FORMULA 1 - 2014

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PIRELLI ALSO HAVE CONCERNS OVER STANDING RESTARTS

Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has raised its concerns about Formula 1′s new standing restart rule for 2015, joining a growing chorus of discontent over the plan.

With the move already controversial among the sport’s fans, top drivers have also raised their voices at the prospect of forming up for grid re-starts after Safety Car periods next year.

“We all pretty much disagreed as far as I am aware,” Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo, revealing widespread dislike for the innovation among his racing peers, said on Tuesday.

Team bosses have also raised their eyebrows, even though Force India chief Bob Fernley admitted to the Indian news agency PTI this week that the move will “improve the show”.

But Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s Formula 1 boss, is concerned about the technical impact of forcing cars to come to a halt on the grid mid-race.

“Every time you stop the cars,” he is quoted by Autosprint, “we see a lot of blowers in use. It is not only the tyres that will lose temperature, but we have cars that easily overheat.”

Drivers have also not warmed to the idea, with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo saying, “I don’t like the idea of standing re-starts. If you’re leading by 20 seconds, you lose it when a Safety Car comes out which is firstly a big disadvantage,” he explained.

“And then by putting in a standing re-start, anything could happen – not just an accident but a poor start when you drop from first to fourth because you’re using tyres which could be very old,” added Ricciardo.

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ECCLESTONE WARNS THAT MONZA COULD FALL OFF F1 CALENDAR

Formula 1 may say goodbye to one of its most historic tracks, Monza, according to boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Monza’s current deal was agreed to in 2010 and Ecclestone said he believes it is unlikely to be renewed when it runs out at the end of 2016.

“Its future isn’t good,” Ecclestone said in an interview published by the Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday. “I don’t think we’ll do another contract, the old one was a disaster for us from a commercial point of view. After 2016, bye bye…”

Monza, which first hosted an F1 race in 1922, is one of the most famous and beloved tracks on the circuit. Every Italian Grand Prix since 1950 has been held at the track except the 1980 race, which was held at Imola.

“Ecclestone’s comments on the Monza Grand Prix are worrying,” said Antonio Rossi of the Department of Sport and Youth Policy in the Lombardy Region. “As regional councilor I ask for the government to help us protect the Italian Grand Prix, which has played an important part in the history of Formula One and which, above all, plays an important economic role and brings jobs to the region.”

If Monza is dropped by F1, the Italian Grand Prix could be held at Mugello, a proposal that has been mooted by Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo. Ferrari own the circuit.

Italy could also lose its race altogether due to the sport’s dwindling fan base in the country following numerous disappointing seasons for Ferrari.

“TV audiences are lower in Italy than elsewhere,” Ecclestone said. “If Ferrari starts placing first or second in qualifying and races…the audiences would increase everywhere. Ferrari is a worldwide passion.”

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LOTUS MAY DITCH RENAULT FOR MERCEDES IN 2015

Lotus could be set to move on from its disastrous 2014 Formula 1 season by ditching Renault power for Mercedes engines.

Fourth in the constructors’ championship not only last year but also in 2012, the Enstone-based team has struggled with the Renault powered E22.

Engine supplier Renault, whose troubles with its premier partner Red Bull are well known, has taken much of the blame, particularly for many of the reliability problems. But French driver Romain Grosjean is not pointing the finger.

“It’s not just the engine,” he told Auto Motor und Sport, “even if compared to Mercedes we do lack power. The problem is probably more aerodynamic in nature.”

“In the second part of the corner we lose grip suddenly. Anything gained in the fast corners, I am losing two or three times over in the slow ones,” he added.

Even team trackside boss Alan Permane admits the problem, “Our car does not like stop-and-go [circuits], we need sweeping corners.”

That is why the E22 looked much more competitive at Barcelona, and so Lotus is looking forward to the fast corners this weekend at Silverstone.

“Our car is fast,” said team owner Gerard Lopez, “but only under certain conditions.”

It means Lotus has fallen from the highs of fourth to the depths of eighth in the constructors’ standings, four points behind the Red Bull sister team of Toro Rosso.

“At least they have the same [Renault] engine,” said German correspondent Michael Schmidt. “But maybe not for much longer. Lotus is said to have had contact with Mercedes.”

Mercedes already supplies three teams in addition to its own works outfit, but long-time partner and customer McLaren is moving to works Honda power for 2015.

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WILLIAMS AND FORCE INDIA LIKELY TO KEEP DRIVERS FOR 2015

Drivers at Force India and Williams appear unlikely to feature in this year’s Formula 1 silly season as both teams are content with the performance of their respective drivers.

He may now be an ex-billionaire as his airline sinks, and he is set to begin the new financial year by facing court in India as an alleged ‘wilful defaulter’, but Vijay Mallya’s Force India team is doing well in Formula 1.

“We are competing consistently against a team like Ferrari, which operates on a budget more than double of what we use,” team boss Bob Fernley told the Indian news agency PTI. “It goes to show that the smaller teams can compete against the top teams.”

Indeed, Force India – based just a stone’s throw from the British Grand Prix venue at Silverstone – is nipping at Ferrari’s heels for third in the constructors’ championship, comfortably ahead of another Formula 1 giant, McLaren.

The 2014 car is powered by the field-leading Mercedes V6, but Force India is also happy with their drivers at the wheel.

“I have a great respect for Checo and his talent,” Mallya, referring to Mexican Sergio Perez’s nickname, said this week. “He’s a talented young lad and I’m happy to have him in the team.”

Mallya also said he is happy with German Nico Hulkenberg, who alongside Perez completes Force India’s new-in-2014 lineup, “Nico’s class is well recognised in the paddock and he’s scored points in every race this year.”

Yet another driver not on the market for 2015 is Felipe Massa, who after a sometimes sputtering start after his move from Ferrari finally broke through with a popular pole position, in Austria last time out.

He spent last weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, driving Damon Hill’s 1996 title-winning car and reminding reporters that his new Williams contract still has two more years to run.

Asked if the German touring car series DTM might be an option for his future, Massa told Speed Week: “Of course, why not. I even thought about it last year when I didn’t know if I would be staying in Formula 1. But I will be here in Formula 1] for a few more years.”

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ZANARDI LOOKS FORWARD TO SCHUMACHER RECOVERY

Former grand prix driver Alex Zanardi, horrifically and nearly fatally injured in 2001, has wished his old rival Michael Schumacher well.

Three times during their respective racing careers, the Italian and German faced off on the circuits.

The first was as teenagers, at the wheel of European kart competitions. Then a few years later, in the early 90s, when Zanardi raced in Formula 1 for Jordan, Minardi and Lotus.

And after Zanardi’s ultra-successful American open wheeler career, the pair met yet again in Formula 1, this time with Zanardi struggling in a Williams and Schumacher well on the road to the Ferrari-coloured glory years.

Today, Zanardi has rebuilt his sporting life after losing his legs, and nearly his life, in a 2001 Champ Car crash.

Like Schumacher, who has just emerged from a six-month coma and is reportedly conscious in a Lausanne hospital, Zanardi spent time in a coma 13 years ago.

“I know Michael from childhood, in karts,” he told Speed Week. “He has always been a person who does not give up. So I was always sure that his condition would improve and he would beat the coma.”

Zanardi says he remembers little from his own coma, except extreme tiredness when he woke up, and then briefly struggling to recall how to do simple things on his own – like breathe and urinate.

Schumacher’s coma, of course, has been much longer, and involving brain injury. But Zanardi has hope.

“I remember when I stood up on my new feet for the first time after the accident, it was during an event in which Schumi took part as well,” he said.

“I remember how touched he was. So I want to tell him that I cannot wait to see him standing up, to see that it is me that is moved this time,” Zanardi, now 47, added.

Meanwhile, in the case of Schumacher’s stolen medical records, suspicion has returned yet again to the hospital in Grenoble, where for six months the great German was in a coma.

Earlier, it was reported that Swiss ambulance staff may have photographed the doctor’s letter during Schumacher’s transfer from Grenoble to Lausanne.

But, citing police sources, the French newspaper Le Dauphine Libere claims that the stolen letter – on the market for a reported €50,000 – contained “spelling mistakes”.

It seems the letter was in fact a draft, thrown in the hospital bin in Grenoble.

“So far, no one has been identified as the person responsible for the act of theft,” Grenoble prosecutor Jean-Yves Coquillat told the French news agency AFP.

“The investigation is ongoing and far from over.”

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F1 technology upgrade contest- Is Google, Apple invited?

It’s time to upgrade Formula 1’s live data screen and why not? It’s been the same for decades. In a new initiative from F1’s technical partner, Tata Communications, the Connectivity Innovation Prize was launched last month and has a $50,000 prize for the winner.

Entrants in the competition can work with the data and also the GUI as well as UX or user experience in the look and feel of the new data screen. They can also consider possible TV graphics incorporated in the system as well.

According to Christian Sylt at Forbes, this contest is the first in three tests to improve the technology the teams rely on to develop their race strategy.

“The live data screen has remained the same since the 1980s and is highly complex, purposeful and powerful in its ability to deliver multiple data requirements in real time. However, there is an incredible potential to gain even deeper insight from the session timing information including proposed race strategy and the current car performance,” said Mehul Kapadia the managing director of F1 business at Tata Communications.

The issue at hand is data and the data sources that harvest this information. Kapadia reckons the way in which users consume this data is a critical reason for improving it:

“Today, over half a billion people watch each season and millions keep up with each race using web-connected devices. Due to the technological advances and explosion of data, the sport is now in an era where there are more data sources available than ever before.”

A key takeaway here is that Formula 1 isn’t driving a conversation on improving their technology and race data interface. It is a sponsor of the sport that is trying to create an innovation block within a sport it is sponsoring. That may, on the surface, seem innocuous enough but if you consider this closely—why does it take a sponsor to lead the innovation and technology evolution of the world’s most advance form of motorsport?

Surely F1 has its desires and plans for technology innovation? Perhaps not if Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s recent comment to AUTOSPORT shed any light on the situation:

“I had quite a long row with Bernie in a meeting,” said Wolff about Ecclestone’s dislike of social media. “We were talking each other down again and saying, we have lost 30 per cent of TV audience in Italy and we have lost some of the audience in Germany – although interestingly the UK is growing. “Then you wonder why the audience is not growing and is diminishing if you sell the rights from free TV to pay TV. That is completely normal. “But the other thing I mentioned was that we are having such an explosive growth in online activities – before Bernie said, ‘those guys are not paying and half our profit is TV.’ “Sure the [social media] model does not work yet as you cannot monetise it, but I can tell each of my sponsors that the audience seeing his logo is growing even though TV figures are down. “Even the big players like Twitter have not worked out how to monetise it, but it is just a matter of time before we do that.”

You may feel that F1 should fully embrace social media, offer content for free on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and produce content that everyone can enjoy without paying for it, the reality is that doesn’t pay the bills and the teams are reliant on TV revenue.

While Wolff can suggest that embracing social media will offset the loss in content monetization—such as the current F1 business model—in new sponsors and increased sponsorship, I find that a huge gamble and risk.

The reality is that TV revenue is more directly tied to the F1 audience than potential sponsors of, say, Marussia or Caterham. Broadcast companies have a keen interest in purchasing the broadcast rights for F1 and the content F1 generates has value. If you give all of that value away for free in the hopes that a new sponsor will support a team because their logo is seen in a Twitter feed, I think that’s narrow minded and falling for the shiny lights of overblown social media propaganda.

The simple fact that fans are digesting sport and entertainment in a different way isn’t a reason to immediately dump your content for free to the world. The fact is, F1 is a for-profit business and if I were Mr. E, I am not so sure I would simply fold like a chaise lounge on the issue of social media just because “everyone’s doing it”.

Color me reactionary but I am still bereft of the monetization model of Twitter or Facebook. The main people making any real money in these social media platforms are the owners of those platforms, not the content generators for those platforms. Until these platforms can show serious revenue models for content producers, I think it is prudent to tread lightly until convinced. Right now, Mr. E isn’t convinced and I am inclined to agree with him.

The backbone of these platforms and their revenue model is really boiled down to ad revenue. That’s it. F1’s broadcast package is content sold to broadcasters who then sell time for ad revenue. How do the two models combine to make a harmonious marriage between social media and F1? I’ll let you decide but I am sure that Mr. E feels that Facebook or Twitter is no different than NBC, Sky Sports or BBC in that if they want the content on their social media broadcast platform, then they can pay for it.

Consider it this way, Sky Sports purchased the F1 broadcast rights and then sells ad revenue time during their broadcasts etc. What Twitter, Facebook or YouTube are doing is positioning themselves as Sky Sports or BBC or NBC but they want the content for free and then they’ll sell ad space and make money. While the world may be fine with generating content for them for free, F1 is not and nor should it be.

Last year I spoke with Ferrari’s head of marketing, Stefano Lai, and he made the simple observation that social media is a new form of communication not unlike TV when it entered the world or radio when it was created. He’s right about that.

Monetization models soon developed for these legacy mediums and if social media wishes to survive, the onus is on them to create a business model that works and isn’t reliant on producers of content to give away their products for free. It’s not a new issue but there are lessons to be learned on both sides of the argument.

In their defense, Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo did call for an F1 summit around the Italian Grand Prix and suggested the sport invite Google and Apple to the meeting to try and get on top of the technology question. At least they are trying…sort of.

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Williams will race conservatively until it consolidates F1 position

Williams will continue to take a conservative approach to races until it has consolidated its Formula 1 championship position, according to chief technical officer Pat Symonds.

Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa finished third and fourth in the Austrian Grand Prix after Williams locked out the front row, having adopted a cautious strategy.

Symonds believes Williams must not risk squandering more points if it is to secure its rightful place in the constructors' standings.

"Until we establish ourselves in a position, and we haven't yet because we've bounced between fourth and sixth, we will continue to go racing quite conservatively," Symonds told AUTOSPORT.

"Austria was a classic example. We did not want to go racing Mercedes because I felt there was a real danger of losing out to Ferrari.

"The fact that Fernando Alonso got within a second of us justifies what we did. If we had gone more aggressive and been two further seconds back we would have lost that position.

"So we will continue to do that for a little while."

Williams is currently fifth in the constructors' championship and Symonds believes that climbing to third is possible.

Having overhauled McLaren with its Austria performance, Williams is now only two points behind Force India and 13 points off third-placed Ferrari.

"Nothing would give me more joy than to have another race like Austria soon so we establish a position - I'd love to think it was third," said Symonds.

"And from then on we can go racing more adventurously.

"When it's this close, things can change quickly and the double points at the end of the year can turn it all around, so it's hard to say what your ambitions are.

"But I'm not satisfied with where we are at the moment. I think we've got the third best car and therefore if we don't finish third with it, we won't have done a very good job."

OPPORTUNITIES MISSED

Prior to the Austrian GP, Williams had often showed well but did not score as many points as it should have.

While the team's impressive turnaround after scoring a desultory five points in 2013 has been one of the stories of the season, during the first seven races of 2014 Williams managed to score points with both cars only twice, hence Symonds's desire to secure a strong championship position before taking risks in races.

"Prior to Austria, we were getting a [mode] average 10 points per weekend and felt that we did let opportunities pass us by," he said.

"The position we were establishing on 10 points a weekend wasn't good enough for me.

"When you have a year where one team is dominant, it becomes much more difficult for the teams underneath because first and second is 43 points, so there are 43 points less on the table than they should be.

"We are all fighting for what's left and if someone has a good weekend, it can transform things - Australia gave McLaren a disproportionate amount of points, for example."

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Mercedes' Wolff argued with Ecclestone over F1 social media

Mercedes motorsport chief Toto Wolff thinks Bernie Ecclestone is wrong to let Formula 1 ignore social media for money reasons.

Ecclestone has dismissed the need for F1 to officially embrace the millions of people who use platforms like Twitter and Facebook because he sees no instant profit in it.

But Wolff suggests that grand prix racing is missing out on a potential huge audience, and should be preparing better for when social media does start delivering income.

"I had quite a long row with Bernie in a meeting," said Wolff about Ecclestone's dislike of social media.

"We were talking each other down again and saying, we have lost 30 per cent of TV audience in Italy and we have lost some of the audience in Germany - although interestingly the UK is growing.

"Then you wonder why the audience is not growing and is diminishing if you sell the rights from free TV to pay TV. That is completely normal.

"But the other thing I mentioned was that we are having such an explosive growth in online activities - before Bernie said, 'those guys are not paying and half our profit is TV.'

"Sure the [social media] model does not work yet as you cannot monetise it, but I can tell each of my sponsors that the audience seeing his logo is growing even though TV figures are down.

"Even the big players like Twitter have not worked out how to monetise it, but it is just a matter of time before we do that."

Last month, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo called on Ecclestone to arrange a workshop with F1's key players to work out how it could attract a younger audience.

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RAIKKONEN: I WILL QUIT F1 IN 2015 WHEN MY CONTRACT ENDS

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 Formula 1 world champion, said on the eve of the British Grand Prix weekend he expects to retire when his contract runs out at the end of 2015.

The fan favourite, who won his title with the Italian glamour team in 2007, returned to Maranello this season on a two-year contract.

However, the Finn has struggled to match team mate Fernando Alonso in the eight races so far with only 19 points to the Spaniard’s 79 and a best finish of seventh.

“Until my contract is finished and then I will probably stop. That is what I think is going to happen,” the 34-year-old said when asked by reporters how long he expected to stay at Ferrari.

Kimi Raikkonen made his F1 debut with Sauber at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix

Raikkonen took two years out of Formula One to compete without much success in the world rally championship, returning with Lotus in 2012.

“When I feel it’s time to finish Formula One, it’s time to finish that,” he said. “Even doing something else at the same time makes no difference because obviously the decision is about F1 and if it is the right time to stop.”

The championship is approaching the halfway point, a stage where speculation about likely driver moves starts to pick up speed.

Raikkonen’s results have inevitably focused attention on the famously taciturn driver while Alonso’s future at Ferrari has also been questioned after apparent overtures from his former McLaren boss Ron Dennis.

Jenson Button, the 2009 champion, is out of contract with McLaren at the end of the season – but has said he wants to stay – while Lotus’ French driver Romain Grosjean is starting to feature in the rumour mill.

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HAMILTON: THE EDGE I HAVE IS IN MY ABILITY

Launching a war of words ahead of his home grand prix at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton has stepped up the off-track battle, declaring that he has “the edge” over teammate Nico Rosberg on sheer “ability”.

This is the latest punch thrown in the psychological war between the Mercedes drivers, as Hamilton faces the task of closing down Rosberg’s 29-point championship lead over the remaining eleven grands prix, with his home race a crucial starting point.

According to the Daily Star newspaper, Hamilton suggested that much of his points deficit is due simply to his two technical retirements in 2014. He doubts that Rosberg will strike the same trouble.

“That would mean in the next 11 races Nico would need to have two [failures] where he does not finish, and I do not think that is going to happen,” said the 2008 world champion.

“I cannot rely on that, I just have to focus on doing better than him, which I am capable of. The edge I have is in my ability. That is the gift I have and I have to utilise it this year more than ever,” said Hamilton.

Hamilton is expounding a common theory in the Formula 1 paddock – that he has the slight edge on Rosberg in terms of sheer pace. But another equally-common tale is that Rosberg often makes up for any deficit with a more calculating approach.

“Nico Rosberg is fast when he needs to be fast,” agreed quadruple world champion Alain Prost, whose style of winning his four world championships earned him the nickname: The Professor.

“Above all he is very clever,” Prost told Auto Bild Motorsport. “Even when he had problems with the car in Canada, he kept his cool and brought the car home. That’s the difference. It may be that Lewis Hamilton is just a bit faster, but Nico has the better overall package.”

Also well-placed to comment is Felipe Massa, who went head-to-head with Hamilton in 2008, and came tantalisingly close to depriving the Briton of his sole title.

“Lewis was a driver that maybe lost under the pressure when he was fighting for the championship in 2007 and 2008, but maybe he has a little bit more experience now,” the Brazilian told the Daily Mail. “I don’t know if that will help or not, but for sure he has more pressure now than Nico.”

Hamilton has only won the British Grand Prix once, in 2008 his championship year, but this weekend arrives at the former WWII airfield favourite to add to his tally of 26 Formula 1 victories.

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BRAWN OFFERED €5 MILLION DEAL FOR FERRARI RETURN

Ferrari has set its million-dollar sights on luring Ross Brawn back to Formula 1, in their attempt to regain the glory days of which the Englishman was intrinsic part, of along with Jean Todt, Michael Schumacher and Rory Byrne.

That is the claim by Corriere della Sera, reporting that the 59-year-old has been offered €5 million per season if he comes back to the sport with a prominent role at the famous Italian team.

Brawn stepped back from Formula 1 at the end of last season, having led the Mercedes team to the cusp of its current dominance, to take in a spot of fishing.

Before that, he was team boss at Honda, and after the Japanese carmaker withdrew he took over the Brackley outfit and won the 2009 constructors’ and drivers’ title as Brawn GP.

The burly Briton is, however, perhaps best known for being technical director at Ferrari during the ultra-successful Michael Schumacher era until 2006.

Speculation that he might abandon retirement with a new prominent role at Maranello surfaced in May, when he was spotted at Ferrari’s headquarters.

But at the time Brawn was adamant that he was only there “with a group of friends as part of a tour of Italy – no more than that!”

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SUSIE WOLFF: I’M NERVOUS BUT I’M READY

Williams Development Driver Susie Wolff is “nervous” but ready” as she prepares to break a long standing Formula 1 drought this week, when at Silverstone, she will be the first female driver in more than two decades to take part in an official Grand Prix weekend.

The the 31-year-old Scot will be driving the Williams FW36 in Friday morning practice, and intends to use the opportunity to prove that she is up to the task of joining the grid in the near future.

“What is most important for this session is the team,” Wolff, whose husband is the Williams team shareholder and Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, told Austria’s APA news agency. “But I am also ambitious. This is my chance to show what I can do. It’s an opportunity not many get and as a woman I’ve had to work even harder to earn respect.”

“This is a super, super chance. I have to show what I can do,” she insisted. I’m nervous, but you need that adrenaline,” Wolff said. “Honestly, I’m ready. The Barcelona test prepared me perfectly.

“Everyone thinks that I need to show if I am fast, but I’m not going to go on Qualifying runs. I am part of the team and I will do my programme just as Valtteri [bottas] would have. It’s very important for me to return the car in one piece and not twenty!”

Wolff, who most recently raced in the German touring car series DTM, admitted it is her goal to eventually call herself a Formula 1 race driver.

“Clearly,” she confirmed. “But it’s not easy – I’m realistic. It’s a struggle because there are so many other talented drivers who are fighting for the same chance.”

Wolff does, however, see a couple of things in her favour, “Teams want lighter drivers, which counts in women’s favour, and physically we are catching up on the men.”

“You need to be the complete package and bring in the right amount of sponsorship,” Wolff added. “It would be a great marketing ploy to sign a woman, so you never know.

“The whole culture of the sport is changing and there are more female engineers and bosses. It’s a great time to be a woman in motor sport.”

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BOULLIER: FORGIVE US, BE PATIENT, WE WILL BE BACK FOR SURE

McLaren have slipped from being top dog in Formula 1 to midfield obscurity and are enduring another painful season of well below par results, facts that are acknowledged the Woking team’s racing director Eric Boullier who is asking fans to be patient because he is adamant the team are plotting a path back to their winning ways.

For a team whose success in Formula 1 is only bettered by Ferrari, and includes twelve drivers F1 titles, eight constructor titles and 182 victories, the past decade has been barren and the past two seasons simply unacceptable with no win in 27 races.

The man handpicked by team supremo to lift the entire operation out of the doldrums is Boullier, who told The Telegraph what he has experienced since he was drafted into the tam at the start of this season to replace Martin Whitmarsh who was ousted by Dennis in a coup d’equipe in January.

“The mood was down,” revealed Boullier. “People were in a mood where they were waiting for a leader to show up. The atmosphere was a little bit in standby. People were working, but it was a bit like: Where do we go? Right? Left? Up? They were a little bit waiting to say: Please send us somebody to lead us.”

“They dominated and won so many races over the years, and had this incredible capacity to recover, maybe a little bit too much focus on we can do it and we know what we are doing. I think sometimes you need to look outward a little bit. Self-confidence which was a little bit too much, misplaced if you want.”

Before the season began Dennis issued a post-revolution war cry suggesting that the team would win in 2014 and was proven wrong, Boullier explains, “I think he was told there would be an opportunity and then he just repeated what he was told. It was a little bit optimistic.”

When Boullier was at Lotus and Whitmarsh headed up McLaren the pair were close, they worked together at the helm of the now defunct FOTA and there was a professional friendship between the two.

“It’s a bit of a strange feeling because also I was very close to Martin for other reasons, and I have a lot of respect for him. It was a bit strange to come and not to see Martin there. In the end they were just very honest, very direct, straightforward, and it was a warm welcome from everybody,” reflected Boullier.

Dennis is the man behind the success of McLaren and sceptics wonder how much freedom Boullier will be given to implement his vision to turn around the team’s plummeting fortunes.

“He [Dennis] brought me in because he thought I can do something good. I need to be free to do it, and that’s it. There were some dominating parts, which let’s say were too influential, which were squeezing some other parts. If you have 250 engineers, I would use 250 brains rather than 10,” said the Frenchman.

“Everything has to be perfect. We need to put all the stars aligned, which means the best drivers, best teams, best expertise, best engineering, everything the best. Then it’s going to work,” ventured Boullier.

The question of which drivers will lead McLaren into their reunification with Honda has been a hot topic in the Formula 1 paddock, an issue which is very much on Boullier’s agenda, “It’s my job to be in touch with the drivers. Let’s say some drivers on the grid, yes, I am talking to them. As of today we just seek their position, because once again, we have to be the right package.”

“That means we are talking to understand when they could join us. Again, you don’t want to have Fernando Alonso if your car is two seconds off the pace. It’s a little bit too expensive and complicated to manage. But we want the best pair of drivers for us because this is part of the success. We will do it when we will be ready and when they will be ready to come.,” declared the Frenchman.

As for the here and now, namely the British Grand Prix – the team’s home race which they have won 14 times – all indications are that it will be a bleak weekend.

“Unfortunately, I’m sorry. I am sorry because even for myself, for our sponsors, for our fans, It’s frustrating to be here and sent into the middle and say we will be back for sure, I know, 100 per cent. I have to say it worries me a little bit to go there and say we are not at the level, but please forgive us and be patient, because we will be back for sure,” concluded Boullier.

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FERRARI ANNOUNCE DEAL WITH HAAS AUTOMATION

It has been announced that Haas Automation, the world’s largest producer of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines, based in the United States, is to sponsor Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the 2015 season.

The agreement comes into force immediately and, as from Free Practice for the British Grand Prix, the F14 Ts driven by Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will carry the company’s logo on the side pods. The partnership marks Haas Automation’s entry to the world of Formula 1, prior to it becoming title sponsor of Gene Haas’ team when it enters the sport in 2016.

“We are pleased to welcome Haas Automation as our newest Official Supplier,” said Ferrari Team Principal Marco Mattiacci.

“This agreement strengthens our existing connections with the USA, an important market not only for our company, but also for Scuderia Ferrari, as it is one where the team already benefits from several important partnerships.”

“Over the past few months, we have been exploring with Haas a number of potential areas of collaboration, and this agreement is an immediate opportunity that we are pursuing, which proves Haas’ interest in Formula One.”

“This collaboration will enable Haas Automation to reinforce its brand awareness and promote its products and services around the world, thanks to the appeal of Scuderia Ferrari and the global reach of Formula One. We are therefore delighted to make this announcement, which sees another premium brand join our portfolio of partners.”

“In parallel, but as a separate project, Haas is committed to entering Formula One with its own team, a testimony to the growing appeal of our sport in the USA and on this front, technical discussions are ongoing between us,” concluded Mattiacci.

Earlier this year Haas secured an entry to Formula 1 and intends to have the all American team on the grid for the 2016 season.It is known that he was in Europe to seek collaboration with Ferrari with regards to the project.

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JALINIER DEPARTS, ABITEBOUL JOINS IN RENAULT SHUFFLE

Renault announced management changes at their Formula 1 operation, with president and managing director Jean-Michel Jalinier retiring. His previous job has now been split in two.

Cyril Abiteboul, who was principal of the Caterham team the sale of which was announced on Wednesday to a group of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, will take on the role of managing director of Renault Sport F1. He will report to new president Jerome Stoll.

Cyril Abiteboul is a graduate of the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble. He joined Renault in 2001 and was named development director of Renault F1 Team in 2007, before becoming executive director in 2010.

In September 2012, Cyril Abiteboul moved to the Formula 1 team Caterham as general manager.

Jalinier, who reported directly to Renault president and chief executive Carlos Ghosn, was appointed managing director of Renault Sport in 2012.

Renault currently supply four teams with engines, including champions Red Bull, but have come under fire after starting the new V6 turbo hybrid era down on performance compared to Mercedes.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner last month declared the reliability and performance of the Renault engines to be unacceptable.

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CATERHAM SALE HAS FORMULA 1 WORLD CONFUSED

Puzzled heads are being scratched in the Formula 1 paddock, the day after the struggling Caterham team changed hands with immediate effect, earlier this week.

Malaysian aviation entrepreneur Tony Fernandes’ 100 per cent sale of the team was confirmed late on Wednesday, a media statement saying that Caterham are now owned by “a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors”.

The statement, however, did not name the investors, and sources insist that they will remain ‘in the background’ while Caterham is run now by HRT’s Colin Kolles and Manfredi Ravetto, and former Minardi driver Christijan Albers.

The veteran correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, however, is concerned, “The whole Formula 1 paddock puzzles over these new investors. In the official announcement of the team, no names were mentioned.”

Benoit is not alone. Kevin Eason, the correspondent for the London newspaper The Times, said the lack of information about Caterham’s new owners “will ring alarm bells”.

He explained: “Formula 1 insiders with long memories will remember the last time a Swiss-Arab consortium arrived in the sport.”

Eason is referring to 2009, when a group calling itself Qadbak, involving controversial figure Russell King, bought Sauber from BMW only for the deal to collapse.

“Caterham’s long-suffering staff will hope that this deal has more substance with their jobs on the line,” he wrote.

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Alonso wary of midfield fight

Fernando Alonso, who has won races in every season since joining Ferrari in 2010, admitted on Thursday that he does not expect to win for the team this year.

The two-time World Champion also forecast that Ferrari will be involved in a tight scrap to stay third in the Constructors' Championship as midfield rivals close the gap.

Alonso has finished on the podium just once this year.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, the Spaniard said: "If I'm honest with you I'd say no, it's not possible to win this year.

"It's what I'm thinking inside, but in 2011, also, I thought it was not possible to win and we won at Silverstone, so anything can happen.

"We will try to do the best we can and if one opportunity arrives we will take it. It's extremely difficult with the performance we are showing."

Looking at the teams' title race, in which Ferrari are third, but only 26 points ahead of McLaren in sixth, he warned a tough fight lies ahead.

"I think in Austria it was not only Williams who was our biggest rival," he said. "We were in a group of McLaren, Force India, Toro Rosso... so it was not just Williams, unfortunately.

"So, we need to keep improving and try to get some margin on those teams, especially for the Constructors' Championship, because we have a threat of Williams, Force India, McLaren.

"Red Bull is a bit ahead of us at the moment.

"There are some interesting things that could happen in the Constructors' Championship so we need maximum effort and concentration on that.

"I expect here (at Silverstone) Red Bull will come back in strong form because it's an aero circuit, but I think Williams will be strong.

"I don't think it was only Austria that was good for them. In Canada, they were also very good, and I think here they will be a threat.

"If we don't score points and finish sixth or seventh in the Championship that will hurt the team for next year, because of the economic prize and things going on."

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Kobayashi: Caterham seat is safe

Kamui Kobayashi is confident he will remain with Caterham until the end of this season but is unsure about the long-term future.

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the Caterham F1 team had been sold to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors.

The group have installed former F1 driver Christijan Albers as the new team boss while Colin Kolles is acting as an adviser while Kobayashi and his team-mate Marcus Ericsson will hold onto their race-seats.

"I will drive for this year, sure," said the Japanese driver. "For the future, I really didn't speak with them about it yesterday.

"I think next week we will have more time to speak with the boss, so let's see. Whatever happens I think my job this year is to get some results."

The 27-year-old is delighted that Caterham have remained on the grid and believes the influx of cash will help the team chase down Marussia in the Championship.

"I really appreciate that we can still continue to race, and I think our target is clear that we need to push to get back the Championship position," he said.

"We need to focus, and I think the last few months we were struggling with the budget, but now it seems we can use a bit more budget, so let's see what we can do.

"We need to do as much as we can. The new boss says he wants us to push for this year - this is a clear message for everybody. He is aggressive but I think this is what we need to do.

"We have more money, so we can get more updates. This is what we feel. This is a time to really push.

"We have nothing to lose, this is simple. We need to be together as a team and we have to focus to get our position in the Championship."

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Raikkonen believes F1 would be 'very stupid' to drop Monza

Kimi Raikkonen believes Formula 1 would be 'very stupid' to drop Monza from the calendar, as his rivals agreed that grand prix racing needs to stay at the historic venue.

Earlier this week, F1's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone said he was not expecting to sign a fresh deal with Monza when its current contract ends because the venue did not pay enough.

His remarks, although perceived as a negotiating tool ahead of talks to sort out a new deal, prompted a huge outcry from fans.

And now a number of drivers have said they believe F1 would be making a huge mistake in not racing at one of its oldest tracks.

Raikkonen said: "You hear how they might drop that race and it would be very stupid in my opinion for Formula 1 and for everybody. Hopefully it will never happen.

"But we are not the guys who decide those things, and for Ferrari it is an important place.

"Unfortunately I never won there, but hopefully in future we can do. It is a very nice place to go."

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo said: "I wouldn't like to see it go. Not only because of my Italian heritage and all the rest of it, but because it's a circuit that needs to be part of Formula 1.

"It's been part of it for so long. It's one of the best weekends in terms of fans, atmosphere, and passion. It's like Silverstone and Spa, there's some on the calendar that just need to stay there.

"It's the history of F1. It can't really be tampered with I think. I definitely don't want to see it go. I won't go into if it does go, what it would make us drivers feel but let's hope it stays and it's high speed. It's good fun."

But Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was more cautious about reading too much into Ecclestone's comments.

"I think we need to wait and see what happens officially," he said. "I think he just answered a question to a journalist and they put that in a newspaper, so this combination is not official at all.

"We just need to wait and see what is the future for some races. Obviously we don't have any input on that, so we just try to put a good show in every place we race.

"It's nicer to be in circuits that are full, and full of passion, and with a great atmosphere like Monza, like Austria, like Spa, like Barcelona. But where we race or where we don't race is not in our hands so let's hope for the best."

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Toro Rosso F1 team held crisis meeting after Austrian GP

Toro Rosso Formula 1 team technical director James Key has revealed he held a "crisis meeting" after the Austrian Grand Prix to address reliability problems.

While Toro Rosso has been fast enough to be a regular top 10 starter, the squad has the worst finishing record of all teams in 2014, with its cars finishing only eight times in 16 attempts and just once during the last three races.

As a result of the meeting, Key has redoubled the team's focus on reliability, even if it is at the expense of adding performance in the short term.

"I had a bit of a crisis meeting after Austria to go through all of those issues to say either we are going through a tough patch or we are doing something wrong," said Key when asked by AUTOSPORT about the reliability problems.

"We recognised that we should probably step back a little and be 150 per cent sure that there is no unexpected stuff going on.

"We have got a lot of stuff [upgrades] in the pipeline that we are trying to push through.

"From an aero perspective, we are happy with the Austria platform, that was quite a big change and that was relatively safe as a set of developments, so aero-wise we haven't taken a step back.

"But I have instructed the guys to double check everything that we have got coming mechanically, to make sure that all the load cases have been checked and double checked, that safety factors are increased and we have done rig testing before they hit the car."

While there are few new components on the car for the British GP weekend as a result, it is hoped that the Toro Rosso will run reliably ready for further upgrades to be introduced at the following race in Germany.

"There are a few minor tweaks on the bodywork but fundamentally it's the same as Austria with adaptations to suit Silverstone with the high-speed corners," said Key.

"The next step on the car will come in Germany."

AUSTRIA RETIREMENTS EXPLAINED

Key added that the retirements of both Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne in Austria, which initially baffled the team, had been understood.

Kvyat suffered a trackrod failure, while it was discovered that a mistake had been made with the front brake blanking (whereby cooling vents are blocked off to avoid over-cooling) on Vergne's car.

"It appears to be an issue with the trackrod of his car on the rear-right," said Key of Kvyat's retirement.

"It's not something we had seen in the previous race with that suspension spec and not something we saw on JEV's car.

"But we looked at it and we are beefing it up to be more robust, but it was an unexpected issue.

"[On Vergne's car] that was a mistake with too much blanking on the front brakes, it just overheated.

"The other car didn't end up with the blanking but somehow we ended up with blanking on that car."

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McLaren F1 driver Jenson Button hits back at Ron Dennis's criticism

McLaren Formula 1 driver Jenson Button has hit back at claims from Ron Dennis that he needs to try harder.

Dennis, the group CEO of McLaren, suggested last week in an interview that as a former champion Button should be working harder to avoid getting beaten by rookie team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

But when asked about those comments on Thursday, Button suggested it was wrong of Dennis to single him out for criticism at a time when the team is struggling for competitiveness.

"I think Ron is practising to be a motivational speaker maybe," said Button.

"I think when we are in the position we have been in for 18 months, it is not easy. And for anyone in the team it is very difficult.

"We all need to work harder as a team. I don't think we should be pointing the finger at any individual.

"We have got our way into this situation and we have to fight our way out. I don't do things in half measures.

"I have the experience to know you have to give 100 per cent and I always do - in the paddock, at the factory, on the phone to the engineers. Everything is 100 per cent."

Dennis's comments about Button were made to Sky Sports ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Speaking about McLaren's current driver line-up, he said: "I'm happy with the drivers in the sense I think they are giving their best.

"I'm sure Kevin is giving a big wake-up call to Jenson. In some ways you say: 'Great, we've made a great choice with Kevin.'

"But in other ways you say: 'Come on Jenson, you are a world champion and absolutely one thing you can do on a consistent basis – and you should be doing it – is beating your team-mate.'

"Do I want him to try harder? Of course I do. He's a highly paid grand prix driver."

Dennis's comments served to cast doubt on Button's chances of staying with the team next year, but the 2009 world champion insisted he was not thinking about plans for 2015 yet.

"We will see," Button said. "For me right now, it is about doing the best job I can. The whole team are working every day to do a better job.

"We are not where we want to be, not where McLaren is used to being. We know that, we are working very hard – but in terms of the future it is something I cannot discuss right now."

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ALONSO NOT LOOKING BEYOND FERRARI CONTRACT

Fernando Alonso says he is not ready to look around the Formula 1 paddock beyond his current Ferrari contract.

Although their first collaboration ended spectacularly badly, it is reported McLaren has approached the Spaniard about replacing Jenson Button to lead the team’s Honda era.

Alonso’s current contract with Ferrari runs to the end of 2016. But reports in the Italian press, and also the Spanish sports daily Marca, say the Maranello team is willing to make “a major financial effort” to renew the deal right now in order to keep him away from key rivals.

Alonso, 32, says his current priorities lie elsewhere, telling Spanish reporters at Silverstone,”For now, I am focused on improving the car and trying to get the best possible position for Ferrari in the constructors’ championship, where we are fighting with Red Bull, Williams and Force India, and then looking at solutions for the 2015 car.”

“Those are my priorities,” added Alonso. “I have a two year contract and eventually we will see what is the best solution for everyone.”

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Massa keen to see less conservative tyres

Felipe Massa says he would prefer a slightly less conservative selection of tyres for forthcoming races.

F1′s official tyre supplier Pirelli faced criticism at last year’s British Grand Prix following a series of high-speed failures. They produced more conservative tyres for the second half of the season and have done so again for this year due to the change in engine regulations.

However Massa feels the current tyres are “some times a little bit conservative”.

“I think in the last few races was fine,” he said. “Always one stops are a little bit boring, I prefer maybe two or three stops, two is fine. I think using the very hard tyres is not really great so I prefer to be a little bit better than how it is.”

However Lewis Hamilton, who at one point last year said he had “nothing positive” to say about Pirelli’s tyres, praised the job they had done in their fourth season as F1′s sole tyre manufacturer.

“I think Pirelli have done quite a good job really this year,” he said. “We haven’t had any tyre blow-outs which is a real positive for us, that’s what we wanted and you can’t always get it perfect.”

“Whether or not they’ve gone a little bit too far in that direction we can decide perhaps at the end of the year. I’m sure they’ll alter it again for next year.

“Of course we always want more grip so any time they get softer is a good thing for us.”

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Eddie Jordan Q&A: Silverstone is a home game for Lewis Hamilton

Ahead of the British Grand Prix, BBC F1's chief analyst Eddie Jordan fieldsed some questions, including whether Lewis Hamilton can handle the pressure, if women drivers can cope with the physicality of F1 and, of course, his dress sense...

Is the pressure of racing in front of his home crowd a plus or a minus for Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix this weekend?

"I believe Lewis responds to pressure better than anything. It's a huge positive for him. It's like a home game. And we know in football that is vital. Just like Nico Rosberg had to win in Monaco, to stop Hamilton's run of four consecutive wins, Lewis really has to make a big mark at Silverstone."

Could Hamilton lose this year's championship simply by beating himself up if Rosberg continues with his winning ways?

"Psychologically, this is a power game. On the one hand, Lewis knows he has the speed. On the other, Rosberg knows he has a plan and a structure. But I have always believed there is no substitute for ultimate speed and I feel Lewis is not beating himself up - and will not - because he believes he can win this championship."

Do you think Mercedes are favouring Rosberg because he is German?

"No. Not at all. They have demonstrated - not just this year but in previous years, with Michael Schumacher and Rosberg and now with Hamilton - that they are ridiculously correct, straightforward and playing the right way. I do not believe there is any favouritism on either side."

Will Jenson Button still be at McLaren next year?

"Well, Jenson has to sit down and ask himself a couple of questions. If he stays at McLaren, is there any way he can believe that team, the way they are, can win grands prix, seeing where Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari and others are? At the moment, you'd have to say, 'No chance'. But only he knows what's going on internally and what he's been promised to him about the future cars.

"I don't think he will leave to go to another team, not least because I don't think one is available to him that gives him the right exposure or possibility to win races. An honourable retirement is another option. Only he can decide."

Do you see Fernando Alonso leaving Ferrari at the end of this season given he has had another not great car?

"No, for a number of reasons. Red Bull have had a dream signing with Daniel Ricciardo and they are certainly not going to get rid of a four-times world champion in Sebastian Vettel, unless there is a bit of backlash there, which I don't see.

"The Mercedes line-up is certainly not going to change. So where is Alonso going to go? Is he going to go to McLaren? Why would he do that?

"Ferrari is too big a name - to win a world championship with Ferrari is everybody's dream, and Alonso is no different.

"However, he is frustrated with the quality of the car this year and in previous years. The engine and car are not good enough."

What do Ferrari have to do to get back in the mix to win the championship?

"They have to demonstrate the passion, commitment and fire in the belly that we were so accustomed to seeing from them in the past. I am disappointed Ferrari are so lacklustre.

"I do see them changing, though. Having spoken to Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo, he does have the fire in the belly. His intentions have been demonstrated to Marco Mattiacci, the new team boss, and I think we might slowly towards the end of this season see Ferrari making a bit of a move."

Do you think Williams can start to challenge the top teams given last weekend's performance in the Austrian Grand Prix?

"Austria was a disappointment for me. Yes, Williams came away with a podium, but they could have tried harder to win the race. I just think the mindset was not brutal enough. Winning is the priority. And if they had the mindset and structure to exploit the opportunities, they could have had a one-two there."

Do you think Nico Hulkenberg deserves a drive with a top team?

"Absolutely. I think the world of him. He is an outstanding talent, who has not suffered by having a year out in 2012, and leaving Sauber for Force India at the end of last season was an inspired decision in hindsight.

"But my concern is where does he go? There might be a possibility at Ferrari in the long-term, depending on what happens to Kimi Raikkonen."

Will there be a time when a female F1 driver isn't a novel idea?

"I'd like to hope so. But Formula 1 is so demanding physically and in terms of aggression. You might say, why should that stop a female driver? But I have never seen a female fighter get into the ring against Mike Tyson. Women don't play tennis against Federer or Nadal. Some sports are not suited to different genders competing against each other. It's a matter of debate at the moment whether that applies to F1.

"There's all sorts of things we could do. Could we have five or six women drivers in the race competing in a separate category, like in the 1980s with the turbo and naturally-aspirated cars? Whatever it is, we need to get a grip of ourselves and give women the chance to see what they can do. They don't seem to get enough encouragement. And we need to see many women getting a chance, not just one."

Given your legendary skills for bringing in the cash, what do you really think of those who pay to drive?

"Vital. Gone are the days when there is any stigma about anyone who brings any money to F1. Most teams cannot have a driver unless there is some commercial value to him coming. Look at Lotus and Williams. Even McLaren. Kevin Magnussen might not have brought a lot of money, although one of his sponsors is on the car, but the real thing is he costs little or no money, whereas Lewis Hamilton's salary was in the 10s of millions of pounds. That's a real saving.

"Could they do with Hamilton? Of course. So there is a trade-off. You can't win championships with kids. But who's going to pay for the drivers to get the experience?

"Just remember that even the great Michael Schumacher started as a pay-driver. If he had not paid for his first drive at Jordan, he would not have got the drive."

Do you get dressed in the dark?

"Only when I'm not going on television."

Do you think Silverstone and F1 as a whole will price themselves out of the market in the future?

"Not at all. You cannot take races for granted - we have had no French Grand Prix for too many years now, and that would have been unthinkable not long ago - but Silverstone are on top of this and they know what to do."

How close did you come to signing Nigel Mansell for the 1997 season?

"We were well on the way. He came and tested for us in Barcelona. If he was going to drive for anyone, it would have been Jordan.

We had had a long history of friendship. We drove together in Formula Ford in the 1970s. It was a very difficult decision for him.

Jordan was not a winning team at that stage and he had been F1 and IndyCar champion a couple of years before. I believed he was very close to doing it, but you'd have to ask him."

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BRITISH GP QUALIFYING: ROSBERG SNATCHES POLE AS HAMILTON FALTERS

Nico Rosberg took his fourth pole position of the season in dramatic style at Silverstone , the German snatching top spot in the session in the final corners of his final lap in a rain-hit session that saw championship rival Lewis Hamilton finish sixth after abandoninghis final run.

Behind Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel claimed his first front row start since the Malaysian Grand Prix and Jenson Button grabbed a surprise third spot for McLaren at his and his team’s home race.

The session opened in relatively dry conditions and after banker laps on intermediate tyres, which left Hamilton in charge, ahead of Ricciardo. Throughout the opening laps, however, drivers were reporting that the track was dry enough for slick tyres.

Kobayashi was the first take on mediums but was soon back in the pits with a technical problem. The Japanese driver finished outside the 107 per cent cut-off, as did team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

The switch to slick rubber sparked a chaotic final few minutes as the field desperately tried to exploit the improved conditions. In the scramble for lap tyime it was perhaps inevitable that some would be caught out, either by traffic or by the conditions, as rain began to fall again in the closing moments.

The surprise was that it was Ferrari and Williams in trouble. Fernando Alonso spun on his final flyer and missed the cut, finish in 19th place, one ahead of Raikkonen, who had to abandon his run due to yellow flags brought out by spins elsewhere. Williams’ Valtteri Bottas was 17th, ahead of team-mate Felipe Massa, both drivers having wild slides during their final laps.

Elsewhere FP3’s quickest man, Sebastian Vettel scraped through in 16th, behind team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. Jenson Button was fortunate, too, making it through to Q2 in 14th place despite having his best lap deleted for exceeding track limits.

Q2 offered more uncertainty. The start of the segment was run on intermediate tyres following the shower at the end of Q1 but halfway through the track dried sufficiently for slicks to be used and again there was a scramble to put in a good lap.

This time though, no front-runners were caught out and eliminated were Romain Grosjean, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton (who delivered an excellent performance for Marussia), Esteban Gutierrez, Pastor Maldonado and Adrian Sutil. It was a rough session for Sauber. Sutil did not take part in Q2 having spun out in Q1 and late in Q2 Gutierrez also spun off, the rear of his Sauber hitting the barriers hard.

Top spot in Q2 was occupied by Hamilton, the Briton recording a lap of 1:34.870, three tenths clear of team-mate Rosberg but a huge 1.4s ahead of third-placed Vettel.

The final session was as thrilling and surprising as the first. The timesheet after the first runs had a predictable look to it, with Hamilton on top ahead of Rosberg. But with five minutes to go the track conditions again became marginal. Button was told to pit and adopt a wait and see attitude.

When the time came to gamble or stay put however, some were once again caught out. Lewis Hamilton was one of them. The Briton went out but seemed to decide there was no time to be gained so abandoned his lap. Rosberg, by contrast, along with several others, felt differently.

Sebastian Vettel claimed provisional pole but Rosberg had yet to cross the line. When he did so the gap was huge, with the German having almost 1.4s over Vettel. Button was a surprise third for McLaren, with Nico Hulkenberg fourth for Force India. Kevin Magnussen completed a good day for McLaren by taking fifth place and Hamilton qualified sixth.

Seventh place went to Sergio Perez in the second Force India, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull. The final top 10 positions were filled by the Toro Rossos of Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne respectively.

Qualifying quotes:

Nico Rosberg: “The tyres were still drying out so we lost time on the out lap. We sat in the garage and eventually came to the conclusion that we might as well go out out and have a look. Then it seemed like it was worth it because the last part of the lap was very dry. It was a great team effort.”

Sebastian vettel: “The start of Q3 we went out as one of last cars. We aborted the lap because it was impossible to set a decent time on the slick tyres. We sat in the garage waiting and eventually went out on dry tyres. We went out for one flying lap at the end – it was difficult to believe it was possible to find dry areas I think England is the only country where you get these sort of conditions but it worked out and it’s very positive for us to start from the front row.”

Jenson Button: “[Happy] like you could not believe” after qualifying third for his home race at Silverstone. It’s only third but for us after the last 18 months, we had no chance of getting this result. It’s nice to qualify so well in front of the home crowd.”

Nico Hulkenberg will start from fourth on the grid

Nico Hulkenberg: “I have never felt a circuit dry up that quickly. First, I felt it was undriveable and the next minute I felt it was completely dry. It was hard to judge what was going on out there. On the out lap, I thought ‘oh gosh this is not going to work, let’s not crash the car’. I was the first car to set a lap time in the final part, so I was still suffering from a few damp patches, but it’s a good result and I hope tomorrow is a good day.”

Lewis Hamilton: “I don’t know, I don’t have much of an answer. I just decided not to do the lap. I don’t have anything to say to you at the moment.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “It started to rain half-way through the lap. It got too wet. So something went wrong, it’s hard to tell right now.”

Fernando Alonso: “We are here in the TV compound, two Ferrari drivers and two Williams drivers, it’s something we did wrong compared to other teams. We need to study what happened. We will start at the back, we have some overtaking to do and we will try to enjoy. We have nothing to lose.”

Niki Lauda: “It was tricky in the end, we were both well in the lead, then we had to make a decision on whether we go out again. They both pushed to go out. Lewis thought the circuit was slower so he stopped, Nico kept going. It was Lewis’ decision because he thought he cannot go quicker but Nico proved you can go quicker and he was proved right. This time Nico was outstanding again to grab pole under these difficult conditions.”

Christian Horner: “Seb did a great job to get second. We didn’t think the track was going to be better. It wasn’t Dan’s decision, he just did what he was told. As a team we made the wrong call, but there are other teams who made worse calls today.”

1 Nico Rosberg

2 Sebastian Vettel

3 Jenson Button

4 Nico Hulkenberg

5 Kevin Magnussen

6 Lewis Hamilton

7 Sergio Perez

8 Daniel Ricciardo

9 Daniil Kvyat

10 Jean-Eric Vergne

11 Romain Grosjean

12 Jules Bianchi

13 Max Chilton

14 Esteban Gutierrez

15 Pastor Maldonado

16 Adrian Sutil

17 Valtteri Bottas

18 Felipe Massa

19 Fernando Alonso

20 Kimi Räikkönen

21 Marcus Ericsson

22 Kamui Kobayashi