Malaysia is getting ready for night race that Bernie Ecclestone always pushing for it. Due to the larger market in European countries, and the different time zone, hosting a race in Asia makes the revenue slightly not so lucrative compare to races in other Europe countries. That's the whole story behind this night racing thingy that trouble country like Australia, which face the similar problem.
From my understanding, Australia is against the night racing idea, simply because it is not viable. Why? Because even without the night race, Melbourne GP currently is at a loss, millions per year. To held a night race in Albert's park, heavy investment will be needed, that will burn another big hole in the pocket.
Why Bernie Ecclestone is so firm on the decision, he even treaten Australia, saying that Australia F1 will be removed from next year calendar if they do not agree to the night racing concept. Because there are other countries dying to hold a F1 GP in their country. If Australia is not interested, he has plenty of other choices.
The bottom line is, he want to make as much money as he could by pressing country like Malaysia and Australia to invest in night racing, on the other hand, larger market group enjoy it, he is happy, the organiser? Not so happy.
Night race could be fun, I totally agree with it, but what about the organiser? What they going to do with the state-of-the-art flood lights? How many night racing events like F1 can be held in a year? Who is going to bear the cost? Not Bernie definitely...
No one knows what will happen during the night race, as this is something new, on one has done it before. How well will the driver adapt to this night race, how they deal with the lights, glares, shadows.. All remain to be seen.
"I want to keep racing alive in this part of the world and the only way we can do that is to have races at night." The F1 supremo said. To me that's a nice way to say it. You can put it in a nastier way:
"I want to make sure I can make lots of money, I don't care how much are you going to invest on your track. If you are not cooperative, I will remove you from F1 calendar. The only choice is LISTEN to me, I WANT NIGHT RACE!"
This is my personal opinion, to host or not to host a night race, they must make a wise decision. I totally understand what Australia trying to do. For Malaysia, I do not know what will be the outcome. But if I am the decision maker, I probably will against the idea as well.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Night Race, night race, night race
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Malaysia - Race Result
Source: http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2008/788/6490/
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Malaysia - Qualifying Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:35.347 | 1:34.412 | 1:35.748 | 17 |
| 2 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:35.645 | 1:34.188 | 1:36.230 | 13 |
| 3 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.227 | 1:34.759 | 1:36.613 | 12 |
| 4 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.392 | 1:34.627 | 1:36.709 | 18 |
| 5 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:35.205 | 1:34.825 | 1:36.711 | 18 |
| 6 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW | 1:35.794 | 1:34.811 | 1:36.727 | 13 |
| 7 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW | 1:35.729 | 1:34.648 | 1:36.753 | 13 |
| 8 | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:35.440 | 1:34.967 | 1:37.009 | 18 |
| 9 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:35.983 | 1:35.140 | 1:38.450 | 18 |
| 10 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:35.891 | 1:35.000 | 1:39.656 | 20 |
| 11 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:35.847 | 1:35.208 | 15 | |
| 12 | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 1:36.058 | 1:35.408 | 12 | |
| 13 | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:36.074 | 1:35.562 | 12 | |
| 14 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1:36.198 | 1:35.622 | 15 | |
| 15 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 1:36.111 | 1:35.648 | 15 | |
| 16 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:35.843 | 1:35.670 | 13 | |
| 17 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 1:36.240 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:36.388 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:36.677 | 8 | ||
| 20 | 18 | Takuma Sato | Super Aguri-Honda | 1:37.087 | 9 | ||
| 21 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 1:37.101 | 10 | ||
| 22 | 19 | Anthony Davidson | Super Aguri-Honda | 1:37.481 | 9 |
Source: http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2008/788/6489/
Alonso - Not in the position to win this year Malaysian GP
Fernando Alonso, the winner here last year, expressed his frustration after only managing the 14th fastest time of 1:37.328 in the afternoon practice session yesterday.
His rookie team-mate, Nelson Piquet Jr, was just behind on 1:37.331 and the indications are that the team have their work cut out for them ahead of the crucial qualifying session today.
Alonso conceded that Renault have a lot of catching up to do before they can even think about challenging McLaren, Ferrari and even BMW Sauber.
“I would like to have wheel-to-wheel racing with McLaren or Ferrari in a normal race. That is the target for the season. But we are too far behind at this point,” he said.
The 26-year-old bagged five points for a fourth-place finish in the season-opener in Melbourne last Sunday but attributed it more to the fact that only seven cars finished the 58-lap race than to the true measure of his car's pace.
Alonso and Piquet Jr both missed out on making the top 10 of the final qualifying session in the Australian GP. The Spaniard was 13th fastest while Piquet Jr was 19th on the starting grid and retired after a first-lap incident.
However, Alonso was optimistic that they would be more competitive as the season progresses.
“You are always optimistic at the start of the year. There are a lot of races to come, a lot of time. I really think we will close that gap and improve the car quite a lot.”
Alonso took his first pole position in his debut in Sepang in 2003. He went on to hand Renault their first Malaysian GP win in 2005 and repeated the feat last year for McLaren.
Other than the two race victories, his impressive resume in Sepang included two third-place finishes in 2003 and 2006.
Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/3/22/sports/20724697&sec=sports
Malaysia - Second Practice Result
- Lewis Hamilton 1m 35.055s
- Felipe Massa 1m 35.206s
- Kimi Raikkonen 1m 35.428s
- Jenson Button 1m 36.037s
- Sebastian Vettel 1m 36.474s
- Jarno Trulli 1m 36.493s
- Heikki Kovalainen 1m 36.512s
- Robert Kubica 1m 36.671s
- Giancarlo Fisichella 1m 36.756s
- Kazuki Nakajima 1m 36.838s
- Rubens Barrichello 1m 36.879s
- Nico Rosberg 1m 36.908s
- Nick Heidfeld 1m 37.106s
- Fernando Alonso 1m 328s
- Nelson Piquet 1m 37.331s
- Mark Webber 1m 37.346s
- Timo Glock 1m 37.512s
- Adrian Sutil 1m 38.614s
- Takuma Sato 1m 39.021s
- Anthony Davidson 1m 39.361s
- Sebastien Bourdais NO TIME (Transmission Problem)
- David Coulthard NO TIME (not participate)
- David Coulthard will be allowed to use a new engine for the Malaysian GP
- Sebastian Bourdais was fine twiced 1,000 Euro and 3,000 Euro for exceeding speed limit in the pit lane within a period of 12 minutes
- Anthony Davison was fine 400 Euro for exceeding the speed limit
Friday, March 21, 2008
Malaysia - First Practice Result
- Felipe Massa 1m 35.392s
- Kimi Raikkonen 1m 36.459s
- Heikki Kovalainen 1m 36.556s
- Nico Rosberg 1m 36.578s
- Lewis Hamilton 1m 36.626s
- Fernando Alonso 1m 37.022s
- Nelson Piquet 1m 37.034s
- Robert Kubica 1m 37.218s
- Jenson Button 1m 37.282s
- Jarno Trulli 1m 37.540s
- Nick Heidfeld 1m 37.649s
- Kazuki Nakajima 1m 37.649
- Rubens Barrichello 1m 37.776s
- Timo Glock 1m 37.782s
- Sebastian Vettel 1m 38.219s
- David Coulthard 1m 38.232s
- Mark Webber 1m 38.707s
- Sebastien Bourdais 1m 38.798s
- Anthony Davidson 1m 40.351s
- Adrian Sutil 1m 41.269s
- David Coulthard suffer a suspension breakage after running hard over a kerb
- Mark Webber suffered an engine failure. He will not get a penalty as it’s Friday and all teams in any case get one free breakage.
- Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel had off-course moments, as did BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld
- Adrian Sutil suffered an engine change (which will count, as he had his ‘freebie’ [New in 2008 season] in Australia) in his Force India.
Kimi - Ferrari will be back!
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen believes the F2008 engine troubles will not be an issue on the upcoming races, despite the poor result on the Australian GP.
“I know that back in Maranello the team is working hard to solve our problems,” he told Ferrari’s official website. “I'm not worried at all about the performance and the competitiveness of the car. The first race was like it was, but we know that we have a really good car. I know that the team will never lose its focus. They've shown that already in the past - Ferrari will be back!”
The World Champion did score one point result form the disqualification of Ruben Barrichello.
“There's really not much to say about the first race weekend of the season,” the Finn added. “The only positive thing is that it's all behind us. Obviously we are really disappointed. We have to give our best and need to try to get the most points in every single race.”
Monday, March 17, 2008
Honda - So close yet so far
To me, Honda did improve in some area, as they were in contention for points which is a rarity last season. I must say Ruben Barrichello did a good job on defending his position while Kimi Raikkonen try to attack from the back. But on the other hand, he made a terrible mistake - leaving the pit lane exit when the red light is on, which caused the team and himself three precious points.
Rubens Barrichello's pit stop during the Melbourne race
A DNF (Jenson Button crashed out on the first lap) and a disqualification definitely not what Honda wants, but they will be points-contender this season.
See what Ross Brawn think about the Melbourne race and the Honda Team.
Exclusive Interview - Ross Brawn
F1 2008 Driver Result
Last update: 19 October 2008
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | British | McLaren-Mercedes | 98 |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | Brazilian | Ferrari | 97 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | Finnish | Ferrari | 75 |
| 4 | Robert Kubica | Polish | BMW Sauber | 75 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Spanish | Renault | 61 |
| 6 | Nick Heidfeld | German | BMW Sauber | 60 |
| 7 | Heikki Kovalainen | Finnish | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 |
| 8 | Sebastian Vettel | German | STR-Ferrari | 35 |
| 9 | Jarno Trulli | Italian | Toyota | 31 |
| 10 | Timo Glock | German | Toyota | 25 |
| 11 | Mark Webber | Australian | Red Bull-Renault | 21 |
| 12 | Nelsinho Piquet | Brazilian | Renault | 19 |
| 13 | Nico Rosberg | German | Williams-Toyota | 17 |
| 14 | Rubens Barrichello | Brazilian | Honda | 11 |
| 15 | Kazuki Nakajima | Japanese | Williams-Toyota | 9 |
| 16 | David Coulthard | British | Red Bull-Renault | 8 |
| 17 | Sebastien Bourdais | French | STR-Ferrari | 4 |
| 18 | Jenson Button | British | Honda | 3 |
| 19 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Italian | Force India-Ferrari | 0 |
| 20 | Adrian Sutil | German | Force India-Ferrari | 0 |
| 21 | Takuma Sato | Japanese | Super Aguri-Honda | 0 |
| 22 | Anthony Davidson | British | Super Aguri-Honda | 0 |
Note - Super Aguri withdrew from the championship after round four.
F1 2008 Constructor Result
Last Update: 19 October 08
| Pos | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 172 |
| 2 | McLaren-Mercedes | 151 |
| 3 | BMW Sauber | 135 |
| 4 | Renault | 80 |
| 5 | Toyota | 56 |
| 6 | STR-Ferrari | 39 |
| 7 | Red Bull-Renault | 29 |
| 8 | Williams-Toyota | 26 |
| 9 | Honda | 14 |
| 10 | Force India-Ferrari | 0 |
| 11 | Super Aguri-Honda | 0 |
Note - Super Aguri withdrew from the championship after round four.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Hamilton wins the Melbourne race
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Melbourne - Qualifying Result
On a day that Ferrari might prefer to forget, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton opened his 2008 world championship challenge by grabbing pole position for the Australian Grand Prix from a super-impressive Robert Kubica in the BMW Sauber.
With Kimi Raikkonen already sidelined after fuel pump problems in Q2, team mate Felipe Massa had to uphold Ferrari honour alone in Q3, but after recording 1m 27.178s on his first run, he failed to improve on his second. Kubica, meanwhile, was on a blinder that resulted in 1m 26.869s even though he ran wide in Turn Nine. The Pole kept his foot in it and didn’t appear to lose an awful lot of time, and planted his BMW Sauber on the front row for the first time in his career.
Hamilton’s smoother 1m 26.714s, however, was good enough to settle the issue and to give the Briton his seventh career pole. It was a good day for McLaren, with Heikki Kovalainen taking third, ahead of Massa, with 1m 27.079s.
Full report: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/3/7485.html
Qualifying Result
Squence: Pos Driver Team Q1, Q2, Q3, Laps
- Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.572,1:25.187, 1:26.714, 14
- Robert Kubica BMW 1:26.103, 1:25.315, 1:26.869, 15
- Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.664, 1:25.452, 1:27.079, 13
- Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:25.994, 1:25.691, 1:27.178, 12
- Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:25.960, 1:25.518, 1:27.236, 16
- Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:26.427, 1:26.101, 1:28.527, 17
- Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:26.295, 1:26.059, 1:28.687, 21
- David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:26.381, 1:26.063, 1:29.041, 18
- Timo Glock Toyota 1:26.919, 1:26.164, 1:29.593, 17
(will drop ten places, unschedule gear-box change) - Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:26.702, 1:25.842, No time, 18
- Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:26.369, 1:26.173, 13
- Fernando Alonso Renault 1:26.907, 1:26.188, 10
- Jenson Button Honda 1:26.712, 1:26.259, 13
- Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:26.891, 1:26.413, 13
- Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:26.914, No time, 8
- Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:26.140, 3
- Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:27.207, 9
- Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:27.446, 10
- Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:27.859, 9
- Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:28.208, 9
- Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:28.330, 6
- Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:29.059, 9
Source: http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2008/787/6482/
Melbourne - Third Practice Result
- Robert Kubica 1m 25.613s (BMW Sauber)
- Nick Heidfeld 1m 25.950s (BMW Sauber)
- Fernando Alonso 1m 26.082s (Renault)
- Nico Rosberg 1m 26.171s (Williams)
- David Coulthard 1m 26.385s (Red Bull)
- Mark Webber 1m 26.407s (Red Bull)
- Jenson Button 1m 26.502s (Honda)
- Sebastian Vettel 1m 26.663s (Toro Rosso)
- Giancarlo Fisichella 1m 26.682s (Force India)
- Jarno Trulli 1m 26.882s (Toyota)
- Felipe Massa Massa 1m 27.020s (Ferrari)
- Lewis Hamilton 1m 27.084s (McLaren Mercedes)
- Timo Glock 1m 27.162s (Toyota)
- Kimi Raikkonen 1m 27.163s (McLaren Mercedes)
- Nelson Piquet 1m 27.284s (Renault)
- Rubens Barrichello 1m 27.333s (Honda)
- Adrian Sutil 1m 27.489s (Force India)
- Sebastien Bourdais 1m 27.578s (Toro Rosso)
- Kazuki Nakajima 1m 27.601s (Williams)
- Heikki Kovalainen 1m 27.992s (McLaren Mercedes)
- Takuma Sato 1m 28.363s (Super Aguri)
- Anthony Davidson 1m 28.912s (Super Aguri)
Melbourne - Second Practice Result
- Lewis Hamilton 1m 26.559s
- Mark Webber 1m 27.473s
- Felipe Massa 1m 27.640s
- Heikki Kovalainen 1m 27.683s
- David Coulthard 1m 28.037s
- Kimi Raikkonen 1m 28.208s
- Jarno Trulli 1m 28.292s
- Nico Rosberg 1m 28.352s
- Giancarlo Fisichella 1m 28.469s
- Timo Glock 1m 28.582s
- Jenson Button 1m 28.632s
- Nick Heidfeld 1m 28.731s
- Fernando Alonso 1m 28.779s
- Rubens Barrichello 1m 28.849s
- Robert Kubica 1m 28.860s
- Kazuki Nakajima 1m 29.077s
- Adrian Sutil 1m 29.161s
- Sebastian Vettel 1m 29.193s
- Nelson Piquet 1m 29.518s
- Sebastien Bourdais 1m 29.605s
- Takuma Sato 1m 30.663s
- Anthony Davidson 1m 31.527s
Friday, March 14, 2008
Melbourne - First Practice Result
- Kimi Raikkonen, 1:26.461
- Lewis Hamilton, 1:26.948
- Felipe Massa, 1:26.958
- Heikki Kovalainen, 1:27.114
- Mark Webber, 1:28.263
- Fernando Alonso, 1:28.360
- RobertKubica, 1:28.579
- Timo Glock, 1:28.913
- Sebastian Vettel, 1:28.957
- Jarno Trulli, 1:29.014
- Jenson Button, 1:29.124
- Giancarlo Fisichella, 1:29.230
- David Coulthard, 1:29.301
- Sebastien Bourdais, 1:29.363
- Rubens Barrichello, 1:29.533
- Nick Heidfeld, 1:29.561
- Adrian Sutil, 1:30.155
- Nelson Piquet, 1:30.357
- Takuma Sato, 1:31.048
- Anthony Davidson, 1:31.771
- Kazuki Nakajima, 1: 35.053
- Nico Rosberg, No-Time(Technical Problem)
Pre-race Interview - Melbourne 2008
Drivers: Fernando Alonso (Renault), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Fernando Alonso
Q: Fernando first of all. Back with Renault again. How different is it from the last time you were there?
Fernando Alonso: Not very different. The technical group is exactly the same, most of the mechanics as well. Not very different to be honest.
Q: After last year do you think they have lost a little confidence?
FA: Maybe a little bit. Of course after winning two years in a row when I left in 2006 they were confident and they were believing in themselves a lot. Now for sure you know no good results last year, maybe a little bit lacking in confidence now but I think they know that were are able and they are able to do good things. They have nothing to prove to anybody, so it is just a matter of time and good work with everybody to put in a better place again.
Q: How much do you feel it is your job to pull them up and get them motivated again?
FA: I will try to do the best job we can. For sure coming back to Renault for me is a great challenge and for them too I think because they are extra motivated this year to have the success we have had in the past and I am extra motivated as well so we all have the same goal and the same target.
Q: What was the biggest difference initially in the cars without engine braking and without engine braking when you first experienced it?
FA: Less than I thought to be honest. The first time I test was in Jerez and I was expecting more problems than we had. Okay, in the long run you feel the drop in the tyres and you feel the loss of traction and the braking stability but nothing too big, similar with some times we had last year as well, so as I said not a big difficulty. But it still does change circuit to circuit and at some circuits there is nearly no difference compared to last year and at some others it is a little bit more, so I imagine that every circuit will be different and maybe Monaco and places like this will be a big difference compared to last year. But we will see.
Q: Has development diminished the difference?
FA: Yes, all the teams are working in that direction to try and get the mechanical side and the aero side to what we lost in terms of electronics, so for sure with the set-up and all the other things around the car we are trying to deal with the loss of the electronics.
Q: And have you changed your driving style to compensate for that as well?
FA: Not really.
Lewis Hamilton
Q: Lewis, if I can come to you. First of all tell us about the kayaking yesterday.
Lewis Hamilton: It was cool. We had some fun.
Q: Give us a race report.
LH: Ok, well Heikki (Kovalainen) got off to a bit of a head start and he looked to be leading the race but he then took the wrong route. The only reason I was turning was someone was turning next to me and helped me turn and somehow I came out in the lead. It was good fun.
Q: Was it cold?
LH: Initially it was but then afterwards it was fine.
Q: Competitive?
LH: I am.
Q: How are you getting on with Heikki?
LH: Really well. Really well. He has settled into the team very well and he seems to be enjoying it. He has been playing tennis and he has been on the fitness trip recently and we seem to get on really well.
Q: Having him as a team mate the two of you have actually only got one year’s experience each. Has that been a problem so far and will it become a problem in the races do you think?
LH: It’s not been a problem and I don’t think it will be. He has got a great career under his belt already, lots of experience as have I. We are both coming into our second year in F1 and we both have the same hunger for winning and pushing the team forward. I think it is quite good that we are both aiming in the same direction.
Q: Is it a different preparation this year from last year?
LH: No. I think it is better. Better preparation. Last year I and my trainer were both rookies and we did the best job we could which was good but there were areas we could improve on and we have done.
Q: Tell us about the different emotions from a year ago to now. Was there a certain nervousness last year or eagerness? What is it now? Is there more pressure now?
LH: I don’t think there is more pressure, I think there is less pressure than last year. Last year there was a huge build-up and just a lot of weight hanging on my shoulders really because no-one really knew if I was going to do well or what. And neither did I really. It is a slightly different feeling. I think I know even more now knowing what a season feels like. I am even hungrier and I feel even more determined and just more excited about racing. It has been too long a break. It really has seemed to drag along even though the race is a little bit earlier. It just seems forever since we raced last.
Q: Same question to you about traction control. The biggest difference initially in the cars and engine braking. How big was that difference?
LH: It was not really too much of a problem. As I said when they tried to introduce it I thought it was a good idea because all the other categories I have driven in we did not have traction control. I am not going to say if I prefer one to the other because they are both quite different to drive but this one is a challenge and everyone is in the same boat. I think they have done a really good job in working with all the controls but I am sure we will keep on improving.
Q: And development has minimized that difference has it?
LH: It has definitely. So time wise I think you will see that we will all do similar times to when we had traction control.
Q: And driving style?
LH: The same.
Q: You haven’t changed it.
LH: No.
Kimi Raikkonen
Q: Kimi, again a year ago it was your first Grand Prix for Ferrari. What’s the difference in feeling this year?
Kimi Raikkonen: For sure it is much easier to come now. It is different because I know the team, know the people, so ... (inaudible). Last year went very well for us. Now it should be easier as I know the team.
Q: But you are favourite for the championship this year already. Does that put pressure on you?
KR: No, but I think we have not even started the championship yet, so let’s see what happens. We will do the best job we can but for sure we expect to do well in our team. I think the two main teams seem to be a bit ahead of the others and four drivers, so anything can happen.
Q: And of course your team mate is relatively more experienced than the team mates of Lewis and Fernando but at the same time you are the most experienced pairing. How does that weigh up? What is the balance in advantages, disadvantages?
KR: I think we have a good team and a very good atmosphere and everything worked well last year, so I think it is going to be similar this year, so I don’t know if we are going to be in a stronger position than the other teams because we have more experience. I don’t think it is going to make much difference but like I said we should be in a good position but it is too early to say really.
Q: And same question about traction control. Was there a big difference in the cars initially?
KR: I think there was a big difference when we tried before Christmas for the first time with last year’s car. It was a lot more difficult but then with the new car we improved in the areas where it was less good and it helped a lot. Now with new tyres you do not feel the difference on the one lap whether you have traction control or not. I think when it is a difficult condition, wet or slippery, then it will be much more tricky but you don’t really notice.
Q: And have you changed your driving style at all to compensate for it?
KR: Not really, no.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Dan Knutson - National Speed Sport News) For Lewis, last year you always took time out to sign a few autographs, go to the front of the garage and wave to the crowd. Given that you are much more well-known now and that there are more demands on your time will you still do that or will it be more difficult?
LH: I plan to still do it. I did it this morning and I don’t particularly see why I should change. There has to be a limit otherwise it will go on forever but you just have to know when to say that’s enough but I am still planning to do the same.
Q: (Paulo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Question for the three of you. With the new rules do you think that the start is the main issue at the moment? We don’t exactly know how cars will react and you may lose or gain more positions.
KR: ...(Inaudible) see at the moment much more chance to lose some places now. Before it was more or less automatic. You had a good start or not so good but it was always very close. Now it is up to you and if you make a mistake you are going to be very slow off the grid and you can gain but you can also lose. I think when it is wet conditions it is quite tricky to get a good start.
Q: (MC) Do the track conditions change a great deal, say between the pit-lane exit and the grid itself, especially the amount of grip you get? How much of a difference does that make? Do you know when you arrive on the grid how much grip you are going to get?
KR: It is always a bit different especially (inaudible) ... At some circuits you have better grip on the exit of the pit-lane and at some it is the opposite. You get some idea when we do the warm-up but you just try to make a good start.
Q: (Oliver Holt - The Daily Mirror) Lewis, how disappointed are you that Fernando is not going to be in the team this year, and in what ways is it going to be different without him?
LH: I don’t feel there’s a huge difference. Heikki’s been welcomed into the team as Fernando was. Obviously it’s different; when you have a two-time world champion, when you come into your first season and someone you’ve been watching for so many years, you come and you work against them - work with them - it’s a privilege. From that point of view, it’s a shame he’s not there but it’s a new challenge for me and Heikki. Having another guy in the team, you always learn something new from a different driver, so I’ve got that opportunity.
Q: (John McEvoy - The Daily Mail) Fernando, to turn it the other way around, how disappointed are you not to have Lewis as a team mate this year?
FA: Well, more or less the same answer. I have Nelsinho (Piquet) and for sure with new drivers you learn new things. It was the same last year. When I changed and I joined McLaren, Lewis was arriving in the team as well as in Formula One, so always giving fresh ideas and a fresh way to do things and you always learn from everybody. We are not together but we are still racing each other in different teams and with Heikki as well and Nelsinho, with the drivers who have been in Formula One for a long time, now new drivers are coming. Every year is a new challenge.
Q: (John McEvoy - The Daily Mail) A few days ago there were comments by Flavio Briatore - I don’t know whether you saw them, Fernando - saying that he believed that Lewis didn’t show you the respect that he should have done, as a double world champion. What’s your response to that?
FA: I’ve no response to Flavio’s comment. Flavio will arrive tomorrow, you can ask him.
Q: (John McEvoy - The Daily Mail) Do you agree with him though?
FA: I didn’t see any of these comments.
Q: (John McEvoy - The Daily Mail) Do you believe Lewis did show you the respect he should have done?
FA: I don’t know. I will not answer this question because I never saw that in the paper, I didn’t speak with Flavio about this and I don’t know if it’s true or not. It’s just speculation or rumours about some destructive things before starting the first race so, nothing.
Q: (Heikki Kulta - Turun Sanomat) This is to all of you: It’s going to be very hot during this weekend and especially race day. How different will it be compared to long runs in testing if it’s 39 degrees or something?
LH: I think it’s going to be challenging. In most of the winter testing we did it was quite cool. Coming here, obviously the climate is quite a bit different, so I think it’s going to make it a bit harder on the tyres but easier to warm up and perhaps we will see more graining but I think everyone’s in the same boat. We just have to try and manage it as good as possible. It’s good preparation in this weather for next weekend.
KR: Nobody really knows how it’s going to run. We’ve got a little bit of an idea, it was a little hotter in Bahrain but it’s a completely different circuit, different tyres, so we will do the best that we can and tomorrow we have some idea. I think it should still be okay.
FA: Yeah, we’ll see, we’ll see because normally on a hot track it’s a little bit different, the long runs, the drop of the tyres always seems bigger than in the winter and we will see. We have the same tyres than last year here, but last year was much cooler, so maybe we don’t know how these tyres will work in this temperature on this circuit, so we will see tomorrow. It’s the same for everybody.
Q: (Marco Degl’Innocenti - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, today Ron Dennis said that he misses you and considers you a very great driver. Are you pleased about that?
FA: I really don’t care too much. It seems that Flavio speaks every week, now Ron as well. It’s all okay but it’s not very important to me at the moment. I’m very concentrated on this first race. We still have to do a lot of work on the car if we want to be competitive enough to fight for races, victories, so I really don’t care what people say.
Q: (Dan Knutson - National Speedsport News) Fernando, as you said, you have a lot of work to do. For the last three years you’ve had a car that could win races and championships. What does it do to your motivation now to have to take this step back?
FA: Yeah, we will see. I think we need to see where we are because it’s not so clear after the winter tests which are the best cars out there. It seems that, OK, Ferrari, McLaren and maybe BMW are very strong, as they were last year but there is Williams, Red Bull, Renault, Toyota. At some tests, some of the teams look better; at the next test it’s the opposite, so I’m really looking forward to Saturday afternoon to see all the qualifying and see where we are. After that, we will see what we can do. For sure the last three years, as you said, I started with maybe a more competitive car and ready to win races from the first Grand Prix. It seems that maybe that’s not the case this year but I will not give up. It’s a very long championship and there’s time to recover. I have full confidence in our possibilities.
Q: (Livio Oricchio - O Estado do Sao Paulo) The question is to all drivers: Even if this season didn’t start yet, everyone is discussing 2009 when we will probably have a severe limitation on budgets, probably forty percent of what the teams will spend this year. Do you agree with the way Formula One is going?
FA: I really don’t know. I’m not very interested in these rules or these budget cuts or whatever. I think if it’s the best thing and all the teams agree on this matter it’s because they think it is the best for our future. That’s all. I think from the driver’s point of view, as long as we have a car in our hands and we are able to drive and enjoy our racing, the rest is not very important.
KR: I don’t know anything about the whole thing, so I can’t really comment.
LH: Similar to what Fernando said. I think every year we face a change in the regulations and if that’s what they feel is the best way to go then we can do nothing about it, we just have to deal with it and as Fernando said, as long as we’ve got the car, as drivers, we don’t mind. We deal with it whatever you throw at us.
Q: (Paolo Ianieri - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, do you think McLaren without Fernando is weaker than last year and it could be an advantage for Ferrari, or do you think that Lewis, even though he only has one year, has the experience now to make the car develop?
KR: I don’t know. For sure, I don’t see that Fernando is any quicker. He probably won’t have as good a car this year as he had last year. McLaren, I don’t know how good they are, it’s difficult to say from the winter, so we will see in the first two races. I think there are a lot of people who know what they are doing, so I don’t see that there is any limit why they shouldn’t lose something, or not be able to make the car faster. It’s a big team, it’s one of the best teams, so I expect them to be strong and giving us a hard time.
Q: (Juha Paatalo - Financial Times Germany) There is not a lot that the driver can do from the time when the last winter test was over to the day racing starts here. How did you spend those days between and did you have any holidays?
LH: I left Switzerland and stopped in Hong Kong for two days and just did a little bit of shopping just to break up the trip - bit of sight-seeing. Then I went to Brisbane for a day as my trainer is from Brisbane, so we spent a day with his family. We had a barbecue and just relaxed and then I went to the Gold Coast. I did some training up there, it’s really good weather, like it is here, so running along the beaches, playing tennis and just having fun, and then I came here on Monday.
KR: I was at home, to see my friends and family, and then came here on Monday, that’s about it.
FA: Same thing. I was at home with family and came here on Monday.
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/3/7473.html