FORMULA 1 - 2016

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Video: Red Bull launches its unique 2016 livery in London

Red Bull and partner Puma held an event in London on Wednesday to launch the team's brand new livery for the 2016 season.

Christian Horner, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat and a Puma dance group presented the car and new teamwear to the awaiting media.

The new matte blue/black paint job will adorn the yet-to-be launched RB12 when it takes to track for the first time next week during pre-season testing.

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MASSA: THE WORK IS ALWAYS TO FIGHT FOR THE TITLE

Williams is not entering the 2016 Formula 1 world championship targeting another third place finish in the constructors’ championship.

That is the view of Felipe Massa, who alongside Valtteri Bottas helped the Grove team beat giants like Ferrari in 2014 and Red Bull last year.

“For the size we are, Williams did a very good job in the last two years,” Massa told the Sportv programme Ta Na Area.

“On the financial side, we are lower than Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, but now we are working harder to get closer to them and maybe have a chance to win again,” the 34-year-old former Ferrari driver added.

And Massa also told TV Globo: “The work is always to fight for the title. We have to put our feet on the ground as the others are also working hard, but I believe this will be the year where Williams will improve the most.

“Seeing the car I notice that we have many new things, so we will try to close the gap to Ferrari and even Mercedes. I hope we can fight for victories and even the championship,” said Massa.

To that end, Massa explained, Williams began work long ago, “We were working on the 2016 car long ago. even before the end of the season. To get closer to the other teams that’s what we need to do to develop a lot.”

But he said he expects Mercedes, the back-to-back world champions of 2014 and 2015, to be strongest once again this year.

“They would have to make a big mistake not to have as competitive a car as they had in 2015,” said Massa. “It is a year where nothing has changed in the regulations.

“I’m sure Mercedes will be very strong this year, but hopefully not as much as in 2015 so that other teams have the ability to fight them on equal terms.”

Finally, Massa commented on his highly-rated teammate Bottas, who last year spent much of the season being strongly rumoured with a future move to Ferrari.

“He is an exceptional talent,” Massa said. “Fast, very intelligent, very hardworking. He is developing and can develop a lot more. He will have the opportunity to win races and the championship.

“But I hope to be better than him (Bottas) this year,” he smiled.

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WOLFF: WE CAN EXPECT A BIG JUMP FROM MANOR

Pascal Wehrlein leapt back into the running to race at Manor this year as the backmarker team intends moving into the points paying positions in 2016.

That is the claim of Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who had earlier hinted that better-funded contenders like Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi were more likely to secure the seat because of their superior sponsorship packages.

But Wolff told Auto Motor und Sport that he doesn’t blame small teams like Manor from trying to maximise the money it can get out of its drivers, “You have to respect that the teams want as good a financial deal as possible.”

Wolff therefore explained that at no time was Wehrlein guaranteed the seat just because Mercedes is supplying its title-winning engines to Manor this year.

“The engine was completely separate to the driver question,” he said. “And so we exerted no pressure in this area.”

Wolff said that Wehrlein, the reigning DTM champion, suddenly returned to serious contention for the 2016 race seat when Dave Ryan, the former McLaren sporting director, came on board.

“When Dave Ryan came to Manor, it became more and more clear that they wanted to have a measuring stick on the driver’s side. To know what the car is able to do,” he explained.

“The experienced people in the team knew that the best development in the world brings nothing if you have nobody in the car to push the throttle down. So we sat down at the table before Christmas to discuss the basic conditions,” said Wolff.

Wolff said he thinks Manor, to benefit from Williams technology and top new technical staff including Nikolas Tombazis and Pat Fry, will have a much more competitive season in 2016.

“They have ambitious plans to bring the team forwards,” he said. “The team is well financed, they have good technical people and the Mercedes engine. And now they have a good driver.

“Last year they had to tackle with the restructuring of the team, with a Ferrari engine that was a year old and a chassis that was hardly developed. But things are going to be different now.

“Now Manor will even use our second wind tunnel at Brackley. In this respect we can expect a big jump from them and I think even championship points,” said Wolff.

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BOTTAS WILL BE THE FIRST TO TEST THE WILLIAMS FW38

Valtteri Bottas will be the first of the two Williams drives to sample the new FW38 when he takes to Circuit de Catalunya, on Monday 22 February, the opening day of the first Formula 1 test in Barcelona.

Bottas is scheduled to be in the cockpit for the first two days before handing over to teammate Felipe Massa who will drive on Wednesday and Thursday.

A week later again, at the same venue, the Finn will again be on duty for the first two days starting Tuesday 1 March, before handing over testing duties to Massa for the final two days of pre-season testing.

Test 1 Driver Programme

Monday 22 February: Valtteri Bottas

Tuesday 23 February: Valtteri Bottas

Wednesday 24 February: Felipe Massa

Thursday 25 February: Felipe Massa

Test 2 Driver Programme

Tuesday 1 March: Valtteri Bottas

Wednesday 2 March: Valtteri Bottas

Thursday 3 March: Felipe Massa

Friday 4 March: Felipe Massa

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NEW HONDA ENGINE POWERFUL BUT UNRELIABLE

Honda’s revamped 2016 Formula 1 power unit is reportedly more powerful than its predecessor, but still unreliable according to Marco Canseco, the correspondent for sports daily Marca.

McLaren-Honda debuted its novel, ultra-compact ‘size zero’ concept last year, where the tight packaging of the rear was possible because the turbo is located actually inside the ‘vee’ of the engine.

According to Motor Sport magazine, the Honda turbo is bigger for 2016, with Yasuhisa Arai confirming that it will be “around the same size” as the Mercedes unit. The ‘size zero’ concept, however, is staying.

Writing in Marca, Censeco said Honda test-bench runs since the first full 2016 chassis was put together confirm the turbo V6 is now more powerful but “the new turbo repeatedly breaks”.

And “apparently there are still overheating problems, even though the new (turbo) now works at lower rpm of about 100,000 compared to the 120,000 of last year”, Canseco added.

Marca said that after Sunday’s online launch of the MP4-31, it is believed Fernando Alonso will be at the wheel on the opening day of Barcelona testing.

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ECCLESTONE DOUBTS MALLYA WANTS TO QUIT F1

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has played down suggestions F1 could be set to lose Force India.

Earlier this month, lawyers for jailed team co-owner and title sponsor Subrata Roy and his Sahara company asked the Indian supreme court for permission to sell assets including his 42.5 per cent stake in the Silverstone based outfit.

Another 42.5 per cent is owned by team principal Vijay Mallya, who is having his own legal troubles with his companies United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines.

Mallya pushed recently to have the team re-branded as Aston Martin, but the British luxury carmaker ultimately baulked at the deal.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone, however, told Reuters he doubts Mallya actually wants to quit the sport.

The 85-year-old insisted he is “quite sure the last thing Vijay wants to do is to quit”.

But Ecclestone added: “There’s a lot of teams that if somebody comes along with the right cheque, they would sell. Not because they want to, but because commercially they probably think it would be the right thing to do.”

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PALMER DREAMS OF RACING AGAINST HIS BROTHER IN F1

Going wheel to wheel in Formula 1 with his own brother would be a “dream”, Jolyon Palmer has admitted.

The son of former F1 driver Jonathan Palmer, 25-year-old Briton Jolyon is making his grand prix debut this year with the new Renault works team.

But his younger brother Will is also racing through the single seater ranks, his latest achievement being the British Formula 4 title of 2015.

“It would be a dream to be racing in formula one and have my brother there as well,” said Jolyon, referring to his 18-year-old sibling.

“It’s a distant dream for now,” he told the Telegraph.

But before Palmer and Palmer can begin to think about emulating the past feats of brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher, it will be up to the older brother to hang onto his Renault seat beyond his single-year deal.

Jolyon’s motor racing career was almost derailed completely at the age of 16, when a quad-biking accident resulted in him losing a kidney.

“Good weight-saving — maybe I should tell the engineers,” he joked.

But now he admitted, the challenge is surviving F1, “Formula one is such a difficult world. You have to look after yourself a lot because that’s what everyone else is doing. If you don’t, then you’ll get spat out the other end.”

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Christian Horner says Red Bull took crash test risks its rivals 'wouldn't dream of'

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admits his team took "risks" rivals wouldn't dream of with its last minute crash test schedule, with the new RB12 passing all its tests in just three days.

A tighter-than-usual deadline, thanks to a last-minute calendar change, has put additional pressure on teams in the run up to pre-season testing - something that was made even harder for Red Bull as it found itself without an engine just two months ago.

"We've pushed it to the wire," Horner told reporters including Grand Prix Times during the launch of the team's 2016 livery.

Whilst the majority of the grid signed their cars off last week in preparation to ship them to Barcelona for the opening test next week, Horner revealed Red Bull only completed its final crash test on Wednesday afternoon.

"We hadn't done any crash tests before Monday but have passed them all in three days, the last one about an hour ago.

"We take risks some other teams wouldn't dream of. Leaving a crash test until one week before testing, but that's the way we roll. That's our DNA."

MIKA: That;s great news! If RBR plan on crashing... Have they hired Maldonado!

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Toro Rosso to run late 2015 spec engine

Toro Rosso will benefit from Ferrari's gains over the course of the 2015 season with Frans Tost revealing that his team will run their final spec engine.

This season Toro Rosso will resume their relationship with Ferrari after the entire Red Bull family tried to part ways with Renault.

But whereas Red Bull eventually signed a new one-year deal with the French engine supplier, Toro Rosso opted to return to Ferrari power.

The deal will see the Faenza-based team run 2015 spec engines. Those engines, though, will be the final specification run of Ferrari at the end of 2015.

"I am convinced we will get a very good engine from Ferrari because we like to work together with Ferrari, we had our biggest success with Ferrari," team boss Tost told Autosport.

"This engine, which is the model from the end of last year, is for us a big step forward, and I'm optimistic.

"Everything is a little more complicated, but only for the reason of the very short timeframe, and therefore the engineers from both sides had to work very hard to get everything into the car.

"But looking at the car, I like it. From year to year it gets more complicated and sophisticated, but that's how Formula 1 is."

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Ricciardo: No panic if Toro Rosso starts stronger

Daniel Ricciardo thinks it will not be a disaster for Red Bull if it is beaten by sister team Toro Rosso early on this season, because he knows his outfit's potential to recover is massive.

While Red Bull is sticking with Renault this season, Toro Rosso will almost certainly get a big performance lift from its move to 2015 Ferrari power units.

And that has left Ricciardo admitting that it would not be a huge shock if Red Bull is on the back foot early on.

"I think if we're to start with very little improvement from last year, I think Toro Rosso will be competitive in relation to us over the first few races," explained Ricciardo, during the Red Bull livery launch in London on Wednesday.

"It's not impossible that they come out ahead of us. But I think as the year goes on, we've got more room for development and improvement, and obviously we're the bigger team.

"If we start now in front of them, I think that's a really good sign - but I wouldn't be too discouraged if they come out ahead of us in Melbourne."

No high hopes

Ricciardo said that downbeat predictions for the start of the campaign were sensible, after the disappointment that came over previous season amid Renault engine struggles.

"Rather than getting us excited for nothing - or potentially for nothing – it will be a bonus if we come out in Melbourne and everything is a lot better than we thought," he said.

"If we come out in Melbourne and Christian [Horner] and everyone is like 'oh, the power unit is awesome, the aerodynamics, the everything' and then it doesn't work, it's demoralising."

Fightback

Speaking about Horner's talk of a poor start with rapid recovery, Ricciardo said: "Obviously I believe him when he says it and it's realistic that we will need a bit of time to make strong improvements from last year.

"But for me, obviously last year I got used to that in a way and I got sort of... not comfortable with that, but more understanding about the situation.

"I'm still looking at my my targets long-term as well and that's still to be world champion, still to keep myself in prime condition, both on and off the track. I still have a lot of motivation."

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F1 Chassis | Behind the scenes

F1’s very own strongman, carbon fibre, gets put to the test under extreme conditions. Check out the extraordinary might of this impressive material in a behind-the-scenes look at our carbon stress test machine in action.

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F1 Manufacturing | Behind the scenes

An F1 car is assembled from a mind-boggling 16,000 individual components. For even the most committed LEGO builder, that’s a somewhat daunting task.

What’s more, each separate part requires weeks and months of design and manufacture before it can even be assembled together.

Take a look at what goes into making components for a Formula 1 car in this exclusive behind the scenes interview.

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Button reverts to old-style F1 helmet colours

Jenson Button will revert to his old-style Formula 1 helmet colours for 2016, having called on fans to ask them what they wanted.

The former world champion opened a poll on Twitter earlier this year asking if fans wanted him to use his original design that he had raced until 2014, or the version he had used last year.

In the end, 71 percent of fans voted in favour of him going back to his old design – featuring the colours of the Union Jack and his JB initials.

In a post on Instagram on Wednesday, Button revealed his updated helmet design.

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HARYANTO JOINS MANOR TO BECOME INDONESIA’S FIRST F1 DRIVER

Rio Haryanto will become Indonesia’s first Formula One driver after signing a deal with Manor Racing, the back-of-the-grid team announced on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Haryanto will make his race debut in Australia when the season starts on March 20.

“Melbourne will be a huge moment for me, my country, supporters and fans and I want to thank everyone who’s been with me since I started in single seaters; 2016 is my chance to reward that faith and represent Asia in F1,” Haryanto said.

His signing as team mate to German rookie Pascal Wehrlein completes the grid for the 2016 season.

Haryanto, who finished fourth in the GP2 feeder series last season with three race wins, will be the third Southeast Asian driver to compete in Formula One since the championship started in 1950.

The other two were Malaysian Alex Yoong, with Minardi in 2001-2002, and Thailand’s Prince Bira (Birabongse Bhanudej) in the 1950s.

Haryanto was already the first Indonesian to drive a Formula One car, having tested with Manor’s predecessors Virgin Racing in 2010.

The Indonesian’s arrival in Formula One spells disappointment for Britain’s Will Stevens, American Alexander Rossi and Spaniard Roberto Merhi, who all raced for Manor last season when the team was known as Marussia.

“Rio’s huge following in Indonesia is great for the team and for F1. They are keen to see him on the grid and we’re confident that we’ll see him enjoying some exciting battles in the year ahead,” Manor owner Stephen Fitzpatrick said.

Manor failed to score a point in 2015 but have rung the changes since then, with new management and drivers as well as Mercedes engines in place of ageing Ferrari ones.

Haryanto’s place in the team had depended on raising funds in Indonesia, with Manor seeking €15 million according to local media.

The driver has been backed by state-owned Indonesian oil and gas company Pertamina but it was not immediately known how much they had contributed towards securing the drive.

Of the Grand Prix 247 fans who took part in a poll asking which of the three drivers – Haryanto, Rossi and Stevens – deserved the drive, 69% voted for Rossi with 16% voting for Stevens to remain with the team and 15% wanting Haryanto to get the drive.

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BITTERSWEET START TO THE SEASON ON THE CARDS FOR ALONSO

There appears to be good and bad news this week in the world of Fernando Alonso, with a few days before the 2016 F1 season gets underway on his home soil.

The good news, according to the Spanish gossip magazine Diez Minutos, is that the McLaren-Honda driver is engaged to his girlfriend Lara Alvarez, a TV presenter.

Alvarez, 29, may also be pregnant, with their wedding reportedly to take place in Dubai or the Maldives by the end of the year.

El Pais newspaper declared: “We contacted the representative of the F1 driver, who said he knows nothing about the matter.”

As for the bad news, there are reports in the specialist Spanish sports press that not all is well with Honda’s preparations for the 2016 season.

Earlier, Marca newspaper claimed that while the Japanese carmaker’s 2016 engine is more powerful than its woeful predecessor, the new and larger turbo unit has proved unreliable on the test benches.

Now, a Marca headline declares that Honda could take “the engine from 2015” to the first of just two pre-season tests in Barcelona from early next week.

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HORNER: THE DRIVERS NEED TO BE THE STARS IN F1

Christian Horner has urged Formula 1 to push ahead with plans to substantially speed up the cars for 2017 and re-establish the drivers as the heroes of the sport.

The Red Bull chief’s comments follow hot on the heels of former protege Sebastian Vettel claiming formula one risks becoming “lost” amid the controversial power unit era in which Mercedes is dominating.

“I think Sebastian is right in that the drivers need to be the stars,” Horner said on Wednesday at the launch of Red Bull’s new livery for 2016. “We’ve got a chance for 2017 and it’s important that we get that right.”

“The chassis changes for 2017 need to put the emphasis on the driver and the cars for 2017 need to be big, difficult and powerful and really stretch the drivers so you get a bigger differentiation between them.”

“We have got a golden opportunity to address that and it’s important we don’t miss that in the next couple of weeks,” said Horner.

While the 2017 shakeup has been under discussion for some time, there have been rumblings recently that Mercedes is urging caution and Pirelli is warning that laptime cannot be slashed unless much more testing is done.

Behind the scenes, the situation appears highly political, amid rumours the FIA is even keeping open its options to bring Michelin back to the negotiating table.

Auto Motor und Sport claims Michelin thinks high-performance tyres can be supplied “without testing”, and it could explain why the FIA is yet to sign off Pirelli’s new 2017 F1 contract.

Mere weeks ago, Pirelli boss Paul Hembery admitted: “I guess if there’s no contract anyone could walk away, but we have a contract with Bernie (Ecclestone) and FOM so the rest of the agreements I’m sure will follow in due course.”

Pressure is also being put on the teams to agree a way forward within the coming days, as it emerges that authorities rejected Williams’ plan to delay the rule changes until 2018.

“It was even suggested just before Christmas not to change anything, which would be a disaster,” said Horner.

Auto Motor und Sport explained: “At the last meeting of technical directors, it was discussed whether to extend the deadline by a further two months, in order to stop poor compromises being made.”

Horner thinks FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone should simply call the shots, “We’re never going to keep everyone happy. But by trying to placate different views we’ll end up diluting change.”

MIKA: For once I agree with Horners comments.

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Daniel Ricciardo says F1 drivers back the Halo head protection concept

Daniel Ricciardo says Formula 1 drivers would welcome the introduction of increased head protection measures - such as the proposed Halo system - for 2017.

The FIA wants to introduce improved head protection for drivers following the fatal accidents of Jules Bianchi and IndyCar racer Justin Wilson.

Ricciardo says the introduction of a Halo concept - a shield designed to protect drivers from debris first trailed by Mercedes - has met approval from drivers.

"There's been quite a bit of dialogue in the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association) with a lot of emails going back and forth in the last month or so," Ricciardo told reporters including Grand Prix Times on Wednesday.

"Our head is the only really vulnerable thing at the moment.

"It's not taking away anything from the driver in terms of courage or anything like that, it's a simple little benefit that we can all gain from and no one wants to see another fatality, so if we can minimise the risk then why not?

"I honestly don't think anyone is against it. Sure, some people probably didn't have an opinion, but most people spoke up about it and said 'it's what we want'."

The Halo design - the FIA’s preferred option at this stage - would attach to the cockpit sides, with a vertical strut also in front of the driver.

"With Jules and then Justin it just seems like a bit of tradition for what in the end? I think we'll do it and F1 has seen a lot of changes over the years,” Ricciardo added.

"In 2009 the cars looked pretty ugly at first, but everyone got used to it and now they look normal. If this is just a little Halo, within a race or two people will think it looks normal.”

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner revealed on Wednesday his team is to propose an alternative to Mercedes' Halo canopy concept during a meeting with FIA safety expert Andy Mellor later this week.

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Video: Mercedes team members introduce the W07

Mercedes teases the new W07, which Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will race this season, in a new video with introductions to the car from team members who contributed to creating it.

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Red Bull to propose alternative to Halo canopy concept

Red Bull is to propose an alternative to Mercedes' Halo canopy concept during a meeting with FIA safety expert Andy Mellor on Friday.

The Halo is currently the preferred option following an agreement to introduce canopy-style head protection in 2017.

However Red Bull believes it has a safer alternative. Whilst the team has yet to release an image of what it will look like, it's believed to feature bullet-proof glass - as does Mercedes' latest Halo concept - but in a way in which the drivers head will be better protected.

The idea will be put forward to Mellor and engineers from Formula 1's five-leading teams on Friday during a meeting in London.

Although Red Bull believes its concept offers better protection, the FIA may choose to adopt the Halo as not only has it been thoroughly tested, it is also in an advanced stage of development.

"Red Bull is making another submission for a canopy that we believe will be a safer option. It's more of a canopy than a Halo," team principal Christian Horner told Grand Prix Times.

"Head protection is crucial. Red Bull is making another submission for a canopy that we believe will be a safer option. It’s more of a canopy than a halo, but it obviously needs to be tested and hopefully can be done very quickly."

When asked if it could be ready in time for 2017, Horner replied: "Why not?"

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Why 2016 will be even tougher for Red Bull

Yesterday, Red Bull revealed the new livery for their 2016 challenger. It was officially referred to as a ‘Red Bull-Tag Heuer’ but beneath its restyled skin sits a Renault power unit once again.

The French V6 turbo hybrid was the chief source of frustration for the team last year. Team principal Christian Horner repeatedly criticised Renault’s failure to improve its performance, reliability and drive-ability as Red Bull endured its first win-less season since 2008.

Horner tried to court one of the other manufacturers to supply the team, though how realistic this was is a matter of dispute. Before the season even began he admitted Mercedes would “never” agree terms with Red Bull and that “you can only ever be a customer” with Ferrari.

But that customer-supplier relationship which Horner rejected is exactly what they will have with Renault now the French manufacturer has returned to F1 as a full constructor. Last month Helmut Marko argued Renault should prioritise Red Bull over its own factory squad but the manufacturer has not set up its own team in order to put Red Bull’s needs first.

Engine customers have to make do with what they’re given

Regardless of whether Red Bull begin the season beating Renault (and they probably will), expect to hear complaints that their performance is being diminished because Renault has put its Enstone-Viry team first. But this is how manufacturer-customer relationships operate elsewhere on the grid.

Customer teams are given the specifications for their engines with virtually no concessions made to their requirements. The Mercedes-Benz PU106B power unit was designed to fit in the back of a Mercedes-Benz W06 chassis and vice-versa. Williams, Force India and Lotus had to make do with what they were given.

Power unit manufacturers inevitably push the deadlines for building their engines as far as they dare in the pursuit of greater performance. Their in-house chassis builders are better placed to influence, anticipate and respond to these changes than customer teams, who will learn about the changes later on and tend to have fewer resources with which to respond. The solution is therefore more of a compromise and with that goes performance.

When it comes to making late changes to chassis designs, Red Bull’s wealth means they are far better equipped than a team like Force India or Sauber. This is why Renault has already admitted they have a challenging benchmark to measure themselves against.

But there are other reasons why engine customers find themselves at a disadvantage. While Bernie Ecclestone insists the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari give their customers “a lot less power” than they enjoy, the real picture is a little more complicated.

In fact the manufactures are often at pains to point out their customers receive the same hardware they use. The differences tend to lie in other areas: software restrictions on how engines are operated, and the fuels and lubricants which allow them to achieve peak power and efficiency.

The latter has been a major area of development since the current power unit regulations were introduced in 2014. Mercedes and Petronas have made joint strides with Ferrari and Shell hot on their heels.

Red Bull won’t be Renault’s top priority this year

The restrictions manufacturers place on how their engines may be used by their customer teams is chiefly done to ensure their power units do not expire in clouds of smoke, which is not what the marketing men want to see. The software-controlled higher performance engine modes are more strictly limited for customer teams, placing them at a further disadvantage.

So while Red Bull can expect to get the same hardware as the Renault factory team, they may not be able to get as much out of it. And with reduced income from the likes of Renault-Nissan brand Infiniti – whose logo will occupy one of the most prominent positions on the RS16 – it will cost them more, too.

Red Bull’s predicament can be compared with McLaren’s six years ago. McLaren had enjoyed a decade and a half of success with Mercedes engines, but in 2010 Mercedes took over Brawn and became a full works team. It took three years for them to beat McLaren in the constructors’ championship, but by then the writing was on the wall.

McLaren split from Mercedes and forged a new deal with Honda as the sole recipient of its engines. Despite a difficult start, Ron Dennis stated time and again that to win championships under the current regulations a team must have a factory engine supplier.

Where can Red Bull go to get a deal of its own? The long-rumoured Volkswagen Group tie-up seems to be completely off the table following the company’s involvement in an emissions test scandal last year.

“Swiss engineering to close the gap next season” was the optimistic slogan Red Bull attached to the TAG-Heuer announcement. But even if the 2016 Renault engine proves a step forward in the short term, Red Bull’s long term pursuit of championship success will surely lead them somewhere else.

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Ricciardo told to shed weight before F1 season

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that he has been told by his Red Bull bosses to lose weight ahead of the start of the Formula 1 season, as his team pushes the limits with its new car.

Having already lost three kilograms since the end of last year, the Australian says he has been requested to lose even more before the F1 opener in Melbourne.

"I am 3kg down and I have another 2kg to go from where I ended last year – with a bit of Christmas on it!" said Ricciardo, speaking at the team's livery launch in London this week.

Weight saving

When asked by Motorsport.com about why there had been such a big push for him to lose weight, Ricciardo confirmed that there had been orders from his team.

"It is not fun losing weight, but if I thought it would be a real challenge or whatever for sure I would not have got the weight off," he said.

"But I know I can do it and hopefully get myself there. It is not only weight I put on over Christmas, because I didn't put 5kg on.

"But we are quite tight with the weight of the car and we have been advised to be a bit leaner than last year. So it will be more like 2014 for us now."

Rules on limit

Back in 2014, for the start of the new turbo V6 regulations, drivers were forced to slim down as teams felt it was one area that savings could be made to the weight of the car - which is measured with the driver on board.

Following complaints, and to prevent drivers risking falling ill through excessive weight loss, for 2015 the minimum car weight was pushed up by 10kg to 701kg.

However, with Red Bull pushing their design to the limits in a bid to close the gap to Mercedes and Ferrari, the issue of driver weight has popped up again.

When asked if the situation was becoming unacceptable again, Ricciardo said: "It depends on the team and how heavy they have built the car.

"For us, this year, it is on a fine-line. And it is about management. If I can get down to 67-68kg and still be healthy then it's okay. But it is starting to get on the low side.

"I wouldn't want to drop below that and still perform at the level we do. It is a challenge – but it has made me more interested in nutrition and things I can learn with my training.

"I'm learning abut my body and trying to be more efficient, not only through training but also in the car – which could help me out."

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Honda unmoved by talk of reliability troubles

Honda says it is unmoved by talk that it is facing fresh reliability dramas with its Formula 1 engine, and insists its true form will only be found out once pre-season testing has finished.

The Japanese car manufacturer has been surrounded by speculation for weeks about the performance of its revamped 2016 engine.

On the one hand, reports have suggested that the new power unit had made a dramatic step forward in power terms, with Honda having successfully overcome its energy recovery system weaknesses that marred its 2015 campaign.

Reliability doubts

However, more recently, there has been talk of reliability problems related to new components on the power unit.

Sources have suggested that endurance testing of the new engines on the dyno has not yet hit distance targets, specifically in the turbo area of the power unit.

That has even prompted talk that Honda could, as a last resort, use 2015-spec parts during testing if reliability of the new components does not come up to scratch.

Speculation unfounded

However, Honda has made it clear that there is no plan to do anything other than focus on its 2016 power unit, although the exact specification of engine components may evolve throughout testing as the company fine tunes its developments.

Reacting to the latest speculation, a Honda spokeswoman made it clear that it was too early to state anything definitive about where the company was at, as the true picture would only emerge over the next two weeks.

"Reports on Honda's power unit performance and reliability are unfounded and speculative, and we ask fans and media alike to treat them as such," she told Motorsport.com.

"We will not know exactly where we stand until we finish the eight days of testing in Barcelona, so until then we have no further information. We are looking forward to getting back on the track."

F1 testing starts at Barcelona on February 22, the day after McLaren holds an online launch for its new MP4-31.

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DEBATE REACTION: RACING AND TECHNOLOGY POPULAR AS KVYAT CALLS FOR F1 TWEAKS

Sebastian Vettel’s recent suggestion that Formula 1 should be primarily about which driver is fastest provoked an interesting debate about the nature of the sport and what interests its supporters.

F1 has faced waves of criticism over the V6 turbo hybrid power units that were introduced at the start of 2014 and Vettel’s suggestion that the sport should focus on the drivers rather than overly complex regulations.

But readers of the James Allen on F1 website have expressed their desire for F1 to be about a combination of technological advancement and exciting on track racing.

Poll result

A JAonF1 poll that was conducted in response to Vettel’s comments asked readers what they thought F1 should be about: The best drivers competing on the global stage, technological advancement or a combination of the two.

Almost 2,000 votes were cast and 73.81 per cent of participants said that they wanted F1 to be a combination of the two.

A quarter of voters said they wanted to see driving battles as the main reason to watch F1 and just 2.19 per cent said they thought the sport should just be purely about technology.

Kvyat: F1 needs fine-tuning

Daniil Kvyat explained to this website at Red Bull’s livery launch that although he feels the sport needs to be fine tuned to sort out its issues, there is always a way to stand out in F1.

He said: “Formula 1 is always about showing your skill [and] there is always a way to show you skill. There is always a way to stand out as a driver even if you don’t win.

“But I think there is always something to be fine tuned in any situation and improved. Obviously there has been many things going on in Formula 1 lately so I think it is yet to find the perfect combination but it might not take only one day.”

Kvyat, who recorded his highest Grand Prix finish with second at the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix, believes that although more competition would be good for the sport, F1 has enjoyed some good racing in recent years.

He said: “Let’s give it a bit of time and obviously it would be great to see a bit [of a] tighter fight for the win in the future. But you have to be patient and I still think we have achieved some really nice races lately in Formula 1 and so it’s been good.

Fan reactions

In well over 100 comments as part of the debate on the nature of F1, readers of JA website explained what they thought the sport should be about and explained if they agreed or disagreed with Vettel.

Here is a selection on those views:

Tacomajack wrote: “They call it racing, and that should be what it is. Currently we have too much technology and too many rules governing the ‘show’.

“Personally, I would like to see less emphasis on the aerodynamics and ‘tyre and fuel management’ and more of a speed and balance contest where the driver makes the decisions.”

The complaint behind this view, that F1 is focuses on technology and improving the show too much, is currently under discussion during talks about the potential changes to the regulations for 2017.

It was thought cars would be made faster and more aggressive by using wider tyres and aggressive aerodynamics next year, but that proposal is under threat as Pirelli proposed a watered down solution that did not please all of the teams.

Sir Tease wrote: “Maybe as a driver he struggles to “connect ” with the car, but it makes no difference to me how it’s built. I don’t see how the hybrid tech is so unapproachable for fans.

“It has an ICE, it harvests kinetic and heat energy, it pumps it back in to the turbo at the push of a button. I guess all the grid penalties for this and that are quite off-putting but they’re easily dismissed because they’re silly anyway.

This argument counters Vettel’s view that the overly complicated rules takes away from the driving battle. The large number of grid penalties that were awarded in 2015 as the Honda and Renault powered teams changed components regularly were widely derided.

John Marshall wrote: “I don’t recall Seb complaining too much when Red Bull was winning championships with complicated aero solutions. The same criticisms were made when he was winning and Red Bull was dominating. Get on with it and build a better car.”

One thought left by some commenters was that Vettel did not complain when he and Red Bull enjoyed an aerodynamic advantage during their run of success between 2010 and 2013.

[MIKA27]

WHAT I’M MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AT THE START OF FORMULA 1 WINTER TESTING

The new F1 cars will hit the track in Barcelona from Monday and the process of dialling in the new cars will begin. It’s always an exciting time, to see whether a team has made a breakthrough or whether they have got it wrong. This year the teams are under a lot of pressure as they only have eight days of track testing time, so they cannot afford slip ups. Every hour and every lap counts more than ever.

So what can we expect this year?

Clearly the most attention will be paid to the new Ferrari, which launches on Friday to see whether it is close enough to the Mercedes to make a title race. The other big teams, who have the resources to fight for wins and championships, like Red Bull and McLaren, are likely to still have some disadvantages compared to the benchmark cars.

There will be speculation and some controversy, there always is. One possible area this year will be whether anyone has found a clever performance enhancement from the new additional exhaust regulation, which is aimed at making the F1 cars sound louder.

Inevitably someone will have found a way to use it to gain an aerodynamic benefit using knowledge from the days of blown diffusers and that may well be a talking point.

Controversies aside, here are the things I’ll be looking out for.

Doing the mileage

It’s vital to get the miles onto the car in the first test in order to be able to push for performance in the second. McLaren was an extreme example last year, with all its new Honda power unit problems as well as the strange accident of Fernando Alonso and they were playing catch up from the start.

At the other end of the scale, Sauber targeted the early races to score points and made sure the car was 100% reliable at the outset and it paid off. In an Australian Grand Prix with a high attrition rate, Felipe Nasr was able to score points for 5th place on his debut and with team mate Marcus Ericsson also chipping in points, Sauber knew they had money in the bank on day one.

With reasonably stable regulations this year, that will be harder to achieve as there will be more cars seeing the chequered flag in Melbourne.

Sadly they are the ones now playing catch up and they will not be ready for the start of testing, as clearly money is in short supply.

Small teams moving up

The costs of competing are still astronomical, with hybrid engines retailing at around €20m a season per team for this year, so it’s hard for teams like Manor to compete, on the face of it. We’ve seen then two seconds off the pace of the rest for the last few years.

But this year I’d expect them to start out in Barcelona at least 2 seconds closer to the pace of the field thanks to having a state of the art Mercedes engine. They have also had some budget to spend on building a new chassis for 2016, optimised around that engine. If you consider that last year they had a 2014 Ferrari engine and essentially a 2014 chassis with 2015 nose, then their simulations showing a performance leap of 2.5 seconds minimum from last year to this look realistic.

The new Haas F1 team is also a small team in that it operates with a fixed budget, which it considers sufficient to do the job, but it’s reliant on partners like Ferrari for much of the hardware. They will have a well sorted engine, close to the performance of the Mercedes, but everything else is new. While there have been predictions of them giving the big boys a scare this season – and they may as the year goes on – one would expect them to have some hiccups and they will be the team wishing that there were 28 days of testing, rather than just the eight.

Basic things like getting the cooling right will be big items for a brand new team operating a super-complex F1 car for the first time in the opening few days of testing.

Quite apart from getting the car to run reliably, they will have to allocate quite a bit of time to practicing ‘live’ pit stops in the second test.

Romain Grosjean is a top quality driver and a reference point, but he’ll have his work cut out in the next two weeks to ensure that Haas arrives in Melbourne in something like decent shape to compete. Getting at least one car to the chequered flag will be the target for Melbourne.

But the team I will have my eye on the most is Toro Rosso. Last year they struggled with an unreliable Renault engine and dropped lots of possible points. This year they have a 2015 Ferrari engine, which ended the season in competitive shape and the chassis was excellent last year. So one would expect them to have targeted a big performance and reliability step at the outset and points in Melbourne.

As the season goes on and the other teams get development steps on the engine, it will hurt them, but if one of their two talented drivers Max Verstappen or Carlos Sainz is to get a podium it will be in the first part of the season and the groundwork for that will be done with high mileage in the eight days of Barcelona testing.

[MIKA27]

An Old boy Stays in Touch

Sahara Force India is continuing its partnership with the Hype Energy drink company in 2016. Hype branding will be seen on the cockpit of the VJM09, the inside of the rear wing end plate, as well as on the drivers’ suits.

Hype’s involvement in F1 began as long ago as 1995, soon after the drink was launched by Barry Cox, the man who had previously founded the Hard Rock Cafe brand. From the start the company invested heavily in motorsport, backing the Arrows F1 team and later Benetton and Williams, in addition to sponsorship in NASCAR and motorcycle racing. This created a level of recognition.

In 1997 the former F1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Bertrand Gachot became the French distributor of the brand. Gachot started his F1 career with Moneytron Onyx in 1989 and then moved on to try to qualify for Rial and Coloni before joining the new Jordan Grand Prix in 1991, alongside Andrea de Cesaris. That same year Bertrand won the Le Mans 24 Hours in a Mazdaspeed Mazda 787B, partnered by Volker Weidler and Johnny Herbert.

Ironically, he is probably best remembered for an incident in London when he had an altercation with a taxi driver and used a self-defence spray which led to him being sent to prison for two months. This opened the way for Michael Schumacher to make his F1 debut at Spa. Gachot returned to F1 and joined the Larrousse team in 1992. He dropped out of F1 in 1993, working with Keith Wiggins to create the Pacific Grand Prix team, of which he was a shareholder. The team never had sufficient money and had to rely on pay-drivers.. It closed down at the end of 1995.

Experience with drinks companies in F1 led Gachot to invest in Hype and in 1998 he began negotiating to buy the entire company. The deal was completed in 2000 and Gachot has concentrated on that ever since. The drink is now sold in 45 countries and is a major player in the Middle East and North Africa. Hype sells around 100 million cans of drink a year.

“Last year, thanks to the great successes of the team, the Hype brand enjoyed huge growth and strengthened its global position,” Gachot said. “I enjoy working with this team and from a personal perspective it’s a natural choice: I was involved with the team since its creation in 1990 and raced for them in 1991. Now, as a sponsor, I’m proud to still work with some of the same people as I did as a racing driver. I have immense faith in them.”