FORMULA 1 - 2013

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Chinese GP: Jean-Eric Vergne bemused by Mark Webber's passing bid

Jean-Eric Vergne admits that he was surprised by Mark Webber's unsuccessful attempt to pass him during the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Australian dived up the inside of Vergne at Turn 6 to try to take 12th place on the 16th lap and hit the right-rear of the Toro Rosso with his front-left wheel.

After the race, the stewards deemed Webber responsible for the accident and hit him with a three-place grid penalty for next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix.

"I don't know what he tried to do, it's a shame," said Vergne.

"I did not even close the door, I just took my corner normally and then suddenly, in the middle of the corner, I felt a hit."

Vergne added that there was no instruction from the team to let Webber past.

Webber said after the race that Vergne knew he was there and believed the Frenchman would let him through.

"Absolutely not," said Vergne when asked if he was under instruction to let Webber past at that point.

"I was doing my race, he was doing his.

"He was much quicker and would have passed me on the next straight anyway."

Vergne went on to finish 12th, admitting that "the floor was completely destroyed" by the collision.

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Horner rubbishes conspiracy

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has rubbished claims of a conspiracy against Mark Webber after his Chinese GP weekend went from bad to worse on Sunday.

Webber began Sunday's 56-lap grand prix on the back foot after being excluded from qualifying when his RB9 ran out of fuel. That issue was blamed a bowser not delivering enough fuel into his car.

His day went from bad to worse, though, when fighting through the traffic his front wing was broken on Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso.

Pitting for repairs - and a new set of tyres - Webber's day came to a premature end when his right rear wheel came loose at the Turn 14 hairpin.

Horner, though, is adamant that despite Webber's numerous problems, which came on the back of the team's Malaysian controversy, there is no conspiracy against the 36-year-old.

"It's complete rubbish, forget conspiracy," said the Red Bull Racing team boss.

"We're all about trying to get two cars to the finish as high as we can.

"Anybody who thinks there is a conspiracy here against either driver does not know what they are looking at."

When it was pointed out to him that Webber had not exactly denied a conspiracy, Horner said: "Mark knows exactly what happened - exactly! That's it. There is no conspiracy."

As for what exactly did result in Webber losing his wheel, Horner says Red Bull will examine the car before put forward any theories.

"Until we get the car back we're not too sure," he said.

"Prior to that he had an incident with Jean-Eric and damaged the front wing and we had a puncture on the left front, so all four wheels were changed and the nose was changed.

"The report from the gun man - who had extra time because it wasn't a hectic stop due to the nose change - was that the right-rear was secure and done up tightly.

"So it's difficult to make any assumptions. Whether it's as a result of the incident, the contact, I don't know.

"Unlikely I would have thought, but until we have all the information it's difficult to draw any conclusions."

The team boss backed his Australian driver to bounce back, confident that the issues of the last two races won't affect his focus.

"He was driving very well and was coming back through the field after we had made some big changes overnight to assist him to do that.

"The way his strategy was going, it was working very well for him and he was back in the thick of it.

"The contact was unfortunate and then to have to retire the car was even more unfortunate.

"But he'll be fine. He's a tough competitor."

MIKA: Just heard a rumour that Webber leaving RBR is imminent and that he has signed a 5 year deal with Porsche.

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'Women lack the mental skill for F1'

Sir Stirling Moss, arguably the greatest driver never win the World title, reckons women do not have the "mental aptitude" for F1.

At a time when women are beginning to take key roles in Formula One, such as Monisha Kaltenborn at Sauber's team boss and Claire Williams as deputy at Williams, Moss has weighed in on whether the sport will ever have a woman driver.

According to the 83-year-old, women can't hack it in Formula One, not because of physical strength but because of their mental make-up.

Moss told BBC Radio 5 live: "I think they have the strength, but I don't know if they've got the mental aptitude to race hard, wheel-to-wheel.

"We've got some very strong and robust ladies, but, when your life is at risk, I think the strain of that in a competitive situation will tell when you're trying to win.

"The mental stress I think would be pretty difficult for a lady to deal with in a practical fashion. I just don't think they have aptitude to win a Formula 1 race."

However, Williams development driver Susie Wolff says she is flabbergasted by the Brit's comments.

"I completely disagree with him. It makes me cringe hearing that," the 30-year-old told BBC Sport.

"I don't know where to start after hearing that interview. I've got a lot of respect for Sir Stirling and what he achieved, but I think we're in a different generation.

"For Moss, it's unbelievable that a female would drive a Formula 1 car, which is fair enough. In the days they were racing, every time they stepped into a car, they were putting their life on the line.

"But F1 is much more technologically advanced, it's much safer than it was."

But while Wolff would like to see a woman race, or even be that woman herself, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says there is "not really" a chance of that happening in the near future.

"There's no reason why a woman shouldn't be able to compete with a man," the F1 supremo added.

"Unfortunately, the way things are, I don't imagine a lady will ever get the chance to drive a Red Bull or a Ferrari.

"The only chance is with a lesser team - and they only take someone if they come with a good sponsor. Regretfully, the problem is that many ladies who could compete probably as well as the guys won't get chance."

MIKA: this will put me in the kennel but I kind of agree. Maria De Villota was the closest to an F1 driver and she had great success in Karting etc but really when the pressure was on just in testing, she had that major shunt which almost killed her. I don't truly know, but F1 is a different world to driving in something like Indycar. That's no pun intended to Indycar fans (Keith)

I'm never apposed to women driving, but comparing drivers to Monisha or Williams, they are team principles not drivers.

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*Webber said to have signed five year Porsche sports car deal*

Red Bull’s beleaguered driver Mark Webber is believed to have signed a five-year deal to switch from Formula 1 to Le Mans-style sports car racing as of the end of this season.

That is the claim of Radio Le Mans, citing information from the paddock of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, where the 36-year-old Australian endured another nightmare race weekend.

China was just one race on from the ‘Multi-21′ team orders affair, and where rumours flourished that Kimi Raikkonen is being lined up to replace Webber at Red Bull next year.

Earlier this month, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported that Webber and Porsche had been in contact about a deal for 2014, when the famous sports car maker intends to race a Le Mans-style LMP1 prototype.

A Porsche spokesman had not denied the Webber rumours, saying only that “Whether and to what extent additional drivers are added (to the existing roster) will be decided at a later date”.

But AAP news agency quoted a Porsche spokesman on Monday: “There is a test plan (for Le Mans) and for sure Mark Webber is not part of them.

“We can have perhaps some Formula 1 drivers in the future but it is not necessary.”

The latest reports follow wild rumours that Webber’s nightmare weekend in China, including fuel woes in qualifying and a wheel falling off during the race, is a Red Bull conspiracy to reinforce his de-facto ‘number 2′ status.

“He (Webber) has no confidence in his employer,” wrote correspondent Simon Pausch in Die Welt newspaper. “And who can really blame him?”

But team boss Christian Horner dismissed the conspiracy claims as “complete rubbish”.

Helmut Marko added: “We don’t put a car together for millions of euros only to deliberate sabotage it.”

Even Mercedes’ Niki Lauda had to agree: “No sane person could intentionally put a wheel nut on wrong. The cars do 320kph here and if one flies off, it is literally life or death.”

Horner backed Webber – who has pledged to at least see out his 2013 contract – to bounce back.

“He’ll be fine. He’s a tough competitor,” he said.

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Whitmarsh says current tyre situation in F1 is painful

In the aftermath of the Chinese Grand Prix some of Formula 1′s leading figures have admitted their growing frustration with the Pirelli tyres on offer this season.

“It’s quite excruciating,” McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh is quoted by the Telegraph, “trying to save tyres non-stop from start to finish.

“It feels painful, and however bad it is for me, it must be a lot worse if you have to drive like that.”

He is referring to the new situation caused by Pirelli’s rapidly-wearing 2013 tyres. Some hail the new era that stands in stark contrast to a decade ago, when quite often the pole sitter would be predictably unchallenged to the chequered flag.

Others, however, say Formula 1 is racing away from racing itself.

“Balance of power? At the moment that’s a bit of a joke,” said world champion Sebastian Vettel on Sunday when asked his thoughts about the respective strength of the teams.

“It doesn’t have much to do with racing, if all you’re doing is going easy on the tyres.

“If you lose five seconds per lap just because of the tyres, that doesn’t have much to do with the skill of the driver or how good is the car,” he told SID news agency.

Indeed, throughout the Shanghai race, drivers and engineers could be heard on the radios wondering if they should go wheel-to-wheel with their rivals, or simply stick the plan of a strategy based on nursing tyre life.

“Previously you could attack,” said Vettel, “but now, when it comes to fights, you’re a bit in the dark. Twice today I didn’t try to defend myself, because it would have just been shooting myself in the foot.”

1997 world champion turned TV pundit Jacques Villeneuve agreed: “I saw a few corners of action and then everybody taking care of their tyres.

“That’s not real racing,” he said on Canal Plus.

According to Niki Lauda and Bernie Ecclestone, the situation could change after Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, with Pirelli reportedly taking a different tack for the European season and beyond.

Told that the status quo is difficult for the spectators to understand, Chinese Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso said: “It’s the same for us (drivers) too!”

Lauda is quoted by APA news agency: “You have to wonder if it’s necessary for the tyres to be so on the limit, when everyone has to go in the box just after starting a race.

“It’s so complicated, especially for the spectators.”

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Brundle says McLaren mistake to sign Perez instead of Hulkenberg

Amid McLaren’s competitive slump, the spotlight is shining brightest on their new signing Sergio Perez.

The young Mexican was signed by the British team to replace Lewis Hamilton this year and beyond, but some linked the deal with his commercial ties to billionaire Carlos Slim.

He struggled notably in China, admitting it “wasn’t my best weekend in terms of pace”.

Perez also got caught up in on-track incidents, most notably with Kimi Raikkonen, who screamed ‘What the hell he’s doing?’ after being run wide and colliding.

When the Finn discussed the incident in the green room prior to mounting the podium, third-placed Hamilton agreed: “He (Perez) was all over the place.”

Martin Brundle, a former McLaren driver turned British commentator, is quoted by Speed Week as suggesting Nico Hulkenberg would have been a better pick for 2013.

“I still don’t understand why McLaren didn’t sign this guy (Hulkenberg) up,” he said. “His talent is abundantly clear.

“I would have signed him ten times before (signing) Perez,” added Brundle.

For now, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh is backing his new 23-year-old driver.

“In terms of the (Raikkonen) incident, I said to him (Perez), ‘You have to be out there racing’.

“That means sometimes you’ve got elbows and you’ve got to be robust without being dirty.”

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Boullier says Grosjean will bounce back after bad start to season

Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has backed Romain Grosjean to bounce back from a bad start to the 2013 season, while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen already has two podiums in three races to his credit.

Last year, while often showing lightning speed, Swiss-born Grosjean became known as Formula 1′s ‘first lap nutcase’, following a series of incidents that culminated in the first race ban issued by the FIA for many years.

Lotus, however, gave the 26-year-old another chance, but so far in 2013 – whilst keeping out of trouble – Frenchman Grosjean has been struggling for pace.

At the same time, in the sister E21, Kimi Raikkonen is already a 2013 winner and a mere 3 points from leading the drivers’ championship.

Grosjean has been bemoaning a mystery cause of his woes beneath the skin of his black and red racer, in China dropping from sixth on the grid to just ninth at the flag.

“What is the problem?” he is quoted by France’s RMC Sport. “My driving style? The tyres?

“I do a lap, the car works, I do another, it does not. We need to understand the reason for this inconsistency,” added Grosjean.

Boss Boullier, however, is confident Grosjean and his engineers will find a solution soon.

“He didn’t manage to perfect his car with the tyres and so he’s had a little more trouble (in China),” he said.

“But it is nothing dramatic; everything will go back to normal.

“He just needs to get it working perfectly with his team and his engineer, without losing too much time,” added Boullier. ”He will get there, there’s no problem.”

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Raikkonen flattered by Red Bull interest for 2014

Australian GP winner Kimi Raikkonen has hinted moving to Red Bull could be an option for 2014 and admits the attention has been flattering.

Rumours are swirling in the Shanghai paddock that the Finn, who is Sebastian Vettel’s closest friend in Formula 1, has been earmarked as the successor to Mark Webber.

“There is so much talk that I’ve agreed a contract for next season,” Raikkonen exclaimed to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag.

“First I’m trying my best at Lotus, then I’ll think about my future. It is of course flattering, what Red Bull have said, but why is there all this talk if there is nothing (signed) on paper?” the 2007 world champion added.

The answer, of course, is that given Red Bull’s obvious interest, Raikkonen’s move would make sense.

He would work harmoniously with Vettel, and it would also be a good next move for the 33-year-old, who won 19 grands prix for McLaren and Ferrari before taking a two-year sabbatical in world rallying after the 2009 season.

“About the future, I am clear,” Raikkonen said. “I want to work with a good team and sit in a good car.

“Red Bull is a good team, they have been world champions and won everything in the past years.

“Basically, there are not many top teams to think about. With Lotus, we are not yet where Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull are.”

Speaking against the move, however, are equally-heard rumours in the paddock that Raikkonen is no longer serious about his trade: that he only returned to Formula 1 for the money.

“Do you really think I would be here if it was just about money?” Raikkonen hit back. “I do enough fun things in my spare time than to have to listen to this bullshit.

“And I’m not exactly broke,” he added.

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Sauber on the verge of announcing major new sponsor?

A rumour doing the rounds in the Shanghai paddock is suggesting Sauber has secured a major new sponsor.

Veteran correspondent for Blick newspaper, Roger Benoit, said an announcement by the Swiss team could be made ahead of next weekend in Bahrain.

But team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said: “No comment.”

If true, the news would be timely for Sauber, who have been openly worried about the radical 2014 engine rules, which are expected to add millions to teams’ necessary budgets.

Also worried is Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost, who estimated the engine costs will skyrocket by “80 to 100 per cent” in 2014.

More sponsors could therefore be crucial, given suggestions FIA president Jean Todt wrote to teams this week informing them that the Paris federation will not regulate cost cuts.

“We should have worked and should have come up with something but the manufacturers, as usual, had some meetings, pushed a little bit but brought nothing to paper,” said Tost.

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Ecclestone tipping Ferrari to win championship

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has tipped Ferrari to win the 2013 Formula 1 world championship title.

“I think they are much better this year,” the Formula 1 chief executive told Italy’s Sky broadcaster.

He is referring to the great Italian team’s struggle for pace last year despite Fernando Alonso’s strong championship challenge, and the much better single seater for 2013.

Felipe Massa and Alonso are, however, just fifth and sixth in the drivers’ standings so far, but Ecclestone insisted: “I’d be surprised if they didn’t win the title.”

More broadly, amid criticism of Pirelli’s highly degrading tyres, the 82-year-old Briton insisted he is happy with the ‘show’ at present.

“I think the last three years, regarding the races, have been very positive.

“The same with the beginning of this year,” he added.

Finally, Ecclestone chimed into the ‘Multi-21′ debate, insisting team orders are not good for Formula 1.

“Maybe they are having problems with the tyres, but they will have to deal with them — no one should be giving orders,” he said.

“No team has to tell the drivers what to do — they should be giving them information, then it’s up to the driver to decide what to do.”

Red Bull and Mercedes have said they will limit the use of team orders from now on, and Ecclestone commented: “I hope so. They should be racing.”

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Pirelli has a plan for Barcelona claims Lauda

Formula 1′s headline grabbing tyre situation is set to change after this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Pirelli’s heavily degrading 2013 product is dominating the sport at present, to the point that – according to Mark Webber – it is “a bit WWF”.

That is a reference to the American ‘fake’ professional wrestling federation, with that sport taking a back seat to choreography and elaborate plots.

“At the moment it (Formula 1) is not much to do with racing,” reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel was quoted on Sunday by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

Like Red Bull, Mercedes has also been pushing Pirelli hard for a change of tack.

“Pirelli has a plan,” team chairman and shareholder Niki Lauda said on German RTL television in China.

It is believed new harder compounds that last longer will be brought to May’s Spanish Grand Prix, the first European race of the season.

“I can break the good news that the situation will change from Barcelona. Then it will get better,” said Lauda.

He said the decision has been made for the good of the sport.

“It’s just that there is so much confusion,” said the triple world champion. “The tyres need to last longer.”

Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone reportedly told British Sky television on Sunday that – also from Barcelona – Pirelli will supply more tyres to teams for Fridays, to ensure more action than has been seen in practice so far in 2013.

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Hamilton: Great result for the team, very happy with the points

Lewis Hamilton started the Chinese Grand Prix from pole – and in doing so became the first British driver to start from top spot on the grid for Silver Arrows since Stirling Moss – but in the race it quickly became apparent that he didn’t quite have the race pace to match the likes of Ferrari and Lotus.

Nevertheless he soldiered on and managed to hang onto third place, despite a last lap charge by Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton spoke after the race:

It didn’t quite work out for you there on race pace. You really dropped away towards the closing stages, under a lot of pressure from Vettel but some great racing nonetheless.

Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, I’m really happy with today’s result. Great result for the team, very happy with the points. The team did a fantastic job all weekend. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the kind of pace these two have but still very fortunate to get on the podium.

It was kind of tight at the end with Sebastian closing on you and obviously you were trying to put pressure on Kimi. Tell us about it.

LH: Yeah, it was a good race for me. Quite happy with third. Of course I would have liked to have won but congratulations to Fernando, he did a great job and so did Kimi. They were both a little bit too fast for us during the race. I was seeming to be able to apply a little bit of pressure to Kimi but not enough to get close to him and overtake. My tyres were shot at the end and there was nothing I could do really to hold off Sebastian. A little bit unlucky with some traffic. Still, to get on the podium, really happy. Really happy with the points as well.

We heard Ross comment on the radio at the end, saying ‘we’re not quite there yet’ but of course a good race for you. What area do you and the team have to work on to give you that little bit extra?

LH: That’s a good question. I’m not really sure where we’re losing out. Today, overall pace was just not there and there’s definitely a couple of areas that we can focus on on the car but we’ve got to bring some more updates and keep on improving but the team is working on that. But at least, after this I will go and analyse a little bit and try to figure out whereabouts we’re losing the time and see if we can zone in on that and try to improve there.

With this tyre situation, is the most serious candidate for the title now Fernando and no longer Vettel?

I think it’s a bit open at the moment, but obviously Fernando is doing a great job, but as you can see from the last race, you finish the last race and some of us may have those problems in the future – who knows? But it’s far too early to say, I think.

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Alonso: Start of this 2013 campaign is looking good so we’re very optimistic

Fernando Alonso scored his 31st Formula 1 win when he powered to victory at the Chinese Grand Prix, reversing the DNF disappointment of Malaysia and reviving his world championship campaign – the win also returned him to the top step of the podium for the first time since July last year when he won in Germany. The Spaniard spoke at the post race functions in Shanghai.

A fairly dominant victory in the end and your 31st victory, putting you fourth on the all-time list just behind Ayrton Senna. What does this one mean to you?

Fernando Alonso: First of all and thank you for the support all weekend. Amazing fans all weekend and it’s very nice to race here. About the race: yes, definitely it was a fantastic race for us, from the start to the end, without big problems with the car. The tyre degradation was better than expected probably, so we managed more or less the pace. Yeah, it feels great after the retirement in Malaysia, we had some pressure to finish the race. The two races we finished this year; one second place and today the victory so definitely the start of this 2013 campaign is looking good so we are very optimistic.

We heard the team talking to you during the grand prix telling you not need to push. They were trying to slow you down in some respects and you were saying ‘I’m not pushing’.

FA: Well, you always push. In a Formula One race it’s impossible not to push but it’s true that we had some pace, maybe, in the pocket. Not easy to know when to use it depending on the state of the tyres. A little bit more potential and hopefully we can show it in Bahrain in one week.

Only one week until Bahrain. What are you expecting in terms of performance there and what’s the celebration going to be like tonight with your Ferrari team?

FA: I expect a tough race again. In Bahrain I think we will see different conditions and who knows how competitive anyone can be. But definitely, as I said before, from the races that we finished this year the car seems to be able to be on the podium, so we hope to be on the podium again in Bahrain. The celebration tonight? Nothing special. I have a flight very early for Bahrain, so tonight I think some dinner. I think they guys will celebrate more than me.

You were a winner here in 2005, how does it feel to have won again? It seemed to be a perfect race for you.

FA: It feels good. Obviously a long time from the victory here – eight years. Definitely it was nearly a perfect Sunday for us, with not any problem in the race. The start was clean; it was good. We managed to overtake Kimi. And then in the first stint we managed to pass Lewis as well. The car felt a little bit better on the degradation side let’s say. And then in the rest of the race, obviously you need to take car of the tyres a little bit, you need to manage the gap with the guys behind. It was not so easy to understand the race sometimes. We were overtaking the McLarens, Hulkenberg, Sebastian, so it was a little bit of a mix. So it was not an easy race and there were some moments of action let’s say and the risk is there when you have to do an overtaking manoeuvre and you have to manage that as well. The team did a perfect job with the set-up of the car for quali and the race, perfect pit stop times and pit stops executed let’s say. At the end of the race the victory is a good reward for the team, well deserved after the disappointment in Malaysia and you know, the car felt good. The two races we finished, one was second and the victory today, so definitely it’s a positive start to this championship. We need to keep going like that, in this direction, with good weekends, with not any extra risk and hopefully in Bahrain we can score some good points again.

Who is your main rival for the title, as a driver and as a car? Is it Kimi and Lotus or Sebastian and Red Bull?

FA: I think it’s a little bit too early to say. We need to wait until maybe after the summer break or something like that to clearly see the real contenders. Hopefully we are in that group after the summer. Hopefully Felipe can be in that group as well, that will mean that the car is going well, and I think at the moment Lotus, Red Bull and Mercedes are in the same position as us, let’s say. I don’t see anyone has a clear advantage. Maybe Red Bull was very dominant in Australia in all free practices; in qualifying and the race they were suffering a little bit of degradation but definitely very fast. In Malaysia, they were maybe a little bit more in the groove but here they were similar to the others so let’s wait and see what the updates of every car brings to the pace, and we will see how luck plays. It happened to Nico in Australia where he didn’t finish with car problems, it happened to us in Malaysia. I think hearing Kimi’s comments today… you never know whether the front wing will remain there and finish the race or if the front wing will go underneath your car and you don’t finish the race. The same with Webber, who had the problem with the tyre today and didn’t finish. This can happen to anyone and this will also dictate who are contenders as well, so the luck factor is there.

Despite the problems in Malaysia, since Melbourne Ross Brawn has been singing the praises of Ferrari’s long run pace. Do you think your win today with the margin that you had confirms that?

FA: I think it’s normally one of the strongest points for us, not only this year, also in the past two or three years, we are normally more or less OK on Sundays. On single lap pace we struggle a little bit, so whatever reasons, the long runs are normally good for us and tyre management but we don’t also really know the reason so we need to be careful on that and maximise these type of weekends, when everything goes well, but I’m sure we will struggle on some other weekends and we need to maximise the points there. Sometimes we can win, sometimes the maximum is third or fifth but we need to do the job. I’m looking forward to next weekend because it’s a very good test with very high temperatures and we will again see some problems and we need to deliver when the tough moments arise.

Was there maybe extra psychological pressure for you in this race, did you feel it or not?

FA: Not really. I think there is pressure at every race I start. Every year, especially in Ferrari, especially every campaign you start people expect only wins from you, the World Championship. Every race is more or less the same. Every season I’ve started in Formula One, this is the 13th, there is a battle with teammates, always discussions. So this year is no different. I think pressure is always there sometimes. As I said, you can deliver a good result, everyone is happy. Sometimes you cannot do it and you need to improve. I think we’ve been working very hard this winter with the team and after the first two races as well, these three weeks were very useful for us in Maranello, working out a little bit which way we can perform a little bit better, especially in qualifying which is one of our problems normally at the weekends and also looking very carefully at driving style and what we can do to improve the performance with each year’s rules which they keep changing and you need to adapt a little bit, so I’m very happy with the job done and I’m in the best team, so I should be confident that everything will go in the right direction.

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Sauber: We are somewhat disappointed with the result

Sauber F1 Team driver Nico Hülkenberg finished tenth and scored one point at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. He was very strong during the first three stints, but then lost ground on his final one. The engineers will have to analyse the data to understand the reason for that. Esteban Gutiérrez made a very good start, but then on lap five lost control of his car under braking and crashed into the back of Adrian Sutil’s car.

Nico Hülkenberg: 10th

Start on medium tyres, after 14 laps change to medium tyres, after 29 laps change to soft tyres, after 36 laps change to medium tyres

Sauber C32-Ferrari (Chassis 01/Ferrari 056)

“It was quite a mixed race with mixed emotions. It was obviously very nice to be leading again, and to be at the front battling with the top teams. I had a reasonable start and some nice battles in the first couple of laps. I was able to gain some positions, but, somehow, towards the end of the race, we were losing or lacking a little bit of pace. Once you are in the lead or second you understandably hope for more. Nevertheless, it might not have been the true picture, as we were racing out of sequence with other people who were starting on soft tyres. But anyway, it was quite a good race. I don’t think the two issues I had in pit lane made a difference between winning or losing.”

Esteban Gutiérrez: did not finish the race

Start on soft tyres

Sauber C32-Ferrari (Chassis 03/Ferrari 056)

“First of all, I had a good start, and a good first lap. At that point in the race when the accident happened, we had a reasonable speed and were able to keep the pace in order to stay with the group in front. Right before going into the long straight I had Checo (Perez) fighting behind me, and I approached the corner too fast. I was braking at the same place where I usually brake, however, didn’t anticipate the loss of downforce and the amount of speed I had. I tried my best to stop, but didn’t succeed. It was definitely my fault, and I apologise to Adrian (Sutil) and to his team. It’s not a good feeling to finish a race like this, but we have something to encourage us to keep going and to keep pushing. We had a good pace, and let’s keep moving forward.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal:

“We are somewhat disappointed with the result, because, based on how the race went for Nico, we feel we could have achieved more. We have to investigate why the performance was not as expected in the final stint. Concerning Esteban, he made a very good start. Unfortunately he lost control of the car under braking which finished his race. So he lost the opportunities which for sure he would have had during the race. For us as a team it’s important to see that the technical measures we have taken for this race are right, and we have to continue working in that direction.”

Tom McCullough, Head of Track Engineering:

“After a strong first lap, Esteban’s race ended on lap five. Nico’s pace in the first three stints looked strong. In the final stint we were not as quick as we wanted to be, and ultimately P10 is where we ended up. We need to review the causes of that once we get the car back. We are looking forward to the race next weekend in Bahrain.”

[MIKA27]

Red Bull: The result is not ultimately what we would have hoped for

Team and drivers report on the Chinese Grand Prix, Round 3 of the Formula 1 world championship, at Shanghai International Circuit.

Car 1 Sebastian Vettel, Finish Position: 4th, Start Position: 9th

“After the last stop, the team told me there was quite a big gap to the cars ahead, but also a big gap behind, so we thought we should go for it in the closing stages. When I came on to the long straight and saw Lewis at the other end turning into the hair pin I thought ‘well, that’s a bit too far’, but obviously we had much more speed on the fresher tyres. It was a little bit disappointing to lose out by such a tiny bit; a few corners more and we could have tried something. Nonetheless, our strategy seemed to work today. We knew it would be difficult and that it was crucial to get clean laps, but we didn’t in the first stint. I was faster than Nico (Hulkenberg) but if you follow another car you lean on your front tyres too much and it was hard to find the right compromise, but overall we can be happy.”

Car 2 Mark Webber, Finish Position: DNF, Start Position: Pit lane

“The start of the race was going okay; we elected to get rid of the soft tyre quite quickly and then came back through the field pretty well. Regarding the incident with Jean-Eric, I was coming from a reasonable distance behind, Jean-Eric was really wide, but when we came close to the apex he wanted to hit it, which he is entitled to do, but by then I was committed to the inside and the incident happened. It was a couple of laps before our pit stop window, so I had to come in early. The guys thought the tyre was fixed when we left the stop, but it came off on the out lap. We have had a few problems this weekend; I think we could have done something from our start position today, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “Having opted to start the race on the prime tyre, it was always going to be a different race for us compared to the cars ahead of Sebastian. Unfortunately in the first stint, after Sebastian had passed Jenson, Hulkenberg managed to pass both Jenson and Sebastian in the DRS zone, which cost us quite a bit of time. Arguably the time lost then hurt Sebastian at the end of the race – and otherwise I am sure he would have been on the podium. But, nonetheless he drove a very strong race, managing his pace and tyres very well to come extremely close to taking the final podium place on the final lap. With Mark, having taken the opportunity to change the car significantly overnight and starting from the pit lame, we elected to stop on the first lap, change his soft tyres for the hard ones, and put him into clear air. His pace thereafter was excellent, he was coming back through the field extremely well, but unfortunately an incident with Jean-Eric Vergne caused front wing damage and a puncture. After changing the nose and all four tyres, Mark reported a problem with the right rear on the out lap, which had certainly left the pit lane fully torqued up. The right rear then came detached from the car and caused Mark to retire. Until we get the car back, it’s not possible to yet conclude the exact cause.”

Thierry Salvi, Renault: “Shanghai is a tough circuit for the engine, with it getting a full work out on all levels with the combination of straights and low speed corners. Although the result is not ultimately what we would have hoped for coming into the weekend, finishing under half a second from the podium, with the starting positions we had, has to be positive.”

[MIKA27]

McLaren: We’re not yet in a position to realistically finish higher than fifth

Team and drivers report on the Chinese Grand Prix, Round 3 of the Formula 1 world championship, at Shanghai International Circuit.

Jenson Button: MP4-28A-03

“I’m very happy to have finished fifth today – and the team should be too. The race was always going to be tricky: we weren’t quick enough to adopt the same strategy as the others, so we had to run longer than the rest and make two pitstops, rather than three. For us, a two-stopper was the fastest way to the end of the race. It meant I had to let others past me and protect the tyres. If we couldn’t run to our target lap, it would’ve destroyed our race. I had to cruise when I’d normally fight the others. It’s not the most exciting way to go racing, but we got 10 points today because we did it. We know we still have a lot of work to do to challenge at the front, but we can take a lot of positives away from this weekend.”

Sergio Perez: MP4-28A-02

“This was a difficult afternoon for me – there’s a lot for us to analyse, and a lot to learn. It wasn’t my best weekend in terms of pace, so there’s some work to do. Congratulation to Jenson – he drove a fantastic race today. He found a better rhythm and really made the strategy work. I couldn’t find a flow throughout the whole race and was struggling with the car. I had a reasonably good first stint and thought we could achieve a good result with the strategy, but then we encountered degradation with the tyres and that compromised our pace. We still don’t have the speed in the car, but it’s been a useful learning weekend for the whole team, we got some useful points on the board, and we head to the next race with a clearer idea of just what we can do.”

Martin Whitmarsh, Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Jenson drove a brilliantly executed race. He was extremely controlled throughout, completely understood the requirements of the strategists, and withstood the temptation to push when the right thing to do was conserve the tyres. Obviously the team had decided to opt for a two-stop strategy – a call that gave both drivers some work to do in the race. They each had to drive in a very controlled way, look after their tyres, and be mindful that the result would be determined at flag-fall, not before. That requires a lot of discipline. The fact that we’re not yet in a position to realistically finish higher than fifth further highlighted the brilliance of Jenson’s drive. It was a long hard race for Sergio today. Starting from 12th, the strategy didn’t quite work as well for him, but he did a great job today. He’s still learning, and he’ll take a lot away from this weekend – all of which will make him come back stronger for the next race in a week’s time.”

[MIKA27]

Williams: We know we still need to find more performance

Team and drivers report on the Chinese Grand Prix, Round 3 of the Formula 1 world championship, at Shanghai International Circuit.

• Valtteri Bottas finished 13th ahead of Pastor Maldonado in 14th in this afternoon’s Chinese Grand Prix.
  
• The team opted to split strategies with both cars running a three-stop race but with Pastor starting on the soft option tyre while Valtteri started on the prime, choosing to run the option for his final stint.
  
• The soft tyres proved much quicker in the closing stages and Valtteri was able to move ahead of his teammate into the hairpin on the penultimate lap.
  

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director: We planned to do three stops with both cars today but decided to run one car on the option to start and one to finish, as our main race tyre was the prime medium tyre. We knew that both strategies, if the drivers weren’t caught in traffic, would be very similar as seen by ours cars finishing just 1.6 seconds apart at the end. The option tyres were much quicker at the end so Valtteri made a clean move to finish ahead. We got the maximum we could out of the FW35 today, but we know we still need to find more performance, and we will be focusing on this for the next few races.

Valtteri Bottas: The team did a good job with the strategy today and we made the most out of what we had. I think it was the best race I have done this season but we need to find more pace to get closer to the front. I knew it was going to be close with Pastor at the end, so I was pushing hard in my final stint on the medium tyres. I was then right behind him on the faster option tyres and so able to make a move on the penultimate lap. It was a nice end to the race but we still need to improve so we can race for points.

Pastor Maldonado: It was a difficult race from the beginning. We lost a lot of time on the option tyres in the first stint and we just didn’t have the pace. We didn’t have a chance to fight for any higher positions and we know we are still far away from where we want to be, but we will keep our focus on improving.

Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader: It’s clear we were not where we would like to be today. Bahrain is a different type of track with lots of different speed corners that should play to the strengths of the Renault RS27 engine so we will work with the guys in Grove to get back to full form as soon as we can.

[MIKA27]

F1 rookies set to get extra set of tyres for Friday practice

Formula 1 teams running rookie drivers during Friday morning practice are set to get an extra set of tyres from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards.

Pirelli has proposed to supply an additional set of tyres, built to the same construction as the current race rubber but using a more durable compound, for any team running a rookie driver on Friday mornings.

Teams are currently allocated 11 sets of tyres for the weekend, with one set of the harder compound returned after the first practice sessions.

This means that teams usually run only one set of the harder compound in the first free practice session.

But if the Pirelli proposal is accepted, a rookie driver would run both the extra set and the standard one, significantly increasing the number of laps completed.

The idea for the such a move came from Force India deputy team principal Bob Fernley.

"Bob Fernley said he'd like to run rookie and development drivers on Friday morning and we asked what would it need," Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery told AUTOSPORT.

"For the first half-hour on Friday, nobody is running and they all just sit there looking at an empty track, so we suggested some tyres that you are only allowed to use in the first half-hour or something like that.

"It would be a compound that gives you as many laps as you need on the assumption that you run a rookie driver."

The proposal is set to be discussed between the teams and the FIA's Charlie Whiting.

Hembery is hopeful that a conclusion can be reached in Bahrain next week.

"We can do it from Spain as it's relatively easy," he said.

"It would be based on the structure of the current tyre, but a completely different compound.

"We can do it from Barcelona but the detail is something that needs to be sorted out with the teams and Charlie."

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone referred to the extra set of Friday tyres during Sky Sports' pre-race coverage.

Hembery said that Ecclestone supported the idea as it would ensure more on-track action during the opening 90-minute practice session.

"Bernie was keen to get people running for the TV cameras and it also allows us to do something for the younger drivers," he said.

"It will help the transition from either GP2 or World Series [Formula Renault 3.5] into F1."

Only one team has run a rookie driver during Friday practice so far this year, with Caterham fielding Ma Qing Hua in China on Friday.

While it is unlikely that the leading teams would take advantage of running a rookie, teams in the second half of the field have a history of doing so.

Should the proposal be given the green light, it will have no influence on the current tyre allocation for qualifying and the race, which will continue to comprise three sets of each of the two allocated compounds.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff plans to sell Williams shares

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff plans to sell the shares he still has in Williams, but he will only do so when the right buyer is found.

After Wolff's move from executive director at Williams to a senior role at Mercedes was announced earlier this year, it was made clear that Wolff would retain the 16 per cent stake he has in the Grove-based outfit.

However, having progressed with buying a shareholding in the Mercedes F1 team, Wolff says that he has agreed with his German bosses that he will offload his involvement at Williams when the moment is right.

"The commitment I gave to Mercedes was that I would look at the shareholding, as you don't want to have that conflict of interest," said Wolff.

"Even if operationally it is not a conflict, as here [at Mercedes] I am a director and I am not there any more, it does not give a good light.

"But I owe it to Frank [Williams], the family and the whole team to care with responsibility. I cannot just go to the market and say: 'who wants to buy those shares?'"

Wolff suggests that a swift offloading of his stake could risk driving the share price down, which is why he wants to hold fire for the right opportunity.

"I have to find someone who is responsible enough, who is coming in for the sport, and who understands how the team functions," he said.

"Hopefully it will be a sponsor, but it is not so easy to find somebody who is suitable.

"So the point is that I need to look for somebody at a certain stage, but it is not that I am under pressure.

"What we agreed with the Mercedes guys is that I won't have a certain timeframe to sell them."

[MIKA27]

Force India warns Sutil and di Resta after Chinese GP clash

Force India will warn Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta that there must be no repeat of the type of clash the duo had on the first lap of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Each driver pointed the finger at the other over the incident, which cost di Resta several places and a shot at finishing higher than eighth.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley plans to stress the need to work as a team.

"We just need to sit them down and go through the video because it's not really what we need to be doing on the first lap," Fernley told AUTOSPORT.

"They are both good enough, and just need to sort it out between them.

"I don't think it's difficult to manage it, we just need to make sure they clearly understand that it's not acceptable, not on the first lap."

Fernley was unsure as to who was responsible for the coming together, having not had the chance to study the footage when asked about the clash.

But he suspected that Sutil should have given di Resta more room.

"You can have things happen when you get pushed into positions [that you don't want to be in] and we need to understand it fully ourselves," he said.

"But I suspect that Adrian got catapulted off the kerb, something like that happened so he didn't give Paul enough room there."

Fernley added that the damage was limited by di Resta's strong recovery drive.

But he believes that the team could have finished as high as fifth without the clash.

"It could have cost us more dearly, but fortunately it was a good, well-run race," he said.

"It was a hard race, but we managed to pull Paul back through and the strategy worked.

"We targeted seventh, and without the first lap incident we could have got Jenson [button] as well."

[Bartolomeo]

Glad to see Ferrari win

[riazp]

Glad to see Ferrari win

x2. Brilliant drive my alonso. Ferrari are defenite contenders this year

[ptrthgr8]

Mika, thanks again for putting all this info here. It's great being able to get caught up on everything by viewing only this thread. You deserve a raise!

I would have preferred to see Vettel win... or at least pick off Hamilton on the last lap. Those last few laps of Vettel's were simply amazing. But Ferrari had a great race and Alonso absolutely deserved the top spot on the podium.

I love the rumor about Raikkonen joining Red Bull next year. Seb and Kimi on the same team? Talk about an unstoppable duo!

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

[riazp]

Kimi at redbull would make sense...He drove WRC for Red Bull...He is by far my favorite driver, swears on national tv during that post race interview...Give Kimi the same equipment at Seb, and i'M willing to bet he takes the drivers championship...look what hes doing with that lotus renault!

[LLC]

x2. Brilliant drive my alonso. Ferrari are defenite contenders this year

X3