FORMULA 1 - 2016

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Renault F1 team wants to sign Force India's Perez for 2017

Renault is hoping to sign current Force India driver Sergio Perez for the 2017 Formula 1 season during this year's summer break, Autosport has learned.

Perez stated on Thursday ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix that he could leave Force India at the end of this campaign.

That is despite team principal Vijay Mallya's declaration over the course of the race weekend at Silverstone that a deal with Perez for 2017 had been done several weeks earlier.

Behind the scenes, Perez is understood to be unhappy with Mallya's remarks, particularly as any decision on his future is made in conjunction with the group of sponsors that support him.

To that end, Perez's backers have held discussions with Renault as they believe manufacturer backing for the 26-year-old is vital in the next step of his career if he is to become a future world champion.

Renault re-entered F1 as a full works teams from this season after a protracted takeover of Lotus, making clear its goals were long-term.

It has struggled so far, claiming just one points-scoring finish from the 11 grands prix, but progress is being made on- and off-track.

Perez is believed to see Renault as a great fit for his ambitions and feel that he has gone as far as he can with Force India, which is unable to offer him the championship chance he craves.

With the weight of a car manufacturer behind the F1 programme, Renault is willing to spend compete with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, with the stated aim of gunning for wins and titles over the next few years.

While Renault has a considerable budget, Perez's financial support would still be welcomed as it seeks to make good on its targets.

Should the Mexican sign on as its number one driver, that would then allow Renault to bring in reserve Esteban Ocon.

Ocon is highly-rated within Renault and it is believed the French manufacturer is keen to promote the Mercedes junior into a race seat for 2017.

However, there are understood to be concerns about pairing Ocon with either Kevin Magnussen or Jolyon Palmer, with either potential combination not seen as strong enough to push forward next year.

Ocon's case could be strengthened if he secures a temporary seat with Manor for the final nine races of this campaign.

Although Renault has its sights set on securing Perez over the summer - and is in pole position to do so - it faces competition from Williams, which has also held preliminary discussions with the driver's backers.

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HOCKENHEIM QUALIFYING: ROSBERG HAMMERS IT HOME

Nico Rosberg rose to the occasion to claim pole position for the German Grand Prix, making the most of a single opportunity in Q3 to guaranteed himself a top spot start on home soil.

Rosberg’s best lap of 1:14.363 was good enough to earn him his 27th Formula 1 career pole, and put him tied 6-6 in qualifying against Mercedes teammate and main title rival Lewis Hamilton.

It was particularly sweet for the German who was forced to abort his first attempt, but in the end had only one stab at a flying lap and credit for to him for delivering a superb performance when it mattered.

Rosberg said afterwards, “It was a great feeling, it was a great lap, but I also had extra fuel, in case I needed to do a third lap.”

Hamilton went on the attack a few minutes later and was up by a tenth in the first sector but then overdid it into the hairpin, which in the end cost him vital time and forced him to settle for second best.

The reigning F1 world champion’s body language clearly suggested he was miffed, but denied it was his fault, “It has been a good weekend. I had no problems. I had the pace today just didn’t finish it off. I didn’t lock up. It should be a good day for Mercedes tomorrow.”

Chasing hard, as has become the custom of late, was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo who dug deep to set the third best time and potentially setting himself as the thorn in the side of the Silver Arrows duo.

Red Bull locked out the second row with Max Verstappen fourth fastest. Ahead of the Ferrari duo of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, fifth and sixth respectively.

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GERMAN GRAND PRIX: A PERFECT DAY FOR HAMILTON

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a perfect day at the German Grand Prix as he cruised to an unchallenged victory in and extend his lead over Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg at the top of the Formula 1 world championship standings ahead of the month long summer break.

Hamilton seized the advantage at the start from pole-sitter Rosberg, who drove an underwhelming race in front of his home fans, and was never headed. The Briton crossed the line 6.9 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, on the podium for the second race in a row on his 100th grand prix appearance.

It was Hamilton’s sixth victory in the last seven races and fourth in succession. The 49th of the reigning champion’s career left him two adrift of Frenchman Alain Prost’s mark of 51. He now leads Rosberg by 19 points in the standings with nine rounds of a record 21-race season remaining.

“Get in there Lewis, great work mate. Beautiful start, fantastically managed,” the Briton’s Mercedes team said to him over the radio on the slowing down lap.

“Fantastic job guys, awesome pitstops and just throughout the weekend as always, well deserved,” Hamilton replied.

On the podium the reigning F1 world champion added, “A big thank you to everyone who has come out. To see so many people here is great. What a race, what a fantastic start. It was just about keeping it cool.”

“This is a very proud position to be in and thank you to the team, who did a fantastic job. I didn’t make any mistakes so in my heart I’m happy with what I did. Yesterday was not perfect but you learn from those things.”

Max Verstappen finished third behind Red Bull teammate Ricciardo, it was the teenager’s fourth top-three result, to give Red Bull their first double rostrum in over a year.

Ricciardo said afterwards, “That is two weeks in a row I’ve been on the podium and it is great to have the race back here in Germany.

“This is the first double podium for us in over a year and it is awesome to close out the first part of the season like this.

“My mum and dad are here and it is great to have their support. I see a few Australian flags, and I appreciate them and the support.

“It was a race of strategy first and on the super softs I was much more comfortable. We couldn’t win but second and third is not too bad,” said Ricciardo.

Verstappen summed up his afternoon, “We had a good start, from there on the pace was pretty good. I was enjoying it. We chose to do two different strategies and double podium is great for the team.”

Rosberg, who had looked unbeatable after topping every practice session, was only fourth after falling back at the start and collecting a five-second time-penalty for forcing Verstappen off the track.

The German who led the championship until Hungary was clearly disappointed after the race, and told media, “It is a tough one, really difficult,” Rosberg tells Sky Sports. “The start went completely wrong, none of it was good. There was a lot of wheelspin, it caught me by surprise.”

When dueling with Verstappen, Rosberg was adjudged by the race stewards of running the Red Bull driver off the track when he out barked him into the hairpin.

“”I was very surprised to get the penalty,” admitted Rosberg. “That cost me dearly. It (being held for longer than needed) didn’t make a difference as I couldn’t challenge the Red Bulls after the penalty. When a day goes completely wrong all those things come together.

“Being 19 points is not tough, tough is losing the race in the way I did and that will take some time to digest,” concluded the German.

Sebastian Vettel was fifth on his first appearance in Ferrari colours on home soil, crossing the line 32.5 seconds adrift of Hamilton, with team mate Kimi Raikkonen capping an almost inconspicuous and disappointing weekend for the Italian team in sixth.

Vettel told reporters, “We are not where we want to be and clearly there are a lot of things we need to do better. I’m trying to do what I can.

“The race pace was not bad, but not good enough. We struggled a bit with the balance, and I was sliding about a bit too much.”

Nico Hulkenberg finished seventh for Force India, ahead of Jenson Button who brought home points for McLaren in eighth. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas was ninth ahead of Sergio Perez who handed Force India a double-points finish with 10th.

Formula 1  now heads into its annual summer break before reconvening for the Belgian Grand Prix.

The result at Hockenheim gave Hamilton, who trailed Rosberg by as many as 43 points following the Spanish Grand Prix in May, the crucial psychological edge in the title battle heading into the second half of the season.

The Briton won at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit last year and will enter the second half of the season as the man to beat and 2016 title favourite.

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LAUDA: WE NEED TO END THIS UNDER INVESTIGATION CRAZE

Formula 1’s top teams are pleading with race director Charlie Whiting to ease the over regulation of tyhe sport which is serving only confuse and alienate fans.

“F1 needs more easily understood rules so that what people watch on TV corresponds to reality. We can no longer keep changing the outcome as we go. It’s a serious mistake,” F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told Brazil’s Globo Esporte.

“We need to end this ‘under investigation’ for every moment we see,” said Lauda. “Like the stupid situation in Budapest, where six hours after qualifying we didn’t know if Nico (Rosberg) was really on pole. How do we explain all this to the viewer? It’s crazy.”

In Thursday’s Strategy Group meeting, officials for Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull thought they had made progress when it comes to not always penalising drivers for simply putting wheels over the lined extremities of the track.

But then in Friday practice at Hockenheim, the FIA’s Whiting was once again strictly enforcing so-called ‘track limits’.

“We all asked Charlie to stop this thing of punishing a driver for being a few centimetres over a line,” Lauda insisted.

“We said seeing drivers pushing is spectacular and good for F1. Charlie said he didn’t agree but would meet our request, but it wasn’t true,” he added.

Indeed, there are suggestions other top teams are similarly losing patience with the ever strict and constantly changing rules of F1, with Ferrari and Red Bull also backing Lauda and Mercedes.

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VERSTAPPEN: ROSBERG DIDN’T TURN IN… LEWIS KNOWS

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen claimed he would have crashed into Nico Rosberg if he had not driven off the track to avoid him on his way to finishing third in Sunday’s German Grand Prix.

The 18-year-old Red Bull driver, who claimed his fourth podium finish in eight races since promotion from the Toro Rosso team, came home behind his teammate Australian Daniel Ricciardo.

Rosberg finished fourth after being given a five-second penalty for forcing Verstappen off the track when he passed him at the hairpin.

His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton won the race to open up a 19-point lead ahead of Rosberg, who said he was using ‘full lock’ of his steering when he passed Verstappen, in the title race.

“Can you explain to them that I was full lock on the steering wheel and I couldn’t steer more,” said Rosberg, on Mercedes team radio, after he was informed of the penalty.

He also blamed Verstappen for moving under braking, but the Dutchman hit back and said: “I think he was quite far back so he braked really late and, at one point, I thought he was going to run into me.

“So I opened up and he didn’t turn in and I had to go straight and I had to go off track otherwise we would have crashed – Lewis knows,” he added, referring to a similar incident involving Rosberg with Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix.

“It happened and he got a five-second penalty. So I was trying to stay within five seconds to get him back at the pit-stop.”

His Red Bull teammate Ricciardo marked his 100th Grand Prix by finishing ahead of Verstappen because he had the best of their alternative strategies for tyres, as they out-raced Ferrari to move ahead of the Italian team in the constructors’ championship.

“I definitely think I took one for the team today,” said Verstappen, who allowed Ricciardo to pass him during the race.

“But that’s alright . I think Daniel and I have a good relationship so we can do that. The most important thing was for us to be in front of Ferrari.

“That definitely worked today and we were even challenging Mercedes. We kept Nico (Rosberg) behind us on fair pace so that was good,” added Verstappen.

 

MIKA: I seriously don't understand why this is an illegal move?? How many races over the years have we seen many drivers do the same and not get penalised? Is it illegal to do this or should Verstappen have hit the brakes knowing such a move could be made? Schumacher, Barrichello, Alonso, Hakkinnen and many others have done this same move and this was always just racing, part of the craft. Carlie Whiting and his rules are screwing this sport big time.

A simple racing incident like this and all the cry babies immediately radio through to have such investigated.

IMO, if it isn't a collision, why should anything be penalised for anyone? Far too many rules and each weekend Rosberg of late is getting screwed over. Last weeks penalty that Rosberg received is not even considered illegal now, so lets see if this move also which Nico was penalised for will be a rule after their summer break. BS if you ask me. Forget the Halo, wrap the whole car and driver in cotton wool.

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ROSBERG: REALLY DISAPPOINTED EVERYTHING WENT WRONG

The stopwatch never lies they say in Formula One but in Nico Rosberg’s case it did and that was one of several things which went wrong for the German in a woeful home race on Sunday.

Rosberg was hit with a five-second time penalty for forcing Max Verstappen off the track in his bid to overtake the Red Bull on lap 29 of the 67-lap race at Hockenheim.

But when the Mercedes driver pulled into the pits, he was stationary for eight seconds instead of the required five.

“Stopwatch failure,” team boss Toto Wolff explained after the race. “The damn thing failed, it didn’t function like it should have done. Once we realised, we had to take it safe and this is why it took longer than normal.”

Rosberg, who started on pole after putting in a scorching lap under pressure in Saturday’s qualifying session, finished a disappointing fourth on Sunday. But the delay made little difference to his race.

The German lost the lead off the line to team mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton, who started alongside him on the front row, and was also swamped by Red Bull’s Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

The race only got worse from there for Rosberg, with the 31-year-old struggling to make up the lost ground and collecting the penalty for his pass on Verstappen, which he was surprised to get.

“Today I’m very disappointed because I had an awesome qualifying yesterday and I was feeling good,” said Rosberg.

“So I was really optimistic and thinking that I can bring it home today so just really disappointed that everything went wrong.”

Rosberg’s miserable afternoon contrasted with that of Hamilton, who cruised to a comfortable fourth win in succession.

The Briton’s lights-to-flag display of dominance, his sixth win from the last seven races, allowed him to extend his overall lead over Rosberg to 19 points.

However, despite Hamilton gaining a crucial psychological edge heading into the sport’s annual summer break, Rosberg – winner of the opening four races – said he was confident he could turn the momentum back in his favour.

“I have enough evidence to show myself that I’m always strongest after difficult moments time and time again,” said the German. “So no issues there.”

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Maurizio Arrivabene says Ferrari's downforce has barely improved since Spain

After another disappointing race for Ferrari, team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has stated that the Italian car hasn't had much improvement in its downforce since the Spanish Grand Prix in May.

In today's German Grand Prix the two Ferraris finished a distant fifth and sixth, both more than half a minute off the victor Lewis Hamilton. The team as a result also fell behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship.

And when asked to explain why the Ferraris had apparently slipped away from the pace since early in the season, Arrivabene pinpointed downforce. 

"If I look at the situation now, and I go back, we don't have great improvement in terms of downforce since Barcelona" he admitted. "That is the problem, this is why I say we clearly know where to work now and we have to do it as soon as possible, even if it's not easy."

Arrivabene added that he was confident that the team knew specifically what the problem was. "There are many many factors, we have done an analysis and now everything is quite clear about the reason why."

Arrivabene was more coy however about when things were likely to improve for the Scuderia on track, and said the forthcoming summer shutdown was inconveniently timed for the team's hopes of improvement. 

"Engine we have something [a development] which is coming, I'm quite comfortable with the engine, but you know the aero development is going to be stopped for the FIA stop [summer shutdown], so that's no development time now, and after the stop we need to use it to solve in short term where the problems are."

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'Satisfying to have beaten both Williams today' - Jenson Button

Jenson Button believes eighth position was "as good as it was going to get" in Hockenheim at a circuit McLaren were expecting to struggle at, but was satisifed to beat both Williams cars across the line.

The McLaren driver made a brilliant start to jump two places before managing to climb another place during the race and then finally a last-minute overtake on the Williams of Valtteri Bottas saw the Briton claim eighth and four points.

"I made a very good start and made up most of the places there," explained Button. "After that, it was just about looking after the tyres, which were degrading faster than we’d expected.

Both McLarens struggled with fuel and were seen backing off and coasting through much of the final laps, which caught Button out.

"We also had to do a fair amount of fuel-saving, too, particularly in the last 10 laps. In fact, I went off the circuit towards the end, just because I was doing so much fuel-saving that I hit the brakes and they were just stone cold. I hadn’t even been braking hard. 

"At the end, I was able to pick off Valtteri, who was struggling on his tyres. It feels satisfying to have beaten both Williams, but eighth was as good as it was going to get today – we were 20 seconds behind the car in front, and there’s still quite a bit to go before we catch those guys."

Despite the gap to those ahead, which consisted of two Mercedes, two Red Bulls, two Ferraris and a Force India, Button admitted the team are making "good progress" as they seek to score points at the final nine races of the season.

"We’ve made good progress: we’re consistently fighting in the points, and the team are doing a great job this year, bringing something new to pretty much every single race. I want to say thank-you and well done to the whole team for their efforts.

“I’m looking forward to coming back and fighting after the summer break – but, right now, I’m looking forward to a holiday!"

[skalls]

I thought if you were on the inside you controlled the turn.  Didn't like the penalty but I get why they did it since Max was literally off the course.  

Don't like the Halo.

So if we go back to Nov/Dec of last year, RBR was crying like crazy that Renault engine sucks and what not.  Me thinks they were too hasty.  That Renault engine is looking pretty damn good.  The works team isn't doing well but that's because the car wasn't built for hte engine.  Will be interesting to see who Renault lands for drivers next season.

4 weeks ago I thought Rosberg would win the championship this year.  Big Mo is on Hammy's side now, and unless something changes I don't see that changing.

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1 minute ago, skalls said:

I thought if you were on the inside you controlled the turn.  Didn't like the penalty but I get why they did it since Max was literally off the course.  

Don't like the Halo.

So if we go back to Nov/Dec of last year, RBR was crying like crazy that Renault engine sucks and what not.  Me thinks they were too hasty.  That Renault engine is looking pretty damn good.  The works team isn't doing well but that's because the car wasn't built for hte engine.  Will be interesting to see who Renault lands for drivers next season.

4 weeks ago I thought Rosberg would win the championship this year.  Big Mo is on Hammy's side now, and unless something changes I don't see that changing.

I agree - Those on the inside line control the turn, seen it over the decades, why change now?? Again, will that be another rule they change in a few weeks time much like last weeks radio rules where Nico is penalised and yet a week later, everyone is doing it as the rule was lifted. I have NEVER witnessed any other sporting code who can chop and change rules mid season let alone seasons thereafter. It's becoming a joke IMO to a point where even I no longer love this sport.

HALO and any other such device shouldn't even be entertained.

Renault is a good team, far better than last and will become even better in the next couple seasons. I don't know about driver line up, Perez possibly and Magnussen? It wouldn't hurt to give Magnussen another season. 

As for WDC, I'm still gunning for Rosberg. If Hamilton can make a comeback, so can he or anyone for that matter. Should Ham have a bad run or two or DNF, it can easily swing the other way. You never know.

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Two arrested as Police rescue Ecclestone's mother-in-law – report

The kidnapped mother-in-law of Formula 1 commercial chief Bernie Ecclestone was rescued by Brazilian Police on Sunday.

According to Veja magazine, which first reported the kidnap last week, Aparecida Schunck was found in Cotia, a nearby town to Sao Paulo.

Two suspects were arrested, and no ransom payment had been made.

67-year-old Schunck – the mother of Fabiana Flosi, who married Ecclestone in 2012 – was kidnapped from her house in the Sao Paulo neighborhood of Interlagos area on June 22.

The kidnappers had been asking for R$120 million – approximately US$36.5m – which would have made it the largest ransom sum in Brazilian history.

They demanded it was divided into four bags and paid in Pounds Sterling, but Police tracked down where Schunck was being held captive and completed the rescue.

Elisabete Sato of the Sao Paulo police told the BBC that there was a major police operation to free the victim, and that the victim was not injured.

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Gutierrez surprised by Ricciardo criticisms

Esteban Gutierrez said he was surprised that Daniel Ricciardo hit out at him for ignoring blue flags at the German Grand Prix – and has vowed to speak to the Australian about it.

Ricciardo accused Gutierrez of being the worst-behaving driver regarding blue flags, after losing time while trying to lap him at Hockenheim.

The Red Bull driver had said: “Everyone is doing an okay job and it seems like he’s doing a less good job than the others.”

Gutierrez was taken aback by what Ricciardo had said, however, as he insisted that he had been aware of the Australian and moved over for him as quickly as he could.

“Daniel was not happy? Really? Okay? I will speak to him,” explained the Haas driver. “I am surprised because I saw he was behind, of course, but he was pretty far away at that time.

“At some point I lifted and I lost about two seconds. Usually I do my best. It was not my intention to block or anything, but if he is not comfortable with it, I am going to speak to him and try to get it better because it is not my intention to do anything bad to anyone.”

Balancing act

Gutierrez also pointed out that he has often been told by his team that he is too soft on the leaders when they come through because he loses too much time.

And the Ricciardo situation was particularly difficult because they were on different tyre compounds.

“I was actually very often told by the team that I was too easy, so I said okay, I am going to try to do my best and lose the least time possible,” he said.

“It is part of the race, you are fighting, and you are doing your best. I was on supersoft tyres at that moment. He was catching me very slowly and when I saw he was one second behind or something like that, I really backed off and let him by in Turn 2.

“It is confusing but, like I said, I am going to speak to him. But you have to understand they have to put themselves into my position.

“I am doing my best and it is not that I didn't let him by. I was just waiting for him to be a bit closer, and I lifted completely and let him by in Turn 2.”

 

MIKA: Great driving by Esteban IMO, he over took so many during the race, battling with Renault, was entertaining to watch, his best drive this season.

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Alonso frustrated by selective radio messages

Fernando Alonso admitted he is frustrated by the selective radio messages broadcast on television during this weekend's German Grand Prix.

After he complained about a Ferrari in front of him during qualifying, Alonso's radio was back in the spotlight during the race on Sunday following a slow first pitstop.

"Yeah, don't worry, I will lose another position in the next stop and I will recover it on later on," Alonso sarcastically replied to his engineer after being told he was doing a good job on track.

The Spaniard had already suggested on Saturday that only his negative radio messages were broadcast on TV.

"I don't complain as much as people think, and I hardly talk [on the radio]," he said.

After the race, Alonso again downplayed his radio outburst, insisting that only the negatives are broadcast.

"We lost a few seconds there, but that's fine," said Alonso of his slow pitstop.

"They just seem to have a certain tendency to broadcast my radio messages live.

"At the end of the race I congratulated the team for the job done and I don't think they broadcast that. And if we lost six seconds at the start, it's fine to say it.

"I don't understand sometimes."

 

Difficult race

The McLaren driver finished the race outside of the points in 12th position after a tough race during which he struggled with fuel consumption.

"We had to save a lot of fuel in the final part after all the battles we had in the first half of the race," Alonso said.

"At the end I think we finished with 100 grammes of fuel. You can use 100 kilos per race, and I think we used 99.900, so it was pretty close."

Teammate Jenson Button came home in eighth position, but the Briton admitted he had also been saving fuel for most of the race.

" consistently looking at the steering wheel, looking at how much fuel I had to save - and I had Fernando behind me," said Button.

"He was six-seven seconds behind me at one point and suddenly he's right behind me. I was like 'he can't be saving fuel' and then suddenly he disappeared from behind 'cause he realised he had to save fuel, I think."

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Vettel: Ferrari "knows what to do" to turn season around

Sebastian Vettel is convinced Ferrari "knows what to do" to turn its season around after another disappointing race for the Italian team.

Vettel has not finished on the podium in the last four grands prix as Red Bull has overtaken Ferrari in the constructors' championship, the Milton Keynes team now 14 points ahead.

The German driver is 97 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the standings with nine races remaining.

Vettel admitted the last few races have been very difficult for Ferrari, but he is optimistic that they at least have helped the team understand what needs focusing on to improve.

"The last couple of races have been tough for us, but very, very useful, as we understood a lot about our car and we know what to focus on," said Vettel.

"It wasn't entirely clear after the first couple of races but it became more and more evident.

"Obviously it's a harsh way to find out, not being as competitive as we want to, but I think we know what to do.

"It's not easy to change overnight but there is a plan and the second half should be stronger in that regard."

He added: "The last couple of races have been tougher for us and better for them [Red Bull], but I'm sure the second half will be better for us again and we'll be more competitive."

Vettel finished his home grand prix in fifth position, over 30 seconds behind race winner Hamilton.

The German conceded Ferrari simply did not have the pace to do better.

"Certainly not happy. Obviously racing at home is something special and in that regard it wasn't a special race.

"I think struggled to get the balance right and the car was sliding a little bit too much, which cost us a bit of life on the tyres. To sum it up, we were not quick enough.

"Unfortunately we were a bit too far form the cars in front, especially after the first two stints."

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40 YEARS ON: HOW NIKI LAUDA SURVIVED ONE OF F1’S MOST FAMOUS AND FRIGHTENING ACCIDENTS

It is 40 years since Niki Lauda had his fiery accident at the Nurburgring, in the August 1 1976 German Grand Prix, a race that changed the course of his life and career and which was immortalised in the Hollywood movie Rush.

It also spelled the end of the fearsome 14 mile Norschliefe, dubbed the “Green Hell” as a Grand Prix venue and was a real driver for improved circuit safety.

Lauda was the reigning world champion, driving for Ferrari and looking set to win a second consecutive championship against the McLaren driver James Hunt.

His accident became one of the iconic moments of motorsport history, one of those events where anyone alive at the time could tell you what they were doing when they learned about it. Hie recovery and subsequent comeback were so incredibly brave even if he could not rescue the championship, which went to Hunt.

But Lauda won the title again in 1977, had a break from the sport and then won again in 1984 on a second comeback with McLaren.

“I don’t remember anything about the accident, I can only speak about the aftermath.,” said Lauda. “A driver’s brain works differently from normal people’s. As soon as I realised that I was alive and that I only had aesthetic damage I started straight away to think about getting back into racing again.

And 42 days later I was on track at Fiorano, when no-one thought I could have done that. The test went well and together with Ferrari we decided that I could take part in the Italian Grand Prix.

“But on the Thursday before I was obliged to do a medical test that lasted all day. It was torture.

“So when I went out on track on Friday for practice, I was empty, I was scared. I thought about it hard; it was a result of the build up of too much tension.

“On Saturday I got in the car for qualifying with a different approach, more relaxed. And I rediscovered the pleasure of driving. I finished fourth in the race, a great result.

“In Japan in the rain I retired, but I lost the title in Nurburgring with that accident, not in Japan.”

Today Lauda is chairman and a shareholder of Mercedes F1 team, his influence on F1 and its culture as strong today as when he was driving.

[* Lauda was speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport’s Pino Allievi.]

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BRAZIL POLICE FREE ECCLESTONE’S MOTHER-IN-LAW 

Brazilian law enforcement agents stormed a hideout near Sao Paulo on Sunday and freed the kidnapped mother-in-law of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, police said.

Aparecida Schunk was found safe and police arrested two men.

Sao Paulo’s Anti-Kidnap squad “freed the mother-in-law of Bernie Ecclestone,” police said in a one-paragraph statement. “She was unharmed. Two men were arrested at the hideout near the city of Cotia. The operation continues.”

Sao Paulo police did not comment further on the operation or the kidnapping. But local news reports said they were searching for other members of the gang.

The 67-year old Schunk was kidnapped on July 22 and her captors asked for 120 million reais ($36.5 million), according to reports in a leading Brazilian news magazine.

Schunk is the mother of Fabiana Flosi, a 38-year old marketing executive who met Ecclestone at the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Ecclestone, whom Forbes magazine estimates – along with his family – is worth $3.1 billion and is one of the most powerful men in sport, married Flosi in 2012.

Ecclestone, 85, divorced his wife of 25 years, Croatian model Slavica Radic, in order to marry the young Brazilian. The couple lives in England.

Kidnapping was common in Brazil a decade ago, with several people seized each day, often for sums of just a few hundred dollars.

A crackdown by police, including the formation of a special anti-kidnap division, reduced the number considerably, and the crime has become much rarer.

 

MIKA: Why does Ecclestone get all the luck!? I'd give a kidney to have my Mother-inlaw (Ex) kidnapped

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MCLAREN ON TARGET TO WIN IN 2017 PREDICTS DENNIS

McLaren-Honda is on target for “victories” in 2017 according to the team’s supremo Ron Dennis, referring to the big step taken by the works Anglo-Japanese collaboration this year after a woeful 2015.

“The car was designed for a three-year process,” he is quoted by the Spanish sports daily Marca.

“We are not where we want to be, but we are in a good position to incorporate a new engine for next year.

“We have learned a lot this year,” Dennis added, “so I hope that next year we can be fighting for victories.”

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MAGNUSSEN IN RUNNING TO STAY WITH RENAULT

Kevin Magnussen remains in the running to keep his works Renault seat beyond 2016.

The Dane admitted at Hockenheim that speculation he and teammate Jolyon Palmer will lose their places for 2017 was “annoying”.

But Denmark’s BT newspaper says it knows that Magnussen’s backer, billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen whose ‘Jack and Jones’ logo is on the yellow car now, remains committed.

Magnussen’s sponsor agent, Thomas Badura, would not comment on that, but he said there is “nothing to suggest” that the 23-year-old’s current commercial arrangements are set to change.

“Both current and potential sponsors are aware that 2016 is the first step,” he said.

Still, Renault team boss Frederic Vasseur insists that the 2017 lineup is not yet decided.

“I have the advantage that 70 per cent of the drivers on the grid have driven for my previous team (ART) and I talk to them every single day,” he said.

“But I also speak to Jo (Palmer) and Kev (Magnussen) every single day as well,” added the Frenchman. “The difference is that they should focus on their jobs, as we are far from the time when we take our decision.

“There definitely will not be a decision before September. Definitely,” said Vasseur.

And he admitted that sponsorship may also play a role in the final decision.

“We are a company,” said Vasseur. “Right now it’s all about performance, but at some point we also speak about sponsors. It may prove important.”

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MICK SCHUMACHER FOCUS IS ON F3 FOR NOW

Mick Schumacher’s manager has put the brakes on any suggestion the 17-year-old might soon be set to join fellow teenager Max Verstappen in F1.

Reports, however, were obviously fired at Hockenheim at the weekend as the son of F1 legend Michael Schumacher visited the Mercedes and Ferrari garages.

The last team of his famous father was Mercedes, whose boss and co-owner Toto Wolff said at the German grand prix: “He (Mick) is such an impressive young man.

“He is friendly, modest, well behaved — everything you want from a teenager,” Wolff told the German broadcaster Sky.

Wolff said Mick is also obviously fast and could be looking ahead at an F1 future.

But Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm told the Kolner Express newspaper: “At the moment Mick is doing Formula 4 in Germany and Italy.

“The next logical step is formula 3, where he will soon do another test,” she added.

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Perez: German Grand Prix start the worst of my career

Force India’s Sergio Perez says his start at the German Grand Prix was the worst of his Formula 1 career.

The Mexican driver started the race in ninth place but a poor launch from the grid and first lap meant he fell to 16th.

His team had to change strategy and Perez managed to fight his way back up the order, sneaking into the points with 10th place.

“It’s safe to say today was the worst start in my whole career,” he said after the race. “I had a lot of wheelspin at the start and dropped back to P16 - so it was a long fight back through the pack.

“The team had to think on their feet and tweak the strategy to get me back into a competitive position. Degradation was quite high, especially when following other cars, and I spent a lot of time in the middle of the race fighting with Fernando [Alonso].

“In the last few laps I was running out of tyres, but I knew Fernando was in a similar situation, so when I saw an opportunity I knew I had to take it. I honestly didn’t think we would score points after Turn 1, but we did it.”

His team-mate Nico Hulkenberg said seventh place was the best result possible at the Hockenheimring, adding: “It feels good to get the maximum from our race and score some important points.

“The team did a great job with the strategy because we went into the race believing a two-stopper was possible, but then made an early decision to switch to three stops. It was definitely the right way to go and allowed me to take seventh place in the final few laps.

“The tyre degradation was very high so most of the race was about managing the tyres. It was also quite a lonely and straightforward race because my main fight was against Bottas and we were running different strategies.”

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Is it over for Nico Rosberg?

July has been a mixed month for Nico Rosberg. On the one hand he has a new two-year Mercedes contract in his back pocket, and on the other he is facing the prospect of another title defeat to Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg’s campaign began in flying form as he claimed four wins on the trot and, according to the sport’s history books, was assured of the World title given that every driver who has ever won the opening four races has gone on to win the Drivers’ Championship title.

Throw in the fact that he had a 43-point advantage over Hamilton, and he was smiling all the way to the chequered flag.

And then it all changed.

Following their lap 1 double DNF in Spain, Hamilton burst back with six wins at the next seven grands prix to claim 160 points from the 175 available.

Rosberg, in sharp contrast, won just one race and only made it onto the podium in two others.

This heralded a turnaround in the standings with Hamilton 19 points ahead of his team-mate after Sunday’s German GP win.

So it is all over for Rosberg?

Mathematically of course not, there are still 225 points to play for.

There are also Hamilton’s pending grid penalties to come, which could see him drop as many as 15 places at one race, and that you’d expect would hand Rosberg a free run to the chequered flag.

It is the mental part, though, that may the German’s undoing.

An arduous home race in which he struggled to get off the line from pole position was followed by a cheap move on Max Verstappen, one that resulted in a penalty for Rosberg.

As such instead of fighting back at his home grand prix, he fell even further off the pace.

He is, however, adamant that he has the fortitude to come back from this.

“I have enough evidence to show myself that I’m strongest after difficult moments, time and time again, so no issues there,” he said.

However, history – his own history and not those of the legends of the past – and his inability to beat Hamilton to the crown in previous seasons says otherwise.

Perhaps this year Rosberg will make his mark as the one driver in F1’s history to win the opening four races and still come up short.

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Haryanto hopes German GP wasn’t his last

Rio Haryanto’s 20th place at the German Grand Prix on Sunday may be his last, but he believes that his performance “wasn’t too bad.”

With his funding from state-owned oil company Pertamina having run dry, the 23-year-old faces an uncertain future in Formula 1, with many not expecting to see Haryanto back in Manor colours when the F1 roadshow returns from its summer break.

Under this backdrop Haryanto would have been hoping for a race to remember, but instead saw his chances of a good finish take a hit when he damaged his front wing while trying to pass his Manor team-mate, Pascal Wehrlein.

Haryanto, who is the first-ever Indonesian Formula 1 driver, was glad that he was able to continue racing after coming in contact with Wehrlein, but the result still leaves him without any points at the halfway point of the season.

“Overall, the race wasn’t too bad for me. We were still fighting with Sauber, which is what we need to keep doing,” he said. “Early in the race, I saw an opportunity to pass my team-mate when the gap between us came right down. Unfortunately it didn’t work out and we ended up touching, so I damaged my front wing in the process.

“We kept going until my first pit stop and in the meantime I was able to keep in touch with Ericsson, just ahead between Pascal and me. We knew we had some damage, but we kept going until our first planned stop, then made the nose change at the same time.

“It takes a bit longer, so I lost some time, but after that I was catching back up to Ericsson and trading places with Nasr as our respective strategies played out. It was a good weekend for us and a nice result for the team at an important race for us.”

Haryanto has a contract with Manor for the full season, and the team have stated that they would like him to stay on, but it remains to be seen if he can hold on to his race seat.

“Not too much rest though; we’re busy working to ensure I continue into the second half of the season,” he said of his summer break. “But I do wish the rest of the team a good break because it has been a very long 12 races and everyone has worked incredibly hard. My thanks to them for a good job so far.”

Should Haryanto fail to find the necessary funding to remain in F1, it is believed that Manor will turn to their reserve driver, Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi, for the second half of the campaign.

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Red Bull demotion "made me stop enjoying" racing, Kvyat admits

Daniil Kvyat has admitted his mid-season demotion from Red Bull to sister team Toro Rosso has made him "not so strong".

Kvyat was forced to make way for Max Verstappen in Red Bull's main team four races into the season - and has struggled for form at Toro Rosso since then, frequently coming up short of new teammate Carlos Sainz.

Asked whether having to constantly prove himself was a downside of the Red Bull programme, Kvyat said: "I can't blame them for this of course, they made me a strong driver.

"Now I'm not so strong because of what happened a few months ago, but it's not an excuse, not an explanation.

"These things, in the end, make you stronger again, but, of course, the whole situation made me reflect a bit on things, and it's not easy.

"It made me stop enjoying it for a while, but now I need to get this enjoyment back and love what I do again."

 

Calming down

Having been bitterly disappointed with his exit from Q1 at the German Grand Prix, Kvyat had a better run on race day, recovering to finish 2.5s behind teammate Sainz - albeit both were well adrift of the points.

"No points is disappointing, but, on the other hand, I felt quite comfortable today in the car, even if it was difficult to drive.

"I felt like I got the absolute maximum out of the car, which is positive. There was nothing we could have done better today from our side.

"Considering all the circumstances, it was a good day. It gives me confidence going into the summer break, to be honest. I need to put things together a bit more on Saturdays, then we can be in good shape for Sunday as well."

Nevertheless, Kvyat also admitted the summer break has come at a good time for him.

"I really need it, I think me more than anyone else. I've been really draining myself, asking too much of myself, things that were not possible in the car and in the circumstances, especially when I just came to the team.

"It's easy to drain yourself, that's what I feel like I did.

"Many people who know me saw I was not quite myself for the last few weeks. I don't need anyone to be sorry for me, but everyone has these points in their life.

"[Saturday] was a low point, but [on Sunday] I feel like I made not one, but a few steps ahead so I think it's going to be much better from now on.

"I believe we should be on a good path now. I've kind of calmed down."

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Toro Rosso F1 team's pitstops not good enough - Carlos Sainz Jr

Carlos Sainz Jr says the Toro Rosso Formula 1 team must improve its performance with pitstops after another costly error in the German Grand Prix.

The Spaniard was running 12th, after making up a trio of positions in the opening few laps, when a problem with the front right at the first stop dropped him to 19th.

It comes after the Spaniard missed out on a potential podium finish in Monaco due to a pitstop error when running ahead of Sergio Perez, who went on to finish third, led to him finishing eighth.

"We are just not good enough in that area," said Sainz, who started 15th after a three-place grid penalty for impeding Felipe Massa in qualifying.

"We had improved it, we were maybe a bit better, a bit faster, but mistakes are still there, so it's not good enough."

Sainz, who ultimately finished 14th, said the fact it happened so early in the Hockenheim race meant the penalty was greater because the field was more bunched.

"We managed to recover from 15th to 12th, ready to go hunting for the points, but when we did a first pitstop it was a disaster.

"We ended up behind all of the slower cars that we had overtaken in the first seven laps.

"From there you lose track position, you have to overtake all over again, you need to use your tyres to overtake them and your race is backwards from then on.

"[We lost] around four seconds, but being the first pitstop it's four positions as we are all together, battling."

Sainz felt a point was possible, even though a lack of power from Toro Rosso's year-old spec Ferrari engine hampered it at Hockenheim, as he could have joined Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez's late dice.

"It's very difficult to tell [if we could have scored points] but more than P14 was possible," he said.

"We didn't do the maximum that the car was capable of doing because we didn't get the pitstop right, so that's why I'm not happy.

"I'm sure it would've been the possibility, there would've been a chance for the last point with Alonso and Perez, but our race was too compromised with the pitstop."

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SEBASTIAN VETTEL ADMITS HIS OWN F1 PERFORMANCE NOT GOOD ENOUGH IN FIRST HALF OF 2016

Sebastian Vettel says his performances in the first half of 2016 have not been good enough given Ferrari’s ambitious targets for this Formula 1 season.

Vettel, who is fifth in the championship on 120 points, explained that he had produced “too many ups and downs” during the first 12 races of 2016.

Ferrari finished fifth and sixth in last weekend’s German Grand Prix and neither Vettel nor his teammate Kimi Raikkonen could close in on the Mercedes or Red Bull cars in front of them.

In an official Ferrari statement, Vettel described how the SF16-H was sliding to a high-degree on the Hockenheim track and reckons that this ultimately cost Ferrari in the race, which was won by Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

He said: “We’re usually faster in the race than we are in qualifying, but this wasn’t the case today: we were sliding around too much and this affected the tyres as well.

“Fifth and sixth place was the best we could do but we obviously can’t accept that, we will be working to improve and we know what to do, the stuff that’s coming up for the next races has always been part of our plan.

“The first part of the season didn’t go as we wanted, we need to work on ourselves and I, for one, had too many ups and downs, which cost me some points. But we’ll keep fighting.”

Vettel’s ups and downs in 2016 have followed a year when he scored three races wins and much was expected of the four times world champion and Ferrari this season.

He led for much of the Australian Grand Prix before a conservative team strategy call dropped him behind the Mercedes cars, which was not his decision, but he then ran wide as he closed in Hamilton in the closing stages.

Small errors also cost the German driver time in his fight with Hamilton at the Canadian Grand Prix, where Ferrari ultimately lacked the pace to challenge for the victory, and although he recovered to second place in China he did so after colliding with Raikkonen at the first corner.

After the Hockenheim race, Ferrari’s team principal Maurizio Arrivabene was at a loss to explain his team’s lack of pace, which came one week after Vettel finished just 0.6s behind Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Although Vettel’s best lap of the race, second fastest of the whole field, was just 0.268 seconds behind Riccardo’s quickest lap of the race, Raikkonen, the lead Ferrari driver in qualifying at Hockenheim, was 0.416 adrift of the Australian on what is much more of a power dependent circuit than the Hungaroring.

Ferrari searches for speed

Speaking about his team’s lack of pace in Germany, Arrivabene said: “While one week ago, in Hungary, our race pace was totally respectable, here in Hockenheim we experienced again some issues with both mechanical grip and downforce, which unfortunately are not unknown to us.”
The Italian explained that Ferrari needs to act fast to avoiding lose ground in the constructors’ championship, as the team now finds itself in third place, behind Red Bull by 14 points, for the first time this season.

He said: “Obviously, we must react as quickly as possible to cure these problems and most of all we must lose not to too much time in the process. Having been jumped in the Constructors’ championship only pushes us to react, and perform better in the second part of the season, after the summer break.”

Raikkonen reckons Ferrari’s needs to “improve the car in all areas”, particularly by adding downforce, but the team heads into F1’s mid-season break having just parted company with James Allison, its former chief technical officer.

Although the SF16-H has not been as successful as its predecessor or allowed Ferrari to close the gap to Mercedes and fight for the championship, questions have arisen in the paddock over the decision to let Allison, who is widely regarded as F1’s second best engineer, leave the team.

Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne expected the squad to be winning races fighting and be in the thick of a title battle in 2016 and this has clearly not been the case. To compound matters, with F1 facing major new aerodynamic regulations next season, unless Ferrari can unlock some hidden downforce on the current car soon, questions will turn to when the team should direct its full resources onto its 2017 challenger.