Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Stewart: I think Hamilton can be a little ballerina

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Jackie Stewart, Toto Wolff, Niki Lauda

Sir Jackie Stewart is well known for his anti-Lewis Hamilton stance and spares no opportunity to have ago at the Mercedes driver, of course he was at it again in the wake of the title deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Stewart told the Press Association, “I think [Hamilton] can be a little ballerina. Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda are not stupid people, and neither is the Mercedes chairman who often comes to grands prix.”

“You cannot threaten a multi-national corporation of that size by one man who is just not doing it the right way. Give him the option of either do it our way or you have to be excused.”

“Lewis was refusing their instructions, and he was going against the management team. Now, I am sorry, but when you are paid between 20 and 30 million pounds a year and you are told to do something you have got to do it. I don’t care who you are.”

“It is not the first time he has gone against instructions, and if he is going to continue to do that they have the choice of dropping him. He only does 21 races a year. It is no big deal. We worked our asses off [in the old days] to make decent money, and they don’t even do much testing now.”

“Mercedes may just give him another heavy warning, but if they do that they would then have to say: this is what is going to happen the next time you disobey orders’. Another way would be to penalise him financially,” added the three times F1 World Champion.

Meanwhile Nico Rosberg, who was ‘victim’ of Hamilton’s tactics, said this of the night in question: “Lewis was using all his skill to do it perfectly, so there was absolutely no way for me to manage to get by, so of course I thought about it but it was just pointless so there was no way. He did it in a very good way, in a perfect way.”

“We can just drop the whole discussion. There’s no point discussing this topic any more. It’s done and it’s in the past,” added the sport’s 33rd World Champion.


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Hamilton: Congratulations Nico you did everything a champion needed to do

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rosberg-hamilton

Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg hailed Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton as one of the greatest drivers of all time on Wednesday, and the Briton repaid the compliment by saying the German’s title was well-deserved.

Hamilton sent congratulations in a message posted on Twitter after Rosberg had returned to his German birthplace in Wiesbaden.

“We said we’d be champions back then, now we both are!,” said Hamilton, posting a picture of the two of them together as young go-karting team mates.

“Congratulations Nico, you did everything a champion needed to do. Well deserved,” he added.

Rosberg, who lost out to Hamilton in the previous two years, made it third time lucky on Sunday when he clinched his maiden title with a second-place finish behind the triple world champion at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

The childhood friends have been fierce rivals in Formula One and their body language was distinctly frosty immediately after Rosberg clinched the title.

There was minimal eye contact as they waited to go on the podium, where they did eventually shake hands in front of the crowd.

Hamilton had done his best to scupper Rosberg’s chances by deliberately slowing the pace from the front, hoping to back Rosberg into a position where rival drivers could overtake the German in a last-ditch effort to overhaul his 12-point deficit.

“Lewis is one of the best of all time. He sets a high standard,” the 31-year-old Rosberg told reporters.

“It will always be difficult between us. We are in the same team and race against each other for titles.

“It is virtually impossible to have a good relationship. We used to be best friends when we were young so at least we have this respect for each other. This helps somewhat,” he added.

“I do not know how he feels at the moment but I know how I felt in 2014 and 2015.”

Rosberg lost any hope of claiming the 2014 title with an engine problem at the final race of that season but, unlike Hamilton, has had no such reliability issues this year.

“For me it was difficult to stomach. In 2015 I lost to him again. It will now take some time for him to process this,” Rosberg said.


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20 race 2017 calendar confirmed

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The FIA have confirmed a 20-race 2017 Formula 1 calendar following a meeting of the World Motorsport Council in Vienna.
Read the full story at SkySports | News

FIA releases 2017 F1 world championship calendar

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Formula One World Championship, Rd 10, German Grand Prix, Practice Day, Nurburgring, Germany, Friday 22 July 2011.

The World Motor Sport Council has issued a final 2017 Formula 1 World Championship calendar that features 20 races, with the German Grand Prix dropped as a deal with Hockenheim or Nurburgring was not forthcoming.

With Germany out of the picture, Hungary has moved back a week, with Austria and Silverstone also moved by a week and will run back to back, which has allowed Baku to move to avoid a clash with Le Mans. Therefore getting to Baku will not involve a challenging journey from Montreal in the space of a few days.

Malaysia will run back-to-back with Japan, while Mexico has been moved back a week so that it runs back-to-back with Austin. China and Bahrain will be also back-to-back race weekends.

The summer break will run between the Hungary and Belgium for almost a full month.

2017 FIA F1 World Championship

  1. March 26 Australia (Melbourne)
  2. April 9 China (Shanghai)
  3. April 16 Bahrain (Sakhir)
  4. April 30 Russia (Sochi)
  5. May 14 Spain (Barcelona)
  6. May 28 Monaco (Monaco)
  7. June 11 Canada (Montreal)
  8. June 25 Azerbaijan (Baku)
  9. July 9 Austria (Spielberg)
  10. July 16 Britain (Silverstone)
  11. July 30 Hungary (Budapest)
  12. August 27 Belgium (Spa)
  13. September 3 Italy (Monza)
  14. September 17 Singapore (Marina Bay)
  15. October 1 Malaysia (Sepang)
  16. October 8 Japan (Suzuka)
  17. October 22 USA (Austin)
  18. October 29 Mexico (Mexico City)
  19. November 12 Brazil (Sao Paulo)
  20. November 26 Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)

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Rosberg: Lewis is one of the best of all time

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nico rosberg lewis hamilton

Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg hailed Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton as one of the greatest drivers of all time but acknowledged that the pair cannot be friends as long as they raced each other, but at the same time the respect is there.

Rosberg, who lost out to Hamilton in the previous two years, made it third time lucky when he clinched his maiden title with a second-place finish behind the triple world champion at the season finale in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The pair have been at loggerheads all season and their frosty relationship had been compared by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as a volcano ready to erupt.

Hamilton compounded matters further when he deliberately slowed the pace from the front in Abu Dhabi, hoping to back Rosberg into a position where rival drivers could overtake the German in a last-ditch effort to overhaul his 12-point deficit.

“Lewis is one of the best of all time. He sets a high standard,” the 31-year-old Rosberg told reporters during a visit to his Wiesbaden birthplace in Germany.

The tense atmosphere between the childhood friends as they waited for Sunday’s podium ceremony spoke volumes, with Rosberg hoisting the sport’s 86-year-old commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone into the air but choosing to ignore Hamilton.

There was minimal eye contact, let alone a handshake.

“It will always be difficult between us. We are in the same team and race against each other for titles,” Rosberg said.

“It is virtually impossible to have a good relationship. We used to be best friends when we were young so at least we have this respect for each other. This helps somewhat,” he added. “I do not know how he feels at the moment but I know how I felt in 2014 and 2015.”

Rosberg lost any hope of claiming the 2014 title with an engine problem at the final race of the season but he has be free of such reliability issues this year.

“For me it was difficult to stomach. In 2015 I lost to him again. It will now take some time for him to process this,” Rosberg said.


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Team bosses vote Hamilton best Formula 1 driver

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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 29: Top three qualifiers Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP, Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP and Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing in parc ferme during qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 29, 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // P-20161029-01257 // Usage for editorial use only // Please go to http://ift.tt/19vsCqi for further information. //

Formula One team bosses have voted Lewis Hamilton the sport’s best driver, despite the Briton losing his title to Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, in an annual magazine poll.

Rosberg, who won his first world championship in a tense Abu Dhabi season-ender last Sunday, was third in the secret vote behind Red Bull’s 19-year-old Dutch sensation Max Verstappen. Red Bull’s Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fourth.

Hamilton won 10 out of 21 races this season – the first time a driver has won more than seven and not ended up as champion -to Rosberg’s nine.

The triple world champion also ended up with 12 pole positions but lost out by five points to Rosberg, who enjoyed greater car reliability and was consistently on the podium.

Hamilton got more points in the 2016 Autosport poll, which asks bosses to name their top 10 and awards points to each driver according to Formula One’s scoring system, than he did last year when he won the title with three rounds to spare.


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Revised 2017 Formula 1 calendar avoids Le Mans clash, loses Germany

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Formula 1 will avoid a clash with the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2017, with the FIA set to announce a revised 20-race calendar, Autosport has learned...


Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Conclusions from Formula 1 2016

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Outgoing Haas F1 driver Gutierrez hires Fernandez as manager

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Esteban Gutierrez has appointed ex-CART Indycar driver Adrian Fernandez as his manager, in a reshuffle of his team in a bid to secure a 2017 Formula 1 race seat...


Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Hamilton: Nico must enjoy it because I will take it back next year

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rosberg hamilton abu dhabi

Lewis Hamilton has not taken long to accept that he is no longer Formula 1 World Champion, instead it is his childhood rival and Mercedes teammate who will carry the number one plate in 2017, but the Briton has advised the sport’s 33rd World Champion to enjoy the accolade while he can.

Speaking to The Sun, Hamilton acknowledged, “It is going to be amazing for Nico over the the next few days and he will celebrate. Having the number one on his car will be a great feeling for him.”

But warned, “He has to enjoy it while it lasts because I am going to work hard in my winter and take it right back next season.”

Looking back on his season, in which he won ten races – more than anyone else – Hamilton said, “The odds were stacked against us this year and it was a long season to end up with the pace and speed in the car but not end up with the result you wanted. It is definitely tough.”

“Congratulations to Nico, he did everything he had to do. It was not his fault he had pretty much perfect reliability. He did what he was meant to but I will just say to him, I am going to fight hard next year to take it back.”

 

As for the controversial backing-up tickets that have divided opinions in the Formula 1 world, Hamilton explained, “I did not know what to do at the beginning of the race. I got in the lead and that was not the kind of race I like to have because I could just drive forwards and pull away but then I would allow the guy to cruise in behind me.”

“But in the last stint, I just tried to help myself because I was not getting any help anywhere else. I did not put Nico in harm’s way. I did not cause the team any damage and everyone should be happy with a one-two. I did everything within fair reason,” concluded Hamilton.


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Formula 1 still in GP2 champion Gasly's future, Red Bull believes

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New GP2 champion Pierre Gasly could still land a Formula 1 drive in the future according to Red Bull, despite missing out on a seat for 2017.

Gasly became the first Red Bull junior to win the GP2 crown in Abu Dhabi last weekend, but he was overlooked for a promotion to F1 as Red Bull decided to retain Daniil Kvyat alongside Carlos Sainz Jr at Toro Rosso for next year.

The Frenchman, who was picked up by Red Bull after winning the 2013 Formula Renault Eurocup, has tested for both of its F1 teams this year, including carrying out work on Pirelli's prototype '17 tyres for the senior team.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: "Gasly has done a great job this year, it's good to see him win the GP2 championship.

"He has done important work for us in tests and development work this year.

"There isn't a seat available in F1 for him at the moment, but he is the most senior member of the junior team and being retained by us because we rate him extremely highly.

"Whatever the future holds for him, F1 can still very much be part of that future."

Gasly's future remains in the hands of Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who runs the junior programme.

"I said to Helmut my only goal is to get into Formula 1," said Gasly.

"I will always keep pushing for that, but you always need an opportunity.

"We will see what happens; at the moment I don't know.

"My future is wide open, but you can be sure that I will keep pushing with everything to get into Formula 1."

Gasly said the GP2 title race, which went down to the wire with his Prema team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi, was an emotional rollercoaster.

"It means so much, because this season has been really tough, mentally and physically," he said.

"My mother was hospitalised for three months, and I had a broken vertebra for two and a half months after Silverstone [where both were involved in a road accident travelling to the circuit].

"There were tough times like at the Red Bull Ring, where I led the race but got stuck in the gravel, or Monza where we were first and the safety car came out and we lost the victory, or the fire extinguisher at Hockenheim [which was empty and resulted in losing third place].

"Honestly, I could write a book about my season. So many things happened, but we never stopped fighting."


Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

McLaren boss would welcome Hamilton return

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zak-brown-2

Amid a civil war brewing within the Mercedes camp in the aftermath of a thrilling title deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, newly appointed McLaren boss Zak Brown has indicated that Lewis Hamilton returning to Woking could happen.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Brown said, “I will move heaven and earth to have the best two race-car drivers in our car. Right now, we have them and Stoffel is going to be outstanding.”

And added, “Lewis is an awesome driver who has a great history here and I certainly wouldn’t rule anything out. But right now, I’m happy with what we have.”

For 2017 McLaren have Stoffel Vandoorne, replacing Jenson Button who has retired from F1, and moves into the driving seat alongside Fernando Alonso in the sport’s second most successful team.

In a separate interview with Sky F1, Brown affirmed, “You can’t rule out anything for 2019, 2020. We will see what our current drivers want to do.”

Hamilton is in hot water with his team after ignoring team instructions to pick up the pace in the final stages of the race in Abu Dhabi. Instead he continued to back title rival and teammate Nico Rosberg into the path of chasing Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen.

Despite Rosberg accepting and even praising Hamilton’s “perfect” tactics, Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff has hinted at some sort of sanction for what he has called “anarchy” by the three times world champion.

Hamilton was a McLaren protege for much of his junior racing career. He made his grand prix debut with the team and won his first of three F1 world titles with the team in 2008.


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Vettel detained by police before Abu Dhabi weekend

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sebastian vettel f1

It has emerged in German media that Sebastian Vettel’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend got off to an uncomfortable start as the Ferrari driver was held by track security after an unpleasant confrontation ahead of the race weekend.

Vettel arrived at Yas Marina Circuit on Thursday, he was put through the intense security measures that prevail at the entrance of the venue and when told his back pack needed searching Vettel requested that the official wear gloves.

Reports differ regarding what transpired form the point onward. One suggests that things got heated and that Vettel pushed the official, other claim he only prevented the official from searching his backpack without gloves. Whatever the case the officials took offence.

As a result he was detained for an hour by the security detail, before he was allowed to make his way to the Ferrari villa in the paddock.

It has also emerged that Formula One Management (FOM) employees also faced problems with security officials. However, they were less fortunate than Vettel as they were held for a number of hours and prevented from taking up their posts.

They were accused of having offended the security staff with foul language which is a jail-able offence in the United Arab Emirates.

In an internal mail from FOM to the teams, recipients were advised to deal more cautiously with the local authorities during the course of the weekend.

Article 374 of the UAE’s Penal Code states: “Punishment by detention for a period not exceeding six months or by a fine not exceeding 5,000 Dirhams ($1,300) shall apply if slander or abuse is transmitted by telephone, or face to face with the victim and in the presence of a third party.”

UAE residents, particularly, expats are wary of local security officials and police who are notoriously short fused and not tempered by internationally accepted policing protocols.


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Formula 1 team bosses name Lewis Hamilton 2016's best driver

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Formula 1 team bosses have voted Lewis Hamilton the clear winner in Autosport's annual poll to name the year's top 10 drivers.

Autosport asked all 11 F1 teams' bosses to rank their top 10 drivers, based on on-track performances over this year's 21 races.

Points are awarded using F1's scoring system of 25 points for first place, down to one for 10th.

Votes are kept secret, not only to make sure team bosses can take part, but also because it allows each to offer their honest opinion of drivers up and down the grid.

Hamilton won 10 races this season but was hampered by mechanical failures and missed out on the world championship by five points to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

He collected a total of 234 points in the poll - five more than he achieved last year - from a possible maximum of 275 to retain top spot.

Hamilton finished 51 points clear of runner-up Max Verstappen, who took his maiden win in his first weekend with Red Bull at Barcelona and subsequently impressed with a string of eye-catching drives.

Despite winning his first world championship, in a season that included nine race victories and only missing the podium five times, Rosberg was ranked third.

Daniel Ricciardo, who was one of only four drivers to win a race in 2016, moved up five places from 12 months ago to fourth, ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

Fernando Alonso's performance in an ever-improving McLaren was recognised with sixth, just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, who enjoyed his best season since 2012.

Sergio Perez was eighth after breaking the 100-point barrier for the first time in his career as he helped Force India finish a team-best fourth in the constructors' championship.

Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz Jr, the list's only new entry with Daniil Kvyat dropping out, completed the top 10.

AUTOSPORT'S 2016 TEAM BOSS'S TOP 10

1 Lewis Hamilton, 234 points (No change)
2 Max Verstappen, 183 (Up two places)
3 Nico Rosberg, 176 (No change)
4 Daniel Ricciardo, 133 (Up five)
5 Sebastian Vettel, 90 (Down three)
6 Fernando Alonso, 67 (No change)
7 Kimi Raikkonen, 61 (Up three)
8 Sergio Perez, 52 (No change)
9 Valtteri Bottas, 26 (Down two)
10 Carlos Sainz Jr, 25 (New entry)

WHO VOTED

Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Christian Horner, Red Bull
Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari
Vijay Mallya, Force India
Claire Williams, Williams
Eric Boullier, McLaren
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso
Gunther Steiner, Haas
Fred Vasseur, Renault
Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber
Dave Ryan, Manor


Read the full story at Formula 1 news - Autosport

Hamilton defied highest Mercedes command in heat of battle

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Monaco Hamilton Lowe

When Lewis Hamilton refused to accept instructions from Mercedes Executive Director (Technical) Paddy Lowe, during the championship deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he defied the highest command in the rules of engagement within the Silver Arrows organisation.

Team chief Toto Wolff said, “Paddy with the instruction is the highest escalation we have in our rules of engagement. We have invented those rules of engagement together, a while ago, on a table in Melbourne.”

But these rules were ignored as Hamilton played his last card in the championship battle by backing teammate Nico Rosberg into the grasp of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, who were chasing hard late in the race.

Asked why he himself did not issue the command to Hamilton, Wolff admitted, “I don’t have a radio button to do that. I know myself and there is the risk I will do it. I would have done on it several occasions in the past, and maybe regretted it afterwards.”

“You need to know yourself, your skills and your strengths and weaknesses. And I know my weaknesses,” added Wolff who said that the team would investigate what he described as “anarchy” by the outgoing world champion.


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Rosberg: The pressure slows you down

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Days after being crowned 2016 Formula 1 World Champion, Nico Rosberg gave insight into the pressure he endured in the final races of the season when his Mercedes teammate and title rival Lewis Hamilton ramped up the pressure.

Speaking to  media in Kuala Lumpur, at the headquarters of title sponsor Petronas, Rosberg revealed, “The last couple of races, that was not the real Nico. The pressure slows you down but I am happy to come through the way that I did while on the other side Lewis had nothing to lose.”

Rosberg’s last win of the season was at the Japanese Grand Prix, from which point he needed only to finish behind Hamilton to win the title. This he did.

The newly crowned world champion explained his attitude in the past few months, where he was short of words and did little to engage with reporters as he focused on the task at hand, “I don’t change what I said, please respect that you are a powerful entity and I needed to get through this. I’m sure you understand that.”

Hamilton dug deep in the final races winning four in succession as he raised his game in a final surge to hang on to the title that he owned for the past two years.

Rosberg pointed out, “In the past few races it is the best Lewis we have ever seen because he had no pressure, super motivated, super concentrated and working as hard as ever.

“He had nothing to lose when I had the pressure as I was the one in front and had something to lose. That definitely made it more difficult so I am glad it worked out,” declared Formula 1’s 33rd World Champion.


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Ricciardo: I am the peasants’ world champion!

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p-20161124-00763_hires-jpeg-24bit-rgb

Daniel Ricciardo finished third in the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, which made him best of the rest behind the dominant Mercedes duo and the big smiling Aussie joked that he should get a special accolade for the achievement.

Ricciardo said during a post season interview, “There should be a separate title in this V6 era for ‘best of the rest’, I could be world champion of the rest … the peasants’ world champion!”

The Red Bull driver won the Malaysian Grand Prix, while strategy errors cost him possible victories in Spain and Monaco. Nevertheless he, along with teammate Max Verstappen, gave it their best shot at unsettling the Silver Arrows and make them graft that bit harder.

Ricciardo reflected, “If I didn’t have a victory, like if Malaysia didn’t happen, then I would look back and say sure, I should have maybe been a multiple race winner this year’. But because I got that victory I’m not going to say it could have been better, I could have had two or three.”

“I got the pole [in Monaco], which I hadn’t had before, and obviously got back on the top step so for me that’s awesome. And peasant’s champion, so it’s been solid.

“We expected to be fighting in the midfield in the first handful of races this year and we came out with some fourths. Then what was probably going to be a second in China, that was the third race of the year, we had the puncture and whatever but it was looking really good. We were like, alright, and it sort of got better so that was really cool.

“The win in Malaysia was epic, the pole in Monaco was in a way my highlight. I obviously didn’t tell people but I put a lot of pressure on myself to go there that weekend and execute it. I really believed I could, so for me to do that lap was kind of a relief because I did put a bit of pressure on myself. So that was cool,” recollected Ricciardo who ended the season with eight podiums and 256 points.


Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247