PREVIEW: 2019 World RX of Latvia - the Championship fight takes center stage.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media

The 2019 FIA World Rallycross Championship title fight takes centre stage at the penultimate round at the Neste World RX of Latvia this weekend. 

Andreas Bakkerud rose to the top of the standings at the previous round in Loheac, France. The Norwegian holds a two-point lead over the Hansen brothers Timmy and Kevin, who are tied on 158 points.

The 2019 championship has proven to be one of the most closely-fought seasons ever with six different winners from the eight rounds to date. Only Timmy Hansen is a multiple race winner this year.

With two rounds remaining, all three of the leading protagonists could claim the title. 

To keep in tip-top conditions this weekend, Bakkerud called up 2016 World RX Champion Mattias Ekstrom.

"I’ve brought Mattias (Ekstrom) with me to be my personal coach to help me go faster," he said. "Hopefully that can make a difference. The start line in Riga is very slippery which makes it very tough to hit the right rpm and make consistently good starts so we’ll focus on that."

Bakkerud admits he will have his work cut out this weekend as Latvia is not one of his strong tracks. "Riga has never been my strongest World RX event on the calendar, but I’ve always been a huge fan of going there," he said. "This year I hope I can go faster at the racetrack itself."

As for Timmy Hansen, Riga is a favourite track and the Swede believes his Peugeot 208 will be suited to the track layout. "I like the circuit and the car has a good record there. I hope we have a good chance this weekend," he said. 

"It's a great track for our car. Seb (Loeb) won here back in 2016 and we have always been fast here. Of course I hope to win again this weekend. I will focus on finding a good rhythm on the track to get 100 per cent out of myself all the way from Q1 to the final."

As for the championship, Timmy targets a strong weekend in Riga which will keep him in the title fight. "The championship is very close, so it will take a great weekend to stay in the fight. That's really all I'm thinking about right now, to drive a good race in Riga."

Kevin Hansen sees the technical characteristics of the Riga track as a major challenge and is mindful of the forecast for rain this weekend. "Riga is a tight and technical track, which is quite fun and complex: you could call it our Monaco Grand Prix," he said.

"It’s important to take a very precise line and look after the tyres carefully: in other words not too much sliding with the throttle wide open. The main thing is to make sure that you’re spending more time moving forwards than moving sideways. 

“What’s going to make it particularly complicated this weekend is that we’re expecting quite a lot of rain, so it’s going to be even more important than usual to keep everything clean and tidy. It’s a nice day today, so it seems quite hard to believe, but it’s fairly common in Riga to have mixed conditions, so we need to be prepared for everything."

Latvian hope rests with Team STARD’s Janis Baumanis and Reinis Nitiss, who drives one of three Hyundai i20 Supercars for GRX Taneco alongside the Niclas Gronholm and Timur Timerzyanov.

Baumanis’ consistent performances this season has propelled him to fifth in the standings on 120 points. He has appeared in five finals and reached the podium twice – third in Norway and second in Canada.

"After a year we are back in Riga, one of the most important – and the most stressful events on the calendar for me," he said. "The atmosphere is fantastic and makes it very special for me and my fans."

"This will be the fourth year in Riga so obviously everyone knows the track by now. I hope to do my best for the home fans. I can’t wait for Saturday morning to get going."

Nitiss has fond memories of clinching the Euro RX title at this venue last year. "Home events are always more challenging – you have all your friends and fans in grandstands cheering for you, so naturally the pressure grows," he said.

"Bikernieki is an iconic, old-school motorsport complex with so much racing history. For me the relatively new rallycross track has a special meaning – I have been involved in the making of the circuit and was one of the very first drivers to try it out even before it was fully completed.

"With a limited racing programme this year, the stakes are high – but I know that together with the GRX team I have the speed. It’s proven by the fastest lap in Abu Dhabi and the podium finish in Sweden.

"To succeed in my home race, I will need to focus even more, prepare even more and be calmer than ever, not to overdo it, but to keep my head straight and aim for the best result."

Gronholm, fourth in the standings on 135 points despite missing two rounds this year through appendicitis, finished fourth in last year’s Riga final, his best result of the season.

"Once again, we showed great pace in Loheac, especially on Sunday when we were really up there, but the final didn’t go our way. Last year here was my best race of the year, so I think we can expect a good race for us," Gronholm said.

Another incentive for GRX Taneco is the teams’ title, according to team manager Jussi Pinomaki. "The fight for P1 in Teams’ championship is still wide open and we will focus on every detail to succeed in this race," he said.

There is added spice to the weekend with comments by Timo Scheider after the previous round in France. At the centre of the German’s ire was Rokas Baciuska, who reached his first World RX final at Loheac.

Scheider was aggrieved by the GC Kompetition driver’s aggression in their semi-final, claiming the contact he had with the Renault Megane cost him a place in the final.

The German was mighty with his launches in Loheac – recording a reaction time off the line of 0.75. He was P3 overnight after day one and P6 overall after Q4 but the contact with Baciuska in the semi-final ended his participation for the weekend.

Scheider heads to Riga in an upgraded Seat Ibiza which he believes is now capable of mixing it with the front-runners.

GC Kompetition’s Anton Marklund, second in Loheac, aims to keep the momentum going for the French squad.

"The Bikernieki track was where I had my first test with the GCK Megane RS RX after the race weekend last year," Marklund said. "Hopefully we can bring the good momentum from the last races in to this round."

Guerlain Chicherit is seeking a strong all-round performance from GCK in Latvia. "With Latvia RX the last race in Europe of the FIA World Rallycross Championship calendar, I’m really looking forward to bringing the team of five cars and drivers to the Latvian crowd and race in front of all the fans before heading to South Africa," he said. "We look to continue to up our performance from the last races and bag strong points for GCK."

GCK Academy’s Cyril Raymond is focussed on the Bikernieki tracks technical challenges. "Latvia RX is one of the hardest circuits in the calendar for me. The track is really picturesque especially when you are driving in the forest but very technical. Our Clio will be more efficient on this type of track," he said. 

His team-mate Guillaume De Ridder goes in search of a long-overdue change of fortune as does Britain’s Oliver Bennett who has completed repairs on the Xite Racing Mini Cooper after an off in Q4 at Loheac.

2019 FIA European Rallycross Champion Robin Larsson joins the World RX grid in Latvia. The Swede will be at the wheel of a JC Raceteknik Audi S1.

Larsson, who competed in World RX before, said: "I've obviously raced in World RX before, but it will be a little special to make this jump when the World RX drivers are in a really tight fight in the championship. 

"It will be exciting to see how we stand against the World RX guys now. I think you can raise your own level, even more, when you are fighting to keep up, so maybe we can close the gap more too," he adds. "The goal is to at least make the semi-finals, and use this as a good event to check our pace."

Russian Matvey Furazhkin returns with ES Motorsport – Labas GAS in the Skoda Fabia following his World RX debut at Loheac the previous round. 

"The weekend in Loheac was one of the best of my career," he said. "The level of racing was impressive. The car felt really competitive and working with such a professional team is very motivating."

"Now we are preparing for the Riga event and the main goal for this race will be to improve results from the previous race weekend. I can’t wait to be in the car again and push the limits."

Paul Try will start his third event of the season with Team STARD alongside Janis Baumanis.

The World RX of Latvia - ENTRY LIST

Kevin Hansen heads into the unknown as the championship fight heats up.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool.

Kevin Hansen heads to Latvia for the penultimate round of the season just two points behind championship leader Andreas Bakkerud.

Riga holds special memories for Kevin Hansen who won the 2016 FIA European World Rallycross title, and a surprise win after he was nudged into the barriers at the race start and dropping to last, six seconds behind the race leader.

The 21-year-old Swede turned in a series of quick laps and was able to capitalize on the errors of those ahead to cross the finish line first and claim victory. 

Biķernieki is the only purpose-built race circuit in Latvia, and it features the longest lap of the year in terms of time: Circuit Trois-Rivières is 75 meters longer when it comes to distance, but Biķernieki's twistier nature means the lap record is 0.3s slower in Latvia than in Canada.

"Riga is a tight and technical track, which is quite fun and complex: you could call it our Monaco Grand Prix!" he said. "It’s important to take a very precise line and look after the tyres carefully: in other words not too much sliding with the throttle wide open. The main thing is to make sure that you’re spending more time moving forwards than moving sideways!"

The Team Hansen MJP driver predicts a complicated weekend with rain forecast this weekend (mostly Sunday) but believes that anything is still possible when the checkered flag flies on Sunday.

"What’s going to make it particularly complicated this weekend is that we’re expecting quite a lot of rain, so it’s going to be even more important than usual to keep everything clean and tidy," Hansen said. "It’s a nice day today, so it seems quite hard to believe, but it’s fairly common in Riga to have mixed conditions, so we need to be prepared for everything."

"I think it’s going to be an adventurous weekend, so it's hard to make any particular predictions right now."

Written By Junaid Samodien

Scott Speed on the road to recovery and will miss remaining ARX rounds.

PHOTO CREDIT: ARX Media.

ARX Championship leader Scott Speed has confirmed that he will miss the remainder of the 2019 Americas Rallycross Championship.

The reigning ARX Champion fractured three vertebrae after a hard landing from a jump at Nitro Rallycross in Utah last month. After MRI scans in the aftermath of the incident, it was determined that Speed would not require surgery and will wear a back brace. He faces a lengthy rehabilitation period [6 to 8 weeks of potential recovery time].

Speed has provided an update regarding his recovery in an Instagram post, confirming that he will miss the remainder of the ARX Championship. 

"[It] was a good news day. All the scans show that the bone is healing well, and the docs said following a CT scan in two months he is 90% sure I’ll get the OK to race again come January," Speed said. "Obviously I’ll be out for the rest of the year. But I’ll most certainly still be going to the last races to support my amazing team at ‘Subaru Motorsports’ in their bid for the ARX Championship.”

"I still have one more month before I can really start the PT but knowing that I’ll race again has me fired up! I am not sure I have ever been more motivated!" he added.

Subaru Motorsport USA is yet to confirm whether they will field a replacement driver in Speed's #41 Subaru WRX STI for the final rounds in Austin and Mid-Ohio. 

Niclas Grönholm: 'I hope to get up to speed quicker than last year in Latvia'

PHOTO CREDIT: GRX Taneco.

GRX Taneco is heading to Latvia for the ninth round of the FIA World RX season with an aim to carry through speed from Lohéac to Riga.

The Finnish squad will field a three car entry with GRX Taneco regulars: Niclas Grönholm and Timur Timerzyanov at the wheel, and the team’s development driver Reinis Nitišs in the third car.

In France, Niclas Grönholm showed an impressive turn of speed making it up to P4 in the Intermediate standings before the Semi-final. The final saw the Finn leap ahead of Andreas Bakkerud who started on pole position, but the pair made contact and both ran wide at turn one, thus resulting in the pair dropping to the tail end of the field, which is where Niclas ended the race.

"Once again, we showed a great pace in Lohéac, especially on Sunday we were really up there, but the Final didn’t go our way," said Grönholm. 

Grönholm claimed a fourth-place finish in Latvia in 2018 and hopes to get a stronger result this year. "For Riga, I hope to get up to speed quicker than last time out, last year was already really good, my best race of the year actually, so I think we can expect a good race for us," he said.

The Biķernieku Latvia RX track is 1,295 km long with a 60-40 split between tarmac and gravel sections, although the unsealed surface is concrete-like producing very high grip in any weather conditions.

"The track is very smooth with a high grip gravel section, so it requires precision driving to chase a good lap-time," said Timerzyanov who claimed an 11th place finish in 2018. "We have seen some sudden weather changes there, and that always mixes up the cards."

Reinis Nitišs will make a return in the GRX Set Hyundai i20 Supercar at his home round. The Latvian has had an eventful outing in Abu Dhabi after launching over a kerb and onto the back of Anton Marklund damaging both drivers cars. In Sweden, Nitišs recovered from rolling his Hyundai to claim a third-place finish. 

This weekend will be a very special race for Nitišs who returns to the venture where he claimed his Euro RX title last year.

"Home events are always more challenging – you have all your friends and fans in grandstands cheering for you, so naturally the pressure grows," he said. "But I am here to help my team and to fight for the best possible result for myself, so my main focus will be on that."

"Biķernieki is quite tricky track - you need to be very smooth to top the time charts, but very aggressive if you need to overtake somebody."

Written By Junaid Samodien

'You need two perfect races to be World Champion' - Timmy Hansen.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool

Timmy Hansen heads to the penultimate round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Latvia this weekend and sets his sights on a perfect round to remain in contention for the title. 

History could favor the Swede, as former team-mate Sébastien Loeb won the inaugural event in 2016, and claimed two third-place finishes in 2017 and 2018. 

The Bikernieki National Sports Base (track) is a high-grip track, featuring more asphalt than gravel. The high-grip track surface will play into the strength of the Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar.

The 27-year-old Swede believes that Team Hansen MJP has ticked off their bad races this season. "Gravel is not our strong point with traction, but on high grip tracks, we do very well," he said. 

"The remaining rounds in Latvia and Cape Town are high grip tracks. Riga is nearly no gravel, South Africa is a brake late, high grip kind of track."

Hansen enjoys the high grip nature of the Riga and Cape Town tracks: "They are also two tracks that I really enjoy driving at - I kind of understand it. It's just me, I don't really need to think and just do."

Using his experience, the Swede aims to find his zone in pursuit of two perfect races that could bring him the 2019 FIA World Rallycross Championship.

"I am looking forward to the remaining rounds because it's not something that I have to overcome, I just need to find my zone and put it all together and try to drive clean. I think the key for me is not to think about the championship," he said. "There are no points for thinking about it, you just have to do two perfect races and that is what it takes to be world champion this year."

Timmy Hansen has claimed three wins thus far, but he has also had his share of bad luck after a crash at the opening round of the season with Andreas Bakkerud, and he was unable to go any further in Canada due to damage following an incident with Liam Doran and Timur Timerzyanov. 

Team Hansen MJP's rivals have made a big leap in start launches at recent events and these launches are key to track position.

"For us, the key moment is the launch and after that, the speed on the track that we have has been really good almost always," he adds. "We are going to work hard - I have already had a lot of engineers here this weekend coming together on the topic and we will see what we can do for the end of the year. We have a championship to win now - so we have to do something immediately."

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

'Knowing what to expect will give me cooler nerves in Riga' - Anton Marklund.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wiebke Langebeck/GC Kompetition 

Anton Marklund returns to the scene of his first GC Kompetition test in 2018.

The Swede claimed his best result of the season in Loheac, France (last time out) having crossed the finish line in second place. Marklund would have recorded his first victory in World RX in Hell, Norway earlier this year, but he was deprived of victory due to a post-race technical infringement.  

The 27-year old Swede returns to Riga, Latvia, a circuit that he is more familiar with having tested the 2018 specification GCK Renault Megane R.S. RX last year. 

"My first taste of the Megane ever was at Riga after the event. I have actually driven that track with the Megane, so that is the first time that I will actually know what to expect and know what the car will be like when I roll out for the first free practice session," he said. "Knowing what to expect will give me cooler nerves."

Marklund is the highest-ranked GC Kompetition driver in the 2019 World RX drivers' standings. 

GC Kompetition has shown a good turn of speed since the Canadian round with both drivers in the top 5. The French round was no different with Marklund and Rokas Baciuska [GCK Academy driver] claiming a fourth-place finish in a Renault Megane R.S. RX. 

"I think the Megane is starting to show great pace on all kinds of tracks. We have said before that on quick tracks they [Renault Megane] are a good car and a good track for the Megane with its long wheelbase, but I think that we can start to say that the Megane is performing well at tighter tracks," the Swede said. "So, I am really looking forward to seeing what we can do in the last two events."

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

2019 Italian GP: FIA Post-Race Press Conference.

FIA.com

DRIVERS
1 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)
2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)
3 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Q: Charles, what a brilliant drive. That will go down in Ferrari legend, well done.

Charles LECLERC: Thank you so much. What a race. I’ve never been so tired. Can I speak in Italian? (Continues in Italian).

Q: The great Mercedes Benz team threw everything at you, two against one, but you didn’t succumb to the pressure.

CL: Yeah, I did a few mistakes but at the end I finished first. Very happy with this. I need to be careful with the mistakes but obviously none of them made me lose the position today.

Q: Well done, brilliant race. Valtteri, the fresh tyres at the end looked quite good but not quite enough to pass young Charles.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I think we had a good strategy with me and I was able to go pretty long in the first stint and that opened up some opportunities at the end. But I’m gutted, you know. I was trying everything I could to get him and there was no way past. Always when I was getting close enough I started left-front locking, because of the lack of downforce and they are so quick in the straights as well. But I tried and I think it was the best I could do today.

Q: He was very strong off Parabolica, the last corner, wasn’t he, and then down the straight, so difficult to overtake.

VB: Yeah, it was really difficult. We were trying everything we could with engine modes and everything, but not quite enough. Yep, we move on.

Q: Third consecutive podium here but maybe not the place you wanted to be. Thanks Valtteri. Lewis, what a dice, what a battle that was! It got a bit fruity in places.

Lewis HAMILTON: Fruity?

Q: A little bit close. His elbows were coming out here and there. What would be your word?

LH: He did a great job. Congratulations to Ferrari and to Charles, he did a great job. A lot of pressure from Valtteri and I. I did the best I could, I think, but obviously following so closely for such a long time the tyres eventually just went off the cliff. Nonetheless, they were just quicker today – much quicker in a straight line, so even if we did get close we couldn’t pass. Not our day but still strong points for the team. We pull away from Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship and ultimately that’s what really matters.

Q: And you must be homing in on your sixth title? It must be starting to come into range in your mind?

LH: Honestly, I’m just trying to do better each race. I’m not really focused on that at the moment. But of course, a healthier lead than I’ve been in in the past, so obviously I’m grateful for that. But today wasn’t a perfect race. I think this weekend some improvements to be made to my set-up and obviously within myself, so I’ll focus on that for the next race.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Valtteri, congratulations, you took second place with 12 laps to go. Another lap or so do you think you could have got the win today or did Ferrari have the pace?

VB: First of all, well done Charles. (General laughter, as CL is absent). We tried everything we could today as a team and personally I was giving everything I could for the win. For sure, it’s annoying because it’s so close – finishing less than one second behind the leader. But, yeah, at least I tried everything I could. We tried. The tricky bit was that they were so quick on the straights. It required us to be so close in the corners that it was not really possible to follow, leading the straight (sic), and also getting issues with brakes locking up once getting so close to the car ahead. I was pushing hard, so what can I say? Just not quite enough. Otherwise, it was a good race. I enjoyed it a lot, hunting for the win and the pace was pretty good especially in the second stint.

Q: Thank you and well done. Lewis, you put a lot of pressure on Charles today. How much pleasure do you get from that race?

LH: There’s not a lot of pleasure from finishing third. Going backwards is never a great thing. Still, it was a great race. He did a great job. It was nice and tight for a long time and they deserved the win – they did a better job.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell - Autosport) Lewis, during the race while you were trying to hunt down Charles, we heard a couple of times that it got a bit ‘dicey’ with him. There was the move at the second chicane, where he pushed you onto the run-off, and I think there was another one at the Curva Grande where you were going around the outside and he moved to the left? Was it just heat of the moment frustrations in the car or on reflection, a bit calmer, do you still think he was a bit on the limit or over the limit at times.

LH: Uhh, that’s racing. Yeah, it’s just racing I guess. I had to avoid colliding with him a couple of times but I guess that’s how the racing is today. You just move forwards.

Q: Thanks Lewis. Charles has joined us. Many congratulations. Second race win in the bag. It was an incredible grand prix, an incredible podium. Can you just describe the last two hours of your life?

CL: It’s quite difficult – a lot going through my mind, during the race, after the race. A lot of emotions. Obviously it was very difficult during the race. Lewis was behind me. I think the biggest gap there was was maybe 1.7 or 1.8 seconds, so right behind me. I knew that Lewis rarely makes mistakes, so obviously I had to stay on it. I did a few, which never cost me a position – once was very, very close. It was crazy and then finally in the last two laps I started to believe that the win was possible. I think that with the traffic Valtteri dropped a little bit and that helped me to get a little bit of space. And then finally going on the line, I let go all my emotions through the radio. I don’t think you can understand anything that I have said on the radio, but it felt absolutely amazing, and the podium also. It’s going beyond all the dreams I’ve had since I was a child. To see so many people cheering for one team, singing all together, it’s amazing.

Q: If we were to discuss the decisive moments in today’s race, was it that choice of the hard tyre at the pit stop?

CL: I don’t know. I think the strategy was good. Obviously we were in a tricky situation because we had the two Mercedes behind and I was the only Ferrari and they could play the game of going long with one car and earlier with the other. It was very tricky but in the end I rthink we made ther right choice with the hard.

Q: (Mike Doodson - Honorary) Following up on that response from Charles, I’d like to ask Mr Hamilton if he had the choice of white tyres and if they had been available would the result have been different in your opinion?

LH: I mean yeah, if I had gone onto the hard tyre I probably would have had the pace to have finished second, with a tyre that goes longer, but I wouldn’t have changed the position between myself and Charles I think. They were ultimately just a little bit too quick today. I did ask in the morning if I could go to the hard tyres and they said no. They said that because we hadn’t run it they didn’t it was quick enough. I think the tyre we were on was quick but I did say in the meeting this morning that the tyre was potentially going to go off the cliff. It was because I was following so closely behind for so long, just really on the ragged edge, trying to get as close as I could to get in shooting distance of trying to overtake. But every time I opened up the DRS – I don’t know if you were going to a different power mode – but the gap would stay the same. It’s pretty incredible the speed they have on the straights.

Q: (Peter Windsor – Clarksport) Charles, congratulations. Speaking of cliffs, I’m just wondering how your tyres were in the last 10-15 laps and how much tyre management was involved? Car looked a bit squirrelly on some corners, had a few moments, a few lock-ups. How near the cliff were you?

CL: The hard were quite difficult to manage. From the beginning, apart from the first two laps, or, no maybe a bit more, maybe three, four laps, I felt quite good, but then there was like a drop off of grip from all four tyres and then I’ve been struggling a little bit with front locks, and towards the end I’ve started to lose the rear, and that’s where the performance started to… where I started to slow down a little bit. They were not in a very bad shape. I believe they could have stayed where they were for quite many laps still – but yeah, I was just struggling with the rear left especially.

Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) Charles, you said since Austria and the incident with Max, you changed your approach, being more aggressive. I think we saw that most clearly today in your fight with Lewis. Could you talk us through battle with Lewis, and do you think without this change in approach, you made that you would have won today’s race?

CL: Obviously I think since Austria it’s clear that we can go a bit further in the way that we defend and overtake and yeah, just the aggressivity of us drivers. I believe that Austria helped me to change this approach and today it’s also thanks to this that I’ve managed to win. It was obviously very on-the-limit but… yeah, I’m happy to race like this.

Q: (Diego Sanchez – thebestf1.es) Charles, can you describe how you feel right now, just in one word – and how you chose this word?

CL: I don’t know how you say it in English: Libération.… yeah, freedom. More or less this. How many laps were there in the race? 53. 53 laps felt a lot longer than 53 laps. As I’ve said, I felt a lot of pressure from behind. So, obviously, from once I crossed the finish line until now is just pure happiness.

Q: (Godina Zsolt – f1vilag.hu) Charles, congratulations. After this race win, how do you see your chances for the next races – and do you think that this could be a turning point for Ferrari in terms of the Championship?

CL: We need to stay realistic. I think we expected that Spa and Monza would be very good races for our car but we also know that the next few races will be a lot more difficult for our car. So, we need to be realistic and, yeah, it’s not going to be easy. I think especially Singapore. I think it will be a nice surprise if we are better than what we expect – but what we expect – but we expect to struggle there. We’ll see in two weeks.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Last year Verstappen got a five second penalty for a move that looked similar to what happened at the Roggia chicane today between Charles and Lewis. What do the three of you think about the black-and-white flag being employed for that move today?

CL: I’ve been aware on the radio that I took a black-and-white flag for moving under braking but I’m not so sure of which move you are speaking about. If it’s the one in the right hander where we were flat-out or… after that. What it after that?

Q: The first one, where Lewis went slightly off the track to the right, on your outside, on the entry to the chicane.

CL: OK – to be completely honest, obviously I knew he was on the right, he braked a little bit early which I think was probably on purpose because he didn't’ want to try around the outside. I thought I had left a car width. I haven’t seen the images to be honest. But I was pretty sure there was a car width.

Q: And Charles, what do you think of the use of the black-and-white flag?

CL: As I’ve said, I think it’s good if we can race harder. Again, I haven’t seen the images so I cannot say particularly in this case but overall I’m happy if we can race harder. So… yeah… I’m fine.

Q: Lewis, can we get your thoughts?

LH: We’ve just constantly asked for consistency. So, there was a rule put in place, and then it wasn’t abided by today and they used difference consequences for the rule today but I don't really know why that was the case. It’s motor racing, I guess, and I guess the stewards woke up on a different side of the bed this morning. I don’t know.

Q: So do you not welcome the use of the black-and-white flag?

LH: Well, that’s what… Verstappen should have got that last year. We’ve asked for consistency. So the same rule should apply each time – but yeah… I don’t know what else to say about it.

Q: Valtteri, your thoughts

VB: I haven’t seen the whole thing, so I can’t say anything.

Q: (Daniele Sparisci – Corriere della Sera) Question to Charles. Was it more difficult to win here or in Belgium, with all this battle?

CL: Here. I think it’s the first weekend in my life where the only thing I’ve got in my head is winning. Normally I focus on just the job I have to do in the car, which normally is more successful and it works better. But, since Wednesday, seeing the support we’ve had, was just, yeah, incredible. The only thing I wanted this weekend was to win in front of all the guys that are supporting us, for the team. So, it was very difficult because also during the race I was thinking to that win and how much it would mean to everyone in the grandstand here. So it was adding a bit of pressure, and as I’ve explained earlier, also I had quite a lot of pressure from lap one to the last laps.

Q: (Stephane Barbe – L’Equipe) Charles, could you describe especially your feelings on the podium, which is so different here from other places perhaps.

CL: Well, it felt amazing. I have never had a podium with… I’ve never been on a podium with so many people underneath it. And to see that the whole straight was full of people – mostly red – 99 per cent red – was great to see. Yeah, as I said earlier, hearing them cheering, singing was just… a lot of emotions.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Valtteri, seven times a Finnish driver is second in this race. Is it an impossible place to win here?

VB: No, it’s not impossible! Not far away today, it just happens that a Finn hasn’t won here. so, maybe one day. Try again next year, obviously. Like I said earlier, I think we tried everything we could and it felt like we maximised everything with the strategy and all – but just not quite enough.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – Daily Mail) Charles, what are your earliest memories of Ferrari? Do you remember, for example, Michael Schumacher winning the Italian Grand Prix? Maybe just a little on that sort of background as a boy; it’s quite a while ago…

CL: I’m very bad with history and I’ve got a very bad memory for my own races so yeah. For the others races, I really don’t remember anything. The only thing I can remember is maybe one of the first Grand Prix I’ve seen in Monaco, which was at the exit of turn one, I remember looking for the red car. I was playing with the small cars that you have when you are a child – I was maybe five years old or something like this. This is the only memory I have from a Formula One car probably.

Q: Can you tell us about your first visit to Maranello?

CL: I went there with Jules Bianchi, who had to go there for some TV stuff and obviously he tried to let me in with him but they decided I couldn’t go in the factory. Now it’s a little bit easier to go inside but yeah, I remember obviously of dreaming of one day going through these doors and seeing how a Formula One team works, especially Ferrari. But I remember I was very impressed by the way as soon as you arrive in Maranello, which is a city, you can feel that everyone is just here, all working for Ferrari or completely crazy about Ferrari. That was very very special.

Q: Can you remember what year that was?

CL: No. No. I’ve got a very bad memory!

Q: (Rodrigo Franca – VIP Magazine) Charles, speaking of that, you are in the Ferrari Driver Academy since a long time, in the Ferrari family so can you tell us of the importance of the programme and if that makes this podium so special and your winning here in Monza for the fans and for the Ferrari family?

CL: Well, at the end, if I’m here, it’s also thanks to the FDA. There are a few people in my career who have helped me to get there but definitely the Ferrari Driver Academy is part of these persons or group of persons. We did a lot of mental preparation, physical preparation. They also helped me a lot with the simulator work so I was on the simulator quite a lot and they have tried to give me as much experience that they had from Formula One to me to grow as a better driver so obviously I believe it’s a great proof that the Academy is working properly and there are also a lot of talents coming who are very strong and I’m pretty sure they will come very soon, joining obviously me but all of us in Formula One soon.

Q: (Joe van Burik – RacingNews 365) Charles, how much did you miss the support from Sebastian in the race today? Was it extra hard, considering you didn’t have him?

CL: Obviously it’s always an easier situation to have two cars instead of one but obviously yesterday Seb was extremely unlucky, he couldn’t do the lap in the second run of Q3 so yeah, but I’m pretty sure it will be better in the next races.

Q: (Fabio Seghetta -  TuttoMotorsport) Charles, obviously with this win you’ve overtaken Sebastian in the drivers’ standings. Do you think the next races, apart from the good or bad performances, you will stay there or do you think that together you can try to get as many points as you can to go over and maybe challenge the two guys to the left and right of you?

CL: To challenge Lewis and Valtteri will be very difficult because, as I said, I don’t think we will be as competitive as we’ve been in Spa and Monza but let’s see, obviously . I don’t know if I will keep the position ahead of Seb in the drivers’ championship. I think we need to work together and to try and have the best performance for the team. He wants to beat me, I want to beat him as much as he does but yeah, we’ll see at the end of the championship. I can’t know.

Q: (Giovanni Messi –  News Formula One) Charles, two questions: the first is, what did you think of during your final lap and if you have an opinion – I don’t know – on  Sebastian’s mistake during the first laps of the race?

CL: On the last two laps I started to see in the grandstand that there was quite a lot of agitation, that all of the fans were jumping so yeah, I was telling myself ‘stop looking at the grandstand, look at the track, focus on what you are doing as a driver and then you can enjoy whatever there is outside.’ But it was quite difficult to stay focused on driving, seeing how much movement there was in the grandstand. And then I haven’t yet seen Seb’s mistake.

Q: (Davide Russo – Russ Formula One) Valtteri, you still believe in this championship?

VB: Well there’s no point ever giving up when there’s still statistics to say it’s possible. Obviously it’s a bit of a long shot, honestly, if you’re realistic with the way Lewis is performing and the consistency he’s having. But obviously you never know. This is F1, we’ve seen crazy things happening so there’s no point giving up, I just focus as an individual, my best performance I can and for us, as a team, to keep those improvements coming, that we are doing together and by the end of the year we will see, but there’s no point in giving up.

Q: (Daniel Horvath – The Paddock Magazine) Charles, you need to beat a four time World Champion first if you want to win a race. Do you think Sebastian is the toughest teammate you’ve ever had, considering the lower categories as well?

CL: Yeah, definitely. He’s definitely the most complete driver I’ve been in the same team with. I’ve learned a lot from Sebastian. He’s an amazing driver, very quick. He has a lot of experience too so the way he works is very methodical and very detailed and of that I’ve learned a lot.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) Lewis, you’ve had an apparently very warm and respectful relationship with Charles so far this season, when seen from the outside. Will anything change in that as a result of your unhappiness today?

LH: I’m not unhappy; of course, as I’ve said, I don’t like to go backwards but he did a fantastic job today. I gave him as much pressure as I could and we had a couple of close moments, we could probably talk about it in private together but it’s nothing major and we continue to race. I’m looking forward to many more races together.

Q: (Peter Windsor – Clarksport) Charles, amazing that you mentioned that you were thinking during the race about winning and what it meant, and I’m just interested to know what part of the lap, given the amount of pressure you’re under constantly, you were able to think about that. Where on the circuit were you actually able to think about things like that?

CL: Maybe on the long straight for like 200 meters, I had the time to think. We were quite quick down the straight… not for the whole straight, only for part of it. I was thinking very quickly.

2019 Italian GP: FIA Post-Qualifying Press Conference.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA.com

DRIVERS
1 – Charles LECLERC (Ferrari)
2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Paul Di Resta)

Q: Charles, you must have to pinch yourself at the moment, to come here on the back of that win in Spa, to claim pole position in front of Ferrari’s home crowd. And when you get that reception when you draw up, it must be incredible?
Charles LECLERC: It feels unbelievable. Already on Wednesday in Milan was just incredible and today to see so many people feels absolutely amazing. Happy with the pole but it’s a shame that at the end there was a big mess. I hoped for the last lap but that was enough with what happened for the pole.

Q: A pole is a pole, regardless of what happened. But tomorrow there’s a big day ahead. Do you feel that you’ve got the pace to take the win to these home fans?
CL: Yeah, I think the pace was quiet good actually during the race simulations in FP2 so it’s looking positive, better than in Spa, so let’s hope for a good race tomorrow.

Q: Lewis, I know you’re never happy unless you’re getting pole position, but I guess that at the end of the day Ferrari were always going to be strong here. You’re on the row and at the same time you missed out on the last run because of all the tactics for getting that tow. How do you sum it up?
Lewis HAMILTON: To be honest, I have to be grateful that I’m on the front row. We get to have a fight with the Ferraris tomorrow, which is nice. We’ve split them, so as a team it’s a really good position for us to be in. It is definitely a bit of an anti-climax that we couldn’t all go out and do that last final lap, that’s one of the most exciting ones we have. It’s crazy with this timing that we have, the system we have, where everyone backs up, everyone is trying to get a position and they times us out. They basically timed us out. It’s interesting – get pole position in the first run and then just time everyone out.

Q: I know normally you look for free space in qualifying but it seems like the two has been extra important this year. Is it strange as a driver to have that tactic when you go into a session, knowing that you have to be four or five seconds behind someone?
LH: Yeah, definitely. I mean on the out lap it’s dangerous for us all. There are people slowing down, you don’t know who is alongside you and that. It’s definitely risky business out there but it’s kind of enjoyable at the same time. But for us we are down on the Ferraris in a straight line, so we particularly need. I think others also do. I think it’s with this new wing, the drag is much bigger this year, so everyone is focusing on that. But honestly just to be up here on the front row, we can give them a good fight tomorrow.

Q: Valtteri, that was quite a difficult session. You almost had a lap cancelled, just before the red flag came out but it got reinstated, and luckily because that last run didn’t come off.
Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I was quite unlucky there and also I had a yellow flag in the first run in the last corners so I had to lift off and I believe I lost the pole because of that. Obviously the last run was a bit of a mess for everyone. But the pace was good. Happy still to be very much at the front because it’s tomorrow that counts.

Q: How much fun are these cars to drive around Monza. Is it a place you enjoy?
VB: It’s always good fun. Definitely enjoying it and for sure I’m going to enjoy tomorrow.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Charles, it was very close, less than one tenth of a second separating all three of you on the panel. But you’ve done it, you’ve got pole at Monza, so how does it feel?
CL: Obviously the feeling I got when I went out of the car, hearing the crowd cheer so loud is absolutely amazing. On the other hand a bit of a shame for the team, Seb couldn’t do his second timed lap; he was very quick. I felt like a 1-2 was an opportunity even though these two guys were extremely quick and it was very, very close. But yeah, the whole qualifying was a big mess with all the slipstreaming and having the best one. But very happy with this pole position.

Q: And throwing it forward to tomorrow’s race, do you think you’ve got a closer fight on your hands than you did last week at Spa?
CL: Yes, I think the race pace was more positive compared to what we had the Friday in Spa, so on that we are pretty confident. But the start will be very important, as always. But there is quite a long way here from the start to the first corner so the start will be very important.

Q: Well done, good luck tomorrow. Charles has described the quali session as a bit of a mess. Just talk us through what happened at the end of Q3 from your point of view.
LH: Well, it’s then same as has happened for some races now. The drag is a big issue here, the tow is a key to getting a good lap. Everyone was slowing right down and also blocking the way, so you couldn’t really get through. It was pretty dangerous. I nearly crashed a couple of times trying to stay out of the way of the guys that were braking ahead of me and then people trying to come past me. Nonetheless, Charles did a great job. I was a little bit unfortunate with Kimi spinning in front of me, so I had to lift in the last corner. That was really our pole lap lost there. It would have been nice to have obviously been able to compete on that last lap, get to really thresh out the cars and see who really had that little edge right at the end.

Q: Was there more time in your car?
LH: Definitely. Definitely. But I’m sure it’s the same for all of us. The track progresses so you can find little bits here and there. Also, I was quite close behind Kimi, so I was losing out a little bit through the corners, so you are trying to find the right compromise. But tomorrow there’s still a long, long way to the finish line so we’ll try to put ourselves in the best position. This is great for us to be able to separate the Ferraris and we can work together as a team tomorrow and try to overhaul him and fortunately not have the Ferrari in the way this time… Vettel.

Q: Valtteri, another quite messy qualifying session, with your first time having to be reinstated and then what happened at the end of Q3, so do you feel that the whole thing was a bit of a compromise for you?
VB: It definitely was. I think it was compromised for sure for many drivers so in that kind of messy session it’s always good to be ending up in the top three. The same for me as for Lewis, and I was actually more far back. I had the yellow flags for Kimi so I had to lift off properly and I also feel I lost the pole there. It’s annoying when it could have been possible but it could have been a lot worse today. I hope we can really learn something from the last run because everyone pretty much missed their lap. There were two cars going slow at the front and no one could get by. So not ideal but we are here, very much close to the front and it’s going to be a good fight tomorrow.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) First part of the question for you Charles: could you talk us through, I think you were behind Seb at the beginning of the lap then did you decide on your own to just go flat-out and make it to the line on time? And for both Mercedes drivers, did you think about ‘OK, I have to go fast now otherwise I won’t make it,’ or is it something that you’re just relying on the team what they say to you?
CL: To be completely honest, the plan was that, in the first run, Seb was giving me the tow and in the second run, I will give him the tow. So, I actually went out of the box in front of him, and then there was the huge mess after Turns One and Two and the McLaren and a Renault – I don’t know whoever that was – they stopped in the middle of the track and we had nowhere to go. Seb overtakes me there, because of the mess, because obviously we were aware it was quite tight on time, and then I stayed, basically, behind Seb, until the last straight where I’ve heard also on the radio “you can overtake Seb,” so I overtook him – but I had no time for me either to start the lap, so yeah, it was a shame – but I don’t think I could have done much more.

And for the Mercedes drivers, how reliant were you on the pitwall? Lewis?
LH: Well, naturally, you’re listening to your delta, understanding whether you’ve still got time left but I tried to get through… I was supposed to be behind Valtteri but I overtook him, knowing that I needed to get further ahead, but I couldn’t overtake everyone, they were weaving and braking and it was like trying to avoid carnage all the time. So, we had a couple of people I think were holding everyone up, trying to, I guess, let people by but yeah, a bit of an anti-climax, I think, probably for all of you. Maybe they should have extended the session or something like that, so we could finish, or something – I’m not really sure how we’re going to get around this. Everyone’s brake testing and slowing down to let others past, just to get a tow. I’m not sure how we’re going to get around that in the future. But… yeah… in hindsight I wish I just went out earlier. Just got out there and got a clean lap. That would have been great.

Valtteri, anything you can add from your point of view?
VB: No, it’s the same. Same view for me. It was a bit of a mess and I was also just behind other cars, exit of Turn Two, and things started to go very slowly and, short on time, and everyone was pretty much in the same boat.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis, we heard you over the radio after Q3, and again down on the grid, that it was an interesting tactic from Ferrari – because obviously Charles was on pole after the first run. Do you think it was intentional? A clever play from them to back them up? And how unflattering do you think the whole thing looked for F1?
LH: Honestly, I don’t know how many cars were up ahead, so I don’t know… Charles just said it was a couple of other cars up ahead so maybe it was them – but ultimately it worked out well for them. I really don’t know what else to say. It would have been nice to just finish the lap and both put the pedal to the metal but it didn’t happen and we move forwards.

Lewis, how did it look for Formula 1, just to follow up on Scott’s question?
LH: I don’t think it looks good but I’m not a fan so I’ll let the fans decide on that. I think fans get excited,  at least I remember I used to get really excited about watching qualifying and all the way down to that last minute, so it’s down for you guys to have an opinion. For me, just as a driver, I would have loved to have obviously driven more qualifying. One of the best stages of the weekend. I think some drivers didn’t even have a lap – is it true that Seb didn’t even have a lap? Is that right? Yep, it is the way it is.

Q: (Luke Smith – crash.net) This is the second race in a row now that this has happened. Lewis, you used the word ‘dangerous’ both at Spa and here as well. For all three of you, do you think a qualifying format rethink it required to avoid situations like this happening again?
VB: Well, these two tracks, we’ve seen this is really specific on the tows and I think Spa and Monza are the biggest gains on the straightline speed you can get really, being behind another car, and here especially. So, I don’t think it’s going to be an issue in most of the tracks, like at the next race where, for sure, everyone just tried to find a clear gap. But for tracks like this, it’s always been a bit like that, and maybe now a bit more extreme, with the cars getting more draggier and more of a gain being in the slipstream.

Charles?
CL: Yeah, as Valtteri said, it’s only on a few tracks during the season where we have this issue. I’ve got no quick fix to try and help this quickly – but maybe we can all think about to to try and understand. It has always been like this. I think slipstream has always been that way. I don’t really know what to say. We just need to analyse a little bit more, the situation. I think today was special, was definitely not the intention from our side. Obviously there was also Seb that was capable of having the pole position and we obviously didn’t want to sacrifice one car for the pole of the other so, yeah, it was quite tricky. I definitely think that situations like after the second corner shouldn’t happen when there are two cars side-by-side. I cannot go at 20kph, we couldn’t pass and I think most of the drivers behind wanted to pass but didn’t have the opportunity so, yeah, these situations have made a big mess towards the end and that’s why so many cars didn’t make it to start their laps. But yeah, that’s it.

Lewis, your thoughts
LH: I don’t really have an answer, to be honest. I don’t remember every qualifying session this year but it was similar last year, I think. We were all trying to get a gap, which continues to be key. In some places, you want a bigger gap, in some places it’s all about the tow, so each track’s specific. I always through they could do something different on weekends anyways, different weekends, depending on the track but it’s highly unlikely that’s going to happen.

Q: Do you think we’ll see such an extreme case going forwards, looking at the last seven races?
LH: I’m sure it’s going to continue. Positioning is key. If we were to… everyone going out as late as we just did there, for example, with two minutes to go, it’s going to continue to be an issue in places where you particularly need a tow. It won’t be until someone crashes that they’ll change it, most likely.

Q: (Godina Zsolt – f1vilag.hu) Charles, Sebastian is going to start from P4 tomorrow. How difficult will it be to keep behind the Mercedes cars compared to Spa?
CL: Well, it’s obviously going to be very, very difficult because, first of all, they are quick, secondly, slipstream and DRS are very important here – but I think the race pace looks better than what it was in Spa, so on that we are pretty confident – but for sure it’s going to be very difficult to keep them behind. As I said, I think a very good start from myself and also from Seb will be very important for the good result of the team tomorrow.

Q: (Carlo Ferraro - Fuoritraiettoria.com) We saw more than half of the Formula Three field getting grid penalties for driving unnecessarily slowly on their warm-up lap. Do you think this may or should happen today as well?
LH: Honestly I don’t know. It’s not our… it’s the system probably needs to shift a little bit maybe. I don’t think they should start handing out penalties. We just need to look upon it and reflect a little bit and see what we can do to make it better, make it better for the fans and make it less dangerous. Like they already made a change today that we have to finish the out lap within a certain delta time but even that’s still too slow. There’s improvements we can make, for sure, for safety but also for the spectators to watch.

CL: Yeah, I agree and today actually is quite difficult. If you put the penalty to one, you put the penalty to the 10 drivers that were in Q3 because we were all together.

VB: Nothing to say, really.

Q: (Simon Istvan Janos - V4NA) We have seen a very nasty accident this morning in Formula Three at the Parabolica. There was a very high kerb. It has been removed by Formula One qualifying; what was your impression of the accident, very close to Anthoine’s accident, within one week? And my other question is if you, as drivers, were consulted before removing it today?
VB: Yeah, obviously a big accident. I saw it afterwards. At least from me… no one asked me if the kerb should be taken off or not but my view would have been for sure because we’ve seen an accident like this so for sure and it was actually not making any difference to the track limits because people were going off the track before the bump so it was in the wrong place and wrong height obviously. I’m sure there’s a lesson learned. It’s a super high-speed place and if you hit it at the wrong angle obviously those kind of things can happen so… Definitely not so good for safety that one but I’m sure something learned today.

CL: Yeah, I think it was maybe a bit pointless to put a kerb like this, once they said they would look at the track limits there, because anyway if you go out, you have your lap and the next lap deleted. But I was quite a fan of gravel there in the past. I think that was quite a good fix for every track limits.

LH: Did you drive here with the gravel?

CL: Yup, in Formula 3.

LH: Yeah, I agree with him. It was much better when it was grass and gravel on the exit there because I remember you used to come into that corner, you kind of… you were a bit nervous going in too deep because you might end up in the wall. The grass would pull you out wide and you’d pay the price for pushing beyond the limit. So now you can go beyond the limit and that’s the biggest – for me – the biggest problem with all these run-off areas that are tarmac now. We didn’t need to be consulted about the kerb. It’s a band-aid on the issue of putting tarmac there in the first place. I don’t think they needed tarmac round there.

Q: (Joe van Burik – Racing News 365) Lewis, on Instagram you shared an image of an article featuring Max responding to quotes from Nico Rosberg, being a critic of his driving style in Spa. What do you think of a former World Champion being so explicit about how modern day F1 drivers talk?
LH: I don’t really think much of it, to be honest. I thought it was really funny – I think Max is generally a really funny guy so I was cracking up when I saw it. It’s interesting because obviously we know what it’s like – all the drivers have all been here and know what it’s like being criticised from the public and when [they are] in the sport moan about being criticised by people from the outside and then when drivers retire they become those critics, so it’s an interesting dynamic. And also some of those… unfortunately drivers become irrelevant when they retire and ultimate have to hang on to utilise other people’s light to keep them in the light and so… but that’s the way of sport, I guess.

Q: (Fabio Seghetta - Tutomotorsport.com) Charles, did you think that you had more advantage over the Mercedes cars during free practice or do you think that this gap has been reduce during qualifying?
CL: I think they’ve been quick all weekend, to be honest. I expected them to be very quick today. The straightline speeds are not as different compared to Spa. I think we were surprised to see them so quick on the straights during free practice. I think it was the same in qualifying, so yeah, I think it’s been the same from free practice to qualifying.

Q: (Giovanni Messi – News Formula One Italy) Charles, do you think that here Ferrari can be better race pace than in Spa, looking also at the time that we see in free practice yesterday ?
CL: Yeah, as I said earlier, I think in FP2 the race pace was a bit more positive compared to the race pace that we had in FP2 in Spa. It looks a little bit better but again, here the tow and the DRS has a bigger effect, so it’s going to be difficult to lead.

Q: (Christian Menath – MotorsportMagazin.com) Considering the weather forecast for tomorrow, for rain, did any one of you change the set-up for the rain, raise a bit more wing than you would usually have gone for for qualifying?
LH: Position is everything, so you want to go quick on the straight so no, you want to take absolutely everything off as possible to go as quick as you can.
CL: Same for us.
VB: Yup.