Latest F1 news in brief

Hamilton tired of Rosberg's whining

Hamilton hits back at Rosberg's brakes gripe
McLaren can block Williams switch for Button – press
'Best therapy' for mourning drivers is racing – Kvyat
Honda to use penalty-free upgrade in Hungary
Grosjean hopes Renault buys Lotus
Sauber news brings 'calm' amid silly season – Kaltenborn
Vettel hails Ferrari 'miracle', denies 'crisis'
Only Bottas to get new front wing in Hungary
Lotus late to pay for Pirelli tires in Hungary

Hamilton hits back at Rosberg's brakes gripe
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton had a prickly riposte for his teammate and title rival in Hungary when told that Nico Rosberg was complaining about his brakes.

World champion and championship leader Hamilton is an undoubted specialist of the Hungaroring circuit, and another win this weekend will move him clear of F1 legend Michael Schumacher's impressive record at the twisty track near Budapest.

Earlier, German Rosberg – who is 17 points behind in their championship battle – had told reporters he is happy with the 2015 Mercedes "except my usual issues with the brakes".

But Hamilton sounded unimpressed when asked about Rosberg's claims, insisting he himself felt "perfectly happy with the brakes" last time out at Silverstone.

And "He (Rosberg) was perfectly fine on the brakes in the last race" as well, Hamilton added. "I'm just letting you know, because I know the data and he knows you're going to ask me that.

"I won't follow you down the garden path," Hamilton was also quoted as saying in an interview posted at F1's official website.

"He (Rosberg) wanted to let me know that (about the brakes) via the media. The fact is, we don't have any issues with the brakes."

McLaren can block Williams switch for Button – press
(GMM) McLaren could block a "romantic return" to Williams in 2016 for F1 veteran Jenson Button.

That message has been blasted out of Hungary by multiple British publications, as the 35-year-old world champion of 2009 entered the fray of the driver market 'silly season'.

Referring to the one-sided 2016 'option' in Button's current contract, the British correspondents explained that it means his path to exit the struggling McLaren-Honda team could be blocked if the Woking squad chooses to keep him.

The reports claim Button is a leading contender to fill Valtteri Bottas' place at Williams, should the Finn be signed to replace Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

As a 20-year-old rookie, Button burst onto the F1 scene way back in 2000 when he was signed by a then BMW-powered Williams to partner Ralf Schumacher.

"Button and Fernando Alonso are saddled with an unreliable and underpowered car that has had the teammates privately tearing their hair out despite the outward public calm," wrote the Times newspaper's Kevin Eason.

The Telegraph's Daniel Johnson sang a similar tune.

"Jenson Button's hopes of a dream return to Williams could be blocked by McLaren, who hold all the cards over his future," he wrote.

"Should Button express his wish to retire, it is unlikely McLaren would refuse, with two young chargers waiting in the wings," added Johnson, referring to Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne.

"But if Button were to try to engineer a move to Williams, McLaren could stand in his way."

And Jonathan McEvoy, for the Daily Mail, wrote similarly: "Jenson Button could be denied a fairytale return to Williams under the terms of his current McLaren contract."

All the reports also carried the message that the popular, talented and savvy Button's return to Williams would help the independent British team in its crucial 'sponsorship talks'.

When asked in Hungary, Button dodged the talk about his future but did hint that McLaren-Honda's 2015 travails have begun to dent his 'positive' outlook.

"Fighting with your teammate and finding performance in the car are the two things keeping me upbeat," he said.

"I'm still positive, but not as positive as when I was winning races. I don't mind saying that," admitted Button.

'Best therapy' for mourning drivers is racing – Kvyat
(GMM) At the end of a tragic week full of moving tributes to the late Jules Bianchi, the F1 grid is now keen to get back up to full speed.

Many drivers, including Daniil Kvyat, travelled to Hungary straight from Nice, where on Tuesday their former rival and colleague Bianchi's funeral was held.

But Russian Kvyat doubted his fellow drivers would have difficulty getting back into their cockpits this weekend.

"It seems to me in such a situation that the best thing is to go racing again as soon as possible," he is quoted by Russia's Championat, "because the last days have been very difficult.

"For drivers I think the best therapy is racing as it allows us to escape, but it is clear that we will never forget what happened. Jules will always be with us," Kvyat, 21, added.

Also affected by the Bianchi tragedy was Williams' Valtteri Bottas, but like Kvyat he is also keen to go racing again.

"For me the best place is inside the car with the visor down," he is quoted by Finland's Turun Sanomat.

"Then my thoughts are on driving and nothing else."

Marc Surer, a former F1 driver turned pundit for German television Sky, agrees that the views of Kvyat and Bottas are mirrored up and down the pitlane.

"I come from a time when, unfortunately, there was often deaths," he said. "But you can put it aside very quickly once you are in the car and focused on the job."

Honda to use penalty-free upgrade in Hungary
(GMM) Honda is unveiling a 'token-free' engine upgrade in Hungary and the McLaren drivers will even dodge penalties for racing it.

At the recent World Motor Sport Council meeting, it was agreed that F1 returnee Honda's allocation of four engines per driver should be increased to five in 2015.

But given that Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have already served now-unnecessary penalties for fitting their then-unscheduled fifth engines, McLaren-Honda sought clarification about how those penalties will be 'paid back' in light of the rule tweak.

The solution now emerges.

According to Spain's Marca daily, the Honda upgrade in Hungary – reportedly featuring changes to the internal combustion engine – will be installed penalty-free.

Not only that, Honda has made the changes outside of the performance upgrade system, meaning that the struggling Japanese marque still has 7 'tokens' still to deploy in 2015.

"We still have no exact date for their (the tokens') use," a Honda spokesperson confirmed.

Alonso told Spanish media in Hungary: "I think it will be a second half of the season in which we will 'go up', although it would be very difficult to go down," he joked.

He predicted that Hungary, with its few straights, could be a good outing for McLaren-Honda.

"Spa and Monza will be quite difficult for us," Alonso acknowledged, "but from Singapore we will see a little clearer where we are in terms of results.

"I think we need to remain calm. We are so far behind that even improving a lot will not be very obvious in terms of results or how competitive we are," he said.

"But definitely we can only improve because we are far behind and we have to make the whole package better."

Grosjean hopes Renault buys Lotus
(GMM) Romain Grosjean has admitted his fingers are still crossed that rumors Renault is looking to buy back Lotus turn out to be true.

Earlier in July, amid speculation the French carmaker and the Enstone team are closing on a deal, Frenchman Grosjean admitted the prospect of driving for a works team headed by F1 legend Alain Prost was "exciting".

"The rumors about the return of Renault is something pretty cool and definitely something that is tempting for me," he said.

Now in Hungary, the rumors are swirling with even greater strength, but Grosjean insisted that does not mean they are right.

"The nature of rumors is that they are often wrong," he told RMC Sport.

"But it is true that we have heard a lot about the proposed acquisition of the Lotus team by Renault," the Lotus driver added.

"It would be a great project," Grosjean said. "It is important for F1 to have another manufacturer and a French team would also be important for the French fans.

"If we can put a French driver there too it would be even more beautiful," he smiled. "After that, the only thing remaining would be to hear La Marseillaise on the podium."

Sauber news brings 'calm' amid silly season – Kaltenborn
(GMM) Sauber chief Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted that counting her drivers out of the 'silly season' was a deliberate step in the name of stability.

Ahead of the Hungarian grand prix, the Swiss team caught the F1 world by early surprise when it announced that both Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson are staying put.

Sauber began the season amid the intense spotlight of the Giedo van der Garde affair, and in the past days and weeks there have been rumors linking Nasr with a move to Williams and Swede Ericsson potentially to Indycar.

Asked if the earlier-than-expected Budapest announcement was always planned or whether Sauber had reacted to the rumors, boss Kaltenborn said: "It was not planned for a long time, but a few years ago it (early announcements) was still the norm.

"I think it was 2012 or 2013 when we already announced our drivers here," she added at the Hungaroring.

Asked why Sauber has elected to go early again, Kaltenborn answered: "It brings a certain stability and calms everything down a bit.

"Our drivers were being faced with questions they cannot answer or don't know how to answer. In order to clarify everything and remain transparent, we made the announcement here."

Some were surprised by the Sauber news because Williams was reportedly keen to sign Brazilian Nasr. The two sides know each other well and it might have delivered the British team millions in Nasr's Banco do Brasil backing.

And in the past weeks, some of Nasr's comments have sounded critical of Sauber's lack of development progress in 2015.

But now all signed up for 2016, Nasr said: "Having the same drivers helps the team and the arrival of the new technical director is also positive.

"So I think we can be more competitive next season," he is quoted by Brazil's UOL. "I believe that the situation of the team is much better than a few months ago.

"By having this confirmation so early, we can already focus on next year and I think there is much more to come from us."

As for the earlier-rumored move to Williams, a much more competitive team, Nasr told Globo: "I did not participate much in the negotiations.

"From the beginning, the plan was to stay for two years at Sauber, to have two years of learning here. Perhaps it would have been too early to go to another team and try something greater.

"I have always said I was committed to Sauber, the car has a good foundation, there are good people working in the team, I have a lot to learn myself and so having this assurance gives me more confidence and more motivation for the team.

"We have a very good plan for 2016 and we know what we need to do to improve," Nasr added.

Vettel hails Ferrari 'miracle', denies 'crisis'
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel has hailed as "a miracle" the progress made in 2015 by Ferrari.

While some agree the fabled Italian team has enjoyed a surge in form this year, others think Ferrari has been flattered by the competitive collapse of traditional rivals like Red Bull and McLaren.

"What we have done so far is a miracle," the German, who said he has spoken at length with teammate Kimi Raikkonen about the problems of 2014, is quoted by La Repubblica.

After the victory drought of 2014 and departure of many team figures including Fernando Alonso, newcomer Vettel won almost immediately in Malaysia but since then has failed to deliver the same sort of podium-topping success.

Vettel insisted: "But I think we have been able to be very consistent, standing many times on the podium. It is clear that it is not easy given how strong Mercedes is.

"We need to be a little patient," he said.

Ferrari suffered what Vettel described as a "dip" last time out at Silverstone, when not only Mercedes but also Williams were superior in Britain.

But he says he is confident Ferrari is still on the right track.

"You have to consider that a lot of the growth takes place behind the scenes," said Vettel, "which cannot be seen from the outside or is immediately translated into progress on the car.

"It is a project that is going all the time, it's very promising and it gives me confidence for the future. Within the team we are all happy and proud of what we have achieved.

"Compared to all the other teams, I think that Ferrari has made a big step forward and I don't know why it's so hard to appreciate that (from the outside)."

As for the 'dip' at Silverstone, Vettel is quoted by Italy's Autosprint: "I see no signs of a crisis, and the podium at Silverstone was because we made the right decisions, and also this is a credit to us."

Only Bottas to get new front wing in Hungary
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas will be running the only version of a new front wing on his Williams in Hungary.

In some teams, when only a single copy of a new technical innovation is available at a grand prix, the driver that gets to use it is often selected by the toss of a coin.

And other teams, like McLaren, alternate the fortunate driver from race-to-race.

Finn Bottas is quoted by Turun Sanomat newspaper: "We have a rule that if something new is available only for one car, it is the driver who is highest up in the points."

He and teammate Felipe Massa are closely matched in 2015, with Bottas just 3 points ahead in the standings after Silverstone.

Williams is hoping the new wing will help the team have a better-than-expected weekend in Hungary, having acknowledged that the tight and twisty circuit may not suit the FW37.

However, Bottas said: "We don't want to write the weekend off before it has even begun.

"Last year I was third here in qualifying and the race also went well. Hopefully the new front wing will improve our downforce in the way we want it to, as it would be a big help for us on this track."

Lotus late to pay for Pirelli tires in Hungary
(GMM) More supplier problems struck the Lotus team in Hungary on Friday.

Just before the first practice session, rumors began to circulate that Pirelli had not released tires to the Enstone based team.

Lotus, linked with an imminent buyout by the French carmaker Renault, hit the headlines for similar reasons recently, when transmission specialists Xtrac lodged a winding-up order in London's Companies Court.

Now, it emerges that within an hour of the start of the first practice session at the Hungaroring, Pirelli was also waiting to be paid by Lotus.

"Delayed start (for) Lotus as they didn't have any tires at the start of the session," said BBC 5 Live's pitlane reporter Jennie Gow on Twitter during practice.

"They now have them and (they) are coming up to temp."

Reporting for Britain's other F1 broadcaster, Sky, Gow's pitlane counterpart Ted Kravitz said deputy team boss Federico Gastaldi had confirmed an "issue with payment" and pointed a finger at the banking system.

"The tires have been released from Pirelli now that they have got some payment from Lotus," he added.