FORMULA 1 - 2016

[MIKA27]

DENNIS: ALONSO SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO RACE

Aggrieved McLaren boss Ron Dennis says Formula One teams must decide whether a driver is fit to race, rather than the governing body’s doctors, after Fernando Alonso was barred from the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Spaniard Alonso failed a medical at the Sakhir circuit on Thursday after breaking ribs in a huge Australian Grand Prix crash.

Belgian reserve Stoffel Vandoorne was drafted in but McLaren still tried to persuade the FIA to reinstate Alonso as late as Saturday.

“Virtually every team sport in the world, the fitness of the athlete, the football player, the ice-hockey player, the skier, is determined by the team,” Dennis told reporters after qualifying in Bahrain.

“The position of the FIA, I feel, is to ensure the safety of the other drivers. If a driver feels a bit of pain, and wants to drive with a bit of pain, I think that’s the driver’s decision.”

Dennis said Alonso arrived in Bahrain, after two sets of Spanish doctors had cleared him to fly and drive, with two scans taken on Monday.

After he was ruled out McLaren asked the FIA whether they would have a rethink if a fresh scan on Saturday morning supported the position of the Spanish doctors, “They said no. It doesn’t matter what the scan showed he wouldn’t be permitted to drive.”

He added that McLaren had full confidence in Vandoorne, who out-qualified 2009 world champion team mate Jenson Button, and were not seeking to undermine the FIA’s authority.

“The question is would Fernando have been a danger to other drivers?,” said Dennis. “And after that the question is really one of assessment and if you’ve got a cracked rib and you want to drive with it, it’s your business isn’t it?”.

Dennis also suggested a team like McLaren, who pay their drivers many millions to race for them, could call on far more specialised medical expertise than the FIA.

“We go to the world’s experts for opinions,” he said. “I don’t think the FIA has the ability to field every single expert that’s appropriate.”

FIA president Jean Todt told reporters separately that deeper checks in the days after such an accident might be necessary in future.

“From what I understand it is a very wise decision,” he said of Alonso’s case. “The doctors would never consider giving authorisation unless all the evidence is very clear to them.”

[MIKA27]

RAIKKONEN: SO MUCH POLITICS AND BULLSH*T IN F1 THAT IT IS CRAZY

Kimi Raikkonen does not suffer fools gladly and although of late the Ferrari driver has been notably quiet with regards to the shenanigans in Formula 1 which are largely capturing negative headlines while attracting the wrath of fans.

But Raikkonen emerged from his shell in Bahrain this weekend when the 2007 F1 World Champion told ESPN, “There is so much politics and bullshit in F1 that it is crazy sometimes. People from the outside must look at us and think: what stupid people, what are they doing?”

Raikkonen, well known for not mincing his words, continued, “I don’t think it is good for anybody, but unfortunately it is how F1 is and it’s been like that for years. Now there are bigger stories about it, but if you take ten years ago there was still politics and it’s just the evolution of it.”

Nevertheless, the veteran of 232 grand prix starts and 20 victories, acknowledges that F1 is still the pinnacle of the sport.

“If you want to do racing on circuits then for sure F1 is still the top level and the fastest cars. Obviously things can be improved, but if you want to look at racing on circuits, then F1 is still that way,” insisted Raikkonen.

In 2010 and 2011 Raikkonen famously ditched F1 to puruse his interests in rallying and also had a dabble in Nascar.

He recalled, “I enjoyed it a lot when I did rallies and also some NASCAR stuff, but they are all so different how they are run and how the atmosphere is. Those things are different but there are good and bad things in that, nothing is perfect.”

Raikkonen revealed his respect for drivers in other disciplines of motorsport, “If you take the top rally guys it is absolutely amazing what they do. If you take the top NASCAR guys it’s not like we can jump in and suddenly beat them. They own the things that they do, but if they came here they would be in trouble also.”

“It depends what you are used to and what you do, but if you just want to look at the highest level of racing at race circuits, for sure it is F1,” declared the 36 year old Finn who made his F1 debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

[MIKA27]

Stoffel Vandoorne 'satisfied' with point on Formula 1 debut

Stoffel Vandoorne described himself "satisfied" with the job he did on Sunday in Bahrain as he joins the list of Formula 1 rookies to score a point in their debut race.

The McLaren third driver, who stood in for an injured Fernando Alonso, outqualfiied his more experienced team-mate and went on to score a point for the team after finishing tenth - meanwhile Jenson Button failed to finish the race following an ERS failure.

Speaking after, Vandoorne believes he maximised the opportunities available to him all weekend and came away with the result he expected.

"This result was more or less what I expected – I maximised the opportunity and I’m quite satisfied," he said.

"The start was a little bit difficult. There was debris left and right – it was pretty hectic in fact – and there was a lot of fighting throughout that opening lap.

"Since the beginning of the weekend, I’ve felt very confident in the car, and pretty comfortable that I could do a good job. I’m pleased that I didn’t make any mistakes operationally – I was really focusing on that side of things – and I came away with a point, which was a nice bonus.

"This weekend was a big opportunity for me: I made the most of it, I showed what I’m capable of, and now I just need to wait and see what happens next. That’s not for me to decide – so let’s see what the future brings."

Racing director Eric Boullier praised Vandoorne's "flawlessly mature performance" after a late call-up to replace Alonso.

"This evening, under floodlights here in the Bahraini desert, over the twists and turns of the superb Bahrain International Circuit, Stoffel did that remarkable and noteworthy thing: he scored a world championship point on his Formula 1 debut.

"In so doing, he capped a very fine weekend, which began with a late call-up and a lengthy two-leg flight from Japan, and ended with what can only be described as a flawlessly mature performance.

"We scored our first world championship point of the year – and, although on its own that’s nothing to write home about, the fact that it was scored by a grand prix debutant is surely cause to uncork the Chandon! Well done, Stoff!"

[MIKA27]

Bottas 'disappointed' with ninth after Hamilton contact

Valtteri Bottas says he is “disappointed” with ninth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, after a dramatic race that included the Finn making contact with Lewis Hamilton.

The Williams driver attempted to pass Hamilton on the opening lap but they collided at the first corner. Bottas picked up front wing damage and was later handed a drive-through penalty.

He recovered to score points with ninth but was also handed two penalty points on his license by the stewards.

"I was expecting more from today and finishing ninth is a bit disappointing," he said. "I had a mega start, but unfortunately collided with Lewis in turn one which was a shame as it cost us both positions.

"The drive-through penalty then compromised our strategy a bit so it was always going to be difficult after that. I also damaged my front wing in that collision with a big piece missing which didn’t help our pace.

"The first two races of the season haven’t been great for us but we’re keeping upbeat and head to the next race hoping to make up for it."

Team-mate Felipe Massa tried a two-stop strategy but ultimately fell to eighth: "I had such a great start, going from seventh to second, but unfortunately the two-stop strategy didn’t work as expected and our pace on the medium tyre was not very good.

"This allowed others on softer tyres to get ahead and stay there. We started the weekend expecting more so it’s been a disappointing result, but hopefully we can learn from this weekend and have a better result in China."

[MIKA27]

Button feels he could've been "fifth or sixth" in Bahrain

Jenson Button believes the mechanical failure on his McLaren MP4-31 cost him "big points" in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Briton was running ninth on lap 7 when a sudden loss of power in the car forced him to pull over on the side of the track - and he believes that subsequent attrition would have taken him a few spots higher up the order.

"I think today we had a chance of scoring some big points - and it's been a little while since we've been able to do that - but today wasn't the day," Button said.

"It's a tough pill to swallow - the pace was good, just cruising in ninth place behind the two cars in front, saving fuel, saving tyres, getting ready to pounce at the right time - but the right time didn't come.

"The people that I was racing [Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen], they are in fifth and sixth.

"I think we had very good pace today. My long runs over the weekend have been very good. I feel that I could've put the car in fifth, sixth place."

Progress made but team needs to capitalise

Button was upbeat about the improved pace of the McLaren, but insisted that the team still needed to confirm it with results.

"I think we've got to take the positives away from this weekend," he said.

"My pace in FP2, Q1 was great, we were very close to Q3. It didn't work out in Q2, we had a problem, we actually know what the problem was now, with the tyres overheating before I started the lap.

"And we had a great start and it was looking like a great race and it's not really going our way.

"But there are many positives with the team and the car right now, just hopefully we can show it.

"The thing is with this race, there were so many retirements, incidents, that you've got to capitalise on - and we weren't able to do that."

[MIKA27]

Grosjean: Haas team is living "the American dream"

Romain Grosjean was once again elated with the performance of his Haas F1 car and team following his second successive point-scoring finish with the new team in Bahrain.

Grosjean followed up his sixth in Melbourne with fifth place in the Bahrain Grand Prix, and is now level on points with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the World Championship.

On his in-lap, Grosjean said over the radio: "Unbelievable guys – this is the American dream! What a great job from all of you, I love you – beautiful! I've got brakes this year, that helps."

Grosjean ran an aggressive three-stop strategy, and twice used supersoft tyres on his shorter runs to charge past his rivals.

"It was unbelievable fighting with the Williams, Red Bulls and Toro Rossos," said Grosjean. "I didn't have any issues, I could drive the car the way I wanted on an aggressive strategy on the supersoft tyres.

"There are plenty of areas where we can improve but this [continues] the dream debut.

"I'm very happy in the car, I have big confidence in the braking, which allows me to attack – I very much love the platform in the car and systems inside. It allows me to unlock its potential.

"Now we have to keep our feet on the Earth."

[MIKA27]

Baku organisers confirm start time change for F1 race

Baku organisers have confirmed that the start time of their inaugural Formula 1 race will move forward an hour to 5pm.

The move has been forced on organisers after the Azerbaijan government announced last month that it was scrapping Daylight Saving Time (DST) amid economic pressure.

The decision to call off a change of clocks going forward meant that the original scheduled 6pm start would have to be changed – because sunset would now be happening at 8.14pm on the day of the race.

Following consultation with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, Baku promoter Arif Rahimov confirmed on Sunday that a change of plan had been agreed.

“We had a verbal confirmation about a week ago, just after Australia, and now I have seen that it is on the F1 calendar and it is confirmed we have transferred the start time to 5pm,” he said.

“It will be the same time for Europe, which is a 3pm start – so after the Le Mans [24 Hours] race.”

Although the race shifts forward by an hour in Baku, it will still take place at the same time for audiences elsewhere where the clocks have changed – meaning it begins just as Le Mans ends.

[MIKA27]

Revealed: The new qualifying idea F1 is looking at

Bernie Ecclestone and Jean Todt have given their backing to a new "aggregate" qualifying system which will be evaluated in the coming days prior to further discussions on Thursday.

Ecclestone and FIA president Todt did not want to go straight back to 2015 qualifying format, and instead they have suggested a way of modifying it with the specific intention of keeping the track busier for the whole session than was the case in the past.

The idea is that every driver's time will be an aggregate of two quick laps in each of the three sessions.

There is clearly an impact on tyre usage if the team opts to do those laps with a different set of tyres each time, although the alternative route is to run a slow lap in between two fast laps on the same set.

"It was a lively but healthy discussion," Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Motorsport.com. "Obviously qualifying was discussed at length. I think the teams would be happy to go back to 2015, but the promoter and FIA were not so keen.

"A compromise has been put on the table and the teams have got until Thursday to consider it. In all honestly it's better than what we have, much closer to last year's system, but it just needs further analysis.

"It's really to go back more towards 2015 qualifying format, but instead of one times lap per session, it's the aggregate of two timed laps.

"But of course that has complexities with tyres, but it just needs to be fully considered. The tyres are the key thing that needs to be fully understood."

Horner confirmed that the option of going straight back to 2015 was not on offer: "I think the teams have been unanimous for a while that the easiest thing is to go back to 2015.

"That's not possible, so we have to try to find a compromise. Let's consider it properly rather than rushing into a decision today."

[MIKA27]

Steiner takes Haas approach criticism as a “compliment”

Haas team boss Gunther Steiner has shrugged off criticisms of the way his team has approached its entry into Formula 1, saying he prefers being attacked to “people feeling sorry for us”.

Haas enjoyed a spectacular F1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix as Romain Grosjean banked the team’s first points with a sixth place finish, putting the squad ahead of many of its more established rivals.

But Williams’ Pat Symonds questioned whether the Haas model – involving a close relationship with Ferrari, which supplies the American outfit with as many ‘listed parts’ as the rules allow – is the correct route for the sport to follow.

Responding to those comments, Steiner was unmoved, saying that the regulations allow anyone to follow the Haas approach if they wish to do so.

“Everyone can have their [own] opinion about it,” said the Austrian. “I would rather we were criticised for being good than people feeling sorry for us because we’re so bad.

“I take it as a compliment, if they say it’s wrong. Anyone can do it, it’s within the regulations.”

Steiner added it would have been arrogant assume Haas could have done a better job than the 2010 influx of teams – Team Lotus, Virgin Racing (now Manor) and HRT – without using a different model.

“The last three teams that started [in F1 in 2010], only one is left [Manor],” he said. “Doing more of the same will not work.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m cleverer than these people, they are good people – there’s no reason to say ‘I can do this the same way because I’m so much better that I will succeed’.

“Sometimes you need to change the plan, and now it’s up to the other teams to do what they need to do. The regulations are the same for everybody.”

[MIKA27]

Force India disappoint in the desert

After the Bahrain Grand Prix concluded and celebrations continue, Force India will likely not be joining in the ceremonies as both their drivers failed to impress during Sunday’s GP.

15th placed Nico Hulkenberg expressed his disappointment after qualifying for the Grand Prix in an impressive P8 on Saturday.

"A difficult and disappointing race where not much went to plan. I made a poor start away from the line and was on the back foot going into turn one," he told Force India’s official website.

“Then suddenly three or four cars backed up on the apex and I nudged the back of somebody, which damaged my front wing and forced me to pit on lap one. From there onwards we tried to recover and pull off a two-stop strategy to get back in the race, but it proved very difficult.

"I don’t think we've seen our true pace today because the first lap destroyed my race and we were out of synch with everybody and always playing catch up."

16th placed Perez echoed his teammate's words and highlighted the moment when he and Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz collided as a pivotal moment in the destruction of his race.

"Not the best of weekends for me," the Mexican admitted. "I knew I had to get a good start after yesterday’s qualifying result and I managed to pull off a great one, making up a lot of ground.

"Unfortunately, on lap two I made contact with (Carlos) Sainz, which ended up destroying my race. I was in his tow and when I went onto the marbles on the inside I just couldn’t stop the car enough. It was a real shame as the pace was there to score a good amount of points.

"We need to go back to HQ and look at the data to make sure we come back strongly in China."

[MIKA27]

Maurizio Arrivabene' hails Kimi Raikkonen as absolutely spectacular' after Bahrain drive

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene says Kimi Raikkonen rolled back the years with his "absolutely spectacular" drive to second at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Raikkonen fought back from a poor start to split the Mercedes drivers, repeating his strongest result from last year's campaign. There has been much criticism of Raikkonen since his return to Ferrari in 2014 but Arrivabene says his performance under the Bahrain floodlights was like the Finn of old.

"I think the way that Kimi drove during the race was spectacular, absolutely spectacular," said Arrivabene after the race."If you look at at the overtake around the outside of [Daniel] Ricciardo, he reminded me of the driver from the old times. It was very, very good for me."

Raikkonen's poor start came as something of a surprise after both he and Sebastian Vettel jumped Mercedes off the line in Melbourne. Arrivabene says the Finn's slow start came down to a simple slip of the finger when the lights went out.

"I heard most probably the finger slipped on the paddle. It's something that could happen and he got a lot of spin and lost a bit of time. But what he did afterwards was unbelievable."

Teammate Vettel retired on the formation lap with an engine failure, Ferrari's second engine-related retirement in two races after Kimi Raikkonen's turbo issue in Australia. After two races, Ferrari is already 50 points behind in the constructors' championship. Kimi Raikkonen is fourth in the drivers' championship on 18 points.

[MIKA27]

Daniel Ricciardo: Front wing damage wasn't as bad as it looked

Daniel Ricciardo thought his car would suffer more from the front wing damage he sustained in Turn 1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Ricciardo got caught up in a collision between Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, losing a front wing endplate in the impact. The damage looked significant, but Ricciardo was able to race on regardless and finished fourth, 32 seconds behind Hamilton in third but 15 seconds clear of Romain Grosjean in fifth.

"The first corner was tight," he said. "I saw some contact in front and managed to get caught up in it as well. Damaged the front wing. I was worried that I'd have to come into the pits and fix it, but in the end the damage was not as bad as I originally thought. So we were able to continue and get more points. So that was good.

"It is good points for the start of the year. First corner there was a bit going on and I thought I could capitalise on Bottas and Hamilton in front having some contact, but I also had a bit of contact with them.

"I saw some of my front wing fly off and I was worried about the damage, but in the end I could still do the race with this front wing. Sure we were compromised but even with a good front wing the podium was a bit difficult, so fourth is good and I am happy."

Ricciardo said he considered himself fortunate he was able to continue without a front wing change.

"Turn 1 is always tight here and we were all sideways and trying to avoid each other. Valtteri and Hamilton may have got some damage as well but from my side I was fortunate that it was not too much to change the front wing because then it is a long pit stop. To be able to continue the race was good."

[Baldy]

RAIKKONEN: SO MUCH POLITICS AND BULLSH*T IN F1 THAT IT IS CRAZY

I agree with Kimmi. It's actually becoming a real turn off for me. Among all the many problems, the biggest problem in F1 is Bernie E.

[Artist]

very nice race.. eff bottas for ruining hamiltons race though..

and he really needs to sort his starts out..

lol at vettel and that ferrari engine though:)

[skalls]

I strongly suspect Kimi is a robot. The dude's interviews are hilarious.

Actually last week when he got out of his car, that was on fire, was also awesome.

[MIKA27]

I agree with Kimmi. It's actually becoming a real turn off for me. Among all the many problems, the biggest problem in F1 is Bernie E.

I'll do my best to avoid posting many stories bases off F1 politics this season.

[MIKA27]

I strongly suspect Kimi is a robot. The dude's interviews are hilarious.

Actually last week when he got out of his car, that was on fire, was also awesome.

You want classic Kimi Hilarity? Watch the below which IMO is a classic.

[Baldy]

I'll do my best to avoid posting many stories bases off F1 politics this season.

No no no @Mika27, that's not what I meant. F1 is full of BS and politics that negatively affect the show but it's got nothing to do with you. Please post away. This is one of the best thread anywhere. Cheers.

[capitalpg]

No joke, before the procession lap I said I bet Vettel's engine dies.

Wasn't expecting a great start from Hamilton but wasn't really expecting him to get t-boned either lol.

And Haas. Man oh man. Just wish Guiterrez didn't have rotten luck. He'd been a top 10 finish today too.

Damn, what a call on Vettel's engine! Never saw that coming.

[capitalpg]

I strongly suspect Kimi is a robot. The dude's interviews are hilarious.

Actually last week when he got out of his car, that was on fire, was also awesome.

Kimi is a riot, reminds of Mika years ago. Heard he's a blast to party with though!

[capitalpg]

One of the more exciting races I recall in some time. Happy for Kimi, perhaps happier than him, and couldn't be more pleased with Team Haas!

Very disappointed having Vettel's race done before it began, but happy getting a podium nonetheless for the team.

Bottas made me his fan for nudging Lewis a bit;)

Hoping Lewis continues having similar starts all season!

[MIKA27]

No no no @Mika27, that's not what I meant. F1 is full of BS and politics that negatively affect the show but it's got nothing to do with you. Please post away. This is one of the best thread anywhere. Cheers.

Hey @Baldy: I know exactly what you meant bud and my comment was more so my thoughts as I too am over the politics and negativity in F1. It's unavoidable but I made a decision earlier this year to cut out 90% of the BS politics on this thread hence why this season thus far, I havent posted about 30+ articles which cover just BS like Bernie etc. I could post that crap each day and I choose not to.

[MIKA27]

SAUBER: WE NEED TO PUSH HARD TO GET MORE COMPETITIVE

The Sauber F1 Team finished the second race of the FIA Formula One Championship, the Bahrain Grand Prix, in P12 (Marcus Ericsson) and P14 (Felipe Nasr).

The Bahrain International Circuit in the Sakhir desert again offered spectacular scenery, as well as an equally interesting race under the floodlights.

Marcus Ericsson: “The race was fun with a lot of fights. The start was a bit unfortunate. I had a lack of power during the first lap, so I dropped down some positions.Therefore, I was then stuck behind some competitors. Once I got by them, I had quite a strong race. Unfortunately, during the last stint, when I was running in the points, we had to save fuel. It was really difficult to defend my position. Overall, it’s been a decent weekend on which we maximised our current package. Now we need to push hard to get our car more competitive.”

Felipe Nasr: “Starting from the back of the field, it is positive that I was able to move up some positions. I did the best I could, but this result was the maximum today as I struggled again with the car. We have to analyse every detail in order to improve for the upcoming race.”

[MIKA27]

FERRARI: WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE EXACT PROBLEM

The Scuderia comes away from the Bahrain Grand Prix with a second place finish for Kimi Raikkonen, thanks to the Finn replicating his brilliant 2015 performance here after a thrilling race.

Sebastian Vettel had a bad Sunday. The German had to retire on the sighting lap with a technical problem that saw him park his car at the side of the track after just a few corners. Nico Rosberg won for Mercedes.

Kimi Raikkonen: “The start was not ideal, but luckily we did not lose too many places in the first lap. After that I tried to recover, and was able to overtake some cars and make the best out of it. We managed to do good pit-stops with the right tire choices and the speed was quite good, too. In the end we were catching up a bit on the Mercedes in front, but I never got close enough to try and pass Nico. Considering what happened in the first lap it’s a pretty ok result, it’s not what we want but we keep working and improving things. We are going in the right direction, but obviously it’s not ideal for the team to have only one car finishing the race. In this sport we always push to the limits and sometimes things can go wrong, this is not what we want but it’s part of racing. We know that the car is pretty good but we have certain things to improve and still some work to be done.”

Sebastian Vettel: “It was a very short race today, I didn’t even break a drop of sweat… We had a failure, I saw a lot of smoke from behind and I lost power so we decided to stop the car. For sure it is frustrating, because in the end I am here to race. The problem came as a surprise, both for me and the whole team, as I was approaching Turn Eleven. Now we need to understand exactly the problem and learn from it. It is not ideal and we can’t be proud of it. But we had a good preparation over the winter, we are pushing very hard and we know that we can still improve. We still have a lot of races ahead of us, this is going to be a long year so even if today it was not good because I couldn’t score any point, we’ll make sure that the next race goes a lot better… Congratulations to Kimi. It was important that during the race we supported him on both sides of the garage.”

[MIKA27]

HAAS: A FANTASTIC DAY FOR THE TEAM

Haas F1 Team’s strong start to its debut season in the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship continued Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

After starting ninth, Romain Grosjean finished an impressive fifth in the 57-lap race around the 5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. It was his second point-scoring result in as many races, as the 29-year-old finished sixth two weeks ago in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. The eight points earned in Melbourne combined with the 10 points secured in Bahrain have placed Grosjean fifth in the driver standings – the highest position of his Formula One career. In fact, dating back to last year’s Mexican Grand Prix Nov. 1 in Mexico City, Grosjean has finished among the top-10 in five straight races, scoring a total of 25 points.

The back-to-back efforts have also placed Haas F1 Team a solid fifth in the constructor standings. The first American team to compete in Formula One in 30 years is only two points behind fourth-place Williams and seven points ahead of sixth-place Toro Rosso.

While Grosjean has enjoyed a strong start to his season, teammate Esteban Gutiérrez had his race end prematurely for the second straight time. The 24-year-old had charged from his 13th-place starting spot to eighth on the opening lap, but a problem with his left-front brake disc only nine laps into the race forced Gutiérrez to abandon his challenge and retire to the garage.

For the remaining 48 laps, Grosjean led the way for Haas F1 Team. Running an aggressive strategy based on three planned pit stops, Grosjean hit his marks each time. Climbing to fourth, Grosjean’s first pit stop on lap 12 placed him on another brand new set of the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires. Rejoining in 10th place, he carved his way back through the field, overtaking Williams’ Felipe Massa and Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Quickly back in fourth place, Grosjean pitted for a used set of supersofts on lap 29, rejoining the field eighth after a three-second pit stop. He once again demonstrated his prowess and that of the VF-16, rejoining the top-five with a textbook move on the Red Bull Racing entry of Daniil Kyvat. Grosjean’s third and final pit stop came on lap 40, this time with the Pirelli P Zero White medium tires bolted on to take him to the end of the race.

Grosjean cracked the top-six with 10 laps remaining courtesy of an effortless pass on Massa, a carbon-copy of his earlier move on the veteran driver. With a handful of laps remaining, Grosjean secured fifth and was cleared by the team to push all the way to the finish, the team confident of his advantage. When the checkered flag dropped, Grosjean was 2.630 seconds ahead of sixth-place Toro Rosso driver Max Verstappen.

Romain Grosjean: “This is the American dream. It is unbelievable. I said we had to manage our expectations after we finished sixth in Australia, but here we finished fifth. There’s still a lot of things we can do better, from pit stops to the setup of the car and so on but, for now, this one is for the guys. I looked at their faces last night and they were all very tired because of the amount of work we’re doing. This is a massive reward. Really, just unbelievable. In the race, I had a good feeling in the car. It was an aggressive strategy, but managing tires has always been my strength in the past. Knowing we had a softer compound for this racetrack was something I liked. The car was set up well for the supersoft tires and I had a fantastic race. The car has a very good baseline. Everything is working well. I don’t think I’ve ever been as high as fifth in the driver standings. This is the first time in my career, I can’t believe it.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “We have done a fantastic job. After a great start, where I gained a lot of positions, I was feeling very confident. I was very happy with how the car was feeling, and I was managing my tires and fuel well. Unfortunately, we had an issue with the front brake and we felt we couldn’t continue, so I had to retire. I’m now looking ahead to China. The team is performing really well. The speed is there and we have a great car. So, I will keep fighting for the next race.”

Guenther Steiner: “A fantastic day for the team. Romain did a great job. The whole team did a great job. The only downside is that Esteban didn’t complete the race. We had a problem with the left-front brake, which we’re going to investigate further. Our aim now for China is to get two cars to the finish and to finish in the points. We’ve done a few pit stops, which gives us a lot of confidence. We can’t wait to go to the next race and to try and keep this form going.”