FORMULA 1 - 2015

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AZERBAIJAN AND GERMANY ON 21 RACE 2016 F1 CALENDAR

Azerbaijan will make its Formula 1 debut next year with Germany returning after a year’s absence, according to a 21-race provisional calendar published by the sport’s governing body on Friday.

The race in Baku will be on July 17, sandwiched between Austria and Germany.

Malaysia moves to a September slot, with the race back-to-back with neighbouring Singapore’s floodlit grand prix, while Russia takes a May 1 date as the fourth race of the year a weekend after Bahrain.

The Malaysian Grand Prix made its debut in 1999 as the penultimate round of the calendar, and staged the season finale in 2000, but moved to an early slot in 2001.

The 2015 calendar has 19 races, with Germany absent for financial reasons and Mexico making its return for the first time since 1992, and 21 would be a record number.

Teams have voiced resistance in the past to stretching the calendar beyond 20 races because of the burden imposed on personnel.

Hockenheim is due to host next year’s German Grand Prix, a home race for champions Mercedes, after turning down a chance to put it on this year following problems with the Nuerburgring circuit.

The end of July date for Germany is later than usual, with Hungary pushed into August.

The April 3 date for Australia, which is followed immediately by China, means the 2016 season will see the latest start to a championship since 1988 with more races than ever condensed into a shorter time period.

The 1988 season also started on April 3, in Brazil.

Provisional calendar for 2016 Formula 1 World Championship:

April 3 – Australia

April 10 – China

April 24 – Bahrain

May 1 – Russia

May 15 – Spain

May 29 – Monaco

June 12 – Canada

June 26 – Britain

July 3 – Austria

July 17 – Azerbaijan

July 31 – Germany

Aug 7 – Hungary

Aug 28 – Belgium

Sept 4 – Italy

Sept 18 – Singapore

Sept 25 – Malaysia

Oct 9 – Japan

Oct 23 – U.S.

Oct 30 – Mexico

Nov 13 – Brazil

Nov 27 – Abu Dhabi

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GERMAN COURT SIDES WITH SCHUMACHER REGARDING PRIVACY

A judge in a Munich court has sided with Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna, over a breach of privacy action she took against gossip publications Bunte, Freizeit-Revue and Freizeit-Spass.

According to Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the publications had claimed the F1 legend “sometimes opens his eyes”, received “special treatment” from carers, and had uttered his “first words” since a skiing crash.

Although the court’s judgement is not yet final, the judge found that it amounted to “voyeurism”, invading his privacy with “speculation”.

“The court has forbidden such reporting,” Suddeutsche added.

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BRIATORE FOUND GUILTY OF TAX EVASION AND FACES A YEAR IN JAIL

An Italian criminal court in Genoa has found former F1 boss Flavio Briatore guilty of tax evasion.

La Gazzetta dello Sport said the matter involved his luxury yacht Force Blue, which has been seized, with the former Renault chief sentenced to one year and 11 months of probation.

Briatore, 65, and fellow directors were found to have used the boat for recreational purposes whilst claiming tax benefits for charters, including fuel and mooring exemptions through the issuing of false invoices.

“This is an outcome we did not expect,” Briatore’s lawyer Massimo Pellicciotta was quoted as saying. “We will appeal this and fight it to the end.”

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FORMULA 1 LEGEND TO BE EXHUMED FOR PATERNITY TEST

An Argentine judge has ordered the remains of 1950s Formula 1 champion driver Juan Manuel Fangio to be exhumed for a paternity test.

Fangio was one of Formula One’s earliest world champions and is a legend of the racing world. He won championships in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957.

Fangio, who died July 17, 1995 at 84, was never married and was not known to have had children.

A DNA sample will be taken from the race car driver’s remains to see if he is the father of Oscar Espinoza, the son of Andrea Berruet, Fangio’s companion for two decades.

Fangio’s body is buried in his hometown of Balcarce, south of Buenos Aires. The test will be conducted August 7.

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Mexico circuit facelift nearly complete

Construction at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the venue for the Mexico Grand Prix, remains on track ahead of the race later this year.

The North American country returns to Formula 1 this year after a 23-year absence with the race pencilled in for the weekend of November 1.

The 4.314km Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez has undergone major renovations and the race promoter has revealed 80 per cent of the work is already complete and excitement is building.

"There is a lot of excitement," Federico Gonzalez Compean of Mexican entertainment company CIE, the race’s promoter, said.

"After 23 years of absence there is a lot of excitement, not just in Mexico City but all across the country. People are counting the days and we are almost ready. We are 80 per cent finished with the construction, so we feel confident."

He added: "We are focusing now on the experience people are going to have at the grand prix. It’s not only about the race, it’s about the experience and what people are expecting across the whole weekend.

"How we can get the city to embrace the race and the whole adventure of Formula 1 coming back to Mexico City."

Although ticket sales for this year's event have been good so far, Compean admits they know they need to look at things on the longer term.

"With the series we own, the Mexican NASCAR series, we sell about 100,000 tickets per year and with this one we almost sold that in the first issue of tickets," he said.

"The challenge we have now is to sustain that. We can’t be like ‘OK we’re done for the next five years’. We are conscious that we have to focus on continuity."

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Webber urges Ricciardo to 'weather storm'

The 2015 campaign has been a frustrating one for Daniel Ricciardo so far, but Mark Webber has urged the Red Bull driver to tough it out before assessing his options next year.

Ricciardo, who replaced Webber at Red Bull last year, made everyone sit up and take note during his debut season with the team as he claimed three race wins and outperformed four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

This year has been a lot more difficult for Ricciardo as Red Bull have been well off the pace of the front-runners, which has led to speculation that the 26-year-old could be on his way to Ferrari as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen.

Having "been there, done that and got the T-shirt", Webber has some advice for his fellow Australian.

"[Ricciardo] is going well," he told the Canberra Times. "He's in a bit of a tough situation this year with the car not performing that well so he's having a tougher season this year.

"He's sensational quality. He's got to weather the storm at the moment and do well and get himself in a better situation in the future and start getting those wins again and put a Championship campaign together. The middle of next year, he's got some decisions to make."

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Manor target big push forward in 2016

Manor believe the stronger financial stability they have this year will help them to take big steps forward at the backend of 2016.

The South Yorkshire-based outfit competed under the Marussia name last year, but the parent company went into administration and it appeared to be the end game for the team.

However, just weeks before the 2015 Formula 1 season kicked off in Australia the squad got new financial backers and they have been doing a remarkable job since then.

Sporting director Graeme Lowdon says they are in a much better position this year than they were 12 months ago.

"Financially we’re on a much stronger footing. The problem that we had last year is the same sort of problem that faces lots of other companies - it’s not a unique one to F1 in any way at all," he told the official F1 website.

"It’s something that we as a management team and as directors of the company dealt with in the right way using all the right methods. We took our responsibilities very seriously and we did what a lot of other people do in the same position and protected the team and did the best job for the creditors."

Team principal John Booth added: "The structures and procedures are very similar to last year. Some of the trackside engineering team have changed, so there are a few procedures that have changed there. But the overall structure is the same."

Despite the excellent job they have done off the track, Manor's drivers Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi still find themselves a few laps down on the front-runners in most races.

"We’re still closing the gap to the cars in front and you could argue we shouldn’t be anywhere near where we are at the moment," Lowdon said. "We’re typically running last in terms of lap time at the moment - we recognise that - but considering the hurdles we’ve had to overcome and the compromises we’ve had to accept, then the gap’s actually not as big as you’d expect. Nobody’s slowing down to let us catch up!"

The aim for the remainder of the 2015 is to slowly edge their way closer to the cars ahead of them before a major push in 2016.

"I think now we’ve got a fairly senior technical management team in place and I think it’s under consideration as to which is the best way forward," Booth said.

"The end goal is to have the best possible result at the end of 2016 and into 2017. So we need to establish what’s going to be the best way of achieving that."

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Hulkenberg happy to bide his time

Nico Hulkenberg knows his stock has gone up since winning Le Mans, but that doesn't mean he is not willing to bide his time and earn a move to one of the top teams.

The Force India driver is often tipped for a move to one of Formula 1's bigger outfits like Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull, with many saying he is one of the best drivers on the grid not at a top outfit, but that switch is yet to materialise.

The 27-year-old, though, did himself no harm as he teamed up with Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber in June to win the Le Mans 24 Hours.

"For sure winning Le Mans is the greatest achievement of my career, no doubt," he told Crash.net. "There were incredible feelings and emotions after taking the victory and it is something I will never forget. I think for my reputation and for my CV it reads pretty well, it does no harm, only positives.”

Hulkenberg continues to hanker after a race seat at one of Formula 1's bigger teams and he has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2016.

The German says he is more than happy to play the waiting game to get a move up.

"Racing drivers including myself are generally impatient and you want to move up into the winning car but you have to earn it and I am in that process," he said. "I am a fighter, I'll keep fighting and keep looking for my opportunity.

"I am focused on F1. I feel here I still have some unfinished business that I want to finish and get to the top but the future will tell."

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So far, so good for Sainz

It is no surprise to see Carlos Sainz using adjectives like "positive and happy" to describe his first few months in Formula 1.

The Spaniard made the step up from Formula Renault 3.5 to the highest level of motorsport at the beginning of the year and he has impressed everyone around the paddock both on and off the track.

After initially thinking he missed out on a race seat for 2015 with Toro Rosso opting to hand Max Verstappen a drive, he "expectantly" got a call-up after Daniil Kvyat was promoted to Red Bull on the back of Sebastian Vettel's departure to Ferrari.

The 20-year-old, though, has proved that he deserves his shot in F1.

"So far, so good, as you say in English!" he told F1zone.net.

"It’s been a positive start to my Formula 1 career, also happily a bit unexpected, as we had a good start without expecting it to be such a good start, so I’m very happy with everything, I have a great group of people around me.

"I am learning a lot, I am enjoying a lot and in the end this is what is making me happy and makes me want to improve."

Toro Rosso started the season well despite being handicapped by their Renault engine, however they have lost their way in recent races and have slipped to eighth in the Constructors' Championship.

"If we don’t have the second [best chassis] then we have the third or fourt...but now we are standing eighth in the Constructors' but it is not the position of our chassis or our downforce," he says.

"It is simply that obviously we are struggling a bit with other things but I’m confident that with a better engine in the back we could be much more ahead.

"Mechanically there are two things – mechanical grip and aero grip. In terms of aero it could be that we are at the same level at Ferrari and Williams, or even a bit better than Williams and even a bit better than Ferrari but then mechanically in slow speed stuff maybe we are a bit behind Ferrari and Williams."

Renault has received a lot of bad publicity due to their failure to produce a good power unit and, although Sainz knows he would be doing better with a better engine, he is not one of those who have been critical about the manufacturer in public.

"In the end, I am a very positive guy and I say ‘I have a hell of a race car in my first ever year of Formula 1, I am enjoying a lot, I have a great group of people around me, I just don’t have the engine’, but you cannot have everything you want in your first year of Formula 1," he added.

"So I am just enjoying it so much and having so much fun, enjoying the car I’m driving. Yeah, I would like to have 60 horsepower more but at the moment they are not there and there is no point to criticise and say how bad it is. You just have to adapt to what it is and extract the maximum."

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WMSC approves record 21-race calendar for 2016 season

The World Motor Sport Council has approved a record 21-race calendar for the 2016 season following a meeting in Mexico City on Friday.

The season is set to begin in Australia on April 3rd, three-weeks later than the commencement of the 2015 calendar, whilst Malaysia has been shifted from the second race of the year to round 16.

Germany makes a return after it was dropped from the current schedule due to financial concerns at the Nurburgring, however Hockenheim says it is fully committed to hosting the event.

Before that, Azerbaijan will make its debut with a street circuit in the capital city of Baku - which is expected to be held under the 'European Grand Prix' banner.

Meanwhile the summer shutdown has been reduced from the usual four-week period to just three.

The season concludes in Abu Dhabi on November 27, the same week as the current calendar comes to a close.

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Video: Watch Alonso go from last to first in kart race

Fernando Alonso might not be enjoying much success on the Formula 1 circuit, but that wasn't the case last Wednesday at the Daytona Karting circuit in Sandown Park.

The McLaren driver popped down on the Monday after the British Grand Prix to take part in an arrive and drive session, before returning a couple of days later with some friends for some more fun.

Watch the video above to see the two-time champion carve his way through the field to go from last to first in just three laps.

His fastest lap, at 45.627 seconds, put him third on the all-time Superstars Board behind Formula E driver Sam Bird and ahead of former Toyota driver Timo Glock.

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Merhi unharmed following huge Renault 3.5 crash

Manor Marussia driver Roberto Merhi and Formula Renault 3.5 rival Nicholas Latifi have both escaped unharmed following a massive crash at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Merhi, who shares his F1 duties with FR3.5, was taking part in round five of the lower formula championship when he was involved in a crash after crossing the finishing line to claim fourth.

The Spaniard had slowed immediately as he crossed the line, but unaware behind was Latifi who rear-ended Merhi's Pons machine at full-speed, sending the Canadian into the air.

Both were unharmed, but the stewards felt Merhi was to blame for his dangerous manoeuvre and therefore disqualified him from the race result, whilst also banning him from taking place in the next race of the championship.

Speaking on Twitter, the F1 driver wrote: "Unfortunate accident. Glad nobody was hurt. I went to the right [be]cause [of a] suspension problem. Sanction inexplainable [sic]."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1GL4n12yNI

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FIA tweaks Super Licence points system after criticism

The FIA has announced a raft of changes to the way drivers can qualify for a Super Licence following criticism that certain series were given too much importance, whilst others had been completely ignored.

A new system was put in place this year to ensure inexperienced drivers couldn't jump straight into a Formula 1 car.

Under the system, drivers must have earned 40 points over a three-year period by competing in other categories such as GP2, GP3, IndyCar, Formula 3 and the World Endurance Championship as well as a yet to be created Formula 2 Championship.

It was claimed the system was unfair as winning the F2 series awarded 60 points, whereas the others awarded between 50 and 40.

Under the new rules, those six series will award 40 points each to the champion, with the runner-up spot also receiving the same amount in both F2 and GP2.

Meanwhile the new Formula E Series will award a Super Licence to its champion, but the category hasn't been included in the points system.

DTM and the World Touring Car Championship have also been added to the list, with the winner earning 15 points apiece, amongst other junior series which award between 12 and five points to their title-winner.

Greater flexibility has also been granted to Super Licence holders which take up an F1 test role. Their points, and therefore their licences, will be valid for a three-year period.

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Engine penalties to be relaxed from Hungarian GP

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council has approved a new set of penalties for exceeding power unit allocation following recent criticism that they're too harsh.

At the recent Austrian Grand Prix, McLaren's Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso took on a combined 50-place grid penalty after they used a fifth engine - exceeding the four each driver is allocated for the entire season.

With both drivers unable to drop more than a handful of places, they were also given additional time penalties which must be served during the race.

Under new rules agreed by the F1 Strategy Group and green-lighted on Friday by the WMSC, the most severe penalty a driver can serve for exceeding their allocation is demotion to the back of the grid, therefore scrapping in-race penalties.

The change will come into effect from the next grand prix in Hungary.

Meanwhile the WMSC also granted Honda - and any other newcomer - an additional engine per driver in their debut season.

"New power unit manufacturers to F1 will receive an extra power unit for each driver to use throughout grands prix for the season, bringing the total to five – one more than the existing power unit suppliers," confirmed a statement.

"This will be applied retrospectively to Honda."

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Alonso wants development freedom to add excitement

Fernando Alonso believes opening up the development rules would create a better Formula 1 which is less "predictable" and less "boring" for fans at home.

The McLaren driver, who is stuck at the back of the grid thanks to a problematic Honda engine, was asked what changes he would like to see to improve F1.

Amongst his ideas were faster cars, but his main focus is the lack of development both teams and engine manufacturers can do during the season.

"[i'd like] faster cars, because now we are a little bit too close to GP2 times; probably more testing or little bit freer rules in terms of developing the car," he said.

The Spaniard reckons the current rules, which massively limit testing and engine development, creates a stagnant pecking order throughout the season and therefore fans at home can guess the result of each race before it's even happened.

"Right now as you put the car into the first winter test more or less you keep that position until the end of the year.

"You make progress [but] everyone makes progress, and that's it.

"The rules are very tight so you cannot develop much in terms of engine or aerodynamics - everything is restricted.

"What you have in the first test is more or less what you will have for the whole season.

"It's making the races very predictable and very boring for the people at home."

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Strategic thinking For Azerbaijan Formula 1 Race?

So here we are in a World Championship that is having trouble supporting 10 teams despite having revenues of $1.8 billion per year and some bright spark has decided that it is necessary to have the extra expense of a 21st race, despite agreements being in place that the championship would be limited (for various reasons) to 20 races. This means that the revenues will rise because you can bet that Azerbaijan is paying through the nose for the privilege, which it hopes will somehow help turn its reputation from that of being a tinpot dictatorship rich with oil into a lovely friendly democracy where everyone can speak their mind.

The CIA describes Azerbajian as follows: “Corruption in the country is widespread, and the government, which eliminated presidential term limits in a 2009 referendum, has been accused of authoritarianism. Although the poverty rate has been reduced and infrastructure investment has increased substantially in recent years due to revenue from oil and gas production, reforms have not adequately addressed weaknesses in most government institutions, particularly in the education and health sectors, as well as the court system.”

Human Rights Watch says: “Azerbaijan’s government has escalated repression against its critics, marking a dramatic deterioration in an already poor rights record. In recent years, dozens of human rights defenders, political and civil activists, journalists, and bloggers have been arrested or imprisoned on politically motivated charges, prompting others to flee the country or go into hiding. Bank accounts of independent civic groups and their leaders have been frozen, impeding their work, or in some cases forcing them to shut down entirely. New legal regulations make it almost impossible for independent groups to get foreign funding. While criticizing the increasing crackdown, Azerbaijan’s international partners have failed to secure rights improvements.”

Bernie Ecclestone was quoted some months ago saying that the Formula One group had taken a look at the human rights issue and it was’t a problem. I guess that negates the views of the above organisations and makes F1 so much more attractive to sponsors. We will be hosting a European GP in a country that is majority-Turkic and majority-Shia Muslim, which has a population of 9.6 million (smaller than London) with the majority of them scratching a living. Hardly a coming new consumer market when F1 could be concentrating on the United States of America, where there are 300 million people with money to spend.

What happened to the teams saying that they would need to rotate staff in order to do 21 races? Are they now so bloated that they can do that? It is daft. It is particularly daft to be going to a new race in Baku.

Where is the strategic thinking in all of this?

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Hamilton suffers “misunderstanding” at Wimbledon tennis final

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was forced to miss today’s men’s final of the Wimbledon tennis championships due to an “unfortunate misunderstanding regarding the dress code”.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Hamilton was unable to take up his seat in the famous Royal Box – which featured actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Bradley Cooper and Hugh Grant – having received a prestigious invite for the occasion.

A spokesman for Hamilton told the Telegraph: “Due to an unfortunate misunderstanding regarding the dress code at Wimbledon, Lewis is very disappointed to have missed the men’s final.”

The dress code for the Royal Box on Centre Court is jacket, tie and shoes, but photos posted on Hamilton’s Instagram account suggest he hadn’t taken at least one of those items.

A spokesman for Wimbledon, who confirmed Hamilton had arrived for the match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic but did not stay, stated: "If he came without a jacket, tie or shoes he would have had two choices – not staying or going to get some extra stuff."

Earlier, Hamilton has posted another photo on his Instagram account, which said how honoured he was to have been invited…

MIKA: First world problems...

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Mouton dismisses Carmen Jorda’s F1 credentials

Michele Mouton, the four-time World Rally winner who now runs the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission, says she is “not interested” in Carmen Jorda’s position as development driver for the Lotus F1 Team.

As a works driver for Audi, Mouton became the first woman to win a round of the FIA World Rally Championship, and clinched second place in the 1982 drivers’ standings behind the legendary Walter Rohrl.

Jorda, 27, hopes to test Lotus’s F1 car at some point this year. She has come in for criticism over her promotion to a role with an F1 team, however, after failing to score a point in any of her 44 starts in the GP3 Series over three seasons.

When asked what she thinks about Jorda’s role at Lotus, Mouton replied: “If I would suggest names of female drivers who have what it takes to make it to F1, I’d say Simona de Silvestro, Danica Patrick [who makes her 100th career NASCAR Sprint Cup start today], Susie Wolff or even Beitske Visser, who is performing well in the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

“These girls have scored very good results in their career. Other less successful girls have managed to climb the motorsport ladder, but that has more to do with marketing strategies and political reasons, and I am not interested in that.”

Getting more women involved is key

Mouton believes that there are “simply not enough women involved in motorsport”, but points to the likes of Tatiana Calderon in European Formula 3, Lucile Cypriano in the SEAT Eurocup and Marta Garcia in karting as strong hopes for the future.

“The most important thing is to make sure that girls have access to the same equipment as the boys,” she added. “When I raced, I had the same equipment as my male rivals. With equal equipment, it’s really easy to see if you’re good or if you’re not.

“Our goal is to make sure that the girls have comparable equipment. Things are moving forwards, and we start seeing some results. But we continue to work hard with the help of the national federations.

“It’s a huge task, but we start seeing the results.”

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Weekly MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team Studio Show:

Welcome to our brand new studio show! Each week Leandra will be taking you behind the scenes; telling you what's been going on at the factory and at the race track. There will be interviews with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton and the guys and girls from the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.

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Massa pegs Bottas as key to F1 'silly season'

Felipe Massa is in no doubt that current Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas can be a major player in this year's driver merry-go-round.

The Finn has been linked to a possible Ferrari drive for 2016, with fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen seemingly under fire at every grand prix weekend. The veteran has shown flashes of the potential Ferrari rehired him for, but his results have not been consistent over the past year-and-a-half and, despite team boss Maurizio Arrivebene offering a degree of sympathy in the wake of the British Grand Prix, there is no doubt that Raikkonen is on a slippery slope.

Bottas' performances over the past couple of years with Williams have elevated him – along with the likes of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg – into the reckoning as a possible Raikkonen replacement and, while the Finn is loathe to discuss his options, team-mate Massa openly admits that there is the chance he could be Maranello-bound next season.

“He is maybe one of the most important names on the market,” the Brazilian offered, “We cannot forget that he has an option to stay here, so we need to understand what is going to happen, but he showed that he is a good driver, has the talent for a top team and can do well at whatever team he is racing. That's why the other teams are interested in getting him - but I don't know if he is going or not...”

With Ricciardo more likely to remain at Red Bull and Hulkenberg being touted as a possible Bottas sub at Williams, the Finn is many people's favourite to replace Raikkonen, with Massa, a little tongue-in-cheek, ruling himself out of the equation after recent results had him as the best of the Williams pair...

“I think I was there, so I don't know if I want to go back,” he smiled, misinterpreting the question of how Ferrari might view him beating Bottas in the past two races, “I'm happy where I am and I think, sometimes, it's not just money that is making the difference. You need to understand what you are doing, how happy you are and where you are, so I'm happy where I am and don't see a reason to change.”

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Ricciardo: Bring back deterrents!

Daniel Ricciardo says he has no problem with the 'zero tolerance' policy adopted at Copse corner during the British Grand Prix weekend, but would rather see physical disincentives to prevent drivers taking liberties with the run-off.

The Australian was among the many drivers reported for exceeding the track limits at Copse, having his best qualifying time deleted on Saturday afternoon and losing three places as a result, but conceded that the rules had to be obeyed – even if he only transgressed by a small amount.

“It's just us being greedy, trying to use every last bit of the track,” he noted, “The more you use, the faster you can go…

“The wind was tricky but I won't use that as an excuse. Even without wind, we are still going to try every bit we can. I was frustrated because I thought I was still legal, so I was upset when they said my time was deleted. I saw the replay and it was very close but, if you are being strict, then I guess I was 3cm over.”

Despite the demotion, which ultimately did not affect the Australian's race as he was forced to retire after 21 laps, he insisted that, while he did not oppose the ruling, he would prefer alternative methods of controlling the drivers' excesses.

“I don't disagree with the track limits, at least there is a right and a wrong, but I think they need to put a deterrent there, either gravel or more astroturf,” he suggested, “[until then] it is what it is - I can't really blame anyone else.”

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Williams can catch Ferrari for second in F1 standings - Rob Smedley

Williams has set its sights on leapfrogging Ferrari for second in the Formula 1 constructors' championship after its British Grand Prix performance, says Rob Smedley.

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas ran first and second early in the Silverstone F1 race, as Williams outpaced Ferrari for most of the weekend.

Though its drivers ultimately finished fourth and fifth, after struggling in wet conditions, the car's pace in the dry gave Williams hope it can erase the 60-point deficit to Ferrari.

"We are constantly bringing new bits to every grand prix in all areas of the car," said the team's performance chief Smedley.

"The team is developing the car in small incremental steps and there is more to come.

"We are trying more and more to put ourselves into a more favourable position as we want to try and get second position in the championship - that is our target now."

Bottas believes Mercedes is too far ahead for Williams to think about, but agrees with Smedley that Ferrari can be caught.

"I'm quite pleased with the gap to the Ferrari," said the Finn.

"We were quicker than them in qualifying for the first time this season.

"The gap to Mercedes was expected, we knew they would be quick so it is not really a surprise.

"But this is racing. We are not giving up. You never know what can happen.

"We need to make sure we're up there to pick up the pieces."

The high-speed nature of Silverstone played to Williams's strength whereas the tight and twisty layout of Budapest's Hungaroring will provide more of a challenge in the next grand prix later this month.

Smedley knows the team must work on low-speed pace if it is to achieve its aim.

"We know we are still missing a bit in the low speed and we are big enough to hold hands up and say that is the case," he said.

"We're looking at all sorts of ways of recuperating that.

"It's looking at clever ways of developing the car, innovative ways let's say, so we can continue development of high-speed but at same time accelerate development of low-speed.

"What we absolutely cannot do is take our eye off the ball in the areas we are good. We can't trade off.

"We have to improve the areas where we are weak, while at same time improving the areas where we are strong."

Williams has outscored Ferrari in the last three grands prix, although it has only gained 17 points across that run, 13 of them from its third and fifth places in Austria.

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LAUDA: FERRARI WILL ALWAYS BE NUMBER ONE IN MY HEART

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda has hit back at suggestions he lacks respect for Ferrari, and reveals that the Maranello outfit will always be top of his heart.

Last week, the F1 legend’s colleague Toto Wolff had to apologise after Lauda provocatively suggested that Ferrari is better at making spaghetti than cars capable of taking on the might of Mercedes.

But Lauda told Blick the apology was unnecessary, “The Italians know that Ferrari will always be number one in my heart.”

“At Ferrari I’ve been through it all: 15 wins, two of my three world titles, tragedies with the last rites. More emotions is not possible. So my respect for this company will always be very big,” said Lauda.

Explaining his ‘spaghetti’ comment, Lauda added: “In Formula 1 we had one of the best races ever [at Silverstone], and still we are talking about a lot of boredom. That cannot be right.

“Everyone in formula one would be happy if Ferrari could close the gap to us,” he added.

Lauda spent four hugely successful years at Maranello, winning the title twice in 1975 and 1977, and runner up in 1976 despite his near death experience at the Nurburgring that year.

His first F1 victory at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix was as a Ferrari driver, and he went on to score 15 wins for the team be fore moving in 1978 to Brabham.

In 1993 Lauda returned to Formula 1 in a managerial position when Luca di Montezemolo offered him a consulting role at Ferrari.

[MIKA27]

GERMAN GRAND PRIX RETURN NEVER IN DOUBT

Formula 1’s governing body has released the first official race calendar for the 2016 season, and it confirms the return of the German Grand Prix.

This year’s schedule is currently in an unplanned three-week gap between the British and Hungarian grands prix, just before the sport takes a full month off for the now-customary summer ‘shutdown’.

It is because the 2015 German grand prix was scratched, due to the Nurburgring’s financial troubles.

Many fans and insiders had lamented the loss of F1’s German round after a history stretching back decades, but in fact Hockenheim had always been scheduled to return in 2016.

The Nurburgring and Hockenheim are contracted to annually alternate the race, and regarding next year, a source told us: “There has never been any doubt whatsoever about 2016″.

Indeed, ‘Germany’ has duly been scheduled a July 31 race on the 2016 calendar, although some had expected Bernie Ecclestone to also scrap next year’s edition in order to keep the schedule down to a manageable 20 grands prix.

Actually, the 2016 calendar, rubber-stamped by the World Motor Sport Council in Mexico City last Friday, features an unprecedented 21 races.

The new race is Azerbaijan, while Monza’s Italian grand prix next September could be the last at the fabled Autodromo Nazionale.

[MIKA27]

LOPEZ SET FOR CRUCIAL RENAULT TALKS IN HUNGARY

Lotus F1 team boss Gerard Lopez is planning a rare-in-2016 visit to a grand prix next weekend, in Hungary.

The Luxembourger, who owns and officially heads the Enstone based team known today as Lotus, has hardly been seen trackside this year, amid swirling speculation about the future.

“He’s certainly been to two if not three of the races this season,” team CEO Matthew Carter insisted recently, whilst admitting that Lopez is “busy on other projects”.

However, one of the matters on Lopez’s desk at present is the need for urgent talks with Renault, according to the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

It has been rumoured he is close to agreeing a sale of the Enstone team back to the French carmaker, which was rebranded as ‘Lotus’ after the 2010 season.

On this matter, “Time is running out,” explained correspondent Luis Vasconcelos. “Our information is that Lopez and (Renault CEO Carlos) Ghosn will meet at the Hungarian grand prix to make the deal.”

“Lotus’ financial situation is difficult, under pressure in the courts from creditor Xtrac. If a deal is made, the debts will move to Renault,” he added.

Turun Sanomat went on to claim that if Renault does buy Lotus, Cyril Abiteboul is determined to lead the team but some officials believe the former Caterham chief, who is just 37, lacks the experience.

Quadruple world champion, former team owner and boss and Renault ambassador Alain Prost has been linked with the job.

If it does all happen, Red Bull could be left in the odd situation of no longer being the premier or ‘works’ Renault team. But boss Christian Horner insists that can’t happen.

He told F1’s official website that Red Bull has “a very clear agreement with Renault which guarantees us priority status”.