Formula 1 - 2017

[MIKA27]

 

LONDON MAYOR: HAPPY TO TALK AND LISTEN TO F1

The dream of a British Grand Prix through the streets of London has taken a step closer to reality in the aftermath of a highly successful and well attended F1 Live event through the streets of Britain’s capital.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan told Sky, “Clearly, if it’s the case that talks have broken down with Silverstone, I’m happy to talk and listen to F1. There are some hurdles we’ll have to overcome.”

“I’ve met the new leadership of F1, they’re a breath of fresh air, they’re very exciting, they’ve got cracking ideas, and if they want to have a conversation with me, I’m really happy to talk, listen, and work with them to make it happen.”

“Let’s wait and see. F1 have only just got out of the deal with Silverstone. But the reality is, there are so many F1 fans in London. Some hurdles we’ll have to overcome, but there’s no reason at all why it can’t be beyond the wit of us to organise an F1 race in London in the future.”

“We’re good at organising events safely. I’m reassured we can make everyone safe in London and we’re going to make sure events are successful. I’m sure F1, working with us, can in the future have an F1 race in London. Watch this space,” added Khan.

Amid news that Silverstone have triggered a break clause in the British Grand Prix contract, Liberty Media bosses are adamant that a race in Britain is a priority for the sport’s future and have clearly not ruled out extending a deal with the sport’s longest serving circuit beyond 2019.

Sean Bratches, managing director of F1’s commercial operations, told ESPN, “We are going to have a British Grand Prix. I have been in this chair for six months now, notwithstanding the UK we have probably had 30 to 40 countries and municipalities reach out to me and express interest in hosting a grand prix.”

“It is an incredibly valuable asset not only to the circuit, but also the country and the city where these take place in.”

“We have three years left at Silverstone 2017, 2018, 2019 and we are going to put our shoulder behind making those the best grands prix we have ever seen. In the interim we are going to figure out where we are going next in Great Britain. It maybe Silverstone or maybe somewhere else.”

“We have 20 grands prix promoters, I would say that very few are top shelve promoters. Our job is to help those that effectuate it well and those that are not. We can activate fan experiences, activate marketing to really sell these events in new ways. I think there is an opportunity to help our friends at Silverstone do a better job,” added Bratches.

This year Silverstone hosts it’s 51st grand prix since the modern era which began in 1950, only Monza (66 grands prix) and Monaco (64 grands prix) have hosted more F1 World Championship races.

MIKA: Bonus video Best of London show

 

 

[MIKA27]

Kimi Raikkonen says his Formula 1 future is in Ferrari's hands

Whilst Ferrari have said that it is Sebastian Vettel's decision if he wishes to remain with the Italian squad next season, his Finnish team-mate Kimi Räikkönen's future very much hangs in the balance.

Räikkönen has less than half Vettel's points tally and sits behind Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo in the standings thanks to some poor performances and a spate of reliability issues, but the 2007 world champion isn't too worried about his future, despite admitting it's very much Ferrari's decision whether he stays or goes after the current campaign.

"It's up to them, whatever they decide it's their choice," said Räikkönen when asked about his situation, given Ferrari announced his last one-year extension ahead of the British Grand Prix weekend.

"I don't know, we'll see...you'll have to talk to the team and ask, but in my view it's a normal situation, like it was last year."

Räikkönen conceded that his season so far had been disappointing, but he is confident he has the pace to win races and it's just a matter of things outside of his control coming together to make that happen.

"For sure I'm not very happy where we've been finishing, considering all the races so far, but we cannot change it.

"The team knows for sure what I want but even then it's up to them. My only aim is to do well, that's the only reason I'm here. It's not always fun when it's not going well, but that's how it is sometimes. I'm sure the results will come.

"I don't even know where we are with the points, I've not looked. For sure not what we've wanted, but this is how it is. This is another weekend and hopefully we can try and get the result we know we can get.

"Speed wise I think I have it. But it's not always enough if the rest doesn't go to plan."

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON: THE FANS MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME

Lewis Hamilton has spoken out for the first time about his absence from the headline grabbing F1 Live event in London, after his no show drew widespread criticism from media, fans and the Formula 1 community in general.

All 19 of his rivals on the grid were present as well as dozens of former F1 drivers who entertained the large and enthusiastic crowd. When Hamilton’s name was mentioned during the stage presentation of drivers he was boo-ed loudly by the crowd. Ironically the Briton’s title rival, Sebastian Vettel, received one of the biggest cheers on the day.

Instead of attending Formula 1’s initiative to take the sport directly to the fans, something Hamilton has often lobbied for, he opted to spend time-off in Mykonos with his entourage.

Speaking during the press conference ahead of the British Grand Prixm Hamilton said, “Everyone had the right to make their own decision. For me I felt that it has been a pretty intense season so far and, for me, I needed to prepare the best way I could this weekend. The season is the most important thing for me and that’s it.”

Despite the fact that the event was the biggest PR event in the Formula 1 history, Hamilton admitted, “I genuinely haven’t been on my phone the last couple of days. I’ve tried to switch off mostly. I’ve turned it on a couple of times to receive a message but I tried to stay away from it.”

“Personally, I feel I’ve prepared the best way I could this weekend and that’s really all I can do. Of course, people are going to have opinions about it but I’m trying to prepare the best way I can for the battle ahead of me and other people will have different ways of doing so.”

“I love this grand prix and love this race, and I don’t feel that yesterday personally plays any role in how great this weekend is for me. Every season for the last ten years it’s been incredible and growing every year. You get people who have saved up so much through the year to come up to this grand prix and you will have seen the previous years how much I have appreciated and respected that and try to give and enjoy the weekend with the fans, and that doesn’t change.”

Asked if he felt that he missed a good opportunity to interact with F1 fans, the triple World Champion replied, “I like to think I do everything I can to connect with the fans and I do have the biggest following here in Formula 1 and I communicate with them as much as I can.”

“The fans mean everything to me, they always have, and I make no secret of that and I think hopefully my commitment to the sport over the last ten years and what I do outside the sport — things that perhaps you don’t comment on, such as when I go to visit a hospital and spend time with young kids who can’t come to a grand prix. That’s not something you potentially report on, but that’s something that is very important to me and that’s where I feel I like to put my energy mostly.”

“I think ultimately we have decisions to make and you have to stand firm with the decisions you make and feel proud of the decisions you make. I personally do and coming here this weekend I’m coming here to do everything I can to shine as much light and raise the flag in the best way I can, proudly, and drive the best I can.”

“The goal is to win the British Grand Prix for my home crowd and I’ve been really fortunate the last three years to do that and the yearning and the will to want to do that again is greater than ever,” added Hamilton who will be seeking his fifth win on home soil having won in 2008, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

MIKA: Should Hamilton get a podium in this years Silverstone GP, I'd love nothing more than to see he try crowd surfing after this latest snub. I'm sure the sea of people in this instance will part  

Pretty bad form indeed, the only driver not to attend. I'd have actually expected the likes of Fernando Alonso not to attend considering his current situation at the McLaren team, yet, sure enough they all attended. Zak Brown summed it up beautifully;

We are so proud to have 2 drivers @alo_oficial @svandoorne who understand the importance of going the extra mile for the fans. ?

[MIKA27]

New double kerbs added at Copse and Club corners

Additional exit kerbs have been added to two corners at Silverstone, ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

In the pre-event notes, Race Director Charlie Whiting has confirmed that a double kerb has been installed on the exit of Turn 9 (Copse) and at Turn 18 (Club).

Elsewhere, the tyre and TecPro barriers have been increased in depth around the outsides of Turn 1 (Abbey), Turn 2 (Farm), Turn 6 (Brooklands), Turn 9 (Copse), Turn 15 (Stowe) and Turn 16 (Vale).

The layout of the circuit has not been changed since last year’s event.

[MIKA27]

F1 drivers "not prepared" for faster Silverstone - Hamilton

Formula 1 drivers are not prepared for just how much quicker Silverstone's corners will be with the 2017 cars, reckons Lewis Hamilton.

The added tyre grip and downforce of the current generation of cars is expected to ramp up the speeds of the Northamptonshire track's high-speed corners, with many drivers excited about what they will experience over the British GP weekend.

For Hamilton, who is hoping for his fourth consecutive victory on home soil, the step up over last season is one that he thinks will catch out drivers.

"I think Copse is going to be flat this year," he said. "It is going to be rapid. None of us are prepared for just how quick Silverstone is going to be compared to previous years. It was awesome in the last race and Maggotts/Becketts is going to be the same.

"It will be a physical race for us being as it is mostly medium and high speed corners. The G we are pulling it will be at least one up maybe two, who knows, it will be a lot of fun."

Daniel Ricciardo cheekily described the sensation he was expecting to get through the high-speed corners including Copse and Becketts as "romantic".

  

"I will try not to say something too dirty or disgusting – but it will be romantic!" he smiled. "I am looking forward to it.

"You kind of got a taste in Austria, and Copse will probably be full [throttle] this year and that is already enough to get me excited."

Force India's Sergio Perez said that running at Silverstone was something he had been excited about for some time.

"It is going to be really interesting. If there is a track I am looking forward to massively it is this one."

When asked if Copse would be flat for his car, he said: "I am so curious to know. I think there might be some cars that could go through their flat at some point over the weekend, so we will see."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner added: "Silverstone is going to be mega. By the time they arrive at Maggots, they won't have lifted – and the amount of full throttle time [over a lap] is longer than Azerbaijan. It is going to be mighty impressive."

[MIKA27]

Brown: Teams must be open to "sacrifices" for benefit of F1

McLaren executive director Zak Brown believes teams must be open to making short-term sacrifices to help new owners Liberty Media drive Formula 1 to greater success in the future.

With Liberty approaching its first half season in charge of grand prix racing, Brown says recent talks with the sport’s bosses has left him hugely encouraged about the direction they want to take F1 in.

But he readily accepts that if F1 is going to attract new fans and achieve a more-sustainable future – perhaps through the introduction of a cost cap or independent engines – then it is the duty of the current competitors to give up some ground they currently have ether in financial or power terms.

“We need to do what is right for the sport,” said Brown. “That is Chase Carey’s [F1 chairman] job, and it is not going to be easy, but McLaren are prepared to make some sacrifices for the good of the sport.

“Ultimately, what is for the good for the sport will come back and be better for us all. So we are prepared to make some short-term sacrifices, because we think it will be better for the long term – so it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice.

"This is a time where I think we all need to work together to grow the sport. We are taking a 10-year plus view, not the next couple of years. We should have up to six teams capable of winning races, because that is what the fans want.”

  

Putting fans first

Brown believes that Liberty’s recent focus on better engine rules, budget cuts, revenue redistribution and a governance restructure to help empower positive change are exactly the right areas of focus for F1’s future.

However, he thinks it is more important that the biggest push at the moment is to make F1 more engaging for fans. This has resulted in a number of positive initiatives – including the F1 Live in London event this week.

Brown added: “The new F1, the next era, is all about the fan. We know the fans want to follow the sport, they want great entertainment and they love the technology. And it needs to be in that sequence – not technology first. We need to make those decisions.

“The cars can still be technical, but we need to make the drivers come out. There are ways to engineer the rules to make driving a more important part of the equation - and I think then that will get more exciting racing, more exciting personalities, and diversity on the grid.

“On the engine front we need manufacturers, but we also need a lower cost engine and an independent competitive supplier. It can’t be an independent engine that just makes up the numbers .

"Too many teams over the years have been compromised by not being able to take an engine off the shelf like the good old days.”

Brown has also continued his calls for F1 to move towards a cost cap arrangement, to limit the budgets being spent my teams.

“I think absolutely we need a cost cap. I think cost containment is impossible to achieve, because if you have the money then you will spend it – period, end of story. I think a cost cap can be policed.

“Then in terms of revenue, we are one of the big teams that benefits from the CCB [Constructors’ Championship Bonus]. I don’t think it should be equal across the playing field, but I think it needs to be more balanced

“Doing this will bring more competitiveness. And to have the odd race that the underdog wins is great for everyone.

  

A roadmap for the future

While longer-term changes like a revenue redistribution will likely be quite hard to reach consensus on, Brown sees room for short-term tweaks to get everyone’s backing – including perhaps handing more power to Liberty.

“At the end of the day Liberty own F1, so they need to run it,” he said. “The teams needs to have a say, a voice.

"But I think it is ridiculous that we had to approve Haas’ paint scheme – do whatever you want.

"I think it is ridiculous that we will have to approve if Force India wants to change its name. Change it, it is your team.

“We need to certainly have a voice because we know best on how to run a race team, so I am not saying give it all to Liberty, but we do need to let them run it more than they can right now.”

Brown believes that the three men currently in charge of F1 are the right mix, and that fans are the ones set to benefit the most from where the sport is heading.

“I have a lot of confidence in the people running the sport – Chase, Sean [Bratches], Ross [Brawn]. They are going to do the right thing for the sport. I think we do need to be saved from ourselves.

“The fan engagement stuff they are ramping up is great too. The event in London, great. The walk of fame in Austria. Great.

“So all that fan engagement, it all comes back to if we have more fans who love our sport, everything else will take care of itself. TV revenue will go up because more people are watching. Tracks will be more successful because we will get more sponsors because we get more fans.

“If we just keep that fan filter as our first focus, then the sport will go on to do great things. I am very bullish for where this is headed.”

[Baldy]

I agree @MIKA27, Hamilton no show at his home country is not good.  Of all the events to take a couple of days off, this is not it.  Alonso and Vettel were very professional about it.  Great respect to Alonso for not only showing up but showing up with enthusiasm and a smile.  I'm a Hamilton fan and still can't believe he did such a douche bag move.  I don't care about excuses.

I sure hope Silverstone is not replaced by another street circuit that will be almost impossible to pass and will largely be processional after the start.  Leave the glamour, spectacle, and exhibition to London but race on a real race track that is Silverstone.  It's one of my favourite on the calendar.

Still can't believe 3 years in and many millions of $$ spent and Honda is this pathetic. Talk about a deterrent for other manufacturers getting into F1.

Hope you had a good little break @MIKA27.  It's been a fantastic summer here in Canada and have been camping, herfing and enjoy life with the brothers.  Cheers.

[Bartolomeo]

1 hour ago, Baldy said:

I agree @MIKA27, Hamilton no show at his home country is not good.  Of all the events to take a couple of days off, this is not it.  Alonso and Vettel were very professional about it.  Great respect to Alonso for not only showing up but showing up with enthusiasm and a smile.  I'm a Hamilton fan and still can't believe he did such a douche bag move.  I don't care about excuses.

I sure hope Silverstone is not replaced by another street circuit that will be almost impossible to pass and will largely be processional after the start.  Leave the glamour, spectacle, and exhibition to London but race on a real race track that is Silverstone.  It's one of my favourite on the calendar.

Still can't believe 3 years in and many millions of $$ spent and Honda is this pathetic. Talk about a deterrent for other manufacturers getting into F1.

Hope you had a good little break @MIKA27.  It's been a fantastic summer here in Canada and have been camping, herfing and enjoy life with the brothers.  Cheers.

Well said

i am a Ferrari guy but like Lewis a lot but it was crap he wasnt there.....Alonso gets it, Indy 500 experience reinforced to him how important the fans are IMHO 

Bart

[MIKA27]

MALLYA: I’M ENJOYING THE FRUITS OF MY 10 YEARS OF OWNERSHIP

Missing India, and pining for a Formula 1 pit lane he can visit only once a year? Not a bit of it, says embattled Force India team owner Vijay Mallya.

The flamboyant businessman, currently fighting a high-profile Indian extradition request, speaks instead of ‘enjoying the fruits’ of his labours on track and planning high-flying Force India’s next decade.

He is also, despite the court appearances and travel restrictions, still living the good life and enjoying a summer of sport.

Horse racing at Royal Ascot, the Wimbledon tennis championships and Champions Trophy cricket have all been on his social diary, along with Wednesday’s Formula One promotional event in London.

“There’s nothing to miss,” the 61-year-old told Reuters at the British Grand Prix when asked if he missed India.

“All my immediate family is either in England or the U.S. Nobody in India at all. As far as my step-siblings are concerned, they are all UK citizens. So there’s nothing family-wise to miss.”

India is seeking Mallya’s extradition over $1.4 billion that the authorities say he owes as a result of loans tied to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya has dismissed the charges against him.
“This witch hunt against me has been going on for a while,” said Mallya, who has lived in Britain since 1992 and considers it a second home.

“So it isn’t as if I have any emotional ups and downs. I have done absolutely nothing wrong. In fact I am glad that it is finally before a UK court and an impartial court. So we wait and see how it plays out.”

The full extradition hearing has been provisionally listed to start on Dec. 4 and to last two weeks.

Until the issue is resolved, Mallya cannot leave Britain but he said that was no hardship, even if Silverstone is likely to be his first and last appearance in the Formula One paddock this year.

“I enjoy this atmosphere … I enjoy meeting all the guests and sponsors and walking around the paddock. But while I enjoy it, there’s no novelty value any more,” he said. “I’ve been there and done it.

“When I first started I went to every single race to the point where it was getting a bit exhausting, going to 20 races in a year. So it’s not as if I’m missing something.

“If you look at my role in the team, there’s nothing for me to miss. I am participating in all the decision making and I’ve got a virtual pit wall at home.

“I miss being around but I’m also happy in my space. My time will come and I’ll go back to the tracks.”

Mallya took over the failing Jordan team a decade ago and renamed it Force India as a measure of his pride in setting up India’s first Formula One entry.

The talk now is of taking India out of the name to attract the sort of big name sponsors who want a global reach rather than a regional focus.

“Things have changed. Force India is getting very limited in terms of potential. The Indian Grand Prix is gone, sadly. There are no Indian sponsors who’ve come to the table. They seem to be spending all their money on cricket,” said Mallya.

“And I need, for the continuing financial stability of this team, to reach out to more international sponsors.

“We have to think about positioning the team for the next 10 years,” he said, adding that he intended to be around as well.

Force India are currently fourth overall in the constructors’ standings, the position they finished in last year.

“When the team is doing well, then I am able to enjoy the fruits of my labour over so many years,” said Mallya.

“Getting the right people and culture in place and motivating them and developing a car that has fought in the world championship — that’s no coincidence or stroke of luck. This is proper performance.

“This is the time I’m enjoying the fruits of my 10 years of ownership.”

[MIKA27]

BRITISH GRAND PRIX: DRIVERS’ PRESS CONFERENCE: PART 1

BRITISH GRAND PRIX: DRIVERS’ PRESS CONFERENCE: PART 2

MIKA: Bonus, Call me biased being an Aussie, but Dan Ricciardo cracks me up

 

[MIKA27]

2 hours ago, toofargone said:

Did I hear them right? They are dropping Silverstone possibly for a London road track? Crazyness 

Not quite..

Silverstone is possibly being dropped after the 2018 season and London city is now come back in the spotlight. The London circuit has been "On again, off again" in addition to Silverstone. Silverstone potentially being dropped is certainly craziness 

[MIKA27]

BOTTAS SETBACK AS GEARBOX CHANGE MEANS GRID PENALTY

After topping both practice sessions on the opening day of the British Grand Prix weekend, Valtteri Bottas has received a blow to his chances of winning the race when Mercedes revealed that the Finn would collect a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

This has boosted Lewis Hamilton’s chances of starting from the top spot on the grid at his home British Grand Prix, a victory would revitalise his title challenge which has faltered since he last won in Canada. 

Hamilton, who is 20 points behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel after nine of 20 races, had a similar problem at the previous round in Austria which Bottas won after qualifying on pole.

“His gearbox was damaged in the same way as Lewis’s but less severely, and we had hoped to coax it to the end of the cycle,” said a Mercedes spokesman. “However, we have not been able to do so. The cause of the damage is understood and now behind us, just as for Lewis’s problem.”

Bottas has taken two poles this season and had been fastest in both Friday’s practice sessions, with Hamilton a close second.

The Briton has won for the past three years at Silverstone and is chasing his fifth victory in total at the circuit. Another pole position would leave the triple F1 World Champion one short of Michael Schumacher all-time record of 68.

MIKA: WHAT...A...COINCIDENCE 

[MIKA27]

ABITEBOUL: NO OBVIOUS ROADBLOCK TO KUBICA COMEBACK

Renault have seen no “obvious roadblocks” to Polish driver Robert Kubica’s Formula 1 comeback from serious injury but it is still early days, the French team’s managing director Cyril Abiteboul at Silverstone.

Kubica partially severed his forearm in a 2011 rally accident in northern Italy and has not raced in Formula 1 since 2010.

Speculation about his return has been gathering pace, however, and he impressed in two recent tests with Renault in 2012 cars with V8 engines and demonstration tyres.

Abiteboul was wary of adding to the hype, reminding reporters at the British Grand Prix that the current V6 turbo hybrid cars were very different beasts.

“What I can tell you is that he is still quick, he is still very consistent and more importantly he has this energy and this drive, this enthusiasm that he has always had,” said the Frenchman.

“It’s really too early to talk about next steps… right now, the focus is on getting the most out of the overall line-up and package that we have. Then we will think about 2018 in due course.”

Asked whether the evaluation so far had shown that Kubica was capable of racing a Formula One car, the Frenchman replied: “I don’t want to say yes or no. It’s not like a test that you are passing at an exam. We’ve not seen any obvious roadblocks.”

Abiteboul said Renault, whose current drivers are Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer, were not just in it for the publicity.

“We are not doing that for PR purposes, even though we see it is creating a lot of media expectation and focus. It’s not what we are doing, we care so much more for Robert than this,” he added.

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: USING THE SHIELD I GOT A BIT DIZZY

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel said he felt ‘dizzy’ while testing Formula One’s new safety shield on his Ferrari during on Friday morning practice at the British Grand Prix.

The four-time world champion had the car fitted for an installation lap and reported back that he struggled for clear vision.

“I tried it this morning, I got a bit dizzy… The forward vision is not very good,” he said.

“I think it’s because of the curvature, you get quite a bit of distortion, plus you get quite a bit of downwash down the straight pushing the helmet forward. We had another run planned with it, but I didn’t like it, so we took it off.”

Formula 1’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA), has been looking for the right way to increase head protection for drivers in the last two years.

The shield is due to be tested again at the Italian Grand Prix in September.

[MIKA27]

Antonio Giovinazzi upbeat after maiden Haas F1 run

Antonio Giovinazzi says he hopes to close the gap to Romain Grosjean across the remainder of his Friday practice session, after he received his first Haas run at the British Grand Prix.

Ferrari reserve driver Giovinazzi, who competed in the opening two races of the year as a replacement for the unfit Pascal Wehrlein at Sauber, has been recruited to carry out seven FP1 sessions for Haas this season.

The first of those seven came during Friday morning’s opening session at Silverstone, in which the Italian placed 16th, two positions and four-tenths of a second down on team-mate Grosjean, both drivers having set their best lap on the Soft tyres.

Giovinazzi expressed delight at his first experience of the VF-17, the third different current-year Formula 1 car he has driven in 2017, but hopes to close the gap to Grosjean across the remainder of the year.

“I think it was a good session,” Giovinazzi, runner-up in last year’s GP2 series, told Motorsport Week.

“Of course to start in FP1 at Silverstone, it’s one of the hardest tracks for these cars,[but] it was a really good run.

“I was only four tenths from Romain, so I’m really happy; Romain is a driver who’s really strong in high speed [corners], so for this track I think he’s a good reference.

“My target was to take confidence with the car in high speed and everything, so it was important and a good session.”

On whether he regarded the 2017 runs as an audition for a 2018 race seat, Giovinazzi replied: “Now I’m just focusing on these seven FP1s, to do my job and to be more close as possible to Romain at the end of the season and then for next year we’ll see.”

Giovinazzi will return to the cockpit of the VF-17 during the next event in Hungary.

[MIKA27]

British GP: Damage stopped Williams running aero update in FP2

Williams was not able to evaluate its updated aerodynamic package in second practice for Formula 1's British Grand Prix because of damage sustained in the opening session.

The team introduced an aggressive update for the previous race in Austria last weekend but struggled in qualifying, leading to a split approach in practice at Silverstone on Friday.

Lance Stroll was running the old nose support, the new bargeboards and the new vertical conditioners, while Felipe ran the new nose, the new bargeboards and the old vertical conditioners with the three splitters on top of the sidepods.

Massa revealed that both drivers suffered damage when they ran wide at Copse in FP1, forcing them to remove the parts for the afternoon to protect them for the rest of the weekend.

"We started with the new package, both cars," he said. "But then I damaged my parts, and Lance damaged his parts.

"We are quite on the limit with the parts, so we just put back the old ones for the second session.

"We should go back to the new ones tomorrow, hopefully."

In Austria, Massa was one of several drivers to pick up damage running wide and hitting raised kerbs on the run-off.

He said it was frustrating the team suffered floor damage for the second Friday in a row, balming the exit of Copse "where it's quite easy to damage the car".

Despite the damage to the new parts, both Massa and Stroll said the team had made a step forward from the Red Bull Ring.

Massa was ninth in FP1 and eighth in FP2, despite a spectacular spin in the second session.

"It was good," said Massa. "It was not really like in Austria.

"Everything was quite normal to warm up the tyres, I did my best lap on the first lap on the tyres without any problem.

"That's definitely positive.

"The long run feels OK, so everything really went in a good direction, like we had before Austria."

Stroll said it "was not a bad day" despite ending both sessions 15th, though did lament the lack of parts hampering his ability to get to grips with the car.

He added: [There are] a few things to improve on my side but the car feels more competitive than Austria, which is positive."

Massa was placed under investigation for impeding Max Verstappen, but received no punishment.

The Brazilian insisted he had done nothing wrong because he was told Verstappen was on an outlap.

"I had a lot of traffic in the front, so that's what I backed off," Massa said.

"If he was on his timed lap I would not do that definitely."

[MIKA27]

Verstappen: Red Bull not quick enough during F1 British GP practice

Max Verstappen believes the Red Bull was "not quick enough" during Friday practice for Formula 1's British Grand Prix.

Mercedes duo Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton dominated both practice sessions, while Verstappen and team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished behind both Ferraris in the afternoon session.

Verstappen was the quickest Red Bull in fifth, less than three tenths behind the third-placed Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen's but six tenths down on pacesetter Bottas's time.

While he felt Red Bull's deficit to Mercedes was not as severe as that gap suggested, Verstappen said his team had struggled to find a suitable set-up and was not as fast as he had hoped to be.

"I don't think it [the gap to Mercedes] is 0.6 seconds," he said.

"It is more that we still need to work. I think they are definitely a bit quicker and we didn't have a great session.

"We still need to work. We are not quick enough.

"The car balance was not fantastic.

"It felt a bit better in first practice and we need to understand why.

"I was not happy in the second practice with the balance of the car, but I think we are a little bit too slow at the moment so we still need to work."

Ricciardo was a second slower than Bottas, but thought he and Verstappen would be able to match Ferrari if they got the most from their cars.

The Australian had a moment through Becketts on one of his qualifying simulation runs during second practice, and like Verstappen said his balance needed improving.

"Mercedes were rapid today, and normally they are quicker in qualifying so we'll let them do their thing at the moment," said Ricciardo.

"But I think on one-lap pace we can get Ferrari and that will translate to higher fuel running.

"I know the feeling with the car is not where it can be, so for sure there is laptime on the table.

"We can definitely improve from where we are. We've learned a lot today.

"In the end we didn't get the right balance or feeling, so we will make some changes tonight and have a better car tomorrow.

"I don't think the wind was favouring us today but we still managed to do Copse flat out, so that was fun.

"We can definitely still find some speed there."

[MIKA27]

Alonso to start British GP last after further Honda changes

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso looks set to start from the back of the grid for Formula 1’s British Grand Prix after Honda decided to change more engine components. 

Alonso will take his sixth internal combustion engine, eighth turbocharger, eighth MGU-H and sixth MGU-K ahead of final practice on Saturday.

As they all exceed his allocation, the change will incur a 25-place grid penalty. 

That will be added to the five-place grid penalty that the McLaren driver received for taking a new energy store ahead of Friday practice at Silverstone.

It remains unclear whether the MGU-H Honda has fitted is current spec or a new part that includes a fix for the failure Alonso encountered in Austria. 

  

Frantic work behind the scenes

Honda has been working on creating a countermeasure since sending the part back to Sakura after last weekend’s Red Bull Ring event. However, it has faced a race against time to get one ready in time given Austria is back-to-back with Silverstone.

It had been expected Honda would take penalties at Silverstone rather than next time out in Budapest, where it expects a stronger result, as it would be more advantageous.

Alonso ended second practice ninth quickest, 1.742 seconds off the pace, with team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne half-a-second back in 16th. 

[skalls]

A race that was relatively boring turned out to be thrilling because of the last 5 races.

• Merc--SIGN BOTTAS NOW!  What more can this guy do to prove he's earned that seat?  Last to second in Baku, 9th to second, passing both Ferraris here.  2 wins, 2 poles.  SIGN NOW!  Aside from Riccardo, I don't think there's another non-Ferrari driver that would match his results in the Merc this year.  Dude is good, keep him.
• Kyvat -- The flying torpedo keeps the nickname going.
• Ferrari -- Wth, same dead tire at the end.  I liked Horner's message to Max with the why on his 2nd pit, though it didn't make sense at the time.
• Vettel -- Comes in with a strong car, good but not great qualifying, good but not great start, steady pace, and leaves with a single point lead in the driver's championship.  That cannot feel good.  To be a fly in the wall in the debrief.
• Ham -- I think he redeemed himself with his now show on Thursday--which I still think was bogus, but winning tends to sooth wounds.
• Haas -- Kinda bummed with their finish but I don't think they can complain, they didn't seem to be the best of the rest as they were last week.  I know the livery isn't knew but man I dig it.
• Palmer -- dude cannot get a break.  I don't see a way he's racing for Renault next year.  Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they buy his contract out this year and start trying another driver.  Most of it isn't his fault, but still.
• Perez -- Another retirement and because of a teammate.  I don't see him in Torro Rosso next year unless Kyvat is passed on.
• Alonso -- What more can be said?

 

[MIKA27]

9 hours ago, skalls said:

A race that was relatively boring turned out to be thrilling because of the last 5 races.

• Merc--SIGN BOTTAS NOW!  What more can this guy do to prove he's earned that seat?  Last to second in Baku, 9th to second, passing both Ferraris here.  2 wins, 2 poles.  SIGN NOW!  Aside from Riccardo, I don't think there's another non-Ferrari driver that would match his results in the Merc this year.  Dude is good, keep him. AGREE 100% I love Bottas, he's doing an amazing job
• Kyvat -- The flying torpedo keeps the nickname going. Toro Rosso need to move him on. Sorry, he used to be "Ok" but since mid 2016, he's slowly been losing his marbles. Seems to be stressed out or something and it clearly shows in his driving. He is the new Maldonado V2
• Ferrari -- Wth, same dead tire at the end.  I liked Horner's message to Max with the why on his 2nd pit, though it didn't make sense at the time.
• Vettel -- Comes in with a strong car, good but not great qualifying, good but not great start, steady pace, and leaves with a single point lead in the driver's championship.  That cannot feel good.  To be a fly in the wall in the debrief. He screwed himself on this, starting first stint aggressive against verstappen and then locking up a number of times, flat spotted his front left. Curious though how both Kimi and he had similar issues in the last 2 laps with the same tyre?
• Ham -- I think he redeemed himself with his now show on Thursday--which I still think was bogus, but winning tends to sooth wounds. I'm NOT a Hamilton fan but he deserved that win and was a great drive. Can't say anything bad about him here.
• Haas -- Kinda bummed with their finish but I don't think they can complain, they didn't seem to be the best of the rest as they were last week.  I know the livery isn't knew but man I dig it. Great team, doing a fine job. I think Magnussen is far more consistent than Grosjean lately.
• Palmer -- dude cannot get a break.  I don't see a way he's racing for Renault next year.  Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they buy his contract out this year and start trying another driver.  Most of it isn't his fault, but still. Indeed sad for Palmer though there is no way he will even be in F1 next year IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if Renault give Palmer the heave-ho and even go as far as getting Kubica in the last 6-8 races THIS SEASON. Not like they have anything to lose...
• Perez -- Another retirement and because of a teammate.  I don't see him in Torro Rosso next year unless Kyvat is passed on. Why would Perez go down the rung from Force India to Toro Rosso? I think the Force India team and car are brilliant.
• Alonso -- What more can be said? ..... I got nothing, this guy must be going nuts!

 

 

[skalls]

yeah I meant Sainz, not Perez.  My bad.

[MIKA27]

BRITISH GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON DOMINATES AS FERRARI DEFLATE

Lewis Hamilton stormed to a lights to flag victory to at the British Grand Prix and reduce the championship points deficit to a single point as Ferrari were plagued by astonishing bad luck when both their drivers suffered punctures late in the race, allowing Valtteri Bottas to make it a Mercedes one-two at Silverstone.

After delivering an out-standing lap to claim pole during qualifying 24 hours earlier, Hamilton was in inspired form as he delivered one of the most dominant performances of his campaign this year.

Pole, fastest lap and maximum points was a killer blow he needed to deliver on the day to recharge his title challenge, which had faltered in the previous two races.In the end he made it look easy.

But clearly it was not a cruise as he explained in the post race interview with Owen Wilson, “It’s never easy. That’s a feeling I can’t really describe. it feels amazing to be up here. I’m so proud to see these great flags everywhere. The support this weekend has been immense. I’m really proud I could do this for you all.”

“The team were faultless this weekend, Valtteri did an incredible job as well so it’s the perfect weekend for us. There’s a long, long way to go,” added the Briton to jubilant cheers from the home fans who got what they wanted on the day which ended with their hero crowd surfing as has become the tradition.

His teammate Valtteri Bottas stormed through the field from ninth on the grid to take second place, in what was arguably his best drive for the Silver Arrows team thus far.

Granted the Finn benefited from the late race bad luck that struck Ferrari, but he did the job to at least finish third and a dollop of good fortune ensured that he was second. No doubt his new contract will be awaiting his signature soon.

He said afterwards, “It was definitely not easy to start from P9 but the team did an absolutely perfect strategy. I kept my head down, kept going, and in the end the puncture with Kimi was a bit lucky for us.”

While Lady Luck smiled down on Mercedes, she obviously had a bone to pick the Ferrari. 

Kimi Raikkonen looked set for second place and Sebastian Vettel fourth with a couple of laps remaining, when both suffered the exact same fate – tyres giving up on them. 

First to be affected was Raikkonen who immediately pitted, costing him second place. Moments later it was a case of instant deja vu for Vettel, his front left tyre was punctured too. 

He slowly made his way around to the pits for a tyre change, but what was a sure fourth place turned turned to seventh. The 20 points lead the German enjoyed at the top of the drivers’ standings, before the race, turned to one at the end of it.

Raikkonen was the picture of utter misery as he spoke about his race on the podium, “Mercedes were just a bit faster. And, unfortunately, unlucky situations seem to be following us at the moment.”

As for his puncture the veteran Finn added, “It’s an unfortunate situation with the tyre at the end but luckily the car stayed in one place. Not happy but we made the best of a bad situation. I didn’t hit anything. I don’t know what happened. I was lucky and l was unlucky.”

Vettel’s race got off to a bad start with flaming rear brake drum after the two formation laps. Off the line he was sluggish, but did manage to slot into fifth place. However from then on never he looked like challenging for a win and it became apparent at the end that a podium would be a tough ask too.

Because Bottas behind him was flying and Ferrari was not being kind to the soft front tyres. By the time the Mercedes driver started attacking, Vettel had no rubber left, and then when fourth looked certain the Pirelli’s cried enough.

One of the highlights of the race was Max Verstappen’s duel with Vettel as the Red Bull driver got the jump on the Ferrari at the start. The pair then slugged it out wheel-to-wheel with Vettel employing every trick in the book to get by the stubborn teenager who thwarted everything thrown at him.

He even quipped over the radio, “He wants to play bumper cars or something.”

Vettel’s frustration was evident as he complained over the radio and waved in frustration. At that point Ferrari wisely brought him for the undercut, which worked as Verstappen emerged from his own stop although he was aggrieved that the team fumbled his tyre change.

However when the Dutchman does the maths, even a two second stop, would have resulted in him rejoining behind the Ferrari. But in the end Vettel’s late race mishap promoted Verstappen to a earned fourth place.

Daniel Ricciardo deserved ‘Driver of the Day’ (as voted for by fans) for his superb performance from 19th on the grid. The Australian was in scintillating form, his race craft sublime and his overtakes a joy to watch on his rapid journey to fifth place.

Sixth place went to Nico Hulkenberg who stayed out of trouble in the Renault to claim his best finish since the Spanish Grand Prix. But it was heartache for his beleaguered teammate Jolyon Palmer who failed to complete a lap as his yellow car stopped on the formation lap with a hydraulic problem. As a result a second formation lap was called for as marshals removed the stricken Renault.

Both Force India’s made it into the top ten for the eighth time this season, this time though Esteban Ocon beat Sergio Perez for the first time – the pair finishing eighth and ninth respectively.

The final point went to Felipe Massa in the Williams who started 14th, but the white cars were out of sorts all weekend. Teenager rookie Lance Stroll was 16th and second last of the cars still on track at the end.

Fernando Alonso made good progress during the first half of the race in the under-powered McLaren, looking good for a possible to ten at one stage. But the Honda engine let him down once again. The Spaniard retired on lap 32.

It was a dismal day for Toro Rosso as Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat collided with one another while battling for position on the opening lap. Kvyat slammed into his teammate, as he speared across the track. The incident brought out the safety car fir three laps as the track was cleared if debris.

It was clear that the Russian was the culprit and thus no surprise that stewards handed him a drive through penalty and two penalty points on his super licence. Kvyat is now up to nine in total, 12 brings a race ban. It will be interesting to see how long he lasts in the Bull pen in the wake of his latest shenanigans.

Final words to Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, “A lot of misfortune for Ferrari at the end and a lot of good luck on our side. We had a solid performance and we’ve had a lot of bad luck this year with the headrest etc. At the end of the year, I think it all balances out.”

“Lewis warned us of his blister. It was odd that three cars suffered fatal blistering. You are extracting every bit of performance and it can go wrong. Valtteri knew what the temperature target of the tyre was and even when he saw Sebastian he didn’t come near and exceed the target.”

“Luck, or intelligence, plays its part. You need to extract performance but not go too far as we maybe did in weeks before. I think we need to have the right mix between street circuits and traditional circuits like Silverstone,” concluded Wolff.

Blow by Blow

Ahead of the race start, Palmer was ruled out on the formation lap, with the Briton reporting that his brake by wire system had failed. He pulled over at the side of the track and given the position of the car an extra formation lap was required.

When the lights eventually went out Hamilton held his lead under pressure from Raikkonen but behind Vettel was passed by Verstappen as the field flooded through the first few corners. Valtteri Bottas, meanwhile, powered through from ninth to seventh in the opening phase.

Further back though there was trouble as Sainz got past team-mate Daniil Kvyat. The Russian went off track and in rejoining collided with Sainz, pitching the Spaniard into a spin and off track where he was forced to retire. Kvyat was later handed a drive through penalty for rejoining unsafely.

The Safety Car was deployed to clear Sainz’s car and the debris, and when racing resumed on lap four, Hamilton held his lead well ahead of Raikkonen, Verstappen and Vettel. Bottas, meanwhile, was making more progress and he passed Ocon and Hulkenberg to take P5. His next target was Vettel who was being held back by Verstappen.

At the back Ricciardo, who had started in P19 following engine-related penalties, was 14th when the SC was deployed and on the re-start picked up two more places. However, as he went to pass Romain Grosjean’s Haas at Woodcote the Australian went off-track and dropped back to P18.

By lap 12, Hamilton had eked out a three-second lead over Raikkonen. Verstappen continued to frustrate Vettel, however, with the Red Bull over six seconds behind the lead Ferrari.

Vettel made his move on lap 14, trying to go down the inside of the Red Bull into Stowe. Verstappen defended and the pair went into the next corner side by side. Vettel held his line and the pair went marginally off track. Verstappen was resolute, however, he emerged in third. The battle allowed Bottas to close in hard and on lap 16 he was two seconds off the back of Vettel’s Ferrari, which was now 14 seconds adrift of Hamilton.

Looking for a strategic overtake of Verstappen, Vettel pitted for soft tyres on lap 19 looking for the undercut. Verstappen pitted on the next lap but his stop for soft tyres was slightly slow due to a wheel nut problem and when he emerged from pit lane, Vettel was already past.

At the front Bottas continued on his starting soft tyres and when Raikkonen pitted for soft tyres, the Finn took second place behind Hamilton. The Briton made his stop for soft tyres on lap 26 and emerged marginally ahead of his team-mate.

Ricciardo, meanwhile, had continued his advance and on lap 29 he had climbed 13 places to P6, though he had yet to make a stop. The Australian’s times were solid, however, and he was attempting to use the clear air to make further ground. It worked and when he pitted after 33 laps on his opening supesofts he rejoined in P10 just behind the Force India of Sergio Perez. Bottas also pitted on the same tour, for supersofts, and the Finn emerged in fourth place behind Hamilton, Raikkonen and Vettel.

Hamilton, though, was comfortable in the lead and with 12 laps to go the Briton was 12.5s ahead of Raikkonen, who was now 4.4s ahead of team-mate Vettel, who has Bottas just 2.4s behind.

Bottas closed to just half a second behind by lap 43 and then made his first move, Vettel defended aggressively and following a huge lock-up after braking late, the German held the position.

It was a futile defence, though, as Bottas clearly had the pace on his fresher tyres and on the next lap Bottas powered past to claim P3 and target Raikkonen who was eight seconds in front.

With five laps to go Bottas had close to just five seconds behind Raikkonen.

Bottas didn’t need the extra pace, however, as three laps from home his countryman suffered a puncture. Bottas swept past as Raikkonen limped to the pits for new tyres.

The race then took a remarkable turn as within seconds of Raikkonen’s failure Vettel suffered exactly the same issue. The German’s race collapsed along with his front left tyre. The Ferrari driver was forced back to the pits for a set of supersoft tyres and as he did so, Verstappen also pitted for new tyres.

The Dutchman questioned the move but was later told Red Bull were concerned a similar fate to that which affected Ferrari might have befallen him.

Ahead, Hamilton sailed through to claim a record-equalling fifth British Grand Prix win. Bottas powered through to complete a Mercedes one-two, with Raikkonen reclaiming a podium position as Vettel dropped back.

Verstappen moved through to claim fourth place ahead of Ricciardo who had passed Hulkenberg in the closing stages. Vettel, meanwhile, held on to take a disappointing seventh place ahead of the Force Indias of Ocon and Perez. Massa took the final point for Williams.

 

[MIKA27]

3 minutes ago, skalls said:

yeah I meant Sainz, not Perez.  My bad.

Sorry bud, I haven't had my coffee yet, I should have understood whom you meant

Do you think Sainz has what it takes to be in a top team? I don't see it, though I could be wrong. He could fit in well at Williams or Renault.

[skalls]

Just now, MIKA27 said:

Sorry bud, I haven't had my coffee yet, I should have understood whom you meant

Do you think Sainz has what it takes to be in a top team? I don't see it, though I could be wrong. He could fit in well at Williams or Renault.

I don't get the love affair either, but there was a rumor that Palmer could be out for Hungary and Sainz move to Renault in 2 weeks.  Sounded like there was an 8m buyout clause.

I'm surprised that TR is thinking about keeping Kyvat.  He was much better but now he's just not got his head in the game.

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: DISASTER? I DON’T THINK SO

Sebastian Vettel started the British Grand Prix with a 20 points lead over fellow title contender Lewis Hamilton, two hours later his lead was scythed to a single point thanks to a huge helping of bad luck very late in the race, but the Ferrari driver is not calling it a disaster.

Speaking to reporters after dropping from fourth, with a lap to go, down to seventh when he crossed the finish line, Vettel said, “I think it could’ve been a little bit better for sure. Disaster? I don’t think so.”

“I think we had a good car, especially in the corners. The balance was alright. In the race obviously, brakes caught fire at the start, which compromised the start and from there it was a difficult race.”

“There was no sign of that, no sign of that happening. I had vibrations but I had that for 20 laps, no sign of it getting any worse. The tyres didn’t look good – but then again they never look good.”

One of the highlights of an action packed afternoon at Silverstone was Vettel’s no punches pulled duel with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The German four times F1 World Champion tired every trick in the book to get past the tenacious Dutch teenager – but to no avail.

Ferrari shrewdly opted for the undercut which resulted in Vettel emerging from the pitstop in fourth and ahead of the Dutchman.

Vettel explained, “Didn’t get past Max, we did it with the pitstop. Then we were like P3, P4, it was clear that Valtteri would come because he benefited at the beginning because I was stuck, but overall small things here and there that led into a busy afternoon.”

Late in the race Vettel looked set for fourth, even third if Ferrari gave orders from the pitwall. But it never got to that as the tyres on the Ferrari number five were blistering profusely, and as a result he had no ammunition to fight off Valterri Bottas who was on a charge with supersofts.

Then with a lap to go they Pirelli cried enough, thus what looked like fourth (perhaps even a podium) turned to seventh place and a severe blow to the German’s title aspirations.

Vettel was pragmatic in the end, “Hindsight is great it’s easy but at the time it felt okay. Kimi I think had a similar issue, and his tyres were at least five, six laps fresher so I think it caught us both by surprise.”