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Valtteri Bottas says that Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado drove unfairly during the closing moments of the Japanese Grand Prix. Maldonado dived down the inside of Bottas into the Casio triangle on the final lap, forcing Bottas to run wide and concede the position. Maldonado came across the line in 16th place, ahead of Bottas. "There was no space on the track. It was not fair," Bottas told BBC Sport. "If I hadn't gone straight on we'd have crashed. Racing shouldn't be like that." Maldonado disagreed with […]
Nico Rosberg has criticised Sergio Perez after the pair made contact during the Japanese Grand Prix. Rosberg was recovering from a drive through penalty for an unsafe release into the path of Perez when he came up behind his Mexican rival on-track. Under braking for the Casio Triangle, the drivers made contact, with Perez sustaining a puncture. "I made a good start today and was in a strong position until my first pit stop. Unfortunately we then had the incident as I left the pit […]
Jenson Button has taken the blame for a late set-up change that left his McLaren difficult to drive during the opening stints of the race. Button started the race from 10th place on the grid but struggled early on, coming in for his first stop on lap eight of the race. "The first two stints of the race were pretty difficult as I had massive understeer," he said. "That was my fault: on the lap-to-grid, it felt like I had too much front-end, so I […]
Fernando Alonso has accepted defeat in the hunt for the drivers' championship but insists that he is highly motivated to secure second place in the Constructors' championship for Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel can clinch his fourth world title if he wins in Japan and Alonso fails to finish in the top eight. Alonso says that finishing in a position to retain a mathematical chance of winning the title is not his target. "Today’s result is more or less what we were expecting, not having had a […]
McLaren has confirmed that Peter Prodromou, currently head of aerodynamics at Red Bull, will return to the team. Prodromou worked for McLaren between 2000 and 2005 before joining Red Bull in 2006. Prodromou has been a key part of the team behind Red Bull's domination of Formula 1, with the Milton Keynes based team set to wrap up a fourth successive world title this month. It is unclear when Prodromou will be allowed to start work at McLaren. "It is for Red Bull to talk […]
Pastor Maldonado says that he is likely to remain with Williams in 2014, despite a difficult season with the team. Maldonado joined Williams in 2011 and scored just a single point in his debut season, but took Williams's first victory since 2004 at the Spanish Grand Prix last season. This year, Maldonado's 10th place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix remains Williams's only point of the season. "For sure it was a hard beginning of the season and it was quite a hard time for […]
Formula 1 heads straight to Japan after last weekend's Korean Grand Prix, for round 15 of the Championship. Suzuka is a favourite circuit for many drivers because of its classic layout and its fast and technical characteristics. There are no room for mistakes at Suzuka as the circuit features a combination of corners which flow together, denying the drivers any rest. The circuit is equally challenging for the teams, who need to find a compromise for a good overall car balance. Suzuka has a high-downforce […]
Nico Rosberg says that this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix should play to the characteristics of the Mercedes W04. Rosberg, who has not claimed a podium finish since June's British Grand Prix, reckons that the W04 should suit Suzuka's high speed layout. "Suzuka is one of the most exciting circuits of the year and I love racing there," he said ahead of this weekend's race. "Our car has been fast in high-speed corners this season as we seem to have good downforce so I hope the […]
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton says he feels sorry for fans amid a period of dominance by Sebastian Vettel. Vettel has won the previous four races and could clinch his fourth successive title at this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton compared Vettel's dominance to that of Michael Schumacher. The German won five successive titles between 2000 and 2004 and only once was the title decided at the final round of the season. "He has won already unless he doesn't finish the rest of the races, and […]
Felipe Massa says that he was forced to take evasive action on the opening lap on the Korean Grand Prix, leading to him spinning at turn three. Massa started the race in sixth place and took the inside line into turn three but spun under braking and narrowly avoided team-mate Fernando Alonso. "Today’s race was really very complicated, because my chances of getting a good result evaporated right from the first lap, when I found myself in the middle of a group, all of us […]
Pastor Maldonado says that the deployment of the safety car scuppered his chances of scoring points at the Korean Grand Prix. Maldonado started the race from eighteenth place but took advantage of a spinning Felipe Massa at turn three to complete the opening lap in ninth place. The Venezuelan was unable to prevent faster cars from overtaking him and eventually finished the race in thirteenth place. "I had a very good first lap, moving up to ninth after an incident at turn three allowed me […]
Nico Rosberg labelled his Korean Grand Prix as "tough" after finishing the race in seventh place. Rosberg was passing team-mate Lewis Hamilton for third place when the front nose failed. Rosberg pitted and dropped down the order, but he eventually recovered to seventh position. "That was another very tough race for me," he said. "I couldn't believe what happened with the wing: I was on course for a podium finish after overtaking Lewis and two seconds later, the front wing just broke." "It was pretty […]