Latest F1 news in brief – Wednesday (Update)
11/26/14
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Dennis says Honda will be strong Honda will be 'strong' despite troubled start – Dennis
- Todt says Red Bull's twin-turbo plan 'nonsense'
- Sainz denies Toro Rosso decision already made
- Palmer eyes Force India reserve role
- Vettel's Ferrari appearance 'legally not ok' – Marko
- Alonso mocks Ferrari's 'Marlboro Man' shakeup
- Hamilton on Sports Personality shortlist
- Hamilton set to become richest British sportsman New
- Alonso: I'm not difficult to work with New
Honda will be 'strong' despite troubled start – Dennis
(GMM) Ron Dennis has played down suggestions Honda's 2015 engine program is running behind schedule.
After a recent filming day at Silverstone, the interim Honda-powered McLaren had its first true test day in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
With young tester Stoffel Vandoorne at the wheel, the day's program did not go to plan.
The car – notably featuring extra cooling vents in the bodywork – spent the entire morning in the garage and then it broke down, eventually completing not a single timed lap.
But the British team said in a statement that the day was "positive".
"Running a modern formula one car is a very complicated procedure," said boss Eric Boullier, "and this week's test is all about how the departments at Sakura, Milton Keynes and Woking learn to work with the operational hub at the circuit."
McLaren supremo Ron Dennis is also confident that, after two consecutive disappointing seasons for the Woking team, the McLaren-Honda next year will be strong.
He denied that the team's new works partner is running behind schedule.
"This year, teams only started testing their cars for the new regulations in February," the Briton said in an interview with Brazil's Globo Esporte.
"But we are running the Honda power unit already, before the winter testing.
"As a team and with Honda, we understand the challenges of these new power units and I am in a position to say that we will be strong," Dennis insisted.
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| Despite the dominant Mercedes power unit, the McLaren MP4-29 chassis could only manage fifth in the Constructors' Standings |
Honda aside, he also said he is confident McLaren will produce a better car than it managed to do in 2013 and 2014.
"You have to realize something: the group that designed the 2015 car is completely different to the one that did the last two," said Dennis.
He said 20 "very able" new engineers have joined McLaren, including Red Bull's aerodynamics chief Peter Prodromou, while 50 roles have been restructured.
"We believe we have set the direction that will allow us to start the next championship on a very high level," added Dennis.
Todt says Red Bull's twin-turbo plan 'nonsense'
(GMM) FIA president Jean Todt insists he does not have unlimited powers to force change within the seemingly crisis-struck world of formula one.
Two backmarkers collapsed in 2014 and three other outfits are furious about the concentration of power and income in the paddock.
Efforts to cut costs this year notably failed, and fingers of blame have been pointed in the direction of the sport's ultra low-profile Todt, who many are now contrasting with his dictatorial predecessor Max Mosley.
"What can I do?" Todt is quoted as saying by Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, after a meeting of the controversial Strategy Group in Geneva on Tuesday.
"We have certain decision-making processes that we cannot just change. That's democracy."
One thing the former Ferrari boss is promising to address is the huge cost of buying a turbo V6 engine from one of F1's three suppliers.
"I am going to fight about the price of the engines for the small teams," he said. "I will do the best but I cannot guarantee the result."
But Todt is much less confident about his plan to re-propose mandatory budget caps, revealing that last time around "even Lotus" argued against it.
He also expressed some sympathy for the plight of Renault and Ferrari, who want more freedom within the rules to catch up with dominant Mercedes.
Todt agreed: "It only makes sense to freeze development if the individual engines are approximately level.
"On the other hand, we cannot now punish Mercedes because they did a good job."
As for Red Bull's proposal to modify the engine formula perhaps by standardizing ERS and adding a twin-turbo, Todt said that is "nonsense".
"We do the sport no favors with these sorts of discussions," he insisted.
Meanwhile, Italy's Autosprint said the Strategy Group on Tuesday ruled to scrap plans for standing re-starts after safety car periods next year, while Todt played down the likelihood of three-car teams to boost fading grid numbers.
"If there are only nine teams next year," he said, "then there will be 18 cars at the start.
"We have seen periods in MotoGP when only 16 bikes were at the start."
Sainz denies Toro Rosso decision already made
(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr has denied he already knows he will make his F1 debut with Toro Rosso next year.
Spanish and French media reports have suggested team owner Red Bull has now decided to replace the experienced Jean-Eric Vergne with the Spanish rookie in 2015.
But as he tested for Red Bull in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the 20-year-old new Formula Renault 3.5 champion said: "I have no idea about the future."
Sainz told Europa Press that he used the Abu Dhabi outing, a reward for winning the Formula Renault 3.5 series this year, to try to influence the decision "and I hope it is for me".
"But I have to wait," he added.
Palmer eyes Force India reserve role
(GMM) New GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer is hoping for "a role" with Force India in 2015.
The Silverstone based team has now confirmed an unchanged race lineup for next year, but Force India gave Briton Palmer his F1 test debut in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
"Force India is a team that gives young drivers good chances and I would love to get a role with them," Palmer, whose father Jonathan was an F1 driver in the 80s, said afterwards.
In an official team statement, he added that Force India "generally do a really good job with their reserve drivers".
Vettel's Ferrari appearance 'legally not ok' – Marko
(GMM) Sebastian Vettel breached his contract by kicking off his Ferrari career early on Tuesday.
Just days after his last grand prix with Red Bull, the quadruple world champion on Tuesday appeared in the Ferrari garage at the Abu Dhabi test, albeit wearing plain clothes.
But he talked with engineers including Pat Fry, and donned a set of Ferrari headphones as he tuned in to the test action involving his 2015 teammate and friend Kimi Raikkonen.
The German expressed frustration last week when Red Bull denied him the chance to test the Maranello-built 2014 car at this week's post-race test at Yas Marina.
"The (Red Bull) engineers suddenly panicked that I will take all these secrets to Ferrari," he had said.
Vettel's retaliation may have been starting his non-driving work at Ferrari ahead of time, but Dr Helmut Marko pointed out that it is technically a breach of contract.
"Legally, it's not ok," the Red Bull official told Germany's Auto Bild, "but I couldn't care less."
That is probably because Vettel has long been excluded from the details of Red Bull's plans for 2015.
"Of course there is information in terms of future development that normally would have been available to a driver," team boss Christian Horner told Austria's Servus TV this week.
"Formula one is such a competitive business that there is information that you (a driver) can take to another team," he added.
"But Sebastian is very professional, so I don't think he asked us too many questions about the new car," said Horner.
Alonso mocks Ferrari's 'Marlboro Man' shakeup
(GMM) Fernando Alonso has wasted no time in strongly distancing himself from Ferrari, where he spent the past five seasons as the fabled team's 'number 1' driver.
On Tuesday, the Spaniard appeared to be openly laughing at the Maranello team's latest managerial shakeup, after Ferrari split with team boss Marco Mattiacci.
Alonso 'retweeted' a photo showing him grinning broadly as his friend Flavio Briatore posed with an unlit cigarette in his mouth and an open Marlboro packet as they dined in a restaurant.
It was obviously a reference to the 'Marlboro Man', as Mattiacci's successor is Maurizio Arrivabene, until now a branding executive for Philip Morris.
Not only that, it seems that at some point after the checkered flag waved in Abu Dhabi last Sunday, Alonso symbolically 'unfollowed' the Ferrari team on Twitter.
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| Is the relationship between Vettel and Ferrari already off to a bad start? |
Meanwhile, although he was photographed in plain clothes in the Ferrari garage on Tuesday, Alonso's successor Sebastian Vettel was reportedly unhappy with the Italian team on his first day of work at the Abu Dhabi test.
That is because when asked by Germany's Sport Bild what he thought of Mattiacci's departure, Vettel appeared to have not been told the news first-hand.
"Is it true?" he asked the correspondent.
The report said Vettel reacted by telling Ferrari he was disappointed to have not been informed about the major shakeup.
Finally, when asked by Brazil's Globo if he will be accompanying Alonso from Ferrari to McLaren next year, the Spanish driver's race engineer Andrea Stella answered clearly: "Yes."
Former F1 driver David Coulthard admits he has some concerns about Ferrari's 2015 driver lineup, despite Vettel and Raikkonen's combined five career titles.
"Kimi Raikkonen's return to Ferrari was the worst season for one of their drivers since 1982," he told the Telegraph, adding that Vettel also "looked a shadow of himself" in 2014.
"The German did not like the new formula, he did not like the engines," Coulthard explained. "That is fair enough, but his mantra seemed to affect his ability to perform."
Hamilton on Sports Personality shortlist
Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton has been named on the 10-person shortlist for this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
Hamilton captured the 2014 title with victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and ultimately finished 67 points ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
The Briton ended the season with 11 victories, five further podiums, seven pole positions and seven fastest laps, while he only failed to finish three races.
Hamilton will go up against the likes of world number one golfer Rory McIlroy, and Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale for the prestigious trophy.
He was also nominated at the end of his first title-winning campaign in 2008, but finished second to triple Beijing Olympics gold medal winner Chris Hoy.
The winner, decided via public vote, will be revealed during a ceremony at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow on Sunday December 14.
Hamilton set to become richest British sportsman
The Formula 1 World Champion, 29, will see his earnings smash through the $900million barrier after bagging his second title.
That means he will leave David Beckham and wife Victoria's combined $350m fortune way behind.
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| Lewis Hamilton looks destined to be the highest grossing British sportsman ever |
Hamilton's second world championship, secured in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, means he will net a $175million, five-year contract with his team Mercedes.
But branding expert Nigel Currie said: "He's going to be Britain's highest-paid sportsman ever.
"He's in pole position to do that."
Lewis, from Stevenage, Herts, already rakes in $40m a year.
Wealth management expert Richard Simpson said: "Lewis will earn £500m over his career very easily. He could go on to win several more titles (cannot miss with the superior car he drives) and he will be naming his price on deals.
"When you dominate a sport for a long time then that is when you get the big brands coming in."
Hamilton has deals with bank Santander, watch maker Tag Heuer and sportswear firm Reebok.
Alonso: I'm not difficult to work with
Fernando Alonso says the fact that his former teams are always willing to keep "one door open" for him proves he is easy to work with.
The Spaniard has confirmed he will leave Ferrari after their five-year relationship failed to yield any titles and he has reportedly already signed a deal to return to McLaren next year.
The two-time World Champion, of course, had a one-off season with the Woking squad in 2007 while he also had two different stints with Renault.
Asked if he could return to Ferrari one day, he replied: "I don't know. More or less I know the questions you will do normally but I did expect this one so I'm not prepared to answer! At the moment it's not an option because if you say bye-bye it's not because five minutes later you think you might come back."
There have been reports that Alonso is very difficult to work with, but the 33-year-old says he is always welcomed back with open arms by his former teams.
He added on ESPNF1: "I went from Renault to McLaren, then I came back to Renault. I went to Ferrari, maybe I'll come back. It seems that people that work with me give me one door open, which is different to things I read about being difficult to work with.
"At the end of the day the places I work I can usually come back to so that's a good sign."