Latest F1 news in brief

Wolff needs to put his money where his mouth is and pay for Ocon to have a ride – or place him in IndyCar

Wolff slams F1 bosses over Ocon exit
Newey says full focus back on F1
F1 'copying' Indycar for 2021 – Alonso
Bottas happy to keep playing team role
Alonso anticipating 'close battle' for top ten place in qualifying

Wolff slams F1 bosses over Ocon exit
(GMM) Toto Wolff has lashed out at his fellow F1 team bosses for getting in the way of young drivers' futures.

The Mercedes chief is astonished that other bosses have not supported his quest to find seats in 2019 for the likes of Esteban Ocon, George Russell and Pascal Wehrlein.

Wehrlein, for instance, has now left Mercedes' driver program altogether.

"We could not offer Pascal a competitive car for next year. Acting in his interests, we have together decided not to renew the contract," Wolff said.

But he says it was the goings-on in F1 negotiations in July and August that left him particularly aghast.

"It was just unbelievable. There was so much politics in the background, hidden agendas and lies," said Wolff.

He said talented Frenchman "Ocon" will probably leave F1 at the end of the year "because people simply don't have the balls to stick to what they say".

"If some guys feel this way, compromising their performance and not taking the best drivers, it is their problem but eventually talent will shine through."

Wolff vowed: "One day he will win races and championships in a Mercedes."

Newey says full focus back on F1

Adrian Newey playing catchup

(GMM) Adrian Newey says his focus is now firmly back on formula one.

In recent years, the famous F1 designer has taken a step back from the sport, focusing instead on other Red Bull-related projects.

"Well, the Valkyrie supercar with Aston Martin is complete," Newey told Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper. "I spent a lot of time on that.

"But for the past 15 months, I have focused once again on F1 cars.

"We also have an excellent technical director in Pierre Wache, who leads an excellent team," he added.

Newey will be busy with that team as it works on getting ready for Red Bull's new works Honda project for 2019.

"Installation in the new chassis will not be the problem," he insisted.

"Of course, Honda has other requirements than Renault, but adjusting to that is no big deal. What is more important is that we are building a very good relationship with Honda.

"It impresses me how much they are focused on success and the efforts they are making.

"We are facing exciting times, as the past few years have been very frustrating. Having the best car but no chance at the world championship is demoralizing," Newey added.

However, Red Bull is losing a key man in the form of James Key, a highly respected technical director at the junior team Toro Rosso.

But Newey said: "We are very careful and respectful of the rules regarding common parts. As far as it is permitted it makes sense, but Key was sometimes a bit negative. I don't want to say more."

F1 'copying' Indycar for 2021 – Alonso

Alonso thinks F1 is copying IndyCar ideas

(GMM) F1 is following the lead of Indycar with the direction of its cars for the future.

That is the claim of Fernando Alonso, who is leaving formula one at the end of the year and is expected to switch to America's top open wheel category.

"I think he's going to America next season," Formula E boss Alejandro Agag is quoted by The Sun. "But definitely for the season after we are going after him."

F1 owner Liberty Media has finally released details of its plans for the cars of 2021, showing images of concepts that will offer "better racing and looks to match".

Alonso told El Mundo Deportivo in Singapore: "They are positive changes.

"They look like Formula Renault and Indycar. They are copying ideas that they know work and are better," the Spaniard added.

Bottas happy to keep playing team role

Mercedes 'slave' driver Valtteri Bottas on the Singapore streets

(GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he is happy to help Lewis Hamilton win the 2018 world championship.

It has been a different story recently at Ferrari, where championship contender Sebastian Vettel's teammate Kimi Raikkonen is leaving and apparently reluctant to play a supportive role.

But Finn Bottas, who is championship leader Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, said in Singapore: "I understand that Lewis is fighting for the title while my chances are very small.

"So if I can help him do it, I will."

Bottas' 'team supportive' driving at Monza enraged some of Ferrari's fans, with team boss Maurizio Arrivabene even describing him as a "butler" rather than a driver.

The Italian apologized for the remarks.

But Bottas said: "Everyone is free to express their thoughts. I was amused by some of them.

"What really matters to me is how I perform and how the team is working. Both drivers work for the team and although the team doesn't want to spoil my race, I want to help where I can.

"For example at Monza I drove a longer first stint, but at the end of the race I was able to attack on fresh tires and eventually went on the podium. The team wants us both to succeed," he added.

Alonso anticipating 'close battle' for top ten place in qualifying

Alonso under the lights in Singapore

Fernando Alonso has revealed that the McLaren F1 Team will be looking to maximize their qualifying performance in Singapore, in anticipation of a “close battle" to get into the top-ten shootout.

Alonso and McLaren enjoyed a promising evening at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, the Spaniard setting the eighth fastest time – 1.7 seconds adrift of pacesetter Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen.

Unlike his team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, Alonso suffered no technical problems and labelled the day a “positive Friday".

“It was a positive Friday," Alonso said. “It’s always amazing to be around these streets at these speeds."

Despite Vandoorne’s problems, McLaren did find time to compare “different configurations" on both cars and Alonso is confident about the data gathered.

“We tried some interesting stuff, also comparing different configurations on the two cars," he continued.

“We gathered good information about the tires and about the set-up changes that we were managing in both free practice sessions, and we will go through them tonight."

Furthermore, the 37-year-old was happy with the 54 laps he clocked up over the day’s two Free Practice sessions.

“I managed to get quite a good amount of laps under my belt, which on a street circuit is very important as the more running you get, the more confident you are."

A controversial winner of the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix a decade ago, Alonso believes that McLaren can break the top-ten in qualifying for the first time since Monaco – in potentially his last appearance in the race.

Before the weekend, Alonso stressed the importance of McLaren continuing development of the troublesome MCL33 in order to keep pace with a very competitive midfield.

“It’s going to be a close battle to make it into Q3 tomorrow, but qualifying position is very important here so we are giving priority to our Saturdays performance," he added.

“Track evolution we know is huge in Singapore, so you try to follow the track conditions as well, and I think our preparation for tomorrow’s qualifying is okay."