Latest F1 news in brief

Bianchi was hoping for Ferrari seat

Bianchi 'understands' Ferrari signing Vettel
Schumacher 'has made progress' – Todt
Tost says Toro Rosso seat '99pc' for Sainz
FIA admits Japan GP could be cancelled
Massa was 'screaming' for race to stop
Kvyat: Red Bull drive will be an honor
Dennis frustrated by lack of engine parity with Mercedes works team New

Bianchi 'understands' Ferrari signing Vettel
(GMM) Jules Bianchi has acknowledged there will be no room for him at Ferrari in 2015.

Earlier – before Sebastian Vettel stunned the paddock with his shock Red Bull exit – Frenchman Bianchi nominated himself as the "logical" candidate to replace Fernando Alonso at Ferrari.

Now, it is clear the Maranello team has signed up F1's reigning world champion Vettel.

Mercedes' Niki Lauda thinks it is a smart move.

"There is a new management, a new motivation in the team, and of course Sebastian as a four-time world champion and German, it is a bit like Schumacher," he told German television RTL.

"What I mean is that in this 'spaghetti-mess' of Ferrari today it could really do with some German thoroughness. That is why I think this is very good for Ferrari," Lauda added.

It is however a blow for Italian Frenchman Bianchi, the leading Ferrari 'academy' driver who now faces yet another season at the back of the grid with Marussia.

"When you see teams like Red Bull and McLaren taking on young drivers, you hope for that (at Ferrari) too," he is quoted by Italian media.

"But if they have taken Vettel it means that they needed a driver like him to replace Alonso and I can understand that," added Bianchi.

Vettel's move proves Bernie Ecclestone right, after the F1 chief executive said a couple of weeks ago that the German is "the right man for Ferrari".

Also proved right is the outspoken 1997 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve.

"Super!" the French Canadian is quoted by Sport Bild. "Sebastian listened to me!

"I said in the summer that he should leave Red Bull because he no longer had their full support.

"At Ferrari he opens a new chapter and has a new challenge. It could be a big one."

Schumacher 'has made progress' – Todt
(GMM) Jean Todt has visited his friend Michael Schumacher since the F1 legend returned home after months in hospital and rehabilitation.

The pair worked together at Ferrari through the Italian team's ultra-successful period last decade.

"In the past weeks and months, he has made progress in relation to the severity of his injury," Todt, now FIA president, is quoted by the French daily L'Equipe.

"But a long and hard road is in front of him," he added, referring to Schumacher's continuing recovery from head injuries sustained in a skiing fall last December.

Todt said he visited the German and his family at their Swiss home earlier this week.

"Hopefully things will improve," he added. "His family is close to him. He needs time and peace."

Tost says Toro Rosso seat '99pc' for Sainz
(GMM) Carlos Sainz Jr is closing in on a Toro Rosso drive for 2015.

Until mere days ago, the Spanish rookie – as the apparent cream of Red Bull's junior program – remained disappointed to have missed out on departing Jean-Eric Vergne's place for next season.

Red Bull had swept in to sign the teen sensation Max Verstappen instead, despite 20-year-old Sainz's superior experience and success this year in the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

But after Sebastian Vettel's shock exit at the energy drink company's main F1 team, Red Bull has called up confirmed 2015 Toro Rosso racer Daniil Kvyat to drive alongside Daniel Ricciardo next year.

It opens up a new vacancy at Toro Rosso, and Sainz – whose father and namesake is the world rally legend – is the obvious favorite.

Christian Horner admitted it on Saturday, and now Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost has told El Mundo Deportivo: "99 per cent, Carlos Sainz will be in F1 next year."

It is yet another blow to Frenchman Vergne, who ran Ricciardo close as the now Red Bull number 1 driver's Toro Rosso teammate in 2013.

And with Kvyat now moving up to the main team as well, Vergne actually outqualified the highly rated Russian at Suzuka.

Vergne is obviously frustrated to realize he no longer figures in Red Bull's future plans.

"It's not a question you should ask me," he said when asked about Saturday's events in Japan.

Asked if the Toro Rosso vacancy is good news for him, Vergne added: "I have absolutely no idea, I have no expectation right now.

"I don't have anything to say about the situation at the moment. I need a little bit of time to realize it and as well to understand the decision.

"Maybe I will do the Tour de France next year," he shrugged.

FIA admits Japan GP could be cancelled
(GMM) Every eye is on the sky in the final hour before the Japanese grand prix.

As streams run down the pitlane and rain bands brought by typhoon Phanfone fill the radar screens, it emerged on Sunday that Suzuka organizers twice turned down the governing FIA's request to move the 3pm start time forward.

"At the moment," Romain Grosjean told France's RMC, "3pm is supposed to be the worst for the rain."

He spoke some time before the drivers set out for a drenching and to battle the winds with their umbrellas in the back of convertible cars for the pre-race parade.

"20mm of water per hour is expected while the limit for F1 is probably 5 or 6mm," the Lotus driver explained.

"And I'm not talking about Monday when it is supposed to be 80 to 100mm per hour!" he exclaimed.

Asked on Sunday afternoon if it is a possibility the race will have to be cancelled, F1 race director Charlie Whiting reportedly said: "Yes.

"If the weather reports are correct, there will be no race today."

Massa was 'screaming' for race to stop
Felipe Massa claims he was "screaming" for the Japanese Grand Prix to be stopped as heavy rain fell at Suzuka.

The race was eventually red-flagged after Jules Bianchi crashed on lap 43 at Turn 7, just one lap after Adrian Sutil had gone off the track at the same point. The Marussia driver is understood to have hit the recovery vehicle that was working to retrieve Sutil's stricken Sauber.

Massa, who after the race went to the hospital where Bianchi was taken, said his thoughts were with the Marussia driver but that he thought the race should have been stopped earlier.

"First of all we need to understand what happened with Jules," Massa said. "I'm very worried to hear just now that he hit the truck. In my opinion they started the race too early because it was not drivable at the beginning and it finished too late.

"I was already screaming on the radio five laps before that there was too much water on the track but then they just took a little bit too long and it was dangerous.

"You saw that there was the crash at the end and… I just need to understand what happened to Jules." ESPNF1

Kvyat: Red Bull drive will be an honor
Daniil Kvyat says it will be an honor to make the move from Toro Rosso to Red Bull next season.

With Sebastian Vettel informing Red Bull that he is to depart at the end of the campaign, the outfit was quick to announce 2014 rookie Kvyat, who jumped to F1 from GP3 this season, as Daniel Ricciardo's new team-mate.

Kvyat's promotion means that Red Bull retains a driver line-up formed out of its long-standing talent scheme.

"It's been a very special Saturday, as I was told that I would be driving for Red Bull next year," said Kvyat.

"It's a fantastic feeling and a great opportunity and honor for me, so I want to thank Red Bull for trusting me."

Kvyat has reached Q3 on six occasions and recorded five points finishes during his debut F1 season so far.

Dennis frustrated by lack of engine parity with Mercedes works team
Ron Dennis made it clear today that he believes that McLaren has been at a disadvantage relative to the Mercedes works team this year.

Dennis said that McLaren has not had the chance to use the new power unit to its full advantage because of a lack of access to data, and even hinted that the team had not had "the best engines."

His words made it pretty clear that the team's 20-season partnership with Mercedes is under strain as it edges towards its conclusion.

Ron was commenting on why McLaren has put itself in the position of being Honda's works team in 2015.

"One thing that jumps you if you look at all of the qualifications of all of this year is the time difference between the Mercedes-Benz works team and the other teams," said Dennis. "By and large it's always in excess of a second, putting aside the pace which they can generate in a Grand Prix when they're on the back foot.

"What that means is that in my opinion, an opinion held by many people in our organization, is that you have no chance of winning a World Championship if you are not receiving the best engines from whoever is manufacturing your engines.

"A modern Grand Prix engine in this moment in time is not just about sheer power, it's about how you harvest the energy, it's about how you store the energy, and effectively if you don't have control of that process – meaning access to source code – then you are not going to be able to stabilize your car in the entry to corners, etc, and you lose lots of lap time.

"So even though you have the same brand of engine that does not mean you have the ability to optimize the engine. So you've got to start by putting yourself in a position where you have the best engine available. That's what we've done for the approaching years. We had a great partnership with Mercedes, but we intend to hit the ground running with Honda."

When asked by this writer to respond to Ron's comments Toto Wolff said: "There are the same engines in every car out there, and you see quite some difference between customers. Of course as a power unit manufacturer and chassis manufacturer you have certain advantages on integration, and that comes down to mechanical balance, centre of gravity, etc.

"I wouldn't even want to use the terminology 'source code,' because it doesn't make any sense. They have been our most valuable customer in the past, and a great team, and they are switching to a competitor in Honda, and obviously we are pretty aware of that." Adam Cooper