FORMULA 1 - 2016

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WOLFF: CONSPIRACY COMMENTS ARE INEXCUSABLE AND ABUSIVE

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff denounced social media conspiracy theorists after a Russian Grand Prix weekend during which Germany’s Nico Rosberg won his seventh race in a row and world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton endured more engine problems.

Wolff said he was speaking out because some of the abuse directed at the Formula One team could impact on engineers and other employees.

“I don’t want to even ignore this bunch of lunatics who think that we would harm a driver who is our driver, who has been a double world champion for us,” the Austrian told reporters. “He (Hamilton) hasn’t let us down, and we wouldn’t let him down. This is a mechanical sport and these things happen.”

Despite the Briton’s success with Mercedes, there have always been some who believe the German manufacturer really wants a German champion.

Hamilton has not won a race since he took his third title in Texas in October and has suffered mechanical problems in his last two races, starting from the back of the grid in China and 10th in Sochi. He is now 43 points behind Rosberg after four races.

Wolff suggested some of the critics were “lying in their beds with their laptops on their chests” and were not to be taken seriously.

“The reason why I am being vocal about it is that I want to protect the guys,” he said. “They are being hit by comments that are just inexcusable and unfair and abusive without reason. If some of the guys read those comments they might take it personally.”

Hamilton would have had to start from the pit lane in Russia on Sunday had Mercedes not, as Wolff pointed out, “moved heaven and earth” to fly essential parts from Britain overnight.

Wolff said non-executive chairman Niki Lauda organised the private jet while Formula One’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone “sorted” the Russian customs.

Hamilton, who has 3.3 million followers on Twitter and is active on various social media platforms, understood the hurt felt by fans but assured them the team was making every effort.

“The people… are feeling the same pain I’m feeling,” he said. “They’re feeling the hurt and emotions you go through because we’re connected in that way and its a beautiful thing.

“In any sport or any situation the easiest thing is to jump to the negative and I just want to assure them that my guys are doing a fantastic job and it’s not their fault.”

MIKA: You win you lose, what's the difference this year? Just because it's now Louis who's getting a bit of bad luck? Last year and the year before Nico had a bunch of DNF's as a result of bad luck. Thus far I think both Hamilton and Rosberg have been getting along but last night Louis spat the dummy, you can see it. Hardly worth spitting the dummy when you make up ground and come second... Was great driving IMO, boring race really but that is Sochi for you.

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KVYAT: MY APOLOGIES TO EVERYONE INVOLVED

Daniil Kvyat accepted the blame for tagging Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari twice in the first few corners of the Russian Grand Prix – the incident also led to damage teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s car and effectively compromised Red Bull’s race.

Kvyat totally misjudged his braking point heading down into Turn 2, and slammed into the back of the Ferrari which ran into Ricciardo. The trio recovered, but going into Turn 3 Kvyat again tagged Vettel causing him to spin and spear into the barriers and out of the race.

The incident came a couple of weeks after Vettel and Kvyat clashed during the first lap of the Chinese Grand Prix. That day Kvyat was unrepentent, but after this episode the Russian was contrite.

Kvyat explained to media afterwards, “There was a bit going on and I think in the last moment I didn’t expect it to slow so much. I tried to press the brakes, the rear wheels locked and the first contact came from that. The second contact he just slowed down a lot, I couldn’t see ahead, and I didn’t have time to react.”

“All the mess came from me… of course it doesn’t feel great but these things happen sometimes. It’s probably the messiest [start] of my career. I will learn from it – and of course apologies to everyone involved. I think we will speak [with Vettel and Ricciardo], that’s all we can do. Everyone will attack me, but I’m okay with that,” he added.

Vettel was livid in the cockpit of his wrecked Ferrari, but after ‘hijacking’ a motorcycle from a trackside official and making his way to the pits he has calmed down, “I got a big hit, I was lucky not to spin and then got another huge hit which turned me around and I couldn’t avoid the barriers.”

“These things happen – there is nothing I could have done differently. I think there was enough damage to conclude I couldn’t continue. If anyone needs to talk to anyone, I think it’s him [Kvyat]…” added Vettel.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, who was confronted by Vettel during the race, said, “Obviously Seb was slightly frustrated. All I could do was apologise, because this week it was unfortunately a mistake from Dany.”

“I think he knows what happened. He’s misjudged that first corner, and hit Sebastian who hit Daniel. From a team point of view it’s screwed our race because we could have scored a lot of points today.

“Emotions run high with all these guys, in his home race I think he just went for too much too soon. Unfortunately I think he has just misjudged it.”

Kvyat, was given a 10-second stop and go penalty plus three penalty points as a further penalty for his role in triggering the melee, finished the race a lap down 15th place.

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MERCEDES: THAT RACE WAS ANYTHING BUT PLAIN SAILING

Silver Arrows seal Sochi one-two in high tension Russian Grand Prix

• Nico took his 18th career victory today – his first at the Sochi Autodrom and fourth of the 2016 season
• Lewis completed a second Silver Arrows 1-2 finish of the 2016 season in P2 with a battling performance from P10 on the grid
• Nico set the fastest lap of the race – beating the previous best of 1:40.071 (VET, 2015) by just under a second (0.977s)
• Lewis produced a superbly controlled drive to manage a water pressure problem in the closing stages of the race and retain second position from Räikkönen
• Nico (100) leads the Drivers’ Championship by 43 points from Lewis (57) in P2
• Mercedes AMG Petronas (157) lead Ferrari (76) by 81 points in the Constructors’ Championship

Nico Rosberg: “This weekend really went really perfectly for me. Already in Qualifying I had found a perfect balance and that continued throughout the race, which was fantastic. I had a great start and from there was able to control the pace at the front. Thank you so much to everybody at the factories for building such an amazing car. If you have a car like this, you are really able to push to the limits and that’s an awesome feeling. Lewis drove really well to come back up to second so quickly, so well done to him too. The only down side to the weekend was to see that reliability is becoming a bit of a concern, as Lewis obviously has a problem yesterday and both cars had issues during the race today. But we have a great team behind us and I’m fully confident that we will sort this out. It´s unbelievable to go into the European races with four wins and I really look forward to Barcelona now. Thanks, Russia – you were very good to me!”

Lewis Hamilton: “Firstly, I would like to that the guys who came together to get the new parts over here from the factory last night – and then to the mechanics who worked all through the night to get everything prepared for me to go out there and race today. The guys on my side of the garage are having a really hard time of it at the moment – but I have every faith and confidence in them. We’ve swapped things round in the garage a bit this season but that is absolutely not the reason we’ve been having issues. It hasn’t been the case for the past three years and I have no reason to believe it would be now. Without their hard work I wouldn’t even have got to this point, so a big thank you to them once again. The first corner was pretty hectic. I don’t know what happened – but I saw something happening in the corner of my eye and just thought “I’m not getting caught again!” I managed to get out of the way and avoid it – but if I’d turned in I would have collected them. It was pure instinct and I’m glad I was able to come out without any contact this time. From there I had good pace and I felt like I could challenge for the win – but then there was the water pressure problem which ended that chance. It was tough to hang on at the end but I handled it as best I could. I had to really nurse the car home and I’m just relieved to have made it to the flag after how this weekend has been. I’ve got a long way to go yet this season with not many healthy engine parts left, so we need to do a better job on reliability.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “That race was anything but plain sailing today – it was a pretty stressful experience to get both cars home, and there was a point when we thought neither of them might make it to the flag. First of all, congratulations to Nico, he did a perfect job all weekend and controlled the race from the front once again. He didn’t put a foot wrong and, when we faced an issue on the MGU-K during the middle part of the race, he was able to do all the necessary steps to keep it under control and bring it home. As for Lewis, he drove brilliantly. Some really good, aggressive passing manoeuvres and clever racing brought him to P2 – and he was just getting his head down to charge when we saw a water leak and he was losing water pressure. The only thing to do was ask him to back off to bring the car home and fortunately that meant the situation stabilised but cost him the chance of racing Nico. No doubt he will be thinking about what could have been today – but it was a fantastic recovery after such a tough moment in qualifying yesterday. A one-two finish is always something special and to be savoured, especially with the performance advantage we enjoyed this weekend. We are pushing hard this year and finding the limits of our car – but we need to get on top of our issues so the drivers can battle it out on track themselves. That’s what we all want to see and what we will be working hard to achieve in the coming days before Barcelona.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “Coming into the race, the team did a fantastic job to get Lewis’ car back into shape for the race in the right specification and preserving his tenth place on the grid under parc ferme restrictions. It was quite a dramatic start, from which our drivers fortunately emerged unscathed. The result, in fact, worked in their favour, with Nico comfortable at the front and Lewis moving up to fifth. After the re-start, Lewis made some fantastic overtaking moves on Massa and Räikkönen, then once again on Bottas following the first round of stops. This proved critical to his result. After Nico’s stop, his car developed an MGU-K problem which we were able to manage to some extent but remained a concern to the end of the race. Then, shortly afterwards, Lewis’ water pressure started to progressively drop. We encouraged him to ease off, which helped to a degree. But, in reality, this appeared to be a terminal situation and we were sitting for about 20 laps with our fingers crossed hoping the car would make it to the flag. By some miracle it did just that, which came as a huge relief after the difficulties of the weekend. Overall, it’s great to get another one-two finish. But it’s clear that we have more work to do in the days leading up to the next race to understand the series of problems experienced over the past two weekends.”

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FERRARI: IT’S A PITY NOT TO BE FIGHTING FOR THE WIN

Kimi Raikkonen came third in the Russian Grand Prix. The Finn lost a place to Valtteri Bottas in the early stages, but a clever strategy saw Kimi retake third off his fellow countryman after his only pit stop.

Raikkonen thus moves up to third in the Drivers’ classification, after four rounds of the World Championship.

Sebastian Vettel’s Russian Grand Prix lasted just a few hundred metres. The German got off the line well, but was hit twice by Daniil Kvyat in the Red Bull, which sent him spinning into the barriers on the outside of Turn 3. Nico Rosberg won for Mercedes.

Kimi Raikkonen: “Overall it hasn’t been a very easy weekend, but today we tried to make the best out of it. I had a good start and managed to get second position but then, like last year, after the Safety Car I could not hold up the Williams behind me on the straight. After that I was trying to fight them back, but I lost one place to Hamilton. So we decided to run longer to gain positions and we did quite a pretty good job. The car was handling very well through the whole race, even if we were forced to do some fuel saving and this affected our laptimes. The third place we managed today is what we were able to achieve, but is not ideal, because we want to be at the front with both cars. It’s a pity not to be fighting for the win, but we take this result and keep on working to put ourselves in a better position.”

Sebastian Vettel:“I think it’s a shame because today we had done everything right. I had a really good start, I was a bit stuck at the first turn, but then I was able to go. Of course there’s always a bit more risk in starting behind, but P7 is not P15. I was going into second corner, I was already attacking and approaching fifth place, but it doesn’t help when people behind don’t brake. What Kvyat did was completely unnecessary. I had a massive hit from behind, then another big hit in turn 3 and that finished my race. As far as I know, the race is 53 laps, but not everybody seems to remember. I don’t think I need to say much, I think if you look at the footage you’ll have the answers to your questions. Today it was not my fault, there was nothing I could have done differently, nothing I would change. I don’t dislike him (Kvyat), but I think he did a mistake two weeks ago, he made a mistake today but it doesn’t help me now. Obviously I would have loved to drive the car today to feel if we could keep the same balance into the race, but for the future nothing has changed. Of course I’m disappointed but we’re already focused on the next race.”

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WILLIAMS: THE CAR PERFORMANCE IS GOING FORWARD

Williams report from the |Russian grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Sochi Autodrom.

Race Notes:

• Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and Felipe Massa fifth in today’s Russian Grand Prix
• Valtteri had a great start, running as high as second after overtaking Raikkonen in the early stages of the race. He made his only pitstop on lap 16 but ended up losing out to Hamilton and Raikkonen to remain comfortably fourth for the remainder of the race
• Felipe maintained fourth place in the opening laps but eventually lost out to Hamilton. He stopped on lap 18 and remained comfortably in fifth, giving him enough of a gap to make a second pitstop for supersoft tyres as he began struggling with degradation on the soft tyre
• The team picked up 22 points, which has helped close the gap to third-placed Red Bull to just six points in the Constructors’ Championship

Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a good race, and it was a really good weekend. Every day we got our heads down and have done what we needed to do. The car performance is going forward, even in race trim today. We had improving pace against Ferrari and Mercedes and that’s what we need to keep heading towards. I think our pace against Red Bull this weekend has been really good; they’ve had a bad weekend and we’ve absolutely capitalised on that. Felipe’s tyres were degrading a bit towards the end so we made a precautionary stop and let him run on the supersofts again, as we had enough of a margin to easily stop him and retain fifth. The race played out just as we expected it to really, so it was very good from that point of view. We’ve gained 22 points over Red Bull and Toro Rosso, so that’s really good, and third is well within our sights now; we just have to keep heading towards it. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve developed the car a lot, but we need another two or three tenths, and we just need to keep developing it, in all areas. Nobody is free from finding performance in Formula One, and certainly not at Williams, but I think we got the most we could have done out of today.”

Valtteri Bottas: “The beginning of the race was pretty good and we managed to defend against some of the quicker cars behind. I think being aggressive with the early pitstop was good but unfortunately the cars with more pace managed to get through, and at the end of the race there wasn’t much happening for me. All-in-all the team has done a good job this weekend. It’s positive to get a lot of points for Williams. There’s definitely progress, this is a good track for us so that helped, but we just need to keep improving. I definitely had more in mind today than fourth so we need to keep pushing.”

Felipe Massa: “I think it was a very positive weekend for us and a very positive race. I would have loved to finish fourth and not fifth, but that’s just part of the game so I’m happy with the result. We managed to score a lot more points than Red Bull, and that’s the target for us right now. They have a very good team and a very good car, but we need to keep believing. This weekend was a very good weekend so we need to keep fighting like that. I think for the team the best position was fourth and fifth. Valtteri was able to manage the tyres better here, whilst I was able to manage them better in China. That’s the way it goes, but today’s result is very good for Williams.”

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TORO ROSSO: WE HAD THE PACE TO FINISH EASILY IN SIXTH

Toro Rosso report from the |Russian grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Sochi Autodrom.

Carlos Sainz “What an unfortunate race. Even though I did one of my best ever starts, a piece of another car got stuck in our side pod, which made me lose downforce during my first stint and also meant I had to stop too early for my pit-stop onto the Softs. This then compromised my second stint and I then also got a 10-second penalty…Now it’s time to reset, get ready for my home race – it always gives me an extra boost! – and come back stronger than ever.”

Max Verstappen “Unfortunately I had to retire today after running in P6… It was looking like a great race up until then, as I was cruising around and I didn’t have any pressure from behind; I was just following the guys in front and our pace was strong. We could hold on to the tyres very well and I have to say I was quite relaxed, managing everything well and it was all looking so good… Who knows what could’ve happened! Of course it’s disappointing to have to stop the car, but this is a mechanical sport and these things happen. Now we just have to take the positives from the weekend and get ready for the first European race of the season in Spain in two weeks’ time.”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “Quite a dramatic race. After the start there was an incident where a lot of cars were involved – unfortunately Carlos got a part of another car stuck into his radiator duct, which had quite a big influence on his performance. In fact, we had to call him in much earlier than originally scheduled and this is when we found a part of a car’s bodywork, which had caused the overheating. After his tyre change his performance was good and he was able to catch up. He then had a fight with Palmer, where the stewards decided to penalize him with a 10-second penalty for pushing him off the track. This meant Carlos was not any more within the points. Regarding Max, he was racing in sixth place after the start and was able to keep this position quite easily, creating a big gap to Alonso who was behind in seventh place. With 20 laps to go, we had a problem with the Power Unit and therefore Max had to stop. It’s a shame, because we really had the pace to finish easily in sixth position, as he was doing a fantastic job. We will now fully concentrate on our preparation for Barcelona, where we had a very competitive package during winter testing, and hopefully we will be luckier there.”

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RED BULL: NOT THE RACE ANY OF US WANTED

Red Bull report from the |Russian grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Sochi Autodrom.

Daniel Ricciardo “It’s frustrating and a shame to be out of the race more or less from the first lap onwards but I think these things happen with racing. After the start I felt a big hit. I saw Seb come into me but it looked like he got hit as well. We had a lot of damage and had to pit. We thought we’d try the mediums but that wasn’t really working. Unfortunately the damage was so much that we didn’t really learn anything from today’s race and we don’t know what our pace was. Barcelona and Monaco should be better, so we have a few races to be excited about.”

Daniil Kvyat “There was a lot going on at the start and I didn’t expect to slow down as much, I locked the rear wheels and the car was a bit out of control which caused the contact with Sebastian. On Turn 3, I couldn’t see what was happening ahead, Sebastian seemed to slow down and unfortunately I didn’t have time to react and this caused the second contact. I’m sorry for Sebastian and also to the team as we gave away a lot of points today from both my side and Daniel’s. It doesn’t feel great, this is probably the messiest first lap of my career.”

Christian Horner, Team Principal: “Unfortunately our race concluded at Turn One for both our drivers. It looked like Daniil misjudged his braking and hit the rear of Sebastian’s car who in turn hit Daniel causing significant damage to both our cars. This lead to a double pit stop for new front wings. From there Daniel did what he could with the damage to his car to finish in 11th and Dany in 15th. It has been a frustrating day for the team as obviously we gave away a lot of points. Dany hasn’t been involved in an incident like this before and I am sure he will learn from it. Apologies to Sebastian as well, it’s not the race any of us wanted.”

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HAAS: A FANTASTIC RESULT FOR THE TEAM

On a gorgeous day at the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean drove his VF-16 to a strong eighth-place finish in the Russian Grand Prix Sunday at the Sochi Autodrom. It was Grosjean’s third point-scoring result in the four races held this year, allowing him to climb one spot in the championship standings to seventh.

Grosjean earned his 38th career top-10 finish and his sixth top-10 in the last seven races via a one-stop strategy. After successfully navigating the first-lap, second-turn chaos that allowed him to advance from his 15th-place starting spot to eighth, Grosjean pitted on lap 17. Off came the Pirelli P Zero Red supersoft tires and on went the Pirelli P Zero Yellow soft tires.

Grosjean made this set last for the remaining 36 laps around the 5.848-kilometer (3.634-mile), 18-turn circuit, as the track’s ultra-smooth surface allowed Grosjean to push without limitation. This was important, as Grosjean had to hold off the Force India of Sergio Perez, who finished ninth after being a constant presence in Grosjean’s mirrors.

Grosjean’s performance at Sochi, along with his efforts at the Formula One season-opener in Australia and the year’s second race in Bahrain where he finished sixth and fifth, respectively, means that Haas F1 Team – the first American Formula One team in 30 years – has scored more point-paying finishes than any all-new program in this millennium. When Jaguar debuted in 2000 and when Toyota came on the scene in 2002, each entity managed only two point-paying finishes in their entire first seasons. Haas F1 Team has scored three-point paying finishes four races into its debut season, and the organization has 17 more races to collect additional points. The Russian Grand Prix solidified Haas F1 Team’s fifth-place position in the constructor standings, where it is 29 points behind fourth-place Williams and five points ahead of sixth-place Toro Rosso.

Esteban Gutiérrez, Grosjean’s teammate at Haas F1 Team, finished 17th after bringing his VF-16 home for the second straight race. Gutiérrez had to overcome an early pit stop for a new front wing, as he was caught up in the first lap, second-turn skirmish that involved a handful of drivers. The chain-reaction incident saw Gutiérrez get into the back of Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India. Compounding the problem was the stewards’ decision to impose a drive-through penalty, which Gutiérrez served on lap nine.

Winning the Russian Grand Prix was Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver remains undefeated this season, and his winning streak goes back to last year’s Mexican Grand Prix, giving him seven straight victories. It has put Rosberg in elite company, as only Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are the other drivers to score seven consecutive wins. The triumph also increased Rosberg’s lead in the championship standings to 43 points over teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Romain Grosjean: “It’s great to be back in the points, especially after a very difficult weekend where we were never very happy with the car. It was a good first lap to avoid all the incidents, and then I kept (Sergio) Perez behind. There are still so many things we can improve on the car. I’m still not a hundred percent happy with the behavior. I think for the next race it’s going to be so much better. It’s very positive knowing that we have something that will become better.”

Esteban Gutierrez: “It was a tough race from the beginning. It was definitely not a nice start. I arrived at the first corner with a lot of space in front and I braked but, unfortunately, I couldn’t stop the car and I ran into Nico (Hulkenberg). It’s a shame not only for me but for him, as well. I tried to do my best to recover the race but, obviously, we got the penalty and lost a lot of track time. However, I pushed until the end and we managed to finish the race, which was a good thing. We now need to focus on the next race in Barcelona.”

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal: “A fantastic result for the team being in the points. After the last two days of testing and qualifying, we didn’t expect to finish eighth. However, we were always aiming for the points and we pulled it off again. A big thanks to everyone for a great team effort. Obviously, it was very unfortunate for Esteban after his incident at the start, but he will get back from this and hopefully he’ll be in the points soon. It was a great race from Romain to keep his position, fighting left, right and center. It makes F1 interesting. It was a great race.”

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RENAULT: TESTAMENT TO THE RESOLVE OF EVERYONE IN THE TEAM

Renault Sport Formula One Team scored its first points of the 2016 Formula 1 season after a strong and spirited drive from Kevin Magnussen to finish seventh in the Russian Grand Prix at the Sochi Autodrom. Jolyon Palmer finished shy of the points, making five places from his starting position to finish P13.

Kevin Magnussen: “It feels really good to get these points for the team as I know how hard everyone’s been working this season. I made a great start, but then lost a couple of positions at the first corner because of a spin in front of me. After that I was pushing hard for the entire race, made some good overtakes and I had a great pit stop from the crew. We were a bit lucky today; we’ve been unlucky in the past so I’ve certainly no complaints!”

Jolyon Palmer: “It’s great for the team to get our first points of the season and I’m pleased that we’re making genuine progress with the car. Kevin showed what is possible today so that’s a good target for the next races. Overall we’ve learnt a lot of positives this weekend so I feel there’s a lot to build on for the races ahead.”

Fred Vasseur, Racing Director: “After the Chinese Grand Prix everyone dug deep so to finish strongly in the top ten at a circuit where we didn’t expect to excel is a testament to the resolve of everyone in the team. Kevin drove a superb race and there was nothing more we could ask of him. Jolyon didn’t get quite the same opportunities in his race but drove well too. A big thank you to everyone at Enstone and Viry for their continued efforts.”

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FORCE INDIA: WE DIDN’T FULLY REAP THE REWARDS OF OUR WORK

Sahara Force India scored two points in today’s Russian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez delivered a strong recovery drive after suffering a lap one puncture. Nico Hulkenberg was out of luck after being hit by Esteban Gutierrez at turn two, which ended his race.

Sergio Perez: “It’s obviously good to come away with my first points of the year, but without the puncture on lap one the result today could have been so much better. I didn’t get the best start, but I found a good line going into turn two and I was ahead of Ricciardo and Vettel coming out of the corner. Then I realised I had a puncture, which dropped me to the back of the field. After that it was a recovery drive and I managed to get back up to ninth place just behind Grosjean. I had a quicker car and fresher tyres, but he had very good traction and I just couldn’t get close enough to make a move. It’s a shame not to score more points because we did everything right today, but we were just really unlucky. There are lots of positives to take away from this weekend – the great performance in qualifying and the strong race pace. The car is improving and we have some upgrades on the way so I’m feeling optimistic ahead of Barcelona.”

DNF. Nico Hülkenberg: “It was a very frustrating end to my weekend. I got to turn two and felt a big shove from behind: Esteban (Gutierrez) out-braked himself, hit me and spun me around. I was hit by other cars and the damage was too much to even attempt to continue. It’s very disappointing and not the way I wanted to celebrate my 100th race weekend. Hopefully our luck will change soon as we have been very unlucky lately. We should have some upgrades in Spain and I want to be back scoring the points we deserve.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: “It was another race in which we didn’t fully reap the rewards of our work. Unfortunately, both our drivers fell victim to incidents at turn two, neither of which were their fault. Nico’s race was over immediately, while Sergio had to make his way back to the pits with a puncture and re-joined last. From there on, we were able to display some good pace as Checo made his way through the pack, got back into the points and closed in on Grosjean. Despite having superior pace we couldn’t progress any higher on this track which proved very difficult for overtaking. It means we leave Sochi with mixed emotions. Without the incidents on lap one, we would have been at the front of the midfield pack and with the pace to stay there. At least we can take encouragement from the performance that will help us at the upcoming races, where hopefully we will have a bit more luck and score more consistently.”

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MCLAREN: A GREAT RESULT FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button opening their 2016 points-scoring accounts with respective sixth- and 10th-place finishing positions in the Russian Grand Prix.

For the midfield runners, the shape of the race was largely dictated by a pair of chaotic clashes at Turn Two and Turn Three, on the opening lap. These incidents saw several drivers either forced into retirement, pushed to the tail of the field, or served with penalties.

Fernando profited from the carnage to vault into the top 10 – an advantage he tenaciously held onto until the finish. Jenson was more circumspect at the start, dropping behind a number of slower cars, then spending much of the remainder of the afternoon steadily chipping away to jump back into the top 10.

This afternoon’s result is a firm reminder of the progress that’s quietly being made at McLaren-Honda – and a firm indicator of the potential to come.

Fernando Alonso: “We were lucky in Turns Two and Three on the opening lap – due to those accidents, we were able to gain some places for free.

“But, as we saw last year, we can make a good start but then not be able to maintain those strong starting positions. This year, it’s different – we have the pace: to finish sixth, and set the fifth-fastest lap, shows that our car is still gaining pace.

“In fact, the car felt good all race – obviously, we were saving fuel at some points of the afternoon, but, on one lap, I just decided to go for it – to wake myself up a little bit! – and the lap-time showed the potential is there.

“Finishing in the points should be our regular target from now on.”

Jenson Button: “To get both cars home in the points – and at a track which we didn’t feel would really suit our package – is a fantastic result for the whole team.

“As the pack dived into Turn Two, I had to back off because it was mayhem. The bollard at Turn Two is the problem at the start because people are trying to fight through Turns Two and Three. I think that needs some looking at.

“From there, I was disadvantaged, but the pace was in the car. After that, it was just a case of fighting my way back – which I really enjoyed. It’s difficult to overtake around here, but I was able to make a few moves and enjoy myself.

“I think the next race in Barcelona will be reasonably difficult for us, but there’s no reason not to look forward to targeting another points haul in Monaco.”

Eric Boullier, McLaren-Honda Racing Director: “A double points-finish is a great result for the entire team, and a real marker of the progress we’ve been steadily making since the start of the season.

“Fernando drove a brilliant race, displaying all the guile, aggression and opportunism for which he is so well known. His race was established at the very start, when he took advantage of the opening-lap carnage to leap from 14th to eighth. From there, he was able to firmly establish himself in the top 10, gaining two further positions before the chequered flag. Sixth was a great reward for his efforts.

“That said, he drove a somewhat lonely race, with one eye very much on his fuel-meter. The gap ahead to fourth-placed Valtteri Bottas tells the story of how conservatively he drove his race – and the handful of very quick, unrestrained, laps that he punched in during the closing laps show the potential of what could have been achieved had he been able to run at full pace throughout.

“If Fernando’s race was defined by the start, Jenson’s only really came together towards the end. He was heavily compromised by the chaos on the opening lap, but pulled off one of his characteristically deft and gritty performances, enjoying a lengthy four-car battle on his way to 10th.

“This race showcases the collective efforts of the entire organisation – not just McLaren Racing and Honda, but also our key technical partner, Mobil 1, whose oil and lubes have played such a key role in our ongoing development. To our partners, too, their faith and belief is starting to be repaid.

“While we know that one swallow does not make a summer, we stand firm in our belief that we have turned the corner and will start to make further progress throughout the season.”

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: “I am very happy that we finished with both cars in the points today. Our two highly experienced drivers manoeuvred expertly around the chaotic start and first-lap collisions, which put us in a position to battle for points throughout the race.

“We knew that our longer stints were good here, but it was a job well done for our team and drivers to manage our one-stop strategy and fuel-saving during the race, which led to today’s results.

“We know that we still have a long way to go, but I’m relieved that we’ve finally confirmed that we have the true potential to fight within the middle of the pack.”

[MIKA27]

MANOR: WE’RE HEADING HOME DISAPPOINTED

Manor report from the |Russian grand Prix, Round 4 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Sochi Autodrom.

Pascal Wehrlein: “A disappointing result today. I got a good start and managed to avoid all the problems in the first couple of corners, then the first stint was quite good for me. I had a good fight with the Saubers but after the first pit stop they were in front of me. I tried to push hard to overtake one of them again but I couldn’t manage it and I destroyed my tyres behind them so I had to box again. At the second stop we had a problem with the left-rear which lost us a lot of time but by then I think 18th was the best we could hope for. Now we have to focus on heading to Europe and what we can do to improve. My thanks to the team so far for a good first few races and their hard work.”

Rio Haryanto: “Today I was unlucky and it’s very disappointing, especially after I made such a good start, probably my best of the season so far. I managed to gain a couple of places, however when I got to turn 2 there were lots of cars fighting and the Force India of Hulkenberg spinning but I had nowhere to go. There was contact on the side of the car and quite a bit of damage, which meant I had to stop the car. After a good couple of days it’s disappointing to finish the weekend in this way, but looking at the positives I feel we have been more competitive and I’m looking forward to continuing this at the next race in Barcelona.”

Dave Ryan, Racing Director: “I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was a race to forget, as we learn something from every lap, but it’s fair to say we’re heading home from Sochi disappointed. Rio was massively unlucky and as the replays show, he was just a passenger as Hulkenberg came spinning back towards him. From the footage we can see he was airborne, which together with the damage to his car tells us a lot about the force with which he was punted out of the race. Pascal had a good initial stint and enjoyed a couple of feisty battles for position but in pushing so hard the tyres were destroyed and we had to pit him again. At that stop we had a problem with the left-rear, which lost us a lot of time and so in the final stint it was just about bringing his car home. Now, with the first four races behind us, it’s time to take everything we’ve learned so far and try to make some good progress with effect from Spain.”

[MIKA27]

SAUBER: WE ARE STRUGGLING WITH OUR PACE

The Sauber F1 Team finished the Russian Grand Prix in P14 (Ericsson) and P16 (Nasr). Due to an early safety car phase directly after the race start, the Swiss team changed the race strategy for Marcus Ericsson, who started from last position. Felipe Nasr suffered from a slow puncture on the front left tyre, which compromised his race due to an early pit stop. Besides that, the Brazilian received a five second time penalty for not respecting the race director’s instructions regarding turn 2.

Aside from the outcome of the Russian Grand Prix, the 1st May brings back sad race day memories. It is the 22nd anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s death. The Sauber F1 Team, and especially Felipe Nasr and Senna’s former physiotherapist Josef Leberer, are thinking of him on this special race day.

Marcus Ericsson: “It’s been a decent race for me. I had a difficult weekend as I have been struggling a lot to get the tyres to work on this special surface here. After the long-runs on Friday, we expected the car would behave better on high-fuel, which was the case today. For myself I can be satisfied with my race performance. Obviously, the result is not where we want to be. We are struggling with our pace at the moment, but we just need to focus even more to work on our performance.”

Felipe Nasr: “I had a good start and was able to gain some positions in the first laps of the race. Unfortunately, on my first stint with the supersoft tyres, I had a slow puncture on the left front tyre, which forced me to box on lap 12. We changed to the soft tyres on which I made it to the end. This early pit stop surely compromised my race. It is unfortunate, but I can also take some positives from the weekend as I felt comfortable in the car.”

[MIKA27]

TWO SENIOR SAUBER FIGURES ABSENT IN RUSSIA

Monisha Kaltenborn is once again missing in action this weekend in Russia.

Earlier in 2016, the Sauber boss and co-owner’s paddock absence stirred speculation the Swiss team’s obvious financial problems may in fact be terminal.

But the well-connected Swiss newspaper Blick insists that Kaltenborn is only absent this weekend at Sochi in order to care for her unwell son.

More alarming, however, is that Tim Malyon, Sauber’s head of track engineering, has suddenly left the struggling team.

Formerly at Red Bull, Malyon only joined Sauber a few months ago, to replace one of the team’s longest-serving members, Giampaolo Dall’Ara.

“We have financial difficulties, it’s not a secret, but I think the good thing is we are still around,” said Sauber’s long-time team manager Beat Zehnder in Russia.

“We’re working hard to solve all the problems but it’s not easy,” he added. “An annual budget now (in F1) is just massive and to cover it just by sponsors and the income from Bernie (Ecclestone) is just not sufficient.”

As for whether Sauber will be able to make it through the rest of F1’s longest-ever race calendar this year, Zehnder deferred to his absent boss.

“I think this is a question which Monisha should answer, because I haven’t got the overall picture,” he said.

[MIKA27]

AZERBAIJAN FIGHTING NO THREAT TO GRAND PRIX

F1’s governing body as well as supremo Bernie Ecclestone have backed Azerbaijan after declaring local fighting is no risk to the inaugural grand prix in Baku next month.

A month ago, the Azerbaijan government dismissed suggestions fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed local region, might jeopardise the safe running of forthcoming sports events.

“Azerbaijan always, to the highest standard, keeps athletes, tourists, fans and all participants safe at any events taking place in the country,” a sports ministry spokeswoman said in April.

And now, in Sochi for the Russian grand prix, a spokesperson for F1’s governing FIA was asked if the ongoing conflict, culminating in the reported death of two Karabakh servicemen this week, still threatened the grand prix.

“We are confident that the grand prix of Europe is not in danger,” the FIA spokesperson is quoted by Tass news agency.

“We (the FIA) follow the news, but racing is separate to politics. Additionally, we understand the situation has become less tense,” the person added.

At Sochi, F1 supremo Ecclestone was also asked about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and whether it might threaten Baku’s inaugural race.

“I’m sure it won’t,” he said. “We had a similar situation in Bahrain.

“We are not involved in it — we (F1) are not fighting with anybody.”

[MIKA27]

RTL RELEASE LAUDA FROM F1 PUNDIT OBLIGATIONS

F1 legend Niki Lauda is taking a step back from his full-time duties as the lead pundit for German television.

Lauda has held the RTL microphone for years but the broadcaster admitted at Sochi that it has agreed that Lauda will no longer appear on-screen at every grand prix.

“As chairman of the Mercedes team, in turbulent times for formula one, he (Lauda) is released from the obligation to accompany RTL at each race,” RTL said in a statement.

Already at Sochi, the stand-in for Lauda – former Toyota driver Timo Glock – began work as a new expert pundit.

“In Timo Glock we have obtained a first-rate addition to our motor sport team,” said RTL sports chief Manfred Loppe.

“It is important for us and the spectators that this year and next, Niki is still available with a few exceptions as our number 1 expert,” he added.

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo ‘expects’ Kvyat apology

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that the “sidepod and floor” of his RB12 were damaged in the Lap 1 collision caused by his team-mate Daniil Kvyat.

Kvyat ran into the back of Sebastian Vettel at Turn 2 at Sunday’s Russian GP with the impact sending the Ferrari driver into his Red Bull team-mate Ricciardo.

The Aussie was forced to pit for repairs with Kvyat also having to pit while Vettel, who the Russia hit again a corner later, was out of the grand prix.

Ricciardo nursed his damaged car through to the chequered flag but crossed the line down in 11th place, his first race outside the points for this season.

“I’ve just seen the car now and all the sidepod and floor is damaged,” he revealed.

“It cost us the race really. It’s a shame. I expect an apology, put it that way.

“He owes it to a few people today, so, yeah, let’s see. I saw a bit of a replay, during the safety car I was looking at the screens trying to figure out what happened. I had a feeling that’s what happened, and that’s what it looked like for now. So I will watch it again but it seems that sort of had us over today.”

While most of the frontrunners completed their afternoon on just two sets of tyres, Ricciardo had to come in for a second stop given how early his first was.

“I don’t think the tyre was working very well, but we had a lot of damage.

“The car was sliding around a lot and it was hard.

“We put the soft tyre on at the end and that was giving me a little bit more, but lap one shaped the race for us.”

[MIKA27]

Fan video shows Kvyat causing Vettel’s race-ending crash

Footage shot by a fan at Sochi Autodrom shows the moment Sebastian Vettel’s race came to an end when he was hit for a second time by Daniil Kvyat.

Kvyat had already run into Vettel at turn two and as the pair rounded turn three Vettel slowed, possibly due to a damaged tyre sustained during the initial contact with Kvyat and the other Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo.

The second hit from Kvyat at turn three, which the video shows, pitched Vettel into a spin which sent him into the tyre wall.

The video also shows how close Max Verstappen was to being involved in the incident. The Toro Rosso driver rounded the outside of Kvyat’s car at speed moments after Kvyat struck Vettel. The other Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz Jnr also had to take avoiding action as the Ferrari and red Bull tangled.

Kvyat was given a ten-second stop-go penalty and three penalty points for causing the collision, which he accepted responsibility for.

MIKA: I bet this will only aid Helmut Marko in moving Kvyat backward to Torro Rosso

[MIKA27]

Niki Lauda: Suggestions of Rosberg favouritism are 'bulls---'

Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda has labelled suggestions that his team is favouring Nico Rosberg over Lewis Hamilton as "bulls---".

Poor starts at the first two races and MGU-H issues at the last two rounds have prevented Hamilton showing his full potential so far this season. Meanwhile, Rosberg has scored four straight victories, resulting in suggestions on social media of a conspiracy at Mercedes.

"That is bulls---," Lauda told Sky Sports. "I hate this talk.

"There are 1,100 people and they all try to do their best for both cars, otherwise we would never have gotten here. These mistakes we don't do on purpose. They are simple human mistakes that everyone can do and we have to take all the consequences to make sure it will not happen again, and that is what we are going to do."

Hamilton also suffered a loss of water pressure during the Russian Grand Prix, forcing him to back off just as he was starting to close on Rosberg. But Lauda said the double MGU-H issues were of more concern.

"These things can happen when you change the engine. It should not happen, but it can happen. More worrying is that Lewis needed to change the engine and that it [the problem] repeated itself. We changed all the parts associated to it and it came back, so we have to look somewhere else."

[skalls]

I have to agree - Pretty reckless from Kyviat IMO I felt for Seb

Last week seb was in the wrong. First hit today shouldn't have happened, losing control of your car is a bad excuse. Second hit was kind of on seb since he did let up.

Kyvt needs to dial it down from 11. He's reckless at this point.

Loved seeing Alonso at 6 and Haas back in the points. May have to be that guy at the race in October wearing a team shirt lol

[MIKA27]

Arrivabene 'no reason for what happened to Vettel'

Right from the point where he took charge of Ferrari's F1 effort, Maurizio Arrivabene promised to be as transparent as possible and, after Sebastian Vettel's first lap exit from the Russian Grand Prix, he made no effort to hide his emotions.

Already handicapped by the gearbox change that dropped him from second to seventh on the grid, Vettel was the victim of a double contact through the first two corners, with his assailant being none other than the 'madman' he accused of pulling a risky move into turn one of the Chinese Grand Prix two weeks ago.

On that occasion, Daniil Kvyat made a clean pass on the four-time world champion, but Vettel's avoiding action brought him into contact with Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. In Sochi, however, there was no disguising who was to blame for the incident but what angered Arrivabene more was that the two cars collided on more than one occasion.

“I promised to all of you since the first time I started working here to be transparent and honest and, last time, in China, I was not complaining about Kvyat,” the Italian pointed out, “That time, I said Kvyat had done his job. This time, I can't find any reason for what's happened.”

Kvyat claimed post-race that sudden deceleration by Vettel had caught him out heading into turn three, suggesting that the German may have had a puncture or another mechanical issue, but Arrivabene still refused to believe that the contact was anything but avoidable.

“If you look at the images, it's quite clear,” he fumed, “Sebastian said he touched him one time at the beginning and, then, the second time was quite hard. Of course, if you have a crash like this you slow down but that doesn't mean because [he] slows down that you have to hit him another time! Of course [he slowed], he hit him! What does he have to do, fly? We don't need the telemetry to understand that…”

Vettel's immediate response to the incident, which left him in the wall on the outside of turn three, was played out for television audiences after a brief pause to mask multiple expletives, and Arrivabene confirmed that the German was far from calm by the time he had returned to the garage – having commandeered the moped sent to pick him up.

“He was not happy at all - he was going ballistic, but you understand,” Arrivabene explained, “[We've had] the rare situation where he took a DNF one time [bahrain] and a second time with something that had nothing to do with him, this is the character of the guy. He's a four-time world champion and he wants to continue to win, so it's understandable. Afterwards, we talked and he was a bit more calm, but of course calm doesn't mean happy.”

[MIKA27]

Lewis Hamilton labels Sochi qualifying reprimand 'ridiculous'

Lewis Hamilton has described the reprimand he received for an incident in Russian Grand Prix Formula 1 qualifying as "ridiculous" and admits a penalty is now inevitable.

The world champion was summoned to see the officials as he had rejoined incorrectly after going wide over the run-off area at Turn 2 early in Q1.

As he was previously reprimanded for reversing in the Bahrain GP pitlane during qualifying, Hamilton can only afford one more such ruling before receiving a 10-place grid penalty.

"I'm aware there's going to be at least one 10-place penalty in the future because I've got one more reprimand to go," he said.

"The last one was bloody ridiculous.

"It's quite funny. When I was karting, there was one steward, he was just there to make everyone's weekend a bad weekend.

"I'm starting to have reminiscent experiences of recent... families would turn up, spend so much money to be there on a weekend.

"There was this one guy, a complete arsehole. I heard he is still there. He was just there to ruin people's weekends.

"I started to see signs of him!"

When asked which reprimand he was referring to, he said he "can't remember what the last one was".

On being made aware of it, he said: "Both of them!"

Hamilton avoided the collisions at the start to run fifth and once he made it into second, he began cutting the gap to Rosberg.

The world champion got it down to 7.7s before he had to back off when the team informed him of a water pressure problem.

"There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I could win it," he said.

"I had the pace but then I problem with the engine again, so I had to back off.

"I wasn't at full throttle down the straights, so just trying to look after it.

"It's not that it hurts, it's not that at all. I don't sit here happy because nothing has gone particularly well.

"I fought hard through that race and got myself back up there.

"Ultimately, I wasn't able to race for the win, which I believe I had a chance to do. That's the only thing in my mind."

[MIKA27]

Sainz baffled by Russian Grand Prix penalty for overtake on Palmer

Carlos Sainz Jr says he cannot understand why he got a penalty for an incident with Jolyon Palmer in Formula 1's Russian Grand Prix.

The stewards ruled that Sainz's Toro Rosso had forced Palmer's Renault off-track between Turns 2 and 3 during a battle for 13th place near half-distance.

The Spaniard was given a 10-second penalty on his race time, which dropped him from 11th on the road to 12th, and two penalty points on his licence.

"At the exit of Turn 2, if you want to pass you have to go on the exit of Turn 3," Sainz told Autosport.

"But he decided to go around the outside [through Turn 3] and I was never expecting him.

"I was looking in my left mirror to see him, then suddenly he loses the car on the dirty part of the exit of Turn 2, then I realised there was someone on my left and we touched.

"Because of this touch, first he loses the car and then he goes wide.

"And then I think the stewards thought I forced him off the track.

"To get a 10-second penalty for this kind of accident for me is a bit like you cannot even race anyone.

"I didn't even see him, he just lost the car a bit by himself by wheelspin on the dirty side."

Sainz's race was complicated at the start when his Toro Rosso picked up debris from the Turn 2 collision between Daniil Kvyat, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo.

"I picked up a part of Kvyat's front wing which went into my radiator and sidepod, then from the exit of Turn 2 when the safety car came out I had no power in the engine because it went into protection mode," Sainz explained.

"I had to do a thousand switches to get it to work without misfires, but 70bhp down.

"So my first stint on the super-soft was done with like 40 or 50 points less of downforce.

"We were 2s per lap slower without the downforce and then no power on the engine, so we decided to stop early on lap 12 to get rid of whatever it was on the car

"Stopping on lap 12 for the soft and doing 40 laps on it, we knew the whole race was compromised."

[MIKA27]

MARCHIONNE: WE MUST CLOSE THE GAP AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne said in the aftermath of the Russian Grand Prix that he is sure the Maranello team will bounce back from its current dip.

Although Mercedes’ closest challenger in 2016, Ferrari has been struck by reliability and race incidents, including Sebastian Vettel’s push into the Sochi barrier by Daniil Kvyat on Sunday.

Not only that, the qualifying gap between the fastest Mercedes and Ferrari in Russia was close to a second.

“Yesterday was a bad day,” Marchionne said in Turin at the presentation of a new Fiat model, “and we must close the gap at the speed of light.

“I am used to seeing the Ferrari of Schumacher so it hurts my soul to see a Ferrari that suffers,” added Marchionne, who earlier had set the team goals of immediate race wins and the title. But I have the utmost confidence in the team that we will succeed,” he said.

Meanwhile AP reports that Marchionne has been named CEO of Ferrari, while retaining his position as chairman, the super sports carmaker announced Monday.

The move came as Ferrari posted its best first-quarter earnings ever, a 19-percent increase in net profit to 78 million euros ($89.5 million). That compares with 65 million euros in the same period last year.

Marchionne, who is also CEO of mass-market carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, replaces long-time CEO Amedeo Felisa, who is retiring after 26 years at Ferrari. The 69-year-old Felisa, who became Ferrari CEO in 2008 and formerly was head of product at Alfa Romeo, will retain a Ferrari board seat.

Marchionne, 63, engineered the luxury carmaker’s spin off from mass carmaker Fiat Chrysler after longtime chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo stepped down over differences in strategy.

The CEO plans to position Ferrari as a luxury goods maker beyond cars. Ferrari said in the earnings release that the first Ferrari branded goods are expected to be available in 2017, Ferrari’s 70th anniversary.

[MIKA27]

ROSBERG: LEWIS IS GOING TO BOUNCE BACK

Nico Rosberg brushed aside any suggestions that he will enjoy an easy drive to his first drivers’ championship after cruising to a seventh consecutive victory in Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix.

The 30-year-old German, winner of all four races this year and seven in succession including last season, said he expects his Mercedes teammate, defending world champion Lewis Hamilton, to mount a strong challenge to him – despite his 43-point lead.

Hamilton finished second on Sunday after another weekend of mechanical problems and other setbacks, having escaped a damaging collision on the opening lap for the first time this year.

“I am well aware that Lewis is going to bounce back when he has a clean weekend and it will be the usual tough battle against him,” said Rosberg. “Sport is all about ups and downs and I just need to make sure I prepare mentally.”

Hamilton drove with great vim from 10th on the grid – he was unable to run in Q3 on Saturday due to an engine failure – to finish second even after being told to slow down by his team because of another engine problem during the race.

Rosberg’s win lifted him alongside the only other men to have won seven races in a row, Italian Alberto Ascari and compatriots Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, whose own race for Ferrari was wrecked by an opening-lap collision with Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull.

All three went on to win the championship, but as Rosberg pointed out when he spoke to reporters: “The other people did not have Lewis Hamilton as their teammate.

“Yes, I have a good points lead, but there are 425 points to go and I have only a 43-point lead now so it is completely not worth talking about.

“Lewis is driving as strong as ever. For sure, he will bounce back massively. He doesn’t have an issue with fighting back either with his head. I am sure we will see a lot more of the battle between us and it is always going to be a tough battle.”

Hamilton, who appeared downcast after the race, said later that he would never give up in defence of his crown and intended to fight all the way.

“(Rosberg) has the buffer of knowing that, even if he has two bad weekends, he is still in the fight, which is a huge confidence boost, and generally he has been starting at the front with no-one to really bother him.

“So far, it has been a nice Sunday drive for him, but there are still 17 races to go and still 17 races in which I can give him hell.”

More seriously, Hamilton expressed concerns at the frailty of his engines this season and his loss of supply, as he has been using them rapidly, and the strong chance of facing reprimands and penalties.

“I’m not sitting here now feeling all happy because really nothing has gone particularly well,” he explained. “I got myself back up there in this race, but I wasn’t able to fight for the win.

“I believe I had a chance to win. That is the only thing in my mind. Also, I am running out of engines as the races go by. It is not hurting, not yet. It is just not great.

“I am aware there is likely to be one more 10-place penalty because I have one more reprimand to go – and the last one was just ridiculous.”

His reprimand received on Saturday was given because he failed to obey a sign on a bollard, a decision that was seen as laughable in the paddock.

Meanwhile, Ferrari also believe they can still mount a challenge despite their lack of consistency and reliability.

“We are looking for a big challenge and ok, what has happened, it is part of the racing story,” said team chief Maurizio Arrivabene. “We have had bad luck and human mistakes, but I prefer to have problems now than later on.

“We need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The championship? We are not giving up. I don’t want the team to give up.”