Category Archives: Grand Prix News

November 3, 2014 · 4:35 pm

Double points could overshadow Rosberg title, Wolff admits

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits that the double points scenario in Abu Dhabi could cast a shadow on a championship victory for Nico Rosberg.

Even if Lewis Hamilton wins in Brazil with Rosberg failing to score, if the opposite then happens in Abu Dhabi, the German would win the title.

“It’s satisfying to know that only a Mercedes driver can win the championship from now on,” said Wolff. “Even though it was highly likely, with 92 points to Daniel from now it’s mathematically impossible that somebody else wins it. And that’s a good feeling.

“I think the last race with the double points has the potential to overshadow a season. We know why the double points came, and it made all the sense in the world to make it spectacular for the audience and for the fans and for the viewers, but now we are in a situation that it could change the outcome.”

Meanwhile Wolff is happy that Mercedes has equalled McLaren’s 1988 record of 10 one-two finishes in a season.

“There is one thing that makes me proud for the achievements of the team. As a kid I remember this dominance of McLaren, and I remember seeing those cars taking one-twos all the time, up to a point when it was almost boring. It was just dominance pure, and us equalling that record and even being able to do one or two more is proof that the team has done many things right, and the team has taken many good decisions. Normally I don’t care about statistics, but that one is something which reminds me of 20 years ago.”

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November 3, 2014 · 1:25 am

Lewis Hamilton: “Nico wasn’t defending there really…”

Lewis Hamilton took a step closer to securing the 2014 World Championship with his fifth straight victory at Austin, giving himself a 24-point lead over team mate Nico Rosberg.

Thanks to double points the title battle will now go own to the wire in Abu Dhabi as even a victory in Brazil with Rosberg failing to score would leave him only 49 points ahead.

“It’s been an incredible run,” said Hamilton. “This whole season has been incredible really. Just an unbelievable job done by the team. Nico was very quick in qualifying yesterday. Obviously I said I had a couple of problems and I corrected them today and, never know how the race is going to go but I pushed as hard as I could, particularly in the first stint. And the second stint I seemed to be even quicker on that stint. Once I got past Nico it was really just about controlling it. Coming here today, just having that same determination and hunger to get that win. And, as I said, there’s not a better crowd really to do that in front of.”

Hamilton’s move on Rosberg was the key to his win: “It’s obviously a very good circuit to be able to follow but it’s not easy and it was very hard through the middle sector to try to stay as close to him as possible and get as close as I could to the DRS zone. And I was quite a bit back, I would say, but I felt very confident, there was a big headwind into 12, and I just felt like I was waiting for the moment really, to just be just close enough to throw it up the inside. And that’s what I did.

“You have to decide how much of a risk you’re willing to take. Nico wasn’t defending there really so I almost caught him unaware. And after that, really I was just trying to maintain it.”

Lewis said he really enjoyed his week in the USA: “I just went into the race with the belief that I could win it. Incredible support from my fans, even from when I was in New York this week. The support from my fans and the tons of flags out there and team tops and team caps, I really am so grateful for that support that I have here in the US. It’s amazing. I hope it continues to grow over the years. Great weather, the circuit’s just fantastic. I went into the race thinking I need another race just like 2012 and it was just like that.

“I was catching him through exactly the same points at which I was catching Sebastian. There wasn’t a moment in the race when I didn’t think that I would get him. Once I was past, as I said, I was able to relax for a second and really try to manage the tyres, because I knew that perhaps he would push at some other point. And so I was always having to respond. It’s such a great feeling when you have a race like that, it just feels great that you’ve really done it as best as you can.”

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November 3, 2014 · 12:32 am

Perez lands seven-place grid penalty for Brazil

Sergio Perez has landed a seven-place grid penalty for the Brazilian GP after his first lap collision with Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil in Austin.

The incident spelled the end of the race for both Sutil and Perez, who also gets two penalty points.

The stewards noted: “The driver of car 11 could not reasonably have expected to complete the manoeuvre. His collision with car 99 was reckless.”

Perez said: “What happened today is really unfortunate. I made a move on Adrian at turn 15 when he left the door open, so I went up the inside. Then Adrian started to close the door and I had to try and brake later than him.

“By doing so I was unable to avoid contact with Kimi, which caused me to make contact with Adrian also. I just didn’t expect Kimi to be in that position. It’s a big shame because I had a great chance to keep up my run of points finishes and I was determined to do well in such an important race.”

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November 2, 2014 · 12:42 am

Ecclestone promises to redistribute F1’s wealth

Bernie Ecclestone has taken the huge step of admitting in public that the distribution of funds among the F1 teams is not equitable – and that he is responsible.

Ecclestone insists that he will attempt to address the issue and try to save the ailing teams, although contracts make that difficult.

“I know what’s wrong, but don’t know how to fix it,” he told PA and other British media outlets. “No-one is prepared to do anything about it because they can’t. The regulations have tied us up. If we were in a position where we could help these teams in trouble, we would do it. But we are not allowed to.

“If one team is given $10,000, everyone has to have 10,000. The trouble with lots of regulations and lots of contracts is we don’t think long term.”
Regarding the specifics of the distribution of the F1 fund, he said: “It makes no difference to me how the money is shared out.

“If they sat down here with me now and said they want to share out all of the money they get in a different way, I would say, ‘Good, give me the bit of paper’.

“The problem is there is too much money being distributed badly – probably my fault – but, like lots of agreements people make, they seemed a good idea at the time.”

Ecclestone said it wouldn’t be easy to override the existing deals: “I would say to people getting a chunk of money that I would like to take a percentage of their performance-related payment. I would put that money together to divide among the three or four we know are in trouble, and then I would put in the same amount of money. But there would not be one team that would think it was a bloody good idea.

“In the old days, the people sitting around a table would be the guys who could say yes or no. They would ask me to sort it out and it would be sorted. But none of the modern guys can agree anything, even if they wanted to. They all have to report back to somebody.

“I’d take all the money, pay all the teams’ debts that should be paid so people haven’t suffered because of Formula One, and people haven’t got credit for Formula One.

“I’d then say this is what you are going to get next year, this is the amount of money we’ve got, and this is what is going to happen from now on in. It’s percentages. It’s a case that the people involved in the sport will have to want to look after the sport and be prepared to make some sacrifices.”

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November 1, 2014 · 11:55 pm

Ecclestone wants to “tear up all the contracts,” says Mallya

Force India owner Vijay Mallya is confident that Bernie Ecclestone will address the financial issues facing the midfield teams after they discussed F1’s financial problems today.

Mallya and Sauber’s Monisha Kaltenborn met with Ecclestone this afternoon, and Bernie agreed that he has to take a look at the distribution of money between the teams – which is heavily weighted towards Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Williams after they all signed individual deals when the last Concorde Agreement ran out.

“What is good is that he readily agreed that the pattern of distribution of F1 funds was disproportionate and skewed too heavily towards the big teams,” Mallya told this writer. “He said he’d do whatever he needs to do to try and fix it. He’s willing to look at changing things, and he needs to get CVC to agree. Basically, some past mistakes have come home to roost, and it needs to be fixed.

“The concept now is the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. We’re all racing on the same race track, in the same championship, why should these larger teams grab a major share of the revenue? What’s the justification?

“Either the commercial rights holder has to put in more money, or the distribution model has to change. That’s something that Bernie need to take the initiative on. What he says is if he could he’d just tear up all the contracts, but he’s worried hell get sued! But I think he can find a way.”

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November 1, 2014 · 8:44 pm

Sauber confirms Ericsson – who will drive second car?

Sauber has confirmed that Marcus Ericsson will be one of the team’s race drivers in 2015, as predicted here yesterday.

The team says that the second driver will be announced at a later date, which is an unusual turn of phrase given that Adrian Sutil is understood to have a firm two-year contract.

Meanwhile Giedo van der Garde remains confident about his future plans and has made it clear that he hopes to be a Sauber race driver next year. If that turns out to be the case then presumably the team will have to pay Sutil appropriate compensation.

Regarding Ericsson team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said: “We are pleased to announce this cooperation. We have got to know Marcus as a highly motivated driver. He did not have an easy rookie season this year in Formula One, however, he kept calm and improved continuously, mainly in the last races. We are convinced that signing Marcus can give the team a fresh impetus.”

“Fresh from a very turbulent week, I was suddenly given my best early Christmas present ever,” said Ericsson. “The Sauber F1 Team has put its trust in me for 2015, and it makes me proud, as Sauber is known to be one of the best teams in developing young drivers. It will be a great challenge. I will give my very best to develop both as a driver, and to be part of the challenge to put the Sauber F1 Team back closer to the front where it belongs.”

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October 31, 2014 · 11:01 pm

Vettel will run in Q1 to meet 107% rule, says Horner

RBR boss Christian Horner has confirmed that Sebastian Vettel will take part in Q1 in Austin, but it will be only a token appearance to ensure that the German fulfils the 107% rule.

Vettel is due to start from the pitlane thanks to taking a complete sixth power unit.

“I think it’s a silly rule, isn’t it?,” Horner told Sky TV. “To have to eliminate a car totally from qualifying, it doesn’t really make sense. People are here to come and see the guys qualify and do the best they can. It’s a crazy situation that we’ve got a four-time World Champion effectively not taking part tomorrow. We will take part in the first part of qualifying, but we’re going to be limiting mileage to an absolute minimum.

“The problem is that the rules dictate that wherever he qualifies, he’s in the pitlane. This power unit has now got to do three races. We know they’re fragile so we’ve got to save as many kilometres as we can. Theoretically he’s only go to do one or two laps.

“I think it’s right that he takes part in the event. It’s important that he registers a lap, he’s within 107%, there’s no debate as to whether he’ll be racing or not on Sunday.”

Horner denied that there had been any pressure from Bernie Ecclestone: “I haven’t had that conversation with Bernie. He hasn’t said, ‘You’ve got to send your cars out,’ or anything like that. We need to abide by the rules. It’s only right that Sebastian does go out and do a lap in qualy. People are coming here to see the drivers in action, it would be silly to have him in the pit wall.”

Vettel was last in FP2 as he missed track time and had no need to run in qualifying trim: “It’s been a busy day. We had a gearbox change between P1 and P2 with Sebastian, and then a rear wing change that took a long time during the session just because we’re trying different set-ups. We managed to get the data we wanted out of the session, now it’s a matter of crunching the numbers tonight and working out what’s the best thing to do for the race.

“He’s obviously only been focussed on long runs because there’s no point looking at the short runs.”

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October 31, 2014 · 10:36 pm

Ericsson set for Sauber seat in 2015

Marcus Ericsson is set be a Sauber driver next year, according to sources close to the Swiss team.

It appears that the Swede has beaten both Giedo van der Garde and Esteban Gutierrez to the seat alongside Adrian Sutil – assuming that the German’s ongoing contract is fulfilled.

Ericsson has shown well in recent races after weight saving and brake and aero updates at Caterham made him much more comfortable with the car.

He has substantial sponsorship from Sweden, and the suggestion is that an early payment would help to get Sauber through the winter.

Speaking to this writer he said: “I’m not involved in these things but I know my management are working 100% on making me stay in F1. We’ve done this first year now and I’ve started to perform on a good level, and of course I want to stay and continue that. There are not many seats available and of course Sauber is one option, and it’s one of the teams we’re talking to.”

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October 31, 2014 · 9:40 pm

Lewis Hamilton: “I guess I’ll get a better feel in the race…”

Lewis Hamilton was 0.003s faster than team mate Nico Rosberg in practice in Austin today, but it was not a perfect day for the championship leader.

Hamilton was forced to sit out the last part of FP2 after suffering a hydraulic leak, yet another sign of a reliability problems at Mercedes.

“They just said there was some fluid on the floor,” said Hamilton. “There was a leak of some sort, I don’t think it was anything too concerning. It doesn’t help when you lose a little bit of time on the long run, because you get a real good understanding of how much you can push, how much you have to save fuel, and those kinds of things.

“Nico had the whole session and hopefully in terms of the team we’ll learn in terms of the team and understanding the data and everything. For me I guess I’ll get a better feel in the race…”

Meanwhile Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe said: “It was a hydraulic issue, quite a small thing. We don’t know exactly what, but we made a precautionary stop. We had two or three things going on at the same time. Reliability is a really important factor in the championship overall, and it’s becoming particularly pointy at the moment with the two drivers heading towards Abu Dhabi, It’s a big challenge for us to make sure we give them sisx car finishes in the next three races.”

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October 31, 2014 · 7:35 pm

Buyers interested in Caterham, says administrator

The administrators for Caterham Sports Ltd claim that they are talking to potential buyers for the F1 team.

Smith & Williamson have also taken control of 1MRT, the entity that actually owns the F1 team’s entry.

In a statement the company said: “We remain in conversation with a number of credible, interested parties regarding the sale of the historic Caterham F1 racing team.

“Our current strategy is to seek a buyer that will allow the team to compete in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi on 23 November 2014 and we are doing all we can to make that happen. However, if a deal cannot be finalised in time, then the strategy is to secure a buyer to allow the team to compete in the 2015 F1 championship.

“We are working with our specialist Corporate Finance team to manage the sale process and we have received several expressions of interest from parties with the financial strength to fund a F1 race team. These conversations are ongoing. We believe this approach will maximise the assets of the broader Caterham F1 team and so enable the best outcome for creditors and other stakeholders, including employees of 1MRT.”

One thing that has not been addressed is the fact that in theory entries for the 2015 World Championship have to be filed – and paid for – by November 1.

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