Latest F1 news in brief

Knowing Ecclestone, he will step in and learn all the current race contract deals so he can use it to undermine Liberty in a buyout coup

Ecclestone to get involved in F1 promoters dispute
Sirotkin eyes Le Mans win
Giovinazzi may beat Raikkonen in 2019 – Minardi
Haas to let Magnussen race at Daytona
All drivers to attend official 2019 F1 launch
Verstappen won't hide 2019 chances – Doornbos
Kubica hopes to stay in F1 beyond 2019
Pirelli worried about weather for testing
Alonso eyes 'unprecedented' next moves
Niki Lauda family describe rehabilitation regime

Ecclestone to get involved in F1 promoters dispute

Bernie Ecclestone says he is willing to help resolve a dispute between F1 race promoters and Liberty Media.

The Formula One Promoters' Association, representing 16 of the 21 race hosts on the calendar, held a meeting and afterwards revealed that the circuits are threatening to quit the sport.

Although not supported by some race hosts including Russia and Mexico, they are nonetheless concerned about the loss of free television coverage, the addition of new races, and the terms of their contracts.

Former supremo Ecclestone, now the nominal 'chairman emeritus' of F1, has also been largely opposed to how Liberty Media has run the sport since the 2016 takeover.

But he told the Daily Mail newspaper that he is willing to get involved in the dispute with the promoters.

"If people say I should be involved that is up to them," Ecclestone, 88, said.

"I am an employee of the company and will do what I am told. If they want me to help, I am willing to do so. I don't want to lie on my deathbed and see the sport I created go downhill."

Also not involved in the promoters' revolt are Monaco, Bahrain, Japan and Abu Dhabi.

Sirotkin eyes Le Mans win

Sergey Sirotkin

Sergey Sirotkin will keep his motor racing career alive at Le Mans.

Having been dropped by Williams, the Russian's backer SMP Racing announced that Sirotkin, 23, will contest Le Mans as well as two other forthcoming WEC events in the top LMP1 category.

"I am very glad that I have the honor of defending the colors of the Russian flag on the Russian prototype as part of a Russian team in the world endurance championship," he said.

Sirotkin added that he is confident he can "fight for the win" at Le Mans, where Fernando Alonso will be racing for Toyota.

Giovinazzi may beat Raikkonen in 2019 – Minardi

Antonio Giovinazzi

F1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen will need to race hard to beat his young rookie teammate in 2019.

That is the view of Gian Carlo Minardi, a former F1 team owner and boss.

Minardi, 71, hailed fellow Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, ahead of the 25-year-old's first full season in F1.

"It is a very important signal for the whole of Italian motor sport, for young drivers, and also for the future of the Italian grand prix," he told minardi.it.

Minardi tipped Giovinazzi, who like Charles Leclerc is a product of Ferrari's development 'academy', to give 2007 world champion Raikkonen a run for his money at Sauber in 2019.

"The Finn will have to look over his shoulder carefully because I am sure he (Giovinazzi) will be able to put him in trouble," he said.

Haas to let Magnussen race at Daytona in 2020

With 0.0000% chance of winning in F1, Magnussen gets the green light to branch out

Kevin Magnussen has received the green light to contest the famous Daytona 24 hour race in the future.

For the past few years, it has been regularly speculated that the Danish driver could join his father Jan Magnussen at Daytona.

"I think it's a good idea. Kevin thinks it's a good idea, and Corvette thinks it's a good idea, if we can work out the logistics," Jan, who also raced in F1, told BT newspaper.

Now, Kevin Magnussen's full-time employer Haas has given the project the thumbs up.

Team boss Gunther Steiner, who last weekend was at Daytona to see Fernando Alonso win, said: "I would never stop a driver from racing a race.

"Kevin should be allowed to drive Daytona with his father," he added.

"I don't know when it can be done, but it seems like Jan still has some good years in him as a racing driver," Steiner said.

All drivers to attend official 2019 F1 launch

F1 will hold a special launch event with all the drivers in Melbourne

Every F1 driver will attend the official launch event for the 2019 season just prior to the first race in Melbourne.

Just days ago, we reported that the teams had rejected Liberty Media's earlier plans for a launch event that would have involved the reveal of every team's respective 2019 car.

"The teams rejected the proposal because they did not want to share attention with the competition," Auto Motor und Sport had reported.

But Liberty is pressing ahead with a launch event anyway.

F1 has announced that the free event, to take place in the city of Melbourne, will involve "all 20 drivers and their respective team principals".

Formula One Management said it will be "the first time an event like this has taken place".

Also to attend the launch, which will be streamed live on social media, will be an array of the sports "legends".

"We are incredibly excited to be putting on such a spectacle for our fans," said F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches.

Verstappen won't hide 2019 chances – Doornbos

The car is 99% and the driver 1% in F1. Without the best car, you DO NOT win.

Max Verstappen's fans will know almost immediately if Red Bull has produced a title-winning 2019 car.

That is the view of Robert Doornbos, a Dutch former F1 driver.

This week, we quoted fellow Dutchman Verstappen as saying that if he is to have a chance of winning the title, Red Bull must be closer to Mercedes and Ferrari right from the beginning of the season.

"We need to make sure that from the start we are a little bit closer," he said.

Doornbos, who raced for Red Bull and Minardi, thinks the world will know straight away if Verstappen is at the wheel of a title winner.

"Max will know immediately how successful the new car can be, so I'll be curious to see his face after a couple of laps behind the wheel," he told Ziggo Sport.

"If he is disappointed straight away, Max will not hide it. He'll immediately be punching the table with his fist," Doornbos added.

He said Red Bull is renowned for building great chassis, with the main question mark being the competitiveness of the team's new works engine partner.

"Last year, the car was one of the best on the grid, if not the best," Doornbos said.

"It's important that the Honda engine is reliable and not inferior to Ferrari and Mercedes. If it is good enough, Max will get good results, because last year his engine was down 70hp."

Doornbos also noted recent comments made by Pierre Gasly, who is Verstappen's new teammate for 2019.

"Pierre said that he is not coming to Red Bull to be the second driver, but I think it's better to stay quiet," he said.

"He has a chance to be in the top team, but at the moment for him I think it's better not to attract too much attention. Because he has no chance next to Verstappen.

"Of course, there are not many drivers in the paddock who would like to be Max's teammate. Lewis Hamilton can talk about it, but it won't happen," Doornbos added.

Kubica hopes to stay in F1 beyond 2019

Robert Kubica will have to up his game to stay. His test times in 2018 were horrible

Robert Kubica says his big goal for 2019 is to pave the way to a longer second career in formula one.

The Pole sat out eight full seasons following his horrific rallying crash of 2011, which left his right arm permanently injured.

On Tuesday, his 2019 employer Williams shipped a car to Poland for an event with PKN Orlen, Kubica's Polish sponsor.

The Orlen logo, representing the major Polish oil company, was featured on the Williams livery.

"This Polish combination is important," Kubica said at the event.

"This is not just about entering this formula one, but I hope that we will stay in it," he added. "That's the more difficult task."

When asked how he is feeling, Kubica answered: "Like I'm debuting once again.

"The emotions are big, but of course different to 12 years ago when I debuted for BMW Sauber," he added.

Some have questioned whether Kubica's permanent arm injury might pose a danger to his fellow drivers in 2019. Others say the eight year gap between his first and second careers was too long.

Kubica insisted: "If I felt I was not prepared, I would never go back to formula one."

Perhaps a bigger question mark than Kubica's form is the performance of Williams, a once-great British team that finished dead last in 2018.

"The situation is not easy and we all know that," said Kubica.

"I don't like promises, but I will do my best. I think the team has learned from the mistakes of last year, so I think this season should be somewhat easier.

"To return to the form I was in before the accident is my goal."

Pirelli worried about weather for testing

Will it snow again in Barcelona?

Pirelli has admitted it is worried bad weather will once again affect pre-season testing.

A year ago, several days of the already limited winter testing program were seriously affected by freezing temperatures and even snow in Barcelona.

The much warmer-in-winter Bahrain was proposed as an alternative for 2019, but teams voted against the move on cost and logistics grounds.

However, F1 tire supplier Pirelli admits it is worried bad weather will disrupt the testing in Barcelona once again.

"Until the beginning of January, it seemed like spring in Barcelona, but now it's much colder," an official is quoted as saying by Brazil's Globo.

Alonso eyes 'unprecedented' next moves

With the engineer Alonso has for Indy this year there is a very good chance Alonso will win the 2019 Indy 500

Fernando Alonso says his next moves in motor racing could be "unprecedented".

Now retired from F1, the two-time champion got a step closer to the elusive 'triple crown' last year with victory at Le Mans.

Later in 2019, he will try to complete the triple crown by returning to the Indy 500, and last weekend he added the Daytona 24 hour trophy to his collection.

Asked by the New York Times what his next move might be, the 37-year-old Spaniard answered: "The aim is to do something unprecedented in motor sport.

"Right now my full focus is on the Indy 500. But I'm thinking I'm trying to do something more, maybe in different disciplines," Alonso added.

He has been linked, for instance, with the Dakar rally.

"Whatever adventure is next, I will not do it if I'm not competitive or I don't have a shot for winning. I need to be very calm and clever with the decisions for the future," said Alonso.

He warned that winning a championship like the full IndyCar series would be difficult.

"I think in the past it was a little bit more open, motor sport in general," said Alonso.

"But now every series became very, very professional, and you need to take full dedication to each series, each driving style and things like that. I think hopefully soon I can tell you more of the plans."

Niki Lauda family describe rehabilitation regime

Niki Lauda's son Matthias says his father is "training with fury" as he continues his recuperation from a lung transplant and illness. The three-time world champion has spent much of the past eight months hospitalised after undergoing surgery to save his life.

Lauda had a lung transplant last year after falling ill while on holiday and doctors have previously revealed that the Austrian came mere days from dying, before he was operated on.

Lauda's immune system was weakened by his stay in hospital, while he remained too weak to visit grands prix in the latter half of last season, despite aiming to have returned at the Abu Dhabi GP.

A bout of flu over Christmas meant Lauda had to go back into intensive care, but he is once again at home, where a rehab regime described as "intensive" goes on.

Matthias told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Dad has undergone a complex operation and has had bad moments, but he has a strong character and is fighting.

"He needs to do physiotherapy to recover his energies.

"He trains with fury and I hope that soon we will see him in shape.

"I speak to him every day. When I'm not there, with him there is my brother Lucas. One of us is still in Vienna."

Lauda had hoped to be present at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but it is unclear if his recent illness will impact that.