2018 French Grand Prix: Drivers' Press Conference - TRANSCRIPT.

DRIVERS – 
Pierre GASLY (Toro Rosso,) 
Romain GROSJEAN (Haas) 
Esteban OCON (Force India)
Fernando ALONSO (McLaren)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: We’re going to start with the French drivers. It’s the first French Grand Prix for 10 years and there is a real buzz in the paddock about being here in the south of France. So how special is it for you as drivers to be here at your home race? Romain?

Romain GROSJEAN: It’s very special. I came into Formula 1 in 2009, the year after the French Grand Prix finished. Then in all the years I was doing [Formula 1] I didn’t hear much about the French Grand Prix and eventually all the rumours started to kick up and then last year we knew we were going to have a French Grand Prix and here we are and it’s amazing to rediscover Paul Ricard with the grandstand and all those statues, which I think make it… It feels like a great atmosphere. The south of France is probably one of the best places in the world as well. The weather is very kind to us and I think it’s just a beautiful place to have a race and very, very much looking forward to going out on track.

Q: Thank you very much. Esteban, your thoughts coming here, because you’ve raced here
before but obviously not in Formula 1?

Esteban OCON: Yeah, I have raced here before. Last time I was seated here there was a lot less people. I won in Formula Renault 2.0, back in the day, it was my first victory in single seaters. Just fantastic memories, to come back here feels special. Of course we see the atmosphere there is already on the first day, which is awesome, lots of fans coming around and I can’t wait to be racing for the first time in front of my home crowd.

Q: Thank you. And Pierre, your thoughts on your home race and how impressed are you with this venue?

Pierre GASLY: Yeah, honestly super impressed. The last time I came here was in 2014 and there are now so many grandstands, much more people than I used to see here. I think we raced with Esteban in 2013 and I raced here in 2014, I won Formula 4 and also in Formula Renault, so a lot of good memories. It’s just unbelievable to come back here for my first home race. We are pretty lucky because all of the French drivers in the last 10 years didn’t have this privilege. It’s my first season and I get the chance to race my country, so an amazing opportunity. A lot of people already for Thursday, so really looking forward to seeing how it is over the next few days.

Q: Romain, if we return to you to look at the competitive aspect of the weekend. You’ve got
two young French talents alongside you today, but the Haas looked more to your liking with
the upgrade in Canada. So what are your chances of beating these two guys this weekend? 

RG: I think they’re pretty high. The car has been working very well recently – since the beginning of the year to be fair. We’ve had an upgrade in Canada and I had a good feeling in the car. Unfortunately we didn’t do quali and then we made our race harder. But I think we are going in a good step. So for the four of us, P7 is like winning the race for us. That’s clearly our target for the weekend and then if anything happens in front then we take the opportunity.

Q: Thank you very much. Esteban you have scored points in each of the last two races? But you had more points at this stage last year and the team has been in the headlines both off the track and on it this year. So what has it been like internally?

EO: Internally, it’s all fine. We are working quite well to be honest. The first few races were difficult but we have been improving the car, bringing updates to it, and race by race improving and in Monaco I think we really did the step up. We’ve qualified P6 and in Canada we qualified into the top 10 in Q3 and I think we have the car now to be qualifying well and to be fighting the top midfield teams. So far we are pretty happy with the development and how everything went. Especially this weekend, we have a fresh engine in the car, so hopefully it’s going to give us some performance.

Q: Speaking of fresh engines, Pierre you took a power unit penalty in Canada to ensure you didn’t take one here , but you climbed through the field impressively in Canada so how big a step is the new Honda and what are you hoping from it this weekend?

PG: Yeah, it’s a really good step. I think in terms of performance it’s clearly a good help. We saw in Canada that we were able to overtake other cars – Force India, Haas. So, I think it’s looking pretty good. I think it’s super tight in the midfield, so at the moment we still need to progress but I think we are improving in terms of consistency and we know if we put everything together we can fight in the top 10, but if we don’t it’s a bit more difficult. It’s a good opportunity here, because all the teams have only realty small experience of this track, so it’s our job to really work during free practices to make the best out of it and I think clearly with the upgraded engine we have a better chance to score points.

Q: Thank you. Fernando, thank you for waiting. This is a Formula 1 press conference but it’s also an FIA press conference and last weekend you won one of the biggest races in another FIA championship, so just tell us about your Le Mans experience and what it feels like to be a Le Mans 24-Hour winner?

Fernando ALONSO: It feels great. Obviously it has been a long-time dream for me to be there and to experience Le Mans and it was great to have the first opportunity and to be in as competitive a team as Toyota and to dominate the free practice, the qualifying and the race. It was a competition between the two of our cars in the garage and in the end we got a little bit more lucky and a little bit probably set-up. It feels great but now back to F1 – a triple race in three weekends – and quite busy between Monaco, Canada, Le Mans and now these three.

Q: As Romain alluded to; seventh place seems to be the highest realistic target for most of the teams here today. Just tell us, from a competitor’s point of view, how do you make that switch from winning such a big race last weekend to having different targets this weekend?

FA: Well, I think you know how Formula 1 works and what are your targets and your maximum positions and you approach the weekend just trying to reach those targets and try to improve the car every single race and try to develop the car as much as your competitors. As all of our friends here, we are optimistic with the upgrades on the cars, the engine upgrades and things like that, and then you find out that every team is developing the car at the same rate more or less and everything remains the same. We did score points in every single race, more or less, this year. We miss in Monaco with a gearbox issue and in Canada with an engine issue but we were in the points also in those races and we want to come back to that place here.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Fernando, you’ve got two down and one to go in your pursuit for motorsport’s triple crown. So in terms of winning the Indianapolis 500, how big a priority is that for you now? Do you want to tackle it as soon as possible – i.e. next season? And can you do that while still racing in Formula 1?

FA: I didn’t think too much yet on this. As I said last year when I entered the Indy 500, that was a very attractive target, to achieve the triple crown and to be a little bit, let’s say, a more complete driver, not only driving Formula 1 cars. Yeah, obviously the Le Mans victory it puts a little bit closer that target, but I will think and I will see what I do next year.

Q: (Julien Billotte – AutoHebdo) Question for Pierre. Pierre, did you push for the Honda move with Red Bull and do you think it improves, it boosts your chances to move to the senior team if Daniel Ricciardo does leave the team?

PG: I didn’t push for it because I’m not the one who takes the decision – but of course they asked me for feedback since the beginning of the year about the engine. I’ve tried to give them as precise as possible to help them in their decisions but I think, yes, there were much bigger talks behind it. And then, yeah, about Daniel’s situation, I think it’s still pretty early in the season to talk about it, of course. Everyone is making speculation but at the moment there is nothing really serious. Of course, clearly, you know, in Formula One, you want to be fighting for the top positions and that’s what I want to be fighting for in my career and clearly my target as a Red Bull driver is to be the Red Bull seat as quickly as possible – but at the moment I’m only in my first season in Formula One, so I just try to focus on my job. I know that, if I do good races, opportunities will come up – and that’s the only thing I try to focus on at the moment. So, we will see what Daniel does, and… yeah… bit too early, I just try to focus on my performances and on myself to give my best.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) To Fernando. Fernando, you experiment to compete in a different situation to Formula One at Le Mans. Here you have at least three teams in front of you and there you have just one team. Can you describe more the sensation of being a driver of a team that, unless you have some problems, you probably win the race?

FA: Well, I think in Le Mans it was different because the race is so hard and so demanding that whatever package you have, you need to still fight throughout the race and you need to still deliver the perfect execution of the race. In terms of driving, in terms of mechanical failures, in terms of pitstops, the whole team has to work together and execute the race. We see in other categories, in LMP2 or GT, even the favourite ones, at the end of the race it’s not so clear. It’s not predictable. The team of our boss Zak Brown was third at the end of the race and in qualifying it was 14th. So, that’s how hard Le Mans is, and how unpredictable it is. In Formula One we are definitely missing that. We are all sitting here and we know that maybe we could fight for seventh in qualifying and for seventh in the race. That’s the biggest problem of Formula One.

Q: (Joe van Burik – Autocar NL) Fernando, two questions to you: first, can you describe the feeling as you were making up time on the sister Toyota during your night stint at Le Mans? And secondly, do you feel the win would have much more value if other major manufacturers would still have competed in LMP1?

FA: At night, obviously you are so focused and concentrating on traffic and all the other stuff that you are not totally aware of the gap between the two cars so if you are faster or slower… you are just trying to put some laps together and some clean stints without any mistakes. When I finished my fourth stint and I asked what the gap was, obviously we had reduced it by one minute and a half or one minute 45s and that was great but during the stint, to be honest, I was not aware of the pace or anything. And how it feels? It feels great. Last year there were only four cars, this year there were ten so I think there was much more opposition this year. We had the only hybrid system with, I think, 49 percent more efficient than any other car and it was a great challenge. I put this victory in a higher level than any other victory in Le Mans.

Q: (Inaudible) Romain, you seem much older than Pierre and Esteban sitting next to you… 
RG: Thanks

Q: (Inaudible) Sorry about that. Did you watch them coming up the ranks and when was the first time that, watching them racing, you thought about them: wow, that kid is really impressive and could make it to the top?

RG: To be fair, I didn’t watch much. I met Esteban once at the Monaco Gold Kart Cup ages ago and then I knew he was doing Formula Renault but I didn’t get much time to watch closely. I know Pierre went through the French Federation Academy but it’s very hard to know if a driver’s going to make it or not until they are competing in Formula Two, which I guess is one of the best preparations, so that’s where you can see whether they’re going to make it or not and that’s quite easy to follow because it’s the same race weekends as we do.

Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) From past experiences you’ve had here in other categories, and from the job you have done in the simulator, what is your opinion of the layout of the track and what can we expect from the race, boring or an exciting one?

EO: You know, there have been some changes compared to the past so first of all, the track has been resurfaced, compared to the previous year so we will see how it performs with those tyres in practice. Second thing is the shape of the corners have been redesigned in turns one and two and five and 15, to help overtaking and also, I think, it can only help, you know. It’s a wider entry to the corner, it’s a slower entry to turn one but quicker exit. All those things can only help overtaking. We will see if it helps in practice; already we will have a better idea but as a venue, I think Paul Ricard can only be the best venue in France at the moment to host the French Grand Prix.

PG: Yeah, similar comments really. We raced it before it has been resurfaced so we need to wait a bit in practice. There is a question mark about the chicane, if it’s good or if they should have left the straight. I think in the end we don’t have much experience from it so we need to see how it goes this year. But there are a couple of overtaking spots. The only problem is still the same: it’s really close to follow other cars so I think it’s a bit difficult to predict but if degradation is pretty high, for sure we know it’s pretty hard on the tyres, we need to see how it behaves with the Pirellis and it will make it quite exciting. I don’t want to be pessimistic, I’m usually really optimistic about things so I think we should wait and see on Sunday but hopefully it’s going to be an exciting one.

Q: Fernando, am I right in saying you tested here before but not raced?
FA: No.

Q: Have you had time in a simulator to get an understanding of it?

FA: I didn’t drive the simulator either so let’s see tomorrow. I think I’ve been here in 2003 at the launch of the R23, the Renault one but we were using a short kart circuit, just for some pictures and some shakedown but I honestly don’t remember anything and let’s see, the good thing is that the French Grand Prix is coming back to the calendar and probably all the excitement is there, you know, with the fans and the expectations and the race itself. I think that’s the very positive news of the weekend. If the show will be good or not, we will wait and see on Sunday. Sometimes it’s better than expected, sometimes it’s a little a bit more boring than expected but I think I’m also optimistic because it’s an historic race coming to the calendar and we are all happy.

RG: I’m pretty much the same. I think we always like to think ahead of things and not let time tell us what’s going on. First race of the season was very boring but the next few were amazing and there was a big crisis after Australia and actually the races afterwards were quite fun so here we will see. On paper, it’s clearly not the easiest track in the world on which to overtake but there are long DRS sections. If the tyre energy is high, so the tyres could go off and if that’s the case overtaking is going to become an option. I think recently the one stop races have been a bit boring for everyone, so hopefully we will get a bit more stops and then the race is always going to be a bit more exciting.

Q: (Rodrigo Franca – VIP Magazine) Fernando, you won in Monaco, you won in Le Mans and you also raced at the Indy 500. From a driver’s point of view, which one is the most difficult to win and if you can please compare some of the challenges between these three very different races?

FA: I think they are difficult to compare. They are all special events and they are all difficult to win, in a way. Probably the easiest will be Monaco because if you are in the best package possible that season and you put in a lap on Saturday, 99 percent of the win is there so that’s probably out of your hands. You probably have to have the best car that weekend. On the other hand, I think the show is bigger because they do it once a year so I think the driver presentation, the build-up to the weekend, the race itself, everything is bigger because, as I said, they do it once a year. The drivers parade is in town, Indianapolis, Le Mans, there are a lot of preparations into the race so you feel a different atmosphere but from a drivers’ point of view, as I said, they all feel very special, very unique and each one requires different styles.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) Fernando, are you surprised Red Bull can think of a World title using Honda engines?

FA: Me? If I’m surprised? No. To be honest, what the other teams do, I think it’s difficult to analyse from the outside. We don’t have all the data, all the things they have so I’m happy for them if they take this decision, and happy for Honda to show their commitment to F1 and for the future and at the same time, it’s not a surprise. There were some talks, some rumours for a couple of months already about this relationship and now it’s official.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Fernando, would you seriously consider racing in IndyCar for a full season next year, and would you consider taking a sabbatical perhaps until McLaren show any signs of improvement?

FA: Well, I think one thing is we need to wait and see a couple of months now is really the
commitment of all the parties into F1 projects, into the future, what will be the seats that next year they move on and which will be driver line-ups in some of the top teams as well. And after that, just see what the future brings, also what the produce on the Indy 500, on the triple crown and whatever feels attractive. Right now, as I said, still digesting a little bit the Le Mans win and trying to enjoy every minute and not taking too much into account the next year’s project.

Q: (Ludovic Ferro – La Provence) One for Fernando, one for Esteban. Fernando, is it special to drive in France after your victory in Le Mans and your two titles with Renault?

FA: I always feel happy to race in France because, as I said before, it’s an historic race in the calendar and I grew up watching the French Grand Prix on television and then I went to an F1 race in Magny Cours and as you said, racing for a French team, and now winning Le Mans in France. The last four weeks, between the Le Mans test, Montreal, Le Mans and here is four weeks French speaking people in the hotels so it’s a nice feeling now and yeah, really happy to be back here and a lot of support in France always and happy to race (here).

Q: (Ludovic Ferro – La Provence) Esteban, have you the ambition to finish first French driver of this GP and if not, what is your ambition for this weekend?

EO: There is no classification about top French, so it’s not very interesting to be the top French. No, what we want to do it to do the best job we can. In the end, that’s to arrive seventh if there is nothing happening in front, so that’s what we will go for this weekend.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Fernando, how good do you think the Honda engines are?
FA: I don’t know. What I know is that the Renault engine we have in our car is quite good. Last year, at this point, we had zero points and this year we are seventh in the drivers’ championship and fifth in the constructors’ championship and the relationship is better and healthier than ever. That’s the only thing I know, the present. The past, I don’t know.

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) How did you cope with the 24 hour race, are you still tired, did you manage to sleep a long time and how do you feel now? 

FA: I’m more or less OK now, 90 percent, still recovering. Definitely it was demanding, physically.Every time you jump in the car you do two and a half Formula One Grands Prix  and then you don’t have two weeks to recover, you have four hours to recover and then you go back to the car so it was demanding but it was fun at the same time and the adrenalin keeps you awake. Basically, all night, I think I slept one hour and a half, more or less, half asleep because I was controlling the times all the way through the night. Yeah, it was a nice experience and obviously I did the Daytona 24 hours in January, also to get experience and practise on how 24 hour races were in terms of physical demands and mental demands as well and yeah, everything was under control.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For all of you, can you tell me something about the impact of the triple header, I could even say five Grands Prix in six weeks? Is it overkill or do you like it?

RG: I think I like it.

EO: Yeah, it’s good. When I was a kid I wanted to race every day so now it’s coming alive, that dream. I think on the other hand, I’m thinking about the mechanics, all the people travelling around Europe, the truckies, everybody in the teams, you know, building up those beautiful hospitalities and tents and all that. This is going to be very hard for them so we need to make life as easy for them as we can because at the end, we are a team so we need to support everybody.

PG: Yeah, I think I’m going to love it. We’re race car drivers and we just want to race and I think it’s going to awesome.

FA: I have nine so these last three’s OK. 

VIDEO: Kimi Räikkönen briefly explains the Paul Ricard Circuit

CLICK VIDEO on the RIGHT HAND SIDE to increase screen size [FULL SCREEN]

VIDEO: Ferrari.com

Q&A with Formula 1 Safety Car driver Bernd Mayländer.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mercedes-Benz

Bernd Mayländer has been driving the safety car in Formula 1 since 2000 and has led the field for over 700 safety car laps. He knows how to keep the pace during the safety car period just high enough so that the Formula 1 cars’ tyres and brakes do not cool down too much.

Who is Bernd Mayländer? Bernd started his career in karting at the end of the 1980s. In the following years he raced in Formula Ford, Porsche Carrera Cup and the DTM series. In 2000, he won the 24 Hours Nürburgring. When the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series was resumed in 2000, he was racing a Mercedes.

The Formula 1 safety car is the first car to go out on to the circuit each race weekend. The first track test (on a Thursday), is very important, because both the car and the track is being tested, as well as the radio system, the GPS systems, and the cameras. Bernd then forwards the test results to FIA race director Charlie Whiting, and he then decides whether a track is up to standard. 

Bernd Mayländer: "Whenever I notice something unusual on the track, such as short or misplaced kerbs, for instance, I inform Charlie Whiting in our meeting after the test."

In an interview, he tells us about the greatest challenges posed by his job.

What is the biggest challenge for the safety car driver? 
I need to know where there has been an accident, where in the field I join the track, where the other cars are and if there are any cars that need to overtake me. I also need to know where they can best overtake me without creating a risk for the other cars or for the marshals. I'm also in constant contact with race control. Every safety car deployment is different - but that's what I like about it. 
 

Bernd Mayländer leading the field in Azerbaijan.
PHOTO CREDIT: WGI

You were given a new car this season, a Mercedes-AMG GT R. How did you go about familiarising yourself with it? 
Over the winter, I had five days in the new car on a high-speed test track in Nardo, Italy. It didn't take me too long to familiarise myself with it, as I've driven a GT S before. The new car is overall faster though; it's about one second quicker per kilometre on the race track. The car is equipped with a specific communications and GPS mapping system and with highly visible safety lights, but most of the car - the engine, the gearbox, the suspension - is all standard. 

One of the most memorable races in terms of safety cars was the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix? What are your memories of it? 
Bernd Mayländer: It was a crazy race. I led the race for 46.9 percent of the distance. It turned out to be the longest Grand Prix in Formula 1 history because the weather conditions were so bad that they had to suspend the race for quite a while. In fact, the conditions were so bad that I even had the time to grab a coffee and a bite during the red flag. I had my snack in the race control room; that way I could make sure that I wouldn't miss any important information.

Sébastien Loeb: "My spotter just forgot to tell me to go for the joker lap."

PHOTO CREDIT: Peugeot Sport

Sébastien Loeb's remarkable run of podium finishes came to a close in Norway, after he was eliminated in the semi-final (taking 4th position in semi-final 1).

As a result of an unfortunate team error, he failed to take the joker lap in Qualifying 3 – which is punishable with a 30-second time penalty. “We made a strategic mistake in a qualifying heat with Sébastien, which cost us hugely. As this is rallycross, we paid the cost not once but 3 times," said Peugeot Sport Director, Bruno Famin. 

Loeb showed great speed throughout the weekend and is still 2nd in the drivers’ championship [31 points behind the championship leader.]

"It was a difficult weekend. We’ve ended up scoring 13 points, which isn’t amazing. We lost the most time and points when we didn’t do the joker lap, and that cost us a lot," said Loeb.

"My spotter just forgot to tell me to go for the joker lap; but if you’re a spotter, this is just the sort of thing that can happen once in your life…maybe!," the Frenchman explains. "So it shouldn’t happen again."

Sébastien Loeb reflects on all the positives rather then reflecting on the negatives. "The whole team is putting together a very good job," he adds. "Apart from that, everything went quite well with the car. 

"We had a good pace and although it was difficult to be in the lead, we were part of the leading group, so we’re up there.”

Team Peugeot Total confirmed that the latest evolution to the car could be introduced during the next round in Sweden.

Timmy Hansen: "We really need to continue in joining up all the dots."

Timmy Hansen sliding off track after being hit from behind.
PHOTO CREDIT: Peugeot Sport

Timmy Hansen has had absolutely no luck this season. The Swede retired from races with mechanical and technical issues, he also had a few incidents with other drivers. In Norway, he ended-up 5th place: a result that doesn’t reflect the speed he showed throughout the weekend. 

Having been in the top 2 of the intermediate standings, then taking victory in his semi-final heat, he went through to the final once more and scored valuable points despite taking a big hit to the rear at the start. 

"In the final I almost had the perfect start, but instead I bogged a little so I had to go back on the clutch and lost some speed,'' explained Hansen. "There was some touching: when I turned in behind Johann I was hit from behind and the engine stalled. After a few moments I was able to restart it but, by this point I was out of the race."

"The weekend felt both good and bad: good because we qualified in and won the semi-final and bad because we are not on the top step of the podium," said Hansen.

Timmy was quick in Norway, but was unable to capitalize on his speed. He aims to refocus and come back stronger. 

"We really need to continue in joining up all the dots, at every stage of the race," says Hansen. "We will refocus, try to do the same job but, make it even nicer when it comes to the chequered flag in the final in Sweden."

Kevin Hansen: "I worked a lot with my head and I feel really comfortable with the team now."

PHOTO CREDIT: Peugeot Sport

Kevin Hansen claimed his strongest result this season by finishing just off the podium (4th) in a tense final. After he made adjustments to improve the set-up of his car together with the Peugeot engineers on Friday [practice], he didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend throughout the qualifying heats to progress to the final. 

Kevin is not eligible to score points for the teams' championship, but this result puts him in good stead for the future. 

Kevin Hansen
PHOTO CREDIT: Peugeot Sport

“It was an amazing day and I think my pace has been really good all weekend," said Hansen. "I feel really comfortable with the car and the team and myself. To have yet another good weekend and the pace, it has been amazing."

During the semi-final, he was on the front row of the grid alongside his brother [Timmy], with the duo making the most of a team strategy to capitalize on every opportunity. The brothers made it into the final, while teammate Sébastien Loeb missed out on qualifying for the final. 

"To finish in the final and challenge for the podium is a big step forward," the Swede said. "4th place in the final here in Hell is also the second 4th place of my career, so I am really happy about that."

Kevin's improved performance can be attributed to the work he has down off-track to improve his mental strength. "I worked a lot with my head and I feel really comfortable with the team now and I’m really enjoying my driving; I believe in myself a lot," says Hansen. "I think I worked really hard after Belgium when I didn’t have such a good weekend and I came back really strong. I can’t wait for my home race now.”

The result in Norway now boosts him up in the championship rankings to 8th overall [61 points.]

Johan Kristoffersson enters the history books in Hell.

PHOTO CREDIT: PSRX Volkswagen Sweden

The defending FIA World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson claims a 'clean sweep' in Norway, and now leads the championship by 31 points from his nearest rival.  

The Swede’s took his fourth win from of the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship in dominant fashion after taking wins in Qualifying, the Semi-Final and going on to win the Supercar by 0.788 seconds.

“What an incredible weekend. I have to say from the start of the weekend I felt really comfortable with the car – it’s amazing when you have the car in your hands like this, you feel you do exactly what you want," said Kristoffersson.

After the World RX of Great Britain, Kristoffersson claimed that the Polo R Supercar had a lot more potential, and it was just a matter of unlocking the pace. His dominance in Norway is proof that with the right set-up the Polo R Supercar has a lot more pace.

“This Polo responds perfectly to what I ask and knowing I have a car like that under me gives such confidence," said Kristoffersson. "It’s also exactly what we need in rallycross, when you have to change direction so quickly, you need everything to be working like this – it needs to be like the glove on your hand and that’s what we had this weekend."

Johan Kristoffersson has now become the second driver in World RX history to have secured a maximum points’ haul following Andreas Bakkerud’s feat in Norway two years ago.

“This is such a nice race, I love to win here. OK, Sweden is my home, but I live close [to here] and this victory is nice, but at the same time the 30 points is even more important," he adds.

“What we have to say again here is that this was another fantastic performance from PSRX Volkswagen Sweden. We had the strategy and it worked well – the final was quite OK when we came out of the first corner P1 and two. It’s fantastic to have my team-mate with me on the podium.”

Petter Solberg: "I needed to come back from a bit of a disappointment in Silverstone."

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

Petter Solberg charged into his home round in Norway with some optimism, hoping to turn around his luck. Solberg was involved in a number of incidents leading off from the first round in Barcelona. He also collided with his teammate on two consecutive weekends. 

The 2018 World RX of Great Britain race weekend saw Petter retiring from the semi-final after making with his teammate. “This was a good weekend, it was what I needed to come back from a bit of a disappointment in Silverstone," said Solberg.

Petter's teammate started on pole position for the final, while he started on the back row. Solberg had a perfect launch seeing him claim the Monster Energy Supercharge Award, while Ekström also had a lightning start. Ekström trying to shut the door on those behind saw him nudge Timmy Hansen who spun infront of Andreas Bakkerud. The two collided and nearly collected the pair of PSRX Volkswagen's at Turn 1. 

“The final was a bit crazy – or at least the first corner was. I got off the line really well, but after that when I got to the bend, the cars were everywhere and I was sure I would hit one of them or take some damage," said Solberg. "But I got away, I got through and then I drove to my plan."

Qualifying on the back row of the final did not help Petter's hopes to claim a win at his home event, but a podium finish after a difficult few weeks is a boost for the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team owner. “There’s not much more I could have done this weekend, to get the podium is what I needed," the Norweigen said. "It would have been nice to be one-two with Johan, but third is good; it’s a strong, strong result for the team and to see PSRX Volkswagen Sweden moving clear at the top is really important.

“The one thing I have to say again is a big thank you to all the fans. They are always incredible when we come here, but this time they were even more," he adds. If I had the time I would go to thank every one of them, but I think they are a little bit too much!”

Timur Timerzyanov: "We’ll need to be stronger for the next race"

PHOTO CREDIT: GRX Taneco Team.

The GRX Taneco team held high hopes for the Norwegian round at the Hell circuit. Timur Timerzyanov clocked the fourth-fastest time in Q1, while Niclas Grönholm settled for ninth position.

Grönholm managed to move up the standings by the end of Q2, but Timerzyanov saw his hopes of a front-row qualification for the semi-finals dashed when he stopped following a collision with Sébastien Loeb. “I had to make a quick decision going into the first turn,” said Timerzyanov. “I chose to follow the leaders and took a knock on my steering rack in a collision with Loeb. I ended up against the wall.”

Grönholm stamped his ticket for the fourth time in Q4, while Timerzyanov saw his weekend brought to an early end due to transmission failure.

“I’m really disappointed,” the Russian said. “A mechanical problem inside the gearbox prevented me from taking the start in Q4. It’s a pity because we have lost a lot of points."

Timur has improved at every round, and has made it into every semi-final to date .but it was a different story in Norway. "It’s the first time this season that I’ve missed out on the semi-finals and it’s the first time I’ve not been a finalist at Hell," said Timerzyanov. "We’ll need to be stronger for the next race. In my opinion, Sweden is the toughest track of the season.”

In the second semi-final, Grönholm got off to a poor start and had to settle in behind Timmy Hansen and Mattias Ekström on the first lap. Opting to play his joker on the sixth lap, Grönholm emerged in fourth place behind Kevin Hansen. 

“At the start of the semi, I didn’t have enough revs and stalled for half a second,” said Grönholm. “It was long enough for everyone to pass me. I did my best to qualify for the final. It was just a small mistake, but the start was disastrous. We have never been as close to the top qualifiers in terms of times. 

The GRX Taneco drivers are feeling more comfortable with their Hyundai i20 Supercars, but are unable to reap the rewards when it counts. "We are not getting our just rewards but it has made me all the more determined, and I can’t wait to get to Sweden!," says Grönholm.

After the first five rounds of the World Rallycross Championship, GRX Taneco retains its fourth place in the Team standings. Grönholm, meanwhile, lies in seventh place in the Driver rankings, ahead of Timerzyanov who is twelfth. 

Mattias Ekström claims first podium finish in Hell.

Andreas Bakkerud leads Timmy Hansen (Peugeot) and Petter Solberg.
PHOTO CREDIT: Audi Sport

Mattias Ekström celebrated second place and his first podium finish this season at round five of the championship in Norway. Only two weeks earlier, his teammate, Andreas Bakkerud finished as runner-up at Silverstone. Bakkerud in his home round in Norway made it into the final as well and placed sixth.

Timmy Hansen (Peugeot) and Andreas Bakkerud made contact in the final, sending the Peugeot sideways across the front of the Audi and prompting both to slide across the inside of the first corner. Hansen and Bakkerud came to a halt to untangle themselves, allowing their rivals to break away. 

The two Audi drivers from EKS Audi Sport experienced a changeable weekend. Following the first two qualifying sessions on Saturday, Ekström and Bakkerud placed fourth and seventh in the intermediate classification. In the third qualifying session on Sunday, Ekström received a five-second penalty due to a collision with Petter Solberg. In Q4, his car stopped on the starting line due to a mechanical issue. Even with this set back, Ekström made it into the semi-finals together with Andreas Bakkerud.

Both Audi drivers clinched second place in their semi-finals. As a result, for the fourth time this year, both EKS Audi Sport drivers qualified for the final of the top six. 

Mattias Ekström, who had started alongside Bakkerud from the second row, pulled off with a dream start and after six laps only had to admit defeat to winner Johan Kristoffersson by 0.788 seconds.

“Sunday didn’t start well and the points we lost in qualifying hurt us,” says Mattias Ekström. “In the semi-finals and the final, I managed to advance to second position with two rocket starts. We’re happy that now we’re able to take the trophy home.”

Andreas Bakkerud did not have the race weekend that he had expected. Last year, he showed fantastic pace, but this year proved to be a challenge. “My home round at Hell was really tough,” says Bakkerud. “On day one, I didn’t keep pace. On Sunday, things got better. In the final, I was simply unfortunate: Timmy Hansen spun in front of me and I had to wait until he had restarted his engine and I came sixth.”

Johan Kristoffersson completes the most dominant win of the season

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

REVIEW by: FIA World Rallycross Media

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden scored its second FIA World Rallycross Championship double-podium of 2018 at the Team Verksted World RX of Norway, as Johan Kristoffersson dominated to score victory.

Sweden’s Kristoffersson claimed the second ever World RX ‘clean sweep’ with wins in each of the four qualifiers, the semi-final and final following Norwegian star Andreas Bakkerud’s achievement at the same circuit two years ago.

Kristofferson’s fourth victory of the season in the Volkswagen Polo R cemented his position at the top of the World RX Drivers’ Championship, as a double-podium for PSRX with Norway’s Petter Solberg in third place extended the Volkswagen-supported squad’s lead in the Teams’ Championship and delighted the enthusiastic Norwegian crowd, with 24,000 fans in attendance over the weekend. EKS Audi Sport’s Mattias Ekstrom finished the final second having started on the second row of the grid.

Ekstrom fought back from a difficult Sunday morning where he was given a five-second penalty in Q3 and then retired in Q4 to finish on the podium. “Congratulations to Johan and his crew, they had a really good weekend,” said Audi S1 driver Ekstrom. “Two really rocket starts made the difference for me today and I managed to finish second in the semi and in the final. It’s always nice to get a trophy.”

Solberg secured the Monster Energy Supercharge Award for having the fastest reaction time at the start of the final. “This is very good. If you look at the last few years for me here, I am very, very pleased. It was a tough weekend, I tried to use all my tyres I could early to make sure I was coming into the semis in a good position and it’s a good feeling. The speed difference [to winning] is not much but it’s so many things through a weekend that’s got to fit in really well. Only two people have done the clean sweep now, and on the same track, but Holjes next time will be a tough one for everybody.”

Fourth was Team Peugeot Total’s Kevin Hansen, the 2016 FIA European Rallycross Champion making it into the final by qualifying fourth in the Intermediate Classification and being third in semi-final two.

Peugeot’s Timmy Hansen and EKS’ Andreas Bakkerud lost time at the first corner of the final after contact and finished fifth and sixth respectively.

France’s Sebastien Loeb just missed out on a place in the final by finishing fourth in semi-final one ahead of Olsbergs MSE’s Robin Larsson and Sweden’s Anton Marklund in a hotly-contested race. GRX Taneco’s Niclas Gronholm finished fourth in semi-final two in an equally close race with the second OMSE Ford Fiesta driven by Kevin Eriksson and Team STARD’s Janis Baumanis fifth and sixth.

It was a challenging weekend for GC Kompetition, but both Jerome Grosset-Janin and Guerlain Chicherit scored World RX Championship points. Former Formula 1 driver and double Le Mans winner Alex Wurz made his World RX debut in Norway with MJP Racing Team Austria and improved with every session to finish 18th.

James Taylor, Vice President Rallycross for IMG, concluded: "The fans in Norway adore their rallycross, and the 24,000 spectators that came out in force to support World RX have been treated to an enthralling weekend of racing. Once again, the action has been immensely competitive in Hell, with all of the top teams pushing each other to the limit and bringing out the very best from their world-class drivers. Well done to Johan Kristoffersson for his magnificent clean sweep this weekend – it was a masterclass in rallycross driving. We look forward to seeing if his rivals can strike back on his home soil at Holjes, Sweden on 30 June – 1 July."

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World Rallycross Media

RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires 
Belgium’s Guillaume De Ridder won the third round of the RX2 International Series presented by Cooper Tires to move into title-contention. Sweden’s Oliver Eriksson finished second and continues to lead the standings. Norway’s Henrik Krogstad completed the podium at his home round of the series.

FIA European Rallycross Championship for Super1600
The third round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship for Super1600 was won by Finland’s Jesse Kallio, who took his joker on the first lap of the final. Russia’s Aydar Nuriev finished second after being TQ (top qualifier) at the Intermediate Classification and Lithuania’s Rokas Baciuska was third.

FIA European Rallycross Championship for TouringCar

It was a one-two finish for Norwegian drivers in the second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship for TouringCar, with Daniel Holten leading Jan-Emil Wilsberg across the finish line. Championship leader Steve Volders (Belgium) finished third.

2018 Canadian Grand Prix: Post-Race Press Conference.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA.com

DRIVERS

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

Sebastian, I can see the emotion. You don’t normally give us very much, but to win your 50th grand prix and the perfect way you did it today, how was it?

Sebastian VETTEL: Perfect is probably a good way to describe it. Unbelievable. I said yesterday how much this place means for Ferrari I think we see it from the moment we touch down and come here and to have a race like we had today is unbelievable. OK, 50 for me, but I think after a long time, a long stretch that Ferrari didn’t win here, I saw the people around and they were super happy. I’m sure they had a blast and they will have a blast tonight. Just happy, and grazie alla squadra.

You can see what it means to the team, but you go away as championship leader as well. Has the championship come alive after that little period of bad luck you had?

SV: It’s still a long way, so I’m not too bothered to be honest. But for sure it’s a good side effect. But for today, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, we had Jacques driving his father’s car earlier, so very emotional and to have a Ferrari winning today, and me driving it, makes me very proud and I’m honoured. I think it’s a day to remember the great Gilles Villeneuve.

We’re going to see some red passion when the national anthem goes up there, enjoy it, Sebastian. Valtteri, a solid day’s job, best of the rest, you didn’t really have an answer, Sebastian had you covered didn’t he.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, since lap one really they seemed to be a bit quicker all the time and they could control the race and were really pushing on it and we got into a little bit of trouble in the end, running out of fuel; that’s why Max got close in the end.

Are you satisfied with the result you got or do you think you could have done something better with that other engine you should have had this weekend?

VB: I think this was the maximum today. Yesterday was about hundredths of a second, so maybe from pole it could have been different, but from P2 today we maxed out. I’m happy for that but I’m not happy that we were behind.

Good solid points, all the best until next time. Max, it was a fight all the way to the end there, you always keep us on the edge of the seat, but a very good performance from you all weekend. I think you’ll go away a happy man.

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, it was a good race. We had to pit early, because the hypersofts were pretty much gone. But then we had a really good pace on the supersofts, so I was steadily closing the gap and especially the last few laps I think we were really competitive. I think it was only one tenth on the line, which was a shame, but yeah, good race. I enjoyed it.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: (Massimo Lopez Peña – Gazetta dello Sport) Seb, you mentioned Gilles Villeneuve yesterday, today Ferrari got the first win after 2004, it was Michael Schumacher. I don’t know if you had an idea of dedicating this victory to him or something like that. I have a second question: during your long lead to victory, did it ever cross your mind that you could actually lose this grand or it never crossed your mind.

SV: It’s a team effort at the end of the day, so I think like every grand prix, there is not one person to dedicate it to. I think I dedicate it today to the team, to the guys in Maranello and to the Canadian fans, the Canadian tifosi, I think they have been waiting long enough for Ferrari to do well here. I think, yeah, 40 years after Gilles won his grand prix here, I think it’s great to show that Ferrari is still alive, that Ferrari is still there, winning races. I’m just extremely proud to become part of that story, step by step, hopefully a bit more in the future, but I think I remember the race in 2004, I think I was watching on TV, so it’s crazy to realise. Therefore, I think rather than dedicating to one person, I think it’s better to dedicate to, as I said, to our team in general and to the people here. The second question you had was whether it crossed the mind. Not really, because I think I was under control. I managed the gaps to Valtteri. During the first stint I tried to build up a little bit of a cushion. I had one lock-up where I lost a bit of time but after that I think it was fairly well managed. It wasn’t easy with the traffic and so on. Yeah, in the end I was just praying that we don’t run into a problem, which can happen, so I tried to save the car a little bit, stay away from the kerbs and just bring it home. I think there was a little bit of confusion, because they waved the chequered flag one lap too early. That was funny, because on the steering wheel I have the lap count. I have the pit board as well and it showed one more lap to go. I even watched on TV after I saw the chequered flag and it said final lap and then I was a bit confused, but then I told them ‘I think the race isn’t over yet’ and they said ‘no, no. no, keep pushing’. Some of the marshals were already celebrating so… I think they peaked a bit early. Most of them are men, so it might happen. Overall it has just been a great day.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, four times second in seven races, does that eat the man, like we say in Finland?

SV: Heat or eat?

VB: Eat, it means like, it eats from inside.

SV: Right. OK.

VB: So, yeah, second place as a driver when you really want to win races is not the best place to be – but you know, honestly from today where we started, with the start we had, with the pace we had, there was nothing more possible. That’s where we are as a team now. Ferrari was better this weekend, Red Bull very close to us, so I think today nothing we could have done better. Our car is just not quick enough, so I don’t get too upset being second but no doubt I really want to win. And there has been many occasions this year that it has been pretty close, so for sure we’ll keep pushing on that – but as a team we need to improve, and also for myself, trying to find every single little bit I can.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Question for all three. With the chequered flag being shown early, although it didn’t ultimately impact the results, the provisional results issued are two laps short, so should, given the overall level of professionalism of the way these races are run, should it be allowable for amateurs to be waiving the chequered flag? It could have big implications if the race is called early because of that.

SV: Yeah. I mean it’s probably not a question for us. I mean, fortunately we had radio, fortunately I had the lap count in the car and the pitboard was accurate – but if you lose radio and maybe the pitboard is not there, then you back off. Then, I think, being in the lead, you hope that all the others back-off as well. But yeah, I think it’s probably not a question for us. I was just worried, I told them also on the last lap, then people don’t jump on the track, waving flags and celebrating, because we’re still going at full pace. I don’t know what happened.

Max, can we have your thoughts on that as you were chasing Valtteri at that time.

MV: I agree with Seb. I mean, it’s happened in the past – but at the end of the day, it’s not my problem.

VB: I wasn’t listening, I’ve got no idea what you were speaking about…

Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Question for all three of you. The race from outside was not the most exciting one, let’s put is that way. Seb, you said you had to manage a lot of things during the race, even though you were not affected by other cars, with dirty air and so on. Can you explain what was the problem today, why we didn’t see an exciting race. Was it managing the tyres? Fuel consumption? What was it for all of you?

SV: I think the answer to your question is… life. Life’s like this, or racing. Racing’s probably like this. I don’t think it’s justified to criticise the racing, or criticise this race. I don't know if it was boring. From my point of view, obviously, it’s still busy inside the car no matter where you are but I don’t like… I don’t know why people today are so short-sighted. We had seven races this year, I think some were phenomenal, some were boring – but next week the World Cup is starting and I promise you that a lot of the games will not be exciting – but still people will watch it – but some games will be incredible. That’s what we always look forward to – but it can’t just always continue to go up and get better. So, I don’t know, there’s no reason, don’t even look for an answer, don’t write anything. Write about something else. I think we do our job inside the car and if we can race, we race but obviously, we also do our job inside the car and try to avoid racing. Disappear, stay in front, or not get overtaken. And then some races are just exciting and others are not.

Valtteri, your thoughts on how exciting or otherwise today’s race was.

VB: For me it was, at the second place all the time, all through the race. I think Turns One and Two was quite exciting with Max, that was good fun but yeah, since then, for us, we really tried to push Ferrari in the first stint – but we just couldn’t match the pace. We used quite a bit of fuel in the first stint so had to save a lot at the end of the second stint, so yeah, pretty stable race in that way, so not that much happening. But like Seb said, for sure, we, in the case, we are always pushing everything we can. It’s not like we are getting time enough to get bored in the car. There is always something to do, and we needed to keep concentrated 100 per cent – so yeah, for sure, there will be good races, there’s no doubt it’s just we’ve had a couple of races in a row where there is not many things happening – but this year already there have been races that have been amazing to watch. I’m sure it’s going to be on the way soon.

Max, your thoughts. You were nodding along with Seb there.

MV: Yes. For us, maybe it’s a little bit boring because you’re not overtaking and fighting but still you need to be focussed to handle the car, because the walls are still quite close and you’re sliding around a bit and managing your tyres. Yeah, sometimes it is like that, as Seb said; sometimes a bit more exciting than other races. It just happens.

Q: (Nicolangelo Cioppi – La Voce Euro Canada USA) For Sebastian and Max: congratulations for your victory today. Can you tell something to the Italian community here which supports Ferrari and supports you for a long long time, say something for our community here? And for Max, do you think that after Kimi Raikkonen’s going to retire, do you want to race with Ferrari or is your goal all the time to arrive in first place, because you are a very good pilot and in the end you wanted to overtake Valtteri but in the end the laps were too long?

SV: Well, I don’t know if I’m very good with messages but I think I’ve said many times this weekend we had a lot of support, there are always a lot of Ferraristi.  The Canadian tifosi I think are as passionate - very close - but nearly as passionate as the Italian ones and obviously there are a lot of Italian people who came to Canada a while ago and I think Montreal has a strong Italian community. I’ve been coming to this city many times and try to find different places and I feel very comfortable in the Italian restaurants. I think overall, to see the vibe, to see the atmosphere around the track is super exciting. Obviously this weekend has been our weekend and Ferrari’s weekend and I think that’s a stronger message than whatever I can say, but obviously thanks for the support, for waving so many flags, for being proud of what Ferrari means to them.

MV: How old is Kimi? 37?

SV: I don’t know.

MV: 37, 38? He could be my Dad. I don’t know, time will tell. I have a contract with Red Bull and I’m very happy where I am at the moment and also, you know, we have a great car but I’m just waiting for the full package to be able to challenge every single weekend for victories, because in Monaco, I would not want to change car because we had the best car and package there. It is very tricky. It is a very special brand and I’m only 20 years old so if Kimi is 37 or 38, I still have 17 or 18 years to do something so we will see.

Q: (Mike Doodson – Auto Action) Valtteri, I know you have to choose the tyres well in advance of the weekend. Do you think you would have had a better chance of victory if you’d made a different choice of tyres?

VB: I honestly think – and we do as a team – that if we would have chosen one or two sets more of the hypers, potentially we could have extracted a tiny bit more out of those in qualifying because it was quite limited running for us. We only had one set in practice three and then through qualifying we really had to learn quickly how to get the best out of the tyres in one lap in such a close qualifying, being 0.09s behind pole. It’s easy to say afterwards but potentially if we could come here again we would chose maybe one set more at least of the hypers. I think, for the race, we made the right decision. We were happy with the tyre we started on and with the strategy we had, so that was all good. It was just a question of the qualifying performance. We need to make sure we learn if we find that for sure we had to do something different.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Max, we didn’t see it on the TV but I think on the ultimate lap you got to within about a tenth of Valtteri, so can you just talk through how close you got to getting him, and is it a little bit frustrating that you got so close but couldn’t quite make that move?

MV: Yes, I tucked in to gain a bit of top speed! No, I think Valtteri lifted off a bit earlier and I just kept flat so it was actually very close at the line.

VB: I was running out of fuel so I lifted off…

MV: OK, so you were lucky! If there wasn’t a problem with fuel or whatever, it would have been very hard to get by because it was quite tricky to follow within a second but I gave it all I had.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) For Valtteri and Max: if the race would have been one lap longer, would it have made a difference, especially because of the fuel?

SV: Well, for sure, we would have all run out of fuel.

VB: Yeah, for sure, I wouldn’t have made it.

MV: A pit stop (for fuel). That’s what you calculate your fuel on, isn’t it, with the lift off and everything.

VB: It’s difficult to say.

MV: Valtteri was very precise…

2018 Canadian Grand Prix: Post-Qualifying Press Conference

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA.com

DRIVERS

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Max VERSTAPPEN (Red Bull Racing)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

Q: Sebastian, your 54th pole position, here in Montreal. What a day for Ferrari. What it could have been. You left it late this weekend but you got the job done?

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I did. Yesterday, I think were a bit in trouble, I wasn’t really happy with the car, we had some problems, I just couldn’t get the rhythm, usually I like this track. Yesterday was very difficult, but today it switched on. I guess I woke up the right way and what a day. The car was incredible in quali. It just kept getting quicker. In my final lap I had a small mistake, otherwise I think there was a little bit more but it was fantastic. Thanks to the team, thanks for fixing the car yesterday after I hit the wall a little bit. Yeah, really happy, and also a massive crowd. I think the hairpin is so cool. There are so many people waving every lap and yeah a lot of Ferrari fans here so yeah, a very good.

Q: You can see what it means to you. Job done, good luck to you tomorrow. Max, we didn't expect to see Red Bull that far up, to get yourself in front of Hamilton. He had a small lock-up down at the hairpin. But you put yourself in contention and you’ve looked supreme all weekend after that difficult Monaco.

Max VERSTAPPEN: Yeah, I know. I’m very happy with this weekend so far. We know that in qualifying we are just missing top speed but to be third is great for us and I think especially in the race I think we can do a really good job.

Q: Do you think you can take the fight to Ferrari and Mercedes? Obviously it’s a mixed up grid, do you think you’ve got the pace? 

MV: Yeah I think we have. Starting on the softer tyres is also a benefit here, because it’s quite slippery on the track and during the race I think we are anyway competitive.

Q: All the best, I hope you get in the mix; it’s a great battle between the three of you. Valtteri, best Mercedes, getting the job done, you’re on the front row. A perfect start and you can lead into Turn 1.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I think qualifying-wise obviously it was close with Ferrari, so it’s always annoying when it’s so close and we are not ahead but anyway starting from the first row is good for this race and happy to go for it tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Sebastian, that’s a new track record out there but you suggested that you made a little mistake on your final lap, so just talk us through that lap and how good it was.

SV: Well, I was very happy with the last qualifying, very happy with the first lap, but I thought that maybe in the first half of the circuit there’s a bit more. And the second attempt in Q3 I found that little bit and then I was like ‘OK, now I just need to repeat what I did before, because it was really, really good’ but I struggled and I lost a little bit of time. I crossed the line and I wasn’t sure it was going to be enough because I didn’t know who is coming and then you try to look around at the screens to see something and you wait on the radio but yeah, big relief when I heard it’s enough and we made it. Being on pole here is… I don’t know, I like this track. Yesterday was really difficult but being on pole here with Ferrari means something extra. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – I think the meaning of Gilles for the Scuderia Ferrari is huge and I think motorsport in Canada is linked to that name. Obviously it’s a great result, a lot of Ferrari fans out there, probably a lot of them from back then as well, and their kids, so great to carry the momentum we’ve had this year in qualifying even though the last races maybe were a little bit less strong, but still overall I think the performance has been there. Yeah, it’s great when you have a session like that.

Well done. Valtteri, second place and a very tight battle with Sebastian. You didn’t improve on your second run but your first lap was very impressive. So did it feel like a missed opportunity or are you happy with the performance?

VB: I think now seeing the lap times in the end, the difference, they were just a little bit quicker today. I felt like in the first run I more or less got everything out of the car. I knew that normally second run, yes there will be place that I could improve, but I just couldn’t. I had some understeer in the second run for I don’t know what reason, but I don’t think we missed any positions for the second run. We only today for the first time experienced the hypersofts and we made good progress run after run, all the way up until Q3 with it. Obviously we like Ferrari are starting with the ultra for the race, so let’s see what we can do from there.

Thank you. Max, you tried the hypersofts a lot this weekend and were fastest in every practice session, but is third place still a satisfying result given Red Bull’s usual performance in qualifying?

SV: Yeah, absolutely. I think we extracted the best we could out of qualifying. We knew that in Q3 of course it was going to be a bit harder for us but to be still so close was I think still good. The car all weekend has been really strong. Every session we just made progress with the car and also in qualifying the track grips up quite a lot so you just have to follow the track. Yeah, very happy.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Sebastian: were you thinking at the end of Q2 of trying to qualify with the hypersoft? And are you anxious about the strategy of the Red Bulls?

SV: No. No. It was a very smooth session, to be honest. A long briefing talking about what we want to do, and so on, just trying to squeeze everything out. Then it was very smooth: Q1 was smooth; Q2 was smooth, and so was Q3, in the end. I think we’ve seen also in the last couple of years, people are doing a preparation lap; sometimes they go for two push laps – but for me it was pretty straightforward that the first lap was there. Also, in terms of strategy, we did what we wanted to do. I don’t think the hypersoft is a good race tyre, so I’m a bit surprised that both of the Red Bulls chose that – but I guess they have their reasons. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, you lost the pole by ninety-three thousandth of a second. With the new upgrade of engine, would you have done it?

VB: Maybe! Obviously… yeah… everything with the new engines, the numbers are just in theory but there would have been gains and I think it would have been a close fight for the pole with the new engine – but we’re going to get it later anyway, so that’s all good.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Max, can you just explain the decision to use the hypersofts in Q2 – and is there any concern that will be a disadvantage going into the race, given the deg you’ve experience on those?

MV: Well, we feel it’s a good tyre for us and, in the long run, I felt good on it – so yeah, no big surprises. We knew – or we thought – Mercedes were going to qualify on the ultra, so yeah, we’ll see tomorrow.

Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Question for Seb. It was not the first time that you had some problems on Friday and improved quite a lot to Saturday. Do you have any special explanation – because your team-mate was quite strong on most of the Friday and didn’t improve that much?

SV: Waking up later than him! Usually he’s the one that wakes up late. Yeah, yesterday we had a scrappy day. I had an issue with the steering in the morning and brushed the wall. We lost a little bit of time getting ready for the second session. Yeah, it was just a… I couldn’t find the rhythm; wasn’t happy with the car. I knew it… I felt it was there but it just didn’t stack-up and couldn’t get to it. This morning when I went out straight away it felt a lot better. At the end, on a track like this where you have to attack braking and kerbs so much, I think it’s important that you feel at home and have the confidence to play around and then yeah, I think you can extract a lot more from the car. So yesterday I wasn’t really in charge, more of a passenger. We still got everything out of the day that we needed – but a bit compromised if you look for pace, and today it was a lot more natural.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Sebastian, what happened in the second run of Q2? You aborted it, there was a line of cars and you were not very happy with them. Did you want to go for a fast lap?

SV: Also, to get a feel and to see where we end up – but that was… it’s never happened to me. There were three cars, they were doing maximum 100kph and, either they weren’t told or they weren’t looking. Obviously, they were all trying to get a slot for their flying lap – but I was coming there at full speed. I had to abort – there was no chance to slalom around them. It was a bit surprising. There was no way for me to carry on. It was interesting.

Q: (Massimo Lopes Pegna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) If I’m not mistaken, the last Ferrari pole (here) was in 2001 with Michael Schumacher; any thoughts and comments about being the…

SV: Well, it was a long time ago. I said earlier that the meaning for Scuderia Ferrari in this country is huge with the history. Gilles Villeneuve, the favourite driver of Enzo Ferrari and I think his charisma, his character that he brought to Formula One, to racing in general, is still alive today. You can see there’s a lot of flags. He left the heritage, so the people who fell in love with motor sport back then, it’s still them hanging around and their kids and maybe grandchildren by now, I don’t know. Yeah, so really really happy and it’s an important day for us but for sure, Saturday is not as important as Sunday so we hope to do well tomorrow as well.

Q: (Arjan Schouten – Sportwereld) Max, quick all weekend, today also very close; has there been one moment today when you were thinking ‘I’m going to take my first pole here’?

MV: I knew that we had a good car but I just wanted to wait and see how we were going to… how competitive we were going to be in Q3 and I quickly saw that it was going to be very hard to take pole position but you always do your best, you try to get the best lap time out of it.

Q: (Nicolangelo Cioppi – La Voce Euro Canada USA) Max and after Sebastian Vettel: yesterday, you had the best car, what happened today that you don’t have the pole? And to Sebastian Vettel, congratulations for the pole today. Do you think tomorrow you are going to win?

MV: Well, I still think we have a really good car but we know that in Q3 and in general, throughout the whole year already, we were just lacking power so we were just trying to compensate with that but I think it showed in Monaco that we have a great car and again here but of course with those long straights it’s just very hard to fight for pole position. And in the race, of course, it all calms down a bit so that’s why I think in general we are always a bit more competitive in the race.

SV: I don’t know. I’m not a bookmaker but I would say they are pretty good. Obviously we got pole today and we got pole for a reason so as I said today, I was a lot happier with the car and I think we can carry that into the race. For myself and for the team, I think we start on the right tyre and then we see. Nevertheless, it’s a long race here, a lot of laps, a lot of things to look out for so we’ll see. I think in terms of race pace as we’ve seen many times this year it’s very close between the three teams and between the six drivers so we will see but for sure if you start on pole you want to win.

Q: (Maxime Sarrasin – 95.8 Montreal) Questions for Max: we had a talk with Niki Lauda and we asked him which of today’s pilots makes him remember the most from Gilles Villeneuve, and he told us that you were the kind of pilot that makes him think about Gilles Villeneuve, so what are your thoughts about that? 

MV: Well, he was good-looking so… I don’t know. I’ve never met him in real life so for me it’s difficult for me to judge that but if he thinks it’s like, I’m fine with that.

SV: That was a good one. Confident.

Q: (Maxime Sarrasin – 95.8 Montreal) And if I might, I have another question for you. We remember that Thursday you were quite exhausted with the questions about the accident…

MV: Be careful, hunh?

Q: (Maxime Sarrasin – 95.8 Montreal) No, no, I don’t want to get head butted but as a result yesterday and today you had pretty good pace in the test and for the race and you showed us that you were able to push your car further and further. Did it give you motivation to go further again and push your pace higher than normal?

MV: No, because that normally I’m not doing a good job so I always try to do the best I can every single weekend and I felt straight away really comfortable in the car so that helped, of course.