Team Hansen MJP's Kevin Hansen remains grounded after claiming his maiden World RX win in Abu Dhabi.
Hansen claimed his maiden World RX win in Abu Dhabi after Niclas Gronholm was awarded a three-second time penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior in the final after pushing and overtaking the Swede. “After winning in Abu Dhabi, it’s great to start on the right foot," says Hansen. "As the for the rest, now we just have to keep pushing." In 2018, the Swede qualified for the semi-finals but was forced to give up his position to teammate Sebastien Loeb. He claimed twelfth overall in 2018. "We know what we’ve got, and I love the Barcelona circuit. I won the European title there, so I’ve got some good memories of the place, and last year I got to the semi-final, but I had to give my place up because of team orders." "However, it’s going to be very difficult to compare to last year as in 2018 it was mostly raining." he adds. "This time, we expect it to be dry, so there’s going to be more rubber on the gravel and the line will be different too: everything will be faster." "I’m feeling confident but once again it’s hard to know what to expect." TEXT: Junaid Samodien
The FIA World Rallycross Championship heads to Barcelona this weekend for the World RX of Catalunya, the second round of the series. After a heated affair in Abu Dhabi three weeks’ ago the action at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona is set to be another thriller. Kevin Hansen claimed his maiden World RX victory in Abu Dhabi after the stewards' handed initial victor Niclas Gronholm a three-second time penalty after pushing and passing. Two of the leading protagonists – Timmy Hansen and Andreas Bakkerud – had a high-speed collision at the joker merge in Q3. Timmy’s Peugeot suffered chassis damage while Bakkerud was disqualified for his part in the incident. Timmy’s mechanics have worked tirelessly in the time since Abu Dhabi to have the No.21 Peugeot re-built, including repairs to the chassis and reconstructing sections of the roll cage in readiness for Barcelona. There is some tenseness between Bakkerud and the Hansens, as witnessed in the pre-event press conference in Abu Dhabi. That carried over to the race track and is likely to continue this weekend.
Kevin leads the way in the drivers' standings at the top of the pile with 30 points, Niclas Gronholm second on 26 points. The Finn drove strongly all weekend in his GRX Taneco Hyundai i20 including a semi-final win en route to the final. Team STARD's Janis Baumanis and Timo Scheider in the ALL-INKL.COM are locked together on 20 points and likely to be among the challengers this time out. Scheider was the top qualifier in 2017 eventually finishing second to Mattias Ekstrom in the final. Barcelona was also the scene of Scheider’s World RX debut in 2015. Krisztian Szabo, made an impressive World RX debut in Abu Dhabi, in his EKS Sport Audi, with fourth place. He lies fifth in the championship. Liam Doran took his first World RX podium in Abu Dhabi, and is likely to be a contender again. The Briton prepared for the second round of World RX with victory in a Group B Retro Rallycross Championship race at Lydden Hill on Easter Monday. The 19-car field will also feature cycling royalty in the shape of Sir Chris Hoy. The six-time Olympic gold medallist will pilot the Xite Racing-prepared Ford Fiesta. Following a recent test at Pembrey in Wales, Hoy, who has competed in the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016, and European Le Mans and British GT racing, is relishing the latest motorsport challenge.
Oliver Bennett will combine mentoring duties for Hoy with racing the Xite Racing Mini Cooper, repaired after a roll in Abu Dhabi.
Guerlain Chicherit and Anton Marklund narrowly missed the final at Yas Marina Circuit and will look to go make amends while the GCK Academy duo Cyril Raymond of France and Belgium’s Guillaume De Ridder will take learnings from their maiden World RX outings in the Renault Clios.
ESmotorsport - Labas GAS's Rokas Baciuska, will look to build on the semi-final placing of his World RX debut in Abu Dhabi. Timur Timerzyanov, partnering Gronholm in the GRX Taneco squad in the Hyundai i20, has a Barcelona podium on his CV from 2016 and is expected to run at the sharp end. Hungary’s Tamas Karai will be at the wheel of the Karai Motorsport Audi A1 while Frenchman Herve Knapick competes in a Citroen DS3.
Also joining the line-up in a second Team STARD Ford Fiesta is the former works WRC driver and European Championship competitor Jani Paasonen.
DRIVERS – Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo Racing), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas), Lance STROLL (Racing Point) Q: Kevin, we’re going to start with you. We’ve seen dramatic races in each of the last two years here in Baku. How much do you as a driver enjoy the challenge of racing here? Kevin MAGNUSSEN: I think it’s an exciting race. As you said, lots of action, lots of safety cars, and stuff like that in previous years. We’ll see -- this year everyone is trying to go conservative, and maybe we’ll have a boring race. I don’t know. It’s a cool track, it’s fun to drive, and lots of good opportunity to overtake and race people, so yeah. A good place to go racing.
Q: We’re going to get all of your thoughts on this place. Lance, you’ve obviously had a podium here in the past -- is it a place that holds fond memories for you? Lance STROLL: Absolutely. A very memorable day -- being on the podium was extremely special. Kevin said it -- every year here there’s opportunity, the races are pretty chaotic, especially the last four or five laps. Last year, with the safety car restarts, there’s always positions up for grabs, so we’ll see what this year has to offer.
Q: Nico, you obviously haven’t had the results at this venue, but do you enjoy the challenge of racing here? Nico HÜLKENBERG: I do. It’s a spectacular track, it’s super fast, it’s massively challenging, a little bit crazy as well, in a positive sense. Racing’s good with all the towing that’s going on, obviously into Turn One that’s your best shot, but the scenery, the setting, just makes for good racing. It’s pretty entertaining from inside the car as well here.
Q: Antonio, moving on to you. This will be your first time racing in Formula One here, but you had a double win in what was GP2 in 2016. How excited are you to get out there in an F1 car? Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Yeah, it will be my first time in F1 but like you say I have good memories here. Back in 2016 I took my first in GP2 and then double win for the races. So I’m looking forward to it; I know it’s a difficult race, like Kevin said a lot of safety cars and a lot of things during the races, so yeah, looking forward to race here in F1.
Q: We’ll stay with you, Antonio. Frédéric Vasseur, your team principal, said he felt the team let you down in China. You’ve had three difficult races to start the season -- do you feel that so far you haven’t been able to show your true potential this year? AG: I think we are only in the beginning of the race, we are a team, and like the team is believing in me, I believe in the team. We need to just keep working and I’m sure the results will come.
Q: Nico, if we look at things from a Renault perspective, you’ve had a couple of DNFs, which you say are frustrating, but is it more a feeling of frustration at those results or encouragement at the pace the car has shown? NH: A bit of both, to be honest. Obviously you have to have the hiccups and the DNFs, it’s not great. Especially in the early part of the season -- it’s good to get points under your belt, just get them on your account. But on the good side, the pace has been there. At every track that we’ve been to either both or one car has been in good positions and managed to score decent points, so we feel we have a strong baseline. Obviously the midfield is still very very tight, and the top three still seem well ahead. It’s about maintaining that, keeping momentum, and making sure we make the car faster week by week.
Q: Lance, moving on to you. Racing Point, or Force India as it was, has traditionally developed its car very well and come on strong during the season. What’s the atmosphere like in the team at the moment as you look to chase the pace of Renault and Haas? LS: Yeah, that’s the goal. It’s a development race all the way to the end of the season. The midfield’s very tight; it’s not a secret. Every tenth counts at the moment, so that will be the focus for the rest of the season -- to develop the car, try and pick up as many points as we can over the course of the year.
Q: Kevin, returning to you. Haas has shown some great pace in qualifying but struggled in races. Guenther Steiner seems a bit pessimistic about chances this weekend. Are you a bit more optimistic that you can be fighting for points here? KM: I would say you always go into the weekend hopeful and positive, looking forward to it. Theoretically, it’s not a track that will in theory help our issues, or at least the issues that we think we have. But, again, we’ve scored points here with a slow car, and I don’t think we have a slow car this weekend. We have a fast car, it’s just that… You know, we’ve had both cars in Q3 at all three races this year and then we’ve been kind of like the second-slowest team in the race almost in all three races also, so there’s clearly an issue there that we need to fix. I hope and think that it will just be a matter of time until we find that problem.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Christian Nimmervoll – motorsport-total.com) Antonio, you mentioned during winter testing that you’re going to drive as much as possible like Kimi’s driving style in order to help the engineers with setup and development direction. Do you think that did any damage to your performance in terms of you not being able to follow your natural instincts? AG: I don’t think so. I think in Melbourne we were fast and I just had an issue in the race with a crash on Turn One. Then in Bahrain I was just a half-tenth from Kimi and in China was just a difficult weekend – but so far I think it’s not to the main issue, I would say. Of course, Kimi has a different driving style from my one but, to be honest, we’re quite on the same way and so far we’ll keep working like that and I’m sure when the luck is also on our side, the result with come.
Q: (Valentin Khorounzhiy – motorsport.com) Question to Kevin. There seems to have been the suggestion that already there are some fixes in pace for your problem of tyre warm-up on the car in Baku. Can you elaborate what those fixes are – and do you expect a real, tangible impact from them here already? KM: Well, we can’t say there’s been a fix. We’ve changed stuff and tried to come up with some things that could be the fix but it’s not like… it’s one of those things where you try to figure out what is the problem, and why it’s happening, and then you find solutions. I think we’re still in the process of understanding what exactly is the problem, and then after that we need to find a fix. So yeah, we have come here with some things that we hope can help the situation – but we will see how it goes.
Q: (Hector Sagues – Diariomotor.com) How much of an advantage has it been having Daniel Ricciardo in the team, compared with other team-mates at Renault in the last two seasons? NH: Well, obviously he’s a very strong, good driver. Another thing in China, you saw he has arrived at Renault, feels more at home and can extract everything from the car. Obviously also very experienced and he has some real good feedback so far. Good thing is we feel the same way about the car and what we look for from the car and from the team, so I think it’s been fairly positive and very productive – so a good strong addition. Q: Just on the topic of team-mates, for two of you it’s a new team-mate this year. Lance, what’s it like working with Sergio and coming to a circuit that he’s been particularly strong at in the past? LS: So far, so good. He’s a very experienced driver, he’s been with the team a long time. We share a very similar opinion of where the car stands at the moment, and that’s always good to help the team develop for the future. So yeah, early days but we’ve been having a good working relationship up until now.
…And Antonio, you knew Kimi from your time working at Ferrari but any surprises racing alongside him in the same team? AG: No. I think the same. To have Kimi as a team-mate is just a help for my side. He’s a World Champion driver with a lot of experience so it’s just good for me, good for the team as well for the feedback and the development of the car. Really happy to have him as my team-mate. Q: (Jens Nagler – Bild) Question for Nico. We’ve seen you adopted a puppy. You posted it on your social media. Is that kind of a mascot because of all the bad luck you had in the last races? NH: I think you want me to say yes – but not really. It’s just one of those things. I’ve been a dog fan for a long, long time and now felt it was time to get one. Not adopted, just got it.
Monster Energy RX Cartel's Andreas Bakkerud hit the ground running in Abu Dhabi. The Norwegian claimed a fifth-place finish in Q1 and second in Q2. On the Saturday morning in Q3, Bakkerud got off to a strong start and began to challenge Timmy Hansen for the lead of the race. He took the joker lap on lap two, and Hansen covering him off took the joker lap on lap three... The two collided at the joker lap exit. Team Hansen MJP's Timmy Hansen was forced to withdraw from the weekend after the Q3 crash with chassis damage on the Peugeot 208 WRX Supercar. Following an investigation, the Stewards deemed that Bakkerud was at fault, and he was disqualified from Q3.
Seconds before the crash. IMAGE CREDIT: FIA World RX Live Coverage.
Andreas Bakkerud took to his youtube channel #BakkerudLife to explain the incident and talk about the overall race weekend. So, let's hear from the man:
"I am going to tell you guys, how Q3 was in Abu Dhabi. I guess that is the main question and the most craziest crash ever. I've had." "So, I had a pretty decent start. I was behind Timmy [Hansen] just following him for one and a half laps, it was pretty easy. He was sliding and drifting all over the place, and I was ready to attack when I got the opportunity. I went to the joker [lap] and unfortunately, I out-braked myself in the joker a little. Then he went to the joker after I was chasing him." "Then I was 110% sure it was the finish line. So, the thing was we a huge crash."
"This track a little bit longer, and if you take a normal rallycross track like Hell. Four laps there was the same time as we spent in Abu Dhabi on three laps. So, I think my inside stopwatch told me that "hey, now is the finish line".
The impact with Timmy Hansen IMAGE CREDIT: FIA World RX Live Coverage
"You see drivers when they cross the finish line, they went all the way to the right. All the way out to the fence. I saw him maybe a split of a second before the crash." "I was really sore in the neck and the back the day after, my tum and my knees. But, I'm overall happy that it wasn't any personal damages." "My limited budget is very limited. To get to the first event of the year, and crash the car and have the damage of €60,000 wasn't the way I would like the season to start." "At the end of the day, we got disqualified from Q3. So, from that moment on Liam [Doran] asked me, if I could be his spotter in the semi and the final. Even though it was a bad weekend for me. I needed him to have a good one. Liam got to the final. It was a big win, and we decided that "Hey, everything can happen now!" And, I think you just have to be smart about it in the final. Which he was..." WATCH the FULL EPISODE below.
#BakkerudLife - Andreas Bakkerud talks preparation for Abu
Niclas Grönholm powering around the circuit in his Hyundai i20 Supercar. PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media
GRX Taneco heads to round two of the 2019 FIA World Rallycross Championship with renewed energy having claimed a second place finish in Abu Dhabi, but the team remains cautiously optimistic about the challenges facing them in Barcelona. The Hyundai i20 Supercar proved to be one of the fastest cars around the Abu Dhabi circuit, but the Team Manager Jussi Pinomäki remains conscious of the challenges his team faces in Barcelona. “For me, Barcelona feels almost like the real beginning of the season, because for the first race everything is always prepared in a little rush and there is a lot of unknown about your own team and your competitors," says Jussi Pinomäki, GRX Taneco Team Manager.
"Now everyone had the first real test and had enough time to draw conclusions out of it and improve where needed. But still, even though we had a decent pace in Abu Dhabi, I am sure that Barcelona will provide us with new challenges." While Niclas Grönholm momentarily claimed the win in Abu Dhabi. The Finn was handed a three-second time penalty for a "pushing and passing" incident with Kevin Hansen. Grönholm secured a second place finish.
“I think we can expect to carry the momentum with us from the exciting first race of the season. As long as we don’t lose our focus, we can achieve great results, and this is a key for our future success,” says Niclas Grönholm. The 1,135 km rallycross circuit in Barcelona consists of 60,4% tarmac and 39,6% gravel surface. In 2018, Niclas claimed a fourth place for the GRX Taneco team in their debut race outlining the potential of their i20 Supercar.
“In dry conditions Barcelona track is very enjoyable, but can turn into a very tricky one with just a slight rain, so I hope for sunshine,”Grönholm adds.
The teams' second permanent driver Timur Timerzyanov did not have the cleanest of weekends in Abu Dhabi. The Russian suffered from punctures and also having to take avoiding action in the semi-finals. In a tussle with Liam Doran in the semi-final, he ran wide and lost third place.
“I was really happy with our pace in the first round of the season, and now we will be pushing even more to beat our opponents in the run to the finish line and to be on top," said Timerzyanov. "Barcelona is a nice track and I have great memories from it as I scored my last podium there in 2016." TEXT - Junaid Samodien
The Titans RX Pantera Supercar. PHOTO CREDIT - Titans Rallycross Europe
The FIA has approved the Global Rallycross Europe (GRC) series name change ahead of the seasons maiden race in France on June 29-30. Titans Rallycross Europe is the new name for European series sanctioned by the FIA. The name change has been made apparent on the series’ social media accounts in recent weeks. “The past few months have been both challenging and exciting,” said Max J. Pucher, CEO of MJP Promotions. “Now all pieces have fallen into place and we have received FIA International Series status for TitansRX.” The driver-focussed series will solely focus on the PanteraRX6 Supercars developed by MJP Racing for the series. “TitansRX Europe will be a single-make series using the specially-developed Pantera RX6 machine – a car that delivers rallycross supercar performance, but for a fraction of the cost,” said Pucher. “The series is set to host races on classic rallycross circuits in France, UK, Portugal, Austria, Hungary and Germany." “The performance of the PanteraRX6 Supercar has convinced drivers since the world premiere last October. It shows that controlling cost for exciting rallycross supercar racing works,” he adds. “TitansRX will excite the fans with 500bhp plus rallycross cars in dynamic sprint races in stadium settings providing the best in racing entertainment.”
The entry list for the Spa World RX of Benelux on May 11-12 has been released by the FIA. A strong 21 driver line-up will do battle around famous Eau Rouge section of the Formula 1 circuit at the Spa-Francorchamps. The 2016 World RX Champion Mattias Ekstrom will return with his 2016 championship winning Audi S1 supercar, now owned by JC Raceteknik. The Swede will be partnered by Belgium’s Enzo Ide, who will make his World RX debut. Finnish former GRC champion Joni Wiman will also return to the sport in the third Gronholm RX Hyundai i20 as a teammate to Niclas Gronholm and Timur Timerzyanov. Belgium’s Gregoire Demoustier is also making a return for the Belgian round of the championship with Sebastien Loeb Racing team. While Team STARD’s second Ford Fiesta will be raced by Pal Try. Team STARD could face a €10,000 fine in Belgium should they fail to enter to cars of the same make and model.
Janis Baumanis taking the jump at the 2019 World RX season opener in Abu Dhabi PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media
Team STARD is facing the prospect of a fine if they fail to present two cars of equal specification by the third race of the season in Belgium. The Austrian team expanded to a two-car team for the 2019 championship, with former FIA European Champion Janis Baumanis leading the way. STARD developed an all-new Ford Fiesta RXS Evo 5 Supercar with the support of Ford Performance, which could bring the team strong results after a promising campaign last year.
Team STARD's garage - Baumanis supercar (left) and Pal Try (right) PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Banks Photography.
Full-time STARD driver Baumanis will be partnered by multiple drivers in the 2019 season. Pal Try competed at the season opener in Abu Dhabi and will compete in two more rounds this season, while Jani Paasonen will compete in at least five rounds and Jere Kalliokoski in at least two. Following World RX scrutineering in Abu Dhabi, the Stewards noted that STARD failed to enter two cars of the same make and model, which is a contravention of the FIA World Rallycross Sporting Regulations (Article 8.3): "....a team entered in the said Championship must always present two cars of the same make and model in each event of the Championship." After consulting with the team. The Stewards took the decision that STARD"is not allowed to collect points in the Teams' classification and will be given a suspended penalty to pay a fine of 10,000 Euros, should they fail to present two cars of the same make and model at Race 3 (Belgium) of the FIA World RX Championship 2019." Despite Janis Baumanis scoring 20 championship points, his team score zero.
STARD was not available for comment and it remains unclear they will enter two cars of the same make or model by round 3 of the Championship. [Story will be updated should team issue a comment] Source: FIA World Rallycross Championship Stewards. TEXT: Junaid Samodien
Former World Rallycross Champion Mattias Ekström will return to World RX next month at Spa-Francorchamps. The Swede called time on his World RX career at the end of the 2018 season following Audi Sport's withdrawal from the sport. His career in the World RX championship has seen him claim 10 event wins, 22 podium finishes and the 2016 World RX championship. Ekström's EKS team are running three rented 2018 Audi S1 Quattro Supercars in World RX this year for Monster Energy’s RX Cartel and EKS Sport's Krisztian Szabo.
The Former World RX Champion will be reunited with his 2016 title-winning car in his World RX comeback with the JC Raceteknik team. He will be racing alongside Belgium's Enzo Ide in the team's two-car line-up.
“Being on the sofa at home watching Abu Dhabi I started to imagine racing again and going through Eau Rouge at 200km sideways," said Ekström."It started to become very tempting. I asked Joel [Christoffersson, JC Raceteknik owner] if he was interested that I could use my old championship-winning car."
Ekström competing in the 2016 World RX championship. PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media.
"If that wouldn’t have been the case I think I wouldn’t have done it. It will be nice to just to go to do a race for fun and enjoy it, because when you do a sport at factory level you have a responsibility and you’re obliged to a lot," he explained. "When you go there for the enjoyment, still for the fans and to put on a good show, for sure I will want to win the race no discussion, but it’s way different to do a wildcard entry versus a full championship."
The Swede is ready and willing to share his experience with the JC Raceteknik team in their first World RX event. “On the one side it’s a big pleasure to race, but also to share a bit of experience with someone who’s starting a new chapter," says Ekström."I would like to give my experience to Joel and his team that they can have a good start with the cars.” Ekström will return to the cockpit of his championship winning 2016 Audi S1 Quattro supercar on 11/12 May. “I really love that car and always did," he said. "I will enjoy driving it to the limit like I always did, if that’s fast enough then we will go and pick up the trophy, if not then we will just smile." He has revealed that his 2016 Championship winning Audi S1 Quattro Supercar will feature some updates. "Some updates firstly from our Japanese friends from KYB, we have new dampers. Also, the engine has got some updates so it will be more power, torque, and driveability. So, can't really what to go there and just have some fun." TEXT - Junaid Samodien
Drivers - 1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), 2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes), 3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari) TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Martin Brundle)
Q: Lewis, congratulations. You’ve won the 1000th championship event. You won the 900th as well, but you seemed to have this race under control from the moment you released the clutch. Lewis HAMILTON: It’s not been the most straightforward of weekends, but what a fantastic result for the team, everyone has worked so hard. We came here and we didn’t know whereabouts we would stand with the Ferraris; they’d been so quick in the last race. But we turned up, Valtteri had been quick all weekend, he did a great job today and to have a 1-2 together today I think is really special on the 1000th grand prix. But the start was really where I was able to make the difference and after that it was kind of history. Q: Your 75th victory and pretty impressive of the team to double stack you for that critical pit stop to cover off any safety car issues. LH: Yeah, the strategists have been really on point for these first three races and we’ve really got to keep that up. You can see still it’s really, really close between us all and I really have no idea how the next race is going to turn out, but I’m super excited. Team LH China have been incredible all weekend, so a big thank you to them. They’ve been welcoming from the moment I arrived at the airport, to the hotel, morning and night, every single day, and here at the race. A big, big thank you to everyone who supported me, and to the family – love you guys. I’m just so happy, man. Q: Well done again. Valtteri, second place in the grand prix, not quite enough pace today but satisfying nonetheless. Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, I think I lost it in the start, honestly. Otherwise, the car was feeling OK and the pace was similar, but in the first stint, in the dirty air I couldn’t follow. But shame about the start, I got some wheel spin when I went over the white line, the start-finish line, which is immediately after my box, so I lost it there
Q: That’s how tough Formula 1 is in 2019 isn’t it? One critical moment like that decides the race. VB: Yeah, it’s small details but it’s early days in the season and things are looking good. But I’m really proud for the team. We’ve done three perfect weekends so far, so that’s very good.
Q: It’s the first time this year you don’t lead the world championship. You coming back? VB: Yeah, it’s not a good feeling, so I’m coming back.
Q: OK, good stuff. Sebastian, tell us how that race was for you? Sebastian VETTEL: Well, happy to be on the podium, but tough, because we tried to stick with them, but we just couldn’t. They were too quick, right from the start. Obviously I had a bit of a race with Max, which was good fun, but the objective was to chase them down, but as I said, they were just too quick for us today. So well done to Lewis and Valtteri.
Q: A great moment with Max. You hung him outside to dry on the outside on the grass, but that was good racing. SV: Yeah, I saw him coming and the speed delta at the end of the straight is quite big now, so knowing Max as well, I knew that he will try. I was sort of predicting that he would try and go down the inside and try to cut back and it worked. I had a bit of a moment in which I had to open the car a bit, but it was good because I just kept nearly a car length ahead and then at the end going into the last corner for him I guess wasn’t sexy so that was good fun, but as I said, we would have loved to be a bit faster.
Q: The team eased you past your team-mate Charles Leclerc early on, did you feel that was right move? SV: Yeah, I felt I could go faster. Then it was a bit difficult for me to find the rhythm, so I had a couple of wobbles where I locked up and lost the advantage I gained. But I think it’s fair if you see the whole race that we were just not able to stick with Mercedes. It’s a bit of a shame he couldn’t get Max in the end. I was following the tower in the middle of the track and I was hoping for him to pip Max. I think it was very close. But as I said, plenty of homework for us. Nevertheless, it’s a good result but not a great result. PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis, it was a difficult start to the weekend, but it ended perfectly. LH: I was just thinking how delicious that was. It really has been an interesting first three races. We, as a team, definitely didn’t expect to have three one-twos, but now I’m proud to have been part of the work that everyone has done and to be a part of these results. Valtteri has really stepped up this year and done an exceptional job, so we’re both delivering on the weekends. A little bit of a struggle this weekend for me, but once I got into qualifying, a little bit of a shift in driving style enabled me to unlock a bit more potential with the car, which Valtteri was clearly able to do. And then the start was obviously great, which was really the decisive moment I’d say for the race. And then after that it was fairly straightforward. I managed to have quite good pace today compared to P2, practice two, long run pace, so I’m really, really happy with it. You can see it’s still quite close with us all and I think it’s just down to little small details of overall performance that’s enabling us to come out with the results we’re pulling.
Q: How much work have you done on the starts since the start of the season? LH: No more than I did in the previous year – but it clearly is an area that I’ve struggled with and it’s not like it’s only this year: it’s been something I’ve struggled with over the years – 2016, you could say, was one of the worst. Probably back in 2007, 2008 was also really poor period of time for starts, particularly against the Ferraris who were very, very strong with it. Last year was actually a really strong year for me. I think I just finished second overall of quickest starts throughout the year to, I think it was Carlos Sainz or something like that. Arguably it was first – but it’s dependent on the GPS! The first few races have been difficult for me off the line, so it’s nice to finally kind of redeem myself and rectify that. Naturally the next 18 races can still be up and down – just have to keep working at it.
Q: Valtteri, coming to you, we’ve just been talking about the start; it was the decisive moment of the grand prix. Do you feel your start was not quite as good as Melbourne, for example? VB: Well, you could for sure see it. Lewis had a better start and for me, the problem was already on the formation lap start. There was a thick white line just in front of my grid box, so, when you’re still accelerating, and when I went over the white line I got some wheelspin on the formation lap start. For the race start, I thought maybe it’s going to be better with warmer tyres but it wasn’t, so once I hit the white line, got the wheelspin, took too long to recover it, lost a few metres of distance, so Lewis got me. That’s how it goes sometimes.
Q: How was the pace of the car for the rest of the grand prix. VB: I think for the first stint Lewis had a pretty strong stint. I was initially close by but obviously when you are behind, you are sliding a bit more, overheating the tyres a bit more. I think after the first stint, the second and third stint were very similar. Just about how much you were managing or pushing. So, I think race start was the key – but Lewis did a good job on that. So, that’s how it goes.
Q: Sebastian, your first podium of 2019. Was the car where you wanted it this afternoon? SV: I think we have to answer with ‘no’. I have to answer with no. We have a very strong car, there’s nothing wrong with it but I think we’re not able to yet put it in the window. Especially for myself, here and there. I’m not entirely happy yet compared to where we started off. Obviously the three tracks we’ve been to now are quite different. The conditions we had are different – but I think we start to see a sort of pattern and understand what – especially throughout a grand prix distance – understand what we need, what I need, to really unlock this car. I think these couple of weeks and the next weeks will be very important for us to understand where we need to go in the next months. Clearly today we were not as fast as Mercedes. Bit of a shame we couldn’t get third and fourth but overall I think we optimised. There were stages in the race where we were strong, and stages of the race where we were weaker compared to where we wanted to be.
Q: You said that you didn’t have the pace of Mercedes. How intimidated are you by the pace of the cars of the guys on your right? SV: Nothing that shocks us. I think, at this point, it’s a question of putting it together. Obviously Mercedes had a good run with the first three races. I think in Australia we struggled with the conditions, and probably set-up. I think we learned our lessons for Bahrain, it was a lot better. Still, here and there, there are some parts of the race where we are too weak. And I think it showed again this weekend. So, I think we can be very happy with where we are on the engine side. It seems to be strong. I think overall our car is working and there’s nothing wrong with it – but I think it’s just about placing it in the right window and then being able to extract the performance that the car has, which I think Charles was able to show in Bahrain more than myself and yeah, it seems to be there somewhere but at the moment seems to be a bit more difficult to find where it is, to be able to be a fair match to Mercedes at this point. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Frederic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Sebastian. Have you asked the team to ask Charles to let you past? If not, do you think it was fair to do that? SV: Well, let’s put it this way, I knew the moment it was happening that I would have to face these questions. Not sure I want to answer because I’m a little bit against the way you – all of you – work, because you take bits out of answers here and there and put it into the wrong light. So, if you ask me again in half an hour down in the paddock, maybe I give you a straightforward answer and you don’t write it down or record. Seems the way that, not maybe all of you but some of you are working. Yeah, I felt I was faster in the car, I was asked if I can go faster. I answered that I felt I can. I was a bit surprised when I was in free air – not surprised but I was struggling a bit to put the laps together. Once I found a rhythm, I was able to chip away – but yeah, obviously the objective was to try and catch Mercedes. At the point obviously the gap was already quite big.
Q: (David Scheider - Autobild Motorsport) Sebastian, there was an incident yesterday with Max Verstappen in qualifying. How did it feel to fight him today on the track? SV: Well, yesterday was outside; today was inside! I think it’s very clear. Obviously I went to see the Red Bull team after qualifying and they admitted a mistake by not telling Max, so I think he tried to put himself in a good place and he wasn’t aware of the clocking ticking down. Today had nothing to do with it. I saw him coming down the inside and I knew that he would try something so I was already trying to prepare the exit which worked well for me and into sixteen, the last corner, I wasn’t quite sure whether he would come back or not but it probably didn’t make sense for him so happy to stay ahead and from that point onwards I was able to pull away. The first lap, I think we got a bit unlucky after the stop with the McLaren. I wasn’t quite sure what the McLaren was doing and whether and where he would let me past so it allowed Max to be closer than the following laps.
Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Lewis, given where you and the team thought you were in Barcelona in testing, in relation to Ferrari, now you’ve had three consecutive one-twos, do you think they’ve really been scored against the odds at this opening stage of the season? LH: Yeah, I think the last race probably wouldn’t have been a one-two if… obviously if they hadn’t have had the reliability issue we would have been second and third or second and fourth, whatever it was. And obviously with the results, Sebastian was also quite quick in the last race so it’s difficult to say but we definitely got through testing, we knew that it was very close, we got the car into a window but we knew that it was within a couple of tenths but we did think that they had the upper hand. I’m just not sure they’ve really hooked up a proper solid weekend just yet but it was looking like it was going to be a solid weekend for them in Bahrain and then it started to tail off. This weekend, they were a bit up and down throughout the weekend. I’m not really sure where they are losing out but they’re gaining something like 0.4s on the straights but losing out on corners so it will be interesting to see how long they adopt that strategy in the coming races but there are still so many races where their car will perhaps outshine ours. They’ve still got the shorter car than ours so it might work better in some other places that we’re going to but it’s a little bit early to say but definitely three one-twos, I think it’s a little bit above what… I think we’re over-delivering a little bit at the moment to our true true potential but there’s still more to come.
Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Lewis, this is the first time since 1992 that one team has scored three one-two finishes in the first races of the season. How impressive is that given the opposition you face compared with then? You know, in 1992 Nigel Mansell and Williams were the only show in town. Obviously Sebastian is aping Nigel’s facial fuzz but therein the similarity ends. LH: Well, I was just saying to him I can’t grow that to save my life. I know I just inherited it from my Dad; he doesn’t grow much hair on his face so this is the kind of the maximum I can go so I can’t even do a Movember. I had to stick one on. But no, I think, I actually didn’t realise that it had not been that. But I think what’s showing is just how it has been easy to get these three one-twos. The first race was perhaps a little bit more straightforward for us but getting the car to where we needed it to then delivery through the weekends and I think we definitely were lucky in the last race to position a one-two again. It doesn’t really mean a huge amount but it’s a real positive for us as a team and I hope that we can keep up this performance. We know that we’ve got Ferrari knocking at our heels and we know that the Red Bulls are there or thereabouts somewhere but again, they’re not delivering as a whole, as we are as a team and that’s what it takes today, just overall maximum attack. It will be interesting to see how the next races go. Q: (Panagiotis Seitanidis – Car magazine, Greece) Lewis, you’ve showed again that you have huge team support, you have your mini-me with you. For a little boy starting racing and dreaming about racing to where you are now, having such an impact all around the world, how does it make you feel? LH: Well actually this weekend I met a young boy who is karting and has won a championship, a minority, and he was 11 years old and he really reminded me or me in 1996 when I went to my first Grand Prix in Spa and it was really cool to see myself within him and see the smile upon his face. He was in the garage during the race today. It is a real privileged position to be in and it is quite surreal to have youngsters and even adults come up to you, shaking or nervous when they are around you but there’s such great energy and ultimately there’s a real strong platform to deliver key messages to a position to inspire. I feel very, very privileged. I try to do it in the best way I can at the same time as living my life and making the mistakes that you do in life. Yeah, you feel like you’re on cloud nine this weekend, from the moment I landed, got off the plane and the fans just fill me up with joy, you know, and they have done all weekend. When I wake up in the morning I’m groggy and I get down to the lobby and they’re outside all smiling. They’ve been there for at least an hour and they’re buzzing and when I get home tonight or back to the hotel in the evening they’re there again and they travel so far around the world, people save up and spend their money to go to all these different locations to support. It’s incredible, it’s absolutely incredible and it’s very very hard to put it into words just how awesome an experience it is but also how grateful I am.
Q: (David Coath – Motorlat) Lewis, you told us you were struggling with the car yesterday. How soon could you realise today that you had the car underneath you? LH: Well, it wasn’t like I had a choice. Once I got the start done, I was like it has to be good enough. Valtteri was really quick, the changes that I made in qualifying, driving style-wise enabled me to be able to deliver fairly decent performance to at least match Valtteri but once you’re in the lead, you gauge it a little bit more, you can utilise your pace, you can see where your weaknesses are and you can build and work on them lap after lap. But after I got probably the first couple of laps, then all of a sudden I started to get in the groove and I was like OK, I’ve got the pace today, let’s see how I can keep these tyres alive and deliver to the strategy that we were supposed to… it was supposed to be a one-stop but then the Ferraris converted which meant we then converted and it was an interesting play… but really on point and their decision to do a double stacking pit stop for us today… I didn’t actually know he was behind me in the pit stop. Fantastic job by the team.
Drivers 1– Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes) 2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes) 3 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari) TRACK INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Martin Brundle)
Q: Congratulations Valtteri, the 1000th championship event, the world championship leader, and you’re on pole position; you worked for that one? Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, it’s been a good weekend so far, I mean, starting from the pole. I felt already really comfortable this morning in the practice. In the qualifying, honestly, I struggled a bit in Q3 to get the perfect lap in, but it was good enough.
Q: It looked like you had it covered, though. You just had an ounce of extra speed. And the lap unfolded nicely? VB: Yeah, the lap was OK. Like I said, not completely how I wanted, but luckily it was good enough for pole and the car has been really good this weekend. And Lewis also managed to improve a lot during the qualifying; it was super close.
Q: Well, your fans seem very happy up there. Lewis: 59th front-row lockout for the team and second place for you today, though. Valtteri certainly showed some speed, but you didn’t give up on it. Lewis HAMILTON: No, I didn’t give up. I kept pushing right to the end. Big congratulations to Valtteri, he’s been stellar all weekend. I’ve been struggling and fighting the car all weekend. We’ve been chipping away at it and I’m much, much happier. You know, it was eight tenths at once stage, the gap between us, so to be as close as we are at the end is fantastic. This is an incredible result for the team. There was a little bit more time left on the table there, but that’s cool, I’ll try and get it tomorrow. Q: So, race pace – you’ve got the Ferraris in your mirrors, are you comfortable for the race? LH: Well, they’re particularly quick in the straights but it’s evident this weekend that we’ve been able to pull some performance from the corners so just great work from the guys at the factory analyzing the test and the last two races, so this is really, really positive for us, really happy. Q: Well done. Sebastian, take us through the lap. Mercedes just had a little bit too much for the Ferrari team today? Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, unfortunately it seems to be like that. I think right from Q1 they just seemed to start off from a better place. I think we had a good session. Maybe there was a tiny bit more but I actually was quite happy that I managed the final attempt, because I was quite marginal with time, the team told me that we only had 10 seconds margin. So I then hurried up and made sure I crossed the line in time. I think there was maybe a little bit more, but overall not enough to beat these guys today. Q: So, satisfied with third, but you’ve got a very fast car in a straight line and you’re sitting pretty for the race? SV: Yeah, but they are bloody quick in the corners! So you choose! For us, obviously when we get close I think we have an advantage in a straight line so maybe we can do something there. But the race is long and we’ll take it from there, but it should be a good day tomorrow.
PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Valtteri, congratulations, you’ve been quick all weekend. How were those laps in Q3, both of them good enough for pole position? VB: Yeah, the weekend so far has been very good. Obviously tomorrow is the big day but at least on single lap it’s been competitive and as a team we’ve been super strong. I think in the Q3, honestly, during those two runs I never got the perfect lap, there was always something, but that’s how it goes. The pace was good, so yeah, it was enough for pole.
Q: The one-lap pace is clearly very good, but what’s the long-run pace like? VB: That’s something we will honestly find out tomorrow but looking from Friday it’s been pretty close among the top three teams, so there are many question marks but today is encouraging and we’ll go for it.
Q: Well done Valtteri, good luck tomorrow. Lewis, you said a moment ago that you’ve been fighting the car this weekend but you seemed to make good gains with it during that qualifying session. Where have you improved it? LH: The car hasn’t improved from… you can’t change it in qualifying so it was just really… As I said I was struggling with the car throughout the weekend, all day yesterday and even today, even into Q2. But I made a couple of changes to the settings on the wheel and some changes to the line and I managed to bridge the gap. Honestly, I’m quite proud of the job we’ve done considering how far away I was earlier on in the sessions and Valtteri has been quick all weekend, so he deserved the pole.
Q: And what are your thoughts on the gap to Ferrari this weekend? LH: I don’t even know what it is, so… Q: Well, given that you were behind them in Bahrain two weeks ago, the pendulum has swung the other way here. LH: Yeah, I think that’s how it’s going to be from race to race. Some cars suit some tracks better than others.
Q: Sebastian, first of all your thoughts on the gap to Mercedes. SV: Too big. We’d like it to be the other way around, obviously. I think we had a decent session. Obviously important if we can’t beat them to be right behind them, buying us some options tomorrow, hopefully.
Q: Talk to us a little bit more about that session. How was it for you? How did the track conditions improve? SV: The track, I think, ramped up. I think you can see the lap times, from where we started in Q1 to Q3. Obviously there’s a bit in yourself, a bit in the engine modes and stuff what people are doing but I think that’s fairly normal. On our side we were able to improve the car from where it was yesterday, so I’m reasonably happy with that, but not entirely happy. I think there was a little bit more. It was a bit tricky today to put the laps together.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Christian Menath – motorsport-magazin.com) Queston for you Seb. There was quite a busy out-lap in Q3, the last one, think you overtook several cars; Max wasn’t happy because he didn’t make his lap. Think the other Red Bull didn’t, both Haas. Can you talk us through that – and is it a general problem in F1 now? SV: No, I don’t think… I guess everyone timed it around the same, so we all left for the same spot. And if you’re at the end of the train, which I was, then it was quite difficult. And when the team told me we only have ten seconds margin to cross the line in time to make another attempt. I had to think of something. I do not know if others were not told. If everyone would have sped up the way I did, then yeah, we would have all made it. But I obviously prioritised to make the lap. It felt like others were not aware.
Q: (David Coath – Motorlat.com) A question for each of you. It is the 1000th grand prix and we know it’s another race for you. Can you enjoy the moment or is it something you’ll have to look back on more further years down the line? Lewis? LH: For me it’s not really much of a moment. It’s just another race. We’re here to win. It’s great for the sport.
Valtteri, your thoughts? VB: Yeah, here to focus on myself, our team’s job and try to do the best job we can. In the end it’s only numbers but obviously it’s a big one, so congrats to F1.
Sebastian? SV: Well, it’s not up to us, obviously. It’s a bit more colourful than other races but I think inside the car and for the result itself, it makes no difference.
Q: (Lawrence Edmondson – ESPN) Question for Seb. You said you weren’t very confident with the car in Australia, it seemed to be the same again in Bahrain. Has that changed coming here? Have you started to get what you want? And, if you’re not, how much more is there to get out of this car? SV: I think we have a strong platform to work from. Obviously we started very well in Barcelona and the feeling was really good, and really strong. Since then, I think we’ve struggled a little bit to repeat that, so yeah, the past two races, we’ve had little issues here and there. Bahrain didn’t go my way. Saturday was not bad, we had a small problem, otherwise I could have been better, Sunday yeah, struggling in the first stint as much as in Australia the second stint. Here and there not happy. Obviously you try to drive around the problems and try to set up the car differently. I think we are getting more and more there, understanding maybe some things related to different tracks, which Barcelona doesn’t show because it’s different but, as I said, the car is strong, so it’s up to us to extract the performance. Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Seb, Bernie Ecclestone was speaking earlier this week suggesting that it could take into consideration that you might want to retire. Do you envisage being in the sport beyond your next contract? LH: It’s the moustache!
SV: He’s got one too now, I don’t know what you call it when it’s all around. Goatee. Well, certainly I’m not going to drive… I’m not going to be in Formula One as long as he was, that’s for sure. Yeah, but I hope I’m going to be as fit and as sharp as he is today when I’m hopefully that old. Yeah, I don’t know, to be honest. At the moment I feel on top of my game, I feel that I know what I’m doing and yeah, I’m very very self-critical, very ambitious and I put a lot of expectation on to myself. I love driving, I love the sensation of the speed, I love fighting with these guys so there’s a lot of things that at the moment I really like and I’ll miss so that’s why it’s not an option to quit tomorrow, I’m quite happy to race. And then, yeah, I’ve got the contract but that’s a piece of paper and then we see what happens.
Q: (Car Magazine, Greece) Valtteri, you were under a lot of pressure last year and you had an outburst at the beginning of this season with your win. You’re now leading the championship, you have pole position, where are you confidence-wise? VB: Confidence-wise I’m good, thanks for asking. It’s been a good start of the year, first of all for me personally and for us as a team. It’s been optimal but it’s all at the beginning of the year I feel confident. Today was a good day and hopefully tomorrow will be again, but it’s a long season ahead.
Q: (Stuart Codling – Autosport) Lewis, you said in response to Tom’s question you tried different lines and settings to cure the problems you’ve been having. Was that purely a function of trying to get the tyre temperatures balanced across both axles? It kind of looked – certainly in FP3 around turn three – as if you were having particular difficulty getting the car to bite in at the exit of turn three compared with other people. LH:I don’t know. Valtteri was particularly quick in the first sector so I was experimenting throughout the session, finally got the quickest sector in the end but a little bit too late but still, it’s all about making improvements. It wasn’t to do with tyre temperature, it was just really to do a balance and getting the flow, utilising the grip in the right areas. But as I said, I’ve been struggling with the car so I was just battling the thing. It’s obviously a great car but this year I think the first few races are always quite tricky with a new car. You see it shifts a little bit later on in the season when you get a better understanding.
Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-magazin.com) It looked a bit strange with the soft tyre and the medium tyre; I think Lewis, you went in Q2 on another set of mediums and you were the fastest. Do you think it’s a bit strange here, the behaviour between soft and medium? Do you expect that this could swing around something for tomorrow, because you’re probably not going to drive on the soft as you did today? SV: I’m not sure I understood the question. Yeah, Valtteri understood. Go ahead. No, I didn’t really…
VB: Yeah, I can explain to you and then you answer Well, the thing is here the soft tyre… it’s a very high energy track. There’s long corners which put a lot of load on the tyres and actually the soft degrades more during the lap, even one lap, than the medium so soft might be a lot quicker at the beginning of the lap but by the end of the lap it is slower than the medium tyre, so that’s why there’s no massive time difference. I think tomorrow, as normal, medium’s going to the better tyre after a few laps as usual, but that’s something we will find out tomorrow. SV: Thank you, Valtteri, for the explanation. It makes complete sense what he was saying so… Yeah, I should listen more in these meetings about tyres. Not much to add. I think it’s always a bit of a surprise to us when we are much closer with the harder compound compared to the softest compound. But Valtteri explained why very well.
