Latest F1 news in brief

Andy Palmer scraps plan for Aston Martin to produce F1 engine – it's a money pit

Aston Martin to scrap F1 engine plans
McLaren working on performance slump fix
Mercedes keeping same drivers – Lauda
Renault wants quick decision over Sainz
Sainz Jr. pardons Vettel for Austria block
Grosjean thinks 2018 slump now over
Ferrari seat 'too early' for Leclerc – Villeneuve
No 2019 German GP 'frustrating' – Bratches
Marko tips Ricciardo to sign Red Bull deal
Hartley to start last in Austria after power unit changes

Aston Martin to scrap F1 engine plans
(GMM) Aston Martin is close to scratching its plans to enter formula one as an engine supplier.

Currently just the title sponsor at Red Bull, the British luxury car maker was looking into putting together an engine program for the 2021 regulations.

But CEO Andy Palmer told Autocar: "It doesn't look like the new regulations will be of interest, sadly.

"I don't see the costs coming down far enough with the regulations I've heard discussed and I do see that the opportunity to spend a fortune chasing down a tenth of a second a lap will remain," he added.

Porsche, though, may still be interested in entering F1, and is also linked with Red Bull.

"It would be good if Porsche came in," Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said.

"The more competition, the more important the victories are for us," he told Bild newspaper.

McLaren working on performance slump fix

The McLaren now slower than the Honda powered cars. Team heading to bottom of grid under Boullier

(GMM) McLaren is working on "correcting" its current performance slump.

That is the news from team boss Eric Boullier, after the once-great British team recently revealed that wind tunnel problems were behind the current lack of pace.

"For now, reaching Q3 is just impossible for us with this car," Fernando Alonso told RTBF broadcaster in Austria.

"We hope to have a substantial improvement in Germany or Hungary by the end of the month," he added.

Team boss Boullier confirmed: "I will not publicly explain the cause of the problems, but they are related to aerodynamics, we understand them and now they will be corrected."

The Frenchman was also asked in Austria about rumors Kimi Raikkonen might be drafted in to replace Alonso in 2019.

"I think we are satisfied with our current drivers and we still expect to keep working with Fernando. I cannot give other comments," said Boullier.

Mercedes keeping same drivers – Lauda

Bottas with Nelson Piquet after winning pole Saturday

(GMM) Niki Lauda says Mercedes is definitely sticking with its current drivers beyond 2018.

It is believed Lewis Hamilton's long-delayed new contract is now signed, and that the Briton has asked for Valtteri Bottas to also be retained until 2020.

"I guarantee that next year Lewis Hamilton and also Valtteri Bottas will drive for Mercedes. That is fixed," Lauda, the team chairman, confirmed to the ORF broadcaster in Austria.

The F1 legend said a "one line press release" will be put out "at some point".

"It will state that he (Hamilton) has signed and then the topic will finally be over," Lauda added.

Renault wants quick decision over Sainz Jr.

Cyril Abiteboul playing hardball

(GMM) Carlos Sainz could be let go by Renault if Red Bull does not quickly sign up its drivers for 2019.

That is warning of Cyril Abiteboul, the Renault team boss.

Currently, Spaniard Sainz drives for Renault but he is 'on loan' for a year from Red Bull.

He is first in line to be called up by Red Bull should Daniel Ricciardo not renew his contract for 2019.

"We're not going to wait forever for Ricciardo and Red Bull to decide," Abiteboul told L'Equipe.

"Either things can be put in place quickly with Carlos, and he would be an extremely serious option for next year, or we will consider alternative options," he added.

It is believed Esteban Ocon, a Mercedes driver who currently races for Force India, is one of those options.

Sainz Jr. pardons Vettel for Austria block

Carlos Sainz Jr. on Saturday

(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. has excused Sebastian Vettel after an incident in qualifying.

Renault's Sainz went off the track and broke a wing when he encountered a slow-moving Vettel on the racing line in Austria.

"It made me break a wing, which obviously costs our team money, but he didn't do it on purpose," said the Spaniard.

"He didn't see me and I think he was not warned by radio."

Vettel was penalized three places on the Austrian grand prix grid for the incident.

"I can only apologize," the Ferrari driver told RTL. "I did not see him in the mirror and the team didn't tell me either."

Meanwhile, Sainz said he didn't notice a big difference after Renault introduced a new engine 'qualifying mode' for Austria.

"I did not notice the new engine map too much," he said.

Grosjean thinks 2018 slump now over

Romain Grosjean – what will he hit next?

(GMM) Romain Grosjean thinks his 2018 slump could finally be over.

Although driving the competitive Haas car, only the Frenchman and Williams' Sergey Sirotkin are yet to score a single point so far this year.

But Grosjean qualified an impressive sixth in Austria.

He said afterwards he is not worried his points slump will continue.

"I've scored points for every team I've driven for, in good and bad times," Grosjean is quoted by Ekstra Bladet.

And he said he is confident the opening eight races of the season will not affect his contract negotiations for 2019.

"I'm pretty confident about the future," said Grosjean.

"I know my season has not been good so far, but I also had 130 races before this and two seasons with this team. You cannot write something off after seven bad grands prix, where only three were my mistake," he added.

"Building something with Haas is not over yet," he continued. "Obviously I don't have any points, but the team knows what I'm capable of and I'm very experienced in formula one."

Team boss Gunther Steiner backed Grosjean to "deliver" in 2018, but would not comment on Haas' driver plans for 2019.

"It was decided with Gene (Haas) not to talk about drivers before the summer break," he said.

Ferrari seat 'too early' for Leclerc – Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve has a lot to say. No one is listening

(GMM) Jacques Villeneuve thinks Ferrari is promoting Charles Leclerc too soon.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the Maranello team has signed up the 20-year-old Sauber driver for 2019 and 2020, to replace Kimi Raikkonen.

"I think it's too early for him," 1997 world champion Villeneuve told Auto Bild in Austria.

"On the one hand Ferrari risks burning him, if he is beaten by Vettel. And on the other hand they need an experienced second driver, and Kimi Raikkonen is quite stable now.

"If Sebastian has to develop the car alone next year, that's a disadvantage," the Canadian added.

"I would give Leclerc another year to develop and learn."

Villeneuve said there is also no reason for Ferrari to rush to sign up the obviously impressive Monaco-born rookie.

"He's in Ferrari's junior team anyway with a contract," he said of Leclerc.

"So I don't see any reason to rush him into the A team. Because really we don't know how good he really is. He's only had (Marcus) Ericsson as a yardstick."

No 2019 German GP 'frustrating' – Bratches

Sean Bratches quiclkly learning F1 is a losing proposition for race promoters unless the government backs the race. The revenue sharing model is broken

Sean Bratches quickly learning F1 is a losing proposition for race promoters unless the government backs the race. The revenue sharing model is broken

(GMM) Liberty Media has confirmed that Germany will be missing from the 2019 calendar.

Hockenheim boss Georg Seiler revealed in the week that he has failed to reach a good commercial deal with the F1 owner.

Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says that's a pity.

"The conditions are not easy for the circuits in Germany," the Briton, sporting a goatee beard, said on a now rare visit to the paddock in Austria.

"It was the same in my time. But we still found a solution," Ecclestone told Auto Bild.

Liberty Media's commercial boss Sean Bratches confirmed the bad news.

"Unfortunately, we could not agree with any race track in Germany," he said in Austria.

"It's frustrating that we could not reach a solution for a country with such a huge racing tradition, with the reigning constructor world champion and with a four-time champion, and that apparently nobody was willing to support the race tracks and take away the financial risk," Bratches added.

He said the problem is not a lack of interest from German fans.

"The interest in Germany is great," said the American. "We know that from our own sources and you can see it in the ratings as well."

Bratches, however, said it is possible a solution for the German grand prix will be reached in the coming years.

"For the next few years, of course we will keep working on a solution," he said.

Marko tips Ricciardo to sign Red Bull deal

Daniel really had no better offer, except McLaren who can't produce a championship winning car

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says he is confident Daniel Ricciardo will stay at Red Bull in 2019.

The Australian driver is currently delaying his decision, amid rumors he might switch to Mercedes, Ferrari or even McLaren.

But Marko, the Red Bull consultant, thinks those moves are all unlikely.

"Where would he go? To Mercedes? When all you hear is Hamilton praise Bottas?" he told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"Or Ferrari? Where Vettel praises Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari praises Leclerc? I think neither team is interested in Ricciardo," Marko added.

Marko tipped Ricciardo to eventually sign a new Red Bull deal because it is the team that gives the 28-year-old the best chance of winning.

"He certainly cannot do that at McLaren, even if they made him an outrageous offer," said the Austrian.

"And he is allowed to drive freely with us rather than be the number 2 at Mercedes or Ferrari. For example, if Raikkonen was free at Ferrari, things would be different for him."

But Marko said that even if Ricciardo does leave, Red Bull could cope with the loss.

"We have alternatives, and we are bound by deadlines. In the autumn, a decision must be made," he said.

"We would love to continue with Daniel, but it has to be right for both sides."

Hartley to start last in Austria after power unit changes

Hartley in Austria

Brendon Hartley will start Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix from the back of the grid after Honda made a tactical change of all his power unit components in order to stockpile parts for the remainder of the Formula 1 season.

Hartley qualified 19th on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring, missing out on a Q2 berth by two-tenths of a second as he struggled to match Toro Rosso teammate Pierre Gasly for pace.

With Hartley's low qualifying position in mind, Honda confirmed on Sunday morning ahead of the race it had taken a complete new power unit on his car for the race, allowing the Japanese manufacturer to tactically gain additional parts to ease some of the pressure at forthcoming races.

"We are changing all the PU components on Brendon’s car prior to the race," Honda confirmed on Twitter.

"This is for tactical reasons, given that he qualified on the back row. There were no technical issues with the PU on Saturday!"