Latest F1 news in brief

Ross Brawn

Brawn quit F1 over lack of 'trust' at Mercedes
Hulkenberg to help Renault take 'giant leap'
F1 foray a 'dream' for Lamborghini – Domenicali
Mercedes duo free to fight for title – Wolff
PDVSA crisis is bad news for Maldonado
Fernandes not ruling out future F1 return
Haas F1 Promotes Team, Drivers In Charlotte, Austin Ahead Of Debut On U.S. Soil
Steiner: Formula 1 midfield is 'so close'
Williams fearful of bumpy Austin track

Brawn quit F1 over lack of 'trust' at Mercedes
(GMM) Ross Brawn says he left F1 at the end of 2013 because he "couldn't trust" Mercedes' management team.

The highly respected Briton was team boss until the end of 2013, and he now says he decided to quit rather than try to work with current chiefs Toto Wolff, Niki Lauda and Paddy Lowe.

"I never really knew what they were trying to do," Brawn wrote in his forthcoming book Total Competition.

He said when he heard Lowe was joining from McLaren, he asked Wolff and Lauda about it and "they blamed each other".

And he said Wolff told another former F1 chief, Colin Kolles, that Brawn was "resting on my money".

"Even with Paddy Lowe, I was never quite sure — he was quite happy to jump in and take my job," Brawn added.

"I couldn't trust those people so I saw no future unless I was willing to go to war and remove them."

Mercedes did not comment.

Nico Hulkenberg routinely beat by his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez

Hulkenberg to help Renault take 'giant leap'
(GMM) Renault has been tipped to take a "giant leap" ahead in 2017.

Marc Surer, a former F1 driver and pundit for the German broadcaster Sky, hailed Nico Hulkenberg's decision to accept an offer to join the French works team.

"As the opportunities with the other teams diminished, it was the best thing he could do," Surer said ahead of the US grand prix in Austin.

"Renault is a major and emerging team and he is experienced enough to lead them," he added.

Told that Renault might be regarded as a 'sleeping giant' that is ready to join the big teams at the top of F1, Surer agreed.

"I'm sure.

"We must not be fooled by this season, which was always a transition year for Renault. They have been fully focused on next season for some time.

"If they make another step forward with the engine, I am convinced they can take a giant leap. We know the team from Enstone well, and we must not forget that they made a winning car as Lotus with a small budget," he added.

Hulkenberg's departure leaves a vacancy at Force India, and Surer hopes Manor's Pascal Wehrlein is the one who is promoted.

"In any case, he is ready," he said.

"Even when he has tested for Mercedes, he has shown he can drive really fast times — because at Manor, even when you drive fast you are still last.

"With (Sergio) Perez he would also have an experienced teammate to be measured against," Surer added.

Stefano Domenicali nor Lamborghini have any business in F1

F1 foray a 'dream' for Lamborghini – Domenicali
(GMM) Former Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali has repeated his denial that Lamborghini might soon enter formula one.

Domenicali becoming Audi-owned Lamborghini's chief executive earlier this year ramped up speculation about a F1 foray.

But 51-year-old told the Italian broadcaster Sky: "Motor sport is part of the DNA of Lamborghini, which is music to my ears.

"Certainly formula one is a dream that must remain, but we have to keep our feet on the ground as we have other priorities — this must be clear," Domenicali added.

"First is the consolidation of our market, which is growing and we are doing really well. Second, is the launch of (the road car) Urus, which is a game changer for our company.

"And finally the consolidation of new clients that will be part of the Lamborghini family," he said.

Rosberg and Hamilton take each other out in Spain

Mercedes duo free to fight for title – Wolff
(GMM) Mercedes has cleared the path for its two drivers to fight unimpeded for the 2016 title.

The German newspaper Bild said that with the constructors' championship now wrapped up, team boss Toto Wolff has given the green light to Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Previously, there has been talk of rules of engagement that are so lengthy they have been referred to as 'The Bible'.

But Wolff is now quoted as saying: "There are no team orders and no limitations. May the better one win."

Particularly after a spate of bad luck, and amid the British press' characterization of a 'meltdown' for the British driver, world champion Hamilton lags teammate Rosberg by 33 points with 4 races to go.

Team chairman Niki Lauda thinks German Rosberg effectively has it in the bag.

"If nothing goes wrong in Nico's car, Lewis will not be able to do it this season," the F1 legend told Sport Bild.

"There are years that just don't work for you, and Lewis seems to have caught such a year," Lauda added.

But while a similarly calculating driver like Alain Prost or Lauda himself might have nursed a big lead to the checkered flag, Rosberg says he is not changing his approach.

"I drive as though the score is nil-all," said the German.

"In football, it doesn't work if a team wants to manage a lead to the end — often, this only gives the opponent the chance to build back up again," added Rosberg.

Former F1 driver Marc Surer backs Lauda in thinking Rosberg is the obvious favorite for the world championship, even though Hamilton thrives on the Austin layout.

He told the German broadcaster Sky: "But Rosberg has been winning races that normally Hamilton is better at, so he also has a good chance in Texas.

"What you can say is that Lewis must win the last four races, otherwise he can forget the title. He also must hope that Rosberg does not always finish second, and that he has some bad luck.

"But I am convinced that Lewis will try everything and not give up," Surer added.

Pastor Maldonado – no check no drive

PDVSA crisis is bad news for Maldonado
(GMM) Pastor Maldonado's hopes of returning to F1 appear slim, given the latest news emerging from Venezuela.

The former Williams and Lotus driver's seats were backed strongly by PDVSA, the government-run oil giant and embattled Venezuela's primary source of income.

Maldonado, 31, attended the Monaco grand prix this year – where he lives – and he admitted he is "looking around" for a 2017.

But amid a cash crisis in Venezuela, PDVSA have been frantically negotiating with investors to push back debt repayments, but the company warned this week that time is running out and it could default.

"If the exchange offers are not successful, it could be difficult for the company to make scheduled payments on its existing debt," PDVSA confirmed.

Tony Fernandes

Fernandes not ruling out future F1 return
(GMM) Tony Fernandes says he has not closed the door on formula one forever.

The prominent Malaysian businessman headed the backmarker team Caterham until late 2014, when it collapsed.

"It was very hard to manage everything," Fernandes told Vedomosti, a Russian business daily.

"All my life I was focused but businesses such as football and formula one need a lot of attention. You need to be doing it yourself or find someone you can really trust."

Fernandes also admitted that F1 as a sport and industry caught him by surprise.

"Formula one will never be a business in itself," he said. "You need a parallel business, like McLaren and Ferrari do. It took too much time and money and I could not jump between Caterham and (his airline) AirAsia.

"So we closed the team," he said.

"But I believe in the car business and I'm considering the option to develop it. And some day, when I'm done at AirAsia, I will return to racing.

"I have to admit I failed but I would like to try again," Fernandes added.

Haas F1 Promotes Team, Drivers In Charlotte, Austin Ahead Of Debut On U.S. Soil
For Haas F1, this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix is more than a regular race, it will be the first time the American-led team is going to compete in front of a home crowd. To mark this special occasion, the team scheduled more than a dozen media events and interviews ahead of this weekend's on-track action. The team's drivers, Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, as well as Team Owner Gene Haas and Team Principal Guenther Steiner sat down with national and local media outlets in Charlotte, N.C., and Austin, Texas, to spread the word.

"As an American team, having an F1 race on American soil is incredibly important," Haas said. "We come to COTA having scored some points and proving that we can hold our own with the established teams of Formula One. We're looking forward to our first home race."

Haas F1 joined the series at the beginning of this season and has scored 28 points so far with four races left in the '16 season, making it one of the most successful newcomers in the sport's modern history.

In addition to a large number of media interviews, the team members toured the NASCAR Hall of Fame and visited a local barbecue joint, Mac's Speed Shop, while in Charlotte. Both stops will be part of NBC's coverage of U.S. F1 Grand Prix. NBC, the series' U.S. broadcast partner, will have several features on Haas F1 over the course of the weekend.

NBC, Haas F1 and the Circuit of the Americas, home of the U.S. Grand Prix, are using the hashtag #Haastin to mark the occasion. All three have collaborated in the past to increase F1's fan base in the U.S., a market the sport has struggled in the past. The team will not make any announcements and has no special activations planned at COTA, a team spokesperson told SBD Global.

F1 TO PROMOTE TOOLS: Haas, who is also the co-owner of NASCAR team Stewart-Haas Racing, uses his F1 team to increase the global market share and awareness of his machine tool brand Haas Automations, the primary sponsor of the team's cars. "From an international standpoint, Formula One is the highest echelon of racing, and Haas Automation builds the highest-quality machine tools," Haas said.

"Haas Automation has an excellent reputation in the United States, and I want that reputation to grow worldwide. Connecting Haas Automation with F1 in name and in practice is the best way to grow our business and elevate Haas Automation to a premium, global brand."

In a previous interview, Haas told SBD Global that the link between his company and F1 has already led to a rise in global awareness. By HJ Mai/Sportsbusinessdaily.com

Anti-American Guenther Steiner

Steiner: Formula 1 midfield is 'so close'
Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner has described Formula 1's midfield as "so close," as it attempts to return to the points at this weekend's United States Grand Prix.

Haas has scored points on four occasions in its first campaign in the sport, courtesy of Romain Grosjean, leaving it eighth in the Constructors' championship, with a 20-point margin over Renault.

However, Haas has finished 11th in seven Grands Prix, with Esteban Gutiérrez securing the position on five occasions, as it bids to add to its points tally.

"The midfield is so close," said Steiner, whose squad will compete on home soil for the first time this weekend.

"Sometimes we are ahead in the midfield, like we were in Japan. We were almost on par on a single lap with Force India and faster than Williams and McLaren.

"But then sometimes we are a little bit at the tail end. It's very close in that region.

"Whatever you do you need a little bit of luck and you need additional luck for a good performance to get in the points.

"We take away that it is our first season and sometimes we are doing more than is expected of us."

Steiner added that Haas has been boosted by the performance of its new front wing, having initially failed to optimize its performance when it was introduced in Singapore.

"I think it was very significant," Steiner said when asked about the impact of the new component.

"We had problems in FP1 and FP2 in Singapore and Malaysia, so we didn't do a good job of finding out about the wing.

"But in Japan, we had good practice sessions and, sure enough, the wing came alive in Japan."

Pat Symonds worried about inferior American pavement

Williams fearful of bumpy Austin track
Williams technical chief Pat Symonds is wary of worsening bumps at the Circuit of the Americas after a double retirement from last year's race.

Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas dropped out of the race with a rear suspension issue, at the end of a chaotic rain-hit weekend, which led to delays.

"Whilst last year's event was severely disrupted by weather, we hope for a more straightforward weekend this time around," commented Symonds.

"Apart from the weather, one of the surprise features last year was how bumpy the circuit had become in just 12 months [between Grands Prix].

"We certainly are hoping that it hasn't degraded any further as last year was a challenge, and ultimately led to the retirement of both our cars."

Massa and Bottas, however, are both optimistic.

"It's a really nice track to drive because you have everything; high speed corners, low speed corners and the long straight, which is good for overtaking," said Massa.

"I've managed to get good results there in the past so hopefully I can enjoy a great race this year."

"We didn't manage to score there in 2015 because of the DNF with both cars, but it should be a pretty good track for us when we go there again and try and get some good points," added Bottas.

Williams will also use an updated Mercedes power unit at COTA.