Brazilian GP 2014 Build news, team quotes&pictures.

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – Raikkonen: “We have to believe”

Interlagos, 6 November – It was here in 2007 that Kimi Raikkonen won the World Championship with Ferrari, but today in his media session he reflected on a somewhat less successful year. “Every season when you don’t win the championship, you can more or less forget it,” said the straight-talking Finn. “You are here to win races and championships and if you don’t manage it you have failed, whether you are second or twentieth. It’s been a hard year but we have learned things that will help us in future. But it’s not much fun when you have difficulties race after race. That’s how it goes sometimes in Formula 1, but we have to believe in what we do and I’m sure we can get back to where we should be. During this year, we improved a lot on the engine and electronics side and for sure the car has got more downforce now. It’s a much better car than it was at the beginning of the year.”

So would next year’s car fix the problem? “I’ve seen numbers from it and so on, but it’s the same story every year; you don’t really know until you get the car on the circuit,” replied the Scuderia Ferrari driver. “They started very early on the design of next year’s car and the designers listened to us and made some changes to try and improve in areas where we feel this year’s car has been lacking in performance. I believe we can have a much better car and a much better package. How good? We will know in February next year.”

Raikkonen then went on to explain exactly why he does not get on with the F14 Ts tendency to understeer in corners. “Since go-karts, if the front end doesn’t turn in and bite, I have never liked it. My driving style is more to try and carry the speed in the corners, keeping the speed mid corner. That’s the way I’m used to doing it and obviously I change my style a little every year. I believe that is the fastest way for me and if I can’t put the car where I want and brake the way I want because of locking wheels or sliding from the front, then it’s going to become a guessing game and if you miss the line through one corner then you miss it through the next ones. It sounds a small thing, but over a lap it becomes quite a big deficit.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-raikkonen#sthash.DZzejCDu.dpuf

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – Alonso: “Probably my best season”

Interlagos, 6 November – It’s been an overcast and humid day in Sao Paulo, but at least the rain held off while Fernando Alonso met the media in the Interlagos paddock for the usual Thursday press interrogation.

In fact, the threat of a wet weekend shaped the first question, the press suggesting that a rainy race might provide the Scuderia Ferrari driver with his best chance of a victory this season. “Even with the rain, we don’t have the possibility to win,” said the Spaniard. “After only getting two podiums this season, we cannot expect a few drops of rain to allow us to win. Unfortunately, we are not at that level, however it’s true there are more opportunities when it’s wet, but it’s also a risk, as you can gain positions or lose everything.”

Even though Alonso isn’t in the fight for this year’s title, he was asked about the contentious topic of double points at the final race in a fortnight’s time. “It’s the way it is and there is nothing you can do about it,” was his philosophical response. “If you win it thanks to that, it’s ok, but if you lose it, it would be a shame. But you can also win because of a mechanical failure, or a penalty that wasn’t fair, so from that point of view there are always different things that can affect the championship and double points is just one more thing.”

Naturally, the Ferrari man was asked about his future and why he had not made public any decision. “I don’t think there is any deadline to decide: this week McLaren is saying something, last week Lopez of Lotus said we were talking, which is true, but it’s for a project outside Formula 1. Everyday there’s a rumour and today I read that I have bought Marussia for one dollar! It’s absolutely not true.”

At this time of year, the journalists are preparing their season reviews and Fernando was asked to pick out his highs and lows. “It’s been difficult and challenging, but probably my best season, because I had a tough challenge this year, including having a world champion on the other side of the garage and I was performing at my best,” he concluded. “Hungary was the best moment, leading the race until two laps from the end and finishing second and the worst moment was Japan, with the terrible feeling because of Jules’ accident and then in the race I did only three corners before retiring.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-alonso#sthash.3TwtKEuI.dpuf

[Rob]

North America to South America.

Maranello, 4 November – After the North American round, the Formula 1 circus flies 8000 kilometres to South America and the Brazilian huge city of Sao Paolo. It’s more than just distance that separates the two venues, as we go from the crisp modern facility that is the Circuit of the Americas to the “characterful” and cramped Interlagos paddock. And while both circuits run anti-clockwise, the Brazilian track, the second shortest on the calendar after Monaco, requires a different approach, as Scuderia Ferrari’s Engineering Director Pat Fry told www.ferrari.com. “The downforce level we normally run here is slightly lower than in Austin, which is classically very near the maximum, mainly to get the tyres working. Many of the corners in Brazil involve braking and turning, producing high lateral forces, which means it’s quite difficult to get the car balance correct, so there are quite a few challenges in the medium to low speed corners. Apart from that, you need to get the drag level right for the long run up the hill and down the pit straight.”

The original tyre choice that Pirelli had made for Brazil was the Hard and the Medium, however when the sport’s tyre supplier assessed the fact the whole track has been resurfaced, it changed its decision. “When it became clear that the nature of the surface was going to give the tyres an easier time, they’ve now come to a choice that everyone is going to be more happy with, namely the Medium and the Soft compounds” says Fry. “In the past, tyre wear has been severe, pushing you towards a multi-stop race. I’m not sure what the case will be with the resurfacing, so we will have to wait and see.”

However, very often at this time of year, the slick tyres do not see much use, as rain can usually play a significant role at this race. Currently the forecast is for the odd shower on Friday and Saturday, with hot and sunny conditions for the race. But it’s too early to be sure. Dry Friday practice would be welcomed by the Scuderia Ferrari crew, for reasons which Fry reveals: “although we are coming from a back-to-back race with Austin, there is still a large number of test items we have got to try and get through aimed at our 2015 project.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-north-america-south-america#sthash.iHWAN5oS.dpuf

[Rob]

Brazilian challenge.

Maranello, 3 November–Sunday sees the 42nd running of the Brazilian Grand Prix. The race first appeared on the F1 calendar in 1973 and has been a constant fixture since then. It has been held on just two circuits, Jacarepagua and its current home Interlagos. Ferrari has ten wins to its name here, which is a 25% success rate.

Lauda after the Brazilians. The first three editions, held on the eight kilometres or so of the Interlagos track, were dominated by the home drivers: Emerson Fittipaldi won the first two, with the third going to Carlos Pace. The home run was interrupted by Niki Lauda and Ferrari in 1976, which led to a trio of wins for the Scuderia. In fact, for the next two years, the race was won by Argentina’s Carlos Reutemann, who still remembers the 1977 event as one of the hardest races of his life, so suffocating was the heatwave which hit the track on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

Rio. Reutemann’s 1978 win came at a new circuit, Jacarepagua (literally crocodile marsh) on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. At the time, Interlagos was undergoing renovation work, which would be completed in time for the 1979 race. However, the track remained dangerous and very bumpy, to the point that after 1980, the venue was abandoned again. So the race returned to Jacarepagua until 1989, when Ferrari won again, with Nigel Mansell. That day, apart from taking the win, the Englishman also wrote a page of F1 history by recording the first victory at the wheel of a car, the F1-89, fitted with a semi-automatic gearbox, with gearchanges selected on the steering wheel. It was the opening race of the season.

Return to Interlagos. In the meantime, Interlagos was completely overhauled, with the track length reduced by almost half, going from 7.8 to 4.3 kilometres and a completely new pits complex was built, while the track had much improved safety standards. In 1990, Ferrari inaugurated the track in the best way possible, with Alain Prost winning at the wheel of the F1-90, to beat his title rival, the Paulista Ayrton Senna, who had yet to win his home race – he would do it the following year and again in 1993.

The Schumacher era. Scuderia Ferrari would not win again in Brazil until 2000, when Michael Schumacher was the dominant force. He did it again two years later, when the early part of the race was enlivened by a duel between the German and his rival at the time, Juan Pablo Montoya. In 2006, Interlagos was the scene of Michael’s last appearance as a Ferrari driver. After suffering a puncture, the German staged a fantastic comeback, making up almost a lap to close up to the leaders. Felipe Massa won, but Schumacher stole the show with an incredible drive to fourth place at the flag.

The title fights. The 2007 and 2008 races were real nail-biters for the fans. In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen arrived in Interlagos lying third in the points table but the Ferrari man left the circuit as world champion. Everything that could happen did happen in that race: series leader Lewis Hamilton had a problem which cost him a lap, while perfect team-work between Kimi and Felipe Massa handed the race and the title to the Finn. The following year, Felipe was fighting for the title at his home race, again up against Hamilton. Massa soon built up a healthy lead in the race, but his rival continued to hold on to a championship clinching position. However, with rain falling in the closing stages Hamilton dropped to sixth. As Felipe took the chequered flag and the win, he was world champion for all of 30 seconds. Then, at the very last corner on the final lap Hamilton managed to pass Timo Glock in the Toyota to take the fifth place that meant he took the title crown. The Scuderia was left with the satisfaction of winning the Constructors’ title. The championship was also decided in Brazil in 2012, fought out between Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. After the start, Vettel spun and was hit by Bruno Senna’s Williams. However, his car remained in one piece and the German managed to finish high enough up the order to take the title from Fernando who finished second.

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-challenge#sthash.p8KuyYjB.dpuf

[stefa]

Probably last chance of at least that elusive one victory in this season

[KimiBot]

F1 2014 - 18 Brazilian GP - Thursday Press Conference



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qe8MreUIoc

[stefa]

Is it raining in Brazil?

[fratelliferrari]

Is it raining in Brazil?

Don't know but we should know that very soon now! Only 10 minutes to go before FP1

[KimiBot]

Cloudy, but no rain.

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – 30 laps for Fernando and Kimi
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Interlagos, 7 November–The Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, ended the first free practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix in fourth and eighth places respectively. Early in the session there was very little grip and the lap times were slow, partly due to the brand new surface, which is still seeping oil. Its condition improved rapidly so the times came down gradually throughout the session.

Fernando and Kimi did 30 laps each, evaluating the Medium tyres and working on the car set-up. Alonso’s best lap was a 1.13.742 which was good enough for fourth on the time sheet, while Raikkonen stopped the clocks in 1.14.114, to go eighth.

Nico Rosberg was fastest with a 1.12.784, two tenths faster than his Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Ahead of Fernando was Daniil Kvyat in the Toro rosso, while splitting the two Ferraris we find Massa (Williams,) Verstappen (Toro Rosso) and Maldonado (Lotus.) The second session starts at 14h00 (17h00 CET.)

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-30-laps-fernando-kimi#sthash.8YXtSUEa.dpuf

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – Kimi and Fernando third and seventh
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Interlagos, 7 November – The Scuderia Ferrari drivers finished third and seventh in the second free practice session for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The afternoon session started with very high air and track temperatures and this made it harder to set good lap times. In the second part of the 90 minutes, the track temperature actually dropped and, even on the Soft tyres, the times got faster again.

The Scuderia drivers continued to work on set-up and a comparison of the Medium and Soft compounds brought here by Pirelli. In the afternoon, Kimi did 32 laps the quickest in 1.12.696 to secure third place on the time sheet. Fernando Alonso covered 20 laps, stopping the clocks in 1.13.122 to go seventh.

In the last third of the session, as usual, the team began working on long runs and with just over 20 minutes left, Fernando parked the car at the side of the track as the engine caught fire. His power unit, which had completed a high mileage, had failed and the incident brought out the red flags. When the session resumed, Esteban Gutierrez also parked on track in the Sauber. This compromised almost everyone’s long runs. Alonso’s power unit change does not involve a penalty. Once again, Nico Rosberg was fastest for Mercedes in 1.12.123, ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. In between the two Ferraris came Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.


- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-kimi-fernando-seventh#sthash.uY127d5P.dpuf

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – Pat Fry: “Unpredictable conditions”
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Pat Fry: “The new track surface meant that understanding tyre behaviour was immediately the main focus of our attention and so, in both sessions we tried to do as many laps as possible. In the first session, the weather gave us a lot of room to manoeuvre and the times came down lap after lap as the track improved. In the morning we did some testing and worked on car balance, then in the afternoon, evaluating the consistency of the two compounds was complicated by the rising temperatures, with the asphalt almost 20 degrees higher than in the morning. On the one hand, we got a reasonably clear picture of where we stand in these conditions. Now we have to bear in mind that, if it rains, we would have to start again from zero, but in dry conditions it will also be very important to understand to what extent graining will affect performance. Fernando’s power unit had done a very high mileage and we were well aware that this would have been its last Friday on track, although it’s a shame to have lost the final 20 minutes of track time.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-pat-fry-unpredictable-conditions#sthash.6WeVDIqL.dpuf



Brazilian GP – Fernando Alonso: “Rain the unknown factor”
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Fernando Alonso: “Today we knew that the power unit had reached the end of its cycle. So there was a risk we wouldn’t finish the second session, but this was part of the programme we have been on for a few races now. It’s always a shame not being able to use all the time available, even though I don’t think it affected our work too much. The new track surface produced a lot of grip and it was extremely difficult to put together a good lap, because tyre behaviour changed from corner to corner. With a new surface, what effect the rain will have is always an unknown factor, so it’s impossible to make predictions. That would have been the case at Sochi too, but it didn’t rain there, so it means we have to be ready for every eventuality.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-fernando-alonso-rain-unknown-factor#sthash.53dTeOE2.dpuf

Brazilian GP – Kimi Raikkonen: “Good responses”
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Kimi Raikkonen: “This was a better Friday than past ones and thanks to the work we did on the car, we got a good response from the changes we made in both sessions. In the first session we concentrated on set-up work and aerodynamic measurements. Because of my usual problems with the front end, we tried to eliminate anything that might have been causing them. In the afternoon, on the Soft tyres, the lap times were good and I’m sure that, without traffic, I could have done even better. Because of the red flags, we were unable to do a race simulation, but everything can change over the next days, because the weather forecast is very uncertain. In the dry, the car is going quite well, but we know that, if it rains, the track conditions could change things around.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-kimi-raikkonen-good-responses#sthash.tzKqih4c.dpuf

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[Brembo]

Rob once again !! Great photos!! Thank you again. By the way Kimi makes a lot of sense in that imterview, explaining what's up .

[fratelliferrari]

Nice photos Rob!

[KimiBot]

F1 2014 - 18 Brazilian GP - Friday Press Conference


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6h9Jj6doog&list=UUX9rgSBYk_hJrSTM7KKHYUA

[fratelliferrari]

Thanks for posting Kimibot!

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – Pat Fry: “Six drivers in a tenth”
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Pat Fry: “Qualifying was very tight for us, as it was for Red Bull and McLaren, while yet again in Interlagos, Williams and Mercedes proved to have the best package. That was clear from Q2, when the gaps were very close from fifth to tenth places, with the six drivers split by just one tenth. Kimi and Fernando made no mistakes and, even with these grid positions, we will try and exploit any opportunity tomorrow. The weather forecast is still uncertain and usually it’s difficult to predict here. It will be interesting to see how the tyres perform, given the little long run data we got yesterday because of the numerous red flags. Now we will work on preparing for any conditions, aware that apart from performance, reliability will also play a key role.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-pat-fry-4#sthash.aho1W4vE.dpuf

Fernando Alonso: “Score as many points as possible”
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Fernando Alonso: “Today’s result more or less reflects the way the whole weekend has gone, even if here, a tenth of a second can be the difference between fifth and tenth places. Both compounds worked very well, but I’m sure graining and degradation will give us a hard time tomorrow. It will be a long race and, apart from reliability, the key factor will be tyre management. As usual we will give it our all to finish in front of our competitors and score points in the Constructors’ championship.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-fernando-alonso-4#sthash.OI4kt5XD.dpuf

Kimi Raikkonen: “Anything can happen in the race”
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Kimi Raikkonen: “This weekend, I’ve had a better feeling in the car and, in general, I’ve had no major problems while I also felt more comfortable with the front end. We lacked speed today and even though this was our quickest lap of the weekend, it was not enough to finish higher up the grid. Obviously, I’m a bit disappointed to be tenth and, without having done a race simulation yesterday, we are a bit in the dark like most teams. However, what counts is that finally I feel much more comfortable at the wheel, which means we are making progress.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-kimi-raikkonen#sthash.vyaWdoap.dpuf

[Rob]

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[Rob]

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[fratelliferrari]

Thank you as always Rob, some really great images once again :clap

[Rob]

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[Senna4Ever]

Thanks Rob ...

[Rob]

Brazilian GP – Pat Fry: “Complicated tyre management”
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Pat Fry: “Like the majority of the grid, today we were planning to run a three stop strategy, as we knew that the increase in temperatures, the nature of the circuit and the abrasive track surface would impact heavily on tyre behaviour. Managing the two compounds was extremely complicated, with an early first stop to get rid of the Softs, because of graining, to take on the Mediums which degraded rapidly but in a more linear fashion. The decision to switch Kimi to a two stop paid off as, surprisingly, he was able to run consistently for no less than 36 laps. Fernando found himself fighting with Vettel in the Red Bull, who probably had a bit more pace today, but taking sixth place along with Kimi’s seventh, gives us a reasonable margin in the Constructors’ classification over McLaren. Overall, it was a positive weekend and, in future we must ensure we get on top of any reliability problems, like the ones we’ve had over the past few days.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-pat-fry-complicated-tyre-management#sthash.2PeFWiFi.dpuf

Fernando Alonso: “The position I deserve”
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Fernando Alonso: “After a far from easy weekend, I am reasonably pleased with the outcome of the race, because even if we weren’t very competitive, we managed to score a good number of points. Today, degradation was particularly high, especially in the first stint on the Softs, which lasted less time than expected because of graining. When I passed Kimi, my tyres were newer than his, as he was on a two stop, but I was having to save fuel and after that overtaking move, there was nothing more I could do. Now there’s just one race to go this season and in terms of the Constructors’ Championship, we hope to manage to keep McLaren behind us in the final race in Abu Dhabi. As for myself, I reckon I’m in the position I deserve, because others have done better.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-fernando-alonso-the-position-deserve#sthash.zMNPFnzB.dpuf

Kimi Raikkonen: “Continued progress”
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Kimi Raikkonen: “Overall, this has been a positive weekend and even today in the race, I felt very good in the car. During the second stint, we realised that if we went for a two stop strategy, we could make up ground, but then, at my second pit stop, I lost valuable time and that cost me some places. In the final part of the race, I had to fight off Button for a few laps and when Fernando caught me, tyre degradation meant I couldn’t fend him off. We leave Interlagos with a good feeling and even if we still have a lot of work ahead of us, this continued progress makes me confident for the future.”

- See more at: http://formula1.ferrari.com/news/brazilian-gp-kimi-raikkonen-continued-progress#sthash.CFtaPC7W.dpuf