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Tag: Formula One
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Tyres to open up strategy at Korean Grand Prix: A view from Pirelli
Milan, 30 Sept 2013: Just like the previous race under the lights of Singapore, the P Zero White medium and P Zero Red supersoft compounds have been nominated for the Korean Grand Prix: but this is a circuit that is very different in character. Yeongam, close to Mokpo, to the south of the country, contains a bit of everything: from fast corners to slower and more technical sections. Having made its grand prix debut in 2010, the 5.615-kilometre track is run anti-clockwise which is no problem for the tyres, but is sometimes a source of strain the drivers’ neck muscles, a Pirelli press release said.
The Korea International Circuit is rarely used outside of the grand prix, so there is usually a high degree of track evolution over the course of the weekend. The combination of medium and supersoft, used for the fourth time this year, is designed to maximize speed in qualifying yet at the same time guarantee a high level of durability for the race, which offers plenty of opportunity for strategy.
Paul Hembery: “This year’s nomination represents a change from last season where we brought the soft and supersoft, as it best complements the characteristics of the 2013 range of compounds. We would expect there to be a significant difference in lap time between the two compounds we have selected, as was the case in Singapore, and that should help the teams to put together some interesting strategies. Korea is an interesting mix: you get some fast corners as well as some slower ones but actually it has the highest lateral energy demand of all the circuits where the supersoft is used, so tyre management is going to be important once more. In particular, the work done in free practice when it comes to assessing the wear and degradation levels on each compound with different fuel loads is going to be especially important, as that will hold the key to the correct strategy. We saw the difference that having the right strategy could make in Singapore, and although there is a lower probability of a safety car in Korea, this is still something that the teams will be paying a lot of attention to in the build-up to the grand prix, as the championship enters its final phase.”
Jean Alesi: “Korea is not a track that I have raced on myself, but I have heard many positive things about it from the drivers. This is encouraging, because when the modern generation of circuits first came in they were not universally popular but now it seems there is a different philosophy that ensures all the new tracks are real drivers’ circuits as well. What is interesting about this race is that the tyre nomination will be the same as Singapore, which was a very good race. We could see a big gap in lap times between the two compounds and some drivers were able to use this to their advantage to build a good strategy. The other thing that we saw was the consistency of the supersoft tyre: even though it is the softest tyre in the range it managed to complete quite long stints without any notable drop-off in performance, so I imagine that we will see the same in Korea.”
The circuit from a tyre point of view:
The most critical characteristics of this track from a tyre point of view are the high-speed corners and heavy braking areas, which allow the cars to use their maximum stopping power (or to be precise, deceleration) of 5.2g. With the weight transfer involved, this equates to the front tyres being subjected to a vertical force that is the equivalent of 900 kilogrammes.
As well as the braking, there are big lateral forces exerted on the tyres. Turns 7 to 8 for example involve a direction change at 270kph. This puts plenty of lateral energy through the loaded tyres, which peaks at 4.4g. The rapid direction changes demand maximum rigidity from the structure, which ensures steering precision and helps the driver to hold the ideal line.
Another crucial area is the slower sequence of corners from turns 15 to 17. The kerbs that the drivers use on the inside test the structure and mean that the road-holding from the outside tyre is critical: an issue that is dealt with by the high levels of mechanical grip generated by the supersoft tyre in particular.
Technical tyre notes:
The aerodynamic set-up adopted for Korea by the teams is quite similar to Japan, with medium to high levels of downforce. However, the traction demands are much higher than in Japan, so the teams use different engine maps to help put the power down out of the slow corners. The front-right tyre is worked hardest at the Korean track.
Graining can be an issue in Korea, particularly in the low-grip conditions at the start of the weekend. Graining is caused when the cars slide sideways too much, creating an uneven wave-like pattern of wear on the surface of the tread that affects performance.
The majority of drivers last year used a two-stop strategy, while only three tried a one-stop or a three-stop strategy. The top 10 qualifiers all started on the supersoft tyre, with Sebastian Vettel winning the race for Red Bull from second on the grid. Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was the highest-placed starter on the soft tyre from 16th, finishing the race in 8th position.
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 Italy Medium Hard Singapore Supersoft Medium Korea Supersoft Medium Meet the Pirelli F1 Team: James Gresham, Logistics Manager
James started off life as an engineer – and that clearly shows through in his passion for all things mechanical. He went to university in Birmingham and then joined March Engineering, doing pretty much everything at some point from mechanic to stores manager, sales manager, team manager and project manager. He then moved into the tyre industry and has been with Pirelli ever since the company started its Formula One contract from 2011. As logistics manager, his job in short is to ensure that all the correct tyres are fitted to the correct car, and organise all the people and equipment that are necessary to ensure that this process takes place smoothly. “That’s essentially it, and it’s the same job no matter where we are in the world,” James points out. The Englishman is based at Pirelli’s motorsport hub in Didcot but it’s what he does outside of work that is truly remarkable. He owns a collection of old cars including a 1897 tricycle – typical of one of the very oldest racing machines in the world – and a 1901 De Dion Bouton, which was bought new by his grandfather in 1902. In the 1990s he was a six-time national sailing champion as well as a three-time winner of the prestigious Cowes Regatta, and he still tries to find time to do some sailing now. If that wasn’t enough, he also volunteers on a vintage railway in north Wales and he is currently helping to build a signal box. He’s certainly the man with the widest range of hobbies in Pirelli – and probably in the whole of Formula One…
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Vijay Mallya still hopeful of catching up with McLaren
Vijay’s VisionDr Vijay Mallya sums up Singapore and outlines the team’s objectives for the rest of the season.Dr Mallya, give us your verdict on the team’s performance in Singapore…I think the race and strategy went very well for us. Without Paul’s incident we were looking at a potential sixth place finish because he was running ahead of Massa in any case. It shows the vast difference between what happens in qualifying and what happens in the race. We always knew after free practice that we had a bit of race pace and it came through on Sunday.With six races to go, what’s the key objective in the final few races?The objective has not changed. McLaren have a points lead over us, but they are not totally out of reach. As I’ve said before, turning on the tyres is paramount and we are working hard to achieve this. There are a lot of points on offer and we need to try and regain the performance level we showed in the first part of the season.What are your expectations for Korea?It’s never been our strongest track, although we did score some points there last year. It’s quite low-grip and the cooler temperatures make it a very different challenge. We will go there ready to learn as much as possible, try and improve our qualifying pace and come up with a smart strategy for Sunday.Paul on KoreaPaul Di Resta reflects on Singapore and hopes to bounce back in KoreaPaul, a week on from Singapore, how are you feeling?The disappointment still feels quite fresh. When you have a race like that you just want to get back in the car as soon as possible. After the race I went back to Europe for some training and to get myself ready for the final push of the season. October will be the busiest month of the year so it was good to have some quality time at home before we spend the next couple of months travelling.Is the Korean track one that you enjoy?It’s an unusual track, but definitely a place that I enjoy driving. The three sectors are all very different with long straights linked by hairpins, some high-speed corners and a slower technical part of the lap. The tyre choices are the same as in Singapore so it will be interesting to see how they perform. We’ve always gone well on the supersofts, but struggled more on the medium compound so hopefully we can switch it on this weekend.Adrian on KoreaAdrian Sutil gets set for the Korean Grand PrixAdrian, a point in Singapore must have felt rewarding after a challenging weekend…It was a lot of work for one point, that’s for sure! In the race I started on the mediums to do something different with the strategy and that worked out quite well. In the closing laps I was right on the back of the train of cars fighting for points. My tyres were so worn that it was hard to push, so getting a point was a good feeling after a long race.Tell us about your thoughts on Korea?I quite like the track and I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been so successful there yet, but I want to make up for that this year. The circuit has a nice layout and a nice flow in the second part of the lap with some high-speed corners. Let’s see how the supersoft performs because the corners are very hard on the tyres. That could open up some interesting strategies.ends
File photo of Vijay Mallya by Sahara Force India F1 team. -
“Absurd” FIA rules may stop contested election, warns David Ward
Bangalore, 2 Oct 2013: David Ward has arrived as a whiff of fresh air on the suffocating FIA scene. Thanks to the lack of transparency, Formula One and FIA, the international Fedearation which controls Motorsports and F1 around the world, are closed to public scrutiny as far as financial arrangements are concerned.
The arrival of Jean Todt as President was hoped would benefit the sport and bring more monies to FIA, and consequently to the member ASNs around the world to develop and promote grassroots motorsports. But despite making efforts Jean Todt was not very successful, many experts feel. He made a lot of improvements, especially on road safety side but no one is sure how much the new Concorde Agreement will benefit the FIA.
Under these circumstance, the arrival of David Ward, as a presidential candidate to contest Jean Todt (trying for a second term) came as good news. But the absurd FIA rules may prevent his entry, even before the election process begins.
A press release from Ward:
David Ward, a candidate in the FIA 2013 Presidential election, has written to FIA Clubs warning that the FIA’s election rules could prevent any candidate from being eligible to challenge the incumbent Jean Todt. The letter reveals that in the North American region 11 out of 12 clubs (ACNs and ASNs) have already signed a support agreement for Jean Todt at an FIA meeting in Montevideo more than six months before the election began. This leaves just one club available to nominate a Vice President Sport to another candidate’s list – which is a requirement to be eligible in the Presidential election.In the letter to the club Presidents, David Ward writes:
“The absurd situation in which just one club in North America may determine whether or not there can be a challenger to Jean Todt risks turning the FIA election into a farce. It shows clearly the detrimental effect that the Montevideo support agreement is having on the 2013 election. If any of the signatories decide to provide a Vice President to a rival candidate they have no alternative but to face the embarrassment of breaking a commitment of support for Jean Todt that they made in his presence at the Montevideo meeting – an agreement which was then subject to a photo-call and a press announcement. This is why I am asking for the support letters to be recognised as a clear breach of the FIA’s rules and revoked in my complaint to the Ethics Committee”.
Download a copy of David Ward’s letter to the FIA clubs
For further information, please visit www.wardandteam2013.com
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File photo of David Ward by Ward and Team 2013. -
4 new races in 22-race F1 calendar announced for 2014
Dubrovnik (Croatia), 27 Sept 2013: India was officially dropped from the 2014 calendar of the Formula One World Championship and four new races in Austria, New Jersey, Russia and Mexico added at a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) which took place here on Friday.
Except Austria, the other three to the 22-race calendar have a provisional status and will host the race only after the circuits are homologated.
According to the FIA website, the FIA President, Jean Todt, opened the
meeting by thanking Matko Bolanca, President of the Croatian Car & Karting Federation (CCKF), and Zrinko Gregurek, Secretary General of the CCKF and WMSC member, for their hospitality and for hosting the FIA family.The following decisions were taken by the World Motor Sport Council:
FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
As confirmed earlier today by the FIA and the Formula 1 Group, the framework for the implementation of the 2013 Concorde Agreement has now come into force. This agreement provides the FIA with significantly improved financial means to pursue its regulatory missions and to reflect the enhanced role undertaken by the FIA in motor sport. The parties have agreed a strong and stable sporting governance framework which includes the Formula 1 Group, the FIA and the participating teams. The agreement lays down solid foundations for the further development of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The members of the WMSC congratulated the FIA President for the successful and favourable conclusion to the negotiations. The members also accepted his proposal to create a new task force, after the FIA Presidential Election, charged with proposing the allocation of the additional financial resources for the FIA and its membership.
One of the noteworthy aspects of the new 2013 Concorde Agreement is the new tender procedure for appointing single suppliers in the tyre and fuel categories, for the FIA F1 World Championship.
In this new process, the FIA will be confirmed as the body in charge of conducting the tender process. The Commercial Rights Holder will be entitled to run the commercial negotiations with potential suppliers, with a view to the selected single supplier being officially appointed by the WMSC.
In order to cover the transition period and considering the contracts already settled by FOM and the Teams with Pirelli, the WMSC today confirmed that Pirelli may continue to supply tyres to competitors in the FIA F1 World Championship, subject to the requisite technical and safety standards of the FIA being met.
The 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:
16 March Grand Prix of Australia 30 March Grand Prix of Malaysia 06 April Grand Prix of Bahrain 20 April Grand Prix of China 27 April Grand Prix of Korea (provisional) 11 May Grand Prix of Spain 25 May Grand Prix of Monaco 01 June Grand Prix of America, New Jersey (provisional*) 08 June Grand Prix of Canada 22 June Grand Prix of Austria 06 July Grand Prix of Great Britain 20 July Grand Prix of Germany (Hockenheim) 27 July Grand Prix of Hungary 24 August Grand Prix of Belgium 07 September Grand Prix of Italy 21 September Grand Prix of Singapore 05 October Grand Prix of Russia (Sochi) 12 October Grand Prix of Japan 26 October Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 09 November Grand Prix of USA (Austin) 16 November Grand Prix of Mexico (provisional*) 30 November Grand Prix of Brazil * Subject to the circuit approval
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP AND RALLYING
The 2014 FIA World Rally Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:
19 January Rallye Monte Carlo 09 February Rally Sweden 09 March Rally Mexico 06 April Rally de Portugal 11 May Rally Argentina 01 June Rally d’Italia 29 June Rally Poland (multi-country event) 03 August Rally Finland 24 August Rallye Deutschland 14 September Rally Australia 05 October Rallye de France 26 October Rally de España 16 November Rally of Great Britain Note: The finish date given is the Sunday of the rally weekend. Itineraries are however subject to final confirmation by event organisers.
It is clarified that the hand-cutting of tyres is forbidden in the events of the FIA European Rally Cup, as well as the FIA European Rally Championship.
The 2014 FIA European Rally Championship calendar will be proposed to the WMSC at a later date.
FIA WORLD CUP FOR CROSS COUNTRY RALLIES
The 2014 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies calendar is confirmed as follows:
16 February Baja Russia – Northern Forest 16 March Baja Italia 10 April Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 25 April Sealine Cross Country Rally 25 May Pharaons Rally 20 July Baja España Aragon 17 August Hungarian Baja 31 August Baja Poland 27 September Rallye OiLibya du Maroc* 01 November 27th Baja Portalegre 500 * Subject to the 2013 observation report
FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
In order to increase competitiveness, from 2014 the title of FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Champion will be awarded to the manufacturer scoring the greatest number of points with two cars (three cars if under Article 16.A) in the general classification.
The 2014 Sporting Regulations will be adjusted in order to take into consideration the new LMP1 Technical Regulations which will be implemented next season, taking into consideration the new distinction between the light category cars for privateers only (LMP-L) and the Hybrid category cars for both manufacturers and privateers (LMP-H), and the allocation of energy.
FIA FORMULA 4
An updated framework for the 2014 Sporting Regulations was agreed, with an emphasis on safety and ensuring that races are held on circuits holding a valid licence of Grade 4, minimum.
The Technical Regulations – designed to appeal to the widest range of stakeholders – were approved, in addition to the introduction of Homologation Regulations to limit costs related to engines, chassis and major consumption parts.
FIA FORMULA E CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2014/2015 FIA Formula E Championship calendar is confirmed as follows:
20 September 2014 Beijing, China* 18 October 2014 Putrajaya, Malaysia 8 November 2014 Hong Kong 13 December 2014 Punta del Este, Uruguay 10 January 2015 Buenos Aires, Argentina 14 February 2015 Los Angeles, USA 18 April 2015 Miami, USA 9 May 2015 Monte Carlo, Monaco* 30 May 2015 Berlin, Germany 27 June 2015 London, UK All events remain subject to FIA Track Homologation
* Subject to ASN approvalHISTORIC MOTOR SPORT
In order to increase the attraction of FIA European Historic Sporting Rally Championship events, from 2014 a further class for Group A cars in Category 4 has been added to distinguish between cars under and over 2 litres.
To broaden the range of eligible cars in the FIA Historic Hill Climb Championship, two specific classes within Category 4 will be introduced from 2014. Dedicated to ‘Sport Nazionale’ cars, D6 will be specific to cars under 2500cc and D7 for those under 3000cc. Similarly, single-seater and two-seater racing cars from the 1983-1990 period will become eligible for Category 5, divided into two classes for under 1600cc (E4) and under 2000 cc (E5).
FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
Following the proposal by the Promoter of the FIA European Rallycross Championship, the WMSC has approved the creation of a new FIA World Rallycross Championship from 2014, on the condition the calendar is based on a total of 11 or 12 events, with nine or 10 European events plus one event in Asia or Africa and one event on the American continent.
The formats of the FIA European Rallycross Championships for the support categories, TouringCar and Super1600, are maintained, with the calendar comprising the European events in the World Championship. The format of the European Championship for the flagship category, SuperCar, will be adapted and concentrated over five of the 10 European events in the World Championship. This will also have a specific classification for non-permanent drivers not entered in the entirety of the World Championship.
FIA INTERNATIONAL HILL-CLIMB CUP
As a result of a review of the development and restructuring of the FIA’s activities in hill climb, from 2014 the FIA International Hill Climb Challenge and the FIA European Hill Climb Cup will be merged into one competition known as the FIA International Hill Climb Cup (IHCC). As a consequence, the regulations concerning the Groups of vehicles will be amended along with the associated awards.
GT
The principles of the convergence between the current GTE cars (Le Mans) and the FIA GT3 have been commonly defined by the FIA and ACO and agreed by all the GT manufacturers. The aim is to present the new GT Technical Regulations, based on new categories (GT+ and GT), at the WMSC in June 2014 for implementation in 2016.
DRIVERS’ COMMISSION
In order to ensure the voice of drivers is heard during the FIA decision process, the WMSC agreed that a driver representative be designated in the various FIA Commissions and Working Groups. In addition, and in co-operation with the FIA Circuits Department, the Commission has designated a member to work with various bodies in relation to circuit safety, in particular.
President of the Drivers’ Commission, Emerson Fittipaldi, also advised the WMSC that the Minister of the Cities of Brazil, along with an Embassy delegation, participated in their meeting and presented the various initiatives implemented in this region to reinforce road safety while involving motor sport.
WOMEN IN MOTOR SPORT
The Commission continues to focus its activities on promoting the role of women in all areas of motor sport and, in addition to the work it is undertaking with the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign, is broadening its remit to encourage more women to become engineers, volunteers and officials.
IOC RECOGNITION
The FIA President confirmed to the members of the WMSC that the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has granted full recognition to the FIA in accordance with the Rules of the Olympic Charter.
INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CODE
Following a proposal from a dedicated review commission, and after consultation with the ASNs, the WMSC unanimously approved a complete revision of the International Sporting Code. This version will come into effect on 1 January 2014.
MOTOR SPORT TASK FORCE
The Motor Sport Task Force will nominate its members after the FIA Presidential Election.
ASN DEVELOPMENT TASK FORCE
The FIA President underlined the importance of the work of the ASN Development Task Force, reinforcing the need to help ASNs grow the sport at grass roots level round the world.
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7-year Concorde Agreement till 2020 reached; Ward welcomes it
Dubrovink (Croatia), 27 Sept 2013: The agreement reached by the FIA and the Formula 1 Group in July 2013, setting out the framework for implementation of the Concorde Agreement for the period 2013 – 2020, has now come into force, following the approval of the respective governing bodies of the signatory parties.
This agreement provides the FIA with significantly improved financial means to pursue its regulatory missions and to reflect the enhanced role undertaken by the FIA in the Motor Sport. The parties have agreed a strong and stable sporting governance framework which includes the Formula 1 Group, the FIA and the participating teams. The agreement lays down solid foundations for the further development of the FIA Formula One World Championship, according to an FIA press release on Friday
.Now that the agreement is operative, the parties will move towards the conclusion of a multi-party Concorde agreement.
FIA President Jean Todt said: “We can be proud of this agreement, which establishes a more effective framework for the governance of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The FIA looks forward to continuing to fulfill its historic role as the guarantor of both regulation and safety in F1 for many years to come.”
Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of the Formula 1 Group, added: “I am very pleased that the agreement between the FIA and the Formula 1 Group has been concluded”.
David Ward welcomes new Concorde Agreement and calls for extra investment in grass roots motor sport
Meanwhile, David Ward, a candidate in the FIA 2013 Presidential election, has issued the following statement about the new Concorde Agreement.
“The final conclusion of the negotiations over the Concorde Agreement is a very positive development for the FIA. This is a solid achievement by Jean Todt and I congratulate him for it. The question now is what will the new resources from Concorde be used for? The answer should be for investment in ‘grass roots’ development of motor sport.
“In my manifesto I have proposed to ‘use all the revenue in excess of regulatory costs of the F1 Championship for investment in motor sport safety, sustainability, solidarity funding of ASN development programmes, and for training of officials and volunteers’.
“Jean Todt has yet to publish a manifesto or explain how he will use the new funds now available to the FIA. Sooner rather than later this should be made clear to the FIA membership.”
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Agenda for change: David Ward to contest FIA presidential election
The imperative of good governance has become a dominant challenge for leaders around the world. Applying best practice has become a hallmark of excellence for global companies and sports federations alike. That is why the FIA should ensure its governance is the best it can be – promoting the effectiveness and accountability of its leadership.
A comprehensive review of the FIA statutes and structure was proposed in Jean Todt’s 2009 election manifesto. Some useful progress has been made. For example, an Ethics Committee and the International Tribunal dealing with disciplinary matters have been established. These are welcome developments, but the comprehensive review promised in 2009 has fallen short. There is still work to be done.
The FIA can give the impression of being antiquated and autocratic. The powers of the Presidency are too wide to be effective or fully accountable. In some areas the trend for reform has been reversed. For example, the maximum possible period in office for the President has been extended from eight years to twelve. The threshold for nominations for Presidential candidates has been set high which favours the incumbent and deters other candidates. Recently there has also been unfortunate use of ‘support letters’ at various FIA regional meetings which are designed to elicit public commitments of support before the election process even opens, thereby deterring alternative candidates from coming forward. These are of questionable legitimacy.
The 2013 Presidential election is an important opportunity for the FIA membership to decide not just on their next leadership team but also on the further reforms the Federation still needs. To contribute to this vital debate, ‘Agenda for Change’ offers 20 proposals that would modernise the FIA’s governance making it more transparent and responsive to the membership. The reforms cover the following key areas:
• Presidency, Management, and Location;
• Resources and Club Support;
• Transparency and Good Governance;
• Elections, Eligibility and Procedures.In summary the effect of the 20 reforms proposed in ‘Agenda for Change’ would be the following:
The FIA President would have the possibility to serve in a non-executive role. The appointment of a Chief Executive Officer and the creation of a Management Board would give the FIA a new professional strategic capacity it currently lacks. The evolution of the Senate into a Supervisory Board would strengthen independent oversight over the Presidency and executive. The appointment of Commissioners would reinforce the FIA’s day to day involvement in its major World Championships. The improvement of cost control and resource allocation would ensure that all available surpluses are channelled to sport and mobility clubs for their development, especially in low and middle income countries. Finally, the proposals regarding elections would make it easier for contested elections to take place. The full list of 20 governance reform proposals are set out below.
Agenda for Change: 20 FIA Governance Reforms
Presidency, Management, and Location
1. Allow the FIA President the possibility to serve in a non-executive role
2. Appoint a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on a fixed term contract hired by open recruitment
3. Create a Management Board (with representation from each World Council, and chaired by the FIA President) responsible for budget matters, contract and due diligence supervision, and implementation of a multi-year Strategic Plan developed with the World Councils for approval by the General Assembly
4. Convert the Senate into a Supervisory Board (following modern corporate practice of a two tier board structure)
5. Appoint Commissioners for each FIA World Championship responsible to the World Motor Sport Council for day to day management and supervision of the championship
6. Retain Paris headquarters as main administration office and locus of the sporting power and all major contractual agreementsResources and Club Support
7. At a time of austerity aim to reduce overheads, avoid waste, and reduce travel expenditure
8. Use all the revenue in excess of regulatory costs of the F1 Championship arising from the new Concorde agreement for investment in motor sport safety, sustainability, solidarity funding of ASN development programmes, and for training of officials and volunteers
9. Avoid duplicating the work of the FIA Foundation and the FIA Institute and concentrate FIA activities on priorities that are beyond these organisations’ mandates
10. Use any overall operating surpluses to fund development grants for clubs in low and middle income countriesTransparency and Good Governance
11. Publish annual accounts that conform to International Accounting Standards and include a narrative from the President and CEO explaining the overall performance of the FIA, key developments of the year, any relevant issues or related party transactions and future plans
12. Amend the Ethics Code so that it is fully consistent with the 2001 Statement on Good Governance Principles developed by the FIA and the International Olympic Committee
13. Adopt a policy against bribery and corruption to the latest international standards and amend the Ethics Code accordingly
14. Ensure that due diligence is carried out on all external contracts to ensure that they are consistent with competition policies and avoid commercial conflicts of interestElections, Eligibility and Procedures
15. Restrict eligibility for FIA Presidential election to Club Presidents or Senior Office Holders nominated by their clubs
16. Restore the Presidential term limit to two periods of four years not three as at present
17. Reduce the nominating threshold to three clubs (one from each member category)
18. Reduce the Presidential list to three: a President and two Deputies for Sport and Mobility
19. Elect the Senate President (future Supervisory Board) separately from the Presidential list
20. Ensure equal treatment to all candidates and ban any pre-election period support letters.ends
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Vettel powers to a third Singapore victory in a row; Kimi third
Singapore, 22 Sept 2013: Sebastian Vettel powered to a comprehensive third Singapore Grand Prix victory in a row, finishing over 47 seconds ahead of second-place
Vettel kisses the trophy after the Singapore win. An FIA photo d Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.
Vettel’s seventh win of the season was secured soon after the start. He made a good start from pole position, but front-row rival Nico Rosberg got away better and passed the Red Bull driver on the approach to the first corner, an FIA release said.
The Mercedes man carried too much speed in, however, and was forced to run wide on the exit.
The error allowed Vettel to retake the lead and from there the German simply drove away from the field. By lap 22, just after the drivers’ first stop for tyres, the championship leader had carved out a 9.5 second lead over Rosberg, with Alonso third and Mark Webber fourth.
Then, two laps later, Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo hit the wall at turn 18 and the safety car was deployed, maintaining a perfect record of safety car interventions at the circuit since the inaugural race in 2008.
At the front of the field, Vettel, Rosberg and Webber elected to stay out, as did Lewis Hamilton. A host of others dived for pit lane, however, including Alonso, Romain Grosjean and Raikkonen. It would prove a pivotal moment in the battle for the lower podium positions, if not the lead.
When the safety car left the track, Vettel found even greater pace than in his first stint and within a couple of laps he was 3.2 seconds clear of Rosberg. The Red Bull driver’s race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin got on the radio and gave Vettel permission to “use his tyres” to build a gap. The German needed no encouragement and in a stunning period of racing he was often lapping more than two seconds quicker than the Mercedes. Just five laps after the safety car had exited, Vettel was over 14 seconds up on Rosberg.
As far as victory was concerned that was it. There was plenty of drama behind Vettel in the second half of the race, but it was all very far distant from the German and he cruised to a win that now leaves him 60 points clear of Alonso at the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings.
“I didn’t get going initially and then had to keep the inside clear to [Nico] but fortunately he went in a little bit too deep and I could get him back, which was crucial because then we had some very good pace,” said Vettel of his 33rd career win. “With the safety car obviously it was difficult but then we seemed to come back. As soon as the safety car came in we had a very, very strong pace in the car. The car was incredible. I said to the team that this doesn’t just happen like that, by accident or by luck. There’s hard work behind it, which I appreciate, and it’s just a pleasure to drive it around this crazy track.”
Behind the winner, the order was changing. First Grosjean retired, a pneumatic problem forcing him out of the race. Then Rosberg and Webber made their second detours to pit lane. The Mercedes driver had a slow stop, and Webber stole in front.
It was only eighth place for Webber however, as ahead those who had chosen to pit during the safety car period rose up the order.
It was then that Alonso climbed to second. The Spaniard had already put in a stellar drive, rising from seventh on the grid to third as the field exited turn one and then cementing himself into podium contention. In deciding to race to the end on the tyres taken on during the safety car period, he was taking a risk but, typically, in his case the gamble paid off.
“It was a risky move but as I said, we are in a position in the championship where we have nothing to lose,” said the Spaniard. “To finish second in the race or to finish fifth: it doesn’t matter too much to be honest, so we push, we take care of the tyres. The car was performing really well in the race. And the fans pushed us a little bit to gain some extra tenths today.”
It worked, too, for Raikkonen. The Finn was able to keep his tyres alive and even passed Jenson Button for third late on, making a bold move stick around the outside at turn 14.
“I could see that his tyres were going off, so I just gave some pressure and then I have to get past him because obviously some people changed to new tyres and they were catching us quickly,” said Raikkonen. “I managed to pass him and pull away and luckily nobody managed to catch me in the end. So not too bad.”
It was a different story further back. The McLarens of Button and Sergio Perez and the Saubers of Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez also tried to make the stratagem work, but closer to the chasing pack of Webber, Rosberg and Hamilton, they could not find adequate pace and the trio, on new tyres, soon closed in and got by.
Webber climbed to fourth and began to bear down on Raikkonen. In the closing laps, however, he was told to short shift and then a lap from home he reported that he had no power. With flames pouring from the back of his Red Bull he pulled over.
That meant Rosberg finished fourth, with Hamilton fifth in the second Mercedes. Felipe Massa finished sixth for Ferrari, with the McLarens of Button and Perez in seventh and eighth respectively. Ninth went to Hulkenberg and the final point of the day was taken by Adrian Sutil.
2013 Singapore Grand Prix – Race result
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 61 Winner 25
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 61 +32.6 secs 18
3. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 61 +43.9 secs 15
4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 61 +51.1 secs 12
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 61 +53.1 secs 10
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 61 +63.8 secs 8
7. Jenson Button McLaren 61 +83.3 secs 6
8. Sergio Perez McLaren 61 +83.8 secs 4
9. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 61 +84.2 secs 2
10. Adrian Sutil Force India 61 +84.6 secs 1
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams 61 +88.4 secs
12. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 61 +97.8 secs
13. Valtteri Bottas Williams 61 105.161+ secs
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 61 + 113.512 secs
15. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 60 +1 Lap
16. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 60 +1 Lap
17. Max Chilton Marussia 60 +1 Lap
18. Jules Bianchi Marussia 60 +1 Lap
19. Charles Pic Caterham 60 +1 Lap
20. Paul di Resta Force India 54 Accident
Ret Romain Grosjean Lotus 37 Pneumatics
Ret Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 23 Accident -
A different strategy worked as we did not have the pace: Alonso
DRIVERS
1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Ra
Alonso (left), Vettel (2nd from right) and Raikkonen (right) on the podium after the Singapore GP on Sunday. An FIA photo cing)
2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Lotus)Podium Interview (conducted by Martin Brundle)
Q: Sebastian, it looked pretty easy from where we were sitting. How did it look from your carbon fibre seat?
Sebastian VETTEL: Obviously the start was quite hairy. Quite difficult with Nico having a good start, better than me. I didn’t get going initially and then had to keep the inside clear to him but fortunately he went in a little bit too deep and I could get him back which was crucial because then we had some very good pace, controlled the first stint, with the safety car obviously it was difficult but then we seemed to come back. As soon as the safety car came in we had a very, very strong pace in the car. The car was incredible. I said to the team, you know this doesn’t just happen like that, by accident or by luck. There’s hard work behind, which I appreciate and it’s just a pleasure to drive it around this crazy track.
Q: You could just take off at will, whenever you wanted to. It seemed to be the only man who could beat you today had the slowest car on the track, the safety car. It was the only thing that was going to stop you.
SV: Yeah, well I mean this is a long race, it seemed to go on forever, so there’s a lot of things that can go wrong, the walls sometimes get really, really close, sometimes closer than you think. So you can’t really afford to lean back. Obviously towards the end I was controlling the gap. It was helping that I was on fresh Options compared to these guys who were on very old Primes at the time, so we could control the gap to see the chequered flag.
Q: And physical? You’re looking pretty sweaty up here. Was it a tough race?
SV: I think we’re all sweating, not just the champagne men are wet, I think we all sweat a lot. As I said, it’s hard work out there. It’s quite hot but we like it. It’s one of the toughest challenges all year and it’s a very good feeling when you cross the line as a winner.
Q: Fernando, you’re there. As always, you’re right there. You made a lot of fans very happy again. Tell us about your start, it was electric.
Fernando ALONSO: Yeah, it was a fantastic start. We knew that we didn’t have the pace today so we have to invent something. The first possibility was the start, then different strategy compared to the others. We did both things: a very good start and a different strategy. I think it paid off at the end. A fantastic podium, a second place that tastes like a victory for us.
Q: You pitted on lap 25 and put on the tyres that you ran to the end of the grand prix. When was that decision made? And how do you keep your tyres in when we saw the McLarens and many other drivers struggling with hopeless grip by the end?
FA: Yeah, it was a risky move but as I said, we are in a position in the championship where we have nothing to lose. To finish second in the race or to finish fifth: it doesn’t matter too much to be honest so we push, we take care of the tyres, the car was performing really well in the race. And the fans pushed us a little bit to gain some extra tenths today.
Q: This man [Vettel] had some speed you just couldn’t live with though.
FA: Yeah, they were too fast all weekend and we have to congratulate them for a fantastic weekend and next time we will try to do better.
Q: Kimi, you had a back problem in qualifying. Has that affected you during the race?
Kimi Räikkönen: Luckily not too much but now afterwards it’s not 100 per cent but it doesn’t matter: we have two weeks’ time to rest and get it right. I think we did the best that we could and finished third, so I don’t think we could have achieved much more today.
Q: You had to be patient through that race. You really had to believe that you could still be there at the end and take the places when they were there and not make mistakes.
KR: Yeah, I think I had pretty OK speed and then I could overtake a few people and then in the end I was following Jenson and I could see that his tyres were going off so I just gave some pressure and then I have to get past him because obviously some people changed to new tyres and they were catching us quickly. I managed to pass him and pull away and luckily nobody managed to catch me in the end. So not too bad.
Q: You say very calmly “I managed to pass him” but it was around the outside at Turn 14. It was at tricky one.
KR: Yeah, maybe it looks more tricky. Obviously you have more grip when you brake on the line and you know more or less where you have to brake. Much easier than inside. So, not an easy one but we managed to get past and that’s the main thing.
Q: Sebastian, it’s looking pretty good isn’t it? But it’s always this man [Alonso] who seems to be chasing you, up here on the podium with you.
SV: Yeah, it’s incredible but to be honest with you I’m not really looking at the championship too much. Obviously we’re in a very good position, very strong position but I’m enjoying the moment. Days like today, like yesterday when you can feel the tension. I’m enjoying the moment. I love racing and the car’s fantastic and it doesn’t happen, as I said, by accident. Whilst there’s a lot of people hanging their balls in the pool very early on Fridays, we’re still here working very hard and pushing very hard so that we have a strong race. Days like this it’s just a pleasure to be in the car. The guys are completely committed, fully behind us, so it’s great.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian, as always, Singapore, a safety car features somewhere, it cut your lead early on, it obviously presented an opportunity in terms of strategy for others around you – but you used the word ‘control’ in your message to the team on the slow-down lap and I guess that’s really what today was really all about. An incredible demonstration – the whole weekend – of control.
SV: Yeah, well, I mean it doesn’t happen just like that. It was surely not easy to get everything right all weekend. Extremely happy though. I think the whole team can be extremely proud. I know how much work is going in. Here obviously we have a funny rhythm. When it’s nine o’clock the curfew kicks in. That’s when our mechanics leave the track on Saturday morning. They are flat out checking everything on the car they can. Same with the engineers, late hours in the office here but also in the factory. So there’s a lot of team effort going in. If we have results like today where we have the luxury to control the race at some stage, then it’s because of those late hours, because of the commitment that goes in from everybody. It’s just a privilege to be part of the team and be part of that. To enjoy the moment completely. It’s one of my favourite races here. I’ve won here three times in a row – which is incredible – so I’m just extremely happy with that and extremely happy to be with the team at this stage.
Q: Obviously the decisive moment of the race was the start. Rosberg initially got ahead of you but then you managed to come back around the back of him and get him into Turn Three. Can you give us that from your point of view in a little detail?
SV: The lights went off, I thought I reacted pretty well but was a bit lazy to get off the line. I thought that Nico might still be there. He was and we were side-by-side, kind of, so I had to give him room. But fortunately he was braking quite deep into Turn One and I was able to come back on the inside to get the position. Fortunately the next corner was a left-hander so I got in front and from there we had a very, very strong pace. Safety car didn’t help but also I think didn’t hurt us. In the very end obviously we had a new set of Supersoft, compared to those guys, they were obviously on very old Primes so by then we could control the race. Don’t forget there is 1.5s difference between the tyres.
Q: Fernando, another Alonso special. Seventh on the grid, second at the finish. Obviously your brilliant start contributed to that but also the strategy and a brave call to pit under the safety car and go to the finish on a set of mediums. What is that? 36 laps? How did that feel in the cockpit?
FA: It was not easy, obviously, to finish the race with those tyres but we commit to that strategy when we pit under the safety car and we were controlling the pace all through the last stint thanks to the gap that we managed to build. Yes, the start again was very good and I was lucky to choose the right line. On Turn One there is always people going on the left, people going on the right in every circuit. We’ve managed so far to choose the right one. And then we were third which was already a good result for us. But when we didn’t stop Rosberg pitting in the safety car, we decided to pit and to try something different. We were too slow this weekend. We were not in a level that we should be. We try a little bit different things and it pay off at the end with a fantastic second place. For us it tastes like a victory today.
Q: You say you were too slow. You bought updates this weekend hoping it would get you closer to the pace of the Red Bull. That hasn’t come through. You’re now 60 points behind with six races to go. Does it feel like kind of a water torture? Do you have a trick? Do you have any thoughts on how you can turn this around?
FA: Well obviously we have to be realistic. A few races to go already, the gap is still increasing every weekend and now it’s sixty points. So, as I said, we need to be honest with ourselves and knowing that we need a lot of luck. We don’t need luck in Korea; we need luck in Korea, in Japan, in India, in Abu Dhabi… we need luck every weekend if we are one second off the pace. We need a lot of luck. On the other hand, we are a very uncomfortable opponent, I think, because if we get that luck, we will be there.
Q: Kimi, when you put those tyres on, did you know you were going to try to go on the finish on them – and what in your mind did you think was possible at stage?
KR: We had a plan and we know that what moment, if the safety car comes, we try to go until the end, so I knew what will happen and luckily some other teams couldn’t do it and had to pit. I was kind of stuck behind Jenson for most of the race but then I tried to give him some pressure and keep him pushing so I noticed that he started running out of his tyres and I could start to get in closer and closer. In the end I decided to try to pass him and managed to get past – because there were people who stopped for the fresh tyres who were catching very quickly but luckily once I got past I could push a bit more and keep the gap big enough to end it in third place. After the weekend where we had some problems with myself and not the ideal setup with all those things and where we were yesterday, finishing third, I don’t think we could have asked much more.
Q: Can you describe the back problem you’ve been suffering from and how do you feel right now?
KR: I didn’t feel it too much during the race but obviously afterwards it’s not ideal and yesterday it was pretty bad. I almost didn’t drive, so between that and finishing third I think we have to be happy – and hopefully we can sort those problems for the next race. It’s not the first time. For a long time there have been some issues with my back. I know that I have some work to do at the end of the year so we have to see what we do.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: Abhishek Takle – Mid-Day) Fernando, another strong drive, another strong second place but Seb just keeps extending his lead. Is there some sense of inevitability or perhaps acceptance on your part that you have to wait yet another year for that first world title with Ferrari?
FA: Well, as I said, there’s nothing we can do. Obviously we try our maximum, we’re trying to improve the car for every race and we are doing it but obviously not enough compared to our opponents. They are doing a better job than us, they are fantastic every weekend. They are winning and they deserve those wins. This is a sport, someone always has to win and the best one wins and we are not the best ones at the moment but we will keep working.
Q: (Heikki Kulta –Turun Sanomat) Kimi, was this the most painful race weekend you have ever had?
KR: Yes, I had some pain yesterday but for sure there have maybe been some more painful ones where something goes wrong, it doesn’t always have to be physical pain, there can be something… you don’t finish the race which is more painful in a way. Other things sometimes happen like this weekend and you have to live with it.
Q: (Jacob Polychronis – F1Plus.com) Sebastian, very sadly the boos returned this year. This was perhaps expected at Monza because it was Ferrari’s home race and the fans are very passionate, but this is like the tourist Grand Prix, people are from all over the world, it’s no home Grand Prix.
SV: It’s called travelling, they are on a tour, they come to every race. Fortunately we keep winning so they’ve got a reason to boo.
Q: (Jacob Polychronis – F1Plus.com) Sadly perhaps they are going to stay on tour. Is this something that is very sad for you, are you concerned, is it mentally exhausting even?
SV: It’s not nice but I think you should look around the grandstands. Most of the fans are dressed in red, Ferrari has a very strong fan base for a reason: they have a lot of tradition in Formula One, they’ve been around longer and won, and they’ve been more successful than any other team. There’s more and more blue people – more and more people dressed in blue so we are doing a good job on that front but obviously they are quite emotional when they are not winning and if somebody else is winning, they don’t really like it and as it seems, as I said, they are on a tour and they come back to… they are wealthy enough to go to a lot of races, Monza or take the flight to come here to Singapore. As long as they keep booing, we are doing a very good job so that’s the way I see it. It’s not people from Singapore or from one country only. It’s normal in sports if some people support one driver then they don’t like another driver to win. Equally there were a lot of German flags around the track, there are a lot of Germans here in Singapore, it’s a very international city. The parade lap was quite nice and also the lap after the chequered flag there were a lot of people cheering. Obviously I didn’t give them the most exciting race but on days like this, I really don’t mind.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Fernando, you did 36 laps with the same set of tyres; did you have any reference that the tyre could support the race conditions or were you just playing the game?
FA: We didn’t know exactly how long the tyres would survive. We were maybe not expecting that long but… We are sixty points behind in the championship, if it works OK, if it doesn’t work maybe we don’t finish second, we finish fourth or fifth. It’s nothing really… what we can do. There was a small chance that if Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton were not that slow after the safety car, maybe Sebastian didn’t get the 28 seconds necessary to exit in front of me but Nico, I think, had a problem with the front wing, Webber was without tyres and Hamilton pitted very late, the last. So when I had a free track and Seb pitted and exited in front of me already so we had a small chance to maybe lead the race but obviously very difficult to keep Sebastian… probably in the last part of the race with new tyres and we with a very slow pace. But we tried, nothing to lose and I think that will be the strategy in the last part of the championship. We are not as fast as they are in qualifying or in the race so we will try something different.
Q: (Carlos Miguel – La Gaceta) Fernando, a lot of people are talking about how this championship is finished. What’s your mentality, no surrender? Do you think there are some tracks where you can try to win? What is the situation?
FA: Well, as I said before, it’s very difficult. Nothing changed too much over the last two or three Grands Prix. We need to be very lucky but not only in one weekend, we need to be lucky for the last six races if we want to win the championship. We have a points deficit which is a big gap and we have a performance deficit which is a big gap so we need to be very lucky. We saw today, again: Webber stopped on the last lap. If this happened to Sebastian one weekend, we have to be there, in second place. If we cannot win the race, we need to be right behind and try to take any opportunity but being realistic, we know that we need to be very very lucky.
Q: (Lim Say Heng – The New Paper/People Singapore) Sebastian, you said before that the race in Singapore is probably the toughest in the calendar. Now that you have won here, would you say that the toughest part of this year’s title race is now over?
SV: Well, the toughest race in terms of physical challenge, I think – at least, that’s the way I feel. A couple of years ago, Fernando asked for the race to be a bit shorter. It’s quite long, to be honest. Obviously it depends where you are in the race but I think from a physical point of view this is the most challenging, not because there are so many high speed corners but it’s a long lap, there are a lot of corners, no room for mistakes, very bumpy, it’s very humid, artificial lights – all this makes it a very tough combination. It’s then even sweeter to be successful here.
FA: I think it’s long, obviously the only race where we have two hours, every single year. We’re running 1m 55s and it’s 61 laps so it’s very easy to do the calculation that it will be two hours all the time. In Monaco, that is also a slower, street circuit, it’s not 300, it’s two hundred and something, it’s more or less a reasonable time. So it’s something that we may think for a year but they don’t, they don’t consider it’s OK. It’s five years that we race for two hours, last year was 59 laps, it was not 61 because we reached the two hours before the 61st lap and we need to check with the federation, but happy with any decision.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, whose call was it to try to stay out? Was it your call or was it from the team to try to stay out and to change the strategy?
FA: It was the team. I asked how may laps to go and they told me 36 and they said we will pit and then we will decide. At that moment, we lost only two positions with Webber and Hamilton so if we pit we will have new tyres for the restart and then looking at the safety car it was quite long etc, they were telling me ‘our aim is to go to the end’ so from the restart, taking care of the tyres for 32 laps.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To all three of you: today we saw the Red Bull was good, the Lotus was good and there were two failures. Do you have an explanation as to why the failure often happens to the other car, not the leading driver?
KR: I have no idea what happened to Romain.
Q: He had a problem with the air system.
SV: The air system. And Mark?
Q: Gearbox, that’s what he told me.
KR: It sometimes happens. I’ve had some issues. It can happen to anybody and then it’s up to us, up to the team to try to make sure we don’t have any issues but although they do everything to 100 percent you can have a failure, even the cheapest part of the car can fail or the most expensive part. It’s just one of those things that happens, even though we do the best we can to make sure there are no failures.
SV: Yeah, I don’t think there’s a reason. We both had issues with the gearbox – if Mark had a gearbox issue – in Monza. When we came here, I think we understood it to some extent but not entirely. I had more issues on Friday with the gearbox than Mark had. Maybe he was in traffic the whole race. It’s quite hot, temperatures were maybe a bit higher but on the other hand his gearbox suffered already a little bit more in Monza because I think a radiator had an issue. So maybe it’s a consequence of that but I don’t think there’s a reason for that, between cars. We both get the same stuff from the same shelf.
Q: (Anthony Rowlinson – F1 Racing) Fernando, do you feel confident that Ferrari will be able to close the performance gap to Red Bull next season?
FA: Well, I think we start from zero next year, completely from zero. Big change in regulations so it’s our best opportunity to close the gap. This year was a continuation in a way. I think we started in a good way, we were competitive in Australia, maybe not in qualifying but in the race we were taking care of the tyres very very well, together with Lotus. We won in China, we won in Spain and then we seemed to lose a little bit of performance, especially when the 2012 Pirelli tyres came back so that was probably our point in the championship; when they changed the tyres, we said bye bye. For next year I think we start from zero. Really we will put all our effort and hopes into 2014, because starting from zero is our best opportunity to close the gap with all the top teams.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, we heard during the race a radio message from (Andrea) Stella (Fernando’s race engineer) when he said ‘take care of the tyres, we have to put on the car the supersofts, take care of Paul di Resta, he’s behind you.’ It was a tricky joke for everybody else, to push Mercedes to stop again?
FA: I think it was maybe not clear on TV because, at least, what they told me, was take care of Paul di Resta behind because he’s on supersoft, new supersoft and I was on medium, so there was a performance advantage, as Seb said before, of around one second in the first couple of laps, so I knew that maybe Paul was trying to attack me in those first laps with fresh supersoft. So that was the message: be careful with di Resta.
Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) Sebastian, late in the race, Rocky (Guillaume Rocquelin, his race engineer) radioed in that he thought there was a brake vibration on the car. Was this something you could feel, was it affecting you under braking?
SV: Yeah, definitely, I could definitely feel it. It was building up towards the end of the race. Fortunately we were in the lead and we had a new set of supersofts which we saved yesterday, so I could afford to take it a bit easy. Surely, if we had been under a lot of pressure then… we’ve had those kind of issues before but it’s not the most comfortable… you use the brakes quite a lot to stop around here. Then we could control it but had we raced harder until the end I think it would have been tough.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, do you think that you will be fully recovered for Korea and what do you target there?
KR: For sure, we will have to see. I think it should be OK and we try to do a better overall weekend there.
Ends
-
Vettel takes 41st career pole as the Singapore night race beckons
Singapore, 21 Sept 2013: Sebastian Vettel will start the Singapore Grand Prix from the front of the grid after claiming his 41st career pole position at the Marina Bay street circuit. The Red Bull driver was forced to endure a nervous last minute as he watched the final unfold from his team’s garage.
Vettel’s first run in Q3 had netted him a time of 1:42.841, six tenths clear of second-placed Mercedes man Nico Rosberg. As cars streamed out of pit lane for a second tilt at pole, the Red Bull Racing pit wall decided to gamble on the gap being sufficient and Vettel’s session was halted, thus saving a new set of supersoft tyres for the race, an FIA release said.
But as team-mate Mark Webber lit up the timing screens with a session-best first sector and Rosberg and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean did the same in sector two, Vettel admitted that his nerves began to jangle.
“It’s a weird feeling,” he said. “You stand in the garage when there’s roughly two minutes to go in the session and you know it’s too late. But then it’s much worse when you see the others at the final attempt and you know there’s nothing you can do. I was watching the sector times very closely.”
And the result was close. Rosberg delivered an excellent final run to take five tenths out of his time from the first outing and he crossed the line just under a tenth of a second adrift of the Red Bull driver.
“It was very close in the end with Nico,” said Vettel. “That’s a great feeling, because it could go wrong but I’m very happy with the result. The car’s been phenomenal all weekend. Yesterday I think the gap was a bit of a surprise. Today’s been more what we expected – especially with Mercedes being very close behind.”
Rosberg, meanwhile, said he felt he could have found the tenth to steal pole.
“Sebastian has been really quick the whole weekend but it was very, very close in the end,” he said. “A pity, because one tenth more, with the way they gambled in the last qualifying, one tenth more would have been possible somehow. That would have been great but second place is still a good result, a great result. And it gives me a good position to start the race tomorrow. I’m also very confident about our race pace. It’s looking OK, so I think a great result is possible.”
The hour-long session began with a straightforward Q1 segment in which Paul Di Resta, Pastor Maldonado, Charles Pic, Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton were eliminated.
With the midfield closely packed the battle to make it through to Q3 was tight and in the end just under three tenths of a second separated Jenson Button in 10th and through to the final segment and team-mate Sergio Perez 14th and out. Also eliminated was Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified in 11th place. If that was a surprise, due to the German being highly competitive in the earlier final practice session, it was even more of a shock to see team-mate Esteban Gutierrez sail through to Q3 in P7, the result of a superb final lap in the second segment.
Elsewhere, Jean-Eric Vergne in 12th, Kimi Raikkonen, 13th, Adrian Sutil in 15th and Valtteri Bottas in 16th were all knocked out.
And so to Q3. At the front the battle was all about the Red Bulls, Mercedes and the sole remaining Lotus of Grosjean. Lewis Hamilton put the second Mercedes into fifth place and behind him Felipe Massa delivered a strong lap to qualify ahead of Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso for the fifth time this year. Alonso qualified seventh. Button is set to line up eighth for McLaren and the fifth row of the grid will be occupied by Daniel Ricciardo in ninth and Gutierrez in tenth place.
2013 Singapore Grand Prix – Qualifying result
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:42.841
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:42.932
3. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:43.058
4. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:43.152
5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:43.254
6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:43.890
7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:43.938
8. Jenson Button McLaren 1:44.282
9. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:44.439
10. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:44.24511. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:44.555
12. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:44.588
13. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:44.658
14. Sergio Perez McLaren 1:44.752
15. Adrian Sutil Force India 1:45.185
16. Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:45.38817. Paul di Resta Force India 1:46.121
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:46.619
19. Charles Pic Caterham 1:48.111
20. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:48.320
21. Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:48.830
22. Max Chilton Marussia 1:48.930 -
I think a great result on Sunday is possible: Nico Rosberg
DRIVERS
1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus)Q: Sebastian, biting your nails at the end there. You took the decision not to go out and do a final run. Does it sit comfortably with you, being a gambler?
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah. It’s a weird feeling. You stand in the garage when there’s roughly two minutes to go in the session and you know that it’s too late. But then it’s much worse when you see the others at the final attempt and you know there’s nothing you can do. Because you stand in the garage. I was watching the sector times very closely with obviously Romain, Nico and Mark in particular. Mark started with a purple sector one, very close in sector two, then Nico had a purple sector two, then Romain had a purple sector two. Then fortunately my last sector was strong enough to – yeah – just stay ahead. It was very close in the end with Nico. That’s a great feeling then, obviously, because it could go wrong but very happy obviously with the result. The car’s been phenomenal all weekend. Yesterday I think the gap was a bit of a surprise. Today’s been more what we expected – especially with Mercedes being very close behind.
Q: The gap is a tenth of a second Nico. You’ve had the upper hand over your team-mate here but not quite over the Red Bulls.
Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, unfortunately Sebastian especially has been really quick the whole weekend but it was very, very close in the end. A pity, because one tenth more, with the way they gambled in the last qualifying… One tenth more would have been possible somehow, y’know? That would have been great but anyway, second place is still a good result. A great result. And it gives me a good position to start the race tomorrow and I’m also very confident about our race pace. It’s looking OK so I think a great result is possible.
Q: Romain, a confident decision from you in the first part of qualifying not to use the faster tyre. Were you feeling confident today?
Romain GROSJEAN: Well, I think the car’s been OK today. If we look at how many laps we did in the whole weekend so far, P3 in the quali is not too bad. We knew we were strong this morning. I think we got a little bit caught by the night coming on and it was a little bit less quick than the fast time we expected in Q1 but nevertheless I think the team did a good decision about the strategy and the cut-off and everything, so then we had two attempts in Q3. It’s good to be at the front in this grand prix.
Q: Sebastian. You’ve won from pole the last two grands prix. Is it more of a challenge to do it around this Marina Bay circuit tomorrow?
SV: Yeah, definitely. It’s one of the toughest races we face all year. I would say the toughest – physically and mentally – because it’s so long. One lap is so long, there’s so many corners, there’s hardly any room for mistakes, it’s very bumpy and, as you can see, we’re all sweating pretty much even though we only did a couple of laps in qualifying. So the heat obviously and the humidity plays a factor. It will be very tough. Surely pole is the best position to start from – very happy with that as it is tricky to pass on this track. But because it is such a long race I think there is plenty of opportunities for all of us. Usually we get a safety car at some stage in the race. Yeah, as I said, happy to start from pole, try to have a good start and then settle into a nice rhythm and see what we can do.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: So Sebastian, your 41st career pole, sixth of this season, three in a row now after Spa and Monza. You’ve had a great record around here, won the last two times at Singapore. What is it about this Singapore circuit that really gets to you?
SV: I don’t know. We race at night. I think even though it hasn’t been in the calendar for many decades but still it seems like a classic and it’s a very nice place to come to. The circuit is a big challenge for all of us. It’s so long, so many corners, very difficult to keep the focus for the entire lap. Tomorrow’s race will be very long, it’s usually the longest race we have with two hours duration. So, yeah, it’s just… you hate it and love it at the same time. Obviously in qualifying if you get the lap right it feels fantastic. I think it’s the challenge that I love – that we love – when we come here.
Q: A quick word on your main title rival – Fernando Alonso seventh today.
SV: Yeah, obviously, I don’t know. We don’t really look at what the others do. At least I don’t. So, I think the race is long, as I touched on, especially around here. I think the Ferrari was struggling the last couple of events in qualifying but they have a very, very good race pace. I think the last couple of races Fernando always finished on the podium, so I’m sure they will come back. So, yeah, obviously it’s no harm for us today but first of all we have to look after ourselves and look at what we can do in the race. And then we see where we are. But I’m confident Fernando will do everything he can tomorrow in the race to fight back.
Q: Nico, it was reminiscent today of Monaco back in May. Another street track and very competitive again for you.
NR: Yeah, I really like street tracks generally. Always been quick on them and again today I felt comfortable with the car. Really the whole weekend, the progress has been nice. Starting on Friday, I wasn’t very happy with the car and everything, wasn’t feeling very good. We just worked through it, and really optimised it and it was just perfect in qualifying then. It’s just everybody together: me with my engineers, the mechanics, everybody working together well. I’m pleased with second. I think Sebastian was out of reach this weekend, all weekend, so second is OK. And with a good race pace, should be good tomorrow.
Q: A quick word on how it went from a second [off P1] after FP2 yesterday to less than a tenth this evening.
NR: Well obviously they gambled a bit. I’m sure they were still quite a step quicker than that lap time if Sebastian would have done another set of tyres. But for sure we’ve closed the gap again as we always do on weekends. And that’s good to see that we’re able to do that.
Q: Romain, you touched on the fact that you had a lot of problems yesterday but it’s another big improvement from the Lotus team from Friday through to today and from your own point of view overcoming those difficulties. How did you do that?
RG: Well to be honest, yesterday didn’t look that bad on the few laps we did – I think we had ten timed laps, something like that in total in the whole day but we were something like P5 yesterday evening and the lap wasn’t great. So I knew we had a good baseline to start today and this morning went pretty well. And Quali, yeah, we had a good strategy again. In Q1 it was tight because I guess the Prime tyres were less quick than what we expected but then we had a very good set of tyres for the Q2 and Q3 and we did manage to have good runs. We could compare between the two cars, what they were doing and what we were doing and try to get the best of both. It’s good. I think we could have tried to have a go at Nico but yeah, it was just not quite good for the first few corners.
Q: Is it fair to say you’re driving like a man who knows that his team-mate is moving on next year and you want to be the lead driver of the team next year?
RG: I don’t really care. Relation with Kimi has been always… not very ‘speaky’, and I just do my best on my own. I like the team, I’m sure they’re quite happy with the way we work so far and yeah, just focussed on what I have to do and then we’ll see for the future.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Mid-Day) Sebastian, I think you had a gap of around 0.6s after the initial runs in Q3. You chose to sit the last run out; were you surprised by the amount of time these guys gained? In the end the gap was less than a tenth.
SV: Well, it’s difficult to expect. I knew that obviously we had a cushion which is why we decided not to run again but the thing you don’t know is how much the track improves so I’m sure that there was a little bit of track ramping up plus the fact that if you run again you get a better feel for the tyres, for the track and you get a little bit more out of yourself, so we thought it was good enough and in the end it was good enough. But yeah, it was probably a bit closer. Both of them, Nico and Romain, had a very strong middle sector but fortunately my last sector was strong enough to keep them just behind.
Q: Just for clarity, on the radio you said you thought you could find another tenth when you were asked, and you didn’t look 100 percent convinced when you got out of the car, so was it a team decision rather than your decision?
SV: No, it’s a decision we, we… obviously Rocky (race engineer Guillaume Rocquelin) asked me whether I was happy not to run again and stay in the garage and I said ‘yes, I’m happy.’ He asked before that how much I thought I could improve if I went again. I told him that probably there was a tenth, maybe two. You take a little bit of track into account, a little bit of yourself, how much the track ramps up is difficult to know so I thought there was a tenth in me – it is the most famous tenth in the world, that all the drivers seem to have in their pocket but they couldn’t get it out in qualifying so it’s still there somewhere. It was very close and it’s not the best feeling when you stand there and watch.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Nico, we have some similarities between this race and the Hungarian Grand Prix until now, that Lewis starts better than Sebastian, got the lead in the first corner and then finished the race, he won the race. Do you think you always have the pace in race conditions to keep in front of Sebastian or here the overtaking possibilities mean that he can’t overtake you?
NR: Lewis was on pole in Hungary, I’m second here so it’s a bit different. Not sure. I’ll give it a go. For sure, he’s quicker on race pace, we saw that on Friday so if I can get by, then it’s possible that I can stay in front but it’s all down to the start. I think the left hand side has a little bit less grip than the right hand side on this track at the start but we will see. It’s possible.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico, where did the big jump from the first outing to the second come from? Was it just the circuit being better, was it because maybe you have been a bit conservative in your first outing or did you change something on the wing setting or whatever for the last outing?
NR: Very difficult to explain. I don’t know. I didn’t expect such an improvement either but I think it was the same for everybody so maybe it’s down to the track ramping up or cooling down a bit more, track temperature dropping or something of the sort. I’m not sure.
Q: Were you surprised by how much quicker the used supersofts were when you went out on them the second time at the beginning of Q2? Sebastian maybe take it first.
SV: I didn’t go out on them.
NR: Was I surprised at the time I could do? Not really, no, because I knew the track was getting better and I saw what my teammate did in Q1, pushing, so no, I wasn’t surprised.
Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawke’s Bay Today) Sebastian, you’ve won the last two races here, you’re on pole and you’re probably anything from half a second to a second faster than everybody else. Do you think now we can expect you to be more confident about not only winning this race tomorrow but also the championship?
SV: I think it was quite close. Whether… I think the track ramped up, whether we could have gone with that we don’t know because we didn’t do the run but I’m sure we had a little bit of time in hand. But yeah, for tomorrow I think the car feels fine, the race pace looked very strong on Friday, yesterday, so yeah, if all goes well we should have a very good chance to get a strong result but to be honest with you, I try… I’m not just trying… I do keep it very simple. I’ve got to do my homework. Just because of the fact that the last couple of races were pretty good doesn’t mean that there’s a guarantee that this one will be good again and the next one and so on and so forth. I think it’s the wrong strategy to lean back and see what the others can do. You might get surprised, so we keep going flat out, I keep pushing myself 100 percent. The target tomorrow is to win, not only for the championship but more so, to be honest with you, because it’s such a nice race. That means a lot to me. As I touched on, the challenge around here is one of the biggest we face all year so that’s why it means a lot to finish this race on the podium and even better if you can win it. You don’t have to be a genius (to work out) if you win, you score more points than the others and it feeds on itself.
Ends
