Latest F1 news in brief – Thursday
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Vettel – drivers don't have time to be clowns Manufacturers push back on engine cost cap plan
- Drivers 'too busy' to be characters – Vettel
- Kvyat 'has recovered' after poor start – Marko
- Ferrari has not closed gap to Mercedes – Minardi
- Haas names Gutierrez as 2016 candidate
- Piquet turned down Toro Rosso return
- Drivers hope Ferrari improves for Hungary
- Jorda looking ahead to first F1 test
- Montoya – fans need more access to drivers
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| Kaltenborn (far left) says we did not ask for the complicated and expensive F1 engines |
Manufacturers push back on engine cost cap plan
(GMM) Mercedes and Ferrari are hitting back at efforts to cap engine costs in formula one.
Teams struggling for mere survival, like Force India, Lotus and Sauber, currently pay hefty engine bills to the tune of EUR 17-22 million per season.
It is significantly more in the new 'power unit' era than they were paying in the V8-powered past.
"The engines are the most decisive cost driver," agrees Sauber's Monisha Kaltenborn.
She said that in the normally-aspirated era, F1 got the per-season cost down to about $14 million per season.
"We wanted to go further down and (instead) we've gone in the wrong direction," Kaltenborn added.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, however, says the FIA has reacted to the problem and vowed to cap the engine cost for private teams at just $12m per season.
But Mercedes and Ferrari are fighting back.
"We take the FIA's request seriously," said team boss Toto Wolff. "The current price is calculated according to our original business model.
"If it is to go down now, we would need to sharpen our pencils again."
And Ferrari's Maurizio Arrivabene insisted: "We cannot ask for less than what it costs us."
But the newly-knighted former Williams technical boss and co-owner Sir Patrick Head reportedly thinks the manufacturers' prices are so high because they are recouping the cost of developing the new technology.
Kaltenborn said: "We never wanted these engines. It was the car manufacturers who wanted them so they were forced onto us. So they can't charge us for the development costs as well.
"It is their image promotion, not ours," she argues.
Drivers 'too busy' to be characters – Vettel
(GMM) F1 drivers have little time to be themselves in public.
That is the claim of Sebastian Vettel, who has recently been criticized by Bernie Ecclestone for epitomizing the 'character-less' modern grand prix driver.
While the F1 supremo hailed the public extrovert Lewis Hamilton, he said the likes of Vettel and Nico Rosberg are "bad for business" by being too private.
But Vettel thinks the problem is that drivers today are too busy.
"In the past, the drivers could be open because they had less to do," the Ferrari driver told the Italian broadcaster Rai.
"I'm not saying they were lazy, they just had less responsibilities.
"Gone are the days when you get out of the car, light a cigarette, tell your mechanics 'Make the car faster' and then meet a couple of nice girls in the hotel.
"The drivers almost have no time to be more open. We barely have time to relax and reflect.
"But I don't see this as a specific problem of formula one, but of other sports nowadays too," Vettel added.
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| Kvyat now beating Ricciardo |
Kvyat 'has recovered' after poor start – Marko
(GMM) Daniil Kvyat appears to have put his formula one career back on track.
Earlier in 2015, the young Russian's meteoric rise from GP3, Toro Rosso and then Red Bull appeared to have dramatically stalled as he obviously struggled alongside Daniel Ricciardo.
It looked possible the notorious brutality of Red Bull's driver program could strike Kvyat at the tender age of 21, as Dr Helmut Marko hailed the "two exceptional young drivers" Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso this year.
But after Kvyat's better run continued at Silverstone last weekend, Marko has now been quoted by Spain's El Confidencial: "Daniil Kvyat had a difficult start at Red Bull, mainly due to technical problems.
"But he has recovered now. We can only make the most of what we have and it's difficult to keep a driver motivated if he has these disadvantages with the power," he added.
Marko, a highly outspoken figure, was referring to the Renault engine problems suffered this year by Red Bull.
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| Ferrari will never catch sandbagging Mercedes, who has an easy 100 HP in their back pocket |
Ferrari has not closed gap to Mercedes – Minardi
(GMM) Former F1 team boss and owner Gian Carlo Minardi says he would give Ferrari just 6 out of 10 for its 2015 campaign so far.
That is despite the fact the likes of Maurizio Arrivabene and Sebastian Vettel have been hailed for breathing new life into the apparently resurgent team.
Minardi insists: "The start of the season was misleading. In fact, the gap to Mercedes has not diminished.
"I compliment Arrivabene for the podiums, but it is not enough. The problem is performance," he told the Ferrari insider Leo Turrini, on Quotidiano.
"And remember that in February 2016, these engines will be frozen once again.
"You want to know the truth? Ferrari has benefitted from the collapse of Red Bull and McLaren," said Minardi.
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| Gutierrez in the running at Haas. When in doubt follow the money. Haas is getting engines and more from Ferrari and Gutierrez is the Ferrari reserve driver |
Haas names Gutierrez as 2016 candidate
(GMM) Gene Haas has finally named a candidate to potentially drive for his new American F1 team in 2016.
It is Esteban Gutierrez.
Californian Haas was, however, speaking in Gutierrez's native Mexico, where the FIA's Sport Conference is taking place this week.
He told ESPN Mexico: "I met Gutierrez who is a good guy and talented and already at Ferrari at a high level."
Asked specifically if Gutierrez, 23, is a candidate to race for Haas next year, Haas answered: "At this point, anything is possible."
Haas F1 Team is entering F1 next year, in close collaboration with Ferrari. Gutierrez is a former Ferrari-powered Sauber driver who is now Ferrari's reserve.
Toto Wolff, the Mercedes boss, thinks Haas could be a genuine threat in 2016.
"New teams are outside the aerodynamic testing regulations so they are completely free and that gives a big advantage," he told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt and Forbes.
"Haas will come in with a big advantage in comparison to all the others."
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| Piquet Jr. turned down Toro Rosso |
Piquet turned down Toro Rosso return
(GMM) When it comes to 'crashgate', the only protagonist who did not rebuild his F1 career was Nelson Piquet Jr.’
Since the Singapore crash scandal struck, Pat Symonds has returned to the pitwall with Williams, helping to revive the once-great British team.
And Flavio Briatore is regularly linked with a return to a prominent role in F1.
So why was it different for Brazilian Piquet, now 29 and the first champion of the Formula E series?
"The difference is that I didn't stay there (in F1)," he told Universo's Grande Premio. "The difference is that as soon as I left there, I went to the US.
"The next year, if I had wanted to race at Toro Rosso I could have, but I preferred not to," Piquet added.
He also said the entire 'crashgate' affair was revved up out of proportion by the media.
"It (crashing in Singapore) was something that I was forced to do but the journalists turned it into something huge.
"I don't know the reason for it, as I've won championships, I've won in Nascar, led rallycross in my first season. People with small minds still talk about it, of course, but if I'm succeeding now it's because the cars are equal, the tracks are new for everybody, the conditions the same for everybody.
"When you put me in a situation like that, I have no doubts. In F1, it was obviously a little different because I was with (Fernando) Alonso and I don't have words to describe how good he is. And I was under pressure."
Now, he says it is money that is preventing drivers like him from leapfrogging from the top of one series into the pinnacle of motor sport.
"If I had a check for $5 to 10 million in my pocket, the door would be wide open," said Piquet. "Nowadays, it doesn't matter who you are, to get into F1, you have to come with that check."
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| Ferrari can never catch the Mercedes engine, it had years of development before anyone else |
Drivers hope Ferrari improves for Hungary
(GMM) Ferrari's drivers have acknowledged the need to improve after a poor showing for the team at Silverstone.
Earlier knocking on the door of dominant Mercedes' pace, the Maranello marque was clearly outpaced in the British grand prix also by Williams.
"It depends mainly on the circuit and the conditions," said Kimi Raikkonen, referring to high-speed tracks like Silverstone and Ferrari's struggle on the harder tires.
"I hope it's a different story in Hungary," the Finn is quoted by Brazil's Globo, "but we need to be better at any type of circuit and with any tire."
Sebastian Vettel, who only leapfrogged the Williams because of the rain on Sunday, agreed: "Obviously it was not a very good weekend for us.
"I think we were surprised by the pace of Williams, but it was not a good weekend for us because the gap to the top was also larger than at previous events.
"I don't think we did a step back," said the German, "I think we just couldn't find the right direction."
Raikkonen added: "We are hoping for a much better weekend next time."
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| Jorda ready for first F1 test |
Jorda looking ahead to first F1 test
(GMM) Carmen Jorda says she is still on course to make her formula one driving debut at some point in the future.
The 27-year-old former GP3 racer and Spaniard is now a regular at grands prix in 2015, as she works as a 'development driver' for Lotus.
But so far, she has not actually driven the car.
Jorda, however, wrote in a column for Spain's El Mundo newspaper: "I have a few days off in Valencia now before returning to work in the simulator next week.
"I must also keep training for my first test in a formula one car, which is moving closer with every day.
"I cannot tell you the date yet," Jorda admitted, "but hopefully I can give you some news soon."
Jorda also had words of encouragement for F1's two Spanish rookies this year, including the Manor driver Roberto Merhi.
"'Teto' is doing a great job in formula one," she said.
"Under the pressure of facing each race without knowing if it is his last, he is doing a very solid year despite the lack of resources of his team.
"I'm sure many teams will be taking note," added Jorda.
"As for Carlos Sainz, for me he is the revelation of the year, as he almost always beats his teammate (Max Verstappen)."
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| In IndyCar fans have great access to drivers. Just look at all the fans that show up. Too funny. |
Montoya – Fans need more access to drivers
Former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya believes the sport needs to give fans greater access if it is to flourish.
"Something that IndyCar does really well is, as a fan when you go to the race, you have access to the drivers," said the Colombian at the FIA Sport Conference in Mexico city.
"We do autograph sessions, they can go to the garages, you can see the cars, we can't cover anything. It's a completely different mentality, it's designed for the fans," he added.
Winner of seven Grands Prix, finishing third in the championship twice, CART champion, Indy 500 winner and now back in IndyCar following several years in NASCAR, Montoya has over one million followers on Twitter, saying he uses the platform to give fans a glimpse into his real life, thereby hopefully creating stronger engagement and an interest in finding out about his next race.
"I use it not so much for the racing side, but to give people access to see who I am outside the races," he said. "At the race what you see is what you get.
"Outside I'm the guy who loves mountain bikes, wind surfing, my family, flying my radio-controlled planes, that's who I am. I think it separates the ‘big star driver' from the normal human being."
Hard to believe, but in the past, for a small additional charge, F1 fans were able to access the paddock where they could meet and chat with drivers and team personnel. However, as the sport gained popularity so the fans had less and less access to their heroes.
Whilst the sport has introduced autograph sessions in recent years, along with a driver parade on Sunday mornings, this still falls far short of what NASCAR and IndyCar provide.
While most drivers are on Twitter and other social media platforms these days, there is a suspicion that only a few of the accounts are actually maintained by the drivers.