Latest F1 news in brief

Wehrlein and Haryanto to get Manor seats

Maldonado out, Ocon reserve, Wehrlein for Manor – reports
New Toro Rosso one second faster – Verstappen
Teammate Chilton 'cannot watch' Bianchi footage
Force India signs billionaire's son
F1 moves to Milan for more future talks
Britain clearing path for London GP
Force India eyeing third F1 force Williams – Hulkenberg
Williams Appoints Gary Paffett as Simulator Driver for 2016

Maldonado out, Ocon reserve, Wehrlein for Manor – reports
(GMM) Pastor Maldonado has confirmed rampant speculation that he has lost his race seat in formula one.

Before the Renault buyout, Lotus re-signed the controversial 30-year-old for 2016 but there have been reported problems between the Enstone team's new owner and his backer PDVSA, the struggling Venezuelan state-owned oil company.

"Today I most humbly inform you that I will not be on the starting grid for the 2016 F1 season," Maldonado wrote in a Spanish-language statement linked to his Twitter account.

It appears Alexander Rossi's check was not big enough and he will not land one of the two Manor seats for 2016

"Thanks for all your messages of support, passion and concern for my future. See you soon," he added.

The news paves the road for the confirmation on Wednesday of the arrival at Renault of Kevin Magnussen.

Jacob Hammerholt, a sports reporter for the Danish broadcaster TV2, said the impending announcement in Paris will be welcomed by the enthusiastic country.

"Kevin and Renault is a really good match," he said.

"When he came to McLaren, it was a great team that expected a lot and put a lot of pressure on a young driver. But Renault enters formula one as a works team after a break, so they know they will have to get the ball rolling before it becomes really great," added Hammerholt.

There are also rumors that French youngster Esteban Ocon, the reigning GP3 champion, could be loaned by Mercedes to Renault to be reserve driver in 2016.

And Italy's Omnicorse reports that Pascal Wehrlein, the new Mercedes-backed champion of DTM, looks set to secure a race seat at Manor this year, probably to be paired with fellow rookie Rio Haryanto.

Max Verstappen

New Toro Rosso one second faster – Verstappen
(GMM) Toro Rosso's new car is up to a second per lap faster than its 2015 predecessor.

That is the astonishing claim of meteoric F1 teenager Max Verstappen, ramping up expectations of a very good 2016 campaign for the junior Red Bull team.

Albeit with one of the best chassis on the grid, the Faenza based team struggled with its Renault power unit last year but has switched to 2015-spec Ferrari engines for 2016.

"It looks very good. It seems that we are eight tenths to one second (per lap) faster than last year," Verstappen told the Dutch source Ziggo Sport.

"That's a lot. We will probably make a bigger step than the teams that are simply getting a new version of their (existing) engine for 2016," he added.

Verstappen, 18, explained: "For us, the engine is a big change."

Max Chilton going IndyCar racing

Teammate Chilton 'cannot watch' Bianchi footage
(GMM) Despite two recent tragedies, former F1 driver Max Chilton is pressing ahead with his career in motor racing.

Chilton was the late Jules Bianchi's teammate at Marussia when the Frenchman suffered his ultimately fatal crash at Suzuka in late 2014.

The Briton says he still "cannot watch" the footage of the incident.

"Jules' death hit me hard," Chilton told Britain's Sun newspaper.

"Our car was the least performing car on that grid – the least amount of downforce – and I had a moment on that corner. It could have been either of us."

Now, 24-year-old Chilton is moving to America's premier open wheeler series Indycar, where last year fellow Briton Justin Wilson lost his life.

"When I was making my decision (between Indycar teams for 2016), Justin had his fatal accident at the same time," said Chilton, "which made it ten times harder.

"But I just kept telling myself that it could have happened anytime. It was just like Jules — a freak accident."

He has signed with the top team Ganassi, having served his apprenticeship in Indy Lights last year.

"It is very exciting," said Chilton. "I never thought it would happen. I was like 99 per cent of other drivers where F1 was always my goal.

"I remember all those times where I said that I would never race in Indycar because it never appealed to me, but it was a case of never say never. Life changes," he added.

Nikita Mazepin

Force India signs billionaire's son
(GMM) The father of a young Russian driver signed up by Force India for 2016 is a billionaire.

At just 16, Nikita Mazepin will not be old enough to qualify for a F1 super license for two more years, and so he has become a development driver on a "long term" deal.

A kart driver in 2014, Mazepin stepped into junior single seaters last year and in 2016 will contest the competitive Formula 3 euro series.

Russia's Championat said among Mazepin's F1 duties, including simulator work, will be a role over the course of the Russian grand prix weekend.

"The final schedule (for Mazepin) has not been approved," a team spokesperson said, "but he will be with the team at the grand prix of Russia."

Also noteworthy is that Mazepin's father, 47-year-old Dmitry, is listed by Forbes as a billionaire.

He is the main shareholder of the major Russian ammonia fertilizer company Uralchem.

Meanwhile, the 13-year-old son of MotoGP legend Mick Doohan has told Australian media that he is targeting a future in formula one.

Jack Doohan won an Australian kart championship last year and told News Corp: "My dream is formula one. But it's a long way to get there."

F1 moves to Milan for more future talks
(GMM) A meeting last Friday broke with formula one no closer to determining the shape of its future.

At London's Heathrow airport, the teams, FOM and the FIA got together to discuss the rules for 2017, amid widespread disagreement about how to proceed.

It was billed as the penultimate meeting before a March 1 deadline, coming shortly after Pirelli and Mercedes reportedly pushed to dilute radical plans for cars up to 5 or 6 seconds per lap quicker.

"There is now quite a lot of pressure to come to the right approach over two meetings of six hours," Force India's Andy Green told Auto Motor und Sport before the London meeting.

It now emerges that Friday's meeting broke without resolving the disagreements between the teams, including the proposal to protect the cockpits of the cars.

Italy's Autosprint reports that the next scheduled meeting, during the week of the first official group test in Barcelona late this month, would be F1's last chance for consensus before the March 1 rules deadline.

But Omnicorse, another specialist Italian outlet, says the discussions will in fact resume as soon as this week, as Pirelli hosts a meeting in Milan about the future of the tire specifications for 2017.

Touted to be there are Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt as well as representatives among the race drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa, following a formal invitation by Pirelli.

Ecclestone and Mosley want a GP in London

Britain clearing path for London GP
(GMM) F1 has turned another corner on the long road to a street race in London.

The idea has been doing the rounds for years, but it might now regain momentum after British grand prix chief Patrick Allen admitted late last year that Silverstone might not be able to afford the race fee in the future.

"Can I guarantee the future? No I can't," he told the Telegraph last September.

Now, Britain's Times newspaper claims the London grand prix might soon be back on the agenda.

Government sources reportedly say legislation to allow councils to close roads for motor racing will be put through parliament "within months".

The department for transport confirmed that ministers wanted "to make it easier for local authorities to manage their own sports events".

British F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss commented: "When I was racing, we nearly had a race around Hyde Park and that was turned down by the police. If there's any way they can get a local council to do it now, then it's absolutely fantastic."

Nico Hulkenberg

Force India eyeing third F1 force Williams – Hulkenberg
(GMM) Force India should set its 2016 sights on F1's third force Williams.

That is the view of Nico Hulkenberg, the Silverstone based team's German driver who was arguably outperformed in 2015 by his podium-getting teammate Sergio Perez.

Hulkenberg told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "I'm hungry. I want to attack. I want 2016 to be my best year in F1.

"There is no reason why Force India should not build on the good performance we had last year since we got the B version of the car," he added.

Although among the smaller teams in F1, Force India punched above its weight in 2015, ultimately finishing the world championship in fifth place.

That was ahead of a competitive midfield including Lotus, Toro Rosso, Sauber and McLaren-Honda, but Hulkenberg is expecting a tough battle this year.

When told that the constructors' championship battle behind the top three teams will be intense, Hulkenberg answered: "There is so much to speculate about.

"What we need to do is focus on ourselves and do our homework. And repair the weaknesses that we still had last year.

"It is also clear that every one of our opponents will be a tough nut to crack: McLaren if it gets more power from Honda, Toro Rosso with Ferrari engines, and Red Bull always.

"I also think Haas will be strong from the very beginning. So maybe our approach should be that we come to the level of Williams," Hulkenberg added.

Gary Paffett back in 2006

Williams Appoints Gary Paffett as Simulator Driver for 2016
Williams is pleased to announce that Gary Paffett has been appointed as the team’s simulator driver for 2016.

Gary has joined the team for the 2016 season to assist the vehicle science department in developing the Williams Mercedes FW38 at the Williams factory in Grove. He will work closely with the team throughout the year to provide extensive feedback to help the continued development of this year’s car.

Gary’s previous experience includes being a McLaren test driver, the 1999 McLaren Autosport BRDC award winner and 2005 DTM champion. Between 2001 and 2013 Gary took part in 72 official Formula One test days, completing 4971 laps and clocking up 22,745 km in the process.

Commenting on the announcement Gary Paffett said: “I am really pleased to be joining the Williams team as the simulator driver to aid in the development of this year’s car. The team has such a great pedigree and history in Formula One. I look forward to supporting the team over this year in my new role."

Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, added, “We’re delighted to have someone with Gary’s experience join us at Williams. He is a highly professional racing driver and his level of testing knowledge, and ability to analyze data, will significantly help to drive forward development of the FW38 throughout the season."