Latest F1 news in brief – Monday
-
Wolff's driver Hamilton did not want to test the new Pirellis after last season because his fragile ego could not take getting beat by Rosberg. Now Mercedes is paying the price Tire situation 'an Italian mystery' – Wolff
- Magnussen sitting out sessions due to contract
- Russia wants later race date in 2018
- Monaco to build new F1 pits for 2018
- Malone, Mateschitz in 'secret' F1 meeting
- Force India angry after race number controversy
- Stewart tips Vettel to beat Hamilton in 2017
- Ferrari has 'better car' – Ecclestone
- Less extreme 'T-wings' from now – Force India
- Alonso unsure over Honda engine upgrade
- Formula 1 Aiming For More Than 21 Races Per Season, Sean Bratches Says
Tire situation 'an Italian mystery' – Wolff
(GMM) Pirelli has hit back at conspiracy theories about Ferrari's sudden return to the top in F1 this year.
After three consecutive years of Mercedes dominance, it is now the red team that is clearly leading in 2017.
"At 25 points ahead, Vettel is now clearly the world championship favorite," Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda told Osterreich newspaper.
One theory is that Pirelli's new, wider slicks were designed with a narrow 'tire window' that specifically suits the 2017 Ferrari.
"Why this Ferrari succeeds (with the tire window) and we do not is probably an Italian mystery," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera has hit back at that intimation of Italian collusion.
"This is a discussion about the seriousness of the top three teams and how they tested the wider tires with older cars," he said.
"Mercedes tested with Pascal Wehrlein, while it was Sebastian Vettel who took the responsibility for Ferrari," Provera added.
Auto Motor und Sport also quotes Provera as saying: "Sebastian even took the time to visit us in the Milan factory several times to discuss his impressions with our engineers."
Magnussen sitting out sessions due to contract
 |
| Magnussen's check wasn't big enough so team has to help their bottom line by raising money Giovinazzi will pay to test |
(GMM) Contractual details explain why Kevin Magnussen will sit out so many Friday practice sessions in the second half of 2017.
With Ferrari reserve Antonio Giovinazzi set for seven Friday morning sessions with Haas, it is the American team's Danish regular Kevin Magnussen who will give up his car on six of those occasions.
"The reason Kevin is missing more than Romain (Grosjean) is merely because of our agreements," Haas chief Gunther Steiner told Ekstra Bladet.
"Romain's contract was done in the summer of 2015, and Kevin's in autumn 2016," he explained.
"Kevin understood this from the very beginning and has shown a willingness to put the team first ever since he started with us," Steiner added.
Russia wants later race date in 2018
(GMM) Russia will press to have its round of the 2018 world championship pushed back by several months.
Having staged an early round of the season for the past couple of years, deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak told Russia 24 that Sochi now wants a later race next season.
"We have asked formula one organisers to restore our place in the autumn," he said.
Igor Ermilin, the auto racing presidential advisor, agreed: "I do not think this postponement is wrong in any way, and I do not think there will be problems with the FIA.
"Postponement of formula one races is standard practice that happens from time to time, and the date of the race is not strictly defined contractually," he added.
Monaco to build new F1 pits for 2018
 |
| Monaco Pits |
(GMM) Monaco will build a new pitlane and paddock complex at a cost of EUR 30 million ahead of the 2018 race.
That is the exclusive claim of Bild newspaper, reporting that Monaco's Prince Albert confided the news to friends during the grand prix weekend recently.
"Monaco wanted to prepare the new pitlane for 2017, but engineers were unable to guarantee they would finish it in time. So the project was postponed to 2018," said Bild.
The Automobile Club de Monaco's Richard Micoud confirmed: "Yes, it's true.
"The new pit building will be two-storey. Teams will finally have more space and will not be tripping over their feet."
Malone, Mateschitz in 'secret' F1 meeting
 |
| John Malone recognizes the fallacy of F1's hybrid engines |
(GMM) Red Bull recently met in "secret" with F1's new owner John Malone.
Malone is the US billionaire tycoon behind Liberty Media, who are now contemplating the future of the sport's controversial engine regulations.
In recent days, Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko warned that if the current 'power unit' regulations stay beyond 2020, the energy drink company will pull its two teams out of F1.
Now, Bild newspaper reports that Malone has met with fellow billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder and owner of Red Bull.
It is believed the men are now united about the cheaper, simpler and louder direction of the engine rules, with even Mercedes' Niki Lauda not disagreeing.
"We have to agree about a future-oriented but more efficient solution," the F1 legend told Bild am Sonntag.
Force India angry after race number controversy
 |
| The Force India numbers in Barcelona were only visible if you were above the car |
(GMM) Force India is angry with F1's governing body in the wake of a dispute about race numbers.
Before Barcelona, teams were told to include bigger and more prominent numbers on their cars' bodywork, and Force India was penalized for falling afoul of the directive.
The small Silverstone based team fixed its livery for Monaco, but a Force India source told Auto Motor und Sport that "the sponsors were not happy".
Technical boss Andy Green confirmed: "Our car was deemed legal at all times in Barcelona, but suddenly after the race it was said we didn't comply with the rules."
Sporting boss Otmar Szafnauer added: "This is a serious precedent.
"It means every other team can do the same thing also in the technical area. According to this, something that was legal on Thursday is no longer legal on Sunday."
Correspondent Michael Schmidt said the order to penalize Force India came from FIA president Jean Todt.
But Szafnauer would not comment on that, saying only: "We're focusing on ourselves."
Stewart tips Vettel to beat Hamilton in 2017
 |
| Vettel battles Hamilton in Barcelona |
(GMM) F1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart has tipped Sebastian Vettel to win a fifth world championship in 2017.
So far in 2017, the title battle has been a two-team, two-driver scrap between Ferrari's Vettel and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
Stewart told Sport Bild: "Sebastian has more experience and is calmer than Lewis.
"It will be difficult for Lewis to turn it around because Vettel is so hungry to succeed again."
Another former F1 driver, Marc Surer, agreed: "Vettel is someone who is discouraged by a bad car, but when he has a good car, he is incredible.
"Also, with his family-driven lifestyle, he has fewer fluctuations than Hamilton."
Ferrari has 'better car' – Ecclestone
 |
| When British driver Hamilton is winning it's the driver's skill, when Vettel is winning it's because the Ferrari is better. Ecclestone, also British, was biased in favor of the British drivers |
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone thinks Ferrari could finally be on the road back to world championship victory in 2017.
Despite being ousted as chief executive, the former F1 supremo has attended four of the six grands prix so far this year, most recently in Monaco.
While in the Principality, he told Blick newspaper: "Ferrari now has the better car and is making a very strong impression.
"They need to be careful at Mercedes," the 86-year-old added.
And Ecclestone's friend and Backgammon buddy, Sebastian Vettel, is firmly leading the charge for the Maranello team.
"When Raikkonen led the race from Vettel, I immediately said to my guests 'The two Ferraris won't be in this order at the finish'. That much was clear," he said.
Less extreme 'T-wings' from now – Force India
(GMM) The 'T-wing' craze stepped into a higher gear recently in Monaco.
Although the unpopular, TV antennae-style airbox wings have been banned for 2018, the cars turned out for the Monaco grand prix with more extreme designs than ever.
Having argued against the 'T-wing' trend, Red Bull had a new double-decker version in Monaco, while Force India went one better with a triple-decker T-wing.
But Force India's technical boss Andy Green told Auto Motor und Sport: "The triple-decker is the maximum for us.
"We built it specifically for this race, although perhaps we'll use a variant of it in Singapore or Hungary. But on the other tracks, the T-wings will be smaller because they produce quite a lot of drag."
Alonso unsure over Honda engine upgrade
 |
| Alonso returns to F1 with an uncertain Honda future |
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has admitted he may not have a more powerful Honda engine to use in Montreal this weekend.
Some media reports claim that while the struggling Japanese marque had planned to make a clear step in Canada, that specification will in fact not be ready.
Alonso, who is returning to McLaren-Honda after a one-race F1 absence, is quoted by Diario Sport newspaper: "I don't know if we'll have something new for the engine in Canada, but I hope so.
"I did read that today, but I often read something in one place and something else in another.
"Until we arrive in Canada we will not know. But every time we do put a new engine in we will start last, because we have already exceeded our limits.
"So I think we have to choose the races in which we do change very carefully," Alonso added.
After being competitive at the Indy 500, the Spaniard said he is returning to F1 with a positive and yet realistic attitude.
"I return with the impression of improving soon but I know it will not be immediate. But we will improve and everyone is impatient for that," Alonso said.
He also admitted that he would like to do the fabled Le Mans 24 hours in the future, but isn't sure when.
"It is for the future — I do not have an exact date," Spanish media reports quote the 35-year-old as saying.
"Since I was a kart driver as a child I was dreaming about F1, Le Mans and Indy," he said.
Formula 1 Aiming For More Than 21 Races Per Season, Sean Bratches Says
Formula 1 Managing Dir, Commercial Operations Sean Bratches said that F1 "wants more than 21 races and will actively target new venues rather than wait for potential hosts to come calling," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS.
Bratches said that he was "aiming for fewer back-to-back grands prix and a calendar drawn up along continental lines."
He added that France and Germany, "historic motor racing nations" that dropped grands prix and are returning next season, were two markets "we never want to leave."
Bratches: "We want to work in partnership with our teams in terms of determining where we go, but our view is that we’d like to go above 21 (races)."
He added that "next season would have 21 rather than the current 20 with France and Germany joining and Malaysia leaving."
He said, "We want to be a little bit more proactive and go on the offensive in terms of the markets where we go."
Bratches said that an economic impact study was "looking at the benefits" F1 can bring to host cities and countries.
He said, "As we start identifying an optimal calendar in optimal regions, we can go down and sit with cities and make our case as opposed to what has been a little bit more reactive to bids coming in." REUTERS