INDIA in F1

Tag: Vettel

  • Vettel and Ferrari burn competition with a hot lap; tough task ahead for Hammy!

    Vettel….continues his charge. Photo: FIA

    By Harish Samtani

    Shanghai, 14 April 2018: The fans of Mercedes and those who believed that Ferrari couldn’t possibly sustain its superiority over the German outfit, are currently busy consuming big portions of humble pie after Saturday’s qualifying session in the Chinese Grand Prix here.

    The Scuderia steamrolled Mercedes with over a half second advantage in qualifying in a relatively cooler environment and circuit than in Bahrain that had Hamilton incredulous and questioning Ferraris’ back-to-back superior performances in qualifying.

    Vettel, the eventual pole-sitter, is on song and his last minute record breaking lap had even his team-mate stunned and Mercedes humbled. His car is not only reliable and quick, but seems to be running on rails with nary a twitch.

    The Renault-powered Red Bulls were not exactly slackers, but were made to appear so by the Maranello outfit’s duo. Even Kimi was stunned by Vettel’s last second gasp which dethroned him from his almost certain pole.

    At this rate, Hammy’s quest for title No. 5 has to wait patiently. In hindsight, the five championship title holders of the past have to be acknowledged with greater respect. There will be ifs and buts, but every year and era has its own set of challenges. No one has it easy.

    The top six cars qualified within a 0.853 seconds of each other. Grosjean rounded up the 10th position 1.760 seconds adrift in his Ferrari-powered Haas! That’s quite a bit as it is. So, it would be safe to assume that around 12-14 cars will be lapped in the 56-lap race.

    Force India had a decent outing with Perez eighth on the starter board. I suspect that they have taken a step back to go two steps forward. So, the aero package or something else has not delivered as expected, but the good thing is that once they get sorted, they are going be in the thick of action and will leapfrog over a few of the pretenders such as Haas etc. Their fourth overall in 2017 will gain even more legitimacy.

    While it is early days, the die is cast and some serious action is on the anvil on and off the track!!!

  • Hamilton edges out Raikkonen to set the pace again: Chinese GP Free Practice

    Hamilton edges out Raikkonen to set the pace again: Chinese GP Free Practice

    Lewis Hamilton in action in the second Free Practice session of the Chinese GP on Friday. He was fastest in both the sessions. Photo: FIA

    Shanghai, April 13: Lewis Hamilton continued to set the pace in practice ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix, but after enjoying a comfortable gap to rivals in first practice, the second session saw the Mercedes driver pressured as he outpaced Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen by just seven thousandths of a second.

    In the morning session at the Shanghai International Circuit, Hamilton went more than three tenths of a second quicker than second-placed Räikkönen, but in the afternoon session, the Ferrari driver looked much more purposeful.

    Half an hour into FP2, Hamilton bolted on a set of Pirelli’s ultrasoft tyres for the first time this weekend and set a benchmark of 1:33.482. Räikkönen held fire until later in the session but when he made the switch to a qualifying run he posted a time of 1:33.489 to split Mercedes’ drivers, as he had done in the morning. Valtteri Bottas thus finished in third place, just 0.026s behind his fellow Finn.

    After a low-key opening session in which he finished more than eight tenths of a second off the pace, Sebastian Vettel had a more productive afternoon, finishing fourth. The German’s lap of 1:33.590 meant that the top four drivers were covered les just over a tenth of a second.

    Behind Mercedes and Ferrari, Max Verstappen took fifth place for Red Bull Racing, with the Dutchman ending the session 0.341s behind Hamilton. While Verstappen enjoyed a smooth outing it was trickier for team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

    The Australian was unhappy with his the throttle map of his car and also complained of a ‘long’ brake pedal during the session. He finished the 90 minutes in ninth place, a second off Hamilton’s pace.

    Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg took sixth place, almost half a second off Ricciardo’s best lap. The German edged Haas’ Kevin Magnussen by 0.145s, with the second Renault of Carlos Sainz ending up eighth ahead of Ricciardo.

    McLaren’s Fernando Alonso finished in tenth place, but there was trouble for the Spaniard’s team-mate. The Belgian’s session was stopped 15 minutes from the chequered when he was released from the pit lane with a loose wheel and he had to pull over at the side of the track. He ended up 14th on the time sheet, behind Sergio Perez of Force India, Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso and the second Force India of Esteban Ocon.

    2018 Chinese Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 26 1:33.482
    2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 26 1:33.489 0.007
    3 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 27 1:33.515 0.033
    4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 27 1:33.590 0.108
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 26 1:33.823 0.341
    6 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 30 1:34.313 0.831
    7 Kevin Magnussen Haas 26 1:34.458 0.976
    8 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 28 1:34.473 0.991
    9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 26 1:34.557 1.075
    10 Fernando Alonso McLaren 23 1:34.632 1.150
    11 Sergio Perez Force India 30 1:34.792 1.310
    12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 33 1:34.849 1.367
    13 Esteban Ocon Force India 30 1:34.874 1.392
    14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 22 1:35.163 1.681
    15 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 37 1:35.333 1.851
    16 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 31 1:35.340 1.858
    17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 29 1:35.624 2.142
    18 Charles Leclerc Sauber 26 1:35.916 2.434
    19 Romain Grosjean Haas 26 1:36.471 2.989
    20 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 19 1:37.147 3.665.

     

  • Vettel takes a thrilling victory ahead of Bottas, Hamilton: Bahrain night race

    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

  • Vettel takes 51st career pole; Hami to start 9th after grid penalty: Bahrain GP

    Sakhir (Bahrain), April 7: Sebastian Vettel will make his 200th Grand Prix start from the front of the grid after the Ferrari driver claimed his 51st career pole at the Bahrain International Circuit ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes Valtteri Bottas.

    Defending champion Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place but the Mercedes driver will drop to P9 on the grid due to an unscheduled gearbox change.

    Räikkönen set the early pace in Q1, his first flying laps, on soft compound Pirelli tyres, yielding a time of 1:29.951. Ferrari team-mate Vettel slotted into P2 a tenth behind the Finn, and Valtteri Bottas took third place with a lap of 1:29.275.

    Fourth place was occupied by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen but after a solid opening flyer, it all went wrong for the Dutchman on his next quick lap. He lost control on the exit of Turn 2 and spun off at the following corner. He went nose first into the barriers, causing major damage to the left front of his car and the red flags were quickly shown.

    When the action resumed the drivers needing improvement to secure passage to Q2 were 16th-placed Haas driver Romain Grosjean, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso in P17, followed by Williams Sergey Sirotkin, Sauber’s Charles Leclerc and the second Williams of Lance Stroll.

    Alonso was the driver to progress, though only by virtue of having set a time of 1:30.530 before Grosjean matched the lap to the thousandth of a second. The Haas driver was left to rue a mistake late in his lap. Had he not erred the Frenchman might have finished the segment closer to seventh-placed team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

    At the top of the order, the top five drivers remained in the garage for the final runs of Q1 and Räikkönen led the way with his sole flying lap of 1:28.951.

    In the first runs of Q2 Vettel got the better of this team-mate for the first time during the weekend, taking P1 with a lap of 1:28.341. Räikkönen slotted into P2 but was dropped down a spot when Hamilton took P2 a tenth off Vettel. Ricciardo found himself fourth ahead of Bottas and surprise package Pierre Gasly continued to shine for Toro Rosso with sixth place, in front of the Renault of Hulkenberg, the Haas of Magnussen, the second Renault of Sainz and tenth-placed Esteban Ocon of Force India.

    In the drop zone ahead of the final runs were Sergio Perez, who had complained of a loss of energy on his first run, while P12 man Alonso was followed by team-mate Vandoorne, Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley, and the unfortunate Verstappen.

    And while they shuffled their order, none made it through to Q3 in the end, with Hartley rising to 11th ahead of Perez, Alonso, Vandoorne, and Verstappen.

    Vettel made the first move in Q3 but while he took P1 with a time of 1:29.196 there was a mistake in the final corner as he went marginally wide and kicked up dust. That allowed Räikkönen to sneak past and the Finn took provisional pole by 0.095s. Hamilton slotted into third, a tenth behind the top two, with Bottas fourth ahead of Ricciardo and Gasly.

    There were no errors on Vettel’s second attempt, however, and he rose to the top of the order with a lap of 1:27.958. The German was the only man to dip below the 1m28s mark and he thus took his 51st pole with just over four-hundredths of a second ahead of Räikkönen.

    It might have been assumed that Hamilton would have a say in how the front of the grid was drawn, but in the end, it was team-mate Bottas who took P3 as Hamilton failed to find an improvement.

    With the champion set to drop to P9 on the grid due to his gearbox penalty, Ricciardo backed out of his final run, safe in the knowledge that his time was good enough for P5 in the session and P4 on the grid.

    Behind them, Gasly put in a superb lap to qualify in sixth place ahead of Magnussen, Hulkenberg, Ocon, and Sainz.

  • Stunning win for Vettel; Hamilton overcomes technical glitches to take 2nd: Rolex Aussie GP

    Stunning win for Vettel; Hamilton overcomes technical glitches to take 2nd: Rolex Aussie GP

    Melbourne: Sebastian Vettel took a sensational Rolex

    Vettel celebrates Aussie GP win on Sunday. Photo: Ferrari

    Australian Grand Prix victory, as the Formula One 2018 World Championship began at the traditional street circuit of Albert Park. Taking advantage of a mid-race safety car he beat arch-rival Lewis Hamilton, who suffered soft-ware glitches. The defending champion was forced to settle for second place ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi “Räikkönen. Local hero Daniel Ricciardo finished fourth.

    Sahara Force India duo of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon failed to finish in the points, thus ending a successful run of double points finish at the Rolex Australian GP.

    “There could have been no better start for Ferrari in this Championship. Listening to Italy’s national anthem echo around Melbourne was an emotional moment for us all, and for every fan of the Scuderia. It’s the best possible reward for the team, which built a competitive car and used a perfect strategy to take advantage of the way the race evolved. Congratulations to Sebastian and Kimi, both drove a great race. Of course, there’s still a long way to go in the series, with 20 more Grands Prix. So it would be wrong to celebrate too much. We know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but the first step has been taken in the right direction,” said Ferrari Chairman  Sergio Marchionne.

    Hamilton led away comfortably at the start, dismissing a brief challenger from Raikkonen as they made their way through the first corners. Vettel held third place but behind Haas’ Kevin Magnussen got the jump on Verstappen who dropped to fifth ahead of Grosjean, Hulkenberg and Ricciardo.

    At the back of the field, Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley had a major lock-up into Turn 1 and pitted at the end of lap one. The New Zealander took on soft tyres in a bid to reach the end of the race on the yellow-banded set.

    Ricciardo was soon past Hulkenberg to take P7, but further ahead team-mate Verstappen was struggling to put pressure on Magnussen. The result was a rapidly degrading set of tyres and on lap 10 the Dutchman lost control into Turn 1 and spun. He dropped to eight behind Hulkenberg.

    At the front Hamilton was attempting to build a gap, but both Raikkonen and Vettel were tenaciously hanging on and by the end of lap 15 Hamilton only had three seconds in hand over the Ferraris.

    On lap 22 Magnussen made his first stop of the race, but almost immediately afterward he pulled over at the side of the track. The Dane reported an engine issue but Race Control later stated that the team had possibly released Magnussen unsafely.

    That boosted team-mate Grosjean to fourth but under pressure from Ricciardo and on fading ultrasofts the Frenchman also pitted. Again though, as soon as he rejoined the circuit, he immediately pulled over and stopped in a mirror image of the Magnussen incident, this time with the front left wheel of Grosjean’s car not being properly attached.

    With Grosjean’s car at the trackside on lap 24, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. Ferrari seized the opportunity and pitted Vettel for soft tyres. Hamilton, though, lost a huge amount of time under the VSC and when Vettel emerged from the pit lane he swept into the lead.

    The VSC was replaced by the real thing as Grosjean’s car was cleared and when racing resumed Vettel held his lead over Hamilton, with Raikkonen third and Ricciardo fourth. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso had vaulted up to fifth place under the SC and was being shadowed by Verstappen who had also recovered from his early woes.

    The second half of the race became a cat and mouse battle between the Ferrari and Mercedes driver, with Hamilton regularly getting to within DRS range of the leader only for Vettel to drag the gap back out to beyond a second.

    Six seconds further back, Raikkonen kept Ricciardo at bay in the same manner, with the Australian getting to within DRS range and the Finn pulling away as he carefully managed his defence of the final podium position.

    Behind them, in the battle for fifth place, a little under two seconds covered three Renault-powered drivers in the closing stage, with Fernando Alonso leading Verstappen and Hulkenberg.

    With 10 laps remaining Hamilton got on the radio to his team saying that he was going to attack for the lead. The attempt came to nothing, however, as the Briton suffered a heavy lock-up at Turn 9, losing almost two seconds to Vettel.

    He clawed half that back over the next two laps and with seven laps remaining was 1.5s behind Vettel. A lap later and the deficit was just one second.

    But there Hamilton’s charge ended. On the next tour, he was 1.3 slower than Vettel and then drifted to 4.4s off the Ferrari, and having been warned about high engine temperatures, Hamilton voted to save the engine on his car and settled for a safe second place.

    A handful of laps later Vettel crossed the line to take his 48th career win ahead of the Briton. Raikkonen clung on to third place ahead of Ricciardo, while Alonso gave McLaren a positive start to life with Renault power by keeping Verstappen at bay to take fifth place. With the Dutchman sixth, Hulkenberg finished seventh ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas, McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne. The final points position went to Renault’s Carlos Sainz, who battled to the finish despite suffering from nausea caused by the fluid in his drinks bottle during the race.

    2018 Australian Grand Prix – Race
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1h29:33.283
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 5.036
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 6.309
    4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 7.069
    5 Fernando Alonso McLaren 27.886
    6 Max Verstappen Red Bull 28.945
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 32.671
    8 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 34.339
    9 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 34.921
    10 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault 45.722
    11 Sergio Perez Force India 46.817
    12 Esteban Ocon Force India 1’00.278
    13 Charles Leclerc Sauber 1’15.759
    14 Lance Stroll Williams 1’18.288
    15 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1 lap
    16 Romain Grosjean Haas 34 laps
    17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 36 laps
    18 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 45 laps
    19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 53 laps
    20 Sergey Sirotkin Williams 54 laps.

    Source: FIA

  • Sebastiean Vettel quickest on Day 2; Ocon 9th: Formula 1 Test in Barcelona

    Sebastiean Vettel quickest on Day 2; Ocon 9th: Formula 1 Test in Barcelona

    Vettel quickest on Day 2 of the Formula One Barcelona test on 27 feb 2018. An FIA image

    Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time of day two of the first pre-season Formula 1 test in Barcelona, outpacing Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas by three-tenths of a second. McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne finished third on the timesheet a further three tenths back.

    The day began in muted fashion as overnight snow and rain meant conditions were tricky early on and many teams avoided significant running before the halfway point of running. One of those was Red Bull Racing, with the Milton Keynes team being restricted to the garage for most of the morning after a fuel leak resulted in a lengthy delay to Dutchman Max Verstappen’s first real taste of team’s RB14 challenger.

    The track slowly improved across the morning and by midday Bottas was on track and making the running climbing to the top of the order on the soft tyre.

    His time stood until mid-afternoon when Vettel also appeared on the soft tyre. The German chipped away his lap time over the course of the run and eventually nudged his Ferrari to a day’s best time 1:19.673s.

    Bottas wasn’t done, however, and a switch to medium tyres saw him edge close to the Ferrari driver and set a personal best for the day of 1:19976.

    Verstappen’s day began in earnest at around 2 pm and over the following four hours, he posted 67 laps to get to the best time of 1:20.326, set on medium tyres. That was just 0.001s behind third-placed Vandoorne who had set his time on Pirelli’s new hypersoft compound. However, after a decent return from Vandoorne’s morning efforts, McLaren opted out of afternoon running.

    Fifth place on the timesheet went to Renault’s Carlos Sainz, with Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly in sixth. It was another solid day for the Italian team as Gasly logged a total 82 laps in the team’s new Honda-powered car.

    Robert Kubica got his first taste of F1’s 2018-spec cars in the afternoon as he fulfilled his testing duties for Williams for the first time. The Pole put in 48 laps for the best time of 1:21.495 to sit over three-tenths of a second clear of Williams race driver Sergey Sirotkin who drove in the morning.

    Over at Alfa-Romeo Sauber, 2017 FIA Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc made his debut as a Formula 1 driver, with the Monegasque claiming 10th position. Leclerc’s outing wasn’t without mishap as a morning spin into the gravel traps at Turn 4 brought out the red flags for a brief period.

    Formula 1 Pre-season Test 1, Barcelona – Day 2
    1. Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:19.673 98
    2. Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:19.976 +0.303 94
    3. Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:20.325 +0.652 37
    4. Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:20.326 +0.653 67
    5. Carlos Sainz Renault 1:21.212 +1.539 65
    6. Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:21.318 +1.645 82
    7. Robert Kubica Williams 1:21.495 +1.822 48
    8. Sergey Sirotkin Williams 1:21.822 +2.149 52
    9. Esteban Ocon Force India 1:21.841 +2.168 79
    10. Charles Leclerc Sauber 1:22.721 +3.048 81
    11. Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:22.727 +3.054 36

    eom/FIA release

  • It’s three-way in Friday practice: Abu Dhabi GP

    Amol Gokhale from Abu Dhabi
    It was a three-way battle between top three teams on Friday as Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton topped the first and second practice sessions respectively in the last round of the Formula One World Championship here on Friday. Hamilton has already sealed the title.
    As the Yas Marina Circuit came to life with the raving of the engines with one eye on 2018 season as the teams experimented with the updates and much talked about driver protection device – Halo installed on the cars.
    In the first practice session, new world champion Hamilton dominated the pace for the first hour with 1m 39.120s on the ultrasoft Pirelli tyres, comfortably ahead of team-mate Bottas and early pacesetter Raikkonen.
    Red Bull then joined the act as Dutchman Verstappen posted 1m 39.154s with 32 minutes to go in the session. But it was Vettel who had the final say with 1m 30.006s with 18 minutes left on the clock.
    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen pipped his compatriot Valtteri Bottas for the fourth place, while Force India’s Sergio Perez was sixth with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo off the pace, who was only 10th.
    Only incidences where drivers went off the track were Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg had a spin, Hass’s Romain Grosjean’s touched the wall and Antonio Giovinazzi, who was testing for Hass, also went off, but session remained mostly incident free.
    GP3 champion George Russell was another tester in Force India and finished 11th in the timesheet.
    Hamilton leads the way
    The second session, as the Sun went down over the 5.5kms circuit, Hamilton once again set the early pace with  1m 38.912s, until his team-mate Bottas edged him with a lap of 1m 38.537s as the first hour closed.
    Vettel then beat the Mercedes duo with  1m 38.026s on the set of ultrasoft tyres, only to see Hamilton respond immediately with 1m 37.877s, the fastest-ever lap of the track.
    Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who was off the pace in the first practice, kept his team in the mix with the 1m 38.180s lap.
    There was a sense of normality as Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen all completed the top six.
    Close battle between Force India’s
    After sitting first practice out, Force India’s Esteban Ocon was on the pace straight away as he was eighth fastest mere one-hundredth of a second behind his team-mate, Sergio Perez, hinting at another close battle between the two.
    Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren Honda’s Fernando Alonso completed the top 10.
    eom/

  • Vettel beats Bottas at the start, wins 47th career Grand Prix; Hamilton recovers to 4th

    Sebastian Vettel took his 47th career grand prix win in a tight Brazilian Grand Prix that saw him  finish just 2.7s ahead of Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen took the final podium position after fending off Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps, the Briton having charged through the field after a pitlane start.

    At the start, Vettel snatched the lead ahead of Bottas, with the German sneaking through on the inside past the Finn. Further back Haas’s Kevin Magnussen collided with McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne, who was in turn pitched into the side of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull.  The Dane and the Belgian were forced out of the race but the Australian was able to continue.

    There was more drama to come. A few corners later, Haas’ Romain Grosjean tangled with Esteban Ocon, with the result that the Force India driver was forced to retire.

    That brought out the safety, which remained on course until the end of lap five. When the action resumed Vettel held his lead ahead of Bottas with Kimi Räikkönen third in the second Ferrari and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.

    Lewis Hamilton, though, was on a march and after starting from the pit lane due to repairs needed after qualifying crash, the Briton was already up to ninth place on lap 10. Ricciardo too was advancing and by the same tour he had made his way from 17th place to 14th, behind Lance Stroll. He was quickly dismissed, along with Sauber’s Marcus Ericson and by lap 12 the Australian was 12th.

    Hamilton too was continuing to stride forward and on lap 14 he claimed the scalp of Force India’s Sergio Perez to take seventh place. That put him 15.2s behind race leader Vettel, who was two seconds clear of Bottas and a further two ahead of Räikkönen.

    By lap 21 Hamilton had muscled his to way to fifth place, 10 seconds behind Verstappen and was continuing to gain ground as the Dutchman began to complain of rear tyres wear on his starting set of supersofts. At the front, Vettel was losing ground to Bottas, with the Finn now 1.7s seconds behind the German.

    Bottas was the first of frontrunners to Pit on lap 27 for soft tyres and he was followed a lap later by Vettel who responded to the undercut attempt. Verstappen and Raikkonen too made their stop for tyres and on lap 31 Hamilton, who had yet to stop, was promoted to the race lead.

    Three seconds behind him was Vettel, with the German now enjoying a 2.7s advantage over Bottas. Räikkönen held fourth ahead of the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo, who had not yet pitted, Williams’ Felipe Massa and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.

    Hamilton and Ricciardo finally pitted to change their starting supersofts on lap 44, with both taking on supesoft tyres. Vettel was boosted back into the lead, 2.5s ahead of Bottas, with Räikkönen a further two seconds behind. Verstappen was now fourth, 4.1 behind Räikkönen and 7.3s ahead of Hamilton. Massa now found himself sixth ahead of Ricciardo and Alonso.

    The question now was how far Hamilton would be able to advance and his race engineer offered a clue by telling the four-time champion that he was battling for a podium place. That meant he would need to pass Verstappen and find the 10s necessary to get him onto third-placed Räikkönen’s gearbox.

    He swiftly began to close on Verstappen and by lap 55 he was just 3.0s in arrears to the Dutchman who was complaining that his tyres felt “like rocks”. By lap 59 the gap had been erased almost entirely and though the Red Bull driver defend well in the Senna S at the start of the lap, he couldn’t resist Hamilton’s pace and the Mercedes man swept past on the straight before Turn 4 to claim fourth place. He now targeted Räikkönen who was 4.8s ahead and with five laps remaining he closed to within DRS range of the Ferrari.

    Räikkönen though was alive to the threat and he expertly kept Hamilton at bay over the closing laps. Ahead Vettel took his 47th career victory in relative comfort with Bottas second. Räikkönen took his 91st career podium finish ahead of the superb Hamilton, while Verstappen, in fourth, led home team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

    Felipe Massa ended his final Brazilian Grand Prix with an excellent run to seventh place, the hometown hero finishing ahead of Alonso and Perez. The final point on offer went to Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg.

    2017 Brazilian Grand Prix – Race
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1’31:26.260
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 2.762
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 4.600
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 5.468
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 32.940
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 48.691
    7 Felipe Massa Williams 68.882
    8 Fernando Alonso McLaren 69.363
    9 Sergio Perez Force India 69.500
    10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1 lap
    11 Carlos Sainz Renault 1 lap
    12 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1 lap
    13 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1 lap
    14 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 1 lap
    15 Romain Grosjean Haas 2 laps
    16 Lance Stroll Williams 2 laps
    Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso
    Esteban Ocon Force India
    Kevin Magnussen Haas
    Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren.

    eom/FIA press release

  • Hamilton bags Formula One World Championship; Max Verstappen wins Mexican GP

    Hamilton bags Formula One World Championship; Max Verstappen wins Mexican GP

    Hamilton after winning the 4th World F1 Driver’s title at Mexico on Sunday. Image by FIA

    Lewis Hamilton claimed his fourth FIA Formula One World Drivers’ Championship title with a ninth-placed finish in a Mexican Grand Prix won by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.

    Mercedes driver Hamilton had to battle from the back of the field after an opening lap collision with title rival Sebastian Vettel dropped both men to the back of the field. Vettel, whose slim title chances rested on securing victory at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, managed to claw his way back to fourth place. However, with Hamilton slowly progressing to ninth place and too big a gap to overhaul to the drivers ahead, the Ferrari driver’s hopes ended after Verstappen, second-placed Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and third-placed Kimi Räikkönen crossed the line.

    When the lights went out at the start, Vettel was pressured by Verstappen off the line and at the end of the long run to Turn 1 the Red Bull driver drew alongside the Ferrari driver and muscled his way past in Turn 2 to take the lead.

    There was minor contact between them as they went through, with Vettel losing part of his front wing. More damage was to come for the German, however, as Hamilton went around the outside to steal second.

    In Turn 3 the left side of Vettel’s front wing collided with the rear right of Hamilton’s car. The result was a puncture for the Mercedes man and substantial front wing damage for Vettel. Both limped to the pits for repairs and rejoined at the back of the field.

    At the front, Verstappen began to build a lead and by lap 14 he found himself 5.5 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas who had inherited second after the Vettel/Hamilton incident. Esteban Ocon was third, the Force India driver having bypassed Kimi Räikkönen in the opening lap.

    Carlos Sainz was the first to make a scheduled stop, the Renault driver pitting on lap two to take on soft tyres, with which he’d try to reach the flag.

    Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was the next into the pit lane on lap five, but for the Australian it was a complete stop. After taking a grid drop in the morning for an engine change, Ricciardo rose from his P16 starting position to P7. But his race was then ended by a suspected turbo failure.

    At the back, Vettel was marching through the order and by lap 25 he was up to 11th place behind McLaren’s Fernando Alonso. Hamilton, though, was struggling, and after being lapped by race leader Verstappen the Briton complained that he couldn’t get near Sainz up ahead in P18.

    Hulkenberg was the next to exit the race. On lap 25 the German being told to stop the car, as it was unsafe. With a suspected ERS issue, Hulkenberg was told to exit down the nosecone and jump off.

    On lap 32 Brendon Hartley pulled over at the side of the track with flames licking at the engine cover of his Toro Rosso. The halt, close to the side of the track, resulted in the Virtual Safety Car being deployed and that resulted in a flurry of pit stops, with Verstappen diving in from the lead to take on supersofts.

    Behind him Räikkönen profited most, the Finn leapfrogging Ocon to claim third place. Behind them William’s Lance Stroll was now firth ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

    Magnussen’s hold on the place would be shortlived. Vettel had taken on ultrasoft tyres during his pit stop and he soon began setting fastest laps. He quickly reeled in the Dane and passed him with ease to claim seventh place.

    There were however, 16 seconds to make up to the next target, Perez. Vettel closed quickly, to 7.5s by lap 45 but with the German needing second place to keep his championship hopes alive if Hamilton finished outside the points, and with almost 54 seconds to make up to second-placed Bottas it looked like the German’s title challenge was done.

    Hamilton, though, was making his own steady progress and on lap 46 he passed Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson for 12th place and began to close the 7.1-second gap to Vandoorne.

    On lap 50, Vettel lunged down the inside into Turn 4 to pass Perez and looked to close the 3.3s gap to Lance Stroll and on lap 54 he eased dismissed the Canadian to take fifth place. Hamilton, meanwhile, had passed Vandoorne under DRS into Turn One to claim P11 and his team were advising him that at the pace he was going he was forecast to finish in P8.

    Hamilton began to make that forecast come true by powering past Williams’ Felipe Massa on lap 57 to claim 10th place and a points finish. Up ahead Vettel passed Ocon to grab fourth but with 24 seconds to make up to get to third placed Räikkönen and a further 26 second gap to close to Bottas the German was fighting a losing battle. Told of the gaps he sighed “oh, mamma mia.”

    Sainz, meanwhile, retired from the race, meaning that four of the six Renault-powered cars in the race had exited by lap 62. Just leader Verstappen and 13th-placed Gasly remained.

    At the front the Dutch driver was in complete command, however, and not experiencing any mechanical concerns. With an 18s gap to Bottas it might have been expected that he would throttle back and control matters but Verstappen wanted more and on lap 64 he set a race record for the circuit with a lap of 1:18.892 and then widened the gap to over 20 seconds by the chequered flag.

    Behind him Bottas held second ahead of Räikkönen, while Vettel’s brave charge ended in fourth place. Esteban Ocon scored his second fifth-placed finish of the year, while Lance Stroll delivered a good result for Williams with sixth place.

    Sergio Pérez was seventh in front his home crowd ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, while Lewis Hamilton finished ninth, enough to earn the Briton his fourth drivers’ title. The final point on offer went to McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.

    2017 Mexican Grand Prix – Race
    1 Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG 1:36’26.550
    2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes Mercedes 19.678
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari 54.007
    4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 70.078
    5 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1 lap
    6 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1 lap
    7 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1 lap
    8 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1 lap
    9 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 1 lap
    10 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1 lap
    11 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1 lap
    12 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1 lap
    13 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso Renault 1 lap
    14 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 2 laps
    15 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 2 laps
    Carlos Sainz Renault Renault
    Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari
    Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso Renault
    Nico Hulkenberg Renault Renault
    Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG.

    eom/FIA press release

  • I am hoping I will get to battle with at least one of them (Vettel, Max): Hamilton

    I am hoping I will get to battle with at least one of them (Vettel, Max): Hamilton

    Sebastian Vettel who took the pole, flanked by Max Verstappen (left) and Hamilton on Saturday in Mexico. Image by FIA

    DRIVERS at Saturday FIA Press Conference after qualifying: 1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari); 2 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing); 3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Damon Hill)

    Sebastian, what a great lap, tell us all about it?

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, it was quite a lap I have to say, I’m really, really happy. It’s very difficult here. It’s very slippery and difficult to get everything in one lap. I had a little bit in the first sector and I managed to get that right, so I had a good start. Then I had a bit of a moment in I think Turn 6. I nearly lost it there, I had to go down to first gear, but I didn’t lose any time and then I knew in the last sector if I just kept it clean across the line it should be enough and it was, so really, really happy.

    You’ve had to work really hard, I think Ferrari have really been working all weekend trying to get close. Is the car the racecar you want to have tomorrow?

    SV: Yeah, yesterday wasn’t that good for us in all honesty, but I think overnight we improved, we had a lot of things we worked on and changed and they all worked. So for now I’m really happy. For tomorrow, we’ll see what happens, but the race pace should be good.

    Max, what a tremendous effort. We really thought you had pole there. I expect you thought you had it too. Great performance, great qualifying, tell us about your laps?

    Max VERSTAPPEN: I’m super annoyed. I don’t know. Actually in Q3 it just got a bit more difficult, couldn’t really get the tyres to work. Of course, yeah, second is good, but not in the way I want.

    Well, I’m thinking you probably feel like you deserve a podium don’t you?

    MV: Well, deserve is a big word but I gave it my all today in qualifying but it was just not enough. I really wanted that pole position but at least we have a decent starting position.

    Well, we’ve seen what you can do today, what a terrific effort. Thank you very much for showing us what your talent is all about. Lewis, you tried everything today, but maybe the Mercedes is not the car for this track today. What’s going on there?

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, I mean those guys did a great job, they’re obviously very quick. I gave it everything I could, honestly I think the last lap could have been a couple of tenths quicker but still I wouldn’t have been able to match these guys.

    As far as the championship goes, you’re not concerned with where Ferrari is, where Seb is, they’ve done everything they need to do?

    LH: We’re still in the running for the win I think. We’ll see what happens with Max, but I’m hoping that I get to at least have a battle with one of them.

    Big day tomorrow, wishing you all the best for tomorrow. Seb, what needs to happen? You’ve got a slender chance left now for the world championship. You just have to go down that empty track and take the race for yourself do you?

    SV: I mean we have to maximise every session, whether it’s practice or qualifying. Obviously today is really important and tomorrow we see. You know yourself, it’s not as much in my control as I would like it to be, so it depends on what Lewis is doing, but for us we go all out. We attack and see what we can do. We deserve a good result, Ferrari deserves a good result so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.

     

     

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Well, Sebastian it looked like a great lap, but let’s start by talking about 50 pole positions. What does that number mean to you?

    SV: It sounds like a lot. I guess it is a lot. I don’t know really what to say. It’s a big number. I’m very, very happy with today. Before qualifying I didn’t look at it that way, so I was surprised myself to hear just now. I think every session you try to get the best. Quali has obviously been tough for us, and really rewarding when it worked, just like today. So really, really happy with the session that we had, with the lap I had at the end. So I think at the moment, right now, that probably means more than the raw number, but for sure overall it’s a great achievement.

    And how confident were you of getting pole position in Q3 given the pace of the man sitting on your right?

    SV: Yeah, he was very quick in Q2. I don’t know where he pulled that one from, so we had to stretch, I think, all of us. It’s very difficult around here because there is not much running I believe. The altitude has a different affect on the asphalt in terms of ageing, so it’s very slippery for all of us, very easy to do a mistake, very difficult to find that limit, to understand where exactly it is, where you can push, where you can’t, where you have to be careful. And then he foes four tenths quicker than everybody else, it’s a bit “how do I do that?” But I knew if I get the first sector together then I’ll have a better chance and yeah, it worked just in the end, so I was really happy with my first sector, so I was really happy with my first sector. And then I was able to build on that. Had a moment in six, where I nearly lost the car, but managed to go through without any time loss. From there I felt really comfortable and again able to push to the end. Obviously when I saw how much I was up crossing the line, I knew it would be close, but it should be enough. But I didn’t know what the others are doing; I guess the track improved a bit. When I heard it was enough, then, yeah, it’s like an explosion in the car. I had one yesterday with the extinguisher but today was a real one, so I’m really happy.

    Q: Coming to you Max, Sebastian has just been eulogising about your pace in Q2, so how frustrated are you that you’re not the man sitting in the middle this afternoon?

    MV: I mean you always try to go for pole position and Q2 was looking really good but somehow in Q3 I couldn’t switch the tyres on and, yeah, I couldn’t go faster, simple as that. On this track, it’s really slippery and for me the front tyres were not working, so just a bit of understeer and, on this track, you need to turn the car very quickly in the very low-speed corners and that was not happening in Q3, so I couldn’t improve. Yeah, of course, I mean second is still a good place but I think, yeah, especially after Q2 I was hoping for more.

    Q: Is there anything you might have done differently, with hindsight in Q3?

    MV: It’s difficult to say. Basically, we did exactly the same thing as in Q2 but both sets, they didn’t really switch on as well as I had in Q2. Somehow also the last sector was a bit more difficult. So yeah, really difficult to understand but sometimes you have that in qualifying, that you put a new set on and somehow it’s a bit more tricky.

    Q: Lewis, can you just talk us through that session from your point of view – because the gap between yourself and pole is unusually big.

    LH: Well, firstly, congratulations to Sebastian with the Number 50. I tried to deny him it but it wasn’t to be this weekend. Yeah, I think it was a difficult session in general. I think it’s been a difficult weekend, I would say, overall. As Max was saying, it’s very slippery here. I think some of the issues we have with the car are a little bit highlighted here. Perhaps not as big as places like Singapore but a little bit more here. I gave it everything I could. I think the gap really is a couple of tenths more. My last lap I was two-tenths up and I didn’t finish it, but still that’s a significant gap. I think they just did a great job. I think their car was working a little bit better this weekend, and yeah, we’re still there in the fight. I think our long run pace is definitely better than our qualifying pace.

    Q: I was going to say, you did a very long run in practice. How confident are you of your race pace?

    LH: As I said, the race pace is good, so not worried about that – but you can’t overtake here, you need a big delta to overtake, I think it’s over a second delta to the car in front, as far as I’m aware – 1.3s or something – so positioning is important but there’s a long way down to Turn One. So, we should have some fun tomorrow.

     

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Rodrigo Amozurrutia de Anzorena – Récord) Sebastian, will it be special for you to win the race where maybe Lewis will get the World Championship.

    SV: Well, I don’t think we need to debate what’s the bigger cup. For us, it’s pretty straightforward. I don’t think it’s much point looking at what others are doing, what Lewis is doing. I think the position we are in, we need to try and maximise everything we can and then, depends on him. It’s pretty straightforward, I would say but for sure this is a very nice race, a very nice atmosphere and I think tomorrow there will be even more people than today and yeah, last year I think we were fighting for the podium and weren’t sure who was supposed to be there, so this year I hope that y’know.

    MV: I’m used to it, I’ve had practice…

    SV: … so when we get to the podium, we end up there and deserve it.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Max, what influence the new engine of Renault engine you use already in Austin, this qualifying? And Lewis, maybe you have some problem in the power unit. Are you worried concerning the race?

    MV: A tickle difference. But y’know, every step is positive so I think they can learn a lot for next year, which is positive already, in terms of reliability, so it’s always good to already have that right now.

    And Lewis, any engine dramas for you? We did hear you in practice on the radio.

    LH: It’s not something I’m thinking too much about but it has not been a clean weekend in terms of the power unit, so we’ll see what happens.

    Q: (Rik Spekenbrink – Ad Sportwereld) Question for Max. What do you make of the incident with Bottas?

    MV: Which incident? I was on the inside, he was just doing his line and he locked up, so there was no incident.

    We heard there was some investigation

    MV: That can be. But for me, there is no incident.

    Q: (Mariana Jiménez – Record) Lewis, you said the race pace is better for tomorrow than the qualifying but what could stop you from winning tomorrow and would you like to get your fourth title, even though you don’t win tomorrow?

    LH: Yeah, I mean that’s obviously the goal. Pole position was obviously the goal today but it just wasn’t meant to be. Honestly it was so close through practice and I think it’s the first time it’s been so close between five or six of us which is exciting and put us all under pressure but as I said, a lot of very good qualifying sessions I’ve had this year… it wasn’t at the top of those. But I think, as I said, overtaking here is very difficult but the start’s going to be fun. I’m hoping I’m able to move forwards there if possible and then after that it’s a one stop strategy here so it’s really how you look after your tyres’ degradation but there’s not really much degradation if any. I think in the race it’s going to be very very tough but I hope that I will remain at least close if I’m not where I want to be in turn one but yeah, winning here would be…. If you’ve seen the crowd today it’s such a spectacle from above. I saw the camera from the helicopter, it looks incredible. There’s a lot of energy in the crowd so to do it on Mexican soil would be pretty neat.

    Q: (Jim Vertuno – Associated Press) For all three of you: at one point in different points of the race last year you all had issues, adventures around that first turn. How do you think the kerbs and the changes there are going to affect how aggressive you can be off the start between the three of you?

    SV: Well, you don’t want to go there, simple as that. I know that last year we had a bit of discussion here and there but personally I don’t like… we might as well put a wall. I think for the guys it’s probably the same. We all try to get the corner, every time we go round. Obviously sometimes we don’t but it is what it is.

    MV: I do think this year it’s normally a little bit easier. We don’t arrive as fast and we have more downforce compared to last year so the locking is a little bit less of an issue but of course turn one, if you really want to go for it, you can always brake a bit too late but I think those kerbs really stop you from like braking ridiculously late, for sure.

    LH: I don’t really have much more to say, it’s the same.

    Q: (Ysef Harding – Xiro Xone News) Max, you’ve often shown that you’re a young man without fear, you don’t care if it’s a red car, silver car and you’ve often said that these guys have everything to lose and you don’t. Are you planning to take advantage of that tomorrow?

    MV: You’re always careful. I think everybody here in the paddock wants to win races so if you see that opportunity of course you go for it but I think you always respect your competitor.

    Q: (Frank – Woestenburg De Telegraaf) Max, you’ve been here a couple of days. The altitude, is that a factor for you?

    MV: Personally not, because it’s actually quite nice because you don’t sweat as much but of course for the car it’s a lot of downforce loss, I think it’s even less than Monza so yes, it’s a bit more tricky and then also with the track I think in general being a bit slippery, then with a lot of loss of downforce compared to normal tracks yeah, that’s a bit more difficult but personally or like physically it’s all good.

    Q: (Carlos Alberto Velázquez – Reforma News) Lewis, have you thought how you will celebrate tomorrow if you win your fourth championship here in Mexico?

    LH: I haven’t and I won’t think of it until I achieve it.

    ends/FIA transcript