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Feelings and comments of the 3 drivers in line for the victory in the Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Thierry great start…
TN: I have to say it’s a pretty good feeling – we weren’t expecting that. Everything is new with a lot of changes with the drivers and the teams. We expected it to be interesting but that interesting, we couldn’t imagine. I felt comfortable with the car straight away even in the tricky conditions. Our route note crew did a really good job and we were able to build the lead. Seb made a mistake as well, but it’s been very, very tricky and easy to make a mistake.
Confident you can keep the lead?
TN: I would not say I am confident, but a bit more comfortable. I feel well in the car to drive and we have had good feedback and everything has worked well so far. I have a 45s lead, which is much, but also not much on this rally especially when tomorrow can be a different tyre choice – that can make a difference tomorrow. It will be a tough fight tomorrow, but let’s see who has upper hand in the evening.
Seb how tough was this morning?
SO: I feel well to be there on the podium at the moment. It’s been a tough day and the conditions were quite horrible, it was very, very slippery and hard to judge the grip for the whole day. I was not comfortable in the car and I made a silly mistake to lose 40s in the ditch. The day started to have a different feeling, I was not having a good balance, so we decided to wait for the service park. We made some changes, but I cannot say I am fully happy. It’s way too early to feel perfect in the car. I feel better and the time was following and I can trust more the car more as well.
How are you getting on with the team?
SO: Very well. Like I said before, it’s a great pleasure to join the team – they have all made me feel very welcome. I want to deliver now and make our part of the job. The guys have worked incredibly hard to finish everything on time for Monte Carlo. I’m happy that we are both on the podium, with Ott. We need to keep going like this.
How determined are you to hunt Thierry down?
SO: So far it’s been more of an elimination race than pure performance race. Thierry has been driving very well with no mistakes on the high speed. For sure the gap of 45 seconds – even if its Monte Carlo – it’s better to have this than be behind. But nothing is impossible especially with the tyre choice. I will focus on myself and try to drive well, get comfortable in the car. At the end of the day I would be happy to be in Monte Carlo with the podium and I don’t want risk it all for victory. Monte is special and especially for all the guys here I want to give my best.
Are you pleased with the day Ott?
OT: It’s been a really tricky Monte, as everybody has said. I was not expecting to be so high level in the rally. My plan was to have a good rhythm and safe speed, but so far I have been quite comfortable in the car. The handling is quite close to where I like, it’s been nice to far.
What’s the plan tomorrow – will you fight with Seb?
OT:Obviously I imagine he’s close to home, so maybe he knows some tricks here. The plan is still not to go in the fight. I want to carry on with the speed we have. Seb is really fast this afternoon and I was nowhere close to him – let these two guys fight and let’s see how it goes.
CHRISTIAN TORNATORE / RACE DIRECTOR : ‘‘SS 1 HAS BEEN CANCELLED.’’
‘‘SS 1 has been cancelled due to the crash of Paddon and Kennard. The crew is unharmed. A spectator passed out. The emergency services have been called to rescue him. SS2 is maintained as expected at 11.07 p.m.’’
Further information to follow…
The 85th Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo will be the stage of the very first race of the 2017 World Rally Championship’s cars. The rally will enjoy this year an exhaustive TV coverage again. La Chaîne L’Équipe will present on Thursday 19th January from 11.30 am all the issues of the Monegasque round. Red Bull TV and Motors TV will offer the highlights of each stage and a major retrospective of the rally on Sunday 22th January. Finally, La Chaîne L’Équipe will broadcast in live the SS1, SS12 and SS17.
Quickest in shakedown, how was the Fiesta Seb?
SO: It’s very hard to judge right now. I’ve had so little time in the car, but this is a good start today. We cannot make any conclusions from this shakedown its very evolving conditions. There’s some saving tyres for the rally as well as some different tyre choices. I feel not complete ready, with only two days testing, but I am ready to make the best. The rally is going to be difficult, it’s very slippery with a lot of tricky conditions. A lot can happen. But the tyre choice looks predictable, now we have stay on the road
Is it going to be the trickiest Monte ever?
SO: The Monte is most of the time tricky, but this will be one of the trickiest; I am used to it. Tyre choice is pretty clear. In some places we will have full ice and snow and on some there is tarmac. The tyre choice is somehow easier.
So you won’t need a call from your dad?
SO: No hopefully I don’t need a call from him to tell me I’m wrong!
A l’occasion du Grand Prix d’Espagne de Formule 1, Jean TODT, Président de la Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) et Envoyé Spécial du Secrétaire Général des Nations Unies pour la Sécurité Routière, a dévoilé sur son compte Twitter @JeanTodt « F1 DRIVERS ADVOCATE FOR ROAD SAFETY » (Les pilotes de F1 se mobilisent pour la sécurité routière), un court métrage qui présente pour la toute première fois la grille complète des pilotes F1 en campagne pour la sécurité routière.
Selon les estimations actuelles, environ 1,35 million de personnes décèdent chaque année dans des accidents de la route à travers le monde. Et récemment, on observe une augmentation de ce nombre. Parmi les victimes, les jeunes sont les plus touchés. En effet, les chiffres indiquent que les accidents de la route sont la principale cause de décès chez les 5 à 29 ans.
Avec le concours de ses 240 Organisations membres dans le monde entier, la FIA a pour objectif de sensibiliser aux dangers de la route et de promouvoir un ensemble de conseils de sécurité simples pour tous les usagers.
Dans ce court métrage où les visages des pilotes apparaissent en noir et blanc et en gros plan, l’accent est mis sur l’importance de suivre les règles d’or de sécurité, et pas seulement sur circuit, mais également sur la route. En tant que professionnels, les pilotes de F1 sont bien placés pour savoir que « conduire peut être dangereux », mais qu’il existe « des règles simples que l’on peut suivre pour rendre les routes plus sûres et sauver des vies ». La vidéo met l’accent sur les messages-clés de la campagne de sécurité routière FIA #3500LIVES, dont entre autres les suivants : « restez vigilant sur la route », « n’envoyez pas de sms en conduisant », « respectez les limitations de vitesse ».
Lors du lancement du court métrage, le Président de la FIA, Jean Todt, a chaleureusement remercié les pilotes de F1 pour leur participation et a déclaré : « Les accidents de la route sont l’un des défis mondiaux les plus urgents de notre époque. Ce film contribuera à sensibiliser le grand public à l’importance de la sécurité routière et nous aidera à faire passer le message : «Votre vie est entre vos mains. Respectez les règles’. » Ajoutant ensuite : « J’encourage vivement tout le monde à partager ce message ».
Cette semaine marque la cinquième United Nations Road Safety Week, à l’occasion de laquelle la FIA a soutenu plus de 40 initiatives avec ses clubs membres dans le monde entier, dans le cadre du Programme de subventions FIA pour la sécurité routière.
La sortie du film sera doublée d’une campagne mondiale sur les réseaux sociaux, qui encouragera les gens à le partager dans le monde entier.
Pilotes apparaissant dans le film : Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Antonio Giovinazzi, Romain Grosjean, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg, Robert Kubica, Daniil Kvyat, Charles Leclerc, Kevin Magnussen, Lando Norris, Sergio Perez, Kimi Räikkönen, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, George Russell, Sebastien Vettel, Max Verstappen.
