FORMULA 1 - 2016

[MIKA27]

WILLIAMS PREVIEW THE ITALIAN GRANDS PRIX

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza was first held during the inaugural Formula One season in 1950 and is home to some of the most passionate fans in Formula One. Four times during a single lap the FW38 will exceed 195mph due to the circuit’s layout.

Monza’s history surrounds the circuit with corner names linking back to past greats and the original banking from the 1950s is ever-present. Monza hosts the last visit to Europe for the Formula One fraternity before they head to warmer climes.

The Italian Grand Prix has had six Williams victors, with Felipe Massa securing two emotional podiums in 2014 and 2015 in front of the Tifosi.

For Monza, Pirelli have made available the medium, soft and supersoft tyres.

Pat Symonds: “Monza is an abnormal track as it has the highest average speed of any circuit we go to and a similar top speed to Baku. The average corner speed is quite low though so this leads to a totally different aerodynamic requirement to any other track. Therefore, most teams will be seen running a type of rear wing that will only appear once a year. Again the circuit rewards strong power units and high efficiency, particularly low drag. In terms of strategy, the pit loss is quite high with the long pitlane situated alongside a fast straight. Low cornering speeds equate to relatively low tyre energy and so there is therefore a strong tendency to try and achieve a one-stop race. Over the last few years we have had good results at Monza, and our hope is to consolidate on a good result from Belgium and push hard into the remaining races of the season.”

Valtteri Bottas: “The Italian Grand Prix is always a really special race weekend. The fans are really passionate and it’s a high speed circuit with low downforce, therefore racing is always very good in Monza. The weather is fantastic as well, so all in all it’s just a great race weekend with nice fans and an amazing track. I also get to drive there from my home in Monaco – it’s about a three hour drive – so one flight less for the year! A nice way to mark the end of the European races.”

Felipe Massa: “Italy has been very good to me. I’ve had two podiums there in the last two years, as well as a podium when I was with Ferrari. Monza is defintiely one of the greatest and most historic races in Formula One. The fans are so passionate and enjoy just being there and enjoying such fantastic racing, it’s incredible to see. I know the fans there very well from my years with Ferrari and they still support me massively. It’s always such a pleasure to race in Monza.”

[MIKA27]

Why F1 did not see Michael Schumacher's stunning Spa debut coming

You’ll be aware of the story by now. That almost exactly a quarter of a century ago F1 experienced a watershed.

No exaggeration. You’ll know that Michael Schumacher then made his celebrated debut in the beautiful Jordan 191 at the about as beautiful Spa circuit. That within a day he’d beaten the time of his established, experienced and not least fast (albeit wild on occasion) team mate Andrea de Cesaris by near enough a second. That he started the race from seventh, some four places and seven tenths better off than the guy across the garage mentioned. He lasted but a few seconds in the race due to a clutch failure but no matter, just about everyone had made their minds up on that opening day of running.

Almost literally overnight the grand question that had been around in F1 for years was answered – that of who would be the one from the next generation to take on the standard-bearer Ayrton Senna, just as Senna had with Alain Prost; just as Prost had with Niki Lauda. Come the next race Michael was in a Benetton – his supposed agreement with the Jordan team wasn’t all it was cracked up to be by the Irish team. There he won the first two of his titles. And then he would not so much break F1’s all-time records as redefine them to the point that contemporary performers barely even think about matching his marks. It’s probable too that in so doing so, more generally no individual ever raised the bar of what was expected of an F1 pilot as much as Michael Schumacher did. Quite the watershed, as I said.

But perhaps not even that’s the most remarkable part of all this and no, I’m not even talking about how that Jordan vacancy had opened up in the first place.

A curious tale which stretched back to London’s Hyde Park Corner the previous December. When Bertrand Gachot, long before even he’d got his hands on a 191, while driving his Alfa Romeo had a slight collision with a taxi, and then having got into an altercation with the cabman took it upon himself to spray CS gas in his face. Before the Spa race a judge decided he’d do a 18 months in Brixton Prison as a consequence (although he only served a couple of months of it), for the assault as well as for the possession of the prohibited weapon.

No. Granted that bit is unusual; perhaps even grimly amusing (though I guess not for the taxi driver) but it isn’t the really remarkable bit. No, that is that prior to Michael’s astonishing Spa debut, the F1 paddock knew almost nothing about the promising talent that was ready to blow the sport’s predispositions apart. As far as they were concerned he may as well have materialised from thin air.

In F1 then as is now the norm, was for teams and especially the big ones, to extend their tentacles all over the driver market and far beyond Formula 1.

All sorts of promising pilots in the lower ranks had tabs kept on them.

There would be factory visits, test days, and if they were good, distinct murmurings about how well they impressed.

More lately we can add the specialised young driver programmes to this such as Ferrari and Redbull. As a combined consequence, almost any time a budding driver gets their freshman race weekend there is in advance at least some crystallisation of their potential around the paddock. Even Sebastian Vettel, it is said had a modest junior record was nevertheless part of the Red Bull and BMW programmes.

But Schumi like a stealth bomber, had somehow not shown up on F1’s radar before wreaking his immediate destruction on the sport’s cosy consensus.

It’s hard to understand why this was either, as it’s not like he wasn’t doing anything to distinguish himself in the previous year or two. In 1990 he’d won the German Formula 3 title as well as two prestigious end of year international F3 races (though the first of the two, in Macau, was won amid controversy after he clashed with Mika Hakkinen on the final tour). Then for 1991 he’d joined the prestigious Mercedes squad to compete in the World Sportscar Championship. It perhaps was not the most obvious move in the progression to the top of the single seaters and Michael himself required a lot of persuading from his manager Willi Weber. But Merc was keen to develop young Germanic talent on their way to F1 and Weber reckoned the experience of operating in a large team would serve him well for his F1 set-up.

And it’s not as if with a roof over his head in endurance racing, Schumacher wasn’t standing out either, quite the contrary, in fact as Ross Brawn, then at Jaguar who was one of Merc’s chief rivals, explains:

“We were racing against Michael, [Heinz-Harald] Frentzen and [Karl] Wendlinger. All of them went on to race in F1. But every time Michael got in the car he was quicker and as it was a fuel economy formula, he also went further on a tank of fuel than the others, so not only was he faster but also used less fuel doing it.

“The only time that the Mercedes challenged us was when Michael was driving…When we prepared for the race we always had to build in a Michael factor”.

Journalist Quentin Spurring who’d seen all of Schumacher’s sportscar drives, confided to colleagues prior to Schumacher's Spa bow: “Telling you now, that boy will be world champion”.

It also wasn’t like the young German wasn’t being promoted in F1 circles.

Both Weber and Mercedes figures had been touting Schumacher to F1 teams for much of the 1991 season. Ron Dennis, who that year was on his way to leading McLaren to its fourth championship double in a row, was as per James Allen’s book on Schumacher The Edge of Greatness tipped off by the boss of AMG Domingos Piedade as to the German’s potential. But also according to Allen’s work in response there was virtually no interest, beyond a slight ripple from the ever-underwhelming Arrows squad, or rather Footwork as it was known at that point and there wasn’t even interest from Jordan either. 

With Gachot denied to the team for Spa the initial shortlist of potential replacements drawn up looks absurd to the contemporary eye.

Keke Rosberg, Stefan Johansson, Derek Warwick, a deal for Warwick was close, until one was finalised for Schumacher – helped by persistence from Weber and an offer of $200,000 in return for a test and a drive in the Belgian Grand Prix.

The second part of the deal was just as crucial. The selection was money motivated – rather than some grand vision of Michael's potential – is something admitted readily even by the boss in question Eddie Jordan, who as we know isn’t always above self-aggrandisement. Jordan’s 1991 debut campaign was impressive on track but in so doing the team had stacked up debts of close to five million pounds, meaning EJ was receptive to anything that would help alleviate them (heck, he even took on woeful Yamaha engines for 1992 on the sole grounds that they were free – but more on that later).

Well, the choice was motivated by money but also nudged along by Weber being a little economical with the actualité. When asked by Jordan if Schumi ever had raced at Spa his reply was something to the effect of ‘he’s from just an hour’s drive away in Kerpen over the border!’ Technically true, but Michael had in fact never set foot on the Spa track. “If I’d known that he’d never raced at Spa it might have been a deal breaker in Stefan’s favour” said EJ some time later.

So what of the question that most F1 bosses had leapt to the forefront of minds on that Belgian Grand Prix, Friday in 1991 – just how did they all miss him? A lot of the explanation was that Schumi’s suspicions about choosing the World Sportscar Championship path were in fact well-founded – F1 bosses simply did not consider sportscars as a fruitful source of new F1 talent. They didn’t look; therefore they didn’t see.

As Allen explained of Dennis’s dismissal mentioned, “he believed that sportscar racers, with their emphasis on endurance rather than pure performance, were not the thoroughbreds Grand Prix racing required” (how things have changed you might be thinking). EJ concurred. “I don’t think anyone, even now, would take a driver from sportscars” he said, “so I’m not sure that Michael would have got his break into F1 without us”.

Perhaps as Bernie Ecclestone commented when seeking to assist Schumi into the Benetton team in the follwoing race meeting in Monza – according to BCE with some resistance from the squad’s management – part of it was that “these people who run teams, they start to believe they’re geniuses…” Conceit is not unheard of among paddock decision-makers of course.

With all of this, it is tempting to ask what if?

What if Gachot hadn’t decided to break out the pepper spray? Or if Jordan had indeed gone with Johansson or whoever?

We all know the one about sliding doors, as well as that there’s nothing inevitable about Formula 1 careers, the short and volatile things that they are.

Well on inspection it most likely would have caused the most minor of checks on the 22 year-old Schumacher forward momentum. At the very least, you’d imagine he’d have got an F1 run with Sauber – which of course had run the Merc sportscar team and retained distinct links with the marque – when it debuted in 1993 just as his sportscar team mates Wendlinger and Frentzen did a year later. And the C12 a lot like the Jordan 191 was a good upper-midfield car in which Schumi surely would have been noticed.

At the year’s end in that strange thing called reality JJ Lehto indeed made the switch from Sauber to Benetton, and you’d imagine Schumi there would have made the stronger case for the transfer (and would you in this scenario bet all that much against Schumi claiming the 1994 world title, as he of course did in reality, nevertheless?)

The earlier metioned Footwork for 1992 was also a decent enough machine and in it indeed the veteran Michele Alboreto was able not only to score in four races but also finish a single place out of the points – then in seventh – on no fewer than six further occasions, from 16 rounds in total. Michael you’d assume would have been a regular scorer and again in that strange thing called reality all of the big four teams – Williams, McLaren, Benetton and Ferrari – changed at least one driver between 1992 and 1993.

You’d imagine the German could have taken his pick between any one of them.

What if Jordan’s ‘deal’ with Schumacher spoken of at Spa, thought to apply right through to the end of 1993 had in fact held?

As intimated, in 1992 Schumi would have had to struggle with terrible Yamaha units, and indeed the prospect of this was a lot of the reason the Schumacher camp was so keen to extricate from Jordan. It would have been a tough year, but as the likes of Fernando Alonso at Minardi have shown, it is possible for a good driver to get noticed even in wretched machinery.

1993 would have been better – as with the C12 and 191 the Jordan was then a midfield car in which Michael could have easily shown his mettle and the matter might not have gone that far, as a big team always could have bought him out of his Jordan contract ahead of time – EJ showed with Eddie Irvine a few years later that he’s not averse to that sort of deal.

But of course the bottom line, it seems near enough impossible that Michael’s stellar talent would not have been discovered eventually. Formula 1 doesn’t always make sense, but even with that, there are some things so powerful that they can’t be stopped.

[MIKA27]

Lewis Hamilton fears 2017 Formula 1 cars won't change anything

Lewis Hamilton fears the changes coming in 2017 won't actually change anything for the drivers, and the fans will still be disappointed with the on-track action.

Next year will see the introduction of more aggressive looking cars which will be much quicker - around four seconds a lap. That's thanks to wider tyres, lower wings and a larger diffuser.

The hope is that the extra speed will excite fans, make the cars harder to drive and lead to an overall increase in action.

Hamilton however fears that nothing will actually change, because the cars will be heavier, require more fuel, therefore drivers will still be forced to 'lift and coast' and also save their tyres.

"Generally we’re not pushing 100 per cent like perhaps they used to do," said the Briton. "It was a more extreme race back in the day, it was a sprint.

"For us, all starting in go-karts, that’s what it was from the get-go, from the lights out it was a sprint race to the end. Formula One’s not about that anymore. It’s about preserving your tyres, preserving the battery power, preserving the turbo, preserving all these elements which are not what people tune in to see.

"So, the governing body is continuing to push the car. Next year’s still going to be even more heavy, probably not have great grip. The car will probably be faster but it will have the same characteristics, probably, as what we have now," he added.

"I might be wrong, but most-likely. We’ll drive the same next year, just with a heavier car, and having to save fuel, save tyres, do the same things."

[MIKA27]

Jenson Button on Monza

Speaking ahead of the Italian GP, McLaren-Honda’s Jenson Button and his race engineer, Tom Stallard, share their thoughts on Monza – a track which has been a regular feature on the F1 calendar since 1950.

Button’s best result at Monza was a hat-trick of runner-up finishes achieved in 2009 with Brawn GP and again in 2010 and 2011 with McLaren.

[MIKA27]

Horner hails measured drive by Ricciardo

While Christian Horner has been defending one of his driver's performance in Spa, the Red Bull team principal has laid credit on Daniel Ricciardo's effort to manage the race to take second place and further fortify its position against Ferrari. 

Having wrestled the second spot in the F1 manufacturers' championship from Ferrari in Germany, Red Bull edged further ahead to 22 points in front of the Italian manufacturer thanks to Ricciardo's second place in the Belgian Grand Prix. 

Despite a slightly underwhelming qualifying by taking fifth on the grid, the Australian driver steered clear of the turn one clash ahead of him and managed the performance deficit to those around him by fending over Nico Hulkenberg before Lewis Hamilton closed in on his charge from the back of the grid. 

“I think Daniel drove a superb race today, I think his tyre management and his pace, his judgment was excellent,” Horner said. “At this type of venue to come away with a front row start with Max yesterday and P2 after the restart, obviously Lewis was only a car or two behind, so there was still pressure with the Mercedes to deal with. 

“Unfortunately Nico Rosberg just had a bit too much pace in hand today, but it was a great performance by Daniel.”

Ricciardo also gave his position in the F1 drivers' championship a boost by moving clear of Sebastian Vettel by 23 points in the battle for the best of the rest behind the dominant Mercedes duo.
 

 

[MIKA27]

WILLIAMS AND BOTTAS SET TO ANNOUNCE TWO YEAR DEAL

Valtteri Bottas looks to have secured his future for, at least, the next two years with Williams.

The Finn has been tentatively linked with a move to Renault, but the German-language Auto Bild as well as Speed Week report that a deal has been done on a new two-year Williams deal.

The timing of the reports is interesting, amid rumours Bottas had an option in his current deal that would need to have been taken up by Williams by the end of August.

However, sources indicate that Felipe Massa’s deal is less likely to be renewed, with McLaren driver Jenson Button strongly linked with a return to Grove.

“I think as we have said very clearly we are very happy with the job Felipe and Valtteri have done for us,” said team deputy Claire Williams.

“I know everybody is waiting for our announcement now that lots of other teams have made theirs, but we are not ready to announce our lineup for 2017 yet.

“We are working through all our options but I hope we will be able to make that announcement shortly,” she added.

[MIKA27]

WILLIAMS: I AM WORRIED

Williams have undelivered this season and dropping to fourth in the championship standings, after the Belgian Grand Prix, could hit them hard in the pocket should they not recover before the end of the season,

Both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa are struggling with a car that simply is not delivering the performance required to run with the pace setters.

Deputy team principal Claire Williams admitted to ESPN, “We’ve got some issues at the moment with tyre management and aero etc.”

As a consequence Force India, have leap-frogged the Grove outfit in the points standings, and should Williams be unable to turn around the deficit they will feel it financially.

Williams explained, “I am worried because losing fourth place in the championship means losing quite a lot of dollars as well in your prize money income, so it’s not something that we can allow to happen and we are going to have to work really hard if we are going to hold them off.”

“I know that Force India would love nothing more than to take fourth place and that for us would be extremely disappointing.”

“You’ve got the three teams at the top that are taking the top six positions, Williams and Force India and we are scrapping around for one, two, three points and maybe the odd occasion of being bumped up if there’s a reliability issue or whatever.”

“So [the battle with Force India] that really does worry me. That’s not what I wanted and that’s a result of some very disappointing races where we should have capitalised on circuits that suited our car, but we made a number of mistakes,” conceded Williams.

[MIKA27]

HAAS AIM TO CONFIRM DRIVERS AFTER MONZA

Haas F1 team chief Guenther Steiner is adamant that his team will confirm their driver line-up shortly after the summer break, after the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

With a number of big teams yet to finalise their 2017 drivers, Steiner is keen to avoid waiting too long on the matter

Steiner told ESPN, “I don’t think you want to waste this long. If you know where you are it’s better than this uncertainty. We are very confident we can say after Monza.

“Last year we said the same that we would tell the drivers and we did it – maybe a few weeks late but we didn’t wait until [the winter]. Normally we do what we say, or we try to. It gives the whole team certainty and you can focus on the car and performance.”

Haas are still focusing on their 2016 car and an array of updates will be bolted on for the Singapore Grand Prix weekend.

With several teams already firmly concentrating on next season’s design and development, Steiner explained the stance the Haas team are taking.

“We just want to get better at manufacturing. We just changed our internal organisation, so these parts were developed sometime in March, April, and just went into production a little bit later, and therefore they come later.”

“We didn’t want to rush them because there’s no point. We want to get better at our game as well for next year because the second year is the most difficult one for everybody.”

“We are doing as much as possible not to make mistakes in the second year because everybody’s out waiting for us to say ‘we told you so’ – you guys basically! It’s you people,” added Steiner.

[MIKA27]

F1 POISED FOR ANOTHER 21 RACE SEASON IN 2017

Formula 1 looks set to endure a second consecutive 21-race voyage around the world in 2017.

Auto Motor und Sport claims next year’s schedule will match the current, record-setting number of races, with the first of 21 grands prix taking place on March 26 in Melbourne.

The report said that while rumours of races in Las Vegas, South Africa, France, Imola and others are flying about, there will be in fact be no new events in 2017.

“The first one will be 26 March,” one team boss confirmed. “And a week later we’ll be in Shanghai.”

Other than that, the calendar will look very similar to this year’s, with even Hockenheim expected to host a consecutive race and therefore safeguard the future of the German GP for now.

It has been claimed Ecclestone is even stepping in as a semi-promoter of the German round, as other hosts also struggle to pay race fees in excess of $20 million.

Monza, Russia, Brazil, Silverstone, Montreal and even the highly-popular night race in Singapore are said to also be struggling with their current fees.

Auto Motor und Sport said the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council is expected to publish the draft 2017 calendar after its next meeting in Paris late next month.

The dates for pre-season testing are reportedly not yet set.

[MIKA27]

RON DENNIS CONFIRMS 2017 DRIVER DECISION HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE

Ron Dennis has denied claims Jenson Button will definitely leave McLaren and possibly F1 at the end of the season.

Writing for the Sunday Times, respected journalist Mark Hughes claimed the Honda-powered team told Button, 36, at Spa that he will be replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne.

Hughes added: “It is understood that Button has decided against a return to the Williams team with which he started his F1 career 16 years ago.”

But McLaren supremo Dennis told the British broadcaster Sky F1 that the contract talks, whilst imminent, have not taken place yet.

“We’ve always said that Monza would be when we discuss it internally. A final board decision will be taken at the end of September – that’s the plan and it’s always been the plan,” he said.

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES PREVIEW THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

The 2016 Formula One World Championship season continues this weekend with Round 14, the Italian Grand Prix, at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza

Lewis Hamilton: “Spa was about as good as damage limitation can get, I think! It was a fantastic result for me and for the team. The guys deserved it so much after all that hard work, so I was massively pleased for them and proud of what we achieved together. Now we go to Monza – a track I know well from so many racing categories throughout my career and one it’s impossible not to love. The speed, the history, the atmosphere… it’s just so iconic in every way. Standing on that amazing podium, looking out over a sea of fans on the straight, has to be up there as of the most incredible experiences a sportsman can have. I had a perfect weekend on track there last year. If I can repeat that it would be amazing but we’ll see how we look when we get there. It’s game on for me now with the penalties out of the way and fresh engines ready to use. I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Nico Rosberg: “It’s great to add a classic circuit like Spa to the list of wins. It wasn’t a straightforward weekend for us – but everybody did a fantastic job and the car kept improving with every session, so hopefully that puts us on a good curve as we head to another legendary track in Monza. This is a race I really enjoy and one I’d really love to master. The tifosi create such an incredible atmosphere every single time, no matter who wins the race. Last year obviously didn’t end so well for me there, so I’m hoping for a bit more luck and a little less fire this time… I’m really enjoying the battle out there right now. We’ve got several cars in the mix now which is exciting for us and also the fans. For me, I’m taking every race like a cup final. It’s great to know you have the team and the car to just go out there and lay it on the line. I can’t wait to make our Silver Arrow fly at Monza.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “We go to Monza in high spirits after a positive weekend by all measures in Spa. Nico drove a perfect race, while a combination of skilled driving and decisive strategy calls meant taking the penalty for Lewis turned out to be far less detrimental than we could even have dared to hope. On top of that, the tremendous job by the guys in the garage proved how strong we are as a unit. They were faultless, with no incident whatsoever on the engines. We’re entering a busy final phase of the season, so to see that level of performance in such tough circumstances is encouraging for the road ahead. Eight races remain, with just nine points separating our drivers now. It has been bouncing in both directions – and my gut feeling is we will go long into the season before we see who comes out on top. On top of that, we have already seen our opposition come back stronger after the break – even if luck was not on their side at the last race. If things continue as they have been, we’re set for an entertaining end to the year.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical): “It seems like yesterday we were in Spa! We were very happy to come out with such a great result in what proved to be a difficult race from a tyre management point of view – quite apart from the challenge of getting one car from the back of the grid to the podium! It was a great start to the second half of the season which puts us in a strong position heading to Monza – another classic, unusual circuit with quite specific demands on the car. The track is characterised by high power sensitivity, heavy demands on brakes and a low-drag configuration requiring a special rear wing. This race sees the same tyre compound allocation as Spa – the Medium, Soft and SuperSoft. However, the energy put through the tyres is notably less at this circuit, so we should see a different situation to the last race from that perspective. Monza is always a fantastic weekend for fans. The tifosi are world famous for their passion for the sport and there’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of the crowd gathered under that unique podium. Although they’re normally cheering for the red team, above all they love a good race – so we’ll aim to provide just that.”

[MIKA27]

HAAS PREVIEW THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

Maranello-based Ferrari provides Haas F1 Team with its power unit, gearbox and overall technical support, and famed racecar builder Dallara has Haas F1 Team’s design staff embedded in its Parma headquarters.

This unique relationship allowed Haas F1 Team to hit the ground running with drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez. The massive task of creating a Formula One team from scratch was made slightly less daunting by the more than 130 collective years of motorsports experience brought by Ferrari and Dallara.

Proof of the program’s success can be found in Haas F1 Team’s eighth-place standing in the constructor ranks, where after 13 races it is 22 points ahead of ninth-place Renault and only 17 points behind seventh-place Toro Rosso. The 28 points Haas F1 Team has earned so far this season are the most of any new team in this millennium. When Jaguar debuted in 2000 and when Toyota came on the scene in 2002, each entity managed only two point-paying finishes in their entire first seasons for a combined total of six points.

Points at Monza and in the seven races that follow are coveted by Haas F1 Team. The distance between it and Toro Rosso is surmountable if each grand prix is executed to the team’s fullest potential.

The speed is there, as Grosjean and Gutiérrez have shown. In eight straight grands prix the duo has made it to the second round of qualifying (Q2). The third and final round of qualifying (Q3) beckons as the two drivers have five 11th-place qualifying efforts between them – three by Grosjean and two by Gutiérrez. They’ve come tantalizingly close to breaking into Q3 for a top-10 qualifying effort, and the 5.793-kilometer (3.6-mile), 11-turn temple of speed that is Monza could very well be a breakthrough venue.

Grosjean has made four Formula One starts at Monza with a best finish of eighth in 2013. His best qualifying effort is also eighth, earned last year. Gutiérrez has made two Formula One starts at Monza, and his first Formula One drive at the track in 2013 was perhaps his most memorable. Gutiérrez, in a Ferrari-powered Sauber, set the fastest speed in the final year of the V-8 era by hitting 341.1 kph (211.950 mph).

Gutiérrez’s entire Formula One career has been connected to Ferrari. His two years with Sauber in 2013-2014 came with Ferrari power, and he joined Scuderia Ferrari in 2015 as the team’s third driver where he helped develop the racecar for four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel and 2007 Formula One champion Kimi Räikkönen. By signing with Haas F1 Team for 2016, Gutiérrez retained his ties to the Prancing Horse.

With Ferrari providing the horsepower for Haas F1 Team, the outfit feels well-prepared for Formula One’s fastest track. The circuit’s long straights combined with teams’ low-drag configurations mean that speeds approach 360 kph (224 mph). Cornering speeds are relatively low and with the high-speed straights, tire wear is minimal, especially in comparison to last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps where tire degradation was extremely high. But while tire wear will be lower than it was at Spa, the chance of wheelspin while under acceleration is higher because of the low-downforce package Monza favors.

A favorite among Formula One fans and, especially the Tifosi, Monza provides an electric atmosphere that gives a charge to Haas F1 Team and its Italian partners.

Autodromo Nazionale Monza

Circuit Length: 5.793 km (3.6 miles)
Laps: 53
Race Distance: 306.72 km (190.587 miles)
Broadcast: NBCSN – 7 a.m. ET (Pre-Race Show) / 8 a.m. ET (Lights Out)

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal

The Italian Grand Prix is a quasi home race for Haas F1 Team as its technical partner, Ferrari, and its collaborator on chassis development, Dallara, are both based in Italy. Knowing the Haas VF-16’s Italian ties, how important is it to have a strong showing at Monza?
“With Dallara’s headquarters only an hour drive from Monza, I’m sure that a lot of their people will be there. It’s always good to be there because of the passion people have for the racecars. The history of Monza and the passion of the Tifosi give the Italian Grand Prix a great atmosphere, and with it being close to both of our technical partners, we want to do our best.”

How has the technical partnership with Ferrari been and how has it evolved as Haas F1 Team went from designing a car to building a car to racing a car?
“The partnership has been great and, without them, we wouldn’t be where we are. I am sure about that. It is evolving every day and the people at Ferrari understand what we are doing. We are all here to go racing and I know that they enjoy competition. Over time, the relationship keeps getting stronger and, of course, we enjoy working with them.”

Explain Dallara’s role with Haas F1 Team and its prior history in Formula One.
“Dallara made their own car a long time ago and they have been involved with many projects. They enjoy being in Formula One and are doing a great job with their contribution to Haas F1 Team. Their people are passionate about it and love it. The partnership started off well and we are working to improve it so we can learn and be even better next year. They have definitely contributed a lot and help us on our program.”

What made Dallara the right partner for Haas F1 Team?
“They give us their experience. They have the infrastructure and knowledge of the racecars and, for us, it was the best choice to partner with them. The combination of Haas F1 Team and Dallara is a good match.”

This is Haas F1 Team’s first year and each race weekend is a learning experience. Is the same true for Dallara?
“I think it’s less based on a race weekend and more on a yearly basis when a new car is built. Altogether we learn a lot on making and using the car. They aren’t just an outside company. They are part of our team. I absolutely think it is a learning experience for them, too. It is for everyone involved.”

While the 2017 car will be drastically different from the 2016 car, what’s been learned from the partnerships with Ferrari and Dallara that can be applied to development of the 2017 car?
“Everything you do you learn and want to be better at. We are looking at how we have done during the 2016 year, which has been a pretty good job, but there is always room for improvement. To move forward in the classifications and ranks we will need to do better, and it won’t happen on its own. Everything will need to be more efficient and will need to step up in order to be better next year. That’s what we are doing with Ferrari and Dallara – just trying to improve so we can make the program better.”

How satisfying has it been to see a new idea and a very different philosophy of how to go Formula One racing not just come to fruition, but be successful by scoring points and challenging some of the more established teams?
“The philosophy of what Gene (Haas) set out – that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but we need to find a way to do it more efficiently because we knew doing the same as the other teams wouldn’t be enough. There is satisfaction in seeing the plan not just come together, but work and work well. We should be happy with what we’ve achieved.”

Would Haas F1 Team’s success have been possible without the collaborations with Ferrari and Dallara?
“No, not really. We can never really prove it, but I think that it definitely would have been more difficult and a lot less successful. I would think that without Ferrari and Dallara, we wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

Haas F1 Team’s setup is unique – headquarters in the United States, logistical base in England and car design in Italy. How have you been able to manage it and ensure that three facilities in three different time zones work together?
“Good people! You need to have people that you can trust, and that is the only way to do it. It does include a lot of traveling from my side, but we don’t know any different, which makes it a bit easier for us. We just use technology to talk and it seems to be working. I suppose we could’ve done it differently, but I think that part of our success is that we have the right people in the right places. As of now, it seems to be working, even if it is a lot of work compared to everything being in one place. As long as it continues to work, we will continue to do it this way.”

Do you think other entities outside of Formula One are looking at Haas F1 Team’s model as a way to potentially break into the sport?
“I hope so. I mean, I always wish for competition if they see it can work. I think there is still a license out there that somebody can get. As far as other existing teams changing, I don’t really see that happening because it would be more difficult for them. A new team, though, could be possible because we have shown that there is more than one way to have a Formula One team.”

Could what Haas F1 Team has accomplished be emulated?
“I think others could copy it, but they’ll need to find their own path to make it work for them. There are a few strong teams out there that I think could provide what we get from Ferrari.”

Ferrari’s hospitality unit is always packed during the Italian Grand Prix. How busy will our hospitality unit be?
“That is difficult to say. If you are up toward the front of the paddock, the more people that want to be associated with you. But I think with us being associated with two Italian companies, we will have some friends who will come by and have a coffee.”

Romain Grosjean

Ferrari and Dallara are two Italian companies that are technical partners of Haas F1 Team. How has their collective insight helped make Haas F1 Team so competitive in its first year in Formula One?
“It was vital. The whole idea of creating Haas F1 Team was based on the partnership with Ferrari and Dallara. We worked to have good cars and to perform as early as the first test. To do that, we had to get that partnership to work, which it did. I’m looking forward to being in Italy knowing the strength of those companies in our on-track efforts.”

Monza is the fastest track Formula One visits. What allows you to reach such high speeds at Monza?
“It’s the characteristics of the track, primarily a long straight line with a chicane followed by another long straight line. Everyone goes for low downforce levels. That’s where we go fast in a straight line. It’s a great track – a temple of speed. There’s always a great atmosphere around the circuit. I’m very much looking forward to racing there again.”

Where are the overtaking opportunities at Monza?
“More or less everywhere.”

Is overtaking at Monza a bit like a drag race where it’s about who can get on the power the fastest and most effectively?
“It’s not as straightforward as a drag race. You still lose downforce when you follow another car out of the low-speed corners. It’s one of those races where you can have a lot of overtaking, a lot of action. It’s always interesting to see how it plays out with the big slipstreams.”

Monza is a track with a lot of history and home to some of Formula One’s most passionate fans. Can you describe the atmosphere there?
“The atmosphere is crazy in Monza. The Tifosi, the fans – they’re just great. The track is in the middle of a park. It’s like nowhere else. There are so many people coming and watching, cheering for the drivers and, of course, for Ferrari. The atmosphere is electric. I love it.”

Have you had the opportunity to walk around the old portions of Monza, specifically the oval? If so, what ran through your mind when you saw the banking and realized cars in the late 1950s and early 1960s actually raced wheel-to-wheel on that track?
“It was crazy! You can barely stand up at the top of the oval. We still go underneath part of it at the Ascari chicane. It was definitely a different time, a different era of safety measures. I’m sure it was good fun, though.”

Would you have liked to have competed in that era just to see what it was like, or do you prefer to compete with the latest and greatest technology available?
“I’d compete anytime. I’ve always loved Formula One racing, no matter the era.”

Do you have any milestones or moments from your junior career that you enjoyed at Monza?
“My first race in Formula Renault 2.0 in 2004 – the Eurocup Series – was at Monza, and I was on the front row after qualifying. That was quite good. Certainly a happy memory.”

What is your favorite part of Monza?
“I like the two Lesmos turns, the ‘Curva di Lesmos’.”

Describe a lap around Monza.
“You cross the start-finish line going into the first chicane with big braking, dropping down to second gear. Then you’ve got important acceleration going into the second chicane, which is a bit faster, a bit more curb usage on the exit. You then try and carry as much speed through the two Lesmos turns. Then you go under the old oval and into the Ascari chicane. There’s big braking here, with a bump. It’s always tricky to get the car there. Then you really want to go early on power to get to the Parabolica. There’s another very long straight line, with very late braking to the Parabolica. Again, tricky throttle application heading toward the start-finish line to set your lap.”

Esteban Gutierrez

Ferrari and Dallara are two Italian companies that are technical partners of Haas F1 Team. How has their collective insight helped make Haas F1 Team so competitive in its first year in Formula One?
“I think it’s been really important to acquire the experience from Ferrari and Dallara. We gained a lot of knowledge, and from that point of view, it’s been a crucial part of our success.”

You’ve spent a lot of time with Ferrari, first with Ferrari power during your time at Sauber in 2013-2014 and then as the third driver with Scuderia Ferrari in 2015 before joining Haas F1 Team this year, where we also use Ferrari power. How helpful has it been to have such a deep understanding of Ferrari, its people and its methodology?
“It’s been really important. Ferrari works in a very particular way, which I find very nice and interesting, but you need to really understand the background in order to work efficiently. For example, the change of engines from one year to another was a big, big difference, and to have been through that transition helped me come here with a lot of experience.”

Prior to the summer shutdown, you were able to climb back into a Ferrari and test the 2017 Pirelli tires while driving a 2015-era car. How did it go and what kind of insight can you provide regarding the wider tires that will be used next year in Formula One?
“The tires are wider and you have more mechanical grip, which is what we are aiming for. We will have more downforce and it was great to get a preview of that in order to prepare myself, and also for the team to get a good idea, and for Pirelli as well to develop the right tires we need for next season.”

You set the fastest speed at Monza in the final year of the V-8 era (2013) when you wheeled your Ferrari-powered Sauber to a top speed of 341.1 kph (211.950 mph). What was it like to extract that much speed from the car over the course of the track’s 5.793-kilometer (3.6-mile) layout?
“It was great! It was crazy because I remember exactly that moment when I was in the race with the DRS on, maximum speed, and I got a lot of speed down the straight into braking and it was quite an impressive feeling.”

Monza is the fastest track Formula One visits. What allows you to reach such high speeds at Monza?
“It’s interesting because you have a lot of high-speed sections, mainly straight-line sections with very low downforce, and this is directly affecting the braking of the slow-speed corners. When you have a long period of time when you’re braking, obviously the downforce is important, but the fact that you get very low downforce on this track, you need to cope with the car in different ways and you need to adapt the setup for that.”

Where are the overtaking opportunities at Monza?
“Basically, everywhere. You have turn one and you have turn four, as well as before the Parabolica. It’s a track that provides a lot of overtaking.”

Is overtaking at Monza a bit like a drag race where it’s about who can get on the power the fastest and most effectively?
“Yes, definitely.”

Monza is a track with a lot of history and home to some of Formula One’s most passionate fans. Can you describe the atmosphere there?
“It’s one of the classics. The people, the atmosphere, the Italians, Ferrari fans, and we’re using Ferrari engines, so it’s great to come there and enjoy nice support from the Italians, especially for me being part of Ferrari last year directly as a third driver put me very close to Italy.”

Have you had the opportunity to walk around the old portions of Monza, specifically the oval? If so, what ran through your mind when you saw the banking and realized cars in the late 1950s and early 1960s actually raced wheel-to-wheel on that track?
“Yes I did, and I wish that we could race that corner now. It would be fantastic. It’s incredible how steep it is, and you can only imagine in your mind how it was in those times, how crazy it was. It’s great to think about it because it’s the spirit of our sport.”

Would you have liked to have competed in that era just to see what it was like, or do you prefer to compete with the latest and greatest technology available?
“It’s a tricky question, but I like that classic era. Everything is relative, because in that era the technology was innovative at that moment, because you always push the limits of innovation. It would be nice to have a try to see how it would be, because I know how it is today, so obviously you want to get what you don’t have.”

Do you have any milestones or moments from your junior career that you enjoyed at Monza?
“I won a few championships there – two championships actually, Formula BMW and GP3. I remember exactly how it was. It was actually with a qualifying lap because it was enough to get one point from getting the pole position and that was enough for me to win the championship, so it was a very special moment. It comes always from Monza – a special place for me to get there and get that feeling.”

What is your favorite part of Monza?
“My favorite part of Monza is probably the Ascari corner. It’s a triple chicane, very fast turning in, very late braking. It’s actually one of my favorite corners of the calendar.”

Describe a lap around Monza.
“You come down to the main straight to the first Variante, a very slow-speed chicane with big braking with quite a lot of low downforce, so the car has to be set up mechanically pretty well, similar for the second Variante. It’s important to get the right line because on exit, if you miss a little bit of the first apex, you are done for the rest of the corner. So, it’s important to be very precise. The two Lesmo (corners at Curva di Lesmos) have a little bit of banking. You’re holding a lot of speed in and getting the maximum grip on the apex. Then you come down to Ascari, which is one of my favorite corners – triple chicane, braking very late, turning in very delicately because by braking late you basically unsettle the car completely. You need to cope with it, using all the curb available into the first part and getting the right line through to turn nine in order to be flat at turn 10, which then brings up the speed through that straight line before the famous Parabolica. It’s a high-speed corner and very long. You throw a lot of speed into that corner.”

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN PREVIEW THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

The country is steeped in racing history. Monza is the third oldest permanent circuit in the world, after Brooklands in the UK and Indianapolis in the USA, and Ferrari is the sport’s oldest team. Given such a long-standing passion for racing, it’s one of the great anomalies that there has been no Italian world champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

Smallest winning margin
0.01s, in 1971. It was the last of the classic slipstreaming races, prior to the first chicane being installed in 1972. Peter Gethin won from Ronnie Peterson, with the top five home separated by just 0.61s.

Sporting legacy
Until 2006 there were often two grands prix in Italy, one at Imola and the other at Monza. Now there’s only one race, at Monza, and it’s usually a sell-out. There’s always a fabulous atmosphere in the grandstands, as exemplified by the enormous crowd under the podium at the end of the race.

Did you know?
Statistically, pole position is more important at Monza than at Monaco. The winner of the Italian Grand Prix has started from pole in 13 out of the last 17 races, compared to only 10 occasions in Monte Carlo.

Don’t forget
McLaren has won the Italian Grand Prix 10 times, most recently in 2012. Fernando Alonso has won the race twice, in 2007 with McLaren, and again in 2010; Jenson Button has finished second on three occasions.

Fan zone
Claire, aged 27, from London, asks: “How much work goes into the low downforce specification used at Monza?”
McLaren’s answer: “A bit of windtunnel time goes into perfecting the aero performance of the car, but not as much as in the past. Monza is now the only true low-downforce track of the year, and you cannot single out one race more than the others. A lot of work goes into brake cooling because you want the ducts to be as small as possible for aero purposes, but big enough to keep brake temperatures under control.”

Fernando Alonso, “As we saw in Azerbaijan, the developments that have been made to these turbo cars mean they’re now incredibly fast, and we’re going to see some serious speeds along the straights at Monza. This is always such a quick race – it’s over in a flash – and while it’s not always the most enjoyable to race with such low grip, the feeling of speed is phenomenal.”

“Obviously, I have plenty of happy memories of racing in Italy, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have been the subject of both the Tifosi’s approval – and also their disapproval! But they are some of the greatest fans in the world, and their passion is what makes coming to Monza each year such a legendary experience. In many ways, Monza traditionally brings the curtain down on one part of the season, and the beginning of another – so it’s always an exciting place.”

Jenson Button, “What is there left to say about Monza? It’s a unique, incredible racetrack – I love that its history surrounds the place – you just can’t ignore it. I also love that unique blend of Italian passion – and chaos – that engulfs the weekend. It also signals the end of the European season – which seems to have disappeared in a flash – so it’s a time of year when you really start to narrow your focus before the final fly-aways.”

“I love the notion of coming to a racetrack that’s distinctly different from the others. We saw that in Spa last weekend – it’s no secret that, along with places like Monaco, Singapore and Suzuka, it’s also one of the circuits that the fans most love – and Monza is no exception. People often think that Monza is all about the straights, with tight, small corners – but that’s not really true: corners like the Lesmos, the Ascari chicane and Parabolica are big, fast corners that require precision and commitment. It’s a great track.”

Eric Boullier, McLaren-Honda Racing Director: “As double-header races go, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Autodromo Nazionale di Monza are a pretty epic combination. Both are dauntingly fast, achingly beautiful motor racing arenas, where the sport’s giants have triumphed, and where some of the greatest stories in Formula 1 have been forged.

“After Spa, we head to Monza with the knowledge and understanding that it won’t play to the full strengths of our latest package, but keen to further demonstrate the progress we’ve recently been making. Monza is likely to be another tough test, but we’re confident of the momentum we’ve gathered, and it’ll be interesting to see where we stand at a venue that favours out-and-out power above anything else.

“Still, there’s a determination and vigour within all at McLaren-Honda to see out the European season competitively, and to continue fighting as we head into the end-of-year flyways.”

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: “Monza is a high-speed, power-hungry, classic and legendary track with the longest full throttle percentage per lap on the 2016 calendar. The long straights and the nature of the turns will undoubtedly give us a difficult time over the race weekend, but we cannot deny the strong pull Monza has for everyone in F1, including Honda. The fans are incredibly passionate about the sport, and the atmosphere is nothing short of electric come race day. It’s always a special feeling to be part of the pinnacle of racing in Italy.

“The team did a great job pulling our strengths together last weekend despite Spa being a challenging track, and with the reliability issues we faced. The team was tested many times, but owing to their hard work and perseverance, we had a decent weekend.

“We will continue to target finishing in the points in the race, however tough it may be this weekend. We’re still investigating the problem with Fernando’s power units, but we’ll learn from our experiences and hopefully have another good weekend in Monza.”

[MIKA27]

FORCE INDIA PREVIEW THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX

Force India preview the Italian Grand Prix, Round 14 of the 2016 Formula 1 World Championship, at Monza.

Vijay Mallya on Monza
Team Principal, Vijay Mallya, celebrates the strong showing in Spa and targets more points in Monza.

Vijay, one of the best results in the team’s history in Belgium – you must be pleased?
VJM: “Spa has always been a special place for us – we scored our very first points and podium there in 2009, and this year’s race didn’t disappoint us either. We were strong from the first practice session through to Sunday afternoon thanks to an excellent all-round team performance. We could have been on the podium had some circumstances played out differently, but when you earn 22 points in one race weekend there is no reason to complain at all.”

“We need to keep working hard because every race between now and the end of the year will be crucial. To be fourth in the championship is a fantastic feeling for the team, but it will mean nothing unless we are in this position after Abu Dhabi. The battle in the midfield is getting closer: the gaps are getting smaller and the margins of error disappearing. We know some tracks will work really well for us and we will keep pushing hard all the way.”

“The Italian Grand Prix is one of the best races of the season. It has all the ingredients that make Formula One special. We saw a huge turnout of fans in Belgium last week and I’m sure the tifosi will help create a fantastic atmosphere this weekend too. Monza is a track that rewards top speed and pushes the engine to its limit. Given our competitive form in Spa, I’m confident we can keep up the momentum this weekend.”

Nico Hulkenberg: “Monza is a great place to go racing. There are so many different destinations on the calendar and there is something special about each one of them, but Monza is legendary. It’s a unique track, with very high speeds and low downforce. The setting in the park of Monza is beautiful: the moment you drive through the gates, you feel all the history of the place coming at you. The tifosi, the Italian fans, add to this combination and create a fantastic vibe.

“Monza is just on the outskirts of Milan, which is a very interesting place, but during a race weekend you’re just too busy to go and explore. The parties on Sunday night are not too bad, though! We go to Italy at the end of the summer and the weather is usually still quite hot. Great weather, great fans, great food – it all adds up to make a very cool race.

“Few tracks push the car to the limit as Monza does. There is no margin for error in the braking zones and every mistake costs you time. In terms of set-up, you need to strike a balance between high speed on the straights and downforce in the corners, but the focus is firmly on top speed. You also need good traction, to make the most of the long straights. We have been doing well on these sort of tracks, so I expect us to be competitive and fighting for points.”

Sergio Perez: “After a month off on holiday, Spa was the best way to get back into action. We had a very positive weekend, an exciting race and we’re now fourth in the championship! Italy is one of my favourite places: the people are very warm and welcoming, and they’re absolutely crazy for Formula One. The passion you see from the Italian fans reminds me of the atmosphere we saw in Mexico. There’s so much support; everyone is chanting and waving flags and there are so many people asking us for a photo when we arrive at or leave the track.

“I have great memories from Monza and it’s where I’ve had some of my best races. When I was racing in F3, I had the best weekend of my career there: I started 14th in both races and went on to win both. I scored a podium there in Formula One and I’ve always had a special relationship with the track. It’s not just what happens at the venue – I have a lot of good friends living nearby and it’s just a very enjoyable experience.

“As a fan of our sport, I know Monza has a special place in the history of Formula One. It’s one of the circuits where Formula One should always race. It’s so incredibly fast and the key to a quick lap is to be good under braking and have good traction out of the corners. You brake really hard at the end of the straights and the car moves a lot: you run with very little wing and having a good balance is very important.

“You feel the lightness of the car in every corner because you’ve got so little aero load and it’s even hard to keep the steering wheel level on the straights. The two Lesmo corners are crucial: you need to be stable under braking and control your traction – get wheelspin out of the corner and you’ll destroy your tyres. Then you have the Parabolica: it lost a little of its challenge with the tarmac run-off but you still need to be very precise and use the very last inch of track in this interesting corner.”

[MIKA27]

Mercedes could face upgrade dilemma for Rosberg

Toto Wolff concedes that Mercedes could face a dilemma if it develops a performance upgrade that is available to Nico Rosberg, but not Lewis Hamilton.

However, the Austrian insists that the manufacturer does not currently have such an upgrade scheduled.

Mercedes introduced an upgraded power unit during the Belgian GP weekend, having used five tokens.

Hamilton has stockpiled three examples of this latest Spa specification, which will take him to the end of the season. Rosberg has only one new example of the Spa spec, but he can take another power unit later in the season, without penalty.

Given that Mercedes still has six tokens to deploy, there is a possibility that Rosberg's fifth engine will be of a spec that features improved performance.

In theory, in the remaining races he would thus have an advantage over Hamilton, who will not want to take a further grid penalty to get the new unit.

"If we find another additional upgrade that's going to be only available to Nico, it's a difficult one, but that's motor racing," Wolff told Motorsport.com.

"One season it goes against you, the other season it goes for you. At this stage we haven't really concluded whether there is enough performance gain in order to upgrade."

Wolff confirmed that if Mercedes does find that performance gain, it will probably be made available to Rosberg: "Then we will probably put it, and that's just how it goes.

"If we find additional performance it's going to help Lewis next year, but we haven't found it yet, so it's an academic discussion."

Hamilton himself accepted that the upgrade scenario could unfold in Rosberg's favour.

 

"They are constantly developing the engines," said Lewis.

"And there is a possibility that there will be an upgrade later in the year, and I won't be able to take that. But that's the sacrifice I'm forced to take. I've got to take the engines I have, I have no more.

"The engine I finished with at the last race might get through the race, but might not. So we've had to take on these three engines here, which is definitely better than the engine I had in the last race. I'm confident in fighting with those three."

Meanwhile Hamilton will have an extra power unit relative to Rosberg for the remaining races, but Wolff plays down any possible advantage.

"I think first of all you can finish the season with two power units," he said. "So I don't think that gives a real advantage. It just gives you a little bit of a margin in case you run into another problem.

"Lewis was very unfortunate in ending up where he was. And maybe this is a little compensation, but it doesn't compensate for starting last."

Although in theory Hamilton's engines have to run less mileage than Rosberg's in the remaining races, he won't be given an opportunity to run them longer in "turned up" specification.

"We have our specifications on how hard we run the engine, and that counts for every race. There is not an overall allowance of mileage, but an allowance for every race."

However, what Hamilton can now do is use that allocation of "turned up" running to the full, whereas in recent races – mindful of his shortage of engines – he has opted not to do so.

"I can definitely push them more," said Lewis. "There's a certain amount of life which you have, limits which you're given during the race weekend, and I never even get close to them.

"When I had the five engines I was always saving, just saving, saving, hoping to take them further. Tomorrow I'm going to use my allowance, and I can do that in all the races now."

[MIKA27]

F1 teams could block Pirelli's planned construction change

F1 teams are likely to veto Pirelli's plans to introduce a new tyre construction for the Malaysian GP as they believe that the revised design will have a negative effect on performance.

The significance of any performance change at this stage is that teams have already made their compound choices for the later races, and some competitors may gain or lose out more than others from any variation in the expected behaviour of the tyres.

Pirelli gave all drivers two sets of a prototype tyre for use on Friday in Spa, saying it was designed "to even further protect the tyre from possible consequences generated by accidental multiple impacts on kerbs or other external bodies."

It has pursued this development route in part as a result of problems that occurred in Austria, and specifically Sebastian Vettel's right rear failure in the race.

After tests at its factory the Italian company intended to use the Spa track running to demonstrate that the construction change was "transparent," and had no impact on performance. If that proved to be the case, then Pirelli wanted the teams to agree to a change for the Malaysian GP, a decision that would require unanimity.

Technical boss Mario Isola explained: "If we are successful – not successful in terms of integrity, that was assessed with indoor testing – but the drivers are happy with the performance and handling of the tyre, we want to introduce the new specification from Sepang. This is the plan."

Although it was voluntary several teams took the opportunity at Spa to do some significant running on the revised tyres, which will also be made available in Monza.

However, it's understood that two teams have already expressed their reservations about the new design to the FIA.

"We just gave our feedback and said it was quite a significant change," one technical director told Motorsport.com.

"We were led to believe that it was transparent, that was the word they used, and we definitely confirmed it wasn't transparent to us. We did almost 150kms on them and proper back-to-backs with the standard soft.

"Our conclusion from both drivers was exactly the same. We found that it was a retrograde step from a performance perspective, which is what we're interested in.

"Basically it was a tyre that was closer to a medium than a soft, that's how the drivers described it, and that's what the lap times suggested as well. It wasn't a small change."

Isola has indicated that Pirelli could play the safety card if the teams do not give unanimous support: "If you want to introduce a modification during the year, you need the agreement of all the teams, otherwise we have to go to the FIA and ask for a safety issue. If everybody agrees, the introduction is let's say automatic."

However, in order to do that Pirelli would in effect have to write to the FIA stating that its current tyres are not safe.

Meanwhile the FIA is continuing to resist calls from Pirelli for long established circuit kerb designs to be changed. Intriguingly post-Austrian GP research showed that Vettel had experienced regular hard impacts on an apex kerb, a result of the driver's choice of line.

In other words the exit kerbs that have been called into question are not believed to have been the problem.

[MIKA27]

The Story of Spa: How Mercedes F1's tyre strategy evolved

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team's Chief Strategist James Vowles explains how the team reacted to the challenging nature of the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.

[MIKA27]

The Italian GP with Kimi Raikkonen - Scuderia Ferrari 2016

 

“It’s a nice place to go,” says Kimi Raikkonen of the Monza track “a traditional circuit with a lot of history. It’s completely different from all the other circuits. It’s a home Grand Prix for us and this makes it a bit busier for us, but also for a lot of fans.”

[MIKA27]

Mercedes may seek to strengthen Manor relationship

Toto Wolff says Mercedes could look to strengthen its relationship with the Manor Racing team in the coming seasons, but maintains it is not planning to propose a 'buy-out' or to have a direct influence on the way it is operated. 

Manor is enjoying its most competitive season since joining the F1 fray back in 2010, a spike in form in part made possible by a landmark engine deal with Mercedes. 

Together with Manor overhauling its team management structure, Mercedes has influenced Manor's driver line-up too having placed Pascal Wehrlein in the car at the start of the season before negotiating a deal to give Esteban Ocon a race drive in the second half of the season in place of the cash-strapped Rio Haryanto. 

With two Mercedes juniors in the team now, there is speculation that the manufacturer could use it as an opportunity to establish Manor as its 'B' team for up and coming drivers, much like Red Bull does with Toro Rosso. 

However, while Wolff suggests there is scope for firming up its working relationship with Manor there are currently no plans to regard it as an official 'junior' team. 

“When we started the F1 programme a few years ago, there was no capacity for setting up a junior programme,” he said. “Max Verstappen is a good example, as he slipped through because we did not have a system in place – the only thing we could offer was GP2 and that was clearly not as good as a Toro Rosso seat. 

“Today things have changed… obviously we made an agreement with Manor for Pascal, which works well and then the opportunity came up because Haryanto was out and we had a couple of weeks of negotiations and found a reasonable deal. There are areas we support Manor, strategy for example, and it seems that the relationship is different now. 

“We are not a shareholder of the team and don't plan to be a shareholder of the team, we do not own the team, we do not subsidise the team. Our main objective is to win championships with Mercedes but there could be a co-operation that goes beyond what we do today with Manor. The plans of having a junior team which we co-own haven't changed.” 

A tenth place finish for Wehrlein in this year's Austrian Grand Prix marked only the second top ten finish for Manor in the six years it has competed in F1. 
 

[MIKA27]

Button annoyed by comparisons of Brawn and Mercedes F1 success

Jenson Button says he is annoyed by comparisons between his 2009 Formula 1 title triumph with Brawn GP and Mercedes' current domination.

Button recently declared F1 had been let down by the lack of a challenge to Mercedes' monopoly from any of its rivals over the past two-and-a-half years.

The Briton won his world championship on the back of a crushing start to the 2009 season, winning six of the first seven races and finishing third in the other, before his results tailed off as Red Bull emerged.

Suggested to Button that Mercedes' feats are similar to Brawn, he replied: "It does actually annoy me when people make comparisons, because there is no comparison at all.

"Mercedes is a fully-funded team that are streets ahead, they win every race. We didn't win every race.

"We won quite a few races at the start of the year, but we didn't qualify on pole or on the front row on all of them - half of them we probably did.

"We raced well and we won those races, not by a big margin, and from race six onwards we didn't have the quickest car.

"They have gone three years with the quickest car, and with a big margin, so there's no comparison.

"They are doing a fantastic job; they have all the right people, the funding, and they obviously have the drivers as well.

"We need the regulation change to really challenge them. I don't think anyone would challenge them otherwise."

[MIKA27]

Italian GP: Renault's Magnussen to use spare F1 chassis

Kevin Magnussen will use Renault's spare Formula 1 chassis for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix following his huge crash in Belgium.

The Dane suffered a heavily-bruised left ankle when he lost control at the top of Eau Rouge before hurtling into a tyre wall on the opposite side of the track at Raidillon.

As Spa and Monza are back-to-back, Renault took the decision to swap Magnussen to a spare RS16 and send out another chassis as a back-up for this weekend's race.

"The accident was clearly sizeable and the damage sustained is too great to use the car for Italy," said Renault technical director Nick Chester.

"The current spare will become Kevin's car in Monza and we will take another chassis out as a spare."

Renault said on Tuesday that Magnussen had passed further medical tests that confirmed he should be fit to compete in Sunday's race.

Magnussen has since said he is "working with my physio to keep fit" and by the time he has a final routine check with the FIA on Thursday "it will be fine".

Chester added Renault was unable to run new bodywork at Spa because of the unusually hot conditions.

Though the team's focus has shifted to 2017, he said there would be a few small upgrades added to the car in the upcoming races.

"For the second part of the year we will have small updates that were planned as part of the usual development cycle at the start of the season," he said.

"Unfortunately we didn't run our new bodywork in Spa as it was too hot.

"But we have some cooling modifications and minor aero updates and possibly some mechanical changes coming through shortly.

"Really it's now about getting the most from the package we have in hand."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari's Vettel not a fan of F1 penalties for impeding others

Sebastian Vettel believes Formula 1 stewards should shy away from awarding penalties for impeding and instead leave the drivers involved to sort it out among themselves.

The Ferrari driver ranted on team radio about Renault's Kevin Magnussen during final practice at Spa last Saturday when he felt he was held up by the Dane.

"What an idiot," he said. "Did you see that? It's free practice.

"It's called free practice, who gives a shit?"

Both drivers were called to the stewards and after giving their side of the story, no penalty was awarded - something Vettel agreed with.

"We went to the stewards, we looked at it and it was fine," said the German.

"Initially I wasn't so happy with his move but we spoke about it and I think that is the way we should approach it.

"I don't think a penalty is the appropriate reaction."

Vettel said it is inevitable that drivers will get baulked by another during a session because they want to make space to create conditions for a clean lap.

"You want to have a clean run, you don't want to be in traffic when you start your lap, especially at tracks like Spa - that's what everybody was up to," he said.

"Sometimes, you have a situation where two drivers want to go for the same bit of Tarmac and you can talk about impeding.

"But generally I'm not a fan of it, I think you should leave us alone and let us deal with it.

"If we're not happy, it's up to us to go to the other guy and talk it through.

"In that case, we met at the stewards office and talked about it. It's fine."

Magnussen agreed with Vettel's take, praising his rival for the approach he took with the stewards.

"No one went off the track and there was no contact, I left room for him," he said.

"He was annoyed at the time, but when we spoke to the stewards, he was very calm.

"He actually said he didn't think there should be any penalties. It was nice of him to be fair.

"I'll make sure I do a better job of managing the gaps next time."

[Baldy]

Save fuel, save tires, lift and coast....soon cruise control (similar to civilian cars) will be integrated into F1.  They should also consider parallel parking pit stops.

[skalls]

Well, Massa retiring wasn't shocking, buy I liked the guy.

My money is on Perez moving to Williams.  Not sure who would replace him though.

[MIKA27]

5 hours ago, skalls said:

Well, Massa retiring wasn't shocking, buy I liked the guy.

My money is on Perez moving to Williams.  Not sure who would replace him though.

Yeah, Perez or Button... My monies on Button but either would be a good fit.

Force India are a great team, if I were Perez, I'd stick it out at Force India.