Latest F1 news in brief – Sunday (2nd Update)
05/24/15 Updates shown in red below.
05/24/15
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Hamilton should waltz to victory in Monaco Pirelli ready to push for 2017 contract
- Mercedes to let drivers race in Monaco
- Bottas' Ferrari link 'flattering' – Williams
- Red Bull 'not leaving F1' – Horner
- 2016 will show if Ferrari on rise – Briatore
- F1 racing into 'customer cars' future New
- Ecclestone unhappy as McLaren turn down Prince Albert's invitation in Monaco New
- Ecclestone humiliates Rosberg in excruciating interview New
Pirelli ready to push for 2017 contract
(GMM) Pirelli has confirmed its intention to try to stay in formula one beyond next year.
F1's governing body has now officially launched the 2017-2019 tender, and it appears that Pirelli – the sport's sole supplier since 2011 – will face off for the privilege against Michelin.
The early rumor is that the French marque Michelin, last in F1 in competition with Bridgestone in 2006, is so keen to return now as sole supplier that it may even be willing to supply its tires to teams free of charge.
"I don't think we should start now saying the word 'free'," Marco Tronchetti Provera, the Pirelli chief executive, was quoted by Italian reporters in Monaco.
He made his rare appearance in the paddock to confirm Pirelli's intention to meet the 2017 tender deadline of mid-June.
But Provera warned that Pirelli is not willing to stay in F1 at any cost.
He is unconvinced, for example, that the proposal to allow teams to freely choose their two compounds at each grand prix is right.
"These are things that should be discussed with the FIA and FOM to avoid creating unnecessary expectations," he insisted.
"Some new ideas have been raised — some go in the right direction, while others need to be considered.
"F1 must be technology, safety and performance," the Pirelli chief declared.
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| Rest assured it will be a Mercedes 1-2 parade in Monaco |
Mercedes to let drivers race in Monaco
(GMM) When asked how Ferrari expects to fare in Monaco with the 'super soft' tire, Sebastian Vettel grinned early this weekend: "I hope super-good!"
The Italian team struggled a fortnight ago in Barcelona with its new upgrade package.
Some wondered whether the 'fuel flow issue' was to blame.
The FIA has clamped down harder on its restricted fuel flow regulations, suspecting some top teams might have devised clever systems to sidestep the spirit of the rulebook.
So as the governing body delves deeper into understanding the respective systems up and down pitlane, some believe Ferrari has had to abandon its clever solution.
The Kolner Express tabloid said engine chief Mattia Binotto has now tried to "compensate" for the loss with a modified energy management setting.
The SF15-T car passed scrutineering checks in Barcelona, and again in Monaco.
Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, however, thinks the Monaco weather is the problem, as Sebastian Vettel lagged the Mercedes' pace by eight tenths in qualifying.
"Sebastian did a very good job," he told Italian television Sky. "We had only expected the sun to be out, which is better for the tires for us."
Indeed, while the 2015 Ferrari is good at managing the softest tires in Pirelli's range, it needs to be combined with hotter temperatures.
"The Ferrari does seem to disproportionately lose laptime at lower temperatures," said Mercedes chief Toto Wolff in Monaco.
"Every car has its particular DNA, but our car is generally very strong with no specific strength or weakness."
The other issue for Ferrari is that the 'super soft' is not even particularly soft, according to drivers up and down the grid.
"I guess I'm going to have to choose my words carefully," said pole sitter Lewis Hamilton after qualifying. "These tires … they're very hard. Considering they're the soft and super-soft, they're incredibly hard."
So with Ferrari struggling again in Monaco, fans can at least look forward to an unfettered battle between Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg on Sunday.
"We will not interfere," Wolff confirmed. "Our drivers know what they're doing.
"Although Monaco is a special case, where you can end up in the barriers much more easily than elsewhere, we have not had any incidents in the last races so there is no need for us to influence anything from the outside," he promised.
Bottas' Ferrari link 'flattering' – Williams
(GMM) Valtteri Bottas is shaping up as the star player in this year's 'silly season'.
The annual round of speculation and counter-rumor regarding the movement of drivers within the paddock has got off to an early start, as talk of the Finn's potential switch from Williams to Ferrari will just not go away.
Reporters are even now trying to guess the precise mid-year date of the 'option' on Bottas' current contract, and whether it corresponds with Ferrari's simultaneous deliberations over keeping Kimi Raikkonen in 2016.
"It has to be quite flattering for us, hasn't it?" smiled Williams deputy Claire Williams in Monaco.
"Valtteri has an agreement with us," she told the Finnish broadcaster MTV, "and I know that he is very pleased with the team at the moment.
"We are of course pleased with the way he is going, and he has been a part of the team for a very long time," Williams added.
"I know he feels comfortable here and is able to do a great job.
"I think it's up to us to give him the kind of car he deserves — he is future world champion material," she declared.
However, Williams would not be drawn on the precise expiry date of Bottas' supposed 2016 contract 'option', amid suggestions it is the customary July 31.
"You know how it is," she replied. "We will not go into any contractual details.
"I know that everyone wants to know what's going on and I wish I could be a little more open about it, but these are private conversations at the moment," Williams added.
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| Horner says Red Bull not going anywhere – they can't as they signed a contract through 2020 |
Red Bull 'not leaving F1' – Horner
(GMM) For now, the tension between Red Bull and Renault remains.
The explosive criticism of earlier in 2015 has now subsided, but it was Red Bull wanting to take all the credit on Saturday for a much better qualifying outing in Monaco.
"What we saw was that Red Bull has sorted out our problems with the chassis," team official Dr Helmut Marko told Speed Week.
"This has nothing to do with Renault," he insisted. "This is just the car."
Indeed, on the twisty streets of the Principality, the engine matters less.
"We are a team," team boss Christian Horner told Spain's Marca, "so we win and lose together, but everyone can see that our big problem at the moment is the engine."
Renault recently threatened to pull out of F1 together, or leave the premier Red Bull team stranded perhaps by buying the junior outfit Toro Rosso.
It triggered rumors Red Bull might have to make its own engine.
"We are not engine specialists," Horner declared in Monaco. "We are chassis specialists and at the moment we are not interested in that (making an engine)."
So for now, Renault and Red Bull – unified by contract until the end of 2016 – are staying together.
When asked about a sale of the team or an alliance with Audi, Horner answered: "Although there is a degree of frustration, we are not thinking of leaving F1."
2016 will show if Ferrari on rise – Briatore
(GMM) 2016 will be the true test of the 'new' Ferrari.
That is the view of Flavio Briatore, the former Renault team chief who in recent days and months has been defending Fernando Alonso's decision to leave Maranello.
Briatore and Alonso are still united in the area of management, and so the flamboyant Italian has been tackling those who say the Spanish driver was clearly wrong to join McLaren-Honda.
"Last year (in Monaco qualifying)," the 65-year-old told Sky Italia, "Alonso was fifth with a gap of seventh tenths.
"This year, Vettel is also seven tenths behind (pole), the only difference is that there are no other rivals now while Mercedes still dominates."
Briatore said Sunday's Monaco grid does not bode well for an exciting race.
"We can only hope that the two (Mercedes) drivers will battle each other, or else it will be boring," he said.
As for claims Ferrari has been a resurgent force ever since the Alonso-spearheaded, Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo-led era ended, Briatore says that is wrong.
"This (team in 2015) is still the Ferrari of Montezemolo and Domenicali," he declared.
"What the new management has done we will only see next year." And as for Alonso jumping ship and joining McLaren, "Only the future will tell us who was right," Briatore insisted.
Finally, he played down the likelihood of a return to F1 any time soon.
"I have a small child and so I dedicate my time to the family now," said Briatore.
F1 racing into 'customer cars' future
(GMM) F1 appears to be racing headlong into its 'customer cars' future.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport reports that four teams – Lotus, Force India, Sauber and Manor – are in dire and almost immediate danger of collapsing mid-season.
It would explain why Bernie Ecclestone is pushing so hard to introduce his "one chassis, one engine" solution.
Under the plan, teams would pay EUR 15 million for a basic chassis and standard engine package, probably powered by old V8s.
As it would create a 'two-tier' structure in F1, with constructors on the one hand and 'customers' on the other, the smaller teams are loudly protesting.
"We are an independent constructor and we want to stay that way," Force India supremo Vijay Mallya said in Monaco.
"We do not agree with the concept of customer cars," he added.
Sauber has similarly come out fighting, but Mercedes' Toto Wolff has heard differently.
"It's interesting they say that," he told reporters, "because three of them (teams) came to see me about whether we could supply customer cars."
It is unclear which solution is the frontrunner — Ecclestone's 'GP1'-like plan, or big teams like Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari simply producing extra cars for customers.
Mercedes team chairman Niki Lauda said in Monaco: "Bernie says that we (the big teams) will be the constructors, then there will be somebody else (the customers).
"The (small) teams will never have enough money," he told the British broadcaster Sky.
"I think the philosophy should be that we (the big teams) make two extra cars (each), not one. The teams who are struggling today with money and performance can switch" to become customers.
"So this is what we are working on now, and I think it's the right direction," Lauda added.
Auto Motor und Sport said Ecclestone and his CVC paymasters are eyeing the model of five strong constructors allied with five healthy customers, paving the way for a potential floatation of the sport.
The basic format would be Mercedes with Lotus, Ferrari with Sauber, Red Bull with Toro Rosso, McLaren with Manor and Williams with Force India, the report explained.
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| Bernie unhappy |
Bernie Ecclestone unhappy as McLaren turn down Prince Albert's invitation in Monaco
Bernie Ecclestone is believed to be disappointed that McLaren turned down an invitation for their drivers to attend Saturday night's traditional pre-race cocktail party hosted by Prince Albert of Monaco.
It is understood that all the other teams who were invited sent their drivers, with only McLaren citing prior commitments as a reason for declining.
Ecclestone was willing to arrange transport to and from the Grimaldi Palace to make it easy for Button and Alonso to put in appearances at more than one function.
But McLaren said: ‘Jenson is doing a children’s charity event with Chris Evans on a yacht, and Fernando is doing two McLaren sponsor events: a Tag Heuer events at the Columbus hotel followed by a KPMG event on a yacht.’
World champion Lewis Hamilton went to the palace, along with regular attendee Sir Jackie Stewart, a long-standing friend of the Grimaldi family. Daily Mail Online
Ecclestone humiliates Rosberg in excruciating interview
Formula One supremo tells German driver to his face that Lewis Hamilton is better for the sport's image ahead of Monaco Grand Prix.
Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One’s ringmaster, has told Nico Rosberg to his face that he is “not good for my business" in an excruciating joint interview.
Ecclestone and Rosberg were recorded in conversation for the official F1 website in Monte Carlo earlier this week in Ecclestone’s motorhome. he 84-year-old continued to express his preference for Rosberg’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton, before launching a fierce attack on the German, who lies second in the world championship.
Ecclestone said: “When it comes to F1 I am a huge Lewis fan because he is a super promoter of the sport. From a pure business aspect – sorry Nico if I have to say this – you are not so good for my business."
When Rosberg responded that this was a “hard call", Ecclestone continued: “It sounds harder than it is meant. Unfortunately you don’t have the German fans on your side.
“As the cancellation of the German Grand Prix indicates, Germany is a terrible market for Formula 1. On the contrary Lewis is a hero in the UK. The British love Formula 1. Sebastian [Vettel] is also not doing much for F1. People hardly recognize him on the street."
Ecclestone is not usually one to mince his words but even this was particularly strident. The F1 supremo went on to strongly criticize Rosberg’s Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, as well as Ferrari’s new team principal.
On Wolff, he said: “The team principals should be more prominent. Take away Toto Wolff’s Mercedes shirt and send him down a street – nobody would recognize him."
And on Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari’s boss, Ecclestone added: "Only for himself and not for Formula 1." London Telegraph