Category Archives: Formula One

Lotus and Mad Max…

10/05/2015 By in Formula One Tags: Leave a comment

Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Spanish Grand Prix - Practice Day - Barcelona, Spain

 

Lotus F1, in co-operation with Warner Bros. Pictures, has prepared a radical-looking proposal for an alternative Formula 1 future (above).

The vehicle – designated the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid – is a fusion of Formula 1 technology reimagined for a post-apocalyptic future to coincide with the 15 May 2015 launch of the action adventure Mad Max: Fury Road, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures.

More than a decade in the making, Mad Max: Fury Road is filmmaking mastermind George Miller’s keenly anticipated return to the post-apocalyptic world he created more than 30 years ago with the seminal Mad Max trilogy.

Fitted with special accessories and heavy modifications for a world gone mad, the Lotus F1 Team Mad Max Hybrid was unveiled at the Barcelona International Motor Show at the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre – at the same location for four Spanish Grand Prix between 1969-1975 – in Barcelona along with two custom, drivable vehicles designed and created for the film: Nux’s car and the iconic Mad Max Interceptor.

Accompanying the vehicles was Lotus F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, both of whom drove Mad Max: Fury Road-branded cars in the Spanish Grand Prix.

And why not…

 

Romain Grosjean.

Romain Grosjean.

Pastor Maldonado.

Pastor Maldonado.

Buemi wins in Formula E

10/05/2015 By in Formula E Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
Buemi on the top step of the podium in Monaco.

Buemi (centre) on the top step of the podium in Monaco.

 

Today, Sebastien Buemi became the first driver to secure two wins in the FIA Formula E Championship. The Swiss driver won the first ever race of the series to be held in Europe, adding to his previous victory in Punta del Este. It was also the third win for a driver from the e.dams-Renault team, as Nico Prost had come out on top in Miami, thus extending its lead in the teams’ standings.

The race drew a great crowd of around 23,000 spectators which packed the free grandstands and the hospitality areas.

Earlier in the day, Buemi secured pole ahead of championship leader Lucas di Grassi, while Jerome D’Ambrosio and Nelson Piquet Jr lapped fast enough to secure spots on the second row. But it was the race itself that reserved the real thrills and excitement. When the race was only a few seconds old, the leaders managed to escape unharmed, but behind them there was carnage of epic proportions, triggered by Daniel Abt, with a host of drivers involved – Bruno Senna, Jean-Eric Vergne, Loic Duval, Salvador Duran and Vitantonio Liuzzi – while Jaime Alguersuari had already been knocked out before the first corner.

The Qualcomm Safety Car made an immediate appearance and while the extremely efficient Automobile Club de Monaco marshals removed the Brazilian’s and the Spaniard’s cars, the others managed to make their way back to the pits and switch to their second cars, even though in fact their races were irrevocably compromised. At the restart, a lead group developed consisting of Buemi, with di Grassi on his tail, followed by D’Ambrosio, Piquet, Stephane Sarrazin, Nicolas Prost and Sam Bird.

On lap six, the NEXTEV TCR Brazilian made the most of the FanBoost and overtook the Belgian Dragon driver with a super move at Turn 3, to go third. In front, di Grassi stayed in Buemi’s slipstream, but never found the right moment to get past and so decided to pit early on lap 25, going for an undercut. The move didn’t work but only by a few hundredths because Buemi, who had stayed out on track along with Piquet, managed to stay in the lead fending off the attacking move from di Grassi in his Audi Sport ABT car around the outside of the Harbour Hairpin.

In the second stint, di Grassi first tried to stay with Buemi, although he knew the Swiss driver had more energy available, but then had his mirrors full of Piquet with whom he duelled for the lead in the championship. In the end, despite huge efforts from the Long Beach winner, it was di Grassi who came off best in this all-Brazilian battle, crossing the line just over two seconds down on Buemi, while in the closing stages Piquet had to defend from Bird, who tried his utmost to get a foot on the podium at the very last.

Behind the top four, the rest of the points went to D’Ambrosio, Prost, Sarrazin, Charles Pic, Antonio Felix da Costa and Nick Heidfeld, while Scott Speed, eighth at the flag, was dropped back to 12th, right behind Jarno Trulli and ahead of Karun Chandhok.

Not seeing the flag, but making his mark on the event, was Vergne, who set the fastest lap. He did it in 55.157s, thanks partly to his FanBoost, which was worth two points to the Frenchman, as well as the Visa Fastest Lap Award. It’s the first time this award has been given, a partnership between Formula E and the electronic payment services provider.

After seven races, Lucas di Grassi still leads the drivers’ classification on 93 points, four more than Nelson Piquet Jr. Today’s win puts Buemi back in the hunt for the title: the Swiss driver is third on 83 points, six more than team-mate Prost.

In the teams’ classification, e.dams-Renault has made a significant step forward, the French team now has a 45 point lead over Audi Sport ABT (160 to 115) while Virgin Racing has closed up even further to NEXTEV TCR (94 to 93.) Among the results, worthy of note is the fact the Venturi team managed to get both its drivers into the points at this its home race with Sarrazin seventh and Heidfeld 10th.

The historic venue of Monaco kicked off the European part of the Formula E season and now there are new settings to explore. The next round, the DHL Berlin ePrix, takes place in a fortnight, on 23 May at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport.

FIA Formula E Championship – Monaco ePrix (Rd 7) – Race results:
1. Sébastien Buemi, e.dams-Renault, 48m05s225
2. Lucas di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT, +2.154s
3. Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR, +4.634s
4. Sam Bird, Virgin Racing, +4.801s
5. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, +5.881
6. Nicolas Prost, e.dams-Renault, +11.032s
7. Stéphane Sarrazin, Venturi, +26.472s
8. Charles Pic, NEXTEV TCR, +49.538s
9. Antonio Felix da Costa, Amlin Aguri, +52.658s
10. Nick Heidfeld, Venturi, +52.936s
11. Jarno Trulli, Trulli, +58.984s
12. Scott Speed, Andretti, +1m14.138s
13. Karun Chandhok, Mahindra Racing, +1 lap
NC Vitantonio Liuzzi, Trulli, DNF
NC Jean-Eric Vergne, Andretti , DNF
NC Salvador Duran, Amlin Aguri, DNF
NC Loïc Duval, Dragon Racing, DNF
NC Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT, DNF
NC Jaime Alguersuari, Virgin Racing, DNF
NC Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, DNF

Driver Standings
Lucas di Grassi – 93
Nelson Piquet Jr – 89
Sébastien Buemi – 83
Nicolas Prost – 77
Sam Bird – 64
Jerome D’Ambrosio – 52
Antonio Felix da Costa – 45
Jean-Eric Vergne – 34
Jaime Alguersuari – 30
Bruno Senna – 28

Team Standings
e.dams-Renault – 160
Audi Sport ABT – 115
Virgin Racing – 94
NEXTEV TCR – 93
Andretti – 82
Dragon Racing – 76
Amlin Aguri – 48
Mahindra Racing – 46
Venturi – 16
Trulli – 12

Where did Max Chilton disappear to?

10/05/2015 By in Formula One Tags: , Leave a comment

16C_6865

 

Well the former Force India and Marussia F1 driver has just taken a well-deserved podium and fastest lap today in the second Indy Lights race of the weekend on the Indianapolis road course, with team mate Ed Jones following him home in a strong fourth place. The Carlin men had the odds stacked against them after a messy first lap saw Jones receive contact from Jack Harvey which sent the Brit into a spin and also impaired Chilton’s progress.

After a strong qualifying session and with a disappointing race without Push to Pass yesterday, Jones and Chilton were in a confident mood as they lined up first and third on the grid. However ambitions were soon dashed when Jones was jumped off the start by Sean Rayhall and shortly after was tapped into a spin by Jack Harvey. Close behind, Chilton had to take avoiding action to miss his team mate, losing several positions himself. Managing to recover, Jones found himself at the back of the field with Chilton in ninth as the field pulled away ahead of them.

Determined to make the most of their pace though, Chilton and Jones started a long comeback, gradually making their way through the field. After making quick progress, Chilton then found himself behind Kyle Kaiser for several laps, but once past the Carlin man streaked ahead setting fastest lap after fastest lap.

Having seen his team mate make progress, Jones followed Chilton past Kaiser a few corners later and the duo set off to close in on the leaders. Showing strong pace, Chilton and Jones were making progress but were quickly running out of laps to make up further positions. However, an issue for Harvey with one lap to go led to the SPM driver dropping down the order with Chilton sweeping through to take third place and Jones recovering to fourth.

Chilton also took the prize for fastest lap of the race, whilst points for fourth was enough to hand Jones back the championship lead.

Sir Frank Williams awarded

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Riccardo Cesarini (left) and Sir Frank Williams.

Riccardo Cesarini (left) and Sir Frank Williams with the award.

 

Brembo Performance Group Director, Riccardo Cesarini has presented the Team Principal of Williams Martini Racing with a special award for services to F1. The award is modelled on an F1 car’s braking system.

The Williams name has been synonymous with top-level motorsport since the 1960s, with the foundation in 1966 of Frank Williams Racing Cars and later in 1977, along with Engineer Patrick Head, establishing Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

Williams Martini Racing achieved 16 FIA Formula One World Championships, nine Constructors’ Championships and seven Drivers’ Championships, scoring 114 victories.

Brembo’s award – which you probably haven’t heard about – was initiated in 2011 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Italian company. On that occasion Alberto Bombassei, Brembo Chairman, gave Bernie Ecclestone a braking system personalised with the colour of the Italian flag.

In 2012 the award was given to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Ferrari Spa Chairman, and 2013 Niki Lauda, non-executive Chairman of the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.

Nice one Frank.

 

Riccardo Cesarini Frank Williams_2 Riccardo Cesarini Frank Williams_3

Barcelona post race: Sahara

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Sergio Perez leads team mate Nico Hulkenberg.

Sergio Perez leads team mate Nico Hulkenberg.

 

Today’s Spanish Grand Prix saw Sergio Perez finish in P13 ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in P15.

P13 Sergio Perez VJM08-02
Strategy: New Mediums (19 laps) – New Hards (17 laps) – New Mediums (29 laps):
“Considering where I qualified, we probably maximised our race today. Maybe a three-stop strategy would have been a little bit better, but it wouldn’t have made much difference in the end. My last stint was really on the limit – nearly 30 laps on the same set of mediums – but we managed them well and I was able to control Ericsson who was putting pressure on me. Once again we showed today that our car is more suited to Sundays, so if we can improve our qualifying pace we can definitely fight for points at the next few races.”

P15 Nico Hulkenberg VJM08-01
Strategy: New Mediums (10 laps) – Used Mediums (16 laps) – New Mediums (23 laps) – New Hards (16 laps):
“It was always going to be difficult to score points today, especially on a track where it’s so difficult to overtake. I was always stuck behind other cars and, even with better pace, you lose too much performance running in the dirty air. My three-stop race was the more aggressive approach, but we didn’t have the track position to make the most of it. Maybe things would have worked out better if I had run in some clean air, but points were too far away today. Hopefully we can be more competitive in Monaco. It’s often an unusual race and we will have completely different tyre compounds, which should suit us better.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal:
“I think we can be content with today’s race despite finishing outside the points. Our pace was more convincing than our qualifying performance, which allowed us to battle against the Saubers and McLarens, but anything more was just outside our reach. We chose early on to split the strategies so that we had the opportunity to make the most of any unexpected developments, but as the race was fairly uneventful, both drivers ended up pretty much in the same place. The main regret is the amount of time Nico lost behind Maldonado in the middle of the race, which again proved how difficult it is to overtake here – even with a tyre advantage and DRS. Looking at the championship table, we are only eight points adrift of fifth place, and we are now one step closer to our big upgrade package, which is encouraging for everyone in the team.”

 

Sergio Perez on the grid.

Sergio Perez on the grid.

Nico Hulkenberg with Otmar Szafnauer, Sahara Force India F1's Chief Operating Officer.

Nico Hulkenberg with Otmar Szafnauer, Sahara Force India F1’s Chief Operating Officer.

Sergio Perez with yet another interview on the grid.

Sergio Perez with yet another interview on the grid.

Barcelona post race: Williams

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Felipe Massa arrives on the grid.

Felipe Massa arrives on the grid.

 

Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Felipe Massa sixth in today’s Spanish Grand Prix. Bottas’ long second stint on the option tyre allowed the team to change from a three-stop to a two-stop race, helping him to keep the closing Ferrari of Räikkönen at bay in the final laps. Massa managed to make up positions in the opening stint and drove an untroubled and consistent race to collect eight points for the team.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “Overall I’m pleased with the result today. The car has shown pretty good pace throughout the weekend and we wanted to see if we could convert that potential into points. There was a lot of talk about different teams bringing updates for this race with big gains. We have shown that our improvements have moved us forwards and this ended up being our closest finish to Ferrari. It was a good job by the aerodynamic team and all the people back at Grove, as well as an excellent operational performance from the team today, with good strategy choices and well executed pitstops. We need to keep heading in this direction and to keep finding additional performance gains in this package to help us challenge for podiums in future.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It feels good to split the Ferraris for a second race in a row and this has been another solid points haul for the team. Tyre life was better than we expected and as a result we changed from a three-stop to a two-stop race, which was a good strategic choice from the team because it allowed me to keep Räikkönen behind. The big positive is that we were closer to the leaders than we have been at any point this season. That gives me a lot of hope because we have shown that the updates we are bringing are improving our performance. I want to thank all the team here and in Grove for providing me with a great car to go racing with, and I’d also like to thank Mercedes HPP as they continue to push hard on the power unit to help us keep our competitors at bay.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a good race for the team, scoring 20 points, not losing too much to Ferrari, but also getting a lot more than Red Bull which is really important and positive for our championship position. I managed to overtake cars on the first lap and then fought hard with Kimi (Räikkönen) for a long time, which was hard on the tyres. Because of the extra degradation a three-stop race was better for me today, but it meant the others were too far ahead. We finished with one car in front of a Ferrari so we have shown that we can be competitive with them and we can now look forward to Monaco which will be a very different test for the car.”

 

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal.

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal.

Felipe Massa and Dave Robson, Race Engineer.

Felipe Massa and Dave Robson, Race Engineer.

Valtteri Bottas on the grid.

Valtteri Bottas on the grid.

Barcelona post race: Lotus

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Great shot of Pastor Maldonado in the pit garage.

Great shot of Pastor Maldonado in the pit garage.

 

Romain Grosjean drove a measured and accomplished Spanish Grand Prix to finish eighth despite a mid-race loss of fourth gear, whilst a strong run from Pastor Maldonado was compromised by an additional pit stop to modify damaged bodywork, after which he subsequently retired.

Grosjean started from P11 on the grid on fresh medium compound tyres, changing to new mediums on lap 15 and new hard tyres on lap 40. Maldonado started from P12 on the grid on new medium compound tyres, changing to new mediums on lap 14 then new hards on lap 43. He made an additional pit stop for damaged bodywork to be modified on lap 15 and retired at the end of lap 45.

Romain Grosjean, P8, E23-04:
“It was a tough and eventful race. Firstly, I’m glad to say that no-one was seriously injured in the pit stop. The rear tyres were experiencing a lot of degradation and I just couldn’t stop in time. It was a really scary moment for me, but probably more scary for the crew. I checked everyone was okay and I certainly owe them some beers! In the race, I lost fourth gear during the race which made things a bit of a challenge. It was a tough race but it’s good to be in the points for the third race in a row and we can be proud for what we’ve achieved today.”

Pastor Maldonado, DNF, E23-03:
“We were having a pretty great race at the start and our strategy was working well but then the damage to my car meant that I had to make an extra stop and my race was completely compromised. For sure, we have the pace in the car and in every race we have shown the potential to be in the points so it’s only a matter of time before we get a good result; I’m looking forward to Monaco.”

Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal:
“Both our drivers put in really strong performances today, with Romain finishing in eighth despite a gearbox issue and Pastor driving relentlessly before we retired him, but the real heroes today were the pit crew. Our pit box proved slippery causing Romain to stop long, resulting in three of the crew being slightly worse for wear, but nevertheless they were back in action for the subsequent stops. This is another endorsement of Enstone’s never give up spirit and we know the guys will be fighting fit for Monaco.”

Nick Chester, Technical Director:
“That was an eventful race for us. It was a good result for Romain with another four points in the bag despite an issue with the gearbox which he managed well. Pastor was looking quick but we had to pit him to remove some damaged bodywork. The extra stop proved too much of a penalty as despite him setting strong lap times, we weren’t able to work back up the order so we retired the car to avoid any additional damage.”

 

Pastor Maldonado (VEN) Lotus F1 E23. Spanish Grand Prix, Saturday 9th May 2015. Barcelona, Spain.

Pastor Maldonado (VEN) Lotus F1 E23. Spanish Grand Prix, Sunday 10th May 2015. Barcelona, Spain.

Romain Grosjean (FRA) Lotus F1 E23. Spanish Grand Prix, Saturday 9th May 2015. Barcelona, Spain.

Romain Grosjean.

Bahrain post race: Lotus

19/04/2015 By in Formula One Tags: Leave a comment
Nice night shot of Romain Grosjean on the Friday.

Nice night shot of Romain Grosjean on the Friday.

 

Romain Grosjean drove a strong and measured Bahrain Grand Prix to finish seventh whilst Pastor Maldonado endured an eventful race to finish an eventual fifteenth in the first night race of the season. Grosjean started from tenth and worked his way up to seventh without incident. Maldonado started from sixteenth on the grid, served a five-second pit stop penalty then experienced engine-kill activation when entering the pits for his final stop. The subsequent reset and restart process cost Maldonado considerable race time, translating to his fifteenth-position finish.

Grosjean started from P10 on the grid on his qualifying soft compound tyres, changing to scrubbed soft tyres on laps 12 and new medium tyres on lap 31. Maldonado started from P16 on the grid on new medium compound tyres, changing to new soft tyres on laps 10, 24 and 41. Maldonado served a five-second penalty in the first stop and had an engine restart on his final stop.

Romain Grosjean, P7, E23-02: “It had been a tough weekend until now for me, so it was really great to get another strong seventh position. Today’s race was great, especially as there was lots of overtaking. I was really hoping to catch Daniel Ricciardo but he was too quick for us today. It was quite difficult to manage tyres, especially with the rears so I think we did a good job to make the two-stop strategy work. We only had new medium compound tyres for the race, the rest were scrubbed, so it really was a great job by the team. It was a good recovery from Friday and Saturday’s session and I’ll happily take seventh place as my birthday gift for myself and the team.”

Pastor Maldonado, P15, E23-03: “That was a frustrating race for me. I pushed as hard as possible at the start on the medium tyres whilst everyone around me was on the grippier soft compound rubber. Once I moved to the soft tyres I was able to set the race’s then fastest lap so things looked good with our strategy. Unfortunately the engine anti-kill triggered when I came in to make my final pit stop which cost me a lot of time. It’s frustrating as we should have finished strongly. My focus is now Barcelona where I’ve delivered very strongly in the past.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “That was an excellent, straightforward copybook race from Romain. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace to challenge the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo today but we were ahead of the rest of our near rivals. We were able to complete some very quick pit stops, which helped both drivers during the course of the race. For Pastor we ran with a different strategy to most of the field, with a three-stop strategy, starting on the harder medium compound Pirellis. This looked to be working very well and Pastor should have finished around the same position as Romain however a five-second pit stop penalty and the engine-kill activating when he entered the pits extinguished any opportunity of a strong result.”

 

Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Bahrain Grand Prix - Race Day - Sakhir, Bahrain Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Bahrain Grand Prix - Race Day - Sakhir, Bahrain 407258e8-a93a-4e92-879e-6b4145d4d4d5

Bahrain post race: Williams

19/04/2015 By in Formula One Tags: Leave a comment

Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Felipe Massa tenth in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix. After a sensor issue on the final fire up caused Massa’s power unit not to start he was forced to start from the pit lane. Massa fought his way back up to eighth but, struggling for pace due to damage sustained after being hit in the early stages, he dropped back to tenth in the final laps.

Bottas made a clean getaway from the grid and after holding P5 for the majority of the race, he was able to capitalise on Sebastian Vettel’s unplanned pitstop for a new front wing, holding off the Ferrari successfully for 17 laps to take fourth.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a race of two halves today for us. Felipe had a sensor issue on the grid and we struggled to return from that. In the end Felipe drove a great race to fight back and bring the car home with a point. Valtteri had a great race as we managed to capitalise on Vettel’s mistake and he did a brilliant job to hold off the Ferrari for 17 laps in the closing stages. Overall, our targets are being met in terms of Championship position but we need to develop the package quicker to catch the cars in front.”

Valtteri Bottas: “I am pleased with the race and happy with fourth position. It was a real shame for the team that Felipe had an issue at the start. It was a lonely race but the final 20 laps were very tough. Sebastian was quicker than me, and closed up behind very fast, but the fight was really good fun. I know a few tricks that can really help to defend and they all worked today, and I am delighted to come out on top today.”

Felipe Massa: “It was a frustrating day for me to have to start from the pitlane. The car struggled to fire-up and once under way I had a lot of positions to make up. A few laps in at Turn Four, Maldonado ran into the back of me and damaged something. From then on I really struggled with the rear and the car was very hard to drive. It was a difficult day but one point is better than nothing.”

Bahrain post race: Sahara Force India

19/04/2015 By in Formula One Tags: Leave a comment

Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Bahrain Grand Prix - Race Day - Sakhir, Bahrain

 

Sahara Force India scored four points in today’s Bahrain Grand Prix as Sergio Perez (pictured above) raced to eighth place ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in P13.

P8 Sergio Perez VJM08-02
Tyre strategy: Used Softs (17 laps) – New Softs (20 laps) – New Mediums (19 laps)

Sergio Perez: “Eighth place feels very good and I’m very satisfied. It was a great opportunity to score points today and this is a nice reward for the whole team. Before the race we were not sure a two-stop strategy was possible for us – we thought the tyre degradation would be too high, but the team did an amazing job to make it happen. My engineers were giving me good information over the radio and after the first stint we knew that stopping twice was our best chance of scoring points. I think this was one of my best races in terms of managing the pace and the tyres. There are a lot of positives to take from this weekend and once again we showed that this team has a lot of heart and that we never give up.”

P13 Nico Hulkenberg VJM08-01
Tyre strategy: Used Softs (10 laps) – Used Softs (15 laps) – New Mediums (13 laps) – New Mediums (18 laps)

Nico Hulkenberg: “It was a disappointing result for me tonight: we didn’t seem to be able to find the same level of grip we had in qualifying and that made it really hard in the car. We were in a few battles, but we just couldn’t get the right edge, which is a shame. We seemed to be struggling to preserve the tyres compared to the cars around us and this cost us positions. We will need to investigate what caused us to suffer so much in the race, and hopefully it will at least give us an answer to avoid a similar situation in future races.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “Finishing with some points is always a good result, especially considering the way in which Sergio and the engineers executed the two-stop strategy. We needed Sergio to preserve his tyres to make our strategy work and he did this perfectly. When there was the need to pull a decisive move, he did so without compromising tyres or car and that proved to be the key for tonight’s result. Nico had a busy race and he always seemed to be in the middle of some battle. He suffered with high degradation today and the extra pit stop compared to Checo dropped him outside the points. Overall, though, we feel very positive leaving Bahrain – it’s a solid result to wrap up the first round of fly-away races and adds four important points to our tally as we head to Europe.”

 

Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Bahrain Grand Prix - Race Day - Sakhir, Bahrain

China post race: Sahara Force India

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Germany's Nico Hulkenberg in the VJM08.

Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg in the VJM08.

 

Sahara Force India just missed out on points today with Sergio Perez finishing the Chinese Grand Prix in P11. Team mate Nico Hulkenberg retired on lap 10.

P11 Sergio Perez VJM08-02
Strategy: New Softs (11 laps) – New Softs (15 laps) – Used Softs (15 laps) – New Mediums (14 laps)

Sergio Perez: “We raced very hard today, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough to come away with some points. With the strategy we looked at all the opportunities and switched to three stops quite early in the race, which was the right decision. I was able to push hard all the time with the aggressive strategy and fight with the cars ahead of me. In the final part of the race I was catching Ericsson, but he was just too far ahead to make up the ground. We are still not where we want to be in terms of competitiveness, but there are definitely some positives to take because we made an improvement compared to our performance in Malaysia.”

DNF Nico Hulkenberg VJM08-01
Strategy: New Softs (10 laps)

Nico Hulkenberg: “It is disappointing to end the race early, especially considering our previous record of solid reliability. It would have been interesting to see how our race would have developed because I made some good progress on the opening lap when I went around the outside of a few cars and then got a good run at Kvyat, which put me up in P12. We had the pace to keep up with the Toro Rossos and Saubers, so it was positive to see our pace being more competitive. It is still too early to say what caused my retirement: the engineers are looking at the issue and still investigating. All we know at this stage is that I lost drive and had to park the car.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “We leave China with mixed feelings after a busy race. Sergio performed really well and was unlucky not to see his performance rewarded with a point. He was in a number of battles and was able to compete on more or less an equal footing with some of our direct rivals, which offers an encouraging view for the coming races. It was a shame to lose Nico due to a technical issue, especially as he had made very good progress in the first part of the race. Like Sergio, he was showing some really good pace and it would have been interesting to see where he would have finished had he continued. Throughout the weekend, there have been some encouraging signs regarding our performance and we can build on these as the development of the VJM08 continues.”

 

Sergio Perez.

Sergio Perez.

China post race: Williams

12/04/2015 By in Formula One Tags: Leave a comment

Felipe Massa finished fifth and Valtteri Bottas sixth in today’s Chinese Grand Prix. Bottas had a good start to overtake Massa in the opening corners, only be retaken by Massa before the end of the first lap as the pair battled with Kimi Raikkonen who was able to jump both cars. For the remainder of the race both drivers managed their tyres and the gaps to their rivals before the race concluded under the safety car.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “The team maximised the performance of the car. Fifth and sixth is accurate of the pace we had today. The pitstops were excellent and our race strategy was very good. We just need to continue working on the pace of the car.”

Felipe Massa: “We had a good race today and I managed to get the most out of the car. The team performed very well but we just don’t have the raw speed to catch the cars in front. I will work on my start as that is really the only thing that went wrong for us. We have scored the most amount of points available to us today.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It was a lonely race for me today. I struggled for race pace throughout, but as a team we got the best result we could have achieved. I would have liked to have kept Kimi behind for longer after getting in front of him at the start, but he made a good move on me to retake the position. There is quite a bit of work to do to catch the cars ahead, but it’s only race three, so there is plenty of time.”

China post race: Lotus

12/04/2015 By in Formula One Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
Romain Grosjean in the E23.

Romain Grosjean in the E23.

 

Lotus F1 Team scored its first points of the season after Romain Grosjean came home in a strong seventh position in the Chinese Grand Prix. It wasn’t so plain sailing for Pastor Maldonado who, despite a very strong start, suffered from braking issues and late race contact from Jenson Button, eventually retiring from the race with seven laps to go.

Grosjean started from P8 on the grid on his qualifying soft tyres, changing to new medium tyres on laps 12 and 32. Maldonado started from P11 on the grid on his new soft compound tyres, changing to new medium tyres on laps 11 and 33. He retired from the race on lap 49.

Romain Grosjean, P7, E23-02: “It’s the best we could do today and it’s satisfying to have achieved the team’s first points of the season. It wasn’t an easy circuit for us, with a lot of front limited corners that we don’t particularly like, but we had a strong start, and most of the stints were good too. We’ve made a good job improving the car race after race and it’s great to finally score points.”

Pastor Maldonado, DNF, E23-03: “I made a great start and we were running strongly early on. However later I had a braking issue which made it harder to battle. We also have to understand why the brakes locked up so easily coming into the pits. We lost a lot of time here and it compromised the rest of my race. It was a fantastic battle with Jenson and we were passing each other very cleanly; a good, fun, exciting battle. Unfortunately, it looks like he got his braking point wrong and went into the back of me. This can easily happen when you’re fighting for position, braking offline and using DRS, so it’s just one of those things. Certainly our race pace is good, if we qualify a little higher we should be set for a very good time in Bahrain.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “That was a solid race from us which illustrates where we expected to be fighting from the start of the year. Both cars were looking in very good shape for a seventh and eighth finish, and it was a great result from Romain meaning our first points on the board. We achieved our target of overtaking the Red Bull and both of the Saubers with Romain, who delivered everything required. Pastor had a much more difficult race despite a strong start and clearly had potential to finish comfortably in the top ten too.”

 

Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Chinese Grand Prix - Race Day - Shanghai, China Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Chinese Grand Prix - Race Day - Shanghai, China

Melbourne post race: Williams

15/03/2015 By in Formula One Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Williams’ Felipe Massa finished fourth in today’s Australian Grand Prix. Starting in third and opting for a one-stop strategy, Massa lost a place to the Ferrari of Vettel after being jumped at the first pitstop, but after that showed consistent pace to bring the car home with 12 points to start the 2015 season. Valtteri Bottas was unable to race following a lower back injury sustained during qualifying. Following an evaluation by the FIA’s medical team and following a series of tests the FIA Medical Delegate deemed him unfit to take part in today’s race.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It’s always difficult to compete with only 50 per cent of your armoury with Valtteri having to miss the race, so today was about damage limitation in the Constructors’ Championship and we have managed to come away only a few points behind Ferrari which is a decent result. The team worked very well as a unit all weekend; the pitstop was good and so was the work on the pitwall. We made a decision to pit early because Vettel was a bit quicker behind us, but unfortunately this didn’t pay off for us. We are in a really competitive battle with the teams around us so this race is a marker for the rest of the season. We need to continue improving the car and getting maximum performance from what is a strong package.”

Felipe Massa: “The aim of today was to start the season with a solid points haul and demonstrate that we have a competitive car. We have managed to achieve much of what we wanted so this has been a positive start. The only disappointing part of the race was that I was jumped at the first pitstop by Vettel after losing a second and a half behind Ricciardo on my out-lap which was enough to lose the position. I have faith in the team and the car and we head to Malaysia knowing we are very much in the fight.”

Valtteri Bottas: “I have done a lot of work since the issue with my back came in qualifying to get myself ready, starting treatment immediately, so the news that I couldn’t race today was obviously disappointing but I respect the decision. I now have two weeks until the next race to receive further treatment to ensure I will be back to full fitness and even stronger in Malaysia. I’m very eager to get back in the car and race because the FW37 is looking competitive and I’m confident we can fight for podiums.”

 

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Melbourne post race: Sahara Force India

15/03/2015 By in Formula One Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
Nico Hulkenberg leads team mate Sergio Perez.

Nico Hulkenberg leads team mate Sergio Perez.

 

Sahara Force India scored seven points in today’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix with Nico Hulkenberg racing to seventh place and Sergio Perez picking up the final point in tenth.

P7 Nico Hulkenberg VJM08-01
Tyre strategy: New Softs (21 laps) – New Mediums (23 laps) – Used Softs (13 laps)

Nico Hulkenberg: “I am very pleased with today’s result and starting the season with two cars in the points is always positive. It was a good race; I didn’t make any mistakes and, while the reliability of our car helped us take advantage of the problems of others, at this stage in the season it is important to capitalise on any opportunity. We were ready when it counted; we had a good strategy and we delivered under the pressure. In terms of performance we are not yet where we would like to be, but everyone is working really hard to get there and make our car quicker. With points on the board we can now look forward to Malaysia in a couple of weeks and hopefully take another step forward.”

P10 Sergio Perez VJM08-02
Tyre strategy: New Mediums (38 laps) – New Softs (19 laps)

Sergio Perez: “It was one of those unusual races where so many things happened, but I’m certainly happy to come away with a point and see Nico also score good points for the team. We went for a different strategy compared to Nico to maximise the team’s chances so I started on the medium tyres in order to have the advantage on the softs at the end of the race. Unfortunately, after the safety car the FIA asked me to give a place back to Ericsson, which also meant dropping behind Button, and that was really painful for my race. Button was on the soft tyres and, although I was quicker, it was not easy to overtake and I lost a lot of track position. Still, I’m focusing on the positives of scoring a point from a difficult race, which is a good result for the team.”

Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: “A double points finish is a positive way to start the season and a reward for all the hard work everyone in the team produced over the winter. In a race with high attrition, we made the most of the reliability of the VJM08, which at the moment is one of our strengths. Nico completed an excellent race, without putting a wheel wrong from lights to flag; he looked in control and we were never in doubt he would score well today. Sergio had an eventful race, recovering from contact and a spin early on: he made the most of his ability to manage the tyres with a very long stint and was able to score a point. Unfortunately, Sergio had to relinquish the positions he made at the start, otherwise he would have been very close to Nico. Still, it is always good to start a season with two cars in the points and we can leave Melbourne feeling positive.”

 

Sergio Perez.

Sergio Perez.