INDIA in F1

Tag: Formula 1

  • Lewis Hamilton sets best time ahead of Max Verstappen in FP1: Hungary Grand Prix

    Budapest, 2 August 2019: Lewis Hamilton went quickest in a closely-matched opening practice session for the Hungary Grand Prix, with the championship leader finishing just under 1700ths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who finished second and third respectively.

    There was trouble, however, for Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with the Finn failing to set a time after his car suffered and early engine issue.

    Bottas’ power unit issue was identified after the Finnish driver had completed just two installation laps and after Mercedes elected to complete and engine change, Bottas failed to run for the rest of the 90-minute session.

    Hamilton set his benchmark time of 1:17.233 a third of the way into the session, despite spots of rain falling on the track. With a little over half an hour remaining Vettel then closed in, the German putting in a lap of 1:17.399 to set 0.166s behind Hamilton.

    The Ferrari driver held on to P2 on the timesheet until the final quarter of an hour, when Verstappen found a small improvement that edged him one thousandth of a second ahead of the Ferrari. Verstappen was not happy with his RB15, however, complaining that it was overly sensitive throughout.

    Fourth place in the session went to Verstappen’s team-mate Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman put in his best time of the session half an hour from the end of the session, using a new set of soft tyres to post a time of 1:17.682, 0.449 adrift of Hamilton.

    While Vettel ended the session in third place, team-mate Charles Leclerc found himself well off the pace in the first session, taking sixth place almost a second off Hamilton’s pace after a less than perfect lap on soft tyres.

    Leclerc’s lapse allowed Haas’ Kevin Magnussen to slip past and claim fifth, seven tenths of a second Hamilton and more than two tenths clear of the second Ferrari driver.

    Seventh place in the session went to Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, though the German was closely followed by the two customer Renault-powered McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. The top 10 order was closed out by Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen who was 1.5s off the pace.

    2019 FIA Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 41 1:17.233
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 28 1:17.398 0.165
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 25 1:17.399 0.166
    4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 25 1:17.682 0.449
    5 Kevin Magnussen Haas 31 1:17.942 0.709
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 29 1:18.188 0.955
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 31 1:18.417 1.184
    8 Lando Norris McLaren 34 1:18.531 1.298
    9 Carlos Sainz McLaren 23 1:18.702 1.469
    10 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 32 1:18.787 1.554
    11 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 30 1:18.894 1.661
    12 Romain Grosjean Haas 32 1:18.973 1.740
    13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 33 1:18.982 1.749
    14 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 28 1:19.223 1.990
    15 Sergio Perez Racing Point 20 1:19.325 2.092
    16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 24 1:19.488 2.255
    17 George Russell Williams 33 1:19.649 2.416
    18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 34 1:19.722 2.489
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 30 1:20.322 3.089
    20 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2

  • A lot of emotions and unforgettable 24 hours, says Kvyat about his podium

    A lot of emotions and unforgettable 24 hours, says Kvyat about his podium

    Thursday Press Conference in progress. An FIA image

    Hungaroring, 1 August 2019: The following drivers attended the FIA Thursday press conference:  Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), Robert Kubica (Williams), Lance Stroll (Racing Point), Kevin Magnussen (Haas) and Romain Grosjean (Haas).

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Daniil, if we could start with you. It’s been a whirlwind few days for you with that podium finish last time out and the birth of your daughter. Have your feet touched the ground yet?

    Daniil KVYAT: Yes. I mean, it’s OK, we are already here in Hungary now but talking about last week it was a quite special 24, or 48 hours, either way you want to look at it. Obviously I found out on Saturday night that I became a father, that my daughter is born and is doing great, so it’s a great feeling – but obviously the next day there was a race to do. It was important to stay focused on it. The race was great as well. It’s a podium. So, many things happened in 24 hours for me and, yeah, fantastic feeling. Happy few days after and now we’re here.

    Q: Just tell us about your schedule in those following days. Where have you been?

    DK: Went straight to hospital on Sunday night, slept there with them – not too much sleep straight away after the race. So, for me, it was good. And then just home until leaving here to Hungary. Bit of recovery between races, light training but obviously always visiting Kelly and our daughter. And that’s it. Yesterday I arrived here.

    Q: What was the reception like in the Formula 1 paddock to your podium. Did you get a 7am phone call from Dr Marko on Monday morning?

    DK: No. You should tell me! You’re a journalist, how was the reception. Generally, talking about the team, everyone was very happy. I think first podium in 11 years for our team. It was a fantastic achievement and I think we were very happy. Everyone. Every member of the team. I was so happy to see that everyone was so happy in the team. When I crossed the start-finish line it was a very special feeling. A lot of emotions. I really enjoyed those few hours after the race. It was unforgettable.

    Q: Robert, talking of happy vibes in a team, there was certainly a happy Williams team late on Sunday evening when news came through that you’ve got the point. You’ve scored many World Championship points in your career – 274 – but how different was this one to the ones that came before because of what it meant to Williams?

    Robert KUBICA: Yeah, I mean, you know, it’s a bit mixed feelings in the end because of course it’s good to have this one point on the scoreboard but the way it came is for sure is not the way you would expect. Of course, it was a crazy race, many mistakes. We managed to stay on track, although our pace was questionable but still, managed to keep it on the black. And then, with Alfa being penalised, we gained two positions, so it meant that we would be tenth, which is for sure good – but still we have to keep working, keep pushing and definitely  this point is somehow… thanks to the guys which are doing a great job on track, pushing really hard, we are really not having a great moment but still, Hockenheim was also thanks to them.

    Q: What’s your realistic assessment of the upgrades the team brought to Hockenheim?

    RK: Realistic, well, it’s good to have them. I think it’s something for which they’ve been working for long. We do see some improvements. Of course it’s difficult to judge and compare Silverstone to Hockenheim: completely different tracks ambient temperature, so all those things were not easy to have clear judgement. Our guys can see the improvement in the data – but I think everyone is improving, so you know in order to close the gap we need to make bigger improvements compared to our competition and this is not easy with Formula 1 standards: all the teams are pushing hard – so it is a big battle, I think even more at home in the factory, that the people are working hard but you know it’s so difficult with current Formula 1 teams to close the gap to them.

    Q: Lance, fourth was a great haul of points for you at Hockenheim. Are you sensing an upward curve from the team from now on.

    Lance STROLL: Yeah, it was a great result. Like you said, a lot of points. We were really happy about that. I am sensing some improvement. I definitely think we took a step in Hockenheim, looking at our pace throughout the weekend, Friday, Saturday, we were much more competitive than we’ve been in recent events, which is always a good thing. That being said, it’s still very, very tight in the midfield and every tenth counts. I’m sure it will be very track-dependent from now until the end of the season – which tracks suit our car, more than others. But yeah, it was a great Sunday but also a much better weekend in terms of performance and where we’ve been throughout the weekend in comparison to other weekends.

    Q: So, more performance in Hockenheim but just looking at the season so far, as a whole, how has this year compared to your previous two seasons in Formula One?

    LS: Every year is unique in its own way. When I reflect on the last couple of years, I definitely think that the sport is much more competitive than it was two years ago. Looking back at 2017 when I came into it, it was… yeah, there were much bigger gaps between the teams and I think, at the time, coming into the weekend, when I was at Williams, we had a pretty good idea where we’d be relative to the competition. And in the race it was, yeah, there was definitely more guarantee of scoring points – and now you really see tight margins between the teams and very close racing in the midfield. Last year, of course, was a challenging season for me at Williams. We didn’t really have the pace to score points like we did in 2017. When I look at this year in comparison to a couple of years ago, it’s definitely become much more competitive, the sport – which is a good thing. I think, hopefully, in the near future, we can start seeing that from first place onwards where we can be battling between teams every event.

    Q: I’d like to come on to Kevin and Romain together now. First up, congratulations on the double points finish in Hockenheim, however the race marked the third time you guys have hit each other on track this year: Spain; Silverstone and, of course, Hockenheim. I just want to ask why this keep happening? Kevin, perhaps we could start with you?

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I don’t know really. I think it’s… you know… it’s happened a few times this year and, in terms of… it happened in Silverstone and it had a consequence for both of us. We punctured. I think that was pretty unlucky, to have two cars puncturing for such a small contact. There were no bad intentions from either of us in that moment. It was just… we came together and then punctured . Later in the race you see other cars flying into each other, flying over the track and nothing happened. Got to look at that as well to say, bad luck really. That’s pretty much it.

    Romain, your thoughts

    Romain GROSJEAN: We love each other. That’s why we get on, have a bit of a kiss on track. No, I think, as Kevin said, there’s been a bit of bad luck in Silverstone. I think the relationship, people could think that it doesn’t look good but actually the relationship with Kevin is really good. We phone each other once a week or so. We sat down and said, ‘what can we do better’, just to make sure that’s not happening again. Obviously we’ve got the same car, so it’s happening that we are side-by-side on track more often than with the Mercedes, for example. Yeah, there are things we can probably do better. I think the most important is that we always try to do our best for the team, and give our best and maybe just the cursor wasn’t well positioned on some of the occasions we had, and we just going to make sure we get better from there. Honestly, the relationship is very good and we actually like – well, I like working with Kevin, maybe he doesn’t – but I think he likes it also. We work well together and we get on nicely.

    And Kevin likes working with Romain?

    KM: Absolutely.

    RG: Just don’t say no now…

    KM: I think in the heat of the moment, we’re blaming each other on the radio and stuff like that – but what people don’t see is that we get together between the races and talk it through and try to be constructive and move on in a constructive way. Apart from those incidents on track, I feel that we have a pretty good working relationship. And actually, Romain is a cool guy, and we actually have a good time when we go to work. So, it’s being blown out of proportion a little bit. I know you guys love a bit of a conflict and stuff like that, so… but it isn’t as bad as it looks.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Péter Vámosi – Racing Line) A question for Robert. First of all, you really have good heritage here at the Hungaroring, you’ve scored many points here. Do you think this year, with the Williams, at this track, where you don’t need so much power, can you score again?

    RK: Well, I think, actually, Hungary has never been very lucky for me. I don’t remember how many points I scored. I think the power is the only area where we are not lacking anything in our car, so power, thanks to Mercedes’ power unit, is the strongest area of our car. This track is very complex. I think there are sections that require a lot of mechanical and aero grip, so I would say it’s not the kind of track where we will be closer to the competition than others.

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Romain and Kevin, Guenther has said that he is going to have to take a firmer approach with you two to stop these clashes on track – rules of engagement, things like that. What’s your response to that? Do you feel it is necessary to put this in place between you two? Is it disappointing that that action has to be taken?

    RG: No, I think again we are here to do the best for the team and if that’s the solution, the short-term fix, then why not. I think, as I say. We’re not here fighting for the first or second place in the world championship. I don’t really give a damn if I finish 14th or 16th at the end. We don’t have a fast car at the minute and the focus is on getting that car to work well. The team has been reverting me back to the car from Melbourne. I have been running for three events now, just trying to understand everything, so I think the bigger picture, the big keys, is to understand how we get faster and better, how we can come back in the Constructors’ Championship and to make sure that the future of the team is not compromised by a non-understanding of the car.

    Q: Kevin, rules of engagement?

    KM: At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter what we think, we will just respect what is being said and required by the team. I can understand the team’s point of view. We had a pretty bad experience in Silverstone and clearly they want to avoid that happening again and we’re just going to deal with it in the way we’re required and make the best for the team, as Romain said.

    Q: (Eva Vandor – HVG) Daniil, congratulations on so many levels – becoming a father, on getting back to the podium and getting back to Hungary as well, it’s been a while. Can you tell us a little bit about the mental transformation of the last few years – from being out of F1 to getting back to the podium?

    DK: Well, I think it was important to realize the points that you can improve as a driver and as a person before my comeback to Formula 1. Obviously it wasn’t easy to lose the seat in the Formula 1 and at some point it was thought that there was no way back in for me. But since I got the call; back in, it was important to come back very prepared and better mentally prepared as well, I think. I think now all this work is paying off and I’m very happy with how things are working out. I’m happy with the people around me, the team around me, how we work on things. It’s important that now I feel a much better driver than I was in the past. It’s also very important also to back this up with strong results. This year in general has been strong and I think we can continue in this way. I’m really enjoying this, so hopefully we can keep going.

    Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) Good to see, Romain and Kevin, that you’re best of buddies and that you’ve got a great relationship, but it does appear that you’re very quick to blame each other when you have these incidents. Do you both still believe that the other one is very much at fault or would you say that you should both share the responsibility for what’s happened at the team recently?

    KM: I think that in the heat of the moment, you know, you’re always feel that you’re in the right, and then you analyse things after you see it’s probably more level and not as big a deal as it felt like on track. At the end of the day I don’t think it’s such a big deal, you know. We will try to do everything we can to not have these issues again. I think, as I said before, it became a very big issue when we both punctured in Silverstone. Apart from that, the end of the story is that we do respect each other and we want to do the best for the team and there have been laid out some guidelines for us now that we’re going to respect and then just carry on.

    RG: I think on the football pitch you don’t have any microphone listening to what… even inside a football team between the team players they can say things, they’re not happy with each other, and you’re not saying that ‘oh that team is having any issue’, because I think in Formula 1 it’s great that everything is broadcast but also it makes a story out of nothing. As I say, our relationship is good. When you’re driving at 300kph obviously you’re not going to say ‘Oh, please, I think I was in my right, and he was in his wrong and would you mind giving me the position back, but I my only, please’. You’re just going to say: ‘F**k of, just give me the position.’ Unless you want us you want us to be very, very boring, then I’ll remove the microphone from the helmet, then I think it’s always going to happen. Still it’s false but that doesn’t really matter, does it.

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) To Romain and Kevin again: how concerned are you both that this could be putting your future at the team at risk?

    RG: Ah, let me answer the question differently. I was more worried last year than this year. Last year there were a lot of reasons that I could have ended up this year at home and I did many mistakes that I shouldn’t have done with my experience. But I think since then I have recovered pretty well. I think everything we have been saying this year – the eye opener for the guys on reverting back to the old spec car, because I asked, shows that the experience is very important in Formula 1. Everything in the team has now changed. The focus is on the different parts and how we make sure we improve the car other than we just put upgrades without really knowing where we are. The races I’m happy with my performance. I think in qualifying I could have been better earlier in the year but now it’s back to where it was. As I said, last year there were many reasons, to be frank, to stay home. This year I guess there are many less.

    KM: Not worried at all.

    Q: (Dániel Horváth – The Paddock magazine) There has been some talk about the possible return of refuelling into the sport. Do you think that’s a good idea?

    RG: If I may jump in for the GPDA on that one? I think if you guys agree… No? OK go ahead, save me doing what I say all the time! No, it was brought up by the GPDA because we have four key points that we want to improve to improve the show and those are tyres, aero sensitivity, weight of the car and money distribution. Robert came back into Formula One one or two years ago and said the cars felt really heavy and they are and the regulation makes it that they are getting heavier and heavier year after year and we don’t have any solution with the current engine to bring the weight down. Therefore the idea of refuelling was brought in as a short term fix to help the tyres to not overheat that much and get better racing and better following in the car early in the race. It needs to be looked at but it’s not that we want refuelling, it’s that we need to find a solution to get the car lighter to be easy on the tyres and therefore having a better show.

    RK: Copy paste.

    DK: I think it’s not just one simple thing that just needs to be changed and it’s a magic switch and that’s it and we will have amazing races every race. It’s a combination of things that just need to be put together and strongly put together by one person who will say it will be done this way, obviously who will consider everyone’s opinion. Refuelling doesn’t seem a bad idea. I think we’re looking at more general things like the aero of the car, tyres, how we follow each other, brakes, common parts. Say for example a radio ban wouldn’t change anything on the racing or small things like if we do less switches on the steering wheel it would not change a lot, will not have a big impact on the racing itself. So I think all the points that were discussed in GPDA meetings and so on were all very good and we had a good agreement between drivers on which direction to move.

    KM: On refuelling, I think it wouldn’t only help on the weight issue, I think that shouldn’t be the only thing about it because the cars need to be lighter anyway, refuelling or not. It would also make a bit more possibilities of strategy and a bit more variation in strategies rather than always a one-stop and so I can’t see any negatives but if we do introduce it back then I hope that it’s not an excuse to then keep making the cars heavier because even though it comes back, it would help the weight issue in the race but they still need to not make them heavier.

    LS: I think that there are other priorities at the moment that we need to think about to improve the racing. I don’t think lighter cars will… is the main fix. I mean refuelling could be exciting in many ways, maybe not, maybe it won’t change anything but I think that there’s bigger things to focus on like aerodynamics, like Romain pointed most of them out: money distribution, just to make the series more competitive. Even if the cars maintain their current weight, with the much more competitive series will come much more exciting racing and that’s where we need to be focused.

    Q: (István Simon – Autó Magazin) Robert, according to the Hungarian Grand Prix organisers they are expecting some 35-40,000 supporters from Poland for this weekend, which is like one third of the whole capacity of the Hungaroring. Robert, could you please tell us what kind of motivation does this support give to you, not only for this race this weekend but since the beginning of your whole career which started here in 2006?

    RK: Yeah, for sure it is kind of our home race, as Hungary is the closest race track to Poland and I think it’s not a surprise that there will be a lot of Polish fans here, which is always nice. Of course I would like to pay them back for their support with a good performance but I think this will be quite difficult, looking at the season up to now. But still it’s great to see such big support, not only in Formula One, they have been around also when I was rallying, when I was doing some other racing series so yeah, always good, and hopefully they will enjoy their weekend.

    Q: (Tom Richtr – Sport TV) Romain, it’s the middle of the season and the last race in Germany was also a difficult test for the new race director, Michael Masi. At least from our perspective, some great decisions such as wet standing start or his comments towards Lewis Hamilton spinning behind the safety car, what is your view as a director of GPDA on a more relaxed approach, maybe? Or what is the general feeling in regard to co-operation with Michael Masi’s first half year?

    RG: I think he stepped into big shoes – I don’t know if you say that in English – but Charlie was a big part of Formula One for a very long time and replacing a role of Charlie was not easy. I believe he’s done a good job. Personally I’ve been happy with what he’s been doing. I think the standing start in Germany was a good idea. It’s great to see the conditions and then when you think they are OK to go for it. I haven’t seen his comments on Lewis spinning under the safety car. They were tricky conditions. We know the cars don’t have a big operating window so when it’s starting to rain and you’re on slicks you are obviously not in the operating window. I spun just doing the switches on my steering wheel. I think everyone pretty much spun in that race at least once so I guess it was difficult but generally – I don’t know what the others are thinking – but I think he does a good job and listens to us. He’s well on board and (has) a new view on Formula One because he hasn’t been here for a very long time and sometimes it’s good to have new eyes on (it).

    Q: Anybody else have anything to add on the job of Michael Masi? No? OK, next question.

    Q: (Bart Van Dooijweert – nu.nl) Question to all drivers about the pit stop record last weekend set by Red Bull with 1.88s: can you tell me how much effort your team puts into a quick pit stop and do you think it’s possible to do it even quicker than 1.88s?

    LS: Yeah, that’s very impressive and yes, that’s something that the team puts a lot of focus on. It’s a very important part of the race, important part of the strategy so we’re always trying to go quicker. I have a lot of confidence that our guys can go quicker than that.

    KM: Yeah, it’s pretty impressive, I would say, 1.8s but what you really want is consistency and yeah, it’s fine to have a 2.5s stop if you have it every time. But impressive.

    DK: Yeah, I think they are consistently under two seconds now so it’s impressive and incredible to see how the machine… I guess it’s a combination of them together with machinery, how they work. It’s great to see and for sure it’s a lot of hard work but everyone in the paddock works hard to make those pit stops as fast as possible, I think, so it’s impressive what levels they reach.

    RG: Yeah, pretty much the same. I think it’s a new reference in terms of every team is going to try to go as fast as they can and reach that level of performance, because obviously half a second in the pits can be a position on track and much more at the end of the race.

    RK: Well, I think we are in good shape in that; already the second positive thing after engine power is our pit stops. If we would be judged by our pit stops we would be fighting with Red Bull for the championship but unfortunately they are fighting for winning races, we are ending up races lapped most of the time, but it’s a good thing. I think everyone is trying to balance – as Kevin said – performance against the risk. Actually our guys are doing it very fast quite regularly so it looks like that on this point we are pretty on it, so let’s focus on the others.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.Net) Dany, you said after the race in Germany that you felt that you’d sent the message that you can fight at the front of the field on a more regular basis. If an opportunity were to arise with the senior Red Bull team next year, would you feel ready to return?

    DK: I think this kind of thing is decided by the management of Red Bull so it’s better to address these questions to them. At the moment I am driving for Toro Rosso but long term I want to be fighting for podiums and wins but right now the situation is that I am a Toro Rosso driver and the bigger decisions will be made by Red Bull management in the future.

     

  • It was all about trying not to make too many mistakes: Max Verstappen

    DRIVERS
    1 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
    3 – Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Martin Brundle) 

    Q: [Question inaudible]
    Max VERSTAPPEN: ….I had a little moment, but I made a nice 360, so that was nice. I enjoyed that. Of course, to come out on top here it was all about trying not to make too many mistakes. Yeah, really tricky conditions but amazing to win.

    Q: It’s a day for a wise head. You’re such a young man but you still you’re wise head on young shoulders. You really kept your head in the most treacherous conditions when others didn’t. 
    MV: Well you learn, isn’t it, over the years. Of course very happy with the whole performance today.

    Q: Congratulations. Sebastian, well done, you must be so pleased with that, 20th to second. 
    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, thank you. It was a long race, at some stages it felt like it was never-ending. But it was a lot of fun. It was very tough with the conditions. It was very tough to read what was the smartest move, but yeah, I’m just happy.

    Q: Did we hear that you had a little turbo problem early on? You seemed to be struggling for pace and then it really came good. 
    SV: It took a while. I don’t think there was a problem but in the beginning with the intermediates, I really couldn’t get the hang of it. Eventually, then I got going so it was good that the afternoon took so long. Obviously, I stayed tidy for most of the race but yeah, it was a long one. I don’t know if I can recap the whole race now but congratulations to Max, I think he drove superbly, but for us it was just go and get the next car and the next car and the next car.

    Q: When did you first smell a podium? 
    SV: I think before the last safety car, when I realised that I was quite a bit quicker and happy to pass people, it was quite straightforward. I was a little bit faster and could time it right. I saw a lot of people being cautious into the first corner and that’s where I was really giving it everything and it worked to get really into DRS range and I had good moves down the back straight but I don’t know, this race was so long…

    Q: You need to watch your back. 
    SV: Yeah, exactly.

    Q: OK, thanks a lot, Sebastian. Daniil, well done, a podium. Not your first podium but a very enjoyable podium for you. 
    Daniil KVYAT: Yes, it is amazing to be back on the podium. Incredible for Toro Rosso after so many years to bring as podium to the team is amazing and the race was crazy. Finally I managed to put everything together to get this podium and I’m really happy.

    Q: Any big moments? Any scary things going on out there? 
    DK: It was a horror movie with a black comedy. At some point I thought the race was done for me, but then it came alive again, it was an incredible rollercoaster. A bit like my whole career!

    Q: And you’re expecting your first child soon as well.
    DK: Yeah, she was born last night…

    Q: Oh, fantastic, congratulations. 
    DK: Thank you very much.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Many congratulations Max, what a bonkers race. How does it feel? How does it compare to the other six wins? 
    MV: Are you going to keep asking me that question: ‘how does it feel compared to the other ones’? I don’t know. It’s always different. It’s always a different feeling, but this was really good, because it was very tricky out there. We had to stay very focused; we couldn’t afford too many mistakes. I mean now, after the race, I can say I did that 360 for the crowd, but at the time it was a bit tricky out there with the medium tyre, very low grip. I think the information between myself and the team was crucial today. I think we made the right calls and that gave us the victory also. Once I was ahead of the Mercedes cars you could really see the pace we had, because I was stuck in the dirty air in the4 first few laps behind Valtteri but once you are ahead you can basically save your tyres a bit more and everything was a bit more under control. But yeah, good victory.

    Q: Great victory. Congratulations. Sebastian, your 50th podium for Ferrari. It’s been a bit of an emotional weekend for you if you think what happened yesterday and you’ve charged through from the back today. Just describe how it feels? 
    SV: Well, obviously after the disappointing day yesterday, where everything was ready: the crowd was ready; I was ready, the team was ready. Obviously we didn’t have qualifying, so starting last today I was very excited about the race in these conditions. Anything can happen. Obviously the racer turned out a lot crazier than I thought beforehand but yeah I’m very happy obviously. I’m very happy for the team first of all. It’s a tough period for us. We are pushing very hard, we are doing mistakes, we are not where we want to be, but we need to keep believing in ourselves, in our abilities, our strengths, and I’m confident that our days will come. Obviously today very happy for myself, at my home race and it was great to see the crowd, especially at the end, every time I passed in the car they were really excited. I really did enjoy that. A crazy race, a lot of decisions to make, a lot of communications between the car and the pit wall, but I think we stayed calm and tried to do the best at the time. Most of the time we were right, sometimes we were wrong but we kept it clean and I think that was the key and in the end I really started to come alive in these mixed conditions on dry tyres, we were quite comfortable and able to make good progress, because I think two safety cars to the end I was still not even in the top 10 and I was thinking ‘what happened?’ But it was a day like that and a race like that, so I’m quite happy.

    Q: Well done. Dany, what a huge race for you. The birth of your daughter last night and what a way to celebrate that. At what point in the race did you realise the podium was on?
    DK: Yes, thank you. It was an incredible race for myself, a lot of things going on. I guess it was the same for everyone. The beginning of the race was so-so, I think, I was always around the top 10 and I thought some points were possible today. The first when I chose to go on slicks, it was the wrong moment. The second time I think it was the perfect moment and when I saw that others didn’t pit for slicks when I did i thought that’s our moment and I was right and I exited in P3. I had to overtook Stroll forP2 and then from there I just had to hope that quicker cars would take time to catch me at the end of the race. So yeah, I’m very happy with this podium. It’s fantastic also for the team – 11 years since the last podium, which Sebastian did in 2008. I think everyone is very happy today and we have to be happy. From my side of course I would dedicate this podium to my girlfriend Kelly and to my daughter.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Dany, your career’s been on a bit of a rollercoaster over the past couple of years. To now have this result and this breakthrough, how good does that feel over everything that’s happened the last couple of years, and repaying that faith Toro Rosso have shown in you. 
    DK: Yes, you’re right. It was an incredible few years in my life. A lot of realisations in my life because it was sometimes tough times and I thought maybe Formula 1 was over for me, and maybe I thought, especially podium, I would never ever have it again, but life just proves that if you work hard and never give up, things are possible. I think that’s exactly what happened today. Even the race was tough for everyone, I managed to keep it cool and just… all these three difficult years, just felt like they crashed from my shoulders finally. I lost these chains today. It was hard work to reach this moment and hopefully I can send the message out there that I’m ready now to fight for this kind of moment on a consistent basis – and there is no stronger message than a podium like this.

    Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD Sportswereld) Question for Max. Big drivers, big champs crashed today. Christian Horner just told Sky that under these chaotic, difficult circumstances, you always stand out, don’t lose your head. Can you explain why you are always so talented under these circumstances?
    MV: A lot of practice I think, from when I was young, in the wet. Working many hours together with my Dad who, I think, was also pretty decent in the wet. So he always gave me good tips. And not only driving in the wet. It’s also making decisions as well, while driving, and paying attention to what’s happening around you. And, of course, experience. In life, in Formula 1. I think if you do over 90 races, you have experienced a lot already and, based on that, of course, you can also make better decisions, I think.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) To all three guys. I guess this is a special result for each and every one of you – but it’s probably even more special for Dr Marko because, at some point in your careers, you went through his hands. Can you probably remember a couple of stories with him? Tell us what he meant for your careers and sort of give us some thoughts on that. 

    Sebastian, why don’t we start with you?
    SV: He’s calling on a regular basis. Not any more for me so regular. I don’t miss the early calls at 7am! “How are you?”

    MV: “I’m in the gym!”
    DK: “Running!”

    SV: It probably pops up on your phone as a pre-select message: ‘I’m in the gym’. No, I mean, obviously he has a great talent for spotting young drivers early on and certainly he’s very tough and very straightforward – but I think you can learn to cope with that. I’m very grateful for the support that I had throughout my career from his side. I think it’s the same for these two. Yeah. I have too many memories; too many stories. Some to share, some not to share, better not to share. He’s always been very funny and we still keep in contact and I appreciate him now as a friend very much.

    Max, Dr Marko?
    MV: Yeah, of course, we are dealing with Helmut every day still, so for me, of course he took the gamble of putting me in Toro Rosso when I was still very young. I’m still young  – but back then I was very young.

    SV: You’re not very young any more…
    MV: Getting old?
    SV: Older.
    MV: Older, yeah…
    DK: You look quite old…
    MV: Already? I should retire in five years than I think. I look older than you?
    DK: I don’t know.
    SV: I look older than you two.
    MV: It’s fine. OK, so back to this story. Helmut is a real racer and he has a good eye of what’s happening still, at his age. So, it is quite impressive still, to see that. But it’s also no nonsense. If you make a mistake, you make a mistake. If you do a good job, you do a good job. I think he prefers when  you come up to him and tell him honestly if you made a mistake, or like something went wrong, than make a whole story – because that’s what he doesn’t appreciate. Basically I grew up like that because my Dad was the same – or maybe even worse than that. So… yeah. It’s good to have people like that in the team, of course, and in charge as well. For me, he is still very important and yes, of course it’s great to have him around and experienced a lot of stories with him still – and hopefully many more to come.

    Dany?
    DK: Helmet yeah, so many rollercoasters he organised for me in my career! Maybe more than them. Yeah, a special person in my life, of course our lives now, I guess. And, well, thanks to him very big time we are who we are and the personal improvement, the professional improvement I made thanks to him is huge – and obviously, I appreciate what he’s done for me. And I’m here thanks to him. Obviously, stories, like Sebastian said, many to share/not to share. I think the most relevant today, it was raining I think once, again 7am, at a test and I was maybe three or four seconds off in my first wet test in Formula BMW at the time and he said: “So, you’re quite useless in the wet,” and just hung up on me.

    MV: You’re imitating him really well!
    DK: Lot of practice! A lot of hearing. So yeah, there was that – and many others. He is always tough on you but he’s always – most of the time – he’s right. And maybe at first, it’s hard to take but then you analyse and you improve, simple as that. He always give you the opportunity if you deserve it and I’m very thankful for him.

    MV: You still picking up the phone at seven?
    DK: Yeah! I started to wake up at seven every day now, thanks to him.
    MV: I just turn my phone off, pick up after nine… better. Anyway now, you have to wake up at like… well, you wake up every three hours, go to bed, wake up…
    DK: Well, now that you’re doing so well, you can even sleep until mid-day.

    Q: (Joe van Burik – Racing News 365) Many congrats to all three, especially to Dany with being a father now. The question to Seb and Max though: you’ve shown today that Mercedes can be vulnerable, in their home race in fact. Do you think this has in any way blown open the championship fight again? 
    MV: I don’t know, they are so miles ahead in the championship.
    Q: You’re 62 points behind. 
    MV: Yeah, still quite a lot, isn’t it? It’s more than two victories, and they are still the dominant team, I think. Today was just very tricky out there and it’s easy to make a mistake, as you could see. Yeah, today was not their day. We managed to do a good job but we still have to work very hard to close that gap and actually really fight for the victory every single race so still a lot of work to do. But of course, when you can, it’s good to score more points than them.
    SV: Not much to add. We still have a lot of races to go, a lot of things can happen but it’s not like we can expect them to score no points for the rest of the season so pretty much the opposite –  they will be up there. We need to make sure we improve and give them a much harder time and naturally, if you put people under pressure then things start to move. So it’s up to both of us, I guess, or us as Ferrari and them as Red Bull.

    Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriera della Sera) Seb, do you consider this second place almost as a victory from what happened yesterday, from what happened today? You did a fantastic job, congratulations.
    SV: Well, I know that Max finished first so it’s not a victory but starting last, I think, with the race that we had, I think we can certainly be very happy recovering and I think it was a very tough race, easy to lose focus or momentum but we kept it throughout. I’m very happy, especially also racing here. I hope that we don’t lose this race. I think not only for me and Nico as German drivers, I think for the German crowd that we saw today and yesterday is very passionate, a lot of people turning up. It was sold out today despite the weather. I think we had a great race and it would be a shame to lose it. Obviously I’m not quite sure what’s in the future, whether there’s a chance to keep it but certainly, when it comes to passion and effort that people put into this race it’s pretty high up, so I hope that it’s not… People make some decisions on common sense and not based on how much the wallet is opening. I think we have Grands Prix that we just mustn’t lose such as Monza, such as the race at Silverstone in the UK. I think Germany and Spain have a long history of racing so it would be a shame to lose those and instead go to a place where they pay millions for the race to turn up but nobody is sitting in the grandstand. For us, it’s dull, as drivers so I think we rather enjoy here, close to the Netherlands with a lot of Dutch people coming…
    MV: It was a bit tricky today because it was orange against red, you know those colours don’t really match.
    SV: Well, they’re similar. I was taking the orange as well on my side.
    MV: When they were going up, right?
    SV: No, but I think it’s great to see. Obviously, for the Germans and the Dutch, in particular, it will be difficult to go to… I don’t know… overseas. Anyway, to come back to your question, it’s certainly a tough time for us as Ferrari with days like yesterday because it shows that we have things that we need to sort out, we have things that we need to do better but I think in this period it’s very important that we keep the morale, we keep supporting the team. From the inside that is happening, from the outside, I hope it’s happening as well. I know the Tifosi are behind us but sometimes the headlines can shift in either way so it’s important that we keep the support because I think things are moving, we are pushing very very hard and when it comes to passion I think we put a lot of effort and a lot of hours in; the people are very determined. I’m as impatient as everyone else to get the results finally but it will take a little while. We know what we can improve and that’s where we are working on but in the meantime I hope that people are a bit patient and give us that freedom in that time. But yeah, so in that regard it feels like a small victory today.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volksrand) It was pretty spectacular over there all day, where does this race rank in your top five of craziest races? 
    DK: I think it was clear enough how crazy it was. I think it was the first wet race in a while – and especially this year, so new tyres for everyone, no one knew how to use them very well at the beginning. The spray, in the beginning, was very high, then the track started drying, then it was on the borderline with slicks and it was very important not to make any mistakes. It was very easy to lock up the wheels under braking or just go a bit wide in some corners and I think today was just about avoiding those costly mistakes and making the right calls at the right time, so it was all about that but the race, I think, must have been quite spectacular to watch from outside. Lucky you.
    MV: Yeah, bit like Brazil 2016 was also quite crazy, all the time switching between extremes and intermediates. Of course we didn’t really get to try slicks, I think. Maybe some tried, I’m not sure but maybe not
    SV: Not in Brazil, no.
    MV: I don’t think so. So it’s maybe a little bit different to here but it’s definitely been one of the most challenging ones.
    SV: Well I’ve had a lot of races, also a lot of great crazy races but it was certainly among the craziest for a while. Max mentioned 2016 in Brazil. Always when the weather is really funny and you have all sorts of conditions it’s very challenging. Today we had between three and five stops for everyone or some even more. Obviously, I had a crazy race in 2012 in Brazil as well, Korea 2010.
    MV: Malaysia in 2009?
    Q: Red flag after 36 laps wasn’t it? 
    SV: I had stopped a bit earlier than that, actually! I was out before, I spun out so it wasn’t that crazy. As I said, it’s mostly when the weather is up and down and you have to make those decisions. It’s very tough, you are on the fine edge but it’s also very exciting because you know you can make the difference very quickly. Sometimes you have laps and laps and laps and you’re fighting for half a second that you can make-up and other times in these conditions you can gain or lose five seconds and five places.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport-total.com) Seb, a couple of drivers lost it in the stadium section today: Lewis, Nico, Charles as well. Does it make you feel any better one year after that the world kind of sees how quickly that can happen in conditions like this? 
    SV: Not really, no. I think that the answer is no. To protect them, I think they know what they’re doing and mistakes happen so I don’t think you should give them a hard time. It was very very tricky out there. I think we all had small mistakes here and there. Obviously, some had a bit bigger ones in the wrong places but that’s part of racing so obviously, nowadays a lot of people tend to judge everything very quickly but I think as much as they, I am not listening to all of those people. It happens in these conditions, it’s part of racing, as I said.

  • Verstappen delivers superb wet win; Vettel thrills the home crowd to take 2nd from P20

    Verstappen delivers superb wet win; Vettel thrills the home crowd to take 2nd from P20

    Hockenheim, 28 July 2019: Max Verstappen proved to be the rain master on Sunday as he delivered an absolutely superb show winning the German Grand Prix, the 11th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here.

    Max Verstappen took the seventh victory of his Formula 1 career at the end of a topsy-turvy, incident-packed German Grand Prix that saw Mercedes miss out on a podium finish for the first time in over a year, Sebastian Vettel rise from 20thplace on the grid to second place, and Daniil Kvyat score Toro Rosso’s first podium finish in almost 11 years.

    With steady rain falling in the run-up to the race, the decision was taken to begin with four formation laps in order to assess the wet conditions and to clear any standing water.

    The Safety Car then left the track and a standing start was decreed. And when the lights went out Lewis Hamilton held his pole position advantage top take the lead of the race. Fellow front-row starter Verstappen failed to make a clean getaway, however, and he was immediately passed by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen.

    Further back, Vettel made a superb start from 20thon the grid, taking an inside line at lights out to pass a flotilla of cars before the first turn. By the end of the first lap he’d risen to 12thplace.

    It was at that point that the conditions claimed the first of several victims. Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez lost control as he headed towards the stadium section and after he slide off into the trackside wall, the safety car was deployed.

    Vettel was the first to react and the Ferrari driver dived into the pits for intermediate tyres. He was quickly followed by Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon and both profited from the decision vaulting into the top 10 as others followed suit.

    Once those who moved to inters rejoined and the order had been ararranged Hamilton led from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (who had not pitted), Bottas and Verstappen.

    When the SC left the track, Bottas and Verstappen immediately breezed past Magnussen to take second and third respectively. It was Vettel, though, who profited most and when the German eased past the fading Magnussen he found himself in seventh place behind Alfa’s Kimi Räikkönen.

    With light rain continuing to fall and with little chance of making a move to slick tyres, the race then settled somewhat. On lap 21 Magnussen became the first driver to make the switch to slicks, with the Haas driver taking on soft tyres. Vettel, followed suit almost immediately.

    Magnussen’s first tour was not quicker than leader Hamilton’s but the next lap was a second under the leader’s time and on lap 25 Verstappen pitted, taking on mediums.

    That sparked a general move to slick rubber, but when the rain began to intensify over the following laps the risks heightened. On lap 27 Charles Leclerc made a mistake and slid off track at the final corner. The safety car was deployed and the field began to switch back to the green-banded tyres.

    Hamilton’s switch was enforced, however. The race leader lost control in the same place as Leclerc and slid into the barrier. He damaged the left side of his front wing and immediately dived for the pit.

    Unprepared, the Mercedes mechanics had no intermediate tyres ready, and overall, Hamilton’s visit for a new front wing and fresh tyres took more than a minute.

    The long delay dropped Hamilton to fifth. And when new Bottas pitted for inters, Verstappen claimed the race lead for the first time.

    There was more woe for Hamilton soon after. In arrowing across track to the pits he had gone in on the wrong side of the bollard at the pit entrance. The offence earned the champion a five-second time penalty.

    When racing resumed on lap 33, Verstappen powered away from second-placed Nico Hulkenberg and quickly opened up a five-second gap to the German. Bottas and Hamilton were soon past Hulkenberg but the gap from the lead Mercedes to the Red Bull stood at nine seconds.

    However, the Dutchman’s advantage was soon erased. On lap 40 Hulkenberg also went off in the final corner and with his Renault deep in the gravel the safety car was once again released.

    During the cautionary period the conditions began to steadily improve and though racing resumed on lap 46, it was the cue for a flurry of pit stops as drivers moved to exploit the improving conditions and take on slick tyres.

    Verstappen was first in, at the end of lap 46, and the race leader switched to soft compound tyres. Hamilton, too, pitted during this third safety car phase and also took his time penalty during the stop to emerge in P11. At the front, after the stops had taken their effect, Max led from second and third place men Lance Stroll of Racing Point and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso. Bottas lay fourth ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Vettel, who was running well on his new soft tyres.

    On lap 51, Kvyat made a bid for a Honda-powered one-two finish, with the Russian powering past Stroll to claim second place.

    Behind them, though, Bottas was beginning to apply pressure and the expectation was that Verstyappen would have the Mercedes driver for company in the closing stages.

    It wasn’t to be, though. On lap 56 Bottas carried too much speed into Turn 1 and the Mercedes driver lost control on the exit of the corner, he slid left into the gravel trap and hit the barrier hard. The incident brought out the safety car for the fourth time. Once again, though, Verstappen was in control and when racing resumed on lap 60 he simply powered away from Kvyat.

    In the final few laps, it was Vettel who made the biggest moves. The Ferrari driver powered past Sainz as if the McLaren wasn’t there into Turn 6 on lap 60. Stroll and Kvyat were dismissed over the following two laps and Vettel settled into P2 on the final lap, having climbed from dead last at the start.

    There was no denying Verstappen though and the Red Bull driver duly crossed the line to take his seventh career win. Vettel took a superb second and behind him Kvyat hung on to claim his third career podium finish and Toro Rosso’s first podium finish since Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix for the team. Fourth place went to Stroll, with the Canadian driver finishing ahead of Sainz and the second Toro Rosso of Alex Albon.

    The Alfa Romeos of Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi finished the race in seventh and eighth places but after the race both were handed 10-second stop and go penalties due to issues over the team’s clutch torque application at the race start.

    The ruling meant that Haas’ Romain Grosjean and Kevin Masgnussen took seventh and eighth places respectively, while Hamilton jumped to ninth place to maintain a 23-race long record of points finishes stretching back to last year’s British Grand Prix. The final point on offer thus went to Williams’ Robert Kubica. The point is Williams first since last year’s Italian Grand Prix and Kubica’s first since the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

    A delighted Daniil Kvyat (STR14-03, Car 26) said after the race: “It’s incredible to be back on the podium in what could be called my ‘second career’. I thought it would never happen again in my life, so I’m so incredibly happy. There’s so many emotions I still need some time to let it all sink in! This achievement is so great for us since it’s 11 years since Toro Rosso’s last podium with Sebastian in Monza. It was such an amazing day and I’m so happy. Thank you to everyone in the team, it was just an incredible day. I was readier than ever to fight for this kind of position. This year I feel more mature, my head is cooler, and I’m readier to fight on top, so I think I proved that today to myself and everyone around here. I hope this will become a habit soon!  These kinds of races aren’t easy, it was a tough call to pit that lap earlier, but it’s a 50/50 call between the team and me, we win and lose together and today we won together.”

    Lewis Hamilton praises Kvyat: What a crazy race. This has been one of the most difficult races we’ve had as a team for a long time. I thought I had the race under control, but we took a risk going out on slicks and the race fell apart from there. I went wide at Turn 16 and it was like ice out there, then hit the wall and damaged my wing. I made a mistake and paid the price. I was in the lead and then finished P11. I’m not even sure how, but that’s very painful and I’m just glad it’s over. It’s hard to perform when you’re not at 100 percent. I need to make sure I’m fit and healthy again in time for the next race. You live and you learn from days like this. It’s important now that we regroup for Hungary. I’m happy for Seb, who fought his way back to P2 from the back, and how good to see Daniil and Toro Rosso on the podium too – good for them.

    Racing Point’s Lance Stroll gets P4: “I’m really happy with that. What an amazing day! The fourth-place feels great considering everything that happened this afternoon. I was running at the back for most of the race; I spun a couple of times and we pitted five times! As special as it is to finish fourth, I am disappointed that the podium slipped away from us. I think a critical moment was the mistake I made, in turn, eight on my second or third lap on slicks, which is when Daniil [Kvyat] managed to get ahead of me. We tried our best to keep the quicker cars behind, but the podium was just out of reach. Today’s race shows why you should never give up because it’s never over until it’s over. It’s great to see how much this result means to the team and it was so special to see the crew celebrating on the pit wall when I crossed the line. This important result is for everyone in the team and we will enjoy this moment.”

    2019 FIA Formula One German Grand Prix – Race 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull
    2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 7.333
    3 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 8.305
    4 Lance Stroll Racing Point 8.966
    5 Carlos Sainz McLaren 9.583
    6 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 10.052
    7 Romain Grosjean Haas 16.838
    8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 18.765
    9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 19.667
    10 Robert Kubica Williams 24.987
    11 George Russell Williams 26.404
    12 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo 42.214
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 42.849
    14 Pierre Gasly Red Bull
    Valtteri Bottas Mercedes
    Nico Hulkenberg Renault
    Charles Leclerc Ferrari
    Lando Norris McLaren
    Daniel Ricciardo Renault
    Sergio Perez Racing Point

  • Hamilton takes pole, Ferrari drivers suffer mechanical problems

    Hamilton takes pole, Ferrari drivers suffer mechanical problems

    Bottas (left) congratulates Hamilton after the Briton took pole for the German GP on Saturday. An AMG Petronas Mercedes image

    Hockenheim, 27 July 2019: Lewis Hamilton will start Mercedes’ 200thgrand prix from the front of the grid, his 87th pole, after he beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen to pole position for the German Grand Prix, the 11th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Saturday. But there was a disaster for Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel exiting the session in Q1 with a turbo issue and Charles Leclerc failing to set a time in Q3 after being sidelined by a fuel problem.

    Q1 saw Red Bull make the early running and with his first lap, Verstappen jumped to the top of the order with a time of 1:12.593. That was soon eclipsed, however, by Leclerc who squeezed past the Dutchman with a time of 1:12.229 on his first run.

    Vettel though didn’t make it to the end of that first run. The home favourite backed out of the attempt at the end of his warm-up lap and returned to the pits. Ferrari mechanics swarmed around the car and the engine covers came off, but it soon became apparent that there would be no easy solution. Vettel climbed out of the car and exited the session, a turbo problem at the root of the German’s failure to set a time.

    At the end of the session, Leclerc went through in P1 thanks to his time of 1:12.229. He was followed by Max and his single-run time of 1:12.593. Hamilton progressed in third place ahead of the second Red Bull of Pierre Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen.

    With Vettel exiting the session with a mechanical problem, there were four spaces left in the drop zone and when the final lap times came through McLaren’s Lando Norris was the first to lose out. With Alfa’s Antonio Giovinazzi improving to P10, the McLaren driver slid to 16thout out of the session. Also eliminated were Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon in P17 and the Williams cars of George Russell and Robert Kubica.

    In the second session, there was more technical drama, though on this occasion it was Verstappen who hit trouble. The Dutchman went out for his opening run on medium tyres, but like Vettel he abandoned the run at the end of his warm-up lap, complaining that he was suffering from power delivery problems.

    Unlike Vettel, however, the Dutch driver’s return to the pits was not permanent. After a brief stay in the garage he was soon back on track, though with his chance to qualify on medium tyres gone, he emerged on soft tyres. His single run yielded a time of 1:12.428, which was good enough for fourth place, which became fifth when Bottas improved on his final run. Also making progress behind Max were Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, Haas’ Romain Grosjean, and Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez. Out went the second Alfa of Giovinazzi, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll. At the top of the order, Hamilton went through in P1 ahead of Lecler and Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly.

    Ferrari’s woes doubled in Q3. As Hamilton took provisional pole with a time of 1:11.767 and as Verstappen slotted into P2 with a first-run time of 1:12.113, Leclerc was stuck in the Ferrari garage, a fuel problem eventually causing his retirement from the session.

    There were no improvements from the top drivers on their final runs and thus, Hamilton claimed his 87thcareer pole position ahead of Verstappen. Bottas will line up at the front of row two, ahead of Gasly.

    Behind them, Kimi Räikkönen finished fifth ahead of Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz. Sergio Perez will start ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and the unfortunate Charles Leclerc will start from P10.

    Later Lewis Hamilton said: “I’m super happy to be on pole, it’s such a special race for all of us. The whole team is dressed up this weekend to celebrate 125 years of motorsport and our 200th race which is really cool. We’ve got Ola, our new CEO here from Daimler, so I hope that I can deliver on a weekend where everyone is here. It’s not just unfortunate what happened to Ferrari today, but unfortunate for the sport too because it was building up to be a really exciting qualifying session. I don’t know how close it would have been in the end, but they were quick all weekend. I was really happy with my first lap in Q3; I just lost a little bit of time in Turn 8. Position on the grid is really important here, so I’m grateful to be starting from pole and hopefully I can try to stay out in front tomorrow. ”

    2019 FIA Formula One German Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.767
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:12.113 0.346
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:12.129 0.362
    4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1:12.522 0.755
    5 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:12.538 0.771
    6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:12.851 1.084
    7 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:12.897 1.130
    8 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:13.065 1.298
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:13.126 1.359
    10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
    11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:12.786 1.019
    12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:12.789 1.022
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:12.799 1.032
    14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:13.135 1.368
    15 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:13.450 1.683
    16 Lando Norris McLaren 1:13.333 1.566
    17 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:13.461 1.694
    18 George Russell Williams 1:14.721 2.954
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 1:14.839 3.072
    20 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari.

  • Ferraris have been fast all weekend and I am not quite sure what happened, quips Hamilton

    Ferraris have been fast all weekend and I am not quite sure what happened, quips Hamilton

    Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton flanked by Max Verstappen (left, P2) of Red Bull and teammate Valtteri Bottas (p3) after qualifying on Saturday. An FIA image

    Hockenheim, 27 July 2019: The following drivers attended the FIA post-qualifying press conference on Saturday:  Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) and Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) for the German Grand Prix, the 11th round of the FIA World Championship.

    (Track interviews were conducted by Paul Di Resta)

    Transcript: 

    Q: Congratulations, Lewis, another pole position. I know how important this race is to Mercedes-Benz, the new livery of the 1950s and the celebration of motorsport on this car. And what a day to pull it out… to do it?
    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, I don’t really know how we did it today. I’m not quite sure what happened to the Ferraris, but it’s such an important race to us, it’s our second home grand prix, so for Mercedes and their 125 years it’s just incredible to celebrate in this way.

    Q: Yeah, the Ferraris have obviously looked very strong. I think Charles had a fuel issue and Sebastian a turbo issue – you’ve been up against it this weekend with them.
    LH: Yeah, they’ve been really fast all weekend, and we brought some upgrades this weekend as well, so the car’s been feeling good but the Ferraris were just really I think on a slightly other level. But I think the time, in the end, was good enough to be able to compete at least with Leclerc if he had done a lap at the end. It would have definitely been close between us.

    Q: And were you satisfied with the lap itself, what you did around Hockenheim today?  
    LH: Ah, this track, it’s incredible. Every year we come the car’s get faster. Turn 1 is nearly flat, Turn 12 is nearly flat, it’s a real challenge throughout the lap. My first lap was spot on. I think the second lap was a little bit better in some places but still, it was good enough.

    Q: Well done. Max, I know Valtteri pulled up in the wrong place. The Dutch fans travel quite far don’t they, this orange, you could actually hear at the start of qualifying, cheering, but I don’t think you would have expected more than that today. You’ve got a strong race car, so I guess pretty happy. 
    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I think I started quite conservative in Q1 but then somehow for my feeling towards Q3 I was just losing a bit of grip, but still of course happy to be in P2 and of course it’s great to see so many Dutch fans still around here. Happy to be on the front row and anything is possible tomorrow.

    Q: You could see the lap was developing, you did a very good first sector on that last attempt. But I think it was at Turn 8, you looked like you lost the rear end. Was that the finishing of that lap?
    MV: Yeah, we could have been closer. I wouldn’t say we would have got on pole but I went a bit wide, bottomed out, lost the rear, but still, as I said, it’s a good result.

    Q: I’m sure you won’t give up tomorrow; we’re expecting some mixed weather in there as well in there. Valtteri, I guess a very good day for the team, they’re celebrating where there are, but you narrowly missed out on the front row but I guess at the same point it’s a very long race tomorrow.
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, for sure it’s going to be, and I think the weather is going to play a big part tomorrow. Obviously a bit disappointed in qualifying, I didn’t really find similar confidence to what I had in practice three. I just struggled and I just need to check everything is all right, but anyway, the race is tomorrow.

    Q: This car has looked quite difficult all weekend on track, it’s moved around a lot more than normal. You have brought upgrades but have Ferrari surprised you, how much they pushed you?
    VB: Yeah, they’ve been extremely quick here. We knew to come into qualifying it was going to be really difficult to beat them but I don’t know what was their issue in the end but we have a good place for tomorrow and obviously, I’ll try to come up from the third place.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Congratulations Lewis, it looked like a pretty smooth session from where we were sitting, what as the reality in the cockpit? 
    LH: Yeah, it was a relatively straightforward session. It was very clean, the team did a great job in terms of timings and getting us out at the right times. As we saw both Ferraris drop out, that made it a little bit different in terms of the battle that we had at the end. Nonetheless, I think I had a pretty good pace. I think maybe it would have been close between myself and Leclerc, who knows. They were pretty quick all weekend. But I was really, really happy with the laps I had done, particularly from Q2 onwards. The team have worked so hard and it’s really great for Mercedes with the 125 years celebration this weekend. It couldn’t have been a better way to start the weekend.

    Q: Where do you see the biggest threats coming from in the grand prix tomorrow? 
    LH: I think it’s weather – that can be a threat. There were talks of rain, even today, obviously tomorrow potentially more so tomorrow. I’ve not looked at the long runs, so I don’t know how strong they are on the long runs. It’s not the easiest of tracks to always overtake. But yeah, depending on the temperature, if it was like yesterday that makes it quite a difficult race and probably more stops. If it’s like today, which again actually starting getting hotter towards the end, it’s still going to be a real challenge. I think the real challenge is just making sure we do all our due diligence and make sure we operate at the level we have been operating today.

    Q: Max, this is your seventh front-row start in Formula One. Did you believe that pole was on today?
    MV: Difficult to say. I think Q1, you could see Ferrari was quite comfortable, ahead. And then you know anyway the gap in Q3 is going to be even bigger, normally. In a way, of course, it was good that they dropped off but yeah, from my side, I think from Q1 to Q3, I felt like I had a loss of grip. In Q1 I felt like… you know you always take your margins… but somehow in Q3 it never really had the grip like I had in Q1. Of course, it’s getting warmer. It seemed like it was hurting me maybe a bit more at the time. So, still, to be second for this race is, I think, good. So, happy about that.

    Q: Was there a technical issue at the start of Q2, and how did that interrupt your flow?
    MV: Yes. I tried a different mode for that run but as soon as I crossed the start-finish line somehow it just cut out so I lost a bit of power and then you know your lap is ruined, so I backed off. I went into the box just to check everything and we went out again. Of course, I had to use the other tyres, which was a little bit of a shame because I wanted to try and do the same as the other guys did, but you know, that’s how it is at the moment and we just have to live with that. The second run in Q2 and then in Q3 there was no problem.

    Q: Valtteri, you took your first-ever car racing victories here at Hockenheim back in 2007 but clearly not so happy with your car today. What were the issues?
    VB: Obviously overall, I think as a team we had a good result. Lewis did a really good job in the qualifying. Also, we got a little bit lucky with the Ferraris. Who knows how quick they could have been in Q3 but myself, I did feel OK in practice three, there were no worries really, and felt like qualifying should be fun and interesting but all through the quali I struggled on the brakes quite a lot. Turn Two especially; Turn Six; Turn Eight. So, all the big brakings. Turn Two locking up many times, going straight. So, just the confidence under braking and the bite of the brakes was varying from one lap to another. So, that made it difficult and I felt that was maybe two or three tenths I could have improved in Quali 3 by getting everything spot on – but not more than that. So, yeah, it was not the easiest qualifying and keen to have a look why.

    Q: And a difficult race for you tomorrow as a result?
    VB: Well, I think tomorrow is a new day and also, as Lewis said, it could be raining and it’s always a different today in the wet and everything’s still possible. I’m sure it’s going to be a good fight.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport)  Question for Lewis. Just an inquiry about how you’re feeling, with reports you’re not feeling 100 percent. Was there any possibility that you felt you might not have been able to do qualifying today?
    LH: Yeah, I wasn’t feeling good this morning. A bit of a sore throat. We just prepped, just in case I wasn’t going to be able to do the session. I did the practice and we were prepared to be able to put the second driver in, worst-case scenario. I got through it good.

    Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) To all three drivers, when you were talking to the engineers this morning, where did you think Ferrari would be? Did you think they were really the team to beat for pole position? 
    VB: Yeah, we saw in practice they were very quick and, again, as we’ve seen the trend this season is all on the straights. They’re making big gains on the straights. I think to use, seven-tenths in the full lap. We were gaining a bit in the corners but not quite enough, so we knew they’re going to be very difficult to beat in the qualifying. So yeah, it would have been nice to see how they’d have been at the end of the quali – but for sure they’re going to be strong tomorrow. If they get everything fixed with their cars.

    Lewis, the threat from Ferrari: did you expect them to be able to challenge for pole?
    LH: This weekend you mean? I didn’t know where we’d be. I think last year it was really close between all three teams, so anticipating, I think they were quickest last year as well. So it seems to be a track that they will be good at. But this weekend, Leclerc was rapid. I think he did a good time in Q1, then Q2 – I think it was his second lap, wasn’t it? – so not sure if he had done his first lap, whether or not he would have… but their car sees to working very, very well. So I imagine it would have been very, very close between us at the moment. It is how it is now.

    Max, your thoughts on Ferrari?
    MV: Yeah, I always expected them to be quite quick here. They have, of course, amazing top speed, but also, I think the layout of the track seems to be quite good for them. But yeah. There’s still a race to go and we’ll see how they will perform there. Of course, they have a bit more work to do but I expect them still to come to the front.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) There’s a distinct lack of red up here. I’m asking for a little bit of honesty from you guys. When you see the monitors and you see Sebastian getting out of the car and then you see Charles doing exactly the same thing, what are the thoughts in your head? Are you secretly pleased to see them out of the running and think ‘that’s good, that’s someone else out of the frame’? Or are you a bit upset for them, do you feel that pain? 
    MV: Yeah, it can happen to anyone, you know. I’ve had it before as well, but at the time when you see it on the screen, I honestly don’t really care so much about it because you’re focusing on your own job. Of course it’s a shame because it’s a bit of a lack of the tough competition you have with Ferrari but still, at the end of the day, you want to do well for yourself.
    LH: Yeah, the same. It doesn’t make any difference in the sense that you still focus on trying to do the best job you can, so you see it happen. Ultimately, it’s difficult when you do all the practices and then you go into qualifying and something happens as soon as you go out. That’s definitely a horrible feeling for everyone so they will definitely be feeling it. But I think we’ve all been there. Hopefully, they will recover tomorrow.
    VB: Of course we all love a good fight but in the end, we are also here for ourselves and as a team, we want to be doing the best possible result, so it’s competition, but that’s how it is.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, this has been one of your strongest circuits. How surprised are you with these problems you have had this time? 
    VB: Yeah, a little bit surprising. I think yesterday was a bit tricky overall, could easily put it down to temperature, it was quite sensitive and I did quite good clean laps. Practice three I felt good, I was really looking forward to the qualifying and knowing that there was a place where I could improve then it should be all good but as I said earlier, I struggled a lot with braking in the qualifying and just the consistency, it was not there, I was not always sure when I hit the brake pedal what’s going to happen, if I was going to lock the fronts or not so that made it more difficult. It can happen sometimes but we need to figure out why. So yeah, I was definitely hoping for better qualifying result but it’s not a disaster and there’s a long day ahead tomorrow and yeah, if it’s going to be raining, it really doesn’t matter at all where you start, it’s going to be a bit of a mess so should be good fun.

    Q: (Joe van Burik – Racing News 365) Max, you mentioned some turbo lag issues in Q1 again. Was it similar to the calibration issues you had at Silverstone? 
    MV: I don’t know if it’s exactly the same of course but in the car, it feels pretty similar. They are all working hard, of course, to try and get on top of it. I think in Q3 honestly it was fine, so that’s when it matters of course. I think we did get on top of it.

    Q: (Giovanni Messi – NewsF1.it ) So Max, you start second tomorrow, do you think tomorrow you can have a great race like in Austria with high temperatures? The Red Bull car is very, very good, so what do you think about tomorrow? Do you think you can challenge Lewis or Valtteri? 
    MV: Unfortunately I think tomorrow’s going to be like 24/25, so it’s not going to be warm enough. Yeah, I believe that normally in the race we are always a little bit more competitive. Of course, I’m starting on a different tyre so we have to wait and see how that’s going to work out. Yeah, hopefully, we can follow and try to challenge them, that would be good.

    Q: (Lennart Bloemhof – Volksrand) Max, on the track you said you could have been closer to Lewis, what does that say about the progress you guys are making with Honda? 
    MV: It’s not only the engine, of course. That’s also the car where you’re always constantly trying to improve but it’s not only about bringing updates but also about learning more about the car in terms of set-up, how you can find a bit more time in that as well. Of course, sometimes it’s better than on other tracks but I think… today, in general, has been pretty good but of course, we tried to close the gap because there is still a gap but we’re working on it. I’m pretty pleased about today.

    Ends

  • Charles Leclerc tops FP2: German GP

    Charles Leclerc tops FP2: German GP

    Charles Leclerc tops FP2 at Hockenheim on Friday. An FIA image

    Hockenheim, 26 July 2019: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went quickest in the second practice session ahead of the German Grand Prix, but Pierre Gasly’s session ended early when the Red Bull driver crashed out in the final corner, heavily damaging his RB15 in the German Grand Prix, the 11th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Friday.

    Leclerc, who was second quickest in the morning behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel, took over at the top in the afternoon, setting a best time of 1:13.449 during his performance run on soft tyres. That lap put him 0.124s ahead of Vettel, with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Mercedes third and 0.146s behind the younger Ferrari driver.

    Following the qualifying simulations, the session was red-flagged with 16 minutes left on the clock when Gasly lost control in the final corner. The Frenchman lost the rear of his RB15 on entry and slid off through the gravel trap on the outside of the corner. He hit the barriers hard with the front left of his car and on the rebound slapped the rear left side into the wall too.

    Gasly had earlier struggled on his soft tyres run and so finished the session in a relatively lowly 15thplace, almost a second behind team-mate Max Verstappen.

    In the opening exchanges of the session, Ferrari carried on where they had left off in the morning session, with Leclerc, running hard tyres, and Vettel, on mediums, set the pace. Both Hamilton and teram-mate Valtteri Bottas then dislodged the Ferrari duo, but eventually, with around a third of the session gone, Vettel bolted on a set of soft tyres and set a new benchmark of 1:13.573 that was soon passed by Leclerc who edged a little over a tenth ahead.

    Hamilton went closes to eclipsing the Ferraris, his soft run getting to within 1500ths of a second of Leclerc, but Bottas ended the session further back, with the Finn’s soft run yielding a time of 1:14.111, 0.662 adrift of Leclerc.

    Fifth place on the timesheet went to Verstappen, with the Red Bull driver putting in a best time of 1:14.133 to finish just two hundredths of a second behind Bottas.

    Haas’ Romain Grosjean continued to show well for Haas, with the French driver a little under five hundredths of a second behind Verstappen. The last within a second of Leclerc’s benchmark was Racing Point’s seventh-placed Lance Stroll, with the Canadian 0.819 behind Leclerc.

    Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen took P8 1.009 behind the Monegasque pacesetter, with Nico Hulkenberg 0.14s behind in ninth. The top ten was rounded out by Sergio Pérez in the second Racing Point. Mexican finished the day 1.069 off the pace.

    2019 FIA Formula One German Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 33 1:13.449
    2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 30 1:13.573 0.124
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 30 1:13.595 0.146
    4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 30 1:14.111 0.662
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 23 1:14.133 0.684
    6 Romain Grosjean Haas 33 1:14.179 0.730
    7 Lance Stroll Racing Point 32 1:14.268 0.819
    8 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 33 1:14.458 1.009
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 26 1:14.472 1.023
    10 Sergio Perez Racing Point 30 1:14.518 1.069
    11 Carlos Sainz McLaren 34 1:14.662 1.213
    12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 39 1:14.800 1.351
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 33 1:15.010 1.561
    14 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 36 1:15.062 1.613
    15 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 19 1:15.089 1.640
    16 Lando Norris McLaren 29 1:15.247 1.798
    17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 31 1:15.406 1.957
    18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 28 1:15.470 2.021
    19 George Russell Williams 27 1:16.900 3.451
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 26 1:16.980 3.531

  • Hamilton is very self-reflective, he continues to develop as a driver and as a human being: Wolff

    Hamilton is very self-reflective, he continues to develop as a driver and as a human being: Wolff

    FIA Friday Press Conference in progress. An FIA image

    Hockenheim, 26 July 2019: The following team representatives attended the FIA Friday press conference: Toto Wolff (Mercedes), Mario Isola (Pirelli), Otmar Szafnauer (Racing Point), Franz Tost (Toro Rosso) and Guenther Steiner (Haas).

    Transcript:

    Q: Toto, you’re celebrating Mercedes’ 200th race this weekend, 125 years in motorsport. What do those stats mean to you, the boss, and do you have a favourite moment you can tell us about?

    Toto Wolff:  The stats are not so interesting to me because it’s just numbers and it’s the past. But what it reminds you when you see all the photography and films that have been done of the old days is that the responsibility that we carry for the brand. Mercedes started in motorsport 125 years ago, lots of history has been created and that is a responsibility which we are carrying and representing that fantastic, almighty brand.

    Q: You say there’s a responsibility, that brings pressure. What would it mean to win this race, given that you also have the title sponsorship of it.

    TW: Well, from a calmer perspective, everything speaks against it. We are celebrating 125 years of motorsport; we are having a dedicated livery, we are wearing a different team kit tomorrow, and lots of activities around the track, all board members – or most of the board members present, so when you look at it from the point of car marque, this is one to lose for us. But the reality is different. It’s another race, we want to do particularly well here in Hockenheim because of our home crowd – but on the other side it’s 25 points; as many points as any other given circuit and we just need to add another good race performance in order to make a step towards the Championship.

    Q: And talking of good race performance, can I ask you about Valtteri Bottas now. He has four poles this year, so he seems to have made progress in qualifying – yet it doesn’t always translate to Sunday afternoons as well. Why do you think that is?

    TW: From my point of view, the performances in qualifying are really strong. Having an almost balanced record against Lewis Hamilton is something to be proud of and shows that he has made a step-up from last year. Racing, again, is a different exercise. I think this year’s theme is all about keeping the car and the tyres in the sweet spot. That means you maybe need to drive the car in a different way. He’s getting there. He’s getting better and better. We have seen a race in Silverstone where, if the Safety Car had come out in a different way, he would have challenged for the race win. But the ifs don’t count. You need to bring it to the end – but I’m sure we will see Valtteri continue to improve and bring in good race performances.

    Q: …and continue with Mercedes in 2020?

    TW: I knew you were going to ask that question! We want to end the season before the shutdown in a good place and put in two solid performances in Hockenheim and Budapest and then spend some time thinking about driver line-up for 2020 and beyond.

    Q: Otmar, an important race for Racing Point this weekend with lots of upgrades coming to the car. After FP1, what are your first impressions of the performance?

    Otmar SZAFNAUER: Well, first impressions were positive. We didn’t run the quickest tyre and we looked a bit more competitive than usual in FP1 – but unfortunately, this press conference conflicts with our debrief, so I don’t know as much as I normally would. We’ve got to get the drivers’ feedback and then look at the data. We’ll know more tomorrow morning after we run FP2 as well.

    …but first impressions

    OS: First impressions were very positive, yeah.

    Q: It’s been almost a year since the takeover by Lawrence Stoll. Can you take a moment’s reflection for us and just tell us the impact that that has had on the team and the plan going forward with the factory, drivers, things like this?

    OS: The impact’s been quite positive. Things like bringing a big upgrade here in the past wouldn’t have been possible. So, from a financial perspective, we are on a much better footing and our plans going forward are very good. They’re strategic but it takes some time to implement. Last year, at this time, for example, we were around 405 people. We’re at around 430 now, so not a huge change in personnel, just because it does take time. So there will be a lag between the better financial footing that we’re on, the plans that we have going forward, and actually the implementation. The immediate impact, like you see today, we have a big upgrade here, and that’s only a good thing.

    Q: Franz, it’s a very tight midfield battle this year with rivals like Racing Point bringing performance to their car here in Hockenheim. Can you tell us how you see the pecking order in the midfield, and what plans you’ve got for upgrades for your car?

    Franz TOST: Toro Rosso has also some upgrades here on the aerodynamical side and looks not so bad but of course we have to analyse all the data and everything, set up the car in the proper way with these new aero upgrades and then we will see tomorrow in qualifying where we end up. I think that it’s a step forward – but nearly every team comes up with such upgrades and, at the end, in the midfield, which is very close together, it’s very decisive, that you continuously improve the performance of the car, come with upgrades and then we will see at the end of the season who had a higher development speed and the most successful development.

    Q: Can I ask you quickly about drivers as well. You took a bit of a gamble with both of them prior to this season and both are doing a good job. Your analysis of their first half of the season and plans for 2020.

    FT: We have two really good drivers. Daniil Kvyat we knew from the past that he is fast, he is also matured now and he is showing a very, very good performance. Alex Albon, for me, is the positive surprise of the young drivers, together with Norris. I think that he will have a very strong second half of the season because then he knows the car quite well, he knows what’s going on in Formula 1, and if we provide him with a proper package, I think that he will come up with really good results. I personally hope that we can continue with these two drivers but this, in the end, is a decision from Red Bull, and I think the decision will not be made before the end of September / the beginning of October.

    Q: Guenther, let’s start by looking back, if we can, at Silverstone. I wonder if you could talk to us about the post-race debrief perhaps. What’s the fallout of what happened at the start between your two drivers?

    Guenther Steiner: I mean everybody saw it. They crashed into each other, I guess, and both had a puncture, which wasn’t correct. I want to move on from that. I talked with both of them yesterday. Our focus now is… I mean we could sit there and discuss it over and over. At some stage, you need to live with it. It’s water under the bridge. We need to get out of this one saying I told the guys… I mean, I expressed my opinion after the race. I want that they focus on here because we are still… we didn’t’ get the result we wanted in Silverstone. We again went away with no points. We need to focus to understand better how to get this car to work again – because the car at some point works, and then it doesn’t work anymore. We need to get a good understanding so after the summer break, we can be stable. That is my aim, to have a clear way to go forward where the car needs to be for the different specs of the car here, so we get a lot of data and hopefully can come to a conclusion after the summer break and move on. There was not a lot more said yesterday about Silverstone because it’s old news.

    Q: Well, you say you’ve got the cars in different specs here. Is Grosjean still in the Melbourne-spec car? It seems quite a drastic decision to go back to the start of the season.

    GS: Sometimes only drastic decisions work, in my opinion. At some stage, if you continue to discuss, back and forward the same thing over and over again, that means you don’t know what you’re doing, in my opinion. So you need to prove it. It’s drastic, and its very unusual, but sometimes you have to look outside of the box to know what to do to get an understanding, Yeah, he’s again in the Melbourne-spec car because in Silverstone we didn’t get enough data because of the reason you said before, so our aim is now to just understand what we have to do the second half of the season, nothing else. That is our task here and in Hungary.

    Q: Mario, thanks for waiting, 2020 tyre testing is ongoing, the latest test taking place after the British Grand Prix. How’s it going and what are you learning?

    Mario ISOLA: It’s going well. We are testing different constructions, different compounds. We want to change the product for next year in the direction that was highlighted by the teams, by my friend Guenther here, with a wider working range…

    GS: I’m a consultant now.

    MI: He’s a consultant… And less overheating, that is, as I’ve said many times, is something that drivers don’t like. So we continue out work. It’s important that we clarify for the future what is required to the 18-inche tyre for 2021, because we will start soon to also test the 2021 tyres and we need to agree the targets for that in order to be all in the same direction, because we have only product.

    Well, F2 is testing the 18-inch tyre as well. How transferrable is the data you are getting from the F2 car to the F1?

    MI: We will collect important data from the test but the level of energy, the level of stress, the forces are that on the tyres in a Formula 1 car are not comparable to F2. But there are some good indications. We did two sessions; we are ready for the third one. We just finished one. We have a good indication from the new size but again, also the size will be different, because Formula 2 will continue with the 245 front and 325 rear, that is the old Formula 1 size. There are many differences but I believe that having one full year of racing with Formula 2 cars next will be quite important to understand how to develop for some elements the Formula 1 tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) Otmar, following on from the earlier questions, as the team expands and you are building a new factory, you will face some challenges – I don’t know, paying lots of money for land, zoning and planning permission. Where are you with the factory and when will it be online?

    OS: We should have all the permissions in place towards the latter half of this year, before Christmas. We are in the design phase now of the factory, trying to ‘right-size’ it for the future. There is also a little bit that we have to wait, to see what the 2021 regulations are going to be, which will have an impact on what we build. Probably before mid-year next year we will be well on the way with building the factory.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Toto, you said in Austria that ideally you would hope to have clarity about Valtteri’s future sooner than last year. Last year I believe the contract was announced on July 20th and now we are at the 26th, so what has changed and what is the reason for that delay?

    TW: You’re following those dates better than I do. I guess it’s pretty unusual to announced drivers in July anyway. If you want to take all the time you properly need to assess you can even drag it into the winter, like we have seen in some other teams and which was the standard in the past. For us it’s not only about making the right decision for next year, it’s about looking ahead. And this is why we agreed that we will take the decision in August going forwards. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we will announce it in August.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – Auto Hebdo) A question to Toto. At the start of this century we had a German driver winning everything and the interest for F1 in Germany was sky high. Now we have a German team winning everything and maybe the numbers are not as they used to be. How do you explain this difference? Is it just a case of fans being more interested in drivers than teams or do you think we have changed eras and people are no longer accepting periods of sustained domination like yours?

    TW: In my opinion there are two reasons. The only team that is having a full nation behind them is Ferrari. This is historic and it is something we would be aiming for in a best case. But it’s also a situation that has to grow over many years if not decades. You have to stay in the sport for a long time, grow your fanbase and then it becomes less of a factor who drives the car, as long as it is a Ferrari. So I would very much hope that we are building the foundations today that in 20 years from now we can achieve such a status. But of course you have to be realistic and people cheer for drivers – at least in Formula 1. We have had very successful German drivers in Formula 1 that have dominated their eras – Michael in the early 2000s and then Sebastian from 2010 to 2014 – and I think that comes in waves. You can see there was great interest in Formula 1 and Formula 1 drivers in Germany in these 10 or more years in a similar way that there was in tennis around Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, and the interest has faded away. And if you look at Spain, which is another market that gives you some kind of indication, it was not existent before Fernando and it was one of the best markets with the most vivid fans when Fernando could compete for race wins and championships, but once that was over it was one of our weakest markets, and there is not a lot of following. So I think combining those two factors, obviously continue to be in Formula 1, build your fan base as a team, and have a German driver that is a great personality that is fighting for the championship, these are ingredients to revive the German interest.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / Racefans.net) Guenther and Otmar, last year during the Abu Dhabi, I believe after that, you brought some form of action against Liberty regarding column one monies, that apparently Racing Point are qualifying for and that you felt you should. Could you give us the latest on this situation? Is it still ongoing? Has there been a resolution on it? Where do we stand? And Otmar, how does this affect your team’s plans going forward, given that there is potential $60 million involved?

    GS: There is nothing new to report. I think you asked the same question a few months ago, Dieter, and I didn’t report anything there. It’s an ongoing process and I have to leave it at that.

    Q: Otmar, anything to add?

    OS: No. I don’t think the case is against us, so nothing to add.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Toto, at the start of 2017 the battle between Sebastian and Lewis was billed as the most successful drivers of their generation going head-to-head. However, over the past two years we have seen that Lewis has been the convincing winner, and also during that time Sebastian has made a few uncharacteristic mistakes. Do you think that Lewis’ talent is the main reason that Sebastian has made those mistakes and that Lewis has managed to get under Sebastian’s skin and perhaps dented his confidence?

    TW: I think you need to be careful of trying to pinpoint it to one single factor. Undoubtedly, Lewis has a great ability and talent. But one of the strengths that I have been a witness to in those last years is how he continues to develop as a racing driver and how he continues to develop as a human being. He is very self-reflective. I’ve said it a few times, but he is the only driver I have heard coming in after a session and saying ‘you don’t need to look at my data because my driving was not good enough’, and that from a five-time world champion. And I think that self-reflection and that ability to be brutally honest with yourself has certainly made him one of the greats. I know Sebastian, but I have too little insight into how the team works and how Sebastian looks at things. What I can say is that the record speaks for him. He has won four championships and that doesn’t come from anywhere (sic) and I have no reason to believe that he is not going to recover from what looks like a moment of mistakes. But definitely both of these drivers have shaped a generation of drivers and it is excit5ing to see them fighting.

    Q: (David Joram – Der Tagesspiegel) To Franz and Toto: tomorrow we will see a small show of Mick Schumacher. What do you think about him and what do you think about his performances in this season?

    FT: I think Mick is showing a real good performance. Last year he won the Formula 3 European Championship. This year is the first year in Formula 2. He showed some very good races, in some other races he was involved in incidents, but it is a learning year. I expect that he will do another Formula 2 year. Tomorrow he is in the car that his father drove here and that is a very exciting moment for all the fans and also for Mick. I’m convinced that he will make his way into Formula 1.

    TW: Well, Franz knows everything about young drivers and there’s not a lot to add. Maybe from the personal side, he is a great young man with a fantastic character and personality, and a big name that sometimes can have a negative impact in Formula 1 because you are being put under pressure and he copes extremely well with that pressure and now we need to give him time to properly develop as a young man and as a racing driver and I have no doubt that we will see him in Formula 1.

    Q: (Stefan Ehlen – Motorsport Total.com) It seems unlikely that the German GP is returning next year. How much does Formula One need a race in Germany and which track would you prefer: Nürburgring or Hockenheim or even do the Nordschleife?

    MI: Nordschleife is a bit aggressive choice I believe. For us, Germany is a very important market, very important car manufacturers are based here so hopefully they will find a solution for Germany. Hockenheim or Nürburgring? I don’t have a strong preference on the two circuits. One or the other is OK, but not the Nordschleife.

    GS: I think there should be a race in Germany, it’s a big car manufacturing country and if you don’t come here it’s quite disappointing but it needs work financially like everything in the world, there needs to be some finances but I think we can put a pledge into Toto to help out here if we get a race in Germany. You know we blame it on him if there is no German race here. Hopefully we can get… it’s not off the calendar yet but it looks like it’s not going to happen but sure it would be great to have a race here. Nürburgring or here? I don’t really… I think there should be a race in Germany.

    TW: Unusually well said from Guenther! Yeah, there should be a race in Germany. Germany is a historic venue. Both of these tracks have historic context. If we could race on the Nordschleife, that would be great, the drivers would love it but I don’t think it’s technically feasible any more. The track doesn’t allow these kind of speeds but there is a financial reality. In Formula One, the promoters have the duty or FOM has the duty to bring in the best deals and balance with the historic relevance and we are dependent on the income as well and that financial reality is just a fact and they need to make the right choices. If we could vote for a race in Germany we would but we respect the authority of Formula One to chose the right tracks. I like both to be honest, also very traditional and great racing tracks for drivers.

    FT: There’s not so much to add. It would be a shame if you do not come back to Germany. Germany should have a Grand Prix being so much involved in the automotive industry but as it looks like the ingredients are not coming together, neither at the Nürburgring or here at the Hockenheimring and therefore drastic end could be that we are not racing any more with Formula One here in Germany.

    OZ: With a name like Otmar Szafnauer I feel a certain duty to support the German Grand Prix so it would be a shame if we don’t come back here. We enjoy coming, it’s great racing and massive fan base too with everything that happens at the Nürburgring and DTM and Formula One. I think we should continue to come. Nürburgring or Hockenheim? Both are good.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Toto, could we get an update on Esteban Ocon’s plans for next year? Where does he fit into your considerations for Mercedes in 2020? Are you starting to sound out other F1 teams about a seat for the future and would you consider releasing him as a last resort if you’re unable to land him an F1 seat for next year?

    TW: We’re very happy with the development of Esteban and equally George. They are our most senior junior drivers and the aim is to make them ready for a seat in a Mercedes. And as we all know, it was an unfortunate situation last year that Esteban fell between the chairs. He could have chosen between two seats and in the end nothing came out so from our perspective everybody knows about his driving capabilities. For Mercedes, for ourselves, Valtteri is showing some very strong performances and merits the seat but equally Esteban has shown that in the past and is a great addition to the team. He contributes a lot behind closed doors. He drives the sim overnight on race weekends, comes in here on Saturday and gives us input and he’s a great kid overall. Putting a Mercedes young driver in the car would be interesting as well. Having said that, there is interest for Esteban among other teams and we need to carefully make a decision for ourselves and with the other interested parties, not only for our own benefit but also for Esteban’s benefit. And if it would mean that we are taking a decision in favour of Valtteri, it clearly also means that somebody else would continue to develop him and would mean that we would lose our hand for a year or two or more on Esteban and these are the consequences of that decision.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Toto, if you could pick anyone you want from the current drivers, what would be your dream team?

    TW: Good question, Heikki. I think overall it’s an exciting period because we have strong quality within the Formula One grid and you can say that certainly the most experienced – Lewis and Sebastian – merit their place in Formula One. Lewis is the one to beat, he’s setting the benchmark. Then you have exciting drivers like Max who is coming up, who has shown great ability and has won races and no doubt about his talent. And then there a group of drivers that have shown that they are capable of winning races if they are put in the right car, be it Daniel or Valtteri, who I’m not forgetting anybody, but definitely very strong. And then the fourth group are the exciting young men that are coming up and this is a big group that have definitely come into Formula One on merit and it is Esteban and George, Lando, Lance has won the F3 European championship, Albon is a great surprise and is doing well, so I think these will be the future superstars in Formula One and seeing that panning out between the ones that have been here for a while and these new kids coming up is making Formula One very interesting. So to come back to your question: I have definitely a dream team that I have in my mind but I can’t tell you!

    Q: How about the other team principals; have you got a dream team Guenther?

    GS: No. After Toto has spoken I just cannot repeat what he said in five minutes, not giving an answer. I’m quicker, I don’t know there’s a lot… I have my dream team but I don’t want to tell you who it is and I cannot get them anyway so why I would I even dream about it? It’s just Toto who can get them because he has got the best car. My dream team is a lot smaller than his one but I still cannot tell you.

    FT: Happy with the drivers, no dream.

    OZ: It’s nice to dream but we were realistic and we’re happy with the two we have.

    Q: (Vall Klausman – Racing Line, Hungary) Otmar, are you happy with the coming budget cap, do you need it or do you wish to have other support regulation side to close the gap to the top teams?

    OZ: I think the budget cap’s needed and yes, we’re happy that it’s coming. Is the budget cap low enough? We were hoping that it would be lower but I do have sympathy and understanding for some of the teams that will have to make internal cuts because that’s not easy so as a first step we welcome it. We, as a team, will not be butting up to that budget cap so we will still be below it but I think it’s the right direction for Formula One.

    Q: Toto, can we get your thoughts on the budget cap?

    TW: I think the budget cap is important because it prevents the big three teams to continuously escalate the costs just to beat each other and it puts a ceiling on that and that is good. It certainly will help to narrow the gap between the smaller teams and the big ones, simply because we will not be able to escalate it any more. Having said that, it’s still above what the small teams spend so for me personally it’s a breakthrough that we actually have accepted the concept of a cost cap for years to come and then one step at a time; the next step could be even maybe lowering the cap from where we are now or finding different tools to stop the spending war that has happened over the last 20/30 years in Formula One.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport Total.com) I see how the Nordschleife – as good as it would be – is a long shot probably to realise but in terms of Liberty seeking unique event character race tracks, do you think it was a mistake that Formula One got rid of the old Hockenheimring layout?

    OZ: The Nordschleife is probably a step too far – you’re right – and it’s hard to know whether this is better or that’s better because it’s never a controlled experiment. I’m glad we’re here, we like the venue here as is and I think it’s good for the fans.

    FT: I think Nordschleife is not for Formula One any more, for the current Formula One cars, safe enough as we all know and therefore they changed the track over there at the Nürburgring and I think that the decision was absolutely right.

    TW: Well we tend to be a little bit nostalgic about the old tracks and as Franz and Otmar have said, Nürburgring Nordschleife is not feasible any more, the cars would go too fast and would be too dangerous. I liked the old Hockenheim layout and slipstream battles into the forest but it is what it is. The track is great, the infrastructure is great that we have today and that’s why it makes no sense to dream about the past.

    GS: Not a lot more to be said. I don’t know why they got rid of the old Hockenheim, I don’t remember why that was but this is a great venue and the only thing is that they shouldn’t dream about the old one, we should try to deal with the present to get the race here, whatever it is, that’s my opinion on Hockenheim, we should have a race here or at the Nürburgring in Germany.

    Ends

  • Sebastian Vettel tops FP1 at home race

    Sebastian Vettel tops FP1 at home race

    Vettel tops Free Practice 1 on Friday. An FIA image

    Hockenheim, 26 July 2019: Sebastian Vettel went quickest in the opening practice session for his home grand prix at the Hockenheimring.

    The German driver led a Ferrari one-two, edging team-mate Charles Leclerc by 0.255 to set the best time of 1:14.013 as both used soft compound Pirelli tyres to push Mercedes driver and championship leader Lewis Hamilton out to third place.

    Hamilton, and team-mate Valtteri Bottas, both set their best times on medium compound Pirelli tyres, even though both had spent some time on soft rubber earlier in a session run in high temperatures at the Baden-Württemberg circuit.

    Bottas had been the quicker of the Mercedes drivers on soft tyres but Hamilton moved ahead on the more durable compound and the five-time champion ended the 90 minutes some 0.3s behind Vettel, but just under five-hundredths of a second behind Leclerc despite the slower compound.

    Bottas slipped to fifth by flag-fall, and his session ended with a slightly ungainly trip into the gravel two minutes from time as he locked up into Turn 12 and slid off the track. He managed to stay out of the barriers, however, and with no visible damage sustained he trundled back to the pits.

    Max Verstappen split the Mercedes drivers, finishing in fourth place. The Red Bull set the best time of 1:14.330 to finish 0.317 behind Vettel and just 0.015s behind Hamilton as Red Bull again looked competitive.

    Verstappen’s team-mate Pierre Gasly took sixth place in the session, though the Frenchman was almost five-tenths of a second behind his team-mate as he complained about vibration issues with his RB15.

    McLaren’s Carlos Sainz is current best-of-the-rest behind the drivers from the top three teams in the Drivers’ standings and the Spaniard mirrored the position in FP1 in Germany, taking seventh place, a full second behind Vettel.

    He was pushed hard by Haas’ Romain Grosjean, with the French driver just 0.012s behind in eighth place as he reverted to a Melbourne style set-up in a bid to cure the balance issues that have plagued the team in recent months.

    It was a less successful session for his team-mate Kevin Magnussen who stopped early in the session with a sensor issue. He returned to the action later on to set a time good enough for P13.

    Racing Point, meanwhile, have brought a suite of upgrades to Hockenheim and Lance Stroll proved their worth by claiming ninth place in the session with the best time of 1:15.191, 1.178 behind Vettel. The top 10 order was rounded out by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian finishing 1.554s behind Vettel.
    2019 FIA Formula One German Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 21 1:14.013
    2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 25 1:14.268 0.255
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 32 1:14.315 0.302
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 28 1:14.330 0.317
    5 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 28 1:14.660 0.647
    6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 23 1:14.813 0.800
    7 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 30 1:15.062 1.049
    8 Romain Grosjean Haas 30 1:15.074 1.061
    9 Lance Stroll Racing Point 26 1:15.191 1.178
    10 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 23 1:15.567 1.554
    11 Sergio Perez Racing Point 24 1:15.604 1.591
    12 Lando Norris McLaren 26 1:15.616 1.603
    13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 27 1:15.759 1.746
    14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 30 1:15.776 1.763
    15 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 24 1:15.777 1.764
    16 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 23 1:15.823 1.810
    17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 26 1:15.953 1.940
    18 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 31 1:16.382 2.369
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 27 1:16.559 2.546
    20 George Russell Williams 23 1:17.126 3.113

  • Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas visit Mercedes-Benz factory

    Workers at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen factory got a big surprise when the two Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport drivers, Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas, made a quick pit stop on Wednesday to say ‘hello’ to the Sindelfingen workforce on their way to the Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Großer Preis von Deutschland taking place this weekend at the Hockenheimring.

    Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development with responsibility for global purchasing at Mercedes-Benz Cars: “I’m very pleased that Lewis and Valtteri were able to meet the Sindelfingen crew, as we are ‘One team’. Collaboration, team spirit, and motivation are crucial in the race track if you want to win. For us, too, they are key factors to our success in R&D.”

    “One brand, one team” – is the motto that unites Mercedes-AMG Petronas crew both on and off the race track with Mercedes-Benz car workers in the factory and in all other areas: #OneTeam #Drivenbyeachother.

    Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board at Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management: “As in Formula One, team spirit is a key factor to success in Mercedes-Benz Cars’ global production network. In order to achieve success, we depend on people who can produce top-quality Mercedes-Benz vehicles for our customers while demonstrating flexibility and passion. We wish Lewis and Valtteri every success for this weekend’s race at the Hockenheimring.”

    Lewis and Valtteri met a lot of colleagues from the Mercedes family, including workers on the S-Class production line. They answered questions, signed autographs and took photos with their colleagues.

    Michael Bauer, Head of Production at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant and factory manager: “In the run-up to the holidays, this surprise visit by our Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas is meant as a special ‘thank you’ to the staff at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant. Our team have done a terrific job during the past six months, delivering exemplary team performance.”

    As they met their colleagues, Lewis and Valtteri also talked about purpose – the “why” of a company and why team spirit determines success.

    Lewis Hamilton: “Living with purpose means for me to be innovative, to try new ways and sometimes to take risks. It’s all about team spirit. When I cross the finish line, I feel like I’m being driven by the whole team.”

    Valtteri Bottas: “When you live your purpose and are passionate about it, you stay one step ahead. And if you can inspire your team with the idea of purpose, then it develops the energy of its own.”

    The two Formula One drivers were also introduced to the team led by Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Daimler AG’s design facility and learned about some of the latest developments at design HQ.

    About the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen factory 

    The Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen factory is the center of excellence for premium, luxury passenger cars and is the lead plant for the production of both the S and E-Class series. The GLC and EQ electric vehicles that belong to this new product and technology brand will also be produced at the factory in the future. Together with Mercedes-Benz Cars central production facility, the plant has more than 25,000 staff. Mercedes-Benz manufactures the E-Class (saloons and estates), the CLS, the S-Class (saloon, coupé, and convertible), the Mercedes Maybach, the Mercedes-AMG GT range and the GLA there. At the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen Customer Centre, some 250 vehicles are handed over to customers every day. Sindelfingen is also home to the group’s R&D department which is the driving force behind Daimler’s technological future and is regarded as a guarantor for high-quality Mercedes-Benz cars. Its aim is to produce innovative, ground-breaking products while developing highly efficient production processes. In close partnership with all other areas of the business, its employees are committed to designing components that incorporate ideas informed by research and advanced development processes.