Latest F1 news in brief – Monday (Update)
03/06/17
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Sergio Perez Perez's sponsor happy at Force India
- Boullier not sure Alonso to stay in 2018
- Magnussen not looking to befriend Grosjean
- Giovinazzi says 2017 priority is Ferrari
- Massa leaving F1 door open for 2018
- No regrets about joining Renault – Hulkenberg
- Marchionne staying at Ferrari until 2021
- Work Already Underway to Improve Pirelli's Wet Tires New
- Zandvoort studying a return of the Dutch Grand Prix New
Perez's sponsor happy at Force India
(GMM) Sergio Perez's sponsor says he is happy to be supporting the Mexican at Force India.
The Silverstone based team, famous for making efficient use of its light resources, finished an admirable fourth overall in the championship last year.
But with the big rule changes for 2017, Force India struggled to make an impression in Barcelona testing last week.
"Force India has been doing a good job for many years now, consolidating these results year after year. They have never stopped surprising me," Carlos Slim Domit, of Perez's Mexican backer Telmex, is quoted by Marca newspaper.
"I think that this year, from what I've heard from Checo, they are very excited about the results of the wind tunnel. I hope it continues to develop, it has been the case in the previous two years," Slim added.
Boullier not sure Alonso to stay in 2018
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| Alonso probably gone in 2018 |
(GMM) Eric Boullier has admitted he is not sure Fernando Alonso will stay with McLaren-Honda beyond the end of 2017.
Everybody in F1 expected that – in year three – the Anglo-Japanese works collaboration would finally start to bear fruit.
But McLaren-Honda kicked off Barcelona testing last week amid more technical and performance problems.
Asked what the mood is like behind the scenes, team boss Boullier said: "There are ongoing discussions.
"We are all disappointed by these first tests, because we could not do what we wanted. I do not know if Honda can give us the guarantees we ask for," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"But we absolutely need to see significant progress," he added.
It is clear that the biggest problems are being suffered by Honda, who redesigned the power unit for 2017.
"The oil tank is fixed, but what worries me now is the problem of the second day," Honda's Yusuke Hasegawa told the Spanish broadcaster Movistar.
"It could affect the start of the season, but I hope not and that we can be reliable in Australia."
If not, one domino that could eventually fall is Alonso, although the media has been expecting the Spaniard to implode long before now.
"After six months everybody said it would be a tragedy with him, a mess, but in the third year he is still here," Boullier smiled.
"Of course he is not happy, because he wants to fight to win. It is up to us to bring McLaren to the level it deserves."
Asked how he is managing to keep Alonso calm, the Frenchman answered: "By always telling the truth and avoiding wrong expectations. He knows the situation exactly."
The Spanish sports newspaper AS reports that F1 engine guru Gilles Simon has stopped working as a consultant for the Honda project.
As for whether Alonso will still be at McLaren-Honda in 2018, Boullier admitted: "I hope so, but I'm not sure.
"For sure Fernando is still at the top. The way he has prepared for this season is incredible. He is an example and an inspiration for many drivers."
Magnussen not looking to befriend Grosjean
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| Kevin Magnussen |
(GMM) Kevin Magnussen says he will not go out of his way to become "best friends" with his new F1 teammate.
Recent reports have suggested the Dane and former McLaren and Renault driver often struggles to get along with colleagues.
Now, as the Dane switches to the small American team Haas, Magnussen is paired with Frenchman Romain Grosjean.
"Of course it's important to beat him, as it is important to beat every teammate," Magnussen, 24, told the Danish newspaper BT.
"The relationship so far is as it should be. We must of course be open and work to bring the team forward, but we also have the freedom to race against each other and don't have to be best friends," he said.
"But that doesn't mean we're against one another: not at all!" Magnussen insisted.
In fact, Magnussen says he expects his relationship with 30-year-old Grosjean to be similar to the way he worked alongside veteran Jenson Button at McLaren.
Some recall that Button 'helped' the then rookie Magnussen adjust to life in F1.
"No," Magnussen insisted. "I remember there were many who thought Jenson helped me a lot in 2014, but he didn't do anything specific.
"There are some teammates who deliberately try to f— you with incorrect information and so on, but Jenson did not and I have great respect for that.
"I do not know Romain particularly well yet, but I expect that it will be a bit like with Jenson."
Giovinazzi says 2017 priority is Ferrari
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| Antonio Giovinazzi |
(GMM) Antonio Giovinazzi insists his priority for 2017 is his role as Ferrari's reserve driver.
That is despite the fact the Italian was drafted into the Sauber driver lineup for the first Barcelona test, because Pascal Wehrlein is currently sidelined with a back injury.
Blick, a well-connected Swiss newspaper, says it should become clear on Monday whether German Wehrlein will get the green light to return to the Sauber this week.
But whatever happens, Giovinazzi says his main priority is Ferrari.
"I'm the third driver," he is quoted by Speed Week. "I will follow the race weekends and then we'll see what's happening."
However, the 2016 GP2 runner-up admits that sitting on the sidelines in 2017 will take some adjusting to.
"It's going to be harder than before," he said. "To be in the paddock but with less adrenaline."
Massa leaving F1 door open for 2018
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| Felipe Massa |
(GMM) Felipe Massa is leaving the door open to staying in formula one even beyond the end of 2017.
Although emotional, the Brazilian seemed to be happily entering retirement after the 2016 season, as Williams replaced him with teen rookie Lance Stroll.
But Nico Rosberg's sudden retirement and a complex turn of events means Massa, 35, is back.
As for 2018, he said: "If I can stay, if I feel fit and competitive, and I have good opportunities, perhaps I will stay."
At any rate, Massa was always going to continue racing in 2017, having even recently tested Jaguar's Formula E car.
"Formula E was an option. But I had not made a decision. I have no idea what will happen after 2017.
"I've read that I have a (Formula E) contract, but I have nothing to be honest," Massa is quoted by Speed Week.
"The test was a nice feeling. Of course it was something quite different from what we have here, a completely different car, a completely different mentality in so many ways," he added.
No regrets about joining Renault – Hulkenberg
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| Nico Hulkenberg |
(GMM) Nico Hulkenberg says he has no regrets about being a works Renault driver in 2017 instead of moving right to the front of the grid with Mercedes.
It is perhaps true that, had the German delayed instead of immediately signed the deal to switch to Renault from Force India, he may have been first in the queue to replace the retiring Nico Rosberg.
Hulkenberg, 29, doesn't think so.
"First of all, it would have unrealistic to wait so long without a signature," he told the German sports magazine Kicker.
"And even if I had been free in December, I would not have been sure that Mercedes would take me. No, I am totally satisfied with my decision," Hulkenberg insists.
But instead of having a title-winning car in his hands, Hulkenberg finds himself at the young Renault works project but already at the ripe age of 29.
"Right now, I feel very comfortable in my skin, and very comfortable with my situation in the really cool Renault project," the German said.
"I'm extremely looking forward to it, no matter how old I am."
Hulkenberg also played down Renault's level of performance last year, with the carmaker having rescued the almost-collapsed Lotus team at the last minute.
"There was so much going on that no one can have expected much," he said. "But all that is going to change now.
"I am convinced that if we work hard together, we have a good future ahead."
Marchionne staying at Ferrari until 2021
(GMM) Sergio Marchionne will remain Ferrari's president until at least 2021.
That is the news in Italian reports including the authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport.
In January, we reported that the 64-year-old declared during a news conference that he will "undoubtedly" retire after 2018.
But Gazzetta now reveals that Marchionne "will stay at Ferrari until at least 2021, even after his planned exit from Fiat Chrysler".
The report cited official budget documents which reveal that Marchionne took no salary from Ferrari last year to go with his more than 10 million euro for running Fiat.
La Gazzetta dello Sport also quoted from an internal letter written by the Ferrari president, in which Marchionne said: "2016 was a season to forget.
"But I know that with the new technical team led by Mattia Binotto under the leadership of Maurizio Arrivabene, as well as the talented drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, we have all the right people in place.
"The 2017 season is full of unknowns," he added, "because of the many changes in the regulations and in management, so I refrain from making predictions.
"What I can promise is that we will fight, and that we have the drive, the commitment and the passion to return to the top," Marchionne said.
Work Already Underway to Improve Pirelli's Wet Tires
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| The wider Pirelli rain tires will make the rooster tails behind the cars so bad drivers following won't see much |
Following a disappointing wet test session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Thursday, Pirelli are hoping there is enough time to evaluate revised wet tires at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Pirelli were tasked with improving the tires, but it was a challenge made all the more difficult by the wider profile through the changing regulations.
An initial testing was conducted in cooperation with Scuderia Ferrari in January before the Barcelona circuit was artificially wetted on March 2 during pre-season testing. And despite a few drivers finding positives with the enhanced rubber, Pirelli themselves are aware that further improvements are still needed and stated that work was already underway to remedy the situation.
They hope to have a better sample ready to test in China this April, though the tires wouldn’t be used in actual racing until later in the year.
"We have to change the working range of the compounds," Paul Hembery, motorsport director of Pirelli, said. "We were going to do that on the full rain tire, anyway.
"It was something we had been working on, particularly knowing we have got the standing start [after safety cars]. Plus some of the comments from last season were that the drivers can’t switch them on when they come through.
"We have been working on that and what we saw today was that the intermediate was also struggling. That is an effect of the width of the tire, because the inter was the one the drivers said, ‘don’t touch, don’t change because we’re very happy with it’. Now we know we probably need to alter as well to match it."
Hembery also suggested the possibility of having two distinct versions of the wet tire: one to satisfy wet conditions in warmer climes and another aimed at the Silverstone/Spa races that tend to be colder.
"There is probably a situation where you almost want to have two types of wet compounds – one for the warmer wet conditions and one for the Silverstone/Spa condition that is a lot cooler," he added.
"I believe we will have something ready for the China in terms of the first compound change here, and what we have been developing will go to the final result as something we can introduce."
Zandvoort studying a return of the Dutch Grand Prix
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| Zandvoort 1978 – Andretti leads Peterson |
There's no question the emergence of Max Verstappen has rekindled the interest of Holland for Grand Prix racing.
The last time Formula 1 raced around the dunes of Zandvoort was in 1985, but the Dutch circuit has apparently ordered a feasibility study to review whether hosting an F1 race makes any financial sense, according to Dutch paper Haarlem Dagblad.
Any endeavor to get a Dutch GP back on the calendar would obviously require extensive work to upgrade the circuit and its infrastructure to modern day F1 standards, which in turn entails securing the proper funding.
Last year, local hero Max Verstappen did a few demo laps with Red Bull, much to the pleasure of a packed house.
Zandvoort's current main events are the Masters of F3 race and a round of the German DTM series.