FORMULA 1 - 2013

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Hulkenberg on radar for McLaren, Lotus and Force India race seats

Media reports have emerged suggesting that German Nico Hulkenberg is in the running not only for a seat at Lotus, but is also a contender for McLaren should an opening arise at the Woking based squad in 2014.

That is the claim of the German magazine Sport Bild, who said that even a return to Force India has not been ruled out.

Hulkenberg, 26, admitted in Singapore last weekend that moving from Force India to Sauber last winter might have been a mistake.

“Well, regret is a big word,” he told the British broadcaster Sky, “but if you move teams you want to progress, you want to move forward.”

Hulkenberg came close to a deal with Ferrari for 2014, until the Italian team secured Kimi Raikkonen’s high-profile return.

Sport Bild said that Lotus is now the strongest option for Hulkenberg, amid rumours that a looming sponsor deal between Arab investors and the Enstone based team has ruled Felipe Massa out of the equation.

The report said thatwhile Hulkenberg is on the cusp of becoming Raikkonen’s successor, the door at McLaren might be slightly ajar.

Sport Bild also said that there are rumours about Sergio Perez’s Mexican backer Telmex being behind in its payments to the Woking based team.

That Hulkenberg is waiting for McLaren before signing a Lotus contract would tie in with the very latest rumours – that Lotus is now considering the sponsor millions which Brazilian GP2 driver Felipe Nasr could bring.

Hulkenberg’s manager Werner Heinz said: “Nothing is signed, but we are in a good position.”

Separately, it is believed that Raikkonen’s switch to Ferrari has sealed Lotus’ intention to keep Romain Grosjean on board for another season.

The team’s trackside boss Alan Permane thinks that the Frenchman is ready to step into a leading role.

“Obviously it depends who he has as his teammate, a strong character or who [it may be],” he said. “But I don’t see why not.

“Now’s his chance – and he looks to be taking it, which is really good to see.”

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Minardi: It’s not my intention to devalue Vettel, I just want to tell what I saw

Giancarlo Minardi writes about his suspicions regarding Sebastian Vettel’s dominance in Singapore

Ahead of the Korean Grand Prix, the 14 the round of the 2013 Formula 1 Championship, I would like to bring back all the wonderful memories linked to my experience at the Marina Bay Street Circuit and make some remarks about my visit to the Singapore Grand Prix, which I’d like to share with you and try to find some answers.

I will start by saying that I was enthralled by the Singapore background. It was a brand new experience, which was completely different from any other experience I was used to live (the circuit opens only in the afternoon and closes at late night). I had the chance to monitor all drivers’ on-track deeds from a suite located at the end of the pit’s straight (which leads to the first chicane). The monitor I used to watch the race displayed also all drivers’ lap times.

Since I left Singapore, I’ve been keeping in my mind the 2.5 seconds advantage of Vettel over his teammate Webber and the other drivers.

By this statement it’s not my intention to devalue Sebastian Vettel, who always manages his Red Bull the best way and I don’t want even to jab at anyone, I just want to tell what I personally saw and heard during that three-day-event.

According to my experience, I think that a 2.5 seconds advantage each lap is really too much. It’s like a three-generation development gap, it’s a huge gap. Furthermore, the time gap between Vettel and Romain Grosjean in FP3 and the Red Bull’s driver and Rosberg in qualifying was only few tenths. The German driver could have played cat and mouse on Saturday, anyway, something is still not clear for me.

Doubt 1: From my suite, I chose some mainstays as a reference point in order to monitor and compare the drivers’ way of driving.

My mainstays were the kerbstones located on the corner which leads to Republic Boulevard. Their function is to avoid passing on the kerb. I was impressed by Vettel’s neat way of driving on that stretch of the track. He was able to drive all that stretch without making any corrections, unlike all his rivals (also his teammate). His laptime was also remarkable in T3, which is the track’s sector with the highest concentration of corners.

Doubt 2: On the same stretch, Sebastian was able to speed up 50 metres before any other driver, Webber included. Whilst all the other drivers sped up on the same stretch, Vettel was able to speed up before them. The thing that surprised me the most was the RB9 engine’s output sound. Besides speeding up 50 metres before any other driver, the Renault engine of the German’s car grinded like no other French engines on track, neither like Mark’s. That sound was similar to the sound made by the engine when the traction control system got into action in the past seasons.

Furthermore, that sound was only heard when Vettel chalked up his excellent performances. For example, after the Safety Car went off, he took a great re-start and chalked up many excellent laps, gaining a 32 seconds gap over Alonso, then he leveled off, taking precautions in the case he would have had to pit one more time. In those moments the Renault engine was more powerful than any other engines (Renault and other brands).

These are some of the aspects:

1. Vettel’s very neat way of driving;
   
2. Vettel’s ability to accelerate 50 metres before the other drivers;
   
3. The abnormal sound of the RB9’s Renault engine;
   
4. Vettel’s more than 2 second advantage over the rivals.
   

That make me think and I would like to have some answers. All those doubts are even more serious if we consider that Webber wasn’t able to do that, since he’s a common human being….I don’t want to blame anyone , I just would like to get into the depth of the matter. (Giancarlo Minardi)

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Raikkonen: We will see how my back is when I get out on track on Friday in Korea

After returning to the podium in Singapore with a superb drive through the field having nursed a back injury, Kimi Raikkonen is aiming to keep the momentum going as the Formula 1 circus heads to Korea for Round 14 of the World Championship.

How’s the back?

It’s better than it was on Saturday in Singapore which is when it didn’t feel too good. The important thing was that I was able to race and we did a pretty good job with the podium finish. It’s not the first time I’ve had a problem, as there have been some issues with my back for a long time. For sure, we will have to see how it is when I get out on track on Friday in Korea.

What are your hopes for Korea?

Let’s hope we are able to maintain the strong form from Sunday in Singapore. The car felt good for the whole race and it was a nice feeling racing too. The main focus is to keep this positive feeling and benefit from it in the next races.

What do you think of the Korea International Circuit?

Last year was my first visit there and it’s quite a tricky circuit to learn quickly, but I felt comfortable with it after a few laps. When the car is right, you can go well there. Last year we saw it’s a good place to race with a good car.

How satisfying was your return to the podium in Singapore after two difficult races?

You always want to get the best finish and the most points you can, so it was certainly better than Spa or Monza. I had pretty good speed and could overtake a few people, then at the end I was following Jenson [button] and could see that his tyres were going off so I just applied some pressure. I knew I had to get past him because obviously some other people had changed to new tyres and they were catching us quickly. I managed to pass him and pull away and luckily nobody managed to catch me in the end. So it was not too bad; especially after a weekend where we had some problems with my back and not the ideal setup. To finish third with all those things and where we were on the grid, I don’t think we could have asked much more.

Your pass on Jenson looked pretty good, around the outside at Turn 14…

Maybe it looked more tricky than it was. Obviously you have more grip when you brake on the racing line and you know more or less where you have to brake; much more than you do on the inside. It wasn’t an easy one but we managed to get past and that’s the main thing.

Once again the E21 seemed to enable better tyre performance in the race that some of its rivals; how much does this help you?

It’s pretty normal that different cars and drivers use their tyres differently. We had a plan and we knew that if the safety car came out we would have to try to run until the end. Luckily some other teams couldn’t manage it and had to pit.

What’s your objective for Korea?

The main target is to have a better weekend overall compared to what we saw in Singapore. Obviously, we didn’t have the best qualifying and it makes things easier if you start in the top ten.

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Whitmarsh: Sadly, improving our position looks impossible

How the mighty have fallen, one could say of the state of affairs at McLaren, where a team which last year powered to seven wins has fallen to also ran status – with not a podium in sight – and the team boss has no confidence that much can be done except for consolidating their fifth position in the Constructors’ Championship.

This from a team which won the final two races of the 2012 season, scoring seven wins during course of that year and finishing comfortably third in the Constructors’ Championship.

Speaking ahead of the Korean Grand Prix weekend Martin Whitmarsh said, “We go into these final races with the very clear intention of consolidating our position in the Constructors’ Championship. While improving our position sadly looks impossible, it’s important to consistently achieve top-10 finishes with both drivers in order to strengthen our points cushion over our closest rivals behind.”

The team boss added, “After 13 races, and with the prospect of many more weeks spent on the road and thousands of miles spent away from home, it’s essential to remain fit, focused and dedicated in order to stave off the inevitable burnout that comes at the end of such a long year.”

The team’s senior driver Jenson Button goes to Korea intent on reversing a spate of poor results at the venue.

“If there’s one circuit on the F1 calendar that hasn’t been particularly kind to me, then it’s the track in Korea. I had a pretty tough race there in 2010, an average race there in 2011, and I didn’t even have a race there last year – someone smashed into me at Turn Three on the first lap, and my race was [immediately] over.”

But his ambitions are similar to those of his boss, “I think it’s very important for us to further consolidate our position in the championship, so getting points in both Korea and Japan will be important.”

Whitmarsh is only too aware of the state of affairs with a team which has 12 drivers’ titles and eight constructors’ in its repertoire, and now is scrambling for crumbs at the wrong end of the table.

“That may not be a particularly glamorous task for a team that enjoys winning,” mused Whitmarsh. “But it nonetheless calls for constant application, focus and commitment as we count down the remaining races during this important phase of the season.”

In the three editions of the Korean GP, McLaren have yet to win at the venue. Lewis Hamilton’s second place in the 2011 race is there best result to date.

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Barrichello could race for Sauber at Interlagos

Rubens Barrichello’s return to the Formula 1 grid – as a driver – could actually happen this season at his home race.

It emerged late last week that the Brazilian veteran, who lost his Williams seat at the end of 2011, could be a surprize contender to race alongside the highly inexperienced Sergey Sirotkin at Sauber next year.

But highly respected Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio claims 41-year-old Barrichello – the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history – could even race the Sauber at his home race at Interlagos for November’s 2013 finale.

Oricchio say’s that Barrichello is currently not answering his phone.

“He just sent a message saying ‘who knows’,” Oricchio wrote in O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper.

Oricchio said that F1 chief executive Ecclestone answered “good” when told of the prospect of Barrichello’s return.

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Berger: Vettel will break Schumacher’s F1 records

Formula 1 veteran and former team owner Gerhard Berger thinks it is possible that Sebastian Vettel will break Michael Schumacher’s impressive tally of records.

Not too long ago, former Formula 1 driver and team co-owner Berger was among those who regarded Schumacher’s title and victory records as unassailable.

The Austrian has now changed his mind.

“Sebastian can break Michael Schumacher’s records,” he told Servus TV, referring to Schumacher’s huge tally of seven titles and 91 wins.

“He is quite clearly already in that direction, and I think he will do it,” said Berger, who was Vettel’s team boss at Toro Rosso when the German won his first race in 2008.

“He’s not even 30 and he’s already a four-time World Champion,” said Berger, who obviously assumes that Vettel will convert his points lead into a fourth consecutive drivers’ title this season.

“[Vettel's career success so far] is really incredible,” Berger added.

Indeed, even Toto Wolff – Mercedes’ competition boss – thinks Vettel could continue his run of form into 2014.

Bernie Ecclestone said recently that the huge rules shake-up could produce a different winner next year, but Wolff is quoted by the Telegraph: “The performance is being driven by people, and with people staying where they are in the top teams, I don’t see [that] there will be a big swing in the balance of power.”

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Caterham does one race deal with Renault Samsung Motors for Korea

There will be a subtle change in branding at the Korean Grand Prix on both Caterham F1 Team racecars, in the team’s garage and on the overalls of race drivers Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde as the Renault name and Losange diamond will be replaced by the logos of Renault Samsung Motors (RSM).

RSM – a partly owned Renault subsidiary developing and retailing vehicles in the fast-growing South Korean automobile market – will use the Korean GP, one of the country’s most high-profile events, to promote its brand within the notoriously competitive domestic market.

As part of an extensive 360° marketing plan within Korea, an opportunity facilitated and fully supported by Renault and Renault Sport F1, the RSM logo will substitute all Renault branding on the Caterham F1 Team cars, garage panels and race driver overalls for the entire race weekend.

The traditional Renault branding will return for the Japanese GP a week later.

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'New deal equates to £170m for FIA'

Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly handed over an estimated £170 million to the FIA in order to secure the recently announced Concorde Agreement.

Last week, the FIA confirmed that a Concorde Agreement had finally been signed off by motorsport's governing body and Bernie Ecclestone.

The FIA said in a statement that "this agreement provides the FIA with significantly improved financial means to pursue its regulatory missions and to reflect the enhanced role undertaken by the FIA in the Motor Sport."

And according to Kevin Eason at The Times, those improved finances are to the tune of "£124 million" over the eight years of the Agreement with a "cash sweetener worth more than £3 million simply to sign the deal."

Added to that, he reports that "there is also the offer of a 1 per cent share stake in the F1 business, if and when it is floated on the Singapore Stock Exchange. That alone could be worth $70 million to the FIA at present estimates."

However, it's not just Bernie who is forking out more and more to the FIA.

Increased entry fees from the teams will rake in another "£3 million a year" for the FIA, the "equivalent to a total package worth almost $133 million over the lifetime of the deal."

There's a bit of good news for Marussia, though, as having gone without, they have finally been offered a commercial deal by Ecclestone.

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'Massa would be an asset'

Ferrari deputy chief designer Simone Resta believes any team would be lucky to have Felipe Massa on the pay roll.

This season will be Massa's last with Ferrari after the Scuderia opted to replace the Brazilian with 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Massa, though, is determined to see that his departure from Ferrari does not spell the end of his F1 career and is believed to be in a talks with several teams including Lotus.

Asked by Autosport whether he felt Massa 'would be a valuable asset for another team in 2014', Resta said: "I think so.

"He is quite an experienced guy. He has been driving at a high level for us since 2007 so has a lot of experience."

Resta also praised Massa's work during his time with Ferrari which saw the 32-year-old narrowly miss out on the 2008 World title.

"Felipe has been a great team player. You can consider his effort on the simulator side, his support in developing items through the weekend, testing things.

"And when the team asks him, he has always been very good and open in supporting his team-mate on several occasions for several reasons."

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Kalternborn talks Sauber drivers

Monisha Kalternborn concedes that while Nico Hulkenberg has been "absolutely good" at Sauber, the team has failed to live up to expectations.

With all the rumours flying around it appears to be only a matter of time before Hulkenberg confirms that he is leaving Sauber at the end of this season.

Having lost out on a 2014 Ferrari driver, the German is believed to be leading the chase to replace Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus.

For now, though, he remains a Sauber driver with his team boss conceding that this season - what looks to be Hulkenberg's first and last at the team - has not gone according to plan.

"When you look back to when we announced the partnership, we saw Nico's performance which impressed us," Kalternborn told the official F1 website. "At the same time I assume he saw the team's performance, which was somewhat different to what it is this year.

"Based on this - and, of course, we are all aware of the risks in Formula One - and keeping in mind that the rule changes were not that big for 2013, we both entered our cooperation with high expectations. And not just of each other, but of ourselves - we also had high expectations for us. Unfortunately those expectations were not fulfilled.

"We know more or less where we went wrong, but unfortunately it is a situation where you cannot simply implement what you want. We know that what we have done so far has moved us in the right direction, so if we could have done this before who knows what would have happened with our season? But that is, of course, pure speculation. Keeping that in mind I think we both adjusted to the situation.

"I must be very fair and say that the performance Nico has shown so far is always been absolutely good. There is nothing in that respect where we as a team could say we were disappointed. The potential that the car had, Nico always brought it out."

Pressed as to whether Hulkenberg has not given Sauber time to turn their fortunes around, F1's only female team boss refused to point the finger at her driver.

"Well, we've had these situations before and I don't think that there are any hard and fast rules," she said. "Drivers come, drivers go. Hopefully the team stays and - in our case - remains the fourth oldest."

As for Hulkenberg's team-mate Esteban Gutierrez, Kaltenborn insists he has delivered what was expected of him despite having not claimed a single World Championship point.

"Absolutely," she said. "He went through a rough ride at the beginning, but he has come out of it very well.

"He has matured over the course of the races - on the technical side too - but the unfortunate part is simply that the results don't actually reflect his improvements and his level of performance. That's maybe one point where we as a team have to somehow help him - and if you put it all together he can do that."

The Indian team boss, though, refused to comment on whether the Mexican racer will remain at the team next season. "We will announce our driver line-up - which we always do for one year - when the time is right."

Also questioned about Russian teenager Sergio Sirotkin, who made his F1 debut during a demo run at the Sochi circuit earlier this week, Kaltenborn insisted that despite his age he will race next season.

"We have Sergei Sirotkin under contract and it is our intention that in 2014 he will be one of our drivers.

"We are convinced by him: he is a young and talented driver. Of course, to say now how he will really do on the track would be mere speculation, but we feel that from the ingredients he brings - and from what everybody could see in Monza - the basis is good. With all this we have a good feeling about preparing him for his super license and then to get him in."

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Alain Prost: F1 2014 engine reliability problems inevitable

Alain Prost believes all three engine manufacturers will suffer from unreliability at the start of the 2014 Formula 1 season, when the new 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 regulations are introduced.

The four-times world champion expects Renault, for which he is an ambassador, Mercedes and Ferrari all to hit reliability problems because of the demands of the new technology.

But it will not be until pre-season testing starts in late January that the extent of the problems, if any, manifest themselves.

"I can tell you, for sure we are going to have some reliability problems, in the beginning especially," Prost said.

"We will see if it is only in private testing in the winter, but nobody knows at the moment.

"In a way it's good because we are at the beginning with this technology, like we had with the turbos [in the 1970s and 80s].

"We all need to accept that sometimes it is going to be a problem.

"Reliability is always an issue. It's an issue because you have the engine and the turbo, but there are electrical parts, wires, different systems.

"Even if everything is OK, you then have the integration with the car and different aspects like temperature and vibration."

Prost insists it is important for F1 and the fans to accept the early teething problems.

He believes that, in the long-term, the fans will find the performance variations between the various engines an interesting storyline, which will also boost the profile of the manufacturers.

"We all need to accept that sometimes it is going to be a problem," said Prost.

"The public will understand it is a new technology and it is not reliable, but slowly they will see that you get the performance, the reliability, the fuel consumption.

"It's very good for the automobile industry and the three, or maybe four [when Honda joins in 2015] constructors.

"I remember the way we were in the 80s when Renault didn't have a good image and then F1 helped them very much."

Although he does not expect reliability to be perfect at first, Prost underlined that Renault is on target with work on its new engine.

While Renault has a clear idea of the overall performance of its engine thanks to dyno work, he expects performance to continue to improve.

"Everything is on target, everything is OK," said Prost.

"Everybody is very cautious about what they do and what they say because it is a completely new technology.

"Performance, more or less, we are going to know where we are so it is going to make a progression slowly."

RENAULT TURBO RELIABILITY

When Renault brought turbo engines back into Formula 1 at the 1977 British Grand Prix, it suffered from serious reliability problems early on.

But gradually, the finishing record of its works team improved, although in 1983 Prost lost the drivers' championship after two turbo problems in the final three races of the season.

Finishes by season 1977-1985

Based on number of classified finishes, irrespective of whether the car took the chequered flag.

1977

4 starts, 0 finishes

1978

14 starts, 4 finishes

1979

28 starts, 8 finishes

1980

27 starts, 11 finishes

1981

29 starts, 14 finishes

1982

32 starts, 14 finishes

1983

30 starts, 19 finishes

1984

32 starts, 12 finishes

1985

31 starts, 15 finishes

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Mercedes: we must beat Ferrari to second in F1 standings

Mercedes think it is vital that it beats Ferrari to second place in the constructors' championship this year.

With Red Bull now all but assured of its fourth consecutive world title double, the focus of Ferrari and Mercedes is on ending the year as its nearest challenger.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff thinks achieving that ambition is imperative, not only because of financial benefits but because it will show its team is ready to step up for a full-on title tilt on 2014.

"It is important," said Wolff about ending the year as runner-up. "We have made a step forward and, at the moment, it looks like we are okay for third.

"But we are still very motivated and want to be at least the second best."

Although Mercedes has taken just one podium finish since the summer break and has slipped back to third in the standings, Wolff still thinks the team is faster than Ferrari.

"I'm obviously biased, but if I look at the performance of the car - even in the Singapore race - I would say we are number two at the moment.

"It's just the performance curve flattens out as you keep improving. It is something you see at the end of the season, and it is normal.

"But we are keeping to put parts on the car, and there are still points we are gaining."

Although ending the year as runner-up would be a good platform for 2014, Wolff admits that Red Bull's current advantage means the outfit will start next season as favourites one again.

"Performance is being driven by people, and because people are staying where they are in most of the top teams I don't think there will be a big swing in the balance between the top teams," he said.

"It could be a bit more of an engine formula next year, but again if you look at the infrastructure Ferrari has in Maranello, and the French in Viry, they are equally as motivated as we are. I don't see huge differences."

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Analysis: Vettels astonishing speed in Singapore

One of the most commented aspects of the Singapore Grand Prix was the astonishing speed of Sebastian Vettel, particularly in the opening laps and the initial laps after the safety car. There have been many questions about how this was achieved and some interesting observations, such as Giancarlo Minardi’s comments about a strange sound coming from Vettel’s exhaust in these phases.

Here with the input of F1 technical adviser Mark Gillan, former Williams F1 team chief operations engineer, is their analysis of Vettel’s speed and a consideration of why it was so noticeable in Singapore and whether it is here to stay for the rest of the 2013 season.

Graphic: Mark Gillan

It is clear that Red Bull has made a big improvement in performance since the summer break. Compare the lap time charts from Singapore (above) and German Grands Prix (below). The numbers down the vertical axis are the lap times in seconds, with the lower times at the bottom. The number of laps in the race are across the horizontal axis.

In terms of relative pace to the others, Vettel and Red Bull were quite closely matched in Germany (below), but have obviously moved a long way ahead in Singapore.

Graphic: Mark Gillan

Mercedes had the edge in Hungary in July, where there are also plenty of sub 130km/h corners. Hamilton’s pace, when not held up by traffic, is still quite good, but Vettel has a clear one second advantage in the early part of the race and more like 1.5 to 2 seconds in the period after the safety car (the blue line in the centre of the graphic which loops much lower than any other run).

This post Safety car phase is probably an accurate reflection of the true pace of the car fully extended, as Vettel and Red Bull were looking to build a big gap as he had to stop again and he didn’t want to come out behind one of the cars, like Alonso, Raikkonen or Button, who were going to the finish on the same set of tyres.

It’s quite rare to see a race so utterly dominated by a car and driver combination. Having built a gap early in the race, he backs off and manages the tyres and the gap to his first stop. But the safety car made him work to get the advantage back and he had huge pace, with very limited tyre degradation.

So where has the pace come from and will it show up as dramatically as this in Korea and Japan?

The key to this is that Red Bull has done a lot of work on traction out of low speed corners. On average, across all the tracks in the F1 championship, 25% of the lap time is spent below 130km/h on corner exits. It is the most significant single area to focus on. So if you can make a significant gain in that area, you can get effectively a 25% improvement, which will show in your lap time.

Singapore is an extreme example as it has 23 corners and many of them are below 130km/h – so all the gain Red Bull has been working for will show up on a track like that. This will be less the case in Suzuka, which is a fast, flowing circuit, but it will probably show up in the first and final sectors in Korea, which will be pretty good to the team. Much of the work has gone on in the diffuser area, which generates the key downforce for the low speed corners in conjunction with the exhausts, although off-throttle blowing (where the throttle stays open even when the driver lifts off) is banned.

Also contributing to Red Bull’s dominance in the corner exit area is work they have done in the wind tunnel on high steer characteristics, when the car is turning and in yaw (ie leaning). Red Bull chassis have always had very high amounts of downforce, but here they’ve worked to ensure that it isn’t just about high load, it’s about the stability of the load, which is a big focus. Red Bull has always been able to push the diffuser hard in the high speed corners, the key to their speed now is that they have tuned it to work at low speed.

Red Bull wheel

Also helping them is the Pirelli move to the harder specification tyres, since Hungary. They have won three of the four races on the new spec tyres. Beyond that, like Mercedes they have done work on the inside of the wheel rims in the field of thermal management and heat rejection. The slots and texturing in the magnesium alloy rims work on flow through the rim. It’s a complex piece of work and quite expensive to do, but it helps with managing the temperature of these tricky Pirelli tyres.

This thermal management work has allowed Vettel to run a longer first stint than his rivals and to balance out his stops perfectly in recent races.

The team has also raised its game with the pit stops: in Singapore four of the five fastest stops in the race were done by Red Bull.

One intriguing note on all of this comes from Italy, where former team owner Giancarlo Minardi spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport after Singapore and observed that he had been trackside in a hospitality unit and heard what he thought sounded like traction control, a stuttering sound in the exhaust note of Vettel’s car, during the post safety car period.

Needless to say this has picked up some echoes around the internet, as everyone looks for reasons for Vettel’s dominance. While there does seem to be some work being undertaken in engine mapping to work around the ban on exhaust blowing, which may have contributed to the strange sound, the issue of traction control is broadly taken care of by the common Electronic Control Unit, which is manufactured for the FIA by McLaren Electronics. Because the unit is specified and the same for every team, it is hard to conceal a traction control command in what is essentially a spec part.

Rather than traction control, some kind of mapping to blow into the exhaust within the rules is more likely and this all fits with the corner exit work that Red Bull has been carrying out.

Overall it’s an impressive piece of work in this field of low speed corner exits; all the more so when you consider that they had also recently done a very impressive piece of work on the low-dowforce configuration of the car for Spa and particularly Monza, both of which they won comfortably. Red Bull has huge resources, but so do Ferrari and Mercedes.

This work shows how effectively they use those resources in terms of technical development. And with Vettel clearly maturing and stepping up a gear as a driver this season, far more measured in his qualifying and race performances, the combination is devastating. It shows what the rest are up against.

Success in sport isn’t just about doing your job properly, it’s about never giving anything away to the opposition. A brilliant footballer can dribble around 3 players and score a wonder goal, but if one of his defenders makes a mistake and gives the opposition an easy goal, it nullifies the adavantage.

Michael Schumacher brought this mentality to F1 together with Ferrari in the 2000s – never giving anything away, push everything to the limit all the time and in this he was supported by his team, with the key management figures all sharing the vision.

To be successful in F1 today you have to have this mentality and never let it slip. Red Bull Racing and Vettel have understood this and they have the limitless financial backing to support it.

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Ferrari to use free practice to test development parts with 2014 in mind

With little chance of winning either Formula 1 world championship title this year, Ferrari are looking to use the remaining free practice sessions of the season to develop parts for their 2014 car.

Speaking ahead of the Korean Grand Prix weekend the team’s engineering director Pat Fry revealed, “We’ve still got some developments coming through for the next few races and we will be running and testing them to continue to try and improve the car.”

“For 2014, because of the much larger changes to the cars on the engine side and also the aero aspect, it’s naturally much harder to test components now, but there will be some small development bits we can run during this year’s remaining free practice, looking more on the reliability front than anything else, which means we have busy Fridays planned for the next six races.”

There have been mutterings from the Maranello camp that the decision by Pirelli to change their F1 tyre construction, in the aftermath of the Silverstone blow-outs, impacted the F138 negatively and turned the tide in favour of their rivals, particulalry Red Bull.

Ferrri design chief Nikolas Tombazis said, “Our efforts will be partly aimed at continuing to understand better the tyres and tyre management, which might see some improvement compared to our competitors.”

He explained, “Change occurred after the German GP, when the tyre belt changed from being metallic to being made of Kevlar.

However, it would be somewhat superficial to blame the tyres as the only reason for our decrease in performance. We also took some development steps that were not as strong and didn’t work.”

Nevertheless Tomabzis also revealed that the Italian squad have not yet thrown in the towel with regards to the current season, “We are bringing small aero updates [to Korea]. One should not expect these to dramatically affect the final result but we feel they will bring some improvement.”

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Hembery: We are expecting a journey into the unknown with the new 2014 cars

The days where grand prix races are spiced-up by deliberately heavily-degrading Pirelli tyres could be over, as the Italian manufacturer seeks to create less headlines in 2014 which Paul Hembery has described as a journey into the unknown.

Since the tyre-exploding crisis earlier this season, and the mid-year shift from steel to Kevlar-belted tyres, Pirelli has also been taking more conservative compound choices to the races.

Very recently, it has culminated in less exiting grands prix, and runaway championship leader Sebastian Vettel’s tight grip on the second half of the season.

For 2014, despite the radical engine rules shift, little will change on the tyre front.

“We will take a very conservative strategy,” Pirelli boss Paul Hembery told Auto Motor und Sport.

“We will take the worst-case simulation as the basis for the development of the tyre structure.”

Hembery argues that Pirelli has been pushed in that direction by the teams, who are not overly willing to help with tyre development for 2014.

Indeed, even the attempt to test with a representative car – Mercedes’ current W04 – ended spectacularly badly for both the German team and Formula 1′s tyre supplier.

Now, Pirelli is having to conduct 1000 kilometre tests with two-year old cars, such as the one with Red Bull in Barcelona recently.

“It went well, as far as we can tell,” said Hembery. “The car is three seconds faster than our Lotus test car. But we are still expecting a journey into the unknown with the new 2014 cars.”

Even a post-race test in Brazil after the 2013 season finale has now been cancelled.

“It (the tyre development situation) is because of the paranoia of the teams,” said Hembery. ”What we need in order to do our job, unfortunately doesn’t fit with what the teams want. And nobody is coming up with a solution.”

There is also uncertainty about Pirelli’s longer-term future in F1.

The FIA has finally rubber-stamped the marque’s presence on the grid beyond 2013, but a statement said that is just a “transition period” because Bernie Ecclestone and the teams had already agreed deals with Pirelli.

“Pirelli has five year agreements signed with Ecclestone and the teams and expects that these [will be] respected,” said La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Andrea Cremonesi.

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Review: Rush’s greatest triumph is in its depiction of Hunt and Lauda as heroes

Today’s Formula 1 is characterised by design regulations which govern every aspect of a car down to the millimeter, aerodynamicists who use computational fluid dynamics to design the car thus largelystandardizing the cars on the grid, homogenized race tracks that have been designed or redesigned by Herman Tilke, and drivers who lack personality and prefer to talk in PR-speak rather than their native language.

Because of all this it can be very easy to forget that there was once a time when each track was unique, the cars were magnificent and fearsome beasts designed to the very edge of both the regulations and beyond the realms of what passed for safety, and the drivers were larger than life, with huge personalities and the chance to become heroes.

Rush, directed by Ron Howard, takes us back to the mid 1970s, when the horsepower produced by a Formula 1 engine exceeded the aerodynamic and braking capabilities of the car, and safety was an afterthought both in the car and on the track.

The movie is a chronicle and character study of the rivalry between two of the most famous personalities of the time; James Hunt the ill-disciplined and gregarious playboy who lived fast, drove faster and never met a drink or a girl he didn’t love, and Niki Lauda the self-possessed, arrogant and humourless professional who knew it all and loved to prove it to people over and over again, and never refrained from saying exactly what was on his mind. In this the movie is excellent.

The script is exceptionally well written and brings out the personalities of both men, their initial hatred for one another and their growing friendship, very strongly.

Rush is not a racing movie, per se, although it is a study of the very different driving styles of Hunt and Lauda and how these styles were reflections of their personalities: ‘Hunt the Shunt’ was a hard charging driver who never backed down from a challenge on the track and often ended up wrecking his car or blowing up the engine.

Lauda was much more calculated about his driving, taking into account the risks involved in every maneuver on the track. The racing scenes are directed and shot extremely well, but they do take a back seat to the bigger picture of the story.

The movie’s story is told episodically, and revolves around Lauda’s near-fatal accident at the Nürburgring in 1976, when he was trapped inside flames that exceeded 800 degrees Fahrenheit and was given last rites upon arrival at the hospital.

Here lies my greatest criticism: The episodic nature of the script enables the viewer to live in this period of time through a few key moments in the personal lives of each driver and the 1976 Formula 1 season, and to understand how these moments intensified their rivalry and ultimately led to a grudging friendship.

At the same time, the majority of the racing episodes move so fast and have so little detail about them that they are almost afterthoughts to the movie’s narrative. Howard used this plot device once before, in Cinderella Man, but to much greater effect, and I only wish that he had spent more time constructing the episodic narrative of the 1976 season in order to tell this aspect of the tale much more dramatically and effectively.

Rush’s greatest triumph is in its depiction of Hunt and Lauda as heroes. In Greek mythology a hero was a man who possessed superhuman qualities, and whose exploits became the stuff of myth.

Lauda entered the pantheon of heroes at Monza in 1976, when he returned to racing and finished in fourth place just six weeks after having been given last rites. Hunt became a hero during the last race of the season at Fuji, in Japan, where he braved a rainstorm of monsoon-like proportions and a late-race tire change to charge to the finish line in third place, beating Lauda to the championship by a single point.

Rush depicts these moments with all the care for accuracy, drama and pathos that Ron Howard is known for, and for this alone the movie can be said to tell a wonderful story of James Hunt, Niki Lauda and the 1976 Formula 1 season.

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Petrov plays down reports of big bucks return to Formula 1

Russia’s first grand prix driver Vitaly Petrov is down playing about reports that he is set to burst back into Formula 1 as a powerful pay-driver.

Once racing for Renault and Caterham, the Russian’s former manager, Oksana Kosachenko, claimed last week that Petrov has managed to come up with an impressive € 25 million in sponsorship to offer a 2014 team.

Speaking to Russia’s Championat, 29-year-old Petrov did not deny Kosachenko’s claim.

“I think Oksana always knows more about everyone, in all the projects,” he said. ”There is nothing to comment on. I don’t know what to say.”

He hinted, however, that he might now be well placed to secure a seat in 2014, after a season on the sidelines.

“We know that some teams have money worries,” said Petrov, “so there is the chance for drivers who can help in this area.”

With Sauber already preparing to field a Russian driver next year in the form of Sergey Sirotkin, the big rumour is that Petrov could line up for the Russian supercar-maker owned team, Marussia.

“At the moment there is nothing new to say,” Petrov answered, “but it is not a disadvantage for me if some teams wait a little while before deciding their drivers.”

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Ward promises Bahrain investigation

The Bahrain Grand Prix is back under scrutiny with David Ward ready to set up an investigation into the race if he wins the FIA presidential election race.

The race in the Middle Eastern country has been a sore point for the F1 fraternity in recent years as it was cancelled in 2011 due to the civil unrest, but it was back on the calendar last year despite protests from human rights bodies.

Ward believes there was "poor decision-making" on the part of incumbent FIA president Jean Todt that led to the race being reinstated in 2012.

"The important thing is to be neutral. What is merited is an investigatory visit," he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"Look at things on the ground, talk to all sides as far as is possible and make a judgement based on that."

Ward, though, does have some sympathy for his French opponent as he believes Todt wasn't given all the right information.

"I think [Todt] was rather badly served in that mission," the Englishman said. "I felt sorry for him, actually. Bahrain had all the hallmarks of decision-making on the hoof right up to 24 hours before the race.

"If it looks like the situation is deteriorating or not improving, what there should be - because this could happen tomorrow in another part of the world - is a standard process to handle this that is immune from suggestions that one place is being treated differently from another."

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Hulkenberg remains on Ferrari's radar

Nico Hulkenberg's dreams of driving for Ferrari are not completely over with team boss Stefano Domenicali admitting he could move there in future.

The German was one of the contenders to replace Felipe Massa at the Scuderia next season, but the Ferrari powers that be ultimately decided it was best to go for Kimi Raikkonen.

However, Hulkenberg could still drive for them in future, according to Domenicali.

"He was one of the candidates and we thought long and hard about it," the Italian told Sport Bild. "But, because he has more experience, we opted for Kimi Raikkonen. But I believe Nico will have good opportunities in the future."

Several people raised an eyebrow about Ferrari's decision to partner two World Champions in Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso, but Domenicali believes they are a good pairing.

"Choosing Kimi is definitely not a decision against Fernando. Together they should provide Ferrari with victories," he said.

"Those who question our decision are probably afraid of the line-up. The combination will work because both are so different. Kimi knows the team, is fast, makes no mistakes and doesn't get involved in politics."

He added: "The priority is that we have a good car. So I put the pressure on the engineers to make sure it happens. If it's fast, I expect no problems."

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McLaren says F1 teams unlikely to master 2014 season from the start

Formula 1's sweeping 2014 rule changes will generate more unpredictable races because teams will all struggle to perfect their new machines, according to McLaren sporting director Sam Michael.

Michael says the scale and scope of the new regulations are too great for teams to be able judge flawlessly, meaning the new cars will have to be designed with far more compromises.

As a result, Michael feels there will be far more random results as reliability and performance concerns affect the traditional shape of the F1 field.

"When you have such a big change you will build in more margin than you would have previously," Michael told a Vodafone phone-in.

"Let's say we hadn't made changes, what you'd be doing is taking an extremely well known product and chipping away at marginal gains: a bit of weight here, a bit of friction there, some packaging.

"That has all gone out the window in 2014.

"You'll be in one of two positions: you'll push it too hard and be unreliable, or you'll be too heavy and want to take weight out.

"The approach is one of risk versus reward, and both those things will take time.

"It is pretty unlikely you will get it bang on; you just won't in all areas of the car.

"Do I think it will mix things up? Probably. I'm sure there will be results that wouldn't occur now."

Michael said he also expected unreliability to increase, adding: "When you get a big rule change the engineering structures are not fast enough to respond.

"It's something you have to cope with - as well as performance you have to get back reliability as soon as possible.

"There is no secret; getting reliable takes time and an ongoing dissection of what we have.

"Ultimately you are not going to have the same reliability you have on the current cars."

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Lotus says Raikkonen exit gives Grosjean the chance to stand up

Lotus boss Eric Boullier says Romain Grosjean must seize the opportunity of Kimi Raikkonen's departure and prove he can lead the team in 2014.

Grosjean has been comprehensively outscored by Raikkonen over the past two seasons, and this year is almost 100 points adrift of the Finn.

He has been more of a match over the last five grands prix however, outqualifying Raikkonen on three occasions and outscoring him twice.

While Lotus has admitted it fought to keep star driver Raikkonen for next year, it says Grosjean must now step up and prove he can thrive once out of Raikkonen's shadow.

Asked if Raikkonen's departure made Grosjean's role safer, Boullier said: "Not more secure I would say, but it gives him the opportunity to stand up.

"When you are a young driver and you are racing against Kimi and obviously the personality and charisma and results - it is good to grow up.

"But to stand up is more difficult, so now Kimi is leaving it is the right opportunity for Romain to show us what he can do.

"It is up to him. He did a good job in the last four races, nobody complains and I am happy, so he now needs to do the same, plus..."

Grosjean, who narrowly missed out on the front row at Singapore, said last month that his 2013 form had helped him shed the image of being Formula 1's "black sheep".

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Newey: What happened that day, what caused the accident, still haunts me

Nearly two decades have passed since Ayrton Senna died at Imola driving a Williams penned by Adrian Newey, and what happened on the 1st of May 1994 still pains Formula 1′s most successful designer.

“What happened that day, what caused the accident, still haunts me to this day,” Newey told BBC Sport.

He added, “I guess one of the things that will always haunt me is that he joined Williams because we had managed to build a decent car for the previous three years and he wanted to be in the team he thought built the best car – and unfortunately that ’94 car at the start of the season wasn’t a good car.”

Ayrton Senna at Imola in 1994

“Ayrton’s raw talent and determination…he tried to carry that car and make it do things it really wasn’t capable of,” revealed the Red Bull design guru. “And it just seems such a shame and so unfair he was in that position. And then, of course, by the time we did get the car sorted, he wasn’t with us any longer.”

The cause of the accident at Tamburello in 1994 was caused by either a steering column failure or by driver error, of which Newey is adamant: “No one will ever know.”

“The steering column failure, was it the cause, or did it happen in the accident?” asks Newey.

“There is no doubt it was cracked. Equally, all the data, all the circuit cameras, the on-board camera from Michael Schumacher’s car that was following, none of that appears to be consistent with a steering-column failure. The car oversteered [when the rear tried to spin] initially and Ayrton caught that and only then did it go straight.”

Ayrton Senna embarks on his final lap before tragically losing his life in an accident on lap six of the 1994 San Marino GP

“But the first thing that happened was oversteer, in much the same way as you will sometimes see on a superspeedway in the States – the car will lose the rear, the driver will correct, and then it will go straight and hit the outside wall, which doesn’t appear to be consistent with a steering-column failure,” ventured the Englishman.

Of Senna the man, Newey recalled, “There was an aura about him, something that’s difficult to describe. He most certainly had a presence.”

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Newey: Sebastian is well on the way to establishing himself as an all-time greats

Adrian Newey does not equate record breaking statistics with greatness, but nevertheless is convinced that triple World Champion Sebastian Vettel will etch his name among the greats of Formula 1.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Newey was asked if he felt that Vettel would match, or even better the seven world titles of Michael Schumacher – he replied, “Yes, of course it would be fantastic if Sebastian could go on to eclipse Michael’s record. But that doesn’t necessarily define greatness.”

“When we talk about the all-time greats, the names of Ayrton Senna, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi, they come up, as well as Michael of course, [Juan Manuel] Fangio of course, all those names jump to mind. Some of them have had, in terms of championships, a fraction of the success of Michael,” said Red Bull’s design guru.

“So there is that intangible thing that defines greatness, which isn’t simply results. And I think what Sebastian is well on the way to doing is establishing himself as one of the all-time greats,” he concluded.

At 26 Vettel has already bagged three Formula 1 world titles and is cruising to his fourth. Vettel has won 33 grands prix, 32 of which were in Red Bull cars designed by newey and one victory (his first) in a Toro Rosso which was a evolution of the Red Bull RB3 – also a product of Newey’s drafting board.

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James Hunt’s McLaren M26 to be auctioned in Abu Dhabi

RK Motors Collector Car Auctions (RKMCCA) announced it will host a real-time, simulcast-linked four-hour auction event in the United states and the United Arab Emirates on 2 November, as part of its October 31 to November 3 collector car auction weekend at the Charlotte Convention Center.

For the first time, a global audience of collectors will have full bidding access to investment grade automobiles through the use of the latest simulcasting technologies.

This debut event, a four-hour specialty auction, takes place at the 7-star Emirates Palace Hotel, adjacent to the world-class Abu Dhabi Formula 1 track, on the evening preceding the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Starring the iconic McLaren M26 that brought James Hunt his last F1 victory, along with 40 other high-profile race and classic collector cars, bidders and buyers from both continents will participate in a sale powered by the latest technology.

James Hunt celebrates his win after the 1977 United States GP at Watkins Glen with his McLaren M26, a cigarette, a beer, and a Penthouse Pet

The Charlotte Convention Center and the Emirates Palace Hotel will be linked through high-definition, high-resolution, real-time streaming technology, setting a new standard for matching collector car sellers with a highly qualified global audience of buyers.

Held on the eve of the 2013 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the auction is also expected to host F1 competitors, members of their race teams, and Formula 1 officials. RKMCCA auctioneers will lead the event from the host auction site in Charlotte, but bid assistants will be physically present in both venues

“It’s our mission to provide buyers and sellers around the world with the best possible opportunity to compete for top investment grade cars,” said RKM Motors Collector Car Auctions Executive Vice President, Bill Mathews. “By opening that marketplace to a well-qualified global audience, we’re creating a unique sales channel that will positively impact values – and that’s a benefit whether you’re consigning or investing.”

Both Charlotte and Abu Dhabi participants will get a first-hand look at a piece of true F1 history as James Hunt’s iconic 1977 McLaren M26 (Lot #3032) is available exclusively during the four-hour sale. Driven to Hunt’s last-ever Formula 1 win at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1977, the M26, chassis number 3, is powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV 90º V8 that pumps out an incredible 525 horsepower at 10 600 RPM. The M26 has been beautifully preserved and is race- ready, and capable of a top speed of 195 mph.

“It is no secret that car enthusiasts in the Middle East are passionate collectors” says Joe Carroll, President of RK Motors Charlotte, the auction’s sister company. “Car culture in the UAE rivals that of the United States’, so we are excited to give aficionados in the UAE the chance to join U.S. based collectors in bidding for some very special automobiles.”

Taking place October 31 to November 3, the RKMCCA auction will be headquartered at the Charlotte Convention Center, and will feature hundreds of investment-grade muscle, race and rare European collector cars.

About RK Motors Collector Car Auctions:

RK Motors Collector Car Auctions connects buyers, sellers and passionate enthusiasts of world-class collector cars. The auction company was founded in 2013 by RK Motors, the country’s leading builder and retailer of investment-grade classic, collector and high performance vehicles including cars, motorcycles and racecars.

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Alonso hits back at criticism of his qualifying performances

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has hit back at suggestions that he could up his game in qualifying, an area which some believe is his biggest weakness.

When it was announced that Kimi Raikkonen is heading back to Maranello in 2014, Alonso’s friend Mark Webber said that it is good news for the Spaniard.

“Fernando needs to be pushed more on Saturday afternoons,” said the Australian.

Indeed, in Alonso’s four seasons wearing red, he has been on pole only four times, compared to 36 in the same period for Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.

Alonso told Brazil’s Totalrace: “It’s on Sunday that the points are given. But even if Saturday is not the priority, I have been the best in terms of qualifying that Felipe has had as a teammate.”

“My advantage compared to him is 82 per cent,” he insisted.

“So even if Saturday is not my strongest point, in eight out of ten weekends, I’m in front of him. So I don’t think this is a problem for me,” Alonso added.