Latest F1 news in brief

Verstappen as good as Vettel?

Nasr says Williams talk was just 'speculation'
Boss likens Verstappen to champion Vettel
FIA's Mouton plays down Carmen Jorda controversy
No summer shutdown for Honda and Renault
Tost wants token system overhaul
Nasr achieves 'most goals' for first half

Nasr says Williams talk was just 'speculation'
(GMM) Felipe Nasr has played down earlier speculation that linked him with a potential switch to Williams for 2016.

It was said the impressive Brazilian rookie and his Banco do Brasil sponsorship dollars could be headed to Grove to replace a potentially Ferrari-bound Valtteri Bottas.

But Sauber then announced that both Nasr and his current teammate Marcus Ericsson are staying put.

"There was a lot of speculation," Nasr, 22, told Globo Esporte, "but the Williams rumors appeared only because I was a test driver there last year.

"Many were saying that I would go back there automatically.

"But the best thing for me was to continue at Sauber, to continue my work and the development of the car," he added.

"The plan for 2016 is taking shape and there is a lot of good developments coming to the car. The team will make a big jump in 2016," Nasr predicted.

Boss likens Verstappen to champion Vettel
(GMM) Franz Tost, the team boss at Toro Rosso, has compared F1 teen sensation Max Verstappen to quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel.

"There are many parallels," he told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"Max has a similar way of thinking, working methods and the same focus as Sebastian," Tost added.

"Actually it's more like Stefan Bellof — this kind of disrespect without arrogance," he explained.

For his part, rookie Verstappen plans to spend his summer break collecting some kilometers on the streets as he bids to secure his normal driving license.

But he told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf that he is also already looking forward to Spa-Francorchamps, which is almost a home race for the Belgian-born Dutchman.

"It's just a shame that it will be difficult to score points. The long straights are not good for us," said Verstappen.

Before Verstappen set off on vacation, he headed to the Imola circuit last week for a Toro Rosso 'filming day'.

Italy's Omnicorse reports that, ahead of the FIA rule tweaks that come into effect at Spa, Verstappen practiced so-called 'manual race starts' in his STR10.

Carmen Jorda

FIA's Mouton plays down Carmen Jorda controversy
(GMM) An FIA official has played down a media row with Lotus' female 'development driver' Carmen Jorda.

Michele Mouton, a French female former driver who finished the world rally championship second in 1982, is now president of the FIA's 'women in motor sport' commission.

She said recently that while respecting drivers like Susie Wolff and Danica Patrick, Mouton is 'not interested' in female drivers who rise to a post for purely marketing or political reasons.

Former GP3 driver and Spaniard Jorda, 27, hit back by suggesting that while Mouton is a rallying expert, she knows little about F1.

Mouton has now told Spain's AS newspaper: "For me there is no controversy.

"I was speaking only about women drivers who reach formula one should do so because of their results.

"I don't remember exactly what I said, we mentioned a few names but what I advocate is for women to be in formula one. I have nothing against Carmen, who I wish all the best. End of story," Mouton added.

"No more controversy. But if you ask me who should be in F1, I think there are people with more results than her (Jorda). That's it," she insisted.

"I have nothing against her and I think the press has taken my words out of context. Nothing else."

Mouton said the under-representation of women at the pinnacle of motor racing is because not enough girls are getting involved in karting.

"For sure, if we get more quantity, we will have more quality," she insisted.

"We do not have women competing in F1, but we do have them running the teams. And what I have to say to young people is that in our sport, if you want, then you can.

"And there are several examples to prove it, like Susie Wolff, Claire Williams and Jutta Kleinschmidt. And Maria de Villota, who was a very strong woman who taught us all a great deal," added Mouton.

Another point of disagreement between her and Jorda is on Bernie Ecclestone's idea of an all-female F1 category, after Jorda said in April that she supports the concept.

Mouton now says: "We are not prepared (for that). We could not fill a grid of women competing with F1 cars. Hopefully some day we can.

"In addition, there are three sports where women can compete against men: horse riding, sailing and motor sport. So why separate (men from women)?" she asked.

No summer shutdown for Honda and Renault
(GMM) F1's teams and drivers may be packing their bags for the summer break, but there will be no such factory shutdown at Honda.

Unlike the teams, the sport's engine manufacturers are not subject to the mandatory, two-week 'shutdown' that must be served during the big gap in the race calendar between Hungary and Belgium.

That is because the manufacturers are already reined-in by the 'token' development system, and Honda is duly preparing a big upgrade for Spa.

"The engine improves day after day," the Japanese marque's Yasuhisa Arai is quoted by Tuttosport, "and we are able to give more power already in Belgium and Monza — two circuits where that is very important."

Honda has, however, denied reports suggesting the Spa upgrade will amount to up to 50 horse power.

"We hope to gain 15 horse power from the changes," an unnamed engineer told Italy's Omnicorse. "A small step in the long chase of Mercedes.

"Before the end of the season we also hope to take advantage of the other four tokens that will remain.

"We are aware that we are behind the competition, but we are working like crazy to try to recover," the source added.

And so given McLaren-Honda's current performance and reliability deficit, there will be no factory shutdown at the Honda facilities in Milton Keynes (UK) and Tochigi (Japan).

"No holiday for us," confirmed Arai, "unless something unexpected happens in the factory. We will continue to work hard."

It is believed F1's other struggling engine supplier, Renault, will also continue to work throughout the 'summer break'.

Former F1 driver Stefan Johansson would not criticize Honda and Renault for doing so, as he said the current rules in F1 make it hard for them to catch up.

"If you don't get a car right from the moment the season starts, you're almost buggered the whole year," the Swede, a former Ferrari and McLaren driver, said.

And he warned that even when Honda dominated with McLaren in the Senna-Prost era, the Japanese marque worked hard in F1 for several years before that.

"The early days were no walk in the park," said Johansson on his blog. "I know that very well as I drove the first car they entered in 1983 with Spirit and the scenario was not that much different than it is today."

Tost wants token system overhaul
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has backed a full review of Formula 1's current engine development token system, describing the set-up as "absolutely nonsense".

Formula 1 introduced the system in line with turbocharged V6 power units last season, in which tokens are assigned to engine parts based on their influence on performance.

An entire engine is made up of 66 tokens, with the number available for development reducing year-on-year, from 32 between the 2014/15 campaigns to three each for 2018/19.

Although a loophole discovered pre-season has permitted development to be spread throughout the 2015 season, Tost believes that manufacturers should be given total freedom.

"For me, it's absolutely nonsense," Tost told GPUpdate.net of the token system.

"I remember, I said this already three or four years ago, that with the new power unit regulations, if one manufacturer is in front, then with the token regulations the others cannot catch up.

"In those days, manufacturers said they had to save money. I said, 'In Formula 1, you can't save money'.

"Now we have the situation that Mercedes is far ahead, and the others are behind, and therefore it should be free for every manufacturer to develop the engine as they want to.

"If it doesn't have the money, it shouldn't be in Formula 1 – it's as simple as that.

"If the Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda power units would be in the same level, we would have very good races; Mercedes has fantastic drivers with [Lewis] Hamilton and [Nico] Rosberg; we have [Sebastian] Vettel and [Kimi] RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen at Ferrari; we have [Fernando] Alonso at McLaren.

"This means that there are three or four teams who could race for the championship. This is what people want to see, and this is what I would change."

Nasr achieves 'most goals' for first half
Sauber driver Felipe Nasr has expressed his satisfaction after achieving most of the targets he set out for the opening half of his debut campaign in Formula 1.

Nasr started in fine style at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, narrowly missing out on a place in the final qualifying phase and going on to finish in fifth position.

While Sauber's initial pace faded due to a lack of development, Nasr secured further points in China and Monaco, and he enters the break pleased with his efforts.

"We have achieved most of the goals we had for the first half of the season," said Nasr.

"We maximized our opportunities, especially in the beginning of the season; therefore, we were able to score important points.

"The result in Australia was impressive. Finishing fifth was very special for me, as well as for the team.

"At the moment we are facing a rather difficult time; we have our updates in Spa-Francorchamps and Singapore, so we have to be patient.

"We are halfway through the season, and I think we are going in the right direction.

"For myself as a driver, I am learning something new every weekend. It is my first year as a race driver in Formula 1 with ups and downs.

"As a team we have done some good things so far."