2014 Spanish Grand Prix review

This time I had to leave right after the race so didn't have any time to write the review until now. Sorry for the delay guys! Let's get right to it then..

In the start Fernando Alonso and Valtteri Bottas got very good starts as they usually do. No surprise there but it was worth mentioning.

Kevin Magnussen on the other hand did what he has done in every race. Broke his front wing! He has complained that the F1 cars are much longer than he expected and can't see properly where it starts and ends. Eric Boullier said that Magnussen is still learning just like Romain Grosjean did at Lotus a couple of years ago.

Speaking of Grosjean, have anybody noticed how much better he is than Pastor Maldonado? Maldonado crashed AGAIN! This time the victim (yes the victim) was Marcus Ericsson. It didn't do him that much harm though because he is still going to be last with his Caterham.

Lotus on the other hand is very close to the pace they had last year and the season before that. Think about it! Grosjean is relatively high up on the grid and Kimi used to be even higher so it looks normal right? If that's true then we can clearly see that Maldonado is NOT a very good driver. Let's see if his money is good enough next year to give him another chance.

What about Ferrari? They were not that good here either. When I looked at some footage of the cars coming in to a corner it was pretty clear. All of the other teams turned normally but the Ferraris were shaking like hell and had some weird vibration going on. This is exactly what Kimi Räikkönen has been complaining about. Well... there is a lot they have been complaining about but that's one thing.

This time Kimi had some new things to complain about and who can blame him? He was ahead of Alonso the whole race and it didn't look like the order would change. Then they changed Alonso's strategy which let Alonso pass Kimi with newer tyres.

Ferrari said that Alonso needed the new tyres to catch Sebastian Vettel but why didn't they give the tyres to Kimi who was in front and had a better chance? This is where I am a bit confused and please correct me if there is something I am missing here. Were they favoring Alonso or was it just a big mistake?

Kimi was very unhappy and asked the team on the radio what is going on. The press also asked Kimi why Ferrari did what they did but Kimi didn't want to answer that question. He got even more angry when they asked him if he is a number two driver because of the strange strategy of Ferrari.

Red Bull is clearly the second best team right now! Daniel Ricciardo was third and best of the rest. He also won his teammate again but this time Vettel was very close behind. It's looking better for him race after race. Vettel even set the fastest lap.

The Mercedes drivers had some weird body language after the race. It was clear that Nico Rosberg was very unhappy with the result and Lewis Hamilton was very glad to snatch the championship lead from Rosberg.
The Mercedes staff had mixed feelings because they wanted to say sorry to Rosberg and congratz to Hamilton.

The next race is in Monaco where Rosberg lives so he might have a small advantage there. He has been driving those streets his whole life and he won there last year.

Then it's time for my predictions and the actual results.

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - CORRECT
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - CORRECT

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. Sebastian Vettel did that for the first time this season.

Surprise: Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari - He will find some new speed finally! - CORRECT! But Ferrari screwed up his race strategy or favored Alonso. You make the decision.

I have never come this close of getting everything right. Only the fastest lap was wrong but I still got full points in the Predictors League.

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE next time! Here are the rules:

POINTS: 1st - 3
2nd - 5
3rd - 10

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes.

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps.

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

The constructors championship standings after the Spanish GP

1	Mercedes	197
2	Red Bull Racing-Renault	84
3	Ferrari	66
4	Force India-Mercedes	57
5	Williams-Mercedes	46
6	McLaren-Mercedes	43
7	STR-Renault	8
8	Lotus-Renault	4
9	Sauber-Ferrari	0
10	Marussia-Ferrari	0
11	Caterham-Renault	0

FIA post-race press conference - Spain

Drivers: 1 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 2 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 3 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS
(Conducted by Eddie Jordan) 

Q: What a great race, what a great finish - Lewis Hamilton, ladies and gentlemen, four race wins in a row; let’s hear it from him. 
Lewis Hamilton: A big thank you to my team, they’ve just done an incredible job this year. I’m really happy with the support I’ve had here in Spain, it’s the best I’ve ever had, so thank you to everyone in the grandstands, it means the world to me. My first win here in Spain, it means everything to me. 

Q: We heard you grumbling, or not quite happy with your team about the graining and also about the time loss in the pits. Tell me, were you upset? 
LH: No, not for the pits. I wasn’t fast enough really today; Nico was quicker. I struggled a lot with the balance and really had to rely on my engineers a lot more to give me the gaps and to try to find where I could find time. And also with all my settings, I was moving them up and down, up and down really trying to find extra time. But Nico was just generally quicker this weekend but fortunately I was able to keep him behind.

Q: Well, I needn’t tell everybody out there but you’ve now taken over the lead in the championship. Nico, what a fantastic fight, just like Bahrain, right up there at the end. How many more laps do you think you needed to pass him? 
Nico Rosberg: I think one more to be honest, one more I could have given it a good go. I wasn’t close enough to give it a go there but next lap I would have. But unfortunately that was it. So, a bit gutted but still, second place, still close to the championship and many more races to go anyway.

Q: I needn’t remind you or anybody else, but you’ve been on this podium every race of this season so far. Going now to your home race, Monaco, where you won last year, surely you can make a massive effort for there? 
NR: Definitely. I’ll be going there to do it one better and try to come first there and repeat the win from last year. That’s the aim and we’ll see if it works out. And for those of you who don’t know Eddie is my number one favourite neighbour in Monaco.

Q: I don’t they needed to know that! They want to know all about you. Ladies and gentlemen we’ll leave my neighbourly friend here and move to young Australian superstar, the man who has lit up the season so far from a rookie point of view, Daniel Ricciardo. I don’t want to be doom and gloom here, but you were 50 seconds behind, what are you going to do to catch these guys up?
Daniel Ricciardo: Thanks…

Q: I just thought I’d bring you back down to reality a bit.
DR: No, you’re right. They were a long way ahead. I think coming into the race today we knew a boring race would be a pretty good one for us. We knew we didn’t really have the paced for Mercedes. We looked like a third-place car and in the end that’s what it was, we had a pretty comfortable third- place and we just had to focus on getting the tyres to last two stops and that was it. Really nice to be on the podium and I’m sure I’ll be able to keep it this time.

Q: Lewis, are you surprised with the dominance, because a lot of people called into question your idea of coming to Mercedes maybe 18 months ago. Had you got this in the back of your mind that this was all the potential that was being told to you?
LH: Yeah, sitting down with Ross at my mum’s house at the kitchen table, yeah this is the idea that I was given. I really, truly believed it was going to happen, but I could never have imagined us to have a 50-second gap to Red Bull in a race. So it’s just an exceptional job from the team and I feel truly blessed to firstly be a part of this team, to be contributing, getting the results. This is our fourth 1-2 together, it’s just unreal.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: So, Lewis, where do we start? Four wins in a row, fourth Mercedes 1-2 in a row, which is fairly hard to achieve. First win for you in Spain and you’re leading the Driver’s World Championship for the first time since, I think, 2012. Which of those things means the most to you?
LH: Of course getting my first grand prix win here after trying for eight years. It’s very difficult to really put into words the feeling when you come to a race and have a result like this. Never have I had a car like this and obviously we’ve never had a gap like this to anyone before. Nico did a fantastic job today, it was a struggle to keep him behind, but I’m grateful that I was able to. I just feel that it is such a huge blessing, for not only me but for all the guys in the team, because of all the hard work they’ve done for many years now, but finally they are starting to see the fruits of their labour. So, for me, yeah, just enjoying every moment, every step of the way. And it’s really great today we have our board members, our bosses from Mercedes, so it was really good to… every time Dr Zetsche came last year, we generally had a bad race, so it was really important to get a good result for him to get rid of that negative bug, or bad luck that I guess he thought he was bringing, so I’m really grateful for the team being able to do that today.

Q: Nico, the start didn’t give you the platform or opportunity that maybe you’d hoped for. From there, like Bahrain, you tried something different on the strategy. Like Bahrain, Lewis said you were quicker today - but unlike Bahrain you didn’t really have a chance to attack, particularly at the end. Why was that? Why did it work out the way it did?
NR: The start unfortunately was poor. It’s a bit of a weakness that we have at the moment, just inconsistent and now I’ve had a couple of bad starts in a row - actually three bad starts in the races. And that’s costly, you know? Because, always losing out at the start, that’s not good, need to work on that. Other than that, the race, yeah, I felt comfortable, race pace was good. Best thing to do was to switch strategies. That was planned before the race. Worked out well, worked out perfectly - but this is a really, really difficult track to get close to the guy in front. I still got close, y’know Turn 10, the last lap. Could have got gone for a kamikaze move but it wouldn’t have worked. Lewis did a great job the whole weekend and just that little bit ahead. But there’s a lot of positives for me to take out of it. I’m fully motivated to just try to get that little bit extra and to edge him out next time - and it’s doable.

Q: Daniel, hopefully the first trophy you’ll be able to keep. Obviously the story of your race, a difficult start, losing the ground to Bottas but then getting him with the undercut first round of stops, then you were Billy-No-Mates, on your own driving around on your own - tell us how it worked out for you.
DR: Yeah. Not exactly the start I wanted. I think initially the launch felt OK but we lost a bit of traction after that. Bottas got past me. The first stint I tried to hang in there, had, let’s say, a pseudo-attempt into Turn One. I got underneath him but it wasn’t deep enough to pull the move off and then, yeah, it was just about doing an undercut and just trying to still make a two-stop work. So from then on a pretty lonely race. Unfortunately we’re not going to catch Mercedes. At least this weekend we weren’t going to, so a lonely third was not a bad result in the end.

Q: Final question to both Lewis and Nico, just looking ahead to the next couple of races that are coming up, Monaco is a track that’s been strong in the past for both of you and strong in the past for Mercedes, and then we go on to Montreal which has always been one of Lewis’s favourites. How do you go there, Nico? And your thoughts, both of you, on those two upcoming races. 
NR: Monaco: fantastic. It’s my favourite race of the year. Great memories there from last year. Looking forward to it, with the car that we have also this year, it’s going to be great. For sure the opposition is going to be closer. Especially I expect Red Bull to be a lot closer, so it’s going to be tougher for us but still, we have a strong package, engine and car. So, should go fine around Monaco and going to try and make the most of it, repeat the win from last year.

Q: Your thoughts Lewis…
LH: I think I have a bit of work to do in the next couple of weeks but of course I love those two races. Struggled last year in Monaco and struggled with this race, so need to figure out where I’m losing the time and apply it to the next race.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Frederic Ferret - L’Equipe) Question for Nico and Lewis. What was the main difficulty during the race: managing the hard tyre or doing quick laps at the end to fight to get Lewis with the medium?
NR: No, the big challenge was tyre degradation. Very, very big tyre degradation. That was really difficult to manage that. But I found my way and was quite comfortable with it, and then graining on the hard tyre which is the opposite of what we expected. We expected to have graining on the soft tyre. So it was very strange. Graining on the hard tyre and no graining on the soft tyre, it was really weird and unexpected.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez - Agencia EFE) Question for Lewis, congratulations for your first win here in Spain. Makes it 26, one more than Jim Clark and one more than Niki Lauda, one of the big guys on your team - are you planning any jokes on him tonight and how many victories can you make it this year?
LH: At the rate the team’s going, we’re looking strong for at least a few more races. It’s by no means easy for me because I’ve still got a massive challenge with Nico. But, I mean, I could never had imagined winning these four races but it’s still so close, long, long way to go and, just as I was saying earlier, I’ve got a bit more time to find in this car, so going to work on it.

Q: Michael Schmidt (Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, in the race, did you experience similar problems to those you had yesterday and how did you try to dial them out? There was a lot of conversation between you and the engineers. 
LH: I did have the same problems as I had yesterday, yes. It was very strange because Friday P2 was excellent. The car was really good, degradation... I mean I was very very fast and I stopped my run with 18 laps or something like that, but if I just brought my pace down a little bit I probably could have eked it out even longer. Those changes just transformed the car and today, just not able to attack the corners due to snap oversteer, and that’s generally where Nico was catching me, through those entries of corners. 

Q: (Leonid Novozhilov - F1 Life) To the Mercedes drivers: you have won every race this year. What secret did you find and where? 
LH: I haven’t found any secrets but I think Mercedes - there is no secret really, it’s just been hard work and really constructive work. Often when you’re working towards something, sometimes you stumble and fall and then you have to build it again and the team has just been building and building, building and not really having many times when they’re falling. It’s quite remarkable, the actual car itself, the downforce is very good, I’m sure very very close with the Red Bulls and then with the engine, it’s the best engine Mercedes have made.
NR: It’s been five years, it’s been since 2010 this process started and so much has changed, it’s been such a long long way, the personnel restructuring, everything. Big big changes and now we’ve come to a point where, thanks to all the work from the past, we’re really just able... we’re becoming the best team in F1. That’s the way it is. I would still say Red Bull is the benchmark at the moment but we’re definitely shaking their chair at the moment and I think there’s the possibility that soon we will be the absolute best team, in terms of team organisation, capabilities, we’re getting there and hopefully it will be a long domination.

Q: (Dan Knutson - Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Daniel, Sebastian Vettel went from 15th to fourth, is that encouraging that the car - while not as good as a Mercedes - can slice through the opposition, or a bit worrying because it looks like he might be back up to speed and coming to challenge you?
DR: Obviously it’s the first thing you said. Yeah, really good. I just sort of heard on the radio that he was making progress through the field and when he was in fourth - I think he made a move in the last few laps so really good. I definitely see it as a positive for the team, third and fourth, particularly after his starting position. Obviously Mercedes are the top dogs at the moment but we seem to be settling ourselves nicely in that next spot and I think we’ve just got to now try and somehow creep our way closer. All the talk about Seb, I’m sure that was going to pass very soon and he’ll get to his World Champion form.

Q: (Tony Dodgins - Motorsport News) Nico, just before the first stops, on the radio we heard the team say ‘primes planned for the next stint’ and you said ‘the options are fine.’ Did that mean you wanted another set of options for the second stint or were you happy with the way it went? 
NR: There was a misunderstanding from my side because we were going to go prime second stint - there were two variables. There was one where we go prime second stint if we have graining in the first stint or I go prime second stint to try and beat Lewis, if I feel that pace-wise I can be quicker and have a shot at it. I thought they were going prime because they thought I had graining but I didn’t have graining so that’s why I was confused but then I understood: it was to offset my strategy so that I would have a chance to fight Lewis at the end so it was fine - and just what I wanted.

Q: (Borna Zsoldos - Nemzeti Sports) Lewis, at the end of the 2012 season when you announced that you would switch to Mercedes, there were some really harsh criticisms against you, stating that you are destroying your career without the guidance of your Dad. Now that you’re winning and leading the championship and have the very best car of the whole pack, is it important for you that you could really prove that you can make good decisions on your own? 
LH: Yeah, for sure, it was obviously a great call and there was never a moment that I ever doubted it but of course never could have imagined that we would be having this kind of success. I’m not one to rub it in people’s faces. I knew that I was in a good place, I knew that I was making the right decision for me and now it should be becoming more evident to people... I’m sure the people that wrote those things had an opinion at the beginning and I’m sure it’s changed now.

Q: (Adrian Rodriguez - Agencia EFE) To Nico and Lewis: you guys seem to get along pretty well right now but the problem is that just one of you can win if it keeps going this way. Do you guys believe that your relationship is going to be the same by the end of the year? 
LH: We’ve been racing together for a long time so I don’t see why not.
Q: Does that help, Nico, that you’ve been racing together for a long time? 
NR: Definitely yes, because we’ve been through this before. It’s not a first time and even back then we had discussions, debate but always... life goes on, discuss it and life goes on so that helps, yeah.

Q: (Anthony Rowlinson - F1 Racing) Lewis, you’ve said quite a few times this year about how perfect this car is, how well suited it feels. Could you explain just a little bit about how you’ve guided the development of it so that it suits your style?
LH: It’s a lengthy process. Obviously last year... when you request something to be changed, it takes some time because obviously you don’t want to take away their focus from the most important things which is getting downforce. I think it’s just taken some time. I think Michael required a little bit of a... he had a different driving style to me. He required different things, different seating position, different set-up and as I’ve come along, I’ve really tried to... and I guess Nico probably and Michael both kind of gelled and went in one direction with the balance and then as I’ve come along, mine is slightly different and I guess we’ve then created a hybrid: Nico’s come halfway, I’ve come halfway so we now require the same things from the car, but last year it was maybe a little bit different and so over the time just really, for the engineers to get to know what I require from a car and I think really working on being comfortable with the engineers as well, new engineers, it takes a while to build those relationships and that’s probably been a key strength to this year.

Q: (Livio Oricchio - Universo On Line) Nico, you are second in the championship now. Will you change your approach for the weekend, make strategies with more risks; even during the race, do you think you will change what you have been doing until now? 
NR: There’s not much to change. The race was really lost in qualifying and at the start. Those were the two opportunities I had. Qualifying was very very close, I even had a bit of a problem which we found in hindsight, where I was a little bit down on power on the straight, but the difference was not enough to get pole, but still it was actually even closer than it looked. And then just had a poor start, so those were the two shots that I had at it and it didn’t work out. And then in the race, I nearly got another opportunity at the very end but again, just not enough. One more lap and I could have given it a go, I think, but I would have done everything the same again at the start of the weekend. Of course, I also missed FP1 which doesn’t help either. Many small thing which add up and there are only very small gaps so next time. 

(source: f1.com)

FIA Friday press conference - Spain

Team representatives - Cyril Abiteboul (Caterham), Robert Fernley (Force India), John Booth (Marussia), Monisha Kaltenborn (Sauber), Franz Tost (Toro Rosso)

Q: A question to all of you to start with. What updates did you try on the car today? Obviously it’s always a talking point at the first European round. How did they perform and will they stay on the car for the rest of the weekend? 
Cyril Abiteboul: Yeah, well, like every year and like most of the teams we brought an aerodynamic package, a typical race five, Barcelona package: front and rear, front wing, rear wing, floor and so on and so forth. Will we keep them? It’s sad to say that through the lap time it’s not working great. Will we keep them - I hope, because we don’t really have an alternative. So the plan is really to make them work at that point in time.

Q: Franz?
Franz Tost: A new rear wing, new rear wing endplates, a new diffuser and they will stay on the car during the race weekend.

Q: OK. Robert? 
Robert Fernley: Mainly floor but it’s complementing a little bit what we did in China to finish off the package and they’ll be staying on the car.

Q: Monisha?
Monisha Kaltenborn: We have a new front wing, we have new sidepod deflectors, we have a new cooling system, all that aimed at reducing the weight of the car a little.

Q: Will they stay on the car?
MK: They will stay for the weekend, yes.

Q: And John?
John Booth: Yeah, we have a few small trims and gurneys but nothing major this weekend, but we’re very pleased with what we’ve added and for sure they will be staying on.

Q: Another question for all of you: obviously there were meetings last week on cost control - all the teams met and also the F1 Strategy Group met, so I’d like to ask all of you what you think of the progress so far, thoughts on next steps and the likelihood of a workable plan for 2015 as we stand here. Cyril?
CA: It was a good meeting; it’s always good to meet, in particular when there is an opportunity for all teams to be represented. It was certainly that opportunity. So, yeah, we put on the table our position. When I say ‘our’, it’s the position of the teams that are not in the Strategy Group and they are afforded less opportunity to make their position. So yeah, pretty much pleased to have that opportunity. Obviously an awful lot of work remains but pleased with that.

Q: Franz? 
FT: Yeah it was a good meeting, as Cyril already mentioned. The most important thing now is to find solutions how to reduce the costs. I think we are in a good way. I hope that at the end we will find possibilities to come down with the costs and to help the smaller teams to survive.

Q: Robert? 
RF: Yeah, I think it was a very good meeting; very positive. I think we shouldn’t lose sight though of the fact that in Geneva we agreed a certain protocol in terms of unanimous agreement to look at cost cap and we believe that still applies today and that the FIA should continue that process.

Q: Monisha?
MK: I pretty much agree with what Bob said. We could sense that there is an overall feeling to reduce costs significantly but now it’s time that we really had concrete steps and of course there are different positions on the table but it’s important that we find a solution now and implement it.

Q: And John?
JB: Yeah, we support any moves that lead towards the ultimate goal of getting the costs under control. Last week’s meeting was really a carry-on from Geneva in January. I think all teams are working hard to find the best way forward.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: (Kate Walker - Crash.net) It’s a question for all you. Since the 1st of May meeting we’ve heard that you guys have been asked to table your own propositions with regards to cost-cutting without a cap, such as scrapping FP1. Could you tell us what sort of proposals you have made and what ones you’ve discussed possibly in the meeting this morning?
MK: I’d like to clarify that we’ve not been asked to put up a proposal without a cost cap, we’ve simply been asked to put forward a proposal, which we will be doing shortly. What we want to do really is achieve something that everyone can agree to, and that’s what the FIA President asked for. So we are very gladly going to pick up the ideas, which were brought up but the Strategy Group. We’re working on that, yet we still have the position that particularly in view of this Geneva meeting, where we have a unanimous decision to a cost cap in principle, we can put these add-ons to it and that’s the basis we’re going to continue to work on.

Q: A couple of other perspectives on this: Franz?
FT: Regarding the cost cap, there are different views on this. The Strategy Group at the end, one month ago, refused the cost cap for various reasons and as the cost cap will not be any more in place, as the top teams from the beginning onwards said that it is difficult to police it and if something cannot be controlled it doesn’t make sense to bring it in. I think we should find now a way with the Technical Regulations and the Sporting Regulations to cut the costs. If I look for example, next week we have a test here in Barcelona and in my eyes it’s a totally useless spend of money, because what do we bring in? We bring a car, an extra car, we bring in extra people. We are running here for two days and each kilometre in Formula One costs you three or four hundred euros or even more and if you calculate all this at the end we have spent a lot of money. That means we have to sit together, we have to find ways, with real examples, how to come down with the costs. This is for me not to do tests during the season, to limit upgrades, all this kind of stuff, which at the end will help us to come down with the dramatic costs which we have at the current time.

Q: Robert? 
RF: I don’t have a great deal more to add what Monisha said. I think she said it very eloquently. I think the question we have is that the FIA are comfortable that a cost cap can be administered and we respect their opinion and we question, as we always have done, the legitimacy of the Strategy Group to overturn the Geneva decision.

Q: John, anything to add? 
JB: No, not really. I would question the idea that we can control costs substantially by technical and sporting regulations. History shows the banning of testing and even of wind tunnel and we’re spending more on Formula One than ever before. So I question whether it is possible to control costs with technical or sporting regulations.

Q: And a final view on this, Cyril?
CA: No, no further comment.

Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) One of the phrases that’s kept on cropping up is Strategy Group. As the disenfranchised, do you believe that the Strategy Group actually has a constructive role to play at all in the future of Formula One and should it exist at all?
RF: Yes, I do. I think the Strategy Group does have a role to play. I think as its name says it’s for developing strategies and I genuinely believe that’s very positive but I don’t believe it substitutes, obviously, for unanimous decisions.
JB: I fully endorse what Bob says. I would just add that they have a real difficult task in the Strategy Group - developing strategies and ideas that are good for the sport as a whole, not just for the six people in the Strategy Group. So they have a really hard task achieving that.
CA: Yeah, I think the same thing. I think it is difficult to elaborate a strategy in particular in a sport which is as complex as Formula One, because each time you change something it has implications that you no necessarily foresee and therefore the feeling that you can elaborate a strategy without the opportunity to discuss thoroughly with all the teams first and secondly also with technical and sporting experts is maybe a bit short-sighted. The second thing I would say, though, is that it’s good to have some opportunities to think long-term. Therefore, in a proper group and adding some sort of top-down approach rather than only a bottom-up approach I think is good and I find in that respect strategy is good, but I don’t see why half of the grid, or most, should be kept away from the discussion - at least from the discussion. Then, in terms of voting, you know I can respect, from my perspective, the voice of Caterham does not count as much as the voice of Ferrari but it doesn't mean that we cannot be part of the discussion, at least for the sake of transparency. We have the same obligation as Ferrari, for instance towards regulation: we need to enter two cars, we need to comply with the regulations and we are just as exposed from a cost perspective and therefore I think it would be fair that we have at least the opportunity to know what is being talked about and also the opportunity to express opposition. Then again, the voting mechanism can be a different issue.

Q: Thanks. Franz? 
FT: I think the system is OK, which we have currently. We have the Strategy Group, which works out strategies, and then we have the Formula One Commission and we are all sitting in there voting. It’s anyway coming to the World Motor Sport Council and for me the system is fine.

Q: Monisha?
MK: With the regard to the jobs, I’d say the duty of the Strategy Group, Bob’s put it all in there as we see it. What gives rise to a lot of concern is what’s happened now with regards to the cost decision, because a Strategy Group can look at certain things and make proposals but if there is a unanimous decision, and like Franz says, we have the Commission, we have our forums I’d say where all teams actually have the same voice and they all agree on something, we do not accept that another group can come up there and just overrule that decision.

Q: (Ralf Bach - Sport Bild) A question for all of you: to make a long story short, is the cost cap now dead or not? 
RF: I don’t believe… from our point of view, I don't believe the cost cap is dead. I think as far as we’re concerned it’s still in the hands of the FIA to progress what was unanimously approved and we will do our very best to support other measures that can go in line, but I think you need the two.

Q: John?
JB: Marussia very much share that view.

Q: Cyril?
CA: Nothing to add.

Q: Franz?
FT: For me the cost cap is dead because the top teams don’t accept it. It’s also complicated for them and as long as auditors are not allowed to look into the books it’s useless to make a cost cap.

Q: Monisha?
MK: I don’t think it’s dead because first of all, as it’s been said already, there is a unanimous decision and I think it is very much possible to police it. Because it’s something can be policed, its figures - because they are pretty clear. It depends on the people that put down the figures if they are right or wrong. We do that all with our companies. I think there’s no country where our teams are situated where we don’t have book-keeping so I don’t think it should be an issue.
We, at Sauber, definitely could live with a system where you first of all come into with trust, and not the lack of trust, and say if the teams put in the figures and you have a certain actual policing system. It can work, we’ve been saying that for long and I think it is very much doable.

Q: Are there any timetables or deadlines on this?
MK: Well, we have the natural deadline by the rules that you have to agree to it by the 30th of June. So, I still hope we can agree to it. Of course you can achieve certain cost reductions through rules, maybe sporting or technical but I think you will not achieve that kind of drastic cost saving you want to. And at the end of the day it doesn’t matter how you get there because you’re looking at a figure. You have to ask yourself, do you want one figure at the end or do you want to have 20 different figures which just calculate again to one figure, so you always come to the same.

Q: (Mike Doodson - Honorary) I have a question about the viability of the Russian Grand Prix only a weekend after the Japanese. I put the question to Bob and John possibly first: there are serious concerns about the political situation in Sochi. The Superbike Championship round there has already been cancelled. My question is: do you think that Formula One should do the same? And on a practical note, have you yet confirmed your travel arrangements to go to that race.
JB: First of all, travel arrangements have been confirmed. There’s a charter going straight from Japan to Sochi. As to whether we go to Sochi or not, as with Bahrain over the last couple of years, we’ll follow our Government guidelines on whether it’s safe to travel or not, or whether we should go or not.

Q: British Government guidelines you mean?
JB: Yes

Q: Robert?
RF: Yeah, I agree with that. I think there were certain criticisms that came to the teams and the organisation going to Bahrain but we were clearly in line and in accordance with British Government guidelines. I think unless the British Government advise otherwise and then from that obviously the FIA and FOM, then we are obliged to go, we are contracted to go.

Q: Does anybody else have a view to put across on this?
FT: I personally just hope that we can go there because the Russian market is quite important for us. I hope that we will have this race. Until October there is a long time and I hope they can sort out all the troubles that they have currently.

Q: (Vladamir Rogovets - SB Belarus Segondnya ) For all participants: I started my season yesterday. Today, I heard Formula One engines for the first time and I’m really disappointed. It’s not Formula One, it sounds more like GP2 and GP3. What do you think can be done, in reality, to change this situation and restore it for the journalists and public? 
MK: Actually I don’t agree with this that this is not Formula One. This is actually a good era of Formula One. We’ve got into this very exciting new era with very complex, sophisticated hybrid engines which are exactly doing what they were expected to do, that is showcase the highest level of technology. We’re always meant to be bringing it to a certain edge which we are doing and some people might like the sound or not but there’s too much of importance in this matter that you just reduce it to the sound; it would be a bit sad if we just look at that. Otherwise, I think the show has, on a couple of occasions, been exciting and it’s just the start of the season. I think it’s still an excellent platform, one of the best in the world, it’s one of the biggest. You look at the fans, you look at the global reach we have, how we are spread throughout the year so I think it is going in the right direction.
CA: I would agree with Monisha but it’s a bit too much left brain or right brain for me and Formula One is very much a compliment of emotion and intellectual exercise, so I think from a technology perspective we are set up now. We have been saying for a while that Formula One needed to do something with its engine formula and that’s [inaudible]. I think we should not forget also that it’s a show business so it’s a show and it has to satisfy the end customer who at the end of the day are not only the car makers but also the fans and if, in order to address that and continue to tick that box, we need to address something with the noise. There are ways to do it, and if indeed there is a test that is planned for next week, and I understand that it’s almost doubling the sound that you can feel when you are near the track and therefore I think that’s something that should be done, that can be done easily. Obviously there will be some cost implications and there we go again about cost cuts but we should do it. The last point is that obviously Formula One is also moving towards other media where sound is almost irrelevant. If I ask you what is the sound of Twitter, we see that we have to think a little bit differently to a certain degree. But the sound has to be right.
RF: I think you should always remember that the increase in sound is just loss of power and I think that when you’re harnessing all the power and it means that the engines are quieter then you’re actually doing a more efficient job and as I’ve said before, the show has been quite fantastic and I think that it would be very disappointing if we’re just judging Formula One purely on the fact that it makes a lot of noise.
JB: I think Formula One should really be applauded for managing to bring this modern technology to Formula One. As Monisha said, we showcase the cutting edge technology and the reliability that’s been achieved with these power plants in such a short time, I think is an incredible achievement.
FT: First of all, I think the most important part is that people write... the fans, Formula One fans with interesting races, with fights, with overtaking manoeuvres and Formula One is the peak of motor sports. That means the music that you hear now from Formula One, is what they will also hear in the future, because I think also the other categories will, sooner or later, come out with the same technology. A turbo engine doesn’t have the same sound as a 12 cylinder which was 20 years ago. We’re in another period of time and we have to adapt also what the automotive industry wants to see.

Q: (Renan do Couto - Warm-Up) To all of you; we’ve had new names coming into the direction of teams, like Marco Mattiacci, Eric Boullier leaving Lotus to go to McLaren and other ones. How does the arrival of new names on the pit wall affect the racing and the business in Formula One?
MK: I don’t really see any direct effect now. Some of the names that have been mentioned have been in other teams before and they are from the automotive business, so it’s always good if you have a certain new mix coming in there, maybe some new ideas come but I think Formula One teams are pretty independent. If you look at now the positions from new people coming in I think would have been a bit different if you look at team owners coming in, establishing their own team. That could still have maybe more effect on how the team is run and what the team stands for. But I think it’s now really of no relevance.
FT: It’s a normal process. I don’t see anything special in this. Formula One is a very fast business, people are coming in, people are going and this is how it is.
JB: Some of the people who are no longer on the pit wall were very big characters, always sorely missed, but I don’t think it will change the show at all.
RF: I agree with John, there. From a personal point of view, I will dearly miss the people who are no longer here but Formula One will continue without even us and everyone else who matters. The sport is always bigger than any individual.
CA: Yeah, unfortunately I don’t there are many different ways to operate Formula One. I think there is a model. Maybe it can be perceived by people outside the sport that it is a bit old-fashioned but actually even the people making the comment that it is old-fashioned which would change it once they are within the sport, they go back to the old model.

Q: (Ian Parks - Press Assocation) Cyril and Franz; Jean-Michel Jalinier has revealed today that at least one of Renault’s customers has not paid its bill this season for the power unit supply and if that bill is not paid, has threatened to withdraw the power units for future races. Can you reveal whether you have or haven’t paid the bill and if not, what you make of Jean-Michel’s threat? 
FT: As far as I’m aware we have paid everything.
CA: It’s a confidential issue but I’m happy since I’m on time to say that we are settled with invoices with Renault Sport F1.

Q: (Dieter Rencken - Racing Lines) One of the fall-outs of this cost-cap versus improvements plans or whatever have been threats maybe that this will end up at the EU. Do you people - particularly Robert because you’ve been one of the most outspoken about this - do you believe that it will or should end up with the EU? Should there be EU intervention in these matters? 
RF: I don’t think that’s for Force India, Dieter. Force India doesn’t receive any subsidy payments, so it’s not in any possible contravention of any rules. I think that people who receive subsidy payments should be asking the questions themselves.
I think you know, generally, between the teams that are receiving additional payments or subsidy payments as opposed to the teams that are receiving the standard column one, column two payments, so the teams that are receiving those extra payments need to look into it themselves. It’s not a case for us. Even there was contravention, we’re not doing it because we’re not receiving anything, but they need to look at it through their legal teams.
MK: I think this topic regarding the European Union is not something that has just come up today. I think it goes back to a couple of Concorde Agreements before, it always just keeps coming up. At least I can say that the teams that have written to the [inaudible] are certainly not threatened, excluding Franz here, he was not part of that, they’ve not threatened anyone. It’s just something which is very much there, as Bob has said. We don’t see ourselves in any danger. It’s more for the others to know what they’re doing or not and to assess the legal effects of that.
FT: I think there’s enough politics in Formula One, we don’t need an additional party.

Q: (Kate Walker - crash.net) I wanted to touch again on the F1 Strategy Group haves and have-nots kind of situation. Late last year when we discovered that this Strategy Group was coming into play, several of you made comments about the need for trust in a relationship where five of you weren’t going to be represented so for everyone except for Franz - because you are sort of represented - has the abandonment of the cost cap violated your trust in the Strategy Group moving forward?
CA: It depends what comes next. As we say, we still believe that there was an unanimous agreement that would explore the possibility of a cost-cap. We understand that some experts from the FIA believe that it’s entirely possible, so on that basis we feel that we need to look at the issue properly and not stop in the middle of the bridge, so on that basis, we continue to trust the F1 Strategy Group. Obviously the first thing that we saw from the F1 Strategy Group was double points-scoring at the last race, so we would like to think that they can do better than that.
MK: I agree with that. I think that as the name, and it’s been said already, as the name says, you do need always a smaller group and that’s very common for any bigger corporation which sits down and looks at strategy. We can understand certain memberships given in there because certainly they are bigger teams and can come up with the right ideas but as I said before, we have concerns now since we’ve seen what has happened with the cost cap.
RF: I think that one has to question that when you have a group that it is clearly, from our point of view, bringing in recommendations that are favouring the people that are involved in that group then one has to question it and that is where we are at the moment.
JB: First of all, we don’t accept that the cost cap is dead. We’re still working very much towards achieving that. I think it’s too early to say how successful the Strategy Group will or won’t be.
FT: I trust the Strategy Group!

Q: (Daniel Johnson - Daily Telegraph) Question first to Monisha and then Franz and then John; back to the crisis in Ukraine, have you seen any effects? You have relationships with companies inside Russia. Have you seen any effect on any potential partners or sponsors from the crisis and how will that affect you going forward? 
MK: We’ve definitely seen an effect because a lot of talks which are very advanced have virtually come to standstill because people are waiting and seeing what’s going to happen and nobody really knows the entire impact it can have because the sanctions that have now been imposed are really biting some of them, so they’re very careful which again means that we simply have to wait and there’s nothing we can do about it, so we really hope that the situation can be clarified soon and all our deals can be sorted out.
FT: Yeah, of course the political situation affects our negotiations with companies in Russia because no one knows exactly which way it goes and I just hope that it will end up in a positive way and we will go to Sochi because that’s very, very important and then I’m convinced within a short term period of time that everything comes back to normality.
JB: At the moment, there’s no immediate impact but if it continues to escalate no one knows what will happen in the future.

Q: (Ian Parkes - PA) There’s obviously been a lot of questions directed today about cost-control, finances, etc., As five of the smaller teams on the grid, as we stand here today, what would you assess are the chances of the 11 teams that are currently in Formula One being on the grid for the first race of next season?
MK: I really wouldn’t even want to give a percentage on that. Because clearly our target here is that all teams which are here today need to survive. Formula One needs this kind of diversity. This is what makes the show exciting and this is what allows sometimes a smaller team - as they call it - to even touch the front and get maybe a podium or two and that’s exciting for the whole show. So, I firmly want to believe that we will all make it and we certainly see it as our job, wherever we can do something, to make that happen.

Q: Robert?
RF: I would hate to lose the diversity that we have. You should never underestimate the resolve of Formula One teams to survive. Historically it’s been proven it’s an amazing effort and I hope that with efforts than can be made, we can make it easier for people to survive by bringing in the cost controls and any other measures that are possible.

Q: Franz?
FT: Difficult to say now. I can’t talk for the other teams. I just know that Toro Rosso will be on the starting grid. So far we are financed thanks to Red Bull, thanks to CEPSA, Nova Chemicals and Sapinda. For the next years we are on the financial side on good pillars.

Q: John?
JB: We’ve battled every year through our short F1 lives for the last five years. We’ve been written off several times and we’re still here. I’m sure we’ll still be here at the start of 2015.

Q: Cyril?
CA: Pretty much the same thing as John. I think we do, and will continue to do, every single thing that we can in order to be sustainable - not just next year but the following years. The one comment I would make is that we should not take anything for granted. Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport. We need to deserve our position on track and making reference to lap times. It’s not like once you are in there you should sit down and relax. That’s the sort of thing I will not accept as the CEO of this team. And therefore we need to do a better job on track because we need a lot of noise about the finance but at the end of the day it’s also lap times that matter - although that’s also connected to finance and the overall model - but we need to make sure to deserve our position on the grid.

Q: (Thomas Maher - FormulaSpy.com) Question for Franz. Franz, Daniil Kvyat has had a pretty good start to his career - I think it’s three points finishes out of four - has he surprised you or exceeded the expectations of the team?
FT: No. He is in plan. This is what we expected. He is a very high-skilled driver. He is working very committed and disciplined and therefore I expect that he will continue also in the future to be within the first ten.

Q: (Sergio Lillo - Revista Scratch) Question to Franz. You have said this day that Daniil Kvyat will be a champion. I want to ask what kind of skills has he got to achieve this and what’s the difference between him and Vergne?
FT: First of all, whether he will become a champion or not, we will see. I think that he has the abilities to do this but the complete environment must also be in place to become a champion. He is a very, very high-skilled driver, that means he is a huge talent. He is very committed to motorsports, he is passionate to motorsports, he is disciplined and he is a very hard worker - and these are all the factors which are decisive, whether a driver wins races, and at the end championships, or not. Also Jean-Eric Vergne is a high-skilled driver and he is doing a very good job. If both drivers are being provided from the team with a proper car, then both of them can be successful.

(source: f1.com)