Lewis Hamilton's Hockenheim practice crashLewis Hamilton said he felt both grateful to his McLaren team and a little guilty after his car was rebuilt following his morning practice crash at Hockenheim.
The Briton damaged both ends of his McLaren went he spun into the tyres in the wet first session, but was able to rejoin in time for the end of afternoon practice.
"The guys have done an incredible job," said Hamilton. "Obviously I damaged the car a lot this morning. I was a little bit upset with myself, just because when you see the guys working so hard putting the car together during the week - and then you get there and do only a few laps and then total the car...
"It was very, very slippery, and what was actually a relief was when I came back and they explained to me how it occurred - I hit the limiter and I shifted and spun the wheels, so had an oversteer moment, tried to correct it and didn't correct it well enough. When I was on the grass, I was just a passenger and pretty much took all four corners off.
"So a huge, huge amount of work for the guys, and they were just phenomenal. They did an awesome job."
Hamilton only managed 10 laps on a dry track after the repairs, but was glad to have gathered some data at least.
"Generally it felt good to get back in, and it's good to get back out and overcome the difficulty you had in the morning," he said. "At least I've got something to work on now."
But he admitted that in the circumstances he had little chance to get a feeling for McLaren's blown diffuser, which it has reintroduced this morning after an abortive debut in Britain.
"To be honest, I haven't really noticed a huge difference," he said of the car's handling with the new diffuser. "I felt something, but it wasn't like 'wow, this is huge'.
"There's potential there. For me, it feels very similar to what it did at Silverstone. But it's not bad. If we keep working on it, maybe it will be even better."
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Showing posts with label Lewis Hamilton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lewis Hamilton. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Thursday, 22 July 2010
McLaren 'not behind' with development
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is adamant that his team has not fallen behind in the development race despite having to delay the introduction of the blown rear diffuser.
The British squad had a big update scheduled for the British Grand Prix, but was forced to remove the blown diffuser after hitting trouble with it during Friday's practice sessions.
Both qualifying and the race were dominated by Red Bull's drivers, with Mark Webber taking a commanding win ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
Although the team has been unable to race with the diffuser, Whitmarsh says McLaren is still very much on par with its rivals in terms of development.
"I'm not sure we've been behind in the development race - I think we've had a car that's been capable of winning races," said Whitmarsh on Tuesday during a phone-in. "You need to be reliable and quick enough to win races.
"I think we've had both of those things generally. It's always nice to be quicker, it's always nice to be more reliable, but I think we're in a reasonable position - but we know that we've got to continue to development the car if we're going to win the championships this year."
Despite the problems at Silverstone, Whitmarsh is optimistic that the device will be raced this weekend in Germany.
"You can't be entirely confident, but I think we go into Hockenheim with more information," he said. "We've made some modifications in the light of that data and we will be running the blown diffuser on Friday.
"I suspect we'll have it on for the weekend, but we'll make the call in the light of the data on Friday evening."
He also said that having one car with the diffuser and one without it was not possibility McLaren was considering at the moment.
"We're working at the moment on the premise that we'll have blown diffusers on both cars to start with," he added. "At Silverstone Lewis wanted to keep the blown diffuser on on Friday night, but we took the decision there to switch them both back to the older diffuser.
"If there was a preference from one side of the garage to the other - and if I can, we'll avoid that - we'll do it if we think it's the right way to perform during the course of that weekend.
"There are advantages, as you can imagine, to running one car in one configuration, one in the other - provided that in so doing, you don't end up, rightly or wrongly, accused of treating the two drivers differently."
Whitmarsh, whose team is leading both championships after the halfway point of the season, admitted it was still too early to write off teams like Ferrari from the championship fight, despite the lack of results from the Italian squad in recent races.
"I'd love to believe that, but experience has told me that you can't write them off. Ferrari are a strong team, they're technical capable, have fantastic resources and they've got one former world champion and one other top-flight driver and Mercedes-Benz similarly have got one former multiple world champion and a very good driver in Nico [Rosberg].
"So I think it's too early to write them off. We need to improve our car and do as good a job as we can do. Red Bull clearly are the principle challenge at the moment, but I don't dismiss the others."
Friday, 16 July 2010
McLaren: No room for complacency
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh insists his team cannot afford to be complacent despite the positive results of the last races.
Although McLaren has not had the quickest car of the field, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have consolidated their position at the top of the standings thanks to strong races in Valencia and Britain.
The team, however, was forced to remove its rear blown diffuser at Silverstone, something that was a hit to its chances of matching Red Bull.
And despite its strong championship situation, Whitmarsh reckons the team has made it clear it is not ready to rest on its laurels.
"We've come off an extremely successful run of recent races, but we're nonetheless under no illusions that we need to bring further performance to the MP4-25 if we are to remain at the forefront of this championship battle," said Whitmarsh in a team preview.
"I think Silverstone showed that we were in no mood to be complacent - either in our aggressive push to put upgrades on the car or our decision to remove them and put our faith in an older iteration of the car, despite a lack of running compared with our rivals."
Whitmarsh said the team has run extensive testing of the floor in the factory, but a decision on whether it will be used will only be taken after Friday practice at Hockenheim.
"Of course, that final validation will only come at the circuit," he said. "So we're looking at undertaking a major test programme on Friday at Hockenheim. This will involve both drivers running back-to-back evaluations with the T2 and T3 floors.
"And, if these prove positive, we'll then look at the deployment of the new floor for the remainder of the race weekend. But that's a decision we'll only make after a thorough analysis of the inherent risks and benefits."
World champion Button said he is aiming to raise his game in qualifying, after two difficult sessions in Valencia and Silverstone.
"After two disappointments in qualifying at Valencia and Silverstone, my aim for this weekend must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon, so that I can maximise my performance on Sunday without needing to play catch-up during the race," he said.
"This will be another busy weekend for all of us as we spend Friday working through the changes we've made to optimise the blown diffuser. Hopefully, we'll have a positive test and will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it."
Although McLaren has not had the quickest car of the field, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have consolidated their position at the top of the standings thanks to strong races in Valencia and Britain.
The team, however, was forced to remove its rear blown diffuser at Silverstone, something that was a hit to its chances of matching Red Bull.
And despite its strong championship situation, Whitmarsh reckons the team has made it clear it is not ready to rest on its laurels.
"We've come off an extremely successful run of recent races, but we're nonetheless under no illusions that we need to bring further performance to the MP4-25 if we are to remain at the forefront of this championship battle," said Whitmarsh in a team preview.
"I think Silverstone showed that we were in no mood to be complacent - either in our aggressive push to put upgrades on the car or our decision to remove them and put our faith in an older iteration of the car, despite a lack of running compared with our rivals."
Whitmarsh said the team has run extensive testing of the floor in the factory, but a decision on whether it will be used will only be taken after Friday practice at Hockenheim.
"Of course, that final validation will only come at the circuit," he said. "So we're looking at undertaking a major test programme on Friday at Hockenheim. This will involve both drivers running back-to-back evaluations with the T2 and T3 floors.
"And, if these prove positive, we'll then look at the deployment of the new floor for the remainder of the race weekend. But that's a decision we'll only make after a thorough analysis of the inherent risks and benefits."
World champion Button said he is aiming to raise his game in qualifying, after two difficult sessions in Valencia and Silverstone.
"After two disappointments in qualifying at Valencia and Silverstone, my aim for this weekend must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon, so that I can maximise my performance on Sunday without needing to play catch-up during the race," he said.
"This will be another busy weekend for all of us as we spend Friday working through the changes we've made to optimise the blown diffuser. Hopefully, we'll have a positive test and will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it."
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Lewis Hamilton
Q. Another second place, and 86 points from a possible 100 in the last four races. It's not going too badly, is it?
Lewis HamiltonLewis Hamilton: "Wow, 86 points from 100? That's 86 per cent - I'd have loved those marks when I was at school! Haha! When you look at it like that, it does sound good, yeah, absolutely. I've said it before, but I think I'm able to get those kinds of results because our car is just so fantastic to drive. My car in 2008 was fantastic, but, even though we're not quite as quick as the Red Bull, this year's car is still the best Formula 1 car I've ever driven.
"You can just plant it, particularly throught the high-speed stuff, and the car will just go where you tell it. And, as a driver, that gives you so much confidence, so you're not worrying about the car, you're just focusing on the racing. On Sunday at Silverstone, I just raced my heart out; I knew our car wasn't as quick as Mark's, but I just gave it all I had. I really enjoyed the race.
"And when you're having fun out there, the results just come. So I'm just incredibly happy at the moment. Eighty six points out of 100 – I still can't believe that!"
Q. You said that you'd never seen crowds like it a grand prix before, just how unique was this year's Santander British Grand Prix?
LH: "It was incredible, it really was. If you've only been to Silverstone, then maybe it's hard to understand. Silverstone is just one of those places that really comes alive for the race, and the atmosphere was just intense. I absolutely loved it. I love it every year, but this year just felt more charged and more exciting than ever.
"Every day, I'd go out onto the pitwall just to wave at the fans, and I couldn't believe how much support they were giving our team. Hopefully, they had a fantastic weekend – the weather was perfect, the racing was great, and we got a great result.
"Hopefully, next year, Jenson and I can come back and deliver a one-two – which I think would just blow the roof off the whole place. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
Q. A lot's been said about the change back to the regular floor after trialing the blown diffuser on Friday – how much did that upset your preparations for the race?
LH: "Well, obviously, it meant we lost a day's running compared to everybody else. But we didn't really waste it, because we learnt a lot about the new floor, and we'll hopefully be able to put that to good use sooner rather than later.
"And you'd probably say we started from zero on Saturday morning, except that we didn't, because Gary and the team did their homework in the simulator on Friday night. Those guys did a fantastic job, and they really made our race, because when we got in the car on Saturday morning, we hit the ground running because we had a lot of confidence in their data. That was a great example of the team really pulling it out of the bag, and it helped us get a result that, on paper, shouldn't really have been possible.
"Now, we need to spend the next 10 days really digging deep to get the T3 floor back on the cars and make sure it has a positive impact at the next race in Germany. The guys back at the factory are already working hard at it, and I'm sure we can get it to work soon."
Lewis HamiltonLewis Hamilton: "Wow, 86 points from 100? That's 86 per cent - I'd have loved those marks when I was at school! Haha! When you look at it like that, it does sound good, yeah, absolutely. I've said it before, but I think I'm able to get those kinds of results because our car is just so fantastic to drive. My car in 2008 was fantastic, but, even though we're not quite as quick as the Red Bull, this year's car is still the best Formula 1 car I've ever driven.
"You can just plant it, particularly throught the high-speed stuff, and the car will just go where you tell it. And, as a driver, that gives you so much confidence, so you're not worrying about the car, you're just focusing on the racing. On Sunday at Silverstone, I just raced my heart out; I knew our car wasn't as quick as Mark's, but I just gave it all I had. I really enjoyed the race.
"And when you're having fun out there, the results just come. So I'm just incredibly happy at the moment. Eighty six points out of 100 – I still can't believe that!"
Q. You said that you'd never seen crowds like it a grand prix before, just how unique was this year's Santander British Grand Prix?
LH: "It was incredible, it really was. If you've only been to Silverstone, then maybe it's hard to understand. Silverstone is just one of those places that really comes alive for the race, and the atmosphere was just intense. I absolutely loved it. I love it every year, but this year just felt more charged and more exciting than ever.
"Every day, I'd go out onto the pitwall just to wave at the fans, and I couldn't believe how much support they were giving our team. Hopefully, they had a fantastic weekend – the weather was perfect, the racing was great, and we got a great result.
"Hopefully, next year, Jenson and I can come back and deliver a one-two – which I think would just blow the roof off the whole place. Wouldn't that be amazing?"
Q. A lot's been said about the change back to the regular floor after trialing the blown diffuser on Friday – how much did that upset your preparations for the race?
LH: "Well, obviously, it meant we lost a day's running compared to everybody else. But we didn't really waste it, because we learnt a lot about the new floor, and we'll hopefully be able to put that to good use sooner rather than later.
"And you'd probably say we started from zero on Saturday morning, except that we didn't, because Gary and the team did their homework in the simulator on Friday night. Those guys did a fantastic job, and they really made our race, because when we got in the car on Saturday morning, we hit the ground running because we had a lot of confidence in their data. That was a great example of the team really pulling it out of the bag, and it helped us get a result that, on paper, shouldn't really have been possible.
"Now, we need to spend the next 10 days really digging deep to get the T3 floor back on the cars and make sure it has a positive impact at the next race in Germany. The guys back at the factory are already working hard at it, and I'm sure we can get it to work soon."
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Hamilton says McLaren 'over-delivering'
Lewis Hamilton says his 'over-delivering' McLaren team will be on terms with Red Bull Racing in the next two races - as he seeks to prevent his title rivals taking a hat-trick of wins.
The Briton was able to extend his championship lead at Silverstone with a second-placed finish to Mark Webber - and reckons that with slower circuits coming up, plus McLaren working hard on getting its blown diffuser back on the car, he will be back fighting for wins.
"We're really happy with the result," said Hamilton about his performance at Silverstone. "Overall we're doing a damn solid job with what we have. We're not the quickest but the car is good. But we're over-delivering with the package we have. We're definitely over-delivering.
"Red Bull are still the quickest. They were over a second quicker in qualifying. I just managed to bring it down to nine tenths, which is huge. And then in the race it was over half a second. We've still got a huge amount of time to find in the car.
"But on the lower speed circuits we will be a bit closer to them. Maybe two tenths. But when it's a high-speed circuit, like this, like Spa maybe, they have a big advantage at the moment. But hopefully in the next race, in the next two races, we should be able to get our upgrades working and we will be with them."
Hamilton currently has a 12-points advantage over team-mate Jenson Button, while Red Bull Racing's best-placed driver Mark Webber is a further five points adrift.
The Briton was able to extend his championship lead at Silverstone with a second-placed finish to Mark Webber - and reckons that with slower circuits coming up, plus McLaren working hard on getting its blown diffuser back on the car, he will be back fighting for wins.
"We're really happy with the result," said Hamilton about his performance at Silverstone. "Overall we're doing a damn solid job with what we have. We're not the quickest but the car is good. But we're over-delivering with the package we have. We're definitely over-delivering.
"Red Bull are still the quickest. They were over a second quicker in qualifying. I just managed to bring it down to nine tenths, which is huge. And then in the race it was over half a second. We've still got a huge amount of time to find in the car.
"But on the lower speed circuits we will be a bit closer to them. Maybe two tenths. But when it's a high-speed circuit, like this, like Spa maybe, they have a big advantage at the moment. But hopefully in the next race, in the next two races, we should be able to get our upgrades working and we will be with them."
Hamilton currently has a 12-points advantage over team-mate Jenson Button, while Red Bull Racing's best-placed driver Mark Webber is a further five points adrift.
Monday, 12 July 2010
McLaren optimistic over blown diffuser
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is optimistic that his team can get its blown diffuser working in time for it to be raced at the German Grand Prix.
The Woking-based team tried out its blown diffuser for the first time at Silverstone last weekend, but it was removed from the car on Friday night after the outfit struggled to find a good balance with it - and suffered from issues relating to the heat.
Work is now underway for another trial of the concept in practice at Hockenheim in a fortnight's time, and Whitmarsh hopes that the improvements will be good enough for it to remain on the car for the whole weekend.
"I'm quite optimistic now," he said. "Because of circumstance we took the blown diffuser off on Friday, and we got a free back-to-back because on Saturday we didn't have it.
"I was looking at the data and I think we now have some understanding of the issues, if not all, and we can devise some experiments. Hopefully we can make some progress on Friday in Hockenheim and then use it."
Whitmarsh admitted that it had been a bigger than expected task to get the blown diffuser on the car for the high-speed Silverstone circuit, but he thought the team had made the right decision with what it did.
"I think it was a big challenge," he said. "That could have been a mistake, but I'm glad we did it and I'm glad we took it off. I didn't feel like it on Friday night but now we have got a lot of good data."
He added: "Lewis will still say that he thought we should have raced it and, from the data, I think he's not wrong. Ultimately it was my decision and I think it was the right one.
"We were in a little bit of disarray on Friday, with a new circuit, gusty conditions and drivers uncomfortable. As a race team you take a decision like that, and to say: 'right, we are to concentrate on something different on each car', that would have confused us as well.
"I don't think we'd have had a much better result this weekend. We've got some good ideas now that will hopefully take us forward on Friday in Germany."
McLaren not relying on Red Bull fallout
McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says his team is not going to rely on Red Bull Racing getting ripped apart by its internal divisions - even though he thinks the favouritism row that has engulfed his title rivals is now an unwelcome distraction for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Red Bull Racing is facing a crunch few days to try and put a lid on the row that has erupted between Mark Webber and the team management over its decision to swap front wings on its cars before qualifying at the British Grand Prix.
That decision left Webber feeling he had been relegated to the number two driver position – and he claimed after his Silverstone victory that he would have never re-signed for the team for 2010 if he knew that was how he was going to be treated.
And with Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner insisting he has no regrets about the decisions he took at Silverstone – even though it has led to a huge backlash from the media and fans – rival teams have already suggested they can capitalise on the trouble.
Whitmarsh, whose team heads Red Bull Racing in both championships despite having not had the quickest car this year, said he hopes that the problems at Red Bull spiral out of control – but he made it clear he wasn't going to count on it.
"I don't know what's happening there," said Whitmarsh, after seeing Lewis Hamilton extend his lead in the world championship standings after the British Grand Prix.
"We have got to concentrate on our situation. A lot of people speculated on the relationship between our two drivers. And the fact is that it hasn't been a news story yet meant people tried to make it one.
"I hope there are cracks and divisions in all our competitors and they all fall apart, but I am not going to rely on it. We have got to make our car quicker and try and win the championships that way."
When asked if he felt that the internal problems at Red Bull Racing could prove to hurt the team's efforts on track, Whitmarsh said: "I think if your drivers aren't working together then it is one more distraction you could do without."
Whitmarsh reckoned that any decision that could leave one driver feeling as though he is being disadvantaged, such as the removal of parts to give to his team-mate, needed careful thought to consider the consequences.
"You have got to think carefully about decisions," he said. "Drivers are immensely competitive individuals. They wouldn't be doing that job otherwise, so if they perceive something that is not even-handed or fair, then you are going to have some trouble.
"There is always a potential tension with two drivers in the same team fighting for a championship. We've experienced that a few times, it's difficult, but I have to say that so far I think we are in reasonable shape in that regard."
Whitmarsh has close-hand experience of dealing with such driver tensions, when Fernando Alonso had a difficult time working with the outfit in 2007.
Looking back on the events of that season, which included the outfit getting dragged into a spy case, Whitmarsh openly admitted that the off-track situation cost it the world title.
"2007 was a tough year for all sorts of reasons," he said. "We had a competitive car, we were trying to win the world championship but ultimately we lost it by one point. Certainly the histrionics that went around, cost us that world championship, so we had to understand and respect that."
He added: "But I know the depth of this racing team. I think the combination of the drivers, a reasonable car and a strong team has enabled us to be leading both championships."
Hamilton: Second a reward for effort
Lewis Hamilton was thrilled to reward McLaren with second place at the end of a tough Silverstone weekend for the team.
Having had to remove its exhaust-blown diffuser following practice after problems getting the new system to work without impacting on reliability, McLaren worked late into Friday night to change the car's spec back again.
Hamilton then qualified fourth, jumped to second at the start, and chased winner Mark Webber for the rest of the race to secure the runner-up spot at home.
"I don't think it is a miracle result, it is a result of all the hard work, a reflection of all the hard work the team put in," said Hamilton.
"It was nice to drive, not as fast as the guys ahead of us, but we did best job we could with the package we had, and even Jenson [Button] did a great job today. I guess we are still leading constructors' so it is a great result for the guys."
But despite his pleasure at being second on a difficult weekend, Hamilton admitted he had no answer to Webber's speed.
"The Red Bulls, and Mark, did a phenomenal job," he said. "Those guys are so fast, out of pure pace I wouldn't be able to out-pace them.
"In the first couple of laps it looked like he was struggling, and I thought I had a chance to get past, but we both struggled. No chance though, I was flat chat but he was edging away."
Having had to remove its exhaust-blown diffuser following practice after problems getting the new system to work without impacting on reliability, McLaren worked late into Friday night to change the car's spec back again.
Hamilton then qualified fourth, jumped to second at the start, and chased winner Mark Webber for the rest of the race to secure the runner-up spot at home.
"I don't think it is a miracle result, it is a result of all the hard work, a reflection of all the hard work the team put in," said Hamilton.
"It was nice to drive, not as fast as the guys ahead of us, but we did best job we could with the package we had, and even Jenson [Button] did a great job today. I guess we are still leading constructors' so it is a great result for the guys."
But despite his pleasure at being second on a difficult weekend, Hamilton admitted he had no answer to Webber's speed.
"The Red Bulls, and Mark, did a phenomenal job," he said. "Those guys are so fast, out of pure pace I wouldn't be able to out-pace them.
"In the first couple of laps it looked like he was struggling, and I thought I had a chance to get past, but we both struggled. No chance though, I was flat chat but he was edging away."
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Elated Hamilton hails 'best ever lap'
Lewis Hamilton says his final qualifying lap on Saturday was his best ever after securing a place on the second row of the grid for the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton and his McLaren team have been forced to remove their upgrade package from their car following yesterday's practice, and the team has struggled to match the pace of its main rivals.
The McLaren driver, however, put on a strong performance in Q3 and will start the race from fourth position, ten places ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.
A delighted Hamilton said it had been his best ever lap, and insisted the upgrade package just needs time before it works perfectly.
"Fourth is... I'm so happy with it, you can't believe it," said Hamilton. "I'm so proud of my team because we pushed so hard all year, but in the last couple of days they pushed longer and harder than ever to get this update package, which is an improvement, but we just were unable to work it.
"And unfortunately we had to take it off last night. We knew we were a long way off. The Red Bull is a second and a bit ahead and have three teams with the blown diffuser who were ahead of us, and it was really about getting the best last possible.
"I have to say for me this is the best lap I've ever had. And I think it's down to all the fans we have here. The support you have around this track is like nowhere else. British fans are the best by far."
And the Briton is adamant that a good result is still possible despite all of McLaren's problems during the weekend.
"I don't know how was I able to get so high up but I'm so, so happy," he added. "I think it's a great position for us.
"The race is not over. These guys are clearly faster than us but we can still get a great result tomorrow."
Hamilton and his McLaren team have been forced to remove their upgrade package from their car following yesterday's practice, and the team has struggled to match the pace of its main rivals.
The McLaren driver, however, put on a strong performance in Q3 and will start the race from fourth position, ten places ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.
A delighted Hamilton said it had been his best ever lap, and insisted the upgrade package just needs time before it works perfectly.
"Fourth is... I'm so happy with it, you can't believe it," said Hamilton. "I'm so proud of my team because we pushed so hard all year, but in the last couple of days they pushed longer and harder than ever to get this update package, which is an improvement, but we just were unable to work it.
"And unfortunately we had to take it off last night. We knew we were a long way off. The Red Bull is a second and a bit ahead and have three teams with the blown diffuser who were ahead of us, and it was really about getting the best last possible.
"I have to say for me this is the best lap I've ever had. And I think it's down to all the fans we have here. The support you have around this track is like nowhere else. British fans are the best by far."
And the Briton is adamant that a good result is still possible despite all of McLaren's problems during the weekend.
"I don't know how was I able to get so high up but I'm so, so happy," he added. "I think it's a great position for us.
"The race is not over. These guys are clearly faster than us but we can still get a great result tomorrow."
Hamilton calm over McLaren updates
Lewis Hamilton is staying calm about the performance of his McLaren team despite a difficult first day of work ahead of the British Grand Prix.
McLaren has introduced a big upgrade package that it hopes will help close the gap to rival Red Bull in terms of performance.
However, Red Bull dominated today's practice sessions at Silverstone, with Hamilton finishing down in eighth, over 1.5 second off pace-setter Mark Webber.
The Briton said nonetheless that he felt the updates were a step forward and he is expecting things to be much closer on Saturday.
"I definitely feel we've made a step forward from Valencia," Hamilton said after practice. "This is a track a bit like Barcelona, where you'd see nearly a second gap between ourselves and Red Bull.
"I don't think we will be seeing that gap. I think tomorrow will be a lot closer. If we get the car set up right then we should have no problems."
He added: "We put on the new components and I was quite excited this morning and the feeling of the car was quite positive. I was actually surprised about the pace that we had this morning. We made some changes and set-up wise they didn't make the car better, but sometimes you find that's the case.
"So we are going to go back to the set-up we had before and start from there again and hopefully tomorrow the set-up will be better. But generally I think the performance of the car is good."
Team-mate Jenson Button admitted he was disappointed with his day after struggling with the handling of the car.
"Today's been a little bit trickier than expected in the car," said Button, 13th quickest. "First of all I couldn't get a set-up for the car with the new package, but it improved at the end of the day, but there's still a lot of work we need to do. We are not where we'd like to be. The car is very tricky in a few places around the circuit.
"We've definitely made some improvements in certain places, but we don't have the right balance yet. I haven't had a perfect day today, which is disappointing because even on a Friday it's good to see so many people out there."
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said the day had been hard for McLaren, but insisted the team needs time to make all the updates work.
"It was a difficult day for us," he said. "We're exploring the car. I wouldn't say that for a lot of the time the drivers were that comfortable today but we were learning and we will take that data and see what we can do with it this evening.
"The issue us, often when you are developing the car you are incrementally bringing downforce to the car so the balance of the car and the set-up characteristics don't change dramatically. With the changes that we are evolving on the cars, it requires perhaps a different approach, a different driving style, different setups.
"In the era when there is not much testing, that's quite difficult to nail with a limited number of tyres and laps to do it in. That's the modern era of F1 and we've got to take all of the data that we've got today, make some decision of what we've got to do and hopefully get it right.
"Parts were still arriving at 1:30 this morning. There are a lot of new components on the car and people have worked incredibly long hours day and night just to get those bits here. It's a big effort. We had a number of different parts on the car today and we've got to make sure that we've got the best package that we can provide to our drivers tomorrow."
McLaren has introduced a big upgrade package that it hopes will help close the gap to rival Red Bull in terms of performance.
However, Red Bull dominated today's practice sessions at Silverstone, with Hamilton finishing down in eighth, over 1.5 second off pace-setter Mark Webber.
The Briton said nonetheless that he felt the updates were a step forward and he is expecting things to be much closer on Saturday.
"I definitely feel we've made a step forward from Valencia," Hamilton said after practice. "This is a track a bit like Barcelona, where you'd see nearly a second gap between ourselves and Red Bull.
"I don't think we will be seeing that gap. I think tomorrow will be a lot closer. If we get the car set up right then we should have no problems."
He added: "We put on the new components and I was quite excited this morning and the feeling of the car was quite positive. I was actually surprised about the pace that we had this morning. We made some changes and set-up wise they didn't make the car better, but sometimes you find that's the case.
"So we are going to go back to the set-up we had before and start from there again and hopefully tomorrow the set-up will be better. But generally I think the performance of the car is good."
Team-mate Jenson Button admitted he was disappointed with his day after struggling with the handling of the car.
"Today's been a little bit trickier than expected in the car," said Button, 13th quickest. "First of all I couldn't get a set-up for the car with the new package, but it improved at the end of the day, but there's still a lot of work we need to do. We are not where we'd like to be. The car is very tricky in a few places around the circuit.
"We've definitely made some improvements in certain places, but we don't have the right balance yet. I haven't had a perfect day today, which is disappointing because even on a Friday it's good to see so many people out there."
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said the day had been hard for McLaren, but insisted the team needs time to make all the updates work.
"It was a difficult day for us," he said. "We're exploring the car. I wouldn't say that for a lot of the time the drivers were that comfortable today but we were learning and we will take that data and see what we can do with it this evening.
"The issue us, often when you are developing the car you are incrementally bringing downforce to the car so the balance of the car and the set-up characteristics don't change dramatically. With the changes that we are evolving on the cars, it requires perhaps a different approach, a different driving style, different setups.
"In the era when there is not much testing, that's quite difficult to nail with a limited number of tyres and laps to do it in. That's the modern era of F1 and we've got to take all of the data that we've got today, make some decision of what we've got to do and hopefully get it right.
"Parts were still arriving at 1:30 this morning. There are a lot of new components on the car and people have worked incredibly long hours day and night just to get those bits here. It's a big effort. We had a number of different parts on the car today and we've got to make sure that we've got the best package that we can provide to our drivers tomorrow."
Thursday, 8 July 2010
McLaren duo shrug off Hill's comments
McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button on Tuesday shrugged off comments by former world champion Damon Hill that the title fight between them will soon "boil over".
Hill told British media on Monday that he expected the battle between the McLaren to intensify as the season progresses.
"Jenson will not be letting Lewis get away with anything," Hill was quoted as saying by Reuters. "Between the two British drivers in possibly the best car, you are going to have a very close and fascinating battle which is great for everyone.
"It's just been on simmer at the moment. It's going to start to boil over. This could be the start of the rest of the season."
The 1996 world champion also compared the duo with the tortoise and the hare in their approach to racing.
"They have totally different approaches," Hill said on the Mirror. "One is Senna-esque and the other a Prost-like driver. So it's the tortoise and the hare, which is an unfair comparison calling a racing driver a tortoise."
On Tuesday, during a press conference for British GP title sponsor Santander Button shrugged off the comments.
"They are his words and not mine," he said. "I won the world championship last year because I was quick, and I won six races and was always there fighting.
"For me that is key to the championship. It is not always about just consistency. You need to be fighting at the front and you need to be challenging for victories all the time. That is exactly where I want to be."
Hamilton was also unmoved by Hill's remarks.
"I don't really have a reaction to it," Hamilton said. "I think it is always very interesting to hear past world champions talk about present drivers and present world champions, and to hear their thoughts.
"It is then interesting to see whether it plays out and whether it is true or false - and whether they actually know what they are talking about or not. You will find out later in the year I guess."
Button insisted both him and Hamilton are aware that they need to continue to work together in harmony to stay ahead of their rivals.
"You have friends in F1," he said. "We are friends with a lot of the drivers we are racing against as well and definitely we are in the same team and at the end of the season you want to be the best, not just in your team but on the grid.
"We are both very competitive and we both want to win, but as we keep saying, first of all you have to work together. You have to work closely to improve the car and I think we've done a very good job this year of pushing each other very hard, not just on the circuit but also off the circuit in developing the car and the set-up, so for me it is a good relationship. I am sure it is going to continue.
"If you are both quick you are going to be racing wheel to wheel. We've had a bit of fun over the last few races but not as much fun as maybe other teams have."
Hill told British media on Monday that he expected the battle between the McLaren to intensify as the season progresses.
"Jenson will not be letting Lewis get away with anything," Hill was quoted as saying by Reuters. "Between the two British drivers in possibly the best car, you are going to have a very close and fascinating battle which is great for everyone.
"It's just been on simmer at the moment. It's going to start to boil over. This could be the start of the rest of the season."
The 1996 world champion also compared the duo with the tortoise and the hare in their approach to racing.
"They have totally different approaches," Hill said on the Mirror. "One is Senna-esque and the other a Prost-like driver. So it's the tortoise and the hare, which is an unfair comparison calling a racing driver a tortoise."
On Tuesday, during a press conference for British GP title sponsor Santander Button shrugged off the comments.
"They are his words and not mine," he said. "I won the world championship last year because I was quick, and I won six races and was always there fighting.
"For me that is key to the championship. It is not always about just consistency. You need to be fighting at the front and you need to be challenging for victories all the time. That is exactly where I want to be."
Hamilton was also unmoved by Hill's remarks.
"I don't really have a reaction to it," Hamilton said. "I think it is always very interesting to hear past world champions talk about present drivers and present world champions, and to hear their thoughts.
"It is then interesting to see whether it plays out and whether it is true or false - and whether they actually know what they are talking about or not. You will find out later in the year I guess."
Button insisted both him and Hamilton are aware that they need to continue to work together in harmony to stay ahead of their rivals.
"You have friends in F1," he said. "We are friends with a lot of the drivers we are racing against as well and definitely we are in the same team and at the end of the season you want to be the best, not just in your team but on the grid.
"We are both very competitive and we both want to win, but as we keep saying, first of all you have to work together. You have to work closely to improve the car and I think we've done a very good job this year of pushing each other very hard, not just on the circuit but also off the circuit in developing the car and the set-up, so for me it is a good relationship. I am sure it is going to continue.
"If you are both quick you are going to be racing wheel to wheel. We've had a bit of fun over the last few races but not as much fun as maybe other teams have."
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Vettel, Hamilton get a reprimand
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have both been reprimanded by the race stewards for dangerous driving during their pitlane incident in the Chinese Grand Prix.
Hamilton was released after a pitstop just as Vettel was near him, and the pair chose to race side-by-side down the length of the pits rather than concede the position.
The stewards believed that such driving, which included Hamilton getting sideways as he tried to out-accelerate the Red Bull Racing driver and Vettel edging over on the McLaren, was done in a "dangerous manner."
The stewards spoke to both drivers and reviewed video evidence before making their ruling.
Hamilton was released after a pitstop just as Vettel was near him, and the pair chose to race side-by-side down the length of the pits rather than concede the position.
The stewards believed that such driving, which included Hamilton getting sideways as he tried to out-accelerate the Red Bull Racing driver and Vettel edging over on the McLaren, was done in a "dangerous manner."
The stewards spoke to both drivers and reviewed video evidence before making their ruling.
Saturday, 3 April 2010
McLaren duo rue wrong qualifying call
McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button were left lamenting their mistake after being knocked out in Q1 for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The duo waited to go out and set a time, hoping that conditions would improve after heavy rain had hit the track.
However, conditions only worsened and by the ttime they set a timed lap, the circuit was too wet to reach Q2.
Hamilton admitted McLaren's had been the wrong call.
"I think we started a bit too late, but we went out at a similar times to all the other top teams, but it was just unlucky," he said.
"It's one of those things. We had been fastest all weekend and then it's just so my luck, but what can you do? You just have to shrug it off and tomorrow I'll race my heart out again."
He added: "It was one of those days. It's been a good weekend so far, but we didn't expect it to rain anymore and it got wetter and wetter and couldn't get the time, so. Hard work tomorrow, for sure but I'll do my best."
Hamilton will start from 20th position, three places behind Button, whose session ended when he lost control of his car and got stuck in the gravel.
"We read it wrong, basically," Button said. "We thought nothing else was coming so we waited and it was obviously the wrong thing to do.
"My first lap on inters felt okay. It was quite wet but it felt okay. I just aquaplaned off, really. I couldn't do anything about it. I was stuck in the gravel. I hope I haven't damaged anything because I was stuck in the gravel with the engine running for quite a long time hoping to get pulled out, but that wasn't the case.
"Very disappointing, and a very strange session with both McLarens out and both Ferraris out."
The world champion at lest found some consolation in the fact that both Hamilton and the Ferrari drivers had qualified behind him.
"On the way back you feel pretty awful having gone off the circuit, but I'm in front of my championship rivals. I suppose that's the best way of looking at it. But I'm behind all other rivals which is a tough one. We made the wrong call and paid for it. Hopefully we'll make up for it tomorrow."
The duo waited to go out and set a time, hoping that conditions would improve after heavy rain had hit the track.
However, conditions only worsened and by the ttime they set a timed lap, the circuit was too wet to reach Q2.
Hamilton admitted McLaren's had been the wrong call.
"I think we started a bit too late, but we went out at a similar times to all the other top teams, but it was just unlucky," he said.
"It's one of those things. We had been fastest all weekend and then it's just so my luck, but what can you do? You just have to shrug it off and tomorrow I'll race my heart out again."
He added: "It was one of those days. It's been a good weekend so far, but we didn't expect it to rain anymore and it got wetter and wetter and couldn't get the time, so. Hard work tomorrow, for sure but I'll do my best."
Hamilton will start from 20th position, three places behind Button, whose session ended when he lost control of his car and got stuck in the gravel.
"We read it wrong, basically," Button said. "We thought nothing else was coming so we waited and it was obviously the wrong thing to do.
"My first lap on inters felt okay. It was quite wet but it felt okay. I just aquaplaned off, really. I couldn't do anything about it. I was stuck in the gravel. I hope I haven't damaged anything because I was stuck in the gravel with the engine running for quite a long time hoping to get pulled out, but that wasn't the case.
"Very disappointing, and a very strange session with both McLarens out and both Ferraris out."
The world champion at lest found some consolation in the fact that both Hamilton and the Ferrari drivers had qualified behind him.
"On the way back you feel pretty awful having gone off the circuit, but I'm in front of my championship rivals. I suppose that's the best way of looking at it. But I'm behind all other rivals which is a tough one. We made the wrong call and paid for it. Hopefully we'll make up for it tomorrow."
Friday, 2 April 2010
Hamilton leads opening Sepang practice
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in opening practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix, but a last gap run to second by Mercedes' Nico Rosberg denied McLaren a likely one-two in the sesssion.
After a low-key opening to the morning, with the small teams monopolising the early track time, McLaren's Hamilton and Jenson Button moved into first and second around the session's halfway mark, before - like most of its rivals - focusing on heavier fuel runs later in the morning.
Their positions looked set going into the closing moments, until Rosberg slipped through with a lap 0.185 seconds off Hamilton's pace just after the chequered flag to split the McLarens.
Michael Schumacher was fourth in the second Mercedes. The former champion did not set a flying lap at all until just over the one hour mark while Mercedes worked on the rear of his car, but once on track Schumacher was rapid and quickly worked his way up to third, which became fourth when Rosberg jumped up the order.
Renault's Robert Kubica briefly led the way prior to the McLarens' mid-session surge and ended up fifth, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, Force India's Adrian Sutil, and championship leader Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) in eighth.
Sebastian Vettel was only ninth for Red Bull, and at one stage reported issues with slowing the car down. But he did set the fastest sector two time of the morning on his in-lap after the flag. Sebastien Buemi completed the top ten for Toro Rosso.
Felipe Massa made two trips through the gravel and was 11th for Ferrari. Also in trouble were Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, who lost time to an electrical problem but recovered to 13th after repairs, and Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa. Like Massa, the Spaniard skittered through the Turn 12 gravel at speed but rejoined without damage.
Lotus test driver Fairuz Fauzy did a solid job on his first appearance in a GP weekend session. The Malaysian had a half-spin and brief trip over the grass, but was within half a second of team-mate Jarno Trulli until the Italian improved late on, and ultimately took 22nd. Force India's Paul di Resta, the other reserve driver in action, was 15th.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.921 19
2. Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.106 + 0.185 19
3. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.207 + 0.286 25
4. Schumacher Mercedes 1:35.225 + 0.304 14
5. Kubica Renault 1:35.402 + 0.481 22
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.479 + 0.558 22
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:35.955 + 1.034 20
8. Alonso Ferrari 1:35.959 + 1.038 20
9. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:35.043 + 1.122 19
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.100 + 1.179 20
11. Massa Ferrari 1:36.451 + 1.530 22
12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.503 + 1.582 28
13. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.645 + 1.724 18
14. Petrov Renault 1:36.712 + 1.791 9
15. di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:36.891 + 1.970 25
16. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.899 + 1.978 24
17. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:37.802 + 2.881 27
18. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.278 + 3.357 18
19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:39.460 + 4.539 21
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:39.755 + 4.834 17
21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:40.159 + 5.238 25
22. Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1:40.721 + 5.800 19
23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:41.832 + 6.911 27
24. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:41.966 + 7.045 24
All Timing Unofficial
After a low-key opening to the morning, with the small teams monopolising the early track time, McLaren's Hamilton and Jenson Button moved into first and second around the session's halfway mark, before - like most of its rivals - focusing on heavier fuel runs later in the morning.
Their positions looked set going into the closing moments, until Rosberg slipped through with a lap 0.185 seconds off Hamilton's pace just after the chequered flag to split the McLarens.
Michael Schumacher was fourth in the second Mercedes. The former champion did not set a flying lap at all until just over the one hour mark while Mercedes worked on the rear of his car, but once on track Schumacher was rapid and quickly worked his way up to third, which became fourth when Rosberg jumped up the order.
Renault's Robert Kubica briefly led the way prior to the McLarens' mid-session surge and ended up fifth, ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, Force India's Adrian Sutil, and championship leader Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) in eighth.
Sebastian Vettel was only ninth for Red Bull, and at one stage reported issues with slowing the car down. But he did set the fastest sector two time of the morning on his in-lap after the flag. Sebastien Buemi completed the top ten for Toro Rosso.
Felipe Massa made two trips through the gravel and was 11th for Ferrari. Also in trouble were Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari, who lost time to an electrical problem but recovered to 13th after repairs, and Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa. Like Massa, the Spaniard skittered through the Turn 12 gravel at speed but rejoined without damage.
Lotus test driver Fairuz Fauzy did a solid job on his first appearance in a GP weekend session. The Malaysian had a half-spin and brief trip over the grass, but was within half a second of team-mate Jarno Trulli until the Italian improved late on, and ultimately took 22nd. Force India's Paul di Resta, the other reserve driver in action, was 15th.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.921 19
2. Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.106 + 0.185 19
3. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.207 + 0.286 25
4. Schumacher Mercedes 1:35.225 + 0.304 14
5. Kubica Renault 1:35.402 + 0.481 22
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.479 + 0.558 22
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:35.955 + 1.034 20
8. Alonso Ferrari 1:35.959 + 1.038 20
9. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:35.043 + 1.122 19
10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.100 + 1.179 20
11. Massa Ferrari 1:36.451 + 1.530 22
12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.503 + 1.582 28
13. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:36.645 + 1.724 18
14. Petrov Renault 1:36.712 + 1.791 9
15. di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:36.891 + 1.970 25
16. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:36.899 + 1.978 24
17. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:37.802 + 2.881 27
18. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:38.278 + 3.357 18
19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:39.460 + 4.539 21
20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:39.755 + 4.834 17
21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:40.159 + 5.238 25
22. Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1:40.721 + 5.800 19
23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:41.832 + 6.911 27
24. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 1:41.966 + 7.045 24
All Timing Unofficial
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Q and A with Lewis Hamilton-Abu Dhabi
Lewis Hamilton and McLaren have surged back from nowhere at the start of the year to become race winners and consistent top three contenders again going into the final rounds of the 2009 season.
Having continued that form with a crushing pole position in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton told the media why he is so upbeat about 2010, but why the current car is still not perfect.
Q. If you had had this car at the start of the season, do you think you would have been fighting for the title?
Lewis Hamilton: I don't think so. It is difficult to say it would have been a world championship campaign for sure, because there are some tracks where the car has really been quite poor, I think of Spa for example. Even though it is feeling quite good here on these slow speed corners, it is still not the best car by a fair amount. We still have a lot to improve on. And the foundations of the car are not perfect, so we need to improve that for next year. The faster we get, the worse the car gets in the high speed corners, and if we went to places like Spa we would struggle still.
But the reliability has been good, the engine has been performing fantastically, and we have definitely got closer. If we had this car from the beginning we would have got closer, and if we had started from here we would have just continued to improve.
Q. Were you expecting such domination this weekend?
LH: The weekend is not over, but I didn't expect it. We arrive at every race this year, and each one is different. Sometimes we are there, sometimes we are not. We came here, and I didn't know where we would be. So it was a real surprise. On Friday we really dialled the car in, and it feels the best it has felt all year to drive. So it was a surprise for all of us.
Q. Watching trackside this place looks fantastic, how does it feel from the cockpit?
LH: It is a bit like driving a go-kart through some of those corners. Turn 11/12/13, it is like corners of a go-kart track. A bit of kerb here, a little bit more there, a little bit less - you lose vision as you go over the brow, and then the car drops back down so you get back on the power. It is cool. I like it.
Q. There were a lot of incidents in Brazil that have prompted a debate about driving standards this weekend. Is it time for a new code of conduct, or is the FIA doing enough?
LH: I think the FIA has done a tremendous job this year. Whether it has all been perfect... it is a very hard job to do. The situations are always different, but they have done a great job this year. I think for Brazil, clearly we had some great racing, some very tough calls for them, but for us in the drivers' briefing it was more comments about younger drivers coming in. The rest of us, we have been here and we have established an agreement amongst drivers. The new ones have come and have not been briefed about what we all go by manoeuvre wise, so perhaps it is a question of them becoming aware of it.
Q. What direction would you like to see F1 go now that we have a new FIA president in Jean Todt?
LH: I haven't really thought about it too much. I have not really seen Jean to say congratulations, but I think he is going to do a great job. Clearly, it is not an easy job for him to just step in and do, but he did a great job in his past history in F1 and has been a good team leader. So the people around him, hopefully he will be able to manage them very well and help us all move forward. From our point, [that means] working well with the GPDA and hopefully improve safety. For the rest of the FIA, I don't know what they need to improve but hopefully it is going to be an addition to the group and hopefully a positive.
Q. How encouraged are you by the way the team has ended the year, looking ahead to next season?
LH: It is extremely encouraging. I cannot express how encouraging it is. When you come from a team where for two years you have had a good, competitive car, to the beginning of the year where you had your doubts and you felt the car was just nowhere, and didn't know when or if it would get better. It is encouraging for the future, but it is also such an encouraging feeling to be working so close with everyone, my team-mate, and all the guys back at the factory. Bit by bit we are getting there.
Q. McLaren's approach is different to Ferrari - who drew a line under the season and started developing the new car for next year straight away. You've kept developing this year's car. Are you satisfied enough effort has gone into the 2010 car?
LH: Yes, definitely. Sure you can always start earlier, but we had to understand and work with this year's car to know where we were going. If you start making a new car but don't know where you've been or where you are coming from, then you cannot work on it. We think we have done a great job, a very good approach to understand mistakes and wrong routes/right routes with this car, to improve it to the point that we are now. But we have been focusing on next year's car for some time now so we should be quite strong.
Q. Sebastian Vettel could not explain the gap after qualifying. Could you explain it? Was it the perfect lap for you? Was it KERS?
LH: We are getting no more than we are always getting from KERS. There was a great feeling in the car, and it was a great lap. I would say it was the best lap I have done all year. It was a very, very nice lap. I need to go and look at it to see where I could improve. There are always places where you can do a little bit better, but if I compared it to my perfect lap – maybe there are a couple of hundredths here or there. Otherwise I am very happy with it.
Q. Better than the lap in Q1 then?
LH: Yeah, it was better than that. So that is why I am smiling. It was even better. Especially when you have got heavier fuel, the balance between front and rear tyres, the amount of kerb you are taking. In previous laps you take a bit too much kerb in places, hits the bottom of the car, miss the apex a bit, and lose a bit of time. But it was just full on.
Q. There has been talk this weekend about the pit exit. How close to the limit have you been there?
LH: I have been quite sensible. It is quite a challenging pit exit, especially going from 60 km/h to 100 km/h, you switch off the pit limiter and it accelerates so quickly. Then all of a sudden you have to brake, so you have to be careful. It drops all of a sudden and it is easy to lock your tyres and go straight on, so it is not easy. But is definitely exciting and should be a real challenge. There is time there if you need it.
Having continued that form with a crushing pole position in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton told the media why he is so upbeat about 2010, but why the current car is still not perfect.
Q. If you had had this car at the start of the season, do you think you would have been fighting for the title?
Lewis Hamilton: I don't think so. It is difficult to say it would have been a world championship campaign for sure, because there are some tracks where the car has really been quite poor, I think of Spa for example. Even though it is feeling quite good here on these slow speed corners, it is still not the best car by a fair amount. We still have a lot to improve on. And the foundations of the car are not perfect, so we need to improve that for next year. The faster we get, the worse the car gets in the high speed corners, and if we went to places like Spa we would struggle still.
But the reliability has been good, the engine has been performing fantastically, and we have definitely got closer. If we had this car from the beginning we would have got closer, and if we had started from here we would have just continued to improve.
Q. Were you expecting such domination this weekend?
LH: The weekend is not over, but I didn't expect it. We arrive at every race this year, and each one is different. Sometimes we are there, sometimes we are not. We came here, and I didn't know where we would be. So it was a real surprise. On Friday we really dialled the car in, and it feels the best it has felt all year to drive. So it was a surprise for all of us.
Q. Watching trackside this place looks fantastic, how does it feel from the cockpit?
LH: It is a bit like driving a go-kart through some of those corners. Turn 11/12/13, it is like corners of a go-kart track. A bit of kerb here, a little bit more there, a little bit less - you lose vision as you go over the brow, and then the car drops back down so you get back on the power. It is cool. I like it.
Q. There were a lot of incidents in Brazil that have prompted a debate about driving standards this weekend. Is it time for a new code of conduct, or is the FIA doing enough?
LH: I think the FIA has done a tremendous job this year. Whether it has all been perfect... it is a very hard job to do. The situations are always different, but they have done a great job this year. I think for Brazil, clearly we had some great racing, some very tough calls for them, but for us in the drivers' briefing it was more comments about younger drivers coming in. The rest of us, we have been here and we have established an agreement amongst drivers. The new ones have come and have not been briefed about what we all go by manoeuvre wise, so perhaps it is a question of them becoming aware of it.
Q. What direction would you like to see F1 go now that we have a new FIA president in Jean Todt?
LH: I haven't really thought about it too much. I have not really seen Jean to say congratulations, but I think he is going to do a great job. Clearly, it is not an easy job for him to just step in and do, but he did a great job in his past history in F1 and has been a good team leader. So the people around him, hopefully he will be able to manage them very well and help us all move forward. From our point, [that means] working well with the GPDA and hopefully improve safety. For the rest of the FIA, I don't know what they need to improve but hopefully it is going to be an addition to the group and hopefully a positive.
Q. How encouraged are you by the way the team has ended the year, looking ahead to next season?
LH: It is extremely encouraging. I cannot express how encouraging it is. When you come from a team where for two years you have had a good, competitive car, to the beginning of the year where you had your doubts and you felt the car was just nowhere, and didn't know when or if it would get better. It is encouraging for the future, but it is also such an encouraging feeling to be working so close with everyone, my team-mate, and all the guys back at the factory. Bit by bit we are getting there.
Q. McLaren's approach is different to Ferrari - who drew a line under the season and started developing the new car for next year straight away. You've kept developing this year's car. Are you satisfied enough effort has gone into the 2010 car?
LH: Yes, definitely. Sure you can always start earlier, but we had to understand and work with this year's car to know where we were going. If you start making a new car but don't know where you've been or where you are coming from, then you cannot work on it. We think we have done a great job, a very good approach to understand mistakes and wrong routes/right routes with this car, to improve it to the point that we are now. But we have been focusing on next year's car for some time now so we should be quite strong.
Q. Sebastian Vettel could not explain the gap after qualifying. Could you explain it? Was it the perfect lap for you? Was it KERS?
LH: We are getting no more than we are always getting from KERS. There was a great feeling in the car, and it was a great lap. I would say it was the best lap I have done all year. It was a very, very nice lap. I need to go and look at it to see where I could improve. There are always places where you can do a little bit better, but if I compared it to my perfect lap – maybe there are a couple of hundredths here or there. Otherwise I am very happy with it.
Q. Better than the lap in Q1 then?
LH: Yeah, it was better than that. So that is why I am smiling. It was even better. Especially when you have got heavier fuel, the balance between front and rear tyres, the amount of kerb you are taking. In previous laps you take a bit too much kerb in places, hits the bottom of the car, miss the apex a bit, and lose a bit of time. But it was just full on.
Q. There has been talk this weekend about the pit exit. How close to the limit have you been there?
LH: I have been quite sensible. It is quite a challenging pit exit, especially going from 60 km/h to 100 km/h, you switch off the pit limiter and it accelerates so quickly. Then all of a sudden you have to brake, so you have to be careful. It drops all of a sudden and it is easy to lock your tyres and go straight on, so it is not easy. But is definitely exciting and should be a real challenge. There is time there if you need it.
Friday, 23 October 2009
Lewis: Abu Dhabi will be a KERS track
Lewis Hamilton is confident the new Abu Dhabi circuit will suit his McLaren car and give him a chance to end a difficult season on a high.
The Woking squad has struggled to be competitive on fast circuits where a lack of overall downforce has hampered it, but has been much stronger on slower tracks such as the Hungaroring and Singapore, where Hamilton was a dominant force.
The Briton, who saw the mantle of world champion pass to compatriot Jenson Button in Brazil, thinks the tight and twisty 3.45-mile Abu Dhabi layout should be ideally suited to the MP4-24 and its Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
“We’ve had a fantastic second half of the season, and it would be perfect to end the year with a win – it would send us into the winter fully motivated and pumped up for the 2010 season,” he said.
“All the signs point to Abu Dhabi being another strong track for us – there are plenty of slow corners leading onto long straights, where KERS will be very advantageous.
“Seeing as it’s likely to be the last race for KERS, it would be fantastic to send it off with a perfect result – that would be a very fitting farewell for all the engineers who have worked so hard to make the McLaren Mercedes system the best in the business.”
McLaren ahead of Ferrari into third place in the constructors’ championship courtesy of Hamilton’s podium finish at Interlagos, but with only one point separating the arch-rival teams, the battle is still very much joined.
Heikki Kovalainen says he is determined to help McLaren seal third place, and can’t wait to sample the new circuit.
“I had a very strong race in Brazil and I’m determined to rack up a points finish in Abu Dhabi to make sure we hold on to third position in the constructors’ championship,” said the Finn.
“From what I’ve seen of the track, it looks pretty good – it’s got a couple of fast corners at the start of the lap, but then there’s a real low-speed, technical section towards the end.
“It still looks like it will be a tough track for overtaking, but the facilities look amazing – totally world-class – and I think the idea of a dusk race is very good for our sport.
“Singapore has set the standard very high with its night race, but Abu Dhabi looks like it will set new standards in Formula 1. I can’t wait to get out there.”
The Woking squad has struggled to be competitive on fast circuits where a lack of overall downforce has hampered it, but has been much stronger on slower tracks such as the Hungaroring and Singapore, where Hamilton was a dominant force.
The Briton, who saw the mantle of world champion pass to compatriot Jenson Button in Brazil, thinks the tight and twisty 3.45-mile Abu Dhabi layout should be ideally suited to the MP4-24 and its Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
“We’ve had a fantastic second half of the season, and it would be perfect to end the year with a win – it would send us into the winter fully motivated and pumped up for the 2010 season,” he said.
“All the signs point to Abu Dhabi being another strong track for us – there are plenty of slow corners leading onto long straights, where KERS will be very advantageous.
“Seeing as it’s likely to be the last race for KERS, it would be fantastic to send it off with a perfect result – that would be a very fitting farewell for all the engineers who have worked so hard to make the McLaren Mercedes system the best in the business.”
McLaren ahead of Ferrari into third place in the constructors’ championship courtesy of Hamilton’s podium finish at Interlagos, but with only one point separating the arch-rival teams, the battle is still very much joined.
Heikki Kovalainen says he is determined to help McLaren seal third place, and can’t wait to sample the new circuit.
“I had a very strong race in Brazil and I’m determined to rack up a points finish in Abu Dhabi to make sure we hold on to third position in the constructors’ championship,” said the Finn.
“From what I’ve seen of the track, it looks pretty good – it’s got a couple of fast corners at the start of the lap, but then there’s a real low-speed, technical section towards the end.
“It still looks like it will be a tough track for overtaking, but the facilities look amazing – totally world-class – and I think the idea of a dusk race is very good for our sport.
“Singapore has set the standard very high with its night race, but Abu Dhabi looks like it will set new standards in Formula 1. I can’t wait to get out there.”
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