FORMULA 1 - 2016

[MIKA27]

ACI 'very close' to signing new Monza Formula 1 deal

Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of the Automobile Club d’Italia, says Monza is "very close" to securing its future in Formula 1.

Monza’s Italian Grand Prix contract is currently set to expire at the end of 2016. Negotiations on a new deal have been ongoing for some time but appear to be closing in on a conclusion.

"Let's say that it is a difficult negotiation," he told ESPN. "It's the first time a sports association in Italy has taken on the burden to organise the Grand Prix with significant funds.

"Around Monte Carlo we found many common points with [Bernie] Ecclestone – there are things that still have to be defined –  but I would dare say that we are very close to an agreement despite some actions that, of course, have not helped."

Bernie Ecclestone recently said F1 could return to Imola if a deal with Monza could not be agreed to, but Sticchi Damiani revealed the current home of the Italian GP is the only option.

“Monza because in the Italian financial law it is written that the grand prix should be Monza, not Imola," he explained.

"The involvement of the Automobile Club of Italy, who is involved directly in the running of the grand prix starting next year, is for an Italian Grand Prix running in Monza, not in Imola."

“I hope to have a solution to the future of Monza next month. It's a complicated affair, as you know, but we have worked a lot and we trust we are really very close to a solution."

[MIKA27]

Arrivabene happy with Ferrari turnaround over Baku weekend

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene says he was happy with the turnaround the Italian outfit made over the European Grand Prix weekend in Baku.

The team struggled during practice and qualifying, but Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen bounced back in the race.

Vettel started fourth but moved up to second place with a one-stop strategy, while Raikkonen lost a place to Sergio Perez late on but finished in fourth.

“If we look at where we were on Friday, we can be happy with the step forward that has been made during the weekend,” Arrivabene said afterwards.

“Our race pace was good, albeit not quite as good as it should be. We saw a very good performance by both our drivers.

“As we had seen already in Canada, the engine seems to be our strength, while we still need to work on the other areas, because this car has proven to be very sensitive to set-up changes.

“I have no complaints for Kimi’s penalty: he was racing hard and overtook a lot of cars. When he realized he was being penalized, he then proved to be a very good team-mate to Seb.

“The gap to our main competitors is still there so we have to work hard to improve in the areas where we are still weak and keep focusing on this year, because there’s still a long way to go to the end of the season. Congratulations to Seb for a second place which, once again, shows what a talented driver he is.”

[MIKA27]

Ultrasoft the favoured tyre for Austrian Grand Prix

The ultrasoft tyre is the most popular compound choice for the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix, with the majority of teams shunning the soft tyre.

Ferrari have opted for nine sets of the ultrasoft, three of the supersoft and just one of the soft, which is a mandatory race tyre, therefore drivers must have at least one set of the softs in their selection.

Only one other team, Renault, have opted for the same number of the ultrasoft compound as Ferrari.

Mercedes will take eight sets each for their drivers, however Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg differ on their choice of the supersoft and soft, with the latter choosing one less set of the soft in favour of an additional supersoft.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen have seven of the ultrasofts, four of the supersoft and two of the soft.

Haas have elected for the least of the ultrasoft at just six.

[MIKA27]

Red Bull suspend work on Aeroscreen

Red Bull’s Christian Horner has confirmed that they have suspended their development on the Aeroscreen as they refuse to waste any more of their resources if it is not going to be approved any time soon.

The Aeroscreen concept was developed as an alternative to the Halo concept ran by Ferrari, with both designs looking to make positive steps towards cockpit protection.

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo had a cameo with the dome looking windshield during one of the Russian Grand Prix practice rounds, garnering positive reviews all round.

However, the Halo concept was approved by the FIA as the one they will concentrate on for next season, with the Aeroscreen lacking data and raising concerns over the upper rim area affecting the drivers’ head.

With the Milton-Kenynes-based outfit already spending €250000 on the project, Horner claimed that it is too costly for them to pursue if it will only be considered in a couple years time.

"At the moment we have suspended all our work on the Aeroscreen because we are awaiting a direction officially from the FIA. They have all the info," the Red Bull boss told Motorsport.com.

"We don't have the resource nor capacity to continue the development on it. Plus somebody also has to pay for it."

The quadruple World Champions are also hoping for a third party to take over the project so it can receive more attention and be developed properly.

[MIKA27]

Steiner calm over fourth point-less race in a row

Finishing their fourth straight race without a point, Haas team Principal Guenther Steiner has claimed that they are still making process despite their shortcomings.

During the recently concluded European Grand Prix, drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez ran into trouble which negatively altered their race.

According to Steiner, the Frenchman had debris stuck in his radiators while his Mexican teammate suffered an early hiccup when he collided with Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg on the first lap.

The Italian also added that although it may seem like they have dropped in performance, it is not the case as unforeseeable incidents have been hiding their progress.

"At the start, Esteban had contact with [Nico] Hülkenberg and lost part of the front wing and a piece of the floor," Steiner said.

"This resulted in us having to call him in to change the wing and that ruined his race.

"Romain was going well. We would've liked to have him stay out longer on the first set of tyres, but once we changed them it was looking good until he had to come in again.

"The radiators [had] to be cleaned out as we collected some debris. His race pace was good, but we couldn't risk having the engine overheating.

"We're still aiming for points. We had very good pit stops and we're making progress, so now we look ahead to the next race."

[MIKA27]

Perez future still up in the air

Despite Sergio Perez insisting that he is happy at Force India, the Mexican driver has refused to confirm where he will be racing next year.

Perez, who claimed third place at the European Grand Prix in Baku, has been constantly linked with a drive to Ferrari, where he will likely replace current racer Kimi Raikkonen.

On his future, the former McLaren driver has humbly claimed that the only think he can hope for next season is that he is still in F1.

“I am very happy where l am. I am enjoying it, l love this team. What happens next year? I just hope l am in Formula 1, but who knows where,” the 26-year-old told Sky Sports F1.  “It is too early to talk about the future.”

Moving up the pecking order at Force India, deputy team principal Bob Fernley is confident that Perez will be their driver in 2017 but admitted that things could change, especially with Ferrari lurking around.

“I think he’ll be be with us next year,” Fernley told Reuters.

“In this business you can never be 100 per cent sure about anything but l would be comfortable to say that he will be with us.”

Adding to Raikkonen’s deal at Scuderia expiring at the end of the year, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa are also out of contract at the end of the season.

[MIKA27]

VW boss Capito's McLaren move to happen by Italian GP

McLaren’s future Formula 1 CEO Jost Capito expects to finally be able to join the team after the summer shutdown, following months of uncertainty about when he could begin.

Capito, who is currently Volkswagen’s motorsport boss, was announced as a McLaren signing in January.

However, it was made clear that he would only be moving across once he had found a suitable replacement at Volkswagen.

The difficulty in sorting that out has delayed his switch but speaking at the FIA Sport Conference in Turin on Tuesday, Capito said a date had now finally sorted – which means he should be on board by the Italian Grand Prix.

“Yes, this year,” he said of his start date. “It will be the end of August, beginning of September, something around that region.”

Although Capito has been present at some F1 races this year, he says he has not been able to spend much time observing how things operate at McLaren.

“The job at VW is such a big job,” he said. “It’s not only WRC, it’s rallycross in the US, it’s TCR… As long as I’m there, I’m doing a proper job there.

“I’m looking forward to the switch; otherwise I wouldn’t have done it!”

[MIKA27]

Tost expects Sainz to stay at Toro Rosso in 2017

Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost expects confirmation imminently that Carlos Sainz will stay at the team for 2017, as he hints the outfit may have a totally unchanged driver line-up.

Sainz has impressed greatly since stepping up to Toro Rosso at the start of 2014.

He proved to be a match for then team-mate Max Verstappen in qualifying pace and he has shone even more since the Dutchman was swapped with Daniil Kvyat.

With Sainz’s strong form having already prompted speculation that he could be a target for Ferrari, Tost has made it clear that he expects the Spaniard to remain on board for next season.

“I always am talking about a three-year programme,” said Tost at the FIA Sports Conference in Turin on Tuesday. “I don’t see any problem there, because it depends always what’s going on at Red Bull Racing, and for next season it is full with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen.

“It looks like, and I personally hope that this is the case, that Carlos Sainz will stay with Toro Rosso. I think this will be confirmed soon.

“It’s also a good possibility for Carlos to show his talent and I hope that our car next year is very competitive, and that he will not find any disadvantages compared to another team.”

A final decision on Sainz’s future rests with the parent Red Bull company, which has the option on Sainz’s contract for next season.

It is unlikely, judging by his form, that the energy drinks giant will not choose to retain him.

 

Kvyat “has to feel well”

Tost also said that he would like Kvyat to stay for 2017, following his mid-season return to Toro Rosso.

The Russian has been delivering better results now he has got more used to his car, and Tost believes that the Russia deserves another contract for next season.

“The driver line-up at Toro Rosso for next year is not 100 percent decided yet,” explained Tost. “I expect Carlos will stay with us. Personally I would hope that also Daniil Kvyat will stay with us, because he is a really good driver. But he has to feel well. Then we will see what the future holds.”

Kvyat’s hopes of staying could also be boosted by the fact that its junior driver Pierre Gasly has not delivered the success hoped for in GP2 – having missed out on another win in Baku.

Speaking about Gasly, Tost said: “At the end it is a decision from Red Bull Racing to bring in a driver which shows the best possible performance for the team and for Red Bull.”

[MIKA27]

Imola switch for Italian GP unlikely, says federation boss

Automobile Club d'Italia president Angelo Sticchi Damiani has insisted that the Italian Grand Prix is unlikely to switch to Imola because the state funding is legally committed to current venue Monza.

The future of the grand prix at Monza has been in doubt for quite some time, with Bernie Ecclestone recently suggesting that the event could move to Imola instead.

Ecclestone, however, noted that the choice of venue was first and foremost dependent on the national authority ACI, and its boss Damiani has now said the event should continue at Monza.

"In the Italian financial law it is written that the grand prix should be Monza, not Imola,” Damiani said at the FIA's Sport Conference in Turin.

"The involvement of the Automobile Club of Italy, who is involved directly in the running of the grand prix starting next year, is for an Italian Grand Prix running in Monza, not in Imola.

"This is a new law, a financial law, that was approved at the beginning of the year.”

"Close to an agreement"

Damiani also insisted that, despite a number of hurdles in the negotiations, the relevant parties were close to agreeing to a deal that would secure the immediate future of the F1 race at Monza.

"It is the first time in Italy that it takes a burden to organise a Formula 1 grand prix with significant funds," Damiani said.

"The fact that ACI is replacing the Automobile Club Milan - which is organising the grand prix this year - is of course a revolution, a quite relevant one.

"Thanks to the support of the Lombardy regional authority, and hopefully also thanks to a national sponsor - although these have to be defined in the details - thanks to these supports, we managed to begin [negotiations] in February.

“In Monte Carlo we found many common points with Ecclestone. There are things that still have to be defined, but I dare say we are very close to an agreement despite some actions which have not helped the negotiations. Quite the opposite, it has made it difficult.”

[MIKA27]

F1 radio ban criticism shrugged off by FIA president Jean Todt

FIA president Jean Todt has shrugged off criticism regarding Formula 1's radio restrictions because he said the rules were requested for unanimously.

Lewis Hamilton said the rules damaged the spectacle in the European Grand Prix as it prevented him joining the lead battle because his team could not instruct him on an engine mode change that would have made his car more competitive.

His Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff and McLaren's Fernando Alonso added F1 needs to consider adjusting the regulations in light of the events in Baku.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said it was a "crazy situation" that Ferrari was unable to aid Kimi Raikkonen when he had an electronics issue midway through the race.

Todt, who was speaking at the FIA Sport Conference in Turin, said: "We've always believed that we had to remove the so-called driver aids because it's fine, we can help drivers, we can do it on the road.

"But this was requested unanimously, it was asked to reduce all aids, all assistance given to drivers for the race and this is part of this approach."

Hamilton suggested F1 is so technical in the modern era, with so many switches and modes controlled from the cockpit, that the drivers need some assistance.

But Todt said: "We can say maybe that the cars are too complicated but we have just concluded a 24-hour race [at Le Mans, which Todt attended] with cars that are more and more complicated.

"So it's up to the teams and the pilots to work so that there is a chance to offer the best possible performance."

[MIKA27]

Sauber to get new Ferrari Formula 1 turbo from British Grand Prix

Sauber will use Ferrari's updated Formula 1 turbocharger for the first time at next month's British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Autosport has learned.

Ferrari introduced the update for its works team in Canada, using two of its engine development tokens and leaving just four of the original 32 remaining.

It did not initially make the update available to its customers Sauber and Haas.

Team boss Gunther Steiner said in Baku that his Haas team would run the new turbocharger at Silverstone and it has emerged Sauber will also do the same.

Sauber also plans to introduce minor aero updates in Britain and is targeting the following race in Hungary for the introduction of its new front wing and rear wing.

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn continues to work on talks with prospective new sponsors in a bid to improve the squad's financial situation.

Cashflow problems have led to staff being paid late this season while there has been no development on the car given the lack of available funds.

Felipe Nasr equalled Sauber's best performance of the season in Baku with 12th, beating the Haas and Renault drivers and finishing not far behind Jenson Button's McLaren.

The performance provided a much needed morale boost to Sauber's employees.

"In Baku, we could fight more and we were more competitive towards teams around us," Kaltenborn told Autosport.

"From that perspective, the drivers did a fine job.

"The result was a boost as it's difficult to keep up the motivation.

"This gets everyone together again and says 'no, we can still do it'.

"There are positive signals, which are good for the team.

"We are working on getting things on track still and that will make the car better to drive for the drivers.

"We'll follow our way to make the team more stable again."

[MIKA27]

SEBASTIAN VETTEL: FORMULA 1 “HAS TO REMAIN DANGEROUS” TO STAY POPULAR WITH FANS

Sebastian Vettel believes Formula 1 needs to maintain an element of danger to remain popular, but says the sport cannot ignore developments in safety.
The Ferrari driver was speaking on the first day of the FIA’s 2016 Sport Conference, which is taking place in Turin this week.

The themes of the meeting are passion and innovation, with the governing body planning to discuss motorsport’s past, present and future.

When asked how he would shape the future of motorsport, Vettel outlined his belief that keeping people captivated by high speeds and the element of danger would maintain interests in the sport.

He said: “What fascinated me as child was speed and I think racing should keep the core pillars and speed is one essential one. I think the passion for speed – you have it or you don’t, it’s exciting.

“The sensation of speed [and] the cornering speeds we can do is incredible and I think that has remained one of the main pillars throughout [motorsport history].

“Speaking to drivers such as Stirling Moss, at the time a Formula 1 car was the best car you could drive and the most exiting one. I think to some extent the ingredient danger as well, that makes it exciting.”

Vettel acknowledged that F1 cars have became much safer for the drivers in recent years and described how the sport needs to strike a compromise between protecting the racers and keeping the exciting aspects that appeal to fans.

He said: “The fact that the cars have become a lot safer, obviously it’s a lot nicer for us, because knowing a little bit of the history and reading a little bit [you learn] that many years ago the drivers weren’t as lucky, the cars weren’t as safe as they are now, so I think you need to find the right compromise.

“The ingredients for passion, speed, danger [and] noise are very important. Equally, we want to make the sport safer – we can’t shut our eyes if bad things happen – [and] I think we need to react. I think we have [learned] over the last years and still [do] now and I think that is the right approach.

“It is [a difficult balance to find], and ultimately it might sound wrong initially, but I think the sport in some way has to remain dangerous because that is what is appealing to people.

“[If] you lose that ingredient people don’t sense anymore that it’s something out of their reach [or] out of this world and it becomes less exciting.”

The four times world champion described how he hopes the 2017 F1 regulations, which have been designed to make the cars look and perform faster than they are currently capable of doing, might help keep the sport exciting to the fans.

He said: “Obviously [you have] to package it the right way, which they’re trying very hard to do. Next year’s regulations should be a step up for at least us, the drivers, for us it’s always great, the faster we go. We’re not stepping back in any regard. It’s a step forward.”

Vettel also praised the design of the new street circuit in Baku, which hosted the European Grand Prix last weekend, as he felt the high-speed nature of the walled track created an exciting and challenging venue.

He said: “Coming from Baku last week, the circuit got a lot of criticism for being too dangerous, [but] I disagree. The FIA and the people in Baku have done a hell of a job fitting that racetrack into a place where arguably it’s not made for racing but it’s fantastic. It’s spectacular and there is very little room for error.

“That’s what makes racing so exiting and I think that’s what made it exciting in the past and what still makes it exiting.”

Vettel confident Ferrari has “a bright future”

Vettel, who joined Ferrari at the start of the 2015 season, also believes the Italian team is moving in the right direction and he described the progress the squad has made since he arrived.

He said: “We still have a long way to go, I think the moment I joined the team there was a lot of things changing so it still takes some time but we don’t allow ourselves to take that time.

“We have very, very ambitious targets and obviously great competition, but ultimately we want to prove the point that we are the best, we want to win. So naturally after a great season last year when we finished second in the world constructors’ championship we want to step up already this year.

“Currently we’re still lacking a little bit of speed here and there but it’s getting better, I think the car has great potential. The people are coming along so the whole project starts to move in the right direction so I’m confident we will have a bright future.”

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: RADIO RESTRICTIONS ARE A JOKE

After Lewis Hamilton slammed the FIA for the radio restrictions implemented this year in Formula 1, and now Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel has agreed with him, calling it a joke.

Hamilton was angered by the fact that his Mercedes team couldn’t help discover which engine mode he should be in during the European Grand Prix. He also said that it could have been a dangerous situation as he kept on looking at his steering wheel.

Before the season commenced, the FIA issued stricter rules on radio communication in an effort to make the races more exciting with the drivers driving the car ‘alone and unaided’.

Quadruple World Champion Vettel said after the race in Baku that he saw no benefit or upside in the radio ban.

“Well if you want my honest opinion I think it’s a joke because it doesn’t really change much,” said the Ferrari driver, whose teammate Kimi Raikkonen suffered similar problems to Hamilton in Baku.

“There’s a lot of stuff that you would like to ask and you can’t. Equally, I think there is a lot of stuff that the team would like to tell us.”

“I don’t think you go any quicker when the team tells you what is going on but yeah the way some people see it, they have a different view.”

“As I said, in the end, it doesn’t change anything apart from the fact that you have less radio communication to broadcast and I think a little bit less to give to the people.”

Fernando Alonso has been an opponent of the restrictions from the outset, he said, “It’s strange sometimes the direction we are going in an era of communication and technology, that Formula 1 tries to restrict that thing, which is probably not a normal way to go.”

Kevin Magnussen added at the time, “I don’t really see the point, but there we are. It would be nice to just focus on racing.”

“The point was to get us to focus on racing, but now we’re less focused on racing because we have to remember everything.”

[MIKA27]

Mercedes mystified by huge Baku advantage

Nico Rosberg says Mercedes does not understand why it was so dominant at the Baku track, as it enjoyed a pace advantage over its rivals not seen for a while.

On the back of a campaign where Ferrari and Red Bull had been putting it under increasing pressure, Mercedes was in a class of its own around the European Grand Prix venue.

Its advantage was often in excess of one second per lap, something that had not been seen since the German car manufacturer hit the ground running in the first year of the turbo hybrid rules in 2014.

When asked why, on the back of a season when the opposition had been closing in, Mercedes were so far ahead in Baku, Rosberg said: "We don't know unfortunately.

"But it is something we have to try to understand, because it was pretty unbelievable here this weekend how fast our car was."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reckoned that his team's advantage at the weekend was exacerbated by it simply having found the right set-up window immediately.

"We put the car in the right place on the track on Friday," he explained. "You can see that in some places you go and straight away you seem to have found a sweet spot.

"This track is a combination of high speed and low speed so for power units there is a dominant role of harvesting and deploying energy, and driveability on the engine side, plus aerodynamic efficiency.

"We are not talking of maximum downforce, it is not needed here. And overall that is what gave us that benefit and it was one of our best tracks since 2014."

[MIKA27]

TODT: DRIVER AIDS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED

FIA President Jean Todt has waded into the biggest talking point that emerged from Baku by playing down the need for F1 to revisit the controversial ban on certain pit-to-driver radio communications.

But at an FIA conference in Turin, the governing body’s president Jean Todt insists the radio clampdown will remain in place in full.

“It was requested in an unanimous way to reduce the assistance given to the driver,” said the Frenchman. “So if we talk about the show, I feel that this year it has been really good.”

“We have always believed that so-called driver aids should not be allowed,” Todt added.

Todt said that, in general, he is happy with the spectacle of F1 in 2016, mainly because Mercedes is no longer all alone at the front of the field.

“There is a close battle for the championship and I’m glad it involves drivers from smaller teams as well,” he is quoted by Corriere dello Sport, apparently referring to Sergio Perez.

“Of course, I would always be happy to see Ferrari in first position,” he added, “but the important thing is that the outcome is not predicted from the beginning of the race.”

The issue has arose after the Baku race, during which Lewis Hamilton in particular struggled for power due to an engine mode setting he was unable to resolve.

Kimi Raikkonen had a similar problem in Azerbaijan but Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene did not join his Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff in calling for a rethink.

“We have some crazy situations now and I know many people like that when they watch on TV,” the Italian told Bild newspaper. “I am not complaining about the rules.”

However Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 world champion told  Globo that the radio clampdown has been “bad for F1”.

[MIKA27]

BUTTON: WHATEVER I CHOOSE TO DO WILL BE MY DECISION

Which drivers will be at the wheel for McLaren-Honda is not decided, but increasingly the thinking is that Stoffel Vandoorne will repalce Jenson Button, but the veteran is adamant it is he who will decide to continue or not.

Asked by AS newspaper about his plans for next season, Button replied, “I don’t know yet, but whatever I choose to do it will be my decision. But it won’t be made for a few months yet.”

The Briton, who is being strongly linked to Williams where he began his F1 career, said his prerequisite for continuing in F1 beyond 2016 is that he has “a competitive car” to race.

“I think when you’ve won races and the world championship you just want to be fighting at the front. So if I feel I can be in that position next year, I will stay in formula one,” Button added.

His current teammate, Fernando Alonso, has a contract for 2017 but the Spaniard is undecided about whether he will sign a new one beyond that or quit F1 altogether.

“When it is time, I will go. I will feel it,” he told France’s L’Equipe. “My father build me a go-kart in the McLaren-Honda colours of Senna, and now I’m driving for McLaren-Honda. I feel emotionally that I am closing the loop.”

“Yet when you look at Raikkonen, Button, Massa, you get the feeling that they will never stop, but I probably will not be like this,” he added.

Meanwhile Dave Ryan is sure McLaren will eventually returning to winning ways in Formula 1.

The New Zealander is now the racing director at Manor, but for the bulk of his F1 career until the well-known ‘lie-gate’ scandal he was the sporting director at the Woking based team.

“They will return to the top of F1, for sure,” Ryan told the Spanish broadcaster Movistar. “It’s a great team with good people and the engine is improving. I’m sure that, over time, they will come back.”

[MIKA27]

ALLISON SAYS 2017 F1 CARS WILL LOOK BEAUTIFUL

Next year's Formula 1 cars, which will be wider and more aggressive, will look "very appealing" according to Ferrari technical director James Allison.

The Briton, having already begun work on designing Ferrari's 2017 car, is pleased with the way they look and reckons the sport has taken a step in the right direction compared to a couple of years back when the rules demanded ugly looking noses.

"All of us - or at least the vast majority of us - want our product to be beautiful and therefore we want regulations that inherently make the cars beautiful," Allison is quoted as saying by Motorsport during the FIA's Sport Conference in Turin. 

"We've made a little bit of a step forward to get rid of the horrible looking noses of a couple of years ago and next year’s regulations are a very conscious effort to try to make the cars both unbelievably quick and also beautiful.

"The proportions of next year’s cars are very appealing," he continued. "For those of us who are lucky enough to be seeing them as they get created, they look nice. I’m looking forward to seeing them racing."

[MIKA27]

Jolyon Palmer hits out at top teams for spoiling Q1 for backmarkers

Renault's Jolyon Palmer has hit out at top teams such as Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, for sometimes spoiling qualifying for the smaller outfits that struggle to escape the first session.

Palmer used a recent example with Lewis Hamilton in Baku to get his point across, claiming the Briton didn't need to push so hard on his Q1 lap which saw him make an error and run wide at Turn 15, bringing out yellow flags and spoiling other driver's laps, because Mercedes have the pace to get through to Q2 with ease.

"It's just frustrating, because he's clearly got the pace to get through Q1 and yet he's still causing yellow flags for us when we're trying to do our best in the only session we get," Palmer told Autosport.

The Renault driver was slowest in that particular session but believes he had the pace to go half a second quicker - which would have promoted him two places - had he not needed to back off for the yellow flags.

"In Q1, some of the top teams relax and it's like a practice session for them," he added. "But for us it's our entire session. So if they're causing yellow flags on two of our four laps it's quite painful for us.

"They can do a lap that's a second off what's possible for them and still get through."

[MIKA27]

Force India set their sights on catching Williams in fourth place

Force India is setting its sights on a best fourth place finish in the Constructors' Standings and has therefore turned its attention to closing the gap to Williams in the coming races.

The Silverstone-based team finished a best fifth in the standings last season and according to deputy team principal Bob Fernley, that is their "minimum aim" this year, but he hopes the team can go one better.

"We've always said that's the minimum aim," he replied, when asked if fifth remained the team's target this year.

"To be able to overhaul Williams will require a mammoth effort, and our first objective is to get some daylight between ourselves and Toro Rosso, which we now have.

"But we should not underestimate Toro Rosso's ability, they've got good drivers, good team and a great car so we need to keep an eye on that," he added.

"But clearly it gives us a bit of breathing space and we should now turn our attention to closing the gap with Williams."

Force India have a 27-point gap to Toro Rosso in sixth and a 30-point deficit to Williams in fourth, but in the last three grands prix, Force India have outscored the Grove team 45 to 25, theoretically meaning they could easily surpass Williams if they can keep that points margin up.

Reviewing their season so far, Fernley believes they should have more points on the board, but things didn't go their way in the opening few races which masked the true potential of their car.

"I think we were very confident we could deliver strong finishes in the first four races, certainly the car we had was capable of doing that but circumstances didn't go our way for four races," he explained.

"Since then we've been very strong, [in] Monaco, Canada and Baku - both cars finishing in the points and [having] strong finishes."

[MIKA27]

Arrivabene hints at Ferrari upgrades

Claiming that the F1 Championship race isn’t over, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene has revealed that they may introduce a couple of upgrades in the coming races which may surprise a few.

Despite not scoring a race victory as of yet this season, the Italian is confident that duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, who have a combined five World Championships, have the necessary tools in their locker to close down the 81 point gap to Mercedes.

On their upgrades, the Ferrari boss did not reveal much but did add that their team are working very hard on their SF16-H.

“I won’t tell you the exact dates, but I can tell you that are engineers do not sleep,” he said.

“Some surprises will come – because our chassis engineers are sleeping even less.”

He also added that the battle between teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton will hopefully work in their favour.

“We must take into account that Rosberg and Hamilton will take points from each other, because otherwise it would be tough,” he continued.

“The championship is long and we have had several unfortunate days – while they have had only one bad occasions.

“But if it happens then it is very easy to climb up the points table. We have to believe and have to be positive.”

[MIKA27]

The thoughts Of Martin Whitmarsh and others

Martin Whitmarsh has been very quiet since he left McLaren two years ago. Since then, he has been working as the CEO of Ben Ainslie Racing, Britain’s challenger for the next America’s Cup. This week however, he returned to the motorsport world as a speaker at the FIA Sport Conference in Turin. This is designed to be a forum for motorsport figures to share ideas and discuss ways in which motorsport can develop and improve, the timing if the event was not brilliant because the major global series are now flat out, with F1 in the middle of a run of six races in eight weekends and the WEC having just finished Le Mans. Nonetheless, there are around 300 delegates at the event, which is being held at the former Fiat factory at Lingotto in Turin, famous for the test track built on its roof and a celebrated early example of a purpose-built factory with raw materials arriving at ground level and new cars arriving and being tested at the top. Today it is a shopping centre and conference venue.

Whitmarsh worked in Formula 1 for 25 years and said that the change has been interesting, allowing him the chance to step back and look at the sport with a little more distance. He said that he was amazed by how the sailing world was so keen to learn from F1, and believes that F1 should be more open to ideas from the outside.

“It’s such a vibrant environment but I think sometimes we could learn from other sectors and have a bit more humility and think about the integrity of racing. Sometimes, maybe, the clamour for money or other things in motor racing, means we lose that a little bit.”

Whitmarsh also believes that the world can learn a lot from F1, if the sport is more open.

“Speed is very important in life and in all sorts of different industrial environments. You don’t get speed without efficiency and I think that it is often overlooked just how efficient F1 cars are – how efficient they are at producing power, how efficient they are in creating grip. It is that drive for efficiency that is so relevant to all sorts of walks of life. Motor racing has evolved and developed analytical and simulation techniques that are iterating things quicker, making things better and I think that is certainly something that we are now learning in the America’s Cup. I think that can make a difference.”

The message is not really new, and it is doubtful that Whitmarsh’s words will make much of a difference with the powers that be in the sport. It is, however an interesting reflection from a man who was at the very centre of the sport for so many years. I'd love to see him return.

For more about the Sports Conference, watch the following videos:

 

 

 

[MIKA27]

Alain Prost 'really bored' by Baku race coverage

TURIN, Italy -- Four-time champion Alain Prost says watching the Grand Prix of Europe in Baku was "really boring" because the TV cameras did not convey the true speed of the cars.

Speaking at the FIA Sport Conference in Turin, Prost sat journalists down and watched an on-board video of one of his laps at Jerez in 1990. He pointed out that the sense of drama conveyed by the footage no longer comes across in modern F1 and admitted he was upset by the footage from the weekend's race in Baku.

"I was on the on-board camera with Lewis [Hamilton] and he was talking at the same time [about the problems he was facing] and it was not a problem for him to change something [on the steering wheel] -- it looked so easy, so at the same time there is something wrong," he said. "Under braking you cannot hear the noise and feel the speed and see the difficulty on the neck.

"If I am the young generation and I don't know much about F1, but I want to see what it is, I would think that I am doing the same behind my PlayStation and it's not difficult.

"I want it to show something that is very difficult, and maybe it is more difficult than we think in the car, but from the outside it doesn't look difficult. The show is not very good and I was really bored and really upset."

The high-speed Baku City Circuit won a number of fans among the current drivers due to its high-speed layout and the small margin for error, but Prost said that did not come across on TV.

"I did not watch Friday and Saturday -- the first time in a long time because I normally always watch qualifying -- but I could not do it so I did not see anything and I was just following on the social media where everybody was saying fantastic things about the track, so I was quite excited to watch it from in front of my TV. But I must say, that was a disaster for me because I did not see the track that everyone was talking about.

"Everybody told me after that the track was one of the best they have ever seen. But on TV as 'Alain Prost the old racing driver' and as a fan I was not happy. I think the position of the cameras was not very good, not making the cars look very good, it was not a good show. It was only the one corner with the left, right section that you got the impression of the speed."

[MIKA27]

Hi guys - I'm off on a break after this afternoon, won't be posting for the best part of 9 days or so, school holidays so I need some chill time with my son Ethan.

It's freezing here in Melbourne, unsure what we will get up to but possibly a few day trips here and there, I should have booked a holiday somewhere nice and warm!

See you all soon - Michael.

[MIKA27]

BILLIONAIRE READY TO INVEST IN PEREZ MOVE TO FERRARI

Sergio Perez’s bid for a Ferrari race cockpit for 2017 may have just received multi-million dollar boost from none other than one of the world’s richest men.

The Mexican is riding a wave of confidence and form at present after two podiums in the last three races for the little Silverstone-based team Force India.

Ferrari and the 26-year-old have played down the speculation continues to link Perez with a move to Maranello next year.

Auto Bild claims that bid could have been boosted even more by his backer, Carlos Slim, who already sponsors Ferrari via Haas driver Esteban Gutierrez.

The report said Slim, who according to Forbes is the world’s fourth-richest billionaire, is willing to boost his sponsorship by an eight-digit figure if Perez is chosen to replace Kimi Raikkonen.

“He still has the fiery image of a young driver but now we also see he is methodical, calm and able to resist pressure,” former F1 driver Franck Montagny told Le Point.

“Now we will have to see if he can resist media pressure too, with these rumours,” added the Frenchman.

As for reports that Mercedes is also interested in Perez, team boss Toto Wolff said: “That’s not true.”

Perez is no stranger to Ferrari as he was part of their driver academy (FDA) and his Sauber debut in 2011 was instigated and backed by the Maranello squad, who were mentoring the Mexican moving to McLaren.

When with the Woking team he was asked if he saw leaving the Ferrari family as a missed opportunity, the Mexican answered: “No, it’s an experience that led me to a better place. I’m happy at McLaren; I hope to stay here for many years, maybe my entire career.”

Perez was dismissed from McLaren at the end of 2013 after a forgettable season with the legendary team in a time of decline.

[MIKA27]

SAINZ TO RENAULT REPORTS GATHER STEAM

There could be more than meets the eye to the supposedly imminent re-signing by Red Bull of Carlos Sainz for 2017.

Reports in recent days, backed by comments by Toro Rosso chief Franz Tost and Red Bull’s Christian Horner, have suggested the energy drink brand will definitely take up the one-year option in 21-year-old Spaniard Sainz’s contract.

Those reports were initially interpreted as a rejoinder to speculation that Renault is eyeing Sainz as a potential race driver for the French works team for 2017.

But Marca, a Spanish sports daily, thinks Sainz is still in the frame at Renault. Actually, the newspaper said a deal between Sainz and Renault could be formalised within two races, if negotiations between Renault and Red Bull are succesful.

Currently, Renault supplies customer engines to Red Bull that the team rebrands as TAG-Heuer. The report suggested selling Sainz to Renault could be part of a deal to improve the engine deal terms.

Marca said Renault boss Frederic Vasseur met Red Bull’s Helmut Marko in Baku, and the latter admitted in an interview with Globo that other teams have expressed interest in Sainz.

“He has a contract with us,” he said. “The best option is to keep working as he has done with STR, keep developing with the team and become even more competitive next year.”

As for Renault, Marko insisted he is happy with Red Bull’s engine supplier. “In 2015 I was not smiling because we had no chance, and mostly not because of us.”

“Now Renault is giving us a good engine, we will soon have an even better version and – most importantly – a completely new engine for 2017. “I am sure that we will fight for the title.”