FORMULA 1 - 2014

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PEREZ YET TO SECURE 2015 DEAL WITH FORCE INDIA

It is becoming increasingly likely that Sergio Perez will remain at Force India for a second season in 2015, but he is yet to agree a new deal.

The Mexican told the French-language Formula 1i: “There are ongoing discussions. My management is in charge and we’re just waiting to see if we can soon confirm the team for which I will drive next year.”

Perez admitted that Force India is not his only option, “No, there are others, but my priority is to continue here. I want to continue and I have some experience with this team, so it would be good.”

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Formula 1 Team Histories – Part 1 – Toleman

Something that was mentioned in a while ago, I think via PM that there was nowhere for new fans to easily access the history of the sport. Benetton was mentioned in particular, so I thought I might try and give a brief history of the F1 team.

In 1977 Toleman motorsport (based at Witney in Oxfordshire) was started by Ted Toleman with Alex Hawkridge as Manging Director. The team began by running a Formula Ford 2000 car in the British series. By 1978 they had moved to British Formula 2 running a March chassis. Things progressed quickly and during that year hired Rory Byrne as a designer. They continued to use customer chassis (Ralts with engines supplied by Brian Hart) for the 1979 season and Brian Henton finished second in the championship. For 1980 the team had its own F2 chassis and entered cars for the European championship for Henton and Derek Warwick, they finished first and second and buoyed by this success announced their intention to move into F1 for the following season.

Byrne continued as the team’s designer, and used a turbocharged Hart engine following their experience of Brian Hart’s engines in F2. Both drivers progressed to F1 with the team, but the first chassis was too heavy and under-powered. During that first season each driver only qualified once (Henton at Monza where he went on to finish tenth and Warwick in the final race at Las Vegas where a gearbox failure ended the race).

The 1982 car performed slightly better (Warwick and Teo Fabi were the drivers), Warwick only failed to qualify three times from the fourteen events and newcomer Fabi managed to make the grid six times. Warwick managed to make the chequered flag twice (France and Germany) but still the team scored no points (at that time points were only awarded down to sixth place).

The Carbon Composite TG183 had made an appearance for the final two races in 1982, and had a major update for the 1983 season. Warwick was again retained and joined this time by Bruno Giacomelli. Both cars started every race of the year with the exception of Monaco where Giacomelli failed to qualify. More importantly the team had five points scoring finishes (two fourths, a fifth and a sixth for Warwick plus a sixth for Giacomelli) in their third year of F1. The 10 points gave them ninth in the constructors’ championship.

Warwick’s performances earned him a works Renault drive for 1984, so the team had all new drivers for the following season. Reigning British F3 champion Ayrton Senna replaced Warwick while F2 racer and former two times Motorcycle World Champion Johnny Cecotto replaced Giacomelli. The team started the season using Pirelli tyres, but following Sennas failure to qualify for the San Marino GP at the fourth race of the year they switched to the more competitive Michelin. The team’s best result to date came in the rain at Monaco with Senna finishing second to Alain Prost in the rain shortened race. Cecotto’s F1 career ended when he broke his legs at the British GP, and for three races the team entered a single car. Then Senna broke his contract by signing for Lotus for the following year and Toleman suspended him for the Italian GP. By this time they had hired Pierluigi Martini to replace Cecotto and put Stefan Johansson in the car to replace the suspended Senna. When Martini failed to qualify, Johansson got the race seat alongside Senna for the final two races. The team scored a total of 16 points (only half points available for the shortened Monaco race) and finished seventh.

For 1985 it was all change again on the driver front, Senna having moved to Lotus and no-one else having scored points. However there were bigger problems facing the team. During the off season there were problems with the tyre supply. During 1984 Toleman had abandoned Pirelli as Michelin and Goodyear had a performance advantage. The team had already upset Goodyear following similar behaviour in F2, so Michelin was the only alternative. When Michelin left the sport at the end of the 1984 season it left the team without any tyres (in the middle of a tyre war the team were left without any rubber). As a result the team missed the first three races of 1985, and only once Benetton (the team’s new sponsor) purchased the failing Spirit team and transferred their Pirelli tyre contract was the team able to continue. Teo Fabi returned to the team and Piercarlo Ghinzani joined from the Austrian GP. Although Fabi managed a pole position in Germany the team only managed to finish one race all year (a 12th for Fabi in Italy). By the end of the year the team was sold to their sponsor and became Benetton Formula, and that will be covered in Part 2 of this series.

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Felipe Massa calls for Williams Formula 1 team brake change

Felipe Massa has urged the Williams Formula 1 team to change its brake systems after struggling in wet qualifying at the recent Belgian Grand Prix.

Massa qualified a lowly ninth for the Spa event, on a track where Williams was expected to run at the front.

Massa was among a selection of drivers to suffer glazed brakes in the wet session, and he has called on his team to switch from its current Carbone Industrie-only set-up to allow its car to run Brembo pads and discs.

When asked whether he wanted to move to Brembo brakes, which the Brazilian used at his previous team Ferrari, Massa said: "Yes. It's not the first time we had [glazing] this year.

"Normally the brakes we used in the conditions like this, we had [glazing] a few times this year.

"It's not great to be honest, so it's something that we are still working on.

"It's impossible to warm up the [CI] brakes [in the wet]."

Williams performance chief Rob Smedley confirmed Williams was evaluating redesigning its car to accept both types of material, but said the FW36 was designed around using CI brakes, so any change would not be straightforward to make.

"You have to set out at the start of the year essentially with your mechanical fixing that fixes the brake disc to the car able to accept both," Smedley explained.

"If you haven't done that, then it's a very big change to make to the car. It's something you couldn't just do between sessions.

"We're going through the process now, but this team has been geared up to run with CI for many years now, so to change to another manufacturer is not wholly straightforward.

"With a certain amount of resource we have to consider where to put that resource the best. We can't put all of the company on to changing to Brembo material.

"We're considering the design and considering what to do for the future.

"For next year, that [a change to design of the mechanical fixing] will more than likely be the case."

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Honda open to supplying F1 engines to customer teams from 2016

Honda is open to supplying customer teams in Formula 1 from 2016, after confirming its partnership with McLaren is exclusive for just one season.

The Japanese manufacturer is returning to F1 for the first time since 2008, having been attracted back thanks to the introduction of the new turbo V6 engines.

Honda's deal with McLaren has guaranteed the Woking-based team exclusivity of the power units for the first season, and its motorsport chief Yasuhisa Arai has clarified plans for 2016 and beyond.

"In 2015 we don't have the plan to supply any team other than McLaren," he said in an interview with the official F1 website.

"In 2016 or after, if some teams or partners ask us to supply them too, we will take a look at that situation.

"But even in 2016, McLaren will be our main partner in F1.

"And even if we supply other teams from 2016 onwards our main focus will always be to win - to make the engine better through more data - and not necessarily to look at a return on investment. If you win that comes automatically."

Arai is adamant that Honda's development plans for next year are on course, and that he fully expects it to be winning races from the off.

"Formula 1 is a very important part of our strategy - and winning is very important for Honda," he said.

"We want to raise the awareness of our brand and I trust - I am a firm believer - that we will win races next year."

NO PLANS FOR ABU DHABI TEST

McLaren had been looking at the possibility of giving the new Honda engine a first run in its car at the post-season Abu Dhabi test this year.

However, Arai says that there are no plans for it to hit the track until the first tests of next year.

"In the next couple of weeks we will run simulations and at the beginning of next year we will start to run on the track - very likely at Jerez," he said.

"That will very likely be the first time to show the whole car, the Honda engine and the McLaren chassis - the Honda McLaren.

"Right now there are no plans to collect data during the rest of 2014. Jerez will be the first time."

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Monza demands incredible focus - Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo is preparing himself for one of the toughest races of the season where speeds can reach upwards of 360kph, but that's not the only challenge the Italian Grand Prix presents.

"The biggest challenges at Monza nowadays are the braking zones," explains the Australian.

"The first chicane is the ultimate example: you're coming down to that first chicane at the highest speed an F1 car will reach all year and you're braking into one of the tightest corners you'll take all year. Added to that you're doing this with the least amount of downforce you'll have all year – which means the car tends to slide around quite a bit as well as taking longer to stop.

"You can't afford to lock a brake but equally you can't lose time by being too eager on the pedal. It demands that you are really focused all of the time.

"I'm not really that keen on super-long straights; I find them a little dull compared to hammering through a series of demanding corners but Monza is the exception to that. There's something about flashing through those trees in front of that massive crowd that definitely gets the pulse all the way up!"

The Red Bull driver, fresh from back-to-back wins in Hungary and Belgium, is eyeing a podium at a circuit that shouldn't really suit the RB10 and its Renault engine.

"The crowd in Monza is wild. Obviously it's full-on Ferrari but in the past they've always been very generous to me. I'd love to get the opportunity to stand on that brilliant podium and find out!"

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This Is Not good news for Vijay Mallya

After many weeks trying to avoid it, Vijay Mallya and several other directors of Kingfisher Airlines have finally been declared “wilful defaulters” but the state-owned United Bank of India. The move came after the Kingfisher executives failed to appear before a United Bank of India committee to discuss the situation. Once listed as wilful defaulters, Mallya and his colleagues cannot be granted loans by any bank or financial institution in India. As they cannot raise money there is now no chance of the moribund Kingfisher Airlines finding new funding in India, unless they resign from the board.

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ALONSO: IT’S NOT MY INTENTION TO LEAVE FERRARI

Amid reports that Fernando Alonso is being tempted by a mega-money deal to spearhead the renewed McLaren Honda partnership for 2015, the Spaniard has declared that he has no intention to leave Maranello and is intent on finishing the job he was signed up to do with the sport’s most famous team.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead f the Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, Alonso said, “It’s not my intention at the moment to move, I want to win here and finish the job that we start some years ago.”

Since a falling out midway through the 2013 season with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, speculation has been rife regarding Alonso’s future with the team.

Most recently McLaren are said to have put in a $32 million bid for his services, Honda covet a superstar driver for their Formula 1 return in 2015.

Alonso acknowledges, “There has been a lot of talk since last summer but from my mouth there never came any interest to leave Ferrari or any words saying l would join another team.”

“There was a lot of speculation, which is not disturbing but it created a little bit of tension and stress. Yet you also feel happy and proud that the best teams have an interest in you,” admitted Spain’s double F1 World Champion.

Alonso’s 2015 plans have been central to the F1 driver market, and could play into the hands of Jenson Button who is seeking an extra season at the pinnacle of the sport. The Spaniard’s move to McLaren would have almost certainly meant Button’s departure from Woking.

The news will also be music to the ears of Ferrari team boss Marco Mattiacci who has been tasked to return the Italian outfit to winning ways. With Alonso on board his task is that much easier.

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MATTIACCI: EVERYONE WANTS ROSS BRAWN BACK AT FERRARI

Ferrari’s new boss Marco Mattiacci has made clear he (along with many others) wants Ross Brawn back in the team as they target a return to the top step of the podium in the aftermath of several well below par seasons.

Brawn stepped down as Mercedes‘ team boss last year, but before that he had been Maranello’s authoritative technical director during the ultra-successful Michael Schumacher era.

Mattiacci, who replaced Stefano Domenicali early this year, told CNN that he has had talks “several times” with Brawn recently.

“Everyone would like to have Ross or would like to see Ross back at Ferrari,” he said. “He’s one of the most respected personalities in Formula 1 with the highest knowledge and pedigree. Everybody would be happy with someone like Ross.”

Earlier, Brawn and Ferrari played down a visit the 59-year-old made recently to Maranello. But Mattiacci has now admitted it was “very nice to spend a few minutes” with Brawn at the time.

But when asked to rate out of ten his chances of securing Brawn for 2015, he insisted: “I don’t like to do that kind of game.”

“I think I have to work with what I have, not what eventually I will have. “James (Allison) is the technical director and I want to start from this point. To tango you have to have two,” Mattiacci added. “Maybe Ross is happy with what he is doing.”

Despite having two of Formula 1′s best drivers in their cars, the team have not enjoyed a grand prix victory since May 2013 when Alonso won in Spain.

Much was expected, even demanded, from the sport’s most famous team this year but a down on power new V6 turbo engine coupled to a mediocre chassis has not brought much joy to the reds thus far in 2014.

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RENAULT: OUR WORKS TEAM IS CALLED RED BULL

For the first time, Renault has declared Red Bull as its official Formula 1 works team, amid a Red Bull-pressured restructuring of the struggling French supplier, Cyril Abiteboul returned from Caterham to head Renault’s preparations for a stronger 2015.

Abiteboul admitted to Auto Motor und Sport that not making Red Bull its clear focus for the new turbo V6 era was a mistake by Renault, “Renault has tried in recent years to treat all four of its customers equally.”

“From the perspective of Caterham, where I worked a year ago, it was nice. But for Red Bull it was counterproductive,” he explained, and then Abiteboul declared that, now, Renault’s “works team is called Red Bull”.

He therefore dismissed claims that Red Bull has or intends to take over so much responsibility on the engine side that it is planning for a future with its very own ‘power unit’.

“Red Bull is a chassis manufacturer and that’s what they want to focus on,” said Abiteboul.

“Development of an engine is a far too complex task to be established quickly. But it is true that there will be a much closer integration between Red Bull and Renault.”

It has been reported, for instance, that Red Bull will exclusively take over the entire electronic side of the project, with Renault remaining in charge of the engine. Renault, Total and Red Bull’s title sponsor Infiniti are expected to contribute the funding.

Abiteboul replied: “We are in the process of distributing the tasks as efficiently as possible. The question is where Red Bull can help us in the best way. The plan should be decided at the latest by October.

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KOBAYASHI TO BE DITCHED FOR LOTTERER AT MONZA

Mere days before the Italian Grand Prix, the identity of will partner Markus Ericsson at Caterham is still unclear and reports from Japan suggest Kamui Kobayashi will definitely not be back at the wheel of the car at Monza, having already sat out Spa-Francorchamps.

After reigning Le Mans winner Andre Lotterer and his sponsor Hype filled in at Spa, it was expected that Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi and his Russian backers had now put up the reported €300,000 for the Monza seat this weekend.

But new speculation reports that Merhi, 23, admitted mere hours ago that “I still do not have the super license. I have to do 300 kilometres” in a Formula 1 car.”

Merhi is a former F3 euroseries champion, but the FIA is apparently nervous about a rookie getting his first experience of a Formula 1 car at the sport’s highest-speed circuit.

The Red Bull junior Carlos Sainz jr has also been linked with the Monza seat, but also still in the running is Lotterer.

“We’re still in touch,” Lotterer, who impressed at Spa but retired early during the Belgian Grand Prix, told Racer when asked about Caterham, “and I think there’s opportunities to do more races.

“It was a great experience for me and I have to look at the schedule and see if it is more of a one-off chapter for me or if it makes sense to do more.”

Monza does not clash with the calendars for Lotterer’s two racing responsibilities this year; Super Formula in Japan and the world endurance championship.

“It felt like everybody at Audi was behind me and all of the people who supported my career before and in Japan,” he added.

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Newey continues to work on 2015 car

Adrian Newey has confirmed that he will continue to work with Red Bull's 2015 before starting his new role working on Red Bull Technology projects.

Red Bull announced in June that Newey will only serve as an advisor on the design of their future cars when he starts his new role later in the year, but confirmed on Monday that he is continuing to work on the design of next year's car on a full-time basis for the time being.

"At the moment I'm still full time at Red Bull Racing and will be certainly over the coming months as we finalise the general layout of the car, so it won't be until Christmas that I start to really get into new roles let's say. So at the moment it's full concentrated," he told crash.net.

Newey added that the upgraded power units they expect to receive from Renault next season will play a major role in the design of the car.

"Well in our case, obviously we have an engine partner in Renault and therefore the division is very clear. We make requests in terms of what we'd like from the engine architecture point of view and how that would best install in the chassis," he continued.

"Renault are able to accommodate some of those requests - some of them. Others they say no they can't do that in the time available or they don't believe it's the right thing to do anyway."

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Wolff targets perfect Italian GP

Mercedes Executive Director Toto Wolff wants his team to respond to the controversy of the Belgian GP by producing a flawless performance at Monza this weekend.

"After a tough weekend in Belgium, our attention is now fully focused on the next race at Monza. We have a quick car but we have not delivered our full potential in recent races and that must be our target this weekend," Wolff told crash.net ahead of this weekend's Italian GP.

"It's no less than the people at Brackley, Brixworth and Stuttgart deserve, with everyone working flat out to ensure we finish the job this season.

"Of course, Spa was a reminder to us as a team that our competition are never far away and we must continue to tackle every weekend as if it could be the defining moment of our season.

"Monza is a fantastic venue - a legendary circuit with incredible fans and a truly great standing in motorsport history. When the Silver Arrows first took on the Italian Grand Prix back in the 1950s it could not have been a better story, with victories in both races. We approach this weekend with a repeat of that achievement firmly in our sights."

Mercedes had a weekend to forget at Monza last year, where Nico Rosberg battled to a ninth place finish and Lewis Hamilton finished in 12th after picking up a puncture on the first lap that ruined his one-stop strategy.

With that in mind, Mercedes technical guru Paddy Lowe is also eager for the team to perform well at Monza this time around.

"Despite the end result, it was encouraging to see the potential of our car in Belgium - both in wet and dry conditions as we saw during qualifying and the race respectively. Spa, of course, brings with it quite unique aerodynamic requirements - also a factor at Monza, which sees the lowest drag configuration of the year. We therefore approach this weekend very much in the hope of showing similar pace to that seen in Spa," Lowe said.

"Monza is a venue that has produced mixed results for both of our drivers in the past, with last year's race proving to be a tough test for the team as a whole.

"We fully intend to rectify that this time around."

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Formula 1 Team Histories – Part 2 – Benetton

Part 1 of this series covered the team’s creation as Toleman and the events that lead up to Benetton buying the team at the end of the 1985 season. Benetton had first appeared in F1 as a sponsor of Tyrrell in 1983, they moved through teams sponsoring Alfa Romeo 1984 and 1985 alongside Toleman. The change of ownership meant a change of engines and the team now used BMW turbo engines with Teo Fabi and Gerhard Berger driving. Berger was able to give the team its first win in Mexico near the end of the 1986 season. This helped the team to 19 points and sixth place in the constructors’ championship.

With Berger moving to Ferrari his seat was taken by Thierry Boutsen for 1987 and the engine was replaced by a Ford turbo, no wins but consistent points finishes saw the team score 28 points and move up to fifth place come the end of the year. 1988 saw Fabi replaced by Alessandro Nannini and the points increase to 39, and third place in the constructors’ championship. Boutsen moved to Williams for the 1989 season and initially was replaced by the promising Jonny Herbert who had been successful in F3000. However after five races the after effects of his massive accident at Brands Hatch the previous year meant he had to stop driving to fully recover. His place was taken by Emaneule Pirro for the rest of the year. The points haul was the same (39) but the team dropped to fourth.

1990 saw Flavio Briatore appointed as team manager, and Pirro replaced by Nelson Piquet. Following Nannini’s helicopter accident he was replaced by Roberto Moreno. The team scored 71 points and moved back up to third place in the standings, thanks in part to a one two finish in the penultimate race of the year (Senna having removed himself and Prost from the race before the first corner).

1991 saw TWR acquire a third of the team which saw Tom Walkinshaw arrive bringing Ross Brawn with him. The team started with the same two drivers it finished the 1990 season, but following Michael Schumacher’s debut at Spa for Jordan, Briatore took the opportunity to sign him for a full time drive before Eddie Jordan could get his name on a contract. This left Moreno without a drive, but would ultimately prove to be a turning point for the team. With the points system changing (10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1) and Piquet winning one race, the team ended up with 38.5 points (the Australian GP was stopped after only 14 laps due to very wet conditions) and fourth place.

1992 saw Martin Brundle partner Schumacher and between them they scored 91 points to bring the team back to third place in the constructors’ championship. Schumacher getting his first win exactly one year after his debut at Spa. Over the winter the team moved from the Witney factory to new premises a few miles down the road at Enstone. For 1993 Riccardo Patrese replaced Brundle and again Schumacher managed a solitary win the 72 points was good enough to maintain the teams third place.

1994 was a chaotic year on the driver front, the team had signed JJ Lehto to replace Patrese, but an accident during pre-season testing left him with a broken neck. The teams young test driver, Jos Verstappen, then started the first two races alongside Schumacher. Lehto made his debut for the team at Imola, and was involved in the startline accident that brought out the safety car when he failed to get cleanly off the line and was rear ended by Pedro Lamy – this did not help his neck to recover. He persevered for another three races before Verstappen was put back in the car. Lehto did make a reappearance in the Benetton, standing in for Schumacher when he was banned for two races following excessive wear on the plank under the car. Jonny Herbert finally replaced Verstappen for the final two races of the year.

This was a year of controversy for the team, following the refuelling fire for Verstappen in Germany the team was found to have removed a filter in the refuelling rig to speed up the delivery of fuel. The team was also found to have launch control software still within its ECU. Although this required a specific sequence of driver activated events to access the ‘option 13’ and the FIA did not punish the team, as there was no evidence that the software had been used. Through all of this, Schumacher won his first championship with 8 wins through the year, although Williams beat Benetton into second place in the constructors’ championship (118 to 103). This was the final year that the team used Ford engines, and the final drivers’ championship powered by a Ford engine. Ford had so little interest in F1 at this time that no effort was made on their part to celebrate this fact, and Renault took most of the glory as they supplied the team from 1995 onward (and therefore had number 1 on a Benetton Renault).

Both Schumacher and Herbert were retained for the 1995 season, Michael winning nine race on his way to the championship and Jonny winning a further two. Unsurprisingly the team finally won the constructors’ championship with 137 points to Williams 112. One change that did happen though was the team raced under an Italian license for the first time (a practice they would continue until 2001), although they remained at their Enstone factory.

In 1996 Schumacher left for Ferrari, and Benetton took both 1995 Ferrari drivers in return (Jean Alesi and a reunion with Gehard Berger). This change didn’t help the team, and neither driver managed to win during the year, the team dropped to third place in the constructors’ championship. During this season Rory Bryne announced he would retire at the end of the year.

Unfortunately for the team, it wasn’t just Schumacher that left for the red team, for 1997 he persuaded Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn and 11 other key figures to join him. With the departure of Brawn, Pat Symonds (who had been with the team since the Toleman days) became the team’s Technical Director. The drivers remained the same although Berger stayed away for three races mid-season following illness and the death of his father. He was replaced by Alex Wurz. When Berger returned in Germany he managed to score the team’s only win of the year. The team stayed in third in the constructors’ championship. Berger announced his retirement at the end of the season.

For 1998 Renault withdrew as a factory supplier of engines, however the design had been obtained by Mechachrome who supplied the engines to Williams. Benetton used the same engines but rebadged them as Playlife (a brand owned by the Benetton family). Drivers for this season were Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz. Briatore was replaced by David Richards as team manager as a result of Rocco Benetton coming in as Chief Executive. The best results were a couple of second places for Fisichella, and the team slipped to fifth in the constructors’ championship. The same drivers continued in 1999, although Richards was fired and Rocco Benetton took over running the team, with results getting worse and sixth in the championship.

In March 2000 the team was sold to Renault for $120 million, who brought back Briatore as team manager. The drivers remained the same and scored four more points (20) to get fourth place at the end of the year.

For 2001 Jenson Button replaced Wurz alongside Fisichella. With a new 111° Renault engine performance was poor, with the cars often in the back two rows of the grid. Ten points and seventh place in the constructors championship was the reward for the final year as Benetton. For the following season the team would be rebranded as Renault F1, and that is the subject of Part 3.

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Renault would support Formula 1 engine freeze lift

Renault says it would support a move to loosen up Formula 1's engine freeze - as long as it did not open the way for an all-out spending war.

Ferrari boss Marco Mattiacci suggested a tweak to F1's engine development restrictions during a team principals' meeting at the Belgian Grand Prix as he felt it unfair that performance was locked in for a whole season.

Under the current rules, manufacturers cannot change engines for performance reasons during the season, but will be allowed to make limited tweaks each winter.

Mattiacci believes a better compromise could be introduced to allow limited in-season modifications, and rival Renault has added its support to the idea too

New Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul believes that F1 would be better off if manufacturers could work to close down performance deficits during the campaign, although he was mindful that a ramping up of costs could hurt customer teams.

"I've already seen the difficulty for some teams, and I think it may be the majority of teams in F1 now, to pay for the cost of the technology of the current regulations, so I think we need to be a little bit sensible," Abiteboul told AUTOSPORT

"But there should be a system to allow performance to converge rather than performance to diverge. I know that no one wants to force the sport to go into a certain direction [of increased costs] but this is a sport that has to be a sustainable business to all the players.

"So we could open more [the engine regulations], as long as it goes in the right direction for the different providers. It [performance] needs to converge from my perspective."

Abiteboul believes that the infancy of the current regulations offers greater potential for manufacturers to make the steps to ensure a more level playing field - after a campaign where Mercedes' performance advantage has stayed intact because of engine tweak restrictions.

"It's true that during any regulation change, there is a period of time where the bang for buck and the return on investments is quite high," he explained. "And it's true that the regulation did not allow for us to deploy all that we have on the drawing board.

"We have a system [a partial lifting of the freeze this winter] that will allow us to do quite a lot of changes, because 48 per cent of the power unit will be able to change next year. And we intend to change 48 per cent of the power unit."

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DRIVERS BACK ROSBERG IN AFTERMATH OF SPA CLASH

Almost two weeks have passed since Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton clashed on lap two of the Belgian Grand Prix, and the incident is still a talking point as the season heads to Monza for Round 13 of the F1 worldchampionship.

Reigning quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel has backed compatriot Nico Rosberg in his row with teammate Lewis Hamilton over their crash in Spa 10 days ago.

Rosberg was disciplined by his Mercedes team after admitting he was responsible for crashing into the back of Hamilton on the second lap of the Belgian Grand Prix.

It was an incident which eventually forced the Briton to retire from the race and cost Rosberg the chance of victory as he trailed in second behind Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

But although Rosberg has since apologised after initially suggesting he felt he was right to have a go at the overtaking manoeuvre, Vettel has given his backing to the son of F1 great Keke Rosberg.

“I think it was just a normal race accident which did not deserve to provoke a discussion about intention,” Vettel told weekly newspaper Sport Bild, referring to Hamilton’s claim in the immediate aftermath that Rosberg had admitted he “basically did it on purpose”.

Vettel added: “No-one tries to break a wing on purpose and no-one wants to be guilty of disloyal driving because most of the time that doesn’t work.”

Fernando Alonso echoed Vettel’s view, telling Sky Sports, “It was a racing incident. It’s impossible that Nico from the cockpit could have been so precise with his front-wing to have cut a tyre off another car, you need to be in surgery at the hospital with that sort of precision.”

“Definitely, we are not so precise. They touched, and the bad part of the incident was for Hamilton, but it could have been the other way around – maybe Hamilton’s tyre resisted and Nico had to change the front-wing and his race was over,” added Alonso

Nico Hulkenberg of Force India feels the same way, “Nico did everything right, he tried to overtake because he thought he was faster,” he said.

Hamilton’s retirement left him 29 points behind Rosebrg in the championship race with seven races left in the title battle.

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ALONSO: RON DENNIS HAS NOT CALLED ME

Fernando Alonso has denied being in contact with McLaren supremo Ron Dennis who has been making no secret of his desire to sign a driver of the Spaniard or Sebastian Vettel’s calibre to spearhead the works Honda project from 2015.

The Telegraph newspaper even said Dennis, despite his spectacular falling out with Alonso in 2007, “has spoken” with the highly rated driver recently amid reports of an audacious $32 million per-year offer to woo him from Ferrari.

But on Tuesday, Alonso played down the McLaren link by insisting it is “not my intention at the moment to move”.

At the same time, Spanish reports quoted Alonso as denying he has been in contact with Dennis, “No, he [Dennis] has not called me, it’s 100 per cent not true.”

But he did admit that his 2014 hopes are now gone and he must look to the future for better times. “Obviously this year, with seven races left, little will change — the hope is for next year and the future. Hopefully we can close the gap to Mercedes, who have a big advantage.”

“It is true that in these years at Ferrari I did not win, but two times it went to the last race and I have won great races. I think they have been very good years of which I have fond memories, but in the future I definitely want to win,” Alonso added.

He said: “At no time have I regretted joining Ferrari, because at the end of the day, it is the most important team. “The Los Angeles Lakers or Real Madrid also do not win always, but to play there is important.”

Finally, Alonso played down speculation Ferrari is poised to announce at Monza this weekend that former technical director Ross Brawn is rejoining the team.

“I don’t think there will be any announcement, or anything to announce,” he said. “We must have confidence in (Marco) Mattiacci that he knows what decisions to make. The changes that are made are 100 per cent intended to improve the team.”

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ALONSO: RENEWED WILL TO WIN MAKES FERRARI EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE

In the build-up for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Fernando Alonso was in Maranello where he met the team’s President Luca di Montezemolo, the Scuderia heads of department and went through things with his engineers – before setting off for the historic circuit set in the Royal Park, the Spaniard also met with some journalists and here is an extract of their conversation.

What have you got to say to and what can you do for the fans who will, as usual, flock to Monza to see you and Ferrari?

FA: Saying is easier than doing. Definitely we must try and have our best race of the year in front of the home crowd. We know what a great experience it is to stand on the podium at Monza, seeing the straight packed with people. I’ve been lucky enough in these last four years with Ferrari to get to the podium four times and it would be fantastic to make it five. It’s a very optimistic goal because unfortunately this year, we haven’t been on the podium too often. We must be realistic, as this will be another defensive and uphill race for us, but anything can happen.

Is it not a bit frustrating to come to Monza at this point in the season, being so far behind, wondering whether or not you can finish on the podium, when in in the past at Monza, you were fighting for the title or for a win in front of your fans?

FA: Yes of course. This year has definitely been the toughest in the five I’ve been with Ferrari, in coming to Monza in greater difficulty and without having a really clear idea of what the race can hold for us. In the other years, we were fighting for the title or a podium was definitely within our grasp or maybe even a win. This year however, it’s all much more up in the air and there is no certainty as to what we might be able to do. One can say this situation is frustrating, it can be seen as sad or simply as the reality of the situation. For eleven races now we have been fighting to sort out the situation and become more competitive and I think we have done that. I would say the progress is visible, because in the last three or four races, we have become more competitive: in Hungary, we got a podium finish, in Spa we came close and even at Hockenheim and Silverstone we went quite well. So in the recent races we have recovered and have a better feeling. It’s definitely not enough, because everyone is improving, especially Mercedes, who are dominating the season, given that, while we were two seconds off their pace, now we are still 1.6 or 1.4 behind, therefore the improvements we have made are definitely not enough yet.

Do the improvements seen so far this year give you cause for some optimism regarding next year, or is it still too little?

FA: Everything helps, not just us drivers, but also all the people in the factory who are working day and night. If there are improvements, it’s because these people come to the office every morning at 8 with a different feeling and that’s why all these improvements are helping. It’s positive to see that, unlike in other years, at least there is a correlation between the aerodynamic data from the track and the wind tunnel. Everything fitted to the car is giving the results we expected. There is a question mark over the power unit, which, given that development is frozen, means we can’t touch anything and so the inferiority which characterised it at the first race is more or less the same today. For next year, all the changes one can make to the engine remain a question mark: we can do something and so can the others, so we must try and do a bit better than the others.

In your opinion, in 2015, when the power unit will be sorted, what can one expect from Ferrari? Can you fight at the front or what do you expect. Would you settle for a car that can get to the podium and which fights at every race? What is your feeling?

FA: As of now, September 2014, the expectations are to have a front running car with which we can fight for the world title, which is what is expected of us and of Ferrari. What’s certain is that we must reduce the gap over the winter and much more than in other winters, because it’s a gap of around one and a half seconds. I don’t know if it’s possible to do that in 6 months. It’s a major challenge for the whole team, because I think we have the ability, we have the structure, so it’s just down to us to work hard.

Based on what you’ve seen of the new project, are you optimistic? Are there elements of the new car that mean you are optimistic and that you like?

FA: In all projects there are interesting things. By this point of the year, we know what are the weak points of the current car, we know what doesn’t work and what aspects have put us in difficulty for the whole season. Therefore many problems will be solved for next year. With the radical rule changes for 2014, one could see several build and development philosophies from the three engine manufacturers and also from the various constructors on the aerodynamic front. Maybe, with hindsight, those who are winning now made different choices to us and they turned out to be better. Clearly, the expectation for next year is to improve a lot.

Even though you have a contract for next year, there’s a lot of talk about your future with other top teams interested in you. What do you think of this?

FA: I think since last summer there have been stories and news almost all the time and so it’s now been going on for a year. It’s not nice, because it creates a bit of stress and it means it is disruptive for me, the fans and for the people in the team. I am proud there are some teams that say they’d like to have me, because it means they appreciate the job I’m doing. However, on this topic, it’s a year now that I’ve been saying I want to stay at Ferrari and extend my contract. That’s my wish, I repeat it every two weeks, at the end of every race, yet it’s never said, in fact there is a tendency for the opposite to be said. Talk of other teams has never come from my lips, in fact it’s always been the opposite.

You want to renew the contract, as does Ferrari. Why hasn’t it been done?

FA: In fact, we’re working on it.

So you are working on the next contract. And so, until the current one expires you are a Ferrari driver and will stay at Ferrari?

FA: I have a contract for another two years and as I always say on the subject of rumours and to ensure calm, what I want is to continue for the necessary years. Let’s see if that can happen, but for the next two years at least, there is no problem.

Necessary years for what? To win again? The aim is to stay as long as you are not at the top?

FA: Obviously, the most important thing is to win, because that’s the same for all sportsmen. However, I think there are also other things that can make one have confidence nevertheless and be happy in one’s work and I think Ferrari can offer a lot more than “only” winning. Because there is a passion for this team, which as a driver, means you are already proud of what you are doing, independent of the results. The most important thing is to fix the things that are not going well on the car and in the team and to do everything that is needed. Mattiacci also shares this desire to change things and to be more aggressive in our approach to our work. This renewed will to win makes staying at Ferrari even more attractive.

Alonso wins in Monza if…

FA: I don’t know, it’s not easy. Something unusual would have to happen, maybe with a bit of help from drivers in the top teams, while we need to concentrate on ourselves and give our utmost over the weekend, as we did in Spa and Hungary during qualifying. At Monza we cannot make any mistakes.

Fernando Alonso triumphed in at Monza in 2010

The Monza circuit looks straightforward. But is it?

FA: No, not at all, because you drive with very little aerodynamic downforce and so it feels a bit like driving in the wet at another track. Furthermore, when you are travelling at such high speed, it’s harder to be precise. It’s not easy to start your braking at the right place when you approach the first chicane at 340 km/h or the second one at 330. The unique thing about Monza is that, for us, there are five corners: the first chicane, the second one and the two Lesmos and the Parabolica, because Ascari, apart from the first kink to the left, is completely flat. With only five corners, even if you fit new tyres, in qualifying you gain half a tenth in a corner, half in another, but in the end, new tyres are only worth two or three tenths. Or you can do a perfect lap and find you have gained a tenth on a lap when you didn’t give your utmost. That’s the main difference with Spa: there, when you do a perfect lap, you have gained a second over a normal lap and this gives you a nice shot of adrenalin, because you are on the limit.

Have you set a time limit for your career?

FA: No, I haven’t. I am much older than I look from the outside, I’m only 33 and up until five years ago, you only started in Formula 1 when you were in 26 or 27. The fact, is I started when I was 19 and it seems I’m very old, but given my actual age, I’ve still got lots of seasons ahead of me. I could have another ten: Michael Schumacher stopped when he was 43, Pedro de la Rosa is in the simulator every day and he’s 43, so it’s not a question of age. It’s a question of enjoying what you do and to still want to get up in the morning to train, to get on planes and fly to Australia and Malaysia, to race with a top car and to still get a good feeling from it all. As long as I have that desire and these feelings, I am not setting a time limit. Sure, this year’s been a bit less fun because the cars are a bit less quick. We need adrenalin and we hope the sport heads back in the direction of more extreme performance so that we go back to Formula 1 really being at the top.

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LOTTERER TURNS DOWN CATERHAM DRIVE FOR MONZA

Andre Lotterer has turned down the chance to make a second appearance for Caterham at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

Earlier, it was expected Spanish rookie Roberto Merhi, and not the reigning Le Mans winner Lotterer who replaced Kamui Kobayashi at Spa, would be in action for the Monza weekend.

But it is believed Merhi, a World Series and DTM driver, has run into trouble with securing from the FIA his mandatory Formula 1 super license.

However, Spain’s Diario AS on Wednesday reported that Caterham chief Colin Kolles’ ‘plan B’ was to run Merhi in Friday morning practice, before Lotterer takes over for the rest of the race weekend.

Lotterer is quoted as saying he initially accepted Kolles’ proposal to race again in Italy, “I had my doubts, but the team insisted and I accepted.”

“When Colin Kolles told me on Tuesday that Merhi would take my place for the first practice session, I changed my mind and told them I would not participate. I am a newcomer in Formula 1 and I need to drive,” he explained.

Kolles’ plan is to run the reportedly Russian-backed Merhi on Friday in Spain in order to satisfy the FIA to grant him a full racing super license.

“I need 300 kilometres,” he said, “and if on Friday I am able to perform this test then at the next Grand Prix is another opportunity to get more experience to be on the grid.

“It’s best to go step by step,” 23 year old Merhi added.

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FERRARI CONFIRMS ENGINE DEAL FOR HAAS F1 TEAM

Ferrari on Wednesday announced it will supply a V6 turbo power unit to new entrant Haas F1 Team who begin their Formula 1 journey in 2016.

Nascar team co-owner Gene Haas’ machine tool company Haas Automation is already a sponsor of the fabled Maranello based team.

“We’re delighted to announce this important strategic partnership with Haas Formula 1 Team and to welcome an American player as a new entrant in Formula 1,” said team boss Marco Mattiacci in a media statement.

Ferrari’s other customers in Formula 1 are Sauber and Marussia, who according to Mattiacci at Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago are behind in their 2014 payments.

He said on Wednesday: “While our objective is to reinforce our power unit development programme for all our customer teams, we believe this new partnership (with Haas) has the potential to evolve beyond the traditional role of supplying our power unit and all related technical services.

“United States continues to be one of the most important markets for Ferrari and it offers many interesting opportunities,” added Mattiacci.

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LIFE GOES ON FOR SCHUMACHER FAMILY AND FRIENDS

For the Schumacher family, life goes on in the aftermath of the Formula 1 legend’s life threatening skiing accident late last year.

This week, a charming book penned by a young fan of Michael Schumacher hit the desk of the his wife Corinna.

Corinna replied personally to the boy: “I would like to thank you for your best wishes and your kind present, which help us to move forward in those difficult moments. Our Michael is a fighter and he will never give up.”

Earlier, Corinna was photographed as a smiling spectator at the World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.

Reportedly still at a Swiss rehabilitation clinic after his long coma, former Ferrari and Mercedes driver Schumacher remains in the minds of many.

Former Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali this week named Schumacher as the driver he had the “best relationship” with.

“He was formidable because his contribution was not limited to his exceptional talent behind the wheel,” insider Leo Turrini quoted Domenicali as saying.

“In private, he could be very severe, even ruthless, but outside he was always the first to defend the team,” said the Italian.

On Schumacher’s health, he said he understands the family’s desire for privacy.

“We are in contact and they tell me that there is small, continuous progress. I know that we all hope that this terrible waiting will end in the best way. Unfortunately we just have to wait,” said Domenicali.

Finally, Brazil’s Globo reports that Schumacher’s 15-year-old son Mick has finished runner-up in a competition of the FIA-sanctioned Junior KF karting category.

To ensure a lower profile, Mick races with the surname of his mother, Betsch.

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FERRARI CUSTOMERS LATE WITH ENGINE PAYMENTS

Ferrari‘s power unit customer Formula 1 teams are behind in payments to the Maranello marque, according to the team’s boss.

Referring to engine customers Sauber and Marussia, team boss Marco Mattiacci is quoted by the Swiss newspaper Blick: “They are behind in their payments.”

Expressing concern about the future of Hinwil based Sauber, correspondent Roger Benoit quoted his authoritative Italian colleague Pino Allievi as saying: “Ferrari has never dropped a long-term partner.”

Both Sauber and Marussia are undoubtedly struggling financially, with Speed Week reporting reports earlier this week that Marussia may not make it to Monza this weekend.

Paying driver Max Chilton was at the centre of a contractual kerfuffle last time out at Spa-Francorchamps, and the musical chairs is tipped to continue at the Italian Grand Prix.

But it emerges that Marussia’s race transporters are at least en route to the Autodromo Nazionale.

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ALONSO SAYS BRIATORE RETURN WOULD BE GOOD FOR F1

Disgraced former F1 team principal Flavio Briatore would be a good addition as Formula 1 finds its direction for the future according to Fernando Alonso, the sport’s highest paid and arguably most highly rated driver.

Recently, a man always closely aligned with the trajectory of Alonso’s career – Briatore – was linked with a return to the sport as chairman of a new popularity working group.

It comes amid a period of introspection for Formula 1 as it grapples with popularity at the crossover of the sport’s old model with new, greener rules and the social media era. Alonso said 2014 has been a “tough year” for him.

According to Tuttosport, Alonso thinks Briatore – a highly controversial figure within Formula 1 – could help the sport at this time.

“Flavio has often had winning ideas; I think he is a brilliant person,” said the Spaniard. “He always has a very clear vision of how to solve problems. To me, he is someone who could help this sport a lot.”

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THE BIG PREVIEW: ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

Round 13 of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship moves the action to its traditional early September date at Monza, home of the Italian Grand Prix.

Monza is F1’s premier speed circuit, the last of its kind, a flat-out blast through parkland that sees cars, configured for low downforce, reach their highest velocities of the year. Its reputation as Formula One’s fastest track is likely to be enhanced this year. While 2014’s technical regulations have produced cars with less downforce than those of recent years, the corresponding decrease in drag may see cars hitting 360kph on the long straights.

But Monza isn’t simply about top speeds. Recent races have seen winners emerge from among the slowest through the speed traps, preferring a set-up that possesses sufficient downforce to carry speed through the circuit’s few corners and onto the long straights. Other requirements include a car that is stable under braking, rides kerbs well and has good traction out of the chicanes.

Racing on home ground, Pirelli brings its two hardest compounds to Monza. The fast Parabolica corner places high lateral energy demands on the tyre, while the stop-go nature of the chicanes means Monza also makes high longitudinal demands on the rubber. Even so, the presence of the Hard and Medium tyres combined with the long pitlane time makes this a good place to try a one-stop strategy.

Mercedes come into the race with a strong lead in the Constructors’ Championship, while Nico Rosberg has extended his margin over team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship thanks to second place in Belgium. The German driver now has a 29-point lead over his English team-mate but Hamilton has two pole positions and a victory at Monza to his name and will be optimistic of closing the gap this weekend. It promises to be a spectacular event.

Sebastian Vettel celebrates winning the 2013 Italian GP

Autodromo Nazionale Monza Circuit Data

• Length of lap 5.793km
• Lap record 1:21.046 (Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari, 2004)
• Start line/finish line offset 0.309km
• Total number of race laps 53
• Total race distance 306.720km
• Pitlane speed limits 80km/h in practice, qualifying and the race
• To enhance safety, the inner half of the gravel trap at Parabolica has been replaced with an asphalt run-off.
• There will be two DRS zones in Italy. The detection point for the first zone will be 95m before Turn Seven, with the activation point 210m after Turn Seven. The second detection point will be 20m before Turn 11, with the activation point 115m after the finish line.

Italian Grand Prix Fast Facts

• The Italian Grand Prix is one of only two ever-present races on the Formula One World Championship calendar. The other is the British Grand Prix.
• This is the 65th running of the Italian Grand Prix as part of the F1 World Championship. Sixty-three of the previous 64 were held at Monza, the exception being 1980, when the race was held at Imola and won by Nelson Piquet.
• Piquet also has three Italian Grand Prix victories at Monza (1983, ’86, ’87), placing him second on the all-time list. Michael Schumacher holds the record with five wins (1996, ’98, 2000, ’03, ’06), all for Ferrari.
• Ferrari holds the record as a winning constructor, having taken victory 18 times. Alongside Schumacher there have been Ferrari wins at Monza for Alberto Ascari (1951, ’52), Phil Hill (1960, ’61), John Surtees (1964), Ludovico Scarfiotti (1966), Clay Regazzoni (1970, ’75), Jody Scheckter (1979), Gerhard Berger (1988), Rubens Barrichello (2002, ’04) and current Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso (2010).
• Alonso also won the race in 2007, while driving for McLaren. Lewis Hamilton (2012) and Sebastian Vettel (2008, ’11, ’13) are the only other Italian GP winners on the current grid.
• Vettel’s win for Toro Rosso in 2008 makes him the youngest winner in Championship history. He was 21 years and 74 days old. A day earlier he became the youngest driver to secure pole position. Of the current grid, only Daniil Kyvat can threaten those records, having until the start of July 2015. Max Verstappen, signed by Toro Rosso to contest the 2015 season, would require victory or pole before the end of the 2018 season.
• The Italian Grand Prix at Monza has been won from pole position only 21 times. Interestingly, more than half of those victories have come since the turn of the century. Only in 2002 (Rubens Barrichello from fourth), ’06 (Michael Schumacher from second) and ’09 (Barrichello from fifth) has the sequence been interrupted.
• Monza’s speed records are many and varied, particularly from the latter years of the V10 era. Michael Schumacher holds the record for the highest average race speed, winning the 2003 Italian Grand Prix with an average speed of 247.585km/h. Unsurprisingly, this race is also timed as the shortest duration grand prix (of those going the full distance,) with Schumacher finishing in a time of 1h14m19.838s. Rubens Barrichello set F1’s highest average lap speed in qualifying, taking pole position for the 2004 race at an average of 260.395kph, though Juan Pablo Montoya went faster that same weekend, taking the record for the fastest average lap speed overall, with a lap averaging 262.242km/h, set during a practice session. Montoya also holds the record for the highest top speed achieved during a Formula One race, hitting 372.6km/h during the 2005 Italian Grand Prix.

Oozing history: Tazio Nuvolari at Monza in 1932

Italian Grand Prix Statistics by Reuters

• Mercedes have won all but three races so far this season. The exceptions were Canada, Hungary and Belgium – all won by Red Bull‘s Daniel Ricciardo.
• Red Bull’s quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel has 39 career wins, Fernando Alonso 32, Lewis Hamilton 27, Kimi Raikkonen 20 and Jenson Button 15. Championship leader Nico Rosberg has seven.
• Hamilton is level with triple champion Jackie Stewart in the all-time list of winners. The only British driver to have won more is 1992 champion Nigel Mansell (31).
• Ferrari have won 221 races, McLaren 182, Williams 114 and Red Bull 50. Mercedes have won 22 and one more would lift them level with now-defunct Tyrrell.
• McLaren have not won for 31 races, a run that dates back to Brazil 2012 but is not their longest drought. Most recently, they went 48 races without a win between 1993 and 1997.
• Ferrari’s last victory was in Spain in May 2013 – the last time a team other than Mercedes or Red Bull won.
• Mercedes and Williams are the only teams to have started a race on pole position this year.
• Rosberg (Bahrain/Monaco/Canada/Britain/Germany/Hungary/Belgium) has had seven poles this year to Hamilton’s four(Australia/Malaysia/China/Spain). Brazilian Felipe Massa was on pole for Williams in Austria.
• Vettel has 45 career poles. Hamilton has 35 – more than any other British driver in the history of Formula One.
• Ferrari’s last pole was in Germany with Alonso in 2012.
• Caterham, who came into the sport in 2010, are the only team on the grid who have yet to score a point.
• Ferrari have finished a record 79 successive races with at least one car in the points, a run that dates back to the 2010 German Grand Prix.
• Alonso is the only driver to have scored points in every race this season.
• Sauber have gone 12 races without scoring, their longest barren run since they entered the sport in 1993. They went nine in a row between October 1995 and May 1996, at a time when only the top six cars scored points.
• The Italian and British Grands Prix are the only ones to have appeared on the calendar in every season since the championship started in 1950.
• The Italian race has always been staged at Monza, with one exception – in 1980 it was held at Imola.
• There are currently no Italian drivers in Formula One, although Ricciardo and Williams’ Brazilian Felipe Massa hold Italian passports due to their ancestry. Marussia’s French driver Jules Bianchi also has Italian roots.
• Monza is the quickest track on the calendar, with top speeds of up to 340kph. On the approach to the first chicane, cars brake from 340 to 80kph in the space of 150 metres.
• The circuit holds the record for Formula One’s fastest lap, an average of 262.242 kph set by Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya before qualifying in 2004.
• The race has been won from pole position only 21 times in total but nine times in the last 11 years.
• In the last two decades, only German drivers have won at Monza and gone on to take the title that season: Michael Schumacher in 2000 and 2003 and Vettel in 2011 and 2013.
• Schumacher won a record five times at Monza, all with Ferrari.
• Ferrari have 18 wins at Monza, more than any other team.
• Vettel took his first F1 win at Monza, with Toro Rosso in 2008. That made him the sport’s youngest race winner at 21. Only Toro Rosso’s Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat is young enough of the current drivers to beat that.
• The only current drivers to have won at Monza are Vettel (2008, 2011, 2013), Hamilton (2012), and Alonso (2007, 2010). Vettel is the only one to have won for the same team twice.
• Ricciardo’s win at Spa was Red Bull’s 50th in Formula One.

2013 Italian Grand Prix podium

Italian Grand Prix Race Stewards Biographies

• Paul Gutjahr started racing in the late 1960s with Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Lotus and Porsche, then March in Formula 3. In the early ‘70s he became President of the Automobile Club Berne and organised numerous events. He acted as President of the organising committee of the Swiss GP at Dijon between 1980-82. Between 1980-2005 he acted as President of the Commission Sportive Nationale de l’Automobile Club de Suisse and in 2005 he became President and board member of the Auto Sport Suisse motor sports club. Gutjahr is President of the Alliance of European Hill Climb Organisers and has been steward at various high-level international competitions. He was the Formula 3000 Sporting Commissioner and has been a Formula One steward since 1995.
• Radovan Novak has been actively involved in motorsport since 1963 and rose to become Secretary General of the ACCR in 1990. Since 1991 he has held the role of President of the FIA Central Europe Zone and over the past two decades he has acted as a steward and observer in WRC and ERC rallies, EC autocross and rallycross events and WTCC and GT races. He has been a Formula One steward since 1994. From 1994 to 2006, he was a member of the FIA Off-road Commission and was made a member of the World Motor Sport Council in 1998. In 2000 he became a member of the Sport Commission at the Ministry of Sport of the Czech Republic. An avid racer and co-driver, Novak has won a number of Czech rallying events.
• Derek Warwick raced in 146 grands prix from 1981 to 1993, appearing for Toleman, Renault, Brabham, Arrows and Lotus. He scored 71 points and achieved four podium finishes, with two fastest laps. He was World Sportscar Champion in 1992, driving for Peugeot. He also won Le Mans in the same year. He raced Jaguar sportscars in 1986 and 1991 and competed in the British Touring Car Championship between 1995 and 1998, as well as a futher appearance at the Le Mans in 1996, driving for the Courage Competition team. Warwick is a frequent FIA driver steward and is President of the British Racing Drivers’ Club.

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Formula 1 Team Histories – Part 3 – Renault F1 & Lotus F1

Part 1 of this series about the Formula 1 team that is based at Enstone looked at its origins as Toleman up until 1985). Part 2 covered the years as Benetton Formula (1986 – 2001). For 2002 Renault were confident that better results would come and rebranded the team Renault F1, and entered as a French team (still remaining at Enstone). Jenson Button was retained and was joined by Jarno Trulli, the result was 23 points and fourth place in the championship. This marked the second appearance of Renault as a Formula 1 constructor, the first being from 1977 – 1985 before the team withdrew as a full constructor to concentrate on supplying engines. As explained above, the team in 2002 only shared the name with the previous incarnation.

Despite finishing one place higher in the drivers’ championship than his team mate, Button was dropped for the 2003 season, and Trulli was replaced by Fernando Alonso. The points system changed with points no down to eighth place (10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1) and as a result the team scored 88 points, but stayed in fourth place.

The drivers were retained for 2005, and Trulli scored the team’s first win as Renault F1 at Monaco. Unfortunately he wasn’t happy at the team, and accused Briatore of favouritism towards Alonso (who he managed). As a result he left the team before the end of the year and started driving for Toyota; he was replaced for the last three races by Jacques Villeneuve. The result was 105 points and third in the constructors’ championship only 14 points behind Williams.

Fisischella returned to the team in 2005 to partner Alonso, and won the opening round in Australia with Fernando in third place. However Alonso’s first title really got off the ground with wins in the following three races. Alonso won four more races to take the title, and Fisichella provided enough back up for the team to win the constructors’ championship with 191 points.

The drivers continued into 2006 for a repeat performance, drivers’ title for Alonso with another seven wins, and 206 points in the constructors’ championship to win by four points from Ferrari. This season saw Renault suffer several setbacks. They along with all other Michelin runners failed to start the US GP due to doubts about the integrity of the tyres following problems in practice which caused Ralf Schumacher to crash. The team’s Mass Damper was also found illegal mid-season following a protest by McLaren.

With Alonso moving to McLaren for 2007, Fisichella was joined by rookie Heikki Kovalainen. The team struggled and only managed 51 points through the year to finish fourth in the constructors’ championship. Best was second place for Kovalainen in Japan. Also as part of the fallout from the McLaren ‘spygate’ case, Renault were accused of having McLaren technical data in its possession, but despite being found guilty, Renault escaped without a fine (McLaren on the other hand were fined a record $100 million).

Alonso returned to Renault for 2008 following a falling out with McLaren team management and was joined by Nelson Piquet Jr. Alonso won twice (Singapore and Japan), but the team only managed 80 points in total to remain fourth.

The drivers were retained for 2009 although Piquet performed so poorly during the first half of the season he was replaced by Romain Grosjean following the Hungarian GP (round 10). Ultimately the team only scored 26 points, and fell to eighth place; however the fallout from Piquet’s dismissal was to prove more damaging. It emerged that he had crashed deliberately in the previous season’s Singapore GP, to bring out a safety car just after Alonso had made an unusually early tyre stop. With everyone else pitting under the safety car, this put Alonso at the head of the queue, and he was able to control the race and win. While Piquet was already out of F1, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were fired by the team, this swift action prevented the FIA from banning Renault F1. The team’s main sponsor (ING) withdrew support immediately, and Renault sold 75% of the team to investment company Genii. Bob Bell took over running the team for the last part of the year.

For 2010 the team was still entered as Renault F1, and Eric Boullier took over running the team, leaving Bob Bell to resume as Technical Director. With Alonso moving to Ferrari and Grosjean’s results not being good enough, Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov were appointed as the team’s drivers. The points system changed again, with points now down to tenth place (25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1). The teams best result was a second place for Kubica early in the year and they ended up with 163 points to move to fifth place overall.

Over the winter, Renault sold its 25% stake in the team to Lotus cars, and the team was rebranded again to become Lotus Renault GP for the 2011 season, and once again raced under a British license. The team had intended to keep its two drivers from 2010; however Kubica suffered serious injuries while competing in a rally in Italy during February 2011 and would need to be replaced. Nick Hieldfeld was appointed as his replacement. Then Bruno Senna replaced Heidfeld from the Belgian GP onwards. A couple of third places in the first two races of the year were the best the team could manage on the way to 73 points and fifth overall.

For 2012 the team changed its name again to Lotus F1 Team, following the decision of Tony Fernandes’s Lotus Racing team to change its name to Caterham. Neither of these entities have any link to Team Lotus that competed in F1 between 1958 and 1994 wining six drivers’ titles and seven constructors’ titles between 1963 and 1978. Drivers for the 2012 season were Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean (although the latter was replaced at Monza by Jérôme D’Ambrosio following his one race ban for causing the start line crash at Spa). The best result was a win for Räikkönen at Abu Dhabi with a total of 303 points and fourth place in the constructors’ championship.

In 2013 the team retained its two drivers, until Räikkönen decided to leave two races early to have an operation on his back in preparation for re-joining Ferrari for this year. He was replaced by Kovalainen for those races. Despite winning the first race of the year the team failed to keep up with the leading contenders and scored 315 points to remain fourth.

Gérard Lopez replaced Eric Boullier as team principle following Boullier’s departure to McLaren for 2014, and Grosjean has been joined by Pastor Maldonado. To date results haven’t been promising with all Renault powered teams having a difficult start to the new engine formula. Next year the team will have Mercedes power, and if the pattern of back to back drivers’ titles every eleven years is to be repeated, watch out for the team in 2016 and 2017.

[MIKA27]

How the 2015 rules aim to fix ugly Formula 1 noses

Liveries aside, the 2014 season has been the first for several years where even casual fans could tell the cars apart with a quick glance.

Formula One’s regulations on nose design, which have caused problems before, have been responsible for this. Designers responded to the ever-stricter limits on how they could design the front of their cars with some outlandish creations.

While the twin-pronged Lotus is the most immediately recognisable of the various designs, the differences between the other styles are a little more nuanced:

The rules specify that the nose must be between 135mm and 300mm above the reference plane. In addition the cross-section area must be 9,000 sq mm. This gives designers considerable freedom on how the nose looks.

The Mercedes (top-left) and Ferrari (bottom-right) are similar in that the nose section forms a closed section with the front wing. A small venturi is created below the nose section, which allows air to expand creating downforce. The difference in the shape comes down to how the designers have chosen to meet the cross section area requirements.

The Force India (top-right) sports the more unsightly protruding proboscis. This unmistakeably phallic interpretation of the regulations is what has created the ruckus about nasal aesthetics. Unfortunately it is the most common on the grid with at seven teams adopting a similar design. The advantage it has is that creates substantial space below the nose to ensure maximum airflow.

The Red Bull (bottom-left) is a neater interpretation of the more common snout design. It features a drop-down keel below the tip of the nose to meet the cross-section requirements. The nose mergers with the front of the car and is probably the most pleasing on the eye of all the noses. It is believed that the lap time difference between the various nose designs is minimal.

The fourth category of nose design is the Lotus ‘fork’. One end is slightly longer than the other as it is the main crash structure and the regulations only allow a single cross-section area at the tip of the nose. The Lotus design is probably the least efficient as the two forks double the effective area facing the airflow and also require reinforcement (and therefore further weight) to meet crash test requirements.

2015 nose design

This all came about because the FIA wanted to force designers to lower the height of F1 noses to improve safety in the event of contact with another car. Whether they have succeeded in this respect is a point of debate – as Adrian Newey pointed out at the beginning of the season they could prove less safe in some scenarios.

What few deny is they have produced a generation of cars which are comically unattractive, sapping the sport of aesthetic and emotional appeal. The FIA has responded to this with further changes for next year in an attempt to push designers away from creating cars which invite ridicule.

For 2015 the nose regulations now require the following:

• The nose tip cross section remains the same at 9,000 sq mm
• The nose will be lowered further and must sit 135mm to 220mm above the floor
• The tip must be no wider than 140mm
• The nose must widen to a second cross section 150mm behind its tip, which must be no less than 20,000 sq mm
• Again a maximum width is stated of 330mm at this second cross-section
• Both cross sections have to be symmetrical about the centre line
• Remaining length of the nose going back towards the chassis must have a tapering cross section
• The nose tip will have to start about mid-way along the front wing

What does this mean in practice? The rules specify two cross-sections, supplemented by a tapering requirement to avoid any odd shapes as the nose merges with the front bulkhead. The tip also has a maximum width requirement of 14cm. Teams will likely deploy a oval or rectangular nose tip that then merges in to the chassis.

The following drawing shows a very simple schematic of how a 2015 nose could look. There is still a nose, but it is shorter, a bit more stubby, and hopefully less unattractive than the some of the snouts on show this year.

The regulations also restrict some of the more innovative designs. Lotus’ tusk design falls foul of the requirement that the nose be symmetrical either side of the car centreline. Also the Mercedes’ design is not allowed as the tip is back behind the rearmost part of the rear wing.

The revised nose regulations will fortunately avoid some of the aesthetic atrocities we have to put up with at the moment. This comes at a cost of uniformity through a design straight-jacket. Though perhaps in 2015 we’ll be lamenting the loss of this individuality.