2016 Australian Grand Prix

TheInsideLine

Issue 1 / March 2016

Mercedes on top in cracking Australian Grand Prix

Analysis and reaction from the season opener down under

FORMULA 1

SKY SECURE NEW DEAL FOR EXCLUSIVE LIVE F1 COVERAGE FROM 2019

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

Sky Sports have extended their contract to broadcast Formula One to 2024. As part of this new deal, Sky will have the exclusive rights to show races live in the UK and Ireland from 2019.

and the race. The British Grand Prix, however, will be shown on a “free-to-air basis”.

Two other prime time races will be available on the new Sky Sports Mix channel, along with other F1 content.

This means that live races will no longer be shown on free-to-air television but will have highlights of qualifying

Sky will also be pioneering Ultra HD broadcasting of F1, with the sport being 1

broadcast in UHD for the first time in 2017.

“I am delighted that we will continue to work together. Sky’s commitment to the sport and standard of coverage is second to none,” said Bernie Ecclestone.

Image from Sky Sports

FORMULA 1

DRIVERS CALL FOR F1 GOVERNANCE SHAKEUP CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

A letter from the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) has been sent to Formula One’s owners, stakeholders and fans. It voices their concerns regarding the current ruling of the sport in light of recent rule changes.

It reads: “We fell that some recent rule changes – on both the

sport and technical side, and including some business directions – are disruptive, do not address the bigger issues our sport is facing and in some case could jeopardise its future success. We know that among the leaders of the sport – be it the owners, their representatives, the 2

governing body, the teams or other stakeholders – every individual acts with the very best intentions.

“Therefore, the drivers have come to the conclusion that the decision-making process in the sport is obsolete and illstructured and prevents progress being made.

Indeed, it can sometimes lead to just the opposite, a gridlock. This reflects negatively on our sport, prevents it being fit for the next generation of fans and compromises further global growth.

“We would like to request and urge the owners and all stakeholders of Formula 1 to consider restructuring its own governance. The future directions and decisions of F1, be they short or long term, sporting, technical or business oriented should be based on a clear master plan. Such plan should reflect the

principles and core values of Formula 1.”

The sport received heavy criticism after introducing a new elimination qualifying format for this year three weeks’ before the start of the new season. The idea was scrapped straightaway with a further change to the format expected for the next race in Bahrain. But

Alex Wurz, Chairman of the GPDA, has stated that there is more to this letter than the qualifying format.

“This was not a kneejerk reaction to the qualifying experiment,” he said, “This state3

ment was wellconsidered and planned between all drivers for quite a while now and discussed in Melbourne again during the special drivers’ briefing the GPDA held.

“Since the GPDA’s existence in the 1960s we operate by majority vote, which works very well. In this case, it was an extremely clear vote regarding the desire to express our opinion.”

Header image from Autosport.

2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

ROSBERG WINS CRACKING SEASON OPENER IN AUSTRALIA

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

Nico Rosberg took victory for the opening race of the 2016 Formula One season in Australia. He led a 1-2 finish for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton came home in 2nd place. Sebastian Vettel completed the podium. While it is a similar result to the one we saw in 2015, it definitely was not achieved in the same manner.

Vettel look the lead off the line as both Mercedes

bogged down at the start.

While they were busy trying not to run into each at turn one, Kimi Raikkonen snatched 2nd and Hamilton fell down to 6th. It was the two Ferraris and Rosberg leading the field.

When it came to the pit stops, the new regulations regarding tyres came into play, as teams can choose between three compounds for this year. Rosberg went for the soft tyre, whilst 4

both Ferraris were put onto the supersoft tyres they saved by only doing one run at the end of qualifying yesterday. Meanwhile, in an attempt to recover positions, Hamilton was put onto the mediums, which Mercedes spent the vast majority of their time running in testing.

A red flag put a halt to proceedings on lap 19, however, for a crash between Esteban Gutierrez and Fer-

nando Alonso. The Spaniard went into the back of the Haas whilst braking for turn 3, with the McLaren hitting the barrier and running into the gravel trap which then flipped the car twice. Alonso got out of the car and walked away from the crash.

Under red flag conditions, teams are allowed to change their tyres. Of the Mercedes and Ferraris, only Rosberg opted for this. He swapped his softs for new medium tyres, in an attempt to go the end of the race without another stop.

On the restart, Vettel led the field away from Raikkonen, who unfortunately retired shortly afterwards with an airbox fire. Meanwhile, Vettel was unable to pull the gap he needed to stay ahead of Rosberg when he pitted. Soft tyres went on the Ferrari.

Hamilton also was going to the end of the race without another stop, but he spent several laps staring at the back of two Toro Rossos as he was unable to pass them. He lost time to his team mate but recovered positions as those ahead of him pitted. He then passed Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull for 2nd.

Vettel then began to close up on the Mercedes, supposedly giving us a close fight for the final few laps. However, just as Vettel got onto the back of the Hamilton, he locked up into the penultimate corner, ran wide and lost his chance of taking 2nd place.

Daniel Ricciardo took 4th place for Red Bull, who look to have a much stronger power unit as the Australian had to pass a Williams car twice, who are notorious for being quick on the straights. He went for the supersoft tyre for his final pit stop which gave him the pace towards the end of the race. He finished ahead of Felipe Massa, who had a largely solo race in 5th place.

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Romain Grosjean did his pit stop under the safety car before the red flag, essentially giving him a free tyre change without losing positions. As a result, he found himself in 6th place ahead of a large scrap for the midfield battle. He held them at bay to score 8 points for Haas on their debut, making them the first brand new team (new team not being an overhaul of an older team, such as Red Bull or Brawn) to score points on their debut since Toyota in 2002.

Nico Hulkenberg was 7th having selected the medium tyres after the red flag, as did Valtteri Bottas who was recovering from 16th on the grid after receiving a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. The Finn finished 8th.

The two Toro Rossos rounded out the points positions, with Sainz leading Verstappen. The young Dutchman lost out to his team mate after the first pit stop as Sainz came in first, something which Verstappen was not pleased with, as he made perfectly clear over team radio.

The duo were then behind Jolyon Palmer’s Renault, and Verstappen felt he could pass the Brit much quicker. Sainz did not have to let him through, but Verstappen continued to rail on team radio to the team before later tagging his team mate’s rear tyre into the penultimate corner.

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Palmer was just one place away from points from on his debut ahead of team mate Kevin Magnussen, who was recovering from a poor start which saw him get a puncture.

The red flag meant he was able to unlap himself for a chance at fighting for points, but it was no avail.

Sergio Perez finished 13th after having to manage front-left brake wear towards the end of the race. Jenson Button was 14th having been put on the supersoft tyre after the red flag, which looked to be the wrong strategy. Initially, the Brit was making up places, but began to lose them again as the tyre degraded.

Felipe Nasr was 15th ahead of Pascal Wehrlein who completed the field. His team mate Rio Haryanto retired during the red flag period with a mechanical problem.

Daniil Kvyat’s weekend went from bad to worse. After not making it out of Q1 yesterday, he then did not make it to the grid, in a bizarrely similar scenario to 12 months ago. The Russian came to a halt just as the grid was being formed. He stepped out of the car and accepted that his Red Bull wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry.

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2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

HAAS FIRST NEW TEAM TO SCORE ON DEBUT SINCE 2002

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO Romain Grosjean’s sixth place finish scored 8 points for the new Haas team, making them the first new entrants to score on their debut race since Mika Salo in the Toyota back in 2002.

“It feels like standing on the top step of podium,” Grosjean said, “It’s been an amazing race and weekend. For all the guys, the work they have been doing, so much work, since

IMAGE FROM CRASH.NET

day one I told the guys the car has huge potential – but we needed a good result to see if that was true.

“We have plenty of areas we can improve but this result is a huge morale and confidence boost.”

Grosjean’s race was made when he pitted under the safety car, essentially giving him a free pit stop. He was then able to maintain 8

the position until the chequered flag.

Haas have entered Formula One with a strong technical partnership with Ferrari, which has put them in a stronger position than other new teams such as Manor and Caterham when they first entered the sport back in 2010. Points this early is an indicator of what should be a very strong year for the team.

2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

STRONG RETURN FOR RENAULT CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

IN AUSTRALIA Renault were already surprised by having two cars in Q2 yesterday. Today they should be even happier as they came to within just one place of scoring points, making for an impressive initial return to F1 for the team.

Jolyon Palmer finished 11th after an incredible display of racecraft on his Grand Prix debut. The Brit was aggressive at the start and was making up places before he was pushed wide

by Fernando Alonso at turn 6 which saw him lose those positions.

fore Bottas made a bold move around the outside of turn 9. Palmer managed to fend of the two Toro Rossos for some time before they found a way through, again with clean and respectful racing.

“I think the team has done an incredible job this weekend to qualify in Q2 and then finishing the race in eleventh and twelfth; it’s the maximum we could expect to achieve,” he said, “It’s a good start, we were

Being on the right strategy, however, meant he quickly made them up before coming under pressure again later in the race. He battled Valtteri Bottas and went side by side with the Finn through turns 3 and 4, be9

so close to scoring points, and we can move forward from here. The race itself was busy but good fun; I absolutely loved being wheel to wheel again after a year out of racing. It was great to be back in the fray and it all went pretty smoothly for me. Happy days.”

Kevin Magnussen finished in 12th despite receiving a puncture on the opening lap. Again, a good strategy

after the red flag period helped him gain positions.

“We have a really good car; the pace is strong, as is the baseline set-up,” he said, “It’s something we can continue to work from and evolve to gain more performance. Today was pretty tough at the start as I was really gutted about the puncture. I don’t think I had any contact so it was really unfortunate.

“You never want to see a red flag incident, and it’s a positive statement that Fernando could walk away from that dramatic crash, but the restart did benefit us. Our pace after the restart was very promising so I’m excited for the next races.”

Renault’s Racing Director Fred Vasseur said: “Today was very encouraging for the team as we showed good race pace and a good base to build on. We need to take a look at our qualifying pace to get us further up the grid and hopefully start to get some good results as it would have been much better to score points today! Both Kevin and Jolyon did a very good job, it was a shame to have Kevin suffer from a puncture but the rest of the afternoon went well, especially for a first race.”

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2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

RED FLAG COSTS FERRARI CHANCE AT VICTORY

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO Ferrari were running first and second when the red flags came out for Fernando Alonso’s crash at turn 3. The Maranello squad were using the set of supersoft tyres they saved by only doing one run in Q3 yesterday during the middle stint, but did not change them while the race was suspended, unlike race winner Nico Rosberg who switched from the softs to the mediums.

IMAGE FROM CRASH.NET

The team’s aim, therefore, was for Vettel to create a gap to Rosberg before he had to pit again. However, the German was unable to do so and, before long, the Silver Arrow began to close up on Vettel as Ferrari realised their strategy would not win them the race.

He still did have a chance at taking 2nd place from Lewis Hamilton, but Vettel ran on the grass at the pe11

nultimate corner whilst trying to pass the world champion.

“I obviously had a great start, I was very happy to see that I had a better start than the two cars in front of me, reminding me of Hungary last year and it worked out. It was great to see that Kimi made it as well, so we got first and second and from there we dictated the pace,” Vettel said.

“The red flag didn’t help us, but to be fair the most important thing was that Fernando and Esteban were alright. It was the right decision to stop the race.

First time I went through I saw the debris on the track.

“Naturally the expectations are higher when you had a strong season last year and you wanted to close the gap. Yesterday we were a bit further away and today we were closer. In general it was a great race, I was racing flat out until to the end, I didn’t want to go onto the grass but I did the lawn mower! So I don’t have to do it next week when I go home, but for sure we would have liked more from today.”

Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene said: “Our pace was good in the first part of the Grand Prix, before the race was red-flagged, but we shouldn’t use it as an excuse. This only show that you shouldn’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

“Today’s race should serve as a lesson to us to push even harder, with even more humility and dedication, starting already at the next race in Bahrain.”

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2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

“FRUSTRATING” RACE FOR VERSTAPPEN Max Verstappen had the most to lose in the midfield starting from 5th after a fantastic qualifying performance. A difficult race saw the Dutchman fall to 10th, the story of which began when the team pitted his team mate Carlos Sainz before him. Verstappen then came into the pits to find an unprepared pit crew

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

who were not expecting his arrival. This put Sainz ahead.

Later when the pair came up behind Jolyon Palmer, Verstappen felt he would be able to pass the Renault much more quickly. He asked the team if he could attack, and was given the all clear. It seems though that Verstappen and his en-

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gineer were having two different conversations, as Sainz was merely warned that if he didn’t pass Palmer quickly then they would swap positions.

Sainz, with that added encouragement, shortly overtook the Brit, but Verstappen still felt his team mate should have let him

through. He described the situation as a “joke” over team radio.

Verstappen later locked up into the penultimate corner and clipped the rear wheel of his team mate. Luckily Sainz managed to escape with minimal time lost, but Verstappen went spinning around, though he didn’t lose any places from it.

“Quite a frustrating afternoon,” Verstappen said after the race, “We had a great start to the race and were able to keep the Mercedes behind. The first pit-stop was also good. We had great pace and I didn’t have pressure from behind, but after the red flag we had a bit of a miscommunication for the second stop and it got very difficult.

“We have a fantastic car and to finish P10 here is not where we should be. I’m very disappointed as this was a great opportunity for us to get a very good result. Now we just need to focus on the next race and try and score more points than today.”

By contrast, Sainz’s race was far calmer. However, he shares his team mate’s dissatisfaction at the team’s overall result. Toro Rosso leave Melbourne with 3 points.

“I’m not entirely happy with today’s result because I think we could’ve scored more points with the car we have, but I did everything I could to finish as high up as possible… To finish in P9 is frustrating,” he said.

“The race was a bit of a chaos, so it was difficult to get it all right. After the red flag things got interesting and even though it’s not the easiest of tracks to overtake, I was able to do some good moves – some of them were quite tough!

“I did my race and I think we put on a good show. I enjoyed it out there but I think we deserved to end up higher up instead of going backwards after qualifying in P7 yesterday.”

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2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

DEBRIS IN BRAKES ALMOST CAUSED ROSBERG TO RETIRE, WOLFF REVEALS

Toto Wolff revealed after the Australian Grand Prix that race winner Nico Rosberg was very nearly retired from the race due to rising brake temperatures caused by debris caught in the brake caliper.

“Managing tyres and temperatures became a big challenge,” Wolff explained, “with debris causing an overheating brake caliper that almost forced us to retire Nico at

one stage. Thankfully that was not the case and he led Lewis home for a hard-fought 1-2.”

Rosberg changed strategy during the red flag period; the only one of the Mercedes or Ferraris to do so. He switched from the soft tyres to the mediums, which would carry him to the end of the race. He took the lead of the race when Sebastian Vettel ahead of him on the 15

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

supersofts pitted on lap 35.

“A perfect result to start the year, a great job from the drivers to manage and recover the race, fantastic work on the pit wall to give them the right strategy to do so and an incredible team effort from everybody at the factories to get us here.

2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

DAMAGE LIMITATION FOR HAMILTON AFTER POOR START Lewis Hamilton was on a perfect run of being fastest in every session on Friday and Saturday, and it looked like it would be a similar story for the race. However, a poor start for the world champion meant he was on the back foot for the entirety of the race. All things considered, he was happy to salvage second place.

“I’d had a perfect weekend in every way up until the lights went out and felt confident heading into the

race,” he said, “I got a bit of wheelspin off the line then got pushed wide at the first corner, so from there it was just about recovering. But these things happen and I’m grateful for the way I was able to fight back through. P2 isn’t bad in terms of damage limitation after a start like that.”

It was his team mate Nico Rosberg who pushed Hamilton wide into the first corner, as the German was going tight on the inside and locked up his brakes.

There was miniscule contact between Hamilton’s front wing and Rosberg’s left-rear tyre, which the German said he was unaware of until he watched the start back.

This dropped Hamilton behind Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa and Max Verstappen, who he was unable to overtake. Mercedes extended the first stint on the supersofts to put him on the mediums for the remainder of the race and save themselves a pit stop.

Following the red flag period for Fernando Alonso’s crash, Hamilton picked up the places as those ahead of pitted.

“I spent a long time stuck behind one of the Toro Rossos and there wasn’t a lot I could do about it as he was on a quicker tyre. I 16

could just see the others pulling away, so the safety car definitely helped by bunching us all up again.

“I was already on a one-stop strategy and, to be honest, I don’t know why everyone else didn’t do the same on the medium. I’m happy they didn’t, as I probably would have finished a lot further back.”

Hamilton came under late pressure from Sebastian Vettel as the German was using soft tyres for his final stint. However, he struggled to find a way past and ultimately locked up into the penultimate corner and ran wide onto the grass, securing the place for Hamilton.

“The team did a great job to help us pull it back and there’s still 20 races to go, so I’m feeling pretty chilled. I’ve had far worse starts to the season, so I’ll take that today and head into the next one looking up.”

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2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

POOR STRATEGY HURTS BUTTON’S RACE

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

Jenson Button was unable to score points in the Australian Grand Prix, having expected to move forward from his qualifying position of 13th. The Brit blamed a poor choice in strategy for the missed opportunity.

“My car wasn’t too bad, but I think we made some imperfect strategic calls this afternoon,” he said, “Also, the red flag hurt us because we’d already made our first stop. Then, after the restart, we ran

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the Supersoft – which lasted about 10 laps – and then fitted the Back-Up, which everyone else had been on since the restart.

Around here, you can catch up but you can’t eas-

ily overtake, so we ended up at the back of the queue after making our stop.”

Ironically it was Button’s team mate Fernando Alonso’s crash which compromised his race, as the red flag was waved to clear the debris, making tyre choice difficult. McLaren’s choice of supersofts for the restart proved to be a poor one. Nevertheless, the team are confident in the car’s pace.

“All in all, despite the fact that we scored no points here in Melbourne today, we’re quietly encouraged by the progress we’ve made over the winter,” Eric Boullier said, “and we firmly believe that, given a less confused qualifying session and an incident-free race, we’ll be in a position to score points in Grands Prix to come.”

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2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

RICCIARDO HAPPY WITH FOURTH PLACE FINISH

CHRIS STEVENS @CSTEVENS_JOURNO

Daniel Ricciardo finished in 4th place in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver opted for the soft tyres after the red flag period, but they would not reach the end of the race. Another stop, this time for supersofts, saw the Australian then recover the position he lost to Felipe Massa’s Williams.

“Today was fun for me, it was so good to be back racing,” Ricciardo said, “I came on the radio more than once expressing my joy to just being out there competing. That joy was emphasized by having a good car underneath me.

“At the start we were able to pick cars off. We had good pace with high 20

fuel on the Option and it was fun to be able to pass cars, I was enjoying that as always. I was sitting in a podium spot towards the end and I was hoping the tyres would last but I knew they weren’t going to hold and I would have to pit again. But fourth is still a good result and I’m happy we’re not that far

off Mercedes and Ferrari.”

The team showed signs of improved straight line speed with their new Tag Heuer-branded engine. Ricciardo was not only able to stay close to cars on the straights, but he made good passes on multiple Mercedes-powered cars, including the Williams which is known for its straight line speed.

“A great drive from Daniel at his home race, he drove a competitive race from start to finish. It was always a long shot for a podium but he did everything possible today. It’s encouraging to see the pace of the car in race trim,” said Team Principal Christian Horner.

“It’s a shame that Dany [Kvyat] wasn’t able to start the race today, he seems to be cursed here in Melbourne. He unfortunately had a CU-H failure on the power unit, but he’ll be back in Bahrain.”

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UP NEXT...

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT

1-3 APRIL

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