Russian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Red Bull

Preview Quotes - Red Bull


Daniil Kvyat - “I would describe it as a classic modern-style track. But what’s really important is that there is quite a lot of room for overtaking, which usually makes for good racing. It does have some quite interesting, quite unusual sections. There are some challenging braking areas, in Turn 13 for example. Also Turn 4 is quite tough. I would characterise it as a very technical circuit. It probably doesn’t really have a standout, balls-out corner, it really does make you think a lot and it takes some time to work out the best way round it. Having said that, it’s my home race and I enjoy it a lot. The atmosphere last year was fantastic, there were so many fans giving me support. It really feels awesome to be there.

(Last year) qualifying was great but the race was just... how can I say this… well, it was cr*p. We had problems with fuel consumption during the race and it was just a really disappointing day. I’m hoping we will be able to give the fans there something more to cheer about this year.

Sometimes you do get some strong attention but that’s part of the game and what you have to take from it is that the attention comes from the fact that perhaps you have been doing something good, which is a positive. You have to understand that the fans are coming out to support you and that is something quite special - I’m happy to have the attention, it gives you a bit of a lift.”

Daniel Ricciardo - “The organisers have done a really good job with the facilities - everything is top notch! They’ve put in really good grandstands around the stadium section for fans, and that generates a good atmosphere. But in the car it’s 90-degree corner - straight - 90-degree corner - straight, so in terms of driver satisfaction it’s a little flat. (Sochi itself is) surprising! Really liked the beach. But I would say that, wouldn’t I?”

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Russian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Lotus

Preview Quotes - Lotus


Romain Grosjean - “It would be fantastic to shake up the order again and get a really strong result, and that’s honestly what we’re always trying to do. It’s a pretty decent circuit and it will be interesting to see how it’s matured. Certainly the track surface will have changed and it will have settled somewhat. We struggled massively for grip last year, but we’ve got a softer tyre allocation from Pirelli, the performance of which we should be better equipped to maximise. It will be a good exercise for us to see if we can give a better performance than our first Russian Grand Prix.

For me it was special to race at the site of an Olympic Games. I’m a huge fan of the Olympics and especially the Winter Olympics, because my grandfather competed in skiing events at the 1948 and 1952 events. The facility itself was fantastic and the track really well engineered. The entire site had its own unique flavour. It’s always great to see how an event matures and I know we have many Russian fans. It would be superb to see as many as possible there supporting us.

It’s a pretty cool track actually with a useful number of straights and some big braking. You’ve got turn three which is just about flat out which is good fun. The corners flow well together with the final section a bit more tight and twisty. Last year was hard to get the tyres working, this year the Pirelli allocation is softer. Looking outside of the driver requirements, the facilities are really nice and the paddock is a friendly size so it’s a good one to work in."

Pastor Maldonado - "(Last year) it was a great and amazing event, really well organised and with a good attendance. It was a special experience to arrive at a new country for Formula One - and a new country for me - then see strong immediate support like we did. I’m looking forward to returning and seeing how they built upon their strong first event.

There are very many corners, with a couple of sections of stop and go. It’s quite a long lap and a reasonably technical one too. If you make a small mistake in one corner, you are punished for the rest of the lap. If you’re off line for one corner, it might not be until one of the straights that you can recover. Off-line is very slippery too so you’re doubly punished! Every single part of this track is important! In terms of enjoyment, I like the first sector the most, but it’s a good track overall.

It will be much easier this year. Last year was all about discovery and learning; this year we should be several steps forward so be able to unlock more pace quicker.”

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Russian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

Preview Quotes - McLaren


Fernando Alonso - "It's exciting to go back to Sochi, one of the newest racetracks we go to, which means there's always a lot of anticipation. Last year's grand prix was a fantastic event and it was good to bring Formula 1 to a completely new territory and race in front of a new group of excited fans. Suzuka was clearly a challenging race for us, but the support of the fans was incredible and we were still able to take some positives from it. We're working hard on reliability and it was encouraging that we didn't have any issues with the car all weekend.

Sochi is a great track and the street circuit layout and tight, precise corners make it really enjoyable to drive. The two straights are long and high-speed which means it won't be easy for us, but our car is very well balanced, so I hope we can have some good battles and make some good progress on track this weekend."

Jenson Button - "Suzuka was a challenging race for us because of the nature of the track, but racing in Japan in front of Honda's home crowd was an incredible experience and it really lifted everyone's spirits. I'm really pleased that my plans for next year have been confirmed – I'm fully committed to this team and have strong faith in the incredibly hard work that's going on behind the scenes in Woking and Sakura. We'll keep our heads down and keep pushing hard to improve our car at every race weekend.

In Sochi, I had one of my best results of the year last season, and really enjoyed driving on a new track. The surface has a lot of grip, so I'm looking forward to seeing how our tyres perform there. We'll work closely with our guys on both sides of the garage to get the most out of every session and iron out some of the issues we had in Suzuka."

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Russian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams

Preview Quotes - Williams


Valtteri Bottas - “We had a good result last year in Russia so we’re expecting another strong weekend and a good collection of points. We all know the track now and it has a really good flow, with the long straights a good fit for our car. The fans were passionate last year so we look forward to putting on another good show for them. Pace wise we were close to Mercedes in Japan and I think we can be close again in Sochi, just like we were in 2014.”

Felipe Massa - “Russia is a very nice track with a few long straights which makes it interesting for overtaking. The circuit has almost everything, starting with a straight and then moving into high-speed corners and then very slow corners in the middle sector. This makes setting up the car really important and the importance of down force evident. I hope to make amends for qualifying last year and I’m confident we can have a competitive race.”

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Russian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Mercedes

Preview Quotes - Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - "Suzuka was a really special weekend for me and another fantastic result for the team. Everyone is doing such an incredible job once again this season and every bit of this success is well deserved. The car was unbelievable to drive in Japan, so hopefully it'll be more of the same at the remaining races - starting in Sochi. Last year was the first experience I'd had of Russia in my racing career and we had a great race there. The circuit is really well put together - quite long, with some interesting corners and opportunities to overtake. Hopefully now fans have seen what a great facility they have there and how beautiful Sochi is, we'll see plenty more people in the stands this year too. It was great to win the first race for Formula One in Russia and a fantastic moment for the team to take the title there last time out. Fingers crossed we can add to those great memories again this weekend - I'll be pushing as hard as I can to make that happen."

Nico Rosberg - "Once I got back from Japan, I was able to focus on the positive elements from my weekend in Suzuka: pole position, the on-track pass on Bottas and then having the speed to undercut Vettel's Ferrari at the second pit-stop. I'm not backing down in my fight for the championship and gaining those positions back fair and square showed that. We have five races to go and, although the championship gap to Lewis is quite big, in my mind it's definitely not over yet. The way the whole team has performed this year - from the factories to the garage - has been just incredible and I have the car I need to get back to the top step. I really enjoyed our first trip to Russia last year and it was an awesome weekend for the team - one that I will always remember after seeing all the hard work they've put in during my time here. So, I'm aiming to put all those tools they've given me to good use and bring home a top result."

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Russian GP: Circuit Preview

(Image belongs to: autoblog.ca - All rights belong to the owner)

After its debut last year, the teams once again head to Sochi for the circuits 2nd race in Formula 1. The "Sochi Autodrom" - also known as "Sochi International Street Circuit" is located in Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia and was opened September 21st 2014. It held its first race last year as well.

    The circuit has a total of 19 turns and runs Clockwise like most circuits. It's 3.634 miles in length and has a capacity of around 55,000. The race will run for 53 laps. Last year the weather didn't cause an issue. It was slightly cloudy but there was no rain.

    Also last year, Lewis Hamilton not only took Pole Position but also won the race, while team-mate, Nico Rosberg, finished in Second with Williams driver, Valtteri Bottas finishing in Third. Retirements included Max Chilton (Suspension) & Kamui Kobayashi (Brakes)

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Russian GP: Schedule

We're down to the final few races of the 2015 season and it's time for the teams to head to Russia. The race as Sochi made its debut last year and drew quite a crowd. Here's the schedule for this year.

SCHEDULE:

October 8th / Thursday

15:00 - Drivers Press Conference (Located in the Press Room)

October 9th / Friday

08:45 - 09:45 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
10:00 - 11:30 - Free Practice #1
12:50 - 13:45 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
14:00 - 15:30 - Free Practice #2
16:00 - 17:00 - Press Conference (Located in the Press Room)

October 10th / Saturday

10:15 - 11:20 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
10:30 - 11:00 - Team Pit-Stop Practice
12:00 - 13:00 - Free Practice #3
14:20 - 14:45 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
15:00 - Qualifying

October 11th / Sunday

12:00 - 13:15 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk
12:30 - Drivers Track Parade
12:45 - 13:15 - Starting Grid Presentation
13:46 - National Anthem
14:00 - Race Start

(Times subject to change)

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Feature: Star Drivers Of The Japanese GP

Frances Fry (Assistant Writer) - "For the second time in a row, my star driver is Max Verstappen. Once again, I find myself praising his overtaking. The precision behind each move he makes is similar to that of a world champion; one manoeuvre made with the next one in mind. Max finished ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. (Tenth place) as he crossed the line in ninth, warning two points. For the young Toro Rosso drivers, a double points finish is something to be proud of. Once again, I'd like to congratulate Max and Toro Rosso on racing so spectacularly. His confidence and skill seems to be growing with each race."

Amy Hawk (Lead Writer & Editor) - "My star driver of the weekend is Nico Hulkenberg. It was absolutely wonderful to see him bounce back after a few unlucky retirements in the past few races. He brought the team a number of points and finished 6th. He really did drive flawlessly and it could be seen all around the circuit. I think Force India has been doing improvingly well since the updates and I can't wait to see how they perform in Russia."

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Feature: Japanese GP - Our Post-Race Quotes

Frances Fry (Assistant Writer) - "The Japanese Grand Prix did not fail to impress, as per usual. However, I did not feel entirely able to enjoy the occurrences of the race due to the absence of Jules Bianchi. The loss of him felt ever prominent at Suzuka. This was evidently felt by many of the drivers.

Despite having a heavy heart, the drivers performed outstandingly, with all of them crossing the line except Sauber's Felipe Nasr. However, the community that we belong to rang ever strong and touching tributes to Jules & were dotted around the track. T-shirts, face paints and even banners decorated with the memorial '#JB17'. Overall, the race was of a stellar standard with incredible wheel-to-wheel racing, something I can enjoy no matter how early I have to wake up to see it. The race was one that Jules would've loved, full of passion and a raw love for racing."

Amy Hawk (Lead Writer & Editor) - "For me, it was hard, of course, to watch the Japanese GP after last year. Like everyone else, I miss Jules & it's sad that he wasn't around to race this year. It was lovely to see so many fans wearing red and holding flags with tributes to Jules. It's so amazing when the F1 community comes togther like that.

The race itself was good, but mellow.. Only one retirement. Not exactly sure what happened with Nasr's car. Sauber said the problems were "Unidentified" - It sucks that he couldn't finish the race. Very happy to see McLaren have both cars finishing the race this time around, especially after so many double-retirements this year. Russia is next.. Can't wait to see how it goes. Cheers!"

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Japanese GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

It was a tough weekend for the teams as they headed back to Suzuka Circuit in Japan. Just last year, Jules Bianchi had his crash during the race in poor weather conditions & He was on everyone's minds this year. Teams, drivers, fans and media were all thinking of him & keeping his family in their thoughts.

    This time around the weather was luckily sunny and there was no rain in sight. Nico Rosberg started on Pole Position, but when the lights went out, it was Lewis Hamilton who easily passed him and took the lead.

    On lap 1 there was a collision between Massa and Ricciardo. They bumped wheels, causing them both to have a tyre explode. During their wheel-to-wheel collision, Perez was the unlucky driver who got tagged by Massa when he bounced off of the Red Bull driver. Perez was sent out into the grass and had to cut all the way across before he was able to rejoin the track. He was forced to pit early so the team could check the car for damage. When he finally got out of pit-lane, he was in 18th.

 The only retirement of the race was Felipe Nasr and it was with only a few laps to go. There were 'Unidentified' problems with the car and the team had to bring him in.

    McLaren-Honda had an overall good race. While neither driver was able to bring any points home for the team, they both finished the race & Fernand Alonso was only one spot outside of the points. Button finished in 16th. While they've had quite a few double-retirements throughout this season, things still continue to look up for them as they figure out certain issues with the cars.

    Up in front it was clear that Lewis Hamilton was going to take the win and bring Mercedes another good results & more points. Rosberg was right behind him in second, trying to keep Sebastian Vettel behind in 3rd. Anyone who was doubting Mercedes in Singapore, could now be sure that the team had definitely not lost their pace.

Next up the teams head back to Europe, for the Russian GP. Here are the race results.

RESULTS:

1. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 25 Points
2. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 18 Points
3. Sebastian Vettel / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany / + 15 Points
4. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 12 Points
5. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland / + 10 Points
6. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / + 8 Points
7. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Mercedes / France / + 6 Points
8. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Mercedes / Venezuela / + 4 Points
9. Max Verstappen / Toro Rosso-Renault / Netherlands / + 2 Points
10. Carlos Sainz / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain / + 1 Point
11. Fernando Alonso / McLaren-Honda / Spain 
12. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
13. Daniil Kvyat / Red Bull-Renault / Russia
14. Marcus Ericsson / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
15. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia
16. Jenson Button / McLaren-Honda / Great Britain
17. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
18. Alexander Rossi / Manor-Ferrari / America
19. Will Stevens / Manor-Ferrari / Great Britain
20. Felipe Nasr / Sauber-Ferrari / Brazil / RETIRED - Unknown (Qualified As Finished)

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