Latest F1 news in brief – Saturday (Update)
10/04/14
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Sebastian Vettel Shock at Suzuka as Vettel leaves Red Bull
- Toro Rosso considering Sainz for 2015
- McLaren will 'take time' to decide drivers
- Fernandes distances himself from Caterham team
- Japan and Russia races to start on time – Ecclestone
- Ecclestone says F1 board reports 'rubbish'
- More bad news for Vergne New
- Vettel: I don't have to prove anything New
- Alonso says he controls who drives where in F1 New
Shock at Suzuka as Vettel leaves Red Bull
(GMM) A wild rumor is now a certainty: Sebastian Vettel is leaving Red Bull to replace Fernando Alonso at Ferrari in 2015.
With a Super Typhoon already bearing down, the reigning world champion team sent gasps through the media centre on Saturday morning with its press release.
"We're pleased to announce that Daniel (Ricciardo) will be joined in the team for 2015 by another rising star from the junior program, Daniil Kvyat," Red Bull said.
Vettel is obviously heading to Ferrari to replace the disgruntled Spaniard Alonso, whose impending move to McLaren-Honda is also now obvious.
"I'm not running away and it's nothing against Red Bull," German Vettel said on Saturday.
"There are just times in life when you need to start something new."
He didn't want to jump the gun on Ferrari's official announcement, which is expected later on Saturday.
"There will be an announcement soon," was all Vettel would say.
But Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was hiding nothing.
"Obviously Ferrari have made him a very attractive offer," he said.
"As of January first he'll be a competitor. He'll be a Ferrari driver," said Horner.
Dr Helmut Marko, having groomed Vettel from boyhood to F1 stardom, said he has "no bad feelings" about the now 27-year-old as he decides to move on.
Vettel has consistently denied speculation surrounding his future until now, but Horner said the quadruple world champion has clearly "had a bit on his mind recently".
Horner said Vettel had surprised the team with the news late on Friday, despite agreeing his winter test program and 2015 merchandising plans with Red Bull only on Thursday.
Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Vettel has escaped from his Red Bull contract thanks to an exit clause on performance grounds.
Horner said: "If somebody's heart is not there, it doesn't matter what you have on a piece of paper."
With Russian Kvyat stepping up at Red Bull's senior team, it is expected Toro Rosso will fill the gap with Carlos Sainz Jr in 2015.
Toro Rosso considering Sainz for 2015
(GMM) Red Bull has not denied that Carlos Sainz Jr is the obvious choice to replace Daniil Kvyat in 2015.
Suzuka and the sport was rocked on Saturday when it emerged Sebastian Vettel is leaving Red Bull's senior team, with the 20-year-old Russian Kvyat to replace him.
"I was very honored," Kvyat told the BBC on Saturday, "and very surprised."
It leaves a gap at Toro Rosso, Red Bull's junior team, who had already announced that Kvyat would be racing at Faenza alongside rookie teen Max Verstappen next year.
Until the Verstappen news, 20-year-old Spaniard Sainz, whose father and namesake is the well-known world rally legend, had been the favorite to step up at Toro Rosso in 2015.
He is expected to wrap up the Formula Renault 3.5 championship later this month.
Christian Horner, the team boss at Red Bull's senior team, was asked by the Spanish daily AS on Saturday if Sainz will now be stepping up at Toro Rosso.
"We'll see what happens with Carlos," he answered. "It's something to talk about.
"We always look to talent and try to make the right decision," Horner added.
McLaren will 'take time' to decide drivers
(GMM) All eyes are on Ferrari and Fernando Alonso in the wake of Sebastian Vettel's shock news on Saturday.
Although some think Spaniard Alonso's exit at Ferrari and move to McLaren-Honda is now obvious, others are not so convinced.
Spain's El Mundo Deportivo thinks a sabbatical for the 33-year-old is even a possibility, as his plans to set up a professional cycling team take shape.
"It is an option that he takes a break for a year," agreed former team owner and serial F1 prognosticator Eddie Jordan.
"I don't think Fernando is going to go to McLaren to struggle and build a team up. He will take a year off," he told German broadcaster Sky.
Alonso is definitely not going to Red Bull to replace Red Bull, and Christian Horner said on Saturday that the energy drink-owned camp had never even considered Alonso.
"In all honesty, no," Horner told Britain's Sky at Suzuka.
Ferrari has confirmed in Japan that it is not currently planning to make a driver announcement this weekend.
But McLaren and Honda are obviously "considering" putting Alonso in a Woking-built car for 2015, reportedly after he and Ron Dennis recently sat down and put their horrendous 2007 collaboration in the past.
It is even rumored Alonso arrived in Tokyo on Monday, where the Honda Motor Co is headquartered.
Asked about that, Alonso laughed and denied he had visited Honda.
But Honda is obviously keen on having F1's best driver in a McLaren next year.
When asked if the carmaker and McLaren have already signed Alonso, Honda chief Yasuhisa Arai turned to his McLaren colleague Jonathan Neale on Friday and said: "Should I answer?
"Not only McLaren-Honda but also the other teams want to keep the good (best) driver," he said.
Eric Boullier, McLaren boss, is now admitting Alonso is actively under consideration.
"We are still trying," he told Spain's AS daily, "and we will take our time not to make any mistakes.
"We have a good chance and we don't want to lose it," Boullier added.
"We will take our time but the decision will anyway be soon — in a couple of weeks."
Fernandes distances himself from Caterham team
(GMM) Tony Fernandes has moved to distance himself from the debt and chaos of the formula one team he founded.
F1 backmarker Caterham has tried to play down the gravity of its fight for survival this weekend after it emerged bailiffs had seized equipment at its Leafield base.
But court documents, revealed by F1 business journalist Christian Sylt in the Independent, show that Caterham has been ordered in court to pay well over $1 million in 34 unpaid bills.
Malaysian entrepreneur Fernandes founded the F1 team in 2010 and branded it as Caterham after buying the well-known British sports car firm.
But he sold the F1 team to a mysterious group of Swiss-based Dubai investors earlier this year, while still retaining control of the rest of the 'Caterham Group'.
Fernandes' Caterham Group has now issued a statement insisting that it has "no affiliation with Caterham F1 Team".
"The Caterham Group is concerned about the negativity that these circumstances, which are outside of its control, have on its brand and will continue to monitor the situation," it added.
Japan and Russia races to start on time – Ecclestone
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has ruled out moving the start time of Sunday's Japanese grand prix.
Shifting the 3pm start time forward by up to four hours has been under consideration, as the typhoon Phanfone bears down on Suzuka.
But F1 chief executive Ecclestone, who is not in Japan this weekend, told Forbes: "I'm not moving anything anywhere.
"Nothing is changing at the minute," he told the F1 business journalist Christian Sylt.
Indeed, the governing FIA has separately confirmed at Suzuka that Sunday's race will be at 3pm as scheduled.
That is despite the sport's official weather forecaster UBIMET predicting "persistent" and often "heavy" rain for most of Sunday, and particularly the afternoon.
"If it rains the teams will race," Ecclestone insisted. "Nobody knows what it's going to be like.
"Maybe there's going to be a storm."
Ecclestone has also rejected claims the typhoon, and potential flight delays heading out of Suzuka, could affect preparations for next weekend's inaugural Russian grand prix.
"We will be in Russia on time, no matter what happens, including an earthquake," the Briton told the Telegraph.
Ecclestone says F1 board reports 'rubbish'
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has slammed reports his return to formula one's executive board has been denied.
British newspapers on Friday had said that despite his German legal troubles now being over, the board of F1's holding company Delta Topco put "conditions" on Ecclestone's return that were not met.
But the 83-year-old F1 'supremo', not in Japan this weekend, has hit back at the reports that he describes as "complete and utter rubbish".
"The agreement was, when this trial started, I agreed to stand down from the board while the trial was on. Afterwards, it's business as usual," he told the Daily Telegraph.
"Yes (I am on the board)," said Ecclestone.
Asked if it is true some 'conditions' have been placed on his continuation, he insisted: "Not at all.
"What was agreed was that certain things, if I wanted to buy the Eiffel Tower as CEO, that probably I would need permission from the board."
CVC, F1's controlling shareholder, did not comment.
More bad news for Vergne
The bad news continues to pile in for Jean-Eric Vergne with Toro Rosso confirming he will take an engine penalty at Suzuka.
Just a few weeks after it was confirmed that he will be replaced by Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso next year, Red Bull announced on Saturday that they had again overlooked Vergne for a 2015 race seat with Daniil Kvyat moving up to replace the departing Sebastian Vettel.
Vergne, though, still kept his head up and qualified 11th for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix despite numerous problems throughout practice.
However, he will drop 10 places after STR confirmed they changed his internal combustion engine ahead of qualifying, putting him on six for the season.
"Unfortunately Jev [Vergne] takes a ten place grid penalty because today's engine change meant fitting his sixth of the season," Toro Rosso deputy technical director Ben Waterhouse explained.
"The most important thing is that he managed to qualify above P12 and so he takes all his penalty here, with none of it carried over to Russia next weekend."
Vettel: I don't have to prove anything
Sebastian Vettel says he has nothing to prove after announcing his departure from Red Bull.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed Vettel is set to join Ferrari next season after cutting ties with the team with which he has won four world titles. While he has been beaten by team-mate Daniel Ricciardo so far this season, Vettel said the lack of success this year was not a factor in his decision to move.
"That's one way to look at it but I don't feel I have to prove anything here," Vettel said. "I think everything we achieved we achieved together. Surely this season didn't go as we wanted to – I think especially the first half for me was quite messy. We made progress but it's a difficult one to come together such as days like today.
"I think generally if you have the ambition to win, you can't afford to be afraid of anyone because ultimately if you want to win the championship you have to face the best people anyway. So that's not the point really."
And Vettel said it had taken him a long time to come to the decision to leave Red Bull having come through the young driver program at the team.
"A decision like that obviously doesn't happen overnight. In some ways it's a big step when a very, very good relationship comes to an end but I think you need to understand that there's nothing negative in [Red Bull] at all. It's not like I'm leaving here because I don't like it anymore or I don't like the people anymore. It's not at all like that and that's obviously what made the decision so difficult for me after such a long time and very successful time together.
"It's obviously a decision that grows with time and it's not the first time I had the opportunity in the last years to do something different but it felt now that it is time for something else. It's the right time and truly it's a big step but I'm looking forward to the challenge."
When it was put to Vettel that Horner had confirmed he is joining Ferrari, Vettel replied: "It's not the first time I've got offers from other people but unfortunately I have to give you the same answer again and again; I cannot officially announce anything but very shortly I think I will be able to. As I said, the decision I made I obviously believe in the decision. It's a step that I think will make me very happy."
And Vettel said he is not motivated by the idea of winning titles with multiple teams in order to prove himself.
"I think there's plenty of things that people say a true great driver should achieve in his life and so on; I don't listen to that. I followed the voice inside me, I followed my heart and made the decision that I felt was the right one. As I said, it was not an easy one, but it was one that I believe in and hopefully will make me very happy.
"Of course, whatever I do the ambition is to be successful otherwise there's not much point in me being here. Just going round making money maybe is great for some people but that's not my ambition at all, I'm here to win." crash.net
Alonso says he controls who drives where in F1
Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 rival Sebastian Vettel's decision to leave Red Bull will not have any impact on his own future.
"I heard today the news of Sebastian – he needs to find a new motivation, a new chapter in life, and I wish him the best," Alonso said.
"For me it doesn't change anything.
"I have a very unique position – thanks to so many years and the respected work I've done on the track I decide where to go, what I do, and when I do it.
"Probably some of the things that are happening now are the consequence of my thinking.
"I have my mind set. I've had a plan, very clear; for the last two or three months I've known what I wanted to do.
"I have the opportunity to do whatever I want and I will do what is the best thing for me in my career right now.
"It's a combination of being hungry for success – I want to win and become champion – and to be happy, I want to have a good life.
"Everything is moving in the right direction, but at the moment it's still not 100 per cent complete."
"I repeat: whatever I want to do, I will do it, at the moment I want to do it," he said.
"I will race in whatever place I want. After that, the others will move their positions.
"I know what I want to do and I will tell you when it's time."
"I'm quite happy we're not participating in musical chairs," Wolff said.
"We want to have the best drivers in our team, who work together in a respectful way, who help to develop the team and eventually win races and championships.
"We are very excited and very happy with our current line-up, and the way we work with each other doesn't justify to mess it up."