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| 2014 Ausztrál GP |
A következő címkéjű bejegyzések mutatása: Grand Prix. Összes bejegyzés megjelenítése
A következő címkéjű bejegyzések mutatása: Grand Prix. Összes bejegyzés megjelenítése
2014. november 18., kedd
2014. november 17., hétfő
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Prev.
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| Yas Marina hosts the Formula One |
For the third time in the circuit’s six-year history, Yas Marina hosts the Formula One season finale. This promises to be a race to remember, with double points on offer (50 for a win, instead of 25) and lots of potential movement in the points standings. The circuit layout contains three distinct sections: some fast corners in sector one, long straights in sector two and tight corners in sector three, reminiscent of a street circuit. Car set-up is a compromise between straight-line speed and achieving good traction out of the slow corners, and engineers have to be wary of the cooling track temperatures as the sun goes down in what is the only twilight race of the year. Overtaking should be possible in the two DRS zones, and with so many points at stake this weekend it’s fair to expect plenty of action.
Rob Smedley
Abu Dhabi has a great mix of long straights with high straight-line speed, big braking and a tight twisty section at the end of the lap. Our main focus is going to be on the third sector and getting the balance right there, which is always difficult due to the changes throughout the weekend with the temperature. You get a large variation in temperature throughout the sessions. It’s important to focus on the dusk to early evening track as that is the time the race will take place. The track has great facilities and you always get a really good crowd, who will hopefully be behind us. Our ambitions remain the same, to finish with a decent haul of points and finish third in the championship.
Abu Dhabi has a great mix of long straights with high straight-line speed, big braking and a tight twisty section at the end of the lap. Our main focus is going to be on the third sector and getting the balance right there, which is always difficult due to the changes throughout the weekend with the temperature. You get a large variation in temperature throughout the sessions. It’s important to focus on the dusk to early evening track as that is the time the race will take place. The track has great facilities and you always get a really good crowd, who will hopefully be behind us. Our ambitions remain the same, to finish with a decent haul of points and finish third in the championship.
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| Felipe Massa & Rob Smedley |
Felipe Massa
The track is like a street-circuit in one sector with slow corners and barriers quite close, and then a traditional circuit in the other with very long straights and flowing corners. We race in the evening but practice during the heat of the day, so to adapt the car towards cooler conditions is important, it can save a lot of time if you get this right. Being the final race of the season and with double points it is a very important race to finish in the top ten.
The track is like a street-circuit in one sector with slow corners and barriers quite close, and then a traditional circuit in the other with very long straights and flowing corners. We race in the evening but practice during the heat of the day, so to adapt the car towards cooler conditions is important, it can save a lot of time if you get this right. Being the final race of the season and with double points it is a very important race to finish in the top ten.
Valtteri Bottas
Abu Dhabi is going to be an exciting race and it could play out one of two ways. The double points could be interesting and we will try and play it to our advantage. We have been trying to secure our position in the championship and so continue to focus on this, but I can still finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship I will focus on this as well. It’s a nice place to go to, the temperature is warm, the people are friendly and the facilities good so I am looking forward to the race.
Abu Dhabi is going to be an exciting race and it could play out one of two ways. The double points could be interesting and we will try and play it to our advantage. We have been trying to secure our position in the championship and so continue to focus on this, but I can still finish fourth in the Drivers’ Championship I will focus on this as well. It’s a nice place to go to, the temperature is warm, the people are friendly and the facilities good so I am looking forward to the race.
2014. november 13., csütörtök
2014. november 11., kedd
Exclusive Claire Williams Q&A: Don't rule us out in Abu Dhabi
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| Claire Williams |
Deputy team principal Claire Williams speaks about the team's stunning 2014 turnaround, their plans for a 2016 championship challenge, why talk of signing Fernando Alonso was wide of the mark, and why they could yet play 'kingmaker' at Yas Marina...
Q: Claire, Brazil was another podium weekend for Williams - this time through Felipe Massa, and in front of his home crowd. Can you really believe what has happened at Williams in the last 12 months? You have jumped from ninth in the constructors' standings to third...
Claire Williams: Ha, if you had said to any of us this time last year, when we had scored our first multiple points - four to be precise - in the United States Grand Prix, that we would be in P3 at this time next year, I don't think we would have believed it. But the team has done a fantastic job to effect this turnaround and I am so proud of everybody involved. It is the reward of all our hard work. But as Frank [Williams] always says, 'It is P3 - we have got to win!' So it would be wonderful to end this year with a race win. With how it is now, I think people in the team will be disappointed if we don't win a race - but everybody has to remember where we came from.
Q: There is only one race left...
CW: …and we've shown that we have a car that is consistent at every race track, so I don't see why there shouldn't be an opportunity for us. Sure, it will depend on circumstances, as both Mercedes are hard to beat - but why not?
Q: A Williams victory, or a second place, in Abu Dhabi has the potential to influence who wins the 2014 title - and Nico Rosberg says he has to motivate Felipe…
CW: Oh, that's put the pressure on us. But when it happens it happens - that's Formula One.
Q: Williams could be the 'kingmaker'...
CW: Funny… I haven't thought about that.
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| Felipe |
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2014. november 10., hétfő
F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Massa overcomes errors for home podium
Felipe Massa delighted the home crowd by taking third in the Brazilian Grand Prix, but he didn't make it easy for himself.
Massa had to overcome an early stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane and a mistake in his final stop, when he went into the wrong box, but still had the pace with his Williams to take a spot on the rostrum and finish best of the rest behind the dominant Mercedes' of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
“I am so happy for my race, so many mistakes also though,” he said up on the podium. “I had the drive through, the five seconds for the penalty for the sped limiter. Also I stop in the McLaren [pit box] because it was a similar and it just was prepared before my garage. But the car was fantastic.
“I am so grateful for the pace.”
Speaking in the post-race press conference, he emphasised just how much the result meant and how much he appreciated the home support, although he was not happy with his errors.
“I think the race was amazing - everything that happened in my race today. So, I think the most important thing was that the pace was there, the car was quick. I have been so happy with the car during the whole all weekend,” he continued. “The car was so competitive – unfortunately not enough to beat these guys here [the Mercedes'], which is winning all the races.”
“I am not happy with my mistakes today, however,” he added. “I just got a problem when I braked for the [first] pitstop, I pressed the pit-limiter but for whatever reason the pit-limiter was not inside, and then just past the speed I brake, I press again and it was a problem I had today.
“Then I managed to catch the guys [ahead]. The car was fantastic. I managed to overtake many cars, catch [Jenson] Button as well, when he was in front. Then I stop. I was opening the gap compared to Jenson to about five or six seconds, maybe even more. Then I stop in the wrong garage. I stop in the McLaren [garage] because they change our garage this race and we are a lot more in the middle and McLaren with the similar colour – not white but you know – I thought it was our garage. They were ready. Then I just stopped there and lost a lot of time because of that.
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Massa had to overcome an early stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane and a mistake in his final stop, when he went into the wrong box, but still had the pace with his Williams to take a spot on the rostrum and finish best of the rest behind the dominant Mercedes' of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
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| F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Massa overcomes errors for home podium |
“I am so happy for my race, so many mistakes also though,” he said up on the podium. “I had the drive through, the five seconds for the penalty for the sped limiter. Also I stop in the McLaren [pit box] because it was a similar and it just was prepared before my garage. But the car was fantastic.
“I am so grateful for the pace.”
Speaking in the post-race press conference, he emphasised just how much the result meant and how much he appreciated the home support, although he was not happy with his errors.
“I think the race was amazing - everything that happened in my race today. So, I think the most important thing was that the pace was there, the car was quick. I have been so happy with the car during the whole all weekend,” he continued. “The car was so competitive – unfortunately not enough to beat these guys here [the Mercedes'], which is winning all the races.”
“I am not happy with my mistakes today, however,” he added. “I just got a problem when I braked for the [first] pitstop, I pressed the pit-limiter but for whatever reason the pit-limiter was not inside, and then just past the speed I brake, I press again and it was a problem I had today.
“Then I managed to catch the guys [ahead]. The car was fantastic. I managed to overtake many cars, catch [Jenson] Button as well, when he was in front. Then I stop. I was opening the gap compared to Jenson to about five or six seconds, maybe even more. Then I stop in the wrong garage. I stop in the McLaren [garage] because they change our garage this race and we are a lot more in the middle and McLaren with the similar colour – not white but you know – I thought it was our garage. They were ready. Then I just stopped there and lost a lot of time because of that.
Read more >>>>>
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