Latest F1 news in brief

Rosberg hurls his hat at Hamilton in disgust after losing the USGP when he choked

Hamilton 'understands' cap-hurling controversy
FIA aims fire at Ferrari engine price 'veto'
Vettel shaping up as Hamilton's big rival – Prost
McLaren played 'lottery' with driver program – de la Rosa
Raikkonen not interested in rain-delay 'circus'
Rosberg defends post-US GP behavior
Hamilton Calls Austin Win Most Important Of His Career
Ecclestone Tries To Keep Red Bull In Ring

Hamilton 'understands' cap-hurling controversy
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton says he can "understand" why Nico Rosberg hurled a second-placed podium cap at him after the US grand prix.

Furious about their first-corner clash, and having lost the world championship to his Mercedes teammate in Austin due to an uncharacteristic mistake, German Rosberg did not appreciate the '2nd place'-branded Pirelli cap landing in his lap in the podium waiting room.

"I literally said 'Here you go mate' and then it came back at me," Hamilton recalled early this week after celebrating his third drivers' title — Rosberg's second consecutive defeat in the Mercedes 'power unit' era.

"I was like 'No problem'. I'm completely oblivious to it.

The cap in mid flight. Hamilton fired back "I can understand in many respects how it is," the Briton added. "It's the worst thing to be my teammate" (as to say "I am the greatest")

"I can understand in many respects how it is," the Briton added. "It's the worst thing to be my teammate.

"I guess when you come in after the race and are disappointed, the emotions are sometimes unbearable," said Hamilton. "I don't take anything from it. I've seen Nico in lots of different lights over the years."

But Niki Lauda, the Mercedes team chairman, and also boss Toto Wolff have each said they will sit down with Hamilton ahead of this weekend's round in Mexico, as they agreed the first-corner clash with Rosberg was unacceptable.

But not everyone agrees. Donald Mackenzie, the F1 chief of the sport's commercial rights owners CVC, told Globo: "Lewis is the star of our show.

"And a global star, not just among the British. He was aggressive at turn 1 but you have to be like that in F1," he argued.

Hamilton also rejected the need for clear-the-air talks with Rosberg or team management.

"No need," he insisted. "Everyone has a right to his own opinion but it doesn't matter because I won the race so I feel pretty good about it."

Rosberg skipped much of the post-race celebrations at the circuit late on Sunday, but later joined in with a bout of rowdy karaoke singing at a team party in the city.

As for Hamilton's claim that being teammate to the now triple world champion is the "worst thing", Rosberg told Bild newspaper: "I wouldn't want another teammate.

"It's a good challenge to go up against one of the best."

F1 veteran David Coulthard, however, says that as long-time teammate to double world champion Mika Hakkinen, he knows how Rosberg is feeling at present.

"You just have to keep working and keep waiting for your moment," he told the BBC. "It might never come, but Hamilton has learned something and gone faster, so Rosberg now has to do the same."

Arrivabene and Wolff discuss strategy to stop the FIA's low-cost engines

FIA aims fire at Ferrari engine price 'veto'
(GMM) Confirming its push for a "client engine" in formula one, F1's governing body has aimed fire at Ferrari.

Mercedes has already come out against Bernie Ecclestone's plan for an alternative engine – perhaps an Indycar-based 2.2 liter twin-turbo V6 supplied by Cosworth or Ilmor – to go up against the existing 1.6 liter 'power units'.

But the F1 supremo has called the current engines the worst thing that has ever happened to the sport he has ruled for almost four decades, and apparently now has FIA president Jean Todt on side for the fight-back.

In a statement, the FIA declared on Monday that it tried to cut costs in F1 with a budget cap or rule tweaks, or a maximum price for 'power units' because many small teams are struggling to afford the manufacturers' current prices.

"These (maximum engine price) measures were put to the vote and adopted with a large majority," the federation declared.

"However, Ferrari decided to go against this and exercise the right of veto long recognized under agreements governing F1.

"In the interest of the championship, the FIA has decided not to legally challenge Ferrari's use of its right of veto.

"Therefore the FIA will initiate a consultation with all stakeholders regarding the possible introduction of a client engine, which will be available as of 2017.

"Following this consultation a call for tenders for this client engine, the cost of which would be much lower than the current power unit, could be undertaken," the FIA added.

Can Ferrari close the HP gap to Mercedes in 2016 so Vettel can take the fight to Hamilton?

Vettel shaping up as Hamilton's big rival – Prost
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel is shaping up as the most likely contender to end new triple world champion Lewis Hamilton's run of dominance in 2016.

Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, the cap-hurling Nico Rosberg, remains behind Ferrari's Vettel after the US grand prix.

Neither German, however, seems particularly interested in finishing second overall behind Hamilton, with Vettel eyeing a proper title assault next year.

Asked if that is possible, a Finnish newspaper quoted Vettel as answering: "I have balls, but neither of them is crystal."

F1 legend Alain Prost, however, thinks that Vettel – not Rosberg – is indeed likely to be Hamilton's closest challenger in 2016.

"For Nico Rosberg it will be quite difficult now to recover from this race," the quadruple world champion, referring to the mistake that cost Rosberg the win, the title and his good mood in Austin, is quoted by Speed Week.

"It was one of those races that he had to win.

"Mercedes' dominance is still there," Prost added, "but towards the end of the season it has become less obvious. The big surprise is Ferrari and how strong they have been.

"They are in a good way. Who knows what they will be able to do next year?"

Autosprint, a specialist Italian publication, said that when congratulating Hamilton on his title win in Austin, Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene told the British champion: "See you next year".

"I complimented him," the Italian confirmed, "and I said 'See you next year'.

Arrivabene said that Ferrari's plan all along was to use the 2015 season to close the gap to Mercedes, which explains the decision to use a fifth engine and incur grid penalties in Austin.

"Last winter we knew we had a big handicap to Mercedes," he explained, "and to be able to get closer to them we had to be aggressive on some technical choices.

"But it was a price we knew we had to pay. To get the power that we have gained, we had to reduce the life of some of the components a little," said Arrivabene.

De la Rosa says "Hamilton is a special talent like Fernando (Alonso) and Vettel, only he has a lethal weapon (the Mercedes car) that is far better than the others."

McLaren played 'lottery' with driver program – de la Rosa
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton's immense talent may have thrown McLaren off course when it came to the development of young talent.

That is the view of former long-time McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa, who was already at the Woking team when Hamilton made his F1 debut in 2007.

"When I saw him make his debut, I realized that he was very special," the Spaniard, now 44, said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

More recently, McLaren has tried to similarly develop more young talents, including Heikki Kovalainen and also Kevin Magnussen, who has been dispensed with after just a single race season and the reserve role this year.

"I still remember a conversation with Martin Whitmarsh," de la Rosa recalled. "I said 'Stop playing the lottery as you have already won it with this boy (Hamilton)'."

Indeed, although now at Mercedes, Hamilton has gone on to thrive and excel, and de la Rosa thinks the conditions are right for the Briton to now win two more titles "smoothly".

"He is going to end up with many titles," he predicted. "He is a special talent like Fernando (Alonso) and Vettel, only he has a lethal weapon (the Mercedes car) that is far better than the others.

"The gaps may be reduced but I can't imagine him not having the car to beat again in 2016," said de la Rosa.

"2017? We'll see."

As far as how much Hamilton has developed since 2007, meanwhile, de la Rosa agrees that the biggest change has been in his off-track style, as he was "very restricted" in how he behaved at McLaren.

And the biggest thing he brought to Mercedes, de la Rosa thinks, was credibility.

"He played a key role in Mercedes," said the Spaniard, "because people like Paddy Lowe left McLaren to join him. That 'draw power', as is the case too with Fernando or Vettel, is huge and it has been great for his team."

Raikkonen not interested in entertaining crowd

Raikkonen not interested in rain-delay 'circus'
(GMM) Kimi Raikkonen has admitted he had no interest in joining the "circus" that became the unusual television spectacle of qualifying in Austin.

With the session lasting a marathon 3 hours amid rain delays that ultimately resulted in cancellation, bored residents of the pitlane tried their best to entertain the soaking crowd in other ways.

Mechanics raced makeshift 'boats', the Red Bull duo danced, Nico Rosberg kicked a football with a live TV cameraman, and Toro Rosso 'dads' Jos Verstappen and Carlos Sainz climbed into their son's cars wearing full regalia.

Notably, the time-filling fun seemed lacking from those wearing red.

Asked why he wasn't interested in the shenanigans, Kimi Raikkonen told Turun Sanomat newspaper: "Do you want a truthful answer?

"This is F1, not a circus. People come to see driving, and I think that's all we can do. This (rain delays) sometimes just happens.

"It doesn't bother me as everyone can do what he wants. But this is my choice. As I said, we are not in the circus," the Finn added.

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene backed the attitude of his driver.

"We are in F1, not Cirque du Soleil. We did not do the same 'show' but I can tell you that on Saturday we brought disabled children in wheelchairs into our garage," the Italian insisted.

"It didn't show on the TV but we at least gave them something special," he added.

Rosberg disgusted with himself and his teammate

Rosberg defends post-US GP behavior
(GMM) Nico Rosberg has defended his behavior in the immediate aftermath of the US grand prix.

The German has been widely called a 'bad loser' for hauling a cap at his teammate and refusing to spray champagne on the podium, after Lewis Hamilton secured his third drivers' world championship in Austin on Sunday.

In his column for Bild newspaper, however, German Rosberg argued that he had rarely felt so bad in his entire F1 career.

"Have you ever seen them try to eat ox testicles on Survivor?" he wrote. "Absolutely disgusting! That's how I felt after the race in America."

Rosberg said that after losing the race in the final moments with an inexplicable mistake, he wanted to be doing anything other than celebrating.

"I was just pissed off. At myself, at Lewis, at the whole situation. Everything!

"I'm not talking about losing the world championship, because Lewis deserved that this year. But Lewis didn't win the race in Austin. I lost it.

"If you can explain a mistake, there is no problem. But at the moment it feels as though there is something invisible stopping me from succeeding. An enemy that is so hard to combat. Some call it fate, others bad luck," he said.

Compounding Rosberg's bitterness with anger was the first corner of the race, about which even Mercedes team management have admitted that Hamilton overstepped the mark with his racing aggression.

"There are internal rules in our team," Rosberg revealed, "and I kept to those rules. Lewis did not. He went much too far.

"That's why I threw back the cap which he had tossed over to me, landing on my belly. We are sportsmen but we are also human. We are under tremendous pressure all weekend.

"I need a couple of days now to digest that bitter day. But luckily the next race in Mexico is already this Sunday. I'm looking at it as a mini-championship of three races. And I want to win it," said Rosberg.

Hamilton plays to the crowd

Hamilton Calls Austin Win Most Important Of His Career
F1 driver LEWIS HAMILTON said that his World Championship win "was the most important of his career after matching childhood hero" AYRTON SENNA's three titles, according to Andrew Benson of the BBC.

Hamilton won the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, "after a late error" by Mercedes teammate NICO ROSBERG. Hamilton said, "The last two times were really climactic in the last race. This one still feels just as special if not more special. It has kind of topped last year for me — it's equaling Ayrton."

Senna — widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver in history — "won three titles before his death" in '94. Hamilton said that "his career aim had always been to match the achievements of the great Brazilian, who was killed in a crash in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix" BBC

In London, David Coulthard wrote now for some people who watched Senna, even putting Hamilton in the same sentence as him "is offensive." They "think Senna was untouchable."

Well, "it is my opinion — even if some people find it offensive — that Hamilton is the Senna of this era."

Of course, "we are not comparing apples with apples." But if you look over a 10-year period in this sport, "all the best guys seem to engineer themselves into the best cars, are always able to outperform their teammates, and are considered the class of the field."

Therefore Hamilton "joins the list of very greats," from JUAN MANUEL FANGIO, JIM CLARK, JACKIE STEWART, Senna, ALAIN PROST, MICHAEL SCHUMACHER and so on. They "are the class of their respective fields." TELEGRAPH

Ecclestone begs Mateschitz to stay

Ecclestone Tries To Keep Red Bull In Ring
The race to stop Red Bull walking out of F1 "has turned into a cul-de-sac," as rival factions line up to deny it the chance to compete, according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES.

F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone spent the weekend of the U.S. Grand Prix "trying to stitch together a deal" that will prevent Red Bull Owner Dietrich Mateschitz from pulling the plug on his team and the Toro Rosso junior squad.

Mateschitz "is on the brink unless he can find competitive engines for both teams for next season."

Renault, Red Bull’s engine supplier through four world championship-winning seasons, "has walked away and may yet leave the sport, while Mercedes and Ferrari have refused to come up with a deal for competitive machinery."

Red Bull "will need an engine within the next few weeks simply to have a car ready for next season."

Ecclestone: "They will be in trouble whatever engine they get because of the timing. The reasons why Ferrari or Mercedes don’t want to give Red Bull the same engine as they will race in 2016 is because they are afraid they might get beaten, which is ridiculous."

The decision on Red Bull "is critical for F1." Losing such a high-profile name "would be a commercial disaster for the sport, underlining its travails over the past two years that have led to the threat of an inquiry by the European Union competition commission." LONDON TIMES