Tag: Hamilton

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Kai Ebel)

Lewis, congratulations. First of all, give us inside view of your rocket start, that we all have seen there?

Lewis HAMILTON: Well, first please let me start with a big thank you to all the fans that have come out here in Germany. To see so many people here… great sportsman(ship) from the people here. I’ve got a lot of fans out here and I just appreciate you all coming. What a race! Obviously yesterday, second place, but what a great start. My engineers did a fantastic job. The balance was amazing. It was just about keeping it cool and looking after the engine. I’m just so happy that I can be up here for Mercedes-Benz, who I have been with since I was 13, so this is a very, very proud position for me to be in, so big thank you to the team who, as I said, did an amazing job.

I see from the expression on your face that you changed totally from yesterday to today and then you had the guys from Linkin Park here, so they brought you a lot of luck?

LH: I think to day I didn’t make any mistakes, so in my heart I’m happy with what I did today. I came to do a job… yesterday wasn’t perfect, but you learn from those things and today was a real show of looking at the glass half full and filling it up today.

Right behind you was a big bullfight, led by Daniel Ricciardo who smells really of champagne. So after this champagne shower, how about some German beer?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I had a little bit yesterday at the autograph session. This is two weekends in a row now with a podium and one of the most refreshing things is seeing so many fans back in Germany. It’s obviously great to have the race back here after a year off. So thanks for all the support. Thanks to Red Bull Racing. I think it’s the first double podium for us in over a year. So it’s awesome to close out the first part of the season. And mum and dad are here. It was my dad’s birthday yesterday, so… they don’t get enough recognition, so thank you guys.

Daniel, tell me just quickly, how could get by this guy [Verstappen] really quick and supported by so many Dutch guys here?

DR: That I see a few Australian flags around. There are a few more Dutch, but I appreciate the Aussie ones, so thanks guys. It was a race of strategy at first. It was really close in the first corner with myself and Max. He had a good run on the outside and then on the supersoft I was much more comfortable and we had good pace for the last half of the race. We really capitalised on a good day. We had a good car. Obviously we couldn’t win but second and third isn’t too bad, so thanks again.

Max, coming to you, being on the podium in front of lots of kinsmen here from the Netherlands. So, first of all, tell me about the start and why you couldn’t hold it then in front of Danny?

Max VERSTAPPEN: We had a good start and from there on I think the pace was pretty good. I was enjoying it and then we chose to do two different strategies on the cars so I let Daniel by and from there on I think we played really well as a team. To get a double podium out of it was the main target and to score more points than Ferrari and that’s what we definitely did today.

Third position: is it enough to make a party tonight or you’re going home on the German autobahn with all those guys in the caravan?

MV: I am going home but it will be a nice homecoming that’s for sure.

Thanks you so much. Coming back to you Lewis, you must feel like in heaven – four in a row now. So once you’re in heaven, now we have a big break, how about some skydiving, because you love adventure holidays?

LH: I won’t be going skydiving, but I’ll definitely be relaxing. I’ll have my dogs with me and with family and friends. I think the whole team – everyone back at the factory and everyone here – have worked so hard this first half of the season and they all need a break, so I think it’s really well earned by everyone, so thank you.

Q: Lewis, just after the national anthem I saw you standing, for a long time, staring down the inside line into Turn One. Just considering it, presumably visualising it. It obviously worked.

LH: I was kind-of touched after the national anthem. The lady sang so beautifully. After that it was really just trying to stay… keeping cool, trying to see the line, because the track’s actually not flat there. It’s uphill from me going across to where Nico was and yeah, of course, I needed to put my car alongside him somehow. I was hoping for a great start. Those starts have been inconsistent and you never know what you’re going to get. But just trying to understand the circumstances ahead of me. But first, I want to say a big thank you to this team. It’s been a hard slog for everyone in the team, for the whole year and obviously with ups and downs and the difficulties that we’ve had, the real strength that we’ve shown, through and through, these last races has been inspiring for me. Seeing them coming back, week after week, the work that gets put in, inspires me to drive like I did today. So, I really owe it to them and excited now, get to go on holiday. This is the best way to go on holiday.

Q: Daniel, a Red Bull double podium as you just mentioned there and Red Bull now up into second in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Ferrari by 14 points going into the summer break. Obviously the story of the race was the split strategies: you and Lewis both going onto the soft tyre, Max and Nico going onto the supersoft. It obviously worked out well for you today but you also looked, the way you were driving, it looked like you had a taste for it today. You were pushing very, very hard and trying to get onto the back of Lewis.

DR: Yeah, definitely. We obviously wanted to finish the first part of the season on a high and after Friday’s long runs we knew we would probably be more competitive in the race stint than we were in Budapest. And obviously we had a little sniff at the start of the race in Budapest, so yeah, we knew that we could have something on. I was trying to make the most of it as always but knowing we probably had a better chance today, it was obviously  a nice little motivation to try to make the most of it. The start initially felt quite good, obviously Nico’s was quite poor so we got past him, and then I covered the inside in Turn One but then Max had a good run on the outside and it was very close with us. We obviously kept it on track, much to my disappointment he pulled off the move at Turn One. Then it was trying to keep Nico back on the first lap. It was a good little battle there for a few corners and that was quite important for my race, to then keep him behind and focus on what I needed to do. The first two stints, we went supersoft-soft. We were in the race but nothing… I wouldn’t say the pace was enough to really make a massive jump on the lead, or the top two – but then once we put the supersofts on, the last two stints, that’s where I really felt like I could push the car. It came alive, and that’s where in the end we got the second place. We had good pace and it was nice. As Lewis said, nice to go on the summer break with a result I’m happy with. Two weekends in a row now it’s a podium and, for the team, we’re now second in the Constructors’ so I think we can be really proud, both of us, to split the Mercedes today. It’s a really good effort.

Q: Max, coming to you, obviously you were on the other side of that split strategy.  You complained in the second stint that the supersoft was not the race tyre for today. Tell us a little bit about that, and why not, and also tell us in detail about your fight with Nico Rosberg for which he was given a penalty.

MV: First of all, the start was good. So I went from fourth to second so I was happy with that. I think in the first stint the pace was pretty good. I could see Lewis and he was not pulling away too much, so I was just controlling it and from there on we went onto the second set of supersofts but they felt pretty weak and easy to destroy the tyres. Yeah, just didn’t feel great. I couldn’t really push in that stint so I had to back-off. Once I got onto the soft tyre, yeah, it was a little bit better but of course the soft is not as strong as the supersoft tyre, so I saw Daniel behind me charging on a supersoft because Nico passed me and pushed me a bit wide, so he got a five-second penalty for that. I was still following him but then, of course, Daniel with the supersoft was charging, so I let him go by, and from there on, yeah, it was pretty OK, and once I went onto the last set of tyres, the pace was there again but once you are behind someone within two seconds, you can’t really push any more. You are just understeering and you are waiting. That was it. In the end it is a good result for the team and we are in front of Ferrari now and that was the main target. I think as a team we can be happy.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Max, you mentioned that you let Daniel past to help the team. Would you have done the same if it was for the first place?

MV: I don’t know, ‘cos we are not driving for the first position. Difficult to answer that one.

Q: (Dominik Sharat – Motorsport Total) A question for Daniel. Daniel, we heard you saying about Esteban Gutiérrez, “he’s one of my favourites, I love this guy”, what was the reason for that?

DR: errr… yeah. To be honest, off the track, I have no problem at all with Esteban. I think he’s actually one of the nicer guys – but just on the track just lately, it’s come up the last few races that a few of us haven’t been that impressed with the blue flags. We’ve discussed it in drivers’ meetings. I’ve been in the position and I know it sucks, it sucks to move out of the line and let the leaders through – but it seems particularly the last three races in a row… everyone is doing an OK job and it seems like he’s doing a less good job than the others. A bit of frustration obviously. I was trying to say it as politely as possible but, yeah. I think because he’s been told already, he knows that a few aren’t that impressed with his blue flag handling. I thought by now the message would have gone through but for me at least today… I lost more time behind him than anyone else.

Q: (Volkskrant – Lennart Bloemhof) Question for Max. Which feeling is dominant: the joy of getting on your fourth podium in this short season or the disappointment of finishing behind Ricciardo again for the second race?

MV: I’m not really interested in the feeling at the moment. It’s a good result for the team, that’s what I said, that’s the most important.

Q: (Jens Nagber – Bild) Question for Lewis. What happened to your starts compared to the beginning of the season, what do you do better now?

LH: It’s kind of the luck of the draw. We have worked very, very hard. Obviously I have a guy that I’m working with very, very closely and it’s been an up-and-down season and it’s not his fault or not my fault, it’s just the way these new clutch-regs are and how sensitive the clutches are. I think we’ve worked, and worked and worked, and just consistency and really trying to be precise with the whole procedure. And I think today the procedure, the last two races, the procedure’s been spot-on, pretty much. Today was definitely the best one I would say. Yeah, it’s just a work in progress.

Q: (Graeme Keilloh – Grand Prix Times) Max and Daniel, was it something that you spoke about before the race, the possibility of switching positions if strategy called for it or was it a bit of a surprise, Max, to be asked to cede your place?

MV: No, I think in general, on this track, you have a lot of possibilities so definitely we talked about it and I think we did a good job on that today.

DR: Well, firstly, top of the morning to you, Graeme. Oh! Scottish!

MV: He’s had a bit too much champagne, that’s the problem. I think he’s drunk!

LH: It’s the mixture of champagne and his foot juices.

MV: Sweat and champagne is a bad mix, I think.

DR: I wanted you to ask me a question all weekend and I was waiting to say that and I just blew it! Alright. Sorry. Viva Scotland. Yeah, it wasn’t really the intention to do a three stop at the start of the race. We knew there was a possibility but it was to try and do two and then it looked, as the race was going, that it was more and more likely a three. I think how it worked – because both myself and Max were in front of Nico at the time, we’d split the Mercedes, one of us was trying to cover what Nico did and that then allowed me to try something else and that was I think the reason why we split the tyres. As I said, the supersoft worked a lot better, I was happier with that tyre the last two stints. That was how I guess I got the second place. I think that was all it was and obviously once I caught Max, I think it was in the second last stint, I had the DRS but he made life easy for me so that was, let’s say, a good little bit of teamwork for us and obviously the team was happy that we played nice and got maximum points today.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Daniel and Max, OK you said in Hungary that you expect better performance than in Hungary. What do you expect in Spa which will probably suit your car?

DR: For us… to be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet but I think our performances this year are much more representative of 2014 and 2014 Spa was very good, for me, particularly. This year, I think we’ve surprised ourselves on some circuits. Coming in to this weekend, after Friday we saw our long run pace and it looked good but before Friday we didn’t really expect to have two Red Bulls on the podium here. Let’s see what happens in Spa. I think we will have a pretty good car around there. I think for now our target is keep being at least second best. Obviously we want to win but if we can keep staying ahead of Ferrari then that’s good for us for now. As you say, I think we were within ten seconds of the lead today and that’s obviously a nice start so hopefully Spa can be a bit closer again and keep chipping away.

Q: Max, I guess judging by the crowd today, one of the things you can expect is a lot of support, right?

MV: Yeah, I think so. Already here, my feeling was that I saw more Dutch flags than German flags. It was very nice to see and the track is just great to drive and hopefully the car will work again. We didn’t expect to be that competitive here and normally Spa should be more competitive so let’s see. I think this was a very good weekend and hopefully we can have a good weekend again in Spa.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, at the end of the race, these guys were only six or seven seconds behind you; what do you see for Spa-Francorchamps which looks like a good circuit for them?

Q: Is Spa potentially a place where you might take your engine penalty?

LH: It depends. Today I saved my engine a lot which is why they closed up as much as they did. I only needed a six second gap really, they wanted me to keep six seconds. It went from eleven to seven quite quickly and then I had to get back on it, but generally I was looking after the engine up front and never felt like I was under threat. Without a doubt, they were fantastically quick this weekend. I think naturally it wasn’t a problem for me but obviously I assume Nico struggled behind them so it’s still… it looks like it’s going to be close. I think Spa… hopefully I’ve saved enough of my engine today hoping that I would be able to use it at the next race. It will either be the next race or Monza, because I’m going to run out of engines soon.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Lewis, I would love to know if in this race it didn’t matter about pole position. It’s important but anyway you went in front. I want to know for Spa, do you have the same feeling, even if you are in second place (on the grid) if it’s possible to overtake, what are the possibilities in Spa?

LH: Every track is different for the start in terms of what follows from the actual start. Spa is a very very short stint down to turn one. I’ve been in first before and then you get towed massively up to turn three or whatever it is. Les Combes? I don’t know the names of all the corners. It’s a difficult one. Sometimes if you’re in second and you think you’re going to tow someone and then you get perfectly alongside… I think for us it’s still the best position for us to be in. But the last two races have showed that pole is not everything and obviously the starts can really make a difference, so I will continue to work on the starts as I have been and try to continue to hopefully improve them.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Max, going back to the battle with Nico in the hairpin, when did you realise that he was going to overshoot the braking point and have you been sure right away that it had to be a penalty for him?

MV: Well, I think pretty sure that he was quite far, so he braked really late and at one point I thought he was going to run into me so I opened up and then he didn’t turn in, he was just driving straight so I had to go off the track otherwise we would have crashed. That’s not very handy. Lewis knows. That happened and he got a five second penalty, so for me it was just trying to stay within these five seconds to get him back after the pit stop.

Q: (Joe Van Burik – De Telegraaf)  Max, can you explain why the supersoft tyre did not work for you as the race tyre?

MV: I don’t know, it’s a bit tricky to say but I think when you are on high fuel and you go on a very soft tyre it’s always a bit harder on that tyre and I maybe didn’t have the right wing offset. Yeah, it made it a lot harder so I think that’s why… maybe with the track quite hard on the tyres it just didn’t work out well, and then of course, when you go to the end of the race, a softer tyre works pretty well because then the car’s a bit lighter and it doesn’t push that much on the tyre.

 

eom/FIA press release

DRIVERS

1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Kai Ebel)

Congratulations Lewis, you are the leader of the world championship right now, was it due to a tailor-made start, man?

Lewis HAMILTON: Well, firstly a big thank you to all the fans here, they’ve been amazing this weekend. It’s because of these guys that this race is so spectacular. We always have such a great time here, the track is great, the city is great, but the fans really make the event, so big, big thank you. With the race, yeah the start was everything. I got a good start… I mean I had one of the Red Bulls was on the inside of me, so I was pressured quite a lot into Turn One. But the team did a fantastic job with the strategy, preparing the car as always, the guys back at the factory continuing to push flat out, so a huge thank you to them, because this is a great result as a team, so yeah, what a day!

There was a crucial situation in between when the lap Gutierrez was blocking you a little bit, so I guess he’s not the next to be invited on one of your sailing trips?

LH: No, it’s good. But definitely traffic today was difficult to navigate through but… love you guys!

Coming to you Nico, even you had a fantastic start but just not good enough. Big question mark?

Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it was down to the start in the end. I lost out a little bit and then into Turn One, with Daniel on the outside, Lewis on the inside, I ran out of space, so I had to bail out of it. That was it really. I was happy to take Daniel back in Turn Two and from then I was trying to put all the pressure possible on Lewis but of course it’s not possible to pass on this track.

So is it some kind of good news maybe that the next race is already on next Sunday in Germany on your home turf, you can hit back?

NR: That sounds very good. The next race is coming up very quickly, it’s my home race and that’s going to be awesome.

Coming over to Dan Ric. Dan, you are familiar to this podium here. They all know you, you have been here a couple of times. So was this third position enough to get the famous Dan Ric smile back on you face?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Absolutely. If that noise doesn’t, I don’t know what does. Yeah, thank you guys. It’s great to have another podium this year. Obviously the first one was a bit bittersweet but this one I can definitely enjoy and for sure the smile’s back. Super happy to be here today. It’s three years in a row I’ve been on the podium at this circuit. It’s been good to me and as Lewis said the fans are amazing, so thanks to everyone. Thanks to the team, we are continually getting better, so that’s great, and yeah, I’m having fun.

Coming back to Lewis, you guys are battling each other on the track but I know you are working out as well as Danny in the boxing business. So how about a charity match between Daniel and you in the paddock. You both work out at boxing, so would that  be another idea, not only battling on track but in the squared circle?

LH: You never really have very good ideas, do you, so I’ll leave you to your ideas. But, to the man in the orang suit! Ha! Some of my best friends out here, thank you so much for coming and lastly to the fans: thank you all for coming out and we’ll see you next year!

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, many congratulations. You’re now the most successful driver here at the Hungaroring, surpassing Michael Schumacher. What does that statistic mean to you and how does this victory compare to the four that came before at this racetrack.

LH: It’s pretty incredible to hear those words and to… especially when you think I grew up watching Michael so to now have had similar, if not one more, than he had here, is just incredible. But, y’know, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the great people I’ve worked with, both at McLaren-Mercedes and now here. It’s a result of great work from such a large group of people. I’m really just a chink in the chain. I love it here. I hope there’s more to come before I stop. Yeah, it was not the easiest grand prix I’ve had here in the ten years, nine, ten years – but definitely one I enjoyed. And a great battle between the three of us.

Q: Nico, it seems that so much was won and lost in the opening ten seconds of this race. Could you just talk us through what happened?

NR: For sure, yeah, the race was decided there. My start was OK but slightly down on Lewis’ start and Daniel also, ever so slightly. And then Daniel obviously got a tow and Lewis had the inside line. Just lost out there into Turn One. Got a bit tight between the two of them also so had to back out and then, OK, I was glad to at least get back second place from Daniel in Turn Two, that was cool, around the outside – but lost the win there.

Q: Daniel, moving onto you, it was a very close battle with Sebastian Vettel at the end of the race. Are you pleased to have beaten Ferrari or disappointed not to have challenged Mercedes harder this afternoon?

DR: I’m pleased with the podium. Obviously we got close at the start and tried around the outside of Turn One and I couldn’t really see I think at the time Lewis, when Lewis and Nico were in my blind spot, so at the apex of Turn One I thought I was in the lead and then saw one of the Mercedes sneak up on the exit. And then, yeah, into Turn Two, I was just on the inside and Nico had a clear run and got better drive. I think the first part of the race we looked quite competitive. But then yeah, it looked like Mercedes had a bit more in their back pocket and were able to improve the pace as the race went on. In the end the fight was then with Sebastian. It got pretty close at the end; did quite a long stint on those tyres. It wasn’t easy. The last lap, I’m sure he had DRS and, at least in my mirrors, it looked like he got quite close in Turn One. So, yeah, bit of a fight. So it was a bit of a relief actually coming across and keeping third.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Barna Zsoldis – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, you mentioned many times that you love it here, so do you plan some celebration in Budapest maybe?

LH: I do. I definitely will go and have a nice meal in town and see what the nightlife has to offer but obviously we race next week so nothing too heavy. And then I might go and spend the day sightseeing tomorrow before I head back to the UK.

Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe) Lewis and to others, Lewis you are a fashion addict, how do you like the new dresses of the Hungarian grid girls?

LH: I like it very much, actually. I think they looked amazing. It’s not always that we have the best grid girls or outfits, should I say. This year it worked well and for some reason, Hungary just has an abundance of beautiful women. It’s perfect for us, we’re single, not so much for Nico but really enjoyed it.

DR: He (Nico) has to be careful what he says! Yup, they looked great. It’s hard, it’s hard for us obviously, you know that Sunday we’re focused on the race and the task ahead but it would be nice if we raced on Saturdays and then had Saturday evening to explore the city a bit more.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, it looks like you controlled the race as you wanted. The moment Nico approached you, suddenly in one lap you could increase the gap easily.

LH: Compared to practice we knew that the temperature was a lot higher. I think it was 43 degrees track temperature in practice and today was about 53. It’s an unknown how long these tyres are really going to last. We have a target which need to get to so once I got into the lead, I was able to just manage my tyres, my car and manage the gap and react only when I needed to. For sure, I think the backmarkers caused a little bit of trouble towards the end but generally I was able to keep the buffer to the right amount. There was one moment… I was thinking… the whole race I was thinking, this has been great, I’ve not made any mistakes and in one moment… I can’t remember if I was behind someone but I locked up one or two front wheels and I went slightly wide and Nico then was all of a sudden on my tail which wasn’t exactly a moment… but then after that  it was just head down and increase that lead.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Daniel, I realise you don’t have a crystal ball but if you’d taken the lead of the race at the start, would it have been possible to keep it?

DR: I think for a part of the race, sure. You know there were moments when we looked competitive compared to Mercedes. I think once the first stint settled, they had a bit more pace than us but at the start of the second stint with the soft (tyres) we seemed really competitive but in the end it looked like Mercedes were just doing what they needed to do and then it felt like their pace got stronger and stronger. Little parts of the race where we thought we were  quick enough but I think as the stints got on then they were able to keep a bit more pace. Probably wouldn’t have lasted the 70 laps if I had the lead at the start but yeah, what if? I don’t know.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines) Lewis, in yesterday’s Mercedes team press conference, your session, you said that you’d asked for urgent clarification of the double yellow flag ruling, regulation. In fact your words were ‘it just needs to be clarified now.’ About an hour later, Nico got called to the stewards. Do you believe that you influenced it in any way, did you contact anybody or was it purely coincidental that Nico was called in an hour after you made that comment?

LH: Well the stewards needs to come up with some kind of solution because it is… the whole 23 years of racing, it has been ‘if it’s yellow flag, you slow down’ and if it’s double yellow flag, you be prepared to stop and Nico was doing the same speed at the apex as I was doing on the previous timed lap. If there happened to be a car that was spun or a marshal on the track, it would have been pretty hard for him to have slowed down in that case, so that’s why… and the fact that he didn’t get penalised for it means that we need to be careful because the message we’re sending not only to the drivers here but also to the drivers in the lower categories is that it’s now possible for you to lose only one tenth of a second in a double waved yellow flag section which is the most dangerous – one of the most dangerous scenarios with the double yellow flags. They need to clear that up because before it was two tenths that you were meant to lose with one yellow flag and half a second with two yellow flags. It wasn’t the case yesterday and there was no penalty, so going into the next race, we could be battling for pole position and we see double yellow flags and we know we only have to do a small lift and lose one tenth of a second and we’ll be fine and go purple in the sector. So that’s why it does need to be clarified and I’m sure Charlie and the stewards are going to do so because it needs to be clear.

NR: Can I respond? Thank you very much. Thank you for making that statement, so now I’m going to put my response. What you have to do with a double yellow is significantly reduce your speed and make sure you go safe. I went twenty kilometres per hour slower into that corner, twenty kilometres per hour is a different world in an F1 car. Twenty kilometres per hour, you are going proper slow. It’s completely… everything is safe. That’s how I did my speed and lifted off thirty meters before my braking point, so I was just rolling there, twenty kilometres per hour slower until I got to the apex. Then of course when you’re in the apex, I would have a much tighter line because I went in slow and then so I could accelerate out again. So definitely I significantly reduced my speed and that’s what it says you need to do and that’s why for the stewards that was completely acceptable. It was very very obvious what I did, very clear and of course on a drying track you’re going to get massively faster every lap. It’s not like the track was consistent. On a drying track, it’s irrelevant what the sector time was because you’re going to get so much quicker every time you go out there because there’s wet patches and when they dry, you just go so much quicker. And so in that segment, I was slower, where there was the yellow flag but of course in the big sector, yeah, I’m quicker because the track is getting quicker and I’m pushing in all the other corners. So it was a pretty clear case for the stewards and that’s why I didn’t get any penalty.

Q: Daniel, can we just get your thoughts on what happened in qualifying yesterday?

DR: Yeah. With that incident? Yeah, for me, I think at least the principle, whether it was the situation yesterday or not but I think Lewis touched on the principle. It’s something which we’ve actually been wanting to probably discuss further for a long time or quantify because a single yellow, people are getting away with a micro lift and showing the stewards that look, I slowed down where you’re not really. But a double yellow is a significant… it’s a big risk on the track, perhaps and in my case, Fernando was still at the apex, pointing towards us on the racing line so I had no choice but obviously ,looking at the double yellows before that, it’s a little bit blind so already I was willing to drastically slow down, I guess. I think the double yellow needs to be very different to the single yellow and I think that’s what we’re not too pleased with at the moment.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Nico, sorry to ask you but it was impossible not to notice that you were drinking a lot. Was it because maybe your drinking system failed in the car or was it a particularly hard race physically, and is it fair to say and also to Lewis and Daniel, that this is one of the hardest because it’s so hot, there are so many corners, you cannot really rest?

NR: Definitely it’s a difficult race, it’s very hot out there, but I’m just thirsty, because we sweat a lot and it’s nice to drink this good stuff and that’s it, nothing more than that. My drink system was working fine.

DR: Yeah, it was definitely hot, I’m still sweating. We don’t have a whole lot of liquid in the car. You could drink probably four litres during the race if you had it, so sure, we’re hydrating a lot after the race, a) because we’re thirsty and b) because it helps, I think, with recovery. But also this track has always been physical, because there’s not much rest. Obviously you’ve got the one main straight but after that it’s a lot of corners  and you keep very busy. It’s probably top three on the calendar, I would say, for most physical circuit.

Q: Faster lap times this year, did that impact on the physicality of the race?

LH: Not really. It’s always hot here, it’s always physical but today wasn’t actually the most physical I’ve had here. I’m sure next year will be.

Q: (Sandor Meszaros – Kelet Magyaroroszag) Nico, for the first time this season, Lewis is the leader of the championship. How do you see the rest of your campaign?

NR: Well, it’s very close. It’s been a good season so far up to now, it’s been a good battle with Lewis and as I’ve always said, I’m not counting the points, there’s still a long long way to go. Everything’s still possible and I just want to focus on winning races, that’s what I wanted to do today, I had my full focus on that, it didn’t work out unfortunately, just losing out in turn one and now I move my focus to Hockenheim, because it’s my home race and I’m really looking forward to going there, racing there.  I love the track and so I’m going to try and win there.

Q: (Istvan Simon – Auto Magazin) Daniel, during the podium interview you referred that the smile, the famous grin is back on your face. Is it due to the fact that you more or less managed to keep in touch with those guys in the silver cars, here in this physical race or more, due to the fact that you’ve managed to beat your teammate Max for the first time since Azerbaijan?

DR: Yeah, for me it was, I think for quite a few races, I think the qualifying generally has still been really strong. The Saturdays, I’ve put them together well but the Sundays, whether it was circumstances, bad luck or just not being quick enough, haven’t really felt like I’d get the most out of a Sunday. With Barcelona and Monaco which was so close and then it just felt like… I wouldn’t say, it looked like momentum, sort of swings a bit, but just the way racing goes. It was just nice to… I feel from Friday onwards until the last lap today, I got the most out of it, so I’m more pleased with that this weekend, to leave Sunday feeling happy again and knowing that I got everything I could out of the car and package and it’s nice to be rewarded with champagne and a very nice trophy here.

Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Daniel, you came in for your stop on lap 33, way before anybody else. Why so early and how difficult was it to keep the tyres alive for so long?

DR: Yeah, at the time we looked quite competitive to Mercedes. I think I was closing on them a few tenths a lap and basically, yeah, we were looking to maybe… we thought perhaps they were struggling, so we thought we’d try and just be aggressive and try and get closer to them, basically, if they were going to pit very soon. And also, I think Seb wasn’t too far behind but I think it was more trying to fight for the win at that time, as opposed to defending, I think, what was happening behind us. That was pretty much that, but then once we pitted, it looked like they just turned up the volume, unfortunately.

Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Lewis, we know how much you like music. I would love to know, at this moment in your life, on the top of the wave, as you said two days ago, what is the song which describes this moment in your life?

LH: Right now I need to go the toilet so… It’s killing me, it’s something else! I don’t know. The song that was playing in my head today was LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out. OK, can I go?

 

FIA transcript of the press conference

Lewis Hamilton romped to a fourth career British Grand Prix win at Silverstone, as team-mate Nico Rosberg faced a post-race investigation over radio messages delivered to him by Mercedes as the German battled late-race gearbox issues. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull Racing.

Following a start under the Safety Car brought about by heavy rain in the build-up to the race, pole sitter Hamilton controlled matters from the front with apparent ease. When the safety car peeled away to allow racing to begin after five laps, a stream of cars headed towards pit lane to move from full wet Pirelli tyres to intermediate rubber but the lead four cars, of Hamilton, Rosberg, Verstappen and the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo stayed on track.

Hamilton pitted after seven laps, taking on intermediates and then after 17 laps the Mercedes driver moved to medium tyres, which he kept for the remainder of the race.

Aside from one incident where, like many drivers during the race, he was momentarily caught out by lingering damp conditions at Turn One and was forced off track, Hamilton controlled matters expertly to eventually claim a fourth British Grand Prix victory and to become the first man to claim three consecutive wins at Silverstone.

“I’m glad that the good English weather came out,” he said afterwards. “We went out and did the formation lap and it was dry and then all of a sudden it rained and it was so tricky in those conditions. It was drying pretty quickly but obviously when we started the race I was the first to really have to attack it. Trying not to make any mistakes was difficult for all of us.

“But that’s what I love about this race, because it’s never just plain, smooth sailing. There are always these things that just happen through the race that make it spectacular, that’s why the British Grand Prix is the best grand prix we have.”

Behind Hamilton, it was a more eventful race for second-place starter Rosberg. The championship leader held his starting position once the Safety Car left the track but he soon found himself under pressure from Verstappen and on lap 15 Rosberg was surprised by an audacious move from the Dutch teenager around the outside through the high-speed Becketts corner.

After taking on medium tyres, Rosberg then set about rectifying the situation and after shadowing the Red Bull driver for some 20 laps, he passed the Dutchman with a good move around thee outside at Stowe as Verstappen struggled with the rear tyre wear.

That should have cemented the title leader into second place but a handful of laps from home, he got on the radio to say that he was experience gearbox issues. He was told to make some setting changes and the exchange with his engineer quickly saw him placed under investigation for potentially contravening regulations governing the kind of assistance a driver can receive from his pit wall.

Despite Verstappen closing in, Rosberg managed to hold onto second place in the race and afterward said he was sure the instructions he received were legal.

“It was a very critical problem,” he said. “I was stuck in seventh gear and I was about to stop on track, so they told me ‘change default’ and try and fix it.”

With Verstappen taking his third podium finish of the season with third place, fourth place in the race went to the Dutch driver’s Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardio.

Ricciardo pitted for intermediate tyres as soon as the Safety Car left the track and emerged to find himself behind Force India’s Sergio Perez. The Australian spent some time bottled up behind the Mexican and when he eventually got past Ricciardo found himself 16.5s behind then third-placed Rosberg.

The Australian upped his pace to match Hamilton’s pace at one point but he could make no inroads on the gap to the leaders and he crossed the line almost 18 seconds behind his team-mate.

After being passed by Ricciardo, Perez clung on to fifth under heavy pressure from Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. But seven laps from home Raikkonen found a way past and the Finn took fifth place ahead of the Mexican.

Seventh place went to Perez’s team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, with Carlos Sainz taking a useful eighth place for Toro Rosso.

Sebastian Vettel finished in ninth place after an eventful afternoon. The Ferrari driver was the first to take on slick tyres early in the race but soon after spun at Turn One and dropped down the field. He hauled his way back but then while attempting to pass Williams’ Felipe Massa for P8, Vettel outbraked himself and both he and Massa were forced off track.

The incident resulted in a five–second time penalty for Vettel but with Daniil Kvyat six seconds adrift, Vettel held ninth ahead of the Russian.

2016 British Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 52 laps – 1h34m55.831s 2
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +6.911 2
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull +8.250 2
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull +26.211 2
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari +69.743 2
6 Sergio Perez Force India +76.941 2
7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India +77.712 2
8 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso +85.858 2
9 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +91.654 2
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso +92.600 2
11 Felipe Massa Williams +1 lap 3
12 Jenson Button McLaren +1 lap 2
13 Fernando Alonso McLaren +1 lap 3
14 Valtteri Bottas Williams +1 lap 2
15 Felipe Nasr Sauber +1 lap 2
16 Esteban Gutierrez Haas +1 lap 2
17 Kevin Magnussen Renault +3 laps 4
18 Jolyon Palmer Renault DNF 4
19 Rio Haryanto Manor DNF 2
20 Romain Grosjean Haas DNF 2
21 Marcus Ericsson Sauber DNF 3
22 Pascal Wehrlein Manor DNF 1

eom/FIA press release