Lewis Hamilton Q&A: It was my mistake

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton knows that his error on lap one at Monza could prove critical to his title hopes. Minor contact with Felipe Massa’s Ferrari, the result of over eagerness he admits, was enough to put the Briton out of the race. The only consolation? That team mate Jenson Button secured a good haul of points and that his closest title rival, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, was unable to score heavily…

Q: What are your feelings after this very short race?
Lewis Hamilton: The good thing is that Jenson (Button) is up there on the podium and he was fighting with the Ferraris, so he did a great job, which is good for the team as it shows that we are very competitive.

Q: The tight battle at the start: if you were in this situation again, would you do anything different?
LH: Probably, and then I would still be racing. I tried my best, and sometimes things don't go your way. I had a good start and gained one position, which left me in fourth spot, and ideally I should have stayed there for a while. I tried to get third in the second corner, and that was a little too much. It was somehow my own mistake, as I wanted to position the car in a certain way and got too close to Massa, which led to our cars touching and my front wheel got damaged. And then there was nothing that I could do anymore. Still I am optimistic for the next races, and I have to apologize to my team.

Q: In terms of the championship battle, were your eyes then on Mark Webber and what he would be able to achieve?
LH: No, not too much. I have to try to collect my thoughts for the next race and try to help the team score as many points as I can, for either Jenson or myself, to win the championship. Even though my championship is not over yet, it is days like this and mistakes like I made today that make you lose a championship. But then you always have to say that the glass is half full, rather than being half empty.

Source: Formula1.com

Massa regrets approach to Q3

Felipe Massa stayed out longer than any other driver on his first Q3 run

Felipe Massa admitted he made a mistake with tyre strategy during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix but is expecting to be competitive in Sunday's race.

Massa defied convention by completing two timed laps on his first set of tyre in Q3, forcing him to rush back to the pits for a final attempt. He said he was hoping the soft would offer up more grip on the second lap but it did not pay off.

"I tried a different strategy in Q3 because I was not so sure of the tyres. When I put the soft tyres on in Q2, I couldn't do the best lap on the first lap straight away so it was getting better and better all the laps, so I did three timed laps and the best was the last.

"So I said let's, with the tyres, try and do three laps and we see maybe it's getting better and hopefully the last lap will be the best lap. But then during Q3 it was a little bit the opposite. I tried that but it didn't work as well as I expected with the grip on the tyres. Then I stopped and I was able to go again do a single timed lap on the tyres, but it wasn't enough to fight for the pole."

However, Massa said the majority of his set-up work this weekend had been focused on the race and that he should be in a strong position to fight on Sunday.

"I think we have a good car, I'm happy with the car for the race," he added. "Yesterday we did a very good job finding a good direction for the race and we improved the car massively like we expected and I think we should be very strong tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it."

Source: ESPNF1

Alonso hits back: Not under pressure

Fernando Alonso rounded on his critics after being accused of making too many mistakes since moving to Ferrari this season.

Following his victory in the season opener in Bahrain Alonso was then involved in a first-corner collision with Michael Schumacher in the subsequent grand prix in Australia.

Rain during qualifying played havoc in Malaysia, with Alonso among a host of big names who started at the back of the grid after second guessing the weather and getting it wrong.

In China, the 28-year-old jumped the start and served a drive-through penalty before finally proving his worth again last Sunday in front of his home crowd in Spain by finishing second.

But on Saturday Alonso watched qualifying from the garage after putting his car in a barrier in final practice, with the damage meaning there was not enough time for his team to repair his car in time.

Alonso will now start from the pit lane, which means any chance of a points finish is virtually non-existent, and he is almost certain to relinquish second place in the Drivers' standings.

But as to his errors, Alonso snapped: "Do I think I've made too many mistakes this year?

"In Barcelona, where I was maybe under the most pressure, I did my best qualifying lap and had my best race.

"If, after 10 years in Formula One I still have to prove I do not feel pressure, then it's not worth talking about any more."

Alonso at least held his hands up to his Saturday shunt that saw him hit the barrier at Massenet heading into Casino Square which resulted in the loss of his right-front wheel.

But the resultant damage came as a major surprise.

"It was my mistake, but it was also very unlucky," he added.

"With an impact at 90 (kmh), you don't normally write off a chassis.

"Unfortunately the angle of impact with the barrier was such that the damage could not be repaired, and the rules don't let you use the spare chassis."

In starting from the pit lane, Alonso concedes he is now in "the worst possible place," but is refusing to give up hope.

He added: "We will do our best to bring home some points that can be useful for the classification."

Source: Planet F1