2008 FORMULA 1 SINOPEC CHINESE GRAND PRIX : Race

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	56	1:31:57.403	1	10
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+14.9 secs	3	8
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+16.4 secs	2	6
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	56	+18.3 secs	4	5
5	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	56	+28.9 secs	9	4
6	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	56	+33.2 secs	11	3
7	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	56	+41.7 secs	12	2
8	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	56	+56.6 secs	10	1
9	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	56	+64.3 secs	6
10	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	56	+74.8 secs	15
11	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	56	+85.0 secs	13
12	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	56	+90.8 secs	17
13	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	56	+91.4 secs	8
14	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	56	+92.4 secs	16
15	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	55	+1 Lap	14
16	16	Jenson Button	Honda	55	+1 Lap	18
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	55	+1 Lap	20
Ret	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	49	Pneumatic	5
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	13	Gearbox	19
Ret	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	2	Accident damage	7

2008 FORMULA 1 SINOPEC CHINESE GRAND PRIX : Post-race conference

FIA post-race press conference - China
Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA

1st Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h31m57.403s; 2nd Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 1h32m12.328s; 3rd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h32m13.848s.

Q: Lewis, it looked as if everything went perfectly for you in that race?
Lewis Hamilton: Yeah, all weekend we have had God on our side as always. The team have done a phenomenal job really preparing the car and making steps forward. We came here and the car felt fantastic all weekend and I owe so much to the guys not just at the track but back home. They have done a phenomenal job and the car is really a dream to drive. For the guys here they just make sure the car stays intact, so I can bring it home and that’s what we did. It was a fantastic team effort this weekend, so a big thanks to them.

Q: It would be easy to say it was an easy race but there was enormous pressure on you particularly at the start?
LH: Well, it was quite straightforward actually. I managed to get everything right on the formation lap. I was perfectly in my position and it was a great start, it was really probably one of the best we’ve had. I felt it was one of the best we’ve had this year which was needed. I got into turn one quite clear, I took it easy the first few corners then I started to bridge the gap. Fortunately we were just very, very consistent and I think every lap was faster and very, very few errors throughout the whole run, therefore I was able to create a gap and from there it was pretty smooth sailing.

Q: Sometimes in that situation it is difficult to keep the concentration level and stop the mind wandering?
LH: After my second pit stop we were pretty much cruising. We were just looking after the tyres and the engine and just trying to bring the car home. I knew that there was an even bigger gap behind me and it was inevitable the Kimi would let Felipe by, so I just had to keep it under control. To be honest it wasn’t tough at all. When you are out in front and you have that gap and you know you can push a little bit more if you need to, it is quite comforting, so it is just about keeping your head and keeping the same calm.

Q: Felipe, talk about the early phase of the race for you.
Felipe Massa: Well, we took the decision to start on soft tyres and we knew already that most of the people were starting on the hard as our car works in a little bit different way compared to the other cars, especially the McLaren's. For us the hard had no grip, was difficult to drive, and the soft was the only option for the first and second stints, so we decided to start on the soft and I think it was the right decision for us. On the start I didn’t have a good start, I had a little bit of wheel spin, but even though it was not a very, very high grip on the outside and then we just stayed in the same positions. We saw that Lewis was a bit stronger in the beginning of the race. I mean he was stronger during the whole race but in the beginning he just started to pull away, maybe two or three tenths sometimes per lap, and then this made for sure his race much more comfortable. For us we were completely driving on the limit trying to reduce the gap but it was not possible. I was trying to push as Kimi was trying to push to get closer to Lewis but it was not possible. So today unfortunately Lewis had the better car for the whole weekend.

Q: And your pass on Kimi towards the end?
FM: Well, it was the best time for me in the race, I was quite strong and then I caught him and I passed him, so that was the good part of the race. But anyway it was not enough as we are fighting with the McLaren’s and today at least one was in front but we could manage to finish second or third. I think for the Drivers’ Championship it was not fantastic but for the Constructors’ it was very good. It is always very important to fight for the Constructors’ and today we did a good job thinking of the Constructors’ Championship. I try on the Drivers’ but it was not possible today.

Q: Kimi, Lewis has just said it was inevitable that Lewis would finish second. Talk us through the last phase of the race.
Kimi Raikkonen: I mean we know what we want as a team and that’s what we did it. It is normal in these situations. Today I had a very good car, all the time no major issue. The car was handling quite nicely but unfortunately it wasn’t fast enough in the moments when we needed it. At the start Lewis pulled away a bit and then I started to be able to do the same lap times, a little bit catching, but every time I was faster it was too late and the gap stayed the same. Then in the second stop I was catching him a bit and then I got traffic three times and it cost me a lot of time. I mean even if I had been right behind him we were stopping on the same lap, so without mistakes there was no way to get past. Second and third was the best we could do today, hopefully the next race we can challenge them a bit more. I mean once we came here on Friday, Lewis seemed to be very quick, so it was not easy but we did our best but it didn’t work out this time.

Q: With team orders not being allowed it is difficult not to influence the outcome of the race, so how did you handle that?
KR: Like I said, I know what the team expects and I know what we want which are results. It is racing and I have nothing to lose or win in a way. I am driving for the team, so it is a normal situation. I was pretty happy with the way things went in the race apart from we could not challenge the McLaren today but apart from that the car wasn’t too bad. But like I said, we just did not have the little bit more speed that we needed.

Q: Lewis, seven points is your lead going into Brazil. What does this win mean for you and how does it set up the Brazilian Grand Prix?
LH: Well, this is another step towards the championship and towards my dream and towards my team’s dream. The team deserve it. We have worked very, very hard throughout the season and I think our approach to this race was right. It was not to go out and win everything just in this race. It was to look at both races to try and score as many points collectively and I know going to Brazil will be a much better situation compared to last year and also we know that we will be a lot more competitive than we are here, so that is comforting. We know that we have got to do a good job. It will be tough and these two for sure will be pushing us hard but hopefully as a team we can pull through.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Lewis, just how close do you feel to that World Championship now?
LH: I have not really thought about it, to be honest. In terms of how close I feel I have not really thought about that. As I said, coming into this weekend we were targeting both races and looking at both of them hopefully to do a good job and collectively hopefully we can have good points from both. It is on your mind for sure but the fact that we have done a good job is what we needed to do. It is just that one step closer. We still have a tough race ahead of us in Brazil but I am really looking forward to it.

Q: At the end of the race Ron came on and talked about ‘keeping up the discipline’. Has that what it has all been about?
LH: He didn’t say anything to me.

Q: That’s what came over on the radio.
LH: I don’t remember hearing that, if I am honest. Maybe I was trying to talk to them at the same time.

Q: Tell us about your pace at the start as it must have been pleasing to pull away from the Ferraris.
LH: Yeah, just throughout the weekend we knew we had the pace and from Friday we knew that we had better long run pace than them. With my car I was very happy with the balance and I was able to look after my tyres very well and really extract the most from them but also to make them last. The track conditions were great and the car was great, so I just took my time, pushed where I needed to and really managed the gap. For sure it was great to be able to pull away and pull the gap as we did.

Q: Was there a great deal of difference between the tyres?
LH: No, throughout this weekend on both sets of tyres we were very competitive. When I needed to go quicker on the option I could have. If anything towards the end it seemed to be a bit of a better tyre for me but there was a very small gap between both sets of tyres. Perhaps just a bit more grip on the option but they were both just as consistent for me.

Q: Felipe, what can do you for Brazil? Is it about outright speed, tactics, do you pray for rain? What do you do?
FM: I don’t know. For sure we are in a difficult position but we know many things can happen in one race. We just need to keep our head up. It is not finished yet. Until it is finished, we know that in sport many things can happen. We just need to concentrate on our job and try to win the race and then what’s happened has happened. That’s our concentration for the last race and that’s the way we are going to approach it knowing we are still fighting for the Drivers’ Championship. Then we are in a reasonably good position for the Constructors’ Championship. I think those are quite important for us, so we are going to do everything we can to achieve our target and then we will see what will happen.

Q: Is it a matter of hoping that the circuit will be better suited to Ferrari?
FM: Well, I think it’s both. Hoping is always very important for whatever driver, whatever person. But then for sure you need a good car and I think we can have a much better car in Brazil than we had here because today it was very difficult to follow this guy and fight with him.

Q: And is it a good thing that it’s your home race?
FM: Ah, for sure. Always when you play at home you usually play better. I have had very good experiences in Brazil for the last two years, so hopefully we can repeat that and have a great experience again.

Q: So you’re slightly optimistic for Brazil.
FM: I’m very optimistic, for sure, and we need to be, everybody in the team. We need to be together, very optimistic and trying to do our job in the best way we can and trying to win.

Q: Kimi, give us an idea of the start and the pace of Lewis in the opening stint.
KR: I think we had pretty much similar starts. He was pulling away at the beginning of the race. There was nothing I could do. It took a few laps for me to get going and once the car started to work better, he was already I don’t know how many seconds away and I could just about maintain a similar gap. He was pulling away a bit. At some point later on I was able to catch him a bit but it was too late and then the gap stayed the same on the second set of tyres, pulling away at the beginning again, and I was then catching up. But then I was stuck behind some traffic and lost quite a bit of time. We just didn’t have the speed today. The car felt quite good all the time but we were just missing a few tenths all the time, so I was not able to challenge him really. It was a bit of a shame but there was nothing we could have done.

Q: Do you share Felipe’s optimism about Brazil?
KR: The car was very good there last year, so it’s another race, another weekend. It can be very good for us, nothing is over yet, so we go there and try to do the maximum that we can and see where we end up but it’s too early to say. Once we do the Friday there, I think everybody will have a little bit better idea what the speed difference between the teams is and then it will be easier to go from there.

Q: You had a difference tyre choice in comparison to Felipe; were you happy with that tyre choice?
KR: No, we had the same tyre at the start of the race. I think he was on soft tyres, I was on hard. They wanted to try different… to see if we could catch up Lewis. There wasn’t really a big difference between the tyres. I thought they were very similar in the end. The difference wasn’t there, the amount that we were losing out. So we tried but it didn’t work out.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Bob McKenzie – The Daily Express) Kimi, as World Champion, how tough is it to have to put in a lap that’s two seconds slower, for your team-mate to go past you?
KR: I’m not in a position to challenge for the championship. I know what the team expects from me and I’m happy to try to achieve the maximum points for the team, what we need. Unfortunately we missed a few points today, overall. But like I said, it doesn’t make any difference to my season.

Q: (Ed Gorman – The Times) Lewis, I think you mentioned earlier that your approach to Interlagos this year is going to be quite different to last year. Could you just expand a little bit more on that as you go into it with the same separation in the points and so on?
LH: Well, there’s not really much more to say, just that it’s a similar approach to what I had this weekend, which was a better approach than I had last year coming here, so hopefully with the same approach that we had this year, a bit calmer, a bit more confident in the package and what we have to do… it’s the same as this weekend.

Q: (Jia Chen – Soccer News China) Felipe, in most parts of the race, you were often slower than Lewis and Kimi, even when you were using softer tyres while they were using harder ones. However, Kimi was often able to keep up a similar lap speed to Lewis. What was wrong with your car?
FM: I don’t think there was anything wrong. Even if some laps I was slower than Kimi, there was not a big difference. Sometimes we had similar laps, we were trying to push each other very hard, thinking only of Lewis, but in terms of balance, for sure it was reasonable, but as Kimi said, we were not quick enough. When you’re not quick, you’re always trying to drive more than you can and sometimes you don’t find a good lap, so that’s it. Today it was impossible to win the race and I think we both finished in the best position that we could.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Last week in Fuji Ferrari was very, very strong on race pace. Here, today, it wasn’t. Is it because of the tyre compounds you were using here compared to Fuji?
FM: It’s so difficult to answer this question. Many things change track to track. I think it’s a difficult question and I cannot answer it. I don’t know why we were missing a little bit of speed on this track.

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, before you got in the car on Friday, you’d come in for a considerable amount of criticism following what happened last weekend in Japan. How much were you aware of that, and how much did that spur you on in your performance this weekend?
LH: All week I haven’t really spoken to many people and I haven’t been on the Internet or seen the papers, so I was kind of oblivious to it until I arrived here and heard about it but if anything it amused me. I took the positives out of it and for sure, I arrived at the weekend with lots of energy and not distracted by it.

Q: (Marco Degl’Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, we have learned that Flavio Briatore through the team sent to you his excuses, apologised for what he said on Thursday. Are you comfortable with that?
LH: Again, I have no clue what he said anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

Q: (Marco Degl’Innocenti – La Gazzetta dello Sport) You have won ten points here today. Last year you practically lost ten points here. Is there quite a psychological difference in the approach to the next Grand Prix?
LH: I would say so, yes. I think the last race of last year was tough. We went to Brazil and I can’t remember if we were hit or not but we were on the back foot and knowing that Ferrari would be very competitive in Brazil it was going to be tough. We arrived this year and I think having a good race, we will settle back down tomorrow, back to where we were at the beginning of this week and we will work very, very hard to arrive in Brazil even more competitive, so I’m feeling good about it. I know it’s going to be a tough weekend but again we will try to do the best job we can.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Felipe, in Brazil you will have to win but it’s not just up to you, it also depends on Lewis. How do you think you can beat him, psychologically also?
FM: First of all, we try to win, that’s the most important thing. Secondly, we see what happens. As you just mentioned, winning is not enough but winning is the most important thing you can do, so first of all we try to win and then we see what happens.

Q: (Beniamino Natale – ANSA) Of course, you are still fighting for the championship but for the public it was very boring today. Are you ever worried about the future of Formula One?
FM: I think the race today was not very exciting, to be honest, even for a driver. It depends on which track you’re on, it depends on how the race develops. For sure it wasn’t as exciting as you can see on other tracks, for example, or maybe other opportunities. It depends on how the race develops at the beginning. Anyway, the FIA and everybody is already working quite hard to change the ideas for the future, so I think next year there will be a big, big change in the regulations which can maybe create more battles and more opportunities to overtake and more interesting racing, so I hope we can give you guys more opportunity to enjoy it as well.

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Lewis, it’s been mentioned that last season you held a seven point to Kimi. This season you’ve got a seven point lead to Felipe. Are you a believer that lightning strikes twice in the same place?
LH: No, I think it’s a completely different year. I don’t really have much to say to that to be honest.

Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) Lewis, what’s your opinion of Ferrari’s tactics to switch position between Kimi and Felipe?
LH: There’s not really much to say about it. They’re a team and I know if it was in my position, if Heikki was leading, we would probably do the same thing. It’s playing together as a team and they obviously did a great job.

2008 FORMULA 1 SINOPEC CHINESE GRAND PRIX : Technical News

McLaren MP4-23 - reduced sidepod inlets

As in Belgium, in China the cross-sectional area of the McLaren's sidepod inlets was reduced, decreasing cooling capacity but increasing aero efficiency. At Spa the low ambient temperatures made this change feasible. In Shanghai it was possible - albeit to a slightly lesser degree - thanks to the cooling provided by the two long, high-speed straights. A specially profiled 'insert' was added to the bottom of the inlet, making the inlet smaller. This cuts drag and turbulence immediately in front of the sidepod, aiding the car's top-end performance on those long straights.

BMW Sauber F1.08 - front wing development

BMW Sauber have adopted a revised front wing assembly for the Japan and China races. The wing's main profile features a new lip, which protrudes to the rear. Visible thanks to its natural carbon fibre colour, this lip extends about 20mm under the flap entry edge (see yellow arrow and inset). Increasing the pressure of the airflow passing between the profile and the flap (and hence accelerating it), this modification helps enhance the efficiency of the entire barge board assembly, placed at both the level of the front suspension and in front of the sidepods. This slightly increases the level of downforce generated by the bottom of the car, without the team needing to adjust the angles of the flaps, and thus provides a more stable front end.

Ferrari F2008 - revised sidepod winglet fins

Ferrari has replaced the vertical fin (blue arrow) that connects the winglets in front of the sidepods to the rear edge of the barge boards with a heavily curved one. This results in less disruption of the airflow passing close to the winglet, dramatically reducing turbulence and generally providing better airflow management towards the rear of the car.

Ferrari F2008 - rear diffuser development

The central side section of the diffuser (circled) has been made narrower, with its reduced horizontal base now ending with a vertical fin. In turn, the Gurney tab (in yellow) along the main exit edge of the diffuser has been extended towards the centre of the car. This change is to reduce the sensitivity of the rear end to ride-height variations by maintaining a constant downforce level regardless.

Moteur standard : Appel d’offre de la FIA

La Fédération internationale de l'automobile (FIA) a annoncé vendredi le lancement dans la journée d'un appel d'offre pour trouver un fournisseur de moteurs et de transmissions standards qui seront utilisés en Formule 1 à partir de 2010.

« La FIA va lancer ce jour un appel d'offre pour désigner une tierce partie qui fournira des moteurs et des systèmes de transmission aux écuries qui prennent part au Championnat du monde de Formule 1 pour les saisons 2010, 2011 et 2012 », a annoncé la fédération dans un communiqué.

Selon le magazine Autosport, les équipes pourront disposer de moteurs et de transmissions fournis par le fournisseur désigné, ou construire elles-mêmes ces éléments selon un cahier des charges bien précis.

Compte tenu du contexte économique, la Formule 1 va devoir réduire ses coûts de fonctionnement dans les années à venir. Mais si les équipes, notamment les plus grosses, évoquent une baisse des coûts sans préciser dans quelle mesure elles entendent agir, la FIA souhaite « une réduction drastique des dépenses.»

D'un autre côté, ce souhait de l'instance dirigeante d'équiper toutes les Formule 1 avec un moteur unique favorisera les petites écuries indépendantes.

« Je viens d'apprendre cela », s'est étonné Gerhard Berger, copropriétaire de Toro Rosso. « Moi je suis très heureux, je trouve que c'est une bonne solution. Peu importe ce qu'on va faire, mais il faut agir rapidement. »

La FIA adopte cependant une manière un peu abrupte avec cette annonce qui tombe avant la concertation avec les écuries. Une réunion est prévue la semaine prochaine entre la fédération et les équipes pour évoquer la réduction des coûts.

D’après AFP

GP DE CHINE : Séance libre 2 Hamilton, un ton au-dessus

EL2 : Lewis Hamilton poursuit sur sa lancée

C’est sous un beau rayon de soleil que la deuxième séance d’essais libres va débuter, puisqu’en effet il y a 29°C sur la piste, 26°C dans l’air, une humidité de 65%, et un vent à 3,4 m/s. Cette séance est cruciale puisqu’on va préparer la course de dimanche, où le titre se jouera peut-être.

Nelsinho Piquet est le premier à quitter les stands, il est suivi par la plupart des autres pilotes qui vont chacun se lancer dans un tour chronométré. Le meilleur chrono est celui de Lewis Hamilton : 1.36.718 pour le pilote anglais. Cependant les Ferrari ne sont pas encore sorties.

Pourquoi toutes les monoplaces sont-elles en piste dès le début de séance ? De la pluie serait-elle prévue par les équipes ? Comme dans la première séance, Hamilton est le premier à passer la barre de la minute trente-six sur un tour, puisque lors de son dernier passage sous la cellule de chronométrage, son temps était de 1.35.750.

Après quinze minutes de débat, tout le monde est rentré dans son garage. Mais le constat est alarmant pour le paddock puisque Lewis Hamilton a plus d’une seconde d’avance sur le second, qui n’est autre que son coéquipier Kovalainen. Cependant les pilotes ressortent pour tente de briser cette hégémonie.

Fernando Alonso est le premier à connaître quelques petits problèmes puisqu’il est hors de la piste dans le dernier virage. La R28 aura beaucoup de mal à rivaliser avec les meilleurs ce week-end si son équilibre est si précaire.

Quelques pilotes commencent à faire monter des pneus tendres sur leurs montures, et a priori ils fonctionnent plutôt bien, puisque par exemple Bourdais vient de s’adjuger la P2, à huit dixièmes de Hamilton. A noter que les Ferrari se font remarquer ce matin, mais pas dans le bon sens : Massa est en grande difficulté dans le dernier virage et Räikkönen offre au public chinois un joli tête-à-queue.

Ross Brawn a déclaré que chez Honda, on avait abandonné le programme de développement de la RA-108. Mais cela aurait dû être fait depuis longtemps, pour preuve le 19ème et 20ème place actuelle des pilotes de la firme japonaise. Ce n’est comme ça qu’ils vont attirer Alonso chez eux.

Certains pilotes sont actuellement en piste avec des pneus tendres, néanmoins ils n’améliorent pas leurs chronos : Pourquoi ? Deux hypothèses, soit ils sont chargés en essence et testent la dégradation de ces pneumatiques, soit les pneus tendres ne sont performants que sur un tour dans une fenêtre d’exploitation restreinte.

Alors qu’il reste une quinzaine de minute, les vingt monoplaces vont ressortir afin d’essayer de venir déloger Hamilton, qui dispose du meilleur temps, depuis le début de la séance. Les pilotes attaquent et les erreurs se multiplient, Piquet par en tête-à-queue, Bourdais part à la faute et plante sa monoplace dans le bac à gravier du premier virage, le drapeau jaune est déployé.

La séance est maintenant terminée et personne n’est parvenu à détrôner Lewis Hamilton de son leadership, il finit donc en tête du classement de cette séance avec son chrono de 1.35.750. Fernando Alonso termine P2, avec presque trois dixièmes de retard, Piquet est P3, Trulli 4ème, et Webber 5ème.

Pos	Pilotes	Equipes	Temps	Ecart	Tours
01	L. Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.750		33
02	F. Alonso	Renault	1:36.024	+ 0.274	36
03	N. Piquet	Renault	1:36.094	+ 0.344	38
04	J. Trulli	Toyota	1:36.159	+ 0.409	32
05	M. Webber	Red Bull	1:36.375	+ 0.625	38
06	F. Massa	Ferrari	1:36.480	+ 0.730	31
07	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:36.529	+ 0.779	32
08	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.542	+ 0.792	34
09	N. Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:36.553	+ 0.803	38
10	N. Rosberg	Williams	1:36.556	+ 0.806	33
11	T. Glock	Toyota	1:36.615	+ 0.865	33
12	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:36.775	+ 1.025	37
13	H. Kovalainen	McLaren	1:36.797	+ 1.047	33
14	D. Coulthard	Red Bull	1:36.808	+ 1.058	36
15	S. Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:36.925	+ 1.175	38
16	K. Nakajima	Williams	1:36.975	+ 1.225	31
17	G. Fisichella	Force India	1:37.473	+ 1.723	38
18	A. Sutil	Force India	1:37.617	+ 1.867	33
19	J. Button	Honda	1:37.800	+ 2.050	37
20	R. Barrichello	Honda	1:37.904	+ 2.154	36

GP DE CHINE : Séance libre 1 Hamilton ouvre les débats

EL1 : Lewis Hamilton domine la première séance en Chine

Aucune goutte de pluie pour l’ouverture des essais libres 1 du Grand Prix de Chine. En effet, la température est de 24°C sur la piste, 23°C dans l’air et un vent de 2,2m/s.

Comme d’habitude, les deux premières monoplaces qui sortent des stands sont les Force India de Fisichella et de Sutil. Elles sont suivies par de nombreuses autres voitures qui vont effectuer un tour de vérification.

Après une cinq minutes, Les pilotes Ferrari sont les seuls à ne pas être avoir fait un tour de vérification. Il faut attendre quinze minutes avant de voir un premier pilote faire un chrono. C’est le Français Sébastien Bourdais qui signe ce temps de référence. C’est la première fois que le pilote Toro Rosso roule sur ce circuit.

Après trente minutes, tout le monde est en piste, sauf Sebastien Bourdais. Kimi Räikkönen signe le meilleur tour. Le pilote Ferrari part en tête-à-queue et reprend aussitôt la piste. Mais Heikki Kovalainen prend le meilleur tour au pilote finlandais. Le tour est rapidement pris par le leader du championnat. Mais Hamilton se fait à son tour battre par Felipe Massa qui signe un tour en 1:36.020.

Au deux tiers de la séance, le classement est le suivant : Massa (1:36.020), Hamilton (+0,024), Kovalainen (+0,083), Räikkönen (+0.237), Kubica (+0.487), Alonso (+0,641), Bourdais (+1.081), Piquet (+1.267).

Lewis Hamilton affiche son nom en haut de la fiche des chronos. Il est le premier à passer la barre des 1.36. Le pilote est une nouvelle fois lancée. Il améliore encore et signe un tour en 1:35.630.

Il reste trois minutes, et tout le monde est en piste, sauf Nick Heidfeld. Les quatre premières places sont toujours prisent par les Ferrari et les Mclaren. Le Français Sébastien Bourdais est toujours devant son coéquipier. Il se trouve en huitième place.

La séance est maintenant terminée, et c’est Lewis Hamilton qui termine en tête pour la première séance du week-end. Il devance les deux pilotes Ferrari ainsi que son coéquipier. Kubica se place en cinquième place devant Fernando Alonso.

Pos	Pilotes	Equipes	Temps	Ecart	Tours
01	L. Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.630		23
02	F. Massa	Ferrari	1:36.020	+ 0.390	24
03	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.052	+ 0.422	23
04	H. Kovalainen	McLaren	1:36.103	+ 0.473	21
05	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:36.507	+ 0.877	25
06	F. Alonso	Renault	1:36.661	+ 1.031	25
07	N. Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:37.040	+ 1.410	23
08	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	1:37.070	+ 1.440	32
09	N. Piquet	Renault	1:37.180	+ 1.550	30
10	S. Vettel	Toro Rosso	1:37.278	+ 1.648	25
11	M. Webber	Red Bull	1:37.491	+ 1.861	26
12	J. Button	Honda	1:37.619	+ 1.989	25
13	K. Nakajima	Williams	1:37.630	+ 2.000	23
14	D. Coulthard	Red Bull	1:37.638	+ 2.008	22
15	N. Rosberg	Williams	1:37.638	+ 2.008	26
16	T. Glock	Toyota	1:37.664	+ 2.034	29
17	R. Barrichello	Honda	1:37.827	+ 2.197	28
18	J. Trulli	Toyota	1:38.219	+ 2.589	24
19	A. Sutil	Force India	1:38.285	+ 2.655	25
20	G. Fisichella	Force India	1:38.479	+ 2.849	26

JAPAN GP : MCLAREN RACE REPORT

RACE REPORT

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji in 12th place; he was pushed into a spin by title contender Felipe Massa (Ferrari) on lap two and dropped to the back of the field. A subsequent drive-through penalty - for a first-corner incident - left him unable to challenge for a points finish. Heikki Kovalainen retired from third place due to an engine failure on lap 17. At the top of the drivers’ championship, today’s result does little to change the overall standings: Lewis still leads with 84 points, five ahead of Felipe who finished seventh to collect two points. Heikki is sixth with 51 points.

Lewis pitted on lap two (8.2sec), following the incident with Massa, and lap 40 (8.4sec). After 16 out of 18 races, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes lies second in the constructors’ championship with 135 points; Ferrari leads with 142 points.

LEWIS HAMILTON

"Obviously, I’m not happy after a result like today’s - but I’m already getting over it and tomorrow will be another day. Disappointingly, I didn’t make a great start, but I slipstreamed Kimi and went up the inside. I braked a bit late - but so did everybody. A lot of cars went wide at Turn One - and I just went a bit wider than everyone else. But you can’t undo the penalty or change today’s result. On lap two, Felipe went wide and I went up the inside, giving him room, but he tapped me quite hard into a spin.

"There are positives to take from today; I’ve only lost two points to Felipe in the drivers’ championship, so it’s definitely not over. Now I’ll forget today ever happened and move forward; we’ve got two more races to go and my target is still to win both of them."

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

"Today started with so much promise and ended so disappointingly. I made a good start and, although I ran wide at the first corner, I still managed to slot in behind Robert and Fernando. I was feeling pretty confident about catching them both because the car was feeling just fantastic and then, all of a sudden, the engine stopped. That was a real pity because our reliability has been fantastic all season. Nevertheless, my pace today was good and I head to China feeling positive that we can once again show the same sort of pace we had this weekend."

RON DENNIS

"Well, today was a very challenging day. We were a bit surprised that Lewis was given a penalty in respect of the first-corner incident, simply because we’ve all seen similar first-corner incidents that triggered no such penalty. Drivers miss braking points, they run wide; these things happen. As for Heikki, he was in a very strong position, fuelled significantly longer than the cars around him, when he suffered an extremely rare engine failure. All in all, then, as far as the championship is concerned, I guess things could have been worse; but there’s no getting away from the fact that it was a disappointing weekend. However, Lewis is still five points clear in the drivers’ championship, with two races to go, and I know that our whole team will dig deep from here on in."

NORBERT HAUG

"A chaotic start and one lap later Felipe ruined Lewis’s race when he first ran wide and then cut the chicane short and pushed Lewis into a spin. The next grand prix will be held already next weekend and neither Felipe nor Ferrari benefited too much from today’s result. Despite Felipe’s action, Lewis still leads the drivers’ championship. We will investigate the engine failure on Heikki’s car tonight and tomorrow in Brixworth. Unfortunately this failure happened today when Heikki had a chance of winning; he was third, had the speed and was on the superior strategy. I am sorry for him and the team, it’s bad that things like this happen even if you previously performed reliably for two years. But we will work hard to make sure that such a failure will not happen again."

Grand Prix du Japon – Résumé de la course

Jarno Trulli (monoplace n° 11, châssis TF108-05)

Résumé : 7^ème sur la grille, Timo réalise un très bon départ et gagne du terrain dans le premier virage. Grâce à un premier relais plus long que celui des voitures qui le précèdent, Timo grignote encore des places et mène la course durant trois tours avant de s'arrêter aux stands au tour 21. À la fin de son deuxième relais prolongé, il est de nouveau en tête avant son dernier arrêt au tour 50. Il termine 5^ème et engrange quatre points lors de cette course à domicile pour l'écurie Panasonic Toyota Racing.
Classement en course : 5^ème (+23"767)

Classement en qualifications : 7^ème
Meilleur temps : 1'19"026 (+0"622 en Q3) Sur la grille : 7^ème

« Nous pouvons être satisfaits de notre résultat mais, honnêtement, j'aurais souhaité offrir un peu plus à l'équipe et au public japonais qui nous a encouragés. Je pensais réellement que le podium était à notre portée, mais nous ne pouvions pas faire mieux que 5^ème cet après-midi. J'ai tout donné du début jusqu'à la fin, mais il était impossible d'obtenir un meilleur résultat aujourd'hui. Nous avons été performants tout au long du week-end et la voiture s'est une nouvelle fois bien comportée en course, mais les températures fraîches ne nous ont pas aidés. Cela a entraîné un léger déséquilibre. J'ai essayé de maintenir Piquet derrière moi, mais les Renault étaient très rapides aujourd'hui. Malgré cela, je suis content de marquer des points et de donner à notre public de quoi se réjouir. »

Timo Glock (monoplace n° 12, châssis TF108-07)
Résumé : 8^ème sur la grille, Timo prend un départ solide, mais il est contraint de tourner trop large dans le premier virage et perd du terrain. Il regagne des places et est 8^ème au 5^ème tour, mais la voiture connaît un problème de fixations de siège en sortie du 6^ème virage. Timo s'arrête aux stands puis repart, avant d'être contraint à l'abandon au tour suivant.
Classement en course : DNF

Classement en qualifications : 8^ème
Meilleur temps : 1'19"118 (+0"714 en Q3) Sur la grille : 8^ème

« Cet après-midi a été court pour moi. J'ai pris un bon départ, mais j'ai perdu du terrain dans le premier virage. En effet, tout le monde a viré trop large et j'ai été poussé hors de la piste. Ensuite, il me semble que j'ai roulé sur les débris de l'accident de David Coulthard. Le comportement de la voiture est devenu bizarre et j'ai finalement perdu le contrôle en montant sur le vibreur à la sortie du 6^ème virage. J'ai alors roulé sur l'herbe et la voiture a décollé. Lorsque j'ai touché le sol, j'ai senti que quelque chose avait cassé à l'arrière et j'ai dû abandonner. C'est vraiment dommage car nous avions beaucoup de carburant, nous avions été performants durant tout le week-end et nous étions certains de signer un bon résultat devant notre public. »

Tadashi Yamashina - Directeur d'écurie

« Jarno a effectué un très bon travail aujourd'hui, comme toute l'équipe dans cette course à domicile. Nous espérions que les deux voitures termineraient dans les six premières, mais Timo a malheureusement dû abandonner prématurément. Lorsqu'il est sorti de piste, le choc sur la monocoque a endommagé les fixations de siège. Nous avons essayé de maintenir la voiture en course, mais nous n'avons rien pu faire et c'est vraiment dommage. Aujourd'hui, beaucoup de supporters de Toyota avaient fait le déplacement pour venir voir l'équipe et pour nous encourager. J'ai beaucoup apprécié et je les remercie de tout cœur. »

Bourdais pénalisé de 25 secondes

Sébastien chute à la 10ème place !

Le Français Sébastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso), initialement classé sixième, a été pénalisé de 25 secondes pour s'être accroché avec le Brésilien Felipe Massa (Ferrari). Le pilote français chute par conséquant à la 10ème place, dimanche au Grand Prix du Japon de Formule 1 au Mont Fuji. Bourdais s'est accroché avec Massa alors qu'il ressortait des stands. Massa est parti en tête à queue mais pu ensuite poursuivre sa route pour finir huitième. Grâce à cette pénalité infligée à Bourdais, le Brésilien gagne un rang et prend la septième place de la course.Il se rapproche ainsi à cinq points du leader du championnat Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes). D'après AFP

McLaren et Mercedes tombent de haut

Zoom Lewis Hamilton

Tout s’annonçait bien après la qualification pour les pilotes McLaren Mercedes. Rapidement, les choses ont mal tourné…

Devancé par Räikkönen à l’extinction des feux, Hamilton a vu rouge et s’est précipité pour tenter de reprendre de manière autoritaire l’avantage sur son rival. La manœuvre ne sera pas du goût des commissaires sportifs qui allaient lui infliger un "passage obligatoire par les stands."

Avant ça, dès le 2ème tour, Lewis avait perdu encore un peu plus de temps, la faute à un tête-à-queue suite à une attaque musclée de Felipe Massa !

Après toutes ses mésaventures, le leader du championnat du monde était trop loin pour espérer rallier l’arrivée dans les points. Il ne perd néanmoins que deux points sur son rival brésilien dans la course au titre.

« Eh bien, c’était une journée très difficile. Nous avons été un peu surpris que Lewis ait été pénalisé pour l’incident du premier virage, tout simplement parce que nous avons déjà vu des choses similaires dans les premiers virages qui n’ont pas provoqué une telle sanction » déclarait Ron Dennis.

« En ce qui concerne Heikki, il était dans une bonne position, avec nettement plus d’essence à bord que les voitures devant et derrière lui. Malheureusement, il a été vite contraint à l’abandon » regrettait le patron de McLaren. « Dans l'ensemble, sur le plan du championnat, je suppose que les choses auraient pu être pires, mais il ne faut pas nier qu’il s'agissait d'un week-end décevant.»

« Lewis est néanmoins toujours en tête avec cinq points d’avance à deux courses de la fin – et je sais que l'ensemble de notre équipe fera son maximum » ajoutait-il.

Les chances de l’équipe McLaren Mercedes n’ont pas reposé longtemps sur Heikki Kovalainen puisque le malheureux finlandais a été contraint à l’abandon dès le 17ème tour – la faute à une panne moteur.

Le bilan du Grand Prix du Japon n’est pas bon, et ce n’est pas Norbert Haug – patron de la compétition chez Mercedes qui disait le contraire : « Nous allons enquêter sur la panne moteur survenue sur la voiture de Heikki ce soir et dès demain à Brixworth. Malheureusement, ça s’est produit alors qu’il avait une chance de gagner. Je suis désolé pour lui et pour l'équipe. Nous allons travailler dur pour faire en sorte que ça ne se répète pas. »

« Un départ chaotique et - un tour plus tard - une attaque de Massa ont ruiné la course de Lewis. Le prochain Grand Prix aura lieu en Chine dès le week-end prochain, et ni Ferrari ou Felipe ont trop bénéficié du résultat au Japon » concluait-il.

J-P.K
© CAPSIS International

Transfert : Alonso reste avec Renault pour la saison 2009

Beaucoup de rumeurs circulent concernant l’avenir de Fernando Alonso. Après deux victoires consécutives avec l’écurie Renault, le double champion du monde a déclaré savoir ce qu’il envisageait pour la saison 2009. Le pilote espagnol insiste - aucune annonce officielle sera faite avant le Grand Prix du Brésil.

"J’ai dit que je prendrais une décision après le Brésil, mais cela ne veut pas dire que je ne sais pas quoi faire. Je sais quelle décision je vais prendre, et je ferais l’annonce officiel après le Brésil," a déclaré le pilote espagnol au quotidien Bild.

2008 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

FIA post-race press conference - Japan

Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA 1st Fernando Alonso (Renault), 1h30m21.892s; 2nd Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), 1h30m27.175s; 3rd Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 1h30m28.292s. Q: Fernando, that was a great Grand Prix win, a fantastic start, lots of action in front of you at the first corner, let's talk about that, and then talk about that great race-defining second stint. Fernando Alonso: Yeah, the start was probably the most exciting part of the race, for sure. I saw the people in front of me going quite aggressively into turn one. I myself locked the front tyres and I went a little bit wide. But I think it surprised us in a way as with the cold temperatures most of us started with the prime tyres and then we locked the tyres and everybody went long, so I took the benefit of that and I put myself behind Robert and from that point the race was a little bit easier. Then in the second stint we managed to have some free air, no one in front of us, the car was very nice to drive again and I was pulling a nice gap and maybe part of the victory was in the second stint. Q: You took on less fuel in the first stop, so perhaps that was influential in how the car handled? FA: Yeah, obviously we were P2 when we stopped for the first time, so I asked the team if we can manage to exit the pits in front of Robert because I wanted some free air in the second stint, so they had to give me less fuel to do that but the problem is you need to open a gap in the second stint. Sometimes you can do it, sometimes you can’t but today the car was perfect and I was able to do it. Q: I guess Robert got in front of you at the first corner when you locked up? FA: Yeah, he went a little bit wide and then I saw the action in front me, everybody going straight, so I backed off a little bit and Robert overtook me. Then I was trying not to lose too much of a gap to Robert in the first stint and then control the race until the end as we did not know exactly how the soft tyres would perform in the last stint, so as many seconds as possible you need to be comfortable. Q: Talk a little bit now about the feeling within the team and after the win in Singapore, Renault’s first back to back wins since 2006. How do you feel right now? FA: Well, again difficult to believe. Obviously the Singapore win was completely unexpected and after a very sad Saturday, coming from a retirement in qualifying, there were some special conditions with the safety car etc. but today we had nothing and we won again in a circuit that maybe is not particularly good for our characteristics. I cannot believe it right now but obviously back to back wins is a very nice feeling and the team did a great job to improve the car. We are now maybe just behind Ferrari and McLaren and this is completely amazing. Q: Robert, what about the first corner from your point of view? Robert Kubica: I didn’t manage a good start. I had some slipping clutch in the initial phase of the start, so Trulli went by. I think it was Trulli, one of the Toyotas. Then I decided to go on the inside, I braked really too late and if someone had managed to take the apex I would have for sure hit him but suddenly everybody was straight. I locked the front wheel quite a lot but managed to stay on the track, I think I was the only one who did really. Okay, I didn’t take the apex but I was still on the track and managed to pull out first after corner one. Then I was not really able to pull away, Fernando was keeping the gap and I was trying everything. After the first pit stop he was in front of me. I had a graining problem which influenced the last sector where I was very slow and in low speed corners he was pulling much better traction out of low speed corners and then the last stint it was a great battle with Kimi for three or four laps when I again had very big problems with the graining but then the tyres cleaned out. I managed to pull a comfortable gap of two seconds and that’s it. Q: Talk about the battle with Kimi, especially at turn three. RK: Yeah, there is no space for two cars to go through there. I was on the inside and I just did not back off and he didn’t back off. I managed to stay on the track, but nearly went off, but that’s it. I knew I had to survive this four or five laps. I didn’t know exactly how much graining there would be but I did survive them. Once the tyres were cleaned out I was able to pull away. Q: Given where you were in qualifying I imagine this is a great result for you? RK: Yeah, I think this is much better than the Canada win with a car I think it is not a secret anymore, not the one from the beginning of the season. We didn’t improve a lot in the last two or three months, so to be able to finish second on the podium in front of McLaren and Ferrari, to be able to keep quite a good pace in qualifying, is amazing. Again qualifying was crucial. I managed to do a really good result with the car I have and then in the race I managed to keep a consistent pace and with a bit of luck at the first corner finish second. A great result for the team in, I think, a very difficult moment. Everybody is pushing but we cannot find better pace and I think it is a good boost for the last two races as we are still in the fight, so let’s try. Q: How was the first corner from your point of view? Kimi Raikkonen: I got a pretty good start and got into the first place but then braking into the first corner I was trying to turn in and there was first one McLaren and then a second and I think they both hit me and I had nowhere to go. I needed to go straight and I lost many places and got some damage in the front but luckily enough I was able to get back on the circuit but then I was all the time behind people. I was catching up and getting past some people but then just before the pit stop I was behind Robert and then I was fighting against him and in the last stint I got a few tries to get past him but I always caught him just in the last part of the circuit, the main straight, and he always went on the inside, so I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I tried the outside and then the inside and once we were side by side but I knew that if nobody was going to lift in corner three, I had no options than to run off the circuit. I tried but then my tyres started to grain a bit and his started to clean up, so I lost a bit of an opportunity there. It is a bit disappointing what happened in the first corner as we could have had a better result but at least I got to the finish this time and got some good points for the team and we will try to do better next race. Q: There was some damage to the left front wheel. What did the car feel like in those few laps? KR: The front didn’t feel the same anymore. I think it was Heikki who hit me harder. The front felt quite light, it didn’t feel the same as before but I didn’t know. I asked if we had damaged something but I couldn’t see what happened really. The car was okay but for sure we were missing something as we were not able to be fast enough to catch up with the guys in the front. Just before the second pit stop I was stuck behind, I think, Barrichello for one lap and I lost like a second or something and it was just enough to get me behind Robert after the stop. But in the end it was quite a difficult race but we got third place, so hopefully we can start scoring better from here. Q: Fernando, your thoughts on how the team feels. Is this the same motivation as in 2006? FA: Yeah, more or less similar but obviously in 2006 we had the championship battle, so everybody was maybe more concentrated on getting the points and pushing to the limit. This year we keep learning about the new regulations, the new electronics. Again we did improve the management of the tyres quite a lot in the race pace, in the long runs. We understood the problems at the beginning of the season and we concentrated on working on those areas of the car and now the results are coming with improvements in the season, so I am very happy and very proud of my team to have the key to improve all the problems we had. A great job from everybody in the factory and this is the result, these wins are for everybody. PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Fernando, how much of a surprise have these two wins been? FA: A lot, obviously. The first one was a surprise because I started 15th and obviously you never expect to win a race starting in that position. This one is still a surprise as even if I start fourth in a good position we think that we don’t have the pace to win the race, so when I found myself second after turn one I tried to be close enough for Robert and then maybe I fight with him for second, third or fourth place, maybe a get the podium after a nice start or whatever. But I realised after the second stint that I had the possibility to win and if I had no mistakes this win will be for me. Q: Was there a lot of conversation with the pit? FA: Yes, normally we talk a lot and obviously when we are P1 there is a bit more stress for me and for them as you need to calculate what gaps you need in the pit stop and what pace is good enough and we keep talking but everything was okay. Especially the last 20 laps, after the second stop, we saw that the gap was big enough and we managed to save a little bit of the engine for China and everything was under control. Q: Give us some idea what the tyres were like during the race? FA: I had three different problems. The first stint I had huge graining in the tyres, especially the front. Q: Those were the harder tyres? FA: Yeah, with the hard tyres. I think the problem was to run too close to Robert in the first three or four laps and I damaged the tyres a little bit too much. In the second stint I was lucky enough to exit the pits in front of him, so I had fresh air and the tyres worked perfectly okay in the second stint. And again in the third stint when we put on the soft tyres we had graining but we knew that. On Friday we had problems with graining with the option tyre and today when we fitted the option tyre there was graining but I think it was the same for Robert, so I think the gap stayed more or less the same, around 10 seconds. Q: Given the performances in the last two races can you be a contender in the final two races? FA: I don’t know what to say now because I am still thinking not, but my heart says yes. The feeling I have now is that we can do anything because of a circuit like this and we were not too light of fuel. Regarding the laps people stopped today in the first stint, yesterday’s qualifying is a real fourth place, so I am still confident for the next two races. Maybe no wins but who knows, maybe podiums are possible now. Q: Robert can you give an idea of the tyre wear during the race? Was it a similar pattern – hard, hard, soft? RK: We overall had quite a lot of graining problems, already on Friday. Unfortunately yesterday the weather was a bit colder temperature-wise, so we had even more graining problems. Yesterday in qualifying I was struggling to do one single lap without the graining starting already, so I was hoping for real nice sunshine which didn’t come. That was quite a big problem. Before the race I was expecting quite a lot of problems with graining but in fact part of the first stint where you accommodate the tyre with the formation lap and with the initial pace which is not really very quick you stress the tyres less and I survived pretty well but I was not able to pull away the gap, so the car was a bit lighter. As soon as we put a lot of fuel on board I had to really push on the out laps as I was fighting with Fernando, so after half a lap I already have graining and he managed to stay in front of me and then I was really struggling I was not able to keep up with the pace with first the front tyres, then the rear tyres. I was playing with the diff to help the problem but it was not enough and on the last stint when Kimi was very close to me I had massive front graining which cleaned up fortunately, otherwise we would have had a very tough last 10 laps. But I managed to clean the tyres and managed to pull away and finish second. Q: What are your feelings about the final two races and the championship? RK: My feeling doesn’t change. Being leader of the championship after seven races, once you are able to be leader after seven races, you should be able to fight for the championship. Initially, I think I missed a bit of come and go. I was hoping we could be able to fight for the championship. We didn’t improve a lot lately with the car, so this didn’t help me but still, I think I’m 12 points behind the leader. In the last two races everything is possible. Over the last three races - mostly apparent here – it shows that everything can be possible. In Monza we had changeable conditions. I started eleventh, I finished third. In Singapore I would easily have finished on the podium, I think. My race was ruined by safety cars, so it’s changeable. We have to be there and I hope this is a good boost for the last two races and I hope we can find a few tenths which will help me in the battle. Q: Kimi, the performance seemed to be very much up and down during the race? KR: Yeah, a bit but then when you’re behind people it’s very tricky, the tyres don’t last as well and the car doesn’t work as well as if you’re on your own. Overall it wasn’t too bad, we got six points but we definitely wanted to challenge for the win. It already went away in the first corner when the McLaren came and I had nowhere to go and I had to go straight on and they hit me. After that I was always trying to recover and you know that the people who started behind you often have a bit more fuel, so in this kind of place it’s hard to improve but we did the best that we could, not as quick in the race as we were hoping but that was the end result today. Q: What about your battle with Robert and you also had Nelson behind you? KR: Yeah, I think he caught us because we were fighting together but two or three times I had the chance to get past him, I just caught him in the last part of the straight but he always defended on the inside, so I didn’t have much choice. I needed to go outside, try to cut inside. One lap I managed to get on the inside of him on the exit of corner two. I was a bit ahead of him in corner three but he was inside and I was outside, so I knew that if we were both pushing one hundred percent in the corner, I would only have one way to go and that was running off the circuit, so I tried but then after that I got some graining on the tyres and his tyres cleaned up, so the chance was there but I couldn’t get by him. It would have been nice to be second but at least we got some valuable points for the team. McLaren didn’t score any points and I think we scored seven points, so it wasn’t too bad overall. I’m definitely a bit disappointed because being in first place in the first corner but then being pushed out didn’t help and being in the front could have given us a better result but anyhow, that’s racing. QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Q: (Fréderic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to Kimi and Robert: you’re still in the battle for the championship, how do you rate your chances? KR: I don’t even know the points’ situation now. There’s always a chance. It’s not going to be easy but we saw today that the guys in front of us were quite excited. Anything can happen, they can crash again and we could end up in front. But I’m in the worst position out of the four guys. I saw last year that things can go right or wrong, so we keep pushing and trying. RK: I think you at least have to try, there is nothing to lose; as Kimi says, everything is possible. I think Kimi showed last year that anything is possible. The difference is that I have two guys in front of me, not one and at normal pace it’s no secret that we are not as fast as Massa and Hamilton, so life is a bit more difficult but everything can still happen. Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) To Robert and Kimi: you had a similar fight in Hockenheim with bad tyres. How hard is it to keep Kimi behind and for Kimi: is Robert the most difficult guy to try to overtake? KR: I think all of them are more or less similar. Some are a bit more aggressive but it depends a lot on how your car is handling at that stage of the race and on different circuits. Sometimes you have a lot of difficulties and sometimes it’s easier to get past people but I think the differences are not very big and on this kind of circuit, you probably have one or two places to overtake. I couldn’t get close enough, early enough. It was a good fight but I lost it, so next time I try again. RK: From my point of view it was not so easy but I knew that it was only possible for him to overtake me under braking into the first corner. I was trying to exit the last corner as fast as possible to get as much speed as possible but of course with the tow he was catching me. I had quite a lot of problems with graining, so I was hoping the graining phase would soon finish, so I was also trying to clean the front tyres with quite aggressive driving into the hairpin, just to try to pull out of this graining phase. For four or five laps it was very difficult and then I was able to pull away and that was that. Q: (Juha Päätalo - Financial Times Deutschland) Robert, you said that your car is probably not as fast as Hamilton’s and Massa’s car but today’s race showed again that everything seems to be possible with these tyres, especially in the second stint when you could easily match Kimi’s pace. Do you think that’s a possibility for you? RK: Well, I was able to keep pace with Kimi but I was not able to keep up with Fernando’s pace. They were quicker, this time Renault was very strong. We were lucky that Piquet made a mistake in qualifying otherwise he would also have been there. We saw yesterday in qualifying that I just made it into Q2 by two tenths, so the pace was not fantastic. I managed to have really good pace throughout the race with consistent driving, not really exaggerating, just the right amount of pushing and just taking care of the tyres and it worked out. But to be honest, I think in normal conditions it’s very difficult to beat Felipe and Lewis, but as I said, everything can happen and the last three races – in Singapore, Monza and here – are good examples. Q: (Fréderic Ferret – L’Equipe) Kimi, were you surprised to be doing the same lap times as Robert ahead of you in the second stint? Do you think that had something to do with the damage to the front end of the car? KR: As I said, we hoped to have a little more speed today. I was catching up sometimes and just as the car started to get a bit better I got stuck behind Barrichello in the first part of the lap. I lost around a second at least. It was a crucial moment. And then at the end, just before the pit stop, I caught up Robert a lot but it was a bit too late. It was a close fight but I just didn’t have the speed to beat him today. For sure, we expected to have a faster car in the race but it didn’t happen today. Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) To all drivers: the stewards decided to give Lewis Hamilton a drive-through penalty for what happened at the start. Do you consider that was fair? FA: I agree. KR: I don’t know. I didn’t see the whole thing. I only saw him when he came up next to me. I’m not sure if he hit me or not but they make their decisions, so I have nothing against it. RK: I don’t know what happened in the first corner, so it’s difficult to judge. Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Moto und Sport) Fernando, how much is still missing to Ferrari and McLaren under normal circumstances, in terms of lap time? FA: I think about four tenths, half a second. The average disadvantage we find… OK, there are some circuits where we are a little bit closer, some circuits where it’s a little bit more than half a second but I think another four or five tenths would put us in a very strong position. Q: (Erkki Mustakari – STT) Fernando, do these two back-to-back victories help you to make up your mind where to drive next season? You said that you will make up your mind after the season is over. FA: No, no. I said that I would make a decision after Brazil but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know what to do. I know what to do but I will announce it after Brazil. Q: (Fréderic Ferret – L’Equipe) Fernando, how do you rate this victory and was it an easy one? FA: No, never easy. I think victories are always a combination of things. Obviously we were lucky to be in fourth place yesterday because with some milli-seconds we would have been fifth or sixth and maybe the race was very different. And then the first corner was the key part of the race because the McLarens and the Ferraris were out of (the track at) turn one, so after that my race was with Robert. At this moment I don’t think the BMW is maybe as quick as before, so to have to beat Robert was today maybe not easy but he’s a friend, so he would slow down if I had the possibility to win!

2008 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	67	1:30:21.892	4	10
2	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	67	+5.2 secs	6	8
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	67	+6.4 secs	2	6
4	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	67	+20.5 secs	12	5
5	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	67	+23.7 secs	7	4
6	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	67	+39.2 secs	9	3
7	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	67	+46.1 secs	5	2
8	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	67	+50.8 secs	13	1
9	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	67	+54.1 secs	16
10	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	67	+59.0 secs	10
11	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	67	+62.0 secs	15
12	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	67	+78.9 secs	1
13	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	66	+1 Lap	17
14	16	Jenson Button	Honda	66	+1 Lap	18
15	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	66	+1 Lap	14
Ret	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	21	Gearbox	20
Ret	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	16	Engine	3
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	8	Puncture	19
Ret	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	6	Accident damage	8
Ret	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	0	Accident	11