Latest F1 news in brief

Marco Wittmann (Arms up) has no interest in F1

DTM's Wittmann not dreaming of F1
Rosberg can really win title now – Prost
Marko defends Verstappen over Hamilton move
Alonso says Pirelli testing not fair
Sainz 'as good as Verstappen' – Rosberg
Two F1 figures defend Bianchi silence
Bottas hoped to have Williams priority
Frustrated Grosjean says Haas deserved more

DTM's Wittmann not dreaming of F1
(GMM) Top DTM driver Marco Wittmann has admitted his F1 dream may never come true.

The 26-year-old won the German touring car series in 2014, and is the favorite to back that up with this year's title as well.

But although he has tested for Toro Rosso, Wittmann told Kicker when asked about formula one: "I do not have the money.

"So I remain a realist and say to myself 'There are other things'."

Other DTM drivers have made the jump from F1, including Paul di Resta, Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon, but Wittmann does not think he will be next.

"Formula one is definitely the dream of every racing driver," he said, "but when I see what all the young drivers have to bring in terms of money, then it's really, really extreme."

Anyway, Wittmann says he is happy at the pointy end of the DTM series.

Referring to his Toro Rosso test, he said: "It was a really great experience and a great opportunity for me.

"But I prefer to be a factory driver for BMW at the front in DTM, winning podiums and races, than driving for a backmarker team hoping to finish 18th.

"Personally, I believe that the level of the drivers in DTM is higher even than in formula one," Wittmann added.

Rosberg poised to take 2016 title

Rosberg can really win title now – Prost
(GMM) F1 legend Alain Prost thinks Nico Rosberg is now in a prime position to charge for his first drivers' title.

"A 33 point lead starts to be important," the quadruple world champion told French broadcaster Canal Plus.

"It's much better to have that lead with four races to go than the four wins he had at the start of the season.

"He will have to manage this lead now, and get into a psychological state that is not always easy," Prost added.

Indeed, it is a fascinating situation for Rosberg, having been beaten by Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton in both 2014 and 2015.

But according to the British press, Hamilton is now in a state of 'meltdown' amid a set of bizarre behavior at Suzuka, with six wins in 2016 compared to Rosberg's nine.

"How can you not be champion if you've won nine races? That is the question Nico Rosberg hopes he does not have to answer at the end of the season," said France's L'Equipe.

"But the German is doing everything he has to for his first world title."

And Rosberg denies the interpretation that he is only now in pole to win because Hamilton is cracking.

"It was a long time since I saw Lewis as focused and motivated actually," he insisted, according to Marca.

Prost agrees that Rosberg's battle isn't over yet.

"It's never easy to manage such a big lead, especially against Lewis Hamilton, who thinks the whole world is against him now," he said.

As for the charge that Rosberg would be a 'lucky' world champion, Prost doesn't agree but he says that every season winner needs at least some luck.

"But it could still turn," the great Frenchman warned. "One retirement and Lewis is right back in the race."

Dr Helmut Marko (L) defends Verstappen block

Marko defends Verstappen over Hamilton move
(GMM) Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at those critical of Max Verstappen's driving in the Japanese grand prix.

F1 teen sensation Verstappen's aggressive style has often been condemned in 2016, but Mercedes initially lodged an official protest against his defense of Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages of Sunday's Suzuka race.

Hamilton claimed the 19-year-old had illegally moved in the braking zone, but Marko is quoted by Osterreich newspaper as retorting: "Whoever cannot get past with a Mercedes engine and DRS should calm down.

"At 19 years old, Max is already able to hold off a triple world champion. And on tires that were five laps older."

Verstappen clearly agrees with his Red Bull boss, insisting that even though Hamilton is fighting for the world title "I will not just open the door and say 'Come past'.

"Of course I saw him move, so I closed the door. I think he was far enough back to see what I was doing," said the Dutchman.

Marko also told the Swiss newspaper Blick: "With two laps to go, Max is not going to put on the turn signal."

Although the FIA did not penalize Verstappen, it is believed Charlie Whiting did seek out the 19-year-old for private talks.

Fernando Alonso not happy being a backmarker and not getting special treatment

Alonso says Pirelli testing not fair
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has criticized the fact that only some teams and drivers are getting early experience of Pirelli's 2017 tires.

This week, championship contenders Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton are heading to Barcelona, where they will try next year's slicks fitted to a Mercedes test mule based on the 2015 car.

According to Bild newspaper, the silver clad drivers were not keen on the test, but Mercedes team chairman said: "The race drivers are the fastest and so they can help Pirelli in ways that others cannot."

The other two teams helping Pirelli with its 2017 testing are Ferrari and Red Bull.

Other drivers, however, like Fernando Alonso, are not getting the same opportunity, even though McLaren-Honda said at the time that it actually preferred to sit out the Pirelli running.

However, AS newspaper claims that McLaren-Honda was never considered an option for the Pirelli running, given Honda's engine problems of last year.

Alonso said: "It is not logical that some teams can test the new tires and some cannot, but that's what is happening.

"I think everyone should have the opportunity to test the compounds," he added.

Carlos Sainz Jr. beat Verstappen at Toro Rosso

Sainz Jr. 'as good as Verstappen' – Rosberg
(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr. is as good as Max Verstappen and deserves a "good car".

That is the view of 2016 championship favorite Nico Rosberg, who was asked about the burgeoning career of Toro Rosso's 22-year-old driver by the Spanish sports daily AS.

It is reported that Sainz was blocked from switching to Renault on a three-year deal from 2017 by his employer Red Bull.

Mercedes' Rosberg said he, like Renault, also rates the Spaniard highly.

"He is very good, very strong, but the situation is difficult for him because he was not given the good car to drive like Verstappen was," he said.

"But when they were together Sainz did very well and they were very similar. I think they are as good as one another and I am convinced that he (Sainz) will also be one of the good drivers of the future," Rosberg added.

Toro Rosso's John Booth

Two F1 figures defend Bianchi silence
(GMM) Two F1 figures have defended the fact that the topic of Jules Bianchi's death is no longer prominent in the paddock.

Last weekend's Japanese grand prix marked two years since the young Frenchman crashed at Suzuka and, nine months later, passed away in his native Nice.

There were a few spectator banners around Suzuka last weekend, and some of the drivers Tweeted in tribute to Bianchi's memory, but other than that it was not a big topic of conversation.

That is despite the fact that Bianchi's father Philippe is leading legal action against F1 authorities, claiming even that information about the Bianchi crash has been covered up.

Toro Rosso's John Booth, who in 2014 was Bianchi's Marussia boss, told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he did not want to comment.

"It's a chapter of my life that I have ended," he is quoted as saying.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile, who in late 2014 was starting his F1 adventure with Friday practice outings, also did not want to dwell on the Bianchi story.

"If you keep talking about it, you can never close the chapter," said the Dutchman.

"Personally, I try to think about it as little as possible," Verstappen added.

Valtteri Bottas

Bottas hoped to have Williams priority
Valtteri Bottas reckons Williams maximized its approach to the Japanese Grand Prix but felt he should have been handed the preferable strategy.

Bottas and Felipe Massa started from 11th and 12th respectively at Suzuka, electing to carry out just a one-stop strategy, changing from Mediums to Hards.

Bottas ran ahead of Massa but the Brazilian was serviced first, with Bottas following suit two laps later, and they exchanged positions, aided by a slow pit stop for Bottas.

Bottas went on to round out the top 10, albeit just six-tenths of a second adrift of team-mate Massa.

"As a team, strategy wise we managed to do something different to our competitors so that was good," he said.

"There definitely wasn't any more we could have got out of the race.

"In a nutshell, we need to make a quicker car and hope that the rest of the circuits in the calendar are better suited to us. We just didn't have the pure pace.

"From my side, being the lead car in the first stint I was hoping for the better strategy out of the two of us but that didn't work out."

Massa accepted that Williams lacked pure speed compared to Force India.

"The pace at the beginning didn't look very promising compared to the others," he said.

"We tried to stay out long to do a one-stop, and it worked out.

"We would love to have finished ahead of Force India, but they had a better car."

Romain Grosjean in the anti-American Haas car

Frustrated Grosjean says Haas deserved more
A frustrated Romain Grosjean says Haas deserved points from the Japanese Grand Prix as he narrowly missed out on a top 10 finish at Suzuka.

Haas recovered from a difficult run of events with Grosjean qualifying in seventh position, as both cars made it through to Q3 for the first time.

Grosjean, though, had to take evasive action against Nico HÃ¼lkenberg at the start, which dropped him to ninth, before the two-stopping Frenchman slipped to 11th, behind the one-stopping Williams duo.

Grosjean followed both Bottas and Felipe Massa home, finishing within a second of the Finn, but was left in 11th, the seventh time a Haas driver has achieved such a result this season.

"We struggled on the first stint with a green track, and with the Soft tires, we had a lot of graining," he said.

"But then the car was flying. It was really good. I had some good overtakes.

"I don't think I've ever been as frustrated at the end of a race. I thought we deserved much more.

"With the pace of the car, I was much faster than the Williams. We just got the life on the Hard tires wrong.

"We could have pitted earlier for the last stint, but overall the pace was amazing.

"It shows a lot of promise for the future. I'm optimistic about these updates and the pace we had in the car."

Haas will race on home soil for the first time at the next event in the United States.