FORMULA 1 - 2014

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MCLAREN DENIES HONDA BUY-IN STORIES, BUT DENNIS SET TO INCREASE STAKE

Honda will not be buying a shareholding in the McLaren F1 team, according to a team spokesman, but behind the scenes there are plans afoot for a change of balance among shareholders.

A McLaren spokesman said today: “Contrary to recent media reports, Honda has informed us that it has no intention to buy into McLaren. All of Honda’s focus is on the development of its new Formula 1 power unit.”

So it is clear that Honda will not be replicating what Daimler, the parent of Mercedes Benz did, in buying a stake in the Woking outfit. When Daimler made its exit, in order to start its own F1 team in 2010, it sold its stake primarily to Mumtalakat, the Bahraini investment fund.

Now it seems that Ron Dennis is set to increase his 25% stake in the business by buying down some of Mumtalakat’s stake and possibly some of Mansour Ojjeh’s 25% stake. Ojjeh is seriously ill with cancer at the moment.

Indeed, this share buy-back programme was part of the basis of Dennis’ return to the helm of the company, replacing Martin Whitmarsh, who had no shareholding.

Dennis has been working hard trying to find not only new title sponsor for the McLaren F1 team, but also a new backer to help him increase his holding in the company. So far the title sponsor has not been secured for the team.

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Alain Prost believes Formula 1 is letting its fans down in 2014

Alain Prost reckons Formula 1 is letting down fans by failing to properly explain its new direction, and argues the sport's restrictive rules have lessened its appeal.

The four-time world champion, who last raced in F1 in 1993, argues the fact F1 has been widely criticised since it replaced V8s with V6 hybrid turbo engines for this season suggests it needs to work harder to convince fans it has moved in the right direction.

"I could not say it is a full success because there is a lot of criticism, especially about noise," he said.

"I still think the noise is an excuse, because a lot of other things are not going well.

"The big challenge is that the public, the people, the fans, they [need to] understand why we have done this change.

"In this case it is not all good, because they see there is a big change but they don't understand very well why we have done that."

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Prost, who is now an ambassador for Renault and a commentator for French TV, reckons internal criticism of F1 by the likes of Bernie Ecclestone and Sebastian Vettel has also hurt perception of the sport.

"That is another problem," Prost added. "We have had a lot of criticism, even the drivers.

"I don't want to judge anybody in particular but it is not good.

"I don't think you should criticise. You are in a boat and you have to make it work."

The Frenchman urged everyone involved in F1 to promote it in a more positive light, amid ongoing decline in TV audiences.

"It is nobody's fault but everybody's fault," said Prost, when asked whose job it was to take responsibility for educating the public about the new-look F1.

"If you look at the last two years, we had a drop of spectators, so that means more or less the fans maybe don't like what F1 is compared to the past.

"But on the other side we did not get a new public, the younger public, and maybe it is more difficult to explain today than it was when we had the [last] turbo era.

"So maybe it is different and we don't know how to approach that."

HAS FORMULA 1 GONE TOO FAR?

Prost also contends that restrictive rules and strategic convergence between teams in races has potentially made F1 too predictable.

"I know F1 and with all the information you have I find the races very interesting," he added.

"But I think about if I do not know F1 very well and watch it on TV, will it be something that I like to watch? I am not quite sure.

"We have a lot of restrictions, a lot of regulation, and maybe we went too far.

"We have no big [strategic] risk now. You need to understand what is happening, but not the fact it is all written in advance."

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KOBAYASHI LIMITED SPECIAL EDITION CATERHAM LAUNCHED

Caterham Cars have taken the wraps off a brand new special edition Seven designed by Caterham F1 Team driver, Kamui Kobayashi. Just 10 examples of the Kamui Kobayashi special edition go on sale in Japan from, priced at ¥6,000,000 ($60,000).

Based on the 125bhp Seven 250 R, the distinctive special edition is packed with an array of performance-focused features hand-chosen by the Formula One driver. The Seven 250 R is powered by a 1.6 L Ford Sigma engine, achieving 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 197 km/h. It has six-speed manual transmission with a limited slip differential.

The exterior is finished in high-gloss black paint with matt black sport stripes. Every Kamui Kobayashi edition wears a number 10 badge on its nose – Kamui’s Formula One driver number. The front wings and rear wing protectors are finished in carbon fiber infused with a unique Caterham green lacquer, the first of the Seven models to offer this finish.

In true racing style, the car is a single-seater and features an aluminum tonneau cover over the passenger seat area. There is also a single-sided rollover hoop fixed to the rear bulkhead, and all new 13-inch diamond cut black wheels. A polished chrome rear exit exhaust system completes the dynamic styling.

Inside, the performance theme continues with a carbon fibre dashboard detailed with the Caterham green lacquer, which will be personally signed by Kamui. The sports seat is also constructed from carbon fibre, with green contrasting stitching, a Kamui logo in the head rest and a green Takata-branded 4-point harness.

Other interior features include special Kamui gauge inlays, an anodized green gear knob with Kamui wordmark and an anodized green key.

Kamui drove a Caterham Seven for the first time earlier this year at Silverstone circuit. Speaking about the special edition, he said: “For me, the Caterham Seven is a pure car; when you drive a Seven it feels like you are driving, not like the car is driving you. In my Caterham F1 car, I have electronics that control everything but to drive the Seven is to truly understand the car and to truly understand the enjoyment of driving.I hope my styling of the Seven adds something special to a car that is already awesome to drive.”

David Ridley, Chief Commercial Officer for Caterham Cars commented: “Japan is our second-largest export market and our Japanese Caterham community are huge fans of Kobayashi; I’m delighted to be able to offer our fans in Japan this exclusive model which will, one day, no doubt become a collector’s item. Kamui had great fun customising the design and has even test-driven the first prototype to give his seal of approval.”

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Mercedes considered F1 withdrawal

Mercedes' Dieter Zetsche has confirmed that the German carmaker considered walking away from Formula One before the start of this season.

Mercedes have been the powerhouse this season, dominating the Championship in emphatic style.

Not only has the Brackley-based squad claimed all six grands prix wins but five of those were 1-2 finishes.

However, this season almost didn't happen for the team.

"There has to be an intelligent business decision and of course the motivation is marketing," Zetsche told Sky Sports F1.

"We want to present our brand and we do believe there is no better place to present the brand than in our core marketing in our core business, which is engines, cars and therefore racing.

"Still, you have to justify your spending and see that you get results. And for that reason we had to have discussions.

"That took place. There was not one person in the boardroom who was against racing, others who were in favour. But we had to discuss all aspects and make the right decision in the interests of our company shareholders.

"That's where we came to the conclusion we're not a company for the short-term; what we do, we do for the long-run."

And with Daimler now committed to Formula 1 until 2020, Zetsche says they are looking to the sport to embrace a greener future.

"With the objective to save fuel, be efficient and have very high performance, that's exactly what we have to do with our production cars and we use exactly the same technical components.

"That's why it's making even more sense with the regulations than in the past."

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Simona de Silvestro says gender no issue in F1 racing

Simona de Silvestro says she has encountered no gender discrimination in motorsport during her rise to a Formula 1 role with Sauber.

The former IndyCar racer has given up her race seat for an affiliate role with the Hinwil-based F1 squad for this year, which includes testing in a two-year old Sauber C31.

She reckons most racing teams are more concerned with how fast a driver is, rather than whether they are male or female, and that the lack of top-level female drivers is due to a relative dearth of girls competing in the lower tiers compared to boys.

"If we look in karts there's maybe 100 boys racing and maybe three or four girls so the ratio is definitely at the smaller end," she said when asked by AUTOSPORT if she had encountered gender bias during her rise through the ranks.

"In general racing to get to a high level is difficult whether you are a boy or a girl.

"You have to prove yourself and there are so many drivers.

"Every driver on the planet wants to get to F1 and there are only 22 seats.

"I've never felt it was tougher or different, because I think the important thing is to prove you can be as fast, and if you are winning races or upfront people just consider you a race car driver."

A female driver has not raced in F1 since Lella Lombardi finished 12th in the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix, though others have attempted to qualify.

De Silvestro said she felt no extra pressure or expectation to succeed as a woman in F1, if she graduates to a race seat as planned.

"I don't think it's pressure or expectation; to me the important thing is that I show we can be competitive and up until now I think I've been able to do that in my career," she added.

"Until IndyCar I've always won races and always been up front. Those are important criteria, and if I get the chance to go into F1 I want to do the same thing - show that we can be as fast as the guys. That's the key."

De Silvestro also rubbished suggestions that Sauber having a female team boss in Monisha Kaltenborn might be an advantage to her.

"I don't think it helps [that] I'm a girl, but it's the first time I've had a female boss, so it is different," de Silvestro said.

"What she has seen in me is that I really want this, that I really want to make it happen.

"I don't think it changes anything because at the end of the day I'm here to work."

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Vettel and Berger burn rubber at the Red Bull Ring

To say we’re looking forward to Austria’s return to the F1 calendar would be a bit of understatement, not only does it mean that for the first time in 11 years we’ll be racing around the gorgeous Styrian mountains at what used to be one of the quickest little circuits on the schedule, but we’ll be doing it in the team’s home country, at Red Bull’s very own state-of-the-art grand prix circuit.

And with just over three weeks to go before the race, Sebastian Vettel went to the circuit this week for a pre-event press conference with Helmut Marko and Gerhard Berger. He also completed a few laps of the circuit in an RB8, as part of the filming of the ‘Comeback of Formula One’ documentary.

Afterwards the defending champion said that the event will be a season highlight for Infiniti Red Bull Racing: “It will be a very special grand prix for the whole team. The facilities here are cutting edge, there is plenty of work going on to ensure that. The stands will all be sold out. It gives you another extra kick as a driver to race in front of such a backdrop.”

It will be Sebastian’s first race at the circuit, which last hosted F1 in 2003. He’ll be in good company, however. Just three current drivers – Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa – have experience of the old circuit.

Sebastian was joined on track on for the filming by one of Austria’s grand prix greats, Gerhard Berger, who jumped into the 1988 Ferrari F1/87-88C he took to victory at Monza.

The ten time grand prix winner and the first athlete ever sponsored by Red Bull raced five grands prix in Austria, though only one was at the circuit whose configuration gave rise to the Red Bull Ring.

Berger said: “I gladly think back to the first time I drove at the Österreichring. It was a wonderful time. I told Sebastian that in those days you could get cows crossing the track. He didn’t quite believe me though, I fear,” he said.

The former Toro Rosso team boss was thrilled, too, to be reunited with the 1988 Ferrari that earned him third place in that year’s F1 Drivers’ Championship. “Today after 25 years I once again sat in a Ferrari of the time. It was a wonderful feeling.”

The two grand prix stars then swapped cars, with Seb admitting that he wanted more laps in the historic car.

“It is fantastic to drive such an historic car,” he said. “In those days lots of manual work was needed. It feels so direct in a nice way. It’s a great feeling, which finds expression in the performance. Ideally I would have liked to drive further with it.”

F1′s return to Austria is set to be a feast for fans of all forms of motorsport. Not only will the weekend feature the usual bill of F1, GP2, GP3 and Porsche Supercup action but on Friday there also will be a Freestyle-Moto-X Show.

On Saturday the Red Bull Sky Dive Team will demonstrate their daring manoeuvres and on Sunday, an air display with the Flying Bulls’ fleet and the Austrian Armed Forces is scheduled for just before the grand prix starts. Red Bull Air Race pilot Hannes Arch will also show off his incredible ability as a stunt pilot.

Berger will be back at the track too, in the company of every living Austrian grand prix driver. On race day, he, Niki Lauda, Helmut Marko, Dieter Quester, Hans Binder, Karl Wendlinger, Alexander Wurz, Patrick Friesacher and Christian Klien will take part in a legends parade with cars they made famous.

Above all though, the weekend is about celebrating the return of racing’s top level to Austria.

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Alonso still keen to buy top cycling team

Double Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso spent the day attending Italy’s major cycling race, the Giro d’Italia.

Having worked earlier this week in Ferrari’s Formula 1 simulator, the Spaniard headed further north on Thursday to drive the 171 kilometre mountain stage of the famous bike race in a VIP car.

He then presented the race leader with the iconic pink jersey. Alonso, however, was not just having a break from the rigours of Formula 1′s 19-race season.

Last year, the 32-year-old – an avid cycling fan – made an ultimately failed bid to take over the top Spanish team, Euskaltel-Euskadi.

After the bid collapsed, Alonso vowed instead to set up a cycling team “from scratch” that will compete in the upper echelon of the sport from 2015. More recently, however, there have been reports that Alonso’s plans are not on schedule.

Reports have suggested that Alonso tried but failed to sign the top rider Peter Sagan, and that talks with a $20 million per year title sponsor from the United Arab Emirates and also the cycling governing body UCI may no longer be going well.

But when asked about his team, registered with the UCI as ‘FACT’ (Fernando Alonso Cycling Team), he told the Giro d’Italia on Thursday that the plan is to get up and running in 2015.

“We’re working on it,” said Alonso. “That’s our aim and what we’re hoping for. As you know there are some rules to respect, some timing to respect, and we’re working in the background to do everything else to respect the right steps.

“We are working in a professional manner and a respectful manner as well because we are entering a world that is not our world so we need to learn many things,” he added. “We will do it step by step. There is not any hurry because we want to do it in a good way.”

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Canadian Grand Prix: Red Bull drivers preview Montreal

Red Bull drivers preview the Canadian Grand Prix, Round 7 of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile de Notre Damein Montreal;

Sebastian Vettel: “Canada is a very demanding high-speed racing track, which is surrounded by rails and concrete walls. There is definitely a high risk potential, especially in Turn 15, where you will soon get to know the notorious ‘Wall of Fame’ should you be driving a few centimetres too far to the right. The first danger zone is already at the start. In the very narrow right-left passage, it’s all about avoiding contact with the other cars, otherwise there will be a crash. It is not uncommon for the Safety Car to make an appearance at the Canadian Grand Prix. Before the grand prix, I’m travelling to Toronto to spend a day with Infiniti and their guests on Wednesday for an Infiniti driving day, which will be fun. I’ll be performing a few Hot Laps with David Coulthard and some Infiniti guests.”

Daniel Ricciardo: “I doubt anyone on the grid lacks motivation, but there’s definitely a little extra edge to it at some circuits. They tend to be the ones that demand the most from you and hold real consequences from getting it wrong. Montreal definitely falls into that category. Each of the chicanes (and the hairpin too) is an opportunity to make up, or lose, time but the crucial corner is probably the last one: you arrive at top speed so there’s a lot to be gained in braking if you get that just right, and then the way you go over the kerbs is worth more time. The flip side is that it’s very easy to get wrong and if you do then there’s that big wall waiting. It’s a clear choice: some guys will play it safe and sacrifice half a tenth to get through there cleanly; others who will take a risk and go flat out trying to find a little bit. The nearer you are, the faster you’ll go. Give the wall a kiss and you feel pretty good; kiss it too hard and that’s it!”

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Canadian Grand Prix: Mercedes preview Montreal weekend

Round Seven of the 2014 Formula One World Championship brings us to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, held at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve;

Lewis Hamilton: “Monaco was another great weekend for the team and I’m so proud of all the hard work the guys put in to make it happen. Of course, from a personal perspective it wasn’t what I was aiming for. I race to win every time and unfortunately it just wasn’t my weekend. … I drove with all my heart and gave it all I could, so I head to the next race with even more energy and determination. Montreal is one of my favourite weekends of the year. It’s where I won my first grand prix back in 2007 and I’ve had another two victories there since, so it holds some special memories for me. The city itself is incredible. It’s one I always love to go to and there’s always a great crowd, so I’m hoping for them that the weather is good and we can put on a great show!”

Nico Rosberg: “Sunday in Monaco was a very special day for me. It was a fantastic result to get another one-two and I’m really happy for the whole team. Lewis drove really, really well and pushed me massively hard but I kept it cool and was able to take the win. He has been on top of his game so it was important for me to break his momentum last weekend. I now have the lead again in the world championship which is great. But it’s still very early days and it’s going to continue to be an extremely tight battle between us this year. From Monaco, we head across the Big Pond to Canada. Montreal is one of my favourite venues. It’s a beautiful but also crazy city where there is always a lot happening: particularly in the evenings…it’s a great place to celebrate a good result, shall we say! That’s what I’ll be aiming for again this weekend.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “We are pleased to head to Canada on the back of another strong weekend in Monaco. We went into that race convinced that our rivals could outperform us and that’s how we worked to prepare for the weekend: like we were the underdogs. So we were pleased to see that we still had a good advantage at the front of the field. The team is operating at a very high level right now but we need to keep the ball flat, stay humble and keep pushing. On paper, you might say that Canada is the kind of circuit that should suit our package. But we don’t have a crystal ball and we have been bitten by that way of thinking in the past. We know that our rivals are getting closer and that we will need to extract every bit of potential to deliver a strong performance in Montreal. Lewis has a fantastic track record in Canada, Nico has the momentum from his win in Monaco. We are all looking forward to the next chapter in the story of this season.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “Monaco provided another fantastic weekend for the team. We approached the event with cautious optimism, but without being entirely confident that our car would enjoy the same performance differential as seen at the previous rounds of the season. This made the result all the more satisfying, particularly given the special effort put in by everyone involved to prepare for the unique challenges of this race. We now head to Canada, which is another unusual circuit but in the opposite vein to Monte Carlo. It’s very much a power circuit and we’re looking forward to seeing how the Mercedes-Benz Hybrid package performs around this type of track layout. Endurance will also be an important factor given the high demands placed on the components, so this weekend will provide a comprehensive test of the Power Unit. There were some concerns after Monaco following a retirement for Valtteri Bottas but the team at Brixworth have been working extremely hard to understand that problem and ensure that it is contained across every engine. We are confident that this will be the case. In Montreal, we have a circuit at which Lewis has traditionally excelled and, with both him and Nico on top of their game, we’re expecting them to push each other all the way through the weekend once more. As always this will of course depend on the team providing a good package and equally strong reliability. We will be bringing a number of updates to the car, both on the power unit and aerodynamic side, so it should be an interesting weekend. Montreal is a fantastic venue that provides great racing, good weather and a lively atmosphere thanks to some very enthusiastic fans. Overall we’re excited about the weekend ahead.”

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Patrick Head: F1 engine ‘too expensive’

I don’t want to overplay Patrick Head’s comments but I was a little surprised to see him actually call Formula 1 out on their exorbitant power unit costs in an interview with BBC. According to the site, former Williams F1 engineer, Patrick Head was quoted as saying:

“Head says that Formula 1 should be more about the drivers and entertainment than demonstrating the benefits of hybrid technology.”

The reason I find that interesting is not because it isn’t true but because he has been a proponent for the greening of Formula 1 in the past. When he resigned from the F1 team, he moved into the Williams Hybrid Power division—which was later sold—and there are comments he made endorsing the move to hybrid in F1. It seems he’s had a slight change of heart on the issue.

There have also been comments from F1 pundits that the new regulations are the result letting engineers run the sport versus people focused on racing and entertainment. The regulations become burdensome under their own weight and create a vortex of specification and incredibly expensive and exotic systems and materials.

Head suggest the very same notion we’ve been saying for some time regarding road car relevancy and hybrid power—the road car industry is doing hybrid technology just fine thank you:

“I think it should be more about the drivers and more about entertainment on the track, which sounds like saying the easy thing, but the road car people are doing a perfectly good job on hybrid anyway at the moment.”

Head sees Formula 1 as entertainment, not a proving ground for road car technology. This is where we cross that fine line of technical innovation to improve the competitive nature of the team’s car—which sometimes acts as a knock-on effect that can trickle down to road cars—or trying to showboat a technology even if the desire is to garner interest from future manufacturer participation or cultural appeal in certain demographic segmentation within the marketplace.

Is it all too interwoven to separate as Head has just done? One could argue that the initial build will always be expensive but over time the cost of replication comes down as R&D is not needed to perpetuate a design rather than dream it up and then build it. The economies of scale over time so to speak.

However, Head does make a very cogent argument for lower-cost entertainment when he says:

“You could produce 800hp for 2 million euros a team each year. I think the teams are having to pay about 10 times that amount.

“It’s a very expensive way of powering Formula One cars.”

Would Honda be returning to Formula 1 if the challenge was to make a 2 million Euro engine? Maybe not but then does that really matter if the entertainment value is higher and more teams able to participate due to lower cost to entry? A tough question with no simple answer—well, maybe it is a simple answer. Time will tell if these expensive, exotic, flatulent sounding power units will be the future of F1.

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Ferrari’s next upgrade can’t come too soon for Alonso

The battle of the three-pointed star was the lead story at Monaco. No banal soundbite, inconvenient speck of grit or tell-tale twitch of the steering wheel was exempt from scrutiny if it involved Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg.

While all that was going on Fernando Alonso’s endeavours in the Ferrari were widely overlooked. But there was significance in his performance in the cockpit and actions outside it.

He began the weekend by suggesting to the press, in not so many words, that it might be nice if his own team spoke as highly of him as Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche, who had described him as “perhaps the best driver” in Formula One.

Ferrari’s media team snapped into action: “Fernando is the best driver in the world, who always gives 200% in the races,” gushed president Luca di Montezemolo in a statement hurriedly issued to the media.

This PR fire-fighting, conducted with all the composure of a roller-skating elephant, has become typical of Ferrari. Last year Alonso replied half-jokingly to a question about what he wanted for his birthday by saying “a car like the others”. Again the knee jerked and another statement from Montezemolo appeared in which he publicly hauled his star driver over the coals for a inconsequential remark few had noticed until Ferrari decided to broadcast it with a megaphone.

Luckily for Ferrari there are no points for press releases. But points are awarded for winning races, and Ferrari aren’t doing much better at that right now.

Ferrari made no secret of their unhappiness with the previous generation of F1 rules, which they felt rewarded aerodynamic performance at the expense of engine development. With the advent of the new V6 turbo engines that is be longer the case, but where do Ferrari currently rank among F1’s engine builders? Third, trailing both Mercedes and Red Bull-Renault.

It took a near-flawless drive from Alonso, capitalising on a little intra-team tension between the Red Bulls, to claim Ferrari’s only podium of the season so far in China. But it didn’t come soon enough to keep team principal Stefano Domenicali from resigning his position, after the team began another season on the back foot.

On paper, 2014 was supposed to be the year of Mercedes versus Ferrari. As the only two teams to manufacture both their chassis and engine, the new rules should have played into their hands. That’s exactly how it worked out for Mercedes, but Ferrari have been a huge disappointment.

In the meantime Alonso has been doing his thing, extracting no less from his car than what it is capable of. Shortly after Montezemolo lauded his driver’s “200%” commitment, Alonso demonstrated exactly what his boss was talking about. On a slippery track during the second practice session in Monaco he danced his Ferrari between the barriers to displace Mercedes at the top of the times sheets.

What a race we’d have seen if that had happened during qualifying. Alonso produced another top-drawer effort in Q3 as well, lapping an impressive seven-tenths quicker than team mate Kimi Raikkonen. He finished the race a lonely fourth after a fault developed on his car’s power unit.

Alonso is contracted to remain at Ferrari for another two seasons after this one. That deal was announced four races into 2011, not long after Alonso had narrowly missed out on winning the championship in his first season with the team, and at the time it must have seemed greater success was just around the corner.

Three years later things look very different. Alonso turns 33 next month, he’s surely closer to the end of his F1 career than its beginning, and he must be increasingly concerned that his championship tally stands at two world titles and three near-misses.

So the rumours of approaches to Red Bull last year and Mercedes this year will have surprised no one. Particularly as Hamilton’s move to Mercedes in advance of the new engine regulations was, with the benefit of hindsight, exquisitely well-timed.

Which engine manufacturer offers Alonso the best chance of finally taking that long-overdue third title in the latest generation of cars? The best options with Mercedes and Renault power appear closed to him for now. A return to McLaren, who will reunite with Honda next year, would be a surprise given the acrimonious circumstances of his departure seven years ago.

But remaining committed to Ferrari is not without unknowns following the arrival of new team principal Marco Mattiacci, who Alonso has admitted needs to be given time.

Now would be a good time for Ferrari to show Alonso they have not been left behind by the latest rules change, nor ventured down a development dead-end as they have done in recent seasons.

The next two races are at circuits where engine power is crucial: the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and Red Bull Ring. Significantly Ferrari are promising their latest upgrade, which is expected to include engine developments, will make them “a good step faster”.

It needs to be. Because while on one level this is just another step in the constant development of the car, it has deeper significance. Any doubts Alonso might be having must be calmed; he needs faith that he’s pledged his future to the right team.

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Russian GP tickets on sale

Tickets for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix have gone on sale with more than 45,000 tickets on offer.

Russian will host its first-ever Formula 1 grand prix on 12 October 2014 with a track having been built at the site of the Winter Olympics venue in Sochi.

Tickets went on sale on Saturday with a starting price of 5,000 rubles (£85) for a three-day ticket in the General Admission area around the Bolshoi Ice Dome.

As for the temporary grandstand tickets, those range from 11,000 to 17,000 rubles.

Those grandstands will be located next to the most interesting turns of Sochi Autodrom while the main grandstand tickets holders will have a view of the start/finish straight, team boxes, last turn and the awards ceremony.

The main grandstand tickets start at 23,000 rubles (£393) and fans can buy tickets at www.sochiautodrom.ru.

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F1 returns to the venue named after Ferrari’s favourite son

Gilles Villeneuve scores his maiden F1 win at the 1978 Canadian GP – with him on the podium are Carlos Reuteman (3rd) and Jody Scheckter (2nd)

This Sunday sees the 45th running of the Canadian Grand Prix. The race was first held in 1967, when Jack Brabham won in his own car. It’s been held on three circuits: Mosport Park eight times, Mont-Tremblant twice and Montreal, 34 times, making it a classic on the calendar.

Ferrari has won the race 11 times which is a 25% success rate. The first win was even a one-two finish at Mont-Tremblant, where Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni crossed the line in that order in the 312B.

The Montreal track made its debut eight years later in 1978, built on the perimeter roads of the man-made Ile Notre Dame. It used the excavated soil from the construction of the 1976 Olympic village. Local hero Gilles Villeneuve the won the inaugural race at the venue in the Ferrari 312 T3.

Gilles Villeneuve on his way to his maiden F1 win at the 1978 Canadian GP

The repercussions from this win were incredible, being the first victory for a Canadian, as well as taking place in Quebec, where Gilles was born. The track was named in his honour after his death at Zolder in May 1982 and the following year, Ferrari won again in Montreal with Rene Arnoux and a further two years on, Michele Alboreto was victorious.

In 1995, the famous number 27 won again, giving Jean Alesi the best day of his career: Michael Schumacher in the Benetton had an electrical problem, which meant he had to pit to change the steering wheel and to have the system reset.

For once, Alesi managed to shake the monkey off his back that had been there for so long. The Frenchman crossed the line to celebrate his 31st birthday in the best way possible. Montreal has a big Italian population and the fans invaded the track, risking getting run over as cars were still on track.

Alesi had to park his car as he was mobbed by fans and in the end, it was the aforementioned Schumacher who gave him a lift back, wrapped in the French flag.

Michael Schumacher won the 2004 Canadian GP

In fact, the remaining six Ferrari wins in Canada all came courtesy of Schumacher, the first of them in 1997. The following year was a bit more controversial, as the Ferrari man drove into Heinz-Harald Frentzen coming out of the pits, putting the Williams out of the race. Michael was given a stop-go penalty, but he still managed to win.

Walls close to the track edge are a feature of this circuit and one in particular, on the outside of the last turn before the pit straight, has ended the hopes of many of the best drivers over the years.

It has become known as the “Wall of Champions” and it has caught out big names such as Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Rubens Barrichello and more recently, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel, the latter on Friday in 2011.

Schumacher wasn’t immune to it either, his race coming to an end there in 1999 while leading, but he made up for it, winning in 2000, 2002 and 2004, making him the king of Canada with no less than seven wins.

[MIKA27]

Haas: F1 project taking longer to accomplish than we thought

Although approved by the FIA to enter Formula 1 in 2015, it is increasingly unlikely that Team Haas will be on the grid next year, but are rather more likely to make their debut in 2016.

Italian media are reporting that the United States based outfit, owned by NASCAR team owner Gene Haas, is in the process of setting up a deal with Dallara to provide the chassis and Ferrari the V6 turbo power units.

Haas told Autoweek, “It just seems that it’s taking longer to accomplish what we wanted to do than we thought. It’s already June so it’s just seven months away and the timing issues are starting to get real crazy. We have a list of names [of people we want to hire], but the problem is that a lot of times they’re already working for somebody and they can’t get out of their contracts for three to six months so there’s a lot of those contractual issues that have to be resolved before someone can come over.”

New factory for the Team Haas Formula 1 operation being built in Kannapolis

During the Indianapolis weekend, the project’s newly appointed Team Principal Guenther Steiner (formerly with Jaguar and Red Bull in F1) said: “We will [soon] make the final decision, but we’ll probably ditch the one-year program to improve the organisation, as this perhaps is the most appropriate way forward.”

Despite what would be a one year delay Steiner is adamant the F1 programme will happen, “In North Carolina [at Stewart-Haas Racing headquarters] we have enlarged our facility for this new commitment. With Dallara we are defining the type of collaboration, but the project will be ours, they should play the role of technical consultants.

“We have not yet hired a designer, technical director, but these decisions will be made shortly,” added Steiner.

Dallara CEO Andrea Pontremoli told Autosprint, “We are still talking [to Haas], but at the moment there is still nothing signed, no written agreement. This is an essential factor to start any type of technical co-operation.”

[MIKA27]

Chiesa: Rosberg does Hamilton’s dirty work

Fourteen years on, little has changed between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, according to their former karting boss Dino Chiesa.

In 2000, the duo were teammates at Team MBM, the kart team sponsored by AMG (Mercedes) and McLaren, which was run by Chiesa, who told Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday: “On his fast lap, Lewis was always a little faster than Nico. He knew it well and he knows it today.”

“But Rosberg has always worked harder. [Rosberg] has always done the dirty work – the setup, working with the mechanics and the engineers.

“Lewis has never worked as hard as Nico behind the scenes,” said Chiesa, when asked about the past in the context of the pair’s massive falling-out as they battle for the world championship in 2014 as Mercedes teammates.

“One of them has the talent, the other is fast but is more of a thinker. And then Lewis cuts a piece of Nico’s cake and sells it as his own.”

Chiesa said that Briton Hamilton and German Rosberg also got up to their ‘psychological games’ in karts all those years ago.

“Yes, but of course on a different scale,” he revealed. “At the time I was the team manager, but I was also like a counsellor or a father.

“I remember some angry phone calls from the hotel reception. Sometimes they had destroyed the room. It started with a thrown cushion, then a blanket, then the mattress was out on the street. It was all fun except that I always paid the bill at the end.”

Chiesa said Monaco 2014, however, was slightly different, “Lewis behaved a bit like a young, angry Italian. Nothing is ever his fault. He always thinks others are out to hurt him.

“But you have to understand this is a German team with a German driver who has been there for three years already. It feels to Lewis as if the team is a bit more friendly to Nico. It’s normal.”

Chiesa said that he still talks regularly to Rosberg, but not to Hamilton, “It is difficult to get to him. His management is not very helpful. It may be good for a Hollywood star, but not for a Formula 1 driver. These people give the impression of him being a superstar.

“But a motor sport race is not a show, it’s hard work. So I think it’s right that Niki Lauda brought him back down to earth,” said Chiesa, perhaps referring to Hamilton’s smaller entourage and apparently clearer focus in 2014.

Meanwhile, ex Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi has told La Gazzetta dello Sport that Hamilton will beat Rosberg to the title this year, “I only want to say one thing about their rivalry. Nico is a very strong driver, but Lewis is a champion.”

[MIKA27]

Sauber 'pushing very hard'

Despite having yet to score a single World Championship point, Esteban Gutierrez has urged Sauber to head to Montreal with a "positive mindset."

Racing around in a car that is overweight, Sauber is one of only two teams who have yet score this season.

Sauber have come close a few times and it appeared in Monaco as if they would finally score only for Gutierrez to tag the guardrail and retire.

The Mexican racer is keen to put that behind him, hopeful that the next race, Canada, will suit his Sauber C33.

"The track in Montreal requires a high top speed as well as good mechanical grip," he said.

"The surface is quite slippery there, so the tyre compound will be important.

"The way the tyres warm up is especially significant, because we have to keep in mind that they have a lot of time to cool down on the long straights.

"The track itself is a combination of a street and permanent circuit.

"There is a lot of history behind the Canadian Grand Prix, and it is a traditional race. Overall, it is a nice event.

"We have to approach the race weekend with a positive mindset. The whole team is pushing very hard to improve our current situation."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull could bill Renault for 'damage'

Red Bull Racing could yet bill Renault for lost revenue such is the F1 team's unhappiness over the French manufacturer's issues.

Red Bull's latest title defense has been blighted by problems with their new Renault 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines.

Sebastian Vettel seems to have suffered the bulk of the issues with the German's most recent trials coming in Monaco where he was forced into retirement due to a turbo failure.

At the time a frustrated Christian Horner said "It is a Renault issue so I think you need to speak to Renault about that reason."

However, it won't just be journalists speaking with the French manufacturer as Helmut Marko says their accounts department will also be having a little chat at the end of this season.

The Red Bull advisor has revealed that Red Bull could bill Renault for lost revenue as the engine supplier is costing them valuable points and positions in the Constructors' Championship.

"It would be irresponsible to talk about the exact figure at the moment," he told Germany's Bild.

"But the list of losses due to problems with the Renault engine is long enough.

"The season is not yet finished but at the end of the Championship our finance department will assess the damage.

"That's when we can talk about the magnitude of losses due to Renault problems."

Meanwhile, Vettel says he is worried about running out of engines before the season is over.

This year drivers are limited to just five power units before they start to incur penalties. Vettel has already had three turbo issues.

"You can easily calculate that will not be enough," the four-times Champion told Auto Motor und Sport.

MIKA: I often wonder how RBR can blame Renault when Daniel Ricciardo's car is doing extremely well with the same kit...?

[MIKA27]

Forza Rossa gets an entry

The Romanian Forza Rossa project is understood to have been given an entry for Formula 1. The FIA decided not to decide back in April, but with the Haas project having been delayed until 2016 it seems that the federation has now agreed to allow Forza Rossa to have a try. It is expected that the project will use Ferrari engines, as the project is led by Ferrari dealer Ion Bazac. The Romanian project has a lot more elements in place than Haas did, which begs the question as to why the FIA decided to favour Haas at the start. This will mean that Haas’s programme is unlikely to be with Ferrari because there are rules restricting engine supplies. However the rules (as usual) are negotiable as they state that “a major car manufacturer may not directly or indirectly supply engines for more than three teams of two cars each without the consent of the FIA”. Thus the FIA could (in theory) agree to let Ferrari supply five teams (Ferrari, Sauber, Marussia, Haas and Forza Rossa, but this would likely cause upset. It is unlikely that Bazac would use another engine supply. He and his wife Camelia are the official Ferrari dealers for the country and have been since 2008. Camelia took over a Maserati franchise as early as 2002.

Forza Rossa has Colin Kolles’s team in Greding as a starting point, with manufacturing likely to be done by Holzer in Germany, aerodynamics by British consulting firm and design by a group of engineers who have worked together in the past on the HRT programme.

The main issue is the money but Bazac is said to have a consortium of private and state-funded backers.

[MIKA27]

Kimi Raikkonen says he's just been unlucky in Ferrari F1 return

Kimi Raikkonen feels collisions during his 2014 Formula 1 campaign have masked how well he has driven so far on his Ferrari return.

The Finn driver lies well adrift of third-placed team-mate Fernando Alonso in the drivers' championship after six races, but he was on course to beat the Spaniard for the first time this year in the Monaco Grand Prix until a collision with Max Chilton's Marussia spoiled his race.

Raikkonen was also compromised by contact in Malaysia and Bahrain earlier this year, and he reckons incidents like this have made his personal performances look worse than they actually have been.

"I have driven well many times, but there's always been something going wrong in the races - like punctures from other people hitting me - and it's just never come together really," Raikkonen said, when asked by AUTOSPORT if the Monaco GP was his best drive of the season.

"It's a shame. Again we had a good position [in Monaco] but got a puncture so it's just bad luck.

"Small things go wrong and make a massive difference in the end."

The 2007 F1 world champion is still not fully comfortable with the handling of the F14 T, but he reckons more work and a bit more luck will turn his difficult season around.

"Once we get a good feeling with things I'm sure it's going to be a lot better," Raikkonen added.

"But until we get the results and things fixed we have to keep fighting and hopefully be a bit more lucky in the future."

[MIKA27]

McLaren expects Canada to suits its 2014 Formula 1 car

McLaren should make a step forward in this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, because its Formula 1 car will suit the Montreal circuit better than recent venues, according to Eric Boullier.

The Woking-based team utilised an upgrade package to end a run of three straight races without points by scoring a double top-10 finish in Monaco last time out.

The team's racing director Boullier reckons Montreal's long straights and lack of high-speed turns will help Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen be even more competitive in Canada.

"We have been bringing upgrades regularly since the beginning of the season, but clearly we had a strong push since Barcelona," Boullier said.

"In Monaco we had a lot of mechanical upgrades on the car, and the track layout of Canada is high-speed with a lot of straight lines, but with no real high-speed corners, a lot of chicanes and low-speed corners, so it should suit our car and we should be in better shape than we were in Monaco."

[MIKA27]

Hulkenberg hails “best run of results”

Nico Hulkenberg says he’s enjoying the best form of his career so far having scored in the each of the first six rounds this season, including five top-six finishes.

“It’s my best run of results in Formula One and I’m really enjoying the racing,” said Hulkenberg .

“I’ve said many times that consistency is our strength and we showed that again in Monaco with another fifth place. Monaco was not our strongest track, or our weakest track, but we still brought the car home for a great result.”

Hulkenberg is fifth in the championship and only 14 points behind Fernando Alonso, who is third.

The Force India driver took fifth in Monaco after completing two-third of the race on a set of super-soft tyres. “It was such a hard race,” he said.

“There was pressure from behind and my tyres were gone. Just keeping the car out of the wall was difficult. So it was a big relief to keep Jenson [button] behind.

“I was shouting over the radio when I crossed the finish line because it was such a satisfying result for everyone in the team.”

Hulkenberg is cautiously optimistic about the team’s potential in Canada this weekend.

“It’s difficult to say how we will perform in Montreal,” he said. “In theory it should be one of the better tracks for us, but things change from race to race.”

“It’s good that we have the soft and super-soft tyres again because I think the softer tyres are more suited to our car.”

[MIKA27]

F1 to switch to 'more reliable' fuel flow meter

Formula 1 will likely switch to a new brand of fuel flow meter's for the 2015 season following a spate of issues and failures this year.

The new technology was made mandatory this year due to the new fuel regulations which stipulate a maximum fuel flow of 100kg/h. Daniel Ricciardo's sensor failure was the most high-profile, with it eventually costing second place at the Australian Grand Prix when the stewards found he'd exceeded the maximum rate - which Red Bull blamed on a faulty sensor.

Currently Gill Sensors is the only FIA homologated supplier, but a partnership of three British companies, Reventec Sensors, Mikina Engineering, Polyhedrus Electronics and US-based Hyspeed have announced that they will jointly-develop a new sensor for the series.

Hyspeed originally worked with Gill Sensors, but split in 2013 allowing the company to join the new venture which is headed by Neville Meech, who for 13 years, was Gill Sensors' lead motorsport engineer. He is confident in their approach to the new sensor which he believes will be more efficient, less likely to fail and comes in at just 250g - half the maximum allowed weight stipulated by the FIA.

"We remain convinced that the ultrasonic time-of-flight principle is the best way of measuring fuel flow on board a race car," he told Racecar Engineering.

"As a result, the FlowSonic is a compact and robust unit with the minimum of materials and parts, and hence less to go wrong."

The new FlowSonic sensor is due to go before the FIA for homologation at the end of the year. If it passes, it can very easily replace the current sensors at a greatly reduced cost.

[Wing]

Thanks Mika 27... I have been on your F1 and Tech threads at least a few times a week for the last few years.

Although I don't think the drivers are the way they are reported to be, reading the body language of Hamilton tells me he is a big baby. If I were Lauder I would sit him down for 10sec and say "You better make Mercedes look good and every single way otherwise you'll be driving for somebody else... we have heaps invested, will have heaps to invest, and like it or not Merc will be in this position for a while!!". It only takes one big baby to make the team look weak- Schumacher, Rosberg and AMG Petronas struggling looked more united.

[MIKA27]

Thanks Mika 27... I have been on your F1 and Tech threads at least a few times a week for the last few years.

Although I don't think the drivers are the way they are reported to be, reading the body language of Hamilton tells me he is a big baby. If I were Lauder I would sit him down for 10sec and say "You better make Mercedes look good and every single way otherwise you'll be driving for somebody else... we have heaps invested, will have heaps to invest, and like it or not Merc will be in this position for a while!!". It only takes one big baby to make the team look weak- Schumacher, Rosberg and AMG Petronas struggling looked more united.

Hi Wing - Thanks for reading and your post, I couldn't agree more!

Hamilton is a great driver, no doubt about it but he really is a sore loser. Ive trawled through numerous pictures and to me it's quite funny when I look at early pictures of Rosberg and Hamilton together'and I'll tell you what I find funny.

Every picture where Hamilton wins, he's smiling and very close toward Rosberg, in those pictures, Rosberg still looks content and pleased.

On the flip side, Each time Hamilton loses out to Rosberg, he's body language is displeased, distant and immature.

I think back to Lewis in 2008, win or lose, he was far more mature then compared to now and I was proud to follow the guy as one of the few drivers I hold in high regard. But that was 2008 and today, he's the least favoured driver for me and thats purely due to his attitude.

IMO - What Schumacher, Rosberg, Ross Brawn and Toto have worked on so hard over the past few years (Which yielded small results in those early years), is slowly being tarnished by Hamilton. And its a shame because Hamilton deep down is a really nice guy who is far too focused on projecting an almost SUPERSTAR/Rapper celebrity persona.

Again, many thanks for your contribution, I love reading other members thoughts and opinions.

Hope I haven't offended Hamilton fans. In the end I'm just a fan posting news on the sport I love and of course add my own opinions which anyone is more than welcome to do.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes: Honda are gaining knowledge free of charge

Honda has an advantage in being able to concentrate exclusively on the 2015 season, claims Andy Cowell, who is the engine guru for Formula 1′s dominant Mercedes team.

This year, the German marque is fighting for title spoils against only Renault and Ferrari, but Japanese carmaker Honda is returning to the fray in 2015 as McLaren’s works partner.

“There are pros and cons (for Honda),” said Cowell, referring to the fact that Honda is missing from the grid in 2014, the very first season of the all-new turbo V6 era.

“Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes have the experience of winter testing and the grands prix this year,” Cowell told Auto Motor und Sport. “We know based on facts what the issues are and how to solve them. Honda can only watch.”

“On the other hand, we face a challenge in that we are continuing to develop the current engine in the context of what is allowed, and simultaneously we need to prepare for the 2015 homologation next February,” Cowell explained.

“So Honda has the advantage of being able to learn through photos and analysing the performance of the engines whilst concentrating fully on 2015,” he said.

“They are gaining knowledge free of charge, but not in the depth of the three [current] manufacturers,” added Cowell.

Honda and McLaren were partners in Formula 1 from 1988 to 1992, winning four constructors’ titles and four drivers’ world titles in the process.

Honda’s last foray in Formula 1 terminated at the end of 2008, whereupon the team sold out to Ross Brawn whose eponymous outfit won both the 2009 constructors’ and drivers’ world title.

Brawn then sold out to Mercedes, when the German manufacturer decided to extend their involvement in Formula 1 beyond that of engine supplier.