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Tag: Vettel
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Kimi takes pole ahead of Vettel; Hami on P14
Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari takes pole at Monaco ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel (right) and Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes on Saturday. An FIA image Monte Carlo, 27 May 2017: Kimi Räikkönen took his first pole position in nine years with super final lap in Monaco that saw him finish just four hundredths of a second ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel as Ferrari locked out the front row. Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas was third but team-mate Lewis Hamilton was eliminated in Q2 in 14thplace.
Ferrari were quickest out of the blocks in Q1 with Raikkonen on track first, the Finn quickly followed by team-mate Vettel.
It was the German who set the early pace and though he was briefly usurped by the Red Bulls, with Ricciardo claiming P1 with a lap of 1:13.219, Vettel jumped back to the top with a time of 1:13.090.
Max Verstappen was running quickly, however and as the Ferrari driver retreated to the pits the Dutchman moved back into top spot, edging past Vettel by just over one hundredth of a second. With Verstappen ahead of the two Ferraris and Red Bull team-mate Ricciardo, fifth fastest in the session was Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas ahead of McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, the Belgian showing what his car is capable of when power deficits are negated. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, qualified for the second segment in P10.
However, eliminated at the end of the Q1 were Force India’s Esteban Ocon in P16 ahead of Renault’s Jolyon Palmer, Williams’ Lance Stroll and the Saubers of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson.
It was an unfortunate result for Ocon. The Frenchman crashed out in FP3, hitting the barriers at the Swimming Pool section, but his team managed to get him out in Q1. However, there was clearly something still amiss as team-mate Sergio Perez progressed in P8. Ericsson, meawhile, clipped a barrier late on and damaged his rear left suspension.
Monaco has the habit of throwing up grid anomalies and it delivered in style in Q2. As Ferrari again led the way with Räikkönen in charge ahead of Vettel and with Verstappen third ahead of Bottas, Hamilton was struggling.
Going into the final five minutes of the segment, the three-time champion was in 14th place and visibly struggling with the handling of his car. His first flying lap of his final run saw the Briton making corrections throughout and thus he could find no improvement.
Whether a jump up the order would come on the following lap, with Hamilton crossing the line with 50 seconds in hand before the flag, would not be revealed as just ahead, Vandoorne lost control going through the Swimming Pool section and dumped his McLaren into the wall.
The yellow flags were immediately shown and Hamilton’s lap was nullified. He was riuled out of the session in P14, just ahead of Williams’ Felipe Massa and behind 11th- placed Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
If the second session produced the unexpected, the final session delivered a massive surpise in the shape of Räikkönen finding more pace than any of his rivals. The Finn led the way after the first runs but in the final laps he clawed even more performance out of his Ferrari and lowered the benchmark to 1:12.178. Vettel tried to respond but could only get to a time of 1:12.221, thus handing the Finn his first pole since the French Grand Prix of 2008, 128 races previously.
Bottas finished just two thousandths of a second behind the championship leader, while the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo were fourth and fifth respectively. Behind them Sainz will line up sixth ahead of Perez, while Romain Grosjean took eighth place for Haas. On his return to grand prix racing, Jenson Button will line up ninth on the grid for McLaren ahead of team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne.
2017 Monaco Grand Prix
1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:13.117s 1:12.231s 1:12.178s
2 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:13.090s 1:12.449s 1:12.221s
3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:13.325s 1:12.901s 1:12.223s
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:13.078s 1:12.697s 1:12.496s
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:13.219s 1:13.011s 1:12.998s
6 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:13.526s 1:13.397s 1:13.162s
7 Sergio Pérez Force India 1:13.530s 1:13.430s 1:13.329s
8 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:13.786s 1:13.203s 1:13.349s
9 Jenson Button McLaren 1:13.723s 1:13.453s 1:13.613s
10 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:13.476s 1:13.249s
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:13.899s 1:13.516s
12 Nico Hülkenberg Renault 1:13.787s 1:13.628s
13 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:13.531s 1:13.959s
14 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:13.640s 1:14.106s
15 Felipe Massa Williams 1:13.796s 1:20.529s
16 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:14.101s
17 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:14.696s
18 Lance Stroll Williams 1:14.893s
19 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 1:15.159s
20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:15.276seom/FIA press release
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Vettel edges out Hamilton as Ferrari take Constructors lead: Bahrain GP
Bahrain, 16 April 2017: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel took his second victory of the season in Bahrain as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton recovered from a poor start and a penalty to finish in second place ahead of team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the third round of the FIA Formula One (F1) World Championship here on Easter Sunday.
Hamilton exerted intense pressure in the final stages, chopping deep into a 13-second deficit to Vettel but the German kept a cool head to thread through traffic and take the flag with 6.6 seconds in hand. Had Hamilton not earlier been penalised for holding up Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo during a pit stop, the battle might have been more nerve-wracking for Ferrari. Behind, Kimi Raikkonen was fourth in the second Ferrari ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.
At the race start, pole sitter Bottas led through Turn One. Hamilton, though, lost out and was passed by Vettel as the field streamed through the first corner. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen made an excellent start to rise from sixth on the grid to fourth by the end of lap one, the Dutchman profiting from Hamilton’s poor start and the fact that the Briton backed up Daniel Ricciardo as they went into the first corner, with the result that the Australian was demoted to fifth ahead of Williams’ Felipe Massa. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, meanwhile, dropped to seventh from fifth on the grid.
Over the opening laps, Bottas was unable to carve out a significant lead and by the time the drivers were starting their 10th lap, just three seconds separated the top five drivers.
With a Vettel was the first to take a strategic gamble, pitting on lap 11 to take on more supersofts. Verstappen noted it and request similar action but when he emerged from his first stop he almost immediately arrowed off track and into the barriers, reporting brake failure.
Moments later Vettel’s early stop reaped dividends when the Safety Car was called into action when Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll collided in Turn One, with the Williams’ driver’s car stranded on track.
Bottas pitted and Vettel inherited the lead. Hamilton was brought into the pits at the same time as his team-mate and as he approached the pit entry the Briton slowed dramatically to minimise waiting time in the stacked stop. The result was that Ricciardo, also on his way to pit lane, was held up badly. The incident eventually led to a five-second penalty for Hamilton, who was punished for driving unnecessarily slowly in the pit lane.
When they emerged supersoft-shod Vettel led from the similarly equipped Bottas, while Ricciardo and Hamilton, both now on softs, were in third and fourth respectively.
When the safety car left the track, Ricciardo’s tyres appeared to be far from the right operating window and he was rapidly passed by Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen.
At the front, Vettel began to eke out a gap to Bottas and by lap 26 the German had 4.8s in hand over Bottas and a second more over Hamilton. On lap 27, though, Hamilton surged past Bottas to claim P2.
Soon after, Ricciardo was also the move. Raikkonen had passed Massa and on lap 29 the Brazilian was passed by the Red Bull driver, under DRS and under braking through Turn One.
On lap 31 Bottas pitted for the final time, taking on soft tyres. Ahead Hamilton was catching Vettel, whose supersoft tyres, by lap 32, were beginning to look spent. With the gap to Hamilton shrinking Ferrari opted to put the German on lap 34. Vettel took on a set of softs for his final stint and rejoined in P3 behind Raikkonen. He was soon past his team-mate, however, and then he began to chase down Hamilton, lapping a second quicker than the Briton as he ate into the 15.7s deficit.
By lap 39 the gap was down to 12.1s and closing. Behind them, Bottas was now third ahead of Ricciardo who had inherited fourth when Raikkonen made his final stop for soft tyres. The Australian then made his final stop, for supersofts on lap 40 and prepared for a late-race blast from fifth place.
Hamilton made his final stop on lap 42, serving his five-second penalty and taking on soft tyres. He dropped to third, 9.4s behind Bottas and 19s behind Vettel who was now looking comfortable in pursuit of his second win of the season.
The race looked like it might open up again in the final stages after Hamilton passed Bottas and then began to scythe through a 13-second gap to Vettel, but the German held his nerve and applied the pace necessary to keep Hamilton at bay to take the 44th win of his career.
With Hamilton second and Bottas third, fourth place went to Raikkonen who finished 16.8s ahead of Ricciardo. Massa was sixth for Williams, while Force India’s Sergio Perez enjoyed a great evening’s work to rise from P18 on the grid to seventh place at the flag. Romain Grosjean was eighth for Haas and the final points placings went to Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon in the second Force India.
eom/FIA press release
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Ferrari’s Vettel tops timesheets in FP1
Bahrain, 14 April 2017: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets as practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix got underway at the Sakhir Circuit, with the German finishing four tenths of a second clear of Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.
It wasn’t a wholly successful session for Ferrari, however, with Kimi Räikkönen stopping on track early in the session with smoke rising from the back of his car. It left the Italian squad bookending the timing, with Räikkönen 20th and last on the sheet.
Vettel’s P1 time, set on soft tyres, came with around half and hour left in a mid-afternoon session conducted in high temperatures.
The German was followed by Ricciardo whose best time was a 1:33.097 that left him exactly four tenths of a second adrift of the Ferrari man. Ricciardo’s lap was good enough, however, to put him almost half a second clear of team-mate Max Verstappen.
Mercedes, meanwhile, had a low-key start to the weekend with Lewis Hamilton tenth quickest and Valtteri Bottas down in 14th place. Hamilton briefly held sway with an early run on softs, set during the hottest part of the session, but gradually slipped down the order as the track improved.
Fourth place in the session went to Force India’s Sergio Pérez, who finished 1.398 seconds behind pacesetter Vettel. The Mexican was 0.151 clear of Williams’ Felipe Massa while team-mate Lance Stroll was eight seven hundredths of second further back in sixth place.
Seventh place went to the second Force India of Esteban Ocon, while Fernando Alonso, who on Wednesday revealed that he is to contest this year’s Indianapolis 500 over competing at the Monaco Grand Prix, was eighth for McLaren. Romain Grosjean was ninth for Haas, ahead of Hamilton.
Räikkönen’s woes came on his seventh lap on track when he slowed and stopped just after Turn 13, with smoke pouring from the back of his car. Ferrari later reported that the Finn’s car had suffered an overheating issue with the turbo.
Räikkönen was not the only driver to be sidelined by an engine issue. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne also stopped out on track when his engine cut out after 10 laps. He finished with the session’s 13th fastest time.
Elsewhere, Pascal Wehrlein made his first appearance on track since FP2 at the Australian Grand Prix after which he complained of a lack of fitness following a pre-season crash at the Race of Champions. On his return to the cockpit with Sauber he finished in 18th place, seven hundredths of a second behind team-mate Marcus Ericsson.
2017 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 21 1:32.697
2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 22 1:33.097 0.400
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull 23 1:33.566 0.869
4 Sergio Perez Force India 22 1:34.095 1.398
5 Felipe Massa Williams 24 1:34.246 1.549
6 Lance Stroll Williams 25 1:34.322 1.625
7 Esteban Ocon Force India 23 1:34.332 1.635
8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 14 1:34.372 1.675
9 Romain Grosjean Haas 21 1:34.564 1.867
10 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 28 1:34.636 1.939
11 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 13 1:34.838 2.141
12 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 13 1:34.927 2.230
13 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 10 1:34.997 2.300
14 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 27 1:35.002 2.305
15 Jolyon Palmer Renault 19 1:35.068 2.371
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas 21 1:35.579 2.882
17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 23 1:35.888 3.191
18 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 23 1:35.959 3.262
19 Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso 16 1:36.079 3.382
20 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 6 1:42.333 9.636eom/FIA press release
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Hamilton claims fifth Chinese GP win; Verstappen 3rd from 16th
Shanghai, 9 April 2017: Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton held off the challenge of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel to take his fifth Chinese Grand Prix victory as Max Verstappen claimed his eighth career podium finish after a sensational drive that saw the Red Bull Racing driver rise to third from 16th place in the FIA Formula One (F1) World Championship on the Shanghai grid on Sunday.
Hamilton, starting from pole, held his advantage when the lights went out and took the lead ahead of Vettel and Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo passed Kimi Raikkonen for fourth place.
The order swiftly changed, however as first Williams’ Lance Stroll spun off and the Virtual Safety Car was deployed and, soon after, when Antonio Giovinazzi crashed heavily as he crossed the finish line. With his Sauber stranded on the main straight the Safety Car proper was sent on track.
Vettel chose to discard his intermediates under the VSC but that move was penalised when Giovinazzi crashed and the German dropped back. Ricciardo, now on supersofts, rose to second behind Hamilton who had taken on soft tyres during the cautionary periods.
The Australian wasn’t the Red Bull on the biggest charge, however. Max Verstappen lined up 16th on the grid but the Dutchman mad a sensational start and by the end of lap one he was up to seventh.
As the stops played out he rose further and then when the SC retreated he passed Raikkonen and then to cap a remarkable opening spell he passed team-mate Ricciardo to claim second place.
Ricciardo soon came under pressure from fourth-placed Raikkonen and fifth-placed Vettel as Ferrari came back but neither could find a way past the Red Bull across the opening stint, a situation that allowed the front pair of Hamilton and Verstappen to pull away. By the start of lap 20 Hamilton was 3.6s clear of Verstappen, while the Dutchman was 5.1s ahead of Ricciardo.
The pressure on Ricciardo intensified when Vettel got past Raikkonen with a well-executed move at the hairpin. The German closed in on the Red Bull driver and then tried the same move on lap 22.
Ricciardo resisted and they ran side by side through the exit, banging wheels as they attempted to get the upper hand. It was Vettel, though who emerged ahead the Ferrari driver then set off in pursuit of Verstappen.
The Dutchman was 4.9s up the road at that point in the race and within four laps the German had reduced that deficit to 1.8s. Vettel’s pace was irresistible and on lap 29, as Verstappen locked up on the approach to the hairpin, Vettel eased past to claim second place. He was now just under 12s adrift of leader Hamilton.
Further back Alonso’s excellent race, in which he rose as high seventh came to an end soon after he ceded the place to Sainz. The Spaniard slowed soon afterwards and was quickly on the radio reporting a driveshaft problem, which forced him to stop at Turn 9.
Further ahead Vettel stopped for soft tyres on lap 34 in a bid to pressure Mercedes and Hamilton responded, stopping for softs two laps later.
When the order resolved after the stops, Hamilton led from Raikkonen, but the Finn was reporting handling issues with his car saying “there are 20 laps left and I have no front end”. He pitted for new tyres on lap 40 and Vettel once again moved to second place, this time 9.5s adrift of Hamilton. Raikkonen, meanwhile, dropped to sixth behind Sainz.
Vettel was pushing hard to reel in Hamilton but the Briton always had pace in reserve and with eight laps remaining the Mercedes driver was a comfortable eight seconds ahead of his rival.
Behind them Ricciardo began to put pressure on Verstappen and in the closing stages a knife-edge battle developed between the team-mates, with the Australian using DRS to close in hard on the Dutchman and Verstappen not having the benefit of clear air to pull away as Haas’ Romain Grosjean was just over a second further up the track.
A rattled Verstappen complained long and loud about not being able to get past the Haas but in the end he was able to hold off his team-mate’s challenger and soon after Hamilton claimed his 54thcareer victory ahead of Vettel, Verstappen crossed the line to take his eighth career podium finish in 42 grand prix starts.
Ricciardo was forced to settle for fourth place ahead of Raikkonen and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz. Kevin Magnussen took Haas’ first points of the season with eighth place, while Force India enjoyed a double points finish for the second race in a row, with Sergio Perez ninth ahead of Esteban Ocon.
eom/FIA press release
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Ferraris looked so fast and we knew it would be close: Hamilton
Hamilton celebrates after taking Chinese GP pole on Saturday. An FIA image Shanghai, 8 April 2017:
DRIVERS – 1. Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), 2. Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), 3. Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
TV UNILATERAL
Lewis, many congratulations on what looked like a great lap at the end of Q3 there. Talk us through the lap and your session.
Lewis HAMILTON: Thank you. Yeah, it’s been an interesting weekend so far, obviously without testing yesterday. Today was a real challenge for all of us in the sense that we had to compile a lot of yesterday’s testing into this morning and hope we’d hit the nail on the head with the balance of the car. But the Ferraris have looked so fast, through practice this morning and then through each qualifying session. We knew it was going to be close, and it was going to mean we would have to pull out all the stops and really have a very, very perfect lap, you know, a solid lap. I managed to just chip away at it from session to session. No major issues. But the last lap was my best lap, which is always the plan – sometimes it’s in another session. The lap started off not as good as perhaps the Q1 first lap but then the rest of the lap got better and better – I think it may have been tyre temperatures or something, who knows. It felt strong and then obviously coming into the last corner knowing I was up a couple of tenths… it’s always nervous going into Turn 14 because you want to break late and gain some but you don’t want to throw away everything you’ve gained. And through the last corner and coming across the line, and then just waiting after that to see what everyone else had done. These guys behind were still finishing off their laps. So, very, very happy, super grateful for the huge efforts that the team have put in to keep us in the fight. It’s more exciting than ever for me, because we’re really fighting these guys, you know. It’s amazing, and I think that’s what racing’s all about. It really pushes you to raise the bar every time you go out, which I love. Lastly, just a big thank you to all the fans. We’ve got a lot of British flags here in China, which is amazing.
And Lewis what does it mean to you to take the 75th pole in the history of Mercedes?
LH: Well, I’ve been with Mercedes for a long, long time, since I started when I was 13 actually. Since I’ve been in Formula One, all my wins, all my poles have been with Mercedes, so very grateful and thankful to be in the family, and to be a part of this amazing journey that the whole team is on, that this whole brand is on. I’d like to go along and keep stamping something in the history books so someday I can look back on it.
Q: Sebastian, a great session from you and Ferrari as well. How important was it for you to get on the front row today?
Sebastian VETTEL: We’ll see tomorrow how important it was. It was a nice session; I enjoyed it a lot. I think if we could have been a bit quicker at the end I would have enjoyed it a bit more. I think I was very happy with the lap I had. Last corner maybe I lost a little bit – maybe I ‘chickened’ onto the brakes a bit too soon. Obviously it was very close with Valtteri, good job we got just enough margin to make it to the front row.
Q: Do you think you have a better race car than qualifying car at the moment?
SV: I think our car is strong no matter what. It obviously depends what these guys are doing. Certainly we’ve seen also in the previous years that in quali they seem to be able to really get on top of what they have. I think we can still improve. Let’s see what the race looks like tomorrow. The conditions will be quite different. Maybe we should put fuel in the car and race now. I don’t know what happens tomorrow.
Q: Valtteri, have you worked out where you lost that one thousandth of a second to Sebastian?
Valtteri BOTTAS: I think on one lap around here there are quite a few places. One thousandth, like you mentioned, it like this maybe? It’s not so much. It is a real shame he managed to get between us. I think last time it was two thousandths and now it’s one thousandth, so…
SV: I think it was two hundredths, I don’t know.
VB: It’s getting closer! So yeah it’s a shame but the race is tomorrow. We are starting as a team first and third. It’s a good place to start. The weather can be anything really tomorrow. Lewis was strong today, Ferrari was strong and we were always expecting a close fight today on track. I think it will be the same case tomorrow. Thanks to the team again. We did a good job in the short amount of time in the practice today to get the car set up well and it was enjoyable to drive, but let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Q: Thank you Valtteri. Coming back to you Lewis, well, it looks like you’ve got a real fight on your hands tomorrow. How much are you relishing this battle with Ferrari?
LH: Particularly for tomorrow, it’s going to be an unusual day. I heard it’s going to be wet potentially, to start off the race. I’ve not driven the wet tyre this season, so that’s going to be fun, to experience the bigger car, wider tyres for the first time. I mean I did an out lap yesterday on the extreme, but it was a very slow lap, so I’ve not actually experienced it. So tomorrow will be a new lesson for me to learn if it is wet and it will be interesting to see… I think the Ferraris have a very, very strong car, particularly a step-up more so in the race pace and how they treat their tyres, particularly when it’s warm, so it will be interesting to see what the weather brings us tomorrow. But I think we have worked hard to understand our car a little bit better and I think whatever the case it’s going to be close between us and that bodes well for one of the most exciting days to come for a long time.
Q: Lewis, how much do you feel that you are on the back foot after the lack of running yesterday? How much has it set everybody’s programmes back?
LH: I don’t know. I think the thing is we’ve all been here for so long and the more you drive the more you learn to minimise the loss of a day like yesterday. So, y’know, as a team we’ve learnt so much over the years, and as a driver as well. You learn, even while you’re not driving, you’re thinking about the steps that you need to take. So we try go into a day like today as if there hasn’t been a loss. But as I said, this morning we had to do long run, short run, and a qualifying run in one short session, as opposed to doing it in three sessions – but I think we got as much as we could done and if we had had yesterday, I don’t think we’d have been much further up the road, if any at all, to be honest. Don’t know how these guys feel but we’ve got great engineers who analyse and analyse and analyse and did a fantastic job and, I’m assuming, for Sebastian.
Q: The weather forecast looks indifferent for tomorrow at best… it could rain. You’ve touched on it already that you haven’t used the new full wet tyre from Pirelli. Does that make you nervous?
LH: No, I’m excited about it, to be honest, because it’s a new experience. I’m sure it’s not a huge, huge difference to what we’ve had in the past. Perhaps a little bit. I’m kind of excited about. It makes it more… it’s great to have some excitement. To be faced with a new challenge. You just have to be the most proactive, most reactive tomorrow. If it is wet. If it is raining I just hope that the clouds stay high so that the helicopter can stay take off so that we can actually do a race. We’ve got an amazing turnout here so we want to make sure we can put on a good race for them.
Q: Sebastian, it’s 380m from the grid to Turn One tomorrow. How significant is that going to be – or do you think you are going to be able to overtake tomorrow?
SV: For me it’s 388m, I guess. Hopefully I can make up those eight metres. Which side are we starting on. Where’s pole? [on the outside] OK, so if I make up 8m then it looks pretty good. I don’t know. There’s a lot of things that can turn out in many ways tomorrow. That’s one option that I mentioned but we don’t know what the conditions are going to be like. We’ll see. I think it should be an exciting race nevertheless. Obviously very limited running yesterday, hardly any for me. I think I did two laps but nobody really did a lot of laps, so we’ll see. The car is good, the car is fine, so I’m confident, no matter the conditions that the car is working, and then we try to do the fastest race.
Q: Lewis has already said that racing against someone like yourself is what racing is all about. Just how much are you relishing the battle with him?
SV: Well, it’s been a while so yeah, I think we’re on a good way. Obviously it’s a lot of fun when you fight for poles and wins. Certainly enjoyed Australia a lot, despite the outcome on Sunday which obviously was fantastic – but in general, to be able to fight at the front for the podium, and really fight for it is a great feeling. Same here. You go into the weekend and… we didn’t really have much expectation because it’s a completely different track but on the hand we did know that our car is working well. So, just need to keep it up. Need to try to improve it whenever we can. So overall, I can only give it back, and hopefully there’s a lot more for the rest of the season. But this is only race two. A lot of things can happen but we need to obviously give everything we have to stay there.
Q: Valtteri, as Sebastian says, this is only race two, it’s your second race with Mercedes. How comfortable are you feeling in the team? Are you settling in? Are there still a few things you need to learn?
VB: Definitely. Approaching this weekend, compared to Melbourne, the first one of the year, it was a different feeling. Being true, that one full race weekend with the team, doing the qualifying session and the race, with a podium finish, it was a nice start, so definitely feeling more and more comfortable. I think still, as I’ve been mentioning, there is a big learning curve for me with everything and I feel more better and better still, every single day with the team and every single lap with the car. So, yeah…
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Maybe a question to all of you. Different circuit, same result as in Melbourne. The advantage a little bit smaller than in Melbourne. Where does Ferrari stand against Mercedes? What do you think Lewis, Sebastian and Valtteri?
LH: I’m not really sure how to explain that. Close. The times show it as close as it’s been. It’s within a tenth, I think, the distance between us.
SV: Being pragmatic, I think if you take the average of what we’ve had so far, then you can say that in qualifying we’re still lacking a bit and in the race I think we are a good match. I think Lewis was struggling a bit in Australia with his tyres. We weren’t as much. I don’t know what happens tomorrow. It will be a lot cooler. Certainly after tomorrow you can draw another average – but what matters most is that after 20 races you draw the average and we come out on top. That would be great! But it’s a long way, as I said. So, for now we’re very happy being able to challenge Mercedes and hopefully we can do that more and more.
Q: And Valtteri? What did you expect the gap between yourselves and Mercedes to do here in China?
SV: A thousandth!
VB: Yeah! I was hoping for one thousandth at least. We were always expecting it would be really, really close. Everything between the two teams is between one or two tenths, depending on conditions for the sessions, race or qualifying. That’s why it’s going to be interesting tomorrow.
Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb, the distance between you and Lewis, Ferrari and Mercedes in general, seems to be even closer than last year and the past years in general. This difference in qualifying, compared to last year and previous seasons; do you think it can be a trend throughout the season?
SV: Well, I think we’ve made a big step as a team so I think it’s really thanks to the team that simply supplied me with a better car. I think in general I like this formula a lot where you can push on the limit. Probably the last couple of years it was creeping away from all of us, step by step, and with this year’s cars it’s back to how it was a long time ago and back to how it should be. I don’t know if it’s a combination of things; as a driver you jump into the car and you always try to do your best but as I said, big thank you to the team to supply me with a great car this year, right from the first outing and I have high hopes that we can still improve it from where we are. I know the team is still growing together, there is still a lot of progress that we can make but the way I feel and the way the team feels and the way the team shows it to me directly and indirectly, there’s no rush. We are here to do our job and we know that we can be strong. I think we’ve laid a good foundation and now it’s up to us to build onto it. Now it’s April, we still have a lot of time. The most important thing, I think, is that we enjoy it.
Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Lewis, we’ve seen a bit of happy tail from your car today on your flying laps. Could you tell us a little bit about your car set-up; is it compromised for a wet race tomorrow or is it somewhere between wet or dry, either condition?
LH: What was the first part? Happy tail, ah oversteer. It’s actually a little bit understeery I would say.
SV: Where was the happy tail? One corner to another?
LH: It was pretty good. It’s like a see-saw, you know? You can decide to have it more understeery or oversteery. This is a track where you need to have a very good front end. I think generally in Formula One it’s not too often where we have to set the car up for a wet race, particularly when you don’t know if it’s definitely going to be wet so you set it up for what you’re faced with that day and tomorrow you can make changes to the wing; tomorrow, for example, if it is wet, that’s the only real difference you need to make. It’s not like go-karting where you loosen everything off, you slacken the car off. You don’t really need to do that necessarily for… If we know it’s a completely wet weekend and maybe we can do some small things but it’s quite similar. We’ve got to make sure we’ve put ourselves at the front.
Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) To all three of you: what do you think will be the key tomorrow: the start, the strategy or perhaps even some overtaking which would be exciting?
LH: I think probably in that order: start, strategy and then, depending on what the conditions are on the track… if it’s wet of course there are opportunities to overtake, if it’s dry it’s very hard to follow as has been the rule now, particularly when there’s thousandths between us. You lose a lot of thousandths behind each other with the loss of downforce. Yeah, I think it would be great if we get some… a wet race would be exciting.
SV: I think… mostly conditions. If it’s dry we know what to do, everybody knows what to do. It’s fairly easy knowing what to expect. If there’s an element of wet then it can mix things up so we will see. I think we wake up tomorrow, look outside and see what to do. We have enough wet tyres so it should be fine if it’s wet.
VB: Seeing the forecast, I think really making the most of the conditions throughout the race, being on it with the strategy. I think that’s going to be one of the key points.
Q: (Fu Yu – China International Radio) Valtteri, you’re only a thousandth of a second slower than Sebastian on the front row. Do you think you could have done a little bit better and how confident do you feel about making up that gap tomorrow?
VB: Always if you could do the lap again, especially when it’s one thousandth, you can find it somewhere, especially with the short amount of running throughout practice. We only really had practice three. Yes, definitely, I could have done better but I think every driver on this grid, having got a second qualifying, would improve and then it becomes more and more tricky to improve.
Q: (Fu Yu – China International Radio) How confident do you feel about making up that thousandth of a second tomorrow?
VB: When we’re on the grid tomorrow then it doesn’t matter. I always tend to get all the points from the qualifying that I need to improve and what we need to improve as a team. We move on for tomorrow and tomorrow I’m not going to think about the one thousandth; it’s a new day and a completely new opportunity and we are going to do everything we can to be one and two and for me still chasing my career-best result.
Q: (Marius Salvini – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, pole position number 65 is even closer. What do you think about it, is it something of a magic number for you?
LH: It really is, I think. Every pole has been – it might be hard for you to believe – but every pole position has been so unique in its own way. There’s always been a different journey to gain that pole, there are different things that have happened on that lap. It’s still today – and I’m sure it will never change – it’s still so real that I have that amount of poles and to think you can have a pole in Formula One…. because the dream was to get to Formula One. And now, it’s perhaps even more exciting, I’m nearing Ayrton, he had a lot of pole positions with less races. We know what he did back then was just phenomenal, the same with Michael but just grateful to be up there up amongst them. I definitely feel that what I love even more now is that I feel like more than at any other time, I feel like I’m really having to earn those pole positions being that it’s so close, so again, on top of that the feeling is even better.
eom/FIA transcript of the press conference
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Mercedes is still the favourite, feels Vettel
PART ONE: DRIVERS – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari), Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing), Nico HULKENBERG (Renault)
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Sebastian, if we could start with you. Many congratulations on that win in Melbourne. You’re now leading the championship for the first time since 2013. Just describe what that win meant to you and the reception you got when you went back to Maranello?
Sebastian VETTEL: I think of the entire team, I think it was a great weekend, including myself obviously. With the new generation of cars, generally first race of the season with a new car, always a lot of work that goes into the whole project and it’s the best way to kick off the season. The day was very special; the fans in Melbourne, the reception there was incredible. Also for everyone back in Italy, in Maranello, obviously it was great to get a little bit of reward after such a long winter, a lot of hard work, as I said, that went into the new car. When I came back to the factory people were generally very happy and motivated to push even harder, which obviously is what we need. It’s just the first race, so it doesn’t mean much, but for sure, as I said, it’s the best way to start off.
Q: For you personally, after what was a very difficult 2016, how much of a relief is it to have a competitive car underneath you?
SV: It wasn’t that bad last year! It wasn’t the best year we’ve had but still I think we had a decent amount of podiums. We had a lot of races where things were not going our way, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Maybe my memory is wrong, but I remember it maybe better than what people make out of it now. For sure it wasn’t the season we wanted to have and after one race it’s easy to say that this year is better than last year, but it’s only one race. As I said, it’s only the start of the season. For sure a lot of things have changed since last year. The team has evolved. I think we generally are in a much better position; people are more comfortable throughout the whole team. The work that is going in is a lot more targeted and overall we’re more confident with the way we work now and hopefully we keep up that trend to show it also on the track.
Q: Well, can you keep up that trend this weekend? It’s a very different race track here in Shanghai than in Melbourne?
SV: It’s a completely different it’s true. Then, the weather is completely different, just looking outside now. It’s always a grand prix full of surprises, the Chinese Grand Prix, since the day I can remember; in 2007 I think I had my first race here. I started 17th or 18th in the Toro Rosso and I finished fourth. We had the rain helping us at that time. You never know what happens around here. It’s a demanding track with the cars, the tyres in particular, but also the drivers with the conditions, so impossible to predict anything.
Q: Of course you had the rain helping you, too, with that win in 2009 for Red Bull Racing. Thank you Sebastian. Let’s move on to Max. Let’s cast our minds back to Melbourne as well. You finished fifth, what is the mood in the camp after that result?
Max VERSTAPPEN: Pretty similar to be honest. For sure we have to improve, but that’s how it is at the moment. We are definitely working hard to get new parts to the car as soon and try to just get the pace up a bit and be closer to the top two teams, because behind us is at the moment quite a big gap, as you could see. I think I could have done two pit stops in Melbourne and still have had the same position. We’ll see, on a normal race track here in Shanghai.
Q: Do you expect to be closer this weekend to Ferrari and Mercedes?
MV: I don’t know. We’ll find out.
Q: Well, what about the gap to those two teams – how long do you think it will take to close it?
MV: It’s a bit difficult to say really. It’s quite a big gap, but I’m quite confident that we can definitely close it in the upcoming races to within a second and then we’ll see when we get the bigger upgrades also from the engine side.
Q: Just talk us through the positives and the negatives of this car. What are you pleased with and where do you think there needs to be more work?
MV: Do you have an hour? No, I think we can… yeah, we can just improve the general balance. I mean, I think in qualifying everything felt pretty good but it’s just we need more load. A bit more grip, we need more power. And it’s a bit of both – you try to make an efficient car on the straights to make up for the loss of power there. Now we just have to focus on, first, getting the car in the right window and then hopefully we get the right upgrades from the engine side as well.
Q: Nico, can you give us your thoughts on your Melbourne weekend? You finished just outside the points, were you pleased with how things went?
Nico HULKENBERG: Not massively happy, but I think as a first weekend it was quite OK I would say. We’re not too far from the midfield. My race was quite compromised by being stuck behind the McLaren. I think otherwise it could have been quite a bit better and further up the road. So that’s the good news – that we’re not too far, the midfield pack is quite close together there. It definitely comes down to the developments each team will bring now each weekend. I think we have a solid base that we can work pretty well with and hopefully score a couple of points in the next few grands prix.
Q: You’re racing for a works team for the first time in Formula One. What are the biggest differences you’ve noticed between Renault and you’re previous team, Force India?
NH: It’s just a much bigger operation, more people back at base, more people involved, it feels like more power. But yeah, with a manufacturer team you have a lot more expectations as well and at some point you have to deliver. But fair enough. I think everybody in the team feels very keen and up for that challenge and just looking forward to the next couple of months and making that work.
Q: You’re the senior driver in the team. What is your role outside of the car? Are you expected to have an influence over the general direction of staff movements, things like that?
NH: I don’t think staff movements so much. But if they ask my opinion I’m happy to give my opinion! I think the two drivers are the guys that drive the cars and need to explain and identify the problems and the issues with the cars and give directions to the engineers and the people back at the factory to develop as fast and efficiently as possible. I think that’s where the role comes down to and, yeah, obviously perform on the track.
Q: Before we open it up to the floor, a question to all three of your, but let’s start with Sebastian. A lot was made about he physicality of this new generation of cars, how did you find the opening race of the season in Melbourne, physically?
SV: Tougher than last year.
Can you elaborate any more on that?
SV: Well, we’re going faster but if you look compared to 10 years ago, you mustn’t forget that we have a lot more fuel in the car. We are on the tyres for longer, providing they last, and in general the cars are heavier. If you talk about load and high-speed corners they are the fastest cars we’ve ever had. I think for more or less all of us the step from last year has been quite big. Melbourne historically hasn’t been the most physical track, so I’m sure there will be tracks that will be more physical, but it’s been tougher than last year.
Thank you. Max, do you have anything to add on the physicality of the cars?
MV: Sebastian is travelling a second a lap faster every lap, so for sure it’s a bit more physical. But it was actually alright. I trained quite a bit more in the off-season period. For me it felt pretty similar to last year but I’m still getting older and stronger just by myself. It was alright. I didn’t have a drinks bottle as well, so it was all good.
Nico?
NH: I think the first couple of grands prix aren’t the most physical, but ask us again after Singapore. I’m sure you’ll see a few drivers pretty knackered after that?
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frédéric Ferret – L’Equipe) A question to all three drivers. Do you remember the first point you scored in Formula One and was it important for your career?
SV: Yeah, I remember, I was physically pretty knackered! I was completely destroyed after the race. So I remember, the first race I did in the United States, which obviously came by surprise, with Robert Kubica’s accident the week before and then the fact that he couldn’t drive. For me it was obviously the step into Formula One, because with that one race I was able to show whatever, what was necessary to get another chance, with Toro Rosso for the remainder of the year so it was very crucial.
Max?
MV: Yeah it’s not that long ago is it? It was alright. I think it was quite a good race…
Just remind everyone where that was?
MV: Malaysia it was, 2015. There were quite a lot of issues at the end of the race, I remember, with the parts, but we managed to bring it home. So yeah, happy to finish in the points and it was just a good race and probably good for the future as well.
And Nico?
NH: Yeah, I think it was also Malaysia for me, second or third grand prix, in 2010. It’s just nice. It’s something you want to tick, to quickly get off your chest, you’ve done it and points are always good for your team.
Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Max, you did a stunning wet race last year in Brazil, and considering the weather, it’s supposed to be raining on Sunday, so do you think you will be able to do that again?
MV: To be honest, I don’t know. I think last year our package also in the dry was a bit better, a bit more competitive. Also, you need the grip from the car in the wet to do a good job. We’ll find out. It’s always nice to drive in the wet.
Q: (Luiny Kong – Motorsport.com) A question to Nico. It’s highly possible for it to rain on Sunday, so do you think it’s a chance for you to gain a better position?
NH: Yeah, it can be, but it can also go against yourself. You obviously have to stay on the track first. It can be quite tricky with some rivers here in the wet. You have to be cautious, but generally I’m a fan of wet running. It offers more opportunity, you can make a bigger difference as a driver, and it’s more fun, it’s more challenging, so I wouldn’t mind it.
Q: (Kate Walker – New York Times): Earlier this year Jacques Villeneuve that said F1 had ‘lost its way’ when it first started talking to fans and asking what they wanted, but we’ve seen with Liberty the new owners are very keen on fan engagement and we’re seeing an increase in the number of fan surveys. To what extent do you think F1 needs to listen to the fans?
SV: It’s a difficult one. I’m maybe very old-school on many things, and I think that some things we shouldn’t change. The way people look at it now after one race, after a couple of races, they would like to see a change, but I think it’s wrong to change too much. I think it’s important to keep a certain framework consistent throughout time, so I think every now and then it’s important to listen to people, but I think with surveys it’s always difficult to get a very clear picture. I think too much change, equally, is wrong. Just to give an example, when there was talk about the race format, I think it would be quite bad to get rid of one race, one grand prix – I think it would take away the highlight of the weekend by putting two races, for example, or to make the race shorter because they say it’s too boring and lasts too long. I think that’s the grand prix: that’s how it’s always been. It’s been even longer in the past, if you look a long way back, and it should remain a challenge. Making it shorter, more exciting, whatever, I think it’s not a grand prix any more. So to give you an answer, I’m a bit sceptical to have change for the sake of change.
Nico, how about you and Formula One’s relationship with the fans.
NH: I think it’s definitely good and important to listen to what they have to say, and how they see the sport from the outside – I think it’s definitely good to have that. I think not everything that fans may wish for is realistic and possible, but I think it’s important to find the right balance there. We all want to race hard, it must be a good show and be entertaining, so I think the balance must be right.
Max, anything to add?
MV: To be honest, I think it’s always good to get different opinions. It’s a good thing to also listen to fans, of course. I think one thing I miss a bit is of course the engine noise – I think when you were a little kid and you were standing next to the track it was something… even when they were not going 350km/h but going 310 or 320 it was still something magical when they passed, a Formula One car. And now we’re going really quick, but on the straights sometimes it doesn’t look as quick as a few years ago, when we still had the engine noise. That makes a big impression to the fans as well, and I think that there also needs to be a bit more action in terms of overtaking. As soon as you get that back into it, it doesn’t matter how fast the cars are around the lap. The engine noise takes over a lot more than having a car which is three seconds faster compared to last year.
Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Question to Sebastian. Can you tell us something about the special relationship between a Formula One driver and his car? Is there a special relationship – or is it just a human and a machine?
SV: I name my car but it’s not like I stroke her in the morning when I come in and do the same again in the evenings. I think it’s a bit of fun to give it a bit more of a relationship than just calling it ‘the car’. For sure you need to trust the car the moment you step in – for many reasons, not just to go fast. But… yeah… it’s not like I call the factory and ask how the car is doing. I’m also happy to share it with other men, so I’m not taking it that seriously.
What is the name of this year’s car? And why is it called that?
SV: The name is Gina. We sit down, we have a nice dinner, it’s more about the dinner than the name. But then we just decide a name. It’s a lot of fun. Gina was the outcome this year.
Q: (Inaudible) We know you have tested the most laps last year in the Pirelli tyre test and last race your tyre management is brilliant. So, is that experience giving you better understanding for the tyres or give you more advantages compared to other drivers?
SV: I’m not sure. I think maybe the right answer is ‘no’. But the reason why I’m generally happy to do it is because I love driving. So, when there’s an opportunity to test, even though testing can sometimes be a bit dull and boring but still, you’re driving the car and that’s much better than sitting on the bike for a couple of hours or whatever training to be fit enough to drive the car. I think that generally track time is limited so every opportunity you get. That’s personal – but I can’t understand why you would reject it and as I said, I’m happy to drive the car and I think there’s always something you learn, so for sure the days I did last year with Pirelli to help them get feedback for the tyres etc., for sure they also helped me.
Q: Nico, your team and you didn’t do any 2017 tyre testing last year with Pirelli. Do you feel at a disadvantage compared to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull who did?
NH: I’m not sure, to be honest. Because obviously it was these mule cars which were not fully representative and the tyres were also not, I believe, the exact spec that we have now. But, you know, there’s always something that you can learn, and pickup, that you can use for your advantage. But that’s in the past. It’s history.
Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriere della Sera) Question to Sebastian. You score your fourth victory with Ferrari. Was it something different to the first three in 2015? And here, in China, do you expect a strong reaction from Mercedes?
SV: I think Mercedes still has to be the favourite, obviously. We had a very, very strong first race. At least the way we look at it inside the team is to look at it race-by-race. I know, we know that we have a good package which puts us in a strong place but there’s a lot of things that…
MV: And don’t stop too early, otherwise I’ll be driving there…
SV: Yeah, exactly! We know there’s a lot of things that we need to do to keep up with them and keep the position that we are in now, to fight for good races. Melbourne, it was the first race of the year, with the year last year that was difficult – wasn’t a disaster from my point of view – but was difficult for all the team, I think it was nice, and that’s what everyone felt. A lot of hours going in and I think a lot of people inside the team, they invested so much time so, for sure here and there in Australia the people were maybe not as fresh as they could be because they invested so much time and spent so many nights working on the car, preparing the car, as well as in the factory. So I think it was a nice feeling to get something back. For sure the victory is always the medicine for everyone. It was good, we’ve done that, and now we move on.
Q: (Arjan Schoutten – AD Sportwereld) Question for Max about Melbourne. You mentioned the lack of overtaking. Was that a good indicator or will this be a whole, new story here in Shanghai?
MV: I think in general in Melbourne it’s always a bit hard to overtake. It’s just the track, the nature of it. I think last year actually in China there was a lot of action so I expect that it’s a bit better to overtake here. I think it won’t be the same like last year because the cars are going faster through the corners and we have less tyre degradation. It will be a bit more difficult but I wouldn’t say it would be like Melbourne.
Q: (Felix Görner – RTL) Max, did you get the beer from Sebastian?
MV: No, but it’s alright.
SV: You’re not old enough to drink!
MV: I’m not satisfied with water.
eom/FIA transcript of the press conference
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Tactical mistake costs Hamilton dear; Vettal puts Ferrari on top
Vettel celebrates after winning the Australian GP on Sunday. An FIA image Melbourne, 25 March 2017: Sebastian Vettel took his and Ferrari’s first win after the Singapore Grand Prix of 2015 beating Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to Australian Grand Prix victory after a strategic slip by the champions allowed Vettel to inherit the lead midway through the race at Albert Park.
Pole sitter Hamilton was in control of proceedings ahead of Vettel until his first pit stop on lap 17. After taking on soft tyres, the three-time champion emerged behind the slower Red Bull of Max Verstappen, as Vettel took the lead.
Hamilton could find no way past the Dutchman and when Vettel made his sole pit stop he emerge ahead of both, in the lead. The German then built a solid gap and controlled the pace until the end, finishing 9.9s ahead of Hamilton.
There was drama before the start as on his lap to the grid, home favourite Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull slowed dramatically. The Australian’s car had been repaired overnight following his crash in qualifying and his team had performed a gearbox change, which dropped him to 15th on the grid.
As he circled to take that spot he reported that the car had lost power and then stuck in sixth gear. It was recovered to the garage and his crew then began to work frantically to get the car repaired so that he could start from the pit lane.
They were afforded a little more time when there appeared to be confusion about grid slots following Ricciardo’s stoppage and the start had to be aborted.
After another formation lap the race finally got underway and Hamilton held his advantage, taking P1 through Turn One. He was followed by Vettel, Bottas, Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen.
As the field flowed across the line at the end of the first lap, Ricciardo’s car was finally fired up and he joined the action – a lap down.
At the front, Hamilton attempted to stretch a small gap to Vettel but the Ferrari driver responded and over the course of the first 15 laps the deficit stayed hovered around 1.5s. Bottas held third, some six seconds behind the Finn, while Verstappen was fifth ahead of Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat.
Grosjean’s stint in the top 10 was coming to an end though. On lap 15 smoke began to billow from his Haas’ engine cover and he quickly steered towards the pitlane where he retired from the race.
Hamilton made his first stop on lap 17 and took on soft tyres. He emerged in P5 behind Verstappen. Thus, Vettel assumed the lead. Soon after, Hamilton was told that it was “race critical’” that he pass Verstappen but the Briton was quick to point out that there was no way past the Dutchman. As Hamilton’s pace dropped behind the slower Red Bull, Vettel powered away at the front and when the German made his first stop, for soft tyres, on lap 23 he emerged ahead of both Verstappen and Hamilton, with Vettel quickly building a 6.0s advantage.
Later, Hamilton would say that his early stop was caused excessive tyre wear and that he has simply ‘run out of grip’.
Elsewhere, Ricciardo’s frustrating afternoon came to a close when he suddenly lost power on lap 29 and ground to a halt at Turn 3.
By lap 40, Vettel was looking comfortable in the lead, 7.8s ahead of Hamilton who was in turn 2.8s ahead of Bottas. Behind the podium positions Bottas was 13s ahead of Raikkonen and the Ferrari driver was 4.0s ahead of Verstappen.
Verstappen was making headway, though, and on lap 41 he turned a 4.0s deficit to Raikkonen into a 3.3 gap. A lap later he clawed another eight tenths of a second back. It looked like there might be a late-race duel on the cards but as his supersoft tyres faded it was as near as Verstappen got. By lap his pace began to drop and the gap to Raikkonen drifted to 2.2s.
Further back Fernando Alonso was heading for a P10 finish and McLaren’s first points of the season. However with just a handful of laps remaining the Spaniard was in trouble. First with Ocon and Hulkenberg swarming all over the back of his McLaren and then with a mechanical issue that was making his car pull to the right. Ocon swiftly pounced and took the final points position for Force India. Alonso steered to the pits to retire from the race.
At the front, Hamilton was offering no threat to Vettel and the order remained stable, with Bottas third ahead of Raikkonen and Verstappen now settled in fifth place.
Vettel took the flag for his and Ferrari’s first win since Singapore in 2015, followed by Hamilton and Bottas. Raikkonen took fourth ahead of Verstappen. Massa was sixth for Williams with Perez scoring solid points for Force India with an impressive seventh place. It was a good day too for Toro Rosso, with Carlos Sainz eighth ahead of team-mate Daniil Kvyat. The final points position was taken by Ocon.
Just three other drivers finished the race, with Nico Hulkenberg 11th for Renault and Italian Antonio Giovinazzi 12th for Sauber on his Formula One debut. Thirteenth place went to McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne. The weekend’s other rookie, Lance Stroll retired from the race at two-thirds distance.
eom/FIA press release
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Vettel fastest in FP3; Hamilton 4th
Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi), 26 Nov 2016: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time of final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg slip
Vettel fastest in FP3 at Yas Marina on Saturday. An FIA image ped to fourth and fifth respectively.
The title-contending Mercedes pair had comfortably topped both opening practice sessions but on a hot, sunny afternoon at the Yas Marina Circuit, both were eclipsed in final practice as Vettel finished 0.290s clear of Hamilton and almost four tenths ahead of Rosberg.
Vettel was joined in beating the Mercedes pair by Verstappen and Raikkonen. The Red Bull driver spent most of the session testing the durability of the re-banded supersoft tyres, but late in the session bolted on the ultrasoft tyres and jumped straight to second place behind Vettel with a lap of 1:40.912. That was just over a tenths adrift of Vettel but more importantly the Dutch driver finished 0.153 ahead of fourth-placed Hamilton.
Raikkonen, meanwhile, took some time to get into his stride, the Ferrari driver not setting a timed lap until well into the session. His first effort put him sixth before he briefly held P1.
Raikkonen then dropped back to P4 as the Mercedes drivers moved to the ultrasofts, but late in the session he too went for another run on the purple-banded tyres and moved ahead of Hamilton.
Neither Mercedes driver appeared happy with his car, with Rosberg complaining about response on his practice start being poor and Hamilton voicing dissastisfaction with the brakes of his car, saying that he was “the front right isn’t working properly”.
With Rosberg fifth, sixth place went to the second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo. As has become his pattern, the Australian undertook his qualifying sim earlier than most and set time of 1:41.831 that left him well off the pace. He finished a full second behind Vettel and more than 0.6s behind Rosberg.
Sergio Perez finished in seventh place for Force India, with team-mate Nico Hulkenberg 0.182 further back in eighth. The German recovered well from a long spell in the garage at the start of the session.
Behind the Force Indias, ninth place went to Williams Valtteri Bottas and the top 10 order was rounded out by Haas’ Esteban Gutierrez, who is this weekend making his final appearance for the American team.
2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:40.775 16
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:40.912 21
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:40.999 14
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:41.065 15
5 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.168 19
6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:41.831 20
7 Sergio Perez Force India 1:41.885 19
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:42.067 13
9 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:42.076 19
10 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:42.354 16
11 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:42.585 14
12 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:42.616 18
13 Jenson Button McLaren 1:42.664 15
14 Felipe Massa Williams 1:42.683 20
15 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:42.805 17
16 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:43.057 17
17 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:43.145 17
18 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:43.301 10
19 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:43.417 22
20 Esteban Ocon Manor 1:43.733 15
21 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:44.105 13
22 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:44.238.20.eom/FIA press release
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FIA president decides not to take disciplinary action against Vettel
Paris, 1 Nov 2016: At the recent Mexican Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel made comments over team radio using repeated foul language directed at both the FIA Formula 1 Race Director Charlie Whiting and a fellow competitor which were retransmitted during the live broadcast of the event.
Immediately following this incident, Sebastian Vettel spontaneously sought out Charlie Whiting to express his regrets for his behaviour in person. He then, again on his own initiative, sent letters to each of the FIA President Jean Todt and Charlie Whiting, in which he apologised profusely for his actions. He also indicated that he would likewise be contacting Max Verstappen and vowed that such an incident would never occur again.
In the light of this sincere apology and strong commitment, the FIA President has decided, on an exceptional basis, not to take disciplinary action against Mr Vettel by bringing this matter before the FIA International Tribunal.
The FIA will always condemn the use of offensive language in motor sport – especially when directed at officials and/or fellow participants – and expects all participants in its Championships to be respectful and mindful of the example they set for the public and the younger generation in particular.
The FIA takes this opportunity to advise that, in the event of any future incident similar to the one that occurred in Mexico, disciplinary action will be taken by bringing such incident before the FIA International Tribunal to be judged.
eom/FIA press release
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Vettel off to a flying start in FP1: Spanish GP
Catalunya, 13 May 2016: Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time of opening practice at the Circuit Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen as Ferrari made a flying start to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
Vettel and Raikkonen’s times were set on the soft Pirelli tyre, the softest of the three compounds on offer this weekend, with the Italian squad being the only ones to use that tyre during the 90-minute session.
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton set the pace in the early part of the session, using the medium compound tyre, but halfway through the session Raikkonen emerged on soft rubber to post a time three quarters of a second clear of the Merecedes. Vettel the posted a 1:23.951 to beat the Finn by 0.138s.
Rosberg, still on the medium tyre, managed claw the deficit back to just under half a second later, while Hamilton ended the session just over the tenth down on the championship leader.
Daniel Ricciardo took fifth place for Red Bull Racing, again on the medium tyre, with the Australian 0.8s down on Hamilton’s best time of the session. New Red Bull Racing recruit Max Verstappen was sixth and on his first outing in the RB12 finished just 0.2s behind three-time grand prix winner Ricciardo.
Verstappen was involved in a swap with Daniil Kvyat and over at Toro Rosso the Russian had a more difficult time settling in as he finished in P12, half a second down on team-mate Carlos Sainz who took P8 just behind Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.
The second Williams of Felipe Massa was ninth quickest despite a spin at Turn 5 while Fernando Alonso rounded out the top ten for McLaren.
Elsewhere, Sergio Perez completed just nine laps for Force India after stopping with an oil leak, while Renault also encountered difficulty with the car of test driver Esteban Ocon. The young Frenchman’s first outing for the team this season was marred by a puncture early on and though he re-emerged later on it was brief and he managed just six laps in total.
2016 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 1
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:23.951 22
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:24.089 18
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:24.454 34
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:24.611 33
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:25.416 25
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:25.585 29
7 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:25.672 36
8 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:26.078 19
9 Felipe Massa Williams 1:26.186 32
10 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:26.243 18
11 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:26.576 30
12 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:26.583 21
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:26.938 27
14 Sergio Perez Force India 1:27.064 9
15 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:27.253 27
16 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:27.258 17
17 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:27.283 18
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:27.392 24
19 Jenson Button McLaren 1:27.610 19
20 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:28.084 29
21 Rio Haryanto Manor 1:29.052 34
22 Esteban Ocon Renault 6eom/FIA press release
