Thursday 11 July 2019

FIA Drivers' Press Conference: 2019 British GP.

DRIVERS – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes), George RUSSELL (Williams), Lando NORRIS (McLaren), Daniel RICCIARDO (Renault), Antonio GIOVINAZZI (Alfa Romeo)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Welcome gentlemen. It was announced yesterday that Silverstone has a new long-term deal to remain on the Formula 1 calendar. I’d like to get each of your thoughts on that, starting with Lewis please?

Lewis HAMILTON: Well, good afternoon everyone. It was a good surprise to hear that they had re-signed. It wasn’t necessarily a surprise. As I spoke to you guys before I knew that it was going to happen. It’s clear the Formula 1 can’t exist without the home of motorsport, which is the British Grand Prix. Yeah, really, really happy. It’s great for the fan base and for that to continuously grow over the next years to come.

Q: Thank you Lewis. Lando?

Lando NORRIS: It’s going to be my first race this weekend. I’ve race here in the past. I love driving Silverstone. It would have been a shame to ever see it go, especially if I only would have done this race, this year and not done it again. Glad to see it still here and I look forward to coming back every year.

Q: Thanks. George?

George RUSSELL: Yeah, obviously very pleased for it to be on the calendar again. I think F1 couldn’t live without Silverstone. It’s the home of the British Grand Prix. Formula 1 is a very British sport and overall it’s just an amazing circuit to drive and there’s something special about Silverstone when you come here. Like you said, I’m not surprised it’s continued.

Q: Daniel?

Daniel RICCIARDO: Very happy. It’s a cool track, cool atmosphere. It was eight years ago this weekend, it was my F1 debut here, so it’s always been pretty personal to me. But I’ve enjoyed it. I don’t know how it would feel being somewhere else. It feels normal and right it have it here. It feels like the home of British motorsport. I like that. There’s that real camping atmosphere, that festival vibe. Yeah, the Brits love and we do too.

Q: And Antonio?

Antonio GIOVINAZZI: Yes, it’s a track with a lot of history, so it was really nice to see that this circuit will be here for another five years. With an F1 car I think it’s amazing to drive here, so I can’t wait to start tomorrow and do my first grand prix at Silverstone.

Q: Antonio, if we can stay with you, you got your first world championship point in Austria a couple of weeks ago. How did that feel and how confident are you of maintaining that run of form here?

AG: Yeah, cost me a little bit of my hair! It was for a good reason I would say. It was actually a different bet with Fred, because it all started at Paul Ricard and he said: ‘if you score your first point I will cut your hair’. And then it didn’t happen and then in Austria we said ‘so, if I don’t score points you will my hair’, but I scored points, so it’s a bit of a mess. Yeah, I’m really happy with this. It was a great weekend so far for me and the team. We went to Q3 with both cars and also top 10 for me and Kimi. So we just need to keep working like that. We had a really good car since Paul Ricard and now here we have another upgrade so I hope again that we are on a good direction and I hope we can stay there and keep fighting and take a little bit of the gap from McLaren as they are still a little bit in front of us, so we just need to keep working.

Q: You’ve not raced here before in Formula 1 yet, so just can you tell us a little bit about your preparations. What have you ascertained from the simulator, what are your engineers telling you?

AG: Luckily, I did one FP1, back in 2017 in F1. Of course it will be a completely different story now. Of course I did some simulator, like every driver, I watched some onboard from last year, working with the team. But you know, when you are in the car it will be completely different things but we have FP1, FP2 tomorrow, so we have a lot of time. It’s track I’ve already raced in F3, Formula 2 so yeah, just looking forward to racing it in F1.

Q: Ok, good luck this weekend. Daniel, tricky race for you and the team in Austria. What conclusions have you drawn since then?

DR: It was. It wasn’t a fun one for us really. We obviously got pretty deep into it after and tried to figure out why we were off the pace all weekend. Definitely feel we learned some things with set-up and I think we kind of just started in a direction which we kept pursuing from Friday, thinking it was the right way to go, but I think in hindsight it wasn’t. It’s probably more just a set-up misdirection we went for as opposed to anything crazy we found on the car. I was hoping to find a cracked chassis or something like that! I think the car does have a little bit of a sweet spot and I think we had worked towards that the last few weekends, getting those Q3s and building that confidence within myself and that momentum, but we kind of shifted a little bit away from that in Austria, for reasons that seemed to make sense at the time from a set-up point of view and all that. I think we kind of moved away from something we’d got to know but we’ll try to bring it back this weekend for Silverstone and go back to what we know.

Q: You say the car has a sweet spot. Why is it so difficult to keep it in that area?

DR: I wish I knew. I wish I knew. Sometimes I’m glad I’m not an aerodynamicist or an engineer because it would rattle my brain. For, personally, driving the car, I know where I’m comfortable with it and I know where I like it and when we start going down a certain direction that’s where we run into problems, under braking or whatever. There’s an area where I certainly feel more comfortable and I believe the car is better in that phase. I don’t know, it’s just race cars, mate! As I said, eight years I’ve now been here and you still scratch your head. But I think that’s part of the attraction as well, because when you do get it right and it all kind of works in harmony it’s an amazing feeling.

Q: As you said, you made your F1 debut at Silverstone in 2011. How do you sum up the last eight years of your life?

DR: It’s been fun. I remember vividly the press conference here eight years ago. I actually get embarrassed looking back at photos, I looked like an idiot – an idiot that needed a haircut. Same boat as Antonio! I don’t know, it’s kind of a whirlwind, but it’s amazing how go through it and feel… Obviously I feel much more comfortable here now than I did eight years ago. I guess just that kind of sense of belonging. Eight years ago I was here just like a deer in the headlights, is that the expression? You’re kind of just overwhelmed by everything and it’s like ‘wow, I’m really here now in F1’. You obviously have a lot of belief in yourself but until you really get the results that you believe you can get, there’s always maybe that little bit of doubt. Obviously that has built up well over the years. I don’t feel like one of the older guys yet, I’m kind of getting there, but I still feel young and sharp and good looking.

Q: Thanks Daniel. Lando, many congratulations on your new McLaren deal for 2020. How exciting is that news and what do you feel you and the team can achieve over the next 18 months?

LN: Thank you very much. I’m very excited I guess. It’s just good news. Things have been going reasonably well lately, so to have that news is just a bonus. And of course knowing I’m going to be here next year makes it a bit more comforting overall, but it doesn’t change too much in hindsight. Looking ahead to the next two years let’s say, there’s a lot of progress we’ve got to make. I want to be racing this guy on my right a bit more over the next couple of years, not just myself but as a team that’s our goal. That’s what we are trying to work towards, that’s what we are slowly chipping away at but it’s going to take two years, it’s going to take even more than probably. We’ll take it step by step and see how we go.

Q: As you say, you’re hoping to race Lewis over the next two years, but you actually raced him at the start last time out in Austria, how was that?

LN: It was cool. I got past him in Turn 1, which was very nice of him. He didn’t force me off or anything, it was a nice little bit we did in Turn 1. And then he just had a better position down the straight, behind Valtteri, in the slipstream. It wasn’t a proper fight I don’t think. It would have been nice to hang on a little bit longer than I did, but that position is the aim for us, we want to be in P3, we want to be fighting for the podium. It was nice to be there, very momentarily, but it wasn’t to be. But it is something I would love to look forward to.

Q: As with Antonio, I just wanted to ask you about your preparation for this weekend, but looking slightly longer term, you’ve raced at Silverstone in the FIA’s junior ranks – Formula 4, F3, F2. I just wanted to ask you how different each of those categories is and how they helped prepare you for this moment?

LN: Well, I actually started in 2014 racing Ginettas but that was on the national circuit, so it has stepped up quite a bit since then. But they’ve prepared me more and more I guess. Every lap you do you learn something very small even, but you learn something and that always helps. But I guess the biggest progression is Formula 3 – reasonably high downforce given the size and weight of the car. So you have a very good feeling through Maggots, Becketts, you get to really push the limits and see what it’s like. And it’s kind of a similar feeling when you go to F1 – I think, I’ve not driven it yet – feeling the G-Force, feeling the downforce, that’s something you already start to get a bit of a feel of in Formula 3 and a little but in Formula 2. Nothing in particular, but every step you take is a step forward and it definitely helps.

Q: George, you finished ahead of Kevin Magnussen in Austria last time out, so it seems the car is really starting to make progress now. How confident are you of another strong showing this weekend ?

GR: Yeah, I think it’s a step-by-step process for us at the moment. The team has two very difficult years… or a very difficult year last year, sorry. They wanted to change a lot of the structure and it was almost that we had to make two steps back before we made three steps forward. The groundworks are kind of really in place at the moment to try to bring more performance to the car as the season progresses and I’ve got confident we can do that. But the fact is it’s going to be another difficult weekend for us and we’ve just got to do our maximum week in, week out, but yes, it was nice to be racing someone other than just Robert in Austria.

Q: It’s 40 years since Williams won its first ever race, here at Silverstone, with Clay Regazzoni in 1979. Just how aware are you of your team’s history and how does it make you feel to be lining up with Williams on the grid this weekend?

GR: I’m very aware of the history. I’ve been around the museum a number of times and it still amazes me every time I go there and even last week I was showing my trainer around for the first time and we decided to jump in some of the cars and it was just bonkers to think what these guys were doing back then. I could barely get my feet in this thing and you’ve only got fiberglass protecting you. But like I say, I’m very, very aware of what the team is achieved, it is an honour to race for Williams and like I said, we are almost getting the mickey taken out of us with our performance, but it’s a longer-term project for the team and you could have done a number of short-term things to be good in the moment but the team have bigger and greater things in mind.

Q: Lewis, can you just describe how it feels to be Lewis Hamilton, coming into the British Grand Prix?

Lewis HAMILTON: It feels pretty normal, I would say! It probably feels the same as it is, I would say, for all the drivers here. It’s such a privilege to be here up against the very few that can be a Formula One driver at the pinnacle of the sport. The British Grand Prix is the most special grand prix of the year, being that it’s… just the sheer magnitude of it and just how many people come for the weekend and how many British flags you see around here. It really is a spectacular weekend. I would say it probably just feels… I don't know. There’s excitement, there’s the adrenaline going, there’s pressures. My whole family’s coming this weekend. It is that one weekend where… it’s probably the most special in a sense because you’ve got your family, the closest support, surrounding you. I’ve been very privileged over the years to obviously come here and have some spectacular races. I don’t know what I’ve won here but obviously here to try to improve this weekend. We are here to improve this weekend as a team. The last one was a little bit difficult for us but hopefully this weekend. I think it’ll be close but hopefully we’ll have a better shot.

Q: As you say, Austria was, in effect, the first time you guys tripped up this year, with Valtteri finishing third, yourself fifth. Are you confident that was a one off, or have you got concerns coming into this weekend?

LH: I wouldn’t say that I necessarily have concerns. I don’t weekends necessarily with a negative connotation to start with but, no I think we’re fully aware that the Ferraris and the Red Bulls have taken a step forward and the pace that they had in the last race was great. I think it looked a lot better than… I think it we didn’t have the issues that we had, I think we would have been a lot closer, would have been more in the fight. I expect this weekend it will be closer between us all. Last year Ferrari were super-fast here as well – as were the Red Bulls. I think the Red Bulls were a little bit down but now they’ve got the new engine I think they’ll be even quicker. So, it’s definitely not going to be an easy weekend.

Q: And Lewis, you’ve got 79 wins to your name, five of which have come here at Silverstone.  On Sunday, you can be the first man ever to win six races at this race track. How enticing is that record and what would it mean?

LH: Well, you know me. I’m not really one for records, so if it happens this weekend it does; if it doesn’t, it’s no biggie for me as I’ll try to be here for a little bit longer. Just the fact that that’s even a possibility is quite unreal for me. Ultimately it’s just really important to put that stuff out of your head, out of your mind and just focus on the job at hand. As I said, it’s not going to be an easy weekend for us. It’s really just about being diligent, making sure we leave no stone unturned. As Daniel mentioned, these cars all have sweet spots and it’s trying to… all those sweet spots don’t always work at each track – but this has been a strong track for us in the past. Hopefully this weekend, it’ll be a sweet spot for us.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Lewis and Daniel, last year Silverstone was resurfaced. It was slightly controversial, not all of the drivers were happy with it. It’s been resurfaced again for this year, and there’s also a little bit more gravel around the place in a couple of areas. It’s always been described as a drivers’ track. How interested are you to go out and see what change the changes have made.

DR: Yeah, I was trying to get out there today, I will at some point, probably just on a bike, bit quicker. Yeah, it was pretty bumpy last year but at Red Bull we had one of the smoother-riding cars. A lot of others did say it was pretty bad. So, yeah, I’ll definitely have a look. I don’t normally do track walks or anything but if there is a change, it’s worth seeing, have a browse.

LH: Same same but different.

DR: Different but the same.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – LivioOricchiof1.com) Daniel, when you see what Max did in Spielberg and you see the performance of your team, do you have any regrets of changing team. And also, concerning the asphalt, do you expect any big impact in the performance of the car. I mean, any big changes in comparison to what has been seen at the last few races?

DR: To answer the first part: no. Honestly no regrets. It was actually… part of me was pretty happy for them, and for F1 to just have a good race. It went through such… yeah… quite a lot of… I’m trying think of a better word. You know the word I’m thinking of, it’s a word I can’t really say! It went through a lot of scrutiny after France, so just for the sport to have a good race was awesome. But no, honestly, if I look back, by that time last year, Red Bull had three wins; that was the first. Obviously I’m further back at the moment, absolutely, you’re right but I expected this and really, if I stayed at Red Bull it was to win a title and sure, they got the win last weekend but they’re still a fair way from the title. And that’s not having a dig, that’s just the reality. So I don’t think I would necessarily have achieved anything else than I was already achieving there, so for that, yeah, no regrets. Obviously trying to build something here with Renault and absolutely there’s still a lot of work to do – but equally it’s pretty fulfilling when you do get a little bit of a result and Montreal was one of those moments where, it kind of… even that result alone made the first seven or so races worth it. The little bit of struggle and ups and downs. So yeah, but for the sport, honestly, I’m very happy that the last race went the way it did and hopefully there’s more like that. Hopefully I’m not running in 12th, or wherever I was, because that’s also not fun – but hopefully the battle at the front gets close and says close.

And the asphalt?

DR: I’ll let the others answer. It’s dark, yeah, the asphalt. Conductor of heat.

I think we want to hear from the other drivers. George?

GR: I won’t know until I’ve driving on it. Obviously raced F2 last year, didn’t feel a huge issue. It adds a bit of character, I think, even when it’s bumpy. It is how it is. It’s the same for everyone. You’ve got to adapt to the situation. Sometimes, if it’s too perfect, then it’s almost easier to drive – but obviously they had to do it more for the bikes than for us.

Lando, have you been out to look at the asphalt?

LN: Yeah, I scootered around earlier. Just looks darker than normal, I guess. It depends. I don’t know what kind of tarmac is it. Obviously in Paul Ricard we had the newer patches of tarmac and it was much slippier, or not as grippy as the older bits. So, it depends. We’ll find out tomorrow.

Antonio?

AG: Yeah, I agree with George and Lando. It’s nothing. You need to adapt a little bit.

Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) Question to George. George, timing is everything in Formula One. When you see someone like Lando, who you’ve beaten in Formula Two last year, getting strong results, enjoying strong momentum at McLaren, are you not afraid you might miss out on bigger opportunities? Because you could be driving the best race of your life at the moment and no-one  – or not a lot of people – would take notice.

GR: Yeah, thanks for that! No, not at all. At the end of the day, I know there are only a small number of people that are going to make a difference in my career and that’s Claire and the top people at Williams and Toto and the top people at Mercedes. At the end of the day, those guys are fully aware of the situation. They know exactly if I’ve had a good weekend or not. And even in myself, I’ve come away from some races which I know I’ve performed well, and I’ve come away satisfied, and other races I’ve come away knowing I could have done a better job, even though I ended up in the exact same position. So, but like I said, I’m also happy for Lando and Alex: the younger generation sticking it to the experienced guys and showing that we can do it. I think, y’know, I’m happy for them and if they’re doing a good job, it also looks good for me.

Q: (Giles Richards – The Guardian) Lewis, you’ve achieved remarkable things in the sport, in what has been a very long career – but I was wondering if you could try to think back to when you started in Formula One and remember what your greatest hopes and aspirations were back then – what you thought you might achieve when you began?

LH: I don’t really remember much back then. I think naturally you just want to excel and succeed in everything you do, and just… every driver here has a huge amount of belief in their own ability and we all have some sort of platform and opportunity in front of us and it was just really about maximising the opportunity that we do have, regardless of what team we’re in, what position you’re in. And just like George was saying, that’s really key. You know whether you’re doing the job and the lessons that you go through are huge at the early stages. And these guys are all going a great job, particularly in the early days. Me and Daniel were just saying, we’re having to represent for the 30-crew. It was extremely special but it was a huge learning process for me, as it is for all of us in the early stages. There’s no substitute for experience. That just comes over time. Of course I wanted to win world titles, I think in my first year I wanted to win the world title, that was straight away. Super-ambitious – particularly up against a two-time World Champion but there wasn’t a moment that I doubted myself, that I could do it. I think that’s ultimately what we all have – that confidence in ourselves.

Q: (Oliver Brown – The Telegraph) Lewis, Christian Horner raised a few eyebrows earlier this week by suggesting that, if you and Max were in the same machinery, at the moment he would back Max to prevail. Given you’ve won six of nine races already this year, that seemed a fairly bold claim on his part. I just wondered your response to that and, more broadly, on how you and Max measure up as racers.

LH: Well, firstly I don’t compare myself to anybody. Don’t need to. I don’t really have a response to his claims. Ultimately every now and again someone needs certain attention and… yeah… I think Max has been doing a great job and really, really exciting to watch. I think the last race was really fantastic and it’ll be really interesting to see how they go moving forwards.

Q: (Rob Harris – Associated Press) Lewis, the new Silverstone deal is through to 2024; do you think you will still be driving then or what do you think you’ll be doing in F1? And we could have England in a World Cup final on Sunday, just as you’re racing. Do you think you’re going to have to produce something special to grab the national attention? Not to jinx anything for them today…

LH: What I don’t understand is why the organisers put the race on the same day as all these other big events – Wimbledon – I really don’t understand it. But I hope in future that they put this on a… this is such a special weekend, it needs all the focus of the whole country and just not a small amount. I think people will be switching between channels on Sunday, not sure what to watch. But naturally I come here… there’s quite a few of us Brits but we come here to raise the flag and do the country proud so I’m just going to try and play my part.

2024? Jesus, it feels like a long way away. Who knows whether I will still be here by then but if I’m not, if I’ve stopped racing, I won’t be here in any other capacity.

Q: (Graham Harris – Motorsport Monday, Motorsport week.com) Lando, now that you and Carlos have been confirmed next year at McLaren, what is that going to do for you and possibly, speaking on behalf of your teammate, to know that everything is settled, you don’t have to go through these endless questions from us asking what you’re going to do next year? Does this give you an advantage? How do you feel about it and do you think you’ve made the right decision?

LN: Yeah, I think I’ve made the right decision. It wasn’t something I was worried about or asking about so for me, I was pretty confident in the job I had been doing so far this season and because I wasn’t necessarily worried or asking about it in any way, for them to come forward to me with it and the confirmation, then yeah, it made me a bit happier. With me not being worried about it, it wasn’t something I don’t think… or it’s not going to be something which changes how I think about it, it’s not going to make me necessarily more confident or anything. I had all my confidence in the team. I would like to say that they had all theirs in me as well. From all of that, we will keep working hard, keep trying to progress and I’m sure Carlos and myself are going to have a lot more battles and some times together.

Q: (Ben Hunt – The Sun) Lewis, ’92, talk about Mansell mania and the crowds coming in to see him. We’ve got a similar situation, Silverstone’s going to be absolutely sold out on Sunday, partly to come and see you with all the success you’re having. Now there’s no question about the support you have with F1 fans, they all adore you and think you’re great for what you’re doing, the titles you’re winning. You’ve also struggled sometimes to win over some of the other British public, non-F1 fans. Can you put your finger on that at all, any reason why you don’t have the same universal adulation as Nigel Mansell had, say?

LH: I don’t really… I don’t know. I don’t really generally feel that but people have the right to chose who they support and what I can say is that… I remember growing up in Stevenage I never in a million years thought I’d have a single supporter besides my Mum and my Dad. I feel really privileged in just even having one but quite a lot of people come here and I’m so grateful just for that, which is more than enough for me, so the more the merrier. I guess the more and more time I spend here, I guess you have more and more opportunity to turn people’s opinions. But ultimately, as I said, I’m grateful for what I do have.

LN: Maybe it’s the moustache!

LH: The moustache? What, the fact that I can’t really grow much!

LN: Well, I can’t do much better either. Mansell’s one was alright.

LH: Mansell had a good moustache. It might be that, I’m not able to grow. This is like as far as it goes. And he had good eyebrows as well. Maybe one weekend I’ll try sticking them on and see if it makes a difference.
PHOTO CREDIT: LAT Images

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) Lewis, the two chaps to the left of you have got a combined age of 40, if my maths is right. I was just wondering if you have…

LN: (Having exploded with laughter) Don’t worry, it’s nothing to do with your question.

[Reason for laughter: Daniel Ricciardo asked Lando Norris if he has pubic hair]

GR: It’s definitely not suitable for you guys.

DR: I didn’t think it was that funny.

Q: (Phil Duncan – PA) The question was, anyway, it was whether Lewis had any advice for the chaps sitting to his left and what he thought of the job they’re doing?

LH: I don’t think I need to give them any advice. They’ve obviously come through similar ranks to myself and they’re doing exceptional jobs. Both have completely different challenges with George obviously in a team that’s has struggled for some time but is part of helping them take steps to improve and I really really hope… I’m a huge fan of Frank and that team and what they’ve achieved in their history so I really really… I think that’s a team that needs to be up at the top with the rest of them. It’s amazing to see McLaren doing so well. They’ve had some really tough years as well. We got to have a bit of a race in the last race and just watching Lando’s progression is incredibly impressive, to be so young in such an early phase, he’s coming in and keeping a level head and delivering on weekends, also up against a driver who’s got more experience than him. I’m personally excited to continue to watch these two grow and the trials and tribulations that they’ll face and I do hope that we get to do some racing together, as I said, representing the thirties.

Q: (Stephen Camp – Motorsport Monday, Motorsport week.com) Over the past few weeks, if not months, there have been discussions about making life more difficult for the drivers behind the wheel. I was just wondering if there was anything in particular any one of you guys would like to see… perhaps power steering taken away, reduction in downforce? Is there anything in particular that you would like to see making your lives more difficult?

AG: Yeah, of course I think I want better racing but less downforce, better to follow people but yeah, it really differs not from my side. We will see what happens after 2021 but yeah, for now it’s not my decision. We need to see what happens.

DR: Yeah, I guess the racing thing’s a big one, just to be able to… obviously if it was all a bit closer that’s great as well but it’s just the ability to follow. I guess it’s two-fold now. You get close to another car, you lose a chunk of downforce but then also your tyres start to overheat so that then loses you an additional amount of grip so you’re kind of fighting against those two, let’s say, negative forces which don’t help. Power steering? Honestly, with the load and the actual downforce we have now would be literally impossible. I’ve had hydraulic failures; that’s when you lose the power steering and you can’t turn. As brave as I’d like to say I am and as shredded as I am, it wouldn’t suffice. Maybe one lap but not fifty.

LH: I agree. I think what’s really important right now is that the drivers are unified for the first time since I’ve been in the sport. We’re all together as kind of a union and sort of working together with the FIA and hoping that we can have a positive impact on the rules in 2021. So we kind of need to make sure we stay on top of that and stay a part of it. There are definitely subtle changes we can do for sure to make the car a little bit even more physical than it is. It’s by no means easy for us to drive and definitely not taking power steering away would not be key but I think we could probably reduce it if we needed to do. We currently have the option to do that but there’s no need because it doesn’t really make a difference for us really. But yeah, I think there’s a lot of other aspects and ultimately, as Daniel mentioned, if the racing was closer it would really improve racing so that’s key for us, I think.

LN: Nothing (inaudible). Nothing in particular. I think obviously the main thing is the racing which is probably the most important thing for all of us. The physical attributes, I don’t really mind, to be honest. I did suffer a lot since karting, with my size and everything, not really having a clue what to do when I started karting, so I suffered in every category: F4, F3, F2 – not so much F2 but I’ve had to kind of play catch-up quite a bit and in some ways, F1 was a bit nicer with power steering. F2’s much harder, physically on the arms and almost on the whole body than F1 is. So it can change but I don’t really mind, it’s how it is to be honest, I don’t think that’s the priority of F1 right now.

GR: Yes, as the guys said, obviously to be able to race each other closer is the number one priority but I think also allowing us to drive flat-out every single lap, qualifying laps for 70 laps would be pretty cool and that would make the physical demand greater. If you’re constantly lifting-coasting or saving the tyres in high speed corners or doing whatever else, it’s obviously not as a tough as it would be if you’re going flat-out. So those two together would be my idea of what we want.

Tuesday 9 July 2019

Sebastian Eriksson survives engine cooling issues to claim maiden World RX win.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media
Wildcard entry Sebastian Eriksson survived engine cooling issues to hold off Kevin Hansen and claim his maiden World RX victory at the iconic Holjes track in Sweden.

The Swede who combines engineering and mechanic duties for the Olsbergs MSE outfit made his fourth appearance at World RX level in Sweden.

Eriksson, who lives an hour away from Holjes in the forests of Varmland competed at Nordic RX in preparation for his World RX outing and claimed an astonishing victory. 

"This is my fourth (World RX round)," he said. "It's just so special! This is the rallycross race that every rallycross driver wants to win, so to win it in the third attempt and I haven't competed in a race in the World Rallycross Championship for a long long time - so to come back and be able to win it. Is amazing! 

Despite a comfortable lead, Eriksson's Fiesta supercar suffered from overheating issues. The Swede slowed towards the end of the final, and was hunted down by Kevin Hansen on the final lap but held his nerve to take the chequered flag. 

"The start of the final was fine," he explained. "The spotter said 'you are pulling away'. You have a good gap, but then after three or four laps, we starting losing power again and they started to get closer and from then it was a bit more pressure from the spotter."

"We had to take the joker [lap] earlier this time to come out in front and the last laps was more or less keep tight and don't open a gap for Kevin [Hansen] because he was right behind.'' 

"I am quite surprised because I did not think that we will be this competitive, its looking good for the future," he concluded. 

World RX commentator Andrew Coley revealed during the live qualifying broadcasts that Andreas Eriksson's Olsbergs MSE team had a list of 21 things to fix on the Ford Fiesta Supercar. The car entered into the Swedish round is an evolution of the 2018-spec supercar, but only 19 changes were made.

Andrew Coley revealed to Slipstream SA that the remaining areas that Olsberg MSE plan to address is: "more engine work and dampers" before the car is ready for World RX competition. 

A happy Olsbergs MSE team boss Andreas Eriksson says that his team came close to canceling their entry in Sweden after running into issues during testing.

"We have struggled with a lot of problems, we almost canceled the race on Monday based on the test, because we saw after three laps that we have a big problem," Eriksson said.
"We are very fast for three laps, and then we have problems with the oil temperature."


"The car is not ready yet, but as you see the first three laps, we are flying away from them (competitors). We are fast in the straight line compared to everyone, but unfortunately, Kevin's [Eriksson] car didn't make it all the way. It broke in Q4 and Sebastian's car made it all the way. I am very happy!"

"I am putting my own money into this race because I don't have any sponsors this weekend. But I wanted to show that the car is fast," he concludes. "The guys decided after the test on Monday if its fast enough, we will go (racing). If it's not fast enough, we will stay at home."

After a last-corner lunge, Kevin Hansen settled for the second-place finish. In doing so, he took the lead of the drivers’ championship from his brother Timmy who suffered from a puncture and finished in sixth place [last]. 

It was not an easy weekend for Team Hansen MJP, Kevin was ranked ninth and older brother Timmy in sixteenth overall on day one. The brother launched a fight back on Sunday to progress through to the finals. 

“The whole weekend has been completely crazy. Having changeable weather in the qualifying made everything so difficult,” Kevin said. 

“In the final, I had a really bad start. I was fourth into turn two, and then two of the guy's jokered leaving the door open for me to follow Sebastian. I pushed really hard, but he [Sebastian] was very quick at the beginning and I didn't want to do any stupid mistakes - take any track markers or cut anywhere to get a puncture," he explained. 

"Then Timmy came out ahead (from joker lap) and we were second and third and I thought okay, now we can chase him down. Then he stupidly cut the corner in turn nine, got a puncture immediately and I had to do the move to not lose time." 

"Sebastian was quite far ahead, but then I was really surprised because he was slow in the end. On the final lap, I realized I was on his bumper and looking where should I overtake now because I thought he had a puncture," he said.

“In the last corner, I thought ‘OK, if he had a puncture he will be wide’. So, I stuck my nose up the inside in the middle but he didn't have the puncture so I had to back down."

"Anyway, P2 at home feels amazing in the end with a lot of points for the championship.”

Renis Nitiss' Hyundai i20 Supercar rolling
PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media.
In third place was Reinis Nitiss who staged a remarkable comeback after rolling his Hyundai i20 in Q1 on Saturday.

The Latvian took a race win and set the fastest time in Q2. A third place in the semi-final secured his passage to the final.

Nitiss struggled to contain his emotions after Q1.

"I don't think you could imagine how I felt or how we felt," he said. "After that roll... You know what happened in Abu Dhabi. Straight away, first qualifying and first corner - first roll in my life happened on the most amazing track."

"When I jumped out of the car, I thought 'maybe I need to stop with this sport', but all the guys - the mechanics and everyone in the team did an amazing job and people around me helped me get to get the self-confidence back for Q2. I know we were lucky, but we won Q2 and I needed to focus on that and we got back in the game."

"The feeling that Q2 gave to us, it's amazing - and I think this describes the whole weekend." 

“We were really far down but we bounced back," he says. "And that’s why we are here and that is why we are racing; for the emotions we get. To imagine after Q1 to be on the podium this weekend. I don't believe it!"

When asked about competing in future rounds of the 2019 World RX championship, Nitiss said: "I don't know. Probably without these incidents in Abu Dhabi and with the roll, we could have done some more races, but there is still one race. In Latvia, my home race and I will do everything to be there."

"I can not promise anything, but after the race and after these emotions - after these fights. With everything that has happened during this magic weekend...  maybe Magic happens." 

His GRX team-mate Niclas Gronholm progressed to the finals and finished in fourth place, but was handed a five-second time penalty for track marker infringements. 

Dutchman Kevin Abbring, in only his second World RX, inherited the fourth place from Gronholm. 

Monster Energy RX Cartel's Andreas Bakkerud conceded ground in the championship to the Hansen brothers when supercar suffered a broken driveshaft while leading the semi-finals. 

“It could have been a great final, the car felt good and we had the pace,” Bakkerud said. “It would nice to finally give all of our partners and supporters a win, but it wasn’t to be.” 

Having claimed his maiden World RX win, Sebastian Eriksson has become the fifth different winner in sixth rounds of the 2019 World RX season.

Kevin Hansen claimed victory in round one in Abu Dhabi and there have been wins for Timerzyanov in Belgium and Gronholm in Norway. Timmy Hansen is the only dual winner – in Spain and Great Britain.


WATCH THE FINAL HERE:

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

Saturday 6 July 2019

Bakkerud claims overnight TQ in dramatic opening day in Höljes.

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media. 
Andreas Bakkerud holds the overnight top qualifiers spot at the World RX of Sweden after a dramatic Q1 session and mixed times from Q1 due to a drying track. 

"It's been a crazy weekend, already," said Bakkerud. "It is the race that everybody would love to win and we have seen mixed conditions and we have seen a result board changing a lot today."

"I went into Q1 with the mindset of I have much more to give," he said. "I did the practice and it felt very good but the lap times weren't there. We did some changes, especially with new tyres on and it helped a lot."

The Monster Energy RX Cartel driver got off to a strong start leading off the line in Q1 and went on to set the fastest time of the session. In behind Bakkerud, Marklund and Abbring spun off the track before turn one. 

Bakkerud's team-mate Doran hit the wall on the outside of the final corner in Q1 after braking steering wheel's universal joint.

Q1 saw a rather dramatic incident involving reigning European RX champion Reinis Nitiss rolling his GRX Set Hyundai i20 after hitting a kerb on the inside of turn one and rolled into the gravel trap on the outside of the track. The Stewards later reprimanded Janis Baumanis for pushing Nitiss and Timerzyanov. 

Championship leader Timmy Hansen ended Q1 well outside the top-12 after a puncture, while younger brother Kevin finished fourth in Q1.

The heavens opened at Höljes for Q2, and with the fastest drivers starting first and they would ultimately have to face the worst conditions as the track would dry through the session. 

Bakkerud led from the front in Q2 to set the initial pace, while Kevin Hansen ended Q2 in seventeenth despite finishing in second behind Bakkerud.

However, track conditions improved significantly through the session meaning the Bakkerud ended the session in twelfth overall. 

Marklund took a comfortable win in the third race of Q2, while Kevin Abbring beat Timmy Hansen to victory in the fourth race. Despite a good start in Q2 for Hansen, he was forced to take an early joker, then lost time in traffic on the opening lap. After passing Jonathan Pailler and Ulrik Linnemann, he pushed a bit too hard in the final corner and nearly spun losing a second to Abbring. 

The fightback of the day came from Nitiss who was 25th overall after Q1. The Latvian make a strong start in the drying conditions, and just about managed to fend off a flying Guerlain Chicherit to claim the fastest time in Q2 and climb up to fifth overall. 


"With Reinis [Nitiss] having a role in Q1 and winning Q2, all of a sudden he's up to fifth," Bakkerud said. "That is unbelievable, that is rallycross." 

Despite claiming the overnight top qualifiers spot, Andreas Bakkerud still thinks that Monster Energy RX Cartel needs to find more performance overnight.

"I still think we need to find more for tomorrow if it's going to be dry to be able to keep it up," he said. "We have had good starts, we are fast in the joker, we struggle a bit in a couple of sections but hopefully, we can look through the data and prepare even more for Q3 and 4. 

A surprised Marklund said he did not expect to be second overall after a bad result in the Q1.

"I think we weren't planning to be here after Q1, but it shows that if you never give up and keep on fighting, you can do it," the Swede said.

"For Q2, we were in this heat where it was going to change. I think we were three cars on slicks and two cars on rain tyres. I won my race on the dry tyres and Timo [Scheider] was P2 with the rain tyres, so we were really on the switch between the dry and wet."

"Even if I would do a mega job, the guys behind me would be quicker in the race four and five," he adds. "I was just trying to keep it cool and not do any mistakes at all and just bring the car to the finish line."

After claiming a podium finish in Silverstone, and momentarily winning the Norwegian round, Marklund believes that GCK is now showing the potential of their Renault Megane R.S. RX. 

"We are again showing that we have great potential in the car, in the team and me as a driver," he said. "What happened in Silverstone and Norway, where we were on the podium was not a coincidence, we have great pace. So, I hope that we can repeat that this weekend and I hope we can fight for another podium finish."

Dutchman Kevin Abbring finds positives after ending the day in third overall. 

"We had the fastest lap time of the day, fastest reaction time and both of those things are important," he said. "So, I think we can take a lot of positives from that. We know that the feeling in the dry is really good."

"Obviously, everyone steps up tomorrow. So, we need to be back even stronger than them." 

Abbring ended Q1 in nineteenth overall and made the leap to third overnight after winning Q2 race 5. Asked if his driving style aided in his fight back - the Dutchman said: "It worked but I was trying to set the boundaries to at least try to understand how the car would behave on the limit and if you are driving on the potential you aren't going to feel it, but I definitely enjoyed it."

The OVERNIGHT RESULTS at the World RX of Sweden.

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

Friday 5 July 2019

PREVIEW - World RX descends on Sweden for 'The Magic Weekend'

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media. 
Five Down, Five to go... Fifteen points separate first from third in the FIA World Rallycross Championship. 

The five rounds to date have seen four different winners. Kevin Hansen claimed victory at round one in Abu Dhabi and there have been victories for Timur Timerzyanov in Belgium and Niclas Gronholm in Norway. Only the current championship leader Timmy Hansen has won twice (Spain and Great Britain).

World RX descends on the Holjes Motorstadion, an old school rallycross track that has been a mainstay of the championship since its inception in 2014.

The Swecon World RX of Sweden will boast a maxed out 25 car entry list. 

Current European Rallycross Champion Reiniss Nitiss will make a return to the fray in a GRX Hyundai i20 in Holjes. “Even though I have spent some time in the GRX car behind the scenes, I have not been in the racing game since the spectacular ending of Abu Dhabi,” the Latvian said.

“It puts some pressure on me, especially with the maxed-out entry list with many wild card entries that can impact everyone’s results.”

Nitiss' GRX team-mate Gronholm, he is looking for back-to-back wins after the success in Hell, Norway. “My goal is to try and maintain the good feeling of the car and the pace I had in Norway and, if I can do that, I can challenge for the win,” he said. 

As for the newcomers, Jere Kalliokoski will make his first appearance of the season for Team STARD, alongside Janis Baumanis.

Kevin Eriksson, who won the 2016 World RX of Germany event, joins Sebastien Eriksson in a pair of Ford Fiestas run by Olbergs MSE. The Swedish outfit will also field a Honda Civic Coupe for the World RX debut with Ulrik Linnemann behind the wheel

Philip Gehrman will compete in a Volkswagen Polo and Kjetil Larsen is also in a Polo for Hedstroms Motorsport.

Fabien and Jonathan Pailler will also make the trip to Holjes to drive their Peugeot 208 Supercars for the Pailler Competition team.

Timmy and Kevin Hansen, currently one and two respectively in the 2019 World RX drivers’ championship standings. Timmy has been on the podium twice in 2015 and 2016 but has yet to ascend the top step on home soil.

The Swedish siblings, in their pair of Peugeot 208 WRX Supercars are separated by a single point at the top of the heap – 107 to 106. 

Kenneth Hansen, Team Hansen MJP team principal is well aware of the challenges of the Holjes track and the importance of doing well at home. “It’s a technical track and one of the biggest tasks is optimising the car for the jumps,” he said. “It’s a very special atmosphere and both Timmy and Kevin are showing they are more than ready for the challenge. So we hope to deliver.

“Along with Loheac, because we have a French car, this is definitely one of the most significant weekends of our year.”


Andreas Bakkerud holds down third place overall on 92 points and is getting ever closer to his first victory of 2019 in his Audi S1.

Holjes is the scene of the Norwegian’s first Supercar triumph in 2013 and he won again in 2016. So far in 2019, he has two-second places and a third on his scorecard.

“Holjes is as we all know the Magic Weekend, also one of the very big highlights in the WorldRX calendar,” Bakkerud said. “It’s the race everyone wants to win. Holjes has treated me well and I’ve been on the podium every year since 2012 when I raced S1600. I hope to continue that strike rate.”

Swede Anton Marklund was denied his maiden victory at the previous round in Norway following a post-race technical inspection – the FIA stewards discovered a discrepancy in the thickness of the front bumper support bar on his GC Kompetition Renault Megane RS.

Dutchman Kevin Abbring impressed on his World RX debut and will make his second World RX start in the ESmotorsport Labas-GAS Skoda Fabia.

“As everything was new for me there (in Norway), there is obviously a lot of room for improvement and Sweden is the right opportunity to show we have learned from Norway to be even more competitive here,” Abbring said.

“It really takes a while to understand the sport, I feel that I don’t need to be that defensive when being in the lead (or in front of someone) and after having some rain metres under my belt now the pace in the wet should definitely be stronger next time."

“The Swedish track looks amazing, the atmosphere and level of competition will be promising. There is no lack of motivation on our side, we are as ready as can be,” he concludes

Timo Scheider has shown good pace this season and has been challenging a podium place in the last two rounds.

Xite Racing’s Oliver Bennett will hope to put the set-up challenges on the Mini Cooper in Hell behind him. “I can’t wait for the Magic Weekend of Holjes to kick off, outside of the spectacle that is the party in the woods, it’s also the best drivers’ track of the year,” Bennett said.

“With our set-up this year, it’s my most anticipated track, although with such a big grid entry, anything is possible.”

Hell was a weekend to forget for the GC Kompetition squad. Apart from Marklund being denied his win, GCK newcomer Rokas Baciuska missed out on the semi-finals after being disqualified in Q3.

Guerlain Chicherit, mounted a spirited fightback from the depths of a double joker penalty in Q1 to reach the semi-finals while GCK Academy drivers, Cyril Raymond, and Guillaume De Ridder missed the cut.

Krisztian Szabo is looking to rebound after his failure to reach the semi-finals for the first time this year in Norway.

“For sure, Holjes is the event of the year!" he said. "I have good memories from the track as the last time I was racing there – in S1600 - I finished second. I can't wait to race again in the magic weekend.”

“My goal is to finish a more successful weekend than in Hell.”

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

Thursday 4 July 2019

Timmy Hansen draws inspiration from Verstappen for World RX of Sweden.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool
Timmy Hansen reveals that he aims to draw some inspiration from Max Verstappen's race-winning drive in Austria last week. The Swede leads the championship by a single point and sets his sight on claiming victory in Sweden.

Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen claimed his first win of the season with a sterling drive in Austria last weekend after recovering from a poor start and to overtake Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc for the race lead with two laps remaining.

"I plan to take some inspiration from Max Verstappen’s drive at the Red Bull Ring: it was an amazing drive and it’s very hard to do what he did," Hansen said. "But I’d rather win the race like he did but making a bit of a better start from the grid!”

"Höljes is an incredibly technical track and it’s a real driver’s circuit," he said. "It’s up and down, it’s got an amazing flow to it."

"We get a lot of local support which is excellent."

Should Timmy claim victory in Sweden, it would be his first home win in the World RX championship, and the Hansen families tenth win at Höljes.

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

Kevin Hansen ready for busiest World RX weekend.

PHOTO CREDIT: Red Bull Content Pool.
Kevin Hansen is set for the busiest World Rallycross weekend of the year, as Team Hansen MJP head to their home round in Höljes, Sweden.

'The Magic Weekend' in Sweden sees 45,000 dedicated World Rallycross fans flocking to the Höljesbanan, an iconic rallycross venue that features a mix of almost everything. The track features a twisty and technical first section and the second half is more of a sprint to the finish. 

“This weekend, the magic weekend, is going to be one of the busiest of them all," he said.

The young Swede sees this weekend as a challenge with 25 cars aiming for glory in Sweden.

"There are 25 cars entered, which means being precise is more important than ever. It’s easier to get eliminated. So you need to be on top of your game," Hansen adds. 

In addition to competing in the World RX Championship, Team Hansen MJP are also competing in the Titans RX series. Despite a busy schedule, Kevin believes that competing in back-to-back events is helping him raise his game.

"There’ll be quite a few back-to-back events from here on when I’ll be driving in World RX and then Titans the following weekend," said Hansen. "Driving so much gives me a lot of confidence."

"It’s definitely one of the factors that have helped me raise my level as a driver. Probably the area that I’ve improved most on is that I get in the car now at the beginning of a race weekend and I feel that I’m on the pace straight away. In the past, I had to build up to things more.”

TEXT - Junaid Samodien

Wednesday 3 July 2019

Sweden 'will be a great challenge' says Jussi Pinomäki

PHOTO CREDIT: FIA World RX Media
Fresh from victory in Norway, GRX Taneco heads to Sweden with a three-car entry headlined by Niclas Grönholm, Timur Timerzyanov, and Reinis Nitišs, development driver.

GRX Taneco has claimed two wins to date and is ranked second in the championship, a mere 18-points behind Team Hansen MJP. 

The Hyundai i20 Supercar has shown its strength from round one in Abu Dhabi, where Niclas Grönholm claimed victory but was later handed a penalty for pushing and passing Kevin Hansen. 

The 1,21 km Höljes track in Sweden features several jumps, elevation changes, and a banked tarmac turn. The old school track is regarded as one of the most challenging in the season. 

“This weekend will be a great challenge," said GRX Taneco Team Manager Jussi Pinomäki. "It is not the easiest track and it takes a great team effort to find the best set-up, to prepare the cars and drivers. Having Reinis back in the car will be a great help in achieving that." 

Reinis Nitišs returns to the cockpit of his GRX Set Hyundai i20 Supercar in Sweden after making his debut with the Finnish squad in Abu Dhabi earlier this season.  

“Even though I have spent some time in the GRX car behind the scenes, I have not been in the racing game since the spectacular ending of Abu Dhabi RX," the Latvian said. "It puts some pressure on me, especially with the maxed-out entry list with many wild-card entries, that can impact everyone’s results." 

Niclas Grönholm aims to continue his Norway form in Sweden.

“My goal is to try and maintain the good feeling of the car and the pace I had in Norway and with that said – I will go there to try to get a win on the track,” said Grönholm.

Timur Timerzyanov, currently sixth in the drivers' standings looks forward to the magic weekend in Sweden. “The event in Sweden is something special – there is always good and action-packed racing and we have thousands and thousands of fans, that create a fun and wonderful atmosphere," he said.

TEXT - Junaid Samodien