Another package of upgrades for the Hungarian Grand Prix, including front and rear wings and other bodywork changes, enabled the AT&T Williams team to maintain competitive form throughout the weekend. Both cars ran within the top five during Friday’s practice sessions, giving the team reasonable confidence about prospects for Saturday’s qualifying session. In the event, both cars progressed comfortably into Q2 and Kazuki recorded the third quickest low fuel time, putting him through to the final ten for the third time this year and marking a notable improvement in his qualifying performance. Q3 provided both drivers with only four laps of opportunity to claim an optimum grid slot, in the event Nico achieved his target of P5, but Kazuki was unable to derive the maximum potential from his car. However, both cars had secured grid positions on the clean side of the track.
The team followed a conventional two stop strategy with both cars for the race and ran option-option-prime tyre selections, consistent with most of the grid. Of considerable tactical importance on Sunday was Nico’s ability to stay ahead of the KERS powered car of Kovalainen. His strategy was predicated on keeping the sixth placed Finn, who was carrying one extra lap of fuel and likely to be slower in the first stint, behind him. In the event, the McLaren had the stronger start but Nico continued his strong run of opening lap form and was able to re-pass Kovalainen into turn one, bringing his race prospects to life. A short delay of around 1.5 seconds in Nico’s first pitstop was costly, but he still exited the pits in front of Mark Webber. Nico did not hold the position, but he was not threatened thereafter in a clean and confident run through his three stints to fourth place, claiming the third fastest lap of the day in the process. Nico’s points tally has promoted him to fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship.
Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima had more limited opportunities given his start position. A more fruitful race outcome might have been possible if he had been able to hold Jenson Button after overtaking him at the start. With Button back in front of him and holding him up during the first stint, the range of opportunity to improve on his P9 start position was limited, and he ran to the flag without incident and just outside the points.
Q&A With Sam Michael, Technical Director
Q. Did Nico's fourth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix meet expectations?
SM: Yes. Before the race we knew it would be difficult to stay in front of the KERS cars going into turn one so Nico did well to exit the first corner in front of one of the McLarens as it enabled him to cover a lot of ground in the first stint. We cleared the Red Bull after the first pitstop, but Mark Webber managed to make it back past Nico which ultimately set the tone for the second stint.
Q: Nico had a problem during his first stop. What caused it and could he have finished third without it?
SM: We lost a lot of time during Nico’s first pitstop and then as well during the laps proceeding it. The two issues combined cost us a place to one of the McLarens, but we recovered that during the second round of stops.
Q: Nico set the third fastest race lap. What can be read into that?
SM: The FW31 was again competitive throughout the race. We now just have to keep bringing developments to the car to keep it that way!
Q: Did you have any tyre wear issues on either car?
SM: No, no tyre issues on either car.
Q: Kazuki just missed out on scoring a point. What were the key moments of his race?
SM: Kazuki had a great opening lap but then lost a position to Button at the start of his second lap. Unfortunately, the Brawn was heavier and slower during the first stint so Kazuki's race was compromised from the outset. It also allowed other drivers behind him who were running longer to close the gap.
Q: How will the two week summer shutdown affect your preparations for the European Grand Prix?
SM: We will be working hard this week to prepare the cars for Valencia and then the two week enforced shutdown will commence. It won't, however, affect our preparations for the next race.
Q: Do you expect the FW31 to be competitive at Valencia?
SM: Yes. Our performance was reasonable at Valencia last year because it's a street circuit. With the improvements we’ve made this year, we expect to be competitive again. However, it's an ideal circuit for KERS.
Race ResultsDriver Grid Position Pit Stops Best Lap Result
N Rosberg P5 2 (20, 49) 1:22.468 (3rd) 4th
K Nakajima P9 2 (22,56) 1:23.180 (11th) 9th
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Friday 31 July 2009
Force Indias race - Hungarian GP
The Force India Formula One Team has finished a tough, hot Hungarian Grand Prix with Giancarlo Fisichella in 14th position. Giancarlo used a two stop strategy to move three positions up on his starting slot and produced a particularly strong second and third stint when fighting with the BMW of Robert Kubica and Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP.
Adrian Sutil’s Hungarian Grand Prix unfortunately came to an end after just one lap. His VJM02’s water temperature had rocketed on the formation lap, causing the engine to run very hot. Adrian returned to the pits to attempt a solution, however when it became clear no immediate fix could be found Adrian was retired from the event to save the engine from damage.
The team now looks to the next event in Valencia where a major new aero upgrade package is anticipated.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
We had a problem with the water temperature so after one lap it had climbed to the maximum so the engine was running very hot. We had our first suspicions on the way to the grid and after a few corners it was clear that there was no way we could do the race. I had to retire to save the engine. It’s been a difficult weekend overall but I’m looking forward to Valencia now where we have a big upgrade package coming through.
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
The race was quite tough for us. The grid position wasn’t great and in the beginning we struggled a little bit with the grip. On the second and third stints though the car balance was actually pretty good and I was quicker than Barrichello and Kubica so I could push quite hard. Unfortunately here you just can’t find a way past so we had to settle for 14th. Now we can really start to look forward to the next Grand Prix in Valencia.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal
Obviously today’s race was overshadowed by Felipe’s accident yesterday and our thoughts are with him and his family. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. For us personally, the weekend has been one of mixed fortunes. Qualifying was not as we would have hoped, but Giancarlo had a strong outing with some very fast times in the mid point of the race and we again raced in the midfield. We’re now very much looking forward to Valencia where the new upgrades should give us yet another advance on the field.
Adrian Sutil’s Hungarian Grand Prix unfortunately came to an end after just one lap. His VJM02’s water temperature had rocketed on the formation lap, causing the engine to run very hot. Adrian returned to the pits to attempt a solution, however when it became clear no immediate fix could be found Adrian was retired from the event to save the engine from damage.
The team now looks to the next event in Valencia where a major new aero upgrade package is anticipated.
Adrian Sutil (car 20)
We had a problem with the water temperature so after one lap it had climbed to the maximum so the engine was running very hot. We had our first suspicions on the way to the grid and after a few corners it was clear that there was no way we could do the race. I had to retire to save the engine. It’s been a difficult weekend overall but I’m looking forward to Valencia now where we have a big upgrade package coming through.
Giancarlo Fisichella (car 21)
The race was quite tough for us. The grid position wasn’t great and in the beginning we struggled a little bit with the grip. On the second and third stints though the car balance was actually pretty good and I was quicker than Barrichello and Kubica so I could push quite hard. Unfortunately here you just can’t find a way past so we had to settle for 14th. Now we can really start to look forward to the next Grand Prix in Valencia.
Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal
Obviously today’s race was overshadowed by Felipe’s accident yesterday and our thoughts are with him and his family. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. For us personally, the weekend has been one of mixed fortunes. Qualifying was not as we would have hoped, but Giancarlo had a strong outing with some very fast times in the mid point of the race and we again raced in the midfield. We’re now very much looking forward to Valencia where the new upgrades should give us yet another advance on the field.
Wednesday 29 July 2009
Schumacher to return to F1 in Spain
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is to make a sensational return to Formula 1 competition deputising for Ferrari’s injured driver Felipe Massa, starting at the next race in Valencia on August 23.
After two days of feverish speculation in which rumours and denials contended with each other for press space, Ferrari confirmed that Schumacher will indeed take over Massa’s seat while the Brazilian driver recovers from head injuries suffered in his Hungaroring accident.
“Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro intends to put Michael Schumacher in Felipe Massa’s car until the Brazilian driver will be able to race again,” said a team statement.
“Michael Schumacher said he is ready and, over the next few days, will undertake a specific training programme at the end of which confirmation will be given of his participation in the championship with effect from the European Grand Prix on the 23rd August.”
Schumacher added: “The most important thing first: thank God, all the news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again.
“I met with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo this afternoon and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take Felipe’s place.
“Although it is true that the Formula 1 chapter of my life has been closed completely and for a long while, it is also true that out of loyalty to the team I cannot ignore the unfortunate situation [Massa’s absence].
“But as a competitor I am also very much looking forward to facing this challenge.”
After two days of feverish speculation in which rumours and denials contended with each other for press space, Ferrari confirmed that Schumacher will indeed take over Massa’s seat while the Brazilian driver recovers from head injuries suffered in his Hungaroring accident.
“Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro intends to put Michael Schumacher in Felipe Massa’s car until the Brazilian driver will be able to race again,” said a team statement.
“Michael Schumacher said he is ready and, over the next few days, will undertake a specific training programme at the end of which confirmation will be given of his participation in the championship with effect from the European Grand Prix on the 23rd August.”
Schumacher added: “The most important thing first: thank God, all the news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again.
“I met with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo this afternoon and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take Felipe’s place.
“Although it is true that the Formula 1 chapter of my life has been closed completely and for a long while, it is also true that out of loyalty to the team I cannot ignore the unfortunate situation [Massa’s absence].
“But as a competitor I am also very much looking forward to facing this challenge.”
Toyota moves to deny quit rumours
Toyota has moved to deny speculation that it is poised to follow BMW out of Formula 1 at the end of 2009.
Amid widespread suggestions that BMW's departure from the sport will be followed by another manufacturer imminently, rumours have revolved around Toyota.
This has been prompted by the fact that Toyota has not yet signed the Concorde Agreement that would tie it to F1, and the team's F1 president John Howett is in Japan at the moment discussing strategy with the Japanese car manufacturer's chiefs.
However, a spokesman for the Toyota Motor Corporation has dismissed any talk that Toyota is considering its future in F1, with its Concorde Agreement signature expected to be confirmed in the next few days.
"Through cost reduction we will continue our Formula 1 activities," said the spokesman. "Our situation remains unchanged."
Amid widespread suggestions that BMW's departure from the sport will be followed by another manufacturer imminently, rumours have revolved around Toyota.
This has been prompted by the fact that Toyota has not yet signed the Concorde Agreement that would tie it to F1, and the team's F1 president John Howett is in Japan at the moment discussing strategy with the Japanese car manufacturer's chiefs.
However, a spokesman for the Toyota Motor Corporation has dismissed any talk that Toyota is considering its future in F1, with its Concorde Agreement signature expected to be confirmed in the next few days.
"Through cost reduction we will continue our Formula 1 activities," said the spokesman. "Our situation remains unchanged."
Heidfeld: BMW's decision was 'totally unexpected'
Nick Heidfeld has expressed his surprise at BMW’s decision to withdraw from Formula One racing at the end of the season. Heidfeld has driven for the BMW Sauber team since their first year as a works entry in 2006.
“BMW's decision to no longer compete in Formula One was totally unexpected,” the 32 year-old said on his official website. “I feel very sorry for the members of the team with whom it has been my privilege to work with over the years. I would like to thank all of them for their tremendous support and for everything we have achieved together.”
The German is now focused on helping the team enjoy a positive end to the season, and finding a Formula One race drive for himself for the 2010 season.
“I'm not going to lose sight of my ambition to reach the top in Formula One,” he added. “I'll be doing my best to support the team and ensure that we get the best possible finish to the season. As far as my personal future is concerned, we'll now be continuing discussions under these changed circumstances.”
“BMW's decision to no longer compete in Formula One was totally unexpected,” the 32 year-old said on his official website. “I feel very sorry for the members of the team with whom it has been my privilege to work with over the years. I would like to thank all of them for their tremendous support and for everything we have achieved together.”
The German is now focused on helping the team enjoy a positive end to the season, and finding a Formula One race drive for himself for the 2010 season.
“I'm not going to lose sight of my ambition to reach the top in Formula One,” he added. “I'll be doing my best to support the team and ensure that we get the best possible finish to the season. As far as my personal future is concerned, we'll now be continuing discussions under these changed circumstances.”
FIA ‘not surprised’ by BMW's exit
The FIA has said it is not surprised by BMW’s decision to quit Formula 1 and blamed team principals for resisting cost-cutting measures that might have prevented its withdrawal.
The German carmaker announced on Wednesday morning that it would pull out of F1 at the end of the season due to a combination of a disappointing 2009 campaign and a change in its strategic priorities.
But the FIA seized on the news as evidence that it had been right to warn persistently about F1’s need to adapt to the new era of austerity ushered in by the global recession.
“The FIA regrets the announcement of BMW’s intended withdrawal from Formula 1 but is not surprised by it,” the governing body said in a statement.
“It has been clear for some time that motorsport cannot ignore the world economic crisis.
“Car manufacturers cannot be expected to continue to pour large sums of money into Formula 1 when their survival depends on redundancies, plant closures and the support of the taxpayer.
“This is why the FIA prepared regulations to reduce costs drastically.”
The governing body had pushed for the adoption of a £40m annual budget cap in 2010 before it was forced to back down by the Formula One Teams’ Association, with the deal agreed in Paris last month instead committing teams to scaling back budgets to early 1990s levels through self-policed measures.
The FIA suggested BMW might have been happier with the return on its investment in F1 had the more drastic spending curbs it proposed not been torpedoed by team principals.
It also hinted that it expects one or more other manufacturers to follow suit, referring to “further such announcements in the future” – although it hoped that enough had been done to prevent an exodus.
“These measures were needed to alleviate the pressure on manufacturers following Honda's withdrawal but also to make it possible for new teams to enter,” the FIA said.
“Had these regulations not been so strongly opposed by a number of team principals, the withdrawal of BMW and further such announcements in the future might have been avoided.
“Nevertheless, as a result of a sustained cost-cutting campaign by the FIA, new measures are in the process of being agreed which should make it easier for new teams to enter and enable existing ones to participate on much reduced budgets.
“It is no secret that these measures do not go as far as the FIA would have liked but a compromise was needed in the interests of harmony in the sport.
“Hopefully it will be enough to prevent further withdrawals and provide a solid foundation for Formula 1.
“As the guardian of the sport, the FIA is committed to ensuring that Formula 1 remains financially sustainable for all competing teams and it will always act to ensure that this remains the case.”
The German carmaker announced on Wednesday morning that it would pull out of F1 at the end of the season due to a combination of a disappointing 2009 campaign and a change in its strategic priorities.
But the FIA seized on the news as evidence that it had been right to warn persistently about F1’s need to adapt to the new era of austerity ushered in by the global recession.
“The FIA regrets the announcement of BMW’s intended withdrawal from Formula 1 but is not surprised by it,” the governing body said in a statement.
“It has been clear for some time that motorsport cannot ignore the world economic crisis.
“Car manufacturers cannot be expected to continue to pour large sums of money into Formula 1 when their survival depends on redundancies, plant closures and the support of the taxpayer.
“This is why the FIA prepared regulations to reduce costs drastically.”
The governing body had pushed for the adoption of a £40m annual budget cap in 2010 before it was forced to back down by the Formula One Teams’ Association, with the deal agreed in Paris last month instead committing teams to scaling back budgets to early 1990s levels through self-policed measures.
The FIA suggested BMW might have been happier with the return on its investment in F1 had the more drastic spending curbs it proposed not been torpedoed by team principals.
It also hinted that it expects one or more other manufacturers to follow suit, referring to “further such announcements in the future” – although it hoped that enough had been done to prevent an exodus.
“These measures were needed to alleviate the pressure on manufacturers following Honda's withdrawal but also to make it possible for new teams to enter,” the FIA said.
“Had these regulations not been so strongly opposed by a number of team principals, the withdrawal of BMW and further such announcements in the future might have been avoided.
“Nevertheless, as a result of a sustained cost-cutting campaign by the FIA, new measures are in the process of being agreed which should make it easier for new teams to enter and enable existing ones to participate on much reduced budgets.
“It is no secret that these measures do not go as far as the FIA would have liked but a compromise was needed in the interests of harmony in the sport.
“Hopefully it will be enough to prevent further withdrawals and provide a solid foundation for Formula 1.
“As the guardian of the sport, the FIA is committed to ensuring that Formula 1 remains financially sustainable for all competing teams and it will always act to ensure that this remains the case.”
FOTA vows to help save BMW Sauber
The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) has vowed to do all it can to help secure a future for the BMW Sauber team, following its parent company's decision to quit the sport.
Just as FOTA moved to help keep Brawn GP on the grid after Honda withdrew from F1 last December, the organisation's secretary general Simone Perillo said on Wednesday that the teams' body had held immediate talks to confirm its support for the Hinwil-based operation.
"FOTA Teams have immediately consulted each other and are ready to assure all the necessary support to the Swiss-based team, whose membership in the association is confirmed, to continue its involvement in the F1 Sport," said Perillo.
FOTA is poised to begin a detailed evaluation of what improvements can be made to the sport - and one option it is openly considering it for teams to run three cars in a bid to keep grid numbers high.
"It is worth mentioning that a professional work has already begun within FOTA, aimed at increasing the involvement of the fans and at improving the F1 show," continued Perillo.
"Among those initiatives, one that could be interesting is the introduction of a third car on the grid. FOTA will seek the opinions of all the most relevant stakeholders in order to exchange ideas and define proposals for the future of Formula 1.
"FOTA Teams now wish to have the necessary certainty and stability within Formula 1 in order to focus on those fundamental priorities for the future."
Just as FOTA moved to help keep Brawn GP on the grid after Honda withdrew from F1 last December, the organisation's secretary general Simone Perillo said on Wednesday that the teams' body had held immediate talks to confirm its support for the Hinwil-based operation.
"FOTA Teams have immediately consulted each other and are ready to assure all the necessary support to the Swiss-based team, whose membership in the association is confirmed, to continue its involvement in the F1 Sport," said Perillo.
FOTA is poised to begin a detailed evaluation of what improvements can be made to the sport - and one option it is openly considering it for teams to run three cars in a bid to keep grid numbers high.
"It is worth mentioning that a professional work has already begun within FOTA, aimed at increasing the involvement of the fans and at improving the F1 show," continued Perillo.
"Among those initiatives, one that could be interesting is the introduction of a third car on the grid. FOTA will seek the opinions of all the most relevant stakeholders in order to exchange ideas and define proposals for the future of Formula 1.
"FOTA Teams now wish to have the necessary certainty and stability within Formula 1 in order to focus on those fundamental priorities for the future."
BMW: no firm decisions on team breakup
Following the news that they are to pull out of Formula One racing at the end of the season, BMW have revealed they are yet to decide on the future of the team’s facilities and employees.
Since taking over the Sauber team in 2006, the team’s operations have been split between a factory in Switzerland at Hinwil and the car company's headquarters in the German city of Munich. At the start of 2009, over 400 staff were employed in the Swiss facility and 250 were working for the Formula One team in Germany.
“Since we only made this decision yesterday, we cannot provide any more precise information,” said Dr Klaus Draeger, the member of the BMW’s board of management responsible for development. “We will develop and assess various scenarios and do our best to find a solution for the employees in Hinwil and the staff members involved in the Formula One project in Munich."
Although he made it clear it was too early to quantify the number of redundancies, Draeger was quick to reassure staff that they would make further announcements in the near future. “We are aware of the responsibility we shoulder and will inform the staff as soon as we can make a clear statement," he concluded.
Since taking over the Sauber team in 2006, the team’s operations have been split between a factory in Switzerland at Hinwil and the car company's headquarters in the German city of Munich. At the start of 2009, over 400 staff were employed in the Swiss facility and 250 were working for the Formula One team in Germany.
“Since we only made this decision yesterday, we cannot provide any more precise information,” said Dr Klaus Draeger, the member of the BMW’s board of management responsible for development. “We will develop and assess various scenarios and do our best to find a solution for the employees in Hinwil and the staff members involved in the Formula One project in Munich."
Although he made it clear it was too early to quantify the number of redundancies, Draeger was quick to reassure staff that they would make further announcements in the near future. “We are aware of the responsibility we shoulder and will inform the staff as soon as we can make a clear statement," he concluded.
BMW announce Formula One withdrawal
BMW will end their involvement in Formula One racing at the end of the current season, it was announced on Wednesday. The move is part of what the German car maker described as a ‘landmark’ decision to restructure its motorsport activities.
The news came at a press conference held at the company’s German headquarters in Munich, attended by BMW Sauber team principal Mario Theissen, along with Dr. Norbert Reithofer, the chairman of the BMW board, and Dr. Klaus Draeger, the director for development.
BMW became Formula One entrants in 2006 after taking over the Swiss Sauber team. The company said the decision to withdraw stems from a desire to dedicate more resources to developing new, sustainable road car technologies.
“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us,” explained Reithofer. “But it’s a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment. Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."
Paying tribute to Theissen’s leadership of BMW Sauber, who finished third in last year’s championship, Reithofer added: “Mario has been in charge of our motorsports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula One racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this.”
Theissen commented: "Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years. But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula One racing.”
BMW’s original Formula One involvement began in the 1980s as an engine supplier. With Brabham from 1982 to ’85, the company clinched eight Formula One victories and one world title, courtesy of Nelson Piquet in 1983. Following a final win with Benetton in 1986, BMW were absent from F1 competition until 2000 when they began supplying engines to Williams, taking 10 victories over the following five years.
In 2006 the company took over the Sauber team and enjoyed a positive first season as a fully-fledged works entry, finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship, with two podium finishes. The team went from strength to strength in 2007, occupying the ‘best of the rest’ slot behind Ferrari and McLaren. Scoring in all 17 races, BMW Sauber eventually finished second in the standings, behind Ferrari.
Last year, the team became championship contenders, with driver Robert Kubica clinching the team’s first pole position in Bahrain and then a maiden win at the Canadian Grand Prix. However, they have found the going a lot tougher this season and have scored just eight points to date.
The news came at a press conference held at the company’s German headquarters in Munich, attended by BMW Sauber team principal Mario Theissen, along with Dr. Norbert Reithofer, the chairman of the BMW board, and Dr. Klaus Draeger, the director for development.
BMW became Formula One entrants in 2006 after taking over the Swiss Sauber team. The company said the decision to withdraw stems from a desire to dedicate more resources to developing new, sustainable road car technologies.
“Of course, this was a difficult decision for us,” explained Reithofer. “But it’s a resolute step in view of our company's strategic realignment. Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us."
Paying tribute to Theissen’s leadership of BMW Sauber, who finished third in last year’s championship, Reithofer added: “Mario has been in charge of our motorsports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula One racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this.”
Theissen commented: "Of course, we, the employees in Hinwil and Munich, would all have liked to continue this ambitious campaign and show that this season was just a hiccup following three successful years. But I can understand why this decision was made from a corporate perspective. We will now focus sharply on the remaining races and demonstrate our fighting spirit and put in a good result as we bid farewell to Formula One racing.”
BMW’s original Formula One involvement began in the 1980s as an engine supplier. With Brabham from 1982 to ’85, the company clinched eight Formula One victories and one world title, courtesy of Nelson Piquet in 1983. Following a final win with Benetton in 1986, BMW were absent from F1 competition until 2000 when they began supplying engines to Williams, taking 10 victories over the following five years.
In 2006 the company took over the Sauber team and enjoyed a positive first season as a fully-fledged works entry, finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship, with two podium finishes. The team went from strength to strength in 2007, occupying the ‘best of the rest’ slot behind Ferrari and McLaren. Scoring in all 17 races, BMW Sauber eventually finished second in the standings, behind Ferrari.
Last year, the team became championship contenders, with driver Robert Kubica clinching the team’s first pole position in Bahrain and then a maiden win at the Canadian Grand Prix. However, they have found the going a lot tougher this season and have scored just eight points to date.
Massa's left eye OK, says doctor
Felipe Massa has opened his left eye and can see with it, according to his personal doctor Dino Altmann – raising hopes that the Ferrari driver’s vision has not been permanently damaged and he will be able to race again.
Three days into his recovery after being hit on the helmet by a bouncing spring weighing almost a kilo that had broken free from Rubens Barrichello’s car in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, Massa is continuing to make encouraging progress in Budapest’s AEK hospital.
Altmann said that the 28-year-old Brazilian is now alert, speaking coherently in different languages and has been able to open and use his left eye, which was giving doctors cause for concern.
“His condition is improving quickly and constantly,” he said.
“He is more and more awake and reactive.
“He spoke to several people today, using three different languages, replying always in a coherent way.
“He’s also progressing with his physiotherapy very well. He opened his left eye and confirmed that he can see with it.
“As far as the near future is concerned we have to be cautious, but I have to say that also today there are very positive signs.”
Peter Bazso, medical director of the AEK hospital, echoed Altmann’s upbeat assessment, suggesting Massa may be well enough to leave hospital by the end of next week.
“My expectation is that he would walk out of the hospital on his own,” Bazso told Hungarian TV channel M1.
“If his recovery continues at this pace, I wouldn't rule out that he could leave within 10 days.”
And while emphasising that Massa’s condition remained serious, Bazso said the risk of complications was “decreasing by the day”.
Massa’s wife, parents, brother and manager Nicolas Todt have remained by his bedside, and Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali returned to the hospital on Tuesday morning.
Domenicali was delighted to see how much Massa had improved since his last visit.
“It’s good to have comforting news,” said the Italian.
“I spoke to Felipe and it was very emotional for me.
“He recognised me and I brought him a message from everybody at Ferrari and from the fans all over the world.
“I told him that his red car will wait for him until he’s ready to race again.
“Now we’ve got to take it step by step and remain cautious, but it’s really incredible to see all of this progress only three days after the accident.”
Three days into his recovery after being hit on the helmet by a bouncing spring weighing almost a kilo that had broken free from Rubens Barrichello’s car in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, Massa is continuing to make encouraging progress in Budapest’s AEK hospital.
Altmann said that the 28-year-old Brazilian is now alert, speaking coherently in different languages and has been able to open and use his left eye, which was giving doctors cause for concern.
“His condition is improving quickly and constantly,” he said.
“He is more and more awake and reactive.
“He spoke to several people today, using three different languages, replying always in a coherent way.
“He’s also progressing with his physiotherapy very well. He opened his left eye and confirmed that he can see with it.
“As far as the near future is concerned we have to be cautious, but I have to say that also today there are very positive signs.”
Peter Bazso, medical director of the AEK hospital, echoed Altmann’s upbeat assessment, suggesting Massa may be well enough to leave hospital by the end of next week.
“My expectation is that he would walk out of the hospital on his own,” Bazso told Hungarian TV channel M1.
“If his recovery continues at this pace, I wouldn't rule out that he could leave within 10 days.”
And while emphasising that Massa’s condition remained serious, Bazso said the risk of complications was “decreasing by the day”.
Massa’s wife, parents, brother and manager Nicolas Todt have remained by his bedside, and Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali returned to the hospital on Tuesday morning.
Domenicali was delighted to see how much Massa had improved since his last visit.
“It’s good to have comforting news,” said the Italian.
“I spoke to Felipe and it was very emotional for me.
“He recognised me and I brought him a message from everybody at Ferrari and from the fans all over the world.
“I told him that his red car will wait for him until he’s ready to race again.
“Now we’ve got to take it step by step and remain cautious, but it’s really incredible to see all of this progress only three days after the accident.”
Tuesday 28 July 2009
Manager rules out Schumi F1 return
Michael Schumacher’s manager Willi Weber has poured cold water on mounting speculation that the seven-time world champion might return to the Formula 1 cockpit as a replacement for the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari.
Schumacher’s official spokeswoman suggested on Tuesday morning that the legendary German would consider a stand-in role if called upon by Ferrari.
But after talks with Schumacher in Geneva on Monday, Weber said the 40-year-old German would not risk his reputation with an impromptu return in the unfamiliar F60 car.
“Whoever sits in the car at the next race in Valencia, it will not be Michael Schumacher,” Weber told the Daily Mail.
“I am not 100 per cent sure; I am 200 per cent sure.
“The pressure on him would be huge. He would be expected to win, but he has not driven this car.
“When Michael was racing he would get as close to perfection as possible.
“In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble - and that's not Michael's style.”
Schumacher retired from Formula 1 competition at the end of 2006 but still carries out ambassadorial and advisory duties for Ferrari.
He has tested the team’s F1 cars on several occasions since and attended numerous races, but has repeatedly ruled out a comeback.
His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm indicated that he might make an exception if requested to fill in for Massa, to whom he is a close friend and mentor, but Weber’s comments would suggest he has decided against doing so.
Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo and team principal Stefano Domenicali have said they are in no rush to choose a substitute driver given the long gap before the next race in Valencia, and their first priority is to monitor and assist Massa’s recuperation.
Doctors looking after the Brazilian driver at Budapest’s AEK hospital are increasingly optimistic about his chances of making a full recovery and say he may be able to walk out of hospital himself within the next 10 days.
Schumacher’s official spokeswoman suggested on Tuesday morning that the legendary German would consider a stand-in role if called upon by Ferrari.
But after talks with Schumacher in Geneva on Monday, Weber said the 40-year-old German would not risk his reputation with an impromptu return in the unfamiliar F60 car.
“Whoever sits in the car at the next race in Valencia, it will not be Michael Schumacher,” Weber told the Daily Mail.
“I am not 100 per cent sure; I am 200 per cent sure.
“The pressure on him would be huge. He would be expected to win, but he has not driven this car.
“When Michael was racing he would get as close to perfection as possible.
“In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble - and that's not Michael's style.”
Schumacher retired from Formula 1 competition at the end of 2006 but still carries out ambassadorial and advisory duties for Ferrari.
He has tested the team’s F1 cars on several occasions since and attended numerous races, but has repeatedly ruled out a comeback.
His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm indicated that he might make an exception if requested to fill in for Massa, to whom he is a close friend and mentor, but Weber’s comments would suggest he has decided against doing so.
Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo and team principal Stefano Domenicali have said they are in no rush to choose a substitute driver given the long gap before the next race in Valencia, and their first priority is to monitor and assist Massa’s recuperation.
Doctors looking after the Brazilian driver at Budapest’s AEK hospital are increasingly optimistic about his chances of making a full recovery and say he may be able to walk out of hospital himself within the next 10 days.
Q and A with Timo Glock
Conducted and provided by Toyota's press office.
Q. Are you happy with sixth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix?
Timo Glock: I am happy with the result in the end, especially considering I started from 13th. To make up seven places at the Hungaroring is not easy, so finishing in sixth is an encouraging result. It was nice to be back in the top six after a few tricky races and this was actually my best result since the podium in Malaysia.
Q. Was it a surprise to finish the race in the top six?
TG: On Saturday I could not have predicted a result like that but the team, like me and Jarno, never give up and they worked really hard to give us both the chance to finish in the points. Our strategy was excellent but a lot of credit goes to my pit crew as well because they did a great job all through the weekend, especially on Saturday when we needed to make some repairs very quickly. Then in the race my pit stops were perfect, which really makes a difference when you are in a close fight for position. Overall it was good team work from everyone and we got our reward.
Q. Realistically, was sixth the best possible result?
TG: We could definitely have been fifth because we had really strong pace throughout the race and I finished directly behind Heikki Kovalainen. However, as you always expect at this track, there was some traffic and that cost me time at the end of my first two stints. Kimi (Raikkonen) came out of the pits just ahead of me both times and, as he had more fuel than I did, he was slower than me. I was able to go quite a bit quicker but overtaking at the Hungaroring is tricky and I just couldn't get past. Without that, I am sure I would have been able to get Kovalainen for fifth. I put in some really quick laps towards the end, including the fifth fastest race lap, and caught him but it wasn't possible to pass.
Q. How did you make up so many positions in the race?
TG: As everyone knows, it is almost impossible to overtake in Hungary so strategy is very important if you are to make up positions. I got a pretty good start and overtook (Rubens) Barrichello so I was 12th at the end of the first lap which meant it was difficult to think about the top six at that point. But we were confident our strategy would help us gain positions during the long first stint; I just had to keep fighting and setting good lap times.
Q. How did the car feel during that first stint?
TG: Obviously we were really heavy at the start of the race and, just like at the Nurburgring, I was one of the last guys to make my first pit stop. It was tricky to start with but I found a good rhythm and my lap times were strong, even though I was heavier than the cars around me. The super soft Bridgestone tyres felt really good and didn't lose performance, even though I did a lot of laps on them, so the car felt spot on.
Q. Are you happy to have a break now? What will you do?
TG: It will be nice to have some time off but I am a racing driver and I love to drive Formula 1 cars, so I would never say I am happy to be away from them! The main priority for me during the summer break is to just relax and spend time with my family and friends; normally I have very little time to do that. It will be a relief to be away from airports for a little while and I will make sure I will get plenty of rest so I am refreshed for the last part of the season. But I won't be just putting my feet up the whole time. I have some fitness work planned with my physio so I will stay in good shape and I'll be really keen to get back in the car for Valencia.
Q. What are your thoughts ahead of the European Grand Prix?
TG: We were strong last year in Valencia so I am hopeful we will be again this time too. Qualifying is an area I want to improve on because that has been a bit frustrating for me in the last couple of races. If we can get the maximum out of the car and tyres over one lap in qualifying, I am sure we will be competitive and that gives us the best chance for the race. As always, my goal is to score as many points as possible; hopefully I can finish higher than my seventh place there last year.
Q. Are you happy with sixth place in the Hungarian Grand Prix?
Timo Glock: I am happy with the result in the end, especially considering I started from 13th. To make up seven places at the Hungaroring is not easy, so finishing in sixth is an encouraging result. It was nice to be back in the top six after a few tricky races and this was actually my best result since the podium in Malaysia.
Q. Was it a surprise to finish the race in the top six?
TG: On Saturday I could not have predicted a result like that but the team, like me and Jarno, never give up and they worked really hard to give us both the chance to finish in the points. Our strategy was excellent but a lot of credit goes to my pit crew as well because they did a great job all through the weekend, especially on Saturday when we needed to make some repairs very quickly. Then in the race my pit stops were perfect, which really makes a difference when you are in a close fight for position. Overall it was good team work from everyone and we got our reward.
Q. Realistically, was sixth the best possible result?
TG: We could definitely have been fifth because we had really strong pace throughout the race and I finished directly behind Heikki Kovalainen. However, as you always expect at this track, there was some traffic and that cost me time at the end of my first two stints. Kimi (Raikkonen) came out of the pits just ahead of me both times and, as he had more fuel than I did, he was slower than me. I was able to go quite a bit quicker but overtaking at the Hungaroring is tricky and I just couldn't get past. Without that, I am sure I would have been able to get Kovalainen for fifth. I put in some really quick laps towards the end, including the fifth fastest race lap, and caught him but it wasn't possible to pass.
Q. How did you make up so many positions in the race?
TG: As everyone knows, it is almost impossible to overtake in Hungary so strategy is very important if you are to make up positions. I got a pretty good start and overtook (Rubens) Barrichello so I was 12th at the end of the first lap which meant it was difficult to think about the top six at that point. But we were confident our strategy would help us gain positions during the long first stint; I just had to keep fighting and setting good lap times.
Q. How did the car feel during that first stint?
TG: Obviously we were really heavy at the start of the race and, just like at the Nurburgring, I was one of the last guys to make my first pit stop. It was tricky to start with but I found a good rhythm and my lap times were strong, even though I was heavier than the cars around me. The super soft Bridgestone tyres felt really good and didn't lose performance, even though I did a lot of laps on them, so the car felt spot on.
Q. Are you happy to have a break now? What will you do?
TG: It will be nice to have some time off but I am a racing driver and I love to drive Formula 1 cars, so I would never say I am happy to be away from them! The main priority for me during the summer break is to just relax and spend time with my family and friends; normally I have very little time to do that. It will be a relief to be away from airports for a little while and I will make sure I will get plenty of rest so I am refreshed for the last part of the season. But I won't be just putting my feet up the whole time. I have some fitness work planned with my physio so I will stay in good shape and I'll be really keen to get back in the car for Valencia.
Q. What are your thoughts ahead of the European Grand Prix?
TG: We were strong last year in Valencia so I am hopeful we will be again this time too. Qualifying is an area I want to improve on because that has been a bit frustrating for me in the last couple of races. If we can get the maximum out of the car and tyres over one lap in qualifying, I am sure we will be competitive and that gives us the best chance for the race. As always, my goal is to score as many points as possible; hopefully I can finish higher than my seventh place there last year.
FIA to investigate debris-related accidents
Max Mosley, President of Formula One racing’s governing body the FIA, has asked the organisation’s Safety Commission to prepare a report on recent debris-related accidents.
It follows the death of Henry Surtees in an F2 race at Brands Hatch after he was hit by a loose wheel and the serious injuries sustained by Felipe Massa in Hungary after he was struck by a spring from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn.
The FIA Safety Commission, which is made up of medical and technical representatives from all areas of motor sport, will submit its report and recommendations to the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.
According to the FIA, preliminary findings suggest the helmet being used by Massa may have played a significant role in limiting the injuries sustained. The FIA 8860 helmet, which took eight years to develop by the FIA and FIA Institute, provides increased protection in all key impact areas.
It follows the death of Henry Surtees in an F2 race at Brands Hatch after he was hit by a loose wheel and the serious injuries sustained by Felipe Massa in Hungary after he was struck by a spring from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn.
The FIA Safety Commission, which is made up of medical and technical representatives from all areas of motor sport, will submit its report and recommendations to the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council.
According to the FIA, preliminary findings suggest the helmet being used by Massa may have played a significant role in limiting the injuries sustained. The FIA 8860 helmet, which took eight years to develop by the FIA and FIA Institute, provides increased protection in all key impact areas.
Abu Dhabi to boast F1-inspired architecture
With a little over three months to go before it hosts its very first Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi is buzzing with excitement about the arrival of Formula One racing. And to reflect the mood, race organisers have announced they are to boost the city’s skyline with a building inspired by the shape of a Formula One car’s front wing.
Located on the prestigious seafront area known as the Corniche, ‘The Wing’ will feature a restaurant, boutique, auditorium and function facilities. Developed by Aldar Properties and operated by Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, the venue hopes to connect the city with the Yas Marina Circuit, which will host the race on November 1.
“We believe The Wing will become the social hub of Abu Dhabi as well as a sought-after destination for regional and international visitors,” explained Richard Cregan, Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management CEO. “As with the Yas Marina Circuit, our aspiration is to create a unique venue with a special ambiance that provides an unforgettable experience.”
“Through the use of these world-class facilities, and events like the Grand Prix, we will contribute to Abu Dhabi’s vision of becoming a destination of choice for business, culture, and leisure”.
'The Wing’ is scheduled to officially open at the end of 2009.
Located on the prestigious seafront area known as the Corniche, ‘The Wing’ will feature a restaurant, boutique, auditorium and function facilities. Developed by Aldar Properties and operated by Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, the venue hopes to connect the city with the Yas Marina Circuit, which will host the race on November 1.
“We believe The Wing will become the social hub of Abu Dhabi as well as a sought-after destination for regional and international visitors,” explained Richard Cregan, Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management CEO. “As with the Yas Marina Circuit, our aspiration is to create a unique venue with a special ambiance that provides an unforgettable experience.”
“Through the use of these world-class facilities, and events like the Grand Prix, we will contribute to Abu Dhabi’s vision of becoming a destination of choice for business, culture, and leisure”.
'The Wing’ is scheduled to officially open at the end of 2009.
BMW Sauber take heart from McLaren
BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen says McLaren’s victory in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix will motivate his team, serving as proof that it is possible to recover from a poor start to the season and win.
BMW Sauber scored 135 points last year. In 2009 they have managed just eight. However, with McLaren having taken only 14 prior to their Hungaroring triumph, Theissen believes his team’s form could change just as rapidly.
“It is remarkable how quickly the balance of power has shifted this year,” Theissen told BMW Sauber’s website. “The entire field is tightly packed, and whoever manages to enhance the performance of their car significantly can make massive strides forward. That is encouraging, and provides a big incentive for our team.”
BMW Sauber have struggled to get a handle on the F1.09’s lack of performance, though there were signs of progress in Hungary. Nick Heidfeld was second fastest in Saturday’s final practice and Theissen believes both he and team mate Robert Kubica would have made Q3 had it not been for a mix of traffic, yellow flags and driver errors.
“Nick had proven the potential of the car,” he said. “Naturally the opposition doesn’t show their full hands during Saturday morning’s session, but our performance was still solid and thus we knew the car had the speed to post top-ten times.”
Despite making up places at the start, both drivers races were also blighted by traffic, with Heidfeld eventually finishing 11th and Kubica 13th. Nevertheless, Theissen insists development of the F1.09 will continue ‘unabated’, with updates planned for the forthcoming European Grand Prix and for later in the season.
“A new aero package is scheduled for introduction at Valencia after the summer break, and we have a comprehensive development package planned for Singapore,” he added.
In line with an agreement between all the teams, BMW Sauber will close their factory for two weeks at the start of August before heading to Spain for the next round.
BMW Sauber scored 135 points last year. In 2009 they have managed just eight. However, with McLaren having taken only 14 prior to their Hungaroring triumph, Theissen believes his team’s form could change just as rapidly.
“It is remarkable how quickly the balance of power has shifted this year,” Theissen told BMW Sauber’s website. “The entire field is tightly packed, and whoever manages to enhance the performance of their car significantly can make massive strides forward. That is encouraging, and provides a big incentive for our team.”
BMW Sauber have struggled to get a handle on the F1.09’s lack of performance, though there were signs of progress in Hungary. Nick Heidfeld was second fastest in Saturday’s final practice and Theissen believes both he and team mate Robert Kubica would have made Q3 had it not been for a mix of traffic, yellow flags and driver errors.
“Nick had proven the potential of the car,” he said. “Naturally the opposition doesn’t show their full hands during Saturday morning’s session, but our performance was still solid and thus we knew the car had the speed to post top-ten times.”
Despite making up places at the start, both drivers races were also blighted by traffic, with Heidfeld eventually finishing 11th and Kubica 13th. Nevertheless, Theissen insists development of the F1.09 will continue ‘unabated’, with updates planned for the forthcoming European Grand Prix and for later in the season.
“A new aero package is scheduled for introduction at Valencia after the summer break, and we have a comprehensive development package planned for Singapore,” he added.
In line with an agreement between all the teams, BMW Sauber will close their factory for two weeks at the start of August before heading to Spain for the next round.
Schumacher would consider filling in for Massa
Michael Schumacher’s official spokeswoman has said the seven-time world champion would consider stepping into the injured Felipe Massa’s race seat at Ferrari if called upon by the Maranello team.
Massa suffered a fractured skull in an accident in Hungary last Saturday and doctors do not expect him to race again this season, although that judgment remains provisional until the extent of Massa’s injuries are clearer.
In any event Massa will not be fit to compete in the next grand prix in Valencia on August 23, and Ferrari is therefore expected to appoint a substitute to drive alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told BBC Sport that the 40-year-old German would consider any approach from Ferrari, but emphasised that it would be up to the team to make the first move.
“The whole thing will be considered by Ferrari,” Kehm said.
“If they approach Michael, then he will consider it.
“But there is no reason for him to step into their discussion.”
Ferrari’s chairman Luca di Montezemolo said on Monday that the Scuderia was in no hurry to choose a replacement for Massa and that the long break before Valencia gave it plenty of time to reach the right decision.
Schumacher retired from Formula 1 at the end of 2006 but has tested Ferrari’s grand prix cars several times since, and is still contracted to the team in a consultancy role.
In recent interviews he appeared to rule out a return to the sport’s front line, but his spokeswoman said a temporary return in the current circumstances was conceivable.
“Usually, I would say he's not interested because he’s fine with his life and he doesn’t miss anything but now the situation is so different,” she said.
Khem added that the scenario remained “very hypothetical” and Schumacher “doesn’t want to step into that [discussion]”.
Schumacher was one of the fittest drivers in F1 history and still trains regularly, but suffered a minor neck injury after crashing while testing a Honda superbike in February.
“I really can't tell you if his neck would be fine to drive an F1 race,” said Kehm.
“If Ferrari asked him whether he would consider driving, he would have it checked – and remember he is a 40-year-old man, too.”
Ferrari’s other options for a substitute driver appear limited.
Spaniard Marc Gene, 35, and 38-year-old Italian Luca Badoer are the team’s long-serving test drivers, but neither has recent F1 race experience.
Gene filled in for injured Williams driver Ralf Schumacher in three races in 2003 and 2004, but Badoer has not competed in a grand prix since 1999, when he raced for Minardi.
Fernando Alonso is widely expected to join Ferrari in 2010 and there has been conjecture that the Spaniard might even take over Massa’s seat in Valencia later this month since his own team, Renault, has been excluded from his home event for failing to secure a wheel on his car at a pit stop during the Hungarian GP.
Renault is appealing its Valencia suspension, however, and would be unlikely to want to relinquish its prize driver to one of its main rivals in the middle of the season.
Massa suffered a fractured skull in an accident in Hungary last Saturday and doctors do not expect him to race again this season, although that judgment remains provisional until the extent of Massa’s injuries are clearer.
In any event Massa will not be fit to compete in the next grand prix in Valencia on August 23, and Ferrari is therefore expected to appoint a substitute to drive alongside Kimi Raikkonen.
Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told BBC Sport that the 40-year-old German would consider any approach from Ferrari, but emphasised that it would be up to the team to make the first move.
“The whole thing will be considered by Ferrari,” Kehm said.
“If they approach Michael, then he will consider it.
“But there is no reason for him to step into their discussion.”
Ferrari’s chairman Luca di Montezemolo said on Monday that the Scuderia was in no hurry to choose a replacement for Massa and that the long break before Valencia gave it plenty of time to reach the right decision.
Schumacher retired from Formula 1 at the end of 2006 but has tested Ferrari’s grand prix cars several times since, and is still contracted to the team in a consultancy role.
In recent interviews he appeared to rule out a return to the sport’s front line, but his spokeswoman said a temporary return in the current circumstances was conceivable.
“Usually, I would say he's not interested because he’s fine with his life and he doesn’t miss anything but now the situation is so different,” she said.
Khem added that the scenario remained “very hypothetical” and Schumacher “doesn’t want to step into that [discussion]”.
Schumacher was one of the fittest drivers in F1 history and still trains regularly, but suffered a minor neck injury after crashing while testing a Honda superbike in February.
“I really can't tell you if his neck would be fine to drive an F1 race,” said Kehm.
“If Ferrari asked him whether he would consider driving, he would have it checked – and remember he is a 40-year-old man, too.”
Ferrari’s other options for a substitute driver appear limited.
Spaniard Marc Gene, 35, and 38-year-old Italian Luca Badoer are the team’s long-serving test drivers, but neither has recent F1 race experience.
Gene filled in for injured Williams driver Ralf Schumacher in three races in 2003 and 2004, but Badoer has not competed in a grand prix since 1999, when he raced for Minardi.
Fernando Alonso is widely expected to join Ferrari in 2010 and there has been conjecture that the Spaniard might even take over Massa’s seat in Valencia later this month since his own team, Renault, has been excluded from his home event for failing to secure a wheel on his car at a pit stop during the Hungarian GP.
Renault is appealing its Valencia suspension, however, and would be unlikely to want to relinquish its prize driver to one of its main rivals in the middle of the season.
Sunday 26 July 2009
Renault suspended from European GP
Renault has been suspended from the European Grand Prix for the events that led to a wheel coming off Fernando Alonso's car in Hungary today.
Following a post-race discussion with the stewards, it was deemed that the team had breached the regulations enough for it to be suspended from the next event.
It means Alonso will miss his home event that takes place in Valencia next month, unless he moves to another team.
Alonso had been leading the race up until his stop, but his efforts came to nothing after his right front wheel was not fitted properly. It worked its way loose and flew off the car later that lap, ending up against the crash barriers.
A statement issued by the stewards on Sunday night said that there had been multiple breaches of the regulations by the Renault team.
Stewards talked to Renault representatives twice after the race.
The statement said that Renault "knowingly released car no. 7 from the pitstop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position, this being an indication that the wheel itself may not have been properly secured."
It added that Renault, "being aware of this, failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pitlane....failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture."
It said that the team's actions had compromised safety in breach of Article 3.2 of the Sporting Regulations, and in breach of Article 23.1.i had released the car from the pits before it was safe to do so.
Renault has been reminded of its right to appeal the decision.
Following a post-race discussion with the stewards, it was deemed that the team had breached the regulations enough for it to be suspended from the next event.
It means Alonso will miss his home event that takes place in Valencia next month, unless he moves to another team.
Alonso had been leading the race up until his stop, but his efforts came to nothing after his right front wheel was not fitted properly. It worked its way loose and flew off the car later that lap, ending up against the crash barriers.
A statement issued by the stewards on Sunday night said that there had been multiple breaches of the regulations by the Renault team.
Stewards talked to Renault representatives twice after the race.
The statement said that Renault "knowingly released car no. 7 from the pitstop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position, this being an indication that the wheel itself may not have been properly secured."
It added that Renault, "being aware of this, failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pitlane....failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture."
It said that the team's actions had compromised safety in breach of Article 3.2 of the Sporting Regulations, and in breach of Article 23.1.i had released the car from the pits before it was safe to do so.
Renault has been reminded of its right to appeal the decision.
Renault appeals stewards' decision
Renault has confirmed that it will appeal the FIA's decision to ban the team from the European Grand Prix for the events that led to a wheel coming off Fernando Alonso's car in Hungary.
The team lodged its paperwork and a deposit for the 6000 Euros fee for the appeal, with a hearing now likely take place in the summer break before the European GP on August 23.
The paperwork, lodged in conjunction with the French motorsport federation, was signed by Renault's team manager Steve Nielsen and was received by the FIA's stewards' chairman Alan Donnelly shortly before 7pm.
The team lodged its paperwork and a deposit for the 6000 Euros fee for the appeal, with a hearing now likely take place in the summer break before the European GP on August 23.
The paperwork, lodged in conjunction with the French motorsport federation, was signed by Renault's team manager Steve Nielsen and was received by the FIA's stewards' chairman Alan Donnelly shortly before 7pm.
Hungarian Grand Prix - selected driver quotes
Force India’s Adrian Sutil on his early exit; Renault’s Fernando Alonso on the dramatic wheel problem that ended his race; and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on finding his way back to the top step of the podium for the first time since China 2008. The drivers and senior team personnel report back on Sunday’s race action…
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (1st):
“It’s an incredible feeling to be back on the top spot after what feels like such a long time and such a struggle. This was one of my best races - I never gave up and, more importantly, neither did anyone in this team. I’m so proud of all the guys. We didn’t expect to win today - we didn’t think we quite had the overall pace - but the car was just perfect to drive, it felt fantastic for the entire race. We need to take as much as we can from this weekend. We’ll continue to push because that’s the only way this team knows. Now we want to be winners on a regular basis. Finally, my thoughts are with Felipe today. Despite our celebrations, it’s important to remember that there’s a guy lying in a hospital bed tonight, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we all had Felipe in our hearts and minds today and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Heikki Kovalainen (5th):
“This was a great race for the whole team and particularly for Lewis. Hopefully next time it will be me! This victory proves just how much the team has improved the performance of our car during the past few months: this is the result of the hard work of every single man and woman in our team - and this victory must be especially sweet for all of them. Our thoughts are also with Felipe - I want to wish him all the best and hope he’ll be back in Formula One soon.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal:
“Even as recently as four weeks ago, I don’t think many people would have believed you if you’d told them that we’d win the Hungarian Grand Prix in dominant fashion, but that’s exactly what we did today. And the fact that we did just that is a fantastic testimony to what can only be described as a superhuman team effort. Yes, 2009 has been a very hard year for us, but no-one at Woking, Brixworth or Stuttgart ever gave up; we all kept pulling together, we all kept our spirits up, and above all we all kept working. I’m immensely proud of every single one of them. And, today, Lewis, who has also never stopped pushing all year, was simply magnificent: there’s no other word. He was in the groove all afternoon, he delivered breathtaking speed where it mattered, and he controlled the race like the winner he is. So, going forward, what can I say? We had the strongest car at the Hungaroring this afternoon - and, although it’s an idiosyncratic circuit, we’re confident that we’ll have a reasonable package for Valencia, too. But motor racing is an unpredictable business and the only thing you can bet your house on is that we’ll never stop working. And, more than that, we’ll grow stronger as a result of the difficulties we’ve faced: we’ve learned lessons this year, and for next season we’re aiming to build a car that’s capable of challenging for the world championship from the start of the season, not halfway through it!”
Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“A sensation! Lewis was a class of his own - a historic win, the first with the KERS Hybrid in Formula One - the Silver Arrows are flying again! Unfortunately, Heikki got stuck in traffic, but he was fast and with his fifth place we scored as many points today as in the previous nine races together. We think of Felipe - he would have been capable of being among the best or even to fight for a victory today, as Kimi showed. We wish him a good recovery. Thank you to all our team members who worked so incredibly hard for this success. Now is the summer break and you deserve it.”
Red Bull
Mark Webber (3rd):
“I expected us to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday, but to be honest we expected these guys (McLaren and Ferrari) to be around us. We knew it would be a more difficult venue for us and that we wouldn’t have the advantage that we maybe had at the last two events so, all-in-all, I’m happy to get the result we did today. I think we would have had a better chance to fight with Kimi (Raikkonen) if we’d made a slightly different pit stop and chose a different tyre for the middle stint, but that was my call. I was worried about how long the middle stint was, so it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on. Overall we still have a lot of positives to take away from here - we’re still up there, we’re in the hunt and know that we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive. Red Bull and Renault have a lot to be proud of, we’re still a strong force and it’s a positive day.”
Sebastian Vettel (DNF):
“I had a collision on the first corner with Kimi. I was on the inside and had a clear run to accelerate, his car came sideways and we touched - he crashed into my car, it can happen. This was why my first pit stop was bad and, at some point, the front-left suspension gave up and we had to retire the car. We knew it would be close with the other teams here, but at the start of the race there’s nothing you can do other than putting your foot down. We have a button on our steering wheel, which is similar to the other teams, but nothing happens if you press it. You go into the first corner and you have five or six cars next to each other instead of three or four, so it’s a different situation. There are still a few races left this season and the race is still on, so we will see what we can do.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal:
“A good drive from Mark today for third. Unfortunately, we perhaps gave away too much time in the middle stint on the harder tyre and a small issue at Mark’s pit stop allowed Kimi (Raikkonen) to jump ahead, but I think Lewis was out of reach today. Nonetheless, a good result for Mark in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. For Sebastian, things just didn’t go his way today - unfortunately a knock on the first lap looks as though it caused suspension damage that resulted in his retirement. Going into the break, we’ve closed the gap in the constructors’ and we’re looking forward to the next race in four weeks time in Valencia.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support:
“A difficult race. Our cars made very good starts, but the long run to the first corner meant the KERS cars were stronger and unfortunately we lost some places. Sebastian had an accident, which caused damage that forced him to retire. Mark had a solid race, in which tyres played a big role. We finished third and scored more points than Brawn, so in the end a good result for the team, but a disappointing result for Sebastian.”
Williams
Nico Rosberg, Williams (4th):
"I am quite pleased with the outcome today as it was quite tricky, especially at the start against the KERS cars. Initially I had no chance off the line, but the first corner was quite a big mess and I managed to profit from this and climb back to fifth place, which was important. As the race settled down, I had to manage the tyres cautiously because of graining in both the first and second stint. Given all of these issues, we have to be very happy with fourth place and I am now up to fifth in the championship, although of course this was in part due to the fact that Felipe (Massa) wasn’t able to start today. Anyway, I am enjoying working with the team and everyone is pushing on really well, so we'll continue to improve if we keep moving in this direction.”
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams (9th):
“After the first lap when I got past Jenson, I couldn’t hold the position and once he had got back past me, it dictated my race I it was a big moment for me and made it very difficult to improve for the rest of the day despite good car pace as I was running in traffic. We just need to keep pushing and one race soon we are going to get the result.”
Sam Michael, Williams technical director:
“It was good to score some points from another fourth place for Nico, although our expectations are going up and we really want to get onto the podium. It was a shame to miss out on a point for Kazuki. Both drivers had good starts and race pace was underlined by Nico’s third fastest lap, so everything is going in the right direction, we just need to start putting away some more points.”
Timo Glock (6th):
"I thoroughly enjoyed my race and to finish inside the top six after starting from 13th is a very good result. I have to say thanks to the team for their good work this weekend, especially to my car crew who have done such a great job. Our strategy was really strong today and the car felt spot on, so it was a nice race for me. In the first stint, on such a heavy fuel load, I struggled a little to start with but then I found a good rhythm and made up a lot of time, especially in the second stint. I had a really good feeling for the car and the tyres performed very well; really consistent. This result is better than I expected today so I am happy and it's nice to be back in the points again."
Jarno Trulli (8th):
"I said yesterday that I never give up and I think today's result shows that because I made up several positions and finished in the points again. The car felt strong early in the race and I think I had good pace but I was also stuck in traffic and that made things a little tricky. Later on I started to lose a bit of grip but I kept fighting because I knew we could get in the points. It's a pity we qualified outside the top 10 because who knows what could have been possible but I am happy to be in the points again and this is a positive result for the team. Now I am looking forward to the European Grand Prix in Valencia where I hope we will be even stronger."
John Howett, Toyota team president:
"That was a strong team effort and I am pleased with our performance today, especially after the difficult qualifying. The drivers performed exceptionally well to make up so many places; we had a strong strategy and the pit crew did a great job, all of which is very encouraging. We have to understand why we did not show this performance in qualifying but we will be working hard to remedy that for the next race so we can get both cars into the top six. Our factory closes for two weeks at the start of August and that gives us time to gather our strength and come back with renewed vigour in Valencia, where we performed well last year and aim to do so again this time."
Brawn GP
Jenson Button (7th):
"We felt positive that we could get a good result today but unfortunately it turned into damage limitation for our championship challenge. I was heavily fuelled after qualifying and our plan was to get a good start, stay with the cars in front and then I was going longer at the first stop. My rear tyres grained massively in the first few laps which took away any chance that I had of keeping pace with the front-runners. We don't know what the problem is right now as our pace on the option tyre on Friday was pretty good and we were able to manage the rear end much better than some of the others. The car just doesn't feel like it did a few races ago but we'll work hard to identify the problems before Valencia. It's disappointing as we had high hopes for this race but we were fortunate to come away with two points."
Rubens Barrichello (10th):
"There was some good action out there but my race was really compromised from the start which is a shame as the potential was definitely there for a points finish. I had some contact from another car when I turned into the second corner which dropped me to the back of the field. It was always going to be difficult to make progress from there but there were flashes of pace, particularly during the last stint when I was able to close up to the cars ahead. It's been a very difficult weekend and one to forget really. We know that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us to find out what is affecting our performance."
Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal:
"Hungary has proved to be a very challenging weekend for the team which has left us with a number of questions to answer regarding the performance of the car. After a positive start on Friday where we felt that we had a good understanding of the tyres, they proved to be our main area of concern in the race today. Both drivers tried different strategies with their tyre choices but we were unable to prevent the graining which affected their pace at crucial stages of the race. We have four weeks until the next race and after our factory shutdown we will be working extremely hard to identify the cause of our recent issues and make the improvements required to return to our early season form. Finally congratulations to Mercedes-Benz on a very well-deserved win today for what is their seventh victory of the season."
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (11th):
"From 15th on the grid, finishing 11th was the best € could achieve today. Over the first few metres my start was good and I immediately made up some places, but then later on the first lap I lost them again. First somebody hit me from behind and later I went wide in Turn 11. Then it took a while before I was able to overtake Sebastien Buemi, and after that I got stuck in traffic again. That’s why we decided to make my first pit stop a couple of laps earlier than planned. This is, of course, a disadvantage, but due to the traffic situation it still paid off. Despite the rather heavy car, the pace wasn’t too bad. But overall looking at the situation we found ourselves in, I would say the car has been quicker this weekend and it is a shame we didn’t convert this progress into points.”
Robert Kubica (13th):
"I had a good start and a good first lap, and managed to make up a lot of positions then. At least this is something positive. Unfortunately, I had massive understeer and a lot of front tyre wear during the entire race. About ten laps into each stint my front tyres degraded a lot and I was very slow.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
"For our team this was a race without anything significant happening. Both drivers were able to make up places at the start and keep themselves in the racing action. Our cars ran trouble-free, but after the difficult qualifying there was nothing more we could do on this track. With better starting positions we would have been able to fight for points today. Congratulations to the McLaren Mercedes team for a very convincing victory. It is remarkable how quickly the balance of power is constantly changing this season.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Starting from 15th and 18th, any prospects for the race are obviously limited. Therefore we tried to make up lost ground with our strategy. This worked well at the start when both drivers gained places. But then, from Lap 18 onwards, Nick got stuck in traffic and lost too much time. We therefore decided to make an earlier pit stop for him. At the end of the day it didn’t help much. Based on our grid positions, there was nothing else we could achieve."
Renault
Nelson Piquet (12th):
“I made a very good start and managed to overtake several cars, but then I was always stuck behind somebody, which didn’t help my race. I was also a bit unlucky with the strategy and I think my race would have worked out a lot better if I had been in some clean air. The car was good today and I’m glad that I benefited from the new updates this weekend.”
Fernando Alonso (DNF):
“Today we missed an opportunity to finish on the podium. I made a good start and the car was quick during my first stint, but then we had a problem at my first stop fitting the right front wheel to the car. When I left the pits there was a lot of vibration and it felt like I had a puncture, but then a few corners later the wheel flew off my car. I made it back to the pits to replace it, but then the problem I’d had with my fuel pump since lap two returned and started to get worse so we had to retire the car. It’s a shame that we missed this chance, but these things happen in racing and I’m trying to look on the bright side because we saw this weekend that the car is very competitive. I’m now looking ahead to the next race in Valencia, where I hope we can build on the promise we have shown.”
Pat Symonds, Renault executive director of engineering:
“It’s a very disappointing end to a weekend that started with a lot of promise. From around lap two, Fernando had a failure on the fuel pump and we had to try and control the problem manually, which cost us a lot of time. We stopped early because of that and then unfortunately we had a problem with the wheel fitting. Ultimately we retired the car because of the fuel pump problem. Nelson was always going to have a difficult afternoon and he pushed through to finish the race, but he wasn’t in a position to score any points.”
Remi Taffin, Renault head of engine operations:
“Fernando made a good start, probably his best of the year and he had good pace in the early laps so we were hopeful of a good result and aiming for a podium. Unfortunately a technical problem ended his race. It’s frustrating, but once again we have demonstrated the progress that we have made recently as this is only the second race where we have benefited from the new developments. Our attention now turns towards the European Grand Prix where we hope to convert our potential into a good result.”
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella (14th):
“The race was quite tough for us. The grid position wasn't great and in the beginning we struggled a little bit with the grip. On the second and third stints though the car balance was actually pretty good and I was quicker than Barrichello and Kubica so I could push quite hard. Unfortunately here you just can't find a way past so we had to settle for 14th. Now we can really start to look forward to the next Grand Prix in Valencia.”
Adrian Sutil (DNF):
“We had a problem with the water temperature so after one lap it had climbed to the maximum so the engine was running very hot. We had our first suspicions on the way to the grid and after a few corners it was clear that there was no way we could do the race. I had to retire to save the engine. It's been a difficult weekend overall but I'm looking forward to Valencia now where we have a big upgrade package coming through.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal:
“Obviously today's race was overshadowed by Felipe's accident yesterday and our thoughts are with him and his family. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. For us personally, the weekend has been one of mixed fortunes. Qualifying was not as we would have hoped, but Giancarlo had a strong outing with some very fast times in the mid point of the race and we again raced in the midfield. We're now very much looking forward to Valencia where the new upgrades should give us yet another advance on the field.”
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari (15th):
“I am very happy to have finished, but the last five laps were very difficult from the physical point of view. I found it hard to keep the car on the pace, but I am very satisfied. P15 is not so bad, but the main objective was to complete the 70 laps, with no mistakes, maintaining my pace. I have learned a lot but I have to say there are some aspects of F1 which made me think, ‘this is tough’.”
Sebastien Buemi (16th):
“I am very disappointed with this race, as I made a lot of mistakes and I am not at all happy with my performance. I don’t think starting on the harder tyres was the right decision. I lost several places at the start and got stuck in traffic. Just a bad race. The car was good, as we showed in qualifying but today I was the one who made the mistakes. The only positive thing is that the car is definitely improved with this new package.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Well done to Jaime on finishing his first race, which means he’s learned a lot this weekend. That was our main target with him. He will need another two races, after which I expect to see him make it through to Q2. Unfortunately, Sebastien caught some debris on the right side of the front wing, damaging it, thus losing performance. We will now focus on Valencia, where we will have a new front wing which should help us to improve our overall performance.”
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton (1st):
“It’s an incredible feeling to be back on the top spot after what feels like such a long time and such a struggle. This was one of my best races - I never gave up and, more importantly, neither did anyone in this team. I’m so proud of all the guys. We didn’t expect to win today - we didn’t think we quite had the overall pace - but the car was just perfect to drive, it felt fantastic for the entire race. We need to take as much as we can from this weekend. We’ll continue to push because that’s the only way this team knows. Now we want to be winners on a regular basis. Finally, my thoughts are with Felipe today. Despite our celebrations, it’s important to remember that there’s a guy lying in a hospital bed tonight, and I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say that we all had Felipe in our hearts and minds today and we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Heikki Kovalainen (5th):
“This was a great race for the whole team and particularly for Lewis. Hopefully next time it will be me! This victory proves just how much the team has improved the performance of our car during the past few months: this is the result of the hard work of every single man and woman in our team - and this victory must be especially sweet for all of them. Our thoughts are also with Felipe - I want to wish him all the best and hope he’ll be back in Formula One soon.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal:
“Even as recently as four weeks ago, I don’t think many people would have believed you if you’d told them that we’d win the Hungarian Grand Prix in dominant fashion, but that’s exactly what we did today. And the fact that we did just that is a fantastic testimony to what can only be described as a superhuman team effort. Yes, 2009 has been a very hard year for us, but no-one at Woking, Brixworth or Stuttgart ever gave up; we all kept pulling together, we all kept our spirits up, and above all we all kept working. I’m immensely proud of every single one of them. And, today, Lewis, who has also never stopped pushing all year, was simply magnificent: there’s no other word. He was in the groove all afternoon, he delivered breathtaking speed where it mattered, and he controlled the race like the winner he is. So, going forward, what can I say? We had the strongest car at the Hungaroring this afternoon - and, although it’s an idiosyncratic circuit, we’re confident that we’ll have a reasonable package for Valencia, too. But motor racing is an unpredictable business and the only thing you can bet your house on is that we’ll never stop working. And, more than that, we’ll grow stronger as a result of the difficulties we’ve faced: we’ve learned lessons this year, and for next season we’re aiming to build a car that’s capable of challenging for the world championship from the start of the season, not halfway through it!”
Norbert Haug, vice-president, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“A sensation! Lewis was a class of his own - a historic win, the first with the KERS Hybrid in Formula One - the Silver Arrows are flying again! Unfortunately, Heikki got stuck in traffic, but he was fast and with his fifth place we scored as many points today as in the previous nine races together. We think of Felipe - he would have been capable of being among the best or even to fight for a victory today, as Kimi showed. We wish him a good recovery. Thank you to all our team members who worked so incredibly hard for this success. Now is the summer break and you deserve it.”
Red Bull
Mark Webber (3rd):
“I expected us to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday, but to be honest we expected these guys (McLaren and Ferrari) to be around us. We knew it would be a more difficult venue for us and that we wouldn’t have the advantage that we maybe had at the last two events so, all-in-all, I’m happy to get the result we did today. I think we would have had a better chance to fight with Kimi (Raikkonen) if we’d made a slightly different pit stop and chose a different tyre for the middle stint, but that was my call. I was worried about how long the middle stint was, so it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on. Overall we still have a lot of positives to take away from here - we’re still up there, we’re in the hunt and know that we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive. Red Bull and Renault have a lot to be proud of, we’re still a strong force and it’s a positive day.”
Sebastian Vettel (DNF):
“I had a collision on the first corner with Kimi. I was on the inside and had a clear run to accelerate, his car came sideways and we touched - he crashed into my car, it can happen. This was why my first pit stop was bad and, at some point, the front-left suspension gave up and we had to retire the car. We knew it would be close with the other teams here, but at the start of the race there’s nothing you can do other than putting your foot down. We have a button on our steering wheel, which is similar to the other teams, but nothing happens if you press it. You go into the first corner and you have five or six cars next to each other instead of three or four, so it’s a different situation. There are still a few races left this season and the race is still on, so we will see what we can do.”
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal:
“A good drive from Mark today for third. Unfortunately, we perhaps gave away too much time in the middle stint on the harder tyre and a small issue at Mark’s pit stop allowed Kimi (Raikkonen) to jump ahead, but I think Lewis was out of reach today. Nonetheless, a good result for Mark in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. For Sebastian, things just didn’t go his way today - unfortunately a knock on the first lap looks as though it caused suspension damage that resulted in his retirement. Going into the break, we’ve closed the gap in the constructors’ and we’re looking forward to the next race in four weeks time in Valencia.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault, Principal Engineer Track Support:
“A difficult race. Our cars made very good starts, but the long run to the first corner meant the KERS cars were stronger and unfortunately we lost some places. Sebastian had an accident, which caused damage that forced him to retire. Mark had a solid race, in which tyres played a big role. We finished third and scored more points than Brawn, so in the end a good result for the team, but a disappointing result for Sebastian.”
Williams
Nico Rosberg, Williams (4th):
"I am quite pleased with the outcome today as it was quite tricky, especially at the start against the KERS cars. Initially I had no chance off the line, but the first corner was quite a big mess and I managed to profit from this and climb back to fifth place, which was important. As the race settled down, I had to manage the tyres cautiously because of graining in both the first and second stint. Given all of these issues, we have to be very happy with fourth place and I am now up to fifth in the championship, although of course this was in part due to the fact that Felipe (Massa) wasn’t able to start today. Anyway, I am enjoying working with the team and everyone is pushing on really well, so we'll continue to improve if we keep moving in this direction.”
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams (9th):
“After the first lap when I got past Jenson, I couldn’t hold the position and once he had got back past me, it dictated my race I it was a big moment for me and made it very difficult to improve for the rest of the day despite good car pace as I was running in traffic. We just need to keep pushing and one race soon we are going to get the result.”
Sam Michael, Williams technical director:
“It was good to score some points from another fourth place for Nico, although our expectations are going up and we really want to get onto the podium. It was a shame to miss out on a point for Kazuki. Both drivers had good starts and race pace was underlined by Nico’s third fastest lap, so everything is going in the right direction, we just need to start putting away some more points.”
Timo Glock (6th):
"I thoroughly enjoyed my race and to finish inside the top six after starting from 13th is a very good result. I have to say thanks to the team for their good work this weekend, especially to my car crew who have done such a great job. Our strategy was really strong today and the car felt spot on, so it was a nice race for me. In the first stint, on such a heavy fuel load, I struggled a little to start with but then I found a good rhythm and made up a lot of time, especially in the second stint. I had a really good feeling for the car and the tyres performed very well; really consistent. This result is better than I expected today so I am happy and it's nice to be back in the points again."
Jarno Trulli (8th):
"I said yesterday that I never give up and I think today's result shows that because I made up several positions and finished in the points again. The car felt strong early in the race and I think I had good pace but I was also stuck in traffic and that made things a little tricky. Later on I started to lose a bit of grip but I kept fighting because I knew we could get in the points. It's a pity we qualified outside the top 10 because who knows what could have been possible but I am happy to be in the points again and this is a positive result for the team. Now I am looking forward to the European Grand Prix in Valencia where I hope we will be even stronger."
John Howett, Toyota team president:
"That was a strong team effort and I am pleased with our performance today, especially after the difficult qualifying. The drivers performed exceptionally well to make up so many places; we had a strong strategy and the pit crew did a great job, all of which is very encouraging. We have to understand why we did not show this performance in qualifying but we will be working hard to remedy that for the next race so we can get both cars into the top six. Our factory closes for two weeks at the start of August and that gives us time to gather our strength and come back with renewed vigour in Valencia, where we performed well last year and aim to do so again this time."
Brawn GP
Jenson Button (7th):
"We felt positive that we could get a good result today but unfortunately it turned into damage limitation for our championship challenge. I was heavily fuelled after qualifying and our plan was to get a good start, stay with the cars in front and then I was going longer at the first stop. My rear tyres grained massively in the first few laps which took away any chance that I had of keeping pace with the front-runners. We don't know what the problem is right now as our pace on the option tyre on Friday was pretty good and we were able to manage the rear end much better than some of the others. The car just doesn't feel like it did a few races ago but we'll work hard to identify the problems before Valencia. It's disappointing as we had high hopes for this race but we were fortunate to come away with two points."
Rubens Barrichello (10th):
"There was some good action out there but my race was really compromised from the start which is a shame as the potential was definitely there for a points finish. I had some contact from another car when I turned into the second corner which dropped me to the back of the field. It was always going to be difficult to make progress from there but there were flashes of pace, particularly during the last stint when I was able to close up to the cars ahead. It's been a very difficult weekend and one to forget really. We know that we have a lot of hard work ahead of us to find out what is affecting our performance."
Ross Brawn, Brawn GP team principal:
"Hungary has proved to be a very challenging weekend for the team which has left us with a number of questions to answer regarding the performance of the car. After a positive start on Friday where we felt that we had a good understanding of the tyres, they proved to be our main area of concern in the race today. Both drivers tried different strategies with their tyre choices but we were unable to prevent the graining which affected their pace at crucial stages of the race. We have four weeks until the next race and after our factory shutdown we will be working extremely hard to identify the cause of our recent issues and make the improvements required to return to our early season form. Finally congratulations to Mercedes-Benz on a very well-deserved win today for what is their seventh victory of the season."
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (11th):
"From 15th on the grid, finishing 11th was the best € could achieve today. Over the first few metres my start was good and I immediately made up some places, but then later on the first lap I lost them again. First somebody hit me from behind and later I went wide in Turn 11. Then it took a while before I was able to overtake Sebastien Buemi, and after that I got stuck in traffic again. That’s why we decided to make my first pit stop a couple of laps earlier than planned. This is, of course, a disadvantage, but due to the traffic situation it still paid off. Despite the rather heavy car, the pace wasn’t too bad. But overall looking at the situation we found ourselves in, I would say the car has been quicker this weekend and it is a shame we didn’t convert this progress into points.”
Robert Kubica (13th):
"I had a good start and a good first lap, and managed to make up a lot of positions then. At least this is something positive. Unfortunately, I had massive understeer and a lot of front tyre wear during the entire race. About ten laps into each stint my front tyres degraded a lot and I was very slow.”
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director:
"For our team this was a race without anything significant happening. Both drivers were able to make up places at the start and keep themselves in the racing action. Our cars ran trouble-free, but after the difficult qualifying there was nothing more we could do on this track. With better starting positions we would have been able to fight for points today. Congratulations to the McLaren Mercedes team for a very convincing victory. It is remarkable how quickly the balance of power is constantly changing this season.”
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering:
“Starting from 15th and 18th, any prospects for the race are obviously limited. Therefore we tried to make up lost ground with our strategy. This worked well at the start when both drivers gained places. But then, from Lap 18 onwards, Nick got stuck in traffic and lost too much time. We therefore decided to make an earlier pit stop for him. At the end of the day it didn’t help much. Based on our grid positions, there was nothing else we could achieve."
Renault
Nelson Piquet (12th):
“I made a very good start and managed to overtake several cars, but then I was always stuck behind somebody, which didn’t help my race. I was also a bit unlucky with the strategy and I think my race would have worked out a lot better if I had been in some clean air. The car was good today and I’m glad that I benefited from the new updates this weekend.”
Fernando Alonso (DNF):
“Today we missed an opportunity to finish on the podium. I made a good start and the car was quick during my first stint, but then we had a problem at my first stop fitting the right front wheel to the car. When I left the pits there was a lot of vibration and it felt like I had a puncture, but then a few corners later the wheel flew off my car. I made it back to the pits to replace it, but then the problem I’d had with my fuel pump since lap two returned and started to get worse so we had to retire the car. It’s a shame that we missed this chance, but these things happen in racing and I’m trying to look on the bright side because we saw this weekend that the car is very competitive. I’m now looking ahead to the next race in Valencia, where I hope we can build on the promise we have shown.”
Pat Symonds, Renault executive director of engineering:
“It’s a very disappointing end to a weekend that started with a lot of promise. From around lap two, Fernando had a failure on the fuel pump and we had to try and control the problem manually, which cost us a lot of time. We stopped early because of that and then unfortunately we had a problem with the wheel fitting. Ultimately we retired the car because of the fuel pump problem. Nelson was always going to have a difficult afternoon and he pushed through to finish the race, but he wasn’t in a position to score any points.”
Remi Taffin, Renault head of engine operations:
“Fernando made a good start, probably his best of the year and he had good pace in the early laps so we were hopeful of a good result and aiming for a podium. Unfortunately a technical problem ended his race. It’s frustrating, but once again we have demonstrated the progress that we have made recently as this is only the second race where we have benefited from the new developments. Our attention now turns towards the European Grand Prix where we hope to convert our potential into a good result.”
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella (14th):
“The race was quite tough for us. The grid position wasn't great and in the beginning we struggled a little bit with the grip. On the second and third stints though the car balance was actually pretty good and I was quicker than Barrichello and Kubica so I could push quite hard. Unfortunately here you just can't find a way past so we had to settle for 14th. Now we can really start to look forward to the next Grand Prix in Valencia.”
Adrian Sutil (DNF):
“We had a problem with the water temperature so after one lap it had climbed to the maximum so the engine was running very hot. We had our first suspicions on the way to the grid and after a few corners it was clear that there was no way we could do the race. I had to retire to save the engine. It's been a difficult weekend overall but I'm looking forward to Valencia now where we have a big upgrade package coming through.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal:
“Obviously today's race was overshadowed by Felipe's accident yesterday and our thoughts are with him and his family. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery. For us personally, the weekend has been one of mixed fortunes. Qualifying was not as we would have hoped, but Giancarlo had a strong outing with some very fast times in the mid point of the race and we again raced in the midfield. We're now very much looking forward to Valencia where the new upgrades should give us yet another advance on the field.”
Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari (15th):
“I am very happy to have finished, but the last five laps were very difficult from the physical point of view. I found it hard to keep the car on the pace, but I am very satisfied. P15 is not so bad, but the main objective was to complete the 70 laps, with no mistakes, maintaining my pace. I have learned a lot but I have to say there are some aspects of F1 which made me think, ‘this is tough’.”
Sebastien Buemi (16th):
“I am very disappointed with this race, as I made a lot of mistakes and I am not at all happy with my performance. I don’t think starting on the harder tyres was the right decision. I lost several places at the start and got stuck in traffic. Just a bad race. The car was good, as we showed in qualifying but today I was the one who made the mistakes. The only positive thing is that the car is definitely improved with this new package.”
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal:
“Well done to Jaime on finishing his first race, which means he’s learned a lot this weekend. That was our main target with him. He will need another two races, after which I expect to see him make it through to Q2. Unfortunately, Sebastien caught some debris on the right side of the front wing, damaging it, thus losing performance. We will now focus on Valencia, where we will have a new front wing which should help us to improve our overall performance.”
FIA post-race press conference - Hungary
Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA
1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h 38m23.876s; 2nd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h 38m35.405s; 3rd Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h38m40.762s
Q: Lewis, from the desperation of the first races of this season, tell us what it means to be a winner again.
Lewis Hamilton: It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and with such a struggle with me and my team. But as I said on the in lap I am just so proud of the guys, as I go into the factory and I see how hard everyone is pushing. Everyone wants to win just as much as I do and they never gave up. They have never given up which is something very rare to see in such a large group of people. I am very, very proud of them. We didn’t expect to win this weekend. Undoubtedly we have caught up quite a bit but we never felt we had the pace to win. But the car felt fantastic and it is incredibly special to get back up here, not only on the podium, but to get a win. It is amazing.
Q: Kimi, it’s been a long time since we had a McLaren versus Ferrari at the front. Tell us about your race.
Kimi Raikkonen: We got a very good start. That definitely helped. We knew before the race we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium. I was only fourth after the first few corners behind Lewis and then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark and we went at the same time for the first pit stop. Then I don’t know if he had some issues or not and I got past him at the pit stop. After that really I was just driving my own race, trying to catch Lewis. I thought I had the speed for that at one point but then suddenly he started to go the same speed and then a little bit faster. The gap more or less stayed the same the whole time. Then I had some issues on the last pit stop and that didn’t help either but we had a good race. We knew that it would be difficult to challenge for the win right now. We were probably closer than we expected, so even with not such an easy weekend for the team, but we have got some good results, so hopefully that is something we can keep going like this and it is something positive at least this weekend for the team.
Q: Mark, how big a surprise is this result for you today?
Mark Webber: A little bit of a surprise. I think we expected to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday but to be honest we knew these guys would be around us. It was a pretty difficult venue for us and we knew that we didn’t have the advantage maybe that we had in the last few events. All in all for me I am still pretty happy to get the result we did. I think we had a better chance to fight Kimi if maybe we did a slightly different pit stop and maybe chose a different tyre but that was my call. I was worried about how long the length of the stint was and it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on but overall we still have a lot of positives. We are still up here. We haven’t been blown away by any means. We are in the hunt and we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive, so our guys and Renault have a lot to be proud of. We are still very much a force, so it is still a positive day for us.
Q: Lewis, it is the first win for a KERS car. You obviously had a terrific start but really the key to your day was the way your car handled its tyres once you hit the front.
LH: Yeah, I was able to manage them quite well but something I want to say is that yesterday was, I think, and maybe I can speak for all of us drivers, quite a sad day to see Felipe not with us here today. Hopefully I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we miss him and wish him well and wish him a speedy recovery. But back to the car, it was just fantastic. The team asked me to look after the tyres in which through all the great experiences I have had - good or bad - I was able to apply that today, so really a big thank you to all the guys and all the fans that have always given me support and never gave me up and to all my family.
Q: Kimi, tell us about the moves you made at the start which came up on the board that will be investigated after the race. How did you see it?
KR: I don’t know about the whole thing, so if you can tell me what it’s about that would be nice.
Q: Off the start line into the first corner and the incident with Vettel?
KR: I haven’t even noticed if I touched somebody. I was in-between, I think, Mark and somebody else but I don’t know what is going on. That is the first time when you told me but I didn’t feel any touching or anything, so I cannot comment on that.
Q: Mark, you are now second in the championship. You have taken some points off Jenson Button. Will you be asking the team now to back you for the championship?
MW: No, I think it is still a bit early. I think we can still fight the Brawns with Sebastian (Vettel) and I. We know there was a bit of a blip for them in the last three races and we hope that continues and we can continue to take points out of them together. We have got these guys up here as well. It is mixing things up a bit more. Sebastian had a bit of a tough weekend this weekend. Qualifying went well but obviously the race I don’t know what happened. But obviously he has lost some points which is the first time in a long time but he will be back and after the break we can recharge and take the fight again.
Q: Lewis, you have made all this progress. What next for you and McLaren for the rest of the season?
LH: We need to definitely take as much as we can from this weekend and continue to push. This means by no means we can start slowing down but that is not the way my team work anyway. We just have got to keep pushing. We have got some improvements to make for sure and some work to do to be able to beat these guys on a more regular basis. But this is one huge leap for us and hopefully we are now on the right track, so let’s keep going.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis it is just like the old days, Ferrari and McLaren. The normal thing really.
LH: It is. It is great to see you guys. It has been a long time. What can I say. We are not challenging for a championship but it has been a fantastic weekend for us and I am very proud to be back up here.
Q: You felt you could be on the podium but maybe not the top step. Do you think regular podiums now?
LH: Clearly we have got a good car. Well, we have made some serious improvements to the car and now it is a much better balanced car. Even though we had fantastic pace today it could have gone either way. The wind direction maybe could have changed and perhaps it would have suited the Ferrari or the Red Bull better than us. But everything just sort of fell into place today. I had quite a good start and had a good little dice with Mark. He is very fair and fortunately I didn’t get a puncture this time which is great. But for sure we hope that we can compete for more podiums but we still have work to do. We have just got to keep pushing.
Q: I don’t suppose you really want to take a break? You’d rather have a grand prix next weekend?
LH: I could race every day. I never miss it.
Q: In the break what are you planning to do? I mean you have got some nice time to think about this victory and how you can build on it?
LH: I think for us it is important that we just continue to push. We want to come back next year with the best possible chance of winning championships, so we need to continue to work on this year and understand everything to help us and hopefully make a good foundation for us to work on next year. But over the break I will relax a little bit, spend some time with the missis and with the family and hopefully come back to Valencia with another step forward and another opportunity to get onto the podium.
Q: But the emphasis is really on building for next year?
LH: Yeah, we just want to keep winning. I think we definitely deserved it after such a tough stretch of time. It’s been hard on everyone: our new team principal and all the members of our team, but I couldn’t have done it without them. They’ve done a fantastic job and like I said, I’m just very, very proud to be associated with them because they’ve never given up and they’ve kept pushing. We’re going to continue to push and see how far we can get up in the championship but we will keep a keen eye on next year.
Q: Obviously the start was important today, tell us about that.
LH: It was very close. I generally didn’t really get a fantastic start initially, being on the dirty side, which is normal. Kimi seemed to get an incredible start and was up alongside me and I seemed to level off with him once I was on the KERS - we were both on KERS, I think. I don’t think he saw me but he was behind Mark and he moved to the right to go past him and we nearly touched. I went to the right and fortunately Sebastian gave me enough space, so no collision there. (I went) a little bit wide at turn one but back on KERS - you know KERS is working very well and just the whole package was fantastic but for once I was able to really use KERS to my advantage today, so that was good.
Q: Does it work better on a twisty circuit like this?
LH: No, not really, you’re always traction-limited and so it’s better with lots of long straights. I think here you could always see that my sector one has been the strongest all weekend but that’s largely due to KERS really, on the main straight. And with this kind of start there’s such a long stretch down to turn one, a bit like in Germany, it gives us a great opportunity to take a few places.
Q: Kimi, first of all you were nearly hit by Mark Webber at the first pit stop; did you see him coming out?
KR: Yeah, I saw when he came out. I took a little bit more space on the left hand side, so I was pretty sure that they would tell him that I was coming. I don’t know how close it was but I saw him and I gave him all the space that I could.
Q: What about your own second stop, you seemed to lose time there?
KR: Yeah, we probably had some problem, and we needed to do a manual pull-away and then it went on to anti-stall, so it was a bit confusing but I just took it easy because I knew that we had enough time from behind, we were not in a hurry, so it took much longer than it should. It’s always a bit difficult if you cannot make a normal proper pit stop with a proper start. When you try to make a manual pull away it can easily go to anti-stall, so that was the issue today.
Q: And generally speaking, how was the car?
KR: It was OK, nothing special. We had some issues in a few places, we knew that before. They had been there almost the whole weekend. We were a bit limited by what we could do this weekend. Overall, we still had good speed but I think we could have had better speed. It’s nice to be second, for the team and for all the people who have put in a lot of effort and it hasn’t been an easy year or an easy weekend with Felipe’s accident yesterday but we need to be happy. We knew that our car was probably not the fastest one but we still got a good result, good points. It was good but not exactly what we wanted. You are never going to be happy unless you’re in first place, Hopefully we can keep up this kind of speed and try to get good podium finishes and hopefully get at least one win this year.
Q: Mark, you’re getting quite a taste for these podiums, aren’t you?
MW: Yes, I am. It was a good day for us. We knew we were going to have a slightly different fight on our hands this weekend and particularly after qualifying, with these guys sitting in behind us. The KERS is a big part of the first lap and the first stint, to be honest, and I was very, very happy to survive the first lap in second place. I expected to go further back. It looked like there was a lot of elbowing – well, there was – in the first corner as we expect these days and then in the first stint I wasn’t really worried about Fernando (Alonso) because we knew how short he was. I was very, very concerned about my tyres. It started off well, and then in the middle of the stint I was trying to nurse them, making sure that I didn’t lose too much time to the guys – you know, just getting down the road in terms of general race pace, because I was worried about Fernando and Lewis got a good run out of the last corner. Also, with the head wind and KERS the slipstream was working very well. We could have fought a lot harder and risked a bit more but there was no real point. I thought of not letting him go but Lewis was also pretty quick. I thought that he wasn’t going to hold me up at all, so that was, in a way, a bit of a relief. And Lewis thoroughly deserved to win. McLaren did a great job today. We could have had a slightly different fight with Kimi but in the end it didn’t work out, so they got second and we got third.
Q: Are you slightly worried about McLaren and Ferrari’s fightback in terms of your championship chances, now you’re second?
MW: If we win and make it very, very boring, it’s great for us, but in the end, to be honest, I think it was a good day for the sport. Lewis is back and Ferrari are back and that’s what Red Bull likes. We love racing these guys and fighting hard against them. We knew they would come back. KERS is going to play a bit of a role in the closing part of the championship but thankfully we capitalised in the early part of the championship when these guys were struggling, in terms of points, so that was a big benefit to us. We’re going to continue to be in the hunt. Our guys have got a lot of positive things to look forward to. Both drivers are trying to get the most out of the car and it was a good day for us. Renault did a great job on the engine again, we saw that with qualifying, the top three were Renault engines. My engine was quite long in the tooth today but we got it home which we’re very happy with.
Q: Was that your release out of the pits when you nearly collided with the Ferrari?
MW: It was, yeah. We had a little bit of confusion in the stop. To be honest, I was thinking about the guys and the fuel rig. You’re so focused on making sure that everything is safe, releasing yourself and then when I did get released, I knew I had to give Kimi room and he got me. And then we did the ice skating in the first few corners on the tyres. Thank God tyre blankets are in next year because it would be a joke if they weren’t.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Tony Dodgins) Lewis, key moment when you passed Mark in the first stint. We’re not used to seeing people go round the outside there, was that the KERS button?
LH: I’d actually used all my KERS down the straight because actually I thought that I’d be able to get him in turn one but he blocked, so I went to the outside. I think I may have used a little bit at the beginning but I ran out. Mark was in my blind spot eventually, so I couldn’t really see him, so I gave him plenty of room and eventually I saw him fade into the back. It was quite a straightforward move but clearly Mark was very smart, he’s got to score points and there’s no real point in him to taking silly risks. As for me, I needed to get past him. I was absolutely surprised to see that I was even able to keep up with him but I was able to go past him and still pull away whilst looking after my tyres, so it was good.
Q: (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) This is to all three of you: I was just wondering how much the day has been overshadowed in some respects, given what has happened to Felipe and his current condition at the moment?
MW: What happened was very unfortunate. We have phenomenal safety in Formula One and yesterday was just incredibly freakish that that type of material could have been bouncing around and then bouncing at head height and then Felipe was coming, so very freakish that it should happen. This is the job we do but also we’re very relieved, of course, that he’s OK. Surgery went OK and I’m sure he will be a million bucks in a few months, so that’s the main thing. He’s got good people around him, the FIA did a good job at the scene. We don’t want to get too carried away with it but he will be fine and we’re fully behind him, of course. We missed him on the grid today but the show goes on.
LH: I think I would just say that for me, I’ve had a great relationship with Felipe for quite a few years now and some great battles with him and for sure to not see him with us today was definitely sad to see but I’m glad that the surgery went well and we’re just going to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. He’s got a child coming, he needs to get back to top shape, so when he’s finally a Dad he can do the job well.
KR: It’s the same story. It was really a very, very unlucky situation where he ended up. As long as we race with open cockpits our heads are always the worst place and the first place that’s going to be hit if there’s something flying around. What happened was really unfortunate but luckily enough he’s more or less OK. He’s probably going to be a hundred percent fine in a little time. We in the team all hope that he’s going to be fine and come back soon. This is a part of racing and we all know that. It’s just a sad thing to happen.
1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h 38m23.876s; 2nd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h 38m35.405s; 3rd Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h38m40.762s
Q: Lewis, from the desperation of the first races of this season, tell us what it means to be a winner again.
Lewis Hamilton: It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and with such a struggle with me and my team. But as I said on the in lap I am just so proud of the guys, as I go into the factory and I see how hard everyone is pushing. Everyone wants to win just as much as I do and they never gave up. They have never given up which is something very rare to see in such a large group of people. I am very, very proud of them. We didn’t expect to win this weekend. Undoubtedly we have caught up quite a bit but we never felt we had the pace to win. But the car felt fantastic and it is incredibly special to get back up here, not only on the podium, but to get a win. It is amazing.
Q: Kimi, it’s been a long time since we had a McLaren versus Ferrari at the front. Tell us about your race.
Kimi Raikkonen: We got a very good start. That definitely helped. We knew before the race we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium. I was only fourth after the first few corners behind Lewis and then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark and we went at the same time for the first pit stop. Then I don’t know if he had some issues or not and I got past him at the pit stop. After that really I was just driving my own race, trying to catch Lewis. I thought I had the speed for that at one point but then suddenly he started to go the same speed and then a little bit faster. The gap more or less stayed the same the whole time. Then I had some issues on the last pit stop and that didn’t help either but we had a good race. We knew that it would be difficult to challenge for the win right now. We were probably closer than we expected, so even with not such an easy weekend for the team, but we have got some good results, so hopefully that is something we can keep going like this and it is something positive at least this weekend for the team.
Q: Mark, how big a surprise is this result for you today?
Mark Webber: A little bit of a surprise. I think we expected to be a little bit quicker after our running on Friday but to be honest we knew these guys would be around us. It was a pretty difficult venue for us and we knew that we didn’t have the advantage maybe that we had in the last few events. All in all for me I am still pretty happy to get the result we did. I think we had a better chance to fight Kimi if maybe we did a slightly different pit stop and maybe chose a different tyre but that was my call. I was worried about how long the length of the stint was and it was quite difficult to know which tyre to put on but overall we still have a lot of positives. We are still up here. We haven’t been blown away by any means. We are in the hunt and we can take our car to a lot of venues and be competitive, so our guys and Renault have a lot to be proud of. We are still very much a force, so it is still a positive day for us.
Q: Lewis, it is the first win for a KERS car. You obviously had a terrific start but really the key to your day was the way your car handled its tyres once you hit the front.
LH: Yeah, I was able to manage them quite well but something I want to say is that yesterday was, I think, and maybe I can speak for all of us drivers, quite a sad day to see Felipe not with us here today. Hopefully I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we miss him and wish him well and wish him a speedy recovery. But back to the car, it was just fantastic. The team asked me to look after the tyres in which through all the great experiences I have had - good or bad - I was able to apply that today, so really a big thank you to all the guys and all the fans that have always given me support and never gave me up and to all my family.
Q: Kimi, tell us about the moves you made at the start which came up on the board that will be investigated after the race. How did you see it?
KR: I don’t know about the whole thing, so if you can tell me what it’s about that would be nice.
Q: Off the start line into the first corner and the incident with Vettel?
KR: I haven’t even noticed if I touched somebody. I was in-between, I think, Mark and somebody else but I don’t know what is going on. That is the first time when you told me but I didn’t feel any touching or anything, so I cannot comment on that.
Q: Mark, you are now second in the championship. You have taken some points off Jenson Button. Will you be asking the team now to back you for the championship?
MW: No, I think it is still a bit early. I think we can still fight the Brawns with Sebastian (Vettel) and I. We know there was a bit of a blip for them in the last three races and we hope that continues and we can continue to take points out of them together. We have got these guys up here as well. It is mixing things up a bit more. Sebastian had a bit of a tough weekend this weekend. Qualifying went well but obviously the race I don’t know what happened. But obviously he has lost some points which is the first time in a long time but he will be back and after the break we can recharge and take the fight again.
Q: Lewis, you have made all this progress. What next for you and McLaren for the rest of the season?
LH: We need to definitely take as much as we can from this weekend and continue to push. This means by no means we can start slowing down but that is not the way my team work anyway. We just have got to keep pushing. We have got some improvements to make for sure and some work to do to be able to beat these guys on a more regular basis. But this is one huge leap for us and hopefully we are now on the right track, so let’s keep going.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Lewis it is just like the old days, Ferrari and McLaren. The normal thing really.
LH: It is. It is great to see you guys. It has been a long time. What can I say. We are not challenging for a championship but it has been a fantastic weekend for us and I am very proud to be back up here.
Q: You felt you could be on the podium but maybe not the top step. Do you think regular podiums now?
LH: Clearly we have got a good car. Well, we have made some serious improvements to the car and now it is a much better balanced car. Even though we had fantastic pace today it could have gone either way. The wind direction maybe could have changed and perhaps it would have suited the Ferrari or the Red Bull better than us. But everything just sort of fell into place today. I had quite a good start and had a good little dice with Mark. He is very fair and fortunately I didn’t get a puncture this time which is great. But for sure we hope that we can compete for more podiums but we still have work to do. We have just got to keep pushing.
Q: I don’t suppose you really want to take a break? You’d rather have a grand prix next weekend?
LH: I could race every day. I never miss it.
Q: In the break what are you planning to do? I mean you have got some nice time to think about this victory and how you can build on it?
LH: I think for us it is important that we just continue to push. We want to come back next year with the best possible chance of winning championships, so we need to continue to work on this year and understand everything to help us and hopefully make a good foundation for us to work on next year. But over the break I will relax a little bit, spend some time with the missis and with the family and hopefully come back to Valencia with another step forward and another opportunity to get onto the podium.
Q: But the emphasis is really on building for next year?
LH: Yeah, we just want to keep winning. I think we definitely deserved it after such a tough stretch of time. It’s been hard on everyone: our new team principal and all the members of our team, but I couldn’t have done it without them. They’ve done a fantastic job and like I said, I’m just very, very proud to be associated with them because they’ve never given up and they’ve kept pushing. We’re going to continue to push and see how far we can get up in the championship but we will keep a keen eye on next year.
Q: Obviously the start was important today, tell us about that.
LH: It was very close. I generally didn’t really get a fantastic start initially, being on the dirty side, which is normal. Kimi seemed to get an incredible start and was up alongside me and I seemed to level off with him once I was on the KERS - we were both on KERS, I think. I don’t think he saw me but he was behind Mark and he moved to the right to go past him and we nearly touched. I went to the right and fortunately Sebastian gave me enough space, so no collision there. (I went) a little bit wide at turn one but back on KERS - you know KERS is working very well and just the whole package was fantastic but for once I was able to really use KERS to my advantage today, so that was good.
Q: Does it work better on a twisty circuit like this?
LH: No, not really, you’re always traction-limited and so it’s better with lots of long straights. I think here you could always see that my sector one has been the strongest all weekend but that’s largely due to KERS really, on the main straight. And with this kind of start there’s such a long stretch down to turn one, a bit like in Germany, it gives us a great opportunity to take a few places.
Q: Kimi, first of all you were nearly hit by Mark Webber at the first pit stop; did you see him coming out?
KR: Yeah, I saw when he came out. I took a little bit more space on the left hand side, so I was pretty sure that they would tell him that I was coming. I don’t know how close it was but I saw him and I gave him all the space that I could.
Q: What about your own second stop, you seemed to lose time there?
KR: Yeah, we probably had some problem, and we needed to do a manual pull-away and then it went on to anti-stall, so it was a bit confusing but I just took it easy because I knew that we had enough time from behind, we were not in a hurry, so it took much longer than it should. It’s always a bit difficult if you cannot make a normal proper pit stop with a proper start. When you try to make a manual pull away it can easily go to anti-stall, so that was the issue today.
Q: And generally speaking, how was the car?
KR: It was OK, nothing special. We had some issues in a few places, we knew that before. They had been there almost the whole weekend. We were a bit limited by what we could do this weekend. Overall, we still had good speed but I think we could have had better speed. It’s nice to be second, for the team and for all the people who have put in a lot of effort and it hasn’t been an easy year or an easy weekend with Felipe’s accident yesterday but we need to be happy. We knew that our car was probably not the fastest one but we still got a good result, good points. It was good but not exactly what we wanted. You are never going to be happy unless you’re in first place, Hopefully we can keep up this kind of speed and try to get good podium finishes and hopefully get at least one win this year.
Q: Mark, you’re getting quite a taste for these podiums, aren’t you?
MW: Yes, I am. It was a good day for us. We knew we were going to have a slightly different fight on our hands this weekend and particularly after qualifying, with these guys sitting in behind us. The KERS is a big part of the first lap and the first stint, to be honest, and I was very, very happy to survive the first lap in second place. I expected to go further back. It looked like there was a lot of elbowing – well, there was – in the first corner as we expect these days and then in the first stint I wasn’t really worried about Fernando (Alonso) because we knew how short he was. I was very, very concerned about my tyres. It started off well, and then in the middle of the stint I was trying to nurse them, making sure that I didn’t lose too much time to the guys – you know, just getting down the road in terms of general race pace, because I was worried about Fernando and Lewis got a good run out of the last corner. Also, with the head wind and KERS the slipstream was working very well. We could have fought a lot harder and risked a bit more but there was no real point. I thought of not letting him go but Lewis was also pretty quick. I thought that he wasn’t going to hold me up at all, so that was, in a way, a bit of a relief. And Lewis thoroughly deserved to win. McLaren did a great job today. We could have had a slightly different fight with Kimi but in the end it didn’t work out, so they got second and we got third.
Q: Are you slightly worried about McLaren and Ferrari’s fightback in terms of your championship chances, now you’re second?
MW: If we win and make it very, very boring, it’s great for us, but in the end, to be honest, I think it was a good day for the sport. Lewis is back and Ferrari are back and that’s what Red Bull likes. We love racing these guys and fighting hard against them. We knew they would come back. KERS is going to play a bit of a role in the closing part of the championship but thankfully we capitalised in the early part of the championship when these guys were struggling, in terms of points, so that was a big benefit to us. We’re going to continue to be in the hunt. Our guys have got a lot of positive things to look forward to. Both drivers are trying to get the most out of the car and it was a good day for us. Renault did a great job on the engine again, we saw that with qualifying, the top three were Renault engines. My engine was quite long in the tooth today but we got it home which we’re very happy with.
Q: Was that your release out of the pits when you nearly collided with the Ferrari?
MW: It was, yeah. We had a little bit of confusion in the stop. To be honest, I was thinking about the guys and the fuel rig. You’re so focused on making sure that everything is safe, releasing yourself and then when I did get released, I knew I had to give Kimi room and he got me. And then we did the ice skating in the first few corners on the tyres. Thank God tyre blankets are in next year because it would be a joke if they weren’t.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Tony Dodgins) Lewis, key moment when you passed Mark in the first stint. We’re not used to seeing people go round the outside there, was that the KERS button?
LH: I’d actually used all my KERS down the straight because actually I thought that I’d be able to get him in turn one but he blocked, so I went to the outside. I think I may have used a little bit at the beginning but I ran out. Mark was in my blind spot eventually, so I couldn’t really see him, so I gave him plenty of room and eventually I saw him fade into the back. It was quite a straightforward move but clearly Mark was very smart, he’s got to score points and there’s no real point in him to taking silly risks. As for me, I needed to get past him. I was absolutely surprised to see that I was even able to keep up with him but I was able to go past him and still pull away whilst looking after my tyres, so it was good.
Q: (Ian Parkes - The Press Association) This is to all three of you: I was just wondering how much the day has been overshadowed in some respects, given what has happened to Felipe and his current condition at the moment?
MW: What happened was very unfortunate. We have phenomenal safety in Formula One and yesterday was just incredibly freakish that that type of material could have been bouncing around and then bouncing at head height and then Felipe was coming, so very freakish that it should happen. This is the job we do but also we’re very relieved, of course, that he’s OK. Surgery went OK and I’m sure he will be a million bucks in a few months, so that’s the main thing. He’s got good people around him, the FIA did a good job at the scene. We don’t want to get too carried away with it but he will be fine and we’re fully behind him, of course. We missed him on the grid today but the show goes on.
LH: I think I would just say that for me, I’ve had a great relationship with Felipe for quite a few years now and some great battles with him and for sure to not see him with us today was definitely sad to see but I’m glad that the surgery went well and we’re just going to keep him in our thoughts and prayers. He’s got a child coming, he needs to get back to top shape, so when he’s finally a Dad he can do the job well.
KR: It’s the same story. It was really a very, very unlucky situation where he ended up. As long as we race with open cockpits our heads are always the worst place and the first place that’s going to be hit if there’s something flying around. What happened was really unfortunate but luckily enough he’s more or less OK. He’s probably going to be a hundred percent fine in a little time. We in the team all hope that he’s going to be fine and come back soon. This is a part of racing and we all know that. It’s just a sad thing to happen.
Hungarian Grand Prix - Race Round-Up
Panasonic Toyota Racing claimed a double points finish thanks to fighting performances from Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli in the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring today. They lined up just outside the top 10 after an incredibly close qualifying session but showed their positive intent as soon as the race started. On the super soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres, both made up a position off the line and the first lap ended with Jarno 10th and Timo 12th. A long first stint helped Jarno reach second before his first pit stop, where he took on more super soft tyres, while Timo also reached the top three before pitting. Great work by the pit crew on both occasions helped establish the Toyotas as points contenders. Both drivers were pushing hard on a strategy which called for a short final stint on soft tyres. By that stage points were in their grasp and Jarno fought valiantly to take his sixth top-eight finish of the season. Timo was even aiming for fifth place in the closing stages and recorded a string of fast laps to put the pressure on. He closed the gap but could not pass, ending the race seven places higher than his starting position and collecting points for the sixth time in 2009.
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
Race Classification: 6th (+35.237s)
Pit Stop Laps: 32, 60
"I thoroughly enjoyed my race and to finish inside the top six after starting from 13th is a very good result. I have to say thanks to the team for their good work this weekend, especially to my car crew who have done such a great job. Our strategy was really strong today and the car felt spot on, so it was a nice race for me. In the first stint, on such a heavy fuel load, I struggled a little to start with but then I found a good rhythm and made up a lot of time, especially in the second stint. I had a really good feeling for the car and the tyres performed very well; really consistent. This result is better than I expected today so I am happy and it's nice to be back in the points again."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 11th
Race Classification: 8th (+68.172s)
Pit Stop Laps: 28, 58
"I said yesterday that I never give up and I think today's result shows that because I made up several positions and finished in the points again. The car felt strong early in the race and I think I had good pace but I was also stuck in traffic and that made things a little tricky. Later on I started to lose a bit of grip but I kept fighting because I knew we could get in the points. It's a pity we qualified outside the top 10 because who knows what could have been possible but I am happy to be in the points again and this is a positive result for the team. Now I am looking forward to the European Grand Prix in Valencia where I hope we will be even stronger."
John Howett - President
"That was a strong team effort and I am pleased with our performance today, especially after the difficult qualifying. The drivers performed exceptionally well to make up so many places; we had a strong strategy and the pit crew did a great job, all of which is very encouraging. We have to understand why we did not show this performance in qualifying but we will be working hard to remedy that for the next race so we can get both cars into the top six. Our factory closes for two weeks at the start of August and that gives us time to gather our strength and come back with renewed vigour in Valencia, where we performed well last year and aim to do so again this time."
Timo Glock - Car 10, Chassis TF109-05
Race Classification: 6th (+35.237s)
Pit Stop Laps: 32, 60
"I thoroughly enjoyed my race and to finish inside the top six after starting from 13th is a very good result. I have to say thanks to the team for their good work this weekend, especially to my car crew who have done such a great job. Our strategy was really strong today and the car felt spot on, so it was a nice race for me. In the first stint, on such a heavy fuel load, I struggled a little to start with but then I found a good rhythm and made up a lot of time, especially in the second stint. I had a really good feeling for the car and the tyres performed very well; really consistent. This result is better than I expected today so I am happy and it's nice to be back in the points again."
Jarno Trulli - Car 9, Chassis TF109-06
Grid: 11th
Race Classification: 8th (+68.172s)
Pit Stop Laps: 28, 58
"I said yesterday that I never give up and I think today's result shows that because I made up several positions and finished in the points again. The car felt strong early in the race and I think I had good pace but I was also stuck in traffic and that made things a little tricky. Later on I started to lose a bit of grip but I kept fighting because I knew we could get in the points. It's a pity we qualified outside the top 10 because who knows what could have been possible but I am happy to be in the points again and this is a positive result for the team. Now I am looking forward to the European Grand Prix in Valencia where I hope we will be even stronger."
John Howett - President
"That was a strong team effort and I am pleased with our performance today, especially after the difficult qualifying. The drivers performed exceptionally well to make up so many places; we had a strong strategy and the pit crew did a great job, all of which is very encouraging. We have to understand why we did not show this performance in qualifying but we will be working hard to remedy that for the next race so we can get both cars into the top six. Our factory closes for two weeks at the start of August and that gives us time to gather our strength and come back with renewed vigour in Valencia, where we performed well last year and aim to do so again this time."
Kimi pleased to bring Ferrari success
Kimi Raikkonen was pleased to give Ferrari something positive to take away from a harrowing Hungarian Grand Prix weekend after scoring the team’s best result of the season with his runner-up finish.
The Maranello squad’s race was always going to be overshadowed by thoughts of Felipe Massa recovering from head injuries in an intensive care unit after his freak accident in qualifying, but Raikkonen did his best to lift spirits with a strong race performance.
The Finn used his KERS power to full effect to climb from seventh on the grid to fourth on the opening lap, moved up to third when the light-fuelled Fernando Alonso moved out of the equation and then leapfrogged Mark Webber’s Red Bull at the first pit stops.
Raikkonen, who pulled away from Webber when the Australian was struggling on the harder tyres and comfortably kept him at bay in the closing stages, said his lightning start had been crucial.
“I got a very good start and that definitely helped,” he said.
“We knew before the race that we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium.
“I think I was fourth behind Lewis [Hamilton] after the first few corners, then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark.
“We took our first pit stops at the same time and I passed him during the stop.
“After that I was driving my own race, trying to catch up to Lewis.
“I thought I had the speed to do that at one point, but then suddenly he started to go at the same speed and then a little bit faster so the gap stayed more or less stable.
“Then I had some issues on the last pit stop that didn’t help either.”
Raikkonen said Ferrari’s pace had been a pleasant surprise, and hoped the result would bring some succour to the team after the shock of Massa’s crash.
“We had a good race – we know it’s difficult to challenge for the win right now, but we were probably closer than we expected,” he said.
“It was not an easy weekend for the team but we’ve got a good result so hopefully we can keep going like this.
“At least it’s something positive this weekend for the team.”
The Maranello squad’s race was always going to be overshadowed by thoughts of Felipe Massa recovering from head injuries in an intensive care unit after his freak accident in qualifying, but Raikkonen did his best to lift spirits with a strong race performance.
The Finn used his KERS power to full effect to climb from seventh on the grid to fourth on the opening lap, moved up to third when the light-fuelled Fernando Alonso moved out of the equation and then leapfrogged Mark Webber’s Red Bull at the first pit stops.
Raikkonen, who pulled away from Webber when the Australian was struggling on the harder tyres and comfortably kept him at bay in the closing stages, said his lightning start had been crucial.
“I got a very good start and that definitely helped,” he said.
“We knew before the race that we needed to gain some places at the start to be able to fight for the podium.
“I think I was fourth behind Lewis [Hamilton] after the first few corners, then he overtook Mark and I could follow Mark.
“We took our first pit stops at the same time and I passed him during the stop.
“After that I was driving my own race, trying to catch up to Lewis.
“I thought I had the speed to do that at one point, but then suddenly he started to go at the same speed and then a little bit faster so the gap stayed more or less stable.
“Then I had some issues on the last pit stop that didn’t help either.”
Raikkonen said Ferrari’s pace had been a pleasant surprise, and hoped the result would bring some succour to the team after the shock of Massa’s crash.
“We had a good race – we know it’s difficult to challenge for the win right now, but we were probably closer than we expected,” he said.
“It was not an easy weekend for the team but we’ve got a good result so hopefully we can keep going like this.
“At least it’s something positive this weekend for the team.”
Massa still stable in hospital
Felipe Massa is still in a stable condition in a Budapest hospital, having come through the night with no further problems after his accident and surgery yesterday.
The Ferrari driver had to be airlifted to the AEK Hospital in Budapest having sustained head injuries in a fresk crash near the end of Q2.
Massa's helmet was struck by a suspension component that had become detached from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car, with the Brazilian appearing to be knocked unconscious by the blow.
His car then speared off the road and had a heavy frontal impact with the tyre barriers at turn four.
He underwent surgery to attend to skull damage and brain concussion yesterday afternoon, and was then placed in an induced coma, as is standard procedure in such circumstances.
Ferrari was pleased to announce that there were no additional issues during the night and that his condition this morning was unchanged.
"After undergoing an operation yesterday afternoon, Felipe Massa's condition remains stable and there were no further complications through the night," said a team statement.
"He will be given another CT scan today, which will provide more precise information."
The scan should reveal more details about the extent of Massa's injuries, and the likely course of his recovery.
Sources in Hungary estimate that he could be sidelined for at least two months, and perhaps the rest of the 2009 season.
The Ferrari driver had to be airlifted to the AEK Hospital in Budapest having sustained head injuries in a fresk crash near the end of Q2.
Massa's helmet was struck by a suspension component that had become detached from Rubens Barrichello's Brawn car, with the Brazilian appearing to be knocked unconscious by the blow.
His car then speared off the road and had a heavy frontal impact with the tyre barriers at turn four.
He underwent surgery to attend to skull damage and brain concussion yesterday afternoon, and was then placed in an induced coma, as is standard procedure in such circumstances.
Ferrari was pleased to announce that there were no additional issues during the night and that his condition this morning was unchanged.
"After undergoing an operation yesterday afternoon, Felipe Massa's condition remains stable and there were no further complications through the night," said a team statement.
"He will be given another CT scan today, which will provide more precise information."
The scan should reveal more details about the extent of Massa's injuries, and the likely course of his recovery.
Sources in Hungary estimate that he could be sidelined for at least two months, and perhaps the rest of the 2009 season.
Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying Round-Up
======================================================================
1 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team
2 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
3 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
4 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
5 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams
6 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
7 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
8 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team
12 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
14 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
Panasonic Toyota Racing suffered disappointment in qualifying for the
Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring today. On another hot and
sunny afternoon, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock took part in a very
close-fought contest, beginning in first qualifying. Both drivers
chose to start that session on soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres, which
increased in pace during the run. For their final flying laps, they
changed to the super soft compound but a yellow flag in the closing
minutes caused a late scramble for a quick lap time. Jarno and Timo
both held their nerve and pulled off fast laps to progress. The super
soft tyres were the rubber of choice throughout second qualifying,
although Jarno was not able to set a competitive time on his first
run due to traffic. Lap times were again incredibly close and,
despite being less than a second shy of the fastest time with their
late laps, both Toyotas did not reach third qualifying. Following his
accident today, the team sends it best wishes to Felipe Massa and
hopes to see him back at the track very soon.
1 F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team
2 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
3 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
4 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
5 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams
6 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
7 K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
8 J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team
12 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
14 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
Panasonic Toyota Racing suffered disappointment in qualifying for the
Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring today. On another hot and
sunny afternoon, Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock took part in a very
close-fought contest, beginning in first qualifying. Both drivers
chose to start that session on soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres, which
increased in pace during the run. For their final flying laps, they
changed to the super soft compound but a yellow flag in the closing
minutes caused a late scramble for a quick lap time. Jarno and Timo
both held their nerve and pulled off fast laps to progress. The super
soft tyres were the rubber of choice throughout second qualifying,
although Jarno was not able to set a competitive time on his first
run due to traffic. Lap times were again incredibly close and,
despite being less than a second shy of the fastest time with their
late laps, both Toyotas did not reach third qualifying. Following his
accident today, the team sends it best wishes to Felipe Massa and
hopes to see him back at the track very soon.
Hungarian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
======================================================================
1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
3 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams
4 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
5 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams
6 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
7 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team
8 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
Panasonic Toyota Racing started its Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with
three hours of practice at the Hungaroring for Jarno Trulli and Timo
Glock today. The twisty circuit on the outskirts of Budapest is
generally dusty for the start of practice and that proved to be the
case again today, with track conditions improving steadily throughout.
After chilly weather during the previous two Grands Prix, Hungary
lived up to its reputation as one of the hottest race weekends on the
calendar, with air temperatures reaching 29°C and track temperatures
47°C. The team used first practice to compare various set-up changes
and establish a solid baseline for the rest of the weekend, while
also evaluating several upgrades. Tyres were the main focus of second
practice, with the team trying out the super soft and soft
Bridgestone Potenza tyres, as last used together in Monaco.
Unfortunately, Jarno's session was interrupted by an electrical
glitch caused by temperature problems which forced him to stop on
track midway through. But fast work by the team solved the problem
and enabled him to resume the session after only half an hour's delay,
immediately joining Timo in the top 10.
1 L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
2 H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
3 N. Rosberg AT&T Williams
4 M. Webber Red Bull Racing
5 K. Nakajima AT&T Williams
6 S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
7 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team
8 J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
10 T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
Panasonic Toyota Racing started its Hungarian Grand Prix weekend with
three hours of practice at the Hungaroring for Jarno Trulli and Timo
Glock today. The twisty circuit on the outskirts of Budapest is
generally dusty for the start of practice and that proved to be the
case again today, with track conditions improving steadily throughout.
After chilly weather during the previous two Grands Prix, Hungary
lived up to its reputation as one of the hottest race weekends on the
calendar, with air temperatures reaching 29°C and track temperatures
47°C. The team used first practice to compare various set-up changes
and establish a solid baseline for the rest of the weekend, while
also evaluating several upgrades. Tyres were the main focus of second
practice, with the team trying out the super soft and soft
Bridgestone Potenza tyres, as last used together in Monaco.
Unfortunately, Jarno's session was interrupted by an electrical
glitch caused by temperature problems which forced him to stop on
track midway through. But fast work by the team solved the problem
and enabled him to resume the session after only half an hour's delay,
immediately joining Timo in the top 10.
Friday 24 July 2009
F1 on verge of landmark peace deal (BBC)
Andrew Benson | 16:28 UK time, Thursday, 23 July 2009
Formula 1 is agonisingly close to an agreement that will end the political conflict besetting the sport this year - and insiders expect a deal to be signed as soon as the end of this week.
The F1 teams are in the final stages of negotiations on the various documents that need to be finalised to usher in a new era of peace, securing all the interested parties to the sport until the end of 2012 under a new legal and financial agreement.
Sources say they expect a new version of the Concorde Agreement - the document that binds the teams, governing body the FIA and the sport's commercial rights holders together and defines the relationship between them - to be signed by the end of this weekend here at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Only small details remain to be resolved, and these are mainly in one specific area, albeit one that has been at the centre of the once-bitter rows this season.
That is what has become known as the "resource restriction", which is the new name for what FIA president Max Mosley had originally intended to be a £40m budget cap.
The eight teams who threatened to split from F1 and set up a breakaway championship as a result of their concerns over that and other issues - particularly what they saw as Mosley's autocratic and arbitrary manner of governing F1 - have forced an abandonment of a set maximum spend.
Those teams, represented by umbrella group the F1 Teams' Association (Fota), also want to reduce spending dramatically, but to do so by restricting ways in which teams can do research and other work. To get all parties signed up to F1 post-2009, though, the Fota teams had to reach an agreement with the five teams that submitted unconditional entries to next year's championship under the now-abandoned budget cap - current teams Williams and Force India and new outfits Campos, USF1 and Manor.
Williams, in particular, have a number of "issues" with the resource restriction plan put forward by Fota.
As reported by BBC Sport over the German Grand Prix weekend, though, the ultimate power lies with Fota, which is working closely together with F1's commercial rights holders, the venture capital group CVC Capital Partners, to secure a new deal on the future of the sport.
CVC, which has spent billions on F1 but is also heavily in debt, feared for its investment as a result of the breakaway threat, and has recognised that F1 is effectively the top teams and drivers, regardless of whether the series they race in is actually called the FIA Formula 1 world championship.
As one team boss told me: "That (CVC and Fota) is the championship."
In other words, whatever Fota and CVC do will be the world's premier motor racing championship next year, regardless of whether the FIA sign up or Williams choose to take part.
Now that CVC has finalised terms with Fota, they are, in the interests of harmony, trying to satisfy the demands of other teams, such as Williams, but ultimately are unlikely to give on them all.
At which point Williams - or anyone else in their position - will effectively be told: "We understand your concerns, some will be addressed, some won't. That's how it is. Now sign up or go and race somewhere else."
And although there is a bit of 11th-hour brinksmanship going on, ultimately they will have to sign. And the same goes for the FIA.
Another area of particular focus is the shape of the calendar.
The Fota teams that are owned or part-owned by road-car manufacturers - Ferrari (Fiat), McLaren (Mercedes), Renault, BMW and Toyota - are demanding guarantees that there will be races in important markets, such as the USA and Germany.
The current trend has been away from such countries, because they either unable or unwilling to pay the race fees demanded by F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.
He has pursued races in countries that will pay his price because they want to use a grand prix as a tool to boost their global image - places such as Malaysia, Turkey, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. But to major car companies these are insignificant markets - and they are determined to see races that are important to them guaranteed places on the calendar.
It is a complicated series of negotiations, because five different documents, all of which are complex and inter-related, have to be agreed at the same time. Those documents are: the Concorde Agreement; the "resource restriction" agreement; the agreement between CVC and Fota, which will also almost certainly include the FIA, unless there actually is going to be a breakaway, which looks unlikely; and the sporting and technical regulations.
In theory, all the documents should be signed at the same time by all parties - certainly the Fota teams will not sign anything that the FIA has not already signed because they do not trust Mosley not to try something on if they do.
But it seems a concurrent signing might not be what happens. One source - which I cannot verify - says Campos have already signed and that - less likely on the face of it - so has one Fota team.
There is also talk that Ferrari, McLaren and Williams are negotiating special, favourable deals of their own because of their historic value to F1 - much as the most successful teams received more money under the previous Concorde Agreement.
As ever, it is a complex issue, but behind all the political to-ing and fro-ing, most insiders seem agreed on one thing - that everything should be finalised by the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend. Although this has gone on so long that no-one would be surprised if that date slipped a bit yet again.
Force India Say Points Not Far Off
Vijay Mallya has been talking about his team’s improvements again, and he reckons the German Grand Prix will not be an isolated performance for Force India. He says: “I am confident that Germany was not just a one-hit wonder for us. Over the course of the season so far we’ve calculated we’ve improved by something like 1.7 seconds, which I don’t think any other team has done.” He also added: “We’re so close to points we can almost touch them. It has to be soon.” Which is all well and good, but I’m pretty sure we’ve been saying this for two season’s now.
Meanwhile, looking forward to 2010, Cosworth have said they will be able to provide competitive engines. Apparently they were initially going to be allowed to run higher revs as they are less developed than the current engine suppliers, but have agreed to the regular 18,000 rpm limit, and they say there will be no compromise in performance for doing so.
Meanwhile, looking forward to 2010, Cosworth have said they will be able to provide competitive engines. Apparently they were initially going to be allowed to run higher revs as they are less developed than the current engine suppliers, but have agreed to the regular 18,000 rpm limit, and they say there will be no compromise in performance for doing so.
Formula One drivers' Moscow reception
Formula One drivers are a jet-setting bunch at the best of times, but this week a couple of them have been especially busy clocking up the air miles, after taking part in a street demonstration in Russia before heading to Hungary for this weekend’s race. McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen and Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima were both in action at the annual Moscow City Racing event on Sunday.
Kovalainen and Nakajima made several runs of the 4.5-kilometre temporary street circuit, which took in several of the Russian capital’s iconic landmarks including the Kremlin, Red Square and St Basil’s cathedral. With a crowd of approximately 200,000 watching the action, both drivers were blown away by the experience.
"This was my first time visiting Russia,” said Kovalainen, who completed so many donuts and burnouts during his runs that, by the end of the display, his tyres were even worn down to the canvas.
“I couldn't believe how many people came along to see Sunday's demonstration - the crowds were huge, packed deeply around the whole circuit and loving every minute of the performance. The MP4-23 is an old friend to everyone in our team, and it was fantastic to get behind the wheel and just have some fun."
Nakajima, who covered seven laps of the track, was equally enthusiastic, saying: “It was a really great experience to be in Moscow, and fantastic to see that lots of people came to watch us. I think that shows a lot of potential for a future Grand Prix to be hosted by Russia. I want to thank everyone who made this event possible, it’s definitely something I’ll never forget.”
Also in action at the event was former Red Bull driver, and current TV Formula One pundit, David Coulthard. “I really love this city,” said the Scot. “I’ve been here several times, but I’m always surprised at how quick this city grows up and changes. Driving a Formula One car in the centre of Moscow is unforgettable. I jumped at the chance when I was asked.”
Kovalainen and Nakajima made several runs of the 4.5-kilometre temporary street circuit, which took in several of the Russian capital’s iconic landmarks including the Kremlin, Red Square and St Basil’s cathedral. With a crowd of approximately 200,000 watching the action, both drivers were blown away by the experience.
"This was my first time visiting Russia,” said Kovalainen, who completed so many donuts and burnouts during his runs that, by the end of the display, his tyres were even worn down to the canvas.
“I couldn't believe how many people came along to see Sunday's demonstration - the crowds were huge, packed deeply around the whole circuit and loving every minute of the performance. The MP4-23 is an old friend to everyone in our team, and it was fantastic to get behind the wheel and just have some fun."
Nakajima, who covered seven laps of the track, was equally enthusiastic, saying: “It was a really great experience to be in Moscow, and fantastic to see that lots of people came to watch us. I think that shows a lot of potential for a future Grand Prix to be hosted by Russia. I want to thank everyone who made this event possible, it’s definitely something I’ll never forget.”
Also in action at the event was former Red Bull driver, and current TV Formula One pundit, David Coulthard. “I really love this city,” said the Scot. “I’ve been here several times, but I’m always surprised at how quick this city grows up and changes. Driving a Formula One car in the centre of Moscow is unforgettable. I jumped at the chance when I was asked.”
Thursday 23 July 2009
Hungaroring, Hungary
The Hungaroring is a really difficult track as it’s basically a copy of a Monaco-style circuit. Even if you don’t have the guardrails, it’s like a karting track with no long straights, no chance to relax and breathe and there are sections of corners that never seem to end. The combination of second, third and fourth gear corners also stresses the car and the driver, especially in this part of the year where there are high ambient temperatures.
As it’s a slow track with no real high speed corners, from a driver’s perspective there’s not a lot of adrenaline going. There are some nice banking changes though, particularly after corner one that goes downhill. The car has a tendency to understeer here with poor traction. Corner two is maybe the toughest corner of the track as it’s downhill so the braking is difficult and it’s easy to lock a wheel and miss the apex. The exit is important though as you go into a medium long straight.
The fastest corner of the track is corner four, which has a little bump as you go uphill. It feels like you are literally flying over the corner. Turn five is, in a way, boring as you have to wait to put the throttle on as there are lots of bumps and it upsets the balance of the car. Then you approach six and seven, which is a slow chicane but can be good fun if you jump from kerb to kerb.
Turns eight to 11 never seem to end. There is a sequence of corners where you can get into a rhythm but if you make a mistake you will lose a lot of time in 11. The new section from corner 12 to 12a is easy with a proper 90 degree bend into the hairpin at turn 14. This can be difficult as there is a bump in the middle and a lot of cars spin here trying to get a good line into the straight. You just can’t afford to go off line here as there is so much dust and marbles from the tyres just off the racing line. It’s so slippery that if you put a wheel wrong you will lose literally seconds.
As it’s a slow track with no real high speed corners, from a driver’s perspective there’s not a lot of adrenaline going. There are some nice banking changes though, particularly after corner one that goes downhill. The car has a tendency to understeer here with poor traction. Corner two is maybe the toughest corner of the track as it’s downhill so the braking is difficult and it’s easy to lock a wheel and miss the apex. The exit is important though as you go into a medium long straight.
The fastest corner of the track is corner four, which has a little bump as you go uphill. It feels like you are literally flying over the corner. Turn five is, in a way, boring as you have to wait to put the throttle on as there are lots of bumps and it upsets the balance of the car. Then you approach six and seven, which is a slow chicane but can be good fun if you jump from kerb to kerb.
Turns eight to 11 never seem to end. There is a sequence of corners where you can get into a rhythm but if you make a mistake you will lose a lot of time in 11. The new section from corner 12 to 12a is easy with a proper 90 degree bend into the hairpin at turn 14. This can be difficult as there is a bump in the middle and a lot of cars spin here trying to get a good line into the straight. You just can’t afford to go off line here as there is so much dust and marbles from the tyres just off the racing line. It’s so slippery that if you put a wheel wrong you will lose literally seconds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)