Nico Hulkenberg admitted his Williams was simply not quick enough to achieve a better result at Sepang, despite scoring his first Formula 1 point.
The German had started the race from fifth position thanks to yesterday's rain-hit qualifying, but had to be content with a distant tenth position in toady's race.
Hulkenberg conceded there was not much he could have done due to the lack of pace from the Williams car.
"We picked up a point today, maybe because our car was more reliable, but that's racing," said Hulkenberg. "It was a tough race because we just don't have the pace at the moment.
"I wish we could do better, but we have some work to do to catch up."
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello went on to finish in 12th after nearly stalling his car at the start, something that sent him to the back of the grid from seventh position.
"I don't know what happened at the start, I'll go through that with the team," he said. "From there I went to the back of the field. We tried a different strategy to get us back up, but our car was just not competitive.
"We lost a nice opportunity today."
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Showing posts with label Malaysian GP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Malaysian GP. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Kovalainen encouraged by Lotus pace
Heikki Kovalainen was encouraged by the competitiveness of his Lotus team despite failing to finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
"It was still a very positive race for us, despite the issues," said the Finn, who had finished the first two races of the season.
"My start wasn't fantastic and it meant I dropped immediately to the back. After that I got into a good rhythm, but started to see some issues on the dash.
"I tried to make a move on di Grassi, but clipped his front wing when I was going past and damaged my left rear tyre, so had to come in to pit.
"Even with the problems we had the car was competitive and I was very comfortable. Compared to the other new teams our times are very competitive indeed, so I'm not going to let this race trouble me - we learned a lot and now we'll move on and look ahead to China," he added.
Team-mate Jarno Trulli went on to finish in 15th position after making contact early on with Virgin's Timo Glock.
"We made a good start, but then on the second lap I was hit by Glock, which made me spin, and from then on my race was compromised," said the Italian.
"Despite that I got the car home to the end and that shows our focus on reliability has been worth the effort."
"It was still a very positive race for us, despite the issues," said the Finn, who had finished the first two races of the season.
"My start wasn't fantastic and it meant I dropped immediately to the back. After that I got into a good rhythm, but started to see some issues on the dash.
"I tried to make a move on di Grassi, but clipped his front wing when I was going past and damaged my left rear tyre, so had to come in to pit.
"Even with the problems we had the car was competitive and I was very comfortable. Compared to the other new teams our times are very competitive indeed, so I'm not going to let this race trouble me - we learned a lot and now we'll move on and look ahead to China," he added.
Team-mate Jarno Trulli went on to finish in 15th position after making contact early on with Virgin's Timo Glock.
"We made a good start, but then on the second lap I was hit by Glock, which made me spin, and from then on my race was compromised," said the Italian.
"Despite that I got the car home to the end and that shows our focus on reliability has been worth the effort."
Alonso bemoans 'hardest race ever'
Fernando Alonso labelled the Malaysian Grand Prix as the hardest race of his life after having to cope with gearbox issues before retiring.
The Ferrari driver lost his clutch before the start of the race and was forced to step on the throttle on corners in order for the gears to engage.
Despite that, Alonso battled with team-mate Felipe Massa and McLaren's Jenson Button, before an engine failure forced him out with two laps to go.
The Spaniard looked set for ninth position, which would have helped him keep the championship lead. As it was, however, Alonso is now tied in second place, two points behind Massa.
"From the start things went wrong," Alonso told Spanish television. "On the formation lap my gearbox broke and I had no clutch during the race, so I had to brake in a weird way.
"I had to first gear down and then push the throttle hard so it would engage the gear for that corner.
"So it was probably the hardest race of my whole life in terms of driving, because I had to improvise for every corner. But even so we were going to get a few points, which in the end was not possible because of the engine.
"But if the gearbox and then the engine are going to break, it's better than in happens when you are ninth than when you are leading and you lose 25 points."
He added: "A tough weekend. Sometimes it's us, sometimes it's other. You have to take the opportunities."
The Ferrari driver lost his clutch before the start of the race and was forced to step on the throttle on corners in order for the gears to engage.
Despite that, Alonso battled with team-mate Felipe Massa and McLaren's Jenson Button, before an engine failure forced him out with two laps to go.
The Spaniard looked set for ninth position, which would have helped him keep the championship lead. As it was, however, Alonso is now tied in second place, two points behind Massa.
"From the start things went wrong," Alonso told Spanish television. "On the formation lap my gearbox broke and I had no clutch during the race, so I had to brake in a weird way.
"I had to first gear down and then push the throttle hard so it would engage the gear for that corner.
"So it was probably the hardest race of my whole life in terms of driving, because I had to improvise for every corner. But even so we were going to get a few points, which in the end was not possible because of the engine.
"But if the gearbox and then the engine are going to break, it's better than in happens when you are ninth than when you are leading and you lose 25 points."
He added: "A tough weekend. Sometimes it's us, sometimes it's other. You have to take the opportunities."
Vettel leads dominant Red Bull one-two
Red Bull finally delivered the kind of crushing performance it had threatened to all season as Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber home in a one-two demonstration run at Sepang.
Nico Rosberg gave the new Mercedes works team its first podium in third, although his team-mate Michael Schumacher was an early retirement, while the McLarens and Ferraris all recovered into the top ten following their qualifying miscues, although Fernando Alonso suffered a last gasp engine failure.
The potential for downpours and chaos had dominated conversation in the build-up, but ironically the race was dry throughout. Vettel got a great start from third, instantly passing Rosberg and slipping down the inside of Webber into the first corner to take the lead.
The two Red Bulls then pulled away from the Mercedes in formation, remaining a second or so apart until their pitstops on laps 23 and 24, where any chance of Webber threatening Vettel was removed when an airgun problem on his right front wheel meant his tyre change took a crucial 1.4s longer. That briefly put Webber behind the yet-to-stop Lewis Hamilton, and gave Vettel a clean break. He duly cruised clear to clinch his and Red Bull's first win of 2010.
Rosberg was a safe third throughout, but the second Mercedes of Schumacher dropped out on lap eight when its left rear wheel came loose.
Robert Kubica continued Renault's strong form with fourth, never quite close enough to scare Rosberg, and safe from attack from behind as fifth-placed Adrian Sutil (Force India) had his hands full resisting Hamilton by the end.
Hamilton made the most assertive progress of the displaced frontrunners, getting into the top ten within seven laps, despite being warned for excessive weaving during a spectacular battle with Renault rookie Vitaly Petrov, and ultimately rising as high as second as he left his pitstop until lap 30.
He emerged right alongside team-mate Jenson Button, who had pitted as early as lap 10, but it was Hamilton's strategy that proved best, as the younger Briton fended off his team-mate and then quickly pulled away - leaving Button at the mercy of the charging Ferraris. Felipe Massa had run until lap 28 before pitting, while Fernando Alonso, who had struggled with a downshift problem all race and been low-key in the early stages, stayed on hards until lap 36, and then set a string of fastest laps as he charged into contention.
Massa eventually got past Button and then closed on Sutil and Hamilton, while Alonso remained stuck behind Button until he dived past with two laps to go - only for his Ferrari's engine to immediately fail as he completed the move. Alonso's retirement means Massa edges into the championship lead.
Jaime Alguersuari earned his first Formula 1 points with the finest drive of his career to date, as he determinedly battled past Nico Hulkenberg and Petrov to ultimately take ninth.
Williams could not capitalise on its brilliant qualifying result, with Rubens Barrichello tumbling to last at the start thanks to an overheating clutch, and Hulkenberg losing a few positions on lap one then dropping further back as his early tyre stop strategy failed to pay off. He at least picked up 10th thanks to Alonso's late failure.
The battle between the new teams turned physical in Malaysia. Virgin's Timo Glock retired on lap three when a bid to overtake Jarno Trulli saw him spin into the Lotus, while Heikki Kovalainen's attempted pass on Virgin driver Lucas di Grassi seven laps later caused more contact - the Lotus slicing a rear tyre on the Virgin's front wing as it slid past sideways.
It was di Grassi who ultimately emerged on top, giving Virgin its first race finish as he nursed its inadequate fuel level to the flag and finished ahead of the two Hispanias. Trulli made the flag despite backing right off with hydraulic problems at the end - with similar issues forcing Kovalainen to lose several laps in the pits.
Also hitting mechanical trouble were Petrov, Force India's Tonio Liuzzi, and both Saubers - Pedro de la Rosa striking engine problems on his way from the garage to the grid.
The Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang F1 Circuit, Malaysia;
56 laps; 310.408km;
Weather: Sunny.
Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 4.8s
3. Rosberg Mercedes + 13.5s
4. Kubica Renault + 18.5s
5. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 21.0s
6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 23.4s
7. Massa Ferrari + 27.0s
8. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 37.9s
9. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1m10.6s
10. Hulkenberg Williams + 1m13.3s
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1m18.9s
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Alonso Ferrari + 2 laps
14. Di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps
15. Chandhok Hispania-Cosworth + 3 laps
16. Senna Hispania-Cosworth + 4 laps
17. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth + 5 laps
Not classified/retirements:
Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 46 laps
Petrov Renault 32 laps
Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 12 laps
Schumacher Mercedes 9 laps
Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 8 laps
Glock Virgin-Cosworth 2 laps
De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 0 laps
Fastest lap: Webber 1m37.054s
World Championship standings, round 3:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Massa 39 1. Ferrari 76
2. Vettel 37 2. McLaren-Mercedes 66
3. Alonso 37 3. Red Bull-Renault 61
4. Button 35 4. Mercedes 44
5. Rosberg 35 5. Renault 30
6. Hamilton 31 6. Force India-Mercedes 18
7. Kubica 30 7. Williams-Cosworth 6
8. Webber 24 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
9. Sutil 10
10. Schumacher 9
11. Liuzzi 8
12. Barrichello 5
13. Alguersuari 2
14. Hulkenberg 1
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Horner says tyre choice was a gamble
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has praised Mark Webber's decision to run with intermediate tyres after the Australian secure his first pole position of the year.
Horner added, however, that the decision was a gamble that could have backfired.
Webber secured the top spot by 1.3 seconds from Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, as Red Bull scored its third pole in three races.
"I think cool heads from both the engineering crew and the drivers," said Horner of how the team managed to get Webber first and Sebastian Vettel third on the grid.
"We took a bit of a gamble - that I was happy to take in the final session, where as Mark wanted to go with the inters, which was brave."
"Our spotters were telling us there was more rain due, but it was one of those things that was worth rolling the dice. Both drivers did a great job to finish first and third. The ability to get it wrong today was very high."
Horner also backed the decision to stop qualifying when it was obvious there was too much water on track.
"Absolutely. Both our drivers were immediately on the radio saying they were passengers, out of control, doing a lot of damage. I think the race director and the stewards made exactly the right call in those conditions. The difficulty will be tomorrow in the race if we have similar."
He added: "Every day I've been here it's rained between 4pm and 7pm, it's just a question of when. The chances are it's going to rain tomorrow, it's just when, whether it's before the start of the race, during the race or ideally, just after it. But we're not likely to be that lucky."
Horner added, however, that the decision was a gamble that could have backfired.
Webber secured the top spot by 1.3 seconds from Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, as Red Bull scored its third pole in three races.
"I think cool heads from both the engineering crew and the drivers," said Horner of how the team managed to get Webber first and Sebastian Vettel third on the grid.
"We took a bit of a gamble - that I was happy to take in the final session, where as Mark wanted to go with the inters, which was brave."
"Our spotters were telling us there was more rain due, but it was one of those things that was worth rolling the dice. Both drivers did a great job to finish first and third. The ability to get it wrong today was very high."
Horner also backed the decision to stop qualifying when it was obvious there was too much water on track.
"Absolutely. Both our drivers were immediately on the radio saying they were passengers, out of control, doing a lot of damage. I think the race director and the stewards made exactly the right call in those conditions. The difficulty will be tomorrow in the race if we have similar."
He added: "Every day I've been here it's rained between 4pm and 7pm, it's just a question of when. The chances are it's going to rain tomorrow, it's just when, whether it's before the start of the race, during the race or ideally, just after it. But we're not likely to be that lucky."
Wirth praises Virgin's step forward
Virgin's technical director Nick Wirth praised the team's step forward after Timo Glock qualified in 15th position for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
"Today has been a great day for everyone involved in Virgin Racing - a clear step forward for the team," said Wirth, whose team had never made it to Q2 before.
"Despite still not running qualifying fuel loads, it was nice to again demonstrate the underlying potential of this car and its unique design process," added the Briton, referring to his cars still running with more fuel than necessary to work around its fuel pick-up issues.
"Timo continued to demonstrate our potential in Q1 and whilst some of our more experienced competitors elected to stay in the garage at the optimum time, Timo made it through to Q2.
"The Q2 session was tricky. We were running with all our weather prediction services warning us of an imminent downpour, so unfortunately we ran our last set of Intermediates a little bit early, which costs us a place. Looking at our times from earlier today though, that won't matter in the race."
Glock was also very pleased with his day's performance.
"It's been a very good weekend for us so far," he said. "We've had no real problems with the car and we've been able to do proper work during every session. Qualifying went quite smoothly considering the rain at the start of the session.
"It was critical to get out on time and my lap in Q1 was really good, getting me into Q2. It was good to see us do a better job than some of the top teams and as a result they will be starting behind us. Q2 wasn't perfect though as we came in too early and that cost us the place against Heikki.
"In general though we have to be happy with what we have achieved today. It's great for the team and there is now a lot of motivation for tomorrow. It looks like it could be a crazy race tomorrow, so we have to stay focused - and stay on the track - and we'll see how it all ends."
Team-mate Lucas di Grassi, on the other hand, was unable to escape trouble and qualified at the bottom of the grid.
"Once more some problems affected us today and we had to rebuild parts of the car between practice and qualifying," di Grassi said. "It was touch and go whether we would even get the car out at all for qualy, but the mechanics did an incredible job and because of that we were able to do at least a couple of laps to make sure the car was working well.
"While it has been a disappointing day for me personally, it has been a good day for the team so we all have to be pleased for that. We look forward to the race tomorrow and hope that brings better things, including achieving our target of finishing our first race.
"Today has been a great day for everyone involved in Virgin Racing - a clear step forward for the team," said Wirth, whose team had never made it to Q2 before.
"Despite still not running qualifying fuel loads, it was nice to again demonstrate the underlying potential of this car and its unique design process," added the Briton, referring to his cars still running with more fuel than necessary to work around its fuel pick-up issues.
"Timo continued to demonstrate our potential in Q1 and whilst some of our more experienced competitors elected to stay in the garage at the optimum time, Timo made it through to Q2.
"The Q2 session was tricky. We were running with all our weather prediction services warning us of an imminent downpour, so unfortunately we ran our last set of Intermediates a little bit early, which costs us a place. Looking at our times from earlier today though, that won't matter in the race."
Glock was also very pleased with his day's performance.
"It's been a very good weekend for us so far," he said. "We've had no real problems with the car and we've been able to do proper work during every session. Qualifying went quite smoothly considering the rain at the start of the session.
"It was critical to get out on time and my lap in Q1 was really good, getting me into Q2. It was good to see us do a better job than some of the top teams and as a result they will be starting behind us. Q2 wasn't perfect though as we came in too early and that cost us the place against Heikki.
"In general though we have to be happy with what we have achieved today. It's great for the team and there is now a lot of motivation for tomorrow. It looks like it could be a crazy race tomorrow, so we have to stay focused - and stay on the track - and we'll see how it all ends."
Team-mate Lucas di Grassi, on the other hand, was unable to escape trouble and qualified at the bottom of the grid.
"Once more some problems affected us today and we had to rebuild parts of the car between practice and qualifying," di Grassi said. "It was touch and go whether we would even get the car out at all for qualy, but the mechanics did an incredible job and because of that we were able to do at least a couple of laps to make sure the car was working well.
"While it has been a disappointing day for me personally, it has been a good day for the team so we all have to be pleased for that. We look forward to the race tomorrow and hope that brings better things, including achieving our target of finishing our first race.
Sutil delighted with second row slot
Adrian Sutil was delighted with his qualifying performance in Malaysia after securing fourth place on the grid ahead of tomorrow's race.
"It was a great qualifying again for us," said the Force India driver after his best performance of the season so far.
"As I expected it rained at 4pm, I said that yesterday I think! It was challenging and the conditions changed a lot over the sessions. Sometimes it was a lot of rain, sometimes half wet, half dry so it was very important to choose the right tyres.
"I think we did a great job in those conditions and every session we did the optimum. I am so happy to be in this position now. It's a great achievement and my team really deserved it.
"They did a fantastic job: being there on the right time on the right tyre was very important. My time in the end was good for P4: a great job all round," added Sutil.
The German finished ahead of team-mate Tonio Liuzzi, who will start from 10th, completing a strong day for the Silverstone-based squad.
"We can be happy about getting through to Q3 as this was our target for this weekend," he said. "It was a good qualifying, Q3 started very wet, very similar to Brazil last year, and then it dried up very quickly at the end.
"I had a problem on the last lap with a locking front brake and lost the last run but that's how it is in these conditions: you have to get the right spot at the right time.
"Tomorrow will be a tough race from where we are. We have a lot of quick cars around us but as we've seen today we are strong in all conditions. I'm looking forward to it."
"It was a great qualifying again for us," said the Force India driver after his best performance of the season so far.
"As I expected it rained at 4pm, I said that yesterday I think! It was challenging and the conditions changed a lot over the sessions. Sometimes it was a lot of rain, sometimes half wet, half dry so it was very important to choose the right tyres.
"I think we did a great job in those conditions and every session we did the optimum. I am so happy to be in this position now. It's a great achievement and my team really deserved it.
"They did a fantastic job: being there on the right time on the right tyre was very important. My time in the end was good for P4: a great job all round," added Sutil.
The German finished ahead of team-mate Tonio Liuzzi, who will start from 10th, completing a strong day for the Silverstone-based squad.
"We can be happy about getting through to Q3 as this was our target for this weekend," he said. "It was a good qualifying, Q3 started very wet, very similar to Brazil last year, and then it dried up very quickly at the end.
"I had a problem on the last lap with a locking front brake and lost the last run but that's how it is in these conditions: you have to get the right spot at the right time.
"Tomorrow will be a tough race from where we are. We have a lot of quick cars around us but as we've seen today we are strong in all conditions. I'm looking forward to it."
Hulkenberg hails qualifying breakthrough
Nico Hulkenberg hailed his qualifying performance as a breakthrough after reaching Q3 ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Williams rookie will start the race from fifth position after having reached the final qualifying segment for the first time.
Hulkenberg also qualified two places ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello.
"Yeah, good success," Hulkenberg told the BBC. "I mean finally a bit like a breakthrough. I'm obviously very happy even though I think it's very tight - the guys in front, I could have had them.
"Not an ideal lap but it's very difficult in these conditions anyway, but I'm quite happy where I am and happy for the team as well."
The German admitted it will be a big day for him tomorrow, but he claimed he is ready to attack to get a good result.
"It is, but I'll just get out there and get my job done, at least try to maintain my position and in the best case gain places. I'll not be shy."
The Williams rookie will start the race from fifth position after having reached the final qualifying segment for the first time.
Hulkenberg also qualified two places ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello.
"Yeah, good success," Hulkenberg told the BBC. "I mean finally a bit like a breakthrough. I'm obviously very happy even though I think it's very tight - the guys in front, I could have had them.
"Not an ideal lap but it's very difficult in these conditions anyway, but I'm quite happy where I am and happy for the team as well."
The German admitted it will be a big day for him tomorrow, but he claimed he is ready to attack to get a good result.
"It is, but I'll just get out there and get my job done, at least try to maintain my position and in the best case gain places. I'll not be shy."
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."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)