INDIA in F1

Tag: Hamilton

  • P3 was terrible and it was painful: Hamilton

    DRIVERS

    1 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)

    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

    3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Timo Glock)

    Q: Well done for today. You seemed to be totally in control of the weekend so far and you got a really good lap in. How did it feel like in qualifying for you?

    Charles LECLERC: It felt good. Obviously the first sector was not exactly what I wanted, especially in the first corner, we had to go very slow to prepare the lap because there was a lot of traffic. I struggled for that a bit, but after that from the second corner onwards then we were very strong and it felt amazing.

    Q: It seemed like you were the only guy who stayed out of trouble on the out laps, because everyone struggled to find a clean spot, but you managed it really well, or not?

    CL: Yeah, that’s what I asked actually when I was in the garage – to not really care about the slipstream, it was just too much of a mess to prepare the tyres and the lap overall, so ~I wanted to be alone and yeah, it worked out, so I’m happy.

    Q: Good feeling for tomorrow for the race? 

    CL: Yeah, we were struggling a little bit more during the race pace yesterday, so we need to work on that. But, yeah, looking at the pace today I’m pretty sure we will be strong.

    Q: Seb, well done today, P2. I think when I saw you in the middle of the same like Charles, you struggled on the out lap to get the tyres into the right window. Was that the key problem today?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I mean in the end it’s good that we secured the first row. To fight for pole, I was sort of in the queue; it doesn’t help, but no excuses. We look forward to the race tomorrow. I think we have good pace in the car, so hopefully, we can show it also over, what is it 44 laps?

    Q: But you didn’t seem that happen on the long-run pace yesterday. Do you think tomorrow it’s going to be OK when it’s a lot cooler?

    SV: Yeah, I think it should be better. The car was better today, so we’ll see. Obviously temperatures should drop overnight, which makes a difference, but it’s the same for everyone.

    Q: Thanks. Lewis, first of all, I think we need to talk about your mechanics. They did an awesome job.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Absolutely. P3 was a terrible session for me. Of course, it’s painful because you know how many people work so hard to build those parts and then you know how hard the guys work to put the car together and I knew that was going to be a tough challenge. But my guys are just faultless, they always work and give 110% and I’m so grateful for that. After that I was really just trying to pay them back with a good qualifying session. Considering I missed P3 and a lot of P1 actually I’m really grateful I’m up here.

    Q: You were nearly crashing, I think even Valtteri on the out lap, because it was a mess as well. Was it for you hard to get the tyres in as well, because everyone seemed to be affected by that?

    LH: Yeah, that was a bit slow. Obviously he was trying to keep the tow of the car in front, so I was trying to hold behind him and everyone was behind me, so it’s really tricky. But nonetheless Ferrari have done a great job today, Charles did an exceptional job and I hope we can bring the fight to them in the race tomorrow.

    Q: I think your long-run pace was very good yesterday and there is a chance for you on the long straight to attack the Ferraris straight away. Are you happy that it’s going to be 10 degrees cooler tomorrow? Is that helping you out?

    LH: I don’t know, I’d have to ask my engineers. Either way I’m going to give it everything and hopefully give these guys a good race.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Charles, many congratulations, you dominated all three segments of qualifying. Can you tell us how it feels to be on pole by seven tenths of a second?

    CL: It obviously feels amazing. It was very tricky, especially in Q3 I struggled quite a lot, the start of the lap was always very, very messy, because there was quite a lot of traffic with all the cars around but in the end I managed to do the full lap correctly and I’m very happy. I definitely did not expect to be that much ahead, but very happy with my lap anyway.

    Q: Well, came close to winning in Bahrain earlier this year, so given your level of dominance so far this weekend how confident are you for tomorrow?

    CL: I don’t know. I think we have been quick since FP1 but once we did the race simulations in FP2 we weren’t as quick, so I think it’s not going to be easy tomorrow. We will try to give everything. The gap is quite big today but it doesn’t mean it will be like that tomorrow, so we will working hard to improve on the race run we did yesterday and we will see.

    Q: Well done again. Sebastian, you said on your cool-down lap “what a mess”. Can you just describe the session and particularly Q3 from your point of view?

    SV: Uhh, messy! I think I was getting into a sort of a rhythm, maybe it took a little bit longer for me today to really get a hold of the car but it felt quite good. But then in Q3 it was quite messy, with everybody trying to get a tow and a lot of queuing for the last corner, which made it very tricky and, yeah, obviously the tyres then are not where they were probably supposed to be and being further back it I think it wasn’t ideal. Anyways, Charles did a better job today, also with that, so now looking forward to tomorrow. I felt the car was quite good, which is the most important thing so let’s see tomorrow with the change in ambient conditions, in track conditions, what the race is going to be like.

    Q: Thank you and good luck tomorrow. Lewis, it’s been an impressive comeback by you and the team after your crash in final practice. First of all, any lasting physical effects from that crash and how was the car in qualifying?

    LH: Firstly, it’s been an interesting weekend so far. We struggled obviously a little bit in the first session with some problems and then, yeah, I made a big mistake this morning with the change we made and it just didn’t feel great out there and obviously I had that incident. But the guys did an incredible job, incredibly diligent, to perfection – taking the car apart and rebuilding it. There’s so much pressure on those guys through the weekend and naturally I don’t ever want to put them in that position, but I think they relished the challenge and so really proud of them. So going into this session I was just hoping that I’ve got the car in the right place and ultimately hoping I can pay them back with a good qualifying session and I think today was really smooth and I think the team did an amazing job in terms of where they put us out there. It was a little bit tricky when everyone was slowing down but nonetheless, congratulations to Charles, he’s been so quick all weekend. But I think in the long run we can at least give them a bit of a challenge tomorrow. I think a bit of the straight speed, which is where generally all the speed is, it’s usually not there so much in the race, so hopefully we’ll be there or thereabout with them tomorrow and can put in maybe some interesting strategies, we’ll see.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for you Seb. You said you didn’t get into the rhythm very fast; it took a bit of time for you. Do you have an explanation for that – because yesterday it looked like you lost quite a lot time on the straights?

    SV: No, not really. I don’t think we lost time on the straights. I think nothing out of the ordinary, so… No, I think it was quite tricky to get the car where I wanted it to be for one lap, and it was better in qualifying. I struggled a bit yesterday afternoon, this morning, but, as I said, by qualifying it was fine and then obviously towards the last part of quali it was a bit messy again, not ideal preparing the lap, so yeah, I’m not happy with the final attempt, it wasn’t clean. So, yeah, I’m not worried, I think pace-wise it was looking quite good and let’s see what we get tomorrow. Obviously a big change in terms of temps. Let’s see how we adapt.

    Q: (Erik Bielderman – L’Equipe) Lewis, when you don’t claim the pole position, like today, do you head into the Sunday’s race in a more excited mood because of the challenge that awaits you?

    LH: When you’re on pole, you’re always the happiest, naturally – but nonetheless, yeah, I’m happy that we have a fight. I think we knew that coming here, that it was going to be challenging. We didn’t know where the Red Bulls or Ferraris would be but we knew the Ferraris would be extremely quick given that they’ve been fastest on all the straights throughout the year. That’s a big gap: seven-tenths is a huge margin but nonetheless I think in the race trim it looked like it was a lot closer. So yeah, I’m excited that I’m in a position where hopefully I can try and battle these guys tomorrow. That makes it more fun for us, for me – and for the fans, hopefully.

    Q: (Godina Zsolt – F1Valag.hu) Charles, congratulations, you said a few weeks ago that Sebastian is doing a better job in terms of tyre management. Were you able to work on that this weekend, and don’t you think that this could be the key to win this race tomorrow?

    CL: Well, I’ve been analysing quite a lot Hungary. Actually, maybe it looked worse than it actually was but there’s definitely some work to do on my side on this. So, we’ll see if tomorrow it pays off. I changed a few things – very small things – but details always makes the difference at this level. So, yeah, we’ll see tomorrow if it’s any better.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Charles. Obviously you’ve come close to winning in Bahrain and also in Austria. Bahrain was nothing to do with you. What have you taken from those two races; those two close calls that you can perhaps take into tomorrow to give you a bit more of an edge?

    CL: I mean obviously Bahrain was nothing to do with me, so not much to take from there. Austria, I think there were lessons learnt but I think I already showed it after in Silverstone, as I already speak about the aggressivity (sic) level I had with my opponents – but apart from this, nothing. I guess, at first it feels a bit weird when you are coming to Formula 1 and you do your first laps in the lead. So, the more laps I am in the lead, the more comfortable I am. And this feels good.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Possibly to all of you. When you were queuing up in your out-laps, what was more important for a perfect lap afterwards: to get a good tow or to have the tyres in the window? And was it possible at all to achieve both targets?

    LH: On the perfect scenario you got the tow and the tyres in the window. In Q3 I don’t think so, no because everyone was backing up. Obviously we had that really slow section with Hülkenberg, I think it was, and then Valtteri and myself and then again in the next one, everyone again was backing up into the last one, so I think the second one was a little bit of a better position, a chance, but still, it’s very, very tricky. I don’t think they were both… they were optimum for all of us.

    Q: Charles, how was it for you?

    CL: Yeah, at first I really targeted the perfect slipstream for the first run in Q3 but after that I really felt that the tyres weren’t ready for Turn One and I actually lost quite a bit of time. So then, for the second run in Q3, I just asked the team to send me whenever the car was ready, to be alone and to try to do the job alone, without slipstreams, which I think, yeah, in my opinion, on my car, it felt better to have the tyres in the right window than having the slipstream. So, we went as soon as possible – but obviously we found anyway some cars in front.

    Q: Seb?

    SV: Well, obviously it was more important to get the tyres in the right position for me. Or in the right place. I was, on both laps, too close to the cars in front and the tyres not right to start the lap with. So yeah, it was a lose-lose. The straights were good – but I was too close and lost quite a lot, I think also in Sector Two.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis, coming here, obviously Mercedes has the upgraded engine across for you and Valtteri and the customer cars. Two out of six of those cars have now had failures: Pérez’s car on fire and then Robert’s in the Williams in the qualifying. For you, going into tomorrow, does that present any concerns or do you just trust your team to analyse it and make whatever countermeasures they need to make.

    LH: I don’t know the details of why the engines have gone, so I have nothing to worry about currently because I don’t know anything about it really. I’m sure, when I get back, I’m sure they’re trying to analyse it and they’ll give us a bit of an idea – but still, I’ve just got to keep my head down and do what I do and what will be will be. There’s not much I can do about it, so there’s no point worrying about it.

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Charles, you spoke earlier in the season about your need to focus on qualifying and the build-up through all three sessions. I guess a third pole of the season proves your strategy is working; a sixth race in a row you’ve out-qualified your team-mate as well. Do you feel that you’ve cracked the code to F1 qualifying now?

    CL: I’ve done some changes on qualifying and yeah, I definitely feel the difference, and feel it’s going the good way. As I said in Hungary, now I need to focus a little bit on the race because in some races I haven’t been as good as I wanted to. So, now I’m trying to focus on that, to rebalance a little bit and we’ll see how it goes.

    Q: (Viktor Bognar – Magyar Szo) In the past weeks, in the mainstream media and social media it’s all about burning the rainforest and efforts of the global climate change. Do you think that Formula One should or could do something more to raise awareness to this problem? And do you agree with the way how Formula One promotes efficiency and sustainability at the moment?

    SV: I think it’s a very important subject. I feel that Formula One has a wordwide operating platform and should do a lot more. I don’t think that just promoting the efficiency of our engines is enough plus I think unfortunately a large part of our technology inside the car will not go onto the road so you can argue about the necessity. So I think – not just on track but also off track – I think Formula One could do a lot more and should set an example because I think it is a very serious matter and serious subject.

    CL: OK, to be honest it’s only my second season in Formula One. I’m not completely aware about how everything works on the engine so maybe I need a bit more experience to understand all of this.

    LH: I’ve been here for a long time. I don’t really know what their current plans are but I think they are working towards a goal in trying to improve the carbon footprint that we have as a sport. But I think up until now the job we’ve done in the sport – they haven’t done anything, particularly I think when Bernie was in place, there wasn’t a lot being done then. So we are in the position where we are now, beginning to shift. If you look at the V8s and the V10s, we are now using a third less fuel than we used to use in a race distance, so that’s already a step forward but there is absolutely more that we can do. Also, on things like the amount of plastic that’s used throughout the weekend – I’ve got three bottles right here. I’m not opening them, but someone will drink these and that becomes waste so I think the amount of waste that comes out of a race weekend, also through all these weekends, we can do a lot about that and so I’m trying to encourage Ross and his team to make a change. And as a team, I’m pushing Mercedes to be the leaders in that, so hopefully soon you’re going to see some positive changes from our side.

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – Associated Press) Lewis, we very rarely see mistakes from you. Can you put your finger on what happened there? Was it a loss of concentration? Can you figure out what happened, you made that mistake?

    LH: You’re looking way too deep into it, man. Shit happens. I’m only human. I think my track record has been pretty good but it sometimes happens and yes, it’s frustrating and it never feels good, whether it’s in your first year or if it’s in your 13th year whatever, it doesn’t really make any difference but you can always learn from it. So there’s always a silver lining, there’s always an opportunity to pick yourself up, to rebuild and there’s always an experience with your guys and I think today was a massive challenge for the team. I think they did an exceptional job and I’m really happy, generally, with the job that I did in qualifying, so collectively it’s a positive. But I go in the back of the garage and I see my broken parts and I’m like ‘oh my baby’ but they’ll fix it, they’ll fix those parts hopefully or maybe I’ll have to put them up in Toto’s office or something and sign it and say sorry.

    Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsportmagazin.com) This queuing thing in Q3 seems to be a bigger topic this season. There were quite a few occasions now where things happened like this. Do you think you need some stricter rules, what is allowed there? At some point it looked a bit ridiculous when other cars were on their fast lap and came and they were queuing up, five, six, seven cars whatever.

    SV: I’m not in favour of any more rules. I think we have too many anyway.

    CL: I didn’t personally feel that it was worse than last year, at least. I felt that last year was as bad, actually. Everyone is trying to have a tow, which is normal but yeah, I agree with Seb also. I don’t think it should be another rule written in the book for this particular case.

    LH: I don’t remember ever going that slow before last year.

    SV: I think what should change, actually, what we should take from this – seriously – is that tyre-wise we shouldn’t be so much on the limit so obviously you’re fighting for a tow and so on but you’re also fighting to get into the optimum window which years ago it wasn’t that critical, whereas now it is. So you’re fighting for the best spot on the track which will hit the climb or the peak next week in Monza for finding the right tow because it does make a difference but it has also been part of those type of track, let’s say. But I feel if we had better tyres we could play with probably a bit more speed and so on.

    LH: I agree with Seb. Every weekend they put the pressures up so high it’s crazy, which again makes it a little bit harder for us but the tyres are so hard so getting them working, and they’re talking about taking blankets off for the future, we’ll never get temperature in the tyres if they do that. I think this year is definitely the slowest we’ve been. Today felt a little bit dangerous at one point because we were going round turn 15 on the kerb and there was a car coming and I couldn’t move, go on the grass. I was stuck behind Valtteri and I think the next… Hulkenberg or whatever. I can imagine if I was on a lap and I was coming round that everyone was crawling around at five miles an hour it would be a bit of a worry and a bit of a distraction so I’m not really sure what we can do to stop it from happening but maybe we have to be on the pit speed limiter or something like that. You shouldn’t be able to go five miles an hour or two or whatever we were doing because we were literally going as slow as possible to let people past. I did it in Austria, I think, to let everyone by because I was the first car out there and the tow is so strong this year with this car.  They talk about the front wing being easier to follow, it’s just caused a lot more drag.  This is a draggier car this year so the slipstream is even more powerful or the tow is more powerful than we’ve ever experienced.

  • Lewis Hamilton wins 7th Hungarian GP pipping Max Verstappen in a thrilling strategic battle

    Lewis Hamilton wins 7th Hungarian GP pipping Max Verstappen in a thrilling strategic battle

    Hamilton wins in Hungary for the 7th time after beating Max Verstappen in a strategic battle on Sunday. An FIA image

    Budapest, 4 August 2019: Lewis Hamilton took his seventh Hungarian Grand Prix victory at the Hungaroring, in the 12th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday. He edged out the Red Bull star Max Verstappen in a nail-biting strategic battle that saw the Mercedes driver make up a 19-second gap to the Dutchman and claim the lead four laps from home after gambling on a second pit stop.

    Starting from pole, Verstappen led for 59 of the 70 laps, only ceding top spot to Hamilton during the first round of pit stops. However, on lap 48, Mercedes opted to pit Hamilton for a second time and fitted his Mercedes with new medium compound tyres.

    Verstappen though stayed on track, on the hard tyres fitted during his sole stop on lap 25. Hamilton rejoined 19s behind the Red Bull but as Verstappen’s tyres faded Hamilton closed. And on lap 67 Hamilton powered past the Red Bull driver to claim his 81stcareer win.

    At the start, Verstappen held his pole position advantage, getting away well to brush off pressure from both Mercedes drivers on the long run to Turn 1. Second-on-the grid Valtteri Bottas, though, had the poorest getaway of the three and in Turn 3 Hamilton muscled past his team-mate to claim P2.

    As Bottas struggled to recover he was passed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with brief contact being made, and then, at the start of lap two, by the second Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.

    Having suffered front wing damage in his battle with Leclerc, Bottas pitted for a new wing and hard tyres, a move that dropped him to the back of the field.

    Verstappen began to build a slender lead over Hamilton and by lap 10 the Dutchman had 2.3s in hand over the Briton. By lap 13, the top four of Verstappen, Hamilton, Leclerc and Vettel were well clear of the chasing pack, with fifth placed Sainz 18 seconds behind Vettel and holding up a train that included team-mate Lando Norris in P6, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen and the second Red Bull of Pierre Gasly.

    Verstappen made his first pit stop on lap 25 and with hard tyres onboard for the final stint, he rejoined in P2 behind Hamilton, and with the Briton reporting that his tyres were in good shape, Mercedes elected to leave the championship leader on track.

    When Hamilton eventually pitted on lap 31, a four-second stop by Mercedes saw the Briton emerge over six seconds behind Verstappen, who once more took the lead.

    The gap wouldn’t last, however. Armed with fresh hard tyres, Hamilton reduced the gap and on lap 39 Hamilton attacked. He went around the outside of the Dutchman into Turn 1 and though Verstappen defended well the Mercedes driver was able to pull alongside on the run to Turn 2. Verstappen held his line though and as they entered Turn 4, Hamilton was forced wide into the run-off area. He retreated to regroup and to plot another assault.

    Behind them Leclerc still held third place ahead of Vettel, who made a late stop on lap 39 for soft tyres. Sainz was now fifth, while Gasly had jumped Räikkönen and Norris (who had a pit stop issue) and was back up to his starting position of sixth.

    On lap 48 Mercedes gambled and Hamilton pitted for a set of medium tyres. The move left him 19s behind Verstappen and the race now came down to whether the Mercedes could close the gap over remaining laps.

    With five laps to go Verstappen’s hard tyres were finished and as the pair crossed the line Hamilton edged into DRS range. It was only a matter of time and under DRS at the start of lap 67 the Mercedes driver powered past the Red Bull to claim the lead.

    Verstappen immediately pitted for soft tyres and soon after posted the fastest lap of the race and he crossed the line in P2 17.7s behind Hamilton and almost 44s ahead of Vettel.

    Fourth place went to the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, while Carlos Sainz took a well-worked fifth place for McLaren. Pierre having recovered from his start, settled into sixth in his final stint and earned a solid eight points for the Team. Räikkönen was seventh for Alfa Romeo ahead of Bottas and the final two points places were taken by Lando Norris in the second McLaren and Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon.

    2019 FIA Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix – Race
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes –
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 17.796
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:01.433
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:05.250
    5 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1 lap
    6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1 lap
    7 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1 lap
    8 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1 lap
    9 Lando Norris McLaren 1 lap
    10 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1 lap
    11 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1 lap
    12 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
    13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 lap
    14 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1 lap
    15 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 2 laps
    16 George Russell Williams 2 laps
    17 Lance Stroll Racing Point 2 laps
    18 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 2 laps
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 3 laps
    France Romain Grosjean Haas.

  • Lewis Hamilton sets best time ahead of Max Verstappen in FP1: Hungary Grand Prix

    Budapest, 2 August 2019: Lewis Hamilton went quickest in a closely-matched opening practice session for the Hungary Grand Prix, with the championship leader finishing just under 1700ths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who finished second and third respectively.

    There was trouble, however, for Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, with the Finn failing to set a time after his car suffered and early engine issue.

    Bottas’ power unit issue was identified after the Finnish driver had completed just two installation laps and after Mercedes elected to complete and engine change, Bottas failed to run for the rest of the 90-minute session.

    Hamilton set his benchmark time of 1:17.233 a third of the way into the session, despite spots of rain falling on the track. With a little over half an hour remaining Vettel then closed in, the German putting in a lap of 1:17.399 to set 0.166s behind Hamilton.

    The Ferrari driver held on to P2 on the timesheet until the final quarter of an hour, when Verstappen found a small improvement that edged him one thousandth of a second ahead of the Ferrari. Verstappen was not happy with his RB15, however, complaining that it was overly sensitive throughout.

    Fourth place in the session went to Verstappen’s team-mate Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman put in his best time of the session half an hour from the end of the session, using a new set of soft tyres to post a time of 1:17.682, 0.449 adrift of Hamilton.

    While Vettel ended the session in third place, team-mate Charles Leclerc found himself well off the pace in the first session, taking sixth place almost a second off Hamilton’s pace after a less than perfect lap on soft tyres.

    Leclerc’s lapse allowed Haas’ Kevin Magnussen to slip past and claim fifth, seven tenths of a second Hamilton and more than two tenths clear of the second Ferrari driver.

    Seventh place in the session went to Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, though the German was closely followed by the two customer Renault-powered McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. The top 10 order was closed out by Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen who was 1.5s off the pace.

    2019 FIA Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 41 1:17.233
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 28 1:17.398 0.165
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 25 1:17.399 0.166
    4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 25 1:17.682 0.449
    5 Kevin Magnussen Haas 31 1:17.942 0.709
    6 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 29 1:18.188 0.955
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 31 1:18.417 1.184
    8 Lando Norris McLaren 34 1:18.531 1.298
    9 Carlos Sainz McLaren 23 1:18.702 1.469
    10 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 32 1:18.787 1.554
    11 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 30 1:18.894 1.661
    12 Romain Grosjean Haas 32 1:18.973 1.740
    13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 33 1:18.982 1.749
    14 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 28 1:19.223 1.990
    15 Sergio Perez Racing Point 20 1:19.325 2.092
    16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 24 1:19.488 2.255
    17 George Russell Williams 33 1:19.649 2.416
    18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 34 1:19.722 2.489
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 30 1:20.322 3.089
    20 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2

  • Hamilton takes pole, Ferrari drivers suffer mechanical problems

    Hamilton takes pole, Ferrari drivers suffer mechanical problems

    Bottas (left) congratulates Hamilton after the Briton took pole for the German GP on Saturday. An AMG Petronas Mercedes image

    Hockenheim, 27 July 2019: Lewis Hamilton will start Mercedes’ 200thgrand prix from the front of the grid, his 87th pole, after he beat Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen to pole position for the German Grand Prix, the 11th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Saturday. But there was a disaster for Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel exiting the session in Q1 with a turbo issue and Charles Leclerc failing to set a time in Q3 after being sidelined by a fuel problem.

    Q1 saw Red Bull make the early running and with his first lap, Verstappen jumped to the top of the order with a time of 1:12.593. That was soon eclipsed, however, by Leclerc who squeezed past the Dutchman with a time of 1:12.229 on his first run.

    Vettel though didn’t make it to the end of that first run. The home favourite backed out of the attempt at the end of his warm-up lap and returned to the pits. Ferrari mechanics swarmed around the car and the engine covers came off, but it soon became apparent that there would be no easy solution. Vettel climbed out of the car and exited the session, a turbo problem at the root of the German’s failure to set a time.

    At the end of the session, Leclerc went through in P1 thanks to his time of 1:12.229. He was followed by Max and his single-run time of 1:12.593. Hamilton progressed in third place ahead of the second Red Bull of Pierre Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen.

    With Vettel exiting the session with a mechanical problem, there were four spaces left in the drop zone and when the final lap times came through McLaren’s Lando Norris was the first to lose out. With Alfa’s Antonio Giovinazzi improving to P10, the McLaren driver slid to 16thout out of the session. Also eliminated were Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon in P17 and the Williams cars of George Russell and Robert Kubica.

    In the second session, there was more technical drama, though on this occasion it was Verstappen who hit trouble. The Dutchman went out for his opening run on medium tyres, but like Vettel he abandoned the run at the end of his warm-up lap, complaining that he was suffering from power delivery problems.

    Unlike Vettel, however, the Dutch driver’s return to the pits was not permanent. After a brief stay in the garage he was soon back on track, though with his chance to qualify on medium tyres gone, he emerged on soft tyres. His single run yielded a time of 1:12.428, which was good enough for fourth place, which became fifth when Bottas improved on his final run. Also making progress behind Max were Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, Haas’ Romain Grosjean, and Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez. Out went the second Alfa of Giovinazzi, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll. At the top of the order, Hamilton went through in P1 ahead of Lecler and Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly.

    Ferrari’s woes doubled in Q3. As Hamilton took provisional pole with a time of 1:11.767 and as Verstappen slotted into P2 with a first-run time of 1:12.113, Leclerc was stuck in the Ferrari garage, a fuel problem eventually causing his retirement from the session.

    There were no improvements from the top drivers on their final runs and thus, Hamilton claimed his 87thcareer pole position ahead of Verstappen. Bottas will line up at the front of row two, ahead of Gasly.

    Behind them, Kimi Räikkönen finished fifth ahead of Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz. Sergio Perez will start ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and the unfortunate Charles Leclerc will start from P10.

    Later Lewis Hamilton said: “I’m super happy to be on pole, it’s such a special race for all of us. The whole team is dressed up this weekend to celebrate 125 years of motorsport and our 200th race which is really cool. We’ve got Ola, our new CEO here from Daimler, so I hope that I can deliver on a weekend where everyone is here. It’s not just unfortunate what happened to Ferrari today, but unfortunate for the sport too because it was building up to be a really exciting qualifying session. I don’t know how close it would have been in the end, but they were quick all weekend. I was really happy with my first lap in Q3; I just lost a little bit of time in Turn 8. Position on the grid is really important here, so I’m grateful to be starting from pole and hopefully I can try to stay out in front tomorrow. ”

    2019 FIA Formula One German Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:11.767
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:12.113 0.346
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:12.129 0.362
    4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1:12.522 0.755
    5 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:12.538 0.771
    6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:12.851 1.084
    7 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:12.897 1.130
    8 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:13.065 1.298
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:13.126 1.359
    10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
    11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:12.786 1.019
    12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:12.789 1.022
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:12.799 1.032
    14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:13.135 1.368
    15 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:13.450 1.683
    16 Lando Norris McLaren 1:13.333 1.566
    17 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:13.461 1.694
    18 George Russell Williams 1:14.721 2.954
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 1:14.839 3.072
    20 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari.

  • Charles Leclerc tops FP2: German GP

    Charles Leclerc tops FP2: German GP

    Charles Leclerc tops FP2 at Hockenheim on Friday. An FIA image

    Hockenheim, 26 July 2019: Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went quickest in the second practice session ahead of the German Grand Prix, but Pierre Gasly’s session ended early when the Red Bull driver crashed out in the final corner, heavily damaging his RB15 in the German Grand Prix, the 11th round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship here on Friday.

    Leclerc, who was second quickest in the morning behind team-mate Sebastian Vettel, took over at the top in the afternoon, setting a best time of 1:13.449 during his performance run on soft tyres. That lap put him 0.124s ahead of Vettel, with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Mercedes third and 0.146s behind the younger Ferrari driver.

    Following the qualifying simulations, the session was red-flagged with 16 minutes left on the clock when Gasly lost control in the final corner. The Frenchman lost the rear of his RB15 on entry and slid off through the gravel trap on the outside of the corner. He hit the barriers hard with the front left of his car and on the rebound slapped the rear left side into the wall too.

    Gasly had earlier struggled on his soft tyres run and so finished the session in a relatively lowly 15thplace, almost a second behind team-mate Max Verstappen.

    In the opening exchanges of the session, Ferrari carried on where they had left off in the morning session, with Leclerc, running hard tyres, and Vettel, on mediums, set the pace. Both Hamilton and teram-mate Valtteri Bottas then dislodged the Ferrari duo, but eventually, with around a third of the session gone, Vettel bolted on a set of soft tyres and set a new benchmark of 1:13.573 that was soon passed by Leclerc who edged a little over a tenth ahead.

    Hamilton went closes to eclipsing the Ferraris, his soft run getting to within 1500ths of a second of Leclerc, but Bottas ended the session further back, with the Finn’s soft run yielding a time of 1:14.111, 0.662 adrift of Leclerc.

    Fifth place on the timesheet went to Verstappen, with the Red Bull driver putting in a best time of 1:14.133 to finish just two hundredths of a second behind Bottas.

    Haas’ Romain Grosjean continued to show well for Haas, with the French driver a little under five hundredths of a second behind Verstappen. The last within a second of Leclerc’s benchmark was Racing Point’s seventh-placed Lance Stroll, with the Canadian 0.819 behind Leclerc.

    Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen took P8 1.009 behind the Monegasque pacesetter, with Nico Hulkenberg 0.14s behind in ninth. The top ten was rounded out by Sergio Pérez in the second Racing Point. Mexican finished the day 1.069 off the pace.

    2019 FIA Formula One German Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 33 1:13.449
    2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 30 1:13.573 0.124
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 30 1:13.595 0.146
    4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 30 1:14.111 0.662
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 23 1:14.133 0.684
    6 Romain Grosjean Haas 33 1:14.179 0.730
    7 Lance Stroll Racing Point 32 1:14.268 0.819
    8 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 33 1:14.458 1.009
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 26 1:14.472 1.023
    10 Sergio Perez Racing Point 30 1:14.518 1.069
    11 Carlos Sainz McLaren 34 1:14.662 1.213
    12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 39 1:14.800 1.351
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 33 1:15.010 1.561
    14 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 36 1:15.062 1.613
    15 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 19 1:15.089 1.640
    16 Lando Norris McLaren 29 1:15.247 1.798
    17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 31 1:15.406 1.957
    18 Kevin Magnussen Haas 28 1:15.470 2.021
    19 George Russell Williams 27 1:16.900 3.451
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 26 1:16.980 3.531

  • Hamilton is very self-reflective, he continues to develop as a driver and as a human being: Wolff

    Hamilton is very self-reflective, he continues to develop as a driver and as a human being: Wolff

    FIA Friday Press Conference in progress. An FIA image

    Hockenheim, 26 July 2019: The following team representatives attended the FIA Friday press conference: Toto Wolff (Mercedes), Mario Isola (Pirelli), Otmar Szafnauer (Racing Point), Franz Tost (Toro Rosso) and Guenther Steiner (Haas).

    Transcript:

    Q: Toto, you’re celebrating Mercedes’ 200th race this weekend, 125 years in motorsport. What do those stats mean to you, the boss, and do you have a favourite moment you can tell us about?

    Toto Wolff:  The stats are not so interesting to me because it’s just numbers and it’s the past. But what it reminds you when you see all the photography and films that have been done of the old days is that the responsibility that we carry for the brand. Mercedes started in motorsport 125 years ago, lots of history has been created and that is a responsibility which we are carrying and representing that fantastic, almighty brand.

    Q: You say there’s a responsibility, that brings pressure. What would it mean to win this race, given that you also have the title sponsorship of it.

    TW: Well, from a calmer perspective, everything speaks against it. We are celebrating 125 years of motorsport; we are having a dedicated livery, we are wearing a different team kit tomorrow, and lots of activities around the track, all board members – or most of the board members present, so when you look at it from the point of car marque, this is one to lose for us. But the reality is different. It’s another race, we want to do particularly well here in Hockenheim because of our home crowd – but on the other side it’s 25 points; as many points as any other given circuit and we just need to add another good race performance in order to make a step towards the Championship.

    Q: And talking of good race performance, can I ask you about Valtteri Bottas now. He has four poles this year, so he seems to have made progress in qualifying – yet it doesn’t always translate to Sunday afternoons as well. Why do you think that is?

    TW: From my point of view, the performances in qualifying are really strong. Having an almost balanced record against Lewis Hamilton is something to be proud of and shows that he has made a step-up from last year. Racing, again, is a different exercise. I think this year’s theme is all about keeping the car and the tyres in the sweet spot. That means you maybe need to drive the car in a different way. He’s getting there. He’s getting better and better. We have seen a race in Silverstone where, if the Safety Car had come out in a different way, he would have challenged for the race win. But the ifs don’t count. You need to bring it to the end – but I’m sure we will see Valtteri continue to improve and bring in good race performances.

    Q: …and continue with Mercedes in 2020?

    TW: I knew you were going to ask that question! We want to end the season before the shutdown in a good place and put in two solid performances in Hockenheim and Budapest and then spend some time thinking about driver line-up for 2020 and beyond.

    Q: Otmar, an important race for Racing Point this weekend with lots of upgrades coming to the car. After FP1, what are your first impressions of the performance?

    Otmar SZAFNAUER: Well, first impressions were positive. We didn’t run the quickest tyre and we looked a bit more competitive than usual in FP1 – but unfortunately, this press conference conflicts with our debrief, so I don’t know as much as I normally would. We’ve got to get the drivers’ feedback and then look at the data. We’ll know more tomorrow morning after we run FP2 as well.

    …but first impressions

    OS: First impressions were very positive, yeah.

    Q: It’s been almost a year since the takeover by Lawrence Stoll. Can you take a moment’s reflection for us and just tell us the impact that that has had on the team and the plan going forward with the factory, drivers, things like this?

    OS: The impact’s been quite positive. Things like bringing a big upgrade here in the past wouldn’t have been possible. So, from a financial perspective, we are on a much better footing and our plans going forward are very good. They’re strategic but it takes some time to implement. Last year, at this time, for example, we were around 405 people. We’re at around 430 now, so not a huge change in personnel, just because it does take time. So there will be a lag between the better financial footing that we’re on, the plans that we have going forward, and actually the implementation. The immediate impact, like you see today, we have a big upgrade here, and that’s only a good thing.

    Q: Franz, it’s a very tight midfield battle this year with rivals like Racing Point bringing performance to their car here in Hockenheim. Can you tell us how you see the pecking order in the midfield, and what plans you’ve got for upgrades for your car?

    Franz TOST: Toro Rosso has also some upgrades here on the aerodynamical side and looks not so bad but of course we have to analyse all the data and everything, set up the car in the proper way with these new aero upgrades and then we will see tomorrow in qualifying where we end up. I think that it’s a step forward – but nearly every team comes up with such upgrades and, at the end, in the midfield, which is very close together, it’s very decisive, that you continuously improve the performance of the car, come with upgrades and then we will see at the end of the season who had a higher development speed and the most successful development.

    Q: Can I ask you quickly about drivers as well. You took a bit of a gamble with both of them prior to this season and both are doing a good job. Your analysis of their first half of the season and plans for 2020.

    FT: We have two really good drivers. Daniil Kvyat we knew from the past that he is fast, he is also matured now and he is showing a very, very good performance. Alex Albon, for me, is the positive surprise of the young drivers, together with Norris. I think that he will have a very strong second half of the season because then he knows the car quite well, he knows what’s going on in Formula 1, and if we provide him with a proper package, I think that he will come up with really good results. I personally hope that we can continue with these two drivers but this, in the end, is a decision from Red Bull, and I think the decision will not be made before the end of September / the beginning of October.

    Q: Guenther, let’s start by looking back, if we can, at Silverstone. I wonder if you could talk to us about the post-race debrief perhaps. What’s the fallout of what happened at the start between your two drivers?

    Guenther Steiner: I mean everybody saw it. They crashed into each other, I guess, and both had a puncture, which wasn’t correct. I want to move on from that. I talked with both of them yesterday. Our focus now is… I mean we could sit there and discuss it over and over. At some stage, you need to live with it. It’s water under the bridge. We need to get out of this one saying I told the guys… I mean, I expressed my opinion after the race. I want that they focus on here because we are still… we didn’t’ get the result we wanted in Silverstone. We again went away with no points. We need to focus to understand better how to get this car to work again – because the car at some point works, and then it doesn’t work anymore. We need to get a good understanding so after the summer break, we can be stable. That is my aim, to have a clear way to go forward where the car needs to be for the different specs of the car here, so we get a lot of data and hopefully can come to a conclusion after the summer break and move on. There was not a lot more said yesterday about Silverstone because it’s old news.

    Q: Well, you say you’ve got the cars in different specs here. Is Grosjean still in the Melbourne-spec car? It seems quite a drastic decision to go back to the start of the season.

    GS: Sometimes only drastic decisions work, in my opinion. At some stage, if you continue to discuss, back and forward the same thing over and over again, that means you don’t know what you’re doing, in my opinion. So you need to prove it. It’s drastic, and its very unusual, but sometimes you have to look outside of the box to know what to do to get an understanding, Yeah, he’s again in the Melbourne-spec car because in Silverstone we didn’t get enough data because of the reason you said before, so our aim is now to just understand what we have to do the second half of the season, nothing else. That is our task here and in Hungary.

    Q: Mario, thanks for waiting, 2020 tyre testing is ongoing, the latest test taking place after the British Grand Prix. How’s it going and what are you learning?

    Mario ISOLA: It’s going well. We are testing different constructions, different compounds. We want to change the product for next year in the direction that was highlighted by the teams, by my friend Guenther here, with a wider working range…

    GS: I’m a consultant now.

    MI: He’s a consultant… And less overheating, that is, as I’ve said many times, is something that drivers don’t like. So we continue out work. It’s important that we clarify for the future what is required to the 18-inche tyre for 2021, because we will start soon to also test the 2021 tyres and we need to agree the targets for that in order to be all in the same direction, because we have only product.

    Well, F2 is testing the 18-inch tyre as well. How transferrable is the data you are getting from the F2 car to the F1?

    MI: We will collect important data from the test but the level of energy, the level of stress, the forces are that on the tyres in a Formula 1 car are not comparable to F2. But there are some good indications. We did two sessions; we are ready for the third one. We just finished one. We have a good indication from the new size but again, also the size will be different, because Formula 2 will continue with the 245 front and 325 rear, that is the old Formula 1 size. There are many differences but I believe that having one full year of racing with Formula 2 cars next will be quite important to understand how to develop for some elements the Formula 1 tyres.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport) Otmar, following on from the earlier questions, as the team expands and you are building a new factory, you will face some challenges – I don’t know, paying lots of money for land, zoning and planning permission. Where are you with the factory and when will it be online?

    OS: We should have all the permissions in place towards the latter half of this year, before Christmas. We are in the design phase now of the factory, trying to ‘right-size’ it for the future. There is also a little bit that we have to wait, to see what the 2021 regulations are going to be, which will have an impact on what we build. Probably before mid-year next year we will be well on the way with building the factory.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Toto, you said in Austria that ideally you would hope to have clarity about Valtteri’s future sooner than last year. Last year I believe the contract was announced on July 20th and now we are at the 26th, so what has changed and what is the reason for that delay?

    TW: You’re following those dates better than I do. I guess it’s pretty unusual to announced drivers in July anyway. If you want to take all the time you properly need to assess you can even drag it into the winter, like we have seen in some other teams and which was the standard in the past. For us it’s not only about making the right decision for next year, it’s about looking ahead. And this is why we agreed that we will take the decision in August going forwards. But that doesn’t necessarily mean we will announce it in August.

    Q: (Julien Billotte – Auto Hebdo) A question to Toto. At the start of this century we had a German driver winning everything and the interest for F1 in Germany was sky high. Now we have a German team winning everything and maybe the numbers are not as they used to be. How do you explain this difference? Is it just a case of fans being more interested in drivers than teams or do you think we have changed eras and people are no longer accepting periods of sustained domination like yours?

    TW: In my opinion there are two reasons. The only team that is having a full nation behind them is Ferrari. This is historic and it is something we would be aiming for in a best case. But it’s also a situation that has to grow over many years if not decades. You have to stay in the sport for a long time, grow your fanbase and then it becomes less of a factor who drives the car, as long as it is a Ferrari. So I would very much hope that we are building the foundations today that in 20 years from now we can achieve such a status. But of course you have to be realistic and people cheer for drivers – at least in Formula 1. We have had very successful German drivers in Formula 1 that have dominated their eras – Michael in the early 2000s and then Sebastian from 2010 to 2014 – and I think that comes in waves. You can see there was great interest in Formula 1 and Formula 1 drivers in Germany in these 10 or more years in a similar way that there was in tennis around Boris Becker and Steffi Graf, and the interest has faded away. And if you look at Spain, which is another market that gives you some kind of indication, it was not existent before Fernando and it was one of the best markets with the most vivid fans when Fernando could compete for race wins and championships, but once that was over it was one of our weakest markets, and there is not a lot of following. So I think combining those two factors, obviously continue to be in Formula 1, build your fan base as a team, and have a German driver that is a great personality that is fighting for the championship, these are ingredients to revive the German interest.

    Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines / Racefans.net) Guenther and Otmar, last year during the Abu Dhabi, I believe after that, you brought some form of action against Liberty regarding column one monies, that apparently Racing Point are qualifying for and that you felt you should. Could you give us the latest on this situation? Is it still ongoing? Has there been a resolution on it? Where do we stand? And Otmar, how does this affect your team’s plans going forward, given that there is potential $60 million involved?

    GS: There is nothing new to report. I think you asked the same question a few months ago, Dieter, and I didn’t report anything there. It’s an ongoing process and I have to leave it at that.

    Q: Otmar, anything to add?

    OS: No. I don’t think the case is against us, so nothing to add.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Toto, at the start of 2017 the battle between Sebastian and Lewis was billed as the most successful drivers of their generation going head-to-head. However, over the past two years we have seen that Lewis has been the convincing winner, and also during that time Sebastian has made a few uncharacteristic mistakes. Do you think that Lewis’ talent is the main reason that Sebastian has made those mistakes and that Lewis has managed to get under Sebastian’s skin and perhaps dented his confidence?

    TW: I think you need to be careful of trying to pinpoint it to one single factor. Undoubtedly, Lewis has a great ability and talent. But one of the strengths that I have been a witness to in those last years is how he continues to develop as a racing driver and how he continues to develop as a human being. He is very self-reflective. I’ve said it a few times, but he is the only driver I have heard coming in after a session and saying ‘you don’t need to look at my data because my driving was not good enough’, and that from a five-time world champion. And I think that self-reflection and that ability to be brutally honest with yourself has certainly made him one of the greats. I know Sebastian, but I have too little insight into how the team works and how Sebastian looks at things. What I can say is that the record speaks for him. He has won four championships and that doesn’t come from anywhere (sic) and I have no reason to believe that he is not going to recover from what looks like a moment of mistakes. But definitely both of these drivers have shaped a generation of drivers and it is excit5ing to see them fighting.

    Q: (David Joram – Der Tagesspiegel) To Franz and Toto: tomorrow we will see a small show of Mick Schumacher. What do you think about him and what do you think about his performances in this season?

    FT: I think Mick is showing a real good performance. Last year he won the Formula 3 European Championship. This year is the first year in Formula 2. He showed some very good races, in some other races he was involved in incidents, but it is a learning year. I expect that he will do another Formula 2 year. Tomorrow he is in the car that his father drove here and that is a very exciting moment for all the fans and also for Mick. I’m convinced that he will make his way into Formula 1.

    TW: Well, Franz knows everything about young drivers and there’s not a lot to add. Maybe from the personal side, he is a great young man with a fantastic character and personality, and a big name that sometimes can have a negative impact in Formula 1 because you are being put under pressure and he copes extremely well with that pressure and now we need to give him time to properly develop as a young man and as a racing driver and I have no doubt that we will see him in Formula 1.

    Q: (Stefan Ehlen – Motorsport Total.com) It seems unlikely that the German GP is returning next year. How much does Formula One need a race in Germany and which track would you prefer: Nürburgring or Hockenheim or even do the Nordschleife?

    MI: Nordschleife is a bit aggressive choice I believe. For us, Germany is a very important market, very important car manufacturers are based here so hopefully they will find a solution for Germany. Hockenheim or Nürburgring? I don’t have a strong preference on the two circuits. One or the other is OK, but not the Nordschleife.

    GS: I think there should be a race in Germany, it’s a big car manufacturing country and if you don’t come here it’s quite disappointing but it needs work financially like everything in the world, there needs to be some finances but I think we can put a pledge into Toto to help out here if we get a race in Germany. You know we blame it on him if there is no German race here. Hopefully we can get… it’s not off the calendar yet but it looks like it’s not going to happen but sure it would be great to have a race here. Nürburgring or here? I don’t really… I think there should be a race in Germany.

    TW: Unusually well said from Guenther! Yeah, there should be a race in Germany. Germany is a historic venue. Both of these tracks have historic context. If we could race on the Nordschleife, that would be great, the drivers would love it but I don’t think it’s technically feasible any more. The track doesn’t allow these kind of speeds but there is a financial reality. In Formula One, the promoters have the duty or FOM has the duty to bring in the best deals and balance with the historic relevance and we are dependent on the income as well and that financial reality is just a fact and they need to make the right choices. If we could vote for a race in Germany we would but we respect the authority of Formula One to chose the right tracks. I like both to be honest, also very traditional and great racing tracks for drivers.

    FT: There’s not so much to add. It would be a shame if you do not come back to Germany. Germany should have a Grand Prix being so much involved in the automotive industry but as it looks like the ingredients are not coming together, neither at the Nürburgring or here at the Hockenheimring and therefore drastic end could be that we are not racing any more with Formula One here in Germany.

    OZ: With a name like Otmar Szafnauer I feel a certain duty to support the German Grand Prix so it would be a shame if we don’t come back here. We enjoy coming, it’s great racing and massive fan base too with everything that happens at the Nürburgring and DTM and Formula One. I think we should continue to come. Nürburgring or Hockenheim? Both are good.

    Q: (Luke Smith – Crash.net) Toto, could we get an update on Esteban Ocon’s plans for next year? Where does he fit into your considerations for Mercedes in 2020? Are you starting to sound out other F1 teams about a seat for the future and would you consider releasing him as a last resort if you’re unable to land him an F1 seat for next year?

    TW: We’re very happy with the development of Esteban and equally George. They are our most senior junior drivers and the aim is to make them ready for a seat in a Mercedes. And as we all know, it was an unfortunate situation last year that Esteban fell between the chairs. He could have chosen between two seats and in the end nothing came out so from our perspective everybody knows about his driving capabilities. For Mercedes, for ourselves, Valtteri is showing some very strong performances and merits the seat but equally Esteban has shown that in the past and is a great addition to the team. He contributes a lot behind closed doors. He drives the sim overnight on race weekends, comes in here on Saturday and gives us input and he’s a great kid overall. Putting a Mercedes young driver in the car would be interesting as well. Having said that, there is interest for Esteban among other teams and we need to carefully make a decision for ourselves and with the other interested parties, not only for our own benefit but also for Esteban’s benefit. And if it would mean that we are taking a decision in favour of Valtteri, it clearly also means that somebody else would continue to develop him and would mean that we would lose our hand for a year or two or more on Esteban and these are the consequences of that decision.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Toto, if you could pick anyone you want from the current drivers, what would be your dream team?

    TW: Good question, Heikki. I think overall it’s an exciting period because we have strong quality within the Formula One grid and you can say that certainly the most experienced – Lewis and Sebastian – merit their place in Formula One. Lewis is the one to beat, he’s setting the benchmark. Then you have exciting drivers like Max who is coming up, who has shown great ability and has won races and no doubt about his talent. And then there a group of drivers that have shown that they are capable of winning races if they are put in the right car, be it Daniel or Valtteri, who I’m not forgetting anybody, but definitely very strong. And then the fourth group are the exciting young men that are coming up and this is a big group that have definitely come into Formula One on merit and it is Esteban and George, Lando, Lance has won the F3 European championship, Albon is a great surprise and is doing well, so I think these will be the future superstars in Formula One and seeing that panning out between the ones that have been here for a while and these new kids coming up is making Formula One very interesting. So to come back to your question: I have definitely a dream team that I have in my mind but I can’t tell you!

    Q: How about the other team principals; have you got a dream team Guenther?

    GS: No. After Toto has spoken I just cannot repeat what he said in five minutes, not giving an answer. I’m quicker, I don’t know there’s a lot… I have my dream team but I don’t want to tell you who it is and I cannot get them anyway so why I would I even dream about it? It’s just Toto who can get them because he has got the best car. My dream team is a lot smaller than his one but I still cannot tell you.

    FT: Happy with the drivers, no dream.

    OZ: It’s nice to dream but we were realistic and we’re happy with the two we have.

    Q: (Vall Klausman – Racing Line, Hungary) Otmar, are you happy with the coming budget cap, do you need it or do you wish to have other support regulation side to close the gap to the top teams?

    OZ: I think the budget cap’s needed and yes, we’re happy that it’s coming. Is the budget cap low enough? We were hoping that it would be lower but I do have sympathy and understanding for some of the teams that will have to make internal cuts because that’s not easy so as a first step we welcome it. We, as a team, will not be butting up to that budget cap so we will still be below it but I think it’s the right direction for Formula One.

    Q: Toto, can we get your thoughts on the budget cap?

    TW: I think the budget cap is important because it prevents the big three teams to continuously escalate the costs just to beat each other and it puts a ceiling on that and that is good. It certainly will help to narrow the gap between the smaller teams and the big ones, simply because we will not be able to escalate it any more. Having said that, it’s still above what the small teams spend so for me personally it’s a breakthrough that we actually have accepted the concept of a cost cap for years to come and then one step at a time; the next step could be even maybe lowering the cap from where we are now or finding different tools to stop the spending war that has happened over the last 20/30 years in Formula One.

    Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – Motorsport Total.com) I see how the Nordschleife – as good as it would be – is a long shot probably to realise but in terms of Liberty seeking unique event character race tracks, do you think it was a mistake that Formula One got rid of the old Hockenheimring layout?

    OZ: The Nordschleife is probably a step too far – you’re right – and it’s hard to know whether this is better or that’s better because it’s never a controlled experiment. I’m glad we’re here, we like the venue here as is and I think it’s good for the fans.

    FT: I think Nordschleife is not for Formula One any more, for the current Formula One cars, safe enough as we all know and therefore they changed the track over there at the Nürburgring and I think that the decision was absolutely right.

    TW: Well we tend to be a little bit nostalgic about the old tracks and as Franz and Otmar have said, Nürburgring Nordschleife is not feasible any more, the cars would go too fast and would be too dangerous. I liked the old Hockenheim layout and slipstream battles into the forest but it is what it is. The track is great, the infrastructure is great that we have today and that’s why it makes no sense to dream about the past.

    GS: Not a lot more to be said. I don’t know why they got rid of the old Hockenheim, I don’t remember why that was but this is a great venue and the only thing is that they shouldn’t dream about the old one, we should try to deal with the present to get the race here, whatever it is, that’s my opinion on Hockenheim, we should have a race here or at the Nürburgring in Germany.

    Ends

  • Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas visit Mercedes-Benz factory

    Workers at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen factory got a big surprise when the two Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport drivers, Lewis Hamilton, and Valtteri Bottas, made a quick pit stop on Wednesday to say ‘hello’ to the Sindelfingen workforce on their way to the Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Großer Preis von Deutschland taking place this weekend at the Hockenheimring.

    Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development with responsibility for global purchasing at Mercedes-Benz Cars: “I’m very pleased that Lewis and Valtteri were able to meet the Sindelfingen crew, as we are ‘One team’. Collaboration, team spirit, and motivation are crucial in the race track if you want to win. For us, too, they are key factors to our success in R&D.”

    “One brand, one team” – is the motto that unites Mercedes-AMG Petronas crew both on and off the race track with Mercedes-Benz car workers in the factory and in all other areas: #OneTeam #Drivenbyeachother.

    Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board at Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain Management: “As in Formula One, team spirit is a key factor to success in Mercedes-Benz Cars’ global production network. In order to achieve success, we depend on people who can produce top-quality Mercedes-Benz vehicles for our customers while demonstrating flexibility and passion. We wish Lewis and Valtteri every success for this weekend’s race at the Hockenheimring.”

    Lewis and Valtteri met a lot of colleagues from the Mercedes family, including workers on the S-Class production line. They answered questions, signed autographs and took photos with their colleagues.

    Michael Bauer, Head of Production at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant and factory manager: “In the run-up to the holidays, this surprise visit by our Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas is meant as a special ‘thank you’ to the staff at the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen plant. Our team have done a terrific job during the past six months, delivering exemplary team performance.”

    As they met their colleagues, Lewis and Valtteri also talked about purpose – the “why” of a company and why team spirit determines success.

    Lewis Hamilton: “Living with purpose means for me to be innovative, to try new ways and sometimes to take risks. It’s all about team spirit. When I cross the finish line, I feel like I’m being driven by the whole team.”

    Valtteri Bottas: “When you live your purpose and are passionate about it, you stay one step ahead. And if you can inspire your team with the idea of purpose, then it develops the energy of its own.”

    The two Formula One drivers were also introduced to the team led by Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Daimler AG’s design facility and learned about some of the latest developments at design HQ.

    About the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen factory 

    The Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen factory is the center of excellence for premium, luxury passenger cars and is the lead plant for the production of both the S and E-Class series. The GLC and EQ electric vehicles that belong to this new product and technology brand will also be produced at the factory in the future. Together with Mercedes-Benz Cars central production facility, the plant has more than 25,000 staff. Mercedes-Benz manufactures the E-Class (saloons and estates), the CLS, the S-Class (saloon, coupé, and convertible), the Mercedes Maybach, the Mercedes-AMG GT range and the GLA there. At the Mercedes-Benz Sindelfingen Customer Centre, some 250 vehicles are handed over to customers every day. Sindelfingen is also home to the group’s R&D department which is the driving force behind Daimler’s technological future and is regarded as a guarantor for high-quality Mercedes-Benz cars. Its aim is to produce innovative, ground-breaking products while developing highly efficient production processes. In close partnership with all other areas of the business, its employees are committed to designing components that incorporate ideas informed by research and advanced development processes.

  • I am grateful to all the fans and super proud of the team, says Hamilton

    I am grateful to all the fans and super proud of the team, says Hamilton

    SIlverstone, 14 July 2019: The following top-3 drivers attended the FIA post-race press conference on Sunday: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes),  Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

    Lewis Hamilton (centre) with teammate Valtteri Bottas, 2nd (left) and Charles Leclerc, 3rd, of Ferrari at the Sunday Press Conference. An FIA image

    The track interviews were conducted by former British F1 driver Jenson Button. 
    Transcript:
    Q: Lewis, congratulations, there must be so much emotion in there?
    Lewis HAMILTON: Honestly… I’m a bit out of breath! I cannot tell you how proud I am to be here today in front of my home crowd. I’ve got my whole family here, my team. So many British flags out there; I could see them lap after lap. Every year I’ve been coming and I’ve seen it and noticed it and appreciated it. You would think you would get used to something like that but I’ll tell you, it feels like the first time. And I’m just forever grateful for everyone who has come out and spent their whole weekend here. I really hope that you enjoyed the day and God bless you.

    Q: I think everyone did. It was an epic race. One of the best British Grands Prix I’ve seen. Today you also made history – six-time winner of the British Grand Prix. 
    LH: Jeez. I couldn’t have done it without these guys. I couldn’t have done it without my team. They’re all around here. And the guys back at the factory. Everyone back of the factory and their wives and their kids who are supportive through the whole year of their time away and how dedicated they are to their jobs, so when I tell people thank you to the team there are nearly 2,000 in my team that make this possible. I’m just a chink in that chain. I value them massively and I’m super proud to be a part of this.

    Q: Congratulations Lewis, good job. Valtteri, it’s a tough one right? After such a good start, such a good fight with Lewis – he put a good move on you, but to get him back into Copse was a great move. It looked like you had it under control but you were hurt by the safety car.
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I don’t really know what to say. Congrats to Lewis, massive support for him over here. I stopped first and I was controlling the pit stop gap, so I was still effectively leading the race until there was a safety car and Lewis got a free stop there and he got me there. I also went to the mediums so it meant I had to stop at the end again, so that was pretty much it. So not really my day, but at least the pace was good and it felt good out there.

    Q: Yeah, I think there are still a lot of positives to take from today. To take get that pole position around here at Silverstone, a place that is obviously very special to Lewis. And that fight back for me was great to see. Do you take a lot of positives from here moving on?
    VB: For sure there are positives. Yesterday I was the quickest on track and that was good and I think the race pace was good today and we had a good fight. I’ll keep fighting, it’s not over yet, so…

    Q: Well done. Charles, congratulations, you were the driver the day and I think everyone agrees you were the driver of the day. That was a fantastic race. It was great to see the battle between Max Verstappen and yourself, and it’s the new generation of Formula One. How was the race for you today? 
    Charles LECLERC: It’s probably the race I enjoyed the most in my Formula One career. Great to finish third, but today was a very difficult day. The first two stints we weren’t where we wanted to be. I think on the hards we were very strong. But unfortunately with the safety car we lost a little bit of positions, which was not great for us. But yeah, very happy to finish third and extremely happy for the battle we have had on track.

    Q: Yeah, as you said, you went for a different strategy it seemed, starting on the soft tyre. It didn’t really work for in the first stint. But as you said, with the safety car, your fight back and your move on Pierre Gasly was also epic – you must take a lot of positives from today’s race, gaining confidence all the time? 
    CL: yeah, definitely. I think the last race was a bit of an eye-opener for me, really showing how far we could go. I think it’s great for Formula One to just fight on the limit that way and really happy that this race has gone like this.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, many congratulations, sensational pace from you all afternoon, culminating in that fastest lap on the final lap of the race. You were undoubtedly helped by the safety car but you had great pace today.
    LH: This is one of the best days I can remember having. I was just thinking downstairs, I remember my first win herein 2008 and the feeling that I had coming out of Brooklands and going down the straight towards, at the time, the start-finish line and seeing the crowd, it felt so reminiscent of that today and just the excitement and happiness and joy that I felt was exactly the same as then. The reason I say that is that I’ve done so many races, you know, you think you would get used to it, or that the feeling would numb down, but it felt just as amazing as the first win that I had. So I’m really, really grateful to all those people that have helped me achieve this today. I’ve got this incredible team, There are almost 2,000 people, I always mention, in our team and we got to see them yesterday at a family fin fair kind of event that they do and they will never truly know just how grateful I am but it’s really amazing to be part of this team and to be breaking down walls and records and pushing the limits and boundaries every weekend. You never know if you are really going to be able to deliver a day like today but me and Valtteri had such a good fight. I got him at Turn 7 and then he was on the inside but when we pulled out of the corner I couldn’t really see where he was, he was in my blind spot. He wasn’t in my mirror but I couldn’t see him next to me either, so I couldn’t close the door, just in case he was there and he happens to be there obviously. He drove sensationally well there. So I was, ‘OK, I’ve got to back off, wait until he stops and then nail it after that’. I was going to do a few more laps and hopefully do like an undercut and catch him up etc but the safety car came out and it was perfect timing.

    Q: Congratulations. Valtteri, tough day for you, second at Silverstone for you for the thirds time now. The safety car came out at just the wrong time. Was the plan always to make two stops?
    VB: Yeah, it was maybe not my luckiest day, but that’s life. Obviously Lewis drove well, he’s got massive support here, so congrats for the win. But obviously we had good racing at the beginning and I really enjoyed it, that’s why we are here, to race hard and fair. I’m sure Toto didn’t maybe enjoy it as much as we did but it doesn’t matter. After my first stop I felt like it was under control. I was following the gap closely, the pit stop gap I had to Lewis, and I was just waiting for him to stop and obviously the safety car got him ahead of me at that point. I was stuck into a two-stop at that stage, because we stopped for the medium again from medium tyres so it meant anyways I had to stop in the end, which was a mistake from our side. Two stop we thought would be by far the fastest but actually one stop was possible as well. Not quite ideal but one of these days… At least it felt like the pace was good today and yesterday so there are positives to take. Also, really, really happy for us as a team, getting maximum points and it’s pretty impressive the gap to the teams behind now. So it makes me very, very proud of us. In any case, I’m still super-hungry for the win so looking forward to doing it again in two weeks.

    Q: Well done Valtteri, thanks. A great dice between you and Lewis. And another many who was involved in great dices today was Charles. That battle between you and Max in particular, reminiscent of your karting days. Was it clean, were you happy with the way you fought?
    CL: Very happy. That was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had in my Formula One career. Well, it’s a short career, only one year and a half, but it was definitely very, very fun from inside the car. I think that Austria was quite an eye-opener for me to understand how far we could go and what was accepted and I’m very happy at the end to race like this. I think every driver wants to race hard and that’s what we did during most of the race. It was very, very fun, always borderline, but I think always in the rules and very, very enjoyable from the car.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Congratulations, Lewis, on your victory. I know you aren’t one for records but obviously this quite a big one – you’ve won the British Grand Prix six times, more than any other driver in the history of the sport. It’s your home race, a race that’s been on the calendar for 70 years and now you hold that record. How special and amazing does that feel for you? 
    LH: Yeah, it feels incredible. I’ve not ever been one to look at statistics. I really take it one race at a time and I like the approach with that. I came here this weekend and I heard people talking about the amount of qualifying poles I’ve had here but I don’t really take any notice of it, I’m just trying to do the best I can and seeing if I can achieve it, but it’s great to be able to have the opportunity to shoot for it. Unless I stop and think about how many wins I have, I didn’t know if it was four or five or whatever it was here. To then hear that I have six and to be up there with the greats. I remember growing up watching this sport and watching a lot of the greats and meeting a lot of the greats and even working with one of the greats and to be up there with them is one of the coolest things.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Lewis, yesterday you faced questions about the nature of your Britishness and today after the win you immediately picked up the Union flag and took it one the podium. You’re obviously very proud. Did it mean much more to you to do that at this race? 
    LH: To win here at this race?
    Q: To wave the flag at this race.
    LH: Yeah, this is the greatest single moment of any athlete in the world – to raise their flag as the number one or with the gold or whatever it may be in their home country. It’s one of the single most incredible feelings and special moments an athlete can have. I come here and I’ve got this incredible support. They always talk about how much does it lift you up and it’s a huge amount of energy but a lot of weight comes with that, a lot of responsibility. People save up so much money to come to this grand prix. Everybody is buying merchandise and flags and you just want to deliver for them so much. Not only for yourself and your own ability, you know you can do it, but for your team. I’ve got like 40 family members here – from my mum’s side, from my dad’s side, a bunch of them from the Caribbean. So I just really, really wanted to deliver. And when you achieve something like today and you see all those British flags, I was looking the whole time for a flag, ‘someone give me a flag’, because one day I’m going to be able to look back and I’ll have that picture of me in the car with that flag and I’ll always be able to smile until my dying day.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Charles, how difficult was it to defend against Max, and what is your favourite move during that ten-lap battle?
    CL: Very difficult. I think we have got some work to do on our race pace and try to keep these tyres as good as Mercedes and Red Bull are doing. I think we are a little bit… struggling on that. The best move was probably the one on Max on the outside in Copse? I think he just passed me and I passed him back around the outside of Copse. That was definitely one of the most exciting of the race. Of my race.

    Q: (Luis Vasconcelos – Formula Press) For Lewis and Valtteri. Was it always planned that you’d go on split strategies, or that the second car would go to a different strategy. And if it wasn’t, what was your reaction when you realised that was happening. 
    LH: We have the meetings in the morning and they do thousands of simulations of the different strategies. So we’re shown a handful of them: maybe ten different strategies that could happen if we lose position; if we hold position; if we switch positions; all these different things. There was… it’s very difficult for a team – because we are a team – but then individually we want to win. So the team has to do the best and most balance approach for both of us. Most of the simulations come out with ultimately the first car… if you do a good enough job in qualifying, the first car generally gets priority etcetera and it gets quite hard to overtop that, unless you do it on track, or undercut and those kind of things. We had discussed the opportunity of… I think the fastest way to the end of the race was Medium-Medium-Hard, I believe – but there were alternative strategies. That was something I looked into, and I had already decided at the beginning of the race that I was going to take the medium (sic), in the middle stint and extend my first stint to 20 or 21 – whatever it was. Did I know that we were going to stay on the one-stop? No. But, we have to be strategists, almost, a little bit inside ourselves, and it something we’re constantly working on, trying to finesse, because it’s always different. There’s always new figures that have to be put in, from each race, and no-one ever gets it perfect – but the cool thing is that it enabled us to race today. What they probably didn’t expect is that we were going to push so much at the beginning. I think we were expected to save our tyres and stuff – but we were racing pretty hard – which is how racing should be, y’know? So, I’m happy we were able to do that today?

    Valtteri, your thoughts on strategy?
    VB: Yes, so definitely there was an idea to split the cars. One of us going for the Hard for the second stint but still the idea was for that car to do Medium-Hard-Medium or Medium-Hard-Soft. So one stop honestly was out of the question today, and was a mistake from our side. It was by far the quickest strategy today for our car – the Medium-Hard – we thought it would be much slower so, for sure, a learning point for us.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Maybe F1 isn’t broke after all. We’ve had two good tracks, two good races. Is it the case that we need to tweak these Mickey Mouse tracks a little bit and just get some more excitement back in?
    CL: Yeah! Silverstone and Austria, I think, are two good tracks I think to overtake on and I think it’s good for the show. The battle was quite good from third place onwards but the Mercedes are still very, very quick. So, if we can all close the gaps to them, will be even more exciting – but definitely the track has an important role in overtaking and the last two tracks are good examples. So, if we can have more of them on the calendar I think it would be a good thing for F1.
    LH: Probably in the history of the sport, the drivers have never been a part of the decision-making in terms of advising on tracks. We know better than anybody which track we can overtake and which track we can’t. I don’t know who does the selection, and I know it’s not that they always have a ton of tracks in every country that are possible to race a grand prix – but there are ones that they’re selecting for the future that we’re going to have not such great racing, the ones that are on the calendar that aren’t great. People always ask me which are my favourite tracks and this is one of them because you can follow. It’s just spectacular with the high speed. Austin, Texas is built like that, as a new circuit. But then we’ve got places where you just can’t follow and its like a train. And so, what would you prefer? Having a race in those countries just for the sake of having a race – or do you want a great race like this? If so, then we need to look at the different options in the different countries. I think the really cool track they used to have in Hockenheim – and it still is awesome – but the big, long one they used to have as quite unique. There was always good racing there but they changed it. Austria was great but I think the old track was even better from what I was told by Niki. So, that’s something, hopefully the GPDA can be part of in this next step in 2021 rules. We can be a part of advising on that. We’re there to help make the sport better. If they’re open to… we’re happy having the grands prix in these different countries but if they’re open to the idea of changing or adapting some of the circuits or using a different circuit in the countries, then we should look into that.
    Valtteri?
    VB: I agree completely. You know definitely it’s all about selection of the tracks. I’m sure many of the track selections for the calendar, it’s just pure political reasons and money, rather than actually focusing on whether it’s good for racing or not. From our side, it’s not that nice. We love racing. Everyone loves good racing, so that’s how it should be. And, like Lewis said, as a GPDA, we’re very keen to give our input because we’re in the car. We know exactly which type of tracks we need to have good racing. We have the feeling. So we are very, very happy to help. And obviously, big plans with new cars, everything for 2021, so hopefully it is going into a better direction, so fingers crossed.

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) First of all, congratulations Lewis, question for you. You could have had a free pit stop in the end to go on the softer tyres as well. You knew Valtteri was going for the fastest lap on the soft tyre at the end. Why didn’t you choose the extra stop. Were you so confident you have the extra pace in the old hard tyres in the end?
    LH: No, it was really… why take the risk? In my opinion. Yes, I had a pit stop window – but there’s the entry of the pit lane, there’s the stop, there’s the extra pressure on the mechanics to do the pit stop – and it’s not that I doubt them all but you just give chance to it. I’d saved enough in the tyres. I felt good with… the Hard tyre was really great, it could keep going. So it’s obviously a very, very solid tyre. I did have some blistering, so I was kind of conflicted. I was like ‘should I stop?’ I think it would have brought us back closer. I was just like, ‘there’s seven laps left.’ It’s very, very hard to catch a 21-second delta at the pace I can still do. So I decided to… it’s rare that I go up against the team but I decided today that that was the best thing for me. I don’t think… we thought that a two-stop was the best thing and it just worked out today that I was able to save the tyres, meant that we could do a one. My long run on Friday was one of the best long runs that I’ve done, and everyone else was running out of tyres except for me. So, tried to utilise that today and it worked.

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Lewis, you spoke about the battle with Valtteri, could you just talk about the importance of the trust you’ve built up with your team-mate and being able to enter that wheel-to-wheel battle knowing it’s going to be a hard but clean and fun battle?
    LH: Yeah, honestly I think… look it’s no secret that Valtteri wants to beat me and I want to beat him and that fighting spirit is stronger than anything, individually for all of us. I think it’s so vital though, to have a respect. I know how hard is it to get a pole here. He did a fantastic job yesterday I know how hard it is to wake up and deliver every weekend, as do these other drivers, so the respect is there between us. I think we want to race wheel-to-wheel and tough. When you’re racing with a team-mate it’s on a different level. If I were racing a Ferrari, you take more risks. Still respectful, but you can lean on them a bit more but as team-mates, we sit down at the beginning of the race, we talk about Turn One and how we’re going to respect each other, make sure we don’t collide, and even when I overtook him and he was coming back, I could have swept across the front and blocked him  – but that’s not the right thing to do. Ultimately it enabled him to get back past – but that’s racing. It was really fair, and it was great. Honestly I was hoping… I was looking forward to maybe some racing later. I was extending that first stint hoping that I’d come out… he was doing some good times so the gap was growing, in terms of me coming out maybe one second, one-and-a-half seconds to two seconds , and I was trying to keep it as little as possible before I finally stopped so that, so that when I came out, I had the advantage on a new tyre and could finally catch him up and try to get past – but the Safety Car came out and kind of intervened. But that was awesome.

    Valtteri, anything you’d like to add about your trust, your battle with Lewis. 
    VB: I think that’s what we’ve both said, that’s how it is and yeah, it’s all good fun.

    Q: (Keith Collantine – Racefans.net) Lewis, following your comments a while ago about wanting to reduce the weight of Formula One cars, FIA president Jean Todt has suggested that one way of doing this would be re-introduce refuelling in the races and some other suggestions he’s made for increasing the unpredictability of races including getting rid of what he calls driver aids, such as your anti-stall devices, reducing the amount of telemetry on the cars and getting rid of the virtual garages that teams use to conference back with the team back at base. What do you think about any of those suggested changes, and also Valtteri and Charles, if you have any thoughts on those? 
    LH: Don’t necessarily think that’s going to make a big difference to racing. Do you think it will? I don’t think many of those are going to do much different except for having a lighter car. They’re constantly making these cars heavier and heavier and heavier every year and we’re going faster and we have more downforce and the tyres… it’s really hard for Pirelli to develop a tyre with such limited testing that can sustain that weight etc etc and then the thermal deg, all these different things, it’s like a domino effect so with lighter car, we could fight harder. If you look at the end of the race, the tyres that we have at the end of the race, we can push more, we can race more at the end with so much of a drop-off like today and that’s because the car was lighter on the lighter fuel, so that might not be such a bad thing for us in the future but there’s a bunch of other elements that is not in that list… I don’t know, off the top of my head but as the GPDA we mentioned it.
    VB: As long as the cars are lighter it’s always going to be better for everything, for racing, tyres, everything so whatever can be done for the weight is always going to be a bonus and we’re going to enjoy it more, everyone’s going to enjoy it more.
    CL: Well, I don’t know, I’ve never raced with refuelling but it was definitely one cool thing to see, so if it’s back in Formula One why not? I will be happy to try. I think the main problem is still that the cars are probably too heavy so these two things for me are separate things but refuelling can be a good idea. Then, to limit the amount of informations to the box or to stop… did you say stop completely the telemetry from the garage or reduce? Yeah. I think we are quite limited in that the cars are so complex now that we also need to make them run, having the help of the engineers, in the background. Yeah. maybe reducing some informations but I think we are limited into that, just by the complexity of the cars now. That’s it.
    LH: The cars don’t need to be 730 kilos, they just don’t need to be that heavy. They used to be 600 or something was it, years and years ago. I spoke to my engineers and they said if they change the rules we can make it that weight. We just have to take some things off the car but we can make it lighter. Performance items will come off but they can do it.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio –  liviooricchiof1.com) Valtteri, on lap 19, Lewis had only 17.4s advantage over you and now he would stop in 21 laps, so he probably would come back to the track with five/six seconds behind you. Can you make a comment? And Lewis, at the end of the race, you had 21s advantage to Bottas, 33 laps with hard tyres and the last lap you set the fastest lap of the race. Your self-confidence would be in the clouds, right? 
    VB: I’m not quite sure it was ever going to be five second gap. I think it was about two seconds before the safety car, the pit stop gap, so I was basically controlling it because I knew Lewis would have a tyre advantage on the second stint, because I stopped earlier, to also cover some cars behind and he was continuing, so at the end of the second stint he was going to great opportunity, so I tried to save the tyres, not to push flat out in the beginning and just to be sure that I’m going to be ahead when he stops. And obviously with the safety car he managed to jump ahead so we missed the fight later on.
    LH: None of us had driven… only a few teams had driven he hard tyre this weekend. We only had one hard each but obviously the medium that we started on was quite durable for us. I know other teams struggled more and others less but with this first stint was really really mega between us. There was only 0.9s between or one second between us for most of it and then he pitted… I wasn’t planning to stop on lap 21, I was trying to see how far I could go, I was pushing it as far as I could but I had to try and keep up the pace because he had new tyres and he was doing generally better times but the gap went from 0.7s to a second, to 1.5s. He was out of my window, or in my window, yeah, in my window of pit stop and then it was getting to two seconds so I was getting very close to having to stop anyways but then the safety car came out. It was around two seconds, so if I would come out I would have been two seconds behind and he would five or six lap older tyres. But you could see the  pace he had when we restarted. He had really great pace on that tyre, so it wouldn’t have been easy. The harder tyre is slightly slower than the medium tyre so it would have been a difficult race between us but not an impossible one but the thing is, he would have then had to stop again and I knew I wouldn’t have to stop. I generally had a feeling that I wouldn’t have to stop.
    The flying lap at the end? I didn’t know what time I could do to be honest but I looked after the tyres and they felt pretty good, even though I had a bit of a vibration on the right front. You know, we have this fastest lap thing… I can’t say that I love it or anything like that but it’s still fun to push. As you go through the race, you have to turn down your engine to save fuel and all these kind of things so that last lap, everyone’s kind of pushing at one point and I heard of the time that he had one and I thought Jeez, I don’t know if I will be able to get to that and then I pushed for that lap… It was like the qualifying lap that I should have done yesterday generally poorly. It was awesome. There’s no better way to finish a race with just like on the edge of your seat, the car moving and it was definitely the best last lap that I’ve ever had.

    Q: (Stephen Camp – Motorsport Monday, Motorsport Week.com) To both Mercedes drivers: Lewis, you set the fastest lap at the end of the race. It now means that you leave here with 39 points so it’s one of the biggest leads you’ve ever had at this point of the season so was that one of the reasons behind that too, put the hurt on Valtteri and make sure that you have a big hand on this championship already. And to Valtteri, how does it feel that Lewis was able to do that on 30-lap old hard tyres and you were still on soft tyres? I’m not sure of the life that you had one them but they must have still had the pace to beat the lap that Lewis had done. 
    LH: Ultimately, there’s nothing personal between us, you know. Coming to this weekend, you are trying to apply the pressure and come out on top. I didn’t come to this weekend with the idea that I need to extend or anything like that. I need to work my way towards trying to win, how do I do that, and every weekend it’s slightly different but this has been the strongest year that I’ve – to this point in the first ten races – that I can remember ever having. When we were in Barcelona, when we were driving that car, these guys were doing some really serious laps and we couldn’t do that and we were super nervous and I think if we had left Barcelona without discovering some ultimate changes that we ended up making, we probably wouldn’t be where we are right now but still, the journey’s been great and we’re going to go from strength to strength. We’ve got improvements coming, we’re understanding the car a lot, massive download and the technical direction is just… the advancements that this sport makes and that we make as a team – each team makes – is amazing, so I’m excited to see the upgrades that other teams have and the improvements for example that Ferrari make of their use of tyres, the improvements we make to downforce, all these different things, it’s going to be different.
    VB: Yes, so I tried to go for the lap with the soft tyre, obviously had more fuel than Lewis at that point but yeah, surprised by the pace on the hards and that shows Lewis managed the hard tyres very well all through the stint, so the wear was quite low so it was possible. From our numbers the hard tyre actually seemed pretty solid. No feelings, really. It was a quicker lap time and that’s it.

    Q: (Simon Abberley – Nevis Radio) Charles, previous races your results have been a lot more consistent in comparison to Seb’s results. Today saw another mistake from Seb with this incident with Verstappen. There’s only three points between you now in the championship. In the coming races, do you think the focus might shift from previous races where you’ve had to give way to him? 
    CL: Well, I don’t know. I think the team is always acting for the benefit of the team and that’s the way I felt from the beginning of the season. Sometimes obviously, one driver was advantaged, the other one was advantaged at another race. There have been more situations from the beginning of the year where he had to benefit from something but I think the team is always looking at the benefits of the whole team and that’s how it will work for the rest of the season.

    Ends

  • Lewis Hamilton takes record 6th British GP win

    Lewis Hamilton takes record 6th British GP win

    Hamilton celebrates after winning the 2019 British Grand Prix, on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas photo by Steve Etherington

    Silverstone, 14 July 2019: Lewis Hamilton benefited from a mid-race safety car period to overhaul team-mate and early race leader Valtteri Bottas to claim a record sixth British Grand Prix victory at the end of a race that further back was characterised by a race-long duel between Ferrari and Red Bull. The 10th round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday saw another Mercedes 1-2.

    Hamilton’s eclipse of the benchmark he shared with Jim Clark and Alain Prost hung on a twist of fate on lap 19.

    After pressuring pole sitter Bottas after the start, Hamilton briefly got past his team-mate. Bottas though responded and re-took first place with a great move past the champion at Copse.

    Bottas then exerted control over the pair’s first stint. The Finn pitted from the lead on lap 16, taking on another set of medium tyres, and soon after the complexion of the race changed utterly.

    Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi lost control of his car on entry to Club corner and ended up beached close to the apron of the gravel trap. The incident brought out the safety car and Hamilton approaching the final corners immediately swing towards the pit lane. The rapid reaction and a set of hard tyres put the Briton out into a lead he would hold until the flag.

    Bottas, meanwhile, was now locked into a two-stop race and would need to pit again. And armed with good pace and thanks to the fireworks happening behind, the Finn was comfortably able to pit again on lap 45 for soft tyre and emerge in second.

    While Hamilton’s 80thcareer win, his record sixth at Silvertrone and Mercedes’ seventh one-two finish of the year will occupy the headlines, the action-packed battle for the final podium place between Ferrari and Red Bull was just a thrilling for the huge crowd.

    The contest went right to the race start. When the lights went out Ferrari’s

    Charles Leclerc held third and ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Behind them Pierre Gasly, starting in fifth place, made a good getaway, but Sebastian Vettel’s start was better and the Ferrari managed to get past the Red Bull on the run to Turn 1.

    Verstappen pushed hard to get past Leclerc but the Ferrari driver resisted well and he eventually forced an error from the Dutchman that dropped him back towards Vettel. That scrap, though, allowed Gasly to close up to Vettel and the Frenchman pounced on lap 12, ambushing the German down the inside of Turn 3 to take P5. His grip on the position was brief, however. At the end of the lap Gasly pitted for hard tyres and he rejoined the action in P10.

    On the following lap Versteppen followed suit, immediately behind Leclerc. The pit stop battle was won by Red Bull and the Dutchman swung out into the pit lane alongside the Ferrari. They stayed side by side almost to the exit but eventually Leclerc, marginally behind, gave way and Verstappen was elevated to fourth.

    Again, though, his advantage was short-lived. On cold tyres Verstappen struggled for grip and he ran wide. Leclerc swept past to retake P3. What followed was an epic battle for the position, with both drivers racing on the limit for several wheel-banging laps that saw Verstappen only just hang onto the position.

    However, the battle was defused when Giovinazzi beached his car and the SC period sparked a flurry of pit stops. Hamilton was first in for hard tyres, a move that handed him the lead ahead of Bottas who didn’t stop. Vettel was next in for the same compound and Max then followed suit.

    Leclerc was briefly left on track and when Ferrari eventually pitted him for hard tyres he dropped to P6 behind Verstappen and Gasly, with the top three positions now occupied by Hamilton, Bottas and Vettel.

    When the race went green again the combat between Verstappen and Leclerc resumed once more. This time it was Leclerc on the offensive and with Verstappen again struggling for grip on the hard tyres, the Ferrari driver made his move. Once again they fought tigerishly but eventually Verstappen pulled clear of the Ferrari. And with pace in hand over Gasly, who was on older hard tyres, Red Bull made the smart moved and allowed verstappen through to claim P4 and begin pursuit of Vettel.

    On lap 36, Leclerc began to exert heavy pressure on Gasly and into Vale the Ferrari driver went around the outside of the Red Bull. Gasly tried to defend but he had to give way eventually and Leclerc moved ahead.

    The reverse was happening further up the road, as Verstappen attacked Vettel. On lap 38 the Red Bull driver set up the perfect move, closing in and powering past the Ferrari into Stowe. However, the move meant that Verstappen went slightly wide on exit and Vettel saw an opportunity. He closed up behind Max but misjudged the braking point for the following corner and slammed into the back of Verstappen’s RB15. Both drivers ended up in the gravel trap but Verstappen was quickly back on track, in fifth place behind Gasly. Vettel, though, dropped to back of the field, pitted for a new front wing and was later handed a time penalty for causing the collision. Verstappen, now driving a damaged car, settled into fifth and nursed his car to the flag.

    And then after 52 action-packed laps Hamilton crossed the line to take his 80thcareer grand prix victory and a record sixth British Grand Prix win ahead of Bottas and Leclerc. The Briton also managed to pick up the point for fastest lap on the final tour of the race.

    With the Red Bulls in fourth and fifth, sixth place went to McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard profiting from the safety car to rise from P13 on the grid. Behind him Daniel Ricciardo finished in P7 ahead of the Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.

     

    2019 FIA Formula One British Grand Prix – Race
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 52
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 52 24.928
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 52 30.117
    4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 52 34.692
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 52 39.458
    6 Carlos Sainz McLaren 52 53.639
    7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 52 54.401
    8 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 52 1’05.540
    9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 52 1’06.720
    10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 52 1’12.733
    11 Lando Norris McLaren 52 1’14.281
    12 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 52 1’15.617
    13 Lance Stroll Racing Point 52 1’21.086
    14 George Russell Williams 51 1 Lap
    15 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 51 1 Lap
    16 Robert Kubica Williams 51 1 Lap
    17 Sergio Perez Racing Point 51 1 Lap
    Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 18
    Romain Grosjean Haas 9
    Kevin Magnussen Haas 6 ;

  • I lift the British flag proudly; There’s no-one else in this sport that’s raised it so high: Lewis Hamilton

    I lift the British flag proudly; There’s no-one else in this sport that’s raised it so high: Lewis Hamilton

    Silverstone, 13 July 2019: The following drivers attended the FIA post-qualifying press conference on Saturday: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

    Valtteri Bottas (centre) takes pole on Saturday ahead of Hamilton (left) and Leclerc. An FIA image

    The track interviews were conducted by former F1 driver and current commentator, David Coulthard;

    Transcript:

    Q: Valtteri Bottas, pole position here at Silverstone. It’s been a while – Barcelona your last one – but you must be particularly proud of that one?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it feels very good. It just reminds you of why you do this, these kinds of feelings, but yeah, it’s been pretty close all weekend, and today, with Lewis and just really, really happy to get a good lap and be on pole.

    Q: Put us in the cockpit. You had the provisional pole you would look at the overlay and realise that Lewis had made a mistake at Brooklands and you know you have to dig deep and find something. You didn’t manage to improve on that time but where was your mind on the lap in terms of know how good the previous one was?

    VB: Yeah, I knew the first lap was good but it was not perfect. Honestly, I should have improved on the second run. I didn’t quite get the lap together, especially in the first part of the lap, but I’m glad it was enough. It’s not easy to get a good lap together, it’s easy to do mistakes and I think everyone was struggling a bit, so happy to be on top.

    Q: I’m not sure the crowd is happy with what you’ve done but congratulations? 

    VB: Thank you.

    Q: Lewis Hamilton, it was close and you worked that hard, but we saw you had that little wobble in the second-last lap in qualifying. Tell us about your actual ultimate lap, it’s a tiny gap between you and Valtteri.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, firstly, congratulations to Valtteri, he did a solid job throughout qualifying. Ultimately not good enough, We had worked hard throughout the session but it just got a little bit away from us. We sacrificed a lap in Q2, which would have helped get a reading of where the car was, but we didn’t end up doing that. In the end, I had that mistake on the first lap and the second one just wasn’t that great so fair play to Valtteri he did the job. But it’s a long race tomorrow, we’ve got a great crowd here and hopefully, I can do something good for them tomorrow.

    Q: The crowd is willing you on. It’s another grand prix, or is it? It’s more than just a grand prix, the British Grand Prix for you?

    LH: Yeah, completely. It’s the best grand prix of the year and it’s really because of the energy the3 people bring. These tracks are great layouts and designs and areas of space but without people like this to fill it up and bring energy, it’s nothing. That’s why we’ve got the best fans here in England.

    Q: Charles, well done, fastest Ferrari driver but that’s ultimately not your goal. We looked through free practice and Ferrari looked like they could challenge Mercedes but in the end, it was a tough one for you?

    Charles LECLERC: Yeah, well, I think also in Q2, up to Q2 we were quite good but then in Q3 Mercedes turned up a little bit the engine, and they were very, very quick also round the corners, that’s where we need to work, we know it. Third place is the best we could have done today and I’m very happy about it.

    Q: I saw you have a close look at the Mercedes car. This is the one time on a weekend when it’s acceptable to be a little bit nosy. Anything standing out there that you like?

    CL: No, just looking at the state of the tyres, that’s nothing special.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Valtteri, a tremendous lap by you at the start of Q3. Very tight between you and your team-mate. Just how good was that first lap?

    VB: It was good. Obviously good enough for pole. There was not much in it between me and Lewis in the end. But still, going into the second run, there were a couple of place where it was clear there was margin to improve so I wouldn’t say it was a perfect lap, but I doubt anyone got a perfect lap today. It was not easy to get everything right and super-sensitive to tiny mistakes here and there with this new tarmac and also with a bit of wind. But yeah, I’m happy that it was enough and it’s definitely a good feeling.

    Q: Valtteri, you now have more poles this season than any other driver. Is that significant to you and have you worked specifically on qualifying this year, something more than previous seasons?

    VB: It’s not that I have been specifically been working on it. Obviously, you always try to improve your performance both on low- and high-fuel, short and long runs. I think the biggest thing for me to work on is the pure race pace definitely, in some kinds of conditions. I mean, year-by-year you are always learning and you get quicker if you work. The main thing is to turn those poles into wins and that’s the main thing for tomorrow.

    Q: Congratulations. Lewis, motorsport is full of ifs, buts and maybes. Had you not made that error at Brooklands on your first lap in Q3 and got a complete lap in might it have been different?

    LH: It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. You can’t go back, you can only go forwards. Valtteri did the job, so congratulations to him. And for us, yeah, it just wasn’t the best of qualifying sessions. But there’s a long race tomorrow so I just have to see how I can convert the position I’m in to progress forward. I think the long run yesterday was good, so I hope we can utilise the tyre advantage we have, in the sense of starting on the mediums, so hopefully we can do a good job with that tomorrow.

    Q: Did the track conditions fluctuate a lot during that session?

    LH: Not really. It’s a little bit gusty here. That’s why it’s so great here at Silverstone, because it’s spread over such a vast piece of land and sometimes it’s raining on one section of the track and not another and it’s gusty in some places and not so much in other places. It really bodes well for a tough track to finish a lap on.

    Q: Charles, like Lewis, you came on the radio and said you had made a mistake on that first run in Q3. Do you feel there was more out there today?

    CL: No, I don’t think so. Very, very happy with my lap. I think in the last corner I maybe could have done a little bit better, but not much. Overall, I think we are very happy with the performance, very close to Mercedes and we did not expect it. We thought we would be struggling more this weekend. We have been struggling since FP1 with the front end of the car, still in qualifying, but a little bit less. So yeah, it’s a good qualifying session for us. Of course, I would have hoped for a higher position, but third is the best we could have done today.

    Q: As with Austria you will start the race on the soft tyre, the guys next to you are going to be on the medium tyre. How do you see the tyre war playing out .

    CL: Again, it was thought. So we wanted to do that. Again, in Austria it wasn’t a bad choice. That’s not what made us finish second there so we are pretty happy here too.

    Questions from the floor:

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Charles, just following up on the Q2 and the soft tyre. You made the first run on the medium tyre and then set the fastest lap on the soft. Was it always the plan to qualify with the soft, because yesterday’s long runs didn’t look that great and it was a bit surprising to us that you improved your time?

    CL: Yes, it was planned like this. The race run was not great yesterday but it was not due to the tyre, as I said. We had some issues with the front end and I think it got better today, so we will see tomorrow whether we have a significant improvement on the long runs, but it was not due to the tyre.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Valtteri and Lewis: Lewis, after practice yesterday you talked about having a little bit of difficulty with the balance of the car, the rear was stepping out a bit. Did that carry into today or were you happy with the car? Valtteri, you started strongly yesterday, has that just continued and do you just feel very happy with the balance of the car?

    VB: Well, yeah, from the very beginning, since the first practice the feeling was quite nice. There was definitely room for improvement, especially with the rear end of the car, mainly on the entry of the corners. I think we managed to get it a bit better. It was still the weakness in a couple of places the rear end of the car but it’s not been a massive drama. I managed to build up from yesterday, except for practice three, I was a bit off the pace. I just tried to reset and remind myself of everything I was capable of doing yesterday and it turned out to be good.

    Q: And Lewis?

    LH: Yeah the car was good. We made a big step forward, so no problems.

    Q: (Simon Amberley – Nevis Radio) To Charles: it was mentioned yesterday that maybe the Ferrari race pace wasn’t quite as strong as Mercedes, but with the gaps today and the difference on the tyres do you think possibly if you get a jump at the start, of getting Valtteri and Lewis, do you think you can maybe dictate the pace a bit more?

    CL: That’s definitely the target  – to try to use our tyre advantage, especially at the start, to gain positions and then try to keep them. Keeping them will be very difficult because they are extremely quick in race runs but that’s the target.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – liviooricchiof1.com) Lewis, from the outside it didn’t appear that you had the car in your hands all the time. Is it because of the circumstances or maybe you have a set-up thinking more of the race?

    LH: No, the set-up suited race trim best and I think yesterday I really did struggle with it on a single lap and of course I was trying to improve it over the evening and into today. It felt great into P3 and it felt really good at the star5 of the Q sessions and it kind of deteriorated through the session, so it got harder and harder, back towards a similar problem we had yesterday – as you saw in Turn 6 for example. But it was also windy. The race trim is still good. I didn’t want to move from the set-up I had, too far away, because it worked so well on the long run yesterday. Fingers crossed the strength in the race should be quite good but again it depends on what position we are in and how the wind is and a bunch of other factors.

    Q: (Yassmin Abdel-Magied – The Guardian) I’ve got a slightly less technical question. Lewis, this is your home race and there’s lot of British flags out there and you’ve talked about loving coming back to the UK but there’s contention because you live in Monaco, and your accent isn’t maybe as British as others because you spend a lot of time in the US. So, why do you think that people question your Britishness?

    LH: I don’t really know. I don’t really have a good answer for that.

    VB: We all live in Monaco!

    LH: We all do live in Monaco. It’s crazy now because of every driver… I remember growing up, you remember watching Jenson Button and all the youngsters come through, and everyone migrated to Monaco and no-one ever said anything about it at the time. Of course, when I did, they had something to say about it. But no matter how often you go abroad or elsewhere in the world, you come back to the UK and you see the beautiful countryside, you see this great… you know, the history of Formula One and motorsport which is really here, and I see all my family who is also here and this is, of course, feels like where my heart is and ultimately fully British. Of course, I still like to honour my family heritage. My family is from the Caribbean. But… I don’t know. People have a right to their own opinion. If you look around, there’s a lot of Team LH caps. The support that I’ve had has been just incredible and it’s been growing over the years, and whilst, of course, there’s always going to be people with negative views on things, I feel like every day is an opportunity to try to turn those that do have a negative view on things. I guess over time I’ll do more and more positive things for the country. Ultimately, I go to all these race and I lift the British flag proudly. There’s no-one else in this sport that’s raised it so high. At the moment, probably that’s not enough. I’ll keep looking out for what else I can do. And for those who do follow me, I really do appreciate their support.

    Q: (Mike Doodson – Honorary) Lewis, there’s been some dramas here at Silverstone with the surface and they seem to have got everything done pretty quickly, but there were quite a lot of incidents at Turn Six yesterday. I wonder if you could tell us – you had one too, I think, there – can you tell us what was wrong there and is it better today and is the circuit settling down?

    LH: Ultimately last year, we’d come out of Turn Four and it was the bumpiest straight that probably you’ve ever been on before, rattling your teeth out for most of us. Also, for the motorbikes, it was quite bumpy then. In other areas it was OK. I think they’ve redone it this year; it’s much better on that straight but there are – and I guess it’s just the way it goes – but bumps into Turn Six are pretty hardcore but I think more so it’s the crosswind people are struggling with there. Maybe the bumps and also the crosswind that you have there, which everyone struggles with, and I’ve also struggled with – but then there’s also Turn Seven, it’s very bumpy but then the straight down to Copse is good, and then up to Maggotts and Becketts it’s good. It’s fantastic, and then after Maggotts and Becketts, down Stowe Straight it’s great 15, 16, 17. So, it’s pretty much spot-on, perfect, apart from three bumps at the entry of Six and exit of Seven.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to all three drivers. What kind of weather do you expect tomorrow and what is the weather that will suit more the strategy you chose for the first tyre you will start on.

    CL: I haven’t watched the forecast yet, so I don’t really know – but I guess, yeah, in Silverstone it’s often very unpredictable, and as we’ve seen in the last two days, you can have drops any time. So, it will make the race quite interesting if it’s like this. Then, if I can choose, the best would probably have a good start on the Soft, do seven laps and then big rain and keep this position. But I don’t choose. I think it will be very unpredictable anyway.

    VB: Like yesterday there was no proper chance of rain but it still had a bit of drizzle, so I think anything can come from the sky, you never know – and no idea what will be best for us. At least it’s cooler than Austria, so that’s always good news but anything else, we should be OK.

    LH: I’m down for some good old English weather tomorrow! Good old English weather is sunny, hale, rain! Sun, snow, the whole mixture. No, naturally it’s better for all the fans when it’s dry but I don’t mind if it rains either way. It’s really great, this track, in the wet. I guess we’ll all discuss whether we do the rain dance tonight or not.

    Q: (Rob Harris – AP) Hi Lewis, it came down to six milliseconds today. Some quotes around from Nico Rosberg saying that, if he’d been traveling and partying in LA, then he’d be qualifying down in tenth – but you can cope with it, he was suggesting. When you assess things, do you think the clearing of the mind outweighs the travel by… sort of… going to LA between races like that and having the trips?

    LH: I think naturally it’s easy to say that. People do have views. I do have five world titles. They didn’t come on their own. You know me.

    VB: I think you gain time by partying. As a Finn, it’s a feeling.

    LH: Valtteri parties way more than me!

    VB: I have a party, I gain lap time, so…

    LH: I think ultimately when I started doing the travels and focussing on these other things, people always had… there was always the issue and people would have comments on it. Particularly the pressure of then having to arrive and making sure you definitely delivered the same. It took a long time to break that mould, and I’ve done it time and time and time again. My preparation comes first. I’ve felt fantastic all weekend. The pressure’s quite high here, obviously being your home grand prix, and so I don’t look upon that lightly, and I prepare the best way I can. But also, I do what I want – I don’t do what you think I should do, or anyone else thinks I should do. Only I know what’s right for me – and again, that’s what’s led me to five world titles. And don’t forget the amount of wins I have, all of that stuff, so… yeah.

    Q: (Keith Collantine – racefans.net) Question for Charles, you’ve said a few times in recent races you feel you’ve raised your game in qualifying recently. The clearest way we can see that is you’ve just out-qualified Sebastian for the third race in a row – but how much more do you think there is that you can find in the Ferrari? And particularly today, was there the extra eight-hundredths of a second that you needed to be sitting where Valtteri is sitting?

    CL: At the time, as I said earlier, I think the main issue is the front end. Once we’ll fix this, I’m pretty sure there will be quite a bit of performance in that – because also again, in qualifying today, especially the third sector, I was struggling quite a lot with the front end to grip-up. So yeah, there’s still a lot of performance into that, whether we’ll know how to overcome this issue is another matter, so we need to be working very hard on that, and hopefully, some performance will come when we fix this.

    Q: (Tom Jackson – City Press) Charles, both Red Bulls split you and Sebastian today. Do you think tomorrow you will be able to comfortably stay ahead of them or do you expect a fight with them more than you do with the Mercedes?

    CL: If we look at the Friday race simulations, I think it’s going to be very difficult to fight with  – or at least Lewis’s race run was very very strong so yeah, we need to work on that but Red Bull seems to be very quick also in the race runs so it’s going to be tricky. If we manage to gain some positions at the start, it’s a track where it’s quite hard to overtake so then we have some chances to keep them but if not I guess it’s going to be very difficult to fight with them.

    Q: (Laurence Edmonson – ESPN) Valtteri, two of your pole positions earlier this year didn’t quite go to plan, the starts didn’t work out. Can you just explain if you’ve anything to try and rectify that and how the other starts have been and whether you’ve found a solution to it?

    VB: Yeah, I’ve definitely been working a lot on the starts this year and especially after the couple of not ideal ones, so I’ve been focusing a lot and feel much more comfortable with the starts than earlier in the year. Obviously, every start is going to be different, we always have different circumstances, a different set of tyres, temperatures but yeah, feel more confident and obviously aiming for a good start tomorrow and use the good grid position.

    Q: (Sam Hall – Autoweek) Lewis, this year it seems that you’ve found qualifying a little bit harder to get pole on the Saturdays. Is the car a bit more difficult to get the one lap pace out of or is it something that’s changed with you as a driver?

    LH: No, I think… we’re not halfway through the year yet. We’ve definitely had some poles but Valtteri has done some great laps throughout qualifying. It definitely has been a car that’s a little bit… I think with the tyres it’s a little bit harder to get it perfect every single time but it’s just qualifying, if you’ve seen a lot of the races, it doesn’t necessarily always determine what happens always in the race. Of course, it’s great to always start at the front. It makes your day a little bit more simple but nonetheless, it’s really great that we continue to work forwards as a team and lock out the front row. I’m really proud to be a part of that and still to get a one-two today is still significant, considering we have all of our team actually coming this weekend. Of course, Valtteri and I, I think we have a great relationship, we always want to beat each other but I’ll go back, look at the data today, did a better job and tomorrow you’ll do a great job as well and the duel tomorrow is who can do a better job tomorrow. There are plenty more pole positions up for grabs between all of us so just got to keep working hard.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Valtteri and Lewis; Valtteri, when we spoke you said the time is now for you to start effectively getting your elbows out. Indeed, is this the time that you’re starting to sense that? Lewis, are you prepared to race against what I guess we could call Valtteri 2.1, new version, newly enthused, ready to go again after a good start and obviously a bit of a slump but coming back?

    VB: Well, if you look at the points, for sure the championship fight is still on. Obviously I’m the one chasing, I’m behind with I don’t know the exact number but roughly thirty points or something but so many races to go and it’s going to be a lot up to me and my performance, so definitely every single opportunity there is I need to get those and if I don’t get those then Lewis is going to be far away and not be able to reach in terms of points so tomorrow is super important, but so is the race after and the race after. The season is still long so I really need to try and take those opportunities and for sure will do everything I can to keep that lead tomorrow.

    Q: Lewis, your thoughts on Valtteri 2.1?

    LH: 2.1 or 2.4 or what’s the difference? I work closely with this guy, it’s Valtteri. I just see him as the man he is. Obviously, we’re still fighting for the title. I don’t feel necessarily that he’s the only one chasing, I’m still chasing. I try to put an imaginary individual ahead of yourself. For me, I generally kind of put the previous year’s performances so last year’s myself ahead of me, for example, and that’s my target: to improve and beat that, but on days like this I’m behind another so he’s now the guy that I’m chasing. So as long as you’ve always got a goal to chase, then you can always make improvements, you always have strides to make and so that’s my approach always.

    Q: (Simon Amberley – Nevis Radio) The past couple of races we’ve had incidents that have been reviewed after the race which have either potentially affected the result or have affected the result. Has this been discussed within the drivers’ meetings and can we expect results to actually stand at the end of the race and drivers to be able to race more aggressively in future races including here?

    LW: I was focusing on folding… I don’t know what the question was.

    CL: I’m always up for hard racing so very happy if they relax a little bit on the fights but I think consistency is key. In the end, I think they also need time to review some incidents or sometimes it be bad to wait for the results but at the end, I think it’s the best way to take the right decision.

    VB: Yeah, I’m a big fan of hard racing as well so the harder we can race, but safe and fair, is always good and obviously for everyone it’s always better to have the results as quickly as possible and penalties as quickly as possible but sometimes they need to review more which is understandable.

    LH: I feel exactly the same as these two guys. I still don’t know what the question was really! But close racing is always yeah, what he just said. Sorry. It wasn’t intentional to miss what the question was. About tough racing, was it? I haven’t discussed it. No. I don’t think it was brought up in the drivers’ briefing either. I think the last race was good. I don’t know what Charles thought of the incident he had.

    CL: No, I thought it was OK. The only thing is consistency as I said. I feel like there have been some incidents in the past this year that have been not analysed or penalised, sorry, for much less than that, so that’s the only thing. I think consistency is very important but if it’s clear that we can race that way then I’m more than happy to race like this and I think every driver likes to race that way.

    LH: I agree again! I think it’s really hard with the consistency thing because we’ve got these rules that… but every scenario is different but you have to apply the same rule to it so it’s… that’s why they’ve got some of the guys that are at the stewards, some even have to interpret certain a way what has happened at a certain way and as Charles said, consistency is really what we want to try and get. But I think every year you go through all the lessons or them, together in the sport, go through the lessons and learn and improve and people told us that it needs to get better and so I’m sure we will.

    Ends