INDIA in F1

Tag: Mercedes

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

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Benedict Cumberbatch)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Sebastian VETTEL: It was dry last year as well.

    It was dry; there you go.

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

    Tell us about that.

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

    PRESS CONFERENCE

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

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

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

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

    SV: I had a similar experience last year…

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

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

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

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

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

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

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

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

    Q: And the championship leader?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    eom

  • Hamilton takes 2nd consecutive pole ahead of Vettel, Rosberg

    Mercedes driver take second con

    Hamilton on Friday at Sepang. Photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team
    Hamilton on Friday at Sepang. Photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team

    secutive pole position ahead of Vettel and Rosberg.

    SAT 29.03.14, 12:12PM
     Sepang, 29 March 2014:

    Lewis Hamilton edged a resurgent Sebastian Vettel to claim pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Mercedes driver taking his second pole in a row by just five hundredths of a second in a session defined by the wet conditions.

    Nico Rosberg finished third in the second Mercedes. The German seemed to struggle on full wet tyres in the difficult conditions in Q3 but delivered a lap of 2:00.050, which was good enough to push Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso out to fourth.

    “I’m really happy, firstly with the job the team has done and just generally how well we have done throughout the weekend,” said Hamilton after claiming his 33rd career pole with a lap of 1:59.431.

    “Today was just incredible, with how much it rained before qualifying and then during the session it was very, very tricky out there for everyone,” he added. Particularly at the end it was almost impossible to see anything. During my last lap I just couldn’t see a thing behind [Nico] Hulkenberg. I couldn’t see where the track went, didn’t know where the corners were, when to brake. These guys [Vettel and Red Bull Racing] are definitely a little bit too close, so happy to be here.”

    The hour-long session was delayed by 50-minutes due to torrential rain before the 4pm local start and when Q1 eventually got underway on a damp track, most teams opted for the intermediate tyre.

    With more on its way a number of teams called for ‘banker’ laps from their drivers but five minutes into the 18-minute session that looked like being problematic for world champion Sebastian Vettel, who was called back to the garage to investigate a problem with the RB10’s energy store.

    “The heartbeat was definitely rising very quickly when we realised there was an issue,” said Vettel afterwards. “But we restarted the car, which seemed to solve the problem. After that it was fine, so it was good to go out and get another feel for the car, in the wet, with the conditions.”

    It was left to Rosberg to top the session with a time of 1:57.183, two hundredths ahead of Hamilton. Vettel finished four tenths down on the Mercedes.

    The opening segment was red-flagged with just 35 seconds remaining when Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson spun off into the barriers and slid back on track, almost into the path of Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez.

    The result was that out went 17th-placed Maldonado, Force India’s Adrian Sutil, the Marussias of Jules Bianchi (P19) and Max Chilton (P21) and the Caterham’s of Kamui Kobayashi and Ericsson, who finished 20th and 22nd respectively.

    The red flag reappeared within minutes of the start of Q2, Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat sliding into the side of Alonso’s Ferrari.

    The clash left the Spaniard’s F14 T with damage to the front left suspension but a lightning-quick fix by the Ferrari crew saw the Spaniard back on track just two minutes after the restart and Alonso was soon up to sixth with his first flying lap, behind leader Hamilton, Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Rosberg and Nico Hulkenberg.

    Further back, a clutch of drivers went into the final two minutes with a good chance of claiming a top 10 spot, Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa looking well placed to make the move.

    In the end it was only Vergne who claimed a place in the top-10 shootout, the Frenchman posting a lap of 2:02.096, which was good enough to claim 10th place, ahead to Kvyat, who was bumped to 11th. The Russian was also to be investigated after qualifying for his part in the early accident with Alonso. The matter was later ruled as requiring no further action.

    At the top of the Q2 list were Hamilton and Vettel, the Mercedes man lapping in 1:59.041, over three tenths quicker than the Red Bull man. Rosberg was third, ahead of Ricciardo, who had earlier been blocked by Bottas,. The Finn was later given a three-place grid penalty for the offence.

    That left the top 10 shootout. With Alonso an impressive fourth at the end, fifth spot went to Ricciardo. Behind him Kimi Raikonen took sixth in the second Ferrari, ahead of and Nico Hulkenberg, also in impressive form for Force India. Kevin Magnussen was eighth for McLaren, ahead of Vergne and the final top-10 place was taken by Jenson Button in the second McLaren.

    2014 Malaysian Grand Prix – Qualifying Times
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:59.431 22
    2 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:59.486 20
    3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2:00.050 23
    4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 2:00.175 22
    5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 2:00.541 20
    6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 2:01.218 21
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 2:01.712 23
    8 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 2:02.213 20
    9 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 2:03.078 23
    10 Jenson Button McLaren 2:04.053 22

    11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 2:02.351 16
    12 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 2:02.369 16
    13 Felipe Massa Williams 2:02.460 16
    14 Sergio Perez Force India 2:02.511 15
    15 Valtteri Bottas Williams 2:02.756 17
    16 Romain Grosjean Lotus 2:02.885 17

    17 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 2:02.074 8
    18 Adrian Sutil Sauber 2:02.131 7
    19 Jules Bianchi Marussia 2:02.702 8
    20 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 2:03.595 8
    21 Max Chilton Marussia 2:04.388 8
    22 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 2:04.407 7
    eom

  • Nico Rosberg tops the time sheets for FP3

    Mercedes continued to dominate at the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Nico Rosberg heading team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the top of the final practice session timesheet. The pair finished a second clear or more ahead of third-placed Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.

    Hamilton had been fastest in the session’s opening phase on the hard compound Pirelli tyres, with a lap of 1:40.552. However, when the field made the switch to the quicker medium tyre, Rosberg jumped ahead, delivering a lap of 1: 39.008s.
Hamilton finished second with a time of 1:39.240.

    Raikkonen’s lap of 1:40.156 was good enough for third, with Sebastian Vettel, who did not run until midway through the session, posting a medium tyre lap of 1:40.387. That was three tenths of a second quicker than team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who finished sixth, behind Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.

    Seventh-quickest was Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari driver logging a best time of 1:40.736 ahead of former team-mate Felipe Massa who posted a lap of 1:40.781 for Williams. The top 10 was rounded by Valtteri Bottas in the second Williams and Sergio Perez in the second Force India.

    After Lotus’ woes of yesterday, both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado ran throughout the session, with the Frenchman ending the session in 15th place and the Venezuelan slotting into 16th position.

    Instead, it was McLaren’s turn to encounter problems. Kevin Magnussen reported a loss of engine power early in the session, with the result that he recorded just five untimed laps during the session. Jenson Button, too, spent most of the session in the garage and finished just four laps during the hour-long session.

    2014 Malaysian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 Result
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:39.008 13
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:39.240 0.232 13
    3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:40.156 1.148 13
    4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40.387 1.379 14
    5 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:40.523 1.515 15
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:40.686 1.678 14
    7 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:40.736 1.728 14
    8 Felipe Massa Williams 1:40.781 1.773 20
    9 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:40.891 1.883 20
    10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:41.029 2.021 15
    11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:41.182 2.174 18
    12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:41.441 2.433 18
    13 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:41.552 2.544 15
    14 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:42.041 3.033 17
    15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:42.749 3.741 16
    16 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:43.539 4.531 20
    17 Max Chilton Marussia 1:43.977 4.969 16
    18 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:44.170 5.162 18
    19 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:44.457 5.449 12
    20 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:46.015 7.007 7
    21 Jenson Button McLaren 2:05.555 26.547 4
    22 Kevin Magnussen McLaren No time 5

    eom

  • Rosberg tops FP2; Raikkonen 2nd, Vettel 3rd; Hamilton slips to fourth

    Sepang, 28 March 2014: Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg took over from team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the top of the practice timesheets in Malaysia, the German driver ending day one at Sepang with a lap of 1:39.909.

    “It was crazy conditions out there,” Rosberg said after the after FP2 session. “In the very, very warm temperatures, it’s a huge challenge to get everything right. The cars are on the edge and the tyre degradation was higher than expected today – we are sliding a bit more this year, perhaps because of the reduced downforce levels,” he added.

    Rosberg was just three hundredths of a second clear of second-placed Kimi Raikkonen, however, the Finn continuing the good work he’d put in during the morning session when he backed up Hamilton at the top of the timesheet. Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, improved from seventh in session one to third in the afternoon, the Red Bull Racing driver ending his day just six hundredths of a second behind Rosberg.

    Rosberg’s best time was set about half an hour into the session, his lap being good enough to dislodge Wiliams’ Felipe Massa’s Williams, who had been the first to top the timesheet on the medium tyres. Lewish Hamilton, in the second Mercedes then went second fastest but then Raikkonen arrived with a lap of 1:39.944 to split the Silver Arrows.

    It was then Vettel’s turn to move up the leaderboard. The Red Bull Racing driver set his fastest lap on his second lap on the medium tyre – suggesting that the RB10 may be kinder on its tyres on Sepang’s abrasive surface than some other cars.

    With Hamilton fourth, Fernando Alonso ended up fifth fastest, half a tenth slower than Hamilton and just eight thousandths of a second quicker than Massa, who slid to sixth. Daniel Ricciardo finished his day’s work in seventh spot, three tenths of a second down on team-mate Vettel.

    It was another troubled session for Lotus, however. After a turbo failure in the opening session Pastor Maldonad’s car required an engine change and that restricted the Venezuelan to the garage for the afternoon. Team-mate Romain Grosjean did make it out on track but his running was ended by a gearbox problem after 14 laps.

    Caterham too had a difficult time, with Kamui Kobayashi unable to run because of an energy store problem. Tea-mate Marcus Ericsson was able to complete a full programme, however.

    2014 Malaysian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Result
    1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:39.909 30
    2 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:39.944 0.035 3

    Nico Rosberg tops time sheets in FP2 on Friday at Sepang. A Pirelli photo
    Nico Rosberg tops time sheets in FP2 on Friday at Sepang. A Pirelli photo

    0
    3 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:39.970 0.061 30
    4 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.051 0.142 32
    5 14 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:40.103 0.194 29
    6 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1:40.112 0.203 34
    7 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:40.276 0.367 29
    8 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:40.628 0.719 28
    9 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:40.638 0.729 35
    10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:40.691 0.782 34
    11 25 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Renault 1:40.777 0.868 33
    12 20 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1:41.014 1.105 20
    13 99 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:41.257 1.348 28
    14 26 Daniil Kvyat STR-Renault 1:41.325 1.416 32
    15 21 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1:41.407 1.498 34
    16 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1:41.671 1.762 25
    17 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1:42.531 2.622 14
    18 4 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1:43.638 3.729 20

    eom

  • Hamilton tops time sheets in FP1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • The new F1 is good because it changed the pecking order: Nico Rosberg

    DRIVERS – Kamui KOBAYASHI (Caterham), Pastor MALDONADO (Lotus), Daniil KVYAT (Toro Rosso), Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams), Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari), Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Valtteri, we’ll start with you. Quite a race in Australia, 15th to sixth, hit the wall, back down to 15th, back up to sixth again, very eventful. But what do you think was possible that day?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, really eventful. If we look at it as a whole race we need to be happy. With the result we have more points, double the points than last year. So it’s a good beginning for us but it could have been better. We could have definitely, without my mistake, been fighting for the podium.

    Tell us a little bit about what these cars are like to drive. Obviously less rear end stability, more of a handful into and out of the corners. How are you finding it so far?

    VB: Yeah, the cars have quite a bit less downforce than last year so you’re sliding a bit more, with more engine power also it makes it a bit more tricky, but I like it. I really think the cars are good fun to drive. I hope it looked good from outside I think we made an exciting race with the new cars, new engines, so I think it’s good.

    Coming to you Daniil. Obviously the youngest ever points scorer with that result in Australia at the age of 19. How do you feel about that and the start you’ve made?

    Daniil KVYAT: It was a good race, also eventful for us. It was everything new for me, so obviously many things to learn during the qualifying, the race, so it was good. P10 is an OK result but we always want some more. In the end, we would always like to get some more points in the future and the more we get the better it is.

    I wonder if you could talk about the step up [to Formula One]. Prior to this the longest race you’ve ever done is 35 or 40 minutes, before you raced in Australia and then of course, the challenge of this weekend in particular so soon [into your F1 career]?

    DK: Yeah, you’re right, it was a very long race but I found a good rhythm and it wasn’t looking so long anymore. Here it’s going to be a bit different because it’s much, much warmer. Let’s see how this challenge will be done. It’s hard for me to say now but for the moment it’s looking pretty hot but it shouldn’t be a big problem in the end.

    Coming to Kamui. Welcome back to Formula One. How does it feel to be back?

    Kamui KOBAYASHI: Hi, first of all I think I have to say it’s great to be back in Formula One. I think after one break doing like GT… I think definitely I enjoyed GT but Formula One is one of the top categories and I also think I was missing the development and of course racing with the top drivers, which I think is one of the most exciting times, so I’m very happy to be back.

    Obviously, quite a tough opening weekend for you in Australia. What has the team learned, first of all about what happened at the start and also about the general problems you suffered at the weekend, and how much have you been able to put right?

    KK: Well, first of all, unfortunately I think that in 2014 the first crash is myself is not really good! But it’s not really fault, it’s coming from the system. I do anything without the rear brake and that was the first proper braking. I mean, at this point I felt straight away, I felt panic, I was a little bit crazy because my car doesn’t stop and I can’t avoid… I feel very sorry for Felipe, just… I don’t want to crash of course like that and I don’t want to end up like that. That’s what happened, a racing accident, so I think we have to find what is really the problem, but we have to find out that it never happens the next time. I think through the week, I’d say it was a very difficult week for us because we missed the complete Friday and we went to FP3. Unfortunately we had not much time to change any settings between practice and qualifying. So, I think we went to Q2, which is very happy but I think we have to look at more potential from what we have. Still we didn’t bring any potential from the car. S I’m quite excited, looking forwards to this weekend. This week is our home race, so it’s very important to having a great result and of course I think a lot of Malaysian fans are excited about Formula One, so hopefully we can achieve something.

    Q: Pastor, obviously, like Kamui, it was a tough weekend for you in Australia. Not too many laps on the board. How much has the team been able to do in the time since then?

    Pastor MALDONADO: The pre-season, it was quite tough for us. We’ve been working very hard and trying to push to solve all of the problems. These kind of problems, when you get at the bottom of the problem, you see that they are not huge problems: easy to fix but it took so much time from the test. In the first race again. So I think we miss free practice, even on Saturday, quali, so we’ve not been able to do proper long runs and to see our real potential of the car because of this kind of issues we’ve had. And now I hope to have a better weekend. We’ve been working hard again to try to improve. We improve quite a lot for the race. We had never been able to run for more than 10 laps together and during the race we did more than 30 laps with both cars – which is a step forward. Now we are fully focussed on finishing the race and I think if we finish the race we will be in a good position to fight for good places.

    Q: From the running that you have done, what’s the car telling you? What does it feel like? Are you optimistic about the potential of this car?

    PM: It is very difficult to say, just because everything is new for us. We will need some more time in the car, especially to explore the potential of the car. It’s very difficult to say. The feeling is not bad but against the other teams we need some more time in the track and try to do our best to catch them. I think it’s going to be a very tough beginning of the season but again things are changing quickly in Formula One. We’ve been working very hard, the team is quite good on reacting and hopefully this race will be much better for us.

    Q: Kimi, seventh in Australia and a bulletin from the Ferrari team since then with some quotes from you saying that one of the problems was the brake-by-wire system in particular. Would you give us a bit more detail on that?

    Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: ah, I don’t know where that came from. It’s not the issue. There is nothing wrong with the system. Somebody asked me after the race and I said ‘it’s not that’ – because they kind of said ‘is there some issue?’ It’s not true. But just mainly setup to get the car as I like it, as I wanted to have it and I’m sure once… we’re making some stuff for me, so hopefully once we get those it will get a bit more easy to get a bit more feeling in the front end. But it will take a little while. Obviously not the ideal start for the year, for the team, not what we obviously want to achieve. We want to do much better results but after all the difficulties over the weekend and how difficult it was, how many areas, just the small things. At least we got something out and it’s going to be a long year, so hopefully we can now build on it. We have plenty of good people and they’re working flat out as a group to improve things. So, we still have things to do but I’m sure we can keep progressing.

    Q: With the nature of this particular circuit, do you think that you and we will be able to see more of what this Ferrari car is capable of this weekend, perhaps than we did in Australia?

    KR: I don’t know. Every circuit is different. Obviously it is very hot, humid here, slightly different tyres here I think, so I have no idea. Even from the past years it was very difficult to say from race to race and especially with this new year with new rules. It will be hard but hopefully we get a bit better feeling and overall have a bit more experience and all the things run the weekend through a little bit more cleanly and hopefully get the better results.

    Q: Nico, obviously the winner in Australia, your fourth career win. What’s the reaction been like? What’s the feedback been like? How have you spent the last ten days or so? Has it been more special than the other wins?

    Nico ROSBERG: Well it’s been a fantastic start to the season, definitely, yes. I think the whole team has done a great job with these new regulations, with the car and engine and powertrain that they’ve built and yes, it’s been great to win the first race, for sure, fantastic. But now… went on holiday after that, so obviously the holiday was a little bit better, thanks to the win but now back to just fully focussed on getting the most out of this race.

    Q: Obviously it’s well-chronically that it was an eventful race for you here last year, particularly towards the end. Do you expect it to be another tight, close in-house battle this weekend?

    NR: That would be a great thing. The chances are… yes, that we will be right at the front because it seems that we have a bit of an advantage over the other people. Of course Melbourne is not a benchmark, as a race, so we need to be a bit cautious with that but I think we’re looking good, so for sure it will be possible to do a great result again here.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Kate Walker – crash.net) For all of you: we’ve heard quite a lot of negative headlines, negative news reports about the new formula. I’d like to get some positive feedback from you on what these new cars are like to drive and how much fun they are to race.

    DK: Well, it’s quite popular to criticise Formula One nowadays, I think, and there is always some new technology coming and it has happened for me to debut in a new Formula One, let’s say.  It’s quite interesting, I would say. The standard, with the new technology, has to change at some point and I think it’s quite interesting. It’s still fast,

    Nico Rosberg (left) and Lewis Hamilton pose with Twin Towers as background in a promotional event of Petronas in KL on Wednesday. A Petronas Mercedes team photo
    Nico Rosberg (left) and Lewis Hamilton pose with Twin Towers as background in a promotional event of Petronas in KL on Wednesday. A Petronas Mercedes team photo

    it’s going to be faster all the time and we will see at the end of the year how much better it is or not, so it’s early days.

    KK: I think I definitely enjoy driving them because of course it’s definitely not easy at the beginning but I remember there were quite similar headlines before, but after a few years or a few months everybody forgot, so I don’t think it’s a big problem. But for us we’re still enjoying driving. It’s more challenging to drive in dry races, so I’m pretty happy.

    NR: I think it’s been all good for F1. It’s changed around the pecking order which is definitely good for everybody because the same guy winning last year… we needed a bit of a change to that, so that’s been good. The cars are great to drive, that’s fine, so I think it’s all good.

    KR: I don’t think it’s awfully different as a driver, to compare last year’s cars to this year’s. Obviously there are some small detailed issues but it’s the bigger issues that make a difference for me, just to be in a different team. Every team feels a bit different, different cars. It doesn’t really change an awful lot as a driver.

    PM: To be honest, I don’t have much to say, because I’ve not spent a lot of time in the car at the moment. It’s quite early, but it doesn’t feel a lot different to what we had in the past. For sure, it’s a more complicated car, especially for the technicians, for the engineers in the paddock. For us, it’s a bit easier on the steering wheel. It’s a bit more complicated but it’s what we have at the moment. It’s the same for everyone.

    Q: (Elmar Dreher – DPA) Nico, with a win here, you can equalise the five wins by your father. What does that mean for you, and how confident are you to win here?

    NR: I understand that it’s interesting to make comparisons and that, and even I find it interesting. After Australia, I read that he also won the first time… at the first Australian GP, 29 years ago. It’s fun to read those things but I really don’t think about that. I don’t compare. I’m proud of what my father achieved but I’m just focused on my job and getting the most out of it and definitely, yes, I’m optimistic for the weekend and there is a possibility to win.

    Q: (Adrian Rodriguez Huber – Agencia EFE) Kimi, how has your relationship with Fernando Alonso developed  if it has, in any direction, since you guys have become teammates?

    KR: It’s good, it always been good. Now, obviously, it’s early days but there was a lot of talk in the media from you guys, different people saying different things, but it’s been good. But the team has been trying to improve things and get the team to where we want to be.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did you have any temptation to go to drive the simulator to get better settings for you?

    KR: No.

    Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Kimi, can we say that Ferrari will be more able to attack Mercedes and the other teams here?

    KR: Like I said before, we don’t know how it’s going to be here. I would say it’s a different circuit, it will be very hard for the cars, the heat. We have to wait and see how we can do. Obviously we learned quite a bit on things from the last race but then it’s the same for every team. Hopefully we can be a bit more happy and see where we end up.

    Q: (Abhishek Takle – Midday) To all of you: now that the first race is out of the way, do you have a fair idea of who stands where in the pecking order? Or given that Albert Park is a unique circuit, is it still very much a step into the unknown?

    VB: I think we have some kind of idea where every team is. Of course, like Nico said before, Melbourne is maybe not the best benchmark, a little bit different track than most of the others. We will see here, and of course, all the teams are going to improve so much race by race, especially when we get to Europe. Some kind of idea but it can change.

    Q: So where do you think you are? Second? Third fastest car?

    VB: Somewhere there, hopefully. It’s been a good start for us, hopefully we can maintain it because everyone is going to improve a lot, so I would definitely see no reason why we couldn’t find four top six positions.

    KR: I think we are more or less where we finished.

    NR: I think we look to be the quickest at the moment which is fantastic but we need to be careful with that and the opposition is not asleep, they’re pushing like crazy.

    Q: Daniil, Toro Rosso got two cars into the top ten in qualifying and the race in Australia which they didn’t do the whole of last year, so where does that put you in the pecking order at the moment?

    DK: Well, I hope in the points quite consistently. It would be good for us. If then we can use the conditions to our best, then hopefully we can go as high as possible, it’s always what we are fighting for and the higher the better.

    Q: Pastor, hard to say?

    PM: Yeah. No.

    KK: Same. Sorry.

  • Nice to be the first Aussie on Aussie podium: Ricciardo

    DRIVERS

    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Kevin MAGNUSSEN (McLaren)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS

    (Conducted by Alan Jones)

     Well Nico, well done. I couldn’t think of a better start to the season. What a great start to the 2014 championship. A great start to the new era of Formula One.

    Nico ROSBERG: Yes, I mean, already it’s been an amazing time here in Melbourne. Thanks to all of you, you’ve made it all the more special, all your support has been fantastic this weekend. Even though Daniel got a little bit more support than us. Anyway that’s normal. It’s been an amazing day. I’m just over the moon really. It’s incredible, everybody has worked so hard over the winter and now to have such an amazing Silver Arrow to drive is just unreal. This thing was unbelievably quick today and the reliability was good also, so it was just the perfect start to the season. I’m really thankful to Mercedes, they have done an amazing job over the winter.

    Well, all your hard work has paid off well and truly.

    NR: Yeah, for now yes. Today, definitely.

    Daniel, g’day. You were thinking you may not even finish, let alone be on the podium.

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah. Two or three weeks ago I would have bet pretty everything I have that we would not be standing up here. Full credit to the team for an unbelievable turnaround. I don’t understand how they did it but they did, so thank you guys. And, of course, the Aussie fans. Wow, completely overwhelming. No words. I’m trippin’ balls right now.

    There’s a bloke up in Noosa that’ll be very happy too.

    DR: Yeah I thought I’d do a stack just to commemorate Mark as well. It’s an Aussie thing, but yeah, really pleased to be up here. First Aussie on the Aussie podium, so that’s really nice to have. Thanks everyone.

    Well you’ve done us all proud. Good on you, mate. Kevin, well done. First Dane on a Formula One podium.

    Kevin MAGNUSSEN: It’s hard to believe really. It just seems so unreal. What can I say. The car was so much better than it’s been at any point. We just keep improving the car. I had just exactly what I need the whole race. The preparation we’ve done this winter has been fantastic. I’ve never done a Formula One and testing is so limited, so big congratulations to the team for doing such a good job.

    Well, your father is racing on the other side of the world this weekend as well, so he’s got something to live up to.

    KM: I think they did the race already, so I’ll need to see how it went. I wish he could have been here. It’s a great day.

    So you’re looking forward to the next one obviously?

    KM: Yes I am – great things ahead.

    Nico, what are you going to do now between here and the next one?

    NR: We’ll definitely evaluate everything that we’ve learned now from this weekend because for sure there’s some way to go. We still can improve a lot. We must, because our competitors aren’t going to be asleep. Definitely they are going to try to catch up quickly, So just try to learn as much as we can, improve the car, go on holiday a little bit next week and then get ready for Malaysia.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Nico, what a start, what a race, what a win.

    NR: Yeah, the start was just… off like a bullet – or off like a Silver Arrow – thanks to Evan he did a great job on my start – my engineer who’s responsible for that. And then after that the car was just really, really quick today and the whole team did such a good job on it. Engine: really good engine, not much of a problem with fuel consumption, didn’t have to worry much about that, pretty much as usual. It just all worked perfectly. Reliability was great. So, fantastic. I’m just so happy for everybody. They work so damn hard, I don’t think people can really imagine how hard everybody works in my team and I’m sure in other teams too – so that’s just the best reward possible. To dominate in such a way the first week, the first race out.

    Q: Big winning margin, obviously a lot of pace in the car and there was a lot of radio communication about extending that middle stint – which you seemed to be able to do quite comfortably.

    NR: Yeah, got into a bit of a strange situation in that middle stint because I got graining on the front and then somehow I was losing temperature and somehow it started to get really difficult out there. So, I thought I was going to have to come in soon and they just said try to stay out, try to stay out and I did and then the graining cleared on my tyre and I was off, I was able to go again. It was a bit of a strange period but then it was fine again after that.

    Q: Dan, as you said on the podium, what a turn around – does this exceed your wildest expectations of your first race with Red Bull?

    DR: Definitely. If I look back at where we were three weeks ago – or however long ago it was, definitely. We’ve never done a race distance up until today, so we didn’t really have much confidence we’d see a chequered flag, let alone see it in a podium position. Obviously, as Nico said with his team, the same for ours. They really worked hard over the winter and really clawed back a massive margin. Obviously we still don’t have the pace of the Mercedes but it’s a result that we will definitely take today and we can make a lot of progress from here. So, pretty happy. It’s a bit overwhelming for now but an unbelievable day.

    Q: I think we could hear your smile over the team radio at the end there but talk about the support from this Australian crowd here today – and the whole weekend.

    DR: Yeah, it’s been a lot. It’s been a crazy amount. The support for Formula One in general. They’ve been really behind this event and always when the drivers rock up at the circuit, everyone’s cheering for everyone and wanting autographs. Obviously there’s been a bit more for me, being the only Aussie on the grid this year and that’s just been more than I could have possibly expected. At times a bit embarrassing. Everyone knows who I am now – but it’s cool. Very positive.

    Q: Kevin, no podium for McLaren in 2013. You go on the podium in your first appearance in Formula One. You were pinching yourself in the press conference here on Thursday to be in the company of world champions and race winners and stars. You’re a star yourself today.

    KM: Yeah. Nico was just saying, ‘Mate, you’re on third!’ I can’t believe it. It’s not a win but it definitely feels like a bit of a win because, as you said, the team is coming off a difficult season and they really wanted to come back and they’ve worked so hard over the winter. And working with a rookie as well who hasn’t got experience. It’s been tough for them, for sure – but they’ve done such a good job, made me feel really at home and made me feel comfortable with everything. Yeah. I couldn’t have asked for more.

    Q: Just talk us through the final stint because you started closing up quite a bit on Dan, then you started pulling back a bit, then it was a bit erratic.

    KM: I think me and Dan had pretty similar pace but obviously you can do stuff with the engine to try and push for a few laps and then you have to back off because you have to harvest the energy again. And you’re fuel saving as well and then stop for a few laps and then you begin again and you have to do more and catch that up. I guess it makes it exciting from the outside because it creates opportunities for overtaking but it just wasn’t enough today. I didn’t have enough pace to get past Dan.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, congratulations. How does it feel to lead the championship for the first time in your life, and actually be the first Rosberg in front since Keke in 1982?

    NR: Mr Statistics! It feels… I don’t think about that. I’m really just in the moment. I have an unbelievably quick car or I had an unbelievably quick car today. That gives me a lot of… you know, it’s such a pleasure to drive. It’s such a great feeling and I really look forward to the next races so much now, having this.. it’s so fast, it’s great. Of course, it’s still going to be tough and reliability is not 100 percent sorted, there’s still lots of work we need to do and there’s a lot of work ahead of us but it’s a great start and I’m just excited about the result today and sharing it with the whole team. It’s just fantastic.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Daniel, naturally you’ve always believed you could do this, but now you’ve done it, you’ve got the podium, you’ve run at the front. Tell us how this gives you confidence and momentum going into the championship and running at the front for the rest of the year?

    DR: Yeah. A lot, I guess. Yeah. It’s nice to be up here. Even yesterday during the post-qualifying press conference, that was already a nice little boost, to be up in that top three and now to be here. It’s strange, because I guess it’s expected to see Nico up here but to have Kevin as well, feels like we’re back in World Series by Renault or something. So it’s a bit surreal still, but I’m sure tomorrow it will all sink in. Yeah, a lot of confidence, I’m really happy with how the whole weekend has gone. Dry and wet conditions, showed a lot of confidence and some good pace. Obviously I’ve got to continue this now but the team has to be pleased with what they’re seeing at the moment.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Press Association) Nico, you talked about the reliability of your car but obviously a different story for your teammate in what happened to him in first practice and also at the start of the race today. Does that bring any concerns for Mercedes, for yourself going forward as well, that the car isn’t as bullet-proof as we perhaps saw during testing?

    NR: Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to the other car but for sure it’s a fact that we’re not 100 percent sorted yet. We know that and the team did a great job to get my car working so well in the race today but there’s still work to be done. We have two weeks now. We need to identify all the things that we can still do better because even leading up to this weekend, there were still a lot of changes on the car and you don’t really want to be doing that just going to the first race. And also in testing there were still a couple of problems at the end there, so great job, but still things to get sorted.

    Q: (Jacob Polychromis – F1Plus.com) Daniel, in a weekend where the AFL season started in Melbourne, you still managed to outshine it  – perhaps our international guests don’t appreciate how huge that really is but we do. What does that mean to you to essentially become Australian sporting royalty?

    DR: Obviously there’s been a lot of support for me this week but the support everyone has shown for Formula One, it’s made headlines every day in the papers, I think. As I said, the crowd was amazing, not only for me but for every other driver this week, they’ve showed incredible enthusiasm for the event and if there’s any doubts that the Oz Grand Prix won’t last, I think they definitely put a stamp on that this year and I’m sure it will keep kicking for a while now, so really pleased to be a part of that.

    Q: (Leonid Novozhilov – F1 Life) Kevin, can you say if you had any problems with your car today?

    KM: If I had a problem? No, no issues with the car that we weren’t expecting. We didn’t really know what to expect but luckily we didn’t have anything really that came up that we couldn’t handle so again, big congratulations to the team and to Mercedes for providing such a reliable power unit. It’s quite impressive in the first year.

    Q: How about the fuel, was that ever a concern?

    KM: No, I probably saved a bit too much in the beginning which turned out to be alright because then I could give Daniel a little bit of pressure at the end and I didn’t have to save fuel so much which was good. It’s something I will certainly learn more about and get into a rhythm with.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Nico and Daniel, that was the first start with a V6 turbo. Has it been any different to the starts you have been used to with the V8s?

    NR: There are some small bits and pieces that are different, yeah, and then getting away, upshifting through the gears, getting that right, but in the end it’s not too far apart. I think my start was spectacular today, it felt great, felt like last year.

    Q: Dan, you hadn’t done too many practice starts before this weekend.

    DR: No, not too many. Yeah, it wasn’t perfect but I think probably Nico was the only guy that had a good start from what I saw today and the rest were pretty average but definitely upshifting through the gears with the torque we have with the V6 turbos this year, it is a bit more difficult to manage the wheelspin but as we saw, I don’t think everyone really has it right yet. We managed to do a sufficient enough job today but there’s still a lot of progress to make with launches.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Daniel and Nico, how difficult was it to manage the fuel during the race? Was it easy?

    NR: Yeah, yeah, honestly our engine I think even there, they’ve just done a power unit not just engine, they’ve done a great job because it’s not much different than last year, a little bit more than last year but it’s really straightforward and quite easy and this being the most difficult track, it’s really impressive.

    DR: Yeah, I think at the start of the race it was a bit of guessing. Some laps I would try and push and not really conserve and then when I felt I had enough gap then I would start conserving. We were basically learning all the time today. First time that we’ve done a race distance so I think we’ll take a lot out of it but in the end I think the system we have to reach the fuel target is not bad, considering we haven’t done too much work on that yet. I think we survived quite well.

    Q: (Don Kennedy – Hawkes Bay Today) Nico, a certain Mr Ecclestone predicted that you would win this year’s championship. Do you think that favouritism is now justified by this result today?

    NR: Of course I heard about that and I’m thankful for such a statement. It’s always a boost when it comes from Bernie but other than that, I don’t think about that too much at the moment. There’s a long way to go and it’s just been a great day today, great win, great start to the season and just leave it at that.

    Q: (Tony Schibeci – SEN Radio) Nico, Malaysia is normally the next week after Australia. This time it’s two weeks away. Is it an advantage for you to have that two weeks or is it a disadvantage because it allows everyone a bit of extra time to get their cars closer to where you’re at?

    NR: I don’t know whether it’s an advantage or disadvantage but for sure we’re going to use that time well to further improve our car, make it quicker, more reliable, so it’s going to be a very useful gap now in between the two races.

    Q: (Sam McClure – Radio 3AW) Daniel, already today you have achieved what Mark Webber couldn’t, finish on the podium in his home Grand Prix. You’re going to be the new face of Australian motor sport in the papers today, in the news tonight. How does that make you feel?

    DR: I don’t know. Obviously really nice but even when I flew into Melbourne this week, it was a bit embarrassing to see my face on a few billboards. I don’t know. It’s obviously nice, all the support is great but I don’t know. The fame is something which I guess maybe I will still have to get used to but it’s nice, really nice to give the fans what they wanted to see. I know they went crazy yesterday when we nearly got the pole and then to back it up with a podium today is great. I think half of Perth is here as well this weekend. I told all my family to stay away from the pits, didn’t need any extra distractions but I’m sure I will catch up with them tonight and enjoy a beer and relax a little bit before Malaysia.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Nico, today we saw you dancing a little bit to Get Lucky going to the drivers’ parade. It looks like you were really confident, in spite of having Lewis on pole position. I want to know if you’re going to dance a little bit more to get Get Lucky in every race?

    NR: I was very optimistic for the race today because we just prepared really well for it and so I was confident that we could do well and so I looked forward to it and from the start it just all went fantastically.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kevin, McLaren is leading the Constructors championship, do you think you can hang on there with a rookie and a champion driver together?

    KM: Yeah, who knows? We will certainly try our best. I know the team is massively motivated to stay on top and they are a team that should be at the top of Formula One. So, what can I say? I’ll do my best and they will do their best. Who knows?

    Q: (Chris Medland – crash.net) Daniel, how much of that gap to Nico do you think can be closed just from some consistent running that you’ve got now?

    DR: I think it will definitely get smaller and hopefully not bigger over time. I think there’s still a lot to learn today and once it all settles down and I go through the meeting with the engineers tonight I will start to… Now I’m obviously on a high but then I’ll start to break it all down and become critical and places where we can improve. I’ll definitely try and help the guys out with that. Obviously I would like the gap closed. He was pretty far away in front today and obviously second is great but it would be nice to at least have seen him on the straight and not five corners ahead.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – R&B) Kevin, one question: I think Mercedes is a very good engine. Would you like to stay with it next year?

    NR: Careful. He’s really dangerous so best to say no comment.

    KM: No comment.

    NR: When he asks a question, no comment.

    KM: I’m happy just to be with McLaren. I think what Mercedes and McLaren have done together is amazing and really looking forward to what’s coming ahead.

     

    Ends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    eom

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

  • Ricciardo takes P2 for Red Bull; Hamilton on pole

    DRIVERS

    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    2 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    3 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

     

    TV UNILATERAL

    Lewis, a little bit of history on a number of levels today, not least the first pole position with this new formula and equalling Nigel Mansell’s 32 career poles.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah. It’s been an interesting weekend. Today, it made it so much harder for everyone with the conditions. I’m really happy for the job the team did. You know these new cars are so much harder to drive in the wet and it was the first time for me driving in the wet, as I’m sure it was for a lot of people. A serious task and challenge today, but for both me and Nico to be up here is a great showing for the team and it’s obviously great to see Ricciardo up here for his first grand prix with Red Bull.

    Tell us about the conditions, as obviously it rained pretty hard towards the end. There was a split of decision on which way to go on tyres – you went for the wets. Was that the right decision?

    LH: Yeah, it was kind of on the limit. It was very difficult to know what the turnover point was. Do you take a risk or not? I decided not to. Ricciardo, Daniel did a really good job on the inters, so obviously it was a very close call between the two. But the conditions made it extremely difficult. There’s so much more power, so you’re short-shifting all the way down into fifth, sixth, seventh before you can get the full throttle. But great fun otherwise and I hope the weather is better tomorrow, mostly for the fans, but also for us.

    Daniel, I think the cheer from the crowd said it all really, an incredible first Red Bull qualifying session for you and a lot of Australian pride?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: Yeah, it was exciting. Definitely the weather added to the mix and the whole session went well. Not everyone was out with options at the beginning but Q1 looked like it was going OK for us. And then when the rain fell, as Lewis said, it’s the first time we’ve all driven these cars on the limit in wet conditions. It was tricky but at the same time, of course, a lot of fun. It was nice to be always up there. The engineer was on the radio saying ‘pace is good, P1, P2, P3’ it was always in that battle for the pole position. So definitely a really nice qualifying session with the team.

    Well your team-mate is down in 13th, so what was the difference today?

    DR: I don’t know yet what his issues were. I think it was… I saw it was about two seconds or so off my pace at the time. We’ll have to see what went wrong with Seb and his side of the garage. But for now, happy for me to at least be up here and just for the team to have a front-row start, I think it wasn’t looking like this a few weeks ago, so pretty pleased right now.

    Very well done, and Nico, was it all about timing in that last part of qualifying? Was that what it was about?

    Nico ROSBERG: I’m not really sure what the others were doing. For sure we didn’t get it quite right but you just don’t know what’s going to happen. So, I don’t think we did much wrong. Of course, in hindsight you can always say ‘oh we could have done that better or this better’ but all in all I think it was a good qualifying session. Third is… I’m pleased with that. Could have been better but third is OK. I know we have a quick race car and from there a good race is possible.

    It’s been very close between you and Lewis throughout this weekend, so what happens tomorrow?

    NR: Of course it’s going to be a completely different story than today. Also again depending on weather and things like that, we don’t really know what’s going to happen, there is a small chance of rain also tomorrow, but I think more likely it’s going to be dry. It will be totally different because this year… especially in Melbourne, it’s the most difficult track for fuel consumption, so it’s going to be difficult to save enough fuel in the race – a big challenge.

    You had a reliability scare here Lewis on the first day here, but the pair of you have been very, very quick the rest of the time, so what are you expecting from tomorrow?

    LH: Ultimately it’s just down to the incredible job the team has done over the winter and through testing and come here… of course we had a small hiccup on Friday morning – it wasn’t really a scare, just unfortunate that we missed the session. But it was a quick fix, so no need to take the car apart, and just building on a good foundation and hopefully we can continue to do so.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, I wonder if you could say a few words, particularly about the achievement of equalling Nigel Mansell? I’m sure he’s somebody as a kid you grew up watching racing. Obviously a very flamboyant character in Formula One and you’ve equalled him today.

    LH: Yeah, absolutely. Another Brit, one of the greatest British drivers we had and to have achieved so much. I’ve been racing since my eighth year so, to be in Formula One has always been my dream but to get to as many poles as him is…yeah, incredible achievement and I owe that to all the great people I’ve worked with through my career at McLaren-Mercedes and now Mercedes and the team, and my family and the good people I have around me. I won’t be able to put in those laps without those people helping me. It was a team effort.

    Q: Question for you Daniel. Obviously you have to go up against Sebastian as a team-mate. It’s a tall order but how much confidence are you going to draw just from today’s result?

    DR: Definitely it’s a… not looking at him, I’m sure he had problems of some sort today but just for me to start the season with a front row, yeah, it does a lot of good things for the confidence. But yeah, obviously it’s just the start. I obviously have to race tomorrow and obviously finish up the front of the order and then see how the season progresses. The last couple of days have been really positive for us.

    Q: Nico, couldn’t help but notice at the beginning of the qualifying you and Lewis side by side, wanting to be the first one out on track. I guess you guys just couldn’t help yourself, you had to race even there.

    NR: No, it wasn’t that at all, and there were clear instructions also from the team that Lewis is first. It was agreed like that so that’s fine. It’s just that I wanted to do a practice start and the practice start position is on the right. That’s where we’re used to doing it, so I just put myself there for that. To have consistency.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action and Fairfax Media) Daniel, can you talk a bit about how excited you must be to put in such a strong performance in your debut with the team in your home race?

    DR: Yeah, of course, yeah, really excited but at the same time, still staying calm and collected because tomorrow is what counts, definitely, so there’s no point in having a party tonight and not focusing on tomorrow. I guess speaking solely of today, it’s a really good day for us. The car was pretty good to drive in the wet. I think at the start of the year we were all fearing how difficult these new animals would be in wet conditions but it was… it’s always a bit of a handful but at the same time it was quite nice behind the wheel. Controlling the turbo and all that on throttle was good fun. Pretty excited. I heard all the crowd on the cool-down lap so all I can say is hopefully I will hear that tomorrow.

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) To all three of you: how do you drive without the noise of the V8, does it change anything, the way you drive and the way you behave in the car?

    LH: How do you drive differently or…? Without the noise. It’s the same, it’s the same, it’s just you don’t hear it as much. You kind of hear mostly wind until you get down to fourth/fifth gear… fifth, fourth and third. It might be different for other people but otherwise the rest of the drivers are saying you obviously have to be a lot more gradual with the throttle, stability with your reflexes and all that stuff is quite important.

    NR: It’s just that we have less grip and more torque, that’s the main thing, and that just makes it more difficult on the exit of the corners, especially now in the wet and the sound, the difference is that I can hear my brake locking which I never used to hear, like in a road car, when it’s squeaking (squealing?) in the corner? Now you can hear that because there’s not so much engine noise any more and that’s really really strange, but also interesting  because now I can also hear my rear locking, even though I don’t feel it that much, it gives me some extra indication.

    DR: I think I agree with what Lewis said, you hear the wind a lot more, especially at high speed. I guess you know when the gusts are blowing.

    Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) For all of you: we saw during this qualifying a lot of quick laps one after the other. We understood that in the dry conditions you would do a lap and then a slower lap to recharge the batteries. Does that change in wet conditions?

    LH: Well, naturally in the wet your braking distances are a lot longer so compared to a wet (dry?) lap where you get rid of all the energy on that lap, on a wet lap you’re braking for almost twice the distance or a little bit longer, maybe a third longer in the braking zone, so you have more time to regain the battery and charge the battery. But naturally it is easier if you do do a fast lap and a slow lap, fast lap but it is possible for some of us.

    DR: Yeah. What Lewis said.

    Q: (Jacob Polychronis – F1Plus.com) Daniel, what particular aspect of the racing requires the most attention going into tomorrow? Nico has spoken a lot about fuel consumption and tyre degradation yesterday being the key areas. How about for Red Bull?

    DR: Yeah, it’s probably I guess the same for everyone. Fuel is probably the question mark for a lot of teams. We still haven’t done a race distance yet so I think it’s probably going to be one of those things that we’re going to understand… each lap we do in the race, we’re going to understand more and more and how we’re looking. I think behind the wheel not too much will change, I’ll just keep getting information from the pit wall. You know there’s different modes and everything to control consumption on the steering wheel and I will just act accordingly. I think tyre degradation probably won’t be too bad, I think, normally with the rain now, so the washing off and making the track a bit green – as we call it – will probably be quite kind to the rears. I don’t think tyre deg will be a massive issue tomorrow.

    Q: (Will Hagon – ABC Radio) Daniel, with all the pressure that’s been on you this week, your home Grand Prix and championship team and all the rest of it, how have you been sleeping and how do you think you’ll sleep tonight?

    DR: I’ve been sleeping well. I think I’ve been pretty worn out by the end of the day with all the extra curricula activities I’ve been doing. I’ve been sleeping well. I got to Oz over a week ago. I was in Sydney for that Top Gear festival so had time to get over jet lag and I’m sure I will sleep well tonight. It’s a pretty late start tomorrow so I don’t have to set any alarms. Should be right.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action) Daniel, the car is much better than in testing. Is it a case of just getting more laps on the core performance of the car or are the new bits that came in helping a lot?

    DR: I think it’s probably just us circulating more. In testing, unfortunately, a lot of the time we were circulating to learn about reliability and to stop things from overheating so we weren’t really focused on what set-up we were running or any of that. I think after yesterday, it was the first time we probably worked on set-up and understanding the car. I think all the aero guys are gathering more and more information and making the car a bit quicker each time we run. It’s definitely positive for us now and hopefully the upward trend continues and we can start to hassle these guys in dry conditions soon.

    Q: (Mat Coch – pitpass.com) Daniel, a question close to every Australian’s heart: what are you like at starts?

    DR: Let’s see how we go tomorrow! Bit up and down last year. I guess everyone watched the races. I think they were on the up so let’s see how we go tomorrow. I think it’s going to be interesting for everyone now, with the V6 turbos. I think it’s also a bit of a different animal off the line. Hopefully we get off well.

    Q: (Phil Branagan – Chevron Publishing) Dan, you must have had a realistic expectation after practice of where you’d qualify. Have you exceeded that? By how far? And what’s your expectation for tomorrow?

    DR: I think exceeded it just because if it was a dry qualifying we were expecting Lewis and Nico to take the front row. I think their pace in the dry was pretty impressive so far this week so exceeded that a bit but obviously the wet throws a bit of a curved ball and you’ve just got to take the session how it comes and see how you go from there. There wasn’t too much calculating going on in my head. It was just drive and adapt to the conditions. As I said, it was refreshing to hear my engineer on the radio saying we’re fighting all these for the top three. That was good to hear and obviously gives you a bit of motivation as well.

    Q: (Mark Fogarty – Auto Action and Fairfax Media) Lewis and Nico, are you at all surprised to see Daniel sitting up there next to you?

    LH: Not at all. He’s showed some great performances in previous years and he’s got a good head on his shoulders, very talented so it’s expected, to be honest, plus Red Bull have been up at the top for some time so you have to assume that this year they will be very close to us. But without a doubt they’ve done an exceptional job.

    NR: No, me too, great job, definitely. I hope I manage to pass him tomorrow. For sure. Well done.

    Q: (Tony Schibeci – SEN) Daniel, for the last couple of years you’ve been fighting with the big boys. Now you’re one of the big boys. How cool is that?

    DR: Yeah, it’s cool. I can’t get ahead of myself. I’ve still got a bit to prove. I’ve still to establish myself at the front. It would obviously be great to be up here for the next few weekends and to cement myself at the front of the grid, so this is definitely a step towards that but yeah, as I said, there still a bit to go but obviously excited for what lies ahead and give it a good crack.

     

    Ends

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