Tag Archives: F1

March 31, 2014 · 2:04 am

Stefano Domenicali: “We aim to be on top…”

Stefano Domenicali remains optimistic that Ferrari can still close the gap to Mercedes, given that everyone has a lot of scope to improve this year.

In Malaysia Fernando Alonso eventually finished some 34.9s down on winner Lewis Hamilton, although he was at least able to hang onto the Red Bulls in the early part of the race. By co-incidence the margin in Australia was 35.2s. However, it would have been greater without the safety car.

“I don’t think the gap with Red Bull was so big to be honest,” he said. “Today we were suffering from the fact that with these hard tyres with this heat it was really about traction, the fact that they didn’t fit the cars as we wanted. I think that with Mercedes there’s still a big gap, with Red Bull, with the others, I’m not so sure.

“We’re more or less close to that field, but we aim to be on top. I think that for sure sure what we are seeing is not something easy to solve, but what I’ve asked to my engineers is to make sure that they know what they have to do and make sure they put in place plans to close the gap which so far is there, because it’s really clear.”

Domenicali was reluctant to suggest where the weakness in the package is.

“It’s difficult to say. When we speak about power unit, it could be the power delivery, because it’s part mechanical part electric, for sure that’s an important part. But also on the car side I want to make sure that the aerodynamic guys push the car to be more efficient, to be better.

“For sure we need to improve a lot the areas of power delivery, traction, efficiency of the car, set-up wise, balance wise, so we need to improve at all levels. With these new regulations the gaps will be shortened very quickly.”

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March 30, 2014 · 1:54 pm

Ricciardo penalty harsh, says Horner

Daniel Ricciardo has received a 10-place grid penalty for the Bahrain GP as part of the clampdown on unsafe releases from pit stops since last year’s incident at the Nurburgring, when a TV cameraman was injured.

Under a new rule introduced this year drivers can get both a stop and go penalty in the current race, and a grid penalty for the next event.

At his second stop Ricciardo accelerated away with his left front wheel not properly secured.

“The rules I think are pretty clear,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. “For an unsafe release it’s a stop/go penalty of 10 seconds and a 10-place grid penalty at the next race. The punishment is harsh for the crime, but unfortunately it is the rules.”

Horner admitted that the pit crew has simply made a mistake.

“The wheel wasn’t located correctly. It went on OK, it was done up, the gun man felt that something wasn’t quite right, and in going to check and put an extra couple of turns into it the latch on the gun had switched back across, so he effectively undid it. It’s one of those things. The pit crew has got the fastest pit stops in the pit lane, and today a mistake was made. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

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March 30, 2014 · 1:33 pm

Sebastian Vettel: “I think we could have gone faster…”

Just a few weeks ago everyone was writing off Sebastian Vettel’s chances of winning a fifth World Championship in 2014, but his first podium of the year in Malaysia showed that he cannot be counted out yet.

Vettel lost out to Nico Rosberg at the start, but he kept his fellow German in his sights on his way to a reliable third place. It was the first time that he had logged a race distance in the RB10.

“I thought I had a good start but then I focused on getting in the tow of Lewis, to maybe attack him going into the first corner.” said Vettel. “Then Nico was there on the right and it was quite tight. Daniel was coming as well as I was trying to get past Nico. So I lost a place, but fortunately I got it back, and then later on I was trying to get as close as I could to Nico.

“At some stage it looked like we are pretty similar, pretty evenly matched but then it’s like he found another gear, he was pulling away. In the end I was just trying to get the car home. Obviously Daniel didn’t make it, for a couple of reasons. All in all it’s good to get another podium after Daniel has been on the podium in Australia.”

Vettel cautioned that it was hard to read too much into the 25.5s deficit to winner Hamilton at the flag: “Probably Lewis could have gone faster. I think we could have gone faster at the end of the race, but our priority at the end was to make sure we secure the podium.”

However, he admitted there was a lot of work to do.

“We need to make big steps, because they are quite far ahead, but I’m quite happy with the steps we’re currently making. It’s the first race distance I’ve done this year, since Brazil, it’s the first race distance I’ve done, so that’s a big step. Obviously, at some stage during testing, we didn’t expect to finish the first couple of races, so well done to all the guys in the team on the reliability front.

“In terms of driveability we’re not yet there where we want to be. In terms of power, it’s not a big secret without giving a hammering but the guys at Viry are flat out to work on that front.

“Renault is pushing very very hard but at this stage we have to summarise and say that Mercedes did a better job, they’re quicker than us so we know that there’s a lot of things we have to do better but it’s still a bloody good result today, finishing on the podium, right behind them. That’s what we need to do, as long as we can, up to the point where we’re even and we can challenge them and give them a harder time.”

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March 29, 2014 · 10:42 am

Fernando Alonso: “I think it’s a world record of changing suspension…”

Fernando Alonso repaid the hard work of the Ferrari mechanics by earning fourth place on the Malaysian grid after a collision with Daniil Kvyat in Q2.

Alonso suffered left front suspension damage, but the team managed to replace the broken part and get him out shortly after the session restarted.

“I think we had a chaotic qualifying like always in the rain situations,” said Alonso. “And we added a little bit more from our side in this one with the incident with the Toro Rosso, so it added a bit more stress into the qualifying. The mechanics did a super job, I think it’s a world record of changing suspension in three minutes, and I was able to keep running.

“The car really felt very strange, I think the toe or something was a little bit crazy after the crash, because it was so light on the right corners and so heavy on the left corners that I could not even move with the two hands. It was difficult, but enough to complete the laps, and I think staring fourth should give us a little bit of a possibility or a window to think of the podium for tomorrow.”

Alonso said he didn’t blame Kvyat for the incident.

“I don’t blame him, I think it was 50:50 probably, because I didn’t see him, that’s the truth, and I turned and only felt a touch, the crash, I didn’t even see him before the movement of the car. Out lap, you probably need to take it a little bit easier, but I think it’s 50:50 and I was lucky to run again. I think he ran again also, so that was the best news.”

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March 28, 2014 · 8:38 am

Lewis Hamilton: “It’s too hot for the tyres…”

Lewis Hamilton ended Friday in Malaysia in fourth place, with a best lap some 0.142s off pacesetter Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver was also been eclipsed by Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel.

Like his team mate, Hamilton had concerns about the tyres.

“We were just working to understand the tyres, which are very, very hot,” he said. “And also just making sure that the balance is right, so you can go as long as possible.

“It’s the same as every time we come here, so it’s to be expected. It’s too hot for the tyres, the tyres aren’t working very well in these conditions. Even though we’ve got the hard tyre and the medium here, the tyres do not feel great, but it’s the same for everyone.”

Told that team mate Nico Rosberg didn’t seem happy with his day, Lewis said: “We got through practice and he’s at the front, so it’s kinda weird that he wouldn’t be satisfied with that. Balance wise we are still a little bit away from where we want to be.”

Meanwhile Lewis wasn’t interested in speculating about the current status quo.

“I don’t have a guess, I’m not really focussed on anyone else, I’m just focussed on my side trying to make sure the car is comfortable beneath me. Hopefully it will go the distance.”

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March 27, 2014 · 12:01 pm

New F1 engine sound is “s**t,” says Vettel

Sebastian Vettel caused a stir today by joining in the throng of criticism of the sound made by the 2014 power units.

The German was able to watch the Australian GP from the pits after his early retirement, and thus had a proper chance to form an opinion.

“It’s shit,” said Vettel when asked in Sepang today. “I think we have to [change it]. I was on the pit wall during the race. It’s better than in a bar! That’s my opinion. I think for the fans it’s not good. I think F1 has to be spectacular, and the sound is one of the most important things.

“I remember when I was a small child, I don’t remember much, but the first time I was about five years old, six years old when we went to see the cars live during free practice in Germany. The one thing I remember was the sound, how loud the cars actually were, and to feel the cars through the ground. The whole ground was vibrating. It’s a shame that we don’t have that any more.”

Later when speaking in German Vettel said that he would rather have a V12, and that batteries are for mobile phone, and not F1 cars.

Meanwhile Jenson Button had a few words for any drivers criticising the current rules.

“Go and race something else if you’re not happy,” said Jenson. “As drivers we don’t have an opinion where the cars are in terms of sound and feel. When you’ve crossed the finish line first and you’ve won a Grand Prix, you don’t care what it sounds or what it feels like. You’ve beaten the best in the world, and that’s what you care about.”

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March 27, 2014 · 11:12 am

Fernando Alonso: “It’s not been the perfect start…”

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari can still fight for the World Championship this year, despite the impressive form shown by rivals in Australia.

In recent years Alonso has had to fight with what was often the third or fourth best car in the field, but this time he sees the possibility to catch up.

“I think that we have more potential that what we saw in Australia, first of all,” he said in Malaysia today. “I think we need to put everything in place and have a better weekend. We also understand that we need to improve, especially with the Mercedes cars, they seem very strong. But we have the potential. I think the team has the facilities, the team has the talent, to do a very good job.

“We are strong and we should be strong. We will do better, I’m pretty sure. We know that it has not been a perfect start, it seems like a repetition of the past couple of years, but these are different rules, a different rate of developing this year, and the hope is still perfectly there.”

Reminded that in 2012 he came to Malaysia and won with an uncompetitive car Alonso said that a repeat was unlikely – but he hasn’t given up hope.

“If we approach this weekend thinking that we will win the race like we did in 2012, it’s definitely optimistic. Why not? In F1 anything can happen. But I think what we saw in 2012, we see one time in life.

“We need to see how the next races go, in terms of our own performance, and see how we can develop quickly the car and be in a little bit better shape in Australia. As we said at the end of the race we were not happy with the performance we showed, and that we need to I improve as soon as possible. We have to work hard and race hard in the next couple of Grands Prix, and deliver some results.”

Meanwhile Alonso didn’t want to join in with any criticism of the new rules – and made some interesting observations about how his words might be interpreted.

“This is a very uncomfortable matter to speak about. If I say I like this F1, it will be criticised because this is not any more F1 for most of the fans. If I say that I don’t like this F1, fans will criticise [me] and say I only liked it when I win before.

“It’s the same with the performance. If you say that you are more or less happy with the fourth in Australia because you finished the race, you are not motivated any more and you’re not hungry for success. If you say that you want to win and we don’t have the performance, then you are criticising the team. So it’s very difficult when you have the microphone to talk about anything in this difficult contest.

“We need to give it a little bit more time. I understand the disappointment of the Australian race from the fans point of view, because the race was probably not as we thought. There was a lot of talk before the race about how exciting will be this new F1, how many cars will finish, maybe zero, if there finish zero cars how they will do it, the safety car will go out, all these sorts of things were talked about before the race.

“When 15 cars finished and there were not many problems and not many overtakings, people were maybe not expecting that. We need to give a little bit more time. Maybe here we’ll have a fantastic race, a fantastic show. The weather can play an important part here and create a very good scenario for the race, so we’ll see.”

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March 27, 2014 · 10:19 am

Daniel Ricciardo: “I definitely don’t want to be a one-hit wonder…”

Daniel Ricciardo insists that he was quickly able to put the disappointment of his Australian GP exclusion behind him, despite his obvious frustration.

The RBR driver says he has focussed on the positives from a race that saw him finish a popular second on the road.

“I’ve obviously had a bit of time to get over it so I’m alright now,” he said. “but Sunday was a bit disappointing obviously, it’s not the news that you want to hear when you’re trying to celebrate. Sunday night I guess I had a bit of time to think, and Monday as well I had a few cameras in my face at the airport. They let me know about it! So I couldn’t really escape it for about 24 hours, but after that I was home. I was staying occupied and not thinking about it too much more. In any case I definitely took more positives out of the result and that weekend than that negative.

“I try and stay relaxed and laid back about it all. I did the race, I did what I felt was the best I could, and then all the controversy afterwards it was not really my fight, not my position to be involved in any more, that was for the team to take over with. I was proud with what I did, I did the job that I felt I could have and should have done. The rest was out of my control.

“I would have much preferred the result I got, a second on track and having it taken away rather than having a poor start and just running around in eighth or tenth and just having a bit of a nothing race.”

He also feels that he’s proved a point: “For me personally now I’ve proved that I can race up the front. I just have to try to continue to keep going it. I definitely don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. Whether we get the points back or not, there’s still a lot of races to go, and hopefully the points will accumulate to a good position by the end of the season. There’s still a lot going on for me, and I’ll try and keep as many points as I can this weekend – and hopefully keep them!”

Ricciardo said that the saga had gained him a lot of sympathy back home in Australia.

“I got a lot of support after it, a lot of sympathy I guess. I probably gained a few fans, actually! For let’s say an Australian fan I guess they’d waited so many years to see an Aussie on the podium, and they’d finally done it at home. It was like a massive celebration for everyone, and then someone took it off them. Obviously they weren’t happy with the outcome of course, as not many of us were. I feel the same way they do!”

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March 19, 2014 · 2:31 pm

James Allison: “We have our work cut out…”

Ferrari technical director James Allison has described the team’s form in Australia as “not acceptable,” and says that straightline speed and braking stability – a big problem for Kimi Raikkonen in particular – are among the key areas for improvement.

Fernando Alonso finished 35 seconds behind winner Nico Rosberg, who is assumed by most observers to have had a lot in hand.

“Our competitiveness was not acceptable in Melbourne,” Allison told the Ferrari website. “But we intend to fight our way back up the grid with the improvements that we will bring to the car.

“While we can take some satisfaction from the reliability shown by the F14T, it is clear that we have our work cut out to improve our car in order to compete on equal terms with the Mercedes team. There is plenty about the F14T that is working very well. The starts and the pace in the corners – especially the high speed ones – are particular strong points, but we need to work further on the stability under braking, and the speed on the straights.”

Allison remains confident that there is time to recover.

“All the recent seasons in F1 have been characterised by a fierce development battle from March until November. With all the new regulations this year, the opportunities to improve the car are legion, and we can expect the race to improve the cars to be even more intense than normal.”

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March 19, 2014 · 9:55 am

Magnussen brilliant on debut, says Boullier

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says that the team did everything right on its way to earning what became second and third places in Australia.

He was also full of praise for rookie Kevin Magnussen.

“I think all the credit is going to the people as well in Woking,” he said when asked by this writer. “Because after a difficult last year they learned from their mistakes, and they kept their head cool, and obviously this weekend it ran smoothly. Everybody learned and gathered the data we needed and worked very hard to go to the end of the race with the best performance. We did a good strategy. The calls from the pit wall were good, and obviously the drivers did an awesome job.”

Regarding Magnussen’s performance, he said: “It was brilliant to be honest, from a young kid like him. He handled the pressure brilliantly.”

Boullier admits however that Mercedes is a long way clear of the rest.

“Yes, there is a huge gap, but we knew this already from Bahrain. We just have to work to get close to them now.”

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