Tag: formula 1

Hamilton takes pole at Spa

Spa, 24 Aug 2013: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes AMG Petronas took the pole position ahead of Red Bull’s duo championship leader Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber for the Belgian Grand Prix FIA Formula One World Championship on Sunday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Lewis Hamilton took pole for Mercedes in a dramatic, rain-swept qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps.

Four drivers held pole position in the last few seconds of qualifying for tomorrow’s Belgian Grand Prix. With spray flying up from the wet track, Nico Rosberg’s stellar effort for Mercedes gave him a provisional pole but team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel had made it across the line just before the chequered flag appeared, giving the huge Spa-Francorchamps crowd an exciting two minutes, waiting to see if they could knock the Monaco and Silverstone winner off top spot.

Conditions possibly improved in those last two minutes, though any gain was marginal. Webber crossed the line first and took P1. He held it for seconds only, however, as Vettel blasted through and took a tenth out of his time. For the briefest instant it was the Red Bull 1-2 that practice pace had suggested – but then Hamilton arrived to take his fifth pole of the season and fourth in succession. His time of 2:01.012 was two-tenths of a second better than Vettel had managed.

“I feel I’m able to find the limits when the conditions are really on the edge,” said a jubilant Hamilton. “I pushed quite a lot in the middle sector particularly as I thought I was down three seconds, so I was really caning it.”

At the start of Q3, there was a degree of chaos with most of the field going out on Option tyres. With drops of rain already falling, it was a gamble – and one that failed to pay off with the slick runners all returning to the pits at the end of their out lap. “It was quite entertaining because it started to rain pretty heavily,” observed Vettel.

The one exception was Paul di Resta. Starting the session on intermediates he had the track to himself and took P1 by default. With the possibility of conditions worsening, he had an excellent chance of repeating Giancarlo Fisichella’s 2009 feat and taking a Force India pole at Spa – but the rain receded and he had to settle for fifth position.

Behind Di Resta, Jenson Button took sixth for McLaren, ahead of Lotus’s Romain Grosjean and Kimi Räikkönen who took seventh and eighth, while row five was an all-Ferrari affair with Fernando Alonso ninth and Felipe Massa tenth.

Qualifying had taken place in mixed conditions from the start: rain began to fall a few minutes before Q1 began. It was no surprise, though, as the radar had been showing the weather on its way for some time. It meant the session began on intermediate tyres but when the rain ceased partway through the 20minutes, the track began to dry quickly. Backmarkers with nothing to lose took a risk and ventured out on dry tyres. It paid dividends for the Marussia pair of Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi who qualified for their first Q2. Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde also made the cut. Eliminated were the Williams of Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas, Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo from Toro Rosso, Sauber’s Esteban Gutiérrez and Caterham’s Charles Pic.

Q2 was dry and saw the times drop by over ten seconds. With three drivers out of position and unlikely to challenge for a place in Q3, the battle was essentially between 13 cars competing for ten places. In a hard-fought battle the drivers to drop out were Nico Hülkenberg for Sauber in 11^th, Force India’s Adrian Sutil in 12^th and McLaren’s Sergio Pérez 13^th. They were joined by Van der Garde 14^th, Bianchi 15^th and Chilton 16^th, each of the latter three enjoying a career-best qualifying position.

His teammate, Nico Rosberg qualified in fourth positions after an eventful wet-dry qualifying session. Stats by Mercedes team:

Lewis took the team’s eighth pole position in the past nine races and his fourth consecutive pole this afternoon
Nico qualified fourth and was fastest of all until the dying moments of the qualifying session
Four Mercedes-Benz powered cars qualified in the top six and it was the third Mercedes pole in five years at Spa
Weather forecasts currently predict similar mixed weather conditions for tomorrow afternoon’s race

Drivers	No.	Chassis No.	Qualifying 1		Qualifying 2		Qualifying 3
Lewis Hamilton	10	F1 W04 / 04	2:00.368	P2	1:49.067	P10	2:01.012	P1
Nico Rosberg	9	F1 W04 / 03	2:01.099	P4	1:48.552	P3	2:02.251	P4

Weather	Drying track in Q1; dry track in Q2; wet track in Q3
Temperatures	Air: 20-21 °C	Track: 20-24 °C

Lewis Hamilton
A fourth pole in a row just feels fantastic! The team did a great job to get the timing at the end of Q3 absolutely perfect and I was in exactly the right track position. I was so surprised when I came across the line to hear I was P1. I went wide in the first corner and I thought I was down on time from the read-out on my steering wheel. I just kept pushing and did a strong middle sector, then I could see I was catching Sebastian towards the end so it was a great feeling. I hope we can try and fight it out tomorrow, whatever the conditions. The Red Bulls are still ahead of us in terms of performance so results like this feel even more special because I know I’ve got the absolute maximum out of myself and out of the car.

Nico Rosberg
It was a very difficult qualifying session and unfortunately luck wasn’t on my side today. When I took the chequered flag, I was quickest at that time, but the track quicker and quicker for the guys who had got the extra lap and eventually ended up in the top three positions, so I must be happy with fourth place on the grid. Our car seems pretty good in all conditions here this weekend which makes me hopeful of a strong race performance tomorrow afternoon.

Ross Brawn
It was obviously a very tricky session for everybody this afternoon and we were far from perfect but we did enough things right to get the job done. In the closing seconds of Q3, track position was critical and Lewis – running last on the road on the final lap – did a great job with the opportunity he had. We were not sure how it would turn out as DRS had been disabled for that final lap, then we saw his time in the second sector and started to get excited. Nico didn’t get the extra lap but he was fastest of all when his session ended and it’s a fantastic team result to have two cars starting in the top four after such a mixed qualifying. We are expecting similar conditions tomorrow so we will have a good chance of success. But we will have to run a smart race and make the right decisions to do achieve it.

Toto Wolff
That was a very tough qualifying session and another one where it was easier to get things wrong than right. It was very close indeed for Lewis in Q2 when he made it through by just two-hundredths of a second and that showed how challenging the entire hour was in terms of tactics and strategy. It was crucial to get on track at the right time and our result in Q3 was a great team performance. Both drivers produced special laps: Nico was top of the timesheets when he took the chequered flag and then Lewis delivered another of his magic laps, especially in the middle sector. Our engineers have clearly found a good set-up for these mixed conditions and we are expecting more of the same kind of weather tomorrow.

2013 Belgian Grand Prix qualifying times

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 2:01.012
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 2:01.200
3 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 2:01.325
4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2:02.251
5 Paul di Resta Force India 2:02.332
6 Jenson Button McLaren 2:03.075
7 Romain Grosjean Lotus 2:03.081
8 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 2:03.390
9 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2:03.482
10 Felipe Massa Ferrari 2:04.059

11 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber 1:49.088
12 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:49.103
13 Sergio Pérez McLaren 1:49.304
14 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:52.036
15 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:52.563
16 Max Chilton Marussia 1:52.762

17 Pastor Maldonado Williams 2:03.072
18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 2:03.300
19 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 2:03.317
20 Valtteri Bottas Williams 2:03.432
21 Esteban Gutiérrez Sauber 2:04.324
22 Charles Pic Caterham 2:07.384

ends

August 24, 2013

We will fight every race, but our focus is also on next year’s car: Andrew Green

TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Andrew GREEN (Force India), Nick CHESTER (Lotus), Jean-Michel JALINIER (Renault Sport), Tom McCULLOUGH (Sauber), Pat SYMONDS (Williams), James Key (Toro Rosso)

PRESS CONFERENCE

James, if I could start with you. I want to talk about the engineering challenges today, of developing new technologies, such as we have for 2014, but in a resource-restricted environment in Formula One, as we have at the moment. What are the key points in your mind?

James KEY: That’s the secret to it in many ways, isn’t it, because we have a lot of new technologies and new things we have to do for next year. Fundamentally, it’s a case of getting the priorities right and understanding how best to pitch what technologies are going to be important and which aren’t, or which are going to be less important let’s say. Certainly when you have a limited budget as a team, you can’t iterate through everything. It’s very easy to spend a lot of money very quickly, so you have to circumvent certain things by kind of iterating and then take your best guess and move on from there. So to certain extent there’s a bit of knowledge you have to go on and in other respects it’s a case of setting priorities.

Obviously you’re switching from Ferrari to the Renault for next year. Do you get the gearbox from Red Bull, presumably as part of all that package. Can you talk a little bit about how big a boost that is in terms of your efforts to move yourselves forward up the grid.

JK: I think certainly it makes a huge amount of sense for us to have a few more synergies where possible with Red Bull – we fundamentally have the same ownership. I think that’s good for both teams. We will take the same engine as well. We’re working extremely well with our engine partners at Renault, who are doing a good job of supporting us. It’s a new experience for us, we haven’t worked with them in the past. In that respect it’s good. We’ll have to see for next year, there are so many unknowns still right now. But to move towards similar powertrain solutions to Red Bull Racing is a very obvious thing to do and can only be of benefit to both sides I think.

Jean-Michel, at this stage, with just a few months to go before the end of this season and with testing starting in January, do you have any sense of where Renault is in terms of power and efficiency compared with your rivals Ferrari and Mercedes?

Jean-Michel JALINIER: I cannot compare ourselves to our competitors but what I can say is that we have set very aggressive targets for all the parameters of the new engine and that we are achieving the targets one after one because today according to our plans we have some engines on benches, the results are now coming and they are in line with our targets.

What is the first order of priority? Is it power? Is it efficiency? What do you see as the key for next year?

JMJ: I think that for next year the two keys are going to be reliability, because it’s a brand new engine with high tech engine inside – internal combustion engine but also the two electrical engines, all the energy recovery systems – so reliability for this new technology will be key. The second key will be energy management for the race.

Just finally, the latest on a deal with Lotus? Is there any more business to be done in terms of the teams you will supply next year?

JMJ: We’re going to supply four teams. We have already a deal with Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing obviously and the two other teams it’s just a matter of time to finish the contracts.

Pat, great to see you back, welcome, in your new colour scheme. Mid-1990s, I remember you and Michael Schumacher at Benetton racing against Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve at Williams, they then were the arch enemies in many, many ways. How does it feel to walk to walk through the doors [of Williams] nowadays and be part of that team?

Pat SYMONDS: Oh, realty great actually. Williams does have that incredible heritage and it’s a heritage I respect a lot. But we can’t live in the past. They were great times, of course they were, but my job now is to make the team today as successful as it was then. It’s quite a challenge but it’s a very enjoyable challenge. The fundamentals of the team are there. It’s a very well equipped team, it has some very good people in it. An analogy I often use is it’s like being the conductor of an orchestra. I think we have some very good instrumentalists in our orchestra. And now we just really need to get them timed together, playing the same tune and bring the success back.

You said that the technical changes for 2014 are the biggest you’ve encountered in your long career. On the theme of technical developments in a resource-restricted environment, you’ve obviously worked for top teams, recently you worked for Marussia, a small team. Can you give us an overview of the impact of dealing with this change for the field in Formula One?

PS: It is huge and I think James summed it up very well, because you’ve got to decide where to put your priorities. When we have reasonably stable regulations you iterate to those priorities. Arguably if you have very stable regulations, everyone iterates towards a very similar design. You also iterate to similar processes. Now when the rule book is ripped up and you start again, you really have to think about what processes are important – what’s going to bring you performance. And of course while everyone is focused on the powertrain and there are a lot of things to do there – cooling’s a huge challenger, energy management is a huge challenge – but of course we must not forget that it’s a reasonably significant aerodynamic change we’re making to the cars. It may not sound much – moving the front wing in a little bit, losing the beam wing at the rear and small changes like that – but in actual fact the aerodynamics of the cars are so inter-related now that it really is something you need to think about a lot. And, of course, we never ‘un-invent’ anything, we never forget what we’ve already done. So we’re not dropping any of our technologies in order to bring the new ones in, we’re just adding to the job.

Thanks for that. Moving to Nick Chester from Lotus. Welcome, Nick. There’s a lot going on at Lotus at the moment. You’ve got the double DRS running this weekend. You’ve got a long wheelbase car, apparently, for Monza. Can you shed a bit of light on your thinking for this final part of 2013 and what kind of statement that makes?

Nick CHESTER: Well, we’re still trying to develop very hard to give ourselves a very competitive run until the end of the year. The passive drag reduction system we’ve been working on for a while. We targeted it for Spa and we’ve run it through P1 and we’ve learned some more with it. I don’t think we’ll carry on through this weekend with it as we didn’t get enough dry running to get where we wanted in P1. We are targeting this strong development until the end of the year and the long wheelbase for Monza is part of that. So we are going to keep bringing developments through Monza and then the following races as well. There are certainly developments also planned for Singapore and Korea.

Like everyone else here, you’re obviously juggling the requirements of 2014. Do you have what you need to build a winning car in 2014?

NC: Yeah, we do. We started the design very early, we’ve been designing for over 18 months on the 2014 car. So that’s given us a good head start and in a way that’s meant that we could develop our 2013 car for longer through the year because we’re in such good shape with next year’s car. As Pat said it’s going to be a very interesting year in 2014. It’s the biggest rule change I’ve seen while I’ve been in the sport. Trying to optimise a car around what’s a very different power plant with very different cooling, it’s quite a big challenge. It is going to be interesting.

Andrew, coming to you now. You’re in a tight battle in the Constructors’ Championship with McLaren. Fifty-nine points to you at the moment, 57 for them, battling for fifth. What’s the strategy then? Are you going to try to hold on to that fifth place, even if it costs you some performance in 2014?

Andrew GREEN: Obviously we’re going to battle as hard as we can. The strategy at the moment is to extract as much as we can out of this car and take each race as it comes and try not to makes mistakes. That’s one of the things we have been guilty of in a few races this season. We haven’t really harvested the points we should have, we should be much further up. Now is the time to get our heads down and just not make mistakes, extract what we can, and not make mistakes and see where we end up. McLaren is… it’s going to be very difficult top keep McLaren behind us, they’re a huge team with huge resources and can carry on developing two cars simultaneously. We’re a much smaller outfit; it’s not something we can do. Our focus really has to be on next year, otherwise we won’t have a car next year, it’s as simple as that.

On the subject of balancing the technological development with budgets, how are you existing arrangements in terms of powertrain? How are you existing arrangements in terms of powertrain for next year and how will that go forward?

AG: Well, it’s nice to obviously keep the same engine partners. That does help. It is a massive change next year, there’s no doubt about it. Reiterating what the other guys have said, it’s the biggest change I’ve ever seen. And it is a challenge. We’re a small team, so it’s an even bigger challenge. There are lots of things we’d like to do. Lots of experiments we’d like to do, lots of information we’d like to take before we make some key decisions and we can’t do them all. It’s as simple as that. We have to make some best guesses and we don’t really want to be [doing that]. It’s a difficult place to be in and it can be very frustrating but it’s a challenge and we’ll see where we end up.

Q: Tom, the same theme really. It’s no secret that Sauber has had some issues on the financial side. You’ve obviously got some new investment coming in – so where are you as a technical group in terms of how you plotted out your development of 2014 and how it’s actually unfolding as we go forward?

Tom McCULLOUGH: Like the rest of the guys said, we started work on our car pretty early for 2014, mainly aerodynamically and then more and more during the year, working closely with our powertrain partner, developing that car. So, the two cars are simultaneously being developed still, at the moment. The current car is coming to an end at the factory. At the track we’ll still get bits later on this year. But it’s just a matter of splitting resources really.

Q: Obviously the 2013 car hasn’t worked out the way you would have hoped. Does that push you towards an earlier switchover to 2014? Considering where you are in the constructors’, some way behind Toro Rosso, does that push you towards thinking you’re not going to catch them and focussing your attention on next year?

TMcC: The start of this year wasn’t as competitive as we wanted. Understanding that is key to making a good car next year, so a lot of the work we’ve been doing on the car is in conjunction with next year’s car. So we couldn’t just stop designing this year’s car. We’ve worked very hard and we have made some good improvements. The update package we bought to Budapest, we were very happy with. We feel we’re understanding the car a lot better now. The wind tunnel programmes and the CFD programmes between the two cars help each other – and that process is still ongoing, especially with CFD. Overall that should give us a more competitive car next year.

Q: So you have grounds for optimism?

TMcC: Yeah! For sure. This year’s car, even though from a points point of view we were not scoring points and saw some of our direct competitors taking those points, in lap time we often weren’t far away. A small difference in lap time, different competitiveness from track to track, bringing improvements to the car… all of a sudden the points can come your way. I wish we’d started the year as we are now but we feel confident for the second half of this season.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Oana Popoiu – F1 Zone) Pat, as we are already halfway through the season, how will the team benefit from your work at this stage?

PS: Well, I think with a lot of what I’m trying to do with Williams is still a bit of a process rather than the detail and that process can have an effect, reasonably quickly. Now, we are engaged in a battle this year as well, and there are still updates to come to the car: there’s a new front wing, there’s new bodywork, there’s quite a few major upgrades but of course they are things that are already well in the pipeline and not things that I will be influencing. So really my job is to try and look at the process of determining how we get the performance out of the car and I hope that that will have some influence this year but of course it’s not a five minute job and I think we will see a lot more in 2014.

Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Andy Green, I wanted to go back to what James said earlier about balancing the development of the 2013 car versus 2014. Obviously you don’t want to sacrifice next year’s performance. Do you have a plan… I mean if McLaren pull ahead in the Constructors’ championship is that the point at which you switch more of your focus over? How much of your workforce is currently on 2014 versus 2013, because you’re the team in the middle with the hardest decision to make, it seems?

AG: It is a difficult balance. I would say the point at which they have more points – they are further ahead than us there are points to score – then that’s obviously over. Like I said, we’ll keep pushing as hard as we can with what we’ve got, but we have to keep an eye on next year, there’s no two ways about it. It’s too big a challenge not for us to have one eye over there. McLaren are a huge, huge team, a championship-winning team and I don’t expect they thought they’d be racing with us at the start of the season, and I’m pretty sure they probably didn’t set themselves the target of fifth in the championship when they started the year. So we’ll do what we can. We know it’s going to be difficult, we’ll take each race as it comes. There will be no step.

Q: Who will make that decision? Will it be the major shareholders or the technical people?

AG: It is a joint decision.

Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) I guess my question is for Jean-Michel. Part of the success of the current V8 Formula One has been that the engine performance has been equalized between manufacturers. I’m wondering whether the FIA has informed you of when it intends to start imposing that same process, introducing controls to equalize the performance of the V6s and when that process does start, I wonder if you, as a highly competitive group, will try to resist it?

J-MJ: There will be a process for convergence after – I don’t know – the first two or three years, definitely there will be a process of convergence. Regarding the V8, one of our strengths is to work with the team to make the quickest car. We have never claimed to have the most powerful engine, we claim to work with the team to make the quickest car and that’s the kind of methodology we are developing for the 2014 car with our partners.

Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) And the FIA controls?

J-MJ: I think there will be some kind of convergence because we cannot sustain – in terms of cost – free competition with open technology, open choices and open engineering. We need to have some limitation in order to reduce and control the development costs per season, so we need it.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Nick, the long wheelbase car, what’s the reasoning behind introducing that and how will you be doing it? Do you need to make some monocoque changes or can you do it a slightly easier way?

NC: Well, we’ve wanted to do it because we’ve seen there’s a performance gain associated with it. The way we’re going to do it is with a front suspension change.

Q: But there’s homologation to be done?

NC: Yeah, that’s already been done.

Q: (Panos Diamantis – Car and Driver) Mr Symonds, you said that 2014 will see the biggest technical change you’ve ever seen in Formula One, and obviously Williams provides this energy recovery systems to other means of transport in London. Do you think that this will be a turning point in the history of Formula One to launch more ecological technologies?

PS: Yes, I do. It really is a bit of a double-edged sword, the 2014 power train regulations. On one hand, I’m very very pleased that the FIA have had the foresight to really look at engine efficiency or powertrain efficiency and use F1 to push those technologies. I guess the downside for us is that it’s been a long process to introduce it and of course, from the time of starting to talk about it until introducing it we’ve been through a major worldwide recession which has made it difficult for all the Formula One teams to embark on such a big project. But we’ve managed to do it and I think what we need to do now is make sure that we capitalize on it. Formula One, I think, is guilty of far too often hiding its light under a bushel and a lot of the very great things we do as engineers in Formula One we like to keep to ourselves and I think it’s time for that to change. I think it’s time for the world to know what we are doing with Formula One powertrains in 2014 is really quite advanced. It really is something new, it really is the way of the future and therefore I think we can stop before it happens those who may wish to criticize Formula One and motor sport in general for carbon emissions, for use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are here to stay, let’s use them efficiently and I think Formula One is doing that, and I think we should be very proud of what we’re doing and we should tell the world what we’re doing.

Q: (Marc Priestley – F1 Times) Question for Nick and Tom: firstly, Tom, both you guys have used this passive DRS-type system on the car today. Tom, do you expect to use it any more this weekend. Nick, you’ve already clarified that you won’t, but is it something that you will continue working on? Do the 2014 rules mean that it’s a viable concept to continue developing?

TMcC: So, today we performed a lot of tests on some new parts and the system actually performed better than we were expecting. It’s still not at the stage where we think we’re going to race it, even though we are pretty tempted at the moment, so there’s plenty of engineers looking at a lot of data. We’ll make that decision later on tonight. With regards to next year, any system that you can use to help reduce drag will always help you, so yes, it is part of the consideration for next year’s car.

NC: And the same for Lotus; obviously anything that drops drag is a useful thing to have, so it’s an interesting direction to pursue.

Q: Just for clarity, the reason not to continue with it for the weekend, is that because the downside of it, not switching properly, outweighs the possible gains of having it?

NC: Partly, and also because we didn’t have a full dry session, we couldn’t get the normal feedback we would like on it and all the measurements we would like, so it just left us a little nervous after P1 that we didn’t want to go into the rest of the weekend with something that may give us a problem, particularly when the car’s already competitive and we didn’t want to risk having a problem in P3 or qualifying with it.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Pat, you talked about the need for getting more out of the potential of Williams with better technical leadership. Do you, based on your preliminary examinations of the team, think that you need further recruitment in senior technical positions to work just under you to achieve that?

PS: Well, the first thing to remember is that I’ve been there four days, so it’s very much first impressions, but those first impressions are that it’s a team with fabulous facilities, it’s a great factory, there’s most of the equipment that we need there and a lot of very good people. And of course, while I may have been there only four days, a lot of those people I have known for many years and worked with many of them, so there is a lot of quality and I think I would re-iterate what I said earlier, that I think that what we need to do at Williams is that we need to look at process and that’s really where my focus will be.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Nick, the wheelbase change, any concerns that will have a detrimental effect on the good tyre management you’ve seen from your car? Obviously it will slightly change the way you’re loading up the tyres.

NC: Yeah, we don’t expect so. If anything, it should make the car a little bit more stable, a little bit easier to drive, it could even give us a small tyre management advantage so we think it’s the right thing to do and we’re looking forward to bringing it to Monza.

Ends

Sahara Force India file photo of Andrew Green

August 24, 2013
Jules Bianchi confident and pleased with Marussia

DRIVERS – Jules BIANCHI (Marussia), Charles PIC (Caterham), Giedo VAN DER GARDE (Caterham), Jean-Eric VERGNE (Toro Rosso), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing), Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Jules, can we start with you? Ten races into your Formula One career you’ve got some solid results. Do you feel you’re established as an F1 driver now?

Jules BIANCHI: Obviously the first part of the season has been really good for me and the team. The second part a bit more difficult. Now we’re going into the last part and I feel confident. I was really happy with the first result we had but we still need to push and improve.

What do you feel is the right move for you? I know the Marussia team are keen to keep you for next season. Do you think the right move for you is to stay there or are you looking beyond?

JB: Well, I think the right move is first of all to think about this year, finish the season and let my manager and Ferrari see what we can do and they will decide and they will a good call but for sure I’m happy and pleased with Marussia.

Giedo, moving to you now. A bit of a tough start to the year but things have really seemed to turn around recently, particularly in the last race. What was the secret of that turnaround?

Giedo VAN DER GARDE: I think it’s a lot to do with the workload. I’ve been working really hard. Of course, it’s for rookies not easy to come in. I think Jules was a little bit better than me at the beginning. But it went better and better and you see a good direction going, especially the last race, it was going really well. Happy with the team, happy with the performance and we keep on pushing like this.

And your own thoughts about next year?

GVDG: Next year is still far away. I still want to focus on the next following races, do well, maximise myself. I think the new tyres are helping me a little bit, with my style of driving, so then we’ll see where it ends up.

Moving to you Sebastian, I was going to ask you about highlights of the season but I see you’ve gone out and got a few highlights of your own, under your cap, you’re hiding it now. You obviously have a comfortable lead in the championship but after the performance of Hamilton [in Hungary] and with Mercedes winning three of the last five are you beginning to feel less comfortable?

Sebastian VETTEL: I think we had a great first part of the season. Very good results, unfortunately one DNF, but all in all I think we can be very happy with the first half. Now entering the second half and looking at the calendar I think it will be very busy for all of us but I think we have the same reason to be confident as we had starting the season. I think we have a great car, a great team, a strong package, which hopefully is good enough to fight for victories in the next couple of races.

Obviously things are hotting up in the search for your new team-mate – lots of discussions going on. What, to you… what do you feel would be the ideal characteristics of the person sitting in the car on the other side of the garage next season?

SV: At the end of the day I think it doesn’t really matter too much. I think ideally you would like someone who is competitive, as competitive as you are, so that we are pushing each other. You don’t have to be best friends with whoever is racing next to you. At the end of the day you have to work for the team. I think that’s one of the most important bits, so you work in the same direction and hopefully ensure that the car gets faster, you pull in the same direction in terms of car development. I think that’s the most important thing. Whether you like each or not is not that important. If it’s the case, then probably it’s a bonus, but I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary.

Romain, first of all congratulations from all of us on the birth of your son. How does it feel?

Romain GROSJEAN: It feels like good entertainment, the best thing ever in the world.

Will it change the way you drive?

RG I think I have a different mind from the past. I have been trying to progress a lot. It may not change lap times but I’m still trying to improve myself.

Twenty-three points in the last two grand prix, your best form of the season. What’s brought that about?

RG: We had a decent run since Bahrain, where we found out what I didn’t like on the car at the start of the season. In Silverstone we had a little bad luck. I had a bad Monaco, that was myself, but then I think I was getting better and better and we had in the last two races fights for victory, which is always good. The car was performing well in quali and the race, so happy with that, happy with the progress we are doing and the updates that being brought by the team. Just trying to do my best and giving 100 per cent every time.

You’ve had a clean sheet in race starts this season but obviously coming back here everyone remembers 12 months ago, what do think about that now?

RG: Well, as I say, a different state of mind and I think I’ve progressed a lot and worked on that and I think the 2013 starts prove that I did my duties. No, I’ll keep pushing and trying to do my best in every circumstance. When every eye is on you, it’s easier for the others to play with that. But I’m here today to give my best, trying to win races, what I’ve been trying to do in the last two grand prix and it’s getting close and closer, which is good. So I’ll keep progressing, keep working and keep doing the same things and I’ll keep doing clean starts.

Q: Jean-Eric, moving to you, we saw the interview you gave to L’Équipe just before the summer break. Perhaps you could spell out for us the situation as you see it between yourself, Toro Rosso, Red Bull and the future?

Jean-Eric VERGNE: The situation is pretty clear. I don’t have much to say. There have been absolutely no [statements] from Red Bull Racing or Toro Rosso. I’m happy where I am. I try to focus 100 per cent on my season and all the races that are going on for the rest of the year. Therefore I don’t want to think too much about next year.

Q: There was a quote from Franz Tost saying you are secure at Toro Rosso for next year, you didn’t have to worry about your future.

JEV: Yeah, absolutely I’m not worried. Of course as a driver I wish I could have a car to win races but I will be more than happy to stay in Toro Rosso. It’s a good team. It’s a team building up, just getting better and better. We have a new factory, a lot of good people coming in and I would be more than happy to stay in Toro Rosso next year. Nothing else to say really.

Q: Give us your thoughts on this race. Obviously a lot of support coming across the border from France, obviously always a very special feeling as well, racing on this historic track – a track on which Toro Rosso have done reasonably well in the past, certainly in qualifying.

JEV: First of all I love this track. I’ve always loved racing here. For some reason I realise I’ve had quite a decent car here with Toro Rosso. Especially this year I hope will be even better than the other ones. We are aiming for a good weekend, scoring some good points and ending all the bad results we’ve had recently.

Q: Charles, how do you feel about what you’ve been able to do so far this season?

Charles PIC: I think it was a good first half of the season for us. The two first races were difficult and for sure we were not at the pace we wanted to be but I think all the team, including the driver, made a good job and progressed race after race to become stronger and stronger after races. We finished in Budapest, I think our highest level of the season. So I think that is quite positive. Still not where we want to be so we need to continue like that and push it forward. But I think it was a good progression.

Q: This is the time of year where teams and the drivers and their managers are all thinking about the jigsaw puzzle which is who drives where in 2014. What are your feelings? Would you like to stay where you are? Do you see a move? What are you thinking?

CP: My job is to try to get 100 per cent out of my car every weekend. So I will be focussed on this for the next races and I will let my management do the rest.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Julien Febreau – Canal Plus) Question to all of you except Romain Grosjean: do you feel ready to be a father?

SV: Oof. I don’t know. Maybe. Obviously Romain is a father, so maybe he can comment on what made him think he’s ready or not. I think in the best case it doesn’t take too long to get the job done! I think in that case we are all ready!

JEV: Well, following what Seb says, I will be ready to do the job but not the rest.

GvdG: I think when Seb does one he will have a nice boy or girl with the same hair. Just kidding. I don’t know. First of all, I’ve been with my girlfriend for quite a long time. We’re getting married this year and after that we will see what comes. I think we’ll wait for a few more years.

SV: We are still in free practice!

JB: I think it’s the same (for me); I don’t feel ready at the moment but I’m practising!

CP: For myself at the moment I’m focusing on racing and my season and after that we will see.

Q: (Pierre van Vliet – F1i.com) Jean-Eric, do you still believe that you have a chance for the Red Bull drive next year?

JEV: It’s a difficult question. Obviously I don’t know much more than you. I don’t want to think too much about it so it’s difficult for me to answer this question but I still believe in our chances to have a good car next year, whether Red Bull or Toro Rosso but if I’m at Toro Rosso I’m sure we will have a good car. I don’t have much else to say.

Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Sebastian, I’ve been bothering you for the past few races asking about the prospect of racing against Kimi in the same car and you were quite positive and enthusiastic about the challenge. How does it feel now that you know that prospective challenge has been taken away and that you might be racing somebody entirely different? Are you looking forward to it?

SV: Well, first of all, I didn’t know how realistic it was or not. Obviously I’ve learned similar to most of us from the press that as it looks, it’s not the case (that Kimi will be my teammate). For sure I’m talking with the team, but as I’ve said many times, it’s not my decision and also I don’t want to get too involved. As I’ve said, I think Kimi would have been nice in many ways. Now it’s not happening so it doesn’t make much sense to talk about that but who knows? He’s still young, I’m still young so I don’t know. A lot of things can still happen. Never say never but probably for next year it’s not going to happen.

Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Sebastian, after Hamilton’s win in Budapest, do you now see him as your most dangerous rival for the remainder of the season?

SV: Well, I think he’s one of them. Obviously, like I said, we had a good first half of the season. We can be very happy with that. We just need to go step by step, race by race and then not get distracted by too many things happening around the outside, outside of the team. I think Mercedes has been very competitive, not just Lewis, also Nico who has won two races already this year. We know that they are very quick in qualifying. Hungary, in a way, for the first time – not really the first time – they had the ability, let’s say, to show their speed in the race as well but really since Monaco, in a way, they’ve been competitive in the races. As I said, Nico won the race at Silverstone. Lewis was in the lead when he had the tyre failure. Surely, the last couple of races they were most competitive but then I think Lotus has always been there scoring points with Kimi. Romain is fighting his way back. Ferrari, I think, has a little bit of a low at the moment but still they’ve got good points so I think all of these teams and the drivers, you still have to keep them in mind but as I said, for us it’s not that important to pick one particular driver or person or team. As I said, first of all we have to get our own stuff sorted and then we will see what happens.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, there are rumours about Kimi that he might go back to Ferrari. Do you think that he and Fernando could be a more threatening couple for you, or would you prefer him to stay at Lotus?

SV: I don’t know. I get along quite well with Kimi so I would be happy in a way if he finds a spot where he’s happy. I think he has a good seat at the moment with Lotus but if he can improve then I would be happy for him. I think Kimi is very straightforward, you don’t get any bullshit with him and politics so in that regard I don’t know how realistic it is for him to return to Ferrari. Obviously he has been there and then Fernando came and Kimi left to go rallying. I think he’s very uncomplicated.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto-Motor) Jules, can you make it clear if you running for the Ferrari seat, and what other options are there for you apart from Marussia?

JB: Well, obviously I don’t know. Actually I am just focused 100 percent on my season and I just let my manager decide it for me. I think it’s not the moment to look at that, but for sure I will be ready if Ferrari call me, but for the moment I feel good at Marussia.

Q: (Luke Smith – NBC Sports) Romain, there are rumours of Kimi Raikkonen leaving the team at the end of the season; do you enjoy the prospect of potentially leading Lotus next season, in potentially a World Championship-leading car?

RG: Well, I always say that losing Kimi would be a loss for the team, he’s very good, he’s a World Champion, it’s good to have him as a teammate. We push each other to the limit but if he leaves then we still have to do the job and to try to win races and score a lot of points. So at the moment I think we have a good way of working together but yeah, if he leaves then I would be more than happy to get the deal and try to keep Lotus where it is or still improve.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Sebastian, we’re at Spa, a track you guys all love and we’re going to Suzuka, a track you all love. What is your most memorable race at Suzuka and why?

SV: So you’re not… you don’t want to talk about Spa? Correct. Nice introduction though! Looking back to Suzuka, I think I’ve had fantastic races there. I’ve been very lucky. I think the last four years I’ve always been on the podium: won three out of four races there so yeah, I really like the circuit, it’s fantastic. The first sector is great, similar to here: you have some corners which are very similar. I think we all enjoy the fact that when we get to challenge ourselves, not only ourselves but also the cars, and really get the cars to their limit and feel, once or twice, on these special types of circuits, what the cars can do and the corner speeds we have just through the first sector at Suzuka is very impressive. I enjoy that a lot, to feel the speed, to really get that sensation. It’s just a great level of satisfaction and that’s why it’s like a drug, you want more and more every lap and if you have a great car which fortunately I had the last couple of years, then it’s just great to go for another lap and another lap. I think the best memory I have is winning the championship there in 2011, even though I didn’t win the race but still it was a great experience, a crazy day and crazy karaoke at night after that.

Q: (Marc Priestley – F1Times.com) For anybody who has been to do a track walk today; you will have noticed that the first few grid slots have had some drainage channels cut into the track surface. Has there been talk amongst your teams, firstly about the different strategies for the start procedures and secondly about the possibility of even doing practice starts at some point over the Grand Prix weekend before we get to Sunday?

RG: Well, we noticed it while doing the track walk but we haven’t spoken with the start guy yet. It’s true that it looks different when you do the walk but I think the first eleven grid positions are more or less the same so there is no disadvantage; the advantage will be more with the eleventh, twelfth positions if there could be any problems, but I think from the first few rows, it should be the same for everyone.

JEV: Actually, we had a meeting just before the press conference and we were discussing it. I think we will probably bring it up during the drivers’ briefing or team managers’ briefing to try and ask if we can have a practice start to see if there is a difference or not.

SV: Yeah, we’ve noticed it, we’ve talked about it, we don’t know the difference because we’ve never had starts on that kind of surface. I don’t expect it to be a big difference. Obviously I think we are not allowed – at the moment, at least – doing any practice starts. Maybe that will change, to have a look for all the teams. If it’s wet, it’s better, if it’s wet for all of us for sure, but I think that’s the reason why they did it. Like I said, no experience so we don’t know.

GvdG: I think we are at an advantage then.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Romain, talking about Kimi, one thing that his manager said is that it depends a lot on Lotus whether he can stay or not, from what Lotus can offer technically and also financially. I think this is also something that interests you; have you spoken with Boullier and with Lopez, what do you know about next year? Do you feel secure about this?

RG: Well, I was a bit busy the last few weeks to be honest. I didn’t have much time to make phone calls. I feel very happy with the team. It’s no secret that I would like to stay there. I think we are on a good progression. There’s a lot of talk about Kimi but to be honest, at the moment I am just trying to focus on the way back and having the races that we’ve had in the last two Grands Prix and doing a good job.

Q: (Andy Young – Richland F1) Question for the back row: it’s forecast to rain on Sunday, are you hopeful that it does and therefore gives you a chance to maybe get a point or a decent result?

JB: Well, obviously when it’s raining I think it’s better for us because it’s like kind of crazy races so we have more chance to finish in the front but it’s also a chance for us to be out of the track, so it’s not easy. I would like to have some rain on Sunday.

CP: I think, as Jules said, each time you have changing conditions, for us it’s good because it means that if you take the right decisions you can take advantage from it and try to get a finishing position that you are not able to get without changing conditions. I think it’s good but then after it’s the same for everybody so you still have to take the right decision and a better one than the one (driver) you are fighting against.

GvdG: I think it’s a good opportunity for us. I think it’s always nice here in the rain. I think our car performs quite well in the rain and with that, a lot of things can happen in the race so we will see. I think it would be nice for us to have a little rain, a little luck here and there. Hopefully we can get back our tenth place in the team championship.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, yesterday Alonso tweeted impressive numbers about his training during the summer break. Could you tell us what you did during the break?

SV: What did I do? Holiday, so rest a little bit and for sure, you use the time to… soon enough, hopefully, get back into rhythm and train. I didn’t log every kilometer that I did on the bike or run or swim so I don’t know what he did. I know that he’s quite active on Twitter but I’m not following him. I don’t have the… I don’t know if you actually need the application or not on your phone or if you… I don’t know, if you have to subscribe. I don’t know. I’m not a member, I’m not part of that exclusive club but yeah, I think he’s pretty fit, no doubt, so I’m sure he was training pretty hard.

Ends

August 23, 2013
My best race is my next one: Pat Symmonds

Q: You have recently been appointed Chief Technical Officer of the Williams F1 Team – what does this new challenge entail?

Firstly, I think it’s a great team. The facilities are top class, we have a huge number of talented people and yet the results on the track are not a reflection of the quality we have. So I think my challenge is to analyse why this is happening, make the changes that are needed to empower the people and really get the focus in one direction: performance.

Q: What does it mean to you to join the Williams F1 Team?

Funnily enough I was reminded the other day, by a good friend, that many years ago when I was at Renault I was quoted as saying that the only other team in Formula One that I would work for was Williams. It’s taken me a long while to get here, but now I’m here I’m very happy to be.

I’ve been here in Grove for a couple of days now and the first thing that strikes me is how welcome I’ve been made. I’ve over 500 new names to learn and I need to learn my way around the place so it’s a bit like the first day at school! I’m impressed by what I see though: the facilities are fantastic; I know a lot of the people are very good and I feel confident.

Q: What does it mean to now be working alongside Sir Frank Williams – who has previously been one of your biggest rivals?

Frank has always been a fierce competitor but one that always competes with a lot of honour and dignity. Sometimes I beat him, sometimes I lost to him but I always had the utmost respect for him. I’m really thrilled that now we can combine our efforts to beat our competitors.

Q: Looking back at your career – you have worked with many outstanding drivers – who has been the most interesting to work with so far?

The most interesting are not always the most outstanding and I’ve met many who were very interesting over the years! I’ve always enjoyed working with every driver in different ways. I’ve worked with many outstanding drivers from Senna, Schumacher, and Alonso but if I had to pick one, I do have a special place for Michael (Schumacher). He is obviously a super talent, he very much thinks like an engineer and yet he’s also a really great person, so I definitely have a soft spot for him.

Q: From what you have seen, what do you think about the team’s current driver line-up of Pastor Maldonado & Valtteri Bottas?

So far I have really only seen them from the outside. I was able to spend time with both of them on my second day at Grove and what I can see is that they are both extremely committed and determined to see the team progress. I’m looking forward to working together with them to achieve greater success. They strike me as intelligent and committed drivers so let’s give them some equipment to show their talent.

Q: Your 30 year Formula One career has seen you achieve success with some of the sport’s most accomplished teams and drivers. With 32 race wins, four Drivers’ World Championships and three Constructors’ World Championships – what would you say was your proudest achievement to date?

I always say my best race is my next one. I’m not really a person that tends to look backwards very much but if you ask me specifically then the mid-90s with Michael and mid-2000s with Fernando, where we had a lot of dominant wins, of course I’m proud of those achievements. But in a different vein, I’m equally proud of the non-racing aspects. The work I’ve done building up various teams and people. It’s nice to see some guys who worked with me when they were very young now in senior positions at various teams. I certainly enjoy the mentoring and development of people.

Q: What do you hope to bring to Williams and how do you think your working style can benefit the team?

My primary aim is to bring success back to the team and I will be very singular in my focus to achieve that. I want the people who are working with me to enjoy that success and be an integral part of bringing Williams back to where I think it should be. It will take time to analyse what is happening and improve things but it’s up to me to facilitate this process.

Q: Coming into the team at this stage, can you make a difference this season or will your focus be on next year?

There are developments going on for the remainder of this season. We have new parts coming to races as far out as Korea and beyond. They are not things I’ve had influence on but I can see them in the development programme. I hope we can look at some smaller details from the wind tunnel to improve things over the coming races and I’ll be looking at the operational side too. Fundamentality focus has to be much more towards 2014 as it’s an immensely difficult programme, the most difficult we have had to tackle for a long while. The FW36 is well underway and I think it’s important I get my influence onto that. However, my influence will be much more on process rather than detail, so I hope that pays off and leads to the sort of structure that can lead to on-going success for the team.

ends

August 23, 2013

Pirelli choses Hard and Medium tyres for Spa-Francorchamps

Milan, 19 August 2013: Before the mid-season break, the Formula One teams visited the slowest permanent track on the calendar: the Hungaroring. Now they head to one of the quickest of all: Spa-Francorchamps, in the foothills of the Ardennes. Pirelli is bringing the P Zero Orange hard and P Zero White medium tyres: the two hardest compounds in the range. These are perfectly suited to the high-energy demands of the circuit, with its rapid corners and fast compressions such as the legendary Eau Rouge. One of the key characteristics of Spa is its variable weather conditions, which means that the Cinturato Green intermediate tyres and Cinturato Blue full wet tyres are also likely to be called into play over the course of the weekend.

Paul Hembery: “Spa is not only an epic circuit, but also one of the biggest challenges for our tyres all year. Mostly this is because of the very high-energy loads that go all the way through the tyres, both vertically – due to the big compressions such as Eau Rouge – and also laterally at fast corners like Blanchimont. Often, the tyres are subjected to forces acting in different directions at the same time, which increases the work still further. So looking after the tyres is very important, particularly as it’s such a long lap. This means that there are a very wide variety of possible strategies available at Spa as well, with plenty of time to be won and lost if the right tactics are chosen. However, any strategy has to be very flexible, because it’s the changing weather that often makes Spa such a fascinating race. The conditions can change extremely quickly, which then makes how the teams use the intermediate and wet tyres the key to success – as we have seen so often in the past. Both our wet-weather tyres have proved their performance over previous races; with the intermediate tyre in particular showing how well suited it is even to inconsistent and drying conditions. There are plenty of overtaking opportunities, and the blend of performance and durability offered by our nominated tyres should maximise those chances this weekend.”

Jean Alesi: “Spa is a circuit that everyone talks about and over the years I’ve not heard anybody say anything apart from the fact that it is awesome. It’s so fast and so challenging, but one of the key characteristics is the fact that it’s very long. So it’s never monotonous, as you do very few laps compared to other tracks. Managing the tyres takes a special skill: there are lots of fast corners and the length of the track as well as the variable temperatures mean that your tyres can actually cool down after the first part of the circuit. But in qualifying, if you start off with your tyres too warm, then you won’t get the maximum performance from them throughout the entire length of the lap. There’s a huge amount of variation possible in terms of set-up as well: some teams add downforce to get more grip in the mid part of the lap, and that will also have an effect on how the tyres work. Probably the most important characteristic is the high possibility of rainfall. You can have a completely dry corner and then a fully wet track a few corners later. Underneath the water though, the surface is quite abrasive and offers good grip, so you can still drive. The bigger problem is the sudden rivers of water that run across the track in a zigzag shape: you’ve got to know where they are, so that the aquaplaning doesn’t catch you out. There’s also a lot of spray at Spa when it rains, which makes visibility very difficult in wet conditions.”

The circuit from a tyre point of view:

Spa is one of the circuits that has featured on the Formula One world championship since it got underway in 1950. While the track has altered radically over the years (the current layout dates from 1979) it maintains its fast and flowing nature, with an average lap speed in the region of 230kph.

The circuit is just over seven kilometres in length, making this comfortably the longest lap of the year. Cars are on full throttle for around 80% of the lap, sometimes for more than 20 seconds at a time. The variation in the lap means that starting from pole is not as important as it can be on other circuits.

At high speeds, aggressive camber angles can cause blistering as heat builds up around the edges of the tyres. However, teams are expected to comply with Pirelli’s maximum recommended camber angles, which should help prevent this phenomenon.

Further information about Spa and the demands it places on tyres, as well as more information about how tyres are tested in the laboratory, can be found on a 3D animated video starring Pirelli’s Racing Manager Mario Isola. This is copyright-free for media use on Pirelli’s Formula One website: www.pirelli.com/f1pressarea

Technical tyre notes:

The big compression at Eau Rouge subjects the front tyres to the highest vertical load of the season: 1000 kilograms.

The top two last year (Button and Vettel) used a one-stop strategy, while the third-placed finisher (Raikkonen) stopped twice. There was also plenty of variation in the start tyres selected: while most drivers started on the medium tyre, Hulkenberg started on the hard tyre and finished fourth with a two-stop strategy.

The performance gap between the hard and medium tyre is likely to be more than a second per lap.

The tyre choices so far:

	PZero Red	PZero Yellow	PZero White	PZero Orange
Australia	Supersoft		Medium
Malaysia			Medium	Hard
China		Soft	Medium
Bahrain			Medium	Hard
Spain			Medium	Hard
Monaco	Supersoft	Soft
Canada	Supersoft		Medium
Great Britain			Medium	Hard
Germany		Soft	Medium
Hungary		Soft	Medium
Belgium			Medium	Hard

Meet the Pirelli F1 Team: Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi, F1 test drivers

Once more, Pirelli is able to rely on two high-calibre test drivers this year: Jaime Alguersuari and Lucas di Grassi, from Spain and Brazil respectively. Jaime has done the first two tests this season, while Lucas is scheduled to take over later this year.

Their work consists of assessing the latest experimental compounds from Pirelli during private tests, driving a 2010 Renault that has been modified to replicate the latest regulations. Once they have driven on the prototype tyres, they give their feedback to Pirelli’s engineers about each compound’s characteristics and how the tyres could be improved for the future. The use of two test drivers ensures that the engineers get two different perspectives and opinions: essential when tyres are being developed for a grid of 22 drivers.

Jaime became the youngest driver to start a Formula One race when he made his debut in 2009, then he completed two further full season with Toro Rosso before becoming a Pirelli test driver, with a best result of seventh in Italy and Korea in 2011. As well as a skilled racing driver, he is also a talented DJ, topping the charts in Spain.

Lucas drove for the Virgin Formula One team during its debut season in 2010, taking the car to 14^th in Malaysia. He joined Pirelli in 2011 and is also a factory Audi driver in endurance racing, finishing on the podium at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

Other news from Pirelli:

Pirelli recently announced its return to the World Rally Championship next year, making a comeback following its last spell in the WRC as single tyre supplier from 2008 to 2010. This time, three other tyre suppliers have also been appointed to supply the WRC.

Pirelli’s last outing in Spa was at the Spa 24 Hours last month. This was one of Pirelli’s biggest-ever logistical operations, with 8552 tyres available on site, transported by a convoy of 19 trucks. The fitting service delivered a tyre every 26 seconds on average (over a 22-hour period).

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen tested a GP3 car on Pirelli tyres last week. The Finn tried out the car in Barcelona during an official development test. “The GP3/13 is a very good tool for young drivers, especially when you have to learn about tyre management like we have in F1,” he said.

August 20, 2013

F1 2013 mid-season review

As the motorsport calendar reaches its mid-point, FIA.com takes a look at the championships in a mid-season review. Today it’s the turn of Formula One.

The first half of the 2013 Formula One season was dominated by talk of tyres. But with teams now on top of the new Pirelli constructions, the run to the chequered flag in Interlagos promises to provide dramatic racing between the grid’s top talents.

Despite Red Bull’s strong lead in the constructors’ standings, the 2013 season has not been an easy one for the team. During the Malaysian Grand Prix, in-house politics were brought dramatically to the fore when Sebastian Vettel ignored team orders and overtook teammate Mark Webber for the win. And the team’s usual strategy of taking advantage of Vettel’s qualifying pace to put the German on pole with a view to securing a lights-to-flag win has not paid off this season, thanks in no small part to Mercedes’ Saturday dominance.

Lewis Hamilton was roundly criticised for his decision to move from McLaren to the Silver Arrows this season, but the Briton has secured four poles, one victory, and three podium finishes, while teammate Nico Rosberg has three poles and two wins to his name. Those seven combined pole positions have proved to be a thorn in Red Bull’s side, and now that the Mercedes appears to have overcome its severe degradation issues the Brackley racers are in a strong position to remain in the fight during the nine races to come.

But Red Bull are not an easy team to beat; they have proved themselves capable of both impressive car development and consistency where it matters – on track. Their 69 point lead in the constructors’ standings is not unassailable, but it does give the team a strong advantage heading into the second half of the season.

Lotus started 2013 on a high, with a win for Kimi Raikkonen in Melbourne. But that early strong form has not led to further victories for the Finn or for the team, with Raikkonen collecting five second-place finishes while teammate Romain Grosjean has two third-places to his name. While Lotus have been in the fight at every race, thanks partly to a car that has run well on the 2013 tyres whatever their specification, the E21 has not had the outright pace in qualifying to make Sundays easy for the team.

It has proved to be a disappointing year for Ferrari, even though the team are third in the constructors’ standings, with Fernando Alonso third in the drivers’. The F138 proved itself to be an early-season race winner, with victories in China and Spain, but poor qualifying results have hampered the team’s efforts to challenge Red Bull and Mercedes for wins since the European season began in earnest. Alonso should never be discounted from a title challenge, but the Spanish racer’s growing frustration is causing public ructions within the team. On the other side of the garage, Felipe Massa’s season has been moving in a downward trajectory after a strong start that saw the Brazilian outqualify his teammate on a regular basis.

One of the biggest surprisesof the season was McLaren’s dramatic slump in form, with the usual front-runners finding themselves struggling in the mid-field. Thanks to a mid-summer improvement, the Woking racers left Budapest only two points shy of technology customers Force India in the constructors’ standings. Based on recent performances, the second half of the season should see McLaren back in the fight nearer the front, with Jenson Button predicting a podium finish in Spa.

Force India have had an impressive season, building a car that far outshines the team’s resources – humble, compared to many of their rivals. Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta have both delivered on track, regularly finishing in the points and establishing Force India as the strongest of the mid-field contenders. The similarly budgeted Sauber have had a far more challenging year, arriving in Melbourne with a car that struggled with rear-end stability and two drivers new to the team. Nico Hulkenberg has done his best with the equipment at his disposal, securing the team’s seven points, while teammate Esteban Gutierrez has acquitted himself well for a rookie.

Toro Rosso are not a team fighting for titles and wins, although the Firenza-based team has shown significant progress this season, thanks in no small part to strong qualifying performances from Daniel Ricciardo and impressive race drives from Jean-Eric Vergne. The Toro Rosso battle has been between two teammates fighting it out for the chance to replace the departing Webber at Red Bull, and while Ricciardo is the top pick from the junior team, Raikkonen is also on the radar.

Further down the grid, it has been a disappointing season for Williams, who brought home their first point of the year from Budapest. The car lacks downforce and has proved challenging enough for both Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas to drive that the Grove racers undertook a mid-season overhaul of their technical team. It may be too late for a 2013 turnaround, however.

Marussia and Caterham continue their battle for 10^th, with Marussia overhauling their rivals in the standings for the first time since the two teams joined the fray in 2010. Both teams started the 2013 with new driver line-ups, and Marussia’s rookie pairing of Jules Bianchi and Charles Pic were treated to a more stable car to drive than rivals Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic. By the Bahrain Grand Prix, Caterham’s struggles were such that the team drafted in ex-driver Heikki Kovalainen to advise on improvements.

While the first half of the season was dominated by the tyres, the second half promises much in the way of close racing and a thrilling fight to the finish in Interlagos.

ends

August 18, 2013
Mercedes AMG Petronas lets 2014 engine roar on YouTube

The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team has given Formula One fans around the globe a unique insight into the future today on its official commercial YouTube channel.

To mark the team’s new status as a YouTube partner for the creation and broadcast of exclusive video content about the Silver Arrows team, MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS has offered fans the first taste of how the new 2014 Power Units will sound out on track.

The audio recording of the turbocharged V6 unit was conducted using a development engine at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth, UK.

This simulated lap of the Monza circuit – the definitive test of any Formula One powerplant – was then synced to a lap of the circuit at the team’s Driver-in-the-Loop simulator at team HQ in Brackley, UK.

The result is the most accurate impression so far of how the new Power Units will sound in 2014, with a maximum rev limit of 15,000 rpm and a single turbocharger spinning at speeds of up to 125,000 rpm.

This unique video can be found on the YouTube channel www.youtube.com/MERCEDESAMGPETRONAS

The team’s official YouTube channel will continue to provide exclusive content throughout the Formula One season and off-season, from the awesome Nordschleife to deepest Northamptonshire, offering a unique insight into life behind-the-scenes of a top Formula One team.

Follow the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team on:

Twitter: @MERCEDESAMGF1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MERCEDESAMGPETRONAS
YouTube: www.youtube.com/MERCEDESAMGPETRONAS
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Mercedesamgf1
ends

A Mercedes team file photo by FIA.

August 2, 2013
It’s an incredible feeling: Hamilton

FIA transcript of the DRIVERS press conference after the race at the Hungarian GP on Sunday 28 July 2013:

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Lotus)
3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEW (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Q: Lewis, when we spoke last night you didn’t believe you could be on pole position and you gave yourself no chance of winning today’s race. How on Earth does it feel now?

Lewis HAMILTON: It’s an incredible feeling. I really have to say a big thank you to all the fans today for turning up. It was great to see their support. And my team: they just did an incredible job. We studied a lot last night. We were hoping the tyres were going to work for us. We had no idea it was going to go that well — but the last 20 laps was just managing the tyres and cruising.

Q: Well you got a great start but there were two key moments where you overtook Jenson, so you didn’t lose any time behind him down into turn one and then that turn three pass on Mark Webber, that was just incredible.

LH: Yeah, I think you could tell I was hungry for it today. I was just going all-out. I needed to get past those people and usually I get stuck in traffic, generally in my races, and today I wasn’t having it. I was going for every move I had.

Q: Incredible support here for you as always Kimi. P2 on the podium, you really had to work hard for that today.

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, obviously I keep making my life difficult on Saturdays so then we pay a price but I had a good car and we managed to do two stops so that was the only way really to jump people. In the end it was a bit tight with Seb but in the end it paid off for us and we gained some points in the Championship. So that’s good.

Q: You made the last set of tyres last 33 laps which is quite spectacular today in these conditions. Surely you thought he was going to have a great chance to pass you towards the end but you just seemed to park your car in the middle of the track and make it so difficult.

KR: Yeah, I mean I knew it was going to be a bit tight but I felt that the tyres were good still in the last ten laps. So maybe last two laps they drop off quite badly but I didn’t really have any doubts that I couldn’t keep him behind. I had good speed through the last sector so I knew that in the first corner they will not have a chance. Obviously you take a chance always when you make so many laps with a set of tyres – but like I said, the team worked well, everything worked well for us and unfortunately yesterday wasn’t an easy day so otherwise we could probably have fight for a win. But anyhow, we are here.

Q: Satisfied you take a few points off the World Championship leader?

KR: Yeah, it’s better than nothing.

Q: Sebastian, only third but the fans seem pretty happy with that. How do you feel about it?

Sebastian VETTEL: Well, it was not the best race. The start was difficult but was able to defend second and then Lewis pulled in, we thought we had a little bit more on the soft but the rear tyres seemed to fall apart pretty quickly and then I lost a bit, came out behind Jenson which was crucial and struggled to get past, damaged my front wing which didn’t help, after that managed to get past. It was a long time but lost a bit of speed and basically tried to hang in there, tried to fight back. Very close with Kimi in the end but as he mentioned, he was very quick through the last two corners and then I couldn’t really get him on the straight. So yeah, I did all we could but surely wanted a little bit more today.

Q: You felt Kimi didn’t leave you enough room at turn four towards the end of the race. You felt that was a bit too close?

SV: Yeah, I told him but he was laughing only. It was fine. Obviously in the heat of the moment it was quite tight getting into there, I tried to prepare the next corner but nearly lost the car. That’s racing.

Q: Lewis, two very quick questions. Does this put your World Championship crusade very much back on course and how does this race today compare with your other victories?

LH: I think this is probably one of the most important grand prix wins of my career. To move to a new team and to win for Mercedes-Benz is just a real privilege. The guys have done an exceptional job, I’m so glad I could be a part of the team and I really couldn’t be happier. I hope there’s many more to come.

Q: And this year’s World Championship? Surely you’ve still got a chance of it, you’ve got to work hard.

LH: We’ve got to work hard, you never know how the tyres are going to last elsewhere but if we come here and make our tyres last then we should be able to do it anywhere. So, fingers crossed.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, congratulations. You weren’t too optimistic yesterday but a lot of factors obviously worked well for you today: good start, getting the traffic right as well and some great overtaking manoeuvres. Tell us about them.

LH: It’s been a great weekend, really a great weekend. Really didn’t expect it coming in. It’s probably been one of the toughest weeks for me. Obviously we hadn’t had the test, we didn’t do the test, we were on the back foot when we came in. Really wasn’t even expecting to be on pole. Really surprised with that and then yeah, at the start of the race the pace was OK. I think maybe Sebastian perhaps was just as quick or a little bit quicker but fortunately he was behind and my tyres went off just maybe a lap or two before his. I think I called the pitstop just right – the first one – and after that it was just managing the gap. I had to make sure I got past people. I normally get held up in my… I thought when I came behind Jenson I thought it was just my luck because that’s what usually happens. But I got past him and was surprised to see Sebastian and the others get stuck behind him as well. I guess he did me a favour there. But I think generally we had the pace on everyone today. I know I was really controlling the pace, particularly through the second, third and last stint, particularly on the last stint. This is just down to an exceptional job from the team. We came here with upgrades and constantly doing work to try and understand these tyres. I think today we bolted them on and they just worked for us. I really was not inspecting it.

Q: Kimi, that was a robust defence at the end of the race. I’m not certain if it was a good job interview for joining Red Bull Racing for next year but tell us about it.

KR: Obviously I don’t have anything for next year so I mean it does matter what happens on a race circuit for that matter. I knew that my tyres are pretty OK and I was good through the last sector so I was pretty sure there was no chance to try to overtake me into the first corner but then obviously turn two was a bit more tricky for me all race. He got a good run, Sebastian once before and then second time and I defended. Maybe I’m over a bit on the right and it’s a bit tight but then I kept him behind and that was the only time he had a good run on me. In there it is very difficult to overtake because it is so narrow on top of the hill. After that I had no issues. That was the only part of the circuit that I really had some problems with the tyres. But it was good work for the team, the car was working well but unfortunately I keep making Saturdays… after Saturdays making the race a bit difficult for myself. Hopefully we can fix that a little bit and be a bit more on the front at the beginning of the race.

Q: Sebastian a little bit of trouble behind traffic during the race itself. What do you feel about third place?

SV: Generally happy. Not the best circuit to be stuck in traffic because it’s quite difficult to overtake. I think we had not enough speed on the straights to put people under enough pressure so yeah, obviously got stuck behind Jenson for a long time. Damaged my front wing as well which dropped us back and after that obviously it was about the fight back as much as we could. In the middle of the race I didn’t know where I was. I just tried to hang in there and try to come back as much as we can. In the end obviously quite close with Kimi. We were faster, I had fresher tyres but as I said, no way past. Once I was pretty close up the hill. I think I didn’t have enough room on the outside but it’s pretty difficult to judge. Obviously I couldn’t go around the outside and pass him but I was trying to maybe put him under pressure for the next couple of corners and try to create my chance but yeah, was not a decent gap anyways. So, I tried, didn’t work, we have to be happy with third. The car was good all weekend, there wasn’t much missing. But as I said, I should have done a better job with Jenson in the beginning and especially not damaged my front wing – and then it could have been a different race. But would, could, should. In the end I think we’re happy with third.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Abhishek Tackle – Midday) Lewis, track temperatures were in their fifties today; would you say you’ve turned the corner with your tyre wear issues and how much of that was work going on back at the factory, and how much of that was the new tyres, new constructions?

LH: I think it was a bit of both. As I said, coming into the weekend, we are making improvement but not big enough to make the difference it did today so I’m assuming that a large part of that was the tyres. I really wasn’t expecting it. Our long runs didn’t look that great in P2 but I got the balance just spot on today with the front wing and yeah, if we can be quick here in a race with these track temperatures then I’m very hopeful that we can be competitive everywhere else, so this could be a really good… could be a good turning point for us.

Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Lewis, which of the ingredients made the difference in your success today?

LH: Teamwork, absolutely teamwork. The guys have just been phenomenal all year with the work they do in the garage, preparation of the car, the reliability has been exceptional – obviously not for Nico today – and the team’s in the position where it’s beginning to develop the car still through the season. At this point of the year, last year, they said they weren’t anywhere near making improvements so it’s good to see that. I think hopefully I’m a part of that as well. I feel like I really earned my keep today so I’m really happy for that.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Sebastian, we have heard you complaining a bit over the radio two laps from the end when you thought that Kimi didn’t leave you enough room in turn four. Was it serious?

SV: In the heat of the moment, for sure, obviously it’s narrow there. As I said before, it was clear… or it was to me at that stage that I didn’t find a way past around the outside. First of all, Kimi is not an idiot and secondly, it’s a narrow part of the track so it was clear but I was pushing very hard, trying to create a chance, put him under pressure and as I said, it was clear I didn’t pass him there, but maybe two corners later or something. Yeah, I was not too happy but as I said, it was quite hot this afternoon, I was pushing very hard and it was quite narrow and I was a little bit on the dirt, turning in. You feel that you have to say something so that’s what I said.

Q: (Kate Walker – GP Week) Sebastian, three weeks ago in Germany, I asked you if you would relish the challenge of having Kimi as your teammate next year and you said you would enjoy having such a competitive teammate. I was wondering if your opinion had changed, now that you had finished behind him.

SV: There have been races where I have finished behind him, especially in the beginning of my career – I finished nearly every race behind him. And there are races where I’ve finished ahead of him so that doesn’t really matter. As I said, I think he’s one of the drivers I get along most with. He’s been very honest all the time which I appreciate a lot. I think at the end of the day we’re a group of 20, 22 guys; some of them you like, others you don’t. I think at the end of the day you have to beat everyone. Obviously we enjoy it a lot more as well if you’re fighting other drivers in similar cars, meaning with similar pace, because it’s kind of boring when you’re only fighting your teammate. I think this is something we all enjoy.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Sebastian, at Nurburgring, after your battle with Kimi, you said that one day you will feel as angry as Kimi felt that day. Do you feel angry now?

SV: I don’t think it was really really angry but obviously it was a battle for the win so I was happy that I succeeded. Today was for second, but still, you know, second is better than third. I’m not entirely happy with my race because I think the car was probably a little bit better than where we finished today but as I described, with the race that I had, I think P3 is what we have to be happy with. It’s not a disaster. We were still on the podium which is nice, a lot of people here which is still very special so I think we have to keep our feet on the ground. I’ve always said that there will be days when there will be people ahead of us and there will be days when we will be ahead of them so it’s just life.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, do you think that with nine races to go it’s possible to fight for the championship?

LH: I think it’s too early to… still far too early to… of course, when you have a win like this, you get excited and you think anything is possible and obviously today shows that anything is possible but I think it’s still too early for us to say whether or not we can challenge these guys. I know the guys are working hard so that we can close the gap and I hope today is the first step in doing so but we’ve got a lot of tough races coming up. I just hope that that’s not the last time my tyres work for me.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, do you think that today there is some complaint about the strategy because as you said before, you were twice stuck behind McLaren when you came out of the pits?

SV: Usually in the past it was not a bad thing when you came out behind a McLaren but this year’s a bit different. Yeah, I’m not blaming the team. I think it’s pretty easy (to see) what happened. In the first stint I lost more time on the way to the pits, because the tyres were falling apart (more) than they expected, probably around 1.5s. If you take those away, I come out ahead of him, so I think in terms of strategy they did the right call. Second time round, I think he was on a very used set of soft tyres which was going away quickly and I found my way past pretty quickly as well, so I’m not blaming them. If there’s anything to blame, today, then it’s me because I damaged my wing which wasn’t the best thing.

Q: (Michael Neudecker – Sud Deutsche Zeitung) To all three of you: how did the high temperatures today affect you, your performance?

LH: Physically it was quite easy, to be honest. I wasn’t on the ragged edge the whole way. Particularly the last twenty laps I was able to really chill, I was drinking a lot and just trying to bring it home, look after the car and the tyres, yeah, for the first time ever that I can remember my tyres not being a problem. I think this track has always been good to me. I hope there’s many more like this.

KR: Obviously I was bit out of tyres at the end because we did a run with a set of tyres but apart from that it was OK. It was a bit hot but as normal as any hot race. No problem.

SV: Yeah, it was pretty hot, especially, obviously, towards the end of the race when the drink is not cool any more, it’s more like tea, which isn’t the nicest to cool down. But yeah, I think we were probably in a bit of a different situation to Lewis, still fighting towards the end, I was pushing very hard. Every time you get close, you lose some grip. I was struggling to get past, didn’t succeed but yeah, it’s not the only hot race we have during the season.

Q: (Anthony Rowlinson – F1 Racing) Lewis, does it feel different winning for Mercedes than it did for McLaren?

LH: I think it feels different. It always feels like it’s the first time, that’s for sure, when you win. I remember the first time I won it was exceptional, an exceptional feeling and today it was a really calming, relaxing feeling when I came across the line. I really wasn’t expecting it. As I said yesterday, I talked it down a lot because I really was expecting a real tough race today, I thought we were going to fall behind. The experiences I had at McLaren were some of my greatest but I think this is one of the highlights of my career up to now. Moving to a new team and a team that was struggling massively last year and to finally get a win with them after the first nine or ten races is a great feeling.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, now you’ve got some feeling with the new tyres, do you think you have the right package to win in Spa?

KR: I don’t know. It’s a different circuit. I have no idea. Last year we were not very strong there. I think we know the reasons and for sure our car is better this year but is it good enough for fighting for a win? We will see in Spa in one month.

Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe) Kimi, you are now second in the championship. What does this mean now, at this time, for you and for the next four weeks? Will you go to Enstone and help to develop the car or just have fun and holiday?

KR: I don’t design the car so there’s not much use for me there. Everybody has to be off work in a week’s time so there’s nothing happening at any of the factories, at least, that’s how it should be. I will do something and see what happens at the next race in four weeks.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, if, at the end of the first bend you were first in the race after the start, the story of this race might have been different. And Lewis, I would also like to hear your opinion about that.

SV: Well I wasn’t so, hard to… If. If. If I was sick today I wouldn’t race so… I think Lewis did a great job today, a good lap yesterday and deserved to win today no doubt. I think we had a bit stronger pace than what we probably had towards the end of the race, but I didn’t do the best job either. I damaged my front wing, I got stuck behind Jenson, didn’t find a way past unlike Lewis so yeah, there are things that I could have done better but it’s hard to say where we could have been without those two things. I think it would have been close. Obviously he had track position, overtaking is difficult, maybe we would have been a bit closer, maybe with strategy we could have found a way past, I don’t know. But in the end, as I said, it wasn’t the case.

LH: It’s nothing I really want to think about. I got into turn one first, that’s the most important thing. I think if Sebastian was out in the lead it would have been hard to have kept a hold of him but I think generally my second and third and fourth stints were pretty strong. I think I would hopefully have had as good a pace as he would have had so I think it could have been a close race.

Q: (Gabor Joo – Index) Kimi, last year you finished second, this year you finished second as well. Are you satisfied with the progress Lotus is making in terms of car development?

KR: Obviously we always hope for more, myself and the team hopes for more. I think we’ve made progress, for sure. Now we have tyres that are a little bit different and I wasn’t so happy with how things ran on Friday and yesterday – more happy in qualifying than the whole weekend before that but still not ideal and in the race we usually run better than in qualifying. I was happy with the car in the race but obviously when you start from such a bad starting place it’s difficult to make big progress on this kind of circuit but I managed to do two stops and we’re still pretty competitive so we’re happy how we’ve done but we’re here to try to win races and if we keep finishing second and third like we’ve done many times this year, it’s probably not enough for the championship but the best thing today when we finished second we gained a few points on Sebastian, so it’s better than nothing but with a win it would have been a much bigger difference.

Q: (Sarah Holt – CNN.com) Lewis, tyre problems cost you your first chance of a win for Mercedes at Silverstone and it’s ironic that now, because of that, the tyres have been changed and here we have them, you’ve got your first win, so does this make up for everything that happened in Britain and if the tyres now suit you, it could have ironically set you up for the rest of the season?

LH: Well thank you. Yeah, yeah, you can’t really make up for Silverstone. That was my home Grand Prix, we were in a good position to have won that so I don’t know when I will ever get a chance to win at Silverstone again in front of my home crowd. But this is definitely a great feeling to finally get the win. I’ve been on pole position for the last three races, it’s good to finally not lose position and just stay and be able to hold it and maintain position throughout the race, it’s a good feeling. I came here saying and praying that when we put on these tyres that they would come towards us more than away from us and it seems like they’ve done that: 52/55 degrees track temperatures today, one of the hottest races I think I can remember doing and for a team that really struggles with tyre degradation today was a walk in the park. I’m really baffled… I used all the technique I could possibly use to look after the tyres which I’m sure everyone is doing, but it worked today. I really really hope that when we go to the next race it happens, that we’re able to do the same.

Q: (Geza Suranyi – Heves Megyei Hirlap) Lewis, you said that this circuit is a classic, so as a four time winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix, perhaps it’s about time to name a corner after you. Which corner would you chose?

LH: I’d forgotten that it’s four times here. That’s incredible, absolutely incredible, I’m so happy with that. I love it here: the weather’s great, the fans, we have such a great turnout, they have beautiful women here, great food, I really can’t say more about it. A great track. If I was to chose a corner, I would say turn two.

Ends

July 29, 2013
Hamilton’s 1st win for Mercedes; Raikkonen pips Vettel for 2nd

Budapest, 28 July 2013: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took a convincing first win of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton’s fourth career victory at the Hungaroring puts him level with Michael Schumacher for most wins at the Budapest track.

“This is probably one of the most important grand prix wins of my career,” said Hamilton after finishing almost 11 seconds ahead of Raikkonen. “To move to a new team and to win for Mercedes-Benz is just a real privilege. I’m so glad I could be a part of the team and I really couldn’t be happier. I hope there’s many more to come.”

Hamilton made a good start from pole position and with Vettel making a slower getaway on the dirty side of the track, the Mercedes driver comfortably held his lead into the first corner. Vettel retained his P2 starting position despite a strong challenge from Lotus’ Romain Grosjean and the trio began to build a gap to the chasing pack, an FIA release said.

Hamilton after winning the Hungarian GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas photo

Behind them Mark Webber made a good start for Red Bull Racing to rise from P10 on the grid to seventh by the end of lap two. With everyone in front of him starting on soft tyres and set to stop earlier, Webber, who started on medium tyres, had the opportunity to do a long first stint. When the front runners pitted for their own sets of medium rubber, Webber assumed the lead and in clear air began to make up time.

Hamilton was the first to stop on lap nine and emerged behind Jenson Button, who had also started on the medium tyre and was working his way through a long first stint. The Mercedes driver quickly passed his former team-mate but Vettel had no such luck. After his first stop on lap 11, the German also rejoined behind Button but for the next 13 laps he could find no way past and lost precious time behind the slower McLaren. Vettel attempted a bold move on lap 17 but it only resulted in a minor collision that damaged his front wing and which compromised his pace. The Red Bull driver eventually found a way past, but by that time Hamilton had opened up a significant gap and the battle for P1 was done.

“Coming out behind Jenson was crucial and I struggled to get past,” said Vettel. “I damaged my front wing, which didn’t help. After that I managed to get past. It was a long time. I lost a bit of speed and basically tried to hang in there, tried to fight back.”

The race then settled into a battle of competing strategies with positions changing hands according to starting tyre choice. While the bulk of the front-runners cycled through their mid-race stints without issues, Grosjean hit trouble.

After pressuring Vettel hard in the early stages of the race, the Frenchman found himself behind Button and in passing made contact with the McLaren, a clash that saw both being investigated by the stewards after the race. After his second stop Grosjean then found himself behind Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. He passed the Brazilian but did so off the track and was soon handed a drive-through penalty by the stewards. The punishment lost him valuable time and he dropped down the field to eventually finish sixth.

In the final stint, it was Raikkonen and Webber who profited most. The Finn took on a final set of mediums on lap 42 and clung on until the end, despite the close attentions of Vettel who pushed hard in the final 10 laps to chase down the Lotus driver.

“I knew it was going to be a bit tight but I felt that the tyres were good in the last ten laps,” said Raikkonen. “Maybe in the last two laps they dropped off quite badly but I didn’t really have any doubts that I could keep him [Vettel] behind. I had good speed through the last sector, so I knew that in the first corner he would not have a chance. Obviously you take a chance when you make so many laps with a set of tyres – but like I said, the team worked well, everything worked well for us.”

Webber, meanwhile was on a charge of his own. He took on a mandatory set of softs on lap 59 and emerged in fourth place. At times running almost two seconds a lap quicker than his team-mate he closed rapidly but then his times dropped away and he settled for fourth.

Fernando Alonso finished where he started, in fifth. With Grosjean, seventh was left to Button who finished ahead of Massa. The final points positions went to Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado.

Vettel’s third place means he maintains control of the Drivers’ Championship standings. He now has 172 points, with Raikkonen in second place with 134. Alonso is third on 133, while Hamilton’s win gives him a total of 124 points and fourth place.

In the Constructors’ battle, Red Bull Racing marginally increase their grip on the top of the standing, adding two points to the 67-point advantage they enjoyed over Mercedes before the start of the weekend. The Austrian team now has 277 points, Mercedes 208 and Ferrari 194. Lotus are fourth 11 points further back.

2013 Hungarian Grand Prix result

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:42:29.445 25
2 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus +10.9 secs 18
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing +12.4 secs 15
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing +18.0 secs 12
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari +31.4 secs 10
6 Romain Grosjean Lotus +32.2 secs 8
7 Jenson Button McLaren +53.8 secs 6
8 Felipe Massa Ferrari +56.4 secs 4
9 Sergio Pérez McLaren +1 Lap 2
10 Pastor Maldonado Williams +1 Lap 1
11 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber +1 Lap
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso +1 Lap
13 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso +1 Lap
14 Giedo van der Garde Caterham +2 Laps
15 Charles Pic Caterham +2 Laps
16 Jules Bianchi Marussia +3 Laps
17 Max Chilton Marussia +3 Laps
18 Paul di Resta Force India Hydraulics
19 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +6 Laps
Ret Valtteri Bottas Williams+28 Laps
Ret Esteban Gutiérrez Sauber +42 Laps
Ret Adrian Sutil Force India Hydraulics

ends

July 28, 2013
Sutil’s 100th race ends in disappointment

Budapest, 28 July 2013: It was a tough afternoon for Sahara Force India in Budapest as both Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil retired from the Hungarian Grand Prix. The team is still handing on to the 5th position in the battle for Constructors’ title but with both McLaren drivers finishing in points the lead was narrowed to just two points at the half-way stage of the 19-race Formula One World Championship. In the tenth race of the season at Hungaroring, Jenson Button of team McLaren Mercedes finished 7th with teammate Sergio Perez managing 9th to gain 6 and 2 points respectively. Now Force India has 59 points after 10 races to McLaren’s 57. The Benz team is expected to do well in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has taken his first win for Mercedes in Hungary, using a three-stop strategy in some of the hottest conditions seen all year, with ambient temperatures peaking at 35 degrees centigrade. Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen was second with a two-stop strategy while Sebastian Vettel finished third for Red Bull to extend his championship lead over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso heading into the Formula One summer break.

Today, Paul di Resta, who started on P18, made a brilliant start and was on P12 at one point of time. But he lost balance and unable to manage tyres, retired. Sutil also retired much earlier.

After the race Paul said: “I made a good start and was very aggressive on the opening lap. I think I was up to about P12, but from there on it was difficult because I was struggling with the balance and tyre performance. Without the speed we did not have the flexibility to make the strategy work and points were looking out of reach. Towards the end of the race the team called me to the pits because it seems we had picked up a hydraulic issue, similar to the problem with the other car. Over the summer break we will regroup, analyse things properly and take a fresh approach into the second part of the year.”

Adrian Sutil had a disappointing 100th race of his career. “It’s disappointing not to finish, especially as the race was coming back to me after a poor start on the medium tyres. Just before my pit stop I had a problem with the gear shifts and I could not shift up any more. I came into the pits and it became clear we had a hydraulic problem so the team immediately told me to park the car,” he said.

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director, said: “It’s not been the easiest of weekends for us and it’s disappointing to come away from Budapest without any points. Adrian celebrated his 100th Grand Prix this weekend, but he remained out of luck in Hungary and had to retire early with a hydraulic problem. His strategy was looking good so he missed a chance of points today. Paul’s race was quite straightforward, but we did not have the speed to make his three-stop strategy work – despite his superb start. With a few laps to go we noticed a similar hydraulic issue with his car and he also had to retire. With the next race coming up in four weeks’ time, we will analyse our performance and work hard to recapture our form in Spa.”

ends

Adrian Sutil poses before his 100th race at Budapest on Sunday. A Sahara Force India photo

July 28, 2013