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FORMULA ONE

Hamilton cool starting German Grand Prix from pole

British driver Lewis Hamilton laughed off rumours that he is about to join Ferrari and instead said he was hoping to deliver a one-two triumph for McLaren in Sunday’s German Grand Prix.

Published: 20 July 2008 11:16 CEST
Hamilton cool starting German Grand Prix from pole
Hamilton. Photo:DPA

Hamilton said he had set his sights on heading home a perfect finish for McLaren after capturing a last-gasp pole position at Hockenheim where he reigned supreme in practice and qualifying.

The 23-year-old left it until the final seconds of qualifying to push Brazilian Felipe Massa off the top spot and then said he saw no reason why he and McLaren team-mate Finn Heikki Kovalainen cannot dominate the race.

“It has been a good day,” said Hamilton on Saturday. “I feel pretty chilled and happy with what we’ve done, but today is not where you win points, tomorrow is. And Heikki and I will do everything we can to get a 1-2.”

Hamilton also took time out to rubbish rumours that he is poised to leave McLaren and join Ferrari, speculation having intensified after his father and manager Anthony Hamilton was seen chatting to Ferrari staff during a relaxed team barbecue.

“I am staying here and I have always said that, always,” said Hamilton.

Asked about his qualifying, he said his first run in the pole-position shootout had been below par because he lifted off coming into the stadium section for yellow flags brought out when Kovalainen ran off the track.

“I was quite happy with my final lap,” he said. “It went very smoothly. The first Q3 lap I had was looking to be a good lap, but they put the flags out at Turn 12. I think Heikki ran a bit wide. I had to be careful not to get a penalty, so I gave a big lift.

“I know I had it in me and knew we had the pace. I could have gone a bit quicker if we needed to, so it was pretty cool.”

Developments to the MP4-23 car seem to have given McLaren the edge over Ferrari, but Hamilton believes there is little to choose between the two main championship rivals.

“I am surprised to see how close it is between all the teams. It is a tenth here and there. I feel we have the pace, so we will keep pushing and keep moving forward.”

He added that after years of racing in Europe, including Germany, he felt very comfortable at the Hockenheimring in front of hordes of Mercedes-Benz fans in the 120,000 crowd.

“It is quite cool coming here to Germany,” he said. “I have had some great races in Germany, not just here but at the Nurburgring as well. The atmosphere has always been great.

“This weekend I have been surprised to see how many people are here on the Saturday. Coming into the track it is quite relaxed, but when you do get in, especially when you drive into the stadium, it is like being in a football arena.”

Massa said he hadn’t given up hope of a victory. “It was tough for sure, very tight. I don’t know how much fuel everyone has, but if you look at the (testing) session last week it was very tight in terms of lap times, this morning as well,” said the Brazilian.

“I think it is pretty competitive between Ferrari and McLaren. The race will be a big competition between all four cars. For sure that is very exciting. We need to do everything right tomorrow in the race.”

SPORT

IN PHOTOS: Ferrari unveils its new car for the 2020 season

Ferrari unveiled its new SF1000 car on Tuesday at a ceremony in Italy's motor racing heartland of Emilia-Romagna, ahead of the coming Formula One season.

Published: 12 February 2020 09:32 CET
IN PHOTOS: Ferrari unveils its new car for the 2020 season
The new Ferrari SF1000. All photos: AFP/Ferrari press office

Ferrari unveiled its new SF1000 car for the 2020 Formula One season, which they hope will deliver a first world drivers title since 2007, during a glitzy ceremony on Tuesday.

The single-seater's name acknowledges the fact that the Italian team will start its 1,000th world championship race during the coming campaign, which begins with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15.

Narrower than last season's SF90, with a deeper red colouring the body, Ferrari is pinning its hopes on the SF1000 car earning them drivers and constructors titles that have eluded them for 12 and 11 years respectively.

“I like it very much,” said German driver Sebastian Vettel.”It's much narrower at the back than last year and it is also redder, it's even better. I'm impatient to drive it, that will be even more fascinating than looking at it.”

The Scuderia broke with tradition and presented its new racing car outside of its stronghold of Maranello, unveiling it instead amid of sea of red on stage at the Teatro Romolo-Valli in the nearby city of Reggio Emilia.

“This is a very important place for our country,” chairman of the Ferrari group John Elkann explained.
“It was in this city that the tricolour flag, which became that of Italy, was created. And Ferrari is proud of Italy and of representing Italy.”

“This is a very special year,” continued Ferrari Team Manager Mattia Binotto.

“It's 70 years of Formula One, we have been there from the start and we are going to reach the figure of 1,000 Grands Prix, which is something incredible.”

Barring a forced change in the calendar because of the deadly coronavirus in Asia, the milestone should be reached in June during the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

“Maybe it looks a lot like the SF90, but I can assure you it is very different,” continued Binotto.

“We still have to make progress, especially on reliability,” he added, recalling that Ferrari, like the other teams, had to face “the double challenge” of preparing the next season in parallel with the following one, when new rules will come into force.

Binotto stressed that this season veteran Vettel and 22-year-old Charles Leclerc, who impressed on his debut last season, would be starting on an equal footing.

“We have seen that they can both fight for the best results. They are both on the same level. It is up to them to race,” he added.

Last season, the association between the experienced Vettel and Leclerc often turned into a duel, coming to a head when the two drivers collided during the Brazilian GP.

But 22-year-old Leclerc, who won two races and finished fourth place in the world championship, said lessons had been learned.

“We have learned the lesson from Brazil. We are free to race, but we are teammates,” he said.

“A lot of people are working behind us, as a team, and things like Brazil should not happen.”

Both drivers said they were impatient to try out the new car, which will be on track next week for the pre-season testing in Barcelona.

“I felt emotional when I saw it,” said Monaco's Leclerc.

“Now I can't wait to be out on track and try it and to show all the work that has been done on this car. It's going to be a great challenge,” he added. “I'm ready to learn from my mistakes to become an even better driver.”

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