FORMULA 1 - 2015

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P3 for Williams, P5 for Force India

Williams will finish this season third in the Constructors' Championship after a double points-haul in Brazil gave them an unassailable lead over Red Bull.

Valtteri Bottas finished Sunday's race in fifth place while Felipe Massa was eighth, moving the team onto 257 points.

And with just one race remaining Red Bull, who are on 178 points, cannot pass.

"We've also clinched 3rd in the Constructors' for the second year in a row. Great job all!" said Williams.

Meanwhile Nico Hulkenberg's sixth place on Sunday handed Force India fifth in the Constructors' ahead of Lotus, a sterling result for the midfield team.

"Great drive by Nico Hulkenberg to get 6th in Brazil n secure best ever 5th position in F1 World Constructors Championship for the team," tweeted team owner Vijay Mallya.

Breaking down their season, Force India added: "19 points finishes, 1 podium, 120 points – 1 race to spare. Time to unveil our brand new hashtag #FifthTheForce…"

On the drivers' front, the top three have been decided with Lewis Hamilton clinching the title in Austin while Nico Rosberg is runner-up after winning in Brazil. Sebastian Vettel is third.

MIKA: So happy to see Williams do so well. Heading toward their former glory IMO.

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Why a Hamilton strategy gamble would have failed

A frustrated Lewis Hamilton asked Mercedes for an alternative strategy to beat teammate Nico Rosberg in the Brazilian Grand Prix. But, as Adam Cooper explains, that would not have worked out for the world champion.

The Brazilian GP was perhaps not the most thrilling F1 event we have seen this year, and it's inevitable that any race that doesn't involve rain or safety cars – and produces just one retirement – is a little lacking in edge-of-the-seat excitement.

Nevertheless, Interlagos had its moments, with a little help from Max Verstappen. And up front the fact that Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel were closer to the Mercedes pace than at most "normal" races this year bodes well for future.

His looming presence kept the world champions on their toes, and gave an extra twist to what should have been a standard fight between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Vettel was always close enough to ensure that Mercedes had to react to what he was doing.

It was cat-and-mouse between Rosberg and Hamilton for most of the race's duration, at least until Lewis eased off over the last dozen or so laps, having accepted that he couldn't find a way by.

He'd already made his frustration clear over the team radio, and, as in Mexico, he caused a stir by questioning the strategy.

In the last race, he didn't want to follow orders and make a precautionary tyre stop – on that occasion Mercedes' lead was such that they could afford that luxury. This time he was simply calling for any kind of alternative plan that might help him find a way past his teammate.

As we've seen over the past couple of seasons of the intra-team fight at Mercedes, qualifying – and the start – are the crucial factors. Having been muscled out of the way in both Japan and the USA, Nico got it right in Mexico and he did so again in Brazil, so just a few seconds into the race Hamilton knew he'd have a tough job to do.

However, he was hardly all over the back of his teammate in the opening stint and was 1.5s down when Nico pitted on lap 13. The German lost a little time when he was held to let Vettel in, but then Lewis had a slow pit stop a lap later, so the status quo was maintained.

"There is an undercut advantage of at least a second," Paddy Lowe told Motorsport.com. "So [Lewis] would have lost time anyway."

It was in that second stint, on medium tyres, that things began to get interesting. After a couple of laps, Hamilton was within 0.5s of Rosberg, and the gap remained in the 0.4.-0.8s range for a while. Rosberg was told, "Lewis is trying quite hard," which may or may not have contained a coded message...

Nico, at this stage, was going as fast as he needed to, because he was expecting – as was Hamilton – to be stopping just once more. The drivers knew they had to make these tyres last.

"There were maybe a couple of points in that race where Nico was under quite a lot of pressure," said Lowe.

"But in general I think he was just managing his pace. He knew the two-stop was quite stretched on the tyres, so for him there's no point in having a five second gap if he can manage it at one and a half. Lewis came quite close once, didn't he? I don't quite know what the story was about that from just watching it on TV."

Hamilton panic?

Meanwhile, Lewis gave the pitwall something to think about when around lap 20 he said, "At this rate my tyres are not going to last," to which a few minutes later came the reassuring reply, "Degradation looks very low on all cars, including ourselves."

But tyres were becoming an issue as he sat in Nico's slipstream. At this point, Lewis almost appeared to be in panic mode as he pointed out to the pit that it was "impossible to follow". Given that Interlagos is known for the passing action at Turn 1, was that a fair comment?

"I don't think it's particularly difficult, to be honest," Lowe explained. "I think he was just making the sounds you make when you can't overtake somebody. You saw he could follow pretty closely, but at the end of the day you're in the same car.

"You do need some sort of performance step to overtake anybody. There were a lot of overtakes in the race – you saw how easily Lewis overtook Kimi when he came up to him – if you've got a second a lap on somebody you probably can get past here."

Hamilton continued the radio chatter by asking: "Can you get me on a different strategy please? I'm faster but I can't get close."

He was told that the only thing that could be done would be to go long on the second stop and create on offset in tyre life that might help him out in the final stint. Almost immediately he began to drop back, to a little over three seconds.

However, the Mercedes plan to stop a second and final time somewhere after lap 40 was changed by Vettel. On lap 32, the Ferrari came into the pits and took on softs, an aggressive gamble that indicated clearly that he was now committed to stopping three times.

Mercedes opted to follow suit, switching to three stops as well, Plan B, albeit sticking with the more conservative mediums. Thus Hamilton's target of long middle stint, and a shorter final run than Rosberg to the flag, was no longer on the table.

"That all got taken away from us because of Sebastian's strategy," said Lowe. "When Sebastian did his second stop then immediately we're in regular three-stop territory."

In any case, we'll never know whether Hamilton could have made it work, given that he was already struggling with the tyres.

Rosberg came in on lap 33, and Lewis – having been told it was "hammer time" - pitted a lap later. He was briefly caught behind Kimi Raikkonen, before finding clear air again.

"Once Sebastian went for three, and we had the margin to manage it safely, it's a much safer solution to just shadow what he's done," said Lowe. "There was a minor risk that you wouldn't get past Kimi in Lewis's case, but as you saw, he did it straight away."

As ever, Rosberg was keen for info on his team mate: "What happened to Lewis at the end of the stint, did his tyre degrade?"

The reply was: "A-Firm, A-Firm, he couldn't keep the pace."

If Lewis had deliberately dropped back from Nico in an attempt extend his tyre life, he now regretted it, as the change of strategy meant he could not reap any benefit. Instead, he had to work away to reduce that 3s gap to Rosberg.

Vettel back in the mix

On a spectacular lap 45, Hamilton gained a whole second, and it looked like he would soon reel Nico in – but then Vettel got in the mix once more, and again Mercedes had to react. After a short 15 lap stint on the softs he pitted on lap 47, and Mercedes was obliged to follow suit, with Nico and Lewis pitting over the next couple of laps.

The team really had think on its feet at this stage, and so did the drivers, as was evidenced when Rosberg asked of Lewis, "Has he stopped?", to be told "Yes, A-firm, Lewis has stopped, he's two seconds behind you." Later, Nico was told, "He's trying hard [that phrase again!] so his wear will be same as yours if you keep the same pace."

Neither driver was in the mood to hang about. On lap 51 Rosberg set a new fastest lap of 1m15.136s – and then Lewis crossed the line, on his first flying lap after his stop, at 1m14.832s. That time would not be beaten over the rest of the afternoon. The gap was now 1.2s, and then it came down to 0.8s, and it appeared to be game on.

Alas, the fun was spoiled when Lewis lost a little time lapping Romain Grosjean, badly locking his front right in the process.

He then told the pit he thought he'd damaged the floor – later he would blame the kerbs. The pit wall told him, "Aero data looks fine, no problems," but clearly he wasn't comfortable, and after around lap 60 the gap began to drift out.

Hamilton accepts defeat

"I think Lewis accepted that he couldn't compete and there was no way past," said Lowe. "So he banked a second place."

In the end it grew to 7.7s, which wasn't a true reflection of Hamilton's pace. The fact that Vettel was just 6.4s behind would have given Mercedes some food for thought, and it was proof that the team could take no risks with strategy.

After the race, there was some fascinating banter as the two main protagonists continued their battle in front of the media.

Rosberg said: "Up front I had the pace advantage over Lewis today so of course he's not going to come by me because in the end of the race I was six seconds [sic] in front."

Hamilton responded: "Contrary to what Nico was saying, there was one point where I was all over him but I just couldn't get by. I just couldn't get close enough in that last second and I did have the fastest lap, so I obviously had the pace today..."

This was great stuff from two highly competitive individuals. It was interesting too to hear another little dig from Lewis regarding strategy: "The team had anticipated that the tyres would go longer than they were, which I wasn't sure would be the case before the race, and it turns out it wasn't..."

In other words, Lewis was sending out an almost subliminal message to the effect that sometimes he knows better than the team. Possibly, that's not the most sensible thing to say when the team has helped you to two world championships.

All of this came on top of the bigger picture of how Mercedes applies strategy between the two drivers, and which has led to such frustration on Hamilton's part in recent races.

The team faces a difficult task as it is trying to do the right thing by not being seen to favour one or the other and give the world a straight fight to watch, and yet the public perception is often that a driver is being denied the chance to try something different and beat his rival.

"I think it's simpler than that," said Lowe. "Sometimes there is an alternative strategy, and we pre-declare that on Sunday morning. A great example would be option-prime-prime, or option-option-prime. or something like that, rather than a different number of stops.

"And if that is available to a second place driver in a one-two fight we make that clear ahead of time, and then we will put them on an alternative strategy to give them the chance to win on the benefit of their superior pace. Because by definition that alternative strategy is worse than the prime strategy – otherwise you'd give it to the guy ahead.

"But you're giving them the opportunity to play out the superior pace, on the basis that they have better pace. However, the three-stop here is 10 seconds slower, it's not like one. Lewis can call all he wants, and he knew that, but it's not a gamble worth taking.

"If we were 40 seconds up the road from Sebastian then you'd think, 'alright, we'll take a punt.' But that wasn't the case, you'd have to come through both Ferraris in fact."

Will this story continue in Abu Dhabi? Of course, Lewis could simply make his life easier there by qualifying on pole...

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Schumacher/Raikkonen moment inspired Verstappen

Max Verstappen says he took inspiration for his brilliant Turn 1 overtaking at the Brazilian Grand Prix from Kimi Raikkonen's near-identical passing of Michael Schumacher in 2012.

The Toro Rosso driver delivered a stellar performance during a less than thrilling race at Interlagos, pulling off a particularly brilliant move past Sergio Perez at the Senna Esses early on.

Speaking about the wheel-to-wheel action afterwards, Verstappen said he was well aware of how to play that corner to seize advantage in to Turn 2, after seeing Raikkonen go around Schumacher there in 2012.

"I saw it a few years ago between Raikkonen and Schumacher," said Verstappen. "I thought that looked nice - and then I had the opportunity to do it."

Total trust

Verstappen said one of the keys to being able to race wheel-to-wheel like that was that he could fully trust Sergio Perez not to take him out.

"You can do your best, but if the other one doesn't care and smashes you off track then it is over," he said. "Luckily Checo is very fair, so we had a great fight.

"There was a bit of clear air, and I braked around the outside, trying not to lock up. He was trying to push me wide, and we had a little touch in to Turn 2. But that was good for me as it meant I could get the job done."

Power factor

Despite his best efforts, Verstappen could only finish 10th – having admitted that the lack of power from Renault held him back.

"I think we can be very pleased with 10th," he said. "It was the maximum we could do today, especially with the long straights.

"It was hard to keep Lotus and Force India behind – but I enjoyed my fights and enjoyed my overtakings. Definitely a very positive race."

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Giorgio Piola: Latest proposals for closed F1 cockpits

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Pastor Maldonado 'very, very annoying' - Sauber F1 boss Kaltenborn

Sauber Formula 1 team chief Monisha Kaltenborn declared it "very, very annoying" that it was Pastor Maldonado who was again involved in an on-track collision during the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Lotus driver came together with Sauber's Marcus Ericsson as he tried to pass at the Senna S, spinning the Swede and forcing him to pit for damage to be checked.

Maldonado was given a five-second penalty at his next pitstop, but finished 10th after Felipe Massa's exclusion, while Ericsson could only recover to 16th.

Kaltenborn said the fact it was Maldonado who hit Ericsson made it more frustrating.

"Marcus' car was clearly in front of him and he literally just drives into him," Kaltenborn told Autosport.

"What should one say? It's not the first time he has been involved in such an incident.

"It's very, very annoying that it is once again him.

"Marcus was driving well, having recovered from a mistake at the start when he ran wide, and then Maldonado just dived down the inside and clipped him.

"It's very frustrating."

Lotus trackside operations director Alan Permane argued the penalty for Maldonado was "harsh".

The Brazilian GP incident was only Maldonado's second collision-related penalty of 2015.

He was previously punished for colliding with Sergio Perez in the Hungarian GP.

Those incidents account for three of the six penalty points on his licence this season, with the other three due to speeding during a safety car period in Malaysia.

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'Affected' by Paris attacks, Grosjean resolve moves Lotus F1 team

Romain Grosjean's Brazilian Grand Prix performance and fortitude in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris left a deep impression on the Lotus Formula 1 team.

Deputy team principal Federico Gastaldi said the French driver was badly affected by the events that unfolded in his homeland's capital last Friday night.

But Grosjean came through the field after a qualifying spin to finish eighth from 14th on the Interlagos grid, after Felipe Massa's exclusion.

"Romain finishing in the points is very satisfying," Gastaldi told Autosport.

"It has been a very tough weekend for Romain, obviously, but for all of us too.

"What happened in Paris was very sad, very scary, and we've all had a very strange weekend.

"Romain managed to keep his head together because he was obviously affected - is affected.

"It affected me, all the paddock, so you can imagine for him how difficult it has been, especially being French."

Gastaldi added Grosjean could not help but show emotion at times, despite his professionalism.

"We have to remember we are only human beings and this is only motor racing," he said.

OGIER DEDICATES VICTORY

The Paris atrocity also weighed heavily on World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier as he contested the season-ending Rally GB over the weekend.

Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassi intimated they had to think hard about whether to continue in the event after news of the attacks broke.

They went on to claim victory, but in lieu of celebrations at the finish simply displayed a French flag across their car.

"We would like to dedicate victory at the Rally Wales GB to the victims of the horrific terror attacks in Paris," said Ogier.

"For us personally, this is also a symbolic gesture that we must not give up or give in to a small minority.

"I think this sentiment has been expressed by the entire WRC family."

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Renault only ran partial F1 engine upgrade in Brazilian Grand Prix

The Renault Formula 1 engine Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo took a grid penalty for during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend was only a partial upgrade, Autosport has learned.

The French manufacturer made a request to the FIA to use 11 of its 12 engine development tokens, which was accepted.

It had planned to introduce the latest specification power unit in the United States but delayed its introduction until Brazil as it continued to work on development.

It has since emerged only seven of the tokens were used on the the engine that Ricciardo raced in Brazil - and they were focused on the internal combustion engine.

The remaining four are to focus on the turbocharger, but due to part availability and compatibility with exhaust system, it was not possible to introduce that element of the update in Brazil.

Renault has yet to decide whether it will offer it for the finale in Abu Dhabi, as Red Bull would have to again consider whether the change was worth the grid penalty that would result.

Ricciardo was not very complimentary about the latest upgrade, suggesting the new specification is not any better than the old version.

Renault is keen to run the engine on-track as the data will be crucial for the French manufacturer's 2016 preparations.

It follows news that Red Bull and Renault are edging closer to continuing their partnership into 2016 following the team's failure to secure an alternative power source.

Renault's other customer Toro Rosso previously decided not to run the latest spec for the remainder of the current season as it is expected to return to Ferrari power next term, using a 2015-spec unit.

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SAINZ: NOT FAIR IF YOU COMPARE MY POINTS TO MAX

Carlos Sainz was desperately unlucky at the Brazilian Grand Prix as an issue with the drivetrain on his Toro Rosso which prevented him from starting the race, and was his seventh technical failure so far this season.

The Spaniard, while impressive on debut in 2015, has been totally overshadowed by the meteoric success of Verstappen.

“Yes he is good, everybody knows that and I can’t deny it,” Sainz told AS newspaper. “But I think next year we will have a good opportunity to be compared more equally.”

“This year I have had so many reliability problems, so I think it’s not fair if you compare our points,” added Sainz.

Speaking after the disappointment at Interlagos, Sainz said, “How frustrating not to even be able to start the race! I went to do the first practice start on the way to the grid but the engine suddenly turned off.”

“I was pushed back to the garage and started the race from the pit-lane, but as soon as I left the engine stopped… It’s a shame, because I was really looking forward to racing here!”

“It’s definitely not the ideal situation for a rookie like me, as I need to gain experience and finish races, but now we just need to look forward,” added the Toro Rosso driver.

Team principal Franz Tost acknowledged, “Carlos wasn’t able to make it to the starting grid because of an issue on the drivetrain.”

“We checked everything when he was brought back to the garage and he started the race from the pit-lane, but unfortunately after only a few hundred metres we recognised that the problem was not solved, the rear tyres locked-up and that was the end of his race.”

“I’m really sorry for Carlos, because this is now his seventh retirement due to a technical failure, where the driver cannot do anything about it,” added Tost.

Sainz has scored 18 points this season, while in the garage next to him fellow rookie Verstappen has 49 to his credit.

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WOLFF: ROSBERG IS SHOWING HIS CLASS NOW

Nico Rosberg’s class is shining through now, after failing to win the 2015 Formula 1 world championship, because he is taking a more dynamic approach to his racing, according to Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff.

The 30-year-old German, who was swept aside by his teammate Lewis Hamilton as the Briton won his third drivers world title, has reacted in a pro-active way since Hamilton barged him off the track to seize victory and the championship at last month’s United States Grand Prix.

Talking to reporters after Rosberg reeled off his second consecutive Latin American victory in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix, two weeks after his triumph in Mexico, Wolff said it was difficult to explain their switch-over in form and results.

“Both of them will spend time over the winter reflecting what happened at the end (of this season),” said Wolff. “But one important thing is, you can see (Rosberg’s) class now.

“We have always tried to say that Nico’s class and performance is important to make Lewis perform as he did, and to make the car faster and the team to progress. Mexico and Brazil were good examples of that class.”

Pressed for an explanation, Wolff added that Rosberg had changed his style after Hamilton’s aggressive actions on the way to victory in Texas.

“Maybe,” he said. “It is a personal guess Maybe a different, proactive, dynamic approach, but I don’t know. I think both drivers know what we expect of them and the responsibility they have to the team. It is about positioning yourself in the right way.”

“That is not only on-track, it is off-track also, in having the right attitude, but I would say, fundamentally, if you look at Austin, or look at Mexico, or look at Brazil, it was Nico’s sheer pace that decided the race. At the end it all comes down to the stop watch. If you are the quicker guy out there, you qualify on pole and you win the race.”

In particular, Wolff said he felt that Rosberg had learned from his earlier reluctance to be as aggressive as Hamilton, particularly at the start of races and in the first corner.

“You remember, I said that he was driving in anger,” he said. “I am not sure I am right. It’s just what I think, but I could be wrong.”

“Nico is still developing as a racing driver and all those Turn One incidents had a pretty similar pattern, of where you position yourself with the car and you can see that. If you are the outside car, you just need to give up, you see that in many races .”

As for Hamilton, he shrugged when asked for an explanation for loss of the dominance that he enjoyed earlier in the year, “I think racing drivers are a different kind of species. I have no explanation for you.

“You could say that Lewis won it all, he has achieved his target. So, the adrenaline is maybe not as high as it was before, and Nico is driving without pressure, but, in reality, I am not sure they know themselves.”

Hamilton, who had dominated qualifying for most of the year, has failed to take pole in five races since the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September since when he has had to run his car with reduced tyre pressures following a clampdown by the sport’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA).

In that time, Rosberg has taken five poles in a row and now started to add race wins to his supremacy, a scenario that may put him in command again in the final race at Abu Dhabi in two weeks time – and set him up for a title tilt next season.

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HAMILTON PRESENTED WITH SURPRISE SENNA AWARD

Formula 1 triple champion Lewis Hamilton was presented with the Troféu Ayrton Senna during an interview with Globo TV ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend.

The award statuette was designed by artist Wilson Iguti and presented to Hamilton on behalf of the Ayrton Senna Institute for great achievements in motorsport and to important supporters of the late Brazilian driver’s legacy.

The surprise presentation was arranged by the Senna family and took place during the interview conducted by presenter Glenda Koslowski.

Upon receiving the trophy from the Mercedes driver declared, “This is now my favorite trophy.”

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MCLAREN LOSE TAG HEUER SPONSORSHIP TO RED BULL

McLaren has admitted its long-standing sponsorship partnership with Swiss watch maker TAG Heuer is coming to an end.

CEO Jean-Claude Biver told L’Hebdo that TAG Heuer has instead signed a deal with Red Bull Racing, “It (Red Bull) is a young, dynamic go-getter, perfectly consistent with the TAG Heuer strategy.”

A McLaren spokesman told us the reports TAG Heuer is ending its 30-year sponsorship of the British team – which spanned the Formula 1 world championship-winning Senna, Hakkinen and Hamilton eras – are true.

“McLaren’s partnership with TAG Heuer has been one of the most successful and enduring sponsorships in sporting history,” he said.

“It has lasted 30 years, during which time both parties have achieved enormous success together. It is therefore with gratitude that we announce the end of our 30-year partnership, satisfied as both parties are with a job well done.”

The spokesman said McLaren’s relationship with TAG Heuer’s parent company, Paris-based LVMH, will continue via the new sponsorship with Chandon.

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HEMBERY ADMITS PIRELLI WERE TOO CONSERVATIVE IN 2015

Pirelli motorsport chief Paul Hembery thinks Formula 1 will be more exciting in 2016, admitting that the choice of rubber for races this season was too conservative.

Fans and insiders agree that Sunday’s Brazilian grand prix was too processional. World champion Lewis Hamilton called it “boring” as he followed home Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg on an identical strategy.

Pirelli is taking some of the blame if races in 2015 were not inspiring.

“We may have been a little too conservative this year, because we have seen too many one-stop strategies,” chief Hembery admitted to UOL Esporte.

“This is not in line with what we want and what we were asked to do, which was to get two to three stops,” he added.

Hembery said the problem for Pirelli was weighing the request for tyres that degrade for the benefit of the ‘show’ versus the fact that testing is so strictly limited.

“With the lack of testing, we were just so limited in the amount of changes that we could make,” he said.

But he said things will stabilise for 2016 with another season with the same rules, before it is all change with new chassis, engine and tyre regulations in 2017.

“The rules will be changed dramatically, although we don’t really know yet what is going to change,” said Hembery.

“And there is the understanding that we need to have a significant increase in the number of tests. There is no company in the world that can do what we have done without testing,” he insisted.

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TODT TOLD TO “THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK”

FIA president Jean Todt, the French chief of Formula 1’s Paris-based governing body, was intensely criticised for insisting the minute of silence before the Brazilian Grand Prix was officially for road crash victims and not victims of Friday’s Paris massacre, arguing that more die on the roads every day than at the hands of terrorists.

Undoubtedly referring to the FIA’s global road safety campaign ‘Think before you drive’, the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag advised Todt to “Think before you speak”.

Romain Grosjean and Niki Lauda made it quite clear that the minute of silence on Sunday’s Interlagos grid was for the victims of the Paris terrorist attack.

French driver Grosjean held up a French flag during the silence and F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda insisted: “If there was a minute of silence, it was for the French.”

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ALTERNATIVE 2017 F1 ENGINE SPECS EMERGE

Details about the specification of Formula 1’s alternative power unit supposedly being introduced in 2017 have emerged.

Previously, it was believed independent outfits like Ilmor or Cosworth were being invited to bid to exclusively supply a 2.2 litre twin-turbo V6, with the regulations to run parallel to the existing 1.6 litre ‘power units’.

The specifications now say the new engine will be a 2.5 litre V6 or smaller, with one or two turbochargers producing “greater than” 870 horse power.

The engine will have no limits on revs, engine durability or fuel flow, freedom in the area of the exhaust and no hybrid power.

Mercedes, the double world champion team of 2014 and 2015, has made clear its dissent.

“I think many of us share the opinion that the ‘balance of performance engine’ does not work. It doesn’t work in any other category,” said team boss Toto Wolff.

“We hear about the aggravation in GT racing and it does my head in hearing these ideas,” he added.

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ABITEBOUL SAYS RED BULL HAS FOUND AN ENGINE SOLUTION

Red Bull is now confident it will be in Formula 1 beyond next weekend’s 2015 finale, despite earlier in the year threatening to pull out amid its search for a new engine supplier.

But according to F1 business journalist Christian Sylt, writing in the Telegraph, team boss Christian Horner revealed in Red Bull’s latest accounts that it has “no plans or intentions that would materially affect the ordinary operations of the company within the next 12 months”.

It is believed Red Bull’s plan now is to plug the 2016 season with unbranded Renault power before switching to Formula 1’s new ‘client engine’ supplier for 2017.

“It is fair to say that Red Bull has found a solution,” Renault F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul said. “But first of all we have to decide on our participation in F1.”

“What do we want to do? What will we do with Lotus? With Red Bull and Toro Rosso? I know what the rumours are but the decision is for our CEO.”

It is understood that Renault president Carlos Ghosn will make a final decision before December 8.

The Telegraph report adds that Red Bull has become the first F1 team to spent $300 million last year, apparently more than any of their rivals.

The quadruple F1 world champions, who dominated the sport from 2010 to 2013, have spiralled down the pecking order with a below par Renault power plant and thus it is no surprise that the team’s biggest single cost was research and development spending, which amounted to $120 million.

Staff numbers rose by 19 to 694 and were collectively paid $95 million with team boss Christian Horner reportedly banking close to $4 million.

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Williams won’t rest on their laurels

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams admits the squad have "a lot of work to do" if they want to continue to move upwards.

After several years in the doldrums, the Grove squad have shown signs of recovery the past two seasons as they finished third in the Constructors' Championship in 2014 and then consolidated that position this year.

Their P3 ahead of Red Bull was confirmed at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix following Valtteri Bottas' fifth place, but Williams admits they are not getting carried away with the celebrations.

"It's a bit different to the feelings last year, but it's great," she told Autosport. "It's great to get third for the team, everyone's put so much effort in and to consolidate our position is a really positive step.

"But it's all about looking ahead to next year, we've got a lot of work to do to achieve what we want to achieve."

Having been Mercedes' closest challengers during the latter stages of 2014, they were again expected to be the best of the rest this year, but they have fallen behind Ferrari.

"I think we have to work across the whole of the team," Williams added. "There are areas across track operations we know we need to do a bit better at, we need to do a good job in the tunnel and then in every area.

"If you're going to change and move upwards, you have to change and look at every area across the whole team in order to achieve that."

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Verstappen: No comparison between my overtakes and Hamilton struggle

Max Verstappen thinks it is unfair to contrast his overtaking moves in the Brazilian Grand Prix with the struggles that Lewis Hamilton had against teammate Nico Rosberg.

While Verstappen was the star of the show – and his efforts included a breathtaking move on Sergio Perez - Hamilton complained afterwards that he got stuck behind Rosberg as it was 'impossible' to overtake.

The different experiences of the two drivers triggered some debate on social media, but Verstappen was adamant that the circumstances of his charging drive were very different to what Hamilton faced fighting an identical car.

"With a Mercedes, maybe they have problems when they are very close to each other," explained the Toro Rosso driver.

"Plus, their speed is higher, and they both had good pace, so maybe it is more difficult for them.

"I know when the Toro Rossos are behind each other it is difficult to get past, so if you have the same type of car it is very hard."

Different strengths

Verstappen believes that the key to allowing overtaking in F1 is that the two cars battling each have strengths in different areas.

"We have very good cornering speed, so if we are behind a Lotus, Sauber or Force India we catch up in the fast corners, even when we are behind," he said. "So that is different for sure.

"For them [Mercedes], it is equal everywhere – on the corners and the straights. When your car is exactly the same as your teammate and you are behind, it is very tough.

"And when you are behind, you lose a lot in the fast corners. So I can understand Lewis saying that."

[MIKA27]

F1 engine formula "completely broken" - Johansson

Former McLaren and Ferrari Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson has labelled the current engine regulations as "ridiculous" for not allowing enough development to help rivals catch Mercedes.

The German manufacturer has dominated the championship for the second year in a row, as its power unit has proved to be a class apart.

With in-season engine development limited to just the tokens granted to each manufacturer, Mercedes has managed to keep its clear advantage for two years now.

Johansson, who raced in Formula 1 from 1980 to 1991, reckons the concept is "completely broken".

"The real problem is this incredibly complicated engine formula that F1 has with penalties for this and that, and you're not allowed to do any development," Johansson said.

"It continues to make no sense to me. The development ban was initially implemented to keep the cost at a sensible level, but that concept is already completely broken.

"The manufacturers have spent so much money on these engines it's obscene. Why not just let them carry on developing them and at least be able to fix them?

"It's ridiculous to have a formula where there's only one successful engine and the others are not permitted to do the development they obviously need to become competitive."

The Swede believes that limiting engine development but allowing teams to spend as much money as they want on developing the chassis does not make any sense.

"Yet you can bolt 500 new pieces on to the chassis every weekend if you want," he added. "The top teams do that of course, with crates of aero-parts flown in everyday in a never-ending development war with their chassis but you still can't touch the engine.

"It's nonsense. If you were allowed to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the engines as you are on the chassis, I am sure that Renault, Honda and Ferrari would all be better - maybe not as good as the Mercedes but certainly a lot closer.

"With these rules if you don't get the engine right out of the box there's really almost no way to catch up and you're just screwed.

"If your engine is as wrong as the Honda is, what do you do? You're only allowed X-amount of upgrades. On top of that, you're not allowed to go testing."

[MIKA27]

F1 Brazilian Grand Prix: Undercut undoes Kvyat

Daniil Kvyat admitted that Force India's decision to pit Nico Hulkenberg earlier than expected compromised his own bid for a top six finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Russian had passed Hulkenberg off the line, albeit retaining the sixth spot he started from as Valtteri Bottas passed both men into turn one, and was attempting to open a gap to the Force India when the strategy tables were turned. Hulkenberg pitted several laps ahead of the expected schedule and, with Red Bull leaving Kvyat on track, the German was able to get ahead as the stops unfolded.

“We were boxed between Williams and Force India and were building a gap with the Force India behind us,” Kvyat explained, “They boxed and we were tying to build a gap to Williams, but unfortunately, we got undercut by the Force India after the pit-stop, which compromised our race quite badly. The undercut here is quite powerful and we just didn't pit at quite the right time.”

Unable to find a way past Hulkenberg over the remaining two-thirds of the race, Kvyat had to settle for seventh on the road, which he admitted was still a decent result with only one retirement amongst the 20-car field.

“It was a shame, but six points are better than nothing and we can still say, plus or minus a couple of points, we've done the maximum we could,” he said, “It wasn't an easy race as I was following all the time. It was quite hard to pass, to find a place to overtake, and overtaking the Force India would have been a bonus.”

Scoring for the third time in four races also allowed Kvyat to extend his advantage over Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the overall standings, taking his lead to ten points with just one round remaining.

“Obviously, I didn't have a penalty, which didn't compromise our weekend so badly,” he acknowledged, referring to the back-of-the-grid start Ricciardo incurred for fitting the latest-sped Renault engine, “Every weekend, we have more confidence in the group on our side of the garage and now we're having very controlled qualifying and very controlled races. What we're missing is the horsepower – if we had it, it would be awesome!”

[MIKA27]

GUTIERREZ: LEAVING SAUBER WAS BEST DECISION OF MY CAREER

Newly signed Haas F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez says leaving his Sauber race seat last year was the “best decision of my career”.

The 24-year-old Mexican and his backers signed up instead at Ferrari, where the reserve driver role this year led straight to a Haas race seat for 2016.

“It was difficult,” Gutierrez said. “Not an easy year. I had to be very patient. Leaving [sauber] to become a third driver for Ferrari was tough but also the best decision of my career.”

But it appears he always suspected the Ferrari door to lead to Haas, the new American outfit that is regarded by many as effectively a Ferrari ‘B team’.

“It was a great year in many ways,” Gutierrez admitted, “always with the strategy and vision for the future. It was a big risk but leaving the (Sauber) race seat to be third driver was the best decision of my career.

“Last year, I knew that Haas would enter formula one and I saw a great opportunity. It is an important team in the United States already (in Nascar), achieving great results and now they are entering F1 in a serious way. And we have a great relationship with Ferrari.”

Gutierrez spent two seasons with Sauber, in 2013 and 2104, where he competed in 38 grands prix and scored six points in the process.

[MIKA27]

ALLIANCES BEING MADE AS F1 ENGINE WAR LOOMS

An all out war is brewing in Formula 1 as the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone say they intend to introduce a new engine specification, built by an independent supplier, to run parallel to the expensive and controversial ‘power units’ in 2017.

Sides are being chosen and alliances formed, with Mercedes and Ferrari are clearly opposed, while Red Bull has admitted the new 2.5 litre, non-carmaker option was “a condition” of it deciding to stay in F1 beyond this year.

Small teams struggling to pay their current engine bills are also likely to be on side, although their allegiances at present are to their current carmaker partners.

“Honda wanted to charge us more than $30 million per year for an engine, which is completely absurd,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner reveals.

Honda has said it wants to keep the engine rules as they are, but the collaboration with McLaren has been abysmal so far.

Mercedes has suggested the 2017 chassis rules might now also be in doubt due to safety concerns over the tyres, but McLaren-Honda does not agree with that.

“That’s pretty desperate by Mercedes,” said team boss Eric Boullier. “I think it’s the usual game — if for whatever reason you want to prevent change, you start arguing about safety.”

Undoubtedly, however, the ‘parallel’ engine plan has put the cat amongst the pigeons, and some suggest the real intention is simply to force compromise.

“There are legitimate questions that need to be asked,” agreed Mercedes boss Toto Wolff. “Are the engine prices right for the smaller teams? Is this engine concept right for formula one? We are ready to discuss those.”

“Like everything it boils down to a compromise,” he added. “The difficulty is to reconcile everyone’s interests under one roof.

“There is also the political element, as a team might think this is a way to break the dominance of Mercedes. Then we have Jean Todt who wants engine prices down, and Bernie who thinks that the manufacturers have too much power.

“But is it really so? I don’t know. All I know is that there are a lot of people all pursuing their own goals,” Wolff said.

[MIKA27]

ROSBERG: I HAVE SPOILED LEWIS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PARTY

With a spring in his step, Nico Rosberg insists the verbal taunts of his Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton are bouncing right off him and he is enjoying ruffling the newly crowned world champion.

Although he has lost a second consecutive drivers’ title to the Briton, German Rosberg is on a run of form at present that he hopes will carry into 2016.

One theory is that Pirelli’s recent clampdown on tyre usage in Formula 1, or a technical tweak made by Mercedes in late September, has swung the pendulum in Rosberg’s favour, “The rules aren’t changing next year so that’s good for me.”

But after losing to Rosberg in Brazil last Sunday, Hamilton insisted he actually “had the pace” to win the race.

Rosberg disagrees: “He just completely exaggerated with his tyres. I was clearly faster in the race. With his wild driving behind me he overused the tyres so much that we both had to make three stops. But I always had him under control.”

He also thinks Hamilton’s constant verbal sniping in recent days and weeks is a sign that the triple world champion is ruffled.

“He is having a certain difficulty with the fact that I have spoiled his world championship party a bit, which I think is why certain statements and arguments are coming from him in the heat of the moment,” Rosberg said in his latest column for Bild newspaper.

But another theory is that Hamilton has simply gone off the boil, perhaps due to his excessive partying, and will return to full speed in time for 2016.

“How much is this success (by Rosberg) worth when the world championship is decided already?” wondered La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agrees: “You could say that Lewis has won everything, he’s met his objectives and maybe the adrenaline is not as high as before. But I’m sure neither of them know the exact reasons.”

MIKA: Both these guys are behaving like a bunch of kids IMO. Nico might say this or that but in the end, Lewis won the WDC which is what its all about. Another win for Rosberg and 40th podium is a great achievement. Now he needs to win 1 WDC at least to have more bragging rights.

[MIKA27]

MASSA DEFENDS DISQUALIFICATION APPEAL BY WILLIAMS

Felipe Massa has defended Williams’ decision to appeal his disqualification from the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The FIA said Massa was excluded from the results because a tyre on his car on the grid was found to be a massive 27 degrees above Pirelli’s heat limit.

F1 teams rarely challenge stewards’ rulings, but the Brazilian driver told Globo Esporte that it is justified in this case, “Williams will not be quiet, because what happened was very strange.”

Williams’ chief engineer Rob Smedley has said three separate sensors operating independently showed that Massa’s tyre was in fact well beneath the 110 degree limit.

Massa continued: “If we put a tyre to a temperature of 137 degrees it catches fire. There’s no reason to do so. The team is trying to understand what happened, because at the moment nobody does.”

Even with Massa’s disqualification, Williams secured third place in the constructors’ world championship last weekend in Brazil.

[MIKA27]

HAKKINEN NOT SURE RAIKKONEN CAN BOUNCE BACK IN 2016

Former F1 driver and double world champion Mika Hakkinen is not confident his countryman Kimi Raikkonen can bounce back in 2016.

Although closer to his new teammate this year than he was to Fernando Alonso in 2014, Finn Raikkonen has still only managed to score half the points amassed by Sebastian Vettel in 2015.

Asked what the 36-year-old needs to do to get back into the kind of form that won him the 2007 title for Ferrari, Hakkinen said: “It’s a very good question.”

“It is worth asking Kimi himself,” the 1998 and 1999 title winner told Ilta Sanomat newspaper, “but there is definitely no easy answer.”

“I think if Kimi knew it already, he would be faster already,” Hakkinen added.

[MIKA27]

ARRIVABENE EXPECTS TO BEAT MERCEDES IN 2016

In 2015 Ferrari have emerged as the best of the rest behind Mercedes, with team ‘new boy’ Sebastian Vettel scoring three wins thus far which has led team boss Maurizio Arrivabene to dream big ahead of the 2016 season.

When asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport what expectations he has for next season, Arrivabene declared, “My honest expectation is not just to be closer, but to be in front of them.”

Ferrari last won the F1 constructors’ world title in 2008 with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa in the team, and a year earlier won their last F1 drivers’ world championship title.

Since the advent of Formula 1 in 1950, Ferrari have won 16 constructors’ titles and 15 drivers’ titles.

MIKA: I'm so pleased Ferrari are back in form, but Maurizio Arrivabene needs to get a room!