INDIA in F1

Tag: Hamilton

  • We are having a good package and that puts us in good position: Hulkenberg

    Montreal, 5 June 2014: DRIVERS – Adrian SUTIL (Sauber), Nico HULKENBERG (Force India), Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham), Felipe MASSA (Williams), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Jenson BUTTON (McLaren)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Jenson, we’ll start with you if we may. A 2011 winner here, of course, memorably, and you’re currently eighth in the championship. This circuit has the famous wall of champions on the outside of the final corner. The back of the cars this year, of these designs, is quite light. I wonder if you could a little bit about how you read the challenge of driving these cars around this track this weekend.

    Jenson BUTTON: OK. Good morning. Yeah, it’s going to be tricky here, It always is, especially with the cold circuit temperatures we’ll probably have on Friday. So yeah, the last corner will be tricky, but we’re sort of used to that I think. We’ve been driving these cars all year and if we can drive these cars around Monaco I think we’ll be alright around here. It should be an interesting circuit. It’s a circuit where you don’t really use downforce so much, it’s a lot more mechanical grip. There are long straights, so we can use the power of the engine – for us that’s great, with the Mercedes engine. And it’s about working with the tyres. I think it’s going to be tricky around here. It’s supposed to be hot on Sunday, so you’re going to have to really look after them. But we’re reasonably good at that.

    Talking about McLaren’s situation: how do you compare this year to last year and the competitiveness and the problems that you have? Are they more fixable than last year’s problems?

    JB: Yeah, I think from the outside it doesn’t look spectacular, our season this year, and you’d say it looks quite similar to last year but it’s very different. In terms of the feel of the car, it’s much better. In terms of the development of the car, it is working and we’re going in the right direction. Yeah, it’s tough. When you’ve been fighting for wins and the team is used to fighting for wins, it’s difficult when you find yourself in this situation. But also there are a lot of positives right now. With Ron back in charge, and Eric, I think they’re doing a great job of really moving the team on and changing certain things so that we will be fighting at the front again. But it just takes time. Things don’t change overnight, even though we’re pushing very hard.

    OK, thank you. Coming to you now Lewis. You’re a three-time winner here, three times on pole here. What is it about you and this Montreal circuit and it’s walls around the outside? Is it the braking? Is about technique? What is it that somehow clicks with you here?

    Lewis HAMILTON: I’m not sure. Good morning everyone. I guess there are certain tracks you like more than others and this is one of those circuits I particularly like. I really like coming out to Canada, I always have a great response from the fans here. It is one of the best grands prix of the year in terms of the turnout, the city, just in general the weekend, it’s a good fun weekend and I guess all of that packed into one makes it fun to drive.

    You’ve said this week that you and your team-mate Nico Rosberg are friends again after Monaco. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

    LH: There’s not really much to say. I said it in my message. We spoke after the race and just like friends we have our ups and down, we’ve known each other a long, long time, so it’s done and dusted and we look forward to working together to try to help this team win the Constructors’ Championship.

    OK, thank you for that. Coming on to Felipe. Three seventh-place finishes so far this season, your best result here in Montreal a fourth. Williams is tied with McLaren at the moment in the Constructors’ Championship with 52 points after six races. Is that in line with your expectations?

    Felipe MASSA: No. Definitely I think I didn’t have great results until now. It should be much better than what I had until now. So I had not very great races, starting with the race, where I didn’t get to corner two and you know in Bahrain I was fighting for third, fourth the whole race and then I lost a lot of positions because of the safety car. So I think it was not very great results but I’m sure we can do much better and I hope this track can be also a bit better for our car compared to Monaco, compared to other tracks. So really looking forward that we can have a lot better results, starting here in Montreal, a lot better than seventh I hope.

    I wonder if you could tell us what Rob Smedley has brought to the team, because you obviously have got a very long working relationship with him. He’s now in a senior role on the engineering side, can you tell a little bit about what he’s brought to the team?

    FM: A lot of experience. A lot of good direction, different things in terms of how to work, you know, in many different areas. I think he’s a very intelligent engineer, has a lot of experience. For sure, things don’t change from one day to the other, so it takes a little bit of time but not just him, we have a lot of great engineers, a lot of good people and things are getting better all the time inside the team and I’m really looking forward that from now until the end of the of the championship things will get better and better all the time.

    Nico, coming to you. Fifth in the Drivers’ Championship and points scored in every round so far but no podium personally yet. Given the confidence that Force India has in the package for this weekend in Montreal, is this your weekend do you think?

    Nico HULKENBERG: I don’t know. Obviously I hope and like every weekend we’re going to try to make the most of our chances here. I think the track should be OK for us. Also, it’s one of my favourite grands prix, so I really look forward to this weekend – the track, the city, everything is pretty cool. So hopefully we can have a strong result again.

    Q: Monaco showed that you can get results by doing a different strategy from the people around you. As a midfield team I wonder, is that something you feel you need to do to get the results or do you feel you can compete with front running teams on equal terms?

    NH: Not really, and I think looking back in hindsight we made it a bit harder for ourselves, starting on the harder tyre – the other way around with how it turned out, Safety Car etcetera may have been easier – but I think it’s always different and you always have to look at each race and each case and decide then but, generally, we’re having a good package, we’re competitive and that puts us in a good position in general.

    Q: Kamui, you’ve twice finished in the points here in Montreal but after Marussia’s result at the last round in Monaco I wonder what the reaction was in the Caterham team? Is it encouragement that it’s possible to score points or concern about the position it leaves you in?

    Kamui KOBAYASHI:

    For us the Monaco result for us was a bit of a pain but at least we know Marussia made a great step from their updates so I have to say, I think, we have to say it’s a well done job. I think for us for sure I think we need to work. I think what happened in Monaco was a little bit… strange but at least we check with the FIA and that’s through so we have nothing to say but at least we have some upgrades for that first point.

    Q: So what is the way forward for the Caterham team this season?

    KK: The thing about a Formula One team is we cannot change day-by-day. We progress. Of course, it’s not an easy life for us, it’s a difficult moment right now but for sure everybody is working really hard and we know, I think, that we will progress. We need a little bit of time and we are looking forward to more later on this season.

    Q: Adrian, two points finishes also for you in your career here in Montreal – but still none this year for you with the Sauber team.  Your thoughts on the start that the team has made and how the upgrades have worked out so far.

    Adrian SUTIL: Well, a difficult start of course. I thought it would be a little bit more easy but that’s how it is. That’s how our situation is. We try, of course, to get out and improve the car, improve general performance – yeah, coming here we try it again. We had a tough weekend in Monaco but I think Monaco was a little bit more on the better side, the car was behaving a little bit better and so it’s not only bad everything. There are a few positive things – but it’s very complicated to make it altogether at the moment. To understand the car is quite difficult for us still, so we have to work on that and we need a bit more time and hopefully it really goes soon in the right direction. It’s quite hard to be in the back there always, lot of problems come together in racing at the back.

    Q: And tell us from your perspective what you think it will be like to race these hybrid turbo cars around this circuit – the specific challenges of this circuit?

    AS: Well I think here we’re going to have quite high top speeds, with the new engines and the low drag the cars have so we should really be quick on the straights, maybe also a quicker overall lap time than last year – maybe – so I don’t know. It should be a circuit that suits the car in general. All the Formula One cars, not only us. And, as everyone said, it’s quite an enjoyable track with a lot of possibilities to overtake. The race should be quite interesting as well. Lot of chicanes… yeah, good weekend and I look forward to it, hopefully with a quite good result in the end.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ian Parkes – PA) Jenson, I don’t know if you read the team’s pre-race press release this week but there were some very complimentary words from Eric Boullier with regard to yourself, taking about your quality of input, your experience, your ambassadorial role. It all sounded very positive and almost as if they’re looking to next year, perhaps wanting to keep you. Any further progress on that? As I say, it was all very complimentary towards yourself.

    JB: er…no. No more progress at all. But that’s just the way it is. We’re here, we’ve spent four good years together already. In our fifth year together. And we both want to work together in the future but it’s just not time yet. Not the right time. We have a lot of other issues to solve first before we start thinking about the future too much. We’re in a good place and y’know, I think my experience does help me a lot. I still feel very young at heart, fitter than ever and I have all that experience. I’m in a great position and I feel I’ve got a lot more to give in the future in Formula One. I definitely can’t see an end to my career. This is my life and where I want to be in the future.

    Q: (Bill Beacon – La Presse Canadienne) Because this track is different to most with the braking and long straights and everything, do you think that that in any way will close the gap between Mercedes and the rest of the field?

    LH: I’d be guessing but I don’t feel that will be the case. We’re particularly strong on the straights, Mercedes are but I don’t know, maybe we will be surprised this weekend but long straights do suit us very well. We have a very good power curve on our engine, Mercedes have done the best job with the engines. Renault and Ferrari would have to have done an exceptional job coming into this weekend, in terms of that area, to be  able to keep up with us on the straights..

    FM: Definitely it can be a good track for most of the cars that are using Mercedes (engines) so I think maybe we will see even maybe a big difference compared to Mercedes and the other teams, because as Lewis said, the engine is amazing, it’s been a very good job done by Mercedes and they have a good car under braking and everything, so for sure maybe we can see maybe even a big difference.

    NH: I don’t think it will be very different to the other weeks before.

    Q: (Chris Me

    Nico Hulkenberg file photo by Sahara Force India F1 team.
    Nico Hulkenberg file photo by Sahara Force India F1 team.

    dland – crash.net) Lewis, you said that the air has been cleared between yourself and Nico between races. Did you feel the need to do the same with the team and was anything different with the way the team handled the two of you between Monaco and coming here now?

    LH: There was no difference. Collectively with the team… me and Nico spoke and we individually spoke to the team and saw the team. Nothing’s really changed. We know the team has done a great job in terms of supporting us and the way it’s run with Paddy and Toto. Their support for the both of us has been great. We’re now full steam ahead. We had dinner with the team yesterday and things have never been better. We’re just going from strength to strength. People have ups and downs, as I said, so it’s no different to any other experience me and Nico have had in our whole – God knows how many years we’ve been racing together. We move on, we’re pushing forward. There’s a long long way to go in the season so we’re looking forward to that battle.

    Q: (Gerhard Kuntschik – Salzburger Nachrichten) Jenson, as kind of the older statesman, you raced on the old A1 Ring; we’re coming up to Austria again, Red Bull Ring, in a fortnight; what are your memories of the Austrian Grand Prix?

    JB: Lots of campsites and lots of very merry Austrians over the Grand Prix weekend. It’s one of those races that they really embrace the sort of party scene and the camping scene, which is really cool. It reminds me very much of Spa, British Grand Prix and those sort of races. It’s a true racing fan’s Grand Prix, I feel. The circuit itself… you look at it and you think ‘there’s like seven corners, it can’t be that fun to drive.’ But it is, it’s a really good circuit. I’ve enjoyed racing there in the past, I don’t know what it’s going to be like with these cars. I’ve always had fun racing there. I don’t know how much has changed, either. Turn one, we used to drive off through the gravel because that was the quickest way on the exit. I’m sure it’s not going to be the case any more. I think we’re in for a good Grand Prix.

    Q: (Luis Fernando Ramos – Racing Magazine) To all drivers: the World Cup is coming and your countries are going to be there, playing, so on a personal note, how much are you interested in football? Are you going to follow all the matches or you don’t care much about what’s going on there? And a second brief question: who do you think is going to win the World Cup?

    Q: Kamui, would you like to kick us off?

    KK: Me? On soccer? I don’t really care so I don’t follow anything. All I know is that Japan is not really strong so I don’t…

    NH: Well I hope that Gemany is going to be good but I’m not a football expert but I’m sure I’m going to be behind the TV following the World Cup.

    AS: I’ll be watching, cheering for Uruguay and Germany, because I’m half Uruguayan.

    FM: Yeah, I love football, I watch everything, so I will maybe be watching most of the games. I really hope that Brazil can be there in the final. To win the championship at home would be fantastic so I will be there watching and supporting Brazil.

    LH: I don’t follow it as much (as I used to) but I will probably catch a few games and I want to try and see if we can go out to one of the games at least. The dream will be to go and watch Brazil and England play, that would be pretty awesome.

    JB: Yes, I totally agree. I’m not a massive football fan, I don’t support a team but when it comes to nationalities, countries playing, obviously I will be supporting England and I’m really looking forward to it.

    eom/FIA release of transcript

  • Rosberg takes second consecutive Monaco win; regains Championship lead

    Mercedes driver reclaims control of Drivers’ Championship standings as Hamilton is second and Ricciardo third.

    Nico Rosberg took his second consecutive Monaco Grand Prix victory and reclaimed control of the FIA Formula One World Driver’s Champiolnship with a controlled drive from pole position.

    Nico Rosberg after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Nico Rosberg after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

    The German held of a strong challenge from team-mate Lewis Hamilton, whose chances of taking a fourth win in a row this season faded when he suffered a visibility problem caused by dirt in his left eye. Daniel Ricciardo finished third for Red Bull Racing after recovering from a slide to fifth at the start.

    Rosberg held his lead at the start, but had Hamilton hard in pursuit. Behind them third-on the-grid Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo made a poor getaway and was passed by team-mate Sebastian Vettel. The Australian then tried to fend off the hard-charging Fernando Alonso and that allowed his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who had started sixth, to slip past both around the outside.

    As the front-runners settled into the lap behind them Force India’s Sergio Perez, who had started 10th, was clipped by McLaren’s Jenson Button and pitched into the barriers on the run down to the hairpin.

    That triggered a brief safety car intervention and when the pace car left the order quickly changed again. This time it was Vettel on the move – though backwards. The champion reported a loss of power and slid rapidly back to 10th by the end of lap four. He pitted for work to be done but when he was released back on track he quickly reported that his RB10 was stuck in first and then had further power unit problems, which forced him to retire at the end of the lap. His exit moved Raikkonen to third and Ricciardo to fourth.

    The next man to stop was Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. The Russian rookie had impress all weekend on his first time out at Monaco but after a decent race start in which he settled into eighth position he began to drop back on lap 11 losing places to Button and Hulkenberg. Kvyat steered his car back to the pit lane and retired.

    The Safety Car next appeared on lap 25. Adrian Sutil lost control of his Sauber on the exit of the tunnel and smashed into the barriers scattering debris all across the run down to the Nouvelle Chicane.

    That was the cue for a flurry of stops as all the front runners visited the pits. While all went smoothly for the Mercedes drivers and for Ricciardo, trouble was brewing elsewhere. Seventh-placed Jean-Eric Vergne was released into the path of Magnussen and incurred a penalty that spelled the beginning of the end of his race. Raikkonen, meanwhile, slotted back into third following his stop but was soon back in the pits, for another set of softs, the Finn being clipped by a lapped Marussia on his out lap. The Finn’s misfortune promoted Ricciardo to third.

    Vergne’s return to the pits on lap 37 for his penalty shuffled the order in the lower half of the top 10. Hulkenberg was now sixth, ahead of Magnussen, Button, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Gutierrez.

    Massa, though, was still circulating on his starting supersofts and would need to make the switch. He finally pitted on lap 45, dropping back to 11th. The order now was Rosberg, just 0.8s ahead of Hamilton, with Ricciardo third 12s back. Alonso was fourth ahead of Hulkenberg, Magnussen and Button. Bottas was eighth, Gutierrez ninth and Raikkonen was back into the top 10.

    Vergne’s race meanwhile went from bad to worse. Fighting with Jules Bianchi for P13 on lap 52, blue smoke suddenly appeared at the back of the Toro Rosso. By the time Vergne reached the swimming pool section it had turned into a plume and he arrowed into pit lane to bring to an end a frustrating afternoon for his Italian team.

    A handful of laps later a second engine failure changed the order again. Bottas, in eighth, was defending hard as behind him Gutierrez, Raikkonen and Massa (on fresher tyres) pushed to get past. In the end none of the trio had to tussle too hard as on lap 57 Bottas’ FW36 expired in a pall of smoke at the hairpin.

    Gutierrez was the next man to exit the race. The Mexican clipped the barrier at Rascasse, sustained a puncture and spun close to the pit lane entrance.

    That put Marussia’s Jules Bianchi in a points-scoring position. The Frenchman was due to take a five-second penalty at the end of the race for a previous infringement but with a six-second advantage over Grosjean on track, it looked like the Frenchman was on the way to his first F1 points.

    Hamilton, meanwhile, was in trouble, complaining that he had dirt in his left eye that was impairing his vision. The gap between him and Rosberg drifted to five seconds, with Ricciardo now eight seconds behind Hamilton.

    The Australian made a determined bid to reel in Hamilton and closed the gap on the Mercedes driver to three seconds by lap 72. Hamilton was soon embroiled in traffic and on lap 73 Riccardo was running on the Briton’s gearbox.

    In the traffic, Button passed Magnussen across the start-finish line. Riccardo and Hamilton wove their through the backmarkers and as they did so Raikkonen attempted to pass Magnussen.

    Both got stuck at the hairpin and that allowed Bianchi to move up to eighth place, meaning that regardless of his penalty he would retain a points position.

    It was now all about the Riccardo/Hamilton duel. Riccardo threw everything at the challenge but the Red Bull driver could find no way past as Hamilton used his greater power in tunnel to prevent any move from Riccardo into the chicane.

    Ahead, Rosberg crossed the line to take his second Monaco win and to seize back the championship lead. The German now has 122 points to his team-mate’s 118.

    Hamilton held off Riccardo to take second. Alonso was fourth behind the Australian, with Hulkenberg fifth. Button was sixth for McLaren, ahead of Massa. Romain Grosjean was eighth with Bianchi ninth, but the Marussia driver was crucially nine seconds ahead of tenth-placed Magnussen, meaning that Marussia scored their first championship points and took a crucial advantage over Caterham, for whom Ericsson was 11th, in the Constructors’ Championship.

    2014 Monaco Grand Prix – Race Result
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 78 1:49:27.661 1 25
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 78 +9.2 secs 2 18
    3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 78 +9.6 secs 3 15
    4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 78 +32.4 secs 5 12
    5 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 77 +1 Lap 11 10
    6 Jenson Button McLaren 77 +1 Lap 12 8
    7 Felipe Massa Williams 77 +1 Lap 16 6
    8 Romain Grosjean Lotus 77 +1 Lap 14 4
    9 Jules Bianchi Marussia 77 +1 Lap 21 2
    10 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 77 +1 Lap 8 1
    11 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 77 +1 Lap 22
    12 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 77 +1 Lap 6
    13 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 75 +3 Laps 20
    14 Max Chilton Marussia 75 +3 Laps 19
    Ret Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 59 Accident 17
    Ret Valtteri Bottas Williams 55 +23 Laps 13
    Ret Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 50 +28 Laps 7
    Ret Adrian Sutil Sauber 23 Accident 18
    Ret Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 10 +68 Laps 9
    Ret Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 5 +73 Laps 4
    Ret Sergio Perez Force India 0 Accident 10
    Ret Pastor Maldonado Lotus 0 +78 Laps 15

    eom/FIA press release

  • It was a really good day for Mercedes to get 1-2 finish: Hamilton

    DRIVERS

    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Benedict Cumberbatch)

    Nico, congratulations, man – a home win for the home boy. How did it feel? You had Lewis very, very close to you all the race but you held on to your lead. How was it?

    Nico ROSBERG: A very, very special day for sure. Lewis drove really, really well and pushed me massively hard, so the pressure was on all the way. But I kept it cool and, yeah, was able to win, in the end pulling a bit of a gap because I had the fresher tyres. So, fantastic and I’m very, very happy for the whole team, it’s an amazing car they’ve built and given us this year.

    Congratulations, well done to the Monaco boy. Lewis, how are you? Tell us a little bit about what happened on the 56th lap? You got something in your eye?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, just through the visor… but anyway that’s not important. It was a good day and really good for the team to get a one-two.

    You had [Daniel Ricciardo] right close behind. How was it? You started second and finished second and how are things with your team-mate, I think people want to know?

    LH: I had great pace, you know, obviously I felt I was very strong today but it’s a very, very difficult circuit to overtake on…

    It’s incredibly thrilling to watch, you were all incredible out there, the closeness of the cars…

    LH: Thank you. Fortunately we didn’t make any mistakes, so….

    Daniel, well done, man. Nice to meet you; Benedict. Tell us a little bit about your race. You were in third for a while, then the pit stops, tell us a little about your strategy.

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Firstly, it’s really nice to be up here on the podium in Monaco.

    It’s your first podium here isn’t it? Congratulations.

    DR: Yeah, thank you. The start was not great, I dropped back to fifth actually. A bit of frustration but then we saw Vettel had a problem, so we were able to get fourth and then we saw Raikkonen had a puncture on one of the safety cars. So we sort of inherited third after a poor start…

    You got very close to Lewis. You were right on his gearbox at the end?

    DR: At the end we really closed in. I believe he had an issue. We tried to put some pressure on but in the end third was the best we could do.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Congratulations Nico – a two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner, only a handful of drivers have ever done that before. Fifth consecutive one-two finish for the Mercedes team and you are back on top of the Drivers’ standings. Can you sum up what this win means for you today in the context of tyhe4 battle with Lewis for the championship?

    NR: Yeah, it’s a special win, definitely, because Lewis has had the momentum with the results and everything and I really needed to try to break that momentum and somewhat I managed to do that this weekend. Of course taking the leading again in the world championship and winning here in Monaco, yeah, all in all really, really cool.

    Well done. Lewis, obviously the momentum is broken for the moment. We heard you on the radio quite a lot after the safety car and the pit stops, questioning and speaking about the strategy calls. Obviously you pitted together under the safety car. Had there been a thought that you might try to undercut Nico before that? Can you explain to us what the conversation was about?

    LH: I don’t remember to be honest. I don’t. I think they saw a crash and normally under the crash we could have come in and I really should have come in but the team didn’t call us in. We really should have pitted that lap.

    Fair enough. Daniel, your first Monaco podium. Can you describe your feelings about that and looking back across qualifying and the race is there any way you could have got a better result than the one you got today.

    DR: To describe the feeling, it’s really nice to be up here. Could we have done better? I don’t know. I felt yesterday that we left a little bit of lap time on there. Where that would have jumped on the grid, who knows. After that, the race itself – the start was not good, not what I wanted. I actually dropped back to fifth and then Seb had his problems, still not sure what, but pretty evident he had problems when he slowed on the straight. Then Raikkonen I saw got a puncture under the safety car, so I got third and then pretty much was just trying to maintain the gap behind me to Alonso. Then when I thought there was enough or the right amount of laps left before the end to push and not really save tyres anymore, I did and went for it. We got close to at least one of the Mercedes at the end but you know what it’s like around here, it’s quite hard to pass. Tried to put a bit of pressure on but third was the best we could do but not a bad day.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello sport) A question for Nico and Lewis. We have seen that there is a pretty tense situation between the two of you and we also heard comments from Lauda saying you did not want to talk and apologise. Are you going to have a pizza together, a dinner, to sort the problems, talk about it and try to get the situation back to normal.

    NR: It’s fine. We’ve had discussions and the benefit we have is that we’ve known each other for so long. We always sit down and discuss it and then move on and that’s what we’re doing this weekend also.

    Lewis?

    LH: I don’t really have an answer for you there.

    Q: (Oana Popoiu – F1 Zone) I have a question for Lewis. Niki Lauda said that in Barcelona you used an engine mode you were told not to and you had to apologise to Nico for that. Do you think that that mode would have helped you win the race today?

    LH: No… today we were using all the modes. In the last race it was a mode that didn’t really affect the outcome of the race. We were told that we had to stay in a certain mode. Nico did it in Bahrain and I did it in Barcelona. In this race we stuck to the strategies we had to stick.

    NR: I don’t know what Niki is referring to but it’s completely normal that we switch modes together you know, we always do that in the races. It’s nothing unusual.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Lewis, yesterday you told the BBC that you might handle the situation with Nico like Senna would. What did you mean by that?

    LH: I don’t know. I can’t really remember to be honest. I think it was just a joke. Obviously I didn’t.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) I think you said on the radio that you had a problem with your eye in the closing stages. What happened there?

    LH: I’ve never really had it before. I kept making sure my visor was as closed as possible but I had quite a bit of wind coming in. I got close to Nico at one stage and all of a sudden I got a bit of debris in my eye, or some dirt, so I was driving with one eye, which is virtually impossible to do and so through the low-speed corners I was trying to open up my visor to clear it up but it was just making it worse. Fortunately, I think with five laps to go it cleared up so I was able to stay ahead of Daniel.

    Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) in the last days Nico was mentioning that the previous races were not one-to-one races. What do you think Lewis about this race or this race weekend. Was it a one-to-one races.

    LH: I don’t fully understand the question.

    Q: (Vincent Marre – Sports Zeitung) last day Nico Rosberg was mentioning that the previous races were not one-to-one races, relating to the weather, because you were winning the races and this time he’s winning the race and I want to know if you think this weekend is a one-to-one race for you?

    LH: I’m still not fully understanding it, but all the races have been very, very close but this weekend I think I had very good pace. I drove with all my heart and gave it all I could, fairly, and I feel like I drove fairly all weekend. So I leave today quite happy and I can go into the next race with even more energy and determination.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Lewis, it seems pretty clear to us that you feel aggrieved with the events that occurred yesterday in qualifying. Is this it now for you? Is it gloves off in your battle with Nico? And secondly, do you feel that you are getting full and fair support from the team?

    LH: Generally, there is a fierce battle between me and Nico and it will continue that way to I’m sure quite late in the season. Nico’s not had a single hiccup through the season so far. Obviously I had a car that didn’t finish in Melbourne but otherwise it’s still quite close, so I’m just going to keep my head up, keep pushing. I know the team are working hard for the both of us. The team can sometimes be in awkward positions, which they were yesterday, and their job is really to protect us both and that’s what they did.

    Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday) Question for Nico: you were being told to back-off and coast with fuel. How critical was your fuel?

    NR: Yeah, the fuel was very critical and caught me off-guard a little bit because it was a major change that I had to make and especially with Lewis being so close behind, it was a tough moment because I had to change the driving style completely, use different gears, different lifting and coasting, everything different. But, again, the team managed that well and got me to do what I needed to do. And then, once I got into the groove again, it was OK and everything… it was no problem them. But it was still difficult.

    Q: (Jussi Jäkälä – YLE) Nico, 31 years ago Keke won here, today you are double Monaco winning. Which do you think is prouder at the moment: you or your Dad?

    NR: I don’t know. I hope… of course my father is proud today and that makes me very happy, that I’m able to make my parents proud. Hopefully even my friends, for example, who all were here also this weekend and that makes it all the more special to have family, friends, everybody I know lives here and is at the track watching the race and that’s even nicer.

    Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) One question to Nico and one to Daniel. Nico, you said that you had to break the momentum, since Lewis is coming from four consecutive wins. Is this your most important victory so far? And to you Daniel, from what we have seen today from Red Bull, are you going to have the pace to challenge Mercedes in Montreal in two weeks?

    NR: I don’t know about the most important. For sure it was very, very important, yes, today because Lewis had the result moment and I needed to try and bring that to an end and managed to do that today, so that’s great but, y’know, it’s still early days and for sure it’s going to continue to be a very, very tough battle.

    Daniel?

    DR: I think, yeah, we closed up a bit here in Monaco which we knew would be our best chance up until now. This circuit definitely suits our package a bit better than previous circuits – we still didn’t finish in front so, unfortunately, it’s still not where we want to be. Montreal is still a street circuit but unfortunately the straights go on a little bit longer there so we’re still down a little bit in that area, which I think everyone’s aware of and we’ve made progress. Whether it will be enough by then, honestly, probably not but we are closing the gap so, that’s all we can ask for, for now, and just keep chipping away at it and be patient. I’m sure a bit of perseverance as well and we’ll get there.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo Online) Daniel, for sure as a driver you must trust in yourself but in any moment did you believe you could beat Vettel in the way this season you are beating him in qualifying and the race?

    DR: I didn’t really have any visions exactly on how it would go, what the race results would be or what the qualifying score would be – but I knew that I have some talent and obviously got a bit of experience now in Formula One. So, every year, even every six month period I feel I’m still growing and getting better as a driver as well so, I knew coming into the season with the team behind me and sort of a new opportunity, that I would be able to challenge Seb. Did I think it would be going, let’s say, as well as it was now? I don’t know. But I knew if I had everything underneath me I’d be capable of getting the results. So, fortunately the team saw that as well, back in September, I think, last year. So, it’s coming good.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, after your victory in Barcelona, you said that Nico was faster than you in the race. Today he can even beat you. Is it a worry for you? And do you know where you should improve pace-wise.

    LH: erm… not really. I was pretty comfortable with my pace this weekend.

    Q: (Yassmin Abdel-Magied – RichardsF1.com) Daniel, you said yesterday that there was a little bit left on the table in terms of qualifying. Do you think that there was a little bit left on the table still in the race, and was there was there any point – you got pretty close to Lewis at the end there – when you were going to go for it and then maybe not – don’t want to risk it? What was the thinking in those last few laps?

    DR: Everyone was trying to do a one stop today; it’s a bit of a weird one, you don’t really push much of the race because, especially after the first pit stop, we still had a long way to go, so you’re in two minds: do I push or do I just try and hold the guy off and get to the end. By the time we’d got 15/20 laps to go I knew the tyres were going to last so then I could actually start my race, so to speak, and then start to set some quicker times. We caught Lewis, the team said I was going to catch him, the pace was good so I knew I was eventually going to get on to him. Knowing it’s hard to pass around here, I wasn’t… I don’t know. I was just waiting to see what happened but I wasn’t just going to settle for third. Obviously in the end I did but if there was a clean move to be taken then yeah, I would have taken it.

    Q: (Nicola Pohl – Bild) Lewis, what do you think was the reason why the team didn’t call you in immediately after the crash? You complained over the team radio about that.

    LH: I think it’s just what we have a rule that the guy in front gets the first opportunity to pit first so I think that would be why.

    Q: (Haoran Zhou – Formula One Express) Lewis, how did the debrief of yesterday’s qualifying go because as we understand, you were not in the debrief room, while Rosberg was?

    LH: I was in there. I went to the toilet and Nico did his big debrief before I got there which is unusual. Usually we do it when we’re both in the same room but as I came up I did mine and fortunately the engineers had written down what Nico had said so I read it.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Nico, have you been surprised that the team didn’t call you in right after the crash of Sutil?

    NR: No. Surprised? No, not really, because I don’t think about that too much. I know I can rely on them to make the right call at all times so it’s not something that I’m thinking too much about, the strategy and should I be boxing now or not, because I know that they’re going to make the right call.

    Q: (Christian Hoenicke – Der Tagesspiegel) Nico, do you think it was fair what Lewis said about you not being hungry as him because you were growing with boats and jets and all that stuff?

    NR: I didn’t hear Lewis say that and so I’m not going to comment because it’s easy for you to just invent something and so I’m not going to comment on that, and even if something like that was written – which I don’t know because I don’t read the media – then still, between what Lewis says and what’s written, so much can turn around so it’s better I don’t say anything and I know that Lewis wouldn’t say something like that, especially not to the press, maybe to me if he feels like it but not to the press.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Assocation) Nico, you may give the same answer to this question then, because there were some comments from yourself in one of the German newspapers or certainly a few of the German newspapers and you can correct me if I’m wrong, if the English translation was not correct but you remarked that when Lewis goes through a difficult period that he can crack. Do you think that that’s what happened this weekend, that maybe Lewis did crack under the press yesterday in qualifying, and Lewis, any comment on that yourself? Do feel you’re the kind of guy that doesn’t crack, that you can hold it together in these kind of circumstances?

    NR: Again, that is definitely very very far from anything that I’ve ever said and ever would say. Definitely not and I’ve known Lewis for many many years and he’s always been strong, among other things mentally, so I’m definitely not expecting him to crack any time soon, that’s for sure. It’s going to be a tough battle which is going to be ongoing, but I would never say something like that anyways.

    LH: Do I feel like I crack? No.

    Q: (Ralf Bach  – Sport Bild) Lewis, to clean the situation, did you tell the BBC in this interview where you said these things with the boat or didn’t you say that?

    LH: I was asked who was hungrier. I think if you ask every driver they will say that they’re the hungriest and I said that what gives me the hunger is where I grew up in comparison to where Nico grew up. You know I’ve always been striving to come and live here. I used to travel around with Nico in his Dad’s plane, I used to go to his boat, I used to go to his house, I used to have those experiences and that gave me those experiences and that gave me the desire to want that one day, which gave me the hunger. It was his Dad obviously who inspired me to be where I am today.

    Q: (Ralf Bach  – Sport Bild) So you did say it.

    LH: Yes, but – as Nico said – it was taken out of context a little bit.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo On Line) Lewis, do you believe with a normal pit stop – not under safety car conditions – you would have had any chance to overtake Nico and get the lead of the race?

    LH: It’s irrelevant now, but obviously with the start, we got exactly the same start… there’s only two opportunities in the race and the pit stop would have been the other one but the safety car came out at the perfect time for him so I didn’t have the chance there. Otherwise, that was it.

    Q: (Gloria Scola – El Mundo) The race has just finished; I was wondering what racing gives you, is it freedom of expression, a way to express yourself, adrenalin?

    NR: First of all, we’re here to entertain and hopefully give people a great time and a spectacle to watch, and especially in Monaco, it’s very obviously because everybody’s there on boats and houses and everything, and I just hope that we’re able to put on a great show, that our sport is seen as the best sport in the world, the most fun sport in the world, the most exciting sport in the world and so that’s a special feeling as such. And then of course driving my car through the streets of Monaco on the limit, battling everybody else, trying to win and then of course the win itself is the most special moment.

    LH: I’m living my dream so it gives good energy.

    DR: I get… honestly, freedom is definitely one thing. I remember when I first hopped in a go-kart as a kid, just being in control and not having anyone else in your space and then going at speed was a sense of freedom definitely. It’s nice as well, particularly with everything that happens around F1, all the media and everything else – when you hop in the car, it’s just you and the car and occasionally you have an engineer on the radio but it’s just you so definitely a sense of freedom along with a wicked adrenalin.

    eom/FIA press release of the transcript of Monaco Press Conference

    Rosberg flanked by Hamilton on right and Ricciardo after winning the Monaco GP to take the F1 Championship lead again. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Rosberg flanked by Hamilton on right and Ricciardo after winning the Monaco GP to take the F1 Championship lead again. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

  • Rosberg and Hamilton make it a fifth 1-2 for Mercedes at Monaco GP

    Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took a dramatic one-two finish this afternoon at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix.

    • Nico took his second consecutive Monaco Grand Prix victory this afternoon, the first driver to do so since Ayrton Senna
    • Lewis finished in second place, securing the team’s fifth consecutive one-two finish in the 2014 season
    • Both drivers ran one-stop strategies, pitting behind the Safety Car on lap 26 and retaining the leading two positions
    • The team has now taken five consecutive one-two finishes, for just the third time a team has achieved this in F1 history
    • This victory marked the team’s 10th victory in the new era of the Silver Arrows since 2010
    Driver
    Car No.
    Chassis No.
    Result / Fastest Lap
    Nico Rosberg
    6
    F1 W05 Hybrid/04
    P1 1:19.425
    Lewis Hamilton
    44
    F1 W05 Hybrid/01
    P2 1:19.361
    Weather
    Warm
    Temperatures
    Air: 19-21 °C
    Track: 28-31 °C

    Nico Rosberg 
    It was a tough race out there today but I am absolutely delighted to have won my second Monaco Grand Prix in succession. It’s an amazing feeling and I’m proud to have done it at home, in front of my family and friends who were all here this afternoon. The race started well and I was comfortable but then we had to manage my fuel consumption and Lewis was pushing really hard behind me. We were able to be in control of the fuel with a few laps of lift and coast. It was important for me to break Lewis’ momentum of winning the last four races this weekend. That worked out very well, but it was a really tough weekend. I’m so happy for the team that we had another one-two finish and look forward to the party tonight!

    Lewis Hamilton 
    I felt very strong out there today and I really drove with all my heart, giving everything that I could to improve my position. This just hasn’t been my weekend but I can leave today feeling happy that we have achieved another one-two finish for the team. We have such a great car and everyone who has worked on it deserves the incredible results that we are getting at the moment. Back to this afternoon, this is such a difficult circuit to overtake. I was following Nico as close as I could and had great pace but I just couldn’t get past. Towards the end, I got some dirt in my eye through the visor which made it very tough for a few laps but thankfully it cleared up and I was able to hold off Daniel and keep second place. This hasn’t been the greatest of weekends but I’ll go into the next race with even more energy and determination. The team are working so hard and we’re determined to keep the momentum going.

    Toto Wolff 
    A fantastic result for the team after a weekend where we had the pressure to deliver on the car’s potential here in Monaco. Six wins from six races, and five one-two finishes in a row, is a very special achievement at the start of this 2014 season. Congratulations to Nico for a faultless race and to Lewis for following him home in spite of some unexpected challenges this afternoon. We were driving a controlled race when the Safety Car forced us to pit earlier than had been planned for our only stop of the afternoon. After that, both drivers pushed hard and that had the consequence that they started to run out of rear tyres in the closing laps. When Lewis had the problem with his eye, that was when Daniel Ricciardo came close. It just goes to show that we must never give up pushing because our rivals are right behind us – and working hard to run us down. We have absolutely no margin for error because if we make one little slip, our rivals are right there. We will enjoy this moment – but the hard work continues tomorrow at the factory.

    Paddy Lowe 
    To take our fifth consecutive one-two finish is an incredible achievement for our team. It doesn’t matter how good a car you’ve got: to achieve that kind of run, you need amazing drivers and a great team performing faultlessly. We have all of those elements and this afternoon again reinforced just how well both Nico and Lewis are driving right now. I also must say a special thank you to the team: to take a one-two at Monaco, you need a great chassis and a driveable engine, and this result shows our car is an all-round performer. In terms of the race itself, it wasn’t without its challenges: Nico had to manage his fuel consumption quite carefully and we were working with the settings of Lewis’ Power Unit to optimise the energy recovery and deployment in the first half of the race. In the final stages, we had some concerns with the tyres as we were running out of rubber, which in turn made it hard to maintain the tyre temperatures. We s

    Nico Rosberg after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Nico Rosberg after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

    aw that when Lewis recovered from the problem with his eye, and couldn’t get the tyres back working properly, which allowed Ricciardo to close in. But he was able to bring the car home and secure this fantastic team result.

    eom/A Mercedes AMG Petronas press release

  • Rosberg claims Monaco pole in dramatic style

    Monaco, 24 May 2014: Final-lap mistake by Mercedes denies second-placed team-mate Hamilton opportunity to challenge. Ricciardo third.

    Nico Rosberg claimed his second success Monaco Grand Prix pole position in dramtic fashion, an error on his final lap bringing out the yellow flags, which then denied team-mate Lewis Hamilton the opportunity to improve on his time.

    Rosberg claimed provisional pole with his first run in Q3 in the Principality, the German setting a time of 1:15.989. It was just enough to put him ahead of Hamilton, whose opening lap yielded a time of just over five hundredths adrift of his team-mate.

    In the closing minutes Rosberg set off ahead of Hamilton in search of an improvement. However on the run to the Mirabeau corner Rosberg momentarily lost control under braking and was forced to take an escape road. The incident immediately saw the yellow flags raised.

    “I just locked up, the outside front, I think it was, or the inside, I’m not sure, and that put me off line,” said Rosberg. “I was still trying to make it but in the last moment I had to turn out because I was going to hit the tyre wall. It was close but I managed to go into the escape road.

    “I thought it was over once that happened, because I thought the track would ramp up and somebody else could beat the time but no, of course, in the end I’m really, really happy that it worked out in the end. To be on pole is fantastic, at home; couldn’t be better,” he added.

    Hamilton, meanwhile, was getting into his own final flying lap, setting a personal best first sector time that could have given him the chance to eclipse Rosberg.

    The chance never came, however, as the flags prevented the championship leader from making his charge. He was forced to pull out of the lap and cede pole position to his team-mate.

    Third place went to Daniel Ricciardo, who was also displeased with how the last moments of the session had played out, though for different reasons.

    “I think all three of us don’t seem to be too pleased with ourselves,” he said. “I think we left a bit on the table. We fought the car pretty hard in qualifying and trying to find a bit more from it. I thought I was getting around it OK but coming up to Turn 8 I just lost the rear completely on exit and pretty much the lap was gone after that. Frustrated, I think we could have been much closer. So a little bit disappointed.”

    Ricciardo finished ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel for the fourth time this season, while Fernando Alonso will start fifth ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

    Jean-Eric Vergne claimed an impressive seventh place in the session his time of 1:17.540 just 1500ths of a second behind Raikkonen’s. Team-mate Daniil Kvyat was ninth, the first time both Toro Rosso cars have qualified in the top 10 since the opening race of the season. Kvyat’s performance was especially good considering that the Russian rookie has never raced at Monaco in any category. Additionally, in Q1 a mistake saw him hit the wall on the run down to the Nouvelle Chicacne and he was forced to pit for a new front wing.

    Eighth place went to Kevin Magnussen, the McLaren rookie claiming his third top-10 qualifying position of the year. Tenth place in the session went to Force India’s Sergio Perez.

    Elsewhere, Felipe Massa was forced to sit out Q2 after he was pitched into the barriers by Marcus Ericsson at the end of Q1. The Caterham driver tried to pass the Williams driver down the inside but miscalculated and caused them both to hit the wall. Massa had already done enough to progress to Q2 but was not able to take part.

    2014 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying Result
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:15.989 26
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.048 27
    3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:16.384 22
    4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:18.383  1:17.074  1:16.547 25
    5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:16.686 27
    6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:17.389 27
    7 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:17.540 26
    8 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:17.555 25
    9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:18.090 23
    10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:18.327 26

    11 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:17.846 20
    12 Jenson Button McLaren 1:17.988 20
    13 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:18.082 20
    14 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:18.196 23
    15 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:18.356 21
    16 Felipe Massa Williams No time 10

    17 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:18.741 11
    18 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:18.745 11
    19 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1:19.332 10
    20 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1:19.928 9
    21 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1:20.133 9
    22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1:21.732 9

    eom/FIA Press Release

    Nico Rosberg poses after taking the Monaco pole. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Nico Rosberg poses after taking the Monaco pole. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

  • Hamilton edges Ricciardo in final practice in Monaco

    File photo of Hamilton with fans. An FIA image
    File photo of Hamilton with fans. An FIA image

    Monaco, 24 May 2014: Championship leader Hamilton just five hundredths of a second clear of Red Bull Racing leader. Ricciardo came second and Rosberg third after the final practice session before the qualifying session in the evening.

    Lewis Hamilton finished the final practice session ahead of Monaco’s crucial qualifying session at the top of the timesheet, but only by five hundredths of a second.

    With Mercedes’ performance advantage somewhat blunted by the twisting streets of the Principality, Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo split the Mercedes pair of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, who ended the session a tenth behind his team-mate.

    Rosberg had run quickest in the earlier part of the session, when the teams ran with Pirelli’s Soft tyre, but when the switch was made to the option Supersoft in the closing stages of the session, the championship leader edged ahead of the German once more.

    Although defending champion Sebastian Vettel logged the quickest second sector time on the Supersoft, the Red Bull Racing couldn’t match the pace at the start and end of his laps on the option tyre and finished fourth, four tenths of a second behind Hamilton. He, along with others, was often frustrated by traffic during the session and was seen waving his fist angrily at Williams’ Felipe Massa as the driver set about their qualifying simulations on the packed track.

    Behind Vettel the Fernando Alonos and Kimi Raikkonen were fifth and sixth quickest respectively and the Ferrari pairing were separated by just two hundredths of a second.

    They were backed up by the Force India machines of Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg, who finished just five hundredths of a second apart, and the Toro Rossos of Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat, with the Frenchman beating out the Russian by just under a tenth of a second.

    2014 Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 Times
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.758
    2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:16.808 0.050
    3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:16.874 0.116
    4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:17.184 0.426
    5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:17.428 0.670
    6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:17.448 0.690
    7 Sergio Perez Force India 1:17.725 0.967
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:18.074 1.316
    9 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:18.136 1.378
    10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:18.166 1.408
    11 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:18.249 1.491
    12 Jenson Button McLaren 1:18.262 1.504
    13 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:18.430 1.672
    14 Felipe Massa Williams 1:18.542 1.784
    15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:18.598 1.840
    16 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:18.776 2.018
    17 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:18.872 2.114
    18 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:19.118 2.360
    19 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:19.149 2.391
    20 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:20.271 3.513
    21 Max Chilton Marussia 1:20.394 3.636
    22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:20.589 3.831

    eom/FIA press release

  • Hamilton claims fourth win of season in Barcelona

    Hamilton celebrates on the podium after winning the Spanish GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Hamilton celebrates on the podium after winning the Spanish GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

    Second place for Rosberg completes fourth consecutive Mercedes 1-2.

    Red Bulls finish third and fourth; Force India finish 9th and 10th

    Barcelona, 11 May 2014: Lewis Hamilton took his fourth straight win of the season fending off a late-race challenge from team-mate Nico Rosberg as the pair sealed Mercedes fourth 1-2 finish in a row.

    Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was best of the rest, claiming a lonely third, some 50 seconds adrift of Hamilton. Team-mate Sebastian Vettel had a more eventful race, the champion delivering a superb drive to climb from 15th on the grid to fourth place at the chequered flag.

    Starting from pole, Hamilton led comfortably through the first stint, though with Rosberg in close attendance. In the duo’s first pit stop, however, while Hamilton took on a second set of medium tyres, Rosberg opted for a different strategy, taking on hard tyres in a bid to set himself up for a late charge when Hamilton would be on the slower prime rubber.

    Just as in Bahrain Rosberg was indeed the quicker man in the closing stages but whereas that circuit had allowed the German to mount several attacks on his team-mate, Barcelona’s hard-to-pass on layout meant that Hamilton was more comfortably able to prevent any attacks taking place.

    Afterwards, though, the Briton, whose win now puts him in charge of the Drivers’ World Championship, with 100 points to Rosberg’s 97, admitted that the German had been faster.

    “I wasn’t fast enough really today; Nico was quicker,” he said. “I struggled a lot with the balance and really had to rely on my engineers a lot more to give me the gaps and to try to find where I could find time. Also, with all my settings, I was moving them up and down, up and down really trying to find extra time. But Nico was just generally quicker this weekend but fortunately I was able to keep him behind. My first win here in Spain, it means everything to me.  ”

    Rosberg, meanwhile, believed he would have been able to pass his team-mate had the race last a lap longer than the 66 scheduled.

    “I think one more to be honest; one more and I could have given it a good go. I wasn’t close enough to give it a go there but next lap I would have,” he said. “But unfortunately that was it. So, I’m a bit gutted but still, second place, still close to the championship and many more races to go.”

    Ricciardo’s race was a largely solitary affair. Starting third, the Australian made a poor getaway and that allowed William’s Valtteri Bottas to move ahead. Ricciardo spent the opening laps chasing down the Finn, only to be told by his pit wall to leave a two-second gap in order to preserve his tyres as they looked to pass the Williams on strategy. Ricciardo, though, sensed an opportunity and made repeated assaults on the Finn only for Bottas to cleverly position his car to fend off the assaults. Eventually Ricciardo relented, informing his crew that he would “cool it for a few laps”.

    Red Bull then brought Ricciardo into the pit lane early, on lap 14, undercutting Bottas. Ricciardo was then able to use the clear air in front and his greater pace to make the necessary time to pass the Finn when he stopped six laps later.

    Thereafter, it was a lonely race for Ricciardo as he looked after his medium compound tyres through a long second stint and then managed the final laps to land his second podium finish of the season, but the first from which he’ll take home points after his disqualification at the season opener in Australia.

    “They [Mercedes] were a long way ahead,” he said. “I think coming into the race today we knew a boring race would be a pretty good one for us. We knew we didn’t really have the pace for Mercedes. We looked like a third-place car and in the end that’s what it was. We had a pretty comfortable third place and we just had to focus on getting the tyres to last two stops and that was it. Really nice to be on the podium and I’m sure I’ll be able to keep it this time.”

    Early stops were of benefit, too, to Vettel. After qualifying 10th on Saturday when his car suffered a mechanical problem, the defending champion was handed a five-place penalty for the start when the gearbox of his RB10 had to be replaced.

    He dropped a place at the start but soon began to move forward. By lap 12 he was up to 13th but he was clearly losing time as he became stuck behind McLaren’s Jenson Button.

    He dived for the pit, took on hard tyres and then used the clean air the out-of-sequence stop gave him to claw back time on his rivals ahead. The strategy worked well and by the time he started the in-lap ahead of his second stop on lap 32 he was eighth. He then used two rapid stints on the medium tyres to push on and claim the scalps of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages and claim fourth place.

    Raikkonen’s team-mate Fernando Alonso, also made a three-stop race work and after spending much of the race trailing the Finn. He used the greater pace his fresh mediums gave him to pass his team-mate at the end and take sixth behind Bottas.

    With Raikkonen seventh, Romain Grosjean finished an excellent eighth for the improving Lotus team, while the final two points-scoring places were taken by the Force Indias of Sergio Perez in ninth and Nico Hulkenberg in tenth.

    2014 Spanish Grand Prix – Race Result
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 66 1:41:05.155 25
    2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 66 +0.6 secs 18
    3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 66 +49.0 secs 15
    4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 66 +76.7 secs 12
    5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 66 +79.2 secs 10
    6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 66 +87.7 secs 8
    7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 65 +1 Lap 6
    8 Romain Grosjean Lotus 65 +1 Lap 4
    9 Sergio Perez Force India 65 +1 Lap 2
    10 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 65 +1 Lap 1
    11 Jenson Button McLaren 65 +1 Lap
    12 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 65 +1 Lap
    13 Felipe Massa Williams 65 +1 Lap
    14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 65 +1 Lap
    15 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 65 +1 Lap
    16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 65 +1 Lap
    17 Adrian Sutil Sauber 65 +1 Lap
    18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 64 +2 Laps
    19 Max Chilton Marussia 64 +2 Laps
    20 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 64 +2 Laps
    Ret Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 34 Brakes
    Ret Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 24 Exhaust
    eom/FIA press release

  • A big thank you to my team, they’ve done an incredible job: Hamilton

    Hamilton at podium interview after winning the Spanish GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Hamilton at podium interview after winning the Spanish GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

    Barcelona, 11 May 2014:

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

     

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Eddie Jordan)

    What a great race, what a great finish – Lewis Hamilton, ladies and gentlemen, four race wins in a row; let’s hear it from him.

    Lewis HAMILTON: A big thank you to my team, they’ve just done an incredible job this year. I’m really happy with the support I’ve had here in Spain, it’s the best I’ve ever had, so thank you to everyone in the grandstands, it means the world to me. My first win here in Spain, it means everything to me.

    We heard you grumbling, or not quite happy with your team about the graining and also about the time loss in the pits. Tell me, were you upset? 

    LH: No, not for the pits. I wasn’t fast enough really today; Nico was quicker. I struggled a lot with the balance and really had to rely on my engineers a lot more to give me the gaps and to try to find where I could find time. And also with all my settings, I was moving them up and down, up and down really trying to find extra time. But Nico was just generally quicker this weekend but fortunately I was able to keep him behind.

    Well, I needn’t tell everybody out there but you’ve now taken over the lead in the championship. Nico, what a fantastic fight, just like Bahrain, right up there at the end. How many more laps do you think you needed to pass him?

    Nico ROSBERG: I think one more to be honest, one more I could have given it a good go. I wasn’t close enough to give it a go there but next lap I would have. But unfortunately that was it. So, a bit gutted but still, second place, still close to the championship and many more races to go anyway.

    I needn’t remind you or anybody else, but you’ve been on this podium every race of this season so far. Going now to your home race, Monaco, where you won last year, surely you can make a massive effort for there?

    Nico ROSBERG: Definitely. I’ll be going there to do it one better and try to come first there and repeat the win from last year. That’s the aim and we’ll see if it works out. And for those of you who don’t know Eddie is my number one favourite neighbor in Monaco.

    I don’t they needed to know that! They want to know all about you. Ladies and gentlemen we’ll leave my neighbourly friend here and move to young Australian superstar, the man who has lit up the season so far from a rookie point of view, Daniel Ricciardo. I don’t want to be doom and gloom here, but you were 50 seconds behind, what are you going to do to catch these guys up?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Thanks

    I just thought I’d bring you back down to reality a bit.

    DR: No, you’re right. They were a long way ahead. I think coming into the race today we knew a boring race would be a pretty good one for us. We knew we didn’t really have the paced for Mercedes. We looked like a third-place car and in the end that’s what it was, we had a pretty comfortable third- place and we just had to focus on getting the tyres to last two stops ands that was it. Really nice to be on the podium and I’m sure I’ll be able to keep it this time.

    Lewis, are you surprised with the dominance, because a lot of people called into question your idea of coming to Mercedes maybe 18 months ago. Had you got this in the back of your mind that this was all the potential that was being told to you?

    LH: Yeah, sitting down with Ross at my mum’s house at the kitchen table, yeah this is the idea that I was given. I really, truly believed it was going to happen, but I could never have imagined us to have a 50-second gap to Red Bull in a race. So it’s just an exceptional job from the team and I feel truly blessed to firstly be a part of this team, to be contributing, getting the results. This is our fourth 1-2 together, it’s just unreal.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    So, Lewis, where do we start? Four wins in a row, fourth Mercedes 1-2 in a row, which is fairly hard to achieve. First win for you in Spain and you’re leading the Driver’s World Championship for the first time since, I think, 2012. Which of those things means the most to you?

    LH: Of course getting my first grand prix win here after trying for eight years. It’s very difficult to really put into words the feeling when you come to a race and have a result like this. Never have I had a car like this and obviously we’ve never had a gap like this to anyone before. Nico did a fantastic job today, it was a struggle to keep him behind, but I’m grateful that I was able to. I just feel that it is such a huge blessing, for not only me but for all the guys in the team, because of all the hard work they’ve done for many years now, but finally they are starting to see the fruits of their labour. So, for me, yeah, just enjoying every moment, every step of the way. And it’s really great today we have our board members, our bosses from Mercedes, so it was really good to… every time Dr Zetsche came last year, we generally had a bad race, so it was really important to get a good result for him to get rid of that negative bug, or bad luck that I guess he thought he was bringing, so I’m really grateful for the team being able to do that today.

    Q: Nico, the start didn’t give you the platform or opportunity that maybe you’d hoped for. From there, like Bahrain, you tried something different on the strategy. Like Bahrain, Lewis said you were quicker today – but unlike Bahrain you didn’t really have a chance to attack, particularly at the end. Why was that? Why did it work out the way it did?

    NR: The start unfortunately was poor. It’s a bit of a weakness that we have at the moment, just inconsistent and now I’ve had a couple of bad starts in a row – actually three bad starts in the races. And that’s costly, you know? Because, always losing out at the start, that’s not good, need to work on that. Other than that, the race, yeah, I felt comfortable, race pace was good. Best thing to do was to switch strategies. That was planned before the race. Worked out well, worked out perfectly – but this is a really, really difficult track to get close to the guy in front. I still got close, y’know Turn 10, the last lap. Could have got gone for a kamikaze move but it wouldn’t have worked. Lewis did a great job the whole weekend and just that little bit ahead. But there’s a lot of positives for me to take out of it. I’m fully motivated to just try to get that little bit extra and to edge him out next time – and it’s doable.

    Q: Daniel, hopefully the first trophy you’ll be able to keep. Obviously the story of your race, a difficult start, losing the ground to Bottas but then getting him with the undercut first round of stops, then you were Billy-No-Mates, on your own driving around on your own – tell us how it worked out for you.

    DR: Yeah. Not exactly the start I wanted. I think initially the launch felt OK but we lost a bit of traction after that. Bottas got past me. The first stint I tried to hang in there, had, let’s say, a pseudo-attempt into Turn One. I got underneath him but it wasn’t deep enough to pull the move off and then, yeah, it was just about doing an undercut and just trying to still make a two-stop work. So from then on a pretty lonely race. Unfortunately we’re not going to catch Mercedes. At least this weekend we weren’t going to, so a lonely third was not a bad result in the end.

    Q: Final question to both Lewis and Nico, just looking ahead to the next couple of races that are coming up, Monaco is a track that’s been strong in the past for both of you and strong in the past for Mercedes, and then we go on to Montreal which has always been one of Lewis’s favourites. How do you go there, Nico? And your thoughts, both of you, on those two upcoming races.

    NR: Monaco: fantastic. It’s my favourite race of the year. Great memories there from last year. Looking forward to it, with the car that we have also this year, it’s going to be great. For sure the opposition is going to be closer. Especially I expect Red Bull to be a lot closer, so it’s going to be tougher for us but still, we have a strong package, engine and car. So, should go fine around Monaco and going to try and make the most of it, repeat the win from last year.

    Your thoughts Lewis…

    LH: I think I have a bit of work to do in the next couple of weeks but of course I love those two races. Struggled last year in Monaco and struggled with this race, so need to figure out where I’m losing the time and apply it to the next race.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question for Nico and Lewis. What was the main difficulty during the race: managing the hard tyre or doing quick laps at the end to fight to get Lewis with the medium?

    NR: No, the big challenge was tyre degradation. Very, very big tyre degradation. That was really difficult to manage that. But I found my way and was quite comfortable with it, and then graining on the hard tyre which is the opposite of what we expected. We expected to have graining on the soft tyre. So it was very strange. Graining on the hard tyre and no graining on the soft tyre, it was really weird and unexpected.

    Q: (Adrian Rodriguez – Agencia EFE) Question for Lewis, congratulations for your first win here in Spain. Makes it 26, one more than Jim Clark and one more than Niki Lauda, one of the big guys on your team – are you planning any jokes on him tonight and how many victories can you make it this year?

    LH: At the rate the team’s going, we’re looking strong for at least a few more races. It’s by no means easy for me because I’ve still got a massive challenge with Nico. But, I mean, I could never had imagined winning these four races but it’s still so close, long, long way to go and, just as I was saying earlier, I’ve got a bit more time to find in this car, so going to work on it.

    Q: Michael Schmidt (Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, in the race, did you experience similar problems to those you had yesterday and how did you try to dial them out? There was a lot of conversation between you and the engineers.

    LH: I did have the same problems as I had yesterday, yes. It was very strange because Friday P2 was excellent. The car was really good, degradation… I mean I was very very fast and I stopped my run with 18 laps or something like that, but if I just brought my pace down a little bit I probably could have eked it out even longer. Those changes just transformed the car and today, just not able to attack the corners due to snap oversteer, and that’s generally where Nico was catching me, through those entries of corners.

    Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) To the Mercedes drivers: you have won every race this year. What secret did you find and where?

    LH: I haven’t found any secrets but I think Mercedes – there is no secret really, it’s just been hard work and really constructive work. Often when you’re working towards something, sometimes you stumble and fall and then you have to build it again and the team has just been building and building, building and not really having many times when they’re falling. It’s quite remarkable, the actual car itself, the downforce is very good, I’m sure very very close with the Red Bulls and then with the engine, it’s the best engine Mercedes have made.

    NR: It’s been five years, it’s been since 2010 this process started and so much has changed, it’s been such a long long way, the personnel restructuring, everything. Big big changes and now we’ve come to a point where, thanks to all the work from the past, we’re really just able… we’re becoming the best team in F1. That’s the way it is. I would still say Red Bull is the benchmark at the moment but we’re definitely shaking their chair at the moment and I think there’s the possibility that soon we will be the absolute best team, in terms of team  organisation, capabilities, we’re getting there and hopefully it will be a long domination.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Daniel, Sebastian Vettel went from 15th to fourth, is that encouraging that the car – while not as good as a Mercedes – can slice through the opposition, or a bit worrying because it looks like he might be back up to speed and coming to challenge you?

    DR: Obviously it’s the first thing you said. Yeah, really good. I just sort of heard on the radio that he was making progress through the field and when he was in fourth – I think he made a move in the last few laps so really good. I definitely see it as a positive for the team, third and fourth, particularly after his starting position. Obviously Mercedes are the top dogs at the moment but we seem to be settling ourselves nicely in that next spot and I think we’ve just got to now try and somehow creep our way closer. All the talk about Seb, I’m sure that was going to pass very soon and he’ll get to his World Champion form.

    Q: (Tony Dodgins – Motorsport News) Nico, just before the first stops, on the radio we heard the team say ‘primes planned for the next stint’ and you said ‘the options are fine.’ Did that mean you wanted another set of options for the second stint or were you happy with the way it went?

    NR: There was a misunderstanding from my side because we were going to go prime second stint – there were two variables. There was one where we go prime second stint if we have graining in the first stint or I go prime second stint to try and beat Lewis, if I feel that pace-wise I can be quicker and have a shot at it. I thought they were going prime because they thought I had graining but I didn’t have graining so that’s why I was confused but then I understood: it was to offset my strategy so that I would have a chance to fight Lewis at the end so it was fine – and just what I wanted.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, at the end of the 2012 season when you announced that you would switch to Mercedes, there were some really harsh criticisms against you, stating that you are destroying your career without the guidance of your Dad. Now that you’re winning and leading the championship and have the very best car of the whole pack, is it important for you that you could really prove that you can make good decisions on your own?

    LH: Yeah, for sure, it was obviously a great call and there was never a moment that I ever doubted it but of course never could have imagined that we would be having this kind of success. I’m not one to rub it in people’s faces. I knew that I was in a good place, I knew that I was making the right decision for me and now it should be becoming more evident to people… I’m sure the people that wrote those things had an opinion at the beginning and I’m sure it’s changed now.

    Q: (Adrian Rodriguez – Agencia EFE) To Nico and Lewis: you guys seem to get along pretty well right now but the problem is that just one of you can win if it keeps going this way. Do you guys believe that your relationship is going to be the same by the end of the year?

    LH: We’ve been racing together for a long time so I don’t see why not.

    Q: Does that help, Nico, that you’ve been racing together for a long time?

    NR: Definitely yes, because we’ve been through this before. It’s not a first time and even back then we had discussions, debate but always… life goes on, discuss it and life goes on so that helps, yeah.

    Q: (Anthony Rowlinson – F1 Racing) Lewis, you’ve said quite a few times this year about how perfect this car is, how well suited it feels. Could you explain just a little bit about how you’ve guided the development of it so that it suits your style?

    LH: It’s a lengthy process. Obviously last year… when you request something to be changed, it takes some time because obviously you don’t want to take away their focus from the most important things which is getting downforce. I think it’s just taken some time. I think Michael required a little bit of a… he had a different driving style to me. He required different things, different seating position, different set-up and as I’ve come along, I’ve really tried to… and I guess Nico probably and Michael both kind of gelled and went in one direction with the balance and then as I’ve come along, mine is slightly different  and I guess we’ve then created a hybrid: Nico’s come halfway, I’ve come halfway so we now require the same things from the car, but last year it was maybe a little bit different and so over the time just really, for the engineers to get to know what I require from a car and I think really working on being comfortable with the engineers as well, new engineers, it takes a while to build those relationships and that’s probably been a key strength to this year.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo On Line) Nico, you are second in the championship now. Will you change your approach for the weekend, make strategies with more risks; even during the race, do you think you will change what you have been doing until now?

    NR: There’s not much to change. The race was really lost in qualifying and at the start. Those were the two opportunities I had. Qualifying was very very close, I even had a bit of a problem which we found in hindsight, where I was a little bit down on power on the straight, but the difference was not enough to get pole, but still it was actually even closer than it looked. And then just had a poor start, so those were the two shots that I had at it and it didn’t work out. And then in the race, I nearly got another opportunity at the very end but again, just not enough. One more lap and I could have given it a go, I think, but I would have done everything the same again at the start of the weekend. Of course, I also missed FP1 which doesn’t help either. Many small thing which add up and there are only very small gaps so next time.

    eom/FIA Release of the transcript

  • Hamilton edges Rosberg to take Spanish GP pole

    Hamilton (centre) flanked by Nico Rosberg on his right and Daniel Ricciardo after taking Spanish GP pole. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Hamilton (centre) flanked by Nico Rosberg on his right and Daniel Ricciardo after taking Spanish GP pole. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

    Mercedes driver claims fourth pole of season ahead of team-mate and Daniel Ricciardo as Vettel hits trouble.

    Lewis Hamilton edged a tight battle with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to claim his fourth pole position of the season.

    “Nico has been driving really well, through P3 and through qualifying, so I didn’t know if I’d be able to get it, but right at the end I had to eke out absolutely everything and more from the car,” said Hamilton after claiming top spot in the dying seconds of the session.

    Rosberg, who had topped the first two part of the qualifying hour, was understandably unhappy at losing out to his team-mate for the second race in a row.

    “I’m definitely very disappointed. I don’t particularly enjoy coming second to Lewis,” he said. “In the end it was a good lap from me, so Lewis just did a better job and that’s the way it is. Anyway, it’s still all to play for tomorrow. Second place is only a little bit away from optimum because all it takes is a good start tomorrow and then I’m in the lead again.”

    Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was best of the rest in third place, though team-mate Sebastian Vettel stopped on track in the final segment of the hour. Home here Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, could only manage seventh place behind team-mate Kimi Raikkonen in a disappointing session for Ferrari.

    Q1 of the hour got off to a dramatic start when Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado crashed out within moments of the green lights coming on at the end of the pit lane.

    The Venezuelan lost control of his car on the run to Turn Three and crashed heavily into the barriers, his Lotus sustaining much front-end damage. The session was quickly red-flagged as the recovery vehicles headed to the corner to remove the wreckage.

    When action resumed Mercedes’ Rosberg set the early pace with a lap of 1:26.764 on the hard tyre. Team-mate Hamilton made an error on his first run but slotted into P2, 0.4s down on the German. The Briton was straight on the radio to the Mercedes pit wall, telling his team that “we’ve made the car worse, it’s a nightmare to drive”.

    By the end of the segment the pecking order had taken a relatively predicable shape with the Mercedes pair quickest ahead of Vettel and Ricciardo.

    Behind them Massa was fifth ahead of Kvyat, with the soft-tyre shod Hulkenberg and Vergne eighth and ninth. McLaren’s Jenson Button took the final top-10 spot.

    At the other end, along with Maldonado, out went the Caterhams of Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson, the Marussias of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton and the Sauber of Adrian Sutil.

    In the second segment, Rosberg again the set the pace, rising to the top of the timesheet with a time of 1:26.088. Hamilton was again unable to match the German in the first runs, posting a lap just over a tenth adrift of his team-mate. Behind then the Red Bulls again slotted into third and fourth, though Ricciardo was this time in front. The Australian’s lap was deemed good enough to ensure a Q3 berth and he chose to sit out the final runs, as did Vettel.

    Theirs was absence by choice, but elsewhere Kevin Magnussen abandoned the session while in P15, as did Jean-Eric Vergne in P16.

    In the battle for the remaining Q3 places, Massa finished fourth to push Vettel to fifth, with Romain Grosjean sixth for Lotus. Kimi Raikkonen was seventh for Ferrari, ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, Button and an out-of-sorts looking Alonso who just managed to scrape into the top-10 shoot-out eight hundredths of a second ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.

    As with Q1, the final segment got off to as stuttering start. Sebastian Vettel left the Red Bull Racing garage but slowed in the pit lane. Whatever issue he had seemed to right itself and he headed out on track only to stop at Turn 3, all drive lost on his RB10.

    The stoppage brought out the red flags and when the session resumed Q3 seemed set for Rosberg to press home the advantage he had enjoyed in the opening segments.

    It didn’t go according to plan however. Hamilton edged the German on the duo’s first run but Rosberg responded and as he crossed the line on his final tour, he jumped eight tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton’s benchmark. The Briton was just coming to the end of his final flying lap, however, and when he corssed the line he’d somehow found almost a second over his opening Q3 time, to claim his 35th career pole.

    Behind the Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo claimed his third top-three start of the season but admitted that while he had been pleased with his lap the one-second gap to the front row cars was a surprise.

    “We’re again best of the rest but that’s not quite good enough, we’re still a second off,” he said. “I thought my lap was not too bad, so I was expecting a smaller gap than that. I think we’ve made some improvements but they – they being Mercedes – have as well. On a positive note we’re a clear third today. I think we had a pretty to P4, so that’s not too bad, but for sure we want to get closer to the front two.”

    That fourth spot on the grid will be occupied by Williams’ Valtteri Bottas, while Romain Grosjean enjoyed a much improved outing for Lotus with fifth spot. The Ferraris of Raikkonen and Alonso will line up sixth and seventh and the remaining top-10 places were taken by Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and the unfortunate Vettel.

    2014 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying Result
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.238 1:26.210 1:25.232 16
    2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:26.764 1:26.088 1:25.400 19
    3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:28.053 1:26.613 1:26.285 16
    4 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:28.198 1:27.563 1:26.632 17
    5 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:28.472 1:27.258 1:26.960 18
    6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:28.308 1:27.335 1:27.104 18
    7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:28.329 1:27.602 1:27.140 16
    8 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.279 1:27.570 1:27.335 18
    9 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:28.061 1:27.016 1:27.402 16
    10 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:27.958 1:27.052 No time 11

    11 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:28.155 1:27.685 13
    12 Sergio Perez Force India 1:28.469 1:28.002 16
    13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:28.074 1:28.039 12
    14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:28.374 1:28.280 12
    15 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:28.389 No time 10
    16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:28.194 No time 6

    17 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:28.563  9
    18 Max Chilton Marussia 1:29.586  6
    19 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:30.177  6
    20 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:30.312  8
    21 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:30.375  6
    22 Pastor Maldonado Lotus No time  2

    eom/FIA press release

  • “Small things, like a half a millimetre here and there.” But they can mar or make the car!

    Drivers

    1– Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Lewis, your fourth pole of the season and this time you had to save the best until last.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it’s been a tough day and Nico has been driving really well, through P3 and also through qualifying and so I didn’t know if I’d be able to get it, but right at the end I had to eke out absolutely everything and more from the car. But coming here this weekend, we didn’t know where everyone was going to be, so to see the develop that has gone on and the hard work that has gone into getting our car ready for this week – it inspires me. So a really big thank you to the team. To have the kind of performance we have, I’ve never really known that before. Still, it’s very difficult out there,. the track conditions are pretty poor, but I’, overwhelmed I’m so happy to have had that.

    Nico, obviously Lewis was looking strong yesterday but you were fastest in Q1 and Q2, so you obviously found something overnight? Given how it’s all; ended up are you a little disappointed?

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, definitely very disappointed. I don’t particularly enjoy coming second to Lewis. I am of course disappointed but in the end it was a good lap from me, so Lewis just did a better job and that’s just the way it is. Anyway, it’s still all to play for tomorrow. Second place is only a little bit away from optimum because all it takes is a good start tomorrow and then I’m in the lead again. That’s the good thing about it and that’s why it’s still all to play for.

    Daniel, another top three, a good day for you personally, obviously problems for you team-mate, Sebastian, in Q3 there, and a fairly big margin between Lewis and yourself there on the grid.

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, I think we’re again sort of best of the rest but that’s not quite good enough, we’re still a second off and the lap, I thought my lap was not too bad, so I was expecting a smaller gap than that. I think we’ve made some improvement but they – they being Mercedes – have as well. So we would have liked to have closed that but we have some work ahead of us. On a positive note we’re a clear third today. I think we had a pretty to P4, so that’s not too bad, but for sure we want to get closer to the front two.

    Well done. Coming back to you Lewis. You’ve never won here: why is that and how much would it mean to you to put that right tomorrow?

    LH: There are lots of different circumstances, situations I’ve been in but generally, it’s not being fast enough. Even going into today I lost a bit of pace today, so I’m really even happier knowing that I dropped a bit of pace but was able to get back at the front. In the past I guess it’s just not been my time, so I’ll do everything I can to bring some really good points for the team and let’s hope that means something positive.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: So, Lewis, during Q1 we heard a radio message from you saying “I don’t know how but we’ve made this car worse.” What were you feeling at the time and how did that translate into what happened at the end when you managed to get pole?

    LH: Well, yesterday I had such a great day and was really happy with the car and then, often when things are that good, you generally don’t want to change much but we changed a couple of things overnight in the hope of making it a little better. Small things, like a half a millimetre here and there. The smallest of tweaks. But today the track grip, I think went down and today my car’s been a real handful for me. Just lots of oversteer, very inconsistent corner to corner. So it was kind of back to square one, where I was in P1. And once you’re in qualifying there’s nothing you can do. We made some changes going into qualifying but I was generally struggling. So that’s why in Q1 you saw I was half a second off Nico, just struggling to put a lap together. But at the end I just did it by the skin of my teeth.

    Q: So, you found it yourself, you say?

    LH: Well a little. I couldn’t change anything so I really had to tweak a little bit the diff settings, otherwise just drive a little bit differently to just get the car around the lap. Obviously we were very quick but it doesn’t matter how fast your car is, we take it to the limit. That’s what all of us drivers do, we take our package to the limit. We’re on the edge of our limit.

    Q: Nico, you’re still leading the Drivers’ World Championship, tomorrow’s an important day, some thoughts on that. But also, everyone’s come here with updates, and as Daniel said, you perhaps expected the gap to you guys to be smaller. Do you feel that, if anything, Mercedes have slightly pulled ahead of the opposition?

    NR: No, I wouldn’t say that but it looks like we’ve managed to keep the gap consistent – and that’s an achievement already. That’s fantastic and I’m very happy about that – great job from the team and everybody because our ambition is to make the gap bigger, not try and be shaky and hope they don’t close the gap too much. No, we want to grow the gap. Nearly managed to grow the gap, I think we kept it consistent and that’s fantastic to see.

    Q: And your own personal thoughts on the race…

    NR: Personal thoughts are, of course, not ideal today but still all to play for tomorrow. It’s going to be a long race so it’s all possible. Tyre degradation is going to be a key point, need to get a handle on that.

    Daniel, what about your personal thoughts? You mentioned the margin behind them you are in qualifying – a second – your own goals for this weekend and also, what are the team’s objectives now that you’ve seen where you stand at this stage relative to Mercedes?

    DR: I think, y’know, for us it’s just to keep closing that gap to them. On a positive, we’re the best of the rest but we’ve still got to keep the others, keep the guys we have behind us behind us,  but to close to them. A second is too much. Even with a different strategy in the race it’s going to be very hard to make up a second per lap. We’ve got to just keep chipping away. Obviously they’re doing a great job and, yeah, I’m sure I can still learn a bit. As I am, I think, each race. We’ll put up a fight tomorrow and at least try to get on the podium. And if we can’t do anything about them, then keep the rest behind us.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Adrian Rodriguez  – Agencia EFE) Lewis, is the main guy to watch sitting on your right? What are your feelings about your other rivals for tomorrow?

    LH: Well, we always keep our eyes open for everyone. Of course Nico’s the closest but Daniel’s been driving very well in the first part of the season so anything can happen tomorrow. We’ve just got to really try to work hard to stay out in front and as Nico said, it’s a long race so really try and look after the tyres, they’re still going to be a huge player tomorrow depending on what strategy people do and tyre degradation.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Daniel, at the end of the session, the team sent you a message on the radio saying something about ‘remember what Charlie said about the photo.’ What was that about?

    DR: He didn’t want us running away, the top three guys, after qualifying, he didn’t want us running away out of the scene, to do the group photo. I think last time I was hiding for a little bit too long, so just a reminder from the team, nothing technical, just outside dramas.

    Q: ( Pablo Grau – F1aldia) Daniel, your pace in long runs yesterday was very good; what do you expect for tomorrow, maybe an aggressive start?

    DR: Yeah, I mean the plan is always to try and get a good start. Yeah, if we can do something about Lewis and Nico we will try our best and then yes, the pace yesterday was good, still not as good as a Mercedes but I think in relative terms we made the tyres last a long way. I think if there’s any issues with making a two stop possible, if the race ends up being more of a three stop, then we might be in that window to do a two but we will see how we go. We have to assess everything after lap one and then push from there, but it’s a tricky one  here. You push but you’re in conservative mode for the tyres as well. It’s one of those tracks where tyre wear is a big one.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Lewis, you said you had to cope in qualifying with some issues on the car. Is that a worry for tomorrow because you can’t change very much or do you think that with more fuel, all these issues will be gone?

    LH: I’m not worried for tomorrow but of course it’s a concern for today with the balance being a little bit tricky. My long run yesterday was good but the track kind of went away from us a little bit, I think it went away from everyone a little bit today.  Perhaps tomorrow will be different, you just don’t know. This track can go up and down so we will just wait and see how tomorrow goes. You can adjust some things – your diff settings and your front wings – so hopefully I’ll get that just right for the race.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) A question for all three: normally you drive around Monaco with a millimetre or two to spare. This year the cars are a lot more tail happy. How are you going to deal with that?

    NR: Yeah, it will be a little bit more of a challenge this year because we have less grip and traction than we had last year and harder tyres so it will be even more exciting but that’s all good.

    LH: Yeah, we’ll just have to be a lot more cautious, I think, because today, massive oversteer moments. I don’t really know what to expect when we get there.

    Q: Daniel your thoughts, and is it a circuit that gives Red Bull some optimism?

    DR: I think, yeah – Lewis just asked me, actually, if we will be quick there and I said I hope so. We’ll see how we go. It’s a track that I think all of us drivers enjoy driving around. We’re always on the limit there. We get a few corners where we brush the barriers and I think this year it’s going to be even more of a challenge. We may not  have to get too carried away with getting close to the walls, because if the rear snaps, then as we saw with Bottas in Melbourne, a similar scenario, where he had that incident and yes, things like this are probably more likely to happen but that’s what we get paid the big bucks for, yeah? So I’m sure we will be right.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Universo On Line) Daniel, your team always puts a lot of responsibility for the lack of performance this year on Renault, and Renault have announced that they have a new version of engine here. Can you tell us if the engine is really better than the previous one?

    DR: Looking at the speed traps this week, we seem to be closer than we were the last few races at least. Obviously the straight here is not as long as Shanghai but I think realistically we have closed the gap there, so I think they’ve done a good job Renault is helping us all the time. We know we’ve still got more ground to make up but to answer your question, I think yeah, we have made some progress.

    eom/FIA release of the transcript

    Hamilton takes pole at Spanish GP. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Hamilton takes pole at Spanish GP. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image