Latest F1 news in brief

Korea back on 2015 F1 calendar

New F1 chairman to 'marginalize' Ecclestone – reports
Coulthard, team insider criticize McLaren dithering
Vettel never lost respect for Ricciardo
FIA 'washes its hands' with Bianchi blame – Tambay
Korea returns to 21-race calendar for 2015
FIA to stop more Verstappen-like F1 debuts
Spa crash was turning-point for Rosberg defeat – Wolff
Minardi: Arrivabene right man for the job
Force India switches to Toyota wind tunnel

New F1 chairman to 'marginalize' Ecclestone – reports
(GMM) Reports indicate Bernie Ecclestone's reign over formula one is once again under threat.

This year, the sport's long-standing 'supremo' survived the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption affair.

But reports in the Financial Times (FT), The Times and by the Sky broadcaster this week claim that Paul Walsh is being lined up as chairman of the F1 board.

It is a move that could reportedly "signal the beginning of the end of Bernie Ecclestone's control" of the sport.

"A board meeting is being scheduled for early next week to discuss Mr. Walsh replacing Nestle chairman Peter Brabeck, who has been F1 board chairman for two years, according to people with knowledge of the situation," wrote FT correspondent Roger Blitz.

He added that Brabeck is currently undergoing medical treatment.

Walsh stepped down as chief executive of Diageo, the owner of McLaren sponsor Johnnie Walker, earlier this year.

FT said F1's controlling shareholder CVC wants Walsh to take on some "executive duties in addition to chairing the board", which could see "Ecclestone's role as chief executive marginalized".

Ecclestone, 84, was quoted as saying he "wouldn't have a problem" with Walsh taking up a role.

"If it was something positive, I'd be delighted," he added.

CVC chief Donald Mackenzie is thought to be behind the impending change, with Blitz saying he wants "a more professional approach to the running of" the sport.

"In particular, Mr. Mackenzie was worried about F1's digital, commercial and PR strategy," the Financial Times added, saying Ecclestone could be retained "in an honorary capacity".

"Mr. Ecclestone said that was not a role he envisaged," Blitz noted.

Coulthard, team insider criticize McLaren dithering
(GMM) A former long-serving McLaren driver and a team insider have criticized the British outfit for its handling of the 2015 driver lineup deliberations.

While it is now clear Fernando Alonso is definitely headed to the team, the announcement has been delayed while McLaren considers keeping either Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen as the Spaniard's first Honda-powered teammate.

If Button is ousted, the 2009 world champion's long and illustrious F1 career will have ended without an appropriate farewell.

And a decision against Dane Magnussen, despite his solid debut in 2014, could end the 22-year-old rookie's grand prix career after just a single season.

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis acknowledged the dilemma at the Abu Dhabi finale recently.

"Everyone feels – understandably – that we are not being too fair to Kevin and Jenson," he told Britain's Sky.

"But they are contracted to the end of the year and the only pressure we have is from the fans and the media and they are going to be the first ones that jump on us if we make the wrong decisions for the future," Dennis added.

Former long-time McLaren driver David Coulthard said he thinks the delayed decision is tied up with a "behind-the-scenes shareholding wrangling".

But he also thinks the team has mismanaged the driver choice process this year.

"McLaren are in a public sport and the heroes of the sport are the drivers," Coulthard told the Daily Mail.

"With that in mind I can't help but think it hasn't been McLaren's best year of PR."

He said one of the biggest issues is that Button has been potentially denied the opportunity to properly farewell the sport he served for 15 years.

"Did he deserve to be treated with a little bit more respect given his time in the sport? Yes, I certainly think that is a valid argument," said Coulthard.

Button, 34, told his almost 2 million Twitter followers this week that he still "can't answer your questions about my future just yet. Hopefully soon."

Britain's Daily Express newspaper said the situation is being felt throughout the McLaren team.

It quoted a team insider as saying: "Ron has lost a lot of respect over his dithering on the driver lineup."

Vettel never lost respect for Ricciardo
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel says he never lost respect for Daniel Ricciardo throughout the 2014 season.

Sebastian Vettel admits he and former teammate Mark Webber didn't have "the best relationship."

As it turned out, this year was the German's last campaign with Red Bull, where he earlier won four consecutive drivers' titles with Mark Webber as his teammate.

"The fact that I never had the best relationship with Mark is well known," Vettel, who has now switched to Ferrari, told the Swiss newspaper Sonntagsblick.

But for 2014, Webber was replaced with another Australian, Daniel Ricciardo, who won three races versus the number 1-wearing Vettel's zero.

"First of all," 27-year-old Vettel said, "Daniel is of a different generation. He only knows this new formula one.

"But we worked with respect. I've known him for many years and there was no problem.

"That he ended up with more points bothers me of course but that's not a reason to not like him," Vettel added.

Now, Vettel said his new goal is to become Ferrari's "tenth world champion".

But he admitted it might take some time: "We have not set any timetables, as that rarely works in formula one."

FIA 'washes its hands' with Bianchi blame – Tambay
(GMM) Former F1 driver Patrick Tambay has hit out at the FIA for so squarely blaming Jules Bianchi for his life-threatening Suzuka crash.

At Wednesday's meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Qatar, the 10-man panel charged with investigating the October accident handed down an almost 400-page report.

Signed off by the likes of Ross Brawn, Stefano Domenicali and Emerson Fittipaldi, they found that although water was running across the Japanese grand prix track, Bianchi "did not slow sufficiently to avoid losing control".

The report said FIA procedures were all followed, including the waving of double yellow flags, but Frenchman Bianchi "over-controlled the oversteering car".

Not only that, the 25-year-old driver, who has not regained consciousness since striking the underside of the vehicle recovery tractor two months ago at 126kph, "applied both throttle and brake together" as he skidded towards it, the panel revealed.

This should have overridden the throttle and cut the engine, but the brake-by-wire system aboard his Marussia "proved to be incompatible with the Failsafe settings".

"The fact that the Failsafe did not disqualify the engine torque requested by the driver may have affected the impact velocity", the panel's report added.

It said Bianchi may have been "distracted by what was happening and the fact that his front wheels had locked, and been unable to steer the car such that it missed the crane".

The panel also declared that because Bianchi's helmet hit the underside of the tractor with such enormous force, it "is not feasible to mitigate the injuries Bianchi suffered by either enclosing the driver's cockpit, or fitting skirts to the crane".

Some recommendations were, however, passed on to the FIA, such as the imposing of speed limits for yellow flag zones, and ensuring that races do not begin less than four hours before sunset.

"It is also recommended that the F1 calendar is reviewed in order to avoid, where possible, races taking place during local rainy seasons," the panel added.

Notwithstanding that, Frenchman and former Ferrari driver Patrick Tambay said the report left the overwhelming feeling that Bianchi was squarely blamed for his own crash.

The 65-year-old said the FIA had declared: "'We wash our hands'.

"I think it's a shame to accuse the driver — there must be interests of insurance or things like that," Tambay told RMC Sport.

"It is a judgment to exonerate responsibilities, but I think it's a little bit too hard to just blame the driver," he charged.

Korea was not a particularly popular stop before. Strange that F1 plans to return in 2015

Korea returns to 21-race calendar for 2015
(GMM) F1 has added another race to the 2015 schedule, creating the prospect of an unprecedented trek to 21 grand prix destinations next year.

The extra race is South Korea, whose unpopular race in the remote port city of Mokpo dropped off the calendar after its fourth consecutive event in 2013.

Ecclestone said earlier this year: "I don't want to go back there.

"They did a good job with the track but what they forgot to do was build all the (other) things they wanted to build," he said, referring to facilities around the harborside circuit.

Notwithstanding that statement, Korea has now been assigned a May 3 race date on the 2015 calendar, which was ratified on Wednesday by the World Motor Sport Council in Doha.

However, Korea's race is the only one on the calendar listed with the acronym "TBC", meaning 'to be confirmed'.

Also announced by the FIA on Wednesday was a forthcoming meeting of the sport's Strategy Group.

Amid the collapse of backmarkers and the anger of other small teams, a statement said FIA president Jean Todt "confirmed" that the meeting will "focus on reducing costs (and) improving the show".

Also to be discussed on 18 December is "making cars quicker and more difficult to drive, and reviewing the … regulations with the aim of simplifying the rules where possible", the FIA added.

Max Verstappen

FIA to stop more Verstappen-like F1 debuts
(GMM) Max Verstappen could be the first and last 17-year-old to ever start a grand prix.

That is because, following the inexperienced Dutchman's controversial signing by Toro Rosso for 2015, the FIA is clamping down on the requirements for obtaining a mandatory super license credential.

Verstappen, the son of former Benetton driver Jos, will be unaffected by the changes, which look set to be introduced only in 2016.

Indeed, the young driver's preparation for his 2015 debut is already well advanced, and this week he returned to the wheel of a 2012 car at a rainy Imola track in Italy.

But a driver in exactly the same situation in 2016 would not be allowed to make his debut.

Verstappen is not yet old enough to drive a normal road car in his native country, and so the FIA will require that its F1 drivers hold "a valid driving license" from 2016.

Not only that, F1 drivers will have to be at least 18 years old.

Verstappen would also fail the incoming requirement of needing to spend at least two years in "minor Formulas".

In his first season out of karts, the 17-year-old finished third in this year's FIA European F3 championship.

The Hamilton-Rosberg dustup at Spa above was the turning point for Nico Rosberg's championship campaign, according to Toto Wolff

Spa crash was turning-point for Rosberg defeat – Wolff
(GMM) The Belgian grand prix in August was the turning point of Nico Rosberg's ill-fated 2014 championship campaign.

There, at Spa-Francorchamps, the German famously collided with eventual champion Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg was squarely blamed and heavily rebuked by Mercedes officials, prompting Hamilton to declare "war" and go on win the next five grands prix on the trot.

Team boss Toto Wolff admits that Spa might have been the turning-point for the once on-form Rosberg.

"Spa was very difficult for Nico," he told Germany's Sport Bild.

"Maybe it even confused him because he didn't know anymore what is right and what is wrong," added Wolff.

"We might have to sit down and discuss the situation again, as we want to handle these situations better in 2015," he said.

Is Toto Wolff admitting that Mercedes threw Rosberg under the bus at Spa?

"We have to admit that, as a team, we did not always handle things exactly right."

However, Wolff said that although Hamilton is now the new double world champion, that is no reason Rosberg cannot return to top form next year.

"Nico beat Lewis in his prime discipline this year, which is qualifying," said the Austrian.

"He has all the ingredients you need to take on Lewis Hamilton and become world champion."

Minardi: Arrivabene right man for the job

With the assignment of Maurizio Arrivabene, at Ferrari a new era has started. Ferrari wants to put a season full of difficulties behind them, which led to several changes in its staff. Changes that, however, are destined to continue, as Gian Carlo Minardi said in the past: "I have to congratulate Mr. Sergio Marchionne, because the first choice was more than spot-on. Maurizio Arrivabene is certainly the right man for this Ferrari that wants to turn over a new leaf quickly", the manager from Faenza said on www.minardi.it. \

"I wish him good luck, as he has a difficult job ahead. Despite a lot of changes already, there is very little time, he will have to make changes quickly. In the past, everybody wanted to go to work at Ferrari, but now wind seems to have changed. Maranello seems to have lost "reliability" in its projects, receiving denials from important people who have won so much in Ferrari. There's need of a man with strong leadership to reverse this course".

In recent months the name of Ross Brawn was often joined to that of Ferrari. The British engineer could then hang up the fishing rod to embrace again the racing world.

Will Sebastian Vettel's plan to restore Ferrari to glory come undone if Ross Brawn decides to go elsewhere?

"Rumors coming from Germany speak of Ross Brawn ready to accept new challenges, but far away from Ferrari. In fact, it hears about a strong interest in Brawn from Audi's. For this reason, Arrivabene will have to make unpopular and risky decisions on the technical side, writing a new story, or trying to put pressure on the man that now is the most wanted and requested, – Ross Brawn".

With the arrival of Sebastian Vettel some changes have already happened. "In recent days, we have seen the German surrounded by Resta and Adami engineers", both with a past at different times in Faenza (one in Minardi Team, the other in Toro Rosso). Riccardo Adami will be the new race engineer of the four-time world champion. "Therefore, something has already changed". Waiting for passing the baton between Mattiacci and Arrivabene, Sebastian Vettel entered officially in "red", driving in Fiorano with the F2012, working on the simulator and visiting the factory. "I have to congratulate the creator of this political-advertising move. They have been able to draw the attention of media, giving a new image both to Vettel and Ferrari. A move of image perfectly spot-on", Minardi concludes, "that marks an important turning point within the racing team". Giancarlo Minardi

Force India will conduct its wind tunnel testing at the old Toyota facility in Cologne

Force India switches to Toyota wind tunnel
Sahara Force India is pleased to announce that it will use the wind tunnel facilities of Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne, Germany, as the nominated site for all aerodynamic testing in 2015 and beyond.

Sahara Force India's wind tunnel facilities in Brackley, United Kingdom, will remain operational and available for external customers.

Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: "The decision to use Toyota’s facility in Cologne is indicative of our ambitions to continue as a competitive force in Formula One. It's one of the most significant decisions in our history and gives us access to what is regarded as one of the finest wind tunnels in the world. We have used the facility previously on an ad hoc basis and we are aware of the advantages of basing all our aerodynamic research in Cologne. It will strengthen our approach and give us a solid base to build upon for the years to come."