FORMULA 1 - 2014

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'McLaren should hold onto Button'

Lewis Hamilton has urged McLaren to re-sign Jenson Button as his former team-mate is a "great asset".

McLaren have yet to confirm their line-up for next season with several drivers seeking a place at the team.

While current drivers Button and Kevin Magnussen are in the hunt for a race-seat so too is Fernando Alonso, who is reportedly on the verge of signing with the team.

According to the rumour mill, should that happen he would take Button's place at McLaren.

Hamilton, though, says the Woking team should hold onto his compatriot.

"If I had a team, I would want him in it because he's a great asset," said the Championship leader.

"It's not the team need a better driver - there are not many out there. They just need a better car.

"Button is a great driver, still one of the strongest, and he's had an amazing career. He's also a decent guy, so it doesn't correlate."

He added to the BBC: "He still has plenty of time, given his ability as a driver, to keep racing and winning."

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Formula 1 considers safety car unlapping rule changes for 2015

Formula 1 is considering tweaks to its safety car rules to minimise delays before restarts, AUTOSPORT has learned.

One factor that has attracted criticism in recent years is the length of time it takes for lapped cars to unlap themselves and join up with the back of the field.

In some cases, it has taken several laps for the backmarkers to catch up and allow F1 race director Charlie Whiting to restart the race.

The matter has now been tabled for discussion at a sporting regulations working group meeting at the Brazilian Grand Prix to try to come up with a better solution.

Sources have suggested that one idea that will be looked at is that rather than the lapped cars unlapping themselves, they simply drop back to the rear of the field instead.

They will then be credited with an extra lap so they are not put at a disadvantage.

By having this system in place, it would be straightforward to restart the race within a single lap of the instruction being given, which should minimise delays in bringing the safety car in.

Other items due to be discussed are revisions to F1's engine penalty rules, whether the current five-second penalty for driving offences is too lenient, whether current cars can be used in show events and if there should be changes to parc ferme restrictions.

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Nigel Mansell surprised his British race-win record lasted so long

Ex-Formula 1 driver Nigel Mansell says he is "surprised it took so long" for someone to beat his British record of 31 grand prix wins after Lewis Hamilton finally passed the mark on Sunday.

Mansell feels the 29-year-old can now target the records of Alain Prost (51 wins) and Michael Schumacher (91).

"It's great because Lewis is a true racer," Mansell told BBC Radio Jersey.

"His target now will be Alain Prost's record. I think he will attack Michael Schumacher's record as well."

Top British drivers by GP wins

Lewis Hamilton

32

Nigel Mansell

31

Jackie Stewart

27

Jim Clark

25

Damon Hill

22

Former world champion Mansell, 61, had held the British record for race wins since 1992, when he passed Sir Jackie Stewart's tally of 27 at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

But he says he is pleased to yield the record to Hamilton, who leads the current driver's championship by 24 points from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg with two races remaining.

"I am pleased and proud to momentarily hold it for some 20-odd years," said Mansell, who ended his F1 career in 1995. "I'm now delighted for Lewis. He will be elated.

"With the reliability and the way the circuits are he has done a superb job of increasing it to 32. Before the end of the year I wouldn't be surprised if he pops it up to 34.

"The fantastic thing that drivers have these days is a higher reliability factor with the cars. Many drivers in years gone by would be in the lead and doing great things and would break down.

"I think Lewis will just get better and better."

Mansell is confident Hamilton will beat Rosberg to win this year's world title but says that the double points on offer in the final race in Abu Dhabi mean nothing can be taken for granted.

"I think Nico needed to win in America to keep his challenge alive," added Mansell. "The only thing is the double points at the end of the year.

"I don't know how that is going to work out if there are reliability problems for one of the drivers."

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INTERLAGOS FP2: ROSBERG OWNS DAY ONE IN BRAZIL

Nico Rosberg continued at the top of the timesheets in Interlagos, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to top spot by the same two tenths of a second margin he had enjoyed in the morning session.

Rosberg spent the early part of the session trailing Hamilton on the prime medium tyres but when the switch was made for option soft tyres, the German stretched his legs to take P1 with his first flying lap.

Hamilton tried to respond but on his opening flyer he ran wide Mergulho corner and ended up six-tenths adrift of his title rival. Unlike many other drivers Hamilton managed to improve on his second quick lap but he could get no closer to Rosberg than 0.2 of a second.

Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest, half a second behind Rosberg, while Daniel Ricciardo, who had finished tenth in the morning session, improved to fourth fastest in the afternoon session, with the RB10 looking much more surefooted in the second practice period. Behind Ricciardo came the Williams cars of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest in FP2

While Raikkonen enjoyed a decent afternoon, despite a spin, team-mate Fernando Alonso had a more troubled outing, the Spaniard being forced to pull over at the side of the track with an engine fire.

Ferrari later said that the power unit involved was a high mileage example and the incident was of no major concern, though Director of Engineering Pat Fry said it had been a shame that Alonso was sidelined for the final 20 minutes of the session. Despite the setback Alonso still managed the afternoon’s seventh fastest time.

Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat was ended up up eighth ahead of the second Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, who, like his team-mate appeared more comfortable at the wheel of his RB10 than in the morning.

Kevin Magnussen rounded out the top 10, beating the lead Lotus of Pastor Maldonado by just two hundredths of a second.

Elsewhere, Esteban Gutierrez, who suffered electrical problems in the morning, also encountered problems in second session, the Mexican stopping with 13 minutes remaining and bringing out the red flag.

Daniel Ricciardo was fourth fastest in FP2

Jean-Eric Vergne also hit trouble. The Frenchman missed the morning session due to Max Verstappen taking over his Toro Rosso and Vergne’s first taste of the new Interlagos surface lasted just five laps before he pulled over at the aside of the track with a power unit problem.

Just 17 drivers ran during the session, with Sergio Perez unable to participate after Force India reserve Daniel Juncadella crashed his race car during the morning session.

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Alonso: We knew the risks

Fernando Alonso rued the fact that he couldn't complete Friday's second practice run, but says Ferrari knew they were taking a risk.

The Spaniard was seventh fastest, but he completed only 20 laps during the afternoon session at Interlagos after his engine caught fire, leading to a premature end to his day.

Alonso was using an older engine as Ferrari are trying to keep its best power unit for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, but the decision partially backfired with the F1 veteran forced to play fire fighter to put out the blaze.

"Today we knew that the power unit had reached the end of its cycle. So there was a risk we wouldn't finish the second session, but this was part of the programme we have been on for a few races now," he said. "It's always a shame not being able to use all the time available, even though I don't think it affected our work too much.

"The new track surface produced a lot of grip and it was extremely difficult to put together a good lap, because tyre behaviour changed from corner to corner. With a new surface, what effect the rain will have is always an unknown factor, so it's impossible to make predictions. That would have been the case at Sochi too, but it didn't rain there, so it means we have to be ready for every eventuality."

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Button concerned by straightline speed

Jenson Button and McLaren were left scratching their heads after a difficult Friday at Interlagos.

Having showed signs of improvement in Japan and Russia, McLaren slipped back at the United States last week and they were again up against it ahead of Sunday's Brazilian GP.

Button watched most of Free Practice One from the sidelines after he picked up an ERS problem on his installation lap, but things improved later as he managed to complete 31 laps.

The 34-year-old, though, admits they have a few things to figure out ahead of qualifying on Saturday and race day.

"We've got some things that we're trying out on the car that's been different for quite a few races, and it's not working," he told Sky Sports News HQ.

"It's good to know; I feel that it's wrong in many different ways so at least we know the way to go with the set-up, which is positive. The only thing we find quite strange is our straightline speed is so far off. We're not running that different in downforce. We'd struggle to go that speed in a straightline, we'd have to take the wings off.

"I don't know why we're not very quick in a straightline around here and it's something we need to solve because it's a lot of time we're losing on the straights. So a lot of work to do overnight but I think we understand what the issues are and we can solve them for tomorrow."

Button was only 16th fastest while his team-mate Kevin Magnussen was P10, but he feels they can still revert to old settings.

"If we where we are now it won't be very good, but the car's definitely better than this," he said.

"So we've just got to maximise what we have and we haven't done that because we've tried a couple of different things on the car for ideas for the future and also to try and get rid of a few other issues that we had. They haven't worked, so we'll go back."

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Dan: We're good enough for second row

Daniel Ricciardo is optimistic about Red Bull's chances in Brazil after a "pretty good start" to the weekend.

The Australian was fourth fastest in Free Practice Two at Interlagos on Friday, slotting in behind the two Mercedes cars of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.

However, he was right there up with the pacesetting Mercs during the longer runs late in the session, giving him plenty of reason to be hopeful of their chances over the weekend.

"In dry conditions, I think we're good enough for the second row and if it rains, then who knows - maybe the front row can be possible," he said.

He added on Autosport: "Early signs are good. It is our best long runs we have seen, even though they were not very long.

"Like for like we were pretty good today for a Friday.

"We feel we are normally playing a bit of catch up on [Mercedes]. And although we still are, we are closer than we have been at the last few, so that is promising.

"I feel good. I think it was a really good Friday for us."

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'Alonso talking to McLaren, not Honda'

Racing Director Eric Boullier insists it's McLaren that are driving force behind negotiations with Fernando Alonso and not Honda.

McLaren have made no secret of the fact that they are trying to lure Alonso back to Woking next year, but some reports have suggested that Honda are prepared to splash the cash to make sure the deal gets done.

There were even reports that Honda, who will return to F1 next year as McLaren's engine supplier, were willing to dig deep into their pockets to pay out his Ferrari contract, but Boullier says Alonso is speaking directly with McLaren.

"It's McLaren. Obviously the official competitor in the entry with the FIA is McLaren. McLaren is the contracting party with the drivers, nobody else," he told Sky Sports F1.

Talks have dragged on for quite a while now, much to the frustrations of current drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen, but McLaren have made it clear that they will only make an announcement on their 2015 driver line-up once everything has been finalised.

"There's many reasons, obviously, and a lot of confidentiality, so we want to focus on the Brazilian weekend," Boullier added.

"The only thing I can say is that preparing a winning team is not going to take a couple of months, or a couple of years maybe, and we want to win as long as possible.

"We already planned the driver line-up - or the strategy for the company - in two years' time, in four years' time and in six years' time and this is why it takes so long because we want to be ready at the right time with the right drivers."

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Caterham ask fans for financial help

Caterham have turned to Formula 1 fans to help save the team after launching a crowdfunding project.

The financial troubled backmarker outfit, which has yet to score a single point since entering F1, went into administration in the lead-up to the United States GP and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone gave them "special dispensation" to miss the races in Austin and this weekend's Brazilian GP.

The Leafield squad are yet to find a buyer, but they have now launched a crowdfunding initiative with the hope of raising £2.35 million that will allow them to race in the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Fans have been urged to get involved via the hashtag #RefuelCaterhamF1 orcrowdcube.com/caterham ahead of the November 14 deadline.

"We are still hopeful we will be racing in Abu Dhabi," administrator Finbarr O'Connell said earlier in the week. "There are a number of parties involved, but because the financial commitments are so huge it is difficult for people to commit.

"But I'm hoping when the sport is in Abu Dhabi we will have finalised a deal before then, or at that point.

"I'm very, very hopeful the team will be in Abu Dhabi. We are making arrangements to go to Abu Dhabi as we speak."

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Brazilian GP: Perez missed FP2 after Juncadella crash in FP1

Sergio Perez missed the second practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix, after Force India reserve driver Daniel Juncadella crashed his car earlier in the day.

Juncadella replaced Perez for FP1 at Interlagos, but he crashed heavily at Turn 8 and stopped the session.

Perez skipped the afternoon's second session while Force India investigates a heat-soak issue with the car's engine that resulted from the shunt.

Mercedes DTM racer Juncadella described the incident as the "weirdest" crash of his career.

"It's really a shame when you end the session like this, especially on a race weekend because the main thing is that Checo has his car ready," Juncadella said.

"It was the weirdest crash I've ever had, because it was really unexpected.

"The track was weird to manage, with the new asphalt there was only one line and it was getting better every lap. But on that lap I just went a bit wider on the kerb.

"I thought I could use it, but I was way too optimistic and from there you have the wall in front and if you have a moment and don't catch it, it just goes straight into the wall.

"I tried to crash as straight as possible, but when you crash in such a small place with not a lot of room to go off it's hard."

Juncadella, who visited the circuit medical centre for a precautionary check-up, said the crash was unlikely to affect his slim chances of graduating to an F1 race seat next season.

"It has an impact mentally - confidence-wise it's not the best - but you don't take a decision from one crash," added the Spaniard, who has an option to remain in the DTM next season.

"Obviously it's not the best way to finish it.

"It's hard. We see less teams, some of them signing a lot of drivers - there's a lot going on. It's still early to make a decision."

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F1: Perez surprised by 'very harsh' penalty after Austin clash

Sergio Perez says he was surprised to be called 'reckless' by the FIA after being punished for a crash at the start of Formula 1's US Grand Prix.

The Force India driver was given a seven-place grid penalty by race officials for colliding with Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil on lap one at Austin.

The FIA's judgement on the incident declared Perez's clash with Sutil "reckless", but the Mexican thinks that description was harsh.

"I think it was just an optimistic move," Perez told reporters at Interlagos on Thursday.

"I was actually quite surprised to see how they described it. [The penalty] is very unfortunate.

"I think they have been very harsh, but as a driver you can only accept it and look forward."

While Perez said he felt bad for Sutil, he added that he does not believe he made an error in making the move.

"Obviously I don't think I made a mistake," he said.

"Adrian was the victim in the crash. The move on Adrian was done, but I just couldn't stop the car to not hit Kimi.

"Then when I hit Kimi, I touched Sutil. I'm sorry about that, I'm sorry for Sutil and his team.

"But I think seven places is very harsh. The problem was that I was not really expecting Kimi [to be where he was].

"I think he was protecting a bit from Adrian as well, so he was slower and doing a tighter line."

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Marussia Formula 1 team closes doors, staff made redundant

Marussia's hopes of making a return to Formula 1 have been dashed, after administrators confirmed the outfit was shutting its doors.

Despite frantic efforts to try to find a buyer for the team over recent weeks, the failure to complete a deal has forced it out of business.

Administrators FRP Advisory LLP said that the Marussia team had ceased trading and the 200 staff had been made redundant.

Geoff Rowley, joint administrator, said: "It goes without saying that it is deeply regrettable that a business with such a great following in British and world motorsport has had to cease trading and close its doors.

"Whilst the team made significant progress during its relatively short period of operation, operating a F1 team requires significant ongoing investment.

"The group was put into administration last month following a shortfall in on-going funding and the administration process provided a moratorium to allow for attempts to secure a long term viable solution for the company within in a very limited time-frame.

"Sadly no solution could be achieved to allow for the business to continue in its current form. We would like to thank all the staff for their support during this difficult process."

He added: "The team will not be participating in the two further rounds of the 2014 championship remaining, in Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi.

"The joint administrators will continue with their statutory duties to realise the assets of the business in the best interests of all the creditors."

The news of Marussia's demise comes just a day after the company that owns the entry - Manor F1 Team - appeared on a provisional line-up for the 2015 F1 season.

Marussia originally entered F1 in 2010 as Virgin Racing, before being taken over by Russian businessman Andrey Cheglakov.

It scored its first points at this year's Monaco Grand Prix, which would have helped secure it a hefty boost of commercial rights incomes at the end of the season.

But with the costs of F1 increasing, the team could not secure the budget it needed to finish the campaign - so will forfeit the income.

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Formula 1 considers safety car unlapping rule changes for 2015

Formula 1 is considering tweaks to its safety car rules to minimise delays before restarts, AUTOSPORT has learned.

One factor that has attracted criticism in recent years is the length of time it takes for lapped cars to unlap themselves and join up with the back of the field.

In some cases, it has taken several laps for the backmarkers to catch up and allow F1 race director Charlie Whiting to restart the race.

The matter has now been tabled for discussion at a sporting regulations working group meeting at the Brazilian Grand Prix to try to come up with a better solution.

Sources have suggested that one idea that will be looked at is that rather than the lapped cars unlapping themselves, they simply drop back to the rear of the field instead.

They will then be credited with an extra lap so they are not put at a disadvantage.

By having this system in place, it would be straightforward to restart the race within a single lap of the instruction being given, which should minimise delays in bringing the safety car in.

Other items due to be discussed are revisions to F1's engine penalty rules, whether the current five-second penalty for driving offences is too lenient, whether current cars can be used in show events and if there should be changes to parc ferme restrictions.

F1 is due to introduce standing starts after safety car periods in 2015.

However, there has been some concern about the potential dangers this can cause and it remains possible that the rule change could be dropped if teams agree.

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Vettel says 'good bye' to his team at Brazil

Vettel will not be sad when the curtain comes down on his difficult 2014 campaign.

It's already an open secret that Sebastian Vettel is going to Ferrari to replace Alonso.

"When the cameras are on," the German smiled on Thursday, "it is difficult to say anything, "but when they turn off, everyone seems to know what is going on."

Vettel took his Red Bull crew out for a farewell dinner in downtown Sao Paulo on Wednesday night, but he admitted to reporters that he will not be sad when the curtain comes down on his difficult 2014 campaign.

As for 2015, "I know what I'm doing, that's for sure," Vettel insisted. "And I know who my teammate will be."

It appears likely he is referring to his friend Kimi Raikkonen, but the Finn's high-profile struggles in 2014 have produced a cloud of speculation.

"Everyone has his own opinion," Raikkonen told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3. "Many times we have seen that they are wrong.

"It is the way it is here (in F1)," he said. "It is probably the saddest thing about Formula One.

"The main thing is that you know yourself how things are and to trust in what you are doing," said Raikkonen.

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FORCE INDIA: WE HAVE EXERCISED OUR OPTION ON PEREZ

Force India have exercised an option on Mexican driver Sergio Perez for next year and are negotiating a contract extension for 2016, the Formula One team’s co-owner Vijay Mallya said on Friday.

“I have a two-year contract with Sergio Perez,” the principal told reporters at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “There is nothing to hide. The possibility came of extending Checo’s contract into 2016 as well. That is what is under negotiation.”

“We are talking about one additional year. We had an option that was signed as part of his original contract, we have exercised the option.”

Perez, who joined from McLaren before the start of the season, has said for several races that he expects to stay at Force India but a contract had yet to be signed.

While that may have misled some, Mallya said the Mexican was not wrong in talking about a new contract because it would effectively be a different deal if 2016 was added in.

Perez told reporters on Thursday that he hoped to finalise everything very soon but nothing is confirmed yet, “I am really surprised it has taken this long but it’s just a process. The negotiations have gone slowly. I really hope we can sort things out by the next race.”

Asked what the hold up was, Perez said he remained fully committed to the team but there were some changes he wanted made, “I know (the team’s) prospects and think we can do a strong year and improve what we have done this year into the second year.”

“I obviously want to establish myself a little bit in the team in the second year. That is my target. I cannot give you too many details. All I am asking for is a couple of changes and I hope I can get them.”

Mexico is returning to the Formula One calendar next year for the first time since 1992 with Perez looking likely to be the country’s only driver after Sauber decided not to renew Esteban Gutierrez’s deal.

Mercedes-powered Force India are sixth in the championship and challenging McLaren for fifth.

[CanuckSARTech]

So, what's this hubbub thing called "Formula 1" again?????

Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk.

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So, what's this hubbub thing called "Formula 1" again?????

Sent from my iPhone via Tapatalk.

Tell me about it!

There's more politics involved than all our countries issues put together IMO. I just want to watch the racing.

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INTERLAGOS QUALIFYING: ROSBERG FENDS OF HAMILTON

Nico Rosberg trumped his title rival and Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton by the tiniest of margins in a tense and thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying session, and with it sent out a clear signal that he intends fighting for the championship right to the very end.

Rosberg and Hamilton slugged it out for top spot on the grid up util the final run in dry conditions despite forecasts that rain would descend on Sao Paulo. The Briton’s last effort was a tenth up on the German’s first run best, but Rosberg was not finished and delivered a stellar final effort of 1:10.023 which nabbed pole by a mere 0.033 of a second from Hamilton.

“It’s the perfect job only if it works out tomorrow,” said Rosberg. “Up to now it has been going well. I’m in the best place to be for tomorrow, but I need to make it happen in the race.”

Local hero Felipe Massa in the Williams rose to the occasion to claim third spot on the grid and his efforts igniting celebrations around the circuit packed with partisan fans. The Brazilian looked most likely to unsettle the Silver Arrows domination, but his last effort was not enough. Teammate Valtteri Bottas was fourth.

Jenson Button hussled the McLaren to fifth place, as Mercedes power annexed the top five places on the grid for the race, and it might have been six had Sebastian Vettel not split the McLaren pair. The reigning world champion, who won last year’s race, will start sixth.Daniel Ricciardo was nonth.

Kevin Magnussen was seventh fastest in the McLaren and will share the fourth row with Ferrari‘s Fernando Alonso who ended eighth.

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Alonso plays down qualifying outburst

Fernando Alonso insists nothing should be read into his radio outburst during qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver made his frustrations quite clear during Q1 after he was forced to abort his first flying lap as his battery was not charged, asking his race engineer: "Why I can't I start qualifying with the normal setting? How is it possible? How?"

However, the Spaniard said it's "normal" to have these conversations with those on the pitwall.

"In Q1 we were not ready to do the laps," he is quoted as saying by Crash.net. "The first flying lap is normally the best for the tyres and my first lap was a recharge lap because I had no battery coming out of the garage. So we were not prepared for Q1, let's say it like that.

"It didn't affect anything because Q1 is just a matter of going through. We put things in place and then we arrived in Q3 with the best performance on the car, one set of new soft tyres and we put the lap together at the last attempt, so it did not affect the qualifying. We just were not ready for that lap but it's no big thing.

"Obviously when it goes on television there is a big thing for tomorrow but there are hundreds of these things that don't go to television and it's normal."

Ferrari are currently fourth in the Constructors' standings, 49 points ahead of McLaren, but they will have their work cut out for them on Sunday as both McLarens are ahead on the track of Alonso, who qualified P8, and Kimi Raikkonen, who will start 10th.

"As I said in Austin, at the moment the Constructors' Championship is my main priority," he said. "Maybe Williams is now too fast - we have to be realistic - so we have to defend from McLaren. As I did in Austin, finishing in front of both McLarens, tomorrow I will try to do the same."

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Button out to pounce on Sunday

Jenson Button is determined to keep the Mercedes and Williams drivers honest at the Brazilian GP, adding he wants to pounce should they slip up.

Having struggled during the practice sessions on Friday, McLaren found some extra pace during qualifying as Button was fifth fastest behind the two Mercedes and two Williams cars.

Although the top four are expected to finish ahead of Button, the 2009 World Champion wants to make sure he is there or thereabouts should anything happen.

"I'm very happy to be fifth," he told reporters. "My qualifying runs weren't anywhere near what they should have been. I locked up massively on my second run, so luckily my first run was quick enough.

"The aim is to keep the pack behind and stay as close to the cars in front in case there's action; there can be between team-mates, so we want to be there to pounce if anything happens."

McLaren have also not given up hope of catching Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship despite a 49-point gap with only two races still to go.

"It's a massive gap to Ferrari but you've got to be ambitious and make them feel like they're being challenged," he said.

"It's a good position for this race and obviously the next one is double points... we'll see."

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'Emotional' Massa happy with third

It was a happy return to his home track at Interlagos for Felipe Massa on Saturday as he qualified third fastest.

Having played second fiddle to his Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas both in qualifying and race day at Sochi and Austin, Massa finally got the better of the Finn in Brazil.

Although Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton locked out the front row of the grid for Mercedes, the Williams drivers kept them honest as Massa was just 0.224 slower than pole sitter Rosberg and Bottas another 0.058s adrift.

Massa, though, is delighted to be able to challenge so high up the grid at his home race.

"It's very emotional to be here in Brazil and have a competitive car and start in the top three," he said. "I didn't use everything I could from the car - I got a lot of traffic in my last run. There were also problems in the garage and I couldn't improve my lap time.

"Everyone was improving a bit on the second set. I was not going to improve to beat them but maybe I could get close. It was very tight between team-mates but I think that's the good thing. I'm so happy. I hope it's just the beginning for a good result tomorrow."

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Vettel: Anything can happen

Sebastian Vettel is hoping the weather plays a role in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Having struggled with his RB10 for most of the weekend at Interlagos, Vettel managed to put together a good run in Q3 on Saturday to qualifying sixth fastest behind the two Mercedes and Williams cars, and the McLaren of Jenson Button.

After qualifying turned out to be dry, Vettel is hoping for a wet race so that Red Bull can be in the mix.

"I got happier with the car as qualifying progressed and we're in a solid position to start the race tomorrow," he said.

"It's hard to beat the Mercedes and Williams from where we are, but this is Brazil and anything can happen; weather can play a big role, it was supposed to rain today and it didn't, but that's Interlagos for you."

Meanwhile, his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo qualified ninth fastest, but he feels there is plenty of room for improvement.

"The day was going alright up until qualifying and then we lost a lot of pace," the Australian said.

"I went out quite early in Q1 and there was a bit of stuff on the track, so I thought it would get better and better but we didn't find the pace we were after. I was surprised to get into Q3 after my lap in Q2. I felt better in Q3, but I was only a tenth or so faster; it's bit frustrating.

"We should have finished better than ninth, we hoped to be in the top five after the pace we had in practice, but hopefully the car will be better in the race."

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Brazilian GP: Jenson Button says McLaren turned "a disaster" around

Jenson Button credited his McLaren Formula 1 team with turning around "a disaster" of a weekend after he qualified fifth for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 2009 world champion complained that the team was "nowhere" after free practice on Friday, but the MP4-29 was transformed on Saturday, allowing Button to slot in behind the dominant Mercedes and Williams cars in qualifying.

"Yesterday was a disaster," Button told reporters after qualifying at Interlagos.

"We knew what the issue was but it was too late to change it back so we had to wait until this morning to make set-up changes.

"I think we've done a very good job of developing the set-up over today and through qualifying.

"I'm happy with P5 - I don't think we could have done anymore. Fair play to the team."

Button hinted on Friday that he hoped McLaren could fix its difficulties by reverting to a previous set-up, and he explained on Saturday that had proved to be the case.

"We had something on the car that was to help some issues that we've had," he said.

"We've had a vibration for a little while and were just trying to get rid of it.

"It helped that but the car was pretty bad to drive. It destroyed the balance.

"I said 'do we want to go back?' and we did - and today the car has been working much better.

"I didn't think we would be fifth on the grid and I don't think anyone in the team did. We did a good job."

Despite the turnaround in fortunes putting him in the mix with the leaders, Button admitted that he expects to be focused on the cars behind him rather than those ahead during the race.

"The first four cars are way too quick for us so if we can stay fifth or stay close to the cars in front and see them at the end of the race that will be a nice finish," he said.

"We'll see how it plays out tomorrow but it's going to be a good battle from me back to 10th.

"It's so close in times [behind] and hopefully we can put on a great show.

"The aim is to try and keep the pack behind and stay as close to the cars in front in case there is a bit of action.

"I think that the Williams might be quick in the race so that could mix it up at the front and we want to be ready to pounce if something happens."

[MIKA27]

Fuel pressure glitch hurt Felipe Massa in qualifying

The Williams Formula 1 team says a fuel pressure problem compromised Felipe Massa's final run in qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Massa was only eight hundredths of a second shy of Interlagos pole man Nico Rosberg after their first Q3 runs, but the Williams racer aborted his final effort after encountering Kevin Magnussen's McLaren in the second sector.

Williams performance chief Rob Smedley said a fuel pressure problem delayed Massa's release from the pits for that final run, which meant he ran into traffic.

"We couldn't get fuel pressure in the car. We got it started up, but as we dropped it off the jacks we lost fuel pressure and the engine cut out," Smedley explained.

"We then had to put a bit more fuel in to make pressure.

"It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances with the very low fuel levels we run here.

"The fuel consumption around here is a lot lower than other tracks, therefore when you put one lap of fuel in you put in very little fuel in the main tank and it's just difficult to pick it up sometimes."

Mercedes driver Rosberg improved to a 1m10.023s best on his final run, beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole by 0.033 seconds.

Massa's combined ideal sector times would still have put him just over a tenth shy of pole, and Smedley reckoned the Mercedes were out of reach even if Massa had not encountered traffic.

"We didn't get that last run in, which was a little bit disappointing, but I don't know whether either car could have done better than they did," Smedley added.

"I asked Felipe afterwards, he said there's maybe a tenth in the car.

"If he'd got another good lap in that would have still kept us in the same position."

LOCK-UPS COST BOTTAS

Massa's team-mate Valtteri Bottas ended up fourth fastest, after also aborting his final run in Q3.

The Finn explained that three front brake lock-ups during his flying lap meant there was no chance of improving on his best time.

"In Turn 1, Turn 4 and Turn 8 I had a bit of a lock-up and ran a bit wide," Bottas explained.

"By the time I got to Turn 9 I saw the time delta was so much back to my best lap it was better to abort it.

"I was trying to get a bit more front grip out of the car but I think there was not much more in it."

Although Williams is only a couple of tenths adrift of Mercedes on pace, Bottas does not expect to be able to challenge Rosberg and Hamilton in tomorrow's race.

"I think that's going to be difficult," he said. "Normally they have more of an edge in the races than they have in qualifying.

"But we need to try and be as close to them as possible."

[MIKA27]

Smedley wants to generate winning culture at Williams

Williams head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley says that while the team has made strides this year the team still has to change its culture in order to become a regular winner once more.

The team has sometimes been accused this year of making conservative strategy calls rather that have potentially cost a shot at better results.

"We’ve got reasonably sensible people there now, there’s a good level of competence."

Rob Smedley

“It’s a long-term project,” said Smedley. “You have to change cultures and methodology within the team and, like I’ve always said since I arrived at Williams, it’s very easy to change process, you can change process in a week – but it’s much more difficult to change culture? The team’s got to get back to being able to win. Being ready to win. Being pretty much ready to beat everybody.

Pieces are in place

“If you look at the most recent success – bar Mercedes – in F1 then it’s Red Bull. They started off some years back with not the quickest car and certainly not the best operation and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind me saying that. And right now, in terms of their chassis, they still have a fantastic chassis, in terms of how they operate, they operate very well – but it’s because the same core group was there for a long time. And that’s what we have to do at Williams.”

Smedley says the pieces are in place: “I think we’ve got reasonably sensible people there now, there’s a good level of competence, a good level of young talent as well – which is always important – it’s not just the people at the top end who make all the decisions but the people who actually do the work as well. And for the moment it’s working. There’s more to do. We have to go further but as long we stay on the road that we’re on, hopefully it will work out.”