Category Archives: Uncategorized

Sebastian Vettel was keen to keep a lid on expectations despite topping the times on the first day of the season in Melbourne.

Vettel was fastest in both FP1 and FP2, and in the latter he was some 0.4s ahead of RBR’s nearest rival, the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg. He also hit traffic on his run on supersofts and thus could have been even faster.

“It was a very good day considering it was the first day of the season,” said Vettel. “We didn’t have any problems, no major dramas. We know a little bit more than yesterday, that’s for sure, but I think we have to be aware of the fact that conditions can change, a couple of degrees make a massive difference with these tyres.

“For today I think we were very happy, but tomorrow could be another day. I think there’s room for improvement, but we need to keep our eyes open, and then we see what happens.”

Lewis Hamilton ended his FP2 session in the gravel trap in Melbourne today after damage to the floor of his car cost him downforce and sent him off the road.

The team was aware of a possible problem after it was spotted in the pits, but worryingly perhaps the message did not get through before Hamilton went straight at Turn 6, just reaching the tyre wall before he came to  halt.

“I had separation of the front splitter,” he explained. “The splitter was pushed right up underneath, touching the top of the chassis, underneath the chassis. I lost a lot of front end. I went into Turn 6, turned in, and nothing really happened, I just went straight on.

“The guys said they saw something in the pit stop and they were about to call me in, but it was too late, I’d already gone off. Those things happen.”

Having made a mistake on his quick run earlier in the afternoon Hamilton finished the day in seventh place, but he was encouraged by the pace of Nico Rosberg, who was 0.4s faster and third overall.

“It was a really good day, a surprisingly good day, and really positive. Nico did a great job, I didn’t get a good time on my lap because I locked up and went wide, but generally it’s been really positive.

“We’re not massively off the Red Bulls, which is incredible, really incredible, and just shows what a great job all the guys back at the factory have done. Obviously there’s been a couple of issues, which we’ll work hard to fix, but I don’t think it’s anything the team can’t fix.

“The Red Bull is massively quick, as it always is, they’ve obviously been sandbagging the whole time in winter as expected, and all of a sudden they’ve pulled out a lot of time. But I don’t feel we’re miles away. They’ve gone from being really far away to being not far away from Red Bull, and that’s really impressive.”

Christian Horner insists that he has no idea what the form book looks like, despite widespread speculation that RBR is in better shape than headline times in testing might have suggested.

Horner also says that tyres will be the key factor in determining how this season plays out.

“I think it’s impossible to tell what the playing order is at the moment, who’s where,” said Horner. “And maybe we won’t even see on Saturday, if there’s going to be rain around as well. There’s probably going to be two or three races until we see a pattern emerge, but for sure you can see that the usual suspects are going to be competitive, Fernando in the Ferrari, the Mercedes has looked good over the winter, McLaren, the Lotus has been competitive as well.

“I think the biggest difference this year is that the tyres are working slightly differently, and how the car works its tyres over a single lap and over the race are going to be critical factors.

“It’s the same for everybody. I think there’s nobody here that can tell you whether they think it’s going to be a one, two, three, four or five stop race on Sunday.”

Horner is happy with the way winter testing unfolded, especially as the team made a relatively late call to guarantee that the RB9 was at the first session in Jerez.

“Testing wise we had a very productive three tests, we got through the vast majority of what we wanted to achieve. You’re always left wanting more, but everybody’s only got 12 days. What was particularly impressive for us was to be at that first test after what was absolutely the shortest design and production time of any of our cars to date. The amount of hours and effort that went in behind the scenes in Milton Keynes was awesome.

“For sure we were later with the car, but it’s an evolutionary car, so of course you take what you’ve learned out of RB8 into RB9. When you’re fighting for a championship up to the last race it puts an additional pressure on the system.

“Hats off to the guys, they worked round the clock. We decided to be at that first test very late on. There were no spare parts there, but we had a car there.

“We made good progress, and where we actually finished up gave us a good understanding of where we are with the car coming here. How that compares to the competitors, who knows. Both drivers, with what they finished the test with, or what they will be starting here with, were certainly quite happy.”

Sebastian Vettel says winning three titles has not changed his approach to 2013, or affected his motivation in any way.

The German insists that it’s business as usual at the start of the new season.

“Well if there is a secret I think it’s not to think about what happened the last three years,” said Vettel. “I think the first title was very, very special. After that I don’t think you have that pressure any more. You’ve proved to yourself more than to anyone else that you can do so. After that obviously we had two fantastic years again, very different to each other.

“But as I said, you probably don’t think about what happened last year or the last three years. We are here, we have zero points on our side at the moment, the same as everyone else. So everyone has the same opportunities.

“The cars didn’t really change. Last year we saw it was very close, so I don’t expect it to be any different that last year. If anything maybe a little bit tighter. So it will be crucial to make the most out of every single race – but in terms of motivation… it was a long flight, but I’m happy to be here now and very pleased to start again.”

Vettel expects a tough battle this season.

“I think it’s going to be a long year. Obviously we’re looking forward to this weekend and this is the first of many. But I think we’ve seen in the last couple of years, last year in particular, that it’s a long season and every race is very important. So this is the place we start but then there are many other places coming.”

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari in much better shape than it was this time last year, but insists that the Scuderia is just one of five teams that will set the pace in 2013.

Alonso stressed how important it is for Ferrari to get off to a flying start this season.

“I think it was not difficult to start better than last year because it was difficult to start any worse,” said Alonso in Melbourne today. “We were a little bit too far behind, and the winter has been much better than the last year, understanding the car and working with the car and getting the results we more or less expect.

“That will give us much more confidence and optimism to start the season, but who knows? I think it will be a very interesting championship, very challenging first part of the championship with Australia, Malaysia. Difficult circuits, difficult weather as well – changeable. So we need to start on the right foot and hopefully scoring some good points for the championship.”

Asked if Ferrari can win the season opener, he said: “I think difficult to know. No-one knows who can win this race at this moment. We have to wait and see for answers to some questions that winter testing doesn’t answer. I think there are top teams with a little bit of advantage.

“Maybe it’s not the same as last year where we saw seven different winners in the seven first races. It was a little bit mixed on the grid. I think this year with the consistency in the rules I expect the five top teams to have a little advantage and not to have many, many surprises in the first races. But from these five top teams I think it’s very difficult to see really after winter testing who has this extra two- or three-tenths that can make you win. At the moment I think it’s very close and very difficult to choose one favourite.

“I think Mercedes, McLaren, Lotus, Ferrari and Red Bull show up some potential in different days in testing and different parts of races last year. I think it‘s difficult to choose.”

Alonso said the team is well prepared after testing,

“We more or less did the programme that we planned – even though we had some changeable weather on some days – and we arrived here with our hundred per cent of the potential at the moment in the car. We don’t really miss anything, that was a problem before.

“So, hopefully it’s enough to be competitive and this circuit in particular I like a lot. I have been always very comfortable here and with good performance, the same in Malaysia, these first two races can be a good opportunity for us to score some good points. But I don’t know how quick we can be.”

Venezuelan GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez has been signed as Marussia’s reserve driver, and will complete some FP1 sessions for the team this year.

The 26-year-old did the Abu Dhabi Young Driver tests with Lotus Racing/Team Lotus in 2010 and 2011, and also tested for the team under its Caterham guise at Mugello in 2012. He also had a run for Force India at Magny-Cours last season.

“We welcome Rodolfo to the Marussia F1 Team and take encouragement from the fact that he has all the right experience to be able to fulfil the role of Reserve Driver in the event that he is required to step into a seat,” said John Booth. “To further prepare him we look forward to seeing him take part in a number of FP1 sessions throughout the season, when we will also have the opportunity to evaluate his performances for the future.”

“I am very excited to be joining the Marussia F1 Team and at such an exciting time in their development,” said Gonzalez. “Working closely with the race drivers and engineers at every stage of the race weekend is a fantastic opportunity for me to learn outside of the car and I hope that I can make a significant contribution to the Team’s progress.”

He added: “Although it is a big moment for my career, the people of Venezuela are going through a sad time at present due to the death of President Chavez, so I hope this news lifts their spirits a little. For me, I am disappointed that I was not able to share the news with him personally.”

McLaren has confirmed that it is splitting from Vodafone at the end of the 2013 season – while adding that it will announce its new title sponsor in December, after the last race.

The news will inevitably encourage speculation that TelMex, or another Mexican entity, could be a possible replacement.

A team statement said: “Having met and exceeded all the highly ambitious targets that Vodafone had set for its title partnership with McLaren, the company has now decided to focus on business priorities away from Formula 1 sponsorship.”

Meanwhile Vodafone Group Chief Commercial Officer Morten Lundal said: “Vodafone and McLaren set ourselves highly ambitious goals in 2007. Over the past six years, we’ve set new standards in sports marketing together, and in doing so have achieved all of those objectives. We look forward to continuing to work together throughout the 2013 season.”

Regarding the future, the team added: “While the current title partnership is in place with Vodafone, McLaren will not disclose its new title partnership, but will make an exciting announcement on 2^nd December 2013, following the last Grand Prix of the season.”

Ross Brawn says he’s pleased with progress at Mercedes over recent weeks but admits once again that the true form of the W04 will only become apparent in Melbourne.

Mercedes ended the Barcelona test at the top of the time sheets, but Brawn is under no illusions.

“The start of a new F1 season is always an intense but exciting time for the team,” said Brawn in a team preview. “Our factories in Brackley and Brixworth have been buzzing with activity with both Nico and Lewis visiting to complete their final preparations on the simulator, and the team working to finish the cars, engines and pack the freight for the four flyaway races coming up.

“The first race is where we can really begin to assess our competitive position and how much of a step forward we have made with our new Silver Arrow. We had a successful pre-season testing programme and personally, I am pleased with the progress we have made, both with the car and in terms of how we operate as a team.

“However, testing is simply that; racing is a completely different situation and Melbourne will see much higher track temperatures and more varied conditions than we have experienced so far.”

Meanwhile Toto Wolff added: “When it comes to starting a new season, it’s only facts that count – everything else is simply speculation. The facts are that we had a good winter test programme, completed the second highest mileage of any team and made some good progress. Lewis and Nico are working well together and there is a positive dynamic in the team, from the factory to the track.

“So we head to Australia well prepared. But we know, too, that we will be running in very different temperatures, on a different track surface and that every team will have to finally lay their cards on the table in qualifying on Saturday. Only then can we have a first indication of where we stand in terms of performance. It may sound clichéd but our goal is simply to perform as well as possible.”

Lady Virginia Williams, wife of Sir Frank, has lost her battle with cancer at the age of 66.

The Williams team announced today: “Lady Virginia, or ‘Ginny’ as she was better known, died peacefully at the family home last night surrounded by Frank and the rest of the Williams family. Ginny had been bravely battling cancer for the past two and a half years.

“Ginny will always be an integral part of Williams’ history and success, and today we pay tribute to a much loved member of the Williams family who will be sorely missed.”

It goes without saying that Virginia Williams played an enormous role in getting Sir Frank through the aftermath of his March 1986 road car accident, and she had been a rock in his life ever since.

In 1991 she wrote an extraordinary book, ‘A Different Kind of Life,’ about her relationship with Frank and the impact the accident had on their lives together.

In it she revealed that they first met in 1967, when she was engaged to an aspiring F3 driver and working a receptionist. After her marriage hit trouble she began a relationship with Frank, and following her divorce, they married in 1974 in a ceremony hurriedly squeezed in between races.

She played a largely uncredited role in helping Frank through his difficult early years in F1, giving up her job and even loaning him money after selling her flat before their marriage. The book also recounts the huge sacrifices she made as Frank used every spare penny to keep the team going.

The couple had three children, Claire, Jonathan and Jaime. This writer sends his condolences to them, Sir Frank and the rest of her family.

Jenson Button says he’s feeling well prepared heading to Melbourne, but admits – like everyone else – that he has no idea how the form book looks.

Button has a history of starting the season well, having won the Australian GP three times in recent years.

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s come around already!,” said Button in a team race preview. “It seems like only last week that I was standing on top of the podium in Sao Paulo; I really can’t believe that we’re all getting ready to board flights to Australia. It feels incredible – the time has gone by so quickly.

“One of the most fascinating things about Formula 1 is the way it resets itself each and every winter. I’ve seen every side of that – you can have a terrible winter of testing, then turn up at the first race and be competitive; equally, you can look impressive in winter testing and be nowhere in Melbourne. If you’re lucky, it all comes together in the tests and you hit the ground running at the first race. That’s always the goal.

“This year, I don’t think any team really knows or understands the competitive order. It’s been an extremely hard-to-read winter: varying fuel-loads and levels of tyre degradation mean that it’s hard to accurately predict who’ll arrive in Australia with the best-sorted car. But that’s part of the game.”