Latest F1 news in brief – Friday (Update)
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Robert Kubica 02/03/17 Kubica to race top prototype at Le Mans
- Ferrari considering buying into F1 – Marchionne
- Ferrari wants clarity before F1 investment New
- F1 must free the 'artist' in drivers – Zanardi
- Heavier 2017 cars will still be faster
- 2017 rules good for F1 and for me – Magnussen
- SMP not looking to deepen F1 involvement
- McLaren confirms name change for 2017 Formula 1 car New
Kubica to race top prototype at Le Mans
(GMM) Robert Kubica is inching tantalizingly close to his old days in formula one.
The Pole, now 32, has competed at the highest level of world rallying, but been unable to return to single seaters after almost severing his wrist in a 2011 crash.
But the former BMW and Renault driver has now signed to return full-time in the top prototype category of the world endurance championship, including the 2017 Le Mans race.
"After my time in rally I've been looking for something as close to formula one as possible," he said as the news of his seat with former F1 boss Colin Kolles' team emerged.
"This is exactly what I've found in LMP1."
Restrictions in the cockpit due to his arm injury is what has stopped his return to single seaters to date, but Kubica has already tested the Le Mans car and says he "felt comfortable".
Ferrari considering buying into F1 – Marchionne
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| Sergio Marchionne |
(GMM) Ferrari could be the first F1 team to take up Liberty Media's offer of shares in the sport.
We have reported that despite Liberty's eagerness for the teams to take up to 20 per cent of the commercial rights, none have accepted the offer so far mainly because it would not include the power to vote.
But Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is now quoted by the Italian media as revealing that the Maranello marque is "considering the opportunity to take shares" in F1.
"We will discuss it with the new owners," he said.
Marchionne said a major consideration in his deliberations will be the future of the sport beyond the current contracts that stretch to 2020.
"It is not a financial issue," said the Italian-Canadian. "It would be unwise to invest without having clarity about what will happen after 2020 and what Ferrari could get from its investment in formula one.
"Once we have this clarity, I think it will be much easier to decide if we want to participate in this venture."
But Marchionne does at least sound upbeat about the post-Bernie Ecclestone future.
"I expect that the sport in general will do better, because Liberty and Chase Carey know the entertainment world and know very well how to make F1 even more popular.
"The Scuderia will do its part in this," he added.
Ferrari wants clarity before F1 investment
Sergio Marchionne says he is open to Ferrari becoming a Formula 1 shareholder but wants more clarity from the sport's new owner, Liberty Media, before committing to any plans.
American media company Liberty, which completed its takeover last month, has given teams the chance to buy shares in F1, which have been reserved at a purchase price of $21.26.
"We think it's important to offer the teams the chance to invest in Formula 1 and further align our interests," commented Liberty Media President and Chief Executive Officer at the time.
However, amid reports that teams are showing little interest, Ferrari President Marchionne highlighted existing commercial agreements – signed through 2020 – as an area of concern.
"We have started exploring the opportunity," Marchionne is quoted by Motorsport.com.
"We are in discussions with Liberty and I recently had a meeting with [CEO] Chase [Carey].
"The issue is not just the question of the financial investment. This is something that we do for a living in a very serious way. The Concorde Agreement (signed by teams) expires in 2020.
"So, becoming a non-voting shareholder in an entity, which effectively keeps us trapped in without knowledge of what 2021 and later would look like… it is something that I consider unwise.
"One of the things we have tabled, and I think we're not the only ones, is clarity on what the post-2020 world looks like and what Ferrari may be able to get from its involvement in F1 activities.
"Once we have clarity, then I think it becomes a lot easier to decide whether we want to participate.
"I think there's a huge amount of upside left in F1, which if properly managed can deliver rewards for everybody who is an investor in this business, but we need clarity and we're not there yet."
Marchionne also discussed the topic of prize money, following talk of a more even revenue distribution, and Ross Brawn's desire to create "a healthy Formula 1 from top to bottom".
At present, Ferrari receives additional 'historical payments', and Marchionne stated: "There's going to be no changes to the contractual agreements until 2020 with Formula 1 and Ferrari.
"The topic has not even been brought up, and I think it will be fairly unwise to raise it."
F1 must free the 'artist' in drivers – Zanardi
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| Alex Zanardi |
(GMM) F1 must liberate the drivers if it wants to improve the on-track spectacle.
That is the view of former driver Alex Zanardi, who said restrictive rules and over-zealous stewards are damaging the sport.
"Formula one today? A bit too boring," the 50-year-old Italian and Paralympic champion is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Now it is stewards who have delusions of being the stars.
"Everyone remembers me for the (Indycar) pass I made on the limit at the corkscrew at Laguna Seca in 1996," said Zanardi. "But today, such a move would be impossible (in F1). It would be immediately punished by the race director.
"The rules have changed and so have the cars," he added. "In the 90s, the tires and the power really put on display the ability of the drivers."
In contrast, he says that while today there are "many talented performers" in formula one, "those of my generation were real artists of the steering wheel".
"But today they are punished so severely for overtaking or driving even vaguely riskily, making the drivers afraid of penalties and having the will to risk something.
"The show suffers as a result," Zanardi added.
Heavier 2017 cars will still be faster
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| The wide tires will make the cars faster, hence the races shorter, so fans won't fall asleep watching the boring Mercedes parade at the front |
(GMM) Although the weight of the cars is rising yet again, the 2017 grid will still be considerably faster.
Speed Week, a German language publication, said the minimum weight trend in F1 has been creeping steadily up since the 70s when the cars weighed just over 500kg.
More recently it was just over 700kg, but for 2017 it emerges that the cars will have to weigh at least 728kg — 6 kilograms heavier than earlier thought.
That is because the 2017 rules left open a late weight change to accommodate the much bigger and wider Pirelli tires for the new, faster era.
But those worrying that the weight of the heftier cars could offset the predicted speed boost this year can relax, as the drivers in 2017 are still expected to stop the clocks 4-5 seconds per lap sooner.
"Some of 2016's 'corners' will be classified as 'straights'," predicted McLaren technical boss Tim Goss.
It means the drivers have been training hard in the off-season, bulking up some muscle, aerobic fitness and in particular thickening their necks.
"I'm really hoping that we'll be able to take turn three at Barcelona flat this year," said rookie Stoffel Vandoorne.
"I've still only driven it in the sim, but using our current predictions, it should be flat — whether it actually will be, we'll have to wait and see," he added.
2017 rules good for F1 and for me – Magnussen
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| The wide tires and high downforce will make the cars faster and mask Magnussen's inabilities |
(GMM) Kevin Magnussen thinks the 2017 rules will be good for formula one — and for him.
The Danish driver, who has switched from Renault to the small Ferrari-linked American team Haas, argues that the bigger tires and more downforce is exactly what the sport needed.
"It's great," he told the Danish newspaper BT.
"I love the idea that in 2017 we are likely to drive the fastest formula one cars ever," Magnussen, 24, said.
"And I think the new regulations were needed," he explained. "We need tires that are more durable. And if the cars have more grip, it means we can push them more.
"It will fit well to my driving style. I have had a tendency to push the cars we've had in recent years too much, and it has usually only caused problems.
"The cars will fit my aggressive style much better," Magnussen said.
Magnussen was speaking after spending time getting to know his new team, after previously having worked for the much bigger outfits McLaren and Renault.
"It is a group of nice people, and it's very cool to get to know them in such a short time. It's only been possible because it's a small team," he said.
He has visited Haas' Banbury setup in the UK, the team's main headquarters in North Carolina (USA), and even stopped in at team partner Ferrari's fabled Maranello base.
"It was a special experience to go and see it (Maranello)," said Magnussen. "But we are of course Haas and we improve our car and get the best out of our car ourselves.
"The new car will be fast," he added, "but how fast compared to the other teams is a little hard to guess. But I'm pretty sure that all the cars will be much faster this year.
"I've prepared myself as best I can and trained hard. I don't feel that I could have done more."
SMP not looking to deepen F1 involvement
(GMM) Boris Rothenberg, who heads Russia's major SMP Bank and a racing division called SMP Racing, said he is not looking to expand the F1 program.
SMP has been represented across motor racing, including Le Mans and Indycar, but the centerpiece is its involvement in formula one.
Last year, it was in the form of a partnership with the works Renault team, and this year Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin is slated to step up and become the official reserve driver.
But Rothenberg, a billionaire and reportedly close to controversial Russian president Vladimir Putin, says that for now, the SMP program will not expand within F1.
"Yes, the program is moving forwards, but as for it growing, only heaven knows," he told the Ria Novosti news agency.
"For now we can count only on ourselves to build the program. If specific objectives are set for us then we can think differently, but in the meantime we can rely only on ourselves.
"So at the moment, yes," said Rothenberg, when asked if SMP's involvement will be limited to Sirotkin's Renault test seat.
McLaren confirms name change for 2017 Formula 1 car
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| Fernando Alonso's McLaren |
McLaren has confirmed that its 2017 Formula 1 car will break with its traditional naming pattern and be called the MCL32.
All of McLaren's cars have raced with the 'MP4' moniker in their name since Ron Dennis' arrival at the team in 1981, standing for 'Marlboro Project 4', with the 2016 car being called the MP4-31.
Dennis announced last November that he would be resigning as McLaren chairman following a boardroom struggle, with commercial expert Zak Brown joining as the team's new executive director at the beginning of December.
The MP4 name will leave McLaren with Dennis after the team confirmed on Friday that its 2017 car will be called the McLaren-Honda MCL32.
The last McLaren to race without the MP4 name was the McLaren M29F, which appeared at the 1981 Belgian Grand Prix before the team expanded to using the MP4/1 with both John Watson and Andrea de Cesaris as of that year's Monaco Grand Prix.
McLaren will formally unveil the MCL32 on February 24, and has hinted at a possible livery change to incorporate orange, a color the team historically ran in during its early years.