Latest F1 news in brief

Lotus says it has a backup plan

Lotus ready in case Renault deal 'falls flat'
Ferrari not eyeing F1's commercial rights
Ex team driver tips 'big progress' for McLaren-Honda
Bottas admits Massa's pace was a 'surprise'
Wolff: Hamilton/Rosberg battle 'great for F1'
Perez eyes further 'big results' in final races
Vandoorne confirms McLaren reserve role for 2016

Lotus ready in case Renault deal 'falls flat'
(GMM) Lotus has admitted it has a back-up plan in the event the expected buyout by Renault falls over.

Since the French carmaker announced its intention to buy the Enstone team at the end of September, news about the transaction has gone quiet.

But some reports are now suggesting the deal could be announced in Abu Dhabi later this month, and Lotus CEO Matthew Carter says he is "confident" it will eventually be done.

"We know that in business anything can happen and as long as there are no signatures on the documents the deal is not concluded," he told F1's official website. "But confidence is very high."

That, however, is not a guarantee, meaning that if the Renault deal does fall over, Lotus would have to revert to a 'plan B' involving staying with Mercedes power in 2016.

"We have two options for an engine next year," Carter confirmed. "Either we go with Mercedes or Renault. We are progressing along that route.

"We've got two designs for next year's car and we are pushing forward with both options," he added.

Many insiders see the strongest evidence that not all is well with the Renault buyout in the form of the team's announced 2016 driver lineup.

Carter said the plan is for Lotus to drop that iconic name and be Renault's full works team, along the lines of Ferrari or Mercedes.

But the drivers would be Jolyon Palmer – the new GP2 champion but also a paying rookie – and Pastor Maldonado, best known for his crashes and PDVSA millions.

Carter, however, insists that "Between the two of them I think they will be a strong pairing".

He insisted that staying with Mercedes power next year is "unlikely", as that would mean "the Renault deal fell flat".

"My strong guess is that it will be a Renault engine next year," Carter added.

Sergio Marchionne

Ferrari not eyeing F1's commercial rights
(GMM) Sergio Marchionne has ruled out a scenario in which Ferrari buys into F1's commercial rights.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has indicated the sport's controlling shareholders CVC might be looking to move on within the next couple of months.

So, might Ferrari – almost certainly the most historic and important brand within formula one – be interested?

"The answer is simple: we do not think about it," Ferrari president Marchionne said. "It is an issue that concerns FOM and is their problem alone.

"There are huge challenges that are faced but I do not think Ferrari is interested in getting involved with them," he added.

Marchionne said Ferrari's primary concern this year has been ending the title slump that lasted from Kimi Raikkonen's championship in 2007 until last season.

The Maranello marque will at least finish the 2015 season second overall behind Mercedes, but Marchionne said Ferrari is on track for a full title tilt next year.

"The new car has been in development for almost a year and I am very happy with the work that has been done," he said.

"Last year we had difficulties with the management, but we have managed to reverse the situation. Now it is important to have a good two remaining races in Brazil and Abu Dhabi and begin the preparations for 2016."

Lead driver Sebastian Vettel agrees, insisting that despite a bad result in Mexico recently, Ferrari has continued to make progress throughout this year.

"In Mexico we had our worst race in terms of the result, but we also saw that our pace is encouraging. Do not forget that eight or nine months ago we were 1.3 or 1.4 seconds from the best, and now it is half a second or less," said the German.

"The development we have done throughout the season has been considerable," Vettel added. "It is not yet enough, but we are definitely working in the right direction."

Can McLaren-Honda become competitive in this era of engines so complicated and expensive major corporations have to spend $millions to look like losers on engines 99.999% of the fans hate

Ex-team driver tips 'big progress' for McLaren-Honda
(GMM) Former McLaren driver Stefan Johansson has tipped the now Honda-powered team to make "big progress" in 2016.

The once-great British team has struggled so much in the first season of works Honda power that another ex-McLaren driver, Martin Brundle, thinks McLaren is now in "crisis".

But Swede Johansson, who drove for McLaren in the year before the team utterly dominated with Honda power in 1988, said: "I still believe they will make big progress next year.

"I don't mean that they will be winning races but when you're so far off it's not difficult to make a giant leap forward," the 59-year-old told his website.

"It's only when you get to the last five per cent that it starts to get tricky."

Johansson thinks Honda would already have made much more progress in 2015 if it wasn't for the current F1 rules that significantly limit the development of the unprecedentedly-complex 'power unit' technology.

"It continues to make no sense to me," he said. "The development ban was initially implemented to keep the cost at a sensible level, but that concept is already completely broken.

"It's ridiculous to have a formula where there's only one successful engine and the others are not permitted to do the development they obviously need to become competitive," added Johansson.

"On top of that, you're not allowed to go testing.

"If you were allowed to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the engines as you are on the chassis, I am sure that Renault, Honda and Ferrari would all be better — maybe not as good as the Mercedes but certainly a lot closer," he said.

McLaren-Honda's current situation means it must head into 2016 hoping that the 'tokens' deployed over the winter can turn the situation around significantly.

All the while, the team will once again field its all-champion lineup of Jenson Button alongside Fernando Alonso, the latter being F1's highest paid driver who recently admitted his motivation this year has sunk to "two out of 10".

"I don't think Fernando will lose patience," team boss Eric Boullier insists.

"He is committed to us for a multi-year contract – no option, no nothing – so that's a real statement," he told the November issue of F1 Racing magazine.

"The only danger I can see is that he's a real competitor and he needs the excitement of the racing, so doing a good lap with a car that isn't capable of better than 17th means he may lose this excitement," Boullier said.

"You know, it's like a flower that starts to wilt and Honda are very aware of this as well, so we need to deliver what we promised."

Valtteri Bottas

Bottas admits Massa's pace was a 'surprise'
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas admits he has been surprised with teammate Felipe Massa's pace at Williams.

Brazilian Massa joined the British team after an eight-year stint at Ferrari, where in later seasons he was comprehensively outshone by Fernando Alonso.

But the 34-year-old argues he was simply unhappy and unloved at the Maranello team during the Alonso era, leading into his resurgence at Williams.

There, at the Grove based team, Massa has been paired with the much younger Finn, Bottas. The 26-year-old was tipped for a move to Ferrari for 2016, but the Italian marque may have been perturbed by Bottas' pace relative to Massa.

"I was a little surprised to see how fast he is," Bottas also admits to Brazil's UOL Esporte.

"Of course you never quite know what to expect when someone goes somewhere (else), but he has proved to be very good," the Finn added.

But that does not mean the pair don't get along, with Bottas admitting he enjoys sharing the British team with Massa.

"He's a nice guy and I like working with him," he said. "He's also a guy who likes to compete so he doesn't like to be slower than me and is always trying.

"This is a good thing because we are always very close to each other and this forces each other to push even more. He's a good teammate," Bottas added.

He also said Massa's experience, with his eleven additional years on the grid on top of Bottas' three-year F1 career so far, is another bonus.

"I can't point to anything in particular, but of course there are some things I can learn from him, just because he has been here (in F1) longer than me.

"Small things like particular lines that I can see. But I'm also the type of guy who likes to go his own way and learn by myself," Bottas added.

There's absolutely nothing great about only two drivers in the same team being capable of fighting for the win

Wolff: Hamilton/Rosberg battle 'great for F1'
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has described the at times controversial battle between team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as "great for Formula 1".

Mercedes has dominated Formula 1 since the start of the sport's turbo power unit era, with Hamilton and Rosberg going head-to-head for the title in 2014 and 2015.

Although Hamilton secured both world titles, the pendulum continues to swing, with Rosberg claiming pole position and victory at the Mexican Grand Prix last time out.

"We came away from Mexico with many positives," said Wolff.

"On track, our boys delivered strong drives to claim an emphatic one-two.

"In the garage and on the pit wall, the crew were faultless – fast pit-stops, a good race strategy and two cars which performed well at a new venue with unique challenges.

"And for the sport, we saw a fantastic event which brought Formula 1 back to Mexico in style.

"We now have two races remaining to watch an intense and entertaining battle continue.

"The rivalry between Lewis and Nico is great for the sport, great for the team and great for the drivers. They are pushing each other harder and harder, pushing the team forward and providing a fascinating story."

Wolff remains wary, however, of Ferrari and Williams joining the pair at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

"Of course, they are never without pressure from rivals further afield," Wolff added.

"Ferrari had a bad weekend in Mexico but they will no doubt be a threat in Brazil – as will Williams after another podium finish last time out.

"This is a race which often brings surprises and never fails to entertain."

Sergio Perez

Perez eyes further 'big results' in final races
Sergio Perez is hopeful that he and his Force India team can achieve further "big results" over the final two rounds of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

Perez, aided by Force India's B-spec package, has scored solid points in eight of the previous 10 races, including a podium finish at the Russian Grand Prix.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's Interlagos event, Perez commented: "The track is brilliant: it's a proper racer's circuit with some amazing corners.

"The first sector is fantastic: you can take different lines through Turn 1 and you can end up in a battle for position that lasts until Turn 6.

"The lap is very technical and there are a lot of places where you can easily make a mistake, but the feeling when you get a perfect lap together is amazing.

"In the last few races we've had a really good run of results. I feel that I'm driving at my best and the team is doing a fantastic job.

"We want to finish this season on a high and I think we still have some big results in us."

Perez's teammate, Nico Hulkenberg, is also optimistic, having claimed pole at Interlagos during his debut 2010 season, led a portion of the race in 2012 and always finished in the top eight.

"Interlagos has been quite good to me: I had a pole position in 2010, led the race in 2012 and I've always finished in the points," said HÃ¼lkenberg.

"I seem to have good chemistry there and I feel comfortable on and off the track. I can really identify with the Brazilian lifestyle and the people.

"I think we will be competitive so I hope I can add another strong result to the list."

Stoffel Vandoorne

Vandoorne confirms McLaren reserve role for 2016
(GMM) Stoffel Vandoorne has confirmed reports he will officially replace the ousted Kevin Magnussen as McLaren reserve driver next year.

Actually, we learned the news almost three weeks ago, after asking a source close to the British team if the 23-year-old Belgian and new GP2 champion would replace Magnussen in 2016.

"Yup," the source said in late October.

Since then, it has emerged that the McLaren junior, who as champion cannot simply stay in GP2 next year, might split his time in 2016 between attending grands prix and racing in the Japanese open-wheel series Super Formula.

"There's definitely some options and we're talking about them," Vandoorne said on Tuesday.

"I'm going to be test and reserve driver at McLaren anyway, which is a good position to be in. And if you stay sharp, fit and focused, then if any opportunity arises in F1 you're 100 per cent ready to jump in," he added.

Vandoorne has confirmed that he will shortly travel to Japan for a Super Formula test, almost certainly with a Honda-powered team.

"I want to keep racing alongside that (the McLaren reserve role), and I think Super Formula is one of the options, but it's not decided yet whether I'm going to do it or not.

"Ok, (in Super Formula) you don't have that much horse power, but the cornering speeds are very impressive indeed. For sure they're quicker around the corners than F1 cars nowadays," he added.