INDIA in F1

Tag: FIA Press Conference

  • The vibe in the team is very good; car speed over a race is good too: Paul

    DRIVERS – Pastor MALDONADO (Williams), Jules BIANCHI (Marussia), Paul DI RESTA (Force India), Esteban GUTIERREZ (Sauber), Sergio PEREZ (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sergio, we know that you’re leaving McLaren, because you’ve told us that, and obviously we learned today who will be replacing you, but could you explain how this came about and particularly the timing?

    Sergio PEREZ: First of all, hi everyone. As you already said, on the letter I did, and I published that. There is no secret. Everything came really late, which puts me in a very difficult position for my future. But at the end it came. I’m relieved. Obviously, McLaren is a great team, I have nothing bad to say about them. I really want to wish them the best. We have had a very difficult season all year long. It was definitely not what I was expecting and also not what McLaren was expecting, especially as when I signed for them they had such a competitive car and it’s not what we have right now and we didn’t have it all season long. It’s no secret that it has been a disappointing year for both parts. McLaren decided to go another route, I have to find my own route and hopefully I can find the best possible seat available for my career, because I am only 23-years-old, I have a lot to give to the sport and I really hope I find a good seat.

    As you say, it’s all happening quite late now. What are your options for next year and do you feel there is still time, because it seems a very fluid driver market at the moment?

    SP: There’s no secret, it’s very, very difficult right now. I know there are some options. As I said before, I want to stay in Formula One but I will no stay in F1 just to stay. If I don’t find the right option for myself then I have to look at something else but I’m pretty confident something good will happen and hopefully I find a good seat. I think I have a lot to offer a team. I have been three years in F1, one year with McLaren. A very difficult year but I think I learn a lot. I think this year, although it has been very difficult and probably one of the worst in terms of results for myself, I think I am a good driver and I can do good things out there.

    Thank you for that. Moving on to you Esteban. Obviously you’ve been doing pretty well lately, a big score for you in Japan. What’s been the catalyst do you think for you turnaround in the last period?

    Esteban GUTIERREZ: Well it’s all related to a balance to between how conservative you want to be and how risky you want to be and how much you want to put yourself in a risky position. It all takes time. In Formula One right now there’s not a lot of testing, I didn’t do a lot of testing at the beginning of the year and a lot of things I took time to adapt [to]. Somehow during the year I was gaining a lot of experience even though the team situation was not the best. There was always quite a lot of distractions around with the economical situation but finally I found myself through a good challenge and to find myself and to find the right balance on every aspect and then decided to do a step into the more aggressive side and it worked out pretty well. This is the rhythm we have been showing lately and this is how I plan to go towards the future.

    As we’ve been mentioning, one of the themes of this part of the year is a very fluid driver market for 2014, where do you fit into that?

    EG: There are a lot of things happening around, that’s true. At the moment I’m focused on what’s happening right now. Right now we are in Austin, it’s a very important race for us, one of the most special of my career, of our careers, because we are both Mexicans. We are here to do our best and we have great opportunities to do good results in these last two races. So I’m going to try to take advantage of that and then after that see what’s going to happen. Obviously at the same time we have been looking to different options. My idea is to continue with Sauber, obviously, because we have been working on a good relationship for a long time and we’ll see what’s going to happen next year.

    Q: Paul, 48 points on the board now in the Drivers’ Championship, big score last time out in Abu Dhabi, points in the last two races. Has this put some momentum into your season at an important moment?

    Paul DI RESTA: I think the result in Abu Dhabi was massive and I think very crucial for us to try and do what we did. I think, given on the back of the points we scored in India, we went to Abu Dhabi with a car that was very consistent and achieved in the race something that nobody else did. But I think more importantly, if you have the confidence in the car you can do it. It’s such a crucial point of the year for our championship position over the likes of Sauber. We showed that we didn’t have the speed over one lap but we had the speed over a race and we definitely scored big. Hopefully that’s going to be enough and we can come into the last two races trying to secure the Constructors’ position but equally trying to score points because the vibe in the team is very good. I think that given very little has changed… I think it’s more about team effort and everybody’s lifted their game and the results show that.

    Q: Presumably it’s quite important because, as we’ve been discussing, a very fluid situation in terms of the driver market at the moment. Does it feel quite late to you, for this all to be going on now, particularly given that 2014 is all about new technology, the packaging of the driver etc., there’s an awful lot of work to do. It’s quite late for all of these driver options to be up still.

    PDR: I think it’s very late, given where it all is at the moment – but what can you do? You need to accept where the team principals and equally the shareholders, where they are. But I suppose in probably less than ten days’ time is when the focus is going to change away from this year and more importantly onto next year’s car. The big task for us as a race team at the moment is to get out there and score points in these two and not take the focus away. That’s what I’ll do this weekend but we need to continue to keep doing that and hopefully it’s enough.

    Q: Jules, obviously the only driver sitting here at the moment that has a confirmed seat on the grid for next year. Is that a relief, sitting here right now?

    Jules BIANCHI: Well for sure it’s a great thing for a driver to be confirmed for next season, you know? I feel really confident with the team and I am really happy to stay in Marussia and that’s why we’re trying to do our best for the end of this season and I am focussed 100 per cent to finish well these two races. I think it’s great for me.

    Q: It’s been a pretty good season for you all-in-all. Marussia still tenth in the championship based on that result you got

    A file photo of Paul di Resta by Sahara Force India F1 team.
    A file photo of Paul di Resta by Sahara Force India F1 team.

    early in the year. Do you feel you’ve been as consistent as you hoped  to be as the year’s gone on.

    JB: Well for sure we started really well. We were quicker than the Caterham and then we started to struggle from Barcelona. We tried to catch them back: it was difficult; it was a tight fight but they were in front. A few races ago we were back in front so we were really happy with that, really happy with the work we did but in Abu Dhabi again it was a really difficult race and they showed that their pace was much quicker than us in the race – so we really need to make a good job in these last two races because we know that in Brazil, for example, you will have the possibility to have a crazy race and in that case we have to be in front of them and try to the do the best result possible. So we have to keep pushing.

    Q: Coming to you Pastor, obviously two clear areas to discuss with you. First of all, we know that you’re leaving Williams and you said yesterday that you thought it was the best thing for you and for the team. Could you explain a little about that?

    Pastor MALDONADO: Yeah, I think for sure it was a tough decision from my side. I spent three years with the team, special years. They gave me the opportunity to become a Formula One driver, we won a race which is quite special as a driver and I think as a team. Even for them, after eight years without winning anything, so I think it was the most special moment for us – but sometimes you need to take some hard decisions. It’s my case at the moment. I’m feeling quite good. Leaving is an important moment for my career, improving every time, doing some solid races, trying to get the maximum from the team, trying to get the maximum from the car. For sure this season has been very, very hard for all the team. We were expecting something more from the car, from the total performance and… yeah, we couldn’t achieve our targets but yeah… sometimes Formula One is like that, sometimes you can, sometimes not. You need to learn from the mistakes and try always to do your best.

    Q: Well obviously if you’re leaving a team you must have a pretty good idea where you’re going to. Would it be fair to say that you know where you will be racing next year?

    PM: Yeah, for sure I know. I have a couple of options. We are still working on it and I really hope to have a clear answer soon.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR.

    Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC Sport) Sergio, just coming back to the decision McLaren have made, do you feel let down by the team at all, not so much in terms of the performance of the car, but in terms of how this has evolved in the last couple of months? As you say, it’s given you very little chance to get into the drivers’ market, so do you feel let down by the team?

    SP: No. No, not let down at all. As I said, it’s been a difficult year. People from the outside can think whatever they want, but inside the team, every single person that works in the team knows the amount of pressure we are having, everyone, from Jenson, myself, Martin, everyone, everyone. With McLaren and the year that we have had it was so disappointing for everyone so they have had to make some changes and yeah, they had to change me and that’s racing.

    Q: (Karen Crouse – New York Times) Starting with Sergio, could each of you give what you think are one or two keys to the season that Sebastian is having?

    SP: Well, Sebastian is a great driver and a great example for all of us. Also, I think the key was that he’s having a great team effort, the team is doing a fantastic job for him, he’s doing a very good job for them, so it’s a combination. This is a sport where you really need the team to be with you, to work together. They have been (together) for a couple of years already so I think they’re pretty strong and they will be hard to beat in the future.

    EG: Well, I think that right now he’s doing a good compliment with Red Bull. They have a great team, he’s driving at the peak of his career as well and he’s being very consistent so as Sergio said, he’s a good example for all of us and I think that it will be quite interesting to see how it will change or influence next year on the rule changes. Hopefully it will make everything more competitive and more opportunities for other drivers as well to be at the front, fighting.

    Q: Paul, perhaps you know him a bit better than others having raced with him as a teammate back in F3 days. Your thoughts on his season?

    PdiR: I don’t think there’s really much more you can say than what Sergio said. I think he’s summed up where he’s been for the last three or four years. They’ve done a very good job, very consistent, driver and car, it’s been on top form. It would just be nice to be up the front racing where you should be.

    JB: Yeah, obviously Sebastian and Red Bull are doing a great job. They are just winning everything for three years now so it’s great for them and they’re just the best now. It’s up to the other teams to push harder and try to beat them.

    PM: Yeah, I agree with him. I think they are the number one  team at the moment. Sebastian has been doing a fantastic job and it’s all about a team job. Maybe this is the most important thing for which team makes the difference. So many people work for a  car, so many people work for a driver and everything must be combined to achieve that kind of result.

    Q: (Cristobal Rosaleny – Car and Driver) Sergio, when did you start to know, to think that you were not going to be at McLaren next year, because they were talking about a multi-year contract and this is not what you were expecting, nobody was expecting?

    SP: No. I found out a couple of days before you found out, so it was a very late decision. I had no idea, it just came as a shock to me because the team was always giving me good feedback, everything was pretty much settled down and I was going to stay with the team but then something happened in the last few weeks so they decided not to… it puts me in a very difficult position now, to look forward for my future.

    Q: (James Allen – BBC Sport) I have a question for Sergio and Esteban: how many Mexican fans are you expecting here this weekend? Are you expecting as many as last year or more?

    SP: Well, I hope more, now that we have Esteban. Last year there was only myself and we had a lot. This year, also, the results have not been too good for both of us, but I think there will be good Mexicans out there and I really hope to see them, otherwise the grandstands will be empty with no Mexicans.

    Q: And Esteban, your home town is five hours away by car, so are you expecting a big crew to come up? 

    EG: Yeah, it is. I have lots of friends, lots of family coming and also a lot of supporters as well, which we have in the… I think it will be a really special feeling, I’ve not experienced this before in my career so it will be kind of like a new experience and I’m really looking forward to it. I think it gives great energy, great motivation to the weekend.

    Q: (Carlos Jalife – Fast Mag Mexico) For Esteban and Sergio: if things turn out in a certain way, you might be teammates next year. What are your thoughts on being a teammate with a Mexican driver?

    SP: Well, let’s see, let’s see what happens with my situation. I think it would be good. Why not? The thing is, it will be Esteban’s second year and he will be experienced. I think we can be good in a team. I will then have a problem.

    EG: Definitely not! Mexican power.

    Ends

  • Vettel dedicates the Abu Dhabi trophy to him mom and dad

    3 Nov 2013: FIA DRIVERS Press Conference at Abu Dhabi GP

    Abu Dhabi podium photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team
    Abu Dhabi podium photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
    3 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

    Q: Sebastian, seven in a row, 11 so far this season. They’re going to charge you rent on this top step soon.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I don’t mind. I also did some donuts so…

    You are a naughty boy, that’s going to cost somebody some money…

    SV: No, I don’t think so because this time I bought the car back so it’s fine. As you can see it’s in parc ferme. No, it’s incredible. Thanks to all the fans, the atmosphere today. Twice, we have this complex around Five, Six and Seven and then around Eight and Nine, along the straight to Turn 11. So many people, so many German flags, so nice to see and to get so much support. More and more for Red Bull so I hope that kicks up more in the next years. The car was absolutely brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Not much more to say. I was flying at some stages. At least it felt like it. Massive gaps, big surprise. Thanks to the team, thanks to Renault as well. A lot of our success is also down to them. They’re doing a very, very good job and I hope that next year we’ll have an engine that’s as powerful and as reliable as this year’s.

    Q: Talking of support, your Mum and Dad are down there somewhere. How much does it mean to win yet again in front of them?

    SV: Yeah, it means a lot. Obviously spend most of my time racing in front of them when I was a small kid and obviously now there’s a little bit bigger toys, more people watching but it’s very special to me that they were here this weekend. I love them very much and want to dedicate the win today to them. I think I learned a lot of good things from them and one day if I had kids I want to pass exactly these things on.

    Q: Mark, well you tried your best, you gave it plenty but the start hurt you a little bit out there.

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah. The start wasn’t great. Nico got an unbelievable start, Seb’s was a bit better than mine. I think we were lucky we’re not at Malaysia or Monza because it would have been even more painful. Anyway, I think in the first stint just not strong enough and on the soft tyres Seb got a very good gap. I had to reposition on the primes. So anyway, after that the race started pretty well for me but then Seb… he was gone. He was on another category out in front and I had to have a little battle with Nico for second. Guys did a great job on the car all week here. Nice and reliable. Fans have been great: plenty of Aussie flags here as well, so thanks guys coming from Australia. And…yeah, on to Austin and few more to go. Thank you.

    Q: This guy. You’ve ended up in an era where you’re unfortunately his team-mate. That’s tough, isn’t it?

    MW: Yeah. I think he’s in a sweet spot, for sure. Obviously I’ve got a few grey hairs now, I’m doing my best but yeah, he’s driving well. In the end I did my best today. It’s a circuit which… it’s my equal PB around here so would have liked to have got the win but that was Seb’s today. Thank You.

    Q: Great drive Nico, you must be thoroughly satisfied to be up here.

    Nico Rosberg: Yeah, I happy of course. Third place is good. The aim for the weekend was to be best of the rest behind the Red Bulls and that’s worked out – even though second place would have been possible in a perfect world today. Mark just got me with Di Resta. Little bit disappointing on that one but otherwise of course very happy.

    Q: And you take a lot more points off Ferrari again for the team. Lewis had a little difficult afternoon but that’s looking good as well for second in the world championship for the team.

    NR: Yes, for sure. I was very happy to hear that we took some more points off them again and that we’re edging away from them. That’s the most important thing for us at the moment – just to finish second in the Constructors’. It’s just much more money for next year but also motivation for everybody. If everybody in the factory can see that we built the second-best car this year, that’s just a massive boost.

    Q: One final word from Sebastian. You’re so gentle with these tyres. What’s the secret champ?

    SV: I don’t know if there’s a secret. I’ve got traction control – at least that’s what they said three or four races ago. No. These tyres are difficult to drive. Extremely sensitive. Obviously it helps when you are in free air. Not so much in traffic. But somehow we got the hang of it. More and more so towards the end of the year. And looking after them, really listening to them and being able to extract maybe a little bit more performance than the other guys. But I don’t think there’s any secret genetically. So… yeah. I’ll take it though.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Sebastian, seven wins in a row, equalling the record. I guess in Austin you can go for the record. Are these numbers important to you?

    SV: It doesn’t make me jump into the car but it’s a shock when you mention these [Schumacher and Ascari]. I knew that any kind of record you talk about, Michael is involved for sure, so… yeah… I don’t know what to say. The thing is that people see seven races. People don’t see the challenge it takes every single race to nail it. It’s been exceptional. The fact that we got everything right: smooth pitstops; reliability. All these things need to come together. To answer your question, the numbers are not that important to me but equally they make me very, very proud. It you equal something or you’re close to something then… the guys you talk about are the most special drivers in the world in Formula One. So, yeah, I don’t think I’m old enough to realise. Probably.

    Q: What does seem to be important to you is doing donuts at the end of grands prix. You did it again today. Are you not worried about getting into trouble again?

    SV: Not really because technically I didn’t do anything wrong. I brought the car back. I think I stick to the rules. I hope that we can provide a fuel sample because obviously it burns some extra fuel. But… yeah… obviously I spoke to the Stewards after India. I’m not sure I remember everything they said but… yeah… I was just happy. It’s a sort of stadium there. It’s really nice, people all around you. I think they loved it.

    Q: Mark, the start was decisive for you today. It got away from you there at that point but you were able to get Nico back. Perhaps you could talk a little bit about that move and also, is there a sense of disappointment, given that you did start from pole. You seemed to be smiling on the podium. How are your emotions at this point?

    MW: Yeah, alright. I don’t think the start was decisive. I don’t think what happened off the line… Sebastian was in another category today. So probably this was the maximum result, even if we got away in front. He was quick and very, very strong. It was then obviously a recovery job against Nico who got a better start than both of us. Obviously it’s a short run to Turn One so… if it was a longer run he would probably have got both of us. But, Seb and myself, the last few races… we know starts is not exactly my strong point, especially on these little babies. On the little Pirellis. So, anyway, we got away and then got into the race from there. The softs, I had a reasonably feeling for them when they were fresh but I had no real feeling for those tyres when they’re scrubbed. So, I was very slow in the first stint. Very, very poor feeling with the rear, and then that makes it even worse. You have more and more slip and temperature control problems and all of those type of things. Anyway, it was regrouping at the stops after that and I think my pace wasn’t too bad after that but Seb was well and truly gone. Incredibly quick pace from him. As you said, the fight with Nico was good. I managed to get that right. Obviously I didn’t use too many KERS. I think I understood a little bit of German with Nico. He said he used all his KERS on Paul in the first attempt, which was close. It’s always tricky to know how to deploy your KERS on those two straights but in the end I left some for the next attempt and managed to get him. It was good, fair racing which you’d expect from someone of Nico’s quality and in the end we probably are sitting here with the results that we all deserve.

    Q: Nico, your side of that story. You got up into second at the start but obviously you got into that incident with Mark, and you were saying Paul di Resta involved in it as well. Perhaps you could give it from your perspective – and did you think second place was achievable any other way once that had got away from you?

    NR: The main thing was that I got my balance wrong in the car for that second stint and that’s why I just wasn’t as quick as I was hoping. And I was just struggling a bit to get past the Toro Rosso and then Paul di Resta. I gave it a shot down into Turn Eight, used all my KERS up and I wasn’t able to do it and Mark got me on the next one. So, definitely that was unfortunate but that’s the way it is. Anyway, third place is still a very good result. Lots of points.

    Q: Sebastian. Lots of success this year but I get the impression today’s quite an emotional day for you. Would that be right?

    SV: Yeah. Obviously winning is very special. As I said, obviously seven races in a row… yeah, every single race is tough. It’s a lot of work that goes into it, from Thursday, even before that at the simulator, and then the whole weekend. Please stop mentioning these kind of things because, yeah, it makes you realise a little bit what it means. I remember when I was a small kid watching Formula One and Michael was with Ferrari and dominating Formula One. They had a very strong car, very strong team spirit for many years and… yeah… if you look back you feel like he won every second race but to equal some of the stuff that they managed to achieve is very, very special. For me – but also I think for the whole team. Definitely after 2011, a special year, we said it would be very difficult to repeat a season like that and maybe it comes across once in a lifetime. Now, we can probably say it came across twice at least. So… yeah.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, in Singapore, everybody thought you were dominating that race very easily. Today, to me it was even more impressive. In the early laps you were going almost two seconds faster and Rocky must have been very worried on the radio, from what we were hearing.

    SV: Yeah, I realised that we were pulling away from Nico and also from Mark. Obviously you make use of it because you don’t know what’s coming later on in the race. We had a very very strong pace on the option. We could even have stayed out a little bit longer. I was busy, for sure, I was pushing because I felt that I can take lap time, I can take a couple of seconds out of the guys behind so I was pushing but I was also trying to look after them to be flexible on strategy and help the guys on the pit wall to make the call. Also, I could then afford to take it a little bit easier in the pit lane which I think is one of the trickiest all year with a slippery entry and a very narrow exit. I think it just all came together, I think it was a perfect day for us.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Mark, early in the race you were on the radio talking to the team about the KERS; was there a problem? And later in the race, given the number of gremlins that have struck your car, were you hearing funny noises and worrying about that?

    MW: No, there was no issue with the KERS, it just got a bit warm at one point so we had to give it a chance to recover so that was fine, just a lap or so where we were a little bit out of sync with a better management so we recovered that. And at the end, not really. I can’t do much more than obviously keep pushing the car and obviously I had to… couldn’t relax completely. Nico was going reasonably well but obviously we were just maintaining… did a few laps at the end just to let him know that I had a bit in hand, but he was probably doing the same so in the end we were getting the car home, mate. It’s always a surprise when the car stops on track obviously. Normally the ratio is that you finish so I was still confident that we could do that.

    Q: (Joy Chakraverty – Sport 360) Seb, in an interview just a few days ago, Adrian Newey said that two of your best races that he remembers actually came in Abu Dhabi and one of them was last year when, despite the problems with qualification, you came back and finished on the podium. But do you think that this is much better than every other race that you have had in Abu Dhabi?

    SV: It’s very difficult. Obviously I can remember all the races that I’ve had here, it’s been a very very good track for me, especially come Sundays, especially looking back to 2010 and obviously with five or four drivers going into the last race, being able to win the championship, yeah, it was a special day, special emotions when you look back. Also the race last year, a very crucial point in the championship to be forced to start last or indeed from the pit lane, was tough but we came back and managed to finish on the podium. So this year, for sure, stands out in a way that we had control over the race, very very strong pace and could match the cars behind whenever we had to and were able to pull out a very very big gap, so in a way, similar to – if you look at the time and the gaps – a little bit similar to the race in Singapore. It’s a bit similar, if you look at the track layout, quite technical, quite challenging, obviously mostly low speed corners but important to get the balance right in the car and to look after the tyres which I think we did very well.

    Q: (Khodr Rawi – Autosport Middle East) My first question is for Sebastian: will you keep on doing your doughnuts celebration if you win the next two Grands Prix, even if you’ll get a penalty today?

    SV: Well, it depends on what kind of penalty I get. If I get excluded from the next race then probably I won’t be able to do them. Again, it was spontaneous. Obviously I had the experience last week but entering the sort of stadium, I thought it was a very very good spot, I made sure there was nobody around and I was far away from the lines. I think if we are in a position to think about that then obviously it’s very special because it means we had a very very good result in the race. So I think there’s a lot of work before we get to decide whether we can do it again or not.

    Q: (Khodr Rawi – Autosport Middle East) The second question is to Mark: you have won at least one race a year with Red Bull since 2009; would it make a difference if don’t win a race in your last season?

    MW: Well, it would be nice. I’ve challenged for a few victories here and there this year but not strong enough when it counted, but in the end, Seb was too strong today for the win. I’ve got a couple more races to go, all I can do is do my best. It’s not going to be a huge huge difference but it would be nice to get it as any Grand Prix victory is always special to get them. Yeah, we’ll keep pushing mate and see how we go in the next two races.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Nico, I know that next year the regulations are changing completely so we’re going to have pretty new cars but is it not worrying for you to see that Red Bull has such a big advantage and that two seconds are not so easy to catch up, even with the new rules?

    NR: Well, I don’t think it’s two seconds at the moment, I think it’s less than that. OK, maybe at times today but anyway, I’m not worried, no, because it’s a great opportunity because it puts everybody back to zero, so on the contrary, it’s actually better this way. Everybody starts from zero. We have such a strong team now, it’s been built up over the last four years, they already did a fantastic job last winter from 1.5s a lap slower. At the beginning of this season we were sometimes the quickest car without a regulation change, so they did an amazing job last winter and I’m confident that they can do it again, for sure. And again this year, OK, we had some weaknesses which we’ve learned from and are trying to continue improving and then I’m very sure we can have a good season.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Mark, you said that you struggled with the scrubbed tyres in the first stint. Has that been a general feature this year for you? Why are they so unpredictable? Was it just particularly here on this circuit?

    MW: When we go to this type of range of tyre it is probably a little bit more high maintenance for me to feel whether the tyre is in the race. It’s a little bit frustrating but that’s the way it is. If you want to go quick, you’ve got to go… obviously it’s such a fine, delicate balance, obviously and then you can feed the tyre a lot if you treat it in a different way but to get into that window is sometimes not obvious. I think that we’ve seen – like Korea, China, a few other races where  we are probably a bit more on the front tyre. Of course I’m very fast, I’m quick but when we’re on the rears it’s a bit harder for me to be as competitive at certain times. That’s the way it is. The primes weren’t too bad, I didn’t think we were going too badly on those in terms of feeling, anyway, but that’s the way it’s been the last… since 2011. I’m not going to learn now, mate. Old dog, new tricks, it’s over.

    Ends

  • Webber beats Vettel to take Abu Dhabi pole

    yas Marina

    From left: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg after the qualification at the Abu Dhabi GP on Saturday. Webber took the pole position. An FIA photo
    From left: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg after the qualification at the Abu Dhabi GP on Saturday. Webber took the pole position. An FIA photo

    (Abu Dhabi), 2 Nov 2013:

    FIA Post-qualification Press Conference, Abu Dhabi GP

    Drivers Present

    1 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
    3 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    Unilateral

    Q: Mark, your second pole in three races now. Describe your feelings, particularly on a track where your team-mate has always been so strong.

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, I think this weekend so far has gone pretty smoothly for us. It’s not the easiest venue because of the temperatures, when the sessions are: obviously in the afternoon and then the night session. You’ve got to be on top of that as a driver and also from an engineering perspective. So, we did what we could do. Not the smoothest part, I would say, to the start of Q2. Also Q1, we were not, I would say, electric but then getting into the groove we changed the car quite a bit, with the front wing level and things like that, as the session went on. And I got more and more comfortable. So, I knew I had to work on certain sections of the track. Sebastian had already been doing a good job there already so I had to try to match him there and keep the areas where I was still doing a pretty good job. Overall happy with the pole. It was a good lap obviously on a track which in the past hasn’t been super-invigorating for me in terms of layout, let’s say, but we certainly enjoyed the quali today and really looking forward to the race tomorrow because we’ve got a good car for the race in these conditions.

    Q: Sebastian, obviously a slightly unusual session from your point of view, didn’t top the times in any of the three parts of the session. What were the tactics today and where did it get away from you?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I wouldn’t call it unusual. I think we were still pretty competitive, that’s probably the difference from you guys and us inside the garage. There is no guarantee. I think it’s a great result for the team, first of all. Start of qualifying I think Mercedes looked very, very strong. Both Nico and Lewis, especially in Q2. I think Mark and myself weren’t hanging about in Q2 but they were very, very strong. But we seemed to be able to find a little bit of extra time in Q3. I think I did a very good lap so congratulations to him. I think I should have done a little bit better but I don’t know if it had been enough. As a fact he deserved to be on pole today. He did a good job, no mistakes. As I said, on top of that, a great result for the team. We should have a strong race tomorrow.

    Q: Nico, previous visits here, two times ninth, two times seventh. So a big step forward for you. And again, for you, your team-mate has always been very strong here and you’ve beaten him.

    Nico ROSBERG: In general I’m pleased with the result for sure: third place, best of the rest, which is our target for the weekend. It was nice to annoy Red Bull a little bit from time to time there in qualifying but in the end they were just too quick again. But anyway, third place is good, I’m pleased with that. And again [we’re] just looking at the Constructors’ [Championship]. That’s what counts for us, third and fourth, blocking out the second row of the grid. Lotus for sure are some way back but especially Ferrari, who are our direct competition, they’re well back, so that’s a very good result for us today in qualifying.

    Coming back to you now Mark. You didn’t manage the win from pole in Japan. Just a few races to go before the end of your Formula One career and a great chance tomorrow to sign off with a win.

    MW: Yeah, look as Seb touched on, there are no guarantees. We have a good car in the race I believe. As we’ve shown in the last few events we’ve always been certainly there or thereabouts and leading some race in the last few events and challenging for some very good results. Like you say in quali it’s been pretty strong. Korea in the race, yeah, coming back from the 10-place penalty and bits and bobs. So, in general the form has been very strong, carry that over tomorrow night, keep my head down and look for a very good result, there’s no question about that.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Mark, why is it that this year has been so different from previous years. What is it about you that’s just hooked it up here?

    MW: Well, I was pretty competitive last year here in qualifying. I think it’s probably no super secret that I like the more flowing circuits but you have to put your heads down and get on with these types of circuits like Singapore and Abu Dhabi and do the absolute maximum and do the best. When you start in Formula One, there is not a huge amount of circuit around like this but there are more and more now and that’s part of our job. With that, I get more exposure at these type of circuits and I think you learn more and unfortunately, or fortunately, I have a guy in the other car who is pretty handy on these type of tracks and you can also do some learning in that respect. I think it’s a strong type of layout for Seb, as he’s proved in Singapore and those type of tracks. In the end, more experience. You can never stop learning, mate, even at this age, so it was a good day and puts us in a good position tomorrow.

    Sebastian, we heard you on the radio at the end, just apologising to the team that you didn’t make the most of sector one in particular. You haven’t made that many mistakes so far in 2013, I guess the heat is off now, you’ve already done what you needed to do but is that what led to the mistake?

    SV: I was pushing hard, that’s the reason behind it. Surely, I think, as a driver, you always argue that there is a little bit here, a little bit there but the bottom line is that if you look at it from the outside as well, if you push yourself to the maximum trying to get everything out then you do mistakes as well. I’m not very proud of that but I did what I could today and it wasn’t enough to be on pole and that’s why I said it before and I’ll say it again – Mark deserved to be on pole, no doubt. So, I think the car was good. That’s why I apologised, I said, ‘sorry guys, I messed up a bit at turn one’. It’s a tricky corner. If you get it right, it feels great. It you mess it up, it doesn’t and then you have a long lap trying to make up for it. But obviously there is a limit. Overall, as I said, I was happy but didn’t manage to get everything perfect. Whether it would have been enough, I don’t know, Mark did a very good laps, so we’ll see tomorrow.

    Q: Nico, before qualifying you could say that you hadn’t perhaps hooked up the final sector maybe as well as the other two but you put it all together when it really mattered at the end. Maybe you could talk a little bit about your preparation for qualifying.

    NR: I progressed really well through the weekend. Set-up progression was massive, it changed so much from the beginning to the end and it’s just very difficult because the first session of each day is so hot that you can’t really learn much and you just have to take an estimated guess where to go for the evening sessions with the set up and so that made it very, very difficult. And in the end… yeah, got there in the end in qualifying. Felt comfortable and there you are. P3. It’s good.

    Ends

  • Pirelli sure of 2014 contract with FIA

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Graeme LOWDON (Marussia), Paul HEMBERY (Pirelli), Cyril ABITEBOUL (Caterham), Franz TOST (Toro Rosso), Claire WILLIAMS (Williams), Martin WHITMARSH (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Franz, can we start with you? Obviously, Daniil Kvyat coming in next year. What lies ahead in the next few weeks and months in terms of getting up to speed for his Super Licence, practicing, testing? And what expectations do you have for him?

    Franz TOST: We will have a test with him next week to get the Super Licence. Afterwards, he will go out on Friday in American and in Sao Paulo and of course we will have winter time, where he has to do a lot of work with physical training, mental training, then working on the simulator to prepare him as good as possible for the next season. I’m convinced he will do a good job because he is a very high-skilled driver. He has done, this year so far, a very good job in GP3 where he still can win the championship. He has 131 points, seven points behind the leader, and I’m quite sure that he will show a very good race tomorrow, and on Sunday. Apart from this he showed a very good performance in Formula 3 – in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship – where he won the last race in Zandvoort, starting from the pole position. If I remember correctly, his first race, in Hockenheim, he was also in pole position and finished the race in third. For us, for Red Bull and for Toro Rosso, he is a very high-skilled driver and I think that he will have a successful future.

    Does this a little but like a home race for you, because obviously IPIC is getting more and more influential in your set-up. Most of your sponsors seem to come from their group, so is it beginning to feel like a home race for you?

    FT: Yes, the grand prix here in Abu Dhabi is one of the highlights for Scuderia Toro Rosso because we have a very close business relationship with IPIC, which is a company based here in Abu Dhabi and our main sponsors, Cepsa, Nova Chemicals and Falcon Private Bank belong to this company and therefore we are every year very much looking forward to coming here and I just hope that we will improve our performance, which was not so good today, to show a good race on Sunday.

    Moving to Graeme, you’ve already secured Jules Bianchi for 2014. What’s the right kind of driver to put alongside him for next year? Which direction are you looking?

    Graeme LOWDON: It sounds simple to say a quick one but that’s what everybody wants – a quick driver. I think something special about next year are the new regulations for the power unit. That’s going to create really quite a few new challenges for everybody up and down the grid. I think there’s a very strong argument to say keeping the same line-up we currently have would be a good thing. That said, typically at this stage of the year, in previous years we wouldn’t have finalised our driver line-up and it’s the same this time. I think we’ll just have to evaluate where we stand, what’s the best solution for the team moving forward and then announce in due course. I have to say both drivers this year have done an exceptional job. I think a lot of people have forgotten that we started this year with a rookie line-up and that’s quite unusual and I think both guys have done a very, very good job, sometimes under some difficult and challenging circumstances. So, we’ll see how we move into next year but I think there is a strong argument to say that trying to keep the same line-up would be a very positive thing for the team.

    You’ve secured your commercial arrangement with the commercial rights holder. What does that allow you to do now and what difference does it make to you?

    GL: I think in all honesty the biggest difference is how we’re perceived in the outside world. It was a very strange situation when most of the teams in Formula One – in fact, all of the teams in Formula One – had an agreement with the commercial rights holder, apart from our team. It quite clearly would lead to questions when we’re looking at potential partners and sponsors for the future. Probably the biggest thing is that external perception in a way. We’re perceived to be on the same grid, in the same pit lane as every other team now and it’s just removed some of that uncertainty and allows us to focus on what we should be focusing on, which is going racing.

    Cyril, coming to you. Obviously you’re in a race with Marussia for that important 10th place in the Constructors Championship. This time they’re ahead, a position that hinges on their 13th place in round two. Do you believe you can get that 10th place back off them again before the end of the season?

    Cyril ABITEBOUL: It’s tough. It’s going to be a challenge, in particular because we don’t have all the answers in our hands. Obviously, we need to do the best we can, make sure that we go for them in turn one in particular, but also to finish the races, that we are reliable. Even if we do all of that and if we achieve a good result, we need more, we need a little bit of external help. Maybe a bit of retirements would assist. So, hopefully that’s something we will secure. We secured that last year in the last minute of the last race, so why not again this year? But I’m not against having that a bit earlier than last year to be honest.

    Q: What’s the state of play with your drivers for next year? What are the important criteria for you and when do you hope to have that concluded?

    CA: We would like to have that done fairly quickly, I would say. In particular sooner than last year – because we were late in confirming our line-up –because there is an awful lot of work to be done between the teams and the drivers. A lot of teams are changing, including for the drivers, and the sooner we can integrate and work together, the better it will be for next year. Having said that, in terms of what we want, there is a lot of options. Consistency is a good thing, so one of the options is that we continue with the two drivers that we have, building on the relationship that we have started. But everything is changing anyway, so I think one thing we want is someone who is reliable in his feedback because we will have to develop the car during the season. We didn’t develop much the car this season. Next season will be a totally different ball game – in particular the start of the season when everything will be new. We will have to adapt ourselves, the drivers will have to adapt themselves, so experience might be something that is interesting but more than anything I think someone who’s capable of being almost transparent and providing the most accurate feedback as possible to the engineers who’re trying to understand how the car is working, is something that will be important for us.

    Q: Claire, do you feel you’re putting in place or making progress towards putting in place your ideal line-up for 2014?

    Claire WILLIAMS: We’re making progress. I think we’d ideally like to be able to make our driver announcement soon. Historically we’ve probably left it until the end of the season. I couldn’t give you a date now as to when we’re going to make the announcement but we’re definitely making progress, yes.

    Q: Obviously we find ourselves in the Middle East. You and your father have done a lot of work in Qatar. Is there any chance of getting any closer to them getting involved in the race team?

    CW: We’ve been in Qatar for three years now. We’ve had a business out there that’s developing flywheel technology and also working on road safety campaigns. It’s not an easy marketplace, it’s Frank’s project – I think he came out earlier this week or last saying he’d really like to get the deal done and he’s working really hard to do that. He’s coming out tomorrow and will be spending some time down in Qatar next week – but we’ll have to wait and see.

    Q: Paul, can you give us an update on what the situation was with Paul di Resta’s tyre during that session.

    Paul HEMBERY: From what we’ve understood there was something to do with the brakes. Not sure what but that’s the only info we’ve had so far.

    Q: Where does Pirelli stand in terms of tyre supply contract for 2014?

    PH: It’s done really. There’s one last piece to be done with the FIA. The lawyers are dealing with that – when you get lawyers involved with anything it tends to add time to whatever you’re doing. So, it’s just rumbling along.

    Q: What are the next steps you’re taking in terms of preparation of the tyres for 2014?

    PH: There’s a couple of things that are happening quite quickly. We’ve got a 1000km test with McLaren coming up in Vallelunga. We will be bringing to the Brazil race for P1, a couple of sets of tyres of the prototype for next season. We’re hopeful to do a couple of tests in December and January with an old-generation car and there’s been some good ideas going forward as to what we could do during the pre-season itself. It’s clearly a big step forward, if we’re looking at it selfishly from our point of view, to be in Bahrain for pre-season testing, the temperatures will be right, aggressive track and that will be very, very useful for us to understand the real impact of the new cars.

    Q: Martin, obviously you’re on a big recruitment drive at the moment, Peter Prodromou amongst others that you’ve been pulling in. Can you share with us your vision for the team and where you want to take it the next few years.

    Martin WHITMARSH: Well, I think it’s the same vision we’ve always had. We’re here to win and this year’s fallen short of that. So, when those things happen you reappraise your organisation, the resources, and you try harder. So, we’ve been going through that process and that’s meant we’ve been out recruiting and we’re pleased with some of the recruiting that we’ve done. But in the meanwhile we’ve still got to produce a quick car next year – so we’re working hard to do that.

    Q: You’ve got Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne to bring through into Formula One. Are you making any progress towards getting them a race drive for next year – or any kind of drive?

    MW: Yes, we are. I think both will be racing next year. We didn’t set out to have perhaps the two hottest prospects at the same time but I think that’s in effect what we have with both of them. They both deserve to be at the highest level and we’re working hard. I’m fairly confident that we’ll have both of them racing next year.

    Q: In Formula One?

    MW: No, both of them racing next year.

    Q: Either of them in Formula One?

    MW: Possibly one of them.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Luke Smith – NBC Sports) Franz, I want to talk about Jean-Eric Vergne because he obviously missed out on the Red Bull seat. Where does his future lie within the Red Bull set-up? Is he purely a stop-gap before you feel that either Antonio Felix da Costa or Carlos Sainz Jnr are ready for a seat at Toro Rosso?

    FT: I don’t see this. He will race for us next year. Jean-Eric Vergne is a high skilled driver. He has shown a couple of very good races and if the team provides him with a good competitive car, he is always – and at every race track – able to show a very good performance. I see a good future for him.

    Q: (Mark Bryans – PA) Claire, I just wanted to ask, in terms of driver line-ups, is it more important now more than ever to get that nailed down sooner rather than later because of all the regulations coming in and the changes that are happening throughout the sport next year? Will it be better to have those people in place going forward sooner than you would normally?

    CW: Yeah, I think clearly you want your driver line-up confirmed as soon as possible, so that they can start working with your engineers in order to support the development programme that you have in place, but most drivers have contracts that run up until certainly the last race of the season, and if not, the end of December so they can’t necessarily come in and help you when you want them to anyway. But yeah, inevitably, you want them to come in as soon as possible and just to get the whole announcement made as well and out there in the public domain and everyone can move on and everyone knows everyone else’s future.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – RacingLines) We’ve got five team principals and a very interesting split because you’ve got the two in the front who are members of the Formula One strategy group and then we’ve got Franz who’s… although Toro Rosso isn’t the associate team is, and then at the back we’ve got two who aren’t. I’d like to ask all five team principals’ opinion which side of the fence you’re on, how you justify or don’t the strategy group and particularly the two at the back, because what we have is a situation where a majority is actually dominated by a minority, a  privileged minority and that, where I come from – South Africa – used to be called apartheid?

    Q: Let’s start with one of the non-members, Graeme.

    GL: Thanks James. I think it’s disappointing not to be included, that’s one thing for sure. If we’re looking at sports’ governance then sport is fundamentally built upon the ethics of fair play and everything that goes with it. And so, when you’re looking at a body that is making really the strategic direction then it would certainly be nice to have some inclusion. You would look for some form of democracy, some transparency and some accountability. From our point of view, we’re not too sure how it’s all meant to work or is going to work because we’re not part of it, so it’s really quite difficult to even say whether this new body is going to be able to make the correct strategic decisions, but inherently, you have to think, when you’re outside of a group, you have to think ‘how can that group be making a decision that could be beneficial for everyone involved, including us?’ So it’s quite an enormous leap of faith, I think, that the teams who are excluded from it are being asked to make, that the structure will work. Obviously only time will tell and the group has an incredibly onerous role to  play, because it has the future of the sport that so many of us depend upon and our employees and the wider supplier base. So it has a very very important task and you would intuitively think that in particular an element of democracy would be good but I guess time will tell.

    CW: I think that from the outset we would like to say that Williams as a team, we’re pleased that we are on it. Clearly it’s important that we are and the reason being is that we’re an historic team in the sport, we’ve been racing for 36 years. But Graeme talking about the democratic process around it, I don’t necessarily want to comment on that but I think from our perspective, certainly, we will be going in there, clearly representing Williams but also, I hope, representing the other teams and the greater good of our sport as well.

    CA: First, I think an F1 strategy group is a good thing. I believe it’s something that was missing generally in the landscape of Formula One; that’s – to a degree – running the risk of upsetting some people. Maybe it’s a bit too technocratic. Having said that, I think we need to preserve the working group that will properly execute and follow up any decision that is made by the F1 strategy group. So I think generally that to have a group that is also thinking of the marketing side of things, the commercial side of things, ensuring the final consequences of the decisions that are made by technical sporting people, is the right thing to do. And maybe we will not come up with some situations in which we are… for instance, the engine which is quite expensive – so that, in itself, is a good thing looking ahead. Having said that, I think that regarding inclusion, I would totally share Graeme’s view and more than anything, I just simply don’t understand why all teams are not represented. I think we would not want a situation whereby one team can block a process and we need to make sure that we are progressive and that’s one of the things in any democracy but that, in itself, does not justify the fact that half of the grid is not represented.

    Q: Franz, you’re in a unique position in that your sister team is very much represented.

    FT:  Exactly, I have a good relationship with Christian Horner from Red Bull Racing and therefore we are a little bit involved, but nevertheless, the strategy group does not approve new rules because this comes from the Formula One Commission and in the Formula One Commission all the teams are involved and there’s a working process; there I don’t see any problem.

    Q: Final word from Martin; is there a FOTA dynamic to this, in terms of the fact you’re part of that, you represent their interests as well as your own?

    MW: I think that we’re in an evolving process at the moment. The full governance of the sport hasn’t been defined in the new Concorde. I agree with many… there’s as much inclusion as you can have in the sport is a good thing and I think we’ve been consistent in that. I think McLaren endeavours to be a good citizen within the sport. But I also agree with some of the things that Cyril said, that Formula One… we haven’t done enough contemplation of the strategy or the strategic development of our sport. I think we can do a better job together in that regard. Let’s see what happens. I think it’s going to evolve over the next few months and hopefully it will evolve to a shape and a form where everyone feels comfortable.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motor Sport total. Com) At the beginning of the engine cycle, one manufacturer was allowed to make some changes. Obviously next year a new engine format is coming in – the turbo engine. I wonder if any process is in place, if any discussions are going on with regard to homologation and what happens when the engines are spread quite a lot at the beginning of the season? Is there any process in place to address that?

    CA: Yeah. I think the first thing is that no one really knows what’s going to happen at the first race, so it’s very difficult, because we are talking about a framework or some re-tuning that will be allowed according to something that we don’t really know for the time being and there won’t be a magic KPI (Key Performance Indicator) or performance indicator that would summarise the whole performance of the package. So I think there must be an element of good faith in this process, see where we are, making sure that we get something that is sensible, such that any manufacturer who is short of performance is capable of doing something, also someone who is really too strong is capable of doing something else. Honestly I think it’s a bit terra incognita, I think we have to wait and see, unfortunately.

    MW: Well, in answer to the question, actually there is no process at the moment to do so. Clearly it isn’t as straightforward as just understanding peak power which is the traditional metric. As Cyril pointed out there are lots of metrics that will affect the performance of the car, the efficiency of the cooling system, fuel efficiency etc etc. So it’s a much more complex process but inevitably, if there’s a big mis-match, then the sport would be wise to deal with it. We can’t and shouldn’t afford to lose automotive manufacturers from the sport. They are the biggest investors in our sport and it’s important that we find a situation where the sport is perceived to be level, it’s got a good competition and there’s an active interest from as many automotive manufacturers as possible. But at the moment there’s no process.

    Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) To Cyril and Graeme: could you please put a value on securing tenth place, not only in terms of finances – basic financial value – but also in terms of how it will affect the future development of the team going forwards?

    GL:  Sadly, we can’t put a value on it because the terms of our commercial agreements are confidential and quite rightly so. But we’re all here to race, everyone in the team is a racer so… I get on very well with Cyril but I want to beat him and that’s the essence of our sport and that goes for every single person in the team. As you know, it takes a few hundred people to design and build a car and to race it and every single one of them is highly competitive and you can see when you go back to the factory there’s a… the factory’s a great barometer of what’s happening competitively at the race track. Tenth sounds a lot better than eleventh, ninth sounds better than tenth and so it goes on.

    CA: Exactly the same. We believe that we deserve this tenth place and we are going to fight to obtain it, as I said at the beginning, but one thing I should make clear is that it does not jeopardise the team’s future – maybe my future but not the team’s future.

    Ends

  • The development of Force India car stopped six months back: Sutil

    DRIVERS – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams), Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus), Adrian SUTIL (Force India), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing), Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, your fourth world title of course. Tell us about the last four days. What have you been doing, how have you celebrated and what has the reaction been like?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, the reaction has been very positive. Obviously great relief when I crossed the line on Sunday, a great feeling. Sunday night, obviously the whole team still had to do the pack-up, but we had a little bit of fun in the hotel bar – quite spontaneous. Obviously, there’s not a lot of time between the race in India and the race here, so the team is very busy. So we couldn’t go completely made, but I had a time on Sunday night and then I had two days at home before coming here, again fairly quiet, not very spectacular. I just enjoyed the peace at home. I had some time for myself, back with my girlfriend as well. So, fairly quiet.

    Probably history will remember this achievement as you in a strong team with a strong beating a very strong field of drivers – looking at the gentlemen sitting around you here. Is that how you see it?

    SV: I think that’s the way it always has been. When Lewis won his title in 2008 he was with a strong team facing strong drivers, same for Fernando in 2005 and 2006, so yeah, even 20 or 30 years ago it has always been the name of the game. That’s how people remember the past and one day will remember what we are doing now.

    Fernando, runner-up again. So hard to hit the sweet spot in Formula One isn’t it? How far off championship level do you feel your group is?

    Fernando ALONSO: I think we need to be realistic, knowing that we didn’t have the chance this year to fight for the championship. In the beginning of the year we were a little bit closer but then we were not quick enough and we are fighting now for other targets, which is the Constructors’ Championship and second place in the Drivers’ [Championship] as well, which was not the main priority when we started the season but still a good target to achieve and a good thing for the team, to help them. We’ll see, I think we need to keep very focused in the remaining races and try to do our best and obviously with half of our mind thinking of 2014 because we are competitive people, we want to win. This year it was not possible but next year we start from zero.

    How has your relationship with the team evolved over the course of the year, particularly in terms of steering a course for the future?

    FA: It’s fantastic. Obviously, every weekend I repeat the same thing. So I guess in Austin on Thursday the first question in the press conference will be how is my relationship with the team…

    The question was how has it evolved?

    FA: It was perfect, it’s perfect and it will be perfect.

    Lewis, coming to you. You didn’t perhaps expect to challenge for the title this year but can you talk about the level of the challenge coming from Sebastian and Red Bull and how you take the fight to them from here?

    Lewis HAMILTON: They’ve done an incredible job for some time now, so you know, they’ve raised the bar and everyone just needs to work harder. Us, as a team, we’re working as hard as we can to really put the energy into next year and hope that we can compete with them. That’s ultimately what I’d love to do and ultimately what the team desires too. That’s what the dream is. There’s a long steep curve for us to climb or hill for us to climb for next year but it’s more of a level starting ground for everyone and you can either get it right or wrong. Hopefully we’re on the right side.

    Racing drivers always move on very quickly and I wonder if mentally you’re already in 2014.

    LH: No, no. I’m still trying to… this year hasn’t been perfect for me and I’m always trying to learn and improve. There are lots of areas that can always be improved on, from myself and from the team, and we’re just working on those because we don’t want to carry the negatives of anything we have into next year.

    Q: Romain, really strong run of form at the moment. Was India your best performance yet in Formula One, do you think? How much more is there to come from you?

    Romain GROSJEAN: Hopefully two more places! It was certainly one of our best races. We misjudged our level of performance on the Saturday and we took the right decision about the strategy, how to go for the race. It was clearly not an easy one as I really had to first make the option tyre last and then try to make the prime tyre last for 47 laps. There were some quick cars around me, especially behind me, and yeah, just try to take care as much as we can of our tyres and do good driving. But I think Japan was a pretty good race. We had certainly a fantastic start and led the race from there, which was somehow easy to control in the first part. I think Red Bull was just a little bit too quick behind but when you watch the gap with Fernando who was P4, it was quite big, so I think those last four races have been pretty good: trying to improve myself every time, car is getting there and clearly the blue cars are still a little bit quicker than we are – but we try to push them as much as we can.

    Q: Let’s cut to the chase: you’re a completely different racing driver from 12 months ago. What’s the key to the turnaround do you think?

    RG: I don’t think there is any particular key to be honest. We like to put some things are changes but to me the work started a year ago and I’m improving myself day after day – or I’m trying to. The start of the season was poor. It’s a bit of a shame when we look at what we are capable to do right now but then since we put back the car in place it has been getting better and better. I was a bit unlucky before Germany and then Germany things turn out to be well together and from there we had very, very good races and the car is doing well.  Hopefully it’s going to be the case until the end of the season.

    Q: Adrian, strong drive in India, bold strategy. How important was it to stem the recent tide of Sauber getting closer and closer to you? And how much confidence has that given the team going forward now for the rest of the year?

    Adrian SUTIL: Well it was an important race for us, of course. It was our home grand prix and we wanted to show that we’re still able to be in the top ten. The last couple of races were a bit more difficult to score the points but we recovered and we did what we could to make a good result. We risked a little bit with the strategy – where we had both cars on a different strategy. I was on a one-stop – more risky – but almost the same outcome. Eighth and ninth position was almost the maximum we could achieve. Six points as a team, now 23 points ahead of Sauber, which is quite a good gap. It’s not over yet, we have to push on, but I think quite comfortable. It’s very important for us to save this sixth position in the championship, looking to next year of course, as a team. But I think, yeah, nice to have recovered a bit. Now we focus on what we have and try to optimise the package and do similar results in the next couple of races.

    Q: Looking from the outside it seems that the tyre change mid-season didn’t really help your team particularly. What do you feel about that?

    AS: Yes, it’s true. It’s one reason. We were a bit slower after that change but also we decided to stop the development very early in the season, so we had no parts on the car for the last six months or so. It’s quite a long time. I think it just hit us: from the tyre; from the development. Also the strategies in the race were more equal for everyone. Normally we were able to save one pitstop just because our tyre life was much better to others. After the tyre change that was different. But also we messed up a little bit the setup in the last races. We tried to somehow go back where we were but with a package where we just couldn’t make it. We tried different setups and it almost just slowed us down even more. We got problems, we made mistakes as the driver because the car was so difficult to drive. So, in India was said “we stop it, we take what we’ve got,” and that was the key for the points.

    Q: Valtteri, been obviously a difficult, challenging year for you. What sort of shape are Williams in going forward?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been a challenging year. We’ve been learning a lot the whole year as a team. It’s been very tough. So we’re definitely I think going in a good direction, we’re now very focussed for next year. What I’ve seen at the factory, the working at the factory is changing. We’ve got some new people and I’ve already seen some good things. I really think the future of Williams will be much better than what we’ve seen this year.

    Q: Not too many rumours about you, does that indicate that you’re staying put for next year?

    VB: I think Claire Williams is tomorrow in the press conference so maybe you can ask her.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Joy Chakravarty– Sport 360) Seb, considering that the big prize is already yours, how will you motivate yourself to win over the next three races, and if you win on Sunday, will it be one of your greatest challenges, when you win with just about nothing to gain from the season, at least?

    SV: Well, I don’t think we approach the weekend as if there’s nothing to gain. I think we – as a fact – we love what we’re doing. We enjoy the challenge and that’s why there’s no question as to why we are here and what we have to do. We want to race, race the others as hard as possible. If we have a chance, we want to win. As I said, I had some quiet days at home which was good, to sober up after India and get ready for here.

    Q: (Khodr Rawi – Autosport Middle East) Sebastian, after winning so many races and four consecutive championships, do you think it will be harder again for you to lose?

    SV: To be honest, I’m not getting in the car and thinking that there’s a guarantee that we will do well. Maybe that’s a little bit the impression that you get from the outside; obviously since the summer break we’ve won all the races but we come here and there’s absolutely no guarantee that we will do well, so we have to give it everything we have. Yes, we have a strong package so I think we have reason to be confident. I need the team, I think the team needs Mark and myself to push the car to the limit and to get some good results. There’s no guarantee for what we’ve been doing the last couple of races to make it last.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, last four qualifyings you have managed to beat your teammate. Have you found something new in your one lap performance?

    VB: The whole season I’ve been learning a lot and there are little things you’re picking up all the time. In qualifying, it’s been very tight this year – it’s always like that – and every hundredth counts. I think after the August break, for sure I’ve also improved in qualifying. I think I can now maybe get a bit more out of the car more consistently than before. I feel more confident all the time, so maybe we can see that in the results.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, we heard yesterday some declaration from Dieter Mateschitz saying that Red Bull has been working hard on the development for this season but also trying many new parts that they will use in 2014; about 50 percent of that will be on next year’s car. How is the situation at Mercedes? Have you been trying the same path or also working on trying to fight with Ferrari for second place in the Constructors’ series?

    LH: Probably not being doing as much as it sounds as they have been doing, in terms of developing for next year, but I think that a lot of the stuff that you do develop on this year’s car, upgrades that we do bring to this year’s hopefully will have an effect on next year’s car. It’s kinda of similar but some teams obviously can turn their focus a little bit earlier and some a little bit later, but hopefully, ultimately, we’ll still be competitive next year with these guys.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To Romain, Sebastian and Fernando: what do you think of Kimi as a man and as a driver?

    RG: As a man, I would say yeah, Kimi basically I don’t know him. He is with me as he is with you. As a driver, he’s a very good driver and he has been, until recently, a very good teammate. He’s a quicker driver, he’s a consistent driver and to me, having him to learn (from) and to improve myself has been pretty good. But yeah, I don’t see him in different clothes to the ones we’re wearing right now.

    SV: Well, I think I have huge respect for the fact that he loves what he’s doing, he loves motor racing, any form of it. Obviously, I think Formula One gives him a lot of satisfaction to drive a Formula One car. He doesn’t like the rest of it so much. On a personal level, he does talk to me. I don’t know what I do differently. He’s one of the most straightforward guys I’ve met so far and I respect a lot that he has always been very honest. Since I came into Formula One, he was ready to help, even gave me a lift a couple of times early on. I get along with him.

    FA: Personally, I cannot say anything because I do not know him enough to speak about him personally. As a driver, he’s a great champion, great talent, very very fast. He likes what he’s doing. That’s the best thing.

     

    File photo of Adrian Sutil with an Engineer. Photo by Sahara Force India F1 team
    File photo of Adrian Sutil with an Engineer. Photo by Sahara Force India F1 team

    Ends

  • Incredible two years in India and a very nice trophy to boot: Vettel

    DRIVERS
    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
    3 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

    Sebastian, did you help design this race track or something? You seem so at home here, as  a driver and with your car.
    Sebastian VETTEL: I think it’s been an incredible two years for us, both times to come here and win the race, get the pole on Saturday and win the race on Sunday is fantastic. There’s always a very nice trophy so I’m very, very happy to pick up another nice one this year, so a very special grand prix. I don’t know what is it about this circuit but I really like the flow of it. Sector One is a bit slow with long straights but Sector Two and Three are really nice and I think we all enjoy it. Big thanks to the team, as I said on the radio, every single one is pushing very hard and I think there’s not one thing that stands out and makes the difference: not today’ not yesterday; not this weekend. I think it’s all of us working hand in hand together. If we’re here on the track or back in Milton Keynes, everyone is pushing hard and I think that’s what makes the difference. I’m very, very happy, I’m glad to be part of that and just enjoying the moment.

    You’ve led every race, every lap for three consecutive races now. The last man to do that was the great Ayrton Senna in 1989, you’re in great company and you’re clearly on great form.
    SV: Don’t say things like that! It’s very, very special. I think we all will remember Ayrton forever, not just because he was successful and he had these kinds of numbers speaking for him but he was a great person. So very, very happy.

    Fernando, do you ever, ever give up? You’re relentless.
    Fernando ALONSO. No, obviously, it’s not easy at the moment to fight with Red Bull but we will never give up. I think we are happy today, we have to congratulate them, they were fantastic this weekend so well done Red Bull, well done Sebastian – but yeah, we want to be happy and we want to enjoy Brazil, not only here so I’m sure we will do it.

    Bittersweet for you? You split the Red Bulls but you still lost points in the World Championship.
    FA: Yeah, we lost points but I think this was more or less the plan this weekend: we were not fast enough to compete against them, so we lost the minimum points, which is finishing second, so a s I said, better races will come.

    How fast was your car in a straight line. Take us down to Turn Four at the start, it was incredible.
    FA: Yeah, we were quite fast in a straight line but we are still missing a little bit of grip in the corners that hopefully will come in the next races. Today we have to thank the team for this fantastic straight-line speed that give us some good overtaking manoeuvres and some good action.

    Mark, you had to work hard to be up on this podium today.
    Mark WEBBER: Yes. First of all thanks to the crowd, they are fantastic today. I enjoyed the fight today; it was a difficult race, very difficult for me to get into a rhythm, we had a few issues we needed to manage on the car but fair play to the other guys it was a good, tough grand prix. Lewis and Fernando were very strong on the hard tyre and with our KERS it was very difficult. I was happy with how I drove and we’ll come back for Abu Dhabi.

    So when he breezed past you down the straight, you were missing your KERS at that time and just helpless? There’s nothing you could do?
    MW: Yes, that right. It was very difficult to defend there because you need the KERS to get you on that type of corner.

    Sebastian, we see some amazing names up here, champions including Fernando alongside you and you’re on there twice. Surely you must feel now that you’ve got one hand on that World Championship trophy for 2012.
    SV: The other one is probably Fernando and there are other ones as well. So I think if we speak about the World Championship, obviously this was another good step for us but still a long way to go and we have seen this year how quickly things can change. As I said earlier, it feels fantastic to be up here and have a race like that where everything works the way you want it to. Yeah, very, very proud, very, very happy and enjoying it. That was today. Now we are focusing on Abu Dhabi next week. There’s a lot more to come and we’ll try to take things step by step.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian well done, your fourth win in succession, which is amazing. And your thoughts on that.
    SV: As you said, it’s pretty amazing obviously. It’s very hard to target those kind of things. I think they either happen or they don’t happen. I think the secret, if there is any, is that we didn’t approach the first of those four races thinking we can win four. We focussed on the first one, then on the second one, then on the third one, then on the fourth one. So, really step by step. I think, as I said on the radio and earlier, I think the whole team is working together fantastically well. I don’t think there is one thing that stands out to make a difference. We can see that in every kind of area. We don’t have any problems on Friday, we get through our programme, we get more or less the answers we want, we are able to improve the car from Friday to Saturday with support here on the track but also in the factory. Guys helping us to improve the car. We get the most out of it in qualifying. We had a fantastic race today. Great pitstops as well, obviously those things are easy to forget and easy to remember when they go wrong but I think the pitstops were fantastic – at least the one I had. It takes a lot of discipline, focus in the right moment, to be there, to be sharp and I think we were in the moment. Not thinking about yesterday or last week or last race and not thinking about the end of the race or next week. So, really tried to focus on the moment, which I think is the best thing we can do to maximise the result today. As I said, I’m very happy, I enjoyed the race a lot. I think it was crucial to open a gap in the first stint to break the DRS early to Mark, who had a very good start I think, and it was quite close in Turn One. But I was able to brake a little bit late and have quite a good exit out of Turn Three, which was important for the remainder of the race, and then was able to open a gap, not just to Mark but also to the cars behind and obviously control the race from there. I think we were very competitive on the soft tyres; on the hard tyres I think McLarens and Ferrari were pretty competitive. Unfortunately Mark lost KERS but as I said, I think we were probably not as competitive on the primes as on the soft tyres but all in all a fantastic race. And again a fantastic trophy this year in India. Just very, very happy.

    A pretty amazing 33 laps on used soft tyres.
    SV: To be honest it’s difficult to know when you start the race how long you can go – but I think we felt after a couple of laps that the tyres were holding up reasonably well and then when you cross around 15/16 to 20 laps with still something in the tyres left, you obviously know it goes more to the direction of one stop. I think it was anyway always going to be one or two stops. On Friday the tyres seemed to last fairly well and again they did today. So yeah, it’s not always happening like that, sometimes we have a surprise on Sunday, so I think we prepared as much as we could but by that stage it was obviously clear to not split the 27 remaining laps in two bits: so to go with the prime stint and do the same as everyone else did. I think we all came the pits within five to ten laps.

    Were you actually being pushed in by Mark at the end there, back into the pits? Had you ran out of fuel?
    SV: Ah yes! I switched off the car. I was told to park the car under the podium but I didn’t know how far away it was. I didn’t remember that from last year. I think it’s the only big mistake that happened to us this weekend. But it didn’t really matter and Mark gave me a push. He’s quite popular for those sort of things. I think he gave Fernando a lift last year in Nürburgring when he had to stop on track. Yeah, gave me a little bit of a push to make it to Park Ferme to stop the car. Thank You.

    Fernando, as Martin was saying on the podium, we had a fairly good illustration of how good your DRS is on the straight. Two extraordinary overtaking manoeuvres, particularly at the start for example with the McLarens and then later with Mark.
    FA: The first lap we cannot use DRS anyway, it was just the slipstream and I was a nice run out of Turn Three and I could overtake both the McLarens. They were fighting but forgot I was there in Turn Four so they keep the fight by their own selves. We nearly touch each other but I was lucky to exit Turn Four without any damage and overtake one of them. Jenson was defending into Turn Six quite a lot so unfortunately we could overtake only one at the start. One after a few laps because I think we had a little bit more pace than Jenson and then with Mark it was a combination of KERS and DRS because I think Mark was running without KERS so that make a huge difference in terms of top speed and the overtaking was relatively easy.

    You must be pretty encouraged by this second place today. To be so close to Sebastian today.
    FA: Yes, I think it’s good news for us, seeing that we could fight Red Bull in the race. More or less we knew this. In qualifying we are not close enough to fight for pole position but in the race normally things improve for us. Today was another example but it was perfect for the strategy from the team: very good start, very good top speed and tyre management. Everything set up for the race, everything was fine and I push 120 per cent every lap so the combination was this second place.

    So when you look at Abu Dhabi, what are your hopes there?
    FA: I think we need to bring some new parts to Abu Dhabi, hopefully improve a little bit more then competitiveness of the car, try to be a little bit closer to Red Bulls on Saturday and hopefully on Sunday as well. Obviously three races remaining; championship is the main target so we need to recover some points and will be nice to finish in front of Sebastian in Abu Dhabi, whatever the position it is. And if we can win the race it will be even better – but for that we need to make a step forward. At the moment we are not able to win.

    Mark, a good start off the line.
    MW: It was good – just a shame it wasn’t a long Barcelona or Malaysia: it would have been a bit nicer but I had the run, obviously, but then the radius into Turn One on the inside… I mean we were together but it’s very, very tricky down in there and also I saw Fernando last year obviously if you brake on the limit it’s very easy to go a bit too far. So, Seb come across, which is fair enough and then I was worried about the other guys obviously having a very good exit on not just me but both of us. Turn Three: was very important to get to there in good shape. So, the start was good, exit at Turn Three wasn’t too bad. Obviously it’s tricky for all of use to get off there on the first lap. I got off there not too bad, got a little bit of a tow off Seb and then settled into the race from there.

    And then that first pitstop – you must have been longing to make that first pitstop and knowing you couldn’t – because you were losing time obviously just before the end of the stint.
    MW: No, I was pretty happy with where the stop is. It’s nice to go a little bit longer. We had to react to Fernando. We would have gone even longer. Obviously it wasn’t due to tyres, it was due to KERS that I started to lose the rhythm and the tempo: obviously when the KERS is coming on and off, we need to also screw around with the brake balance and lots of other things. The guys have got a huge amount of plate-spinning to try to feed that into the cockpit for me. The last thing you want in a one-stop strategy race is starting to have front locking. Because we need to do long, long stints. So obviously this is a pain in the arse and we had to manage it as best we can. The stop was really because of when Fernando pitted, so we had to react to that. Stop was alright and then the prime was a little bit more high-maintenance; a little bit trickier actually, I think for both Seb and I. I managed to break the DRS, managed to get away from Fernando. I then got myself together. KERS was there or there abouts, on and off, and then I caught… I mean the blue flags didn’t do nothing for the backmarkers, that’s the problem: the guys don’t know how much time they kill us in the fast corners. So, when you catch some of those guys in those corners, you lose a second and a half in one sector, or a second. Which happened twice. But, that’s the way it was. And those guys can’t do that when you’ve got guys… when you’re racing with Fernando, the three of us on the limit, Fernando’s going to be all over that stuff. So, it was back on again, and then when I had no KERS, I mean it’s not really a battle on the back straight. I went across to the inside but Fernando come past. They’ve got a very good top gear as well, big top speed. That was it. Then I pushed like… as strong as possible to get to the end of the race. So third, I’m pretty happy with how I drove, I think I drove a pretty good race but in the end it wasn’t enough. We could have got more points today for sure. Well done to Seb on the win.

    How much pressure from Lewis at the end?
    MW: Certainly needed to keep the focus and y’know, it’s so demoralising, that straight with no KERS. I think I was very lucky that Lewis made a mistake in Turn Three, I think on lap 57. I saw it in the mirrors, it was either 57 or 58. And that was important because I think he was starting to get a bit of momentum and I was very keen to keep him off the DRS as long as possible because once he got that I was toast. I think another two laps and he would have got me.

    When did you have the problem with KERS? When did you lose it first?
    MW: Around about lap 19, 20. Maybe a bit earlier. It was on and off and then completely off and then off. It was a moving target really.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Vinayak Pande – Hindustan Times) Fernando, yesterday you were quoted as saying that you were 100 percent certain that you will be this year’s World Champion. Do you still feel that way after this race?
    FA: Of course. We know that there were still 100 points yesterday and now 75 points (available). We are 13 behind. We know that we need to improve. We are not fast enough, especially on Saturdays, as I said, but hopefully we can improve the situation in Abu Dhabi or in USA. The races are long, and as we saw today with Mark, a KERS problem can happen to anyone, it can happen to Seb, it can happen to me and it can happen to all of us. Still many points on the table and I’m still very optimistic.

    Q: (Vinayak Pande – Hindustan Times) Of the three races that are left, is there any one in particular, do you think,  that will favour Ferrari?
    FA: I think Brazil will be quite good for us and hopefully it’s a happy Grand Prix.

    Q: (Sudhir Chandran – Chequered Flag) Now that you have been a part of two editions of the Indian Grand Prix, is there one unique feature about thi

    Vettel at the post-race FIA Press Conference. A photo by BIC
    Vettel at the post-race FIA Press Conference. A photo by BIC

    s track, destination or venue, which you find distinctly different from the others that you race at around the world, fans included?
    SV: I think every Grand Prix is special and has something special about it. Obviously it’s the second time that we’ve run here. So far, all the quotes from the drivers regarding this circuit have been very positive. It’s a lot of fun for us. It’s not so easy to manage the tyres in one lap for qualifying, but also over the race (distance) so it’s a big challenge and I think that’s what we like. There are some corners, like turn 15, where you always think that something went wrong and you will try and do it better next time. You get challenged to the limit which is obviously what we like. We don’t want to make mistakes but obviously we like those sort of places.

    On top of that, I think it’s an impressive country. Obviously last year I had a bit of time to have a look, and I think coming back is quite a big difference. Obviously, in here (the paddock) it’s something that we all know, the Formula One paddock but having a look at  Delhi or a little bit the life outside the circuit is very different to other places. I think there’s a couple of stations or a couple of stops on the calendar that are very impressive in that regard. India has a lot to offer. There are a lot of people here: 1.3 billion or more so quite incredible and just to see that, to see how people live here, to see the culture, I think is very very different.

    In life, I think a lot is always about expectations and in Europe expectations are very very high. Money plays a big role whereas here, I think, expectations are fairly low. Money is not that important. It doesn’t matter how old you are. I think it’s more important to have a healthy, happy life, to enjoy your life with your family, with your kids. Sometimes to compare the circumstances you live in, here in India compared to Europe – obviously I grew up in Germany – it’s black and white, it’s very different but it’s nice to see that the people are so happy, warm-hearted. I think it would definitely be nice to spend a little bit more time to travel around and get more of an idea. As I said, in here, everything is more or less the same. It will be the same next week when we go to Abu Dhabi, even though it’s a completely different place. As a country, this place has a lot to offer.

    MW: Good question and a good answer.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Moto und Sport) Sebastian, in the latter part of the race, the front end of your floor seemed to touch the ground. You could see sparks coming off it. Did it cost you time; it seemed to have repaired itself later on?
    SV: I noticed the problem. I think it was when I got the DRS of a backmarker, from Timo (Glock) actually, pretty close to the end of the race and obviously when you open DRS, you go much quicker down the straight and I saw some sparks. I think you’ve seen a couple of cars throwing out some sparks out of the back of the car this weekend. I don’t think it was really a problem. I didn’t feel anything regarding the balance (of the car). All the other laps it was no problem, but I saw it in the mirror, I saw Timo backing off and I think he was a bit afraid at the time. We obviously need to analyse what was the problem, but it didn’t cost us anything or slow us down.

    Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media House) Sebastian, every time you make a point about the team members in the factory and those working behind the scenes. You seem to have a special bond with your pit crew which plays an important role in any driver’s success, whether he is a World Champion contender or not. Can you share what kind of relationship you have with your pit crew members and the main members of the team?
    SV: I think it’s the same for Mark and myself. Obviously we work very closely with the guys. I think we have 20 races a year, a couple of pre-season tests and obviously we spend a lot of time in the factory, we spend time here at the track, working with the members of the team, every single one: mechanics, engineers, all sorts of staff. Obviously you know who you’re talking to. If you’re new to the environment it takes a bit of time to get to know everyone and to get to know how everyone ticks. I think the special thing at the moment and the special thing at the beginning of the year at any stage is the atmosphere in the garage is fantastic, the guys are really incredible. I don’t know how they do it, they hardly sleep at night, only a couple of hours. They try to prepare the car as best as they can in order to give Mark and myself the best chance to have a solid race. Back in the factory, the people are pushing, obviously trying to improve the car. It’s obviously difficult to say thank you to each and every one because quite a lot of people work behind the scenes in our team, but everyone plays their role, it’s not a one man show. I think the result today or the result last week or whenever, the results in the last two years are not just thanks to me or thanks to Adrian (Newey), or thanks to any particular person in the team, I think it’s thanks to all of us. Everyone is pushing hard, there are lots of bright guys with good ideas. Obviously some guys are really important but all in all, that’s the spirit we share and it’s just nice to be a big part of it.

    Q: (L.P. Shahi – The Telegraph India) Sebastian, you say there is no one element that makes the difference. Are you under-estimating your own part in this?
    SV: No, that’s the way I see it. Obviously on a Sunday afternoon or a Saturday afternoon, whenever, in qualifying, in the race, when I’m out in the circuit in the car, then I know that there is a lot depending on me. If I get it wrong there’s no result, if I get it right it might be a good result. But I think there’s far more work behind that than just one lap in the race, or one lap in qualifying, one result in a year, in the season. That’s why I’m convinced of what I said and I think everyone is pushing very hard. Obviously it’s easier to measure if I make a mistake, I lose half a second in the last corner, it’s easy to say that instead of 1m 30.0s, I could have done 1m 29.5s but that’s why it’s difficult to measure the effort everyone brings in. The guys in the garage are working hard, preparing the car, preparing the pit stop etc. It’s obviously difficult to measure if you’re talking about performance or lap time, but then it becomes very easy to measure if you don’t finish the race, compared to a race where you do finish and you collect a lot of points. Sometimes it’s down to one guy who is obviously committed and does the right thing at the right moment, preventing a problem or sometimes his head is not right, he’s not fully committed then small mistakes add up to maybe a big mistake costing a certain result on a Sunday. I think that’s where it’s fair to say that we win together and we lose together.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, looking at the performance that you had during the race, and the result that you had at the end, second place, may we say that this was the best race of your season, or the best performance in the car?
    FA: I think it’s difficult to say, I don’t know, it’s difficult to chose. I’m really proud and happy of the Valencia performance, or Malaysia or some other races where we fight all the race through, Monza etc, but definitely this one was one of the best, I think, pushing from lap one to the last lap, not risking or taking more risks that in previous races with overtakings etc, so quite happy .

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Honorary) Seb, there’s been all the stories on the internet about you and Ferrari. Could you set the record straight please: is there any arrangement, agreement, talk between you and your people and Ferrari?
    SV: This could be quite funny now, what I say… No, there’s nothing, nothing to tell you, nothing I’ve signed. Nothing has changed. It’s quite amusing. I don’t know where it came from but… I don’t read much, so it’s quite a surprise when you get to the circuit and get all these questions. Nothing to report. As I said, I can’t be  happier at the moment, I’m very happy with…

    Actually, there’s one thing I would like to say about this. As I said, there’s no reason to write anything or report anything but obviously, as I said earlier, you don’t know every single one in the team, and it’s hard to speak to every single one, so if there’s – sorry to say – some bullshit in the press, obviously there might be some concerns back in the factory, but I’m 100 percent behind them as I feel they’re 100 percent behind me and therefore I want to get this straight: there’s nothing to report and I’m very happy at Red Bull Racing.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Sebastian, during the last ten laps when Fernando passed Mark, did you fear that Fernando would come back after you and may be successful?
    SV: You never feel too certain. Obviously it’s important, as I said earlier, I tried to open a gap to – you know – later on, and no matter what happened, to have a little bit of a cushion, to have time to react to be able to control the race in the end. Obviously I was told that Fernando got into P2, Mark had the problem, so I think, as Mark said, obviously with a completely smooth race he could stay ahead. As we also said, on the hard tyres, McLaren and Ferrari were quite competitive. I think I had the same gap when he started to be second as I had in the end, so I was able to keep the gap and control the race.

    Q: (Frank Schneider – Bild Zeitung) Question to Fernando and to Seb: Seb, first, is there anything you want from Fernando at the moment; and Fernando is there anything you want to have from Seb at the moment?
    SV: Could I…? Ah, no you have a cap. I was just about to say, his cap, but he hasn’t… Where did you get that from?
    FA: I can give it to you but… I didn’t understand the…
    SV: I think we are both happy with what we have.

    Ends

     

  • It’s a brilliant weekend; hope to make it big: Sebastian Vettel

    Greater Noida, 26 Oct 2013: After taking the pole position in India, the reigning world champion who is well-equipped to seal his fourth world championship driver’s title said that he hopes to make it big on Sunday

    Vettel and Hamilton in a jovial mood during the FIA Press Conference after qualies on Saturday. A BIC photo
    Vettel and Hamilton in a jovial mood during the FIA Press Conference after qualies on Saturday. A BIC photo

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    Q: Sebastian, it seems to have just been a seamless weekend for you. It seems to have all gone perfectly so far.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah – so far it’s a brilliant weekend. The car has run basically very, very well since yesterday morning. We didn’t have to change a lot and through qualifying it just got better when the track ramped up. New tyres again, new tyres again and yeah, the car was amazing. It’s a great circuit, I really like the flow of the track, especially around the middle sector with all the high-speed corners – but for sure it’s not a secret if your car behaves the way you want to through there then for sure you’re going to enjoy that a lot. So, I think we did that today. Great result – also for the team. Obviously Mark is on a different strategy so we’ll see what the race brings tomorrow.

    Q: Your third pole position here, you’ve led every lap so far, you must start favourite to win the race tomorrow – and take the ultimate prize.

    SV: Yeah – I’m trying not to think about it. Obviously it’s difficult when every second person in the paddock asks you the same question.  But I think we’ve done pretty well in the past, focussing on every single step and I don’t see a reason why to change things for tomorrow or the next couple of races. So, yeah, we’re in a good position. I think we worked hard to be there and yeah, tomorrow is a long race, as I touched on, with strategy I think it will be tricky to always do the right thing – but there’s a lot of laps so I think we have a quick package and should be in good shape tomorrow.

    Q: Nico, you said yesterday it was a tough day. Obviously a lot of progress made.

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, and to be honest we’re – I’m – completely on a knife’s edge. Really pushing the limits this weekend, just trying to extract that little tenth more out of the car. Trying different things, new ways, new setups and until now it works. So I’m very pleased with that. Qualifying in second is better than I hoped for – because of Mark being on another strategy, so for the moment it’s looking OK. The race is still going to be tough because it’s very different circumstances here with the Option tyre really struggling at the beginning of the race tomorrow and then Prime will be OK but also the balance of the car is all very different. So, we’ll see.

    Q: The strategy really is what it’s down to. Is that preferable for you drivers? Is that something you enjoy?

    NR: Well, I’m very interested in it, yeah, but it’s so complex that you really rely on the pit wall to do their job – but of course I prepare for it well before the race and look into it and also discuss what my preference is and all of those things.

    Q: Lewis, third on the grid and obviously great that the two Mercedes are second and third – best of the rest as it were – behind Sebastian. What are your feelings?

    Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been a tough weekend. It’s been a tough weekend for us and incredible… congratulations to Sebastian, it’s obvious that that’s some serious pace that they have, especially with Webber on the Primes just behind us. But we’ve been pushing, as Nico said, as hard as we can. We really want to get a great result this weekend. Strategy is going to play a huge part but I was a little bit surprised to be where we are but generally, bit by bit, adjusting the set-up and everything, we got a reasonable balance and hopefully tomorrow we can push together to try and stay ahead of the rest.

    Q: Any traffic issues out there?

    LH: I did have through eight and nine. I did have someone in front of me – I’m not really sure who it was, I was so focussed on the road. It didn’t help (To Vettel: “It might have been you!”). I think it may have been one of the Red Bulls, but I probably didn’t lose too much time. Yeah, anyways, look forward to tomorrow.

    Q: Sebastian, did you consider the same strategy as Mark?

    SV: Well, I have to start on the different tyre so obviously the strategy is different. It’s all difficult now, as Nico touched on, obviously. It’s very interesting, surely not easy. I think in the end if everybody does his bit then it probably doesn’t matter too much. Surely the race will different in the beginning if you start on the opposite tyre. So for us three I think it’s the same thing but then obviously I think Mark is the first car on Primes – with a different strategy.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Sebastian: 43rd pole position, as I said, you’ve got an amazing record around here. What is it about this circuit?

    SV: I don’t know. I really like this circuit, especially the middle sector. I think it’s very challenging with all the fast, or high-speed corners. It really depends, obviously, if the car does what you want. I think that’s what all of us enjoy and in particular you get to enjoy that around these couple of corners. So, yeah, the car’s been strong since Friday morning, since yesterday morning. We didn’t have to adjust that much. Of course you always trim a little bit – in the right direction hopefully. But, yeah, we’ve been very strong on both compounds, so a good result, and also a good result for the team with Mark sitting in fourth, right behind those two guys.

    Q: Interesting with that strategy certainly. I wondered if you’d considered that or how much of a threat that strategy is?

    SV: Which one?

    Q: With the medium tyre.

    SV: Well, difficult to say now. Obviously we decided to go for what I did together, and Mark decided to go for the opposite. So, yeah, what turns out to be the right strategy, we’ll find out tomorrow. But I’m sure the race is long and you will have plenty of time to make up. In the end I think the strategies shouldn’t determine the result that much. We’re got very good pace, the car, as I said, behaves well around here, so we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.

    Q: Have you solved the problem – if there was a problem – about the start from Japan?

    SV: Well, we just got surprised by how low the grip was, I think. Yeah, obviously, both then, I think we’ve been a bit too aggressive, too much wheel-slip and the guys behind us had a better start. So, for sure, we’ll try to do better tomorrow – but quite confident. I think the starts we had before that were pretty good. Korea, I had a very good start, so I think we know how to do it, we just need to get it all right.

    Q: Nico, easily your best qualifying here, your previous best was seventh a couple of years ago – so you must be very pleased with that.

    NR: I am, yeah, definitely. Coming here I knew it was going to be trying to be best of the rest and managed to do that really well today with second place. And even getting Mark because he’s on a different strategy. So, yeah, I’m pleased with that. It’s really been a tough weekend because we really just pushed the limits, completely on everything, to try to extract that tenth or two more out of the car. I think up to now it’s been successful. It’s been very, very difficult, on a knife’s edge all the time but for now it’s worked, it seems. We’re a step forward from where we were in recent races and that’s good to see. But still a long race tomorrow.

    Q: Question for both you and Lewis really. Did you consider going the medium tyre route?

    NR: Well of course it’s always a consideration. It was a consideration for tomorrow but we decided that soft tyre was the best way to go.

    Q: Do you feel it was a bit of gamble to go that way?

    NR: No, not a gamble. It was the best thing to do from my point of view.

    Q: To go on the mediums would have been a gamble?

    NR: Not really a gamble either because that strategy is also a good one, yeah? But we just through our one was better.

    Q: Lewis, basically happy with third or do you think you could have pipped Nico?

    LH: It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. Nico did a great job, he’s been strong all weekend and on my side, I’ve struggled a little bit through this weekend. I struggled a little bit with something different on the car this weekend which Nico had had experience of seeing maybe in the past. I came to grips with it really quite quickly at the end and I’m really happy with the result and the lap time that I was able to get. There’s always a little bit of time everywhere but we’ll try and push these guys as hard as we can in the race obviously. They’re in another world but we’ll try to stay ahead of the rest.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazetta dello Sport) Nico and Lewis, obviously, as you said, you are the best of the rest and probably Sebastian will do the race by himself and you’re going to control Ferrari more for second place in the Constructors’ championship. Do you think that Alonso’s strategy, starting with medium, could be a threat to you or do you feel confident that you have better pace than them here?

    NR: Well, we’ve been a little bit quicker, I feel, until now, the whole weekend, but of course that strategy is a threat, because there’s not that much difference between the two strategies so for sure we need to keep an eye on, them.

    Q: (Sudhir P. Chandran – Chequered Flag) Sebastian , I’m curious to know what kind of music or chant do you listen to on your headphones before qualifying and the race, every single time, to get on top, every time you’ve gone out?

    NR: Didn’t you say Justin Bieber last time? No?

    SV: No.

    NR: Ok, I must have misunderstood or misheard that one

    SV: It’s not really… it’s music, yes, but it’s more like melodies, no singing, so no Justin Bieber. I think that was on your iPod. In the end, it’s not a secret, it’s just music that gets me or tries to get me in the zone so that I hopefully get the best out of myself.

    Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) Sebastian, the second part of the season has always been fruitful for you, the last two seasons when you have delivered most and this year also you are delivering your best in the second part of the season. Is there anything special about the races, especially in Asia?

    SV: Not a lot, really. I’m trying hard in the first half as well. Obviously the last couple of years it was a benefit to do well in the second half. I think generally there’s no track in the calendar that I dislike. I think towards the end, we’ve got very good tracks such as here and the best one, I think,  Suzuka. For the last race, maybe there’s a little bit of that but I don’t think there’s a reason why we perform better in the second half than the first one. I think, as a team, we’ve been working very hard and very consciously on our fitness; it’s a long year for all the teams so that we make sure that we’re still on top of our game towards the end.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Nico and Lewis answered this earlier, so just for Seb: in a few weeks we will be in Texas, what are your thoughts on the track and also the ambiance at the track and in the city of Austin?

    SV: Well, I think it was fantastic last year. To be honest, we were all very surprised. Obviously, up to that point, Formula One didn’t have the best record in the United States, so it was great to see that there were so many people. The whole city… I think that’s really the special thing that we enjoy, apart from the track itself, that the whole city was living the Grand Prix. You could feel that there was a special vibe and that everyone was looking forward to the event. I think it was generally very positive. We obviously look forward to going there again. I think the track is tricky, very challenging, mixed, with high speed and slow corners. It was nice to be on the podium last year, nice to get a different kind of hat. Yeah, we’ll try to do it again.

    Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) Sebastian, it is known how much you admire the history of F1 so what is your top five drivers of all time?

    SV: I don’t think it’s fair to only name… that for sure there is more than five. There are different times in Formula One so if you look back recently, you’ve got a couple of drivers racing now but obviously if you don’t look too far back, drivers like Mika (Hakkinen), Michael (Schumacher), Ayrton (Senna), Nigel Mansell dominated their times in a way – Prost – so you cover quite a lot of the last couple  of years. After that, there’s guys like Lauda, Piquet. I don’t think it’s fair to highlight one-two-three because Formula One has changed.

    Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) Sebastian after the qualifying was over, you took an instrument from your teammate and checked the brakes. This shows 100 percent involvement, that you’re very serious about the set-up and the technical preparation of the car and 100 percent involvement is giving you 100 percent commitment and earning nearly 100 percent success. So how much involvement and what motivates you to be so into the game?

    SV: Well, I think first off, if you don’t give your 100 percent, then you would be disappointed because you didn’t give your 100 percent… No, I’m joking. It’s a team effort at the end of the day, you know. The team is pushing very hard and you also feel that you have to deliver as well, as I feel part of the team, so I feel that I’ve got to do my bit right as well and for sure you’re very conscious, so you try to find the right set-up. The team obviously tries to support you as much as possible, before the race, at the race weekend. I love what I do, it’s days like this when you get out and the car feels fantastic, it’s the greatest reward you can get so for sure you want to use all that 100 percent.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, if you look at the previous three years when you won the championship, the day before, what is the difference? What is your approach, how are you going to approach tomorrow’s race?

    SV: To be honest, I think they’ve been very similar. Obviously two of the three years have been very different: 2011, you could say that it was more relaxed. Obviously 2010 and 2012 was a different situation but at the end of the day there’s no secret, no secret preparation. I think we all have a certain routine we go through before a race but also the night before. I don’t think I did anything special the last three times, not that I can remember and I wasn’t really looking forward to the race, saying that ‘yeah, tomorrow is the day, could be the day.’ I was basically trying to focus on the race and in a way, trying to ignore the fact that it could be the decisive race. At the end of the day, you also have so many races a year that on the last race of the season, if you do your best and it’s enough then it’s fine, if you do your best and it’s not enough, then it’s not the last race that’s to blame.

    Q: (Nirmal John – Fortune India Magazine) I just wanted to ask your views on Formula E which is the new electric car racing series which is in the works. How sustainable is that kind of racing series and what does that signify in terms of the future of Formula One meeting something like electric cars?

    SV: I don’t like it at all. I think it’s not the future, I think the people come here to feel Formula One and there’s not much to feel when a car goes by and you don’t even hear anything else but the wind. Maybe I’m very old fashioned, but I think Formula One needs to scream, needs to be loud, there needs to be the vibration. That’s what I remember from the first time I went to see Formula One in 1992 for free practice at Hockenheim, even though it was wet and the cars didn’t go out, but once they did their installation laps it was a great feeling just to be there and hear them coming through the forest and feel it through the ground. That’s why I’m not a big fan at all.

    NR: Well, it’s an interesting thing, for sure, something new and I know there’s a lot of interest and it’s planned to be in the cities so it’s bringing the race to the people, not the people to the race and of course it’s a bit of the future, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. We need to wait and see.

    LH: I agree with both of them.

    Q: (Lokendra Pratap Sahi – The Telegraph, Kolkata) Seb, what has made you the driver you are?

    SV: I don’t know. I think in the end there’s a little bit of influence on the guy you become but also you have your preference in life, you have a certain thing called taste so you do what in the end you’d like. Sometimes some people lead you to one thing or another but in the end you make the decision. On track, obviously, if you look at my career, I think there’s a lot of people that I had behind me supporting me from an early age but to be fair, when I started, all this was not even… we didn’t even really dream about it. I had a hobby and I started together with my father to go racing with the whole family as well. Obviously it became a little bit more serious, a little bit faster, a little bit more serious. I think you really go step by step. In the end, I think it’s passion that drives us all, the love that we have for the sport, the love we have to challenge ourselves, challenge the cars and nowadays instead of racing with go-karts we just end up in bigger cars on bigger tracks with more people watching. I think the core hasn’t changed.

    Ends

  • Sauber is coming too close to comfort; But we shall keep our place: Vijay Mallya

    Vijay Mallya (left, bottom row) at the Friday FIA Press Conference at BIC. Photo by Scorp News
    Vijay Mallya (left, bottom row) at the Friday FIA Press Conference at BIC. Photo by Scorp News

    TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Stefano DOMENICALI (Ferrari), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Ross BRAWN (Mercedes), Vijay MALLYA (Force India), Monisha KALTENBORN (Sauber), Eric BOULLIER (Lotus)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    I think as you have pride of place, front and centre, Monisha, I think we should start with you, in what I’m sure is a happier time at Sauber at the moment. The last few races have seen good points-scoring finishes. Has that been a relief to you, something you always thought was on the cars or has it caught you by surprise?

    Monisha KALTENBORN: It didn’t really catch us by surprise that we improved our performance. We did always believe in it and we had reason to believe in it. But it does make it a lot easier and credible for the team if you can really show that result in points. Because we could see that upward trend from Hungary on but the points were not coming in so it’s good if they can be shown like this to the outside.

    What’s been the change? What’s made the big difference?

    MK: Well the big difference has been the package, the aerodynamic package we brought in in Hungary. That was a big step for us and we could see that this was really going into the right direction. It counts for more than 50 per cent of this improvement. We then, of course, got a better understanding of the car, which allowed us to operate it differently, to use different set-ups we hadn’t been using before. And then, I think to be fair about it, the change in the tyres was – unlike last year – not against us this time, but we benefited maybe more than others from it. So all of this together, and of course a great performance by the team, the drivers, adds to it.

    Thank you for that. To your right, Dr Vijay Mallya, it’s Force India’s home grand prix and if Sauber have benefited from the tyres, has that been to Force India’s detriment, and a difficult period of the season since Silverstone for you?

    Vijay MALLYA: Absolutely. The change in the tyres for Silverstone has been more than just detrimental to us. Within the mechanical design of the car it’s proving very difficult for us to get optimum tyre performance. We’ve dedicated all our R&D tools to the 2014 car, so we are handicapped in a sense. But having said that I think we are understanding tyres and the constraints under which we are operating slightly better. We are pleased with today’s free practice performance. We’ve certainly fared better today than we did in Japan or Korea and I think we’ll attempt to even improve on this before the last remaining races. The lady on my left has certainly woken us up. We are now wide awake and hopefully we will hang on to our current sixth position in the Constructors’ Championship, though she is getting dangerously close. But having said that, the tyres have not been the best for us in the second half of the season but hopefully whatever we suffer this year will be a good investment for next year’s car.

    You mentioned the lady to your left getting dangerously close. Are you looking nervously over your shoulder or do you think that the performances can improve and you can hold on to that place?

    VM: As I said, I was quite pleased with the free practice performance today. It’s certainly a step ahead from Japan and Korea, so that gives me confidence we are heading in the right direction. I also realise the constraints under which we are operating, because the window available to us mechanically is quite a short one. But having said that, I think the results will speak for themselves going forward.

    Let me turn to Eric next. In terms of results, Lotus continue to go forward, involved in a three-way battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. What are your targets for the remaining four races of the season?

    Eric BOULLIER: Well the target is obviously to chase podium finishes and those kind of fights every race. I think this is the prize to chase, to get the chance to be in the second place, or on the podium of the Constructors’ Championship.

    Romain Grosjean has scored back-to-back podiums in the last two races for the first time in his career. Can you tell us a bit about his form at the moment? Is he a man that could lead your team for next season?

    EB: We are definitely pleased with his performance, since Germany actually. Clearly, something switched on and he is working better. I mean the same tyre story as well, the latest spec of tyres suit a little bit more his driving style than Kimi’s one. But yes, we are pleased that he is stepping up. We don’t have a policy of driver number one and number two but we needed him obviously to step up, yes.

    Enough to suggest to yourself that you’re looking for one more driver for next season or not?

    EB: Yes, definitely. Normally we compete with two cars!

    But Romain definitely in for next year?

    EB: Romain has a contract signed anyway for next year. It’s just, say, a matter of confirmation. We are being prudent after last obviously. But I think it’s on its way to be confirmed soon.

    Let me turn to Stefano next, if I can. This morning, for Fernando Alonso, not the best start to the weekend with a gearbox problem. Can you explain a bit more about what happened?

    Stefano DOMENICALI: Yeah, it’s true. Unfortunately we couldn’t do the programme we were expecting to do. We had a problem on a little spring inside the gearbox, so at the end of the day we were able change it and to keep the gearbox for the session.

    This was a race gearbox?

    SD: No.

    So it will be fine for the rest of the weekend?

    SD: I hope so.

    You’ll need it and you’ll need a good performance from Fernando and Felipe, because as Eric was touching on, that battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship is mathematically out of your reach this weekend, could go right down to the wire?

    SD: For sure, the fight is very strong. We know that around us there is Mercedes and Lotus, who are very competitive and we cannot be complacent. We have second but if we want to beat the opposition we need to perform well with both drivers and with the team of course. It will be for us a very intense end of the season. We know that everyone wants to reach that; we are the same, with the others. It will not be easy because in the last couple of grand prix we saw that Mercedes and Lotus have increased their performance but we will fight up to the end, that’s for sure.

    Q: …and on the subject, Ross, of that intense battle between now and the end of the season, is that something you welcome at Mercedes, or causing you a headache you could do without with 2014 and the big regulation changes looming large?

    Ross BRAWN: No, I think this business is mostly about managing several programmes and obviously from a development perspective most, or all, of our efforts are in the 2014 programme. Couple of things we still want to learn with this car and in terms of racing, I think what’s crucial for these last four races boils down to who races most effectively – because I think the teams are all quite close. We’ve not raced very well the last few races. I don’t think we’ve scored the points that we could have done or should have done and it’s now up to us to make sure we race well in the last four races. Of course if we had something available to make the car go faster, we’d fit it but we don’t – and I don’t think the others do, so I think between the three teams it’s a question now of who races well: the team; the strategy; the drivers and that will determine who finishes second in the championship.

    Q: And there’s always that little matter of your future in the sport as well – something that might have been discussed on a few occasions in 2013. I think earlier this year you were quoted as saying there will be a soft hand-over to Paddy Lowe. You later denied that. Niki Lauda now says he wants you to stay. Lewis and Nico both want you to stay as well, so what conditions would keep you at Mercedes for the future?

    RB: Well there is a transition going on. We’re just determining what will be the best timing for that. I want the team to be in the best possible place for next year, so I think when the time is right we’ll let everyone know what we’re doing. But at the present time that’s all I want to say on the matter.

    Q: Christian, you’re quite a superstitious man and you will take nothing lightly for this weekend but there might be a stack of celebratory tee-shirts around the back of the Red Bull garage and the champagne might be on ice and it could be a double-championship winning celebration for you this weekend. What would it mean to you and to the Red Bull team to make it four double-championships in a row?

    Christian HORNER: Well firstly if there are tee-shirts I certainly haven’t seen any and they would be wise to keep them away from me. I think that should – should – we achieve a quadruple double-championship it would be an amazing feat for every single member of the team to achieve such results against such illustrious opposition. But those thoughts really aren’t in our minds at the moment. Our focus is very much on this event. The championship tables obviously look very healthy but it’s never done until it’s mathematically impossible for anybody else to win. So the whole team’s focus is very much on getting the most out of this weekend. And then the championship tables tend to take care of themselves. Should that happen here or in Abu Dhabi, the feeling of elation… you can’t pre-describe because y’know, we haven’t got there yet. But certainly everybody in the team is focussed on the here and now.

    Q: And whilst the celebrations are I’m sure welcome, a team that has achieved as much as Red Bull in the last few seasons attracts a lot of attention and teams up and down the pitlane and the paddock wanting to take staff from you to try and emulate that success. We’ve already seen Peter Prodromou moving to McLaren in the future. How difficult is it for you as team principal to keep the nucleus of this championship-winning team together for the future?

    CH: Well, we have a very strong team and we’ve had tremendous continuity in the team for a long time now and y’know we’ve got great strength in depth and that’s one of the key assets of the Red Bull team. Inevitably, from time to time, people will move. That’s the nature of the sport, it’s something that happens to all the team principals sitting here. Inevitably, when you’re winning, there’s a lot of attraction on members of your team – but people enjoy working for Red Bull, they enjoy the environment, they enjoy the way we operate. We have a very, very low turnover in personnel. I don’t expect any further dramatic changes certainly into next year or the foreseeable future.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ubaid Parkar – F1 Pulse ) Question is for the back row: how much driver input has been required in the development of the 2014 car, considering the massive change in regulation? Has it been more or less or the same, considering a few seasons?

    RB: Well, I think that in common with most teams, we have regular reviews with our drivers and understand with the car we’re racing now what’s strong, what’s weak, what needs to be improved and that gets translated by the engineers into the designs that we have for next year. I think they are a pretty vital link. Obviously these days we have a lot of data, we have a lot analysis, we have a lot of simulation, a lot of modelling and that also contributes as well, but the driver is still a vital part of that process and we work closely with Nico and Lewis to understand where they see our strengths and weaknesses – perhaps more importantly, our weaknesses and that contributes and that’s part of the process in designing and developing a new car.

    Q: Is that the same at Maranello, Stefano?

    SD: Yes, yes, I can agree with that. For sure, in the next couple of months these kind of things will be more and more closed because also from the team perspective we are trying to learn more and more how the new racing will develop next year, with all the systems, with all the constraints that we have in terms of regulations and of course we need to work together with the drivers because at the end of the day they are the ones that have to perform in the car so for sure, from now onwards will be a crucial time before starting the practice at the end of January, where also, from this side, we need to understand what it is all about because there are a lot of things which will really be brand new.

    CH: Well, they’re pretty limited in what they can contribute at the moment because it’s a voyage of discovery for all of us. It’s going to be a very different type of racing next year with the introduction of these power units and new regulations. Obviously we’ve had to measure the drivers carefully, especially the width of theirderrieres so they can fit in to the car. We’ve got a new driver next year as well, so their contribution is limited at the moment but that will inevitably gear up over the coming weeks and months.

    Q: You’ve not had to stick either in a corset yet just to try and squeeze them down a bit?

    CH: If it was down to Adrian they would both need to lose about 15 kilos between now and Melbourne next year but I think that’s fairly unlikely.

    Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) Dr Mallya, this was voted as the most popular circuit by the F1 drivers in its debut year but next year BIC has no date and in 2015 nobody’s certain whether the race will happen or not. What’s your opinion about the approach of government?

    VM: Well, when I was walking in this morning I met Mr J. P Gaur, the owner of the circuit and the promoter of the race and obviously I asked him about the continuance of the Indian Grand Prix. I must say I was very very happy when he confidently and enthusiastically confirmed that the race will be back in 2015 onwards on a sustainable basis so I was delighted to hear that.

    Q: Did he give an indication as to what matters have been resolved, Dr Mallya, as to why it could  come back again?

    VM: Well, the official version given was that 2014 posed scheduling problems and therefore you couldn’t have a race now in October 2013 then in early 2014 so I wouldn’t like to comment or contradict that. All I’m interested in, as an Indian, and realising the vast potential that this country offers, and looking at the investment that has gone into creating this rightly voted number one facility, is that I want Formula One to be back in India and therefore I was delighted when the promoter confirmed that Formula One would be back from 2015 onwards.

    Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) This question is about Sachin Tendulkar; Force India is paying tribute by carrying the words ‘Master Blaster’ on the car. What are your thoughts on the greatest sporting hero India has produced, Sachin Tendulkar?

    VM: You know that cricket is a religion here in India and Sachin Tendulkar is arguably one of the best cricketers the world has ever produced. We are very very proud of his achievements, and as he signs off from test cricket after his 200 tests, we at Sahara Force India believe that it would only be a befitting tribute if we bid an appropriate farewell to the Master Blaster.

    Q: (Bharat Sharma – IndoAsian News Service) Dr Mallya, your thoughts on the absence of an Indian on the drivers’ grid; there will be no Indian driver this time around and a thought on Jehan Daruvala as well, he’s won the British karting championship and Force India has always predicted him as being the next Indian driver on the F1 grid, so how is that coming along?

    VM: I think that ever since I became involved as a team owner in Formula One I have consistently maintained that we will find an Indian driver who eventually will be in Formula One, and that’s why we started the Force India Formula One academy. Jehan Daruvala is a product of that academy and I’m absolutely delighted with the fact that he’s won the karting championship. Our efforts will continue, the programme will continue but producing a Formula One driver takes time and they have to be good enough and experienced enough to compete with the best in the world so I can only reinforce my commitment, I can’t quite predict when it will actually happen but one day hopefully it will.

    Q: (Sandeep Sikdar– IndoAsian News Service) Yesterday my colleague questioned Christian Horner regarding the issues and hassles while coming to India. I want to put the same question to Ross Brawn and Stefano. What exactly are the paperwork hassles involved with coming to India?

    SD: To be honest we didn’t have any problems at all, no issues with any kind of logistics or whatever it is on that respect. Honestly, for us it is important to see when we have such an important country like India hosting this Grand Prix, to make sure that the promotion  is done in a way that… we are here and we can have all the fans of India cheering and stay close with the teams because this is something that for sure is an important element of the show.

    RB: I think the same as Stefano. We’ve had a very smooth… the organisation behind it all has been very smooth, there’s been no problems at all, we’ve got everything here that we need to have here. We do enjoy the enthusiasm of the Indian fans and it’s a very important country for us to establish Formula One in so we support it completely and hope we’re going to be back here soon.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – RacingLines) If I have a look at the seating plan here, the three  gentlemen at the back sit on the strategy group by right and those three in the front don’t sit on the strategy group by right. I would like to ask the three at the back to please justify the group as it stands whereby you people formulate or do the primary formulation of the Formula One in the future and those three in the front, how you feel about being excluded from the process and in particular Dr Mallya who has invested an enormous amount of money in his own team, how you feel about the fact that as a team owner you are excluded, whereas the three gentlemen at the back are employees and they are included?

    CH: You can always rely on Dieter for a straightforward, easy question to answer. I don’t suppose I can talk about Dr Mallya’s haircut and avoid it that way. The strategic group obviously is a group of teams, the FIA and FOM and it’s part of a process that’s been introduced. It’s a group that previously didn’t exist and it’s to try and make more headway and a speedier way forwards for forming and creating regulations. All the teams still sit on the Formula One Commission that still very much exists, that has the right to reject or approve regulations to be introduced but the strategic group is made up of teams that have made a firm commitment to the sport for many years to come and it’s a way of hopefully effectively introducing changes with the consultation of others because other groups will still exist but it’s hopefully an efficient way of introducing changes to the sport in years to come and I think that it is a positive thing. Time will tell if it works or not.

    SD: Nothing to add to what Christian said. The thing that I can say is that I’m sure that everyone knew about it and by everyone I assume that because they’ve signed the agreement, they have accepted this way forward and for sure we have the big responsibility to make sure that all the systems of Formula One will go and take the right way for the future and for sure, we feel this responsibility. We don’t want to say ‘listen, we don’t care about the others’ because that’s not really the case. So, we take that on board and I’m sure that time will tell if we’re doing a good job or not.

    RB: Well, I think the responsibilities of that group are the general interests of Formula One. I think it’s vital that that group acts and takes decisions which are in the interests of everybody in Formula One. The structure of the group is something that I think was proposed by the FIA and the commercial rights holder and everyone in Formula One signed up to it. I think it’s just important that group does take the proper view on all the interests in Formula One.

    MK: Well, we in the front row, while asked about how we feel about it and clearly Sauber is not so comfortable with it because we are not on it. We have nothing, as such, against a group that looks at certain matters and can bring up ideas and also maybe say that this is the right way to go ahead but what matters is that all interests should be represented. Teams like Force India or Sauber are part of the competition and we cannot be happy by being excluded by this group because we do feel that we have to ensure that that’s where the danger lies that there’s a proper representation of interests in there.

    EB: We are not a permanent part of this group but we are lucky enough to be part of this group now so sitting between these two chairs, I think there are some positive and some negative points. I can understand being there and not participating. I understand the frustration of the teams not being there. It’s true that it was a  wish from the FIA and FOM to have another group, let’s say, before the F1 Commission to try to maybe go for decisions. For sure the proposal is to bring it to F1 and make it better and then bring these suggestions to the F1 Commission where they can be debated. We will see in the future if it works, as Christian said.

    VM: When this was first mooted, I definitely did question whether the intention was to restrict decision-making to the six teams, to the exclusion of the smaller teams but when I was assured that that was not going to be the case, that the strategy group was to advise on future strategy concerning Formula One, to be then debated or voted upon at the Formula One Commission where all teams are represented, that obviously was a source of comfort. I’ve spoken individually to many team principals who are part of the big six as I call them, and all of them have assured me, as indeed Stefano did now, that they will look after the interests of all, which includes the smaller teams and on the basis of that assurance, I actually voted to approve this new structure at the World Motor Sport Council, so so long as things work out the way they are intended to, only time will tell.

    Q: (Rachit Thukral – RachF1) Question to Eric Boullier: a lot of people have been discussing about the second seat at Lotus next season. Why is your test driver, Davide Valsecchi, not on that list of drivers?

    EB: It’s not true actually, Davide is on the list but to bring to the grid next year a driver with no experience is a huge step for them  – I’ve done it twice with them, first with Petrov and then with a semi-rookie Grosjean and I think I’ve had enough to be honest with you. Davide is on the list because we consider him as a good driver, as a GP2 champion but it’s true that if you favour a scenario for next year it will be a driver with experience. If we cannot find any driver with experience, fitting the strategy of the team, obviously we will go for a rookie driver and then Davide is obviously on the top of the list. It looks harsh, I’m sorry but it’s true.

    Q: How near are you to filling that second seat now, Eric?

    EB: Hopefully a few days.

    Q: (Amanpreet Singh- PTI) Dr Mallya, one of your drivers said that we have probably sacrificed fifth position this season, to be at least fifth next year. How do you see this season for your team considering that you may lose even the sixth spot now?

    VM: Well, I wouldn’t be as pessimistic as you sound. Yes, there was a time earlier this season when we were in fifth position ahead of McLaren. If we perform well over the next four races there’s no reason why we can’t regain fifth but as I said earlier, the lady on my left (MK) has certainly given us a wake-up call and so we will do everything we can to stay in sixth but having said that, yes, we’ve dedicated our resources to the development of the 2014 car.

    Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Monisha, at one of the recent press conferences, maybe Singapore, you spoke about the way in which Formula One teams have often shot themselves in the foot when it comes to looking after their own self interests rather than the collective interest. Given that history often tends to repeat itself, how much faith do you have in the larger teams looking after the smaller teams’ interests in the strategy commission?

    MK: Well, like Vijay actually said earlier, you have to have faith in the teams you’ve known for a long while and you work together with and I think it’s no secret to anyone in Formula One that we’ve had a very successful partnership for many years with Ferrari and they have said a lot of things where maybe we as a small team in the partnership benefited more than others in partnership. As an example, if you look at KERS, what we had decided Ferrari exactly said with us as towards the customer which we were. So I think you have to come in here with a certain amount of trust but at the end of the day we are competitive, but we are all in this together so that’s the perspective we take, that there will always be things where bigger teams have a different view to smaller ones but I’m confident that eventually decisions will be taken which have to be good for the sport because we are part of the sport, and in my view, Formula One needs more constructors than just the big teams.

    Q: (Shridhar Potdar – Sakal Media) One for everyone; you know previously there was a  third title – apart from drivers and constructors – counting for the World Championship. Nowadays the tyre championship has been stopped and everybody knows the problems that Pirelli have created this season. Michelin has showed willingness to come back and make F1 tyres. Do you think that a three way title race would make F1 more interesting and do you support the need for a tyre constructors title?

    RB: They were pretty exciting times but hugely expensive in terms of track development. I remember at the time when I was at Ferrari we had a car testing almost continuously doing tyre work for the manufacturer and in our case, we had Bridgestone fairly well devoted to our programme. It can be exciting but it’s a huge investment for a tyre company, huge investment for the teams. I don’t think the climate at the moment is right for there to be a tyre war and that’s what’s evolved in a lot of top class formulae. The cost of a tyre war is not sustainable. It’s happened in MotoGP, it’s happened in Formula One and however exciting it is, it’s very very costly in what are quite tough times at the moment.

    CH: You couldn’t probably have more conflicting tyres than have come to this race but I think, as Ross says, to reintroduce a tyre war would not only be massively expensive you would also end up with two classes of racing because there are then the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ and what we have at the moment with a sole tyre supplier is that everybody has the same tyre, everybody has the same compound, everybody has the same opportunity. The testing obviously is heavily restricted now as well. So as an independent team, it offers a far more level playing field and obviously the challenges that all of the teams face now are the intricacies of the Pirelli tyres and how they perform from circuit to circuit and compound to compound, which is a different engineering challenge in itself and certainly will create some interesting strategies no doubt this weekend.

    Q: (Ajit Devadason – Syfi.com) To all team principals: a few engine manufacturers have previewed the engines of 2014 on the net and social media and it hasn’t been accepted well by most Formula One fans in discussion forums. Do you agree or disagree that engine sound is a strong USP of Formula One, especially when you’re going into new markets?

    SD: Well, for sure, the element of the engine sound is very important, no doubt about it, but on the other side we need to say that in the last couple of years we’ve moved from V12 that was a fantastic engine for Ferrari with fantastic high revs, high frequency, to V10, then to V8. Now we’re going to be V6 with turbo and then it’s just a matter of fine tuning the noise – I mean the sound, apologies for the wrong word – and then of course that is vital for the show, above all for the people who are coming to the track, because unfortunately you don’t feel it too much on television.

    Q: How do the new V6s sound to you, Eric?

    EB: Different, it’s true. I remember the V12 as well, the sound of music, but it’s part of the necessity to move ahead and bring new technology and to follow the technology that you use in your car every day, so I think it’s still going to be a pretty exciting sport.

    Q: Have you had a listen to the new V6s yet, Monisha?

    MK: I did actually, a while ago, when I visited our engine supplier so considering what Stefano said I have full trust that Ferrari will also sort out that issue.

    VM: All I can say is that I have participated in many meetings where Bernie (Ecclestone) has absolutely insisted that there can be no compromise on noise, so I guess there will be no compromise on noise – excuse me Stefano, music, not noise.

    Q: To use a Spinal Tap reference, Ross, can we turn the noise up to eleven?

    RB: Yes. I think we actually need to see the cars on the circuit because I don’t think a recording of a dyno cycle is actually that representative. If you listen to a V8 on the dyno it sounds nothing like it does in the car. I think we should all wait and see. It is what we have and we have to get behind it and it’s an exciting new period with these power trains. I think we needed to make a transition at some stage, we’re making it now, there’s no going back and I think it will be exciting for the fans but we’ll see how it sounds when we get out on the circuit. I remember the early turbo days and they seemed pretty exciting to me and we’ve had a whole range of different engines since then. I don’t think – to be honest –  that they’re been more  or less exciting than each other. Just different.

    CH: Well, I’ve heard it on the internet. That’s as much as I’ve heard. Noise of a Formula One car is part of the DNA of Formula One. When people come to a Grand Prix for the first time, the thing that really stands out more than anything is the noise. Noise translates into speed, into excitement and so on, and I think it’s absolutely crucial that we don’t lose that element. We have to reserve judgement until we hear the cars next year; hopefully, whilst it will be a different noise, it will be an exciting noise that conveys what the sport is all about. Only time will tell.

    Q: (Will Buxton – NBC Sports) One to you all if I may. To pick up on Dieter’s point earlier about the Strategy Group, the elephant in the room right now is that under cost saving initiatives, customer cars appear to be something that may be considered moving into the future. To the three gentlemen in the back, are customer cars something that you would like to push for moving into the future? And to the three guests on the front of the panel, are customer cars something ever something you would consider taking on? And furthermore to the point Vijay made about trust in the teams that are on the panel, can you ever truly trust the teams on the panel give that by your very nature you are competing entities?

    SD: I just can say that we had the first meeting of the Strategy Group on Monday and of course this status was on the table and we will discuss it at the appropriate level. No decision or action has been taken. It is a topic related to the cost of Formula One, so I cannot add more than that at the moment.

    CH: It’s an interesting debate, really, because if you look at costs and the cost drivers in Formula One, the necessity to have four or five hundred people in order to even compete is, in all reality, too high. Now if you’re just looking at it from a pure cost point of view, the most logical way to take out a huge amount of cost would be to sell a car or a year-old car in its entirety. Now whether that goes against the grain of what a constructor should be and is in current Formula One is a separate debate. But if you are absolutely transfixed on saving costs, it is, without a shadow of a doubt the most effective way to reduce costs. Whether it’s the right thing to do is obviously another questions. Inevitably there is going to be a lot of debate about it and it’s something that, as a sport, we need to be open-minded to.

    RB: I don’t think we, as a team, are particularly enamoured with the idea of customer cars. I think we are more keen on working towards reducing the base cost of the cars for all teams. And perhaps finding ways of sharing parts that are non-performance differentiators. I know the one that gets classically mentioned is the pedal system and a lot of the parts of the car that are not performance differentiators between the competitors but everybody makes their own pedals and makes their own steering racks, because we have to. I think there is some progress that can be made in those areas without damaging the DNA of the sport at all. We should work on that. I think one point I would make and I think Vijay made it, is the security of the F1 Commission, because whatever the Strategy Group decides, if the F1 Commission rejects it, then it doesn’t go any further, it has to go back into the Strategy Group to try to improve the proposal. In theory, there is no way that an unpopular or unsupported idea from the Strategy Group could make it into the regulations unless the F1 Commission was happy with it.

    Vijay, you’ve already touched on having full faith in the Strategy Working Group, do you have trust over the issue of customer cars as well?

    VM: As far as Sahara Force India is concerned we are completely opposed to the even the concept of customers cars. Let’s just go back to the days when FOTA functioned as a comprehensive, cohesive unit. One of the key elements of the FOTA discussions was how to reduce the costs in Formula One for everybody. But then some of the big teams refused to reduce their costs, and as a result of which the whole resource restriction element went out of the window. Now to try to address lowering of costs through a radical customer car concept is ridiculous in my view. What happens to the smaller teams that have factories, that employ hundreds of people and who are effecti8vely running companies. You can’t just discard everything and just buy a one-year old car from an established team and go motor racing. I think that affects the total DNA of Formula One from the day it was started.

    MK: I absolutely agree with that. Sauber’s been in motorsport now for more than 40 years and our core business is making race cars in different series, so we are absolutely against this concept of a customer car because we’re ruining our own business here. I think there are other ways to reduce costs, one way maybe is setting certain financial limits, the other one is also to look at the regulations. An effective way could be through this group and then the commission that you have stability and therefore ‘seeability’ and that you no longer have to do investment in one season where you exactly know that the next season that this device or whatever is going to be forbidden again. So there are many ways to get hold of the costs and reduce them, which is very important for Formula One. But when you introduce these kind of measures you’re changing so much. This will not lead to any cost reduction because you might have four teams in there that are capable of putting in that much money, but at some point in time – they are all in their to win – when they don’t do that and maybe just end up with a few points they leave the sport as well. So it’s a very dangerous route to go down.

    Final word to Eric.

    EB: I think that customer cars are against the DNA of Formula One personally. But I think obviously there is a cost restriction that needs to be in place in Formula One. We all agree with this. Actually even the teams on the back row agree there us some cost saving to be done. It’s maybe as Vijay said a wake-up call. If we just think about the concept of customer cars we maybe will sit down all together and agree on a cost saving, which is obviously a budget cap or something else, which is based on the RRA or the old RRA, because at the end we know you cannot cut solely the costs just by switching off the wind tunnel or something else in the company. We need to make it in a way where there is no intrusive manner into any team developments, which obviously will suit some of us here. Also another way is to leave people the choice what they want to do to save costs but we have to have some rules in place. At the end if we don’t do this it’s going to be more and more difficult obviously to survive. So if you want to avoid the customer car… we can maybe run three cars in the near future to keep a decent grid but still it’s more money and it’s against cost saving, so we need to think and think cleverly about it.

    ends

     

     

    Ends

  • It is possible to beat Mark and Seb and that’s what I am here to do: Rosberg

    DRIVERS – Giedo VAN DER GARDE (Caterham), Max CHILTON (Marussia), Daniel RICCIARDO (Toro Rosso), Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes), Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing), Kimi RAIKKONEN (Lotus)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    I’m going to start with a question for Nico, Mark and Kimi, as, with all due respect to our back row, I think you three gentlemen are best placed to challenge Sebastian Vettel for victory this weekend. He’s won the last five races, he’s won both Indian Grand Prix from pole position and he’s led every lap as well. Simple question Nico: how do you beat a man in such form?
    Nico ROSBERG: Well, I’m here to do that, that’s for sure and the last couple of races have not really gone to plan, a lot of bad luck also. But, I have a very good car at the moment. I think the Red Bull is a bit quicker than us but you never know, you know. If we really get everything right on a weekend like here in India then it’s possible to beat Mark and Sebastian in that car. That’s what I’m here to do, so I’ll give it everything and we’ll see.

    What about you Kimi? What have you got up your sleeve?
    Kimi RAIKKONEN: I think I have to do a bit better in qualifying. That would help a lot. That would give ourselves a good chance then to try to beat them. It’s not just only them though, so we’ll see what happens here.

    It’s tricky Mark, you were on pole in Japan, it didn’t quite work out in the race, but what’s the secret? Can Sebastian be beaten?
    Mark WEBBER: He’s on a phenomenal run obviously and as you said his stats here in the last few years he’s been pretty strong. It needs a perfect weekend – pole, perfect race, perfect strategy, perfect everything to obviously put him off the top step, so that’s got to be the plan.

    I wish you all perfection this weekend. Back to you in a few moments. Max, if I can turn to you next. Japan, your fastest qualifying lap there beat both Caterhams and your team-mate Jules Bianchi. Was that your lap of the season?
    Max CHILTON: It was one of them. Obviously, it was a bit of a standout performance because we managed to out-qualify both Caterhams and Jules, but I’ve had good laps in the year and I’ve been very happy with certain laps but in Japan we just managed to get things right. It was a bit of a manic last lap and I managed to just get enough space and just got the most out of the car and the car performed well. As Nico said earlier, if you get everything right then you get good performances.

    I’ll ask Giedo about the perspective from the Caterham side of things but Marussia are still hanging on to 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship with four races to go. It’s vitally important, financially, for a team to finish in that 10th spot not 11th, so how are things? Nervy, tense, determined, excited?
    MC: It’s definitely tense but I believe that when you’re passionate and working on the best result possible, you get the best out of yourself and the team. At the moment we’re doing that. It’s definitely going to be tight but we’ve got 10th at the moment and we’re hoping to keep it that way until the end of the season.

    What about from the Caterham side, Giedo? Anything can happen I’m sure in the last four races but is there extra pressure given that you’re not the team in 10th at the moment?
    Giedo VAN DER GARDE: Yeah, a little bit. Of course for us it’s very important to get the 10th place back. I think the last few races we’ve seen that we’ve always been in front in the race compared with Marussia, so the one thing we need is a little luck and the only thing we can do is maximise ourselves, maximise the car, maximise the team and the rest is luck.

    Well, good luck with the luck if it comes your way. Daniel, it’s been a few weeks since you were announced as a Red Bull driver for next year and you’ve had time to come to terms with that announcement. How has life changed? Has the attention grown race by race?
    Daniel RICCIARDO: No, not really. I think around the time of the announcement it was pretty hectic with the media and everything but it’s nicely calmed down now. It’s good. I’m sure once I hop in the car next year it will probably rise again but it’s been a quiet few weeks. I had a bit of time to myself, which is good.

    Q: Have you started to focus on what you need to do next year against a man who is likely to be a four-time world champion, or is the focus still on this season? How do you cope with that?
    DR: Definitely still my main focus is on this year. Obviously aware of the competition I’ll be up against next year and slowly employing a few things to help me out for January and to settle in with the team but yeah, still very much focussed on the rest of the year with Toro Rosso. I guess once the season’s over after Brazil I’ll make the conversion, start getting in the simulator and trying to figure out what makes Seb so quick and try to learn quickly.

    Q: Nico, this morning, tell us about your bus journey into the track. Kind of a special bus ride with some under-privileged children, stepping out of the Formula One bubble for a moment.
    NR: Yeah, it’s nice. I’m involved in the Laureas Sport for Good programme, so this morning I took a bus journey to the track with a whole bunch of children from the local community. In the end just trying to be a little bit of an inspiration to them, to show how good sport is for personal development really, to learn about discipline and to learn to be with people and respect other people and things like that. Also, to show them the importance of education. That was the aim – but they also had a great time. We had a good time, we played a bit of soccer together, and showed them the racing car. So, that’s good, yeah, a very nice programme.

    Q: Brings you down to Earth a little bit, I suppose?
    NR: Yeah.

    Q: Kimi, this is your second year coming to race in India. Do you notice the popularity that you have? Does it spur you on when you get to the track? Does it give you extra motivation?
    KR: I think it’s very nice to have it but I mean I’ve only really seen the hotel this morning, from the airport to the hotel, and the circuit. So, especially today there were not many people when we came here – so I feel it less than at many other places but I’m happy that there are fans here. This circuit is nice and hopefully we can have a good weekend for all of them.

    Q: When you come to what is still a relatively new venue, would you like to take more time out to see a bit of India?
    KR: Yeah – but I think it’d be a little nicer if you come when it’s not a race weekend, so when you have proper time and not during the weekend. But for sure I’m sure there’s a lot of nice places to go and see.

    Q: And for Mark, your last time in India in Formula One, four races to go now. Do you relax more as the final race approaches or does the desire to get that one more win – at least – intensify race by race?
    MW: My mentality hasn’t really changed, mate, from the start of the year. Still enjoying driving the car to a degree and no exception to that. The last grand prix, obviously the best racing track in the world in Suzuka – unfortunately they can’t design them like that any more – but it’s a beautiful circuit. This is not bad and yeah, some good tracks to look forward to. That’s the bit that I still enjoy – to a degree. And… yeah, I think the last four is not really changing how I go about it. It would be nice to get a top result before the year’s out but…yeah… it’ll be four weeks and that’s it.

    Q: Would it change your view of Formula One and how you remember the sport if you didn’t get one more win?
    MW: No, wouldn’t change it.

    Q: Still look back fondly?
    MW: yeah, of course. I would never have thought when I left Australia the results and the career that I’ve had. So, another win or so, of course it would be nice but it’s not going to change my retirement too much.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Richland F1) Mark, following the last race, you said you were surprised at the switch in strategy from a two stop to a three stopper. Having gone over all of the data, do you still feel the two stop was quicker, or are you satisfied with the strategy switch?
    MW: I haven’t gone over any data whatsoever from the last race. I still stand by what I said at the time but obviously a bit surprised that we elected to do that. Having a three stop, you’ve got to pass two cars to win the race instead of maybe sticking to a two where we just focused on trying to beat Romain. What I said at the time is still pretty accurate today.

    Q: (Sandeep Sikdar – IndoAsian News Service) Nico, Mark and Kimi, we’re quite uncertain about the future of Formula One here in India. I wanted to know what exactly is the feeling in the paddock regarding visiting India, coming to India for the Grand Prix?
    NR: The track is fantastic to drive, they’ve done a really good job with that. There’s a growing fan base and a lot of fans in India. It’s great to be here and it’s a pity that there’s no Indian Grand Prix next year and I hope that maybe some time in the future we can come back again.
    MW: Yeah, Nico’s right. Obviously the fan base is certainly growing very very fast. I know cricket is the number one sport here by a long way but they’ve certainly shown some incredible enthusiasm to try and understand and get some… attract some interest in the sport. They’re proud to have a very very high profile sport which Formula One is and the track layout is sensational. The enthusiasm.. they’re doing what they can to hold a very nice event here but it doesn’t seem to have been enough for next year. I hope that we can come back in the future.

    Q: (Bharat Sharma – IndoAsian News Service) For the front row, if you talk about the track, most drivers have praised the track, they like the layout but as far as overtaking is concerned, there’s only the first sector which has a real chance of overtaking, so how do you see the track in terms of overtaking opportunities?
    MW: That’s generally the case at a lot of circuits actually. There’s not any more than one or two chances these days. The second and third sector are quite quick, it’s not easy to get a move done there so yeah, most of the focus is on the first sector and the beginning of the sector. But that’s not against the circuit, that’s how a lot of tracks are and we like the rest of the rhythm and the layout because it’s quite challenging, it’s quite quick, a little bit of undulation so there’s a lot of good qualities inside this circuit. As you said, the racing maybe hasn’t been super exciting over the last few years, maybe it’s not going to be the same on Sunday but time will tell.

    Q: Is that right, Kimi, there’s really only  the first sector where you can get past?
    KR: In a normal situation, yes, but on some of the circuits there’s not even one place. You might get a chance in some other places – it depends – but it’s a good race circuit. Last year I got stuck behind (another car) but that can happen anywhere.

    Q: It rather drives the set-up, Nico, doesn’t it? It’s a compromise track anyway, but you need to give yourself that chance of getting some overtaking done?
    NR: Yeah, but it’s OK, the track has what it needs to be able to overtake well and for there to be exciting races. They’ve extended the DRS zone a bit to try and make it easier to overtake  – see how that goes, should be in the right direction.

    Q: (Ajay Devadason – Sify.com) Mark, is it a cause for concern that the series that you’re moving to recently had a fatality in their event?
    MW: At Le Mans? Look, we know motor racing can be dangerous. It was very very tragic, obviously, that they had a fatality this year and they’ve certainly learned from that accident, I believe. Every time we step into a racing car there’s obviously risk; I accept those risks as we all do and they are always going to try and find ways to improve motor sport to a degree which is finding the levels of safety and risk-taking to the right levels. I’m certainly very comfortable with my decision, what I’m doing in the future and looking forward to it.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, in the last few races, Lotus seem to have been the second team after Red Bull. Do you think that you have the chance to try to grab second place in the Constructors’ championship in the last four races and that this could be a place to win?
    KR: That’s the aim for us but it’s hard to say if it’s going to happen. It seems that the last races have been strong for our team but I have to qualify better, to put myself up there and maybe try to win some races but it will not be easy.

    Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Max and Giedo, you are the only two men here whose futures aren’t yet set for next year, or not so that we know about. Could you both please rate your chances of staying both within Formula One next year and with wearing the same uniforms?
    GvdG: Of course I hope to stay in (F1) next year but the management is very busy, talking to some teams, also Caterham. At the moment, they told me to be focused for the last four races and I’m doing that, but hopefully we will have some news soon, but it’s still far away.
    MC: Yeah, I think my chances are looking good. Nothing’s set in stone yet. I’ve learned in GP2 how much continuity can help. I’d love to stay with Marussia again because you always get more out of yourself when you know the team, it’s a natural progression. We have been contacted by other teams but at the moment we know where we want to be and we’re not far away from it now.

    Q: Do you two both feel you’ve met your targets and your goals for this year?
    GvdG: Yeah, I think so. At the beginning, I struggled a little bit, then in the middle of the season everything fell into place and since then I’ve good speed, still have to improve the qualifying a little bit but race pace has been very good.
    MC: Yeah, I think to be honest it took me a little bit longer than I was expecting to kind of get up to speed. I think it’s hard without the testing, but from the August break, when you have a bit of time to go through everything with the team, we had a really good sit down and picked on key areas where you can really enhance your performance and since then, I think I’ve proved why I deserve to be here and I’m  hoping to keep that on until the end of the year.

    Q: (Vinayak Pande – AutoX) Kimi, given the way Lotus is performing towards the end of this season and how Fernando has been struggling recently, how do you feel about your decision going to Ferrari next year?
    KR: Good, otherwise I wouldn’t have made the decision if I didn’t think it was right for myself. It’s so competitive… and the rules, nobody really knows how it’s going to work out next year.

    Q: (Sandeep Sikdar – IndoAsian News Service) Nico and Mark, Pirelli have brought different tyre compounds this year unlike the last two years, how do you think they will affect the lap times?
    NR: I’m not sure. The cars are also so much quicker this year. It’s been very variable throughout the season. You’ve never been able to predict how we’re going to go, in terms of lap times from  one track to another. Sometimes we’re faster, sometimes the same, so it changes all the time and I don’t know yet for this weekend.
    MW: Yeah, very difficult to predict how the tyres will behave. We know how sensitive they are. Even when we had the slight change of construction during the year we see some teams coming forward, some teams going back, some drivers being happy, some drivers less happy. The tyres are super super sensitive. I think we will find out here whether it’s… last year was quite easy on the tyres, we had a pretty comfortable one stop. Whether that’s possible again, I’m not sure. We will find out on Friday with the long runs, maybe.

    Q: (Chetan Narula – Planet F1) Mark, your teammate is going to be a consecutive four time World Champion and obviously you’ve had your differences with him, you’re not the best of friends but as his teammate, and somebody who’s worked with him closely for quite a few years now, can you shed some light on Sebastian Vettel, the racer and the four time World Cham… or soon to be four time World Champion?
    MW: Yeah,  obviously he’s had an incredible run. Some of the championships have been tight, some less tight. Obviously ’11 and this year have been pretty much a non-event but 2010 and 2012 were up to the last race. I think he’s certainly done an incredible job. I think he’s been very strong on the Pirellis; obviously (on) the Bridgestones was probably a little bit tighter but on Pirellis he’s certainly been very strong and no real weaknesses on those tyres so it’s been strong for him. Just super consistent and that’s what’s made him strong, obviously, and also getting the most out of the package. Obviously the car’s been quick and he’s capitalised on a lot of venues. He’s won with a dominant car but also he’s won with a car which some races is probably not… certainly over those four years to win races he probably shouldn’t have won races. That’s also been a quality of his.

    Q: (Unnatee Gidithuri – Auto India Magazine) To you all, what are all of your opinions on the Indian Formula One fans?
    DR: I think that as the boys touched on earlier, it’s growing each year we come here, there seems to be getting more and more interest. It’s good, there are a lot of seats to fill here. Unfortunately they are not always full but they are filling up each year so that’s good. I don’t think a sport can grow overnight and it does take time. It’s definitely gone in the right direction.
    MC: It’s obviously got huge possibilities. I think there’s over a billion that live in India and that, from my calculations, is a seventh of the world, so it’s probably got one of the biggest potential markets anywhere in the world, so it’s a shame we’re not back here next year but there’s a lot of other countries that want a Grand Prix as well. It is a bit of a shame.
    GVDG: I think it’s good to be back here. It is a special place, especially when you see cows on the street, dogs! It’s different to Europe and I have to say I quite like it. It’s good to see different environments, the track is very nice. Of course, it’s my second time here. Last year I saw some friends in the grandstand and hopefully this year there are going to be more.

    Q: I think you tweeted a photo of a cow in the road, Nico.
    NR: We had a bit of a close call yesterday because the cow decided it was going to cross the motorway just in front of us but we managed to keep out of its way, let it cross over nicely and then we could continue.

    Q: Mark, Kimi’s touched on his love of India, what about yourself?
    MW: Yeah, you can see the enthusiasm. Again, I don’t want to talk about the cricket too much but you see how much they love their sport with the cricket, they are super passionate about it and the same here, they want to understand, they’re very willing to understand the sport as quick as they can. It’s been a very quick snapshot for them, in terms of coming to the circuit and seeing the cars and maybe having the drivers as heroes for them. What’s also been interesting for me in such a short period of time is also the journalists here and the people are making such a good effort. Their questions, even away from the track, and different things… they’re quite knowledgeable on our  sport, they want to understand which is a big advancement on some of the other fresh countries that we go to which are super super naive. A lot of good positives about it, so it’s a shame it’s not here again.

    Q: Did you watch the one day yesterday?
    MW: It was washed out, wasn’t it? Not lucky for us: 296 or 293.

    Q: (Rachit Thukral – RachF1) Daniel Ricciardo, two years ago you were racing for HRT. At that time, could you imagine that you could be racing for Red Bull one day?
    DR: Seemed like a fair way away at the time but I think that going back years before that, since I got Red Bull supporting me and knowing what opportunities I had with them, then I think anything was possible. A lot of it was up to me. With HRT, I knew there was a bit of a road to travel on, but yeah, it’s come along quite quickly, obviously to my delight and as I’ve said, I can’t wait but if you would have said, back in 2011, that I would be in a Red Bull seat in 2014 then I would have smiled and said ‘beauty.’ One other thing I found out, just touching on the cricket, apparently myself and Mark don’t come from Australia. We come from Ricky Ponting country! That’s what they all say. Nice.

    Q: (Vinayak Pande – AutoX) Mark, it’s your last season in F1. Do you think the sport is in good shape going into the future with the new regulations? Do you think that’s a good direction for F1 to be taking, or are you going to a technologically more sound series, in terms of sports car racing?
    MW: Again, pretty good question. To be fair, I think Formula One needed a bit of a facelift in terms of technology, which they’re going to get next year. Maybe it’s not what we all want in terms of all the electric stuff and those type of things but that’s the way all the manufacturing and all those types of things are going in terms of car production, so Formula One should be the benchmark in terms of rolling that stuff out. How it’s going to go in terms of a spectacle only time will tell. I’m sure it’s going to be good. The main thing with Formula One is the drivers, the drivers are the important thing. You can have what cars you want but if you’ve still got the best drivers out there then that’s the most important thing. But in terms of sports cars and Formula One, obviously the technology is going to be very similar. Sports cars now are super technical as well as Formula One will be next year. As long as the smaller teams can have a chance, I think that whenever you make a big regulation change  like we are going to do next year, the midfield and the smaller teams are really going to be stretched, so I think that the gap between Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren maybe is probably going to be bigger.

     

    Ends

  • For once Vettel is very happy with the fans; says a big thank you!

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
    3 – Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)Kimi fans Japan GP 13oct2013 A lotus pic

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Eddie Jordan)

    Q: [Sebastian] Nine times a winner already this season – but the championship is still alive. Tell me all about it.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Konnichi-wa, first of all. Yeah, first of all, I would like to say thank you to all the fans. Every time we come here, the appreciation, the respect we get as drivers is incredible. Obviously, I’m blown away with today’s race. I had a very, very poor start. I think it was right between Romain and, I think, Lewis and I clipped a little bit the front wing. I think Lewis had a puncture after that. I couldn’t go anywhere. After that we were patient, looked after the tyres and had incredible pace towards the end. So we managed to get past Romain, beat Mark on another strategy so, all in all, fantastic. I’m so overwhelmed every time we come here. Thank you very much again for the support.

    Q: Who made the final decision on what tyres you were going to run? We got the impression you made the decision right at the very last moment.

    SV: Well, to be honest, it happened… I think the decision was already made in the first stint because we stayed out longer, so we obviously took into account that we lapped slower than the others who were on fresh tyres, in order to push them later in the race. We had a similar race in 2011, where I think I came in always as the first and I was under enormous pressure towards the end of the race and got passed by two cars. So this time we did it the other way around: had enough pace in the car to look after the tyres, control the race. Yeah, it was not easy to make the two-stop work, especially in the middle stint – but I think the first stint was crucial to make the decision to stay out and then decide for a two-stop, which turned out to be… [interrupted]

    Q: Mark, your last grand prix in a Formula One car at Suzuka, one of the great all-time tracks. Tell us about it.

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, it’s an amazing circuit. The race today was pretty good, I’d say. Obviously I would have liked one more step on the podium but there were different strategies going on. Seb went longer in the first stint and then it unloaded his race a bit better than mine at the end. So, in general, pretty happy with second but, yeah, hey, you always want a bit more but we got the best out of what I could today. Both of us had very poor starts, which put us on the back foot a little bit and then after that it was just really trying to pace the car again on the tyres and making sure they survived to do the sort of strategy we wanted to. In the end we went to three-stop, which put us a little bit on the back foot but still we got back to where we were.

    Q: Romain, we were writing you off last year, we didn’t think you’d have a seat, and here you are, on the podium. How does that feel?

    Romain GROSJEAN: Well, much better than last year for sure. What a start! Terrific. From the past not the best memories here but today was just a very, very good race. The car was fantastic on option tyres to start the race with and we did manage to pull away. Then the Red Bulls catch us a little bit I think, but generally with the work we did, we are the only ones able to follow those guys. We almost catch the Bull I said to my engineer today – it’s a home race for my engineer and I think he’s very happy. Always very good to come here, always very proud of the fans and being on the podium at such a difficult track – it’s good.

    Q: Sebastian, you’re ever so close to pulling it off with your fourth consecutive championship. What are your thoughts going into the next race?

    SV: First of all, I would like to enjoy today. I think it was a fantastic race. I love this track. As I said, the people are great and make it a very, very special place for us. I’d love to enjoy that first, obviously it does no harm when you win, for the championship. I’ve won now four times here in Suzuka, which is incredible. I’m really looking forward to next year, to be honest. Regarding the championship, as I said, I think obviously we have a very, very good gap but we still keep pushing. I think we’ve proven in the last couple of years that we never give up. I think we’ve won one or two championships because of that. Obviously this year it looks very good at this stage – but it’s not over before it’s over.

    PRESS CONFERENCE      

    Q: Sebastian, you really did seem to enjoy this victory hugely. Is it because of the various problems that happened along the way? The start, for example, the first corner, one or two lock-ups, an interesting tactic…

    SV: Yeah, certainly – but I think mostly it’s because of the circuit and the fans to be honest. It’s one of the highlights in the year. I love this track and I’ve been very, very fortunate to have a great car in the past and against this year, being able to finish on the podium and win four times now. Incredible. When we leave the hotel in the morning I think it’s the same for all of us. It makes it so special. The people are crazy about Formula One. They really, yeah, admire us, which is very nice. They love what we do and appreciate the fact we go around. You have the people on the grandstand yesterday, I ran the circuit and there were I think 5,000 people on the grandstand just watching. They are amazed by Formula One and I think that makes it so special and taste so sweet. As you touched on, obviously with the race today, a horrible start but then a fantastic comeback.

    Q: That long middle stint – a 23-lap middle stint – and there were one or two lock-ups. Were you affected by that or were the tyres in good condition all the way?

    SV: Well, you know, you struggle more in the end obviously. I tried to control the gaps. Obviously we started already to go longer than Romain and Mark in the first stint, so we took into account that we lap a second a lap slower for two or three laps compared to them in order to get the range in the next stint and then tried to extend that to really put them under pressure towards the end. That was, let’s say, the game plan. Obviously after the first pit stop I think very soon in the second stint, Mark decided to go for the three-stop, which wasn’t far off. Before the race I think we targeted more towards two stops but the tyres weren’t holding up as well as probably we thought. As I said, I really tried to manage the gaps in the beginning of the stint and then close the gap, which worked brilliantly, especially with Romain. The end of the second stint I was just on his tail when he pitted, able to stay out another couple of laps and then I had more or less fresh tyres when I was able to pass him, so, yeah, great strategy. It obviously worked. We made it… we didn’t lose the patience early on. Tried obviously to make the stints as long as possible to help us at the end of the race.

    Q: Mark, I guess you were hoping you were going to be able to challenge Sebastian during the closing stages. That’s what the engineers suggested to both of you in fact – but you just couldn’t get past Romain.

    MW: Ah, no. I don’t think the battle was going to be with Sebastian at the end to be honest. I think that it was pretty much done when we didn’t do enough damage on the three-stop against Seb’s pace on the two. I think we tried to race Romain at the start and then in the end we switched to the three. So I was the meat in the sandwich, trying to beat Romain on a two and then all of a sudden we decided to do a three. I was a little bit surprised. I asked was it the right thing to do because I felt we could get to the lap we were looking to get to. Of course Seb was two or three laps longer, four laps maybe but in terms of the target lap that we looked to get for the two-stop I thought was achievable but in the end Seb did a good race, the strategy worked out perfect and yeah, the three was… not absolutely ridiculous but it’s a bit more high risk we know, and you have to clear people obviously, so yeah, piggy in the middle, trying to do both. In the end, we got back to where we were in terms of position but Seb jumped both of us. But a great result for the team, a sensational result for me in my last time here in Japan in Formula One. The fans are incredible. I enjoyed the grand prix today, it was nice to have fresh tyres a bit more, which is always enjoyable around Suzuka. So that was today’s race.

    I mentioned drama-filled for Sebastian, one or two things happened to him, what about yourself?

    MW: Apart from the shocking start for both Seb and I, that was really it. After that we could plan our race accordingly. It wasn’t what we expected to be honest, both of us didn’t do anything off the front row. So that put us on the back foot already and Romain was quite strong on the option but I don’t think he was that strong on the prime. Anyway, as I say, I did everything I could today. It’s not too bad a result obviously. It’s nice to be back on the podium after the last few races where I think we could have certainly have been there but we weren’t. All in all, I leave here happy and off to Oz tomorrow for a bit more surfing.

    Well done. Romain, tell us about that start because it was a lightning one.

    RG: Yeah, it was probably one of the best; I just spoke with Seb [about it]. When I dropped the clutch I said ‘whoah, whoah, that’s a good one, come on, come on go for it’. Amazing. Then when you’re leading it makes the thing easier on the first stint. We were very quick on the option. The car was using less the tyres and I could open the gap. Unfortunately, it was less good on prime than option today for some reason, rather than yesterday when it was the opposite, so the pace dropped a little bit and Seb was really too quick for us. I think it would have been nice with Mark until the end of the race but we caught some slower cars, lapped cars, and they really blocked me a lot. I lost the position against Mark. I don’t know if I could have held him until the end but, yeah, it cost me, I think, quite a lot. Never mind, we were the only car to be able to follow them. We did not even think about racing them before the race and the strategy says that our target was Lewis, so, so far it was a pretty good race and for sure being ahead in the first corner helps quite a lot but we did a very good job to come back from a disaster Friday to have a very good Saturday and Sunday.

    Q: You were right in the middle of a backmarker battle right at the end there – there was a lot of traffic around. A little bit of sadness having been out in front and finishing third?

    RG: I thought it was the day that the first victory was coming. Honestly on option, I did struggle a little bit but then I could pull away to Mark and I said “our car is beautiful today, it’s gonna be good,” and then Mark pitted earlier than what we thought, we fitted the prime – hard tyres – and the degradation was not the same any more and it was making it harder to drive. I think I lost second with the Caterham in the middle stint when Mark catch me just before he pitted and then on the last few laps there were a lot of cars in front of us. I know it’s not easy for anyone to let us by but on such a nice big track it costs you a lot . As my tyres were really on the edge every small aero… wing perturbation will cost me a lot and at the exit of the chicane a little bit of wheelspin and Mark could go for it. So, a bit of a shame to lose the second position but never mind, I think the positives that I gain outweigh… were challenging them and that counts for us.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Mark, you spoke about the second stop but the first one was already pretty early for a two stop strategy. Was it just to do an undercut on Romain, or do you feel that you were in the role of a rabbit to challenge Romain to follow you and then obviously it paid out for Seb?

    MW: Yeah, we were obviously looking to get in the lead, to put some pressure on Romain. I don’t think the option was easy to handle for any of us. I wanted to put some pressure on Romain towards the end of that stint. We were more or less in the window for a two stop. As soon as I pitted after the prime, the guys said ‘yeah, we’re on a two stop, it’s no problem. Look after the tyres and we’ll stay on two.’ And then I was on two and then we switched to three so I think they just saw that it was just a quicker way for me to do three stops. That’s what they thought, that was the reason they did it. That’s the reason for that.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Mark, in those laps, you were trying to get Grosjean but you couldn’t quite get him down the straights; what was happening through the chicane and down the pit straight?

    MW: Well, at the end of the race, the DRS is not as effective because you’re on the limiter, basically. We managed to get off the chicane a bit better on the… when you arrive on someone you want to get the job done pretty quickly. First sector is obviously not that easy because… Romain is a bit low on tyres but they also had more downforce than us. I was quite low on wing. When I arrived on him, I was obviously hoping to get it done a little bit earlier but it was also knowing that his tyres were going to be quite tired, getting towards the end of the race as well. The backmarkers didn’t work out for Romain, it’s a bit of a nightmare when you catch so many guys; they all want the DRS, they all want to fight and in the end, it was beneficial for me to pounce when Romain got not the best run with the backmarkers, which was no fault of his own.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Romain, what do you think you still miss to get a victory: another car, another team, another strategy? And the same for you, Sebastian, about Romain.

    RG: From my side, I think, today, was a little bit of pace on the hard tyre. We covered Mark on the first stop. It was two laps shorter than what we thought and then again, the second stop was just a little bit earlier than we thought because of the tyres’ age and so on. And I think we missed Friday, so we had to do a long run in FP3 to know how the tyres were going because from Friday we had no information from our long runs, we really struggled with the car, so we lost that information that we are normally pretty good on. Today the hard tyres didn’t behave as we expected and before the race, honestly, we said we’ll start on option but then what’s going on in the second stint, we didn’t know if we had to fit option or prime and it was just an unknown. I think the Red Bull today was… we said in the strategy meeting that we never thought that we could beat them. So we are where we expected to be. Just sometimes, it’s a little bit of everything. Today was not the luck missing, it was not the start, the driving, it was just a little bit of pace from the car.

    SV: Well, I think after the start and the first stint, I thought that it would be a great race for Romain. Obviously we tried to make our stint longer and so on, to come back in the end but they looked very strong. I think they struggled a little bit more on the prime probably but then again as he just said, they didn’t expect to race where they ended up racing. I think he drove a fantastic race today. I don’t think it’s a matter of… he can beat me, he beat me last year at the Race of Champions. I put the car in the wall. I think it’s not a matter of that. The race is long. Today obviously favoured us over the distance which is a little bit unusual compared to the Lotus because I knew that being in third, losing out in the first stint, usually the distance is more, you know, let’s say the strength of the Lotuses. I think Romain did a great job, great performance all weekend I think, great qualifying yesterday again, outqualified Kimi. We know that Kimi is a strong driver. Last year I think Romain made some mistakes but the most important thing is that we learn from these mistakes as drivers so I think he learned a lot of things and gradually he’s improving, so big respect for that.

    Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) Mark, last year you had an incident with Romain here. Did you change your mind about him during this year, especially in this race, but also the whole season?

    MW: No, I think it’s very clear that Romain has a very different mental approach to the job at the moment this year. He’s driven some quite strong races, putting together the whole weekend which is a sign of a driver starting to get a bit more relaxed and confident. A lot less mistakes, not just in races but in practice so it’s not… You know, we’re not here to blow smoke up his arse but in the end he’s doing a very good job this year and it’s a big step for him because last year, in Formula One, also the first year against Fernando in Formula One wasn’t easy for him and to come back… yeah, he’s doing a good job. It starts and stops with him. Hope he doesn’t improve too much more before the end of the year! And we can keep going.

    Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Sebastian, you haven’t won your fourth consecutive title yet but it’s almost certain to happen this season, barring something very odd. Now you’re also a man who collects an awful lot of race wins, record after record. What means more to you: going down in history with the likes of Fangio and Schumacher as one of three men to have collected four consecutive titles, or to stand on the top of every podium on the calendar?

    SV: I think I prefer the second thing you said. You know, I love racing. When I was small, I was dreaming about Formula One and honestly never thought that one day I would be able to test one of these cars. First time I tested the car, it was… Mark drove in the morning, I drove in the afternoon. I shit myself the first couple of laps and I thought, alright, that’s for real men, not for me. Then I got used to it and obviously wanted to do more. A couple of years later, obviously I had the chance to get a drive, Red Bull gave me the chance at Toro Rosso to get some races. It’s incredible what’s happened over the last couple of years but nothing has changed in the way that I still love racing, I love the challenge, I’m still nervous when I wake up on Sunday, still excited when I walk on the grid and tense, looking forward to the race. Enjoying – not the numbers – but enjoying the fact that I’m racing and a great crowd today, a fantastic day. As I said, I think it would be a shame if you were too tense and if you tried to force things too much.  I think you have to allow yourself to enjoy it because this is not normal, it doesn’t happen to everyone. I think I’m very fortunate that I’m one of these 22/24 guys in Formula One. As I said, we leave the hotel, great respect from the fans, they’re cheering, they’re shouting our names and it’s just great. That’s what I’m looking forward to most, obviously try to do it again. I love trophies so I don’t mind collecting a few either!

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, after overtaking Grosjean, did you ask the team what position Alonso was in in the race?

    SV: No.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Did the team inform you?

    SV: After the race. Obviously I knew that in the last stint, once we got past Romain, I knew that Mark was the biggest threat from behind. He was on fresher tyres and pretty quick. Obviously he got stuck with Romain a little bit which helped us. But I didn’t really… I didn’t ask and I didn’t want to know because there are still things that can happen at the end, even if you have a little bit of a gap and so on. We’ve seen today a lot of lock-ups; I was wide once in turn two, at the beginning of the race. Mark just said he knew where I was in one of the stints in the race because there was smoke here, smoke there. I was struggling a little bit with locking up the tyres. I was busy enough, also carrying the car to the chequered flag.

    Ends