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Tag: featured
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Karun Chandhok to return to Le Mans and WEC
File photo of Karun Chandhok at Le mans with Indian flag. Image courtesy Karun Chandhok Chennai, 3 May 2017: Former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok has confirmed that he will participate in this weekend’s 6 Hours of Spa Francorrchamps and next month’s prestigious Le Mans 24 Hourswith the English team Tockwith Motorsport, which is set to make its Le Mans debut in June in the LMP2 class.
Both races are currently part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).Chandhok is thus far the first and only Indian to compete at the Le Mans 24 hour race and the 2017 edition will be his fifth appearance the world‘s biggest endurance racing event. His fellow drivers will be teenage debutant Philip Hanson and Nigel Moore.
Speaking about the deal Karun said “I’m really excited to be going back to Le Mans. It’s one of the biggest races in the world and I feel very privileged to be the only person from my country to have raced there. It’s a race you have to take seriously as it’s a fast and dangerous track but that makes it a great challenge.”
“The team owner Simon Moore called me and was very keen to have me involved. They’ve shown their commitment by investing in a brand new Ligier car and infrastructure which is a clear sign of their intent for the future. They offered me Le Mans but we were very keen to also do something before the big race, so the WEC round at Spa will be a great way to kick off things with the team. It will be good to get behind the wheel after a little time away.” Karun added.
The 6 hour race at Spa in Belgium on the 6th of May will be Chandhok’s first taste of the new LMP2 machinery, and a good chance to gain some experience racing with the team before Le Mans week. Spa is known as one of the ultimate driver’s circuits and Karun has driven at the historic venue in Formula 3, GP2, Formula 1 and in the World Endurance Championship in 2012.
Speaking on the World Championship race Karun said, “Spa is a great yardstick. It’s a track I love, having won there in GP2 and it’s a good race to do for us to gauge ourselves against the competitors in the World Endurance Championship before Le Mans. Doing a 6 hour race is obviously only a quarter of the time we will need to cover when compared to Le Mans but it will give us plenty of very good data before we head to Le Mans.
The 24 hours of Le Mans draws a live audience of 300,000 spectators and forms part of the trio of blue ribband events in motorsports, along with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The race starts at 3pm on Saturday the 17th of June and runs until 3pm on Sunday the 18th. The grid is divided up into four different categories – LMP1, LMP2, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.
The LMP2 class where Tockwith Motorsport are competing is having something of a resurgence and the grid for the class at Le Mans is arguably the most competitive it’s ever been. With 25 cars on the grid, Karun will be racing alongside several drivers that he’s competed against over the years including Bruno Senna, Nico Prost, Nelson Piquet jnr, and Jean Eric Vergne.
Backed by the AVT Group once again, Karun sums up “The grid in LMP2 this year is going to be incredibly strong. There are a lot of experienced teams and drivers and I’m under no illusions of how difficult the task ahead will be as a rookie team heading to Le Mans. I think we have to aim to get in the top 5 and achieving that will be a great result for us this year.”
Karun made a return to the track last weekend by competing in the British Championship for LMP3 cars. Joining his old F3 team T-Sport on their Sportscar debut, Karun and team-mate Steve Tandy finished 3rd and 4th in the two races held at Donington Park. Speaking on the event Karun said “It was a last minute deal – I first drove the car at 10:30 in the morning and a few hours later we were on the podium so that was nice. It was very useful for me to do the race weekend and get warmed up before Spa next weekend.”
eom/Karun Chandhok’s press release
eom/Karun Chandhok release
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Moto GP returns to Europe for the Spanish party: A Michelin view
Rossi file photo by Michelin Jerez (Spain), 2 May 2017: The 2017 Moto GP championship returns from three fly-away races to begin the European leg of the season with the Gran Premio Red Bull de España at Jerez in Spain, according to a Michelin release.
Michelin and the whole MotoGP field has seen a mixture of conditions during the trio of events in Qatar, Argentina and America, so will be hoping for a weekend of more settled weather for the now traditional first race of the year in Europe. Jerez is one of the best attended Grands Prix on the calendar with spectator numbers up to 250,000 known to attend over the three-days. The whole weekend has a true carnival atmosphere with thousands of people also lining the streets of nearby towns such as Jerez de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa Maria to join in the festivities in a region that is renowned for its Sherry-making traditions. With huge crowds expected to fill the grandstands and hills around the Andalusian circuit, the event will certainly have a colourful and electrifying feel.
The 4,423m circuit has a history of producing some memorable racing, this is due to its variable layout, featuring many camber changes, hard-braking zones and fast sweeping curves. The surface also offers very low grip levels, so Michelin will supply tyres to give optimum performance in these conditions, whilst also having the ability to handle the undulating and diverse nature of the track and give the riders the confidence to race at their full potential.
The allocation of tyres that Michelin will supply will feature a soft, medium and hard front slick, which will be joined by the rear MICHELIN Power Slicks that will be available in the soft (symmetrical), medium (asymmetrical design featuring a harder right-hand-side) and hard (symmetrical) compounds, Both the front and rear tyres will be identified by a white band on the tyre sidewall of the softer version, no band on the medium and a yellow band on the harder specification. In the case of any wet weather, the front and rear soft (blue band) and medium (no band) compound MICHELIN Power Rain tyres will be available.
Michelin and the MotoGP field takes to the track on Friday for two Free Practice sessions, followed by another practice the following morning. Qualifying will take place on Saturday afternoon, which will decide the important grid positions for Sunday’s 27-lap race that gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CEST, 13.00hrs BST, 12.00hrs GMT/UTC).
Piero Taramasso – Michelin Motorsport Two-Wheel Manager
“After all the fly-away races it is good to be starting the European leg of the season and travelling to venues that are closer to home, which have with easier logistics. Jerez is one of the tracks that we are targeting for improvements this season. It is a low grip circuit, with many directional changes, as well as being quite narrow. The diversity of the corner layout means that we need to offer a tyre with a balanced character to provide good handling from low speed through to high speed corners and from flat turns to changes in elevation, so this makes it quite technical in all aspects. We have a range of tyres that will give us the sort of progress we are looking to make and then on the Monday at the test we will be supplying some new options, as well as giving the riders some existing alternatives to try out and make comparisons with the tyres we already have in the range. Jerez itself is an amazing event, full of excitable and colourful fans and it’s a race that has given some memorable battles and is certainly a great place to start at in Europe.”
eom/Michelin press release
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Maiden F3 Podium for Jehan in Monza
Jehan Daruvala takes podium in F3 on Sunday. A Rayo Racing Motorsport image Jehan Daruvala celebrates on the podium in Monza. A RR Motorsport image Monza (Italy), 1 May 2017: Sahara Force India Academy racer Jehan Daruvala, earned his maiden podium at the second round of the FIA F3 European Championship.
It is the first time that an Indian was seen on the F3 podium. Earlier in the weekend, Jehan had created history by becoming the first Indian to qualify on pole in the competitive series, considered as one of the important stepping stones to F1.
Jehan had a good start from pole, and entered the crucial first corner ahead of British racer Jake Dennis. Jehan made no mistakes in the first few laps and quickly opened up a gap of over 2 seconds to the chasing pack. Behind Jehan, a bunch of four racers – Dennis, McLaren Junior – Norris, championship leader – Joel Eriksson, and Ferdinand Habsburg were battling hard for second. Numerous changes of position ensued before Norris broke away and slowly started catching Jehan. On lap 15 Norris was right on Jehan’s tail coming around the last corner. The long start finish straight allowed Norris to take advantage of the slipstream from Jehan’s car and overtake him into the first corner.
Jehan stayed with Norris and immediately tried to get his place back, but he wasn’t successful. The Indian teenager continued fighting but had to eventually settle for 2ndand took the chequered flag, just 0.65 seconds behind Norris, to earn his maiden podium in F3. Habsburg claimed 3rd, a further 4.7 seconds behind Jehan.
Qualifying for Race 2 and 3 was held after Race 1. On his quick lap, Jehan unfortunately made a crucial mistake which cost him half a second and he dropped down the order. So close was the entire field that although Jehan was just 0.38 seconds slower than the fastest, he ended up tenth !
Jehan started tenth for race 2 and was soon making his way up the order and found himself in eighth position. He soon caught the experienced Callum Illot and managed to muscle his way past. However, Illot retook the position back from Jehan and he had to settle for eighth. Swedish racer Joel Eriksson won the race.
Race 3 saw Jehan start from eighth, based on his second fastest lap in the second qualifying session. Jehan had a good start and managed to hold position, but a few corners later another racer dived down his inside. Jehan was then pushed wide and deep into the gravel, which dropped him down all the way to 16th. Jehan luckily managed to rejoin, but dirty tyres meant it took him more than a lap to regain race pace which dropped him further away from the cars in front.
Jehan quickly recovered and started making his way up the order around the 5.793km Monza Grand Prix Circuit which is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar. Jehan soon in thirteenth, made an excellent move for twelfth, but the other racer shut the door on Jehan resulting in contact and the other car being launched in the air momentarily, to retire from the race. Jehan fortunately survived but once again lost considerable time to the cars he was chasing. He soon got his rhythm back and reeled off a series of quick laps to catch the cars in front. He overtook one by one eventually crossing the line in ninth and also clocking the second fastest laptime of the race. Callum Illot was the winner ahead of Norris.
“A much better weekend for me in terms of pace. I have been right up there in almost all sessions. Pole position was fantastic and I am also happy with my 2nd place. A mistake on my flying lap in Q2 proved to be very costly. Starting mid grid and overtaking is not easy with all drivers being really quick. However I enjoyed the racing and have also learned a lot. I’m now focusing on the next weekend” said Jehan reflecting on the weekend.
The Sahara Force India Academy racer once again finished all races in the points and earned himself three rookie trophies, besides his 2nd place trophy. He moves up from 8th to 7th in the championship but continues to remain 3rd in the Rookie Championship. Jehan’s next event will be held at the street circuit in Pau, France on 20th and 21st May.
eom/Rayo Racing press release
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Evans loses by less than a second; Neuville, the winner: WRC
Neuville (Left: in pic) wins by less than a second at Rally Argentina. An FIA image Thierry Neuville snatched one of the closest FIA World Rally Championship wins in history at YPF Rally Argentina on Sunday afternoon.
He edged out longtime leader Elfyn Evans by just 0.7sec in a pulsating final speed test when the Welshman clipped a bridge, ending his dreams of a maiden victory. Only two rounds have been decided by a smaller margin in the WRC’s 45-year history.
The Hyundai i20 Coupe driver trailed Evans by 11.5sec heading into the last leg of the four-day dirt road encounter. Brake problems for Evans and a fierce Neuville attack sent the pair into the final 16.32km test at the famous El Condor separated by just 0.6sec.
Both drivers threw caution to the wind on the rough mountain tracks, and early split times showed Evans more than three seconds ahead. But as his grip lessened near the finish, his Ford Fiesta swiped a bridge, handing Neuville a second consecutive win.
“Watching that was the worst time in my life,” said Neuville, after viewing Evans’ run from the finish. “I gave it everything I had but I didn’t have the best tyres because I had been pushing hard for two stages already.”
An emotional Evans, who led by more than a minute yesterday, said: “I’m gutted to lose by such a fine margin after so many issues. I hit a bridge and that was probably the difference. It’s difficult to take now after holding such a big lead, but part of it is my own doing and I need to come back stronger to win in the future.”
Rock-strewn roads took a heavy toll and merely surviving Friday’s opening leg became the aim of many. Ott Tänak’s patient strategy paid off as he steered clear of trouble and thrived on the smoother weekend roads to finish third in another Fiesta, a further 29.2sec back.
Reigning champion Sébastien Ogier made it three M-Sport World Rally Team cars in the top four, and the Frenchman increased his championship lead to 16 points after five of 13 rounds. He was almost a minute adrift of Tänak.
Jari-Matti Latvala was Evans’ closest challenger early on but the Finn slipped back to finish fifth in his Toyota Yaris. Broken power steering completed a torrid weekend for Hayden Paddon, who claimed his maiden win in Argentina 12 months ago. He was sixth.
Juho Hänninen was seventh after lacking engine power for much of the event and Dani Sordo was eighth after a final stage puncture. Mads Østberg and WRC 2 winner Pontus Tidemand completed the leaderboard.
Rally de Portugal hosts round six of the championship in Matosinhos, near Porto, on 18 – 21 May.
eom/FIA press release
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It’s more than 80 races for me, but it is worth the wait: Bottas
DRIVERS
1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Eddie Jordan)
Valtteri, tell us, what does it feel like, your first ever win in grand prix racing?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Amazing. It took quite a while, more than 80 races for me, but definitely worth the wait, worth the learning curve. This strange opportunity came to me in the winter to join this team and they made it possible today, so I really want to thank to the team, without them it wouldn’t be possible, so feels amazing.
It’s like a fairy tale isn’t it? Four or five months ago you were going to drive with Williams, a particularly good team, but you got the chance to come to this team – a winning, world champion team – and you’re one the top [of the] podium at the moment.
VB: yeah, we’ve had a tricky beginning of the year, you know the fight with Ferrari was again very close. We managed to be on top, but we need to keep pushing, we need to keep finishing with both cars all the time one and two, that’s the plan. But just very, very happy now.
Just going to interject here for a second because we see Toto down there and he of little faith gave you a one-year contract. I’ve got a pen Toto, we need a three-year extension on that minimum with proper money, is that OK? Coming back to you… where’s he gone. [Sebastian], Felipe Massa, tell me about him, what happened on that last lap?
Sebastian VETTEL: I obviously tried everything to catch Valtteri and maybe I thought there might be some opportunity on the back straight. I was sure [Felipe] would lift around Turn 3, it’s flat out, and let me be, so I wouldn’t lose much time, but then I think I just wasn’t sure what he was going to do and I ended up losing a bit more than I was hoping for. But it doesn’t matter. This is the man of the race today, big congrats to Valtteri, it’s his first grand prix win, so it’s his day.
Very well said. I have to ask you, your strategy: you ran much deeper into the race on those tyres and it looked like it was paying off.
SV: Not really, we didn’t come out ahead. Yeah, we had fresher tyres in the end. Obviously there was a gap to Kimi behind and we just decided to try and extend as much as possible to hope for maybe Valtteri running into trouble with traffic, us having a clear track. That was the plan. So I think we tried everything, but obviously we lost the race at the start, which was a bit of a shame. I had a good start but…
I was going to ask about that. You were a bit unlucky, both of you, on the front row of the grid but you have the longest run to the first corner but you got out-dragged?
SV: Yeah, that’s basically it. I think our start was basically a match with Valtteri, maybe he gained a bit of momentum in the beginning but then obviously he had a massive tow. I defended the inside but by the time we approached braking he was already in front and able to shut the door on me, so well done, and that’s where he won the race. And then he did a superb first stint, I couldn’t stay with him, he was very, very quick all; race, no mistakes and as I said – man of the race.
Ladies and gentlemen, year on year Kimi has been voted the most popular driver in Formula One and you have your fans here.
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I’m very happy that I have here support but whatever country they come from I’m very happy to have the. Unfortunately today we could only give third place but we try next time more so.
We have to talk about the podium and the lock-out on the front row. We weren’t sure how it would wind up and today both of you are on the podium. It shows a great sign for the future of this season and the championship and the excitement of it?
KR: Yeah, I think I have had a little bit of a rough start to the season. Far from ideal but this weekend for sure has been a step forward. We have been more happy with how things have been running but we still only finished third. We lost out at the start and then not a lot happened after that. We keep trying and keep improving and I’m sure we’ll get there, but it’s all about… all the small details have to be exactly there and then you will get the first place. The four or five of us are very close most of the time, so it’s the small differences that make a big difference in the end.
Valtteri, special day for you as we have already said. You also got driver of the day; that’s another little celebration you didn’t know about. Got to talk to you about that start: [Sebastian] said you more or less but you couldn’t have, you absolutely out-dragged both of them.
VB: Yeah, I mean, I think here normally starting from the second row is not too bad. I had a good start, if anything maybe slightly better than the guys in front. Obviously slipstreaming managed to get the inside for Turn 1. That was OK, but I’m a little bit more happy about the safety car restart actually.
He has big shoulders, he has a lot to live up to because he’s got Kimi, Keke Rosberg and of course Mika [Häkkinen], all world champion Finns. Are you going to be the next world champion Finn?
VB: For me that’s the only goal in my career, so we will keep pushing for that.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Valtteri, has the reality of what you’ve just achieved sunk in?
VB: No. It’s going to take a while. I have to say, normally I’m not that emotional but hearing the Finnish national anthem is something quite special for me – felt good. But it is a little bit surreal: first win, and hopefully first of many. It was definitely one of my best races, personally, ever. It’s a good feeling and just, yeah, happy.
Q: How was the pressure towards the end of the race when you had Sebastian gaining on you and you were hitting traffic?
VB: It was OK. Just the main thing was with the lapped cars and trying to get past those and with these new cars we definitely lose more downforce, already two seconds, three seconds behind, so it was tricky to get close and pass them without losing time. That was the main thing at the end and I wasn’t quite happy for a few occasions. I also had one lock-up, maybe 10 or 15 laps to go, which hurt a little bit the pace. Other than that it was OK. I did ask for a bit more radio silence from the guys on the pit wall, just for me to get on it and focus for it and feel a bit more like home. Quite nice and quiet and that helped.
Q: How much confidence do you think this victory will give you going forward?
VB: I think a lot. I’ve always know I could do good results if everything goes right. I always trust in my ability but it’s nice to get confirmation that the results are possible, that anything is possible, so definitely good to continue from here.
Q: Sebastian, in reality it all came down to the start, didn’t it? How was your getaway from pole position?
SV: I thought it was OK. [To VB] Was it bad, my getaway?
VB: I had a little bit better one…
SV: Well, later on, yes. No, I thought there was a bit in the very beginning where I could have been a bit more aggressive but it was a bit hard to tell because for the formation lap, for some reason… I have the time of day in the car and it was two o’clock and the lights didn’t go off. So I was ready to go. I don’t know why there was a delay. Maybe whoever’s responsible to turn the lights off, didn’t turn the lights off! What I mean by that is that I didn’t get a proper read of how the grip was at the grid, so I think I ended up maybe a bit too conservative. Still, I had a good start. I had a look in the mirror, mine was I think better than Kimi’s. I saw Valtteri coming and I thought ‘OK, it will be close’ but it felt like I had a tent dragged behind me and he was gaining a lot. He was able even before we hit the braking to come back and shut the door. So I did well but nothing I could have done, I had the outside line but nowhere to do so in reality that’s part of where we lost the race. And then the first stint: we were just not quick enough to stay with him. In the end of the day we can talk about my race but today is Valtteri’s day. He drove a fantastic race, he had incredible pace. Also, if you look all weekend where he’s been compared to his team-mate, so, y’know, he’s done a superb job, it’s his day and he deserves to win today because he drove better than all the rest of us. So… it’s not easy to swallow. I would have loved, obviously, to come back but that’s the way it was today. Well done.
VB: Thanks.
Q: Kimi, coming to you, similar problems to Sebastian at the start? Just talk us through your getaway.
KR: I had a pretty poor start, comparing even to Seb. Got wheelspin straight away and then I really thought I was going to lose a lot more but then luckily, both of these cars went side-by-side and I started to get the tow and I managed to stay ahead of Lewis in the end. But, I don’t know what happened. It was slippery and lost a lot, so, not ideal. If you look last year it’s all about starts, and if you lose a place in those, it’s going to be a boring race. Not a lot happened after that. Mercedes, Valtteri was a bit too fast but then we were kind of holding our positions but nothing really happened the whole race, so, yeah, all about the start. Happy for Valtteri. People always think that we have something against each other because we have come close to each other and into each other a few times but no, I’m very happy for him to win. It doesn’t mean that I’m not happy if Seb wins. It’s good for him and things will turn out to be for sure good for him. It’s going to be close between both of the Ferrari and both of the Mercedes drivers this year, so it will be exciting – but unfortunately a lot of times it will depend of what happens in a first lap. That’s how it’s going to play out. Hopefully it goes better. I’m more happy this weekend but obviously not happy to be third but this is how it goes sometimes.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) To both Ferrari drivers: do you think if you had jumped in front of Valtteri and Lewis do you think you could have kept the leadership of the race considering the pace of Bottas with the ultrasoft – if you were surprised with that. And also, for you Kimi, were you surprised that Bottas was in front of you?
KR: At what point?
During the race you said on the radio that you were surprised that Bottas was in front of you.
KR: Yes, because I was not sure which one it was in the front of the race. I was asking – I was not sure because it was a bit confusing for me after the pitstops. Obviously I realised straight after. For me it made no difference: there was one Mercedes in front of us. I didn’t ask before.
And Sebastian, had you got the jump on Valtteri and made it to Turn One first, are you confident you could have stayed ahead?
SV: Well, it’s difficult to pass, let’s put it that way. I think it would have been difficult for Valtteri to put a lot of pressure on, even though I would say he had superior pace in the first stint. I think if you look at the stint I was struggling in the beginning, then sort of froze the gap and then was able to close. Now, if Valtteri’s closer to us, let’s say if we were in the lead, then obviously I don’t know the gaps behind, whether they have changed their strategy or not – but didn’t turn out to be that way but for sure, if we had track position then I think we had the pace also to keep it. At the end I think we were quicker on the supersoft but we were behind so, yeah. Also I was on fresher tyres so it’s not entirely fair. Overall he was a bit quicker in the first stint. For the race overall it was a good match, so yeah, the first lap mattered. As I said, he executed the start well, which obviously this year is crucial. It was in our hands so he did a good job and then he drove a very good first stint which didn’t give us the opportunity to put him under pressure and do something around the stop because we were simply too far away.
Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) Question for Valtteri Bottas. Valtteri, I have a theory about your win, please tell me am I right or not. I think that you won because you were very angry about all of these questions what it’s like to be number two in the team and so on. You were so angry you won and now you are number one, yes?
VB: I don’t think that was the reason for the success this weekend! Good theory but I don’t think it’s right. It really doesn’t matter in the car if you’re angry or not. Anyway you are doing your best. When I drive there is not much emotion in there. I’m just trying to get everything right and get every lap, every corner perfectly. All the questions, all the speculation, number two driver and so on, it doesn’t get into me. It doesn’t matter.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian. Now you turn to the European leg of the Championship with 13 points of advantage on Lewis. How much is it in accordance with your dreams and how much is it a surprise?
SV: I don’t know if I have an answer for you. We had a good run up in Barcelona at the tests, so looking forwards to Barcelona, the car felt good. I think we’ve improved it from early March to now – but yeah, I don’t need to think about the Championship because you’re kind enough to remind us where we are. I think we’ve had a very good start. It would be wrong to sit here and say that’s what we expected – but we’re here to win, we’re here to do our best. If we look back I think we have more or less extracted the maximum. So very happy with where we are as a team – but we can still learn and we can still improve and I think that’s the way we go forward. Nothing is for granted, Barcelona is just another race and we have a lot of races to go this year. But before that we have two weeks’ time to look at what we have done so far and improve. Today I think the speed in general was there, the balance dropped away from me a little bit in the first stint. I struggled with the fronts and couldn’t attack as much as I was hoping for and as much as I was probably able to in qualifying. So things that we could have done better but the race is done today so yeah, I’m generally looking forwards: we have a strong car, a strong team, the spirit is good, so lots of positives.
Q: (Tony Dodgins – Channel 4) Valtteri, I think in Australia and last summer you struggled in the first stint on the softer compound. Today, Sebastian said he couldn’t stay with you. Have you made progress on that generally or is it surface specific here and did that surprise you?
VC: Well, I think it was very different to Bahrain, for example, with the temperatures and the surface of the tarmac and the track layout, so I can’t say we’ve fixed some of the issues we had in the last race but I think we did a better job here in general, to get most out of ever being in these conditions on this track. I think from Friday until Saturday, Sunday we made good progress, we managed to optimise everything and that made the win possible today. We were a little bit afraid of struggling at the beginning of the stints but that didn’t really seem to be the case and also the tyre life was good compared to Ferrari so the guys did a very good job this weekend.
Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) Two questions for Valtteri: you talked about the start but the restart was even better because you were more than one second ahead of Sebastian as you crossed the line, so talk us through that and just before your pit stop you were losing a lot of time behind backmarkers. Were you frustrated there or did you know that you needed those extra laps because the pace on the harder tyre was not so good?
VB: The restart was very good and kind of a surprise actually by the gap but that was good. Obviously it worked. You have few opportunities where you start going. I think the main thing is not to catch the safety car before the safety car line but that obviously worked, so that was good. Yeah, the back markers, getting through the traffic, that was the main worry for me and especially at the end of the race, that was losing more time with these cars, following… already when you’re within two, three seconds and you start to lose some lap time, especially in the mid-sector in those medium speed corners so that was quite tricky and I wasn’t quite happy at times but I always knew that Seb and Kimi behind would have the same problem as I had with the guys so in the end it was OK.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Valtteri and Sebastian, is there any technical explanation about what happened before turn two and the overtaking? Was it just a question of the slipstream or was there some technical explanation?
SV: I didn’t see much. You had a better view, I guess.
VB: Yes, so from my side I felt like I had a good start, maybe initially slightly better than Seb but very close I think, and obviously here the slipstreaming is the main thing. It’s nearly one kilometre into turn one. If you can get a tow, you can carry the speed and I managed to do it, even though I was on the outside I managed to get in front of Seb and close the door and that was it really.
SV: The straight was a bit too long so maybe we can move the grid further up. For me there was not much I could do. I think it was a drag race. Obviously I didn’t have a tow. There was a bit of headwind as well, the wind was blowing the wrong way so it’s another 10/15kph off, the speed that you lose with the wind blowing against you rather than from behind. I guess it helped him but it didn’t help me today.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) For sure you don’t have a crystal ball but next race most of the teams will present very different cars and these changes have been conceived using all the knowledge gained in the first four races of the season with these new regulations. What do project for the next phase of the season with all these cars? Do you believe it’s possible there can be some dramatic changes to what we have been seeing until now?
VB: I think it’s just going to get quicker, every car is going to get a lot better through the season and always when there’s a big rule change and the progress is bigger, the steps are bigger, the performance… more lap time gained during the year. I think it’s going to be the same for each team and I think the top teams with more resources can obviously improve more. Hopefully we can improve more but I don’t think there will be anything dramatic; just the cars are going to be quicker, more downforce really and better tyre understanding with the tracks and all of the compounds.
SV: Well, I was just thinking whether I should buy a crystal ball. So many times we get questions up here, looking into the future. You said we don’t have one, which is right, which is why I was thinking maybe I should get one. I think it will be same as everything else. It will be a surprise, I think it will be a very close race between Mercedes and us, I hope, and I also hope that Red Bull find some pace. There’s a lot of rumours around. They are a strong team, they know how to build a quick car so I expect it’s a question of when rather than if but the sooner, the more exciting it will be but for us. I’m confident that we have the right people, the right tools on board and we will make progress. It obviously depends on what others are doing.
KR: We’ll see what happens in two weeks at the next race. There’s always a lot of talk because it’s the first real European round. Let’s wait and see.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Valtteri, you spoke on the podium about Nico Rosberg, the chance his retirement gave you for the possible victory. Have you planned to go and see Nico when you are back in Monaco or will you call him tonight?
VB: I didn’t actually speak about Nico. Obviously I respect him as a driver and World Champion and everything but I just said there was this strange opportunity for me that happened in the winter that made this possible. You never know in life what’s going to happen and it was a great opportunity. I wasn’t planning on calling him really. I think I’m going to call my wife first and then see who I’m going to call afterwards.
eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference
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Bottas takes career’s first win: Russian GP
Bottas celebrates after winning the Sochi GP on Sunday. An FIA image Sochi, 30 April 2017: Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas withstood sustained late-race pressure from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to take his first Formula One victory after rising from third on the grid to take the lead at the race start.
When the lights went out at the start, Bottas pounced, with the Finn getting a tow on the long run to the first corner to power around the outside of Räikkönen and Vettel to claim the lead.
Through the first stint, Bottas built a slim advantage but after the drivers’ single stop for supersoft tyres Vettel began to close in and over the final 10 laps exerted heavy pressure on the Mercedes drivers, narrowing a five-second gap to less than a single second by the final two laps. Bottas held on though to take his maiden grand prix win ahead of Vettel and Räikkönen. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth.
“It took quite a while, more than 80 races but it was worth the wait, worth the learning curve,” said Bottas. “This strange opportunity came to me during the winter to join [Mercedes] and I really want to thank them. Without them this would not have been possible.”
Prior to the start, Fernando Alonso was ruled out of the race on the formation lap. the Spaniard complained of a charge issues and though a resets were attempted he was forced to pull over and stop at the pit lane entrance.
When the race eventually got going Bottas roared past and into the lead ahead of the two Ferraris. Behind them Hamilton was trying to hold fourth from Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo. The pair banged wheels and Ricciardo was sent slightly wide. That allowed Max Verstappen to slip past his team-mate down the inside and also gave Williams’ Felipe Massa the opportunity to pass the Australian.
Further back, Lance Stroll spun his Williams and dropped down the order but at the rear of the field there was a more dramatic incident as Renault’s Jolyon Palmer collided with Haas’ Romain Grosjean. The Safety Car came out and the field bunch behind Bottas, Vettel and Räikkönen.
Ricciardo, meanwhile, was struggling in P7. He began to slow, reporting that he had a brake fire on the rear right. He was told to pit for checks but when he did the issue was deemed terminal and the Red Bull man was forced to retire from the race.
At the front, Bottas was beginning to exert a degree of control and by lap 13 the Finn has eked out a gap of 3.7s to Vettel, with the German a further 3.7s in front of Räikkönen. Hamilton was two seconds behind the Finn, while Verstappen was almost nine seconds further back in fifth place.
As the race headed for the 20 lap mark Hamilton’s engineer began to express concern about the car’s temperatures and the Briton was soon informed that the temperatures were at the limit. The Briton pushed on, however, and soon had 16.0s in hand over fifth-placed Verstappen. As the gap widened he asked to be kept informed about the temperature issue. At the front Bottas was no running five seconds clear of Vettel, with Räikkönen now almost 11 seconds off the lead.
The first pit stops occurred on lap 22, with Massa pitting from seventh for supersofts and rejoining in P10. Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, as well as McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, who also served a five-second penalty for an earlier track limits infringement and Force India’s Esteban Ocon, who pitted on lap 26.
Race leader Bottas was the first of the front runners to pit, on lap 27, with the Finn taking on supersoft tyres. Räikkönen, complaining that his rears were gone, was the next in on lap 29, joined by Verstappen, while Hamilton made his stop for the red-banded Pirellis on lap 30.
Vettel, though, soldiered on and on lap 32, the German’s race engineer Ricardo Adami, radioed through to tell his driver “we are staying out, we are staying out, this is good”.
Vettel extended his lead over BOT to 20.6s before his pit stop on lap 34 but despite the good work it wasn’t enough to overhaul the Finn and when the Ferrari rejoined he was 4.7s behind the Mercedes driver.
Vettel began to close the gap however and when Bottas locked up at Turn 13 on lap 39, the gap narrowed to 3.0s with Vettel lapping eight tenths quicker than the leader. Three laps later it was down to 1.5s.
Bottas, though, was in control and as they weaved their way through traffic, the Finn edged ahead slightly. The gap ebbed and flowed then, but only ever by tenths of a second and after a final push over the last seven laps Bottas eventually crossed the line to take his first career F1 victory, scored in his 81st grand prix start. Vettel’s second place means the German heads to the next round in Spain with a 13-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Hamilton who finished fourth behind Räikkönen. Vettel now has 86 points to Hamilton’s 73. Bottas’s first win leaves him third in the standings on 63 points, 14 clear of Räikkönen.
In the Constructors’ standings, the win and fourth place for Mercedes puts them at the head of the title race, though the defending champions have just a single point in hand over Ferrari.
2017 Russian Grand Prix – Race
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1h28m08.743s
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 0.617s
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 11.000s
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 36.320s
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:00.416s
6 Sergio Perez Force India 1:26.788s
7 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:35.004s
8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:36.188s
9 Felipe Massa Williams 1 Lap
10 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1 Lap
11 Lance Stroll Williams 1 Lap
12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1 Lap
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 Lap
14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1 Lap
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1 Lap
16 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 2 Laps
– Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Brakes
– Romain Grosjean Haas Collision
– Fernando Alonso McLaren Not started
– Jolyon Palmer Renault Collisioneom/FIA press release
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Gill leads 1-2 finish for MRF Tyres in New Zealand
Whangarei (New Zealand), 30 April 2017: India’s Gaurav Gill of Team MRF Tyres made the most of the misfortune to overnight leader and team-mate Ole Christian Veiby and turned back a 33-second deficit to win the International Rally of Whangarei, the first round of FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, here on Sunday.
Veiby (co-driver Stig Rune Skjærmoen), who eventually finished second behind Gill, led by 23 seconds at the half-way mark today after first loop of three Special Stages, but suffered brake failure on his Skoda Fabia R5 in the very first Stage after service which cost him one minute, 22.6 seconds.
The 20-year old Norwegian was then doc
Gaurav Gill on way to his APRC victory on Sunday. Image by Anand Philar ked a penalty of one minute, 30 seconds for reporting nine minutes late to the start of the next Stage which effectively ruined his chances of scoring a win in his maiden APRC appearance.
Reigning champion Gill (co-driver Stephane Prevot), also in a Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5, seized the chance and cruised home sparing two minutes, 02.8 seconds to Veiby. In the process, Gill notched his third New Zealand crown and seventh APRC win in a row, following his clean sweep of six last year when he took his second championship title.
Delhi-based Gill was obviously elated at his success, though he admitted that he would have enjoyed the win much more had Veiby not suffered brake failure.
“Obviously, I am delighted by today’s victory, but it would have been sweeter had OC (Veiby) stayed in the fight till the end, but his car had some issues. Anyway, that is the nature of motorsport. Importantly, I showed that I was on pace with a WRC-2 driver that OC is and for me, personally, it was a statement that I have the speed to compete at the highest level.
“The conditions were much better today and like I said last night, I love a challenge which brings out the best in me. Although it rained a bit today, last night’s showers had washed away much of the gravel. I used tyres with different grooving which again helped me to up my pace after we had sorted out the damper issue overnight that had cost me time yesterday.
“It is a good start to the new APRC season. I can say that becoming a champion is much easier than staying as one! I now look forward to the next round in Canberra, Australia, in a month’s time,” signed off Gill.
Veiby could barely hide his disappointment. “Like I said yesterday, though I was leading by 33 seconds, anything could happen. After service at the end of three Stages today, there was a hole in the brake tube in the rear and I lost lot of fluid, leading to brakes failure. It cost me a lot of time and I couldn’t really make up the deficit over the last two Stages.
“Anyway, I take a few positives from my debut run in APRC. I have learnt a bit more about driving on gravel surface and hopefully, I can perform better in Canberra next month.
Finishing third in the APRC category was Sweden’s Robert Blomberg (co-driver Lars Andersson) of Mpart Sport in a Mitsubishi Mirage, some 17 minutes behind Gill.
Provisional classification (after Leg-2):
APRC: 1. Gaurav Gill / Stephane Prevot (Team MRF Tyres, Skoda Fabia R5) (02hrs, 35mins, 06.8secs); 2. Ole Christian Veiby / Stig Rune Skjærmoen (Team MRF Tyres, Skoda Fabia R5) (02:37:09.6); 3. Roberter Blomberg / Lars Andersson (Mpart Sport, Mitsubishi Mirage) (02:52:52.3).
eom/AP Media Communication release
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M-Sport’s Evans leads the Rally Argentina: WRC
Evans in action. M-Sport image M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt continue to lead Rally Argentina behind the wheel of their Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta WRC. With less than 30 seconds separating the top-three in the overall standings, the stage is set for an incredible final-day showdown.
With Ott Tänak in a fine third place, M-Sport are on course for a double podium and have all three manufacturer-points registered drivers in the overall top-four with Sébastien Ogier just behind in fourth.
Proving a force to be reckoned with, the Fiesta has claimed 10 out of a possible 15 stage victories and the team have no intentions of closing their tally just yet.
With just one day of competition left to contest, the team have left no stone unturned this evening – determined to give Evans the best possible chance of securing a maiden FIA World Rally Championship victory.
Team Principal, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said:
“Elfyn has had a difficult afternoon, so there is only one plan for tomorrow and that will be to push for the victory. He’s put in a fantastic performance and led for two full days so he’s not going to throw it away without a fight.
“We know how good Thierry is and we know that he’ll be pushing tomorrow, but I think Elfyn has developed so much on this rally. When everything has been working well his speed has been untouchable and there’s nothing like that to give a driver confidence.
“As we’ve seen in previous years, anything can happen on the final day in Argentina. But we’re in a strong position. With Ott in third and Sébastien in fourth, we have a good reserve for the manufacturers’ championship so Elfyn can give it everything tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans rally leaders after Stage 15
Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt continue to lead Rally Argentina but will have to deliver the drive of their lives through tomorrow’s final stages – their lead slashed to just 11.5 seconds.
The day started well for the Brits who reminded their rivals of their impressive speed by posting the fastest time through the opening stage (SS11).
A couple of punctures through the morning’s two remaining speed tests may have cost the pairing a handful of seconds, but their advantage remained intact at 44.1 seconds come the midday service break. As the crews embarked on the afternoon stages however, the Welshman’s lead started to shrink.
Suffering a spin and struggling with the rear of his DMACK-shod Ford Fiesta WRC, Evans may have lost time but maintained his advantage.
With three exceptionally challenging stages left to contest anything can happen. When comfortable behind the wheel, the Welshman has been untouchable this weekend and one thing is for sure – Elfyn Evans is hungry for victory.
Stage performances:
SS10: 1st
SS11: 6th (+6.2)
SS12: 8th (+14.0)
SS13: 4th (+3.2)
SS14: 6th (+15.1)
SS15: 6th (+18.9)eom/M-Sport Ford Fiesta press release
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Vishwadev performs well in Race 1: Malaysia Superbikes Championship
Udipta Kumar Rath. Image by Srinivasa Krishnan Sepang (Kuala Lumpur), 29 April 2017: Former Indian Group D champion, Vishwadev Muraleedharan had a good outing at Sepang International Circuit here on Saturday in the second round of the Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship 2017. He was promoted to fourth place in the revised official result for the first race with a
Vishwadev Muralidharan, astried a Kawasaki 250, on way to 4th place in the Open 250 category in the Malaysia Superbikes Championship at Sepang on Saturday. Photo By Srinivasa Krishnan time of 21:35.855. Vishwadev’s teammate Md Jazil Juraimi of Malaysia won the race in 21:18.758.
Vishwadev, the 25-year-old MBA graduate from Coimbatore promoted by Lod Racing in India, is taking part in the Open 250 Category for the second year and there are three other Indian riders in the fray in different categories. Vishwadev, who finished 4th twice last year, for his best placing in the Malaysian Super Bikes Championship in 2016, has qualified in 5th today and completed the race in sixth place astride a Kawasaki 250 with Chia PJ Kawasaki team. However, a penalty on the riders who finished in P2 and P3, pushed the ace Indian rider into a creditable fourth place. The second race will be held on Sunday. “I have not performed up to my satisfaction today and I look forward to better racing on Sunday,” said Vishwadev. Dinesh Kumar Devadoss of RACR finished 7th with a time of 21:44.241 also on a Kawasaki 250.
Another young Orissa lad, Udipta Kumar Rath, had a mixed day as he survived a couple of mistakes and difficult handling of the bike to qualify 11th. But he did make up and switched up a bit in the race conditions to finish 9th in his class and 14th overall in the 12-lap race of the Supersport A class after starting from 20th on the grid. Riding on a completely new layout, the Jyote Group and Motoziel Retail, is on a new Suzuki Gixxer600 bike. The Indian did well to complete the race without any further hiccups as in the qualies. “I have tried to work-out the faults and have experimented today. This will put me in a better frame for the Sunday’s race. I am looking forward for a better performance,” said the ARD Performance Motorsports team rider.
Rajini Krishnan K is taking part in the Superbike A class for Chia PJ Kawasaki team in a ZX10R.
The final races will be on Sunday.
eom/David
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As always, tomorrow is the day that counts: Bottas
Vettel poses with teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Valteri Bottas (left) after taking pole on Saturday in Sochi. An FIA image DRIVERS
1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
TV UNILATERAL
Q: Sebastian, it was an incredibly tight battle at the front and a last-minute, do-or-die effort from you seemed to make the difference. Talk us through the session.
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I had a good start to the session, to qualifying this afternoon. I was feeling reasonably comfortable. But then I think in Q2 I lost a little bit the rhythm, so, my final run in Q2 which I thought would just give me enough of an idea for Q3 for the final segment, would put me in place, and it went wrong. I locked up, lost a bit the rhythm and then in Q3 the first run was not really tidy so I left it to the end and, yeah, got a good lap it. It proved I think in the last sector, I think I made up some time compared to my lap before. I knew it would be tight and I knew I would be the first one across the line and by going quicker than what I saw on the screen before than Kimi I knew, for now, I’m ahead, but then I immediately and asked about everybody else, “tell me about the others”. My race engineer Ricardo told me “they are closing the lap, they are closing the lap”. I said: “yeah, let me know, let me know, how are the sectors, how are the split times?” The first one I got was Valtteri who didn’t manage to improve and then when I got the message that we got it, I was over the moon. So yeah, a big thank you to the team, I think the car was phenomenal this afternoon. It’s really a pleasure to take a seat and go around with low fuel and just try and push it to the limit. If you have a rhythm here it feels fantastic, so glad I got it back and big thanks to the team. It’s a team effort and it’s a great result to have both cars on the front row. But it’s only part of the job, the main job is obviously tomorrow but for now it’s an important step. We managed to improve a little bit. Maybe the circuit came our way as well but it’s a very good result and I’m sure everybody is very happy and very proud so we’ll enjoy that but in a couple of hours we’ll start focusing on the race
Q: Many congratulations. Coming to you Kimi, your second place gives Ferrari it’s first front row lock-out since the French Grand Prix in 2008. You were so close to Sebastian. How frustrated are you to be on pole?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Obviously the aim is to be on the front. The feeling has been more better this weekend and now we just got some traffic on the pout lap on the last set and couldn’t really make the tyres work as well as the first run and it was a bit more tricky. It was thereabouts and then I just got it back in the last corner but it didn’t pay off. I’m happier than previous qualifyings but obviously I think we had all the tools to be in the front today but a one-two for the team is not bad.
Q:Thank you Kimi. Valtteri, this is the first time this year that a Mercedes hasn’t started from pole position. Quite simply, how good is the Mercedes relative to the Ferrari here in Russia?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I think we can clearly see from the result that Ferrari was quicker today. We were close in the end but not quite enough. To be honest all weekend they have had the upper hand and they have been able to extract much mire, especially from the ultrasoft tyre, and that’s where we really struggled yesterday. We made improvements for today but obviously not quite enough. Still, good team effort to get very close and we’re on the second row. As always, tomorrow is the day that really counts and I think a second-row start is that much of a bad thing – it’s a pretty long run into Turn One.
Q: Thanks. Coming back to you Sebastian: is Ferrari back?
SV: From where? I think if you look at the first three races then I think we had a good start to the season. Obviously in qualifying Mercedes has been very, very strong. As I touched on, maybe the track, maybe how we handled the tyres, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter in the end; we are in front which is a good thing. As I said, it’s a great achievement. We managed to improve the car a little bit for this race. It will be very close tomorrow, especially over a long run. Valtteri had good pace yesterday. We’ll see. But as I said, for now we’re full of joy. We’re very happy that we’re back – at least if you talk about the front row for Saturday and obviously we’ll try and take the momentum into the race tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian, how important is it to have your team-mate alongside you on the front row tomorrow?
SV: Well, if I could choose I would put Kimi alongside and I think he would say the same. But I think for the team it’s a great day today. Mercedes has been very, very dominant the last years in qualifying, so it’s good to get there, get closer. It was again very close with Valtteri. I don’t know his last lap but the Q2 lap and his first lap in Q3 was very, very strong. I think it’s been a mega qualifying. The car was really nice to drive and it’s a track when the car comes alive it’s really pleasant.
Q: Are you surprised to be on pole?
SV: Yes and no. I was eyeing… you are always eyeing for pole when you go into qualifying. I think I was eyeing also the last couple of events but I had to learn harshly that in Q3 we weren’t quite ready, so today I don’t think I ever looked at it and said: “OK, today we can do it.” I knew that we can do well, and I knew the car was good, but I didn’t know what they might be able to find for the last part of qualifying, so yeah, to sum it up I knew we were strong, I knew we can do it, but I didn’t know how strong in relation to them.
Q: Kimi, different strategies for Ferrari and Mercedes during that session, you guys going out on the supersoft tyres at the start of Q1. Just talk us through how the whole qualifying session played out.
KR: It played out as we planned it. We did what we planned to do and obviously the end result turned out to be pretty OK for the team. We’ve seen often people run different tyres in the first qualifying. Doesn’t really matter which tyres you run most of the time. That’s what we chose to do and then just go from there.
Q: How’s the race pace of the Ferrari?
KR: I think it was good yesterday but obviously tomorrow is the race and we have to see. I’m sure it’s going to be a close fight and we have to make a good job out of it, so let’s see.
Q: Valtteri, coming to you, are you surprised by the pace of the Ferrari this weekend?
VB: I think definitely, yeah. Me personally and as a team, coming into this weekend probably we were thinking, y’know, it’s going to be better than Bahrain but so far it’s turned out to be not so good and Ferrari seems to be doing something better. For sure it’s disappointing for us to be… not to be on the pole. I mean we did a good improvement from yesterday to today I think but it wasn’t quite enough and we definitely have some work to do but tomorrow is a different story. It’s going to be a long race and, again, difficult to predict but I think it’s going to be close.
Q: Is there one specific problem with the car or is it just simply that the Ferrari is faster?
VB: You know, I think before the qualifying, the only problems we really had was extracting the most out of the ultrasoft tyre. Like I said, I think we mad eit better but I don’t know if it’s because of the tyres or because of the car. For sure they have a very good car and we are struggling to compete with them but we can. It’s a long season ahead and tomorrow is another day, so we are going to do everything we can as a team to be in front of them.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) To Sebastian and to Kimi, you already said about that in the Q2, in the first exit you didn’t get the maximum out of the car. From the outside we had the impression that both of you didn’t reach the limit, maybe thinking of the start of the race, using that tyre for the start of the race, not using the limit of the tyre, not going to the limit of the tyre. Is there any meaning in that?
SV: Not really. I think, yeah, obviously we evaluated two different things Q2, we did one run with only one lap and another run with two laps and I wanted to push the limit on the first one and on the second one, as I said, I was feeling quite well up to the point where I locked the front and went straight into Turn 13. So… yeah, the plan was to go full steam ahead and see how fast we can go. Also because Valtteri had put in a very strong lap already in Q2.
Kimi, anything to add?
KR: No.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) I have a question for Sebastian and Kimi. Sebastian, do you feel that you are in the same condition you were in at Red Bull during their dominant era. Is Ferrari starting a new dominant era like Red Bull when you were there. And for Kimi, if you think this Ferrari seems very close to the Ferrari in that fantastic years 2007-2008.
KR: They’re all different cars. There’s no way that we can compare. It’s ten years ago so different rules, different tyres, different a lot of things. So, maybe we have a good package. Estimating how does it feel comparing to the old cars… doesn’t really matter how that plays out as long as we can be faster against the cars that we are racing now.
SV: I think I’d agree with Kimi. It’s difficult to compare those kinds of things – but I don’t like the word ‘dominant’. I think you work hard, you go fast and then you deserve to do well. I think we’ve been working very hard, last year as well, we didn’t go so fast, this year we go a bit faster but it’s only a couple of races in. I think at the moment it’s more important to enjoy the fact that we are doing well. The spirit is good, that’s what we want to keep up. Then, for the remainder of the year… not really interested at this point.
Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) Question for both Ferrari drivers about team orders. Seb, if tomorrow will be in front of you, will you ask the team to pass, and Kimi, will you let Seb pass you without fighting?
SV: I think it’s simple. If I’m in front then he wants to pass me, if he’s in front I want to pass him. I don’t think it makes any sense to ask for help from outside. We know that we’re free to race and that’s what I believe and I know we’re both here to do. Today obviously was very close, I expect it to be very close tomorrow and we see how the race goes.
Kimi?
KR: No more to say about it. We know what we do and we race for Ferrari and that’s it.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Sebastian, did you expect to need more time to see the car competitive for the pole position? Or it’s the proper time so you achieve this result at the proper time?
SV: Well, let’s put it this way, coming here I think on paper Mercedes looks very strong. I think they are very strong, they looked very strong yesterday. As Valtteri touched on, maybe they weren’t completely comfortable with the tyre treatment, whatever, getting up to temperature. Makes a big difference around here, whether you have the confidence or not. On our side, we focussed on what we had to do. I think we had a plan, we executed it well, I believe and had a good feeling for the car and obviously it’s a great reward to have both cars in the front row. Now, we’re not here to look at what other people are doing: we’re here to look after ourselves but I’m sure tomorrow it will be tight with Mercedes. But, as I’ve said many times, I’m happy we got the result today and for the team obviously it’s fantastic.
Q: ( Jelena Leppanen – Ilta-Sanomat) Question to Kimi, you said already yesterday that you’re pretty happy with how the car works out. In which way does it feel better compared to the previous races?
KR: It’s always specific for each circuit so you cannot really compare how it is in one place – because what you need in other circuits might be a completely different story. Overall it’s just been more easy to… normal to drive. I think we started well, in the correct areas, so it’s always more easy to go from there. That side has been much better this weekend so I’ve been happy and doing some changes and improving. Small things but it makes a big difference in the end.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Sebastian, how do you explain the good pace on Saturday? Is it that the car improved since the last race? Does the circuit suit you or did you just understand the tyres better?
SV: I think the track, the corners, the layout, is not not bad for us, for sure. I think last year we were very strong here. If you look at the performance in sector two it was strong here last year, it was very strong. Obviously it’s completely different but still, some stuff you can compare and we were strong last year, strong this year. As I said, I don’t know how much Mercedes were struggling or not but, to be honest, I don’t really care. It’s more important for us that we do what we need to do and we didn’t have any problems. We had smooth sessions so far this weekend and, as I said, the car felt really good. I think it’s a track where it’s important to have the trust in the car, so you can sort of let go and attack. And I think that was the case for both of us. How much Mercedes were struggling or not… I don’t know.
Q: (Victory Gavrilova- Ufa City News) For Kimi: were you angry that the team did not want your training time was finishing yesterday? And did you manage to complete all the work planned for today?
KR: We did what we planned today. I wasn’t angry with anybody; I don’t know that I got right what you’re asking. I was disappointed that we ended up having a bit of traffic but I think everybody knows that here you get the tyres working or it’s a massive difference how the lap time pans out but we ended up having a bit of traffic on our out lap on our last try and it was enough to make it a little bit tricky. I’m happy with second place but we had everything for doing even better. I’ll take it but tomorrow is another day. I think over the weekend things have run quite smoothly and that’s obviously been a big help.
Q: (Anton Tikhiy – The Independent Sports Newspaper) Sebastian, today the weather is rather warm and dry and tomorrow probably it will be the same. If we’re talking about a great battle between Mercedes and Ferrari, how do you think… which side it will be better, this type of weather?
SV: I think it’s a lot better when it’s warm and sunny. I think people in the grandstands enjoy it a lot more so they don’t need to bring their umbrellas which is good. For the rest, I think if it’s tight and a good race then they also like that, so let’s hope for a good one. (To Valtteri) You prefer cold? That’s because we’re in Russia and it’s supposed to be cold! In the end, you have to deal with the conditions that you have. I think it’s about twenty degrees. I don’t know if that’s the warmest it ever gets here but it’s nice. The last couple of years it was a bit cooler, so it’s nice to have it a bit warmer.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Valtteri, Mercedes made a step forward since yesterday to today; we saw that in free practice and also in qualifying but you cannot touch the car before the race tomorrow. You found a compromise in your set-up for qualifying and race, do you believe you can be as strong in the race as you were in qualifying?
VB: I think the changes and the improvements we made from yesterday to today should help us in the race also. Everything just went in the right direction with the tyres and yeah, if the conditions are more or less like today I think it’s going to be OK. Obviously we’re not confident that we have the quickest car around here and that is the case and Ferrari is very strong here. I think, as we’ve seen in all of the first three races they have a good race pace and we think it’s going to be the same case tomorrow so it’s going to be a close one again.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, in Bahrain you said after the race you compromised the qualifying a little bit, thinking about the race. Could you tell us if you worked in a different way here?
SV: I don’t remember what I said in Bahrain. I get a lot of questions; I have to come up with a lot of things. You try to improve the car, no matter what. I think the days – maybe when you started and people were talking about qualifying and race set-ups – it’s not like that any more. I think you try to extract maximum performance whenever you can, so for sure there are some things that might help you in the race over qualifying but we also made some changes, to get more out of the car, which worked and which will also help us tomorrow. We didn’t compromise here one way or the other.
Q: (Slava Karpov – Radio Sport) Kimi, you are a favourite driver among the Russian fans; what do you think of this and do you feel this support?
KR: Obviously I’m happy to have the fans here or anywhere around the world. I must say it’s nice to come here. There are not many places that have beautiful mountains behind and snow. The weather is perfect this weekend so it’s a great place to come in my view and the circuit is fun. Like I said, I will take any fans that I have, here or anywhere else.
Q: (Kiril Zaytsev – 66.ru) To both Finnish drivers: why are you so successful on this track? We remember Valtteri was on the podium in Sochi, Kimi has been on the podium in Sochi. Why are you so successful here, maybe because it’s slippery asphalt and Finnish people love sliding and slipperiness?
VB: It’s not actually that slippery asphalt compared to Bahrain, for example. I think we have had more grip here so that’s not the explanation. Obviously you like some tracks more than the others but I think in the past, for Williams, this used to be a good track in general and I don’t know if I can explain it more than that. I think the track is nice and I enjoy it.
KR: I don’t think I have had very good results here. In the past years it’s been very slippery, at least for me, but this year the rules and conditions are better. It’s not really any different here to any other place.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) To the two Ferrari drivers: the only negative – if you can say that it’s negative – point of this weekend is that you have to again change the turbocharger and it’s the third element. Do you believe that it will be an issue for the end of the season?
KR: You’re always very good to always find negative things about us.
SV: He’s Italian, he should be over the moon. Everybody in Italy I’m sure is very happy now and you’re the only Italian in the world that finds a reason to be negative. You should be ashamed.
KR: It’s a planned change and I’m sure we’ll be fine with it. Obviously I’ve had one failure that we will not be able to use but the others are still fine and we will run it as we want and they are there to be used and re-used whenever you feel like it.
SV: Maybe I think you will have a great chance to get a German passport because usually Germans always find a reason to complain. If there’s a hard time when you get back to Italy you’re welcome to Germany.
eom/FIA press release
