FORMULA 1 - 2013

[MIKA27]

Sauber: Not the way we expected the new F1 season to start

The start to the 2013 FIA Formula One season didn’t bring the expected result for the Sauber F1 Team. Nico Hülkenberg was not able to start the race due to a fuel system problem. Esteban Gutiérrez started his first ever Formula One race from 18th and finished first of all rookies in 13th.

Nico Hülkenberg: did not start the race

Sauber C32-Ferrari (Chassis 02/Ferrari 056)

“I’m bitterly disappointed about what happened today, but at the same time I’m not blaming anyone. Things like this happen in racing. What is particularly bothering me is the fact that I lost all this mileage today, which is so important particularly at the beginning of the season. It would have given me a lot of valuable data and information for the next races. Obviously, Melbourne is not a good place for me. It was my third Grand Prix here and the third time that I leave this place empty handed. The only good thing is that the next race takes place next weekend.”

Esteban Gutiérrez: 13th

Sauber C32-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari 056)

Start on super soft tyres, after 6 laps and 27 change to intermediates

“My main goal was to finish the race, and to achieve that is really enjoyable. I want to thank the whole team, because yesterday in qualifying we had a good chance and today we were able to recover some of what we lost yesterday. We have a good base and in the future we will try and push forward.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal:

“This was not the way we expected the new Formula One season to start, particularly after things looked quite good in the free practice sessions. The problem with the fuel system was unlucky, particularly at this point in the race weekend. We are very sorry for Nico. Esteban drove a solid first race, however, starting from P18 was too much of a handicap for him. I’m confident we will solve the problems we had and that we will be in better shape in Malaysia.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering:

“Clearly disappointing that Nico was not able to start his first race for the Sauber F1 Team, due to a fuel system problem which didn’t allow us to make the grid. For Esteban starting from 18th was always going to be difficult, but he drove a good race, managed the tyres well and worked well with the engineers, which was positive. We will regroup now and make sure we will get the maximum out of the car in one week’s time in Malaysia.”

[riazp]

Interesting race overall...Glad to see Kimi on the podium, one of my favorite drivers for sure. looks like its going to be a tough year for McLaren and Mercedes once again...

[OZCUBAN]

Not a bad race but have seen heaps better

Glad to see Kimi back and on the top step

Disappointing race for Webber and Daniel R.I do agree with Mika on the bad start for Webber ,he does have a rep on starts ,but having said that he might have fell prey to tech gremlins

Looking forward to Malaysia

[MIKA27]

As El Prez would use the word for Final "En Fin" Mark Webber chocked at the start as per usual, no Gremlins Steve IMO...

As for the race, I am most pleased Kimi won the race followed by Alonso. Surprised Romain Grosjean was so far back as I was really gubnning for him as well as Nico Hulkenberg. Well, lets see how Malaysia fares.

Thanks very much for posting guys!!!

[MIKA27]

Perez: Ferrari often asked me to take care of Alonso

McLaren new recruit Sergio Perez has revealed that, whilst a Sauber driver, Ferrari often asked him to “take care” of Fernando Alonso and provide him with easy passage when and if the opportunity arose.

The Mexican’s comments will ramp up speculation that the famous Italian team uses its political links in the paddock for a performance advantage.

Perez, formerly under Ferrari power at Sauber and also the cream of the Maranello marque’s driver development academy (FDA), suddenly switched allegiances for 2013 as he accepted the offer to replace Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.

He had been asked by Spanish sports newspaper Marca if he feels a difference when he looks in the mirror and sees world champion Sebastian Vettel, or Ferrari’s Alonso.

“In my case no,” he answered. “I make no distinction between them. Last year, when I was communicating with Ferrari, they often asked me to take care of Alonso, but I don’t know if they asked just me or the whole grid.”

Asked if he sees leaving the Ferrari family as a missed opportunity, the 23-year-old answered: “No, it’s an experience that led me to a better place. I’m happy at McLaren; I hope to stay here for many years, maybe my entire career.”

Although currently at the wheel of a struggling McLaren, Perez insisted he was happy in Melbourne to have been quite close to lead driver Jenson Button’s pace.

“I’m happy with that because Jenson is one of the very best drivers,” he said. ”He has won in Melbourne three times. I didn’t know where I would be compared to him, so while it’s not a relief it is reassuring that I am strong and close to a world champion.”

[MIKA27]

Massa role as Ferrari number two appears set to continue

Although impressive and very competitive throughout the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Felipe Massa looks set to remain in a role as Ferrari’s number two driver’.

The Brazilian was running ahead of highly rated teammate Fernando Alonso in Melbourne until the second round of pitstops, when it was the Spaniard called in for service first.

“Felipe should not be at all happy,” former Renault boss Flavio Briatore is quoted as saying by Italian media.

After the race, in which he finished fourth to Alonso’s second, Massa told Spanish television Antena 3: “Of course you are not happy when you fight to win and you finish fourth.

“It was positive until the second stop. It seemed too early for Fernando but it was the right decision.”

O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper quotes Massa as saying: “There is a degree of frustration, because I was not passed except in the pits.”

And Spain’s El Confidencial quotes him adding: “Yes I was upset when Fernando got ahead of me. That was the only problem of my race, where I lost two positions.”

[MIKA27]

Sutil gets ‘man of the match’ for his comeback in Melbourne

Force India’s Adrian Sutil showed he had lost little of his race craft after a year out of Formula One by finishing seventh in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday and engaging in an enthralling battle with former close friend Lewis Hamilton.

Sutil was dropped by Force India at the end of 2011 in the wake of a night-club brawl in Shanghai that led to an 18-month suspended jail sentence and 200,000 euro ($261,300) fine for the German for grievous bodily harm.

Eric Lux, the then-chief executive of Renault F1 (now Lotus) team owners Genii Capital, needed stitches for a neck wound caused by a champagne glass in that fracas.

The incident caused a fall-out between Sutil and Hamilton, who had won the Chinese Grand Prix for McLaren and was celebrating at the night-club.

Sutil branded Hamilton a “coward” in German media for declining to appear as a witness in his trial and the pair have yet to mend fences.

The background added spice to their skirmish at Albert Park, where Sutil emerged a surprise leader in the latter part of the race when higher-profile rivals slipped back as they changed rapidly degrading tyres.

“Leading a Grand Prix, it’s a great feeling,” Sutil, who took over Nico Hulkenberg after the German left for Sauber, told television reporters.

“First race (and just) three weeks (since) when I know I’m back in Formula One, I just had three test days in Barcelona and it couldn’t be a better start really. It showed that everything is possible and you have to believe in it.”

Although driving a slower Mercedes-powered car, Sutil fended off Hamilton’s works Mercedes as the Briton made a number of passing attempts before returning to the pit to change his tyres on lap 43.

Sutil’s minor triumph was quickly extinguished, however, as Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen overtook him moments later and stormed to victory on only two changes of tyres.

Sutil changed to a third set of tyres a few laps later but his bold challenge ended when his fast-degrading super soft tyres slowed his car in the final laps.

His British team mate Paul di Resta also had a solid start to the season with an eighth-placed finish.

“I feel a bit robbed of a seventh place given the way our strategy panned out and where I was in the final stages,” Di Resta said. “But seventh and eighth for the team is quite good.”

Force India, still chasing a maiden win, slipped back to seventh in last year’s constructors championship after managing sixth in 2011, and hope to be the ‘best of the rest’ outside the five leading teams.

Bob Fernley, deputy team principal, poured cold water on any top-five ambitions for the Silverstone-based team, co-owned by drinks tycoon Vijay Mallya.

“No, I don’t think so,” Fernley said. “McLaren are struggling a little bit at the moment but they will come back strong.

“What we’ve got to do is take advantage of the opportunity while they are struggling and hopefully it will give us a cushion for maybe the sixth place which is what we have got to get back again.”

[MIKA27]

McLaren in crisis consider reverting to 2012 car after Melbourne shocker

McLaren are not ruling out bringing back their 2012 car after a miserable start to the season at the Australian Grand Prix where Jenson Button had to use all his experience to scrap for a couple of points.

Button, a winner at Albert Park in three of the last four years, ended up ninth on Sunday while his new Mexican team mate Sergio Perez was unable to get into the final shootout in qualifying and crossed the line in 11th.

It was quite a comedown for the 12-times drivers’ and eight-times constructors’ champions and a marked decline from the end of last season when they won the last two races.

Button, the 2009 world champion, said winning two points given the state of the car was about as good as it was going to get until there was a major improvement.

“We definitely were not going to get any more points than that so yeah … we weren’t quick but I think we made the right calls considering what condition we had the tyres in after qualifying,” he said.

“I think as a team we did a great job this weekend but we are not quick enough and there’s a lot of work we need to do to move forward and challenge the front guys. We are a long way off.”

McLaren gambled on making significant changes to their car’s chassis for this year rather than bring out an evolution of their 2012 challenger, as other teams did in the final year of the V8 engines.

The gamble had clearly not paid off in Australia and team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who admitted the team did not yet understand how to get the best out of the car, was asked whether they might consider a return to last year’s machine.

“We’ll see,” he told reporters. “We are not too proud to say when we’ve got things wrong. We do occasionally and that’s just a fact.”

“But I think for the time being we’ve got to try and get some understanding and make sure we do the best job we can to go forward with this car as quickly as we can. We think we can work this one out. But if we don’t, we’ll look at anything.”

There is precedent for such a rethink at McLaren, who abandoned the car in development for the 2003 season even before it had a chance to race.

Any switch could not come immediately, with the team racing in Malaysia next weekend, and Button was pinning his hopes on the Sepang track lending a hand.

“We struggled here with the ride,” the 33-year-old said. “Everyone’s noticed. It’s no secret. Hopefully in Malaysia it is a smoother circuit and we’ll get rid of those issues and find a bit more performance.”

The disappointing race results capped a tough week for the team, who confirmed on Thursday that their long-running and lucrative sponsorship deal with mobile phone company Vodafone would be ending this year.

To compound their misery on Sunday, four of the top five in the race, including winner Kimi Raikkonen and second-placed Fernando Alonso, were former McLaren drivers.

Newly-departed Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifth, has spent much of his time this week saying how happy he has been to join Mercedes after feeling suffocated in his years at McLaren.

“It’s been a weekend where we’ve had to force a smile a few times,” said Whitmarsh. “It’s been tough. Tough to start a year like this.

You take some decisions during the winter and sometimes it doesn’t come off. It’s not pleasant being here if you are used to being a frontrunner.”

[MIKA27]

'Merc can definitely bridge the gap'

Lewis Hamilton believes it is only a matter of time before Mercedes close the gap to the front runners.

The Brackley-based squad had a good start to the Championship with Hamilton qualifying his car in third place while team-mate Nico Rosberg was seventh.

And although Rosberg did not reach the chequered flag in Melbourne and Hamilton dropped to fifth, it was - compared to last season - a sure sign that Mercedes are edging closer to the front.

"I always like to go forwards rather than backwards, but overall it is a really good step for the team. It was great," said Hamilton.

"I'm really happy, way better than we ever expected for the first grand prix, so it's a good place to start.

"We've a good platform to work from. The car felt good and I enjoyed every moment.

"The only thing is we're going to have to figure out where we lost time to other people.

"I don't know how they managed to pull away from us so quickly at the start, but we'll keep pushing and we'll get there eventually."

Asked whether he was confident that the gap to the front runners was bridgeable, Hamilton said: "Yes, it definitely is.

"We've a good chance to close up because we've some good things in the pipeline. I really feel we can compete with those guys.

The Brit, though, stopped short of predicting that his W04 could be turned into a race-winning car.

"Only time will tell," he told the Daily Mail.

"If we look back maybe some of the guys will feel a bit frustrated we didn't finish where we started from, or even further forward.

"But that's a good feeling to have because we came here not knowing what would happen."

[MIKA27]

Australian GP: Romain Grosjean suspects his Lotus had a problem

Romain Grosjean said he was mystified by his Lotus's handling after struggling for pace during the Australian Grand Prix.

While team-mate Kimi Raikkonen won the season opener in commanding style, Grosjean came home in a distant 10th position despite having qualified just one place behind the Finn.

The Frenchman said something did not feel right with his car.

"Something felt wrong with my car, so I have to sit down with the team and analyse where the issue came from," said Grosjean.

"It felt so good all weekend until the race itself, but in the end the race was long and quite difficult for me.

"We know that Albert Park can be a tricky circuit and the weather has certainly not helped today.

"It's been a great weekend for the team with Kimi's win so it's clear there's pace in the car. Let's hope I can unlock that pace too next weekend in Sepang."

Team boss Eric Boullier said Grosjean had paid the price for making a poor start.

The team switched him to a three-stop strategy rather than the planned two-stopper, but Grosjean never managed to run in clear air.

"Unfortunately he got stuck in the traffic and even if our car is good on the tyres if you are stuck in traffic you get more understeer and oversteer and destroy your tyres quicker," he said.

"It's just bad luck after a wrong start. We changed his strategy to three stops but we could never get him out of traffic."

[poorman]

Love this thread.

We get ZERO F1 news here.

This has become my goto F1 news area.

Thanks

[MIKA27]

  On 3/19/2013 at 3:44 AM, poorman said:

Love this thread.

We get ZERO F1 news here.

This has become my goto F1 news area.

Thanks

Where is "Here" my friend?

Glad you enjoy and you are most welcome. I appreciate the compliment.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton: It’s nice to prove people wrong, particularly all the ex-drivers

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is happy to have proved people wrong after leaving McLaren, as he enjoyed a satisfactory debut for the Silver Arrows while his former team were the surprise disappointment of the season opener.

Many critics rounded on the 2008 Formula world champion when he announced his decision to leave McLaren, an established top team, for the recently underperforming Mercedes in 2013 and beyond.

But Hamilton’s new W04 looked competitive in winter testing and then in Melbourne last weekend, while the 2013 McLaren is struggling.

“Lewis Hamilton recently acquired a dog and so, it seems, has (Jenson) Button; only Button is driving his,” wrote Guardian correspondent Paul Weaver.

Hamilton cannot hide his joy at the situation, aiming fire at his critics including Sirs Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart: “They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“It’s nice to prove people wrong,” admitted the 28-year-old after touching down in Malaysia. “It has been everyone (criticising), particularly all the ex-drivers commenting that it was the worst decision ever.

“The team (Mercedes) have done well, I’m really proud of my team. I’m proud of my decision as well,” added Hamilton who moved to the Stuttgart owned team for a deal reputed to be worth around $100-miilion over the next three years.

[MIKA27]

Alonso: Making most of what they have is not one of Red Bull’s virtues

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has accused Red Bull of making heavy work of its recent successes in Formula 1, and not making the most with what they have.

The perception in the paddock is that Spaniard Alonso has been punching above his weight with a less than competitive Ferrari, while Sebastian Vettel raced to the last three championships at the wheel of his Adrian Newey-penned car.

El Pais newspaper quotes Alonso as saying: “I’m not asking for a car one second faster than them, but one with which we can fight. Red Bull has won two of their titles in the last race, and that was with a car that was a second faster than the rest. Making the most of what they have is not one of their virtues.”

“It is usually the same: first and second in qualifying and then something always happening. Sometimes the start, sometimes reliability, sometimes the tyres,” he said in Melbourne after the race.

The Spaniard added, “Red Bull is the quickest car at the moment, first and second in qualifying, first and second in practice, nearly, and then in the race they saw a little bit of degradation but that doesn’t mean that they are not the fastest.”

[MIKA27]

Vettel vows that things will be different in Malaysia

Sebastian Vettel started his campaign to win four successive world titles with third place at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix but the German thinks the season-opener race will prove to be an anomaly over the course of the year.

The 25-year-old showed the raw pace of his Red Bull had not gone away when he took his 37th pole position in a qualifying session delayed by heavy rain on Sunday morning but later was convincingly beaten in the race by Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus.

Comforted, perhaps, by the fact that it was not until the fourth round in Bahrain last year that he won his first race, Vettel said being outpaced by both Lotus and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso was not what he expected at Sepang this week.

“What we have seen was a first glimpse, but we are far from getting an idea of the pecking order,” he told the sport’s official website after the race on the Albert Park street track. Malaysia is a completely different track and from what we have seen today, everything depends on how well people handle the tyres.”

“But we will see completely different conditions and will use different tyres so there are too many differences to here. We have seen over the past few years that what we have seen in Melbourne has hardly ever become a trend for the next couple of races.”

Sunday’s 58 laps were a riot of entertainment for the fans packed into the Melbourne park with seven leaders over the race, battles between top drivers at what seemed like every turn and a popular surprise winner in the Finnish “Iceman”.

[MIKA27]

Interlagos could lose Brazil GP says Castroneves

The Brazilian Grand Prix may be set to move away from Interlagos, it’s traditional home since 1990.

Now the popular and traditional home of Brazil’s annual race, the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace is however regarded as perhaps the worst venue on the grid in terms of its ageing facilities.

Now, rumours of a change of venue have emerged.

“In Brazil, the economic situation is very strong,” Indycar driver Helio Castroneves, whose category will race on the Sao Paulo streets in May, said last week.

“I heard now that Formula 1 might move from Sao Paulo to the south of Brazil. Obviously it’s all about how much the promoters are willing to spend. I think it’s more than just interest,” the Penske driver added.

[MIKA27]

Lauda slams F1 tyre situation as fundamentally wrong

Mercedes F1 team boss and TV pundit Niki Lauda has slammed the tyre situation in Formula 1, accusing Pirelli and the FIA of confusing the fans.

“The situation with the tyres is absolutely stupid,” the forthright triple world champion, broadcaster and Mercedes team chairman and shareholder said.

“Artificially creating more and more pitstops is wrong,” Lauda told German newspaper Bild.

“Pirelli can’t really help it as they are only doing what the FIA ordered them to do, but 90 per cent of the time no one understands what is happening in the races now.”

Pole sitter Sebastian Vettel finished the 2013 season opener third on Sunday, while Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen did one fewer pitstop and surprisingly won for Lotus from seventh on the grid.

Lauda said the current situation, with the tyres more influential than ever before, is confusing for the fans.

“My advantage is that I can ask our (Mercedes) engineers. The fans cannot. But even our people are confused.

“When the tyres are so soft, it’s bad for Formula 1. The fans don’t understand if there are more than two pitstops. (For Formula 1) it’s a fundamentally wrong path.”

Pirelli’s Paul Hembery hit back: “Many fans have told us they think the racing is more exciting now.”

MIKA: I say Paul Hempbrey is full of it and the FIA need to BRING BACK THE TYRE WARS!!

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg to use new chassis in Malaysia

After the disappointment in Australia, Nico Hulkenberg will tackle this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix with a new Sauber chassis.

With just over an hour before his first race for the Swiss team in Melbourne, mechanics went to prepare the grey C32 for the race but “fuel suddenly splashed out of the car,” according to well-connected Blick correspondent Roger Benoit.

“(It was) a problem with the fuel tank, which is directly behind the driver.”

Team manager Beat Zehnder: “It must be a crack in the tank. It’s something I’ve not experienced in twenty years.”

Benoit revealed that Hulkenberg’s C32 – which could not be raced in Australia – has now been sent back to Switzerland, despite practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix looming in mere days.

He wrote that the 25-year-old will use the spare car at Sepang, while another spare is sent to Malaysia from Hinwil as soon as possible.

“I’m bitterly disappointed but at the same time I’m not blaming anyone,” said German Hulkenberg on Sunday. “Things like this happen in racing.”

[MIKA27]

Vettel tight lipped on reports of new contract extension

Yet another Austrian newspaper is reporting that triple world champion Sebastian Vettel has extended his contract with Red Bull through until the end of 2016.

From Melbourne last week, the Kleine Zeitung newspaper claimed the German driver had agreed to extend his current deal from 2014 to 2015, including an ‘option’ for the following season as well.

The Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper, usually the publication of choice when Red Bull’s Austrian billionaire owner Dietrich Mateschitz gives a rare interview, is now reporting the same.

Vettel, 25, is quoted as saying: “I never have anything to say about contracts.

“All I can say is that I feel very good and comfortable in the Red Bull family, and am wasting no thoughts on going somewhere else.”

[MIKA27]

Kimi: No reason we can't win the title

After claiming a surprise victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen believes he has every chance of challenging for the World title.

The Lotus driver pipped the more fancied Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso to top spot in Melbourne after his two-stop strategy put him ahead of his rivals who were all doing three-stoppers.

The 33-year-old remarked afterwards that it ended up being "one of the easiest race wins" and he is confident that he can add more to his tally, with a World Championship not out of the question.

However, while the Finn believes that the victory won't prove to be a one hit wonder, he knows winning the title will be a much harder task, with financial resources playing a bit role.

"It's not going to be easy for us. We have the people, all the tools to make it, but money is a big part of it," he explained.

"We don't have the same budget as Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes, but we saw last year we did well with money and the things we have.

"If we could get more money that would help, and it will give us a better chance and more fair play against the bigger teams. We have good plans, and if we can follow them up it might be good, it might not.

"If you do things right it will go nicely, but then one thing can change the whole year. If you do a few things a little bit wrong it can turn around and go downhill after that.

"So we just have to do the normal things, like we did last year, and put good effort into new parts. If we're happy we keep them, if not we have to look more closely.

"So far it has been good, so there is no reason why we can't keep it up."

[MIKA27]

McLaren deny Webber's ECU at fault for start

McLaren have hit back at comments from Red Bull's Christian Horner after he claimed their Electronic Control Unit (ECU) - which is manufactured by McLaren Electronic Systems Ltd (MESL) and is standard across all 22 cars - was to blame for Mark Webber's poor start.

Horner was quoted as saying: "You need to ask McLaren why the ECU didn't work because he [Webber] was blind and had no telemetry."

Managing director of MESL told Autosport that they believed the ECU was functioning as normal and the issue was within the Red Bull garage.

"There was an issue with Mark Webber's data system in the garage during the formation lap. The ECU on the car was fine," he said.

"We regret any disruption caused to Mark's preparations for the start of the race and will continue to work with the team to prevent any recurrence."

MIKA: Blaming McLaren technology for Webbers poor start is pretty lame. If it were the ECU why didn't anyone else have the same or similar issue?

Also, Webber is well known to be a pretty poor starter off the grid hence why RBR practiced 'Starts' throughout the Winter testing. I wish Webber well, he dropped the ball in 2010 which 'was' his WDC in the bag but he choked toward the last few races of the season.

[MIKA27]

McLaren rules out reverting to 2012 F1 car despite early struggles

McLaren has ruled out the idea of reverting to last year's car, despite the difficulties it is facing with its 2013 challenger.

Jenson Button could manage no better than ninth in the Australian Grand Prix after a weekend where McLaren admitted it was surprised by how far off the pace it was.

Its problems, allied to the fact that the 2012 car ended the year as the pace-setter, led to talk in Australia that the team could update last year's MP4-27.

However, following analysis by its engineers of where the 2013 car is lacking, McLaren is convinced that sticking to the current model is the best way forward.

Its stance has been sealed by the fact its data suggests the car is not lacking downforce, but its operating window is too 'peaky'.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: "At the moment we have to work hard on this car.

"We know it has got some areas of high potential and we know it has potentially more downforce than last year's car.

"We just need to understand it and make sure it [the performance] is accessible.

"We have all had cars in the past which have been difficult to get performance out of even though some of the [downforce] figures are quite impressive.

"This car seems to be difficult in that regard and we need to work on it, understand it and fix it."

Whitmarsh concedes that there is no quick fix for McLaren's problems, but he has no doubt the MP4-28 can be improved.

When asked if he was confident his engineers had a grip on what was needed to make the car better, Whitmarsh said: "I think coming out of a weekend like this and saying the engineers are confident would probably be a bit strong.

"But we believe in what we can do as a team. I am sure we are going to get there.

"It probably won't get there as quickly as I would like it to, but I will be encouraging them to do so."

[MatthewB]

Webber is by far the worst "starter" in the comp, quite pathetic really for an elite driver. However

Yet another kers issue!!! Something very fishy going on within the RB camp. Wait and see for the next race when they only give webber 3 tyres...

Great race, looks like alot of teams have got their act together and will offer a great year of competitvive entertainment...

[MIKA27]

SUTIL SETS HIS SIGHTS ON MAIDEN F1 WIN AFTER STRONG PERFORMANCE IN MELBOURNE:

Force India’s Adrian Sutil has set his sights on a maiden podium in Formula 1 after twice leading the Australian Grand Prix before finishing seventh on his return to the sport.

The German, 30, missed the 2012 season after being convicted of grievous bodily harm following an incident with Lotus F1 co-owner Eric Lux in Shanghai 2011.

However, Sutil was given another chance by a team whom he drove for between 2007-11, beating off competition from Jules Bianchi for the seat alongside Paul di Resta.

And the German, who only had three days of testing, delivered a brilliant performance to finish seventh having started 12th, in Melbourne with team mate Di Resta eighth for a total of 10 points. It was an impressive performance from Force India who went relatively unnoticed during pre-season testing.

With the top five – Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Lotus and McLaren – likely to take up the points-paying positions as the season progresses, it’s important for a midfield team like Force India to take their opportunities early in the season – and this double points finish could prove crucial for the final constructors’ standings.

Sutil said: “We showed we are absolutely strong enough to score points and I’m always aiming for my first podium – for a long time I’ve wanted to do that. Whenever it comes I want to be ready – that’s a good target for this year. Maybe it happens, maybe not, but I will push for that.”

The German was one of the only drivers to start the race on the medium tyres which allowed him to go deep into the race, and run a two-stop strategy, and move into the lead. He ultimately finished seventh after struggling with graining on the super-soft tyres in the final stint.

“It was my first time leading in Formula 1,” he added. “After my second pit stop I was back in the lead once again, so I knew that it was possible to come away with a great result. It is only three weeks since I knew I was back and I just had three test days – it couldn’t be a better start.

“I knew it was probably a little advantage to start on the medium tyre compared to the other ones – they grained up the tyres in qualifying already – so I was expecting to go in front but of course leading the race I didn’t expect, it’s even better that it happened.

This result for the team is a perfect way to start the season and I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to the team once again.”

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley added: “Adrian’s return to racing has been fantastic and it’s clear he has lost none of his speed or racecraft. He was on a different strategy to most of the front-runners, but made it work beautifully and showed strong pace throughout the grand prix.

“Paul was on the opposite strategy and finished just a fraction behind Adrian in the end. He probably could have passed Adrian in the closing laps, but he held station to ensure we brought home the strong team result.

“Ten points is a great effort and confirms the pace we have demonstrated all weekend. Hopefully we can build on this next week in Malaysia.”

[MIKA27]

  On 3/19/2013 at 10:50 AM, Matt3000 said:

Webber is by far the worst "starter" in the comp, quite pathetic really for an elite driver. However

Yet another kers issue!!! Something very fishy going on within the RB camp. Wait and see for the next race when they only give webber 3 tyres...

Great race, looks like alot of teams have got their act together and will offer a great year of competitvive entertainment...

My sentiments exactly Matt.