FORMULA 1 - 2013

[MIKA27]

Rosberg reprimanded for speeding

British Grand Prix race-winner Nico Rosberg has escaped punishment for failing to reduce his speed under yellow flags.

The Mercedes driver was called to appear before the stewards for appearing "to not to slow for the yellow flags in turns 3 to 5 at 14:06".

Had Rosberg been handed a time penalty for the infringement, Mark Webber would have been elevated to first place after the Australian finished just 0.7 seconds behind the German.

However, the original result will stand after Rosberg was let off with a reprimand.

[MIKA27]

British GP: Whiting nearly stopped race because of tyre failures

Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting has revealed that he came close to red-flagging the British Grand Prix in the wake of the multiple tyre failures.

With Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Sergio Perez and Jean-Eric Vergne all suffering major blow-outs in the early phases of the Silverstone race, Whiting says it had crossed his mind to stop the race on safety grounds.

"It was quite close to being red-flagged; it did occur to me to do that," explained Whiting after the race.

When asked if just one more failure in that phase of the race would have been enough, Whiting replied: "I'm not going to give a specific number. Obviously to clear up all that debris was putting marshals at risk, and it is not satisfactory.

"We haven't seen a failure like this before; we have seen other types of failure - and that is what has been addressed. So we need to analyse it very carefully to see if we can establish the cause."

Whiting said the FIA needed to get answers from Pirelli about what it believes caused the incident before it could establish a way forward.

"It is too early to draw any conclusions," said Whiting. "They have a lot of analysing to do, including the tyres that didn't fail – because maybe we will find something there that was on the verge of failing that will give us a better indicator of what happened.

"It is too early to say what will happen, so it's too early to say what needs to be done."

The tyre safety issue has been added to the agenda of next week's Sporting Working Committee meeting that was already scheduled to take place at the Nurburgring ahead of the German Grand Prix.

However, Whiting believed that the tyre situation needed to move forward before then – so solutions could be put in place.

"We will be on it first thing in the morning," he said. "Pirelli have got to analyse it, to try and find the cause. We need to make decisions earlier than Wednesday."

[MIKA27]

British GP: Felipe Massa says F1 had a lucky escape in tyre drama

Felipe Massa believes Formula 1 drivers were lucky to escape more serious accidents after what he labelled a dangerous situation with the tyres in the British Grand Prix.

Ferrari driver Massa suffered one of the five blow-outs seen on track, with Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and McLaren's Sergio Perez saying the situation was unacceptable.

With all incidents occurring at high-speed, Massa reckons the consequences could have been much worse.

"I think we were lucky that in all the accidents the driver was able to carry on without crashing," Massa said.

"But if that happens in a corner you can have a big accident and this is really not nice."

The Brazilian agreed with his rivals that the situation was unacceptable and that something needed to be done immediately.

"I think what happened today is unacceptable, because we are not talking about safety," he said. "What happened today was very dangerous for us, for me and for all drivers racing.

"It's not the same race that we've had this kind of problem. I had already had two tyre problems in Bahrain, and another problem here.

"Many other cars had problems before, so it's not the first track. Many people say it's because of the kerbs or the debris, but it's not the first time, so for me it's unacceptable and we need to do something for our safety."

Massa said he felt he had not been particularly aggressive when attacking the corners, despite suggestions that it could have been the kerbs causing the problems.

"No, I didn't hit the kerb very hard. The only debris I passed was the one from Lewis, because he was the first one to have this problem, but I don't remember being too aggressive over the kerbs."

[MIKA27]

British GP: Vettel philosophical about retirement

Sebastian Vettel remained calm about retiring from the British Grand Prix lead with victory in sight.

The Red Bull driver stopped with a gearbox problem while leading on lap 42 out of 52.

"We had a gearbox issue, lost fifth, and when I shifted up to sixth, fifth said goodbye and damaged the rest of the gearbox," Vettel explained.

"We just lost the race by a couple of laps but there's nothing I could have done better.

"It's always frustrating but I'm not blaming the team.

"These things unfortunately happen but fortunately we've got the next race coming up next week so we can try again."

Despite losing what would have been his fourth race win of the 2013 Formula 1 season, Vettel retains a 21-point lead over main rival Fernando Alonso, who finished third.

[MIKA27]

Sauber admits difficult phase but adamant that future is in F1

Sauber has moved to allay fears that a financial crisis could see the Swiss team exit Formula 1 before the 2013 season is out.

A constant presence in F1 since 1993, the Hinwil based squad lost its works BMW backing at the end of 2009 and ever since has been among the sport’s struggling privateers.

This year, Sauber unveiled an uncompetitive Ferrari-powered C32, but promised to develop and improve it.

“For financial reasons, development of the car has stopped,” revealed authoritative Swiss correspondent for the Blick newspaper, Roger Benoit.

There are rumours that bills are going unpaid, and chief designer Matt Morris has already fled to McLaren.

Told by Benoit that in February she promised the C32 would look very different by mid-season, team boss Monisha Kaltenborn revealed the reason for the lack of development.

“We have been in negotiation for some time with a potential partner,” she said. ”The whole thing is taking more time than we thought it would, but we are on track.”

It is rumoured that the “potential partner” is Gazprom, the Russian natural gas giant that was a Minardi sponsor some years ago.

Gazprom recently became a sponsor of Sauber’s English football club partner, Chelsea.

Asked by Benoit if she can guarantee that Sauber will still be on the grid come the season finale in November, Kaltenborn answered: “We have been asked that question since 2010. We are currently going through a difficult phase, but we will continue in 2013 to the end.”

[MIKA27]

Williams: It was a tough race but both drivers did a good job

Team and drivers report on the British Grand Prix, Round 8 of the 2013 Formula 1 world championship at Silverstone.

Race Notes

• Pastor Maldonado finished 11th with Valtteri Bottas 12th in today’s British Grand Prix.
  
• In an eventful race, which included two safety car periods, both drivers made a two-stop strategy work to finish just outside the points from P15 and P16.
  
• The team will be looking to build on its best result of the season as we enter our 600th race in Germany next weekend.
  

Mike Coughlan, Technical Director: “It was a tough race but both drivers did a good job for us today and deserved some points.

Valtteri did well to overtake Button on the last lap for P12, and Pastor almost finished inside the top ten but lost two positions at the second safety car restart. Bothe drivers managed their tyres well and overall made up a number of places from where they started on the grid. Thank you to all the Williams employees, our partners and fans who came out to support us on home soil today.”

Pastor Maldonado: “It was a difficult race but our pace was consistent. We weren’t quick enough but I was happy with the balance of the car and we had no problems with our tyres. I am looking forward to continuing to improve, particularly in qualifying. We were close to scoring our first point today, but before the second restart I was on the inside when Hulkenberg went off the track and he made contact with me when he rejoined, which cost me two positions.”

Valtteri Bottas: “It wasn’t an easy race for me because the car was quite difficult to handle. We didn’t have the best set-up for qualifying and the race, and we also lost some time in the pit stops, so we need to improve in all areas moving forward. Points were certainly possible today but unfortunately we just missed out.”

Laurent Debout, Renault Sport F1 team support leader: Eleventh and 12th is our best finish so far this year, but I know the team would like to have scored points on home ground. While we would have hoped to finish on the right side of the top ten, it’s a big improvement on our starting positions.

[MIKA27]

Marussia: Disappointed that we have slipped back a little

The Marussia F1 Team’s Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton ended the Team’s home race at Silverstone in 16th and 17th positions respectively after a testing British Grand Prix in general.

Neither Jules’ nor Max’s race was blighted by the tyre issues which affected a number of other drivers, however the Team was unable to extract the maximum from the cars today.

Nonetheless, the Team achieved a further two-car finish to add to its impressive tally, which elevates it in the reliability stakes.

Jules Bianchi: “Generally a difficult race, which began with quite a bad start. After that I just had to follow Charles, but it was a fight to stay with him as the Caterham was a bit stronger today. We decided to pit early but then the first safety car period followed and so that didn’t work out for us. For the rest of the race it was the same story until the last safety car, which could have been another opportunity to get past, but although the gap was narrow we were unable to get by. It has not been a straightforward weekend and we have just a couple of days to get to grips with that before we head to Germany, where we hope for better things.”

Max Chilton: “Today has been a day that I will never forget. I was really psyched on the grid and got a great start, which helped. I got past Jules and Pic at the start, they passed again and then I took back position and we had a really close tussle for the first few laps. They just had a little bit better pace for a few laps and I dropped behind Van Der Garde. I got passed him again right towards the end and we would have been fine but then the safety car came out and he had just pitted, so that worked out really well for him. He had the final 10 laps on new tyres and I was on old tyres, so we had a great fight, but I managed to keep him behind me at the end. All in all, an eventful weekend with so many experiences to take away with me.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “We came into today with fantastic weather for our home event, which was great news for the fans. The strategy for this race was always going to be difficult as, similar to Canada, we saw a big shift in track conditions between the long runs we completed on Friday and the race. Overall I think we handled both tyres well. The engineers and pit crew worked well together today to execute pretty much the plan that we intended to start the race with, but unfortunately we lacked the pace to be able to allow Jules to challenge Pic. Max had a race-long battle at various stages with Giedo but ultimately came out on top, which is great news for him considering he was quite disappointed after qualifying yesterday. Overall we are slightly disappointed that we have slipped back a little, but already we have some good ideas on how we can make immediate improvements to the set-up for Germany to put us right back where we have been.”

[MIKA27]

Newey: If debris hits the following driver on the helmet, it doesn’t bear thinking about

Formula 1 should revert to last year’s tyres for safety reasons to prevent any repeat of Sunday’s dangerous British Grand Prix blowouts, according to Red Bull principal Christian Horner.

Speaking to reporters after a race in which four drivers suffered high-speed rear left tyre failures, with the rubber exploding in a burst of debris, the championship-leading boss said urgent action was needed.

“This is a Pirelli issue, they need to find a solution, they need to address it. Whether they go back to last year’s tyre or a different tyre they need a solution,” said Horner, who has called all season for the quick-wearing tyres to be harder and longer-lasting.

“The most logical thing would be to go back to the tyres that worked well for them previously. The tyres they had last year did not have these failures,” he added.

The next race is at the Nuerburgring in Germany next weekend, before Hungary at the end of the month.

Red Bull’s chief technical officer Adrian Newey said the situation at Silverstone was the result of ‘short-sighted’ behaviour by some rivals who had blocked Pirelli’s plans to change the tyres for Canada earlier in the month.

“It’s a sad state of affairs, but such is the nature of Formula 1 really,” he said.

“It’s been fairly clear that there has been a number of worrying tyre failures through the year, Pirelli came out with a solution to that – or appear to have come up with a solution with a different construction that was being offered initially for Montreal.

“Two or three teams vetoed that because they were worried that it would suit some other teams more than it would suit them and as a result of that short-sightedness we end up with Formula 1 putting on the worrying performance that it did today and concerns over driver safety.”.

Tyres exploded in Sunday’s race, with cars travelling at speeds in excess of 200kph, and heavy strips of rubber landed in the path of following cars.

Ferrari’s championship contender Fernando Alonso had a near miss when the rear left tyre on Sergio Perez’s McLaren exploded right in front of him.

“From what I understand of it, had we gone to the different construction then we wouldn’t have had the sort of catastrophic failures that we have had today,” said Newey.

“Safety wise, there are potentially two issues. There’s the car that has the failure having an accident due to that failure, but also suddenly you’ve got three kg or so of tread flying around.

“If that hits the following car (driver) on the helmet, it doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Horner suggested that a young driver test scheduled for Silverstone between Germany and Hungary could be turned into a test for current drivers to guarantee meaningful feedback.

That would have the advantage of allowing teams to test tyres on the same circuit where they had suffered the most serious failures.

Former champion Niki Lauda suggested drivers should take a united stance.

“The drivers should write a letter, because they are the most affected, and (commercial supremo) Bernie (Ecclestone) needs to get involved to tell them (Pirelli) that by Budapest we need another tyre,” said the Austrian, who is also the Mercedes non-executive chairman.

“If the worst comes to the worst, they should bring last year’s tyre if they technically cannot fix the problem. And this has to happen.

For Germany you can’t do anything.”

[MIKA27]

Webber tips Ricciardo to succeed him at Red Bull

Mark Webber has tipped fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo to replace him at Formula One champions Red Bull next season.

The Toro Rosso driver started fifth and finished eighth in Sunday’s British Grand Prix to set out his stall after Webber announced on Thursday that he was leaving at the end of the year to join Porsche’s Le Mans programme.

“We’ve already had a few little chats, but we can have some more in the future,” Webber told BBC radio after he finished second in the race behind Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.

“I think he’s in the box seat…he deserves it and he’s done the yards over here in Europe early doors. He’s been on the canvas a few times and got back up and that’s part of the rules.

“Daniel knows it will be a different challenge in a team like that, the pressure changes. Who knows what is going to happen, but we wish him all the best.”

Ricciardo thanked him for the encouragement.

“As Mark said, let’s see what happens. I’m not going to get my hopes up. I’ve still got to perform and produce what I’ve got to do and if it all works out then that will be exciting,” said the Perth-born driver.

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion who drives for Lotus, is seen as a frontrunner for the seat with Ricciardo’s French team mate Jean-Eric Vergne also in the reckoning.

[Lotusguy]

That race was an absolute disgrace and Ferrari simply got lucky - they did not have a podium-worthy car.

Pirelli needs to be put on notice. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

[La Suerte]

Unfortunately Pirelli are already contracted for 2014 according to a previous comment made by Ecclestone...

[OZCUBAN]

Webber tips Ricciardo to succeed him at Red Bull

Mark Webber has tipped fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo to replace him at Formula One champions Red Bull next season.

The Toro Rosso driver started fifth and finished eighth in Sunday’s British Grand Prix to set out his stall after Webber announced on Thursday that he was leaving at the end of the year to join Porsche’s Le Mans programme.

“We’ve already had a few little chats, but we can have some more in the future,” Webber told BBC radio after he finished second in the race behind Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes.

“I think he’s in the box seat…he deserves it and he’s done the yards over here in Europe early doors. He’s been on the canvas a few times and got back up and that’s part of the rules.

“Daniel knows it will be a different challenge in a team like that, the pressure changes. Who knows what is going to happen, but we wish him all the best.”

Ricciardo thanked him for the encouragement.

“As Mark said, let’s see what happens. I’m not going to get my hopes up. I’ve still got to perform and produce what I’ve got to do and if it all works out then that will be exciting,” said the Perth-born driver.

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion who drives for Lotus, is seen as a frontrunner for the seat with Ricciardo’s French team mate Jean-Eric Vergne also in the reckoning.

GO Daniel we need more Aussies in this sport especially the ones from perth ,whilst Kimi is the obvious choice ,he will be notoriously hard to keep a lid on ,after all it is Vettels team

[ptrthgr8]

I never understood why there's only one tire manufacturer allowed. Why not have multiple tire companies? If competition among auto and motor manufacturers makes everything exciting (and it does!) then why wouldn't competition among tire companies not also have the same effect? I remember when NASCAR used to have Goodyear and Hoosier in the mix - I haven't watched NASCAR in more than 10 years, so not sure if that's still the case. But it sure was interesting to see how the two tire companies would try to out-do each other every race.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[Bartolomeo]

That race was an absolute disgrace and Ferrari simply got lucky - they did not have a podium-worthy car.

Pirelli needs to be put on notice. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

Please expand about the Ferrari part

[MIKA27]

I never understood why there's only one tire manufacturer allowed. Why not have multiple tire companies? If competition among auto and motor manufacturers makes everything exciting (and it does!) then why wouldn't competition among tire companies not also have the same effect? I remember when NASCAR used to have Goodyear and Hoosier in the mix - I haven't watched NASCAR in more than 10 years, so not sure if that's still the case. But it sure was interesting to see how the two tire companies would try to out-do each other every race.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

I completely agree and back in the day, even as late as the time Michelin pulled out in 2006, there was a "Tyre War" or competition amongst tyre manufacturers in Formula 1. I personally would love to see it return as Pirelli are making an absolute joke of the sport.

Bridgestone and Michelin could easily return and as far as I'm concerned, who cares if Pirelli have a contract for 2014, I'm certain with the amount of oversights they have created over the past couple years, especially the latest issue at Silverstone, there could be a clause that would allow the FIA to release them earlier than later...? Even without an excuse, we have all seen Drivers released under contract in F1.

I didn't mind the Silverstone race albeit for the tyre failures. Was great to see Fernando, Webber and Rosberg on the podium.

I was pleased to see Vettel DNF (Sorry Vettel followers ) This sport is all about skill and in some part, luck, I think Vettel is a driver who is great when he has a good car and has luck on his side whilst drivers like Alonso, Button, Webber, Hamilton (And I'm not a fan of Hamilton), Kimi, are the ones who adapt to a situation and bring a few challenges together to maximize the opportunity. Even Vettel relies on others bad luck to get ahead such as at Silverstone as Hamilton was absolutely sticking it until the Pirelli rubber gave way thus allowing Vettel to take the lead.

I would have loved to see how far Massa would have gone also had his tyre not blown because in the Silverstone race, Massa was way faster than Alonso. Felipe deserves a podium, so much unfortunate bad luck for many as a result of crappy tyres. Yep, Pirelli need to be put on notice.

[MIKA27]

Formula 1 responds to tyre exploding crisis by allowing more testing

The world of Formula 1 has already begun to respond to the crisis triggered by Sunday’s tyre-exploding British Grand Prix, with the sport’s bosses agreeing to unlimited testing in order to get the problems ironed out.

Earlier this year, because Pirelli insisted the problem was merely aesthetic rather than a matter of safety, a few teams blocked moves to introduce a new tyre to stop delaminations.

DPA news agency said the most powerful men in Formula 1 – Bernie Ecclestone and FIA president Jean Todt – met at Silverstone and arranged for Pirelli to be able to conduct two three-day tests.

Formula 1 chief executive Ecclestone said Pirelli can even use 2013 cars, even though the Italian marque’s recent test with Mercedes was scolded by the FIA.

“They can use what they like,” said Ecclestone. “No restrictions. None at all, so they can do what they want.”

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, hitting out at those resisting teams including Lotus, Ferrari and Force India, blamed the Silverstone chaos on their “short-sightedness”.

“It’s a sad state of affairs but such is the nature of Formula 1, really,” he is quoted by the Telegraph.

However, Lotus team boss Eric Boullier has reacted immediately to Silverstone by insisting that because it is now a safety issue, the team will no longer block any changes.

And Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary said on Monday that Ferrari and Force India have also now acknowledged “that safety came before their own competitive interests”.

Nonetheless, Force India owner Vijay Mallya has been quoted as questioning the seriousness of the tyre explosions, while Lotus’ Alan Permane told Auto Motor und Sport that Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean had no problems at all on Sunday.

Force India sporting director Otmar Szafnauer added: “We had no problems. Maybe it’s because we adhere strictly to Pirelli’s guidelines regarding tyre pressures and camber.”

The most immediate issue for Formula 1, however, is how to react to the Silverstone crisis just days ahead of the next race at the Nurburgring.

A step in the right direction is the immediate decision to relax Formula 1′s strict testing ban for Pirelli.

Sir Jackie Stewart is quoted by the Daily Mail: “They’ve got to open up the regulations and do as many tests as they need to drive in order to feel comfortable their (Pirelli’s) tyres are durable.”

[MIKA27]

Silverstone: Thousands of cars have gone over these kerbs and they’re absolutely fine

Silverstone’s owners hit back on Monday at suggestions that the circuit’s kerbs could be to blame for explosive Pirelli tyre failures at Sunday’s British Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Derek Warwick, President of the British Racing Drivers Club, said he had been out to look at the kerbs and dismissed as “absolute rubbish” reports that sharp edges might have cut the tyre sidewalls.

“These kerbs have been in since 2009. We’ve had thousands and thousands of cars go over these kerbs and they have been absolutely fine,” Warwick, an ex-F1 driver, told Sky Sports television.

“We’ve had them checked by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and they comply completely,” he added as a safety debate raged, with talk of a possible driver boycott of the next race in Germany.

The Briton said that the Silverstone race – in which strips of tread containing metal belts flew off the tyres and narrowly missed the heads of drivers following behind – had at one stage looked like a disaster in the making.

“We need to make sure it’s a good race here at Silverstone in order to bring the crowds back for next year so to say I was panicking would be an under-statement,” said Warwick.

He pointed the finger at Pirelli, the three teams who prevented the supplier from introducing a stronger version of the tyres for the race at Silverstone and the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

“I think Bernie, the FIA and Pirelli are bringing the sport into disrepute and they need to have a serious look at themselves and change these tyres and not expect all the teams to agree,” said Warwick.

“Take it out of the teams’ hands and put safe tyres on these cars,” he added.

Ferrari, Lotus and Force India have resisted moves to change the construction and compounds of the 2013 tyres, which other teams say are too quick-wearing and not hard enough, because their cars are working well with them.

“The teams need to look at themselves,” said Warwick. “They made the decision not to bring a new tyre. I kind of blame Pirelli but they did their best to bring a new tyre to Silverstone and three teams voted against it.”

The Pirelli tyres have come in for considerable criticism this season, with drivers also complaining that they have to pace themselves to make them last rather than racing flat out.

Pirelli have pointed outthat they are merely doing what they were asked to do to improve the show, providing tyres that encourage overtaking and force more pitstops. When they tried to change them, they were prevented from doing so.

The company has also chafed at the sporting regulations, which ban teams from track testing during the season and using their current cars to test with Pirelli.

The Italian company was controversially reprimanded by the FIA last month for carrying out a ‘secret’ tyre test with Mercedes in Spain.

Warwick, who played down talk of a possible driver boycott threatening next weekend’s German Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring, said the Italian company made good tyres but had not lived up to expectations.

“Pirelli and F1 need to have a really good look at themselves and make sure that we have tyres that drivers can drive flat out all the time,” said the Briton.

[MIKA27]

Drivers ready to boycott German GP if tyre safety not addressed

Formula 1 searched for answers on Monday in the aftermath of the headline-grabbing British Grand Prix tyre blowouts which has plunged the sport into crisis and triggered talk of a possible driver boycott in Germany this weekend.

Tyre supplier Pirelli, who have faced criticism from some teams since the start of the season, began an immediate investigation after four drivers suffered rear-left tyre failures at Silverstone.

Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa, who was almost killed by a small metal spring, shed from a car in front of him at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, would not rule out drivers considering a boycott if solutions were not in place for Sunday’s race at the Nuerburgring.

“I don’t want to say that [drivers would walk out] because I don’t want to create loads of problems but this is something that for our safety we can do,” he told reporters after he experienced one of the blowouts.

McLaren’s Sergio Perez, another victim of the exploding tyres, said drivers were risking their lives and needed assurances.

“If something like this happens again, we don’t want one of us to be killed,” he said.

Australian Mark Webber, second for Red Bull in the race, said it had been like Russian Roulette and he had been praying for a Safety Car because nobody knew who would be next.

Perez’s team principal Martin Whitmarsh warned that driver action could not be ruled out.

“I think there’s that danger [of a boycott] and rightly so,” he told Sky Sports television. “If the drivers and the teams can’t be convinced that they can do so safely, then they would have to resort to that.

“That’s not what we want for F1. We’ve faced some of these issues before. We had it in Indianapolis and that was terrible for the sport,” Whitmarsh said, referring to the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix when only six Bridgestone-shod cars started after problems with the Michelin rubber.

“So we’ve really got to work together. This is not a time to point fingers. It’s a time to work together, find the solution, get on with it.”

Whitmarsh expected something to change before cars appeared on track again in Germany and McLaren were not considering any drastic action at present.

The immediate question is whether the problem was track specific, with failures caused by debris or a particularly sharp kerb at Silverstone cutting into the tyres, or something related to the construction and design.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said on Sunday that the Italian company had ruled out the cause being linked to a new bonding process introduced just ahead of Silverstone.

He will join a meeting on Wednesday of Formula 1′s sporting working committee, although teams will want to see something tangible before then.

Pirelli had wanted to make more fundamental changes but needed the unanimous agreement of teams and some – notably Ferrari, Lotus and Force India – have objected because their cars are working well with the tyres.

This year’s tyres have a high-tensile steel belt under the tread – designed to make it hard for objects to penetrate and cause a sudden deflation – whereas the 2012 versions used a Kevlar belt.

The new bonding process was aimed at preventing embarrassing ‘delaminations’ experienced at previous races where the tread peeled away when penetrated by debris but the main body of the tyre beneath the belt remained inflated.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Whitmarsh both suggested reverting to the harder 2012 tyres for Germany but the calendar is not on F1′s side and substantial changes to the design of the tyres may have to wait until Hungary at the end of the month.

A stopgap solution might be to impose mandatory tyre pressures but that would be difficult to police, given the competitive advantage at stake.

“If we keep these tyres, we will have a safety issue,” said McLaren’s Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion. “We were lucky that nothing worse happened.

“Five tyre explosions, whether it is from debris or a tyre failure I don’t care. The result is still the same and the danger is the same.

The issues are plain to see. We are not going to let that go.”

[MIKA27]

Ferrari boss agrees with Alonso that car is not good enough

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has refused to rebuke Fernando Alonso for questioning the lagging development of the team’s 2013 car.

Spaniard Alonso qualified tenth but finished the British Grand Prix in third place, taking a bite out of Sebastian Vettel’s championship lead after the leading Red Bull broke down at Silverstone.

“We saw this weekend that the pace is not good enough,” he said afterwards.

Earlier, Alonso had pointed a finger at a trend of backwards development coming out of the Maranello factory.

“Fernando’s analysis is one that I share,” team boss Domenicali told the Italian newspaper La Stampa. “We have made the car worse.

“Now we need to analyse all the data to find the reasons for this step backwards, and [find] a solution. The drivers are in a difficult position psychologically, so it’s important to reassure them,” he added.

Domenicali also put his support behind Brazilian Felipe Massa, who has suffered multiple crashes in recent races, including yet another in Silverstone practice.

Some have suggested that the accidents are denting Massa’s chances of a 2014 contract.

“He needs to feel the confidence of the team, so that everything can be perfect in the next races,” said Domenicali. ”Adding pressure serves neither the driver or the team.”

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen getting mixed advice over F1 future

Two Formula 1 legends and multiple world champions fundamentally differ in opinion regarding Kimi Raikkonen’s best next move.

It is rumoured the 2007 world champion is the hot favourite to replace Red Bull’s Porsche-bound Mark Webber next season.

But Sir Jackie Stewart, a triple world champion turned consultant for Lotus team owner Genii, thinks becoming Sebastian Vettel’s teammate would be a bad move for the Finn.

“I wouldn’t want to go into the garage next to another top driver who for many years has established his place within that team,” the Scot told Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat.

Typically bluntly, however, fellow triple world champion Niki Lauda thinks 33-year-old Raikkonen should make the jump to Red Bull.

“If Kimi doesn’t go,” the Austrian legend told German newspaper Bild, “he’s a wimp.

“Yes, he might have to do a few more working days, but all that means is a few less drinking days!” Lauda added.

[MIKA27]

Test-gate haunts Mercedes as they find strong race pace

As Mercedes show marked improvement in their race pace and speeds ahead in Formula 1 with a dominant showing at Silverstone, tempers remain frayed and fingers are still pointing in the wake of the ‘test-gate’ scandal.

Many in the paddock believe that Mercedes’ dramatic turnaround – two wins in three races – since its secret Pirelli test is because of the unfair advantage gained by Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton over those 1000 highly controversial kilometres.

Asked if he still would have won at Silverstone if not for the Barcelona test, a defiant German Rosberg said on Sunday: “For sure. Definitely.”

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali, however, is not so sure.

“We have nothing to say,” he is quoted by Spain’s AS newspaper. “We avoid controversy and stay calm.”

Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda, however, blasted the paddock insinuations.

“I cannot [bear] this nonsense. Everything was finished with the [tribunal] ruling. So we are concentrating on racing,” said the Austrian legend.

Relations between Mercedes and Red Bull, who along with Ferrari filed the original protest and have been highly vocal about the Barcelona test, are particularly fraught.

Mercedes director Toto Wolff is believed to have made some crass comments about the Red Bull company in the German press last week.

He justified his counterpunch by insisting to Tagesspiegel that “there is a limit and Red Bull exceeded it”, and admitting that his comments might have “made Dietrich Mateschitz spit out his cereal”.

“Eloquent. Very eloquent,” Red Bull’s Helmut Marko hit back. According to Kleine Zeitung, Marko has vowed only to deal with Lauda in the future.

“At least [Lauda] is a man of character,” said Marko.

MIKA: What a load of rubbish. Mercedes have had a great pace since the mid stint of 2012. The problem was, that they couldn't make the pace last the entire race as shown many times by Schumacher and Rosberg. If Mercedes have benefited through testing, then why did Hamilton share the same fate as the other 5 drivers who had blow outs at Silverstone?

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Hulkenberg salary on hold as Sauber hits financial trouble

Nico Hulkenberg is the victim of a financial crisis at Swiss team Sauber, the German newspaper Bildreports.

It was reported on Sunday that, as the Hinwil based team runs out of money, development of the uncompetitive C32 has stopped, and suppliers’ bills are going unpaid.

The Swiss newspaper Blick said that Sauber is desperately waiting for a new sponsor, believed to be Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, to sign up.

Bild correspondents Helmut Uhl and Nicola Pohl claim that Hulkenberg is yet to be paid for May.

Team boss Monisha Kaltenborn confirmed: “It’s true, we’re in trouble at the moment, but we will get out of it again, and in any case will still be here at the end of the season.”

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Australia may retain season opening slot in 2014

Australia may retain the opening slot on the 2014 calendar, despite reports that the sport’s controversial Bahrain race could steal Melbourne’s thunder as the scene of next year’s championship opener.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker was in London last week for talks with Bernie Ecclestone.

“We will be the first race [in 2014],” Walker told the Australian Financial Review afterwards. ”Everything is going to plan for that.”

The situation was expected to be cleared up late last week, when the World Motor Sport Council met at Goodwood. But, unusually, a provisional calendar was not published.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone, however, has backed his friend and ally Walker’s claim that Australia will still host the opening race next March.

“No, we aren’t making Bahrain the first race next year,” the 82-year-old told F1 business journalist and Formula Money editor Christian Sylt last week. ”I think we will keep it as it is. It is just a rumour that it will change.”

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Lewis Hamilton now hopeful on Formula 1 title chances

Lewis Hamilton feels Mercedes is now back in the world championship hunt after Nico Rosberg's victory in the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton's own victory hopes were dashed by a tyre blow-out while leading, but the fact that he could stage a fight back to fourth, allied to Rosberg holding on at the front, showed that Mercedes has made a huge step forward with its degradation issues.

And although Hamilton is still 43 points adrift of leader Sebastian Vettel in the standings, he thinks that the team is now able to put pressure on Red Bull.

"While there was all this talk about tyres and everything, there are massive positives to take out of this weekend," said Hamilton after the British Grand Prix.

"The team and Nico won, and we got some good points. We are second in the constructors' championship now, which is a real big plus.

"I am grateful I could come back through the field and get the points that I did, because I am now 43 points off Sebastian and we have a good car.

"We are improving. Just look at the improvements we have made for tyre degradation."

When asked if he believed he could actually win the title, Hamilton said: "I am just trying to stay within shooting distance and stay within the fight. That is all I am focusing on at the moment."

Hamilton has yet to win a race this year, but with Mercedes' form having stepped up recently he is convinced his moment will come soon.

"I look forward to the next races and I hope we can do something positive. I am sure at some stage my time will come."

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Sauber plays down loss of design chief Matt Morris to McLaren

Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn insists the loss of former chief designer Matt Morris is not a major setback to the team.

It emerged at Silverstone that Morris had informed Sauber of his intention to move to McLaren, where he will take up the role of engineering director.

Morris, who has yet to leave Sauber officially, has been replaced as chief designer by the promoted Eric Gandelin today.

"It's just part of the natural movement that happens in the paddock," Kaltenborn said.

"People decide to change teams and we have a replacement who I am very confident is the right person to take up this job and the challenges.

"In our business, you never have much warning [of such a move] and that is part of it.

"You have to be able to react very quickly and we have resolved it."

Kaltenborn expects the handover from Morris to Gandelin to be largely seamless.

Gandelin, who worked for the Prost team before moving to Sauber when the French squad folded, has been integral in the car concept.

"He has been our head of concept for quite a while and has been very closely linked with the design office.

"The timing is not bad for Eric to step in because he did the concept and he can carry that straight through to design now."

McLaren and Sauber have yet to formalise the timing of Morris's switch.

But Kaltenborn expects this problem to be solved soon, which should lead to Morris starting at McLaren this year.

"I think we will have it resolved very quickly," she said.