Q&A with Lewis Hamilton after Istanbul

"Things didn’t really come together in the race"

Fourth place in Turkey was a pretty satisfying result at the end of a somewhat unsatisfying weekend, wasn’t it?

“Yeah, I think it was a realistic result. I think that, if everything had come together, then we might have been able to get onto the podium. I think we had the pace but things didn’t really come together in the race: I had a bit of a scrappy start and then lost ground to the leaders, so fourth was pretty satisfactory. It could’ve been worse.

“And I think Sunday showed how close it is among the top teams: we saw at the weekend how strong Mercedes GP and Ferrari can be when they have a clear run at a weekend. But we also know that we didn’t really get the maximum from the package we expected to run in Turkey. As always, we’re fighting to bring lots of new parts to the track, and it isn’t always possible to run them either from a performance or reliability point of view.

“Even before first practice, we knew we were going to have to scale back our ambitions on the development front for this particular race. Of course, that’s disappointing but you have to look at the bigger picture: the championship will be won through consistency, so it’s better to score points with a decent result than risk a non-finish through a reliability failure despite having greater performance.”

You had a great tussle with Jenson out on the track did that bring back memories of last year?

“Only in the sense that it was a fair fight. We respect each other both as drivers and people; and I know that, when I’m racing Jenson, it’ll always be clean and fair he’s a driver you can really depend on in a close situation.

“It was good to have a little battle with him – but last year, too, it was for first position; this year, we were only fighting for the minor placings so it wasn’t as much fun. Still, I enjoy racing with KERS Hybrid and DRS it makes it more entertaining for the drivers and the fans. I think anything that makes the racing more exciting should be applauded and we’ve definitely had four interesting races so far this year.

“Sure, you don’t always win – and sometimes the system actually works against you, because it can make you vulnerable when you’re the car in front but, in general, I like the new rule-changes this year.”

There now look to be four teams in with a shot at winning races does that make your job harder?

“At the start of the season, we certainly expected Ferrari and Mercedes GP to be competitive – and, even when they couldn’t quite deliver on their winter testing performance in the first three races, we knew it was only a matter of time before they got back into their stride. So seeing their pace at Turkey wasn’t a surprise it was actually more of a surprise that they hadn’t shown it since the start of the season.

“Having more teams in the fight works both ways – it makes it harder to score good points if you’ve got lots of other drivers taking points off each other, but on the flipside, it should make it harder for anyone to decisively pull ahead in the points table which was something we saw last year.

“It didn’t work out for us in Turkey but I’m already looking ahead to Barcelona – it’s a circuit where I’ve never won, so it would be a great boost for the team if we can get a great result there next week.”

Source: NextgenAuto

Massa's Blog: For the fans, it’s the race that counts

I’m back home in Monaco after the first race of the season where I failed to score any points and it’s fair to say, that given my previous track record in Istanbul, this was obviously a very disappointing result. I ended up eleventh, when I could have been challenging for fourth place and that was mainly down to poor pit stops. However, looking on the positive side, the aero updates we ran for the first time at this race definitely increased our performance level as can be seen from the fact that Fernando secured Ferrari’s first podium finish of the year.

Once again, qualifying was not that easy and then, as we have seen at every race this year, the car was much better in the race itself. I had an incident packed Sunday afternoon, but the first stint went very well for me and I was able to pass several cars, up to the point that I overtook Hamilton just before we pitted. This was where my race got complicated as my pit stop was not that great and we ended up side by side leaving pit lane, with him just having the edge in the end. After that, only the second of my total of four pit stops went well and Lewis went on to finish the race in fourth place, which shows what I could have been challenging for.

Even if we had a difficult qualifying and I did not even bother making a second attempt in Q3 to save tyres, the gap in terms of our qualifying to race performance did come down in Turkey, because we struggled less in qualifying and then made an even bigger step forward on Sunday, which is more proof that the car is improving. Why do we have that gap? It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but let’s say it just seems to be a characteristic of the car, because even last year, we had a similar situation. I think qualifying is still important, but much less than before, like in the days when it was almost the most crucial part of the weekend, when overtaking another car during the race was so difficult. Even if qualifying is less important, there is nothing disappointing about that, because for the fans, it’s the race that counts as the most important part of the weekend, so the current situation is, in my opinion, good for the sport.

As for the pit stop difficulties, I would say I had a few too many, because without them I was definitely heading for a top five finish. This was frustrating for me and for the team. We do a lot of pit stop practice, but that Sunday it just did not work properly. We will have to study the problem and try and be more consistent, because in a single stop, just a small delay in changing wheels and you can lose position, as happened to me in Istanbul. The pressure on the pit crew is now very great, because not only are they having to be perfect several times during a race, but also since the banning of refuelling, they no longer have that time cushion changing wheels, while waiting for all the fuel to go in. We all have to improve ourselves, drivers included, because our role in the pit-stop operations is very important as well.

Today I am in Rome for a convention run by our technical partner Shell and then for the last two days of the week, I will be in Maranello, in meetings with the engineers and of course, spending time in the simulator; all part of our efforts to keep on pushing to improve our car, because with two more races coming up in the space of two weekends, we have to react as soon as possible to turn our season around. I mentioned the simulator just now and so I would like to wish a speedy recovery to Davide Rigon, a young driver who does a lot of work for us in the simulator and who unfortunately broke his leg in an accident in Sunday’s GP2 race in Istanbul.

Source: Ferrari.com

Turkish GP winner Sebastian Vettel has to lay off booze after Istanbul victory

Sebastian Vettel romped to glory in Turkey to become the toast of Formula 1 – and was then banned from drinking the victory champagne.

The 23-year-old German was in a different class as he took his third win in four races this season with an awesome display of driving outside Istanbul.

And team-mate Mark Webber recovered from a bad start to snatch runners-up spot from Fernando Alonso.


But while the older duo could glug down the bubbly on the podium, the sport’s youngest star was too young to join in.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has introduced strict new alcohol laws increasing the minimum age to 24 because of a nationwide drinking crisis.

“Seb is so young,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner. “He’s only 23 and he wasn’t allowed to drink champagne on the podium because he’s under age here.”

A year after both Red Bull team-mates crashed out here while duelling for the lead, they proved they were back in command and in a different class to the rest.

Vettel moved a staggering 34 points clear of Britain’s Lewis Hamilton after just four races and could win the title in record time unless things change.

“This was a really sweet result today, especially after the problems we had last year,” added Horner. “Seb was dominant and Mark drove well.”

Hamilton trailed home fourth, 40 seconds after his German rival, with Jenson Button sixth. “The start was a disaster, so it was damage limitation after that really,” said Hamilton.


Although there was a feast of overtaking for the fans – and a record 82 pitstops to savour – it was all sound and fury signifying nothing. Overtaking used to be too difficult, now it’s too easy.

But the joy of one German at the top end of the grid was book-ended by the sorry tale of another at the back. It was a heartbreaking sight as Michael Schumacher, winner of so many legendary races, was elbowed down to 12th.

A chastened Schumacher said: “The big joy is not there at the moment, I have to say.”

But gazing up at his winner a happy Horner said that when it came to the sport’s current star player Vettel’s only error was made long before he arrived. “That’s some dodgy haircut,” he grinned.

Source: The Daily Mirror

Massa's Blog: As a racing driver, you always want more

The biggest event in my life since the Chinese Grand Prix is that I turned 30 around a week ago! I celebrated with my family here in Monaco and I have to admit, it did feel significant hitting thirty. Although, on the other hand, I don’t feel any different, I don’t feel older but it’s strange not be twenty something anymore. When I first appeared in Formula 1, I was twenty: it was ten years ago and I cannot complain about my career and my life since then, which has always delivered more than I expected. But as a racing driver, as a competitor, you can never be happy and you always want more and that is what motivates me. Looking at the current driver line-up in F1, I can take encouragement from the fact that, even if there are plenty of very young drivers in the sport, there are also guys like Michael (Schumacher) who show that it is possible to have a very long career and seeing him still competing makes me feel even younger!

After a long break from racing, I will be heading for Turkey very early on Thursday morning and I have to say that Istanbul is a very special place for me, as it was here in 2006 that I took my first ever F1 victory, which is something no driver can ever forget. I remember it as an incredible win from pole position and also I recall the fact I finished ahead of Michael and Fernando who were fighting for the championship that year, which all added to making it a great achievement. And after that, I made it a hat-trick, winning for the next two years, when I was definitely the fastest man on track. In fact, apart from the three wins from three poles, since I am in Ferrari I have always finished in the points at Istanbul Park, but I hope the Turkish wins won’t stop at three! It sounds strange, but looking back at my results in Istanbul and combining it with my recent significant birthday, it might even be a further motivation to get a good result this weekend. However, we must be realistic and I know we need a good improvement on the car, as we were not as strong as we expected in the first three races. But everyone in Maranello has been working very hard to produce some aero updates for this race, so hopefully we can be a bit stronger, even though these new elements cannot be considered to be a major upgrade. That is the story for this weekend, but we can expect more improvements to follow at the races immediately after this one.

If you look at our positions in qualifying at the last race, we did not have the performance to deliver a podium result, but during the race itself our pace was such that we were actually fighting for a top three finish. We cannot say now what the situation will be in Turkey, because if we have been working hard, then so have the other teams, but it is not impossible that we will find ourselves with a car capable of fighting for a podium. It is true that the tyre situation is the same for everyone, but it is equally true that this could again be the key factor in deciding what happens in the race. The famous Turn 8 will be very important, because you really put a very heavy load on the tyres at this corner so we need to think carefully about the car set-up to deal with it and control the degradation. One element that could make this a completely different situation is that, currently, the weather forecast predicts some rain on nearly every day of the race weekend, which means we and especially our strategists, have to be very concentrated and ready for anything. I can’t remember rain in Istanbul, so it could make life interesting.

Since China, I’ve kept in touch with my engineers to know what they are working on and I also spent two days at the factory and in the simulator last week, which was important for our development work. I enjoyed having a break from this with the unique opportunity of driving three Ferraris on the same day around Fiorano for a filming event: I had a Formula 1 car, the 458 road car and the 458 in its Challenge version. It was good fun, but the problem was that when you step out of the F1 car and into the road car – even a Ferrari – you have to be very careful about your braking points for the corners, because they are very different. But it all ended safely!

Source: Ferrari.com

Alonso's Blog: No predictions for Istanbul

I arrived in Istanbul this evening along with the team on the usual charter flight that we use for European races. I was in Maranello from Monday night onwards: we had programmed some work in the simulator to prepare for these first few races of the European part of the season and so it was the perfect opportunity to meet up with the engineers to discuss how development is coming on with the 150° Italia. Already in Turkey, we will have a few new aerodynamic components, but further updates are due to arrive in the following races. We know we have to take a significant step forward in terms of performance if we want to get back to fighting for the top places, especially in qualifying. I’m not expecting a major change in Istanbul: on Friday we will see if the new parts work the way we are expecting, but we are well aware that the others have not been twiddling their thumbs these past few weeks, so it’s impossible to say today where we are compared to our main rivals.

We’ve had a slightly longer break than usual and it was useful to pause for breath after the first run of races outside Europe. I made the most of it to spend time with my family, but also to concentrate on upping my training level, working mainly on the bike.

The Istanbul circuit is very technical, with many different types of corner, some serious ups and downs and a couple of places where overtaking was possible in the past: this year that should be even more the case thanks to the moveable rear wing. This element has proved to play an important part in making overtaking easier, but the factor that has the biggest effect on whether one driver can pass another is the difference in tyre performance, as we clearly saw in China. When you end up in trouble with the tyres, it gets very difficult to defend your position from another driver, even if his tyres are just a few laps fresher than yours. Usually, the Istanbul race is pretty demanding on tyres and so it will be very important to get an understanding of their behaviour in Friday’s free practice. At the moment, the weather forecast looks very uncertain, especially for Friday, which adds a further unknown to this weekend.

I don’t want to make any predictions about the final result: we know it will be tough for us, but the will to work hard and to do well is not lacking. I saw that these past few days in Maranello where everyone is working very hard, from Domenicali to the mechanics, so that everyone can get on top of the situation in their own area as soon as possible. It is this great desire to get the job done that makes the people at Maranello so special.

Source: Ferrari.com

[Photos] Turkish GP

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Whitmarsh: What's with the cuddling?

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh admits he "a little bit surprised" that the Red Bull pit wall "cuddled" Sebastian Vettel following his exit from the Turkish Grand Prix.

Red Bull gifted McLaren a 1-2 finish at Istanbul Park when Vettel collided with his team-mate Mark Webber on lap 41. Vettel was later seen hugging each member on the pit wall, including team boss Christian Horner.

Whitmarsh says if it was one of his drivers he'd be fuming instead of giving them cuddles.

"I think what you've got to say is, if you've got a 1-2 in prospect, you can't jeopardise it by colliding on the track - it's not acceptable for drivers to take themselves out," he told BBC.

"I confess I was a little bit surprised by the extent they were cuddling Sebastian during the race, I don't think I would have been cuddling Sebastian.

"I don't know if they're happy with what happened in their race but I'm happy with what happened in ours."

Source: Planet F1

Q&A with Red Bull’s Helmut Marko: We are not amused

As Red Bull’s motorsport consultant, Dr Helmut Marko is the perfect person to ask about the incident between the team’s drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber during the Turkish Grand Prix. Watching the duo go wheel-to-wheel and then lose an almost guaranteed one-two by ending up colliding was not the ideal end to the Istanbul Park weekend. And Marko and the rest of the team are keen to have a serious word with both drivers to ensure it never happens again…

Q: Helmut, how disappointed do you feel to have let victory slip from your grasp?
Helmut Marko: A sure-fire one-two to be exact! It leaves you speechless.

Q: Do you regret there are no team orders anymore?
HM: Well, we thought that we had two responsible drivers who wouldn’t get into such a situation in the first place.

Q: Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he didn’t believe it was Vettel’s fault. Is this the official opinion of the team?
HM: Well, in the situation Sebastian was in, he had no other choice than to act the way he did.

Q: How will the team respond?
HM: We will carefully analyse the situation and sit down with all involved to have a serious word about what happened and how to handle situations like that in the future.

Q: Will you change something in the future to avoid such an incident happening again?
HM: Well, first of all we always told them that it is a strict no-go to go to the wall with each other. Whatever happens they always have to give room to the other. I hope that all the people involved will think a bit more in the future before acting.

Q: That suggests that one of the two should have given way to the other…
HM: Yes.

Q: And you will discuss with them who that should have been …
HM: Yes.

Q: Is it true that the team gave instructions to Mark Webber’s race engineer to let Sebastian Vettel pass because otherwise Lewis (Hamilton)would be able to overtake?
HM: That is not correct, because that would mean a team order. We informed Mark about the situation and it is for the driver to decide. The fact is that if Sebastian hadn’t passed he would have been overtaken by Hamilton.

Q: Why was Sebastian so much quicker than Mark so suddenly?
HM: I think it was in the tyres.

Q: Have you received a phone call from Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz?
HM: Yes. What does the Queen say? We are not amused? That’s what he said…that he was not amused!

Q: At the next race, if you have a one-two, how will you tell the drivers to behave?
HM: Montreal is a track that is probably not the best for our car, and if it is, we will surely make the right decisions.

Source: Formula1.com

[Video] Webber explains Turkey crash

Source: YouTube @ TheGPUpdate

Button: Schumi ruined my qualifying

Not for the first time this season, Jenson Button has fallen foul of Michael Schumacher, this time during qualifying for the Turkish GP.

The last driver out in Q3 bidding to put his car on pole position - or at least as close to the Red Bull racers as possible, Button was behind Schumacher on the track.

But with the chequered flag waving and the clock having run down, Schumacher lost control of his Merc GP through Turn Eight, sliding into the gravel where his car remained beach.

The German's incident immediately brought out the yellow flags, which meant Button had to back off and settle for fourth place on Sunday's grid.

"Fourth is not too bad but the last lap was frustrating," Button told the BBC.

"Being the last car is sometimes a good thing but there's more chance of someone going off ahead and Michael Schumacher went off in front me, I saw the yellow flag and decided to come in.

"We are a lot closer to Red Bull than I expected.

"My biggest problem is Turn Eight and I think we've run the car too low. We'll have a lot of fuel on board for tomorrow so it will be tough on Turn Eight."

Source: Planet F1

[Photos] Saturday FP3 and Qualifying

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[Video] Seb talks about Turkish GP track

Source: YouTube @WeeklyF1

[Photos] FP1 and FP2 photos - Turkey

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