INDIA in F1

Tag: Hamilton

  • It’s an incredible win; I dedicate it to the families affected by the tragedy: Hamilton

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Benedict Cumberbatch)

    Well Lewis, congratulations, your first win this year and you got the hat trick – pole position, the best lap time, on lap 54 I think, and now you’re here. How does it feel?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Incredible, incredible. After such a difficult weekend and such a long winter. We have a great crowd here today. For Petronas, who worked so hard with Mercedes to give us this win, I just feel so grateful, particularly after such a tragedy three weeks ago. I’d really like to dedicate this to those people and their families.

    Mercedes AMG Petronas team after their second consecutive win of the season in Sepang on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team photo
    Mercedes AMG Petronas team after their second consecutive win of the season in Sepang on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team photo

    Quite right. Tell us a bit about what it’s like to drive in Malaysia. You’re covered in Champagne now rather than sweat but as one wily commentator pointed out to me on the grid earlier it’s incredibly hot here. It’s in the mid-50s in terms of humidity and we hit 35 degrees Celsius on the track. What do you have to consider when you’re driving?

    LH: Yeah, you’re sweating even before you get in the car. It’s trying to keep you body as cool as possible and then just keep you focus. Fortunately, the team were just spot on with all the pit stops and the calling, the timing. Also the info I was getting was just spot on.

    It seems much clearer these days. You can hear the radio a bit more. Is that to do with the cars being a little bit quieter?

    LH: It is. The cars are quieter. The most noise is the wind, the buffeting. Otherwise, what a great car, what a great job from everyone.

    You did a fantastic job, congratulations once again. Now, Nico, congratulations to you too, well done, sir. That was a fantastically exciting moment just there [at the start]. Did you feel Sebastian on your shoulder? Because you took such a hard line on the right, you were like less than a foot away from the side.

    Nico ROSBERG: Thanks to my engineer we worked together well and we got a great start and that allowed me to go into second place. It was a bit ‘iffy’, Turn Three I got a bit sideways, saw plenty of action there but it worked out well and from then on I was trying to chase Lewis but he was a bit too quick today.

    Well, you did fantastically well, it was a superb run.

    NR: Just one more thing. Malaysia you can be proud because your company Petronas has taken us to the front of F1, so you can be really proud of that. Petronas has given us the best oil and fuel in F1, it’s brilliant.

    Sebastian, congratulations, your first time on the podium this year. You won here last year in the rain and that was an interesting race to say the least. How did it work this time being in the dry and the heat rather than the wet?

    Sebastian VETTEL: It was dry last year as well.

    It was dry; there you go.

    SV: It was a really good race. The start was not very good. I was quite surprised when I saw Nico on my right.

    Tell us about that.

    SV: I don’t know. I though I had a good start but then I focused on getting in the tow of Lewis to maybe attack him going into the first corner. Then Nico was there on the right and it was quite tight. Daniel was coming as well as I was trying to get past Nico. So I lost a place but fortunately I got it back and then later on I was trying to get as close as I could to Nico. At some stage it looked like we are pretty similar, pretty evenly matched but then it’s like he found another gear, he was pulling away. In the end I was just trying to get the car home. Obviously Daniel didn’t make it for a couple of reasons. All in all it’s good to get another podium after Daniel has been on the podium in Australia. But we still have a long way [to go] these guys are bloody quick, congratulations to them, they did a good but we are trying to catch-up.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, congratulations, the 23rd win of your career. The first 1-2 for Mercedes of the modern era, your first win in Malaysia. You weren’t wanting to celebrate yesterday after that pole but I guess you will allow yourself a celebration tonight.

    LH: Yeah. Definitely. Incredibly happy. My first time. It’s my eighth year here and finally got that win. I really just owe it all to the team. Did a fantastic job, the guys back at the factory pushing non-stop to get the car to where it is, and of course to do it on Petronas… on our home ground… almost, to get a one-two, I mean it’s quite special when you get a one-two. I’ve not had many in my career and so that makes it even more special. I’m really grateful for all the work that’s done and… yeah, great day.

    Q: Nico, I guess you’re looking on your mobile there at the points position because you’re not only leading the World Championship but you’ve extended your lead today in the World Championship. But to take you back to earlier in the race, you seemed to have a few problems with the rear tyres, we were hearing over the radio, maybe you could tell us a bit about that – and also maybe a bit about the start as well.…

    NR: First of all the start, I had a really good start, so I was happy about that because it’s not so easy this year. The rear tyres are harder and we have more torque. So it’s very difficult to get it right – but it felt great and got away well and then Sebastian, I thought he was going to put me right into the wall, but he stopped just before – so thank you for that!

    SV: I had a similar experience last year…

    NR: …that doesn’t make it right to do it again! My heartbeat skipped a beat a little bit but I kept right on it, it was OK anyway, it wasn’t that bad. Then I had a bit of a moment in Turn Three, a bit of a tail, tank-slapper and that allowed them all to get another run on me, but it all worked out. And then I was just trying to chase Lewis but he was a bit too quick today. It was a bit difficult out there because the track was really poor, it seemed, sliding so much, and just struggling with the rear tyres especially. That made it a bit difficult out there.

    Q: Sebastian, coming to you, you said over the radio at the end there that you’re pretty pleased, that you’ve got some work to do still but you were on the whole pleased with the outcome – but you were 24.5s behind Lewis at the finish, and that’s a pretty big number still, isn’t it?

    SV: Yes, it is – but I don’t think that’s… probably Lewis could have gone faster, I think we could have gone faster at the end of the race but our priority at the end was to make sure we secure the podium. So, I think probably to see the reality, I don’t know where the gaps were, probably 10, 15 laps to the end but no doubt, congratulations to them, they did a very good job, they looked nearly seamless already in winter testing, they are bloody quick, the package they have is very, very strong, we know that but I think, y’know, for us there’s mostly positives that remain. After Australia, Daniel did a fantastic job here again. I think the car was very competitive, it’s a completely different track, different conditions but yeah, we are there and that’s the most important… I think it’s much better than what we expected at some stage during the winter. We know that there’s a lot we can do better – because it doesn’t feel great when we are out there racing. Just if you go out on track and listen and look at how the cars behave, on power I think there’s a big difference, so yeah, we know that. I think it’s a question of time, how soon we manage to catch up. And then we try to give them a harder time.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Lewis, was there any difficulty during the race for you or was it an easy trip?

    LH: I don’t think any race is ever easy. Obviously there are opportunities that are presented in front of you and obviously you have to take them with both hands and today that’s what I did but no, looking after the car, looking after fuel, not making any mistakes, it was a massive challenge in that sense. The time… I would hear that Nico had stepped up the speed, reacting to those things without damaging your tyres, so without doubt it was still a great challenge, but one that I was able to do well because the car was spectacular this weekend, so really really happy with just a great performance by the team.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) For the three of you, do you think that the three contenders for the title are sitting up there today?

    LH: I would like to think that us, as Mercedes, are the title… at least, at the moment, but there’s such a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of competition out there so I’m sure everyone’s going to be pushing and so we need to stay on it.

    Q: And the championship leader?

    NR: That sounds very good already as it is but there’s a long way to go. I’m not thinking about that at the moment, I’m really just taking it race by race, just enjoying the moment, making the most of it, keeping on it, keeping to push. The best example is now Red Bull. The last day of testing was four weeks ago or something or three weeks ago and they were absolutely nowhere and now he (Vettel) was right in the back of me, pushing me. OK, I had some pace in hand so I could beat him in the end clearly but still, the way they’ve ramped up their pace, very impressive, so we need to keep on it to keep our advantage.

    SV: Well, I think Fernando is missing, Daniel, Kimi and probably one other guy that we don’t know yet. Still early days, but that’s what I would say.

    Q: (Kate Walker – Crash.net) For all three of you: we’ve heard an awful lot about some extreme measures that drivers have taken to stay below weight this season with the car. Now Malaysia is always a punishing race because of the heat. Was it more difficult this year, especially as we had no rain, just the physical challenge?

    LH: It’s always a great challenge here and today wasn’t as hot as it has been in the past, i would say. Generally, this year, with a lot less downforce, it’s a lot less physical – still really physical but it’s not as much as years and years ago when we had so much downforce and particularly last year when we had a lot of downforce, but it’s still a serious workout. Fortunately I’m just grateful my drink machine worked, even though it’s like drinking hot tea, it did the job. I think the team has done a great job in terms of weight this year. We know we’re not having to cut things off to get to the weight.

    NR: Yeah, it’s not nice that everything weight-wise is on the edge but that’s the way it is. It’s always a compromise between being light but still being able to perform at the highest of my abilities and I found my compromise and so I felt absolutely fine today. But of course, it is tough out there always. Malaysia is very very hot.

    SV: It’s always hot, it’s not a walk in the park but I think we’re going slower, tyres are harder, cars are slower, less downforce as Lewis touched on, so it’s probably a little less hard than it was. The fact that we all try to save weight for this year… next year the weight goes up anyway which is good for the heavy drivers but for this year it’s a pain for them. Doesn’t help, because you’re a bit more on the edge but this is probably one of the worst races. I think the most difficult one is probably Singapore later this year.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Sebastian, Red Bull made big progress between Bahrain and Melbourne, again progress between Melbourne and here. Are you happy with the speed of development, is that the speed you need in order to catch the Mercedes, let’s say, when the European season starts?

    SV: Yeah, we need to make big steps because they are quite far ahead but I’m quite happy with the steps we’re currently making. It’s the first race distance I’ve done this year, since Brazil, it’s the first race distance I’ve done so that’s a big step. Obviously, at some stage during testing, we didn’t expect to finish the first couple of races so well done to all the guys in the team on the reliability front. It’s not a big secret, we know there’s still a lot to do. In terms of driveability we’re not yet there where we want to be. In terms of power, it’s not a big secret without giving a hammering but the guys at Viry are flat out to work on that front. Renault is pushing very very hard but at this stage we have to summarise and say that Mercedes did a better job, they’re quicker than us so we know that there’s a lot of things we have to do better but it’s still a bloody good result today, finishing on the podium, right behind them. That’s what we need to do, as long as we can, up to the point where we’re even and we can challenge them and give them a harder time.

    Q: (Ajit Devadason – Sify.com) Lewis, this is to do with your helmet design: the words that you have chosen for this season on the back of your helmet, Still I Rise, are you thrilled that it’s working your way and it’s matching belief?

    LH: It’s what I have tattooed on my back so I just added it to the helmet design and I think the metaphor is just that regardless of what difficulties you go through, you still rise above it. That’s really something my Dad has always enforced in me. We’ve had so many ups and downs throughout our lives and our careers, as everyone has, but he would always ‘say just rise above it’ and do your talking on track. I had a difficult time in the last race and that’s what I did today, so I feel quite good about it.

    eom

  • Hamilton tops time sheets in FP1

    Sepang, 28 March 2014: It was hot and humid and nothing unusual about it. And as predicted, the rain did arrive. And in Malaysia, when it rains, it does not simply rain. It pours!!!

    And talking about predictions, our website predicted Hamilton to win this week-end and it is no big deal. the logic is Rosberg won the first race in Australia and with Mercedes domination, a foregone conclusion, and the initial glitch covered up, Lewis Hamilton has his best chance to chalk a winning route for the season.

    And true to the expectations, the former world champion went quickest in the opening practice session ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The Mercedes driver finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg to top the time sheets in the first session today.

    Hamilton’s timesheet-topping lap came roughly an hour into the session his time of 1:40.691 being good enough to see off Raikkonen, who finished 0.152s down on the Briton. Raikkonen, who looked to have overcome some of the handling problems that hampered his race weekend in Melbourne two weeks again, finished three tenths of a second clear of Rosberg.

    Early in the session Rosberg had a nervous moment, locking up on entry into the pitlane and lack of grip on the dirty and dusty track was a problem for many during the session, including Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who spun in Turn 8 and Hamilton, who went off at Turn 11 in the session’s closing stages.

    The high heat and humidity in Sepang had been predicted to cause problems for F1’s power units and a number of team’s encountered reliability problems in the morning session.

    Kevin Magnussen lost power in his McLaren at the pitlane entrance, while Lotus again suffered major problems, with Romain Grosjean stopping on track after just two laps with a problem with his MGU-H. Team-mate Pastor Maldonado, meanwhile, spent most of the session in the garage and then on his first lap out his Lotus expired in a pall of smoke. Sergio Perez too hit trouble, the Force India driver completing just an installation lap during the session.

    With Rosberg third, the morning’s fourth-fastest time went to McLaren’s Jenson Button, with team-matre Magnussen fifth. Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne was sixth with a lap seven tenths off Hamilton’s pace. World champion Sebastian Vettel finish in seventh place, a futher tenth of a second back. The top ten order was rounded out by Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and the Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.

    2014 Malaysian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1 Result
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.691 19 laps
    2 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:40.843 0.152 20 laps
    3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.028 0.337 19 laps
    4 Jenson Button McLaren 1:41.111 0.420 20 laps
    5 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:41.274 0.583 18 laps
    6 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:41.402 0.711 15 laps
    7 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:41.523 0.832 9 laps
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:41.642 0.951 19 laps
    9 Felipe Massa Williams 1:41.686 0.995 23 laps
    10 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:41.830 1.139 22 laps
    11 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:41.923 1.232 14 laps
    12 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:42.117 1.426 20 laps
    13 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:42.365 1.674 21 laps
    14 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 1:42.869 2.178 21 laps
    15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:42.904 2.213 23 laps
    16 Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1:43.825 3.134 18 laps
    17 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:45.775 5.084 24 laps
    18 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1:46.911 6.220 10 laps
    19 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:51.180 10.489 5 laps
    20 Sergio Perez Force India No time 2 laps
    21 Pastor Maldonado Lotus No time 2 laps
    22 Romain Grosjean Lotus No time 4 laps

    Hamilton at Sepang on Friday after the first Free Practice session. A Mercedes AMG Petronas photo
    Hamilton at Sepang on Friday after the first Free Practice session. A Mercedes AMG Petronas photo

  • Victorious start for Nico Rosberg, Mercedes; Vettel, Hamilton retire

    Melbourne, 16 March 2014: The MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team today entered the new era of Formula One with a composed victory for Nico Rosberg from P3 on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix.

    • Nico claimed first place off the line and led every lap of the race to win by 24 seconds at the chequered flag
    • He made two pit stops on laps 12 and 38, running a tyre strategy of option/option/prime, and set the fastest lap on lap 19
    • Lewis was forced to retire his car after two laps owing to a misfiring cylinder, which had cost engine power since the start
    • Nico’s win marks the 100th F1 victory for a Mercedes-Benz engine, with the first achieved by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1954.

    Nico Rosberg laid down a marker for Mercedes with an emphatic yet controlled victory at the Australian Grand Prix, the German finishing 24 seconds ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo and third–placed Kevin Magnussen of McLaren, both of whom scored their first podium finish.

    A visibly pleased Nico Rosberg said after the race: “That was an incredible day for us. To start the season with a win is unbelievable and I have to say a big thank you to everybody who was involved in building our car over the winter. I always dreamed of having such a strong Silver Arrow and now it seems we are there. In the race, everything went perfectly for me. My start was great and I was able to push from there until the end, with our fuel consumption well under control. However, despite our success today, we also know that there is still some work to do. We saw over the weekend that reliability is still a concern and it prevented us from having a strong two-car finish. We have two weeks to improve that. I am very much looking forward to Malaysia and I would love to race again tomorrow!”

    It had been Rosberg’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton with the advantage at the start, however. The 2008 champion had taken his 32nd career pole on Saturday, with Ricciardo on the front row ahead of third-placed Rosberg.

    At the start, though, Hamilton got away badly, allowing Rosberg to power through to take the lead ahead of Ricciardo who held second position from Hamilton and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen. Behind them Nico Hulkenberg rose to fifth from seventh on the grid as Fernando Alonso became embroiled in a battle for sixth place with Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne. Out of the race though were Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi and Williams’ Felipe Massa, the pair colliding into turn one.

    Hamilton was soon experiencing more difficulties. He slipped from third to fifth, as first Magnussen swept past and then Hulkenberg stole through to claim fourth. The Mercedes driver’s day then went from bad to worse as he was told to retire by his pit wall. He eventually pulled into pit lane on lap five to bow out of the race.

    Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel was also in trouble. After an aborted start due to a problem with Max Chilton’s Marussia, Vettel complained of a lack of boost from his power unit on the second formation lap and the situation didn’t improve in the early laps of the race. The Red Bull Racing driver then pitted on lap five from P16 for checks but failed to emerge.

    On track, Rosberg had eked out a six-second gap to Ricciardo by lap 10, with Magnussen a further half second down on the Red Bull Racing driver. Hulkenberg was fourth, just 0.3s ahead of Alonso, with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas sixth.

    Bottas’ battle with Alonso wouldn’t last, however. On lap 11 the Finn clipped a wall with his rear right wheel, which quickly detached from his car. The debris from the incident then led to the safety car being deployed on lap 12. Rosberg took the opportunity to pit, taking on another set of soft tyres, He was followed immediately by Ricciardo, Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Alonso, all taking soft tyres again.

    The safety car left the track at the end of lap 15 and Rosberg comfortably held his lead from Ricciardo and soon began setting fastest laps again. By lap 20 the Mercedes driver had rebuilt a lead of 4.4s over the Australian, with Magnussen safe in third, four seconds ahead of Hulkenberg, who was backing up those behind him.

    Bottas, meanwhile, was mounting a comeback. After limping back to the pits for a new wheel following his brush with the wall, the Williams driver rejoined in 17th position. He was soon scything through the field, however, and by lap 28 he was back up to eighth place and pressuring Kimi Raikkonen.

    Jenson Button initiated the next round of stops on lap 33 taking on medium tyres and he was followed by Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne.

    Hukenberg’s stop gave the Alonso the opportunity to increase his pace prior to his own second stop and at the end of lap 35 the Ferrari driver came in for a set of medium. He rejoined just ahead of Hulkenberg and though the Force India driver battled hard to reclaim the position Alonso’s defence was robust enough hold on.

    Alonso, however, wasn’t the major beneficiary of the second round of stops. Button had used an early first stop to vault to sixth from the edge of the top 10 and did so again with his second stop, the ‘undercut’ giving him the pace to steal ahead of both Hulkenberg and Alonso and claim fourth place.

    Rosberg was the last of the front runners to pit but after he switched to the medium Pirelli tyres on lap 48 he rejoined with a 16-second lead over Ricciardo, who was slowly falling into the clutches of third-placed Magnussen, the gap between the RB10 and MP4-29 down to 1.2s by lap 42.

    Button, meanwhile, was chasing down his team-mate, with Alonso fifth. Behind the Ferrari, Hulkenberg was being reeled in by seventh-placed Vergne, while Bottas was now up to eighth ahead of Raikkonen and 10th-placed Kvyat. The Williams driver eventually passed Vergne on lap 47 when the Frenchman got on the dirt in the final corner and momentarily slid sideways.

    At the front Rosberg was comfortably strolling towards the chequered flag but Ricciardo was now struggling. The Red Bull Racing driver’s pace began to flag and Magnussen closed in.

    The Dane probed and prodded but could find no way past the home hero and the podium order remained the same as Rosberg powered across the line to claim his fourth career victory and his first since last year’s British Grand Prix.

    Magnussen’s team-mate Button finished fourth, ahead of Alonso. Williams had plenty to celebrate as Bottas claimed sixth place, the Finn having completed a lap-52 move past Hulkenberg. The Force India man was seventh, ahead of Raikkonen, Vergne and Toro Rosso rookie Daniil Kvyat.

    2014 Australian Grand Prix – Race Result
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 58 Winner 25
    2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 58 +24.5 secs 18
    3 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 58 +26.7 secs 15
    4 Jenson Button McLaren 58 +30.0 secs 12
    5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 58 +35.2 secs 10
    6 Valtteri Bottas Williams 58 +47.6 secs 8
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 58 +50.7 secs 6
    8 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 58 +57.6 secs 4
    9 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso58 +60.4 secs 2
    10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 58 +63.5 secs 1
    11 Sergio Perez Force India 58 +85.9 secs
    12 Adrian Sutil Sauber 57 +1 Lap
    13 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 57 +1 Lap
    14 Max Chilton Marussia 56 +2 Laps
    Ret Jules Bianchi Marussia 50 +8 Laps
    Ret Romain Grosjean Lotus 44 +14 Laps
    Ret Pastor Maldonado Lotus 30 +28 Laps
    Ret Marcus Ericsson Caterham 28 +30 Laps
    Ret Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 4 +54 Laps
    Ret Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 3 +55 Laps
    Ret Felipe Massa Williams 0 +58 Laps
    Ret Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 0 +58 Laps

    eom

    Nico Rosberg with the Trophy after winning the Australian GP. A Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team photo
    Nico Rosberg with the Trophy after winning the Australian GP. A Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team photo

  • Hamilton takes first pole of new F1 era: Aussie GP

    Mercedes driver takes 32nd career pole as Daniel Ricciardo thrills homes crowd with first front row qualifying position.

    Hamilton takes Aussie pole onn Saturday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team photo
    Hamilton takes Aussie pole onn Saturday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team photo

    Melbourne, 15 March 2014: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed his 32nd career pole and his first of Formula One’s new era in a rain-swept qualifying session at Melbourne’s Albert Park. Daniel Ricciardo, meanwhile, delighted his home crowd by scoring his first front-row start, taking second place ahead of Nico Rosberg in the other Mercedes.

    There was no such joy for Ricciardo’s Red Bull Racing team-mate, however, as Sebastian Vettel failed to make it through to the top 10 shoot out, the defending champion slumping to 13th position.

    Qualifying began in fine weather and the shortened Q1 session – now just 18 minutes long – largely ran as expected. Lotus, plagued by technical issues all weekend, saw Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado eliminated from the session, with the Venezuelan driver not failing to register a time.  Also out were Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson, Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez, who will also take a five-plave grid penalty due to a gearbox change, and the Marussias of Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton.

    It was in the second session where the drama began. After a rain shower at the beginning of Q2 a dry line began to form and the final minutes of the session were something of a lottery depending on track position, grip level and on the state of the car being driven.

    For Vettel, it was the latter element that caused his downfall. In the final practice session the champion had complained that the drivability of his RB10 was poor and that the car would not accelerate and a similar issue hampered his progress in qualifying.

    “I think we have made a big step forward with the car, but of course I’m not happy that we didn’t make it to Q3,” said Vettel. “I think the car is quick, but we struggled this afternoon with drivability which, in these conditions, made it even worse. The car seems good and Daniel did a very good job to be on the front row, so congratulations to him. It’s going to be a long race tomorrow and reliability will be the most important thing to make it to the flag, but I think there will be lots of opportunities for us.”

    Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner added that Vettel’s car had suffered with a software problem, which led to it being down on power in the session.

    Ahead, Kimi Raikkonen was also in trouble. The Finn was struggling with his F14T and in attempting to find his way into Q3 in the dying moments of the session pushed too hard and dumped his car into the wall at Turn 4. A third former champion, Jenson Button, was also ruled out of the final segment.

    Rain at the beginning of that final segment led to a tough decision on tyres for the remaining 10 competitors – whether to run with intermediate or full wet Pirelli tyres.

    Both Mercedes drivers played it safe but Ricciardo went for the green-banded tyres and as the clock ticked down he jumped to the top of the timesheet. Hamilton though, was still on track and his final lap was good enough to push Ricciardo down to second.

    The Australian was still delighted with his performance, however. “It was exciting,” he said. “Definitely the weather added to the mix and the whole session went well. It’s the first time we’ve all driven these cars on the limit in wet conditions. It was tricky but at the same time, of course, a lot of fun. It was nice to be always up there. The engineer was on the radio saying ‘pace is good, P1, P2, P3’ it was always in that battle for the pole position. So definitely a really nice qualifying session with the team.”

    Hamilton, meanwhile, was delighted with his first pole position of 2014 and the 32nd of his career, equaling Nigel Mansell’s career total.

    “These new cars are so much harder to drive in the wet and it was the first time for me driving in the wet,” he said. “A serious challenge today, but for both me and Nico to be up here is a great showing for the team.

    “To be in Formula One has always been my dream but to get to as many poles as [Mansell] is incredible.”

    2014 Australian Grand Prix – Qualiyfing Result
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:44.231
    2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:44.548
    3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:44.595
    4 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:45.745
    5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:45.819
    6 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:45.864
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:46.030
    8 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:47.368
    9 Felipe Massa Williams 1:48.079
    10 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:48.147

    11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:44.437
    12 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:44.494
    13 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:44.668
    14 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:45.655
    15 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:45.867
    16 Sergio Perez Force India 1:47.293

    17 Max Chilton Marussia 1:34.293

    18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:34.794
    19 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:35.117
    20 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:35.157
    21 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:36.993
    22 Pastor Maldonado Lotus No time

    ends

  • Hamilton springs back to life in FP2: Australian GP

    Melbourne, 14 March 2014: Lewis Hamilton recovered from a disastrous opening session in Melbourne to record the fastest lap of second practice ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

    The Mercedes driver stopped on track just five minutes into the first session with a sensor problem and prior to the start of the second session had not set a timed lap.

    That changed though and the 20

    Hamilton after FP2 in Melbourne on Friday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team photo
    Hamilton after FP2 in Melbourne on Friday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team photo

    08 champion eventually managed 37 laps in the afternoon, donning soft tyres in the second half of the session to post a time of 1:29.625. That was good enough to move ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg by 0.157s as the German marque continued the good form shown in testing.

    Behind the Mercedes duo Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso ended the day in third position, half-a-second off Hamilton.

    It was a positive second session too for Red Bull Racing. In the opening session, the team had posted 36 laps in total and the team more doubled that tally in late afternoon with Sebastian Vettel posting 41 laps on his way to fourth place on the timesheet and Daniel Ricciardo adding 38 laps to his total. The Australian ended the day in sixth place, behind McLaren’s Jenson Button.

    Kimi Raikkonen ended the day in seventh place, although the Finn’s running was interrupted by a gearbox problem as preparing for a practice start at the end of the pit lane.

    While Red Bull Racing had a solid outing, other Renault-powered teams were not so fortunate. Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi was sidelined in the first session by a fuel system problem and that persisted through session two leaving him stranded in the garage for the entire day. Marcus Ericsson did manage to take to the circuit but a hydraulics problem forced him back to the garage for the remainder of the session.

    Lotus, too, had a bad day. After failing to record a timed lap in the opening session the team had a similarly tough second period. Pastor Maldonado was sent out but didn’t make it out of the pit lane before he was halted by a suspected ERS problem. Romain Grosjean did get out on track and managed to get in some timed laps, though his best was a 1:33.646, four seconds off the pace. He then had an off late in the session to round out a difficult day for the team.

    2014 Australian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Times
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:29.625 37
    2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:29.782 +0.157 31
    3 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:30.132 +0.507 28
    4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:30.381 +0.756 41
    5 Jenson Button McLaren 1:30.510 +0.885 33
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:30.538 +0.913 38
    7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:30.898 +1.273 32
    8 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:30.920 +1.295 38
    9 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:31.031 +1.406 34
    10 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:31.054 +1.429 33
    11 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:31.060 +1.435 35
    12 Felipe Massa Williams 1:31.119 +1.494 31
    13 Sergio Perez Force India 1:31.283 +1.658 36
    14 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:32.355 +2.730 36
    15 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:32.468 +2.843 26
    16 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:32.495 +2.870 36
    17 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:33.486 +3.861 29
    18 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:33.646 +4.021 12
    19 Max Chilton Marussia 1:34.757 +5.132 29
    20 Marcus Ericsson Caterham No time 1
    21 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham No time 0
    22 Pastor Maldonado Lotus No time 0

    eom

  • We may not be favourites for this race, but it’s different for title-race: Vettel

    Melbourne, 13 March 2014: The New season begins with the first FIA Press Conference on Thursday ahead of the Australian Grand Prix Formula One World Championship first race on Sunday.

    Transcript from FIA:

    File photo of a Red Bull at pre-season testing 2014. FIA photo
    File photo of a Red Bull at pre-season testing 2014. FIA photo

    DRIVERS – Felipe MASSA (Williams), Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (McLaren), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing), Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Sebastian, can we start with you. You’re a four-time world champion, it’s your 121st grand prix and your seventh season in Formula One. Four times a world champion consecutively but would it be fair say that as we sit here today you’re not terribly optimistic about making it a fifth in a row this year?

    Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t think that’s fair to say. It’s a long year. Our pre-season testing, our preparation, hasn’t been ideal and, yeah, we’re probably not in the best position for this race but I think it’s a different story when we think about the championship. There’s a long way to go. Two years back Fernando was on the grid with 1.5 seconds to pole position but he was very close to beating us to the title at the very last race. Anything can happen. That’s why this race is important, just as any other one. But there are a lot of races this year.

    Obviously we’ve all seen from the outside, and you’ve mentioned now the difficulties you had in pre-season testing but what are you doing to try to put that right – you personally?

    SV: It’s obviously a tough step for all the teams, all the drivers, a lot of new things to get used to. We know that obviously we’re not in the best shape yet. There are a lot of things we need to solve. Unfortunately, you can’t solve them overnight. We’d love to but we can’t. So you really have to go step by step, together with Daniel, I think just trying to be as precise as we can, trying to give the engineers the best feedback possible about the whole power unit so that we move forward on that and also talking about the car because at this stage it’s a bit unknown where we are. It’s not a secret: you need very, very strong reliability to be a title contender, so we’ll see… I’m looking forward to tomorrow and especially Sunday to get a feel for the new regulations and see where we are.

    Thanks for that. Moving on to Fernando: two-time world champion of course, 193rd grand prix this weekend, 14th season he’s beginning in Formula One. Ferrari a little hard to read from the outside in terms of testing, you haven’t really stood out, for good or bad. From your perspective how to do you feel Ferrari is placed with this new technology going into this very different new season?

    Fernando ALONSO: I think it’s very difficult to tell how competitive we are at the moment. We’ll get some answers in 24 hours or 48 hours, we will know a little bit more than we know now. The car itself and the technology that Formula One brought this year are a little bit complex to everyone. We are learning and we are developing the car every day that we work on it. As I said, a little bit of an unknown situation for everybody. We just need to put everything together, maximise what we have, and see where we are.

    Some changes have just been announced recently to the qualifying format, particularly in relation to the final part of qualifying. I was wondering if we could get a comment from you on those changes and the impact they might have?

    FA: I think it will not be a huge difference, from the outside especially. OK there were some cars that didn’t run in Q3 or they only did one run in Q3 and now maybe we’ll see an extra lap from everybody but apart from that I think it’s not a huge change in approach in the qualifying for the teams and the drivers. Anyway, I think this change is welcome, to see more cars on tracks. I arrive many times with no new sets for Q3, so now I’m happy.

    Moving on to the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is starting his 130th grand prix. It’s his eighth season now in Formula One at the age of 29. Obviously it looks very promising after testing and both you and Nico Rosberg it seems are in a position to take an advantage of Mercedes’ competitiveness. I wonder will it come down to which one of the two of you wants it more?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Possibly. Yeah, it’s very technical this year and we’re all in the same boat. We’re always trying to find where the advantages can be between two drivers. From race to race I think you’ll see… one race he’ll be ahead, one time I’ll be ahead, same as you saw last year. Obviously the goal is to be ahead all the time.

    Can you talk about the feeling of driving these 2014 cars, compared to the cars of the last generation: the pleasure you get from driving them, whether they’re more you’re kind of car, what’s coming through the steering wheel to you?

    LH: Well, naturally I think.. I probably speak for all of us that last year’s car felt better, it was perhaps a little bit nicer to drive, when we had lots more downforce. But that was a car that was in the fourth year of its evolution. Now we’re in a new phase and it’s just something that just takes some time to get used to. The sound, for example, is not as impressive as what we had in the past but once you get all the cars on the track, on the grid, I’m pretty sure it will be impressive for the fans still.

    Q: Felipe, 192nd grand prix this weekend, your 12th season you’re starting in Formula One and certainly from the outside, your decision to move to Williams at this stage of your career is starting to look fairly inspired, judging by the winter testing programme. What do you think can be achieved this year, in terms of results?

    Felipe MASSA: I don’t know. I think it’s new to everybody so maybe we start having some answers this weekend. Not all of the answers but some. I’m really happy to be with Williams. Really enjoying the working with it to now, to feel the car and the working. It’s a lot to do. You can never forget that it was a very difficult time for Williams in the last years and it’s a lot to do, a lot of work, a lot of development going on inside the factory, inside the team. So many new people arriving – including me. But, I’m pretty motivated. For sure we can be there. I don’t know how competitive we’re going to be compared to the other teams. Maybe we will see teams better than us – I don’t know. Maybe we can see ourselves fighting with them and be as competitive as the top teams like these three guys here – but I think it’s just the beginning. It’s a lot to do, a lot to understand and the understanding will be very important for trying to make the car better and better all the time. But, feet on the ground, I think maybe this weekend we start to understand a little bit.

    Q: Obviously you’ve got the Mercedes engine which at this point looks to be the one to have, going into the season – but there’s clearly more to the Williams renaissance than just that. Can you tell us some of the things you’ve noticed? Maybe one or two points of things that you’ve noticed that have changed?

    FM: Well, I feel the team is really motivated. They want to grow, they want to get better and they want to be back in the good times. So I feel a lot of understanding for the people. I’m really happy with the people I work with, they’re really professional. So many new people are arriving and there are many good ideas inside the team. Me as well. I’m trying to give as much experience, as many ideas as I can from my experience in a different team. So, yeah, I’m really looking forward. I think it can be a nice season for us – but how nice I don’t know. We need to see.

    Q: Daniel, it looks like you had one really good day of testing in the car. Observers were saying the car looked pretty good when it was going around. Do you share that view.

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I think we had one stand-out day. There weren’t many, as Seb said but at least one for me was pretty good. I think we’re all a bit unsure how good our cars are. Speaking for all the drivers, I think we’re just curious and hanging out to get on the track this weekend and see where everyone stands and get a clearer picture. I’ve had a busy week leading up to the race and I’m probably more excited than anyone else right now to get in the car.

    Q: You’ve got your big break, here you are, it’s the big time with the World Champion team. You’ve got a four-time world champion sitting on the other side of the garage from you. What’s your strategy from here? Are you going to just focus on your own job or trying to look at what Sebastian’s doing and try to beat him?

    DR: I think for now just focus on what I’ve done the last few years and keep doing what I’ve been doing to get to this point – and then assess it from there and see how it’s going. Obviously I get a good view behind the scenes from the engineers of how Seb works with his guys and understand a little more through that as well – but for now it’s just do my thing and see where I stand off that and we’ll work from there.

    Q: Kevin, welcome to Formula One, if you look around you at the drivers sitting here with you this afternoon, who have seven Drivers’ World Championships won between them, 104 grand prix victories between them. Do you feel you have to pinch yourself to believe you’re sitting here today.

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: Yeah. Definitely. It is a dream come true and every day is fantastic at the moment – I’m sure it will keep staying like that. I’m just really excited to be here. It’s been a long winter, since signing. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend but yeah, feeling good. It’s been a good winter in terms of preparation with the team. They’ve done a really good job in terms of preparing me for this. It’s not easy. It’s a big job, a big challenge but I think I’m pretty much as ready as you can be these days. I’ve done a lot of work over the winter but I’m not underestimating the challenge that I’m facing. It’s a big challenge but I’m looking forward to it.

    Q: Shed a little light on it for us. McLaren looked very strong at the start of the testing but perhaps the end looked a bit more difficult. What was going on?

    KM: I think the whole testing we pretty much ran the launch car and were behind a little bit on development – but the car feels good. If you didn’t know the lap times of the other guys you would think that it’s pretty fast – and that’s a good sign. If we can just put some downforce on the car and keep developing as we did over the winter with the car, I think we can be in a good position. The team obviously come off a difficult season and they are massively motivated to come back to where they belong and that’s a good feeling.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Kate Walker – Crash.net) To all six of you: I was wondering in development terms if you could tell us the difference between the cars that were packed up in Bahrain and the cars that we’re going to see leaving the pit lane tomorrow?

    SV: I think it will be a very different car. Obviously, for us, we had a lot of problems during the test so we didn’t get to test a lot of stuff and we hope we do some more running here and obviously put the parts to the car that we think are better for overall performance. Yeah, it will be a bit different but I think it’s the same for all of us.

    Q: Fernando, I was on the same plane as Pat Fry and he was certainly pushing a lot of boxes out through customs when we arrived, so you’ve got quite a lot of new parts I guess.

    FA: No, maybe they found some…

    SV: Spare parts.

    FA: …food or something. The car is exactly the same as it was in Bahrain, not new sponsor, not anything.

    LH: It’s very similar to the two next door… probably more so to Fernando. There’ll be a couple of things on the car but generally it’s going to look the same.

    FM: The same car.

    KM: We’ve got a few bits on the car so hopefully we will be good.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Sebastian, obviously this past pre-season has been very different compared to previous pre-seasons with Red Bull. I was just wondering if you come into this season with a different mind-set, knowing you’ve got a car that could struggle to even cross the finishing line on Sunday, compared to the car you’ve had in previous seasons where you know it’s going to be pushing for the front row of the grid, pushing for race wins. Does your mind-set alter?

    SV: I think generally, at this stage for all us it’s difficult to know what to expect, how the racing will look, how it will feel inside the car, how many cars will cross the line. We saw that we had a lot of problems, others had a lot of problems during the tests that we had. It’s difficult to have any sort of expectations for most of us I think, but as I said in the beginning, it’s a long season and so obviously I’m going out here, not trying to just make it round, I’m going out here to push to the maximum and do the best I can and then we will see where we are and we will see how far we get. The target, for sure, is to finish and the target for sure is to finish in the best possible position, so that’s the mind-set, fairly straightforward and for the rest of the year, I think we’re a strong team, we have a lot of good people on board, we have strong resources so I’m confident we should progress as the season goes on.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Lewis, you and Nico get along very well, you got along very well last year when you were going for wins. This year, you might be both going for the championship, you’ve been in that kind of a fight before. Do you see that putting a bit of a strain on the relationship with Nico?

    LH: I mean when everyone’s talking about the relationship between us, it will be the same at the start as it will be at the end. We’ve been racing together since we were 13, we’ve been in championships competing right to the end, one where he’s won, one where I’ve won and it’s been the same since… It’s a more fierce championship and a lot more is riding on it but at the end, I don’t see any issues.

    Q: (Trent Pryce – Richland F1) Kevin, you say that the McLaren feels quick, does that mean it’s responding well to set-up changes? Does it feel like it has a good baseline?

    KM: Yeah, both, I would say. It just feels like a Formula One car, it feels like it’s balanced and I don’t have a lot of experience with Formula One cars but definitely the car that we had last year just didn’t have the right feeling about it. This year’s car is responding well in terms of driving the car and also set-up changes and has a good feel about it.

    Q: (Shane McInnes – 3AW) Seb, have you offered much advice to Daniel, your new teammate now racing at Red Bull and if you have offered some advice, can you share that wish us?

    SV: Not much, we didn’t drive that much this year so there was not much I could talk about. Obviously you do your own thing once you are in the car, but as a team we share everything that we experience and together with the engineers, it’s always… people expect that if you come to a new team or if you have a new teammate or you know a certain driver very well, people expect kind of questions like ‘how hard do you approach turn three in Australia’ or in Monaco. It’s not like that. Obviously everybody’s got his own style and even if I told him to brake here or there, then he would still try and find his own way. There are some things where I’m open so if he has some questions he can ask. It’s the same for me the other way round. I think I can learn a lot from him so obviously he’s a new guy, he has a different driving style to Mark. I didn’t see that much yet in testing because we didn’t run so much, but I’m sure, as the season goes on we’ll both learn from each other.

    Q: (Ben McKay – Australian Associated Press) Felipe and others if you wish, there are so many uncertainties leading into this season, is it fair to say that Formula One is under something of a cloud with the continued poor health of Michael Schumacher?

    FM: Sure, I always think about him every day, pray for him every day so I really hope that things can go back and be OK for him. For sure it was a shame to see what’s happened but I keep thinking about him, he’s on my helmet and we’ll keep praying and believing that things can be OK for him and he’s coming back.

    Q: (Mat Coch – Pitpass.com) Kevin, this year you’re up against Jenson Button who I guess is getting towards the end of his career while you’re at the very start. Do you feel that it’s a little bit of a make or break year for both of you and that if you beat him, your career is made whereas if he beats you, you’re perhaps in a bit of trouble?

    KM: Well, we all know that you are measured against your teammate but I don’t see it like that, I try and do my best, try and learn as much as I can in the early part of the season and see where it takes me. There is a lot pressure in being in Formula One, especially when you are with a big team as I am. It’s where I want to be, I’ve always dreamed of being with McLaren and I’m here and I’m going to do my best and try not to worry too much about the negative things.

    Q: (Sylvia Arias – Parabrisas) Felipe, I want to know that after so much time with Ferrari, working with a Latin team, how do you feel now with a British team, what differences have you found, your feelings?

    FM: For sure, working with the car is the same and everything, similar things. It depends which team you are with but the idea, the working is the same but it’s very different the way… outside, the way they talk, they are much more quiet. The Italians, they cannot talk without shaking their hands. I am like that because I am from Brazil as well, so for sure it’s a big change for me. I’m trying to learn everything quickly, changing some names as well, understanding the way they talk as well, because I never lived in England, so that’s also new for me. But it’s nice, it’s a nice experience as well, but definitely the mentality is pretty different.

    Q: (Carlos Miguel – La Gaceta) For all six, it’s a simple question: which team is the favourite for the championship?

    DR: I think the championship is… as Seb said before, a long way away so… I could probably say for this race, judging from testing but I think we’re going to develop so much throughout the year, all teams with the new cars this year so to answer the question simply, for this race, I would put my money on Mercedes but try not to count anyone else out but to answer your question in one word then it’s them.

    KM: I don’t know, it’s very hard to predict. We’ve seen for many years whoever is strong for the first part of the season might not always be the one at the end of the season so it’s hard to predict. I don’t know.

    FM: Yeah, I think I would say Mercedes.

    LH: I will say Williams.

    SV: Yeah, not much to add. I think for this race Mercedes based on winter testing for the season. I think after three or four races we will know a little bit more.

    FA: I’ve no idea.

    Q: One final question: how many finishers in the race on Sunday?

    FA: How many are we? 16.

    SV: 12

    LH: 15

    FM: 14

    DR: No one. We’re all going to be running across the line!

    KM: 22.

     

    Ends

  • Webber seals Suzuka pole to claim his 12th career pole; 1st this season

    Suzuka, 12 Oct 2013: Mark Webber powered to his first pole position of the season at Suzuka, finishing ahead of team-mate Sebastian Vettel, whose session was compromised by a KERS issue, at the Japan Grand Prix, the 15th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship qualification today. Webber claimed his 12th career pole position with a time of 1m30.915s,.

    Championship leader Vettel’s problems began in FP3 when he missed the final, option tyre runs of the session due to a problem with his car’s energy recovery system.

    The problem seemed to have been cured as Vettel then sailed through the opening segments of qualifying with ease, ending Q2 at the top of timesheet just over two tenths ahead of Webber.

    Conditions remained dry throughout qualifying with ambient temperatures peaking at 25 degrees centigrade but a strong and variable 30kph wind. At the start of Q1 the frontrunners used mainly the P Zero Orange hard tyres, nominated with the P Zero White medium for Japan. With three minutes to go the session was red-flagged. When the session restarted, Lotus driver Romain Grosjean went quickest after his second run on the hard tyres, while many drivers switched to the medium compound.

    In Q3, however, Vettel ran into trouble. Keen to stake his claim to a fifth consecutive Japanese Grand Prix pole position, Vettel was first out on track in the top-10 shootout. However, midway through his lap his race engineer got on the radio to tell him “KERS shutdown”. The problem led to his first run being over three tenths of a second slower than Webber’s, the deficit also caused by a mistake at the exit of Spoon corner.

    In the second run, there were no driver errors as Vettel set session-best times in the first and third sectors but a conservative middle sector saw him miss out on pole for the first time since the Belgian Grand Prix.

    Webber meanwhile, was continuing the good form he has shown all weekend. His first run in Q3 netted him a time of 1:30.975 and at that point he was the only driver to record a sub-1m31s lap.

    He then shaved eight hundredths of a second off that time to land his first front-of-grid start since last year’s Korean Grand Prix.

    “The laps weren’t too bad to be honest,” he said of the 12th pole position of his career. “You always want a little bit more here and there but in general it was pretty good. Sebastian had a problem in qualifying, so a little bit of a hollow pole position if you like, but I’m happy to be on pole. You’ve got to grab the opportunities when you can and still put the laps in. It’s a very nice farewell for me to have pole here on my last attempt at Suzuka, a really phenomenal circuit. I’ll never forget the first sector today.”

    Vettel, meanwhile, said he was happy with his second place. “We did have an issue in qualifying but I’m not a big fan of ‘without this, with this, if this’,” he said. “It’s always unknown. As a fact, we are P2. So, happy, obviously, with the result. Front row for the team, which is great.”

    With the Red Bulls locking out the front row, third place went to Lewis Hamilton, who admitted that third on the grid is a good result against Red Bull rivals who he said have “had a better package for a long time now”.

    “I’m really happy,” he said. “Realistically it was difficult, or almost impossible, to finish ahead of these guys. They’ve had a much better package generally for a long, long time but I think we’ve come a long way and to be as close as we are, I think, is a huge compliment to the team.

    “The car was feeling good,” he added. “My car felt awesome so I can’t imagine how it felt for them – and congratulations to Mark. I’m looking forward to racing them tomorrow.”

    Fourth place went to Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, the fifth time in sixth races that the Frenchman has out-qualified team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who will line up in ninth place tomorrow.

    Felipe Massa, meanwhile, beat team-mate Fernando Alonso for the sixth time this season. The Brazilian will line up fifth on the grid, in front of Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg. Alonso will start from eighth position, ahead of Raikkonen and 10th-placed Jenson Button.

    Elsewhere, in Q1, Jean-Eric Vergne was forced to pull over at the side of the track with smoke and flames billowing out from the back of his Toro Rosso, an incident that briefly brought out the red flags.

    “I thought I had an engine problem, but then I realised the rear brakes were stuck,” he said afterwards. “I tried to brake and there was nothing in the pedal, then I saw the fire and had to stop the car.

    “The team will have a lot of work to do tonight, because it took quite a while for the fire to be out,” he added. “Hopefully the main components are undamaged, the engine and gearbox, but there will be many things to change.”

    2013 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying Result

    1 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:30.915
    2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:31.089
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.253
    4 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:31.365
    5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:31.378
    6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:31.397
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:31.644
    8 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:31.665
    9 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 1:31.684
    10 Jenson Button McLaren 1:31.827
    11 Sergio Perez McLaren 1:31.989
    12 Paul di Resta Force India 1:31.992
    13 Valtteri Bottas Williams  1:32.013
    14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:32.063
    15 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:32.093
    16 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:32.485
    17 Adrian Sutil Force India 1:32.890
    18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:33.357
    19 Max Chilton Marussia 1:34.320
    20 Charles Pic Caterham 1:34.556
    21 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:34.879
    22 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:34.958 

    ends

    Mark Webber in his Red Bull as he take the Suzuka pole on Saturday. A Pirelli photo
    Mark Webber in his Red Bull as he take the Suzuka pole on Saturday. A Pirelli photo

  • P3 is a huge compliment to the team: Hamilton after qualifier in Japan

    DRIVERS

    1 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
    3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Mark, congratulations. It’s been a long time this pole position this year. It’s your first time fastest in a qualifying session.

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, it’s a great track. We all enjoy driving here. The laps weren’t too bad to be honest. You always want a little bit more here and there but in general it was pretty good. Sebastian had a problem in qualifying, so a little bit of a hollow pole position if you like, because he still did a phenomenal lap, but I’m happy to be on pole. You’ve got to grab the opportunities when you can and still put the laps in. Bit of a mixed session, people were throwing options and primes all over the joint in Q2; people were on scrubbed and unscrubbed. So it was a bit of a mixed session in terms of trying to predict who was showing their hand. But in the end we did the laps when it counted and that’s what was important. Very, very nice farewell for me to have pole here on my last attempt at Suzuka on a really phenomenal circuit. I’ll never forget the first sector today. That’s what us guys strive for and yeah, our profession is all about that so it was a real highlight for a lot of us out there today.

    You said yesterday you needed to find performance. You obviously found that performance. How did that come?

    MW: To be honest we needed to check the car this morning with the different wind conditions. That’s important. I think you’ll see everyone today went a lot quicker. So we were factoring that in. The circuit had changed a lot. Also, it’s a very strange circuit, it’s a very out and back track, it’s a very narrow circuit, a lot of kilometres but in a small gully, so obviously that was something we have to take in mind in terms of our preparation today for the wind. I think we did what we could. We’ve still got some quick cars around but in general we’ve got a good car for the race. Head down tomorrow.

    Well done. Sebastian how much do you think losing that time this morning hurt you?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well obviously we had a problem this morning but I don’t think that made a difference in terms of finding the rhythm, I think we’ve done plenty of laps around this track. First of all, congratulations to Mark, I think he did a very good lap. We did have an issue in qualifying but I’m not a big fan of ‘without this, with this, if this’. It’s always unknown. As a fact, we are P2. So, happy, obviously, with the result. Front row for the team, which is great. The car was phenomenal today, as Mark touched on. The first sector – I think you realise afterwards that the car was fantastic through there and you don’t get many days like that, where the car feels great and you can really push it to the limit. Enjoyed qualifying and happy with second place.

    In fact, in the two laps you did in Q3 it looked as if you just went a little bit wide out of Spoon on one lap and I’m not certain what happened in the middle sector on the final lap.

    SV: Nothing. I kept it on the track. Obviously I tried hard on the first attempt, a little bit too hard. Tried hard on the second attempt but managed to stay on track. Obviously you gain a little bit before you go off track in the first attempt and then you lose down the straight and obviously the second time around I was a bit more conservative but gained down the straight, so overall it was a net gain. But, yeah, I think we were all pushing to the limit today, as Mark touched on. Again, with the wind it was tricky, some gusts here and there but in the end we are pushing and mistakes happen.

     Q: Lewis, I don’t know how happy you are with third place. You’ve been a major challenger all weekend.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah. No. I’m really happy. I think the team did a great job so far this weekend and realistically it was difficult, or almost impossible, to finish ahead of these guys. They’ve had a much better package generally for a long, long time but I think we’ve come a long way and to be as close as we are, I think is a huge compliment to the team. The car was feeling good. My car felt awesome so I can’t imagine how it felt for them – and congratulations to Mark. I’m looking forward to racing them tomorrow.

    Q: What’s going to be the major factor tomorrow? A lot of people talking about tyre management and making sure you don’t lock-up – that it’s too easy to lock-up at this circuit.

    LH: Well, there are not many big braking zones but locking is always an issue. Degradation is going to be really the key tomorrow. I hope we can get a good start, being on the cleaner side and be able to at least put up a little bit of a fight for these guys, don’t let them walk away with it too easily.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Mark, it’s usually you who makes a really good start away from the press conference but the important thing is can you make a good start away tomorrow?

    MW: Yeah! Haven’t been too bad of late, I don’t think. We’re doing the prep we can, the clutch is in good shape and we should be able to get away well and head down after that for a good race.

    Q: Who’s going to be the major threat do you think tomorrow?

    MW: At the front of the grid in the grand prix there’s no-one ahead of you so it always has to come from behind if there’s a chance, so I’ll focus on myself and try and get some gaps if I can. Obviously Seb, Lewis, Lotus as well in the race. Who knows? You’ve just got to be mindful of the fact of tyre management, get the strategy right, execute a clean grand prix from driver, pitstops, everything together. It’s got to work. We’re more than capable of that. Obviously a super-experienced team, we know what we’ve got to do tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

    Q: Sebastian. What was the problem this morning? What actually caused you to lose so much time this morning?

    SV: We decided to change the batteries on the car because we had an issue with KERS. Unfortunately we had the same problem in qualifying – so I think we have a little bit more time after qualifying now to have a look and see whether there’s something else broken or damaged. The whole team was pushing very hard. Obviously my car crew but also Mark’s car crew helped out to fix the car in time and get it out for qualifying – so we tried everything. It worked sometimes and as I said I’m sure we’ll find the problem tonight and hopefully it works tomorrow.

    Q: Lewis, Were there big changes in conditions today, what with the wind? And also drivers were reporting more grip as well.

    LH: Yeah. The wind direction changed, I think 180°, so you had a tail wind down into Turn One but then massive headwind going through the Esses, so it changed the characteristics of the circuit massively. I guess every car will have gained a lot more downforce, so it got a lot quicker today.

    Q: And how much has that changed for the race itself?

    LH: I believe… I was told it’s going to be like FP3. I think it was a little windier this afternoon, potentially. Hopefully it should be the same tomorrow.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Mark, did you put the black cat on Seb’s car and do you think that this is the end of your bad luck curse this year?

    MW: You just have to look forward. It’s tough enough as it is to see the results that you lose, the amount of points that we’ve lost, there’s a lot of things which are out of my hands which you can get frustrated by but at the end of the day you have to look forward because it takes energy if you look back, so looking forward. Yeah, we have a great opportunity tomorrow.  When I started up the last lap, when I came out of the last chicane and I thought it’s my last lap in a Formula One car here at Suzuka – come on, let’s really enjoy it but also put the car on the limit. I did my best. I enjoyed today; tomorrow will be the same mentality. It’s a  beautiful circuit in a Formula One car, the tyres are finishing the lap which is also brilliant for us to push for most of the lap so in general it’s a nice day, and as you say, let’s hope it continues for another 24 hours and in India and so on and so on, to finish off as nicely as we can.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark, there’s no way not to ask this question: your teammate needs a victory to maybe – maybe – become World Champion. Here you are in front of him on a difficult circuit to overtake. Would you consider to work for the team?

    MW: I think it’s such a long year. Seb’s had a phenomenal year. He will do his race tomorrow, I will do my race. It’s not like it’s the last race of the championship, obviously, in terms of what can unfold or whatever. Sebastian has a big points lead because of the work that he’s put in up to now. He can’t qualify on pole for every race. Tomorrow is a new day and let’s see how it’s looking at the end of the race. Normally you talk about these things and they never happen but in general, yeah, we’ll be there for ourselves tomorrow.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Mark, we saw some replays of you exiting the pits in front of a McLaren, Perez. Can you explain what happened? Were you aware… were you told he was on a flying lap?

    MW: He backed off so the engineers told me that he had finished his lap so we could pull in front of him because he was going to pit. If he was on a quick lap obviously I would have got out of the way.

    Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) For all of you: we’ve seen a lot of drivers lose a lot of time in the chicane over the weekend; have you guys opted for a compromise set-up for that or is it just something in the characteristics of the cars?

    MW: The chicane is a normal compromise problem for this circuit. It’s a very slow chicane, it’s from a big speed in terms of braking, there’s also a bit of rise in there if you want to use the kerbs, and things like that and then the traction is also very important. As usual, with every Grand Prix track we go to we try to compromise the car as best we can. We’re aware there’s a lot of lap time in the chicane but there’s also a lot of lap time in the first sector so we do what we can. The driver sometimes has to fill the pockets in terms of those compromises.

    SV: Sorry, what was the question again? I have the results here. Sorry. I think Mark has… I think you lose a little bit of the tyre towards the end but I’m sure that’s what he said.

    LH: Same.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News). Mark, you said it’s a bit of a hollow pole because Seb had problems but out of the 12 (poles) how does this rate? Is it still quite sweet because it’s at this track?

    MW: Yeah, you’re right Dan. You’ve got to take them when you can get them. It’s not like they hand them out. It was still a big lap. I’ve had a few laps in qualifying where I’ve had to attempt to qualify as best as I can without all the weapons as well and today we had the weapons sharp and we did a pretty good job on a phenomenal circuit. When you drive here… this is the links golf course of the golf world or the big wave stuff for the surfers or whatever. For us, it’s a really testing circuit. Unless anyone sees a Formula One car here live to see what happens in a sector, it’s very hard for them to understand how quickly we go through there.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Seb and Mark: McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has confirmed that Peter Prodromou has signed for the team, potentially for next season, certainly for 2015. Can you two guys give us an idea of what Peter has brought to Red Bull over the past few years, given the titles that you’ve won?

    MW: Peter’s a great guy, obviously a huge amount of experience. Always enjoyed working with him. Obviously he’s an integral part of the team and did  good job, been there a long time. It’s the first I’m aware of how formal you’re talking about it but these things happen in Formula One. There’s a lot of good guys moving around in teams. We’re open to that and that can happen. If that’s the case, I obviously wish him all the best. That’s the small industry that we work in.

    SV: I only heard of it just now. As Mark touched on, he’s obviously been a very very strong character in the background responsible for a lot of good stuff that has happened to us over the last couple of years. Whether it’s more than just a rumour or not I’m not sure. Independently, he’s a very nice guy and whatever he decides to do, as Mark said, you wish him all the best. For sure I hope he stays with us but I don’t know. I only just heard, when I got out of the car.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Mark, you have been facing problems at the start of the race in many races and here, maybe, it’s one of the most difficult because it’s downhill. Do you have any special preparations for the start?

    MW: Do my best, mate. Fingers crossed and go from there. We’ve had a few good ones. Obviously some pretty average ones: Seb in Singapore, it was not the best for him but Lewis has had some good and some poor ones as well. At Nurburgring we went straight round the outside of him so it can happen but I love taking the challenge on and tomorrow we will face it and do what we can to get into turn one first and then the race starts from there.

    File photo of Lewis Hamilton (right) with team boss Ross Brawn. Photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.
    File photo of Lewis Hamilton (right) with team boss Ross Brawn. Photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.

    Ends

  • I am going to push as hard as I can: Hamilton after taking P2 at Korean GP

    DRIVERS

    1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    3 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)

    Q: Sebastian, you seemed to take this pole position more seriously than ever. Were you really under threat from Mercedes?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Well, I think it was fairly close, as we could see, obviously. I had a very, very good lap in Q3, my first attempt. I knew that it will be tricky to beat that time – for myself. I tried again but obviously the second run I caught, I think Kimi, on the warm-up lap and then I was a little bit too close. We didn’t have that much time in hand to drop back further, so not ideal but fortunately the first lap was good enough. I think, as expected, Mercedes was very strong. I think they feel pretty comfortable in the middle sector. So it’s a tight battle, bit of a surprise this year we’re pretty good in sector one, which is mostly straights, so the car is pretty good through those two corners that we have in the first sector and it seems that it’s competitive down the straights which is always helpful – also for the race. It’s the easiest part of the track to make up time. So in that regard I think we’ve got the balance right this weekend. Improved the car from yesterday.  I wasn’t entirely happy after the final practice yesterday so all in all we can be very happy with what we have achieved. So, that’s why I was pretty happy after qualifying, to be honest.

    Q: Lewis, yesterday you said you had the best Friday. Did you hope to be a little closer to Red Bull Racing, or even ahead of them?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Well, we always hope – but we did as good a job as we could. I felt like I got the most out of the car and perhaps there’s always a little bit of room to improve but in general it’s been a good weekend so far, so I really hope that tomorrow we’re able to fight with them y’know? We’ll wait and see.

    Hamilton (left) and teammate Nico Roseberg at the Korean GP on Saturday. An FIA photo
    Hamilton (left) and teammate Nico Roseberg at the Korean GP on Saturday. An FIA photo

    Q: Is there a threat from behind? Do you think Ferrari could be the threat from behind?

    LH: There are threats all around y’know? But I’m looking forward. So we’ll wait and see.

    Q: Mark, what about you? A difficult qualifying for you in a way because you’re thinking of where you’re going to start. I noticed that your speed trap time was about 5km/h up on Sebastian’s.

    Mark WEBBER: Yeah, we had to take a bit of pace out of the car for quali. Not much but just looking at how we would compromise quali a little bit more for the race. Actually pretty happy with quali. I could be two positions further up but that means I’d be 11th instead of 13th with the penalty. It was a pretty tight quali, as Seb touched on with two Mercs, Seb and myself. It was a good little battle. I think the race will be interesting. Obviously well and truly out of position but we will fight and come back through.

    Q: You said you were looking for improvements in the setup of the car in both long- and short-run pace as well. Did you get that today?

    MW: Yeah, I think we certainly improved the car in some areas we wanted to focus on, compared to yesterday. But conditions were a bit different today as well – so you’ve also got to keep an eye on that. They’re going to be even more different tomorrow, so the long run in P2 might not be too relevant in the race tomorrow but we’ve got all of our ducks lined up and worked out what we needed to work on for the race and we’ll see how it pays off tomorrow.

    Q: Sebastian, there is the possibility of rain tomorrow. Presumably you prefer a dry race though?

    SV: Well, I don’t really mind. It’s not a disaster if it starts to rain. Same as usual we have rain tyres in the garage but obviously they’re talking about heavy wind. To be honest I arrived on Wednesday and it was very, very windy on Wednesday. Since then the wind seems to have died down and I think the typhoon has changed direction. I think tomorrow should be fine in terms of conditions – whether it is dry or wet. If we get some of the rain from the typhoon isn’t 100 per cent clear at the moment but, as I said, it doesn’t matter. Most important is that we did the job today and, yeah, looking forward to the race tomorrow.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Sebastian, you seemed to have quite a lot to chat about in parc ferme at the end there…

    SV: Yeah, just talking about the laps. I think it’s a difficult lap. You obviously start with a lot of straights and then you’ve got all the corners at the end, so it’s difficult to get the lap together, to get a clean lap in, many chances at the end to make small mistakes which lead into another and into another. Obviously Mark and I both aborted our last runs early so we were the first ones in parc ferme and had a bit of time in hand.

    Q: Interesting DRS here in that you have two successive DRS zones; how much of a threat is that, do you feel?

    SV: To be honest with you, it largely depends on tomorrow’s conditions, the wind. I think we had a race two years ago where there was a massive head wind. It’s a long straight from turn two down to the hairpin in turn three. Obviously it gives you flexibility to have the DRS zones right after each other, also on two quite long straights so we’ll see. I think you can pick your corner but there’s another straight after that where you could lose the position in case you gained it in the first place, so the same goes for turn one as it does for turn three.

    Q: How pleased have you been with the car in the fast corners here, it is quite twisty?

    SV: Yeah, pretty happy. Yesterday, I wasn’t entirely happy, the car was good but I think we managed to improve it today and we seem to be able to go with the track which is usually the most important thing. The track ramped up throughout qualifying and I think we picked up pace and just went quicker. As I said, I was very happy with my first attempt in Q3. Unfortunately in the second attempt I ran into the back of Kimi, I think, but it was very tight. When I crossed the line, there wasn’t that much time to drop back  any further. That’s how it goes sometimes but when you get it right around here it feels very nice.

    Q: Lewis, how much are you looking at the successive DRS zone? Is that going to work in your favour if you hold position after the start?

    LH: I don’t know. Yeah, you’ve got the long straights; I really don’t know what to expect tomorrow. I’m just going to be pushing as hard as I can to get past Sebastian and to put myself in the best position to fight. Hopefully long run pace is not so bad so let’s hope that’s the case tomorrow.

    Q: That two tenths of a second margin between yourself and Sebastian; is that roughly what you expected? Are you happy or unhappy with that?

    LH: I’m happy, I’m happy to here for sure. I’m happy that the car is as competitive as it is. The guys have done such a good job to put us up this high. I’m happy with the performance so far this weekend and I think there’s more to come.

    Q: And you’ve improved the car over the last couple of days?

    LH: Yeah, fine tuning it. It’s very difficult sometimes, you get to the limit and it’s difficult to know what to do but just small tweaks here and there which have helped.

    Q: Mark, we were talking about how you’ve taken pace off the car; is that pace in the corners and how does that affect the car?

    MW: Well, we didn’t set the car up to be super slow in qualifying but we had to keep an eye on the race so it’s wing level, obviously (gear) ratios, a lot of little things which you try, to have a little bit more of a balanced view of the weekend because we know that I was going to be out of position. Irrespective of if I qualified on pole, I can’t qualify on pole by ten places further ahead than pole because it doesn’t exist, so I knew I was going to be out of position, and I had to factor some of that in so we have done. Yeah, you would like your cake and eat it obviously, have all the downforce on the car for sectors two and three and then have a super super top speed but that’s not possible, in a Formula One car you need to compromise which we have and we’ll come to it tomorrow.

    Q: Has that changed the strategy as well?

    MW: Yes.

    Q: And just to clarify, does that give you a free choice of tyres, because you’re starting outside the top ten?

    MW: No, it’s a nice penalty actually! You have to start on what you qualified on as well. We’ll do that and we’ll see what we do with the strategy from there, but it might not be too different to everyone else. There’s not many options here.

    QUESTION FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Lewis, how crucial do you think it will be for your chances of victory tomorrow for you to get past Sebastian at the start, because they look pretty strong in the first sector and down the straights?

    LH: Just from past experience, it’s very difficult to overtake here so I anticipate it’s… I’m going to need to try.

    Ends

  • We managed the tyres better than many teams in Singapore:Paul

    DRIVERS – Paul DI RESTA (Force India), Jules BIANCHI (Marussia), Esteban GUTIERREZ (Sauber), Romain GROSJEAN (Lotus), Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), Felipe MASSA (Ferrari)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Paul Di Resta, you’ve had a bit of a drought over the past five races or so. Do you put that down to bad luck?

    Paul DI RESTA: I suppose you can, but at the same time we’ve had some unfortunate issues. But I think the important thing is to keep pushing on. Singapore was obviously looking like it was going to be a great result from a difficult qualifying session, the speed was in the car, but it wasn’t to be. Hopefully this weekend we can get it together and get points back on the table, which is always the goal within the team.

    The team has suggested that you’ve been affected by the change of tyres since the British Grand Prix, would you agree with that?

    PDR: I definitely think the tyre hasn’t helped but I think at this stage, and this far in with the new tyres, can you blame that? We’ve not optimised it like we did the last set, but I think everybody within the team has a great handle on tyres and it’s just about unleashing the potential of them. We’ve maybe not got it over the whole weekend but the way we managed the tyres in the race in Singapore was obviously better than most people were able to. We just need to try to get the qualifying performance and I think if we can do that then it gets us back on track and we start having a good weekend again.

    I hope so, thank you. Jules, obviously you’ve signed, we’ve had the news of that this morning that you’ve signed again for Marussia, although there were several other seats available, but you’ve resigned for Marussia. Your feelings about that?

    Jules BIANCHI: Obviously it’s a great feeling for me. It was a really late call this year and I’ve already signed for next year so it’s amazing for me. I’m really happy to stay with Marussia because I feel really confident with them, I feel like at home. So I hope it will be a great season next year and I really want to thank them for that.

    How do you feel about the potential for next year, particularly with the Ferrari engines. And also your own potential, how are you going to develop?

    JB: For sure, I will feel a lot more confident because I will have a lot more experience in Formula One, I will have all the winter testing. We will have new rules, with new engines, with Ferrari. For sure that will be a great thing for the car and for the team. I don’t know what to expect but for sure we will have an improvement.

    Esteban, you had your best qualifying in Singapore. Was that the circuit, just everything coming together? How important was that for you?

    Esteban GUTIERREZ: It was very important, because it was getting very critical not being able to qualify properly. Obviously when you start P9 or P10, there’s a huge difference between starting P10 and P16 or P17. It also changes a lot your perspective because you’re fighting with better drivers at the front as well. It was, I think, a great experience, a good step and a very solid one and I’m looking to keep this in a consistent way until the end of the year.

    And obviously we’ve got a Mexican Grand Prix on the calendar for next year. Tell us how important it is for your country to have that grand prix, for motor sport in your country. But also, about the circuit itself, because I think you’ve been there. Is it ready for a grand prix?

    EG: It has to be adapted. They have to do some work. Now there is a closer chance it will happened but it’s not yet assured, so they’re working very hard and I’m sure that the promoters are trying to find a way to make it happen. Obviously for us it would be a very special one.

    Q: Felipe, it is four weeks since the announcement regarding your future with Ferrari. Can you tell us more about your future in Formula One?

    Felipe MASSA: Well, not yet. So it’s to concentrate to the last race. We talk with a few teams, y’know, and I don’t think it’s the right time to speak about that. I think it’s the right time when you know where you are going. For the moment we are aware, I think, of some good opportunities. It’s better to wait and say at the right time.

    Q: You’re getting on quite well with the current car it seems. You’ve out-qualified your team-mate five times this year, last time in Singapore. How do you feel about the current Ferrari?

    FM: I feel OK, I feel good. I mean I feel comfortable inside the car and managed to put some points in the last races. Important for me, for the team. Just concentrate to carry on like that these last races and try to get some more podiums, some more better results even from what I had until now. I think qualifying is going well as well, so let’s try to do everything we can to get some good results now in these last six races and finish well with Ferrari after our long and nice time together.

    Lewis, last year you had an incident-packed race here but at the same time you’ve had a couple of second places as well at this circuit, included that wet race in 2010. What are your memories of this circuit and what are your feelings about this race?

    Lewis HAMILTON: I don’t really remember any of my races here! I remember qualifying at the front on one race but otherwise we’ve had some half-decent races but I haven’t won, so there’s nothing really good enough to remember, I’d say.

    Q: I particularly remember in the wet, when you were going around and around and around behind the safety car and you saying “C’mon, let’s go racing.”

    LH: Ah yeah, I remember that. But that’s normal, that sort of thing.

    Q: Since Silverstone you’ve had a good run of points as opposed to your team-mate who hasn’t had quite the same run of points. What do you put that down to? A difference in driving style between the two of you?

    LH: Well, the last couple of races haven’t been so good for me. But before that, yeah, again I’ve just grown with my understanding of the car. Growing an understanding of how to really extract the most from it. Working better each time as we’re growing as a team in terms of how we communicate and everything. So I hope this weekend is even better in that sense. We’re constantly making changes, even after the last race weekend, there were some things we can improve on, particularly on communication. So we’re hopefully going to see a better weekend this weekend.

    Q: Is there one type of circuit that’s better than another?

    LH: No, no. I’m actually really surprised this year that the car is good everywhere. It’s been a real blessing and I anticipate it should be strong again here this weekend. Whether or not we can keep up with the Red Bulls, we’ll see – but my target really is to get these guys, the guys in the red.

    Q: Romain, Eric Boullier in his preview of this race gave you a big vote of confidence saying that you had really come together, that you performing extremely well. How do you feel about your performances recently?

    Romain GROSJEAN: Pretty good to be honest! I knew we were on a good run since the Bahrain Grand Prix except Monaco where I had a bad weekend and Canada where we struggled a little bit – but things were going together and I think it shows up in Germany that the final things came together and it was better and better. Singapore was a good race as well. We came back with a more normal package, the car was back at the front, which is enjoyable and hopefully it’s going to be the case for the last six races of the season.

    Q: Was Singapore a track that you liked or do you just have the confidence now? Has there been a breakthrough in some way?

    RG: Well, I think it was not a track that I liked or disliked. It doesn’t change much on the lap-time or the driving style. I tried to get on with everything I can and the car is getting better and better. I think we had a very slow start to the season. Since then we worked hard and it’s like we lost all the testing and the first three races. So, started on the back foot but bring things together and Singapore was back to the normal wing level after let’s say after Spa and Monza where we struggled a little bit more and should be good for the rest of the season hopefully. And, y’know, just keep doing the same thing as we’re doing.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Felipe,  following on from the earlier question about your future, how optimistic are you in terms of your chances of getting a competitive drive next year and should you not get a competitive drive next year, would you still want to continue in Formula One?

    FM: Well, I think I’m quite optimistic that I’m going to find a good direction, a good solution. As I said, I will not change my mind. I want to have a car that can give me some good possibilities to fight, not a car in which I would not have a chance to fight. So if I have that, I’m not interested, as I said.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To all of you: first of all, how do you rate this track as a driver, and secondly, what do you think of next year’s calendar with 22 Grands Prix?

    RG: It’s too far from Seoul.

    FM: I think it’s a very nice track, I like to drive here. Regarding the calendar, I think it’s a lot to think about because it’s not really comfortable, not just for us as drivers but for the teams, so I think if there were a little bit better thinking behind it they can do a much better calendar for next year.

    LH: I really love the track, they did a good job. It’s nice to drive. You don’t get as many people coming to watch as we would like but as Romain said, it’s quite far from the main city. Just arriving today, seeing how beautiful the weather is, the scenery around it, it’s really quite a peaceful place. In terms of calendar, I love racing so I would do many more if I had to but as Felipe said, it’s difficult on the team. The year’s getting so long. I think we’re already testing in January so there’s not a lot of down time for the guys back at the factory or us people who are travelling.

    FM: I think the problem is that there are races where you go to Japan and then you’re not going to another race straightaway, so you’re going back to Europe and then you’re coming back here. You can do many races – not a problem – but you need to do it in a better way.

    Q: Esteban, your first impressions?

    EG: Well, it’s going to be an interesting track to get to know, it’s my first time driving this track and I’ve already had a  look at some media footage and it looks quite an interesting track.

    JB: Well, I did FP1 last year with Force India. It was a good track, I liked it so now we have to wait and see how it is in racing.

    PdiR: Again, like everyone, I think it’s a good track to drive, it’s got a nice flow in the last sector. Equally, it’s got some good opportunities if you’re attacking or defending in the first sector. For the calendar, I think it’s obviously a great thing to go to new countries and new tracks and let other people experience the sights of Formula One, so very positive and I think like Lewis, driving’s important and however many races that will be, I want to be the one who’s taking part.

    Q: (Trent Price- Richland F1) Felipe, Fernando’s been relatively vocal about saying that it was the tyre construction that affected Ferrari mid-year and Nicolas Tombazis says no, it was more of a development curve that we took in the wrong direction. You’ve done a lot of Friday work on the car; where do you see where the issues are?

    FM: For sure, if you don’t have the car to win the championship you didn’t do the perfect job, it’s clear. We’ve had so many little things that either didn’t work as you expected to fight for the championship, but I don’t think you need to put names on the table. I think you need to speak about the whole group of work. I think that’s the most important thing.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) To all of you: since the Spa race, Sebastian Vettel set three poles and won three races, even on a circuit where he couldn’t be so fast, Monza, for example. What’s your point of view about that; how can he get such a big advantage from one moment to another one?

    FM: Well, I think if you look at the last race, how his pace was, qualifying and in the race. If you appreciate that few teams will have new pieces on the car from now until the last race; similar to what he did in the last race, he’s going to have some more victories, I think. For sure, his pace was better than everybody in the last races. It depends on the track, especially in Singapore. We’re going to tracks where you need more downforce and they always show great performance as well. We will see. I hope it won’t be like that but the chance is pretty much in their favour, that he can have more victories.

    LH: I agree, there’s not really much more to say.

    RG: Well, they look quite impressive. They did a good job to bring them something that brings them a decent lap time gain so no, P2 is almost like a victory.

    PdiR: I think all you can say is that the combination has not only worked this year but it’s worked over the last four years. The difference that they’ve made from the beginning of the year to now is obviously working out in their direction and nobody is challenging them.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Felipe, Pat Fry said in the run-up to this race that you’re going to be using the Friday practice sessions to test 2014 parts, so how involved are you going to be with that programme of testing those parts?

    FM: I hope I can test everything they give to me for next year, to have some experience, to understand a little bit. I don’t know. To be honest, this year there’s not a lot to be done for next year so the car will be completely different next year. So many things will be different so I think  it’s not so easy to try things on Friday for next year because everything will start from zero next year. But if we have some new pieces, I hope I can have them.

    Q: (Simon Cass – Daily Mail) Paul, is your contract situation sorted out with Force India for next year, do you have a contract, because Vijay (Mallya) says he’s going to leave the decision late as he usually does? I was  just wondering where we were with that.

    PdiR: The team’s policy is not to discuss contracts at the moment, so I think you need to go to the press office and speak to them. I’ll concentrate on this weekend and the driving part of it.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Lewis, is it possible to do a perfect lap and then, if you do that, how do you improve on it? Not just here, anywhere.

    LH: I don’t think there’s a perfect lap. I think you can always improve, even if you do pull off a great lap, there’s always some areas where you feel you could potentially gain, but then perhaps you lose in other areas. So getting a perfect lap like in the simulations we have are generally perfect laps. I think that’s something we’re all trying to do every single time we go out and the closer you get, the more exciting it gets.

    Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC) Lewis, quick question: just looking back at the Singapore race. When the team analysed the performance of both you and Nico and Sebastian, you were so close to him in qualifying in terms of team pace, then he had that two seconds a lap advantage when he was sprinting, but do you think that was a bit of a false picture because he was very much pushing to open up that gap and maybe you guys were obviously in a different position in that race. Do you think that the gap we saw open up was a slightly false picture?

    LH: I don’t, personally, think so. No. I think that’s the true pace of their car. Perhaps they have a lot more in the bag than we get to see, so it’s just cruising, generally. I think in the race on the restart everyone’s pushing flat out so there should be no reason why they should be able to pull away that much quicker. If you look at their on-boards, he’s on the power, full throttle at least twenty meters before everyone else which is a huge advantage.

    Q: What sort of reaction does that make you have and the team have; what can you do about that?

    LH: There’s nothing we can really do, we’re always asking for rear downforce, always want to be able to get on the power sooner. But the last time I was able to put the pedal down that quick was what, 2007, 2008? 2007 when we had traction control, so it’s a lot different.

     

    Ends

    A file photo of Paul di Resta by Sahara Force India F1 team.
    A file photo of Paul di Resta by Sahara Force India F1 team.