GP Week Issue 224

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ONLINE AROUND THE WORLD ON F1 GP MONDAYs >> Issue 224 >> MONDAY JuL 6 2015

home-town herohow Lewis hamilton beat the rain and out-smarted williams to win at Silverstone

British Grand PrixJuly 2, 2015Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 50mm, 1/6400 sec f/1.2

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British Grand PrixJuly 3, 2015Photographer: Manuel Goria, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 500mm, 1/1000 sec f/8

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British Grand PrixJuly 3, 2015Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 16mm, 1/500 sec f/23

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British Grand PrixJuly 3, 2015Photographer: Manuel Goria, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 200mm, 1/400 sec f/8

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British Grand PrixJuly 3, 2015Photographer: Manuel Goria, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 500mm, 1/500 sec f/7.1

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British Grand PrixJuly 3, 2015Photographer: Mirko Stange, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 21mm, 1/640 sec f/13

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British Grand PrixJuly 3, 2015Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 122mm, 1/500 sec f/8

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British Grand PrixJuly 4, 2015Photographer: Mark Sutton, Sutton ImagesCamera: Nikon D4Shot at 280mm, 1/1000 sec f/4

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Fernando Alonso may not be at the front end of the Formula One grid this year, nor does it seem likely that he will be back to his winning ways anytime soon, however he does lead all his fellow racers when it comes to salary.

It has been reported that the double world champion is at the top of the list when it comes to how much his bosses pay him to race, even if it is only for a handful of laps before his Honda powered McLaren forces him into retirement.

However, the Spaniard’s expertise in the Formula One is sought after enough for Honda to pay him a whopping £27million as they attempt to regain a foothold in the sport.

Alonso is thought by many to be the complete package when it comes to Formula One, and this salary certainly indicates that Honda feel that way, however there insiders at Ferrari suggest his lack of feedback in testing counts against him.

Meanwhile, the man who took Fernando’s place this season at the Maranello squad, Sebastien Vettel, is the second highest paid racer. The four time world champion is sitting on a very comfortable £19million to put Ferrari back at the top

of the championship standings. With the season almost at the half way mark, it appears as if Ferrari is getting their monies worth as Vettel sits third in the drivers’ championship.

In comparison, team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who is rumoured to only have one more race after Silverstone to show his mettle, is paid £6million less at £13million, an amount that is still worthy of a former world champion.

So what of current world champion Lewis Hamilton, who was recently rumoured to have signed a £100million three year deal with Mercedes? If Business Book is correct the top British racer is only the third highest paid driver with Mercedes shelling out £18million. Teammate Nico Rosberg meanwhile, is worth £8million less with a cited salary of just £10million.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo meanwhile, is forced to battle through on just £1.1million, the Australian driver the lowest paid driver to have won a race on the entire grid. Even Lotus racer, Pastor Maldonado, who has only taken one victory compared to Ricciardo’s three, earns £3million. Danni Kvyat is paid even less at just £500,000.

Fernando Alonso £27,000,000Sebastian Vettel £19,000,000Lewis Hamilton £18,000,000Kimi Raikkonen £13,000,000Nico Rosberg £10,000,000Jenson Button £7,000,000Felipe Massa £3,000,000Nico Hulkenberg £3,000,000Sergio Perez £3,000,000Romain Grosjean £3,000,000

Pastor Maldonado £3,000,000Valtteri Bottas £1,300,000Daniel Ricciardo £1,100,000Danii Kvyat £500,000Max Verstappen £200,000Carlos Sainz £200,000Felipe Nasr £100,000Marcus Ericsson £100,000Will Stevens £50,000Roberto Merhi £50,000

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Alonso out front despite being At the bAck

driver sAlAries

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Force India turned up at the silverstone Circuit for their home race this weekend with a B spec version of the VJM08 that started 2015.

One of the most noticeable changes was the ‘nostrils’ incorporated into the nose to help improve aerodynamics. Aside from the aggressive look, the change has alerted the rest of the grid who are eagerly watching for improvements from the team on track.

The ‘nostrils’ are just one part of the

new upgrades with the rest of the car’s front end also heavily revised while the rear of the car is benefiting with much neater and tighter packaging.

As team boss Vijay Mallya explained on Friday, the car that started the year was little more than a modified version of last year’s car, so while this updated car may be classed as a B spec, it is in fact the VJM08 and, so far, he is very impressed with what he has seen.

“All of us have been eagerly awaiting

the British Grand Prix and the launch of our new B-spec car,” he said. “I was very impressed when I first saw it myself. There is a lot of aerodynamic innovation in it and it looks lean and mean.”

Currently fifth in the team’s championship and 24 points behind Red Bull, Mallya is hoping that this, and further upgrades in the future, will see the team challenge Red Bull for fourth place.

“I think we still have to optimise the package that we have,” he confirmed.

“There will be the inevitable upgrades that will come in future races, so we are hopeful to have a strong second half of the season, gradually improving race by race.

"Red Bull are about 23 or 24 points ahead, Lotus are breathing down our necks, we’re used to that, but I wouldn’t be overly optimistic if I said we are targeting fourth in the championship this year.”

MANAGING EDITOR Chris [email protected]

EDITORMat Coch

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSFormula 1:Mike DoodsonPaolo Filisetti (F1 Tech Editor)Sean KellyRobyn SchmidtSocial Media:Ernie Black

PhOTOGRAPhySutton Motorsport Imageswww.sutton-images.comKeith Sutton [email protected]:Mark Sutton, Daniel Kalisz, Mirko Stange, Dirk Klynsmith

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force indiA bullish over new cAr

AstON tO F1?Reports from the UK claimed Aston Martin was in talks with Red Bull to become its engine supplier with a strong of rebranded Mercedes units. It's a rumour denied by Merc boss Niki Lauda.

It'LL BuFF OutWhen Romain Grosjean beached his car in the gravel during practice the Frenchman apologised to his team by grabbing a rag and a can of polish and cleaning it himself.

tHe NeeD FOR sPeeDWhile some suggest Sunday was Jenson Button's last British Grand Prix, the former world champ has ruled out a move to Formula E, saying it lacks the 'smell, sound and speed' or proper racing.

ANOtHeR NeW RACeThailand has announced it wants a Grand Prix next year, according to its sports chief Sakol Wannapong

GO eAstSet to host its first grand prix next year, contruction work on the street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan, is reportedly began last week.

WONDeR DOGLewis Hamilton shared a picture of himself and dog Roscoe on his motorcycle. Ex-driver David Coulthard says Hamilton's rebellious nature is good for F1 and is making him a superstar.

Mark Webber’s autobiography, ‘Aussie Grit’ (what else), released last week in Australia and shortly in europe, certainly answers most of the questions the Aussie felt unable to speak out on while he still drove for the Red Bull team. If you are inclined to take one of F1’s straight-talkers at face value, then the whole Vettel-Marko-Horner conflict was every bit as bitter and wearing as it appeared from the outside.

Ultimately, Webber places more of the blame on the team, rather than rival Vettel, suggesting that team principal Christian Horner was powerless to control the overtly pro-Vettel pressure exerted by Helmut Marko, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz’s day-to-day ‘representative’ at Red Bull Racing.

One of the most telling revelations follows on from the infamous ‘Multi-21’ controversy at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix. Not only was Sebastian Vettel’s spontaneous podium apology not followed through on, but the team subsequently found itself reading a stern letter from the German’s lawyer, claiming that the team had breached his contract by giving him an unreasonable instruction/order. Marko had, in the interim, clearly intervened. Vettel’s personal follow-up that, while he respected Mark as a driver, he had no respect for him as a person, was the final straw, the day Webber belatedly concluded that the team had lost control; that the team – ie Horner, under pressure from Helmut Marko – could not control its two drivers. It was literally then that he decided to solve the problem for them, by retiring.

Webber doesn’t hold back as he discusses the other controversies along the way – the Turkish GP clash; the Silverstone front wing swap, and so on. Given the high-profile nature of that clash of ideals and personalities across

his several F1 seasons with Vettel at Red Bull, it is no surprise that it dominates the three-quarters of what is a compelling read that is devoted to his F1 career. Indeed, Red Bull’s management isn’t the only one to cop some harsh evaluation – Williams, to which he went with such high hopes, is revealed as an organisation “living off its past glories” and, as he puts it, providing his lowest time in F1.

While it is those controversial moments which will attract much reader interest and review comment, ‘Aussie Grit’ captures much of the positivity of a colourful F1 career – the dramatic debut, with Minardi; the the Jaguar years, with a team punching above its weight; and not to forget GP wins at some of the classic F1 races, in particular Monaco, with Red Bull.

That, of course, is only part of the Mark Webber story.

The rest is about a kid from a little Australian town who wanted to get to F1; the uncharacteristic path that led there; the oft-repeated question – “How the f**k is a boy from Queanbeyan going to get into Formula 1?” – and the unique part that Webber’s partner Ann Neal played in making it happen. Their personal relationship, for so long hidden from the outside world, is discussed frankly – including the near-disastrous split which threatened to bring everything crashing down.

From the early days of Formula Ford in Australia with father Al, through to the FF Festival win, Formula 3, the crucial help from an Australian international sporting star, the professionalism of the Mercedes sports car team and then the disastrous weekend at Le Mans in 1999 which threatened to destroy his career, the ‘Team Webber’ story is one of those books that’s hard to put down.

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BrieFly

webber lifts the lid on the rb/vettel feud

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Amid reports fans are leaving Formula 1 in droves, it was refreshing to hear silverstone boast a sell-out crowd.

An expected 350,000 fans seemed not to notice any of the negativity surrounding the sport and flocked to Silverstone, a figure partially helped by discounting tickets in the final few weeks - of course the good weather in the week ahead of the weekend and the fact that one of their own is leading the World Championship didn't hurt, either.

Williams deputy team boss, Claire Williams praised the British

circuit for all their efforts. “It’s great. Silverstone has

done, as they always do – I know I’m biased because I used to work here – but they’ve done a fantastic job in their ticket promotions and selling their tickets,” she said.

"I think we’re lucky with the weather, it’s unusual for Britain in summer to have such a glorious weekend ahead.

"But I think that does say a lot about our sport and I think it does say a lot, still, about how passionate British fans are but they are probably fans from all over the

world coming to watch us race at Silverstone this weekend.”

McLaren’s Eric Boulier was also thrilled with the packed grandstands and was quick to point out that it's not the only event so far this season that has seen attendance figures on the rise.

“Obviously it’s great to see all the British fans around and to have a new record of attendance, so I’ve been told, but I’ve also been told that Australia and definitely Canada was up by ten percent as well so it’s good to see that our sport is great and attracting people to the grandstands,” he said.

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crisis? whAt crisis?

After a near faultless performance from the start, the Victorian gaff rig cutter Partridge 1885 owned by the Jean Boulle Group won the prestigious 2014 rolex trophy at Les Voiles de Saint-tropez, the regatta which closes the mediterranean race season and attracts 300 classic and modern yachts every year.

It was a superb win for this yacht, built in 1885, which coped admirably with unpredictable conditions. Skippered by Alexander Laird, Partridge and her crew set the bar high by winning the first race in both real and corrected time, before raising her game in the second

to finish a comfortable first 24 minutes ahead on corrected time.

And while she did not manage to pull off the hat-trick on the final day, she did more than enough to clinch victory in the overall ranking.

“It’s a great honour to win the Rolex Trophy. The crew has been incredible and throughout the week we were very focused on manoeuvring and calling tactics as the weather conditions weren’t easy. I’m very happy as it’s an accolade for us and above all for the boat,” said Alexander Laird, skipper of Partridge.

Like many yachts built in the late 18th and early 19th century, their history involves many

fine years sailing in the English Channel, before eventually being abandoned in a mudflat.

The story of Partridge runs a similar course until she was rescued from anonymity in 1980 from the Blackwater River in Essex. After a long restoration, completed in 1998, Partridge began a new career in the South of France where her elegant silhouette has graced many a regatta over the years. With this excellent win, Partridge can add another trophy to her list.

At the 2015 Monaco Classic Week (September 9-13), this doyenne of the Mediterranean classic yacht circuit will celebrate her 130th anniversary.

Partridge 1885 retains pole position to clinchRolex trophy 2014 at Les Voiles de saint-tropez

When the Manor arrived in Melbourne for the season opening grand prix, fans breathed a huge sigh of relief. After losing the team and one other at the end of 2014, the turnaround of the Marissia Manor team was nothing short of a miracle.

No sponsors or funds to speak of eight races ago after raising the team from the ashes, the team now looks to have turned a corner of sorts by taking to the track at their home grand prix with another brand new sponsor in tow - their second in a month.

A new partnership with Flex Box, sees the MR03B dressed in red and blue with the new

deal and colours will remain with the team for the remainder of the 2015 season.

This deal follows on from a similar announcement in Canada when the squad began collaborating with Airbnb.

“It is very rewarding for us to be able to welcome likeminded brands to join us on that journey and assist them in achieving their own global objectives,” said team owner Stephen Fitzpatrick.

With all the negativity surrounding Formula One of late, news of these two sponsors for the smallest team on the grid is extremely good news both on and off the circuit.

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more sponsors is good news for mAnor And f1

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FUtUre ShoCKWhile Formula 1 continues to debate changes to perk up the on-track action, Dutch graphic artist Andries van Overbeeke has turned his attention to just how a futuristic F1 car could look – especially if over-cockpit canopies are introduced to provide additional driver protection.

Whether or not you agree with the concept of enclosed F1 cars, we just had to feature Andries' exceptional work, outlining his perspective on just how a McLaren (liveried in some cases in the compay's iconic 'Marlboro' colours) might look under those circumstances.

It's an interesting concept ...

(Reproduced with thanks to Andries van Overbeeke)

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the publicists at silverstone used to boast about their circuit's tendency to produce uncannily close finishes, and boy did the old place live up to its reputation on sunday. From the upsets triggered by an over-optimistic Daniel Ricciardo at the first corner which eliminated both Lotuses and one McLaren (David Coulthard amusingly described it on the BBC as "expensive ping-pong"), to Lewis Hamilton's inspired decision to pit for wet intermediate Pirellis at exactly the right moment, this was a race which will live in the memory forever.

Nobody could have been happier, of course, than Hamilton himself, whose visionary call had enabled him to lay his hands on the Royal Automobile Club's magnificent Perpetual Trophy, now officially his all-time favourite, for the third time in his career. He was still clutching it in the broadcasters' pen afterwards when he came down from the post-race press conference to do the TV interviews.

As this column revealed last year, a bureaucratic slip almost cost Lewis his rendezvous with the RAC's bauble after winning the same race in 2014. Instead, at least to begin with, he had to make do with a sorry-looking plastic thing which race

sponsor Santander had ill-advisedly commissioned in a competition for art students in Spain and Britain. It fell apart in the grip of the unhappy recipient, who immediately called for the real McCoy, in gold, which has been given to the winner of the British GP ever since the first race to be run as such, at Silverstone in 1948.

Regular readers will know that 12 months ago someone, whose name I know, had been personally tasked with ensuring that both the plastic and the gold trophies were on hand for the podium ceremony. Alas, he forgot. Cue loud whingeing from Mr Hamilton while our anonymous scatter-brain dashed off to grab it from the security of his nearby office. Man and trophy were duly reunited, although the chance to get them together on the podium was denied to the photographers.

Lewis's beef about trophies, which I happen to share, is that the old-fashioned cups and rose-bowls beloved of him and me are being replaced by objects which may say something about the sponsors who pay for them but which too often look terrible. Just because the sponsors and race promoters happen to be shovelling millions into the pockets of Bernie Ecclestone's ravenous employer, they are not exempt from the duty to provide trophies of a size and design which reflect the significance of the race itself.

"We just need to make better trophies – it's shocking how bad the trophies are," Hamilton told pressmen in the week before Silverstone. "The trophies are as good as ... well, at kart level, it was really bad. In Formula Renault it was just

little boxes with a car in the middle. Formula 3 was good, and at the beginning of my Formula 1 career the trophies were really good. But now they are just terrible, man. They are so bad. I told Bernie and he got the trophy guy in the room and I just said, 'you know'."

Well, yes, we probably do know. Just to remind ourselves, though, let me say that back in the days of traditional metal trophies at F1 events, the lack of imagination of their designers was to be revealed all too often. I wish I had a quid for every time I've seen a driver loft his award only for the base to fall off it on to his foot. For sheer idiocy, though, it would be hard to beat the impressive silver chalice which was handed to a very sweaty Nigel Mansell in Rio de Janeiro in 1989, scene of his totally unexpected first-time-out victory with a fragile Ferrari in 1989.

The body of the cup was decorated with dozens of winged curlicues made from razor-sharp slivers of metal. OK, this was a situation which could have been created specifically for the notoriously injury-prone Englishman, whose hands were slashed all over as he juggled the pot. He'd just risked his life for almost two hours on the track only to find himself seeking medical assistance for the very nasty wounds he'd picked up on the podium ...

For whatever reason, this year's British GP went ahead without a naming sponsor. Thus the RAC Perpetual Trophy would take pride of place when the top three came up to receive their awards. It's an interesting bit of ironmongery (not solid gold as I suggested last year,

but gold-plated silver) whose origins seem to have been lost in the mists of time. In fact it's been hanging around the RAC's London HQ since long before it made that appearance at Silverstone in 1948. One theory is that it may have been awarded more than 100 years ago as first prize in the RAC's annual snooker competition, restricted to club members.

Yet another yarn associates the cup with Charles (C S) Rolls (1877-1910), an engineer whose partnership with fellow motoring pioneer Henry Royce almost certainly began when they met at the Automobile Club in London, before the establishment received the Royal seal of approval. There is a Latin inscription on the base of the trophy which reads

"Floreat Etona" ("May Eton flourish"), the link being that Rolls had been a pupil at Eton school.

Something else which I have discovered from my knowledgeable sources at Silverstone is that Lewis Hamilton is not the only latter-day racing driver with a soft spot for the famous trophy. Former Red Bull heroes Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, both of whom have won the race, were not too happy about having to return their prize after one year in their care. So they got together and commissioned a silversmith who made two 75percent copies for them to put on their mantelpieces.

Come to think of it, I should have mentioned that to Lewis after the race. Knowing him, he'll plead poverty and persuade those nice Mercedes people to pay for him to have his own copy.

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OPINION

lewis And the trophies – pArt ii

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there's was a great moment during sunday's post-race press conference when sebastian Vettel picked up Lewis Hamilton's winners trophy and ran his critical eye over it.

The trophy for winning the British Grand Prix is unique in that it doesn't

belong to the driver. Instead he gets his name inscribed on it, along with all past winners of the race, much in the way the Stanley Cup in ice hockey is. Still, the grand, golden chalice is one of the most coveted on the calendar - not because of what it is but because of what it represents.

It's a connection to the likes of Jim Clark, who won the British Grand Prix five times (four in a row), to the likes of Nigel Mansell and Jackie Stewart. It's a part of Formula 1 heritage and tradition, a legacy of sorts in a sport where things are becomming ever more transient.

Call me old-fashioned but I for one love

the history of the sport. My bookshelves are filled with tomes on the likes of Mike Hawthorn or Juan-Manuel Fangio and even stretch back to the sports pre-war era. Motorsport is rich with history, and that's not something many sports can boast.

So it saddens me to learn historic, traditional events like the Italian Grand Prix are under threat. The Italian Grand Prix is so much more than Italy's round of the world championship, it is a celebration of everything Italian in motorsport. The fabled Monza circuit is a Formula 1 fan's equivilent of the Temple Mount, Golgotha or Grand Mosque. Monza is other-worldly.

What makes matters worse is the race isn't under threat because there's no interest, or the circuit is falling apart, but because not enough bank notes have thus far been found to stuff in the

envelope labelled 'For Bernie'.Of course I can see Bernie

Ecclestone's side of things. His job is to extract maximum milk for minimum moo from each and every cash cow in the paddock. He's got bosses to answer for and they're interested in the sport not for its heritage but for its earning capacity. So we can't really blame Bernie, he's just doing his job, but we can blame the sport's owner, CVC.

One interesting suggestion put to me a week or two back was much like the financial arrangement for some of the prestigious teams. It's widely known Ferrari and a handful of other old-timers on the F1 grid get extra payments because of their value to the sport, so why not extend the same to the circuits?

Silverstone has been on and off the calendar since it held the first world

championship Formula 1 race in 1950 and Monza only missed 1980. So if the sport gives breaks to McLaren and Williams, who only joined the grid in the 1960s and 70s, why not put something in place to recognise some of these important events?

Ultimately the difference to the sports bottom dollar would be comparatively small. In return it generates a huge amount of goodwill among the sport and with the fans. It would enable some of these old events to sell out, like Silverstone did on the weekend, by allowing promoters to charge reasonable ticket prices.

There are so many potentially positive knock-ons by giving some of these circuits a break. Hell, it might even mean television figures rise, and if we're honest that's where the big bucks are anyway.

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OPINION

give them A breAk

THE MOMENT...It's one of the most iconic images in Formula One history; Nigel Mansell gives Ayrton Senna a lift back to the pits after Senna retired in the closing stages of the 1991 British Grand Prix.

(Sutton Images archive 1960-2015. Over 900,000 images available online for search and print order)

THE MOMENT...Race winner Jim Clark heads the pack during the 1967 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Clark made the British Grand Prix his own in the 1960s, winning five times between 1962 and his final appearance at the event in 1967.

(Sutton Images archive 1960-2015. Over 900,000 images available online for search and print order)

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A blistering out-lap and a perfectly timed switch to intermediate tyres saw Lewis Hamilton reign supreme on home turf

Perfect timing

It was anything but straight-forward for Lewis Hamilton as he overcame a poor start, a pair of fiesty Williams', the weather and even a hard-charging teammate to win in silverstone. Of his grand prix wins, it was certainly one of the more impressive.

Hamilton had predicted his fate at the start as he pulled away on the formation lap. His revised clutch, the bane of his races since the Spanish Grand Prix, was working well but under his rear wheels there was no traction. He slipped to second as Felipe Massa catapulted off the line.

He went wheel-to-wheel with Valtteri Bottas, who was guilty of not defending as well as he might, in the opening corners and gained the upper hand there, only to lose it at the restart.

Not for the first time this season both Lotus drivers had managed to find the same piece of tarmac. Both McLaren drivers wanted it too and of the four three of them were out on the spot. It was the worst possible start for Lotus, the poorest of results imaginable at a time when it needs to score points.

It's battling Force India in the constructors championship and given the Silverstone-based team debuted a new car - which looked both mean on track and competitive - Lotus simply has to maximise its chances. Both Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado have under-performed in 2015 and regardless of whose fault the opening lap clash at Silverstone was both deserve having their heads banged together until they see sense.

So too do the two Williams drivers. While it would be unfair to say Felipe Massa cost the team victory his actions early in the race certainly minimised any chances the team had. When the rain came any pace in the car disappeared, so perhaps they'd

have fallen back anyway.In the early stages there is no

doubt Bottas was faster than Massa, both capable of running ahead of the Mercedes but Massa was not pulling away. From a team perspective it made sense to leave its two drivers as they were, first and second, but Hamilton was far too close in third to make that strategy work.

The Williams pitwall needed to release Bottas and use Massa as a stop-gap to help give Bottas the advantage he needed to spring clear. Instead the team was indecisive and that is what ultiamtely cost the team the lead, if not the race.

Although Bottas had got by Hamilton at the restart following the safety car intervention for the first lap crash, Mercedes were left to out-smart Williams.

A blistering lap following his pitstop saw Hamilton leapfrog both Bottas and Massa after the first round of stops, from which point it seemed only a matter of time before Nico Rosberg found a way through, as he did when the skies opened.

Rosberg who seemed more at home in the rain, slicing as much as two seconds a lap out of Hamilton's advantage before the Englishman made what was an inspired decision.

Whether it was his or the team's call makes little difference and should go some way to repay Hamilton for the calamity that was Monaco. As he trundled into the pit lane, Rosberg blasted by into the lead. At the time it seemed Hamilton had cost himself victory. By the time he'd charged out of his pit box, on intermediate tyres, the weather had changed once again. Hamilton had timed his stop perfectly, and in doing so had effectively won the race.

High attrition once again saw McLaren take a points paying postion, Fernando Alonso's first for the team

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since the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix (where he was third).

McLaren had been bouyed by what it saw as an upturn in performance in Silverstone, despite qualifying on the penultimate row of the grid. Its cars were only 1.5 seconds off the time set by Mercedes in the opening qualifying stanza, which clearly showed progress around such a long lap they boasted.

To suggest then that points were deserved would be

stretching things too far. Both Toro Rossos and Lotus' retired, as did Daniel Ricciardo - five cars which could realistically have been expected to finish ahead of the McLaren's. Still, Alonso was running at the finish and that is a start; to finish first, first one needs to finish after all. That's been less than trivial this season.

Alonso was ahead of Marcus Ericsson though, and that owed nothing to attrition. Sauber has fallen back as the year has worn

on, somewhat predictably it must be said, so there is some measurable improvement from McLaren that a team which ran in the points in Melbourne at round one was behind it at Silverstone.

Sauber's woes began even before the race with Felipe Nasr rolling to a halt on Hanger Straight on his way to the grid with a gearbox issue. The Brazilian was a non-starter as a result.

Ferrari had a race of mixed fortunes. While on one side of the

garage Sebastian Vettel mirrored Hamilton's strategy to stop at the ideal time - and move ahead of both Williams in the process - on the other side a string of poor strategy calls cost Kimi Raikkonen dearly.

Raikkonen was one of the few to gamble during the first shower, stopping for intermediate tyres and struggling for pace as a result. By the time the second shower arrived and intermediates were the preferred rubber it was too

late for the Finn.There are extremely positive

signs at Force India as both its drivers finished in the points, with Nico Hulkenberg spending the first part of the race ahead of Raikkonen on pure pace. A strong start from Hulkenberg - which he described as his best in Formula

- moved him into fifth before the German was caught out with the rain late in the race and had to do an extra lap on slick tyres. Sergio Perez too waited too long as lost

out as a result, but still both Force India's were in the points for the second consecutive race.

Victory for Hamilton moves him 17 points clear of Rosberg at the head of the championship with ten races remaining. Vettel remains a looming threat should Ferrari get its act together consistently, 59 points off Hamilton while Mercedes now has more points than Ferrari and Williams combined in the constructors championship.

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PoS DrIVer teAm Q1 Q2 Q3 LAPS

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:33.796 1:33.068 1:32.248 142 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:33.475 1:32.737 1:32.361 143 Felipe Massa Williams 1:34.542 1:33.707 1:33.085 214 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:34.171 1:33.020 1:33.149 195 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:33.426 1:33.911 1:33.379 196 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:33.562 1:33.641 1:33.547 187 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:34.422 1:33.520 1:33.636 228 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:24.641 1:34.071 1:33.649 199 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:34.594 1:33.693 1:33.673 2110 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:34.272 1:33.749 1:33.943 2011 Sergio Perez Force India 1:34.250 1:34.268 1412 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:34.646 1:34.430 913 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:34.819 1:34.502 1414 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:34.877 1:34.511 1615 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:34.643 1:34.868 1316 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:34.888 717 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:34.959 818 Jenson Button McLaren 1:35.207 919 Will Stevens Manor 1:37.364 920 Roberto Merhi Manor 1:39.377 8 Q1 107% Time 1:40.362

formulA 1 round 9 british gp – Qualifying

QUALIFYING

Between Friday and saturday, Lewis Hamilton’s British Grand Prix turned around.

On Friday the Englishman was nowhere, comparatively, and seemingly had no answers. He said as much himself. He was slow and he was lost. At that point Nico Rosberg seemed to hold all the cards. He was fastest in both Friday sessions, even with gearbox problems.

Whatever it was Mercedes found on Friday night made all the difference. Hamilton was

fastest in final practice and took that pace into qualifying. His advantage over Rosberg was slender, but from where he’d been to where he ended Saturday afternoon was night and day.

Rosberg continued to have gearbox problems in final practice and had limited running as a result. They were different gearbox issues to those which halted him on track on Friday, but nonetheless the German managed only a few flying laps

in the dying stages of practice to prepare for qualifying.

Still, the pair locked out the front row with Hamilton ahead

– to the delight of the partisan crowd – and comfortably so. Had it been a trouble free run up to qualifying it’s entirely plausible that both Mercedes would have been further ahead still.

Silverstone is one of the longest circuits of the year, so larger gaps were expected on the grid, but few could have predicted the Mercedes would be

eight tenths quicker than the two Williams.

The Grove team has a habit of keeping a low profile up to qualifying. At a time when Toro Rosso had some dreaming of a second row start, mostly those at Toro Rosso, Williams quietly set about the job at hand and only showed its pace on Saturday afternoon. That pace will have been upsetting for Ferrari, which most would have agreed looked the second strongest, no matter what Max Verstappen and co

might have thought.In truth, the Toro Rosso’s

were fast, surprisingly so. Nico Hulkenberg described their car as planted as he following one of the Toro Rosso drivers through Copse. Around a blustery old airstrip 'planted' is a solid foundation on which to build. But in qualifying something happened to Verstappen. When both he and Carlos Sainz had been comfortably in the top ten, Verstappen went slower than his final practice best at a time

when you’d expect him to go faster. The Dutchman was as confused as everyone else and complained bitterly of a lack of traction. He ended the session just 13th fastest, and not with a time that made him unlucky to be knocked out in the session part of the session. He was more than two tenths off Romain Grosjean; Verstappen simply had no pace.

Interestingly Grosjean was fastest through the speed trap - 20kph faster than both McLaren drivers who both qualified on

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what difference a day makes

QUALIFYING

2015 FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX 52 LAPS ROUND 9/19

<< Last Race – Austria

Two Weeks Ago 1 Next Race – Hungary >> Four Weeks’ Time

2015 FORMULA 1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING CLASSIFICATION

1 – Lewis Hamilton surpasses Sebastian Vettel and moves into 3rd on the all-time poles list with #46 this weekend. It has taken him 157 races to reach that mark, 10 fewer than Michael Schumacher, although still far slower than Ayrton Senna (100). It is his 17th consecutive front row start, tying Damon Hill (1995-96) for the 2nd longest streak ever, behind Senna’s 24 in 1988-89. 2 – He is attempting to win the British GP on the 62nd anniversary of the first-ever win by a British driver in a world championship event (Mike Hawthorn at the 1953 French GP), but only 3 of the last 17 British GPs have been won from pole. 3 – Mercedes have now become only the 2nd team in championship history to reach 20 consecutive poles, after Williams set 24 in a row in 1992-93. With Nico Rosberg on the front row, it is the team’s 5th consecutive front row lockout, but Rosberg’s last 2 wins in Monaco and Austria both came from 2nd on the grid. 4 – Williams haven’t been in the top-3 on the grid at a British GP since Juan-Pablo Montoya was on pole here way back in 2002, and Felipe Massa hasn’t even been in the top-10 here since 2002, while Valtteri Bottas has never been in the top-10 at Silverstone, despite finishing 2nd last year. 5 – Kimi Raikkonen took his best start here since 2008, and outqualified Sebastian Vettel for only the 2nd time all season. The last time Vettel was this low at the British GP was in 2008, when he retired on the first lap of the race. Daniil Kvyat has outqualified Daniel Ricciardo for the 3rd consecutive race, although originally Ricciardo was ahead until his best time was deleted for running wide at Copse. 6 – Carlos Sainz gives Toro Rosso their 3rd consecutive top-10 start at Silverstone, while Nico Hulkenberg is again in the top-10 here, although 5 places lower than he was last year. Sergio Perez also lost his best time, but it didn’t affect his position in 11th, while neither Lotus reached Q3 for only the 3rd time all year (after Malaysia and Monaco), even though Romain Grosjean was quickest of all in the speed trap at 327.4km/h (203.4mph). 7 – Marcus Ericsson outqualified Felipe Nasr for the 2nd time in the past 3 races, as Nasr was eliminated in Q1, while Mclaren failed to get a car out of Q1 for the 4th time this season but the first time since China. They were bottom of the speed traps, over 20km/h (12.4mph) slower than Grosjean. Alonso was 1.533s off the best Q1 time, having been 1.532s off the Q1 pace in Austria on a much shorter circuit, so in a way, that’s encouragement. Will Stevens outqualified Roberto Merhi for the first time in 3 races.

the penaultime row of the grid. McLaren though continued beating its chest – Alonso was just 1.5 seconds slower than the fastest time in Q1, which is a positive of sorts around a long circuit like Silverstone. The Spaniard managed it even with a coolant leak in his car, McLaren gambling to send him out knowing of the problem but not having time to find or fix it.

While McLaren’s rough season continues there was cause for celebration at Williams. For the first time since Juan-Pablo Montoya was on pole in 2002 it had a car in the top

three. Valtteri Bottas raced to second place last year after starting outside the top ten, so hopes were high of another solid result, especially as Williams looked to have the edge on Ferrari.

Pole position for Hamilton moved the Englishman past Sebastian Vettel in the all-time poles list. Hamilton now sits third with 46, trailing only Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

Rosberg though was banking on the fact that the last two times he’d started from second he went on to win the race.

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Having commanded the early part of the race, Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas ultimately faded to finish fourth and fifth at silverstone.

The pair had jumped well, Massa charging into the lead by the first turn before Bottas moved underneath Lewis Hamilton at the restart to make it a Williams 1-2.

But from there the race fell apart. Despite the hopes of many that the Grove team might go on to win its first British Grand Prix since 1997 it's effort

fell short. Well short.Team orders instructed Bottas not to

challenge Massa at the head of the race, despite the Finn clearly being the faster of the two. His protestations prompted a backflip by the team, by which point the opportunity had gone.

All the while Hamilton lay in wait, ready to sieze his opportunity at the first round of stops and undercut both Williams drivers and take the lead.

“There were a few moments in the race where things didn't go our

way,” confessed the team’s head of performance Rob Smedley afterwards.

“The pace we showed throughout this weekend was great, we had a stunning race up until the rain came.”

Both Massa and Bottas struggled when conditions changed. Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes was able to pass them both while an overly cautious strategy allowed Sebastian Vettel to take third for Ferrari.

“I had a fantastic start and we were fighting with Mercedes the whole time,”

Massa explained. “It could even have been possible to win the race if it had stayed dry.

“It was a shame to lose positions in the rain,” he added. “We waited one lap longer on the second stop which is where we lost the opportunity to be on the podium. That shower also highlighted the car's weakness in the wet.”

Bottas only narrowly clung on to fifth after coming under pressure from Daniil Kvyat in the final lap. The Finn struggled desperately on the intermediate tyre late

in the race, though afterwards he was more interested in understanding why he’d not been allowed to use his extra pace in the early stages.

“We have to have a look the race data and make sure we continue to learn from this,” he said.

“I was allowed to race Felipe, but it was hard to get through, and I didn't want to make any mistakes.

“In some ways it was an incredibly frustrating race, and others it was very pleasing.”

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missed opportunity

Not for the first time this season, Lotus’ grand prix was over soon after it begun -–and again it wasn't thier fault.

According to Romain Grosjean, as the field ploughed into turn three, the first braking zone of the lap, an over-zealous Daniel Ricciardo triggered the chain-reaction.

“Daniel must have thought his brakes

and tyres would be able to slow him better than they did,” Grosjean explained.

According to the Frenchman, the Red Bull was the catalyst that saw three cars eliminated on the opening lap with Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado and Jenson Button all victims.

Fernando Alonso, who was also involved in the scrap, was able to carry on. The Spaniard had a slightly different view.

“We had some problems right from the first corner with the two Lotuses that were fighting among themselves in a very aggressive way,” he recalled.

“That caused the two McLarens to also make contact but I was more fortunate than Jenson because he had to retire on the spot while I could carry on.”

Trying to avoid the crashing Lotus’ ahead, Alonso locked his rear brakes,

spearing him into the side of teammate Jenson Button.

“My car jumped quite high and when I landed all systems shut down,” Button said.

“The impact turned the engine off, so I had to stop. I was alongside Fernando and didn’t realise he wasn’t spinning but, anyway, there was no way I could have done anything else.”

Alonso managed to escape with just a broken wing, which the team replaced at the end of the lap. With the safety car out to clear the debris the Alonso was able to catch back up to the back of the pack despite a slow stop, and with high attrition went on to claim his first point of the season.

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Cardinal Sin

A weekend that had started so well ultimately ended in disappointment for toro Rosso.

The young duo of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen ran towards the top of the timesheets during practice, leading many to predict bright things come the race.

“When I compare high-speed performance, if we had the [Mercedes] engine, I think we would be P2 [after Mercedes],” boasted Verstappen on Thursday.

“We look at GPS data after every session and compare ourselves with Ferrari, Williams and even Mercedes,” added Sainz.

“After watching our data from Barcelona, I'm convinced that this car, with a very decent engine, will be fighting with Williams and, on some occasions, with Ferrari.

“We looked at the data and Turn 3 and Turn 9 in Barcelona, only Mercedes was quicker than us.”

All their optimism came to nothing however when both drivers failed to finish on Sunday.

The reality check really came on Saturday in qualifying, when Verstappen could do no better than

13th. A throttle calibration problem was found overnight and big things were hoped for once again on Sunday but ultimately ended in the fence.“I didn't have the best of starts,” Verstappen admitted.

“I was able to escape from the crashes that happened in front of me, but when the race restarted after the Safety Car period I suddenly lost the rear of the car at Turn 2.

“Even though I only damaged the front wing a bit, I wasn't able to reverse and my race ended there.”

Sainz’s race was slightly longer but equally disappointing.

“During the first stint I struggled a bit, but as soon as I pitted for another set of tyres we picked up the pace and started to push,” explained the Spaniard.

“From then on, it was all going really well, running comfortably in P9 and waiting for the rain to arrive, but suddenly my car just switched off and that was the end. It's a very frustrating way to end the weekend.”

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reality Check

» HAMILTON, ROSBERG AND VETTEL HAVE FINISHED ON THE PODIUM TOGETHER FIVE TIMES IN EIGHT PREVIOUS RACES THIS YEAR

» HAMILTON HAS NOW WON AT SILVERSTONE AS MANY TIMES AS JIM CLARK, NIGEL MANSELL AND MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (3) – ONLY ALAIN PROST (5) HAS MORE

» HAMILTON’S WIN CAME ON THE 62ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST-EVER WIN FOR A BRITISH DRIVER (MIKE HAWTHORN, 1953 FRENCH GP)

» HAMILTON HAS BROKEN THE RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE RACES LED, HELD BY SIR JACKIE STEWART SINCE 1970 (THIS IS HIS 18TH RACE LED IN A ROW)

» THIS IS ONLY THE FOURTH TIME THE BRITISH GP HAS BEEN WON FROM POLE SINCE 1997

» MERCEDES ARE THE FIRST TEAM IN 62 YEARS TO GET TWO CARS ON THE PODIUM IN NINE CONSECUTIVE RACES, TYING THE ALL-TIME F1 RECORD HELD BY FERRARI SINCE 1953

» MASSA HAS A 42ND TOP FOUR FINISH SINCE THE START OF 2011, ONLY EIGHT OF WHICH HAVE BEEN ON THE PODIUM

» MASSA HAS NOW FINISHED FOURTH ON THREE OCCASIONS AT SILVERSTONE IN HIS CAREER WITHOUT EVER BEING ON THE PODIUM

» BOTTAS HAS ONLY FAILED TO SCORE ONCE THIS SEASON WHEN HE HAS STARTED THE RACE (MONACO). THIS IS HIS 21ST CONSECUTIVE RACE FINISH, THE LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK

» DANIIL KVYAT HAS ONLY THE SECOND TOP SIX FINISH OF HIS CAREER AND RED BULL'S 27TH CONSECUTIVE POINTS FINISH

» HULKENBERG SCORES POINTS IN A THIRD CONSECUTIVE RACE, TYING FORCE INDIA'S BEST-EVER FINISH AT A BRITISH GP, LITERALLY THEIR HOME RACE

» PEREZ HAS A FIRST POINTS FINISH AT SILVERSTONE SINCE 2011, IT IS ONLY THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR THAT BOTH FORCE INDIAS HAVE SCORED IN THE SAME RACE

» ROBERTO MERHI AND WILL STEVENS GIVE MARUSSIA THEIR TWO BEST RESULTS OF THE YEAR IN 12TH AND 13TH

» RICCIARDO RETIRED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2015

» NEITHER TORO ROSSO FINISHED FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 2015 (AFTER BAHRAIN)

» BOTH LOTUSES WERE OUT ON THE FIRST LAP FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON! (AUSTRALIA WAS THE OTHER ONE)

» MCLAREN HAVE LOST A CAR ON THE OPENING LAP AT EACH OF THE LAST TWO RACES

PoS DrIVer CoUntrY teAm tIme/LAPS PtS

1 LEWIS HAMILTON GBR MERCEDES 1:31:27.729 252 NICO ROSBERG GER MERCEDES +10.956s 183 SEBASTIAN VETTEL GER FERRARI +25.443s 154 FELIPE MASSA BRA WILLIAMS +36.839s 125 VALTTERI BOTTAS FIN WILLIAMS +1:03.194 106 DANIIL KVYAT RUS RED BULL +1:03.955 87 NICO HULKENBERG GER FORCE INDIA +1:18.744 68 KIMI RAIKKONEN FIN FERRARI +1 lap 49 SERGIO PEREZ MEX FORCE INDIA +1 lap 210 FERNANDO ALONSO ESP MCLAREN +1 lap 111 MARCUS ERICSSON SWE SAUBER +1 lap 012 ROBERTO MERHI ESP MANOR +3 laps 013 WILL STEVENS GBR MANOR +3 laps 0RT CARLOS SAINZ ESP TORO ROSSO DNF 0RT DANIEL RICCIARDO AUS RED BULL DNF 0RT MAX VERSTAPPEN NED TORO ROSSO DNF 0RT PASTOR MALDONADO VEN LOTUS DNF 0RT ROMAIN GROSJEAN FRA LOTUS DNF 0RT JENSON BUTTON GBR MCLAREN DNF 0NS FELIPE NASR BRA SAUBER 0

Points – Drivers: Hamilton 194, Rosberg 177, Vettel 135, Bottas 77, Raikkonen 76, Massa

74, Ricciardo 36, Kvyat 27, Hulkenberg 24, Grosjean 17, Nasr 16, Perez 15, Maldonado 12,

Verstappen 10, Sainz 9, Ericsson 5, Button 4, Alonso 1

Constructors: Mercedes 371, Ferrari 211, Williams 151, Red Bull 63, Force India 39, Lotus

29, Sauber 21, Toro Rosso 19, McLaren 5

Some facts you may have thought of, and most you certainly didn’t know about the BRITISH GP!

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formulA 1 round 9 british gpstAt wrApwIth SeAn Kelly

The last time a Williams started in the top three at the British Grand Prix2002

Out of 4 – If Lewis Hamilton wins three out of the next four races he will exactly tie Ayrton Senna’s 41 wins in 161 career starts3

Km/h – The McLaren’s straightline speed deficit in the qualifying speed trap20.4

Out of 16 – Jenson Button has still never finished on the podium in the British Grand Prix, the most-ever starts by a driver in his home Grand Prix without doing so0

Lewis Hamilton is now tied with Damon Hill for the second-longest streak of front row starts ever. Only Ayrton Senna has ever had a longer run (24, in 1988-89)17

The 2015 British GP saw the 900th start for a Ferrari engine in the world championship, but only the 898th for the constructor. The discrepancy comes from Enzo Ferrari not entering his team for the 1960 US and 1966 British GPs, while privateers entered Ferrari-powered Coopers each time9001.533

Seconds – Fernando Alonso’s gap to the best Q1 time in Austria1.532

Hamilton’s race win came on the 62nd anniversary of Mike Hawthorn’s win at Reims in 1953, the first ever success for a British driver in a World Championship Grand Prix1953

Seconds – Fernando Alonso’s gap to the best Q1 time in Britain, on a much longer circuit

8 Lewis Hamilton’s eighth career hat-trick moves him level with Alain Prost and

Sebastian Vettel. Only Fangio (9), Clark (11) and Schumacher (22) have taken more

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the numbers

TECHNICAL

SmALL ChAnGeS AS teAmS StArt to LooK to 2016te

CH

NIC

AL

PAoLo FILISettITechnical Editor

Micro developments seem to be the current trend in F1, with the exception of Force India, which introduced the

‘nostril’ nose, tested at spielberg after the Austrian GP, at silverstone. An interesting feature without doubt, but on the performance side it didn’t change the dynamics too much of the car of the silverstone-based squad.

The top teams, instead look to have followed a path of a step-by-step development, mainly basing it on

refinements rather than on huge visible changes.

The area around the front wheels seems to be the one that grabs most attention at the moment, in particular featuring developments close to the endplates in terms of the upper flaps, and vertical fins placed beside them, so to direct the airflow outwards.

This kind of evolution featured both on the Ferrari and on the Red Bull. Even if the two front wings maintain conceptual differences, it looks as if a common path has been taken, following the design concept of the Mercedes front wing.

The management of the turbulence generated by the front wheels seems capable of providing that extra amount of downforce, thanks to the array of the revised upper flaps, that could be

absolutely fundamental on a track like Silverstone, increasing their efficiency, as no additional drag was generated – instead it was actually reduced.

Furthermore a deeply revised main flap now features a sinuous trailing edge and an extended surface including the lower element towards the cars centerline.

Ferrari, proceeding in the detail refinement of the front end of the SF 15-T have even managed to reduce e the section of the onboard camera mountings on the side of the nose cone. This change, as for the front wing, makes this new solution look very close to the Mercedes one featured since the start of the season.

It is important to say that each of this evolutions, taken individually, doesn’t provide a relevant step up in terms of performance or rather efficiency – but instead, the sum of all these bits may

help not just in small improvements in terms o f lap times, but also in terms of fuel saving, as the drag reduction may help in this area.

Another team that seems to be following the Mercedes front ends aero concept is Red Bull. Having tested their latest version of their front wing featuring a different layout of the main flaps and an additional vertical fin placed beside the upper flaps assembly, they introduced it here.

As for the Ferrari, the modifications are mainly concentrated in the area in front of the wheels, to reduce the turbulence generated, and at the same time, the evolution of the main flap design means an accurate gain of additional downforce that, since the start of the season, was one of the weak points of this car.

Of course, it is important to note that

each progress made has to be evaluated in a wider scenario, that differs car to car. By that, I mean that it is rather difficult, judging from outside, just how relevant such improvements can be, on a wholly uncompetitive car as the RB11. Certainly the Milton Keynes engineers are producing many new parts, but not primarily for a current engineering exercise, rather to build up the basis of a more competitive package for the next season.

The aim of Ferrari engineers instead is rather more focused on raising up as much as possible the pace to catch the dominant Mercedes cars this season, while at the same time trying to maintain Williams behind, as the Grove-based team seems now to be enjoying an increased level of competitiveness.

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Seen at Silverstone

For the second time this season, both Lotus drivers were eliminated on the opening lap. This turn three tangle also accounted for Jenson Button and left Fernando Alonso needing a new nose.

PASSING SHOT

Lightning starts from both Williams drivers saw them catapulted to the front of the race, Valtteri Bottas seizing the moment at the restart to pass eventual winner Lewis Hamilton.

PASSING SHOT

When the rain first began to fall, Kimi Raikkonen was one of the few to switch to intermediate tyres. His gamble backfired as he struggled for grip and dropped down the order.

PASSING SHOT

A fast lap and a perfectly timed switch to intermediate tyres saw Lewis Hamilton come out on top at his home grand prix, his second British GP win in succession.

PASSING SHOT

Next: Hungary! In 1992 the Hungarian Grand Prix marked the end of the world championship as a competition as Nigel Mansell sewed up the title for Williams.

PARTING SHOT