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Tag: Valtteri Bottas
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Bottas tops Mercedes 1-2 in FP2: Brazilian GP
Bottas tops FP2. An FIA image Sao Paulo, Interlagos (Brazil), 9 Nov 2018: Valtteri Bottas led a Mercedes one-two in second practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix, finishing just three thousandths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the Mercedes’ closest challenger finishing seven hundredths of a second behind champion Hamilton in the Frec Practice of Brazilian Grand Prix of the FIA Formula One World Championship on Friday.
Bottas set his session-best time just after the session was a third of the way through. After early laps on soft tyres, Bottas followed Vettel out on track on supersofts.
Both backed off on their initial flyers and went for a second attempt, with Vettel initially claiming top spot with his lap of 1:08.919. Bottas was close behind, however, and he took over at the top moments later when he crossed the line in 1:08.846.
Hamilton emerged on supersofts on the 40-minute mark, and despite setting the fastest first and third sector time, the champion lost out to his team-mate in the more technical middle sector and this finished in P2 with a best time of 1:0.8.849.
With Vettel third, fourth place in the session went to Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, who finished 0.3s behind Bottas but 0.175 ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen, who spent much of the session in the garage with a suspected oil leak on his car.
Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen took sixth place ahead of Romain Grosjean, with the Haas driver repeating his morning efforts by finish in a best-of-the rest seventh place.
The French driver finished 0.174s ahead of Sauber’s Charles Leclerc by 0.174s, who edged second Haas driver Kevin Magnussen by 0.064s. Tenth place in the session went to Esteban Ocon of Racing Point Force India, who finished 1.313 off Bottas.
There was trouble in the session for Nico Hulkenberg. The Renault driver crashed out nine minutes into the session, spinning into the barriers when he dropped a right-front wheel onto the grass on the exit of Turn 14. The German driver damaged both ends of his car in the incident and he played no further part in the session.
2018 Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix – Free Practice 2
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 48 1:08.846
2 Lewis Hamilton 43 1:08.849 0.003
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 42 1:08.919 0.073
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 44 1:09.164 0.318
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 28 1:09.339 0.493
6 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 42 1:09.412 0.566
7 Romain Grosjean Haas 44 1:09.769 0.923
8 Charles Leclerc Sauber 44 1:09.943 1.097
9 Kevin Magnussen Haas 39 1:10.007 1.161
10 Esteban Ocon Force India 45 1:10.159 1.313
11 Sergio Perez Force India 23 1:10.320 1.474
12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 44 1:10.330 1.484
13 Fernando Alonso McLaren 36 1:10.332 1.486
14 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 48 1:10.458 1.612
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 44 1:10.532 1.686
16 Sergey Sirotkin Mercedes 46 1:10.569 1.723
17 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 26 1:10.596 1.750
18 Lance Stroll Williams 44 1:10.662 1.816
19 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 46 1:10.734 1.888
20 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 6 1:11.674 2.828 -
It’s a victory on my list of wins that I am least proud of: Hamilton
Sochi, 30 Sept. 2018: It was a team decision that Valtteri Bottas should allow Hamilton to pass him and win and realising that maximising team’s interests is of utmost importance and with no chance of a championship title, Bottas bowed to the decision. But the celebrations were low key and somewhere it feels something is wrong. Here are the team quotes from Mercedes team;
Lewis Hamilton
Valtteri was an incredible gentleman today. Honestly, it’s the strangest day I can remember having in the sport in my career. I remember, we have crossed this situation and discussion before. It’s always felt super uncomfortable, I was like ‘Look, I want to win the right way’, that’s always how it is for me. I would say ‘Look, as racing drivers we exist to win, and if you tell us we can’t win, it’s like you are taking our air away, our life away’. It’s that deep. I would never wish it upon anyone else and would never ask for it, ever. I made sure when we were in a meeting before, I was like ‘Just so you know, I’ve never gone to Toto and those guys, this is not how I want to win’. Obviously, the team took the decision when they saw that my tyres were blistered and Vettel was charging from behind. There are stronger heads in the team who are like ‘We have to win, it’s all about the win. We have got to win both Championships, we don’t care who finishes ahead’. I think ultimately, it’s really important right this second to first acknowledge Valtteri, because as I said he was just the ultimate gentleman. It is very weird to feel down but we’ve also got to feel grateful to the guys back at the factory. So many people are working flat-out to make sure we have a 1-2 like this, the team have just done an incredible job this weekend. We have to really embrace the moment still, but it’s definitely a victory on my list of wins that I am least proud of.Valtteri Bottas
It’s been a tough day. We got a good result for us as a team with maximum points, but for me personally it was a difficult race. Although I already understand the situation. If you put yourself in the team leader’s shoes, for them it doesn’t matter if it is me or Lewis winning, as long as we are 1-2 we get the maximum points. For the end of the year, it’s only Lewis fighting for the Championship, I am not. So, for the team, it is always better that Lewis wins – that’s how it goes. It is not ideal for me as an athlete and a person, but that is a fact. We are playing as a team and I am prepared to play as a team. I took one for the team today, I will take one for the team tomorrow. That’s how it goes, but I am also looking forward to next year, starting a new season. I know that today I was supposed to win and I could’ve won the race on equal terms. I know myself I am the winner of this weekend. I don’t have the trophy but it doesn’t matter. That’s how it is and I move on.Toto Wolff
We are all racers at heart and what we want to see is out and out racing and may the quickest man win. But then we are a bunch of rational guys – we discuss things in the morning and then everything is different in the race. This is what happened today. We should be over the moon with a 1-2 and fundamentally we are. But we also feel that it went against Valtteri – it would have been a race win for him and we changed it. Valtteri is such a tremendous team player, but it’s deflating for a driver and deflating for a team. We discussed who to pit first and then we did it with Vatteri because that would protect his win. It was one lap too late with Lewis and he lost the position to Sebastian. This triggered this mess because Lewis came out behind Sebastian and then needed to attack. That caused the blister and we needed to protect when Sebastian was all over Lewis on damaged tyres. Lewis was far back, but when we told Valtteri to switch position at Turn 13, he did it immediately. This is who you want to have within the team because you need to rely on these guys in the same way they rely on us. This is what makes it feel even worse. But there is a harsh reality also that on such a day you can extend the lead by several points more in a Championship that has been very tough and very difficult at times. Sometimes you have to take it and this is what we did today. We finished 1-2, we have a 50 point advantage and that feels good on a day that has otherwise been very difficult.James Allison
After the margin of yesterday’s Qualifying that was a really, really tough race. The pace of the Ferrari put us under pressure all the way through the first stint and we rather fumbled things as a consequence, allowing us to lose the place to Sebastian at the first stop. Lewis spared our blushes with a beautiful overtaking move and put thing back on an even keel for us. But a little later in the race we got into a degree of difficulty once again when Lewis followed Valtteri quite closely from behind, damaging his rear tyres. At that point we were fearful of losing a position to a hard-charging Vettel. With Valtteri in front and on rubber that was working well, we took the very difficult decision to allow Lewis to go in front and have a car with good rubber protecting the 1-2 that would come our way if we would just look after the tyres to the finish. And that’s what happened in the end, we managed to get the 1-2, but it was a desperately difficult day for Valtteri. He took this disappointment like a Trojan, but I could see standing net to him on the podium looking into his eyes that it was hurting him. Valtteri is a brilliant teammate and a racer of real quality who had the pace to win today and who will have much better days ahead – and here’s to that! -
Bottas takes pole ahead of Hamilton and Vettel
Valtteri Bottas, centre, takes pole on Saturday. An FIA image Sochi, 29 Sept. 2018: Valtteri Bottas claimed the sixth pole position of his career and his first since the Austrian Grand Prix in July beating Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton to the front of the grid by 0.145s in the Russian Grand Prix, the16th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship here on Saturday.
Title contender Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, was forced to settle for third place and the second row of the Sochi Autodrom grid, where he will be joined by team-mate Kimi Räikkönen. Both Ferraris were more than half a second off the pace of Bottas.
“It feels good,” said Bottas, who took his maiden F1 win in Sochi in 2017. “I’ve only once on pole, earlier this year in Austria, so it’s been a bit long since last time, so it is a good feeling.
“Coming into this weekend I knew that normally this has been a pretty good track for me and again managed to get some good laps in qualifying and the car just felt really, really strong.”
The session was dominated by Mercedes from the start. In Q1, Hamilton ran half a second ahead of Bottas and almost a second ahead of Vettel and Raikkonen as the segment entered its final minutes.
The Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo then appeared and both quickly made their way to the sharp end of the order, with Verstappen eventually claiming P3 just ahead of Ricciardo. Vettel and Raikkonen finished fourth and fifth.
In the drop zone and eliminated at the end of the session were Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley in 16th place, followed by McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, who spun on his final lap, the second McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne and second Williams driver Lance Stroll.
Hamilton was again to the fore in the second segement, a time of 1:32.595, once more putting him ahead of his team-mate. Vettel again slotted into third place ahead of Räikkönen, with both Ferrari drivers four tenths of a second off the pace of Mercedes’ quickest man.
Further down the order, five drivers elected to sit out the session, with Red Bull’s Verstappen and Ricciardo, Renault’s Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg, and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly all remaining garage bound throughout. Red Bull, Toro Rosso and McLaren are facing heavy grid penalties for tomorrow’s race.
Their inactivity led to the strange situation that the top 10 on the timesheet after the opening runs were assured of progression to Q3 and would not need to run. Nevertheless a number of teams took to the track in the closing stages of Q2, including Mercedes and Ferrari. However, the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers backed out of final runs on hypersofts and so will start on the ultrasoft tyres used in their opening Q2 runs.
In Q3, Hamilton’s dominance of the session came to an end. Bottas seized the initiative, setting an opening time of 1:31.528. The lap left him 0.004s up on Hamilton. Ferrari were again some way back, with Vettel 0.639s off Bottas in third and Räikkönen another tenth back in fourth. Force India’s Esteban Ocon was fifth, just 0.006s of a second ahead of Sauber’s Charles Leclerc.
And in the final runs Bottas held his nerve to claim a sixth career pole position. First across the line, the Finn improved to a time of 1:31.387. Behind him on track, Hamilton was quicker through the first sector, but he then made a mistake, running wide in Turn 7. With too much time lost, Hamilton abandoned his lap and handed top spot to his team-mate.
Vettel took third, half a second adrift of Bottas, while Räikkönen is set to line up in fourth place.
Haas’ Kevin Magnussen put in an impressive final lap to claim best-of-the-rest status at the front of row three, with Ocon sixth ahead of Leclerc, Sergio Perez of Force India, the second Haas of Romain Grosjean and the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson.
2018 Formula 1 Russian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:31.387
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.532
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:31.943
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:32.237
5 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1m33.181
6 Esteban Ocon Racing Point Force India 1:33.413
7 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:33.419
8 Sergio Perez Racing Point Force India 1:33.563
9 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:33.704
11 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing –
12 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing –
13 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso –
14 Carlos Sainz Renault –
15 Nico Hulkenberg Renault –
16 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:35.037
17 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:35.504
18 Sergey Sirotkin McLaren 1:35.612
19 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:35.977
20 Lance Stroll Williams 1:36.437 -
Bottas takes pole ahead of Hamilton and Vettel
Bottas after taking Austrian GP pole. An FIA image. Spielberg, 30 June 2018: Valtteri Bottas edged out teammate Lewis Hamilton by just under two-hundredths of a second to take his second consecutive Austrian GP pole position and the fifth pole of his career in a tight qualifying session at the at the Red Bull Ring in the Austrian Grand Prix, the ninth round of the Formula One World Championship here on Saturday. Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari ahead of teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
The first qualifying session (Q1) saw Mercedes quickly to the fore with Hamilton and Bottas trading times on ultrasoft tyres before Hamilton settled into P1 with a time of 1:04.080, just under a tenth of a second ahead of his team-mate. Kimi Räikkönen was third ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on supersoft tyres. Vettel also opened his session with runs on supersoft tyres to sit in fifth place ahead of the final runs with a time of 1:04.347.
In the final runs Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull opted to remains in their garages, which allowed Haas’ Romain Grosjean to jump ahead of Verstappen and Vettel, and that left the action to focus on the drop zone where Williams’ Lance Stroll made a last-minute escape, vaulting from P17 to P15 with a lap of 1:05.264. That put him 0.007s ahead of McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne. The Belgian dropped to 16th and out of the session ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez, Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin, Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley, and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson.
In the second session Mercedes’ drivers went out on supersoft tyres and Bottas became the first man to dip below the 1m04s mark with a lap of 1:03.756 that put him into P1.
He was soon quickly usurped by Hamilton, however, with the championship leader taking P1 with a time of 1:03.577.
This time Ferrari opted to run on ultrasoft tyres and Vettel took P3 ahead of Räikkönen. Verstappen was fifth, also on supersofts, but it was a trickier opening run for team-mate Ricciardo. He was only 11th after his first flier and second run on the red-banded Pirellis. A second lap boosted him to P9 but with just over three-tenths of a second separating him from P11 man Nico Hulkenberg the Australian would need to run again.
He opted for another go on the spersoft tyres and this time he found time, posting a lap of 1:04.403 that was good enough for P8 over four tenths clear of Force India’s Esteban Ocon who was eliminated in P11 ahead of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Stroll.
Leclerc also faces a five-place grid drop for tomorrow’s race following a post-FP3 gearbox change.
At the top of the order, Hamilton was displaced in the final runs by Vettel, who set a time of 1:03.544 on ultrasoft tyres. Second-placed Hamilton was followed by Bottas, Raikkonen, and Verstappen. Haas’s good form continued with Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen sixth and seventh ahead of Ricciardo and the Renaults of Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg.
In the first runs of Q3 Valtteri claimed provisional pole with a time of 1:03.264 as mistakes from both Hamilton and Vettel compromised their laps. Behind him, Hamilton sat second ahead of Räikkönen with hard-charging Romain Grosjean slotting into an impressive fourth for Haas as Vettel languished in seventh behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.
In the final runs it looked like Hamilton and Vettel would put heavy pressure on Bottas as they both began their runs well, but the Finn was untouchable and he found just enough time to set a time of 1:03.130 to take a second consecutive Austrian Grand Prix pole position 0.019s clear of Hamilton and three tenths up on Vettel.
Räikkönen qualified in fourth place, while Verstappen’s final lap was good enough to push Grosjean to sixth, with Ricciardo seventh. Kevin Magnussen was eighth on a good afternoon for Haas, with the Renault’s of Sainz and Hulkenberg in ninth and tenth respectively.
Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifying
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:03.130
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:03.149 0.019
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:03.464 0.334
4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:03.660 0.530
5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:03.840 0.710
6 Romain Grosjean Haas Racing 1:03.892 0.762
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:03.996 0.866
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:04.051 0.921
9 Carlos Sainz Renault 1:04.725 1.595
10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:05.019 1.889
11 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:04.845 1.715
12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:04.874 1.744
13 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:04.979 1.849
14 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:05.058 1.928
15 Lance Stroll Williams 1:05.286 2.156
16 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:05.271 2.141
17 Sergio Perez Force India 1:05.279 2.149
18 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:05.322 2.192
19 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:05.366 2.236
20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:05.479 2.349. -
No need to be a hero on Turn 1, I just need a good start, says Bottas after taking pole
Assen, 30 June 2018: Valtteri Bottas put his Mercedes on pole ahead of reigning world champion and teammate Lewis Hamilton and title-contender Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari will start in P2. After the qualifying session the top three drivers attended the mandatory FIA press conference.
Transcript: Track Interviews conducted by Mark Webber
Q: Sebastian it was a tough first lap for you. You’re on the second row. How did it go for you?
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, as you said, it’s not easy to put it together. I had a mistake on the first lap. I know I need to put a banker in to make safe that I qualify in a proper position, so I think there was a little bit left but arguably not enough to really pip Valtteri for pole, so well done to him, I think he put two very good laps in. And yeah, I think we have a good chance from P3 tomorrow.
Q: Good luck buddy. Over to Lewis – that looked like a bit of a recovery job too. Turn 2 on the first lap looked like a bit of a moment and then a stunning second lap and it was really tight with Valtteri. Good recovery, mate.
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, not too bad I’m happy with it. Valtteri did a stunning lap on the first run and I had a bit of a mistake and that kind of ended the run. But I’m really happy with the second one and this is a great result for the team and Valtteri deserved today.
Q: Have a good one tomorrow, mate. And Valtteri, well done, listen to the fans here, they’re pretty pumped up for you buddy. Your first lap was sensational, your second lap to find another tenth at that level. You can see what it means to these two guys. It was an incredible combination of those two laps. I know how hard that is. Run us through your session buddy?
Valtteri Bottas: Yeah, the whole weekend we have been making good progress with the set-up. We had the new bits this weekend for the car. There’s been some work to get the car well balanced with those and finally we did and the car felt so good. In the last run I knew that there was a tenth or so I could improve from the first run and I managed to find it. Apparently I needed it!
Q: You looked at one with the car, there’s no question about it. For tomorrow’s race, I mean I don’t want a start like you did last year – that looked a bit tricky in terms of almost jumping the start. So you’re on pole, you’ve got to get a beautiful start again and try to control the grand prix from there I imagination?
VB: Yeah, you just need a good clean start, nothing amazing, no need to be a hero in Turn 1, and then go for it. I can guarantee I’m more hungry for the win than anyone on the grid, so I’m really ready for it.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Valtteri, your first pole position of the season and you pulled out a great first lap in Q3. How good was that to set up your final attempt to secure pole?
VB: Yeah, thank you. For sure, here it’s a short circuit and that’s why we normally see quite small gaps. It’s actually not an easy circuit to get everything right, even though there’s only seven proper corners for us, but it’s quite easy to make a mistake, so getting that first run, a nice lap on that one, it helps. I could kind of build on that for the second run and improve on it.
Q: Congratulations. Lewis, you said on the grid yourself that you made a bit of an error, I think at Turn 3 on your first run in Q3, so how much margin did you have to leave on your second lap to get a time in?
LH: Well, firstly congratulations to Valtteri, he did a fantastic job and ultimately he deserved the pole today. It had gone relatively well through the weekend, the pace was good, it was quite good throughout qualifying, it was obviously very close between us all. Right at the end I think I made a mistake on the first run and when you don’t have your first lap as a banker, you’re kind of building from scratch for the second one, so it always helps when you get a good first lap in because then you can try to improve on it the next time. But the next one was really good and obviously it was quite close between us, which I’m happy about and it’s still a one-two for the team and lots to play for tomorrow.
Q: Seb, we saw yesterday two one-two results for Mercedes in those practice sessions but then you were quickest in FP3 and in Q2, so do you think the margin to the front two in qualifying today is representative of Ferrari’s pace?
SV: I think so. Well, I think there was a little bit more in me, I mean I had a tough start in Q3 with an error, then it’s not that easy to recover because I knew I need to put a good lap in, otherwise I’ll start quite far back. Yeah, I don’t think it was enough pace in hand to be a threat today. I think we need to make sure we improve from where we are. It seems that in quali at least we are a little bit behind right now. I think the tracks we went to the last two weeks are quite different, so we need to make sure we keep pushing. For tomorrow though, I believe the car is stronger in relative pace for the race, so it should be a close fight. We’re starting again on different tyre compounds, so let’s see what we can do.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: Sebastian, during qualifying there was a small incident with Carlos Sainz Jr’s Renault. Could you just talk us through that from your point of view please.
SV: yeah, I mean I passed him on my fast lap in Turn seven/eight and then I was looking down and in the main straight I didn’t see him. I was turning into Turn One, trying again because I was thinking that he must be there somewhere. I don’t know if he was pitting or starting his lap – but as it turned out, obviously, he was trying to go for a fast lap, I couldn’t see him. I wasn’t told on the radio, so I can only apologise to him. Obviously, there was no intention. I was looking down the straight and then I turned around, Turn One, I was done with my lap and just wanted to make sure – and then when I was looking, there was again nothing to see after Turn One, which obviously, which was clear because in the replay I saw then that he was side-by-side. So, that’s it.
Q: Congratulations Valtteri. Do you think you need the same kind of mega-start like last year to win the race as well?
VB: I think it’s a relatively short run into Turn One so I think you need a normal start. Of course, you always try to get a good one – but I think to actually lose a position here or to gain, there needs to be quite a big difference with the starts. So, I’m aiming for a good start.
Q: Question for Seb. You mentioned that you have to catch up now because you have had two different tracks where you’ve been behind in qualifying. Do you have an idea where you lose the time? Is it cornering, long corners, braking, wherever?
SV: I think here’s very close anyway, so it’s not, y’know, that many corners. I think from what you’ve seen, we’re losing a little bit in sector one, and then mostly though in sector three, in which I think Mercedes is very competitive, very quick in the second turn – which I always mix up. Lauda? Berger? Berger? Lauda? I don’t know – Turn Seven. And then up the straight, so they appear to be able to carry more speed through there and then up the hill. I think that’s one of our main losses. I think the last two corners are not too bad but I think it’s the very high-speed Seven and Turn Nine, so the first one, the second last corner. It’s close. We’re not talking about much but obviously enough to get ahead.
Q: Sebastian, do you believe that Mercedes have made a great step forward with the new spec of the car, and on a more regular circuit like Silverstone for example, will we see this step forward by Mercedes even better? And will it mean that Ferrari must increase the development of their car from now?
SV: Well, obviously they have the exact numbers of what they expected and what was delivered. They obviously had some new parts here again, I think, so for us it was largely the same as last weekend but for sure, we are having our own schedule in terms of new bits and I think we are pushing as hard as we can but as I said, we also need to make sure that what we bring to the car is making it faster so it’s a constant challenge. For now, I think, the last two qualifying sessions Mercedes seemed to have the edge a little bit. It can turn around, the next two, who knows, so I think we need to look at ourselves? There’s always something you can learn from other people and what they put on the car, but that’s not just for Mercedes, that’s for all the teams. As I said, for tomorrow I’m less… not worried anyways, but less of the opinion that we are behind. I think we are more of a match in race pace, so let’s see what the day brings tomorrow.
Q: Valtteri, you talked through the importance of the banker first lap but just how good was the second lap for you and also how important was it to bounce back today like this after the latest bit of bad luck last weekend?
VB: Yeah, I think the first lap was really good but I think there was a tiny bit of track improvement for the second run. It’s always difficult to say how much but I think the second lap was very similar to the first one. I think I improved one tenth or so but yeah, I had some good laps in qualifying three so really enjoyed it and the car really allowed me to push. We’ve found a very good balance with the car so enjoyed it… and what was the second question?
Q: About the bad luck last week…
VB: Well yeah, for sure it’s nice to have a very good result but it’s only qualifying, the race is tomorrow but for sure we need to enjoy today a little bit but it’s tomorrow what counts.
Q: Lewis, how difficult is it to start on the front row when your teammate is in front of you?
LH: Obviously when you’re on the front row and you’re on your own and when you’re first you’ve got a clear view but it’s no different to being third or fourth, it’s the same.
Q: I think part of that question was relating to compared to maybe a rival team’s driver alongside you on the front row compared to Valtteri?
LH: No different. There’s no difference. Still racing.
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Canadian GP: Early sparks, but no fire as Vettel puts Ferrari ahead of Mercedes
Seb Vettel….in a league of his own in Montreal. Photo: Nico Marchand Montreal, 11 June 2018: Formula 1 suffered a back to back embarrassment with the Canadian GP failing to produce an iota of excitement
and followed in the footsteps of the Monaco chapter two weeks ago. The character of the circuits had nothing in common to cause this feeling of ennui.Team Scuderia Ferrari bulldozed it’s title contender Mercedes comprehensively with Vettel taking the lead authoritatively and never having to look in his mirrors all the way to the premature checkered flag at the 68th. That was about the only sense of excitement if at all.
Other than a sporadic clash for positions 12th downward, there wasn’t much to excite the enthusiastic spectators who arrived in full strength to witness an epic battle amongst the likes of the three – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. The DRS system took the day off and wasn’t summoned since no driver came within striking distance to put it to use and it basked in the fabulous weather that made it worth the while to watch the F1 train go round and round the famous Giles Villeneuve circuit!
The race had a promising start with Hartley and local hero Lance Stroll coming together spectacularly on lap 1 causing the safety car to control the proceedings for the initial 6 laps while the marshals and the wreckage retrieval crew cleaned up the mess . Once the SC exited the fans were buckling themselves for a ride of their lives that wasn’t to be sadly. Vettel’s domination was so emphatic that all Bottas could offer was a weak challenge whilst being threatened somewhat by Max Verstappen who thankfully decided to finish the event rather tamely for a change!
Huge crowds at the Giles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal. Photo: Nico Marchand Lewis Hamilton had a bad day at work with his engine malfunctioning and also having to employ incorrect tires which was a consequence of a choice made earlier on in the championship. That cost Mercedes dearly since this wiped out their name from the leader board in one event while handing over their arch-rivals Ferrari a slender one point lead at the end of it all. Anyway, it’s great for F1 to have a see-saw battle to keep the excitement however contrived it may be! When the behemoths eventually get their act together as the F1 juggernaut moves to Europe, the two back-to-back blah events will be consigned to history hopefully.
Sahara Force India didn’t have a great outing with Perez straying into the kitty litter thus pushing him down to 14th place from which he never recovered. Ocon was all set to put in another sterling drive until a messy pit stop put paid to his potentially top six finish but he yet picked up valuable points for his 9th place effort.
Rumours were flying thick and fast about the potential sale of his team to Rich Energy. These were denied vehemently by the team boss Mallya, but vaguely confirmed by a few in the know. We know that there is never smoke without a fire. Currently, the team is fairly valuable and time to cash in would be now! But Mallya’s passion for F1 may delay or deny the process for a while. After all he did build it to be a team to reckon with from a rather scrappy outfit that he inherited a decade ago.
Ricciardo should be content with his 4th place considering that his Renault engine was not putting out its best. Kimi had another pedestrian day at work. How long will be able to hang on to his precious seat is anyone’s guess! Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz played it sensibly and earned themselves some valuable points for their attempt with their 7th and 8th finishes for Renault . Alonso 300th race was done with an exhaust med problem . He must easily the most frustrated man in the paddock. After the top 6 finishers, the rest of the best finished over a lap down. Something’s don’t change, do they ?!!!!
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Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in a dominant victory; Perez takes 2 points
Hamilton celebrates with Verstappen (right) after winning the Spanish GP on Sunday. An FIA image Barcelona, 13 May 2018: Lewis Hamilton powered to a dominant Spanish Grand Prix win as Mercedes scored its first 1-2 finish of the season, with Valtteri Bottas finishing ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel dropped from second place to fourth after a mid-race pit stop the fifth round of the Formula One FIA World Championship here on Sunday. Force India Sergio Perez managed to take a last-gasp ninth place for two points while his teammate had to drop out due to mechanical issues.
Vettel had stolen second place from Bottas in a dramatic start to the race, but the German then pitted early to change to medium tyres. Red Bull’s chasing drivers meanwhile went deep into the race before taking on fresh tyres and when a Virtual Safety Car was deployed after Force India’s Esteban Ocon stopped at the side of the track, Ferrari elected to pit Vettel for more tyres.
He ceded position to Bottas and Verstappen but in the late stages of the race he couldn’t find a way back past the Red Bull and he was forced to settle for fourth.
When the lights went out for the start, Vettel got away well and using the slipstream created by the Mercedes ahead the German rounded Valtteri Bottas on the outside to steal P2. Further back, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen had to correct in mid-corner in Turn 3 and directly behind his team-mate Romain Grosjean was forced to brake hard. The Frenchman went into a spin, sliding off the track and then back on – into the path of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly. The collision was significant, though all three drivers escaped unhurt.
With debris scattered across the track and three cars requiring removal, the Safety Car was called into action and stayed on track until the end of lap six.
On the re-start the frontrunners all held their position, with Hamilton leading Vettel ahead of Bottas, Räikkönen and the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, Further back McLaren’s Fernando Alonso was the only driver to make a significant gain in the re-start, passing Force India’s Esteban Ocon to claim the final points position of tenth.
The race then settled until Vettel triggered the pit stops at the end of lap 17. The German took on mediums and rejoined in P7 ahead of SAI. Mercedes responded, pitting Bottas, who also took mediums, but a slow stop, allied to Vettel blasting past Magnussen into Turn meant the Finn could no pass the Ferrari.
Räikkönen caused the next shift in the order on lap 24. Verstappen, who was right behind the Finn reported that the Ferrari had some kind of engine problem and within moments Räikkönen slowed dramatically.
Verstappen and Ricciardo blasted past the Ferrari as Räikkönen was told the stop the car but the Finn eventually brought his car back to pit lane where he retired from the race.
Ahead Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 25, taking on medium tyres and slotting into P2 behind new leader Verstappen, though the Red Bull and third-placed team-mate Ricciardo needed to pit.
The Australian was the first of the Red Bulls to pit, at the end of lap 33, with Verstappen pitting a lap later. Both took on medium tyres to go to the end of the race. The order now saw Hamilton lead Vettel by 10 seconds with Bottas third ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo. The Red Bulls though had much fresher rubber than either Vettel or Bottas, both of whom had made early stops for new tyres.
On lap 41 Esteban Ocon pulled over at the side of the track and the VSC was deployed. During the cautionary period Ferrari responded to the Red Bull threat and decided to pit Vettel for new mediums. The German rejoined in fourth place between the two Red Bulls as Bottas moved into P2 ahead of Verstappen.
The Dutch driver hit trouble after the VSC withdrew, however. He clipped the back of Lance Stroll’s Williams as he attacked the backmarker and damaged his front wing. That might have given Vettel hope but with Verstappen told that his wing was “structurally OK” despite end-plate damage, the gap widened, with Verstappen stretching his advantage over Vettel to 2.1s by lap 49.
The pair repeatedly traded personal bests over the following laps but Vettel could find no way to close in on Verstappen and Ferrari were left to rue ceding track position to Mercedes and Red Bull.
At the front, Hamilton was untouchable, powering to his 64th career win with more than 18 seconds in hand over his second-placed team-mate. Despite Vettel’s attentions, Verstappen was faultless over the final laps and claimed Red Bull Racing’s 150th podium finish with 0.7s seconds in hand over the sole remaining Ferrari.
Ricciardo added 10 points to Red Bull’s haul with fifth place, while Kevin Magnussen finished sixth for Haas ahead of Renault’s Carlos Sainz. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso took his fifth points finish of the season with eighth place ahead of Force India’s Sergio Pérez. Tenth place went to Sauber’s Charles Leclerc who scored points for the second race in a row.
2018 Spanish Grand Prix – Race
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes –
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 20.593
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 26.873
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 27.584
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 50.058
6 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1 lap
7 Carlos Sainz Renault 1 lap
8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1 lap
9 Sergio Perez Force India 2 laps
10 Charles Leclerc Sauber 2 laps
11 Lance Stroll Williams 2 laps
12 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 2 laps
13 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 2 laps
14 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 3 laps
Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren
Esteban Ocon Force India
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari
Nico Hulkenberg Renault
Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso
Romain Grosjean Haas. -
Bottas sets the early pace ahead of Hamilton in FP1: Spanish GP
Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes F1 team tops FP1 on Friday. An FIA image Brcelona, 12 May 2018: Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas went quickest in the opening practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing more than eight tenths of a second ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton and almost a second clear of third-placed Sebastian Vettel.
The Mercedes drivers’ dominance of the session was established early with Bottas using soft tyres to push into the 1m18s bracket.
At that point the were backed up by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, but the Australian wouldn’t figure in the session for much longer. With grip at the premium on the new track surface, Ricciardo lost control of his RB14 in Turn 14 and slid off through the gravel, hitting the barriers and causing damage to the front-left of his car.
The incident saw the Virtual Safety Car deployed and when the cautionary period ended, Bottas took a new set of soft tyres and stretched his legs once more, eventually improving to a time of 1:18.4311.
A second VSC period then ensued when Williams’ Lance Stroll went off at Turn 5, soon after complaining about the poor balance of his car.
And once again when the VSC period ended, Bottas improved his time, this time establishing a benchmark of 1:18.148 that would remain for the remainder of the session. Hamilton, meanwhile, finished 0.849s behind the Finn.
Vettel, meanwhile, sat in fourth for much of the session before Ferrari sent both of its drivers out on supersofts. Vettel vaulted to third late on but still could only manage to get to 0.950 behind Bottas. Räikkönens initial foray on the red banded tyre left him 1.6s down on Bottas’s best time but he eventually managed to work his way to a time of 1:19.499, some 1.3s behind his fellow Finn and four tenths of a second behind Vettel.
The gap was sufficiently large to allow Max Verstappen to slot his Red Bull Racing car between the Ferraris, with a time of 1:19.187, a second adrift of Bottas.
Behind fifth-placed Räikkönen, McLaren finished as best-of-the-rest, with Fernando Alonso setting a time of 1:19.858 to take sixth spot on the timesheet. The Woking team also debuted a radically redesigned nose and also new bargeboards during the session.
Ricciardo’s early time was in the end good enough for seventh place, ahead of Haas’ Romain Grosjean, McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne and Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly, who rounded out the top 10 order.
2018 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 32 1:18.148
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 22 1:18.997 0.849
3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 24 1:19.098 0.950
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 26 1:19.187 1.039
5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 19 1:19.499 1.351
6 Fernando Alonso McLaren 26 1:19.858 1.710
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 11 1:19.871 1.723
8 Romain Grosjean Haas 24 1:19.906 1.758
9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 28 1:20.083 1.935
10 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 29 1:20.508 2.360
11 Kevin Magnussen Haas 28 1:20.637 2.489
12 Charles Leclerc Sauber 23 1:20.665 2.517
13 Sergio Perez Force India 36 1:20.924 2.776
14 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 18 1:20.984 2.836
15 Carlos Sainz Renault 28 1:21.053 2.905
16 Esteban Ocon Force India 27 1:21.144 2.996
17 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 26 1:21.159 3.011
18 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 28 1:21.373 3.225
19 Robert Kubica Williams 24 1:21.510 3.362
20 Lance Stroll Williams 15 1:22.756 4.608 -
Ferrari-Mercedes renew battle in Barcelona; Red Bull in frame as one of favourites
Sebastien Vettel (Ferrari) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) all set to renew their rivalry. Photo: formula1.com Barcelona, 10 May 2018: Four rounds ticked off the Formula 1 calendar, and this season has certainly kept us on the edge of our seats. We’ve had two triumphs for Ferrari, and one apiece for Red Bull and Mercedes. So, who has the momentum as we head to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix?
It’s very hard to say indeed. Last time out, Baku provided us with a chaotic and thrilling race with Ferrari looking on course for a third win of the campaign before the Red Bull collision set off a chain of events that ultimately conspired to hand Mercedes their first victory of 2018.
The Silver Arrows still trail their rivals in red by four points in the constructors’ standings, but Lewis Hamilton’s latest triumph – his first of the season – gave him the lead ahead of Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship after four races this season, the Briton having waited until after round 13 to move ahead last year.
Mercedes have locked out the front row in Barcelona in four of the past five years, but their qualifying prowess has already been questioned this year – Azerbaijan was the third race in a row they have missed out on P1.
But as we’ve seen already this season, it won’t just be about Mercedes and Ferrari this weekend. In fact, perhaps most of the attention will be on Red Bull, following the clash between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in Azerbaijan.
They have now suffered two double DNFs in the past three races, having previously not suffered one at all since the 2010 Korean GP – and after being read the riot act, their drivers will be desperate to avoid more contact in Spain.
Barcelona is a track all the teams know extremely well – but who will come out on top?
The form book
Looking at the stats, Mercedes have every reason to be confident on their return to Barcelona. This track has arguably been a demonstration of their dominance in the turbo hybrid era.
In 2014, they locked out the front row with no other car within one second of pole. In 2015, this gap dropped to 0.777s, then 0.680s in 2016, before Vettel narrowed it to 0.051s last year and became the first non-Mercedes to start on the front row here since 2012.
The qualifying stats suggest the winner will need to come up with the goods on the Saturday. Twenty-four of the 27 Grands Prix in Catalunya have been won from the front row (89 per cent), the highest ratio of any circuit on the calendar with at least 10 previous races, such is the difficulty of overtaking at the Spanish venue.
Over the last decade, though, we have seen plenty of different drivers triumph, including shock victories for Pastor Maldonado in 2012 and Max Verstappen – on his Red Bull debut – in 2016. Hamilton’s victory last year ended a run of 10 different winners in the same number years in Spain, but could we see another new winner this year? Neither Ricciardo nor Bottas has triumphed here, but both have been in terrific form.
This is a race where, traditionally, the teams bring significant upgrades to their cars, so whilst no one is expecting the established top three to be toppled, in the supremely tight midfield there could be movement. McLaren, in the midst of a tight battle for P4 in the constructors’ championship with Renault, are one of the teams bringing significant revisions.
Both teams have Spanish drivers, but it’s Renault’s Carlos Sainz who has the better recent record at Barcelona, finishing the last three races in ninth, sixth and seventh. Alonso, meanwhile, hasn’t scored points at home since 2014 when he was still driving for Ferrari.
Elsewhere, several teams will be looking to carry momentum into Spain. Force India’s surprise podium in Baku, with Sergio Perez landing P3, kick-started their season, while Toro Rosso were boosted by Brendon Hartley’s first points-finish last time out.
Sauber’s Charles Leclerc also scored points for the first time, while Williams got their 2018 campaign underway with Lance Stroll scoring four points for P8.
Source: Formula1.com
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Vettel takes a thrilling victory ahead of Bottas, Hamilton: Bahrain night race
Sakhir,
Vettel wins Bahrain GP on Sunday. An FIA image April 8: Sebastian Vettel took a thrilling 49th career victory on his 200th race start, nursing fading tyres to the chequered flag to hold off a determined charge by Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Lewis Hamilton took third place after starting ninth as Red Bull Racing saw both cars exit the race early on.
At the start, Vettel held his advantage from pole, but behind him Bottas made a better start than Räikkönen and stole second through Turn 1. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was briefly passed by Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly but the Australian quickly retook the position.
It all then began to unravel for Red Bull. Ricciardo slowed as he approached the end of the first lap with an electrical failure and pulled over at the side of the track to retire.
Further back, in midfield, Max Verstappen was charging forward from his 15th place starting position but as he began the second he tangled with Hamilton, with the Dutchman sustaining a punctured rear left tyre as he collided with Hamilton’s front wing in Turn 2.
Verstappen eventually made it back to the pit lane and after taking on a new set of supersofts rejoined in 19th place. It was a brief bit of action, though, and on lap three he pulled over and stopped his RB14, the damage from the collision with Hamilton preventing him from continuing.
By lap 10 Vettel had carved out a three-second lead over Bottas, with Räikkönen a further three seconds back. Behind them, Hamilton had staged a remarkable fight back from ninth place at the start, and from his bruising battle with Verstappen, and was now up to fourth ahead of Gasly and Magnussen.
Vettel pitted from the lead on lap 18, taking on a set of soft tyres, with Hamilton 10.2 seconds behind the Ferrari driver and in fourth place. Räikkönen followed his team-mate a lap later, rejoining 2.5s behind Vettel.
Bottas now led from Hamilton, but on lap 20 Mercedes covered the Ferrari stops and brought the Finn into pit lane. He also emerged on medium tyres, splitting the Ferraris as he had through the first stint.
Hamilton, who had started on used soft tyres and had not made a pit stop, was now in the lead, five seconds clear of Vettel, with Bottas third ahead of Räikkönen, Gasly and Magnussen.
Hamilton was soon caught by Vettel on fresh tyres, and Mercedes quickly pitted the Briton. He took on medium tyres, targeting a one-stop race, with Vettel set to make a second stop. Hamilton rejoined in fourth, some 25 seconds adrift of Vettel, with Bottas second and Räikkönen third.
Ferrari then pitted Räikkönen for a second stop on lap 35 but there was trouble for the Finn as the rear left wheel failed to come loose. There was confusion and when the Finn was released he collided with one of his crew, who had to be taken to the medical centre for checks. Räikkönen was told to stop in pit lane and the Finn quickly climbed out of the car and exited the race.
That boosted Hamilton to third and by lap 45 he was 16.7s behind Vetted. Ahead, Vettel’s problem was Bottas, who was secure in second, some seven seconds behind Vettel and setting good times on his medium tyres. The proximity was forcing Vettel to push to the end on his soft tyres and Bottas was given the message to close the German down.
With nine laps remaining Bottas was 5.4 behind the German and lapping half a second quicker than the Ferrari man. Behind the Hamilton was told to “keep his head down” and wait for Vettel’s tyres to fall away.
On lap 52 of the 57 Bottas had carved a further two seconds out of the gap to the leader and was told to “just push to the end” as Vettel began to struggle on his degrading soft tyres.
The German wouldn’t be denied, however. Bottas attacked with a lap remaining but Vettel held firm and though he was shadowed to the flag by the Mercedes driver in a tense finish, he crossed the line to score his 49th career win just over half a second clear of Bottas and 6.5s clear of third-placed Hamilton.
Drive of the day though, should have perhaps gone to Pierre Gasly. In just his seventh grand prix the Frenchman handed the new Toro Rosso-Honda partnership 12 valuable points with a superb, pacey and precise driver to fourth place.
Behind him Magnussen opened Haas’ 2018 account with fifth place ahead of Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne. Marcus Ericsson delivered a positive result for Sauber with ninth place and two points and the final point on offer was taken by Force India’s Esteban Ocon.
2018 Bahrain Grand Prix – Race
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari –
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes Mercedes 0.699
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 6.512
4 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso Honda 1’02.234
5 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1’15.046
6 Nico Hulkenberg Renault Renault 1’39.024
7 Fernando Alonso McLaren Renault 1 lap
8 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Renault 1 lap
9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1 lap
10 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1 lap
11 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault Renault 1 lap
12 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1 lap
13 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso Honda 1 lap
14 Charles Leclerc Sauber Ferrari 1 lap
15 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1 lap
16 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1 lap
17 Sergey Sirotkin Williams Mercedes 1 lap
Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari DNF
Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG DNF
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG DNF
and followed in the footsteps of the Monaco chapter two weeks ago. The character of the circuits had nothing in common to cause this feeling of ennui.
