Latest F1 news in brief

The 'Shield' is not going to be popular. It will not look exactly like this Red Bull version

F1 to start testing 'Shield' next month
Palmer 'under pressure' to deliver – Abiteboul
More Kubica tests 'possible' – Renault
Wolff backtracks after Rosberg return comments
Honda lagging behind in simulation – Cuquerella
Broadcaster says F1 'humming' once again
F1 will never go all-electric – Todt
Mercedes closing up on Ferrari – Bottas
Red Bull drivers 'cannot end contracts' – Marko
Watson: Alonso's options limited for 2018
Pirelli: Vettel didn't benefit from testing

F1 to start testing 'Shield' next month
(GMM) F1's new 'Shield' concept will make its public debut earlier than expected.

Earlier, we reported that the FIA would begin testing the new head protection on F1 cars during free practice in Monza and Singapore, in September.

But it now emerges that the reportedly transparent cockpit-integrated device will actually now be tested for the first time at Silverstone, for practice ahead of July's British grand prix.

It is believed the first car to be fitted with the Shield will be the Ferrari, with other teams to follow in September.

The news follows a recent meeting between the teams and the FIA.

"There are a lot of question marks over it," admitted Force India's Andy Green. "There's a lot of work to do in the timeframe we have been given."

Red Bull's Paul Monaghan agreed: "We are going to be very tight to get this onto a car for 2018."

Palmer 'under pressure' to deliver – Abiteboul

Will Palmer be replaced by Alonso in 2018 as rumored?

(GMM) Cyril Abiteboul has admitted Jolyon Palmer is under "pressure" to "deliver" for Renault in 2017.

The British driver is yet to score a single point versus teammate Nico Hulkenberg's 18 so far, amid rumors he could be ousted mid-season.

"Jolyon must deliver," boss Abiteboul told the French broadcaster Canal Plus.

"He has a contract for the year, now he has to deliver like everyone else," he added.

"The obligation was first on the team — we had to give him a car that runs well to allow him enough kilometers to do a good job on the weekend, which we did.

"There was really our priority to have reliability, which was putting pressure on us. We put pressure on him as well but it must be positive.

"So I will not start making threats on a driver who does not need that at this stage," Abiteboul said.

More Kubica tests 'possible' – Renault

Robert Kubica

(GMM) Robert Kubica wanted an F1 test in order to decide the next steps in his career.

That is the claim of Cyril Abiteboul, the Renault team boss, after the Enstone outfit recently gave Kubica his first F1 outing since the Pole almost severed his arm in 2011.

"He did the test because he wanted to," the Frenchman told Canal Plus.

"The Enstone family is very loyal: people like Alan Permane, Bob Bell, Nick Chester, everyone wanted to give their driver the opportunity to drive.

"The opportunity came when we had a day scheduled (at Valencia) with Sergey Sirotkin," Abiteboul explained.

The test excited the media and had Kubica himself even raising the possibility of a "comeback", but Abiteboul said Renault is staying calm.

"There is no idea and I do not want to get into a pressure situation," he insisted.

"Robert is measuring his skills and his limits, and once he knows his limits, he can make a decision for the rest of his career," said Abiteboul.

Renault engineering chief Permane said the team tried to keep Kubica's test low-profile.

"Robert has a lot of fans upset that he is not in formula one, so we did not want to put this additional pressure on him, although he could have dealt with it," he said.

"I just wanted Robert to enjoy it.

"Of course, there is no limit to perfection, but Robert was physically well prepared. We had to move a few switches to the other side (of the steering wheel) so he could use them, but there was nothing difficult."

As for the next steps, Permane said: "It's too early to talk about it, but we are in touch with Robert. There are no plans to continue the tests, but it is possible for the future."

Wolff backtracks after Rosberg return comments

Rosberg is done

(GMM) Toto Wolff has backtracked after saying Nico Rosberg might return to F1 from retirement.

In Montreal, Mercedes chief Wolff said he would "not be surprised" if the German was lured to "Ferrari or someone else" in the future.

Rosberg hit back: "No, I really have finished my career."

Now, Wolff has clarified his original comments, saying he had simply answered a journalist's question about whether he would be surprised if Rosberg came back.

"I would be even more surprised if he is back in formula one again next year," he told the German broadcaster Sky.

"You can see how stories like this are created in formula one," Wolff added.

Honda lagging behind in simulation – Cuquerella

Honda behind in simulation, HP and reliability

(GMM) A former F1 engineer suspects Honda is lagging behind in the area of simulation.

This week, amid intense rumors of a looming split with McLaren, Honda chief Yusuke Hawegawa admitted the engine maker is having trouble with correlation between its test benches and the track.

"It may be that they have invested a lot but unwisely, or invested too little by underestimating the importance in this area," former F1 engineer Toni Cuquerella, now a pundit for Spanish TV Movistar, is quoted by El Confidencial newspaper.

He said Honda will be no newcomer to test stands and dynamometers, but may not be well enough equipped for the specific demands of F1.

"In F1 there is almost no private testing so the trend is to have increasingly sophisticated test stands.

"When you test your engine, it also depends on the coupling to the gearbox and also the chassis – how it flexes, how it vibrates," Cuquerella added.

"I have no idea what level Honda are at, but I dare say they are not the leaders in this technology."

Broadcaster says F1 'humming' once again
(GMM) F1 is "humming" once again.

That is the positive assessment of Manfred Loppe, the sporting boss of the German free-to-air television broadcaster RTL.

After a F1 ratings slump for RTL in recent years, Kolner Express newspaper reports that TV audiences have been up in Germany for all seven races so far in 2017.

"This new formula one is humming!" said Loppe.

"And it's not only on the track, where the new rules are grabbing the audience, but also next to the track.

"Now there is more transparency, the spectators are getting closer," he added, referring to changes made since Liberty Media took over the sport.

F1 will never go all-electric – Todt

Jean Todt

(GMM) Jean Todt says F1 will never abandon its petrol-based origins and join Formula E as an all-electric powered series.

"It's impossible," the FIA president told La Presse newspaper.

"F1 is an absolutely different discipline," he insisted.

Todt said he is a great supporter and fan of Formula E, but he thinks F1 took the right path by heading in the hybrid direction a few years ago.

"It is a huge step forward compared to what we had before," said the Frenchman.

However, Todt also said the progress made by Formula E since its inception has been "remarkable".

"We have a dozen manufacturers who want to get involved, and have been approached by some of the biggest cities in the world," he said.

"Today there are brands like Renault that are in F1 and Formula E."

And Todt was also quoted by Le Journal de Montreal: "I am confident that one day Ferrari will follow suit, and we would like to see that."

Mercedes closing up on Ferrari – Bottas

Mercedes buried Ferrari in Canada

(GMM) Mercedes is closing up on Ferrari in terms of managing Pirelli's 2017 tires.

That is the claim of Valtteri Bottas, who finished second to his teammate Lewis Hamilton in Montreal.

That is despite the fact Ferrari utterly dominated just one race earlier in Monaco, after more consistently getting the most from Pirelli's tires so far this year.

"Our Mercedes is a very sensitive car," Finn Bottas admitted to Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"But if we find the right setup it is really fast — the difficulty is just finding that setup.

"Ferrari is really strong and has been better than us in managing the tires, but we are improving as we saw in Montreal," Bottas added.

As for his personal performance in 2017, and amid speculation Mercedes may extend his current contract into 2018, Bottas confirmed he has settled in well.

"I will try to fight with Lewis at every track, and trying to beat him is a great motivation, but he's not an easy teammate," he said.

"Next there is Baku which I think will suit me. My goal is always to win races and one day the title, but it's really important for me to be consistent for the team," Bottas added.

Red Bull drivers 'cannot end contracts' – Marko


The Red Bull drivers are essentially screwed

(GMM) Red Bull has control of the destinies of its F1 drivers.

That is the claim of Dr Helmut Marko, the boss of the energy drink company's driver program.

At Red Bull Racing, rumors have linked Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen with other teams for 2018, while Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz is obviously keen to step up the grid after three years in F1.

But Marko told Germany's Sport Bild that Red Bull is in charge.

"Ricciardo and Verstappen have fixed contracts," he said. "Ricciardo for 2018, and Verstappen with some clauses for even much longer."

And the Austrian said Red Bull is not willing to let any of them go.

"That also applies to Carlos Sainz," said Marko. "He is also bound to us in the longer team. Until 2019.

"Only we can end contracts — the drivers cannot."

Watson: Alonso's options limited for 2018

Alonso stuck between a rock and a hard place

Ex-Formula 1 driver John Watson reckons that Fernando Alonso will struggle to find a competitive, alternative seat in Formula 1 for 2018, if he leaves McLaren.

Alonso returned to McLaren back in 2015, for the team's reunion with Honda, but has been held back by the Japanese manufacturer's power unit struggles.

So far this season, McLaren is the only team yet to score a point, Alonso suffering another failure at last weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, while running 10th.

Alonso has faced a barrage of questions over his future in recent weeks, stating that if McLaren-Honda is winning by September, he will stay onboard for 2018.

Should he choose to leave, Watson reckons Alonso will be hard-pushed to find a better seat, given the current situations at Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.

Alonso had a troubled spell alongside Lewis Hamilton (now at Mercedes) in 2007, and split with Ferrari at the end of 2014, while Red Bull's drivers are contracted through 2018.

"How patient does he need to be?" Watson, who raced full-time for McLaren from 1979-1983, finishing third in the 1982 championship, told GPUpdate.net.

"But the problem is, where would he go? The options that are tangibly available…

"Renault is the one that might have [a seat], but I think they have said that it's a year or two years too early to take a driver of Fernando's skill, ability and whatever else.

"They've got to ramp up their own game, so that by maybe in 2019 they would be in a position [to offer] the kind of seat that a driver of his status would deserve."

Watson added that losing Honda's financial input, which is believed to include paying for part of Alonso's salary and providing free power units, would leave McLaren with a headache.

"If there's a separation with Honda, there's going to be a massive financial black hole," he said, amid growing talk that McLaren could go back to Mercedes power.

"What Honda have contributed [to McLaren] in terms of finance, as well as the power units, has covered Alonso's fees. If Honda go, where's that going to come from?"

Watson lamented the current woes for both his former team and Alonso.

"It's awful, it's terrible," he went on to comment.

"To barely scrape out of Q1… getting into Q2 they're doing moderately well, and occasionally Alonso makes it into Q3 – make no mistake, that's Alonso getting the car into Q3.

"Alonso is not getting any younger, but he's still got another World Championship in him – he wants to have an opportunity to have a pop at a World Championship."

Pirelli: Vettel didn't benefit from testing

Vettel tested the wide Pirelli tires a full 1,000 KM less than Wehrlein in the Mercedes

Pirelli has played down suggestions that Sebastian Vettel's strong form so far this season is connected to him completing more development testing through 2016.

Ferrari driver Vettel carried out over 2,000km of running, and team-mate Kimi RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen passed the 1,000km mark, while Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton only covered 50km.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has admitted that this may have been a mistake, with his drivers experiencing on/off tire struggles over the early stages of the 2017 campaign.

However, Pirelli chief Paul Hembery doubts that Vettel's extra running "helped practically", reiterating that drivers racked up laps without knowing what tires they were testing.

"Yes, Sebastian did a lot of testing," Hembery told the official F1 website.

"It was very intense and he gave us a lot of feedback. We thank him for that. That is what we wanted: the top drivers giving us good feedback.

"But because he didn't really know what he was testing – he was blind-testing – it might have helped him psychologically, but I doubt it helped practically."

Hembery is also confident that Mercedes will soon get over its problems.

"Actually Mercedes' issue is linked a bit to certain circuits," he added.

"In Barcelona they were fine, and in Silverstone and Spa they will be as well.

"It's the lower-grip circuits where they've had a few more problems, but I am sure they will resolve any issues as we go through the season."

Vettel holds a 12-point title lead over Hamilton, having won in Australia, Bahrain and Monaco, and finished second in China, Russia and Spain.

KMs tested per driver in 2016:

Pascal Wehrlein (Mercedes): 3,248
Pierre Gasly (Red Bull): 2,494
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari): 2,228
Sébastien Buemi (Red Bull): 1,190
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): 1,054
Max Verstappen (Red Bull): 517
Esteban Gutiérrez (Ferrari): 480
Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari): 478
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes): 209
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): 200
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 50