Latest F1 news in brief – Tuesday (Update)
11/22/16
-
Wolff says he is not interested in Bernie's job Wolff still not eyeing Ecclestone job
- Wolff excited and worried about 2017
- Alonso, Button hint at Le Mans futures
- Malaysia to ax GP after 2018
- Prost-like Rosberg deserves title – Villeneuve
- Vandoorne can be F1's 'next Verstappen' – Boutsen
- Brown denies Dennis meeting will be awkward New
- Hembery: 2017 tire development will be on-going New
Wolff still not eyeing Ecclestone job
(GMM) Toto Wolff says he is not interested in succeeding Bernie Ecclestone as boss of formula one.
F1 sponsor guru Zak Brown had been tipped for the role in the forthcoming Liberty Media era, but McLaren has just unveiled the American as its new post-Ron Dennis executive director instead.
The famous British team said it is the "first step in the group's transition to a new and strengthened organizational structure".
This week, 86-year-old Ecclestone repeated his insistence that former Ferrari and Mercedes chief Ross Brawn is unqualified to join him in the area of F1's commercial rights.
So attention is now returning to Toto Wolff, who admitted recently that he is currently negotiating an extension to his current role as Mercedes team boss.
The Austrian told the French daily Le Figaro: "No, I do not dream about leading F1.
"I think it is much more difficult than the people who criticize Bernie think. Adapting the sport to a digital universe and generating income is very complex and I prefer if someone else fixes the problem.
"I have to keep my attention on the development of my team," Wolff added.
Wolff excited and worried about 2017
(GMM) Toto Wolff says he is looking ahead to 2017 with a mix of excitement and apprehension.
That is because while agreeing that the laptime boost with the faster cars next year will be "impressive", the Mercedes boss warned it may come at the cost of wheel-to-wheel racing.
"For now, I see the data and it's true that it is impressive," he told the French newspaper Le Figaro.
"I can't tell you what the gain will be per lap but we can talk about several seconds. We will see really tired drivers on the podium after the races.
"The only thing that gives me pause is that this extra G-force will not be seen on the TV. And it may become more difficult to follow the other cars because the air behind becomes more and more unstable," Wolff added.
And he also admitted he is worried the 2017 revolution could shake Mercedes' spot at the top of the F1 tree.
"I worry about this at every race," said Wolff.
"I always fear that our performance will not be enough, but on the other hand I have absolute confidence in my team to meet this challenge with success."
As for whether he thinks F1 is heading in the right direction for the future, Wolff nodded.
"Recently, we have had great stories to sell, like Sebastian Vettel complaining of a lack of respect from Max Verstappen to the established drivers, and the battle between Lewis and Nico.
"At this level, yes, F1 is going in the right direction," he said.
 |
| Alonso peers at a LeMans future |
Alonso, Button hint at Le Mans futures
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has hinted again that his future lies at Le Mans.
The Spaniard, who has never hidden his passion for the ever-burgeoning world endurance championship and the fabled 24 hour race, has said that if F1 does not get a lot racier in 2017, he will not renew his McLaren contract.
Now, as he paid tribute to his friend Mark Webber at the Australian's final WEC race in Bahrain, Webber hinted that his future definitely lies at Le Mans.
"You didn't wait for me – it would have been nice – but I think you will be around so I will ask you many things when I join your adventure," Alonso said in the video tribute to Webber that was played on the Bahrain big screens.
Another potential Le Mans contender of the future is Jenson Button, but the Briton says he will not be heading to the fabled race during his sabbatical next year.
"Nothing is set in stone, but I am sure Honda would not want me racing for a main competitor, which is completely understandable," said Alonso's current McLaren teammate.
"I won't be racing at Le Mans next year because the right opportunity isn't there, but hopefully it will be in the future."
Malaysia to ax GP after 2018
(GMM) Malaysia will host its twentieth and final grand prix at Sepang in 2018.
The country's tourism minister Nazri Abdul Aziz told the state-run Bernama news agency that the decision had been taken for financial reasons.
"We spend 300 million ringgit ($68m) per year but are not getting 300 million back," he said. "There are no returns on the grand prix."
He also admitted that local crowd numbers are down because "I think the people have lost interest", but said that is not a phenomenon that is unique to Malaysia.
"I don't think there is anywhere in the world where the number of spectators for F1 has increased," Nazri said.
 |
| Will 'Stroker- Ace' show up on Sunday? |
Prost-like Rosberg deserves title – Villeneuve
(GMM) Even Lewis Hamilton concedes that his teammate Nico Rosberg is the favorite to be crowned world champion in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Although Hamilton is back on form with three consecutive wins closing his point gap to 12, many experts think Rosberg has simply been nursing the lead recently.
So an easy third place on Sunday will see the German win his first title.
Speaking to GQ magazine, Jenson Button agreed: "Unless one of us crashes into him.
"I mean, Lewis is very rich and has a lot of money, flies around in a private jet, so I'm sure he can afford to pay me," the Briton joked.
Nonetheless, most observers agree that if Rosberg does win, he will fully deserve it despite the fact Hamilton has suffered more mechanical dramas in 2016.
"Lewis was perhaps a bit faster throughout the season, but he has also made more mistakes," 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve told Auto Bild.
"Rosberg was more consistent," he said, comparing the German with Alain Prost.
"If Prost needed to win he risked more, if not he tried to get the position he needed," said Villeneuve.
Publicly, however, Rosberg is saying he wants to win on Sunday: "I have to treat this like any other race," he said on Tuesday.
But Bernie Ecclestone urged Rosberg not to throw it away, telling the Swiss newspaper Blick: "Rosberg must take this opportunity, otherwise it may never come again."
Villeneuve said the task for Rosberg should be quite straightforward.
"If his car has no technical faults and he makes it through the first corner, he has the championship in his pocket," he said.
 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne dominated GP2 |
Vandoorne can be F1's 'next Verstappen' – Boutsen
(GMM) F1 might be about to discover its next Max Verstappen-like sensation.
That is the claim of former F1 driver and three-time winner Thierry Boutsen, who raced in the 80s and 90s.
He admitted to the Belgian broadcaster Sporza that he is referring to Stoffel Vandoorne, his countryman who is set to make his full-time debut for McLaren in 2017.
Vandoorne, 24, is highly regarded and Boutsen thinks "He might even be a world champion".
"He's a top driver, one of the best," he said of the young Belgian.
"The (McLaren-Honda) car is still not good enough, but it will be much better next year. Maybe Stoffel can do the same as Verstappen did this year.
"In formula one things happen very quickly, so if he is ahead of Max a few times, we will not be talking about Max anymore," Boutsen insisted.
Boutsen was also asked about the title showdown between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton this weekend in Abu Dhabi, and whether Rosberg would be a worthy winner.
"Oh yes, absolutely," he answered.
"He has enough maturity and has demonstrated that he has the qualities of a world champion."
However, Rosberg has also been criticized for arguably settling for second places lately as he protected his points lead, but Boutsen said: "Niki Lauda did it just like that — win a few races and then wait and stay calm.
"Nico's right but it's also a matter of his character, because you cannot compare Rosberg with Hamilton," he said.
 |
| Zak Brown |
Brown denies Dennis meeting will be awkward
(GMM) Zak Brown has denied he will endure a particularly awkward introduction to life at McLaren this weekend in Abu Dhabi.
The man he is replacing, the ousted McLaren supremo Ron Dennis, is tipped by the Times newspaper to also travel to the 2016 finale this weekend to meet with Middle Eastern contacts.
But American Brown, who was actually offered his new job by Dennis prior to the 69-year-old being put on 'gardening leave', denied that bumping into the famous F1 figure will now be awkward.
"I am a massive fan of Ron and all he has done," Brown said.
"From my standpoint, it will be business as usual. I have known Ron as long as I have been connected with formula one and done many deals with him. I will invite him to dinner as I always have," he added.
It is believed that former F1 sponsorship guru Brown, 45, was actually also wanted for a role by the sport's new owners Liberty Media.
F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone denies it.
"Formula one is not in a tug-of-war for Mr Brown," he said just before Monday's news had broken. "I think he would be an excellent choice for McLaren."
But Brown will still get a say in F1 decision-making anyway, with a chair at the sport's Strategy Group.
He said: "There have been turbulent times and there will probably be more but I want McLaren to be at the forefront of formula one — where it belongs."
 |
| Paul Hembery |
Hembery: 2017 tire development will be on-going
Paul Hembery is confident Pirelli will improve their wet weather tires next season but admits they will need time to test with the actual 2017 cars.
Pirelli has already spent several days testing their new wider 2017 tires during this year's championship.
Using Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes, the Italian tire manufacturer even devoted a few days to their wet weather rubber.
However, Hembery concedes they won't be able to perfect the tires until such a time as they run them on the new 2017 cars.
But, with the tire manufacturer permitted days of in-season testing, the Pirelli motorsport director believes they will be able to develop them as the season progresses.
"We've had four or five days of simulated wet-weather running, watering the various tracks we've been to, to try to get the wet-weather tires right for next year, and we've not been testing on the correct cars," he toldAutosport.
"Next year's cars we're not going to get until February/March, so it will be on-going.
"The advantage we have this time around compared to previous years is we can test in-season on the actual cars, and that's a huge change.
"We obviously can't say everything will be perfect from day one, I'm sure we'll find a few surprises, but at least we now have the opportunity to work on change through the year.
"That, for us, is an absolutely wonderful situation to be in having gone three years without one day of testing."