Your basket is currently empty!
Tag: Hamilton
-
Hamilton logs fastest time of the Day in Singapore: FP2
Lewis Hamilton logged the fastest time of day in Singapore, his lap of 1:47.490 good enough to see of a challenge from the fastest man of FP1, Fernando Alonso, by just over a tenth of a second. Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest in FP2 with a lap of 1:47.790.
Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, ended the second session down in 13th place after failing to complete a performance run on the supersoft tyre.
Rosberg had begun a run but it was halted when Pastor Maldonado lost control of his Lotus at the exit of Turn 10 and hit the wall hard. The smash brought out the red flags and when the action resumed Rosberg went straight into a long run. Thus his best time of the session was set on soft tyres, with the result that he finished one and a half seconds off his team-mate’s option tyre pace.
When the red flags appeared, only Hamilton and Alonso, who had pipped the Englishman for P1 in the morning by a tenth of a second, had yet to make a performance run, with Ricciardo sitting atop the timesheet.
Hamilton was the first to try his luck and he quickly pushed the Red Bull driver to second spot by three tenths of a second. Alonso cut that gap in half to displace Ricciardo further and the Spaniard ended the session 0.133s down on Hamilton’s time.
Kimi Raikkonen put a good gloss on Ferrari’s day by finishing in fourth place, four tenths of a second down on his team-mate. It was a less difficult session for the Finn’s than the morning’s, when on his way to seventh he stopped in the pit lane with his front brakes on fire.
In the morning it was Sebastian Vettel who had occupied that fourth spot but at the end of a productive first session for the German he was forced to stop in the pit lane with a suspected power unit failure.
Replacing that meant that Vettel missed almost all of the second session. The winner of the past three Singapore GPs only emerged for the final seven minutes of the session, but still he managed to guide his supersoft-shod RB10 to fifth spot, ahead of McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, who was followed by team-mate Jenson Button.
The final top 10 places went, respectively, to the Force Indias of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, with Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat tenth.
Whither Williams though? The team has built up a profile of late of making slow starts to race weekends but today the Grove team seemed to more than usual on a circuit that is not expected to play to the strengths of their car. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas ended up right down in 17th and 18th.
Singapore Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:47.490 25
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:47.623 0.133 28
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:47.790 0.300 28
4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:48.031 0.541 29
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:48.041 0.551 5
6 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:48.358 0.868 33
7 Jenson Button McLaren 1:48.435 0.945 30
8 Sergio Perez Force India 1:48.653 1.163 30
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:48.751 1.261 31
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:48.770 1.280 31
11 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:48.800 1.a310 33
12 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:49.062 1.572 33
13 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:49.075 1.585 30
14 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:49.139 1.649 13
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:49.170 1.680 34
16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:49.290 1.800 37
17 Felipe Massa Williams 1:49.361 1.871 29
18 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:49.971 2.481 28
19 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:50.612 3.122 24
20 Max Chilton Marussia 1:51.558 4.068 21
21 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:52.075 4.585 33
22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:52.936 5.446 -
Hamilton beats Rosberg to 2nd, keeps title-race open; Massa podium helps Williams cross Ferrari into 3rd
Monza, 7 Sept 2014: Lewis Hamilton of Great Briton recovered from a start-line glitch to take his sixth win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix, with title rival Nico Rosberg forced to settle for second place after hiserror midway through the race handed the lead back to the Briton in the Formula One world championship round here on Sunday
Hamilton celebrates with Rosberg (2nd) after winning the Italian GP at Monza on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image .
Felipe Massa claimed his first podium finish since the Spanish Grand Prix of 2013 with third place and fourth in the race for Valtteri Bottas means that Williams move past Ferrari to claim third in the Constructors’ Championship on a day when Fernando Alonso recorded his first non-finish of the season and Kimi Raikkonen finished ninth.
At the start, Hamilton made a poor getaway, appearing to have no power when the lights went out. He was passed by Rosberg, McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen – who made a superb start from fifth – and Williams’ Felipe Massa.
Hamilton reported that he had a technical problem and his team informed him that the race start mode of his car “was all in a muddle” and that they would try to rectify the software glitch. Behind the front four came Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, who had passed Fernando Alonso.
Valtteri Bottas was the man who lost out most, however. The Finn made a terrible start and promptly dropped like a stone to 11th position. Daniel Ricciardo, too, had a problem, running wide at the first chicane. He dropped from ninth on the grid to 12th at the end of lap one.
After five laps Massa was past Magnussen and the Brazilian was quickly followed by Hamilton, who had been told that he now had full ERS at his disposal.
At the front, Rosberg was now three seconds clear but the gap was beginning to diminish. It dropped further on lap nine when Rosberg made an unforced error, outbraking himself into Turn One. He was forced to take the escape road and slalom his way through the polystyrene boards beforee rejoining.
A lap later Hamilton passed Massa around the outside of the first chicane, slipping past the Williams on the inside as the pair exited the section to take second.
That left the gap between Rosberg and his team-mate at just over two seconds. Behind them the order, on lap 12, was Massa followed by Magnussen, Vettel, Button, Alonso, Perez, Bottas in P9 and Kimi Raikkonen in 10th.
At this point, Bottas was the man on the move. On lap 14 the Finn made his way past Perez and then he breezed past Alonso on the pit straight on lap 16 to claim P7.
Further ahead, Magnussen was the cork in the bottle. Eleven seconds down on third-placed Massa, the Dane was holding up Vettel and Button. That logjam allowed Bottas to close and he soon passed Button on the pit straight with ease.
Vettel made a single, very early stop on lap 18, taking on hard tyres and emerging in P15. Perez was the next in, the Mexican too taking on hard tyres, followed by Raikkonen on lap 20. The Finn rejoined in P13.
At the front, Bottas passed Magnussen for fourth place and that was the cue for Magnussen to pit for hard tyres, in tandem with Alonso.
Leader Rosberg visited pit lane on lap 24, with Hamilton just over a second in arrears. The Briton was told it was ‘”hammer time”, but could he mnake uop the deficit? The answer was negative. Hamilton emerged just over a second and a half adrift of the German.
Hamilton was then told by his pit wall that he would need to save tyres for an attack at the end of the race. The Englishman, though, was not in the mood to wait and promptly set purple lap times to close in on his team-mate.
The pressure told immediately. On lap 29 Rosberg once again went too deep into the first corner and was forced to take the escape road for the second time, handing the lead to Hamilton. The Mercedes messaging suddenly went into reverse – with Rosberg now being told to save tyres and fuel for a late-race assault on the lead.
Behind them, Alonso’s race came to an end on the same lap, the Ferrari driver losing power on the pit straight. He pulled off track and stopped at the first chicane to record his first retirement of the season.
The order, then, on lap 33, was Hamilton, 2.9s ahead of Rosberg, with Massa 13.7s further back. Vettel was now fourth, having used the undercut of his very early stop and the clear air afforded by it, to get ahead of Magnussen. Bottas was sixth ahead of Perez, Button, Raikkonen and Ricciardo.
Bottas was pressuring Magnussen hard, however, and on lap 31 the pair went wheel-to-wheel into the first corner, with Magnussen on the inside. Bottas was forced to pull out of his attempted passing move and crossed the chicane. The Finn eventually got past the Dane on lap 37 on the pit straight to claim P5. Magnussen’s afternoon got worse, as he was then hit with a five-second stop and go penalty for the earlier incident with the Williams driver.
Further up the road, Bottas made a move past Vettel to claim fourth place and just behind, Ricciardo on fresher tyres than those ahead, went past Button to claim eighth place.
The Australian was soon pressuring Perez and after setting up a move through the Curva Grande, he made it past the Force India into the second chicane on lap 41. That put Magnussen in the Red Bull driver’s sights and the Australian again used the first chicane to make a move, passing the Dane under braking.
Ricciardo, armed with tyres seven laps younger than his team-mate, closed quickly on Vettel. He made a first attempt into Turn One, but Vettel braked late and refused to give way. The champion got a poorer exit from the corner, however, and Ricciardo used the better grip available to him to pull alongside on the run to the second chicane. He ducked down the inside and swept past to claim fifth.
At the front, Hamilton had comfortably pulled away from Rosberg, with the gap at a steady 4.2s. Rosberg seemed to have no answer to the Britain’s pace and was eventually forced to settle for second place.
Now the bottleneck was Vettel, with the German trying to nurse his worn hard tyres to the flag. Magnussen was just behind, appearing content to make it to the flag and take his penalty after the end of the race, as allowed by the regulations when no more pit stops are scheduled.
Perez, behind Magnussen could sense a move on the Red Bull driver might be possible but he could find now way past the Dane.
Thus, Hamilton took his sixth win of the season, ahead of Rosberg, Massa, who took his first podium finish Spain in 2013, and Valtteri Bottas.
Ricciardo was fifth ahead of team-mate Vettel. Perez was classified seventh ahead of Button and Raikkonen, while Magnussen dropped to 10th after his penalty time was added.
2014 Italian Grand Prix – Race Result
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 1:19:10.236 1 25
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 53 +3.1 secs 2 18
3 Felipe Massa Williams 53 +25.0 secs 4 15
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 53 +40.7 secs 3 12
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 53 +50.3 secs 9 10
6 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 53 +59.9 secs 8 8
7 Sergio Perez Force India 53 +62.5 secs 10 6
8 Jenson Button McLaren 53 +63.0 secs 6 4
9 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 +63.5 secs 11 2
10 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 53 +66.1 secs 5 1
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 53 +71.1 secs 21
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 53 +72.6 secs 13
13 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 53 +73.0 secs 12
14 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 52 +1 Lap 16
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 52 +1 Lap 14
16 Romain Grosjean Lotus 52 +1 Lap 17
17 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 52 +1 Lap 18
18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 52 +1 Lap 19
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 51 +2 Laps 22
20 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 51 +2 Laps 15
Ret Fernando Alonso Ferrari 28 +25 Laps 7
Ret Max Chilton Marussia 5 Accident 20
eom/FIA press release -
We are teammates and we will always be `friends’: Lewis Hamilton
DRIVERS
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Felipe MASSA (Williams)
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Jean Alesi)
Lewis, so we would like to know, do you like to complicate your life?
Lewis HAMILTON: What a great crowd we have here. This is amazing to see. The whole finish line straight is completely filled with fans. You guys make this race, so thank you so much for the support.
Nico, I spoke with our friends from Monza, they said: “maybe for Nico we change Turn One.” Can you tell us what happened in Turn One?
Nico ROSBERG: It was a pity. It didn’t work out today but Lewis drove a great race and he deserves it. So it’s OK.
Lewis and Nico, I have to speak but I cannot speak very loud because it’s a secret. Are you friends again?
LH: Of course, we are team-mates and we always will be so…
That’s the best picture we can see is when you are friends, because all your life you race together and we like the way you drive, we like the way you fight, so we are happy to hear that.
Felipe, you have made you first podium [this season] but it’s a place you know very well, Monza, so you have to say something in English as well.
FM: Yeah, sure. I’m quite happy for the first podium of the season. I was not very lucky in some of the races, but the luck is on our side I’m sure now, from now to the last race we’re going to be there fighting, so I’m so happy to be on the podium here and there’s a lot more to come. So thank you very much and you are the best. Beautiful, you are the best.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Lewis, many congratulations, another victory here in Italy; the first time in your Formula One career, I believe, that you’ve won six races in a single season, so a positively good omen there for you I’m sure. In the second stint… obviously the start wasn’t great and I’m sure you’ll touch on that, but also at the beginning of the second stint your engineer suggested to you that you might like to drop back 2-2.5s behind Nico and maybe attack him at the end, but you didn’t do that. You put the pressure on him and obviously ultimately he went straight on at Turn One and you took the lead. Give us your mindset at winning the race, the start, and that phase there.
LH: Well, first of all, a big congratulations to the team. They said that they would want a one-two and they got it today. It was a difficult race. For whatever reason… at the start there’s a button that you press which engages the launch sequence and for the formation lap it didn’t work. I thought “no problem, I’ll just put it on for the race” and then when I got to the grid I put it on and again it didn’t work. It’s very, very strange, I’ve never really had that happen before. There was a different sequence of lights that were on, that were unusually… that weren’t on ever before. Anyway, I tried to pull away as fast as possible. The RPM was all over the place and fortunately I managed to not lose too many places. We never practice a start like that where you don’t have the launch sequence in; we always practice in a launch sequence to optimise it. So I had no idea really what I was supposed to do, so I just floored it and hoped for the best. Then after that I had a good battle with Felipe, obviously. That was very fair through the corner. Then the engineer said that I should stay back, but knowing from experiences and also particularly this year I knew that that wasn’t the way forward, so I chose another route.
Can you say a bit more about that?
LH: The car felt good and it was the closest I had been at that point and just really during the previous stint I knew when I was behind others, when I was behind Nico, when I got closer to him on the older tyres it was very hard to stay with him. So I knew that the only chance would be at the start and so I took it.
Nico, you got a perfect getaway, you were leading in the first stint, but obviously the talking point regarding you is the two straight on moments into Turn One. One I think on lap nine and then obviously the decisive one, which led to Lewis taking the lead. Was it your mistake? What can you tell us about it?
NR: No, it wasn’t my mistake, it was the other guys’ fault… I’m just kidding! It was just Lewis was quick, coming from behind. I needed to up my pace and then as a result just went into the mistake. That was very bad and that lost me the lead in the end. Definitely very disappointing from that point of view. But then at the end of the day, also, first of all it’s a great day for the team, because after the recent difficulties it’s the first one-two for the team in a long time, I believe, if I’m not mistaken. And so that’s back to where we need to be, so that’s awesome. And then for me: of course I’m disappointed now right afterwards but in the end of it, still second place, still a lot of points, so it’s not a complete disaster.
I think it’s the first one-two since Austria.
NR: Yeah, so that’s great. And the team deserves that, to put all the recent things behind us now and move forward.
Very well done. Felipe, congratulations on another podium here in Italy and an important one – your first one for Williams and more importantly it takes you ahead of Ferrari now. Williams are third in the Constructors’ Championship.
FM: Yeah, definitely. It’s a great day for us. It was a great race, a great start. Also the pace, I think, was very good. So, not enough to fight with Mercedes but I think we had a very good pace, a very good car. The team did a perfect job. I’m really, really happy to be on the podium today. We missed a little bit during the season to be on the podium but so it’s special to be on the podium here in front of these amazing people. Also, a very positive result for us that we passed Ferrari here as well, which is very important for us, very good for us, so I think it’s amazing to see how Williams were last year and we are fighting with big teams. Definitely it’s really good for the whole team and we will keep fighting until the last race and I hope really we can get this third place in the Constructors’ Championship. It would be fantastic for the whole team. I’m so happy to be on the podium here in this amazing place that I really love.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question for Lewis and Nico. When you put Nico under pressure, were you expecting a mistake of Nico? Where you trying to get close and overtake him? Question to Nico, can you tell us more about the difficulty of braking at the first chicane?
LH: I was pushing to overtake him. That meant it opens up doors for everything. So, I mean… I don’t really know what to say.
Nico?
NR: Monza, yeah, it’s one of the most difficult tracks for braking because of low downforce and the highest speed of the year. That isn’t any excuse or anything, that’s just the way it is. It is one of the challenges, y’know, of this weekend here. Unfortunately I got it wrong. Two times in the race.
Q: (Péter Farkas – Autó-Motor) Nico, it’s maybe a bit surprising that you don’t look particularly downbeat despite coming second to Lewis. It’s almost as if you have expected that second place to him. Is it fair to say that you have not completely regained your balance from Spa? Or do you think it has nothing to do with it?
NR: Spa is behind me. I put it behind me before the weekend. No. In today’s race, just came to the mistake because Lewis was fast from behind. That’s it. There’s nothing unusual or anything. And me not being downbeat, I am very, very disappointed inside. But there’s no point now to go hanging mouth down and things like that. It’s still a one-two for the team and that’s a great day. And it’s not a disaster, that is a fact. I need to quickly look at the reality: second place, it’s OK. There’s a lot worse than that. I lost seven points to Lewis, so, y’know, that’s the frame of mind that I’m trying to take.
Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Lewis, first of all, congratulations. When you had that incident at the start there, given the many incidents you’ve gone through in recent races, was there a thought in your mind of ‘oh no, not again’? And to Nico, unfortunately for you there were some more boos on the podium. Was that disappointing again to hear? And how do you try to move on from that?
LH: I think when you’re preparing for the race you generally do everything near enough the same but you have to be prepared for the unexpected. I’m quite grateful today that I didn’t lose it, I didn’t end up crashing in the first corner, I didn’t end up touching anyone, I didn’t end up locking or anything like that. So, managed to keep my composure even though this thing… what it is, is a button that engages a system which controls the RPM, helps you control the RPM, and when that doesn’t engage, the RPM just goes all over the place, so you’re not able to get normal starts, so a correct launch. I don’t know what the problem was, I guess the guys will investigate it and we’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I’m just grateful that I was able to not lose too many places and the also recover from that.
Nico?
NR: It’s obviously not nice but what can I say? I hope that with time they forgive and forget. That would be great. I have apologised, I can’t really do anything more than that. Yep, that’s it.
Q: (Vladimir Rogovets – Sb Belarus Segondnya) Felipe, 2007 you was second driver in Ferrari with Kimi champion. Last year you was second driver in Ferrari with Fernando, double champion. Today you are on the podium Monza, Italia, without Ferrari, without Kimi, without Alonso. Is it your message to Ferrari, first question? And second question: what do you feel in the podium here without Ferrari?
FM: First of all I think is not a message to anyone, I think it’s just… y’now… you saying that I was second driver, I was trying everything to be the first driver all the time in my career. So, whatever team I was, had difficult times but it is part of our lives. Sometimes you have times that are a little bit more difficult than you expected but you need to fight against it, you need to go forwards. I always fight. It’s not a message. We are fighting with Ferrari as well, that’s not a message. We need to do everything we can to be in front of them. I’m not driving to Ferrari any more. I have an incredibly heart for Ferrari, they are really inside my heart and they will always be because I had an incredible time there, a great time there. But now I am in another team and we need to fight with everybody, not just Ferrari but Red Bull, Mercedes, everybody. We need to try to be in front of everybody and, y’know, today we did a fantastic job so we were in the podium. I think it’s a message that we’re competitive. It’s a message that we are there, that we are fighting. It’s not something that I need to… I have nothing against anybody. I just want to be in front of these people, which they really like me. I had an incredibly time with them for many years. It’s not that I’m not in red anymore that I don’t have the same pleasure and happiness to be there in front of these incredible people.
Q: (Andrea Cremonese, La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Lewis and one for Nico. For Lewis, do you think recovering seven points is a bigger relief after what’s happened in the last few races, and if you feel yourself have plenty of confidence for the Championship? For Nico, if after the second mistake, if you was a little bit affected in the instruction that you received from the team because you lost in two laps two seconds from him, from 4.6 to 2.6 seconds in two laps.
LH: Well, I’ve generally felt like I’ve always been in good shape. But I came here with a positive attitude. Hoping just for no issues. I guess the cool thing about today is that I had another serious one and I managed to pull through it. Again, all those experiences I’ve had kind of have prepared me for it today and I’m still looking for one of those weekends where we don’t have any troubles. Clearly today I had the pace on everyone and on Nico and I felt that way all weekend. So, I’m going to make sure that’s the case moving forwards.
Nico?
NR: I don’t remember what happened. I think it was… traffic? Lapping somebody or something like that. That was the biggest problem but I’m not quite sure. But either way, Lewis in that phase was quick, so it didn’t really change that much but yes, maybe that shortened the process a little bit. But nothing in particular.
Q: (Sarah Holt – CNN) Lewis, we talked about Monza being about mental toughness as well as about what you can do on the track, and today we saw you fight your way through the field.You ignored the team’s advice about holding back a bit and then you had to listen to all the Italian in the weighing room, the podium and no one was speaking English to you. Do you feel like you showed today that you’re mentally tough enough to win the title? Is that important?
LH: Firstly, I didn’t ignore the team’s orders. I have a great relationship with my engineer and he’s constantly in touch with me throughout the race and really guiding me. If I’m losing a bit of time here or there, he’s telling me so that I know how to correct it. They want to win just as much as me so they’re just trying to guide me to what they think but at the end of the day, I was the one out there and they had to really decide: OK, I can back off here and keep the tyres but the calculation might be better the other way. I knew that if I applied the pressure, an opportunity would eventually come. I didn’t get the chance to say it really out there but the fans have been amazing here. Even I’ve gone through difficult times here – 2007 probably, when I was racing against Fernando and obviously we were racing with Kimi and the Ferraris but I’ve really felt a real growth of the support that I’ve had here over the years. It’s such a beautiful nation. When you come here, the weather’s always good, the track’s incredible and there’s nowhere you go and you see the whole straight, which is one of the longest straights in the whole season, completely full of fans, mostly with red caps and flags but they really create the atmosphere. In terms of me, I came here to do a job and I did it so I’m happy with that.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, there are six races to go and you lead by 22 points. When do you think that it’s time to start to consider only the championship instead of winning races?
NR: I don’t know. For me the approach that works best at the moment is just trying to win the race that I’m at, that’s the way I feel most comfortable at the moment. We will see. Maybe I will tell you when I change my thinking.
Q: (Ted Kravitz – Sky Sports) Nico, the team told us at the end of the race that you were managing brake temperatures. Was that the problem at the first corner as well? Were the brakes the problem throughout the race?
NR: No, the brakes were no problem at all, up towards the end when you first heard it on the radio, that’s when it started to become… and it wasn’t a massive problem, just something that you have to manage a little bit. That’s always going to happen, because opening up the front brake ducts you lose quite a lot of aerodynamic performance. You always try to bring that to a certain limit and that may then put you slightly over in the race so it’s not the first time and last time that something like that is going to happen and I think it was just pretty much optimised for here.
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto-Motor) To all three of you: all three of you had reasonably long first stints on the mediums. How marginal were the tyres to do a one-stop? Did any of you have any problems? Lewis mentioned that it was hard to follow Nico on used tyres at the end of the first stint.
FM: Well, I think a one stop was the strategy for everybody before the race. I think the tyres worked pretty well, maybe a little bit more degradation on the medium which I was suffering a little bit more at the end of the stint on the medium but no problem at all with the hard tyres. I think it was really pretty much OK to one-stop, at least for us.
Q: Lewis, we heard a message to Nico from his engineers saying that you’d reported that the tyres were beginning to go off before lap ten, I think it was. Did you have any issues? Did it clear itself?
LH: No, basically I was in traffic, I was behind a couple of cars. The grip didn’t feel good at the time. To be honest, the tyres have been really good this weekend. It was generally really easy in terms of doing a one-stop. There was only one risk and that’s really if you lock up, that’s generally why you’ll see drivers going (straight) on at the first corner, because they don’t want to try and make the corner, lock up because then they have to convert to a two-stop which is much slower, so the thought is that if you get a lock, you let off the brake and go straight and that’s what Nico would have done twice and that’s what other people would potentially have done today. But I think it’s such a cool track – I don’t know if it was fun to watch the race – but to give more racing, more pit stops would have been good here, bit of a softer tyre which was a bit more of a challenge because the tyre was really easy to generally look after. I didn’t have any problems really…. I was behind Nico, losing downforce through the high speed but then as soon as he pitted the car was quick again, so I think the tyre could have gone even further.
Q: Was it any way marginal for a one-stop for you, Nico?
NR: Not really, no. Of course there was quite a lot of degradation on the soft one but no, it was fine. And I agree, it would be better to have two stops for more exciting racing, but then again, for the fans and you watching on TV for sure the one-stop is much easier to understand because it’s very straightforward and simple, whereas as soon as you get into two-stop, it becomes different tyre strategies and this and that and it becomes near impossible to understand often in front of the TV, but also has some advantages.
Q: (Ottavio Davide – Tuttosport) Felipe, do you think that on a completely different track such as Singapore it’s possible to beat both Mercedes?
FM: Mercedes? Very difficult. In Singapore, especially, I think it will be very very difficult, but Singapore is a race at which many things happen so we need to believe that we can do a good job there as well so I would say maybe from now to the last race, Singapore is maybe the track that is going to be more negative than the others for us. But at Singapore, you never know, many things happen there so I hope we can do a good job there as well. If we can beat Mercedes it will be a surprise but we will try everything we can.
Q: (Leigh O’Gorman – Walker Watson) For all three: concerning how Monza is such a fast circuit, so much of it is full throttle, were there any issues with regards to fuel usage during the race?
LH: It’s not an issue. This track was very easy to…
NR: No problem.
FM: No.
NR: Mercedes engine, I suppose.
eom/FIA transcript of the race
Hamilton with Monza trophy after winning the Italian GP ahead of teammate and championship leader Nico Rosberg on Sunday 7th Sept. 2014. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image -
Hamilton takes pole beating Rosberg; Bottas P3 ahead of Massa
Monza, 6 Sept 2014: Lewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position since the Spanish Grand Prix in May, beating team-mate Nico Rosberg to the front of the grid for the Italian Grand Prix by two tenths of a second.Although
Even Ferrari fans lineup for Hamilton’s Autograph at Monza on Friday. An Mercedes AMG Petronas image pushed Rosberg, who had missed final practice with a gearbox problem, Hamilton rarely looked troubled in the session and the Briton will go into tomorrow’s race feeling sure of his chances of repeating his 2012 win here.
The second row went to Williams – with Valtteri Bottas beating Felipe Massa by just under two tenths of a second.
With the performance difference between the tyre compounds only at about 0.6s most drivers attempted to get through Q1 on the hard compound tyre in order to save a set of mediums for the second segment.
Hamilton set the early Q1 pace with a lap of 1:25.571, but 10 minutes into the session he was displaced at the top of the timesheet by Felipe Massa, the Brazilian confirming that Williams are right in the mix here at Monza.
Rosberg, who had not set a time in final practice due to a gearbox problem that was later resolved without incurring a penalty, then lowered the benchmark further with a time of 1:25.493. That marker was soon passed by Hamilton, however, with the Briton shaving another tenth of the P1 time.
With four minutes to go the drivers in the drop zone, in order, were Jules Bianchi, Adrian Sutil, Kamui Kobayashi, Max Chilton, Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean, who had only joined the fray 13 minutes in after suffering a fluid leak on his car early on. From that sextet only Sutil managed to find enough pace to make it through to Q2, at the expense of Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado.
At the top of the chart Hamilton eased through with his lap of 1:25.363 ahead of Rosberg, Massa, Bottas and the Toro Rossos of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat. Both had had to utilise the medium tyre on their final runs to be utterly sure of progress.
When Q2 got underway, Rosberg was straight onto the medium tyres and straight to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:24.682, the first man to go below the 1m25s barrier this weekend. He was quickly followed by Bottas, who was just two tenths behind. Massa claimed P3 with a lap of 1:25.046. Hamilton, though, was halfway through a quick run and soon reclaimed P1 with a time of 1:24.560.
Prior to the final runs the drop zone featured Kevin Magnussen in P11, followed by Kvyat, Vergne, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Gutierrez and Sutil. Their target for those final runs was the 1:26.110 set by 10th-placed Kimi Raikkonen.
This time it was Magnussen who made the decisive move forward, claiming P10 with a time of 1:25.973. Kvyat lost out on a Q3 place by a tenth, finishing in P11, ahead of the discomfited looking Raikkonen, who failed to improve on his final run. Vergne was 13th, ahead of Sutil and Gutierrez.
At the front it was Hamilton, four hundredths of a second ahead of Rosberg, with Bottas two and half tenths down on Hamilton’s benchmark. Behind them came Massa, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Magnussen.
The opening runs in Q3 sat provisional pole taken by Hamilton who set a scorching pace to record a lap of 1:24.109, some four tenths ahead of Rosberg. The Briton was told that the only place he was losing out to his title rival was in sector one.
Behind the two Mercedes cars after the first outing was Bottas with a 1:24,697 with Massa just under two tenths further back. Fifth was McLaren’s Jenson Button, followed By Vettel, Alonso, Magnussen, Ricciardo and Perez.
Rosberg, chasing the target, was the first of the Mercedes pairing to venture out for a final run and the German quickly set a purple first sector of 27.1. His second sector was better too but his final sector wasn’t good enough and his lap of 1:24.383 left him two tenths shy of Hasmilton’s first-run time. The Briton throttled back on his own final run and took time to celebrate his fifth pole position of the season and his first since the Spanish Grand Prix in May.
With Rosberg second, row two went to the Williams pair of Bottas and Massa, with the Finn ahead. Row three is set to be filled by the impressive Magnussen, whose final run secured him a lap time of 1:25.314 and fifth place ahead of team-mate Button. They were followed by Alonso, Ricciardo and Perez.
2014 Italian Grand Prix – Qualifying Times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:25.363 1:24.560 1:24.109 20
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.493 1:24.600 1:24.383 19
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:26.012 1:24.858 1:24.697 16
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:25.528 1:25.046 1:24.865 17
5 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:26.337 1:25.973 1:25.314 18
6 Jenson Button McLaren 1:26.328 1:25.630 1:25.379 18
7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:26.514 1:25.525 1:25.430 17
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:26.631 1:25.769 1:25.436 18
9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:26.721 1:25.946 1:25.709 17
10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:26.569 1:25.863 1:25.944 23
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:26.261 1:26.070 16
12 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.689 1:26.110 13
13 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:26.140 1:26.157 15
14 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:26.371 1:26.279 18
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:27.034 1:26.588 17
16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:26.999 1:26.692 17
17 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:27.520 8
18 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:27.632 5
19 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:27.671 9
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:27.738 8
21 Max Chilton Marussia 1:28.247 8
22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:28.562 9eom
-
I feel excited for tomorrow. I am proud of my team: Hamilton after taking Monza pole
1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)
TV UNILATERAL
Lewis, it’s the first pole since Barcelona since Barcelona back in May. It’s been quite a journey since then to get to this point. How do you feel?
Lewis HAMILTON: I feel excited for tomorrow. I’m very proud of my guys. My guys on the side of the garage have also been through the difficult time with me and they’ve done a remarkable job in terms of every time bouncing back and fixing the car and dealing with the difficulties so we’ve done this as a team and it’s great to have another one-two for the team and I’m really proud that I can be up there for them.
Well done. Nico, you were up by a tenth-and-a-half at the end of the first sector on that final run, but then it got away from you. What happened?
Nico ROSBERG: A tenth-and-a-half relative to Lewis?
Yes, Lewis’ benchmark, which he did on his first lap [in Q3].
NR: Yeah, but we’re always going to be quicker in some parts and slower in some other parts, so relative to my own [first] lap it was an OK lap, so from that point of view second place is still a good position for tomorrow. It’s a long race you know, everything can happen and so just need to now work towards the race and try to get a good start and have a good race. Anyways, also, I mean, definitely the team again. It’s so great. Even on a track like Monza, where it’s such a different track to all the others and even coming here, still we’re so dominant and that’s great to see. Of course it’s only qualifying and the race remains to be seen but it’s really awesome. The team is doing a fantastic job.
Coming to you Valtteri. Your third top three qualifying in the last four races. Particularly strong long runs yesterday in free practice. Does that suggest that you can challenge these gentlemen for the victory tomorrow?
Valtteri BOTTAS: I really hope so. From Friday to today they seem to have a bit more pace. In qualifying we expected that maybe we could be a little bit closer to them today but yeah, I really hope so. I think we have solid race pace and it just depends how much more pace they have left than on Friday.
OK, thank you very much. Coming back to you Lewis. Obviously the margins are always pretty fine around here. How do you feel about the race tomorrow? You’ve got some points, clearly, you need to make up, any suggestion of team orders or are you free to race?
LH: Free to race. That was the decision last week, so it continues as usual. I hope that tomorrow… it would be really good to get another one-two for the team. I think they’re working extremely hard. I hope that we also have some competition from these guys [Williams]; I think that would be really great for the fans. As for me, I feel, I feel… I’m looking forward to it.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, I guess the key really is to put a complete race weekend together, that’s what you’ve been looking for, for some time. Did you feel, coming into this weekend, and do you feel again now, that this would be that weekend that would give you that momentum back.
LH: Well to be honest, for probably at least seven races I’ve always gone into the weekend thinking that it could be a clean weekend. We saw the issue that we had yesterday and, again Nico had a problem today. It’s definitely an area that we’re focussing on to try and improve as a team but, y’know, I’m grateful to have got through qualifying today. It was kind of a very clean qualifying session for me, for once. And so, yeah, it’s a great feeling to be up here.
Q: Nico, Lewis mentioned there the problem that you had this morning with the electronics on the gearbox which meant that you didn’t really do any meaningful running. Where you able to bounce back today? Do you blame what happened here today on that loss of time this morning and the preparation of things like the braking points and that precision that’s needed for a lap around here?
NR: To be honest, straight in the first run in qualifying I had a good feeling and the car was better than yesterday in many areas. Adapted the setup overnight and worked on it so actually I got straight into it. I was happy about that feeling because I was expecting it to be a bit more complicated but that was good, definitely. So, from that point of view, qualifying was OK.
Q: Valtteri, when you talk to engineers here, they all say it’s incredibly difficult for a driver to get all four of those big brakings around this circuit absolutely perfect. How close did you get to that today and how do you feel about it?
VB: Pretty close! There are many braking zones that are quite bumpy here and with the low downforce and coming in at really high speed it’s not easy – but today managed to hit them quite well, the correct braking points, and lap by lap the lap times were really consistent so I really felt today there was not much more in the car – so we definitely have some work to do.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to all three drivers. What are your thoughts on the new Parabolica? Is it the same way of driving and attacking it, or is it different? You can take some more risks?
LH: I think naturally you can take more risks. In the past it was a corner that you really had to build up to and you really did not want to go past the limit because you would be in the gravel and it’s hard to get back from the gravel at that place. Now, of course, you can attack it more. I go in with the same mentality but you do know you have that cushion there if you have an oversteer moment or you went in too far, you can run wide and come back on. That’s the same everywhere really, that they do that.
For the race?
LH: For the race, yeah, for sure it makes it a little bit easier in the race but I haven’t been anywhere near the green or out of the white lines so I don’t really know what it’s like out there – but it is a safer option in terms of stopping the cars if there is a problem there.
Your thoughts Nico?
NR: I think they’ve done well. Of course it’s a pity because it’s more exciting, in a way, the way it used to be, y’know? But we all need to think about safety and it was one of the most dangerous corners in the year – so I think it’s the right way to go, what they’ve done. And also , it works out really well because as soon as you do put the tyre over the white line, you lose grip because of the metal thing that’s there, and so it works out pretty well actually.
Valtteri?
VB: Yes, I pretty much agree with the guys. Yeah, it’s not the same as last year. It takes a bit more time to build into it, to be absolutely on the limit. It’s just a bit less risky really, that’s it.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, our rally hero Markku Alen is here and he’s very famous for his slogan ‘Maximum Attack’. Was this your version of ‘Maximum Attack’ today?
VB: Yeah. It’s always maximum attack! You always aim for that. You always want to do your best – but trying too much, it doesn’t help. There’s a fine line with a maximum attack.
Q: (Péter Farkas – Autó-Motor) Lewis, you seemed to out-brake just a bit yourself on your first lap in Q2 which proved to be your best in Q2 – which means you have to start on that set of tyres. Is it a concern for you?
LH: Erm… I don’t remember that to be honest. I didn’t have any problems with the tyres when I finished the lap, so they’re fine.
Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Lewis, Nico, congratulations on the front row – but how much will the words of your bosses be ringing in your ears as you approach the first chicane tomorrow?
LH: They won’t be ringing in my ears at all.
NR: It’s not changed. Already before, when we started the season, the message has been clear – so there’s no real change at the moment. So, from that point of change it’s the same as always, in a way.
Q: (Vincent Marre – Sport Zeitung) Nico, you say you improved the car since yesterday; I would like to know, technically speaking, how you improved it mainly?
NR: Mainly overnight, just looking at yesterday… at the running yesterday and the difficulties that we’ve had. The team made some suggestions because there’s also a whole group of people back in the factory looking at the computer and analysing. They made a good set-up suggestion which worked and then we just adapted it also here at the track, and I was quite pleased about that because it felt a lot better. Roll-bars, for example.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo Online) Valtteri, considering it is difficult to fight with Mercedes, who do you consider can try to beat Williams tomorrow? Do you think Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari can be up with your team?
VB: I don’t think we should ever under-estimate them. Like we saw last week in Spa with the Red Bull, they were really quick and we didn’t expect to be behind them so we should not under-estimate but we are a bit more confident here than Spa for example. Hopefully there’s not much threat from behind us and hopefully we can mainly focus on things happening just in front of us or hopefully we can really challenge them, but let’s see.
Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Lewis, Nico, you’ve both had issues this weekend, Lewis yesterday with electrical, today Nico with a gearbox. You seem to keep having these little niggles, these technical issues. Are there any concerns going into tomorrow’s race, that you can both have a clean race throughout?
NR: It is an area which we need to keep working on for sure, also medium term to make sure the car is working 100 percent all the time, but it is a challenge, it is difficult but we’re getting there. I’m very confident for tomorrow.
LH: It’s a little bit different for me because it’s happened quite a few times on my side of the garage. But… no, I feel optimistic, I think the guys have rectified whatever problems we may have had this weekend. Yeah, it’s not really a mindset you can go into a race with, thinking ‘what if?’ You go into it with ‘this is what I have and I want to do the best with it.’
Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Niki Lauda was a bit upset after Spa because you tried a risky overtake on the second lap. Now, if you will have the chance on the second lap, will you go for it again or will you wait a little bit?
NR: It’s a question that I’m not able to answer. The message is that we’re keeping on racing, that is the message, that’s the way it is. And then every situation is different. And Niki has apologised for that also which was great.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Nico, you haven’t won in Formula One here in Monza if I’m not mistaken. At the same time, you are leading the championship with quite a good gap. Tomorrow, what is your aim: to become a new winner here or to conserve the second position, thinking about the championship?
NR: Well, first of all Monza is a special place, also for me because I really like Italy, all my friends are Italian, so it’s great to race here and great also in front of the tifosi and they give me a lot of support which is great. I really enjoy that and I’m very thankful for that. And then at the moment I’m out to win, it doesn’t matter where we are, I’m not thinking about the end of season yet or things like that. It’s really every race, try and get the best out of it and try and win the race.
eom
Poleman Lewis Hamilton flanked by championship leader and teammate Nico Rosberg to his right and Valteri Bottas to his left at Monza on Saturday. An AMG Mercedes Petronas image -
“Mercedes Benz is a family and we are dominating, says Hamilton at Laureus Charity Gala
-
Hamilton at Laureus Charity Gala in Italy on 5 Sept 2014. A Laureus Sport for Good image Hamilton applauds the team’s number of 1-2 finishes
- Stars of F1 attend Laureus Charity Gala to support Laureus Foundation Italy
- Inter Milan Javier Zanetti honoured with first Laureus Foundation Italy Award
- Charity auction raises over €200,000 for Laureus projects
ITALY, September 5, 2014 – Lewis Hamilton has hailed the success of his Mercedes-Benz “family” in the run up to the Italian Monza Grand Prix this weekend.Talking to Laureus.com, the F1 star said: “The season has been amazing, we have lots of 1-2s, and we are dominating as a team. You feel very much part of the family. I don’t think you have that anywhere else in F1.”
Hamilton was speaking at a star-studded gala charity night yesterday in Milan to raise funds for the Italian Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
The event, staged at the Mercedes-Benz Centre, had a strong Formula One focus, ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Sunday.
Among the guests were Formula One legends Emerson Fittipaldi (Laureus World Sports Academy Member), David Coulthard and Nico Rosberg (Laureus Ambassadors), Lewis Hamilton, winner of the 2008 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award, and French favourite Jean Alesi.
Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, also attended the event with fellow Academy Members Giacomo Agostini, Franz Klammer, Mike Horn and Alberto Tomba. Other guests included Miki Biasion, Davide Cassani, Marco Bortolami, Antonio Rossi, Daniel Fontana, Alessandro Fabian, Alessandro Troncon, Alessia Trost, Aldo Montano and Garret McNamara.
Laureus Chairman Edwin Moses said: “Ten years is an important milestone and we are here tonight to help shape the next 10 years of the Italian Laureus Foundation.”
The Formula One charity night raised substantial funds to support Italian projects which have helped more than 2,000 disadvantaged young people in its ten years of life.
A fundraising auction on the night raised the remarkable total of € 200,000. Conducted by Clarice Pecori Giraldi, Senior Director of Christie’s Europe, items were sold for the benefit of Laureus, included: a Mercedes-Benz Proton 220a from 1955, restored by the Mercedes-Benz Centre in Milan; the IWC Portuguese Tourbillon hand-wound watch in Platinum, a unique piece for the Laureus Charity Night; the Aprilia RSV4 factory motor bike autographed by two motor cycling champions Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli; Fabian Cancellara’s bicycle; and a Leica M ‘100 years’ with Summcrion 50mm lens.
The items in the auction were the result of generous donations by Italian and international companies, who, together with Pirelli, the event partner, showed their backing for Laureus. There was also considerable support from Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen, global partners of Laureus.
Also present on the night was Javier Zanetti, former Inter Milan captain and now Vice-president of the club, who won the very first Italian Laureus Foundation award.
For further information please contact:
Website: www.laureus.com
Follow on Twitter @LaureusSportNOTES TO EDITORS
Laureus is a universal movement that celebrates the power of sport to bring people together as a force for good. Laureus is composed of three core elements – the Laureus World Sports Academy, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Laureus World Sports Awards – which collectively celebrate sporting excellence and use sport as the means to promote social change.The first Patron of Laureus was Nelson Mandela. At the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000, he said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” This has become the philosophy of Laureus; the driving force behind its work.
The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy are: Giacomo Agostini, Marcus Allen, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Ian Botham, Sergey Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Yaping Deng, Marcel Desailly, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, David Douillet, Rahul Dravid, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mika Häkkinen, Tony Hawk, Mike Horn, Miguel Indurain, Michael Johnson, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Dan Marino, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel, Robby Naish, Ilie Nastase, Martina Navratilova, Alexey Nemov, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Steve Redgrave, Vivian Richards, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and Katarina Witt.
The Laureus Academy Members volunteer their services as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which was set up to promote the use of sport as a tool for social change. The Foundation addresses social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €60 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of millions of young people. The mission of the Laureus Foundation is to use sport as the means to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today such as juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems like obesity.
The Laureus World Sports Awards is the premier global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year. The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury – the 47 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today. The Awards are presented at an annual Awards Ceremony, attended by global figures from sport and entertainment, which is broadcast to 120 countries and territories.
Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports over 150 community sports projects around the world. The 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards were held in Kuala Lumpur on March 26.
Laureus was founded by its Patrons Richemont and Daimler and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen.
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is the inventor of the automobile – and has been passionately shaping its future since 1886. As pioneers in automotive engineering, it is both our inspiration and responsibility to continue the tradition of the brand with trailblazing technologies and high-quality products. Like no other trademark in the automotive world, Mercedes-Benz appeals to both the hearts and minds of its customers. We give our very best for customers who expect the very best. Since the founding fathers Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, our corporate history has been one of innovation and pioneering achievements. Many technical innovations that are nowadays standard in automobiles first entered the market in a Mercedes-Benz. This is the basis for our claim to leadership in automotive engineering. The brand stands for Modern Luxury, and enjoys an outstanding reputation for quality, safety, comfort, design and comprehensive, sustainable mobility.IWC Schaffhausen
With a clear focus on technology and development, the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has been producing timepieces of lasting value since 1868. The company has gained an international reputation based on a passion for innovative solutions and technical ingenuity. One of the world’s leading brands in the luxury watch segment, IWC crafts masterpieces of haute horlogerie at their finest, combining supreme precision with exclusive design. As an ecologically and socially responsible company, IWC is committed to sustainable production, supports institutions around the globe in their work with children and young people and maintains partnerships with organisations dedicated to climate and environmental protection.eom
-
-
Ricciardo takes third win as Mercedes drivers, Rosberg, Hamilton clash
Daniel Ricciardo took his third win of the season as a second-lap collision involving Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton badly compromised Mercedes’ race. Rosberg suffered front wing damage but eventually fought his way back to second place but Hamilton, who sustained a puncture in the incident, dropped to the back of the field and finally retired on lap 39.
Valtteri Bottas claimed his fourth podium finish of the season with third place ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who took his best result of the season so far.
Before the start, Fernando Alonso’s afternoon was already going badly. The Ferrari driver’s car was still on jacks as the parade lap began and though he finally got going, members of his crew were still on the grid inside the 15-second cut-off point before the formation lap. It would later earn him a five-second stop-go penalty.
At the start Hamilton passed the slow-starting Rosberg and stole into the lead on the run up to La Source. Vettel too made a good start and passed his fellow German around the outside. Vettel then attempted to overtake Hamilton into Les Combes but outbraked himself, ran wide and rejoined behind Rosberg.
The drama wasn’t over, however. On the following lap Rosberg attempted a pass on his team-mate at Les Combes, but as Hamilton shut the door the pair collided, the right side of Rosberg’s front wing clipping the rear left-tyre of Hamilton’s car.
The Briton immediately swerved off track with a puncture while Rosberg shipped heavy front-end damage. Hamilton limped back to the pits for a new wheel, but while Rosberg reported much damage he was told to stay out and see how matters developed.
Behind the front two, Ricciardo was on the move, passing Alonso at Les Combes. He was soon on Vettel’s tail and overtook his team-mate when the champion ran wide at Pouhon. The Australian then set off after Rosberg who appeared to be suffering badly due to the front wing damage. Ricciardo closed to within a second and Mercedes took the decision to pit the leader for a new wing and medium tyres. The Red Bull driver assumed the lead.
Valtteri Bottas too was making a move. The Finn passed Alonso for third on lap eight, overtaking the Ferrari under DRS on the Kemmel Straight.
Rosberg was soon in trouble again. On lap 10 he picked up some debris on the track while racing down the Kemmel Straight. The debris became entangled in the aerial on the nose cone of his car and fluttered dangerously around his steering wheel.
Alonso, meanwhile, was handed a five-second stop-go penalty by the stewards, which he elected to serve during the first round of stops.
That round of stops was completed by the end of lap 15. Ricciardo, on softs, still led, with Kimi Raikkonen now second ahead of Vettel. Rosberg, who took on medium tyres during his stop, was now fourth ahead of Bottas, Magnussen and Alonso. Hamilton was now 16th and some 16 seconds adrift of Sauber’s Adrian Sutil.
On lap 16 Rosberg attempted to pass Vettel for third place but ran wide under braking and the error allowed Bottas to close and eventually pass the Mercedes driver under DRS on the following lap as the pair raced down the long Kemmel Straight.
Rosberg then reported that he was getting significant vibration from the tyre he had lit up attempting the pass on Vettel and he was forced to pit again on lap 19, taking on more medium rubber. He rejoined in 11th place but was soon up to ninth behind Sergio Perez.
Raikkonen made his second stop from second place on lap 21, taking on medium tyres. Vettel took his set of mediums on lap 22 and rejoined in P8. Ricciardo pitted from the lead on lap 27, taking on medium tyres, which he would race to the flag. Bottas now assumed the lead, having stopped just once, ahead of Rosberg who had made two stops and carved his way through the pack.
Bottas pitted on the very next lap, which promoted Rosberg back to the lead he had lost on lap eight. The German, on 10-lap-old medium tyres, would need to stop again, though with Bottas rejoining in fifth and new third-place man Raikkonen also possibly requiring another stop, Rosberg was told he was a “safe second”.
On lap 31, Bottas passed Vettel for fourth place and seemed set to secure his podium place as both Vettel and third-placed Raikkonen looked set to take on fresh tyres, whereas Bottas was on a two-stop plan.
With 10 laps to go Rosberg and Vettel made their stops, with both taking on soft tyres, aimed at utilising the tyre’s better pace to see what they could achieve against the two-stoppers on ageing prime tyres.
Rosberg rejoined in fourth and quickly dismissed Bottas and Raikkonen, but now the German was 22 seconds down on Ricciardo. That was simply too big a gap to make up to the Australian and the Mercedes driver settled in the end for his safe second place.
Behind him Raikkonen defied expectation, the Finn attempting to cling on to third on the set on prime tyres he had taken on at the end of lap 21. It was a brave choice but ultimately one that failed as Bottas, breezed past the Ferrari on the Kemmel Straight four laps from home.
With Raikkonen secure in fourth, a furious battle developed for fifth. Magnussen held fifth but a train was building up behind him, featuring Alonso, Button and the hard-charging Vettel.
A titanic battle ensued, with at times, the drivers racing four abreast on the run to Les Combes. It was Vetttel who came out on top, thanks to fresher tyres. Magnussen was sixth ahead of Button and Alonso. It wasn’t without a price though and Magnussen was placed under investigation after the race for his driving during the period.
Ahead, though, Ricciardo took a calm and controlled third career win, to leave him on 156 points, just 35 behind championship contender Hamilton, who stays on 191 points. Rosberg, meanwhile, moves to 220 points and a healthy title lead as the championship heads towards Monza.
2014 Belgian Grand Prix – Race Result
1 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 44 Winner 5 25
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 44 +3.3 secs 1 18
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 44 +28.0 secs 6 15
4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 44 +36.8 secs 8 12
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 44 +52.1 secs 3 10
6 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 44 +54.2 secs 7 8
7 Jenson Button McLaren 44 +54.5 secs 10 6
8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 44 +61.1 secs 4 4
9 Sergio Perez Force India 44 +64.2 secs 13 2
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 44 +65.3 secs 11 1
11 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 44 +65.6 secs 18
12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 44 +71.9 secs 12
13 Felipe Massa Williams 44 +75.9 secs 9
14 Adrian Sutil Sauber 44 +82.4 secs 14
15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 44 +90.8 secs 20
16 Max Chilton Marussia 43 +1 Lap 19
17 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 43 +1 Lap 22
18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 39 +5 Laps 16
Ret Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 38 +6 Laps 2
Ret Romain Grosjean Lotus 33 +11 Laps 15
Ret Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1 +43 Laps 17
Ret Andre Lotterer Caterham 1 +43 Laps 21eom/FIA release
Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull Racing team celebrates after winning the Belgian GP on Sunday. A Pirelli Motorsport image -
Hamilton takes over at the top in FP2: Belgian GP
Hamilton tops FP2 at the Belgian GP on Friday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team image Briton quickest on option tyres ahead of team-mate Rosberg. Alonso repeats third place from morning session.
Lewis Hamilton took over at the top of the Belgian Grand Prix timesheets, outpacing Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by more than half a second as the German failed to deliver a clean run on Pirelli’s soft compound tyre.
Hamilton set the pace on the medium Pirelli tyre during the long run phase of the session before and then posted a 1:49.189 when he made the switch to the quicker soft tyre.
Rosberg couldn’t match his team-mate’s pace, with his own run on the option tyre hampered by a couple of small errors. He ended the session 0.604 down on his team-mate.
As in the morning, Fernando Alonso finished closest to the Mercedes pair, the Ferrari driver finishing 0.741s off the pace set by Hamilton.
After finishing 15th in the morning session, Williams’ Felipe Massa improved dramatically in the afternoon, climbing to fourth by the end of the session with a time of 1:50.327. 1.1s down on Hamilton’s time.
Valterri Bottas was sixth in the sister Williams car, the Finn finishing just under two tenths adrift of McLaren’s Jenson Button.
Daniil Kvyat was seventh for Toro Rosso, ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, who along with Kvyat and Alonso were the only non-Mercedes-powered men in the top 10. Ricciardo ended the session 1.788s off the pace. Kevin Magnussen in the second McLaren was ninth, ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Ricciardo’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel did not take any part in the session, having been sidelined in FP1 by an exhaust issue which necessitated a change of power unit.
Also failing to set a time in the afternoon session was Pastor Maldonado. The Lotus driver’s session ended on his second lap out when, on the run down to Pouhon, he lost control of his car and hit the barriers. With debris strewn across the track the red flags came out.
The red flags came out again later in the session – this time for Esteban Gutierrez. The Sauber driver completed just seven laps in the afternoon before spinning at Blanchimont and then stopping out on circuit. The Mexican reported that the stop had been caused by a gearbox issue.
2014 Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:49.189 26
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:49.793 0.604 28
3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:49.930 0.741 19
4 Felipe Massa Williams 1:50.327 1.138 24
5 Jenson Button McLaren 1:50.659 1.470 31
6 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:50.677 1.488 26
7 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:50.725 1.536 25
8 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:50.977 1.788 16
9 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:51.074 1.885 31
10 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:51.077 1.888 26
11 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:51.383 2.194 26
12 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:51.450 2.261 29
13 Sergio Perez Force India 1:51.573 2.384 28
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:52.196 3.007 25
15 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:52.234 3.045 18
16 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:52.776 3.587 23
17 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:53.955 4.766 7
18 Max Chilton Marussia 1:54.040 4.851 18
19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:54.050 4.861 30
20 Andre Lotterer Caterham 1:54.093 4.904 24
21 Pastor Maldonado Lotus No time 2
22 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing No time 0 -
I’ve worked hard for this podium, so it feels better than a win, gliding from the lead: Hamilton
DRIVERS Present at the FIA Post-race Press Conference at the Hungarian GP Formula One World Championship won by Red Bull Racing Daniel Ricciardo were:
1 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing); 2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari); 3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes).
PODIUM INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Martin Brundle)
Daniel, what brilliant drive, congratulations. How on earth does that feel?
Daniel RICCIARDO: It feels as good as the first, it really does. I don’t know, I mean the safety car at the beginning played to our advantage and then I thought when the second one came out it didn’t really help us but we managed to pull it off at the end, had to pass our way through and that was a lot of fun in the last few laps.
You rehearsed that big outbraking move on Fernando last weekend in Germany didn’t you? That was from a long way back.
DR: Yeah it was. I knew we had to make a move quick, the DRS was there and I know it could have been my only chance, so I took it and it paid off. Had to be done.
Fernando, you hung onto the tyres, you took a risk and you pushed like crazy. It’s your birthday on Tuesday and you nearly had the perfect birthday present. But second place, is it painful or are you satisfied anyway?
Fernando ALONSO: No, extremely satisfied. I think it has been a tough weekend – a tough season in general – so to get a podium is always a nice surprise let’s say. We took a gamble. We risked today just trying to get the victory. We went close but as I said, extremely proud of the team, extremely proud of the job we did today and very, very happy.
Rain for the start, safety cars, traffic, tyres degrading, you needed all your experience today. You needed everything.
FA: Well, today we have a combination of things that made the race difficult to execute, difficult to understand and we took our opportunities, our experience… we need some crazy races to get some podiums and today we took the opportunity.
Congratulations. Moving over to Lewis Hamilton: pit lane to podium! Lewis, that was also via the barriers of the second corner at the start. What a crazy afternoon you’ve had.
Lewis HAMILTON: It’s been a pretty crazy weekend.
When you got out of the car yesterday, you were disappointed you had that failure and you had mentally put yourself over 30 points behind Nico. You were convinced he would win and you would struggle to get into the top five and here you are on the podium.
LH: Absolutely. Big thank you to the team, they did a great job with the pit stops and with the strategy and I just tried my best. The car’s been fantastic – when it’s going. Obviously a lot of points lost, because we could have had a much better weekend but we have a lot of strengths to look forward to in future races.
You were really struggling in the beginning. You were talking about the diff, you were talking about a vibration, we heard you were getting very hot in your seat, you were clearly nursing a few issues as well?
LH: Yeah, to be honesty at the beginning obviously a mistake by myself, but the brakes were very, very cold and locked up and I was gone. Fortunately I got going again, thank the Lord I didn’t damage the car and you know damage limitation again.
One of your finest ever drives?
LH: I don’t think so.
Well, it look pretty damned good from where we were sitting and standing in the grandstands. So Daniel, we go into the summer break, although Spa will be with us soon enough, and you have a great victory. What are you going to do and what does it mean for you in the second half of the season?
DR: Well, definitely going to celebrate tonight and party for a few days I think, enjoy a bit of time off. Then just keep building on what I’ve done in the first six months and then look forward to Spa. Just firstly I want to thank the team, they’ve really let me settle in so well the first six months of the year and to grab two victories it’s honestly phenomenal, so really pleased. Got a few mates here this weekend, so we’ll party hard tonight.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Well done Daniel, that was an amazing victory, very exciting for all of us. You led early one and then obviously came back at the end. When did you think you had it won?
DR: I wasn’t sure. I knew that the first safety car played into our hands, we inherited the lead there, pitting for slicks and then, yeah, we were looking alright. Then we got the second safety car and obviously we pitted again for another set of tyres but we obviously lost the lead. I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen. We were stayed out pretty long that stint and we were leading a fair chunk of the mid-race but then I knew we weren’t going to get to the end on that set of tyres. So we had to pit again and that put me back out of position. Then we knew we had to overtake to win the race. Obviously we had the fresher tyres at our disposal but I knew it was going to be an exciting finish. I honestly had a scare in the middle of the race, for a few laps we had some issues. Basically, we were down on power and had to get a bit crazy on the switches, so I thought the race could have potentially ended early but we got through that and yeah, very happy.
What about overtaking these two, the overtaking manoeuvres in the last few laps?
DR: Yeah, obviously there was only one way to win it and that was to get around them. Obviously I had the advantage of the fresher tyres, but I knew they wouldn’t make it easy. I attempted Lewis into Turn Two, I think the previous lap or maybe two before I eventually got him, but just locked up and went too wide. I had a second crack at it and I still locked up but I managed to just hang on and just had a bit more grip around the outside there, so that was that. And then, once I got close enough to Fernando, I knew I just had to go for it. Being in that sandwich there, Lewis was still I think in the DRS zone, basically I couldn’t waste too much time and that’s what I did and then once I got the lead I knew it was just a couple of laps to go. Yeah, it feels good.
Well done. Fernando, coming to you. What does this mean to you? What does it mean to Ferrari, coming just before the break?
FA: It means a lot. Obviously we had some tough races recently and to see one Ferrari again on the podium is the best news. We took the opportunity after a difficult race, with a wet start and then some difficult decisions to make around the safety cars – if pitted or not. Unfortunately first safety car we went a little bit out of position, because the safety car went out and we were in the last corners so we missed the opportunity to stop. We stopped the lap afterwards and we lost a couple of places. We have to attack, we have to overtake a couple of people and just 10 laps to the end we were discussing if we stop and secure the fourth place that we really needed, those points, so just try to defend the position as much as you can and maybe finish in fourth, so at the end it’s the same result but at least you have the chance to fight for the podium positions. So we were in that position 10 laps to the end and at the end we chose the right thing – stay out, defend the position as best we could and secure this second place that, for sure, it tastes like a victory for us at the moment.
Yes, it’s interesting what Ferrari will take from this. Presumably you’ll still be telling them to push on other types of circuit, this was a very tight circuit obviously?
FA: We’ll see. This circuit didn’t change much our performance, our position but today we had a little bit of a chaotic race and we took every opportunity we had in front of us. I think cars from behind also had some issues, with Rosberg, with Hamilton yesterday, with the issues in qualifying, we get this position for free. We had Vettel, had a problem in the last corner today, the Force India. We had some cars out of the way let’s say and we took benefit from this and we secured some very strong points for the team.
And Lewis… I think a lot of people may be extremely surprised to see you here but it was a fantastic race for you. Did you ever think it was possible? You had some great wheel-to-wheel racing as well out there.
LH: I don’t know, I was just pushing as hard as I could to see if I could get as high as I could and yeah, I mean, a great result obviously.
What does this third place mean to you or are you still regretting yesterday?
LH: No, obviously this is damage limitation. On one hand I’m very grateful to have been able to get through with all the difficulties I’ve had this weekend, obviously yesterday and the first lap. I can’t believe how things have gone but to be able to come back through… the safety cars obviously helped quite a lot but naturally I look at the fact that I had the pace this weekend I lost quite a lot of opportunistic points. Still, we’re there in the fight, fortunately I stayed of my team-mate, which means I’m still there or thereabouts.
Q: How hard did he come back at you?
LH: Well, he was catching me at three seconds a lap, so it was very, very tough at the end. Fernando, and big congratulations to Daniel, drove fantastically well, both of them. It was very difficult to keep him behind, and also with Nico, and impossible to get past Fernando.
Q: Quite tricky, the last few laps?
LH: Yeah, definitely.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Lewis, we heard on the radio the messages from the team asking you to pull over and let Nico by, around about lap 50-51. We can now see why you didn’t do it, otherwise you wouldn’t be on the podium. Can you just explain your thoughts at that particular time: what was going through your head? Why you didn’t let him by? And secondly, how do you feel the dynamic of your relationship will again maybe now change, following the summer break, with Nico?
LH: Well obviously I’m aware that when you’re… y’know I was in the same race as him. Just because he had one more stop than me doesn’t mean I wasn’t in the same race as him. And naturally if I’d have let him past, he would have had the opportunity to pull away and when he does pit, he’s going to come back and overtake me, so I was very, very shocked that the team would ask me to do that, to be able to better his position. But to be honest, he didn’t get close enough to overtake but I was never going to lift off and lost ground to Fernando or Daniel to enable him to have a better race. So that was a bit strange. But we’ve got a long way to go, moving forwards still and, as I said, thankfully I’m still in that battle, so, I hope we can come away stronger.
Q: (Kate Walker – Crash.net) I’ve got a question for you Lewis. Going into the summer break, psychologically, what does it mean for you, the fact that you started in the pitlane, your team-mate started on pole, and you’re here and he isn’t?
LH: Well that in itself is huge for me. I can’t express to you the pain that you feel when you have issues such as the issues that I’ve had in the last couple of races. It’s very, very difficult to swallow, and, to come back the next day and get the right balance between not attacking too much, and not making mistakes, all these different things. So many things that… obviously when you’re at the back you’re having to push way past the limit than perhaps you would off pole position or in the top five. So the fact that I’m managed to come back through obviously is a showing of just how great this car is and how great this team is – but ultimately we’ve worked,
It feels definitely much more satisfying when you come back through. And, as I said, to be ahead and to win the fight is really encouraging.Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / National Speedsport News) Two questions, one for Daniel: how does this compare to Canada? And for the other two guys, you’ve battled wheel to wheel with Daniel. Has he now established himself as a front-runner?
DR: It honestly does compare to Canada. Obviously the first victory is special but it definitely leaves you wanting more. I was just as hungry for this second one and it feels just as good – I won’t say better but you realise it a bit more so if feels like you can enjoy it a bit more. And when I crossed the line, everything felt a bit more real, so I guess I took in a bit more of this one today. So, yeah, it feels awesome. And I just want of obviously quickly thank the team as well. To have two victories in the first half of the season with them, obviously I owe a lot of that to them as well, for letting me just settle in, establish myself with them. They never put too much pressure on me, they let me roll into it as I liked – and I think that’s been the best balance for all of us. The results are showing and I’ll enjoy this one as much as Canada.
Fernando, your thoughts about Daniel – has he established himself?
FA: Yeah, definitely. I think he’s leading the champion team. That says all. He’s doing a fantastic job this year and now he had a few bottles. In Hockenheim I had a very fresh tyre which probably allowed me to pass with some advantage but even with that it was not easy. Today, I really didn’t have the tools to fight but I tried to do my best – but definitely, congratulations to him for today, for the whole championship and it’s going to be an interesting fight in the next couple of years.
Lewis?
LH: Yeah, as Fernando said, he’s been driving fantastically well from the beginning of the year. So, it’s not only now, it’s through the whole year he’s shown his capability and is going from strength to strength. Not only one of the nicest guys in the paddock but also one of the best drivers here, for sure.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) To Fernando, a couple of questions, first one: does this result show that something can still be taken from the car, and the second one, your birthday is approaching: we know what you wished last year – what about this year? What is the gift you would like for your birthday?
FA: hmmm… I think from this year’s car there are obviously some positive things and some negative things. Now, together with the team try to analyse what to carry on and what to change. Philosophy of the car probably is not perfectly right because we are not as competitive as wish, so there are things that we need to change but also there are things that are probably working OK. Well last year it was a very big understanding of what was my wish. Especially in Italy. So, this year, I will not wish anything about the car and I will wish a happy day to everyone in Italy.
Q: (Carlos Miquel Gomez – La Gaceta) Two questions for Fernando. Do you think that this race is one of the best races of your career? And the other thing, to hear the people cheering “Alonso, Alonso” is one of the reasons that you are following Formula One.
FA: I don’t think that is one of the best in my career. It has been a good and a complex race, let’s say, to execute and perform – because there were some difficulties around the race that make the 70 laps not straight forward. You just need to make decisions during the race and all of them were, together with the team, and I think we did the best we could. And then in the podiums, the support from the people has been amazing. Especially this two or three last seasons – which is a little bit strange when you think that I won the World Championship the last time in 2006, I suppose that my career should be going down and it’s going up. So that’s definitely something that keeps my motivation very high. I would like to give them something back in terms of trophy and in terms of titles. It’s what we’re working on.
Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe Kiadoi) Daniel, when do you think your next victory will come? This year you are the only Mercedes destroyer. And do you still continue to develop this year’s car or will you focus on next year after Spa?
DR: I think – answering your second question quickly – I think we’re definitely going to keep trying to push for this year. There’s still a lot to play for. In any case, what we learn this year we can still take forward for next year so the team will keep pushing and I’m sure that now this second victory will keep the motivation strong within the team so that’s good. Sorry, what was the first question?
Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe Kiadoi) This year you are the only Mercedes destroyer.
DR: Good. Someone’s got to do it.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Lewis, during this crazy race, what was the main difficulty for you, trying to find your way on the wet track at the beginning or resisting your teammate at the end?
LH: The beginning. The strange thing about starting from the pit lane is that you don’t get ready to go out. Your brakes are cold as you start, your tyres are brand new and obviously I experienced that into turn two. It was an interesting beginning to the race but I’m very very very grateful that I got through.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – UOL) To all of you: three different drivers, three different teams, three different power trains in the last race of this part of the season. Does it mean that in the second part of the season we will maybe see some more competition or did the circumstances of the race create this situation?
DR: I think today obviously the mixed conditions and the safety cars maybe helped out this order in terms of having three different manufacturers up here but I would like to think that it can create something for the second half. I think that in pure dry conditions, Mercedes still have a pretty significant edge on everyone else. Spa, it’s a pretty good place to start the second half of the year. Maybe the weather and the changes they have there could create something exciting but forgetting all the stats, obviously this is a great thing to see today: three teams, three manufacturers all up here. It’s refreshing, for sure.
FA: I agree with everything. Let’s hope so. I think the circumstances and the weather played a big factor today. The circuit characteristics also probably helped some of the power units that we are not on top of the game still, so let’s see at Spa. Monza is quite a tough challenge for us and that will give us some answers for the final part.
LH: I think it’s great for the fans to see. I’m sure today – people say it was a great race – that’s really what the fans want to see so I hope that continues for the future.
Q: (Istvan Simon – Auto Magazin) Lewis, the last time that things didn’t go according to plan was at Silverstone – apart from Hockenheim but that was a technical issue – when something messed up your qualifying, you said that you spent the night or I heard you spend the night with your mother, with your father, with your family, with your loved ones. What helped you through this time, in this dip? What did you do yesterday to prepare yourself for the race day?
LH: I had a pizza last night! I did, some pizza and some chocolate and watched a movie. Went to dinner with Niki yesterday and played a prank on him as it was his birthday and just tried to have some fun. We really have some of the greatest fans here and I think really some of my really close fans that I have here really got me through this weekend. I didn’t have my family here with me and it’s great to be able to turn to them and to be able to receive positive energy from them. I got a letter from one of my fans this morning and just the comments it had in it were really uplifting and really helped kick my mind into gear so I’m grateful for that.
Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Lewis, yesterday you were quoted as saying that what happened starts to go beyond bad luck. Could you please explain what exactly you meant by that and are you maybe starting to lose confidence in the team, because of the technical problems and now they asked you to move over for Nico who was on a different strategy?
LH: I don’t really remember… I mean yesterday after what was quite a difficult time, I came straight out and spoke to the media so I think fortunately I controlled myself quite well and I don’t really remember what kind of frame of mind I was in at that point but it’s the same as saying ‘it’s beyond a joke.’ Sometimes there’s one joke, there’s another joke and sometimes it gets a little bit past that and obviously with the faults that we’ve had on my car, it’s made it very difficult for this championship but as I said, fortunately I got some points today which means that I’m still there or thereabouts but the telling thing would be how my car performs through the rest of the year.
Q: (Carlos Jalife – Fastmag) Daniel, who do you side with: Fernando said a few races ago that the championship was basically over? It was for one of the guys from Mercedes. And Sebastian said that mathematically it was still on, so what’s your opinion on that? Is it over or is it not?
DR: I think there’s obviously a couple of opinions. When maybe some of us say it’s over, I think it’s just purely looking at the performance of Mercedes. On a normal weekend with normal conditions on pretty much all circuits, they’ve been dominant. I think days like today, with some changing conditions, some safety cars, it helps us keep our nose in the fight. I think Seb’s right in saying that until it’s mathematically over it isn’t. If you look at today, I closed in on the championship but realistically we’re still a long way off. It doesn’t really change the approach in any case. If we’re in it or not, we still race for the highest position possible and obviously as we saw today, the win was there for grabs and we took it. In any case, I don’t think it changes the approach for Sundays. I think with the Abu Dhabi system they’ve applied this year, it’s still going to be pretty open until late on in the season. We’ll just keep doing what we can.
Q: (Cristobal Rosaleny – Car and Driver) Fernando, how impressive or how surprising for you and for the team was having such an amazing pace with the soft tyres for such a long time with the degradation of the tyres. Was it really a surprise, a question of weather?
FA: Yeah, it was definitely a surprise. We found ourselves leading the race when Ricciardo and Massa pitted so we thought OK, let’s give the maximum for three or four laps just to open up a gap and stop see whether we are in the final part and then we realised that it was not so many laps to the end and it was a difficult call: stopping and keep pushing and finishing fourth or keep going and risking the cliff with the tyres and finishing fourth or fifth or whatever. So it was surprisingly good, it was surprisingly fast, the car in the race. I think the weather helped us with cooler temperatures and the track a little bit damp in the first part. Obviously you don’t stress the tyres as much as a completely hot track. I felt the car was good and it was definitely a surprise.
Q: (Oliver Barstow – Crash.net) Lewis, yourself and Nico have had the odd technical issue over the course of the year. Given the performance between you two is so close, how concerned are you that the title could be decided between you by who has the least technical issues?
LH: Ultimately it is a concern because I’ve stopped more than him. But as I said, there’s still quite a few races to go and it will be telling, dependent on how… Obviously I’ve got the pace, got the ability, just really whether or not the car holds up.
eom/FIA transcript
-
Nico Rosberg grabs sixth pole of the season; Engine fire ends Hamilton’s qualifying hopes
Briton will start at the back of the field after fuel leak ends qualifying hopes. Vettel on front row ahead of Bottas.
Nico Rosberg took pole position during qualifying at the Hungaroring this afternoon, while a fuel leak saw Lewis eliminated in the Q1 phase without setting a time.
- Nico took his sixth pole position of the 2014 Formula One season – his third in a row after Great Britain and Germany
- MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS has now taken 10 pole positions from 11 races so far in 2014
- A fuel leak and subsequent fire for Lewis during his warm-up lap in Q1 prevented him from setting a time
- The team has yet to determine the extent of damage incurred by chassis F1 W05 Hybrid/05 and its component parts
- A full investigation will be conducted into the cause of the problem in parc ferme
Hungaroring, 26 July 2014: Nico Rosberg grabbed his sixth pole position of the season at the Hungaroring as an engine fire ended Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying hopes on his first out lap at the start of the session. Hamilton will start the race from the back of the grid.
Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel will line up alongside Hamilton on the front row, with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas this ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.
Just five minutes in Q1 Hamilt
Nico Roseberg on way to pole at the Hungarian GP on Saturday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image on, who was nearing the end of his first out lap, contacted his pit wall to inform them that he had a fire on board his W05. He eventually pulled over at the edge of the pit lane entrance where his car was surrounded by marshals who quickly extinguished the blaze. Mercedes later reported that the engine fire had been caused by a fuel leak.
Hamilton will be joined there by Pastor Maldonado. The Venezuelan driver also failed to set a time during the session after his Lotus ground to a halt at turn 13 on his first out lap.
At the end of Q1 Jules Bianchi put in a great lap to demote Kimi Raikkonen to 17th place. Ferrari had been trying to get the Finn through the Q2 without resorting to the soft Pirelli tyres but the Finn’s medium-tyre best lap of 1:26.792 was not good enough to make it through as Bianchi beat him by six hundredths of a second
Also eliminated in the session, in order behind Raikkonen, Kamui Kobayashi, Max Chilton and Marcus Ericsson.
At the top of the Q1 order was Jean-Eric Vergne who set an impressive 1:24.941 on the soft tyre to finish ahead of Rosberg and Vergne’s Toro Rosso team-mate Daniil Kvyat.
Q2 was less incident-packed, with Rosberg easing through to Q3 in P1 ahead of Vettel, Ricciardo and Bottas.
In danger of being eliminated, however, was Nico Hulkenberg, the only remaining Force India following Sergio Perez’s early exit from the session with a hydraulic problem. With Daniil Kvyat in 10th place and three tenths ahead as the final runs began, Hulkenberg looked to be in trouble.
The German delivered a lap of 1:24.647 to dislodge the young Russian but the Force India driver still did not look secure as Kvyat set personal best times through the first two sectors. However the Russian made a mistake in the final sector, losing control under braking into Turn 12 and sliding off circuit.
The spin left him in 11th, ahead of Adrian Sutil, Perez, Esteban Gutierrez, Romain Grosjean and Bianchi.
Just a Q3 was about to begin, light rain began to fall in the pitlane. Teams rushed to get in a banker on slick tyres but the result was that Rosberg went wide at Turn One on his first run as he ran out of grip and moments later Magnussen lost control in the same spot. The Dane went straight on at the corner and slammed into the tyre barriers at high speed. He was unharmed and soon out of the wrecked car but the session had to be red-flagged as the tyre barrier was rebuilt.
When the session re-started Rosberg seized control, setting a benchmark of 1:23.236 ahead of Vettel and Bottas. The gap to the champion was only two tenths, however. Bottas improved with his final run, jumping into second place with a final lap of 1m23.354s, just 0.118s shy of Rosberg’s time.
Vettel, though, went one better, claiming provisional pole with a time 0.035s ahead of Rosberg’s.
There was no hint of celebration, however, as Rosberg was flying on his final lap. He was 0.2s up after the first sector and he continued to find time across the lap, eventually claiming his sixth pole of the year with a lap of 1:22.715, just under half a second clear of Vettel.
With Bottas third, four hundredths ahead of Ricciardo, fifth place went to Fernando Alonso. Felipe Massa was sixth in the second Williams, ahead of Button and Vergne. The final top-10 places went to Hulkenberg and the unfortunate Magnussen.
Nico Rosberg said: “That was a very tough Qualifying session today – especially with the rain at the beginning of Q3. It’s difficult to judge which braking point is best in changing conditions so I was a bit over the limit at times – especially into Turn One. I was lucky there, but in the end I nailed the last lap so I’m quite happy to be starting from pole. On the other side, it’s a real shame for Lewis and the team. I know how much it hurts to have technical failure where there is nothing you can do as a driver. We need to sort out the reliability issues but I know that tonight there will be great team effort to fix his car – just like in Hockenheim where the whole garage pitched in to help rebuild it. It takes away a bit of the excitement when there is no gloves-off battle because that’s what we are here for. But tomorrow is a long race and I’m sure that Lewis can get another good result.”
Lewis Hamilton was done in again by a break-down of the car due to a fuel leak. A disappointed Briton said: “I can’t really believe it today, there was just nothing I could do. There was an issue with the car as I was coming out of the second to last corner and then the engine just cut out. I thought we could get it back to the garage but then I looked in my mirrors and saw the whole rear end was on fire and that was it. Now we need to see what damage has been done to the car tonight and see whether the gearbox or engine needs to be changed. It’s getting to the point where it’s beyond bad luck now – as a team, we need to do better. Tonight, I need to somehow find the way to turn this into a positive fortomorrow, then build on that going into the race. It will be a very difficult afternoon as it’s one of the hardest circuits to overtake on. But these things are sent to try us and how I come out of it is going to be the most important thing.”
Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:25.227 1:23.310 1:22.715 20
2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:25.662 1:23.606 1:23.201 16
3 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:25.690 1:23.776 1:23.354 19
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:25.495 1:23.676 1:23.391 18
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:26.087 1:24.249 1:23.909 17
6 Felipe Massa Williams 1:26.592 1:24.030 1:24.223 19
7 Jenson Button McLaren 1:26.612 1:24.502 1:24.294 21
8 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:24.941 1:24.637 1:24.720 19
9 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:26.149 1:24.647 1:24.775 22
10 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:26.578 1:24.585 13
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:25.361 1:24.706 14
12 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:26.027 1:25.136 12
13 Sergio Perez Force India 1:25.910 1:25.211 11
14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:25.709 1:25.260 10
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:26.136 1:25.337 16
16 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:26.728 1:27.419 14
17 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.792 5
18 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:27.139 10
19 Max Chilton Marussia 1:27.819 7
20 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:28.643 10
21 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes No time 2
22 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault No time 1eom/FIA press release
