Formula 1 - 2017

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Massa says Williams' development "much better" in 2017

Felipe Massa says Williams is doing a much better job of developing its F1 car this year, and is bringing updates though much faster than in the past.

Massa says that under new technical boss Paddy Lowe the Grove team is much more "connected," with is various departments working in harmony to improve the car.

"I think to be honest what I saw in this team this year is completely different to what I saw in the last three years," Massa said on Thursday in Barcelona.

"In terms of the mentality for developing areas that we need to develop in. I see the team in a much more connected way of working together, in so many different areas, including aerodynamics.

"I believe we can have much better development during the season. The mentality, the working, is definitely completely different than what's happened in the last three years.

"I really believe that the working now is a lot more correct, intelligent, and a very good connection."

Massa agreed that Lowe has made a big contribution to the change.

"A lot - Paddy, [aero chief] Dirk de Beer, so many other people that were inside [the team] but something was missing. It was not really connected, and I think now people are trying to improve so many different areas that it was a problem.

"And definitely we're still at the beginning, so many things we need to do it, but the working is much different."

Massa says Williams has brought a big package of updates to Barcelona, but concedes that it's impossible to tell how it will impact the team's form relative to the opposition.

"We have different aerodynamic parts, so a little bit in the bodywork, and some parts around the car like brake ducts, some different upgrades in different areas of the car. How good it will be is impossible to answer now.

"It's quite a reasonable step, but you never know what the others are bringing. But for sure what we're bringing here, in the last years, maybe we'd bring after five months. It's definitely a completely different picture.

"For sure you have the new rules, and with the rules we have now the car will improve a lot more from the first race to the last race, but I think it's not just the rules, I think the working method is a lot better."

Massa doesn't expect to see the raft of upgrades elsewhere make any change to the picture at the front of the grid.

"To be honest I think this is just talking that you guys like to do. So I really don't see this raced completely different from what we saw in the last race, like a different team winning. I believe the fight will stay still from Ferrari and Mercedes.

"For sure it is a little bit better track for Red Bull than the last two races, so they can be a little bit closer to Ferrari and Mercedes. Many teams are bringing new parts for the car, including us."

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BARCELONA QUALIFYING: HAMILTON ON POLE WITH VETTEL VERY CLOSE

Lewis Hamilton powered to pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, with Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel a mere five hundredth of a second shy of the top time  and will start the race on the front row.

Hamilton’s first flyer in Q3 was good enough to ensure he starts from the top spot on the grid for the 64th time, while Vettel was left to rue a tiny error in the final turn that might have made the difference between pole and second place on the grid.

Hamilton said afterwards, “The fans are amazing and I have been growing here over past 10 years, amazing job by team. I could see the fans cheering and the flags were out and is a morale boost when it is not your home circuit.”

Vettel survived an early scare when he was told to stop the car on his first out lap in Q1, but a systems reset resolved the malady.

He reflected, “I am afraid it was [the last corner]. The last chicane is a tricky one for me. It was very close, well done to Lewis. It was a busy morning, big thank you to the team for the change in the last few minutes.”

“They did an engine change in sub two hours.  It is a miracle they got me out. It would have been nice to get them pole but hopefully a good race,” he added.

Valtteri Bottas was third in the other Mercedes and will share the second row with fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari.

Bottas said, “I am very pleased and it is always a good starting point when you start from the second row and the guys did a great job to get the car back on track.” 

Next up were the Red Bull duo with Max Verstappen a tad over three tenths of a second up on Daniel Ricciardo, an all blue third row for the race. They were half a second off the pole winning time, closest they have been all year, and now will be itching for the forthcoming Renault upgrade.

Star of the show in front of his home crowd was Fernando Alonso who wrestled the problematic McLaren-Honda to seventh on the timing screens after a frustrating Friday for the Spaniard. His performance was cheered around the circuit by the home fans

“Maybe it was at the oval I learnt how to go quick on the straights,” joked Alonso afterwards with a big grin. “P7 is a gift and we will see what we can do in the race. This is a circuit that is difficult to overtake but we will try to get a position.”

Qualifying Report

After detecting a potential problem during FP3, Ferrari opted to change the German’s power unit ahead of the session.

Taking to the track in Q1, Vettel thanked his team for the quick turnaround but after setting an opening time good enough to secure passage through to Q2, his race engineer quickly radioed through to tell him to “stop the car”.

That was then revised to Vettel being asked to nurse the car to the pit lane, which he managed to do. The German was eventually able to rejoin the session.

Behind Vettel, Valtteri Bottas, who also had an engine change, though his was done overnight, was fourth ahead of the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

At the back it was a dismal outing for Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. While team-mate Carlos Sainz managed to end the session in the top 10, Kvyat remained rooted to the foot of the order and was ruled out of further competition in P20. Also eliminated at this stage were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Renault’s Jolyon Palmer, Williams’ Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.

Hamilton was again to the fore after the first runs in Q2, leading on a time of 1:20.210 ahead of Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen. As the teams prepped for their final runs, the man occupying the final Q3 berth was Alonso.

The McLaren driver was sitting on a time of 1:21.510, but that was just 0.007 ahead of Haas’s Romain Grosjean.

Local hero Alonso put in a superb final flyer to find three tenths of a second and as his rivals’ final times came in those fractions became crucial as he rose to P8 and then slid back to P10. In the end, though, he held the place, with just under eight hundredths of a second in hand over Haas’ Kevin Magnussen. Eliminated behind the Dane were Sainz, Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Sauber’s Pascal Wehrlein.

And Hamilton maintained his grip on P1 after the first runs of Q3. Bottas was first across the line but a big slide through the final corner left the Finn with a P1 time of 1:19.390. That was swiftly bypassed by Hamilton with a lap of 1:19.149.

Behind the Mercedes pair Raikkonen was third, five hundredths behind Bottas, with Vettel fourth a tenth further back. The third row of the grid was provisionally made up of the two Red Bulls, with Verstappen to the fore, almost half a second clear of team-mate Ricciardo.

With three tenths in hand over his team-mate it looked like Hamilton was in the clear. Vettel, though, was determined to have his say and the Ferrari driver was the only one of the top four to find significant time on the final run.

It wasn’t enough, however. While he improved to 1:19.200 and Hamilton failed to gain time, the Mercedes driver still managed to cling on for his 64th career pole, finishing just 0.051s ahead of the title leader.

Bottas took third ahead of Raikkonen who made a mistake in the final sector after setting the fastest first sector of the session. Fifth place went to Verstappen, while team-mate Ricciardo had a strangely muted Q3, finishing half a second behind the Dutchman in P6.

Alonso put in a huge performance to qualify his McLaren in seventh place ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez, Massa, and the second Force India of Esteban Ocon.

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BARCELONA DIARY: FERRARI VS MERCEDES AND ALONSO IN GOD MODE

A palpable anticipation filled the air on Saturday in Barcelona. Friday had seen Mercedes reassert itself over Ferrari, not so much for who would end up at the front of the grid, but as to whether McLaren could make it a whole day without an engine failing.

Such were the hopes of the Spanish faithful, who turned out in droves to simultaneously support and lament the fortunes of their leading man, Fernando Alonso. If only for one afternoon, they had plenty of cause for celebration.

To say his P7 was unexpected would be a bigger understatement than saying the Finns like Kimi Raikkonen. Everything we’d seen on Friday suggested he’d be lucky to finish a lap, let alone make the top 10.

His performance was the definition of “god mode”, and considering the way he has gone through the desert only to perform such a miracle makes the messianic treatment from his fans seem all the more appropriate.

In all seriousness, it’s days like today that show why we care so much about him in the first place. No one else in the mid- or backfield gets the attention he does, but how can you not talk about him when his brilliance is so obvious. If he doesn’t get another championship-contending car in his career, it’ll be our loss just as much as his.

On a related note, lunch in McLaren’s motorhome was an interesting affair, if only because the spread was the complete opposite of the Honda engine. Also as one journo showed me, you can jack an entire spread of chocolate tarts without any objection.

Of course, the other major story was out the front, where Lewis Hamilton was just able to squeak out the pole over Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari’s advantage in FP3 always looked like a misnomer, as Mercedes clearly weren’t pushing, but their pace in Q3 was very impressive, given the Silver Arrows’ much-vaunted upgrades.

Whatever changes the Scuderia made between yesterday and today had the SF70H looking very composed through the corners, walking right on the line the amount of oversteer, and the only real difference between the two teams were the drivers themselves. It sets us up for a fascinating race tomorrow, let’s just hope they can follow through the corners.

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SPANISH GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON FENDS OF VETTEL

Lewis Hamilton won the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday to cut Sebastian Vettel’s overall lead in the Formula 1 world championship to six points with a quarter of the season completed.

The Mercedes driver’s 55th career win, one of his toughest, was hard-fought and tense with Ferrari’s Vettel seizing the lead at the start and in remained the hunt all the way to the finish as the tyre strategies played a decisive role in the final result.

Hamilton took the chequered flag 3.4 seconds clear of the Vettel, who did all he could to beat him but in the end fell short as the Mercedes driver made his Pirelli yellow band tyres last longer than they were expected to do so. 

Formula 1 fans have waited a long time for a true Hamilton versus Vettel slug-fest and they got it this time out as the pair rubbed wheels when Vettel emerged from the pits and into the path of Hamilton.

The Ferrari driver muscled the Mercedes off the road and to keep the lead. Vettel was on the harder medium tyres and Hamilton on the faster softs. What followed was an intriguing tussle between the two as Hamilton attacked and Vettel defended.

Eventually it was down to tyres. Hamilton took advantage of the extra grip and swooped on Vettel into Turn 1 and opened a three to four seconds gap.

Late in the race, Vettel made his final attack but Hamilton had it covered as he had kept life in his tyres to retain the lead until the end.

Hamilton said on the podium, “I want to say thank you to the crowd for the warm welcome and the support. It did not start off the greatest when I first came, but my appreciation for the country and its people has grown.”

“That is how racing should be today. Seb was really fast. The start was not good enough, I got a bit of wheel-spin. I will have to talk to my guys about that,” he added.

Vettel’s heroics did not go unnoticed as he scooped the fans’ Driver of the Day Award, no doubt inspired by his sensational overtake on, Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas.

While chasing the Mercedes down the main straight, Vettel feinted to the right which Bottas covered (as he did a lap earlier) then when the Finn thought he had the inside covered the Ferrari driver went for the gap, getting two wheels on the dirt but making the move stick.

It was a double dummy, or Formula 1’s version of Cristiano Ronaldo’s step-over. Gutsy, brilliant stuff!

Vettel said afterwards, “I was pushing. I had a really good start. Lewis and myself picked up wheel-spin straight away, I pulled the clutch in and could gain on him. I stayed ahead and then got into a nice rhythm.”

Vettel leaves Spain with 104 points, leading the championship standings by six points over Hamilton, while Mercedes increased their lead in the constructors championship to eight points.

On an afternoon that saw the two multiple F1 world champions in a battle of their own with the rest so far behind they might as well have been in another race, Daniel Ricciardo finished 75.8 seconds behind the winner.

Ricciardo was the only driver not lapped by the top two in a race where both Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen failed to finish after colliding with Max Verstappen exiting the first turn, retiring after a blown engine and first lap collision respectively.

It was disappointment for last year’s winner Verstappen, who was an innocent victim of the Turn 1 melee which resulted in a DNF for the teenager.

With three of the front-runners eliminated Force India were the big winners on the day with Sergio Perez and Esteban finishing fourth and fifth respectively with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg sixth.

Local hero Carlos Sainz again delivered a solid performance to claim seventh, as did teammate Daniil Kvyat who finished ninth after starting 19th on the grid.

Splitting the Toro Rosso pair in the final standings was Pascal Wehrlein in eighth for Sauber despite a five seconds penalty and Haas driver Romain Grosjean claiming the final point.

Race Report

When the lights went out, it was Vettel who made the best start. The German powered away from P2 on the grid and grabbed the lead as he and Hamilton went through Turn One.

Behind, Raikkonen in the second Ferrari was making a move around the outside of Bottas in the second Mercedes. With Red Bull’s Verstappen further outside it was a tight squeeze into the first corner and Raikkonen’s rear right got inside of his countryman’s front left.

There was contact and the impact bounced Raikkonen into Verstappen. The result was suspension damage and early retirement for both.

There was contact, too, between seventh-placed starter Fernando Alonso and ninth on the grid Felipe Massa.

Alonso had worked miracles to haul his underperforming McLaren to P7 on the grid a day earlier, but it was undone when he was hit in Turn 2 by the Williams man. Alonso dropped to P11 and eventually drifted out to P13 by the end of the race.

By lap 14 Vettel had pulled out an almost three-second gap to Hamilton. The German then pitted for soft tyres, leaving Hamilton in clean air. His engineer was quickly on the radio telling the Briton it was “his opportunity, give it everything you’ve got”.

Hamilton responded with a race fastest lap, but Vettel was alive to the threat and fought back with a purple time of his own.

Hamilton made his first stop on lap 22, taking on the medium tyres. He rejoined in third, 7.3 seconds behind Vettel, who was right on the tail of leader Bottas who needed to pit.

Vettel’s frustrations grew as the Finn thwarted his efforts to pass. Vettel eventually got past but Bottas’ baulking lost him more than three seconds to Hamilton.

When Bottas, who needed to pit, allowed Hamilton past, Vettel found himself with just three seconds in hand over the Briton, relatively matched on lap time but on different strategies.

Bottas then made his first stop and resumed in third place ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian was a lonely fourth for Red Bull Racing, almost nine second behind the Mercedes and almost 14 ahead of Force India’s Perez.

Ocon was sixth ahead of Sauber’s Wehrelin, who had yet to pit, Renault’s Hulkenberg, the Haas of Magnussen and the Toro Rosso of Sainz.

At the halfway point there was a collision between Massa and Vandoorne as the Brazlian was hit when he tried to pass into Turn One.

The VSC was deployed as Vandoorne ended up beached in the gavel with broken front suspension and while there was a flurry of pit stops in the midfield, Hamilton waited until the VSC was ending to make his stop for soft tyres on lap 36. Vettel immediately responded and took on mediums at the end of the following lap.

He emerged almost alongside the Mercedes man and the pair banged wheels in Turn One. Vettel emerged in the lead but Hamilton had the quicker tyres and pressed for a way past. Vettel made his car as wide as possible and a tit-for-tat battle ensued.

Behind them Bottas’ race came to an end on lap 39 when his power unit failed on the run through Turn 3. The Finn had been forced to revert to an older engine on Friday night after a water leak was detected on his new unit.

At the front Hamilton was still putting pressure on Vettel and eventually, on lap 44, it told. The Briton got a good run out of the final corner and passed the German under DRS into Turn One.

Within a few laps though Hamilton was on the radio complaining that the rear of his set of soft tyres were already overheating. With Vettel on the more durable mediums, the race was not yet over as a contest.

As the laps wound down, it became clear it was a case of whether either of the top two would blink. With lap times similar, would Vettel, who had almost a minute in hand over Ricciardo, attempt a three-stop and take on soft tyres for a late attack on Hamilton as his soft tyres faded? If he pitted would Mercedes respond?

The answer came on lap 58 when Hamilton was told the gap was sufficient to prevent Vettel from trying a strategic gamble and that he should nurse his Mercedes to the flag.

And that was how it remained until the flag. As the front pair threaded their way through traffic the gap widened to over four seconds and after 66 laps Hamilton crossed the line to take a narrow career win – one in which he was made to seat.

Vettel was forced to settle for second ahead of Ricciardo who had a lonely run to his first podium finish since the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix.

[skalls]

Hell of a race.  Too bad Bottas retired due to a grenaded cylinder.  Nice to see Alonso made it to q3 and finished the race.  Feel so bad for MAgnusson, he should have scored points.

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RAIKKONEN: I’M PRETTY SURE VALTTERI HAD ENOUGH SPACE

Three into one does not go and at the Spanish Grand Prix Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen were eliminated from the race after a Turn 1 melee which resulted in them crashing into each other and both suggest that Valtteri Bottas was the culprit.

Speaking to Sky Sport, Red Bull driver Verstappen said, “It’s just unfortunate. I tried around the outside and I think if Valtteri didn’t touch Kimi we would have given each other space. Kimi couldn’t control the car and slammed into me.”

Ferrari’s Raikkonen had a similar view, “There was nothing me or Max could have done, when you get hit from behind in that way there’s no way to avoid the collision. I’m pretty sure Valtteri had enough space.”

Although it was an early DNF for both Raikkonen and Verstappen, Bottas managed to continue but retired later with mechanical issues.

The Mercedes driver gave his side of the story, “I was inside for Turn One, Kimi came from outside and tried to overtake from there. There was nowhere to go. It was unlucky. It was all a little too close and tight. There was no more space.”

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff said of Bottas, “His race was pretty much gone after contact in Turn 1.”

Stewards investigated the incident but deemed it a racing incident with no driver sanctioned.

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YOUNG BAWLING FAN MEETS HIS HERO

It was without doubt the golden moment of the sensational 2017 Spanish Grand Prix…

The young Kimi Raikkonen fan – Thomas – was filmed bursting into tears and crying his heart out when his hero was eliminated on the first lap of the race in Barcelona.

The TV director zoomed in on the little fellow a couple of times, and it was clear that the youngster was distraught.

Clearly the show of unbridled emotion did not escape Ferrari who managed to find the kid and his parents in among the crowd, whereupon they whisked them to the Circuit de Catalunya paddock where the kid was met up with his hero Raikkonen.

Tears were replaced by beaming smiles. Priceless!

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VANDOORNE GETS THREE PLACE GRID PENALTY FOR MONACO

FIA race stewards at the Spanish Grand Prix have handed Stoffel Vandoorne a three-place grid penalty for Monaco after the McLaren driver collided with Felipe Massa’s Williams during the race.

Vandoorne was running in 16th when he turned in on fast-approaching Massa at Turn 1 on the 34th lap. Massa was able to continue and finished 13th, but branded Vandoorne, who ended up in the gravel with broken suspension, “crazy” for not giving him sufficient room.

While Vandoorne was punished, Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat escaped sanction for their late-race collision on lap 62.

Toro Rosso driver Kvyat was attempting to pass Magnussen, in the Haas, for ninth place when they made contact, resulting in a puncture for the Dane. However, after reviewing video footage and speaking to both drivers, the stewards deemed it a racing incident.

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Alonso: First lap off didn't cost McLaren points

McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso says his moment through the gravel on the opening lap at the Spanish Grand Prix did not cost him a points finish, with the MCL32 lacking pace to contend for the top 10.

Alonso secured McLaren's first Q3 appearance of the season in Spain by setting the seventh quickest lap, but went wide on the opening lap following contact with Felipe Massa, and was sent through the gravel as a result.

Alonso dropped down the order and eventually finished in 12th position, the first time he has reached the chequered flag this season.

"The race didn’t go as we’d planned," he said.

"We were a little bit unlucky with the contact in Turn 2with Felipe and then we were behind Daniil [Kvyat] for too many laps in the mid part of the race, but even without that I think we didn’t have the race pace to be in the points today to be honest.

"I’m a little disappointed, but at least we finished the race, and hopefully this is the first sign of a step forward in reliability. We now need to prepare better the next Grand Prix."
Alonso will head straight to Indianapolis for Monday's opening practice session for the 500.

With Sauber scoring points, courtesy of eighth for Pascal Wehrlein, McLaren is the only team yet to register a top 10 finish this season.

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Late pitstop call crucial to first points of 2017 - Pascal Wehrlein

Pascal Wehrlein said the late pit stop call that resulted in a five-second time penalty was vital to Sauber scoring its first points of 2017 in Spain.

The German driver completed a long opening stint on the soft tyre but the virtual safety car was called just as he was going through the sector three chicane.

He got the instruction to pit too late to make the bollard drivers are required to stay to the right of when tackling the entry lane.

This resulted in a five-second time penalty so while he finished seventh on the road after an aggressive strategy, he dropped to eighth.

“Really happy about the race and how it went,” he said. “The first stint was quite tough with the softs, driving so long.

“In the end, it was really important to keep Sainz behind, he was obviously a lot quicker, and then to build a gap to the guys behind because I knew I had the penalty.

“I just got the call when I was already there in the last corner, but I knew when they called me so late it was important to come in.

“I missed the bollard but if I didn’t stop on that lap, everyone behind would have overtaken me so this was the only chance to get some points.

“I expected a penalty, probably I hoped for a penalty next race, or a fine for the team or something. But I’m happy about the five seconds, it’s better than a drive through penalty.”

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Force India continue double points finish streak in Spain

Force India became the only team to have scored points in every race this season so far with both of their cars following a massive 22-points haul in Spain, with Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

The result moves them well clear of fifth-placed Toro Rosso on 21 points compared to Force India's 53 and within touching distance of Red Bull.

Although the big haul was helped by the retirement of Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen, it is an impressive feat for the Silverstone-based outfit.

"A fantastic result for everybody at Sahara Force India," said deputy team boss Bob Fernley.

"The 22 points scored strengthen our hold on fourth place in the championship and continue our 100% points-scoring record in every race this season. We are now the only team to have achieved this and that’s a huge credit to the hard work of the race team and factory.

"It was a fairly routine race from our perspective with mature drives from Sergio and Esteban. They kept their noses clean and managed their pace to bring home our best result of the year so far.

"This consistency is a real strength of the team and we can feel very satisfied with our performance over the first quarter of the season."

Ocon admitted there was some luck involved in securing his best finish yet, but was happy to make the most of the opportunities that were offered up.

"I’m really happy today," said the French rookie. "Fifth place is a great result for me and, together with Checo in fourth, a fantastic day for the team.

"The car was fast in qualifying and we were on the pace straight away yesterday. We kept pushing and we showed good speed in the race as well. Sure, there were some circumstances this afternoon that helped us, but you need to be ready to take the opportunities when they come your way."

Driver Number Fine

Force India were called to the stewards after the race, accused of failing to display their driver numbers in a visible location, as per newly enforced rules for this race, whereby driver numbers must be shown on the engine cover and nose of the car.

However the stewards deemed that Force India's didn't meet the criteria and were handed a suspended €25,000 (£21,000) fine and are required to change them for the next race in Monaco in a fortnight.

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Lewis Hamilton: 'That's how racing should be and I loved it'

Lewis Hamilton has hailed the close racing between him and Sebastian Vettel during the Spanish Grand Prix after the pair fought over the victory in several wheel-to-wheel battles.

Although Hamilton eventually won the race, he lost out to the Ferrari driver at Turn 1 on the opening lap. However as the strategy played out, the pair appeared together on track again with the Briton and German wheel-to-wheel in Turn 1 again.

That ended in contact as the two champions rubbed wheels, forcing Hamilton to take to the run-off and begin his hunt of the red car once again. That came to a head just a few laps later when Hamilton swopped round the outside of Vettel to take the lead.

Hamilton insists that's exactly how racing should be, despite initially describing Vettel's move as "dangerous" when he was forced wide.

"I think in the heat of the moment it’s difficult to know from the outside view what it’s like – it felt like I was run out of road.

"I was alongside, so it was definitely close, but again that’s how racing should be and I loved it, I wouldn’t change it for the world," he said.

Hamilton thanked his team for the clever strategy which got him back into the lead of the race after initially losing it at the start.

"The team did an incredible job today, that’s how racing should be, as close as it could be, Sebastian was incredibly close, incredibly fast.

"The team did a great job with strategy. At the start I don’t really know what went wrong, I need to sit with my guys, it wasn’t good enough, I thought I did everything I was supposed to do but I got a bit of wheel spin."

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Losing to year-old Ferrari engine "a desperate situation" - Sainz

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz says his car's Renault engine did not stack up well against rival team Sauber's year-old Ferrari power unit in the Spanish GP, calling it "a desperate situation".

Sainz, whose Toro Rosso team itself fielded an older-spec Ferrari engine last year, found himself stuck behind the Sauber of Pascal Wehrlein in the second half of the Spanish GP, after the German made his only stop of the race during the Virtual Safety Car period.

Sainz, running on medium tyres one lap fresher than Wehrlein's in the remaining laps, followed close behind the Sauber driver but couldn't find a way past - although he did move up one spot to seventh at the chequered flag, thanks to Wehrlein's pit entry penalty.

Despite having equalled his best finish of the season in what he described as an "intense" race, Sainz admitted he found the straightline speed deficit disconcerting.

"For the first time we were fighting the Sauber and it's a bit of a desperate situation to have a Ferrari 2016 engine faster than us on the straights, compared to our car at the moment," Sainz said.

"I tried my best to pass him, I was getting just enough to be side by side at Turn 1 but he was covering the inside line of Turn 1.

"It's tough to pass here but he was doing a good job to cover the inside line where he could - so good on him."

  

The data

On Saturday, Sainz and Wehrlein led their two respective teammates in the speed trap sheets in Barcelona, both clocking in at 318.4km/h,

But Sainz's teammate Daniil Kvyat and Sauber's other driver Marcus Ericsson were ahead in the race, at 334.7km/h and 334.1km/h respectively.

Kvyat, who fought with the Ferrari-engined Haas cars for much of the race and ended up ahead of both in ninth, said of the Renault power unit: "I don't feel it's the strongest engine, there's Mercedes and Ferrari, then there is somewhere Renault and maybe Honda.

"Today I was with Alonso and compared to me they were not that uncompetitive, they were strong on the straight actually. We are still behind, sure. "

Asked whether he agreed with Sainz's assessment that the Renault engine trailed the 2016 Ferrari, Kvyat said: "It looks like - ask Carlos. I was behind the 2017 Ferrari of Haas, it wasn't easy to pass but I had to pass in the corners."

Gain of three tenths will change "everything"

With reliability concerns having delayed the planned introduction of Renault's next engine upgrade, Sainz said he believes a gain of a few tenths on the power unit side will make a huge difference.

"We need a bit more power. You can see yesterday we were two tenths to P7, so imagine if Renault brings three tenths - suddenly everything changes.

"We need that step and it'll take probably another three races, so we need to be patient. We need to keep extracting what we have.

"In qualifying we are not where we want to be, but in the race it is better and better. It's been four consecutive races now where we try to fight back from a position in qualifying and I hope we don't do this all year. "

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You had seen nothing yet.. - Spanish GP

 

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Lewis Hamilton Spanish GP Mercedes strategy call was 'magic'

Toto Wolff says Mercedes made a "magic call" in pitting Lewis Hamilton under Formula 1 virtual safety car conditions, which helped defeat Sebastian Vettel in the Spanish Grand Prix.

Polesitter Hamilton lost out to Vettel at the start and followed the Ferrari driver during the first two stints of the 66-lap grand prix.

But when contact between the McLaren of Stoffel Vandoorne and the Williams of Felipe Massa left the former stranded in the gravel on lap 33, Hamilton used the resulting virtual safety car period to make his final stop.

Mercedes waited until lap 36, calling Hamilton to the pitlane as the "VSC ending" message appeared on the screens - and as the green flags were waved, he was already approaching his pit box.

"There was a bit of thought process in the [Mercedes race] strategy group - at a certain stage we planned to do the opposite to Sebastian," Wolff said.

"And then the magic call was the one to take the pitstop at a time when it looked like the VSC would end soon.

"Because [otherwise] Sebastian could have reacted to that, pitted next lap.

"So we timed it perfectly, I really take my hat off to James [Vowles, chief strategist] and his group of strategists."

Vettel had been almost eight seconds ahead of Hamilton before the VSC was called, but, after he responded by pitting under green flag conditions a lap after his rival, he came out alongside the Mercedes.

He had to squeeze Hamilton to the outside on exit of Turn 1 to keep the lead and couldn't break away afterwards, eventually surrendering first place with 22 laps left.

Wolff added: "You lose so much when you do a regular pitstop during the race.

"Your pitstop loss is around 21s and all cars are at speed - you lose time being stationary and by being slow in the pitlane.

"And on the VSC everyone on the track is moving much slower so the effective pitstop loss is less.

"I don't know the overall number but the actual loss is probably around 12, 13 seconds - so it is much better."

Wolff admitted that Mercedes was "on the back foot" at the end of the first stint, as Vettel pitted early for new softs, preventing Hamilton from being able to perform the undercut.

Hamilton wound up running a different strategy, going long on softs early on before a switch to mediums and a final stint on softs against Vettel's mediums.

Commenting on the wheel-to-wheel battle between Vettel and Hamilton, Wolff said: "First of all, that first defence was great, maybe a little bit on the aggressive side but that is racing.

"He [Vettel] pushed him [Hamilton] wide and, from then on, we knew we had an advantage of the soft tyre that was almost brand new. We knew we had a chance."

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WEHRLEIN ENDS SAUBER POINTS DROUGHT

Sauber ended their Formula One points drought on Sunday with Pascal Wehrlein finishing eighth in the Spanish Grand Prix for the team’s first scoring finish of the season.

The result, a career best for the 22-year-old German driver who missed the first two races due to a back injury, left struggling former champions McLaren as the only team yet to score.

“It is very important for the morale of the team,” principal Monisha Kaltenborn told Reuters. “We did have very high hopes when we came into the season, the car was not there where we expected it to be.

“Aero has done a good job here. It’s the first step because we only got very small bits and pieces (for updates) here but we already got very positive feedback.”

The Swiss team, who are using 2016 Ferrari engines before switching next season to McLaren’s current partners Honda, scored in only one race last year.

That ninth place for now departed Brazilian Felipe Nasr in the penultimate race at his home Interlagos circuit was enough to secure them 10th in the championship, ahead of Manor who folded soon after.

Eighth was Sauber’s best result since Nasr finished sixth in Russia in October 2015.

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES FOR VERSTAPPEN

A year can be a long time in Formula 1 and Max Verstappen learned just how fickle fortune can be on Sunday when he crashed out on the opening lap of the Spanish Grand Prix.

A year ago, Max Verstappen made history on the very same track, when he sped away to victory to become the youngest race winner at the age of 18.

In taking that momentous win, the Dutch teenager benefited from a crash between race favorites Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg when their dueling Mercedes collided just three turns after the start.

Despite not winning a race since, Verstappen came very close last year with four more runner-up finishes.

So he arrived back on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya with high hopes to repeat his victory, especially given that his Red Bull team had spent the previous two weeks introducing upgrades to try and close the gap on title favorites Mercedes and Ferrari.

“Sometimes you have a bit of luck, like last year, sometimes you don’t as we can see this year,” Verstappen said. “It was shame to not be able to take part in the race after the incident as I think with this weekend’s upgrades it could have been fun and we could have got a good result.”

But the game of inches played at blistering speed turned against him this time. Verstappen’s race was over just seconds after it began when his car was on the receiving end of a knock between Valtteri Bottas’ Mercedes and Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari.

With the trio starting just behind pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton and F1 leader Sebastian Vettel on the grid, they all immediately jousted for position and entered the first turn side-by-side.

Bottas’ slight nudge of Raikkonen caused a chain-reaction, sending Raikkonen into Verstappen. The collision damaged the front suspensions of both cars, knocking Raikkonen off the track and forcing Verstappen to hobble back to the garage for good.

“An unfortunate start to the race which ultimately finished it also,” Verstappen said. “I tried to go around the outside as there was plenty of room there. If Valtteri had not touched Kimi, we all would have had enough room to get through that corner.”

This was his second did-not-finish this year after Bahrain, when his brakes failed, sending him into the wall. Otherwise, Verstappen has shown evidence of being the best driver outside the top four drivers for Mercedes and Ferrari. His best result was third place in China, with two more fifth-place finishes when he has stayed on the track.

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MATESCHITZ: WHERE WOULD DANIEL AND MAX GO?

With Red Bull lagging behind Ferrari and Mercedes despite a swathe of Adrian Newey inspired updates the patience of their drivers – Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen – are being tested and invariably the early starting Silly Season has them on it’s radar but big boss Dietrich Mateschitz is adamant their options are limited.

Asked by Salzburger Nachtrichten if there was a chance that Verstappen or Ricciardo would leave the team, the billionaire replied, “Where would they go? There will not be places free at either Mercedes or Ferrari. And in addition both drivers have a contract until 2018.”

With regards to the team’s struggles, relative to the pace setters, Mateschitz said, “We have to catch up and especially the improvements from our partner Renault are delayed. So we have to be patient until we get closer to Mercedes and Ferrari.”

About Liberty Media, the Austrian said, “It is clear that the new owners are very keen to innovate and above all to do something more for the audience. We also have to give them time, but they do the right things so far.”

As for his wish for the future of Formula 1, Mateschitz added, “We would want an independent engine manufacturer so there is no longer this dependence on manufacturers. But this is a long-term wish for the regulations after 2020.”

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BUTTON: I HAVE A CONTRACT WITH MCLAREN TO RACE NEXT YEAR

Jenson Button has refused to rule out a full-time return to the Formula One grid next season as he prepares for his fairytale comeback in Monaco.

Button, who seemingly called time on his 17-season career in Abu Dhabi last November, will be back behind the wheel of a McLaren a week on Sunday when he replaces Fernando Alonso in a one-off appearance at the famous Monte Carlo race, while the Spaniard competes in the Indianapolis 500.

The 37-year-old Englishman may have relinquished his racing duties this season, but the deal in which he signed with Ron Dennis – McLaren’s long-serving boss who was ousted at the end of last year – means he remain under contract for this season and 2018, too.

And with Alonso’s future at McLaren hanging in the balance, Button has claimed he could be called upon by the British team to return next season.

“I can’t rule it out,” Button told Press Association Sport. “I have a contract with the team to race next year so I would definitely not rule anything out.”

Button also revealed that he was contacted earlier this year by two teams wanting him to race for them this season. Mercedes and Williams were the only two outfits to confirm their line-ups in January following Nico Rosberg’s sudden retirement and Valtteri Bottas’ ensuing switch from Williams to join Lewis Hamilton at Formula One’s world championship-winning team.

“I had so many options to race this year it is hilarious,” added Button, who was speaking on the Santander 123 World film set in London where, alongside Jessica Ennis-Hill, he’s playing virtual reality stunts on unsuspecting Santander customers.

“That even went into this year with two different teams asking me to race. I have no interest in doing that. I am thinking of Monaco as my only race this year. Obviously if I am asked again at another point in the year I am here to fill that seat. But I am not going to go out of my way to ask to drive because the whole idea was not to.”

Button won 15 grands prix during a career which climaxed in him winning the championship with Brawn GP in 2009. He now spends most of his time in the United States with his model girlfriend Brittny Ward.

He competed in an Ironman in California on Saturday, winning his age group, and in doing so, securing his spot at the world championships in Tennessee later this year. And Button’s new life, far removed from the F1 paddock, naturally led to some suggestions that he had no interest in replacing Alonso in a McLaren which has been beset by Honda engine problems this season.

Button said: “I am massively excited about it as I would not do it otherwise. I had the option to say ‘no’ because nobody wants someone in the car that doesn’t want to be there.

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VETTEL: WE’RE NOT HAPPY BECAUSE THE WIN WAS THERE

Sebastian Vettel lost the battle in Barcelona, but not the Formula 1 title and despite a great start in individual duels with Mercedes, Ferrari’s top driver finished Spanish Grand Prix exactly where he started: in second place behind Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel can take heart, however, from the fact that the difference between the winner and runner-up came down to a choice of team strategy that went Mercedes’ way. Hamilton finished the race on a faster set of tires than Vettel, passing the German on Lap 43 of 66 and conserving his tires as he sped away to victory.

“I think we can be very happy, but today we’re not entirely happy because the win was there,” Vettel said. “The car was quick enough but the way the race happened, it wasn’t meant to be. The most important thing is that we were there. Once again fighting, hanging in there, not much missing at the end.”

Vettel remained in the series lead, now reduced to six points from 13 over Hamilton, with his third second-place finish to go with two wins in five races.

Equally as important, Ferrari showed that the upgrades brought by both title contenders to Spain canceled one another out.

Vettel’s Ferrari was a mere 0.051 of a second slower than Hamilton in Saturday’s qualifying. He finished the race less than four second behind Hamilton, and Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo was nowhere close finishing a distant third.

Vettel also won three of the four jousts he had with Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

His excellent jump from the start allowed him to pass Hamilton at the first turn.

Next, Vettel engaged Bottas in an exhilarating lap-long chase before finally getting past the Finn on the third try, even though the effort slowed down Vettel and let Hamilton shave off valuable seconds from behind.

“I was really happy, but then I looked down and (saw) I’d lost an awful lot of time, so I wasn’t that happy because the real fight was with Lewis,” Vettel said. “We lost four seconds.”

Those seconds meant that when Vettel emerged from a second pit stop he was neck-and-neck with a hard-charging Hamilton. But Vettel defended his inside position on a curve, sending Hamilton off as they came close to touching.

Vettel had kept his lead, but Hamilton waited for a straightaway to blow past him on his faster tires and never looked back.

Vettel said the race was there for the taking.

“The car is good, the team is in great form,” he said. “We’re very happy when we have the chance to race Mercedes. They have been proving over and over in the last few years that they are the team to beat. We are giving them, so far, a good run for their money.”

Vettel’s and Hamilton’s teammates both abandoned the race. Bottas bumped Kimi Raikkonen on the first turn, sending his Ferrari into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, damaging both cars’ front suspension. Bottas was later forced to stop his Mercedes when it started spouting smoke midway through the race.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said the knock by Bottas that cost Raikkonen an early exit was just part of F1.

“Shame for the end result, but we leave Spain knowing that we can count on a car that is solid and very quick,” Arrivabene said. “The championship is still a long way and we are already focusing on the next race at Monaco.”

After spending three years battling retired teammate Nico Rosberg for the title, Hamilton said he was enjoying taking the fight outside Mercedes’ garage.

“To have that close battle with him, with a four-time champ, is awesome,” Hamilton, himself a three-time champion, said about Vettel. “I think it was the rawest fight I can remember having for some real time, which I loved. This is why I race and this is what got me into racing in the beginning.”

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Romain Grosjean frustrated by lost positions on lap one at Barcelona

Haas driver Romain Grosjean was left frustrated by 10th place at the Spanish Grand Prix, feeling the race could have been different had he not lost places on the opening lap.

The Frenchman qualified down in 14th place and had a good start, but had to take avoiding action from the first corner collisions.

This cost him track position – had that not happened, Grosjean thinks he would have emerged from lap one ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, who went on to finish sixth.

He was pleased with the pace of the Haas on the soft tyre but struggled more on the mediums, coming home just inside the top 10.

“It’s good for the team to score a point,” he said. “I had a good start, then into Turn 1 and 2 there were a lot of cars spinning.

“I had to go on the astroturf to avoid them. If that hadn’t been the case, I’d have been next to [Nico] Hulkenberg or in front of him and the race would’ve been different.

“The pace was there on the softs, but I was always into traffic. On mediums – I really struggled to get those tyres to work. There’s a lot of work we can do.

“I was happier with the car than Saturday, but still we have to work hard to get a good run home.”

Kevin Magnussen had to pit with a puncture on the penultimate lap after contact with Daniil Kvyat while running in the top 10, which Grosjean said was a “shame”.

Magnussen added: “It’s annoying. We could’ve had the points with both cars, so it’s pretty disappointing. There was some contact there with Kvyat.

“I would’ve been fine, but I got a puncture from the contact. I gave it everything I had. If we had finished in the points, that would’ve been a good result for us. I’m very disappointed not to do that.”

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Eric Boullier: 'Day to forget' for McLaren, but positives to take from Spain

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says the Spanish Grand Prix was a “day to forget” for the team, despite there being positives to take from the weekend.

After a tough start on Friday with reliability problems, the Woking-based outfit enjoyed better fortunes on Saturday, with Fernando Alonso qualifying in seventh place.

However, the Spaniard was knocked off track on the opening lap and lost several places, struggling to recover.

Meanwhile Stoffel Vandoorne retired from the race after a collision with Felipe Massa at the first corner.

“After our encouraging qualifying pace, it goes without saying that we’re very disappointed [with the race],” he said.

“Through no fault of his own, Fernando got involved in Felipe’s [Massa] lap-one ‘off’, and immediately dropped half a dozen places as a result.

“He pushed as hard as he could thereafter, but the gap proved unbridgeable and he ended up driving a lonely race to 12th place.

“After being awarded a 10-place grid penalty as a result of the team’s decision to replace some elements of his car’s power unit this morning, Stoffel was forced to start the race from 20th and last place.

“From there he drove the first third of the race very hard and very well. Unfortunately, his good progress came to a halt on lap 33, when contact with Felipe’s Williams damaged his suspension and rendered his car undriveable.

“So, results-wise, it is a day for us to forget, but there are positives to be taken from the weekend nonetheless, not least our solid qualifying pace.

“It’s clear that the MCL32 is a chassis that our drivers can really lean on – and that quality augurs well for Monaco, on whose sinuous streets we’ll do battle with our rivals once again in two weeks’ time.”

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Felipe Massa: Lost opportunity in Spain 'painful'

Williams driver Felipe Massa says the team could have finished fourth at the Spanish Grand Prix, admitting the lost opportunity was “painful”.

The Brazilian racer started between the two Force India drivers in ninth place and made up ground on the run down to the first corner.

However, while avoiding the clashing Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen returning to the track at Turn 2, he collided with Fernando Alonso’s McLaren and picked up a puncture.

He dropped to the back of the field and from there, could only recover to 13th place. Massa felt fourth was possible at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and rued the ‘big’ lost opportunity.

“I’m so disappointed,” he said. “I had a fantastic start, passing Perez and Alonso on the straight, and then I got to Turn 1 and saw the incident ahead.

“I then got to Turn 2 and Alonso was suddenly on the outside of the corner, we touched and I picked up a puncture, which ruined my race.

“We had a big opportunity to finish fourth, which I think I could have done because we had good pace. It’s really painful because we lost so many points as a team.”

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Pirelli to consider dropping hard tyre following driver complaints

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli is considering dropping the 'hard' tyre from its range this season following driver complaints that it is unsuitable for racing on because it provides little grip.

Pirelli will meet on Monday at its Milan headquarters to discuss dropping the compound – the hardest in its range – which will also mean adjusting its choice of tyres for the British Grand Prix in mid-July, which is the next event where the hard tyre is scheduled to make an appearance.

"I think the hard tyre here [in Spain] is a joke, nobody will use it, just in FP1, but not after I don’t think," commented Felipe Massa at the weekend.

Indeed, it made no appearance in the race on Sunday as drivers opted for the two softest compounds available in the medium and soft, with the former proving very durable.

Force India's Esteban Ocon believes Pirelli are being too conservative with their choices: "Terrible," he said. "No-one's going to use them to be honest.

"We drove here with ultrasofts with no problem, so for sure they’re going to be too hard and it’s going to be difficult for everyone."

Teams must submit their allocation for the British GP later this week – whereby they are given the choice about how many of each compound they want from a specified selection of three, which is currently the hard, medium and soft – but Pirelli has agreed to delay that deadline slightly as it decided whether to drop the hard and instead make the medium the hardest in its range.

That would likely mean a choice of the medium, soft and supersoft for Silverstone.

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Kvyat blames Magnussen for Spanish GP clash

Daniil Kvyat said it was "clear-cut" that Kevin Magnussen was to blame for their collision in the Spanish Grand Prix, insisting the Haas Formula 1 driver drove into him.

The Toro Rosso driver escaped damage when he had contact with Magnussen on the penultimate lap as they battled for ninth place, but the latter picked up a puncture that forced him to pit.

The incident went unpunished by the stewards, with Kvyat scoring points for the first time since the season opener in ninth and Magnussen dropping to 14th.

When asked by Motorsport.com for his view of the collision, Kvyat said: "He drove into me and got a puncture for himself. I was one car ahead and he just tried to get back the position and he drove into me. It was very clear-cut."

He added he doesn't "see any reason why I need to" talk to Magnussen about the incident.

Magnussen, whose teammate Romain Grosjean inherited 10th and the final point as a result of him dropping down the field, said: "There was some contact there with Kvyat.

"I would've been fine, but I got a puncture from the contact. It's annoying - we could've had the points with both cars, so it's pretty disappointing."

Haas team principal Gunther Steiner defended Magnussen, suggesting it was "just a racing accident".

He also praised the way the stewards handled the race, which featured several incidents but only one penalty - for Stoffel Vandoorne after his contact with Felipe Massa.

"I don't want to comment on [the Vandoorne penalty] but the other ones, I think they did the right decision," he said. "We want to see racing - it's getting decided on the track. Sometimes one is happy, the other is unhappy - that's racing."