Latest F1 news in brief

Max Verstappen says father not needed as much now

Verstappen confirms 'bored' father not in Baku
Red Bull recommends Buemi for Renault seat
Pirelli relieved to finally ink FIA deal
Not every driver 'moaning' about Baku
Sauber's Nasr hits rock bottom in Baku
2017 Baku GP could be night race
Vettel unconcerned after low-key day
Alonso: McLaren 'better than anticipated'
Grosjean happier over Haas handling

Verstappen confirms 'bored' father not in Baku
(GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted his father is taking a back seat now that he has secured a future at a top F1 team.

The 18-year-old stepped up from Toro Rosso earlier this year, won in Barcelona and has now secured at least two further years at Red Bull Racing.

So for the first time in Max's 27-race F1 career, his father and former F1 driver Jos is not in Azerbaijan this weekend.

"I talk to him quite a lot on the phone," Max told De Telegraaf newspaper.

"Because I'm with a top team now, he can do less during a grand prix weekend. At Toro Rosso it was necessary but now he's a bit bored," he added.

Max said his father is better off at home in Belgium with his two-year-old daughter – Max's half-sister – Blue Jaye.

"For me not a lot has changed," said Max, "because I didn't see my father a lot during a race weekend anyway. I'm busy with the engineers and in meetings.

"I was only talking with him in the evening at the hotel and in the morning on the way to the track," he added.

Verstappen said he has been traveling to grands prix with a group of F1 drivers on a jet organized by Nico Rosberg. The group includes Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa, Esteban Gutierrez, David Coulthard and others.

"It's convenient but also nice to form a bond with certain drivers outside of the race weekend," said Max. "We don't just talk about formula one: Felipe's son for example has just started karting, which is nice to hear about."

Baku, however, is not Red Bull's happiest hunting ground, as it is the Mercedes-powered teams expected to dominate on the two-kilometer straight.

"A couple of chicanes would be nice," Max smiled.

Sebastien Buemi

Red Bull recommends Buemi for Renault seat
(GMM) Sebastien Buemi would make an ideal new race driver for the works Renault team.

That is the view of Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, just as the Swiss newspaper Blick claims that Swiss Buemi has been re-signed by Red Bull as a test driver.

Buemi, now 27, raced over 50 times for Toro Rosso but is now a Red Bull simulator driver and this weekend is tackling Le Mans for Toyota.

But Horner thinks Buemi would be an ideal race driver for Renault, the works team of Red Bull's engine supplier.

"We are now offering Buemi to Renault," Horner told Blick.

"He would be the ideal man for the team of our engine partner. He's fast, hard-working, has excellent technical understanding and experience — you can call him at 3 in the morning and he would still come to the factory," he added.

Pirelli relieved to finally ink FIA deal
(GMM) Pirelli has admitted to relief that, after a long delay, its presence in F1 beyond 2016 has finally been confirmed.

The Italian marque actually secured a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone for 2017 until 2019 late last year, but it could not be made official until a separate contract with the governing FIA has also signed and sealed.

"It is the final step of a very long path," Pirelli spokesman Roberto Boccafogli told reporters in Baku, after issuing a press release about the FIA contract.

"We knew already for quite a long time that we are remaining in formula one, but when it gets officialized by the FIA it becomes really true," he added.

Pirelli has already started work on its significantly bigger and wider tires for 2017, which were unveiled to the media in Monaco a few weeks ago.

Boccafogli said actual testing of the tires, fitted to specially-modified 2015 cars prepared by F1's top three teams, will begin in August.

"We have 25 days testing with these wider tires," he confirmed. "Many details still need to be fixed and it is a very big job to be done."

Pascal Wehrlein "Baku is a track for men"

Not every driver 'moaning' about Baku
(GMM) Not every driver was complaining as F1 action kicked off at Baku's spectacular and unique new street track.

Senior drivers including Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button had suggested the wall-lined, high-speed layout may not be safe, but world champion Lewis Hamilton said it was just a typical "moan"-fest.

"These drivers moan so much — so much about so many things," said the Briton.

But as their championship battle heats up, Mercedes teammate Rosberg hit back at Hamilton.

"What he just said in the meeting sounded a bit different to that. He was pretty much on the side that it is a bit hairy," the German charged.

Nico Hulkenberg, on the other hand, said he has no complaints about Baku at all.

"None," he confirmed. "My belief is that as drivers we need to go to the limit. If someone thinks it is not safe enough, he can just slow down before the corner, there's nothing stopping him doing that.

"But I don't see any problems," the Force India driver added.

Another German, rookie Pascal Wehrlein, agreed that Baku is a "track for men".

The 'Well done Baku' signage around the track, however, appears to have been premature, with Friday's running affected by loose curbs that halted GP2 qualifying and damaged many tires.

"Everything's new," said race director Charlie Whiting, according to Express newspaper. "They've done the best they could and we just needed to do a bit of fixing."

As for the layout itself, however, drivers were comparing it to the awesome Macau F3 track, while photographers were reveling in the shots they were getting amid the backdrop of the old city walls.

"When I laid it out in the first place I was told I was mad," Bernie Ecclestone said. "Trying to get the old city and the new city together was tough. It looks like it's worked all right."

Circuit architect Hermann Tilke confirmed that his task had been "tough".

"With the planning of Baku, we were on the limit," he told Germany's Auto Bild. "More was not possible."

As for the actual pecking-order in Baku, it appears that the works Mercedes team and its customers are set to dominate, with Ferrari and Red Bull further back.

"I was a bit surprised, seeing Force India just behind us," Rosberg admitted.

Hamilton agreed: "I guess our main rivals are ourselves."

Felipe Nasr

Sauber's Nasr hits rock bottom in Baku
(GMM) Sauber could be about to hit rock bottom in F1, as Felipe Nasr was dead last after Friday practice in Baku.

The Swiss team is struggling financially in 2016, and as most teams are now deep into their car development programs, Sauber is trying merely to survive.

"I'm using the engine from Australia — the first version of the (Ferrari) power unit that has already exceeded its mileage. It's costing us a lot of speed on the straight," said the Brazilian.

"In the first and third sector, we lost at least half a second to our opponents," Nasr explained to Globo, referring to Renault and Manor.

He said Sauber is looking better in the twisty sector 2, so is expecting to be more competitive for the rest of the weekend with the race-spec engine fitted.

But Nasr, 23, is not particularly hiding the fact that he is on the market for a move for 2017, and could be an attractive prospect for a midfield team given his millions in backing courtesy of Banco do Brasil.

"It's too early to talk about it as I have a contract until the end of the year and I have to fulfil it," he said.

"As I am in Sauber now, my first choice is to continue here."

Nasr said he will know more about the future after Silverstone, where Sauber will finally introduce an aerodynamic upgrade.

"It may be that these changes – front and rear wing, diffuser – put us in a slightly better condition," he explained.

"But I do not want to create expectations, as we saw what happened last year," Nasr added, referring to a package introduced in 2015 that did not work.

Told by Globo correspondent that Sauber might not even be on the 2017 grid, Nasr answered: "I did not say that Sauber is my only option.

"My manager (Steve Robertson) is looking after this side while I do my work," he insisted.

Baku is spectacular at night

2017 Baku GP could be night race
(GMM) It is possible the next edition of the European grand prix at Baku could be held at night.

With the F1 circus in town this weekend for the inaugural race in the Azerbaijan capital, most visitors have noticed that Baku is particularly spectacular once the sun goes down.

But promoter Arif Rahimov had said earlier in June that "I think in the first year we have enough challenge without lighting, so there is no clear plan for that (a night race). Maybe one day."

Speed Week is now reporting that the first Baku night race could in fact take place as early as 2017.

"We know well about the beauty of our city at night," the race's marketing director Nigar Arpadarai said.

"But we consciously wanted our first grand prix to be in the day so that we learn from it.

"A night race requires a more developed infrastructure, but we are discussing this very intensely.

"I do not know if it will happen in 2017, but I would not rule it out," she added.

Vettel unconcerned Ferrari was out to lunch on Friday

Vettel unconcerned after low-key day
Sebastian Vettel says there is no reason for himself or Ferrari to be concerned after the first day of practice for the European Grand Prix.

Vettel and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen struggled to make an impression at the high-speed Baku City Circuit in Friday's pair of sessions.

Both drivers also endured MGU-K trouble in FP2, RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen sliding down the Turn 5 escape road, and Vettel being told to return to the pits.

Vettel ended the day eighth overall, two seconds adrift of pace-setter Lewis Hamilton, as Mercedes-powered cars dominated the timesheets.

"It's a shame the car had a problem, but it felt OK," said Vettel.

"Our speed wasn't quit there, but we should be in a better position tomorrow. Some of it [the deficit] we can explain, but other bits we need to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

"It was a tricky day for us, but it's Friday, so there's need to worry too much."

RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen finished back in 13th as he again struggled to get heat into his tires.

"It was pretty slippery like most new tracks," he commented after practice.

"The main issue is just to make the tires work. With the more laps we do, the lap times seem to get easier. But it's still a challenge to switch them [the tires] on for one lap.

"We will have to look at everything we did [during the sessions]."

Alonso happy with McLaren pace

Alonso: McLaren 'better than anticipated'
Fernando Alonso says McLaren-Honda is performing "better than anticipated" and does not believe its position in Friday practice for the European Grand Prix reflects its potential.

Alonso was fourth quickest during the opening session at the Baku City Circuit before slipping back to 11th later in the afternoon, as his run plan was delayed by a fuel system issue.

Despite the setback, Alonso was upbeat over the pace of the MP4-31 in Azerbaijan.

"Today was positive," commented Alonso on McLaren's Friday practice form.

"Looking at the data we had from the simulator, I reckon our level of competitiveness is possibly slightly better than we'd anticipated – we're performing quite well, so that's the positive news.

"Today's positions don't really show our full potential."

Team-mate Jenson Button finished the day in ninth place in the standings.

"We started this morning a little bit better than we'd perhaps expected, but, once everyone had got to grips with the track, it moved us to our usual positions," he reflected.

"Getting the right downforce level will be key for qualifying – we still need to work out what that will be, as our understanding isn't quite there yet.

"We also need to better understand the tires, too – the Soft seems to be a good tire, but we need to improve our performance on the Super Soft."

Grosjean happier

Grosjean happier over Haas handling
Romain Grosjean says Haas has taken a step in the right direction at the European Grand Prix after recent complaints over the handling of the VF-16.

Grosjean amassed 22 points across the first four races but has not added to his tally since, amid complaints over getting the tires into the right operating window.

Grosjean placed 12th during Friday's second practice session at Baku and was encouraged by the performance of his Haas.

"It's not easy to find the right balance but I'm much happier than where we've been recently, so that's pretty positive," he said.

"I'm sure there's still a lot to come from everything.

"It wasn't easy with the track temperature dropping to find the right set up, but I think we're in a position where we're getting there finding the balance.

"We're just outside Q3 which wouldn't be a bad place to start.

"The car definitely felt better than more recently and the tires were working better. There are still a few issues we need to solve but generally I'm happy."

Haas team-mate Esteban Gutierrez ended the day 15th