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Nico Hulkenberg says he is pleased after a good weekend in Austin resulted in him scoring eight points courtesy of a sixth place finish. Hulkenberg started the race in fourth place and battled with Fernando Alonso over fifth, but ultimately had to play second fiddle to the Spaniard. "A very solid result yet again," he said. "If I’m not mistaken, since Monza that would have been the eighth points finish in a row if it wasn’t for the brake disc failure in India and the […]
Four time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti has been forced to retire due to the injuries he sustained in Houston last month. Franchitti was launched into the fence on the final lap and sustained spinal injuries, concussion and ankle fractures. The Scot won the IndyCar title in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. He also claimed three wins at the Indianapolis 500. Franchitti briefly flirted with Formula 1 when he tested for Jaguar in 2000, but has spent the majority of his career in the USA, racing […]
Giedo van der Garde believes that a Force India cost him time during his qualifying lap at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Van der Garde set the 19th fastest time in Q1 but reckons he could have set a quicker lap time without being impeded. "In qualifying we went for two runs on the options," he said. "On the first run everything went to plan and I was up in tenth until the cars ahead went from primes to options. On the second […]
Giedo van der Garde reckons that the anticipated high temperatures for next weekend's Indian Grand Prix will aid Caterham's progress. Van der Garde, who drove in FP1 last year at the Buddh International Circuit, is hoping to make amends after crashing out in Japan. The Dutchman revealed that his impact into the barriers on the first lap registered at 20g. "It’s a proper drivers track, one that has elevation changes and a few really challenging corners and there’s a couple of overtaking opportunities, especially turn […]
Q&A with Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn Sauber had a fantastic season in 2012. However, at the beginning of 2013 it was quite a different story. What happened? Monisha Kaltenborn: “After the concept of the side exhaust system was very successful last year, our engineers decided to go with a different concept for the C32, that in theory had even more potential. In practice, however, it looked different. We realised that in Melbourne where we brought an update to the car that didn’t work as […]
Giedo van der Garde says his target for the Korean Grand Prix is to fight with the Williams duo of Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado. Van der Garde will start the race from twentieth place, with Bottas and Maldonado in seventeenth and eighteenth. "Quali was really close! The first run in Q1 was OK but we clearly had some time to make up – not enough to fight the Williams but definitely enough to put us back ahead of [Jules] Bianchi and [Max] Chilton," he […]
Fernando Alonso says it is 'sad' to see Ferrari slip back after he qualified in seventh place for the Singapore Grand Prix. Alonso has not won since May's Spanish Grand Prix but the Ferrari F138 had demonstrated improvements at low downforce circuits at Spa and Monza, where Alonso finished as runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in both events. But while Alonso said that Ferrari was still pushing in its championship bid, he expressed his disappointment at the regression. "I think we need to be realistic and […]
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton says that qualifying on the front row of the grid for the Singapore Grand Prix will be a tough task. Hamilton was fastest in the first 90 minute practice session but slipped to fourth in second practice, over a second behind reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel. "It wasn't the perfect Friday for us but we got on with our programme and know where we have to make improvements for tomorrow," said the 2008 world champion. "The balance of the car felt […]
Giedo van der Garde believes the low downforce nature of Monza should play to the strengths of the Caterham CT03. Van der Garde qualified in fourteenth place at Spa last weekend and followed it up with sixteenth place in the race. The Dutchman sees next weekend's Italian Grand Prix as another opportunity for the Leafield based team. "It’s a track that could suit us in the fight with our nearest competitors," he said. "It’s often hot and it’s the quickest track of the year, one […]
Marussia team principal John Booth says his squad remains focused on retaining 10th place in the Constructors' Championship for the rest of the season. Marussia is currently ahead of Caterham in the fight for 10th place, courtesy of Jules Bianchi's 13th place in Malaysia. "We head into the second part of the season still holding 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship and we are keenly focused on what we need to do at every turn to ensure we maintain that position," said Booth. "The challenge […]
Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff has warned his outfit against an all out attack on the 2013 title, in case it harms the team's chances in 2014. Mercedes has won three races this season and enter the second half of the season as Red Bull's nearest challengers, 69 points in arrears of the reigning champions. Lewis Hamilton sits in fourth place in the championship and, alongside Nico Rosberg, has helped Mercedes to claim seven pole positions across 10 races in 2013. Mercedes languished in fifth […]
Red Bull driver Mark Webber likened Pirelli's tyre failures to 'Russian Roulette' following the British Grand Prix. Five drivers suffered tyre failures at Silverstone, leading to serious doubts about the safety of the tyres. "I don’t think any of us expected it to unfold like this," said Webber. "The start was pretty bad, we have to look into that as we had had a good run of starts recently. Then I had contact with Grosjean and the wing was damaged; the boys did a great […]