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Tag: Lotus
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Monaco is a distant memory; I’m ready for Canada: Kimi
After a frustrating Monaco Grand Prix where his gap to the Drivers’ Championship lead increased from four
to 21 points, Kimi heads to Montréal focused on getting right back in the fight.Excerpts from an Interview:
What are your feelings after Monaco?
We had a bad result on Sunday in Monaco; that was clear for anyone to see. It could have been even
worse, but it could have been much better as well. We came out with one point so at least we got
something back after losing the solid fifth place, but that’s not much consolation. The car felt good for
qualifying and the race which is a positive as it was another circuit – and a difficult circuit – where we’ve
been able to have the car pretty much as we wanted. We still lack just a little bit of speed in qualifying
sometimes, but our race pace was good again; not that you can show that when you’re stuck behind slower
cars like we saw in Monaco. We don’t know how the car will be in Montréal – we will have the answer to
that question soon – but there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be competitive again.It was quite some fightback you made at the end of the race…
Well, that was a bit different as I had fresh tyres and we should never have been in that position in the first
place, but it was good to at least get a point at the end. In a way, it almost makes it more frustrating as
when we had the clean air after the pit stop it was probably the first time you saw how quick our car really
was.
You were pretty frustrated after the race?
No-one wants to lose so many points thanks to the actions of another driver, but that race is over; Monaco
is just a distant memory and I’m all ready for Canada.What’s your opinion of Canada?
I have won there which was pretty good, but I have experienced some setbacks there as well. Many times
the race has been quite a lottery as there seem to be different things which affect it. The weather can
change a lot, sometimes the tyres or the track aren’t working very well, sometimes there are a lot of safety
cars, or sometimes another driver runs into the back of you when you’re waiting at a red light. As for the
place itself, I’ve always liked Montréal. It is one of the nicest cities we visit all year.What do you need for a good result in Canada?
A good car. Like at every circuit you need to get the set-up exactly right. You need a well-balanced chassis
in the medium downforce configuration and you don’t want to be too hard on brakes as there’s a lot of
aggressive braking there. It’s something I quite enjoy, the stop and go style of the circuit.Is Montréal another circuit where qualifying is crucial?
Qualifying is important at every circuit, but not as essential as it was in Monaco to get a good result. It’s not
easy to get past, but there are one or two places to overtake.What are your thoughts on the Championship after losing ground to Sebastian Vettel?
For sure we lost ground on the lead in Monaco, but it’s not over yet. It’s still early in the season and twentyone points behind is not too much to catch up; especially if Sebastian has a bad weekend too at some
point. The most important thing is that we return to our race level before Monaco to get things going our
way as soon as possible.ends
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Kimi Räikkönen: “Let’s hope I’m happier in Spain”
Drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean share their thoughts on the Circuit de Catalunya, while Team Principal Eric Boullier and Technical Director James Allison look ahead to the start of the European season.
After taking his third podium finish of the year in Bahrain, our Iceman looks forward to racing closer to
home with the start of the European seasonYourself and the team currently occupy P2 in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships; are you pleased with how things are going?
For sure it’s an okay start and we’re in a better position that this time last year, but there’s a long season
ahead and it’s too early to say if we can fight for the Championships right to the end. It’s going to be hard to
catch Sebastian [Vettel] if he keeps taking good results so we need to start taking more points from him,
but you never know what can happen. We’ll keep pushing to improve the car and see where we end up.What’s required to bridge that gap to P1?
Some more wins! To catch the leaders, we have to work twice as hard as they are. It’s no secret that we
want more speed from the car in qualifying; it’s so tight up there at the front and we really need to be on the
first two rows to fight for victories every time. It’s good to be able to start the European season where we
are as this is when you see teams starting to push on with lots of new parts for the cars. It’s still early days,
but to have scored strong points since the start of the year is obviously better than not having them. We
need to keep scoring points in the same way; even if it’s a bad weekend for us, we need to keep finishing
as well as we can. That’s how we will fight to the end of the season.How is the Circuit of Catalunya for you?
I have won twice in Barcelona and I was on the podium there last year too, so I really look forward to going
there again; hopefully to end the weekend with another good result. It’s a circuit where you have to get
everything exactly right to be at the top. All the teams have tested many times at this circuit, so to get an
advantage there is not very easy. The set-up is crucial as the track changes with the wind and temperature
so there’s plenty of work for the engineers too.Is it good to be racing in Europe again?
I really like racing in Europe. We don’t have to travel that far so all your energy is saved for the weekend
itself. Traditionally the real season starts when coming back to Europe. For me, it’s great.The Circuit de Catalunya is the only circuit at which you’ve tested the E21 so far; does that help matters?
That’s true, but you have to remember that was at the end of February and the beginning of March so
conditions were very different compared to what we hope to see in May. It was very difficult to get the tyres working properly when we were last there, but it was the same for everybody. We all start from zero again
in FP1.The team didn’t get so much mileage at Barcelona during testing, but reliability doesn’t seem to be so much of a concern now the season is underway?
I didn’t have that many laps there in testing as there were problems with the car and I also missed a day as
I was unwell. That said, me and the team know the track pretty well so I don’t think we’ll be too surprised
about which way the track goes or what setup to use on the car. Even though I didn’t get a lot of mileage in
pre-season, the main thing was I felt good in the car the whole time. Our car seems to be good at every
circuit so far…You were quite reserved after the podium finish in Bahrain; were you happy with the result?
You’re never really happy if you don’t win, but I suppose second place is as close as you can get. We could
maybe have been a few places higher in in qualifying which would have made things easier, but I drove to
the maximum and luckily we found the pace in the car that was missing in qualifying. Let’s hope I’m happier
in Spain.Romain Grosjean: “I have the tools at my disposal”After his first podium appearance of the season in Bahrain, our man in car #8 sees no reason why top
points finishes can’t become a familiar state of playAfter a start to the season which fell short of your high expectations, why did everything come
good in Bahrain?
It’s no secret that before Bahrain my feeling hasn’t been right with the car. It wasn’t the chassis, the aero or
anything like that, but we took a while to get everything to my liking and that’s been frustrating. We
managed to put our finger on the issue and I feel much more comfortable now. I really had a good
sensation behind the wheel on Sunday in Bahrain, and a podium position at the end of the race was the
result. I could put the car more or less where I wanted which is all you want as a driver. Third place was a
deserved reward for everyone after all our hard work.How good was it to get that podium after your tough start to the year?
The race was really enjoyable with a lot of overtaking. There were a couple of tense moments where
maybe things got a little too close, but it was a lot of fun! To come from P11 through to the podium is really
satisfying. I saw P4 on the board and Paul [Di Resta] was not too far ahead, so I thought “come on, this is
the podium, let’s go!” I knew I had fresher tyres but it wasn’t easy as I had to push but at the same time
look after them, which is hard for a driver when you have another car in your sights. Luckily we managed to
get past near the end, pull out a small gap and maintain it until the flag!How do you feel the E21 is evolving?
We’ve been able to see progress with the lap times so we know that the upgrades being brought in are
working. Last year’s car was already very competitive – we achieved a total of 10 podiums in 2012 – so it’s
good to see the team has retained and developed the best performing areas of the 2012 car for the E21.
For me, after Bahrain, I’m feeling much more at home with the car and I hope that there will be many
successes to come in 2013.What are your thoughts on the topic of tyre management?
Tyre management has always been part of the qualifying and race strategy. I don’t know about others, I
just know that I always push as much as I can to obtain the best result possible. Of course, if you drive a
certain way or adapt yourself you can get more out of the tyres than if you don’t, but that’s just part of being
a racing driver; you always have to adapt to extract maximum performance.What will be the key to a good weekend in Spain?
In Barcelona it will be important to qualify well as it will be much harder to overtake than in Bahrain. As a
team, this is an area where we can still improve a little bit, but we have some ideas of how to do that and
hopefully we’ll be able to make the front row.What are your thoughts on the Circuit de Catalunya?
Everyone knows Barcelona very well from testing. The first four corners which make up the first sector are
pretty fast, then there’s the slow final sector with between turns 10-15. Out of turn 15 you need a good rear
end of the car with strong traction. It’s important not to overheat your rear tyres and managing degradation
will be important – even with the harder tyres which are now allocated – as when you reach high
degradation levels on your tyres you are nowhere on lap time. Tyre management will still be the key area
for a good performance in the race.What do you need to keep getting podium results?
To keep finishing in front of the competition! We’ve had consistency already, finishing every race in the
points, but now it’s the big results we’re chasing and getting the car as I want it has been a vital ingredient.
Now I have the tools that I want at my disposal I can really push. In some ways you can say my season
starts now! My podium in Bahrain was a very good start to that challenge. If we keep working the way we
have been so far this season as a team I’m sure we can achieve great things.ends
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Kimi Räikkönen: “A podium should be possible”
Having come agonisingly close to a great result in China, Kimi puts the past behind him and focuses on his next chance for glory in Bahrain
The Chinese Grand Prix was full of action; how was it from your position?
It was good racing but we ran out of tyre performance during the final stint. I felt comfortable in the car and I could push well, but we lost out in the end. I was not able to get past Felipe (Massa) in the middle part of the race, and I wasn’t able to keep Sebastian (Vettel) behind me, but there is still good speed in the car.
What happened when Sebastian got past you?
I had been keeping him behind me, but finally my tyres were too far gone for me to keep him there. I went wide and then I was on the marbles. I had very little traction on the loose stuff and because it was so close a lot of cars went past me. It was then too late to make another stop so it was frustrating. It was the strategy we chose, and I wouldn’t have been fighting for second if we’d gone for a three stop. Maybe we should have run a longer second stint, as that worked for Romain. We learnt a lot about the tyres.
Are you frustrated the strategy chosen didn’t work?
It looked the best one for us and it worked for Romain. If we had the same information again, we’d probably try the same approach.
It didn’t work, but you don’t know these things unless you try them.
We will now know better for next time. We were pretty close to finishing on the podium. We didn’t. That’s racing.
You were racing wheel-to-wheel at times during the race. How was that?
It is what I missed when I was rallying, and it’s good to be racing against other cars like that. It was very close at times, but it’s called racing so that’s what you do.
I thought it must have looked good on television for anyone watching.
I look forward to racing more like that this season.
The team wasn’t able to maximise the latest upgrade package at Shanghai – how frustrating was that for you as a driver?
We had a lot of parts but it was wet on Friday morning and very cold in the afternoon. We went back to most of the old spec for Saturday as we knew how it worked. Qualifying was okay, but there was a bigger gap to pole which wasn’t what we wanted. We didn’t make the car faster which some others did with theirs. The E20 still feels good to drive, but we just need to get a little bit more speed. Hopefully we will find it in Bahrain.
What are your thoughts of the Bahrain International Circuit?
I don’t think it will present any particular problems for us. It’s likely to be quite hot and our car didn’t like the cold so much when we were in China so maybe the heat will suit us better. The track has a mixture of corners and it’s quite fun to race on. There are some opportunities to overtake so let’s see what happens.
It’s another circuit where you have finished on the podium…
I have had a second and three third places in Bahrain which is okay. It is good to race there. We won’t know how strong the car will be until we get there. Maybe we will get the upgrades on the car to work properly and we will be able to go faster than in China. Let’s see.
How have you enjoyed the first three races?
It’s not that different to what it was like before. I don’t like the travel so much as the first races are so far away from home, but soon we will be racing in Europe. When you’re at the track and in the car you know what you have to do, so it doesn’t matter so much about the other stuff. When I’m in the car it feels good, and we’re all working to get faster.
Do you think the team is capable of a strong result in Bahrain?
A podium should be possible and I think it has been at all the races we’ve been at so far. We don’t know exactly how good the car will be until we get there, but we don’t expect any problems.
Romain Grosjean: “Next time is going to be even better”
Romain achieved the best result of his Formula 1 career in China; just the tonic after a difficult start to the season. Now, the Frenchman is looking to carry that momentum to Bahrain
How did it feel to score your first points in Formula 1 last weekend?
I’m very pleased for myself, for the team, for all the hard work we’ve done. We deserved finally a good result. We did an amazing job to recover from our free practice pace, which was not that good, but at the end of the story we got back where we should be.
As Kimi showed, it was a strategy which was very marginal on tyres, how was that from behind the wheel?
I knew it was going to be tight for tyres and did my best to save them. It’s always difficult when you are on a risky strategy to the cars coming from behind you. The McLarens and Red Bulls were attacking with new tyres so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
How nervous were you at the start of the race?
My start was very good, but then Fernando (Alonso) went on the right side and I was blocked behind him. I couldn’t do much. Then unfortunately Felipe (Massa) came from the outside, a good move from him, and got in front of me. He held me off for all the first stint, which was not very good for me or my race, but then the second stint was amazing.
What about the rest of the race?
The pace was really good. I started the third stint the same and then we caught back to Felipe (Massa) again. Kimi was behind Sebastian (Vettel) and myself and then Jenson (Button) joined. It was very tight between us and difficult to overtake. And then the guys with new tyres came in the middle. You can always say that without Felipe (Massa) holding us maybe it would have been a different story, but anyway we knew we had to take care of the tyres. The car felt very good today and it gives me a lot of confidence for Bahrain.
You seemed to be in traffic a lot of the time in Shanghai?
It’s really frustrating not to be able to overtake! I think overtaking was quite tough on Sunday, even with the very long straight. It was really difficult for everybody. I was blocked behind Kamui (Kobayashi) and I think my pace was much better than what I was doing, but this is part of the race. You know sometimes you will have some traffic and sometimes be in free air. The strategy guys do their best to give you some free air and some laps to do by your own.
Overall, how do you assess your first points finishing performance in Formula 1?
I think we had more or less everything right with just some small mistakes. Next time is going to be even better.
You’ve experienced Bahrain before in the 2008 GP2 Asia series; does it bring back good memories?
Definitely. I raced there with the ART Grand Prix team and we took pole position, fastest lap and the win – it’s always nice to get a full house! I’ve also got quite a lot of experience there from 2010 when I was a test driver for Pirelli, so hopefully this will help me get up to speed quickly in the E20.
The layout of the circuit has been altered since you last drove there, so there will surely be some learning still to do…
It’s true that the configuration has changed, but the 2010 layout was only used for that season, and will return to its previous format for this year. I guess I’m quite lucky really, as I’ve driven the track in both forms so there will be no problem at all there.
Do you think you will enjoy racing a Formula 1 car at the Bahrain International Circuit?
Whether you enjoy driving at a track depends on the car. With a good car you enjoy the track, with a bad car you don’t! Bahrain is a good track. It has some big braking which I quite like, some interesting changes of direction like the double-left in the middle of the racetrack… I think the E20 will be nice there. The balance we have is pretty good and I’m sure we can achieve something strong.
What are you hoping for at the next race?
I want to be able to put a proper qualifying and proper race all together. I think the car will be good there. The weather should stay the same throughout the weekend – hopefully! Let’s see what we can do.
ends
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Grosjean looks forward to Bahrain GP
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS HEADING TO BAHRAIN?
I have good memories after a strong race there last year that’s for sure! Our car worked well and we seemed to like the heat so it’s a race I’m looking forward to it. We should see some consistent weather too, which always helps when you are trying to set up the car for the weekend.
FINDING THE RIGHT SETUP AND GETTING THE CAR EXACTLY AS YOU WANT IT SEEMS TO BE QUITE A CHALLENGE AT THE MOMENT?
I would be lying if I said the car is exactly where I want it and we are having quite an adventure to get the setup and feeling from the car how we want it. This is very frustrating for a driver, as you want your car to be obedient – to do what you want it to do – and to do it in a consistent manner. Certainly, we’re not the only team who are having a difficult time early in the season, but it’s something we really want to get on top of as quickly as possible. I’m spending a lot of time with my engineers and we’re all working hard to make improvements.
WHAT WORKED SO WELL FOR YOU IN BAHRAIN LAST YEAR?
It’s a track I knew from before Formula 1 and it has characteristics that I like in a circuit; some big braking into certain corners, some good change of direction with the double-left in the middle of the racetrack and it all flows quite nicely. Last year we got a good balance with the car and were able to make use of the E20 being kind to its tyres. The E21 shares that characteristic, so let’s hope we have more of the same this year.
HOW DID IT FEEL TO GET YOUR FIRST PODIUM HERE TWELVE MONTHS AGO?
It’s was a great feeling to get my first podium, and a really proud day for the whole team who did an incredible job. I think we got everything right that weekend.
IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT YOUR WEEKEND IN CHINA WASN’T EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED?
I wasn’t happy with ninth place, but at least it was points finish. It was a long, tough race and again we not able to make it work quite as well as we wanted. We started sixth on the grid and I thought we had a good chance to end up within the top five, but unfortunately we could not manage it.
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR RACE UNRAVELLED?
We struggled all weekend to get the balance right. It felt a lot better in qualifying but in the race I just couldn’t find the performance. I made a good start, climbed a few places and was sitting close behind Kimi for a short while, but then the tyres just fell off the cliff and I dropped right back. As the race went on I ended up getting stuck in traffic which obviously didn’t help, but I still have some work to do to try and find more from the car.
WHAT’S THE TARGET THIS WEEKEND?
I want to be right up there fighting for podiums and showing the speed I showed last year
The priority is to find that connection with the car. I want to be right up there fighting for podiums and showing the speed I showed last year. Hopefully we’ll get there soon, and I think Bahrainwould be the ideal place to really start getting some good points or even a return to the podium. We’ve been quick there before, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again.
ends
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Alonso gets first win for Ferrari; Vettel’s dash in vein
Shanghai, 14 April 2013: Fernando Alonso delivered Scuderia Ferrari’s first win of the season winning the UBS Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship to make it as a third driver to win a round each here on Sunday.
Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus stunned the Formula One world winning the season opener in Australia while Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, the reigning World Champion won a controversial Malaysian GP defying team orders. Today both the Red Bulls failed to get on to the podium. Vettel made a desperate dash, though, which was too little and too late to get on to the podium.
The teams opted for different strategies to save the Pirelli tyres and the race was action packed with Sahara Force India’s Adrain Sutil becoming an early victim while his teammate Paul Di Resta managed to get four important points with an eighth place finish after being in fifth place before he went for a pit stop in the fag end.
For Ferrari, Felipe Massa, after a strong start, had to settle for sixth at the flag but the eight points he added to the winner’s 25 takes the Prancing Horse ahead of Lotus to second in the Constructors’ Championship, just five points behind Red Bull.
Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo said: “I was very confident going into this race and today I am very happy, especially for Domenicali and for everyone in the Scuderia who has worked so hard and so well at the track and in Maranello, as they really deserve this victory. Fernando Alonso drove a great race and Felipe Massa brought home points that are important in the Constructors’ classification. Winning in China is very satisfying for Ferrari and it is also a source of great pride in Italian technology. Now we go on, but with our feet firmly on the ground. A thank you to the fans: it was very nice to see so many Ferrari flags in the Shanghai grandstands and to feel so much enthusiasm here in Italy”.
Team Principal Stefano Domenicali commented: “I am pleased with the result for the team as a whole today and clearly with winning a race that looked like being a difficult one from many points of view, starting with tyre management. After what happened in Malaysia, I am particularly happy to see Fernando on the top step of the podium, because it’s the best possible turnaround and it’s down to a great job from the guys here at the track and in Maranello. However, I am sorry for Felipe who, because of graining, was unable to make the most of his potential, nor to secure the result he could have aimed for after his great start. This is only the third race and in a few days we will already be back on track to take on another challenge in Bahrain. In this first part of the championship it is harder than ever to come up with an accurate evaluation of the hierarchy in the field: between qualifying and the race we have seen contrasting performances for some teams and therefore we must concentrate very hard on improving the car over the single lap in qualifying, while maintaining the performance level we have seen over the long runs”.
Fernando Alonso: “It couldn’t have gone better than this today! I hadn’t won since Germany and this has a special feeling because it was a tricky race full of action. Along with the second place I got in Australia, this result shows that the car is competitive and that we are working in the right direction to always be in the fight for the podium. For that, I have to thank the team for the huge efforts it has made both here and back in the factory. They have worked so hard to put me in this position from which I can fight with the others on equal terms. We had a good feeling all through the weekend and qualifying third gave us the possibility of fighting for the top places. On top of that, maybe we were owed some good luck. Along with that all the important factors worked perfectly, such as set-up, strategy, calling the pit stops and the stops themselves. All together it produced a win that wasn’t easy at the end of a race in which we made the most of our pace and did a good job of managing the tyres, which was definitely the most dangerous aspect. With no one dominating the Championship, it makes it extremely interesting, even if we are aware this is only the third race. We are under no illusions and we must continue to concentrate and do all we can to improve still further”.
Felipe Massa: “It’s difficult to understand exactly what happened today, because the start went very well. I was immediately quick and the car was working perfectly. At the first stop, I fitted the Medium tyres and after a few laps I began to suffer with graining on the front. That meant I lost ground to other cars and it was probably down to a problem linked to the track conditions and my driving style. All weekend, I haven’t felt comfortable with these tyres and in the race, any attempts I made to save them was useless. But for this problem, I would certainly have been in the fight for the podium, but I am still confident because, all the same, I was able to bring home a good points haul which is important in a season that has only just begun”.
Pat Fry: “The great start from both cars was certainly the best way to begin the race. We knew the Mercedes would have a slightly higher degradation than us and the double overtaking move on Hamilton at the start of Lap 5 meant we got into the lead immediately. We also knew that we would rejoin in traffic after the first pit stop, without knowing if we would have been able to overtake the cars that were on the Medium: the move paid off for Fernando with his stop on the sixth lap, while for Felipe, who pitted on lap 7, it was more difficult, especially as he had some graining which meant he was not able to finish any higher. Overall, the F138 showed that it has a good pace and we can take satisfaction from that. Now we must immediately turn the page and concentrate on the race coming up in Bahrain. We are absolutely aware that we still have a lot of work to do on qualifying performance if we want to make the most of our race pace”.
Sahara Force India press release adds:
Sahara Force India secured four championship points today as Paul Di Resta raced to eighth place at the Shanghai International Circuit. Adrian Sutil’s race ended early when he was hit from behind by Esteban Gutierrez.
P8 Paul Di Resta VJM06-04
Tyre strategy: Medium, Medium, Medium, Soft
Paul: “A good result in the end and a strong recovery after a difficult start to the race. I was battling with Nico [Hulkenberg] on the opening lap, but unfortunately there was some contact with Adrian [Sutil] down at the hairpin, which put me on the grass and set us back three or four places. After that I was stuck in the pack, my tyres were graining, and I couldn’t really make much progress. It wasn’t until the third stint that I was in some clean air and the pace of the car was very strong. I was pushing all the way and I knew it would be very close after the final stop with Grosjean and Hulkenberg. But the pit crew did a top job; they kept their nerve and we managed to stay ahead of both of them. If everything had gone to plan I’m sure we could have done an even better job, but it’s good to pick up more points and to see our race pace right up there once again.”
DNF Adrian Sutil VJM06-03
Tyre strategy: Soft
Adrian: “A very disappointing day for me. Things were going well in the opening laps and then under braking for the final hairpin I got hit from behind as I turned into the corner. I guess Gutierrez missed his braking point and had nowhere to go but into the back of my car. My rear wing was broken and there was no option but to stop. It’s always a shame not to finish a race and I had a good chance of scoring more points today. I was on the soft tyre and the strategy looked to be shaping up well.”
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal
“It’s the first time we’ve scored points in China so it’s good to get that monkey off our back and see Paul demonstrate the inherent pace of our car. He was boxed in the pack early on, but the strategy came back to us at the end of the race as Paul put in a fantastic third stint on the medium tyres. We left it until the last couple of laps to fit the soft tyres, but Paul had done enough in the clean air to keep Grosjean and Hulkenberg behind him. Credit should also go to the pit crew who were exceptional today with some very rapid stops, especially the final one. On the other side of the garage Adrian was the innocent victim of Gutierrez’s mistake. There was nothing Adrian could have done to avoid it but it certainly cost us a good chance of getting two cars in the points.”
Lotus quotes:
Kimi Räikkönen took his second podium finish of the season with a strong second place in the Chinese Grand Prix. Despite a rearranged nose and front wing – courtesy of contact with Sergio Perez’s McLaren – Kimi fought back after a poor start from the front row of the grid. Romain Grosjean endured a more difficult race, with ninth place his reward at the chequered flag. Kimi keeps up his run of consecutive points finishes and retains second in the Drivers’ Championship on a tally of 49 points; three behind leader Sebastian Vettel. The team falls one place to third position in the Constructors’ Championship on 60 points, with Ferrari now ahead with 73 points.
- Both drivers started on scrubbed sets of the soft compound (yellow) Pirelli tyre.
- Kimi pitted for new mediums (white) on laps 6, 21 and 34, Romain on laps 7, 23 and 37.
- Kimi incurred damage to his front wing after an early collision with Sergio Perez.
Kimi Räikkönen, P2, E21-03
“Second wasn’t quite what we wanted, but in the circumstances it was the best that we could manage today. I’m not 100% happy because we didn’t win, but it is what it is and second place is a good result after a bad start and the incident with Sergio [Perez]. It was quite difficult out there; obviously the car is not designed like that otherwise we would use it all the time, but I was surprised how good it was still. Of course there were some handling issues which was not ideal, but we just had to try to live with it and we still had pretty okay speed.”
Kimi’s teammate Romain Grosjean finished 9th getting a valuable 2 points in the process.
Fernando Alonso (centre) flanked by 2nd placed Kimi Raikkonen (left) and Lewis Hamilton on the podium on Sunday 14 April 2013 in Shanghai. A Pirelli photo. ends
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Tyre degradation was better than expected: Alonso
Shanghai, 14 April 2013: Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, who won the UBS Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship along with Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, who finished in that order attended the post race Press Conference of FIA. Following are the transcripts:
PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by David Coulthard)
Fernando, congratulations. A fairly dominant victory in the end and your 31st victory, putting you
Fernando Alonso of Ferrari after winning the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday 14 April 2013. A Pirelli photo fifth in the all-time list just behind Ayrton Senna. What does this one mean to you?
Fernando ALONSO: Well, hello everybody first of all and thank you for the support all weekend. Amazing fans all weekend and it’s very nice to race here. About the race: yes, definitely it was a fantastic race for us, from the start to the end, without big problems with the car. The tyre degradation was better than expected probably, so we managed more or less the pace. Yeah, it feels great after the retirement in Malaysia, we had some pressure to finish the race. The two races we finished this year; one second place and today the victory so definitely the start of this 2013 campaign is looking good so we are very optimistic.
We heard the team talking to you during the grand prix telling you not need to push. They were trying to slow you down in some respects and you were saying ‘I’m not pushing’.
FA: Well, you always push. In a Formula One race it’s impossible not to push but it’s true that we had some pace, maybe, in the pocket. Not easy to know when to use it depending on the state of the tyres. A little bit more potential and hopefully we can show it in Bahrain in one week.
Kimi Raikkonen, that’s your 20th consecutive finish in Formula One. You’re certainly Mr Consistency. You had to work hard for that second place today. You had some damage to the front wing of your car after some contact, so tell us about that and also how it affected the balance?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: I think in the end it was a pretty okay result. Obviously we want to win but after a bad start the car wads handling well but then overtaking Perez, I was next to him and he just pushed me on the kerb but I tried to avoid him but I went on the grass and hit him on the rear I think and damaged the front. That didn’t help but luckily it didn’t affect so much the handling, it was just a bit too much understeery but we could still fight for second place. For sure without the damage we could have been quite a bit faster. Anyhow, good points and we try to do better next time.
We come to Lewis Hamilton, our pole-sitter. It didn’t quite work out for you there on race pace. You really dropped away towards the closing stages, under a lot of pressure from Vettel but some great racing nonetheless.
Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, I’m really happy with today’s result. Great result for the team, very happy with the points. The team did a fantastic job all weekend. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the kind of pace these two have but still very fortunate to get on the podium.
Fernando, a closing question for you. Only one week until Bahrain. What are you expecting in terms of performance there and what’s the celebration going to be like tonight with your Ferrari team?
FA: I expect a tough race again. In Bahrain I think we will see different conditions and who knows how competitive anyone can be. But definitely, as I said before, from the races that we finished this year the car seems to be able to be on the podium, so we hope to be on the podium again in Bahrain. The celebration tonight? Nothing special. I have a flight very early for Bahrain, so tonight I think some dinner. I think they guys will celebrate more than me.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Fernando, congratulations, well done. You were a winner here in 2005, how does it feel to have won again? It seemed to be a perfect race for you.
FA: It feels good. Obviously a long time from the victory here – eight years. Definitely it was nearly a perfect Sunday for us, with not any problem in the race. The start was clean; it was good. We managed to overtake Kimi. And then in the first stint we managed to pass Lewis as well. The car felt a little bit better on the degradation side let’s say. And then in the rest of the race, obviously you need to take car of the tyres a little bit, you need to manage the gap with the guys behind. It was not so easy to understand the race sometimes. We were overtaking the McLarens, Hulkenberg, Sebastian, so it was a little bit of a mix. So it was not an easy race and there were some moments of action let’s say and the risk is there when you have to do an overtaking manoeuvre and you have to manage that as well. The team did a perfect job with the set-up of the car for quali and the race, perfect pit stop times and pit stops executed let’s say. At the end of the race the victory is a good reward for the team, well deserved after the disappointment in Malaysia and you know, the car felt good. The two races we finished, one was second and the victory today, so definitely it’s a positive start to this championship. We need to keep going like that, in this direction, with good weekends, with not any extra risk and hopefully in Bahrain we can score some good points again.
Kimi, obviously a bit of a problem at the start there, tell us about that, and also how much pressure was there at the end as well?
KR: I think we just had wrong settings. The practice start was very good but then it was really bad the real start and we lost some positions and after that the car was okay, but I had a little accident, some problems with Perez and we damaged the nose and the front wing. I was surprised there was no more damage because I hit him quite hard. Also bit surprised that we didn’t have any more problems after that. A bit too much understeer and destroying the front tyre because of that but we still could fight for second place and get quite a good result in the end. Obviously we wanted to try to win but today with all the issues it was not possible.
Lewis it was kind of tight at the end with Sebastian closing on you and obviously you were trying to put pressure on Kimi. Tell us about it.
LH: Yeah, it was a good race for me. Quite happy with third. Of course I would have liked to have won but congratulations to Fernando, he did a great job and so did Kimi. They were both a little bit too fast for us during the race. I was seeming to be able to apply a little bit of pressure to Kimi but not enough to get close to him and overtake. My tyres were shot at the end and there was nothing I could do really to hold off Sebastian. A little bit unlucky with some traffic. Still, to get on the podium, really happy. Really happy with the points as well.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Lewis, we heard Ross comment on the radio at the end, saying ‘we’re not quite there yet’ but of course a good race for you. What area do you and the team have to work on to give you that little bit extra?
LH: That’s a good question. I’m not really sure where we’re losing out. Today, overall pace was just not there and there’s definitely a couple of areas that we can focus on on the car but we’ve got to bring some more updates and keep on improving but the team is working on that. But at least, after this I will go and analyse a little bit and try to figure out whereabouts we’re losing the time and see if we can zone in on that and try to improve there.
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Fernando, who is your main rival for the title, as a driver and as a car? Is it Kimi and Lotus or Sebastian and Red Bull?
FA: I think it’s a little bit too early to say. We need to wait until maybe after the summer break or something like that to clearly see the real contenders. Hopefully we are in that group after the summer. Hopefully Felipe can be in that group as well, that will mean that the car is going well, and I think at the moment Lotus, Red Bull and Mercedes are in the same position as us, let’s say. I don’t see anyone has a clear advantage. Maybe Red Bull was very dominant in Australia in all free practices; in qualifying and the race they were suffering a little bit of degradation but definitely very fast. In Malaysia, they were maybe a little bit more in the groove but here they were similar to the others so let’s wait and see what the updates of every car brings to the pace, and we will see how luck plays. It happened to Nico in Australia where he didn’t finish with car problems, it happened to us in Malaysia. I think hearing Kimi’s comments today… you never know whether the front wing will remain there and finish the race or if the front wing will go underneath your car and you don’t finish the race. The same with Webber, who had the problem with the tyre today and didn’t finish. This can happen to anyone and this will also dictate who are contenders as well, so the luck factor is there.
Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) Fernando, despite the problems in Malaysia, since Melbourne Ross Brawn has been singing the praises of Ferrari’s long run pace. Do you think your win today with the margin that you had confirms that?
FA: I think it’s normally one of the strongest points for us, not only this year, also in the past two or three years, we are normally more or less OK on Sundays. On single lap pace we struggle a little bit, so whatever reasons, the long runs are normally good for us and tyre management but we don’t also really know the reason so we need to be careful on that and maximise these type of weekends, when everything goes well, but I’m sure we will struggle on some other weekends and we need to maximise the points there. Sometimes we can win, sometimes the maximum is third or fifth but we need to do the job. I’m looking forward to next weekend because it’s a very good test with very high temperatures and we will again see some problems and we need to deliver when the tough moments arise.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Kimi, how much lap time did the problem with the nose and front wing cost you and did it compromise your strategy, would you have gone for or tried a two stop strategy without it?
KR: There’s no way to tell or not how much the front wing damage affected the whole race but obviously the car is not designed like that so it’s not going to help. But I cannot tell you if it’s a tenth or half a second per lap. I was surprised how good the car was, even with quite a lot of damage. It was unfortunate, but I think we also have to be a bit lucky not to lose more. Hopefully next race we can have a normal race and be up there again fighting for a win.
Q: Was it your decision not to change it?
KR: Actually I wanted to change it and wasn’t sure if they changed it because… I think they looked at the wing at the first pit stop but they probably thought that it would take too long or… I don’t know really. I haven’t talked to them. Also, the reason why they probably didn’t change it was that the car was reasonably OK, I could still overtake people.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, can you please describe your view of the incident with Perez?
KR: I got the better run out of turn three and was on the outside on that little kink through to corner four. I thought that he would leave me enough space but he just pushed me off the circuit. I tried to avoid him but there was first grass and then the kerb and then the kerb saved me, I got grip but I couldn’t slow down and I hit him at the rear. I don’t know if he didn’t see me or what happened, but there was no way for me to avoid him any more because I was there next to it and I ran out of road.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi and Lewis, in your mind, with this tyre situation, is the most serious candidate for the title now Fernando and no longer Vettel?
KR: He didn’t get it but he has the same challenge. But as Fernando said, from race to race, one team is a little bit stronger at one race and the next race is a bit of a different story. I think all four teams are close to each other so whoever gets it best on Sundays and Saturdays I think will win, so it will be interesting.
NH: As Kimi said, I think it’s a bit open at the moment, but obviously Fernando is doing a great job, but as you can see from the last race, you finish the last race and some of us may have those problems in the future – who knows? But it’s far too early to say, I think.
Q: (Luigi Pernia – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, was there maybe extra psychological pressure for you in this race, did you feel it or not?
FA: Not really. I think there is pressure at every race I start. Every year, especially in Ferrari, especially every campaign you start people expect only wins from you, the World Championship. Every race is more or less the same. Every season I’ve started in Formula One, this is the 13th, there is a battle with teammates, always discussions. So this year is no different. I think pressure is always there sometimes. As I said, you can deliver a good result, everyone is happy. Sometimes you cannot do it and you need to improve. I think we’ve been working very hard this winter with the team and after the first two races as well, these three weeks were very useful for us in Maranello, working out a little bit which way we can perform a little bit better, especially in qualifying which is one of our problems normally at the weekends and also looking very carefully at driving style and what we can do to improve the performance with each year’s rules which they keep changing and you need to adapt a little bit, so I’m very happy with the job done and I’m in the best team, so I should be confident that everything will go in the right direction.
Ends
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Raikkonen looking forward to Chinese GP
Kimi Räikkönen: “If we get the car working as well as we did on Friday at Sepang, we should do well”
Currently running second in the Drivers’ Championship, Kimi Räikkönen is keen to bolster that points tally, starting at the Shanghai International Circuit… Lotus F1 team releases the interviews of its two drivers ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, the third round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
What are your thoughts on the Shanghai International Circuit?
It’s always difficult to predict what will happen in the next race as we haven’t been there yet with this car, and every car reacts differently to each circuit. Unfortunately we didn’t achieve any points there last year so we can only improve from that. I have been first, second and third in Shanghai in previous years so it would be nice to add to that list. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t go well there; we have some new parts for the E21 and the last upgrades we had seemed to help so it will be interesting to see what will happen if it doesn’t rain.
You’ve gone pretty well in China before; you must have a good feeling going there?
I won there in 2007 and that was a good feeling as it was the year I won the World Championship. I celebrated those wins pretty well at the time. It’s a proper race track and there are good opportunities for overtaking. Our car looks good so far, so let’s see what happens when we get out on track.
Have you been able to reflect much on the first two races of the season?
Australia felt like quite an easy race for me as everything went so well in the car and the result was the one which everyone wants to get. Malaysia was a tough race. The start was not good and then I lost part of my front wing on the first lap. The car didn’t handle too well after that and with the wet conditions it was pretty tricky. The pace wasn’t too bad, but it could have been much better when you look at our times on Friday.
You had some close tussles in Malaysia, particularly with Nico Hulkenberg…
It was racing and that’s what we’re all here for. There were a few times where it got pretty close. There are things you should and shouldn’t do but this is racing and at the end of the day I don’t think it changed our result too much.
The Chinese Grand Prix was full of action in 2012; how was it from your position?
There was some good racing and it looked like a strong result could have been possible, but we ran out of rubber during the final stint and didn’t score any points. Hopefully we’ll be a little bit more lucky with the tyre performance this time and well prepared from a strategy point of view. We had the race pace in 2012, that’s true, but we tried to carry on with our tyres for too long. They dropped off, and that was it. On the other hand without trying to push with those tactics, we would never have been fighting for top positions. If you look at last year we didn’t have a bad car for China, and if we get the car working as well as we did on Friday at Sepang, we should do well in Shanghai too.
Romain Grosjean: “We’ve got great potential, I just need to unlock it.”
With two races and a handful of points in the bag so far, Romain Grosjean tells us how there is more to come from the E21, just why he’s looking forward to driving the Shanghai International Circuit, and his aims for the Chinese Grand Prix.
How are you feeling two races into the season?
It’s been a little frustrating as I don’t think I’ve shown my full potential yet. The first two races were quite difficult for me and I would really like a weekend where I can show what myself and the team can do this season. We’ve got great potential, I just need to unlock it. Hopefully we’ll find the key in China.
Do you think more was possible in Malaysia?
If we’d had the car we wanted all weekend then yes. Starting further up the grid and making a better start would have helped too, but it’s always easy to say that. During the race itself I spent a lot of time stuck behind Felipe [Massa] in the middle phase and I’m sure if I could have passed him earlier then I would have stayed ahead, but by the end my tyres were finished so it was best just to let him through without compromising either of our races. There were a couple of times where maybe the backmarkers could have made things a little easier too.
Is the E21 delivering more of what you want from a racing car?
We have definitely made progress. It’s been frustrating for me as sometimes the car gives me what I want and sometimes it doesn’t, even if the conditions and setup are very similar. I’ve been working closely with my engineers and we made good progress over the last race weekend. The car and the latest tyres seem to be very sensitive to having the balance exactly right so that’s what we’re focusing on.
The team have been bringing new parts to the car; have these been helping?
We’ve been making steps forward with performance and that’s always what you want. The new front wing was beneficial and I’m looking forward to getting the latest exhaust configuration in China. Kimi used it in Sepang and it was definitely of benefit to the car.
You scored your first Formula 1 points last year in Shanghai; is it good to be returning?
It was great to get off the mark and it’s always fantastic to score points at a Grand Prix; the more the better! It was a challenging weekend as we didn’t have the car we wanted at the beginning, but we were able to run a different tyre strategy and get a good result. Hopefully there’ll be more points scored this year too.
What do you think of the circuit?
It’s an impressive facility; the first time you see it you realise how big it is. The circuit layout is pretty good and there are some nice challenges like increasing radius corners and turns with a bit of banking. There are more slower speed corners than we’ve had at the last couple of races and there’s a big straight too, so there’s plenty to keep you occupied.
What would you like to achieve in China?
I would like to score strong points. I finished in tenth in Australia, then sixth in Malaysia so I’d be quite happy if I finish in second place in Shanghai. That or a win would make me very happy! Let’s see how the car is once we arrive on track and hope there won’t be rain again as we know our car does struggle a little in wet conditions.
ends
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Kimi tops with Friday times
Sepang, 22 March 2013: Kimi Räikkönen topped the times on the first day of running as the second round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship – the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix – got underway at the Sepang International Circuit.
Kimi set a 1min 36.569secs lap in an afternoon session which was interrupted by a minor rain shower, while Romain Grosjean was sixth fastest. The team evaluated new front wings on both cars with a new exhaust and related bodywork also featuring on Kimi’s car.
Meanwhile, Sahara Force India was back in action today as Adrian Sutil and Paul Di Resta completed their free practice programmes ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Paul was P8 to Sutil’s P10 in the second FP session today.
Adrian Sutil VJM06-03FP1: 1:37.769 P6 17 lapsFP2: 1:37.788 P10 10 lapsAdrian: “The morning went OK and the balance was quite good. We made a change during the lunch hour to cure some oversteer and my general feeling with the car is good. I missed out on some running this afternoon, but I think the rain interrupted things for everybody so I didn’t miss too much dry track time. I still managed a run on the hard and the medium this afternoon so I’ve got a feel for both the tyre compounds.”Paul Di Resta VJM06-04FP1: 1:37.773 P8 15 lapsFP2: 1:37.571 P8 30 lapsPaul: “I think we’ve had a reasonable day. We’ve got some tyre data and first impressions suggest that our performance level is pretty similar to where it was in Melbourne last week. Hopefully we can continue the progress overnight. Generally I’m fairly happy but, as always, there’s some work to do tonight to make sure we’re comfortable on both the compounds going into the race.”Jakob Andreasen, Chief Race Engineer“A fairly typical day in Malaysia with dry running this morning and a light shower in the afternoon session. On the whole we got through the bulk of the programme and both Paul and Adrian seemed pretty content with the handling of their cars from the start of running. Adrian’s afternoon session was cut short as a precaution, but it did not cost him too much dry track time relative to the others. Paul clocked up 30 laps this afternoon, running both the hard and medium compounds, and is in good shape heading into tomorrow. We don’t have as much long run data as we would ideally like, but we have enough information to make some sensible predictions.”Lotus team quotes as Kimi runs on top again
Alan Permane, Lotus Trackside Operations Director sends his technical programme notes:
– We evaluated a new front wing on both cars.
– Kimi ran with a new exhaust and outlet package in both sessions.
– Pirelli’s hard (orange) compound tyre was used in the first session, the hard and medium (white) dry tyres as well as the intermediate (green) in the afternoon.
– The second session saw rain-interrupted long runs on both tyre compounds.What we learned today:
– The E21 ran reliably, giving strong performance on all tyres and in all weather conditions.
– The new front wing works well and will be retained for the rest of the weekend.
– The new exhaust package works well and will remain on Kimi’s car for the rest of the weekend.Kimi Räikkönen, E21-03
Free practice 1: P2, 1:37.003, 15 laps
Free practice 2: P1, 1:36.569, 28 lapsKimi: “It was a pretty good day. We tried changing a few things on the car and made progress with where we wanted to be at the end of the sessions. We had some running in the wet which you often get around here and the car feels fine. We ran pretty heavy today so I don’t know how we’ll be when everyone is light for qualifying, but I’m happy with where we are and expect we’ll be reasonable tomorrow.”
Romain Grosjean, E21-01
Free practice 1: P10, 1:37.915 17 laps
Free practice 2: P6, 1:37.206, 26 lapsRomain: “We’re still working on the setup of the car as it’s not quite right for me and it’s difficult to understand why exactly. The new front wing does feel better than the one before so that helps. Kimi was running an updated aero package which looks to be an improvement so we know there’s more pace to come in that area, but there are still things we can do with the current specification once I get everything working for me. It was pretty hot out there – quite a contrast to Melbourne – but I felt comfortable and I’m looking forward to making some improvements tomorrow before we head into qualifying.”
James Allison, Technical Director: “I’m happy with our day’s work. We came here this week seeking reassurance that our car would be equally as competitive in a very different set of conditions to what we saw in Australia, and the early indications are that it looks reasonably useful. The upgrades we’ve trialled today also appear to be working well. Although both drivers ran the new front wing, Romain was at somewhat of a disadvantage in not having the latest exhaust variation and related bodywork on his car, so he can take heart from a healthy position on the time sheets. The only slight interruption to proceedings was a compromise to our long run programme once the rain arrived, but this actually proved to be pretty useful in itself as we now have a better understanding of the crossover point for the intermediate tyres. Overall it’s been a very productive day.”
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Splitting strategies is to attack for points: Bob Fernley
TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Bob BELL (Mercedes), Cyril ABITEBOUL (Caterham), Robert FEARNLEY (Force India), Sam MICHAEL (McLaren), James ALLISON (Lotus), Pat FRY (Ferrari)
FIA Friday PRESS CONFERENCE
James, can we start with you? A great win for you and the team to start the year off in cold conditions in Melbourne and from what we saw this afternoon can we conclude that you’re pretty quick in the heat as well?
James ALLISON: The weekend will tell but it’s been a good day so far and the car seems quite happy here.
Is there any circuit that you fear from here?
JA: All of them! You just take them one at a time. It would be good to come away from here, if we can, competitive. So I think doing well in cold and doing well in hot would be good.
Will you able to maintain that development throughout the 2013 season against your main rivals?
JA: I think our team has got a reasonable history of keeping up with, and sometimes exceeding the general development race that happens during the season.
Can you say anything about the way Kimi Raikkonen drove in Melbourne. There seems to be a surge of confidence really. He’s gone up a level has he, since last year?
JA: He’s certainly very, very relaxed and confident this year. He drove the race incredibly patiently. I think he knew he had a good car under him. He knew he didn’t have to scamper up behind the group in front and he looked after the tyres, only going quickly when he needed to. It was just a very mature and smooth, fast race.
Bob Bell, last year the Mercedes was very good in cold conditions, perhaps less good at places like this. Have you addressed that with this car?
Bob BELL: Yes, I think we very much hope we have. We put a lot of effort in over the winter to really understand what the issues with last year’s car were. We had a pretty reasonable winter test in cold conditions. Of course Melbourne, as you said, was cold as well. We’ll see when we come away from here whether we’ve actually got on top of those issues. I think we’re pretty upbeat, pretty confident we’ve achieved that.
What differences have you noticed in the way you’re operating as a team with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton?
BB: Lewis, no question, is a new dynamic for us and that always happens with the introduction of a new driver, particularly one as competitive as Lewis is, so he’s a real motivational force in the team and indeed for his own team-mate. I think he’s lifted all of our game. He’s driving us; he’s clear about what he wants, what direction he wants to go in, and that is sympathetic to where we were going anyway, so I think it’s going very well.
What effect do you see he’s had on his team-mate Nico Rosberg?
BB: Team-mates naturally always want to outdo each other, so if you bring a new one in, if that raises his game then I think his team-mate will try and follow suit. It’s perfectly natural healthy competition.
Pat Fry from Ferrari – second place finish in Australia, ahead of Red Bull. You’re leading the Constructors’ Championship going into this race. What was the feeling, the mood like in the post-race debrief?
Pat FRY: I think people were pleased with the race pace of the car. It was quite obvious that Kimi was going to be two-stopping. I think you could see him two seconds back from the group, as James mentioned. I don’t think we could have followed suit and competed on a two-stop which is why we went for the aggressive three-stop, which got us through the traffic. All in all, it’s one those… with that and the 60km/h pit lane limit, it’s always that balance between two-stop and three-stop. We weren’t brave enough to make the two-stop work. Kimi was, so good luck to them, or well done to them. We just need to keep on working on the pace of it. It’s nice being second but you always want to win don’t you.
What are your thoughts about the pace of Lotus, the way they’ve started the season?
PF: It is very good. I don’t think we would have been brave enough to have attempted a two-stop there, so yeah, I think they’ve done well.
Can you talk a little bit about the renaissance of Felipe Massa? Obviously he was strong in the second half of last year, he out-qualified Alonso in Melbourne and raced ahead of him for two stints. What is it that’s changed in him do you think?
PF: It’s hard to say really. He’s got a good attitude. He’s driving very well. Very sensible not overdriving the car. If you look at last year the first half was a bit of a struggle, the second half was a lot better and he’s continued that form into this year, which is obviously good for us as a team in the Constructors’ [Championship].
We’ll come to Bob Fearnley from Force India. Force India obviously led the last race of 2012 in Brazil and you led twice in Melbourne last weekend en route to seventh with Adrian. What’s the outlook, do you think, for the year ahead?
Bob FEARNLEY: I think the Brazil race was on merit to a degree what we did in Melbourne obviously was tyre choice. It was very nice to be there but it was the result of strategy more than anything else. Overall, I think the performance of the car and team is quite good at the start of the season.
Q: And what was the problem for Adrian Sutil? We saw him in his shorts with half an hour to go.
BF: We had an oil seal problem. We just needed to stop it to make sure there was no damage to the engines.
Q: Can you talk a little about Sutil, his return from over a year out of a Formula One cockpit, very little testing. Were you surprised by his performance?
BF: I wasn’t surprised after his test in Barcelona. I think in Barcelona, when Adrian came in, if anybody could have put together a perfect assessment of a driver coming in for a test it was that occasion. I think Adrian did a great job and didn’t surprise me at all in Melbourne.
Q: Cyril, Caterham one of I guess three teams that were perhaps a little disappointed with performance in Melbourne – perhaps along with Williams and McLaren – what’s going on behind the scenes at Leafield that gives you confidence going forward?
Cyril ABITEBOUL: Clearly, I think that we have chosen to go for a strategy that is a little bit different from other teams, in the sense that we do not operate our new car for now. We have strategies that will make the car evolve according to different packages, the first of which will come in Bahrain. So we are running right now on hybrid car, so we are pretty much where we expected it to be. It doesn’t mean it is where we wanted it to be. Having said that, we have been analysing clearly the difference, the gap between Marussia and our car. First we want to diminish a little bit the fight between Marussia and ourselves. We are just competitors and we would like to make our way up through the grid, not backwards but up towards the front. Clearly we see most of the developments that we did over the last year, the last 12 months, we think they made two-thirds of the difference over the last 12 months and only one-third over the winter. And of that one-third only half is coming from KERS. So I think that we have a real chance to be optimistic. Some good stuff is happening in the wind tunnel. Obviously we want to make sure this is translating into reality in Bahrain.
Q: Obviously it’s a home race for your Malaysian shareholders. How’s it looking for this weekend?
CA: It’s looking pretty much similar to the last weekend in the sense that it’s going to be on the edge with Marussia. I think the utilisation of tyres and driver familiarisation, driver mistakes also can make a difference so this is what we are getting ready for. We are going to have our shareholders present, so we want to make sure we have a good show at that moment.
Q: Sam, the team and drivers were very open in Melbourne about the problems that you were suffering with the car. Can I ask you what went well that weekend?
Sam MICHAEL: I think we got close to extracting most out of the car. First of all it goes without saying that we’re not… there’s no-one in McLaren who’s satisfied with where our performance is. So we’ve spent a lot of time in the last few weeks – before Melbourne as well because we had all the signs there from winter testing – going through data and analysing exactly what we need to do to improve the car. We’re about winning races, as we proved at the end of last year. We made some quite substantial changes to the car with a view that over the course of the season they would pay us back in terms of wins. I’d say that we… all of the people inside the group at the moment are focussed on understanding the 28 and turning it into a winner as soon as possible.
Q: Presumably you’ve considered – you won the last two races of last year – you’ve considered bringing last year’s car? Have you now ruled that out as a plan?
SM: All of our focus is on the current car. That involves understanding it, doing tests, we’ve done a lot of testing today actually on the circuit, we’ve done a lot of work in the factory in the last four or five days since Melbourne, making some encouraging progress in those areas, so right now all of our efforts are concentrated on the current car.
Q: What does your experience tell you about how long it will be before you’re challenging the two gentlemen [Fry, Allison] to the right?
SM: As soon as possible – but it’s very hard to make predictions because when you’re trying to unlock two or three different areas on the car, my experience tells me it’s very unpredictable to know when that’s going to happen. What I will say is the past history of McLaren as a group to recover from situations like this is extremely strong and consistent. They’ve done it before and I don’t see any reason why the engineers won’t do it again this time – especially based on the activity that I’ve seen and we’ve all been involved in over the last couple of weeks. I think it won’t take long for us to be back up there – that’s the target.
Q: It looked like Jenson Button in particular was a bit closer to the pace when the conditions got more changeable after the rain. Are you hoping for more of those conditions over the weekend?
SM: Hopefully. That was a trend that we saw in Melbourne as well – that we were extremely competitive on intermediate conditions. Not so much on full wets, and the slicks… we know where we are. We’ll see what happens. Normally here it’s full wet or nothing. It’s one of those one zone-type tracks.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) To the two engineers plus anyone else if you’d like to contribute: last week we had qualifying delayed and then run on Sunday. We’ve had races red-flagged here and postponed – it’s been happening more and more recently. Is there any way the sport can put together regulations where we can minimise the number of either red flags or postponements to give the fans what they really come here to see and pay for?
PF: I think that with the conditions you sometimes get here, there’s so much rain, it would just be impossible to run so I think we can try and make the cars safer to run and I think we have but purely down to the… is there a tyre good enough for the conditions… there was a downpour in 2009, wasn’t it… you’re never going to make something that can survive that kind of situation.
Q: (Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Sorry, I’m talking generally, not just about here, because we’ve had it in Canada and all over the place. So I’m saying should we not be looking at a committee to investigate some way of overcoming this, not necessarily just here in Malaysia?
PF: I just think that for me, personally, I just think it’s a very difficult thing to overcome. With that much water, it’s not safe to run. Whether the FIA want to get a committee together to try and understand and see if it is possible to run in that, that’s entirely up to them.
JA: I haven’t got a lot to add. You know, you’ve seen it. The spray becomes impenetrable very quickly and the cars start to aquaplane. You could do something about the aquaplaning to an extent, with a different set of tyres, but the spray would still be an issue and there would still come a point where the aquaplaning would dominate, especially at places like this so I don’t think technically there is much of a solution. We just have to wait for when there are conditions that a car can run.
BF: Not unless anybody’s got a quick connection to the man upstairs, no.
BB: No, I don’t think I can add anything to that. I think the teams are genuinely busy enough trying to design the car to meet the existing regulations. I’m sure the FIA have it within their power to investigate these things and see whether something could be done but as far as the teams are concerned, we’ve just got to get on and do the best job we can within the regulations as they currently stand.
Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) Mr Fernley, over the last few races – last season, we saw it last week as well – you guys seem to have made a deliberate decision on the pit wall to split your strategies and do almost opposite things with your two drivers. Is this a lack of confidence in your strategic decisions, or is it something more deliberate?
BF: I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence. I think I would have thought that Melbourne was obvious, that you’ve got one driver that’s qualified on a supersoft and then you’d be the first of the contenders running on the medium. I didn’t think there was anything risky in that at all.
Q: (Kate Walker – Girl Racer) It just seems that with that kind of approach, it’s not just in Melbourne, we did see it in 2012 as well, that it will give one driver the opportunity to finish really well and the other less so. Not that you’re favouring one over the other, it was an even split. I was just wondering what the thinking behind that approach was?
BF: Well, I think in 2012 you’ve got a slightly different process there because obviously we were defending – not defending, actually we were attacking and trying to get our position back from Sauber, so what you’re trying to do is maximising the opportunities for optimum points and that would be the reason for the main split of the strategies. But where possible, you’re always going to go for an optimum strategy for both drivers and we would do that. I think in Melbourne that was an optimum strategy for both drivers.
Q: Speaking of two different drivers, James, what’s the situation with Romain Grosjean? He’s not been quite on Kimi’s pace in the first Grand Prix and obviously again today he seems to be a bit behind; what’s your analysis?
JA: Romain showed us over and over again last year that he is a driver with a lot of pace. That’s the one really valuable commodity that a race driver has and he’s got that. He’s not had an easy weekend either here or there, because we haven’t been able to provide two cars in exactly the same configuration on either occasions so in Melbourne on Friday he was running a step behind Kimi in terms of his aero package, and then he had the upgrade for Saturday morning but then Saturday was disturbed by the weather as we all know. Here, once again, we only have one set of kit and we’ve chosen to run that with Kimi and Romain is disadvantaged for that. It’s a feature of not having in-season testing that you try to upgrade the cars as fast as you can and generally speaking, that means that you’re always going to have one set of kit ahead of the second set and that almost inevitably means that one driver gets to try it before there is a second one available. We will always try to get two sets available but not always possible. So he’s had a difficult set of circumstances and he’s also up against a teammate who is really firing on all cylinders so those are the two things.
Q: (Alex Popov – RTR) Cyril, can you clarify the story of a possible merger with Marussia?
CA: Yeah. I think we provided a comment – both Marussia and ourselves – regarding the fact that there have been some discussions over the Christmas period but clearly I think we all know that business, we all know Formula One, we know that it’s quite a fluid and versatile environment. To be honest, I’m not that old and since I’ve been in F1 I think I’ve maybe heard ten times about mergers, including four big names, so there is nothing very big in that. We looked at that, we looked at whether it was making any sense, it didn’t make any sense, it didn’t happen. End of story.
Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Pat, are you confident you can have the same pace as Lotus or even better in this race compared to Melbourne?
PF: I think our race pace should be OK here, similar to Melbourne. In terms of tyre degradation I’m not sure yet. We need to go and look at the numbers. Obviously today’s running was a little bit mixed up. When everyone was doing their long runs this afternoon, there was rain in turns six and seven, so we need to see. Hopefully we will be able to get the degradation under control as well.
Q: Is it likely to be another race where doing one less stop than your rivals is one of the keys to success, do you think?
PF: I’m not sure how close we are to a three to four changeover or a two to three changeover. We need to have a look through the data and see really. I’d like to see James try and two stop here on Sunday.
Q: James, do you fancy it?
JA: Generally speaking this track is one stop more than Melbourne, so I think that might be a bit brave.
Ends
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Kimi not hyped about season’s first win
Kimi, as the anthem is played after his win in Australia. File photo by Lotus F1 team. DRIVERS – Esteban GUTIERREZ (Sauber), Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams), Giedo VAN DER GARDE (Caterham), Jules BIANCHI (Marussia), Kimi RAIKKONEN (Lotus), Max CHILTON (Marussia)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Kimi, great win for you and the team to start of with, in cold conditions. How do you and the team feel about being able to repeat that performance level in the heat of Malaysia?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: We don’t know yet. Last year we were pretty good when it was hot and actually it was better for us, but obviously we haven’t run in this kind of conditions and the winter has been very cold, so I have no idea. But if it’s anything like it was last year we should be pretty OK, but we have to wait and see how it goes.
One notable detail from the Melbourne weekend is that you were over a second slower than the Red Bull in qualifying, but you turned it round to be over a second faster than them on your fastest race lap. What do you put that down to?
KR: I wouldn’t say that the qualifying was a very normal situation with all the weather – it got delayed and all that stuff. But if it was normal dry conditions I’m pretty sure we are more close. We will wait and see when we get a normal qualifying. Then, I’m sure we are not a second behind, or 1.4 seconds or whatever it was.
Esteban, coming to you. Youngest driver in Formula One and the best-placed rookie in Australia in 13th. A tricky Sunday for the Sauber team with your team-mate not starting the race, but what did you take from the weekend?
Esteban GUTIERREZ: Well, for me the experience was very important. Being able to say that I finished my first Formula One race is already quite a good step. And from then on, taking the experience into account, I will try to improve on the points where I can improve following this second challenge here in Malaysia. It will be very different circumstances but I think it’s going to be a very exciting one.
Can you talk about the pressure of expectation, given what Sergio Perez did here last year in a Sauber and what he went on to do in the rest of the year?
EG: It is obviously something that is there but I’m not going to think about it because it’s different circumstances. I think the weather is varying a lot here and it’s playing a big role in how the race is going. I’m going to try to do my best, going at my own pace and improve where I can improve, step by step.
Valtteri, you finished 14th in Melbourne, outqualified your team-mate [Pastor] Maldonado and finished the race. What did you take away from your debut?
Valtteri BOTTAS: Of course I learned a lot in my first grand prix. It was tough but it was nice to see that everything went without any bigger problems. Of course we would have liked to finish the race in a much higher position and everyone was expecting much more from us, including us. From my side I think it was not a bad first race but definitely we didn’t finish where we wanted to.
As you say, the team is not where it wants to be. Why do you think the car is struggling?
VB: Well I’m not going to go into the details now but we understand now better what went wrong, because the car has potential. The performance is there and we just need to get it out really. And for this grand prix already we think we can fix some things. We will see tomorrow a little bit more where we are.
Jules, 11th-fastest race lap en route to a 15th-placed finish on your debut. It’s a performance that’s got you on a number of people’s radars already. What did you think of it?
Jules BIANCHI: Well, honestly it has been a really nice weekend for me in Australia even if it was quite a late call for me because I didn’t do all the pre-season testing. Anyway, I was really happy. I just tried to enjoy and see what we were able to do in the race. Obviously the race went pretty well. We had a good start, everything was good, and we did a good result. We know what we have to improve and we will try to do that for the next few races.
You were with Force India of course in February in testing and you only had on test with Marussia before Australia. What do you think is possible with this car this season?
JB: I think I was really surprised when I drove it for the first time. My expectation was a lot lower than that. I was really happy when I drove it. I think we can do good results. We know what we have to improve again, so we’re just trying to do that, trying to improve the car and trying to improve myself as well, because I’m new in the team, new in Formula One. I want to show people what I am able to do, so I will try to do my best for all the other races.
Max Chilton, coming to you. Seventeenth in Melbourne for Marussia on your debut. Things have obviously happened pretty quickly for you, getting into Formula One at 21. How are you settling in?
Max CHILTON: I feel comfortable. I felt ready when the decision was made that I got the race seat. I believe in myself, that I’ve got a good chance. I think this year the Marussia car has got a good chance of moving its way up the field. I feel at home, the team are fantastic and I’ve now got a really good team-mate to work with and I can maybe learn from, and maybe he can learn from me, so it’s a winning formula.
You obviously know this track; you raced here in GP2 and finished on the podium. What do you think of it?
MC: Yeah, it’s a very challenging circuit, it’s got some long, high-speed flowing corners but then you’ve got some technical stuff to get out of the corner onto a long straight, which is very important. The main thing with this circuit is the heat. It was a tough race last year, but I can tell that it doesn’t feel as hot as last year, so I don’t need to worry about that. We just need to focus on getting the most out of the car and beating our rivals.
Giedo, you out-qualified your team-mate and got an 18th-place finish in Melbourne. What did you take from your first experience of Formula One?
Giedo VAN DER GARDE: It was a tough race. Max hit me in the first stint, so the floor got damaged quite badly. Anyway, we managed to finish the race and it was a good experience for me. I learned a lot with the tyres. Now this is the next step and we’ll see what we can do here.
Looks like you’re starting out the year chasing Marussia. Do you see reasons in the pipeline to be positive?
GVDG: I think with here you never know what the weather is going to be. I think we looked quite strong, I have to say, so I hope for a bit of rain here. And then the next two [races] we know we still have the same car and in Barcelona we’ll get a big upgrade, so let’s see where we are then.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Trent Price – Richland F1) Question for Esteban: very impressive 30-lap stint on the mediums in the race, obviously you weren’t able to compare data with Nico but did that come quite naturally because the Sauber’s renowned for being quite easy on its tyres. Was that something you put down to the car or something that came naturally for you?
EG: Are you referring to the long stint?
Q: yes
EG: Yes, I think from that point of view, I think the tyres are playing a big role in the race and it’s something that I really focussed a lot to try to find the best compromise into the speed and the long stint I could do. It was a very long stint, at the same time we found out we had a slight flat tyre through that stint, so it also was the balance was switching a little bit, especially at the last of the stint. So, I think it’s just a matter of finding the right compromise of how quick we can be and also how long we want to keep the tyres. As we can see, Kimi did a very similar strategy and he was able to be a lot quicker, so there’s something that definitely we can find and we will be looking into that.
Q: (Alex Popov – RTR) Question especially for Valtteri and Esteban. You have a very tough challenge inside your team because Pastor already won the race and Nico nearly won the race in Brazil. You prefer this situation or you prefer the situation with a little bit less level for your team-mate for the first year?
VB: I prefer it. Pastor is a very good reference. He is a quick driver, it’s his third year at Williams now and definitely for me it’s good to compare to him and good to see from him if I have some things to improve. Hopefully we will be close and hopefully I can keep up in the beginning of the season and I try to improve and then get better. Definitely a good reference and I prefer that.
EG: I think a little bit the same as Valtteri. I think it’s good to have a good reference, especially knowing that Nico is a very quick and consistent driver and yes, it was not the ideal situation for him not to do the race in Melbourne but it would be nice to have that reference up until this race but now in this race let’s hope for a good reference to get that reference and try to move on.
Q: (Ben Edwards – BBC) A two-part question for Max and for Kimi. Max, first of all, can you talk to us about the difficulties when you’re being lapped by the leaders? What you’ve got to learn, what gets more difficult from that point of view? And Kimi, with five rookies out there, did you find any problems yourself when lapping the guys coming into Formula One? If you could just talk about that.
MC: Well, the team over the winter testing did give me some guidance of the best way to do it, and they did say it is an art and it will take you a few races. I definitely felt, at the start of the race in Melbourne, when obviously the blues started to come earlier because we had to do a nose-change, I was getting the blue flags earlier than expected. Our races are planned to be as fast as you can to the blue flags and then your race slows down – and that came sooner than we thought. But, I could definitely tell after 20 laps, the blue flags, where to do it. And the time you can save – and it is a huge time-saver. Obviously you don’t want to disrupt the leaders because their race is more important than ours but our race is still important, so you need to do the best for the team by not losing too much time. I think after the next few races I’ll be fully comfortable and you just naturally know where to do it and lose the least amount of time possible.
KR: Last year for sure there was some cars and teams that were not very easy to get past when you were lapping them but at least in the first race it seems to be a bit better. So, I have no complaints on that. Of course it’s some days difficult to let people past, to move off the way quick enough but for sure everybody’s trying to do their best and if something goes wrong obviously they get penalised – so it was OK in the first race at least.
Q: (Ben Waterworth – Richard’s F1) For Kimi, been ten years since your first victory here in Sepang ten years ago. Special place for you here in Sepang? And win be a perfect anniversary present for it?
KR: It’s not really any special place. I mean, of course it was nice to win the first race but we really should have won the year before, so it’s nice to come back here – I don’t enjoy the heat and the humidity of the place but the circuit is nice so, we know how it’s going to be more or less here. It usually gives a good race and that’s the main thing. Hopefully we can have another good weekend and score good points.
Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, do you expect the hot weather helping you and the team to find more speed from the car?
VB: I hope so, because I think one of the problems was – a little bit – the tyre warm up. Getting the tyres to work properly but, y’know, it’s quite unknown, and it’s the same for everyone. No-one has run these tyres in these conditions. We will see tomorrow; we will experience the tyres – but I do really hope so.
Q: (David Croft – Sky Sports) We often get views from some of our viewers that there shouldn’t be blue flags in Formula One and that everyone has a right to be racing out on the circuit and shouldn’t have to move over and it’s an art to overtake a back-marker or a front runner. I just want to know from a few of you, do you think there should be blue flags in Formula One? Kimi and the rest of the rookies…
JB: Well, obviously I think it’s normal that we have to move the way out because they are fighting for the victory and we are lapped, so when we are lapped I think it’s right to give the place to the leader. So, yeah, I think it’s normal rules to have blue flags.
GVDG: I agree. I think you should let the leaders past, they’re fighting for the win.
Q: Esteban, it must be strange going when you’re going at the front. Obviously your car’s a little faster than some of these other ones but when you get used to racing at the front, then you have to let cars through, that mental adjustment – I guess you hope it doesn’t last too long in Formula One.
EG: Yeah, that’s true! I hope I don’t see much blue flags this season but I agree with Jules’ and Giedo’s comment. Really, I don’t have much comment about it.
Q: How much do the older drivers and experienced front runners take a lead on this in drivers’ briefings?
KR: There’s not much talked about. Everybody knows what they have to do. They’re not racing for the first time, they’ve been racing for a long time. Like I said, it’s sometimes easier to let people past than other times. Of course, you understand that they don’t want to lose too much time but it’s more important for them to move over because some days they can really make a difference as to who wins or who not. In the end, if you don’t want to get blue flags you should be in the front, simple as that.
Q: (Michael Casey – Associated Press) Kimi, how does it feel to have a target on your back coming into the weekend?
KR: There’s no target. We don’t do anything different this weekend than we did in the previous race or last year. If people think that we are leaders, it makes no difference to our work, what we did or what we’re going to do this weekend or any other weekend. Like I said, we try to do best and hopefully we can score some good points.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Jules, you had a very good race (in Australia) but you had so little testing; do you see yourself making some really big steps when you get some more track time?
JB: Obviously it would have been better for me to have more testing but my race was good and there’s much more to come from my side, specially to set the car up well, because I don’t know the car. I only did one and a half days before the race, so I think it’s something I need to get used to and for sure I will have more performance after that. But I think I’m already at a good level, for sure. I trained a lot last year with Force India and the year before with Ferrari, so now I feel ready to race in Formula One, that’s why I am here. I still need to improve but I’m already happy with that.
Q: And how much is the simulator helping you in this situation?
JB: Well, obviously I did a lot of simulator preparation before the race in Australia and it was really helpful, especially because I didn’t know the track and the same for this track, so it’s something really useful.
Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) Question for the rookies: when you step up to Formula One obviously the physical challenge is a lot tougher but specially for a race like Malaysia which is known to be hot. Is there any sort of special physical preparation that you will do in the run-up to such a race?
MC: Obviously the step up from the junior categories is mainly that the race lengths are… we’re used to probably a race of an hour maximum. These can go on for a limit of two hours but usually around 40 minutes(longer) so that 40 minutes does make a difference and also the G-forces, but the powered steering makes it a lot easier. Physically, you just need to be more specific on what you’re working for, it’s not a big leap up, you just have to make it a lot more specific and focus on the areas where you need it. But for races like this, with the heat, there’s not really certain training you can do… you can do heat chamber work, you can do a bit of that which will help but the main thing is making sure your body is always hydrated to its absolute maximum and that’s key. If you’re not hydrated then you will suffer pretty quickly.
GvdG: I think you try to come here as soon as possible to get used to the hot weather. You use a kind of different philosophy with food, you use a lot of salt, you drink a lot during the whole day. I think we drink up to five or six litres, so you pee quite a lot. I quite like the heat so let’s see how I feel after the race.
Q: Valtteri, do you get all the secrets handed down from the Finns who have gone before you like Kimi and Mika Hakkinen?
VB: Well, of course, we have the saunas in Finland, so maybe that helps with the heat. I think it’s just a hot race and that’s the key. No special preparation. Of course try to be outside a lot to get used to it a little bit but in the end the fitter you are the easier time you’re going to have in the car.
Q: (Gary Meenaghan – The National) Kimi, just wondering if you got a chance to celebrate the win last Sunday, or if you were on a flight going somewhere? What would you be up to?
KR: I came here directly on Sunday night. For sure, if you want to you can always… it’s not about that. I had a flight booked here anyhow so I came here.
Q: What’s your view on days when you win, because in sport you have so many days which perhaps don’t go quite so well. When you actually win, is it very important to you to be a team, to celebrate with a team, to enjoy the good moments?
KR: No. Like I said, first of all they( the team) are always very busy packing up everything at these kind of races so they don’t have so much time either. I had a flight in the evening, so we just had a quick briefing and then I had to go to the hotel to pick up my stuff and go. For sure they had some celebration. It’s just one race and hopefully at the end of the year we can have a good celebration.
Q: (Velimir Veljko Jukic – Auto Fokus) We have a couple of rookies here and normally you have reached the first level to the biggest category, but probably there are some big secret wishes which you don’t talk about. Would you maybe reveal your secret wish to this audience?
JB: I don’t think there are many secrets in Formula One. You just need to work out a lot and be ready for that. I don’t see any secrets.
GvdG: I think it’s a dream come true (to drive in Formula One). You have worked all your life to get here and it’s great to be here but to be honest, if you’re in the back, some things are different: blue flags, the start is different again, the procedures with the steering wheel. There’s a lot of stuff which is quite different to GP2 but I’m enjoying it. The team is letting me learn a lot and I’m making it step by step.
Q: Esteban, you’ve made it to Formula One but does the journey really begin here?
EG: I think that I try to take a very natural approach, try to see every race as one more race, as if it was back in Formula BMW in 2007… it doesn’t really make a difference because that helps me to keep the focus on the most important things. Now, for me, the dream is not only to be in Formula One, the dream is to be successful in Formula One and I want to work my way step-by-step to try to achieve it.
Ends
