Latest F1 news in brief

Hamilton has entire Mercedes team behind him

Hamilton has 'whole team' behind him now – Rosberg
Rosberg eyes role with Monaco GP promoter
Boullier not ruling out McLaren-Honda 'divorce'
Hamilton, Vettel keep 'respect' for 2017 battle
Sauber adds new floor to C36-Ferrari
McLaren aims for first 2017 double finish
Pirelli expecting one-stop Monaco GP
Changes made to Monaco circuit

Hamilton has 'whole team' behind him now – Rosberg
(GMM) Nico Rosberg will attend this weekend's Monaco grand prix.

The retired reigning world champion lives in the Principality with his wife, who is now expecting their second child, and young daughter.

"The fact that we can create a new human being together is so beautiful," the 31-year-old German said.

"But two children will be a challenge as well, so I want to take more time in the future to support Vivian," he is quoted by Auto Bild.

But although he no longer has a role in formula one, Rosberg says he has been watching the races so far in 2017 with interest.

"The first races were really mega for formula one — hugely exciting, you never knew who would win," he said. "Then also with the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari, you could not wish for more."

He also welcomed the head-to-head duel between his old teammate, Lewis Hamilton, and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel.

"The fight is cool to watch and very different as well," said Rosberg. "It's a completely different situation for Lewis. To fight against another team means that he has the whole team behind him, not half the team like before."

Rosberg will attend this weekend's race on the streets of Monaco, where he has lived his whole life.

"I took a lot of time to recover from the stresses and all the celebrations of last year," he said. "Not I'm going to take on new challenges, meet people, talk to them — there's always something interesting going on."

Rosberg eyes role with Monaco GP promoter

Rosberg lives in Monaco – eyes role in race promotion

(GMM) Nico Rosberg could be about to take on a new role.

The retired reigning world champion, who has been basically entirely absent from the F1 paddock so far in 2017, is set to attend Monaco this weekend.

German Rosberg, 31, lives in the Principality, but he also might be planning to meet with Michel Boeri.

Boeri is the president of the Automobile Club de Monaco, the promoter of the fabled street race.

The 78-year-old Frenchman told the Nice-Matin newspaper that he will retire in 2021.

"If someone wants to do this job, he can consider it for 2021," said Boeri.

He said Rosberg has already offered to take on a role for the club.

"He wants to work with us to perfect the circuit, thanks to his perspective as a driver. He can also point out any safety gaps," said Boeri.

Boullier not ruling out McLaren-Honda 'divorce'

Eric Boullier eyeing split

(GMM) Eric Boullier is not ruling out that McLaren could split with Honda.

McLaren linked up with the Japanese carmaker three years ago, but is still struggling for performance and reliability.

"The problem is that we do not just buy an engine," said team boss Boullier. "Honda started with a clean sheet, with new regulations, and with Honda's good reputation.

"But we had no guarantee about the final product, because you can't forget that we do not pay for these engines," he added.

But the failure of the works collaboration so far has triggered a plethora of rumors, and not just that it could mean Fernando Alonso leaves the team.

Also rumored is that Honda could get help from Mercedes, or that McLaren could simply split with the Japanese and simply buy a customer power unit from Mercedes.

La Derniere Heure newspaper asked Boullier directly if it is possible a lawyer could get McLaren out of its contract with Honda due to poor performance.

He answered: "Before we go to the lawyer, we are in the intermediate zone, trying to find solutions.

"I'm spending my time between England and Japan trying to influence them, but it's difficult," said Boullier.

"It is already hard for a European to understand them, but for a European from racing, it is extremely hard.

"Their approach to F1 is: when everyone else goes to the right, we go to the left. It's extraordinary but it seems to work in the end, because Japan is still a great world power," said Boullier.

"But today it's about timing. They're going to get there, but instead of three years as you'd expect it could be six or seven years, and in the meantime you have to survive.

"As long as we progress it's ok, but then we backtracked so it became more complicated to motivate and to convince ourselves that we will get there," he added.

So when asked specifically if McLaren-Honda is definitely staying together beyond 2017, Boullier answered: "Everything is possible.

"What we are interested in is that it works, so that we are in a position to do what we want to do. But our intention today is not to divorce.

"I'm not going to make that decision," he insisted. "It's for the owners of McLaren."

Hamilton, Vettel keep 'respect' for 2017 battle

Vettel and Hamilton

(GMM) F1's title protagonists insist they will continue to "respect" one another through their 2017 battle.

Just 6 points divides Sebastian Vettel from Lewis Hamilton after 5 races.

The pair came close to touching wheels two weeks ago in Barcelona, where Mercedes' Hamilton called the Ferrari driver's move "dangerous".

But afterwards, they said their mutual respect remains intact.

"I didn't say anything bad," Hamilton said. "I'm glad I was able to have a battle and didn't damage anything but there's nothing lost between us. The respect stays the same."

Ferrari's Vettel agrees: "Away from the track there is no reason not to get along with each other.

"You always have to respect when the others do a good job," he is quoted by DPA news agency. "The respect will remain."

Hamilton won in Barcelona recently, but Mercedes team figures have been quoted as saying they are worried about Monaco, where the long-wheelbase car concept could struggle.

Vettel admits he hopes Monaco is not as close a battle as Barcelona.

"The idea of having close battles is obviously nice," said the German. "But we don't want to battle them close, we want to be ahead of them."

Sauber adds new floor to C36-Ferrari

New floor for the Saubers

Sauber will introduce a new floor to its C36-Ferrari at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix as it continues its quest to re-establish itself in Formula 1's midfield.

Sauber has struggled for performance in recent seasons but claimed eighth place, its best result since 2015, courtesy of the one-stopping Pascal Wehrlein at the preceding race in Spain.

Wehrlein and team-mate Marcus Ericsson will now have a new floor available to them around the streets of Monte Carlo, along with adjusted rear brake ducts, among other new developments.

"Looking back on the Spanish Grand Prix weekend, we travel with good memories to Monte Carlo," said Wehrlein.

"We need to keep working in this development direction to further improve, but I am positive that we will make another step with the new parts on the car in Monaco.

"Racing in Monaco is always special – it is fascinating and challenging at the same time, but also because of the tradition and the exciting Formula 1 races in the past.

"It is a real challenge for us drivers, as we need to drive very precisely.

"In order to be fast we are forced to drive the cars millimeters away from the barriers, but I like these kinds of challenges."

Added Ericsson: "We are making progress, and I am confident that we can further improve with the new parts that we are bringing to Monte Carlo."

Sauber currently occupies ninth place in the Constructors' Championship.

McLaren aims for first 2017 double finish

McLaren hoping for a double finish

McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier says getting both MCL32s to the finish is the team's primary goal for Monaco, and reckons further updates will boost its progress.

McLaren's 2017 campaign has been characterized by a lack of reliability and performance, with the team having yet to capture a double finish, while it sits at the foot of the standings, without a point.

Boullier is hopeful that Stoffel Vandoorne and Jenson Button – the latter filling in for Indianapolis-bound Fernando Alonso – can reach the checkered flag, in order to display McLaren's progress.

"From a trackside point of view, we'll be bringing more updates to the car this weekend, which we hope will return positive feedback to mirror what we saw in Spain," he said.

"Despite our result there, we're encouraged by the progress we're making, and hope in Monaco we'll have the opportunity to execute a more representative performance than those we've managed in recent races.

"Of course, the first priority is to finish the race with both cars, and work through the best possible strategy in order to give ourselves any fighting chance of a decent result.

"In Monaco, you can't take anything for granted, and it's certainly all to play for."

Boullier also welcomed Button's comeback at the venue where he triumphed in his title-winning 2009 season.

"We are all looking forward to working with [Button] again," he said.

"He is already doing a sterling job deputizing for Fernando, having already completed stints in our simulator in preparation."

Pirelli expecting one-stop Monaco GP
Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli says it is expecting the bulk of drivers to adopt a one-stop approach in Monaco, but believes low degradation will still lead to strategic variance.

Pirelli will bring the three softest compounds from its range – the Ultra Softs (purple), Super Softs (red) and Softs (yellow) – to the event, mirroring its selection from 2016.

Last year's Monaco Grand Prix was won on a one-stop strategy by Lewis Hamilton, albeit running an unconventional Wet/Ultra Soft approach, due to heavy rain prior to the race start.

Pirelli expects an Ultra Soft/Super Soft strategy to play out this weekend, though reckons low degradation levels will allow teams to vary when they make the mandatory change.

"The three softest compounds are the obvious choice for Monaco," said Pirelli's Head of Car Racing Mario Isola. "But there is still plenty of scope for strategic variation.

"Wear and degradation is so low that the teams can more or less choose whenever they would like to make their single pit stop from Ultra Soft to Super Soft, which should be the standard choice for the race.

"This is the first Grand Prix that the drivers have been able to select their own tire allocations.

"As expected, the nominations have overwhelmingly favored the Ultra Soft. This is the tire that will be used the most in both qualifying and the race."

Monaco will be the third event this season with Pirelli's three softest compounds available.

McLaren F1 Exec Dir Sees Esports As Potential 'Racing Property'

Zak Brown

McLaren Formula 1 team Exec Dir Zak Brown said that all F1 teams "could eventually have their own virtual counterpart, while gaming can become the new grassroots of the sport," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS.

Speaking at an event to promote McLaren's "World's Fastest Gamer" initiative to recruit an F1 simulator driver from virtual racing, Brown said that the world of esports "was to be embraced."

He said, "I don’t see how any F1 team can ignore the power of esports, the audience, the people it produces. So I’d like to think most F1 teams will do something in some way, shape or form. This is building the grassroots of motorsports. If the grassroots has historically been karting, which is still a narrow audience because it’s still expensive, I see this (gaming) as being the ultimate grassroots of motorsports, being wide and deep and everyone can afford it."

Darren Cox, "Chief Maverick Officer" of the Ideas+Cars agency working with McLaren, said that gaming was "bigger than Hollywood" and pointed to the "Real Racing 3" mobile app that had 300 million downloads.

Cox said, "Kids are finding sports through their virtual equivalent first before they actually find the real sport." Brown said that motor racing, as a sport that could not be practiced at school and required a substantial outlay, "needed to consider other ways of engaging younger audiences." He said, "I see esports as another racing property for us in the McLaren ecosystem." REUTERS

Changes made to Monaco circuit

Curb changes for Monaco

Formula 1’s new generation of cars have necessitated a few changes to the Monte Carlo street circuit including a rather large new curb on the exit of the Swimming Pool.

With this year’s cars faster than their predecessors, Formula 1 has taken steps to improve safety at all the tracks.

For Monaco this has meants improvements to the TecPro at Turns 1, 4, 11, 12 and 15 while guardrails have been installed between Turns 1 and 3, and 4 and 5.

However, it is the introduction of a new curb on the exit of the Swimming Pool complex that is likely to garner the most attention in practice.
This new curb has been put in a place in order to deter drivers from cutting the corner.

Added to that the speed bumps at the run-off in Turns 15 and 16 have been replaced by one large speed bump that runs parallel to the track.

Sections of the track have also been resurfaced ahead of this weekend’s race.