Latest F1 news in brief

Adrian Sutil has no check to buy his F1 seat

Sutil admits F1 future unclear
Mercedes, not Hamilton to decide strategy – Wolff
'Smart guy' Hamilton seeks 'excuses' – Rosberg
F1 blind to 'parallel rules' problems – Wolff
Honda ok with Alonso's frustrated humor
Williams to appeal Massa disqualification
Magnussen denies ruling out F1 reserve role
Arrivabene criticizes Pirelli tire test secrecy
Briatore yet to visit old friend Schumacher

Sutil admits F1 future unclear
(GMM) Adrian Sutil admits his future beyond the forthcoming 2015 finale in Abu Dhabi is not clear.

When Valtteri Bottas struck trouble with a back injury early this season, former Force India and Sauber driver Sutil was drafted in as Williams' official reserve.

But when asked what he will be doing in 2016, 32-year-old German Sutil said: "Nothing is decided yet. It's still a little bit open.

"Right now there is not much to announce," he told Sky Deutschland in Brazil.

Sutil's chances of stepping up to a race seat appear slim, however, with only Manor having vacancies with a reported $10 million price-tag.

But the German, who hinted he might also leave F1 for another series, insisted: "In formula one so much can happen very quickly so you always have to leave the door a little open."

We decide who wins the races, not the drivers

Mercedes, not Hamilton to decide strategy – Wolff
(GMM) Toto Wolff says Mercedes will continue to make the call on race strategy, following the complaints of world champion driver Lewis Hamilton.

In Brazil, teammate Nico Rosberg won his second consecutive race from pole, as the German declared he is back in top form after losing the drivers' title to Hamilton.

"Lewis put in a good challenge but I was able to control it and never give him a chance," he said.

However, Briton Hamilton argues that the reason he didn't have a chance is because it is impossible to overtake at Interlagos, even though rookie sensation Max Verstappen was hailed for his feisty passing moves.

"I had the pace," Hamilton insists, "it's just you can't overtake around here."

He was heard on the radio pleading with Mercedes to put him on a different strategy to Rosberg, who with his victory on Sunday cemented second place in the drivers' world championship ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

"I was like 'If there are any other strategies, let's do it, let's take a risk, let's do whatever' and they (Mercedes) are like 'Look after the tires’ and I'm like "no, I'm racing'.

"I think that's what people want to see," Hamilton added, "but it was relatively boring following in a tow."

Team boss Toto Wolff, however, insists that it will be Mercedes who continues to call the shots when it comes to strategy.

"We have our strategists," he said, "and if the drivers in the car start to make their own (decisions) they would lose every single race."

Rosberg also backs Mercedes' policy of enforcing the strategies, arguing that allowing Hamilton to dictate the decisions would not be fair.

"In advance you can only go by what the computer tells you," he said. "It wouldn't really be fair for the guy who is running second to go for the other strategy and then for it to turn out that it was massively quicker.

"It should be just me against Lewis and that's it and no luck involved," said Rosberg.

Rosberg could not touch Hamilton, now all of a sudden he is faster.

'Smart guy' Hamilton seeks 'excuses' – Rosberg
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton looks for "excuses" when he does not win grands prix, Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg said over the course of the Brazilian grand prix weekend.

On Sunday, Rosberg won his second consecutive race from pole, but Hamilton argued that he "had the pace" to challenge if the team had given him another strategy, or if overtaking was possible at Interlagos.

Rosberg rejects the theory.

"Up front I had the pace advantage over Lewis so of course he's not going to come by me because in the end of the race I was six seconds in front," he said.

Another theory is that Rosberg's surge in form – too late for a title challenge – coincided with Pirelli's strict new guidelines about tire usage some races ago.

"No, I don't think so," the German insisted on Sunday. "I think I've just raised my game."

Hamilton, however, is not so sure.

"From Singapore onwards there's been a change to the car," he said. "Whether or not that's made a difference, I don't know really."

And yet another theory is that Hamilton has simply eased his focus at the tail end of 2015, having already wrapped up the title and admitting to partying so hard last week he crashed his $2m Pagani Zonda in Monaco.

Again, Rosberg isn't guying it.

"He's a smart guy," said the German. "So he will find good arguments when he needs them."

Earlier, after Hamilton suggested in Mexico that Rosberg's win was safeguarded by Mercedes, Rosberg suggested the Briton was "looking for some excuses".

Niki Lauda agrees that Rosberg is simply better at the moment.

"Very strong performance from Nico, as in Mexico," the Mercedes team chairman and F1 legend is quoted by Speed Week.

"At the moment he is simply the better man. He already proved before that he is as fast as Lewis, but right now he is completely free in his head."

Wolff and Lauda worried their secret Mercedes engine formula might get usurped by the alternate FIA engine

F1 blind to 'parallel rules' problems – Wolff
(GMM) Toto Wolff has hit back at Bernie Ecclestone, after the F1 supremo suggested carmakers are prepared to destroy F1 for their own gain.

Manufacturers including dominant Mercedes are siding against the sport's new plans for faster cars in 2017 and parallel engine regulations.

"They are not thinking of the sport, only themselves," Ecclestone told Auto Motor und Sport.

"We cannot destroy formula one due to people who believe they can take the sport hostage."

But Wolff insists that Mercedes is thinking about F1, amid evidence that other racing categories have tried and failed to equalize performance with sets of parallel regulations.

"I don't understand," he told DPA news agency.

"It seems as if we are completely stubborn and closing our eyes to what has happened in other series and all the associated problems," Wolff added.

"Now we're coming along, pulling a rabbit out of a hat and saying 'Let's do it!'"

Wolff said Mercedes is clearly opposed to the parallel engines idea, with F1 prepared to keep the 'power unit' rules in place but usher in an independent supplier of an affordable twin-turbo V6 for smaller teams.

"It seems as though we are moving in circles," Wolff continued.

"At a certain point we decided we wanted to be the pinnacle of technology, relevant to the road industry and attract new manufacturers. But we have four manufacturers on board already who are saying 'We don't want it (to change)'," he added.

Alonso grins-and-bears it

Honda ok with Alonso's frustrated humor
(GMM) Honda insists it takes no offence at the use of "humor" to discharge the frustration felt by its F1 drivers at the tail end of 2015.

McLaren's all-champion duo of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have been largely patient this year, but their frustration appeared to spill into humor over the course of the penultimate race weekend of the 2015 season.

After grinding to a halt in qualifying, the Spaniard winked theatrically before reclining into a picnic chair with his face to the sun.

The social media phenomenon #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe then exploded, as Photoshop-savvy fans depicted him basking with lions, at the dentist, in an ejector seat and in many other amusing scenes.

And both Alonso and Button took a cheeky trip to the podium over the Interlagos weekend, the British driver joking that it was "the most fun" he would have in Brazil.

"We passed close to the podium and said 'We will not be this close again so let's take a picture'," agreed Alonso.

But honor is an important element of Japanese culture, and so it is conceivable that poking fun at Honda's ongoing woes might not have been well-received by the carmaker.

Honda's F1 chief Yasuhisa Arai is quoted by AS newspaper: "It is clear that Fernando is in a frustrating situation and I think we are frustrated as well.

"But the drivers, both of them, show the kind of humor that helps everyone in the team. I have a lot of respect in terms of the mentality and the professionalism that they have," Arai-San added.

Rob Smedley

Williams to appeal Massa disqualification
(GMM) Williams is appealing Felipe Massa's disqualification from the Brazilian grand prix.

The stewards stripped the Brazilian of his eighth place finish because a tire had been measured by the FIA on the grid to be 137 degrees — a massive 27 degrees higher than Pirelli's now-mandatory guidelines.

Williams engineering chief Rob Smedley, however, is not impressed.

"We have two different sensors," he is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport, "and our measurement on the grid was 104 degrees. The other on the telemetry was 105.7.

"The sensors are independent and both confirm that we were well within the rules," Smedley said. "Unfortunately they only accept their measurement and not ours."

Magnussen denies ruling out F1 reserve role
(GMM) Kevin Magnussen has denied he ruled out keeping a foot in the F1 door next year by signing up for a new reserve driver role.

It was believed the main reason the Dane split with McLaren is because he was determined to return to racing in 2016.

Indeed, he recently tested Porsche's Le Mans prototype and has been replaced as McLaren reserve by Stoffel Vandoorne, who looks set to split his time next year between the F1 paddock and the Japanese series Super Formula.

23-year-old Magnussen, meanwhile, was quoted by the Danish broadcaster TV2: "There are several possibilities in formula one if I want to be reserve driver, but I do not. I will go and race something next year."

But on Twitter, Magnussen insists his comments were mistranslated.

"I actually said I want to be racing in 2016, that's my priority, but if I can also be an F1 team's reserve driver that would be good," he said.

BT, a Danish newspaper, suggested that a reserve role at Lotus or Williams is possible.

"My focus for the future has not changed," Magnussen insisted. "And I'm happy to say that I have some good options.

"One of them is Porsche and there are still opportunities in formula one, which I think people can figure out for themselves," he added.

But he says he is definitely finished as McLaren's reserve, and will not come to Abu Dhabi next weekend.

"McLaren has finished our cooperation," said Magnussen, "so there is no reason for me to sit and listen to what the McLaren setup is and details about the car when I know I am leaving the team."

Maurizio Arrivabene slams Pirelli secrecy

Arrivabene criticizes Pirelli tire test secrecy
(GMM) Maurizio Arrivabene has hit out at the decision to hold the forthcoming post-season Abu Dhabi tire test behind closed doors.

Two days after the checkered flag falls on the 2015 season, every team except Manor will remain at Yas Marina to help Pirelli test the new 'ultra-soft' tire that will debut with purple sidewall markings next year.

The 1 December test will take place between 9am and 9pm, but results will not be published for "some days" afterwards.

"For all these reasons Pirelli and the teams have with regret taken the joint decision to keep the test closed to the media," the Italian tire company announced.

Ferrari boss Arrivabene, however, has revealed that he does not agree with that decision.

"I'm quite the opposite and would open it up completely to the media — formula one needs any advertising it can get, not testing behind closed doors," he is quoted by Speed Week.

Meanwhile, after an impressive race by Sebastian Vettel in Brazil, Arrivabene declined to hit out at Niki Lauda for suggesting in the media last week that Ferrari has now caught up with Mercedes in engine power.

"Honestly, if Niki said it, I would have reacted with suspicion," he smiled.

"But judging by the numbers, we are really close to them now and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the engine guys, because the engine is the heart of the car," Arrivabene added.

"But there are other areas we need to catch up as well, as this year we have not had the opportunity to radically alter the chassis, but for next year we will."

Flavio Briatore

Briatore yet to visit old friend Schumacher
(GMM) Flavio Briatore has admitted he is yet to visit Michael Schumacher, ever since his former F1 protege suffered a skiing crash in late 2013.

Schumacher, whose first two titles in the 90s at Benetton came after Briatore poached him following a single race at Jordan, is now back at home in Switzerland but some reports suggest he is in a vegetative state.

"I have heard details from Felipe Massa, who has been with Michael," Briatore, now retired from F1, told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

So, explaining why he has not gone to see the great 46-year-old German, Briatore added: "I want to keep Michael as I remember him, as I knew him.

"I spent a lot of time with him, really liked him and admired him," the 65-year-old Italian added. "So I want to keep that in my head."

Official news about Schumacher's health and condition is no longer forthcoming, so it is left to friends like Ross Brawn and Jean Todt to make comments about the former Mercedes and Ferrari driver following their visits.

"These are the expressions of friends. No more and no less," Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, told the Kolner Express tabloid, suggesting that their information is unofficial.

Meanwhile, when asked about the sport more generally, Briatore admitted: "I miss formula one.

"But not the current formula one — my formula one," he added, referring to his 20-year reign at Benetton and Renault that ended in 2009 when the FIA banned him amid the 'crashgate' scandal.