Latest F1 news in brief – Tuesday
Earlier, excitement swirled around F1's world of social media when Matthias Lauda, the F1 legend's son, announced on Twitter that he would help the 66-year-old with his brand new Twitter account.
Among Lauda's immediate new followers were Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Paddy Lowe and 22,000 others.
But a reporter for the Austrian broadcaster ORF contacted the Mercedes team chairman for comment, and Lauda announced: "I am sitting in Ibiza — and I do not tweet!"
The report said Lauda is now considering legal action against the administrator of the fake account.
08/04/15
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Gutierrez likely to get one of the Haas seats Johansson urges Manor to follow Haas approach
- Lowe backs August shutdown
- Sauber has not developed 2015 car – Nasr
- Gutierrez keen to exploit 2016 'opportunities'
- Verstappen plays down 'second best car' comment
- Renault taking longer to decide future – report
- Mercedes says Red Bull 'faster than us' in Hungary
- Tost admits Renault buy-out talk has gone quiet
Johansson urges Manor to follow Haas approach
(GMM) Former F1 driver Stefan Johansson has urged Manor to consider following the lead of the 2016 entrant Haas.
Manor, the former Marussia team and clear 2015 backmarker, has admitted in recent days it is wary of the threat posed by the incoming Haas' novel approach to F1.
Haas is pushing to the limit of the existing rules in terms of 'customer cars', buying as much as possible from its close technical partner Ferrari.
"They're pushing it as close to that as the rules will allow currently," Swede Johansson, who raced until the early 90s for teams including Ferrari and McLaren, said.
"They've done their homework, they've listened to the right people and it's the way to do it."
However, Haas' rival small teams are pushing back hard against the push to free the 'customer car' model in F1, insisting that manufacturing a chassis almost entirely alone is part of the DNA of the sport.
"Well, I don't understand the attitude of some the smaller teams," Johansson told his website.
"At the same time they're scrambling for every penny because the cars are so expensive to make now and they can't afford to pay their people or their suppliers in many cases.
"If I was Manor and I was offered a Ferrari I'd jump at it," said Johansson. "Who wouldn't? Their budget would be less than it is now. The car would already be developed and sorted and you could run the team with probably 60 people. It just makes business sense.
"With a customer car you still get to be part of the show, you still get money from Bernie and you could actually make some money if you do it right. As far as I'm concerned it's the way to go," he added.
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| Paddy Lowe |
Lowe backs August shutdown
(GMM) Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe has backed F1's August shutdown.
Tension is brewing between Bernie Ecclestone and the teams at present, as the four-week summer gap in the calendar has been shrunk to three weeks on the expanded calendar for 2016.
For the past several seasons, the month-long hiatus has meant teams have enough time to – for instance this year – regroup after Hungary, shut down completely for two full weeks, and then prepare for the Belgian grand prix in late August.
"It is a very good system," Lowe is quoted by Brazil's UOL. "It is designed to save money, which is its primary purpose," he explained, but Lowe said it is also crucial simply to give staff a mid-year break.
"F1 used to be cyclical, with more intense and then quieter periods. Now it's year-round, so now that we have these two weeks it is a sort of ceasefire so that people can have a real vacation.
"F1 has a habit of attracting people who are addicted to work and their families are the ones that suffer," Lowe added.
Meanwhile, F1 legend Niki Lauda has kicked off his summer vacation by signing up for Twitter, with his son Matthias to help with its administration.
"Mobile phones are not really his best thing," Matthias said.
'@OfficialNLauda', however, got off to a flying start, as the Mercedes team chairman tweeted predictably: "I do what I want. Nobody can tell me what to do."
Sauber has not developed 2015 car – Nasr
(GMM) Felipe Nasr says Sauber will get back in gear later this year as the Swiss team prepares for 2016.
Newly re-signed by the struggling Hinwil outfit for next year, Brazilian Nasr admitted that after a strong start, Sauber is suffering a mid-season slump.
The team is behind Force India, Lotus and Toro Rosso in the constructors' standings, but still ahead of McLaren-Honda, whose drivers are the champions Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.
"It is always good to be in front of these guys," Nasr smiled to Brazil's Globo.
"Earlier this year, we were in front of so many good people. But what we are facing now is not enough development of the car.
"Sauber is in a difficult time because we have not developed the car much," the 22-year-old, currently holidaying in his native Brazil with his family and girlfriend, admitted.
"I'm driving basically the same car that we had in Australia. It's the same car specification, while most of the other teams have invested a lot in their cars.
"But the plan is that at the end of the season, we will implement changes so that we can prepare for 2016," Nasr added.
From a more personal perspective, however, Nasr said he is happy with how his first half-season in F1 has progressed.
"I think the age that I got to formula one was very good," he explained, "because I came very well prepared psychologically and physically, and with enough technical knowledge.
"Looking back, I see that I would not have done anything different. I'm in a cool moment, I'm taking advantage of this opportunity in formula one and I had a good first seven months in formula one," said Nasr.
Gutierrez keen to exploit 2016 'opportunities'
(GMM) Esteban Gutierrez has admitted there may be "opportunities" for him to return to the F1 grid next year.
Last week, the new 2016 entrant Haas' founder Gene Haas confirmed reports that the Mexican driver, as well as Jean-Eric Vergne and Nico Hulkenberg, may be in the running for a race seat.
"Two of them are reserve drivers from Ferrari, so they are certainly a possibility," said the Californian.
Actually, the most prominent Ferrari test driver this year is Gutierrez, while Jean-Eric Vergne is a test and development driver focused most specifically on simulator work.
Gutierrez, 23, has kept a high profile in the Ferrari pits and paddock this year, and is tipped even to get an outing on Friday morning as his native Mexico returns to the calendar.
"Ferrari wants to give me a chance," a Spanish-language report by the Associated Press quoted him saying. "It would be something special but it depends on many things.
"Maurizio Arrivabene told me that it will depend on how things are going in the championship at that point of the season," Gutierrez added.
More important than a Friday outing to Gutierrez is his longer term future, having lost his Sauber race seat at the end of last year.
Asked about the prospect of racing again in 2016, he answered: "Of course it would mean a lot to have my own seat again.
"I am now third driver but with a purpose and a vision. Obviously I took a risk to get out of the seat I had because it is possible you will not go back in.
"But I think I am in a project where things are going well with Ferrari and I have tried to make the most of it. Being here has opened up opportunities that I could exploit for next season," Gutierrez added.
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| Vettel took Toro Rosso to victory (Monza in the rain a la Senna) when it had the worst car on the grid. Can Verstappen take it to victory when it is the 2nd best car on the grid? |
Verstappen plays down 'second best car' comment
(GMM) Max Verstappen has admitted Toro Rosso has a "really good car" in 2015.
However, F1's teen sensation made headlines at the recent British grand prix when he reportedly said the James Key-designed STR10 is actually the best car on the grid behind dominant world champions Mercedes.
"Actually I didn't quite say that," the 17-year-old Dutchman told Russia's Championat. "(Saying) something like that would be a bit too optimistic.
"I was talking specifically about the long runs at Silverstone — and there we did have the second best car. But in the end all the journalists began to write that we have the second best car on the grid.
"In any case, we have a really good car. I'm glad that I'm with Toro Rosso," said Verstappen, who says the weak element of the STR10 is its Renault engine.
As for the current summer break, the 17-year-old said he is spending time with his family, insisting he doesn't have enough time to consider a girlfriend.
"They (women) approach me to ask for (F1) tickets," he laughed to Brazil's UOL.
"From my side, I'm just focusing on racing — that's the most important thing to me right now. The time to have a girlfriend will come later," said Verstappen.
Renault taking longer to decide future – report
(GMM) Renault is giving itself more time to decide its future.
That is the claim of Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, amid earlier reports that the French carmaker is now on the cusp of announcing its return to full works status by buying the Enstone team Lotus.
"Decision in September," F1 chief Cyril Abiteboul was quoted as saying by the authoritative sports daily.
It has been said Renault's final call could rock formula one, prompting divorce with the two Red Bull teams and a domino effect with regards to engine supply at other teams.
Abiteboul, however, insists: "We will honor our contract with Red Bull and Toro Rosso in 2016, as they are two fantastic and very demanding teams. Then we will evaluate the various options.
"We are working on a lot of things, including trying to make our engine more competitive. We want to make sure to take the best decision possible, reflecting a long term strategy."
Finally, Abiteboul reassured the racing world that, whatever the final decision, "Renault will remain a major player in the motor sport world."
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| Adrian Newey is back and the Red Bulls are fast again |
Mercedes says Red Bull 'faster than us' in Hungary
(GMM) Red Bull is moving to end its slump and return consistently to the upper positions on the F1 grid.
The former quadruple world champions have insisted all season that the base of the RB11 is solid, with fingers pointed squarely at engine supplier Renault.
There is no doubt, however, that the actual car had its problems too, which was made obvious in Hungary recently when upgrades dramatically improved the handling.
"The problem (before) was that we had to work for ever on the setup until we had a reasonable handling," team official Dr Helmut Marko admitted to Auto Motor und Sport.
"That is why Toro Rosso has occasionally looked better than Red Bull," he added. "They go out and it doesn't matter what track they are on."
Hungary, however, was the big breakthrough.
"I went onto the track on Friday and we basically didn't touch the car after that," said Daniel Ricciardo. Both the Australian, and teammate Daniil Kvyat, finished the race on the podium for the first time in 2015.
Even pacesetters Mercedes admit to worrying about Red Bull's newly-found pace.
"With a Mercedes engine, Red Bull would have been faster than us in Budapest," one unnamed Mercedes official said.
And even team chairman Niki Lauda admitted: "In four corners (at the Hungaroring) they were faster than us."
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| Tost (back center) knows Renault probably won't buy his team |
Tost admits Renault buy-out talk has gone quiet
As early as March, following a disappointing season opener in Melbourne, there was a question mark over Renault's future in the sport.
Still hurting from the public battering Red Bull gave the French manufacturer after just one race, Renault Sport F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul warned that his company was considering walking away from the sport, though on the other hand it could get even more involved by buying a team.
At that time, it wasn't Lotus — now using Mercedes power units — that was being linked with the French manufacturer but Toro Rosso. Indeed, the Faenza outfit's boss, Franz Tost, was all for the idea.
"I think this would be a fantastic opportunity for Toro Rosso to make the next step forward," said the Austrian. "Because the team wants to be established in the future within the first five in the Constructors' Championship and to be part of a manufacturer, to work together with a manufacturer, to be owned by a manufacturer would be exactly this step forward which the team needs to be established in the first five."
As time went on, and the public bickering continued, speculation over a potential buy-out increased, fueled by the continued presence at races of Gerhard Berger, former F1 race winner and one-time co-owner of the Faenza team and even claims, from Red Bull's motorsport consultant, Helmut Marko, that Toro Rosso could run a (yellow) Renault livery.
However, as Renault continues to ponder its future, its attention now clearly drawn to the ailing Lotus, Tost admits that it is unlikely that his team is in the French company's sights.
"I can only say what has happened in the last months in connection with Renault and Toro Rosso," he told the official F1 website. "Yes, they have visited us in Faenza and Bicester but in the last weeks it has been quiet, so I assume that they have decided to buy another team.
"How that would influence Toro Rosso we have to see," he added. "We have to wait for Renault's move and announcement. Then we have to discuss a program that fits the requests and needs of Toro Rosso." Pitpass