Latest F1 news in brief

Todt backs cost caps

F1 Commission approves engine cost-cap plan
Vettel to also test Ferrari next week
Marciello splits with Ferrari and Sauber
Manor drops 'Marussia' from F1 team name
Montezemolo wants more 'thanks' from Ferrari
Red Bull facing fine after Verstappen snow run
Symonds: Mercedes has 'chinks in armor'
Video: Renault hear us coming

F1 Commission approves engine cost-cap plan
(GMM) The F1 Commission on Tuesday approved a plan by the sport's engine manufacturers to impose a cap on the price of supplying to customer teams.

Reports prior to the Geneva meeting had said Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda would table a proposal to reduce their prices to EUR 12 million per season.

The plan reportedly had the backing of FIA president Jean Todt, although it is believed Bernie Ecclestone wanted a more substantial change to the controversial 'power unit' regulations.

But international media sources, including the authoritative Auto Motor und Sport (Germany), La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy) and L'Equipe (France), say the F1 Commission voted through the carmakers' alternative proposal on Tuesday.

Gazzetta said the plan, slated for 2018, also involves "guaranteeing the supply" of engines to all teams, therefore preventing the sort of crisis that struck Red Bull last year.

And "to further reduce costs," added Auto Motor und Sport, "it was also decided that from 2018 only three gearboxes per car will be used each season".

Finally, it is believed that Todt's idea to re-introduce refuelling was scuppered by the F1 Commission, according to sources close to the FIA.

Vettel to test at Fiorano again

Vettel to also test Ferrari next week
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel will keep his pre-season preparations in a high gear next week.

While his rivals still have their engines silent, the German returned to action on Tuesday with a test in Ferrari's 2014 car at Fiorano.

Initially, the outing was described by some outlets as a 'filming day', but Italy's Autosprint claims it was actually a test according to article 10.2 of the sporting regulations.

The FIA rule allows the running of cars made to "comply with the 2012, 2013 or 2014" technical regulations.

L'Equipe (France) said Ferrari did the test, with the FIA's prior approval, to "correlate data" acquired in the wind tunnel.

And publications are reporting that Vettel will also be in action for Ferrari – the fabled Italian team that has targeted winning the world championship this year – next week.

While official pre-season testing does not begin until the end of next month, Pirelli has organized a wet tire test involving Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Finland's Ilta Sanomat, and Speed Week and Auto Motor und Sport (Germany), claim Vettel will be driving the 2015-spec Ferrari at Paul Ricard, along with teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Raffaele Marciello

Marciello splits with Ferrari and Sauber
(GMM) Raffaele Marciello has split with Ferrari and will also no longer work with the Ferrari-powered F1 team Sauber.

With the death of Jules Bianchi, the 21-year-old Italian became the clear cream of Ferrari's driver development 'academy'.

Last year, Marciello split his time between GP2 – where he finished the championship in seventh place – and testing for Ferrari and Sauber.

He even appeared on several Friday mornings for the latter Swiss team, but Italy's Autosprint reports that he has now suddenly split up with Ferrari.

Marciello will stay in GP2 this year, but when asked about the Ferrari split, he explained that his relationship with team boss Maurizio Arrivabene had broken down.

"I never had a great relationship with him (Arrivabene)," he revealed.

"He did not deem me suitable for F1 and so it ended. You can't please everyone," Marciello added.

Manor drops the Marussia name

Manor drops 'Marussia' from F1 team name
(GMM) Manor has dropped the word 'Marussia' from its official name in formula one.

Although the backmarker outfit was widely known as 'Manor' last year, complex F1 regulations meant the chassis was still called a 'Marussia', even after the split with the Russian supercar maker.

Now, Manor stalwarts John Booth and Graeme Lowdon have quit the team, but for 2016 the F1 Commission on Tuesday approved a name-change for the continuing outfit.

"Delighted to announce Manor Racing," the team declared on Twitter.

Manor added that a "full reveal" of the team will take place on 22 February, which is the date of the opening winter test in Barcelona next month.

The red team logo of 2015 has also been dropped, with Manor Racing presenting a new stylized 'M' logo for this year in black and white colors.

Some days ago, Manor said it had completed the last of its mandatory FIA crash tests with the 2016 car, "so we now have a fully-homologated chassis".

"Next stop Barcelona," the team added.

Luca di Montezemolo wants to be thanked for his failure

Montezemolo wants more 'thanks' from Ferrari
(GMM) Luca di Montezemolo thinks he deserves more credit for the contribution he made to Ferrari.

Now 68, the Italian's Ferrari career dates all the way back to 1973, when he became the great Enzo Ferrari's assistant.

He rose to the president's chair in 1991, but was ousted last year amid an acrimonious spat with his successor, the Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne, who put a plan to float Ferrari on the stock exchange into action.

Montezemolo now runs the Italian airline Alitalia but still sounds bitter about his Ferrari ousting.

"When Ferrari went public, of the results they presented, 23 of 24 years were down to me and my people," he told the Financial Times.

"So the least I expected from the owners was an official thank you," added Montezemolo, who is also now heading Rome's bid to host the 2024 Olympics.

"I didn't expect a present because the value (of Ferrari) was unbelievable, but at least a thanks."

The tree huggers are afraid Verstappen may have hurt the snow

Red Bull facing fine after Verstappen snow run
(GMM) Red Bull is facing the possibility of a EUR 30,000 fine after Max Verstappen's spectacular blast up and down the famous Kitzbuhel ski slopes last week.

A crowd of 3,500 gathered in the Austrian Alps as Verstappen, F1's teenage sensation, slipped and slid in a F1 car fitted with snow chains, some 1600 meters above sea level.

Verstappen and Red Bull were helping to promote this year's Austrian grand prix, but local authorities reportedly did not see the bright side of the F1 snow stunt.

Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper reports that administrative proceedings have been filed against Red Bull, as official approval for the event was not granted.

Kitzbuhel director Michael Berger confirmed the news, saying approval must be given for the driving of any vehicle outside normal traffic or fenced areas, due to the potential for causing damage to nature.

What is Pat Symonds smoking? Mercedes will dominate again in 2016

Symonds: Mercedes has 'chinks in armor'
Williams technical chief Pat Symonds is adamant that Mercedes can be beaten in 2016, but admits his outfit must raise its game if it is to exploit the "chinks in their armor".

Mercedes has dominated Formula 1 under the latest V6 turbo engine era, claiming 35 out of a possible 37 pole positions, 31 out of 37 wins, and four out of four titles in two years.

Williams, meanwhile, has emerged from a troublesome phase, finishing third in the championship standings for the past two seasons, picking up one pole position and 13 podiums.

Symonds is now eager for Williams to take the next step and return to winning ways, with Pastor Maldonado's victory in Spain back in 2012 the team's most recent triumph.

"Even if you get as dominant a situation as Mercedes have got, we are not in the McLaren 1988 era when they absolutely win every race," Symonds explained to Reuters.

"Mercedes have chinks in their armor. There aren't many because they are an amazingly strong team, but we've got to be there for those [problematic] days.

"At the same time we have to keep pushing ourselves so we are not [just] looking for that way of doing it, ultimately what we want to do is beat them fair and square."

Symonds also recognized the need for Williams to cut down on mistakes, after a number of mishaps last year, which included Valtteri Bottas being sent out on mismatched tires in Belgium.

"We certainly made far too many operational errors last year, there's no doubt about it," he said.

"In my pre-season briefing to the guys at the beginning of the year we concentrated a lot on that.

"I can't say we will be faultless [in 2016], nobody is immune… but certainly the number of errors we made was way too high and we are working hard to try and improve that."

Video: Renault hear us coming
Renault has released a teaser trailer ahead of its official team launch presentation in early February.