FORMULA 1 - 2015

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LOTUS PREVIEW THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

Lotus preview the Italian Grand Prix, Round 12 of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship, at Monza.

Deputy Team Principal Federico Gastaldi looks ahead to the Italian Grand Prix.

The Belgian Grand Prix yielded a brilliant result for the team, now that you have had a few days to absorb it, what is your take on it?

I was very, very happy for the team but not amazed because I know that the team has the ability to always deliver such great results. We have great drivers and fantastic people here at Enstone. For me we are the best people in the paddock so I’m not surprised by the result and even though we currently face some challenges, we can still deliver strong cars. It was a great job by Romain and a great job by all at Enstone.

Monza is next, a notoriously high-speed track…

Monza is a fantastic race track. As in Spa, we have good chances to perform well in Italy with the E23 and bring back home a haul of points.

Pastor suffered a retirement in Spa, what is the team doing to make sure this doesn’t happen at the next race?

First the team will prepare the cars as usual for the weekend sessions and hopefully, with a clear weekend, we can hope for a good performance by both drivers.

Where do you feel the team is at currently?

We are facing challenges but we are a united team. We have shown many times that we are fighters and that we punch above our weight. We are now fifth in the Constructor’s Championship and that makes me proud of everyone at Enstone. We want to continue to show our worth and fight on each and every lap these coming races.

How important is Monza, and Italy, for Formula 1?

It’s very important for me personally as my ancestors were from Italy! More seriously, Monza, Spa, Silverstone, have all been part of the original history of motor racing. Monza is and will always remain a classic in the Formula 1 calendar. The fans – or tifosi in Italy – are simply amazing and there are so many of them at all these historic venues no matter if it pours with rain or even if it snowed!

What do you like the most about Italy?

The people; Italy is very colourful. The Italian food of course is also wonderful. It makes me feel at home when I’m there, I love the country.

This is the last European race of the season, what are your thoughts heading to the final batch of long-haul races?

We will be heading to races overseas after Monza and we’ll be visiting some great countries and venues. From Singapore which always offers a great night spectacle, to the USA that is extremely popular, to Mexico, a new venue that we are looking forward to visiting this year, and of course Russia, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, places where F1 is warmly greeted and where the promoters are doing a fantastic job. We shall be looking forward to visiting all these places in the latter part of the season..

Fresh off the back of his Belgian third place, Romain Grosjean sets out his targets for a similarly strong performance in Monza.

How goes the high after your Spa podium?

I still have a massive smile on my face about it! What a race and what a performance from everyone in the team. We have a great car in the E23 and it worked so well around Spa Francorchamps. Everything came together so well. I probably drove the best race of my career, but it was thanks to the hard work of everyone at Enstone that I was able to perform at the top of my ability on that day. It felt almost like a race win.

Could you have passed Sebastian Vettel if he hadn’t had his tyre issue?

I was closing in on him pretty quickly and I’d have done everything I could to get past him. He’s a pretty tough competitor, but I was VERY determined at that point. It’s only a shame that he did have his tyre issue on track as I was really looking forward to fighting him for that position and I’m convinced I would have taken the final podium spot.

How do you like Monza, the Theatre of Speed?

I like Monza a lot because it is so distinctive. It’s a great track that has a lot of racing history. This makes it nice for us to compete at a place where all our heroes raced too. There is a lot of atmosphere around the track and to race in the setting of the royal park makes for a really special ambience. Of course the Ferrari fans are a big part of it and it is really nice competing at such a legendary venue.

Any special memories from Monza?

One of my first ever races in cars was at Monza back in 2003 when I was driving in a category called Formula Lista where I won and then went on to win every race of my rookie season in that formula. I have had some other big results at Monza too throughout my career, so it holds lots of good memories.

What aspirations do you have for Monza this weekend?

On paper, Monza should suit our car better than Spa so in theory a podium could be possible again! Of course, we don’t know how our performance relative to our rivals will stack up until we get there, but I’m certainly going out for the strongest result possible, as I always do.

What’s the key to a strong result in Italy?

You need your car to be as slippery as possible and quick in a straight line, and in that regard we’ve looked pretty strong so far in 2015. Then we have to manage the tyre degradation. Also for us it will be tricky in the big corners like the Lesmos and the Ascari chicane because the less downforce you have then the more difficult it is to get good grip in the turns. It is a tough compromise but one I am sure that the team will get the best solution possible.

Pizza or Pasta?

I know a great Pizzeria close to the track, so it is pizza all the way for me. But I am always careful because it can catch up very easily on the weight side of things! Italy is a magic place and the cultural aspects are a big part of that. Like a lot of drivers I did a lot of racing there, even since karting days so I feel like I know the country very well. I don’t know anyone who does not enjoy being in Italy.

Pastor Maldonado looks forward to the 2015 Italian Grand Prix at a place where so much of his race craft was learnt.

What are your opinions of racing in the Parco di Monza?

I like Monza and I love Italy. I actually used to live very close to the circuit when I was starting my career here in Europe. I have won races here so it holds some good memories and special feelings for sure. I have a lot of friends here and a lot of supporters who come and see me at the track, so it is very nice to catch up with them all. The track is totally unique and of course it is great to be racing where all the old heroes did too. Monza has changed only very slightly over the years and it still has the character of the old banking and the parkland trees as you drive through it and of course the fans create a great atmosphere which is a great soundtrack to the Grand Prix.

Any particular expectations for the Monza weekend?

I am really looking forward to Monza this year. We’ve shown our car to be pretty good through the speed traps this season and Monza is where you want to be as fast as possible in a straight line. Coming off the back of our performance in Spa it’s going to be really interesting to see how we go; I have a good feeling.

Tell us one word that comes to mind when you hear the word Monza?

Speed. It has to be speed because the track is all about how fast you can go on the start/finish straight and then also on the back straight too. We are reaching the highest speeds of the season on these stretches. One of the critical points is the Parabolica corner. You have to get this right at the end of your lap to ensure a good time, and if you get it wrong it also compromises you for the next lap. It’s difficult to do this as the car is set up for low downforce on the straights, so it’s more difficult to drive on the corners – especially a long corner like Parabolica, which is tough and fast, the most crucial at Monza.

Last year the outside of Parabolica was changed from gravel to tarmac; did this make a difference?

The approach was still the same, which is to take it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course you are aware that it’s safer and there’s less penalty in going off and this is good from a safety point of view because it is a quick corner with not that much room on the outside.

How frustrating was your Belgian Grand Prix?

Of course, it’s frustrating not to finish any Grand Prix, but it was particularly so in Belgium as we really had potential to go well. Romain did a great job to finish on the podium and I started my race ahead of him on the grid. We know what is possible and our car should go well in Monza. I would love to score a very strong result in Italy as I have so many fans there.

Were there particular lessons learnt?

We’ve gone through the data and we think we know what we need to do to avoid a similar situation again. Spa’s a pretty unique place so it’s unlikely we’ll see the same set of circumstances again. It was good to watch the team get a good result, but it would have been better to have been part of a strong result for both cars on track.

Pizza or Pasta?

Both. Definitely both. But not at the same time of course!

Technical Director Nick Chester looks back at the team’s performance in Spa and talks about Monza, the fastest circuit on the calendar.

What’s the potential for Monza?

I think that the potential is quite good. The cars have performed well at medium downforce tracks like Montréal and Spa. Monza is a step lower downforce that we never run anywhere else. The car seems to be efficient heading down to these kinds of levels. The E23 also has good braking and is reasonably well set-up for low drag. It should go quite well in Italy.

With Monza’s straights is it a case of simply taking off all the wing and ensuring the car’s as slippery as possible?

Monza is one of the fastest circuits that requires the lowest downforce setting. The cars will be doing around 350kph so very fast. It is also important for the car to be good over the kerbs at the chicanes and so far we have seen the E23 is pretty good over kerbs.

Any new parts?

We will be doing more work on our new front wing which we first ran on the Friday in Spa and will run a number of tests in Monza.

Coming back to Spa, the sessions were somewhat mixed up – did this mean our pace and potential was masked at times?

Possibly, although straight away in FP1 Pastor looked reasonably quick before his shunt – he was around P8 – and Romain was P7 in the second session. We were already looking reasonably fast on the Friday and then on Saturday with more running Romain went quicker still. If anything our pace picked up through the weekend with good qualifying results for both drivers and then very strong pace in the race for Romain.

What went wrong for Pastor in the race?

We are still checking all the parts but he had a big excursion at Eau Rouge and hit some curbs very hard which gave the chassis a 17G impact. That looks to have effectively knocked the power off the car and although he managed to get the power back on, it looks like we might have damaged the clutch control valve. Even though we may have been able to reset it when Pastor came back to the pits, we looked at the extent of the damage and decided to retire the car.

Pastor started the race from P7 and Romain from P9 (who’d qualified in P4) – was there potential for a 3-4 result?

Pastor’s pace was pretty good throughout the weekend, only a little bit off Romain as we saw in qualifying but certainly P4 or P5 were possible.

What went right for Romain?

Pretty much everything! He drove incredibly well. His qualifying lap was brilliant – it was disappointing to get the gearbox penalty which in the end didn’t affect us as he drove such a good race. Romain didn’t have the easiest of weekends as he missed FP1 and then had stoppage time in FP2. Still, he was incredibly positive all weekend; his management of the race was excellent looking after the tyres when he needed to and then pushed when he had to push. Everything was perfect.

Romain was closing in on Sebastian at a rapid rate – would he have likely got past if Sebastian Vettel’s tyres had held on?

He had another two laps left to overtake him before Sebastian’s tyre failed and I think that it would have been possible. He was closing in all the time and he could have had a good shot at passing him.

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Magnussen: McLaren or anywhere else

Kevin Magnussen is adamant he will race next season whether that be with McLaren or "anywhere else."

The Danish driver has spent this season on the sidelines, dropped from a race-seat to a test driver role after McLaren opted to sign Fernando Alonso.

Magnussen is determined to return to the track in 2016, revealing that if he can't do so with McLaren he is open to other offers.

"It's obviously been very frustrating this year not to be racing, and I'm doing everything I can to make sure I race next year," he told Motorsport.com.

"Whether that will be at McLaren or anywhere else, I've got to race next year."

He added: "It's very difficult for a racing driver to make himself visible when he's not racing anything.

"It's definitely difficult, and I'm just trying to stay visible in other ways, and making sure that I keep the same lifestyle as a full-time F1 driver, in terms of training, staying close to the engineers and the team, doing PR and communicating with people in F1.

"There's not much else you can do, really."

The 22-year-old has all but ruled out the possibility of another season as a reserve driver, saying if he can't secure a F1 drive he will look to other series.

"You can never say never, but if I don't get an F1 drive next year I'm looking to have a high level race drive somewhere else, and I'm sure I'd enjoy that too.

"But F1 is my first priority, and that's where I'm fully focussed now."

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Kvyat: Something special at every corner

Daniil Kvyat is relishing Formula 1's return to Monza as he rates the track as his "favourite" even if it is more forgiving than in years gone by.

Kvyat, who lived in Italy after leaving Russia, has a long and successful history at the circuit.

Not only did he claim a victory at the track in Renault 2.0 but he also won the GP3 feature race in 2013 having started from pole position.

And although he failed to score in his first F1 grand prix at the track in 2014, Kvyat still rates it as one of the best.

"Monza is my favourite track," said the Russian driver.

"Every corner just gives you the feeling that you are doing something special. Lesmo I and II, Ascari... every corner.

"Well, they unfortunately changed Parabolica a little bit. The changes there do make a difference. It isn't quite the same experience anymore.

"You still have to push a lot and it still requires a lot of technique, but the problem is that even if you make a mistake you get forgiven. It's not the same.

"But overall the track is still amazing. An important circuit for me in the past and I love it."

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Mallya wants fourth in 2016

As Force India continue to battle for fifth place in the Championship, Vijay Mallya says it is a compliment that people feel Force India are punching above their weight.

The Silverstone-based team has one of the smallest budgets in the sport, reportedly spending €130m for this season.

That is a marked difference to the €470m that the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull have in their budget.

And yet Force India are battling for fifth place in the Constructors' Championship where they have slipped to just one point behind Lotus.

"A lot other people say that," was Mallya's response when asked by the official F1 website whether 'Force India are punching above their weight'.

"If you look at our performance in relation to our expenditure - and considering what others spend - then this saying is very likely true.

"But in fact we like to run a good, tight ship, with a good atmosphere, good drivers and good commitment from our people. It's the package. And if they say that the Force India package is punching above its weight, I take that as a compliment.

"We have under 400 people - and I am sure that I don't have to double the workforce if I want to go further up the grid. That is what I honestly believe.

"Yes, I want to get better every year, but I also believe that doubling my work force is not the answer. If somebody tells me that to get to P4 I would have to go beyond 600 people, I very much disagree. We could also do it with our 380 people!"

And while fifth would be a good finish for Force India, the Indian businessman says he would like his team to be fighting for fourth next season.

"I have set my targets for the team, and we are doing very well in achieving them. I will not get carried away saying that we will achieve P4 this season, but there is no reason why we should not target that in 2016.

"2016 is carry over from this season and when the B-spec delivers what we believe it has the potential to, then why not? 2017 is a whole different ballgame. My guess is that the cars will have to be 're-invented' again - and we will start early to stay ahead of the game."

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Patrick has no 'desire' for F1

Danica Patrick won't be throwing her name into the ring for a Haas seat, adamant she is happy in the NASCAR series.

With Bernie Ecclestone keen on a female race and Haas, an American outfit, set to join the Formula 1 grid in 2016 it would be a marketing dream for Patrick to make the move to Formula 1.

The 33-year-old, though, has ruled it out.

"I'm getting too old to change careers again and again, and I don't really have a desire to do anything different than what I'm doing right now," she said during a special 'Women in F1' edition of CNN's The Circuit.

"I'm around my friends and family, and I'm racing internationally - and F1 I don't think would really provide that.

"I lived in England for a few years and F1 was all I thought about doing, but to be honest when I came back home to the States I thought this is where I want to be.

"You can never say never about anything - but at this point in time, I'm happy where I'm at."

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Bottas hails 'great' Williams

Valtteri Bottas says there was never a reason for him to want to leave Williams, a team that should be fighting to be best of the rest.

Over the course of the last few months Bottas was dogged by rumours that he was set to sawp Williams for Ferrari in 2016.

That came to naught when, ahead of the Belgian GP, Ferrari announced that Kimi Raikkonen would be staying on for a further season.

One person who was relieved by the confirmation is Bottas as it put an end to the speculation.

He wrote in his blog: "Until the week before Spa there was a lot of speculation about my future, a good part of which was not true.

"It's not fair to put those kind of rumours out there, for either Williams and myself or Kimi and Ferrari, so life became easier once we knew the speculation was over with Kimi staying where he is.

"I have to say the speculation didn't affect me at all during the break because I wasn't reading or listening to anything vaguely connected to Formula One, which was really good. Then I saw the news on Wednesday and that was that – end of story."

And the Finn added that there is no reason for him to want to leave Williams.

"I think Williams is a great team to be with, and I'm confident they can be up there again in 2016. There's no reason why Williams shouldn't be able to be fight with Ferrari and Red Bull.

"I do admit we expected more from this year's car, particularly in the first part of the season and if you compare it with 2014, then we had a few more podiums at this time of the year than we have now.

"Having said that we are still capable of improving and getting closer to Ferrari so I will be looking to secure more podiums in the second half of the season."

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Mallya expects Hulkenberg will stay

Vijay Mallya is "quite confident" that Force India will retain Nico Hulkenberg along with Sergio Perez for next season.

Not for the first time in his career Hulkenberg is being linked to a headline-grabbing move; although this time it is to the other end of the grid.

While in past seasons the German has been rumoured to be off to Ferrari, this time around it is newcomers Haas.

The American squad is reportedly keen on several current drivers with Le Mans winner Hulkenberg the biggest name on the list of candidates.

Mallya, though, believes the 28-year-old will be staying right where he is.

"There is always talk. This paddock is full of gossip," the Force India team owner told GPUpdate.net.

"I am very happy with my drivers. I want to keep them. I think Nico will stay with me. I'm quite confident."

As for his team-mate Perez, the Indian businessman says he is "very happy" with the Mexican driver.

He added: "Sergio is doing a great job.

"I picked him, he didn't have a drive at that time. I watched him at Sauber. McLaren chose him because they must have seen something in his talent. McLaren doesn't pick up just any driver.

"He obviously has the talent. He's shown that with us. We're very happy."

However, as yet nothing is set in stone with Mallya admitting he would be interested in Pascal Wehrlein should either current driver opt not to re-sign.

"Certainly. We're happy to talk," he said when asked about the Mercedes-backed racer.

"There's still a long way to go. Discussions are to take place. They're not off the cuff decisions that are taken. We are interested. Mercedes should be interested as well. Let's see.

"If we can work out something, we'd love to have him."

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Renault set to complete Lotus takeover next week

Renault are set to complete a takeover of the Lotus outfit next week, Autosport reports, returning the French manufacturer to 'works team' status.

The company, which currently supplies Red Bull and Toro Rosso with engines, has been considering its future in Formula 1 since the beginning of the year.

It had weighed up three options; to quit F1, continue as an engine supplier, or return to team ownership.

However it's believed Renault has finally agreed to take a majority stake in Lotus - the team it formally owned - following months of negotiation.

Autosport cites sources which have confirmed Renault will take a 65 per cent stake in the team, in return for ten annual payments of £7.5 million ($11.5m), valuing the team at £115m ($177m).

Four-time world champion and Renault ambassador Alain Prost - who is expected to be heavily involved in the team - will take a 10 per cent stake, leaving current owner Gerard Lopez, through his investment company Genii, with the remaining 25 per cent.

It's believed final contracts will be signed off on Monday and a deal could be announced later that week.

Whilst Renault's ownership takes hold from 2016, it's believed they are yet undecided on how to approach next season due to current contractual obligations with Red Bull.

The Milton Keynes based team has priority status, meaning it would sit above Renault's own team, therefore one option would be for Lotus to continue using Mercedes engines until 2017, when Red Bull's contract expires.

Alternatively, Renault could help Red Bull and its sister team Toro Rosso to find alternative power units, allowing it to focus on its own project, similart to McLaren and Honda.

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Vettel: 'McLaren can get back on track in 2016'

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel is certain McLaren's run of poor form will come to an end, with the four-time champion believing they could even challenge for the title in 2016.

The British outfit has endured a tough start to the 2015 season, mostly in part because of Honda's struggles with its power unit which, despite a recent upgrade, can't match its rivals performance.

"I think they have the resources to be [competitive in 2016]," Vettel told Marca when asked if he could see McLaren challenging at the front.

"McLaren are one of F1's big guns. I think they had the best car as recently as in 2012.

"Honda are capable of supplying them with a really powerful engine, so I believe they can get back on track."

Meanwhile driver Fernando Alonso is confident things will improve in Singapore, whilst next season will be completely different.

"We have the right experience from all the parts to make this [struggle] as short as possible hopefully, and I am happy with the progress," said the Spaniard.

"The starting point was maybe too low and not mature enough, but we are getting there. Unfortunately Spa and probably Monza will not show much of the progress we saw in Hungary where we were more or less top ten in all the sessions.

"Hopefully we can see something similar in Singapore or the next races. For future races or next year things will look completely different."

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Honda exploited 'good faith' of new rules - Whiting

FIA race director and head of the F1 technical department, Charlie Whiting, believes McLaren-Honda exploited the rules during the Belgian Grand Prix.

The team chose to install new engines on Friday, forcing them to start from the back of the grid as Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso received 25 and 30 place penalties respectively.

However on the Saturday the team switched out the new engines for yet another new engine in both cars, despite there being nothing wrong with the previous units. That incurred a further drop on the grid of 50 places, but as they were already starting at the back, the additional penalties were effectively useless.

Meanwhile the rules allow them to switch between the two engines (those used on Friday and those used on Saturday) at future races without incurring a grid-penalty.

Had they done what they did prior to a change in the rules, they would have faced in-race penalties, effectively exploiting a loophole in the rules, one which Whiting warned could happen.

"The FIA had expressed such concerns to the Strategy Group," Whiting told Auto Motor und Sport.

"However, we had the feeling that the negative comments from almost all parties concerning the harsh penalty system with additional penalties in the race was damaging the sport even more.

"Of course the rule was written in good faith, not to give the incentive to do what Honda did."

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Coulthard: Vettel was right to rant; Ramirez: Vettel should apologise

Heavyweight Formula 1 pundits David Coulthard and Jo Ramirez have totally disagreed on whether Sebastian Vettel’s post-race outburst about Pirelli was merited after his Belgian Grand Prix tyre failure.

Coulthard, the 13-time Grand Prix winner, wrote in his BBC Sport column that Vettel “was not wrong” to complain about the potential danger of his situation.

However, longtime McLaren team co-ordinator Ramirez (now retired) told Motorsport.com that he thinks Vettel should apologise to Pirelli for his post-race rant, and that it was all Ferrari’s fault for gambling on a one-stop strategy.

Coulthard: Vettel was right

In his BBC column, Coulthard stated that Vettel’s complaint “was the result of an underlying dissatisfaction among the drivers and teams with the product Pirelli has produced for Formula 1”.

He wrote: “Vettel was not wrong to say what he did. A driver of his stature and experience should say what he feels, and we should applaud anyone in the public eye taking a position based on passion and emotion as long as there are hard facts to back it up.

“Vettel's remarks… represent a boiling-over of the drivers' general unhappiness in the relationship between the drivers and Pirelli.

“It was the straw that broke the camel's back as far as Vettel was concerned.”

Ramirez: Vettel was wrong

Speaking in an interview with Motorsport.com, former McLaren veteran team member Ramirez took the opposing view, believing that Vettel should not have blamed Pirelli in such stark terms.

"I do not like the way that Sebastian Vettel spoke in his post-race statement,” said Ramirez. “Because a racecar is made to the limit, the limit of performance to be as fast as possible, and you're in a car to the limit with the tyres.

"The words of Vettel about Pirelli were very harsh, but then Pirelli’s spokesman said he did not blame him – said he could say what he wanted – but if I was the chief [of Pirelli] I’d say to Mr. Vettel that he’d have to offer an apology for his words after the race.

"If a tyre burst, you must see that they [Ferrari] were the ones who tried to finish the race with a single tyre change. To me, the tyre was over its life and they wanted to lengthen it.

"If they do it with one-stop, they are geniuses, but they took a risk that did not work.

“They should accept it as men and not moan later.”

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Force India set to start early on 2017 cars

The proposed Formula 1 rule changes coming in effect in 2017 means the cars will look significantly different for which Force India is set to start work on 2017 cars early according to team principal, Vijay Mallya.

With major evolutions in terms of aerodynamics and wide tyres proposed for 2017, the cars are expected to go faster by few seconds.

“2017 will be a whole different ballgame. My guess is that the cars will have to be ‘re-invented’ again,” Mallya said in an interview on Formula1.com.

“Force India will start early to stay ahead of the game,” he revealed.

Team punching above its weight

In the seven seasons (eighth running) for the Silverstone-based team, they have outperformed with limited resources and strengthened their position as a top midfield team.

“We like to run a good, tight ship, with a good atmosphere, good drivers and good commitment from our people. It’s the package,” Mallya said.

“If people say that the Force India package is punching above its weight, I take that as a compliment.”

Elaborating more on their performance considering their expenditure in terms of what other teams spend, Mallya agrees to the above statement.

“We have under 400 people - and I am sure that I don’t have to double the workforce if I want to go further up the grid. That is what I honestly believe,” stated the Indian team owner.

“Yes, I want to get better every year, but I also believe that doubling my work force is not the answer.

“If somebody tells me that to get to P4 I would have to go beyond 600 people, I very much disagree. We could also do it with our 380 people.”

On target

The team brought their ‘B-spec’ car in Silverstone which has put them in a strong place for a fifth place finish in the constructors’ championship as they battle against Lotus, Sauber and Toro Rosso.

“I have set my targets for the team, and we are doing very well in achieving them,” Mallya said.

“I will not get carried away saying that we will achieve P4 this season, but there is no reason why we should not target that in 2016.”

The team sits sixth, one point behind Lotus in the championship and expects to bring another upgrade in Singapore as the team tries to perform at the same level on all the tracks rather than some particular one’s.

“I always told my engineers that we cannot afford a car that is perfect on particular tracks and faints on others.

“We need a car that is competitive on every track - and I think that we have achieved that pretty successfully,” he said.

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The tangled web behind Red Bull's bid for Mercedes engines

Formula 1's 2015 title fight may be a straightforward Mercedes lock-out, but the same cannot be said for the fascinating off-track battle Red Bull is waging to secure the German car manufacturers' engines longer term.

For the energy drinks giant finds itself in an amazingly complex web that involves Mercedes, Red Bull, Renault, Lotus and Ferrari – as everyone battles to maintain their own competitive interests.

And although each party knows exactly the outcome they want from the current situation, there are conflicting motivations which mean there is not going to be a clear cut way forward.

Red Bull Renault break down

The starting point for understanding the current situation is that Red Bull has lost patience with Renault over its lack of competitiveness this season.

It has been obvious for some time now that Red Bull and Renault's relationship had hit trouble: as reliability niggles and a lack of performance progress erupted in to a pretty open war of words at the start of this campaign.

While matters may have calmed down a bit in public, behind the scenes things have been moving on as Red Bull looks to get itself back to the front.

Despite an engine contract for 2016, it emerged in Belgium that Red Bull has notified Renault (quite some time ago according to one source) that it wants the deal terminated.

The implication is that as a customer Red Bull has not been given the service (read 'performance promises') that it was promised.

That is not an opinion shared by Renault, with sources suggesting that the French car manufacturer is adamant that the 2016 contract is rock solid.

If that is the case, then the only way forward will be taking it to court – or an expensive pay-off.

To further complicate matters, many of Red Bull's big sponsors, like Infiniti and Total, for example, are very closely affiliated with Renault.

It is not a simple case of being able to cutting the French car manufacturer loose and automatically expecting its allies to join you.

A 2016 truce

Despite the breakdown in relations and desire by Red Bull to go elsewhere, it is not impossible that team and engine partner remain bedfellows for another year, and not just because the courts tell them so.

Red Bull is waiting for Renault to finalise its Formula 1 plans for 2017, which could be the takeover of Lotus or the buy-in of another team like Force India.

Once its plans for the long term are sorted, it will be much clearer what the landscape is like for 2016 and whether or not Red Bull can still be treated as Renault's number one partner.

Red Bull is also eager to see whether or not a renewed commitment to F1 will deliver it with more resources to be successful. It's something Red Bull boss Christian Horner is eager to see

"You have to do a root and branch review," he said about where he wanted Renault to go. "There are some very capable people at Renault, but it feels under resourced. You can see the effort and commitment that is going in from Mercedes and the commitment coming from Ferrari as well.

"There is an enormous amount of resources being committed. Obviously for Renault it is as big an issue as it is for us: they cannot afford to have the negative publicity from an uncompetitive engine."

Red Bull is also desperate to see just how much more performance the upgraded Renault engine coming for Sochi delivers: for that will give a proper indication of just what kind of progress the French car manufacturer can make this winter.

Mercedes on hold

Should Red Bull not be won over by Renault's plans, and it decides to push on with its Mercedes target, there are still endless hurdles to overcome.

To further muddy the waters, Red Bull knows it will only be able to begin proper Mercedes dialogue once it is free of its current deal with Renault.

For although Mercedes chiefs have softened their stance about a tie-up with Red Bull – having been adamant less than two months ago it would never happen – there are still contracts to respect.

And since Mercedes is a 3.1 per cent shareholder in Renault, and likewise Renault a 3.1 per cent shareholder in Mercedes, there is absolutely no chance of them stepping on each others' toes.

When asked by Motorsport.com about the situation, motorsport boss Toto Wolff said: "We will not interfere into an existing relationship for many reasons.

"Legally we don't do this and it is not the way we approach business in general.

"You must not forget Renault and Daimler go back a long way with many co-operations. It is an industrial partnership and until the situation is resolved between the two parties [Red Bull and Renault] we will not even start any discussions.

"Because it has not reached that point, and because the complexity is quite large with the many decisions that need to be made, that is still where we are."

Risk factors

There is pressure being put on Mercedes though – not only from Red Bull, but also Bernie Ecclestone, who knows that F1 would benefit from having someone challenging the Silver Arrows every weekend.

And while some Mercedes board members may be quite excited about the potential marketing boom of linking their company with the 'youth' Red Bull marketing platform, it is understood factions with the German car manufacturer's F1 team are not wholly convinced yet of the benefits.

As well as the potential danger of handing potentially their most competitive rival the best engine, what risk is there of Mercedes being on the receiving end of the kind of negative publicity Renault faced?

Would Red Bull throw it out there that it was getting second-rate treatment if it found itself unable to beat the Mercedes works team?

Deal collapse

If Mercedes decides in the end that a tie-up with Red Bull does not make sense, then the team's grand plan will be left in disarray because it could then be too late to go back with a begging bowl to Renault.

It would have to accept an offer from Ferrari – which sources suggest will be for the identical spec power-unit as the works team – or try to put together a Honda deal. At the moment, the latter does not seem too exciting a prospect.

Walking away

For Red Bull, the danger of cutting Renault loose with no back-up plan is evident, because it could leave it without anything.

And if that is the case, then there would be only one option.

"I think the bigger danger is if we don't manage to address our current situation, the damage will be significant," said Horner.

"We heard Dietrich Mateschitz's comments earlier in the year and it is important not to take them too lightly. We have to address the competitiveness of the team, moving forward.

"Our priority is the competitiveness of the team moving forward. Our priority is the second half of this year, we want to hear what Renault's commitment and plans are for the future, what that entails, whether that is as an engine supplier or as a team owners.

"They have to have a competitive engine, unless they decide to stop, and once we understand that then they have to make a plan."

For Red Bull, the fight for Mercedes engines is not just about winning in F1: it's about its very own future in the sport.

[MIKA27]

Extracting the driver i suspect is the big one

When the FIA conducts its tests of new 'closed cockpit' concepts next month, it is hoped that they will offer the best of both worlds, protection from debris but easy cockpit exits for drivers.

Delivering on both those fronts is essential if, by covering cockpits, motor racing is not going to cure one problem but open up plenty others.

Ever since the crashes involving Henry Surtees at Brands Hatch in 2009, and Felipe Massa at the Hungaroring a week later, motor racing's governing body has been working hard on better cockpit protection.

But tests on fitting fighter jet canopies to single seaters highlighted key problems: either the debris would get shot high into the air and risk injuring spectators, or there would be tremendous difficulties in getting drivers out of cockpits in the event of more typical crashes.

Cockpit access issue

While covered touring cars and sportscars have doors to allow medical crews access, the only way in to a fighter jet canopy single seater would be in taking the cover off.

And if it became damaged, the car was upside, or there was another vehicle on top of it, valuable minutes could be lost trying to get cockpit access at the very time a driver needed help.

That is why the latest concepts due to be tried out are aimed at delivering both debris protection for driver, but not hindering cockpit access.

The first idea is for a series of vertical fans in front of the drivers head that will help deflect debris in the event of a crash.

The second idea, which has come from Mercedes as part of a project involving a lot of teams, is for a halo-style solution.

As our video shows, this concept could deliver improved safety. But through a locking mechanism, can also be easily removed if required so the driver can get out of the cockpit quickly and easily.

Solutions needed

Justin Wilson's fatal crash at Pocono has led to a number of calls for action to be taken – and all efforts made to do something about the situation.

Highly respected team boss Trevor Carlin, who has worked at all levels of the sport, says there should be no excuse for motor racing not introducing the best solution.

In an emotional blog on his team's website, Carlin wrote: "At such a tragic time it's easy to be seen to be jumping on a bandwagon with knee jerk reactions and no doubt my opinions will provoke criticism.

"But I wish I had written this piece earlier as the loss of our friend Henry Surtees stays with me everyday and I dread the inevitable next tragedy. Justin's cruel loss has prompted me to finally comment.

"Money is not the issue here. We are in an industry / sport which has a combined annual spend of billions of pounds, surely between us all we can find a solution quickly; proportionally all the teams and manufacturers can contribute for the greater good.

"There is no reason why a system cannot be designed and produced that ultimately fits all modern single seaters, an F4 driver is at the same risk as an Indy Car driver.

"Engineers will always find excuses why it won't work, but if as much time was spent looking for solutions instead of problems we would reach the answer sooner and lives will be saved.

"As for being a drama queen, I don't think so, just a father who feels a massive responsibility towards the young men and women who drive my cars every day."

[MIKA27]

Red Bull Show Run 2015 Mexico: Track Run

After rocking the heart of Mexico City with a breath-taking demonstration of Formula One power around the city’s historic Zocalo on weekend, Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo and Scuderia Toro Rosso racer Carlos Sainz extended their visit to make history by today becoming the first current Formula One drivers to sample the city’s brand new F1 circuit.

[MIKA27]

Rosberg: I can win title despite qualifying shortfall

Nico Rosberg says he doesn't think improving his performances in qualifying are the key to beating Lewis Hamilton to the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship title.

The German held the advantage over his Mercedes team-mate in qualifying 11-7 last season, but has been comprehensively out-performed on Saturdays in 2015, with Hamilton starting from pole position in 10 of this year's 11 races so far.

With Rosberg struggling to get the edge on Hamilton in the raceshaving won three to his team-mate's six, team boss Toto Wolff suggested Rosberg should turn his attention to 'getting half of the job done' in qualifying.

However, it is an assessment that Rosberg doesn't agree with, maintaining that his focus on improving his race craft is his main goal in 2015, something he feels will eventually benefit him.

“Well if you look at the first half of the year, I only narrowly missed out. In Hungary there were even times where I was leading the championship. There was not much in it.

“So yes, for sure of course it would help to be in front more often than not, like last year, definitely but then last year sometimes I lacked a bit of race craft and lost out.

“This year if I keep on going strongly in that area then yeah, I can make it happen even if I am second most the time in qualifying.”

Hamilton's win in the Belgian Grand Prix has seen him swell his lead over Rosberg to 28 points.

[MIKA27]

Button wants Honda push on power before reliability

Jenson Button says he wants McLaren-Honda to turn its attention to getting more power from its engine, even if it is at the expense of reliability, following a disappointing Belgian Grand Prix.

Though Honda's much vaunted upgraded power unit ran relatively trouble free over the course of the weekend, it remains down on power compared with its rivals, preventing both Button and Fernando Alonso from mounting a sustained challenge in the race.

Leading Button to label his race as 'embarrassing', the former champion has called on McLaren and Honda to now focus striving for more power, even if it meant more technical issues in the meantime.

“I'd rather have more effort on power. I think that's the aim we have right now – the aim is power – that's always been the aim. Reliability is second really, because I think we'd like to see ourselves quicker and less reliable – I wouldn't have an issue with that.

“The performance is something difficult to find, reliability is probably a little bit easier. Everyone is working hard, but this is tough this weekend, not only were we slow but I had the problem.”

[MIKA27]

Ferrari denies its Formula 1 driver academy will be closed for 2016

The Ferrari Formula 1 team has no intention of ending its young driver programme despite rumours suggesting otherwise, according to team principal Maurizio Arrivabene.

The Italian company set up the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2009 to develop future racers for its F1 team.

While Red Bull's similar initiative has propelled Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat into its main F1 team - and many others into Toro Rosso seats - no driver from Ferrari's academy has made the step up to the Scuderia's own F1 programme.

Recent rumours suggested Ferrari was poised to pull the plug on the academy, but team boss Maurizio Arrivabene described this suggestion as "bullshit".

Asked by AUTOSPORT if the academy would be continuing without doubt into next year, he said: "Yes. For sure [next year] and for as long as we can."

The current members are GP2 racer and Sauber's reserve driver Raffaele Marciello, GP3 driver Antonio Fuoco, European Formula 3 racer Lance Stroll and Chinese teenager Guan Yu Zhou, who is an Italian Formula 4 frontrunner.

Regarding the academy's future make-up, Arrivabene said: "At the end of the season, we will decide which drivers stay in, which are coming in and which are leaving."

Although no FDA graduates have raced for Ferrari itself, the late Jules Bianchi was part of the programme, as was Sergio Perez prior to his decision to join McLaren in 2013.

Ferrari has tended to opt for experienced driver for its own F1 team, with this year's line-up of Kimi Raikkonen, 36, and Sebastian Vettel, 28, one of the oldest on the grid.

The only driver under the age of 27 to have driven for the Scuderia in the last 20 years was Felipe Massa, who was 24 when he got his Ferrari seat in 2006.

[ptrthgr8]

When the FIA conducts its tests of new 'closed cockpit' concepts next month, it is hoped that they will offer the best of both worlds, protection from debris but easy cockpit exits for drivers.

Delivering on both those fronts is essential if, by covering cockpits, motor racing is not going to cure one problem but open up plenty others.

Ever since the crashes involving Henry Surtees at Brands Hatch in 2009, and Felipe Massa at the Hungaroring a week later, motor racing's governing body has been working hard on better cockpit protection.

But tests on fitting fighter jet canopies to single seaters highlighted key problems: either the debris would get shot high into the air and risk injuring spectators, or there would be tremendous difficulties in getting drivers out of cockpits in the event of more typical crashes.

Cockpit access issue

While covered touring cars and sportscars have doors to allow medical crews access, the only way in to a fighter jet canopy single seater would be in taking the cover off.

And if it became damaged, the car was upside, or there was another vehicle on top of it, valuable minutes could be lost trying to get cockpit access at the very time a driver needed help.

That is why the latest concepts due to be tried out are aimed at delivering both debris protection for driver, but not hindering cockpit access.

The first idea is for a series of vertical fans in front of the drivers head that will help deflect debris in the event of a crash.

The second idea, which has come from Mercedes as part of a project involving a lot of teams, is for a halo-style solution.

As our video shows, this concept could deliver improved safety. But through a locking mechanism, can also be easily removed if required so the driver can get out of the cockpit quickly and easily.

Solutions needed

Justin Wilson's fatal crash at Pocono has led to a number of calls for action to be taken – and all efforts made to do something about the situation.

Highly respected team boss Trevor Carlin, who has worked at all levels of the sport, says there should be no excuse for motor racing not introducing the best solution.

In an emotional blog on his team's website, Carlin wrote: "At such a tragic time it's easy to be seen to be jumping on a bandwagon with knee jerk reactions and no doubt my opinions will provoke criticism.

"But I wish I had written this piece earlier as the loss of our friend Henry Surtees stays with me everyday and I dread the inevitable next tragedy. Justin's cruel loss has prompted me to finally comment.

"Money is not the issue here. We are in an industry / sport which has a combined annual spend of billions of pounds, surely between us all we can find a solution quickly; proportionally all the teams and manufacturers can contribute for the greater good.

"There is no reason why a system cannot be designed and produced that ultimately fits all modern single seaters, an F4 driver is at the same risk as an Indy Car driver.

"Engineers will always find excuses why it won't work, but if as much time was spent looking for solutions instead of problems we would reach the answer sooner and lives will be saved.

"As for being a drama queen, I don't think so, just a father who feels a massive responsibility towards the young men and women who drive my cars every day."

That's definitely an interesting video - I hadn't seen that Mercedes concept before.

But if that didn't work out, I suppose they could always put doors on the cars. I bet the F1 engineers would *love* that.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

That's definitely an interesting video - I hadn't seen that Mercedes concept before.

But if that didn't work out, I suppose they could always put doors on the cars. I bet the F1 engineers would *love* that.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Maybe an ejector seat?

[ptrthgr8]

Maybe an ejector seat?

How James Bondy! Excellent! LOL

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Why we should watch karting…

You’ll see what I mean…

[MIKA27]

RED BULL: NEXT RENAULT UPDATE COMES IN SOCHI, THEN WE’LL SEE

Red Bull is re-setting its sights on the future of Formula 1, having earlier threatened to pull out of the sport, and the team appears to have given Renault until Sochi to convince the quadruple world champions to not change engine suppliers.

The team had bemoaned not only its competitive situation but also the rules and F1’s waning popularity, but it is believed Red Bull is playing an active role in helping to shape the radical new regulations for 2017.

Helmut Marko told Auto Bild that 2017 will be at least “a step in the right direction” and “visually, the cars will be more aggressive, and more difficult for the drivers to master. That’s what we’re looking for.”

“And Mateschitz, thank god, is a motor sport fan who sees Formula 1 as an ideal platform for its marketing opportunities.

“But first the product has to be right for the fans. And we have to have a chance to win. Therefore, in the short term we need a winning engine,” Marko added.

That is why Red Bull is reportedly pushing hard to break its 2016 contract with struggling Renault, and aiming to pair up with Mercedes for a customer supply of its title-dominating ‘power unit’.

Renault, however, is reportedly insisting the 2016 deal be honoured, and so the issue of which engine will power next year’s Red Bull is still open for now.

Marko said: “The next Renault update comes in Sochi. Then we’ll see.”

He at least now admits that Red Bull struggled earlier in 2015 with its car, claiming that the former world champions have now improved it.

“Despite our power deficit, we again have the best chassis since Hungary. We can see it in the GPS data. The best proof is Daniel Ricciardo, who has the confidence back. As if something has suddenly clicked in his head.”

So Marko admits that, earlier this year, “We had problems. I had to say to my people: Hello? Just because we don’t have the best engine, that doesn’t mean we don’t have to try everything to have the best chassis.”

[MIKA27]

MICHELIN: IT MAKES NO SENSE THAT F1 TYRES LAST TEN LAPS

Michelin has weighed into the Pirelli blowout saga, insisting it is committed to producing longer-life tyres in Formula 1 in the aftermath of a bleak weekend for the current tyre supplier at the recent Belgian Grand Prix.

The two tyre companies are currently in competing talks with Bernie Ecclestone about which of them will be awarded the contract as F1’s sole supplier beyond 2016.

Some believe Michelin’s bid got a boost in the wake of the Belgian Grand Prix, where Nico Rosberg suffered a high-speed blowout, and Sebastian Vettel issued a foul-mouthed rant following a similar incident late in the race.

“I want to know what happened at Spa,” Michelin’s sports chief Pascal Couasnon told Bild am Sonntag newspaper, “but I can’t comment because we don’t have the data. All I can say is that we learn a lot from it.”

“One thing I can tell you is it makes no sense to us to produce tyres that last ten laps. A Formula 1 tyre should manage at least one third of the race, and perhaps two-thirds.

“We have to discuss this together with the engineers and Bernie Ecclestone,” Couasnon added.

And he said: “We need to give the drivers a tyre with which they can extract 100 per cent from the car, not just 70.”

Michelin is pushing hard also to combine longer-life tyres with faster compounds and 18-inch wheels, with Couasnon admitting: “We know that the compromise pleasing everybody is a fine line. Our challenge is to work this out together with the engineers of the cars.”

Couasnon reportedly expects the FIA to make its decision about F1’s 2017 supplier in the next four or five weeks.

[MIKA27]

WHITMARSH: RAIKKONEN WILL NEVER REALISE HIS POTENTIAL

Kimi Raikkonen never realised his full potential in Formula 1, according to the Finn’s former boss Martin Whitmarsh.

Whitmarsh, now involved in America’s Cup yacht racing, was Raikkonen’s boss at McLaren between 2002 and 2006, and he then tried to re-sign the Finn for 2010 when Ferrari ousted him.

“Although Kimi hates Ron [Dennis] with a passion, I always got on ok with him,” he told the British magazine Motor Sport.

“We were in negotiations [in 2009] with his management, but they were being a bit commercially ambitious, and then Jenson [button] became available and it all fell into place, so that was that,” added Whitmarsh.

Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion and now 35 years old, was the centrepiece of the 2016 ‘silly season’ recently until Ferrari re-signed him for 2016.

According to the magazine, Maurizio Arrivabene has revealed that Raikkonen’s new deal is for only “one year – no option.”

Whitmarsh thinks Raikkonen never realised his full potential in F1, “Kimi is deeply frustrating in that he’s as smart as he is, and has all that pace – and it just pisses you off that he compromises it.

“He hasn’t realised his potential – and he isn’t going to now, which is a great shame. Very insightful, very dry sense of humour. I really like the bloke.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Raikkonen’s new one-year deal leaves the door open for Ferrari to sign Max Verstappen for 2016.

While Red Bull is pushing for a Mercedes engine deal next year, a split with Renault could actually mean a return to Ferrari power for Verstappen’s current team Toro Rosso, Gazzetta added.

It would be an ideal precursor to a full Verstappen-Ferrari alliance for 2017.