FORMULA 1 - 2015

[smokum]

I miss the old days !

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FIA NEARLY STOPPED MCLAREN USING NEW SHORT NOSE MP4-30

McLaren’s all-new short nose on the latest version of the MP4-30 was almost shelved ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

The British team reportedly tried and failed to pass the FIA’s mandatory crash testing with the new concept in the weeks leading up to its debut on Friday.

But even with the crash tests finally passed, the nose almost had to be shelved in Austria, the German publication Auto Motor und Sport reports.

Indeed, the FIA’s technical chief Jo Bauer was spotted in the McLaren-Honda garage on Friday.

“We still have some paperwork to do before we can use it,” confirmed a hurried team boss Eric Boullier at the time.

It emerges that the monocoque fitted to the short nose when it finally passed the crash tests was a different version to the one being raced in Austria.

Paddock reports suggest the ‘crash test’ monocoque was a special lightweight one that the British team wants to debut at home at Silverstone in a fortnight.

With a bundle of paperwork, McLaren had to prove that the short nose would also have passed the crash tests with the original, Austria-spec monocoque.

Boullier admits the Woking based team has pushed hard with car development in 2015, “It’s a new car. The only thing we haven’t changed is the sidepods.”

However, McLaren will not shine in Austria. Honda is still grappling with poor reliability, and on Sunday Fernando Alonso will be at the back of the grid and also serving mid-race penalties due to taking a fifth engine.

But he is at the wheel of McLaren’s car improvements and will then return to action in the post-race test next week, saying of the trip to Austria: “This (race weekend) is another test for us.

“We will see what we can do on Saturday and in qualifying, but the (grid) position is irrelevant,” Alonso told Spanish reporters.

“We take this whole weekend as a test, as the car has many improvements and we have a lot to experiment with. If we finish on Sunday with some answers, then everything will have gone well for us,” he added.

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FERRARI OWN DAY ONE BUT TEAM BOSS NEARLY GETS RUN OVER

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was first and last in Austrian Grand Prix practice on a Friday that team principal Maurizio Arrivabene will not forget in a hurry after nearly being run over by Felipe Massa.

Vettel completed only four laps in the morning session before pulling over with a gearbox problem but he did 28 in the afternoon and ended the day with the fastest lap of one minute 09.600 seconds.

Fellow-German Nico Rosberg, last year’s winner who set the pace for Mercedes before lunch, was second with a time just 0.11 slower than the four times champion on an afternoon with occasional spots of rain and sporadic sunshine. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest in both sessions.

If that put a smile on Arrivabene’s face, it made up for the shock he showed when he tried to cross the pitlane just as former Ferrari driver Massa was being released from the Williams garage.

As the Brazilian braked, the Italian jumped back and then saluted him with both men able to laugh off the scare afterwards.

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who has yet to win in Austria, was second fastest in the morning but only fifth in the afternoon after making a series of errors.

The Briton sounded tetchy on the team radio in the first session when his time was 0.308 slower than Rosberg’s.

“How many changes do you guys want me to do, can I just focus on driving?,” the 30-year-old said over the team radio in response to one request.

Several drivers, including Hamilton, ran off at the penultimate corner on an overcast day after a damp start to the morning.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, with a big upgrade on his car but an even bigger 20 place grid penalty coming his way after changes to the engine, was only 17th and 16th fastest respectively.

The Spaniard’s car broke down before he had done a lap and he was confined to the garage until the final 15 minutes of the first session.

Both McLarens were then stopped well before the end of the afternoon with Jenson Button reporting a ‘massive’ lack of power.

Valtteri Bottas was fourth fastest for Mercedes-powered Williams in the morning, at the track where the Finn took his first podium finish last year, but dropped to 14th in the second stint as the team focused on high fuel runs.

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Austrian GP: McLaren changes more engine parts on both F1 cars

McLaren-Honda drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso will go into the Austrian Grand Prix with massive grid penalties after further problems in Red Bull Ring Formula 1 practice.

Alonso was already in line for a penalty of at least 20 places due to engine component changes made prior to Friday's sessions.

The team's racing director Eric Boullier said issues relating to a spark plug problem on Button's car on Friday would mean an engine change for him too, and with its weekend already compromised McLaren would replace as many components as possible.

Regarding Button's penalty, Boullier told AUTOSPORT: "Tomorrow, 25[-place penalty], because we have 20 we said 'you know what, change the MGU-K as well'."

Asked if McLaren was starting to have to regard the 2015 F1 season as an extended test, Boullier replied: "Yes but I think it's damaging. We don't want that."

Alonso lost running to problems with both an electrical harness connection and the gearbox in the morning, before Button's spark plug problem led to both cars being parked in practice two.

"Obviously it's the same spec on Fernando's car and Fernando is running his fifth ICE, so we didn't want to run until we have a proper investigation and proper feedback from Honda," Boullier explained.

The extent of the McLaren drivers' grid penalties means they will also receive time penalties in the race as they will not be able to drop sufficient places in the qualifying order to fully serve the punishments on Saturday.

Alonso said McLaren's Friday problems had been small but costly.

"It's so complex, in Formula 1 these days little things stop cars running," he said.

"A wrong number in the software doesn't allow the car to take first gear and you stay in the garage until you discover that number is wrong."

UPGRADE PROMISING

McLaren has brought a substantial aerodynamic upgrade to Austria, based around a shorter nose, which was run on Alonso's car in practice.

Despite the limited running, Boullier said signs were positive.

"At first sight, it looks like the new package is delivering what has been promised by the simulation," he said.

"I don't know the exact numbers as we have not done enough runs, but at least based on driver comments what they described on the car is what we were expecting.

"It's a new front wing concept around this short nose - new deflectors, new floor, new wing. More downforce, it's purely aerodynamic."

The upgrade was not run until practice two due to what Boullier described as a "paperwork" issue relating to its crash test.

"We had a little bit of paperwork to do with the FIA, it was a little misunderstanding," he said. "We had to show more information."

Although the upgrade was only scheduled to appear on Alonso's car in Austria, Button believes he could get use of it too.

"There's a chance I might be running with it tomorrow," he said.

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Upgraded Williams closer to front than ever - Bottas

Valtteri Bottas believes a top-three grid slot is possible for Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, adding Williams looks to have closed the gap to Formula 1 rival Ferrari on long-run pace.

Williams, which has been the third quickest team on pace this year, brought a big update package to the Red Bull Ring.

Although the Finn was only 14th fastest in Friday practice, he said Williams had not shown its true pace yet.

"I think we have made a step forward," said Bottas, who joined team-mate Felipe Massa on an all-Williams front row in Austria last year.

"I think everything worked as expected.

"Last year we were really strong in qualifying and in the race and I think we will be strong again but if we will be as strong as last year, that is difficult to say.

"The second row is definitely possible, we are going for it. The top three is the target for qualifying.

"I think we will be really close and definitely be closer to the front than any race before.

"Hopefully we will be really close to Ferrari and fighting for a top-three position."

Asked if Williams could challenge Mercedes in qualifying as it did 12 months ago, Bottas replied: "You never know. We are not that far away here."

Bottas was also encouraged by Williams's long-run pace, especially relative to Ferrari.

"So far this season, Ferrari in race runs in practice have been much quicker," he said. "I think we seem to be quite strong in the race pace.

"I'm feeling good for the weekend. With the new bits on the car, it is creating more downforce, so the car feels better and better every time I drive it."

LOTUS HOPING TO CHALLENGE WILLIAMS

Williams will face a challenge from Lotus in Austria, reckons Pastor Maldonado.

After a strong weekend in Canada, where the Venezuelan scored his first points of the season, Maldonado finished fourth in second practice on Friday, with team-mate Romain Grosjean seventh.

"Williams has good pace, they didn't show everything today, but we are expecting to see them be strong tomorrow. I hope we can challenge them," said Maldonado.

"But we are not very far from Ferrari today.

"I think it is possible for us to be in the top five but it will be tough as the time deltas between the cars will be close."

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AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX: ROSBERG BEATS HAMILTON FAIR AND SQUARE

Nico Rosberg delivered a flawless performance at the Austrian Grand Prix to score his third victory of the season, beating his Mercedes teammate fair and square in a tense contest in the Styrian mountains, marred by a scary first lap collision between the sport’s most experienced campaigners Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso – neither were hurt.

As the red lights went dark Rosberg blitzed off the start line, from second place on the grid, to take the lead and stayed in front throughout the 71 laps to score his 11th career victory and the second consecutive victory at Red Bull Ring.

After celebrating in orchestra conductor style Rosberg said, “It’s an awesome feeling to win again here. The start made the race. It was a great start and I managed to defend in the first couple of corners. I was really happy with the car and to see the gap open up to Lewis.”

Three of the past four races have gone to Rosberg and he now lies 10 points adrift of championship points leader Hamilton.

Not only did the Briton fluff his lines at the start, he also crossed the pit exit line after his first and only pit stop which earned him a five second penalty. From that point on it was game, set and match to Rosberg, who did the real race winning work during a commanding spell around the halfway mark, in which he also set the fastest lap of the grand prix.

At one point, before the stops, Hamilton was within a couple of seconds of the leading Mercedes, and a battle was still in the offing. But Rosberg pitted first, while Hamilton stayed out for another two laps which in the end hurt him and probably contributed to his haste in leaving the pits.

Hamilton acknowledged, “Nico did a fantastic job today. He was quicker during the race. I had a bad start which lost me ground. In the second stint it was just about making the distance so that’s what we tried to do.”

Round 8 of the title race thus belonged to Rosberg who will no doubt be highly motivated to take the fight to Hamilton in the two races before the summer break, while Mercedes will celebrate yet another 1-2 in Lauda-Wolff Land as it appears the dominant team have found another notch in that ‘Magic Button’ of theirs.

After Montreal much was said and expected of the Ferrari challenge to Mercedes, but this did not materialise and the Reds will head back to Maranello lamenting a weekend packed with mistakes and mishaps which probably started with a woeful qualifying performance or maybe it all began when team boss Maurizio Arrivabene was nearly run over in the pitlane on Friday…

Whatever the case Vettel never looked to threaten the Silver Arrows, and third was a given until a pitstop blunder dropped him to fourth behind Felipe Massa in the Williams. The German pursued for all he was worth, got close but not close enough. Once again, in the space of two weeks Ferrari showed how to turn a certain podium finish into fourth place.

Massa on the other hand did a good job and was well placed to take advantage of Vettel’s pit stop delay, and thereafter did what was required to keep the attacking Ferrari at bay for the final half dozen laps. Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas was fifth, making it another good weekend for the Grove outfit in Austria.

Massa said of his race, “It’s great people here supporting. It was a fantastic race today. We managed to get Sebastian with his pit problem and pass him there. I understood that at the end of the race he would be behind me because they were one or two tenths quicker every lap. But I managed to keep the line and just use the experience.”

Earlier Raikkonen’s luck got no better as he was eliminated in a first lap shunt in which his Ferrari was mounted by Alonso’s all new short-nose McLaren.

It appeared the Finn lost the back-end which went into a slither which he could not control, the car veered right and collided scarily with the McLaren of Alonso. The TV footage was inconclusive – was there a tap? Or did the Ferrari simply break grip? Nevertheless it was a certain early shower for the F1 veterans, who shook hands as they emerged unscathed from their expensive wrecks.

Alonso gave his version afterwards, “It was obviously quite scary. Kimi started with the prime tyre, which probably didn’t help for the level of grip. He exited Turn 2 with a lot of wheelspin so the car was moving. We were all overtaking him left and right and when he lost the car to the left I was on the left.”

“We went both on the wall and I was lucky to not hit him on the head. I was braking but my wheels were in the air. Luckily we were both fine. I was in the wrong place. It was a very strange incident. He lost the car in fifth gear or something like that,” added the Spaniard.

Back to the race where Le Mans winner Nico Hulkenberg was in good spirits all weekend, and delivered a strong showing to finish sixth, with Force India teammate Sergio Perez ninth doing the world of good to their constructors’ championship standings.

Sandwiched between the Force India duo were Pastor Maldonado and Max Verstappen who delivered the biggest (heart-stopping) moments of the race as they dueled for position. Maldonado’s swerve on the main straight to duck out of Verstappen’s slipstream was extreme and the Venezuelan was lucky he did not spear into the barriers at high speed.

Nevertheless if F1 fans want entertainment, Maldonado and Verstappen delivered big dollops of the stuff on their way to seventh and eighth respectively.

Daniel Ricciardo toiled hard all afternoon, running a fifty lap first stint on the softs before bolting on super softs to salvage a point for Red Bull in their home race, albeit a lap down on the winners.

In closing we cannot ignore yet another dark day, make that dark weekend, for the McLaren-Honda partnership. Alonso was out early in their short nose MP4-30, which was hardly a revelation when it was going around, and Jenson Button retired immediately after the safety car period, which meant he did no laps in anger.

All weekend things were very bleak for the second most successful team in F1 history and hard to believe but matters worsened on race day – all watched by Honda’s new president Takahiro Hachigo from the McLaren pit garage…

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RENAULT: WE WILL POWER RED BULL AND TORO ROSSO IN 2016

Renault says it is sure it will continue to power Red Bull’s cars next year, despite the mud slinging feud engulfing the two organisations.

The news comes amid swirling rumours about the future in F1 of the energy drink company, with owner Dietrich Mateschitz threatening to quit and reports Red Bull received an offer to become a Ferrari ‘customer’ next year.

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, however, told reporters he thinks Mateschitz’s quit threat is not quite that simple.

“He’s been in F1 longer than people realise and he’s always supported it,” he said of the Austrian billionaire. “Actually, I think he’s an intelligent guy — he knows what he says and what the effects are.”

Among direct rivals Mercedes and Ferrari, however, the immediate ‘effect’ was some criticism of Red Bull’s threats.

“It’s easy to be happy when you are winning four championships,” said Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene, “and easy to complain when you are not winning anymore.

“You have to accept when something is going wrong and happy when something is going right,” he added.

Toto Wolff, Mercedes chief, agreed that Red Bull is finding defeat difficult to deal with, “But one cannot always call for new rules when things are not going well. It would be better to analyse where you are going wrong, as we had to do in 2012.

“Before pointing the finger at someone,” Wolff added, “my strategy would be to make sure I am getting it right myself.”

Indeed, Red Bull’s finger-pointing has been mainly in the direction of Renault. Denying that Mateschitz wants to quit F1, Bernie Ecclestone suggested a change of scene might be the smart move.

“It doesn’t mean that because he’s falling out of love he wants a divorce,” the F1 supremo told reporters. “He just needs a new girlfriend.”

But amid rumours Red Bull’s ‘new girlfriend’ might be Ferrari, Renault engineer Remi Taffin was quoted by Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper: “I am sure that we will be supplying power units to Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso in 2016.”

And he predicts Red Bull might feel better about its engine situation towards the end of this season.

“At the end of July, the first stage is coming,” said Taffin, referring to planned performance upgrades that are in the pipeline. “And then another comes after the summer break in late August.”

As for Renault’s bigger plans, such as taking over a team like Lotus, Taffin said only president and CEO Carlos Ghosn can take that decision.

Gerhard Berger, meanwhile, is a long-time colleague and confidante of Mateschitz, and whilst wearing a Red Bull-branded jacket on Saturday, he admitted the billionaire is currently “looking for the right solution”.

“Clearly he wants to get back to winning,” Berger told ORF, “as the team and the car is still good, but the engine is not powerful.”

As for Red Bull becoming a Ferrari customer, however, he said: “I don’t know if that’s the right move. I think if you are a customer team of Ferrari or Mercedes, you will never get their support for victory.”

But Berger says Mateschitz already knows that, “I don’t need to recommend anything to Didi. He knows the business inside and out and will make the right decisions.”

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ARRIVABENE: EASY TO COMPLAIN WHEN YOU ARE NOT WINNING

Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene made it clear in Austria that he has little sympathy with Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s threats to quit Formula 1 if his team remains uncompetitive and cannot win.

The swarthy Italian, a long-serving part of Ferrari who are the only team to have remained a constant in the championship since 1950, dismissed the Austrian’s comments with a withering response.

“F1 is like this,” he said. “It is easy to be happy when you are winning four championships or easy to complain when you are not winning any more.

“You could have a couple of years when you are winning and a couple when you are losing and this is the beauty because if everything is predictable it is not a race, it is something different. You have to accept when something is gone wrong and happy when something is going right.”

Ferrari entered F1 in 1950 and have experienced highs and lows including six successive constructors’ titles from 1999 to 2004, but have been without a team trophy for six years.

Red Bull entered in 2005 and won four successive titles from 2010 to 2013.

To many paddock observers, it looks clear that Mateschitz was revealing his commitment to winning and putting pressure on Renault, a position he clarified on Saturday when he suggested the French company is his only option for 2016, if he stays in F1.

Earlier in the week, he had said Renault’s lack of competitive performance had undermined Red Bull’s motivation and ambition.

“We will not endure a third season in these circumstances,” said Mateschitz, following meetings at the Red Bull Ring circuit with F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.

“Last year, we at least could secure second in the world championship and score three wins, but this season we are nowhere.”

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ALONSO: I’M ENJOYING MY JOB

Fernando Alonso has credited McLaren with restoring the motivation he lost after five years at Ferrari, despite toiling at the wrong end of proceedings this year as Honda make a wearisome return to Formula 1.

“I don’t have any regrets because I’m happy now,” the Spaniard told reporters after his team’s dismal start to the Formula One season and new partnership with Honda showed no let-up in Saturday’s Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.

“I’m enjoying the weekends, I’m enjoying my job and I need this motivation. I lost motivation last year. To be second or third for so many years with not really any progress… without motivation it is very difficult to work and I have all that back now,” added the double champion.

Alonso has yet to score a point in seven races this season and McLaren, in a new partnership with Honda, plumbed new depths on Saturday when he and Jenson Button picked up 25-place grid penalties.

At Ferrari, Alonso won races and ended up second in the championship in three seasons but the title was always out of reach.

The Spaniard said he was sad not to be fighting for the podium but progress was being made, “I see the Q3 (final phase of qualifying) normally on television unfortunately now.”

“I saw the top three in the press conference and they were very sad,” he smiled. “They were angry. One because he spun in turn one, one because he spun in the last corner and the other because he’s third whatever the conditions.

“I was in that position for five years,” he said of Sebastian Vettel, third for Ferrari behind the dominant Mercedes duo of champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

“So I am enjoying the challenge of being in this project from zero, the very bottom because we are not very competitive, but if we can achieve something important together this will be fantastic and taste better.”

McLaren’s Racing Director Eric Boullier expected more penalties in the coming races as McLaren and Honda wrestled with reliability.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a new record in the Guinness book by the end of the season,” said the Frenchman who felt the rules limiting engine development and usage needed to change.

“We have to respect the rules but I find it sad for Formula One to have two world champions like Jenson and Fernando sitting at the back of the grid.”

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FERRARI: A COMPLICATED AFTERNOON

The Austrian Grand Prix was a difficult race for Scuderia Ferrari.

Kimi Raikkonen was involved in a frightening accident with Fernando Alonso on the opening lap, luckily with neither driver sustaining any injury.

Sebastian Vettel was also out of luck: a problem with the left rear wheel nut at his pit stop complicated his race, as his stop was inevitably too long and he rejoined in fourth place. From then on the German chased down Felipe Massa, but despite gradually closing on the Brazilian, the bottom step of the podium eluded him and he had to settle for fourth.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “Which positives can we take from this weekend? Not many, but certainly once more we are aware that Sebastian was the big asset we could get this year, together with a team which is fully committed and now is said to be the second force in the championship. But I’d like us to be the first, and that means we have to commit ourselves beyond what’s possible. We must use whatever we have available and try to get as close as we can to our main competitors, taking advantage of their mistakes. Also, as per the time we lost during Seb’s unfortunate pit stop, we must work with humbleness: because, even if everything had gone well, that wouldn’t have been enough to beat both Mercedes on track. But this only prods us to never give up”.

Kimi Raikkonen: “I don’t know exactly what happened before the crash, I had some wheelspin in an unusual place. I was at a quite high speed, suddenly went left and end up there. I did not see anything coming, everything happened very quickly. Unfortunately at that time my race was over, it has been a poor weekend, now we have to think about next one.”

Sebastian Vettel: “The issue during the pit-stop is something that can happen: I had a problem, but generally the guys are the quickest on the pit lane so there’s nobody to blame. We are a team and when you push to the limit these things can occur. I would have preferred to get the trophy for third place of course, but we’ll come back next year with the same objective. The car was very good, I think we made another step ahead and we had a great pace. This is a very short lap so there’s not so much to create, but in the next races there are more high speed corners and we can better show that we’re a bit closer even if today’s result doesn’t show so well. In the last part of the race I’ve tried to stay close to Felipe, but he was very quick on the straights. Today was a bit disappointing because we’ve lost the podium, but I’m sure tomorrow it will be better and we’ll focus on the next race: the team in Maranello is very committed to this and they’re all working hard.”

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WILLIAMS: A GOOD RESULT FOR THE TEAM

Williams report from the Austrian Grand Prix, Round 8 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Red Bull Ring.

Race Notes:

• Felipe Massa finished third and Valtteri Bottas fifth in today’s Austrian Grand Prix.
• After an early safety car, Valtteri and Felipe were running fourth and sixth respectively, before pitting for their one and only stops of the race.
• After Valtteri’s pitstop he had to re-pass Hulkenberg to claim fifth, while Felipe capitalised on an error in the Ferrari pitstop and overtook Vettel.
• In the closing stages of the race Felipe held off heavy pressure from Vettel to claim his first podium of the season.

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “Third and fifth is a good result for the team. We wanted to get a podium today and so made the most of the opportunities we were given and we weren’t going to let it go once we had it. We have kept quicker cars behind us on three occasions already this season which shows the great race craft the drivers have. Felipe did a great job under such pressure and Valtteri had a strong race with some very solid overtaking manoeuvres.”

Felipe Massa: “I am delighted with the result, the team did a great job and it was a fantastic race. We made the most of the slower Ferrari pitstop and took all the opportunities that came to us to achieve my first podium of the year. The team were pushing me a lot throughout the final stages of the race and I was doing my best to keep Vettel behind. I knew it was not the time to make mistakes and it was amazing to bring it home.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It is a good result for the team. I was hoping for a bit more from the race personally. I enjoyed the overtaking that I made, it was just a shame it wasn’t further up. Midway through the race I had a brake issue which I had to manage a bit. We have closed the gap to the team in front in the Constructor’s Championship which is a good feeling. Well done to Felipe on a great result to get on the podium.”

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SAUBER: A VERY DISAPPOINTING RACE

The Sauber F1 Team ended the Austrian Grand Prix in 11th (Nasr) and 13th (Ericsson). A disappointing result considering the starting positions 8th and 11th. Felipe Nasr struggled with overheating brakes, therefore, the Brazilian was not able to keep up his pace.

Marcus Ericsson’s race was compromised by a jump start, which cost him a drive-through-penalty. In addition, after an incident on lap one, the Swede had a damaged car which affected his performance and was followed by an electronic issue.

Marcus Ericsson: “It began at the start with me being to eager and jumping the start. On lap one I went over debris, which destroyed both my front and rear wing. I had an early first pit stop to get a new front wing, but we saw on the data that my pace was compromised. Furthermore, I had an electronic issue, so the car switched off twice, which forced me to restart it again.”

Felipe Nasr: “I am disappointed with this result. I struggled a lot with overheating brakes. I was not able to brake properly, therefore it was difficult to defend my position. Looking back from where we started, we expected to be in the points today, and I did everything I could to make it happen. We need to find a solution, as we cannot loose such opportunites.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “A very disappointing race because we had chances to score points when looking at our grid positions. For Marcus, the race was immediately affected by a jump start and a damaged car. Felipe had huge difficulties with the brakes, which compromised his race pace, so he was not able to keep hold of his position. We now need to find a solution for these issues.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “A day of missed opportunities. Marcus’ race was compromised very early on by a jump start, which cost him a drive-through-penalty. Due to a damaged rear wing, he lost downforce which affected the performance of his car. Felipe had issues with the brakes that became severe during the second half of the race. Therefore he could not keep up with the pace, so he was not able to finish the race in the points. A disappointing Sunday for all of us.”

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MERCEDES: IT COULDN’T BE BETTER

Silver Arrows sparkle in Spielberg with superb 1-2 finish!

• Nico took his third win of the 2015 season and the 11th of his Formula One career to date
• Lewis completed a Silver Arrows 1-2 for the second consecutive season in Spielberg with P2
• Felipe Massa and Williams made it an all Mercedes-Benz powered podium in P3
• Lewis now leads Nico by 10 points in the Driver’s Championship, with Mercedes AMG Petronas heading Ferrari by 136 in the Constructor’s standings.

Nico Rosberg: “Wow, what a day! It feels so great to win again in Austria. It’s such a special track – very tricky and with a fantastic crowd. After my mistake yesterday in qualifying I was determined to push really hard to win this race. I had a good start and went into turn one in the lead, which was very important as I knew from past races this year that it’s very difficult to overtake the same car on track. After I passed Lewis I was able to control the lead quite comfortably. Towards the end I felt some vibrations on the right front tyre but I was able to manage it to the flag. Big thanks to the team for a great car and a perfect race. Now I’m really looking forward to Silverstone, where I have good memories with the pole last year and the win in 2013.”

Lewis Hamilton: “It was a pretty straightforward race. I didn’t have the best start. I had a problem with the revs in that, when I came off the throttle, the revs stayed up. So, when I dropped the clutch, I had too much wheel spin and lost ground. That’s something we’ll look at after the race. Then, I was keeping up with Nico in the first stint – but in the second phase he just had better pace. At the end it was just about bringing it home – but Nico deserved the win so congratulations to him.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “I’m very happy with the result today, especially at my and Niki’s home circuit here in Spielberg. It’s even more special because we have three Mercedes engines in the top three for the second year in a row; it couldn’t be better. Nico drove a brilliant and dominant race today – he got a great start, had the upper hand on pace and made no mistakes at all. Both boys were right on the limit, as you could see when Nico came into the pit lane sideways for his pit stop! As for Lewis, his race boiled down to the start and the pit stop; he lost out off the line, which we will need to analyse, then looked to have a snap oversteer as he left the pit lane and put two wheels over the line. From there, he just brought the car home and managed the gap to Felipe behind. Like in 2014, we are seeing the advantage swing from driver to driver across the races, and I’m sure they’ll be battling all the way to the end of the season.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “A fantastic result to achieve another 1-2 and particularly so at a home race for Toto and Niki. The start was not ideal for Lewis, so he lost the benefit of pole position. There was no particular issue – Nico just managed to get away slightly better and there was actually not much in it away from the line. After the very early safety car, it then became clear that Nico had a slight pace advantage over Lewis – but more importantly that our car was showing a bigger advantage than we had anticipated over Ferrari. It therefore became more of a battle between our two drivers up until the first round of stops. Lewis, of course, was then handed a time penalty for a very small error. The number of errors that either he or Nico make is very small indeed and I think this highlighted that rarity rather than presenting any cause for concern. From there, it became clear to Lewis that the race win was out of reach barring any dramas, which gave us the luxury of managing the cars home for a great 1-2 finish.”

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RED BULL: THE RESULTS WERE PRETTY MUCH AS EXPECTED

Red Bull report from the Austrian Grand Prix, Round 8 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Red Bull Ring.

Daniel Ricciardo: “I was pleased with the car during the race. I was trying to push as much as I could towards the end to catch Perez but the boys behind me were fighting for the podium and I had to respect that. I was really happy with the option tyre, the balance of the car worked well. To finish tenth is a good result from where we started today. I’m staying on here for a day’s testing this week and I hope that despite the bad weather forecast we’ll be able to get some useful work done before the next round in Silverstone.”

Daniil Kvyat:“It was a very tough race today. The front wing was damaged on the first lap and from then on my race was massively compromised. The bodywork damage affected the grip for the entire race which made the car difficult to drive. I think points were possible today if it hadn’t been for the damage, so that’s disappointing.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “From the grid position that Daniel started from today, it was a strong drive from him to score a point. He effectively ran the race in reverse; running the slower tyre at the beginning of the race, and then fitting the softer tyre at the stop. Dany after a great start, with what was happening ahead of him, unfortunately made contact with the back of Perez. That caused significant damage to the underside of the car and from there the goal was to make it to the end of the race.”

Thierry Salvi, Renault: “The results were pretty much as expected this weekend. We decided with the team to introduce the fifth ICE for both drivers, knowing we would have to take the penalties. We knew that they would make the race hard work and it was, but both drivers never gave up and at least Daniel could score some points. Now we have got the penalties out the way and have the latest spec of ICE on the car we have got a bit of breathing space to deal with the power unit elements for the next races. Silverstone should suit us better.”

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TORO ROSSO: THE CAR WORKED VERY WELL THANKS TO UPGRADES

Toro Rosso report from the Austrian Grand Prix, Round 8 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Red Bull Ring.

Max Verstappen: “I’m happy with today’s race, I think we did everything we could and had some good fights. I enjoyed every lap to be honest! The car worked really well and especially the last few laps were quite exciting. We were very close to ending in P7, but I’m very happy with P8, it’s a great result for the whole team. We’ve learned more about the tyres and I think that the updates we brought are positive, so all in all, everything felt really good in the race today. I’m also happy to have finally scored some more points, especially here at the Red Bull Ring”

Carlos Sainz: “I was really enjoying it out there today, I was having a lot of fun, especially after those first few laps where everything went perfectly. I was just focused on moving forward, targeting the rivals in front. We were doing a very good race but unfortunately, after the pit-stop I ran out of power all of a sudden and my race finished there. It’s very disappointing, especially because we had managed to get into the top ten after only a couple of laps and I was very motivated. I think we could’ve achieved a positive result if this hadn’t happened, we certainly had the pace for it!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “The race started well for us today. Both drivers managed to do a good start, especially Carlos had a great first lap and moved up to P9. Max’s pace was strong and even though he wasn’t able to hold Bottas behind, the speed was good throughout the race. Unfortunately we lost some seconds behind Kvyat, which in the end cost us the seventh place as I’m convinced that if that hadn’t happened, we could’ve kept Maldonado behind. In the end Max crossed the line in P8, which means more points for the team, but we can’t be totally happy as our direct competitors scored more points than us. Carlos’ pace was also good, but unfortunately he had a technical problem which we now have to analyse. Hopefully we can prevent this from happening at the next race in Silverstone. I would also like to say that the car worked very well thanks to the upgrades we brought here, so hopefully we can continue improving on the performance side and finish the race in the points with both cars next time out.”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader): “A very strong race for Max, with a good result on a challenging track. We were able to extract the maximum from the car and he fought hard to earn the points. Unfortunately we had a problem with Carlos’ car. It started to lose electrical power and the lap times dropped off too much to remain on track. We will look at why so we can come back strongly in Silverstone.”

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FORCE INDIA: A TREMENDOUS RESULT

Sahara Force India scored ten points in today’s Austrian Grand Prix as the team moved up to fifth place in the Constructors’ championship.

Nico Hulkenberg: “I’m very satisfied with sixth place today. Going into the race we always knew it would be difficult to keep the Williams of Bottas behind me, so bringing the car home in sixth was probably the maximum we could achieve. I had some good wheel-to-wheel battles with him and we swapped places a few times, but it was hard to match their absolute pace. Overall it’s been a great weekend: I found a nice rhythm and I have been very happy with the performance of the car. With Checo in the points as well, it’s been an excellent weekend for us and we can be proud of what we’ve achieved. It’s an important boost ahead of Silverstone where we hope to make another step forward.”

Sergio Perez: “It is a great result for the team to come away with so many points. We’ve moved up to fifth in the championship and that’s an incredible effort by everyone in the team. I had a great start and first lap: the target was to get ahead of Maldonado as he was the first driver on the prime tyre and we managed to do that. In the first stint I had a lot of pressure from both the Lotus drivers, but we held strong and the race was looking really good. Unfortunately, we lost some time in a slow pit stop and it was a bit difficult to recover after that, especially as that placed us behind Ericsson and Nasr. The second stint was not very easy because I had some very strong vibrations on the front tyres and that cost me some pace. All in all, considering our position on the grid, it was a good race. I think we could have been a couple of places ahead if everything had gone to plan, but it’s still a good result.”

Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal: “To come away from Austria with ten more points and fifth place in the championship is a tremendous result. We’ve shown good pace all weekend and it’s very satisfying to convert that speed into valuable points. Nico drove a very clean and tidy race, and realistically it would have been difficult to have finished higher up the order. The same is true for Sergio who was on the opposite strategy to Nico, but made the progress he needed in the early laps on the soft tyres. Despite a slightly lengthy pit stop he was able to recover to ninth place and pick up a couple of points. It means that we remain very well placed ahead of our local race at Silverstone where we plan to introduce the next step for the VJM08.”

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MANOR: A NICE REWARD FOR THE TEAM’S HARD WORK

Roberto Merhi’s momentum continued in the Formula 1 Grosser Preis Von Österreich 2015 today, as he drove a strong race to P14, the team’s best finish of the 2015 season. But there was disappointment on the other side of the garage after an oil leak on the opening lap put paid to Will’s hopes that this could be Stevens’ Spielberg.

The pair had lined up in P16 and P17 on the grid, ahead of Ricciardo, Alonso and Button. They both made good starts but just a short time later Will was forced to pull over after the team detected a sudden drop in oil level, pointing to an oil leak. Following the release of the cars from Parc Ferme, it was evident that a piece of debris had been ingested into the side pod and had punctured a hole in the radiator.

Roberto became the team’s ‘lone ranger’ and showed good pace to stay in touch with the midfield pack for much of the early part of the race.

Roberto Merhi: “I’m very happy with 14th place today, the best result for me and the team so far this season. We have had a strong weekend overall and it was really good to see our improved pace continuing into the race today. It meant that I was able to stay with the cars ahead for quite some time in the first stint, so it was a nice race for me and it feels like I have some real momentum now and also with the car performance. It’s a real shame we didn’t get both cars to the finish but it’s nice to go into the team’s home race off the back of a good result. I’m looking forward to Silverstone.”

Will Stevens: “A really disappointing end to what has been a positive weekend, but as the problem was a result of debris damaging the car, it’s just one of those things unfortunately. I just have to take all the positives from here and roll them into the next one, which is of course our home race at Silverstone. We’ve shown some good pace this weekend, so I hope we can repeat that in two weeks’ time.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We are obviously very pleased with Roberto’s 14th place finish, which is our best performance of the 2015 season so far and a nice reward for the team’s hard work and also Roberto’s own progression over the past few races. Sadly, Will was less fortunate today, after a piece of debris from one of the first lap incidents damaged his radiator, causing him to retire just a few corners later. It’s a shame, as reliability-wise we have been very strong again all weekend. We will focus on the positives, especially as we have our home Grand Prix to look forward to. It has been good to see the small but discernible steps we have taken with the car in recent weeks and races, so we’ll be looking to continue that progress into Silverstone.”

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MCLAREN: THE GOING IS GETTING TOUGH

A difficult and disappointing weekend for everybody at McLaren-Honda. Starting from 19th (Fernando) and 20th (Jenson), both drivers were out after eight laps.

Fernando retired on lap one after Kimi Raikkonen lost control of his Ferrari ahead of him, at the exit of Turn Two. The collision resulted in both cars crashing spectacularly, immediately prompting a Safety Car to clear the debris.

Jenson boxed under the Safety Car to fit Prime tyres, with the aim of running an effective ‘one-stopper’ to the finish. He then took a 10-second stop-go (a part of yesterday’s grid penalty), but was then ordered by his engineers to retire the car as a precaution after suffering an intake system sensor failure.

Fernando remains for next week’s test – he’ll run on Tuesday, with Stoffel Vandoorne running on Wednesday.

Jenson Button: “Nothing was broken on my car, but something was wrong – and the switch-changes didn’t make any difference. So the team took the decision to retire the car – we’d fitted a brand new engine this weekend, and we didn’t want to unnecessarily damage it, so we decided to stop. Silverstone will be another step forward. Hopefully, we’ll have got rid of our issues so I can have a stronger race in front of my home crowd. And, after that, Hungary is a circuit that should suit us, so we can get a good result there. In times like these, you’ve just got to stay positive. Everybody back at the factory listens to our post-race interviews, and both Fernando and I want to keep everyone motivated. We’re in a good place, because we know what this package can achieve, so hopefully everyone will continue to stay strong.”

Fernando Alonso: “I got a good start, and made up a lot of places into Turn One and Turn Two. Kimi ahead of me had started on the Prime tyre, and he exited Turn Two with a lot of wheelspin – I went to overtake him and he lost the car to the left, and that’s exactly where I was – so we both went into the wall. Luckily, we’re both fine. It was a strange incident, because he lost the car in fifth gear, so it must have been very low grip. We just need teamwork to keep us going: our expectations are clearly higher than what we’re currently achieving, but we’re moving in the right direction. I’m optimistic because I know our fortunes will change very soon.”

Eric Boullier, Racing director, McLaren-Honda: “Murphy’s Law famously states ‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong’; as far as McLaren-Honda is concerned, this afternoon proved it 100 per cent correct. Having been relegated to the very back of the grid owing to a series of penalties, our drivers started today’s grand prix in 19th and 20th positions. Before the race was even a lap old, however, Fernando was out, following contact with Kimi’s Ferrari. It was a pretty big shunt, so the most important point is that no-one was badly hurt. A few laps later, Jenson’s race had come to an end also, as a result of an intake system sensor failure. These are difficult days for all at McLaren-Honda, in Woking as well as in Sakura, but we won’t let our heads drop. Okay, I admit it, the going is getting tough; but, guess what, when the going gets tough, the tough get going; well, we’re tough, and we’ll get going; just you wait and see.”

Yasuhisa Arai, Honda R&D senior managing officer – chief officer of motorsport: “Austria has been a tough weekend. With such stringent penalties applied, it was always going to be a difficult race today. First and foremost, I am relieved that Fernando is okay. As for Jenson’s car, there was an intake system sensor failure, which limited the power, so we elected to retire the car. We know that reliability is still an issue, and it is our priority to improve at every race. We will ready ourselves for Silverstone, including power output updates.”

MIKA: A real shame for Fernando because he did get a brilliant start to be midfield from the back of the grid. It's really hard to see such a prestigious team right at the back of the grid, stupid rules penalising drivers for engines and not the team itself.

I'm sure next season will be better, I like to think this is the same process Brawn F1/Mercedes Formula 1 team went through... Brawn F1 won the world championship with Button only to go down the drain when they sold it all to the Silver Arrows. Mercedes struggled for a few years with both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher being positive and progressing race by race to make it the team it is today. Wasn't easy to watch Schumacher at the midfield but that sacrifice made THIS possible which I am positive will also benefit McLaren.

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Hulkenberg: Beating Williams a 'small miracle'

Nico Hulkenberg carried his Le Mans form over to qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix and he will start Sunday's race in fifth position, one place ahead of one of the Williams cars.

The German won the prestigious Le Mans race with Porsche last weekend and Force India admitted in the run-up to the Austrian race that they were hoping it would give the team a boost.

And that's exactly what Hulkenberg did on Saturday as he was fifth fastest in qualifying, beating Valtteri Bottas from Williams in the process.

Asked by Sky if he thought he would start so high up, he replied: "No, not that far up. A top ten result was possible, the car has been good this weekend. Fifth though is a surprise for us. Even beating one Williams is a small miracle, great performance today. Just have to do it again now tomorrow!"

This weekend's race marks the last for the current VJM08 as the team will launch their B-spec car at the in-season test at the Red Bull Ring this week, before racing it at Silverstone in a fortnight.

It means the current model hasn't had too many upgrades in recent weeks, but having a Mercedes engine in the car definitely helped their cause at power hungry circuits like Montreal and Austria.

"Montreal and here are power tracks, so the engine is very important and we definitely have the right engine," he said.

"We also have the soft tyres which help us a lot on our car. But in the last couple of races, we've also learned a lot about the car, we understand it better and we know how to set it up to get around some of the weaknesses. And then building up confidence as a driver around the track, specially here, is very important."

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Vettel rues Mercedes' pace

Sebastian Vettel concedes Mercedes were just too strong in Sunday's Austrian GP despite his Ferrari feeling good.

The four-time World Champion showed solid pace throughout this weekend, topping two of the three practice sessions.

Added to that, the SF15-T appeared to be a match to the Mercedes in race-pace during Friday's practices.

However, when it came down to it, the Mercedes drivers romped away with the win on Sunday while Vettel finished P4.

"I don't think our [Friday] pace disappeared, the car was feeling good but the others were able to find a little bit," he stated to Motorsport.com.

"Mercedes was able to run their high power mode, their qualifying mode so to speak, more often in the race.

"If you look at the opening laps, the cars in front [were both Mercedes], and obviously Williams too, so in that regard it's not a surprise."

As for his battle with Felipe Massa, Vettel dropped behind the Williams driver after experiencing a problem with his right rear tyre during his only pit stop.

The German did manage to close up on him in the latter stage of the 71-lap race but as the laps counted down ran out of time to make a move.

Asked whether third was possible, Vettel said: "If the race was significantly longer, maybe yes, but he did a good job. He got the [corner] exits right so it was tricky for us.

"We know the Williams is one of the most difficult cars to pass, and also they had strong pace – it wasn’t like we were a second a lap quicker and we could choose a place to pass.

"I was trying to create something, but it didn't happen."

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Button: Got to stay positive

The good news for Jenson Button is that "nothing was broken" on his MP4-30, the bad news is "something went wrong."

McLaren suffered yet another dreadful weekend in Austria with both cars failing to finish Sunday's grand prix.

While Fernando Alonso crashed out on the opening lap, colliding with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, Button's race was not much better.

After the Safety Car was brought in following his team-mate's crash, he pulled into the pits for a drive-through penalty, the result of not being able to take his full 25-place grid penalty.

Shortly after he was told the box his MP4-30 as McLaren were aware of a problem with the car.

"Nothing was broken on my car, but something was wrong – and the switch-changes didn't make any difference," Button revealed.

"So the team took the decision to retire the car – we'd fitted a brand new engine this weekend, and we didn't want to unnecessarily damage it, so we decided to stop.

"Silverstone will be another step forward. Hopefully, we'll have got rid of our issues so I can have a stronger race in front of my home crowd.

"And, after that, Hungary is a circuit that should suit us, so we can get a good result there."

The Brit is adamant he's going to remain positive no matter what as it is up to the drivers to keep the team motivated.

"In times like these, you've just got to stay positive.

"Everybody back at the factory listens to our post-race interviews, and both Fernando and I want to keep everyone motivated.

"We're in a good place, because we know what this package can achieve, so hopefully everyone will continue to stay strong."

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Three dead as car crashes into crowd during F1 event

Three people have been killed and dozens more injured after a man reportedly drove a car into a crowd of spectators at an event related to the Austrian Grand Prix.

The event is taking place in Graz, the largest city in the Styria region of Austria, just 50km from the Red Bull Ring. According to the BBC, the event is being held in relation to the race.

The regional governor confirmed that three people had died and 34 were injured, some seriously. Multiple ambulances and helicopters were sent to the scene, many of which were stationed at the circuit for the race.

It's believed the driver, who is "mentally unbalanced", intentionally targeted the crowd and was travelling around 100km/h according to witnesses.

"The driver deliberately drove into pedestrians. I myself saw a woman being run over," the city's mayor, Siegfried Nagl, told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.

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Crash shows open cockpits are an “area of concern”

The first-lap crash between Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso’s crash showed further improvements need to be made in the area of driver cockpit safety, according to Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa.

Alonso’s car landed on top of Raikkonen’s and its right-hand sidepod passed close to the driver’s head. Alonso found himself in a similar situation in Belgium three years ago when Romain Grosjean rode over the front of his car.

The FIA has previously investigated whether Formula One cars need to have closed cockpits. “We know that that’s an area of concern still, this open cockpit and the risks that there are in that sense,” said Rosberg when asked about it after the race.

“Of course it’s an ongoing investigation to try and improve the safety, step by step and we need to see what we can do about it in the near future.”

Felipe Massa, who was seriously injured after he was struck by a piece of debris during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, agreed that work must continue in this area.

“Definitely we always need to look where we can improve,” he said. “If you see that after what happened to me in my accident, they improved the helmets, they improved the visors and I think we definitely always need to look where to look.”

“I don’t know if completely closing the cockpit… We have some improvements to do – we need to do it.”

Last year Jules Bianchi suffered serious head injuries after colliding with a recovery vehicle during the Japanese Grand Prix. An investigation concluded that enclosing the cockpit would not have “mitigated his injuries”.

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Raikkonen and Alonso cleared by stewards over crash

No action will be taken over the crash which eliminated Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso on the first lap of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Alonso blamed Raikkonen for the contact but the stewards ruled “no driver was at fault”.

The Ferrari and McLaren driver collided at the exit of turn two. The pair spun into a barrier and the resulting impact left Alonso’s car perched on top of Raikkonen’s.

“I don’t know exactly what happened before the crash,” said Raikkonen. “I had some wheelspin in an unusual place. I was at a quite high speed, suddenly went left and end up there.”

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Bottas' race compromised by brake problems

Valtteri Bottas says his Austrian Grand Prix performance was compromised by brake problems in the second half of the race.

The Williams driver fell from sixth to seventh at the start, but he managed to get ahead of both Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg in the race.

He finished in fifth position.

However, the Finn was still 36 seconds behind Williams teammate Felipe Massa by the flag.

"Obviously after the start and losing one position that made it more difficult," Bottas said. "But at least there was some action there.

"Then I had a brake problem from just before halfway point of the race, which really compromised my race in the end.

"I just had to save the car and bring it home, but good points for us as a team. We did a good job overall getting more points than Ferrari.

"There was some good stuff there, some moments I really enjoyed."

The brake problem was evident on TV as clouds of carbon dust could be seen emerging.

"There was a lot of brake dust with the brakes overheating and wearing too much," Bottas added. "For sure with this problem we lost my chance to get any higher. That's life. Next race we'll try to do better. I'm looking forward to Silverstone."