September 2nd, 2008 at 10:50pm
Under Racing
After a run of disappointing outings, Red Bull are looking to make up some lost ground at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. The squad have failed to score at the last four races but team principal Christian Horner is confident that they can make more of an impression at Spa…
Q: Christian, how would you sum up the current situation?
Christian Horner: After a very strong first half of the season, the team has endured a very frustrating past few weeks, with no points scored in the last four races. It is extremely important that we reverse this trend and get back on terms with Renault and close the gap to Toyota. The next few circuits, in particular Spa, should play to the strengths of the RB4 package. Over the past six weeks, we have analysed our performance in great detail and that analysis reveals the chassis is working well and we have pushed very hard in the factory to improve in all areas. Valencia did not play to our strengths, but we are convinced we can bounce back.
Q: What has proved to be the most critical factor affecting Red Bull’s level of competitiveness?
CH: Tyres are proving to be the biggest factor at the moment. Over the past couple of months, Toyota has looked very strong tyre wise in the higher temperatures. It’s not a case of our rivals suddenly ‘bolting on’ more performance. It’s down to tyre usage and they have handled that better than us. We have understood why this happened and I feel we can get on top of this situation and return to our earlier form for the final third of the season, hopefully starting this weekend in Spa.
Q: Can the team expect a better weekend in Spa?
CH: I think so, as apart from anything else, there are a lot more high speed corners than in Budapest or Valencia! We had a good test in Monza and although that was aimed primarily at the Italian Grand Prix, the results of the test answered several fundamental questions about our package. Apart from the track characteristics, the weather always plays a crucial part in Belgium, therefore we will need to be particularly sharp operationally and in terms of strategy, dealing with the fact that sometimes, half the track can be dry and the other half wet. We need to go there and attack the weekend, we need both our drivers to be on top of their game, aiming to finish in the points. At the moment, the section of the grid that includes, BMW Sauber, Renault, Toyota, ourselves, Williams and now, Sebastian Vettel, is extremely tight and, as we’ve seen at the last few races, one tenth of a second can make the difference between four grid positions. Even with the long lap at Spa, I think we can expect a very tight grid, while the early Autumn weather, the race taking place a weekend later than usual, can add further unpredictability.
Q: Has the need to turn the current situation around had a negative impact on development work on next year’s car?
CH: The whole group is working extremely hard to balance its resources between on-going development of RB4, currently more important than ever, given the performance downturn we’ve just been discussing and the work on the 2009 project. However, right from the end of 2007, we planned for RB4 development to continue to the end of the 2008 season and therefore the pressure to make up the ground lost in recent weeks has no impact on our work on next year’s car. The team has worked well together putting in concerted effort and man-hours to understand and find solutions to our recent problems, so we are going to Spa in fighting mood, determined to come away with some points.
By admin
August 30th, 2008 at 12:06am
Under Racing
An underdog team last year, Toro Rosso have developed into the darlings of the paddock this season - thanks in no small part to the talents of young driver Sebastian Vettel. With several superb performances under his belt and an engaging attitude to boot - Vettel is the team’s golden boy. But at the end of the season Gerhard Berger, Toro Rosso’s co-owner, will have to wave farewell as his favourite heads to Red Bull. What happens next? Berger doesn’t know, but what he is sure of is that the team is currently over delivering - and the Austrian is confident it can continue to do so…
Q: Gerhard, Sebastian Vettel has become the team’s leading light, in terms of results and media interest. How difficult is it for you to let him go?
Gerhard Berger: Well, of course the media interest is important, but what is more important is the performance of the team - Sebastian has helped us a lot to get the right atmosphere back. We had been really struggling with Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi last year, but he has proved what the team is able to do and has done it in a very nice way, with us, with the engineers, with everybody. That has pushed us such an immense step forward - it is really a pity to lose him. There is not a single soul in the team that is not sad to see him go at the end of the season. On the other hand we get so much from Red Bull. Without Red Bull, Toro Rosso would be nowhere, so it feels good that we can give something back, even if I would like to have him stay with the team.
Q: With one cockpit definitely free, do you have a replacement in mind?
GB: The first direction that we look in is obviously to the Red Bull young driver programme and then we’ll see. But we are not quite ready yet. We don’t really have a list in our heads at this stage. We are far from saying it’s this one or that one because we are also waiting to see if something happens elsewhere - and probably then we’ll get a new chance.
Q: How is the decision made? Is it something that you do yourself or do you confer with Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz?
GB: Everybody will bring opinions and then we - Didi and myself - will try to find the right way for the team. At the end of the day, the last word will come from Red Bull because that is where we get all our resources from, so it is natural that we listen to what he would like to do.
Q: What about Sebastien Bourdais? It seems that he’s found the transition to Formula One racing quite difficult. Has this surprised you? You hired him because of his ‘champion mentality’…
GB: In Formula One you have to give someone half a year of time before you start to judge him. The half year is over and he is now in a situation where he has to prove his talents. I would not say that I already have a clear opinion on him, but I also have to say that Sebastian Vettel started a couple of races before and he performed very well in the first half year. So we will have to see how the second half goes for Sebastien Bourdais. And honestly I don’t want to be drawn into an expression of opinion at this very moment.
Q: But is he a fixture at Toro Rosso for next season?
GB: No. It’s open.
Q: Are you satisfied with the season so far? There have been a lot of DNFs?
GB: We started with the old car, but that was part of the programme and at the end of the day we are having a fantastic season. Sure I would like to see more points on their accounts - hopefully there’s more to come - but what we are doing now at Toro Rosso, in my opinion, is clearly over delivering.
Q: Are you still improving the STR3?
GB: We are still working on the car and there are still six races to go, which makes me convinced that we are heading into a good season finale. There is one circuit that’s going to be difficult for us and that is Singapore - for downforce reasons - but the rest of the tracks should be fine for us, as we proved very clearly last week in Valencia.
Q: How is a small independent team like Toro Rosso dealing with the 2009 regulation changes?
GB: At a small team you just get on with the job because there is not much to do as there is not much influence that you have. There is simply not much you can do to turn it around. Just read what the regulations are and try to do it.
Q: Red Bull Racing raised concerns about KERS. What is your stance on that? There have been two somewhat turbulent team principal meetings on it…
GB: That is very simple - I understand the need for KERS, but I have to pay for KERS, and we simply don’t have the budget to do it. So we would prefer not to have it, simply because of cost reasons.
Q: You said in a previous interview that it will be no big deal to separate Toro Rosso from Red Bull Racing again. It is just about relocating some staff back to Italy - what is the schedule for that?
GB: It is in a state of process - halfway I would say. We are consistently improving our infrastructure and I think we are in good shape.
By admin
August 28th, 2008 at 08:48pm
Under Racing
European Grand Prix winner Felipe Massa continued where he’d left off in Valencia on Wednesday, as he topped the timesheets in this week’s first day of testing at Monza. Massa took his Ferrari around the Italian circuit in 1m 23.428s to edge McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen into second.
Massa covered 101 laps over the course of the day, carrying out three long runs in the afternoon. The Brazilian was charged with finding the best set-up for the F2008 and will continue to test on Thursday. Kovalainen was only slightly less productive completing 78 laps, in the McLaren, as he carried out an evaluation of the British team’s Monza-specific low downforce aero package.
The third fastest driver of the day was Williams’ Nico Rosberg, who covered 60 laps in the FW30. Rosberg concentrated on set-up and finished less a tenth down on the two leaders and over two-tenths ahead of Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso. Alongside preparations for the Italian Grand Prix, which will be held at the circuit next month, Vettel also tested new front suspension and aero components.
Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, meanwhile, took up fifth slot. Barrichello completed 85 laps in the RA108, focusing on tyre and set-up evaluations. Over two-tenths adrift of the Brazilian was Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who finished the day sixth. Webber assessed the team’s low-downforce aero package and completed 96 trouble-free laps. The Australian will continue to test on Thursday.
Seventh quickest runner was Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber. With a programme focusing on preparations for the forthcoming Belgian and Italian races, Heidfeld carried out set-up, gearbox ratio and brake balance tests, covering 77 laps in the F1.08. Less than two-tenths down on the German was Force India tester Vitantonio Liuzzi in eighth.
“Today we tried to get a good set-up and I think we can be happy with how it went today,” said Liuzzi. “This morning the grip levels were very low and it was quite difficult with the tyres we had, and especially as I had not been in the car for some time for a real test. We did make some good progress though, almost 100 laps with no problems and we are not too far from the others in the times either.”
In comparison, fellow Italian Jarno Trulli endured a more trying time for Toyota, with mechanical issues delaying his start to the day. Once the TF108’s difficulties were solved, however, Trulli managed to complete 92 laps and finished the day ninth.
“It was not the ideal start this morning due to a short delay but when we started running everything went well,” explained Toyota test team manager, Gerd Pfeiffer. “We had to make some mechanical alterations which we have to analyse back in Cologne. In the afternoon we caught up with our programme with the emphasis on suspension data collection and other test items. We were not aiming to set fast lap times but we are in a good position to make further progress with Jarno tomorrow.”
Completing the day’s line-up was Renault’s Nelson Piquet in tenth. Piquet completed 117 laps as he evaluated the team’s Monza aero package and carried out tyre testing. Team mate Fernando Alonso will take over the car on Thursday.
“A solid day’s work with good reliability,” explained Christian Silk, Renault’s chief test engineer. “We did plenty of laps to give Nelson as much running as possible with the car in low downforce trim. It’s always quite a challenge here to set the car up as it is such a unique circuit, but we’ve collected lots of data from the first day’s running, which will give us a good base to work on from here.”
Testing continues at Monza on Thursday.
Unofficial Wednesday times from Monza:
1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:23.428
2. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:23.439
3. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:23.461
4. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:23.691
5. Rubens Barrichello, Honda, 1:23.827
6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:24.005
7. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 1:24.075
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:24.239
9. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 1:24.510
10. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:24.540
By admin
August 26th, 2008 at 11:08pm
Under Racing
With the summer ban now lifted, the Formula One fraternity is expected to be out in force testing at Monza this week. All 10 teams are scheduled to make the journey to the Italian track, as they begin preparations for September’s Belgian and Italian Grands Prix.
While the rest of the field will test from Wednesday, Ferrari will be in action a day earlier, with GT driver Andrea Bertolini in charge of the F2008’s cockpit on Tuesday. Bertolini will then hand the car over to Ferrari race regular Felipe Massa for Wednesday and Thursday. World champion Kimi Raikkonen, meanwhile, will test on Friday.
Ferrari’s title rivals, McLaren, will begin their three-day test on Wednesday. Both Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will get behind the wheel of the MP4-23 during the test, with Kovalainen taking charge on the opening two days and Hamilton driving on the concluding day.
BMW Sauber are also expected to start work on Wednesday, with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica scheduled to be in attendance. Toyota, meanwhile, kick off their session with veteran driver Jarno Trulli behind the wheel of the TF108. Team mate Timo Glock is scheduled to take over the car on the final day.
After his strong showing at the European Grand Prix, Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel is scheduled to share driving duties with team mate Sebastian Bourdais over the three days. Honda, Renault, Williams, Red Bull and Force India will also be in action from Wednesday. And in light of their disappointing Valencia race, Honda will be out to make the most of the available track time. Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will both be in action during the test, as the Japanese team strive to improve the RA108.
“Our first priority will be to understand where we failed and make sure we have a more robust approach for Spa and beyond,” explained Honda team principal Ross Brawn after the European event. “We have a three-day test in Monza where we will focus on getting the most out of our recent developments.”
As always, Formula1.com will bring you daily reports on the teams’ progress, as well as all the latest pictures from Monza. Note - all schedules are provisional and subject to change.
By admin
August 25th, 2008 at 05:10pm
Under Racing
As in Hungary, Felipe Massa controlled the European Grand Prix from the front. But this time he stayed there to win - despite that controversial pit stop - as Ferrari’s technical gremlins chose to pick on team mate Kimi Raikkonen instead.
The world champions had the pace, but not the reliability. Their second engine failure in as many races left McLaren victorious in the numbers game. Lewis Hamilton extended his advantage atop the drivers’ standings, while Ferrari’s constructors’ lead diminished into single figures.
Further down the grid, Toyota proved their Hungaroring form was no fluke with another excellent performance, while Toro Rosso’s superb showing throughout the weekend put their supposedly ‘senior’ sister squad, Red Bull Racing, firmly in the shade. We take a team-by-team look at the European Grand Prix…
Ferrari
Felipe Massa, 1m 38.708s, P1
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 39.424s, retired lap 46, engine
Massa and Ferrari owned this one right from the start, and once it became clear that Hamilton and McLaren were on a similar fuel strategy it also became clear that a victory for the latter was going to be unlikely. The win gave Massa the same number of outright successes this year as Hamilton (four), but there are still serious concerns over reliability within the Scuderia after Raikkonen’s engine blew asunder like Massa’s had in Hungary, shortly after the Finn botched his second pit stop and ran over refueller Pietro Timpini.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 38.884s, P2
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 39.112s, P4
Hamilton revealed that a serious neck spasm on Saturday had almost kept him out of the race, but once he had won the drag race over Kubica to the first corner he settled down to chase Massa. The MP4-23 didn’t quite have the pace of the F2008 towards the end, but eight points in the circumstances were a healthy haul. Kovalainen struggled in his first two stints on the Bridgestone prime tyres, and only found his car coming alive on the super-softs late in the race, by which time it was too late to challenge Kubica for third.
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica, 1m 39.330s, P3
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 39.526s, P9
Once worries had receded about inability to steer because a plastic bag had become lodged beneath the front of his F1.08, Kubica was able to maintain a strong third place throughout the race, and to take his first podium finish since Canada. Heidfeld, however, struggled with low grip and described his race as one of the worst of his career en route to ninth.
Toyota
Jarno Trulli, 1m 39.657s, P5
Timo Glock, 1m 39.535s, P7
Toyota are the consistently most improved team in recent weeks, and a great run from Trulli to fifth and Glock to seventh, despite feeling unwell, endorsed the strength of the TF108. Six points now place them 10 ahead of Renault in the fight for fourth place overall.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 39.485s, P6
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 39.639s, P10
A great race for Toros Rosso saw Vettel take an excellent sixth place, which might have been fifth until Trulli and Toyota slipped ahead during the opening pit stops. Bourdais could have been a points contender too but for an early clash with Heidfeld which obliged him to run 17 laps to his first stop with a damaged front wing.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, 1m 39.577s, P8
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 39.803s, P15
Rosberg was happy and relieved to win a point for eighth after a competitive showing, but Nakajima’s first-lap clash under braking with Alonso won’t have done him any favours.
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 40.264s, P12
David Coulthard, 1m 40.978s, P17
Red Bull never got on the pace this weekend, and fingers were pointed at their Renault engines since the near identical Toro Rossos were flying with their Ferrari V8s. Coulthard’s case wasn’t helped when he got taken off on the first lap, and later spun trying to make up ground. He raced throughout with a damaged bargeboard.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, no time, retired lap one, hit by Nakajima
Nelson Piquet, 1m 39.544s, P11
Renault will want to forget this one in a hurry. Alonso got taken out on the opening lap courtesy of Nakajima removing his rear wing, while Piquet also damaged his front wing in the early race traffic and couldn’t better 11th place by the finish on a day when arch rivals Toyota bagged another six points.
Honda
Jenson Button, 1m 40.763s, P13
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 40.593s, P16
A horrible race for Honda, as Button and Barrichello both ran one-stop strategies. The former found overheating rear brakes having a deleterious effect on his option tyres in the second stint, while the latter also struggled with braking problems after starting from the pit lane with revised gearing.
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 40.353s, P14
Adrian Sutil, 1m 40.661s, retired lap 42, accident
One-stopping Fisichella challenged Button for much of the race on his way to 14th, running the team’s new seamless-shift transmission for the first time in a race. Sutil started from the pit lane on a two-stop strategy after unscheduled suspension set-up changes, had a spat in the pit lane with Massa on the 37th lap, then became the only Formula One driver to hit the wall all weekend when he lost it under braking in Turn Two five laps later.
By admin
August 25th, 2008 at 03:41pm
Under Racing
An interesting change to the RB4 in Valencia is the introduction of a curved upper link (inset) connecting the bridge wing to the top of the nosecone, as on the McLaren. This solution guarantees adequate stiffness in the bridge assembly, so that it doesn’t obviously flex. It also helps to cut weight, by allowing the use of a smaller bridge element, rather than a larger, stiffer item.
By admin
August 24th, 2008 at 10:40pm
Under Racing
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa on his controversial win in Valencia; Force India’s Adrian Sutil on narrowly avoiding the Brazilian in the pit lane before ending his race in the barriers; and Renault’s Fernando Alonso on exiting his second home race of the season on the first lap. All 20 drivers report back on Sunday’s action…
Felipe Massa, Ferrari (1st):
“It’s fantastic having won this race, especially after the disappointment of Budapest. The team did an amazing job in preparing for this Grand Prix and the benefits of that could be seen right from the very first day. Yesterday, I got pole and today the win, with the race fastest lap as the icing on the cake. You cannot ask for more especially at my one hundredth grand prix with every single one of them powered by a Ferrari engine. I got a good start and I pushed to the maximum right from the early laps. In the second part of the race, the car was exceptional, but also in the final stint, when I had the softer tyres, I could do the lap times easily. This is an important moment in my career and I must continue to work in this way. I am sorry for what happened to Kimi: we have to look very carefully at our reliability. I am confident the team knows which countermeasures to take to react to this issue, as it has always done in the past.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren (2nd):
“I can’t complain with second place today. This was a strong weekend for us despite my having a few problems health-wise, but we pulled through. The track was pretty difficult to overtake on, but I maintained the gap - our lap times showed that our overall pace was good, which was encouraging. Heikki (Kovalainen) and I scored 13 points today, which is very positive for the team, so I’d describe it as a satisfactory weekend for us.”
Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber (3rd):
“I started pretty well but in corner one I went over the kerb and Lewis was closing. In the second corner I was going to overtake Lewis, but I saw Felipe braking quite early. It would have been too much of a risk, as I could end up overshooting the braking point and crashing into him. Over the next few laps I was consistently a bit slower than Lewis. Suddenly I saw a white plastic bag flying across the track, but could not avoid it and it went under the car. I couldn’t steer for two corners, which was extremely dangerous. Fortunately most of the bag soon flew away, but my confidence was very low over the next sector, and I lost around three seconds. In the end I finished third. Eventually I think my good qualifying result yesterday was crucial for today’s result.”
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren (4th):
“My start was good, and I was consequently able to overtake Kimi (Raikkonen) before the first corner. However, I’m not really happy with how the race went for me after that, because I had grip problems with the prime tyres in the first and second stints - whereas with the option tyres in the last stint I had much better grip and traction. As a result I could close the gap to Robert Kubica a little. At least I scored five points, but a podium would have been much nicer. Having said that, it’s good that the team scored a lot of points with Lewis’s second place and my fourth place.”
Jarno Trulli, Toyota (5th):
“That was a good result and a great performance by the team. The weekend started badly for me but it has finished really well today so I’m happy. I could drive a strong race without attacking much. I pushed very hard when I needed to while paying attention to taking care of my tyres and my brakes throughout. This shows how good we are getting and how nice it is to race with a competitive car every weekend. Toyota is doing a very good job this year and looking strong and more competitive at every circuit. The team is still pushing with the development work so I’m confident that we can maintain the form in the coming races and keep the points coming.”
Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso (6th):
“Incredible! A perfect day. It was fun but tough and hot out there. It’s a nice race track. My start was not so good on the dirty side and going into Turn One I was right on the limit and very close to Kimi (Raikkonen) and could defend my position against Jarno for the first stint, but he had a bit more fuel on board and stayed out an extra lap and he overtook me in the pits. But we can be very very happy with this result. We made no mistakes, no mistakes all weekend and maximised our performance. The whole team can be very proud of what it has achieved and hopefully, for the next races we can be in the top ten again.”
Timo Glock, Toyota (7th):
“That was one of my hardest races ever because I have had a bad cold for the last two days. But I had a good car and the right strategy and I think P7 was the best result we could have achieved today so I’m really happy. I made up some places at the start and then just tried to do my race. It was tough in the middle of the race and in the last 10 laps I pushed as hard as I could to stay concentrated. Considering our qualifying and my condition, I am happy. It’s a great result for the team to get both cars into the points for the constructors’ championship.”
Nico Rosberg, Williams (8th):
“I’m pretty happy with that. It’s good to be going home with a point today as it’s been a long time since it happened. The race went quite well for me and I was giving it my all, driving what felt like qualifying laps one after the other. The result is also good for the team as it shows we are getting back on track. Once again, I would like to say that Valencia has done a great job here and the race was good fun.”
Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber (9th):
“This was one of the worst races ever for me. To finish ninth in a car which is obviously good enough for third is a disaster. After qualifying I was pretty confident because we realised we could go well. But in the race I had big problems with the harder tyres during the first two stints, and it was only better at the end with the softer compound. I lost one position after the start and later in the race I couldn’t gain any. The pace wasn’t there.”
Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso (10th):
“That was a very nice race, apart from the fact that I touched with Heidfeld which broke my wing, which was a real shame, as I had to do 17 laps like that, losing around 20 seconds to the group I was in. The next two stints were good quality and I had a good pace. But I am happy with the result and I think we had the right strategy. It’s my best result since Australia and especially from the second stint onwards I felt much more comfortable and confident with the car and felt I could push as the track rubbered in. As for the next races, I continue to tackle them one at a time and hope that next time out in Spa I can make it into the points.”
Nelson Piquet, Renault (11th):
“The first lap was rough as I was in the middle of the pack and lost several positions. After that I tried to fight back, but my front wing was damaged and it was difficult to overtake. It’s a shame that we couldn’t get into the top ten, but I hope we can have a better race in Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix in a couple of weeks time.”
Mark Webber, Red Bull (12th):
“We just weren’t quick enough. We were hoping for a few safety cars to come out during the race, so ran a one stop strategy, but it didn’t happen. It was a difficult race pace wise and we’ve got a lot of analysis to do.”
Jenson Button, Honda (13th):
“I had a good start to the race and gained three places to 13th but that was the highlight of my race really. We made things difficult for ourselves by qualifying so far back on the grid after we had expected to perform a lot better. I was heavily fuelled compared to most others and running long on a one-stop strategy, but I was stuck behind Heidfeld when he had already pitted which cost me some time as I didn’t have the pace to overtake him. We ran the option tyre for the second stint, which was initially fine but then the rears went away quite badly due to the rear brakes overheating.”
Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India (14th):
“It was a difficult race with the very hot conditions, but overall I think it was a good performance. The strategy wasn’t bad, but we did expect a safety car after seeing the other support races, but there weren’t any incidents so it didn’t come. Our pace was good, it wasn’t far off the others, and we made a step forward with the gearbox. We now have to keep focussed and keep moving forward.”
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams (15th):
“I had a bad start and we have to find the reason for that. On lap one, going into turns four and five, I was just behind Alonso, but there was a bit of a battle going on in front and I couldn’t avoid him going into the corner. After that, I just tried to be consistent. My pace was ok, but I was behind Barrichello and it was really difficult to overtake. Eventually I made it past him and my pace improved, but it was too late.”
Rubens Barrichello, Honda (16th):
“After qualifying, we took the opportunity to start from the pit lane and work on the car to try and resolve the issues that we had yesterday. We changed the brakes completely so the car was very different to drive but it did improve a little bit during the race. We need to get to the bottom of the brake problems that we have had all weekend as these cost me a lot of time and positions. It was a poor weekend overall.”
David Coulthard, Red Bull (17th):
“I was hit from behind on the first lap. I came back and passed a couple of cars, but when I tried to pass one of the Force India’s, I aborted the manoeuvre and made contact with them, so sorry to them for that. That damaged my barge board and the side of the car, so after that the balance and downforce were very poor.”
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari (DNF):
“Not much to say after a day like this. It was definitely not the weekend I was hoping for but I do not believe that, despite this negative result, I am now out of the running for the title. There are still six races to go and sixty points up for grabs. We have seen that the situation change really quickly, even if I realize things are now more complicated. Today, I lost a place at the start and I was stuck in traffic for all of the first stint. Then, when I had a clear track ahead of me, I was able to push and was doing good lap times. At the second pit stop, I made a mistake and left before I should have done. Fortunately, Pietro (Timpini) is not too badly hurt. I wish him all the best and hope he gets better soon. In any case, it would not have changed anything as then the engine broke. Now we must concentrate on preparing for the next rounds and on improving our qualifying performance.”
Adrian Sutil, Force India (DNF):
“The first stint was okay as I was closing the gap to the rest of the field and then I could pass a few cars in the hairpin. It was a shame that I couldn’t pass Giancarlo quickly enough to take full advantage of the two stop strategy and lost a little time. Once I passed him it was getting better but it was still difficult to pass more cars. Then under braking I lost the rear and tried to avoid a crash, but the barrier was too close and that was it.”
Fernando Alonso, Renault (DNF):
“After qualifying yesterday, I knew that me weekend was going to be difficult. At the start I was touched by Nakajima and I lost my rear wing. My mechanics did everything to try and allow me to continue, but my race was already compromised. I am extremely disappointed because I was hoping to have a special race in my second home Grand Prix and for the supporters who came here this weekend to support me. I now want to concentrate on the rest to the season and the next race in Spa.”
By admin
August 24th, 2008 at 01:15pm
Under Racing
As at the last round in Hungary, changing track conditions kept teams on their mettle in maximising grip and balance throughout practice and qualifying for the European Grand Prix. The first three runners set their times by sticking with Bridgestone’s super-soft option tyre, while the fourth fastest used the soft prime.
Overtaking remains an unknown quantity on the new Valencia Street Circuit, so by virtue of pole position Ferrari’s Felipe Massa starts as favourite for the race, but expect Lewis Hamilton and McLaren to push him all the way. Toro Rosso will be aiming for their best-ever result after a sensational qualifying, and with a high probability of one or more safety-car periods there may well be other surprises on Sunday. We take a team-by-team look at how they line up…
Ferrari
Felipe Massa, 1m 38.989s, P1
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 39.488s, P4
Massa was very happy with his Ferrari, putting his fourth pole position of the season down to a fantastic performance through the first sector in Q3 which really cemented the result. He reported how slippery the track still was after the overnight torrential rain, but coped admirably. Raikkonen opted to stay on the harder prime tyre, but said that P4 was not what he had been looking for. He locked up on his last run in Q3 and wasted valuable time.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 39.199s, P2
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 39.937s, P5
Hamilton seemed quite unruffled that Massa eventually pipped him to pole, and agreed that most of the damage was done by the first corner where he was already a couple of tenths down. Otherwise he had little to complain of, and believed he is in good shape to challenge for the win. Kovalainen liked his MP4-23’s balance, so was disappointed to be only fifth, especially as his lap was devoid of mistakes.
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica, 1m 39.392s, P3
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 40.631s, P8
With the right tyre pressures correcting the errors of the Hungaroring, Kubica said he was pretty happy overall after a smooth run, and believed that starting third, on the cleaner side of the grid, would give him an advantage over Hamilton. Heidfeld was blocked again by Glock in Q1, quick in Q2, but while he was generally happier with his car than he had been on Friday, he was disappointed with eighth overall.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 40.142s, P6
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 40.750s, P10
To the surprise of many, Toro Rosso’s amazing practice form continued in qualifying, with Vettel sixth and Bourdais 10th. Their speed raised many eyebrows, especially as the Red Bulls did not look impressive. The former said all the set-up changes they made overnight were positive, and that he would have been quicker but for a mistake in Turn 12 on his last run. Bourdais struggled for grip on the super-soft tyre, so was surprised to make it through to Q3 for the first time in his career.
Toyota
Jarno Trulli, 1m 40.309s, P7
Timo Glock, 1m 38.499s, P13
Toyota might have expected better than seventh given Trulli’s fastest lap in Q2. The Italian was delighted that set-up changes transformed his TF108, less impressed that a gearbox oil pump problem kept him in the garage all morning in practice. Flying blind in qualifying, he made a mistake on his final run, but was delighted with P7. Glock said he didn’t know why, but he just didn’t get the lap together when it mattered.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, 1m 40.721s, P9
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 38.428s, P11
Back in the top 10, Williams looked stronger than of late, to the delight of Patrick Head who came out to Spain in place of Sam Michael. Neither Rosberg nor Nakajima had any problems on their way to ninth and 11th respectively.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 38.435s, P12
Nelson Piquet, 1m 38.744s, P15
Alonso was on target for the top 10 until he ran wide and over a kerb and spoiled his last run, and Piquet was also disappointed with 15th. Not a great afternoon for the Regie.
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 38.515s, P14
David Coulthard, 1m 39.235s, P17
In contrast to the Ferrari-engined Toro Rossos, the Renault-motored Red Bulls struggled badly with Webber 14th and Coulthard 17th. They just weren’t quick enough.
Honda
Jenson Button, 1m 38.880s, P16
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 39.811, P19
Button was very disappointed with 16th after showing so strongly earlier in the weekend, for where Toro Rosso upheld they speed, Honda could not. Quick on the prime tyre in Q1, he found the switch to the option tyre disastrous and failed to get through. Barrichello just couldn’t get his RA108 balanced, and struggled round to 19th.
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 39.268s, P18
Adrian Sutil, 1m 39.943s, P20
Both cars ran their seamless-shift transmissions, and Fisichella reckoned he squeezed everything out of his VJM01 that it had to offer on his way to 18th. Sutil was seven-tenths slower, blaming traffic for his inability to warm up his tyres sufficiently.
By admin
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:24pm
Under Racing
The first day of running on Valencia’s new track was a matter of letting conditions improve as more rubber went down, tuning the set-ups, and avoiding the offline dust as everyone developed baselines to compare against their simulations. At the end of it all, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen led the way, but only by a whisker from Renault’s Fernando Alonso and Honda’s Jenson Button. We take a team-by-team look at progress…
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 41.317s, P7/1m 39.477s, P1
Felipe Massa, 1m 40.654s, P2/1m 39.678s, P4
Both drivers loved the track, and said they were completely happy with what they achieved in terms of set-up and balance as a baseline for Saturday.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 41.385s, P9/1m 39.497s, P2
Nelson Piquet, 1m 42.107s, P15/1m 40.439s, P9
On the face of it, not a bad day for Renault, with Alonso second and Piquet ninth in the second session. They had no significant problems, but the duff note for Alonso was being reprimanded and fined €10,000 for crossing the white line on the entrance to the pits during the afternoon session.
Honda
Jenson Button, 1m 42.460s, P17/1m 39.546s, P3
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 41.830s, P11/1m 41.377s, P20
Button had his best start to a Grand Prix weekend this year with third fastest time in the afternoon, when he reported that major set-up changes had made his Honda really good to drive. Barrichello had a better morning, but went backwards on set-up and found his car much worse later on.
McLaren
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 40.822s, P3/1m 39.712s, P5
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 41.163s, P5/1m 39.954s, P6
Hamilton was very happy with the baseline McLaren established very quickly in the morning, but said that heavy traffic on his afternoon runs prevented him from confirming it fully. Kovalainen reported similar sentiments after starting with a great front end on his MP4-23 and gradually dialling in the rear. Both drivers, like their Ferrari rivals, are feeling very confident.
Toyota
Timo Glock, 1m 42.036s, P14/1m 39.967s, P7
Jarno Trulli, 1m 41.930s, P12/1m 40.877s, P15
Toyota got off to a great start, courtesy of Glock in the morning, and the young German set the seventh fastest time in the afternoon. He relied on his Champ Car experience of fast street courses and said he had a productive day. In contrast, Trulli struggled to get his TF108 well balanced and was much less happy with the consistency of his car.
BMW Sauber
Robert Kubica, 1m 41.281s, P6/1m 40.149s, P8
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 42.453s, P16/1m 41.084s, P18
As usual, BMW Sauber focused on tyre evaluation and set-up work rather than lap times. Kubica was relatively happy, but Heidfeld had little explanation for his slow lap times.
Force India
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 43.075s, P18/1m 40.500s, P10
Adrian Sutil, 1m 41.951s, P13/1m 40.999s, P17
Both Force Indias were running their seamless-shift transmissions again, and they will be retained for the whole weekend this time. Fisichella had a small brake problem which was quickly sorted, otherwise both drivers completed their programmes without interruption.
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 43.524s, P20/1m 40.585s, P11
David Coulthard, 1m 43.312s, P19/1m 40.696s, P13
Webber had what he described as a ‘testing’ morning, but got going better in the afternoon. He was lucky to avoid being clobbered at one stage by a spinning Nico Rosberg in Turn 25, and wound up 11th. Coulthard likewise improved in that session.
Williams
Nico Rosberg, 1m 41.706s, P10/1m 40.607s, P12
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 41.329s, P8/1m 40.742s, P14
Rosberg nearly picked up Webber after losing control braking into Turn 25 in the afternoon, but had an otherwise undramatic day. Both he and Nakajima completed their planned programmes with any significant problems.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 40.496s, P1/40.982s, P16
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 41.099s, P4/1m 41.246s, P19
Vettel was very happy with his fastest time in the morning, but predictably lost ground in the afternoon. Bourdais had traction problems and struggled with rear-end stability under braking.
By admin