FORMULA 1

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TODT: NO PROBLEM WITH 22 OR 23 F1 RACES PER SEASON

In what will hardly be good news for already stretched Formula 1 teams, FIA president Jean Todt has declared that a season with 23 races is not inconceivable and sees no problem with such a scenario in the future.

Currently the Formula 1 season has 21 race dates, including a gruelling tripleheader that teams want to avoid ever repeating.

But speaking to Le Figaro, Todt said, “At the moment, I think 21 is a good number. After that, if there are 22 or 23 grands prix per year on the calendar I have no problem with that.”

“I think the rights holder is busy doing great work, their team is really trying to do the best job they can to modernize F1 and promote the sport around the world,” added Todt.

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ARRIVABENE: I APOLOGISED TO BOTTAS

In the heat of defeat on Ferrari’s home Italian Grand Prix, team chief Maurizio Arrivabene took a swipe at Valtteri Bottas with his “we have drivers, not butlers” roast after the Mercedes driver’s role in Lewis Hamilton’s victory.

As the Formula 1 world sets up tent in Singapore, it has emerged in Italian media that Arrivabene sought out and apologised to Bottas immediately after the race, “As soon as I said it in the heat of the moment, I knew it would create controversy.”

“Since then, I exchanged messages with Valtteri Bottas. I wanted to apologize to him and explain what I meant.”

“That comment escaped me, but it’s not a label I want to use to describe Bottas. I really appreciated his response and I think he understood,” added the Ferrari team chief.

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ARRIVABENE: WHAT DID KIMI DO WRONG AT MONZA?

It may turn out to be the moment the championship was lost for Ferrari, their cars starting the Italian Grand Prix from the front row with pole starter Kimi Raikkonen and teammate Sebastian Vettel dragging into Turn 1 while keeping Lewis Hamilton at bay.

The key moment was when Raikkonen raced for the corner giving Vettel no chance to take the lead, and that was that. For some reason, team orders went AWOL twice in 24-hours as in qualifying the Reds opted to advantage the Finn not the German despite the fact that the latter is their only real title hope.

Thereafter Vettel tripped up and spent the day playing catch-up but, after the race, he made it clear that he was not happy how things panned out with his team, famed for favouring one driver over the other with the four times world champion often benefitting from pit wall calls.

Some believe that Raikkonen could have played ball into Turn 1 at Monza and allowed his teammate through at the start, but for some reason did not. The team’s post-race debrief on Sunday would have been an interesting place to be…

But Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene does not believe Raikkonen was at fault for what transpired on a disappointing afternoon in front of the expectant Tifosi, and told reporters what he said to his drivers before the race, “I just asked them to do nothing stupid.

Of Raikkonen’s stubborn T1 defence, Arrivabene explained, “It was said that Kimi did something wrong with Sebastian, but what did he do? What he did is exactly the same as what Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton would have done. ”

“What happened with Vettel and Hamilton (first lap incident) has absolutely nothing to do with team orders.”

“It would be completely wrong for [Vettel] to point fingers while there are still many races to be run. I answer for the whole team, no matter who made a mistake – the driver or the team – someone has to answer and that person is me,” declared Arrivabene.

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PEREZ: I WAS NEVER INTERESTED IN MCLAREN RETURN

Sergio Perez knows what he is doing next season in Formula 1, one thing is sure he won’t be with McLaren who reportedly courted the Mexican before opting to sign Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris to spearhead their 2019 campaign.

McLaren team chief Zak Brown intimated that several drivers were approached to replace departing Fernando Alonso. including the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo and supposedly Perez.

But when speaking to BBC, the Mexican is adamant that his former team were after him and not the other way around, “There was interest but it was on the part of McLaren, not mine. I already know where I want to be in the future.”

“I have already signed a contract and I’m not going to change anything. I never showed interest in them. I am satisfied with my situation and have no reason to leave. McLaren is in the process of reform and that will take a long time.”

“I think that if you can’t be with Mercedes or Ferrari, it’s hard to find a better team than the one I already work for,” added Perez who has yet to be confirmed as a Racing Point Force India driver for next season, but is expected to remain with the Pinks alongside the new team owner’s son Lance Stroll.

Brown explained why he considered some of the big names before opting to promote teenager Norris to the McLaren race seat, “We’ve got the guy we wanted, we just wanted to be very diligent in our decision analysis of whether we felt he was ready to go.”

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Force India hope to unlock immediate gains from new aero package

Force India will bring a new aerodynamic package to the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend that it hopes will deliver an immediate performance boost.

The Silverstone-based outfit was forced to hold off on its latest upgrade package after it entered into administration after the Hungarian GP, however with the issue quickly resolved and new owners in charge after just a few weeks, a cash injection has allowed the team to continue operating as normal, albeit under a new entry of Racing Point Force India.

The ownership change has given the team a new lease of life and it has scored 32 points in the last two races alone, moving it from last place to seventh and just 20 points shy of McLaren, despite starting from zero just a few weeks ago – in the same time McLaren has failed to score anything.

But the team is targeting a higher finishing position and are hopeful that its latest upgrade package will deliver straight away.

"We have more performance to bring to the car this weekend with an updated aero package," confirmed team boss Otmar Szafnauer.

"It’s never easy to introduce and understand new parts during Friday practice, but hopefully we can unlock some performance straight away.

"Beyond Singapore, we hope the developments will keep us competitive as we begin the final third of the season."

Sergio Perez, who finished fifth in Singapore last year, is hoping he can carry the momentum from the last two events into this weekend.

"I am really looking forward to racing this weekend. The last couple of events went really well for us and you can feel the positive atmosphere in the whole team, so we want to keep the momentum going.

"We're bringing an upgrade to the race, so I expect us to be competitive. Last year I finished fifth and after the breakthrough we had at Spa and Monza, I definitely expect to be fighting for a good amount of points this time as well."

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Lowe backs idea to award F1 points down to 20th place

Williams technical chief Paddy Lowe backs a recent suggestion from the F1 organisation that points should be extended beyond the top 10 finishers.
Formula 1's owners are continuing to explore possible changes to the sporting regulations, some of which could be introduced before 2021.

A change to the scoring system would give extra meaning to battles outside the top 10 at a time when the first six places are almost inevitably secured by the three same teams.

It would also encourage top runners who have been delayed to carry on racing.

In the recent Belgian GP, Daniel Ricciardo went two laps down after a rear wing changed, but his car retired soon after half distance when the team accepted that he wasn't going to make the points.

Lowe cites the frustration in the Williams camp, where drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin have regularly earned double finishes in the 12th to 17th place range.

"It does actually bring to mind this suggestion that FOM have made to change the points table, Lowe told Motorsport.com.

"I believe it was received quite positively. I think with the sport has developed now, the points system feels a little bit lopsided.

"Points for the top 15 or all 20 would be good."

Lowe says extra points would provide move motivation for everyone.

"One of the things we've achieved this year is we've actually got two cars home much more reliably than many of our competitors, and got not reward for it.

"For the team, the guys that work all the long hours, whether the car is quick or slow, they just have to make sure it doesn't break down. And they get nothing for it.

"I think will really encourage everybody. It's not just the people at the circuit, but hundreds of people back at base, and sometimes it's difficult. It's a tough job and these points of encouragement can do wonders for people's motivation."

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Grosjean needs to keep up strong form to retain seat

Romain Grosjean needs to keep up his current strong form in Formula 1 if he is to ensure he earns a fresh contract with Haas for 2019, says team principal Gunther Steiner.
Following a difficult start to 2018, where Grosjean failed to score any points before the Austrian Grand Prix, his future at the outfit had been in doubt.

However, a more recent run of decent results that has helped Haas to get itself firmly in the fight with Renault for fourth place in the constructors' championship, has boosted his chances of staying.

And Steiner says that the expectation is now on Grosjean to stick at his current level.

Speaking after the Italian Grand Prix, where the Frenchman had finished a strong sixth prior to his car being disqualified, Steiner said: "Obviously, races like this: this is what Romain does normally.

"What we need to get from him is to keep it at that level and not going up and down, the fluctuation. You always get fluctuation, but it is just how much you can fluctuate. I think he is doing pretty good at the moment."

Grosjean has admitted that he needed a reset in the middle of this year, after feeling that his performance was suffering because his confidence had taken a hit.

"I think I've understood a few things and got back to where I should have been at the beginning of the year," he said. "Now I'm back to where I want to be and I enjoy racing, I enjoy driving and looking forward to go racing."

Asked if the turnaround was related to car setup or his own approach, Grosjean said: "It was more me. A few mistakes that I made that I shouldn't have done.

"Initially I struggled with the setup, which may have hampered a bit my confidence. I made mistakes that I shouldn't have done. Baku was a painful one and took some time to digest it.

"It's the same as 2012. I was not deliberately crashing into others at Turn 1. It was just understanding what was making me take the wrong decisions instead of the right ones, when you have two tenths of a second to think about it."

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SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX: MERCEDES FEAR FERRARI AMBUSH

Lewis Hamilton may have tightened his grip on a fifth Formula 1 world title after extending his championship lead with a surprise victory in Monza two weeks ago, yet Mercedes are playing down the Briton’s chances of adding to that triumph in Singapore on Sunday.

In the last three of his four Formula 1 title wins, Hamilton has returned from the annual summer break in brilliant form, reeling off a succession of victories in his dominant Mercedes to close the door on his title rivals.

However, while the Briton has finished second in Belgium and first in Italy since the season resumed in August, his car is seen as inferior to Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari and Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix should once again favour the German.

Second-placed Vettel slipped 30 points behind Hamilton after coming off the worst in a first-lap collision with the Briton in Monza and the 31-year-old knows he has little room for further mishaps with only seven rounds remaining.

The pair arrived in Singapore in a similar position a year ago, but the pole-sitting Vettel crashed into Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and teammate Kimi Raikkonen soon after the start as Hamilton cruised to victory and never looked back.

Vettel and Hamilton are the most successful drivers on the floodlit Marina Bay Street Circuit with seven wins between them but Mercedes chief Toto Wolff says the odds are stacked against the Briton matching the German’s four Singapore victories.

“Singapore has features that we’ve struggled with in the past. The short straights, the slow, tight corners and the bumpy surface all make (it) one of the trickiest tracks of the season for us,” the Austrian said in a team statement.

“Last year, we started the race from the third row – and came home with a win and a third place. On paper, the track should favour the Ferraris, but the championship fight is so close that predictions are almost meaningless.

“We’re in the middle of a monumental championship fight… every man and woman in the team is willing to push themselves to the limit; we will be fighting with everything we’ve got for these two championships.”

Vettel, who will be joined by Sauber’s Charles Leclerc next season with Raikkonen heading the other way, has been criticised for losing points through over-aggressive driving but Wolff came out in defence of the German after his Monza spin.

“I’m not completely neutral, but for me Lewis is the best driver of recent years. Even so, I find the criticism of Sebastian not quite fair,” Wolff told Die Welt newspaper of Vettel, also a quadruple world champion.

“If possible to win, he has the ambition to do it with the necessary aggression. That requires a lot of courage and his way of driving sometimes leads to collisions.

“It could easily have been Lewis instead of Sebastian who spun (at Monza). Then the whole grand prix would have been different.”

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RAIKKONEN: WHY NOT!

Kimi Raikkonen’s popular nickname “The Iceman” alludes to his cool temperament and frosty relationship with drivers and the media, the Finn lived up to his testy reputation on Thursday when questioned with regards to his future plans.

The 38-year-old 2007 Formula One world champion announced this week that he was leaving Ferrari for the second time in his career and had signed a two-year contract with the modest Sauber team, where he started in the sport back in 2001.

Addressing reporters ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Raikkonen snapped back at the first question he faced asking why he had opted to race for a team that has picked up just 19 points this season.

“Why not!” he said, without elaborating.

When pressed further, the Finn finally offered some insight, “Because I want to. Why do you try to make it so complicated? I don’t know anything more than you guys, purely where they have been finishing.”

“Obviously I don’t know what will happen next year, nobody knows what will happen next year when it comes to the speeds of the cars and the teams and obviously we can always guess but we will see what we can do.”

“I have my reasons and that’s enough for me. I don’t really care what others think and as long as I’m happy with my own reasons, it’s enough for me.”

The Finn’s mood lightened when asked if he still had passion for Formula 1, chuckling as he responded: “No, I don’t actually. Just pure head games for you guys I happened to sign and I’m going to spend two years there just not being happy.”

Raikkonen added that he did not have any specific goals with Sauber next year and that he would assess race situations as they arose for the remainder of this season as his team mate Sebastian Vettel tries to overhaul Lewis Hamilton for the title.

“I can only drive one car, obviously. There’s always a lot of talk, a lot of things which can be helpful, can not be,” he said of his possible role in helping Vettel fight back from 30 points behind with seven rounds left.

“It’s always easy to say that this and this will happen but in theory it’s so difficult to get it right in many ways so we will see what happens in the racing, if we’re close to each other and this and that. Obviously we know our rules; it’s pretty simple,” added Raikkonen.

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VANDOORNE: KEVIN HAS BEEN THROUGH THIS SITUATION

Sacked McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne is taking heart from the example of Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, who was dropped by the Woking outfit early in his Formula 1 career but still bounced back.

The Belgian said in Singapore on Thursday that he had been told on the day after this month’s Italian Grand Prix that his seat was going to British teenager Lando Norris next season.

Vandoorne has nothing else lined up, but nor had Magnussen when McLaren discarded him in 2015. The Dane joined Renault in 2016 when Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado had problems with sponsorship just before the season started.

Magnussen moved on to Ferrari-powered Haas in 2017 and will be celebrating his 75th grand prix in Singapore this weekend.

“Kevin has been through this situation and I think he really benefited from a fresh start. I feel a little bit the same, to be honest,” Vandoorne told reporters.

“It’s been two difficult years and not having had the tools to really fight for anything. So I’m trying to make the most out of what is left this season and then actually looking forward to a fresh start.”

Vandoorne, 26, joined McLaren as a hot prospect in 2017 after dominating the 2015 GP2 support series but his arrival coincided with a slump for the sport’s second most successful team.

While he has scored only eight points this season, his double world champion team mate Fernando Alonso — also departing — has 44.

“I think I’ve been at McLaren for probably the two most difficult or worst years of the history of McLaren. So there’s not really much more I can say about that. It’s a shame it didn’t work out. This is the way it is sometimes. It’s a shame I didn’t get better opportunities,” Vandoorne said.

Despite team boss Zak Brown suggesting Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso should snap up his discarded driver, somewhat to Vandoorne’s bemusement, that looks unlikely to happen.

His best bet could be Sauber, if they do not take Ferrari-backed Italian Antonio Giovinazzi or keep Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson, where French team boss Frederic Vasseur is an old friend.

“To be honest there’s not a lot of opportunities left on the grid for next year…but until everything is fixed you’ve got to keep believing and keep trying,” Vandoorne said.

“I’m still that same driver that can drive a car pretty quick…I think a lot of people in the paddock know what I can do. I think I just need to be in the right environment and then I’m pretty sure I can deliver.”

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OCON: LESS AND LESS CHANCE I WILL BE ON 2019 F1 GRID

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Esteban Ocon said his hopes of securing a 2019 Formula 1 race seat were fading but he had not discussed breaking the Mercedes ties that are limiting his immediate options.

The 21-year-old Force India driver is highly rated by reigning world champions Mercedes, who see him as a future winner, but they have no vacancy in their factory team.

Ocon now looks set to lose his seat to Canadian Lance Stroll after the Williams driver’s billionaire father took control of Force India last month.

“There are still hopes, yes, but less and less as you know,” Ocon, who has outqualified his experienced Mexican team mate Sergio Perez regularly this year, told reporters.

“That’s a bit what I’m disappointed (about) at the moment, to see that it’s not only results that come in play, it has to be other things. Arriving here not knowing what I will do next year is hard to swallow.”

Ocon’s only other option at a Mercedes-powered team would be Williams, but that is complicated by the fact they are last in the standings and likely to be looking for drivers who bring funding with them.

“There are still talks, probably with them or wherever I could go, but they are less and less,” he said.

Other teams with vacancies, such as Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso, have no interest in helping develop a driver who remains contracted in the longer term to Mercedes.

Ocon said he spoke every day with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, but they had not discussed ending the contract.

“I was in a fantastic position a couple of months ago. And yeah, it has turned in a way that (I am) without a seat now,” added the Frenchman, who was set to switch to Renault until Australian Daniel Ricciardo took the seat instead.

Ocon was also linked to McLaren but the former champions opted for 18-year-old British reserve Lando Norris.

His main rivals from the junior series all have top drives, with Max Verstappen at Red Bull and soon to be joined by Frenchman Pierre Gasly. Sauber’s 20-year-old Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc is meanwhile moving up to Ferrari.

Ocon pointed out, “All my old rivals — Max, Pierre, Charles, people I have been racing with since day one basically — they are in top teams and top cars to fight for podiums and victories.”

“Of course that makes me more hungry than ever… even if I don’t have a seat next year I will push hard to come back,” added the Frenchman.

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VETTEL: I WILL MISS “NO-BULLSHIT” KIMI MY BEST TEAMMATE

Sebastian Vettel will miss his “no-bullshit” teammate Kimi Raikkonen when the veteran Finn departs Ferrari to end his career at Sauber, but at the same time the German looks forward to young gun Charles Leclerc joining the team.

Raikkonen’s move to the Swiss team will bring an end to his stint as Vettel’s teammate, a time in which the pair shared the red garage since 2015.

Vettel told reporters ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, “Kimi has been my best teammate.”

The four times World Champion’s former teammates included Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull, Sebastien Bourdais and Vitantonio Liuzzi at Toro Rosso, and Nick Heidfeld for a single race at BMW Sauber in 2007.

Vettel continued, “Obviously you can do all the number crunching but for me that’s not the most important thing.”

“For me, that is the respect you have for each other and the degree of bullshit going on between each other. The most important thing if you are teammates is the respect that you have for each other.”

“With Kimi, it has been zero from the start and that will not change until the end.”

“Obviously it’s a great chance for Charles but it’s sad to know Kimi is not here any more because I think we get along very well even though we are different we have a lot of mutual respect,” added the Ferrari driver.

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LECLERC: I NEED TO DELIVER, I AM NOT GOING TO FERRARI TO LEARN

Charles Leclerc is confident he can challenge for the Formula One title at Ferrari next year and believes he has the mental strength to cope with the pressure of driving for one of the sport’s most prestigious teams at such a young age.

The reigning Formula Two champion joined Sauber at the start of this season and after impressing in a modest car, the 20-year-old from Monaco discovered last week that he will partner quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari from 2019.

“Since I was a child, I dreamed of being a Formula One driver and now to be with Ferrari is above all my expectations,” Leclerc told reporters on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

“I was always looking at the red car and to be in one of the two seats is incredible. It is strange as most people will probably think the move puts more pressure on my shoulders but I really don’t feel that.

“I have the mentality to cope under pressure, I really focus on myself and don’t think about what people expect from me in the car. If I do the right job and work in the right way then the performances will be there. I don’t feel the pressure.”

Vettel is embroiled in a tight title race with Lewis Hamilton and although the German sits 30 points behind his rival with seven races remaining, the Ferrari is generally regarded as a superior car to the Briton’s Mercedes.

Leclerc expects Ferrari to be equally as competitive next season and he says he is not joining the team solely as a backup driver to the 31-year-old Vettel despite the vast difference in their respective ages and experience.

“This year, Ferrari has the car to win the title, so if that is the case again next year then the goal will be to win the title. It means I will have to grow a lot more as a driver but that is necessary to get the best results possible,” he added.

“I need to deliver, I am not going to Ferrari to learn, I have had a good season this year where I could learn the most of it and next year will be the time to perform, especially as I will be with a big team.

“The jump to Ferrari is less than the one I made from Formula Two. The race weekend procedures are similar at Sauber and Ferrari. I have got used to that this year but I admit there will be a bit of time needed to adapt from one car to another.

“Every team is similar in that both drivers start the season on an equal footing but team orders may come into it if one is competing for the championship, this is normal. But I expect us to be allowed to race from the start of next season.”

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WILLIAMS: ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE

All pain and very little gain is the story of Williams’ 2018 Formula 1 season so far, with the former champions last and with only seven points scored from 14 races ahead of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Claire Williams, the deputy principal who runs the illustrious team founded by her father Frank, can only agree about the pain but is adamant there will also be a gain eventually.

“I did read the other day about somebody saying they didn’t think Williams felt pain any more when we don’t do well,” she told Reuters in a recent interview.

“For me this has been up there with one of the most painful experiences of my life. This team… is like another sibling to me. It feels like another one of my children. I take a huge sense of personal responsibility for it.”

Williams were fifth last year, well behind fourth-placed Force India but still the only team outside the top three with a driver on the podium.

Technical head Paddy Lowe had signalled a change of aerodynamic philosophy before the season started but the outcome has been like having an ice bucket poured over the head.

Williams have scored points in only two races, Canadian Lance Stroll eighth in Azerbaijan and ninth in Italy with Russian Sergey Sirotkin 10th after Haas driver Romain Grosjean was disqualified.

Haas are appealing, meaning that those points from Monza are not yet assured.

There has been some improvement, with Stroll qualifying 10th in Monza in the team’s best Saturday performance so far, but Williams are still far behind the rest.

That is not a new experience for a proud team that dominated in the 1980s and 90s but have gone up and down like a yo-yo of late, third in 2014 after finishing ninth in 2013.

Claire Williams felt the turnaround that followed the 2011-13 period, and owed a lot to the introduction of the V6 turbo hybrid engines and the dominance of suppliers Mercedes, had brought a sense of false security.

“Sometimes that blinds you a bit… and you don’t do the level of detail, get into the weeds of what you really need to do in order to make a successful team,” she said.

“If anything positive has come out of this, it has led all of us to really look deeply at what we do and to make sure that where we are failing, we’re addressing those weaknesses and to make sure that we put this team into good shape for the future.”

Williams said she had also asked herself whether she might be part of the problem.

But where some teams might ‘chop a few heads’ as part of the process of rebuilding, she felt a more measured response was needed.

“One person can’t change the world. No one person is the magician,” she said.

“They at least need to be afforded some time to demonstrate their talent and to implement changes… there would be no point making a rash decision because you’re only going to end up in the same place.

“It’s the same for me, I’d never been a team principal before, or run a business before I was running Williams. It’s a case of going through your job and learning almost as you go along. That’s what we’re doing.

“We’re now trying to do the best we can to make sure that we put in place everything we need to, to give it a successful future. But that takes time.”

Williams said the rest of the season would be about bringing upgraded parts to the car to evaluate developments for next year’s campaign.

The team are losing title sponsor Martini at the end of the season while Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll is expected to take his son to Force India, which he now controls through a consortium of investors.

That will leave a hole in the finances, with the share of television revenues also set to shrink as a result of the championship placing. Williams said it was not all doom and gloom, however.

“Lawrence has kept us appraised of what his plans have been and so we’ve been aware of that and can plan for that,” she added.

“Yes it’s a very difficult landscape but we’re lucky that people want to see us do well, they want to help contribute to that and be part of the journey back towards success again.

“It’s a concern every year, the finances of an independent team. But, as Frank always says, something always turns up. It always has and we always end up the following year breathing a sigh of relief that we’ve got a healthy racing budget again.”

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BRAWN JUST GAVE US A GLIMPSE OF 2021 F1 CONCEPT CAR

Formula 1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn has inadvertently, or by design, given us at a glimpse of what we can expect in terms of car design for 2021 and beyond.

A guest at a Tech Talk featuring Brawn and Pirelli F1 chief Mario Isola posted on Twitter:

One image shows Brawn speaking in front of a background showing a futuristic F1 design under a banner ‘2021 Concept Car’ in the background, providing a first [known] public glimpse at what the cars will look like when the new rules kick in three years from now.

In an interview published in the 2018 Singapore Grand Prix official race program, Brawn explained, “We’re looking at a new style of Formula 1 car, aesthetically more modern and futuristic, as I don’t think we’ve really captured as much as we could do in that regard.”

“The new cars will look more exciting, in my view. That’s a subjective thing, of course, but most people who have seen the schemes, we’re looking at, feel it’s a more exciting looking car.”

“We’re also looking at things that have a major impact on the quality of racing. And that’s to do with the nature of the cars and the resource differential between the front and back of the grid,” added Brawn.

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WOLFF: NIKI WILL BE BACK IN THE PITS!

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff reports that Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda is making impressive progress since his exhaustive lung transplant, revealing how the team chairman retains his humour and insatiable appetite for information.

Early last month Lauda fell ill, was hospitalised before being given a lung transplant that kept the world awaiting news of his condition which at one point was life-threatening.

Typically, Lauda went under the radar with little information released about his progress but AKH Hospital sources confirming his well being and improvement in health.

Now, after a visit to Lauda at AKH Hospital in Vienna recently, Wolff told Kronen Zeitung, “Of course, physically he has weakened but otherwise he is completely lucid.”

“There’s no difference at all, he’s lost none of his dry humour. He has so much strength and is such a phenomenal fighter. I’m really convinced: Niki will be back in the pits!”

Wolff also revealed that Lauda retains an insatiable appetite for information from the team and the races, “He just wants to know everything, about the teams and drivers. That’s why he told me to bombard him with emails at the end of each training and racing day.”

“Niki has just made a short pitstop in his life, driving an extra lap. But he will be back again!”

The NHS (UK) advice to patients on lung transplant recovery is: “It usually takes at least three to six months to fully recover from transplant surgery. For the first six weeks after surgery, avoid pushing, pulling or lifting anything heavy. You’ll be encouraged to take part in a rehabilitation programme involving exercises to build up your strength.”

You should be able to drive again four to six weeks after your transplant, once your chest wound has healed and you feel well enough. Depending on the type of job you do, you’ll be able to return to work around three months after surgery.”

Despite the optimism, Wolff obviously could not provide a set date for Lauda’s return, “Doctors cannot answer that question yet, but on his way back to normal life it is also important he copes with any setbacks along the way, there are not only good days…”

“But Niki is in good hands at the AKH, he is highly impressed by the medical care. The whole team is competent and friendly,” added Wolff.

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2018 Singapore - Drivers Press Conference

 

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Ferrari intrigue continues with latest 'cooling' device

The intrigue surrounding Ferrari's T-bar mounted on-board camera has stepped up a gear in Singapore following the teams latest effort to 'block' it, with a new device replacing the much simpler bag of dry ice used in previous races.

The Italian team has been covering up the camera whilst its car is parked in its garage, with a small bag of dry ice placed over the front and rear.

Ferrari claim they are simply trying to keep the camera and its electronics cool to avoid any problems, but rival teams have long suspected that claim to be bogus, having never experienced any issued with overheating camera's themselves.

Another claim is that Ferrari doesn't want its rivals seeing its engine when the bodywork is removed as well as settings on the steering wheel – both of which are visible from the front and rear facing camera, with all teams having access to feeds from each others cars.

The FIA informed Ferrari that it can no longer cover the camera up with a cooling bag prior to the Italian Grand Prix, however it got round that by using an umbrella on the grid – though it can't do the same in the garage.

Therefore Ferrari arrived in Singapore with a new device that sits inside the cooling inlet and extends over the T-bar with various appendages blocking the view of the on-board camera.

It's unlikely the new device will please the FIA and FOM. It's yet to be seen what action they will take this weekend.

[MIKA27]

Ocon "really disappointed" as 2019 hopes grow "less and less"

Force India driver Esteban Ocon says he's "really disappointed" that his strong results haven't been enough to ensure his place on the Formula 1 grid for 2019.
Mercedes-backed Ocon has been impressive in his second full season in F1, and looked set to move to the works Renault team for next year.

But Daniel Ricciardo's decision to leave Red Bull for Renault threw Ocon's plans into disarray, as his current team is set to replace him with Lance Stroll following its takeover while alternative opportunities look unlikely to materialise.

"I am not frustrated, I am really disappointed. That is more the word," said Ocon of his current situation,

"I am not upset against anyone or anything. But I have worked really hard to get here, I keep working really hard to perform those last two years.

"This year I have progressed compared to last year and it is 11-3 in qualifying against [teammate] Sergio [Perez]. I am fighting hard to do the best I can every race and arriving here, not knowing what I will do next year is hard to swallow obviously."

Ocon admitted his chances of remaining on the grid are diminishing.

"There are still hopes, but less and less as you know," he said. "That is what I am disappointed [about] at the moment - to see that it is not only results that come in play.

"It has to be other things, and that is what I am disappointed about – to be in that situation, because it is hard to believe that I was in a great position two months ago and things have come that way now."

Asked whether joining Mercedes customer Williams could be an option, he said: "There are still talks probably with them or wherever I could go, but they are less and less also."

Ocon said his benefactors at Mercedes were "pushing hard" to secure his F1 future, but said that "it seems harder than it should be".

And while a number of teams have admitted that Ocon's Mercedes link was a mark against his candidacy for their respective 2019 line-ups, the Frenchman said he has not discussed the possibility of severing these ties with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

"I've never talked to him about this," Ocon insisted. "What I know is that I have a contract with Mercedes, and never talked about this.

"But what should be taken into account is the results, and the work the driver puts in and the effort he puts in to perform. Those extra sport things should not be taken into account.

"That is where I am a bit disappointed with how things have turned out."

 

[MIKA27]

Singapore GP: Latest F1 tech updates, direct from the garages

Giorgio Piola and Sutton Images bring you the latest Formula 1 technical developments on show in the Marina Bay pitlane at the Singapore Grand Prix on Thursday. Click through the images below...

Mercedes AMG F1 W09 nose detail

Bodywork from the Mercedes W09 in front of the garage before installation shows that the team has installed a pair of NACA-style ducts in the vanity panel, as it looks to improve cooling into the cockpit for the driver.

Racing Point Force India VJM11 front wheel hub and front suspension detail

A close up of the VJM11’s front suspension and brake setup during the preparation phase on Thursday.

Red Bull RB14 technical detail

Ferrari engine cooling system

Having been asked by the FIA to stop using a bag filled with dry ice to cool its airbox the Scuderia arrived in Singapore with a new, more purposeful cooling device.

Mercedes-AMG F1 W09

Mercedes also has a new fan/cooler arrangement similar to the ones it’s been using in its sidepods for some time.

Ferrari brake assembly technical detail

A look at Ferrari’s front brake assembly as the car is readied for action.

Haas F1 Team technical detail

A new bargeboard arrangement is available to Haas for the Singapore GP, featuring a collection of new vertical vanes which protrude from the already-serrated footplate.

Ferrari technical detail

A new rear wing for Ferrari in Singapore with an emphasis on creating more downforce, as the team follows the slotted endplate solution run by McLaren for some time.

Mercedes AMG F1 engine covers

A comparison of the two engine cover specifications available to Mercedes, the right of which includes a chimney to reject any latent heat created by the power unit.

Racing Point Force India VJM11 front wing

A close up of Force India’s front wing, albeit the older specification that’s not been in use since Monaco.

Williams FW41 nose and front wings

The two front wing specifications available to Williams in Singapore, the upper of which is the older specification.

Red Bull Racing RB14 in the garage

Daniel Ricciardo’s RB14 sits on the stands awaiting construction.

Williams FW41 rear wing

Williams looks set to use the large-hooped T-Wing once more, as it hopes to dial in as much downforce as possible for the Singapore street circuit.

Renault Sport F1 Team RS 18 nose and front wing

Renault looking to utilise the front wing design that features a wedge in the main-plane slot, altering the Y250 vortex that’s generated alongside.

 

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo: Ferrari Singapore favourites, as Red Bull won’t have Monaco pace

Renault’s engine has lacked the grunt to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari power this season, leaving customers Red Bull to target results at specific, low-speed circuits. This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix offers one such opportunity, but despite claiming victory in Monaco earlier in the year, Daniel Ricciardo warns not to expect similar heroics…

Ferrari looked to have the pace to win on the streets of Marina Bay last year, but saw their hopes of victory go up in smoke when Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen were involved in a collision with Max Verstappen at the start, eliminating both red cars.

This year, the Prancing Horse is an even stronger package - and Ricciardo has tipped them to make up for last year’s painful defeat this time around, despite him securing a heroic victory in Monte Carlo where he held off Vettel despite a loss of power.

“We have a good chance to at least podium here,” said the Australian. “That’s really the first target. I don’t want to say we’re going to win, because let’s see what happens, but we have a good chance to fight, I’d like to think for at least a podium.

“I think Ferrari will be our biggest challenger on this circuit. I’m sure Mercedes won’t be slow, but looking at Ferrari or Mercedes, I think on this circuit on pure performance Ferrari will have a better package.”

Red Bull had the best package around Monaco this year, with the tight street circuit sharing many characteristics with the Singapore layout. But despite winning in the Principality, Riccardo is keen not to get ahead of himself.

“As we’ve seen, I think the last few years we seem to be a bit stronger in Monaco than here,” said Ricciardo. “It’s a bit more power biased this track, therefore we lose some of that advantage from Monaco, but we did get pole by a bit this year in Monaco, so I don’t know.

“It’s probably not as clear cut as in Monaco. Everyone had us favourites going there, and that proved to be true. At best I’d say we’re equal favourites coming into it, but I don’t think we are the favourites, the clear favourite at the moment.”

His team mate Verstappen agrees that it will be tricky to challenge for the ultimate honours under the lights in Singapore.

“Just looking at it realistically, I think we are down on power more than last year, and last year already we were three-tenths down in qualifying compared to Seb, so it will be hard,” he said.

“But never say never. I think our car’s really good. I just hope we can extract a little bit more out of the engine as well. For sure we’ll push very hard to get the best result.”

Red Bull have scored just one podium in the last five races, with their most recent victory coming in Austria. They sit a lonely third in the constructors’ championship, 142 points behind Ferrari but 162 ahead of Renault.

[skalls]

Good day for races.  Sadly my Vikings pissed a game away.  Ah well can't have eveything.

Anyways back to the F1 race.  I HATE this circuit as much as Monaco.  The location is sweet, but the circuit is just terrible.  There's virtually no space to overtake without going into a wall.  Which leads to a semi-boring race.  The top 6 really couldn't overtake one another.  If they got under 1.5 seconds from one another the dirty air made it all but impossible to get any 

But man, Lewis put down an amazing lap yesterday when it counted.  Ferrari just for whatever reason can't get out of their way or something.  That was a very lackluster showing on them.  He deserved the win today.  He didn't make any mistakes.  Made a good start.

I thought that Ferrari or Vettel would win both the titles this season but at this point I'm not sure its doable.  Vettel seems to have a confidence level that's easily shattered and Ferrari's recent strategies haven't been working.

[MIKA27]

SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX: HAMILTON WINS, TITLE WITHIN REACH

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton powered to a well-controlled and dominant victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, extending his championship points lead to 40-points with six rounds remaining on an evening that won’t be remembered for riveting entertainment.

The top six crossed the finish line in the same order they lined up on the grid on a night which physically punished the drivers, the World Champion knelt beside his car and said, “I’m spent. It felt like the longest race of my life so I’m glad it’s over.”

A day after his magical qualifying lap won him pole, Hamilton made no mistakes at the start of the race, getting off the line cleanly and ahead, but behind him the Force India’s collided when Sergio Perez drifted into teammate Esteban Ocon, the Frenchman slamming the wall in the process.

The incident prompted a safety car, but when the track turned green the Mercedes shot into the lead where it remained all night, Hamilton winning for the 68th time in his career.

The facts are that even if Vettel wins the next six races, the Briton need only finish second in all of them to win the title. Title #Five is now well within reach.

Hamilton said afterwards, “It was long, but it was still fun. Driving this track is incredible, especially with these cars. I got a great start and was able to control the pack, control the tyres and push where I needed to push.”

“It definitely got a little bit interesting towards the end with the backmarkers as you could already feel the draft from the cars when you were five and six seconds behind. And you can’t really see the blue flags, they are quite dark. Max had an opportunity really. I had to go on massive defensive while still racing the backmarkers.”

Behind the winner, Max Verstappen crossed the line second despite dropping to third early on in the race when Sebastian Vettel got by with a clinical move.

For some reason, Ferrari pitted Vettel early and compounding the mistake he came out of the pits in traffic which cost him as it was the signal for Verstappen to get on the loud pedal, the Dutchman delivered and when he emerged from his stop the Ferrari was behind him.

Verstappen was tired but content with his race, “It was not bad for us. It was a shame about the first lap but the team had a great strategy so we could get to second. In the end, we knew second was going to be the result. Behind the safety car we had a lot of problems, but second was a great result.”

The Reds messing up their sums once again and third place was Vettel’s reward.

He said, “Overall we were not fast enough, we didn’t have the pace in the race. We tried to be aggressive in the beginning and obviously it didn’t work out. Pitting was no option so we just focused on making it home.”

“I’m mostly thinking about today’s race [and not the title], and with the way we raced today we didn’t have a chance. I said before the weekend we could only beat ourselves and I think today we didn’t get everything out of our package.”

Amid the boredom (after the Ocon v Perez) incident, it would be unfair not to mention a flurry of on-track acion as Hamilton came upon backmarkers and by the time the dust had settled Verstappen was staring at the Mercedes gearbox while Vettel had a similar view of the Red Bull.

But after the hurdles, the trio spread out again and by the end of the race Hamilton crossed the line nine seconds ahead of Verstappen, with Vettel almost 40 seconds adrift.

Late in the race there was a sliver of excitement when Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes), Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) concertina-ed with Bottas in fourth, his mirrors full of the Ferrari and Red Bull.

But the deadlock remained on Marina Bay Circuit, where overtaking is nigh impossible and the trio remained in that order as they crossed the line.

Off the TV radar, Fernando Alonso was Best of the Rest by over twenty seconds, the veteran Spaniard wrestling the second worst car on the grid from 11th to seventh place, at one point setting the fastest lap of the race on his way to a well earned seventh place.

Renault’s Carlos Sainz shadowed his fellow countryman all race long to finish eight, ahead of rookie Charles Leclerc who again worked wonders in the Sauber to claim ninth. The final point for tenth went to Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault.

Down the order, Perez followed up his incident with teammate Ocon with a wayward moment when he swerved deliberately into the Williams of Sergey Sirotkin, the Mexican given a drive-through penalty for his transgression.

FIA Blow-By-Blow

Vettel was only able to manage third place after a bright start in which he passed front-row started Max Verstappen on lap one faded when the Dutch driver was able to reclaim the position during in the pit stops and Vettel was forced to run a conservative second stint on more fragile tyres than his rivals.

At the start pole-position man, Hamilton made a good start to keep Vestappen at bay. Vettel, starting third, also made a good getaway and he on the approach to Turn 7 he was able to set up a move on the Red Bull and stole P2 as they swept through he corner.

Further back, Ocon and Perez tangled, with the result that the French driver was bounced into the wall at the exit of Turn 3 and the Safety Car emerged.

When racing resumed at the end of lap four, Hamilton held his lead over Vettel and Verstappen, with Bottas in fourth place ahead of Räikkönen and Ricciardo, who had held his grid position after the start.

The race then settled and by lap 14 Hamilton had eked out a 2.2s lead to Vettel, with Verstappen a further 2.3s behind. Daniel was now 3.5s behind fifth-place Räikkönen.

Vettel then made a pit stop on lap 14, taking on ultrasoft tyres. Mercedes responded by pitting Hamilton at the end of the following lap, though the championship leader was sent out on soft tyres. Max

Hamilton emerged from his pit stop ahead of Vettel, who then found himself lodged behind the slower Perez for a lap. The delay allowed Red Bull to pit Verstappen for softs, and after a 2.5s halt the Dutch driver emerged ahead of Vettel to once again hold P2.

Vettel was soon reporting that his ultrasoft tyres wouldn’t last the remainder of the race and with track position counting for everything on the street circuit, the Ferrari driver was forced to drop back behind Max to nurse his ultrasoft tyres to the end of the race.

After Raikkonen and Ricciardo made their stops, with the Finn on softs and Ricciardo on ultrasofts, Hamilton once again led, with Max 4.5s. Vettel was now 2.6s behind Max, with Bottas fourth ahead of Räikkönen and Ricciardo, who was 10.8s behind the second Ferrari.

The race again began to settle, until shortly after the midway point, when Perez in attempting to get past Sirotkin, inexplicably swerved left and hit the right side of the Williams. Sirotkin was able to continue but Perez was forced to limp to the pits for long repairs and then received a drive through penalty for causing the collision.

At the front, Hamilton was now getting tangled up in backmarkers and that briefly allowed Verstappen to close in but the race leader was able to thread his way through the traffic, however, and the gap was soon back up to 3.3s.

Hamilton then controlled the pace with ease and after 61 laps crossed the line to take his 69th career win with 8.9s in hand over Verstappen who scored his sixth podium finish of the season to date and the 17th of his career overall.

Behind him, Vettel took third ahead of Bottas, Räikkönen and Ricciardo. Alonso was seventh, Sainz eighth in front of Leclerc and Hulkenberg.

[MIKA27]

VETTEL: WE BEAT OURSELVES

Sebastian Vettel yet again lamented missed opportunities as he finished third in the Singapore Grand Prix and was forced to watch his title rival Lewis Hamilton go on to win the race and increase the championship lead to 40 points.

Before the early safety car, Vettel attacked the Red Bull of Max Verstappen to slip into second place with a slick move, but Ferrari pitted Vettel very early in what was a gamble that in retrospect simply did not pay off.

The Ferrari pitstop prompted Max Verstappen to get on the loud pedal and when he emerged from the pits Vettel was behind, the overcut had worked a treat. The Red Bull remained second until the end despite a brief period when he got very close to Verstappen when they hit traffic, but nothing came of it.

Vettel doubted the strategy call and said on the team radio: “No chance, we were again too late. These tyres will not make it to the end.”

After the race Vettel conceded, “We tried to be aggressive in the beginning and obviously it didn’t work out. With the way we raced today we didn’t have a chance.

“I said before the weekend we could only beat ourselves and I think today we didn’t get everything out of our package. Overall we were not fast enough. We didn’t have the pace in the race,”

“The strategy problems don’t help obviously, I was mostly thinking about today’s race and today I think the way we raced, we didn’t have a chance. It was pretty obvious what we tried to do and it didn’t work.”

“Red Bull did very well to react and jumped us. It wasn’t too much that was missing, but with those tyres the main priority was to make it to the finish.”

“The strategy was to get ahead of Lewis, which didn’t work, and it was a pity that we lost the second place. Then the main focus was to maintain the third position.”

“I wasn’t very confident we could make it to the end, but it did. It was surprising to see that Valtteri was not able to keep it up and he was struggling more than I was. It was clear we were not fast enough in the race, we need to understand why.”

“What we did we tried to get to first position and get ahead, but Lewis was too quick. Once you are ahead you can control the pace around here, but we never got ahead.”

“I will always defend the team. The decisions we took in the race, to try and be aggressive, were to try and win the race and when it works it’s great.

“But overall we had a very strong package, both Kimi and myself looked very competitive throughout practice, but in the end the race result we finished third and fifth.”

“Like yesterday, not where the speed of our car belongs. That’s what I mean when I said we didn’t get everything out of ourselves.”

“Lewis said he didn’t expect to come here and gain 10 points and we probably didn’t expect to lose 10. I never believed we had the fastest car by a big margin as people said – I know we have a good car.”

“The speed is there and today, if anything, we were a little bit slower. But it’s difficult to draw conclusions as I had a very different race.

“I don’t think we have any tracks to fear that are coming, so no need to be afraid of what’s coming,” added Vettel.

[MIKA27]

ALONSO: P7 IS A SMALL WIN FOR US

Fernando Alonso’s last Singapore Grand Prix reminded everyone why Formula 1 will miss the Spaniard, when he departs the top tier, as he delivered a gutsy performance on the night, wrestling his McLaren from 11th on the grid to seventh place in a car that simply should not have been Best of the Rest.

Alonso made the difference on the night, the double F1 World Champion told reporters after the race, “I’m really, really happy with seventh.”

“Normally something happens in front of us, but today all six cars [from the top three teams] finished the race.”

“P7 is a small win for us. We executed the race to perfection today – good strategy, good tyre selection, and good points.”

Alonso and his team made the right call to start the race on the harder Pirelli Ultrasofts and was able to go longer than his rivals, and on fresh rubber he held the fastest lap of the race for a few laps.

But it was no cruise for the McLaren driver, “We still had to open some gaps in case of safety cars and we didn’t know when people behind us might stop, so we were opening the gaps.”

“So it was a race where even if we were alone we were controlling some of the gaps ahead and behind, so it was not that boring!” exclaimed Alonso who now lies eighth in the championship standings.