FORMULA 1 - 2015

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Why The Hungarian GP Turned The F1 Formbook on its head

Few expected such a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix, and even fewer expected Mercedes to finish down in sixth and eighth. But the Hungaroring race was no ordinary event.

The Hungarian Grand Prix proved to be an extraordinary race, one with an even more extraordinary result.

Consider that the winning team appeared to be in disarray on Friday, the driver who finished second had a 10s penalty, the man in third survived three collisions and had to stop for a new front wing, and the fourth-place finisher had to take a drive-through.

And fifth place went to a McLaren Honda, one that had not even completed a flying lap in Q2, and yet survived Sunday afternoon without a glitch.

Meanwhile, the man everybody expected to win was a humble sixth. Given that he had made a bad start, ran off the road on the first lap, survived a heavy collision, stopped for a new wing, and taken a drive-through penalty, Lewis Hamilton was actually quite relieved to end up with such a result – not least because he finished two spots ahead of title rival Nico Rosberg.

So how did we end up with such an unexpected result, and how did Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari pull off a victory?

With its low speeds and hot weather, Hungary was always going to be a track that mixed things up a bit, and potentially gave others a chance to challenge Mercedes.

From the start of the weekend Red Bull looked strong, but in contrast Ferrari struggled on Friday, and a myriad problems cost the team mileage.

“Before Friday we had our data, and we were reading the data, and we thought, 'OK in Hungary it could be a good race,” said team boss Maurizio Arrivabene. “Of course, we were not thinking to win the race, but at least to fight. Then everything happened on Friday, and on Saturday the first thought was, 'Guys, calm down, we need to do our analysis, to put everything together.'

“On Friday we were struggling a lot. I mean, at one stage James Allison said to me, 'Look, if I had to think about the worst day, today was the worst of my career.' But we put together everything, we were working with determination.

“They were using the FP3, and only the FP3, to try to adjust the car, and then after that Saturday evening they said, 'OK, we think that we are in a good way.' Not for sure thinking about this result, but at least to say we were in a good way.”

He makes it sound straightforward, but a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into honing the cars. Vettel earned third on the grid, and Kimi Raikkonen fifth, the Finn having lost more valuable track time in FP3 to a water leak.

The Start was key:

The key thing was that both men were on the odd numbered side of the grid, which in Hungary traditionally offers the chance to gain at least one spot on the man immediately ahead. But even Ferrari couldn't anticipate how things played out.

The start was of course the key to the race. Just as the Williams drivers swept past the Mercedes duo at Silverstone, so both Ferraris managed to do the same this time around. It wasn't just about the launch, as there was a fair bit of pure racecraft involved, especially in Raikkonen's case, as he went shoulder to shoulder with Rosberg.

Both Mercedes drivers ran wide at Turn 2 in their desperate efforts to make amends, and then further around the lap Hamilton made his life even more difficult by jumping across the gravel trap.

Now it was game on for Ferrari. If you are in front you can control the race, and as we saw so often in his Red Bull days, one of Vettel's defining strengths is his ability to drive a perfect race if he's in clean air and can pace himself. And that's what he did on Sunday.

"It's true that when you start as we started today, in the open air, the car is giving to you more chance," said Arrivabene.

"And the guys in the back, the consumption of the tyres is quite high. But by the way, it's happened some times that we're on the back, and our consumption is higher. Today we were on the front, and it was OK..."

"It makes a difference if you find yourself in clean air, dictating the pace rather than following the top two cars," said Vettel.

"In some races we didn't really see them for long. In other races we were sort of stuck behind them and you cannot really show your true pace so I think - especially in the beginning of the race, but then again, I think the whole race – the pace was really really good."

Vettel was helped by having Raikkonen riding shotgun, and by the fact that Rosberg, for reasons which neither he nor the team could fully explain, struggled for pace on the soft tyre.

The lack of an immediate threat from Rosberg, and the fact that Hamilton had to claw his way up from as low as 10th position, meant that Vettel and Ferrari could run their own race, wait until the others had stopped, and play out an optimum strategy.

Safety car close call:

It could have gone awry when Nico Hulkenberg's crash triggered a Virtual Safety Car. Vettel took advantage to pit for the medium tyres, and had it remained a VSC, he would have retained the advantage he'd built up.

But it soon morphed into a full safety car, and thus the gap disappeared. On lap 41, just before the Hulkenberg shunt, he had been 13s ahead of Raikkonen – fading as an ERS failure kicked in – and a huge 27s clear of Rosberg, whose pace had been even less convincing on the mediums he took for the middle stint.

All that was now gone. As the green flag flew for the restart Vettel had just Raikkonen protecting him from Rosberg, who immediately blew past the Finn. We might have expected to then see Rosberg, picking up his pace on the soft tyres having taken the pain of the mediums in that middle stint, harassing the leader, who had no choice but to go to mediums for the run to the flag.

But to the surprise of many observers, Rosberg was back on mediums for that final stint (more of that later). We'll never know if he would have found more performance on the softs – as his first stint was not that stunning remember – but on the mediums he could just about match Vettel, but no more.

In turn he had to keep his eyes on his mirrors, which were full of an irrepressible Daniel Ricciardo, the only member of the leading trio who was on the softs, and fresh ones at that.

Vettel had to work hard in that final stint, but he did his job to perfection. For lap after lap he stayed out of DRS range – 1.2s, 1.4s, 1.2s at the startline – and only once, on lap 53, did the gap dip down to 0.8s. Then with just under seven laps to go Rosberg and Ricciardo tangled, and the pressure was off Vettel.

He didn't slacken his pace, as Daniil Kvyat was close enough to keep him on his toes, albeit with a 10s penalty hanging over him, and thus Vettel kept banging in quick laps. He wasn't exactly about to let Kvyat catch up and pass and take the chequered flag first, although that could have happened! Vettel's team radio comments after the flag showed just what the win meant to him.

It was a superb performance, and one of which his old mentor and pal Michael Schumacher would have been proud – winning on a weekend when the odds appeared to be stacked against him. The downside for Ferrari was Kimi's ERS failure, a rare sign of mechanical trouble for the Maranello team.

Red Bull's step forward

RBR's stunning form meanwhile underlined just how Hungary shifts the emphasis from the power unit to the whole package. There were positive signs in Silverstone already, and this time the car seemed to be hooked up from the start of the weekend, and both drivers gained confidence, something that was very evident in the race.

"We knew that this track would play to some of our strengths," said Christian Horner. "And it is great that we managed to capitalise on that with a double podium, with Dany Kvyat's first podium, Daniel Ricciardo's first podium of the year. it was great team performance and I think that this type of circuit with lack of dependency on straightline speed has played to our strengths."

Ricciardo in particular was on the sort of charging form that saw him gain three opportunistic wins last year, and the fact that he made it to the podium after three separate collisions was a reminder that he's a real racer – going around the outside of Hamilton at the restart was pretty clear evidence of that.

The great unknown is what might have happened had he found a way past Rosberg and given himself a few laps with which to tackle Vettel.

"It felt a little bit like deja vu from last year," said Horner. "We strategically made the call at the first stop to put the hard tyre on, we felt our only possibilities would be in the later part of the race if there were a safety car. And sure enough we had that set of tyres left, the safety car came out and it teed it up beautifully.

"Kimi had an issue, so Daniel made his way past Kimi fairly easily and managed to find his way past Lewis. There was quite a big contact, which damaged the car quite significantly, but despite that he was able to close in on the leading pair and he was always going to have a go, and obviously got a run up the inside, got in a bit too deep and Nico came across his bows on the exit and it looked like a racing incident. It is a shame without that, if he had managed to get pass Nico it would have set up an interesting finish with Seb."

What went wrong for Mercedes

So what of Mercedes? On the face of it was a disastrous afternoon for the drivers and team, but they still both scored points, and Hamilton's main concern was that he logged four more than his title rival.

Hamilton made no excuses afterwards, admitting that he'd made mistake after mistake, and he must now be hoping that he's used up his quota for the season in one afternoon.

This was definitely not a good weekend for Rosberg, who lost out to Lewis by almost 0.6s in qualifying and then found himself struggling for pace on Sunday. He also got a lot of flak for the seemingly conservative decision to go with the medium tyre for the final stint.

Earlier we'd heard a team radio conversation which indicated that he simply wanted to mirror what Hamilton was doing on the basis that he could stay safely ahead, and wouldn't be caught out by the softs fading in the latter stages.

However, Toto Wolff insisted that ultimately the responsibility for that choice was the team's.

The Virtual Safety Car came out when Rosberg was approaching the last corner, and he ducked straight into the pits – the tyres that were ready and waiting for emergency use, the "default" tyres, were the mediums, based on the number of laps to the flag.

One lap later, and the shorter final stint length would have seen mediums wheeled away and softs put in their place. And had Rosberg been a corner further back when the VSC call was made, the team would have had time to make that last minute switch anyway.

"It was one corner," Wolff said. "They were in the second last corner when the Virtual Safety Car was deployed, one corner earlier, the default tyre would have been changed from medium to soft. The medium tyre was sitting there, the Virtual Safety Car was deployed, he got the call, he came in, the medium tyre wasn't there."

It could be argued that Mercedes reacted too quickly to the VSC. If there was some doubt about tyre choice, why not let Rosberg run another lap? With a VSC lap taking around 90 seconds that would have provided plenty of time to chat with the driver and make a more considered call.

After all, plenty of drivers pitted on subsequent VSC laps without suffering any harm, as by definition the gaps are maintained.

It would perhaps be unfair to suggest that after Monaco this is the second time that Mercedes hasn't quite got it right under a VSC, and the team would probably say that the risk in not coming in immediately is that a VSC could turn into a proper safety car – which is what eventually happened – and that could complicate matters.

Meanwhile, Wolff insisted that the tyre choice definitely wasn't a case of Rosberg wanting to cover Hamilton's strategy: "Earlier, before, but not in that situation."

Nevertheless the damage has been done in that many observers thought Rosberg's radio comment showed a little too much focus on his teammate, when perhaps he should have been looking more at the fight ahead and trying to win the race.

Hamilton's remark when he went off track on lap one also told its own story: "Nico crossed over my line there, pushed me wide..."

It's no great surprise that these two remain resolutely focussed on each other, but they could do well to take a look at the world championship table, which shows Vettel just 42 points behind Hamilton, and only 21 behind Rosberg.

It's a long shot given the overall picture of pure performance, but history relates that sometimes battling teammates are pipped at the line by someone they didn't see coming up on the rails.

It happened for example with Alain Prost vs Williams in 1986, and again with Kimi vs McLaren in 2007. This season could still have a few twists and turns.

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Grosjean smiles after 'beautiful' race

Romain Grosjean hails his Hungarian Grand Prix performance as 'beautiful' after fighting back from a difficult start to claim his joint-best result of the season.

The Lotus driver's seventh place finish has left the Frenchman bouncing after recovering from a first lap horror show along with a penalty and tricky safety car period. Grosjean says his team got the strategy spot on to match his results from China and Bahrain.

“I think today was an incredible race, it was an incredible weekend,” Grosjean said. “We got the strategy right and, after all that, we ended up in P7 fighting with the Mercedes. Being in the top ten in qualifying was a miracle and today was actually beautiful.”

Grosjean would have grabbed his best finish since 2013 at the US Grand Prix but a charging Lewis Hamilton, who had been in two scraps bringing him down the order, edged him out in the final few laps.

“I had a terrible start, lost a lot of spaces and I was pushed into the gravel by Carlos Sainz on the first lap,” he explained. “Then I came back on track and couldn't pass the McLaren. Then there was a penalty for an unsafe release and then the safety car. We really pushed hard and it was good, we deserved some points.”

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Rosberg on Ricciardo clash: The corner was mine

Nico Rosberg says Daniel Ricciardo was at fault for the clash that cost both drivers the chance of challenging for victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The pair made contact with five laps of the race remaining when Ricciardo made a dive for second on the inside at turn one, only to out-brake himself and run wide on the exit. When Rosberg came across, Ricciardo's front-wing clipped Rosberg's rear tyre, leaving the former with nose damage and the latter with a puncture.

Rosberg – who went on to finish eighth - had initially accepted the clash as a racing incident in line with the stewards' stance, but would later prove more critical of Ricciardo's attempted pass, saying the Australian 'over-did it'

“From my point of view it was my corner properly because he over-did it and nevertheless on the exit of the corner his front wing was still right next to my rear tyre and punctured my tyre as a result. It was hugely disappointing.”

Indeed, it was a particularly galling result for Rosberg given he stood to make significant in-roads into Hamilton's championship lead after the Mercedes driver endured an eventful afternoon that left him sixth at the finish. Instead, Rosberg has slipped 21 points adrift overall heading into the summer break.

“Sport can be really tough sometimes because today was an opportunity to take a lot of points from Lewis, so that really sucks.”

Rosberg has also revealed why he was forced to take on the medium rubber, rather than the soft tyres still available to him, saying they weren't warm enough when he made an earlier than planned pit-stop under the safety car.

“The safety car didn't work out. It was such a late call as I was at the pit entry as they called me in and they didn't have time to get the soft tyres ready, so they fitted the harder tyres. I was not so good at the restart against Ricciardo as he had soft tyres at the restart and that is why he could attack me.”

[mgravito]

The elevation change map of Spa is one of my favorites. Really illustrates what makes Eau Rouge so special.

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That's brilliant, thanks for posting!

SPA is my favourite track on the Calendar

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RED BULL CONSIDERING MERCEDES AND HONDA POWER FOR 2016

Red Bull is not expecting its surge in form to stay on track beyond the Hungarian grand prix, and are apparently studying alternative options to Renault power – with Mercedes and Honda on their radar.

Amid an uncompetitive season so far for the former champions, both Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo were on the podium at the twisty Hungaroring track.

But Helmut Marko said: “Sadly it will not be the same at Spa and Monza, unless it rains.”

Red Bull has made it abundantly clear in 2015 that the biggest problem with its 2015 package is the underpowered Renault engine.

“When the corners predominate over the straights, then we have a chance,” Marko told Germany’s Sky. “Since we had the short nose, the development of our car is progressing and the car is more predictable.

“We have some more updates for Spa but unfortunately we can’t get anything for the engine until Sochi,” he added.

By then, Renault and Red Bull may already have announced their F1 divorce, with Renault set to buy the Lotus team and Red Bull reportedly in talks with Mercedes.

A contract exists for 2016, but it is rumoured Red Bull will find an exit due to the unfulfilled “promises” about performance made by Renault this year.

And “We were promised a lot,” Marko is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

The German magazine said Red Bull is aiming now for a customer deal with Mercedes for 2016, while junior team Toro Rosso eyes a supply of Honda power.

To some, the prospect of a Red Bull-Mercedes alliance seems unthinkable, but boss Toto Wolff said: “‘Never say never’ applies even in this industry.

“There is a contract between Red Bull and Renault that we respect, but we also know that this is formula one.”

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FORCE INDIA: WE DO NOT PLAY WITH SAFETY

Force India has denied compromising safety in the close fight for fifth in this year’s Formula 1 constructors’ world championship.

At present, the Silverstone team holds the coveted fifth place, but only by mere points ahead of Lotus and Toro Rosso.

Force India introduced a more competitive ‘B spec’ car at Silverstone recently, but in Hungary it suffered two structural failures — both with spectacular and dangerous results.

A suspension problem in practice pitched Sergio Perez into a roll, while teammate Nico Hulkenberg speared into the barriers in the race when his front wing folded underneath the car.

Bild newspaper asked Otmar Szafnauer, the team’s sporting director, if Force India has let its safety standards slip in the crucial championship battle.

“We do not play with safety,” he insisted. “We showed that on Friday, when we didn’t let Hulkenberg out until we knew exactly what was the reason for Perez’s crash.”

“This must not happen again,” Szafnauer added.

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RAIKKONEN SHARES UP AFTER STRONG HUNGARY WEEKEND

Kimi Raikkonen may have moved a step closer to keeping his Ferrari race seat for 2016 thanks to a strong shwoing during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.

Corriere dello Sport, however, stands by its earlier report that Ferrari’s contract buyout deal with Williams to secure Valtteri Bottas’ services is already done. For his part, Finn Bottas is glad the summer break has arrived.

“I think I will hide for a while in the Finnish forests,” he smiled after another weekend of high speculation in Hungary.

Raikkonen might also be happy with the lull, especially as he performed well in Hungary following a series of disappointing results in recent races.

Pino Allievi, the veteran and influential correspondent for La Gazzetta dello Sport, said technical trouble marred the actual result but “This is a Kimi that Ferrari and the Tifosi wants”.

Former F1 driver and fellow Finn Mika Salo agrees that Raikkonen was competitive throughout the Hungaroring weekend, concluding to the broadcaster MTV3: “It makes me believe that Kimi could stay with Ferrari.”

Coupled with Sebastian Vettel’s win, it was a strong showing all round for the Maranello team in Hungary, boosting hopes that a title challenge may still be possible.

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore told the Italian source Adnkronos: “This season it (the title) seems impossible, but next year…”

Ferrari chief Maurizio Arrivabene apparently agrees, declaring that Vettel’s win means the team has now achieved his pre-season target of two victories.

“At three we would be in paradise,” he said. “We have two but we must keep our feet on the ground. Mercedes is still the strongest team.”

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WOLFF: I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT OUR STARTS

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff set off for Formula One’s European summer break determined to see his outfit solve the start-line problems that threaten to undermine their domination of the Formula One world championship.

After seeing championship leader Briton Lewis Hamilton and his teammate German Nico Rosberg beaten off the grid for the second race in succession in Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the Austrian boss knows they are under pressure.

“We got jumped by two Williams’ last time and jumped by the two Ferraris this time,” he said, referring to the British Grand Prix and Sunday’s contest at the Hungaroring won by four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel for Ferrari.

“This is what triggered the whole mess for our race and then the lap one incident came. We need to get on top of the situation. It is not acceptable and it needs to be analysed why it happened. It is many various reasons, it is not one particular one. If you look at it, not good.”

Vettel and his Ferrari teammate Finn Kimi Raikkonen surged past both Hamilton and Rosberg at the start of Sunday’s 69-laps race, the German to claim an emotional triumph he dedicated to colleague Frenchman Jules Bianchi, who died on July 17.

Raikkonen followed him in second place for much of the race before power unit problems forced him into retirement, gifting second and third places to the revived Red Bull duo of Russian Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo after both Rosberg and Hamilton had suffered more lost positions following collisions with the Australian driver.

Wolff conceded he is concerned at the team’s issues with starts, especially because the rules are due to change at the next race, the Belgian Grand Prix, on August 23, reducing the level of technical assistance they can receive.

“I am very concerned about this,” said Wolff. “It is various issues. And it is very difficult to get the calibration right. We had two very good practice starts off the line and then, when it mattered, on the actual race start, we had too much wheel spin. Then, when that happens, you get overtaken in a way you cannot recover from ”

Hamilton and Mercedes had dominated every practice session on Friday and Saturday and he qualified in pole position with such ease that he appeared to be a certain winner – if he made a good start.

But in what is becoming a worryingly bad habit, he was passed at the start and left with a recovery mission that, on Sunday, turned into a series of mishaps, errors, accidents and penalties.

Hamilton apologised for his driving, saying it was “a bad day at the office” and entirely his fault, while Rosberg threw away a podium finish when he suffered a puncture in a collision with Ricciardo in the closing laps, finishing eighth.

Vettel’s win lifted him to within 21 points of second-placed Rosberg in the drivers’ championship on 160 points, rekindling Ferrari’s spirits with a second victory of the year.

He is the only man to have broken Mercedes stranglehold which was so weakened on Sunday that they did not have a driver on the podium for the first time this year.

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SAINZ PLAYS DOWN VERSTAPPEN FAVOURITISM OUTBURST

Carlos Sainz has played down his anger with Toro Rosso, after making comments suggesting the team may be favouring fellow rookie Max Verstappen.

The Spanish rookie admitted he was “angry” with the Red Bull junior team after Hungary, as Verstappen was called in first for pitstop service even though it was Sainz who was ahead on track.

“It has not been explained to me why they didn’t stop me first,” he said in Spanish media reports. “Imagine the anger that I have.

“I stopped later than the others, Max did ‘the undercut’ and passed me in the pits. That’s what I cannot understand.”

But Sainz subsequently told the Spanish sports daily Marca that, after he sat down with the engineers, he calmed down, “They wanted us both to pass the Williams and that seemed like the best way.”

“I do not want a controversy, I just do my best and hope to get a good result in the next races for Toro Rosso,” Sainz added.

Verstappen, the youngest driver in F1 history, finished the Hungarian grand prix fourth with a performance described as “fantastic” by team boss Franz Tost. Sainz retired with a technical failure.

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MONZA SURVIVAL MAY INVOLVE ITALIAN PREMIER

The Italian prime minister could add more muscle to Monza’s fight to retain its historic grand prix.

With Bernie Ecclestone and race organisers at a stalemate in their negotiations for a new contract, it has emerged that the local Confidustria (industry group) and the Lombardy region are campaigning for Monza.

And now Giovanni Malago, the Italian olympic chief, says he will do what he can when he plans to attend this year’s grand prix at the fabled Autodromo Nazionale.

“Ferrari is Italy,” he is quoted by Tuttosport, “as even in moments of tension that has been respected by all.

“I will go (to Monza), as a demonstration of what I think is sacred and necessary to support the continuation of F1 at Monza, and also I officially invite the prime minister (Matteo) Renzi,” Malago declared.

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KVYAT PODIUM BOOST FOR RUSSIAN GP

The promoter of the Russian grand prix is hoping Daniil Kvyat can challenge for victory at Sochi later this year.

Earlier in July, reports circulated that the Sochi race this year could collapse as organisers hold out for a 64 million euro government bailout amid a deep economic crisis.

But race promoter Sergey Vorobyev does not sound concerned, especially after Red Bull’s Russian driver Kvyat scored his first podium finish last Sunday in Hungary.

“Daniil is a driver with very great potential,” he told the Russian news agency Tass. “It is good that we are now starting to see it.

“I hope that in Sochi he will be able to fight for the victory,” Vorobyev added.

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Lewis expects 'more unpredictable starts'

If the Hungarian GP is anything to go by, then Formula 1 will see a lot more exciting starts with Lewis Hamilton feeling it will "get worse" when the new rules come into effect.

For the second race in a row, Mercedes were beaten off the line with the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen blitzing past Hamilton and team-mate Nico Rosberg once the lights went out.

Vettel eventually won the race with Hamilton finishing down in sixth and the reigning World Champion believes we could see more starts like Sunday's once the FIA introduces new rules, which prevent those on the pitwall from giving information that is not deemed critical or make changes to the clutch bite point once the cars are on the track.

"I imagine the starts in Spa will be a lot like this," Hamilton told The Telegraph. "It would have been a different race if I had a good start. But how I reacted was not the correct way.

"I expect more unpredictable starts. I imagine it is going to get worse. It’s not dangerous, it’s racing."

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Tweaks to Singapore track

The Marina Bay Street Circuit will undergo a couple of minor changes ahead of this year's Singapore Grand Prix with organisers hoping it will aid overtaking.

Modifications have been made at Turns 11, 12 and 13 with the former two no longer a fast chicane as Turn 11 will remain a right-hand, but it will be re-aligned to sit tighter with the left-hand side of Fullerton Road for a slightly slower corner speed.

The left-hand Turn 12 will also be modified slightly so that drivers now enter the left lane of Anderson Bridge, before accelerating towards Turn 13. The hairpin at Turn 13 will be widened by one metre to enable more overtaking opportunities

"It is a fantastic challenge to translate changes to Singapore’s Civic District into improvements to the Marina Bay Street Circuit," Jonathan Giesecke, Senior Project Manager and Engineering Track Manager, said.

"I expect the modifications from Turns 11 to 13 will enable closer racing and the potential for additional passing opportunities."

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Renault wants more respect from Red Bull

Renault Sport boss Cyril Abiteboul believes that the "high maintenance" Red Bull team should be showing the French manufacturer more respect after helping them to four Driver's Championships and four Constructors' titles.

Red Bull were the dominant force in Formula One at the start of the decade, but were comprehensively outclassed by Mercedes in the 2014 campaign and continue to struggle this season.

The Milton Keynes outfit are currently in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship, 289 points behind Mercedes, and have not won a race since last season's Belgian Grand Prix.

The primary cause for Red Bull's struggles is a lack of pace, with the engine supplied by Renault not in the same league as the engines powering Mercedes and Ferrari.

The Red Bull hierarchy have not held back in their criticism of Renault, with a war of words raging between the team and the French manufacturer.

And, while Abiteboul admits that Renault are not at the level they would like, he feels that Red Bull should show more respect given Renault's rich his story and the success that they helped Red Bull achieve.

"We have been in the business of motorsport for more than a century," he told the BBC. "We have been in F1 in one way or another for more than 37 years. They have been in F1 for maybe a decade maximum.

"This is a big difference between the two companies, so I think we need to understand each other's mindset and the world in which we operate.

"The key success factor to an ongoing collaboration is to be capable of understanding the partner's world, culture, working practice and so on. We are trying to do that with Red Bull.

"I would like them also to understand a bit more of our world, the world of engine manufacturing but also car making and industry."

While Red Bull and Renault have a contract through 2016, there have been consistent reports that the two parties will look to part ways at the end of the current campaign.

However, Abiteboul is hopeful that the situation can be salvaged with improved performance over the remainder of the campaign.

"There will be an improvement on the engine in the course of this season and I really hope this will be the type of upgrade that is visible to everyone," he said.

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Renault takeover decision expected this week

Renault are today holding a crunch meeting to discuss its future in Formula 1 and whether it quits entirely, remains an engine supplier or returns to team ownership by taking over the Lotus team it once owned.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn will meet with Renault ambassador Alain Prost and Renault Sport F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul to analyse each option before finally committing to one.

Whilst a decision is likely to be made this week, it might not immediately be made public until further discussions have taken place.

Sources close to the company have suggested team ownership is the preferable option, but by no means is it a definite, particularly because of Lotus's financial situation which has complicated matters.

The team currently has huge debts, though the majority of these are with its main shareholder, Genii Capital.

It's been suggested Renault might takeover the Enstone facility and staff, but not the Lotus entry. That would effectively make it a new team, but it would be required to apply to the FIA for an entry.

Coincidentally, or rather not, the FIA extended its deadline for new entrants to next week, therefore giving Renault enough time to apply and make the grid in 2016.

Speaking to Motorsport, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said he expected a decision by the end of the week.

"We're gradually getting things sorted out," he said. "By this week we'll know which way we're going.

"Hopefully then we'll know whether Renault are going to take them over, or what's going to happen."

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Prost "frustrated" by fan reception to new F1 engines

Four-time world champion Alain Prost has expressed his frustration about the way Formula 1's new engine rules have not won over fans.

The arrival of hybrid turbo power units in F1 has not been universally supported, and teams are already looking at ways to make the engines more powerful and louder over the next few years.

Prost sees a huge contrast between the attractiveness of electric power in Formula E, in which he is a team boss, and the fact that impressive technology in F1 is a turn off.

“In F1, it’s a bit different and what is happening is a bit frustrating,” he told Motorsport.com.

“We have an engine whose technology is incredibly advanced, but people have not bought into it.

“Maybe people expect something very different from F1. At the end of the day, they don’t really care about the chassis, or about outright pace.

"They want battles on track, because they want it to be interesting; it’s a real drivers’ championship.

“Formula 1 remains a bit distant, and you’re always a bit far away from F1. Yet, this two-year-old engine which is as powerful but consumes 30% to 40% less fuel, you feel like the fans don’t really care about that.

“You also need to understand it according to the series, according to the approach, according to the customer base – and they’re real fans, rather 40 to 60 years old.

“But we in [Formula E] are aiming at another category, notably for younger people. You shouldn’t have the same marketing positioning on both, that’s obvious.”

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Pastor Maldonado unhappy with 'very strict' Hungary stewards

Pastor Maldonado labelled the Hungarian Grand Prix stewards "very strict" after he got penalised for three separate incidents in one race.

Maldonado's first transgression at the Hungaroring was when he clattered into the side of Sergio Perez, pitching the Force India into a spin and earning himself a drive-through penalty. Before the race was over he had been hit with another drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane and a ten-second penalty for overtaking car No.28, Will Stevens, under the safety car.

Maldonado finished down in 14th after his error-strewn race and thought the stewards had been "very tough" on his driving.

"It was tough race and the stewards were certainly very strict today, very tough on driving with me and many other drivers," Maldonado said. "I struggled at the start as our strategy was to run with the harder tyres, but then the strategy was working well with the softer tyres until the penalties affected our race. With Sergio Perez around the outside of me it felt like a racing incident to me; there was nothing intentional in the contact."

To add insult to injury, Maldonado's clash with Perez also saw him hit with two penalty points on his super licence - bringing his 12-month tally to six. Drivers are automatically banned for one race if they reach 12 points during a rolling 12-month period.

Maldonado was one of five drivers, including reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, to receive penalty points after the race.

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CAN VETTEL STEAL THE F1 WORLD TITLE FROM MERCEDES?

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is in the hunt for the 2015 Formula 1 title, and quite capable of stealing it from the Mercedes pair.

That is the claim of former double world champion Mika Hakkinen, after Vettel broke through for an unexpected second victory of the season in Hungary.

It means the German’s gap to Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg is now just 21 points, while just another 21 points further up the table is Lewis Hamilton’s championship lead.

“Vettel is a threat,” former McLaren world champion Hakkinen told his sponsor Hermes in an exclusive interview. The season is only half over so there are still a huge number of points at stake. Vettel is doing an extremely good job at the moment.”

Hakkinen also hailed the surge in form of the young Russian driver Daniil Kvyat, who earlier this year seemed easily outclassed by his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

But Hakkinen, 46, says the tables have turned, “Kvyat is currently putting pressure on Ricciardo, which is putting the Australian in situations like what we saw in Hungary.”

Indeed, Rosberg admitted his anger with Ricciardo following their on-track clash, which cost the Mercedes driver a lot of points.

“Daniel is a nice guy,” Rosberg wrote in his column for Bild newspaper. “But in Hungary he overdid it. It was absolutely my corner although the FIA did not punish him, and I have to accept that.”

Hakkinen concluded: “Ricciardo is a respected and good driver, but he is clearly under pressure to perform at the moment.”

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MONTOYA’S PLAN TO IMPROVE F1 GETS BACKING FROM BUTTON

Jenson Button has backed former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya’s proposal to spice up the sport with immediate effect

Asked about F1’s high-profile struggle to maintain its position at the very pinnacle of motor sport, former McLaren and Williams driver Montoya suggested that tyre and brake temperature sensors should simply be banned.

The Colombian, who has raced in Nascar and nod Indycar since leaving F1 last decade, said today’s grand prix stars have become “lazy” because they are fed too much information about the tyres and brakes by engineers.

“If you take all that away it becomes a feel thing again,” he had said recently.

When asked about Montoya’s comments, his former contemporary Button, today a McLaren driver, answered: “That’s how it was in the past.

“Nobody was giving you any temperatures so you had to feel if they were getting too hot or not,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

“So Juan Pablo is right, and I never would have thought we would have the same opinion!”

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HONDA POWER UNIT SET FOR 50 HORSE POWER BOOST

Struggling Honda is preparing to take a significant step forward of up to 50 horse power after the summer break.

Under severe pressure from works partner McLaren, the Japanese marque’s F1 chief Yasuhisa Arai announced in Hungary that a big upgrade is finally coming in time for Spa.

The Spanish sports newspaper Marca reports that the upgrade will involve Honda trading in most or all of its remaining performance ‘tokens’, with a source saying it will amount to about 45 horse power.

McLaren team boss Eric Boullier had said in Hungary: “We still lack 120hp compared to Mercedes. So we need to continue to work under high pressure.”

The Frenchman is also quoted by the Japanese broadcaster NHK: “I hope that Honda is aware of the situation and has a plan to make up for lost time.

“You cannot buy time of course, but you can add resources. So where 450 people is sufficient now for Mercedes, Honda needs 700 so that we can catch up,” said Boullier.

So far, Arai has resisted a lot of the pressure being applied by an increasingly distressed McLaren, which led to rumours the Japanese might be stepped down.

But an insider told Speed Week that Arai in fact retains the backing of Takahiro Hachigo, Honda’s new CEO.

“Arai is a long-time friend of Hachigo and has won the trust of the new CEO,” the source said.

And Arai insisted that Honda made real progress in Hungary, where for the first time in 2015 the troublesome ‘power unit’ was reportedly run at full speed.

“There were no limitations, no restrictions and it worked out,” he is quoted by Brazil’s UOL Esporte.

“Honestly, I am very happy. I want to say thank you to the team and thank you for the support at the factories in Sakura (Japan) and Woking. There are many people working hard and the result can be seen now.”

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BUTTON LINKED WITH TOP GEAR PRESENTER ROLE

Jenson Button has been linked with a shock move from the F1 grid to the television presenter’s chair.

The Daily Mail reports that the veteran grand prix driver could be part of the new lineup for the popular British motoring programme Top Gear.

Earlier this year, the BBC sacked Top Gear’s controversial presenter Jeremy Clarkson, and co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May said they would also not return.

Button’s future in F1 is currently the subject of speculation, as McLaren-Honda holds a one-sided ‘option’ on his services for 2016. He has also been linked with a switch to Williams.

The Daily Mail claims Button is currently “in talks with the BBC about co-presenting Top Gear”.

“An announcement is imminent,” a source reportedly said.

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FERRARI TO LET RAIKKONEN EXTENSION EXPIRE

Ferrari looks set to allow the 2016 contract ‘option’ in Kimi Raikkonen’s current deal to lapse.

Roger Benoit, the veteran correspondent for the Swiss newspaper Blick, says that if Ferrari simply wants to retain the Finn by extending his deal, it must decide to do so before July 31 — Friday.

But team boss Maurizio Arrivabene says Ferrari will in fact not be thinking at all about the “driver issue” throughout the summer break.

“In the summer break, you take a summer break. You go swimming, climbing, mountain biking — otherwise it is not a break,” he insisted.

As the sport enters that break, it is clear that while Raikkonen does have a chance of securing an all-new contract for 2016, Ferrari is also leaving its options open.

Valtteri Bottas was said to be the big favourite. But Blick’s Benoit claims that the deal may have fallen through after Ferrari categorically ruled out paying Williams the EUR 12-18 million it was reportedly demanding for the young Finn’s release.

“This is not football,” Blick quoted Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne as saying, “so we should leave these (sorts of) transfer fees there.”

On the other hand, Benoit said that while Romain Grosjean also has a deal in place with Lotus for 2016, the Frenchman has an exit clause in the event that grandees like Ferrari and Mercedes come knocking.

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Ericsson's verdict: A decent season

While Marcus Ericsson has no major complaints about Sauber's start to 2015, especially in light of last year, he had hoped for more points.

Sauber put their wretched 2014 campaign firmly behind them when they start this year's Championship with a double points-haul in Australia.

But, now midway through the season, that has proven to be one of only two races in which the team got both car inside the top ten.

"I think it's been a decent season so far, keeping in mind the team's performance in 2014," Ericsson explained.

"We had a good season-opener, finishing with both cars in the points. Obviously, in the last few races we were all a bit disappointed as we lost momentum.

"Overall, we have done a good job so far, but, of course, we want to score more points."

On a personal note, Ericsson, who joined Sauber from Caterham, believes he's also missed opportunities, leaving him down on six points, less than half Sauber's tally of 22.

"For myself I think I have learned a lot. Coming to a more experienced team was a big step up for me," he added.

"I am satisfied with my performance so far, but there are some missed opportunities that I regret. That's how it is sometimes, but I learn from these moments. There is always room for improvement, and I will push to become better."

As for the second half of this season, the Swede believes updates in Belgium and Singapore will help Sauber in their quest to score more points.

"I am looking forward to the second half of the season. It is encouraging having updates coming in Spa-Francorchamps and Singapore.

"With that being said, our objective is to be back on a level from which we are able to fight for points. If that happens, we have to wait and see how it goes. We are going to work hard to extract the maximum out of our updates."

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Tost rues lost opportunities

With a "really good chassis" and two "high-skilled" drivers, Franz Tost says it is only reliability that is preventing Toro Rosso from grabbing P5.

Ten races into this season, Toro Rosso are seventh in the Constructors' Championship on 31 points. That's just eight short of fifth placed Force India.

However, it is not their rookie line-up that has cost Toro Rosso, rather it has been engine or car troubles.

"To score points you must see the chequered flag and our main problem is reliability," said Tost. "We have a really good chassis, we have two high-skilled, young but mature drivers.

"Unfortunately our reliability isn't as good as it should be, because from twenty possibilities to see the end of the race we managed only to do it eleven times.

"That means nine non-finishes and with this high figure you cannot expect to finish in a position which is our goal – fifth position in the Constructors' Championship."

The team boss, though, believes that if Toro Rosso can up their reliability, his pre-season target of fifth in the Championship is doable.

"At the beginning of the year I thought we might be in a position to challenge for a top five position in the Constructors' championship, having seen the figures from the wind tunnel and also the results of testing.

"And now I still tend to think we can do it, especially after our strong result in Budapest, as there are now only 8 points separating us from the team that is P5."