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Tag: Hamilton
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Hamilton nurtures worn-out tyres to win in Monaco; Vettel 2nd ahead of Bottas
Hamilton, who won in Monaco on Sunday. An FIA image Monaco, 26 May 2019: Lewis Hamilton successfully managed to keep severely worn tyres alive to keep his close rivals at bay in Monaco and take his third win in the Principality ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the Grand Prix de Monaco, the sixth round of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Sunday.
Early in the race Hamilton pitted for medium tyres during a Safety Car period sparked by local hero Charles Leclerc shedding debris across the track following a puncture. With the cars directly behind targeting a long stint until the end of the race having taken on hard tyres, Hamilton was left to nurse his yellow-banded Pirellis until the end.
And despite relentless pressure from Red Bull’s Max Verrstappen, who was seeking to negate a time penalty for an unsafe release by passing the Briton, Hamilton managed to keep the tyres alive until the flag to take his 77thcareer win.
When the lights went out for the start, polesitter Hamilton got away well and held his advantage over fello front-rwo started Bottas, third-placed Verstappen and Vettel.
Further back Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, starting in 15th, was on a march. The local hero quickly climbed to P13 and then began to chase down Romain Grosjean. Going into Rascasse, the Haas left a small gap and Leclerc pouned, slipping down the inside of the Haas to steal the place.
Having succeeded once, the Monegasque driver decided to try the same passing manoeuvre on Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. This time, though, the gap was too tight and Leclerc clipped the barrier with his rear right wheel.
He carried, passing the pit entry as he did so, but it became clear that he’s sustained a puncture. With the whole track to navigate before he could pit, his tyre quickly began to disintegrate. He pitted, taking on medium tyres, but with debris all over the track the Safety Car was deployed. With severe damage to the floor of his car, Leclerc would retire after 16 laps.
During the SC period Mercedes opted to pit. The champion team stacked their drivers and both took on mediums, with Hamilton first in. The delay to Bottas provided Max with an opportunity and he managed to get fitted with new hard tyres more swiftly than the Finn. It meant they met in the pit lan as they went to rejoin and there was contact. Verstappen exited the pit lane ahead of Bottas in P2 but the incident was placed under investigation by the stewards. Bottas sustained a puncture in the coming together and pitted again at the end of the following lap for hard tyres. He dropped to P4 behind Vettel.
At the end of lap 22, the stewards returned a verdict on the incident and the Dutch driver was given a five-second time penalty. Looking for the most effective way of negating the penalty, Verstappen then began to apply pressure on Hamilton, who was now trying to nurse his medium tyres to the flag.
By lap 30 Verstappen was 0.5s behind the Mercedes driver and forcing the champion to stress his tyres more than he would have wished. But as he applied the pressure Verstappen too also began to work his tyres harder than he might have liked and by half distance he was experiencing some graining to his front-right tyre and could find no way past Hamilton.
Verstappen was now running out time. Behind him Vettel and Bottas were closing up and the Dutchman’s hopes of claiming a podium position began to fade as Bottas got well within the five seconds Verstappen would lose at the flag.
The only possibility of holding on to a podium place rested in getting past Hamilton. Versatappen tried to make the move two laps from home. He braked late into the Nouvelle Chicane, trying to get down the inside of Hamilton’s Mercedes. Max locked up, however, and pushed the leader across the chicane.
They both kept going but Hamilton was able to keep the chasing pack at bay over the final two laps and crossed the line to take his 77thcareer win.
He was followed by Max, but with the five-second penalty immediately applied, he dropped to fourth behind Vettel and Bottas.
Pierre Gasly followed to take an excellent fifth place, with the Frenchman also taking his second fastest lap point of the season following a late ‘free’ pit stop for soft tyres. Behind Gasly, Carlos Sainz took sixth place for McLaren, while Toro Rosso enjoyed a profitable day with Daniil Kvyat seventh and Alex Albon eighth, ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo. The final point on offer was claimed by Romain Grosjean.
2019 FIA Formula One Monaco Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 2.602
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 3.162
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 5.537
5 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 9.946
6 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 53.454
7 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 54.574
8 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 55.200
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1’00.894
10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1’01.034
11 Lando Norris McLaren 1’06.801
12 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 Lap
13 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1 Lap
14 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 Lap
15 George Russell Williams 1 Lap
16 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1 Lap
17 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1 Lap
18 Robert Kubica Williams 1 Lap
19 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 2 Laps
DNF: Charles Leclerc Ferrari. -
Hamilton tops FP2 ahead of Bottas: Monaco GP
Hamilton tops FP2 in the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday. A Mercedes/Wolfgang Wilhelm image Monte Carlo (Monaco), 23 May 2019: Mercedes powered away from its rivals in second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton setting a time of 1:11.118 to top the timesheet 0.081s ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The Silver Arrows’ closes rival in the session was Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel who finished more than seventh tenths of a second behind Hamilton.
Hamilton and Bottas set the early pace in the session, using medium compound Pirelli tyres, but were dislodged when Vettel bolted on a set of softs for his performance runs.
The German was only four hundredths of a second quicker than Hamilton’s medium-tyre benchmark and when the Mercedes duo moved to the soft compound they swiftly regained the upper hand. First, Bottas took top spot with an opening run of 1:11.597. He and Hamilton then traded times until the championship leader eventually moved a narrow eight hundredths of a second clear with a lap Bottas had no answer to. Hamilton’s time left Vettel 0.763s down.
After seeing team-mate Max Verstappen run more a second clear of his best time in FP1, Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly has a much better afternoon session and took fourth place, less than a tenth behind Vettel. Verstappen fared less well and spent a large part of the session in the garage as his team investigated a suspected water leak. He ended up in P6 after rejoining the action late in the session.
It was a good outing for Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon, too. The Thai driver, who was on pole for the F2 feature race here last year, took fifth place in the second session of his first F1 weekend in Monaco with a lap of 1:12.031.
Kevin Magnussen was seventh Haas, ahead of the Alfa Romeos of Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen.
The top ten order was rounded out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque driver ended the 90 minutes some 1.2s off the pace after complaining of brake issues during the session.
2019 FIA Formula One Monaco Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 41 1:11.118
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 48 1:11.199 0.081
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 42 1:11.881 0.763
4 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 39 1:11.938 0.820
5 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 51 1:12.031 0.913
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 17 1:12.052 0.934
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 54 1:12.174 1.056
8 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 51 1:12.239 1.121
9 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 51 1:12.342 1.224
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 42 1:12.350 1.232
11 Romain Grosjean Haas 51 1:12.392 1.274
12 Lando Norris McLaren 27 1:12.393 1.275
13 Carlos Sainz McLaren 47 1:12.419 1.301
14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 39 1:12.577 1.459
15 Sergio Perez Racing Point 44 1:12.752 1.634
16 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 49 1:12.872 1.754
17 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 53 1:12.888 1.770
18 Lance Stroll Racing Point 40 1:14.558 3.440
19 George Russell Williams 37 1:15.052 3.934
20 Robert Kubica Williams 45 1:15.146 4.028 -
Hamilton dedicates win to `Harry’; Mercedes finish 1-2 in all five races thus far
Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. An FIA image Barcelona, 12 May 2019: Lewis Hamilton moved back to the top of the FIA Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship standings as he beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Mercedes finished one-two in all the five races this season. Max Verstappen finished third for Red Bull Racing, ahead of the Ferrari cars of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the 21-round Formula One World Championship here on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton
It’s been an incredible day for the team. We’ve brought an upgrade here and everyone worked so hard to make that possible. I’m very proud of everyone back at the factory and thankful for all their hard work. The guys here at the track are all performing at an extremely high level as well, thank you all. When the lights went out, my initial getaway was quite good and we were very close all the way down into Turn 1. I think the Ferrari was alongside us at one point too, so it was a great battle and also a decisive moment in the race. After that I just had to keep my head down and focus on trying to deliver each lap. I want to dedicate this win to Harry, a young kid who sent me a message today. He was my inspiration out there. He could’ve chosen any other driver, so for him in the most difficult of days to send a message like that is really humbling and much appreciated. I’m sending you love, Harry.Five-year-old Harry Shaw was diagnosed with cancer in August 2018. His parents have set up the fundraising page to inform about his case and raise money to fight children’s cancer.
When the lights went out at the start, it was Hamilton who made the best start and on the long run down to Turn 1 he tucked in on the inside of pole sitter Valtteri Bottas, who later complained of clutch problems on his getaway.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had also made a good start and he tried to pass both Mercedes around the outside into the first turn. It was a risky, late-braking move and attempting to keep control Vettel locked up briefly.
As Vettel got a poor exit from the corner, Verstappen pounced, passing the Ferrari in Turn 3 to take third place behind new leader Hamilton and Bottas.
Behind the front four Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull was battling hard with the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and also coming under pressure from Haas’ Romain Grosjean. Gasly managed to defend well, though, and he kept P6 as the field crossed the line to start lap two.
Vettel, hampered by a flat spot sustained in his first-lap lock up and Leclerc quickly closed the gap to his team-mate. Vettel sensibly moved aside at the start of lap 12 and let his team-mate through.
At the end of lap 19, Vettel finally opted to shed his damaged tyres and pitted for a set of new medium tyres. Verstappen was next in and at the end of lap 20 he pitted for soft tyres.
Vettel quickly began to close up on Leclerc, who had pitted for hard tyres. The German was clearly quicker on his medium tyres than his young team-mate racing on hard tyres and soon after the halfway point Leclerc returned Vettel’s earlier favour by backing off into Turn 4 to let the German through to fourth place.
Vettel then attempted to close the gap to Verstappen and though the Ferrari driver cut the deficit by a few seconds, on lap 40 he again made his way to the pit lane. He took on a set of mediums at the end of the lap and was soon back up to fifth.
Verstappen was next to make his second stop and at the end of lap 43 he took on medium tyres. He emerged behind Leclerc and quickly began to close up behind the Ferrari driver as ahead Bottas pitted for soft tyres.
On lap 45, though, the Safety Car was brought into play when McLaren’s Lando Norris and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll collided, with both being forced to stop.
Both Hamilton and Leclerc elected to pit while the race was neutralised, with the Ferrari driver taking on medium tyres and the Mercedes driver fitting softs. Behind the Safety Car the order was Hamilton followed by Bottas, Max, the Ferraris of Vettel and Leclerc, while Gasly still held sixth.
When the SC left the track Hamilton set blistering pace on the restart to set the fastest lap of the race and to keep Bottas at bay. Verstappen also gradually eked out a gap to Vettel.
Fifteen laps later Hamilton crossed the line to take the 76thwin of his career with Bottas then taking the flag to continue Mercedes’s perfect start to the season.
Verstappen too his 24thcareer podium with third placed ahead of Vettel and Leclerc while Gasly finished as he started, in sixth place. Kevin Magnussen was seventh for Haas ahead of home hero Carlos Sainz. Daniil Kvyat took two points for Toro Rosso with ninth place but despite putting enormous pressure on Romain Grosjean in the closing laps, Alex Albon couldn’t make it two Toros in the points and Haas driver Grosjean managed to cling on to tenth place at the flag.
2019 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 4.074
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 7.679
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 9.167
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 13.361
6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 19.576
7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 28.159
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 32.342
9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 33.056
10 Romain Grosjean Haas 34.641
11 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 35.445
12 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 36.758
13 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 39.241
14 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 41.803
15 Sergio Perez Racing Point 46.877
16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 47.691
17 George Russell Williams 1 Lap
18 Robert Kubica Williams 1 LapDNF: Lance Stroll Racing Point, Lando Norris McLaren
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Bottas pips Hamilton for Spanish GP pole; Vettel P3
Valtteri Bottas takes pole in the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday. LAT Images/Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport Barcelona, 11 May 2019: Formula 1 World Championship leader Valtteri Bottas beat Mercedes team-mate and defending champion Lewis Hamilton by more than six-tenths of a second at to claim pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, his third in a row so far this season. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third quickest in the session ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
In the opening session, Vettel and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc set the early pace before Verstappen moved to the top of the order with a time of 1:17.244.
Bottas then moved to the top of the order with a lap of 1:17.175 to hold top spot ahead of Verstappen until the chequered flag, with Hamilton third ahead of Leclerc and Vettel.
In danger, as the final runs began was Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi in P16, followed by team-mate Kimi Räikkönen and the Williams cars of George Russell and Robert Kubica. Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg had not set a time after an early off at Turn 4 that damaged his front wing and which kept him out of action until the final runs.
Even when he did manage to get in a lap, Hulkenberg failed to find the pace necessary to make it through to Q2. To compound his disappointment, he was edged out of the session by team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, with the gap between the Renault drivers standing at just 0.019s. Eliminated behind Hulkenberg were 17th-placed Lance Stroll of Racing Point, Giovinazzi, Russell and Kubica.
In Q2 it was Hamilton who initially stretched away from the chasing pack, with the Mercedes driver posting a lap of 1:16.038. That put him a little over two-tenths of a second ahead of Bottas, with Vettel third.
Verstappen slotted into fourth place with a time of 1:16.726, just 0.059s behind Vettel, while the Dutchman’s Red Bull team-mate Pierre Gasly put in a good opener of 1:17.275 to claim the fifth spot ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
In advance of the final runs, the drop zone candidates were Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon, Racing Point’s Sergio Perez, McLaren’s Lando Norris, the second Toro of Daniil Kvyat and Alfa Romeo’s Räikkönen.
Only Kvyat was able to find enough to escape elimination, with the Russian posting a good lap of 1:17.243 to climb to P8 in front of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Renault’s Ricciardo.
Kvyat’s rise meant a drop-zone spot opened up and it was filled by local hero Carlos Sainz. The McLaren driver exited in P13 behind Norris and Albon and but ahead of Räikkönen and Perez.
At the top in Q2, Bottas was in imperious form, with the Finn edging past Hamilton’s lap with a time of 1:15.924. The defending champion was second ahead of the Ferraris of Vettel and Leclerc with Verstappen in P5 ahead of Galsy.
And Bottas was able to extract even more from his car in the final session. Hamilton was first across the line but the defending champion’s lap was a scruffy on and he stopped the clock at 1:16.040. Bottas, though, was flying and he crossed the line a massive six-tenths of a second clear of Hamilton, with Vettel third ahead of Verstappen and Gasly.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was forced to sit out the first runs as his team worked on the floor of his car. It might have been expected that the Monegasque driver would find his way into the top four, but Leclerc wasn’t able to find the pace and despite two attempts he was unable to beat Verstappen’s time.
The Ferrari driver’s 1:16.588 was good enough to split the Red Bulls, however, and Gasly ended the session in P6. He will line up ahead of Grosjean, with Magnussen eighth ahead of Kvyat and Ricciardo.
2019 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes F1 W10 EQ Power+ Mercedes 1:15.406
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:16.040 0.634
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:16.272 0.866
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:16.357 0.951
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.588 1.182
6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1:16.708 1.302
7 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:16.911 1.505
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:16.922 1.516
9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:17.573 2.167
10 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:18.106 2.700
11 Lando Norris McLaren 1:17.338 1.932
12 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:17.445 2.039
13 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:17.599 2.193
14 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:17.788 2.382
15 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:17.886 2.480
16 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:18.404 2.998
17 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:18.471 3.065
18 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:18.664 3.258
19 George Russell Williams 1:19.072 3.666
20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:20.254 4.848. -
Bottas sets pace in FP2 as Mercedes pulls away from Ferrari: Spanish GP
Bottas tops FP2 in Barcelona on Friday ahead of the Spanish GP. An FIA image Barcelone, 10 May 2019: After finishing fastest in the first practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas again set the pace in the afternoon, outpacing team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 0.049s as Mercedes pulled away from Ferrari in FP2 of the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the Formula One World championship here on Friday.
Valtteri Bottas: “It’s always an interesting day when you’re bringing new parts to the car to get a feel for it and see if they bring the performance they should. The car felt really good today, completely different to how it was in winter testing, and it seems like our cornering performance has improved. The balance around the lap is also better, so it looks like we’ve taken the right direction since the winter. Today was good, but it’s only Friday and Ferrari are very close. It feels like we’ve made a good step forward, but we need to wait and see what tomorrow holds.”
Charles Leclerc was third for the Scuderia, three-tenths of a second behind Bottas.
Bottas went a tenth quicker than Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in the opening practice session but in the afternoon both Bottas and Hamilton opened a healthy gap to the Italian squad during the performance runs.
Vettel and Leclerc were the first to move to the soft tyres and low fuel. They traded times across their runs with the young Monegasque eventually edging his four-time champion team-mate by 0.088s.
It was all in vain, however, as when the Mercedes drivers bolted on soft tyres halfway through the session they quickly outstripped their rivals. Hamilton was initially quickest with a lap of 1m17.410s, but Bottas who looks the more comfortable of the pair at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya beat that with a time of 1:17.284. Hamilton shaved a little over seven-hundredths of a second of his time with his next run but it wasn’t enough to dislodge the Finn from the top spot.
After a morning troubled by an oil leak that forced Red Bull Racing to make a precautionary engine change, Max Verstappen reclaimed his customary placing behind the silver and red cars His fifth-place time was 0.750s off Bottas’s pace.
Verstappen’s woes weren’t done, however, and after reporting a loss of power he returned to the Red Bull after completing just 15 laps. He returned to the action late in the session, and in all posted 30 laps.
Haas’s Romain Grosjean had profited best from Verstappen’s morning P12 to take fifth in FP1 and he continued to set the midfield pace in the second session, beating Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull and finishing just over a tenth off Verstappen. Gasly was left with seventh place, two tenths off his team-mate.
Kevin Magnussen also finished two tenths behind his team-mate to put the second Haas eighth. The Dane was well clear of McLaren’s home hero Carlos Sainz who finished the day with the best time of 1:18.658, 1.374 off Bottas and three tenths behind Magnussen. Daniil Kvyat Scuderia rounde3d out the top 10 for Toro Rosso 1.4s behind Bottas.
2019 Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 35 1:17.284
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 35 1:17.333 0.049
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 42 1:17.585 0.301
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 41 1:17.673 0.389
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 30 1:18.035 0.751
6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:18.153 0.869
7 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 34 1:18.238 0.954
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:18.355 1.071
9 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 45 1:18.658 1.374
10 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 40 1:18.722 1.438
11 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 30 1:18.727 1.443
12 Alex Albon Scuderia Toro Rosso 44 1:18.779 1.495
13 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes RP19 33 1:18.839 1.555
14 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 43 1:18.861 1.577
15 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 40 1:18.934 1.650
16 Lando Norris McLaren 43 1:19.041 1.757
17 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 37 1:19.427 2.143
18 Sergio Perez Racing Point 40 1:19.448 2.164
19 George Russell Williams 38 1:20.191 2.907
20 Robert Kubica Williams 23 1:20.781 3.497 -
Valtteri made no mistakes and drove a fantastic race, says Hamilton
Transcript of the Post-race Press Conference at Baku on Sunday:
DRIVERS
1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)
Q: Valtteri, an absolutely perfect day you’ve had. Lights out to flag, a bit of pressure from Lewis, but controlled and payback from last year and that win that went away?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, indeed. It was actually a tough race, even though maybe not much happening at the front Obviously Lewis was putting pressure all the time, so I could not do any mistake. But honestly, everything was under control so I’m happy to see the chequered flag and get this first place.
Q: You’re the calmest person I’ve seen. Back in control of this championship as well. You’ve had a very good start to the year. It’s all about keeping the momentum up. There’s no better guy than Lewis putting the pressure on, but to get that job done, what does that mean going away from this grand prix, back to Europe?
VB: It obviously means a lot. It’s incredible as a team on which kind of level we are performing now. I already said to the guys I’m so proud to be part of that. We’re all performing really, really well. For me as well, it’s only my fifth win, so of course it feels good and it carries on well.
Q: I hope you can enjoy your Sunday night; you certainly deserve it after this weekend. Lewis, your team-mate did a solid job all weekend, he just pipped you in qualifying but you never let him out of your sights today and you were fighting all the way to the end.
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, congratulations to Valtteri, he drove a fantastic race. He made no mistakes and truly deserved the win. It was all lost in qualifying, so there’s really not much more for me to say. But it’s a great result for the team. Honestly, this is the best start to a season we’ve ever had.
Q: I want to pick up on the team. Four one-two finishes. How much credit do you owe to these guys year after year after year to give you a car to do a solid job like that?
LH: It’s a team effort. Everyone back at the factory has been working non-stop every year. Every year they come back more hungry for success and it’s a true testament to strength and depth within the team. So really proud of everyone and really great to be a part of it. It was a really great race. For once we’ve been able to push the whole way. It’s pretty cool.
Q: Sebastian, P3 at the end after qualifying. It looked like you struggled in the first stint, regained a lot of strength mid-race and you were able to put the pressure on Mercedes.
Sebastian VETTEL: I don’t know. You’re right. The first stint was really poor. I really struggled to initially get the tyres to work. I think they were too cold and I damaged them, and by the time they were hot they were damaged, so it was never really working. I was really uncomfortable, inconsistent, just couldn’t get a feel and confidence with the car, so that’s not usually so good around here. After that, I was surprised. I was already looking forward to a difficult stint on the medium tyres, but no problem to switch them on and they lasted until the end no problem. So much happier, much more confidence and I think we had some pace to at least go with them, sometimes put a bit of pressure. We obviously had to keep and eye on Max behind. With some of the overtaken, lapped cars he was getting a bit closer but in the end we had enough pace on the medium tyre to react, to keep him behind. It was crucial to keep that third, good for Charles to get that fastest lap at the end, to snatch it away from the Mercedes boys. Still plenty of work for us to do, obviously we are not quite where we want to be. But at this point we just need to maximise what we can.
Q: And I guess looking forward to a more familiar track, Barcelona, where you had such a strong winter and it looked like you guys were going to be the benchmark this year?
SV: I hope so. Obviously the last four races, on average, we were not quite there, so I think we are not the favourites going to Barcelona. But the team is in good spirits. We have another couple of stuff getting on the car, so we need to chase them down. We are looking to hopefully a smooth weekend. Our first four weekends haven’t been that smooth. But it will be crucial to catch them and turn things around.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Valtteri, you said in China that the start of the race cost you the race there, but you looked determined to make sure that didn’t happen today?
VB: Yeah, honestly I could have done a better job at the start today. I think I was a little bit on the cautious side. I didn’t want to get the wheel spin started, so I was rather smooth on getting on power, not to kind of mess it up. But Lewis had a good start, so that’s why he was on the inside and we were pretty much side by side actually through Turn 1, so I was just carrying the speed on the outside, and same thing in Turn 2, leaving enough space. It was nice and fair and I was obviously pleased to keep the first place.
Q: That was the start, but then at the end you also came under pressure from Lewis as well. How tough was that pressure and were you two racing right to the flag?
VB: Yeah, you know, it was a pretty long stint, the second one. So you can sometimes play a little bit, when you push more, when sometimes you try to save the tyres a bit more, because it’s always a bit unknown how the tyres are going to behave when they are coming towards the end of their life. At times I could really notice Lewis trying really hard to catch me and he was really close at times, like in the end. So I had to really respond and push as well. The main thing for I was focusing on was just purely my own driving, not falling for the silly mistakes. I managed to keep it together, so for this I’m really happy.
Q: Well done today. Lewis, we’ll start at the start as well. Just how close was it between you and Valtteri and how tough is it to judge how hard to push against your team-mate?
LH: It’s always difficult to judge. But Valtteri did an exceptional job all weekend and today he was very fair in giving space and after that he was faultless. So today he truly deserved the win. It was a great race. It was really cool that we could push as hard as we could all the way to the end. It was great that the team allowed us to do that. Also just the team’s performance throughout the whole weekend, the engineers, everyone back at the factory who are just constantly delivering 100%. This is truly the strongest season we’ve ever started with but really deservingly in the sense of just how hard everyone has worked in the delivery, so really proud to be a part of it and this is a really great result for everyone.
Q: You mentioned the start to the season. That’s four straight 1-2s. Is this also the best form as a team you’ve produced in the time that you’ve been there?
LH: I think so, yeah, definitely. Valtteri’s really, clearly stepped up this year and is really happy in the car and really delivering and driving fantastically, so it’s going to take some really great performances from both of us to out-perform each other. And that’s how it should be. Hopefully at some stage Ferrari will be in the mix with us. I think this weekend, I do think they had the performance to be on the front row with both of their cars. From our data we saw that Seb didn’t get a tow, for example, which is worth four or five tenths or something, so he probably would have been on pole had he got that tow and the race would have been maybe more exciting. So, again, it takes one hundred per cent deliver throughout the weekend, which we, I think, were as close to that as possible. They’re going to have to pick it up if they want to fight us.
Q: Seb, moving on to you, Lewis says that Ferrari will have to pick it up if they want to fight Mercedes. How well did your race go today and how close to the maximum did you get out of your car?
SV: Well, he’s right. We need to pick it up obviously. We saw in the first stint that we really struggled to follow. I was really quite… yeah it was difficult to find a rhythm, difficult to extract grip from the tyres. After the stop it was a lot better. I expected it to be a tough and long afternoon but after that the car was quite good and I was able to push and I think we stayed with them, and with the blue flags maybe in the end we weren’t particularly lucky, the places around the track, I saw Lewis had some quite good tows with lapped cars here and there – but what goes around, comes around. I think overall the second stint was better for us than the first one. We lost, I think, all the potential to put pressure at the beginning of the race. But they were very strong and did absolutely right be pulling a gap. After that for us I think it was just to try and put them under some sort of pressure and bring it home.
Q: You’re clearly close to Mercedes, based on the finishing positions here. What do you think is going to be key to breaking this run of form that Mercedes has shown?
SV: Well, we need stronger pace, simple as that. We need to be faster. I’m convinced we’ve been, partly this weekend, looking very strong but overall not strong enough. So, it seems that for us it’s more of a conscious effort to get the car in the right window, whereas maybe for them it seems to click a little bit easier. Especially a place like around here, you need the confidence in the car. I’m not yet there. I can feel that I’m not driving at my best because simply the car does not answer or does not respond the way I like. And then I think it’s unnatural. I think everybody’s been there. I think all drivers know that sort of feeling: when it’s not there, then your judgement is normally right, to not go there because you end-up losing the car. So, yeah, I seem to be more sensitive at the first races than at the test. The test was really good but that’s a long time ago now. We need to look forward and improve the way we handle things, the way we work to just get faster. That’s it.
Q: Valtteri, returning to you, Championship leader heading back for the European season – just how much confidence do you take from this start to the season?
VB: Confidence is good. I’m happy to just carry on. Obviously, yeah, it’s been a good start personally for me for the season, it’s a long season ahead. I do realise that. But something I’m really proud of is the level at which the team is performing. It’s, for me, incredible. We need to be really, really proud of that – but not think about it too much. Just keep doing what we’re doing and the list of things that we can do better as a team is still long. So we need to focus on that. So let’s keep going.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis, it was fine margins between you and Valtteri today. I think you lost a bit of time the way the VSC ended and then Valtteri got the tow just as you were closing in on the last lap from the Williams. Do you think it was fine margins that made the difference today? And Valtteri, what was the feeling when you saw you had a slower car up ahead to get DRS from on that last lap?
LH: Yeah, I think ultimately Valtteri did a better job in qualifying on that last lap, which put him in the position to be able to fight and then fine margin at the start, which… yeah, I’ll have to work on. And then I lost two-and-a-half seconds, or whatever it is, under the VSC, so had to regain that and, with only nine laps to go, that was not so easy. So, that was my fault and something I’ll work on. There’s somethings I can fix on the dash to make sure that doesn’t happen again. But, nonetheless, it was a great result for the team.
And Valtteri, your thoughts when you got traffic towards the end of the race.
VB: Yeah, there was some traffic, obviously you lose time mostly – but sometimes actually you can gain from it, like here if you can get a nice tow on the straight and get the DRS. It’s always a very welcome bonus when Lewis is putting pressure behind! It’s not always it works for you. Sometimes he gains from it. So that’s how it goes. Yeah.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Just to the two Mercedes drivers — we saw Toto deliver a radio message in the final laps. I was just wondering what the rules of engagement were for you two in the closing laps of today’s race.
LH: It wasn’t a message to us. We were allowed to fight to the end.
VB: Yup.
Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Lewis, with hindsight probably that first lap fight with Valtteri was the defining moment of that race. Do you think you could have pushed a bit harder or been a bit more aggressive if it was another driver than Valtteri, your teammate?
LH: Definitely. Most definitely. It’s very very difficult — ultimately you always have to remember when you’re in a team as big as this that you are only one, and there are so many people that depend on us, so selfishly I could have for sure pushed a lot harder and Valtteri would have lost position, maybe I would have gained position, most likely he would have got overtaken by a Ferrari or something like that, so we have to work together. So whilst I wanted to overtake him, I had to be cautious at the same time, to give him space so that we would block the front row and stay there. Ultimately I lost out in that, but that’s a sacrifice you have to sometimes make in order for the team to win. I think if it was a Ferrari there it would have been a lot different. And that will be how it continues for the rest of the year — I think Valtteri and I have always had a lot of respect for each other, and we continue to do so. I think you can see that. That’s how we deal with it — we discuss it before the race, we agree as gentlemen, and we stick to it.
Q: (Luis Vasconselos – Formula Press) For Valtteri, when you were speaking to di Resta before the podium you said it was tough but you had it under control all the way. Did it get too close for comfort on the two laps that Lewis had DRS?
VB: Yeah, sure, I didn’t want him to get DRS, that was not planned. He had a very good middle sector that lap and managed to close and here even if you’re like 1.2, 1.3 behind exiting from Turn 16 then you’re gaining time before the DRS detection. I wanted to keep him out from DRS, so it was my bad. But he was pushing hard, so that’s how it goes.
Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Seb, the feeling for you and Charles earlier in the weekend was that the team had made a step here, that the upgrades were working as you liked, and it just seemed like the circumstances of the weekend just sort of went away from you. Do you still retain that positivity from earlier in the weekend or do you feel like there is a sort of similar amount of work to do as before?
SV: Well, absolutely I think it was a step forward with our car, but I think more of a dominating factor is just the way we seem to be able to get on top of or into these tyres. I think there’s a lot of performance in that. The struggle we had here in those low speed corners is less of an aero problem, more of a mechanical grip issue. So a lot of homework for us, obviously, in the last couple of weeks, but I’m sure that once we get everything together the car is strong, and then we will be much more in the fight. At this stage, obviously, averaging the first four races we were just not quick enough.
Q: (Luis Vasconselos – Formula Press) For the two Mercedes drivers — in the last two years your cars were called ‘divas’, but you’ve won on the first four very different tracks. Is this car the most complete one?
LH: I mean, it’s an evolution of the last couple of years cars, so it should be better, and it is in many ways. I would say it’s more our understanding of the procedures that we have to implement that allow us to deliver more from it. I think we’re able to extract a bit more from the car itself, and that’s just from diligence, due diligence we’ve done so much better through testing in our understanding and analysis. Everyone’s just taken a step forward and it’s great to see.
VB: It always can be better! For sure it’s maybe not still the easiest car to get to work, but once it works it’s quick, so something similar we’ve seen before and in the end, like Lewis said, it is an evolution from years before. There’s obviously work to do, but I think this year so far, the four races we’ve had, it’s not only the car. It’s all the areas the team is working on, how well we are performing in all the other areas than just the car. I think that’s maybe been the biggest thing so far this year.
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Bottas on pole in Baku thriller ahead of Hamilton; Leclerc and Kubica crash out
Valtteri Bottas takes pole in the Baku qualifier on Saturday. An FIA image Baku (Azerbaijan), 27 April 2019: Valtteri Bottas took his second pole position of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship at the end of a marathon, incident-packed qualifying session that saw two red flag periods for separate crashes involving Robert Kubica and pole position contender Charles Leclerc at Azerbaijan Grand Prix here on Saturday.
Bottas made the best of a tight final run in Q3, maximising a good two to edge team-mate Lewis Hamilton by just 0.059s, with Sebastian Vettel third ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
In Q1, Vettel led the early exchanges, setting a time of 1:42.348. His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who had held sway in every practice session, soon bypassed that and his lap of 1:41.426, established a tough benchmark.
Verstappen, meanwhile, suffered a lock-up into Turn 7 on his opening run and his first lap left him in down in P12. On an improving track he was left vulnerable and he returned to the pit lane for a fresh set of tyres and prepared for another attempt.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was also having difficulty finding the sweet spot with tyres and after overcooking his entry to Turn 3 he was forced to take the escape road. He too would require more laps to make his way through to Q2, but eventually climbed to third place above Verstappen.
Pierre Gasly then provided proof of the rapid track evolution. The Frenchman who is facing a pit lane starting after being penalised for a missing a call to the weighbridge in FP2, set the quickest first sector on his second run. Then, benefiting from a tow provided by Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, he crossed the line in just 1:41.335 to claim a top spot he held until the chequered flag.
With Gasly first ahead of Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen, and with the chequered flag out, there was drama at the end of the session. Williams’ Robert Kubica crashed heavily on the outside of Turn 8. The Pole clipped the barrier on the inside of the corner and was then pitched across the narrow track at high speed, hitting the opposite wall.
The session was red-flagged, and out went 16th-placed Stroll, followed by Haas’ Romain Grosjean, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg, Williams’ George Russell and, in P20, the unfortunate Kubica.
At the top, with Gasly first ahead of Leclerc, Hamilton and Max, fifth place went McLaren’s Carlos Sainz, with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas sixth ahead of Vettel and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Also through to Q2 were Toro Rosso’s Albon Albon in ninth, followed by Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, the second Toro of Daniil Kvyat, McLaren’s Lando Norris, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
After a lengthy delay to repair the barriers, Verstappen went quickest with an opening lap of 1:41.388. Team-mate Gasly, with a pit lane start in prospect, sat out the session.
Ferrari’s driver, meanwhile, took to the track on medium tyres and the choice bit Leclerc hard.
On his second run, the Monegasque driver carried too much speed into Turn 8 on tyres not yet in the window. He locked up, straight-lined the corner, and hit the barriers in the same spot as Kubica. The session was again immediately red-flagged.
Another lengthy delay followed. On the resumption, Vettel, who had dropped to P12 just ahead of the red flag, was first out on track, this time on soft tyres. The German vaulted up the order and a second flyer eventually netted him P5 ahead of Leclerc, Räikkönen, Norris, Kvyat and Giovinazzi. Eliminated at this stage were Sainz, Ricciardo, Albon, Magnussen and Gasly.
The finale of the marathon session proved to be thrilling. Verstappen was first out on track at the start of the segment and took provisional pole with a lap of 1:41.447. That was quickly bypassed by Hamilton, with the champion posting a lap of 1:40.703 to take provisional pole ahead of Vettel and Bottas.
As other peeled off track for new tyres and a second run, Verstappen without a fresh set available, stayed on track for a second flying lap and the Dutchman jumped to the front row with an lap of 1:41.069.
Vettel was first out in the final runs, prioritising good tyre temperature over gambling on a tow, and in the end it cost the Ferrari driver.
Vettel failed to match Hamilton’s opening run time and after crossing the line in P2 then had to watch as Bottas jumped ahead to claim pole position with a time of 1:40.495, just 0.059s ahead of Hamilton, who made mistakes in the opening two corners of his lap.
The second runs dropped Verstappen to fourth place. He will start alongside Vettel and ahead of Pérez. Sixth place went to Kyat, with Norris in seventh ahead of the Alfa Romeos of Giovinazzi and Räikkönen. Leclerc qualified in P10 but will move up one place on the grid as Giovinazzi is set for a 10-place grid penalty.
2019 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:40.495
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.554 0.059
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:40.797 0.302
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:41.069 0.574
5 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:41.593 1.098
6 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.681 1.186
7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:41.886 1.391
8 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:42.424 1.929
9 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:43.068 2.573
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari
11 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:42.398 1.903
12 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:42.477 1.982
13 Alex Albon Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42.494 1.999
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:42.699 2.204
15 Pierre Gasly Red Bull
16 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:42.630 2.135
17 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:43.407 2.912
18 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:43.427 2.932
19 George Russell Williams 1:45.062 4.567
20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:45.455 4.960 -
Hamilton wins F1’s 1000th race ahead of Bottas
Hamilton wins F1 1000th race in Shanghai on Sunday. A Mercedes image by Wolfgang Wilhelm Shanghai, 14 April 2019: Lewis Hamilton won Formula 1’s 1000thworld championship race, getting the jump of pole-sitting team-mate Valtteri Bottas off the line at the start to take a lead he then held for the full race distance. Sebastian Vettel was third ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the Formula One World Championship here on Sunday.
Hamilton made a good start from second place on the grid to power past Bottas, who afterward admitted he had been disadvantaged by momentary wheelspin on the start/finish line.
Starting from the same side of the grid as Hamilton, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also got away well to steal P3 from team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Behind them, Verstappen held fifth off the line, with Red Bull team-mate Pierre Gasly also retaining his starting position of sixth ahead of Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo.
Further back, there was trouble for McLaren as both Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris got tagged in a battle with Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. Norris was pitched into the air briefly and sustained floor damage while Sainz damaged his front wing. Both pitted for repairs at the end of the first lap and rejoined at the back of the field. Kvyat was soon handed a drive-through penalty for causing the collision.
By lap 10 Hamilton had opened up a solid lead ahead of his team-mate, but fourth-placed Vettel was now pushing to get past Leclerc. Despite the younger driver’s protestations that he was quicker than the German, Leclerc was told to defer to the four-time champion and on lap 11 he pulled across to allow Vettel through to third place.
At the end of lap 17 Verstappen headed for the pit lane to take on hard tyres. Sensing a threat, Ferrari mirrored the move with Vettel on the next lap and the German rejoined just ahead of the Dutch driver.
With Vettel on cold tyres, Verstappen smelled blood and the Red Bull driver launched a bold attack down the inside into the hairpin. He got past but locked up slightly and Vettel was able to hold a wide line and retained his position, with Verstappen being forced out onto the grass.
It was the Dutch driver’s only realistic chance and once Vettel’s tyres were working well, he began to pull away from the Red Bull.
The race then settled until the second round of stops, again triggered by Verstappen. The Dutchman pitted at the end of lap 34 for medium tyres and Ferrari responded by bringing in Vettel for the same compound a lap later. Mercedes then brought in their drivers for medium compound Pirellis.
Bottas dropped to third in that round of stops but he soon closed in on Leclerc and despite a brave defence by the Ferrari driver, the Finn was able to get past to reclaim P2.
Vettel now also began to close on Leclerc and armed with fresher tyres there was little fuss in getting by as Leclerc gave way and swiftly made his own pit stop for mdeiums. The Monegasque’s pit stop allowed Max to power past and reclaim fourth place, with Leclerc eventually rejoining almost 15 seconds behind the Red Bull.
The order at the top remained unchanged in the final laps, with Hamilton cruising to a 75thcareer win ahead of Bottas, Vettel and Verstappen.
However, behind fifth-placed Leclerc, Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull was plotting a late charge.
Vettel had held the race fastest lap, a 1:34.836s, since lap 37, but holding a an almost 30s advantage over Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Gasly took a free pit stop on lap 53 for soft tyres. He duly claimed fastest lap with a time of 1:34.742 to take another point to add the eight earned for sixth place ahead of Ricciardo, Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen and Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon, who delivered an excellent drive to claim a point for 10thplace after starting from the pit lane.
2019 Formula 1Chinese Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 56 –
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 56 6.552
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 56 13.744
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 56 27.627
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 56 31.276
6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 56 1’29.307
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 55 1 lap
8 Sergio Perez Racing Point 55 1 lap
9 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 55 1 lap
10 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 55 1 lap
11 Romain Grosjean Haas 55 1 lap
12 Lance Stroll Racing Point 55 1 lap
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 55 1 lap
14 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 55 1 lap
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 55 1 lap
16 George Russell Williams 54 2 laps
17 Robert Kubica Williams 54 2 laps
18 Lando Norris McLaren 50
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 41
Nico Hulkenberg Renault 16 -
Bottas takes pole ahead of Hamilton: Chinese GP
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas (centre) takes pole ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton (left) and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari on Saturday. An FIA image Shanghai, 13 April 2019: Finland’s Valtteri Bottas will line up for Formula 1’s 1000thgrand prix in pole position after he beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by the narrow margin of 0.023s in the Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship here on Saturday. The pole is the seventh of Bottas’ career and the 59thfront-row lockout for Mercedes.
Behind the Silver Arrows, Ferrari annexed row two with Sebastian Vettel in third place, 0.017s ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Bottas was to the fore early in Q1, and the Finn claimed top spot thanks to a lap of 1:32.658. That left him almost half a second clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who ran wide exiting the final corner. Max Verstappen put in a lap 1:33.274 to take P3 ahead of Vettel and Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg. The top five would sit out the final runs.
Eliminated at the end of the segment were Racing Point’s Lance Stroll in P16 with the Canadian exiting ahead of the Williams cars of George Russell and Robert Kubica. Also out was Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi who failed to set a time in Q1.
Bottas held P1 through the final runs, but Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who caught traffic on his first run and lay in 10thahead of the final laps, vaulted to P2 with a second effort drop Verstappen to fourth place.
Bottas once again stamped his authority on the session setting a benchmark of 1:31.728 in the first runs of Q2. Vettel got closest to him, though the German was half a second back ahead of Leclerc, Verstappen and Hamilton, who once again made a mistake on his lap.
Mercedes opted to run again at the end of the session with Bottas bolting on a set of soft tyres, but Hamilton opted instead for mediums and it was he who topped the session, the Briton posting a time of 1:31.637 to finish a tenth ahead of Bottas lap.
Bottas returned to the top of the order in the first runs of Q3, but only just. The Finn edged team-mate Hamilton by just 0.007 to take provisional pole, with Vettel third.
Verstappen put in a good lap of 1:32.089 to sit in fourth ahead of Leclerc, and the second Red Bull of Pierre Gasly.
There was disappointment for the Red Bulls in the final runs though. Held up through the final corners during their out laps, neither Max nor Pierre was able to get across the line in time to complete a final flying lap, a situation that infuriated the Dutchman.
The traffic problems allowed Leclerc to jump to P4 with his final run to sit alongside Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who narrowly squeezed past Verstappen at the end of the out laps and managed to get across the line in time to complete a final lap.
Leclerc’s move up the order handed Ferrari ownership of row two with Red Bull set to start from row three tomorrow, ahead of the Renaults of Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg and the Haas cars of Magnussen and Grosjean.
At the top of the order Hamilton couldn’t find the pace to oust Bottas from P1 and thanks to a marginal improvement the Finn took his seventh career pole by 0.023s.
2019 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:31.547
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.570 0.023
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:31.848 0.301
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.865 0.318
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:32.089 0.542
6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull 1:32.930 1.383
7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:32.958 1.411
8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:32.962 1.415
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas
10 Romain Grosjean Haas
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:33.236 1.689
12 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:33.299 1.752
13 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 1:33.419 1.872
14 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 1:33.523 1.976
15 Lando Norris McLaren 1:33.967 2.420
16 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:34.292 2.745
17 George Russell Williams 1:35.253 3.706
18 Robert Kubica Williams 1:35.281 3.734
19 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo
20 Alex Albon Toro Rosso -
Valtteri has been quick all weekend, so he deserves the pole, says Hamilton
Shanghai, 13 April 2019: Saturday post-qualifying Press Conference transcript of the Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the FIA Formula One (F1) World Championship:
TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Martin Brundle)
Q: Congratulations Valtteri, the 1000th championship event, the world championship leader, and you’re on pole position; you worked for that one?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been a good weekend so far, I mean, starting from the pole. I felt already really comfortable this morning in the practice. In the qualifying, honestly, I struggled a bit in Q3 to get the perfect lap in, but it was good enough.
Q: It looked like you had it covered, though. You just had an ounce of extra speed. And the lap unfolded nicely?
VB: Yeah, the lap was OK. Like I said, not completely how I wanted, but luckily it was good enough for pole and the car has been really good this weekend. And Lewis also managed to improve a lot during the qualifying; it was super close.
Q: Well, your fans seem very happy up there. Lewis: 59th front-row lockout for the team and second place for you today, though. Valtteri certainly showed some speed, but you didn’t give up on it.
Lewis HAMILTON: No, I didn’t give up. I kept pushing right to the end. Big congratulations to Valtteri, he’s been stellar all weekend. I’ve been struggling and fighting the car all weekend. We’ve been chipping away at it and I’m much, much happier. You know, it was eight tenths at once stage, the gap between us, so to be as close as we are at the end is fantastic. This is an incredible result for the team. There was a little bit more time left on the table there, but that’s cool, I’ll try and get it tomorrow.
Q: So, race pace – you’ve got the Ferraris in your mirrors, are you comfortable for the race?
LH: Well, they’re particularly quick in the straights but it’s evident this weekend that we’ve been able to pull some performance from the corners so just great work from the guys at the factory analyzing the test and the last two races, so this is really, really positive for us, really happy.
Q: Well done. Sebastian, take us through the lap. Mercedes just had a little bit too much for the Ferrari team today?
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, unfortunately, it seems to be like that. I think right from Q1 they just seemed to start off from a better place. I think we had a good session. Maybe there was a tiny bit more but I actually was quite happy that I managed the final attempt because I was quite marginal with time, the team told me that we only had 10 seconds margin. So I then hurried up and made sure I crossed the line in time. I think there was maybe a little bit more, but overall not enough to beat these guys today.
Q: So, satisfied with third, but you’ve got a very fast car in a straight line and you’re sitting pretty for the race?
SV: Yeah, but they are bloody quick in the corners! So you choose! For us, obviously, when we get close I think we have an advantage in a straight line so maybe we can do something there. But the race is long and we’ll take it from there, but it should be a good day tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Valtteri, congratulations, you’ve been quick all weekend. How were those laps in Q3, both of them good enough for pole position?
VB: Yeah, the weekend so far has been very good. Obviously, tomorrow is the big day but at least on a single lap it’s been competitive and as a team, we’ve been super strong. I think in the Q3, honestly, during those two runs I never got the perfect lap, there was always something, but that’s how it goes. The pace was good, so yeah, it was enough for pole.
Q: The one-lap pace is clearly very good, but what’s the long-run pace like?
VB: That’s something we will honestly find out tomorrow but looking from Friday it’s been pretty close among the top three teams, so there are many question marks but today is encouraging and we’ll go for it.
Q: Well done Valtteri, good luck tomorrow. Lewis, you said a moment ago that you’ve been fighting the car this weekend but you seemed to make good gains with it during that qualifying session. Where have you improved it?
LH: The car hasn’t improved from… you can’t change it in qualifying so it was just really… As I said I was struggling with the car throughout the weekend, all day yesterday and even today, even into Q2. But I made a couple of changes to the settings on the wheel and some changes to the line and I managed to bridge the gap. Honestly, I’m quite proud of the job we’ve done considering how far away I was earlier on in the sessions and Valtteri has been quick all weekend, so he deserved the pole.
Q: And what are your thoughts on the gap to Ferrari this weekend?
LH: I don’t even know what it is, so…
Q: Well, given that you were behind them in Bahrain two weeks ago, the pendulum has swung the other way here.
LH: Yeah, I think that’s how it’s going to be from race to race. Some cars suit some tracks better than others.
Q: Sebastian, first of all your thoughts on the gap to Mercedes.
SV: Too big. We’d like it to be the other way around, obviously. I think we had a decent session. Obviously important if we can’t beat them to be right behind them, buying us some options tomorrow, hopefully.
Q: Talk to us a little bit more about that session. How was it for you? How did the track conditions improve?
SV: The track, I think, ramped up. I think you can see the lap times, from where we started in Q1 to Q3. Obviously there’s a bit in yourself, a bit in the engine modes and stuff what people are doing but I think that’s fairly normal. On our side we were able to improve the car from where it was yesterday, so I’m reasonably happy with that, but not entirely happy. I think there was a little bit more. It was a bit tricky today to put the laps together.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Queston for you Seb. There was quite a busy out-lap in Q3, the last one, think you overtook several cars; Max wasn’t happy because he didn’t make his lap. Think the other Red Bull didn’t, both Haas. Can you talk us through that – and is it a general problem in F1 now?
SV: No, I don’t think… I guess everyone timed it around the same, so we all left for the same spot. And if you’re at the end of the train, which I was, then it was quite difficult. And when the team told me we only have ten seconds margin to cross the line in time to make another attempt. I had to think of something. I do not know if others were not told. If everyone would have sped up the way I did, then yeah, we would have all made it. But I obviously prioritised to make the lap. It felt like others were not aware.
Q: (David Coath – Motorlat.com) A question for each of you. It is the 1000th grand prix and we know it’s another race for you. Can you enjoy the moment or is it something you’ll have to look back on more further years down the line?
Lewis?
LH: For me it’s not really much of a moment. It’s just another race. We’re here to win. It’s great for the sport.
Valtteri, your thoughts?
VB: Yeah, here to focus on myself, our team’s job and try to do the best job we can. In the end it’s only numbers but obviously it’s a big one, so congrats to F1.
Sebastian?
SV: Well, it’s not up to us, obviously. It’s a bit more colourful than other races but I think inside the car and for the result itself, it makes no difference.
Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) Question for Seb. You said you weren’t very confident with the car in Australia, it seemed to be the same again in Bahrain. Has that changed coming here? Have you started to get what you want? And, if you’re not, how much more is there to get out of this car?
SV: I think we have a strong platform to work from. Obviously we started very well in Barcelona and the feeling was really good, and really strong. Since then, I think we’ve struggled a little bit to repeat that, so yeah, the past two races, we’ve had little issues here and there. Bahrain didn’t go my way. Saturday was not bad, we had a small problem, otherwise I could have been better, Sunday yeah, struggling in the first stint as much as in Australia the second stint. Here and there not happy. Obviously you try to drive around the problems and try to set up the car differently. I think we are getting more and more there, understanding maybe some things related to different tracks, which Barcelona doesn’t show because it’s different but, as I said, the car is strong, so it’s up to us to extract the performance.
Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Seb, Bernie Ecclestone was speaking earlier this week suggesting that it could take into consideration that you might want to retire. Do you envisage being in the sport beyond your next contract?
LH: It’s the moustache!
SV: He’s got one too now, I don’t know what you call it when it’s all around. Goatee. Well, certainly I’m not going to drive… I’m not going to be in Formula One as long as he was, that’s for sure. Yeah, but I hope I’m going to be as fit and as sharp as he is today when I’m hopefully that old. Yeah, I don’t know, to be honest. At the moment I feel on top of my game, I feel that I know what I’m doing and yeah, I’m very very self-critical, very ambitious and I put a lot of expectation on to myself. I love driving, I love the sensation of the speed, I love fighting with these guys so there’s a lot of things that at the moment I really like and I’ll miss so that’s why it’s not an option to quit tomorrow, I’m quite happy to race. And then, yeah, I’ve got the contract but that’s a piece of paper and then we see what happens.
Q: (Car Magazine, Greece) Valtteri, you were under a lot of pressure last year and you had an outburst at the beginning of this season with your win. You’re now leading the championship, you have pole position, where are you confidence-wise?
VB: Confidence-wise I’m good, thanks for asking. It’s been a good start of the year, first of all for me personally and for us as a team. It’s been optimal but it’s all at the beginning of the year I feel confident. Today was a good day and hopefully tomorrow will be again, but it’s a long season ahead.
Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Lewis, you said in response to Tom’s question you tried different lines and settings to cure the problems you’ve been having. Was that purely a function of trying to get the tyre temperatures balanced across both axles? It kind of looked – certainly in FP3 around turn three – as if you were having particular difficulty getting the car to bite in at the exit of turn three compared with other people.
LH: I don’t know. Valtteri was particularly quick in the first sector so I was experimenting throughout the session, finally got the quickest sector in the end but a little bit too late but still, it’s all about making improvements. It wasn’t to do with tyre temperature, it was just really to do a balance and getting the flow, utilising the grip in the right areas. But as I said, I’ve been struggling with the car so I was just battling the thing. It’s obviously a great car but this year I think the first few races are always quite tricky with a new car. You see it shifts a little bit later on in the season when you get a better understanding.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) It looked a bit strange with the soft tyre and the medium tyre; I think Lewis, you went in Q2 on another set of mediums and you were the fastest. Do you think it’s a bit strange here, the behaviour between soft and medium? Do you expect that this could swing around something for tomorrow, because you’re probably not going to drive on the soft as you did today?
SV: I’m not sure I understood the question. Yeah, Valtteri understood. Go ahead. No, I didn’t really…
VB: Yeah, I can explain to you and then you answer Well, the thing is here the soft tyre… it’s a very high energy track. There’s long corners which put a lot of load on the tyres and actually the soft degrades more during the lap, even one lap, than the medium so soft might be a lot quicker at the beginning of the lap but by the end of the lap it is slower than the medium tyre, so that’s why there’s no massive time difference. I think tomorrow, as normal, medium’s going to be the better tyre after a few laps as usual, but that’s something we will find out tomorrow.
SV: Thank you, Valtteri, for the explanation. It makes complete sense what he was saying so… Yeah, I should listen more in these meetings about tyres. Not much to add. I think it’s always a bit of a surprise to us when we are much closer with the harder compound compared to the softest compound. But Valtteri explained why very well.
