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  • Drivers talk about bumpy track and tyre management

    Drivers talk about bumpy track and tyre management

    Saturday’s press conference in progress. Photo By Abhishek Aggarwal in Austin

    Austin, 2 Nov 2019: The following top-3 drivers attended the FIA press conference after the qualifying session on Saturday: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes),  Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing).

    The Track Interviews were conducted by Paul Di Resta.
    Transcript:
    Q: Valtteri, congratulations, man. That’s got the team worked up, to get a pole position today. It looked a bit unexpected yesterday but you’re starting on the front row.
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, really happy about that. It was a nice lap in the beginning of Q3. You rarely get those kind of laps and on a track like this it’s a good feeling. Yesterday was tricky, there were many things not quite right with my car but we managed to find all the reasons and we did good work this morning with finding all the details and I could just find the places I needed to really focus on and, yeah, I knew how to put it together, but to put it together, it was a nice feeling to actually do it in Q3.

    Q: you nailed the first lap in Q3, conditions looked like they got worse. Was it very tricky at the end?
    VB: The last run there was a bit less grip overall. Sector 1 I was already losing one or two tenths. I’m glad no-one could improve at the end and I couldn’t either, so happy days.

    Q: I’m going to take a bit of credit for buying you that coffee this morning. You owe me one, but congratulations, well done. Sebastian, lining up on the front row, it’s a long run up that hill. How are you feeling?
    Sebastian VETTEL: I think it looks a shorter distance on the inside, no? I guess that’s what I have to say, being second. No, congrats to Valtteri, obviously it was very exciting because we were all so close. I thought I had a little bit more. I left some in the high speed for the last run, but in my final run when I got there I was already a little bit down. I had two decent laps. There was always… one hundredths, you know, there is always somewhere. But overall, happy, let’s see for tomorrow. Hoping for a good start and then for a good race.

    Q: I guess the main thing for you guys and the advantage comes down to the first lap and you’ll try to use that extra speed you’ve got on the straight?
    SV: Yeah, it’s not that long and part of it is uphill, but we will see. I hope to have a good start off the line, which will be crucial, and then we will see where it takes. Obviously all of us are on the medium tyre, so nobody has an advantage there and then, yeah, it’s a long race. We will have a busy race tomorrow. The first lap for sure is important but there is a lot of racing after that.

    Q: Max, P3, I know you’re not going to be happy with that but further up and it puts you in the fight.
    Max VERSTAPPEN: Absolutely. I think for us on this track to be that competitive was a very good result. Qualifying was just very tight.

    Q: And I guess the race… you looked very strong yesterday. Are you going to be in this fight all the way and pushing?
    MV: Let’s see. Normally we are quite good in the race and also now this time, even compared to last year, we were much more competitive in qualifying. Of course that gives us a lot more hope for tomorrow, so let’s see what’s going to happen.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Many congratulations Valtteri. Fifth in Q1, sixth in Q2 and then that brilliant pole lap in Q3.
    VB: Thank you. Yeah, it definitely felt good putting that lap together in the beginning of Q3. After yesterday it was not an easy day to approach as I had a difficult day yesterday. Luckily, we found many things ion the car that were no quite right and also the set-up direction we changed completely and it felt a lot better this morning. Then I was just focusing on the things that matter and the places I needed to improve. So I had a very clear vision in my mind of how to do it but it was then down to actually doing it and it felt good to have that lap in Q3. Even though Q1 and Q2 were a bit off I knew it was somewhere there and I managed to find it.

    Q: Now, let’s look ahead to tomorrow. You have to win this race to keep the championship alive. Are you happy with you car’s long-run pace?
    VB: I think as we have seen recently, normally on Sundays we are competitive. So, it’s obviously very good starting from pole here. Some corners are quite to follow for the cars behind. I believe we have the pace for that and that’s going to be the only thing in my mind for tomorrow. Now, you know, only a very, very small part of the weekend is done. The big part that matters is tomorrow and I need to focus on that.

    Q: Many congratulations Valtteri. Forty-three per cent of the races here have been won from pole. Sebastian, your 100th career front-row start. How satisfying is that?
    SV: Gosh, I’m getting old. Obviously it was a very nice session, it was really fun to drive the car thus afternoon, but if you are so close to pole and just on the wrong side of it then I guess Valtteri had a bit more fun. It was OK. I don’t know, what was the gap? It was very small, like one or two hundredths. So that is always there. I had a very good first lap and I had some margin maybe in the last sector where I was maybe taking it a little but too conservative, making sure that I finished the lap, set the lap first and then improve on the second lap. Unfortunately, I didn’t improve, so my plan didn’t quite work. Overall, it was good. I think we will have a strong race tomorrow. The car felt a lot better today than yesterday, which is also what we needed, so let’s see what happens tomorrow.

    Q: What are the tactics on your way to Turn 1 tomorrow. Do you think the man next to you might be a little bit tentative because of the championship? Are you hoping that’s the case anyway?
    SV: I don’t know, I’ll just pass him and then we’ll see what happens! If he’s thinking about it then I have a good chance. We’ll see. Obviously it’s a long race. The first lap is important but we have a lot of laps after that. But if I can pass him, I pass him.

    Q: Max, you were the only one in the top three to improve on your final lap in Q3. You actually said over the radio that you might have gone a little bit too early on that final lap. Do you think it cost you any time?
    MV: No, I just questioned if we were going a bit early but they just said we were ahead of the train compared to the Ferrari and Mercedes cars, so that was it.

    Q: And just tell us about that second lap. It is so close between the three of you. Have you been able to pinpoint where the time is, where you might have been able to get pole position?
    MV: Well, I think in general Q3 was a bit more of a difficult session than Q2, for example, where I found the grip was maybe not the same – but of course that’s the same for everyone. It was just a bit harder to get your lap out and yeah, in general it was just very positive for us in qualifying to be that close. Compared to last year we made a really big step forward and, anyway, now the last two races, I think, we have been a lot more competitive. So that is very positive. I think we are definitely improving and learning, and also looking ahead for next year, I think we are definitely going in the right direction. And yeah, in general very pleased. I think the whole weekend, we had quite a smooth weekend. I didn’t really have a lot of trouble with the set-up or whatever. So, to be here in the top three, of course I would have liked to sit in the middle bit still, I think it’s been very positive.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for you Max, could you please talk us through the situation, I think in Q2, Q3 with Lewis? It was a pretty close one.
    MV: Yep. So, we were all lining up to do our lap, or to get to the last corner, and I think it was Seb, the first Ferrari, then Charles and then I had Dany in front of me and we were all just slowing down to make space, and Lewis just drove by like nobody was there and didn’t care. So I was like: well, if you don’t care, I don’t’ care. So, I want to get my position back. I mean, everybody’s just respecting each other at that point, just to start the lap. That’s why it was such a close call.

    Q: (Abhishek Aggarwal – Indiainf1.com) Question to all the drivers. So, in the first three practice sessions we heard from all the drivers the track was a bit bumpy. We see lock-ups and cars being spun. So, in the race tomorrow how important is the tyre management, and have you thought about any other strategy to preserve tyres? What are your thoughts about that?
    VB: I think with the bumps here, just the main place where it can really affect your race, if you have big lock-ups into Turn One under braking. Those are quite big bumps – but normally, even though, if you lock the wheels, you can recover. So, I don’t think it’s going to make like a massive difference. Every track, there’s tricky points, tricky places that you can really damage the tyres and, obviously, coming into the weekend and in the weekend we’ve done all the analysis already for the long runs in terms of, in theory, where are the best places to preserve the tyres, and where to be slightly cautious at times, when you can, and so on. So business as usual, I would say.

    Q: Sebastian, how much worse are the bumps this year, compared to last year?
    SV: A lot worse! I think the ground is the problem here, it moves, for some reasons. I don’t know what they installed under the track when they were laying the track but yeah, I think they are aware. I mean, they tried everything. They brought some people out last night to grind parts of the track again to try and make it better for us – but now there’s not so much you can do. We’ll see, as Valtteri said, it’s not going to change the world upside down tomorrow in the race. I think it’s more an issue for quali where you’re really pushing to the ultimate limit and, you go also significantly faster. So, I guess tomorrow should be fine – but for sure it will be a bumpy race. I hope all three of us do well tomorrow but I think the last thing we need is somebody tapping our shoulders after all the tapping we get through the corners around the track. So, yeah, we’ll see what happens.

    And Max, your thoughts.
    MV: Yeah, not much more to add, is there? I can say the same, but…

    Q: (Lennart Wermke – Bild) Seb, question for you. Frankfurt beat Bayern Munich 5-1 today in the Bundesliga, I feel that’s quite an emotional result for you, what’s your opinion on that game and do you feel for Niko Kovač who’s very much under pressure as a Bayern Munich coach?
    SV: We are playing football or we are racing here? Is it that boring to watch? You have no question about what we actually do? I think there’s rain forecast in China tomorrow. Do you want me to comment on that?
    VB: I heard it’s snowing in Finland…
    SV: I’m a big Frankfurt fan but, to be honest, I didn’t know. I found out just before qualifying, so obviously by then the game was done. I think it’s a good result for my team and Niko Kovač has been part of Frankfurt for a while, so of course I feel for him – but I hope he finds back the success very soon.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Question to Seb and to Max. The run to the first corner is pretty short, but it’s uphill. Does that improve the chances to overtake compared to the same distance but flat?
    SV: Well, they say we have more power so probably it helps if it’s uphill, because you need more power but, yeah, it’s not an awful long way. We will all try to have a good start and then you go from there. That’s the main target. I think the uphill bit doesn’t change so much. It’s trickier here for braking, so I think we need to be watching out but other than that…
    Q: Max, you’ll be on the cleaner side of the grid…
    MV: yeah, I think it’s more than that the track is very wide, so you can of course do a lot of different lines, compared to some other tracks where it’s just very narrow. I think the uphill bit… it’s that short and, of course, power matters a bit, like Seb said, but not enough, I guess, to make a big difference.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action / Speed Sport) For all three. The bumps were bad but were you ever even vaguely tempted with your engineers to do a softer suspension setting?
    MV: I think you always pay attention to it but luckily in most places… it’s only really Turn One where it can influence you but, of course, if you will go a lot softer then it influences the rest of the track, so sometimes you just have to live with maybe a little bit more difficulty into Turn One.
    VB: No, we didn’t really want to do that much compromise because of the bumps. The losses then, elsewhere could be quite big, so we just need to try and deal with the bumps, and we thought that’s the best way for this track, this year.
    SV: No compromise, no sacrifice! Put a cushion in my seat, that’s the only thing to soften it.

    Q: (Erik van Haren – De Telegraaf ) Max, are you surprised about the performance of your car, because you sound way more positive than a few weeks ago?
    MV: Yeah, I think of course Mexico was very good but we also expected it to be competitive. But of course the races we had before that were not like we wanted so I was a still a bit ‘ok, let’s see if we found the performance back?’ and clearly this weekend was very positive overall so I think we can be very happy about it. Like I said before, it’s a good effort from the team as well to not give up and just keep pushing and try to find the performance back like we also had actually before the break. That’s why I guess I sound a bit more positive.

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) For Seb and Max: the two of you usually like to roll out quite cool, special crash helmet designs. We’ve had a few US specials here. Last weekend in Mexico Lewis asked his fans on Instagram… to quote him he asked if he thought that the rule to only have one major design change each year was BS. I just wondered what you thought about the restriction on helmet designs and if that rule was relaxed, would you do more throughout the year?
    SV: Well, I change it anyway so… I think it’s our helmet and we should be free to do what we want, so I think the rule is major BS. Yeah, I think it’s a part of… we have very little room left to sort of express ourselves and the helmet is probably the only one and if people like it, that’s great, if they don’t like it well it’s not their helmet so I think we should be in charge for designing which way and which colour our helmet has.
    MV: Yup, I agree. I always loved when Seb was at Red Bull and changing his helmet every race, almost, more or less. It was cool  because you were just like ‘what is he coming up with now?’ I do a few but I’m not going to say I will do a different helmet every race because it’s just too much effort in designing the helmet but I think if you want to make it blue or red, the next race, why not? It’s your crash helmet and you should be able to do what you want and of course in the past, there have been drivers who have always had the same helmet and then they say ‘yeah, but that’s how we can distinguish the drivers’ but at the end of the day we have massive numbers on the side, we anyway have a halo on the top so let us do what we want with the helmet now. I think anyway it’s very nice to have a different design every year because it’s a bit boring always to keep the same helmet.
    Q: Valtteri, do you think it’s a bit boring to keep the same helmet?
    VB: I don’t know. Sometimes it’s nice to keep the same helmet but for sure sometimes it would be nice to do something special, every now and then and obviously everyone might have a special occasion, you know, whatever, or a special connection to some certain country where you want to do something special or pay a respect to someone you know or whatever. It would be nice to see a bit more freedom because like both of them have said, it’s our personal thing. We should be in control of that rather than anyone else.

    Q (Lawrence Edmonson – ESPN) Valtteri, yesterday it looked like you were losing a half a second to Lewis in the middle sector alone so was there an actual problem in the car or was it a set-up thing and did you get to the bottom of it – well you obviously did get to the bottom of it but what was it?
    VB: We actually found quite a few things not quite right. A little bit with the set-up, I think. I think I started to go in the wrong direction, some things on tyre pressures, temperatures and we found some reasons for quite a big straightline speed difference which made an effect on sector two so those combined, when I started today in practice three, I was like ‘wow, this is a different car, it feels normal’ and I was happy again. I knew, since the first run this morning that it can be a good day if we can get everything right.

    Q: (Jim Vertuno – Associated Press) Valtteri, how do you think Lewis, as your team-mate, how do you think Lewis will react or respond to starting fifth? Do you think he will be aggressive tomorrow on a track where he’s had so much success or do you think he will be patient and lay back with the championship on the line for him?
    VB: I think it would obviously be better to ask him directly. I don’t know what his mindset is right now but from what I know of him, he’s going to be there, fighting hard. For sure he also hates losing, he always wants to win like all of us and obviously he’s leading the championship with a big margin, he doesn’t need many points and I’m sure he would like to win the championship in a nice way eventually when and if it happens. But obviously I will try to delay that, I try to focus on my own race, try to focus on winning the race rather than anyone else’s opinions or mindsets.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Moto und Sport) Seb, you said the car was much improved compared to yesterday. Was it also on the longer runs, could you find out in P3?
    SV: Yeah, obviously we didn’t do long runs in FP3 but I think overall the car felt better than this morning so… we changed quite a couple of things which I think helped and they will also help in the race. How the pace will be, obviously we will find out tomorrow but at this stage I’m quite confident. I think we also struggled in particular on the hard tyres so I think we just didn’t get them to work and that should not be an issue tomorrow.

  • Drivers talk about the 2021 car at the FIA Thursday Press Meet

    Drivers talk about the 2021 car at the FIA Thursday Press Meet

    F1 drivers at the FIA Thursday Press Conference with the 2021 car. An FIA image

    DRIVERS – George RUSSELL (Williams), Lance STROLL (Racing Point), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Lando NORRIS (McLaren), Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Gentlemen, you can see the 2021 car sitting in front of you. I’d like to start by asking you all about it, the car and the general direction of Formula 1 in a couple of years’ time? Max, if we can start with you, please?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: It’s a bit small!

    Lando NORRIS: I was going to say that! That’s my joke!

    MV: Yeah, also for us it’s still early days. I haven’t really looked through all the things – I mean it’s just announced. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how it looks like or whatever, as long as it gives us better racing and we can follow better. Of course we want to be within two seconds, three seconds of what we are doing now, definitely, because if it’s going to be about four or five it’s not what we want, because then it feels a bit too slow. But I think this is just the start of it and I’m sure that teams will come up with a little bit of a different look as well, so let’s just find out over time how it’s going to work out.

    Q: Ross Brawn has just said that lap times will be similar to 2016.

    MV: Yeah, I guess… To be honest I didn’t really enjoy driving the cars as much back then as I do now, but of course you have to find a middle way in terms of what you want with following and stuff like that. Anyway, throughout the season the cars will improve.

    Q: OK, let’s get some other thoughts: George?

    George RUSSELL: Yeah, from my side it doesn’t really matter how it looks or the speed of it as long as we have great racing. I think that’s what we all want. Obviously the weight is heavier which I think is not ideal for any of us. I mean, even driving like a Formula 3 car it was really fun to drive but it was much lighter than what these Formula 1 cars are. But as long as it improves the racing and brings the field together that’s all I care about.

    Q: Lance?

    Lance STROLL: Yeah, not much more to add really. I think the main thing is to focus on the racing. We need to be able to follow closer to one another and to improve the wheel-to-wheel racing, the show for the fans, and I think for us drivers, too, it will be very exciting if we can see closer racing. Hopefully it levels the playing field as well. If we can see the gaps reduced to the top teams and there are more opportunities for the midfield teams to score podiums and to fight for positions further up the grid, that would be exciting.

    Q: Lando?

    Lando NORRIS: I think it’s pretty much been covered. As they all said as long as the racing’s better and we all have a chance to fight for wins in different races and as teams we can all fight for being a strong constructor, I think that’s the key thing. That’s about it.

    Q: Do you like the look?

    LN: I would change the paint scheme slightly! Apart from that, I think it’s alright. I mean, I’ve seen the renders our designers are designing and it looks pretty cool. I don’t really mind too much, that’s not what I’m fussed about. I’m just fussed about the racing and having fun and being able to follow cars closely and just enjoy racing more than what we do now.

    Q: And Pierre?

    Pierre GASLY: Well, I agree with all of them, so not much to add.

    Q: OK, well Lando, a frustrating race for both McLaren drivers in Mexico. What did you learn from your various problems in Mexico and do the temperatures we’re experiencing here in Austin worry you?

    LN: Yeah, not a great race for us as a team, especially after our qualifying position and a good chance to score some more points. I think there are obvious things… I think my race was put down fairly quickly with the pit stop. There’s something that’s easily known and understood in terms of what the problem was, but fixing it isn’t something that is going to happen overnight and it doesn’t happen often at the same time, so it’s not like we’re worried about pit stops or anything, it’s just we can be a bit unlucky and this time it was the first pit stop that I had where I was a but unlucky. I’m not so worried about that; the team have got solutions in the pipeline, which is a good thing for us. We just have to look on to this weekend. I wouldn’t say we are worried about the track temperatures or anything, it’s just how it is. It’s similar to Barcelona in pre-season. It might be a bit more difficult to get the tyres in the right window and so one, but I’m hoping it will play a little bit more to our strengths rather than our weaknesses.

    Q: And an opportunity to reflect on your first season in F1. What’s the take-home message from this year for you?

    LN: Meh.

    MV: You sound like a sheep. I think there is a meme incoming now.

    LN: I’m happy with bits of it. There are bits I’m not so happy with. I’ve not made any huge mistakes. I’ve not crashed a lot, I’ve not done anything stupid. But as a racing driver, and I’m sure all drivers on the whole grid would say the same, there’s always room for improvement and things they want to do better. So, I am happy, I think 90% of the things I’ve done, I think I’ve done them reasonably well. It’s just the smaller things – you mess up a qualifying lap or you don’t progress enough on how you work on the set-up with the engineers as much as you want. It’s just putting all the small things together. A bit of it comes with experience, but a bit of I don’t think I did a good enough job in. I’m happy, it’s been a good year, a very enjoyable year, but I want to make sure I come back next year and already in the next races in slightly stronger form.

    Q: Thanks Lando and good luck this weekend. Pierre, how’s your health?

    PG: Really good. I think that’s about 20 times people asked me since I arrived in the paddock today. It was a rough time last weekend, but everything’s perfect now.

    Q: How tough was that race? You finished ninth but you really weren’t… 

    PG: Yeah, it was probably one of the most challenging race weekends I’ve had…

    MV: The seat [inaudible]…

    PG: No, the seat was clean – nothing wrong with that. It was pretty tough from Saturday morning onwards, just in terms of energy and trying to keep the focus. It wasn’t an easy one but I’m happy we went through it. We managed to get the best result we could out of the weekend. Pretty strong qualifying and race, even though it wasn’t easy, but yeah, it was definitely a challenging one.

    Q: You say strong qualifying. Both Toro Rossos got into Q3. How much progress have you made with the car recently?

    PG: To be fair, the car is more or less the same as it was in the last couple of races, since I rejoined. But I think it’s just trying to extract the maximum from what we have and trying to find the set-up directions that suit tracks and what I need from the car. I must say I’m really happy with the way we’re working with the team. They are providing me with everything I need so we can extract everything from the car. So far we are doing well. We can always do better and we’ll try to keep that form in the next three races.

    Q: You say the team is giving you everything you needs. Confidence looks high. Are you driving better now than when you were with Red Bull Racing?

    PG: Not really. I didn’t learn or forget how to drive in a couple of months. It’s just a matter of putting everything together. As I said, I’m just focusing on the job to do with Toro Rosso. I think we are doing pretty well. There are always things we need to focus on and improve and that’s what we need to focus one.

    Q: Lance, if I could come to you now. Belated happy birthday. Turned 21 on Tuesday. What have you done since Mexico?

    Lance STROLL: I mean, just been laying low and enjoyed my birthday. It was nice… I went for dinner and was able to have my first drink in America! That’s a real breakthrough. First time ever in the United States. So that was a lot of fun – but in moderation, looking forward to this weekend. I’m a professional athlete, so I’ve got to be in the best shape I can be for the weekend – and here I am.

    Q: Now, it was a competitive showing by both Racing Points in Mexico. Was that track-specific or are you really starting to add performance to the car?

    LS: A bit of both. I didn’t have the best weekend myself. It was really my team-mate who had a solid weekend. On Saturday and especially Sunday I had a scruffy qualifying session and then my race was going well until the second stint where I got a lot of lapping events, graining etcetera. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way but we definitely had potential again to score points and it’s looking that way over the last five or six races since we brought the upgrade in Spa. That’s really positive. Looking good for the next three races.

    Q: George, coming on to you. The team has been introducing new parts in recent races. How much better is the car to drive now than it was at the start of the season?

    George RUSSELL: I think the upgrades we’ve brought to the car recently, it’s more been looking into 2020. We knew that it’s not going to necessarily unlock a lot of performance on the car as it is now – but it’s definitely looking promising going into next year. Overall, the car is definitely nicer to drive. I mean, at the start of the year it was not nice at all, let’s say, and it was pretty tricky just to get around a lap. But we’ve done a good job to fine-tune the balance, just to make it a nicer car to drive – but now we need to rely on the engineers back at the factory to bolt some more downforce on it.

    Q: And what about your own development as a driver this year? You said you wanted to learn out of the spotlight, which you’ve been able to do – but what do you take into year two next year?

    GR: Similar to what Lando said. I think there’s things I’ve been happy with, things I haven’t been… just experience really. The little things that you only improve on, race by race: understanding the tyres; the starts. It’s pretty tricky starting at the back of the grid, with all the cars around, a massive lack of downforce. Even less downforce than what we’ve got, let’s say. Just little bits and bobs here and there. I think I’ll definitely be a better driver into next year.

    Q: Max, just off the plane from L.A. at the fan festival yesterday. How was that?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was good. Good amount of fans and some good donuts as well. So, that’s always nice to do.

    Q: This weekend, believe it or not, is your 100th grand prix.

    LN: Same as Carlos!

    MV: Yeah, we started together.

    LN: That’s sweet!

    Q: What does that stat means to you, Max?

    MV: Good beginning! And, of course, it all happened very quick. To realise and see that you are about to do your 100th grand prix at 22 years old, I think I would never have expected that – but I guess it’s a good thing. Basically, those five years have gone very quickly.

    Q: Just looking ahead to this weekend, you had a cracking race here last year. Onto the podium from 18th. What are your expectations this year?

    MV: I think we can have a good race. Last year, coming from the back and then still finishing on the podium was a very good result. Of course, it gave me an opportunity to have a different strategy, which at the end of the day was not a bad one – but now we want to start a bit more upfront and see what we can do. But I think in Mexico the car was working really well, so we just try to continue that here.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Question to Max initially and then secondary question to Lando and George. Max, it looks like Lewis is going to wrap up his title very soon – potentially here, he only needs four points. In competing with him these past few years, what makes him the driver he has become, do you feel, effectively now on the brink of becoming a six time World Champion. And to Lando and George, what does Lewis mean to you guys as British drivers growing up, potentially wanting to emulate him as a future British world champion?

    MV: From my side, unfortunately I haven’t really had the time to compete with him that much. I mean, just a few races. Most of the time we didn’t have equal material but he was always clearly the better of the two within the team. And then, when you have the best car out there, of course you can win the Championship. It’s amazing, of course, to go for your sixth World Championship.

    Q: Lando, let’s start with you. What does Lewis mean to you?

    LN: I guess he’s a guy who I’ve always looked up to since I was young. A driver who I’ve loved to watch. I’ve been very excited to watch a lot of his races since I started watching F1 when I was six or seven years old. So, I’ve kind of not been on the journey but I’ve been able to watch a lot of the races and it gives a bit of… I wouldn’t say belief or faith but it gives a bit of confidence knowing that, or hoping to go into the future and emulate him in a way – but like Max said, the equipment’s very different to when he joined Formula One, when he was with McLaren. So some things aren’t going to be exactly the same; it’s not possible to do the same as other drivers – but there are a lot of things that he’s extremely good at and I would like to improve on and be as good as him on, so yeah, a guy and a driver who’s inspired me and who I’ve looked up to since I was very young.

    Q: George?

    GR: Similar to Lando. Definitely somebody who I’ve looked up to for a while, since I’ve been wanting to become a Formula One driver but especially in the last couple of years. I’ve gained a huge amount of respect for him, seeing him within the team. I used to think he just relied on his natural talent to jump in the car and do the business but he puts a huge amount of effort in and the attention to detail he goes into is massive. I did learn a lot from him in the years I spent with Mercedes, so yeah, definitely respect and admire what he’s achieved.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) For Max. Just on Lewis. He had some comments to say about you after the last race. Said he affords you more space than other drivers in fear of being torpedoed…

    MV: Torpedoed? I didn’t hear that one.

    Q: …well, it was part of what he said. And I think Seb also said that he copy-and-pasted what Lewis had to say. I was wondering what your feeling is about those two comments?

    MV: Well, looking at Turns One and Two in Mexico, I don’t think that happened. From my side, yeah, it was a bit of a silly comment to make. I think I’m always a hard racer but fair. I think it’s just not correct – but of course it’s easy to have a dig at someone. From my side, it’s fine. It’s always positive when the talk about you. That means you’re in their head, So, for my side, I just focus on my driving and I think that’s enough said.

    Q: (Chris Medland – Racer) Pierre, Lando and Lance: we’ve got the 2021 regulations which are aiming to bring the field closer together but for the three of you, competing in a very tight midfield this season, do you really enjoy those battles when the main target really for you is what we call best of the rest, behind the top three teams, and when you do come up on top of those, does it really feel like a win in a junior category or is it quite frustrating to be limited like that?

    PG: Well, I do enjoy these tight battles because at the end of the day I love racing and that’s what you get when you’re right there, like six to eight cars within three or four tenths. It brings a lot of excitement to the track on my side actually. I do like it; for sure, knowing that the best you can achieve is seventh is always a bit disappointing sometimes when you need to be satisfied with this kind of result because of course as a racer you want to fight for the top position. When you finish seventh, that’s kind of the first place you can target; you don’t get any trophy, you don’t get any champagne, it doesn’t really taste the same. Hopefully this can be improved for 2021. I don’t have the answer at the moment. Of course I think we have all the common targets with F1 and that’s what all the driver wants so yeah, hopefully it’s going to be achieved by 2021.

    LN: I agree with Pierre, to be honest. 2021 regulations are not going to mean we are going to be winning races or we’re going to be on the podium all the time. It’s a much better chance for us to achieve those things and as drivers to achieve those things and experience a podium at one time. It’s going to just even up the field I hope, make racing better, make it  more enjoyable to watch, more enjoyable to race for us drivers because that is something we miss. A lot of the drivers who are in Formula One have done very well in the junior categories since karting, F4, F3, F2, whatever, so we’ve always loved it and it’s part of the feeling we enjoy so much as a team is getting on the podium and knowing we’ve been able to beat sometimes the rest of the field and we’ve done a better job because of it. So it’s something I do miss but it’s not just me, it’s the whole team as well. Yeah, something I look forward to and hope we can take advantage of.

    LS: I’ve loved the midfield competition this year. I think it’s been tighter than it’s ever been. You look at the gaps on Saturdays and then on the Sunday how close the racing is, it’s great for the drivers, for the fans. Unfortunately we are so getting lapped by Mercedes and Ferraris, even Red Bulls, so hopefully that can change in ’21. I agree with what Pierre said: it’s great to fight for the best of the rest but when you’re seventh and there’s no reward for that. We’re always trying to score World Championship points but the podium is realistically out of reach and victories are out of the question in today’s sport. I really do hope that we can see some changes in ’21, closer racing as well. That is the priority, I think, with the regulation changes this year, capable of following cars nose to tail but then on top of that, if we can see the gaps reduced to the top teams the opportunity to fight for podiums and wins potentially – that would be awesome.

    Q: (John Massengale – Speed City) Pierre, we got to go to Houston with you yesterday to go to NASA. How was it, talking to an astronaut while he was live in the space station?

    PG: This was really amazing. I would have never imagined one day in my life talking to an astronaut who was actually in space, I don’t know how many kilometres away but that was just incredible to imagine that just from that fun talking and then getting an answer two seconds later from that same guy who was in space. It was an amazing experience. We got to visit the whole NASA control centre, speak with astronauts who have already been a couple of times in space. Saw some rocket ships – no, it was just an incredible experience.

    Q: (John Massengale – Speed City) Max, going to the festival in Los Angeles and the talk of a race in Miami, do you think this is important, not only for the sport but for you as a driver to get this exposure here in the United States, and what do you think about the possibility of more races here?

    MV: Well, in general I think it’s good for the sport, the owners as well, they want more races I think in the US. I think what we’re doing, at the moment, is of course trying to make the sport more popular and more well known in the US. I enjoy being here. It doesn’t matter if it’s in Austin or LA or Miami or wherever in America, I think it’s just a very cool place to be. I think a few – or one or two more races, they wouldn’t hurt, as long as they are exciting of course and a lot of fans are attending.

    Q: Max, what was the atmosphere like in Los Angeles yesterday? Was there a great atmosphere? What was the reception like from the crowd?

    MV: It felt good. They liked the noise as well from the cars, as soon as we were warming the engines already they loved it. Of course it was all very limited, we could basically only do a few doughnuts and stuff but I guess they liked that already but of course it would be even better to show how quick we can go through corners as well and hopefully with those kind of regulations coming in also the racing will be really cool to watch.

    Q: (Yhacbec Lopez – Motorlat) Max, do you think Lewis and Seb are more aggressive with you than any other driver on the grid?

    MV: I don’t know. I think you should ask them that question.

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Max, it’s for you, unfortunately, again…

    MV: It’s not a surprise so…

    Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Well, you’re quite topical at the moment. Do you think you’re being treated fairly by the FIA in the wake of what happened at the last race, for your honesty, your brutal honesty, about the yellow flags? And also do you think that you’re getting dug out by Lewis, by Sebastian? They don’t seem to dig anyone else out, it just seems to be you; you seem to be the centre of attention a lot of time.

    MV: No, I think it was very fair from the FIA. We had a good talk in the stewards and I said ‘I didn’t see the yellow flag’ but of course there’s a rule that when there is a yellow flag displayed that you have to slow down so from my side, there are also no hard feelings about that. It’s just very unfortunate I didn’t see that yellow flag and in hindsight I also didn’t need to go for that lap time because I was already on pole position but what was going through my head throughout that lap was you don’t know what the other guys in front of you are doing, if they are improving, are they beating your pole lap time? I didn’t see the yellow flag, I improved my lap time, in hindsight I didn’t need to do it but also in hindsight I think next time I’m anyway going to lift even if they would improve my lap time, just because they got lucky, they were in front of the accident. It is what it is but of course…. At the moment we are still not in a position to fight for pole position all the time so of course I was enjoying the moment as well. But still, it was a great result for us, it showed that after the few difficult races we’ve had in terms of performance the car was working really well so that was a big boost even though we didn’t start from pole position.

    And then your second question, I think from my side it only shows that I’m in their heads and I guess that’s a good thing but from my side I don’t need to dig in to other people in the press conferences because first of all I think it’s a bit disrespectful as well and I prefer to fight on track which I love to do and of course I like to fight hard but on the edge. Otherwise, if they want me to stay behind, it’s also better to stay at home. I really want to take the fight to them because that’s what we are here for. We are racers, we in Formula One, I think we are the best out there and we do fight for victories because that’s what I live for.

     

  • Verstappen takes pole, but suffers 3-place grid penalty; Leclerc to start on P1

    Verstappen takes pole, but suffers 3-place grid penalty; Leclerc to start on P1

    By Abhishek Aggarwal

    Mexico City, 26 Oct 2019: Valtteri Bottas came out safe after a heavy crash in the final run of the qualifying near Turn 17 on Saturday but that put paid to the hopes of the Finn getting a pole position, as he is the only man who can stop Lewis Hamilton from winning the World Championship for another record year here at the Mexican Grand Prix, the 18th of the 21-event FIA World Formula 1 Championship at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez. A quick lap during the first runs put Max Verstappen on pole followed by Charles Leclerc of Ferrari with multiple world champion take p3 ahead of defending champion Lewis Hamilton.

    Charles Leclerc in action on Saturday. Photos by Abhishek Aggarwal

    However, it will not be Max Verstappen, who will start on pole for the race on Sunday. The talented youngster, who failed to respect the yellow flags and slow down after the incident, was penalised with a grid penalty of three places by the stewards. He took the second pole position of his career outwitting Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.266s, but Leclerc will now start on pole and Sebastian Vettel will be promoted and his Ferrari will start from front row on P2. The AMG Petronas Mercedes team will not have even one of their Silver Arrows on the first row on Sunday but Lewis Hamilton will start on P3 with the grid penalty to the pole sitter.

    Bottas was ahead of Verstappen in the final run of the Q3, when he crashed heavily, seconds before the end of the session, hitting the side barriers but he jumped out of the car safe, and was unhurt after the accident.  Bottas will start on P6.

    The Red Bulls took the lead early on in the session with Verstappen and teammate Alex Albon in the run. Albon clocked a lap of 1:16.175 that left him almost tenths of a second ahead of Leclerc. But Verstappen then posted a quicker lap to beat Albon by 0.249 of a second.

    Defending champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas were all behind the third-placed Leclerc and in the final run as all elected to stay in their garages, leaving the track clear for the battle to stay in the session.

    Earlier in Q2, crowd favourite and home hero, Sergio Perez, had an unfortunate exit from the qualifying session as the Mexican was eliminated along with Nico Hulkenberg, Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinnazi

    Further ahead Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz put in good final flying laps to jump to sixth and seventh respectively and that dropped Bottas to eighth place ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and McLaren’s Lando Norris. Also through to the second session were Alfa’s Kimi Räikkönen in P11 followed by Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, the second Renault of Nico Hulkenberg and the second Alfa Romeo of Antonio Giovinazzi, adds an FIA release.

    Q2 began with Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes opting to send their drivers out on medium compound Pirellis and after the first runs it was Vettel who led the way with a lap of 1:15.914, while Verstappen held second thanks to a lap of 1:16.136. Leclerc was third ahead Bottas and Hamilton.

    In the final runs the Mercedes pair again went out on medium tyres and the Red Bulls and the Ferraris circulated on soft tyres, though they later backed out of the runs to ensure qualification on medium compound tyres. Hamilton and Bottas kept going, however, and Hamilton jumped to P1 with a lap of 1:15.721, a tenth ahead of his team-mate. Vettel was third and Verstappen progressed to Q3 in P4 ahead of Leclerc, Sainz and Norris. Albon made it through in P8 ahead of the Toro Rossos of Kvyat and Gasly.

    Verstappen then proved unstoppable in the final Q3 top-10 shootout. After going quickest in the first runs with a lap of 1:14.910 that left him 0.124s clear of Leclerc the Dutchman ramped up the pace in final runs to set a pole position time of 1:14.758. There was confusion in the final moments, however, as Bottas crashed in the final corner on his final run bringing out the yellow flags. The impact was heavy but he was soon out of the car and safe.

    With Verstappen on pole and Leclerc on the front row, third place went to Vettel, with Hamilton fourth. Albon scored his best qualifying result to date with fifth and Bottas qualified sixth, though the heavy damage to his car calls into question where he might start. Sainz qualified seventh ahead of team-mate Norris and the final top 10 places were filled by Toro Rosso’s Kvyat and Gasly.

    2019 FIA Formula One Mexican Grand Prix – Qualifying 
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:14.758 7 207.260
    2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:15.024 0.266 7 206.525
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:15.170 0.412 7 206.124
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.262 0.504 6 205.872
    5 Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing 1:15.336 0.578 6 205.670
    6 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:15.338 0.580 5 205.665
    7 Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren 1:16.014 1.256 6 203.836
    8 Lando Norris McLaren 1:16.322 1.564 6 203.013
    9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:16.469 1.711 6 202.623
    10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:16.586 1.828 6 202.313
    11 Sergio Pérez Racing Point 1:16.687 0.966 6 202.047
    12 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:16.885 1.164 6 201.526
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:16.933 1.212 6 201.401
    14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo 1:16.967 1.246 6 201.312
    15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 1:17.269 1.548 6 200.525
    16 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:18.065 2.116 8 198.480
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:18.436 2.487 9 197.541
    18 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:18.599 2.650 9 197.132
    19 George Russell Williams 1:18.823 2.874 10 196.572
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:20.179 4.230 9 193.247

  • Vettel sets the pace in FP2 ahead of Verstappen

    Vettel sets the pace in FP2 ahead of Verstappen

    Vettel tops FP2 on Friday. Photo by Abhishek Aggarwal

    Mexico City, 25 Oct 2019: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel led the way in second practice for the Mexican Grand prix edging Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by 0.115s. Charles Leclerc was third 0.465s off the pace of his Ferrari team-mate on Friday.

    In the opening phase of the 90-minute session, run on medium tyres, Vettel went quickest with a best time of 1:17.960, over two tenths of a second clear of Leclerc. The session was red-flagged was red-flagged after just a quarter of an hour, however, thanks to Red Bull Racing’s Alex Albon crashing out in Turn 7.

    The Thai driver lost control on entry and slid wide across the run-off area. He hit the barriers hard with the right side of his car, causing substantial damage.

    When the action resumed Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas slotted in from third to fifth respectively before Leclerc and Vettel moved to soft compound Pirellis for their qualifying simulations.

    Leclerc initially went quickest with a lap of 1:17.072s but Vettel cleared that mark with ease, going quicker in all three sectors to post a table-topping time of 1:16.607. Verstappen then stole second place with his best time of 1:16.722.

    Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was fourth fastest in the session, 0.614s off the pace and was 0.349s quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton who finished in fifth place.

    Best of the rest in the session was Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat with the Russian claiming sixth place close to the end of the session. His lap of 1:17.747 put him over two tenths of a second ahead of seventh-placed team-mate Pierre Gasly.

    McLaren’s Carlos Sainz set the eighth-fastest time, almost two tenths faster than Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Lando Norris rounded out the top 10 in the second McLaren, 1.742s off the pace.

    2019 FIA Formula One Mexican Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:16.607
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 37 1:16.722 0.115
    3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 34 1:17.072 0.465
    4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 39 1:17.221 0.614
    5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 35 1:17.570 0.963
    6 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso 40 1:17.747 01.140
    7 Pierre Gasly Scuderia Toro Rosso 39 1:18.003 01.396
    8 Carlos Sainz McLaren 38 1:18.079 01.472
    9 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 23 1:18.261 01.654
    10 Lando Norris McLaren 36 1:18.349 01.742
    11 Lance Stroll Racing Point 38 1:18.362 01.755
    12 Sergio Perez Racing Point 34 1:18.366 01.759
    13 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 34 1:18.380 01.773
    14 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 37 1:18.681 02.074
    15 Romain Grosjean Haas 37 1:18.766 02.159
    16 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 46 1:18.889 02.282
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 37 1:19.306 02.699
    18 George Russell Williams 36 1:19.968 03.361
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 37 1:20.180 03.573
    20 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing 5 1:21.665 05.058

  • Valtteri Bottas continues to set pace in FP2 as storm clouds gather: Japanese GP

    Valtteri Bottas continues to set pace in FP2 as storm clouds gather: Japanese GP

    Valtteri Bottas tops FP2 at Suzuka on Friday. An FIA image

    Suzuka, 11 Oct 2019: After setting the pace in the first free practice session at Suzuka, Valtteri Bottas continued at the top of the timesheet in FP2, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton by a tenth of a second, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull Racing, just under two tenths further back.

    Bottas’s best time came at the second attempt, with the Finn posting a lap of 1:27.785 after his first run was compromised by a spin at the end of his warm-up lap. Bottas lost control of his car out of the final chicane but survived the incident to eventually edge ahead of team-mate Hamilton.

    The championship leader’s first run was compromised by Bottas’ spin and when Hamilton got as clean lap his best time came in at 1:27.885, set on his second run.

    Max Verstappen gave Red Bull Racing power unit supplier Honda hope of a good result at its home race by getting closest to the dominant Mercedes drivers with the Dutch driver setting a qualifying simulation lap of 1:28.066 to finish 0.281s off the pace. That time put him seven hundredths of a second clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

    Both Leclerc and team-mate Sebastian Vettel made late improvements in the session with the Monegasque driver jumping from the P6 his first quali run had yielded to fourth place behind Verstappen. Vettel, meanwhile, finished two tenths further back after his second run netted a best time of 1:28.376, some six tenths of a second off Bottas’ pace.

    Alex Albon steered the second Red Bull Racing RB15 to sixth place ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz who was almost three tenths quicker than Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez.

    Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly also made a late jump up the order. Until the final minutes the French driver languished outside the top 10, more than two seconds off the pace. A late run improved things, however, and a time of 1:29.354 vaulted him to ninth place, 1.5s off the pace and just fourth thousandths of a second ahead of 10th-placed Lando Norris of McLaren.

    The chequered flag brought the curtain on track action at Suzuka until Sunday morning. Earlier in the day the impending arrival of Typhoon Hagibis led circuit owners Mobilityland and ASN the Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) to cancel Saturday’s programme.

    Qualifying will now be held at 10am local time on Sunday and in the event that the weather leads to the cancellation of qualifying the grid will be formed on the basis of the FP2 classification.

    2019 FIA Formula One Japanese Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 33 1:27.785
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 34 1:27.885 0.100
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 24 1:28.066 0.281
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 28 1:28.141 0.356
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 37 1:28.376 0.591
    6 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing 34 1:28.402 0.617
    7 Carlos Sainz McLaren 29 1:29.051 1.266
    8 Sergio Perez Racing Point 28 1:29.299 1.514
    9 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 34 1:29.354 1.569
    10 Lando Norris McLaren 35 1:29.358 1.573
    11 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 29 1:29.477 1.692
    12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 35 1:29.512 1.727
    13 Romain Grosjean Haas 28 1:29.553 1.768
    14 Lance Stroll Racing Point 27 1:29.597 1.812
    15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 33 1:29.651 1.866
    16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 31 1:29.749 1.964
    17 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 30 1:29.859 2.074
    18 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 29 1:30.334 2.549
    19 Robert Kubica Williams 35 1:30.916 3.131
    20 George Russell Williams 36 1:31.071 3.286

  • Verstappen doesn’t see repeat of Hamilton’s dad issues with Jos

    Verstappen doesn’t see repeat of Hamilton’s dad issues with Jos

    From Darshan Chokhani
    Singapore, 6 Oct 2019: Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen doesn’t think his relationship with Jos will deteriorate like his F1 rival Lewis Hamilton’s did with Anthony at one stage.
    Max, left, with dad Jos Verstappen. Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

    Hamilton started his career in F1 when being looked after by his dad Anthony after their journey together in the sport since the karting days. However, the relation started to deteriorate and the differences led them to go in separate ways professionally with the British driver managing his own self, which also included cracking a deal with Mercedes which has eventually won him four more titles.

    After a brief period of distance, the relation between Lewis and Anthony is back to being healthy with the two spending time whenever possible and the latter also visiting him at a few F1 races. He is no longer managing him but the relation his better than ever. On similar lines, the journey of Max is very much influenced by Jos, with the difference being that Verstappen Sr himself has raced actively in F1.
    The Dutchmen are a strong force together but Jos doesn’t indulge himself much as they do have a manager as well in place to form a team for anything that Max requires. In the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, Verstappen Sr talked about his relationship with Max and that he reckoned, it won’t go the way it did for the Hamiltons. When asked by IndiaInF1.com, Verstappen Jr very much agreed to his dad’s stance.
    We have a very strong bond, we trust each other and of course I believe in my dad,” he said. “I think it is just that from a very young age onward, we have experienced so many things together that I don’t it will happen [the way it went for Hamiltons].” It looks like that very much as Jos doesn’t step too much in Max’s way and for now, the relation with Red Bull is better than ever as the Dutchman is a de-facto leader of the team.
    Staying with his dad, there were talks about the two racing together one day, whether in a competitive series or for fun but Jos said it is unlikely to happen as he doesn’t feel like racing anymore. Max, however, is leaving it to fate. “I want to do it maybe after my F1 career or whatever comes up. I think it would be something cool to do so. At the moment I can say yes, but maybe in ten years’ time I’ll be like ‘No I don’t want it anymore’, so I guess time will tell.”

  • Max Verstappen outpaces Charles Leclerc in FP2: Russian GP

    Sochi, 27 Sept 2019: Max Verstappen went quickest in the second practice session for the Russian Grand Prix, beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by more than three tenths of a second with the quickest Mercedes driver, Valtteri Bottas, third and six tenths of a second off the pace.

    Having only achieved a best result of fifth place at the Sochi Autodrom since the race’s calendar debut in 2014, the Black Sea circuit was not expected to be a venue suited to Red Bull, but Verstappen gave lie to that assessment by posting a time of 1:33.162 during his FP2 qualifying run.

    The lap put him 0.335s ahead of Leclerc who had claimed top spot earlier as the first of the expected front runners to bolt on a set of new soft tyres and go for a performance run.

    Verstappen’s soft-tyre best followed an opening phase run on medium tyres during which the Dutchman lagged two tenths of a second off the pace set by Leclerc.

    However, Verstappen’s good low fuel pace give Red Bull hope of scoring a good result on Sunday despite an impending five-place grid drop as both it’s drivers, along with Honda-powered Toro Rosso stablemates Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat are facing PU-related grid penalties on Sunday.

    Behind Leclerc, Bottas took third place for Mercedes, though the Finn, who won here in 2017, was only able to get to 0.646s off Verstappen’s pace. Bottas set his best lap of the session shortly after Hamilton and he managed to eclipse his championship-leading team-mate by 0.152s.

    Singapore Grand Prix-winner Sebastian Vettel failed to make a significant improvement during his qualifying simulation and having gained just a tenth of a second over his medium-tyre best he ended the session in fifth place, a full second off Verstappen.

    Penalty-hit Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly was an impressive sixth in the session finishing marginally ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg eighth.

    The German finished the session almost four tenths of a second ahead of 14th-placed team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, and perhaps more importantly two tenths clear of 11thLando Norris, the quickest driver from Renault’s Constructors’ standings rivals McLaren.

    Ninth place in the session went to Lance Stroll in the second Racing Point, and the final top-10 spot was taken by Alex Albon in the second Red Bull. The Thai driver spent much of the session in his team’s garage after taking too much kerb early on and damaging the floor of his car.

    2019 FIA Formula One Russian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 29 1:33.162
    2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 33 1:33.497 0.335
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 22 1:33.808 0.646
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 32 1:33.960 0.798
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 32 1:34.201 1.039
    6 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 26 1:34.971 1.809
    7 Sergio Perez Racing Point 31 1:34.998 1.836
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 33 1:35.026 1.864
    9 Lance Stroll Racing Point 31 1:35.176 2.014
    10 Alex Albon Red Bull Racing 18 1:35.216 2.054
    11 Lando Norris McLaren 33 1:35.223 2.061
    12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 38 1:35.337 2.175
    13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 26 1:35.351 2.189
    14 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 28 1:35.370 2.208
    15 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo 34 1:35.374 2.212
    16 Romain Grosjean Haas 31 1:35.593 2.431
    17 Carlos Sainz McLaren 29 1:35.635 2.473
    18 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo 29 1:36.004 2.842
    19 George Russell Williams 38 1:36.785 3.623
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 36 1:37.838 4.676.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • We were just not fast enough, says Max Verstappen

    Budapest, 4 August 2019: The following top -3 drivers attended the mandatory post-race FIA press conference on Sunday: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari).

    Track Interviews were conducted by former Force India F1 driver Paul Di Resta:

    Q: Lewis, I can see how much that one means to you. From a driving point of view that was exactly what you had to do to go out there and win it. You fought all the way till the very end to get that one done. How do you feel?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Tired, which is how it should be, but I feel really grateful for the day and for the team for continuing to believe in me and continuing to push to the limits and to take a risk and a chance on me. We’ve been together for seven years and it never gets old, it always feels brand new. It feels like a new win for us. If it wasn’t for these boys here and all the guys back at the factory this wouldn’t be even possible and I’m just grateful to be a part of it. Yeah, for a race to be able to push like that, I’m telling you now it was on the limit all the way.

    Q: The gap was there to take that chance, to roll the dice and try something on strategy, but you had a bit of management in there with brakes, because you had nearly got Max before. Was it always going to be on edge to get that pass done?

    LH: Honestly, we’ve had brake problems all weekend, having like separation of the front temperatures and glazing, and I was a bit worried. We made some changes and it still didn’t make a difference and naturally, we get into the race and we have this problem, so I was doing a lot of lift and coast and not even touching the brake for half the lap. Now of course in the big stops you had to lose it. I was just trying to save as much as I could for that time when I do get a chance. It was very, very difficult to get by, defence was great, they were quite quick on the straights. But honestly I didn’t know if I could catch that 19-second gap because there is a big… my tyres were going to drop off and all these different things are going through your mind, but like the team said, you just keep your head down, so I did and kept pushing and pushing and the gap closed and closed and closed. The laps were like qualifying laps every lap. So my hat off to the team and I think if Niki was here today he’d take his hat off.

    Q: I think everybody would. That’s seven wins in Hungary and a nice way to sign off for the summer break. Enjoy your rest. Max, I know you’re not going to be very happy with what happened but they had the chance to do what they did. You were not fortunately in that position (sic) but I guess you’ve got to be satisfied and Driver of the Day to say that.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, we were just not fast enough. I tried everything I could on that hard tyre to stay alive but unfortunately, it was just not enough. But still, second and fastest lap, I think a good weekend overall for us. Of course congrats to Lewis for the win. He was pushing me very hard, so I like that. Today we didn’t win but again, like I said, it was a good day, a good weekend for us.

    Q: What was missing today? That’s four very good races but the one we all thought you would get the job done, these guys came out very strong.

    MV: Just lacking a bit of grip I guess. We tried the one stop, of course they had the opportunity to do a two and today that worked out well.

    Q: Sebastian, right at the very end of the grand prix. I know these guys had a lonely race at the front but always satisfying to pass your team-mate, you did something different on strategy, and to sign off what is going to be a difficult break for you guys to bounce back?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I mean obviously I was sitting in P4 and had nothing to lose so we stayed out very long in the first stint and then just hoped that the soft would last until the end, and it did. I think it was the fastest tyre at the end so we were able to close the gap. We had one opportunity, which I took, so happy to get some champagne now and to cool down. Yeah, we couldn’t go the pace with these two; that was quite clear the whole weekend, so lots of work ahead of us. I think it’s good now for everyone to get a break, the guys have been working very, very hard. We need maybe to charge our batteries and then the battle continues. There will be tracks that we will be better for us but still, overall we need to get stronger.

    Q: With Spa and Monza coming up after the summer break you guys have got to be favourites for that with your straight-line speed.

    SV: Yeah, I don’t know what other people will do in terms of updates on power unit and the engine side, so we’ll see. Obviously on paper they look better of for us. But yeah, still we know we have margin with the car. As you said it will be a busy break for us. I don’t think anyone’s mind can rest in the two weeks, so maybe we come up with some good ideas for the second half.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Max coming to you, great performance by you all weekend and so much rested on that strategic call. Were you tempted to pit as well?

    MV: It wouldn’t have made sense because I would have been behind then so then you know the race is lost anyway. So the only option was for me to continue and that’s what we did. Of course at one point I started to run out of tyres, I think trying to keep up with Lewis’ pace on those medium tyres, trying to keep it within a second was almost impossible. And of course you can see it coming, so for me it was not a big disappointment once he passed me, it was just a normal thing to happen. Anyway, we have to be realistic and he was just clearly faster today. Always I was struggling a little bit more for grip than him. He could keep the pressure on. Of course when you are in second you can gamble to do a two-stop. For me it was always about trying to cover him or stay ahead. With the two-stop, worst case scenario is you stay second and best case you overtake me and that’s what they did today. Yeah, then we pitted at the end as well. Of course happy to then do that fastest lap. It’s still one point and hopefully at the end of the year it will matter. Let’s see.

    Q: And when you were on the same tyres compound how much did you relish that battle with Lewis?

    MV: So, I think on the first tyre he never really had a shot. We were still competitive in the last sector and then when we got on the hard tyre… also with the traffic, because of that he had a few goes at me because I couldn’t do my normal lines in the last few corners and he caught up with that. And then with the defending, I tried to do it as good as I could. Luckily I could stay ahead and then he had to manage his brakes and engine a bit but you could see clearly once that was sorted he closed the gap again. If he had stayed on that one stop I think I could have kept him behind. But once he was on the medium you know it’s going to be really hard.

    Q: Sebastian, strategy played a significant part in your race as well. How tough was it to get the distance on that first set of medium tyres?

    SV: Very tough. I think they were in very poor condition at the end. I was happy we tried. Obviously we tried to hang in there. I think we stayed out another 10 or 15 laps after Charles pitted, just to try to do something different, maybe hope for a safety car, but to be honest by then obviously the top two were sort of gone anyways. It was really for the sake of trying something different, which looked very distant to ideal when we had the stop and I came out but then I just tried everything I had and got one chance in the end. In the end it’s not a big deal, third or fourth for the team, it’s still the same. The big picture for today is that we were not quick enough and not able to follow them right from two laps into the race.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Max, usually Red Bull is quite good on race pace and not so good on qualifying pace. Do you have an explanation why it was the other way round this weekend? Was it becauswe of the Friday, which was a little bit weird?

    MV: No, I think then you can see how much margin they have when they really need to push. I think Lewis today was on fire as well, but then you see, once he really has to go for it you can see that that car is still the dominant car, it’s as simple as that. Whereas in some races it’s not as necessary. Of course they had their issues in Austria with overheating so you can’t push. Of course in Hockenheim it was tricky conditions as well so you can’t really drive to the limit of the car. But here today I think he had to go for it flat out, because I was also pushing flat out and then you can see what they are capable of as a team.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriera della Sera) Sebastian, given the hotter temperature did you expect from your car. Is it now a step back in the performances?

    SV: No, I think the temperatures were fine. It was quite warm, the track was near 50 degrees as well so I don’t think so. I think we saw our limits yesterday. We got a confirmation today, so I don’t think it’s a step back, we had some bits, it was a small step forward but what it shows is that it’s not enough. It’s important that the mood inside the team remains positive, which is the case. I think everybody knows what we are lacking. Obviously we are very competitive on the straights – yesterday 6 or 7kph faster at the end of the straight compared to Red Bull and also Mercedes – but obviously we are losing quite a lot in the corners. There were some tracks where efficiency is more important, this is a track where inefficiency pays off, so whatever you have in terms of downforce is positive. That’s where we are lacking performance and in the race I think it shows even more because you are sliding and then I think we are going through the tyres faster. So not to our advantage. We have seen that as well in recent weeks, so in a way not a surprise but as I said we need to keep our head down and do the work.

    Q: Thank you Sebastian. Lewis, thank you for joining us. Can you just give us your thoughts when you were 19 seconds behind with 20 laps to go?

    LH: Well, firstly, Max really drove a sensational race today, as he has done particularly the last few races. When I was behind him on the hard tyre it didn’t look like he had particularly good pace – maybe he was managing to get to the end – but I had a lot of grip and I was thinking ‘I can definitely make this tyre go to the end’, because the first one I got to go quite far. But the team said we were going to a two-stop and I was thinking ‘how is this going to work out, I’m going to come out quite far behind’. But you have to put complete faith in your team because they have different viewpoint to you, so we did the stop and I came out on the mediums and I thought ‘Jeez, I don’t know if these are going to go the distance at the speed I am going to have to go’. Also Max turned up the engine mode and they started doing mid-19s. I started thinking ‘I don’t know if I’m close this gap’. I think the trajectory, they said I was going to catch him with nine laps to go and then that changed super quickly and went to last lap. So after that I had to put all doubt and all question marks out of my mind and go for the best laps I could do every single lap and consistency and not drop any time whatsoever. I had one of the most consistent period of laps that I’d had. I don’t know if he had traffic or mistakes or whatever but the gap started to chop down quite quickly. I think with four or five laps to go I had him four seconds ahead and I could see him in my sights, so maybe he’s struggling with his tyres. So after that I was like ‘OK, we’ve got a serious race on here’. It felt like the steepest wall to climb when you come out that far behind but the team had relaxed faith that we would do it and I’m grateful for their hard work and the decision.

    Q: (Stuart Codling – F1 Racing) Question for Max. You said just now that we saw how much margin Mercedes have. That notwithstanding, you had a brilliant race today. How much confidence does that give you, that you can come back after the summer break and take the fight to Mercedes?

    MV: I think there are a few tracks coming up that are maybe not as ideal for us – but of course we know we have some updates coming soon to the car and the engine, so hopefully that will again bring us closer. We’ll find out then.

    Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Congratulations Lewis, after what happened in Germany, does this feel like a redemptive special win for you and for Mercedes, to come back so strongly?

    LH: I generally don’t like to look at redemption, if that’s the right word. Naturally, you know I don’t really make a lot of mistakes and I think the last one was definitely a massive off-weekend for me, and so this weekend, these two weeks, the team have been really great and supportive and taking off the workload, allowing me to recover and really just giving me the best support group possible to take any extra pressure off. Coming to this weekend, I felt I was back on it. Qualifying didn’t go the way I’d planned and I’d hoped. Then today, once I got into second, I was like ‘OK, game on’. And I could keep up with Max, no problems. So I was like, ‘we’ve got an actual real race on here. How is it going to play out? I don’t know. We’re going to have to figure it out as we go along.’ And obviously we both know where we’re going to strategy-wise. Yeah. I truly believed I could get by him at some stage but we’re also fighting at different points in the Championship. I think if we were level on points today would have been an even more aggressive battle, I would say, in the wheel-to-wheels that we did have but obviously we didn’t need to take extra risks today. So, I think Max was really fair and great with where he positioned his car. I just always made sure I gave extra space, just in case. But, of course, going into the break, this is a great, great uplift for the team, particularly after a difficult weekend for us all in the last one. So all the guys back at the factory, a big, big thank you, and the guys here with the strategy. They’re very, very calm when they talk about the strategy like that today. “No, no, truly believed you could do it.” For sure they were nervous as hell that it wasn’t going to work. I think collectively we made it happen, so it’s good.

    Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Lewis, congratulations. We saw that battle you had with Max through the middle of the race. Could you talk us through that? How much do you enjoy these wheel-to-wheel fights with Max? And how nice is it that he’s stepped up and Red Bull have stepped up this year, so you’re fighting with him on a regular basis?

    LH: Yeah. It’s really fantastic to see Red Bull’s progress. Obviously we’re in a period of time, particularly this track has been a track that they’ve always been particularly fast in, in previous years and it’s really awesome for Honda as well, to see their progression. They’ve got a lot of power in that engine. So, don’t for one second think when get the…  I think we all get it… the timings where we all layout… the Red Bull were quicker than us on a single lap this weekend and we thought we were relatively level in the race but we were just able to keep up with them and match their times. I think it’s going to continue for the races to come. Even the faster circuits, the engine’s going to be great in Monza, so hopefully we’ll see this battle continue for the rest of the season. And, fingers crossed, Ferrari also will take a step back towards us at some point over the next races. But going into the break, this is awesome.

    Q: (Vladimir Rogovets – Sb Belarus) Thank you very much guys for a very good job, for very nice race. I am really happy to be here. My question to Max. How do you feel close with nine championship titles.

    MV: I don’t know what to say! I have none! I don’t know what to comment on this! I still have a few years, hopefully in F1, so hopefully one day I can add one. Yeah. That’s it, I think.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – F1.com) Max, at the beginning you were only two-tenths on average slower than Lewis. Then from lap 61, 62, 63 more than 2s. So the tyre disappeared completely? And Sebastian, in spite of what you said to us, that you didn’t expect much from the team here, before coming – did you expect more than sixty seconds the difference between you and the winner?

    MV: Yeah. I think it’s quite normal. Lewis was on a medium tyre, pushing flat out of course to catch up, and I was on a hard tyre trying to go flat out but trying to keep the gap but yeah, I was always trying to keep it within a second because then I knew, OK, we can get to the end but at one point the tyres were gone. I started losing one and a half second a lap and then at one point two seconds, and it was just sliding and you feel the rubber is gone, so there isn’t much you can do. It’s quite normal when you have to push that hard on the tyre quite late in the race, where you normally don’t want to push as hard on the tyre. So I guess it’s a normal progression of the tyre drop off.

    Sebastian?

    SV: I think some tracks you know maybe suit you, some maybe less. Despite that I think I was fairly open-minded and you know, you don’t want to accept that. So I tried everything to prove the opposite. But looking now, after yesterday, we simply didn’t have the pace of those two in particular. So there’s obviously work for us to be done. We have room to improve, in the corners is where we’re lacking. With that obviously comes the advantage on the straight, one goes with the other. But, for sure, if we could make a trade, then we would go for it. We’ve been adding small bits to the car this weekend. They were working but obviously not big enough to really get close on a track like this. There might be tracks coming up next, especially with Spa and Monza that might be better for us – but in the end our ambition is to really force things to happen, be in control of the race. Where we are now, we’re quite far away from that. So, yeah, I think the spirit is good though. The team is willing to give everything they have, continue to give everything they have. And that’s all we can do right now.

    Q: (Tom Jackson – City Press) Question for all three of you. The lack of meaningful running we saw on Friday afternoon went some way to us seeing the variation in strategy that we did today that allowed you to put on fresh tyres and go for the win and things like that. Would you, in the future, be happy to have less running earlier in the weekend, as drivers getting less track time, if it meant we got more unpredictability later on Sunday?

    LH: I never really thought of it. I mean, if it can help with racing, sure. I think this weekend, not many people… I don’t think the Red Bulls did a long run, we did a long run in P1. I think one of few that did. I don’t know how much difference that made. It’s just that we did have an understanding of how far we thought we could take the tyres but somehow the other teams are able to do something similar with their strategies. But yeah… do you think it would make a difference.

    SV: No, I actually like driving, so it would be quite bad to get rid of some. I don’t think it’s a lot of driving anyway. We do a lot of races but overall I don’t think we drive very much. So, it would be a pity, I think. If you want to address the racing then there’s other things to focus on other than adding or taking away a practice session.

    LH: It definitely does help when you go into a race and you don’t know how far the tyre’s going to go. That is quite… I think that is not a bad thing and I think that can add to the spectacle. If you put on a medium tyre or a hard tyre and don’t know how far it’s going to go, none of us do, it definitely makes it more questionable, the strategy. So, I understand what you’re saying but we’ve got more, bigger problems, fish to fry, the way the car’s designed and things like that for the future.

    Max, your thoughts.

    MV: I think anyway, this year already quite often you go into the race on a tyre you haven’t driven on in practice – because you only select one. I think it’s not bad. I like also sometimes the challenge of not knowing what’s happening. I mean, the problem is most of the time, you put that tyre on, if the balance is bad it’s hard to pass, for the guy behind. So it’s more about the following where we need to work on. If the guy behind is faster, he should be able to get by. So that’s all in relation to the tyres as well. Sometimes, of course, on purpose we don’t select the hardest compound more than once because that’s mandatory. Because you know if you stick it on, even without any knowledge, you can stay ahead and just get to the end.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, lots will be made of the strategy decisions today and obviously while you say it was a great call but Max earlier said that you were on fire today so how highly do you rate your individual performance over those last 20 laps or so?

    LH: Well, it was definitely a really good day today. I think today was clearly… once we got up to second I knew that me and Max were going to have a good race. Did I know I was going to get by? Honestly I was able to keep up with him, I was able to hold on to him within the two second gap and I was just trying to see whether I could make my tyres go longer than him and just kind of really studying him, I guess, really from behind, seeing how that was going. And then he started to drop off a cliff a little bit at the end and it’s really all about trying to make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. It’s not easy to follow, two seconds behind and obviously I had the brake problem as well, so I had to change my driving style quite a bit to enable this brake to go down in temperature so it meant doing a lot less braking and I had much much shorter bursts of braking and then in a lot of other places, half the lap I wasn’t really touching the brakes. So it really changes the balance of the car as well. I’m really glad of how I was able to delegate and work through that and collectively with the team, they did a really exceptional job. It will be interesting when we go back and talk about the two stop because today, this morning, we talked about the strategy and they said two stop was not going to happen and even when we called to do a two stop, I was like Jeez, I don’t know how this is going to work. A gamble’s always a good thing, it felt like a big gamble for us but at the time I felt like I had the pace on Max, I think, as I said, because I don’t know if he was backing off, or he was just controlling the pace but I felt like OK, I’m going to have a few attempts at trying to pass him but at some stage the tyres are going to go off, so I don’t know how many attempts that will be. I really don’t know how long I made those mediums go but I think it was just a collectively… a really bold, risky strategy call and then just doing the job. At the end of the day, I had to do those laps to chew out the gap that he had on me so I think collectively, as a team, we did a really exceptional job.

    Q: (Péter Vámosi – Racing Line) Sebastian, you will become a father again, and with maximum respect to your personal life, can you tell us if you’re waiting (inaudible) girl and if a boy, will you be happy if he would chose your job as a racing car driver?

    SV: Well, I don’t like to talk about my private life so thank you, but I think we will leave it there.

    Q: (Dániel Májer – GP Hirek.hu) Now the summer break has started, the first part of the season is over so could you please rate your own performance from one to ten, one is the worst, ten is the best and explain briefly why you give yourself that mark?

    SV: Five, not happy with the first half. I think I struggled here and there to really get on top of the car. I think we’ve been trying a lot of things so fair enough. Obviously we wanted to squeeze out more so you’re always looking for more but I feel I can do a better job in the second half. And five is my number, so take five.

    LH: So that’s the first half of the season, yeah? I’d say like 8.9, 8.8.

    SV: Go ten, man. Go for it, who cares?

    LH: If it wasn’t for the last one, the last race, it would be a little bit higher. I think the good thing is always to score yourself a little bit lower so you’ve more to work on. For sure, it’s been the best start of the season that I think we’ve ever had as a team and I think it’s one of the best seasons that I’ve had personally to start off, but there are areas that we can continue to work on. That’s the great thing about this sport, you know, no matter how many years and days you race there are always areas you can improve on. So let’s see if we can try and up that into the nines or try to get to the tens in the second half of the season.

    MV: I don’t rate myself in numbers.

    SV: What do you do instead? Letters? Or…

    MV: No, I hate putting a number on it because it reminds me of school as well, which is not that long ago. I’m always quite critical and I think it always can be better. I’ll never be satisfied. I think it’s been very positive and I’ve had good results but there are always things to work on.

    SV: … a number man!

    MV: No I don’t.

    SV: We did it.

    MV: Yeah, I know but… I don’t know, I think it’s… First of all, I cannot rate myself like that.

    LH: Why not, you’ve done a good job man?

    MV: I know, but… I don’t know. I find it a bit weird to say an eight or…

    Q: Lewis, how would you rate Max if you gave him a number?

    LH: I don’t remember all the races that you’ve done other than the last three or four. You could say he’s in the high nines over the last few races but I can’t remember how it went before.

    MV: I’ve had a lot of fourths, P3 and then three times fourth. P5, P3… too many P3, P4.

    LH: It’s easier to rate yourself because you often remember how many mistakes you’ve made, when you’ve done good, when you’ve kind of been under par and he’ll know whether he’s been on par or below par. I think today he drove exceptionally as he has particularly in the past three or four races so if that continues he’s going to continue to operate in the high nines towards tens.

    MV: Nobody’s perfect. No, it’s never perfect…

    LH: It’s like an impossible number to get.

    MV: 9.9?

    LH: It’s a hard one to get to.

    Q: (Dániel Horváth – The Paddock Magazine) Lewis and Max, Fernando Alonso praised your performance on social media. It seems he enjoyed the battle as well. Would you like to see him back in Formula One and race against him again?

    LH: Well, firstly that’s really awesome that he’s supportive… I was just actually watching some of the restarts, the starts of previous years and watching him from his Renault days and I remember just before I even got to Formula One watching how amazing their starts were. I don’t know how old Fernando is now but he’s always going to be a great driver. If he can get a good seat, he’s always welcome here to battle with us. It doesn’t make a difference, really, necessarily for me. I’m here to fight whoever’s here.

    MV: Yeah, I think it was a bit of a shame that I never had an opportunity to fight against him in F1 so yeah…

    LH: Could be a good team-mate for you.

    MV: Fernando? Well, you have experience with it, I don’t know. Well…

    SV: He could be your father!

    MV: Yeah, it’s close! Yeah, I know. As a young father. How old is he? 36? 38! OK, well 17 is possible to be a father.

    SV: Talking with experience?

    MV: I don’t know. At least I don’t know.

    LH: How old are you now?

    MV: 21. Many years, plenty of years…

    LH: Jeez. I like being in this room because I’m not the oldest!

    MV: 34?

    LH: I’m 34, yeah, nearly 35.

    SV: I’ll tell you, the day we get beat by somebody who’s born in 2000 and upwards. We will know it’s time…

    MV: I’m not that young!

    Q: Sebastian, final thoughts on Fernando? Would you like to see him back?

    SV: I don’t mind. I don’t know why… I don’t think he never really liked me. I don’t think we really had a… I don’t mind him. I respect him for what he achieved and for what he can do on track. I don’t know. I guess he’s bored if he has time to write these things. So bring him back, I don’t mind.

    MV: Maybe as a social media manager. To me, he’s always been very nice and good. I like that he is also now looking into other opportunities for racing. He just loves racing and he wants to win, he wants to be competitive. It’s good to see.

    LH: The sport needs the best drivers in the best seats and there is still at least a seat available that’s good enough for winning and he’s good enough for winning so it wouldn’t be such a bad…

    MV: Maybe he could speak to Toto.

    LH: Valtteri’s great; Valtteri’s been winning. You’re the one with the extra seat, I would say.

    MV: I didn’t say that.

    SV: I’m not sure…

    Ends

  • Max Verstappen scores career’s first pole position: Hungarian GP

    Max Verstappen scores career’s first pole position: Hungarian GP

    Max Verstappen (centre) takes pole on Saturday. An FIA image

    Budapest, 3 August 2019: Max Verstappen scored the first first pole position of his career as he beat Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas to the front of the Hungarian Grand Prix grid by just under two hundredths of a second. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton with start from third place for the 12th round of the FIA World Formula 1 Championship on Sunday.

    As soon as the lights went green at the end of the pit lane to signal the start of Q1, Red Bull driver Verstappen made a strong statement, with the Dutchman posting a lap of 1:15.917 to top the timesheeet. It was a time none of his rivals could match in this first segment, though Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton got close with a lap of 1:16.068 to finish second ahead of Bootas and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Fifth and sixth places went to Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel. Leclerc hit trouble in this opening phase, however. The Monegasque lost control of his car on entry to the final turn during a flying lap and spun backwards into the barriers. He was able to limp back to the pits where his crew began repairs ahead of Q2.

    At the lower end of the order George Russell was the first man eliminated in P16. The Williams driver exited ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Pérez, Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, the second Racing Point of Lance Stroll and P20 man Robert Kubica of Williams.

    For the top three teams the yellow-banded medium tyre was the compound of choice for the first runs of Q2. Hamilton took top spot with a time of 1:15.548, but Verstappen shadowed him closely with a lap 0.025s off the Mercedes drive’s pace. Bottas was a tenth further back in third place ahead of the Ferraris of Leclerc and Vettel.

    In ther final runs of the segment, the drivers at the top of the order went out again on soft tyres, but after posting purple times in the first two sectors Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas backed out their laps.

    With Ferrari running medium tyres throughout Q2, and with Pierre Gasly matching that tactic in the second Red Bull on his way to P9 in Q2, all drivers from the top three teams in the championship with start on the yellow-banded Pirelli compound.

    Eliminated at the end of the second segment were 11th-place Nico Hulkenberg of Renault followed by the Toro Rossos of Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    The final segment saw Max become the first man to dip below 1m15s and the Dutchman claimed provisional pole with a super lap of 1:14.958. That left him 0.178s ahead of Bottas and a hundredth further ahead of Hamilton. And there was no denying Verstappen Max in the final run. Bottas pushed the Dutchman hard, but with a smattering of purple micro-sectors across his lap Max pulled clear of the Finn to beat him to the front of the grid by just under two hundredths of a second.

    Hamilton too found a substantial improvement on his final lap but it wasn’t enough to lift him higher than third place, almost two tenths of a second off pole. Fourth place on the grid went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, almost half a second behind Max, with Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel fifth.

    Pierre held onto sixth place at the end of qualifying, finishing just over three tenths of a second behind Vettel and improving to a time of 1:15.450.

    Seventh place went to McLaren’s Lando Norris, with team-mate Carlos Sainz eighth. The final two top-10 places went to Haas’ Romain Grosjean and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen.

     

    2019 FIA Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:14.572
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:14.590 0.018
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:14.769 0.197
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:15.043 0.471
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:15.071 0.499
    6 Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing 1:15.450 0.878
    7 Lando Norris McLaren 1:15.800 1.228
    8 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1:15.852 1.280
    9 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:16.013 1.441
    10 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1:16.041 1.469
    11 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:16.565 1.993
    12 Alex Albon Toro Rosso 1:16.687 2.115
    13 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:16.692 2.120
    14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1:16.804 2.232
    15 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:17.081 2.509
    16 George Russell Williams 1:17.031 2.459
    17 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1:17.109 2.537
    18 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1:17.257 2.685
    19 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1:17.542 2.970
    20 Robert Kubica Williams 1:18.324 3.752.