Latest F1 news in brief

Of course Ferrari is going to block its competitors from getting their secrets

FIA clears legality of camera-blocking 'fan'
Zanardi thinks Vettel's title charge over
Grosjean at risk of ban after latest penalty
Horner offers simple solution to avoid F1 exit for Esteban Ocon

FIA clears legality of camera-blocking 'fan'
(GMM) F1's governing body has cleared Ferrari to keep using a controversial airbox fan.

In the Singapore pits, the Italian team was fitting a new bespoke 'cooling' device to its airbox, having been told by the FIA to stop the practice of crudely covering the on-board camera with a bag of ice.

It is believed Ferrari is determined to obscure the camera so that rivals cannot look into the cockpit and at the steering wheel settings of the 2018 car.

Germany's Bild newspaper said the FIA has cleared Ferrari to keep using the solution used by the Italian team in Singapore.

"We looked and it and the view is not blocked. It would only be a problem if the view was blocked," said F1 race director Charlie Whiting.

However, while the camera's view is not completely obscured by the 'cooling' solution, it is believed Ferrari has succeeded in blocking the view of the cockpit.

"We'll take another look, but it's not our top priority," Whiting insisted.

Zanardi thinks Vettel's title charge over

Vettel and Ferrari cannot beat the talented Hamilton in an Aldo Costa designed car. Never going to happen

(GMM) Alex Zanardi has joined the Italian media in declaring Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's 2018 championship hopes essentially over.

The former F1 and Indycar driver said that despite the Maranello team having the best car, "everything changed" for Ferrari and Vettel in Singapore.

"It was only one race, but it reflected the state of affairs of this season," Zanardi told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"After Monza everyone had the impression that a victory would put things right again. But Lewis (Hamilton) drove everyone into the ground with a perfect, almost poetic performance.

"You could see on Seb's face that the balance of power has changed," he added.

"In pure mathematics, Ferrari can keep believing. But more realistically is that Hamilton is the one who is dominating," said Zanardi.

The Italian press agrees with Zanardi, with La Repubblica saying Singapore was "the end of the championship" for Ferrari.

"Goodbye to the Vettel title," La Gazzetta dello Sport added.

"It's similar to last year, except even more sad now because Ferrari has had the best car. But not the best driver," correspondent Umberto Zapelloni said.

And the editorial in Corriere della Sera read: "Hamilton radiates a calm while Vettel sinks into the most destructive parts of himself."

Grosjean at risk of ban after latest penalty

Romain Grossjean, one of Hass F1's 100% non-American drivers

Romain Grosjean, one of Hass F1's 100% non-American drivers

Romain Grosjean is in danger of picking up a race ban if he incurs another penalty before the end of the season.

The Haas driver was given two penalty points for an incident in today’s race, moving him onto a total of nine. Drivers are automatically given one-race bans if they reach 12 penalty points in a 12-month period, and the most severe incidents have been punished with up to three penalty points.

Grosjean will not have any penalty points deducted from his total until the end of next month. He will lose one point on October 29th and a further two points on November 12th.

He was penalized for failing to observe blue flags when race leader Lewis Hamilton caught him during today’s race.

Grosjean was banned from taking part in the 2012 Italian Grand Prix after being found to have triggered a multi-car crash in the previous race at Spa-Francorchamps. This is the last occasion an F1 driver was given a ban, and it prompted the introduction of the penalty points system.

Sergey Sirotkin was also given two penalty points for forcing Brendon Hartley off the track during the race. He is now on a total of six.

The stewards cleared Force India drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez over their first lap clash and also took no action against Kevin Magnussen over his incident with Brendon Hartley. recefans

Horner offers simple solution to avoid F1 exit for Esteban Ocon

Horner tells Wolff to open his wallet

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes his Mercedes counterpart has one choice if he wants to keep Esteban Ocon in Formula 1 next season, buy his seat.

In what is one of the hottest topics currently in the sport, the highly-rated Frenchman is staring at a possible departure from the grid at the end of the season, with his place at Force India set to be given to Lance Stroll.

Given his reputation, many see that possibility as a travesty and another example of how talent is set aside over money in the sport, with Stroll's billionaire father Lawrence recently buying the Silverstone-based squad over the summer break.

Options elsewhere are limited, and not helping Ocon's chances are some teams refusing to even consider him because of his association with Mercedes through their young driver program.

The most plausible destination left is Williams, who use the German manufacturer's engine, but facing a considerable drop in revenue through lost sponsorship and reduced prize money, the British team is likely to want drivers with a hefty amount of financial backing behind them.

"If [Mercedes motorsport boss] Toto [Wolff] writes a check I'm sure he can get a seat in Williams," Horner told Sky Sports in Singapore.

Horner knows all about how to bring through young drivers

Another issue Wolff faces, however, is not only does he have Ocon on his books, but also current F2 championship leader George Russell, who would be strongly demanding his on promotion for next season.

"That's going to be a real problem for those guys going into next year," the Red Bull chief continued.

"There's three super talented kids, certainly two very strong ones I think. Ocon would be great to see in F1 and George Russell."

Russell would also be facing a year without racing if he won the F2 title

There is another choice Mercedes could opt for with their drivers, however, it could have a big impact on the German manufacturer's own ambitions looking medium-to-long-term.

"Toto might have to cut them free at the end of the day because it's a shame to see those guys not get a Formula 1 seat, just because of who they're contracted to," Horner claimed, with Red Bull's junior team Toro Rosso ruling out Ocon for that very reason.

Wolff has let out his frustration over the situation publicly for the first time this weekend too, lambasting Renault for going back on a deal for Esteban after Daniel Ricciardo expressed his desire to join. givemesports.com