Tag Archives: F1

September 27, 2013 · 11:04 am

How will the FIA spend its Concorde cash?

The FIA’s confirmation that the new Concorde Agreement will bring in extra funds has put a focus on how that money will be used by the governing body.

A statement today said: “This agreement provides the FIA with significantly improved financial means to pursue its regulatory missions and to reflect the enhanced role undertaken by the FIA in the Motor Sport [sic].”

Jean Todt’s plans for those funds are a subject of great debate within the FIA, not least because after six years the “McLaren money” – generated from the team’s infamous 2007 Spygate fine – will no longer be available for grass roots funding.

Todt is believed to be planning to split it between sport and mobility, with a further sum allocated to developing a new FIA HQ in Switzerland. That proposed division has apparently not gone down well with those who believe that the cash should be ploughed back into the sport.

In the World Motor Sport Council today a member brought the subject up, and Todt apparently promised to establish a commission to discuss the matter.

Meanwhile presidential candidate David Ward said today: “The question now is what will the new resources from Concorde be used for? The answer should be for investment in ‘grass roots’ development of motor sport.

“In my manifesto I have proposed to ‘use all the revenue in excess of regulatory costs of the F1 Championship for investment in motor sport safety, sustainability, solidarity funding of ASN development programmes, and for training of officials and volunteers.

“Jean Todt has yet to publish a manifesto or explain how he will use the new funds now available to the FIA. Sooner rather than later this should be made clear to the FIA membership.”

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September 25, 2013 · 9:19 am

Alonso/Raikkonen combo could work well, says Prost

Alain Prost sees no reason why the Fernando Alonso/Kimi Raikkonen combination won’t work for Ferrari next year.

Prost was involved in two of the most contentious team line-ups in history, with Ayrton Senna at McLaren and Nigel Mansell at Ferrari, but he says that having two star drivers can help a team.

“Only next year will tell us, because that can work very well, there’s no question,” he said in Singapore. “It has worked well in the past. Everybody thinks about Ayrton and myself, but it has also worked well, it has worked well also for the team, because we really put the team on the top. Obviously if you have a problem the management has to make it work. So it’s going to be more difficult, but it can work. I don’t know if it’s the right choice – we are going to see next year.”

He conceded that the fact that the drivers have such contrasting approaches could help: “It should be easier for sure, because Kimi has a different character.”

Meanwhile Prost agreed that modern drivers have different personalties compared to his day.

“They have changed, but it’s normal. Society has changed, and the way they start… Look at Sebastian, he’s going to be maybe four times World Champion this year, 26 years old. I won my first race at 26, so you cannot compare, it’s a different generation.

“They never lived with accidents, the risk, so it’s also a different mentality. The way they work now with the cars and teams, it is obviously very different, it’s much more electronic, it’s much more organised, that’s why you can’t compare. But the ability, the skill, the talent, is still there. And we have a good generation of drivers.”

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September 24, 2013 · 4:24 pm

Lewis Hamilton: “I wonder how Kimi came from where he did…”

Lewis Hamilton admitted he was surprised to find he had finished only fifth in the Singapore GP, having initially thought that he’d made it up to third place.

Hamilton was one of four leading cars not to pit under the safety car, and thus dropped back when he made a later stop under green. He then followed Nico Rosberg past cars that were struggling on older tyres, although Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen remained out of reach.

“I was really surprised at the end, I didn’t know what position I was in,” he said. “I thought I was third. When I came across the line I thought that was some good points, but then they told me and I was seriously gutted. It was a tough race and I’m absolutely shattered.”

Lewis admitted that he found it hard to understand how the strategy unfolded.

“I wonder how Kimi came from where he did – jeez, that was incredible.

“It was interesting that I stayed out and then everyone pitted. Fernando was right up my tail. It was very difficult to keep him behind, and that was really the turning point I think in the race.”

He also made it clear that there was some confusion over tyre choice: “There was a night and day difference between the option and the prime. On the prime we were just sliding around a lot. I wanted in the race to pit for options, and they pitted me for primes.”

Meanwhile he doesn’t expect Mercedes to close the gap to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull.

“Definitely not. We might be able to get some wins. In qualifying Nico was obviously very close. It looks like they’ve taken another step this weekend. It’s going to be very difficult, but we’ll give it our best shot. At the end of the day we need to do a better job for next year, both with the car and also at the track in terms of what we do in terms of preparation and all those things.

“Now it’s just about having fun for the rest of the year and trying to see if we can get ahead of Ferrari.”

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September 23, 2013 · 8:57 am

No regrets on Mercedes strategy calls, says Wolff

Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff admits that the team could have run a different strategy in Singapore – but insists that he has no regrets about that were made.

Both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton stayed out under the safety car and made a late pit stop under green flag conditions, giving them fresh tyres and thus pace at the end of the race. They finished fourth and fifth.

“In retrospect it’s always easy to say we should have done this,” Wolff said when asked by this writer. “At that stage yes pitting Lewis behind Fernando, seeing that Fernando pits, would have been the right thing, but it also meant not beating Fernando on the strategy, and at that stage it was 35 laps to go, and we didn’t feel that we could do that.

“We didn’t feel that anybody else could do it. I feel that it was a bit of a gamble of the others. Kimi came from so far back that they needed to do it, and I think Stefano [Domenicali] said that they needed to take that gamble, and this time it worked out.”

Wolff admitted that the extended safety car period played into the hands of those who stopped: “It didn’t help us. But it was still a lot of laps. And you could see, I think it was just such a fine line between doing the right call, because if the race had gone three laps more everything could have changed. But then again the fact of being so much in traffic… As I said afterwards it’s easy to be the smart arse. But lots of people had to gamble, the McLarens had to gamble, the Saubers had to gamble and passing all those guys is tricky. Lots of lessons to be learned.”

Meanwhile Wolff was mightily impressed by Red Bull’s form in Singapore.

“The only thing today that you can probably say with guarantee is we have a deserved winner, the performance was absolutely stunning. They have made a major step over the summer, and hearing the comments of the drivers their car is just able to make the tyres work in a proper way.”

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September 21, 2013 · 5:15 pm

Nico Rosberg: “I think a great result is possible…”

Nico Rosberg proved to be the closest challenger to the dominant Sebastian Vettel in Singapore GP qualiying, and the Mercedes driver will start alongside his fellow German in Sunday’s race.

Vettel stood on his time from his first run and left Rosberg and others to attack it with their second runs, and Nico missed stealing pole by just 0.091s.

“Unfortunately Sebastian especially has been really quick the whole weekend but it was very, very close in the end,” said Rosberg. “A pity, because one tenth more, with the way they gambled in the last qualifying – one tenth more would have been possible somehow. That would have been great, but anyway, second place is still a good result. And it gives me a good position to start the race tomorrow and I’m also very confident about our race pace. It’s looking OK, so I think a great result is possible.”

Rosberg, who won in Monaco this year, has been quick in Singapore in the past.

“I really like street tracks generally. Always been quick on them and again today I felt comfortable with the car. Really the whole weekend, the progress has been nice. Starting on Friday, I wasn’t very happy with the car and everything, wasn’t feeling very good.

“We just worked through it, and really optimised it and it was just perfect in qualifying then. It’s just everybody together: me with my engineers, the mechanics, everybody working together well. I’m pleased with second. I think Sebastian was out of reach this weekend, all weekend, so second is OK. And with a good race pace, should be good tomorrow.”

Asked about the chances of beating Vettel he said: “I’ll give it a go. For sure, he’s quicker on race pace, we saw that on Friday so if I can get by, then it’s possible that I can stay in front but it’s all down to the start. I think the left hand side has a little bit less grip than the right hand side on this track at the start but we will see. It’s possible.”

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September 20, 2013 · 7:03 pm

Raikkonen will get his money, says Boullier

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier says that Kimi Raikkonen will be paid his salary – and insists that the saga has not done any damage to the image of the team.

“I don’t think it’s damaging the brand of the team to be honest,” he said. “The truth is that yes, we owe him money, so that’s true. He’s going to be paid, that’s true too and if you want to have a little bit more of the story, last year in the same period it was the same story. We were owing him some money but at the end of the year he was fully paid. It’s just the way we manage our cash flow. Unfortunately we are not as rich as some other teams on the grid.

“You can also understand that a team capable of winning this year and fighting for some podiums may not be as sustainable as it should be. We have obviously favoured our people working in Enstone, which is understandable I think, obviously the car development because this is the essence of Formula One if you want to keep competing. So there is nothing else behind this story.”

Boullier denied that the team might change its strategy by taking a pay driver.

“We keep the same strategy that we’ve had for many months. Genii helped us to bring the team to where it is today. We now want to have more finance, more sponsors because we need to step up and guarantee some stability over a few years. That’s part of the strategy, this is what we are still working on, and we need to deliver on that point. We see the timing was not the right one for Kimi, but we still have to deliver this. That would then allow us to chose drivers on merit which is obviously the first choice.”

He also gave his backing to Romain Grosjean: “His future is secure so far because he has a contract with us. Last year was a bit difficult for him; this year he’s doing a great job. In the last four races, we have nothing to complain about. He was one hundred per cent up to speed, especially compared to his famous team mate. We just see now and monitor what he is doing and if everything is going as planned, he will have a great future with us.”

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September 20, 2013 · 6:33 pm

Martin Whitmarsh Q&A: Button/Alonso a “manageable” line-up

An otherwise low-key Friday in Singapore was enlivened by excitement over the apparent possibility of Fernando Alonso returning to McLaren, the team he left at the end of the turbulent 2007 season.

Martin Whitmarsh insists that there has been no contact with the Spaniard and his camp, but the team boss is happy to confirm that he would love to have him back, and that the door is open. Mischievously he suggests that the Alonso/Raikkonen partnership at Ferrari will not last long, and there is more than a hint that, even if Fernando is not available for 2014, he just might be in 2015, when Honda joins the party.

Quite what the end game is remains to be seen, but apart from creating waves at Ferrari what this little saga does is tell the world that McLaren is as yet unconvinced by Sergio Perez, hired amid much fanfare last year. It also potentially creates a vacancy for another driver who might not be as committed elsewhere as Alonso. I asked Whitmarsh for his thoughts…

Q: Can you clarify the team’s position on Fernando Alonso?

“I was asked yesterday if we would like to sign him, and the answer is I’d love to have that challenge, and I’d love to have that opportunity. We’ll see what happens. At the moment I’m sure he’s under contract with Ferrari, and we’ll see what happens in the longer term, whether he wants to come back or doesn’t. At the moment I’m sure he’s focussed on doing the best job he can for his team. I think it’s one of those stories that has built today. Perhaps there is not much else happening here! I think any team principal if you asked them, ‘Would you like Fernando Alonso in your team?,’ the answer has got to be ‘Yes,’ if they’re sane. I don’t think he’s available right now, but if he ever becomes available, then we’ll see.”

Q: In the last few races you’ve always said we’ve got two great drivers and we’re going to keep them. All of a sudden there seems to be some doubt about Sergio…

“Our two drivers have done a great job in a very difficult year, and I expect we’ll have the same driver line-up next year, that’s my expectation. But we haven’t announced it yet, it’s not all done, and we’ll see what happens.”

Q: Why have you not announced it?

“I think we’ll see, there are other things going on at the moment… We’ll see what happens.”

Q: You said today that he hasn’t beaten Jenson as often as you wanted. That’s the first time we’ve heard any criticism from you.

“It’s an observation. He’s a young driver who wants to make his mark in F1. Jenson is a great benchmark. It’s not easy to beat him, but that’s what you’ve got to set out to try and do. I think he’s disappointed, I’ve had that conversation with him. But we’ll see. Maybe this weekend he can show that he can really do a good job.”

Q: You say there are a lot of other things going on – a cynical view would be that Mexican sponsorship might be related to the delay over his deal.

“No, it’s not a commercial issue at all. I think we want to make sure we’ve got the best driver line-up and everything’s straightforward. There’s no great urgency either. The most likely outcome is no change. But we’ll see.”

Q: You’ve said that you want to respect Ferrari’s position, but in this business it’s every man for himself, and you’ve taken drivers from other teams before.

“I’ve taken drivers in the past if there was a chink, but as far as I know, there’s not one yet!”

Q: Is 2015 slightly more realistic?

“I’ll turn that around. Kimi and Alonso is a dream team at its birth. But does it stay that way for long? I don’t know. You make that judgement yourself, but I think that’s quite an interesting one.”

Q: You could equally say Jenson and Fernando, two World Champions… What makes you think that is more manageable?

“I think it is. I think Jenson is an extraordinary team player.”

Q: It’s as simple as that?

“I think so. Both those drivers, I know them, I’ve seen them in a team, and I also know Jenson, so I do believe that’s a manageable one. But again I don’t have to speculate upon it at the moment. We expect to have the same driver line-up in all probability that we’ve got this year. I’m happy with that, but I’m not rushing into it right now.”

Q: You’ve made it clear that with Honda you’ve got more financial clout in the market. How much of a push from them is there to get two superstars?

“I think they want the two best drivers they can possibly get in the world. We do have more horsepower with them in that sense…”

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September 20, 2013 · 5:42 pm

Fernando Alonso: “I have three more years with Ferrari…”

Fernando Alonso has done his best to put an end to speculation about a possible return to McLaren.

The Singapore paddock was buzzing today with suggestions that Alonso could return to the team after Martin Whitmarsh admitted that he would be happy to have the Spaniard back, despite the acrimonious end to his previous stint there  in 2007.

“Not really,” he said when asked if McLaren had any appeal. “I repeat more or less every weekend, I keep repeating, I don’t know why, that I love Ferrari and I will stay in Ferrari until the end.”

However he also hinted that things had changed at McLaren, and had a dig at Ron Dennis, who is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the team.

“It is nice to hear comments from all the teams – all the team principals – every year, saying they respect my job and my personality. Especially McLaren, there were so many rumours that we had a lot of problems that year.

“I always say that I had no problems with anyone, it was just the philosophy of the team, or especially one man in the team, that is not really there. It’s good to have these comments, but there’s no intention. I have three more years with Ferrari and I hope many more to come, if we can extend the contract, and that will be my hope.”

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September 19, 2013 · 1:25 pm

Raikkonen the best on the market, says Alonso

Fernando Alonso insisted today that he was totally happy with the Ferrari’s decision to re-hire Kimi Raikkonen, and had agreed that the Finn was the best driver available heading into 2014.

“I was always informed about the team movements,” said Alonso. “And it’s true that I think until the last moment the team didn’t make a decision. And then when they decided that it was better to change Felipe, they asked me what was my opinion, my opinion was he was the best out there in the market, and especially for a championship with many changes for next year, in terms of developing the car in January/February, a team mate that is many years in F1 was important. The team chose Kimi, so I’m happy.”

Alonso denied that having Raikkonen on board would make any difference to his current motivation.

“I think the motivation will be always similar, I think I will do my best all the time. Sometimes you deliver the results that people expect, sometimes not, but I don’t think anyone will push me more than what I push now.”

He didn’t see any drawbacks in having two World Champions in the same team: “I don’t think that makes any difference, it’s something that you keep writing these days and many people try to say, which is exactly the same as when I arrived here with Felipe – it will be a disaster, Felipe is in Ferrari many years already, it will be a very difficult relationship. And after four years he’s one of the best friends that I have here.

“Felipe, I consider him like a World Champion as well, it’s not that one title will change anything in the relationship or in the team in terms of pushing. Felipe was World Champion when he crossed the line in 2008, so it’s not that he’s a rookie driver.”

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September 19, 2013 · 12:52 pm

Kimi Raikkonen: “It’s not like we are 20-year-old guys any more…”

Kimi Raikkonen confirmed today that the financial situation at Lotus played a big part in his decision to move to Ferrari.

It’s no secret that the team struggled to pay the Finn’s salary and point bonuses last season, and has fallen behind again this year. Nevertheless it was intriguing that he was so open about the issue in the public forum of a press conference. Now that he’s definitely leaving he has no reason to be coy about it.

“There was a lot of things and for sure they know what it is.” said Kimi when asked what Lotus could have done to keep him. “It’s hard to say which way it would have gone if that would have had happened but the deal’s done now, and I’m very happy with the new deal.”

Later he was asked why he continued to show up given that he had not been paid: “I like to race and then obviously that’s the only reason why I’m here; it doesn’t matter which team it is. The reasons why I left from the team is purely on the money side, that they haven’t got my salary, so it’s an unfortunate thing. But like I said, I want to try and help the team as much as I can and I like to race.”

Meanwhile Kimi seemed bemused by the fuss about his return to Ferrari.

“I just have to say things change in Formula One a lot. I never had a bad feeling with them really. But I mean I still have a lot friends and good memories from there. I knew that my contract will end at the end of this year, so obviously I had to make some kind of decision what to do for next year, and now it’s been done.

“I know the team and I know the people. Obviously there are some new people and some more have left since I was there, but most are the same. I don’t think this will be too difficult to go there and do well. The cars will be obviously different [in 2014] so I think that will be the most difficult thing, to get the cars right and get them running reliable, and whoever makes the best car will probably make the best out of it.”

Kimi says he sees no problems in the relationship with Fernando Alonso: “I don’t see the reason why it wouldn’t work. We are all old enough to know what we are doing and for sure the team is working for the right things to make sure. If there is something, I’m sure we can talk it through. It’s not like we are 20-year old guys any more. I might be wrong, but time will tell, but I’m pretty sure everything will be good.

“For sure, you always learn from different team mates; everyone does different things. Maybe they do something better than you but often there are a lot of things that only suit one guy and it doesn’t work if you try to do the same thing for yourself, it’s not going to work. I know the team, I know the people. Like I said, I have no worries to go there and have something that wouldn’t work. I don’t really worry about it, I’ve never worked with Alonso. I obviously know him from racing but I’m sure it will be fine.”

Raikkonen is confident that Ferrari will have a good turbo package in 2014.

“Obviously I hope so. They built very good cars and engines in the past, they’ve won a lot of championships as a team, and then you have to look on the other side at teams like Red Bull or Lotus with Renault who have done very well. It’s very hard to say which way it’s going to go with the new rules and who’s going to have the best package.

“There are a lot of stories about certain engines that will be much stronger than others, but there are so many different things that you have to look at and go through and make sure that it works that I have no idea which team will be strongest and which team will come out on top. We have to wait and see, really, for the first few tests.”

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