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Tag: Formula One
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Fifth place is not that far and we are not giving up: Vijay Mallya
File photo of Vijay Mallya courtesy Sahara Force India F1 team. Ahead of the American Grand Prix , the 17th of the 19 races of Formula One World Championship, Sahara Force India team Principal and Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya and drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez talk in an interview. Excerpts:
Vijay Mallya sums up the mood ahead of the United States Grand Prix.Let’s look back on the race in Russia – what did you think of the event?“It’s a very nice track. It looked very impressive on television and the drivers seemed to like it. I think the organisers did a fantastic job and I would rate it as one of the best new tracks we’ve seen. Turn Three, in particular, stands out as one of the great corners in Formula One.”The team is now sixth in the championship with three races to go…“It’s been a ding-dong battle all season. Fifth place is not that far ahead so it’s certainly not out of reach. As I said before Russia, we’re not giving up, whether it’s Austin, Sao Paulo, or Abu Dhabi we’ll give it everything we have! The final races of the season traditionally can deliver surprises and we must be ready to take any opportunity that comes up.”Do you enjoy the race in Austin?“It’s a lovely race in a fantastic city. The USA has a long history in Formula One and it seems Austin as a city has continued the tradition of embracing the United States Grand Prix. The grandstands are full, the supporters are passionate and knowledgeable, and there is a party atmosphere in town for the whole week. It’s one of my favourite events in the calendar.”Driver’s View: Nico HülkenbergNico Hülkenberg looks forward to returning to Austin for the United States Grand Prix.Nico: “I remember that as soon as I drove in Austin my first thought was that it was an amazing circuit. It’s fun to drive, with lots of different kinds of corners, and it’s one of the best tracks from the new generation of circuits. It’s very easy to find a rhythm and the tarmac is very smooth, which makes it very nice to drive. Away from the track, Austin is a venue everybody enjoys visiting. It’s not the biggest city, but there is a good atmosphere and they love Formula One.”“I’ve had good results in Austin [P8 in 2012 and P6 in 2013] so I am feeling upbeat about this weekend. It’s clear that some teams ahead of us have made a step forward recently, but we know that we can race well. I think it’s realistic to target points again this weekend and try to close the gap to fifth place.”Driver’s View: Sergio PerezSergio Perez gets ready for racing at the Circuit of the Americas.Sergio: “Austin is a great race and because it’s so close to Mexico it feels like my ‘home’ race. There are usually a lot of Mexican fans and you feel a lot of support because the grandstands are full and there are always a lot of Mexican flags. I enjoy the track, especially the first sector and the uphill turn one, which is quite unusual. You can brake extremely late for this corner and it’s a good overtaking opportunity. From there you go into the quick corners: turns three, four and five, which are a lot of fun to drive.”“I arrive in Austin feeling positive. I’ve scored points in every race since the summer break – five races in a row – and I think we’ve maximised what we could get out of those races. We’ve been racing hard, taking some chances, and making some excellent decisions with the strategy so hopefully we can continue to do so in the next few races.” -
Hamilton wins in Sochi to hand Mercedes Constructors’ title
Hamilton celebrates: first winner in Russia. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Russian Grand Prix with a dominant lights to flag drive at the Sochi Autodrom as Nico Rosberg was forced to fight his way back to second from the rear of the field when a first-lap overtaking move on the Briton went wrong. Valtteri Bottas took the final podium place for Williams.
Hamilton’s ninth win of the season leaves him 17 points ahead of Rosberg in the battle for the Drivers’ Championship. The one-two finish of Hamilton and Rosberg handed the Constructors’ Championship title to Mercedes with three races in hand.
When the lights went out at the start, Rosberg attempted to overtake pole position man Hamilton into Turn Two. However, the German carried too much speed into the corner, locked up badly and went wide. It meant he had to hand the lead back to his team-mate. He quickly informed the team that the error had led to him flat-spotting his tyres and he would need a change.
He pitted at the end of lap one, took on medium tyres and asked what his strategy would be. He was told that he would need to do the remaining 52 laps on his new set. At the back Felipe Massa, who had started on new medium tyres, also pitted, taking on a set of soft tyres.
Behind Hamilton, Bottas now slotted into second, with Jenson Button third. Home hero Daniil Kvyat made a poor getaway from fifth on the grid, however, and fell back to ninth. Fernando Alonso made a good start and was fourth at the end of lap one after starting seventh. Kvyat’s team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne also got a decent getaway and he was soon up to fifth place behind the Ferrari driver.
The Frenchman quickly came under pressure from McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, who had risen from P11 on the grid, as well as the chasing Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel, who had climbed from 10th at the start, and Daniel Ricciardo, who had dropped back when the lights went out but who had made his way back towards his starting position of sixth.
At the front, Hamilton was pulling away. By lap eight he was 2.9s ahead of Bottas, with Button a further 9.2s back. The big battle at this point was between the two Red Bulls. Magnussen passed Vergne for P5 on lap four and the Toro Rosso driver was quickly passed by both Red Bulls. The battle for P6 was on and Ricciardo told his engineers he was losing time behind team-mate Vettel. The team didn’t ask Vettel to move across, however, and Ricciardo, beginning to struggle on worn soft tyres, started to fall back into the clutches of Vergne who was now eighth. Red Bull chose to pit Ricciardo and he took on new mediums, which he would race to the flag. The strategy choice didn’t initially seem to help as he became lodged in 16th place.
Rosberg, meanwhile, was up to 12th place by lap 14, with Felipe Massa 13th. The German then passed Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and set his sights on a points finish, if he could nurse his medium tyres to the end.
At the front, Hamilton was cruising and by lap 24 he had built up a 14-second advantage over Bottas, who was losing large chunks of time on his starting used soft tyres, which now had 30 laps on them.
Alonso, on similarly aged rubber, pitted on lap 25 but a messy stop involving a front jack problem cost the Spaniard time and and he emereged in ninth place.
Bottas came in on lap 26 for mediums, as did Magnussen. Hamilton then pitted from the lead on lap 27 and resumed in the lead. That left Vettel, in P2, as the last of the front runners out on starting tyres. Bottas was now third ahead of Rosberg, who had moved through the field as the pit stops occurred. The German had reported degradation on his rear tyres, however, and the question mark over his ability to nurse his medium tyres to the finish remained.
The immediate answer was that he seemed to be suffering few issues. On lap 31 he closed on Bottas and muscled his way past the Finn through turn two, though Bottas’ engineer quickly informed the Williams driver that Rosberg would surely get degradation later in the race and that the Finn would get a chance to retake the position.
While Rosberg was claiming P2, Vettel finally pitted and when he emerged the saw Hamilton in the lead, 19 seconds ahead of Rosberg, with Bottas 2.5s adrift of the German. Button was now fourth ahead of team-mate Magnussen, while Alonso’s slow stop had dropped him back to sixth. Ricciardo was now seventh ahead of Vettel, with Esteban Gutierrez in ninth for Sauber, though the Mexican had yet to make a pit stop. Kimi Raikkonen was in the final points-scoring position ahead of Vergne and Kvyat.
With 20 laps to go Rosberg began to suddenly up his pace. He set a fastest race lap of 1:42.551 and then improved again on the next lap by just over a tenth. Bottas’ engineer reacted by informing his driver that the team believed Rosberg was preparing for a second stop.
Rosberg, though, had other ideas and on lap 40, when asked by his team if he could get to the end on his mediums tyres he replied: “Easy. Well, not easy, but they feel good at the moment.”
And as the laps counted down they continued to work well. As Hamilton managed the race at the front, Rosberg’s pace remained consistent. Bottas pushed hard and a fastest lap of the race on lap 50 narrowed the gap to 4.3s. However, Rosberg had enough in the tank to respond and on the following tour the German responded by clawing back five tenths to ensure that Mercedes’ one-two finish was secure.
The result handed Mercedes the Constructors’ Championship title with three races left in the season. The team now has 565 points and with just 172 points available from the final three events, second-placed Red Bull Racing, on 342 points, cannot overhaul the Brackley-based squad.
“Unbelievable! I’m really happy for the team,” said Mercedes director Niki Lauda of the achievement. “Can I call myself a four-time champion now? Lewis is kind of looking unstoppable for the championship now. Kind of.”
With Bottas third, fourth place went to Button, with Magnussen fifth. Alonso finished sixth for Ferrari, with the Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Vettel seventh and eighth respectively. Raikkonen finished ninth in the second Ferrari and the final point went to Force India’s Sergio Perez.
2014 Russian Grand Prix – Race Result
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:31:50.744 1 25
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 53 +13.6 secs 2 18
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 53 +17.4 secs 3 15
4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 53 +30.2 secs 4 12
5 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 53 +53.6 secs 11 10
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 53 +60.0 secs 7 8
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 53 +61.8 secs 6 6
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 53 +66.1 secs 10 4
9 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 +78.8 secs 8 2
10 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 53 +80.0 secs 12 1
11 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 53 +80.8 secs 18
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 53 +81.3 secs 17
13 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 53 +97.2 secs 9
14 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 52 +1 Lap 5
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 52 +1 Lap 13
16 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 52 +1 Lap 14
17 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 52 +1 Lap 15
18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 52 +1 Lap 21
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 51 +2 Laps 16
Ret Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 21 +32 Laps 19
Ret Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 9 +44 Laps 20eom
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To get first Constructors’ title for Mercedes Benz is amazing, so it a wonderful day!: Hamilton
Sochi Stadium through a fish eye. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Alex Popov)
What a wonderful race guys. Thank you very much? I know Lewis you are a real fan of Russia, Russian racing. You were back in Moscow sometime and now you’ve won first ever Russian Grand Prix since 100 years exactly. How do you feel?
Lewis HAMILTON: So happy to be here. We’ve had an amazing week. The fans and really the organisers… Russia’s been so good to me and to the team. I’m so grateful for all the support and I’m really looking forward to coming here many, many more times. It’s not very far from where I live so I’m going to be hopping over for some holidays for sure.
I know you’re impressed by the ski resorts here. Look, 17 points now, you have. Seventeen points in front of Nico. You think it’s enough or not?
LH: Obviously Nico did a great job to recover from his mistake earlier on today but the car was performing really well. We did a great job as a team. It’s history for us, so I feel very proud to be a part of it – me and Nico and all the team members. To get the first Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes Benz is amazing, so it’s a beautiful day.
Nico, it was a really wonderful fight with Valtteri and you won it. Do you really think the tyres were gone or was it a bluff, like in poker?
Nico ROSBERG: No, it was a great strategy from the team. The thing is that our car is unbelievable. It’s so good; everybody has done such a great job building this car. That’s why half of me of course is extremely disappointed that I messed up today but the other half, I’m really, really happy, because everybody in the team deserves it so much. For them the most important title of the year is the Constructors’ Championship, that’s why I can even smile a bit, because I’m happy for everybody to have achieved that.
Ladies and gentlemen, 52 laps on the same set of tyres, what a great race.
Valtteri, on the last lap of the race, this man set the first ever in the history of Formula One fastest lap of the Russian Grand Prix. But you lost the fight with Nico, so are you happy or not?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I need to be happy for us as a team. You know, what we have been doing since last year is amazing. Again on the podium, so a good amount of points. We were today ‘best of the rest’. Unfortunately, Mercedes is still quite a bit ahead but, you know, we did the best we could from where we started, so we need to be happy as a team.
This man is still in the fight for third [in the Drivers’ Championship] with Daniel Ricciardo. But we are back for one quick question [with Lewis] because we all know the Russian story: the evening after the race, we must celebrate. And you have three weeks…
LH: Is there vodka?
It’s OK for you?
LH: Yeah, I don’t mind. Thank you.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, congratulations, tremendous win there. We could see you were pushing very hard by the number of fastest laps you did – but you seemed to have virtually no problems. Any problems with fuel consumption? Any problems with tyres? Just one little lock-up we saw from you.
LH: Yeah, it was a good, good day and an amazing weekend. Firstly, I’m just so proud to have contributed to have worked with this great team, to get the first Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes-Benz. I could have only dreamed of that when I joined this team. So, a great day for that. Huge congratulations to all the guys that are here and back home in the UK and also in Germany. But yeah, today, once I was out in the lead I was really just having to control, just looking after the tyres, managing the fuel was quite straightforward. And then, towards the end of the race the car felt great so I could push or not push. I wasn’t really having to push much and even when I was having to pick up the pace a little bit when I eventually found Nico was behind, it was easy to match the times. And the car’s been amazing this weekend and I really, really enjoyed the track. I tell you, Russia’s been one of my favourite places so far this year, so it’s very cool to have won the first race here.
Q: Nico, a fantastic drive through the field really – but what happened on the first lap? We heard you say you had a vibration. Did that go with the change of tyres? Tell us about that because that really governed your whole race.
NR: Yeah, of course. It was just a mistake on my side, braked too late and that’s it. Very unnecessary because it was my corner and should have been in the lead after that. So, obviously very disappointed with that. After that my tyres were just square. They were vibrating so much I couldn’t see where I was going so I knew that I had to pit. For me, I thought that was it. I thought that was the end of the day – but then of course, partly happy to get back all the way to second, passing Valtteri along the way and then… yeah, it’s just thanks to my car. My car was just unbelievable today and that’s what allowed me to come back through the field. That’s the main thing really. In hindsight really, even if it was a bit… I could have pushed more during the race, y’know? But it’s always easy to know afterwards but even at the end my tyres were fine. So, yeah, that’s a pity but anyway, it’s difficult to know that during the race.
Q: Valtteri, at one point the pace seemed to be really close to Mercedes, perhaps closer than we’ve seen in any race so far this year.
VB: Yeah, the beginning seemed to be very good and I was not far off from Lewis and everything was going into the plan. The tyres were feeling good and suddenly the rear tyres started to go, started to lose pace and was struggling more and more and Lewis was getting far a way. Then we stopped for the Prime and it took just a really long time to get the Prime tyre to work. It was just getting better towards the end. I did my best lap in the last lap of the race. It was really weird. And as it took so long to get the tyres to work, Nico got me in Turn One. It was a bit of a surprise for me, didn’t expect him to come inside. Luckily I saw him in time so there was no contact. Yeah, as a team I think we again did a good job. We’ve come so much forward from last season so it’s again, really good to be on the podium.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico, when you tried to overtake Lewis at the first corner, you were on the inside line; is it because it’s not the racing line, is that line, let’s say, that you normally have to brake a little bit earlier to compensate?
NR: No, I don’t think so. It was definitely do-able and I just messed up, very simple, no explanation. Just braked too late and too hard.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, last year you had your best result in Austin. Is it going to happen this year also?
VB: I really hope so. I got my first points in Formula One in Austin last year so it would be nice to have a good weekend there. I think the track should be OK for us so let’s aim for that.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Nico and Lewis: now that the Constructors’ title has been won, will you change your way of racing together or will it be the same?
LH: Same.
NR: It’s the same, you know. Up until now, it’s always been we can fight and it continues to be like that. We can fight, it doesn’t change.
Q: (Haoran Zhou – F1 Express) Lewis, can you describe your experience on the podium and especially when you were handed the trophy? Be as specific as possible.
LH: Well, it was kind of normal really. Kind of surreal for the president to be presenting the award. That was a great experience. The crowd have been amazing this weekend. I don’t know, I just never… I didn’t know that Formula One was something that people followed here in Russia. I didn’t know that there was actually a real love for it. To see the people turn out in their thousands yesterday and the grandstands full and then again today… They’re really enthusiastic, it looks like they’re really excited that we’re here and on top of that they did an amazing job with the track, the layout, with the surface, with the actual event. You would have thought they’d had this event many many times. I take my hat off to them.
Q: (Leonid Khayremdinov – Red Star) Lewis, you had a wonderful season with this ninth victory and your lead is now 17 points, but I remember this in 2007 and you had the same 17 points behind Kimi Raikkonen. Are you not afraid of repeating the situation as in 2007?
LH: I remember 2007 very well. I wasn’t afraid then either but I guess I was perhaps less experienced so I’m a completely different man today so I’m looking forward to the races coming up.
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Rosberg takes eighth pole of season at Suzuka beating Hamilton; Bottas P3
Nico Roseberg, cente, takes pole in Suzuka on Saturday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image Mercedes lock out front row as Hamilton takes second. Bottas and Massa third and fourth for Williams
Suzuka, 4 Oct 2014: Nico Rosberg bounced back from the disappointment of losing his championship lead to team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Singapore by comfortably claiming his eighth pole position of the season in Suzuka, his first at the circuit, beating Hamilton to the front of the Japanese Grand Prix grid by two tenths of a second.
Williams locked out the second row of the grid with Valtteri Bottas third ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fifth, for the sixth time this season.
In the first session Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was the early pacesetter, before Rosberg got things properly started with a lap of 1:37.671 five minutes into the session. That was soon eclipsed by Hamilton, who went six hundredths of a second quicker than his team-mate. Bottas slotted into third place ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa, with Alonso sixth.
That order remained intact until the end of the 18-minute segment. Further back the drop zone was shaping up in largely predictable fashion, and before the final runs the final six places were occupied by Caterhams, Marussias, but also the Force India of Sergio Perez and the Lotus of Romain Grosjean.
In the final-run shake-up Perez comfortably moved up to P13. Grosjean, though, was not so fortunate. The Lotus driver, complaining of “no traction, no grip on the option tyre”, was eliminated in 18th place. Also out were team-mate Pastor Maldonado (P17), Marcus Ericsson, Jules Bianchi, Kamui Kobayashi and Max Chilton.
It was a close-run thing for the Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in the opening segment. Vettel claimed his Q2 berth with a time of 1:35.517 that was good enough for P14, while Ricciardo went through a place behind.
In the second session, the first series of runs saw Rosberg claim top spot ahead of Hamilton, with Bottas once again third ahead of Alonso and Massa.
In the drop zone at this point were Ricciardo and Vettel, the Red Bulls again appearing to struggle. Ricciardo eventually eased into the top-10 shoot-out in P7 with a lap of 1:34.466. Vettel, though, scraped through in 10th place, just two tenths of second clear of 11th-placed Jean-Eric Vergne, who outqualified 13th-placed team-mate Daniil Kvyat by a tenth of a second.
Out went 12th-placed Perez, Nico Hulkenberg in P14 and then the Saubers of Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez.
In the final session, it was Rosberg who drew first blood, the German ending the opening runs in provisional pole position, with a lap of 1:32.629, just under three tenths of a second clear of Hamilton. Bottas was again third – just under four tenths down on Hamilton – with Massa fourth ahead of Alonso, Magnussen and seventh-placed Ricciardo. Button was eighth ahead of Vettel, while Kimi Raikkonen did not emerge from the Ferrari garage during the first part of the final 12-minute session.
In the end Rosberg landed his eighth pole position of the season comfortably. The German set a personal best in the tricky first sector and then lit up the timing screens with session-best times in S2 and S3 to secure a lap time of 1:32.506. Hamilton had no response and the title leader finished two tenths down on his team-mate.
Williams locked out row two, with Bottas ahead of Massa, while Alonso was fifth. Ricciardo will line up sixth for Red Bull Racing ahead of the McLarens of Magnussen and Button, while row five will see Vettel start ahead of Raikkonen whose sole lap, a 1:34.548, was only good enough for 10th.
2014 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying Result
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:33.671 1:32.950 1:32.506 13
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:33.611 1:32.982 1:32.703 13
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:34.301 1:33.443 1:33.128 16
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:34.483 1:33.551 1:33.527 16
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:34.497 1:33.675 1:33.740 16
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:35.593 1:34.466 1:34.075 17
7 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:34.930 1:34.229 1:34.242 16
8 Jenson Button McLaren 1:35.150 1:34.648 1:34.317 17
9 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:35.517 1:34.784 1:34.432 17
10 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:34.984 1:34.771 1:34.548 16
11 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:35.155 1:34.984 14
12 Sergio Perez Force India 1:35.439 1:35.089 13
13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:35.210 1:35.092 13
14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:35.000 1:35.099 13
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:35.736 1:35.364 14
16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:35.308 1:35.681 14
17 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:35.917 9
18 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:35.984 10
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:36.813 6
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:36.943 8
21 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:37.015 9
22 Max Chilton Marussia 1:37.481 8eom
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Rosberg tops FP3 in Japan as Hamilton crashes
Hamilton crashes as Rosberg fastest in FP3 on Saturday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image Hamilton still fast enough for P2 ahead of Alonso, while Vettel and Raikkonen also hit trouble
Suzuka, 4 Oct 2014: Nico Rosberg went quickest in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, while championship leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton crashed out.
After being second best to Hamilton in the first part of the hour-long session, run on hard compound Pirelli tyres, Rosberg jumped to the top of the timeseheet with his first run on the option medium tyres.
Hamilton left the Mercedes garage for his run, but as he wound up for a flying lap the Briton went wide in Turn One, ran over a kerb and ended up going straight on across the gravel trap into the barriers. The impact was not heavy but the front-left wheel of his car was torn off, leaving his team with much work to get through before qualifying.
Rosberg ended the session in P1. Hamilton’s best hard-tyre time, just under a second down on his team-mate’s soft-tyre best, was still good enough for second place. Fernando Alonso was third with a lap 1.2s down on Rosberg’s.
Fourth place went to Williams’ Felipe Massa, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas rounding out the top five.
Hamilton wasn’t the only driver to miss out on the option tyre runs at the end of the session. Midway through Sebastian Vettel, fresh from announcing that he will leave Red Bull Racing at the end of the 2014 season, reported that he was having problems with his RB10. He was told to box and then race engineer Guillaume ‘Rocky’ Rocquelin informed the driver that the problem was worse than first suspected and that it would need a “deeper look”. Vettel completed just six laps in the session and finished 15th.
Kimi Raikkonen, too, was in trouble. Just before the switch to the option tyres the Finn was on the radio saying he was down on power. He was told to return to the pits where Ferrari later reported they would be doing a precautionary engine change.
2014 Japanese Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 Times
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:33.228 14
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.210 0.982 10
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:34.439 1.211 12
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:34.564 1.336 12
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:35.061 1.833 16
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:35.086 1.858 13
7 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:35.251 2.023 16
8 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:35.494 2.266 8
9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:35.538 2.310 17
10 Jenson Button McLaren 1:35.549 2.321 16
11 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:35.732 2.504 15
12 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.995 2.767 5
13 Sergio Perez Force India 1:36.365 3.137 8
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:36.407 3.179 22
15 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:36.460 3.232 6
16 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:36.558 3.330 19
17 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:36.617 3.389 12
18 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:36.626 3.398 20
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:37.367 4.139 12
20 Max Chilton Marussia 1:37.883 4.655 17
21 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:38.102 4.874 15
22 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:38.784 5.556 12eom
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Hamilton tops incident-packed FP2 in Suzuka
Championship leader takes over from Rosberg at top of timesheets as Ricciardo, Kobayashi and Gutierrez crash out
Suzuka, 3 Oct 2014: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton recorded the fastest time in second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, taking over from team-mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the timesheets after the German had set the pace in the morning
Hamilton fastest in FP2 at Japan on Friday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team image session.
Hamilton’s best time, a lap of 1:35.078, came just after the halfway mark of the 90-minute afternoon session at the Suzuka circuit and left him 0.240 seconds clear of Rosberg.
Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was third fastest, though the Williams driver was more than a second adrift of Hamilton’s time. Jenson Button was fourth fastest for McLaren.
Sebastian Vettel set the afternoon’s fifth fastest time with a lap 1.3s down on Hamilton’s benchmark. He was followed the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrnando Alonso and then by the second McLaren of Kevin Magnussen and the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.
Tenth place in the session went to Daniel Ricciardo, though the Red Bull Racing brought out the red flags when he crashed as he prepared to start a quick lap.
“I made a mistake,” Ricciardo said of the crash that ripped the left-front tyre off his RB10. “I did my first quick lap and everyone is cooling after that, producing fast lap, slow lap and then fast again. On the slow lap there was a yellow flag, so I went extra slow, so that once I started my quick lap the yellow flag would have cleared and I would have been able to push. The tyres probably cooled too much – out of the last chicane I got on the power, had a few moments and just couldn’t catch it.”
His wasn’t the only crash of the afternoon. Local favourite Kamui Kobayashi was the first out, the Caterham driver losing control of his CT05 out of the Esses after just four laps. He spun backwards into the barriers, causing damage to the rear suspension and front wing.
Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez was the next to get caught out. The Mexican switched to the medium tyres but lost control and went into the barriers on the outside of the Spoon Curve.
Finally, the red flag again appeared with three minutes left in the session when Jean-Eric Vergne’s Toro Rosso was forced to stop his car at the exit of Spoon Curve. It was his second problem during the session after an early fuel pump issue. Vergne had sat out the morning session in favour of Max Verstappen but the Dutch teenager suffered an engine failure later in the session, leading to a rapid swap to ready the car for Vergne in the afternoon.
With the Frenchman’s car stranded on the track, race officials elected to end the session one minute early.
2014 Japanese Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:35.078 28
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.318 0.240 27
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:36.279 1.201 24
4 Jenson Button McLaren 1:36.409 1.331 28
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:36.436 1.358 24
6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.529 1.451 19
7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:36.637 1.559 26
8 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:36.714 1.636 31
9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:36.943 1.865 27
10 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:37.186 2.108
11 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:37.219 2.141 19
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:37.504 2.426 16
13 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:37.563 2.485 31
14 Felipe Massa Williams 1:37.700 2.622 18
15 Sergio Perez Force India 1:37.786 2.708 8
16 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:37.798 2.720 27
17 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:38.010 2.932 25
18 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:38.365 3.287 9
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:39.069 3.991 22
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:39.306 4.228 20
21 Max Chilton Marussia 1:39.333 4.255 24
22 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:42.760 7.682 3eom
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We are still a candidate for points and still looking competitive: Nico Hulkenberg
DRIVERS – Nico HULKENBERG (Force India), Jules BIANCHI (Marussia), Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing), Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)PRESS CONFERENCE
Kamui, as we’re at your home race, can we start with you? Last time we saw you here you were on the podium. Just tell us what that was like for you to be on the podium at your home grand prix?
Kamui KOBAYASHI: Well, first of all, thank you for this special seat! I think in 2012, my first podium ever, in Suzuka, it’s a great memory. After 2012 I break for a year and then come back in 2014. It’s a very difficult situation right now but still I’m back at Suzuka. Of course, I think we have a lot of rumour before coming here but at least we can announce that we are here and we will race this week. I’m very happy about that.
Indeed. In terms of the likelihood of being on the podium, it’s perhaps a different story this year, but what do you say to those who have supported you. You’ve got a huge amount of fans here and of course it’s a fantastic grand prix in terms of the home crowd?
KK: Yeah, I really appreciate all the support. I’m here because of only fan donation and these donations are very important for me and we show how the Japanese supporter is always supporting Formula One, also myself as well. Next year, Honda will be back and I think this will be helpful for all the Japanese fans and also maybe other Japanese companies as well. This could help one day. At least I’m here for this year and I think it will be really exciting and still it’s only Thursday so many fans try to get [things] signed and it’s still very nice to see for me.
Thanks very, I hope you have a great weekend. Jenson, you sometimes say that this is a home grand prix for you as well and I remember being told you’re very much a Honda driver as well, which we’ll talk about in a moment, but first tell us what you feel about this race. You’ve finished 14 out of 14 Japanese Grands Prix, plus one win, it’s a remarkable record.
Jenson BUTTON: Yeah, I think the one win stands out for me as a result, rather than just finishing 14 races. Winning here in 2011 was a very special victory for me and also being chased down by Fernando and Sebastian at the end of the race was a proper climax. Really stands out in my Formula One career.
But a little bit of a shadow on the horizon at the moment, in that we don’t know which way your career is going. What do you know? What can you tell us? Is it likely to be decided fairly soon?
JBu: I… I don’t know! As you know I can’t discuss anything to do with the contract.
It’s the same with your team-mate?
JBu: Exactly.
So, what are your hopes for the grand prix this weekend?
JBu: I hope that we can race on Sunday, that’s the first thing, I think. With a typhoon coming this way it’s always very tricky. Hopefully it will miss us. It’s going to be a mixed weekend in terms of weather; tomorrow there’s a good chance of rain as well. I think it’s really just thinking on your feet and staying on top of all the different weather forecasts. But this is a circuit I think we all love. It’s fast, it’s flowing, there’s a lot of support here from the fans, not just for Japanese drivers but for every driver in Formula One as a whole, so it’s always great coming here and I’m looking forward to getting out there tomorrow.
Nico, if I can come to you next. Since the summer break you’ve been beaten by your team-mate at every single race. What’s changed? What’s happened there?
Nico HULKENBERG: I think obviously race weekends didn’t go as flawlessly as before and for one or other reasons we didn’t always achieve our maximum on my side of the garage but nothing too concerning I think. Obviously Hungary was a mistake, technical issues in Monza, unlucky in Singapore, so there is always a story behind it. But overall, if we put it together we are still a candidate for points and still looking competitive.
And your team principal is full of praise for both drivers, so what does the future hold?
NH: We’ll see. I think there’s not much to report at the moment but everything is looking quite positive.
OK, Jules, just rate your season so far, how do you think it’s gone?
Jules BIANCHI: After the break it was a bit more difficult for us. In Spa I had an issues and in Monza we were not so competitive and then Singapore was a difficult race again. I think overall it was a good season and I’m quite happy. Now I hope we can do some good results again.
You’ve sort of served your apprenticeship, if you understand that expression, at Marussia. Do you think you have achieved all you need to achieve there to continue in Formula One and to move up?
JBi: Well, you can always do better for sure but it was a good season for me. I’m still trying to do my best in the next races we’re going to have and we will see. But for sure I have no regrets.
Q: Romain, also rate your season so far if you would.
Romain GROSJEAN: Kind of missed the podium. It’s a tough season for all of us. We started a little bit on the back foot and it takes time to recover but things are going slightly better since Singapore. I think we have seen that the car was a little bit more competitive and hopefully it will be the case until the end of the season. There are a few updates coming. Even though they are small pieces it makes a good difference in how you prepare for the future. I think the key now for Lotus is to get on top of issues to prepare as good as we can for next year.
Q: The frustrations clearly spilled over a little bit in Singapore, as we heard on the radio messages. How difficult a season has it been for you?
RG: Well, the season is difficult. Of course part of the frustration… part of that radio message was frustration from the beginning of the year. When you’re racing in Singapore it’s certainly one of the toughest tracks to race, qualifying lap, you give 120 per cent of everything you can, you take every single risk to get close to the walls without kissing them too much and the straight line your engine cuts – so I wasn’t very happy with that. I think it was clear. But we’ve found the issue with Renault, they solve it for the race and things were going better. I think it was just the fact that it was hot, humid and trying to get 100 per cent of everything and suddenly you get issues on the straight line where it’s easy not lose time.
Q: Sebastian, you’ve obviously had a remarkable record here, you’ve been on the podium the last five years plus the wins as well. And you’ve just had your best result of the year in Singapore. Has a corner been turned? Is it the new chassis? What’s made the difference?
Sebastian VETTEL: I think it’s all the small bits coming together. Obviously we hardly ran the first half of the season, we had lots of issues in winter to overcome and then a lot of issues on my side in the first half – which is never great to get the right feeling and get things lined up the way things should be lined up. I think now we had a little bit more consistent weekends, a bit more time to look at all the stuff and I think it’s coming our way – but there’s still huge potential which I feel we are getting closer but there’s a lot of work ahead of us to make sure we extract it in the next couple of races as well.
Q: You know the podium here very well – is there the possibility to be back on it?
SV: I think there always is. Yeah, there’s some discussions on the weather. Kamui just gave me a brief update on the Typhoon. I think chances are a bit 50:50 but there’s always a chance to do well, race well. This circuit suits me, suits our car so I think we should be a little bit closer this weekend again. Whether we are as strong as Singapore is difficult to say. It’s a different nature of track – but a track I definitely enjoy and an atmosphere that I really enjoy, so I’d love to be on the podium, yes.
Q: But there is a little bit of a shadow hanging over a lot of drivers at the moment with the possibility of penalties. How do you approach that?
SV: Well, I’m one of them! Yeah. The rules are as they are but surely at some stage we have to take some penalties, which penalties those will be is not entirely clear yet. We’re waiting for some parts, we’re hoping that we get as far as we can but it’s inevitable to go for an extra engine on my side – which is already ten positions after qualifying. Potentially there is more waiting for us – which is only a consequence of the poor season we had, first half of the season, in terms of reliability. But that’s something we knew back then. Now we have to figure out what is the smartest plan, let’s say, and the smartest track to come up with a penalty.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Anne Giuntini – l’Equipe) Question to Jules. Considering the many rumours developing at the moment, if it would occur that a seat would become available – vacant – at Ferrari, would you feel ready to go there? And why?
JBi: Well, yes of course I feel ready. I have been working for that since I’m in the Academy, end of 2009. So, now I did nearly two seasons in Formula One. I think I have good experience and I feel ready for that, for sure. It looks like the logical step for me if something happens like this. Obviously at the moment both drivers have a contract so it’s not the question but if there is the opportunity I feel it would be good for me and I feel good.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Jenson, is it for you McLaren or nothing more for the future?
JBu: In Formula One I’m hoping you mean. It’s the best option.
Q: (John Westerby – The Times) Question for Sebastian. We have a 17 year-old driving here this week. I wonder if you could compare when you came into F1, perhaps with the cars in particular. Does this mean cars are easier to drive now then when you came into the sport?
SV: I think one of the biggest differences is that I was able to drive myself from the hotel to the track – which I think he isn’t. He doesn’t have a driver’s licence. I think Formula One has changed a lot, especially this year so it’s not a secret cars got slower. Different to drive to previous years, probably a little bit more technical but less demanding in terms of the corner speeds we are taking. Especially on a track like this. But, y’know, I’m as excited as you to see him running. Obviously he was only done half a year, three-quarters of a year in Formula3. I think he has a remarkable record in go-karting. So, yeah, I think he has the potential. On the other hand, you need to give him time, as much as he needs. When I was 19, joining Formula One, the first time. Of course, you always feel ready and you don’t say no if somebody gives you the opportunity to race or drive a Formula One car – but you have to take your time to get used to all the things. Not just the car but also working with the team, which is completely different in Formula One to all the other categories.
Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) On that topic, Seb, you have a number of the records for youngest race winner, pole position, World Champion, I think. From what you’ve seen of Max so far and he’s part of the Red Bull family as it were, do you think he’s set to take those records from you?
SV: Well, I think records are there to be broken. Obviously he starts quite a bit younger than all the rest of us but it’s hard to say, but one day I think there will be somebody to break these numbers and one day there will be somebody again to break the numbers again, so I think that’s normal.
Q: (Anne Giuntini – L’Equipe) Romain, it’s the usual question yet I would like to know how can you keep motivated during such a hard season, to keep going?
RG: Well, because you wake up in the morning and you’re still a Formula One driver. It took me quite a long time to get to Formula One. I lost it once, at the end of 2009 and when I came back in 2012, I realised… you know, when you lose something, you realise how much you like it. So even though it’s a tough season, I still have mechanics that give 100 percent of themselves and I still love what I’m doing. Of course, it’s much more fun to fight at the front and for victories but it’s still a very good job.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, even if you say that your future next year is with Red Bull, your name still comes up a lot and it comes to Ferrari and Fernando, who might possibly leave. Anything to say to that?
SV: Well, I think there has always been rumours over the last couple of years, especially around this time of the season. I think probably more for Jenson; he already has 17 teammates for next year. I have been one of them, a couple of weeks ago, maybe next week I will be again. It’s not really in my head. As I said, coming from back… coming from the back at Singapore we made some progress and I hope that we can carry that momentum into this race and that’s really where the focus lies.
Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC TV Sport) Just a quick question for everybody following on the Max Verstappen question: what was the most powerful car/engine that you drove when you were 17 years old?
JBu: I’m trying to think. It was a long time ago now. At 17, I will still be racing in karts, I was racing in – as it was then – Formula Super A. I’d driven three Formula Ford cars before that, when I was 14 so 30 horsepower, I guess.
KK: I think I did Formula Renault but I think that’s it, and I don’t remember how much horsepower.
SV: I think I did a test, when I was 17, in ChampCar in America so around 750 horsepower.
NH: Same as Jenson, karts.
JBi: Yeah, I was racing go-karts. I think I did a test in Formula Renault, so 180 horsepower.
RG: Technically, in horsepower, I think it was my mother’s Subaru. On a race track, for the record.
Q: (Daniel Johnson – The Telegraph) Kamui, obviously your home race gives you lots of reasons to be cheery and look forward to the weekend but back in Oxfordshire, the team is going through its own troubles at the factory. I wonder if you could summarise what the mood is like in the team, has that affected it at all or is it as usual?
KK: Well, first of all, I won’t get the same information to the boss because I think that our boss is flying over here, so we are waiting what happens really. I think it’s very difficult to say. At the moment, I think we can still communicate with the UK so I think it looks as if the company is OK but I don’t know the rest really. Unfortunately.
eom
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I dreamt, but you never really think it is going to happen: Hamilton
DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Eddie Jordan)
Lewis, did or dream or think this would be the result today?
Lewis HAMILTON: Of course, I was dreaming it last night but you never really think it’s going to happen. I just want to say a huge thanks to my team. What they’ve done this year is absolutely incredible and to be able to arrive here knowing that we have a car we can fight with, and just the feeling I had through the race, it’s… I couldn’t do it without them. Thank you guys.
We know you’ve won seven races this year but the talking point is how big a pressure was on you in that last pit stop? That’s what we wanted to know.
LH: Ah, it wasn’t that bad.
Well you sounded totally paranoid up there I have to tell you!
LH: No, I think at the time it was just not really knowing what the situation was. I knew I had a big gap but if a safety car comes out, what does that mean, but then when I came in and knew that I had to fight the guys on a long, long, run-down tyre, I knew that we would have chance to get by, so I felt kind of comfortable.
Well, we’ll come back to you because we have lots more questions but ladies and gentlemen, Sebastian Vettel, four times world champion, his best result of the year! Sebastian, what is it with Singapore and you? You seem to be a night raider or something like that. Every time there’s a night race you do remarkably well. Obviously on the podium again this year.
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, kid did well! It’s a circuit that I really enjoy, I really like. The atmosphere is great. You know, on the drivers’ parade there are already so many people in for the race. It’s great. It’s a tough one, it’s two hours and again we went to the full two hours. I had a good start, got past Daniel and then I think we had a decent race. We played a little bit with strategy and then the safety car came in the worst possible moment for us. So we tried to obviously stay out with the last set of tyres and make them work, which was very, very much borderline. I had a lot of pressure from Daniel and also from Fernando behind, but very happy obviously to make it P2.
A lot of red faces up here – the dehydration, the heat, the temperature. A huge race here is it? Is it very, very difficult?
SV: Yeah, it’s quite hot. The cars are sliding a lot, so you have to focus quite hard. It’s definitely a race we all enjoy as drivers because it’s such a big challenge and to stand up here and get a cool glass or bottle of champagne is quite nice.
Well, your best race of the season, your best result and we know what you’ve done here before. Now, ladies and gentlemen, the pride of Australia, Daniel Ricciardo! Almost like a home race really?
Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, feels like a home race. Singapore to Perth is pretty much as close as Melbourne to Perth, so for West Australia it’s like another home race.
I need to ask you the question: do you think that when Fernando gave up the place to Sebastian, do you think he should have given up the place to you?
DR: To be honest, I’ll have to have a look. Obviously he went off, that was clear. I knew he would give it back to Seb [but] whether he had to give it back to me, I’ll have a look at that. I was just sort of focused on regrouping from the start really. To get on the podium I guess is not a bad result, good for the team and at least we’ve got some Aussie flags.
We see a lot of Aussie flag, you’re the pride of Australia. Lewis, things have changed, really, haven’t they, for you?
LH: Absolutely.
Big smile on your face.
LH: Yeah, I was so excited to have… I was looking for that clean weekend and this has been it. It’s been fantastic. It’s not perfect for the team because Nico didn’t finish and we’re always striving to get both cars finishing 1-2. I don’t think anyone has finished one-two before and that was our goal. So there are things we can still work on. I also want to say a big thanks to all the fans. Incredible support today, so thank you guys.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, your second victory in Singapore, your seventh of the season and a very popular win, it would seem, with the crowd – but there was clearly a tense moment for you after the safety car when you knew you had to stop again and it was clear the four or five cars behind you didn’t – but the strategy team stayed calm, you stayed calm and you’re now leading the Drivers’ Championship. Just tell us about the rollercoaster of emotions and the way you feel leaving Singapore tonight.
LH: Coming here and to the last six races with a great race in Monza, knowing that we had a car to compete here, obviously yesterday in qualifying it was very close between everyone so I didn’t really know what to expect today – but got off cleanly. Of course it would have been a hardcore race if Nico was in the race with me as the car was feeling very good and we would have been very strong. But, yeah, later on in the race, I think for me I was a bit unaware of what I needed to do. That second-to-last stint, I extended it as long as I could and then they said “we need 27s.” And that was still six seconds I needed more, and my tyres were dropping off, so I didn’t really understand why. And I was also nervous that, if the Safety Car came out, would that cause me big problems? So anyway, fortunately we got to where I needed to go and we pitted. I came out, and I saw Sebastian going past but straight away I knew they would be on… they were obviously doing a two-stop, I would have good pace. So, took it easy the first lap. It was actually a bit of a tight gap, maybe I should have overtaken him somewhere else but fortunately Sebastian was very fair and I got by. After that it was quite straightforward. Amazing job from the team and the guys back at the factory. The car was really spectacular in the race.
Q: Sebastian, clearly the start was decisive for you. A fantastic initial getaway up into second place, you got the place back from Fernando. You were also a little bit sceptical when it came to the strategy, saying “that’s not my plan,” to go to the finish. So, tell us about the thinking at that point and how the race played out from your mind.
SV: As you mentioned, the start obviously was good for me. Quite weird to stop with no car ahead but not being on the first row. But it helped, obviously, because I had no car in front and I could get side by side and get straight into second place. After that I think we had a good race. Not ideal, in terms of timing with the safety car. Obviously, before that we lost a position to Fernando because we stopped too late – but we decided to go on the primes and we were hoping for no safety car to come out, which came out, so not ideal! But yeah, after that, obviously after the restart, we knew it was difficult with 27 seconds to make up on older tyres than everyone behind – it’s probably impossible. So, obviously to get the best result we knew we have to get to the end. I wasn’t very confident that we can do it, simply because of the wear we had the sets before. Obviously for one lap I was in the lead. As Lewis touched on, the overtaking manoeuvre, I wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. I thought that I give him all the space to pass me on the inside for the next corner but it seemed like he couldn’t wait to get back in the lead. It was quite tight but I saw him, obviously, so I had to back-off and let him through. There was no point fighting him at that stage because I didn’t have the tyres to match him. Nevertheless, to finish P2 obviously was the best we could do. We had the oldest set of tyres in the last stint, so it was quite tricky managing those to the finish line with not much tread left. Obviously very good result for the team.
Q: Daniel, I guess the opposite for you. Not a great initial getaway, you lost the initiative to Sebastian there, which is why you finished behind him in the end. Tell us whether you expected the attack from Alonso at the end because obviously he had pitted under the safety car, was on much fresher tyres than you . Were you surprised the attack didn’t come? What was going through your mind?
DR: Yeah, I think the closing stages, I could see after the restart for the safety car, he wasn’t attacking as much as I thought with a new set of primes, so I thought he was holding back and was going to make a late charge at the end. I think we all just piled up. I caught the back of Sebastian, he caught the back of me and we were all in a train and not really any real opportunities arose for any of us. So, it was what it was. I probably did expect him to come on a get stronger at the end but I think once you start following and trying to get the pedal down a bit harder to set up a pass, then you start hurting the rears and you all fall into each others’ pace. The start initially wasn’t too bad but just before Turn One we had a bit of an issue and I think we lost a bit of power. Whether we could have held on or not… who knows? But then yeah, Fernando went wide and then gave the place back to Seb and the race from there was fairly straightforward. Encountered a few other issues and bits and pieces here and there – so we’ll have to look into that. See how much it cost us in the end. But obviously it was nice to get on the back of Seb and try to put him under a bit of pressure but I think for all of us here it was follow-the-leader a bit and not much else to do.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Lennart Wermke – Bild) Lewis, is there anyone you dedicate your victory to?
LH: I’ve not really thought of it. There are only a few of the race wins which I’ve really dedicated to anyone. Maybe to my fans, I think. I met a couple of really special people last week – they’ll know who they are – and just generally to all the fans. They’re sending me messages and all that, really just saying that we win or we lose together and also being here with all the British flags, it lifts you up so much that probably they don’t even realise, so this is for them.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Daniel, you were on the radio during the race saying that you were losing power and I believe gears. What was happening and was the team able to help you correct those matters?
DR: Yeah, we had quite a bit going on during the race so yeah, power was coming and going and from the safety car onwards it was pretty consistently down on power and basically, coming up through gears, I would get a bit of power and then it would drop and then it would come again. So we definitely had a few issues and we tried fixing them but to be honest we didn’t quite clear it all up. I guess it did cost us a bit today but obviously we still got it to the end but obviously we will definitely look at what the cause was and if we can fix it. Normally, if we have those glitches after a couple of laps we clear it but this one pretty much carried through all race. I guess I was a bit frustrated, bit concerned as well that we wouldn’t get it to the flag but luckily it held on and as I said, we’ll just look at it and I’m sure we’ll fix it for Japan.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) To Seb and Daniel, what was the plan to have the harder tyre, the prime tyre, in the third stint rather than at the end, because at that moment, I don’t think you could know that the safety car would come out?
SB: I guess in my case Fernando undercut us, it was quite obvious, and then I think it was pretty pointless to do the same as him so we tried to do opposite and then get him back obviously, in the last stint of the race, I think that was the plan. With hindsight, we should have obviously stopped earlier, tyres were at the end of their wear life anyway so I think that was the plan. It was obviously high risk because of the safety car. In the end, we got lucky because the tyres held up but at that stage it didn’t look like it.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawke’s Bay Today) Lewis, you said on the podium that Mercedes were hoping for a one-two finish but in terms of the championship, can you say, in all honesty, that you’re sorry that Nico didn’t finish?
LH: Well, of course the points are something… I came here hoping to really gain those seven points and anything more than that was just a bonus, so today, of course, those extra points are a huge help. That’s several DNFs we’ve had now on either car and we want to continue getting those one-twos still. I know that the team will not be 100 percent happy today because we want to win collectively, we want to get those one-twos, we want to be the dominant team all together, so by not getting that result, they’ll be going back to the drawing board trying to figure out what happened. They’re constantly coming up to things and perhaps other people are starting to be a bit more reliable than us so that’s an area that we can still definitely improve on.
eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference
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Hamilton beats Rosberg to Singapore pole by tiny margin
Hamilton (centre) takes pole position from teammate Nico Rosberg in Singapore. Daniel Ricciardo in a Red Bull (left) took P3. An AMG Mercedes Petronas image Mercedes drivers separated by seven thousandths of a second at Marina Bay Street Circuit. Ricciardo third ahead of Vettel.
Lewis Hamilton claimed his sixth pole position of the season by the tiniest of margins today, beating team-mate Nico Rosberg to the top spot on the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix by seven thousandths of a second.
It was the tightest margin for pole position since Sebastian Vettel beat Fernando Alonso to the front of the grid for the 2010 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim by just 0.002s.
Third on the grid will be Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo who finished just under two tenths adrift of Hamilton’s pole time and five hundredths of a second clear of team-mate Sebastian Vettel in fourth place. Fernando Alonso will start from fifth for the fifth time in 14 races.
In the opening Q1 segment, Ferrari set the early pace, with Alonso (1:48.203) topping the times, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, who posted a lap of 1:48.583.
Rosberg had a nervous moment when he outbraked himself and was forced to take an escape road. His first clean lap of the session put him fourth, as Hamilton jumped to the top of the time sheet.
It had been predicted that Mercedes might attempt to make it through to Q2 on the prime tyre, but with the performance gap between the soft and the option supersoft at over two seconds, even they switched to the supersoft as the session wore on
The Red Bulls only emerged after 10 minutes, straightaway choosing the option tyres. Vettel’s first run wasn’t plain sailing, however, with the German coming across the slow Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, which prompted the Red Bull man to gesticulate furiously at the Russian youngster.
At the end of the opening 18-minute session it was Kimi Raikkonen who emerged with the fastest lap, a time of 1:46.685. That was two tenths better than team-mate Alonso, and 0.136s clear of third-placed Hamilton.
Jenson Button was fourth for McLaren, with Valtteri Bottas fifth for Williams with a lap of 1:47.196. The Red Bulls eased through to Q2 with Vettel in ninth and Ricciardo in 10th.
There were few surprises in the knockout zone. Eliminated, in order, were Sauber’s Adrian Sutil, Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado, Marussia’s Jules, Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi, the second Marussia of Max Chilton andthe second Caterham of Marcus Ericsson. Of some note, however, was the lap of Bianchi. The Marussia driver might not have made it through to Q2, but his lap of 1:49.440 was a full second quicker than that of his team-mate and those of his Caterham rivals.
When Q2 got underway, Raikkonen again jumped to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:46.359. That was soon eclipsed by Alonso, who went 0.031s than his team-mate.
Rosberg’s first lap left him third, two tenths down on the Ferraris, but then Hamilton pushed Mercedes to the top of the pile with a lap four hundredths of a second clear of Alonso’s. With the final runs in the offing, the order at the top was Hamilton followed by Alonso, Raikkonen and Ricciardo.
Those three didn’t change order but Rosberg’s final lap of the session saw him steal P1. Fifth place went to Massa, followed by the twin Red Bulls. Bottas finished eighth, with Kevin Magnussen putting in an excellent final lap to claim ninth.
Daniil Kvyat took the last place in Q3, beating Jenson Button to the place in the final shootout but just under two hundredths of a second.
Also eliminated was Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne who finished in 11th place, just six hundredths of a second off team-mate Kvyat’s time. Vergne was followed by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, the second Force India of Sergio Perez and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean.
After the first runs in Q3 it was Massa who sat at the top of the list, with a time of 1:46.007. The Williams driver was followed by Ricciardo, six hundredths back, and Alonso, who was a tenth down on his former team-mate. Raikkonen was fourth ahead of Bottas, while Hamilton was the fastest of the Mercedes, with a time of 1:46.230. Rosberg was seventh, five hundredths down on his team-mate.
Midway through his final run, disaster struck for Raikkonen. The Finn reported that he had no power and was forced to return to the pits where he abandoned the session.
Ricciardo was the first to make his move on pole and he immediately ousted Massa with a lap of 1:45.854. Rosberg was the next up, the German knocking Ricciardo off with his fastest lap of 1:45.688.
Hamilton, though, had still to cross the line and despite a lock-up in turn one at the start of his lap, he continued to improve throughout and when he crossed the line he was ahead by an incredibly fine margin. Rosberg’s response? A barked “damn it” down the radio to his pit wall.
Afterwards, the title leader said that he was still happy with second place and that it was a good platform, the fact is that four from six races here have been won from pole and Hamilton will very much go into tomorrow’s battle with the upper hand.
2014 Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:46.921 1:46.287 1:45.681 17
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:47.244 1:45.825 1:45.688 19
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:47.488 1:46.493 1:45.854 12
4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:47.476 1:46.586 1:45.902 15
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:46.889 1:46.328 1:45.907 16
6 Felipe Massa Williams 1:47.615 1:46.472 1:46.000 20
7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:46.685 1:46.359 1:46.170 14
8 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:47.196 1:46.622 1:46.187 18
9 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:47.976 1:46.700 1:46.250 18
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:47.656 1:46.926 1:47.362 21
11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:47.161 1:46.943 12
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:47.407 1:46.989 14
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:47.370 1:47.308 13
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:47.970 1:47.333 9
15 Sergio Perez Force India 1:48.143 1:47.575 13
16 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:47.862 1:47.812 14
17 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:48.324 6
18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:49.063 8
19 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:49.440 7
20 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:50.405 8
21 Max Chilton Marussia 1:50.473 7
22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:52.287 5eom
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It’s `hammer-time’ for Charlie Whiting; Time to let the Dashboards talk
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Marc Surer – Sky Germany) The first session was quite confusing. What is driving advice? What is technical advice? What is allowed and what not?
Charlie WHITING: First of all, have you seen the Technical Directive that I sent?
MS: No.
CW: Well then you’re at a bit of a disadvantage! On that particularly question Marc, it’s quite straightforward really. If a team informs a driver to change his brake balance, that’s absolutely fine, provided it’s not for a specific part of the circuit. So, in other words, one click forward for turn five and two clicks backward for turn 10, those are the sort of things we consider to be driver coaching, assisting the driver, whereas, a global change to the brake balance, or any other similar parameter on the car, would be for overall performance, which is fine. It’s just the driver coaching element of it that we want to stop first of all.
Q: (Jonathan Noble – Autosport) Can you say what prompted the decision to impose this radio clampdown for this weekend? What were the specific things that were discussed with the teams yesterday that made you realise you couldn’t go as far as you’d wished to in the build-up to this weekend?
CW: What prompted it in the first place? A culmination of things really. It was becoming apparent that more and more was being done for the drivers and quite simply that is at odds with Article 20.1 of the regulations. We felt that this should extend to both car performance and driver-related parameters but when one looks into it in more detail it became quite clear that some teams would be at a serious disadvantage compared to others, not just in their know-how or in their ability to react in the short term, but also with hardware choices that were made a year ago. I think you’re familiar with the two types of dashboard that are available to the teams. One will simply show a great deal more than the other. In the interests of fairness, we felt that with hindsight it would be better to introduce it in two stages and that’s what we’ve done now.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Why did you do it now though? Why didn’t you wait until the start of the next season? Wouldn’t that have been far easier than introducing this with six races remaining?
CW: Yes, it would have been easier, but I think when it comes to enforcing a rule then things have to be done. It’s as simple as that. Yes, of course it would have been easier but I think if you see or hear something that you uncomfortable with, with regard to whether it conforms to the rules or not, you have to do something about it. That’s our job.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Charlie, following on from John asked. Who initially instigated this? Was it an FIA or a commercial rights issue? Because we believe that the commercial rights holder said he had something to do with it as well.
CW: It was an issue that came up in the Strategy Group meeting in Monza.
DR: From the commercial rights holder?
CW: I think it’s not for me to say what goes on in those meetings. It was something that emerged from that meeting in Monza.
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Speedweek.com) Charlie, did you hear anything in free practice one which was questionable to you, (a), and (b) what would the possible fine be if a team does something wrong?
CW: First of all, no, we didn’t hear anything that was remotely questionable. Teams were playing it very, very carefully, I think because they didn’t want to step over the mark. I think it’s not for me to actually say what the penalty might be because it’s a matter for the stewards of course. All I would do is report to the stewards a possible contravention of Article 20.1 and they would then decide what the penalty would be. I think it would have to be a sporting penalty rather than a monetary one, however. I would imagine it would be something along those lines. If it happened in a race I think it might be – I emphasise might be – a five-second time penalty for example. If it happened in practice it might be a grid position or something. But I think a sporting penalty as opposed to a monetary one.
Q: (Jonathan McEvoy – Daily Mail) Might it be that we spend a long time after the race resolving these things? Is that a danger you’re worried about?
CW: No. We listen to these things in real time and if we hear anything… Don’t forget that teams listen to each other intently. We’ll hear, don’t worry, and we won’t have to trawl through hours of radio conversation to find out if there’s anything wrong.
JM: Just for example, if six of these land on the stewards’ desk at one go that there might be backlog as they go through them.
CW: Well, unfortunately that would always be the case if there were any six enquiries that the stewards had to look into but it’s rare, though, I think you’ll admit.
Q: (Ben Anderson – Autosport) Is there a plan to simplify regulating radio communication going forward for next season and maybe go further, rather than having this complicated ‘some things are allowed, some things aren’t’?
CW: The plan is to make it more far reaching, to take in the technical elements of it as well, the technical assistance that the driver is getting about the performance of the car as well. It will inevitable become more complex but unfortunately I think that is how the sport is. I think it’s going to be very hard to make it simpler, unless of course one was to remove radios from the car, for example, but I think that might not be very well received.
Inaudible follow-up question
CW: But the teams have still go to use it. I don’t think a standard radio system would help. The teams will still use and obviously we are faced with all manner of complications, such as coded messages for example, and those are the sorts of things we’ll have to deal with between now and the start of next season.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sport UK) Couple of points Charlie: 22 drivers, 11 teams, how many people have you got monitoring the radio traffic during each session?
CW: In total, probably about eight, but it’s quite straightforward to listen to three or four. They don’t normally all talk at the same time but it’s being recorded, so if we were to miss something we could easily go back and find it very quickly.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sport UK) And based on what fans were saying to us this morning: practice sessions are practice sessions. Why do you have to rigorously enforce this during what is a training session for qualifying and the race?
CW: Well, we believe that a driver should driver he car alone and unaided. He shouldn’t be told he’s going a bit too deep into this corner or should take a tighter apex on that corner. It’s for him to decide, not for his team to tell him how he is comparing with his team-mate for example.
Q: (Anne Giuntini – l’Equipe) Could it be imaginable to have modern Formula One without radio at all?
CW: I could imagine it, but I think the teams might find it unpalatable, shall we say?
Q: (Heiko Wasser – RTL TV) So for TV, at the moment, as I understand, we don’t get each and every radio so far. It’s taped and we don’t get everything. Now, in the future, it can happen that somebody gets a penalty for a radio that we didn’t hear on the television? Or will it be making sure each and everything will be broadcast so that the audience worldwide can follow that something went wrong?
CW: First of all, it’s impossible for you to hear everything that’s said, that’s quite clear. The television broadcasters decide what to broadcast. I suspect that if a team was accused of saying something that it shouldn’t have been saying, that would be available to the broadcasters in the fullness of time. I’m sure you would hear that, but whether you’d hear it live is, I think, a matter of chance more than anything else.
Q: (Daniel Johnson – Daily Telegraph) With phrases like ‘driver technique in general’, is there not a danger that we’ll just get into a situation where teams are making complaints and counter-complaints, because that seems like it could cover a whole range of things and could be quite easily argued one way or the other?
CW: You’ve obviously seen the list. That’s at the bottom of the list and the idea is that that should capture anything that’s not actually listed. I think it’s a fairly exhaustive list, so I think it’s quite unlikely. And teams have a tendency to make sure that they are absolutely clear on things. So, if they look at the list and think ‘I wonder if this driving technique in general’, they would probably ask before they decided to use it, so I don’t envisage any big issues over that. It’s a kind of a catch-all, just in case.
Q: (James Allen – Financial Times) When you last gave us one of these briefings in Silverstone, you talked about complication and you’ve mentioned complication again. Isn’t there not a risk that this whole debate has once again added something that is very complicated, with a long lost of very complicated thing, when it’s actually a question of perception to the public. Wouldn’t it have easier to just give the world feed TV director a list of radio messages that would suitable to air to the public, because the public doesn’t know all the other coaching that goes on between races and all the other things that happen between teams and drivers, so wouldn’t that have been a much more simple solution?
CW: Yes, it would have been simple, well, simpler. But the fact of the matter is when the driver is on the track he should be driving the car himself. That’s the fundamental essence of the regulation in question isn’t it really? Whether he receives coaching outside an event, he’s perfectly at liberty to do that of course. But once he’s out on that track, he should be doing it himself. That’s the reason for the rule and that’s the reason why we believe we have to enforce it. It is a complicated sport and this is an area that hadn’t really come into the spotlight previously, but it just shows that every single area in Formula One is complex. There are very few simple ones. That’s the nature of the beast, as we say.
Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC) Charlie, I have seen the directive that you sent out but radio beeps for gear changes aren’t mentioned on that. What side of the line do they fit on?
CW: It’s the same as a rev counter. That’s all. Instead of looking at a rev counter, you can hear one and that’s not a driver aid as far as we’re concerned.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Charlie, we obviously have Article 20.1 but we’re constantly being told at the end of the day that F1, at the end of the day, is a team sport. While we appreciate that drivers are out there on the track, why is there any need to have article 20.1 in the first place?
CW: Well, it’s been there for, I think, over 20 years and it was originally there to capture things like traction control, as you probably know. It is also a safeguard against any other driver aid which hadn’t been thought of at the time and it has been used a number of time in its lifetime. And this is just one of those times, I believe. Things had got, I believe… the teams have become so sophisticated at being able to analyse exactly what a driver is doing on the track and be able to compare it to other cars – more often than not their team-mate – and to be able to give that driver that information so that he can then drive the car differently is fundamentally incorrect in our view.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Is the radio ban as it planned for next year, is it maybe a first step to ban telemetry? Because if telemetry was banned the whole radio discussion probably would be finished, because if the teams don’t know in what condition the car is, then it doesn’t make sense to coach the driver or to tell him what’s going on.
CW: No, it’s not planned as a step in that direction at all. In fact, it’s not been discussed at all. This is purely to do with the application of article 20.1 at this stage.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Miday) Charlie, you mentioned that coded messages are obviously banned but then how do you police that? Because there could be prearranged coded messages to get around the ban on coded messages as well. It’s hard to police isn’t it?
CW: Yes, I agree with you. It won’t be straightforward. We will have a little bit of time to think about that because the list that the teams have been given today is quite straightforward, whereas I think if you have a more complex, longer, more technical list, there will be greater opportunities for that sort of thing. It was put to me yesterday, for example, that if something oil transfer is allowed as a message it could be coded in such a way that oil transfer when told to a driver in turn one means something different to if it’s told to them in turn 10. It’s going to be a little difficult but I’m fairly confident we can get over that one, with enough time.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sport) Will that be the end of ‘hammer time’?
CW: You never know.
DC: Is hammer time allowed? Is that a coded message?
CW: I think that’s push hard isn’t it.
DC: But surely it requires the adjustment of settings?
CW: To be discussed. That’s not for this current crop of rules but I think now we have a little bit more time we can discuss these things with the teams and hammer time might come into it!
