FORMULA 1 - 2014

[CanuckSARTech]

Tell me about it!

There's more politics involved than all our countries issues put together IMO. I just want to watch the racing.

See, that's why you need to come to the Dark Side.

Come to NASCAR.

Minimal politics. Hell, minimal intelligence sometimes. Just petrol and rubber!

[LLC]

Enjoyed the race, some good battles between team mates and good to see Masa do well.

[MIKA27]

BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX: ROSBERG DEFEATS HAMILTON

Nico Rosberg withstood one of a concerted and relentless attacks from his Mercedes teammate and title rival Lewis Hamilton, to claim victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix and thus ending a weekend where he was simply unbeatable around Interlagos in all sessions – and with it setting up a thrilling double points finale in Abu Dhabi.

Rosberg led from the moment the red lights went out, with Hamilton tucked in behind him having stabs at the lead on a number of occasions, and with hammer-time in overdrive he was really on it during the final stint to the flag but to no avail as Rosberg showed remarkable resilience to the intense pressure. Previously in similar situations he has wilted.

The time Rosberg looked most vulnerable was during the second pitstop when Hamilton was about a second behind when him when he dipped into the pits for his second stop. But Hamilton, perhaps pushing too hard, lost it on the brakes into Descida do Lago, went off track saved it from spinning but lost about seven seconds in the process. Ultimately it cost him the win.

Rosberg who heads to Abu Dhabi trailing Hamilton by 17 points said, “I am very happy with the whole weekend. I was able to attack and control the gap to Lewis in the race. It all worked out so that is great and the support has been excellent.”

Hamilton, as is his custom, piled on the pressure and despite DRS in his arsenal for most of the final laps, Rosberg was too good taking his first win since July and with it ending Hamilton’s five race winning streak.

The Briton was gracious in defeat, giving his teammate the thumbs up on the cool down lap and said afterwards, “It was an amazing race, I had a great time. I made a big mistake in the middle of the race but otherwise the car was superb and everyone did a great job.”

“It was great to race Nico and it is brilliant to see Felipe up here on the podium. There is now everything to play for in the final race in Abu Dhabi,” added the world championship leader.

It was a record breaking afternoon for Mercedes who scored their 11th one-two and 30th podium finish of the 2014 season, surpassing Ferrari‘s 2004 record of 29 podium finishes in a season.

Local hero Felipe Massa thrilled the home fans (and his substantial entourage) by bringing the Williams home in third place, after an incident packed race, which saw him incur a five seconds penalty for speeding in the pit lane and also a wacky moment where he attempted to pit in the McLaren bay by mistake. Nevertheless a popular podium finish after an impressive drive by the Brazilian.

Massa said on the podium, “I am so happy for the race, there were so many mistakes; I had the five-second penalty and I stopped in the wrong garage but the car was terrific. I was so pleased with it today.”

Also delivering a gutsy performance was Jenson Button in the McLaren, finishing fourth and making it an all Mercedes powered top four.

Best of the rest was Sebastian Vettel who finished fifth for Red Bull, enjoying one of his better races of his problem packed year, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo’s run of points finishes came to an end when the front left suspension failed on his car.

Ferrari pair Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen slugged it out for sixth place, the Finn stubbornly fending off the Spaniard despite running a different strategy and on older tyres. The pair were side by side on several occasions, until Alonso’s muscled his way past. Radio silence from the Ferrari pit wall was deafening, and perhaps the signal that Alonso is truly on the move from Maranello.

Nico Hulkenberg delivered a strong performance to claim eighth place at a circuit which clearly did not suit Force India, ahead of McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen in ninth and the final point going to Valtteri Bottas in the Williams.

After a drama packed season it will all be decided at the final race of the 2014 F1 world championship in Abu Dhabi on 23 November, which has on offer double points for the first time in the history of the sport – 50 for the winner – but Hamilton now needs only a second-place finish at the iconic Yas marina Circuit to wrap up his second world title.

1 Nico Rosberg

2 Lewis Hamilton

3 Felipe Massa

4 Jenson Button

5 Sebastian Vettel

6 Fernando Alonso

7 Kimi Räikkönen

8 Nico Hulkenberg

9 Kevin Magnussen

10 Valtteri Bottas

11 Daniil Kvyat

12 Pastor Maldonado

13 Jean-Eric Vergne

14 Esteban Gutierrez

15 Sergio Perez

16 Adrian Sutil

17 Romain Grosjean

Ret Daniel Ricciardo

[MIKA27]

ECCLESTONE: CATERHAM IS A DISASTER, WE DON’T WANT BEGGING BOWLS

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has joined those who are heavily critical of Caterham’s plea for fans’ money to get the struggling team back on track.

In administration and missing in Austin and Brazil, the outfit has launched a crowdfunding scheme to raise the almost $4 million it says it needs to make it to this year’s Abu Dhabi finale.

It is a last roll of the dice for the beleaguered Tony Fernandes-founded outfit, with Formula 1 chief executive Ecclestone warning on Saturday that if Caterham doesn’t race in Abu Dhabi, the team will lose its place on the 2015 grid.

“Yes, absolutely,” the 84-year-old Briton told reporters at Interlagos. “If I sit in a poker game and I can’t afford to be there with the other people, I get killed and have to leave.”

Red Bull‘s Christian Horner has already slammed Caterham’s public appeal for money, even though the backmarker team has already raised a surprising $800,000 – more than 20 per cent of the funds it needs for Abu Dhabi.

GPDA president Alex Wurz agrees with Horner and told Sky, “Since I’ve been in Formula 1, and that’s a few years, it has always been extremely tight with the teams at the back end.”

Caterham crowd funding scheme

“Some teams spend more than they have. They knew the economic conditions, they voluntarily signed up for Formula 1 and they didn’t manage their money properly. For teams like this, I do not have so much compassion,” Wurz admitted.

Ecclestone, meanwhile, returned to his now familiar “begging bowl” theme to reject Caterham’s crowdfunding plea.

A couple of weeks ago, when bailiffs were seizing Caterham’s assets and advertising them for sale on Twitter, Ecclestone had said: “I think it’s better they go. I don’t want people going around with begging bowls.”

Now, as Caterham puts its hand out to its fans, he said of the crowd-funding project: “I think it’s a disaster. We don’t want begging bowls. If people can’t afford to be in Formula 1 they have to find something else to do.”

Ecclestone also had bad news for angry privateers Lotus, Force India and Sauber on Saturday, as he was asked for an update on behind the scenes talks about a so-called $160 million fighting fund.

Asked if the sport’s owner CVC is prepared to release the money, he told Britain’s Sky: “We’re not allowed to.

“The only way that that could ever happen is if the (other) teams agree to share their money. They are getting nearly a billion, so maybe they can chip a few quid in between them,” added Ecclestone.

[MIKA27]

Rosberg was in 'control'

Nico Rosberg reckons his Brazilian GP win was never in doubt as he was able to attack and "control the gap" to team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The German claimed claimed his first race win since July's German GP when he took the chequered flag at the Interlagos circuit on Sunday.

Starting from pole position, Rosberg maintained a two second advantage over his team-mate that only once looked threatened.

While Rosberg was in the pits for the second time, Hamilton found some added pace and put in a fastest lap only to spin and drop back.

And although the Brit closed to within a second of Rosberg in the final ten laps, it never once looked as if he could challenge for the lead.

"It was a great weekend," said the victorious Rosberg.

"The whole weekend I've been feeling comfortable in the car, I was able to attack and control the gap to Lewis in the race so that worked out great."

His victory means the two Championship protagonists head into the season finale with just 17 points separating them.

With 50 to play for, Rosberg says he intends pushing hard with the aim being to add another win in his tally and hopefully a first World title.

"There is still a lot to play for and now I am just hoping to keep this going," he said in the post-race press conference.

He added: "It was important for me just to improve. I didn't do a good job in the race in Austin and today I managed to do that. I am happy about that.

This is a big step in the right direction."

[MIKA27]

Hamilton: Everything to play for

With his lead reduced to just 17 points in Brazil, Lewis Hamilton says there is "everything" to play for in Abu Dhabi.

The British racer arrived at the Interlagos circuit on the back of a five-race winning streak and with a 24-point lead in the title race.

But, starting second on the grid, he spent the entire 71 laps chasing Nico Rosberg and for the last 10 was less than a second behind his team-mate.

Unable to close up completely, Hamilton was left to rue his one good opportunity to haul in Rosberg, which he lost when he spun at Turn Four while trying to make the most of pitting second of the Mercedes duo.

The 29-year-old was nonetheless happy with his afternoon's work.

"It was an amazing race, I had a great time," he said.

"Obviously I had a big mistake in the mid part of the race but otherwise the car was superb and the team did a great job."

The Merc driver later admitted that his spin on lap 28 cost him the win.

"I think ultimately it cost me the win," he revealed.

"I was much quicker up to that point. I went a second quicker on the next lap, thought I was going to pit on that lap, used all my tyres and on the next lap there was nothing left.

"I locked the rear and went wide. No-one's mistake but mine.

"It was a great race pushing right to the finish, which is what motor racing's all about."

Congratulating Rosberg on a "great race", Hamilton is already looking ahead to the season finale in two weeks where double points will be awarded.

"I'm going to drive the same in Abu Dhabi, hopefully I will improve. I lost some time here but there is everything to play for in the last race."

[MIKA27]

Massa: I thought I messed it up

Felipe Massa admits he thought he let a certain podium finish slip out of his grasp with his mistake in the pitlane at Interlagos.

The Brazilian started his home race third behind Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and he made a clean start to settle behind the two Mercedes drivers.

However, he was caught speeding in the pitlane during his first stop and was handed a five-second stop-go penalty.

He took the penalty during his second stop and also made another mistake in the pitlane when he went to the McLaren pits instead of the Williams one, but still managed to finish third by a comfortable margin.

"I think the race was amazing, everything happened in my race today," he said. "I am so happy, but not happy with my mistake today.

"I just had a problem when I came for the [first] pitstop, I pushed my limiter but it didn't go.

"I think I could have lost the podium in that mistake with the penalty for five seconds.

"I was so disappointed it happened, then I was pushing even harder, but the problem is you cannot push so hard as you use too much of the tyres.

"I managed to take care of the tyres and managed to have a good pace straight away."

[MIKA27]

Button: Not a bad day's racing

Jenson Button will leave Interlagos a happy man after using all his experience to finish fourth.

The build-up to the Brazilian GP had been troublesome for the Brit as he struggled with his McLaren during practice, but the team turned things around in qualifying and he started fifth on the grid.

Although he failed to get onto the podium on the Sunday, it was nevertheless a satisfactory afternoon as he finished ahead of the Red Bulls, Ferraris and the Williams of Valtteri Bottas.

"Experience showed today, really happy with P4," he told reporters. "You always want more, to challenge for that podium and we felt that we were sort of playing with the Williams at one point, but it wasn't the case.

"Enjoyed the race, great battle with Kimi [Raikkonen]. To beat both Red Bulls, both Ferraris and a Williams is not a bad day's work. That's all I can do right, go out and enjoy my racing."

Button's future remains unclear with McLaren reportedly set to replace him with Fernando Alonso, and the 2009 World Champion admits he's not ready to hang up his helmet.

"Not ready to stop racing," he said when asked about his future.

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo's 'good run' ends in Brazil

Daniel Ricciardo has confirmed that it was a suspension failure that put him out of Sunday's Brazilian GP.

This season the Red Bull racer has had the better of the team's reliability, suffering just one DNF early in the year, Malaysia.

Since then Ricciardo has gone on a run of 15 finishes all of which have been inside the points.

That, though, came to an end on Sunday at the Interlagos circuit when his RB10 suffered a suspension failure.

Initially believing the problem related to his brakes, Ricciardo crawled back into the pits but was told it was game over.

Speaking to BBC Sport, the Aussie, who remains third in the Championship, said: "In the end in was a suspension failure, I thought it was a brake failure as it went when I broke on Turn One.

"It was a bit of a shame but I cannot be greedy, I have had a good run up to now.

"I would have loved to have been out there but that's how it goes sometimes."

[MIKA27]

MALLYA: WHO SAID WE WANTED TO BOYCOTT THE RACE?

Force India principal and co-owner Vijay Mallya has silenced any further talk of a Formula One boycott, saying his team never intended to do anything other than race.

“Here I am fighting with McLaren. I want to beat McLaren. If I park my car, I might as well just accept that I am where I am in the championship and go home,” he told reporters at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

“Why would I come here, or for that matter have gone to Austin or gone to Sao Paulo, or go to Abu Dhabi, with the whole shooting match if I didn’t want to compete?

Teams arrived in Brazil after a Texan race weekend dominated by talk of financial failure and a possible protest gesture by those demanding a bigger share of the $900 million pot of revenues.

Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley had said in Austin before the race, when there was talk of a possible boycott by teams determined to make others aware of the gravity of the situation, that nothing had been ruled out.

In the end, the race proceeded normally.

Since then Marussia have gone out of business while Caterham are trying to raise money through crowd-funding to compete in Abu Dhabi. Both teams went into administration last month and were absent from Austin.

“Who said that we wanted to boycott the race? Please tell me. If I am wrong, you educate me,” said Mallya, speaking in his paddock office at the Interlagos circuit, when asked about Austin.

“I speak on behalf of Force India. I have never said that we are going to boycott,” he added. “Why would we? We have come to go racing. I may as well have stayed in England and saved all the expense.

“We are racing all the way down to the wire. From my perspective you can kill it off (the boycott talk),” he added.

Mallya said he could not reconcile the financial troubles of some teams with the $900 million share of the revenues in a sport that generates some $1.7 billion.

“The way it is distributed is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” he declared, while emphasising that Force India were not under any threat.

He pointed out that his drivers were challenging McLaren for fifth place on a far smaller budget but said he was willing to accept a voluntary cost cap in exchange for a more equitable distribution of money.

Discussions between the teams and commercial rights holder are continuing in Brazil, “One of the things that we have offered as part of our request for more equitable distribution of pattern of income is that we will impose a voluntary cost cap on ourselves. So let the big teams, before demanding more money, also agree to a cost cap for themselves. They want more to spend more.”

“All we are saying is that we want to stay strong and keep participating in the F1 world championship. Please help us with more equitable distribution of funds. If the engines were $10 million instead of $20 million maybe we would not make the pitch we are making now,”added the Indian entrepreneur.

“Costs have gone up, income hasn’t proportionately and those that make the engines, charge an arm and a leg for those engines and also make more money. It makes no sense.”

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg rues missed chance to fight Ferraris

Nico Hulkenberg came within two-tenths of beating Kimi Raikkonen to seventh place in the Brazilian Grand Prix as both drivers pursued alternative pit stop strategies.

Hulkenberg was one of few drivers to start the race on the medium tyres. He finally switched to the softs at his third and final pit stop, and after passing Kevin Magnussen he quickly gained on the Ferraris in front.

To the surprise of the Force India team, Fernando Alonso spent several laps trying to overtake Raikkonen, which slowed both Ferraris down. By the time Alonso got past Hulkenberg was less than six seconds behind.

Hulkenberg’s contrary strategy gave him the advantage of running in clean air much of the time – even leading for five laps early on. “With a three-stop race you are always pushing, but my race was not too complicated and I was on my own for a large part of the afternoon,” he said.

“The team made the right calls on the strategy and we maximised our performance with the tyres in these very hot conditions. I finished just behind the two Ferraris and maybe with one or two more laps I could have finished sixth instead of eighth, but that’s racing.”

Raikkonen, however, might have been able to finish ahead of Alonso had he not lost around four seconds during his slow second pit stop.

[MIKA27]

Pit stop problems delay Williams pair

Debris, speed limits and seat belts caused a succession of problems for the Williams drivers in the pits – even when they managed to stop in the correct boxes.

The trouble began when Felipe Massa came in for his first pit stop on lap six and broke the speed limit on the reconfigured pit lane. “I hit the limiter twice by mistake,” he explained.

He was handed a five second time penalty to serve at his next pit stop. Massa then compounded his problem by pulling into McLaren’s pit box by mistake – he blamed the similar colour of their mechanics’ overalls and the fact the garage order had been changed earlier in the weekend for the confusion.

Both Williams drivers also had to have debris removed from their cars during their pit stops, but despite these delays Massa was still able to finish on the podium. Valtteri Bottas lost more time, however, when his seat belts had to be adjusted during his first pit stop.

A further slow pit stop dropped Bottas further out of contention.

Massa’s eagerness to be serviced by the McLaren crew could be explained by the fact they’re the quickest in F1 at the moment. They produced the fastest pit stop of the race for Jenson Button on lap 27 – the sixth time they have done so in the last seven races.

[MIKA27]

Alonso: No decision on future before end of season

Fernando Alonso doesn’t expect to have his contract situation for 2015 decided before the final race of the season at Abu Dhabi.

“I don’t think so,” he told reporters after the Brazilain Grand Prix. “We’re still in the middle of the championship with some important things to do every Sunday in terms of points so let’s make that first priority.”

“Australia 2015 is still a lot of months [away],” he added, “so I will do something before”.

Alonso is contracted to Ferrari for the next two seasons but Red Bull’s announcement last month that Sebastian Vettel will leave them sparked speculation that he will replace Alonso at Ferrari.

Alonso finished sixth in today’s race after prevailing in a wheel-to-wheel battle with team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Although Alonso eventually got past Raikkonen in the DRS zone, he did not feel it was necessary for his team to intervene sooner by imposing orders on them.

“I think at the end for the constructors’ championship we were OK having Magnussen behind us,” he said.

“We saved more or less this weekend, starting eighth, finished sixth, so it’s OK and one more lap left hopefully we could keep these positions.”

[MIKA27]

'Zero frustration' over Raikkonen battle says Alonso

Fernando Alonso says he feels "zero frustration" towards Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Kimi Raikkonen after the Finn fought so hard to defend against him late in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari duo found themselves battling over sixth place at Interlagos, with Alonso behind on fresher tyres after stopping one more time than Raikkonen.

Raikkonen fought hard to defend his position though, and although Alonso made it through he finished 10 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel in fifth.

When asked post-race if Raikkonen's defending prevented him from finishing higher than sixth, Alonso said: "No, I'm very very happy - zero frustration.

"The most important thing was not the battle with him, it was the battle with the other teams and we got some good points for Ferrari today.

"Even if I could have overtaken Kimi a little quicker I had to save a lot of fuel in the last couple of laps so a battle with Sebastian was never a possibility."

Alonso said that he was pleased to come out on top in the battle with Raikkonen.

"Finishing in front of him always gives satisfaction," he added.

"This weekend I managed to finish in front in qualifying and in the race after a weekend where I struggled a bit with some mechanical issues.

"It was definitely a good experience - I had one more stop so I had to recover 21 seconds.

"I had fresh tyres so I had the advantage in the last battle."

Raikkonen described the dice as "normal racing" and said that he did not feel the battle had cost Ferrari anything overall.

"It's the same points for the team, and at the end of this kind of season it makes no really big difference for myself or the team as we get the same points [whichever driver finishes ahead]."

[ptrthgr8]

Bernie is a complete tool. He doesn't want "begging bowls" but he has no problem with a redistribution of the larger teams' revenue. At least those "begging bowls" means those smaller outfits are trying to scrounge up the funds on their own without needing to leach from the more monied teams.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

LAUDA: IF V8 ENGINES RETURN TO F1 MERCEDES WILL QUIT

Mercedes has warned it will quit Formula 1 if moves to revive the old V8 normally aspirated engine era are successful.

Amid the debate about costs driving small teams out of Formula 1, and the separate argument about an engine development ‘unfreeze’, Bernie Ecclestone showed his hand by reiterating he is staunchly opposed to the new V6s.

“We need to change the regulations,” the Formula 1 chief executive told Sky television a week ago. “We’re going to try to get rid of these (V6) engines. They don’t do anything for anybody. They’re not Formula 1.”

The 84-year-old Briton most certainly has some allies. Some of them are fans who miss the normally-aspirated V8 scream. And Ecclestone also has many race promoters on side.

“I don’t think there’s any problem with the number of cars,” said Austin promoter Bobby Epstein, who welcomed an 18-car grid to the US GP a week ago. “If the competition up front is good, the total number doesn’t matter. But it would be great to hear them.”

It is at this point that the back-and-forth ‘unfreeze’ debate comes into play.

Although Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have been wheel-to-wheel in 2014, Mercedes was utterly dominant and rival engine suppliers Renault and Ferrari are desperate for the rules to be relaxed so they can catch up. Mercedes, having mastered the start of the new turbo era, is understandably reluctant.

“We were slowed down for five years running with aerodynamic restrictions,” said Helmut Marko, of Formula 1’s formerly-dominant force Red Bull. “All we’re asking of Mercedes is that they give us the chance to get closer.”

Mercedes has offered a slight compromise, but not all of what Renault and Ferrari are demanding. Now, Ferrari, Renault and perhaps even Honda are threatening that if Mercedes continues to refuse, they will push through a total opening up of engine development for 2016 with the power of their majority vote.

That will send costs through the roof and almost certainly drive more teams out of business. The golden solution to that might be to go down Ecclestone’s road of reviving the cheaper and fan-pleasing V8 engines.

“No one likes to take a step backwards,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said, “but sometimes you have to realise when something has gone wrong.”

Indeed, struggling small teams like Lotus, Sauber and Force India would be much happier with an old, V8-style engine bill.

“None of us wanted the new engines,” said Lotus owner Gerard Lopez, speaking for the struggling trio. “They were forced upon us.”

He indicated he would not be opposed to another engine type being introduced, particularly if it was much cheaper, “If I told Pastor or Romain that next year they’re pedalling their car, they’re not going to be particularly excited. But it would be way cheaper for us and I might actually make money.”

Honda, however, is only returning to Formula 1 next year because of the new, modern and more road-relevant engine formula. And Niki Lauda, Mercedes’ team chairman, warned that bringing back the V8s would have other drastic consequences.

“If V8 comes back,” the Formula 1 legend said, “Mercedes will be gone.”

[MIKA27]

FERRARI BIG BOSS WORRIED ABOUT 2015 PROJECT TROUBLES

New Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has already reportedly expressed concerns about the Italian team’s 2015 project, in the wake of an Autosprint report citing wind tunnel figures of the project code named 666 showed that the 2015 car may be no better than the F140T.

Now, the authoritative daily La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Marchionne, who recently took over from Luca di Montezemolo, reacted with alarm to the first concrete numbers emerging from the 2015 project.

And “Is it this year’s car or next year’s?” he reportedly asked when he was shown sketches.

The swords of Damocles have been falling all over Maranello in 2014, with Stefano Domenicali, Luca di Montezemolo, Luca Marmorini and now Fernando Alonso all departing.

There are claims chief designer Nikolas Tombazis could be the next, while a cloud has been over Pat Fry’s job ever since James Allison assumed clear leadership in the technical realm.

When asked about the 2015 car reports, Fry said in Brazil: “There’s obviously a huge gap we need to catch up. I think things are progressing reasonably well.”

And on the Tombazis report, a Ferrari spokesman told Spain’s Marca sports daily: “Tombazis is chief designer at Ferrari and there is nothing more to say.”

[MIKA27]

Hamilton takes 'zero comfort' from lead

With 50 points up for grabs in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton says he heads into the season finale with "zero comfort" from his 17-point lead.

Mercedes' 11th 1-2 result of this season, which the team recorded in Brazil on Sunday, went in Nico Rosberg's favour so the Championship protagonists will head into the final race of the season separated by just 17 points.

While in normal circumstances that would put the advantage firmly in Hamilton's favour, with the new double points rule anything could happen.

There are 50 points on offer for winning the Abu Dhabi GP, which has given Rosberg more scope to fight back.

It has also taken anyway any comfort Hamilton would have had in past years with a 17-point lead.

"There is zero comfort going into the next race," the British racer told BBC Sport.

"There are 50 points to gain. The last race, you never know what's going to happen, so I'm going there to win."

A win, or even a second place, would guarantee Hamilton the title while on the other side of the garage, Rosberg has to finish fifth or higher to stand any chance of snatching the crown.

Hamilton, however, isn't even entertaining the thought of that happening.

"Why would I think that?" he said. "It's not the way to approach any race weekend."

As for his opinion on the double points rule as the drivers who stands to lose the most from it, Hamilton said: "We need to keep on reviewing it. It's good to try something and we'll see how it goes this year.

"The important thing is that the fans are happy. We need to see if we keep on doing it or change."

[MIKA27]

Wolff: Rosberg would be worthy

Toto Wolff says if Nico Rosberg comes from behind to ****** the title in Abu Dhabi, as the one with the most points he will be a "worthy" Champ.

With the 2014 title race going down to the wire, the Championship will be decided in Abu Dhabi where the controversial double points rule will be in effect.

With 50 points up for grabs for the win, Hamilton's lead of 17 points could easily be negated by Rosberg.

However, there is a great deal of debate over whether the rule artificially influencing the title.

Added in the fact that Hamilton has 10 race wins this season to Rosberg's five and the question over who is the more worthy is also raised.

Wolff, diplomatically, reckons whoever finishes with the most points is the most worthy.

"I do hope that it is not decided by a mechanical DNF because that would cast a shadow over the championship," said the Mercedes motorsport boss.

"We all knew the rules at the start of the season, and if Rosberg has most points at the end of the season he will be a worthy Champion.

"You have to be pragmatic."

[MIKA27]

Sauber boss angered by F1 'agenda'

As talk of three-car teams continues, Monisha Kaltenborn is angered by what she feels is an agenda to see just "four or five names" remain in F1.

Talks between Sauber, Force India, Lotus and Bernie Ecclestone at the Interlagos circuit this past weekend did not reach the desired results for the teams.

Instead of being assisted with a bigger share of the sport's revenue, they were slated by Ecclestone for bad business practice.

"The way forward is very easy - don't spend as much," he said. "We are giving these teams collectively $900 million and that's enough.

"They have enough to survive but not in the way they are surviving. Start running the business like a business rather than a hobby."

And with the five big teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams, refusing to give their smaller competitors their backing, the future is looking uncertain.

Kaltenborn believes it is all part of an agenda to get rid of the smaller teams.

She told Press Association: "Looking at the proposals which have been made we have to believe there is some agenda here.

"The agenda seems to be that people are looking at four or five names to remain.

"When ideas are offered to us of a year-old chassis or engines which maybe are a different spec, a different series, whatever, there must be an agenda.

"Since nobody is reacting to it in front we don't know whose agenda it is, but the fact is it cannot go on like this. It's not the way we want to work or can work.

"The more these ideas come up, the more we three get the feeling that maybe some people don't want us to be around and maybe the sport is supposed to be changed in a very different way."

Horner, however, has rubbished talk of an agenda, adamant that Red Bull Racing do not want to have to run a third car.

"No, not at all," he said. "Red Bull's position is we want to see a full grid of two-car teams.

"We have an obligation, as do a couple of other teams, that if the numbers drop below a certain number then we will be required by the promoter to field a third car.

"The numbers haven't dropped significantly low enough and we haven't been requested by the promoter to run a third car.

"So, that is the situation. Our preference is we have at least 10 healthy competing two-car teams."

[MIKA27]

'No change in Bianchi's condition'

A month after his horrific Japanese GP crash, Jules Bianchi remains in a "stable but critical" condition in hospital.

The Marussia driver suffered a diffuse axonal traumatic brain injury when he slammed into a recovery vehicle in the wet at Suzuka.

Rushed to hospital, Bianchi underwent emergency surgery and has remained in the Mei General hospital since.

Updates on Bianchi's condition have been scares with Marussia sporting director Graeme Lowdon revealing that's because nothing has changed.

"Jules is very much in our thoughts at the moment," he told Sky Sports F1. "There's no change in his condition, he's still stable but critical.

"The thoughts of everyone in the team and his very wide fanbase are very much with Jules at the moment."

It has been a difficult month for the Marussia team as, aside from Bianchi's injury, it was announced on Friday that a lack of funds has forced Manor Grand Prix to shut up shop.

Lowdon, though, maintains the fight is not over.

"I don't feel like there's no way back. We're very competitive people and we'll keep fighting until there's absolutely no chance at all.

"At the moment there's still very much a chance that we can compete in 2015 and beyond and indeed in Abu Dhabi.

"It's been a very busy weekend; we've worked very closely with Geoff Rowley, the administrator. I think we owe it to all of the guys who've helped get us here, the fans, our drivers including Jules; we owe it everybody to try everything we can to ensure that this team continues."

He added that not only has an entry been submitted for next season and that "potential investors" have come forward.

"We've had to solve an awful lot of problems that we were presented with, and I think we've solved virtually all of those now - we're right down to one or two pivotal things that need to happen, and they could happen very quickly.

"There is a lot of interest from potential investors and if we can ensure we have a solid footing to move forward then we'll do so.

"There are very, very few things that need to be solved for us to be back in the paddock and racing."

[MIKA27]

Bottas undone by loose seat belt

A loose seatbelt and severe graining in the final stint meant Valtteri Bottas left the Interlagos circuit with just one Championship point.

Starting fourth on the grid the Williams driver had hoped for a solid afternoon and even the chance to battle for a podium result.

However, a seat belt issue that needed to be resolved in his second pit stop dropped him well down the order.

"It came loose suddenly," Bottas revealed. "We're still investigating."

He added: "It was tough. Physically it made it not easy because you are moving about, when you're braking you have to keep it with your hands, it's not ideal.

"It was not really my day. There were a lot of things which went wrong."

In the final stint, the Finn also had to deal with severe graining to his rear left tyre which cost him the opportunity to work his way higher up the order.

"There was a big band of massive graining, so I think it was a construction problem or something in the left-rear," he said.

"That slowed me down quite a bit, I was sliding a lot and the tyres were destroyed really quickly.

"Then the last stint was compromised because it became really long, so I just needed to try and get to the end without stopping again."

[MIKA27]

Exclusive: Qatar poised to join F1 calendar

Race at Losail Circuit expected for 2016, or 2017 at the latest.

While the proposed Formula One race in Las Vegas for 2016 has been getting the majority of the publicity, another potential race has been quietly working its way toward the F1 calendar: Qatar, which has long been hoping to host a race.

According to well-placed sources, plans for the inaugural race are much farther along than most expected, and the track, Losial International Circuit, is likely to join the calendar in 2016, or 2017 at the latest.

It will not take much work for the track to be ready, as the track already holds FIA and FIM homologation licenses. Built in 2004 at a cost of about $60 million, Losial is a 3.375-mile road course that already hosts MotoGP, GP2 and several other series including rallies and enduros. Full lighting was added three years after it was built, well before the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi became the largest lit circuit in the world.

The 2008 MotoGP race was the first night race, and GP2 ran its first night race there in 2009. MotoGP has raced at the track since 2004. Most of the track’s activities are from October to April, a time when weather prevents much of the racing world to stage spectator events. The track is less than a half-hour from Doha International Airport in the country’s capital, and plenty of luxury lodging is available nearby.

Could host testing first

The track is expected to host some F1 testing before the actual race. Upgrades to F1 standards continue, and given the wealth of the area, financing should not be a problem. In addition, Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Attiyah, president of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, is expected to retain his vice-presidency of FIM when elections are held later this month.

Technically, Formula One has privately visited the track multiple times, including in late 2009, when His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Thani became the first Qatari to drive a Formula One car when he drove a Williams FW31 there. His Highness, who owns the Al-Anabi drag racing teams, made five laps in the car.

[MIKA27]

How the championship can be won in Abu Dhabi

With the drivers' title going to the wire in Abu Dhabi between Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, we've taken a look at where each driver needs to finish to be victorious.

Had this been 2013, things would be much simpler with Hamilton requiring just sixth place, regardless of where Rosberg finished, to win his second title.

However, the addition of controversial double points in 2014 at the season finale has made the affair slightly more difficult for Hamilton, as he must finish second to guarantee him the crown if Rosberg wins.

Below, I've listed every scenario for both drivers to win.

How can Lewis Hamilton win the title in Abu Dhabi?

- If Hamilton finishes ahead of Rosberg, Hamilton will win the title

- If Rosberg wins, Hamilton needs to finish no lower than second

- If Rosberg is second, Hamilton needs to finish fifth or higher

- If Rosberg is third, Hamilton needs to finish sixth or higher

- If Rosberg is fourth, Hamilton needs to finish eighth or higher

- If Rosberg is fifth, Hamilton needs to finish ninth or higher

- If Rosberg is sixth, Hamilton will win the title even if he's outside the points

How can Nico Rosberg win the title in Abu Dhabi?

- If Rosberg wins and Hamilton is third or lower

- If Rosberg finishes second and Hamilton is sixth or lower

- If Rosberg is third and Hamilton is seventh or lower - If Rosberg is fourth and Hamilton is ninth or lower

- If Rosberg is fifth, he needs Hamilton to be tenth or lower

Let's not forget the FIA made these rules, not the drivers, nor Mercedes, so people should not make rash comments should Nico ****** the title in Abu Dhabi. This could easily have been reversed in Lewis favour or any other driver in the top teams fighting for the WDC.

[Baldy]

Sauber boss angered by F1 'agenda'

Classic case of the rich doing everything they can to keep all the loot to themselves. Interesting where this will lead. IMO, suicide by the big teams. They will say that teams have always come and go in F1 but it's getting to a point where the entry fee is becoming prohibitive. And once you enter, the financial playing field is nowhere near even. New and poor teams are given a "begging" bowl, until and unless the big teams agree to throw them a few more crumbs. So the poor will remain poor while the rich gets paid just for showing up.