F1 Chat

[aaron]

aye but has 4 laps worth of fuel more than alonso. plays that to his advantage and he will win.

[MikeO]

Must've forgotten to stash his Bible in the glove compartment .

[aaron]

finished 2nd. alonso won it.

[MikeO]

This is becoming one of the sporting stories ever. Completely phenomenal...I'll even forgive him the "god" stuff...to come into a team as a complete rookie, partnering the undisputed best in the world and within six races to be beating him, leading the world championship, getting Alonso paranoid about being given less support...amazing. The way he won the race in Canada, continually having his lead taken away by the safety car coming out, would have screwed far more experienced drivers...hugely impressive.

Sports personality of the year come December no question (unless Andy Murray wins Wimbledon).

[aaron]

He wins again!

This lad is the business, he will win the championship i think, no doubt.

 

well done to him.

 

anyone see Pharrell in the Mclaren pit with hamiltons dad?

[Mac]

OMG did you see that race, it was fanfuckingtastic.

 

78 laps of grown up Scalextic, the critisism of the commentator that "Hamilton was 1/100th of a second faster in the last lap". Get a life, Andy Murray can go fuck himself too.

 

ATB

 

Mac

[Bill]

I GOT MORE EXCITEMENT, PLAYING WITH THE SCALEXTRIC.

 

Its not about Driving these days its all about tactics, depends if they decide on a 2 or 3 stop strategy, selection of soft or hard tyres, how much fuel they run with, and of course the speed and professionalism of the 59 members of the Pit Crews to get them back on the track in the fastest time.

 

Got to agree with Mac, totally boring to watch.

[StevO]

cant take anythin away from the kid - jenson who?

[MikeO]

OMG did you see that race, it was fanfuckingtastic.

 

78 laps of grown up Scalextic, the critisism of the commentator that "Hamilton was 1/100th of a second faster in the last lap". Get a life, Andy Murray can go fuck himself too.

 

Sarcasm, duplicity and anatomical impossibilty all in one neat little package Mac...love it .

 

Its not about Driving these days its all about tactics, depends if they decide on a 2 or 3 stop strategy, selection of soft or hard tyres, how much fuel they run with, and of course the speed and professionalism of the 59 members of the Pit Crews to get them back on the track in the fastest time.

 

Can understand people not liking it (love Scalextric myself ), but you could put forward an argument that the very things you criticise it for Bill are the things that make it such a great team sport. Personally I find two cars side by side at 200mph seeing who has the balls to break last very exciting.

 

Each to his own though, some people even like Rugby League I'm told .

[Bill]

Mike ..... Personally I find two cars side by side at 200mph seeing who has the balls to break last very exciting.

..

..

 

It happened once in the whole Race, but on some tracks ( monaco ) overtaking is impossible.

Not saying i didnt admire the Drivers, just that its about as exciting to watch as the chess championships.

 

Would make it a better VIEWING Sport, if the grid placings where drawn from a hat for the first 3 races, after that the driver with the lowest points goes 1st on the grid and so on until the last man on the grid is the man with most points, a sort of handicapping, then you will see some OVERTAKING MANOUVRES. By the end of the season the championship points would be a lot Closer and involve a lot more Cars, Drivers and Teams.

 

Result ...... MORE INVOLVED equals MORE EXCITEMENT and MORE RACING.

[MikeO]

Wouldn't disagree with that....could certainly be improved...but I still love it.

[StevO]

all sounds a bit American to me Licker.

 

im happy with it as it is, i think the new qualifying system works

[Bill]

The qualifying is a farce, the biggest and best teams are inevitably the first 3 or 4 on the Grid, can you tell me the last time anybody from outside those actually won a race. ???

 

You might as well do away with the actual race, because once your in front on the grid you will finish on the podium, barring a tyre burst, or an engine blow up.

 

Sorry but its Boring to me, just looking at a procession of cars going round and round the track, dont find that the least bit exciting.

 

But thats only my opinion.

[StevO]

but surely its only right that the best teams are on the front of the grid. they had the designers and engineers to build the best car, employed the better drivers, got the fastest lap times. surely they deserve to be on the font line

[Bill]

Steve, would love to have an in depth Conversation with you about the way "All Sports" in general is going, but would be unable to do it on here, but just to put over my point, Tennis have their seeds, World Cup seeded into groups, Snooker top 32, FA Cup top teams exempt till 3rd round, and i'm sure there is a lot more but dont feel like researching at the mo.

 

This is all since the TV Companies have become the ruling bodies on how the sport is governed, they wouldnt want lesser players or lesser teams playing in any Finals it wouldnt produce the Spectacle they require, the reasoning behind keeping those big teams and players apart until the final rounds is to ensure it is a big spectacle, Rochdale versus Barnsley is a bit diferent than Man Utd versus Arsenal, That just would'nt do for them.

 

Think its a bit unfair on all the lesser players and clubs to have to knock each other out before the top teams even enter the comp, or the top players will only play each other when they are the only ones left in a competition.

If a competition is drawn out of a hat all the entrants should be in the hat from the Outset, they shouldnt be given any grace or favours cos it makes it an unfair competition.

 

I could go on for hours about this but i'll stop there.

[MikeO]

At Wimbledon up until 1921 the previous years Champion waited for everyone else to play until there was only one player left who then challenged him for the title. Not totally a TV thing, the public want to see (if not ManU/Chelsea) Coe/Ovett, Borg/McEnroe, Nicklaus/Watson, Ali/Frasier. I'm all for the underdog but the cream rises to the top inevitably.

[Bill]

Mike ......... "I'm all for the underdog but the cream rises to the top inevitably."

 

...

 

Yeah thats fine if it does it without help, but why should "the cream" be aided, and Dagenham and Redbridge, or any old Joe Bloggs be ignored. ???

 

PS .... cant remember Coe or Ovett being given a 20 metre start in any of their races, they had to start with the rest of the runners.

[MikeO]

Blinding drive by Louis Hamilton this morning to virtually assure the Championship, Sports Personality of the Year, Knighthood and Sainthood. Needed to to it to back up what he's been saying this week, but in that weather...truly remarkable drive....the lad's a phenomenon. If it wasn't for the God bothering nonsense I'd be even more impressed.

[StevO]

7points needed from 2 races i think?

well done to the lad, should be a sensible last couple of drives me thinks, but im sure he'll still go flat out to win both races

[aaron]

Think its 9 points steve, not too sure tho so you could be right, hope he does it next race.

 

Is it true that Alonso is going to ferrari? If so whos leaving Ferrari?

[MikeO]

He's actually twelve points clear, so you're right he needs nine to be certain. Massa and Raikkonen are contracted to Ferrarri next year but you never know. Can't see Alonso staying at McLaren 'cos the relationship's broken down completely I'd have thought. Anything could happen. Even talk of Jensen Button joining Hamilton at McLaren, he's done his reputation no harm at all this year even though he's been driving a Reliant Robin....love to see two Brits at a British team going for the Championship!

[StevO]

if alonso went to ferarri that would be interesting. if he struggles with a rookie next to him, how would he be with the ice man? this season seems to have really shook alonso. hopefully next year ferarri will get the car right from the start (which they've not done for a while) and rikkonen, alonso and hamilton can really get the competition exciting

[MikeO]

Safely off the grid in the lead, pulling away nicely from the minnows of Ferrarri and Alonso...on his way .

 

OOPS .

Edited October 7, 2007 by MikeO

[Yorkie]

Crap, he was going great as well, why the hell didn't his team send him in as soon as the problem arise, 3 laps before he went off!?

[MikeO]

Crap, he was going great as well, why the hell didn't his team send him in as soon as the problem arise, 3 laps before he went off!?

 

Beats me....strange decision by someone....you could see the canvas on his tyre (that's when I used to accept it was time to change the tyres on my motor bikes ).

 

Ah well, makes for an interesting final race. Hamilton still favourite.

(great race for Button though)

Edited October 7, 2007 by MikeO

[Romey 1878]

I reckon they've blew it myself and the pressure will get to him in the final race

[StevO]

brazil will be interesting, cant wait.

i dont understand how we could see on the tv he needed new skins, but the pits didnt do anything about it. he didnt really need to start the battle with kimi, not when second place would have been enough and bald tyres.

 

hopefully he can still pull it off.

 

quick tip - put your money on kimi to win the 08 title

[jamiemaher85]

oh dear. lewis has made a bit of an early slip up. only the first lap though

[jamiemaher85]

now 18th. bye bye world championship

[jamiemaher85]

now climbed up to 11th in the field, but still well of 1st. anyone else watching this?

[Yorkie]

Aye i'm watching it, he is in 8th, 11 laps left, needs to get to 5th /

[Romey 1878]

Knew he wouldn't win it even before the race starte. I'm not that bothered tbh because he's a bit of a twit.

[aaron]

was told today by my mate that there are strong rumours going round that michael schui (cant spell his second name but yeah you know the one) could return next season to F1 driving.

 

Cant see it happening as he would prob only drive for ferrari and they wont get rid of kimi now and massa has just signed a new contract but would be good to see him back, then there would be a 4 or even a 5 way fight for the title - hamilton, kimi, alonso, massa and if he should return then him too

[MikeO]

Double Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso will return to the Renault team next season.

Renault say the 26-year-old Spaniard, who left McLaren last month after a tempestuous season, has signed a two-year deal.

 

Renault's former test driver, Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr, has been promoted to the race team as Alonso's team-mate.

 

Renault would not confirm the value of the contract, although there are reports Alonso will earn £25.2m.

 

Alonso is believed to have negotiated number one status with Renault.

 

Finn Heikki Kovalainen, who had an impressive rookie season with Renault in 2007, is expected to move to either McLaren, where he would partner Lewis Hamilton, or Toyota.

 

Kovalainen, who is managed by team boss Flavio Briatore, was considered by the team to be good enough to challenge Alonso, and therefore keeping him was not in the interests of a harmonious team.

 

Alonso has dropped a lot in my estimation...can't deal with competition, proved it last season. Pansy .

[Romey 1878]

He'll do fuck all at Renault because he doesn't have a car to challenge for the title there anymore so he's gone there for the easy life and easy money

[MikeO]

Is it just me that thinks that Lewis Hamilton is turning into a complete arrogant twat?

 

His explanation for his stupidity yesterday...

 

"I saw the two guys in front of me battling in the pit lane and all of a sudden they stopped," explained Hamilton, 23.

 

"I saw the red light but it was too late to stop.

 

"It is a lot different if you crash into the wall and you are angry with yourself."

 

So he wasn't cross with himself ? Then the completely meaningless and cocky addition..

 

"I was so quick I was breezing it."

 

Ron Dennis' explanation makes sense...

 

"It's difficult for a driver to decide whether to focus on the lights or on the cars ahead in situations like that."

 

Hmm, so do neither then Ron eh? Most of us seem to be able to cope with traffic lights on a daily basis with pedestrians and cyclists thrown in just to complicate things a bit further .

[aaron]

nothing to do with the race but was told yesterday that alonso is signing for ferrari. it was either next season or season after that as kimi will be forced to retire from F1

[Romey 1878]

nothing to do with the race but was told yesterday that alonso is signing for ferrari. it was either next season or season after that as kimi will be forced to retire from F1

 

 

Why will he be forced to retire?

[MikeO]

 

Why will he be forced to retire?

 

Presumably Bernie Ecclestone is trying to get rid because, although he's a brilliant driver, he has less personality than a lump of wood . Raikkonen and Massa both contracted to Ferrarri for next season though.

 

Found another gem from Hamilton...

 

"It was an unfortunate situation where you had two cars side by side. If they'd been in a line I would have seen it a bit faster."

 

So if there had been less to see and he'd had less time to see it he'd have had a better chance of avoiding it .

 

_{(OK so maybe he could have driven off to one side but that's not so funny)}

[aaron]

 

Why will he be forced to retire?

 

because he wont go back to mcclaren and there isnt really anywhere else to go (this is according to my mate) i said renaut but he said kimi will just go into another driving sport like hakkanen did. apprently.

 

Alonso will end up at ferrari one day, gaurenteed.

[dark]

was told today by my mate that there are strong rumours going round that michael schui (cant spell his second name but yeah you know the one) could return next season to F1 driving.

 

Cant see it happening as he would prob only drive for ferrari and they wont get rid of kimi now and massa has just signed a new contract but would be good to see him back, then there would be a 4 or even a 5 way fight for the title - hamilton, kimi, alonso, massa and if he should return then him too

 

Micheal Schumacher may end up back in Formula One in a few years but at the moment he's at a motorbike race squad. I heard he crashed the bike last week and had to pull out. I guess he thought he could walk into MotoGP and take on Rossi and Pedrosa. Well there's bad news, he'll never be the best at motorbike racing. Because that's where all the fastest people race

[MikeO]

John Watson fairly scathing about Hamilton, but spot on imo. Very rare I want a Brit to screw up but this is one of those occasions.

 

...in recent races Hamilton has given every indication that he is quite capable of throwing it all away.

 

A series of errors - most recently at the start in Japan last weekend - have cemented the impression that he is vulnerable to mistakes under pressure - a reputation that began to form when he lost the title last year.

 

John Watson, runner-up in the world championship in 1982, agrees that Hamilton has to find a way of removing the impetuousness that looks in danger of wrecking his chances again.

 

The Northern Irishman says there is no question about Hamilton's "flair, talent and courage", only his mentality - and describes Hamilton's driving at the start in Fuji on Sunday as "stupid, ill-judged and immature".

 

"Lewis doesn't have to win, he just needs to finish second to Massa, but that is one part of his personality he has to work on," Watson says.

 

"He has yet to fully establish his ability to deal with the greatest level of stress and pressure. Part of that is that he has only ever been in a winning car.

 

"What I'm concerned about is he seemed [in Japan] to delete his brain from its normal programme and put it onto self-destruct."

 

According to Watson, there is another concern for Hamilton - the limited help, or even active hindrance, he can expect from his rivals.

 

Team-mate Heikki Kovalainen has rarely been in a position to take points from the Ferraris this season, whereas Massa can expect much more active help from Raikkonen.

 

At the same time, the Toro Rosso cars, which use Ferrari engines, are competitive enough to be a nuisance - as is Renault's Fernando Alonso, who has no wish to help McLaren after falling out with them while Hamilton's team-mate last year.

 

Finally, Hamilton has made himself unpopular with his rivals by engaging in driving they consider to be over-aggressive on a number of times this season.

 

"It's all very well to drive like [Ayrton] Senna and [Michael] Schumacher," Watson says, "but they were a bit further down the road when they did it.

 

"The thing that's going to beat Lewis is he's not just got to race Massa, he's racing the entire field.

 

"He needs to stop sending those signals out [where he has] to have a field of competitors, 18 of whom are against him.

 

"He must be a target for everyone to make it as difficult as possible for him, and he's brought it all on himself."

[Romey 1878]

He is a bit annoying but I still want him to win. Probably not so much because of Hamilton himself but because of the clear favouritism toward Ferrari (evident again in Japan) from the authorities.

[MikeO]

He is a bit annoying but I still want him to win. Probably not so much because of Hamilton himself but because of the clear favouritism toward Ferrari (evident again in Japan) from the authorities.

 

It pains me to say it Mark...and I certainly did want him to win it twelve months ago, but he's just such an arrogant obnoxious little shit I'd love him to fall flat on his face again (which almost guarantees in my mind that he'll win it ).

 

ITV don't help, they should rename their coverage "The Lewiss Hamilton Show."

 

Is it next year it's back on the beeb? F'king hope so, be interesting to see who presents it...like to see Damon Hill involved personally, think he did really well in the one race he stood in for Brundell this year (what is it with Brundell's pronounciation recently? Keeps emphasising grand as in grand prix, sounds really odd).

[Romey 1878]

You've got to admit there was some favouritism in Japan surely Mike? I've got no problem with Lewis' drive through but when Bourdais was punished for that accident when he had the racing line, it was for position, and he got the time added on it was disgraceful.

 

I'm not sure if it's next season but I'm glad it's going back on the Beeb as well, those advert breaks piss me right off and yes the commentary team on ITV is pretty awful.

[MikeO]

I agree it looked a bit odd last week....thought Hamilton's was harsh myself..first corner incidents like that happen all the time and no-one ever gets penalised, the Massa on was spot on but the Bourdais one was ridiculous.

 

I always have the live timing open on the laptop so I can follow it during the breaks, also pick up on shit loads of stuff going on during the race that the commentators don't notice or don't feel the need to mention....can see people going very fast toward the mid/back of the field or people in trouble virtually always before they pick up on it...if they do at all.

[Randomness]

its got to the very english point of wanting someone to fail, because we hate success. although i imagine Ferrari International Assistance should take credit for taking it down to the wire.

[MikeO]

its got to the very english point of wanting someone to fail, because we hate success.

 

I'm afraid that (in my case) that's complete bollocks. As I said, I wanted him to win last year; when he started I was really excited there was a young Brit on the scene....maybe even more so because he was the first coloured driver in F1 (even forgave him the god bothering crap).

 

I don't want him to fail because I hate success (I don't), I want him to fail because he's an arrogant obnoxious little shite.

[MikeO]

Well that was worth getting up for :sleeping_03anim: .

[dark]

I'm afraid that (in my case) that's complete bollocks. As I said, I wanted him to win last year; when he started I was really excited there was a young Brit on the scene....maybe even more so because he was the first coloured driver in F1 (even forgave him the god bothering crap).

 

I don't want him to fail because I hate success (I don't), I want him to fail because he's an arrogant obnoxious little shite.

 

Totally agreed with you there mate. I can't stand Hamilton to be honest and I hope that Massa does get past him in the driver's table. Hamilton was a nice enough guy last season, but in his interviews he's just too cocky, and until he grows up and starts becoming a normal person he'll never get my support. Brit or not. For me, Massa to win.

Edited October 19, 2008 by dark

[aaron]

im a hamilton fan, he is a cocky bastard but i still want him to win, and he did, the title is as good as his now.

[Romey 1878]

I quite like that he's cocky, it's the fact that he can never admit a mistake that pisses me off, it's always someone elses fault. Yes there has been some favouritism towards his rivals team but he's fucked up a few times as well.

[Randomness]

i had one of the lasses from work (not the stalker as she was probably already under my bed) doing a night shift to wake me up Most pointless thing ever processional race (good result though), and now it's cost me "a few drinks"

 

 

how you like this

 

First things First GAMBLING CAN BE AN ADDICTION!

 

The Last 2 Times there a British Formula 1 Champion (remember thats the Best in the world at the Pinnacle of Racing) It Overshadowed some Impressive British Olympic Performances, indeed Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell Both Claimed the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards in 96 and 92 respectively.

 

So if Lewis Can Finish 5th or better, (seems as if Mclaren will go for a light load qualifying on both cars sacrafice the Constructers to secure a safe 4th and 5th) Immediately put money on him to be Sports Personality. but do it quickly, which is why i was gutted there was no ferrari drama as i would have been on the phone faster to my dad than you can say "sure thing"

[MikeO]

Wouldn't be so sure personally, Mansell (up against Linford Christie, Sally Gunnell, Chris Boardman, Redgrave/Pinsent & the Searle brothers) was massively popular with the general public (stark contrast to Hamilton who tends to polarise opinion). Damon Hill wasn't quite such a big star but we only got one gold in Atlanta that year (Redgrave/Pinsent again) and also he had the advantage of a huge amount of people still being young enough to remember his father, who was a bona fide national hero .

 

No assurance he's going to win the title anyway, if Ferrari can get ahead of him at the start (quite likely in Brazil) then all they have to do is back him up until Alonso catches up and he'll run him off the road !

 

Hamilton's favourite for sure, but Rebecca Adlington will run him very close, Chris Hoy is a bit too much of a dour Scot to win I think but he'll get third. If I voted it'd be for Ben Ainslie but he's not got a chance, he'd need to win London 2012 and (wherever) 2016 and match Redgrave's five to take it.

 

My tip. Get your money on Andy Murray for 2009.

[MikeO]

Haha...Massa on pole, Hamilton fourth with Alonso on his gearbox in sixth.

 

Fernando forgets where his brake pedal is in the first corner....game over .

[dark]

-Massa

-Trulli

-Raikkonnen

-Hamilton

-Koveleinen

-Alonso

-Vettel

-Heidfield

-Bourdais

-Glock

 

That's a good looking grid (from me and Mike's point of view) hope that Kimi can get a good start and hold Hamilton up, allowing Massa to storm into a good lead, can't see Jarno Trulli keeping up with the pace so could see Kimi and Hamilton on the podium. Not good enough for the win so I would expect Kimi to do some dangerous hold ups allowing drivers past whilst keeping Hamilton in his back-pocket. Would be better if Alonso's hand 'slips' and accidentily smashes into Lewis sending him out of the race - I dont like saying these things but as you can probably tell I'm not a fan of Lewis Hamilton, I don't like his arrogance and until he learns to respect himself, and the other racers and starts being a normal guy I'll be rooting for opponants.

 

Massa FTW!

[MikeO]

The forecast is an 80% chance of rain though. Could make it a bit of a lottery.

 

I'll be celebrating at the end whatever the result....the fact that it's the last race on ITV is reason enough for me.

Edited November 1, 2008 by MikeO

[dark]

The forecast is an 80% chance of rain though. Could make it a bit of a lottery.

 

I'll be celebrating at the end whatever the result....the fact that it's the last race on ITV is reason enough for me.

 

Damn, anything can happen in the rain. Just think of Belgium when Raikkonnen and Hamilton were falling over each other on the slippery surface, although this could play into Ferrari/Alonso 's hands, if its wet and rainy they could smash into Hamilton and make it look like the car slipped. I mean, when investigated if Kimi says that he slipped they can't say that the track was dry because it wasn't. If done correctly, this could be the perfect end to 'Operation Hamilton'

 

Massa FTW!

[CraccerC]

chance of alonso ruining it for hamilton? hmmm

[dark]

In warm conditions Ferrari’s Felipe Massa duly took pole position at Interlagos on Saturday, his sixth of the season and the first time anyone has set three consecutive fastest times at the Brazilian circuit, to start the race exactly where he needs to. Jarno Trulli sprang a surprise with a late run to second for Toyota, but McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton seemed very happy with fourth just behind Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen given his fuel strategy, and really just needs to make a clean start to keep his title aspirations firmly on track. At the back of their minds, all of the teams are worrying about tyre degradation if it is a dry race, and safety car interventions if the expected rain materialises...

 

Looking foreward to the race now. Looking for Kimi to hold up Lewis. With his talent that should be a job accomplished. Got the interview from the FIA once qualify time was over.

 

Q: Felipe, I don’t know who was the more delighted. The Ferrari garage, you or this amazing crowd at Interlagos.

Felipe Massa: I think it is a good fight between all three but I would say the people around is amazing. It is so nice to be here and making the third pole position in a row in Brazil in front of these fantastic people which have 100 per cent emotion about motor racing and that’s great for us. To come here and see that we have so many people who love what we are doing. I think it is difficult to describe in a single word our feeling especially my feeling being Brazilian in front of my people but also racing for a fantastic team which is very emotional as well and which is working very hard. I have a fantastic family and fantastic friends around me and I think that is really a dream come true.

 

Q: You need to be on pole and you need to win this grand prix, so what a great start to the race weekend.

FM: Yeah, for sure we have 71 laps tomorrow which is pretty long but it is always better to start at the front. I think we have a good car and we proved Friday and this morning that our car is very competitive around here and we showed it also in qualifying, especially in Q3, so it is always a good start to be in front. For sure I will try to do my best tomorrow to win the race and that is the important thing.

 

Q: McLaren looked to be quite quick on low fuel in Q1 and Q2 but you were very fast in Q3 on both your qualifying laps.

FM: I would say I was very comfortable and I was very quick all around the sessions. But in Q2 I made a small mistake at turn four and went off the kerb and maybe we lost a couple of tenths, so already it would have been a good lap but then I managed to put everything together in Q3 which is even better as it is where it counts, so we showed a great performance.

 

Q: You did your first lap relatively early on and then there was lots of time for your second lap.

FM: The first try was good enough to be on pole but the problem was that I started pretty early. I was in front of Lewis and some other drivers as well, so if I backed off in the last try and somebody improved it would have been a bit stupid but anyway I think we have a good strategy.

 

Q: Jarno, the first front row start for Toyota since Japan 2005. And what a weekend to do it as you were laid low with fever and here you are on the front row.

Jarno Trulli: I think this time I really have to admit that for the first time I thought I was not going to make it for Friday as on Thursday I was feeling really bad. But after this result I have to thank the whole team for the job from the mechanics, the engineers up to the doctor as they managed to get me everything I needed to be quick. But to be honest, even before coming here I knew that this was one of those tracks, technical and difficult, where I could be very strong and my car could be very competitive, so I have been preparing for this grand prix and have been waiting for it and now here I am. I played my card during the qualifying, saving tyres and getting ready for Q3 and in the end I put in a very good lap. We have been pretty competitive all the way through, Friday’s session, this morning, so I am really, really happy for the Toyota team and for everybody, as it just shows the progress the team has made during this season.

 

Q: There was a lot of about managing the tyres during the qualifying sessions. Talk us through that.

JT: To be honest the tyres were performing pretty well. The main issue is probably for tomorrow. This comes with the set-up of the car and everything else. We need to handle the cars in a very different way compared to the qualifying. For qualifying it was pretty obvious to use the soft but for the race it could be quite a different situation, so let’s wait and see as some people might have problems. Our car in general could be good in these conditions but we needed temperature, we need sun, we need warmer temperatures than what we have had so far, so let’s wait and see for tomorrow.

 

Q: Kimi, an unusual situation for you playing a support role for Felipe. But you have done a great job starting right behind him on the grid and ahead of both McLarens.

Kimi Raikkonen: Yeah, I think I did more or less what I was supposed to do. I am in a good starting place. Actually I prefer to be third rather than second as here it has been pretty a good place to start. Hopefully we will get a good start and I think we have a car to pull away like we did last year and that would be perfect for the team and that is what we are aiming for and after that it is not up to us anymore. We can just finish where we want and see what happens after that.

 

Q: The Ferrari looks to have been right on the pace since the start of the weekend.

KR: I think the car definitely is good. I have not had the easiest weekend but anyhow we are where we should be. I think for the race I am pretty comfortable that my car is going to be quite strong. It wasn’t perfect in the last qualifying, a bit too much understeer, but that is not a bad sign looking at how the tyres are working here and it is going to be hard for the tyres in the race. But I think we should be in a strong position for the race and in the end that’s where we need to be strong. As long as we are in the front in qualifying it is enough and we will see what we can do tomorrow but not a bad team effort from us.

 

Q: You were in Felipe’s position this time last year. What sort of advice have you been giving your young team-mate?

KR: Like I said I think our only chance is to be first and second and hoping for a little bit of luck from the outside. It’s not up to us anymore at that point. But that’s our aim and we will see what happens.

 

Q: Felipe, what has it been like for you – the pressures, the pleasures, the excitement and the anticipation? Sum it up for us.

FM: I think everything, you know. I grew up in this area on the other side of the wall on the go-kart track and I think the memory we have around here is so huge, so nice to go back and remember everybody I worked with and everybody who knows your career and saw you growing and going to the other categories and they are here now together praying and supporting me. I think that is a fantastic feeling and for sure I know the track very well and I love to race here. I am always very competitive on this track, so that is always a fantastic feeling.