“FOTA’s decision, although regrettable, is understandable,” said team principal Frank Williams after the news emerged from a meeting of team bosses in London on Wednesday. “However, as a racing team and a company whose only business is Formula One, with obligations to our partners and our employees, submitting our entry to next year’s championship was unquestionable.

“In addition, we are legally obliged under our contract with FOM and the FIA to participate in the world championship until the end of 2012.”

Teams have until this Friday (May 29) to submit their entries for 2010, but several have suggested they will not do so unless the FIA modifies plans to introduce an optional £40 million budget cap in exchange for more technical freedom.

During last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix all ten teams wrote to the FIA, requesting that the existing 2009 technical rules be retained for next season to allow more time for the future framing of the Formula One regulations to be considered.

Source - F1.com

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, it is not the first time when I have been in second place and always lose one position. The start seems to be very slippery on that side plus they were on the softer tyres, so it definitely helped at the start. It was not nice to see as we were faster than Rubens but there was no way past him. We lost a lot of time at the beginning and that was the only chance to try and stay behind Jenson. Then I had a little bit longer second stint. I don’t know what happened at the pit stop but we lost a lot of time and Rubens was still a long way ahead of me when I came out. We still have work to do to be where we want to be and fight for the first place. But many small things changed this weekend as yesterday being first place probably would have given us a better chance. We need to be happy after a very difficult start to the season. The people have been working very hard at the factory and here at the circuit, so we improved the car very quickly once we realised we can do something different with the rules. We need to be very happy with what we achieved today. Third and fourth is not bad. We should get some new package again for next race and it should help. I am disappointed, definitely, but in this situation we need to be a bit happier. I am not happy with third place but for the team it is still a good result.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Kimi, you spoke about the start to Peter Windsor; did you use KERS at the start? 

KR: Yeah, but there’s not much use for it if you start spinning your wheels straight away, so that’s where we lost the start. At any other place I could have kept second place. You gain a lot with KERS on long straights but it doesn’t really make much difference here. It’s more the first jump off the line. They had soft tyres, we had harder ones. The right hand side is probably a little bit better for the start anyhow. We just lost it there. It was all fighting after that. We were faster when Rubens had his problems with the tyres at the beginning but then after that, it all played out with very similar pace. We went a little bit longer in the second stint but they seem to be faster in the pit stops. I don’t know what they did but we were still a long way behind when I came out of the pits. That’s how it went. Without being third at the start, we could probably have taken second place but it’s still not what we wanted really. I think, overall, we’re not fast enough really yet to fight for first place. We need to be happy; we’ve still got good results for the team compared to what we had in previous races this year. It’s disappointing to finish third but good for the team and for sure we’re happier now as a team and we’re scoring points. We’ll probably get a little more peace now from everyone as a team. We’re coming back but it will take a while before we’re exactly where we want to be but we definitely made big steps in recent months. We need to be positive. People have done a really good job at the factory and at the circuit to push hard, so we’re starting to get results and that always helps people to push harder.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, did Felipe make it difficult to keep third place?

KR: It wasn’t easy for me. I needed to push all the time. We tried to push anyhow, to jump Rubens in the pit stops but we couldn’t. I didn’t know how many more laps Felipe had than me but I knew that it was going to be close but in the end it was not very close. I was pushing all the time anyhow. We knew it was going to be pretty tight but in the end it turned out to be pretty easy. After that we could slow down and just save the brakes and tyres and speed up a little bit at the end because there was one of the Red Bulls catching us up, so we just had to pick up the pace a bit. But apart from that, after the last pit stop it was great.

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, you made your second pit stop before Massa like the first one. Do think that if Jenson Button left the pits after the second pit stop behind Massa, do you think your place would have been at risk? 

KR: I’m not interested in even thinking about it. Why should I? I was third in the end, that’s the end result. I came in early because at the first stop we tried to jump Rubens because he was so slow with the tyres. We were forced to stop a bit because the people behind us were catching us quickly, so that’s why we were earlier than him but in the end we were third and it doesn’t matter what they did, that’s where we ended up.

“This year’s cars have less downforce, but we’re using slicks: corner number 8 will be very exciting under these circumstances. I think that it’s the downforce we still have to make up ground compared to Brawn GP and Red Bull, but we’re heading in the right direction.

“Now, almost half way through the season, I’m much more optimistic than I was at the start, especially with the steps we’ve taken in the last two races. We know that there are further improvements coming up, which makes me think positive about the future.”

Although cautious about Ferrari’s recovery, especially in light of Jenson Button’s dominant start to the year, Raikkonen has not given up on the championship.

“Whoever wins five out of six races at the start of the season is in an excellent position to winning the title, but the championship isn’t over yet. Everything can happen, although things have to change very soon,” he explained.

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As soon as Rubens passed him at the start it was pretty much set in stone that Button would win the race. Kimi held onto the 2nd placed Brawn and was in fact being held up by him so had to switch the timing of his first stop. Rubens then stopped just a few laps later, with Kimi then stuck behind him again. This ultimately cost him a shot at second place and put his third position under threat from his team mate Massa.

All in all it wasn’t a very exciting race but then we expect that from Monaco don’t we?Nothing worth shouting about unless you were there to watch it and enjoy the atmosphere.  A well deserved win for Button though as he didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend, which is certainly becoming something of a habit!

It probably does seem silly that I’m getting excited about Kimi coming third and on the podium but after the year we’ve had so far it was a dream result. Onwards and upwards though. I’m hoping Kimi and Ferrari can maintain this re-found form and pace, and make it really count back on the ‘normal’ European circuits.

Go Kimi Go - kick start your championship from here on

Jemela Coventry - GoKimi Team

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Monaco Grand Prix

Monte Carlo, Monaco, Monaco;

78 laps; 260.520km;

Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time

 1.  Button        Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  1h40:44.282

 2.  Barrichello   Brawn GP-Mercedes     (B)  +     7.666

 3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    13.443

 4.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    15.110

 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +    15.730

 6.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    33.586

 7.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    37.839

 8.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +  1:03.142

 9.  Fisichella    Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +  1:05.040

10.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +     1 lap

11.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +     1 lap

12.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +     1 lap

13.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +     1 lap

14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  (B)  +     1 lap

15.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:15.154

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap

Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)    52

Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)    31

Vettel        Red Bull-Renault      (B)    16

Piquet        Renault               (B)    11

Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    11

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Felipe Massa - 4th: ”I am very happy with today’s performance. The car was very competitive: it’s clear we are on the way up and hopefully we can soon be back to fighting for the win. At the start, I lost a lot of time behind Vettel and then, because I made a mistake, I was also passed by Rosberg. But after that I quickly got back up the order and I think I could also have passed Kimi. In the three laps I had longer than him, at the second pit stop, I found myself right behind Button and so I wasn’t able to exploit the opportunity. Starting on the hard tyres was the best choice: we still lack a bit of aerodynamic downforce to be up with the Brawns, but it is too early to claim to be the second best team in the championship. What is sure is that we are working well and I am sure we will see further results of that soon.”

Stefano Domenicali: ”The most important thing to come out of today is the confirmation that our car is back to being competitive, thanks to the great amount of work that everyone at the Scuderia, both back home and at the track, has put in over these past few weeks, without getting distracted by everything going on around us. It’s not easy to work in these conditions and I want to thank everyone for what they are doing. Today, we got a third and a fourth place which, given the difficult start to our season, is a nice result, but it’s still not the one we want. Our aim is to be ahead of everyone and we will do all we can to achieve that as soon as possible. Of course the others won’t remain idle but we must continue to push as we have done in these recent times.”

Chris Dyer: ”That was a very interesting race today. In the end, we are a bit disappointed, but that’s a good sign, both because it shows how much we want to get back to being ahead of everyone and also because, when you begin to think you should have been able to do better than a third and fourth place finish, it means that you are back to being really competitive again. If we had not lost position at the start, probably we could have attacked Rubens, if we hadn’t encountered a problem changing the right rear wheel at Kimi’s second pit stop. What is reassuring is the pace shown by the F60, especially in the second part of the race, when despite having more fuel than the leaders, we were always quicker. We are very happy with the performance of the car and we are confident we can improve it further with coming developments.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Button finished 7.6 seconds ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who used the same tyre strategy. The final podium position went to Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen who used a soft – soft – super soft tyre strategy for third. His team-mate Felipe Massa used the same strategy to finish fourth, showing a return to form for the reigning constructors’ champions. Massa used the soft tyre to set the race’s fastest lap, a 1min 15.154secs, on lap 50. 

Tyre strategy was particularly relevant in Monaco, with the track surface evolving significantly over the course of the race making it even more difficult than usual to predict the best strategy. 

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says 
“Congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn GP Team for their fifth win of the season. Winning in Monaco is a special honour as here is the ultimate test of driving skill and one of the biggest tests of our Bridgestone tyres. It is a privilege to be here and see the Bridgestone brand broadcast on televisions around the world from this fabulous location.” 

Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says 
“Today was very interesting in terms of tyre strategy. Those who started on the super soft 
Bridgestone experienced a bigger tyre performance drop off than those who used it for their final stint. The reason for this is track improvement, as the circuit surface was far more forgiving to the tyres near the end of the race. The level of track improvement could be seen by the race’s fastest lap being almost as fast as pole position. Jenson drove very well to get strong performance from the super soft in his first stint, and that helped him for his win. Four cars showed that a one stop strategy was a viable option here. There were many interesting strategies throughout the field today.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Bridgestone’s super soft tyre provided the grip for Brawn GP Formula 1 Team driver Jenson Button to qualify on his fourth pole position of the season for tomorrow’s Monaco Grand Prix on the streets of Monte Carlo. 

Button set a time of 1min 14.902secs, just over two hundredths faster than Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen. Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) went third fastest. ING Renault F1 Team driver Fernando Alonso used the super soft tyre to go fastest in the morning practice session with a time of 1min 15.164secs. The difference in lap time between the fastest and slowest driver in this session was a mere 1.7 seconds. 

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development 

What was significant about today’s running? 
“Today we saw Jenson Button use Bridgestone’s super soft tyre for pole position here in Monaco, and as we all know, overtaking is very difficult here so pole is very beneficial. Lap times here were very close. The nature of the circuit means that the balance between mechanical grip and aerodynamic grip is more towards mechanical grip, and the close times show that all the teams can get good results from our tyres. It was also a good day for Ferrari with their first front row qualification of the season.”

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Felipe Massa - 5th: “Today’s showing confirms we are capable of fighting for the top places. We were in with a chance of getting into the top three, but I never managed to get a clean lap, partly because of traffic and partly through some small slip ups. These things can easily happen in Monaco and fifth is still a good place to start the race. I am confident for tomorrow. It will be a long race, but the F60 is competitive. Step by step we are getting back to where we are used to being. The accident at the start of Q1? I had new brakes and the harder tyres, which struggled a bit more to get up to temperature, so as soon as I touched the brakes, I locked the wheels and ended up against the guardrail.”

Stefano Domenicali - team principal: “This is a good result and confirms the team is working well. There’s obviously slight regret at Kimi missing out on pole by a whisker and at the fact that Felipe hardly managed a single clean lap in Q3, which prevented him from getting a better grid position. Overall, we can be reasonably satisfied: we are in a good position for tomorrow’s race and we have confirmed that we have made progress on the performance front over these past few weeks. There is still some way to go but we’re moving in the right direction.”

Chris Dyer - chief track engineer: “A great result for the team: two cars in the front three rows is a reward for all the work we’ve done. Kimi drove fantastically well, while Felipe was almost always in traffic, which prevented him from doing better. It was a very complicated qualifying session, starting with Felipe’s accident, which meant he had to come straight back to the pits to change the nose and the ensuing red flag period, which had an effect, because for us at least, the tyres were only at their best after the first flying lap. The team and drivers worked really well in managing the situation and the credit for this result goes to them and everyone back at the factory who worked on preparing for this grand prix. We are in a good position for tomorrow’s race, in which we will do our best to bring both cars home on the podium.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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In warm and sunny conditions overlooking the fabulous Monaco harbour, Nico Rosberg set the day’s fastest lap time, a 1min 15.243secs, in his AT&T Williams during the afternoon practice session. 

Track conditions improved throughout the day as rubber was laid on the street course and the circuit surface was cleared of normal public road debris. Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello was the fastest driver in the morning session, using the soft compound to set a time of 1min 17.189secs. 

The soft and super soft compounds are used here in Monaco, both compounds being from Bridgestone’s low temperature working range of F1 tyres.

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development 

What was significant about today’s running? 

“Today was a challenge for all the drivers as the grip level in Monaco is very difficult to learn, and any mistakes are punished by the barriers. There are significant sections of resurfacing, however the new surface is very smooth, just as the older sections of track are, so there is not a significant difference between the two from a tyre performance perspective. As a first day at Monaco, we saw the lap times fall dramatically over the course of the day as the track cleared and the rubber was put down. It was a good day in terms of gaining data as the weather was fine and the running was not interrupted. However, we will not see any F1 running here tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see how the track surface changes for Saturday.” 

How do you expect this allocation to work over the weekend? 

“Even though these are our softest tyres, drivers will struggle for grip here due to the unique slippery nature of this track. Despite this, we saw very good displays from the drivers today with some exceptional car control, as we would expect of the best drivers in the world. The super soft tyre was faster than the soft tyre, as we expected. The difference between the two tyres today was around 0.4 seconds over the fastest lap. Both tyres delivered their fastest lap on the first or second flying lap, and neither tyre suffers greatly in terms of wear or degradation because of the low grip here.”

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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