Latest F1 news in brief

Monza needs a EUR 100m refresh

Monza seeking EUR 100m for upgrade
'Mixed feelings' about Kubica return – Vettel
F1 teams worried about Brexit crisis
Vettel: We were missing something
Karun Chandhok makes Sky Sports F1 return for 2019 season

Monza seeking EUR 100m for upgrade

(GMM) Monza is looking for EUR 100 million to upgrade the Italian grand prix venue and secure a new grand prix deal with Liberty Media.

La Gazzetta dello Sport said the 100m plan involves changes to a chicane, the Lesmo corner, the widening of the track and new grandstands.

"We will find the money somehow," said Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of the Italian automobile Club Aci.

Monza is just one of various European circuits fighting for their place on Liberty's F1 calendar.

The upgrade plan at the historic venue involves restoring the original radius of the second Lesmo corner, which was modified after Ayrton Senna's death in 1994.

Another change is the planned removal of one of the first two chicanes, and the widening of the track to 12 meters to finally get in line with FIA homologation rules.

'Mixed feelings' about Kubica return – Vettel

Vettel has mixed feeling about Kubica's return. Bottom line – he brought a huge check

(GMM) Sebastian Vettel says he has "mixed feelings" about Robert Kubica's return to formula one.

Former grand prix winner Kubica, now 34, is returning to the grid next year after an eight year absence, after nearly severing his hand in a 2011 rallying crash.

"I have mixed feelings," 31-year-old quadruple world champion Vettel told Blick newspaper.

"On the one hand, it pleases me personally. No one can even imagine how hard it was for him and what he went through.

"On the other hand, there are also young drivers who deserve a chance," the Ferrari driver added.

Vettel also revealed that he has never visited his former mentor and friend Michael Schumacher since the F1 legend's skiing fall and brain injuries of 2013.

He said he misses the sort of advice his German countryman could be giving him at Ferrari.

"Michael spent many years at Maranello and his spirit still hovers over the team," said Vettel.

"We would be speaking the language of the driver and not the engineer, and that's why talking to him would be extremely helpful," he added. "I always had a great relationship with Michael anyway.

"Yes, I miss him."

F1 teams worried about Brexit crisis

Maurizio Arrivabene looks to capture some British talent

(GMM) F1 teams admit they are worried about the Brexit crisis that is occurring in Britain.

After British people voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, the situation is now in crisis with prime minister Theresa May's exit deal and party leadership in tatters.

If there is no deal in place by March 29 next year, Britain will leave the EU amid unprecedented uncertainty about the future.

Most F1 teams are based in England, including top teams Mercedes and Red Bull.

When asked about the Brexit crisis, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "We are monitoring it very closely because we have a large operation in the UK.

"We have EU citizens working for us, we are importing lots of goods from the EU and we have taken steps to make sure they are not stuck on the border. Overall, not a very pleasant development," he added.

The French works team Renault is also based in England, leaving boss Cyril Abiteboul concerned "in particular about the movement of goods and people".

"We've developed very quickly in recent years and it's been done in particular thanks to the possibilities offered by the UK, bringing in youngsters, people coming out from school, and we don't want that to change," he said.

"That would be dramatic for formula one, but I have full trust in the authorities of Great Britain to understand this is not in their interest to lose what is one of the pillars of British industry."

Christian Horner, boss of the Milton Keynes based Red Bull team, said he is positive a good solution will be found in the end.

"I think the bottom line is that people will continue to do business with the UK if we're competitive and remain good at what we do," he said.

"There's obviously some turbulence around at the moment but hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, there will be a solution found."

However, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene thinks Brexit could be a perfect opportunity for the Italian team to capture some British talent.

"If everything is going in the direction that is announced at the moment, I suspect that in the near future we will find a lot of people knocking on the door of Maranello," he said.

"But talking about formula one overall, it's not really the best scenario so I hope they find a solution."

Vettel: We were missing something

Vettel admits the Ferrari was fast, but not dominant like the Mercedes was at some races

In a most comprehensive interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Sebastian Vettel talked about Ferrari's performance vs. Mercedes.

“One would tend to say this year but both years were surprisingly very similar. Last year we lacked the engine power. The car was good but inefficient on certain tracks."

“This year the aerodynamics were more efficient. With the engine, we were closer to Mercedes but not yet where we should have been with the whole package."

Many reports suggest that for many races Ferrari had the better car, but Vettel contends otherwise, “Was it dominant? As dominant as Mercedes was in Spain, France or Russia. Unfortunately, we didn’t have such races. That’s why both seasons are pretty similar."

“Of course [Singapore, Sochi and Suzuka] cost us a lot of points, but overall the speed was not there as it should have been."

Was it a Ferrari slump or choke?

“I think so," replied Vettel. “Maybe the tension was too high for us after races in which things did not go our way."

“Sure, there were times when we were not quick enough to react but it was also difficult for us to identify the problem."

“We had to take a good step back [on development] so that we could get our performance back on track. That’s why we were not at the same level of development as our rivals late in the season. I don’t know where Mercedes had problems if they had any, maybe it was easier for them to find a solution.

“I have to carry with me the memory of the accident at Hockenheim and just deal with it."

“That was really stupid, a small mistake with a huge impact. I didn’t try to attack, I had no idea who was behind me, how large my lead was, whether I would win or not."

“It was raining a bit, I was just concentrating on my race, looking from corner to corner. I was really just a tad too late on the brakes, the rear-axle locked, I slid straight ahead carrying no speed. I could not believe it at first. Sure, I dropped a lot of points there."

“I believe the strength Mercedes had this year was to take maximum advantage of our weaknesses and fight back in those races."

“At the same time, to increase pressure on us, they spread the word to everyone that our car was dominant. I see it differently: our car was not dominant, we had our chances, we used most of them but the bottom line is we were missing something."

“Many of the incidents were 50-50. At Monza, it could have been Lewis. He did not see me in his blind spot, he is not the kind of guy who cuts in or closes the door. I wanted to avoid the collision, but could not vanish."

“In retrospect, I could have stayed on the gas and take both of us out, but I turned away and he got away. My car was damaged, not his. So that happened unfortunately, I was in the wrong place too often this year."

“I don’t want to compare that era with myself," insisted Vettel. “Although I understand that the comparison is inevitable. We are both German, both at Ferrari, both without a title for four years. If we win then we can talk about it, after that even half of Michael’s accomplishments will be good for me.

Asked to summarize his four seasons in red, Vettel said, “The team has developed a lot during this period. Today’s team is much stronger and more composed than four years ago. In the beginning, everything was very fragmented."

“To some extent success has been achieved even if the great success has not yet materialized. However, we have shown in recent years that this team has potential. We already had a very good car in 2017 and this year achieved our goals as we had planned."

“In retrospect, one would certainly have wished for some things to move a little faster, but the trend is positive, even if we are not yet where we want to be," added Vettel.

Karun Chandhok makes Sky Sports F1 return for 2019 season

Karun Chandhok

Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok will make a return to Sky's Formula 1 coverage next season.

Chandhok previously worked at Sky between 2012-14, but then spent several years working for Channel 4's coverage.

Speaking about his new appointment, Chandhok said: "I'm very excited to be rejoining the Sky Sports F1 team from the 2019 season.

"With their long-term commitment to Formula 1 and the team of people that's in place, it's a great time to return.

"I believe that I've been able to develop and offer viewers a unique perspective of someone with a technical, strategic and historical knowledge of the sport combined with the experience of 18 years of driving racing cars."