November 18, 2013 · 5:46 pm

Lewis Hamilton: “I was doing a lot of soul searching…”

Lewis Hamilton has faced a few frustrating races in 2013, but in Austin the Mercedes driver was delighted with his drive to fourth place.

He’s had better results this year, but the key was that he felt able to push hard through the afternoon in the wake of a particularly frustrating race in Abu Dhabi.

“It felt great, I’m so happy that I was able to have a race where I was going forward, and I was able to stand my ground and look after my position,” he said. “It was finally great to just have a real race.

“At this point of the year I’m the fittest I’ve been through the last seven years. The last seven years have been so draining, all the stuff that I had going on. This year I feel the best, and unfortunately although I feel the best I wasn’t able to give the results. We’ve had some problems in the last races, and to come here and get a decent result and stay ahead of Ferrari, I really am so proud of the team. And I’m proud of myself today.”

Hamilton was relieved when the team found a crack in his chassis after Abu Dhabi, and replaced it with the spare. It’s impossible for the team to quantify any gains that may have resulted, but there was definitely a psychological boost.

“Naturally when you have bad races like the last one… I personally really don’t like to blame anything else on the car, especially if you can’t see anything, or you can’t feel it so much. Naturally for me I was doing a lot of soul searching over the last couple of weeks, do I need to train more, do I need to pay more attention to something, do I need to work harder?

“We came here and was just going to try and work even harder if I could, and then we found that big crack, and the car has been night and day different this weekend. I’m pretty happy with that.”

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November 18, 2013 · 4:56 pm

Christian Horner: “Mark wouldn’t want to be gifted a win…”

Christian Horner accepts that Red Bull’s current dominance will be almost impossible to repeat in the future, not least because of the rule changes for 2014.

On the radio after the race Sebastian Vettel urged the team to “enjoy it while we can,” reflecting his own take on future prospects.

“In sport as we see whether it’s Roger Federer or Ferrari or Williams or McLaren you get phases of sportsmen or teams being dominant,” said Horner when asked by this writer. “And at some point that does come to an end, and then you’ve got to regroup and go again. Sebastian’s right, it’s important to savour moments like today. It’s our 46th win and it’s easy to become complacent, and you’ve got to appreciate every moment.

“You’ve only got to look in the eyes of every member of the team to see the motivation and desire that still exists. Even though we won the championship in India, we’ve been pushing flat out, and as I’ve always said, we will continue to do so all the way to the chequered flag in Brazil next weekend. The target now is to try and get Mark that third place in the drivers’ championship and see out the season in style. There’s nobody lacking motivation or complacent in any way.”

Vettel’s desire to continue his run of success makes it highly unlikely that he will feel like helping Mark Webber win in Brazil, but Horner says that will make no difference.

“Mark wouldn’t want to be gifted a win. It would be great for him to win his final race, what a way to sign out, but Sebastian will be going for that record as well. As usual it will be a straight fight between the two of them.”

 

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November 18, 2013 · 1:33 am

Impressive Grosjean makes it four podiums in five starts

Romain Grosjean continued his run of strong results with a superb second in Austin. The Lotus driver passed Mark Webber at the start, and survived intense pressure from the Australian in the closing laps.

It was Grosjean’s fourth podium in five races, but his first second place of the season. He clearly thrived after being handed the de facto team leader role, in the absence of Kimi Raikkonen.

“I think the strategy was pretty clear,” he said of his efforts to stay in front. “We were copying what Mark was doing. When he was pitting for hard tyres, we pitted for hard tyres, if he was pitting for prime or option. Then in the race I was just trying to make as much gap as I could before the DRS zone, so turns eight and nine are pretty hard to follow another car.

“I think we had a pretty good balance around there, and then use all the power we could on the back straight, trying to avoid the DRS, and then I know that by turns 17,18, 19 it was very difficult to follow me, so he was very close every time into turn one, but never had a go. I think the closest he was into turn 12 was probably ten meters. He pushed me wide once because I outbraked myself, but as long as he didn’t seem to be too big in the mirror, that was fine.”

He added: “One year ago my wife sent me a picture of a pregnancy test saying that ‘well done Champion, you’re going to be a Dad!’ So America brings me a lot of bliss and pleasure and I’m looking forward to come back here.”

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November 18, 2013 · 12:58 am

Vettel beats Schumacher as he makes it eight in a row

Sebastian Vettel achieved yet another career landmark when he beat Michael Schumacher’s record to become the first man to win eight straight races in a season.

Alberto Ascari won nine times in a row over 1952-’53, but until today nobody has won more than seven consecutively in a single season. The achievement clearly meant a lot to the German ace.

“I think it’s one of those records that you never expect to be beaten, so it’s very difficult to find the right words,” said Vettel. “I didn’t really answer the questions the last couple of days because at the end of the day what makes me jump into the car is not a certain number. But certainly today, when you realise that you’ve done it, it makes you very proud in that moment and, yeah, I think it’s very difficult for all of us to realise what it actually means. If you look back, and if you look those names who had similar records or outstanding performances in the past, I think it’s impossible to understand.

“People look back and they talk about that time and about certain drivers and one day people might look back and talk about our time and what we’ve done as a team. I said it on the team radio, the spirit is fantastic. Everybody’s just happy to turn up, give it everything he has and I think – if there is one – that’s the secret.

“Yes, we have a phenomenal car; yes, the car has been mostly very, very reliable but I think it’s the mindset we have going in, really trying to give it everything we have, not miss a single step, wow to, after the race, not to turn around and think that there was a little bit left here, a little bit left there. Another very, very, very strong weekend. I think people tend to forget that every single weekend is a challenge on its own. It’s not eight weekends as a whole. It’s every single weekend. And to have such an incredible run, it’s very difficult to realise.”

Vettel made some interesting comments about Schumacher.

“Well, in a way I think I have the same approach as him, as probably every sportsman. I don’t think we are jumping into the car to beat certain records. At his time, he was breaking a lot of records and many of them will last forever, I think. To come even close and today to beat one of those is exceptional. I think, as a sportsman, you don’t jump into the car to break records and equally you don’t expect them to last forever.

“I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago and generally, I think he’s very happy with what he has achieved and seemed fairly relaxed. I think he’s riding a lot of horses lately so he’s quite happy to go karting with his kids and enjoying his life after Formula One. There’s a huge part of our lives if you consider that there’s a lot of years left once we retire. It’s good to enjoy those as well.”

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November 16, 2013 · 11:57 pm

Nico Rosberg: “I knew it was going to be a bit difficult…”

Nico Rosberg was one of several drivers to find himself struggling for grip in qualifying in Austin having shown good pace earlier in the weekend.

Rosberg qualified only 14th, although penalties for Esteban Gutierrez and Jenson Button have gifted him two places.

“It was a very unusual day,” said Rosberg. “Very hard tyres and very cold conditions and very smooth asphalt. The combination of all those three meant the tyres weren’t gripping properly and they weren’t working properly, and that’s why there’s surprises. If the car works the tyre better then even if it’s fundamentally a slower car you get so much more grip from the tyre itself, and that’s why you are able to go really quick. And that’s why there are surprised like Sauber and Williams being very far up the grid and beating me.”

Rosberg said life was made harder because the Mercedes was set-up to protect the tyres in the race.

“I knew it was going to be a bit difficult, the qualifying. The problem is that tomorrow is supposed to be very hot, and we have to try and do a one-stop to make it happen tomorrow in the race. So I couldn’t really afford to do much to work the tyres more in qualifying, but anyway I got caught out, because it was a lot colder than predicted in qualifying, and I didn’t expect to be that far down the grid.”

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November 16, 2013 · 10:37 pm

Gutierrez and Chilton land impeding penalties

Mexican fans in Austin will be frustrated to learn that Esteban Gutierrez has received a 10-place grid penalty for impeding Pastor Maldonado in Q1.

Gutierrez was weaving to get heat into his tyres, and the FIA noted that he was “performing manoeuvres that the stewards considered dangerous.”

The Sauber driver had done a good job to get into Q3 and qualify 10th.

Meanwhile Max Chilton has been a given a drive through penalty to be served in the first five laps for impeding both Maldonado and Adrian Sutil in Q1. The drive through is used by the stewards when they deem there is no point handing a grid penalty to someone who is already at the back. Charles Pic received one earlier this season.

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November 16, 2013 · 8:16 pm

Fernando Alonso: “The nights were very difficult…”

Fernando Alonso says he suffered with headaches in the days after his off-track incident in Abu Dhabi, but he no longer has a problem.

Alonso went to hospital for a check-up before being allowed to fly home. Since then he has been allowed by the team to avoid media activities in order to rest.

“After Abu Dhabi I was fine, especially three or four hours after the race I was fine,” he explained when asked about it by this writer. “Then I finally passed the anti-doping, because I waited four hours to pass it. They said we need to check you because we had the alarm of the chassis, and when they did a normal control they saw some problem maybe, some lack of [sensitivity] in my left arm and my left leg, and because of that they were a little bit worried and they put in this thing and I went to the hospital for the MRI or I don’t know what we did.

“And after that all week I had a big headache, because the nerve I think is compressed, and I didn’t have enough blood pressure in the head. I was often in a lot of headache, and the nights were very difficult. Slowly the inflammation was coming normal, and I recovered the feelings.”

Alonso said he wasn’t having any issues in the car this weekend.

“No, not a problem. A little bit of pain yesterday night, and this morning when I woke up, but driving with all the adrenaline and warm-up is good, so maybe tonight again still some pain. But in the race when you are in the car, you forget everything.”

Meanwhile he was happy to qualify as high as sixth today after what looked like being a tricky weekend for Ferrari.

“I think the car was working better in qualifying. We keep struggling in the first sessions in the early morning with the cold track, we are not making the tyre work mainly, we’re struggling to put temperature in the tyre. In the afternoons yesterday and today the things improved a little bit.

“It was very windy this afternoon, and it was time also to interpret a little bit also the wind direction and drive differently corner-by-corner depending on the wind intensity. It was a tricky qualifying and maybe we had a good one, but obviously this doesn’t mask the problem of the weekend, which has been not enough pace.”

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November 15, 2013 · 11:53 pm

Sam Michael: McLaren will improve with Magnussen

Sam Michael says that McLaren dropped Sergio Perez simply because it believed that Kevin Magnussen would help to improve the team – and that the opportunity of fast tracking the Dane into a race seat was too good to miss.

“You look and assess where your capabilities are where you think you can improve and the view internally is that we could improve by going with Magnussen,” said Michael. “Checo’s doing a fantastic job at the moment considering the pressure that he’s under. He’s keeping his head level and being very professional about it. So, very commendable his approach over the recent races, and as recently as this one.

“It’s obviously a discussion that’s been going on for quite some time. It’s always going to be difficult when you make a call like that. But I think we’re in a very fortunate position at the moment with our young driver programme, in that it’s very rich with talent, and Kevin’s just the first of the guys in that pool.

“I’ve come across lots of drivers in my time in Formula One and when you see drivers like that come along, it’s very important that you react ,and make the most of those opportunities. So really, it’s always a twofold thing. It’s what you currently have and what you can do to improve yourself. To be honest, it’s not that much different with engineers and designers and all your people. You’re always looking to add and improve the team. Clearly, the driver is much more in the public eye, because there’s only two of them and they’re in the race cars at any one time. Anyway, it’s a decision the team has taken, and we’re looking forward from here.”

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November 15, 2013 · 11:35 pm

Heikki Kovalainen: “I was pressing the wrong buttons today quite a few times!”

Heikki Kovalainen enjoyed a good first day with Lotus in Austin, finishing FP2 in fifth place.

His only real issue was that he was moving around in the seat, which was based on Kimi Raikkonen’s, but the team is making a new one for him overnight.

“I didn’t really have any objectives other than too lean on it as soon as possible, trying to be on the edge as soon as I feel comfortable,” said the Finn. “I think we achieved that reasonably well today. The car was well balanced almost straight away, so we didn’t have to chase the set-up too much. Perhaps the tyres here as well they are not going away straight away, so they give you a few more laps to try That worked quite well, I was able to get a feel for it quite quickly and push it and lean on it.

“We had a good day today, but it could be different tomorrow. The margins are still very small, so if you’re a little bit off the pace, you make a small mistake or you’re slightly out of the balance or you don’t get the tyres in the right window, you could be out of the top 10 quite easily. We need to wait and see what happens tomorrow, and on Sunday. Whatever happens tomorrow it doesn’t mean that Sunday is going to be good or bad, if we are right at the front it doesn’t mean that we are going to finish the race right at the front.”

Kovalainen is reunited this weekend with his former McLaren engineer, Mark Slade. Asked by this writer how much that helped he said: “I think it’s a significant factor. It was relatively easy to start working with him because I know him from McLaren days, and I know how he works. He knows what I need as well, I think if I get lost he can actually make suggestions just by looking at the telemetry, so it’s really helpful. I’m really enjoying working with Mark. I had a good time at McLaren with him. That side is really good, it’s given a smooth landing.”

Heikki admitted that he did a few problems adapting to the Lotus steering wheel.

“I was pressing the wrong buttons today quite a few times! I don’t find always the right button, but it was to be expected, to be honest. Nothing too dramatic, but it’s some fine small details, some KERS patterns, this kind of stuff, that I didn’t quite get right today.”

However he’s not worried about the start on Sunday: “Start wise it’s quite familiar. We had reasonable starts today, and in some ways the procedure is more simple than Caterham, so that’s not too difficult to get used to.

“A few more buttons and paddles we use a bit more around the lap than we did at Caterham, and they are quite significant. They affect the balance of the cars and you need to have the correct settings when you go into certain corners. I was a little bit out-of-synch today a couple of times, but towards the end of the day I had a better hang of it and I was pretty much where we need to be.”

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November 15, 2013 · 7:14 pm

Three-place grid penalty for Jenson Button

Jenson Button’s US GP weekend got off to a bad start when he picked up a three-place grid penalty for an offence in FP1.

The McLaren driver was deemed to have overtaken under red flags when the session was stopped due to an issue with the medical helicopter – which is always regarded as a serious breach by the stewards.

Button finished FP1 in second place, behind only Fernando Alonso.

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