Latest F1 news in brief – Wednesday (Update)
07/01/15
-
Max Mosley called in to save F1 from itself Mosley invited to Strategy Group meeting
- F1 crisis needs 'quick solution' – Arrivabene
- Bottas to wear red if Raikkonen leaves
- Burti tips Hamilton to beat Rosberg
- Friday drive for Leimer still unclear
- Massa defends radio instructions in F1
- Vettel involved lawyers over 'Multi-21' – Webber New
- Hamilton hopes to avoid 'plastic' trophy at home GP New
- Formula E 'too slow' to be F1 rival New
- McLaren should prioritize pace over reliability – Button New
- F1 'still beyond my reach' – Kubica New
- Now Russia wants own F1 team New
- Qatar still pushing for F1 race New
- Hamilton must be better loser – Hill New
Mosley invited to Strategy Group meeting
(GMM) Max Mosley was invited to Wednesday's key meeting of the Strategy Group in London, The Times newspaper reports.
But the former FIA president "refused, believing that his presence would cause ructions," according to correspondent Kevin Eason.
One reason for that is because the meeting will also be attended by Mosley's successor Jean Todt, who is coming under fire for remaining 'invisible' while the rest of the sport acknowledges it must change urgently to stop an exodus of fans.
Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said: "We need to have progress.
"It is an important meeting. F1 is at a critical stage."
It is at former 'critical stages' that Briton Mosley, remembered for being far more confrontational and proactive than the low-profile Todt, might have acted.
"He has been through more crises than any of us can remember and has clear sight of what to do," a source said. "The Strategy Group is clueless and there is nothing coming from the FIA, so why not hear what Max has to say?"
Frenchman Todt, however, denies that he is sitting idly as F1 crumbles around him.
"People complain that I am a silent, invisible president," he said. "It is a completely wrong and false analysis to say that formula one is in such a bad shape.
"That does not mean nothing needs to be done. To get agreement in formula one probably the most difficult thing I have seen."
But an increasing number of stakeholders, not least Bernie Ecclestone himself, are arguing that the F1 supremo and Todt already wield enough votes to push through changes in Wednesday's meeting.
"I think the problem Jean has is he's trying to keep a lot of camps happy," Horner said at a Red Bull event on Tuesday.
"And inevitably that's an impossible thing to do. I think he needs to do what's best for the sport rather than what's best for certain teams."
So pressing has the issue become that even Donald Mackenzie, of F1's owner CVC, has reportedly made an ultra-rare public statement about the need for change.
The Telegraph's Daniel Johnson said Mackenzie this week called for "urgent changes" ahead of the Wednesday meeting
 |
| Maurizio Arrivabene |
F1 crisis needs 'quick solution' – Arrivabene
(GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene says F1 is seeking "the solution" to its current crisis.
When asked by France's Auto Hebdo about the increasingly disaffected audience, the Ferrari chief answered: "Obviously we are going through a difficult moment.
"Everyone has acknowledged that. There are discussions at all levels and everyone agrees that the solution must be found quickly," he said ahead of Wednesday's key meeting of the Strategy Group in London.
"Ferrari is actively involved in all of this, because it can play a role," the Italian added. "The same is true for Sergio Marchionne, as he is involved in all of the meetings of the Strategy Group."
On the issue of F1's controversial income distribution model, however, Arrivabene sounds less open to change.
"Would you agree to take a pay cut in favor of your colleague?" he asked the journalist.
"There are agreements and everyone signed his own."
Told, however, that Ferrari received more official income in 2014 even than champions Mercedes, Arrivabene answered: "I don't know how much money Mercedes received from FOM (Formula One Management), and I have no idea of the conditions of their contract.
"I only know the details of ours. And if Ferrari gets more money because of its history, and because of the image that it gives to formula one, I believe that is logical," he added.
 |
| Raikkonen on thin ice |
Bottas to wear red if Raikkonen leaves
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas has been singled out as the ideal replacement should his countryman Kimi Raikkonen depart Ferrari.
Multiple Italian media sources agree that, notwithstanding speculation Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg are also in the running, it is Williams' Bottas who is first in line in the event fellow Finn Raikkonen is ousted.
On the new cover of Italy's Autosprint magazine, a 'photoshopped' Bottas is even depicted in red overalls, with the caption that Raikkonen should "wake up!" if he wants to stop the image becoming a reality in 2016.
Bottas, 25, would be paired with Sebastian Vettel, and team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said Ferrari has no regrets as it looks into the future in the wake of the Fernando Alonso era.
"Fernando will always be a part of the history of Ferrari," the Italian told France's Auto Hebdo, "but it was obvious that the time had come to part with him.
"I do not regret anything. I see that Sebastian, like Fernando, is fast and hard-working, he won the title before and wants to become champion again.
"He is well settled into the team. The situation has become calm, warm and the team has begun to believe in itself again. The rest does not interest me."
Arrivabene is obviously referring to the barbs occasionally fired at Ferrari by the now McLaren-Honda driver Alonso, who has suggested the Maranello team has made no progress since Vettel joined.
"Alonso can say what he wants," Arrivabene insisted. "He can talk about it for another ten years, but the team is above it. The chapter is closed," he added.
 |
| Hamilton will smoke Rosberg for title |
Burti tips Hamilton to beat Rosberg
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton is the clear favorite to win the 2015 title.
That is the claim of former F1 driver turned Brazilian commentator Luciano Burti, even though Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg has found his form at recent races.
40-year-old Burti, who raced for Jaguar and Prost early last decade, told Globo: "Hamilton has always been a more complete driver than Rosberg.
"The two best drivers (in F1) are Hamilton and Alonso," he said.
"Rosberg is very good, fighting on equal terms with Hamilton for the championship last year, but after Hamilton won he became more relaxed, more calm.
"With the talent he has, I find it very difficult to imagine him losing this year," Burti added.
Not only that, the Brazilian thinks that the most likely man to challenge Hamilton for next year's world championship is Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.
"But you never know," Burti continued, "there are other teams and other drivers as well.
"Williams could react, perhaps with Massa. Then there is McLaren, although the Honda engine today is very bad, very weak. And who knows if Renault can be back so that Red Bull is competitive?
"That's the good side of formula one — you never know what is going to happen."
Friday drive for Leimer still unclear
(GMM) Just two days before his engine would fire, Fabio Leimer still does not know if he will drive at Silverstone.
After his hopes of making his Friday practice debut for Manor were dashed in Austria, the Swiss told France's L'Equipe: "For now, it seems that I will do the first free practice at Silverstone."
But as of early Wednesday, the British backmarker is yet to confirm that, and 2013 GP2 champion Leimer's management told Blick newspaper at Silverstone: "We still do not know for sure."
Massa defends radio instructions in F1
(GMM) Felipe Massa has defended the radio instructions given to today's formula one drivers.
As the sport analyses what is turning off fans, some are arguing that the sport should push ahead with its plans to further limit the exchange of information between the pitwall and the supposed 'heroes' at the racing wheel.
But veteran Massa insists little has changed over the years, except that the radio transmissions are now aired publicly on television.
"When before nothing was heard (on television)," he told UOL Esporte, "it was exactly the same.
"The things that the drivers asked and the way the team works with the driver was not much different," the Williams driver insisted.
"Since last year" when the 'power unit' era began, Massa continued, "there is a lot of technical information now, but other than that nothing has changed.
"People are saying it is easier now with all of this (information), but the only thing different is that those on the outside have more information about what is really going on."
As an example, he referred to Fernando Alonso's tetchy exchange with his engineer recently, when the Spaniard protested an order to save fuel rather than race.
"This (sort of thing) also happened before," Massa insisted, "it was just not heard."
 |
| Vettel called in the lawyers against team orders |
Vettel involved lawyers over 'Multi-21' – Webber
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel threatened to sue Red Bull over the 'Multi-21' affair of 2013.
That is the explosive revelation in Mark Webber's newly-published autobiography Aussie Grit.
The Australian this week revealed that the tension between himself and former Red Bull teammate Vettel was so great after the team orders affair of Malaysia that it led directly to his decision to retire.
"(Red Bull) just needed something to change so, you know, I helped that decision for them and left," he told ABC television.
On Multi-21, meanwhile, Webber had said Vettel was initially contrite after refusing team orders, privately admitting to Webber: "I fuc*ed up so bad".
"I don't know who spoke to him between Malaysia and China but we had a discussion in China and it didn't go well," Webber continued.
Now, it has emerged that in those intervening days, Vettel got his lawyers involved.
In his book, Webber wrote that his manager and partner Ann Neal had asked team boss Christian Horner why Vettel was not reprimanded for ignoring the order in Malaysia.
"He (Horner) admitted that the team had received a two-page letter from Seb's lawyer a few days after the Malaysian race stating that they were in breach of his contract by giving him an 'unreasonable instruction-team order'," Webber wrote.
Webber has said since retiring from F1 that his relationship with Vettel is no longer acidic.
But in his book, the 38-year-old claims it was Vettel's "arrogance" that contributed to their famously tense relationship as teammates.
"It seemed the thought of me simply being quicker was not one he could entertain," Webber wrote.
"There always had to be another reason why. Over time, I realized his meltdowns came when he thought he had done enough when in reality he hadn't.
"To my way of thinking, if you get done fair and square on the day you should take it on the chin, but Seb's arrogance meant he simply couldn't comprehend how it had gone wrong and would take it out on the team or rather want the team to do something about it," he added.
 |
| Hamilton with his plastic British GP trophy |
Hamilton hopes to avoid 'plastic' trophy at home GP
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton is hoping the iconic golden trophy is on the British grand prix podium on Sunday.
Last year, as he won his home race at Silverstone, he publicly ridiculed the "plastic" trophy commissioned by race sponsor Santander that fell apart in his hands on the podium.
Later, he posed in the press conference with the 'real' gold and silver Royal Automobile Club trophy.
"Last year, they gave me that plastic thing," the Mercedes driver recalled as he met with British journalists this week.
"I was like 'This is not the trophy'. At the beginning of my formula one career the trophies were really good. But now they are just terrible man.
"They are so bad. I told Bernie (Ecclestone) and he got the trophy guy in the room and I just said 'You know'. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed," Hamilton added.
 |
| Formula E like watching paint dry |
Formula E 'too slow' to be F1 rival
(GMM) Two motor racing figures have dismissed a controversial claim that Formula E is set to take F1's place as the pinnacle of the sport.
Virgin's Sir Richard Branson, once with a F1 team but now in the all-electric single seater series, claimed at the London finale last weekend that Formula E would "take over from F1" within five years.
But Christian Horner, although a critic of F1's current Zeitgeist, said after watching the London race that Formula E is too "slow" to be considered in the same league as F1.
"It looks more of a competitor to GP3 than formula one," said the Red Bull chief.
Horner added: "You can see it's full of all the people that didn't quite make it in F1."
Even Adrian Campos, manager of the team that propelled Nelson Piquet Jr to the inaugural Formula E title, agrees: "Perhaps it (the series) will never be an alternative to formula one in the short or medium term.
"It will have its own personality and idiosyncrasies," he told Spain's El Confidencial. "It also has drivers and teams of the highest quality."
But when asked about Branson's controversial claim, Campos responded: "Man, that seems a bit daring.
"Five years is still a long time (in the future). It is true that the evolution will be considerable, but it depends on what the FIA decides can be spent.
"For example, in the first season we complained that the cars are a bit too slow, so they would have been much faster if they had spent three or four times more.
"But as we want the electric car to be sustainable, the category needs to be as well," Campos added.
Finally, Campos defended the first Formula E champion Piquet, even though the Brazilian is best remembered by F1 as the 'crashgate' protagonist.
"I must say that the picture of Nelsinho I had before I talked to him for the first time was very different," he said.
"I met a guy with a great level and experience whose career was broken. I decided I had to fight for him so that the team had the best driver possible."
 |
| Button says McLarens need to go faster |
McLaren should prioritize pace over reliability – Button
(GMM) Jenson Button has urged McLaren-Honda to prioritize performance over reliability.
Team boss Eric Boullier said recently that, as works partner Honda's awkward return to the sport continues, the ongoing troubles will soon begin to affect preparations for the 2016 season.
At a sponsor event this week, Button agrees: "You can't finish this year two seconds behind Mercedes and expect to challenge them in 2016."
Much of Honda's problem in 2015 has been reliability, but the MP4-30 package remains badly off the pace, and the biggest issue is clearly engine power.
"We want to finish races and we want reliability to be good but personally I would rather see the improvement in pace and reliability come second," said Button.
Amid McLaren's struggle, it is also a particularly awkward time for Button, who at the age of 35 is on a single-year contract.
At the same time, the team's impressive juniors including reserve Kevin Magnussen and the dominant GP2 star Stoffel Vandoorne are knocking loudly on the door.
"I have to look later down the line where I want to be in terms of where my future takes me," Button acknowledged, "but at the moment, even though it is difficult right now, I am enjoying the challenge with Fernando and the team and that is the important bit."
As for 23-year-old Belgian Vandoorne, he said it is too early to be coveting a race seat like the one currently occupied by Button.
"I have regular talks with the management at McLaren, with Ron (Dennis), with Eric (Boullier), we are discussing things, but it is still too early to know something about my future," Vandoorne told Sky.
F1 'still beyond my reach' – Kubica
(GMM) Robert Kubica has admitted that racing in formula one remains "beyond my reach" at present.
The now 30-year-old Pole has been conspicuously absent from the grid since 2011, when in the pre-season he had an horror accident whilst contesting a rally.
Today, he is a World Rally driver but to date has been unable to return to formula one due to the long-term injuries sustained to his arm.
"Hope never dies!" Kubica said in an interview with Poland's Sokolim Okiem.
"But you have to be realistic."
Kubica has said that while he would be able to drive a F1 car on "some circuits", his movement limitations means the full calendar is out of the question for now.
"If someone told me "Robert, at the beginning of the next season you will race at Monza', then I can lose 10 kilograms, which unfortunately I gained … and I would race," he said.
But he said he is not seeking an opportunity like that.
"After the accident I found myself in a situation in which I needed new goals," Kubica explained.
"New ones because I know that I am not able to achieve my previous goals and the new ones have to replace the goals which for now are unfortunately beyond my reach."
He says he rarely watches F1 these days, admitting the pinnacle of motor sport is "less attractive" now because the cars are slower.
"I think that formula one is a bit less attractive – but I don't say that it is not attractive at all – because it is slower now," said Kubica.
"The opening laps are slower by about eight seconds. I think that in 2008, in the same race with the same number of laps, total race time was shorter by some eight minutes.
"In those times when you did three days of testing, towards the end you were really exhausted, it was enough to slow down by three tenths per lap to get some relief," he added.
Now Russia wants own F1 team
(GMM) If Azerbaijan is pushing towards the formula one grid, then so too should Russia.
That is the view of Igor Ermilin, the presidential advisor of the Russian Automobile Federation.
His comments follow reports Azerbaijan, a former Soviet state, is considering starting a F1 team or at least sponsoring one as it joins the sport's calendar next year with a street race in the capital Baku.
"It is wrong," Ermilin said, "that Azerbaijan is already building a strategy for a national team and Russia is not.
"The government of Azerbaijan believes that to adequately represent their country, they need to have their own racing team and driver, and Russia should not lag behind," he is quoted by Russia's Championat.
"In today's situation," Ermilin added, "I see no problem to form a Russian team, with the potential to get into the top five of the best racing teams in the world.
"With our technology, especially in the field of space and military aircraft, with smart and talented people, and the presence of large Russian companies to provide financing, we can show the world our achievements," he said.
 |
| Qatar's Losail circuit lit up at night |
Qatar still pushing for F1 race
(GMM) Qatar is still pushing hard for a formula one race.
That is despite the fact F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is for now honoring an agreement he made with Bahrain to keep that race exclusive in the Middle East.
"We asked them (Bahrain) about Abu Dhabi and they agreed but they said a third race is probably not the way to go," said the 84-year-old recently.
But the chief of Qatar's Motor and Motorcycle Federation says plans are on track for an inaugural race as early as next year.
"The entire project is ready," Nasser bin Khalifa Al Attiyah told Doha Stadium Plus. "But some things didn't work out and we need to show a little more patience.
"All we need is a few more meetings with Bernie Ecclestone. We need a little more time, but we have the solution," he added.
Indeed, Qatar's hopes would get a huge boost if its reported joint bid with the Miami Dolphins owner to buy into F1's commercial rights is successful.
Hamilton must be better loser – Hill
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton must find a way to cope with losing.
That is the view of 1996 world champion Damon Hill, who also warned the Mercedes driver to strike a better balance between his professional and private lives.
Hill told Germany's Kolner Express tabloid that Hamilton, the 2015 championship leader and reigning world champion, does not react well when he is beaten.
"Lewis does not respond well even if he finishes second," Hill, 54, said.
"I think he has to change that behavior," he added, referring to Hamilton's surly reaction to being beaten.
"Even Michael Schumacher found a way to finish second and still show the result as a kind of victory," said Hill, referring to his former arch rival.
Hill, who now works as a pundit for British television, also expressed concerns about Hamilton's off-track lifestyle.
"I'm worried about his lifestyle," he said. "He's at boxing matches, fashion shows, concerts, but I'm afraid you have to sacrifice some of that easy-going lifestyle.
"You can't have it both ways," warned Hill.