FORMULA 1 - 2016

[MIKA27]

Manor emerges as Gutierrez's last F1 option for 2017

Manor Racing appears to be Esteban Gutierrez's last chance to find a place on the 2017 F1 grid as other teams finalise their line-ups.

Assuming that Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr are confirmed soon at Sauber, Gutierrez will be the last driver on the 2016 grid without a drive for next year, and Manor will have the last available seat, with Pascal Wehrlein set to stay on for a second season.

Although Haas has yet to confirm Kevin Magnussen for the 2017 Formula 1 season – and thus officially notify Gutierrez that he is not staying – his management has been actively pursuing other options for some time.

It is understood that there was contact with Manor over the Mexican GP weekend.

One of the complications is that that Gutierrez's main backer Telmex is involved with Ferrari and thus Haas in large part because of his presence.

It remains to be seen whether the telecommunications giant would be willing to add Manor to a roster that also includes Force India, or if it is in a position to redirect the Ferrari/Haas funding.

However, sources suggest that Gutierrez also some non-Telmex support from his home country.

Gutierrez says he won't comment much about his future until the Haas decision is definite.

"I think it's very clear that the decision will be made very soon," he said today. "My future is on the team's hands. At the moment there's a lot of talks up and down.

"It's the way it is. They've taken a bit long to take the decision, and hopefully it comes out positively. I'm going to keep pushing and fighting until in the end.

"I think on Monday will be the right time to think about it. Right now it's important to focus on the weekend. Obviously through the weekend there's going to be a lot of talks. That's how it is, and I'll accept the situation, and move forwards."

Asked if he was concerned about not having a seat, he said: "Yes and no. Whatever the outcome is, nothing will change as a person, nobody's dying.

"That's the most important thing. Let's see what the outcome is going to be. Hopefully it's going to be positive. And let's keep going forwards, that's life."

Gutierrez said he hadn't thought about whether it would be even more difficult to return in 2018 if he doesn't race next year.

"To be honest I'm not thinking about that at the moment. I just want to focus on the moment, enjoy as much as possible, and then see, after the reality [of] whatever will be, then I have to think about it.

"As the decision is pretty late I just have to wait for the yes or the no, that's the situation as it is."

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso STR11 rear wing

Toro Rosso's mid-season development stunted the team for a little while when the STR11 didn't respond as expected to the B-specification update.

As such, its programme has been a little opaque of late, as it first identified why the update didn't match its expectations and subsequently spent time revising its targets for the given GP.

The crux of its issues lay in the new aerodynamic package, as although it met the downforce targets it also produces more drag than was originally intended.

The team introduced a new rear wing in Malaysia, which features a butterfly shaped mainplane that sweeps upward toward the wings centreline.

The wing has been installed for Thursday's scrutineering and means the team will at least test it on Friday but likely run it for the entire weekend given the trade-off it grants, providing sufficient downforce for the corners and a reduction in drag on the straights.

[MIKA27]

Vettel and Raikkonen to drive F1 Ferraris at Daytona

Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will drive the Scuderia’s Formula 1 cars around the famed Daytona International Speedway for the first time in history next month.

Both four-time world champion Vettel and 2007 title-winner Raikkonen will demonstrate Ferrari F1 cars at the Ferrari Finali Mondiali event on December 4 on the venue's road course.

This layout uses both of the oval’s high-banked turns, as well as the ‘tri-oval’ stretch at the start/finish line, along with the infield section and Bus Stop chicane.

Vettel and Raikkonen will participate in a ‘show’ that will feature demonstrations of pitstops, thrilling accelerations and fast laps around the Speedway’s 3.56-mile road course. 

The Ferrari Finali Mondiali is a four-day event that’s being staged in North America for the first time, and will bring together competitors from the European, North American and Asia Pacific series of the Ferrari Challenge for a battle for the World Championship in their Ferrari 458 Challenge EVOs.

The event has been previously held in Abu Dhabi, Spain and Italy.

The weekend also includes the display and running of historic Formula 1 cars, and Ferrari’s exclusive XX Programmes.

[skalls]

Does Rosberg seal the deal this week?

Would be cool to see it come down to the last race, but I'm betting he does it.  And Lewis suffers a blown engine.

[MIKA27]

57 minutes ago, skalls said:

Does Rosberg seal the deal this week?

Would be cool to see it come down to the last race, but I'm betting he does it.  And Lewis suffers a blown engine.

Mate I really hope it's sealed this weekend.

Rosberg deserves his first WDC, he has held it all together this season IMO.

[Baldy]

I'm a Hamilton fan but agree that Rosberg have done enough to seal the deal this year.  I would like the championship decided on the track and not due to a mechanical failure or steward's decision.

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INTERLAGOS QUALIFYING: HAMILTON HAS EDGE OVER ROSBERG

Lewis Hamilton maintained his edge over Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg, by claiming pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix and setting the stage for an intriguing battle, which will end with the German being world champion or the title fight going to the final round in Abu Dhabi.

Hamilton enjoyed the upper hand throughout Friday’s free practice session, but appeared to lose the momentum in FP3 with a scrappy showing in the morning session. But when it mattered the Briton had the ammunition to keep Rosberg at bay by a tenth of a second.

His best lap of 1:10.736 was 0.102 of a second better than Rosberg’s effort, as they the Silver Arrows continued to enjoy over half second advantage over their rivals in qualifying trim as they have throughout this season.

Hamilton said afterwards, “Honestly I felt quite comfortable in qualifying as I have all weekend. Nico’s been going quicker and quicker but I’ve generally had it covered. This is the best I could have hoped for coming to Brazil. It’s always a track I’ve struggled at so I’m glad to be at the front.”

Rosberg was clearly not perturbed, “It was exciting. It was very close. Lewis was marginally quicker in the end. Pole isn’t always the guy who wins the race so I’m still optimistic for tomorrow.”

A win for Rosberg on race day will ensure that he is crowned 2016 Formula 1 world champion on the Interlagos podium. If Hamilton wins the title will be decided at the season finale.

Best of the rest on the day was Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen who surprised the paddock with a smart final run which was good enough for third on the grid.

Raikkonen said, “I struggled the whole qualifying. To be honest, the last lap was pretty average but it was enough for third, the Mercedes are bit a too far.”

A mere 0.081 of a second behind the veteran was Red Bull teenager Max Verstappen with the fourth fastest time with Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari a mere 100th of a second behind and Daniel Ricciardo in sixth in the other Red Bull.

Romain Grosjean provided another surprise by qualifying seventh fastest, his confidence apparently back with a new brand brake system bolted onto his Haas.

Up next were the Force India pair of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez who ended the session eighth and ninth respectively, with Fernando Alonso doing well to make it into Q3 for McLaren. He will start from tenth.

His teammate Jenson Button was well off his pace, failing to make it out of Q1 and will start what may be his last Brazilian Grand Prix from 17th.

Williams, who showed good pace on Friday, went AWOL in qualifying with Valtteri Bottas 11th fastest and Felipe Massa set to start his final home grand prix from 13th on the grid.

[MIKA27]

DENNIS COULD BE OUSTED FROM MCLAREN BY NEXT WEEK

Ron Dennis could lose his position as McLaren’s chairman and CEO as early as next week after the Woking company rejected a takeover by Chinese investors. 

Dennis has been fighting to retain his position after a boardroom fall-out with long time business partner Mansour Ojjeh.

In an effort to secure his future, Dennis reportedly put together a bid to takeover McLaren in conjunction with a Chinese consortium, worth an estimated £1.65 billion. It was, however, rejected.

“Long-serving McLaren boss Ron Dennis presented the offer for McLaren from a group of unidentified investors ‎last week, a move which prompted his fellow shareholders to launch a plot to oust him as chief executive,” reported Sky News..

And that has now hurried Dennis’ departure from McLaren. According to Sky Sports, an emergency board meeting was called on Friday night and the 69-year-old could be gone as early as next week, placed on gardening leave until his contract expires in January.

[MIKA27]

MAFFEI: WE EXPECT TEAMS WILL BECOME OWNERS IN F1

Liberty Media chief executive Greg Maffei is counting on Formula 1 teams buying into the sport to help offset the $4.4 billion that is required to take total control from CVC.

Since the announcement Liberty has always plugged the line that teams will be offered an opportunity to invest in the sport and Forbes report: “Three shares have been designated as team shares and F1’s new chairman Chase Carey said that some of the teams have expressed an interest in investing. However, it wasn’t clear at the time who the teams would be buying the shares from or where the money would go. It is now.”

Speaking at a Liberty investor meeting this week, Maffei said, “We obviously also went to meet with the teams and I think as has been mentioned we have expectations that they will become owners in Formula One primarily through the placement of some of the shares to the CVC Group to them. They’re excited about some of the things that Liberty and Chase can do for the sport.”

Forbes reports that cash comprises just 25% of the $4.4 billion purchase price for F1 with shares in Liberty making up the remainder along with a payout of $351 million in loans which will convert into non-voting Liberty shares in 30 months.

As a result of this, CVC stands to get at most $354 million in cash for its 38.1% stake in F1. It has already made a $4.4 billion return from dividends and selling previous stakes in F1 but it wanted much more.

[MIKA27]

Kimi Raikkonen says lap to secure third on Brazilian GP grid was 'average'

Kimi Raikkonen says his last lap during qualifying was "average" despite it securing him third place on the Brazilian Grand Prix grid, behind only the two Mercedes cars.

The Finn qualified more than six tenths down on Lewis Hamilton, but his time was a tenth better than team-mate Sebastian Vettel in fifth could manage.

"I struggled all qualifying in a few places and a few corners," Raikkonen said. "To be honest, the last lap was pretty average in my view, but enough to be third.

"Mercedes seems to be a bit too far. Hopefully we can have a good strong race tomorrow."

Raikkonen has now qualified ahead of Vettel ten times this season, meaning they are now equal at 10-10.

"It has been very close," he said of his team-mate battle. "I think most of the year has been very close and some races been a bit behind or in front, but we have done a very good job as a team and improved certain areas.

"We learned some positive things, and as a team we worked well, and it is helping us get back to where we were at start of the year."

[MIKA27]

Kevin Magnussen confirmed at Haas alongside Romain Grosjean for 2017

Kevin Magnussen has been announced as a Haas F1 driver for the 2017 season after signing a multi-year deal with the team.

The Danish driver made his F1 debut for McLaren in 2014, before being moved to a reserve role at the team for 2015 after the return of Fernando Alonso.

After parting ways with McLaren, he was picked up by Renault this season, but it’s been a tough year and Magnussen has finished in the top 10 just twice – seventh in Russia and 10th in Singapore.

Renault had reportedly made a deal with Magnussen but he deemed it wasn’t good enough, with Haas F1 giving him the option of a multi-year contract.

He has now been announced at the American outfit alongside Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who is currently competing for Haas in its first F1 season.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and I’m very happy to be a part of Haas F1 Team,” Magnussen said.

“Obviously, I’m confident in my abilities as a Formula 1 driver, but I’m also very confident of what Haas F1 Team can do in its second season and every season thereafter.

“Gene Haas has come into Formula 1 with a strong vision and a different way of doing things. He’s making it work and work well.

“I’ve had a good vantage point all season long, and I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of next year’s Haas VF-17.”

[MIKA27]

GUTIERREZ: I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY HAAS MADE THE DECISION

Esteban Gutierrez does not understand why Haas ditched him for Kevin Magnussen, but the Mexican says he respects the decision and will try his best to stay on the Formula 1 grid.

When speaking to media in Brazil, Gutierrez was asked if he understood the decision by Haas to ditch him, he replied, “No, I don’t. There were a lot of situations which were not under my control. At the end of the day, I respect the decision because it’s their team.”

“But on the other hand, it’s not a fair way in general because in the beginning of the season, it wasn’t ideal for me to get a rhythm.”

“As a new team, there were a lot of mechanical problems when the opportunity to score points was there. There were a lot of mistakes, yeah there were some mistakes on my side as well, but it was more on the team.

“I don’t think that was evaluated in the right way. They just looked at the paper and then made a decision. I respect it but I don’t necessarily agree with that.”

Gutierrez has only two options to remain on the F1 grid, with Manor and with Sauber. He raced for the latter in 2013 and 2014.

In 2015 Gutierrez took a sabbatical from F1 and joined Ferrari in a reserve driver capacity. He was offered a drive by Ferrari powered Haas for their debut season this year, but he has hardly set the scene alight.

He believes he has a “70% chance” of securing a drive next year, but does not rule out returning to a reserve role, “There are a few options there. Preferably, I want to drive. To keep driving is the most important thing.”

[RijkdeGooier]

Verstappen - best drive of the season?

 

 

LATEST / HEADLINE

Verstappen: Third felt like victory after late charge

BRAZIL MAX VERSTAPPEN

 13 Nov 2016

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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen said his spellbinding wet-weather charge to a podium finish in Brazil on Sunday was ‘almost as beautiful' as his maiden F1 victory earlier this season in Spain.

Verstappen dropped to 14th after pitting late for wet tyres - his fifth stop of the race, while the leaders made two - but then surged forward in almost irresistible fashion, gaining an incredible 11 places in the closing 16 laps.

"At the end when I crossed the line it felt like a victory - it was almost as beautiful as the race I had in Barcelona," the 19-year-old Dutchman reflected after his swashbuckling drive.

I'm still on the podium with some great overtakes, so I'm a happy person. Max Verstappen

"I got the call to box [for intermediate tyres on lap 43] because Daniel Ricciardo was on inters and going a second faster - so we did it and the first lap was pretty good.

"But then it started to rain harder and the last sector became just undriveable, so we had to pit again - and then I started passing people.

"It was difficult, I couldn't see where I was going with the spray, but I managed to pass a lot of people. And to come back onto the podium is a great result.”

While he admitted second might have been achievable without as many visits to the pit lane, Verstappen insisted Red Bull were right to take a chance on an early stop for inters - and that his subsequent charge made up for any potential disappointment.

"Maybe the win wasn't possible, but I think second was maybe,” he said. “But sometimes you have to gamble to win and that'd what we tried today. It didn't work out, but I'm still on the podium with some great overtakes, so I'm a happy person."

Verstappen had signalled his intent early on when he passed Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and then Mercedes' championship leader Nico Rosberg to move into second, but then very nearly undid all his good work when he half spun at Turn 14, somehow managing to not only keep it out of the barriers but also retain second on the road.

"In the first one I was trying some different lines and found one, and I knew if Kimi didn't take it I had a good chance of overtaking him," Verstappen commented. "I pulled out of the spray and just passed on the inside.

"I had good pace - I could follow the guys in front, and I had a good fight with Nico at Turn 3. After that I was trying to follow Lewis and had a massive moment at the last corner – I was very lucky not to hit the guardrail!"

Verstappen’s podium was his seventh of the season and helped earn him the fan-voted Driver of the Day Award for the eighth time in 2016.

 

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BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON WINS AS VERSTAPPEN STARS IN THE WET

Lewis Hamilton won his first Brazilian Grand Prix in spectacular fashion, totally outdriving Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg in a wet and treacherous, marathon of a race in which Red Bull’s Max Verstappen starred with one of the gutsiest drives in memory.

Hamilton won a race that was interrupted several times with yellow flag periods and red flag stoppages, but he was never challenged in conditions that separate the ‘men from the boys’ and the biggest of them was the reigning Formula 1 world champion.

Hamilton said on the podium, “Not too bad. I want to say a big thank you to the fans, that was a long race. I appreciate all the support and they are so welcoming to us. I was generally just chilling up front, when it rains it is usually a good day for me.”

“A big thank you to my team, we are creating history. It is just incredible and I am so proud to be part of it. No mistakes, no dramas, no spins, it was interesting to hear how many spins there were behind me,” added Hamilton who reduced the points deficit from 19 to 12 with only one race remaining in the title battle.

Although Rosberg was no match for Hamilton, to his credit he did what he had to do in the situation and heads to Abu Dhabi for the season finale needing to follow his teammate across the finish line to win his first F1 world title.

Rosberg said, “It didn’t go my way, Lewis did a great job. It was very difficult conditions but I can live with second place.”

Third place went to Verstappen, who delivered one of the most stunning performances witnessed in Formula 1 in decades and will go down as one of those drives that we will always remember – as awe inspiring as that brief but great Gilles Villeneuve vs Rene Arnoux tussle all those years ago at Dijon or that memorable Ayrton Senna win at Donington in 1993.

His drive had everything: a dozen or more clinical overtakes including an audacious ambush of Kimi Raikkonen at the start, a jaw-dropping save when his car whipped sideways up the Subida dos Boxes and tremendous pace in the wet conditions, exploring racing lines no one would dare go near. Pure genius.

Third was the Dutch teenager’s reward for his greatest drive (so far) but could have been so much more had Red Bull not erred in their strategy calculations. There are simply not enough superlatives to describe his race and driving in the most trying conditions, but surely it must go down among the best drives of all time.

Verstappen commented, “It was an incredible race, with red flags difficult conditions, especially on the main straight.”

As for the save-of-saves, he explained, “Maybe I clipped the kerb, locked all four wheels and managed to keep it out of the rail. After that I was 15th, 14th, I don’t know where I was and had some great overtakes to get on to the podium.”

Sergio Perez reaffirmed his mastery of wet and tricky conditions by driving a strong race to take, fourth place for Force India and a valuable haul of points in the constructors’ tussle with Williams. At one point a podium even seemed possible, but a supercharged Verstappen ended that dream for the Mexican.

Nico Hulkenberg was seventh in the sister car.

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel survived a spin, in the early stages of the race, to fight back and claim fifth. He too was looking good for a podium late in the race, but was no match for Verstappen who overtook the German on the exit of Turn 12.

Vettel complained on the radio that the Red Bull driver forced him off track, but the replays show that there was at least a car width of track for the Ferrari to use, but went on to the grass instead.

Also doing his shares no harm on the day was young Carlos Sainz who finished sixth for Toro Rosso. The Spaniard stayed out of trouble, showing great pace in the wet.

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo was wishing for rain, but when it came true he looked out of sorts and by no means a match for his younger teammate Verstappen. The Australian was also victim of a bad strategy call. But unlike his teammate, who he led in the final stint, could only manage eighth.

After starting his home race second to last ion the grid, Felipe Nasr delivered Sauber’s first points of the season with a strong showing to take ninth place.

Fernando Alonso, finished tenth, claiming the final point of the race for McLaren.

It was a sad end to Felipe Massa’s final grand prix at Interlagos, ending in the barriers on at the Subida dos Boxes as he lost control after touching the white line on the inside of the turn..

His walk back to the pits with the Brazilian flag was packed with emotion and poignancy, with a touch of class from the Mercedes crew which formed a guard of honour as he trooped past their pit garage.

Massa summed his final grand prix in his home town, “It is so difficult to explain the feeling, this is such a special place for me. God knows what to do. Just stopping in that place, the feeling from the people was so special.”

“I just say ‘thank you’ to everyone. It is an honour to be part of this world and it is difficult to explain the feeling. It was not the right result, but I will never forget this day, all of these people will be in my heart for the rest of my life,” added the two times winner of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

FIA Race Report

There was drama even before the start as Romain Grosjean crashed out on his lap to grid. The Haas driver lost control on the standing water at the final corner and spun backwards into the wall damaging the rear and front of his car.

With the conditions treacherous the race start was delayed and then it got underway under the safety car.

The course car stayed on track for seven laps and when racing began Verstappen was the first to attack. As Hamilton held the lead from Rosberg, The Dutch teenager passed Ferrari’s  Raikkonen through the Senna S and stole P3.

Elsewhere a number of drivers pitted for intermediate tyres but that decision soon looked premature as first  Vettel spun dramatically but recovered while on full wets and then Sauber’s  Marcus Ericsson lost control at the final turn and crashed heavily.

His car came to rest at the pit entry, just as Verstappen elected to pit for inters. The Red Bull man had to take evasive action to avoid the stricken Sauber but he made his pit stop cleanly.

His team-mate  Ricciardo was following and by the time the Australian went committed to turning towards the pit lane, race control had close the pit lane. The Red Bull driver was caught out and after pitting he was put under investigation.

The Safety Car was deployed for Ericsson’s smash and the field again queued up behind the course car until lap 20.

But as soon as it pulled off track there was more drama. Raikkonen lost control on the main straight and the Finn hit walls on both sides of track before coming to a halt. As the field avoided him in the spray, the SC was deployed again before the red flags quickly came out.

The field pulled into the pit lane and it then became a waiting game as the conditions continued to make racing impossible. Eventually Race Control signaled that the race would re-start at 15:21 local time.

That re-start last just eight laps, all taken under the safety car, but as the conditions deteriorated again the decision was taken to once again suspend the action on lap 29. During the short spell on track, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg picked up a puncture due to debris on the track and pitted for a new set of wet tyres. That dropped him from P4 to P15.

The red flag period lasted just over 25 minutes but at 16:02 local time the race resumed once more, again under the safety car.

When the safety car left the track at the end of lap 31, Verstappen was once again the man on the move, passing Rosberg for P2 with a superb move around the outside at Turn 3.

Behind him team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was also striding forward and he passed Carlos Sainz for P5 through the Senna S.

Verstappen was pushing to catch Hamilton but his race almost ended on lap 39 when he spun on the main straight. The Dutch driver saved the spin expertly though and managed to resume and defend against the hard-charging Rosberg.

As the race developed both Red Bulls opted to move to intermediate tyres. The stops dropped Verstappen back to P5 and Ricciardo to P10. Further back Vettel was making good progress and by lap 45 he was up to sixth position behind Verstappen.

At the front Hamilton was looking comfortable ahead of Rosberg, Force India’s Perez and Toro Rosso’s Sainz.

However, the race changed again on lap 47 when Felipe Massa, racing the final Brazilian Grand Prix of his career, crashed out at the final corner.

He came to a halt at the pit entry and began a long walk back to the Williams garage, applauded all the way by his home fans and then, as he walked down the pit lane, by the Mercedes and Ferrari pit crews.

During this SC phase Ricciardo, with one eye to the weather, pitted for full wet tyres. Verstappen though stayed out, even though he was increasingly concerned that he could not make any headway on the inter. The Dutchman pitted for full wets then with the hope of fighting his way back through the field from P16.

The safety car left the track at the end of lap 55 with Hamilton leading from Rosberg, Perez, Sainz and Vettel.

McLaren’s Fernando Alonso spun just as the safety car departed and that meant that behind Vettel, Nasr held sixth ahead of Hulkenberg, Ocon, Kvyat and Ricciardo.

On fresher wet tyres the Red Bulls began to scythe through the pack with Verstappen climbing to P6 by lap 65, behind Vettel. Ricciardo meanwhile was up to P8.

The Dutchman tried a move on Vettel on the run to Turn 4 on lap 56 but the Ferrari driver defended superbly but the German could not resist when Verstappen used his greater pace to pass at Turn 12. He then made short work of Sainz, who had enjoyed an excellent race to this point, to take P4.

Verstappen’s final jaw-dropping move was to pass Sergio Perez around the outside at Turn 10 to reclaim a podium finish just two laps from home.

Ahead Hamilton held on to his lead until the flag, winning the Brazilian Grand Prix for the first time with 12 seconds in hand over Rosberg. Verstappen took an incredible third place ahead of Perez, Vettel, Sainz and Hulkenberg. Ricciardo was eighth ahead of Nasr, who scored two crucial points for Sauber, and Alonso took the final point.

With Hamilton winning, Rosberg now leads the title fight by just 12 points and the championship battle goes to the wire in Abut Dhabi in two weeks’ time.

[MIKA27]

HAMILTON: A RACE I’VE DREAMT OF WINNING SINCE I WAS VERY YOUNG

Lewis Hamilton continued his superb run of form by powering to a commanding victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix – his first career victory at Interlagos – mastering challenging the treacherous conditions to narrow the gap in the world championship standings to 12 points from 19 before the race.

The reigning world champion spoke about his race, in which he did everything he had to do and as a result takes the title to a final race showdown in Abu Dhabi.

Clearly a very special satisfaction for you today, your first Brazilian Grand Prix win as we were hearing on the podium there with Martin. But I don’t know if you’re aware it’s also a new record: it’s the 24th different race track you’ve won on and that’s never been done before in Formula One history. Obviously today was about what Formula One is all about – but just sum up your feelings and the emotion, I guess.
LH: I just feel very grateful right now and just incredibly happy. Of course this is a race I’ve been dreaming of winning since I was very, very young. Unfortunately these experiences feel very surreal and probably won’t really kick in until later but after so many years of trying to win this grand prix, all the ups and downs, the emotion, y’know, it’s a hard grand prix to win and today was one of the most difficult in terms of being wet and aquaplaning and everything. Probably the most smooth-sailing race I’ve had here in ten years. I’m just very, very grateful for all the hard work my engineers and mechanics have done because I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.

When the race was stopped straight after the resumption, you were a bit surprised on the radio. You were saying: “the track is fine.” Tell us a little about the condition at that point and how you felt about the decision to stop it.
LH: Yeah, I mean, it’s understandable after the first red flag obviously because people were going off, and then the second one… once we went back out after that the track was intermediate tyres – but the Safety Car stayed out for ages. And then that went back in. And then I don’t really understand why the last one came out but the track was the same pretty much throughout, apart from after the first Safety Car so it was kind-of a pointless need to have a Safety Car come out, we should have just kept going. But, y’know, obviously safety comes first and they obviously felt that was the case. Fortunately everyone’s safe so it was obviously the right decision.

The race was twice interrupted, you had to hang around for half an hour each time. How distracting is that?
LH: Well, honestly it wasn’t distracting at all. Just very focused at the beginning and managed to maintain that. Got to stop and have something to eat the second time. Fortunately, I just never had to step out of the zone, I was in the zone the whole time which was a positive. In those conditions, obviously it’s much easier to lose focus, particularly in those stops but fortunately I didn’t have that.

The Brazilian fans don’t have a Brazilian driver winning and fighting for the title and they stayed from 7am until now in the rain, so I would like you to comment on that because you guys gave them a very good race despite the conditions. And I would like to know if you feel the energy of the Brazilian fans because of your admiration of Ayrton Senna?
LH: Without a doubt this is one of the best crowds we have in the whole season but the Brazilian fans have always been incredibly passionate about Formula One. I came here with a helmet which was a mix of mine and Ayrton’s as everywhere I go around the world and bump into Brazilian people they think about Ayrton and it’s just incredible how much he meant to the people here. I feel incredibly proud to have now won in the place that he has done but yeah, the fans are remarkable, to be able to get here that early and even though it was raining… most people would go home but they stayed and cheered the whole way. That’s just fantastic. Brazil generally spits out pretty good drivers so over time I’m sure there will be another winner at some stage.

In the past we’ve had much worse conditions than these, much more rain – for example Fuji 2007 – but it seems more and more that driving with these cars is almost impossible, too dangerous in these conditions today. Can you explain why it gets more and more difficult to drive these cars in the rain and can you understand that some people can’t understand that a racing car is not driveable in the rain by the best drivers in the world – how is that possible?
LH: This is Formula One and the rain conditions are the trickiest conditions. If everyone just went round and didn’t make mistakes it would be too easy and then everyone could do it. We are going at some serious speeds and there is a lot of water to disperse by the tyres and the tyre just struggles; the faster we go, the harder it is for the tyres. This wasn’t a particularly difficult race in terms of being wet, there’s been much much worse races in terms of aquaplaning.

A comment in general about the last round of the championship.
LH: Obviously I have to continue what I’m doing. Nico’s finished every single race this year apart, obviously, from Barcelona which we both didn’t finish so he’s had fantastic reliability, so I think right now, as the way it’s going it’s going to be very hard to beat him. That doesn’t mean I can’t win the race, so I’m going to take the energy I have now and the speed that I have which has been great this past few races and really try to push as hard as I can in that race to get as far ahead. That’s all I can do.

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ROSBERG: I CAN LIVE WITH A SECOND PLACE

Nico Rosberg may have been overshadowed and beaten by his Mercedes teammate and title rival Lewis Hamilton, but the German did all that is required of him by taking no risks on his way to second place at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

He heads to the season finale in Abu Dhabi with a 12 points advantage and needs only to finish behind Hamilton to win the 2016 Formula 1 world title. He spoke after his overtime shift at Interlagos.

You obviously did what you needed to do today. I guess the key was not being tempted to respond to the provocation of Red Bull twice when they went onto the Intermediate. You basically just, both of you, stayed with that Wet tyre.
NR: Yeah, it was touch and go but for sure it was risky to go on the Inter because it was just very, very tricky through those couple of sections. It just, as you saw, it caught out Felipe and a few others and you know, of course, in the position that we’re in, can’t really take such big risks. So it was the right decision, of course, and the strategy came in our favour, which is good.

And what’s the emotion now. Are you feeling relieved at the end of today? If you’re here again on Sunday afternoon in Abu Dhabi, you’re the World Champion.
NR: Yeah, I mean of course in light of that I have to… I can live with a second place today for sure even though I was hoping for the win – but of course second is OK, yeah.

The race was twice interrupted, you had to hang around for half an hour each time. How distracting is that?
NR: It was not a problem. It was fine, it was a good time to relax, eat some spaghetti and good to go again.

The Brazilian fans don’t have a Brazilian driver winning and fighting for the title and they stayed from 7am until now in the rain, so I would like you to comment on that because you guys gave them a very good race despite the conditions.
NR: For me, even yesterday going to the auto show it was amazing. So many people were wearing my hat and so it’s really good to see a big big support and even now, just before the press conference, I went down to see everybody and they were going crazy so it’s nice to have so much support here in Brazil so I’m very thankful for that.

In the past we’ve had much worse conditions than these, much more rain – for example Fuji 2007 – but it seems more and more that driving with these cars is almost impossible, too dangerous in these conditions today. Can you explain why it gets more and more difficult to drive these cars in the rain and can you understand that some people can’t understand that a racing car is not driveable in the rain by the best drivers in the world – how is that possible?
NR: It’s down to the tyres, you know, not coping well with the aquaplaning. We know that and we’ve been working on that now for next year and so we’re hopeful to make progress on that. Of course it would be good, you know, if it wasn’t so on the edge as soon as there’s a bit of standing water.

Nico, you won last year in Abu Dhabi, Lewis won in 2014. A comment from you about the last round of the championship, the decision of the world title. Do you think you have more chance than Lewis who has more affinity with track? A comment in general about the last round of the championship.
NR: Well, it’s going to be a great, exciting race weekend, a great battle for sure. I would like to win the race and that’s what I’m going there… I’m going to try and do that for sure. I’ve had good experience there in the past but of course that’s not going to help this year. You know we all start from zero this year, every time we go to a different track. Yeah, feeling good so let’s see.

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VERSTAPPEN: I HAD A MASSIVE MOMENT

It's already being called one of the great drives of Formula 1 history, Max Verstappen’s performance on his way to claiming third place at the Brazilian Grand Prix is stuff of legend.

The Dutch teenager delivered a drive which no amount of superlatives can justify. He spoke after his mega afternoon at Interlagos.

An astonishing drive, where do we pick the bones out of that one? Maybe we could start with those passes at the start on Raikkonen and the restart on Nico. Talk us through those.
MV: Yeah, in the first run I was trying some different lines and I found a good one so I knew that if Kimi was not going to take that line then I had a good chance of overtaking him. That worked out, he couldn’t really see what was happening in front of him and I pulled out of the spray and then I could brake on the inside and pass him, so that was all clean. From there on, I was a bit relieved because they were a bit slower behind me so I could follow the guys in front. But then of course, with the red flag and stuff, coming in twice actually, the same like Lewis, the second one I didn’t really understand because I think I was ready to go. It was similar to before. Then from there on, once we restarted again, I think the track was worse than before. We had good pace again, I had a good fight with Nico in turn three so of course enjoyed overtaking him there and then trying to follow Lewis a bit and then I had a massive moment in the second last corner onto the straight, so lucky not to hit the guardrail. And then I continued and then at one point I got the call to box because I heard Daniel was already gaining a second on the intermediate tyre so we did a pit stop. The first set was actually pretty good but then it started to rain a bit harder than before so then the last sector was undriveable, it was very difficult before but then undriveable on the intermediates, so we had to pit again and I don’t where I was, fifteenth? I hadn’t a clue, fifteenth, sixteenth? Yeah, then I started to pass people again and then it was very difficult, very tricky. I couldn’t see where I was going on the straight, at such high speeds it’s not nice but we managed to pass a lot of them and then of course you come back on the podium and it’s a great result at the end of the day.

Obviously the feeling was that if you could get the race onto the intermediate condition across the three of you, maybe the Red Bull would be the quicker car. You tried it twice, two gambles as you just referred to, but if you hadn’t taken those gambles, looking back on it, do you think this was possibly a winnable race for you or were they just too strong today?
MV: Win? Maybe not but I think a second was definitely possible. I think we were in quite a safe position in second but sometimes you have to gamble a bit to try and win the race. That’s what we tried today, it didn’t work out but we’re still on the podium with some great overtakes so I’m quite a happy person.

Can you describe to us a little of the sensation you had overtaking so many drivers and chosing a very original line on the track?
MV: About the line, I think it’s just because you can’t see where you’re going when you just stay behind them, so you try something else and it seemed to work. The car was working really well also so that helps. Of course it’s great because you have to go forward. We didn’t have the best strategy at the time so you try to make up for it.

The race was twice interrupted, you had to hang around for half an hour each time. How distracting is that?
Yeah, pretty OK I think. I was ready to go again so I was just sitting there waiting to hear the message that we could race again.

The Brazilian fans don’t have a Brazilian driver winning and fighting for the title and they stayed from 7am until now in the rain, so I would like you to comment on that because you guys gave them a very good race despite the conditions…
MV: Yeah, it was very nice to see them staying, first of all, after two red flags, then you can clearly see the dedication they have to F1 and also when my engineer opened the radio when I was pulling passes on the cars they were cheering, so they were really living up to it and I think that’s great.

In the past we’ve had much worse conditions than these, much more rain – for example Fuji 2007 – but it seems more and more that driving with these cars is almost impossible, too dangerous in these conditions today. Can you explain why it gets more and more difficult to drive these cars in the rain and can you understand that some people can’t understand that a racing car is not driveable in the rain by the best drivers in the world – how is that possible?
MV: Well of course I haven’t driven in 2007 but yeah, I think it’s a combination of having more horsepower now, so more torque, so the cars are speeding up more and less downforce at the moment. Yeah, I think next year it should be solved already, it will be much easier to drive the cars in the wet because of having quite a lot more downforce on the race. Of course, I think we can do improvements on the tyres, we’re working on that for next year but I think that with more downforce that should help already.

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GUARD OF HONOUR FOR TEARFUL MASSA AT FINAL HOME RACE

Tearful Felipe Massa received a guard of honour after he crashed out of his home Brazilian Grand Prix in his final Formula 1 appearance at Interlagos before retirement.

The 35-year-old Brazilian lost control of his Williams and crashed into the barriers just ahead of the pit lane after 49 laps of the rain-hit race.

Massa draped a Brazil flag over his shoulders as he walked back to Williams garage earning warm applause and embraces from watching pit crews including former team Ferrari.

Along the way he passed the Mercedes crew who formed a line to honour him as he walked past. He was greeted and hugged by his wife and young son in the pitlane.

“It is so difficult to explain the feeling, this is such a special place for me,” Massa told Sky Sports. “God knows what to do. Just stopping in that place, the feeling from the people was so special.

“I just say ‘thank you’ to everyone. It is an honour to be part of this world and it is difficult to explain the feeling. It was not the right result, but I will never forget this day, all of these people will be in my heart for the rest of my life.”

Massa’s last race will be at the season-concluding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 27 November.

 

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Felipe Nasr: Points at home a 'dream come true' as Sauber jump Manor

Felipe Nasr has described his ninth-place finish at his home race in Brazil a "dream come true" as not only are they his first points this season, but they're Sauber's first and enough to move them ahead of Manor in the championship standings.

With just two races remaining prior to this weekend, it looked increasingly likely that Sauber would finish bottom of the standings for the first time, but the mixed conditions and a controlled drive by Nasr were enough to see him finish ninth, to secure two points.

"It was amazing, it was like a dream come true, I couldn't have imagined a better way of scoring these two points at a home grand prix," said the Brazilian.

"It was a difficult race for everybody, difficult conditions, but I was able to keep the car on track and hold off some quicker cars.

"It was a while since I scored my last points in Formula 1, it feels great, it tastes like a victory," he added. "From the difficult situation we were facing, I felt like we all deserved it."

The race was stopped twice by red flags and Nasr says he was hoping the result would be called during the second stoppage as he sat sixth, but nonetheless is pleased with ninth.

"I was hoping the race was going to finish early, as we were higher ahead, but I'm still super satisfied," he went on to comment.

"I'm happy for the team, as the two points will give them extra motivation, and for the championship it's super important."

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Alonso ready to "drive into" Vettel next time

Fernando Alonso says Sebastian Vettel needs to realise that "the track belongs to everybody" after their battle in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The duo were fighting for seventh place when the Ferrari driver dived on the inside at Turn 11, forcing Alonso off the track.

The McLaren driver had to go off track to avoid contact and ended up losing the position.

Alonso said next time he is likely to drive into Vettel if the German does not give him room.

"There was an asphalt run-off and I used it and nothing happened," said Alonso. "But if there's a wall there, I either drive into the wall or into him, which is what I will probably do next time.

"I'll crash into him and he will lose more points than me."

He added: "It's okay. You just use the asphalt run-off and that's it. But one day we'll have to drive into him so he realises that the track belongs to everybody."

Alonso went on to finish in 10th position after a costly spin following one of the restarts relegated him to the bottom of the field.

Given the conditions at play, the Spaniard admitted he expected more.

"I think we should aim for something better," he said. "We started 10th, we finished 10th with some retirements in front of us so we didn't take some opportunities here and there, but the conditions were extremely difficult.

"I don't think we were too strong today, especially in the first part of the race. It looked like the group in front was getting away from me and [Valtteri] Bottas was putting pressure on me.

"I think we didn't have enough pace and we need to improve more."

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Max Verstappen's father 'surprised' by son's 'incredible' drive to third

Max Verstappen's father Jos Verstappen says even he was surprised by how well his son drove during the Brazilian Grand Prix, to recover to third place following the wrong strategy call.

Verstappen started fourth and climbed to second at one point after a brilliant pass on Rosberg. However Red Bull called Verstappen in for a switch the intermediate tyre, just as the rain intensified, forcing him to switch back to the full wet tyre later in the race.

That dropped the Dutchman down to 16th, and with just 15 laps remaining, he managed to fight his way through the field to finish third - almost one overtake per lap - to claim the final spot on the podium.

"I must say he surprised me today," commented Jos. "I've seen many races he did, and today it was incredible.

"He did himself a big pleasure today. They didn't have the right strategy, unlucky with weather probably, but afterwards it was worth having a bad stop!

"It's good for Formula 1, everyone is enthusiastic. What more do you want?"

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner described the drive as "one of the best" he's seen in recent years and defended their strategy call.

"That was one of the best drives I've seen in F1 to be honest, his recovery was amazing. We gave it a go on the inters, it looked right at that crossover point.

"Daniel set a few purple sector times, it was the kind of call that could have won you the race, but in the end the rain increased and we gave them a huge amount to do.

"The way he drove the last 15 laps was incredible. From running in fourth or whatever, it was to give that up and drop to the back of the field, he said 'I can’t get around the last sector on these tyres'.

"So from a safety point of view I said we put him on extremes and go for it. From the moment he set off on that restart, he wanted to get back into a podium position.

"He was using bits of tarmac, looking for the grip, he was weaving and bobbing behind the safety car. He was using all those karting lines, all that experience. He was absolutely fearless in pretty horrific conditions today."

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Sainz: "It's unbelievable how dangerous" Interlagos race was

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz has backed F1 race direction's cautious approach to the wet conditions in the Brazilian Grand Prix - and even said the race was, at times, too dangerous.

Due to constant rain making for a very wet track surface at Interlagos, the race had been delayed, started under safety car and had two subsequent red-flag stoppages, although eventually all 71 laps were run in time.

Sainz, who finished sixth, said the conditions were much tougher than they would have looked on TV.

"For me, it's very easy from home to say 'oh, these guys, why aren't they racing, this isn't F1 anymore'. From inside, it's unbelievable how difficult it was, how dangerous it was," Sainz said.

"I found Kimi [Raikkonen] spun completely in front of me, and I was just 10 metres from hitting him at 300kph. From 300 to zero, you can imagine the magnitude of the crash.

"Aquaplaning was really high, I don't blame the race director for being that tiny bit easy on the conditions, because it was very, very difficult."

     

Eight points a massive success

Sainz was running P4 when the race resumed after the second and final red flag - and while the Spaniard did slip behind Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel, he kept Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo at bay for sixth, equalling his career-best finish.

"I don't mind, I'm so happy with P6. P4 was maybe possible - well, no, it wasn't possible with those five laps extra, with the extremes [wets] like an inter, like a slick, you were aquaplaning like it was a slick.

"We stayed out there, we made it to the finish without mistakes.

"I cannot be more happy. We were 2.5 seconds off the top runners [in the dry], today to suddenly match their pace in the wet, it just shows that our car is actually quite decent, that we did an excellent job to perform for P6.

"And I cannot be more happy, for Toro Rosso to bring home eight points when no one was expecting any more points for the rest of the season is unbelievable."

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Raikkonen blames poor wet tyres for crash

After his horrendous crash on lap 19 at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ferrari ace Kimi Raikkonen claimed that wet tyres back in the day were better than the current sets.

Starting the race on full wet tyres and behind a safety car, Raikkonen was one of six retirements at Sunday’s race as the Finn rued the tricky conditions in Interlagos.

“When you do many laps behind the Safety Car it gets even more difficult,” he explained.

“It was not raining heavily, but there was a lot of standing water.

“The biggest problem was the aquaplaning and I got it in a place where I was not expecting it: I spun off on the straight. I almost got the car back, but then I went off in a pretty bad place.”

Raikkonen also went onto add that the wet tyres used in the previous seasons could handle aquaplaning much better than they did today.

“The wet tyres are very vulnerable, easy to aquaplaning,” said the 2007 World Champion.

“It obviously depends on the circuit and on many other things, but comparing to some years ago, those tyres could handle this kind of water with no issues of aquaplaning.”

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Palmer blames poor visibility for Kvyat crash

Jolyon Palmer says he “couldn’t see past” his steering wheel when he sideswiped Daniil Kvyat, resulting in a retirement from the Brazilian GP.

The Renault rookie was forced to retire his RS16 under the first red flag on Sunday after breaking his suspension when he hit Kvyat.

“There was some suspension damage and the whole right side,” he explained.

“We were hopeful but they’ve just done a few laps under the Safety Car so we are many laps down.

“It is a shame but the conditions are so difficult out there that I’m not even sure the race will carry on anyway.”

Palmer admits the crash was his fault as he sideswiped Kvyat was trying to overtake.

However, unable to see given the poor visibility in the rain, he instead collided with the Toro Rosso driver.

“I came up the hill, I had more grip than the guys in front as I was on the full wets and I was going to the inside to trying and pass.

“But I couldn’t see past my own steering wheel.

“I was trying to guess where the track went because there is curving past the pitwall. I knew somewhere there was a pitwall, somewhere there was a pitlane so a barrier on the outside.

“But I was a bit more on the inside than I thought and Kvyat was slower than I thought as he was struggling on inters.

“I hit him.”

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Button relieved no one was hurt in crash-strewn race

Jenson Button said he was pleased nobody was hurt following a series of high-speed crashes during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The race, run in persistent rain, saw high-speed crashes for Kimi Raikkonen, Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Massa. Romain Grosjean’s day also ended in the wall before the race had even begun.

The start of race was initially delayed before proceedings got underway behind the Safety Car. There were further interruptions due to crashes and two red flag periods due to heavy rain. However the race eventually ran to its full distance.

Button said it was “very difficult conditions in which to judge what’s right and what’s wrong” with the Safety Car calls. “But nobody was injured and that’s the most important thing. ”

The McLaren driver endured a dismal race and had dropped to the tail of the field at the chequered flag. “Finishing last is unusual for me in conditions like these,” he admitted, “so there’s definitely something wrong. I don’t think I’ve forgotten how to drive in the wet.”

Button suspects something is wrong with his car and wants McLaren to investigate it before his final race in Abu Dhabi.

“After today’s race we need to go back to the factory and work out what it is that’s wrong with the car,” he added.

“During Friday practice, it was working really well; I was comfortable with the car and in the high-speed corners we had a strong rear-end. Yesterday, it wasn’t working, and today it was further exaggerated by the conditions.”