Latest F1 news in brief – Thursday (Update)
08/13/15
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Andretti says Ferrari should keep Kimi Haas expecting team to be competitive
- Kaltenborn thinks F1 should re-think tire war stance
- F1 'victim of its own success' – de Ferran
- Andretti hopes Ferrari keeps Raikkonen
- Whiting: Revised Mexico track retains 'character'
- Spotlight to be on Mercedes duo at Spa New
- Wolff talks Bottas, race starts and engine tokens New
Haas expecting team to be competitive
(GMM) Gene Haas says he expects his new F1 team to be competitive when it enters the sport next year.
Already with a team in America's premier series Nascar, the Californian has now founded an F1 outfit that has aligned closely with Ferrari ahead of its 2016 debut.
Recent history has shown that joining the expensive F1 circus is difficult for a new team, as HRT and Caterham are now defunct and Manor is struggling on in the wake of the Marussia demise.
"We (Haas Automation) build machine tools, so we want to be able to do the most difficult racing in the world, because making machine tools is also a very difficult business to be in," Haas said at the recent launch of the new Haas Factory Outlet in Portugal.
And Haas, 62, said he is confident Haas F1 Team can swerve the mistakes made by the sport's most recent small entrants.
"We have a Nascar team that is racing over ten years now, and we've been successful. We won two championships.
"We understand racing and we are approaching racing from a different point a view from our predecessors," he said.
Indeed, rather than the usual 'go it alone' mentality of full F1 constructors, Haas and partner Ferrari are pushing the limits in terms of what is allowed in terms of technology sharing.
Haas explained: "As important as it is to build your own cars and have technology, we also think it is important to win races.
"We are looking at it from the racing standpoint. We are at the track to compete, and to achieve that we looked for the most efficient way to do it.
"I won't say that we are going to compete with Mercedes and Ferrari, but we will be prepared," he added.
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| Monisha Kaltenborn out of touch with reality. Tire wars have always been a disaster. |
Kaltenborn thinks F1 should re-think tire war stance
(GMM) Monisha Kaltenborn thinks F1 should not rule out the idea of reviving a 'tire war'.
Any competing Pirelli and Michelin are doing at present is off the track, as the sport is committed to signing up just one of them to be the sole supplier beyond 2016.
At present, it is not clear what the outcome will be, although it is believed incumbent Pirelli is the frontrunner.
"What happens is out of our hands," said Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, "because it's between the FIA and the commercial rights holder to tender and to decide."
What is clear, however, is that Bernie Ecclestone will be talking money with both Pirelli and Michelin.
So while Lotus recently struggled to pay its latest bill to Pirelli, it has been rumored that Michelin is willing to come in and actually pay the teams.
"If we end up with a new tire deal that requires the teams to go and find more money, then we'll be chasing more money again," Graeme Lowdon, president of the struggling Manor team, said.
"It's the old saying: turnover is vanity and profit is sanity."
As far as Sauber chief Kaltenborn is concerned, the most cost-effective outcome for the teams might actually be the resurrection of a tire war.
"I think we should ask ourselves the question: why not go back to having two suppliers?" she told Germany's Auto Bild.
"The tire war is always spoken about in negative terms, but it is something you can mitigate by making appropriate rules.
"For the teams themselves it (the tire war) was actually a good time — we got the tires for free and even the marketing was paid for," Kaltenborn added.
However, the report said Ecclestone may not be keen to return to the tire war, as he cannot then sell lucrative trackside advertising to more than one supplier.
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| Gil de Ferran |
F1 'victim of its own success' – de Ferran
(GMM) It is the perfection of formula one that is turning off the fans, according to the well-known motor racing figure Gil de Ferran.
The Brazilian, now 47, is best known for his success in American open wheeler racing, including titles and the Indy 500 win, but a decade ago he was sporting director of the F1 team BAR-Honda.
Ten years on, with F1 in a period of intense introspection amid a declining audience, de Ferran thinks the pinnacle of motor sport is a "victim of its own success".
"Formula one will always be the top of motor racing," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "But it's too perfect. It lacks the human factor.
"Over the past two decades, huge investments were made in formula one and everything has got better to the point almost of perfection. The aim has been to eliminate mistakes and mishaps.
"Now I wonder: is there anything left that is bad? When I look at the cars at the far end of the field, I have to say that even they look damn good."
De Ferran says that perfection is in contrast to the 80s and 90s, which he thinks was F1's best era as drivers struggled to tame the imperfect monsters.
"Any step back in that direction would be a good one," he insisted.
"Even in my day, we all dreamed of the perfect race," de Ferran continued. "Start from pole, do a good start, drive with no mistakes, take care of the tires, lap the field and win the race.
"Unfortunately, the people don't really want to see that," he added. "But if you have everything you need in your hands to plan this perfect race, things get dangerous. This is the curse of the money that is in formula one.
"I do believe that today's F1 drivers are still working hard for that perfect race, it's just so hard to see from the outside. Maybe I can see it, because I raced for 30 years. But it's difficult for the ordinary spectator."
However, de Ferran thinks formula one should not despair too deeply, as it is still among the most popular sports in the world.
"When we are talking about the problems, everything is relative," he said. "I drove into Silverstone on Friday morning and was stuck in a traffic jam — so the problems cannot be too great."
So he thinks it would not be wise for F1 to start making sweeping changes, especially if they are based fundamentally on what the fans are saying in a recent spate of global surveys.
"Henry Ford once said that if he had asked the people what they want, they would have said 'faster horses'. And if Steve Jobs had asked people what they want, no one would have told him the smartphone.
"What I mean is that although it is important to know how the fans tick, what you actually deliver to the people must be decided by those who run the business," said de Ferran.
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| Raikkonen might keep his job |
Andretti hopes Ferrari keeps Raikkonen
Former Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti reckons Ferrari should retain Kimi Raikkonen as Sebastian Vettel's team-mate for the 2016 campaign, to ensure a positive atmosphere within the team.
Raikkonen's future has been the subject of much speculation over the first half of the season, with Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, amongst other names, tipped as a replacement.
But Andretti, who raced for Ferrari during his career, feels the Italian marque would be better served by holding onto the Finn, given his current working relationship with Vettel.
"Quite honestly, I think they're good team-mates, so it's probably better that way, even for Sebastian – not to have a thorn in his side," Andretti explained to GPUpdate.net.
"That's why I really hope Ferrari keeps the team the same for next year.
"When team-mates get along, it's a good thing, for the ambiance of the team and everything. They are still competitors and all of that, but they still get along."
Andretti added that he has been impressed by Vettel's early performances at Ferrari, which include two race victories, after his off-color final season with Red Bull in 2014.
"I like Sebastian a lot – his records speak for what he's capable of," said Andretti.
"I think he had something to prove to himself, and everyone, at Ferrari, and he's done exactly that.
"Ferrari will keep on working hard to give him the best opportunity, and he will do his part, so it's a fabulous match – just like when Lewis [Hamilton] went to Mercedes."
Whiting: Revised Mexico track retains 'character'
Formula 1 Race Director Charlie Whiting says the revised Autodromo Hermanos RodrÃguez has retained many of the characteristics of the original layout for its return to the calendar.
Mexico is back on the Formula 1 roster after a 23-year absence, with racing to take place at the same circuit which previously played host to the sport between 1963-70 and 1986-92.
Although the track has been overhauled to meet modern safety standards, with the Peraltada corner dropping out, Whiting has made clear that many key features remain in place.
"It's a very interesting circuit," Whiting explained.
"We've tried to maintain the characteristics of the previous circuit, with the exception of the last corner [Peraltada], as I'm sure you are aware.
"The flowing, high-speed corners that were a feature of the old circuit will be maintained, but slightly realigned to give us more run-off area and that sort of thing.
"But the essential character of the circuit will be very similar."
Whiting added that he has no concerns over construction progress at the venue, which has been allocated a race weekend slot of October 30 to November 1.
"I think it's coming along really well," he went on to explain.
"I've been to many circuits, I've been involved in the build phases of many circuits now over the last 20 years or so and I can see quite clearly the amount of effort that is going into this one.
"I'm absolutely confident everything will be done not only on time but also extremely well."
Spotlight to be on Mercedes duo at Spa
(GMM) The spotlight will be on Mercedes' dueling driver duo once the summer break ends next week.
For Lewis Hamilton, it will be the end of what the Daily Mail has called a "hedonistic holiday", filled with shirtless dancing on the streets in Barbados, cigar-smoking and reportedly a new romance with the pop star Rihanna.
So given the Briton's bad outing as he entered the break in Hungary, is boss Toto Wolff worried that Hamilton is going off the rails of his 2015 title focus?
"In these holiday weeks, everyone has the right to be left alone," he told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.
"Lewis is very experienced and knows what he can and he cannot do," Wolff added.
But even Hamilton had admitted that Hungary was one of the most error-strewn races of his entire career, and even apologized to the team.
Wolff said: "In the previous nine races, Lewis did not make mistakes.
"Anyway, he apologized for what was just a bad day. It happens to all of us, but for a sportsman it is different because you see a result that is affected," he added.
The spotlight will also be on Hamilton's teammate Nico Rosberg when the action resumes next weekend in Belgium — and not just because his wife's due date to deliver their first child is reportedly set for next Tuesday.
It will also be the German's first visit to Spa-Francorchamps since the carbon fiber-crunching collision with Hamilton of 2014, for which Rosberg received all of the blame.
"It was difficult and intense," he tells Auto Bild Motorsport now.
"But it was also a great lesson," said Rosberg. "I made mistakes that I will not make the next time."
Wolff talks Bottas, race starts and engine tokens
(GMM) Toto Wolff has played down reports Valtteri Bottas is still in the running for a Ferrari race seat.
In recent weeks, the young Finn appeared a shoo-in to replace his older countryman Kimi Raikkonen at the fabled Italian team.
But Raikkonen has enjoyed a spike in form, just as Ferrari reportedly ruled out paying the multiple millions demanded by Williams for Bottas' 2016 deal.
Wolff – although Mercedes chief – remains part of Bottas' management team, but he insists that these days he is little more than "an investor" in his career.
"He is a good guy who would be tempting to many people," the Austrian told Gazzetta dello Sport on Thursday.
"But Williams is the third force in the championship, they aspire to be on the podium at every race and I don't think there is a reason to leave," Wolff added.
But could that only be because Williams is demanding from Ferrari such a huge amount of money for Bottas' release?
"I think that's legitimate," answered Wolff, "considering that Williams assumed the risk of taking him on when he was young and could not yet show his value."
More pressing on Wolff's mind in the coming days will be the form of the team he runs, Mercedes, even though it seems to be cruising to the title.
Or is it? Sebastian Vettel entered the summer break with another win for Ferrari, leaving Mercedes obviously needing to improve its race starts just as the FIA's clampdown takes effect.
Asked if he is worried about the rules clampdown just as Mercedes was faltering on its fully automated race starts, Wolff insisted: "No, because our team is able to react very quickly to changing regulations.
"In general I agree with this decision in the sense that it is right that the starts are back into the hands of the drivers," he said.
As for the threat posed by Ferrari, Wolff insists it is real. "The possibility of us losing this title is low," he conceded, "but still we are aware that it could happen and so we keep our feet planted on the ground."
To that end, Mercedes is now poised to finally spend some of its in-season engine development 'tokens'.
"We will decide next week," said Wolff, "considering the tests we do on the bench and the reliability we can achieve.
"If not in Belgium, then it will be in Monza."