2018 Azerbaijan GP: FIA Thursday Drivers Press Conference

DRIVERS – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull), Nico HÜLKENBERG (Renault), Kevin MAGNUSSEN (Haas)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Daniel, if we could start with you, last time you were in the press conference room you were very emotional after winning in China. Having had two weeks to reflect on it, why did that win mean so much to you?

Daniel RICCIARDO: I haven’t had many, I guess, so they still feel very special. The wins. I guess ithad been a fairly long time since Baku. A pretty long time between drinks, the last win and the whole race, I guess the weekend in Bahrain, the kind of… I just feel that the biggest disappointment in racing is being out of the race at the beginning, y’know, before it’s really started. You’re out of the race on the first lap or something, it’s tough – because you’ve worked all weekend to get to the Sunday and then it’s over like that. After Bahrain, I was obviously relieved to have a race the weekend after and have a chance to back it up. Well, to try again. And then yeah, the whole weekend, Saturday, FP3, another kinda head-down moment, but then to get out for qualifying and how the race turned out. It was cool. I guess jsut a lot emotion, happy emotions for sure. Yeah. The highs and lows of the sport can do that to you.

Q: Have you seen enough from Red Bull Racing to think about the Championship this year?

DR: Probably haven’t seen enough from everyone yet! So, I’m not thinking about the
Championship in that sense. Obviously, I want to think about being there. But yeah, naturally because we won everyone’s asking can we fight for the championship now? It’s still early – but I think we’ve proved, if we’re there, we can do a lot with it. That’s the plan: to continue to be there for the next few races.

Q: Nico, coming on to you, you’ve qualifying seventh at every race since Mexico last year. You’ve only been out-qualified by a team-mate once in the last 27 races. It’s an impressive stat, so let’s start by talking about qualifying. Have you made a step in this area?

Nico HÜLKENBERG: I think I’ve just managed to… yeah… to hit it on the head each time. I quite enjoy qualifying, I like getting out there where it counts and putting a lap together. I feel also the last 20 or so races I also had a car that allows me to do that and gives me the support that a driver needs also. Since last year, with this generation of cars, when you have the downforce, you’ve got more grip to work with. It’s just been a bit more fun and probably helps the way I drive also, a little bit.

Q: Let’s talk about where Renault are battling in the Championship. It looks, at the minute, a tight fight between yourselves, Haas and McLaren for fourth. Is this where you see yourself destined this year – or do you think you can start to challenge the guy on your left?

NH: No, I think for now it’s more, like you say, about Haas and McLaren, these kind of teams, to try to keep them at bay but it’s very tight. Each weekend will be a bit different depending on the tyre compounds, different tracks and layouts. What favours one car more than another one. But for sure it’s a big development race in the midfield also. But yeah, we’re trying to get ahead but still got a lot of areas to work on to catch all the three guys ahead.

Q: Kevin, coming on to you. While we’re talking about this battle for fourth place, perhaps we could ask you about Haas. Do you think they can maintain their current level of competitiveness, going forwards?

Kevin MAGNUSSEN: It’s not going to be easy for sure. We’ve started with a good car and done a good job over the winter. I think we’re in this situation and we haven’t had a perfect start to the year so I think there’s more in it if we can get through the races and clear out any mistakes. Then I think we’re in good shape. Whether it will stay like that for the whole year, I think it depends a lot on how the other teams do: obviously, Renault and McLaren. Last year, consistency wasn’t our biggest strength, so I think that’s an area we have improved, it seems. Our car this year is a little easier to work with and seems like it has a broader window for its performance. I’m hoping that we can at least be much more competitive thought the whole season than last year – but whether we can keep up to those big guys, it’s not going to be easy but we’ll do our best.

Q: You mentioned consistency, and one area where you have been very consistent is
qualifying. You appear to have made a big step since last year. Can you explain how that’s come about?'

KM: It’s only been three races but I think the car is obviously better than last year. It’s performing, as I said, it has a broader window for its performance and it’s easier. You can set it up for what you prefer as a driver, in your driving style and it will still work. It’s just a little easier to drive. A little more forgiving, more predictable and it obviously has more grip. In terms of aero it’s more consistent. I prefer a consistent car, especially on the rear, a rear that I can trust and depend on and predict. This car has a good consistency in that regard. I think that helps – but generally just being more competitive makes things easier.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Arjan Schouten – AD) Question for Daniel. You won in China from sixth place. Only one of the previous 72 races, there has been a driver starting outside the top five who also won. That was you, here in Baku. What is your secret? Is it patience? Can you tell me something about it?

DR: I’d like to qualify on the front row. It’s not always the case. I don’t know. Obviously the race is the race and qualifying is super-important in the sport but you can also have a different car on Sunday. You can take more opportunities and more opportunities can present themselves in the race – and that’s ultimately what we get to the weekend for, is the Sunday. The race obviously had the mid-race safety car in China and bunched everyone up and gave me a second chance to attack. I sensed an opportunity and made sure I capitalised on that. I think that’s something I really demand from myself and, I guess, expect from myself. A bit like Baku last year. Mid-race we were at the back but it was kinda just… you see a car in front and you try to pass them, you see the next car, you try to pass them, you see the next car and try to pass them. Obviously, I knew Seb was going to have the penalty, Lewis had the headrest thing. It was crazy – but again I sensed an opportunity and knew the restart was super-important to try to pass the Williams in front and in the end, for me that was the race-winning move, so I think yeah, just being aware of what’s available.
Because we’re not winning every weekend, when you have a sniff of a victory, that’s all the
motivation and the hunger I need. It’s enjoyable when you can see it in front of you. 

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for you Daniel, you have a big decision to make at some point over what you do for next season, which team you’ll be driving for. Red Bull is an environment you know extremely well, it will be a big change of scenery if you did go to another team. Lewis was in a similar situation a few years ago, left McLaren for Mercedes. How curious are you to find out if the grass is greener somewhere else?

DR: It’s a good way of putting it. I don’t know. The curiosity will not overcome the facts, I guess, in terms of what options I will have, I guess and then which car is ultimately the fastest I can be with. Obviously that’s really top of my list. So yeah, I wouldn’t just… to answer that differently, I wouldn’t just go somewhere else just for a change. If I did move on obviously I’d want to make sure it was something I feel would potentially be better. That’s all really.

Q: As a follow-up to that, do you feel a loyalty to Red Bull?
DR: There will always be a bit of that, for sure. It’s kind of like, the start of it, 2008, it’s ten years since I was in the Red Bull Junior Team. So it’s a long time and they really set it up for me, to make all this happen. There will always be that. At some point you’ve got to weigh-up what does what but regardless, there will always be something and I’d always show love, I think, nonetheless.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) Daniel, you said you can go to one place potentially better. After watching the last race, we saw Kimi competing for Sebastian, not for himself, and he was faster than Sebastian all the weekend, except in qualifying. Aren’t you worried that eventually, if you consider the possibility of Ferrari, that people you ask the same function as Kimi, to work just for another driver and not for himself, being a world champion like him?

DR: These are certainly things that I would… wherever I may be, or go, I would always make sure that there was some clarity. I wouldn’t want to go somewhere where I didn’t feel I had a chance. At the moment that’s what I’m chasing is to try and be world champion. That’s my goal, my dream, something I really believe I’m capable of, so yeah, if someone said ‘we’ll let here but you can’t do this’, that’s not an attraction option to me. Is that the case somewhere? I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what’s going on with other teams. At Red Bull there’s always been really good clarity and I would say fairness, since 2014, since I’ve been there. That’s been certainly a nice  environment and I would expect that environment everywhere.

Q: (Louis Dekker - NOS) A question for Nico, Kevin and Daniel. How surprised are you that Mercedes didn’t win yet and do you think it might change this weekend? Is it good for the sport?

NH: I think there have always been some circumstances that stopped them from winning. In
Melbourne it was a safety car, in Shanghai as well, in Bahrain I don’t remember. I tend not to look at their race so much. I think they will get a shot at it pretty soon. Again, I think they have one of the best packages, so it’s just a matter of time.

Kevin?
KM: Nothing to add to that.

Are you surprised?
KM: Oh yeah, very surprised.

Daniel?
DR: They’re still very competitive and probably for circumstances and maybe not executing the perfect race yet are perhaps why. I think it is a matter of time. It is good for the sport, I think, to have that little bit of a change for now, but I don’t think it’s going to be necessarily a trend. As Nico said, I think it is a matter of time. They do have a fast car. They do have certainly a good package. We’ll try to keep holding them out as long as we can. But for sure, I expect them to be strong every weekend. 

Q: (John McEvoy – Daily Mail) Daniel, to what extent have you had any talks with Ferrari or Mercedes or Red Bull about next year, and how would you feel going side by side with Lewis?

DR: So, I’ve only had talks with Red Bull. Even already last year, we’ve been pretty open with each other, and through the media as well, I think everyone is aware they’re interested in keeping me. We’ve had some talks regarding that obviously. I’m aware of other reports, but there hasn’t been anything else. They’re not true, at least up until now certainly not. Lewis: I would love to be challenged against the best and Lewis is arguably up there, so for sure that would be a good challenge. I’ve got a good challenge now obviously with Max and I had Seb, so I don’t want to say it’s just Lewis I’m looking for, but that would be a good challenge.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Daniel, to date Red Bull have managed your career, so you’ve driven for them and they’ve also been your managers. Now at the end of this year you’re on your own. What sort of infrastructure do you have? Do you honestly believe you could negotiate a crucial contract for your future and concentrate on delivering your best on track this year? Do you have a manager? Do you have some advisers? What do you have?

DR: Yeah, I’ve got a small little group, a network, around me and as far as the real negotiations go. I’ve got a guy doing that for me. Look, I’m obviously super aware and invested in what I want and where I see myself I guess, but as far as the real in-depth talks and all that, I think it’s best for me not to really focus on that too much. I’ve been getting asked the same questions since Austin, since Max re-signed. I think it was in Austin. So, it’s been probably been more than six months now, and it hasn’t got me. I don’t over complicate it. I guess with the people around me I keep it pretty small and I’m happy with that.

Q: (Alan Baldwin – Reuters) Daniel, as a follow-up to the earlier question. Could you
specifically rule out that you have any kind of pre-arrangement with Ferrari, because that’s what the reports have been in Italy?

DR: No, that’s not true. Yeah, I can say that.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) The question goes to Daniel…

DR: I’m going to buy these guys a drink… Jeez!

Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) You’re brave driver, I expect now a brave answer. Do you think you would have won the race in Bahrain with the Mercedes in this situation?

DR: Oh, I answered this question in Shanghai. I know you weren’t in Shanghai. All I said is that I would have tried. I don’t want to say tried like… I would have had a look in Turn 1. If it worked, I don’t know, I don’t want to say it, because I wasn’t in the race and it’s probably not fair, and it’s probably a bit disrespectful when I wasn’t in Seb or Valtteri’s shoes. But I would see myself having a lunge for sure, so that’s the way I would answer it.

Q: (Maksudov Teymur – 1news.az) Daniel, Baku was the only race you won last year, and how do you feel now when you are again here and does it give you more confidence before the current race?
DR: Well done, Baku. I’ve been waiting to say that. Felt good! Obviously some good memories. I think when you come back to a track that you’ve had success on, I don’t think it necessarily changes your confidence. I think every race you go to you come prepared and that gives you confidence. So I’m not coming here thinking I’m going to be better than I was last week or anything like that, but there is a good feeling. There’s a nice feeling coming back, some good memories, so there are happy thoughts, I guess, and that’s nice. But the approach to the on-track stuff and the way I’ll approach the weekend, that doesn’t change. 

Daniel, you’ve had fastest lap in two of the opening three races. Are you favourite this
weekend?

DR: I wouldn’t go that far! Maybe a fan favourite, is that what you're saying? I hope we’re
close, but I think it’s too early to say we’re favourites. I think we have a good race car for sure. I think one-lap pace we’ve still got to show a bit more. At least for Saturday I think we’ll
probably not be there but Sunday, who knows, that can turn around.

Q: (Louis Dekker – NOS) I was going to ask you Daniel, but the question fits all three drivers: the three of you have had a better start to the season than last year and I know the season is still long but does this give an amount of confidence, a boost?

KM: Yeah, definitely, it’s a much better season, getting off better at the start of the season so yeah, I would say the answer is yes, it’s a nice feeling and it’s more and enjoyable and easier to look forward to the races when you know you’ve got a good car and can fight for points.'

NH: Yeah, for sure. It’s definitely fun if you have a good couple of races and straightaway you get a couple of points and good results on the board. For sure that helps yourself, you know, but also the whole team, all the people are working hard; back in the factory, it puts a spring in their step and helps to create a good atmosphere and motivation inside the team.

Q: And Nico, how are you enjoying the intra-team battle with Carlos Sainz this year?

NH: I enjoy it, it’s good so far.

DR: Yeah, I think the team one’s a big one. For sure it’s getting a good start like that it’s… there’s a lot of people back at the factory and for them to have that kind of motivation and that drive, it’s a long season and to get that kick-started early with some results is really important. I definitely feel that and believe that so that’s cool and I think from a personal point of view I think it’s just nice to get the season started well, because there’s a long break, obviously, between the… the off-season, then you do your training and you obviously prepare as well as you can so when that then corelates to good results on track that’s also a little bit rewarding.

Q: Bahrain was only two races ago for you guys, are you worried about reliability?

DR: I don’t want to use the word worried because, at least from my point of view, I’ve just got to drive the car. In a way it’s out of my control so I’m not going to drive around worried. You’re going too fast and too focused to be worried, but yeah, right now I’m not really in the short term. Maybe once we get later in the season it’s likely we’ll come across some penalties or whatever but right now… baseline chill.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) We know now that next season Formula One is going to raise the fuel limit slightly. From your perspective, do you feel a bit too forced to manage your races at the moment and do you think this is going to make a significant difference in terms of flat-out racing next year?

NH: Yeah, it will definitely help the fuel saving situation and not really having to worry about that too much, on that front, definitely allows you to push to the limit. Obviously it’s not always just about fuel sometimes, it’s linked in with what the tyres are doing, how they behave. Weekend for weekend that’s quite different. There might be some of that left still but for sure it’s a positive thing I think and in the right direction.

DR: Yup, I don’t see any real loss for the… Like races like Melbourne, that’s quite a high fuel
demand circuit – there’s probably a better word but you know what I mean. So there’s a lot of lifting during the race, a lot of fuel management I guess. We all do it, part of us, like now, we’re all used to doing it but for sure it’s going to be better if we can race with real intentions for every lap.

KM: Yeah, I think it’s good that it’s been raised. There are some races during the year that can be really really tricky like Russia for example, it can be almost ridiculous there. So it’s nice to see that going up so you can push a bit more. I don’t mind a little bit of fuel saving… sometimes even before you had these limitations, like five years ago they were doing some management because they would start the race with an anticipation of safety cars or whatever. A little bit is fine but sometimes it’s too much. I think it’s a good change. 

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) Daniel, what exactly are you looking for in your next contract? You’ve been reported as saying you don’t want anything longer than two years because Formula One’s going to be changing post-2020. The other top teams have all got somebody established in there already. What are you actually looking for? You’ve said you’ve got key requirements that you want, what are they, please?

DR: Did I say key requirements, Dieter Rencken? I don’t really know how to answer any more contract questions. I don’t know if I’m getting bored of it but no, look, the real requirement obviously is to try and put myself in a position to win a World title. As I said, it doesn’t mean where I am currently is not that place but I think that’s why I’m trying to take my time with it because it’s still too early. Obviously we won the last race, that was great but realistically we need to win more than just once in the season to fight for a title so that’s why I’m going to take my time, but that’s the priority for sure and I guess the financials and all that are definitely behind that.

Q: Daniel, how concerned are you about the regulations post-2020?
DR: I guess I haven’t thought about it too much. We’re aware of it but I don’t know if I’m concerned about it. I don’t know. I feel like every year something changes, as in like life changes, things change, so looking beyond, like two years after this, seems like a long way away so that’s more for that but for the sport itself, I think all us drivers will do what we can to make it – any change – to make it for the better, we will, for the racing, for the atmosphere, for all of that. We are, let’s say, investing some time in those discussions, amongst us drivers, but I’m not necessarily concerned about the sport or where it’s going. But yeah, for me personally, I think just thinking about 2021 now seems like a long time away.

Q: (Ralf Bach – Autobild Motorsport) Daniel, my last question about your future, for the moment: you said you didn’t speak with Ferrari or Mercedes at the moment, only with Red Bull. But are you patient enough to wait, that people come to you or do you have a deadline maybe in summertime and nobody, apart from Red Bull, was talking to you? Would you then go to the people from Mercedes or Ferrari, to ask what’s going on? Or would you just wait until they come to you?

DR: I guess it’s not a bad question. For sure, like the summer seems fine. I guess I don’t really fear not having a seat next year so I don’t feel that I need to sign something tomorrow or I will have nothing, so I guess for that reason I feel like I can see until the summer what’s happening. If nothing has happened since then, then yeah, I guess I think of Plan B or whatever that is and if it’s only then Red Bull, then that’s where I am at so yeah, but I don’t really feel that I need to push anything until then.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globoesporte.com) All of you drive cars with power units that have won races this year: Ferrari and Renault. Mercedes out of first place until now. Can you comment what improvements your partner took for Renault to win the races and also Ferrari?
Q: Your thoughts on the Ferrari power unit this year, Kevin, compared to last year?
KM: Yeah, it’s a step forward, not only in power – a little step in power but in reliability. We need to see a little further to be sure that the reliability is there completely but it seems like it is. No complaints about the power unit. It’s not the power unit’s fault that we’re not winning, for sure.

NH: Yeah, I think for us at Renault it’s the step in reliability that we’ve managed to fix. Obviously the second half of last year we had a lot of problems, lost a lot of points and results and I think they’ve managed to cure and fix a lot of the issues there. On top of that, also worked on a lot of the installation things. Powerwise, I think we’ve made a step too so they’ve done a very good job on the Renault power unit over the winter. Doesn’t mean that there’s not more work to do but I think we’ve done some good improvements.

DR: I think, in race trim, I think on Sundays… I guess it’s no secret we don’t have as much power available on a Saturday as Ferrari and Merc power units but I think on Sunday, when everything kind of settles down and you run a race mode-type of engine, I think we’ve closed the gap on Sundays so yeah, following the quicker cars in China, for example, even Kimi in Melbourne, from what I remember last year, it felt like we were certainly losing out a lot less in those conditions so that was nice, that was positive, for sure. 

Source: FIA.com

World RX Championship leader Kristoffersson is keen to maintain winning ways in Portugal

PHOTO CREDIT - FIA World Rallycross Media

The 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship resumes this weekend with the Bompiso World RX of Portugal, located in Montalegre for round two of the season (April 28-29).

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden's Johan Kristoffersson arrives in Portugal with an early advantage in the overall standings after winning an action-packed and dramatic season opener at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Returning to the scene of his maiden World RX win in 2015, the defending champion is keen to maintain a winning run that has seen him triumph in eight of the last ten events.

“I am really happy to open my 2018 campaign with a victory but I am now fully focused on round two in Portugal,” the Swede commented. “The competition is stronger than ever so I am sure my rivals are coming to Montalegre even more determined to get on top of the podium. Nevertheless, both myself and PSRX Volkswagen Sweden will be ready for the challenge and you can be sure I’ll continue squeezing as much performance from my VW Polo R as possible this weekend.”

Situated in northern Portugal close to the border with Spain, the iconic Montalegre rallycross venue is a popular stop for the series with its regular sell-out crowds and demanding layout against the backdrop of the hilly Vila Real region.

Furthermore, the venue’s location 1,030m above sea level makes it the highest event on the World RX calendar and presents its own unique challenges for the cars, which must be more finely tuned to cope with the greater altitude.

Last year's event saw Mattias Ekstrom claim victory ahead of Sebastien Loeb (Team Peugeot Total) and Kristoffersson. It is a result EKS Audi Sport driver Ekstrom will be keen to emulate this weekend after being disqualified from the final last time out in Catalunya-Barcelona.

The 18-strong Supercar entry list includes two-time World RX of Portugal winner Petter Solberg, who sits three points behind team-mate Kristoffersson in the title table after being classified TQ (Top Qualifier) in Catalunya-Barcelona, Andreas Bakkerud (EKS Audi Sport), who will look to build on his podium result in the season opener and Timmy Hansen. The Team Peugeot Total driver scored a top four result in Montalegre last season and will be keen to bounce back after his Spanish challenge was undone by techncial issues while leading the first semi-final.

Elsewhere, GRX Taneco head to Portugal with renewed optimism after Niclas Gronholm took its new Hyundai i20 to fourth place in round one, while GC Kompetition will seek another step forward with its Prodrive-developed Renault Megane RS following an impressive points-scoring debut.

Similarly, Olsbergs MSE is targeting strong results with Kevin Eriksson and Robin Larsson, the latter a podium-finisher in Montalagre in 2016.

In addition to 15 permanent World RX drivers, three round-by-round entries will compete in Portugal, including Oliver Bennett in the Team XITE MINI Cooper S plus local racers Joaquim Santos in the Bompiso Racing Team Ford Focus and Mario Barbosa in a Citroen DS3.

The FIA European Rallycross Championship for Super1600 continues in Portugal with round two of its six-event season. Artis Baumanis leads the standings after taking maximum points in Catalunya-Barcelona, the Latvian heading up a capacity entry of 25 in Montalegre that also includes Portugal's own Helder Ribeiro and Mario Teixeira.

World RX Managing Director for IMG, Paul Bellamy commented: “It is always a pleasure to return to Montalegre for the World RX of Portugal. The venue is a mainstay of the international rallycross calendar and continues to attract sell-out crowds, who return year-after-year to enjoy the fantastic racing this challenging, high-altitude layout regularly produces. Better still, we come to Portugal on the back of a thrilling season opener in Catalunya-Barcelona, which proved to be as close and exciting across the board as we expected. It is a trend that we have no doubt will continue this weekend and well into the season.”

ARTICLE BY - FIA World Rallycross
IMAGE CREDIT - FIA World Rallycross Media

GRX Taneco look to build on Round 1 momentum in Portugal

Image Copyright: GRX Taneco Team

GRX Taneco Team just missed out on a podium place at the opening round in Barcelona and are now raring to go for round 2 of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in Montalegre, Portugal. With the Hyundai i20 Supercar still at a development stage, the team aimed to launch its 2018 World Rallycross Championship campaign by qualifying for the semi-finals and building some experience at the opening round in Spain. 

Niclas Grönholm made it into the final (4th), while Timur Timerzyanov steered the second Hyundai i20 Supercar into the semi-final (9th). “My goal was to reach the semi-finals in the season-opener. The final was a real bonus and we can be proud of what we’ve achieved so far," says Grönholm. The Montalegre circuit lap record for the 1010-metre long 60% tarmac, 40% gravel track stands at 37.802s.

"There’s still a lot to do but it’s an excellent start that has motivated us all. I really like the Montalegre circuit," said Grönholm. "It’s quite fast-paced and it suits my driving style. I’ve had some decent results there in the past so I’m looking forward to lining up for the qualifiers.”

With the Hyundai i20 Supercar still in development, the team are aiming to build-up more experience with its new car in the opening rounds of the season. “I was able to get to grips with the Hyundai i20 Supercar at the first round of the season. The car is very powerful with a lot of potential and I’m convinced it’ll take us to the podium," says Timerzyanov. "I’ve been driving on the Montalegre circuit for a few years now. It calls for an aggressive driving style because it’s quite tight. Everyone loves the gravel section, where you just have to slide the car. I really like the track and I know that I can put in a good performance in Portugal.”

Timur Timerzyanov qualified for the semi-final last year and Niclas Grönholm finished the weekend in 13th position. 

Image Copyright: GRX Taneco Team

EKS Audi Sport set their goals for Portugal

Photo Credit: Audi Sport

EKS Audi Sport heads to Round 2 of the 2018 FIA World Rallycross Championship in Portugal (Montalegre) this weekend (28 and 29 April). The season opening round saw the disqualification of Mattias Ekström after he made contact with Petter Solberg in the first corner of the final. Andreas Bakkerud's podium finish for the team was a definite positive for the team. “I’m slowly getting accustomed to the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro. Hopefully I’ll be even faster in Montalegre,” said Bakkerud. 

The Montalegre circuit is one of the toughest race tracks in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. The circuit, located 1,000 meters above sea level and close to the Spanish border, has a unique character – with fast corners on tarmac, a long straight and a tight and twisty gravel section featuring high curbs. 

“Last year, we were not the fastest in Montalegre but as team still took the win in the end. I love this track and the Portuguese spectators, who are mega enthusiastic about motorsport and rallycross," says Ekström. 

After the first round in Barcelona, Andreas Bakkerud and Mattias Ekström lie in third and fourth in the Drivers’ World Championship behind the two Volkswagen drivers Johan Kristoffersson and Petter Solberg. The EKS Audi Sport team holds second place in the Teams' Classification. 

EKS Audi Sport are prepared for round 2 in the championship and Mattias Ekström aims to maximise his opportunities this weekend. “To find the best set-up compromise for this (circuit) is a real challenge every time,” says  Ekström.

“It is one of my absolute favorite tracks. I’ve always felt completely at home on it,” says Bakkerud. “The track has a fantastic layout. When you really get going there’s nothing better.”

Mattias Ekström only has one goal for the EKS Audi Sport team: “We want to fight for victory again.”

Image Source and Copyright: Audi Sport 

Team Peugeot targets consistency and performance in Portugal

Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport

The debut FIA World Rallycross race weekend for Team Peugeot Total was not without incident. Sébastien Loeb finished 2nd in the final, and Timmy Hansen proving to be very quick in his Peugeot 208 RX Supercar lead the semi-final convincingly but stopped as a result of an electrical problem. Kevin Hansen also showed plenty of promise in his independent Peugeot 208 RX Supercar. He qualified for the final but handed the place to Loeb who later finished in second place at the World RX of Barcelona-Catalunya as a result of Mattias Ekstrom's disqualification. 

Team Peugeot head off to Montalegre circuit in Portugal, with aim of matching the car’s obvious speed with even better consistency. The Montalegre circuit is 945 metres long and begins with a long straight down to the first corner hairpin, where the joker lap continues straight on. The rest of the track consists of a sequence of left and right turns, firstly on asphalt before changing to gravel.

Let's hear from the Team Peugeot Total drivers:

Sébastien Loeb
“On the one hand we got a good result in Barcelona, on the other hand it didn’t mean too much because you get the points in the qualifying heats and those weren’t very good. So hopefully we can go better in Portugal. There’s more gravel, it’s more slippery, and there’s also a risk of rain – which we experienced already in Barcelona, so we’re well-prepared for that possibility! It’s going to be interesting to see how competitive the car is in these different conditions. Last year we generally saw that our car was quite competitive when there was a lot of grip, but less so when it was looser. Driving on loose gravel is nothing new for me, but you can’t really compare rallying with rallycross: it’s a whole different experience. You have to make the best of what you have, right in the moment.”

Timmy Hansen
“I really love Montalegre now, but it was actually one of the circuits that I struggled with when I first started driving. It’s what we call a real gravel circuit and it was built specifically for rallycross without compromise. The good thing is that the gravel in Portugal is very consistent, so even after many cars have driven through it, it still feels the same. You have to really drive and slide the car there and it’s a lot of fun. I remember that Seb had a very strong performance last year in Portugal and came close to winning. So, I think we can do the same as we did in Barcelona, which was a perfect weekend: at least when it came to the factors that we could control! I know now that I’ve got the tools to fight this year, so I have a very big motivation.”

Kevin Hansen [Independent entry]
“I’m really looking forward to Portugal as it’s the track where I first drove the PEUGEOT 208 WRX last year, so I have some very happy memories and I know the track well. The joker lap is at the end of a long straight so sometimes you have to make a late call on your tactics if you see the person ahead of you not braking at the end of the straight – are they going for the joker lap, or just leaving their braking to the last minute? I think we have a very good car this year; we just need to put everything together. We are working hard on it.”

Currently, Sébastien Loeb and Timmy Hansen are 6th and 7th respectively in the FIA World Rallycross drivers’ championship, while Team Peugeot Total are 3rd in the team standings.

Source: Peugeot Sport
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport
Written By: Junaid Samodien

Team Peugeot Total aim to be more consistent

Photo Copyright: Peugeot Sport

The 2018 FIA World Rallycross season opening round at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona was not the easiest for Team Peugeot Total despite claiming second place at the event after Mattias Ekstrom's disqualification. The team suffered with a number of issues including when Timmy Hansen retired from the lead of his qualifying round with an electrical fault, but the team have been working hard to solve these issues and its now focused on Round 2 in Portugal. 

“We’ve had a positive start to the year but I’m not sure if Portugal will be as suited to our car as Spain was, especially if it rains. In this case, conditions can quickly get very slippery and difficult,'' said Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport Director 

Peugeot's Sport Director confirms that the Peugeot 208 RX Supercar will remain in the same specification, as run at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona and will not feature any new updates. 

"In the meantime, we’ve concentrated on analysing the issues that affected us on the first round to find some solutions. For example, we’ve reinforced the rear end as a result of Seb Loeb’s misfortunes and also worked at getting to the bottom of the electrical problem on Timmy’s car," commented Famin. "So, now we go into Portugal with exactly the same philosophy as we started the year: we want to stay humble and fully concentrated, with the aim of being more consistent than we were in Spain and scoring more points for the drivers and for the team.”

The 2018 FIA World Rallycross championship heads to Montalegre, Portugal for the World RX of Portugal on April 28-29.

Source: Peugeot Sport
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport
Written By: Junaid Samodien

PSRX Volkswagen takes the lead.

Petter Solberg flies over the jump in Qualifying on Sunday.
Image Copyright: FIA World Rallycross

The 2017 FIA World Rallycross champions PSRX Volkswagen Sweden and drivers' champion Johan Kristoffersson began the new 2018 World Rallycross season in the same way it ended last year…at the top of the table.

On Saturday, the World RX drivers struggled in torrential down powers. But Petter aimed to survive throughout each qualifying session, but ended the day in the lead (and fastest of all). The sun arrived for Sunday and the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden drivers made the most of it, locking out the front row of the first semi-final. From pole, Petter drove the perfect race, twice posting a new fastest lap. Johan lost out at the first corner, but recovered to power past Andreas Bakkerud with a stunning joker lap.

Petter Solberg – made his 50th World RX start in Barcelona and was the fastest man throughout the weekend, but a collision at the first corner of the final left Solberg in the tyres and at the back of the pack once he had made it back on track.

The race director initiated an investigation into the incident and Mattias Ekström was subsequently disqualified.

With Johan taking maximum points from the final and Petter bringing his car home fifth, the pair gave the team plenty to excited about as they topped by the drivers’ and teams’ standings after the first of the season’s 12 rounds. 

"It was a hard fight and a tough weekend, one with lots of hits. Starting out with the new car in those conditions [on Saturday] was quite tricky, the grip was so low across the whole lap. Like Petter said, it was a day to survive and having both the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polos in the top three was a good sign of the work the team has done through the winter", Kristoffersson said. "The semi-final went well and gave us a great result and a good position for the final. I’m sorry for what happened to Petter in that first corner. It’s been a tough weekend, but we come away with the points and that’s what counts at the end of the season."

Petter Solberg starting in pole position for the FINALS in his PSRX Volkswagen Sweden #11 was the quickest driver over the two days of racing. "What can I say? I am very sad for what happened in the final. Until that last race, everything was perfect for me. I’d had the perfect weekend", said Solberg. "What I am happy with is the way the team worked this weekend and the way the mechanics and all of the guys have come together to make this car so good. Johan gave us a great result, so I’m happy for him. Hey, we are one-two in the championship and leading the teams’ as well. We take our speed and we move on from here."

Source: PSRX Volkswagen Sweden
Image Copyright: FIA World Rallycross

A satisfying start to the World RX championship for GRX TANECO.

Niclas Gröholm driving his Hyundai i20 Supercar in tricky conditions on Saturday
Copyright: GRX TANECO Team

GRX TANECO aimed to qualify both Hyundai i20 Supercars in the semi-final for its first participation in the World Rallycross championship. But Niclas Grönholm’s strong performance throughout the weekend saw the team qualify for the final. 

After a shaky start and a spin in Q1, Grönholm took P6 in the second qualifying session.
“Q1 didn’t work out as planned. The windscreen was steamed up and I couldn’t see much. Q2 was better. Despite a few minor errors, I got a good result”, Grönholm said.

Timur Timerzyanov banked tenth and then twelfth place in his Hyundai Supercar. Far from satisfied with his first day, he was back at the front of the field on Sunday, winning his race and claiming the seventh best time of Q3. His Q4 performance having clinched a place in the semi-finals, he was classed fourth, just missing out on the final. “I’m satisfied with my first race with GRX TANECO", said Timerzyanov. "We had a difficult first day on Saturday but I made up for the lost time and gradually felt more at ease in the car. The team had the podium in its sights right from the first race and that’s an excellent sign for the rest of the season.” 

Niclas put in a consistent performance and was strong on Sunday, finishing the two qualifying rounds in the top five and clinching a place in the final. “I knew we had the potential to qualify for the semi-finals, though it was more difficult than I expected", Grönholm said. "The final was a real bonus for me. We didn’t perform as well as I’d have hoped, finishing fourth, but I think we can be satisfied with our first race with the team and the car.”

GRX TANECO head to round two of the World Rallycross championship in Portugal, in 4th place in a Teams' Championship standings, with both drivers Niclas Grönholm and Timur Timerzyanov, in 5th and 9th place in the Drivers' championship.

Source: GRX TANECO
Image Copyright: GRX TANECO

Team Peugeot Total claim a podium finish on debut

Team Peugeot Total's Timmy Hansen catches some air at the World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport

Team Peugeot Total certainly didn’t have it easy during the season opener in Catalunya-Barcelona, after incidents involving Timmy Hansen hitting the wall on Saturday, electrical issues while leading the qualifying heat (on Sunday) and Sébastien Loeb spinning on a completely swamped Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in tricky conditions on Saturday but conditions improved on Sunday, when Sébastien Loeb made it through to the final and claimed second place.

Sébastien Loeb finished second overall (after the disqualification of Mattias Ekström following a first-lap incident in the final). Loeb achieved the podium finish due to some solid team work, with Kevin Hansen (not eligible to score team points) giving up a grid slot in the semi-final to the Loeb. Sébastien Loeb finished second in the semi-finals, booking him a place in the final, where the Frenchman showed his characteristic flair to seal a podium.

“We’ve seen this weekend all the different emotions you can go through in rallycross in one weekend!," said Loeb. "I was a bit low at the beginning, and I didn’t expect to go through to the semi-final as we were off with broken rear suspension twice in the heats. Then the decision came that I was going to go through to the semi-final anyway and from that point everything actually went well. I had a bit of luck with me, but this sort of emotional rollercoaster isn’t an easy one to live through! The pace of the car with Timmy is very encouraging as we can see that the car is competitive and that we’ve made a step forward over the winter. We’re in the fight and I hope we can continue in this way.”

Timmy Hansen showed amazing speed all weekend but didn’t get the chance to convert that into a result as his car stopped in the semi-final, while he was leading and pulling out a gap. “The only negative to this weekend is that there were so many positives we weren’t able to capitalise on!," he commented. "I felt very comfortable in the car all weekend: I was pulling out a gap in the semi-final and yet it was feeling so easy, almost with no real effort. Then the car stopped and that was it, which is obviously hard to take. But in the end, our car was really fast, really good, and we put together a fantastic weekend from the very start. It’s a car that I’m able to fight with. I’m eager to get some revenge now on the next round in Portugal. I just want to get back into the car and try again.”

Kevin Hansen was not eligible to score points for the team was 12th after the heats but withdrew in order to hand his place in the semi-finals to Loeb. "I think it was a good first race. I know this squad very well, for me everything feels very normal. I have my same crew as last year, so I felt very comfortable, and I had a very good first day as well," said Kevin Hansen. "We dropped a lot in the overall standings and went back to 12th. As Seb was 13th, we decided to swap for the team. I already knew it could be like this last year, so I’m aware of the thought, it’s not like it’s something new. And the next round is only in two weeks."

Team Peugeot Total head to Portugal for the World RX of Portugal in third place in the Team Championship standings, while its drivers: Timmy Hansen, Sébastien Loeb and Kevin Hansen are 6th, 7th and 12th in the Drivers' Championship Standings.

Source: Peugeot Sport
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport
Written By: Junaid Samodien

The World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona win is decided after Turn 1 drama

Turn 1 drama during the final race of the World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona
Image Credit: FIA World Rallycross

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden and World RX defending champion, Johan Kristoffersson has been declared the winner of the 2018 World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona, after Mattias Ekstrom was disqualified from the final following an incident with Petter Solberg while Sebastien Loeb secured second place finish after an eventful weekend for Team Peugeot Total. EKS Audi Sport's Andreas Bakkerud ensured three manufacturers are represented in the top three.

Starting in pole position with Mattias Ekstrom second on the grid, the LIGHTS went GREEN and away they went. Ekstrom had a lightning start [winning the Monster Energy Super Charge award] seeing him slightly ahead before Turn 1. Ekstrom and Solberg then made contact on the run to turn one, resulting in the latter hitting the track markers (stack of tyres) on the inside of the corner. While Mattias Ekstrom continued in the lead, Solberg rejoined the race in sixth place.

With Ekstrom going on to withstand race-long pressure from Kristoffersson to take the chequered flag first, the Stewards concluded the EKS Audi Sport driver had “Made contact with car #11 [Solberg] on his left… Further, the Stewards considered this to be a dangerous manoeuvre and liable to hinder car #11” and disqualified him from the final.

The decision gifted Johan Kristoffersson his tenth World RX victory. 

"This is definitely the best way to start my title defence," he commented. "I squeezed everything I could out of my VW Polo R. I knew it was going to be tight at the exit of the joker but it was an enjoyable fight; Mattias is a very switched-on guy, and he knows exactly how to position his car to make it difficult to overtake. I was happy with second place but while winning like this clearly isn’t the nicest way, I will grab it with both hands."

Loeb's second place came following a remarkable turnaround on a day that initially saw him miss the cut to progress to the semi-finals. A troubled set of qualifying races left Loeb 13th at the intermediate classification, and first reserve for the semi-finals. He was thrown a lifeline when Peugeot stablemate Kevin Hansen, who’d qualified 12th, withdrew from the semi-finals. 

An early Joker Lap gave Loeb the edge over Bakkerud and an unexpected second place ahead of the Norwegian, who later gave Audi something to cheer by inheriting third place overall on his debut with the team.

"It’s amazing how many different emotions you can experience over the course of a rallycross weekend," said Loeb. "I went out of both Q2 and Q3 with broken rear suspension, which left me a long way down the classification and I didn’t expect to make it into the semi-finals, let alone the final. I had a bit of luck on my side at last. It’s good to see that the car is competitive. I think we have taken a little step forward from last year, and we are here in the fight, so hopefully we can continue in this way."

"It was a very tricky weekend with challenging and changing conditions," added Bakkerud. "I am pleased to be in the final already in the first race with my new team and new car. I see a huge potential, not just for me but for the whole of EKS Audi Sport. I need to push even harder, because I want to go all the way to the top at round two in Portugal."

GRX Taneco enjoyed a strong start to the 2018 season with its new Hyundai i20 as Niclas Gronholm claimed a career-best World RX result in fourth position. The young Finn finished ahead of Solberg who ran sixth on the road before being elevated to fifth at the expense of rival Ekstrom.

GC Kompetition enjoyed a positive World RX debut with its Prodrive-developed Renault Megane R.S RX after Guerlain Chicherit and Jerome Grosset-Janin both reached the semi-final stage and demonstrated competitive pace. However, there were mixed fortunes for returning former Teams' champions Olsbergs MSE with Robin Larsson reaching the semi-finals but Kevin Eriksson failing to progress beyond the qualifying races after an uncharacteristic crash in Q2 dented his chances. 

The FIA World Rallycross Championship heads to Portugal for the World RX of Portugal at Montalegre in two weeks’ time (28-29 April).

Source: FIA World Rallycross
Image: FIA World Rallycross Media 

2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Post-Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Daniel – what an absolute star. What a race! Your sixth victory, but is that the sweetest one?

Daniel RICCIARDO: I don’t know what it is, I don’t seem to win boring races, they’re all pretty fun. That was unexpected. Put ourselves 24 hours ago and I thought we’d maybe be starting at the back of the grid. Firstly, thanks to the boys yesterday. I thanked them after qualifying but today is the real reward for that work. So thank you to everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the mechanics worked their butts off, so…

And the team had their brain in gear didn’t they, under the safety car, getting you in the pit lane. Double stacked the car twice, so the pit crew were on it as well?

DR: It was hectic. I heard ‘safety car’ in Turn 14, and they said ‘we’re going to double stop, come, come, in the box’. It happened very quickly but very decisive moves, winning moves also from the team, so thanks a lot. Yeah, fat lip and all I got the win.

Just take us through one of the great overtakes – maybe on Lewis? That came out of nowhere down to the Turn 14 hairpin.

DR: Yeah, sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it. So, there we go. I enjoyed it very much.

You still made the apex somehow, extraordinary?

DR: Yeah, obviously we had the soft tyre so I knew I could get a little bit more out of the braking than them. A lot of the time you get one chance to try so I made the most of every opportunity.

You were a little closer to Valtteri when you passed him than you are now, but Valtteri, kind of bittersweet. Your 100th start but the safety car didn’t play into your hands and left you on some slightly older tyres and struggling a little bit.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, you know, the race was going pretty well for us and we were looking strong all the way, until the guys, during the safety car, stopped and we were in trouble then with Daniel and nearly with Kimi in the end. It is disappointing. We were giving everything we had and it kind of felt like we deserved victory… but not today.

Without the safety car, do you think you had enough grip and pace to keep Sebastian behind you and take victory?

VB: It felt like everything was under control so far. I had no major drop-off in the end, so I think we could have done it, but this is racing, these things happen.

Kimi, wow, it looked like you were a bit out of position. It looked like you were struggling a bit. They kept you out a long time before the pit stop. Then the safety car played into your hands and you had great speed and you got yourself back onto the podium.

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think we made a good start and then got, unfortunately, blocked a bit and passed in the first corners. I struggled a little bit following people in the beginning. On my own I wasn’t too bad, but far from ideal at the start of the race and then obviously we stayed very long out. A little bit of luck with the safety car. I had good speed on the mediums but in the end we would have needed the soft tyres to really go for it. But I think I was kind of OK in the end, but once I got close I had much more speed than Valtteri but once you get close it’s so difficult to follow people, to get a good run you need much better tyres to get that proper run and you can kind of offset yourself. But I’ll take what I got, because at one point it didn’t look good at all.

Daniel, I just want to go through the other overtake, when you passed Valtteri into Turn 6, because that looked a little bit touch and go.

DR: It was close. I think it was hard but fair. I saw him defend, so I wanted to go shallower, but then he came a bit more… I thought about pulling out. No, I’m just kidding! I knew there would always be enough room and the tyres had pretty good grip, so worst case I went wide and I’d have another crack somewhere else.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Daniel, many congratulations. In winter testing, if someone had said to you “Red Bull will win a race this year before Mercedes,” what would have been your reaction?

DR: Good job. Yeah, pretty cool. Holy Testicle Tuesday! I don’t know. I’m sitting here, reciting everything in my head what just happened. Yeah, awesome. Even after yesterday. I’ve only got six, it’s not a whole lot but the wins seem to come under always some circumstances. Baku, and this one now where we really thought we were going to start the race at the back. We didn’t think we were going to get out in qualifying and, just over 24 hours later, now to be here, it’s… this sport’s crazy. A week ago I was with my head down after two laps on Sunday. Yeah, frustrated at the sport, frustrated at all the variables that are involved in the sport. Sometimes I question why I chose this sport because there’s so many other things out of your control and it does get you down a lot – but then when you have a day like this it’s worth fifty of those bad ones.

Q: Valtteri, coming on to you. A lot was made yesterday after qualifying about the team having set the cars up for the warmer temperatures that we had today in the grand prix. How was the balance of the car?

VB: I think the balance was OK. Like actually it felt OK yesterday, we were just not quite quick enough with the ultrasoft, so yeah, today we only used soft and medium and I think on the soft it was next to nothing, the difference to Ferrari. We were as competitive as them. I think with the medium it was pretty much the same case. So, for sure, starting the race from the second row makes it more difficult. It’s a shame what happened in the end because we really took the opportunities in the beginning of the race start, during the pitstop. After the pitstop everything was going fine. And then with the Safety Car we just got a little bit unlucky – but that happens sometimes. It’s difficult to accept that quickly, after the race – but that’s F1.

Q: Talk us through the undercut. Were you surprised to come out ahead of Vettel?

VB: No. We knew that it is possible with this kind of gap, if you get everything perfect, coming in, in the box, into the pitlane and all that. If you can switch on the tyres quickly, it’s possible. That’s why we stopped at this point. It was perfect timing from the team. I think it felt it was my quickest stop I’ve had with the team. So, everything just went really well. Good out-lap. So, we knew it was possible.

Q: Kimi, can we get your thoughts on the pecking order now. Because Ferrari were so quick in qualifying yesterday, yet here you are in third place.

KR: It’s very hard to say. I think if you ask anybody, it’s a bit tricky to give you an answer. I think today a lot of the end results depended on whether you had better tyres than others, when you could offset yourself to the others. Obviously, it’s part of the game. A big part of the game. And here it made a big difference. And the safety car playing in there. So, like pure speed, with everybody on the same tyres… it’s difficult, very difficult to say in a race. I think it’s nice like that, for everybody to watch, because nobody really knows, everybody would love to know, nobody really has because it changes from race to race. And such a small difference makes a big difference in the end results. I think you just have to wait and see. I think it might change from race to race and who runs what tyres.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Daniel, you’ve pulled off a lot of spectacular overtakes already in your Formula One career, not just to win races. Where does the overtake on Valtteri today rank and can you just talk us through what was going on in the car and going on in your head at the beginning of that process, through the overtake and afterwards?

DR: Yeah. Opportunity be knocking! That’s what I would say. I could tell that obviously we had the advantage coming in at the safety car and having those softs. Yeah, I sensed the opportunity. Initially it was ‘OK, maybe now we can fight for the podium’ and at the rate that we were going through the field, and I could feel the tyres were holding on well, then it was obviously fully set on the win. Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously I had pace over all the guys that I got ahead of but you still don’t want to sit behind for too long. I saw Valtteri defend but I was kind of committed already from turn three that I was going to try. It was cool, it was close but I would say close but fair and it’s cool when you go wheel-to-wheel and I think it’s fun for drivers and it’s good TV so I enjoyed it. It makes it a bit sweeter than just maybe cruising past on the straight so that was a lot of fun.

Q: And Valtteri can we just have your take on that overtaking manoeuvre?

VB: Well, yeah. I was defending, obviously I saw him very close in turns one, two, three. He got a decent exit as well. He was closing lap after lap with pretty big gains. Yeah, from my side there was not much to do. I tried to defend but ultimately, with the better tyres, he could really brake quite a lot later and got inside. Like he said, it was all fair and like this. I think it was just a matter of time, with the pace he was going.

Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Daniel, why didn’t you share your shoey with Valtteri and Kimi?

DR: To be honest, actually I don’t know if I’ve ever offered it to Kimi but to be honest I sprayed most of the champagne so I didn’t have that much more and obviously I saw my number one mechanic Genty (Chris Gent) and he was the priority at the time. There wasn’t enough to go round today unfortunately. Hopefully there’s plenty more opportunities.

Q: Kimi, would you accept a shoey?

KR: Lucky for us…

DR: Maybe next time. It’s a privilege.

Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Daniel, you kept your cool throughout the race. What was in your mind when you saw that Max had made a mistake and you overtook him?

DR: I could see it coming a few corners before. Obviously I saw he was close to Lewis out of ‘three’. I wasn’t close enough to be involved at that moment so yeah, I was just watching, I guess and obviously if there is some contact, I’ve got to then position myself and try and be prepared. Yeah, then I saw he was trying on the outside of ‘seven’ and I could see them both drift wide and I could see that one car was probably not going to make it, so the difficult thing was then when Max went off track I wasn’t sure if he was going to slide back across, hold the line, so that was quite tricky initially, but then I could see he was coming on with quite a bit of speed so then it was quite easy in my mind to cut across the inside to let him go. But yeah, even those things, they happen so fast and you’re still in the heat of the battle so it’s quite hard to always pick the right move. Fortunately I didn’t really lose any time with that and yeah, it was pretty close, so I don’t know what the viewers thought but it seemed like it was a pretty close battle.

Source: FIA.com
Image: Sutton Images 

2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Post-Qualifying Press Conference

Kimi Raikkonen (P2), Sebastian Vettel (P1) Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas (P3)
Image: FIA.com

DRIVERS

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(conducted by Davide Valsecchi)

Q: Sebastian, what a lap, it was just amazing. And then the last sector, how good it was, it was something unbelievable.

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I was happy with the whole lap, not just the last sector. The car was really amazing. It just kept getting better, so really happy. I knew that on the first lap I had some mistakes. I lost the rear at Turn 3 at the exit of the low-speed, and then 6 again, so I was a bit beaten up, but then I knew that if I got a tidy lap and I have a little bit of margin then I could push.

Q: Do you ever check the reaction of the fans? They love it!

SV: Yeah, really good. Also in the hairpin, in Turn 14, just under braking, outside, I see the people going crazy. It’s really nice.

Q: Kimi, you were on pole just until the last sector of Sebastian Vettel. You have to be proud of your quali? I know it must be disappointing but your drive was excellent today.

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It was OK, but not good enough. It’s not exactly what I wanted, so, yeah, we go tomorrow and see what we can do.

Q: About tomorrow: what do you think you can do?

KR: Well, we try to improve. Obviously it’s going to be a long race. We need to stay out of issues and go from there and see what it brings.

Q: Valtteri, how was your quali? It seemed that you were struggling a bit but then just at the end you could improve. What do you think, how was your Mercedes today?

Valtteri BOTTAS: I think for us it was quite straightforward honestly, as a qualifying, run by run understanding the tyres, getting them to work better. But we never could achieve similar grip levels to Ferrari today.

Q: Let me check it out, tomorrow, first row, Turn 1, how is it going to be?

SV: I don’t know. We find out tomorrow. Looks like on Kimi’s side there’s more rubber, so I need a good start!

PRESS CONFERENCE

Sebastian, just talk us through that session and how you built up to that incredible time of 1:31.095?

SV: Yeah, it was indeed a crazy session – the car was unbelievable and it just got better. I think right from the first lap in the first of part of qualifying, in Q1, I was really happy and in the end we didn’t have to do much on the car. I didn’t have to fight so much finding the last fine tunings. I was very happy with the settings I had from the beginning. Usually you change quite a lot, you change your mind… it was tricky, because also the wind was changing, sometimes more, sometimes less, and a bit gusty as well. Trying to look around the lap to see where the flags are, trying to get a reference. The last lap in Q3 I knew I could step it up. I knew I had a bit more in me, because on the first run I had two moments, out of Turn 3, accelerating I was probably a bit keen. The same out of Turn 6, I lost the rear twice, so I lost a bit of momentum in those places. So I knew that I had a little bit more and obviously in the last lap I got it all together and very happy that when I crossed the line I was looking up to see the screen and I saw something green, which is usually good, and little bit of purple. Really pleased; it was a tight session but I think again a great result for the team.

Your car seems to be getting stronger by the race. Are you surprised by the gap to Mercedes this weekend?

SV: Yes, we are. I think the first three races have been a bit different now. The tracks are quite different to each other and to have that much of a gap is a bit of a surprise. But I think it’s also a track where you just need to get in and find that sweet spot and if you are a little bit out then easily you drop a little bit of time, so I wouldn’t be surprised tomorrow if that gap disappears and it will be a very tight race. Obviously, I wouldn’t mind if it stays there but I think it will be a tight race amongst the top three teams, and a long, tough race, but obviously it’s good to start from the front.

Q: Kimi, coming on to you, you’ve been hooked up all weekend. Very, very close to your team-mate. Just talk us through the session from your point of view.

KR: I think it was pretty straightforward. Not much really happened. Obviously after the morning it was a bit unknown where I was going to be with the wind and everything. I was pretty OK. Not much to say that was wrong. For sure there are things that we can improve always – but that’s a never-ending story. It was close. How close I don’t even know but close enough to make a difference, a few corners here and there. So, yeah, not ideal but tomorrow is another day. We’ll see what happens.

Q: You say tomorrow’s the day. You’re going to be starting the race on the soft tyre, as are the top four drivers. Was that a straightforward decision – or were you tempted to start on the ultrasoft?

KR: It was quite an easy decision, at least in the minds. If you cannot be fast enough… that we only find out in qualifying always but I think it was quite straightforward decision. We’ll see how it plays out tomorrow. It’s a bit unknown tomorrow.

Q: Valtteri, just talking about that gap to Ferrari. Sebastian has already told us that he’s surprised at the size of the gap. Are you?

VB: Yeah, we are. We thought coming into today that we would be fighting for the pole position but it was definitely out of reach today, there was nothing in the lap that we could have gained that much. I think there’s a little bit in terms of getting the tyres absolutely perfect for the lap – but it’s not half a second. You could feel it if it would be that big. So, I think they have a really strong car. We can see it, especially in long corners, Turn One-Two, they make some good gains to us and obviously not without any speed difference on the straights, they can keep the gains they make in the corners – so we definitely have work to do but yeah, tomorrow is a different day. Again, a long race ahead and like we saw last weekend it probably will be close. Hopefully we can make it up tomorrow what we lost today.

Q: Can we elaborate a bit more about tomorrow. Do you think you’re going to have a more competitive race car than you had today?

VB: hmmm… it’s difficult to say. We expected to go into today, that we would be fighting for the pole. From our numbers, it’s going to be very close between us and Ferrari – but as they were quicker today, we don’t know. But we will for sure try with everything we can. Obviously, we start on similar tyres so there’s not going to be massive differences with the strategies but yeah, we need to try and take the opportunities.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for Kimi. Kimi, the first two sectors of your final lap were the fastest in the session so far, what happened in the final sector?

KR: Nothing really. I lost some time but… I don’t know why. It wasn’t like I did some big mistake but yeah, need to see, I don’t know right now.

Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Question for the two Ferrari drivers. It’s always a balance between race pace and qualifying pace. Now, as you’ve seen the gap to the Mercedes, do you feel you’ve sacrificed race pace a bit too much for qualifying pace?

SV: No. No, I think we try to look at both, obviously, and tomorrow the forecast is quite different so I think we kept that in mind. Obviously we see how it works tomorrow but the answer is still no.

Kimi, anything to add?

KR: I honestly don’t know how you could sacrifice something today to be better tomorrow. We have nothing that you could change like that. I never… as long as I remember, there has never been a case like that. You have somehow different setups for two days. It’s what you have. If it’s fast in qualifying it’s fast in the race, if it works.

Q: (Yiyi Duan - Titan Sport) Kimi, very good qualifying lap but still not good enough so what details do you think can be improved if you want to overtake your teammate, if it’s possible, in tomorrow’s race?

KR: Well, obviously first of all we need to make sure that we run a troublefree race. Obviously that’s the first point and then we have to see how it pans out, obviously, so it’s a long race. We know what we’re going to do between ourselves so there’s nothing… I think the start will be a big part of it and who knows? We will see how it pans out and what it brings but we need to make the best out of it.

Q: (Keren Wang - Top Driver) Valtteri, you mentioned that you were struggling to find the grip level that you had yesterday. Was it because of the low temperature, does that mean that your car is less competitive under low temperature conditions?

VB: Well, I think the grip levels came up, for sure, from yesterday so in a way it was better but I think I said, I just struggled to find as much grip as Kimi and Seb. I said maybe some part of it can be from the tyres but I think some of it must come from the car. I don’t know if yesterday… it’s (tomorrow) going to be quite different to today, definitely warmer, a few degrees warmer with the air and definitely on the track; with the sun it’s a question mark. But we don’t think we are less competitive on a cold track. I thought we struggled a bit in Bahrain with the heat! For sure, we always need to understand everything better but for sure we need to make the car better as well.

Q: (Christian Menath - Motorsport-Magazin.com) Seb, you had some problems yesterday; I don’t think the balance was alright and on the long run the lap times dropped a bit. Why did it go so much better today? Did you change something dramatic in the car or what happened?

SV: We made some small changes but I think it was already pretty OK yesterday afternoon. I think in the long run I was catching traffic and (on) the other one it started to rain so I think for everyone it was a bit compromised, the amount of laps that you got. Yeah, I think overall I was happier today. Obviously it helps a little bit to focus on one lap as well, if you get the P3 session right you get the better feeling for the car so between practice and qualifying we didn’t do hardly anything. I think the overnight changes that we did, they were working and they made the car a little bit better. I was a little bit happier with the front end overall. I hope we can carry that momentum and feeling, obviously, into the race tomorrow.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Valtteri, are we seeing a recurrence of Mercedes’s struggles on the softest compound Pirellis from last year? And in those scenarios why do you think you are able to get more out of the car than Lewis?

VB: I think we saw in the races before that in general we’ve been a bit better with the harder compounds. That is something that we’re still working on, to get more out of the softer compounds and I think Ferrari is doing something better on that so yes, for that. I think the gap between me and Lewis was really small, it’s been quite small all weekend so it’s about fine details. I haven’t seen the lap so it’s difficult to say, really, why I was ahead but yeah, it’s been close between us all season so far so that’s how it is.

Source & Image From: FIA.com

A new chapter for Peugeot in World Rallycross

Team Peugeot Total's 208 RX Supercar.
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport

Peugeot aim to take the fight to PSRX Volkswagen Sweden (defending champions) and EKS Audi Sport in the 2018 FIA World Rallycross season after entering World Rallycross as a full factory manufacturer. Team Peugeot Total will be fielding 3 cars in 3 different colours for there 3 drivers. 

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, together with the Swedish brothers Timmy Hansen and Kevin Hansen will race an evolution of the 2017 car. All 3 Peugeot 208 RX Supercars will be progressively updated during the season, with new evolutions currently being prepared by Peugeot Sport engineers at the factory.

Let's hear from the driver:

Sébastien Loeb
“Our shakedown was good, and it was useful for me to get back into the rhythm of driving a rallycross car again, even if in the end it’s quite different from a Dakar car or a World Rally Car, so I never have any big difficulty adapting from one car to another: it’s what I’ve always done. The test is also a good opportunity to try out different settings to see what works best, knowing also that we will consistently be bringing in new developments to the PEUGEOT 208 WRX throughout the year. I’m looking forward to Barcelona; it’s a nice place that I’ve always liked. In rallycross it’s always hard to set an objective in advance anyway, but especially at the first race of the season. So, I’m just going to do my best and see what happens.”

Timmy Hansen
“We are having a proper week-long build-up to the first race in Barcelona with a shakedown in France and then some testing. Obviously, you can’t make any big changes in just a few days, but you can join everything together and iron out any little things that aren’t perfect. The car feels quite familiar to me in a good way, as we’ve kept all the strengths from last year – with a really good balance and feel – but updated it in the areas where we wanted to find a bit more performance. Barcelona has always been a good track for me personally: I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad race there. The surface is high-grip and should suit our car well, but in the end, we have to treat it as a race like any other.”

Kevin Hansen 
“I feel really excited to start the season! I tried my factory car during the shakedown we and it felt good. Our recent tests are all about confirming the work that has been done over the winter and making some small adjustments so that we are completely ready for Barcelona. At the beginning of the season I’ll be racing a 2017-specification PEUGEOT 208 WRX but I am confident in the work that the PEUGEOT Sport team is putting in for the future. Barcelona is a track I really love: I have driven there in RX2 as well as Supercars, and it’s where I took my European title in 2016, so I only have good memories. I’m feeling positive: this is a great place for us to start the season and I’m determined to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way.”

Source: Peugeot Sport
Written By: Junaid Samodien
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport