FORMULA 1 - 2014

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Grosjean: Lotus not a bad place for 2015

Romain Grosjean concedes Lotus are unlikely to challenge for titles next year, but he feels it won't be a bad place to be following changes.

The Enstone squad have endured a nightmare 2014 campaign so far, but many believe most of their woes are due to the Renault engines. Things will be different in 2015 as the team will switch to Mercedes power units.

Lotus have already confirmed Pasto Maldonado for next year, but Grosjean's future remains unclear as most of the drivers are waiting on Fernando Alonso to confirm his new team.

The merry-go-round, though, was trigged by Sebastian Vettel announcing he is leaving Red Bull and Grosjean admits he didn't see it coming.

"I was not expecting that one," Grosjean is quoted as saying by ESPNF1. "It changed quite a lot of things. So far things are now moving very, very quick and I do still believe Alonso is a big part of the market. It depends on if he goes to McLaren or not or goes away for one year and comes back.

"I don't know, but there are big changes happening here [at Lotus] next year and it's not a bad place to be. It's not a place to be World Champion in 2015, but I think we can score points and be on the podium a few times. If that's the case then we can work on 2016."

Despite their current issues, Lotus' bosses are confident they will challenge further up the track next year again due to the engine switch and Grosjean is also confident they will improve.

"It certainly helps the whole team. We know Mercedes has the strongest power unit on the grid and we know they will probably keep a good advantage next year, so that helps Lotus a lot," he said.

"It certainly makes things look more attractive around here. I've said for quite a while that it is not a bad place to be. It's not a team that is going to be world champions, but it certainly can do a good car and be a good surprise like Williams is this year. They were nowhere last year, but with a good engine and a good car they are capable of being at the front this year. That could be the case [for Lotus in 2015]."

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Sainz Jr: My dream is to drive for STR

Carlos Sainz Jr believes he has done everything he can to earn a race seat at Toro Rosso, but he is ready to play the waiting game.

The 20-year-old was initially overlooked by STR for the 2015 season with the team opting to go with teenager Max Verstappen, but he is back in the mix for the second seat after Daniil Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull.

He has made sure his name is firmly in the hat by securing the Formula Renault 3.5 title during the final round at Jerez over the weekend.

"I put everything on the table in terms of numbers and results, now I just have to wait," the Spaniard told Crash.net.

"My dream is to become a Toro Rosso driver. There is no doubt that, after five years in the programme, the first thing I want is to give Red Bull back all they have given me with good results in F1."

Sainz Jr is competing with the likes of Jean-Eric Vergne, Pierre Gasly and Alex Lynn for the second seat and he admits he might have to change his relationship with the Red Bull Junior Team if he fails to land the drive.

"I would have to find my own way and I would have to do things in a different way," he said.

"It is not every year you become a World Series by Renault champion so I have to keep that momentum. If it doesn't come, I will have to do it for myself."

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Max: Mental strength bulls**t

Max Verstappen believes too much emphasis is being put on mental strength in Formula 1, saying he "finds it a bit bulls**t".

It has been a rapid rise for the 17-year-old as he will go from one season in European F3 Championship to F1 next year as he will replace Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso.

A lot of talk since the announcement has centered on whether or not he will be mentally strong enough to compete, but the teenager is having none of it.

"I have no problems at all with [mental strength]! I'm really relaxed and I don't want to think about mental stress, or how strong you are mentally because, to be honest, I find it a bit bulls**t," he told the official Red Bull website.

After a few years in karting, Verstappen made his single-seater debut in August 2013 before testing an F3 car in December and he admits it took some time to adapt.

"Of course before you jump in the car you don't know what to expect," he said. "But after I did a few laps, I started to feel comfortable. You start to feel the limits a bit. It's completely different to go karts.

"I mean, the braking pedal, the throttle application, how you sit in the car, the view. That was the main difference really. But from the beginning we were quite fast, so I adapted quite well."

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Customer teams can't win championships - Dennis

McLaren chairman Ron Dennis believes it to be a near impossibility for a customer team to win a world championship under the current engine formula.

The Briton claims the advantage gained by building your own engine, like Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull - through Renault - makes it extremely unlikely that a customer team will be able to beat them because they simply don't have the same level of detail and information as a manufacturer team.

He made his comments whilst reflecting on McLaren's recent relationship with Mercedes and the teams switch to Honda power next year.

"The one thing that jumps at you, if you look at all the qualifications this year, is the time difference between the Mercedes-Benz works team and other teams," said Dennis.

"And by and large it is always in excess of one second, putting aside the pace that they can generate in a grand prix when they are on their back foot.

"My opinion, and it is an opinion held by many people within our organisation, is that you have no chance of winning the world championship if you are not receiving the best engines from whoever is manufacturing your engines.

"Effectively, if you don't have the control of that process, meaning access to source code, then you are not going to be able to stabilise your car in the entry to corners etc., and you lose lots of lap time.

"Even though you have the same brand of engine that does not mean you have the ability to optimise the engine."

That's part of the reason behind McLaren's move to Honda as they will effectively become Honda's 'works team' even if the Japanese manufacturer supplies other outfits.

"You have to start by putting yourself in a position where you have the best engine available.

"We have had a great partnership with Mercedes but we intend to hit the ground running with Honda and that is the first step."

[Baldy]

Always enjoy your F1 posts Mika.

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Always enjoy your F1 posts Mika.

Thank you Sir!! Much appreciated, glad you read the thread.

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Three Silverstone executives suspended\

Three Silverstone executives, including managing director Richard Phillips, have been suspended, but the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) insists it has nothing to do with the ongoing restructuring process.

The Daily Mail reports that Phillips as well as financial and legal directors Ed Brookes and David Thompson "were suspended last week and will remain on full pay until an investigation has been completed".

The BRDC has confirmed the story, but insists it has nothing to do with the fact that they are edging closer to a management overhaul at the venue.

BRDC members John Grant and Lawrence Tomlinson are to become joint acting chief executives of Silverstone Circuit Limited under the restructuring process.

"The BRDC are taking a closer role in the running of the Silverstone business, with a new operating structure between the Club and the circuit," read a BRCD statement.

"John Grant, chairman of the BRDC, and Lawrence Tomlinson, director of the BRDC, have assumed the role of joint acting chief executive of Silverstone Circuits Limited.

"Having reviewed the Silverstone business, they have embarked on an exciting programme of restructuring to make the business more streamlined, concentrating on their core competencies as a circuit operator and the home of the British Grand Prix.

"Whilst we cannot comment on the suspension of senior executives at SCL, it should be noted that this is only coincidental to the restructure."

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Not Afraid To Be The Big Bad Wolff

With the Formula 1 constructors' title safely locked away in the trophy cabinet at Mercedes' Brackley HQ, the Silver Arrows team are coming under pressure to give up their engine advantage.

It's been apparent from the early days of the championship that the winner of the new 1.6 litre hybrid engine-building battle has been the Brixworth Flyer. But Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari have all had stellar seasons with their new engine units if you compare the reality to the dire pre-season predictions and what the old V8-loving dinosaurs had prophesized.

The new engine formula was supposedly going to be a disaster for Formula 1 - 'what happens if there are no runners at the end of the opening race?' was one scenario put forward by the sceptics. As we've seen, that didn't happen. And the retirements from each race have broadly been on a par with most seasons of late - when we were using comfortable, old-school, old tech.

The cost of the new engines has been a big burden on the teams, though, and such is the financial pressure on Marussia, Caterham and Sauber, that Bernie Ecclestone is hovering in the background with his 3-car rule. That is, the rule that teams will have to supply three cars if the grid falls to under 20 cars.

That's not a Bernie fantasy project - like his vision of making many more races double points, or having the World Champion declared on who has the most gold medals (Lewis Hamilton would have been World Champion since Sochi if that were the case) - that is already written in a contract.

The whole process of innovation and change has been an expensive one. So what Formula 1 doesn't need right now is an expensive engine-building battle. Ferrari are on the slide. They've lost Stefano Domenicali, Luca Montezemolo and are about to lose Fernando Alonso. The new men in charge Sergio Marchionne is leaning heavily on golden boy Marco Mattiacci and he is leaning heavily on the panic button and Bernie Ecclestone.

They tried to sign Adrian Newey. They couldn't. They wanted to retain Alonso. They couldn't. They now want to re-write the agreed engine rules while portraying the last four or five years as a bit of a wilderness for Ferrari.

They are both new to Formula 1, so let's forgive them, but save for two unlikely results, Ferrari could have won the driver's title twice in the last four years. At the final race of 2010 in Abu Dhabi, the team were let down by one strategic error, to cover Mark Webber's pit-stop instead of worrying about Sebastian Vettel. Then Alonso was delayed by a particularly stubborn Vitaly Petrov and the Championship went away from him. But it was an outcome no-one seriously expected.

Then in Brazil in 2012, Sebastian Vettel was clonked on the opening lap of the Brazilian GP by Bruno Senna, ran a race with extensive bodywork damage and limped across the line to take the title against the odds. Add that to the snatched-away-from-him-on-the-last-corner 2008 title for Felipe Massa and you would have had Ferrari World Champions in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012. That looks pretty good from where McLaren are sitting.

Ferrari's problems this year have revolved around their engine, and the fact that the technology was frozen at the beginning of the year. They have spent all of 2014 improving it ready for the start of the 2015 season, when the new improved units can be brought in ahead of the 2015 lock-down. They have the cash to evolve their engine on a regular basis, the rules say they can't.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff has laughed off suggestions from the Scuderia that in-season testing and an un-freeze of engines will not lead to a dramatic increase in expenditure.

"We are developing an engine and power unit until the end of the year, and then it is being manufactured, frozen and then delivered to customers at the same time. If you have a development cycle in-season, and you bring a new spec in season for the end of June/end of July then the whole development process ramps up. Because the most expensive bit is running parts on the dyno, is happening twice a year."

And here's the funny bit.

"I don't know how they (Ferrari) make that calculation," said Toto, meaning the bit where Ferrari said a mid-season unfreeze wouldn't cost extra, "but we probably need to send them a calculator. There is no way you are not spending more. You are spending considerably more and every other argument is just because they don't think they are where they should be."

Ron Dennis has dubbed F1 as 'The Piranha Club' and the first rule of Piranha Club is that you don't give up any advantage unless you have to. Red Bull's Christian Horner and Marcio Mattiacci are crying crocodile tears when they say that the engine freeze should be dropped' for the wider interest of the sport'.

Many view Horner as the first to stab 'the wider interest of Formula 1' and the team's association in the back by doing his own financial deal with Bernie Ecclestone when the teams were supposedly negotiating for more income as a block. Not wishing to be left out, or surrender its unique financial payout from Bernie, Luca Montezemolo joined him (took Sauber with him) and FOTA was effectively finished.

'The wider interest of Formula 1' is only quoted by top teams when they have a disadvantage.

Toto says he is not going to be deflected by doing the best job on the grid and shrugs off criticism that portrays him as the bad boy: "Probably that is the price you have to pay when you are winning. You have seen it in the past with Red Bull, they have transitioned from a cool little team and were seen as something different. You get the momentum against you and that [criticism] is what happens."

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Mario Andretti: Vettel will prove people wrong

Former World Champion Mario Andretti believes Sebastian Vettel has what it takes to turn Ferrari's fortunes around and prove that he's not a "one-dimensional driver".

Vettel informed Red Bull at the Japanese Grand Prix that he is to leave the team at the end of the season and, although he is yet to confirm his destination, it is an open secret that he will replace Fernando Alonso at Ferrari.

Two-time World Champion Alonso is on his way out at Maranello as "he wants another environment" and "because he is an age when he cannot wait to win again", according to former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo.

The Spaniard's frustrations have come from the fact that Ferrari have not been able to give him a Championship-winning car and it remains to be seen if they will be able to provide Vettel with one.

Andretti, though, feels the German can put the Italian squad "top again".

"Sebastian will fare very well no matter where he goes. He probably just needs a new challenge, to perhaps be appreciated in a new way. I'm sure he will be when he goes to Ferrari," he told GPUpdate.net.

"[The team] can be down, but sooner or later they will be a factor and that could be a big feather in his cap. He cannot do any worse than what Fernando has been doing so far. Given a competitive car he can bring the Prancing Horse to the top again and that would be huge. You know how important that is for Formula 1."

Although Vettel has won four consecutive World Championships, a lot of people don't rate him as one of F1's all-time best as they believe he only won the titles due to his machinery.

The fact that he has been beaten by new Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo has also not helped, but Andretti says success at Ferrari can help silence the critics.

He added: "So far you could say he's a one-dimensional driver, as he cannot put his arms around less downforce, the way the power comes on and so forth. He has not embraced that in a way that you would hope.

"But he's getting stronger and stronger, so his brilliant talent will ultimately come forth and he'll continue to show what he's capable of. I'll never, ever degrade his ability. Sooner or later, he'll prove anyone so wrong."

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Rosberg must relax to get back in fight - Frentzen

Nico Rosberg needs to relax if he wants to get back into the world championship fight.

That is the advice of German countryman Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who at the peak of his career fifteen years ago was the title dark horse in 1999.

Now 47, Frentzen told Germany's Auto Bild he thinks Rosberg - the former runaway championship leader in 2014 - is letting Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton run away with the title as the Briton hits a run of top form.

Hamilton, once well behind Rosberg but now 17 points clear with just three races to go, has won the last four Grands Prix on the trot.

"Nico is making mistakes because he is not free in the head," said Frentzen.

Pretend that it's over

"He needs to pretend that the world championship fight is already over," the former Williams driver advised.

"Only by not thinking about it can he begin to relax again."

Frentzen said it is precisely this kind of calmness that is contributing to Hamilton's increasing dominance at the pointy end of the intense 2014 battle.

"He's mentally strong and totally relaxed," he said. "You can see it in the little things - the way he gets into the car, the way he puts on his gloves," added Frentzen.

Double points

However, with the unpopular 'double points' finale looming next month, it remains highly likely the title will go right down to the wire - even if Hamilton's run of superiority continues.

With 50 points on offer in Abu Dhabi, it is mathematically possible that Rosberg will be 49 points behind just before the chequer waves but win the title if Hamilton suffers a breakdown.

Hamilton said at the DTM finale at Hockenheim last weekend: "There are so many points in the last race - the championship will be decided there."

But he insists he is not worried.

"There is no need to be concerned," said Hamilton. "You never know what is ahead and we will deal with it as it comes.

"It is no good thinking, 'if this happens or if that happens', or even thinking about what happens if I win.

"I am just going to enjoy this moment and make sure that in these last three races, I am stronger than Nico," he added.

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Van der Garde hints at 2015 race seat

Just as news about Nico Hulkenberg emerged on Monday, Giedo van der Garde dropped a big hint about his own future in Formula One.

Force India announced that 27-year-old German Hulkenberg is staying put for a second season with the Silverstone based team in 2015.

"I am convinced he is one of the best talents on the grid," said team supremo Vijay Mallya.

But not long after the announcement, it was the reserve driver at another team that was making noises about his own prospects for next season.

29-year-old Dutchman van der Garde, who signed up as Sauber's reserve this year after losing his Caterham race seat, issued a 'tweet' along with a photograph of himself walking alongside Hulkenberg in a F1 paddock earlier this year.

"Congrats buddy," he said, referring to Hulkenberg. "Hopefully we can have some nice fights next year, like the old days."

Van der Garde completed the 'tweet' with a winking smiley.

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Lotus Formula 1 team expects to keep Romain Grosjean for 2015

The Lotus Formula 1 team expects Romain Grosjean will stay with the squad in 2015, although a new deal has not yet been finalised.

Lotus recently confirmed a deal to switch from Renault to Mercedes F1 engines for next season and it already has a contract in place to retain 2012 Spanish Grand Prix winner Pastor Maldonado.

Grosjean had been holding out hope of a move to Ferrari following news of Fernando Alonso's impending departure, but Sebastian Vettel's decision to leave Red Bull and join the Scuderia has scuppered that plan.

Lotus's poor results this season mean Grosjean is free to leave at the end of the current campaign, but he hinted during the recent Russian GP that a Mercedes engine deal would make him more likely to stick with the squad.

Team owner Gerard Lopez confirmed he now expects to retain his current driver line-up for 2015.

"I don't expect any changes," Lopez told AUTOSPORT.

"Romain has a clause that enables him to leave the team based on results not being achieved by the team.

"It's the case this year - we're not within the boundaries fixed by his contract. He would be free to go if he wants to go.

"I've known Romain long enough to know if he were to go it would be for a team that can fight for wins and so on.

"I think at this stage he's well-advised to stay here given the changes we're doing for next year.

"We'll see, but I don't think there's going to be any change.

"I would strongly suggest it will stay the same. It's going in that direction."

Grosjean has spent his entire F1 career so far with the Enstone team.

He originally joined during its Renault era, replacing Nelson Piquet in mid-2009.

That stint proved unsuccessful and he was dropped at the end of the year, but after winning Auto GP and GP2 titles plus proving himself in a reserve role, he earned his place back again for 2012.

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Lotus F1 team to trial non twin-tusk nose in the United States GP

The Lotus Formula 1 team will experiment running without the unique twin-tusk nose on the E22 during free practice for the United States Grand Prix.

The Enstone F1 squad will trial a 2014 Ferrari/Mercedes-style low nose, as it pushes on with developments for its 2015 car.

Lotus will be forced to abandon its unusual twin-tusk design next season, following a push by F1's governing body the FIA to eliminate the aesthetically controversial nose designs that have appeared on cars this year.

The team has yet to decide which of its drivers will trial the prototype nose, which will be replaced with the conventional twin-tusk design for the race.

Lotus technical director Nick Chester told AUTOSPORT: "The rules are pushing everybody in that direction, so I think pretty much everybody will be looking at a fairly low and narrow nose [for next season].

"We're going to test a nose like that in Austin, really just to gather feedback for next year - to do some aero measurements and see what that does on track compared to what we see in the [wind] tunnel."

Lotus lies eighth in the constructors' championship with just eight points scored from 16 races this season, and Romain Grosjean confirmed during September's Italian GP that Lotus had abandoned development of the difficult E22 in order to focus earlier on its successor - the E23.

"We always have a curve where we tail off development of a current car and ramp up the new car," Chester added.

"We've probably just crossed over a bit earlier.

"Once we were in June we were already putting more work into the 2015 car, and whereas we might have run some developments a little later into the season on the current car, we haven't really - we've stopped those so we could put everything into next year's car."

END OF RENAULT ERA

The squad has also confirmed a switch from Renault to Mercedes engines for 2015 as it bids to get back to the front of the grid.

Chester admitted there was some sadness at ending a relationship that stretches back as far as 1995, when Benetton won its first F1 world titles, but said Lotus had to do everything in its power to avoid a repeat of this year's disappointing campaign.

"It was difficult because we're good friends with a lot of the guys from Renault, particularly when we were [the] works team," Chester added.

"But on the other hand we had a great opportunity to change and we have to follow where the best performance is."

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SPORTING DIRECTOR SAM MICHAEL TO LEAVE MCLAREN

McLaren sporting director Sam Michael is leaving the Formula 1 team at the end of the current season to return home to Australia after 21 years in the sport.

A team spokesman said on Wednesday that the 43-year-old had tendered his resignation in March.

McLaren denied media reports in Italy that chief operating officer Jonathan Neale and technical director Tim Goss were also leaving.

Michael joined McLaren from Williams, where he was technical director, before the start of the 2012 season and was responsible for the development and management of the team’s trackside operations.

The spokesman said the highly-regarded Australian would be on the pit wall as usual at next week’s U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and also be at the final two races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

The separation was understood to be amicable with Michael, who had long planned to return home with his wife and two teenage children, on good terms with McLaren’s overall head Ron Dennis.

Former champions McLaren have had a difficult season and have not won a grand prix for nearly two years, with Jenson Button’s 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix win their last success. In 2013 they failed to finish on the podium for the first time since 1980.

Martin Whitmarsh was ousted as principal in January when Dennis regained control and Frenchman Eric Boullier, the former Lotus principal, was appointed racing director.

McLaren are starting a new engine partnership with Honda next year, ending a relationship with Mercedes that dates back to 1995, and have yet to confirm their driver lineup.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso looks set to join from Ferrari, with 2009 world champion Button out of contract at the end of the season. Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen is the other driver. The team are also without a title sponsor.

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CAN VETTEL EMULATE SCHUMACHER’S SUCCESS AT FERRARI?

Michael Schumacher’s former manager doubts that Sebastian Vettel can emulate the Formula 1 legend’s success at rebuilding the beleaguered Ferrari team.

Willi Weber, also known as the lucrative ‘Mr Twenty-per-cent’ after brokering Schumacher’s mammoth Ferrari contracts, is worried quadruple world champion Vettel’s personality might not be as suited to the task.

Ferrari is expected to confirm Vettel’s arrival as departing Fernando Alonso’s replacement in the days before the United States Grand Prix.

Famously, in 1996, his countryman Schumacher similarly arrived at Maranello as the reigning champion and within five years Ferrari was established as Formula 1’s dominant force.

But Weber told Auto Bild: “Sebastian is much more sensitive than Michael, “If something is not working well, the pressure at Ferrari is greater than it is anywhere else. It is not always ‘peace, joy and pancakes’, but a lot of politics.”

“I think if a Fernando Alonso cannot deal with it, then no one can,” Weber added.

Red Bull‘s Helmut Marko, who groomed Vettel from boyhood to Formula 1 stardom but is now losing the 27-year-old to his arch rival, also doubts Vettel can emulate Schumacher’s fabled feats.

“Michael benefitted in his time from an unlimited number of test kilometres and close cooperation with the tyre partner Bridgestone,” said Marko. “These are advantages that no longer exist today.”

Also doubting Vettel’s ability to match even Spaniard Alonso’s feats at the Italian team is the former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica, who was close to Alonso.

“I think Vettel is not as strong as Fernando,” the Pole told Italy’s Sky this week, “as even without a great car, Fernando was still able to win races.”

The latest whispers from Maranello are also not positive, Autosprint claims Ferrari engineers were unhappy with the first set of aerodynamic figures after wind tunnel testing of the 2015 car a project which is codenamed 666.

The 2015 car will be the first Ferrari produced under the technical leadership of James Allison.

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CATERHAM TOLD THAT F1 RACE CARS CANNOT LEAVE FACTORY

The future of the struggling Caterham Formula One team was thrown into further doubt on Tuesday when an administrator laid claim to their race cars and warned they could not leave the factory without his agreement.

Team sources disputed that, however, and said they should not be affected by legal action involving a separate company to the one that holds the official entry rights to the championship and owns the cars.

Finbarr O’Connell, appointed on Friday as a joint administrator of Caterham Sports Limited (CSL) for London-based Smith & Williamson, told Reuters he hoped the situation could be resolved in the next few days.

The cars are due to leave the factory in central England at the weekend to be flown to Austin, Texas, for next week’s U.S. Grand Prix.

“My legal advice is that I own the cars and won’t be allowing the cars out of the factory until I reach an acceptable agreement,” said O’Connell, who added that meetings were scheduled in London on Wednesday.

He said the factory at Leafield, which was also home to CSL, was being guarded by private security that included retired soldiers from the Gurkha regiment.

Caterham have been fighting for survival since July, when Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes sold the team to a secretive consortium of investors advised by former F1 team principal Colin Kolles.

The team are 11th and last in the championship, without a point, and their off-track problems were highlighted earlier this month when bailiffs seized items from the factory in an action against CSL.

Caterham’s new owners argue that CSL was effectively a service company that manufactured the cars and employed staff for Malaysian-registered 1Malaysia racing Team (1MRT), who own the entry rights.

Sources close to the team repeated on Tuesday that CSL going into administration should have no impact on their racing activities because the cars belonged to the entry holder.

“(The administration) should not affect the F1 operation because it is a completely separate company,” said one senior source.

O’Connell said CSL’s debts to creditors, with Malaysia’s EXIM Bank to the fore, amounted to some 15 million pounds ($24.19 million), “We are allowing 1MRT to use our facility while we negotiate a settlement. They need to reach an agreement with us.”

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PEREZ SAYS FORCE INDIA 2015 DEAL IS A PRIORITY

Sergio Perez could be the next driver to secure his place on the 2015 Formula 1 grid, although Force India made no mention of the Mexican, who is closely aligned with the team’s on-car Mexican backers Roshfrans and Claro, when it announced recently that current teammate Nico Hulkenberg is staying put for next season.

But Perez, 24, has told PA Sport this week that sorting out a new deal for 2015 is now his main priority, “We’re now coming towards the end of the year, and I think in the next week or so it will be done with (regards to) my future.”

Perez, who left McLaren after a single season last year, indicated he wants to stay at Force India, “The only opportunity I had to establish myself in a team was with Sauber in 2012, and I want to do the same here.”

One minor setback for Perez, however, is that his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase is moving to Red Bull for 2015, seemingly to work with Sebastian Vettel’s successor Daniil Kvyat.

“It’s always a blow when you lose an engineer you have built up a relationship with,” said Perez, “but I believe I’ve enough experience to work with anyone.”

Perez has scored 29 fewer points than German Hulkenberg so far in 2014.

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Willi Weber warns Vettel of Ferrari pressures

Willi Weber, a man who knows a thing or two about the demands a driver faces at Ferrari, has warned Sebastian Vettel that life at Maranello won't be a bed of roses.

Famous for being Michael Schumacher's manager, Weber was there every step of the way during the German's years at Ferrari as a driver and he knows about the pressures that come with the job.

When Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996 they were going through a big slump as they hadn't won the title in over a decade, but he played a major role turning the team's fortunes around.

Vettel, who is set to replace Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, will be expected to do something similar as Ferrari haven't won the Drivers' Championship since 2007.

Weber, though, believes the four-time World Champion will find life at Maranello very tough.

"Sebastian is a lot more sensitive than Michael," he told Germany's Auto Bild Motorsport. "If something is not working, the pressure at Ferrari is a lot more intense than anywhere else. Life there is not always peace, joy and pancakes... but a lot of politics."

Alonso has spent the last five seasons at Ferrari without much success and his frustrations have been clear for all to see this season. He lashed out at "those in Italy" for creating rumours earlier this year.

Weber added that: "When a Fernando Alonso can't handle it, then no one else can."

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Mattiacci: Kimi increasing his speed

Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci insists not too much should be read into Kimi Raikkonen's recent results, insisting he is improving.

The 2007 World Champion has struggled to come to grips with the F14T for most of the season, but things finally appeared to click in Belgium when he secured a season-best P4.

However, his problems appeared to have returned as he has struggled in recent races, finishing 12th in Japan while he was well off his team-mate Fernando Alonso's pace at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix last time out.

Mattiacci believes the Finn has upped his pace, but has been unfortunate in terms of his finishing positions.

"Definitely we see the pace of Kimi improving," the Italian is quoted as saying by Autosport.

"Does it translate immediately with more points in the races? It's evident it's not, but there are a series of events that didn't allow this. But he's increasing the speed."

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Wolff added to RoC line-up

Susie Wolff will create history later this year when she becomes the first female to compete in the Race of Champions.

This year's event will take place in Barbados and Wolff, the Williams development driver, will join the likes of Romain Grosjean from Lotus, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen and FIA World Rallycross Champion Petter Solberg.

"I have a full-time job at Williams, which is great, but nothing can replace the adrenaline of racing and I can't wait to get that back," said Wolff, who made her F1 race weekend debut this year with free practice drives at Silverstone and Hockenheim.

"So I'm proud to have been chosen to take part in the Race of Champions and I'm looking forward to racing against some of the top-rated drivers in the world.

"Of course those will be hard guys to beat but as a driver you always want to do the best job you can.

"Still, I don't yet have any particular expectations because I've never competed at a ROC event before.

"I've never been to Barbados before either but the middle of December is not exactly the worst time to leave for a sunny destination."

This year's Race of Champions will take place from December 13-14 at the Bushy Park Circuit and NASCAR driver Kurt Busch has also signed up.

[MIKA27]

JEV: I'm a more complete driver now

Jean-Eric Vergne concedes that Daniel Ricciardo had the mental edge over him last year, but he feels he has proved himself this year.

The Frenchman's Formula 1 future remains in doubt after Toro Rosso decided to sign 17-year-old Max Verstappen for the 2015 campaign. He may still be given a lifeline, though, after Daniil Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull following Sebastian Vettel's departure.

However, just last year he was in the running for a Red Bull race seat, but the Milton Keynes squad decided to go with Ricciardo.

Vergne, though, feels he has improved since then.

"I think the reason they picked up Daniel was because he was probably more ready mentally and he was probably doing less mistakes," he told Sky Sports F1. "This is all in the same set-up, you know, it was all in the head, and I improved myself this winter. I got a lot stronger: my performance in qualifying, which was weak last year, got a lot better as well, so I think I became a much better, complete driver.

"The only problem is that there is no place in Red Bull; so if there was a free seat, they would probably consider for me to go there. I don't want to say that - I don't want to advance myself that much - but all I know is that they need to promote young drivers, they take me out and I don't fit anywhere because there is simply no place in the Red Bull programme."

Vergne's chances of being back in favour at STR appear to be hampered by the fact that Toro Rosso have a policy of keeping drivers for only three years before they have to make way youngsters.

The 24-year-old says he is open to switching to motorsport categories.

"You have be ambitious or otherwise you go nowhere in life. So of course I am," he said. "But I'm realistic. I know I'm not going to talk to Mercedes and say, 'Please, I want a seat for next year'. You need to prove yourself, win races. I mean, it's how Formula 1 works: big teams, they want superstars because it's good for marketing and because they are good drivers and it's good for the image.

"But if you want to become a superstar for the big teams to want you, you need to be in a big team to win races. But how do you do that if you're not a superstar? You know what I mean."

[MIKA27]

If you buy something, you pay for it - Fernandes

Tony Fernandes has hit back at a statement from the Caterham F1 Team which suggests it will take legal action against the Malaysian businessman.

It became apparent on Wednesday that the Leafield based F1 team remains under Fernandes' ownership despite a statement in June confirming it was sold to a consortium of Middle Eastern and Swiss investors known as Engavest SA.

The statement adds that "the seller (Fernandes) has refused to comply with its legal obligations to transfer their shares to the buyer" therefore leaving the buyer "in the invidious position of funding the team without having legal title to the team it had bought."

There is clearly more to the story than meets the eye and Fernandes moved to somewhat clear that up, or at least make clear from his side that money is still owed to him from the new investors.

"If you buy something you should pay for it. Quite simple," he tweeted.

The AirAsia owner is believed to have re-taken control of the team, with team principal Manfredi Ravetto confirming he has been asked to take a back seat until the issue is cleared up.

It isn't clear whether Caterham will be present at the United States Grand Prix in a couple of weeks - or at any of the remaining races this season. It would require a deal to not only be struck with the administrators dealing with Caterham Sports Limited (CSL), but with Engavest SA too.

MIKA: Tony Fernandes response to the Caterham press release saying on Twitter that “If you buy something you should pay for it. Quite simple”. This does not help the situation. The team was worth next to nothing when the owners acquired it in June. The impression given was that the previous owners wanted to get out without spending more money. If the sale has not been completed, as he is suggesting, then the team still legally belongs to The previous owners and so they are responsible for the mess in the UK and they can solve the problem by paying the bank that has called in the administrator.

If the sale has been completed properly then the shares should have changed hands, as would normally happen. Clearly there is more to this than meets the eye but all of these questions should be answered by the paperwork relating to the sale. If there were hidden debts that were not included in the documentation, there is possibly scope for legal action. If there were pledges on shares then these should have been declared in the sale contract.

We will have to wait to see the rights and wrongs of the situation. However, this does not help the staff of Caterham, who seem to be stuck between the two parties to the sale. The danger is that this dispute will now mess things up and the team will close and jobs will be lost.

Not looking good for a 2015 season let alone the remainder of the year and only 3 races to go.

[MIKA27]

25 years ago today, a rivalry became legendary - 1989 Japanese GP

Today marks the 25 years since one of the most intense F1 rivalries ever reached an unbelievable climax.

October 22nd. That date is very significant in the F1 community and even more so now. On this day, 25 years ago, the greatest F1 rivalry that ever was escalated to a spectacular climax.

Senna vs. Prost - 1989 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka

Going into the penultimate round of the 1989 FIA Formula One World Championship, Alain Prost held a 21 point advantage over McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna. Senna started the race from pole position, but that edge quickly vanished when the lights went green. Prost launched off the grid as Senna stumbled away, falling behind.

He was now the hunter, knowing it was imperative that he cut into his teammate's points lead if he wanted any chance at the title in the finale. With just a handful of laps to go, the notoriously precise Brazilian-born racer made his move.

The collision

Was the opening there? Yes. Did it stay that way? No. Prost turned in but Senna was already alongside and the two collided. Fans, teams, and media alike looked on disbelief. Prost wasn't too concerned though. In fact, he may have been mildly relieved by the outcome. He jumped from the stricken car almost immediately as Senna shoke a fist at him.

It's all over ... Or was it?

With both drivers out of the race, he was assured the championship was his. There was just one problem. Senna wasn't done. Refusing to throw in the towel and concede defeat, he motioned to the marshals that he was attempting to rejoin the race. As Prost looked on from the sidelines, Senna rocketed through the chicane as fast as one possibly could.

He limped back around the track with a broken nosecone, pitting to replace it. Then, Senna put his head down and drove like a man possessed. He made the pass for the win in, ironically, the same corner he and Prost came together. Alessandro Nannini couldn't put up much of a fight.

A remarkable comeback shattered

He won the race, threw himself back into the title fight ... Or so he thought. While he was driving the race of his life, Prost had gone to speak with the powers that be.

This ugly thing called politics came into play. Senna was disqualified by the stewards for cutting the chicane, despite the obvious fact that he gained no competitive advantage. In fact, attempting to rejoin the circuit without cutting the chicane could have been a potentially hazardous situation considering where his car came to rest following the crash.

Adding insult to injury

McLaren and Senna appealed the penalty, but their efforts did more harm than good. He was slapped with a six figure fine, labeled a 'dangerous driver' by the FIA, and suspended for six months. Senna and many of his supporters were quick to point out the friendly relationship between FISA President Jean-Marie Balestre and fellow Frenchmen Alain Prost, but the FIA dismissed the claims that favoritism played a role in the decision. Senna almost left the sport as a result, "I am a professional but I'm also a human being," he said.

Vengeance

The following year, Senna would have his vengeance. He and Prost were once again locked in an intense fight for the championship. Although he was the pole-sitter, Prost was going to be given what most of the field considered the preferred line for the start. Senna was done with the games. He had enough and was recorded saying, "I was (Moderated) by the system many times. Today, it had to be my way."

And so he called his shot, much like Babe Ruth, but in a far less glorious manner. If he didn't get the preferred line, neither he or Prost would exit the first corner, and Senna would therefore be crowned champion ... The same way Prost had earned the title one year prior. Well,Senna didn't get the preferred line and neither made it out of that corner.

These two make the Hamilton/Rosberg rivalry look like child's play.

That was Senna

That was Ayrton Senna. Many have a distaste for his ruthless style and his checkereds or wreckers mentality. Personally, I love it and crave for my racers like that. Did Prost intentionally turn into Senna or was he simply trying to enter the corner? That debate rages on so feel free to add your opinion to that discussion with the below poll. And remember...

"If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver."

[Baldy]

Doesn't look good for Caterham, doubtful they can make it to Austin in 2 weeks time never mind the rest of the season.

Looking more and more like Caterham and Marussia will not be on the grid in 2015. Who's following them? Lotus? Sauber? A few drivers will be out of work next year but I feel most for the team staffs.

[MIKA27]

Doesn't look good for Caterham, doubtful they can make it to Austin in 2 weeks time never mind the rest of the season.

Looking more and more like Caterham and Marussia will not be on the grid in 2015. Who's following them? Lotus? Sauber? A few drivers will be out of work next year but I feel most for the team staffs.

I think Lotus are deffinitely safe and sauber, safe-ish.

Marussia and Caterham will be gone by seasons end for sure. Will there be 3 car teams next year? One would imagine this is not possible at such late notice but you never know?