Latest F1 news in brief

Lauda pans claim Red Bull pushed Mercedes into failure. They were 22 seconds behind and Hamilton was cruising

Red Bull caused Hamilton failure 'nonsense' – Lauda
Force India denies losing Hulkenberg to Renault
F1 'hiding something' over Bianchi death – father
Wolff rejects Hamilton's offer to skip sessions
Mercedes To Test Engine That Exploded
Mercedes finds cause of Hamilton failure
Mosley Says He Warned FIA Over Purchase Of 1% Stake In Delta Topco
Drivers will need physical 'step' for new cars

Red Bull caused Hamilton failure 'nonsense' – Lauda
(GMM) Niki Lauda has rubbished a claim Red Bull pushed Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton so hard in Malaysia that it caused the Briton's engine to fail.

Dr Helmut Marko told F1's official website that Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were so competitive at Sepang that it "very likely forced him (Hamilton) into that engine failure".

F1 legend and Mercedes team chairman Lauda hit back: "I have never heard such nonsense.

"I do always admire Helmut's optimism," the triple world champion said of his Austrian compatriot.

"I think he always tries to find reasons why he would have won," Lauda told Auto Motor und Sport, referring to Marko.

Indeed, Lauda said Hamilton would have easily won last Sunday if his engine had not failed, as the Mercedes package had plenty in reserve.

"The fact that Nico pulled himself up from last place to third place is the only evidence you need," he said.

Nico Hulkenberg

Force India denies losing Hulkenberg to Renault
(GMM) Force India team figures have played down suggestions they may lose Nico Hulkenberg to a rival team.

The Silverstone based outfit has finally ended rumors that Sergio Perez is set to switch to Renault, but now the Mexican's teammate Hulkenberg is being linked with the move.

Hulkenberg played down those rumors in Malaysia last weekend, and Force India has said previously that the German is already under contract for 2017.

Asked if a rival will poach Hulkenberg, sporting director Otmar Szafnauer now tells Auto Motor und Sport: "I don't think so."

Told, however, that Force India is yet to confirm Hulkenberg officially for 2017, he insisted: "We don't have to.

"Both drivers have contracts with us. In the case of Perez, we decided to simply stop the rumors so that the sponsors have clarity," Szafnauer added.

And when faced with the same rumors, team co-owner and boss Vijay Mallya told Germany's Bild newspaper: "We are very happy with him (Hulkenberg)."

Indeed, Hulkenberg may also be more than happy to stay, given that Force India is currently fourth in the constructors' championship, while Renault is ninth.

But another rumor is that Hulkenberg might actually be free to leave, because Force India has been late to pay him.

"I can assure you," said Szafnauer, "we pay all of our bills."

However, Mallya is unable to attend races amid his Indian legal troubles at present, and fellow team owner Subrata Roy is actually in jail.

But Szafnauer insisted: "Our major sponsors are not running away, and they have very strict compliance regulations, whether Mercedes, Diageo or NEC.

"Whether there are companies who shy away from us, I don't know."

One option for Force India might therefore be to sell Hulkenberg to Renault, and make even more money by taking on a well-financed driver, like Lance Stroll.

"The money would be great right now," said Szafnauer, "but we always take the best drivers we can get on the market and we have been well served by that policy."

Jules Bianchi

F1 'hiding something' over Bianchi death – father
(GMM) Exactly two years after his son crashed at Suzuka, Jules Bianchi's father is still seeking answers and justice.

This week marks the second anniversary of Bianchi's crash at the wheel of a Marussia on a slippery track in fading light in the 2014 Japanese grand prix.

He died eight months later from the injuries, and now Bianchi's father Philippe is defending legal action the family is taking against F1 and the FIA.

"It is obvious that we seek to understand, because the evidence that was given to us and the tiny investigation that was done is not sufficient," he told the French broadcaster Canal Plus.

Mr. Bianchi defended the legal action he is taking against the sport.

"I think this was not a normal circumstance, so we must not say that Jules had responsibility in this accident.

"I also want that it doesn't happen again, but what do we most lack today? It is justice, and truth.

"That's the first point, because it's difficult to mourn something in the conditions that we are being asked to. It's almost impossible.

"We have clearly identified that there were significant errors that were made."

Mr. Bianchi alleges that F1 authorities are even "hiding something".

"We have asked for some time for images from Jules' on board camera for example," said Philippe. "For official images from FOM to understand what happened, and we never managed to get them.

"We just want Jules' death to be respected," added Mr. Bianchi, who said he has not watched any grands prix since that fateful day in Japan, two years ago.

"There is a huge lack of our lives and this is a terrible date for us. Nothing will ever be the same," he said.

Toto Wolff – what's he kidding?

Wolff rejects Hamilton's offer to skip sessions
(GMM) Toto Wolff has rejected Lewis Hamilton's claim that the British driver might sit out practice sessions in the remainder of 2016.

Bitterly disappointed with the latest engine failure that cost him victory in Malaysia, Hamilton said he is prepared to sit out sessions over the course of the remaining five races so that he has reliability when it matters on Sundays.

Indeed, the bulk of Mercedes' engine troubles in 2016 have been aboard Hamilton's car, but team figures have dismissed claims of deliberate sabotage.

"We've asked ourselves 'How is this possible?' but there is no rational explanation or pattern in these failures," team boss Wolff said ahead of the Japanese grand prix.

"If there were, we would resolve it."

Mercedes has at least found the cause of the problem last Sunday – a bearing failure – and has issued updated operating instructions to customers Williams, Force India and Manor ahead of the Suzuka weekend.

But as for Hamilton's suggestion that he might sit out sessions, Wolff told the German newspaper Bild: "That would bring us no benefit.

"In fact it is only a disadvantage because we would be missing data for the race."

Wolff admits Malaysia was a "massive blow" to Hamilton's championship chances, but fellow team boss Paddy Lowe says the pair are at least equal on the engine front.

"Lewis now has the same stock of power units as Nico for the remaining five races — including used power units which he can fit for free practice sessions.

"So hopefully there will be no further impact to his program," Lowe added.

Mercedes To Test Engine That Exploded
Mercedes has "flown the engine that blew up inside Lewis Hamilton’s car in such dramatic circumstances during Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix back to England" in an effort to find "the root of the problem that led the three-time world champion to question his own team," according to Jack de Menezes of the London INDEPENDENT.

Hamilton suggested that someone within the Mercedes camp was "deliberately costing him ground in his championship battle with teammate Nico Rosberg," with the 31-year-old Briton suffering "a series of power unit failures" this season.

The result of Sunday’s setback means that Hamilton heads into this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix with a 23-point deficit to Rosberg and just five races remaining.

Hamilton "later backtracked on his accusation" against Mercedes, and the team has responded by flying the engine nearly 7,000 miles from Kuala Lumpur to its base in Brixworth to analyze why it failed on him and "to see if there is any clues" as to why it is Hamilton’s engine that keeps breaking down.

Rosberg is "yet to suffer any engine trouble this season." INDEPENDENT

Mercedes engine

Mercedes finds cause of Hamilton failure
Mercedes has found the cause of Lewis Hamilton's engine failure at the Malaysian Grand Prix, prompting the manufacturer to revise parameters for all power units through this weekend's event at Suzuka.

Hamilton, who had built a comfortable lead from pole position at Sepang, suffered his failure with just 15 laps remaining, handing a 1-2 finish to Red Bull, as Daniel Ricciardo led home Max Verstappen.

Mercedes vowed to trace the fault and, on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix, confirmed a big-end bearing failure on the start/finish straight, which followed a loss of oil pressure at the final corner.

"Our analysis has shown that Lewis' engine suffered a big-end bearing failure. This happened without warning after 618km and was preceded by a loss of oil pressure in Turn 15," read a statement.

"For this race weekend, Lewis will revert to his Singapore unit and Nico will use his Malaysia engine.

"We will introduce revised parameters for all Mercedes engines this weekend."

Mercedes has also delayed the introduction of new engines for customer supplied teams.

"Planned new engines for five customer drivers this weekend will be delayed to contain further possible learning from the strip of the failed unit. They will continue to use their units from Malaysia," it added.

Ecclestone and Max Mosley

Mosley Says He Warned FIA Over Purchase Of 1% Stake In Delta Topco
Former FIA President Max Mosley said that he warned F1’s authorities "against taking a controversial stake in it which now threatens to put the brakes on the sale of the business," according to Christian Sylt for CITY A.M.

American conglomerate Liberty Media last month agreed to buy F1’s parent company Delta Topco for Â£3.3B ($4.2B) from its controlling shareholder, private equity firm CVC, but it has since emerged that F1’s regulator, the FIA, stands to make nearly Â£33M ($42M) "from the deal" as it owns a 1% stake in Delta Topco.

This has "fueled concerns about a possible conflict of interest as the FIA’s consent is needed for the takeover to proceed."

Mosley, who was president of the FIA from '93-09, said that the '13 purchase of the 1% stake is "arguably contrary to the deal that we did with the Commission back in 2001."

He said, "I queried it at the time because it didn’t seem to me to be entirely in keeping with the arrangement we made with the EC, by then 12 years previously. But the FIA’s view was that it was 'de minimis' — too small to matter — and they said this will have no effect on governing motorsport.

"I was slightly surprised because the turnover of the FIA in those days was in the order of $50-60 million a year, which was the theoretical value of the one per cent, so it’s more or less like a year’s income and I didn’t see that as ‘de minimis.'" CITY A.M

The wider Pirelli tires will ruin the racing but require the drivers to be stronger due to the higher g-forces

Drivers will need physical 'step' for new cars
Formula 1 drivers will need to make a sizable physical "step" over the winter period to prepare for the demands of driving 2017-spec cars, according to Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz Jr.

Next year, cars are set to be around four to five seconds per lap quicker, primarily through overhauled bodywork and wider tires, which supplier Pirelli has recently been developing.

Sainz Jr. welcomes the challenge and reckons drivers will be able to make a difference.

"We all will need to do a step in our physical condition," commented Sainz Jr.

"Already in Malaysia this year in qualifying we were nearly as fast as the lap record, because the tarmac change was three to four seconds per lap quicker than last year, and you could already feel it.

"It's a challenge I always work on. OK, it's more time at the gym and more time on the bike, but it means also in the race that physical limitation comes into play, and that's where you can make a difference.

"Also the challenge of driving a faster car is more difficult. I think it can only be good."

Kimi Raikkonen is one of the leading drivers to have gained mileage in a 2017 mule car (pictured), for Pirelli's tire development work, but says it is too early to tell just how different they will be.

"It's very early days, and there's nothing to really compare," said Raikkonen.

"Obviously the conditions are different, there is a bit more grip, but it's also very early days for Pirelli's new tires, so we're only going to see what we have once we have the proper cars and tires.

"The cars are far from what they will be next year, what we've been using in testing.

"It will be faster. How much depends on how the car is and the tires together."