INDIA in F1

Tag: grand prix

  • Concorde Agreement should pave the way for stability: Monisha

    New Delhi, 26 Oct 2012: The following Team Representatives attended the FIA Friday Press Conference ahead of the Indian GP on Sunday: Eric BOULLIER (Lotus), Monisha KALTENBORN (Sauber), Cyril ABITEBOUL (Caterham), Martin WHITMARSH (McLaren), Christian HORNER (Red Bull Racing), Stefano DOMENICALI (Ferrari).

    First a question to all of you: I believe you have had several occasions to discuss your team’s future in Formula One. How do you feel those discussions have gone with regard to your individual interests and concerns? Eric, would you start?

    Eric BOULLIER: Obviously, as you said in your question if you look at the personal interests there are always some concerns and issues, but I think we had positive and constructive meetings all together with Bernie and the FIA and even if we are still far let’s say from closing and signing any Concorde Agreement, even if I think it should not take long now, we, with a global vision for Formula One we all believe there are some positives.

    Monisha, your concerns?

    Monisha KALTENBORN: My concerns straight away! I agree with Eric that it was good that the teams were invited to this kind of meeting to get the status on the negotiations between the commercial rights holder and the FIA and what for us is important is that we come to a conclusion which is good for Formula One. We know that each team has its own position in Formula One – you have the bigger ones and the ones who are in the middle and further back – but we need to have something which is good for the sport, the stability of the sport.

    Cyril?

    Cyril ABITEBOUL: Pretty much the same thing here as Monisha. Obviously, it looks like the last corner of a long negotiation and as always there are last-minute adjustments and last-minute compromises. Not everyone can be equally happy but you just need to make sure that not everyone is particularly unsatisfied, which is certainly not our case. We’re making sure to protect our key interests, because obviously smaller teams are fragile and we need to make sure not to be unnecessarily exposed, so that’s what we are making sure of but we are on a good track.

    Martin.

    Martin WHITMARSH: I think in the short term we’ve all got our own self-interests, but in the longer terms we’ve all the same interests and I think that’s the sport is successful, that it’s buoyant, it’s exciting and that it’s also viable. As a few of the others have said in front of me I think you’ve got to recognize that there’s a lot of challenge for quite a lot of teams and it’s important for all of us to reach for compromise, find a way forward that’s going to make sure that we can sustain all those teams. The good thing is this isn’t the old era, which was I think very confrontational and probably good for the media but less good for the sport. I think people here are recognising that now is not the time to have wars, now’s he time to be constructive, where necessary compromise and find a way forward for the sport.

    Thanks. Christian?

    Christian HORNER: I think the guys have done a tremendous job of telling exactly what wasn’t discussed at the meeting, which is obviously confidential between the parties. So I’ll follow the party line and say, yes, it was a very constructive meeting and we’re getting close to a conclusion but I think that’s really all there is to say at the moment.

    Stefano.

    Stefano DOMENICALI: Well, the last thing I can say in this spirit is that it’s clear that there was something discussed between the teams and the relevant parties – the FIA President and Bernie Ecclestone, who represented the commercial rights holder. The thing is that at the end of the meeting it was the President of the FIA that left room for discussion for future points that the teams may suggest to improve what we are discussing. But I believe it is the right thing to say that here it’s important to speak about the division of the future of Formula One and I believe that we are starting from good grounds and we need to make sure that we finalise this as soon as possible.

    Okay, thank you. I’m sure there will be some more questions for all on that subject. Now, some individual questions to each of you. Eric, starting with you, if I may. Obviously you’ve done a fair amount of development over the last couple of races, but looking back at the whole season, have you exceeded expectations this year, given that you’ve also lost quite a few points as well? And looking forward, do you think you can make the top three or top four?

    EB: That was the target – to be top four this year. Top three would be the cherry on the top of the cake, but obviously it’s tough to fight with the guys in front of us. But I’m quite happy… I should say actually very, very happy with how the team developed and worked this year. Obviously, we had a tough 2011. A lot happened last year which was not in our favour but this year we clearly pushed back and brought back the momentum for us. The team at Enstone and at the track here did an amazing job and both drivers did contribute a lot to the success this year with so many podiums. But yes, we all want more. Obviously being in the fight for the third place is nice. It’s nice for the team. We obviously want to keep this momentum and keep pushing and take any opportunity. I think the session this afternoon, we had good pace on one lap and on high fuel, so I’m happy to be the headache of my colleagues.

    Monisha, definitely the first lady of Formula One, and of course you’ve recently stepped up to be team principal of the Sauber team. Here you are at your home grand prix. How proud are you of getting that far?

    MK: I think for oneself it’s a bit difficult to feel proud about that, I think that’s for others to say, because I was given this opportunity and I was very happy to take it up. Not much has actually changed for me because I was anyway doing more stuff, for sure. It’s just this little step to this title but now you really feel the entire responsibility on your shoulders.

    Cyril, a new appointment for you, what exactly is your role, what is the hierarchy now at Caterham F1?

    CA: My main role is CEO of the F1 team. As you know Caterham is a large group with many different activities, so my focus is definitely on the Formula One team. As you can imagine, there’s plenty to be done there. It’s a position taking care of the day-to-day business, reporting to the shareholders so anything about that but no more and even my experience in the automotive industry, in the Formula One with Renault, over the past seven years had some things that is quite normal as an evolution but a great opportunity. The only thing that maybe is particular is that this is Formula One and one of the shareholders remains the team principal.

    And is he the man you report to directly?

    CA: Obviously, the two shareholders and the rest of the Group.

    Looking at the championship Martin, you’re still there with a chance – it’s not over until it’s over. What are your feelings, what are the feelings within the team now as we tackle these last four races?

    MW: I think it’s really business as usual. We have four races and we have to try to do the best job we can. We come to every grand prix seeking to win and we’ll be doing nothing different in these last four races. It’s an incredibly competitive season as we’ve had ups and downs, I think we’ve underperformed in the last couple of grands prix so that gives you a bit of pain but it also gives you some determination to do something better in the last four races. So, I think it’s been an interesting season and there’s no reason to suppose it’s going to stop being one for a few races to come yet.

    What’s it going to be about, Christian and Stefano? Is it going to be about development of the cars? Is it going to be about the drivers themselves? Is it going to be about circuit suitability? Perhaps you can talk about your own feelings as we go into these last four races.

    CH: I think all of those factors are going to play an element. It’s going to be about getting the most out of the next four weekends; it’s going to be about being reliable; it’s going to be about being quick; it’s going to be about not making mistakes; optimising the package that you have throughout a grand prix weekend. It’s set to be a fascinating run-in to the championship over the next four races. I think we’re set for a real spectacle over the next four events. I’m sure it will go all the way down to the wire.

    Stefano?

    SD: I agree with Christian. For sure at the end of the day being pragmatic it’s important to do adding and summing up all of the points Christian was saying, not one point more than the other. So at the end of the day that is the situation that we have to face. And at the moment we are behind and we need to fight believing that it is possible because that’s the spirit I want to see within the team. And when I speak about the team I speak about everyone but I’m sure that is really what I feel walking around the garage and also in Maranello. We know that is a very tough job but that is part of the game. If you think where we were the first day of testing, and where we are now after a lot of months, I think that we need to be in one sense not happy but on the other hand very proud of what we did – because the first day when we shake down the car in Jerez was very worrying. So, I just recall my guys, to make sure we keep the momentum with the positive attitude up until the end and then we will see. If, in this case Sebastian – or another one, because as we always say, up to the moment where the classification is finished, we need to respect everyone – will win, they will deserve it, and we need to make sure that we will congratulation with them. But up to that moment we will make sure we will fight with every resource we have up until the end.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    (Sruthijith Kurupichankandy – The Economic Times) Question for the gentleman from Ferrari. Is it common for your team to use your car to make political statements – and if not, why did you decide to make an exception in India?

    SD: Well in that respect I understand what you are saying. There was a press release that was done two days ago, so if you want any clarification of that, our press office is absolutely very pleased to answer to your question. But y’know, if you look behind in the past we’ve done a lot of initiatives but y’know, there’s nothing that I want to into very specifically because it’s not really the place where I should do it.

    (Ajit Devadason – SIFY.com) Question to Monisha. Sauber have traditionally had a tendency to attract excellent talent, groom them and then pass them on to the big teams. Do you plan to change that?

    MK: Well passing them on was not really our strategy, it just happened.  So I wouldn’t really agree on that and say that we need to change anything on that. It’s true that historically we have been attracting young talent and it appears to be that we can provide them the right kind of platform that they can show their talent. Of course in the last case now we would have also liked to continue with Sergio but he’s going to fantastic team, one of the more successful teams in Formula One and for us it shows that we can still provide that kind of environment to a young driver to show his talent. And how we can change? Simply by ourselves being more competitive.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Christian, it’s an open secret that you’re in a slightly different position to the other teams when it comes to your stance on the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA). Could you explain to what extent that’s made your negotiating or bargaining position a bit more difficult when it comes to the general discussions, the entry, the costs, the potential tax, the new working group, all of that?

    CH: I think that they are two separate things. The resource restriction, the concept of the resource restriction was to – and still is to – reduce costs in Formula One, the costs to compete in Formula One, and that’s something that we’re not opposed to. We are fully in favour of costs being controlled in the sport, we just disagree with the mechanism, at the moment, how they are presented to control those costs and our concern is that different entities, different organisations are treated differently in what is proposed so far. It doesn’t include the engine, for example, so there’s freedom to spend, at the moment, on the engine, particularly the new power train in 2014. But I think that what has come out of the discussions recently – and with the formation of a new Concorde Agreement, it gives the opportunity to sit down with our colleagues and hopefully agree a strategy on what does work and what does control costs, for the larger teams as well as the smaller teams, for the future, that is sustainable, that includes all aspects of the operation of a Formula One team, because currently, as proposed, the RRA doesn’t deal with so many aspects, whether it be KERS, for example, whether it be exhausts, whether it be drivers, whether it be other aspects of spend and cost drivers in Formula One. So hopefully there will be that opportunity over the coming weeks and we remain committed to ensuring that there is a workable solution that’s transparent, that’s fair, that’s balanced for all the participants.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Do you feel isolated?

    CH: I don’t think we find ourselves isolated. We elected to leave FOTA just over 12 months ago so we haven’t sat in FOTA meetings. We attend all the technical working groups, we attend all the sporting working groups with the parties that matter, we’re present in all discussions.

    Q: (Daksh Panwar – The Indian Express) Stefano, the Indian government has criticised the decision to the put the flag (of the Italian navy) on the car. So given that that has created controversy, will you review it for Sunday’s race?

    SD: Honestly, as I said, I don’t think this is a matter for this press conference to discuss this subject, to be honest. And as I said, if you have any questions or doubt about it, we have our press office available to you.

    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Stefano, question about your car: Nick Tombazis said a few things before the weekend about the wind tunnel and updates not working as they are supposed to in the last couple of races. Are you confident on today’s evidence that you’ve got to the bottom of the problem there?

    SD: Well, it’s difficult to say. For sure, being a pragmatic guy, we need to make sure that with the little of what we expect, today we will analyse the data. It is difficult to see, for example, FP1; the track was changing every lap so we need to take that into the analysis that the engineers are going to do now but for sure, the elements that will make the difference really, up to now, up to the end, if we would like to bring new updates on the car, we need to make sure that they are delivering what we are expecting, saying without doing, but making sure that this will deliver the objective that theoretically we would like to bring and this is a fundamental element that also relates to the fact that we need to work very hard to make sure that the problems that we had this year, mainly at the beginning of the season, will not happen again at the beginning of next season, so it’s quite long work that we are doing at home to make sure that we will improve that situation.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Stefano, about the new elements on the car; what worked and what didn’t?

    SD: I don’t know! We will see when it counts. Today is too early to say. The people will have done a good job if the car has improved in performance relative to our main competitors. If that is not happening, of course that means we haven’t done a good job. But it’s too early to say.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Question for the back row, please: I understand you might not want to confirm any of your decisions regarding who you might have selected for your drivers for next year, but will you be confirming your line-ups before the end of the season or during the winter?

    EB: Before the end of the season.

    MK:  We as well.

    CA:  Same thing.

    Q: (Shreyas Sharma – Mail Today) To all of the teams; last year we saw that the tyre wear at the circuit was an issue. On the evidence of today do you think that has improved; whoever wants to answer that question?

    SD: I believe that last year…

    CH: Ladies first!

    SD: Ah sorry, for sure! Last year was a completely new track, for sure the asphalt was in its first year of life so I’m sure that this year the situation with the tyres if you compare to last year is different. And looking at the runs of today, it seems that the tyres are more stable than what we saw last year, but that is my feeling after the end of the first day of practice.

    Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Monisha, Kamui was saying yesterday that he’s trying to find extra sponsorship and he’s busy working hard in Japan trying to find some backing. To what extent does his financial situation and backing influence the decision on whether he stays or not?

    MK: Regarding Kamui, we’ve always said that we know his strengths, his qualities as a driver and these kind of aspects have not played any role in it. If you look back, even when we took him up, also then people criticised us for that decision, and everyone knew that he doesn’t have any sponsorship package so nothing has changed on that.

    Q: (Vanessa Ruiz – ESPN Radio) So, Monisha, does the fact that he’s looking for a sponsor mean that he’s leaving Sauber?

    MK: I don’t know. I think you have to ask him that. We’ve not had any talk like that and, as I said, we are generally also looking at him, talking to him and I think we know him quite well by now, to know what we have if we keep him on.

    Q: (Ubaid Parkar – F1Pulse) Martin and Stefano, considering that there aren’t a lot of regulation changes next year, are you worried that Red Bull’s recent form means that you might be chasing Red Bull again next year?

    MW: The fact is that you go into every year with high expectations. I think everyone works hard to improve the car. Red Bull’s a very strong team, Ferrari’s a strong team, the three teams behind will all be competing next year so if you’re wise you go into every year worried about the eleven other competitors. You never know what they’re going to spring, you don’t know how good a job they’ve done. Sometimes you don’t know how bad a job you’ve done yourself, so that’s the exciting thing about Formula One. Everyone goes off the radar screen. We don’t get pace information for a period of time. We all work hard to develop a new car. As I say, during the winter you start to grow confident about what you’ve done but you’ve got to be mindful of the fact that there are eleven good teams working hard to beat you.

    SD: Well, on my side, with regard to next year, I would say that the situation could be more or less the same as this year. While everyone is trying to catch up the target that in terms of pure performance at the moment Red Bull have set, even in previous years, in my view, 2014 will be a re-set where there is a chance, where once again the field will be split into separate sections because it’s a totally new (set of) regulations, it’s a totally new power train, so I’m expecting that will be a year when we can see some incredible or interesting big surprises, or we can see the risk of having to field in one group because of this technical challenge that is huge. There’s not a lot of time, because of course all the teams will try to push hard in 2013 and then at a certain moment they will need to decide what to do for the year after and bear in mind that this year, I would say, most of the development that you can bring to the next year’s car, for 2014, you have to forget it and make sure that you have a good project that has to start from a white sheet of paper and you have no reference with the other competitors so it will be a big question whether… I’m sure that the first day of testing in 2014 will be quite a challenge and quite interesting for all of us.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Stefano, I heard your answer earlier regarding having the Italian flag on the car but are you not courting political controversy by displaying such an emblem, bearing in mind that the FIA’s statutes states no team or entity within Formula One is allowed to make political standpoint?

    SD: I think that if you look at what is written in the press conference (release) it is not really what you are saying. I think that you have to refer to that, to be honest, and look what is written exactly, and the reason why we put that on. There’s not any political intention or discussion in that. If you look at that, that’s really what is written.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) I have read it, and obviously you’re making a point regarding the two sailors that are in dispute with…

    SD: No, no, that’s not true.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) It’s on the website. I’ve read what’s on the website. You’re saying that it’s for the two sailors.

    SD: It’s not true, to be honest, what you’re saying.

    Q: (Dhruv Behl – Auto X) Just a generic question to the entire panel: what is India like in year two, compared to last year? So far, how has the weekend been?

    CH: I think it’s fantastic…

    MW: Ladies first.

    CH: No, absolutely, you’re quite right, Martin.

    MK: Go ahead, no go ahead. I could be slightly biased on that.

    CH: I do apologise. No, it’s fantastic to be back here. It’s a great track, it’s truly impressive what you’ve done here in India and I think that the race was tremendously well received last year. I think the circuit has a great blend of fast corners, slow corners, long straights, so it’s a pleasure to be back here and it’s great to see the evolution that’s happened during the last twelve months with what’s happened in and around the circuit.

    SD: Absolutely. I totally agree.

    MK: I fully agree with that. I think last year was really a fantastic event here and the FIA also awarded the promotor here with a special award for promotors at the end of the year. People were welcomed here with a lot of warmth. It’s difficult to really top that but to keep that and still get away with all the hiccups that we had in the first year is a great achievement.

    EB: Obviously I agree. I just say that when I arrived yesterday the first comment from my team was – as you will see – a lot of details and attention has been done to the track and it’s much much nicer and better. That’s really proved the commitment of the promotor and the country which is good.

    CA: Clearly some additional work has been done between the two years. Last year it was quite challenging work to be done, to deliver on time, which was the case, it was a good race, won by a Renault engine, so a good memory there. This year, we haven’t had much time to enjoy the country because we are in the middle of a battle to try and recover our tenth place. We would love to do that in India, obviously, it’s going to be challenging so if we could get a little bit of help from the weather, some rain, maybe that would help us in trying to get an abnormal race. Other than that, it’s great to be in a part of the world which is important for all the sponsors, all the car makers which are basically starting to appear here. It’s good to be here.

    MW: I think we’ve talked a lot about the facilities and I think the facilities are good and they’ve got better but I think the really important thing was that last year you really sensed that really crazy passion in its first year and it’s early days in this year’s race, but I think we want to retain that and build on it because clearly India’s a new and very important market for Formula One and looking ahead now, we’ve got to build upon the passion that we saw in its first year and make sure we don’t go flat, we don’t lose the interest, we’ve got to maintain that momentum. So the facilities are good but I think that this is such an important market for anyone, we’ve got to build on the passion we saw.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Stefano, considering the last three races, the gap of performance of Red Bull compared to your car and the others, how much chance do you have to close this gap and try to win this title?

    SD: In terms of closing the gap in performance, it’s difficult to say because our main competitors but also McLaren, they are always improving, so it’s difficult to say where we are relative to pace/performance but in terms of percentage with regard to the possibility of winning the championship, I think that, as we said before, there are too many elements that are on the table: strategy, race mistakes, problems that we still have – I would say – less than fifty percent because they are in front of us, but the race is full open.

    Ends

  • Narain believes BIC offers more grip this year

    Greater Noida (New Delhi), 25 Oct 2012: The lone Indian driver in Formula One, Narain Karthikeyan believes the Buddh International Circuit will offer more grip in 2012 than it did during its debut grand prix. He was talking to the reporters at the FIA Thursday Press Conference at the BIC ahead of the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday.

    Karthikeyan is one of very few drivers with experience of Buddh this year, and argues the circuit has improved with age. “I think the track is already in a lot better condition than last year,” said the Indian driver in Thursday’s FIA press conference. “It was very dusty, and because of the landscaping that they have done, the dust has settled. There’s no more constructio

    n around the circuit so we already have a higher level of grip and the circuit looks quite nice. As you know, I drove the MR Formula 2000 car a month ago; it was already very good. Temperatures won’t matter, they are going to drop a few degrees from today [30°C], I think, but it’s OK. The tyres are fine; compared to last year we have the same allocations but [the compounds are] a little bit softer so it should be fine here.

    The Indian driver also revealed HRT have an upgrade for this race. While suggesting it might be worth several tenths, Karthikeyan voiced the hope that a bumper crowd would be in attendance to see a more competitive performance from the Spanish team.

    “We’re coming off a hugely successful race last year, so expectations are high and I hope on Sunday we see a big crowd, a strong one. In India there is a lot of passion for Formula One and comparative to our neighbouring countries, like China, the understanding of Formula One is a lot better. It’s going to be a good grand prix, I hope. And for us, we have a small update, which is a rarity for our team. Hopefully it’ll work and we’ll have a few more tenths. I know we need seconds but it is what it is and I’m not complaining, I’m happy to be driving here and will give it my best.”

    Press Conference was attended by: DRIVERS – Heikki KOVALAINEN (Caterham), Bruno SENNA (Williams), Jean-Eric VERGNE (Toro Rosso), Narain KARTHIKEYAN (HRT), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (LOTUS), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Sahara

    File photo of Narain Karthikeyan by HRT F1 team

    Force India).

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Gentlemen, your thoughts on India? some of you have been here before, some of you haven’t, so your thoughts on what you’ve experienced so far and what you’ve seen so far and what you think of the country and what you think of the circuit.

    First of all Heikki, you’ve been here before, you’ve been training in Abu Dhabi so you’re used to the heat, what do you think of the weekend coming up and the country itself?

    Heikki KOVALAINEN: Well, I think, like you said, last year was the first year that we raced here. I think the event itself was really successful. Especially the circuit; I think they’ve done a great job here with the circuit. I think the layout is one of the best in the calendar, there are really some nice corners, the surface is nice and smooth, so it’s always enjoyable to drive here and we can set up the car nice and low and get them gripping quite well. So, I’m looking forward to another good event this year. It seems like the locals are picking up the Formula One more and more, so it’s working quite well here. Hopefully we get a lot of people coming to see us on Sunday.

    Bruno…

    Bruno SENNA: Of course I agree with Heikki regarding the track; it’s one of my favourites in the calendar as well and coming from last year to this year, the improvement on the facilities and everything is quite impressive. I think everything was a bit rushed last year, so everybody was a bit ‘oh this isn’t ready for the race,’ but at the end of the day it’s always the case when it’s the first year of the circuit. All the rough edges have been sorted out for this year so it’s a much nicer place. Of course the experience of the track is a whole different thing and I think for everyone who’s not used to India it’s a big cultural shock but it’s a culture full of history, full of richness and I think if you learn how to appreciate that sort of stuff, you can learn to appreciate the country.

    Jean-Eric, your first time here I think?

    Jean-Eric VERGNE: Yes, indeed. To be honest I don’t have much to say about this track except that it looks like a nice one, really smooth. The race from last year looked quite nice and I’m really looking forward to drive on it and it should be a good experience. As Bruno said, off track it’s quite a different country and to be honest I haven’t experienced much: I stayed in the hotel, I was quite far from everything, so didn’t see much, just on the roads, which look quite messy but beside it, yeah, we’ll see how the weekend goes.

    Narain, obviously a very busy week so far for you so far, a very busy weekend coming up as the native from the host country.

    Narain KARTHIKEYAN: Yeah, we’re coming off a hugely successful race last year, so expectations are high and I hope on Sunday we see a big crowd, a strong one. What I always say, in India there is a lot of passion for Formula One and comparative to our neighbouring countries, like China, the understanding of Formula One is a lot better. It’s going to be a good grand prix, I hope and for us, we have a small update, which is a rarity here for our team. Hopefully it’ll work and we’ll have a few more tenths. I know we need seconds but it is what it is and I’m not complaining, I’m happy to be driving here and will give it my best.

    Kimi, your first time in India. What are your thoughts, your impressions?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Well, I came last night at one o’clock, so I’ve only seen the motorway and the hotel. The hotel, outside it, looks nice. I have no complaints so far. The circuit – I haven’t gone around it. That is tomorrow. I’ll tell you about it.

    Are you a fan of Indian food?

    KR: Yeah, actually I am, if it’s the same as it is in Europe. I like it, but you know I have no experience yet of the local food.

    Nico, I expect you’ve have a busy week?

    Nico HULKENBERG: yes, we obviously we’ve had quite a few visits to India over the last two years. We’ve been here since Monday doing work with the local media and being in Delhi. I’ve been a few times here but I enjoy it every time I come. It’s a very different culture and a special experience to come here. It’s very different to all the other Asian places we go to. They’re always very welcoming, very friendly. I enjoy being here. Obviously, the track is new to me, so I’ll have to learn that one tomorrow. I’m generally looking forward to the weekend really. It’s a special weekend for us and hopefully we can entertain the crowds.

    Now, a question to all of you about your future. I don’t know if you’ve got things signed or not. Just give us some sort of update as to what’s happening next year? Heikki, would you like to start?

    HK: I wouldn’t actually like to start, but now that you’re pushing me… Nothing’s been signed for next for myself yet. Personally, my target and my focus is at each race weekend for our team it’s quite important that we try to regain that 10th position back from Marussia. It’s not going to be easy but I think we have to do whatever it takes to be in a position to do that if a freak race happens again. So, the main focus is on that and regarding the future with the team and with Tony, we haven’t decided yet. I think Tony knows what he gets with me but then he’s evaluating other options I think to see what he wants to do. And I’m waiting. In the meantime, of course, my management is also working. There’s nothing really to report but the main thing I think for myself and really for our team has to be to keep pushing to get that 10th position back, it’s quite crucial.

    Bruno – for next year?

    BS: Nothing has changed from the last time I was here and you asked me the same question but the focus is still the same: keep pushing and trying to get points for the team and then hopefully be on the grid next year.

    Jean-Eric?

    JEV: I haven’t thought about it really. So far I have a contract with Red Bull. I think I just have to keep doing the job I’m doing and improve myself every race weekend and I’ll think about this race weekend and Abu Dhabi and then think about next season, but I’m quite confident about staying with Toro Rosso and that’s what I would love.

    Narain?

    NK: Again, I have a good relationship with HRT; it’s my second year with them. They’ve built a good factory and everything else. On paper next year they’ll look the best so realistically I’d like to stay here and that’s the plan right now.

    Kimi, we’re told we can expect an announcement next week or so, is that the case?

    KR: I don’t know. I mean, we have options but nothing is decided but I guess it will be decided at some point.

    Nico. There are rumours about concerning your future. Where you’re going to go, when do you think you will know?

    NH: I know there is lots of talk about my future but at this point I don’t want to make a comment on the speculation. I’ll just focus on this weekend, which is the most important thing.

    Are things settled? Can you say that?

    NH: Just no comment.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Shridhar Poddar – Sakal Media House ) Kimi, how has the break from Formula One to rallying helped you, because your second stint has been turning out to be as good as the first one?

    KR: It hasn’t really done anything. I was pretty happy to go and do something else for a while, did some racing and I’m enjoying it again. It’s the same places – OK, there are some new circuits and places to come to this year and a new team, but apart from that, Formula One hasn’t changed and it’s exactly the same. For me, nothing’s really changed. People always talk about where I was last time, that I didn’t have the motivation but I thought I drove better than I ever drove in the last year; it was just that we had a pretty bad car at that time. Nothing has really changed for me.

    Q: (Vinayak Pandey – Hindustan Times) Narain, you have probably driven on this circuit a lot more than other drivers. The conditions in Delhi were unexpectedly cool and there was a rain shower on Wednesday. Should the temperatures become cooler than they are right now in qualifying and on Sunday, do you see any particular changes in the way the cars will handle or the outcome?

    NK: I think the track is already in a lot better condition than last year; it was very dusty, and because of the landscaping that they have done, the dust has settled, there’s no more construction around the circuit so we already have a higher level of grip and the circuit looks quite nice. As you know, I drove the MR Formula 2000 car a month ago; it was already very good. Temperatures won’t matter, they are going to drop a few degrees from today, I think, but it’s OK. The tyres are fine; compared to last year, the hard compound – we have the same allocations but it’s a little bit softer so it should be fine here.

    Q: (Chetan Narula – PlanetF1) Kimi, how big a challenge were Pirelli’s tyres for you, because the last time (you were in F1) you had different tyres, and now you have totally different compounds and everything?

    KR: I admit that I had some thoughts about the tyres before I did one private test – OK, it wasn’t the race tyres, it was some other even more worse tyres but I thought that they were fine. When you come from rallying, they have much more grip and the tyres were OK for me so after that, I already knew that I would not have any issues, because there was a lot of talk that maybe it was not good, but when I came back, I didn’t really remember how it was two years earlier, so I thought that the tyres were completely fine and I still do so. OK, they wore off a bit faster than in the past in some races but it’s the same for everybody and they’ve been doing a very good job for Formula One so I’m happy with that.

    Q: (Chetan Narula – PlanetF1) And you haven’t won this year but despite that, how good a comeback has this been for you?

    KR: Yes, I’m happy. If you had told me before the season that I will be in this position with this many points  and stuff like that I would have taken it but of course when you do some good races you always want more and more and then you’re disappointed if you’re not. If you do well you want more and more. It could have been better but it could have been much more worse also.

    Q: (C. Raghunath – The Hindu) Kimi, do you fancy your chances this year? You’re third in the championship…

    KR: Yeah, of course. We’ve had a chance. It’s the difference like in 2007. We had a car that you knew that could win all the races and right now we are not the fastest car so we need more help to really win it but we will keep trying and hopefully we can achieve it. We will try until there’s no chance but it’s a bit different situation. But if we can improve the car in the next three races, you never know, so…

    Q: (Vinayak Pandey – Hindustan Times)  Kimi, after which race did you feel that the Lotus team didn’t have the same competitiveness as it had at the start of the season?

    KR: I think in Spa we had some signs but then we have seen this year that one race you can be very strong and the next not so good, it’s been up and down between the teams. For some reason, after the summer break, some of the teams have been much more consistent. I think we still have a good car. We improved it in the last race again but we are not at the level that we maybe were compared to others at the beginning of the season.

    Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) Nico, you said that you mentioned that you got here on Monday. Could you just give us an idea of some of the things you’ve been doing since you got here?

    NH: Well, mainly a lot of media interaction. We are an Indian team so there is quite a bit of interest, so we’ve been around, talking to a lot of TV stations, went to some studios, did a sponsorship event with Hackett which is a team partner in clothing. It’s only two days and two days pass pretty quickly.

    Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) Did you meet Vijay?

    NH: No, we haven’t met Vijay.

    Q: (Shreyas Sharma – Mail Today) Narain, since you are closely associated with this track, some changes have been made, although the changes are minor. Do you think it will make the race more interesting, faster?

    NK: No, the layout remains the same, just that the kerbs are extended a little bit in turns five and six and then they put some astroturf to keep the dust down because a lot of cars were going off in that particular corner last year. Apart from that, as everyone has said, the layout is fantastic and I’m glad they haven’t changed anything, it’s nice to drive on, it’s pretty flowing and it’s fast.

    Q: (Shridhar Poddar – Sakal Media House) To all the drivers, whoever wants to answer: the long straight is something that the DRS was really tailor-made for although we didn’t see too much overtaking last year. How much overtaking do you think there is a scope for over here?

    NK: We won’t be doing much overtaking so I think…

    HK: We have the same problem as Narain so…

    BS: Normally, the overtaking is more due to the tyre difference between the cars than to long straights or DRS. Long straights always help a little bit but if you’re coming from a corner like turn two, which is a long corner where you put a lot of heat into the tyres, into a hairpin, where traction is a bit more compromised so overtaking really is more due to the tyres than anything else in current Formula One. But if you’re in a Toro Rosso  then you have about 20kph more top speed than everyone else then you can overtake as well!

    Ends

  • Time to support FIA and Jean Todt

    Jean Todt, an FIA photo

    Bangalore, 24 Oct 2012: The Concorde Agreement to rule the sporting conditions for the FIA, Formula One Teams and the commercial rights holder FOM will be delayed for another few weeks as no agreement is reached by the stakeholders in view of the FIA demanding full control of the sporting activities, a legitimate demand. A full text of the Press Release by FIA on the Concorde Agreement is given at the end of the article. Your website www.INDIAinF1.com strongly believes that the FIA, the sporting federation should be incharge of the sport and not the commercial rights holder or the ring master Bernie Ecclestone, who has the legal rights to control the TV rights.

    Any international sporting federation is the sole body which controls and administers that particular sport. Perhaps the only exception is The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, popularly known as FIA. It is the governing body for world motor sport and the federation of the world’s leading motoring organisations.

    However, the premier championship under its aegis, the Formula One World Championship, appears to be controlled by different companies of Formula One Group like Formula One Management, Formula One Administration et al under an agreement called Concorde Agreement. The commercial rights are controlled by these companies with Bernie Ecclestone ruling the roost. However, the present Concorde Agreement comes to an end this year and the president of FIA Jean Todt is trying his best for the Federation to regain control and to enhance revenues for better running of sport.

    Founded in 1904, FIA has its headquarters in Paris. The FIA is a non-profit making association. It brings together 232 national motoring and sporting organisations from 134 countries on five continents. Jean Todt, a French automotive executive, is the current president of FIA and has completed three years today (23 Oct 2012). He took over the responsibility of FIA chief when the International body is going through a governing crisis after its long-term president Mas Mosley was forced not to contest after he made stern efforts to see that FIA gets more revenues at the end of the then Concorde Agreement in 2009. Mosley, proposed various measures to cut the costs of running the teams and the championship including budget cap for the teams where teams choosing to cut budgets would be given freedom to greater technical changes. However, Formula One Teams Association believed that allowing some teams to have more technical freedom would create two tiers. FOTA also threatened a break-away series with only Force India and Williams supporting the FIA chief. Finally, Max Mosley agreed not to contest again and the teams reached a Concorde Agreement in August for three years ending 2012 and Mosley also supported the candidature of Jean Todt as the new president.

    The FMSCI, the Indian federation chief, Vicky Chandhok, was also tipped to the post of the FIA president but eventually Jean Todt defeated former WRC champ Ari Watanan by a huge margin and had made tremendous improvements to the World body in the last three years including greater importance to Road safety.

    Jean Todt took advantage of FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society which was existing within the FIA since 2001 and launched the “Decade of Action for Road Safety” in 2011 along with his partner, an actress who believes in the same road safety. He dwelled on issues such as safety, mobility, the environment and consumer law  and made sure that the FIA actively promotes the interests of motorists at the United Nations, within the European Union and through other international bodies.

    He also wants the FIA to gain control and get better revenues and INDIAinF1 strongly believes that the International Federation should take full control of things and the sport, including Formula One should be under the control of the FIA and not by the commercial rights holders.

    Recently, Jean Todt was quoted by the Financial Times defending certain rumours: “It makes me smile when I read that we are going to lose control . . . I will never allow things which are under our responsibility to be dealt with by anybody else.”

    Todt also put forward the case for the FIA earning a large share of F1’s revenues. “If you sometimes read the figures, F1 is a $2bn [revenue] business or $1.5bn. The FIA is a non-profit organisation, but we need to run our organisation. We need to encourage the development of the sport, we need to encourage development of action for road safety.”

    The meeting in Paris was supposed to be held on 23 October 2012 but it was held a day before and no agreement was reached.

    It is believed that the Concorde Agreement will take several weeks to get everyone on the same thread.

    Hope the ring master will let the ownership of the sport go to its natural owners, the FIA!

    From FIA website:

    2012 Concorde Agreement

     22/10/2012

    During a constructive meeting, Jean Todt, the FIA President, in co-operation with Bernie Ecclestone, the Commercial Rights Holder, has presented to all F1 Team Principals the new structure of governance, including the new conditions of entry for the Concorde Agreement, starting in 2013.

    All the participants in the meeting were encouraged to seek clarification which resulted in a fruitful and helpful debate on how the new structure would operate in 2013 and beyond.

    A further important step has been achieved today to secure the future of the F1 World Championship which should lead to a final settlement to be reached between the FIA, the Commercial Rights Holder and the Teams in the coming weeks.

    ends

     

  • Sahara Force India looks forward to home race

    New Delhi, 23 Oct 2012: Even as newspapers and channels report that the beleaguered Kingfisher employees are planning a dharna at the Airtel Indian GP this week-end, the  Sahara Force India team looks forward to its home race, the Indian Grand Prix and the team Principal Vijay Mallya talks about the team’s form in the second half of the year and gets set for the team’s home race.
    Dr Mallya, the team continued its run of points finishes in Korea. What is your assessment of the season so far?
    Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya. File photo from SFI F1 team.

    It certainly feels like we have upped our game since the summer break and it has been satisfying to see us up there fighting for good points. The only frustration is that we have not always managed to get two cars in the points and that has hurt us in the championship. But in terms of outright performance, I think we can be pleased with our level of consistency. We’ve had at least one car in the top ten of qualifying in over 80% of the races and scored points in 75% of the races. While we may not have finished on the podium this year, it is our consistency that has been key to our success and kept us in the fight.

    The second Indian Grand Prix is upon us – what can we expect second time around?
    Last year’s race was already a tremendous success and I’m sure we can expect an equally spectacular event this year. Buddh International Circuit always looks after us very well and I know that they have been working hard behind the scenes to fine-tune the circuit and facilities even more. But above all else, the most important thing is the layout of the track because last year all the drivers loved it. It’s certainly one of the best tracks in the world.
    How is the team approaching its home race?
    I remember how proud I felt last year to see our cars racing in India in the colours of the Indian flag. It was a moment I had dreamed about and a great sporting achievement for our country. To score points was the icing on the cake. This year I would like to go one better and see both our cars in the points – at the very least – so that we can give our fans something to smile about. The gap to Sauber is now 27 points. It’s a big lead, but not impossible to catch them before the end of the year. There’s still a lot of racing to go and we will keep the pressure up for the final four races.
    Nico on India
    Nico Hulkenberg reflects on his performance in Korea and looks ahead to the Indian Grand Prix.
    Nico, after two strong results in Japan and Korea, you must be feeling pretty confident coming into the team’s home race…
    The last two races were a lot of fun and probably two of my best races of the year. Korea was pretty much a perfect weekend. I said at the start of the weekend that we needed things to be perfect and that’s what we had: no mistakes, a smooth qualifying and a clean race.
    Since the summer break you’ve scored 26 points – it seems you’ve found the sweet spot with the VJM05…
    I feel comfortable and confident in the car and the team is doing a good job. We’ve just got a good rhythm and momentum, and that’s so important in Formula One. I’ve still had some tough weekends, like Monza and Singapore, but on the whole things have been going well. We just need to make sure we can repeat what we did in Korea during the final four races. We really need to stretch ourselves to get everything we can from the remaining races.
    This is your first Indian Grand Prix and you’re driving an Indian car – how excited are you ahead of the weekend?
    I was at the first Indian race last year, but obviously I didn’t get a chance to drive. I’ve been around the track in a road car and tried it on the simulator, but I still have a bit to learn on Friday. As a race it’s as big as they come for this team. We will be in Delhi at the start of the week to meet the local media and fans and they always show lots of enthusiasm for us. I hope that we will see their support at the track with lots of fans cheering us on.
    Paul on India
    Paul Di Resta looks ahead to the team’s home race.
    Paul, tell us your thoughts heading into such an important weekend for the team…
    It’s obviously our home Grand Prix and a special weekend. There’s pressure on us to perform and clearly we need to go there ready to keep the momentum going. It’s a busy week for everyone involved with the team and there’s a lot going on in terms of media work and extra events, but it won’t distract from our focus to come away with the best result we can.
    What targets do you have in mind?
    We’ve got to go there and qualify in the top ten. That will get us in contention and allow us to concentrate on the race. All year we’ve shown that we have a car capable of reaching Q3, but the grid is very close and we don’t have any margin so we need everything to come together perfectly. Also, based on our performance last year, we looked quite competitive at this track so you’ve got to hope that will carry over for this year.
    What are your thoughts on the Buddh International Circuit?
    It’s one of those new-style Herman Tilke circuits so there’s a good mixture of corners, plenty of run-off and a few areas where overtaking is possible. We found last year that the grip built up quite quickly and the track was exciting to drive with some satisfying corners. I remember that tyre wear was quite high last year and I had to stop three times during the race, so understanding the tyres on Friday will be the priority.
    ends

  • JPSI announces Airtel Indian GP schedule

    New Delhi, 17 Oct 2012:Jaypee Sports International Limited (JPSI) has announced the schedule for the second edition of Indian Grand Prix  at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC), Greater Noida, on Sunday the 28th of October 2012

    A file picture of Sameer of JPSI receiving Bernie Ecclestone. Photo JPSI

    .

    Motorsport Fans will get a chance to experience the adrenaline rush of F1 up close and personal on October 26 with the first practice session scheduled for 10 AM. It will be followed by a second practice session from 2 PM to 3.30 PM. JK Racing Asia Series and MRF Challenge 2012 will be the two support races for the Indian GP.

    The all-important qualifying will begin at 2 PM on October 27, which will be preceded by the one-hour long third practice session from 11 AM. The final race will be flagged off at 3 PM on October 28.

    Indian GP schedule: (Detailed Schedule annexure attached)

    Friday, October 26: JK Racing Asia Series (practice): 08:45-09:15; F1 first practice: 10:00-11:30; MRF challenge (practice): 12:00-12:30; F1 Paddock Club (pit lane walk) 12:35-13:45; F1 second practice: 14:00-15:30; F1 press conference: 16:00-17:00; MRF challenge (Qualifying): 16:00-16:30; Marshall Pit Lane Walk : 17:45

    Saturday, October 27: JK Asia Racing Series (Qualifying): 09:15-09:45; F1 Paddock Club (pit lane walk): 09:50-10:40; F1 third practice: 11:00-12:00; MRF Championship 1st Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 12:25-12:55; F1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk: 13:00-13:45; F1 Qualifying: 14:00; JK Asia Racing Series 1st Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 15:30-16:00

    Sunday, October 28: F1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk: 10:00-10:50; MRF Championship 2nd Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 11:00-11:30; JK Asia Racing Series 2nd Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 12:00-12:30; F1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk: 12:35-14:15; F1 drivers grid parade: 13:30; F1 starting grid presentation: 13:40-14:15; National Anthem: 14:46; Grand Prix: 15:00

    The tickets for the race days are available on www.bookmyshow.com. They are also available in selected outlets in key metros from 11.00 AM from 5th October, 2012. Tickets, outlet details, parking charges, shuttle services from various points in NCR, location of stands, etc, are now available at www.buddhinternationalcircuit.co.in

    About Jaypee Sports International Limited (JPSI)

    Established in October 2007, Jaypee Sports International Ltd., a subsidiary of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (JAL), has constructed India’s premier motorsports destination – Buddh International Circuit (BIC) – which hosted India’s first ever F1 Grand Prix on October 30, 2011. In addition to F1, the track is also expected to host other top-level international motorsports events. BIC will be a part of Jaypee Sports City, which is spread over 2,500 acres. This facility will include a Cricket stadium that is being developed in two phases and which will have a seating capacity of 100,000 people. There will also be a hockey arena, a sports training academy and infrastructure for other sports. Jaypee Sports City, the country’s first fully integrated megacity built around a sporting lifestyle and featuring premium residential and commercial spaces, has been designed by world renowned architects and planners, WATG. One of the world’s leading design consultants for the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industries, WATG has made a significant contribution to making Jaypee Sports City the best of its kind anywhere in the world.

    ends

  • Vettel goes past Alonso with 3rd straight win

    Sebastian Vettel completed Formula One’s tour of the Far East with a third straight victory, in the process taking the lead in the Drivers’ Championship.

    Sebatian Vettel of Red Bull Racing takes the driver championship lead with a third straight win at the Korean GP on 14 Oct 2012. Red Bull Racing photo

    His third victory in a row was secured in the first three turns of the race. When the lights went out pole position holder Mark Webber made a marginally slower getaway and Vettel was able to pull alongside his team-mate into Turn One. It was a close battle but by the end of the circuit’s long back straight the champion was ahead and had the better inside line. After that Vettel opened up a gap of a couple of seconds and seemed able to respond whenever Webber went quicker.
    On lap 14 Webber headed for the pits to discard his supersoft tyres for a set of the softs. Vettel stayed ahead after his stop a lap later and set about increasing his lead to around 10s where it stayed. From there it was simply a case of both drivers managing tyre wear in order to maintain their one-two status to the flag. It was Red Bull’s first one-two finish since last season’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

    Behind them Ferrari finished third and fourth with Felipe Massa tucking in behind Fernando Alonso. Kimi Räikkönen was fifth for Lotus, Nico Hülkenberg a hard-fought sixth for Force India ahead of Romain Grosjean in the second Lotus. Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo were eighth and ninth respectively for Toro Rosso, and Lewis Hamilton picked up the final point for tenth after McLaren had a bad day.

    This is the first time Vettel has led the Drivers’ Championship since May. He has 215 points compared to Alonso’s 209. Räikkönen remains third in the standings, increasingly distant on 169, while Lewis Hamilton is fourth with 153. “I think it was a fantastic race,” said a delighted Vettel. “Obviously the foundation was to have a good start, which I wasn’t sure [of] because I was starting on the dirty side but I have to say I had reasonable grip and a very good launch.  I could see that Mark was struggling a little in the first bit of the start and I was able to get side-by-side. Then I had the inside into turn one, which was good.”

    Vettel conceded that after that it had simply been a case of controlling the gap back to Webber and his rivals and managing his fading tyres.  “It was a perfect first stint,” he said. “I think towards the end I was able to pull away a little bit and open a gap to Mark which helped to stay out a little bit longer and I think after that we had a very good stop, a very strong second stint opening the gap again.”
    Webber, meanwhile, admitted that his less than perfect getaway had compromised his race. “The initial launch wasn’t good. The first bite just kicked to wheelspin and from then on I knew I could have some issues,” he said. “It was just a very mediocre run to the first corner. Seb got a good one.”
    Alonso said he was happy with having got the maximum out of his Ferrari but admitted he did not know what his team could do to counter-punch against the form currently being shown by Red Bull. “I think it’s a question mark,” he said. “We didn’t bring to the last six or seven races, anything new. We are doing what we can at the moment and we are trying to save points, which I think we are doing perfectly every Sunday.

    “Again it was a perfect Sunday for us: good start, good strategy at the right time and in the right moment, then finishing again on the podium. “I think it was a very strong Sunday. We overtook McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, which is something that maybe we didn’t expect two or three races ago, so definitely we are moving in the right direction. We just need a little last step to be as competitive as Red Bull and I think it will be a beautiful last four races to the end.”
    Red Bull increased their Constructors’ Championship lead to a commanding 77 points, with 367 compared to Ferrari’s 290. As Alonso said, third and fourth in the Korean Grand Prix jumped his team ahead of McLaren in the standings, for whom Jenson Button had a first-lap retirement after being hit by Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber on the run down to Turn Three. Lewis Hamilton lost third place to Alonso at the start and then suffered an anti-roll bar failure mid-race that upset his car’s balance and forced him into a three-stop strategy for badly wearing tyres.

    Hamilton conceded “In terms of winning the world championship, logic suggests that that’s probably it for me,” while Räikkönen said “The gap to Sebastian in the Championship is quite big now so it will be very difficult to catch him.” Increasingly the season looks like becoming a straight fight between Vettel and Alonso, with the momentum definitely in the German driver’s favour.

    ens

  • This is my best race in F1 this year: Vergne

    Jean Eric Vergne scores his third 8th place this season. Photo: Toro Rosso – Red Bull Content pool.

    Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne has branded his eighth-place finish in the Korean Grand Prix as his best performance in Formula One so far.

    The French driver started 16th and put in a committed drive to take four points at the Korean International Circuit, equalling his previous two best finishes in Malaysia and Belgium.

    The result puts him on 12 points, three ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who finished a place behind Vergne in Korea after a brake problem hampered his progress in the closing stages of the race.

    “I’m really, really happy, as this was definitely my best race of the year and the car worked well with very little tyre degradation on both the prime and the option,” said Vergne.

    “I did not take too many risks at the start and I had a nice fight with Perez in the early stages and then with Di Resta and also Hamilton,” he added. “Daniel [Ricciardo] and I were on different strategies and both seemed to be effective. Towards the end, I was told that my team-mate had a problem, but overall for the team, to get eighth and ninth, with Daniel also driving a great race, is a fantastic result.

    “In general, we seem to be making progress and this track seemed to suit us well, which I think we can also expect to be the case in India. The best part of the race? Seeing the chequered flag in the points!”

    Ricciardo, meanwhile, was pleased with his two points but felt he could have achieved more had it not been for the late-race brake issue.

    “My last stint on the Prime was my best until, with about ten laps to go, I found myself going straight on at turn three,” said the Australian. “At first I thought it must have been a suspension failure because the car suddenly shot to the left and I couldn’t stop it.

    “However, I realised I could keep going, even if every time I braked the car pulled to the left and I was locking the front a lot. Unfortunately, that cost me eighth place. I’m still grateful to be in the points with such a problem, although it’s a case of mixed emotions, as it would have been my best result of the season. But for the team overall, it’s been a very good day.”

    ends

  • FIA Sunday Press Conference: Korea

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    2 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Johnny Herbert)

    Sebastian, you’ve got to be happy with the way it’s gone? Perfect start, perfect race, third straight win, you’ve got to be happy with the way things are going?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, very pleased, fantastic, I’m very, very happy. I think it was a fantastic race. Obviously the foundation was to have a good start, which I wasn’t sure because I was starting on the dirty side but I have to say I had reasonable grip and a very good launch. I think Mark had a little bit of wheel-slip and I was able to get even side-by-side. Even then it wasn’t over because it’s a long way. When I was up-shifting to seventh gear I could hear Mark coming, he was side-by-side and then I tried to use my KERS to defend and fortunately had a good exit after the third corner, so was able to stay ahead. And after that tried to push. It was quite close in the first stint, Mark was always on my toes but towards the end I felt I had a little bit more left in the tyres and could go a little bit longer. We had two brilliant pitstops. The only mistake I did was once I locked-up the front right quite badly into Turn Three, bit of a mistake from my side but fortunately by then we had quite a cushion to the cars behind and were able to control the gaps in the end. I think we were all a bit worried about the front tyres because we’ve seen a lot of people locking up wheels and overshooting the apexes. So, really, really happy. I have to thank the boys on this one. The mechanics in the garage because they have been flat-out, arriving here obviously there’s not much break from Japan to here, flat-out every night and working very hard on the car. I think we have done another step and that is exactly what we need and hopefully we can carry that momentum through to the next races.

    Mark, second place. Pole position was obviously a good start for you – unfortunately on that start you just didn’t get off the line – but what was the race like for you? What difficulties did you have, if any?

    Mark WEBBER: The start wasn’t sensational. I’ll have to look into it but yeah, probably the initial getaway wasn’t too great but after that it was… everyone wants… it’s not the best corner to lead off so I thought, OK, we won’t risk too much in the first corner, and then we got a good slipstream off Sebastian but it was just neck-and-neck for us along the back straight. After that I just tried to hang in there as best I could. But then it was just about tyres, looking after the front right. And at the end of each stint it was difficult to keep the front right alive. Yeah, the first two stints were quite tricky for me and then the last stint I was much happier with the balance but it was all too late then. So, good drive for Seb, great day for the team, the guys did a great job. Of course I’m disappointed but I’m happy to get a good result in the other side as well. Thanks to all the fans for coming out today. Cheers.

    And Fernando, well the championship battle is on now isn’t it? You’ve led for so long in this championship, you’re six points behind – I think you should be happy today because the car was quite competitive. Do you feel that? Do you feel there’s more to come from you and Ferrari?

    Fernando ALONSO: Yes, definitely. I think we have to be happy with the performance today, we finished third and fourth, just behind Red Bull that at the moment are difficult to beat. So, it was a good day for the team, for Felipe, for me, and I think we also overtook McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, which is something that maybe we didn’t expect two or three races ago, so definitely we are moving in the right direction. We just need a little last step to be as competitive as Red Bull and I think it will be a beautiful last four races to the end.

    Seb, a last thing from you, obviously you’re leading the championship finally, how are these guys, especially Fernando, going to be able to beat you? What are you going to do?

    SV: It’s tough but that’s what it is about. I’m looking forward to the next couple of races. We had a good last couple of races but y’know we’ve seen the championship is pretty much up and down, a lot of things can happen. What do we do? I think we have to focus on ourselves; we need to have our best possible results and then we go from there. I think at the end of the year if we have enough points there’s a lot of people telling us so we don’t have to do the mathematics ourselves.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, well done. First of all, was it really all about the start, and then tyre management I guess?

    SV: Well, we didn’t know! It’s difficult to say. Obviously now we can say that the start was very important. In my case obviously we started from the dirty side. I think the right side generally we saw last year, usually is a bit better but I had a very good launch and yeah, could see that Mark was struggling a little bit in the first bit of the start and I was able to get side-by-side and obviously then had the inside into Turn One, which was very good for us. But it wasn’t over at that stage because there’s still a long straight and quite a big headwind all race from Turn Two to Turn Three. I could hear him coming and obviously he was side-by-side but fortunately I had the inside and after that I focussed on having a very good exit out of Turn Three, which fortunately I had and then I was able to stay ahead. I think it was then that Mark was side-by-side with Fernando, going into Turn Four. It was a perfect start for myself and after that a perfect first stint. I think towards the end I was able to pull away a little bit and open a gap to Mark which helped to stay out a little bit longer and I think after that we had a very good stop, a very strong second stint opening the gap again. Only at the end of the second stint I had a mistake, braking for Three, locking up the right front. I think a lot of people suffered issues with the front today so the last stint I tried to control a little bit more and I had more juice in the tyre until the end. Obviously we had the gap and were controlling that towards the end, but I think once you reach the point where the front tyres are gone, it’s sudden death, so there’s no point of return. We were talking a lot over the radio, trying to stay on top of the problem and manage the front tyres quite well, which I think we did until the end. Very happy with the result and have to say thanks again to the mechanics, the team, they have been working more than what we should ask them for. Every night, flat out, the whole team and I hope now they get a bit of a break, some sleep finally. But obviously it’s a nice reward to finish first and second today for the guys in the garage. Really pleased with the result.

    It’s the first 1-2 for a team this year, so that’s the reward. But obviously Ferrari’s going to come back as strong as they can, McLaren too. Have you still got bits in the pipeline, is the motivation still there?

    SV: I think the motivation is still there for sure. The guys, I don’t know, I could not deal a single night with that lack of sleep and they do it three weeks in a row. So, really impressive and I think we are not lacking motivation. The spirit is perfect in the garage, the atmosphere is great and I think we all want to do our best and to really try and win the race on a Sunday. I think we’ve been pushing very hard all season; we have tried lots of stuff. Sometimes it was more successful than other times but the most important is today. Obviously whatever happened is history and we have to look forward. Very pleased with the result today. I think we can have a couple of drinks tonight before heading back. It’s difficult to predict the next couple of races. As you said, the first 1-2 this year, I think it shows how difficult the season has been for everyone. Ferrari was extremely competitive today, probably more competitive than everyone expected in the race. Both of them, Felipe I think was only a little bit off Fernando, so yeah, quick in the race, we know their car works in all circumstances, so we have to stay on top of our game, focus on ourselves and do what we can.

    Mark, exactly what happened at the start there? We could see from Sebastian’s… it’s almost as if when you moved into second gear it…

    MW: Yeah, I think we were chasing the clutch quite a bit after the first launch on the formation lap, and also coming to the back of the grid the boys were asking me to get the move clutch ring quite a bit so the initial launch wasn’t good. The first bite just kicked to wheelspin and from then on I knew I could have some issues. It was just a very… mediocre let’s say… run to the first corner. Seb got a good one. All wasn’t lost, obviously, second corner, getting the slipstream on the back straight I thought it was still possible to do something there. We were side-by-side, I had a tow but when once I pulled out I just hit a brick wall as well, both of us were just…  vvrrrmmmmmm… and then everyone just coming up behind as well. So, yeah, and then after that we had to manage the tyres really, look after the… go as quick as you could, looking after the tyres but also trying to keep some pressure on Sebastian. It’s the way it is these days: you’ve got to look after the black things on the corners and yeah, so that’s part of it. Mixed emotions for me, it’s still a very solid result, I was very, very happy with the lap I did yesterday, could have easily been not on pole but I was through a solid lap and today is a good result but yeah, it’s mixed emotions. Second is a big difference to first. I have good points and champagne but it’s not what I was after. But for the guys, it’s a great result for the team and they’ve done a very good job in the last two weeks and I’ve got to congratulate Sebastian on the win.

    Fernando, your fourth third place but I’m sure you’re looking forward to getting back on top. What sort of effort can you imagine Ferrari making before the next couple of races?

    FA: Well see, I think it’s a question mark. We didn’t bring to the last six or seven races nothing new so we are doing what we can at the moment and we are trying to save points which I think we are doing perfectly every Sunday. Again it was a perfect Sunday for us: good start, good strategy at the right time and in the right moment. Then finishing again on the podium. So, I think it was a very strong Sunday but we hopefully make a little bit of a step in terms of performance and then we can fight for bigger things. But anyway, very, very happy with today’s race, very happy with the performance. We saw Sunday again move us a little bit closer to the top guys, and also with the position in the championship. Obviously we lost the lead by six points but if we think how it went for us the last four or five races, with two retirements, nothing to do with the team, no mistakes from the team, not mechanical problems or anything like that, just some people flying over us and things like that. With all these problems, being six points behind leaves open a lot of possibilities for us in the last four races.

    You got to within 1.4s of Mark at one point, 1.3s, but similarly, Felipe got to within about the same of you as well. Was that all down to tyre performance?

    FA: It depends how much you use your tyres or what the conditions of the tyres in that part of the race. We seem to be a little bit more competitive or less competitive. Or closer or a little bit further than the opponents in terms of distance. Obviously it was nice to try to be within one second here because you can use the DRS on the straight – but we could not have that possibility so we lost a little bit there.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, as you said, Ferrari is not bringing any new parts. You’re still there fighting and staying close to them. How frustrating is it?

    FA: Nothing new, nothing new. The last five years of my career has been like this. I’m good, I’m confident, used to this situation. We have normally one set of tyres in Q3, there is not time for mistakes, no time to lock up a tyre or go over a kerb or anything like that on Saturday or on Sunday. We are always on the limit, but we feel comfortable, let’s say, like this. We seem to extract the maximum from the car when we are under pressure and as I said, four beautiful races to come with good possibilities for us to fight for the championship, but in the end, I’m sure there will be some circuits where we are a little bit more competitive, and some circuits where we are maybe not competitive enough, but overall, in the last four races, as we said, now we need to score seven points more than Sebastian, that will be extremely tough but we believe we can do it.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Fernando, earlier on this season, before this round of fly-aways, you said that Ferrari’s best circuits were going to be Singapore, Japan and Korea. We’ve obviously finished those. What kind of expectations do you have for competitiveness at the other circuits, apart from Austin?

    FA: We will see. It will depend obviously on the updates in the car. I think we will see in India if there are any new parts. If there are, we will need to test them. For sure, the other teams will also bring new parts, maybe more than us, so we need to see which of them are working, which of them are not working and for who they work. I think the performance of the car will depend on that. I think in Singapore and Suzuka and Korea we felt competitive. In Singapore maybe not so much but we were able to be on the podium. In Suzuka we saw Felipe finish in second and here both of us were third and fourth, so overall they have been more or less good races for us apart from the puncture in Suzuka, so in terms of performance I think we are there. Obviously Red Bull have made a step forward and they won three races. They were one and two in qualifying in Suzuka, one and two in qualifying here, one and two in the race here so it’s something that is not in our hands.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel – La Gaceta) Fernando, do you believe that the yellow flag was a key factor in the beginning of the race, nine laps with the yellow flag in the first sector?

    FA: I don’t think so, I don’t think so because I was not within one second of Mark so it was not really a possibility to use the DRS – obviously with the DRS you cannot do it. I think it was maybe a little penalty – or a little bit worse for the guys behind me. I think Lewis, Felipe and Kimi didn’t have the possibility to open the DRS because of the yellow flag and I think for Felipe’s race it was a little bit easier if he could overtake Hamilton straight away at the beginning, but not for me.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, in the last few laps, on the radio we were always hearing the team telling you to be cautious, go slow, there was a problem with the tyres and then you set your fastest lap on the last lap, so what is the truth: was it a big risk?

    SV: Obviously you start your stint in the beginning with a little bit more than 20 laps to go, after the last stop. I think you can work that out yourself, you have a lot of kilos in the car. Towards the end it’s nearly empty so you go quicker without even trying harder. I think it’s the same for everyone, given that you still have the tyres. Obviously we try to look after them during the whole of the last stint, because we’ve seen in the stint before how sudden the front tyre can lock up and you can lose control of the front tyres, so obviously we didn’t want to run into that sort of problem again, especially with pressure from behind so even if you have quite a big gap, when you start to struggle a lot with these tyres, then there is a lot of time lost within a couple of laps – I’m speaking of a couple of seconds per lap, so we didn’t know that. As I said, we controlled that very well so we still had some shoes left, tyres were not new but they were not completely worn until the end so I was going a little bit quicker in the last sector so that’s why the lap time was pretty similar to what I started with in the beginning of the stint, but calculate the difference of fuel and it’s a big difference.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Serra) Sebastian, do you also now have a psychological advantage over Fernando, from a technical point of view, as Red Bull seems to be ahead. And secondly, how did the double DRS help you, as you didn’t use it in Suzuka?

    SV: Well, I didn’t use it again today in the race. It was obviously not an option. It’s not just one feature on the car that makes you go quicker. I think we tried to work a lot around the car and sometimes you bring some new parts but sometimes you just work on the set-up: you do something smart, you listen to your stomach, you listen to what you see on the data and you act on what you see on the data and everyone is pushing hard. You sometimes might find more with the set-up than you might find with new parts so, as I said, we are pushing very hard but I think if you look at this season, it has been pretty much up and down and it was very good for us in the last couple of races but we also know how little it takes to maybe end up in a different position in the Grand Prix. I think we can take nothing for granted, we have to look after ourselves. Whether we have a mental advantage or not, psychological advantage or not I don’t really care. I’m not into those kind of things. As I said, we look after ourselves. There’s a lot of things we have to focus on to do a perfect job and that is the target every weekend.

    Q: (Cristobal Rosaleny – Car and Driver, Spain) Fernando, you used to say that the weakest point at Ferrari was in qualifying, but Red Bull looked clearly faster than you in the race. Were you expecting that and are you a bit concerned for the next races?

    FA: Of course I was expecting that. I think we were not the fastest car in the race in our championship so I didn’t come to Korea expecting to be the fastest car on Sunday. We always said that we improve on Sunday compared to Saturday. I think between the two cars, in 15 or 16 races, the other Ferrari was in Q3 six times, ten times not in Q3 so definitely there is not the performance in qualifying which we then see on Sunday, when we normally improve. Yesterday we were P4 and P6 and today we were in P3 and P4, so definitely on Sunday there is always a step forward for us but we never believe or we never thought we were the fastest in the race and today was more or less as expected or better than expected, because we were fighting with Webber all the race which was something we were not able to do in Singapore or in Suzuka.

    Q: (Marco dell’Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Mark, if you look at these two guys beside you, do you think that with the 18 points from today, you still have the chance to fight with them for the championship?

    MW: Yeah, well it’s getting tricky now. I obviously need some bizarre circumstances. It’s clearly possible for me to win Grand Prix. You just need to get everything perfect and today I didn’t, I paid the price. I can win some races before the year’s out but the gap is massive to these two guys. That’s the way it is. We have quite a few races and all the points add up at the end of the year. Of course we’re all on our game, we all drive pretty well. I only smelt a little bit of tyre smoke off Seb today so I knew that that was unusual for him, but apart from that it was a clean Grand Prix for all of us and that’s how it generally goes for us three, when we don’t get smashed out by other people. It’s difficult but you never never never know.

    File photo of Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull Racing photo

    Ends

  • Torrid time for McLaren in Korea

    McLaren left the Korea International Circuit with just one point to show from the weekend after a torrid grand prix saw Jenson Button crash out at the start and Lewis Hamilton finish tenth after his race was wrecked by an anti-roll bar failure.

    Button’s race had alrea

    Hamilton manages to finish 10th to get a lone point for McLaren despite a problem. McLaren photo

    e Briton had admitted that battling back from an 11th-place start would be tough. In the end, however, his battle was over almost before it began.

    As he headed into turn three after the start, Kamui Kobayashi clipped the rear of Button’s McLaren and, losing control, the Sauber driver then ploughed into the front right of the McLaren. Button skittered off track and out of the race his front suspension in tatters.

    “I got a really good start and was able to get past both Mercedes,” said Button. “Into the first corner, there was a slight incident in front of me [when Sergio Perez braked late and tapped the car in front], so I was forced to run wide and push Nico [Rosberg] off the circuit.

    “Nico and I then had a good drag-race down the back straight on lap one. I braked really late for turn three, then suddenly Kamui’s [Kobayashi] car was climbing all over my car’s right-hand side.

    “It’s extremely disappointing. This is a long race, with so much opportunity for everyone. It’s a great circuit for overtaking, so it’s surprising to see people behaving like that on the first lap.”

    With Button out, all focus shifted to Hamilton and the 2008 champion looked in good shape as he slotted into fourth place behind Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.

    However, after Hamilton’s first stop on lap 13 he reported that the car felt nervous and thereafter his pace fell away as he struggled with excessive tyre wear, causing him to make three stops for fresh rubber compared with more standard two.

    Late in the race a piece of Astroturf from the run-off also became entangled with his sidepod and he was forced to defend 10th place from a hard-charging Sergio Pérez in the final laps.

    “I was told after the race that my car had suffered a rear anti-roll bar failure a few laps into the second stint,” said Hamilton. “It was safe to drive – and I was trying my best with it, pushing all the way – but it was extremely hard to maintain a good pace. The balance was switching from corner to corner, the car was moving around along the straights, and it was eating up the tyres, which meant we lost further ground by being forced onto a three-stop strategy.

    “To make things even more difficult, I then picked up some stray run-off Astroturf, which tangled itself around my sideboard winglet for the final few laps. It stalled the diffuser – so I had no rear downforce at the end, which made it even trickier to hang on to 10th place.”

    The result left Hamilton admitting that his title fight is now probably over.

    “In terms of winning the world championship, logic suggests that that’s probably it for me. Having said that, there are a lot of points still up for grabs, so I’ll keep pushing. Stranger things have happened, and I’ll never give up.”

  • Webber takes Korean Pole

    Webber takes pole in Korea. Red Bull Racing photo

    While practice times had Sebastian Vettel favourite to take pole position in Korea, it was team-mate Mark Webber who finished qualifying in P1.

    Red Bull Racing’s Webber won the Monaco GP earlier this year after inheriting pole position when quickest man Michael Schumacher was. However, at the Korea International Circuit, pole position was all Webber’s own work.

    “It was a tight session for all of us,” he said after beating his team-mate by just seven hundredths of a second. “I think as the session unfolded, people were having different balance issues on different tyre compounds. I was happy with my lap there, it was solid and it’s good to get pole. It’s a great place to start the race from. I’m looking to get off the first corner very well, that’s important as there are two long straights after that.”

    The Red Bulls looked like being the only cars in the hunt for pole position. Having dominated practice, the carried the form into qualifying, going immediately to the top of the timesheet in Q1 when they emerged from the pits. Vettel was the quicker by two tenths, and given his form in practice was a strong favourite for pole.

    Elsewhere, championship leader Fernando Alonso had a difficult opening session and the Ferrari driver needed to put on the supersoft tyres to ensure progress to the second session. Even then he could only manage 16th place. That was one place better than Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton opted to stay in the garage during the final stages of the session. As fastest times came in his name dropped down the leaderboard until he was perilously close to the drop zone. He was teetering on the brink of elimination when Bruno Senna abandoned his last lap and ensured Hamilton progressed. “It was quite a shocking session for me: didn’t get a lap, did quite a poor job… I’m very lucky that I got  through,” said Hamilton afterwards.

    Further back, the drop zone shaped up as expected with the Caterhams, Marussia and HRTs all being eliminated. HRT’s Narain Karthikeyan endured a big spin at Turn 3 that sidelined him from the rest of the session. The problem was later reported to have been caused by a broken brake disc.

    The second segment largely followed the pattern of the first, at least for Vettel. Fernando Alonso set the pace on his first run with a lap of 1:38.987 but the German beat by just over two-tenths. His team then opted to keep the World Champion in the garage for the remainder of the session, his time being good enough for him to remain top. The big casualty of the second session was McLaren’s Jenson Button. The Briton needed a good final run to ensure he’d be around to fight for pole but at the tail end of Q2 Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo stopped out on track with a gearbox problem. As the yellow flags came out, a number of drivers were forced to back off, including Button.  He finished in 11th place, ahead of Sergio Pérez, Kamui Kobayashi, Paul Di Resta, Pastor Maldonado, Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

    After dominating the opening two segments, the final 10 minutes should have been all about Vettel’s march to a 35th career pole. Webber, though, had other ideas.
    After the duo’s first runs, Vettel had the upper hand, putting in a time of 1:37.316. Webber, meanwhile, could do no better than fourth. In the final runs however, it was the Australian who found the extra injection of pace. Vettel, though, was still lapping but the German’s first sector was poor as he was forced to back off when he encountered the much slower Felipe Massa shortly before the start of his lap. Mistakes in the second sector then compounded the damage.

    “Overall we can be very happy with the result,” said Vettel. “We were quite quick in the first and second qualifying sessions and had a good start to Q3. On the last run, I had to back off starting the lap as Massa was there, it wasn’t his fault, but I had to back off. Nevertheless, the second lap in Q3 wasn’t good enough. I lost time in the middle sector, which seemed to be okay all weekend, but when the circuit ramped up I wasn’t able to go with it, so I lost a bit.”

    Webber then will start from pole for the first time since Monaco with his team-mate on the front row beside him. Hamilton will start from third with Alonso alongside. Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen will start fifth, with Ferrari’s Felipe Massa lining up alongside him. Seventh place went to Lotus’s Romain Grosjean, follwed by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and the twin Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.

    ends