Latest F1 news in brief

Lance Stroll, has check will drive

Stroll defends private F1 testing world tour
Too early for Verstappen title in 2017 – father
Bottas to heed Hakkinen's title-winning advice
Sainz is Red Bull 'reserve driver' – Marko
Wolff 'extends power at Mercedes' – report
Marko backs Brawn over DRS axe
Kaltenborn: 'Great opportunities' at Sauber
Horner: Renault has had a 'big winter'
Magnussen: Improving on 2016 not a given

Stroll defends private F1 testing world tour
(GMM) Lance Stroll has played down the secrecy of his unprecedented private test program as he prepares to debut in 2017.

The teenage Canadian admitted that his billionaire father Lawrence, a fashion mogul, was instrumental to his formative career that will culminate this year as he enters F1.

Told by Auto Motor und Sport that his father is "very rich", Stroll admitted: "That was important, of course.

"Without him it would not have been possible. In this sport you need two things: talent and money. Others have sponsors but I have my father — the money had to come from somewhere," said the 18-year-old.

Many insiders, however, believe Stroll is far from a traditional 'pay driver', winning back-to-back junior series titles over the past three years including European F3 in 2016.

Others, like triple world champion Lewis Hamilton, think that drivers from rich backgrounds fare less well in F1, because a humble upbringing makes a driver "hungrier".

"I don't believe that," Stroll insisted. "No matter what I've done, I've always wanted to win. Once you're in the cockpit with the visor closed, it doesn't matter where you came from."

And he said his father's wealth also ramps up the pressure on his shoulders.

"People are looking more closely," the young Canadian agreed. "They want to know if I deserve the position I'm in.

"I'm grateful for the chances I've had but only I could win the championships I have — you can't buy the super license points."

However, there is no doubt Stroll has been on a different playing field to many who went before him. Over the last year, for instance, he has been on an unprecedented private world tour of relevant F1 circuits with a 2014 Williams.

"By Christmas I had done four two-day tests and a shakedown at Silverstone. Then Monza, Spielberg, Budapest, Barcelona and most recently in Abu Dhabi. Before the new season there will be a few outside of Europe but there is not yet the agreements with the circuits.

"I think Hamilton and Villeneuve did a lot of kilometers too," Stroll argued. "Everyone has their way of getting used to formula one. Valtteri (Bottas) did the Friday practice sessions."

Finally, asked why the private testing was done in complete secrecy, he answered: "There was no reason to make it big. Williams wanted me to concentrate on my work."

Too early for Verstappen title in 2017 – father

Whether Verstappen can win a world title comes down to whether Adrian Newey can out design Aldo Costa in 2017. Engineers win F1 titles, not drivers

(GMM) Max Verstappen's father has played down the 19-year-old Dutchman's chances of winning the world championship in 2017.

Red Bull is tipped to be Mercedes' closest challenger this year as the sport's technical rules change significantly, and Verstappen has been marked out as an obvious title winner of the future.

But Max's father Jos, who also raced in F1, thinks it is "too early" for the championship this year.

"Of course there is talk of a world title," the 44-year-old former Benetton driver said, "but my personal opinion is that it is still a year too early."

However, Red Bull itself is confident Adrian Newey can ace the new aerodynamic rules, and team boss Christian Horner thinks Renault is now ready to step up to Mercedes' level of engine performance.

"They have had a big winter," he said, referring to the French carmaker whose power units are rebranded as Tag-Heuer for Red Bull.

Jos Verstappen agrees that 2017 should be a good year for the energy drink owned outfit.

"Last year Max won in Spain, so hopefully he can win more races this year. I would like to see three or four, and I think it's possible," he told the Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport Totaal.

"Red Bull has always been strong with new rules, and with the information that I have, I think it looks really good."

Jos said recently that Max has been training so hard that he is "exhausted" in the evenings.

Verstappen snr adds now: "He has put on three or four kilos, mainly in muscle mass. You can see it on his neck and arms.

"He is training really hard, but he had to because the cars will be much faster, especially in the corners."

Bottas to heed Hakkinen's title-winning advice
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he is happy to have a two-time world champion in his corner as he steps up to F1's top team in 2017.

Now almost two decades ago, it was fellow Finn Mika Hakkinen who found himself at F1's dominant team – McLaren-Mercedes – and he duly won back to back titles in 1998 and 1999.

Now, 48-year-old Hakkinen is a prominent member of Bottas' management team, particularly with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff having to take a step back to avoid a conflict of interest.

Asked if he is happy to have Hakkinen in his corner, Bottas said: "Mika's experience will definitely be useful to me.

"He has been in the same type of situation that I am in now — a new car that could also be a winning car. But Mika's help is always useful and I listen to him carefully," the 27-year-old added.

Sainz is Red Bull 'reserve driver' – Marko

Carlos Sainz

(GMM) Red Bull is clinging to its "reserve driver" Carlos Sainz, according to the energy drink marque's Dr Helmut Marko.

Some are raising their eyebrows after Renault, who earlier made a bid to sign Spaniard Sainz for 2017, unveiled a new F1 sponsorship deal with Spanish company Mapfre.

"Historical affinities between Renault, F1 and Spain are once more alive thanks to this partnership," said team boss Cyril Abiteboul.

Sainz, 22, impressed particularly in 2016, but despite Renault's interest Red Bull is insisting upon its contract with the Spaniard and keeping him at the junior team Toro Rosso.

The Spanish daily AS quotes Red Bull driver manager Marko as saying: "We have a long term contract with Carlos and the situation at Mercedes shows how important it is to have reserve drivers.

"Sainz is clearly our reserve driver in case anything happens at Red Bull Racing," he added.

After a season with year-old Ferrari engines, Toro Rosso is moving to up-to-date Renault power for 2017, and technically closer to Red Bull in other areas as well.

Marko explained: "Toro Rosso has to achieve better results so we have the target of fifth place for them in 2017.

"With a good designer like James Key they have the potential, and we see it as positive that both drivers (Sainz and Daniil Kvyat) are staying because that provides stability.

"They are a good mid-table team and what Carlos was offered (by Renault) was no better than that, or worse," Marko added.

Wolff 'extends power at Mercedes' – report

Wolff and Lauda

(GMM) Toto Wolff has reportedly upped his pay and "extended his power" at Mercedes ahead of the 2017 season.

Following a period of speculation, the German marque has announced that team boss Wolff and chairman Niki Lauda have extended their contracts through 2020.

The German newspaper Bild claimed: "In fact, Wolff has expanded his power over the winter."

Bild said that while Wolff has been sharing the team boss role with the now Williams-bound Paddy Lowe, the Briton's replacement James Allison is only technical director.

"Thus, he (Allison) is subordinate to Wolff," correspondents Lennart Wermke and Jens Nagler said.

They added that the shareholding of the dominant Brackley based team is Mercedes 60 per cent, Wolff 30pc and former triple world champion Lauda 10pc.

F1 legend Lauda, 67, said he is happy to be staying for at least three more years.

"The past few years have been some of the best I have experienced in formula one," he said. "Toto and I form a perfect partnership."

Bild said Wolff will be paid about EUR 3.5 million by Mercedes this year, compared to 2 million for fellow Austrian Lauda.

Marko backs Brawn over DRS axe

Dr. Helmut Marko

(GMM) Red Bull is backing calls for F1 to rid itself of the controversial 'DRS' overtaking solution.

For the past several years, in a bid to boost the spectacle of the sport, F1 cars have been fitted with a moveable rear wing flap that helps a chasing driver to execute a successful overtaking move.

But as he arrived as formula one's new sporting director recently, Ross Brawn indicated that the drag reduction system – DRS – could soon go.

"Everyone knows it's artificial," he said. "We need to find purer solutions."

Now, Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko backs Brawn in arguing that artificial overtaking has not proved to be the answer for the F1 'show'.

"With DRS, in a two-man fight, the front man is helpless," he told Auto Motor und Sport. "It's not real overtaking."

Some, however, are worried that with the radical technical rule changes this year, the shorter braking distances could mean real overtaking becomes even rarer.

Marko doesn't agree.

"Extreme braking is one of the most crucial abilities of the top drivers. When you look back in the history of formula one like Prost and Senna, it was often the race-defining moment," he said.

Kaltenborn: 'Great opportunities' at Sauber

Sauber C36

Monisha Kaltenborn reckons Sauber now has "great opportunities" to move back up the Formula 1 pecking order, following the launch of the team's new C36-Ferrari.

Sauber hit severe financial trouble in early-2016, but Longbow Finance's mid-season takeover secured the team's future, Kaltenborn describing them as "the perfect partner".

Sauber, which snatched 10th in the standings from Manor last year, has since signed hired an array of established names, including JÃ¶rg Zander as Technical Director.

On Monday, the outfit presented its 2017 car, which will be powered by year-old Ferrari engines, and Kaltenborn feels that Sauber is well-positioned to make progress.

"Together with Longbow Finance S. A., we have great opportunities to be competitive again and to return to previous successes in Formula 1," said team boss Kaltenborn.

"We want to position ourselves with a new approach, and we have already taken the first steps in order to build a solid foundation for the future."

Kaltenborn hopes that Sauber will return to the midfield in 2017.

"We clearly have to improve," says Monisha Kaltenborn.

"With the Sauber C36-Ferrerai we have a solid basis as well as the resources to further develop the Sauber C36-Ferrari through the season.

"This will be important to establish [ourselves] in the midfield."

Zander eased concerns over Sauber using 2016-spec Ferrari engines, and emphasized that doing so has helped with regards to planning development.

"[It is a] tried and tested system with higher durability to begin with," he said.

"Being able to get started early and defining the engine environment was an advantage because the team was familiar with the engine and the transmission as well as the cooling requirements."

Horner: Renault has had a 'big winter'

Christian Horner is happy with Renault progress

Christian Horner is hopeful that his Red Bull team can be a "real challenger" in 2017, given the changes engine supplier Renault has made to its unit over the winter.

Red Bull enjoyed four successive double title-winning seasons under the previous V8 era, but has been restricted to just five wins with turbo V6 power units, introduced in 2014.

However, for 2017, Formula 1's controversial engine token system has been scrapped, meaning manufacturers are able to overhaul their units and bring developments as they wish.

Speaking in a pre-season video, Horner commented: "It's a brand-new engine for this year, a change of philosophy – [Renault has] had a big winter.

"We're hoping for a step in performance, and if that's delivered then hopefully we can really be a challenger team this year, and give Mercedes and Ferrari a hard time."

Red Bull, which finished second to Mercedes in the 2016 standings, has retained Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen for the upcoming campaign.

"Mercedes, they're the triple World Champions, they're the team to beat, so they set the bar pretty high, but that's what we're aspiring to," said Horner.

"Hopefully we can be a real challenger team.

"I think the driver line-up that we have is fantastic, we've had great stability in the team, and we're excited about the year ahead."

Red Bull will launch its new car, the RB13, online on February 26, the day before pre-season testing gets under way, and Horner is excited about presenting it to the public.

"I think our RB13 is one of the prettiest cars that we've designed and made," he said.

"The geometry of the car under these new regulations, the proportions look right, it looks mean, it looks fast. It's that old adage, if it looks right, it tends to go alright, and this car looks right."

Given the size of the regulations changes for 2017, spearheaded by overhauled aerodynamics and much wider Pirelli tires, Horner expects the development race to be even more important.

"It's going to be fascinating to see who's got it right and who's got it wrong," he added.

"Of course, then it's going to be a development race all the way from Australia to Abu Dhabi, and you'll see big increments early on because the regulations are pretty immature.

"It's going to push every department in the whole team to try to out-wit, out-smart, out-develop and out-produce our rivals, and that's going to be a stellar challenge in Formula 1 this year."

Red Bull's supplied engines are currently re-badged as TAG Heuer.

Magnussen: Improving on 2016 not a given

Kevin Magnussen

Haas newcomer Kevin Magnussen says improving on the team's 2016 results is not a "given", in spite of its increased experience in the sport.

Haas joined Formula 1 last year and surprised the sport by claiming sixth place on its debut in Australia, before collecting fifth in Bahrain, both courtesy of Romain Grosjean.

Those results proved to be the zenith of its maiden season, though Grosjean returned to the points on three more occasions, as Haas placed eighth in the Constructors' Championship.

Magnussen, who spent last year competing for rival Renault, says Haas' increased experience will help, but that moving up the grid is not a formality.

"We saw it and thought, 'OK, that's quite impressive that they managed to get to that point so quickly'," Magnussen said of his initial impressions of Haas in 2016.

"And then, obviously, as the races went on, the first race, the second race with P6 and P5, it was very impressive.

"To actually improve on that this year is going to be a real challenge, it's not going to be something that's just a given.

"We really need to work hard to achieve that level of performance.

"Obviously, I'm just hoping we'll have a very strong season together.

"The team did really well last year. They delivered a really strong season and this year we'll try to make use of that experience gained by the team.

"I have a feeling that everyone on the team feels more prepared and ready for the season than at this point last year."

Magnussen is set to publicly debut Haas' VF-17 after he was tasked with conducting the opening two days of running during the first test next week.

Images of Haas' VF-17 will be revealed on Sunday, with a formal launch planned to take place in the pit lane at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya early on Monday morning.