Latest F1 news in brief

Adrian Newey is worried about Red Bull's engine situation

Red Bull engine deal 'not Wolff's decision' – Horner
Mercedes wary of 'Singapore slump' repeat in Russia
Mercedes' huge F1 loss 'priceless' – reports
Red Bull: Burning bridges everywhere
Ecclestone: Government should support British GP

Red Bull engine deal 'not Wolff's decision' – Horner
(GMM) Christian Horner has revealed that talks with two manufacturers are taking place as Red Bull continues to work on its engine supplier crisis.

Amid the Renault divorce, the energy drink company says it will have to quit formula one if it cannot secure a competitive alternative engine for 2016.

Mercedes, however, has ruled out working with Red Bull, Ferrari is believed to be offering only a 'B' engine, and Honda has played down reports linking it strongly with Red Bull's secondary team, Toro Rosso.

Nonetheless, Red Bull Racing team boss Horner told the Austrian broadcaster Servus TV: "There are talks with two manufacturers."

Fascinatingly, although Mercedes' motor racing chief has categorically ruled out a deal for Red Bull, Briton Horner hinted that the German carmaker could still be an option.

"The decision does not lie with Toto Wolff," he said. "It is at a higher level.

"There are many conversations going on behind the scenes, and obviously the promoter of formula one, Bernie Ecclestone, is worried about what's going to happen with us."

Horner admitted the situation is now urgent.

"This is an important topic that hopefully we can get resolved in the next few weeks. It's critical. It's getting late — very late," he said.

"We are now at the beginning of October, and the designers at Milton Keynes want to know what to do with the RB12. When do we want to have the solution? Two weeks ago!

"Adrian Newey said to me 'Christian, we need an answer. I know what to do with the front and the rear of the car, but we also need to know what to do with the middle'.

"Because it's not just about the engine," Horner explained, "it's about the cooling, which affects the shape of the sidepods. It's also about the transmission, which affects the shape of the rear end.

"Ultimately, the decision about what will happen is with Dietrich Mateschitz. My job – as soon as we know what engine we've got – is to put it all into effect immediately.

"But right now, as I sit here, we do not have a solution," he admitted.

"Yes, that is some sort of advantage for the other teams, but the quality of our work at Red Bull Racing is so high that we can cope with the delay. Everyone is highly motivated and we want to win again.

"But we do not want to continue as we have in the last year and a half," Horner insisted.

If an acceptable solution is not found, however, and Mateschitz does pull the plug, Red Bull will be left with hundreds of employees with no work to do.

Horner insisted: "If we are not going to the grands prix any more, then we will look at other activities. We have many extremely talented people working at Milton Keynes, and we would have to look at how best to use that talent.

"For sure the staff are concerned," he admitted, "but I tell them 'Concentrate on your work and don't worry about what you can't influence'."

Lauda worried about nothing. Here he's probably telling Arrivabene 'your Ferrari's are down 100 HP to our Silver Arrows. You'll be sucking wind in Sochi.'

Mercedes wary of 'Singapore slump' repeat in Russia
(GMM) A slightly nervous Mercedes is preparing for this weekend's Russian grand prix.

Actually, the usually utterly-dominant German squad can wrap up the 2015 constructors' world championship this weekend at Sochi.

But although the silver cars finished easily first and second at Suzuka, the points gap between Lewis Hamilton's lead and Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari is 59 points — meaning the German driver is still in the running with five races to go.

Not only that, Vettel – although surprisingly – won quite dominantly just over two weeks ago in Singapore, and it is believed Mercedes is still not entirely sure what caused the slump.

"I keep getting asked about that actually," smiled technical boss Paddy Lowe. "It's not a simple answer at the end of the day.

"We definitely learnt some lessons from that and we still have a lot more to learn."

Niki Lauda, Mercedes' team chairman, admitted to relief after Suzuka that the Brackley team so quickly returned to form, but he has also admitted that he is worried Sochi this weekend could once again expose the W06's weakness.

Mercedes finished one-two in Russia last year, but for the sport's return in 2016, Pirelli has changed its tire selection and will now offer the two softest tires — the same ones that were fitted when Mercedes slumped in Singapore.

And Lowe thinks Pirelli may have been influenced in its choice after Nico Rosberg last year managed to complete "almost the entire race on a single set of tires".

"One year on, the track surface will have weathered differently so we must ensure we have all eventualities covered," he said.

Mercedes loses $2.6 billion to dominate F1

Mercedes' huge F1 loss 'priceless' – reports
(GMM) Mercedes lost millions as it dominantly won last year's world championships.

Writing in the Swiss newspaper Blick, the veteran F1 journalist Roger Benoit says the German carmaker spent $360 million on its grand prix venture in 2014.

But Bild am Sonntag, the major German Sunday newspaper, says that when Mercedes secures the 2015 constructors' cup – perhaps as soon as this weekend – it will unlock as much as $157 million in official 'Bernie' prize money.

A further $100 million is reportedly raised by Mercedes each season through sponsorship, including deals with Petronas, Hugo Boss and Blackberry.

Mercedes' actual annual cost of being in F1 is therefore "only" $86 million, Bild am Sonntag reported.

Blick's Benoit, meanwhile, says the team's 2014 loss totaled $117m, which is "about the budget of Sauber or Force India, who have filed a complaint with the EU" about the unfair distribution of income.

According to Bild, experts calculate the true value of Mercedes' loss at the equivalent of a $2.6 billion spend in global advertising.

So after revealing Mercedes' accounts last month and showing further bonus payments, F1 business journalist Christian Sylt concludes in Forbes: "It often seems like everything has a price in F1 but when it comes to the benefit Mercedes gains from success on-track it really is priceless."

Mateschitz burnt his bridges with Renault and is now in an engine pickle

Red Bull: Burning bridges everywhere
Threats from Red Bull have been taken with a pinch of salt over the past two years, and perhaps still were until only a few weeks ago. However, one look at the destruction behind the team confirms a very real chance of Red Bull and Toro Rosso not being on the grid next year.

Fresh from four consecutive championship doubles, Red Bull quickly turned on engine partner Renault in 2014 when the going got tough. At the time, both sides could write it off as a blip, one poor season from which the partnership would bounce back this year. Except, that didn't happen.

With the relationship between Red Bull and Renault already close to breaking point, the strides made by Ferrari – with a little help from Mercedes – over the winter caused the toys to firmly disappear out of the pram.

It is somewhat understandable. A year ago, Red Bull boss Christian Horner had to fend off questions predicting the beginning of the end for his team as Sebastian Vettel headed for Ferrari and Adrian Newey shifted his focus away from F1, disillusioned with the sport. In Daniel Ricciardo the team had another race winner from its young driver program, and it still knew how to make a quick car.

This season has shown the RB11 to be another very good chassis, as the performances in Monaco, Hungary and Singapore clearly displayed. But it seemed Vettel and Newey knew better; the blip of 2014 was more the start of a slide from which Red Bull might not recover.

And so, to the team's main problem: its attitude. Unhappy at Renault's failings, it burned bridge number two by ending its partnership a year early as the French manufacturer continued its pursuit of a Lotus takeover.

In reality, the first bridge was ablaze long before; a Mercedes deal was never likely when you look at the history between the two teams. When Mercedes illegally used a current car to test Pirelli tires at Barcelona in 2013, Red Bull pushed hard for severe sanctions with Horner and chief engineer Paul Monaghan surprise observers at the tribunal.

Fast forward 12 months and the roles were reversed, with Red Bull appealing Daniel Ricciardo's exclusion from the 2014 Australian Grand Prix over fuel flow rates. Mercedes, fueled by Red Bull's behavior regarding the tire test, pushed for an increased punishment, claiming the team had made "a flagrant breach" of the regulations. Mercedes actually wanted Red Bull banned for three races in a clear sign of relations between the two. Unsurprisingly, Mercedes turned down the opportunity to give Red Bull engines next year.

Amid a complaint to the EU regarding F1's governance and revenue structure, Force India's Bob Fernley sees a way out for Red Bull, but says the situation highlights how flawed the bilateral agreements which favor the bigger teams are.

"I think there has been mistakes made by both Renault and Red Bull and they should sit down together and try to work it out," Fernley told F1i. "The Renault engine is capable of moving on to a much better performance unit a la Ferrari. Maybe a bit of help from Mercedes as Ferrari got or something and they could be there. So I think that was perhaps an error on their part.

"But I think for me all we are doing at the moment is showcasing what is terribly wrong with the bilateral agreements that we've been complaining about for some time. That is that it's rewarding teams at the front that at a whim could leave, and it's hurting teams in the middle – the independent teams such as Lotus – who need the funding to survive.

"I just think we need the independent teams as the backbone of Formula One and hopefully somewhere down the line something will happen that rectifies that." Fernley is not alone, with Monisha Kaltenborn – whose Sauber team also lodged the complaint with the EU – showing little sympathy for Red Bull's plight.

"It has not been easy in the past to find consensus, even amongst independent teams," Kaltenborn told F1i. "There are a few who really stick together, but it was a bit different in the past when it comes to money. If you look at the common negotiations which led to the 2009 Concorde Agreement, what kept us together was the financial aspect. When that was the sorted out for the next Concorde – which was the key to it – there was for the bigger teams no need to group up together with the smaller ones.

"When it comes to Bernie he has helped each and every team in here so we have all received help from him, but I cannot believe that he thinks Formula One without smaller independent teams would still be the same Formula One to generate the same amount of money."

So would F1 be a poorer place without Red Bull?

"In my view we had a worse crisis in 2008-10 when car manufacturers left, and we survived that…"

Pragmatically, should Red Bull leave it would be a huge loss to Formula One. The team has achieved huge success, promotes F1 globally and has provided a platform for some of the most exciting talents in motorsport. But the problem Red Bull is facing is one almost entirely of its own making which others should not be expected to resolve at all costs. F1i.com

Ecclestone tells British GP promoters, you want to pay how much? How much? I can't hear you.'

Ecclestone: Government should support British GP
As Silverstone reports a profit, F1 supremo claims the government should help finance British Grand Prix.

Normally, it is his daughters who grace the pages of the Daily Mail, the British tabloid tirelessly keeping its readers fully up to speed with almost every move the super-wealthy pair and their husbands make.

Consequently, when Bernie Ecclestone told the tabloid that the British Grand Prix, currently under threat (again) should be subsidized by taxpayers, the reaction was not favorable.

"Our Government should support the British Grand Prix," said Ecclestone, amidst claims the event could be dropped as early as next year as the Northamptonshire track struggles to meet his demands.

"They supported the Olympics and that cost a fortune, plus other events," he added.

"How about instead of the taxpayer lining Ecclestone's pockets, he resigns then someone else takes charge of Formula 1 and cuts charges for hosting the grand prix," responds one reader. "Across the sport teams, fans and circuits are suffering purely for old Bernie's greed!"

"You are a billionaire due to the sport why not open your wallet… why should we line your pocket Ecclestone," writes another.

"Why should the general public, i.e. the taxpayer, subsidize a sport that is the definition of nepotism?" demands a third. "I can't think of a sport less deserving of taxpayer's money."

"Two words…" adds another.

To make matters worse, whilst Silverstone claims that its financial position is such that its bankers are not prepared to issue a letter of credit as they do not believe there will be enough money in Silverstone's account to cover the hosting fee for 2016, its owners accounts show a record Â£3m profit for last year.

Ahead of this week's AGM of the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) which owns Silverstone, all 850 members, who include Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Frank Williams and Ron Dennis, were sent copies of the accounts for the year ending 31 December 2014

These showed, according to the Independent, that revenue rose to Â£54.7m, up Â£2.8m on the previous year, around half of this coming from the Grand Prix.

Pre-tax profits were Â£3m – the highest in ten years – whilst a revaluation of the track, plant and machinery saw an increase in value by Â£7.4m to Â£22.9m.

Under new MD Patrick Allen, who joined in January, staff costs have been reduced by Â£1.2m whilst a "low-cost airline" ticket pricing model led to 20,000 more spectators at this year's Grand Prix.

However, Allen, wary that the hosting fee increases by around 5% each year, that these are pair a year in arrears, and that fans will not accept a significant price hike, insists investment is needed.

"Our assets are static," says Allen. "We can revalue them and that fixes a hole in our balance sheet which, when I was brought in, was pretty weak and, to be honest, remains so. What it needs is a capital injection."

That injection is not going to come from taxpayers already struggling to meet the financial demands of essential services, which brings to mind Allen's comments from earlier in the week when he first revealed the problems facing the Grand Prix.

"What you really need for all parties is somebody who wants to buy a trophy asset and is willing to put a large amount of equity in," he told the Telegraph. "You want somebody that has got lots of money, who loves motor racing, who really wants to run Silverstone profitably but has the capital to inject into the business so it fixes the balance sheet and takes the risk profile away.

Whilst most will immediately think he is referring to Ecclestone himself, what of his girls? Petra has used trackside signage to advertise her (now failed) menswear label FORM, clearly realizing the promotional side of the sport. Indeed, both are married to ambitious businessmen who must surely be aware of the vast rewards F1 can offer.

Surely, having reaped such fabulous rewards from the sport, the Ecclestones could put a little back in, rather than suggesting even further pressure is placed on the already hard-pressed British tax-payer.

Just a thought. PitPass