Latest F1 news in brief

Giampaolo Dall'Ara

Sauber losing senior engineer Dall'Ara
Ferrari not confirming 2016 launch plans
No 'special preference' to join Ferrari – Bottas
Susie Wolff Launches Initiative For Women In Motorsport
Andretti: Formula 1 needs 'benign dictatorship'
Mansell: Hamilton can challenge title record
Lauda buys Austrian airline

Sauber losing senior engineer Dall'Ara
(GMM) The Swiss F1 team Sauber is losing a long-time senior engineer, media reports reveal.

Speed Week (Germany) and Omnicorse (Italy) claim Giampaolo Dall'Ara, who came into F1 with Sauber in 2000, is leaving Hinwil for a new career in the premier German touring car series DTM.

The reports said Italian Dall'Ara, 47, will be a race engineer for BMW. He worked alongside BMW at Sauber some years ago, when the German carmaker owned the F1 team.

Dall'Ara's last post at Sauber was head of track engineering, and Speed Week said Sauber is yet to replace him.

We will see James Allison's latest Ferrari one way or the other

Ferrari not confirming 2016 launch plans
(GMM) Ferrari is not confirming reports about its intended launch plans for the 2016-specification car.

Citing Italian sources, the Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomat said this week that the car will be revealed publicly on the internet on 19 or 20 February, a couple of days before the start of winter testing in Spain.

"So far," said Ferrari spokesman Alberto Antonini, "nothing has been decided in terms of the presentation.

"Anything beyond that is speculation," he told German-language Speed Week.

Italy's well-connected Omnicorse publication agrees, saying that while the first monocoque is ready for FIA crash testing, sources insist that because Ferrari is pushing its deadlines to the limit, a precise launch date is not yet set.

What has emerged in recent days, however, is that work on Ferrari's 2016 car was delayed late last season due to the continued development of the 2015 car.

But Dominic Harlow, a former senior engineer with Williams and Force India, played down the likely impact of the Ferrari delay.

"The knock-on effects would simply be what state of development the car is in at the first and second test and at the first race", he told the blog of the F1 commentator James Allen.

"Things that can sometimes happen with a late start is that you end up with a slightly less evolved car at the first race and then a more developed car when you get back to Europe after the flyaways", Harlow added.

Indeed, the delay has not deterred president Sergio Marchionne from targeting the 2016 title, nor Sebastian Vettel from dreaming about winning the world championship in red.

"To win with Ferrari is something special," the German told Auto Bild. "That's why I now want to find out how it feels to be with them to win a championship."

Valtteri Bottas just wants a winning car

No 'special preference' to join Ferrari – Bottas
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas insists he is not intoxicated with the thought of joining Ferrari.

Last year, the Finn was reportedly close to being signed by the fabled Maranello marque to replace Kimi Raikkonen, but the 2007 world champion ultimately kept his job.

Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, however, warned this week that he wants "more competition" between Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel in 2016, which can only be interpreted as a warning to the 36-year-old.

Bottas, 26, admits he would be interested in joining Ferrari.

"It is an iconic brand," he told Brazil's UOL Esporte, "not only inside formula one but outside of it as well. Everyone knows Ferrari is something great so of course it's a very interesting team.

"But I also remember watching the Williams cars as a child when they were winning races and titles. So I'm very happy to be a part of this historic team," Bottas added.

Bottas, however, also has links to the dominant F1 team Mercedes, as its boss Toto Wolff is still involved with his personal management, and is a minor shareholder at Williams.

"As a driver," Bottas confirmed, "I also respect Mercedes because they are winning, so for me I think you always want to be with the teams that have the fastest cars.

"I have no special preference regarding Ferrari, Williams or Mercedes," he added. "They are all good teams. What you really look for as a driver is to have the fastest car."

Susie Wolff

Susie Wolff Launches Initiative For Women In Motorsport
Former Williams F1 test driver Susie Wolff "is launching an initiative aimed at increasing the number of women involved in motorsport."

The Scot, who retired from racing last year, "is joining forces with UK motorsport authority the MSA for the scheme."

The scheme "will start with motorsport, but there are plans to expand it into other male-dominated environments."

Wolff: "I never set out to become a role model but somehow I did"

Mario Andretti

Andretti: Formula 1 needs 'benign dictatorship'
Mario Andretti, the 1978 Formula 1 World Champion, says the sport needs to adopt a "benign dictatorship" if it is to operate efficiently in the future, given the growing influence of engine manufacturers.

Increased power among manufacturers, in particular Mercedes and Ferrari, which will supply over half the Formula 1 grid with engines in 2016, was a key talking point throughout the 2015 campaign.

Fears have been raised that, through supplying eight of the 11 teams, Mercedes and Ferrari are effectively in control of on and off track matters, highlighted by Red Bull's struggle to find an engine for 2016.

Andretti says he is keen to see only "one or two people" control the sport, and warned of Formula 1 running into the same issues as the former US-based single-seater CART championship.

"From everything that you hear, that you read, it boils down to control, and who should have control regarding where we go in the future," Andretti explained to GPUpdate.net.

"Right now, you have the manufacturers which are very powerful, and that's good, but it's a double-edged sword. When the manufacturers take over, there's only going to be one happy one.

"There has to be a benign dictatorship in place, for any racing organization.

"We saw what happened to CART. As powerful as CART was, and the product that it had, it was a shambles in the way it was run, because it was too democratic – it was bound to fail.

"We don't want to see Formula 1 get to that point.

"Again, I'd like to see the decision-making come down to one or two people. Formula 1 is enjoying some strong moments at present, but there's a lot of turmoil.

"You just have to address the weak points. The manufactures per se will not be addressing that, as they don't care and they'll just address their own interests.

"You have to operate from a position of strength, as far as the control factor.

"There's always a reason why the manufacturers want to be there. You know darn well that as soon as they find no reason they'll blow anyway – they don't care about the sport.

"But whoever is running the sport has to look at the interests of the sport in general."

Renault and Honda are Formula 1's other engine manufacturers.

Like Michael Schumacher 10 years ago, Lewis Hamilton has an Aldo Costa designed car and can easily win 5 or 6 straight F1 titles. In F1, the car is 99% of the equation.

Mansell: Hamilton can challenge title record
Nigel Mansell reckons Lewis Hamilton has the potential to challenge Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles, providing he remains motivated in coming seasons.

Hamilton secured his second successive title in 2015, as Mercedes' domination under the latest turbo engine era continued, and third overall, adding to his crown with McLaren in 2008.

Mansell, although wary of comparing drivers from different eras, feels that Hamilton, who turned 31 on Thursday, has what it takes to threaten Schumacher's haul.

"The thing is you've got to set your parameters," Mansell, the 1992 World Champion, told F1i, when asked to name the greatest British racing driver of all time.

"When you ask a question like that, who is the outright racer of all time? That's one answer. Who is the most successful all-time British race car driver? Lewis would jump straight out, no problem at all.

"And I think you've just go to balance the question.

"Ask a specific question and I can say James Hunt, Jackie Stewart, Lewis Hamilton, myself, Damon Hill because we're all British champions and of course Jenson Button.

"It would be very unkind to say to any of those World Champions that they haven't done a very good job in the year that they won it, because they all did.

"But if you want to just simplify it and say who is the most successful British race car driver of all time, to me I don't have any problem at all saying it's Lewis Hamilton.

"As an all-time great in Formula 1 I think there is some time to go because Michael put a benchmark down of seven [titles], but I think Lewis can really challenge that.

"The only limitation is going to be himself and having the desire to keep on pushing."

Lauda buys Austrian airline
(GMM) Niki Lauda has returned to the world of aviation, according to reports in the Austrian press on Friday.

Die Presse newspaper said it is the fourth airline foray for the F1 legend, commentator and Mercedes team chairman, having bought Vienna based Amira Air just before Christmas.

"(Owner) Ronny Pecik asked me if I'm interested. So I looked into it," the 66-year-old said.

Media reports said Amira Air, an executive charter airline, has 12 aircraft and 70 staff.

"I want to develop it," Lauda added. Previously, Lauda's airlines were called 'Lauda Air' and 'Niki', so when asked if he intends to change the name, he answered: "I am still thinking about it."

The reports said Lauda also intends to occasionally operate within the company as a pilot.