Latest F1 news in brief

Survey results show Raikkonen is F1's most popular driver. He will soon be sacked

Aston Martin says F1 project 'improbable'
Alonso plays down 'turn off TV' advice
Lotus dodges 'winding up petition' in court
Ferrari's title dream slipping away again – press
Former boss says Ferrari should oust Raikkonen
Bottas hits back at 'exaggerated' claims
Fan survey 'too late' for immediate impact
Hamilton's lucky pitstop call 'annoying' – Rosberg
F1 ratings improve in struggling German market

Aston Martin says F1 project 'improbable'
(GMM) Aston Martin chief Andy Palmer has played down speculation the British carmaker is set to enter formula one.

CEO Andy Palmer was spotted on the grid of the British grand prix, in conversation with the likes of FIA president Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone.

It preceded rumors Aston Martin could come to the rescue for struggling Red Bull, re-branding customer Mercedes engines for the former champions from 2016.

But while admitting "talks" are taking place, Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko insisted: "(Remember) there is also a company called Red Bull Technologies."

He is obviously referring to Adrian Newey's desire to design a Red Bull road car, and suggestions the two sides are already working together.

And Palmer suggested it would not be a stretch for any publication to report about "talks" between Aston Martin and F1 teams.

"I think most of the teams in the pitlane at one moment or other since I've been here in the last nine months have approached me in some way, shape or form," he said.

Indeed, it was with a Force India pass that Palmer actually entered the Silverstone paddock, it has emerged.

The meat of the Red Bull rumors, therefore, has been dismissed for now.

"We have a contractual relationship and a duty to (existing partner) Infiniti," said team boss Christian Horner. "(We have) a great relationship with them actually.

"Any talk beyond that, as I have said, is just rumors," he is quoted by Spain's Marca.

Indeed, Palmer indicated Aston Martin cannot afford to simply launch into F1.

"We as a company don't have the kind of money to go into formula one and make a decent job of it," he said.

"The best I can tell you is that it's improbable. I never say never but it's improbable."

Alonso plays down 'turn off TV' advice
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has clarified his comments, after suggesting "bored" McLaren fans should "turn off the TV until next year".

In the midst of McLaren-Honda's abysmal 2015, the Spaniard at Silverstone warned fans who are frustrated that more of the same pain will be felt for the rest of the season.

"So whoever is bored, turn off the TV until next year, or at least until Japan or later because it is going to get worse than this," said Alonso.

But after scoring his first point of 2015 in the British grand prix, the former world champion insisted he was in fact not urging his supporters to go away, but simply playing down expectations as the team gets up to speed.

"The message was misunderstood," Alonso is quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE.

"I did not mean to turn off the TV, I just meant that there will be other races like this but also worse ones, because the car will not change overnight."

And he insisted that "nobody" at the team is getting "tired" or preparing to "throw in the towel".

Alonso said the three-week gap between Silverstone and Hungary – created due to the German grand prix axe – is "important" for McLaren, as it gives the team extra time to improve.

"Hungary has not so many straights so that will help us a little bit," he acknowledged. "But we cannot expect that we will be with the leaders.

"It will be the same as here (Silverstone) — struggling to get past Q1 and scratching for a few points," added Alonso.

Lotus dodges 'winding up petition' in court
(GMM) Reports of financial strife at Lotus have resurfaced this week.

Amid speculation the team's absent-in-2015 owner Gerard Lopez is set to sell the Enstone squad back to Renault, reports said a matter went before a London court on Monday.

Reuters said it was a "winding-up petition", which is basically a legal request made by an unpaid and disgruntled creditor, demanding administration and ultimately liquidation of a company.

A spokesperson for the Companies Court was quoted as saying the matter was adjourned for now until July 20.

Sky reported that the delay is to "allow the team time to find a resolution to the matter".

And Lotus chief executive Matthew Carter was quoted by Kleine Zeitung newspaper: "Some suppliers have a bad feeling after what happened with Caterham and Marussia."

He added that a "solution" to the matter has already been found, "which is why it was adjourned".

Carter has also been quoted as denying reports Lotus is set to be sold to Renault.

"I checked this with Matthew Carter," British broadcaster Sky's pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz said, "and he said 'No, the team is not for sale and there's no truth in a potential sale to Renault'."

Ferrari's title dream slipping away again – press
(GMM) Ferrari may be slipping back into old habits, the worried Italian media observed after the British grand prix.

La Repubblica said Silverstone had been the Maranello team's "worst performance of the season", while Tuttosport said the "dream of the title is slipping further and further away".

The question being asked now is whether Ferrari is being beaten in the all-important development race, not only by Mercedes but also Williams.

"The car was ok," Kimi Raikkonen said after the British grand prix. "It just wasn't fast enough."

Teammate Sebastian Vettel returned to the podium on Sunday, but he was thanking England's tendency to rain unexpectedly rather than the SF15-T's pace.

"This was a result that we really did not deserve," the German admitted.

"We definitely need to improve," he is quoted by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "If you look at the gaps, we were slower than in the previous races."

Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene agreed: "We have a problem and we need to analyze it now.

"On the straights we were quite slow but we were not winning any time back in the corners either."

Hailing Vettel, he added: "We had a great driver and a great strategy, but we also need a great car."

Arrivabene said Ferrari not only struggles on tracks like Silverstone, but also with Pirelli's harder tires.

"Unfortunately we may have afternoons like this (Silverstone) at Spa and Suzuka as well," he is quoted by La Repubblica.

"We need to work in every area, as Williams has found an excellent performance in recent races and I do not want them to become a problem.

"I want our problem to continue to be Mercedes."

However, La Repubblica said one of Ferrari's past mistakes was persevering for too long with a car that is patently not capable of winning the world title.

So is it time to switch focus to the 2016 machine?

"I have no desire to reopen old issues," Arrivabene answered. "That said, to abandon this project would be in my opinion a mistake.

"The machine of 2016 and the one in 2015 are complementary and so to stop work on 2015 would result in the loss of important data," he argued.

Former boss says Ferrari should oust Raikkonen
(GMM) The pressure is continuing to pile on Kimi Raikkonen.

Amid swirling speculation about the Finn's future, Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene departed Silverstone with the message: "What I want now is for Kimi to remain calm so he can do his job."

But as far as the specialist Italian press is concerned, Arrivabene is only ramping up the pressure.

La Repubblica correspondent Marco Mensurati said: "Arrivabene made clear after the race that the strategic decisions in Britain had been made by the drivers.

"I understood it to mean 'Vettel is a genius and Raikkonen is stupid'."

Sport Mediaset's Giorgio Terruzzi agrees: "The intermediate tire choice (made by Raikkonen) was wrong. Too bad, because until then everything was going well.

"The fact is, he (Raikkonen) already seems to be out of the house: unprotected and under constant fire."

Former Ferrari boss Cesare Fiorio thinks it is time for the 2007 world champion to go.

"Two years ago I raised question about his lifestyle and age," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "These doubts have been confirmed."

And former F1 team owner Gian Carlo Minardi agrees: "Kimi is no longer delivering what Ferrari needs. I would put a young driver in his place.

"Maranello's own academy has two promising youngsters: (Raffaele) Marciello and (Antonio) Fuoco," he added.

Raikkonen's manager, Steve Robertson, commented: "We would like to know Ferrari's decision before Monza."

Pino Allievi, La Gazzetta's veteran correspondent, said the obvious favorite is Valtteri Bottas, although many believe the Finn has been increasingly outperformed by Felipe Massa in 2015.

"If the Ferrari of the future must have a driver who has lost to the Ferrari of the past (Massa), it is better to wait and think before making a decision," he said.

Fiorio agrees: "He (Bottas) is the right age, but pretty inconsistent, and I think Felipe Massa really has the upper hand at Williams.

"I would like to see another top driver there, even if it causes problems with Vettel. Ferrari should try to get (Lewis) Hamilton, and if that fails, then (Nico) Rosberg," he added.

Bottas hits back at 'exaggerated' claims
(GMM) Felipe Massa has hit back at claims he spoiled Williams' shot at victory at the British grand prix.

Some believe that if teammate Valtteri Bottas had passed the Brazilian rather than been told to hold station after their meteoric starts, the Finn might have charged away from the two Mercedes at Silverstone.

"I think I could have opened a gap," Bottas is quoted by Brazil's UOL Esporte.

"When Felipe stopped, I was a second faster. I had a lot of pace in the first stint. It's always easy to talk afterwards," he acknowledged, "but I think it could have been better for me."

But when asked about Bottas' claims, Massa responded: "That's exaggerated.

"If he was so much faster, he would have passed me. But he tried and failed."

Fan survey 'too late' for immediate impact
(GMM) The fan survey commissioned by F1 drivers may have come 'too late' to make an immediate difference.

But Alex Wurz, the president of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, insists the data collected by over 200,000 fans from 194 countries is "worth gold", he told the German broadcaster Sky.

So far, however, the results have not been discussed by the influential Strategy Group at its last two meetings, at which the future course of sweeping rule changes for 2016 and particularly 2017 have been discussed.

"I believe they (the survey results) came out too late for them to be discussed," admitted Claire Williams, who attends the Strategy Group on behalf of the Grove team.

"Obviously we have an agenda set a couple of weeks in advance, so no, we didn't discuss them in that meeting but that is the forum for those kinds of discussions," she added.

Austrian Wurz, a former F1 driver, agrees that the results were too late for the most recent meeting, but he is sure a collaboration in the future is possible.

"This (the Strategy Group) is not an enemy group and they are really very interested in our cause," he said.

"I got a lot of mail from the teams who are waiting for the data. For the current talks, the survey comes a little late perhaps, but better late than never.

"I told them that such a thing should have been done ten years ago, but basically everyone agrees that we want a better formula one," Wurz, 41, added.

Hamilton's lucky pitstop call 'annoying' – Rosberg
(GMM) Lewis Hamilton simply lucked into the perfect strategy call that raced him to victory at Silverstone.

That is the view of his Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg, even though one publication crowned Hamilton a "tactical-God" after the British grand prix.

Hamilton appeared to agree with that assessment on Monday, telling British journalists that he had "100 per cent confidence in my mind in terms of making the decision".

But actually, the world champion was being rapidly hunted down at the time by his German teammate Rosberg, prompting the spur-of-the-moment decision to duck into the pits.

"At that moment I thought 'Now I'm going to win'," Rosberg said in his latest column for Bild newspaper.

"As Lewis drove into the pits to get rain tires, I was totally surprised. I thought 'Now I've got him!' Actually it was too early (to pit)," he added.

"But then the downpour came at exactly that moment! Madness, because if the rain had come just half a lap later, I would have had him.

"Annoying," Rosberg concluded.

F1 ratings improve in struggling German market
(GMM) Things could be looking up in formula one, mere days after urgent calls were being made to end a 'crisis'.

Indeed, the sport is now entering an unplanned three-week gap between Silverstone and Hungary, because the flagging F1 market in Germany meant that country's race was axed for the first time in decades.

The recent trend in Germany has been for poor attendances and a rapidly-declining television audience.

But suddenly, things are looking up.

It emerges that 5.33 million viewers tuned into terrestrial broadcaster RTL's coverage of the British grand prix — almost half a million more than in 2014.

And German media reports said the recent races in Canada and Austria were also showing an upward ratings trend.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg said in his latest column for Bild newspaper: "Despite all the criticism of formula one, I think it is still the best and most watched motor sport in the world."

And F1 legend Niki Lauda, who is also the Mercedes team chairman, said it is time the German team stopped being blamed for the apparently "boring" sport.

"I can no longer hear these stupid discussions," he exclaimed. "The others should make their cars faster rather than complain.

"How is it Mercedes' fault when those at Ferrari throw around spaghetti rather than improving their car on the track?" the outspoken Austrian added bluntly.