Latest F1 news in brief – Thursday (Update)
11/12/15
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Trouble finds Lotus everywhere Lotus 'racing' in Brazil despite police presence
- Hamilton admits road car crash in Monaco
- Mercedes duo get early start on 2016 'mind games'
- Brazil to debut 'grid boys and girls' at Interlagos
- Now Mercedes makes a move for Schumacher Jr
- Massa eyes podium repeat on home soil
- Hamilton crashed EUR 2m Pagani Zonda supercar New
- Wurz set to keep GPDA role New
Lotus 'racing' in Brazil despite police presence
(GMM) Lotus' uncertain future was back on clear display on Wednesday as the other F1 teams prepared for the Brazilian grand prix.
At the bustling Interlagos paddock, police guarded the front and rear exits of the Enstone team's pits, while the hospitality area was also closed.
"Make sure you write that it's not empty," one team source said.
But when asked what is going on, a mechanic said he was not authorized to speak, adding: "I don't know."
The presence of the police, however – amid renewed speculation that the black and gold-colored cars could be seized – tied in with reports Lotus had yet to make the mandatory payments for use of the Brazilian circuit's facilities.
It comes mere hours after team CEO Matthew Carter admitted that Lotus is working on an alternative Mercedes-powered car for 2016, just in case the proposed buyout by the French carmaker Renault "falls flat".
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, already in Sao Paulo, revealed to the Swiss newspaper Blick on Wednesday: "Renault has still not bought Lotus."
Sources, however, have told us that despite the situation on Wednesday, Lotus has now paid the unpaid bills and will have full access at Interlagos from Thursday.
"We are racing," the source insisted.
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| Hamilton crashes his road car |
Hamilton admits road car crash in Monaco
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is travelling to Brazil late after a road car crash in Monaco earlier this week.
The revelation follows Mercedes having told the world's media on Wednesday that the triple world champion was absent in Sao Paulo so far due to a "fever".
Earlier, however, organizers of a press conference that had to be cancelled said Hamilton had cited "personal reasons".
Now, the triple world champion has told his 2 million followers on Twitter that he made "very light contact" with a stationary car in Monaco.
"I've not been well with a fever but I also had a road accident in Monaco on Monday night," Hamilton said. "Nobody was hurt, which is the most important thing.
"Talking with the team and my doctor, we decided together that it was best for me to rest at home and leave a day later. But I am feeling better and am currently boarding the plane to Brazil.
"However, I am informing you because I feel we all must take responsibility for our actions. Mistakes happen to us all but what's important is that we learn from them and grow," he added.
"Whilst ultimately it is nobody's business, there are people knowing my position that will try to take advantage of the situation and make a quick buck," said Hamilton.
A spokesman for Mercedes told us Hamilton will be in the Interlagos paddock on Thursday.
But Brazilian F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi joked to UOL: "I'll get in the car! I'm the reserve driver!
"I've been in the same situation before, with a 40 degree fever, but by the time you have some treatment, sit in the car and get the adrenaline flowing, you're fine.
"I also say this because I think he (Hamilton) is the favorite. Nico (Rosberg) made his response in Mexico so he (Hamilton) will want to end the year with two wins," he added.
As for the fact the 2015 season is ending with the championship already decided, Fittipaldi answered: "It takes away the shine, but historically we've seen periods like this in F1, like with McLaren with Senna and Prost.
"But it's a cycle. McLaren is in a bad cycle now but has everything it needs to put it right. Ferrari is also coming back. And the rivalry between Nico and Lewis is interesting, so it was a good championship," he added.
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| Let the games begin |
Mercedes duo get early start on 2016 'mind games'
(GMM) Brazil might be only the penultimate stop on the 2015 calendar, but Nico Rosberg seems determined to start his next title campaign straight away.
Lewis Hamilton, absent in Brazil on Wednesday due to a fever and the aftermath of a road car crash in Monaco, announced that he wants to win at Interlagos as a "salute" to his childhood hero Ayrton Senna.
"With all due respect to his ambitions," his Mercedes teammate, German Rosberg, commented, "I want to win there as well."
Hamilton, however, has also been prominent with stinging comments directed at Rosberg, including the claim that being paired with him in F1 is the "worst thing".
"Lewis is starting the mind games for 2016 already," thinks 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.
"The problem is that it also just fires Rosberg up," he told Germany's Sport Bild.
Indeed, Rosberg said after capturing pole and the win in Mexico that his success was made "all the sweeter" by Hamilton's spate of pre-race banter hinting at his domination of the German in 2015.
Another former driver, the famous Gerhard Berger, agrees that Rosberg is not prepared to simply become the de-facto 'number 2' at Mercedes.
"Lewis was better this season," the Austrian said, "so he is a deserving champion. But Nico showed with his performance in Mexico what he wants to do in the future. He is not a typical number 2 driver."
And as for Hamilton's attempts to psychologically destabilize Rosberg, Berger adds: "The mind games bounce off Nico.
"Since Mexico, and for the first time since the summer of 2014, he shows that he not only wants to win the internal battle against Hamilton but also his first world title."
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| Grid Boy |
Brazil to debut 'grid boys and girls' at Interlagos
(GMM) Brazil will debut a world's first this weekend by mixing the traditional 'grid girls' with an equal number of 'grid boys'.
F1 drivers including Sebastian Vettel earlier this year admitted their displeasure that the usual grid girls in Monaco had all been replaced by male models.
It followed the total banning of grid girls at the fabled Le Mans.
On Wednesday, the new and admittedly "modern" approach taken by organizers of the Brazilian grand prix became clear, when both female and male models rehearsed on the Interlagos grid.
"I'm not for democracy," F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone smiled to the local Globo, "but it's good to have both men and women on the grid."
In charge of the innovative approach is Marcelo Peixoto, a member of the local race organization team, who said the idea was to mirror the modern thinking of "the Brazilian people".
"I think it's important that Brazil is also innovating with this change," Peixoto added.
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| Copycats |
Now Mercedes makes a move for Schumacher Jr
(GMM) Ferrari and Mercedes may each be making early overtures to Mick Schumacher, the 16-year-old son of F1 legend and record world champion Michael.
In 1994, the Benetton team lined up in formula one with Schumacher alongside Jos Verstappen, the Dutchman whose teenage son Max is the sport's rookie sensation of today.
But also looking to rise through the ranks is 16-year-old Mick, who made his single seater debut this year in Formula 4 and is now tipped to step up to the highly-competitive European F3 championship.
This week, Mick is reportedly testing at Monza and being watched over by Luca Baldisserri, the chief of Ferrari's young driver development 'academy'.
Ferrari insider Leo Turrini revealed earlier this week that Schumacher Jr visited Maranello for the first time, where at Ferrari his father utterly dominated the sport last decade.
But Mercedes – seven time world champion Michael's last team in F1 – might also be throwing its hat into the ring when it comes to Mick.
The Kolner Express tabloid reports that the teenage Schumacher has been invited to Mercedes' forthcoming end-of-year 'Stars and Cars' celebration in Stuttgart.
"We asked Mick because of the close relationships between Mercedes and his family," a Mercedes spokesman said. "It's a great learning experience for him."
Interestingly, Express also reported that the car tested by Schumacher Jr at Monza this week belonged to the well-known Italian outfit Prema Powerteam.
In European F3, Prema is this year running a car for Lance Stroll, whose Canadian billionaire father Lawrence was earlier linked with buying a stake or at least investing significantly in the Williams team.
The BBC reports that 17-year-old Lance has secured a testing deal at Williams for 2016.
A spokeswoman for the British team would not comment.
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| Massa can dream |
Massa eyes podium repeat on home soil
Williams driver Felipe Massa has set his sights on repeating the podium finish he achieved at last year's Brazilian Grand Prix when he returns to the Interlagos circuit this weekend.
Massa, who has two podium results to his name so far this season, finished third on home soil 12 months ago, behind the dominant Mercedes pairing of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
"Your home Grand Prix is always the most important race for a driver," said Massa.
"For me to race at home where I started my career – first on the other side of the wall at the kart track, then onto the race track – there is always a big expectation to perform in front of your home crowd.
"I love the track, it's one of the best tracks for me and I've always had good results there.
"I'm really looking forward to hopefully achieving another amazing result this year. Last year we managed to finish on the podium.
"It was a race with so many things happening – I had a five-second penalty and even stopped in the wrong garage – but we still managed to have an amazing race.
"It's important to look back on what we did last year to try to repeat it.
"The passion from the fans is amazing. The emotion they have and how close they are to me as a driver, it's really an amazing feeling to race at home. The experience is difficult to explain."
Hamilton crashed EUR 2m Pagani Zonda supercar
(GMM) The car Lewis Hamilton crashed in Monaco early on Tuesday morning was his EUR 2 million, purple
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| Pagani Zonda |
supercar.
That is the claim of Germany's Bild newspaper, after the triple world champion admitted a fever was not the only reason he travelled late to the scene of this weekend's Brazilian grand prix.
No one was hurt in the crash, but 30-year-old Hamilton admitted he struck a stationary car. It is believed the crash occurred just before 3.30am local time.
"He reported it to the police immediately," a Mercedes team spokesman said.
Bild said Hamilton's Zonda has a V12, 760hp AMG engine, capable of 350kph.
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| Alex Wurz |
Wurz set to keep GPDA role
(GMM) Alex Wurz looks set to keep his role as president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.
The former F1 driver, who in more recent years has raced for Toyota at Le Mans, has announced he is hanging up his helmet.
But he told Austria's Kleine Zeitung newspaper that he is not quitting motor sport altogether.
"I could keep my current tasks if I want to," said the 41-year-old. "As a driver manager at Williams, or as TV co-commentator.
"It is really interesting for me to have an advisory role in track design, just as I did in Austin," added Wurz.
And he told Radio Le Mans on Thursday that he also wants to keep working for the GPDA, the independent, safety-oriented F1 drivers' union.
"The work is interesting and important," said Wurz. "And it was a great honour for me when 100 per cent of all the drivers wanted me to take this role.
"It means I'm doing something right."