Latest F1 news in brief

The old man just won't go away quietly

Ecclestone aims fire at Liberty, Ferrari
Ferrari keeps team together for 2018 – insider
Billionaire backer pushes for Sirotkin seat
Williams Advanced Engineering and Airbus Collaborate on Technology Innovation
Mercedes close to breaking 1000bhp barrier

Ecclestone aims fire at Liberty, Ferrari
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has aimed fire at both F1 owner Liberty Media and the sport's most famous team Ferrari.

2017 was the 87-year-old's first full season without an operational role in the sport, having been ousted by Liberty Media after the American company's takeover.

Liberty is currently consulting with manufacturers about the engine rules for 2021, but Ecclestone said the only way to run the sport is as a dictator.

"Democracy has no place in formula one," he said, as veteran F1 correspondent Roger Benoit visited Ecclestone at his coffee plantation in Brazil.

"The new owners will soon realize this, because so far they have achieved nothing," Ecclestone told Sonntagsblick newspaper.

He also slammed Ferrari, after the fabled Maranello marque threatened to quit F1 over Liberty's engine and budget cap plans.

"That old game," Ecclestone said. "If they don't win, there is usually panic.

"Max Mosley and I could write a long list of all the times we helped Ferrari, but they always deny it."

Ferrari keeps team together for 2018 – insider

Can Arrivabene and Binotto turned their losing staff into winners?

(GMM) Ferrari is keeping its 'dream team' together for 2018.

While putting up a strong challenge to Mercedes this year, Ferrari ultimately finished second.

"If they don't win, there is usually panic," former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Sonntagsblick newspaper.

But ahead of Ferrari's annual Christmas lunch, media insider Leo Turrini says he knows that the Italian team is staying the course.

"I do not like revolution, and there will not be one," he wrote on his Quotidiano blog.

"(Simone) Resta will continue to draw the car, I hope with the help of retiree (Rory) Byrne," Turrini claimed.

"(Enrico) Cardile will take care of aerodynamics, and (Corrado) Iotti the power unit. Diego Ioverno, a very good track manager, is moving to 'internal' duties, and his skills will be absorbed by Jock Clear," he added.

"This is the 2018 team. I don't know if it's a Dream Team, but for sure they will try to win."

Billionaire backer pushes for Sirotkin seat

Sirothin and Stroll - two ride buyers backed by billionaires

Sirotkin and Stroll – two ride buyers backed by billionaires

(GMM) Powerful Russian businessman Boris Rotenberg says he is pushing hard to secure Sergey Sirotkin's place on the 2018 grid.

The matter of Williams' final driver for next season has become the subject of high speculation, with Russian Sirotkin and Robert Kubica vying for the seat.

It was claimed last week that the British team was ready to end Kubica's comeback hopes by confirming a deal for Sirotkin.

But Williams now says a decision will not be made until January.

Sirotkin's backers, including the SMP Bank owner and billionaire Rotenberg who is reportedly close to Vladimir Putin, are reportedly promising over EUR 15 million in sponsorship.

Rotenberg told Russian media he is working hard on the deal.

"I never like to talk in advance," he said.

"It's like football, when you only say you want to win the next game.

"We are all hoping and trying to do everything, but it depends not only on us. The main thing is that they (Williams) understand us, but in any case Sergey deserves to go to formula one," Rotenberg added.

"He beat the competition, going faster than Kubica and at the level of Stroll. So we now have the opportunity to put him into a car," he said.

Williams Advanced Engineering and Airbus Collaborate on Technology Innovation
Williams Advanced Engineering and Airbus have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to bring Formula One-inspired technology and innovation to aerospace and share in the wealth of experience at Airbus.

The collaboration will focus on the ways in which ultra-lightweight materials, battery technologies and electrical cell chemistries can be integrated on Airbus’ Zephyr High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) program.

Zephyr is a record-breaking, solar-powered, unmanned aerial system (UAS), or drone, with unique communications and surveillance capabilities. It will fly at more than 65,000 ft, above commercial air traffic, for months at a time. The first production examples are being manufactured at Farnborough for the UK Ministry of Defense.

With four decades of experience at the pinnacle of motor racing, where lightweight materials and structures are crucial to speed and safety, Williams is now developing these technologies and finding innovative solutions to weight saving with its know-how. Its most recent developments have included an innovative take on using recycled carbon fiber to manufacture components that can be 40% lighter than current alternatives.

As sole battery supplier to the FIA Formula E championship since its inception, Williams Advanced Engineering’s battery technology has been tried and tested, and its world-leading expertise in electrification has become core to the business working with a number of high profile vehicle manufacturers, as well as other applications of battery technology.

Craig Wilson, Managing Director of Williams Advanced Engineering said: “Airbus is a name synonymous with innovation and technology in the industry. As such, we are delighted to be working with them on this project, and hope to share some of our expertise in electrification, battery systems and advanced lightweight materials, as well as learn from their vast experience in aerospace. We are very much looking forward to working together on this project and hope the learnings from one another may continue in the future."

Airbus Head of Unmanned Aerial Systems, Jana Rosenmann, said: “At Airbus we have enormous respect for Williams Advanced Engineering’s technical expertise and achievements, as well as for their impressive record in rapidly bringing new technologies and products to market. Our engineering teams are thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from the Formula 1 world and just as enthusiastic about sharing much of what we have learned in developing solutions to high-altitude, solar-powered flight.

“Both Airbus and Williams are always looking to recruit talented engineers and we hope that this joint activity illustrates the terrific opportunities we offer to work in the kind of technologies that will be critical to future transportation."

Mercedes close to breaking 1000bhp barrier

The Mercedes F1 engine

Mercedes is close to producing a Formula 1 engine that can deliver a power output of 1000bhp, according to its engine boss Andy Cowell.

Mercedes has dominated F1's V6 turbo hybrid era, clinching four successive double world championships.

Power unit development has been such that last year, Cowell said Mercedes had exceeded 900bhp and now says it is on course to break the 1000bhp barrier.

"We're close," Cowell told Autosport. "I'm sure that'll happen at some point."

This year, Mercedes' engine hit a landmark achievement on the dyno when it broke the 50% thermal efficiency barrier for the first time.

Its progress is thought to have made its M08 EQ Power+ the most efficient racing engine ever.

Thermal efficiency, which is calculated on the amount of useful energy that can be produced from a given amount of heat input, has become a key focus for modern engine builders.

In F1, it is particularly important because of the strict fuel-flow limit rate of 100kg/hour.

When asked how long it will take until 50% thermal efficiency is transferred from the dyno to the track, Cowell said: "It's an answer for the early part of the next year.

"We need to see how the power unit development goes through the winter and our prove-out goes through the winter, and it's a balance with the car as well.

"There are engines running on the dyno – that's one thing.

"When you go to total car lap time, that's the bit where there's work being done to improve the technology on the car to enhance both aerodynamic and power unit performance.

"Let's see how it all works out." Autosport