Latest F1 news in brief

Sean Gelael will buy a few Friday track cleaning sessions for Toro Rosso

Gelael staying with Toro Rosso in 2018
Schumacher kart circuit to close
Magnussen not crucial to Denmark F1 bid
Sponsor issues 'no comment' to Sirotkin reports
Force India Team Plans To Consolidate Formula 1 Operation
Brawn ponders change to GP weekend format
Brendon Hartley to marry fiancée Sarah Wilson on Waiheke Island

Gelael staying with Toro Rosso in 2018
(GMM) Sean Gelael says he will continue his role with Toro Rosso this year.

The 21-year-old, though is the son of the Indonesian KFC magnate, tested and drove in some Friday practice sessions for the Red Bull-owned team in 2017.

"Working with Toro Rosso completely changed my life," Gelael told Italiaracing.

"This year, I will work with them again. Our goal is to continue what we decided at the tests in Abu Dhabi," he added.

Gelael, who finished 15th overall last year, also said he will once again race in Formula 2 in 2018.

"I hope the season in Formula 2 will be successful and I earn points for my super license, and I get a chance to participate in several Friday practices," he said.

Gelael also voiced a word of support for his friend and Ferrari junior driver Antonio Giovinazzi, who he said is good enough to secure a full-time F1 seat.

"He deserved a place already for this season, so I think if such a driver fails to achieve his goal next year, there is something wrong with the system," he said.

Schumacher kart circuit to close
(GMM) Michael Schumacher's famous kart circuit in Kerpen looks set to close.

The site, about 30 kilometers from Cologne, has been earmarked for coal mining by the German company RWE from 2020.

"There will be no new kart track," Michael's brother Ralf, who like the seven time world champion began his racing career in Kerpen, told Kolner Express newspaper.

"The joint search with RWE has not led to a new location.

"It's a shame," the former Williams and Toyota driver added. "Here, tradition and successful youth promotion are dying at the same time."

Michael Schumacher owns two thirds of the track, and his manager Sabine Kehm commented: "The family is up to date with developments."

Magnussen not crucial to Denmark F1 bid

Kevin Magnussen

(GMM) Kevin Magnussen's continuing presence in F1 will help a bid to secure a place on the annual race calendar for Denmark, race officials have admitted.

BT newspaper reports that F1 chief executive Chase Carey is meeting with potential race promoters in Copenhagen on Wednesday to discuss a race for 2020.

F1's only Danish competitor is Haas driver Magnussen, and race investor Helge Sander admitted it would help the bid if the 25-year-old's F1 career continues.

"It is clearly an advantage if we have a Dane (in F1). But even if there isn't a Dane, interest for formula one in Denmark is generally great," he said.

"Of course I would prefer if there is at least one Dane, but it is not crucial."

Sponsor issues 'no comment' to Sirotkin reports

Was his check big enough?

(GMM) A man close to the negotiations has issued a firm "no comment" on whether Williams' 2018 driver lineup is now complete.

Although Robert Kubica was earlier a popular contender for the seat, it is now firmly believed that Russian Sergey Sirotkin will become Lance Stroll's teammate this year.

However, former F1 driver Mika Salo is not commenting.

"I cannot comment on anything about that at all," he is quoted by Ilta Sanomat newspaper.

The Finn, who drove for Ferrari and Toyota, is now the sporting director of SMP Racing — the motor racing arm of the Russian bank SMP that will reportedly back 22-year-old Sirotkin to the tune of $20 million in 2018.

Force India Team Plans To Consolidate Formula 1 Operation
Force India is working on "plans to bring its Formula 1 operation under one roof" following its "most successful season," according to Lawrence Barretto of MOTORSPORT.

The team finished fourth in the constructors' championship for the second successive year in '17, scoring a best-ever 187 points.

As the team looks to "build on its success and take the next step," Force India wants to bring its entire operation onto one site by "enhancing its facility at Silverstone."

Force India COO Otmar Szafnauer said, "Co-location helps a lot, if everyone is under the same roof, which we are not as we're split 75/25. Hopefully in two or three years' time, we'll have everyone under the same roof." MOTORSPORT

Brawn ponders change to GP weekend format

Mr. Double Diffuser, Ross Brawn

For reasons known only to itself Formula One Management (FOM) continues with its own version of rearranging the deckchairs on Titanic.

After a season in which the number of overtakes dropped by half, the sport's new owners opted to "inject fresh energy and innovation" with a new logo.

Now, with minimal regulation changes, and therefore the genuine fear that Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton will cruise to another brace of titles, F1's powers that be are looking to make another radical change… to the race weekend format.

Thankfully, while the sport has considered shortening races and even – God forbid – having Grand Prix consist of two shorter races or even following the F2 format, FOM's sporting boss, Ross Brawn, admits race day looks safe… for now.

"I think the length of a Grand Prix is about right," he told Sky Sports. "It's not too long, it's not too short, it engages you.

"We want a grand prix to evolve and have its highlights and come together at the end," he continued. "So I'm not sure that we should be thinking in terms of changing a grand prix length. I think we have other things we can do to enhance grand prix racing rather than changing around the format. Qualifying works fairly well.

"I think practice on a Friday is open to discussion," he admits, "whether we need two sessions, whether we move to just an afternoon session, because another factor in all of this is the number of races we have. If we have an increased number of races, do we change the format to put less pressure on the teams to be able to do those races?"

Fact is, fans want to see the cars on track doing what they do as much as possible, not less, and as Christian Horner has previously argued, if the teams are travelling to a destination spending less time on track will not make any difference in terms of cost effectiveness.

Laughably, Brawn also suggests that F1 would benefit from Le Mans-style open scrutineering.

"The fans always come first," he insists, "what do the fans want to see in a grand prix weekend? Getting close to the cars and getting close to the drivers is something we always get feedback on. It's an essential part for the fans. So over a race weekend, could we do more to let the fans get closer to the cars?

"One proposal is to have open scrutineering, so the cars literally have to go out into the field to be scrutineered so the fans can come and see them. It happens at Le Mans and is a great event. All the fans come, the cars are lifted up and you can see underneath them. So we're exploring things of that nature. But I'm fairly conservative about the format of the racing, and I haven't got any major plans on that at the moment."

The idea of any F1 team allowing fans to look underneath their cars in an open field is risible, and the mere suggestion would send shockwaves through the paddock.

Getting the teams to take down the screens at tests is hard enough, allowing the great unwashed to get up close and personal with their mobiles doesn't bear thinking about… as Mr. 'double diffuser' Brawn well knows. Pitpass

Wehrlein remains part of Mercedes

Pascal Wehrlein

Despite his limited options, Toto Wolff assures Pascal Wehrlein that he remains part of the Mercedes family.

Though at one stage, albeit tenuously, linked with the second Williams seat, Pascal Wehrlein looks set to be without an F1 drive in 2018.

Having missed the opening races after injuring himself in a crash during the Race of Champions, the German youngster made the best of a bad package to score Sauber's only points of the season.

However, with the Swiss outfit enjoying closer ties with Ferrari, and then Alfa Romeo, that particular avenue was closed down to the German, leaving the Williams seat alongside Lance Stroll as the only other option.

Despite being left on the sidelines however, Toto Wolff insists the youngster remains part of the Mercedes family.

"Pascal definitely deserves a place in Formula 1 and is certainly one of the fastest drivers," he told Motorsport.com. "At the moment it looks a little bit bitter as far as the available driver seats are concerned.

"He's definitely going to be on our team," he added. "Whether or not he actively participates in a racing series other than Formula 1. He will definitely remain part of our squad."

Having won the 2015 DTM series it is unlikely that Wehrlein will want to return, and looking further ahead to 2019, Esteban Ocon looks the most likely choice to replace Valtteri Bottas should Mercedes opt not to retain the Finn. Then again, Wolff has made no secret of his desire to see Daniel Ricciardo in the second Silver Arrow. Pitpass

Brendon Hartley to marry fiancée Sarah Wilson on Waiheke Island

Brendon Hartley and Sarah Wilson

Kiwi motorsport ace Brendon Hartley is wedding his long-time partner Sarah Wilson in Auckland.

The ceremony is taking place at Waiheke Island's iconic Mudbrick Restaurant and Vineyard on Wednesday.

The upmarket eatery is a favorite of celebrities including Eva Longoria and Taylor Swift.

The bride-to-be arrived in Colin Giltrap's million-dollar 1958 Porsche 356, which was shipped over to the island in advance.

Wilson was sitting in the front of the classic motorcar, clutching a small bouquet and dressed in white. The black and white Porsche 356 came bowling down from the Mudbrick private villa with little white ribbons on each side.

Hartley and Wilson have been together for about 12 years and got engaged in 2016.

Hartley became New Zealand's first Formula One driver in 33 years in 2017.

The 28-year-old also won Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship with Porsche.

He will take on his first full season of Formula One this year with the Toro Rosso team.

A number of Formula One racers have been spotted on Waiheke ahead of the nuptials, including Australian Daniel Ricciardo.

The Porsche 356 was also spotted being loaded onto the Waiheke ferry in Auckland ahead of the nuptials. It is believed to have been lent to the couple for the wedding.