INDIA in F1

Tag: Valtteri Bottas

  • Hamilton quickest in FP2: Final GP to decide champ

    Hamilton quickest in FP2: Final GP to decide champ

    Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi), 10 Dec 2021: Lewis Hamilton went quickest in second practice for Formula 1’s championship showdown at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit, with the seven-time champion finishing ahead of Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

    Hamilton’s title rival Max Verstappen finished fourth, more than six tenths of behind the Briton as Kimi Raïkkönen crashed heavily in the final moments of the session.

    Bottas set the early pace on medium tyres with a lap of 1:25.339.  McLaren’s Lando Norris, on soft tyres, then took over in P1 with a time of 1:25.153, before Hamilton moved to the top of the order with a lap of 1:25.127.

    After a slight lull, during which Norris briefly moved back to P1, Hamilton found more pace and retook P1 with a lap of 1:24.943 before working down to best of 1:24.126 as the firstr quarter of the hour passed. Hamilton’s best time put him nearly a second clear of Verstappen who had a lap deleted for exceeding track limits.

    There was a nervouse moment for Bottas when his clipped the wall on the exit of Turn 14 but he was able to return to the pits to have the damage assessed.

    The Finn soon retunred to the action on soft tyres but he was unable to better Hamilton’s medium tyres time, ending up 0.146s adrift. Bottas made another attempt, however, took top spot with a lap of 1:24.083.

    Hamilton and Verstappen then appeared on the softs, but neither was able to better Bottas’ time. Ocon then delivered a surprise by posting a lao of 1:24.034 to take P1 for Alpine.

    Verstappen went for anther lap but again couldn’t find sufficient pace. Hamilton made two further attempts and after falling short on his second attempt his third of 1:23.691 at last netted him P1  That put him 0.343s clear of Ocon, with Bottas 0.392s back and Verstappen down by 0.641s.

    Sergio Pérez finished fifth in the second Red Bull, ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, the Ferrari cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and the second AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly.

    With just over one minute left on the clock Räikkönen crashed. The Finn lost the rear of his car in Turn 14 and he slide into the barriers severely damaging both ends of his Alfa Romeo. The session was red-flagged and was not restarted.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:23.691 26 227.164
    2 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:24.034 0.343 29 226.236
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:24.083 0.392 29 226.105
    4 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:24.332 0.641 25 225.437
    5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:24.400 0.709 26 225.255
    6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:24.495 0.804 27 225.002
    7 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:24.532 0.841 26 224.904
    8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:24.557 0.866 29 224.837
    9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:24.844 1.153 29 224.077
    10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:24.940 1.249 27 223.823
    11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:24.959 1.268 26 223.773
    12 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:25.108 1.417 27 223.382
    13 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:25.153 1.462 27 223.264
    14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:25.195 1.504 27 223.153
    15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:25.385 1.694 26 222.657
    16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:25.440 1.749 23 222.514
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:25.549 1.858 29 222.230
    18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:25.687 1.996 22 221.872
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:25.784 2.093 27 221.621
    a20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:26.336 2.645 26 220.204

  • Bottas takes pole ahead of Max with a Sprint win: Hami 5th

    Bottas takes pole ahead of Max with a Sprint win: Hami 5th

    Sao Paulo, 14 Nov 2021: Valtteri Bottas will start Formula 1’s São Paulo Grand Prix from pole position after beating championship leader Max Verstappen in the Sprint to define the grid for tomorrow’s race. Meanwhile, following his disqualification from qualifying, Lewis Hamilton recovered fifth place thanks an aggressive drive from the back of the grid.

    At the start, Bottas’s soft tyres gave him the better start and he passed P1 starter Verstappen as the pair went into Turn 1. Further back, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, also starting on soift tyres, had made a similarly quick start and he quickly passed Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez and put prtessue on Verstappen as the field went through the Senna S.

    Sainz then slotted into Verstappen’s slipstream on the long run to Turn 4 and passed the Dutch driver on the inside, a move that forced the Red Bull driver wide.

    Verstappen then began to rattle off fastest laps and by lap five he was back ahead of Sainz and was eating into a two-second gap to Bottas.

    Meanwhile, at the rear of the field, Hamilton picked up five places on the opening lap and he soon began to scythe through the slower midfield cars and on lap tow he rose to 14th. He then used DRS on the pit straight to move past AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso to reach the edge of the top 10 by the start of lap nine.

    He was briefly bottled up behind McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo but at the the end of lap 12, he closed in the final corners and again powered past on the start-finish straight. He then swiftly moved past Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to sit in sixth place as the race head towards it final few laps. Hamilton made one final move, past McLaren’s Lando Norris, at the start of the final lap to claim a superb fifth place behind Pérez.

    At the front Verstappen closed the gap to Bottas and slipped within DRS range in the second half of the race. But the Finn was managing his soft tyres well and he was able to stabilise the gap to the Red Bull driver who was suffering on his mediums in the Mercedes’ wake.

    It was a similar tale for Verstappen’s team-mate Pérez. The Mexican was unable to find a way past soft tyre-shod Sainz and though he spent the bulk of the race within DRS range, the Ferrari driver defended well to take P3 at the flag.

    With Hamilton fifth ahead of Norris the top 10 was completed by Leclerc, Gasly, Ocon and Vettel. Hamilton will start 10th for Sunday’s grand prix as a result of his grid penalty for taking a new internal combustion engine for this event.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix – Sprint Qualifying
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 24 29’09.559
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 24 29’10.729 1.170
    3 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 24 29’28.282 18.723
    4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 24 29’29.346 19.787
    5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 24 29’30.431 20.872
    6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 24 29’32.117 22.558
    7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 24 29’34.615 25.056
    8 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 24 29’43.717 34.158
    9 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 24 29’44.191 34.632
    10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 24 29’44.426 34.867
    11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 24 29’45.428 35.869
    12 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 24 29’46.137 36.578
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 24 29’51.439 41.880
    14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 24 29’53.596 44.037
    15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 24 29’55.709 46.150
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 24 29’56.319 46.760
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 24 29’57.298 47.739
    18 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 24 29’59.573 50.014
    19 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 24 30’11.239 1:01.680
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 24 30’17.033 1:07.474

  • Hamilton quickest but Bottas will start on Pole; Max on P2

    Hamilton quickest but Bottas will start on Pole; Max on P2

    Istanbul, 9 October 2021: Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap of Qualifying for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix, but it’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas who will claim pole position for the race after Hamilton takes a 10-place grid penalty for taking a fourth ICE of the year. Hamilton’s chief title rival Max Verstappen will start alongside Bottas on the front row after qualifying third.

    Ahead of Q1 the weather forecast predicted rain early in the opening session and desperate to bank an early dry tyre time, drivers formed a long queue at the pit exit in the final minutes before the green lights started the session.

    The expected rain began to fall close to five minutes into the session but never with the steadiness predicted and as a result the 18-minute proved to be frantic as drivers pushed to get the best from their soft tyres, balancing extended running in case of running with tyre wear and the risk of pitting for new rubber.

    In the end it was Hamilton who topped the opening session, with the Briton beating Verstappen who required a late flyer to climb from P12 to P2 thanks to a lap of 1:24.592. AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly took third place ahead of the second Red Bull of Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.  

    In the crucial final moments it was Daniel Ricciardo who lost out. The McLaren driver looked less than comfortable in the session but appeared to be safe when the chequered flag was flown. However, despite a guaranteed back of the grid start due to PU penalties, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz put in a full session, completing 12 laps, and his final flyer bounced Ricciardo out of the session in P16 along with Nicholas Latifi of Williams, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen and Haas’ Nikita Mazepin.

    In the second segment, the bulk of the field opted for medium tyres, looking to start the race on that compound. Hamilton was again to the fore with the Mercedes driver posting a best time of 1:23.082. Bottas again took second place, almost half a second behind his team-mate, while Verstappen was again third with a lap of 1:23.732. Gasly continued to impress with fourth place ahead of Leclerc, while Alpine’s Fernando Alonso also caught the eye with fifth place.

    Eliminated at the end of the middle segment were Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, Williams’ George Russell, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and Sainz who completed just a single out lap in Q2.

    In the first runs of Q3, Hamilton was first on track, a full five minutes before the end of the session, with the Briton targeting multiple flying laps as he sought to minimise the damage caused by his impending penalty.

    He found most time on his second flier to take P1 with a time of 1m22.868. Bottas was 0.005s ahead of Hamilton by the end of the second sector, but he lost time in the final third and wound up 0.13s behind his team-mate. Verstappen also lost time in the final corners and finished 0.328s down on Hamilton’s benchmark time.

    Leclerc delievered a fine final flyer to rise to fourth place a little over five hundredths of a second ahead of Gasly. Alonso continued his good form with sixth place ahead of Perez. Eighth place in qualifying went to McLaren’s Lando Norris with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ninth ahead of the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes  1:22.868  8 231.896
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes  1:22.998 0.130 0.157 6 231.533
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda  1:23.196 0.328 0.396 6 230.982
    4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari  1:23.265 0.397 0.479 8 230.790
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda  1:23.326 0.458 0.553 6 230.621
    6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault  1:23.477 0.609 0.735 6 230.204
    7 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda  1:23.706 0.838 1.011 6 229.574
    8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes  1:23.954 1.086 1.311 6 228.896
    9 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes  1:24.305 1.437 1.734 6 227.943
    10 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda  1:24.368 1.500 1.810 6 227.773
    11 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes  1:24.795 1.713 2.062 9 226.626
    12 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault  1:24.842 1.760 2.118 8 226.501
    13 George Russell Williams/Mercedes  1:25.007 1.925 2.317 8 226.061
    14 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari  1:25.200 2.118 2.549 8 225.549
    15 Carlos Sainz Ferrari  1
    16 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes  1:25.881 1.296 1.532 10 223.760
    17 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes  1:26.086 1.501 1.775 10 223.227
    18 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari  1:26.430 1.845 2.181 11 222.339
    19 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari  1:27.525 2.940 3.476 11 219.557
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari  1:28.449 3.864 4.568 10 217.264

  • Bottas sets the pace; Verstappen takes power unit penalty

    Bottas sets the pace; Verstappen takes power unit penalty

    After topping the timesheets in the morning, Valtteri Bottas continued to lead the way in the second practice for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by the narrow margin of four hundredths of a second. Meanwhile, championship leader Max Verstappen opted to take a fresh power unit and will thus start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid. The Red Bull driver finished the session in sixth place.

    Sochi (Russia), 24 Sept. 2021: With heavy rain expected to cause disruption on Saturday the session got off to a busy start with Alfa Romeo’s returning Kimi Raikkonen posting the first time of the session, a lap of 1:37.019, on the medium tyres. He was soon bounced out of top spot by AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and then Ferrar’s Carlos Sainz both of whom also used medium tyres.

    Charles Leclerc then used the soft tyres to go quickest with a lap of 1:35.508 before Bottas jumped to the top of the order with a medium-tyre lap of 1:35.298s. Leclerc reclaimed P1 but as the session reached the quarter-hour mark Alpine’s Fernando Alonso posted a lap of 1:34.762 to rise to P1.

    Five minutes later Verstappen and both Mercedes drivers emerged on softs for their qualifying simulations.

    Bottas’ 1:33.593 vaulted him back to top spot but Verstappen’s lap was well off the pace and ended up more than a second adrift of the Mercedes driver. Hamilton ran quicker than his team-mate in the opening sector but his pace ebbed marginally over the remainder of the lap and he finished with a best time of 1:33.637, 0.044s behind the Finn.

    After the qualifying simulations teams once again switched to long runs but those were interrupted when Alfa Romeo’s Giovinazzi crashed. The Italian got on the astroturf in Turn 8 and spun backwards into the barriers causing significant damage to the rear of his car. The Alfa Romeo driver tried to limp back to the pit lane but he was quickly ordered to pull over by engineers as he scattered debris across the track.

    The red flags were shown and running was halted for 10 minutes. Teams then resumed long runs as the remainder of the session was given over to data gathering.

    Pierre Gasly took third place for AlphaTauri with McLaren’s Lando Norris three tenths off the French driver in fourth place. Gasly’s session ended early, however, as his front wing broke when he ran over the sausage kerb at the exit of Turn 2 in the closing minutes of the session. Esteban Ocon was fifth for Alpine ahead of Verstappen, while Carlos Sainz was seventh for Ferrari ahead of the second Alpine of Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel took ninth place for Aston Martin and the top 10 was rounded out by Leclerc.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2

    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:33.593 19 224.939

    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:33.637 0.044 22 224.834

    3 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:33.845 0.252 22 224.335

    4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:34.154 0.561 17 223.599

    5 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:34.402 0.809 23 223.012

    6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:34.621 1.028 20 222.496

    7 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:34.678 1.085 22 222.362

    8 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:34.762 1.169 21 222.165

    9 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:34.837 1.244 22 221.989

    10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:34.925 1.332 24 221.783

    11 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:34.938 1.345 22 221.753

    12 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:35.052 1.459 23 221.487

    13 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:35.094 1.501 19 221.389

    14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:35.178 1.585 15 221.193

    15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:35.334 1.741 21 220.832

    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:35.411 1.818 19 220.653

    17 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:35.630 2.037 12 220.148

    18 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:35.954 2.361 23 219.405

    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:36.099 2.506 19 219.074

    20 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:36.230 2.637 20 218.775

  • Max Verstappen tops FP2 at Spa: F1 Round 12

    Max Verstappen tops FP2 at Spa: F1 Round 12

    Spa-Francorchamps, 27 August 2021: Max Verstappen set the pace in the second practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton by less than a hundredth of a second, but the Red Bull driver’s session ended in disappointment when he crashed out in the final moments of the session at Spa-Francorchamps in the Round 12 of the Formula 1 World Championship here on Friday.

    Verstappen lost the back end of his RB16B as he went into the Les Combes sequence at the end of the long Kemmel straight and he spun into the barriers on the left side of the circuit, causing substantial damage to the rear right of his Red Bull.

    As with the morning session, the afternoon running got off to a slow start as drivers gingerly tested the damp conditions. Once the conditions proved suitable for dry tyres, McLaren’s Lando Norris got running properly underway with a lap of 1:48.219 on hard tyres. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi then took turns at the top as the track improved before Bottas then took a significant step forward with a lap of 1:44.513 on medium tyres.

    Verstappen then took P2 before Hamilton went just 0.031 slower than his teammate to establish a Mercedes one-two.

    The Mercedes pair were then among the first to make the switch to soft tyres though neither was able to improve on the red-banded Pirelli rubber. Verstappen, however, did make gains and he claimed top spot with a lap of 1:44.472, 0.041 ahead of Bottas.

    However, his good work was then undone in the final moments when he lost the rear end of his car in Les Combes.

    At the flag, Fernando Alonso set the fourth fastest time for Alpine, ahead of AlhaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Ocon finished in seventh ahead of the seodnde Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Pérez, newly confirmed for another year at Red Bull Racing, completed the top 10 order.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2

    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:44.472 12 241.350
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:44.513 0.041 14 241.256
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:44.544 0.072 13 241.184
    4 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:44.953 0.481 15 240.244
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:44.965 0.493 17 240.217
    6 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:45.180 0.708 14 239.726
    7 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:45.302 0.830 15 239.448
    8 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:45.336 0.864 16 239.371
    9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:45.386 0.914 18 239.257
    10 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:45.404 0.932 13 239.216
    11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:45.517 1.045 14 238.960
    12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:45.758 1.286 17 238.416
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:45.789 1.317 16 238.346
    14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:45.967 1.495 18 237.945
    15 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:46.118 1.646 14 237.607
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:46.198 1.726 17 237.428
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:46.665 2.193 14 236.388
    18 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:46.836 2.364 13 236.010
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:47.335 2.863 14 234.913
    20 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:47.529 3.057 15 234.489

  • Stunning lap gives Hamilton his 101st career pole

    Stunning lap gives Hamilton his 101st career pole

    Budapest, 31 July 2021: Lewis Hamilton will start tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix from the front of the grid after he grabbed an emphatic 101st career pole position at the Hungaroring beating Mercedes’ team-mate Valterri Bottas by three tenths of ahead with championship leader Max Verstappen over four tenths of a second off the pace in third in the 11th round of the Formula 1 World Championship qualifying session here on Saturday.

    At the beginning of the hour-long qualifying session the expected frontrunners were quickly into action, with Bottas taking an early P1 with a lap of 1:16.610. However, he was soon demoted by Hamilton who stole top spot thanks to a lap of 1:16.424. Verstappen wasn’t far behind the Mercedes pair on track, though, and the Red Bull driver jumped ahead of both with his opening push lap of 1:16.214.

    Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Pérez looked to be struggling, however.  The Mexican opened with a lap of 1:17.300 but as better laps flooded in he soon dropped to ninth place. He opted for a second attempt but only improved to 1:17.233 and still held ninth ahead of the final runs.

    Despite the risk to Pérez, Red Bull chose to keep both drivers in the garage for the final runs. And it proved the right choice as there were few improvements in the final moments and Verstappen held top sport as Pérez progressed in P11.

    Eliminated at the end of the first session were AlphaTauri’s Tsunoda in P16, Williams’ George Russell and Nicholas Latifi in P17 and P18 respectively and Haas’ Nikita Mazepin in P19. The Russian’s team-mate, Mick Schumacher, didn’t make it out on track in the session with Haas unable to repair his car following an earlier crash in FP3.

    At the start of Q2, Hamilton set the pace on medium tyres with a lap of 1:16.553. Verstappen also opted for mediums and slotted into P2 with a time of 1:16.769. However, the Dutchman was pushed to P3 as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, on soft tyres, set an impressive time of 1:16.725.

    The session was then halted as Carlos Sainz lost control of his Ferrari in the final corner and slid into the barriers. The red flags were quickly displayed.

    After a short delay the action resumed and both Red Bulls mopved to soft tyres. Verstappen jumped to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:15.650 while Pérez went through to Q3 in P4 thanks to an improved time of 1:16.443. Both Mercedes drivers opted to back out of their final laps and after progressing in P6 and P8 will start on medium tyres.

    Eliminated at the end of Q2 were 11th placed Danile Ricciardo of McLaren, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi and the unfortunate Sainz.

    In the first runs of Q3, Hamilton laid down a tough marker with an opening time of 1:15.419. Bottas followed on 1:15.734 and Max sat in P3 with an opening time of 1:15.984. Verstappen then improved on his final run but the  tenth of a second he found was not enough to trouble Hamilton and the Mercedes driver claimed pole position with Bottas second and Vrestappen third.

    Pérez claimed fourth place on the grid with his opening run time, while Pierre Gasly put in an impressive lap of 1:16.483 to take fifth place on the grid ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Leclerc will start seventh for Ferrari with Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Fernando in eighth and ninth. The final top 10 position went to Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:15.419 6 209.119
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:15.734 0.315 0.418 6 208.249
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:15.840 0.421 0.558 6 207.958
    4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:16.421 1.002 1.329 5 206.377
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:16.483 1.064 1.411 6 206.210
    6 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:16.489 1.070 1.419 6 206.194
    7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:16.496 1.077 1.428 6 206.175
    8 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:16.653 1.234 1.636 6 205.753
    9 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:16.715 1.296 1.718 6 205.586
    10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:16.750 1.331 1.765 3 205.493
    11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:16.871 1.221 1.614 6 205.169
    12 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:16.893 1.243 1.643 6 205.110
    13 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:17.564 1.914 2.530 6 203.336
    14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:17.583 1.933 2.555 3 203.286
      – Carlos Sainz Ferrari 2
    16 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:17.919 1.705 2.237 8 202.410
    17 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:17.944 1.730 2.270 8 202.345
    18 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:18.036 1.822 2.391 8 202.106
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:18.922 2.708 3.553 9 199.837

  • Valtteri Bottas tops FP2 ahead of Hamilton: Hungarian GP

    Valtteri Bottas tops FP2 ahead of Hamilton: Hungarian GP

    Hungaroring (Budapest, Hungary), 30 July 2021: Valtteri Bottas went quickest in the second practice session for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, shading team-mate Lewis Hamilton by two hundredths of a second as championship leader Max Verstappen finished three tenths of a second off the pace after struggling with handling issues.

    Earlier, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen went quickest in the opening practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, outpacing Mercedes Valtteri Bottas by six hundredths of a second with Lewis Hamilton a further tenth of a second back in third place in the other Mercedes.

    In FP2, after an opening period in which Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc held way on medium tyres, Bottas moved to the front on the same compound with a lap of 1:18.376. Hamilton then moved into P2 three tenths of a second. Verstappen then emerged for his first run of the afternoon and he immediately split the Mercedes, with team-mate Sergio Pérez slotting into fourth place.

    Hamilton then found a solid gain ands rose to the top of the order with a lap of 1:18.140 that remained the quickest lap before the field began to switch to soft tyres for their qualifying simulations.

    Bottas bolted on a set of the red-banded tyres close to the half hour mark and he jumped to a time of 1:17.012 that remained the benchmark for the rest of the session.

    Hamilton almost bested his team-mate but though the seven-time champion was quicker in the final sector good work early on from Bottas gave him a slim edge on the timesheet.

    Verstappen, meanwhile, was busy trying to dial out persistent understeer but try as he might the championship leader couldn’t find a sweet spot with his RB16B and he had to settle for third place.

    Alpine’s Esteban Ocon have the Anglo-French squad hope of a good weekend with a lap of 1:17.759 that was good enough for fourth place ahead of Pérez who finished with a best time of 1:17.824.

    Pierre Gasly was sixth for AlphaTauri ahead of Fernando Alonso in the second Alpine while Sebastian Vettel put his Aston Martin in eighth place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
    1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.012; 29 204.794
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.039; 0.027 27 204.722
    3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:17.310; 0.298 24 204.004
    4 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:17.759 0.747 29 202.826
    5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:17.824 0.812 23 202.657
    6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.113 1.101 31 201.907
    7 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:18.169 1.157 27 201.762
    8 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:18.228 1.216 31 201.610
    9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:18.313 1.301 25 201.391
    10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:18.320 1.308 30 201.373
    11 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.370 1.358 30 201.245
    12 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:18.441 1.429 32 201.063
    13 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:18.737 1.725 26 200.307
    14 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:19.277 2.265 21 198.942
    15 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:19.292 2.280 29 198.905
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:19.479 2.467 30 198.437
    17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:19.671 2.659 3 197.959
    18 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:19.817 2.805 29 197.597
    19 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.186 3.174 28 196.687
    20 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:21.881 4.869 28 192.616.

    Free Practice 1
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:17.555 21 203.360
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:17.616 0.061 26 203.200
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:17.722 0.167 25 202.923
    4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:18.115 0.560 24 201.902
    5 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.181 0.626 27 201.731
    6 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:18.385 0.830 26 201.206
    7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:18.391 0.836 23 201.191
    8 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:18.466 0.911 20 200.999
    9 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:18.649 1.094 26 200.531
    10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:18.755 1.200 25 200.261
    11 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:18.765 1.210 26 200.236
    12 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 1:18.770 1.215 18 200.223
    13 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:18.989 1.434 22 199.668
    14 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:19.265 1.710 27 198.973
    15 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:19.724 2.169 24 197.827
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:19.824 2.269 24 197.579
    17 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:20.383 2.828 26 196.205
    18 Robert Kubica Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:20.639 3.084 23 195.582
    19 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:20.992 3.437 23 194.730
    20 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:21.889 4.334 5 192.597.

  • Max Verstappen powers to pole ahead of Hamilton, Bottas

    Max Verstappen powers to pole ahead of Hamilton, Bottas

    19 June 2021 Sat: F1 Drivers’ Championship leader Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton by almost three tenths of a second to claim pole position for tomorrow’s 2021 FIA Formula 1 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard. Valtteri Bottas took will line up in third place on the grid ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez for the Round 7 FIA Formula One World Championship on Saturday.

    Defending champion Lewis Hamilton (in the pic) said: It’s great to see the fans here and it warms my heart to see people coming together finally after this difficult period for us all. It’s been a really hard weekend trying to get the car into a happy place and you wouldn’t believe all of the changes I’ve made since FP1. Congratulations to Max, he did a great job today.
     
    On long run pace I think the Red Bulls were a tenth or two quicker than us in FP2 but my car is in a much different place now so I’m just going to stay hopeful and do everything that I can tomorrow. Obviously in second you’ve got a fighting chance down to Turn 1 and there’s going to be some interesting strategy calls tomorrow. Maybe it’ll rain so we’ll potentially get to see the rain masters do their thing! We’re loving the battle so we’re just going to keep pushing, keep fighting, and giving it everything.
     

    The opening Q1 segment got off to a stuttering start and the hour-long session was barely three minutes old when the action had to halted. AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda tried too too much kerb in Turn 1 and spun. He slide backwards off track in Turn 2 and hit the barriers. Apart from severe vibrations at the rear of his car as hew slid across the run-off the impact to the back of his car did not seem bad but after reporting that he had no gears race control red-flagged the session.

    After a 10-minute delay the action resumed and Verstappen vaulted to the top of the timesheet with a lap of 1:31.001, eclipsing Bottas by more than six tenths of a second. Pérez then shuffled the Finn down to third place ahead of Hamilton. The Briton made a second attempt, however, and his improved lap time of 1:31.237 earned him P3 ahead of Pérez.

    In the final moments of the session Haas’ Mick Schumacher crashed at Turn 6 and the red flags were shown for the second time and race control announced that with less than a minute on the clock the session would not be restarted. The stoppage meant that a number of drivers were not able to complete final flying laps and Williams’ Nicholas Latifi, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen, Haas’ Nikita Mazepin and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll were eliminated without getting an opportunity to escape the drop zone.

    In Q2 the majority of the remaining field headed out on medium tyres and in the first runs Pérez took an early lead with a lap of 1:30.971, a tenth ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton, who sat sixth after his first flying lap extended his run for a second attempt and he duly took top spot with a lap of 1:30.959.

    Both Red Bulls and both Mercedes drivers went out for the final runs but while Bottas and Hamilton completed another medium-tyre flyer, with Bottas taking top spot on 1:30.735 and Hamilton improving, both Pérez, and Verstappen backed out of their laps leaving the top two placings to the Mercedes pair.

    Eliminated at the end of Q2 were Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, with Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel exiting in P12 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and Williams’ George Russell.

    In the first runs of Q3 Verstappen seized an early advantage, claiming provisional pole with a lap of 1:30.325, almost four tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton who slotted into P2. Pérez grabbed P3 a little under two tenths clear of Bottas.

    But if there were any thoughts that the final runs would be a comfortable march to pole for the Dutchman they were dismissed as Verstappen and his chief title rival raised the level again in the final runs.

    The pair traded purple sectors across through but when Verstappen crossed the line it was in a time of 1:29.990, 0.258 seconds ahead of Hamilton, and a fifth career pole position belonged to the Red Bull driver.

    Bottas jumped ahead of Pérez in the final run and the Mexican will start fourth ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, AlphjaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc. Lando Norris will start in P8 for McLaren ahead of Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and the second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo.

    2021 FIA Formula 1 French Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda 1:29.990 6 233.705
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:30.248 0.258 0.287 6 233.037
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:30.376 0.386 0.429 6 232.707
    4 Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda 1:30.445 0.455 0.506 6 232.530
    5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:30.840 0.850 0.945 6 231.519
    6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri/Honda 1:30.868 0.878 0.976 6 231.447
    7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.987 0.997 1.108 6 231.145
    8 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:31.252 1.262 1.402 6 230.473
    9 Fernando Alonso Alpine/Renault 1:31.340 1.350 1.500 6 230.251
    10 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren/Mercedes 1:31.382 1.392 1.547 6 230.145
    11 Esteban Ocon Alpine/Renault 1:31.736 1.001 1.103 6 229.257
    12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:31.767 1.032 1.137 6 229.180
    13 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:31.813 1.078 1.188 6 229.065
    14 George Russell Williams/Mercedes 1:32.065 1.330 1.466 6 228.438
    15 Mick Schumacher Haas/Ferrari 1:32.942 1.941 2.133 7 226.283
    16 Nicholas Latifi Williams/Mercedes 1:33.062 2.061 2.265 7 225.991
    17 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo/Ferrari 1:33.354 2.353 2.586 7 225.284
    18 Nikita Mazepin Haas/Ferrari 1:33.554 2.553 2.805 7 224.802
    Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 2’12.584 41.583 45.695 7 158.625
    Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri/Honda 2

  • The race was very tough, but yes, it was a great race: Hamilton

    The race was very tough, but yes, it was a great race: Hamilton

    Portimao, 2 May 2021: The following drivers attended the FIA post-race Press Conference on Sunday: 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes); 2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing); 3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Paul Di Resta) 

    Q: Max, started third, finished second, you had a great jump on Lewis at the restart, you got in front but then you made a small mistake in Turn 14. How was your race.

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was pretty decent. I had a good re-start and then I tried to put the pressure on Valtteri. At the end it think we just lacked a little bit of pace overall, so Lewis got by again and after the pit stop, the warm-up is super hard on these tyres, but I think once we settled in second you could clearly see that around here we were lacking a bit of pace compared to them. But still, second, fastest lap in the last lap…

    Q: Ah well, I think you have been deleted for track limits at Turn 14, right at the end. The good thing is it didn’t go to Lewis, it went to Valtteri who took it the lap before you?

    MV: That’s a bit odd because they were not checking track limits in 14, but whatever?

    Q: Well, onto the next race, what’s your feeling? Did you think this was a weekend that would favour Mercedes and then on to Spain where you can make a fight back?

    MV: Yeah, I think in general this was a bit of an odd weekend in terms of grip. We were not on top of it here but we’ll see again what we can do in Barcelona.

    Q: Lewis, I think you’ve got to be pretty pumped for that result – absolutely textbook. But you managed to get the position back and onto the next one?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, I’m telling you that was such a tough race, physically and mentally. Just keeping everything together… it was very windy out there, obviously, so it was very easy to put a foot wrong. I just didn’t get quite as good a start as Valtteri and then I lost out on the re-start, which was not good. I was not happy about that, naturally. I really had to try and position myself as best I could. I can’t remember, but I think Max made a mistake at some point in the lap, which was like perfect, and I knew that that was going to be the lap I would be as close as I could to him in the last sector. With Valtteri, I had to make the move early on, before the tyres were destroyed and I managed to just get him in Turn 1, just right on the limit. But a great race. 

    Q: I know you relish the challenge of people and opposition pushing you all the way. What does the next four days look like for you heading to Spain because it’s a very different year with Red Bull this close?

    LH: Yeah, I think the next few days… We head back home for just a couple of days and it’s about recovery and a lot of physio. Angela will be with me. Recovery and get yourself back, turned around as quickly as possible for the next one. A lot of kind of debriefs, a lot to download today, there are improvements we can make. Today wasn’t all perfect so we look at those areas and we try to turn over the stones.

    Q: Valtteri, P3. I know you would have wanted more. You got the fastest lap as Max’s lap got deleted. How did your race go?

    Valtteri BOTTAS: It was a tricky day today. I don’t really know what happened in the first stint. I just didn’t have the pace, for unknown reasons. So we will need to have a look at that. But afterwards I think the second stint was pretty good but we had a bit of an issue with some sensor or something, so I couldn’t get Max.

    Q: Like you say, why did the car become better when it was on half tanks, you were able to push on and even had Toto Wolff on the radio giving you that extra push. It seemed like when the fuel burned off you had the fastest race car?

    VB: I don’t know really. Overall, we have had a strong package today and I don’t know why in the first stint it didn’t work. We need to look at that but otherwise good points.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, many congratulations, what a race. First of all, how good does this feel?

    LH: I’ve been racing a long, long time, and we’ve had a lot of success over the years and I’m really grateful that each one feels new and different and it was a completely different journey today and this weekend to get the result we just got. It’s a much different feeling of course when you are battling so closely with two great drivers. So yeah, it feels fantastic today. I’m very grateful for and really proud of the team. We had a great pit stop and a strong strategy and everyone had just kept their head down to try and extract more and more from this car that we have. So a big thank you to everyone.

    Q: You’re not one for statistics, you’ve told us that many times, but this was your 150th points finish for Mercedes.

    LH: Nice. It really is incredible, right. It’s down to a lot of great, great people working so hard over all these years, so I hope they feel this success.

    Q: Couple of key moments to ask you about. The re-start: you said a moment ago you weren’t happy with yours, what happened?

    LH: (laughs) I lost position, that’s what happened! Well, it was interesting because I was focusing on Valtteri naturally and literally just for a split second I looked in my mirrors to see where Max was and in that split second that’s when Valtteri went.

    VB: (laughs) I could see looking in the mirrors!

    LH: Ha! So that wasn’t great and then I was Valtteri’s tow and you (Max) were about to pull out and I pulled out and gave you Valtteri’s tow and I was like, ‘you idiot’, to myself you know. So then after that being behind the two… what a great track. It really enabled us to fight closely in that first stint and I think that’s what the fans want and that’s what I want from a racing point of view. This track is really great because you can have certain different lines in certain corners, a bit like Austin, so it was really awesome.

    Q: And eight points the gap between yourself and Max at the top of the table. It’s tight.

    LH: It’s very tight. I saw that he had gone in for the fastest lap and got it but obviously Valtteri ended up with it at the end. But as you can see I think it is a great fight between Mercedes and Red Bull and I’m sure also down the field and we will be pushing each other right to the last race. We’re going to be sick of each other at the end I would imagine or sick of racing, because there are so many races.

    Q: Max, well done. Are you happy with second today, given the relative pace of the cars – or do you feel this was a missed opportunity?

    MV: I’m pleased. I tried everything I could really. I had a good restart because the actual start, I just missed-out a bit. We didn’t really have particularly a great launch so yeah, I couldn’t really do anything there but then yeah, it was a good fight into Turn One with Lewis. Managed to keep it on the kerb as well, so didn’t have to give the position back like in Bahrain. From there it was just super-close between the three of us. I tried to attack Valtteri but all the time I could not get close enough in those last two corners and then the run onto the straight. By pushing I had a little wobble but I didn’t really lose-out a lot from that. And then Lewis was already super-close behind and he got me into Turn One and then, of course, Lewis was putting the pressure on Valtteri and I just could not stay close to Lewis for that, to also pick up the DRS. But yeah, it was close. I just tried to put the pressure on and, of course, Lewis cleared Valtteri and then I was, I don’t know for how many laps, in Valtteri’s DRS. It was incredible – but it was good. It felt a bit more like… not flat-out racing but at least a bit more than continuously tyre saving. So, yeah, it was nice.

    Q: As you say, you spent a lot of time on a Mercedes gearbox today. Tell us about the relative pace of your car and there car. Where was the Mercedes better, where were you better?

    MV: To be honest, it depends a bit and it’s difficult to tell when you are so close because you anyway lose a lot of downforce. For me, I think the whole weekend we haven’t been really satisfied with the grip in general, the car. Last year this was a very difficult weekend for us and it seemed like it’s still not great for us. Let’s say it like that. It’s a bit difficult to judge, to be honest. I prefer to wait again to Barcelona and see how the progression from the beginning of the season to that track will be. This is a bit of an odd weekend in terms of grip – but clearly we still have to improve and do better because we should be fastest on every single track and in every single condition – because the track is the same for everyone. Still, second place, pretty happy with that. Good fights on the track, also with Valtteri afterwards, after the pit stop. It was quite close in Turn 4, because I washed out a bit but yeah, it was quite a decent race.

    Q: Can we just get your thoughts on that gap to Lewis in the Championship? Just eight points.

    MV: Yeah it’s close. I wish it was closer! It’s a long season and we can’t afford to have any retirement or silly mistakes so we just have to keep on doing what we’re doing.

    Q: Valtteri, well done, podium number 58 today. How would you sum-up today’s race?

    VB: Disappointing. When you start from the pole position, you have only one target for the race and that is to win the race. It didn’t happen today so I’m disappointed – but I don’t really know why in the first stint I didn’t really have the pace. I mean, I felt everything in terms of the race start, the restart, everything was good from my side but I could see quite early on in the race that, with the Mediums, I just didn’t have pace like Lewis and Max had. I have no idea way. I don’t have the explanation. It was better on the Hard tyre and at some point I was catching Max and then I had an issue with one sensor that, I started to lose power and then I lost like five seconds to Max and that was it.

    Q: Did the car feel immediately better on the Hard tyre?

    VB: Not on the first lap. It was really bad but we know the warm-up today with the Hard tyre was going to be tricky. Afterwards, once I got heat in the tyres, it was actually not bad and better than with the Medium. Yeah, lots of things to look at, to analyse and learn from in the next two days before starting to focus for the next race.

    Q: There was some encouragement over the radio mid-race from Toto Wolff. Is it slightly unusual for him to do that?

    VB: No, it’s not. There’s been many times that he’s, you know, opened the radio to say something. It’s all supportive and it shows there’s the support and the passion behind – and it never hurts. Obviously I’m always giving it every single bit I have on track. But yeah, it’s good.

    VIDEO CONFERENCE

    Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, first of all, congratulations on the win. I wonder if you can please talk us through the phase of the race just after the restart when you were behind Max and Valtteri. Were you just hanging back to see what was going to happen with the tyres and how they were going to progress ahead of you as well, or were you pushing flat-out throughout, as Max suggested earlier. Thank you.

    LH: Thank you. No, I think Max was super-fast on that restart and there was a moment I think we were all very, very close. I fell back, maybe a second or something like that and I needed to get closer but for a moment there was far too big a gap. I wasn’t in the DRS, and I just had to gather my thoughts and made a couple of tweaks in terms of how I was driving and then start on the attack again. Once I did, obviously I got closer and Max, I think, had a small mistake which then put me in a nice position out of Turn 5 and then I just needed to keep that gap through the rest of the lap and that was where I was able to get past him. Then, after that, was just focussing on bridging the gap between myself and Valtteri, who was very quick out of the last corner.  

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Lewis, two part question for you: one is we’ve seen this a number of times with you now where you are able to follow really closely behind other drivers for a period of laps and still keep the tyres in decent condition and then pull off an overtake. I’d like to ask you how you do that? And secondly, just how energised are you by this close fight you’re having with Max for the championship, and that one’s for Max as well?

    LH: Well firstly, yes, massively excited and driven – I think we all are, as a team – to be in the fight with Red Bull. This weekend, I think, I feel like maybe Red Bull lost a little bit of performance this weekend, because I don’t think we improved but from the last race to here I think they took a sidestep closer to us this weekend, for whatever reasons. But this is great, this is what we all live for, we live and breathe for, to get up and fight and try and pull out the smallest bits of performance to be able to fight a great competitor. With the tyres, it’s really… I guess it’s just knowledge of the tyres, really and knowing which ones you can lean on and where you can… I can’t really say too much, to be honest. I think everyone was pushing and they put on their tyres. I think I just managed to get the balance pretty sweet, better for the race than it was for qualifying.

    Q: Is it different with the new constructions this year?

    LH: It’s a little bit different. The tyre is slightly different and so there’s a slightly different approach in terms of how you treat the tyres but it’s not a massive different, people wouldn’t notice otherwise normally, but here, this track, there’s not a huge amount of grip and you’ve got the hardest compounds but being that they are the hardest compounds means that they can do the race distance and there’s not a huge amount of wear, so you can push every single lap and I think that’s great, because there are races we’ve been in in the past where we have to do a lot of lift and coasts, slow down to make the tyre go the distance because the pit lane is so long. So I think it was the right tyre for this weekend.

    MV: Yeah, I think it’s what everyone wants to see but of course what I want as well, because the last few years we have not been close enough so it’s a good start to the season, that’s for sure and I hope it can be like this for the rest of the season because it keeps everyone excited.

    Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis and Max, Nico Rosberg called Lewis’s drive phenomenal today and said that now Max is starting to get a better understanding of how good Lewis is, so I just guess following on from that, Lewis, how good was your performance today? Was it a big statement of intent for the championship in terms of you passed Max and Valtteri on track and I guess to Max, are you now beginning to understand how good Lewis is given that you’re racing him so closely every weekend?

    LH: I think none of us here are under any illusion of just how hard it is out there for us, how close the battle is and how… we’re all giving absolutely everything in our day-to-day lives in order to be best prepared and deliver at the weekends. The pressure is immense between us all and I think there’s a huge amount of respect between the three of us and obviously with the other drivers here. Of course, it’s always great when you have a race like today where you’re able to follow and overtake and capitalise on the small margins and gaps that have but at the same time, look at the restart. Max had been pulling absolutely everything out of the Red Bull and given us a great run for our money so I think it’s going to be like this for the rest of the season, which I think can be incredibly exciting.

    MV: Yeah, I don’t need Nico to make me realise how good Lewis is. I know he’s very good, otherwise you don’t win so many championships.

    Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Max and Lewis: you’ve had a wheel-to-wheel fight in all three of the races this year, which is great because it’s quite rare in Formula 1 so 100% of those battles. How have you seen those battles in particular, how much are you enjoying them? They seem forceful but fair from both of you so far. Do you think that’s sustainable, especially as we could have, at this rate, another twenty of those battles this year?

    MV: Yeah, it’s been really cool, especially when you race a driver, when you know that you can go to the absolute limit, I guess you can trust each other to just race super-hard. I think that’s always really nice because you can see the in the three races we’ve had we haven’t really… well, we gave each… how you say? It’s been really close to each other but predictable. Lewis has never had something like ‘oh, we’re going to crash’ or something. I always have full trust in Lewis that we all give each other enough space.

    LH: Yeah, I just second that. I think it is naturally down to respect and I think both very, very hard but fair and I think that’s what makes great racing and great racing drivers and I think we will continue to keep it clean and keep it on the edge but I don’t think either of us has a plan to get any closer than we have been.

    Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Another question to Lewis: how do you feel about Max and Valtteri being able to stop at the end of the race to chase the fastest lap point? Before they did that, you were ahead of them. I think Perez may have ended up with the fastest lap anyway but you had much more to lose if you’d come in and the pit stop had gone wrong so how did that go?

    LH: Yeah, I think… you came in first, right?

    VB: Max came first, I think. Did you? I don’t know.

    MV: No, I think you pitted before me, one lap…

    LH: Otherwise you wouldn’t have pitted. Yeah, I think, for me, I’ve come from third place so for me it was a solid job and there are days when it’s necessary to take the extra risk to take the extra lap but today wasn’t one of those. I think it was just about making sure we finished strong and bag the points, you know, because every point does count but I’d heard that Valtteri had stopped and then I heard that Max had stopped so it was going to be close between the two. At the time, Max had obviously got the point, which takes a little bit off the great result that we had but obviously it didn’t turn out in the end.

    Ends

  • It feels like it has been a while; so it’s a good feeling to be on pole: Bottas

    It feels like it has been a while; so it’s a good feeling to be on pole: Bottas

    DRIVERS: 1 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes) ; 2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes); 3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Paul Di Resta) 

    Q: Max, I know you’re not going to be happy with that, you’re lining up P3. You actually set the quickest lap time of that session but you got track limits. Tell me from your point of view?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, the whole qualifying was very difficult to drive, I was struggling a lot with grip. That first lap in Q3 was decent but I just had a big moment in four and went a little off track. I was quite confident we could do another good lap but in the last sector there was a car in front in the last two corners and it just disturbs you, especially with the low grip we already have and the tough wind out here. Basically, it cost me a lot of lap time but it is what it is. 

    Q: It’s a tricky one with strategy – some guys going for that extra warm-up, but you could nail it. Looking ahead to tomorrow do you think you have got a car that you can fight these two Mercedes up front? 

    MV: Yeah, it’s of course not ideal. We’ll try to fight them tomorrow in the race, see what we can do. Hopefully everything stabilises a bit more because up until now it has not been a lot of fun to drive here. 

    Q: Valtteri, if you ever needed a confidence booster that was what was going to nail it. Lining up P1 tomorrow and replicating last year? 

    Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s a good feeling to be on pole. It feels like it has been a while. It was nice to get a good qualifying. It’s been the weak point for me in the first two races getting the tyres to work but again this weekend we have been working hard and it’s nice to see it’s paying off, which means a good position for tomorrow. 

    Q: Completely different tyres for you guys at the end there. Did the conditions go away? You weren’t able to improve on your first run?  

    VB: Yeah, the whole weekend there has been a so-so feeling with the soft tyres. It’s been feeling better with the mediums. Last year we put the medium tyre at the end of the qualifying and it worked  and we tried it again but maybe the wind picked up in the last run and I couldn’t get temperature into them. I’m glad that we still had a good result obviously. Tomorrow, starting with the medium tyre I think it’s good. It opens up… it means we can go as long as we want in the first stint. 

    Q: What’s the plan for tomorrow? 

    VB: We need to focus on the race start and go from there. You know what the plan is.

    Q: Lewis, an exceptional lap from you in Q2 and then the conditions went a bit away from you, but you’re lining up on the front row and ahead of Max and I guess that’s the important bit?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, great job by Valtteri and a great job by the team for us to be on the front row, it was definitely not expected this weekend. We have got to be happy with that. Max obviously pulled something out towards the end. Not really sure where they were early on. Not the perfect lap, but I gave it everything. 

    Q: Are you satisfied with the way the team is moving forward, allowing you to have the car to keep competing against Max. Obviously Red Bull aren’t going to give you a breath?

    LH: I don’t think we can ever be satisfied. That’s what we exist to do is to continue to push forward. I’m definitely happy with the work that we are doing and the steps we are taking.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Valtteri, many congratulations, superb pole position for you. First, just how sweet does this feel? 

    VB: Thank you. Definitely it put a smile on my face because in the first two races of the season the qualifying from my side, at least the Q3 session, hasn’t been the strong point. Getting everything out of the tyres and getting the tyres to work well has been a bit of a weakness but now it felt like things were starting to go in the right direction. I’ve been feeling strong all weekend, so I knew it was possible and it definitely makes me really happy to put it together in Q3 and be on pole and as a team as well, with the pressure and the battle from Red Bull it’s good to be ahead. 

    Q: After the frustrations of Bahrain and Imola, what’s been the breakthrough for you over one lap?

    VB: Just getting Q3 right. I would say tyres preparation, out laps and looking at those things, because it’s so much about tyres and yeah also trusting your own work and your set-up direction and everything, so yeah… 

    Q: Looking ahead to the grand prix, how fast is your race car over longer runs? 

    VB: It didn’t seem to bad on Friday but it’s always Friday. We will truly see in the race how the tyres behave, if there are going to be any gaining issues and I reckon it’s going to be a tough battle with Red Bull no doubt. 

    Q: Lewis, such fine margins today. Can you just start by talking us through your session please? 

    LH: It was a difficult session, I think, for everyone. It’s not that easy here, particular as it’s windy and it’s quite slippery on this surface. So, I think it was challenging for everyone. Quite a messy session really, for me. Q1 wasn’t good, Q2 I only had one good lap and I would say in the whole session generally I only had that one lap. Q3 was pretty poor also. Valtteri did a great job, given the conditions that we’re in. 

    Q: What about the decision to run the medium tyre for your final run of Q3. You’d been so fast on that rubber in Q2, where did the lap-time slip away?

    LH: I don’t think it was… it probably wasn’t the right decision at the end but it was just tricky out there. You saw us having to do multiple laps. The tyres are too hard here, so they don’t work very well with the surface so we have to do extra laps to get temperature in and at the end, just didn’t have very great grip, so didn’t do the greatest job. 

    Q: And did the wind change, towards the end of the session. 

    LH: Not that I know of. 

    Q: Max, coming to you, it was a tough session for you and Red Bull. First up, how frustrated do you feel immediately after the session?

    MV: It has been a bit hit-and-miss anyway, the whole weekend, where we’re struggling a lot to find a balance. I didn’t enjoy one single lap this weekend, just because of the state of the track. The layout is amazing but grip we are experiencing, I don’t think it’s nice. I know it’s the same for everyone, but for me personally, it’s not enjoyable to drive. But then, I started off in qualifying really slow. I had no balance in the car. We slowly got to a point where I was happier but it was basically just compromising one thing and then also losing a bit of performance in the other thing – so it was just not nice. And then I had my little moment in Turn 4 on the first run in Q3. At the end it showed that was the fastest lap, but… it just showed that it was a really difficult session to get any kind of grip in it because that corner is flat and suddenly, out-of-the-blue the car just snapped on me and I ran a bit wide. And then, I thought, you know, I can do that lap again, so I go out and I was within a tenth of the lap and in the last sector I lost all my lap time. An Aston Martin in front and then taking my tow on the line as well. Yeah, messy – but it is what it is. 

    Q: What about the long-run pace of the car. Do you think you’ll be more competitive tomorrow in the race?

    MV: Yeah, it’s in the right… we’ll see tomorrow what we can do. It’s not so easy to follow here but if we have good pace then for sure we’ll put the pressure on. 

    VIDEO CONFERENCE

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) Max, just to pick up on what you were saying there about not being enjoyable here. Is this something you expected pre-weekend, given obviously the difficulties here last year – or is this come as a surprise, to struggle to this degree?

    MV: No. Basically I checked the MotoGP times and they were the same already. I know of course they have a little bit of a different front tyre but in general, yeah, just poor. I remember coming here last year, before grand prix and I was really… I mean honestly, top three of my favourite tracks, but then they change the tarmac and for me… yeah, I don’t enjoy it any more. 

    Q: (Jerome Pugmire – AP) Question for Valtteri. After what happened last week, today you seemed very calm, very Zen. What do you do during the week after that crash, the days after, to try to get in the right frame of mind again?

    VB: I don’t know how you can read that – I don’t look Zen! I don’t know. I didn’t do anything too different to normal. Race analysis. Obviously we were testing still. Lewis was in the car on Tuesday after the race, I was on Wednesday. Got home Wednesday night and did my things and had a good weekend. And yeah, went to the factory preparing for this weekend in the simulator, etcetera. If you talk about mentally, I took all the learning points, and there were a lot of lessons from the last race, as always. Took those. The rest that I should forget, I completely moved aside and forgot those and moved on. Yeah, I know that always hard work will pay off and that’s what I’ve been telling my team as well. It’s only Saturday and I always knew it’s possible with a good quali and yeah, we’ll see tomorrow. Tomorrow’s the day that matters. 

    Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Lewis, you did that blistering lap in Q2. Can you talk through what it was that was different in Q3 that meant that you couldn’t do that? Was it the wind, was it tyre temperatures, was it a combination of all of those? Was it mistakes, was it just the low grip surface as Max said, and is there something about the new tyres this year that you’re all finding particularly awkward? Are they even more difficult to get on top of them than they were last year? 

    LH: I don’t think they’re any more difficult than the previous year’s tyres. I think last year here we were faced with the same issue of a very peaky grip and very narrow grip window and I think that’s really the case today. It felt quite good in P3 today and as I said, on that Q2 lap, it felt solid and I thought we were in the right window but it’s temperatures, there are gusts of wind so you can be unlucky and get tailwinds that perhaps you wouldn’t normally get on particular corners. So it’s a combination of things and then just generally just not particularly the tidiest – not great laps from myself really so I only had that one in Q2. 

    Q: (Luke Smith – Autosport) Valtteri, you spoke after Imola about your struggles with tyre warm-up with the car this year. Obviously that’s something very important this weekend with the track. Do you feel you’ve made a big breakthrough with tyre warm-up? Do you feel you’ve really got to the bottom of the issues now? 

    VB: I think it’s always the track-dependent, tyre compound-dependent, but it’s something that we really paid extra focus on since the last race and I think there were many good lessons that we could take from Imola and put those into use. It felt like the pole lap itself the tyres were working fine so that’s good, but what was a bit disappointing at the end with the medium, that we didn’t quite get those to work as we wanted. I think there would have been a bit more to come but yeah, I think we made progress with that and we will keep doing so. 

    Q: (Alex Kalinauckas – Autosport) Lewis, bit of a random one, but just looking back to the 2020 race here, you mentioned having to lift off several times because you were getting cramp towards the closing stages. Will you be doing anything different in terms of your preparation tomorrow with that in mind, or was it just a one-off? 

    LH: Er, yeah, no, I’m in a different place now physically so I should be good. 

    Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) You had the chance to ride a MotoGP bike in Valencia last year. Can you imagine riding a MotoGP bike around this track and if you could choose a Formula 1 track to ride a MotoGP bike on, what would you choose? 

    LH: I wouldn’t want to ride one round here, because there’s no grip. You’d take off over some of these humps, you know. Coming out of Turn 15 and onto the straight at 1… something you would probably take off. I don’t fancy that. In terms of what track I would like to have a go on… 

    MV: Monaco!

    LH: No… where could be good? 

    MV: Austin? 

    LH: Austin maybe, yeah. 

    MV: It’s nice and heavy. 

    LH: It could be quite cool, a cool circuit to ride on. 

    Q: (Scott Mitchell – The Race) To the Mercedes drivers: just to pick up on what Max was saying about enjoying this track less. I know that when you guys went back to Turkey last year, the surface there sparked a bit of criticism because the track wasn’t as enjoyable to drive. Is it the same here for you? Do you feel that this experience here is lessened by the grip that’s available on the surface? 

    VB: I really like the layout. I think it’s cool and I always like the elevation changes. It brings a bit of character, all kinds of different types of corners, so that’s good but yeah, it is low, extremely low grip, it makes it more tricky and for sure a bit less enjoyable than if it would be a quicker tarmac, but it’s the tarmac and it’s the same for everyone. You have to try and make the most out of it. 

    LH: I don’t really understand what they do to make it worse but Turkey used to have good grip and obviously the last time we went there we had none and we’re finding we’re going to more and more circuits that seem to be changing the tarmac that they’re using. It’s not that great when we’re struggling for grip; it means it’s harder then to follow and so then it has that knock-on effect so we should ask for the good stuff back. 

    VB: Like in Imola…

    MV: I don’t even want to think about Turkey because probably that will be…

    LH: It’s going to be horrendous.