Yearly Archives: 2012

Two drivers in the top ten. That’s a bit more like it…

“Obviously we’re happy from today’s performance, but as ever in Formula 1 we always want more. Kimi felt he made a mistake in a couple of corners, and with a perfect lap he could have certainly done better, but overall to have the fifth and seventh fastest cars in qualifying was encouraging.”

What can we expect from the race tomorrow?

“Looking at all the data, we should expect a strong race. We have a good handle on the tyres in these conditions. We have good set-ups which both drivers feel very happy with. Weather permitting, we should expect to have both cars in the points tomorrow.”

Kimi’s gearbox change. Are there any concerns going into the race?

“None at all. We saw high temperatures on Kimi’s gearbox in Australia after the cooler was blocked by grass and debris. It completed most of the race like this. We checked both gearboxes thoroughly and there were no concerns with Romain’s gearbox. Kimi has a new ‘box on his car – for which we receive a five place grid penalty – but this was necessary.”

Sepang is notorious for its variable weather. How do you plan a race strategy for this?

“We plan for a dry race and the fastest strategy possible given our grid positions. We monitor the weather reports and satellite information as well as looking at the skies in the build-up to the race, and we have a plan in case it rains. It’s almost impossible to make a concrete wet race strategy in advance as there are so many variables involved. It’s a time when all of us on the pit wall really have to earn our salaries with our strategy calls. It’s a time for cool heads and calm decisions.”

Kimi Räikkönen set the fifth fastest time whilst Romain Grosjean was seventh quickest in qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit. Kimi will start from tenth position on the grid for the race after a penalty for a gearbox change on his car. This moves Romain up to sixth place.

Kimi: “The car was working well today. Unfortunately, I made a couple of mistakes on my fastest lap which probably cost a couple of tenths. Without that, we were in with a shout for pole today. I got a little bit sideways at the exit of turn nine and we lost some time, but that’s how it goes sometimes. We had some issues with KERS yesterday, but there was no repeat today; the car worked exactly as it should and it felt good. It’s a shame we have a penalty on the grid but the car works well. Today was definitely a positive day. Tomorrow we start from tenth and will try to improve from there.”

Romain: “It’s great to have both cars in Q3, and I’m really pleased to have been part of the top ten in both of my first two races. The team has done a great job to get the most out of the car, and we can be really pleased that we’re fighting for the top positions. It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow, and hopefully we can move up even further. You never know what will happen with the weather here, our pace is not too far off the leaders and it will be a long race, so anything is possible. In these conditions managing the tyres is crucial. Qualifying is one thing, but the race will be a whole other matter. I’m looking forward to the race, if we can finish in the top five that would be great, but the most important thing is to get my first points of the season.”

Lewis Hamilton and McLaren Mercedes team have yet again demonstrated that they are the team to beat with Lewis Hamilton taking pole position for tomorrow’s race at Sepang in Malaysia.  His teammate Jenson Button who grabbed victory at last week’s Australian GP has grabbed the second place on the starting grid.  Michael Schumacher and the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team were very impressive in qualifying with Schumacher taking third place on the grid.  Mark Webber set the fourth fastest time in the Red Bull Racing Renault car while Kimi Raikonnen continues to impress in his comeback year after a two year hiatus by setting the sixth fastest time in qualifying in his Lotus Renault car while the defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel could only manage to be sixth fastest.  However,  Raikonnen is all set to drop five places on the grid due to the application of the penalty for changing the gearbox. Raikonnen’s teammate Romain Grosjean who went third fastest in qualifying in Australia could only manage to set the seventh fastest time while Schumacher’s teammate Nico Rosberg could only go eighth fastest.  Ferrari’s woes continued with Fernando Alonso being good enough only for ninth place on the grid while the tenth place went to Sergio Perez of Sauber- Ferrari. Pastor Maldonado showed impressive speed to finish in eleventh place in the resurgent Williams car while his teammate Bruno Senna set the thirteenth fastest time.  Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari could manage only 12th on the grid despite his having been given a new chassis.

The Sahara Force India F1 team did not have a great day in qualifying with Paul Di Resta setting the 14th fastest time while his teammate Nico Hulkenberg could only set the 16th fastest time.  Fifteenth on the grid was taken by Daniel Ricciardo in the STR-Ferrari.  In what must be a huge relief the HRT cars of Pedro De La Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan finished inside the 107% time of the pole setting time and therefore will start the race tomorrow from the 23rd and 24th positions on the starting grid.

For the last couple of years the MotoGP championship has turned into a tussle between factory teams and the promoter Dorna about the rules that need to be implemented from the 2013 season with a view to fill the rapidly dwindling grid that has been boosted to 21 this year thanks to the CRT rules and teams.  Dorna has been pushing for more rules that would make the racing circuit a level playing field for privateer CRT teams and the factory teams.  But the inability of the factories to  put more teams on the grid has meant that Dorna has slowly gained an upper hand but now Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis claims that both Dorna and the factories are reaching a common ground which will see the adoption of rules that will not be unfavourable to anyone.  That would be good because in all the fighting the biggest casualty has been the quality of racing.