Tag Archives: F1

October 26, 2013 · 12:51 pm

Lewis Hamilton: “I’ve struggled a little bit through this weekend”

Lewis Hamilton will start the Indian GP from third on the grid, but the Brit was in a low-key mood after a qualifying session that clearly left him disappointed.

“It’s been a tough weekend for us,” said Hamilton. “Congratulations to Sebastian, it’s obvious that that’s some serious pace that they have, especially with Webber on the primes just behind us. But we’ve been pushing, as Nico said, as hard as we can. We really want to get a great result this weekend.

“Strategy is going to play a huge part but I was a little bit surprised to be where we are but generally, bit by bit, adjusting the set-up and everything, we got a reasonable balance and hopefully tomorrow we can push together to try and stay ahead of the rest.”

Hamilton played down the fact that he lost out to Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg.

“It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. Nico did a great job, he’s been strong all weekend and on my side, I’ve struggled a little bit through this weekend. I struggled a little bit with something different on the car this weekend which Nico had had experience of seeing maybe in the past.

“I came to grips with it really quite quickly at the end and I’m really happy with the result and the lap time that I was able to get. There’s always a little bit of time everywhere but we’ll try and push these guys as hard as we can in the race obviously. They’re in another world but we’ll try to stay ahead of the rest.”

 

 

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October 26, 2013 · 10:17 am

Mark Webber: “I thought we’d be a bit further back than that…”

Mark Webber has given himself a real shot at winning the Indian GP by qualifying as high as fourth on the medium prime tyre.

With those ahead expected to stop early when their soft tyres give up Webber has the chance to run a long first stint and potentially establish himself in front.

“We thought it was worth trying something a little bit different,” said Webber. “We probably thought we wouldn’t end up on the second row, to be honest, I thought we’d be a bit further back than that, but in the end it turned out to be a pretty good session for us.

“Not easy to manage the primes obviously when you just get a bit of a look at them in Q3, but in the end we all did a pretty good job and didn’t leave too much out there. So we’re in a good position to capitalise on a different approach, because we know the option tyre is not exactly a great piece of work.

“So we’ll see what happens with those guys, and we’ll do our thing. Obviously I’ve got to put that tyre on at some stage in the race. It’ll look quite exciting early in the race, but I’ve still got to get that tyre out of the way at some stage.”

Webber acknowledged that he might have a difficult time holding position at the start, when he’ll have less grip than those around him.

“We know we won’t have the grip initially on the first lap compared to the other guys, so we’ll stay out of strife hopefully, and we’ll get into the race from there. We know the option tyre is very high maintenance from lap three or four onwards.”

 

 

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October 25, 2013 · 7:05 pm

Boullier has “had enough” of rookie drivers

Lotus boss Eric Boullier says that 2014 is not the time to be bringing on a rookie – and has made it clear that the team does not intend to hire an inexperienced driver any time soon.

He admitted that there’s little chance of reserve driver Davide Valsecchi being promoted.

“Davide is on the list but to bring to the grid next year a driver with no experience is a huge step for them,” said Boullier. “I’ve done it twice with them, first with Petrov and then with a semi-rookie Grosjean, and I think I’ve had enough to be honest with you. Davide is on the list because we consider him as a good driver, as a GP2 champion, but it’s true that if you favour a scenario for next year it will be a driver with experience.

“If we cannot find any driver with experience, fitting the strategy of the team, obviously we will go for a rookie driver and then Davide is obviously on the top of the list. It looks harsh, I’m sorry but it’s true.”

Meanwhile regarding Romain Grosjean’s prospects of staying on he said: “Romain has a contract signed anyway for next year. It’s just, say, a matter of confirmation. We are being prudent after last obviously. But I think it’s on its way to be confirmed soon.

“We are definitely pleased with his performance, since Germany actually. Clearly, something switched on and he is working better. I mean the same tyre story as well, the latest spec of tyres suit a little bit more his driving style than Kimi’s one. But yes, we are pleased that he is stepping up. We don’t have a policy of driver number one and number two but we needed him obviously to step up.”

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October 25, 2013 · 10:36 am

Sebastian Vettel: “The soft tyre isn’t lasting very long…”

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber finished Friday in India on top of the times, but like everyone else the Red Bull drivers struggled to keep the soft option tyre alive for more than a few laps in FP2.

Drivers suffered blistering on a track that inevitably was very green at the start of the day, and Vettel says that things might be better on Saturday.

“Obviously the soft tyre isn’t lasting very long,” said Vettel. “It’s Friday, the track is rubbering in, and it’s improving usually for Saturday. Plus we didn’t use this compound for a long time.

“On Sunday it could be a short stint on the option tyres, but as I said usually things improve and you learn to deal with the tyre and fine tune the set-up. Nevertheless I don’t think you will do a lot of laps on Sunday.”

Asked about the prospects for a one-stop race Webber said: “Obviously FP2 is generally different to the race. It can then open a window on the other compound in terms of going pretty long, so the one-stop can come into play. Who knows until the race day, really. We have to go with the pack, the pace, which hopefully is us, and then we can control the race from there.”

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October 23, 2013 · 6:57 am

Alonso “crossed the line” says Domenicali

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali made has made some interesting observations in a specially arranged interview with two Italian fans noted for their criticism of the Scuderia on social networks.

Ferrari invited the pair to ask the boss anything they wanted.

“I have something to say to him, as would be the case with my engineers, I would do it behind closed doors and in a harsh manner,” said Domenicali when asked about Fernando Alonso and Luca di Montezemolo’s ‘ear tweaking’. “But externally, I will always defend the team. When he crossed the line, president Montezemolo intervened and in private, so did I.”

Domenicali conceded that Ferrari has not given the Spaniard a good enough car.

“If in the past four years we have come close to the title twice, it is partly down to him. Unfortunately, we have not been capable of giving him a car that matches his talent. You compare him to Vettel, but when you have a better car, everything is more straightforward.”

Asked what Red Bull had and Ferrari didn’t, he said: “Everyone is trying to work that out. But it’s pointless make accusations if there is no proof. The FIA can check the control unit, and if they find nothing than Red Bull is obviously doing a good job.”

Domenicali was also asked why Felipe Massa has stayed with the team for so long, the questioner implying that the Brazilian has not been the same since his 2009 accident.

“There are two reasons. From a medical point of view, there is no proof that the accident left any permanent damage, such as problems with his sight or reflexes. And then there’s the gentility which would demand that we give a driver who hasn’t had much luck, the chance to show he deserves to stay with us.

“If Felipe was unable to deliver the performance we hoped for, it was mainly down to a hyper-sensitivity to a car that was too nervous at the rear, but in 2008, he almost took the title and I consider him as a world champion. We took Raikkonen because we wanted more. When we replaced him with Alonso, he was not happy and so he returns with a great desire to do well.”

More from the discussion can be found on the Ferrari website.

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October 22, 2013 · 10:56 am

Honda and McLaren have a lot of work to do, says Neale

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale says that the team is delighted that Honda’s 2015 engine is already running on the dyno – but cautioned that there is still a long way to go to create a competitive package.

Honda released audio of its new engine earlier this week.

“It is exciting, it’s always good when you hear a new engine fire up, it’s a great moment for the whole organisation, and a moment of satisfaction for everybody,” said Neale. “Honda moved heaven and earth to be able to get the first engine built, constructed and running. It’s a bit like – dare I use the metaphor of pregnancy? – you focus on the first nine months and then you realise that it’s only then that the hard work starts.

“While we have something that’s running we’re under no illusion how much work we have to do together to be able to develop a competitive power unit in terms of the engine, the ERS system, the battery technology, and all of the systems that go round that. Particularly for us as McLaren doing it twice in two years is a fairly ambitious project. But we’re really excited about that.

“However at this time of year with only some frightening number of weeks to go to the end of this year all hands at the moment are focussed on working with Mercedes and the integration of that engine, and the development of our fuel and lube programme with Exxon Mobil, so that we’re able to put a high performance package on the deck, and a reliable one, for the start of next year.”

Meanwhile on the subject of Peter Prodromou Neale said it was unlikely that Red Bull would be very keen to release its current head of aero early. He is expected to join the team in 2015.

“Peter’s a great guy and he’s an important part of their operation. I can’t see any incentive for Red Bull to release him early. We’d be very happy to have him starting here tomorrow morning! But we do fully respect Red Bull’s position as we do when recruiting anybody from another organisation.

“They know that, we understand the position with Red Bull, and we fully respect Christian’s position. Who knows what will happen over the course of a year, but it’s entirely at Red Bull’s gift, it’s for them to decide. It’s not for us, not for McLaren to decide that.”

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October 18, 2013 · 1:42 pm

Kimi Raikkonen Q&A: “Of course we’ll keep pushing”

His championship aspirations may be over, but after two charges to the podium in the past two races Kimi Raikkonen is at least hoping to end the season on a high. Here’s what he said in a Q&A provided by Lotus today.

Q: What do you think of the Buddh International Circuit?

“It’s quite an interesting track; one of the better ones from the modern circuits. It’s quite similar to Korea; long straights, not terribly challenging corners and hard braking. It’s not as technical as Korea which was another new track for me last year, but it’s good. It’s always nice to go to a new place like India. It’s certainly a good track to go fast with a strong car in front of all the others!”

Q: How was your first – and only – race at the track so far?

“It was okay but it could have been better. We struggled for grip over the weekend last year and we made life difficult with the change of set-up before qualifying. After that there was nothing really to do on Sunday. In the race itself we had enough speed to challenge for the top positions, but we got stuck behind slower cars and overtaking was impossible. I can remember spending a lot of the race trying to get past Felipe [Massa] so that wasn’t ideal.”

Q: Did you get to see much of India?

“No, it was my first visit and I spent my time in the paddock and the hotel. We only come to race and India is a very big country! The thing I like is eating Indian food, which I really enjoy.”

Q: Japan was quite a straightforward race for you?

“It was a pretty normal race I would say and it’s good that we got some points. I had a very poor start where I left the line with a lot of wheelspin and lost a few places. This wasn’t ideal and it meant I got stuck in traffic, but I managed to gain some places back later on.”

Q: You spoke over the weekend of the car feeling more to your liking, which much be a positive looking to the remaining races of the season?

“The car felt pretty strong all weekend and we’ve made good progress with it recently. It’s still not exactly as I want it and we’re trying to get rid of some understeer which is something I don’t like. In Japan it was hard to show our real pace at the beginning of the race as I was stuck behind slower cars for quite a long time. After the final pit stop when I got a bit of free air the car was working much better. It ran well in the last half of the race and I was very happy with it.”

Q: We saw some more great overtaking moves from you…

“Unfortunately when you don’t have an ideal qualifying it makes life a bit harder on Sunday. It’s not easy to overtake at Suzuka and we weren’t so fast in a straight line which made it more tricky, but I got past a few people which was important after the slow start. With Nico [Hulkenberg] I managed to get a good run on him leading up to the chicane which is what made the difference. We did what we could.”

Q: What’s the target for India?

“Hopefully we finally get it right in qualifying as the last five qualifying sessions have not been that great for me. If we don’t, it’s going to be a difficult Sunday afternoon, although of course we’ll keep pushing. If we do get it right, then we can really go for it.”

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October 14, 2013 · 12:39 pm

Christian Horner: “The way he’s driving at the moment is quite supreme…”

Christian Horner hopes that Red Bull can continue its winning momentum to the end of the season – and he would like to see Mark Webber win a race before he walks away from F1.

Sebastian Vettel has built-up a remarkable streak of five consecutive wins since Spa.

“Sebastian’s won every race since the summer break, which is an incredible achievement,” said Horner. “There are still four races to go, our target is to try and carry this momentum into these last four races. I don’t think any of us would have imagined that he would have had the run of success that he’s had. The way he’s driving at the moment is quite supreme. We’ll see. India’s a different challenge, as is Abu Dhabi. Mark got pretty close today, so it will be great to see Mark win a race before the end of the year as well.”

Meanwhile Horner said that the Suzuka victory showed just how good Vettel is.

“He picked up a bit of damage from the incident with Hamilton that took about 20 points of downforce off the car. So he had a damaged car, and he just managed to adapt. He played the thinking game today, he watched, he waited, in that first stint, he preserved the tyres. He knew he wasn’t going to get priority at that first stop, and we discussed it before the race, that the lead car would get priority.

“He was very, very smart in the way he handled the race. He created the options for him by having that range in the first stint, and then by doing the same in the second stint, by making those tyres go longer and further than any of the other drivers. And of course when he had the one opportunity that he needed to nail Grosjean, he did it immediately.”

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October 13, 2013 · 2:23 pm

Fernando Alonso: “I think it’s a matter of time…

Fernando Alonso kept the 2013 World Championship battle alive by finishing fourth in Japan, although the Spanish driver admitted afterwards that he has no chance to beat Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso said that he was surprised to finish as high as he did at Suzuka.

“Yeah, a little bit because obviously we had some strong people in front of us, and we also had some threat from behind, like Kimi that was starting ninth,” he said. “But the race went good. From the start we recovered some positions, and then we’ve been a little bit lucky with some Mercedes problems, both having to go back. I think it was a good race in terms if points for the constructors’ championship. In terms of pace we didn’t have the pace to be on the podium, but after those three we’ve been very competitive in the race.”

“Even if Vettel doesn’t finish all the races I need to win nearly all, so I think it’s a matter of time. But it’s true that we have different goals now in the constructors’ championship. Today with the problems for Mercedes we are in a good position or in a better position.”

Alonso also went to the top of the all-time F1 points table, although he acknowledged that the change to 25 for a win had given him a hand.

“Today they told me I have the record of points in history. It’s a happy day. Leading the score in a sport like F1 is something great. I know that the points system changed some years ago but when someone will overtake me in the points no one will remember the points system, so let’s try to enjoy now the moment, and have a little celebration tonight!”

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October 11, 2013 · 12:06 pm

Kimi Raikkonen: “I just pushed a bit too much and spun…”

Kimi Raikkonen had an encouraging Friday in Suzuka – despite ending FP2 beached in a gravel trap after a high speed spin at Dunlop Curve.

Raikkonen, who crashed on Friday in Korea, had already set the time that secured him fourth place in the session, some 0.350s off pacesetter Sebastian Vettel.

“It’s been better, or more my liking here, at least today, than it’s been the last few races,” he said. “Especially in one lap, so that’s a good thing. Obviously tomorrow is a new day and it might be a completely different story. But not too bad.

“The harder tyres seem to be quite tricky anyhow, and it didn’t feel so nice, but the lap time wasn’t so bad on the first lap. I think we’ll be OK.”

Regarding his off he said: “I just spun, it happens sometimes. Obviously it was quite windy today, so it didn’t help. It’s been a bit tricky the whole day. I just pushed a bit too much and spun. There’s no damage or anything, so we just didn’t do as many laps as we wanted, so it’s not a big deal. We didn’t do the long runs, but I don’t think it’s going to change a lot.

“Usually we like to get the car as good as we can anyhow for one lap, and when we get there we run it like it is for the race anyhow. I think if we get the car running well tomorrow we should be OK.”

Asked by this writer if he felt he had a good package for the race he said: “We’ll see on Sunday. I’ve no real interest in starting to guess what will happen. We’ll have to try to do the best what we can and see where we end up.

“It’s a tricky circuit, and if the car’s not right, plus the overtaking for sure is more tricky here than some other places… It depends a lot on the weather and wind and all kinds of things.”

 

 

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