{"id":5998,"date":"2018-10-31T18:47:05","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T18:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/f1vault.co.uk\/?p=5998"},"modified":"2018-10-31T18:47:05","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T18:47:05","slug":"f1-today-31102018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/f1-today-31102018\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 Today \u2013 31\/10\/2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ferrari vows not to give up on constructors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have vowed not to give up on the constructor’s championship, as the team continues to chase down Mercedes. Although the driver’s championship is resolved with eighty-five points still to play for both teams remain in contention.<\/p>\n

Mercedes lead Ferrari by fifty-five points going into the final two races, with a maximum of eighty-six still to play for. Mercedes can, however, seal the constructors in Brazil, with a win.<\/p>\n

Vettel told Sky Sports \u201cThis is not a very happy day for me, but one thing is being down and another is not being able to get back up, and I know that in two weeks I will be back up and try my best to finish the season well and fight for the Constructors’ Championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it’s normal as well to have that moment of disappointment and that you are a bit down but I think I will be as strong as I can be in two weeks’ time heading to Brazil.\u201d The German says that Ferrari deserves a championship for the people who have supported him and Kimi Raikkonen.<\/p>\n

The sports oldest and most famous and successful team has gone almost a decade without a drivers or constructors championship. Something unthinkable in the 2000\u2019s. Ferrari will learn lessons and make the right decision, says Vettel.<\/p>\n

Adding \u201cWe are a very talented and gifted team, we have the most support behind us, we have huge potential – of which some still needs to be unleashed. But we will try to beat Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship and knock them off their throne to give them a taste for next year.”<\/p>\n

Ferrari\u2019s team principal Maurizio Arrivabene says that they are determined to fight Mercedes all the way, saying \u201cThe Constructors’ Championship is still undecided and the team has closed the points gap over the past two races.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Qualifying key to beating Hamilton \u2013 Bottas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Valtteri Bottas believes that upping his game in qualifying will be key to beating Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in the future. Although a run of bad luck at the start of this season cost him wins and derailed his championship, the Finn has also struggled at times to match his Mercedes teammate.<\/p>\n

However, Bottas believes that small improvements will make a big difference, and that focus on stepping it up in qualifying then that could change things a lot. Bottas told Motorsport.com in an exclusive interview, \u201cEspecially with the way Formula 1 is nowadays, I need to improve my performance in qualifying if I want to try and beat Lewis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a very good qualifier and, if he’s starting ahead in the race, then he always has the upper hand. And what qualifying is all about is fine details and many things need to come together. So I just need to keep working on all the details.\u201d Bottas says that from the inside he has been closer this season, but bad luck has not helped.<\/p>\n

While accepting that there are areas where his teammate is better, he says there are areas where he has the edge, or there is nothing to separate the pair.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, he’s strong in all the areas. I think in some areas we are similar, and in some areas, he’s better. There has been many times, especially earlier in the season, when I beat him in the qualifying, and also at the end of last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was Sochi, and Austria. So yeah, sometimes I can have the upper hand. There’s always some corners that he’s quicker, some corners that I’m quicker, some corners that there’s minimal difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottas is convinced that he can have a better season next year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ricciardo\u2019s raving attack on Red Bull<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel Ricciardo has launched a raving attack on Red Bull, after suffering his eighth retirement of the season. The Australian has apparently offered his Red Bull replacement Pierre Gasly to take his seat early, claiming he was \u201cdone with it\u201d, before calling the car \u201cbulls***\u201d.<\/p>\n

He told Fox Sports, You know, honestly, now where I am, I don’t see the point of coming on Sunday, I don’t see the point of doing the next two races.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven’t had a clean race or weekend in so long. I’m not superstitious or any of this b*******, but… the car’s cursed. I don’t have any more words. I’ll let Gasly drive it, I’m done with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This season, Ricciardo has bared the brunt of the team’s reliability issues, and in Mexico, he once again retired with an engine failure in the closing laps. Also, Max Verstappen suffered in qualifying, Red Bull, \u00a0dominated the weekend in Mexico. They locked out the front of the grid in qualifying and were on course for a podium one-two, as well.<\/p>\n

The Renault engine put in a brilliant performance in the works cars with both Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz challenging the top six and finishing seventh and eighth.<\/p>\n

Red Bull have publicly fallen out with Renault as they prepare to switch Honda power from next year after a season of reliabilities issues and ongoing performance shortcomings compared to Ferrari and Mercedes.<\/p>\n

Horner told Autosport, \u201cCredit where credit\u2019s due. Renault have provided us with an engine this weekend in these conditions that is competitive with our opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enabled us to go head-to-head, lock out the front row of the grid and win the grand prix in a dominant fashion. Theoretically, we should have a one-two here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

F1 car \u201csome ways\u201d easier \u2013 Calderon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tatiana Calderon says that the Sauber car is \u201cin someways easier\u201d than her GP3 car, after driving a Formula One car for the first time in Mexico City on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The Colombian who has been with the team since the beginning of last year, and was given the opportunity to drive a current car during a filming day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. She completed twenty-three laps of the Mexican track across four stints, recording a best lap of 1:23.170, almost seven seconds off Charles Leclerc\u2019s fastest time qualifying.<\/p>\n

However, that time cannot be compared as teams run different tyres specifications and fuel levels are unknown, as well as the set up of the cars.<\/p>\n

She said she encountered no physical issues during the test – and remarked that despite the huge increase in horsepower the Sauber was easier to handle than her GP3 car, which does not have power steering.<\/p>\n

“Obviously the heart rate was a bit high, especially when you see so many cameras and when you start the engine, but the team prepared me very well to know what I had to do at all times,” recalled Calderon.<\/p>\n

“It has been incredible, a dream come true. You cannot describe what it feels like to be in a Formula 1 car. The first time I accelerated, it seemed like I was on a PlayStation with how fast everything happened.\u201d She said that she hopes that she can continue to prove that woman aren\u2019t physical disadvantage and wanted to continue with her dream of a race seat in F1.<\/p>\n

The team general manager Beat Zehnder and head of trackside engineering Xevi Pujolar, both praised her performances. Pujolar added \u201cToday we had a limited test with her and she has proven herself as a professional. She has not had a single problem and is what we expected from her.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hartley says that he needs to defend himself\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brendon Hartley says he has become more outspoken after realising he needs to defend himself. The Toro Rosso driver’s future is uncertain given Red Bull has re-signed Daniil Kvyat to its junior team for next season and is keen on Alexander Albon for the second seat.<\/p>\n

However, Hartley insists that he has a valid contract for next season as things become more agitated between himself and the team, including disagreeing with his own team’s press release during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.<\/p>\n

Asked in Mexico about becoming more vocal recently, Hartley said: “Well, I have to keep answering questions about my immediate future. I guess I’ve realised I also have to defend myself a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just felt like I had to stand up for myself sometimes and fight for my cause which I am doing.I know that I’ve done a really good job these last races and I’m feeling in a really good place.\u201d Last week team principal Franz Tost, said that Hartley needed to do a better job to secure his future.<\/p>\n

Hartley has naturally assessed his season differently and has been keen to point out he believes he has compared well against teammate Pierre Gasly who will be promoted to the Red Bull team next year.<\/p>\n

Hartley has been very close to Gasly on pace this year but trails considerably in the points with four points to Gasly’s twenty nine.<\/p>\n

He told Motorsport.com \u201cThere have been a few races where the first lap didn’t go well or there was contact on the first lap and then it goes to the car in front.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s true the margins have sometimes been very tight in qualifying which has made a big difference to the race outcome. There were races like Austria where I was on for points and I really had a good pace to do points but the suspension failed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartley\u2019s different route to F1 including seven years in sports cars, has meant it was hard to readjust back to single-seater racing. He now says \u201cI’m here now, I feel very comfortable in the environment and I’m doing a good job but it hasn’t always fallen my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ericsson to race in IndyCar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marcus Ericsson is to race in IndyCar with Schmidt Person Motorsport next season, after losing his race seat with Sauber to Antonio Giovinazzi. The Swedish driver will, however, will remain as the teams reserve and test driver.<\/p>\n

Ericsson, who already has a relationship with the team, said “It’s a great honour to be picked as one of the drivers at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and IndyCar for the 2019 season,” “It feels like a perfect step for me and my career after five years in F1.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can’t wait to start work with SPM and all the people in the team which I’ve heard a lot of good things about. They’ve had some great success over the years, and I’m looking forward to working hard to continue and improve on that path.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ferrari vows not to give up on constructors Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have vowed not to give up on the constructor’s championship, as the team continues to chase down Mercedes. Although the driver’s championship is resolved with eighty-five points still to play for both teams remain in contention. Mercedes lead Ferrari by fifty-five points going<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[44,215,314,493,675,709,754,956,1227,1298,1304,1305,1544,1637,1639,1642,1656,1791,1843,1955,2025,2026,2105],"class_list":["post-5998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-analysis","tag-44","tag-autodromo-hermanos-rodriguez","tag-brendon-hartley","tag-daniel-ricciardo","tag-f1-today","tag-ferrari","tag-formula-one","tag-indycar","tag-marcus-ericsson","tag-mercedes","tag-mexican-gp","tag-mexican-grand-prix","tag-pierre-gasly","tag-red-bull","tag-red-bull-tag-heuer","tag-red-bull-racing","tag-renault","tag-sebastian-vettel","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-tatiana-calderon","tag-toro-rosso","tag-toro-rosso-honda","tag-valtteri-bottas"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5998\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.f1vault.co.uk\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}