Latest F1 news in brief

Boxing announcer Michael Buffer on the grid before the USGP at Circuit of The Americas to announce drivers

Mixed reaction to Indy 500-style F1 spectacle
Verstappen refuses to retract 'idiot' insult
'Kvyat will not return' to F1 – Marko
Hard to win team title with Raikkonen – Briatore
'Almost impossible' to fight rivals – Ericsson
Alonso expects Mexican GP grid penalty

Mixed reaction to Indy 500-style F1 spectacle
(GMM) The Indy 500-style spectacle before last weekend's US grand prix drew a mixed reaction from F1's insiders.

Gerhard Berger, a fun-loving former F1 driver and team-owner, said watching Michael Buffer's 'Let's get ready to rumble!'-style driver introductions was "not for me".

And Fernando Alonso, who raced in the actual Indy 500 earlier this year, said Sunday in Austin was a mere "imitation" of the real thing.

But self-professed extrovert and triple world champion Lewis Hamilton said: "It was unbelievable.

Pre-Race festivities

"For ten years it was boring but this was more like the Super Bowl," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

To accommodate the spectacle, the pitlane was opened earlier than usual and drivers were waiting in an artificially smoke-filled tunnel rather than on the grid before the race.

F1 purist Sebastian Vettel said: "For those who like that sort of thing it was nice. For me, I don't need it. I'm not a showman.

"I like to get in the car and drive."

Kimi Raikkonen agreed: "Everyone knows what I would prefer. But it doesn't bother me as long as it's done in the right place at the right time."

Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko thinks it was a "great show".

"Clearly this was for the American taste, but our (race promotion) people in Spielberg will definitely look for some ideas for the race in Austria," he said.

Christian Horner added: "We don't need that kind of show each time, but where it makes sense, I don't mind.

"It wouldn't work at Silverstone," the Red Bull boss added, "but it would be wrong to say we should leave everything alone. If we want to inspire new fans, we have to think of new ways."

Finally, F1 sporting boss Ross Brawn commented: "I'm proud of how the weekend in Austin went.

"We are doing small things to improve the show and what we did on Sunday worked well even though you wouldn't do that everywhere.

"But what is particularly pleasing is that the teams are now seeing what direction we're moving in with formula one," he said.

Verstappen refuses to retract 'idiot' insult

'Mad Max' Verstappen

(GMM) Max Verstappen says he will not apologize for calling an F1 steward an "idiot" after the US grand prix.

Just before walking onto the podium in Austin, the Dutchman was told a penalty for his last-lap move on Kimi Raikkonen had cost him third place.

Verstappen, his father Jos and Red Bull reacted with fury.

The 20-year-old driver even called one of the stewards – named by Dutch media as Australian Garry Connelly – a "mongool".

It translates to "mongol", and the insult upset a Down Syndrome group.

"It was said in the heat of the moment and of course I did not mean to hurt anyone," Verstappen told Ziggo Sport Totaal on Monday when told about the reaction to his 'mongol' comment.

But to English-language reporters, Verstappen also called the steward an "idiot", and contrary to reports elsewhere, he is refusing to retract that insult.

"I'm really not angry anymore," he told De Telegraaf newspaper.

"I had a super race and that is now the dominant feeling. But I called the steward an idiot and I will not take it back."

That is despite the fact it is believed the FIA is looking into whether the insult has brought the sport into disrepute.

But Verstappen says it is his responsibility to criticize where he sees fit.

"It was just unfair, and myself or Red Bull cannot even appeal," he said. "That is ridiculous and it has to change.

"It is my duty as a driver to indicate if something in formula one is a big mistake. And that is a big mistake."

'Kvyat will not return' to F1 – Marko

Kvyat's F1 career is over

(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko says Daniil Kvyat will not return to F1 with Red Bull backing.

Throughout the Austin weekend, Russian Kvyat called for a meeting with Red Bull's notorious driver manager to clarify his uncertain future.

Then this week, Toro Rosso announced that despite 23-year-old Kvyat's strong one-off return in the US grand prix, the Red Bull junior team would line up in Mexico this weekend with Pierre Gasly alongside Brendon Hartley.

Marko has now told Germany's Auto Bild that Red Bull will no longer support Kvyat in F1.

"Kvyat will not return again," said the Austrian.

"We do not believe he can make the turnaround in the long term."

Toro Rosso had only confirmed Gasly and Hartley for the Mexican grand prix, but Marko clarifies that the pairing will in fact remain in place for the final three races of 2017.

"Gasly and Hartley will finish the season," he confirmed.

"Then we'll see what happens."

Hard to win team title with Raikkonen – Briatore

Raikkonen not consistently fast enough

(GMM) Flavio Briatore has questioned Ferrari's decision to stick with Kimi Raikkonen for 2018.

In Austin, Mercedes wrapped up the 2017 constructors' world championship with a full three races to spare.

And Briatore, the former title-winning Renault team boss, says pairing Raikkonen with Sebastian Vettel is not a good strategy if Ferrari wants to wear the constructors' crown in the future.

"Certainly it is very difficult to win the constructors' title with Raikkonen," the Italian told the Spanish daily Marca.

"To win, you must have two drivers who are competitive and then you identify who should win the drivers' championship," he added.

Even if Ferrari's Vettel wins in Mexico this weekend, a mere fifth place will wrap up the drivers' championship for Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton.

Briatore says the British driver will deserve it.

"You win and lose races, but a championship is more like the Giro d'Italia.

"Lewis and Mercedes have been the strongest, even if Ferrari did very well at the beginning. But I think Mercedes did the better job in development," he added.

'Almost impossible' to fight rivals – Ericsson

Marcus Ericsson wants a current Ferrari engine

Marcus Ericsson says it is now "almost impossible" for Sauber to fight with its Formula 1 rivals due to its use of a year-old power unit.

Sauber opted to use Ferrari's 2016-spec power unit this year and scored points in Spain and Azerbaijan courtesy of Ericsson's team-mate Pascal Wehrlein.

However, Sauber has largely drifted away from the midfield pack, and has not made Q2, nor challenged for points, since the summer break.

Ericsson says that the situation means that the outfit cannot compete with its rivals, and that his focus has now switched to beating Wehrlein, as he strives for a 2018 seat.

"The power unit is a massive handicap," Ericsson told the official F1 website.

"With the old power unit it is almost impossible for us to fight with the other guys, so my benchmark is Pascal and it is my first goal to beat him.

"All the people making decisions over the Sauber cockpits know that we are handicapped by the power unit and can hardly fight others, so it is a fight within the team.

"The fact is that I don't have a contract for next season, I am fighting for that.

"I want to show that I deserve to be in F1 next year. That is my aim. My management is speaking with the team and trying to sort out my contract."

Ericsson added that it has been "mentally tough" to compete in Formula 1 due to spending the bulk of his career in relatively uncompetitive machinery.

Ericsson debuted with Caterham in 2014 and switched to Sauber for 2015, with the team having struggled in recent years.

"F1 has been pretty tough for me," Ericsson reflected.

"Out of my four years in the sport I only had one year with a competitive car.

"The other three years I have spent mostly at the back of the field – and that makes it tough, especially mentally.

"I am a racer looking for wins and not making up the grid and fighting for P18. Yes, that is mentally challenging.

"But it is also one of my strengths – that I always keep fighting, always try to do the best in the situation I am in and not let the frustration take over.

"I always see the positive side in things and try to make the most out of it."

Alonso expects Mexican GP grid penalty

Honda let Alonso down again in Austin

McLaren-Honda's Fernando Alonso says he is braced for a back-of-the-grid start at this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix, in the wake of his engine failure in the United States.

Alonso avoided a sanction in Austin and started from seventh place, and was on course to convert his grid position in race trim until an MGU-H failure forced him to retire.

As a result, Alonso is expecting to start from the back of the field at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez due to the requirement of new engine components, which will trigger a grid penalty.

"I love Mexico and the Mexican people, and I hope we can put on the show they deserve," said Alonso.

"It will surely be a challenging weekend for us as I'm expecting to start from the back of the grid due to the engine issue we had in Austin.

"It's also a track where we often struggle with traffic, which makes overtaking difficult.

"But, on the positive side, we tested a lot of new components on Friday in the USA which we were very happy with, and we hope to take those forward to use in Mexico."

Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne dropped down the order on the grid after a pre-race MGU-H issue was detected, forcing McLaren to fit his MCL32 with new elements.

Vandoorne, having completed the race in Austin in 12th spot, is optimistic of avoiding a grid penalty this weekend, but the situation has yet to be determined.

"Mexico will likely be a very tricky race for us because of the long straight and the high altitude, two characteristics which will make things more difficult for us all weekend," he said.

"As I had to change my power unit on race day in Austin, we're hoping that we won't have to take penalties on my car in Mexico.

"At the moment we're looking into everything and will wait until Friday to confirm if anything is necessary."