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Friday 1 November
Kimi Räikkönen ended the first day of
practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with the
fourth fastest time of the day at the Yas Marina
Circuit; racking up the joint-highest number of
laps completed in the process [65 across the two
sessions].
Romain Grosjean was fastest in the first session,
but had a brake and then a vibration issue in
the second session to end the day twelfth
fastest.
Technical Programme Notes:
Kimi ran with the team’s original, shorter
wheelbase specification whilst Romain ran with
the later, longer wheelbase specification.
Kimi ran trouble-free throughout both sessions
enabling a variety of set-up permutations to be
evaluated, whilst Romain missed track time in
the second session due to an issue first with
his brakes, then with vibration.
Pirelli’s medium [white] tyre was used in the
first session, the medium and soft [yellow]
compound in the second session [both held in the
afternoon].
What We Learned Today:
The E21 demonstrated strong potential using both
tyre compounds in both long and short
configuration.
Kimi Räikkönen, E21-05
Free Practice 1: P6, 1:44.929, 23 laps
Free Practice 2: P4, 1:41.726, 42 laps
Kimi: “The car feels okay and we had a pretty
normal Friday. The shorter chassis feels okay
here, but I didn’t drive it back to back with
the longer one so it’s difficult to say which is
better. We’re still trying to get rid of some
understeer, but on this circuit it feels better
so far. As always, there are some improvements
we can make to the car so let’s see what happens
tomorrow.”
Romain Grosjean, E21-04
Free Practice 1: P1, 1:44.241, 21 laps
Free Practice 2: P12, 1:42.607, 18 laps
Romain: “It’s been a pretty good day even if we
missed time in the later session whilst the
brakes were worked on. We also had a little
vibration that needed looking at, but it wasn’t
the end of the world. The car feels pretty good
as we saw with the fastest time in the first
session, so I’m sure we’ll get on top of
everything we need to for tomorrow.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:
“As always in Abu Dhabi, we saw two very
different sessions on Friday; the first taking
place in daylight with very high track
temperatures, the second in much more
representative evening temperatures which is
what we’ll see for qualifying and the race. We
completed limited setup work in FP1 – focusing
on setting ride heights rather than car balance
– then used FP2 to complete our normal
evaluations of the two tyre compounds.
Unfortunately Romain had a brake disc failure
which lost him some track time, and there was a
small vibration when he returned to the track so
we cut his day short in order to fully
investigate this issue. Kimi meanwhile had a
good day and looks competitive on both tyres. He
wanted to try the short wheelbase car again as
he felt its characteristics would suit this
circuit. So far it all looks good and this
configuration will be kept on his car for the
remainder of the weekend. His long-run pace
looks very encouraging on both tyres.”
Saturday 2 November
Kimi Räikkönen ended the day fifth with
team-mate Romain Grosjean seventh in a tightly
contested qualifying session for tomorrow’s Abu
Dhabi Grand Prix. Hot, dry, still conditions
prevailed during the final practice session,
with cooling temperatures the feature of
qualifying as the sun set over the Yas Marina
Circuit.
A straightforward Q1 session saw both drivers
set a banker lap on medium tyres, before
emerging for a single stint on soft rubber to
sail through in third [Kimi] and seventh
[Romain]. Q2 by contrast was a closely fought
affair; the Finn and Frenchman progressing in
ninth and eighth respectively, separated by less
than three hundredths of a second after two runs
apiece on softs.
The top ten shootout of Q3 again saw both black
and gold cars make two appearances on soft tyres,
with their opening runs good enough for a pair
of top six placings. As the chequered flag
dropped under the Yas Marina floodlights, Kimi
found himself fifth with Romain seventh.
Kimi Räikkönen, E21-05
Q: P5, 1:40.542
FP3: P9, 1:42.387
“Today wasn’t too bad overall. In the early
sessions both yesterday and today I struggled a
bit to get the car working how I wanted, but in
the evening when the temperature is cooler it’s
been much more to my liking. This is good as the
race will be in the evening so we’d prefer it
that way around for sure. The short wheelbase
car seems to suit my style a bit better too, so
hopefully we can continue this way for tomorrow.
Of course, you always want to be as far up the
grid as you can and we clearly weren’t the
fastest today, but you never know what might
happen on Sunday so we’ll see what we can do.”
Romain Grosjean, E21-04
Q: P7, 1:40.997
FP3: P5, 1:41.832
“That was one of the trickier qualifying
sessions we’ve had recently, and seventh on the
grid is not where we expected to be after the
pace we’ve shown so far this weekend. The car
felt quite different this evening – particularly
in terms of front end – so we’ll need to
investigate where it’s not quite working. It’s a
long race tomorrow in tough conditions and
everyone around us will be starting on the same
tyres, so we need to try and find some
performance from the data tonight to achieve our
target of the podium.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “We
expect strong race pace tomorrow”
How was qualifying for the team?
That was a great qualifying performance from
Kimi who was unlucky not to be in front of both
Mercedes after the final sector of his
qualifying lap narrowly cost him a potential
third position. By contrast, Romain had a bit of
a struggle today and wasn’t as comfortable with
his car as he has been so far this weekend.
Having both cars inside the top ten is a decent
result however, as we expect to see strong race
pace from the E21.
What is possible tomorrow?
Our target on pace alone is to race and beat
Mercedes; ending the weekend with another good
points haul over them in the Constructors’
Championship in the process. Of course, we’ll be
ready to capitalise on any opportunities that
Red Bull may present us, but they are looking
very fast once more here.
What are the tyre strategy considerations for
the race?
There don’t appear to be too many permutations
here, so it could be quite a straight-forward
race. Certainly, the different options that
presented themselves in New Delhi don’t look to
be available here so we’ll watch how the race
evolves and react accordingly.
Sunday 3 November
Romain Grosjean produced a strong drive to
take fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
from sixth on the grid, whilst Kimi Räikkönen’s
race ended in retirement following contact at
the first corner.
A flying start from Romain saw him jump two
places to fourth position through the opening
series of corners; settling in behind the
third-placed Red Bull of Mark Webber until the
first round of pit stops. Kimi meanwhile saw his
evening curtailed after just a few hundred
metres; a clash of wheels with Caterham’s Giedo
van der Garde resulting in a broken track rod on
the Finn’s E21.
Having emerged right behind Esteban Guttierez
after his first pit stop, Romain wasted little
time in passing the Mexican, only to be held up
behind Adrian Sutil until the second phase of
stops. Once in clear air, the Frenchman pushed
hard to build a sufficient gap which would allow
him to re-join in front of both Ferraris
following his second stop; achieving that task
by the narrowest of margins. Despite
consistently closing the gap to Nico Rosberg in
the closing stages, Romain missed out on a
fourth consecutive podium finish by a margin of
just a single second at the flag.
Kimi retains third place in the Drivers’
Championship on 183 points; 34 behind Fernando
Alonso in second. Romain remains in seventh
position with 114 points; trailing Nico Rosberg
by 45. The team remains fourth in the
Constructors’ Championship on 297 points from
Ferrari’s 323, with third spot remaining a firm
target heading into the final two races of the
season.
Kimi started from twenty-second on the grid with
a new set of medium tyres, having been excluded
from his P5 qualifying slot due to a technical
infringement on his E21. He retired on the first
lap after contact with Giedo van der Garde at
Turn 1 which broke his right-front track rod.
Romain started from sixth on a scrubbed set of
soft tyres, having been promoted one position on
the grid as a result of his team-mate’s penalty.
The Frenchman pitted on lap eight for new
mediums, and again on lap thirty-seven for a
scrubbed set of the same compound.
In his pursuit of the final podium position,
Romain set the third fastest lap of the race on
his penultimate lap; underlining the pace of the
E21 here at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Kimi Räikkönen, DNF, E21-05
"There was some contact in front of me through
the first corner so I stuck to the inside, but
unfortunately one of the Caterhams touched my
front wheel and it broke the track rod. It
wasn’t a heavy impact, but the angle made it
worse. It’s never easy starting so far back on
the grid, but after the penalty it was a better
choice to help our chances in the race rather
than starting from the pit lane. After a
difficult start to the weekend we did well
yesterday so it was a shame we couldn’t start
where we qualified, but these things happen
sometimes; it’s just back luck.”
Romain Grosjean, P4, E21-04
“That was a pretty long race. I got a good start
and made up two places in the first few corners,
but after that I lost a lot of time behind the
Force India. I could overtake him with the DRS,
but he had much better top speed and could just
drive straight back past at the next straight.
That middle stint cost us the chance of a podium
in the end, and on pace we could maybe even have
pushed Mark [Webber] for second place, but
that’s how it goes sometimes. It’s a shame we
couldn’t make it four podiums in a row, but to
come away with fourth place after a difficult
couple of days is a decent result.”
Eric Boullier, Team Principal
“It’s been a difficult weekend for the team, but
we can be pleased with the fact our car has once
again shown strong pace at another different
circuit. After the misfortune of his qualifying
penalty it was always going to be a tough race
for Kimi. Starting at the back with a faster car
always puts you in a tricky position, and in the
end it was bad luck once again that saw his race
end on the first lap; for the first time since
2006 I believe. Romain drove a very mature race
to narrowly miss out on his fourth consecutive
podium, which on another day and without his
issues in qualifying would certainly have been
within reach. We have some work to do if we are
to achieve our target of third place in the
Constructors’ Championship, so our focus must
now be on returning to the podium in Austin.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director
“We came into this weekend anticipating another
podium challenge, but unfortunately
circumstances have ultimately conspired against
that happening. Having already been stripped of
his best qualifying performance since Germany,
Kimi’s race was cut short on the first lap after
a tangle with one of the Caterhams, bringing a
disappointing end to a weekend where his pace
had been much improved. It was a trouble free
race for Romain by contrast, who drove well to
take fourth place. His progress was quite
heavily hindered by traffic midway through the
race and we didn’t quite have the pace to
challenge [Nico] Rosberg in the closing stages,
so realistically he achieved the best possible
result on the day. What’s especially pleasing is
that he’s gone from being labelled a ‘first lap
nutcase’ to consistently gaining positions away
from the line and through the opening sequence
of corners at each race. We now head to Austin
where we’ll be working hard to make a return to
the podium.”
Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 Team Support
Leader
“Romain did a great job today to finish just
outside the podium places. Again he managed the
engine and fuel consumption well so we could
turn up the engine modes when we needed to push
and he came away with some valuable points for
the championship battle. Unfortunately Kimi
stopped early, but it’s always a risk when
starting from that position. We’ll keep it
focused for the final two races though and try
to get as many points as we can to finish the V8
era on a high.”
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