Latest F1 news in brief

Magnussen started rumors in IndyCar to get the ride he wants in F1?

Magnussen's Indycar comments 'strategic' – official
Verstappen aggression nothing new – Ocon
Hamilton cannot be written off – Wehrlein
F1 door opens wider for Berger's nephew
Grosjean: Haas' next goal is a podium
Ericsson wary more needed for points fight
Pirelli reveals Mexican GP tire selections

Magnussen's Indycar comments 'strategic' – official
(GMM) Kevin Magnussen has dismissed reports linking him with a potential move to Indycar for 2017.

With Renault having already confirmed Nico Hulkenberg for next year, whilst admitting that Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas are also targets, it is also relevant that an extended 'option' on Magnussen's 2017 services ran out last week.

Then, reports emerged early this week that the young Dane could be in the running to switch from F1 to Indycar with Michael Andretti's team.

But Magnussen said on Twitter: "I'm a big fan of IndyCar but those are really just rumors. Nothing to it.

"I feel confident my future is in F1 and there should be no doubt I intend to stay with Renault for many years if I can," he insisted.

"Unfortunately there is nothing yet to announce regarding my future, but hopefully there will be soon. I too am getting impatient!"

A leading Danish motor racing official says he thinks Magnussen's lengthy Twitter retort is very much a strategic move.

"I can imagine it was to tell the world that he has more options, and that he is pushing to have a Renault's decision," Bo Baltzer Nielsen, a Danish automobile union official, told the Danish newspaper BT.

And F1 commentator Jens Hansen commented: "The timing is surprising because it simultaneously shows optimism but also impatience."

He said he thinks Magnussen is at least an outside chance of switching from Renault to Force India, Williams or Haas.

"The future is to some extent unclear at all four teams," said Hansen. "And Kevin has a good name with the team bosses at all of them."

Ocon knows he can beat Verstappen, he did it in F3 on a regular basis and took the title

Verstappen aggression nothing new – Ocon
(GMM) Esteban Ocon says Max Verstappen's controversially aggressive driving style in formula one is nothing new.

Just two years ago, the pair were fighting wheel-to-wheel in the premier European F3 championship — and Frenchman Ocon emerged the victor.

But it is the younger of the pair, 19-year-old Verstappen, who has risen the most meteorically since then, becoming a race winner with Red Bull this year.

Ocon, however, is now making his mark in F1 with Manor and is tipped to step up to the works Renault team for 2017.

Recalling their 2014 duel, 20-year-old Ocon said: "The FIA was not always happy with us.

"Sometimes it was at the limit of what was really dangerous. We often got warnings but we never really crashed, but those races were not always fun," the young Frenchman is quoted by the Dutch publication Formule 1.

Ocon continued: "Max is much more aggressive than me. He's in a race all the time, but I am only when I need to be."

The 2016 champion will be determined by the Mercedes engineer's computer keystrokes

Hamilton cannot be written off – Wehrlein
(GMM) Mercedes has confirmed reports Lewis Hamilton will be summoned to appear yet again in the FIA's official press conference.

The world champion caused a stir at Suzuka by playing with 'Snapchat' throughout the Thursday event, and he then refused to take questions from the written media in a Mercedes-organized press conference on Saturday.

Bosses Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, however, said the Briton would be back to top form in Austin, amid rumors the FIA would call him up again on Thursday.

Those rumors have now all been confirmed by Mercedes, who said Hamilton will indeed be in the FIA press conference on Thursday.

Not only that, Mercedes revealed that Hamilton will fulfil all of his TV and print media obligations in Austin, despite the 31-year-old having indicated that Suzuka may be the last time he answers questions from journalists.

At the same time, news was breaking this week that Hamilton will be a character in the next edition of the hugely-popular video game Call of Duty.

As for his title battle with teammate Nico Rosberg, many pundits are starting to write off the Briton but Pascal Wehrlein thinks Hamilton is still in the running.

"Both Mercedes drivers are geniuses in their own way," the Mercedes-backed Manor driver told Speed Week.

"I said it this way: one of them may be written off, but as soon as one of seems beaten, the other one has come back," Wehrlein said.

"So let's see how it turns out. For me, I think it's very, very exciting at the moment because of the way it goes back and forth between them," he added.

"Unfortunately Lewis has been unlucky a few times, and it's not easy to make up those points, but as I said, neither of them can be underestimated," added Wehrlein.

Lucas Auer

F1 door opens wider for Berger's nephew
(GMM) The door to F1 may have just swung open a little wider for Lucas Auer.

Last month, Toto Wolff said "the door is open" to the young Austrian, who is the 22-year-old nephew of former F1 driver and legend Gerhard Berger.

Auer currently drives for Mercedes in the German touring car series DTM.

Currently, Mercedes is backing two drivers in F1 who made their way to the grid via DTM — Pascal Wehrlein and his Manor teammate Esteban Ocon.

And both drivers are linked with potential departures from the Mercedes powered backmarker team — Wehrlein to Force India, and Ocon to Renault.

Auer's uncle Berger told Speed Week: "If Lucas is to come into formula one, he needs consistent performances in DTM and an influential personality to help him."

Auer would seem to have two F1 'personalities' in his corner — Berger and Wolff.

Berger said: "If one has the possibility to drive in formula one, naturally you would have to look at it."

Auer finished the 2016 DTM championship just 12th overall, with a maiden win at the Lausitzring.

Mercedes' Wolff told Krone newspaper: "Before you run, first you have to learn to walk. Should he make the next step, then I trust him to make the leap into formula one as well."

Grosjean wants a podium. The team will have to be extremely lucky

Grosjean: Haas' next goal is a podium
Romain Grosjean says Haas' next goal in Formula 1 is a podium finish, as it prepares to tackle its home event in the United States this weekend.

Haas joined the sport this season, with Grosjean taking sixth place on its debut in Australia, before going on to finish fifth at the following race in Bahrain.

While Haas has classified in the top 10 on only two occasions since, with eighth in Russia and seventh in Austria, Grosjean reckons the team should aim high in the future.

"For Haas, the first goal was to score points and the second one was a top-five finish; we've done those two," he said.

"The next goal is to be wearing the team's colors on the podium. That would be very nice.

"I'd like to bring the first win to the team, which would be unbelievable. I think the whole idea is wonderful and having the support of Gene [Haas] means a lot to all of us.

"The way Guenther [Steiner] and all the people involved are running the team is just something very special. I want to be the driver that everyone remembers at Haas."

Grosjean, who will start his 100th Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend, praised the manner in which Haas has developed across the course of the campaign.

"We have had ups and downs, as you would expect, but generally it's been a wonderful first year," he commented.

"I still have a lot of faith in the team and I think the future is going to be bright for us.

"The team has grown a lot, more than any other team. We arrived in February looking sharp and the team already felt like a team.

"Now, after 17 Grands Prix, everyone works more together. Everyone has a really good relationship and knows what they're doing on the car and so on. It's clearly a very good team."

Marcus Ericsson

Ericsson wary more needed for points fight
Marcus Ericsson has conceded that Sauber still has to make strides if it is to score a point in Formula 1 this season.

Sauber is currently enduring the longest drought in its history in the sport, having failed to finish in the top 10 across the past 20 Grands Prix, leaving it at the foot of the Constructors' championship.

Felipe Nasr's ninth place at last year's United States Grand Prix remains the most recent time Sauber graced the points, and Ericsson accepts that further progress must be made.

"I am looking forward to going back to Austin this year, as I like this track a lot," Ericsson.

"It is a nice event at the circuit, and, as well as that, Austin is a great place to be.

"Looking back to the previous race weekends, we clearly made steps in the right direction, but we still need to find more pace in order to fight for points."

Nasr, whose best finish this season is 12th in Baku, nonetheless remains optimistic that he can return the Swiss team to the points this weekend.

"Finishing in P9 was a nice achievement [last year], bearing in mind that it was the 400th race for Sauber," he commented.

"Thinking about this year, I am very much looking forward to racing on this great track again.

"I will do the best I can for us to achieve a similar result to last year, as scoring points is obviously our objective."

Pirelli reveals Mexican GP tire selections
Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli has revealed the number of compounds which each driver has selected for next weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

Pirelli has nominated the Super Soft, Soft and Medium compounds for the sport's visit to the AutÂ¢dromo Hermanos RodrÃguez.

Both Mercedes drivers have opted for five sets of Super Softs, though Lewis Hamilton has an extra set of Softs available compared to Nico Rosberg, which comes at the expense of a batch of Mediums.

Red Bull and Ferrari will both bring six sets of Super Soft tires to Mexico City, while Toro Rosso has taken the most aggressive approach, selecting eight sets of Super Soft tires for both drivers.

The greatest variance in availability surrounds selection of the Medium compound, with Kevin Magnussen having use of five sets, while home driver Esteban Gutiérrez will have just one set of the compound.

Pirelli last year nominated the Soft and Medium compounds, with Rosberg winning the race on a two-stop strategy.