who finished third behind Max Verstappen of Red Bull, had to be content in garnering 15 valuable points. Max Verstappen split the Mercedes taking second place for Red Bull F1 team.
Hamilton, recovered from receiving two five-second time penalties for a practice start violation, which he served at his pit stop, to complete the podium in what was his 150 start for Mercedes AMG Petronas team. Now Hamilton (205 points) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 44 points from Bottas (161 points).
As it happened
Valtteri Bottas claimed his first win since the opening race of the season with a controlled drive to the chequered flag at the FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix after championship leader and early race leader Lewis Hamilton dropped down the order following two penalties for pre-race practice start infringements.
On two occasions in the build up to the race Hamilton performed practice starts outside of the designated area. The incidents were place under investigation ahead prior to the start and a brace of five-second penalties were served during the opening phase of the race.
Hamilton served the penalties during his sole pit stop and dropped from the top of the order to 11th place. He eventually rose to third place behind fellow front-row starter Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing.
When the lights went out Verstappen made a solid start but behind him Valtteri Bottas made a better getaway and he passed the Dutchman as they powered towards Turn 2. Verstappen tried to attack Bottas around the outside but had to back out and went across the run-off area. That lost him another place to Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo in Turn 4 but the Red Bull driver immediately fought back reclaimed third place in the following corner.
Further back Carlos Sainz was also forced to use the run-off at Turn 2 but the McLaren driver lost control as he did so and he hit the barrier, breaking his front left suspension and scattering debris as he slid back onto the track.
Moments later, in Turn 4, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made contact with Racing Point’s Lance Stroll with the result that the Canadian was bounced out of the race.
Racing resumed at the start of lap six and Hamilton held his advantage over Bottas and Verstappen, with the Renaults of Ocon and Ricciardo in fourth and fifth place respectively. Hamilton was then handed his sanctions and Mercedes elected to pit the race leader on lap 17 where he served the penalties before taking on hard tyres. When he rejoined it was in 11th place, behind the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Meanwhile, at the back of the field Alex Albon was involved in a thrilling battle with old Formula 2 rivals Lando Norris and George Russell. Albon first used the slipstream and DRS to pass Norris and then on lap 13 he forced Russell into an error and after the Williams driver locked up Albon powered through to P16. Albon then profited from pit stops from cars ahead to rise to 11th place behind Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen who had started on hard tyres. However, the Thai driver’s march towards the points would be shortlived and he later slipped back again after pitting again at half distance for a set of medium tyres.
Verstappen made his sole pit stop on lap 26, taking on hard tyres in an excellent 1.9s stop. Bottas followed suit at the end of the next lap and resumed in the lead with Leclerc in second ahead of Verstappen. The Ferrari driver was next to pit and after hard tyre starter Daniil Kvyat finally pitted on lap 31, Hamilton rose to third place, eight seconds behind Verstappen and 20 behind Bottas.
As the race entered its final third, Albon again began to move up the order and he returned to the points when a Virtual Safety Car for damaged bollards in Turn 2 prompted AlphaTauri to pit Pierre Gasly for a second time.
The caution was short, however, and when it ended Albon was able power past Gasly as the Frenchman trundled towards the pit exit. However, with fresh medium tyres on board Gasly was soon fighting his way back and when Albon tussled with Lando Norris, the AlphaTauri driver closed in and passed Albon under DRS to take P10.
Norris hard tyres were shot, however, and within a handful of laps Albon forced an error from the McLaren driver. Norris locked up heavily on lap 48 and Albon power past to finally edge into the points positions.
With just five laps remaining the order settled and Bottas duly took his ninth career victory ahead of Verstappen who claimed his 38th podium finish and team’s 178th.
Behind third-placed Hamilton, Perez took a well-deserved fourth place ahead of Ricciardo while Leclerc also put in a strong performance to take sixth place for Ferrari. Ocon took seventh place and there was a double points finish for AlphaTauri with Kvyat taking eighth ahead of team-mate Gasly.
2020 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Race
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 53 1:34’00.364
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 53 1:34’08.093 7.729
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:34’23.093 22.729
4 Sergio Pérez Racing Point/Mercedes 53 1:34’30.922 30.558
5 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 53 1:34’52.429 52.065
6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 53 1:35’02.550 1’02.186
7 Esteban Ocon Renault 53 1:35’08.370 1’08.006
8 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri/Honda 53 1:35’09.104 1’08.740
9 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 53 1:35’30.130 1’29.766
10 Alexander Albon Red Bull/Honda 53 1:35’38.224 1’37.860
11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 52 1:34’12.509 1 Lap
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 52 1:34’14.419 1 Lap
13 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 52 1:34’15.467 1 Lap
14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 52 1:34’16.339 1 Lap
15 Lando Norris McLaren/Renault 52 1:34’26.176 1 Lap
16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 52 1:34’53.867 1 Lap
17 Romain Grosjean Haas/Ferrari 52 1:34’54.908 1 Lap
18 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 52 1:35’22.195 1 Lap
Carlos Sainz McLaren/Renault 0 Collision
Lance Stroll Racing Point/Mercedes 0 Collision
Valtteri Bottas
What a feeling! It’s been a little while since my last win, but I knew there would be opportunities heading into the race and luckily things went my way this time. It was a bit tricky at the start because an insect hit my visor just as I was entering the braking zone, which meant I couldn’t really see where to brake and so I went deep. But I knew it was going to be a long race and with the Medium tyre, there would be chances later on. Lewis then had his penalty, and once I was in clean air, the pace was really strong, and I was able to control everything without any real concerns. Now I need to keep this momentum up. There are quite a few races to go and you just never know, so I’ll keep pushing, I won’t give up and we’ll see how it turns out in the end.
Lewis Hamilton
Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to all the fans who came out this weekend, I hope you enjoyed the race. It wasn’t a great day for me, but it is what it is. We need to go through everything and understand exactly what went on to get those two penalties. That obviously dropped me back and the first stint on the Soft was also challenging, as I was trying to go as far as I could on that tyre. I think I did pretty well on the Soft and from then, it was about trying to recover as much as possible. It was just one of those days, but I’m grateful that I still managed to get a podium, bag some points and didn’t lose as much as I could have done. Congratulations to Valtteri on the win, and I’ll take the points and move forward. -
I will try to keep the winning momentum, says Valtteri Bottas
DRIVERS at the Sunday press conference: 1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes); 2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing) and 3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Johnny Herbert)
Q: Max, second place. Interesting battle going down to Turn 1. You seemed to get off the line well but then Valtteri got in front of you. But of course then you had Daniel Ricciardo at your side and you decided to go through that penalty chicane. What was it like for you?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, just very low grip on the inside, so that cost us a bit but at the end it was quite interesting the first few corners. Of course I had to take that other chicane and luckily got through there without any issues. After that, after the re-start I was a little bit slower on the medium, I was having a bit of problems with the balance. But once we went on that hard tyre I think we were a little bit more competitive so pretty happy about that. At the end to be able to split the Mercedes cars again, I think we can be pleased with that.
Q: Were there any worries at some point once you saw Lewis getting to third place. Did you think “now I’ve got a fight on my hands”?
MV: No, I was trying to do my own race there. If they are faster they will anyway pass you. I think we managed it well and I did everything I could.
Q: You’ve got to be happy though, second place going into the Nurburgring next time out?
MV: Yeah, I’m very happy with second, especially after two DNFs. Again a good amount of points.
Q: Well done. Lewis, what a frustrating day for you. What happened with the practice starts and of course then that 10-second penalty you got? What happened there?
Lewis HAMILTON: First, I want to say a big thanks to all the fans that came this weekend. A big thank you. Spasiba. Yeah, just not the greatest day, but it is what it is.
Q: How did that go wrong? I know there were some notes that had come out from the FIA; Michael Masi had mentioned about where you can and cannot start? Why is it you ended up so far down the end of the pit lane?
LH: It doesn’t matter. It’s done now. I’ll take the points that I got and move on.
Q: The race itself, though, great little comeback from you.
LH: Not particularly. I didn’t really do much. I just held my position so congratulations to Valtteri.
Q: Valtteri, race win but it was very tricky going down to Turn 2 where you tried to go round the outside of Lewis but you got stuck on that kerb. Just talk us through that?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, obviously I tried. I knew the start would be the start would be the first opportunity but actually it was a bit compromised because there was like a massive bee or something that hit my visor just before braking, so I couldn’t really see when I should brake, so that’s why I went too deep. I knew it was going to be a long race after that and with the medium tyre I had there would be opportunities but obviously Lewis had the penalty so once I was in clean air I felt the pace was pretty awesome and I could control everything.
Q: What about Max? He was obviously there a little bit earlier on and he was pushing you very hard. Were you a bit concerned in those early laps that he might challenge you?
VB: I wasn’t concerned at any point, because looking at the [inaudible] for today I knew how many opportunities there would be and yeah, never give up, it’s a good day.
Q: Well, it’s your ninth win and your second here in Russia, so going towards the Nurburgring you must have a lot of confidence to take there?
VB: For sure. It’s nice to get a win again. It’s been a while. Definitely good. I need to try and keep the momentum. Again I managed to squeeze a few good points against Lewis. There are still quite a few races to go. You just never know. I’ll keep pushing and won’t give up and we’ll see how it ends up.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Man congratulations Valtteri. Your win in Austria seems a while ago. How good did it feel to hear the Finnish national anthem on the podium?
VB: Definitely. It’s been a while ago but it’s been so close many times and I feel my race pace, especially this season, has been quite a bit better than any season before so I can’t say it’s been frustrating but you know it’s been a bit annoying that it’s been close but nearly there. But things definitely did go my way today, as I have been saying that things can’t go against you forever. So, definitely really satisfying today to get the win. It felt like it was well earned. Obviously I consider myself lucky as well with Lewis’ penalty. But otherwise it was a strong race and really I feel that it can give me a confidence boost and good momentum for the next races.
Q: Can you just talk us through the race a bit? Good start, you overtook Max and you didn’t really look back from there from what it looked like?
VB: Yeah, it was a good start. I think Lewis has a good start as well. But obviously I had the tow. I went outside, braked, perhaps slightly too late so went a bit deep into Turn 2, so Lewis maintained the lead. But then I was just trying to be there because I knew that with the medium tyre I knew would have the advantage once Lewis had to stop. When I was in clean air it really felt pretty good and the pace was strong. Same with the hard tyre. I could really feel that I could control the race. I was actually pretty happy there were no red flags or safety cars this time around towards the end of the race.
Q: Do you think you could have beaten Lewis today if there had been no penalties for him?
VB: Going to today I knew that there would be opportunities. I knew that one of the best ones would be the race start but I knew that even if I can’t make it there it’s now over, because obviously with the medium tyre it’s quite an advantage in race time and in terms of strategy, so yes, of course I believed I could do it. But who knows. He got that penalty and that’s it.
Max, after two difficult races in Italy, how satisfying is it to have a clean race and to come home on the podium?
MV: Yeah, I mean that’s how it should be every single weekend. So, of course it was not good, the last two weekends and I think now, to be back on the podium and in second, I think for us is a great result on a track where normally we are not that competitive and we never scored a podium before as well. So, I’m very happy with that. The race itself, the start was pretty bad but it was just so low grip on the inside, the righthand side, it seemed like everybody had a really poor start, so just felt like… Even then during the race, the first lap I had a bit of a battle with Daniel to get back into third and I had a nice off-road experience through the bollards so… nice. And then for there onwards, on the Medium tyre it was just not really having a great balance. A bit like I had in Q1 and Q2 yesterday where I just couldn’t push the entries of the corners and I couldn’t’ keep up with them. So, just tried to not lose too much time. Then once we pitted, put the hard tyres on, everything was a bit more stable and a bit better balanced. I was pleased with that. The second stint was pretty OK. Very happy with second.
Q: You say the second stint was good but did you ever think you could challenge Valtteri for the win?
MV: No, because he was already too far ahead anyway. I think. Once we pitted it was 12 seconds or something. That’s very hard to close – and anyway, following around here on the same tyre, more or less the same pace, I think it’s very difficult.
Q: Lewis, like yesterday, it was another eventful day for you. How do you sum it all up?
LH: Uneventful. It wasn’t that eventful, to be honest. I started first, was in first, I came out third, so, not the most eventful day.
Q: Well it looked eventful from the outside, particularly before the start. That’s when it started to unravel, when you were doing your practice starts on your way to the grid. Can you just talk us through your communication with the team, and why you elected to do the starts where you did?
LH: Generally, if you look at probably every race that I’ve done this year, at least, I always start further down. Never, ever had a problem, done it for years. Here I haven’t done that before, I would say, but it says you have to be on the right after the lights, it doesn’t say how far, and so often… I don’t like to be on the rubber, that’s where everyone has done all their starts so it’s not representative of what it’s like on the grid, so I try to get onto the surface that doesn’t have any rubber.
Q: Did you communicate with the team, ask if it was OK to do it where you did it?
LH: I did, and as far as we were aware, it was OK. It’s no different to Brazil. You drive to the end of the pit lane and you do your start. It’s actually probably safer where I was, compared to Brazil, because there was a lot more space on the left… so interesting decision.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Question for Lewis. Because you got the penalties for the practice start, race penalties like that come with penalty points on your licence, so you’re now up to ten penalty points on your licence in a 12-month period, which means you’re only two points from a race ban until, I think, after four races from now. Just wanted to know what you think of that and if it’s the sort of thing that means you change your approach, take more care in the coming grands prix?
LH: It’s ridiculous the points that have been given people this year in general. Penalty points usually are for – I don’t want to speak on my behalf – from a drivers’ point of view, if you put someone else in danger, you crash into somebody, of course, you should be getting penalty points. I did not harm anybody, did not put anybody in harm’s way so ultimately it’s a ridiculous rule – but it is what it is. I’ll just make sure I’m squeaky-clean moving forwards. Don’t give them an excuse for anything.
MV: It is a bit harsh. If you causes a crash it’s difference – but the penalty Lewis got was already painful enough. I don’t know how many points you got – two points? – it’s a bit harsh, he’s up to ten points without actually… I mean, it was not correct where he stopped but penalty points for that… I’m not sure that’s correct.
Q: Max, while you’re commenting on this, what’s your understanding of where you were to do the practice starts here in Sochi. Was it clear to you where you had to do them?
MV: They just told me to do it there. From the team side. We discussed that before we went out. Like ‘do your starts there’. I never questioned about going further. I don’t know. Probably was not allowed. It’s unfortunately.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, you didn’t sound particularly happy about when you were called in for your pit stop on the Soft tyres. How much further did you think you would have been able to go – and did that cost you any time at all coming back against Max, coming in a bit early than you wanted? Thanks.
LH: It ultimately didn’t make a huge difference but my goal ultimately was to offset… to minimise the loss with the tyres. So, the original stop was supposed to be lap 16, luckily we had a Safety Car which took us to lap six, or something like that. So I thought that’s bonus points, it means I can go six laps longer. I think they stopped me still on lap 16, or something like that but I thought I could at least do another five laps, which would have just made it a little easier on that second stint – but five laps wouldn’t have made a huge difference. My tyres were dead right at the end, so they were definitely on the limit but yeah, it’s a discussion we’ll have afterwards and we’ll work on it.
Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, you said on TV that they’re deliberately out to get you – I assume that’s a reference to the stewards. Do you actually believe that they are targeting you to try and slow you down or to force you to have this penalty, this one race ban, just to artificially liven up the races?
LH: I don’t necessarily think that it’s for me, I think probably most teams – whenever a team is at the front, obviously they are doing a lot of scrutiny. Everything we have on our car is being checked and triple checked and triple checked. They are changing rules, such as the engine regs, lots of lots of things to get in the way to keep the racing exciting, I assume. I don’t know if the rules – in terms of what happened today – was anything to do with it but naturally that’s how it feels, naturally it feels like you we’re fighting uphill but it’s OK, it’s not like I haven’t faced adversity before so we just keep our heads down and keep fighting and keep trying to do a better job and be cleaner and squeaky clean, as I said before.
Q: (Laurence Edmonson – ESPN) Lewis, is this kind of thing you’re just happy to turn a page and move on from or is it something that you will take up with the FIA, with Michael Masi to try and get clarity if not some kind of justice?
LH: I haven’t decided, but at the moment I’m looking forward to getting home.
Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Lewis, if you really are concerned that somebody is trying to stop you, how concerned are you about the possibility of a race ban, if you reach the twelve points, because you’ve got only two points between you and that and there are several races to go before any drop off?
LH: I don’t know what to say about that. I’ve got to try my hardest to, you know, to… I guess we’ll go through the rule book and pick out areas where they can create rules, areas where penalties have never been given before and we’ll try and figure out all the ones that they have and try to make sure that we cover ourselves in the ones that we are aware of. Like I said before, I don’t think anyone’s had the penalty for that before so we’ll just work hard and… we’ve gone through seasons before without penalties so just have to make sure I give them no reason, not even a sniff to be able to do something.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Max, you mentioned the low grip on the inside off the line, so was it a case of were you always expecting to lose that position or was there something that could have been done if everything had gone completely perfectly to stay in second place on the run to turn two?
MV: I was just hoping that it was going to be a bit grippy but actually on my formation lap I had an anti-stall so that was not nice, but then in the actual start, as soon as I dropped the clutch you could just feel there was no grip. And then I thought initially I just had a bad start but then I looked in the mirror and I could see the whole line behind me as well had a poor start so yeah, I don’t know, if we could do something different. Well, Valtteri shouldn’t have been in my way in qualifying, then, with the tow. Then I would have been third!
Q: (Laurence Edmonson – ESPN) Valtteri, we heard your now trademark radio message ‘to whom it may concern, FU after the race’. Who exactly was that aimed at? And a few people have said that you’ve been dealing with quite a lot of criticism on social media so how have you dealt with that, and has it been something which has actually been playing on your mind?
VB: No, it’s not been playing on my mind but I just don’t… honestly I just (don’t) get the people who has the need to criticise people. You know, there’s been people telling me that I should not bother, I should give up but how I am, I will never do that so I just wanted to, again, send my best wishes to them. It just came out, you know, so, yeah. But the main thing is I’m confident, when I come to every race weekend, I’m confident and I believe I can do it and that’s how I’m always going to be. You have to have that mindset so yeah, I’m glad. Even yesterday was tough, I didn’t give up, I looked at it positively, I knew there would be opportunities and things came to me today, so yeah, I hope I can encourage people not to give up because that’s the biggest mistake you can do in your life.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) To all three: with regards the penalty points that have been applied here, the fact that there seems to be a little bit of disagreement over how the rules relating to Lewis’s practice starts have been interpreted, and the disagreement at Mugello over the handling of the restart, how satisfied are you with how the FIA is handling stuff at the moment? Do you think there is good enough communication between the race director, Michael Masi, and yourselves? Do you think you’re all on the same page?
LH: Are we all on the same page? I don’t think so. I’m probably on a different page of the book or I’ve skipped a few pages clearly.
VB: It’s a tricky one. It’s obviously… I don’t know the… even maybe I should know the rule book word by word but I don’t. Obviously we always get guidance from the team what we’re allowed to do and what not. There are so many different circumstances and I don’t really know what to say. I think it’s tricky. For sure they are trying their best no doubt but yeah, I can’t say more.
MV: I’ve been up there myself, I think with ten points or something so yeah, I said to myself I will just try to stay away from the stewards at the track. Seeing them in the hotel or the bar, that’s not too bad, but stay out of their room during the race weekend. It’s difficult. Like I said before, if it’s like a crash or whatever, you caused, I can understand they want to hand penalty points to maybe calm you down or whatever but with things like this, Lewis didn’t do anything on purpose to create an issue or whatever. He just wanted to practise his start. Maybe it’s not allowed there, OK but he was penalised enough by having this penalty in the race so I don’t think you’d need to hand out penalty points for that. But I guess we’ll talk about it in the next briefing we have and see if something will happen or not. It’s always good, I guess, to talk about it and communicate. At least we know what we’re up to fully and then we move on.
-
It is one of the worst qualifying sessions: Hamilton
DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Stoffel Vandoorne)
Q: Valtteri, it was looking so good after Q2, what happened in Q3? Tell us about qualifying?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been looking pretty good all weekend, you know. I felt the pace being really good and also Q1 and Q2 was nice and smooth but Q3, to be honest I don’t know. I found some gains but obviously my rivals found some more. I think here is pretty sensitive with the tyres, getting them right. The first in Q3 my tyres were too cold. Second run, I don’t know, I just couldn’t go any quicker. Some question marks but I think actually it’s a pretty good place to start third here and I think I’m on the right tyre as well.
Q: Exactly. Starting from third, it’s a long way up to Turn 1. What do you think about the race tomorrow?
VB: Yeah, I remember once I started third here and I know what happened then, so for sure I will try to do the same and I really think I will have an advantage with the medium tyre in the first stint, so still all to play for.
Q: Max congratulations, P2 on the grid. What a fantastic recovery from yesterday?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, we were struggling a bit to find the right balance with the car on this track, it’s quite slippery round here. Even this morning I was not entirely happy and through qualifying we were really working on trying to nail the balance and in the Q3, the final run especially, it was not bad. So to be second on the grid, I didn’t expect, so very, very pleased with that.
Q: And it’s a good position for tomorrow as well. Second is not a bad position here as with the draft to Turn 1 maybe there is an opportunity?
MV: Yeah, absolutely. If we can have a decent start then the tow effect is very big around here so if I can get a good draft who knows what is going to happen into Turn 2. It’s going to be interesting anyway with the tyres as well tomorrow.
Q: Lewis, congratulations, what an awesome drive. I mean, challenging qualifying for you; you had that red flag in Q2 which put you a little on the back foot, but what an amazing drive in Q3.
Lewis HAMILTON: Well, firstly, I have to say a big, big hi to all the fans that are here. I’ve missed the fans so much through the year. I can’t tell you how great it is to see people. I hope everyone has their mask on and staying safe. This morning when I left the hotel I had a couple of fans there with their Black Lives Matter masks on and I’m just so humbled by everyone’s support and how everyone has worked this year. So it’s really great to see everybody. The session was… oh, it was one of the worst qualifying sessions; it was horrible. Heart in your mouth the whole way. The first problem, I think I got the time taken away. It’s the first time I’ve gone wide there the whole weekend. I wanted to stay out and do another lap and get a banker, but they said come in and get new tyres and then the red flag came out. It was a real risk once we got out on that next tyre at the end. Ultimately, I’m starting on the soft tyre, which is not good. It’s nice being on pole but here is probably the worst place to be on pole, with the draggier cars we have this year. So, undoubtedly I’m most likely to get dragged past tomorrow and both the cars I’m racing against, they are both on the medium tomorrow, so definitely it’s going to make it hard to win the race tomorrow. But nonetheless I’m going to stay positive and try to figure out how I can navigate my way through, get a good start maybe, and we’ll see.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, many congratulations, that was an eventful session for but can we just start by talking about Q3? The car just got faster and faster – two great laps.
LH: Yeah. You want to start with Q3 first? It’s a lot to skip over and just to go straight to Q3, but it was one of the hardest qualifying sessions I can remember having being that everything was just so rushed and there was panic and there was just all sorts going on. And then obviously timing once you’re out there, when we went out for the second run, sorry in Q2, and then just having to calm myself down and find my centre, you know, calm my heart down and wanting to deliver in Q3. I was adamant. I had no choice. I had to deliver on those two laps. Valtteri had been doing great all weekend. Nothing new in that respect but I knew I needed to have a perfect lap, particularly on the first run to get the pole. Obviously pole position is not great here; it never has been. Still, going for pole is what we do. The first lap was really great. I thought it was going to be very difficult to improve on it, but I think I managed to just improve just a tiny bit I think on the second lap. I’m super grateful to everyone for just about keeping their cool. And it could be a lot, lot worse. I could be out of the top 10, so I’m really grateful I go to compete.
Q: Just talk us through those final moments of Q2 now, when you crossed the line with one and a half seconds to spare?
LH: It was horrible! I wanted to start on the medium. I didn’t want to go to… I mean the whole session was just not great. I went wide out of Turn 18, which was my fault, but the first time I had done that all weekend. Then I was like, “let me stay out and just get a banker lap in”, and they asked me to come in, which ultimately… I mean, hindsight is always a good thing to have, but I don’t know if it was the right call. But then we went back out and then the red flag came out and we all waited at the end of the pit lane. And I nearly spun at Turn 1 because the tyre temperatures were so low. I think I overtook one car going into the second to last corner or two cars I think it was, but then I got blocked by the Renault, and I was dead slow in the middle of the last corner about to start the lap and I could just hear Bonno saying “Go, go, go, go, go, go!” so I was just gunning to try to get across the line, so very, very fortunate. I don’t think that was just luck, I think it was just the right timing for us.
Q: Just a quick word on strategy for tomorrow. You’re going to be on the front row on the Soft tyre alongside Max who’s going to be on the Medium.
LH: As I was saying before, it’s not a good place to start at all and I think this year you’re seeing our cars are more draggy and there’s more tow this year than we’ve seen in other years, so… yeah. I generally expect one of these two to come flying by at some point. So, I think I’m just going to focus on my race and just try to run the fastest race I can. Obviously I’m on the worst tyre to start on the race but generally it’s a good tyre to do an actual start but it doesn’t have… it has the biggest degradation, ten times more than any other tyre, I think it is. So that’s going to be a struggle. I don’t know if that puts me onto a two-stop, I don’t know, unlikely because the pit lane is too slow, so I’m just going to have to nurse those tyres as far as I can. These guys, if they get by, they’re going to be pulling away so going to sit down tonight to try to figure out if there’s a different kind of race I can do tomorrow to keep my position.
Q: Max, coming to you, your 13th front row start and your first here in Sochi, with that fabulous final lap of Q3. Was that one of your best?
MV: Yeah, I think so. It felt really good. Trying to find the right balance because I was actually struggling quite a bit throughout qualifying to really nail all the entry speeds, because I was oversteering a lot. So, step-by-step I think we were doing a better job. Q3, run one was a bit better but the second run, made a few changes and that just gave me a little bit more grip and, on this track, you really need a lot of entry grip, so yeah, that was very satisfying. It was a really nice lap to drive. It’s not pole position but for me, to be on the first row, I definitely didn’t expect that going into qualifying.
Q: Like Lewis, you had a drama-filled end to Q2 but for different reasons because you decided to abort your final lap and you just made it through to Q3.
MV: Yeah, I mean, I wanted to start on the Medium but the field, of course, is very, very close on lap time so it was very hard. I did my very best to do the best lap I could on that tyre but it was not easy because I was already struggling for grip and then going onto a harder compound was even more difficult to find that grip. Then going into that last corner, after the red flag, when I was back onto the Soft tyres, they told me ‘abort, abort’, so I stopped. But of course the finish line is quite short after the last corner. Of course happy that we did it, and we just made it through.
Q: Lewis has just told us that he’s got a difficult race ahead of him tomorrow. Are you feeling confident starting on the Medium tyre?
MV: Yeah, I think for us it’s the best way going into the race. Of course I’m starting a bit on the dirty side so I’m not sure how much that’s going to affect it but yeah, overall I think the Mercedes guys are a bit faster in race pace so I’ll try my very best to stay with them and see what happens but first of all I think we… well, I would like to have a good start, and by start I mean once I go full throttle to have full power, that would be nice and then not get taken out. After two retirements I think it’s good to score some points again.
Q: Valtteri, coming to you, how tricky is it to manage a session like that when there’s so much going on?
VB: Well, for me there was not so much going on. It was actually pretty straightforward from my side, so I think I was quite fortunate that all the happenings didn’t really affect me. Q1, Q2 from my side was pretty good. Car was feeling good and the pace seemed to be there – unlike in Q3.
Q: Well, talk us through Q3, particularly that final lap.
VB: Q3 was a tricky one, so in the first run I didn’t feel my tyres were ready, so out of the last corner, starting the lap, I had a big snap so lost a couple of tenths on the run down to Turn 2. Turn 2, massive oversteer and tyres only came in towards the end of the lap. So yeah, I was just waiting for the second run then and, you know, there was no mistakes as such, Turn 2, maybe there was a tiny lock-up, went a bit wide but, to be honest, I don’t really get it why I couldn’t match Lewis’ times in Q3. Just didn’t feel I was gaining much grip from previous sessions. I think even Q2 felt better, so a few question marks from me about what really happened – or maybe I was just playing games and wanted to start third.
VIDEO CONFERENCE
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for Lewis, we just got a report from the stewards that you failed to rejoin the track in the right way, as it is said in the race director notes. Can you just elaborate a bit on that situation and do you expect some problems because of that?
LH: Where’s that?
Q: Turn 2. Four minutes after the start of the qualifying session.
LH: I don’t know. I went through the barriers and through the bollards… in Q2 you mean?
Q: It says at four minutes past three, so Q1 I guess. Failure to follow the race director’s instructions in Turn 2 at three o’clock and four minutes. Breach of article 12.1.1.
LH: I don’t know. I have no idea what that is. There’s always going to be something, isn’t there. I don’t remember ever… I don’t think… I had a lap time deleted.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, I just wondered, you mentioned this being a horrible session for you, a little bit of panic at one stage. What was the communication like between you and the team? Was it always calm or were things a little bit – not out of control – but just a little bit under pressure? And was there any discussion about you still taking the mediums for that last run in Q2 after the red flag or was there something specific that prohibited that?
LH: Our conversations are usually relatively calm, I would say. We had a debate. I wanted to stay out in Q1, as I mentioned. I wanted to stay out and just do another lap just to get a banker and then we had a big discussion, back and forth, back and forth. I said ‘I want to stay out, I want to stay out, I want to stay out’ and they called me in so I listened to them. And then obviously we went back out and we got stuck with the red flag. Was that Q1 or Q2? I can’t remember. It was Q2, yeah, Q2. And then in Q1 I had a flat spot so I couldn’t go back out again so that was a bit of a mess so that was a bit less practice. And then at the end of Q2 I wanted to go back out on the medium, because of course I don’t want to start on the soft tyre but we had to wait at the end of the pit lane for two minutes and we had… the tyre temperatures would have dropped down massively, already just on that brand new tyre, on the soft, I had a big slide into turn one so it definitely wasn’t great and I did plead to have the medium tyre but they weren’t having it. So naturally I think we will have a discussion at the end, whether it was right or wrong, doesn’t matter now. It’s happened so we will just make do with what we have.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Lewis, you talked about having to calm yourself down and centre yourself for those runs late on. How did you stop yourself from letting that session spiral, because with the deleted the lap times and then the red flag, the moment when you said you nearly spun at turn two, when you went back out for that run at the end of Q2, it must have been all kinds of stress and pressure, so how did you stop it from running away with you?
LH: If I told you I’d have to kill you so I mean… No, I think everyone, we’re all under immense pressure and I would say probably experience helps massively in order to know how to regain your focus. Because just one millimetre out and you’re way off, you’re making mistakes or you’re locking up. It is a real, real challenge and I don’t always get it right but I was really grateful today I was able to… and I think in general that’s probably been a real strength. I don’t know if it’s always been it but particularly this year obviously qualifying, Q3, I’ve managed to really be able to centre myself and deliver really impactful laps that count when it really matters, so I’m grateful for that. Maybe one day I will tell you how I do it in a book.
Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) To all three drivers, just about the track conditions and the amount of grip out there. How did you find it throughout Saturday? Obviously things looked a bit colder coming into qualifying. There were quite a few off-track moments for various drivers up and down the grid, so how did you find those laps?
VB: Yeah, here, quite usually at the start of the weekend it’s pretty low grip and the wind changed for today quite a bit so it’s nothing new really. It’s quite a peaky tarmac in terms of how it provides the grip so if you lose the rear end or if you have a locked up it’s pretty penalising so the peak of the grip is quite a small window. So yeah, that’s why we see quite a lot of mistakes but it’s one of these type of tracks and not really an issue but different.
LH: I don’t know if the fans that are watching… I don’t know if the commentators talk about it much but the surfaces that we have on these tracks are quite a lot different. Some are the same, you have some that are very, very smooth, some very grainy and some that wear the tyres more, some that wear them less, some that overheat the tyres, some that work the tyres. There’s a real science behind it, naturally, but here, today, the grip level is quite poor here I would say. It’s quite a smooth surface but today into qualifying the wind direction switched 180 degrees at least and up quite a lot, 20 miles an hour or 20 kilometres an hour winds, so that would have meant that you had a tailwind into turn one which we didn’t have previously. It meant that we had a tailwind into turn five and a few other different corners so what we had practised in P3 and one and two was different once we got to qualifying, which takes a bit of adjusting. So it definitely wasn’t easy. But everyone’s in the same boat.
MV: Yeah, this track… it’s also because I guess not many times it’s been run on, like other tracks we go to there’s a lot of activity so the track just gets used a lot more and around here with all those 90 degree corners and then I think the surface they went for, it’s just… yeah, a tricky combination but it’s the same for everyone at the end of the day, so you just have to deal with it but yeah, with these cars as well, they are so big and so wide that once you lose it, it’s really hard to really catch it if it goes, because of the wide tyres. It’s a bit more exciting, I guess, for the viewers, this year’s spin and stuff but, yeah, it’s an interesting track to set up the car for as well, and then finding the right balance from entry to mid-corner, to go fast.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Max, the turn around from Friday to today is pretty extraordinary in terms of lap times and competitiveness. Did it surprise you at all, and do you think you’ve put yourself in a similar position to the second Silverstone race where circumstances are aligning and you can challenge the Mercedes?
MV: I think first of all Friday was a little bit messy because were trying downforce levels and we never really had a perfect lap, let’s say like that. There were always a few moments and stuff so I knew that we were going to be, let’s say, more competitive than where we were but it’s a surprise to be on the front row, that’s for sure, but I honestly don’t expect it to be like Silverstone. I think we were a little bit more competitive in the long runs there and also the compounds, I don’t think it’s as big an issue as what it was there, so I don’t expect the same to happen but I’m just happy with the improvements we did make overnight. I think even at the beginning of qualifying it looked quite tricky to be P3 but it was more because I think we just didn’t really find a good balance an issue because of the wind change, like Lewis said. It seemed like it was very difficult for me to find rear grip in some corners but in Q3 we made a few changes and it seemed to work a bit better so yeah, I was pleased for that.
End
