Latest F1 news in brief

Dr Helmut Marko

Marko urges F1 to end penalty era
Wolff phone call saga 'overblown' – Verstappen
Raikkonen's wife expecting second child
Eyes turn to the skies for Brazil title fight
Grosjean backs Magnussen's Renault exit
Grosjean: Cooler conditions helped Haas
Rosberg still targeting title-clinching win

Marko urges F1 to end penalty era
(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has urged F1 to end the current era of driver penalties.

It emerged in Brazil that, at the next Strategy Group meeting, Bernie Ecclestone and several teams will call on the FIA to dramatically simplify the rules.

The latest move follows the Mexican grand prix, where a penalty against Sebastian Vettel's move on Daniel Ricciardo is still being discussed, reviewed and now appealed.

Ferrari arrived in Brazil urging the stewards to review new evidence, but the FIA rejected the plea. The great Italian team has now indicated it will appeal.

But Red Bull's Marko says the sport is hurting itself.

"The last four laps of the race in Mexico were the best in the whole season," he told Auto Motor und Sport.

"But what are we talking about now? Penalties, protests and appeals with two weeks delay.

"I say 'Let the drivers drive'," the former F1 and sports car driver added.

Wolff wants erratic Verstappen to stay clear

Wolff phone call saga 'overblown' – Verstappen
(GMM) Toto Wolff has played down the controversy about his phone call to Max Verstappen's father.

Red Bull chiefs Helmut Marko and Christian Horner lashed out as they revealed the Mercedes chief had phoned former F1 driver Jos Verstappen to urge his son against intervening in the title fight between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Marko told Wolff's Mercedes colleague Niki Lauda: "Your drivers should have their own race at 11am if they want no other cars on the track."

Wolff confirmed he made the call, but argued he is free to phone whoever he wants.

"Yes, we talked on the phone," he told Bild newspaper. "Just as we often do.

"We have known and understood each other for a long time. I called Jos and the main message was that I think it's better for Max if he (Jos) is back at the races," Wolff added.

Wolff also confirmed that he and Verstappen snr discussed the 19-year-old's recent controversies and the Mercedes title fight.

But Max himself also played down the saga.

"The whole story has been overblown," the young Dutchman is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Jos also confirmed the call took place, but did not want to comment.

Wolff continued: "In large letters, I regret nothing.

"I've known the family for a long time, I like them and I'll call whoever I want.

"I had a very good chat with Jos, as I have on several other occasions, about racing, drivers, young talent, even his daughter in karting. I've even had them for dinner at my house. So I don't understand all this nonsense," he added.

Raikkonen with Minttu and first son

Raikkonen's wife expecting second child
(GMM) Kimi Raikkonen's young family will add another member some time next year.

Ilta Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper, reacted with surprise when the normally reticent Ferrari driver wished his wife Minttu a "happy birthday" from Brazil.

Raikkonen, 2007, had just qualified third at Interlagos, towards the end of a season in which many believe he has outperformed his teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Ilta Sanomat claims Minttu is currently pregnant with the couple's second child. Their first son, Robin, is almost two years old.

Eyes turn to the skies for Brazil title fight
(GMM) Eyes are turning to the skies as a decisive day in the 2016 world champion prepares to dawn in Brazil.

If Nico Rosberg wins at Interlagos, he will be the world champion, but teammate Lewis Hamilton has continued his late run of good form this season with pole and could keep the fight running until the Abu Dhabi finale.

Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda, however, claims that he and team boss Toto Wolff are "not at all nervous".

That is because the German camp has already secured the constructors' world championship, and it is mathematically certain that a silver-clad racer will secure the drivers' title.

"Toto and I only made a bet about which of our cars will be ahead," Lauda told German television RTL after qualifying.

"I said it will be Lewis, Toto said Nico. So I was right."

But the F1 legend admitted that Sunday could be another matter, particularly if the weather forecast is right.

"The weather for tomorrow does not look so great," he said. "Everything can change."

But Lauda said Rosberg will know how to handle the pressure of a very important day in his career.

"Nico will go to sleep tonight," Lauda said late on Saturday. "Tomorrow he gets up, looks at the weather, and then will start to think about how the race might develop."

Romain Grosjean

Grosjean backs Magnussen's Renault exit
(GMM) Romain Grosjean has backed his incoming teammate Kevin Magnussen's decision to leave the works Renault team in order to join Haas.

A year ago, Frenchman Grosjean made the very same decision to leave Lotus, the Enstone based team that would shortly become known as Renault.

In 2017, they will both race for Haas, the new American team that in 2017 will tackle its second season on the grid.

But earlier in Brazil, continuing Renault driver Jolyon Palmer expressed surprise about Magnussen's choice, saying a single-year deal with a works team is worth more than a multi-year contract with a smaller outfit like Haas.

When asked at Interlagos if he sympathizes with Magnussen's decision, however, Grosjean answered: "Yes, I understand it.

"In my opinion, he clearly explained why he is deciding to leave his team and why he was not comfortable there.

"What I can say is that at Haas the atmosphere is great and it's straightforward. Yes, Haas has less than Renault, but we have achieved better results and I hope that this will continue in the future," Grosjean added.

The cooler temps helped the Haas cars

Grosjean: Cooler conditions helped Haas
Romain Grosjean reckons Saturday's cooler conditions helped Haas achieve its third Q3 appearance of the season at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Grosjean and team-mate Esteban Gutierrez ended the first day of running at Interlagos back in 15th and 20th respectively, amid hot temperatures.

But in qualifying, which took place under dark clouds, Grosjean progressed to Q3, where he beat both Force Indias and the McLaren of Fernando Alonso.

"We were not expecting to go to Q3," said Grosjean.

"We made some good work with the car, and cooler track conditions have helped us a lot, so there's a lot we can learn – clearly we need to improve when it's warm.

"When it's cold and it's grey, as it was today, we're going pretty fast!"

Grosjean also noted gains with Haas' new brake supplier.

"We used the new brakes, Carbon Industrie, and the feel was a bit better, still not perfect in some places, but it's getting there, so a lot of positives," he said.

"Since we've come back from the summer break we've had a few inexplicable problems. Even this morning I spun twice and the car was reacting very weirdly.

"But it's part of the process, it's part of the learning process, and we just need to keep working around and trying to figure out what could be the problem."

Gutierrez narrowly missed a Q3 run in 12th position.

"It's been quite a competitive qualifying session with the lap times being very close," he said.

"We just missed out on Q3, but it's great that our performance is back after two weekends where we were struggling – we can now be optimistic for the race tomorrow."

Haas previously reached Q3 in Italy and Japan.

Nico Rosberg needs Hamilton to make a mistake to wrap the title up today

Rosberg still targeting title-clinching win
Nico Rosberg has made clear that he is still chasing a title-deciding victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, despite being beaten by Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton during qualifying.

Rosberg had out-qualified Hamilton across the past three years at Interlagos but the Briton eclipsed his team-mate by 0.102s in the closing stages of Q3, having also led the way in Q1 and Q2.

Rosberg will clinch the championship if he emerges victorious during Sunday's 71-lap Grand Prix, and he insists he is still focused on beating Hamilton to the checkered flag.

"It was an exciting qualifying out there, for sure," he said.

"It was very close, Lewis just was marginally quicker in the end.

"My lap was good as well, [but] just not quick enough. I was missing that little bit out there, but it's OK.

"Anyway, as we've seen this year, pole isn't always the guy who then wins the race, so I'm still optimistic for tomorrow, because of course I want to try to win the race tomorrow."

When Rosberg was asked whether the anticipated wet weather could pose a threat to his chances, he replied: "I don't think of anything in terms of most to lose.

"I just look forward to tomorrow's race, and whatever comes, comes. We have a great car in either condition, in the dry, and in the wet, so it'll be exciting."