Latest F1 news in brief

Alexander Rossi looks dejected after learning American F1 team won't hire a rookie. There will never be an American F1 champion again because they are never given a chance.

Honda lacks 'racing spirit' of 90s – McNish
Bizarre Williams nose causes a stir
Haas wants experienced drivers for F1 debut
Spotlight on Allison as Ferrari falters in 2015
Kvyat 'absolutely' delivering for Red Bull
Former F1 driver caught speeding in Germany
Verstappen's dad plays down Ferrari rumors
Bottas forever 'grateful' to Williams
Briatore hits out over tax evasion sentence
Hockenheim urges fans to secure German GP future

Honda lacks 'racing spirit' of 90s – McNish
(GMM) Former F1 driver Allan McNish has questioned whether Honda can ever make a success of its new collaboration with McLaren.

In the early 90s, amid the first, utterly-successful McLaren-Honda era spearheaded by Ayrton Senna, the young McNish was the test driver.

But the Scot, now 45, says things have changed.

"This Honda is not the same as that Honda," he said in a column for the BBC, for whom he now works as a pundit for the broadcaster.

"If you look across motor sport, Honda is struggling everywhere except the British touring car championship," added McNish. "Honda does not seem to be the same company with the same racing spirit it had in the past."

However, although McNish thinks the situation today is "dire", McLaren team boss Eric Boullier is not ruling out a podium by the end of the season.

But McNish says the almost 3 second gap to pole at Silverstone is "a lifetime".

"It is going to be a long, hard road ahead," he predicted. "Not only does Honda have to make a huge step forward – probably a whole new engine, looking at where this one is – but at the same time the competition is marching on.

"It is hard to see how they can ever catch up."

Also notably struggling with its 'power unit', however, is Renault, whose success in F1 has been much more recent, at the tail end of the V8 era in collaboration with Red Bull.

Dominating the sport now is Mercedes, whose boss Toto Wolff admits there could be a problem with the new era, particularly if Red Bull is now threatening to quit formula one.

"You have to take them seriously," the Austrian said of the threats.

"We understand that and accept the problem," Wolff is quoted by motorline.cc. "You cannot just look at your own agenda and say 'We're winning so we don't care about anything else'."

Bizarre Williams nose causes a stir
(GMM) F1 fans and insiders were scratching their heads this week when they spotted a radical Williams nose.

The British team posted to Twitter a photo of a factory worker preparing sidepod bodywork for the forthcoming Hungarian grand prix.

But – initially unspotted by many glancing viewers – in the upper corner of the photo was the front end of the Mercedes-powered FW37, featuring a bizarre nose with an apparently gaping hole at the tip.

"Will it be used in Hungary?" Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Tobias Gruner wondered. "Is it even legal?"

When he contacted the Grove team for confirmation, the answer was less spectacular than the flurry of speculation it had sparked.

"It is not a new nose for racing, but a 'dummy nose' for pitstop practice in the factory," Gruner revealed.

Gene Haas bullshitted Americans into thinking he would actually give an American a chance

Haas wants experienced drivers for F1 debut
(GMM) Haas, the new American F1 team, has defended itself amid speculation it is already bending the rules.

Currently, as it is not yet racing, the outfit is outside of the current wind tunnel testing restrictions.

But its work at Ferrari's Maranello tunnel recently caught the attention of the governing FIA, triggering an inspection.

Team boss Gunther Steiner told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "In principle, we are doing nothing different to what Force India does at Toyota. We are a customer (of Ferrari's) in the wind tunnel."

However, Haas is making no secret of its close alliance with Ferrari, as it makes the most of the current rules in terms of buying parts from the Italian team.

But Steiner insists that Haas is designing its own chassis.

"We have designed our own chassis. Rob Taylor has been working on it since January."

Much of this work is taking place at Dallara, the Italian chassis manufacturer. Haas also has a headquarters in North Carolina, and yet another in Banbury, at the former Marussia base.

Steiner denies that Dallara is making the Haas car.

"We have our own offices at Dallara," he said. "It's like a company within a company."

Soon, Haas' attention will turn towards signing up the race drivers for 2016. Previously, the team has said it may pair an experienced hand with a rookie.

But Steiner now says: "We are looking for two drivers with experience. As a new team, you don't also want to be running a driving school.

"You need two drivers who already know what they're doing," he insisted.

Auto Motor und Sport said a Ferrari-linked driver is a near-certainty, with Jean-Eric Vergne apparently the front-runner ahead of Esteban Gutierrez.

As for the other seat, Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Felipe Nasr are all linked with Haas, while Americans Alexander Rossi and Danica Patrick have been effectively ruled out.

James Allison

Spotlight on Allison as Ferrari falters in 2015
(GMM) As Ferrari's 2015 resurgence arguably stalls, eyes are beginning to shift to the unextended contract held by technical boss James Allison.

Leo Turrini, the well-connected Ferrari media insider, says the Briton's current deal expires in mid-2016.

The Maranello team, although apparently improved this year with Sergio Marchionne, Maurizio Arrivabene and Sebastian Vettel at the helm, hit a conspicuous snag at Silverstone when Williams turned out with a clearly superior package.

But the token-upgraded engine debuted in Canada had also failed to live up to its promise, amid suggestions other aspects of Ferrari's development program for 2015 are similarly not delivering as expected.

Writing in Italy's influential La Gazzetta dello Sport, correspondent Luigi Perna wondered if Allison's performance is "already under scrutiny".

"It is true that he took over the project started by Nicholas Tombazis, and to save time he stayed with certain elements of the car such as the pull-rod suspension which seemed to limit the usage of the tires," he wrote.

"But it is equally true that more was expected in terms of development, as Maranello has invested millions in restructuring the wind tunnel and on modern dynamic test benches for both engine and chassis," Perna added.

Daniil Kvyat

Kvyat 'absolutely' delivering for Red Bull
(GMM) Daniil Kvyat appears to have secured his place at Red Bull Racing for now.

Earlier, the young Russian seemed to be under pressure from the energy drink stable's latest F1 hotshoes Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, as he struggled after stepping up from Toro Rosso.

But at Silverstone recently, Kvyat secured the public backing of Red Bull's tough taskmaster Dr Helmut Marko.

And now team boss Christian Horner says he is happy with the 21-year-old.

"Dany did a stunning overtake on Sebastian Vettel at Silverstone and had great pace in the race. It's a pity he spun or he could have fought for the podium," he told France's Auto Hebdo.

Asked if Kvyat is delivering what Red Bull expects, Horner confirmed: "Yes, absolutely.

"In the last three or four races he has started to show his potential. He was fast in Monaco, Montreal, Austria and Silverstone, and as I said in Silverstone he had the chance to fight for the podium," he added.

Meanwhile, Horner ruled out speculation Red Bull could be about to lose its lead driver, Daniel Ricciardo, to Ferrari.

"The interest of other teams is flattering for Daniel," he said, "but we both know the conditions of his contract.

"You can be 100 per cent sure that he is staying with the team," Horner added.

Former F1 driver caught speeding in Germany
(GMM) A former F1 driver has this week been caught speeding in Germany.

Der Trierische Volksfreund, a German daily, reported that police stopped the driver as he was in excess of 60kph above the allowed limit of 80kph.

The newspaper said the ex-grand prix star paid a four-digit fine and continued his trip to the Nurburgring, even though he is now facing a ban of several months on German roads.

The police did not disclose the identity of the driver, but they did say his career spanned the years of 1989 and 2001. Frenchman Jean Alesi, the former Ferrari and Benetton driver, fits that description.

Verstappen's dad plays down Ferrari rumors
(GMM) Max Verstappen's father has put a lid on speculation linking the Toro Rosso rookie with a sensational switch to Ferrari.

The 'silly season' has caught up even with F1's impressive 17-year-old rookie, but Red Bull driver manager Dr Helmut Marko insists Verstappen's contract is watertight.

And now the young Dutchman's father and manager, former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, tells Speed Week: "For us it was very important to be able to have a long-term contract with Red Bull, and we are very satisfied with that.

"I haven't the slightest idea where this rumor comes from — maybe it's because Max does a good job! Perhaps it's also because Ferrari is thinking about replacing Kimi Raikkonen, and then the rumors start.

"But the fact is that there is no contact with Ferrari," Jos Verstappen added.

Bottas grateful

Bottas forever 'grateful' to Williams
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he will always be "grateful" to Williams for bringing him into formula one.

The Finn was speaking amid ever-growing speculation that he is first in line for a switch to Ferrari next year, in the event the fabled Maranello team ousts countryman Kimi Raikkonen.

25-year-old Bottas, however, played down the rumors.

"I think the first time I was linked to Ferrari was last year so now it's back," he smiled. "But for me nothing has changed since the last time the question was asked. There is no new information to give.

"At some point we will know what will happen, but it's not yet," Bottas told Sky at the recent British grand prix.

It was at Silverstone that Williams actually looked to have overtaken the resurgent Ferrari and had a shot at victory, even though ultimately the white cars finished behind the red ones.

So given the 'Williams versus Ferrari' battle for supremacy behind Mercedes in 2015, it might be a tough decision if Bottas ultimately does get to make a call.

"I think this team (Williams) can win," he said. "It's not impossible.

"At the moment it's difficult times because Mercedes is really dominant and Ferrari made a big jump from last year and we've not moved forward that much compared to others.

"But we're pushing, we're trying everything we can and I think we're making progress at the moment. There's still a long way to go until the season ends," Bottas added.

And no matter what color overalls he is wearing in 2016, Bottas said he will always be grateful to Williams, who gave him his shot at formula one.

"Of course. I think all my life I will be really grateful to Williams that I got the opportunity to go into formula one, first as a test driver then as race driver. So for sure I will be forever very thankful," he said.

Flavio Briatore sticks his tongue at Italian prosecutors

Briatore hits out over tax evasion sentence
(GMM) Flavio Briatore has hit out at the media coverage of his conviction for tax evasion.

Once expelled from formula one amid the 'crashgate' cheating scandal, the flamboyant Italian has now been sentenced to 23 months of probation over a case surrounding his luxury yacht Force Blue.

Briatore, 65, and fellow directors were found in an Italian criminal court to have used the boat only for recreational purposes whilst claiming tax benefits for charters.

Asked about the media coverage of the case, Briatore told the Italian weekly Chi: "I have not read all the reports in the newspapers, but it doesn't interest me. It's a waste of paper.

"The fact is that my yacht is still used in the charter business, as I have always maintained, and yet I am condemned.

"The Italian newspapers and journalists are brave with their big headlines, but we are going to appeal (the conviction). This story is not over yet."

Meanwhile, Briatore's legal spokesman commented: "This whole process and the judgement came about only because someone should be punished for his lifestyle."

Hockenheim urges fans to secure German GP future
(GMM) Hockenheim's chief has urged German fans to turn up in numbers next year as the country returns to the formula one calendar.

F1 is currently in an unplanned three-week gap between Silverstone and Hungary, because the embattled Nurburgring could not come up with the money for the 2015 race.

But Germany is back for 2016 with a race date confirmed by the governing FIA.

"We have a contract for 2016 and 2018. It was discussed and it has now been confirmed by the World Council," said Hockenheim chief Georg Seiler, confirming the deal that was already in place for alternating races between the circuit and the Nurburgring.

"We always respect contracts," he insisted.

He admitted, however, that Hockenheim needs spectators to turn out in numbers next year.

"We need a well-filled house next year," Seiler told the German news agency DPA, "so that formula one has a future" at Hockenheim.

"So I say to the fans 'Come back next year for the race and secure the future of formula one at the Hockenheimring," he insisted.

Seiler said he hopes Germany's break from the calendar this year will reignite spectators' interest.

And he added: "We also see that formula one has recognized certain things and is making changes.

"Hopefully Nico Rosberg will be champion this year, then we (Germany) can have two champions against each other, one of them the four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in a Ferrari," he said. "You can't get better than that."