May 22, 2014 · 4:58 pm

Lewis Hamilton: “The car is still a work in progress…”

It was no surprise when Mercedes set the pace in Monaco today, but all the signs are that Red Bull and Ferrari are a lot closer at a track where the power unit is less critical.

In FP1 Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were just 0.032s apart, although a disjointed FP2 meant that the times were not representative, with Hamilton half a second off Fernando Alonso, and Rosberg was only 20th.

“The car is still a work in progress but it felt really good out there today,” said Hamilton. “I had a good first session and was then really pleased to get those last few laps in the dry this afternoon which was a big plus. I’m feeling pretty set for Saturday, there is still some work to do but we have tomorrow to look into that and finish all our preparations for the weekend.”

“That was a very good day,” said Rosberg. “It seems that we are looking very quick here again, although our main competitors seems to be a little closer to us than in Barcelona. I still need to find my perfect set-up so there is still some work for us to do tomorrow to get ready for the weekend. The conditions weren’t great this afternoon so I didn’t take any risks as there was nothing to learn on the wet parts of the track.”

Meanwhile Paddy Lowe confirmed that there is still some work to be done.

“We had a straightforward first practice session when we chose to run an offset schedule to take ourselves out of the dominant traffic. That worked well as we got good clear runs on both sets of tyres, working on the set-up and dialling the car into the track. P2 was obviously wet and only dried up enough to do some useful running in the final half hour.

“This meant we weren’t able to do all our homework on tyre wear and long-run performance, but we were at least able to do a run on the option tyre, to give the drivers a feel for the car in what will be the tyre of choice in qualifying. Overall, the car was working well today and the drivers’ feedback was positive, but there is still more work needed to best prepare for qualifying on Saturday.”

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May 22, 2014 · 10:30 am

Ferrari and Montezemolo address Alonso criticism

Tension at Ferrari? Not according to Montezemolo. Photo: AC

Tension at Ferrari? Not according to Montezemolo. Photo: AC


Fernando Alonso caused something of a stir yesterday when asked about a recent comment from Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche to the effect that the Spaniard was the best driver in the world.

Alonso responded by saying that it was always good to hear such comments from outsiders –and pointed out, somewhat enigmatically, that he didn’t always feel such support from closer to home.

“It’s always welcome when people see your job in a good way and respect what you try to do and what you try to achieve,” said Alonso. “Sometimes it’s strange to see good comments and good compliments from people from outside, and from the other side, that are supposed to be close to you, there are the opposite comments. It’s motivating for me, and it’s good to receive good comments, but it’s funny when you see the opposite in your closest friends.”

Ferrari has been quick to play down the significance of his response and today issued some quotes from Luca di Montezemolo, apparently given to an Australian road car journalist.

“Fernando is the best driver in the world, who always gives 200% in the races,” he said. “He knows how much I count on him, even away from the race track, in terms of his contribution and the impetus he gives to the team. I think it’s incredible that there are still some so-called experts who don’t understand that and are always looking for a polemical situation that simply doesn’t exist”.

“The truth is that he and Kimi, another incredible driver, need a competitive Ferrari and giving them that is our sole objective. We are working very hard, starting with Marco Mattiacci, who knows what needs to be done and who will instigate many changes at a technical and organizational level and in speeding up the decision- making process. That’s what I want, as do our drivers and our fans, while all the rest is just idle chat.”

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May 21, 2014 · 5:34 pm

Vettel pays tribute to Jack Brabham

Sebastian Vettel is known for having a greater appreciation of F1 history than many of his colleagues, and today the German demonstrated that when he paid tribute to the late Sir Jack Brabham.

He acknowledged that the Australian’s feat of winning the World Championship in his own car was a special one.

“I was fortunate enough to still meet him in person, a couple of years ago at the Australian GP,” he said. “I think he’s one of those drivers who will be remembered for many things, especially the record you mentioned, which I think will last for as long as F1 will last, because there won’t be a driver in the future to win in his own car.

“Times have changed, but I think already back then it was an incredible achievement. I think there are certain records around like that – the other one is probably John Surtees, to win the championship in F1, but also on motorbikes.

“Simply as a fan as the sport it was a great loss, obviously not good news, but on the other hand he was 88 when he passed away, and I hope he enjoyed all of his 88 years on the planet.”

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May 21, 2014 · 5:01 pm

Kimi Raikkonen: “For sure one day we’ll get there…”

Kimi Raikkonen says that the Spanish GP represented a step forward for him after a difficult start to this second Ferrari career.

However the Finn insisted that circumstances had conspired to make earlier weekends look worse than they should have.

“We’ve been pretty good in other races also,” he said. “But obviously had some problems in the race or in practice, and always messed up the complete big picture a bit. But obviously it was a bit better last time around. To be honest, if we finished where we finished, I think sixth and seventh, it’s not at all where we want to be as a team, so we still have an awful lot of work to do.

“We improve things little-by-little but the other teams are also going forward so it’s not a simple thing to fix and be in front suddenly. We know how it works and we know how much things have to improve but we keep working hard and for sure one day we will get there.”

Meanwhile the former Monaco winner has an open mind about prospects for this weekend.

“Obviously it’s been pretty OK many times for me, the race, but then it’s not always from your side that the things go wrong here. There’s so many things that can affect your result in the end. Previous years haven’t been the best again, but hopefully this year can be a bit better, and hopefully we get some good points. But obviously it’s too early to say how the car will be. Everything is different from last year, so we have to just go open-minded and try to do the best that we can.

“Obviously [we have] a bit less grip this year and maybe some cars are a bit more hard to handle, but we have to see how it goes on the first practice and see what it is. But I think we’ve improved a lot since the winter, and it should be OK.”

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May 21, 2014 · 3:32 pm

PVDSA support not under threat, Maldonado insists

Pastor Maldonado has denied suggestions that his PDVSA backing is under threat after Venezuela’s sports minister said that there would be no more support for the country’s racing drivers.

Maldonado insisted that politician Antonio Alvarez had nothing to do with PDVSA’s sponsorship of Lotus.

“It was exactly the same last year, and here I am,” said the Lotus driver in Monaco today. “I think always when Venezuela is moving or whatever, you always relate that with me. I mean, the sports minister is not sponsoring me.

“The sport minister was sponsoring a lot of drivers before. Last year there was a big impact history in motor sport, for the Venezuelan government and all the Venezuelan guys, because most of these drivers were stealing money from the government, and apart from that PDVSA is not my sponsor it’s a team sponsor, and I don’t know the real situation against the team and against PDVSA. The best thing would be to ask the team or the PDVSA guys.

“I have a good relationship. We’ve been working for very long, more than 10 years at the moment, and I don’t see any reason to stop. If they stop, it’s not my decision.”

Maldonado was keen to distance the oil company from any decision by the minister: “The information I have is that the oil company didn’t talk about the sponsoring in F1. It was some communication from the sports minister, and that’s it. The minister of sport is not supporting F1.”

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May 19, 2014 · 7:45 pm

Toto Wolff on Mercedes: “You can’t get complacent…”

The Spanish GP was the fifth race in a row from the start of the season to see every lap led by a Mercedes. It’s a rare achievement, and it’s worth noting that on previous occasions – with McLaren in 1988 and Williams in 1992 – one team proved utterly dominant. In the case of Williams that run ended at round six in Monaco, although in 1988 McLaren kept its record up until the eighth race.

However, despite the flying start to the season Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff remains cautious.

“It’s an honour to be named woth those teams and those years,” Wolff told this writer. “I think the odds are good for us at the moment. Nevertheless, you can’t get complacent. You have to put it in the right perspective. We’ve won five races, others have won four championships.”

Wolff says there is plenty of time for Nico Rosberg to bounce back, despite losing out to Lewis Hamilton for the last four races.

“He’s a tough guy. He’s going to give it a great push. The championship is very long, and we’ve seen World Champions in the past with three wins, or nearly World Champions with three wins. It’s very early days in the championship.

“We knew [in Spain] that the only chance for Nico to win the race was by offsetting them on the strategy. You could see at the end it was quite tight.”

Wolff says he wasn’t worried about some heated radio messages from Hamilton in Barcelona.

“No, not at all. It’s the intensity of the battle. It’s normal.”

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May 19, 2014 · 9:42 am

Video: Damon Hill back in an F1 car at Monaco

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6ZjTz9PyhY

Sky F1 took advantage of the Monaco Historique weekend to find some track time for pundits Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert. Damon had a go in the original Renault turbo car, while Johnny handled a March 701. For both men it was an enjoyable experience – here’s Sky’s footage of Damon in action.

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May 19, 2014 · 7:54 am

Sir Jack Brabham 1926-2014: An underrated great of the sport

The death of Sir Jack Brabham robs us of a true legend of the sport, and a driver whose extraordinary achievements have long been underrated.

A man who raced through the eras of Stirling Moss, Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart has usually been overlooked when the greats of all time are discussed, and yet his record was extraordinary.

He was only the second driver after Juan Manuel Fangio to win three World Championships, and even today the list of those who have matched or exceeded that total is an exclusive one. The fact that his third was achieved with his own car and team earned him a unique place in the history books. In addition with John Cooper he was at the heart of the rear-engine revolution both in Grand Prix, and later, at Indianapolis. And in a Grand Prix career that extended from 1955 to 1970, he was the only man to race against the Mercedes W196 and the Lotus 72.

I once asked him why he thought he was so overshadowed by his contemporaries: “I think it’s just that I didn’t piss in the press’s pockets as much as other people!,” he grinned mischievously. “Being an Australian doesn’t help over in this country. I never used to worry too much about the press, but probably that was a mistake on my part…”

What should not be forgotten is that in 1970 he won the opening GP of the year in South Africa, but lost victory in Monaco with his infamous last corner incident, and at Brands Hatch when he ran out of fuel. He was also on pole in Spain. He had a few mechanical gremlins along the way as well, and had fortune favoured him that season he could well have won a fourth title – at the age of 44.

It was family pressure that caused him to retire at the end of that tragic season, and crucially for the first time it came from his father as well as his first wife Betty. It was a decision he later regretted.

“I was stuck with it, I couldn’t change it,” he told me. “It was a dreadful feeling really. I felt very sad, and I couldn’t believe it had come to an end. I just had to grit my teeth, and say that’s it. I’d made my mind up and I’d got to get on with it.

“I didn’t feel I was giving up racing because I couldn’t do the job. I felt just as competitive then as at any other time, and I really should have won the championship in ’70. I have no idea, but I think I could have gone on at least another three or four years. The press didn’t help either – they kept calling me the old man of motor racing, at 44! In those days 44 was old, but today, particularly if you go to America, there are plenty of people racing in their 50s.”

He could certainly have continued for a few more seasons in F1, and perhaps then looked to sportscar racing. Indeed in 1970 he raced for Matra, winning the Paris 1000kms and thoroughly enjoying not having the burden of running the whole show.

He might have been a little frustrated at stopping prematurely, but he did get out unscathed. And that wasn’t just down to luck. Brabham was the first to admit that he always assessed the risks when he was racing – if that meant finishing second, so be it. In addition his technical understanding meant that he had a sympathy for his machinery that not all drivers shared. Those traits helped him to survive.

He still couldn’t get it out of his system of course, and would make occasional appearances, even driving a Rothmans Porsche 956 at the Sandown WEC race in 1984. Officially it was a camera car, but he wasn’t hanging around. In 2000 he was racing a 1967 McLaren F1 car flat out at the Goodwood Revival, until a heavy accident. It was the first time he had to spend a night in hospital. And yet he still continued to compete in historic events, for as long as his health would allow.

His legacy is of course the dynasty he created. Sons Geoff, David and Gary all achieved some success, and now grandsons Matthew and Sam are carrying on the family tradition. The Brabham name will be around for many years to come.

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May 14, 2014 · 7:26 pm

Vandoorne settles in well on F1 test debut

Stoffel Vandoorne, the man expected to be McLaren’s next race driver, had his first ever F1 test with the team in Barcelona today.

McLaren was a designated Pirelli test team today, so Vandoorne’s focus was on running the prototype 2015 hard tyres. However he did sneak in a run on 2014 mediums late in the day, on which he sent the ninth best time of the session.

McLaren said that that the Belgian GP2 driver impressed with his “his maturity, feedback and pace.” He ran 136 laps, or double the 300kms required to earn a superlicence.

“This has been a fantastic day for me – my first experience in a Formula 1 car, and a really great opportunity to get plenty of laps under my belt,” he said.

“I want to say a big thank you to the team – everyone has been incredibly helpful and positive. It’s also great to have been able to contribute to the test programme. 136 laps today was a fantastic achievement, and it’s great that it’s earned me the right to be granted a Formula 1 Superlicence.”

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May 13, 2014 · 3:33 pm

Boullier still confident that McLaren can improve car

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier remains confident that McLaren can still make progress in 2014 – and admits that the Austrian and British events will be a good barometer, following the atypical races in Monaco and Canada.

Although McLaren failed to scored in Spain Boullier says that upgrades brought to the car did work as planned.

“Following all of our data analysis all the upgrades actually worked,” he said today. “Except one part in high speed corners, to be totally fair, but the car was not worse. We know this. We are now in the rebuilding process of the aero department, we have the car we have, so we need to so far develop the car like it is. We have seen very, very significant progress in the wind tunnel in the last few weeks, so I think we need to just understand where we are, where we want to go, and this is now where we are just defining.

“To be honest we had to go through very much in detail to understand why we had an underperforming car and how to develop the car, and even questioning how we bring concepts and how we develop the car on the daily basis. Now we’ve put everything in place. It’s true that we’re starting from quite far, to be honest, but we have a very good rate per week, if you want, in terms of development.

“Monaco and Canada are a bit special, because they have a special track layout. I think the real question about how capable we are to catch up and how fast we will be catching up will be from Austria/Silverstone. I am not saying that we will win Silverstone, I’m, just saying we will know more about our capability to catch up at these races.”

Regarding which is the next two races might help McLaren he said: “I should say with more guarantee Canada, but actually Monaco could also be not bad for us. The reason is because our car is well balanced in low speed corners, and very driveable, so Monaco could be – could be I said – less hurting us.”

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