Latest F1 news in brief

Ecclestone

Ecclestone vows to work to end F1 crisis
Alonso return would be 'no surprise' – Lopez
Ecclestone admits fault for Formula 1 issues
Wolff pushing for no cost cutting, says 'impossible to police'
Force India refuses to rule out boycott
Ricciardo aiming for podium from fifth

Ecclestone vows to work to end F1 crisis
(GMM) The smell of crisis is in the air in Austin, as Bernie Ecclestone scrabbles to end a boycott threat and put failing teams back on track.

With Caterham and Marussia absent from the US grand prix garages, the next set of struggling privateers – Lotus, Force India and Sauber – have reportedly threatened to also sit out Sunday's race in protest of the sport's income distribution model.

"I think we're going to race," Frenchman Romain Grosjean, racing for Lotus, said on Saturday. "I'm sure we're going to race."

But Bob Fernley, the increasingly furious deputy principal at Force India, has a different view. "Nothing is off the table at this point," he insisted.

"Everything and anything is possible."

Many observers believe the boycott threat is an empty one, including F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who told reporters it was "crap".

"I promise they will be racing. I give you a guarantee," he said. "But I worry if they will be racing next year."

Indeed, in a incredibly rare show of mea culpa for the 84-year-old Briton, he admitted his income distribution tables – giving the most to the rich and the least to the poor – may in fact be the cause of the current problem.

"The problem is there is too much money being distributed badly – probably my fault – but, like lots of agreements people make, they seemed a good idea at the time," he said.

Ecclestone said there is no easy way to undo the situation now.

"If one team is given 10,000, everyone has to have 10,000," he revealed.

He said his ideal solution would be to get some of the bigger teams to agree to give up some of their bonus income to give to the "three or four teams we know are in trouble".

"Then I would put in the same amount of money," said Ecclestone. "But there would not be one (big) team that would think it was a bloody good idea."

He said he will therefore have to go over the heads of team employees like Ferrari boss Marco Mattiacci and Mercedes' Niki Lauda, and speak directly to the carmaker parents.

"I think it's probably what will have to happen," said Ecclestone, but he suddenly ruled out the idea that three-car teams is the best solution.

"I'm not happy," he concluded. "We'll have to do something about it."

Alonso return would be 'no surprise' – Lopez
(GMM) Fernando Alonso's future continues to be clouded in mystery.

What does seem certain is that his five-year relationship with Ferrari is set to end, with the only thing blocking his official departure and the arrival of Sebastian Vettel being a Mexican standoff-style contractual impasse.

It is believed Ferrari and Alonso are both waiting for the other to publicly declare it's over and therefore breach contract — either costing or saving the Italian team up to an incredible $50 million payout due to the Spaniard.

It is an odd situation, given that Luca di Montezemolo's parting shot as president was to declare that the Alonso-Ferrari marriage is definitely over.

"Yes Luca said something," Alonso is quoted by Germany's Focus, "but I have been every day on the Ferrari website and nothing has been written."

The paddock perception is that Ferrari's supposed signing of German Vettel caught Alonso by surprise, leaving him to choose between a move to McLaren-Honda or a sabbatical.

But Lotus might be the ideal stepping stone for a works Mercedes deal for the 33-year-old, and even the Enstone team's owner Gerard Lopez is not ruling it out.

"It would not surprise me," the Luxembourger told France's Canal Plus, "if Alonso should someday return to the cockpit of a formula one car from Enstone."

McLaren, on the other hand, is saying nothing, much to the frustration of the British team's current drivers, Kevin Magnussen and the 2009 world champion Jenson Button.

Asked how many drivers Woking is considering for 2015, team boss Eric Boullier laughed to Finland's MTV3 broadcaster: "Hundreds.

"In all honesty, four or five," he added.

Ecclestone admits fault for Formula 1 issues
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that the current financial structures in the sport are wrong and that big teams are going to have to compromise in order to improve the situation.

Formula 1 has featured only nine teams at this weekend's United States Grand Prix and tensions between the larger and smaller outfits have risen amid disputes over how to reduce the escalating cost of competing in the sport.

In a surprise admission from the commercial rights holder, Ecclestone said that he would rip up the current contracts and start anew.

"The problem is there is too much money probably being distributed badly, [it's] probably my fault," he said. "But like lots of agreements people make, they seemed a good idea at the time.

"We have to open the eyes of those people in a position to turn the lights on and off to what they need to do. I wouldn't want to be in a position where I was too strong, F1 disappears and someone says it is because of you it disappeared.

"I said to people getting a chunk of money that I would like to take a percentage of their performance-related payment. I would put that money together to divide among the three or four we know are in trouble but are not going to run away with the money, and then I will put in the same amount of money."

Ecclestone said he understood the problems facing Formula 1 but does not yet have a solution.

"We have to decide the best way to sort this whole thing out," he said. "Frankly, I know what's wrong but don't know how to fix it. No one is prepared to do anything about it because they can't. The regulations have tied us up.

"We can't all sit back nicely relaxed and think the problem will go away. It's not like having the flu and taking a few tablets and it will disappear.

"I think the situation is such that if enough people want it resolved, we can resolve it. It's a case of the people that are involved in the sport will have to want to look after the sport and be prepared to make some sacrifices.

"I would tear all the contracts up. Take all the money, pay all the teams' debts that should be paid so people haven't suffered because of Formula 1."

Ecclestone also played down the possibility of three-car teams in 2015, saying that "nobody can afford two cars", while he rubbished the idea of teams boycotting Sunday's race.

Wolff pushing for no cost cutting, says 'impossible to police'
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he doubts costs can be controlled in Formula 1, describing the area as "impossible to police".

If smaller teams like Caterham and Marussia are looking for sympathy, they're not getting any from Toto Wolff.

The demise of Marussia and Caterham has emphasized the perilous financial situation facing several teams in the sport. The FIA introduced plans for a cost cap from 2015 earlier this year but later abandoned the concept when teams would not accept proposals.

Smaller teams have urged costs to be cut but Wolff says that limits would be highly challenging to implement given the complex set-up involved with many of the squads.

"How can you bridge the gap between the very top and the very bottom and if you look at the budgets of Marussia and then you compare the highest spender, whoever it is, Ferrari or Red Bull, you are talking about a gap from $70 million to $250 million, so if you want to start with a cost cap, how do you do that?" he said.

"Where do you cap it? And if you cap it on the lower end, well, do you make two thirds of the people redundant in the big teams. How does it function? How do you control it? The cost cap was never implemented because there was no way of policing it and controlling it.

"Some of the teams have various set-ups, various companies all around the world, multi-nationals behind them in Japan, in Germany, in Italy. If you look at Ferrari, they have a severe issue of being transparent enough to cope with a cost cap."

Wolff said that while he had sympathy for those at the lower end of the grid, teams must have sufficient resources to be able to compete in the 'pinnacle' of sport.

"We have seen great teams who have folded, went into liquidation or administration," he said. "Great names: Brabham, Arrows, Ligier, Prost, Larousse, Leyton House… I mean there are 20 others. That was part of Formula 1. Now, is that something that should happen? No, of course it shouldn't.

"I have great respect for what [former Caterham owner] Tony Fernandes and [Marussia boss] Andrey Cheglakov have done in their businesses but maybe Formula 1 is just a different ball game, because you have these various agendas.

"Like in any other sport, like in any other industry, this is the pinnacle. This is the pinnacle of motor racing and if you want to complete at the pinnacle of motor racing then you need to have the resources of competing there. This is a high entry barrier sport."

Force India refuses to rule out boycott
Force India has refused to rule out the possibility of boycotting Sunday's United States Grand Prix, amid frustrations over Formula 1's cost crisis.

With Caterham and Marussia entering administration last month, the sport's smaller teams have been left upset by key figures showing little desire to respond.

Following a frosty team bosses press conference on Friday, rumors escalated that Force India, Lotus and Sauber could agree to boycott the race.

And ahead of qualifying at the Circuit of The Americas, Force India Deputy Team Principal Bob Fernley says it remains an option.

"That's something that would have to be discussed with the team owners, but certainly there are discussions going on," Fernley told Sky Sports.

"This is a program run by the commercial rights holder and the five empowered and enriched teams which are governing Formula 1," he added.

"Force India and other teams have no say and absolutely no knowledge of what is going on, and that is the problem.

"We don't want to see Formula 1 damaged but we also have to remember the damage done to those teams, and that is an important consideration.

"We are taking the stance that we are because we don't know, nobody has communicated with us, and it's very frustrating."

Daniel Ricciardo believes be can best the Williams duo and score a podium finish in today's United States Grand Prix.

Ricciardo aiming for podium from fifth
Daniel Ricciardo is hopeful of fighting for a podium finish during the United States Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver qualified fifth for Sunday's race at the Circuit of The Americas, but has set his sights on overhauling Williams duo Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.

With an improved second run in the final shootout, Ricciardo was just 39 thousandths of a second slower than Massa.

"I was very close to Felipe. It would have been good to be ahead of him but fifth is good," said Ricciardo.

"Third is what we're fighting for in the race, so fifth is close enough to achieve that. My lap was pretty good and we're on the clean side of the grid, so that should help us get a good start."

While Ricciardo is expecting the Mercedes cars to storm into the distance, he feels Red Bull, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren will be closely matched

"I hope there's some good fights tomorrow," he added. "Merc will do their own thing but between ourselves, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren it should be good.

"I think it's going to be a matter of getting that track position and keeping a few elbows out. They've got pace down the straights so if I do get in front I'll have to try and keep them behind!"