FORMULA 1 - 2015

[MIKA27]

Nico Hulkenberg: Current Formula 1 cars harder to drive than before

Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg believes that the latest Formula 1 cars are harder to drive because they offer less margin for error than the pre-2014 machines.

New regulations for 2014 reduced downforce, particularly at the rear of the car thanks to the loss of exhaust blowing, as well as introducing a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine package that produced more power than the old 2.4-litre V8s.

"It's been a bit challenging," Hulkenberg told AUTOSPORT when asked about the difficulties of adapting driving style.

"It's harder because you can't push as hard anymore.

"With the downforce [in 2013] you could push easily and there was a safety margin when you overdid it that saved you.

"Now when you overdrive a bit, it's a lot easier to overdo it and lose the whole lap, although maybe that was just because our car was very peaky."

Although there was some criticism of the new power units, Hulkenberg believes that it is only the lack of noise compared to the old engines that lets them down.

"The engines are good and, driveability-wise the Mercedes engine has been awesome," said Hulkenberg.

"They have lots of power, the only struggle really is to put the power on the ground with the loss of downforce.

"What I personally miss is the noise and the sound, but otherwise the engines actually have more power than we used to have."

MISSED CHANCES IN 2014

Hulkenberg believes that he was not at a disadvantage to Force India team-mate Sergio Perez during 2014 having made strides with his tyre management - an area where the Mexican had traditionally excelled.

Other than in Bahrain, where Perez finished third, two places ahead of him, Hulkenberg believes bad luck was more often to blame for not achieving strong results.

"With understanding the tyres and the driving style, it's an ongoing process," said Hulkenberg.

"There's always more stuff you can do better and learn as a driver and I think I improved during the course of the year.

"You have to be open-minded and look at it all the time to try and get even better.

"But it was only really in Bahrain [where I struggled compared to Perez]. In Austria I was compromised and after the weekend we found quite big issues with parts on the car and that's why my performance was quite down.

"Likewise, in Canada, I started on the opposite strategy to the top 10 but then the safety car came out.

"The second half of the year was not as smooth as the first half, and at Monza, for example, we had a part stuck in the floor and lost lots of downforce.

"There were quite a lot of races where there was a lot more potential."

[ptrthgr8]

FIA admits loophole, teams can now develop engines during season

Some news that won't be received well by Honda.

One of the fiercest battles off the track in Formula One last season was the ongoing struggle between Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull Renault in regards to developing their engines during the season. This became a top story as teams scrambled for any way possible to close the gap on the silver arrows.

As revealed by Autosport, the FIA is now saying that teams are no longer locked into a single homologation for the year, due to a loophole in the rule book. They may test and implement upgrades throughout the season.

Mercedes loses a little of their advantage

This is a blow to not just Mercedes, who will lose some of their edge, but also Honda. Being a 'new' manufacturer, they must have their 2015 power unit homologated and locked in by the end of February.

The engine freeze was originally put in place as a cost-control tactic with changes only allowed if the FIA agress that it falls under a reliability, safety or cost-saving issue.

This is the sort of FIA nonsense that drives me crazy. If the sport is truly intended to be the pinnacle of motor racing, why wouldn't the teams be *encouraged* to improve everything throughout the season? That limitation is stupid. Cost controls? What? F1 has to be the most gluttonous sport in the world. As soon as F1 stops appearing in Dubai and Monaco they can start pretending to be concerned with excessive spending. Please.

Cheers,

Greg

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

PIRELLI: PACE EVOLUTION IN 2015 IS GOING TO BE DRAMATIC

At the start of the first season of the V6 turbo era Formula 1 cars were scarcely faster than GP2 cars, but a season down the line and the turbo cars are exceeding the pace of their predecessors powered by normally aspirated V10 engines and Pirelli are expecting even faster cars in 2015.

Pirelli F1 chief Paul Hembery reflected on the 2014 season, “Even if we took the same tyre choices everywhere, what was conservative might start becoming aggressive [in 2015] because the pace evolution for 2015 is going to be pretty dramatic.”

“We saw big improvements towards the end of the season and that’s without them being able to get anywhere near the powertrain in the way they’d like to. We can expect quite a big jump again in performance, and if we are talking a second to two seconds a lap speed improvement then that dramatically changes the way the tyres are used, so we have to be wary of that and follow that,” cautioned Hembery.

“The racing [in 2014] was by and large very good. It was very interesting with a lot of battles and a lot of in-team battles – we haven’t seen a lot of that in recent years with team-mates having battles, there tends to be a dominant factor in most teams but we have seen less of that and a lot of very strong battles between team-mates,” recalled the Pirelli motorsport director.

“If you take away the Mercedes dominance, it has been pretty tight with the group behind and the racing has been good. Considering what we thought coming into the season, that it might not be that exciting with reliability, you’ve got to say that the teams and engine manufacturers have done a good job with such a dramatic change in regulations to not have such dramatic problems,” concluded Hembery.

[MIKA27]

FORMER MCLAREN MAN JOINS WILLIAMS TO ENGINEER FOR MASSA

Williams has announced an updated Race Operations structure to further bolster the engineering department ahead of the 2015 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season.

The team has been strengthened by the appointment of Dave Robson (above with Jenson Button), who has joined to take on the role of Race Engineer to Felipe Massa and will work under Head of Vehicle Performance Rob Smedley. Dave joins from McLaren, where he had been working with Jenson Button since 2010, most recently as his Race Engineer. Jonathan Eddolls continues as Race Engineer to Valtteri.

Meanwhile internally Andrew Murdoch, previously Race Engineer to Massa, has been promoted to Senior Performance Engineer. Andrew will lead the Performance Group at the factory, developing new techniques and processes within the engineering team to ensure continual performance improvements are brought to both cars throughout the season. He will also remain part of the trackside team with a focus on Valtteri Bottas’s car on event.

As part of this process, Carl Gaden has been promoted to Senior Car Systems Engineer. Carl joined Williams in 1988 and has spent the last 22 years as Chief Mechanic on the Race Team. With his vast hands-on experience working across the cars, he will now increase the capabilities of the team within this area focusing on ensuring systems continue to be reliable.

Mark Pattinson, previously Number 1 Mechanic to Felipe, will step up to take on the role of Chief Mechanic.

Pat Symonds, Williams Chief Technical Officer, said; “Off the back of a great 2014 campaign Williams is determined to continue this positive momentum into the new season, and these recent changes show our commitment to that goal. We are proud to be able to promote our existing talent to help strengthen every area within our engineering team and we will continue to invest in new talent where necessary to ensure we have the support and resources to achieve our on-track ambitions throughout 2015 and beyond. Our engineering team for the coming season is looking strong and I’m excited to get the new season underway.”

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES TO GET 50HP BOOST THANKS TO ENGINE UNFREEZE

Delaying a start-of-season Formula 1 engine freeze may be nowhere near enough for Mercedes’ rivals to catch up in 2015, as the world champions will also benefit from the rules loop-hole.

Although the rule loop-hole championed by Ferrari and Renault will now allow them to develop their turbo V6 engines beyond February 28, it will also apply to Mercedes, F1’s dominant champions of 2014.

“We’re not going to give up,” Christian Horner, boss of the Renault works team Red Bull. “But given the size of our deficit, as well as the fact that Mercedes are going to develop as well, significantly reducing the gap in 2015 is going to be difficult.

“If you believe the rumours,” Horner added, “there is a risk that not only will the gap not be reduced, but it could even get bigger.”

Indeed, Auto Motor und Sport reports that Mercedes’ engine division at Brixworth has uncovered a further 50 horse power boost for 2015 over and above the German marque’s dominant ‘power unit’ of last season.

MIKA: Thats amazing!! BUT... will the reliability suffer!?

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES AND MCLAREN TO CHANGE COLOURS IN 2015

At least two top teams will enter the 2015 Formula 1 world championship season with fundamentally different colour schemes, it has emerged.

El Mundo Deportivo reports that new reigning champions Mercedes intend to switch from silver to a striking mirror-like chrome paint-job this year.

The report said the special chrome paint for the 2015 livery is called ‘Kromo’, and will also be supplied to wheel supplier OZ for the title-defending W06 raced by world champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The same Spanish sports newspaper reports that with Mercedes stepping up its iconic silver look, Woking based McLaren is tipped for a complete livery U-turn in 2015.

McLaren turned silver in 1997, at the height of its works collaboration with Mercedes, but now the famous British team is kicking off its new era with Honda.

El Mundo Deportivo reported: “Honda does not want [McLaren] to continue with silver because it is a colour immediately associated with Mercedes and the ‘Silver Arrows’.

“There are rumours the car could be orange (as shown above), McLaren’s traditional colour, for testing. But it could also be white, in a double-tribute: to Honda and also because McLaren’s first F1 car was that colour” in 1966.

“The final choice could depend largely on whether McLaren has a major sponsor in 2015 or not,” the report added.

[MIKA27]

FORCE INDIA TO LAUNCH 2015 CAR ON 21 JANUARY

Force India has confirmed a date for the launch of its 2015 Formula 1 car, the Mercedes-powered VJM08.

After finishing the 2014 season a career-high sixth in the constructors’ championship, the Silverstone based team renewed with its major backer America Movil.

It means the Sergio Perez-linked Telmex, Telcel and Claro branding will also appear on the 2015 car, just as they also will at Ferrari, where Mexican Esteban Gutierrez has become the fabled Maranello team’s new reserve driver.

Force India will reportedly herald its continuing Mexican link by launching the new car at the Soumaya museum in Mexico City on January 21.

“I wish to thank Telmex, Telcel and Claro for their support in making this event possible,” said team boss Vijay Mallya.

[MIKA27]

Sauber trio bringing in the money

Sauber's all-new driver line-up is reportedly worth an estimated 50 million to the Formula 1 team.

This season the team's charge will be lead by Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr both of whom are bringing in sponsorship.

While Ericsson is sponsored by Tetra Pak, Banco do Brasil is backing Nasr as he ventures into Formula 1.

New test and reserve driver Raffaele Marciello is also helping the cause as the Italian is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy and his signing is handing Sauber a discount of around $10 million for their Ferrari engines.

All in all, Blick newspaper reports that the trio combined are worth $50 million for Sauber.

That's roughly half Sauber's budget.

[MIKA27]

Staff changes blamed for Lotus slump

Alain Permane has blamed the loss of "quite a lot of people" for Lotus' slump in form during the 2014 season.

A stellar campaign in 2013 saw Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean claim 14 podium finishes, including the race win in Australia, on the way to fourth in the Constructors' Championship.

Lotus' rise, though, meant several staff members, such as James Allison, Dirk de Beer and Dave Wheater, were head-hunted by rival teams.

Forced into restructuring their technical department, Lotus' on-track form took a major hit with Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado scoring just ten points in 2014.

And Permane reckons it's that restructuring that cost the team.

He admitted to Autosport: "We had a fairly torrid winter last winter and we lost quite a lot of people, and the aero department was heavily restructured.

"With all respect to [new technical director] Nick [Chester], James was an absolute team leader.

"Losing James was a big hit. We lost Dirk, our head of aerodynamics. We lost our head of CFD.

"These are all good people. No one can't be replaced, but it takes time when you get replacements in for them to start gelling.

"The previous aero department had worked together for five or six years and were churning out really good stuff. To stop that abruptly upsets things.

"But we have a great windtunnel and a great base at Enstone. There's no reason why we won't get back on the right path again."

The team's trackside operations chief is confident of a better showing in 2015, saying changes to the car already implemented in the latter stages of 2014 have provided valuable insight.

"We've learned a lot. We didn't have a great year when we did our side exhaust [in 2011], but we learned a lot about exhaust blowing and that helped us in the following years.

"There's no doubt that in the last three or four races the car markedly improved.

"It didn't really improve position-wise because we had such a big gap. But if you look at the percentages from pole position, we closed things up."

[MIKA27]

Former F1 driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise passes away

A champion has left us.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise, who earned his place in the history books with his sole F1 win in Monaco in 1972, has died at the age of 77.

Born in Paris, Beltoise began racing motorcycles and won multiple French championships before moving to cars. An accident in the 1964 Rheims 12 Hours left him with serious leg and arm injuries, but he fought back to establish himself as France's top racer over the rest of the decade.

He was best known for his long association with Matra, which began in F3 in 1965, and continued in F2 the following year. At the end of 1967 Matra began its move into Grand Prix racing and Beltoise ran an F2 car in the US and Mexican events. He contested a full season with the new works V12 in 1968, finishing second in Holland. He also found time to win that year's European F2 title.

In 1969 Matra switched to Cosworth power and Beltoise drove alongside Jackie Stewart under the auspices of Ken Tyrrell. He finished second in his home race and earned a couple of thirds as his team mate took the title.

The V12 returned in 1970 and back in the works Matra team Beltoise earned more thirds in Belgium and Italy. His 1971 season was overshadowed by a controversial crash in the Buenos Aires 1000kms sportscar race which cost the life of Ferrari driver Ignazio Giunti and led him to losing his licence for a while. Beltoise had been pushing his Matra back to the pits when it was struck by the Italian.

He moved to BRM in 1972 and enjoyed his day of days when he outdrove the field to win a wet Monaco GP, although he had little luck elsewhere. In 1973 he was outshone by new team mate Niki Lauda, while in 1974 a second place in South Africa showed that he could still get the job done. It was his eighth and final F1 podium finish. His season ended with a heavy practice crash in the final race at Watkins Glen, which left him with with foot injuries.

He was supposed to return to F1 with Ligier and Matra in 1976, but ultimately Jacques Laffite got the job, and his single-seater career fizzled out. He was involved with the birth of the Rondeau Le Mans effort before moving to touring cars, winning the French title in both 1976 and 77.

Beltoise's first wife was killed in a road accident and he later married Jacqueline Cevert, sister of his close friend Francois.

[MIKA27]

Wolff to test new Williams FW37 in Barcelona

Williams test driver Susie Wolff will get behind the wheel of the Grove outfit's new 2015 car at the Barcelona test in mid-February, she confirmed on Monday.

The Scot became the first women in over 20 years to participate in a race weekend when she took part in first free practice at last years British and German Grands Prix.

She was recently promoted from development driver to test driver and has now been given the chance to drive the Williams FW37 at the second or third pre-season test.

"With six weeks until my first test in the FW37 it's full focus on fitness and preparation," she wrote on her Twitter.

Driving duties for the first test in Jerez between February 1st and 4th will be shared between Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.

The team has yet to confirm when they will officially unveil their new car, with Force India the only team so far to have done so.

[MIKA27]

Niki Lauda says Hamilton and Rosberg have more respect now

The relationship between Mercedes Formula 1 team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be better in 2015 because the pair now have more respect for each other, reckons Niki Lauda.

Mercedes non-executive director and three-time F1 world champion Lauda believes overcoming the intra-team flashpoints of 2014 - when Hamilton and Rosberg clashed over incidents including Rosberg's Monaco Grand Prix qualifying excursion and their collision in Belgium - ultimately strengthened their relationship.

"When you overcome all these issues - that one won the championship, the other didn't, that one hit the other and the other didn't - it's going to be easier because they respect each other on their level of performance," said Lauda.

It emerged last year that Mercedes had imposed a communication ban on Hamilton and Rosberg in the immediate aftermath of the Spa tangle.

Although the team levied an unspecified punishment on Rosberg, Lauda said the most important factor in repairing relations was how the two drivers reacted, culminating in Rosberg congratulating Hamilton after the Abu Dhabi GP title decider.

"Spa was the heat," said Lauda. "Then we got it all under control again, all together.

"Not us telling them, them realising what they should do.

"From then on it all worked and the outcome was unbelievable.

"They are fighting each other and they hug each other and one congratulates the other."

Lauda denied that Hamilton defeating Rosberg last year would give a Briton a definitive advantage, arguing that there is still a lot more to come from Rosberg as he now has experience of being in championship contention.

"This is exactly what we need because Nico will fight back and Nico has the potential upwards," Lauda said.

"There is still something to come out of his speed and performance and the technical inputs he gives.

"It's going to be fun again between the two of them. And I hope nobody else will interfere."

Lauda added that he regarded tension between team-mates as a normal part of F1.

"I never liked [Alain] Prost, I never liked [Clay] Regazzoni, I never liked [John] Watson when it came down to racing so this is normal," he said of his own team-mates.

"But there is a certain respect for each other."

[MIKA27]

Daniil Kvyat will thrive at Red Bull F1 team says Toro Rosso chief

Daniil Kvyat will have no trouble coping with the pressure of joining four-time Formula 1 champion team Red Bull in only his second year, reckons his former boss Franz Tost.

Sebastian Vettel's surprise switch to Ferrari opened the door for 20-year-old Russian Kvyat to move up from Tost's Toro Rosso team to the senior Red Bull squad for 2015, continuing the rapid progress begun by the Russian's leap straight into F1 after winning the 2013 GP3 title.

Kvyat scored points in his maiden grand prix and twice started in the top five in his rookie season.

Tost told AUTOSPORT he had anticipated such a performance, and therefore has absolute faith that Kvyat will shine at Red Bull even though he is moving into a top team earlier than would be ideal.

"I was not surprised. I expected this. That's the reason why we took him," he said of Kvyat's 2014 form.

"I'm also convinced that he will do a good job at Red Bull Racing.

"It was not planned that he goes there after one year. It was planned that he stays with us at least two years.

"But that's the situation and with his talent and working attitude he will do a good job with Red Bull Racing, as he did with us.

"No one expected that after winning the GP3 title he would come into Formula 1 and score points in the first race.

"He will put on the same good performance at Red Bull Racing."

Tost is sure Kvyat is ready to be a grand prix winner if the Red Bull-Renault is quick enough.

Asked if moving early was a risk for Kvyat, Tost replied: "It depends on how competitive the complete package will be.

"Normally if it's a car that is very, very good that helps a lot.

"And if the power unit is also competitive then he will be in front and he will fight for victories."

[MIKA27]

FIA DETAILS NEW SUPER LICENCE SYSTEM

Formula 1’s governing body has published details of a new super licence system to be introduced in 2016 to ensure drivers are at least 18 years old and experienced enough to race.

The revamped rules, in an appendix to the international sporting code buried inside the fia.com website, would have kept controversial 17-year-old racer Max Verstappen (below) off this year’s starting grid.

The Dutchman was signed by Red Bull’s Toro Rosso team while he was still only 16 and is due to make his debut in Australia in March as the sport’s youngest ever driver.

The new points criteria would also have forced 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen to wait for his debut while Australian Daniel Ricciardo, a three-race winner for Red Bull last season, would have been ineligible in 2011.

Other drivers whose Formula 1 places have owed more to cash than talent may also find it harder to obtain a licence in future.

From next year, any new applicant for a super licence must be the holder of a valid driving licence and at least 18 years old by the start of the first F1 race weekend.

The driver must answer questions on the international sporting code and regulations and have completed at least 80 percent of two full seasons of qualifying championships.

New drivers must also have covered at least 300km in a representative F1 car at racing speeds and over a two-day period.

Drivers will acquire points from the junior categories, with 40 points needed in a three-year period before a super licence can be granted.

Only five series will offer an immediate 40 points or more to the overall winner: a future FIA F2 championship, the current GP2 feeder series, European F3, the world endurance championship and Indy Car in the United States.

The GP3 series (above) and Formula Renault 3.5 world series, both of which have served as a direct springboard into Formula One in recent years, would only provide 30 points to the winner from a single season.

Verstappen finished third in last year’s F3 championship, meaning he would have failed to qualify for a super licence on both age and experience and would have had to complete at least one more season in a junior category.

Raikkonen, who won the 2007 F1 title with Ferrari, had completed just 23 single seater races when he made his debut for Sauber in 2001.

[MIKA27]

NO FP1 SESSIONS FOR MAGNUSSEN IN 2015

Demoted McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen will not be making any Friday free practice appearances during the course of the 2015 season.

As McLaren boss Ron Dennis explained last month, the 22-year-old Danish rookie’s F1 race career has been put on pause for 2015.

That is because the Woking team selected his experienced teammate of last year, former world champion Jenson Button, to be Fernando Alonso’s teammate as the new works Honda era kicks off.

Magnussen, whose father Jan similarly made his F1 debut for McLaren in 1995 before sitting out 1996 and returning a year later with Stewart, has instead been appointed the 2015 test and reserve driver.

Answering a question from one of his 157,000 Twitter followers on Tuesday, he said: “No Friday practices for me this year. I will be watching from the pitwall”.

However, Magnussen sounded bullish about the future, adding the hashtag ‘Never give up on the dream’ to recent tweets.

Told by another fan that one race season in F1 is not enough, he replied: “I very much agree!”

Meanwhile, a McLaren spokesman confirmed reports the British team is in contact with the FIA after the governing body ruled that the only manufacturer not allowed to develop its engine this year is Honda.

“McLaren-Honda has already been in contact with the FIA with regard to this issue,” he said, “but we do not wish to say anything further at this time.”

[MIKA27]

FERRARI STICKING WITH PULL-ROD SUSPENSION ON 2015 CAR

Ferrari is sticking with its unique pull-rod front suspension layout for a fourth consecutive season, according to Autosprint.

The Maranello team has persevered with the approach since 2012, despite the fact pullrod suspension had not previously been seen at the front of a F1 car since Minardi in 2001.

It was reported throughout 2014 that Ferrari’s pullrod suspension might explain Kimi Raikkonen’s notable deficit compared to Fernando Alonso last year.

The Finn shone with the responsive and easy-to-tweak front of the 2013 Lotus, but he identified the front handling of his Ferrari last year as a key complaint.

A pullrod layout can mean a lower nose, suspension and centre of gravity, but it is also known to be difficult to tune and less responsive to setup changes.

Alonso, who also raced the pullrod-based Minardi in 2001, has now switched to McLaren but Autosprint reports that Ferrari is not therefore reverting to the more conventional pushrod system for the 2015 car, codenamed ‘666’.

Correspondent Roberto Chinchero said: “Raikkonen has complained constantly about a lack of precision at the front, which is a characteristic of the pullrod suspension.

“And the Finn’s style is not so different to that of Sebastian Vettel, who also thrived with a precise and responsive front end,” he added.

But Raikkonen said recently he is not expecting to struggle this year like he did in 2014, even though most teams are simply evolving their cars for the second season of the all-new rules.

“Next year is different,” he insisted, “the car is different, so I don’t expect to have a similar season and we should be where we should be.”

[MIKA27]

McLaren-Honda question engine ruling

An "annoyed" McLaren-Honda have questioned the FIA's ruling that all engine manufacturers, excluding Honda, can update their engines in 2015.

A poorly worded regulation for the 2015 Championship failed to set a date for F1's engine manufacturers to bring an end to their post-2014 season developments.

And with no timeframe noted, the FIA has been forced to concede that upgrades can continue throughout 2015.

An FIA spokesman told Autosport: "It was always envisaged, although not explicitly stated in the rules, that manufacturers would have to deal with modifications on the engine within the constraints of the rules, and then submit their 2015 engine [at the first race].

"It is simple, but when you read it [the rule book], it doesn't say that unfortunately."

That loophole, though, does not apply to Honda.

Returning to Formula 1 with McLaren, Honda will have to lodge their engine by 28 February and will not be permitted to make changes until the end of the season.

As to be expected, the Japanese company is "annoyed" by this.

According to the BBC, 'McLaren-Honda have been in contact with the FIA about the issue but said it would not comment further for now.'

The report adds that 'Honda feels the ruling puts them at a disadvantage, and will meet the FIA next week to discuss the situation.'

The meeting, though, appears unlikely to go in Honda's favour as the FIA feels it is "fair and equitable" for Honda to play by the same roles the other engine manufacturers had to abide by in their first season with the V6 engines.

[MIKA27]

'Talent not name secured Sainz Jr's drive'

Carlos Sainz says it is his son's "exceptional talent" and not his name that has seen him secure a Formula 1 race-seat for the 2015 season.

Carlos Sainz Jr will race for Toro Rosso this year, joining Max Verstappen at the Red Bull junior team.

And although he comes into the sport with the Sainz name behind him, Sainz insists it is talent that has earned the reigning Formula Renault 3.5 Champ a seat.

"There have been times where the surname has benefited him and no doubt that it has affected him," two-time WRC Champion Sainz told Marca.

"In the end, though, Formula 1 is not reached by a surname and even less so with a team like Red Bull's junior team.

"They have assessed a lot of data."

Sainz Jr will make up half of the 2015 grid's youngest line-up as the 20-year-old partners 17-year-old Verstappen.

And although conceding his son "comes in very young", he is confident he is "prepared" for F1 having won the Formula Renault 3.5 title with "good numbers."

"I sincerely believe that he arrives ready to do a good job. He has an exceptional talent, more than people think, and I hope he can prove it," he said.

He added: "Reaching Formula 1 is difficult but I have also said that to stay will be more so."

[MIKA27]

Only 'slim hope' remains for Marussia

Despite having the "attractive element" of £40m in prize money, John Booth concedes Marussia's chances of racing in 2015 are slim at best.

The Formula 1 sat out the final three races of the 2014 Championship after running into financial difficulties.

Attempts were made to get back onto the grid for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, however, those were scuppered when an investor pulled out at the final minute.

With the future looking bleak and debts needing to be paid off, Marussia's assests, which included the cars, were sold on auction in December.

That, though, did not stop Manor Grand Prix, Marussia's parent company, from lodging an entry for the 2015 Championship.

But with no buyer signing on the dotted line, that entry may never be filled.

"There's still a slim hope, but it's getting extremely late," Marussia's 2014 team boss John Booth told The Yorkshire Post.

"We've got two weeks to complete something by. So there's still a chance.

"We are talking to investors and they are positive talks.

"What we are finding is there are a lot of people making positive noises about it but it's actually getting across the line and taking it on that's the big question.

"There's a hell of a lot of hard-working, good people in this team and we are trying to keep as many staff as possible in work.

"The ironic thing is we won't be able to get that £40m in prize money if the dream does die. But that is the attractive element for potential investors.

"We managed nearly five years without that money."

[MIKA27]

Is America's only Formula One track in trouble?

How Circuit of the Americas may be facing an uncertain future.

After three Formula One races at the Circuit of the Americas, a 3.4-mile purpose-built road course in Austin, Texas, you might suspect COTA is riding high. You might be wrong.

The Austin Business Journal named COTA one of the stories to watch in 2015 in an end-of-2014 story: “COTA puts on big shows but struggles financially: Despite an estimated $897 million in economic impact, the Circuit of The Americas race track is still a long way from profitability. Attendance dropped again for 2014’s United States Grand Prix, and rumors of an effort by investors to sell the facility persist.”

That’s just the headline. COTA’s economic concerns may lie much deeper than that. Let’s look at how COTA got where it is – the good and the bad.

In the beginning…

Five years ago this month, a scruffy parcel of hilly, mesquite-covered land just outside Austin, Texas, was visited by men in suits. Some were wearing cowboy boots, better to fend off the healthy population of rattlesnakes.

Yes, they thought, this just might work. The land wasn’t much good for farming or cattle. It was destined to become Wandering Creek, a subdivision of small homes on small lots. The local residents, most of whom lived on multiple-acre lots, did not much like the idea, and the area was pasted with “Stop Wandering Creek!” signs.

The formal announcement came in July of 2010: The land would become a race track. Local residents still weren’t thrilled. Said one: “Are we excited about it? No. But it's better than 2,000 teeny-tiny tract houses.”

That Austin, easily the most liberal city in Texas, would support a major auto racing road course was remarkable, and many residents didn't. But the man who thought it up, local resident and race promoter Tavo Hellmund, already had in hand an agreement with Formula One honcho Bernie Ecclestone to bring an F1 race to Austin – a fact that Ecclestone let slip in May, thus causing much peeing of pants in the racing community to try and determine who in the U.S. racing community had that much clout with Ecclestone.

It turned out to be Hellmund, a former racer whose father promoted races in Mexico. Hellmund became friends with Ecclestone – a man who is regarded as having no friends when it comes to business dealings – but Ecclestone had enough faith in Hellmund to put pen to paper regarding an F1 race in Texas, thus guaranteeing Hellmund and his investors, most notably Bobby Epstein, a financial wizard who happened to already own much of Wandering Creek, the ultimate bargaining chip.

The hitherto-unknown Hellmund was suddenly a major player in the motorsports world. The three men who would soon be publicly out front on the project were Hellmund, Epstein, and Red McCombs, a certified Texas zillionaire with an almost cartoon-character personality. McCombs was a car dealer who was selling Fords when the original Mustang came out in 1964: They were so scarce he offered to change his legal name to Red Mustang if Ford would give him more cars to sell.

McCombs immediately lent an aura of credibility to the project. The now 87-year-old co-founded Clear Channel Communications, and he was a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings. When McCombs said he was putting his money behind a race track and Formula One, people listened. His total investment was about 15 percent of what the project cost, but having his name attached was a valuable in itself.

Texas chips in $250 million

It was Hellmund, though, working with Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs, who came up with the innovative idea of how to help pay for the Formula One race. The sanctioning fee Ecclestone would charge would be slightly north or south of $25 million a year.

Texas already had a Major Events Trust Fund, designed to attract huge one-off events like the Super Bowl. Essentially the Major Events Trust Fund takes sales and other tax revenue presumably generated by the massive influx of out-of-town fans, and rebates it to the event organizers to help pay bills. The state agreed to a 10-year, $250-million plan to finance the F1 sanctioning fee, months before work even began on the track. Austin agreeded to add more to the $25 million, so far about $4 million per F1 race.

If it sounds like Hellmund had his ducks in a row long before the track was announced, he did. “I’ve been working on this for years,” he said at the time.

Eventually the track would be named Circuit of the Americas. On the day prior to that announcement, a Google search of “Circuit of the Americas” turned up only a few references to an airplane rally from decades ago. Now, Google “Circuit of the Americas” and you will get about 1,220,000 hits.

Groundbreaking was at the very end of 2010, with a 2012 race date in mind. Hermann Tilke would design the track, as he had the vast majority of F1 tracks worldwide the past two decades.

In April of 2011, there was a major press conference with Hellmund, Epstein, McCombs and 1993 Moto GP world champion Kevin Schwantz, an Austin resident and longtime friend of Hellmund’s. It was to announce a 10-year deal to bring the global motorcycle racing series to COTA. While Moto GP isn’t quite the powerhouse Formula One is, many promoters regard Moto GP as just as important, because Ecclestone and F1 control the money so tightly that Formula One is typically not a huge moneymaker for the track and promoter, while Moto GP can be.

At that point, everything looked great for Circuit of the Americas.

But soon, it all appeared to be going to hell.

News blackout

Shortly after that April press conference, news on the entire project seemed to go dark. Insiders were aware that there was a conflict between Epstein and Hellmund, but how deep it went was unclear. Later, it was obvious – it went quite deep.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit brought by concerned citizens in opposition to state funds going to a fund private business – the Major Events Trust Fund money – was decided in the track’s favor. Unfortunately for COTA, that may be a problem that hasn’t quite gone away. The Austin city council began to get a mass epidemic of cold feet, but they eventually warmed back up to the project.

Even so, observers near the Elroy construction site began to notice fewer and fewer workers – a problem, since under the best conditions, the timetable that would allow for a 2012 F1 race was tight enough. Comptroller Susan Combs began to get a case of cold feet of her own, announcing that the $25 million in METF money that was supposed to be paid to the promoters up front, would now be paid after the event. The summer, 2012 F1 race was pushed to November 18 to give the track builders more time.

But construction ground to a complete and formal halt in November, 2011, with the work maybe half done. At this point, we learned what the conflict was between Epstein and Hellmund: Epstein and his backers had the money, Hellmund and his small company had the contract with Formula One and Ecclestone.

At some point news accounts suggest that Epstein, since he was fronting the construction costs – which began at about $225 million, hit $250 million, then promptly rose to $300 million – wanted to own the contract with Ecclestone: Having it assigned to Hellmund gave him more clout than Epstein was willing to deed over.

So the contract Hellmund had with Ecclestone went into default, since Hellmund’s investors declined to fund it. This effectively shut Hellmund out, and allowed money man Epstein to seek his own contract with Ecclestone.

Which he did. At the eleventh hour, at the end of 2011, Epstein delivered a check to Ecclestone in England that would guarantee COTA a place on the 2012 F1 calendar.

Ecclestone made it clear in interviews, though, that he wasn’t particularly happy about the way his friend Hellmund was treated. And it seemed clear that the between-friends deal Ecclestone gave Hellmund did not extend to Bobby Epstein.

All good... almost

So all was good on Epstein’s end, except one thing: Hellmund, the only person on the COTA staff with a genuine understanding of how motorsports works, was gone, and Epstein had a half-finished track.

But money, of course, solves most any problem, and Epstein had to come up with a lot to get the COTA construction back on track. He did. But the track, which Hellmund originally speculated should cost about $225 million, would now top $400 million and rising; the latest figure is $414 million according to a study the track itself commissioned. Some of the cost overruns were simply due to the constant start and stop, others to unforeseen circumstances, such as miserable soil conditions that required digging to a depth of seven feet to find solid ground.

In the end, some corners were cut – each seat in the media center would not get its own small television showing the race, as Epstein promised this writer – but still, COTA ended up as the finest road course facility in North America. It may not be the finest road course – being built to F1 standards, it’s less organic than, say, a Road America or Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca – but given the fact that it is a Hermann Tilke track, it’s a jewel.

As for Hellmund, he did not go away quietly. He sued Epstein and the other investors for $18 million. As expected, the suit never made it to court: It is obvious Hellmund got a settlement. And part of the deal is he can’t talk about the deal. But the bottom line: He was forced out of the project he created. He did not, however, stay idle for long: He is a driving force behind the Mexico Grand Prix, the first F1 race in the country since 1992. It will be held November 1, 2015 – one week after the F1 race at COTA.

The departure of Tavo Hellmund did not mean problems for COTA and Bobby Epstein are over, though. If fact, they may be just beginning.

Trouble in F1 land

Last October, a glowing report titled “The Economic Impact of the Circuit of The Americas” was released about the same time COTA was complaining about its tax bill. “Including its construction phase and annual economic impacts from FY 2013 as well as FY 2014, COTA has had an economic impact of $2.8 billion in the regional economy,” said the study, which was commissioned by the Circuit of the Americas.

An impact of $2.8 billion? Really? The Austin media did not seem much interested in questioning the source of that figure.

The release of the report would seem to coincide with a public relations campaign by COTA to help justify the state “rebate” funding it receives annually, and perhaps to bolster the track’s case that it pays too much in property taxes.

Indeed, a story in the Austin American Statesman newspaper about COTA’s hard value said: “Government appraisers say it is now worth $271 million, based on the recent construction cost, an assessment that would come with a tax bill of just more than $7.1 million. Circuit of the Americas executives contend the value has already dropped to about $100 million, which would mean a bill around $2.8 million.”

The story quotes F1 expert journalist Christian Sylt, who told the newspaper that the economics “call into question why investors would agree to fund construction. Maybe investors are not always aware of this destruction in value before they commit their money to a project … which costs around 20 times more than it will be worth.”

Despite the breathtakingly positive picture the study paints, the American-Statesman story quoted track chairman Epstein as saying the track is losing money. “A lot of people think we are Formula One. We are really just an entertainment venue. The people making money are the entertainers, including Formula One, and the people who work in Austin’s hospitality business.”

That's true.

The original plan for the first F1 race suggested that, if all went well, the track might turn a profit of $1 million. For a $414 million facility, that isn't a lot. So very much of the revenue for an F1 race is controlled by F1 that it is very hard to make money. For the first race, Ecclestone made the track paint over huge stars that decorated the track's apron beneath the observation tower -- he thought they represented an ad for the Lone Star State, and since Texas wasn't paying him, the stars had to go. (They returned in 2013.) Same for a small sign over the entrance to the infield tunnel from tequila and hair-care magnate Paul De Joria, a minor investor in the track -- the sign simply welcomed fans on behalf of the De Joria family. But De Joria didn't pay Ecclestone for welcome-to-the-track rights, so the sign disappeared.

Anyway, that tax bill is about $4 million more than the track wants to pay – and it has filed a protest. Said Epstein: “The venue cannot afford that kind of tax bill. If it creates an upside-down company, I could see the property — without the race contracts — going up for sale.”

And more bad press

Another story broke last fall that threatens to dig COTA into a deeper hole. The San Antonio Express-News published an investigative story titled “$250M in state funding for F1 track in question.” It said that the proper legal application for the Major Events Trust Fund money – which includes data supplied to, and by, Formula One chief Ecclestone – may not have been in compliance with Texas regulations. The story quotes Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson: “The process was botched from the beginning ... it was clear then and it’s even clearer now, the statute was not complied with.”

This has re-ignited the opponents to the state funding who lost that lawsuit in 2011; some are reportedly contemplating re-filing the suit.

Indeed, to say that COTA has benefitted mightily from the Major Events Trust Fund money is a dramatic understatement. In fact, it could be all that is keeping the doors open.

There are, actually, six separate “trust funds” administered by the state of Texas, which have funded over 500 events in the past decade. The main one applicable here is the Major Events Trust Fund, which is the biggest and richest, and is available only to the largest events that occur just once in the U.S. per year. The Super Bowl, for instance, held in Houston in 2004, drew $8.7 million in METF money.

In fact, COTA has dodged a bullet since the New Jersey F1 race was derailed -- had it occurred, the wording in the requirement for qualifying for the Major Event Trust Fund money can be intrepreted as specifying that if another similar event occurs somewhere in the U.S. that same year, the Texas F1 race might not qualify for METF money -- just as if there were two Super Bowls, for instance.

For fiscal year 2015, the National Cutting Horse Association – a sacred cow in Texas of long standing – will get about $2.5 million. The NCAA Division 1 football championship will get $10,729,323. The American Dental Association convention will snag $1,490,087.

Those are the only three, besides COTA, to receive more than a six-figure contribution. Most of the 27 events – so far – for FY 2015 are funded by the basic Event Trust Fund, like the American Miniature Horse Association World Championship ($39,231) or the Working Ranch Cowboy Association championships ($47,977).

As for Circuit of the Americas? For FY 2015, COTA is getting $28,562,562 for the 2014 Formula One race, $305,467 for the World Endurance Championship race, and $388,777 for the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship race, held the same day as the WEC race.

That makes COTA’s late-2014 take $29,256,806. By comparison, Texas Motor Speedway, for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, will get $544,481.

So far, nearly $95 million

During the 24-month period that COTA has been open (November 2012-November 2014) they have had state funding for all 11 motorsport events, including the X Games, for a total of $94.63 million. During that same period, Texas Motor Speedway, which hosts NASCAR and IndyCar races, received $4.498 million.

Also interesting is that while the announced attendance of the Formula One races has been dropping, down a supposed 11 percent from 2012 to 2014, the money paid by the state of Texas, based on tax revenue spent by race fans from mostly out of state, has dropped only slightly, from $29,329,984 in 2012 to $28,562,562 for the 2014 race. That’s a dip of $767,422, which is less than three percent.

The original deal between Hellmund, Texas Governor Rick Perry (who leaves office January 20), Texas Comptroller Susan Combs (who left office December 31), was that the trust fund contribution by the state would be “performance based,” meaning that for years two through 10, any shortage of “incremental tax revenues needed to fully fund” what the state would pay would be repaid “through revenues from ticket sales.”

So it may be surprising that the state has no formal method of auditing the attendance of COTA events, which in turn would help determine how much incremental income is contributed by out-of-state race fans. And whether the state should be reimbursed some money if attendance, and resulting revenue, falls short of expectations.

Robert Wood, responsible for economic development and analysis in the comptroller’s office, says that the attendance figures are “based on estimates,” and are “reliant on some degree on the venue,” which in this case, would be Circuit of the Americas, which would report to the city of Austin what the attendance is, which would in turn report that to the comptroller.

The city and the comptroller’s office, according to Wood, don’t require hard proof of how many people attend a race. Nor do they require proof of, say, out of the 237,406 fans COTA clamed attended the F1 activities over all three days, how many people are being counted twice or three times. COTA claimed 107,778 for the Sunday race, which means there were 129,628 there on Friday and Saturday combined, which seems optimistic. Wood says guesswork and estimates determine how many fans stay for a three- to five-day period, or just come for an afternoon.

Just as optimistic was the track’s attendance figures for the TUSC and WEC September sports car race. The track’s official attendance figure was 50,334 for Friday and Saturday, more than double the highest guesstimate offered by a half-dozen journalists and public relations officials in the press room. “Total attendance was a 33 percent increase over last year’s International Sports Car Weekend, which brought in 33,591 people over three days,” said a COTA press release. During both days, entering and exiting the track multiple times, not once was this reporter asked for a ticket or a credential, making it seem essentially impossible to supply accurate attendance figures.

A little research project

So we did some research: The week of the Formula One race in November, several volunteers counted seats at Circuit of the Americas – bleacher seats, hospitality tent capacities, pit-side suites, even average capacity in the garages. This was backed up by dozens of photos taken during the week, as well as on Friday, Saturday, and on race day, Sunday.

Here are the estimates:

--There are 59,197 permanent and temporary grandstand seats (note that multiple temporary grandstands present in 2012 and 2013, were not there in 2014. Total grandstand seating capacity reduction is estimated at 13,032).

--Suites, skyboxes, loge boxes, hospitality tents (permanent and temporary) – 6,854.

-- Pit building, paddock, team buildings, garage area – 6,433 (this figure is the result of eight different breakdowns).

--Corner workers and safety crew, 100.

--Track vendors, 500.

--Facility workers, 1,900.

Subtotal: 74,987.

General admission figures were estimated, based on ground and aerial photographs, at 15,000 to 20,000 on Sunday, far fewer on Friday and Saturday. There were also multiple reports that general admission ticket holders were invited into the grandstands by track ushers.

So, figuring a completely-full 75,000 seats and staff, and 20,000 general admission ticketholders, the maximum Sunday crowd would be 95,000. And the volunteers said that some grandstands were not full – closer to 85 percent.

And as for Friday and Saturday attendance equaling the announced 129,628? It did not seem possible, agreed the volunteers.

None of this is to suggest that the executives at Circuit of the Americas have purposely misrepresented attendance figures to squeeze money out of the state of Texas. But common sense suggests that when the state is handing out event trust fund checks for tourist-related events – be they the Obesity Society Annual Scientific Meeting ($157,363), the *** Softball World Series ($330,475) or the 2012 Formula One race ($29,329,984), you’d think the people of Texas would request a little more accountability.

That said, COTA is a superior facility, hosting some superior races. But no track in the U.S. has ever made a consistent, long-lasting relationship with F1 pay off in the long term. Hopefully COTA can. Because if it can’t, the prospect of any other facility making a sustainable, repeatable profit from F1 in particular, road racing in general seems remote.

MIKA: Circuit of the Americas is one of my favourite tracks right after Spa. Love that circuit and I hope there will be many more years in Formula 1. I'd love to go someday!

[MIKA27]

Korea dropped from 2015 calendar

The Korean Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2015 Formula 1 calendar, bringing the campaign back down to 20 races.

Yeongam, which previously hosted the sport between 2010 and 2013, was a surprise addition to the schedule following meetings last month.

But the FIA confirmed on Tuesday that the race has fallen off the final roster, which is available on the governing body's official website.

Doubts were immediately raised over the event, which had been scheduled to take place on May 3, just a week before the opening European race in Spain.

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone claimed that it had to be added to the calendar for legal reasons, and that organisers "would rather it not happen".

"We have a contract with Korea... we have to put it on the calendar. If we hadn't have done they could have sued us," Ecclestone commented.

"We let them off for a year on the understanding they would be back."

Korea's removal sees a three-week break return between the Bahrain Grand Prix (April 19) and Spanish Grand Prix (May 10).

[MIKA27]

Hi guys - Will be heading away after today for a week with the family on holiday so might be limited to posts until I return.

[mgravito]

Enjoy the holiday! You certainly deserve the time away. I know I've said it before but you are my first read for F1 news. As someone who's been an F1 fan for years and a member of this forum a little over a year, this thread is an invaluable resource.

[MIKA27]

Enjoy the holiday! You certainly deserve the time away. I know I've said it before but you are my first read for F1 news. As someone who's been an F1 fan for years and a member of this forum a little over a year, this thread is an invaluable resource.

Thank you so much :)

[MIKA27]

SYMONDS: TO BE BETTER THAN THIRD IN 2015 WILL BE DIFFICULT

Williams’ technical chief Pat Symonds has admitted that the next step for his team will be more difficult than the giant leap of 2014.

After a career slump that hit bottom in 2013 with ninth in the constructors’ standings, the once-great Grove team managed to end last year as arguably Mercedes’ closest challenger.

But Red Bull designer Adrian Newey thinks Williams was helped last year by its switch from Renault to industry-leading Mercedes power.

“Clearly, last year was engine-dominated,” he told Sky, “and we saw that with Williams springing forward. Obviously Williams did a very good job but I think what really made the difference for them was the engine.”

Symonds, however, said the British team is proud to have beaten a grandee name like Ferrari to third place in the constructors’ standings.

“We are stable and do not have financial difficulties,” he insisted, according to L’Equipe, “but we do not have the budget of some of our competitors.”

“So it was especially pleasing last year to beat Ferrari for example, as we have half the budget they do. But to be better than third in 2015 will certainly be more difficult than going from ninth to third place last year.”

Symonds also denies that Williams’ leap forward can so easily be explained by its superior ‘power unit’.

“In 2013,” he pointed out, “we also had the same engine as the world champions (Red Bull) and we were ninth. We had many new things in 2014 including the aero and the braking system, and those things do not happen by magic.”

“We want to continue on this path in 2015,” Symonds declared.