FORMULA 1 - 2015

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Sebastian Vettel doubts a Singapore repeat will be possible at Sochi

Sebastian Vettel is not expecting a repeat of his Singapore victory at the Russian Grand Prix this weekend, despite Mercedes' concerns that Sochi could offer up a similar result.

Vettel outpaced Mercedes all weekend in Singapore to take his third -- and most convincing -- victory of the season. Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda voiced concerns that the return of the two softest tyres in Pirelli's range on the low-grip tarmac of the Sochi Autodrom could result in a repeat of his team's problems, but Vettel is not convinced.

"I think it will be quite different," he said. "Obviously it is a completely different track and other than the tyre compounds I don't think there are many similarities. But if the result is the same I won't mind.

"It's a long way to go because it's Thursday and first of all we focus on Friday and try to get the car in the window and go from there. I think the weather will also play a big role, because maybe tomorrow we won't use the soft and super-soft at all if it rains. We will see.

"Anyway, it will be a difficult weekend to get everything right, and last year it was a difficult circuit to get it together and the gaps between the cars were fairly big because some people were struggling more than usual. As I said, you need to get everything right and that is what we try to focus on. I know that is not the exciting answer you were hoping for, but it's the truth.

"I think the target is to do better than last year. This year I think we have a competitive car and a competitive package, so it would be nice to be on the podium at the end of the race."

Vettel said one of Ferrari's main targets is to use the final five races to learn about how best to improve the car over the winter.

"I certainly hope that we are in a better position next year with a more competitive car, but we are still in 2015 and there are still some races where we can do well and learn for next year. Of course, the target is to ultimately fight for the championship. This is not a secret, it is very clear and this is where we want to go."

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Nasr begins work with new Sauber engineer

Felipe Nasr will work with a new engineer for the remainder of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship season after a 'mutual agreement' to part ways with Craig Gardiner.

The Brazilian has been working with Gardiner since making his F1 debut with Sauber earlier this year, but differences of opinion behind the scenes have prompted a reshuffle in the team, with Paul Russell taking on his duties.

Nasr has already agreed a new deal with Sauber for the 2016 season, with Russell – who has worked with Pedro de la Rosa in the past – set to stay on board.

"Paul has been on the team for a long time and I worked with him in the pre-season tests in Jerez and Barcelona, and also after the Austrian GP. He's a guy with whom I have a good relationship and for knows the team. I think he will be a good news. He worked with Pedro de la Rosa for a while, I think in 2009 and 2010, and our goal is to work as well as possible to score the maximum possible points.

This change was a mutual decision. We decided this together - myself and the team, and the important thing is that our goal is the same. Paul assumes this role from this weekend to help the team as much as possible."

After grabbing the headlines on his debut with a run to fifth place in Australia, Nasr has cracked the top ten on just three further occasions, even if he remains classified ahead of Pastor Maldonado, Carlos Sainz and team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

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LEWIS HAMILTON “CANNOT WAIT” TO GET STUCK INTO A DOGFIGHT WITH VETTEL AND FERRARI

Lewis Hamilton says that he cannot wait to get locked into a wheel to wheel battle with Sebastian Vettel for supremacy as thoughts begin to turn to next season and the expected challenge from Ferrari to Mercedes.

Mercedes has enjoyed another dominant season, with the constructors’ championship likely to be sealed as soon as this weekend, but Ferrari has scored three wins and nine other podiums and has set a target for 2016 of fighting Mercedes for the title.

The Mercedes driver has tended to be well clear of Vettel this season, even Malaysia and Hungary didn’t feature a close battle between them as Vettel came through to win. This was largely achieved on strategy.

So Hamilton and Vettel have had little in the way of wheel to wheel combat this season, but Hamilton says he cannot wait for the chance to battle the four time champion on a regular basis, as many fans hope will happen next year,

“I’m looking forward to that,” Hamilton told Sky Italia in Sochi today. “There have been races we have had this year where there has been such distance between us, I’m dying to..

“I saw a photo the other day where Nigel (Mansell) and Ayrton (Senna) were wheel to wheel down the straight with sparks coming out. I picture that, I can’t wait for that to be me and Sebastian.

“Imagine if we had a race like Bahrain that me and Nico had last year, where we’re back and forth, back and forth. That would be the most exciting thing ever. But where that will happen, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Hamilton also commented on the threat from Red Bull to quit the sport at the end of the season. Interestingly he took the line that it would be surprising for them to pull out after two seasons of struggle, when they have had so much success prior to that; to give up so easily, in other words.

“For sure it would be a big shame for the fans,” he said. “It seems very odd to me – having witnessed Red Bull Racing’s success in Formula One – that you would give up so quickly after having not succeeded in two years. Growing up watching Formula One, I don’t remember any other team doing anything like that – or at least I haven’t noticed it.

“From my point of view they don’t have a proper reason to give up, as they have great drivers, a great pedigree and still a pretty awesome car – as well as a great success story behind them in Formula One.”

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Silverstone says Formula 1's British Grand Prix is safe to 2026

Silverstone managing director Patrick Allen has confirmed the circuit's contract to host Formula 1's British Grand Prix through to 2026 will be honoured.

It recently emerged the Northamptonshire track could activate a break clause in its 17-year deal that would allow it to pull out of hosting the race after next year.

Despite the difficulties in raising the annual hosting fee - which increases year-on-year due to a five per cent escalator clause - Allen has confirmed a business model is in place that guarantees the race's future.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT today, Allen said: "We will be able to see out the contract.

"We can do it because not only do we put on a good show, but we also made a significant improvement on profit from this year's grand prix than we have done in the past. All of that helps.

"But the way I am developing the business is as an attraction and entertainment business where we are generating revenues from not just one race of the year.

"That not only secures the future of Silverstone, but also the future of the grand prix. If it came to it, if we had to subsidise the grand prix, then we could.

"At other circuits there is one big race of the year and that's the end of it, but we are not that.

"We're a 360-day attraction that generates revenues from many other events. We are not totally reliant on one race.

"People get the impression if there is no grand prix there is no Silverstone, and if there is no Silverstone there is no grand prix, well that just isn't the case.

"Silverstone will be able to host the British Grand Prix through to 2026, absolutely."

Allen has confirmed a letter of credit from bankers Lloyds was in place prior to his arrival at the start of the year, allowing Silverstone to pay its hosting fee to Bernie Ecclestone in arrears.

"We've never missed a payment and the letter of credit is in place. There is a contract in place that allows us to do that," added Allen.

"Our bank is comfortable with the situation."

Allen also downplayed comments in which he had described F1 as "a **** product" and "a procession" that made tickets hard to sell.

"The product has been developed from a technical perspective rather than a customer-experience point of view, so the cars are ever more technical and advanced," he said today.

"That said, when there is a disparity between the front two Mercedes cars and everybody else, as it was in the early part of the season when the comments were made, then the product needs to improve.

"What has happened since is that Ferrari and Williams have improved, and what we are seeing is ever closer racing.

"Notwithstanding that, Mr Ecclestone and the FIA are looking at rule changes to produce ever-more exciting racing.

"The comments at the time were apt, but action has been taken, and we're now going to have a better product and a more exciting racing format for 2017."

[JohnS]

It's incredible how Red Bull have fallen in comparison to their 'glory' days!

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INSIDE LINE: MCLAREN HONDA – TESTING AND COMMON SENSE

With all the current talk about the woeful performance of the reunification of the McLaren-Honda partnership, it is easy, especially in this social media age, for everyone to have an opinion and readily point out the shortcomings.

As an ex-McLaren man myself, it makes me sad and frustrated to see this once great team battling with the likes of Marussia, splendid team that they are on their limited resources. Ron Dennis once famously said to be second is to be the first of the losers, so no doubt it pains him deeply to be second to last!

So how did it get to this? At the start of the rekindled partnership there was so much hype based on history, including four consecutive drivers and constructors championship and during the first dominating year of 1988, taking 15 out of 16 Grand Prix wins, 15 out of 16 pole positions and 97% of laps led – see I can still recall all of the facts we proudly boasted. In fact, if it wasn’t for Ayrton tripping over Jean Louis Schlesser at Monza, there would have been a 100% record!

However, great as all these achievements were, you do have to bear in mind that when the McLaren Honda partnership commenced, Honda was a well established in Formula One as an successful engine manufacturer and was a much sought after partner – hence the raid by McLaren on Williams.

In addition 1988 was the last year of the turbo before switching back to normally aspirated engines. So while other turbo engines were being used for the last year, Honda built a brand new V6 engine specifically for that year and had found a specific loop hole in the regulations. As ex McLaren and subsequently Ferrari Technical Director John Barnard explained in the book ‘The Life of Senna’:

“Honda manipulated the regulations to accommodate the boost level and found a way to circumvent them that masked the boost level limit by putting cunning shapes within the manifold, which effectively put the head of the pop-off valve in a low pressure area. So although the boost limit was 2.5 bar the engine saw as much as 2.9 bar”.

It took Ferrari a whole six months to catch up and do the same thing!

Once on the track the performance was staggering, although I do remember that they had great problems initially getting the engine started, which led to the sight of the car being towed around the McLaren car park for some time in order to bump start it!

However, all of this success came towards the end of that particular era of Honda’s involvement in Formula One. Honda have participated in Formula One, as an entrant, constructor and engine supplier, for various periods since 1964.

Their first withdrawal in 1968 was precipitated by the death of Honda driver Jo Schlesser during the 1968 French Grand Prix. Honda returned in 1983 as an engine supplier to Spirit, Lotus and Williams, which cumulated with McLaren in 1992.

They again returned in 2000, providing engines for British American Racing (BAR) and by the end of 2005 they had bought out BAR and renamed the team Honda Racing and raced until 2008 due to the Global financial crisis. This led to the management buyout headed by team principal Ross Brawn and subsequently winning the World Championship in 2009 with Jenson Button.

However Honda never come close to repeating the success they shared with McLaren, so rejoining forces seemed perfectly logical. But the world of Formula One has changed. We now have ‘power units’. Not only is there a a V6 1.6 litre turbo charged engine, this is also supplemented by an Energy Recovery System (ERS) which converts mechanical and heat energy into electrical energy. Whilst the overall power output is in the region of 760 bhp, this is made up of 600 bhp from the engine, plus 160 bhp from ERS.

Therefore, it is a matter of getting the right combination between the two components. This the key which Mercedes has done so well. Whilst you may have a good engine, if you can’t generate sufficient power from ERS then you will be a sitting duck on the straights, as Fernando Alonso experienced in Suzuka and hence his comment about GP2 cars, which have 612 bhp!

From all that has been talked about, Honda’s main power problem is with the ERS. Okay they haven’t got it right yet and it must be remembered that they are effectively at least a year’s development behind Mercedes and Renault, who themselves have had problems which has led to the unsightly and acrimonious divorce from Red Bull.

But to my way of thinking, the biggest problem is the regulations and their politically correct overpowering micromanaged restrictions. Sure, so sometimes people, teams, constructors, engine makers, don’t always get things right … BUT they should have the ability to develop out of the problems. We used to say that a Formula One car could change by up to 95% throughout the course of the season. No more!

Recently McLaren CEO Ron Dennis said that Formula One’s regulations are delaying his team’s return to competitiveness with new engine supplier Honda.

“I think the frustrations I have with the regulations is that everything that has been designed to reduce costs has increased it and primarily because the cost of getting durability is endless evaluation on dynos and test cells,” he said. “I would like to go testing, I would like to have freedom in wind tunnels, freedom in CFD. When you are uncompetitive you have to develop your way out of it and at the moment the regulations are extremely constraining in that area.”

Under the current regulations, from the start of the season to the end of the calendar year, the teams are permitted to take part in two team tests of no more than two consecutive days at circuits where an event has just taken place. These tests must commence no less than 36 hours after the end of the event.

However if that wasn’t restrictive enough, two days of each in-season test must be allocated to young driver training, which is classified as someone who has competed two or fewer Grands Prix.

So effectively McLaren Honda are expected to put on a world class performance with the equivalent of fighting with one hand tied behind their back!

Back in the glory days, the team in a bid to progressively improve, ran not only a permanent test team in Europe, who an averaged test most weeks after a Grand Prix, but also kept a special team based in Japan running at Suzuka and Fuji, which kept Emanuele Pirro, Jonathan Palmer and Allan McNish gamefully employed at various stages.

I am not advocating that we go back to testing with that degree of intensity, but if you could stand back at look at the whole picture for a minute, which admittedly is not a Formula One natural forte, it does make sense to allow more freedom to test and allow the team’s to develop their cars in a natural racing environment, rather than in the artificial world of simulation!

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ARRIVABENE: FERRARI NOT GUILTY IF RED BULL HAS NO ENGINE

As Red Bull’s options narrow further, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene has played down the prospect of a 2016 engine deal to a save the situation for the energy drinks’ F1 operation..

And the Italian told Globo that the perception that the fate of Red Bull and Toro Rosso and hundreds of employees is now in the hands of Ferrari is wrong, “Red Bull has no engine for 2016 and it seems that we are guilty, but it’s not like that.”

It is believed that Ferrari has told Red Bull that the only workable solution for 2016 is that the two teams accept a supply of year-old power units — something Dietrich Mateschitz says is unacceptable.

But Arrivabene said time is simply too short for Ferrari to cope with producing enough 2016 engines to supply the works team, Haas, Sauber and two additional teams.

“We have to plan everything we do, obviously,” he said. “And our review of the new power unit development programme and the production, to satisfy another team, would require us to change everything we have planned so far.”

So if Red Bull has painted itself into a corner, that was their own doing, Arrivabene argues, “I am convinced that they were certain they would use the Mercedes engine in 2016. So much so that they not only reviewed [cancelled] the contract with Renault but also with Infiniti and Total.”

But Mercedes said categorically no, and “Only then did they come looking for us”, Arrivabene said. “If they had done so in June, for example, there would still be time for us to look at it. But to come talking to us after Monza…”

“To think about a fourth team now, we need engineers who are trained by us to monitor the use of these engines, as we do with Sauber and Manor today,” he said. “And these guys cannot be young people who are just leaving university. F1 is not like that.”

“If tomorrow the president of our company [sergio Marchionne] called me and said ‘Give the engines to them’, we would have to change everything that we planned very carefully long ago,” said Arrivabene.

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VERSTAPPEN: I’M NOT LOOKING FOR JOB

As the engine crisis apparently deepens, the only man wearing a Red Bull uniform who does not seem worried is Max Verstappen.

The Dutch teen is among the hottest talents to have ever debuted in formula one, so he seems not overly fazed that his employer could be set to pull the plug.

“Whenever I’m walking down the paddock, people approach me,” 18-year-old Verstappen is quoted by UOL’s Grande Premio.

“I talk informally with everyone. I have had great performance and I think this will help me if Red Bull go,” he added.

“I’m not looking for job,” Verstappen continued, “I am very happy at Red Bull — they did so much for me, I’m here because of them, I have no reason to leave. If they did leave F1, the picture changes, but for now, I’m happy.”

Red Bull’s billionaire boss Dietrich Mateschitz has set a deadline of this month for a decision to be made and if this comes and goes without the energy drink company finding engines for its two F1 teams, Red Bull and Toro Rosso will have to pull out of the sport.

Up and down the pitlane, although there is alarm that Red Bull could punch a four-car hole in the 2016 grid, sympathy for the energy drink brand is actually limited.

“It seems really odd to me that in the moment they don’t have success, they’re so upset about it. I don’t remember any other team doing that,” said Mercedes’ reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.

But the situation means that Red Bull’s rivals are being forced to consider the prospect of racing third cars next year, with Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene admitting he has even talked to Charlie Whiting about the logistics.

Ferrari and Mercedes – the most logical options for a F1 power unit supply to the energy drinks posse – are refusing to take the blame for Red Bull’s predicament.

While the saga trudges along and massive decisions loom, the sport’s youngest ever driver is simply getting on with his job and giving it the max.

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HAMILTON: LIKE AT MCLAREN I GET THAT RACING SMELL AT MERCEDES

McLaren had the vision but Mercedes have the smell of success, as far as Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton is concerned.

The 30-year-old, who could clinch his third world title within a matter of weeks, told British reporters at the Russian Grand Prix that he would always owe an immense debt to his former McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

However, he added that current employers Mercedes felt much more like home. Ron was amazing with me… I would not be here if this guy had not noticed me when I was 10 and actually taken notice. The majority, if not all, saw me as another kid who came along.”

“This guy has unbelievable vision. What he’s created there [at McLaren] — the place is beautiful — I’m just saying as someone who loves more authentic racing teams, old school cars, I get that smell [at Mercedes]. When I walk into our factory I get that racing smell.”

Hamilton won his first championship with McLaren in 2008, the year after his Formula One debut, after being backed by Dennis and McLaren’s then-engine partners Mercedes through the junior series.

The Briton moved to Mercedes in 2013, after winning 21 races with McLaren, despite some pundits warning he was making a mistake.

He won 11 races last year, when he took his second championship, and eight so far this season. His 41st and most recent victory in Japan equalled the career tally of his boyhood idol and late triple champion Ayrton Senna.

McLaren meanwhile have not won a grand prix since 2012. Before Japan, Hamilton had posted on Instagram a photograph of himself as a youngster standing alongside Dennis along with a heartfelt tribute.

The champion said he had felt it needed saying, “I remember standing there and telling him that one day I wanted to be a world champion in his car and 13 years later I’m a world champion in his car. I think it’s just good sometimes to not only think it, but let people know that you’re conscious of it.”

“Every day whilst I’m racing for this team there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not grateful for the moments he’s given me to enable me to have the life that I have.”

That said, he felt Mercedes — whose Brackley factory was previously owned by BAR, Honda and Brawn — offered more freedom than he ever had at McLaren’s award-winning Woking headquarters.

“If you go to McLaren it’s a different animal,” he said. “They’ve got great individuals… but their setup was different. You walk into that building and you don’t want to touch anything.”

“When I came to this team it was more like my old Formula Three team, the way the building was built, obviously on a much bigger scale. It feels like more of a racing team. The way everyone works together.”

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ALONSO TO START HIS 250TH GRAND PRIX FROM BACK OF THE GRID

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will start his 250th Grand Prix from the back of the grid in Russia on Sunday after taking a 25-place penalty following the McLaren-Honda team’s decision to introduce an updated engine.

The Spaniard, who on Thursday confirmed he intends to remain with the struggling outfit and see out his contract to 2017, has already used nine engines this year and will be on his 10th in this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix.

His McLaren team-mate Briton Jenson Button last week confirmed he will stay at McLaren next year, ending rumours that he was set to retire from Formula One.

Button will not have the same updates from Honda on his car, but is expected to have them at the United States Grand Prix and said he was optimistic about the future for the team.

“There are a lot of good things to come over the winter, and you can definitely make good strides then,” said Button. “Look at Ferrari – they are said to have found 100 bhp (brake horsepower) last winter and to have achieved better deployment.

“And look at them this season. I have no idea whether we can win a race next year,” he said. “It would be a big step forward if we could, but you have to remember that our technical package is still very young. The power is actually very strong for a manufacturer in their first year.”

“And the car’s aerodynamic philosophy was brand new to us at the beginning of the year so there might be massive gains to be made for 2016. We might win the first race! That’s unlikely, but we can make a big step.”

Spaniard Roberto Merhi of Marussia has also taken a 20-places grid penalty after an engine change.

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FERRARI JOIN MERCEDES IN REJECTING RED BULL ENGINE SUPPLY DEAL

It appears that Red Bull have snookered themselves with regards to power unit options for their two teams in 2016, with recent news that Mercedes are not prepared to supply the former champions now it appears that Ferrari have withdrawn their offer to supply the energy drinks team.

According to Auto Motor Und Sport, talks have broken down, with Red Bull seeking a 2016 engine, and Ferrari – which will also supply Sauber and Haas – unwilling to budge.

Asked for a response to the reports by Sky Sports, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explained, “There are a lot of negotiations going on. Nothing is fixed.”

Horner said last month that it was to be “Ferrari or nothing” for Red Bull in 2016, with Honda, the only other engine manufacturer, remaining an exclusive partner of McLaren.

Adding some irony to the saga is that Ferrari is open to supplying Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s junior team – it was in fact Ferrari power that Toro Rosso used to score the organisation’s first win at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel.

Despite a myriad of theories. speculation by media and even assurances from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone here>>>, Red Bull are without an engine supplier for next season.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that Renault in the end my be the Milton Keynes based team’s only option

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Russian GP: Track sweeper caused diesel spill that hit F1 practice

Formula 1 drivers have lamented the loss of any meaningful running in Russian Grand Prix first practice after a track sweeper leaked diesel onto the circuit.

It has emerged that the vehicle spilled the fuel while it cleaned the circuit on Thursday evening ahead of Friday practice.

The problem was not spotted until 0830 local time on Friday, 90 minutes before the first session was due to start.

An absorbent was used to soak up the diesel before pressure washers were drafted in to blast the spill, which affected Turns 7, 8, 9 and 10, off the track.

It meant drivers could not take advantage of what became the only dry running of the day - as rain washed out practice two - to collect qualifying and race data.

"Unfortunately the only dry session was wiped away because of that," said Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

"They had to wash the circuit, it was a bit useless but what can we do? It's one of those things.

"It's not ideal but it's the same for everyone. We'd rather do the practice in good conditions. We'll try to make the best out of tomorrow."

Red Bull's Daniil Kvyat added: "In Singapore there was a drunk man on track, so these things can happen anywhere.

"It spoiled FP1 because it was the only dry session and it would have helped the teams to get references for tomorrow.

"But everyone was in the same position and everyone will have to work harder tomorrow."

Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado described the affected parts of the track as like driving on ice.

"It's quite frustrating," said Maldonado. "We were ready to do everything in FP1 because the weather forecast was bad for the afternoon.

"I've not seen something like this before, maybe when an engine or gearbox breaks, but never as big.

"We were going very slow and the cars were sliding everywhere. It was like ice, especially in Turn 8 and 9."

Sauber's Felipe Nasr added: "It was very slippery out there so it was difficult to keep the car straight in the places where diesel leaked."

[MIKA27]

Russian GP: Practice halted after big Sainz accident

Carlos Sainz has survived a big accident during final practice for the Russian Grand Prix.

The crash took place with 20 minutes of the final practice session remaining at the Sochi circuit.

Video footage of the accident showed Sainz lose control of his car on the approach to Turn 13, pitching him into the wall on the left-hand side of the track.

The damaged car then headed straight across the run off area and head first into the TecPro barriers – eventually ending up underneath them.

Marshals and medical crews were quickly on the scene and it took almost 20 minutes for them to extricate him from his car.

He was conscious and footage of the recovery scene showed that he gave the thumbs-up as he removed to a waiting ambulance.

He was then airlifted to hospital by helicopter.

Team principal Franz Tost said: "As I am informed, he is conscious. He is now with the doctors and we will find what his condition okay."

Tost said it was too early to work out exactly what had caused the crash.

"We need the data, as it looks now the car got lost under braking. But we must find out why and what happened."

The final practice session was not restarted.

[MIKA27]

F1 meets Ice Hockey in Russia!

Daniil Kvyat gets his skates on as we keep things cool in Sochi ahead of the 2015 Russian Grand Prix.

Dany's childhood dreams might have mainly revolved around kart circuits and catching whatever glimpses he could of Formula One racing on TV, but as with any self-respecting Russian kid, ice hockey loomed large in the background for the youngster from Ufa.

He gave it a go ahead of his home Grand Prix and we were there to catch it on camera... enjoy!

[MIKA27]

SOCHI QUALIFYING: ROSBERG TOO GOOD FOR HAMILTON

Nico Rosberg took his second consecutive pole position and his third of the season in Sochi, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the front of the Russian Grand Prix grid by three tenths of a second, third place in the session went to Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.

“I am very happy,” said Rosberg. “It has been a difficult weekend because of the little running we got. I got some very good laps in and I am happy with that.”

“I am just enjoying being on pole at the moment. The constructors championship is a really important target for us again this weekend, at the same time I am out to reduce the gap on Lewis,” added the German.

Hamilton summed up his session, “I did go for my second lap I just did not finish it,” explained Hamilton “I made a mistake at Turn 13. A difficult weekend for everyone but Nico did a great job with his lap. Overall I am very happy and it is great for the team. This is not such a bad race for P2.”

Bottas said, “Third is a good place to start. It has been tricky for everyone with limited practice.”

The first segment of qualifying saw Rosberg go quickest with a lap of 1:38.343 that left him just over a tenth of a second ahead of Bottas.

Hamilton was third fastest ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa in the second Williams.

Sixth was Lotus’ Romain Grosjean ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. The Mercedes pair managed to get through Q1 using only the soft tyres.

Eliminated after the opening 18 minutes were McLaren’s Fernando Alonso in P16, followed by Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, the Manors of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi and Toro Rosso’s carlos Sainz, who did not take part in qualifying after a heavy crash in final practice saw him hospitalised but uninjured.

Alonso missed out on a Q2 berth by just a tenth of a second, with Sauber’s Felipe Nasr edging the Spaniard with a lap of 1:40.042. Jenson Button did make it through in the other McLaren, however, and the Briton ended the segment in 14th place behind Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado, Force India’s Sergio Perez and the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat.

Mercedes again dominated in Q2 with Rosberg holding top spot with a lap of 1:37.500. Hamilton was again second, 0.172 behind the German, with Bottas third with a time of 1:38.194.

In the drop zone as the segment entered its final two minutes were Ricciardo in P10 followed by Nasr, Button, Maldonado and Massa who had run well wide on his previous flyer and was winding up for a final attempt at progress.

Ricciardo was the first to clamber to safety, the Australian posting a lap of 1:39.005 to eventually make it through to Q3 in ninth place.

His team-mate Daniil Kvyat was not so lucky, however. The Russian was in P9 as the final runs began and as the time began to alter around him he swiftly dropped to P12. He found more pace on his final run but a slow middle sector meant he didn’t find the necessary improvement and he was the first of the drivers eliminated at this stage, in P11.

Local hero Kvyat reflected, “I did my best. Quite pleased with what I have done. We had time for only one lap on each set of tyres. It’s disappointing but nothing I could do.”

Behind him Nasr was also ruled out of Q3, with Button 13th ahead of Maldonado. Massa, too, failed to find an improvement, with the Brazilian saying that traffic on his [previous] lap had cost him time.

“I had two laps behind traffic and by the time I had a clear run my tyres had gone. It’s really frustrating,” Massa told reporters afterwards.

With the drivers finding it difficult to get temperature into their supersoft tyres on the smooth surface it was the second flying lap of each run that provided the quicker lap and after the first runs of Q3 Rosberg again held sway, his time of 1:37.113 leaving him a significant three tenths of a second clear of second-placed Hamilton. Bottas was third, almost half a second adrift of Hamilton, while Vettel was fourth ahead of Räikkonen.

Grosjean, Verstappen and Ricciardo, meanwhile, had yet to run but as the front-runner prepared for a final assault they took to the track to find the maximum space.

In the final runs Rosberg held onto top spot as neither Mercedes driver found an improvement. The German set quicker times through the first and last sectors but a slower middle sector left the second lap of his opening run as his best.

Hamilton meanwhile Hamilton went wide at Turn 13 on his lap and returned to the pits. He waited momentarily at his pit box but then decided to concede victory to his team-mate, who took his second pole position in a row.

Behind them Bottas finished third, the Finn also failing to find an improvement, and fourth place in the session went to Vettel with team-mate Räikkönen fifth.

Hulkenberg and Perez took P6 and P7 respectively for Force India, while Grosjean was eighth ahead of Verstappen and Ricciardo.

[MIKA27]

WOLFF: THE CHAMPION T-SHIRTS ARE UPSTAIRS

Mercedes gave up any pretence about not tempting fate on ahead of the Russian Grand Prix by acknowledging they already had their ‘2015 Formula 1 world champions’ T-shirts printed and ready to wear in Sochi.

The reigning champions need only score three points more than Ferrari on Sunday to retain the constructors’ title they won for the first time at Sochi’s Olympic Park circuit last October.

With Nico Rosberg on pole position and championship-leading team mate Lewis Hamilton alongside on the front row, there is every chance of another Mercedes one-two securing the title in style.

It has become something of a habit for teams to pretend they have made no special preparations, not wanting to count any unhatched chickens, only to don celebratory T-shirts within seconds of taking the title.

With Mercedes 169 points clear of Ferrari, and only five races remaining including Sunday’s, the German manufacturers’ motorsports head Toto Wolff recognised it was more a question of when than if.

“The T-shirts are upstairs,” he told reporters.

“We can pretend tomorrow that we haven’t printed them, and then suddenly everybody wears one. Knock on wood, it’s not a good omen to talk about T-shirts the day before the race. But eventually, hopefully, we are going to wear them.”

Mercedes have won 11 of 14 races so far, with eight one-two finishes, and staff can expect significant bonuses again this season.

“It would be a very big achievement,” said Wolff. “It would be the second title, as Mercedes the constructors’ championship makes us proud. We add another little bit of history to the 1950s and 2014.

“And nobody can take that away from us. Obviously, the drivers’ championship is the one that is very relevant to all the fans and that is then the next box we have to tick and that is not a given that it is going to be easy.”

Hamilton is 48 points clear of Rosberg and looking likely at the moment to wrap up his third crown with a race or two to spare.

However, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel is still mathematically a threat, 59 points adrift of the Briton after winning three races.

[skalls]

Good race. Feel for bottas though.

[MIKA27]

RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON WINS AND HAS ONE HAND ON THE TITLE

Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic Russian Grand Prix, while his only title rival and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg failed to finish meaning that the Englishman is very close to clinching his third Formula 1 World Championship title with four rounds remaining.

Hamilton’s 42nd win also saw him surpass boyhood hero Ayrton Senna’s career wins total and he said on the podium, “I was excited because Nico and I were quite close together at the beginning. It was a shame for the team to lose one of the cars. I don’t take what we have granted. It’s a special moment for me to surpass Ayrton.”

Sebastian Vettel turned fourth on the grid into second place for Ferrari by the time the chequered flag waved to end the race.

He said afterwards, “I think it was a very good race. The car was fantastic and kept getting better. I thought there was a slight chance to catch Lewis at one point but he had so much pace in hand.”

Sergio Perez claiming a well deserved third place for Force India after enduring a massive double pronged challenge from the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

On the last lap the pair of Finns got by Perez, who went from third to fifth but a few corners later Raikkonen was too ambitious and plowed into the side of the Williams, hence Perez went from fifth back to third!

The Mexican summed up, “It’s just feels great to be back. One lap before the end it seemed like everything went away from us. I was very unhappy with myself but in the end I thought: I gave it all. I did plenty of laps with my tyres and had massive degradation. On the last lap when it came it was just amazing.”

Earlier Rosberg managed a good start, but it came to naught as Nico Hulkenberg spun his Force India in Turn 2, tagged Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso and when facing the wrong way in the middle of the track was mounted by the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson. This prompted the safety car as marshals cleared the wrecks.

Rosberg had Hamilton on his tail when the track turned green, and within a few laps the leading Mercedes was clearly in trouble and on lap seven Hamilton was ahead, where he stayed to the chequered flag while Rosberg limped into the pits with a throttle software problem and was forced to retire the car for the first time this season.

There was a second safety car period when Romain Grosjean got it all wrong in Turn 3 and slammed the wall hard. The Frenchman emerged from the smouldering wreck unhurt, thereafter marshals took several laps to repair the damage to the barriers before the field was unleashed again.

Race Report

Starting from pole, Rosberg held his advantage when the lights went out to signal the start of the race, despite determined pressure from Hamilton. Behind the front-row pair, Raikkonen made an excellent start from fifth place and made his way past Vettel and Bottas to claim third place.

Perez slotted into sixth behind Vettel but the Mexican’s team-mate Nico Hulkenberg was in trouble. Starting from seventh he spun in Turn 2 and as he slid across the track he collided with Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen and Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson. Verstappen sustained a pincyture and limped back to the pits for repairs but the race was over for Hulkenberg and Ericsson.

The incident brought out the safety car and Lotus’ Romain Grosjean pitted to check his front wing, as he too had been caught up in the Turn 2 drama, and he also switched from super soft tyres to soft.

When the race restarted on lap four, Bottas made his way past Raikkonen to reclaim P3. At the front, however, Rosberg was in difficulty, telling his team that he was having problems with the throttle of his car.

Hamilton closed in and on lap seven Rosberg, clearly struggling with his car, went wide through Turn 2 and the world champion swept past to take the lead. Rosberg pitted at the end of the lap and eventually retired from the race.

Hamilton now led by just over two seconds from Bottas, with Raikkonen third ahead of Vettel. Perez was three seconds behind Vettel in fifth place, with Daniil Kvyat sixth ahead of Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. Sauber’s Felipe Nasr was eighth, just 0.7s ahead of Felipe Massa who had climbed to ninth from 15th on the grid and 10th-placed Pastor Maldonado.

The safety car was deployed again on lap 12 as Lotus’ Romain Gropsjean, in P13 lost control on the way through Turn 3. The Frenchman went side on into the barriers destroying his car. He quickly clambered out of the wreckage, however, and was uninjured in the incident.

The Frenchman tweeted afterwards, “Feeling ok after one of the biggest shunts of my career. Feeling sorry for the guys and the lost points”

During the safety car period Perez and Ricciardo pitted on lap 13, with both shedding their starting supersofts for soft tyres. That left Hamilton in the lead from Bottas, Raikkonen and Vettel, while Kvyat was now up to fifth ahead of Nasr, Massa and Maldonado, who had both started on soft tyres, Perez and Ricciardo.

The re-start, on lap 17, was action-packed. Bottas was told that Hamilton was struggling with tyre temperatures behind the safety car and sensing an opportunity the Finn attacked in earnest as the safety car left the circuit. Hamilton held firm to stay in the lead, however.

Behind them, Vettel attempted to muscle past Raikkonen through Turn 2, with the Finn forced off track, but Raikkonen too held his nerve and stayed in second place. Vettel hadn’t given up, however, and a couple of corners later the German passed his team-mate on the inside to take P3.

Further back Perez passed Maldonado to move into P8 and Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, who had been passed clear to race following a heavy crash in FP3 on Saturday, got by Ricciardo to claim P10, though the Red Bull Racing driver would reclaim the spot on the next lap.

At the front, Hamilton was now striding away and by the start of lap 23 he had 6.3s in hand over Bottas and was running almost a second per lap quicker than the Finn.

Bottas pitted from P2 on lap 27. He took on soft tyresd and emerged into traffic behind Sainz in P11.

Vettel was the next of the frontrunners to stop, on lap 31. His stop for soft tyres was 2.2 seconds and he emerged ahead of Bottas. Massa too pitted on the same lap, shedding his opening soft tyres for supersofts. Raikkonen made his stop for soft rubber at the end of the following tour.

He rejoined alongside Bottas and the Williams driver battled hard to hold position, despite a strong challenger from his fellow Finn

It was then Hamilton’s turn to pit, which left Kvyat, on lap 33, leading his home race. He didn’t have much time to enjoy the moment, however, or to have his lead officially recorded as he pitted at the end of the lap. He rejoined in P9 ahead of the McLarens.

Nasr was the last to stop, and once the Brazilian had rejoined the order saw Hamilton leading by 13 seconds from Vettel.

Perez had profited from his stop under the second safety car and the Mexican was now third on soft tyres with fellow early stopper Ricciardo in fourth. Bottas was now fifth and engaged in a toe-to-toe battle with Raikkonen, while Sainz was seventh ahead of Kvyat, Massa and Button.

Both Perez and Ricciardo were now battling to keep their older tyres alive under pressure from the quicker cars of Bottas and Raikkonen. On lap 43, however, Ricciardo fell into DRS range of fifth-placed Bottas, while third-placed Perez was visibly struggling with front tyre wear.

On lap 45 Ricciardo could hold out no more and Bottas went past the Australian in Turn 2. Ricciardo defended hard against the next assault from Raikkonen but eventually the Finn got past under DRS on the main straight. Ricciardo’s hard work proved in vain as he exited the race just a lap later. The Australian reported that something was “broken on the car, suspension or something” and he stopped his Red Bull at Turn 8.

Further back Sainz in P9 was in trouble with his brakes and he following one spin he had another more terminal one at Turn 13 where he slid backwards into the barriers and out of the race.

The Spanish rookie reflected,”We could have had P6. We had great pace. With eight laps to go I crashed again. The barrier at Turn 13 and I are going to become friends I think.”

By lap 50 Bottas was inside DRS range of Perez but was struggling to get past the Mercedes-powered Force India man. Bottas was brave however and on one lap from home he braked late and pushed past the Mexican in Turn 13. Raikkonen seized the opportunity too and now the battle for third was between the Williams and Ferrari drivers.

Raikkonen closed in and attempted a risky overtake in Turn 4 of the final lap. The attempt failed and he collided with the Williams, taking Bottas out of the race.

Bottas was not happy and told reporters, “I got past Perez and approaching Turn Four someone hit me from behind. It’s really disappointing because it’s ruined my day. It feels pretty bad when it ends up like this. All the hard work doesn’t matter when you end up with zero points.”

With his own car damaged Raikkonen was forced to slow and explained, “I passed him [bottas] once before in the same place and thought I would try the pass and once I decide to go I can’t do anything if he doesn’t see me.

“We collided and it’s a shame. I tried to pass in the normal way but it ended in contact,” added the Finnish veteran who picked up a 30-second penalty that dropped him to eighth place.

Perez, despite his struggles, swept past and after Hamilton had crossed the line to claim his ninth victory of the season and Vettel took second, the Force India driver grabbed the fifth podium finish of his career and his first since the Bahrain GP of 2014.

Raikkonen was also passed by Massa and with the Ferrari driver fifth, sixth place went to Kvyat, with Nasr seventh ahead of Maldonado, Button and Alonso.

After the race Raikkonen was handed a 30 seconds penalty which dropped him to eighth, while Alonso was given a five second demotion for exceeding track limits which dropped him to 11th and out of the points which in turn promoted Verstappen to tenth.

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES ARE F1 CONSTRUCTORS’ WORLD CHAMPIONS AGAIN

The 2015 Formula 1 constructors’ world champions T-shirts were ready and waiting but Mercedes team bosses had left the Russian Grand Prix circuit long before anyone could wear them on Sunday.

Nearly two hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin had handed Lewis Hamilton the winner’s trophy, stewards finally produced a ruling that allowed Mercedes to celebrate their second successive title.

Needing to score three points more than nearest rivals Ferrari, Mercedes had been resigned to putting the celebrations on hold for another two weeks when their pole-sitter Nico Rosberg retired early on.

Even with Hamilton providing 25 points with his ninth victory in 15 races, Ferrari had taken 28 thanks to Sebastian Vettel’s second place and team mate Kimi Raikkonen’s fifth.

But Raikkonen was under investigation for a collision that cost fellow-Finn Valtteri Bottas third place for Williams and it was just a question of what kind of a penalty he was given.

A drop to eighth place left Ferrari with 22 points — and the celebrations could begin.

“We found out upstairs. It just feels special to be a part of it and to have contributed to a team success,” Hamilton told reporters as ‘We Are The Champions’ blared out from the team garages while mechanics packed up.

“It is a great, great, great feeling so I feel very proud,” added the Briton. “Tomorrow I am going to see the whole team.”

Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda will not be present but he revealed, before the final outcome was known, that he had already pre-recorded an address to the factories in Brackley and Brixworth.

“Everything was over-confident that we were going to win it here,” he said. “I even had to do a speech this morning for tomorrow because I can’t come tomorrow because of another commitment in Berlin.”

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff had told reporters on Saturday that the victory T-shirts were ready in the hospitality unit.

In the end, the preparations were not wasted and Dieter Zetsche, head of Mercedes-Benz and chairman of the board of management of parent company Daimler, was able to express his satisfaction for an ‘incredible moment’.

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars congratulated the team on its achievement, “After winning in 2014, we raised the bar again to secure this year’s title, and we needed to because our rivals gave us plenty of headaches as they stepped up their performance.”

“The work by our team is the perfect example of what drives Mercedes-Benz forward: the best technology. The most efficient hybrid petrol engine that our company has ever made, world-beating aerodynamics and intelligent design in every part of the W06 Hybrid racing car.

“Most importantly, though, we must not forget the human factor: we have two exceptional sportsmen at the wheel, Lewis and Nico, and a fantastic team behind the scenes, who have delivered 12 wins in 15 races so far this year. Their work has made every employee of Mercedes-Benz a world champion and we are very proud of them.”

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: THE CAR WAS FANTASTIC AND JUST KEPT GETTING BETTER

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel turned fourth on the grid for the Russian Grand Prix into second on the podium and with it took second place in the drivers’ championship points standings with four rounds remaining. He spoke afterwards about his afternoon at Sochi Autodrom.

Four podiums in a row; you’re on a bit of a roll…

Sebastian Vettel: Yeah. I didn’t count but that’s good news. It was a very good race. The car was fantastic and just kept better. At some point I was hoping there was a slight chance to catch Lewis but he had so much pace in hand, I think he wasn’t really pushing at the end. Yeah, great result. Obviously, it would have been nice to have both cars up on the podium, which I think was possible today. It was maybe close, but very happy with how the race went.

Can we go back to Singapore for a second, where you last won. This is more an indication that we’re going to see a big, big fight from Ferrari next year. Is that the way you see it?

SV: I hope so! That’s our target. Obviously we want to be a bit better in the race and make sure we give some really, really good challenge to the Mercedes. Currently they are still a bit ahead, but I think we are doing a very good job. We are focusing on ourselves and gaining step by step, getting a bit closer, so I think we are in a good direction and hopefully next year we can be closer.

You seemed to lose a bit of time behind your team-mate early on. Would you have liked your team to get him to let you through? And then a little later on you were pretty close, it’s fair to say – when you watch the replays on your video I think you’ll be surprised just how close it was with Kimi – some thoughts on that please.

SV: I think we both enjoyed… obviously I came out in front so enjoyed a little bit more than him but I think it would have been the wrong thing to do, to do on the radio and just take away the fight and the excitement from us. So, obviously, was already close at the first part in the opening laps. I tried it around the outside and it didn’t work into Turn One. Then I tried to pace myself a bit, then we had another Safety Car and then I knew the restart could be a good option and this time I tried it around the inside but it was very, very close. I’m looking forward to seeing the footage but it felt very, very close. Yeah, he was fair, just giving me enough room to survive, so it was a good battle. After that, yeah, it was obviously crucial, chasing down the Williams was the main priority with Valtteri out in front. We could do so, then even stay out a little bit longer than him. He was a bit in traffic, we still had some juice in the tyres left so that was crucial for us – I didn’t know how crucial it was after the stop to overtake Sergio. I thought that, yeah, we’ll quickly do through him but at that time I didn’t see how important it was. So maybe I surprised him a bit going into Turn 13. It’s quite tricky around the outside but I managed to pass him – which turned out to be very important as other people got stuck. So, very happy, did the moves when it mattered and yeah, had a great race. The car was fantastic to drive. Just got better at the end so really happy. Still a bit behind the Mercedes but I think it was closer today than it was yesterday so I’m very happy.

[MIKA27]

PEREZ: I’M GOING THROUGH A GREAT MOMENT IN MY CAREER

Force India driver Sergio Perez delivered a gutsy driver to claim third place in the Russian Grand Prix, at Sochi Autodrom, after making an inspired decision to pit for tyres during a safety car period.

Thereafter he delieverd a masterclass in tyre conservation hanging onto third until the final lap when both Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen squeezed past, demoting the Mexican to fifth. But a few corners later the two Finns collided and Perez was rewaded with a well deserved third place for his efforts. He spoke afterwards.

Checo, what a remarkable race. I thought it was all gone with a lap to go and there you were picking up the pieces and now you’re up here on the podium. I’m absolutely delighted for you, because it’s a long time since Bahrain [2014] when you were last on the podium. How does it feel?

Sergio Perez: It just feels great to be back with these boys. I have been enjoying so much my trip with all of them and yeah, as you say, one lap before the end it seemed that everything went away from us. At that point I was just really unhappy with myself, because many things come to your mind. But in the end, until my last lap I was like “OK, I gave it all”. There was no more I could. I had done plenty of laps with my tyres, so I had massive degradation on my front tyres especially, so in the last lap, when it came, it was just amazing. It’s very nice to give this second podium to my team.

We want to talk a little bit about Mexico, because we are going to your home country in a number of weeks. Excitement out there?

SP: Oh yes, massively. It will be a great place. The fans are great here in Russia, so thanks for all of that. But at the same time, Mexico is going to be my most special weekend of all, no matter what result I get, and I am sure the whole paddock of Formula One will be shocked with the support we get there.

You made that critical pit stop in the second safety car, it was right in that lovely window that I’m sure you were hoping for. You were very decisive in making that move but of course you had to do forty laps on a set of soft tyres. Of course you’ve been here before, you’ve done this before and it’s led to podiums before but is this one of the best days of your career given that we’re going to your home Grand Prix in just a few weeks time?

SP: Definitely I’m going through a great moment in my career. From where we are it’s difficult to realise but people who look at my performance, they can see that I’m at my best moment in my career and that’s something that makes me confident. I was confident going into the race, obviously not expecting a podium at all, but the race started quite well. Obviously Nico went out quite early, safety car came out. Then we had a second safety car and we decided to box. We were one of the few cars to box and I thought well… The restart going behind Felipe and Nasr, I was just stuck there and couldn’t get them so I decided to save my tyres together with the team, to look after them at the end of the race and it worked really well and I think we lost a podium one lap before the end but it was just very difficult to hold them back, to hold Valtteri and Raikkonen back. At the stage that my tyres were, I couldn’t brake very hard, very late because I was at risk of flat-spotting my tyres and retiring from the race, so there was a certain level of risk that I was able to take and I thought OK, if it’s not a podium, let’s really come back with the points and then in the last lap they had contact and it was very good to come back and give a second podium to the team, which I think we’re going into a great momentum. It’s great news that I’m staying with the team so we have a lot of momentum going through us and hopefully we can maintain it for the end of the year.

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES: A DAY WITH EVERY POSSIBLE EMOTION

Success in Sochi with Lewis Hamilton taking the win to secure the 2015 Constructors’ World Championship

• Lewis took his second Russian Grand Prix win, becoming only the ninth driver to win the first two Grand Prix at a new circuit
• The victory sealed the F1 Constructors’ Championship for Mercedes-Benz for the second time in a row
• The result also marks Lewis’ 9th win of the season and 42nd of his Formula One career, drawing him level with Sebastian Vettel in the all-time standings
• Nico was forced to retire on lap seven due to a failed throttle damper that the team are now investigating
• Both drivers started on the option tyres, with Lewis pitting for his only stop on lap 32 to change to the prime tyres
• Mercedes AMG Petronas now lead Ferrari by 172 points in the Constructors’ Championship
• Lewis now leads the Drivers’ Championship by 66 points from Vettel and 73 from Nico

Lewis Hamilton:”It’s just an amazing feeling today. I have a huge admiration for this team. Driving the car through that race, it just felt so good and this is what I’ve always dreamed of having. Even though you’re in the front, it’s still a hard race to stay in the zone and not make mistakes. We were only doing a one-stop, so you’re trying not to lock up and damage the tyres. I felt like it was a big challenge today. It’s a shame I didn’t get to race with Nico, which I was really excited about. I’m glad my car made it as the rear wing was getting a bit loose towards the end, so I had to stay off the kerbs and try not to damage the car. I’ve got to enjoy what’s going on now and cherish the moment; there are still lots of points available this year. To get the Constructors’ Championship feels very special and a great feeling to be a part of this and to have contributed to the team’s success. It’s really an amazing feeling and I’m very proud of them up there on the podium, to see all their smiling faces. I feel like a small part in the chain of many people; I’m proud of that part and I look forward to seeing the whole team tomorrow at the factory. I knew the guys were going to do a good job this year but they’ve done an even better job this year than last, which is phenomenal.”

Nico Rosberg: “Racing can be very tough. You put so much effort into a weekend but in the end I leave Russia with no points. A very disappointing weekend for me. It all went well until the Safety Car came out. My throttle pedal came into my direction. At one point I wasn’t able to steer anymore as I had to lift my foot too much and touched the steering wheel with my knee. In the recent months I had some unlucky moments, which made it hard in the battle against Lewis. But I will come back and keep pushing. We can be very happy that we secured the Constructors’ title a second time in a row. So it’s a good day for everyone in the factories and we have to thank all that made this happen.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “That was a day with every possible emotion: a bittersweet day on track, then a tense wait – and finally a confirmation that we have won a second world championship. Wow, there are never any simple days in this sport! But what a feeling it is to win a second title and a privilege to be part of this team. A world championship isn’t just about points on a scoreboard, it’s about many hours of hard work and sacrifice from every single member of the team, most of whom are away from the limelight and work with incredible dedication six or seven days a week. Well done to every one of them in Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart; you have done a sensational job. Likewise, it may sound like a corporate line, but I must say thank you to all of our partners who have supported us every step of the way to deliver this level of performance; they make a fundamental contribution to our success. As for the race itself, it was a bittersweet experience. Lewis drove a fantastic race and didn’t put a foot wrong even though he had some problems to manage, especially towards the end with an aerodynamic instability on his rear wing. But he brought the car home in a really controlled way and strengthened his lead, well done to him. But I’m gutted for Nico after a problem with his throttle mechanism forced him to retire. It shows how sport this cruel can be: he had a brilliant weekend and opening lap, and I can only take my hat off to him about how he handled the situation, both in the car trying to find a solution – and afterwards in his professionalism. It’s another reminder to us that, even with the steps forward we have taken on reliability this year, our work is never done and we need to keep focusing on every tiny detail. But now we can sit back and savour the moment: the party will start tomorrow back at base!”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “Fantastic news to get the second World Championship. A very strange way to get this now as a result of the penalty but the result still stands; a great credit to the teams at Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart for the fantastic effort that brought us to this stage with such dominance to win the Constructors’ Championship before the end of the season. In the race itself, it was good to see both cars make a good start today and get cleanly through Turn Two. After the early Safety Car a problem emerged with Nico’s throttle control, preventing him from lifting off fully and in an inconsistent manner. Eventually this got so bad, we retired the car. It’s emerged as a mechanical failure of the throttle pedal damper, which was causing a blockage. We are very sorry to Nico to lose so many points from the lead. A much better day for Lewis; there were some issues to manage in terms of whether to pit under the safety car, but we picked the right strategy and had good pace and tyre consistency through the race to manage the gap well. He did have a bit of an issue with his rear wing towards the second half of the race which became worse towards the end, where we were seeing some loss of downforce during braking. We had to warn him about that and we will find out in due course what was causing that. A great win for Lewis in the end, so congratulations to him.”

[MIKA27]

FERRARI: OUR DRIVERS ARE WELL AWARE OF OUR RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

At the end of the 53 laps of the Russian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel came home in second place. This result moves the German up to second in the Drivers’ classification.

This Russian podium is Vettel’s eleventh of the season.

There were tense moments all the way to the end for Kimi Raikkonen, who took the chequered flag in fifth place, having collided with fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas on the final lap. Lewis Hamilton won the race for Mercedes.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “Once again, as I said many times before, I was impressed by Seb’s skills. He proved to be a good asset for the team and he shows at every race what a great driver he is. He drives a very good car, that’s for sure, but he can add that little extra that is a champion’s trademark. As for his battle with Kimi in the first stages of the race, our drivers are well aware that the team has its rules of engagement: so it was a nice fight between two great drivers. Our race strategy was the right one, congratulations to Iñaki Rueda: if Kimi had managed to get past Bottas in the final round, that would have further shown that we were on the right tactics. It’s up to the Stewards to decide on the accident they had, but to me it clearly looked like a normal race episode. [Raikkonen received a 30 seconds penalty after the race] Now Seb is running second in the Drivers’ standing and, mathematically, the race to the championship is still open: but our humbleness says this is not the case. So, as a priority, we have to work race-by-race to consolidate our current position”.

Kimi Raikkonen: “All through the race the car was behaving well, especially after the pit stop, but then I was stuck behind other cars and had no speed on the straight, so it was hard to get past. In the final stages, I tried to overtake Valtteri in the same place I had passed him earlier in the race, I had a good run in turn 3 and in the next one there would have been enough space, so I decided to go for it. I don’t know if he was not expecting me at all or if he did not see me, but once I decided to go there was no way I could back off. I tried to turn inside as much as I could, but there was no way to go and in the end we collided. It is an unfortunate thing for us and for them, nobody want to have an accident even if it’s part of racing. It’s really a shame, but my move was based on a good chance and not something completely crazy.”

Sebastian Vettel: “Overall I am very happy. It was a great day, a great race and I felt really good in the car. In particular I am very happy for the Team, they have done a great job, after the lacking practice the days before. My start was not so good, I struggled a little bit, but as the race went on I fought my way to the front. After the safety car came in I could overtake Kimi and start the hunt for Williams. As for my fight with Kimi, first of all I think we both enjoyed the battle that since it was still so early in the race, it was right to let us fight to provide some excitement. In the end I was just able to finish my race. Lewis deserved the win, but we were maybe closer than some had expected.”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN: WE’RE GETTING THERE

They say that to finish first, first you have to finish. While we did not achieve the former, we certainly did the latter – and on an afternoon when many did not. As a result, McLaren-Honda scored two points, Jenson taking full advantage of the chaos in the closing laps to secure ninth. Fernando finished 10th, but was later demoted to 11th, following a stewards’ decision, for corner-cutting.

From the start, both drivers raced on the fringes of the top 10, but were gradually pushed back as other cars overtook them. Both drivers pitted under the Safety Car dispatched to enable Romain Grosjean’s Lotus to be cleared from the track, and then successfully measured their tyres and fuel to the end.

Late-race retirements for Carlos Sainz Jnr, Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas helped both our drivers into the points.

*Alonso was given a five seconds penalty and dropped to 11th.

Fernando Alonso: “To have both cars finish in the top 10 at a circuit where we didn’t expect to fare well, was a nice surprise. It was just a shame to lose out afterwards [owing to a 5s penalty for corner-cutting]. In fact, the car performed very well in the race – I think we were able to look after the tyres a little bit better than the cars around us, and, on an afternoon where every little bit helped, we made the most of that. We’ll now hope for more performance at the next race, in the USA. It’ll be tough, and we’ll have to remain realistic, but I’m definitely happy with today’s result. Now, we can keep moving forwards and improve things for the future.”

Jenson Button: “Today, we did everything right, did the best we could, and we took home some points. I was a sitting duck for the first couple of laps: I couldn’t really fight off the people behind, my deployment was cutting off at the end of the straights, so it was very easy for people to overtake. That was tricky: they were trying to pass me into Turn 13, which is a pretty scary place, especially when you don’t have DRS and can’t gauge the closing speed of the cars behind. Still, it wasn’t bad. I was racing Fernando for the whole race, which was all I could really do, as all the other cars were quicker. We haven’t made massive progress with the car’s performance, but we did lots of interesting things with the set-up this weekend. We’ll analyse those and see whether they paid off or not.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: “Rarely, if ever, have two world championship points been harder earned or more richly deserved, for Jenson and Fernando both drove the wheels off their MP4-30s here in Sochi today. This circuit isn’t one that suits our car well, and our boys duly found it difficult to defend their positions on the straights in particular. But they didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon, finishing ninth and 10th on the road, and I’m delighted that, as a result, we were able to score another points finish, even though sadly Fernando later lost his 10th place in the stewards’ room. I’d also like to say ‘well done’ to our friends at Honda, whose power units again performed with commendable reliability. We’ve got a lot of work still to do, but the good news is that, together, we’re successfully doing it. Next up is the United States Grand Prix at Austin, where we’re hoping to continue making steady progress. We know we’re not where we want to be yet, but we’re getting there.”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “I’m glad to have two cars home after such a chaotic race – and for Jenson to score two points for ninth position. Not only was this a difficult track for our power units, but there were also two Safety Car incidents and many more retirements. Our drivers and team remained calm throughout the afternoon, and we were able to stick to our strategies. I’m sure it was difficult to save fuel, keep calm, and push when needed during the race, but I think we came together in the end as a team. This points finish will be good motivation for further improvement at our next grand prix, in the United States.”

[MIKA27]

LOTUS: NOT OUR STRONGEST WEEKEND

Romain Grosjean emerged unscathed from a high speed tangle with the barriers whilst Pastor Maldonado finished in eighth in today’s Russian Grand Prix.

Romain had been fighting back from a pit stop to replace his front wing after first lap contact before hitting the barriers and retiring on lap 12.

Romain Grosjean, DNF: “I lost the rear end in a very high speed corner going through turn three and couldn’t recover it. We don’t know exactly why yet. We need to check what has happened – was it a driver error or something technical? – we’ll see. I feel sorry for the guys because there will be a lot of work to repair the car. I feel okay physically and I’ll certainly be a bit sore tomorrow morning, but I’ll be completely fine again after a couple of days. We lost some good points today but let’s understand what happened and look forward to the next race.”

Pastor Maldonado: “It was a bit tough today but we opted for the right strategy from the beginning starting on the soft tyres and going longer on the first run. Unfortunately we lost a lot of time on the second stint with the new super soft tyres. Our car didn’t perform as expected at the beginning of the run but then after a few laps we started to get back into the rhythm. We scored points today which is very positive for the team and hopefully we can continue to do so in the next races.”

Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal: “The most important thing from today is that Romain’s okay after his crash. We were all very relieved when we saw him jump out of the car and he was his usual happy self when he came to the garage to tell everyone about what happened. Pastor had a solid race into the points from a less than ideal starting position so a good performance from him.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We are looking at the data and speaking with Romain to ascertain what happened but obviously we’re glad all the safety measures did what they should. Pastor was able to make progress in a race that saw a reasonable amount of incidents. Not our strongest weekend so we’ll be looking to do better in Austin.”