FORMULA 1 - 2015

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ALONSO SEES THE POSITIVE SIDE AFTER SOCHI PENALTY

Two weeks after his sarcastic comments on team radio during the Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso marked his 250th F1 race with an upbeat reaction after the Russian Grand Prix.

The two-time former world champion started alongside compatriot Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso on an all-Spanish back row.

He went on to finish 10th behind his McLaren teammate Jenson Button, but later lost one place for exceeding track limits during the race.

“A very positive weekend for us,” he said, before learning later that he was to be given a five-seconds penalty.

“It is the first time we have both finished in the points so it is a nice result in a place where we did not think we could be competitive.

“It seems we are going in the right direction, making good progress. Hopefully we’ll find some more performance in the USA.

“The car performed quite well in the race and we seemed to take care of the tyres more than the others. I’m happy with the weekend.”

Alonso’s penalty promoted Dutch teenager Max Verstappen of Toro Rosso to 10th place.

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MERCEDES DEFEND DECISION TO WITHHOLD LATEST ENGINE

Mercedes’ decision to limit their latest Formula 1 engine to works team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg is due purely to technical and logistical reasons, according to motorsport director Toto Wolff.

Since last month’s Italian Grand Prix, won by Hamilton, Mercedes’s factory team has had a different specification power unit to their customer teams Williams, Force India and Lotus.

“The decision we took is to do an R&D (research and development) exercise in order to learn more for next year and you can’t do this kind of exercise with a customer team,” Wolff told reporters at the Russian Grand Prix.

“If you go into a development direction, you can’t make eight engines because it could be the case that it was the wrong direction we went in.”

Mercedes have a policy of treating their customer teams equally but, with only four races remaining after Russia, have decided it is not feasible to make the latest upgrade available to all.

The works team can clinch their second successive constructors’ title in Sochi this weekend if they score three points more than Ferrari.

However, Williams are defending third place from Red Bull and attacking Ferrari while Force India and Lotus are fighting a close battle for fifth.

Finland’s Valtteri Bottas, who set the fastest lap in Sochi last year, said he was still happy to have a competitive engine in his Williams.

“Even though it’s not a new step, it’s a very good engine, and it is competitive and we can get good results with it,” he told reporters.

“Life is not always fair, and nor is F1…I still think we have the best possible engine for us to try and get maximum points for the rest of the year.”

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Hulkenberg locked the rears

Nico Hulkenberg says it was a "pity" that a small mistake cost him – and also Marcus Ericsson – in Sochi on Sunday.

The Force India driver had hoped for a good showing at the Russian Grand Prix but only made it as far as Turn Two when disaster struck.

Hulkenberg locked up his rear wheels and spun, coming to a halt in the middle of the track and facing the wrong way.

While most of the field made it past him, Max Verstappen was tagged in Hulkenberg's spin and suffered a puncture while Ericsson hit him.

The two cars were tangled together as Ericsson's went partially on top the VJM08 and both drivers were forced out of the race.

"I didn't have the best of starts, but then I was able to pick the ideal line on the approach to Turn Two. Unfortunately, I locked the rears going into Turn Two and, when that happens, you just end up in a spin," Hulkenberg explained.

"I hoped the whole field would get past without hitting me but unfortunately Ericsson got stuck with me and I couldn't move away.

"The first lap is always a unique situation: I didn't brake any later, but with cold tyres it's really tricky and once the tyres locked there was nothing I could do to save it.

"It's always a pity to go out at the start and it's really frustrating because our pace seemed really good this weekend. I just want to move on and start thinking about the next race."

As for Ericsson, he had nowwhere to go with Hulkenberg in the middle of the track.

The Sauber driver said: "I suddenly saw Nico facing the wrong way. I had nowhere to go and went into him.

"This is very disappointing as the car was quite competitive here. A missed opportunity, which is frustrating for me."

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Vandoorne 'optimistic' about F1 chances after GP2 win

Stoffel Vandoorne says he is "optimistic" about securing a place in Formula 1 next season after winning the GP2 title in only his second season.

The Belgian wrapped up the title in Russia this weekend with a 108 point lead over second placed Alexander Rossi with two rounds remaining.

Having won the championship in emphatic fashion, Vandoorne believes there are "chances out there" for him to make the step from GP2 to F1, despite almost every seat being claimed.

"Hopefully Formula 1," the 23-year-old replied when asked what his plans were now. "It's something I've been working on for quite some time, and now to have the GP2 title here is a bit of a luxury I would say with two rounds to go.

"The next one is in over a month, so I can concentrate on preparing next year which is great. Unfortunately, nothing is decided for the moment, but I'm optimistic.

"I feel there are some chances out there. The next days and weeks are going to be crucial for next year."

The McLaren-backed driver could find himself on the sidelines next year as just four seats remain open to him; two at Manor, one at Haas and one at Lotus/Renault, however all of these remain hotly contested among several drivers.

Despite this, Vandoorne believes the way in which he dominated GP2 this season can only show him in a good light.

"I knew what my job was. I wanted to dominate the series in my second season," he added. "To have managed that is a great feeling.

"So far we have four pole positions and five race victories. We still have two rounds left. I still feel we can add a little bit more to that."

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Video: Mercedes factory celebrates Constructors' win

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Rosberg admits title fight is over but will keep pushing

Nico Rosberg has admitted his title fight is all but finished for the season, but he will continue to push for race wins in the final four Grands Prix of the season.

The German had led the Russian Grand Prix after securing pole position on Saturday, but a sticky throttle ended his race and title hopes as he now sits 73 points adrift of team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton, with just 100 points up for grabs.

"You have to be realistic now," said the Mercedes driver. "It is a lot of points but it doesn't change my approach. I am still pushing to the maximum, and committed, and going for it mentally. So it doesn't change much.

"It is disappointing in the respect that I was looking to close the gap. But then anyway, going to the next race and I want to win there. That is the goal."

Discussing his season so far, Rosberg admitted he was frustrated by the amount of points he's lost through reliability failures.

"It is just disappointing to see how this year has gone," he added. "There was a lot of bad luck now in the last couple of months.

"Just when I needed to launch an attack and it go the other way, it is one thing after another. And many small things and some major things, race stoppers, derailed it in the last months, It is tough."

As well as Russia, Rosberg was robbed of a podium in Italy when his engine blew in the closing laps of the race.

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Hybrid engine formula destabilising F1 - Briatore

Former team boss Flavio Briatore has made clear his dislike of the current breed of F1 engines, and says that the rules have to change.

Briatore has been advising Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn on the French company's F1 future.

The Italian also remains close to Bernie Ecclestone, who also believes the current engine formula is a failure.

"The world is changing now," said Briatore in an interview with Sky. "You have these new engines. New engines, new problem.

"The engines create this situation, completely destabilising F1 at this moment. I hope Renault, if Renault come back in F1 [as a team], have the finance to support the engine programme.

"The more you invest in the technology, you take away the driver effect.

"The people want the drivers fighting. Motorbikes – this is a sport, when you see Valentino Rossi, [Marc] Marquez.

"F1, when you see the radio, 'Be careful because you're using so much fuel...' We call F1 a drivers' championship, it's not an F1 engineering championship.

"Let's see. But it's not easy for Renault to be competitive in a short time."

Briatore said he would like to see Renault, who is in talks to take over the Lotus team, stay in the sport.

"I'd love it. It's good for F1. Renault is a great brand, we won the championship with Renault, it's a super brand.

"But I believe the rules need changing in F1, about engines, so it's much easier for everybody to participate in F1."

The Italian concedes, however, that the bad press Renault got from Red Bull following its criticisms of the power unit, is not good for the marque.

"In F1 the people forget very quickly what happened. Red Bull won a few championships with Renault. Now the competitivity is not there, and all the fault is on the engine.

"So for Renault, they have only the bad media. If you want the bad results like this, it's not healthy to continue to be the supplier of engines."

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Analysis: The battle F1 was robbed of in Russia

The Russian Grand Prix provided a very good afternoon's entertainment, but the race could have been a thriller had Nico Rosberg not been robbed of a chance to beat Lewis Hamilton.

As the slightly delayed constructors' title celebrations got under way at Sochi on Sunday night, the one blip on the Mercedes radar was Nico Rosberg's early retirement from the race.

It virtually killed the German's already slim chance of overhauling Lewis Hamilton, and robbed fans of what could have been one of the most intriguing on-track battles of the season between the pair.

But the race still provided a very good afternoon's entertainment.

Last year, there was a perfect storm of bulletproof tyres, no safety cars and extreme fuel saving, which together turned the inaugural Russian GP into one of the dullest races of 2014. This time around there were incidents, safety cars, overtaking, strategy variation and one of the most dramatic final laps seen for a while.

However, it would have been even better if Rosberg and Hamilton had fought for the duration. Nico had the edge on his teammate throughout qualifying, and he also did everything eight at the start, while Hamilton's lurid off track moment at Turn 3 showed just how keen he was to get past.

It was under the safety car dispatched for the Hulkenberg/Ericsson incident that Rosberg first experienced a problem with his throttle pedal. He expressed his obvious safety concerns on the team radio, but the more immediate problem was that it began to push him off the road when he lifted off and braked.

"The change happened during the safety car already," he explained. "So right after the start actually, and from then on I couldn't come off throttle. So I was doing all the corners with throttle on and then eventually it was so much that I couldn't get around the corners any more.

"It was one big step on the safety car already as it came towards me, and just another small one afterwards which meant that it was the end of it. I was trying to take my leg off the pedal, but then the knee would come up and I couldn't steer any more, and so it was different problems coming in there."

Early exit for Rosberg

Having lost the lead and then a few other places, Rosberg had no choice but to head into the pits, where the team found that nothing could be done. As is so often the case in these situations, it was a well-proven component, and its failure a complete surprise.

"I don't know the facts and figures at the moment, but it's not something we've changed this year," Paddy Lowe told Motorsport.com.

"It's a reasonably stable part, there's not a lot of performance in throttle dampers. You just have to design them and build them right. We tried to fix it, but it was a mechanical problem with the pedal."

It's not the first mechanical issue that Mercedes has hit in the past couple of months, despite the huge efforts made internally to ensure that these sort of things don't happen.

"It is frustrating that this happened today," said Lowe. "It's a great disappointment that we've let Nico down, and it's clearly put a very significant dent in his drivers' championship.

"These things have a habit of turning up randomly, and it's not related to the time of year particularly. It just shows that the project to improve reliability is not over. We've made a lot of progress since last year, but it's a long game, and we have a lot more work to do.

"We're already awake on that, it's something that's always at the front of our agenda. We need to be better, you can't pick your luck, we just need to take luck out of the equation..."

Sunday drive for Hamilton

With Rosberg gone, the race was Hamilton's to lose. He was told from the pit wall: "Your teammate has retired. Let's re-focus and get on with this race."

Even before the second safety car came out Hamilton was also told that he didn't have to worry about fuel saving, and which point he banged in the fastest lap and extended his advantage on Valtteri Bottas. He was 3.6s ahead when Grosjean crashed and the field was neutralised.

After five laps of safety car running, any concerns about fuel were well and truly gone, and there was also plenty of life left in the tyres. Lewis put in a series of fastest laps and not only rebuilt the gap over Bottas but continued to extend it to as much as 10.1s before the Finn pitted.

When all the stops had unfolded, Lewis held a lead of 13.1s, but this time over Sebastian Vettel, who had easily jumped the Williams driver. The gap then stayed remarkably stable thereafter at 12-13s as Vettel kept up a good pace, while the leader was hampered by an unexpected problem.

"We had an issue with the rear wing," Lowe explained. "From about mid-race we saw a temporary loss of downforce in the braking areas, which was probably due to some form of contamination [ie debris]. So we were just warning him about that, and keeping an eye on it."

The worry was not that there would be a failure, but that Lewis might arrive at a corner with less downforce than expected, and find himself in trouble.

"Towards the end of the race it actually got a bit worse, and we told him to not to use the DRS in case that disturbed the contamination and did something much worse. We could see from the nature of the thing that it was not a structural issue, so there was no concern over absolute safety in terms of mechanical failure. Other than that it was quite a clear race..."

Lewis managed to keep the gap to Vettel as high as 11s with three laps to go, and only then did he allow it to drop to 8.3s, 7.5s and finally 5.9s as he cruised home. "A lot of that was just management of this rear wing thing," said Lowe.

The action behind

There was much going on behind the champion-elect. Vettel put in a charging performance, outfoxing his team mate and earning yet another strong podium, and putting himself on target to pip Rosberg to an unlikely second place in the title battle.

Bottas was mightily unlucky to lose what would have been a valuable third place, while Kimi spoiled what had otherwise been a respectable weekend with a move that could politely be described as optimistic.

The real intrigue in Sochi was provided by the variations in strategy that we saw down the field, something that seemed unlikely at a track where, even with softer tyres than last year, a one-stop was a no-brainer.

Four drivers towards the rear of the grid took a punt and started on the prime tyre, namely Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado, Fernando Alonso and Marcus Ericsson, although the latter didn't get very far.

Given that he was so far out of position in 15th on the grid, Massa's progress was always going to be interesting to watch, and in the end attrition ahead helped him to move up to fourth.

The strategic balance was further mixed up when the Grosjean safety car came out on lap 12. With 41 laps still to run, it was a long way home for anyone who chose to stop, even allowing for what was clearly going to be a lengthy clean-up. But some drivers and teams decided it was worth a punt. Here's how things shaped up at that point:

1: HAM

2: BOT

3: RAI

4: VET

5: PER – pits for primes

6: KVY

7: RIC – pits for primes

8: NAS

9: MAS (started on primes)

10: MAL (started on primes)

11: SAI – pits for primes

12: BUT – pits for primes

13: ALO (started on primes but pits for options second time around)

14: VES (switched to primes on lap 1)

It was a bold move by Perez especially, given that he had already overdelivered by getting into fifth place, and he was potentially putting that at risk.

"It was a very aggressive strategy, and it put him in a place where he could take the opportunity," Force India's Bob Fernley told Motorsport.com. "Whilst it was aggressive, I thought that it was something that more people would have tried."

While there have been seasons when the Force India was particularly kind on its tyres and such strategies were commonplace, this year the car is not especially strong in that area. But as history has shown again and again, Perez is particularly strong when handed such a chance.

"I wouldn't say we have any major advantages over anybody else," said Fernley. "In the past we've had very good tyre life, but this wasn't the case, it was a case of just taking the bull by the horns and having a go at it.

"Our tyre engineers are very conservative, we were never going to make it from about five laps in! It was one of those things where on the pit wall we felt we could deliver it, and sometimes you've just got to take that opportunity and go with it. It was the difference between having a good race, a solid programme, and having an exceptional race..."

Raikkonen takes out Bottas

Checo was the focal point in the latter half of the race as he held third place with Daniel Ricciardo, who had followed the same strategy, riding shotgun. Would their tyres last and allow them to keep Bottas and Raikkonen at bay?

In the end that little scenario unfolded in spectacular style as the Red Bull retired and then Perez didn't quite make it - only for the two Finns to collide and hand back third place.

"We were telling him to take car of the tyres," said Fernley. "He was saying he can't do any more, so we were just balancing in between the two. At the end of the day, he delivered. There was a little bit of an element of luck, because we had run out of tyres, and obviously both Valtteri and Kimi got past us.

"It's just unfortunate that he couldn't keep them behind, and obviously then there was a little bit of fortune! And as it happened even if we'd lost the two places it wouldn't have been any worse for us than we had done a normal strategy."

As noted, Massa's strategy of starting on the primes paid off with fourth, while Maldonado used the same schedule to land seventh. They were split by Kvyat and Nasr, who also tried an unusual approach – sticking on the supersofts during the safety car, and running as late as possible before going to the softs.

On a day when Bernie Ecclestone and Pirelli marked the signing of a new commercial deal Sochi provided a timely reminder of how tyre strategy can enliven races, even without dramatic levels of degradation or multiple stops.

With the championship now a given for Hamilton, let's hope the last four races have some more action further down the order.

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Perez a changed man, says Force India

Russian Grand Prix podium finisher Sergio Perez is a changed man from the one who failed to shine at McLaren, says his Force India team.

The Mexican driver produced a sensational podium performance at Sochi after running a long stint on soft tyres following a mid-race safety car period.

Although briefly losing third spot when he was overtaken by Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen on the penultimate lap, a collision between his rivals moved him back up.

It was another example of Perez's exceptional ability to manage tyres and it was a performance that left Force India deputy team boss Bob Fernley convinced that his man is in the form of his career.

"I think it is about having the confidence and him feeling comfortable within the team environment, and I think that has been shown progressively over the past year or two with us," said Fernley.

McLaren recovery

Although Perez's F1 future had been in doubt when McLaren elected to drop him at the end of 2013, Fernley believes that Force India's environment has helped bring out his best of him over the past two years.

When asked about the impact of his McLaren spell, Fernley said: "I think it was just an unfortunate experience and that move to McLaren came a bit too early for Checo.

"You cannot underestimate McLaren. From our side, we knew we had a good talent, it was just a case of nurturing through."

Fernley believes that Perez's ability in races in every bit as good as Nico Hulkenberg's, while his qualifying performances are improving.

Speaking about both drivers, Fernley said: "They have different skill bases and that is what makes it really good for the team.

"We have different strengths from each driver and it allows us to lean on one or the other depending where we are circuit wise.

"So for us it is perfect and for them, so close. Even qualifying this weekend was about fractions. I think it is a good combination."

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Horner surprised by Ricciardo's race charge

Christian Horner admits that he was surprised that Daniel Ricciardo was able to show so strongly in Sochi before the Aussie was sidelined by a late mechanical issue.

Like Force India driver Sergio Perez, Ricciardo pitted early under the safety car triggered by Romain Grosjean's accident, and thereafter tried to hold position while running a long second stint.

In the end the Australian ended up retiring while running in sixth.

"It was a shame because Daniel had done such a good job on the hard tyre," Horner told Motorsport.com.

"The risk with the strategy worked well, and he was doing a great job to keep the faster cars of Bottas and Raikkonen behind.

"With five laps to go it looks like a suspected rear hub issue. A great shame. I think we need to investigate fully to understand it.

"To be honest, to be fighting for a podium today, after the safety car, we didn't expect that. And for Daniil to pick up a fifth place in his home race is a respectable performance."

Although most upcoming tracks feature long straights Horner is confident that Red Bull can still chase some big points.

"Absolutely. Hopefully in Austin we should be in better shape. There are some faster corners than there are here in Sochi.

"We knew this track was going to be tough for us. Mexico is a little unknown, although it looks like it's got a very long straight. Brazil will be tough, and Abu Dhabi we've always been OK.

Regarding possible engine change penalties he added: "We're tight but OK at the moment."

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Wolff: Vettel/Hamilton rivalry could be one of F1's greatest

Toto Wolff thinks that the growing rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel could blossom in to one of the greatest Formula 1 has seen.

Hamilton matched Vettel's career tally of 42 wins with his triumph at the Russian Grand Prix and stands on the verge of a third world championship title, which would put him one behind Vettel.

But with Ferrari making strong gains in its bid to return to title glory, Wolff thinks there is a chance the two men could be about to embark on a period where they will go head-to-head.

"They are both in very performing cars and it could be one of the great rivalries in the sport – in different teams," said Wolff.

"Lewis has his own rivalry within the team so that is good."

Ferrari battle welcome

Although Mercedes has already captured the constructors' championship this year, the fact that Vettel is now ahead of Nico Rosberg in the standings shows the progress that has been made.

And Wolff says he welcomes the fact that F1's most historic team is emerging as a force once again and making life harder.

"It is great for the sport and it is going to push us, as it is the team you want to be battling with," said Wolff.

"We expect them to be very strong next year. They showed great performance earlier than expected and again, towards the end of the race, you can see Sebastian had good pace in his car and his tyres.

"This is a good group of people with a very good car, and we are looking forward to a great fight next year."

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Bernie Ecclestone: F1 needs a Cosworth engine again

Bernie Ecclestone thinks Formula One needs a Cosworth customer engine for teams to turn to after seeing Red Bull edge closer towards quitting Formula One in Sochi.

On Friday a report in Auto Motor und Sport said Ferrari had decided against giving Red Bull an up-to-date or year-old engine in 2016, seemingly leaving the Milton Keynes team facing the prospect of attempting a return to Renault or walking away from the sport altogether. The only other option would be Honda, though the Japanese company has ruled out a supply deal as it attempts to rectify the problems which have plagued its return to the grid with McLaren in 2015.

"There are more opportunities out there than people think," Ecclestone told Sky Sports when asked about the possibility of Honda supplying Red Bull.

Speaking on the Ferrari situation, he said: "Let's see. A lot of the time people say no to something, they didn't really mean no, they mean maybe. So let's see."

Mercedes has already rejected an engine supply deal for Red Bull, fearing the effects of giving its dominant power unit to former world champions Red Bull. With Ferrari reportedly doing the same Ecclestone has floated the idea of a customer Cosworth engine for teams to turn to in similar situations or if they wanted to join the grid from scratch.

When asked if current manufacturers have too much power in F1, Ecclestone replied: "Up to a point, yes. If you had a team and Mercedes were supplying you with engines and they wanted a vote on something, you'd have to put your hand up and vote for whatever they wanted otherwise maybe you're not going to get the engine you're getting.

"We need another Cosworth -- that's basically what we want. Where you and I could start a team and know we could get an engine. Today we don't know."

Cosworth, which ranks second in F1 wins as an engine supplier behind Ferrari, was on the grid as recently as 2013 with Marussia and even designed a V6 turbo engine for 2014.

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Arrivabene defends Raikkonen over Bottas clash

Maurizio Arrivabene says he considers Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas' controversial final lap collision in the Russian Grand Prix to be a 'racing incident' following his driver's penalty.

Bottas and Raikkonen were disputing third position coming into the last revolution, when the latter made a botched moved into turn four and clipped the right-rear of the Williams ahead. Spinning Bottas into the barriers and out of the race, Raikkonen soldiered on with damage to cross the line fifth.

However, with an aggrieved Bottas venting his frustration at the accident after the race, stewards agreed Raikkonen was at fault and subsequently slapped him with the equivalent of a 10secs stop-go penalty, which was translated as a 30secs post-race time penalty.

Dropping him from fifth to eighth, the penalty subsequently had the knock-on effect of officially ruling Ferrari out of the constructors' reckoning too.

Despite this, Arrivabene stood behind his driver, comparing the incident to Raikkonen's coming together with Daniel Ricciardo in Monaco when the Red Bull driver nudged Raikkonen aside to overtake.

“If you look at Monaco for example, Ricciardo and Kimi was almost the same. It was considered a race incident [then] so I can't find any reason why [this] can't be considered as it was considered in Monaco.”

Williams' Rob Smedley saw the accident differently though, airing his frustration at seeing another potential podium scuppered so close to the finish.

“Obviously we are bitterly disappointed to lose what looked like a deserved podium finish on the last lap of the race. The team has done a good job and made the right strategy calls, and both drivers did a fantastic job, so to come away with less points than we should have and no silverware is frustrating.”

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Kvyat questions Red Bull strategy

Daniil Kvyat has hinted that he may have been able to extract more from his home grand prix had Red Bull Racing given him the benefit of the doubt when it came to pit strategy.

With the smooth surface at the Sochi Autodrom not causing too many headaches for tyre technicians – despite Pirelli opting to bring its soft and supersoft compounds to Russia – the 53-lap grand prix was only ever likely to feature a single change of tyres for each driver. Despite running ahead of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, having jumped the Aussie on a chaotic opening lap, Kvyat was passed over when it came to the pit window, with Ricciardo being called first.

Kvyat was still running behind the Australian at the point of the latter's retirement but crossed the line in sixth place, before being promoted to fifth by Kimi Raikkonen's post-race penalty. Crossing the line nine seconds behind Felipe Massa, the Russian was left to wonder what might have been.

“I think strategy could have been slightly better today but, nevertheless, it's a learning process for everyone,” he said magnanimously, “I think we're all clear why I was on the other side of the strategy but, nevertheless, given the strategy, we squeezed everything out of it and eight points at the end of such a complicated race is a very good achievement.

“Looking back, maybe I would have preferred to have been the first car to pit, but let's see what will come out of the analysis – maybe I am completely wrong with my feelings. Let's see what the team has to say, and what I have to say, all the arguments, then put it all together and we'll decide. It's just, as I say, a learning process together.”

Ricciardo's retirement was later put down to suspension problems, denying Red Bull a double points finish, but Kvyat admitted that he hoped his top five finish would go some way to persuading the drinks brand to remain in the sport.

“I hope we're showing that, even though we have problems not having the most competitive power unit, we are still squeezing some points from every race, we are still fighting, we are showing good pace,” he argued, “We are just missing something. Red Bull's style is to win championships and I think we will soon be back to that path.

“Right now though, I'm looking forward to Austin because I think it will suit us a little better – I'm looking forward to those high speed corners!”

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THE PHIL HILL STORY

The Phil Hill Story is a slightly older documentary about America’s only native born Formula 1 World Champion. Hill was a famously quiet and reserved man who once said “I’m in the wrong business. I don’t want to beat anybody, I don’t want to be the big hero. I’m a peace-loving man, basically.”

Despite his humility, Hill was one of the fastest drivers of his generation. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring three times each, as well as the previously mentioned 1961 Formula 1 World Championship.

This short film is a an interesting look back at the life and times of Phil Hill and it includes some original television advertisements from the late 1970s – which are well worth seeing. It runs 25 minutes in length and has been provided courtesy of the King Rose Archives.

[joeskow]

Kimi being Kimi. It was 100% reckless driving and it cost Bottas a podium he had earned with great driving all week. A grid penalty for Kimi next race isn't enough.

Kimi may have been at fault but like the late great Senna once said "if you no longer go for a gap that exists than you are no longer a racing driver"

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VW could supply Red Bull seen as there buying the team ,Oh that's right they don't meet emissions standards ???

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VW could supply Red Bull seen as there buying the team ,Oh that's right they don't meet emissions standards

Ahhh...see, in the days of old, Formula 1 would have laughed at issues relating to emissions

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WHO CAN STOP HAMILTON WINNING THE TITLE?

Sebastian Vettel is making all the right noises, while Nico Rosberg has played down the likelihood that he will have to spend the remainder of the season playing a supporting role for his Mercedes teammate – but the question is can anyone seriously stop Lewis Hamilton nabbing his third world title?

After his Sochi breakdown, Mercedes’ German driver was actually passed for second in the championship by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

It means a German wearing red is now Hamilton’s greatest threat for the drivers’ title, but the disappointed Rosberg insisted to Bild newspaper: “I will try to enjoy the last four races and win as many of them as I can.

“Unfortunately yes, Sebastian overtook me in the championship in Russia, but I will try to change that in America.

“I was even asked after the (Sochi) race if I would help Lewis in the situation that Sebastian is catching him even more, but to be honest I’m not thinking about that.

“And I don’t believe it will come to that either,” Rosberg added. “Hopefully in 2016 all three of us will have a very tight battle for the title.”

Unfortunately for Rosberg, the overwhelming feeling in the paddock now is that teammate Hamilton has his hands firmly on the 2015 crown.

“Mathematically yes,” team chairman Niki Lauda admitted when asked if Rosberg can still do it this season, “but Lewis would have to retire now and go home.”

Hamilton is not quite sounding that bold, but he acknowledged that his 66-point gap is fairly comfortable.

“I can’t believe I have that many points and that gap,” the 30-year-old said as Mercedes celebrated its constructors’ world championship at Brackley. “I’ve never had that, ever.”

Team boss Toto Wolff, however, said that even though Rosberg’s 2015 campaign is in tatters, the pair have been closely matched this year.

“Everyone talks about Lewis’ dominance,” said the Austrian, “but that is forgetting how close together they usually are. Nico has had no luck in the last races. The more I look at it, the more I realise how good he (Rosberg) was at Sochi.”

But Wolff also spoke about how 2016 is shaping up to be an epic head-to-head battle between two F1 greats — Hamilton and Vettel.

“They are both in very strong cars, and it could be one of the great rivalries in the sport in different teams,” he said.

Hamilton said he would welcome that, especially as his championship run in 2015 has been notably devoid of wheel-to-wheel battles. Indeed, he had to hark back to Bahrain 2014 for the last time he was left “buzzing” by a duel.

“Ultimately I wish formula one was more like that all the time,” he said.

But for the rest of 2015, Hamilton’s biggest enemy is probably the kind of poor reliability that has plagued Rosberg recently. And Mercedes also raced to the chequered flag at Sochi worried about an issue with Hamilton’s rear wing.

“Basically I’m not worried” about reliability, Wolff insisted, “but it is the definition of formula one that you’re always on the limit. “It (the problems at Sochi) showed once again that you can never be too confident.”

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HAMILTON: MY DAD WOULD SAY YOU EITHER ARE OR YOU’RE NOT

Lewis Hamilton has his father’s words in mind as he stands on the brink of a third Formula One world championship.

“I don’t think about ‘nearly’,” the Mercedes driver told British reporters, after celebrating his ninth win of the season in Russia, when it was suggested that the job was nearly done.

“You either are or you’re not. I’m not there yet. That’s what my Dad would always say. You either do or you don’t and I don’t yet.”

Hamilton is 66 points clear of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and 73 ahead of his own team mate Nico Rosberg with four races remaining.

The points gulf make it inconceivable, even if mathematically possible, that the 30-year-old will not join the elite group of triple champions — possibly in Texas in two weeks’ time.

If Hamilton wins in Austin, and Vettel fails to take second place, he will have matched the three titles of the late Brazilian Ayrton Senna, his boyhood hero.

It should be in the bag by the time he gets to Brazil for the penultimate race of the season but Hamilton said the location was not important.

“My mind’s set on crossing the line at the last race and being ahead, that’s what matters to me. Whether it’s before then or not is kind of irrelevant to me,” said the Briton.

He would still be a championship behind Vettel, who won four with Red Bull, but the Sochi podium spoke of a changing dynamic that has even had Hamilton’s team bosses rubbing their hands in anticipation.

With his 42nd career win, Hamilton equalled Vettel’s career tally and the two of them are third in the all-time lists behind Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost.

Finishing one-two, with the German overtaking Rosberg in the standings, hinted at plenty of battles ahead next season as Ferrari close the gap.

“They are both in very performing cars and it could be one of the great rivalries in the sport — in different teams,” said Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff, without underestimating Rosberg’s potential to battle his team mate.

“Lewis has his own rivalry within the team so that is good. It is great for the sport and it is going to push us, as it is the team you want to be battling with.”

Hamilton spoke warmly of Vettel afterwards, the two champions joking in the post-race news conference after inviting the podium hostesses in to join them, and described the German as an original.

“What you see is what you get. A great driver and just a good personality. I’m looking forward to racing him for many more years,” he said.

“If I hung up my gloves and was just a fan I would want to see the two of us up against each other. I am super excited to do that.”

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HAMILTON: I DIDN’T ACTUALLY SPRAY PUTIN

Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton has dismissed as wide of the mark reports that he sprayed Russian President Vladimir Putin with the winner’s champagne after Sunday’s grand prix in Sochi.

“I actually didn’t. I didn’t actually spray him. I think there’s a weird picture but I didn’t spray him. I definitely don’t want anything (to happen),” the Mercedes driver told Sky Sports television on Monday with a smile.

Hamilton, who flew back home to Britain to join the team’s celebrations after they won their second successive constructors’ championship in Russia, has got into trouble previously for his champagne-spraying antics on the podium.

He was criticised and accused of sexist bullying in April for aiming a spray of champagne directly in the face of a Chinese Grand Prix hostess in Shanghai.

That incident, highlighted in photographs that showed the woman flinching, triggered condemnation in Britain and Germany as well as on Chinese social media but the hostess herself played it down.

Putin presented Hamilton with the winner’s trophy on Sunday, with the Briton starting the traditional champagne spraying ritual before the president had left the podium.

Photographs appeared to show dark flecks of champagne foam on the back of Putin’s jacket as he departed.

Some media reports subsequently suggested Hamilton, who is now on the brink of a third driver’s title, had ‘soaked’ the Russian leader, leading to jokes on social media about what punishment the driver might suffer.

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RAIKKONEN WILL DO HIS BEST TO HELP VETTEL’S TITLE CHALLENGE

Kimi Raikkonen says he has no problem playing a supportive team role if it will help his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel in his quest for the 2015 title.

Indeed, with German Vettel now moving into second place behind Lewis Hamilton, some suspected Ferrari-branded ‘team orders’ were already in play at Sochi last Sunday.

Raikkonen appeared to let the similarly red-clad Vettel past even before being asked to by Ferrari on the radio.

Turun Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper, quoted Raikkonen as explaining afterwards: “He went past me when I was not able to take the previous corners properly. The rules say that I had to let him past. That’s all.”

The Finn was referring to F1’s actual rules, where if a driver gains an advantage by driving off the track, he has to cede the position to his rival or face a penalty.

But Raikkonen also referred to the ‘rules’ of engagement at Ferrari, a team that always emphasises the significance of the team above the individual.

“We know the rules,” Raikkonen said, “so it’s normal. I am not fighting for the championship, so we will do our best for the benefit of the team.”

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ALONSO DOUBTS HE WILL RACE BEYOND 2017

Fernando Alonso has played down the likelihood that he will drive a single race beyond the end of his current McLaren contract.

Amid McLaren-Honda’s abysmal 2015, there have been rumours the Spaniard might take a sabbatical next year, even though he is all signed up for 2016 and 2017.

Alonso rejected that speculation at Sochi last weekend, where he notched up his 250th grand prix start.

Only a handful of drivers have ever surpassed that milestone in F1, and Alonso will be tantalisingly close to the nearly-unprecedented tally of 300 races by the time the 2017 season concludes.

Indeed, just ahead of Sunday’s race, Formula One Management published an on-screen message marking Alonso’s 250th race and reminding him that he has “only 50 to go”.

But Alonso told Spanish television TV3: “I don’t think I will get to 300 grands prix.”

However, the 34-year-old acknowledged that in F1, one should never say never, “When I made my debut in Australia in 2001, I didn’t think I would make it this far.”

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VETTEL EXPLAINS DECISION TO GUARD PRIVATE LIFE

Sebastian Vettel has explained his decision to fiercely shield his private life from the world’s glare.

His approach to fame and fortune is starkly different to fellow multiple world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is constantly on the red carpet and uploading personal photos to Instagram.

“My lifestyle is nothing like Hamilton’s,” the Ferrari driver told El Pais. “But everyone is free to live their life as they like. At the moment I’m very busy with what I’m doing (in F1) because Ferrari is not yet where we want it to be.”

That is not to say that Vettel, 28, does not have a private life. Indeed, and almost completely unknown to the wider world, the quadruple world champion and his partner Hanna recently welcomed their second baby daughter.

Many people only realised the news about Vettel’s second child when television cameras recently overheard a private conversation between him and Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne.

“Matilda!” Marchionne exclaimed. “Your first one?”

“Second,” Vettel replied.

Asked by El Pais why he chooses to keep his private life so private, he explained: “There are people who respect you and people who do not.

“I am a sportsman, nothing more. Obviously, when you’re on the grid and the stands are filled and people encourage you with your flag or Ferrari’s flag, that’s one thing, but my private life is something else.

“It does not necessarily have to be linked to my work. That’s how I see it anyway,” Vettel added.

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Manufacturers to discuss freeing up engine development rules for 2016 season

Formula 1's four engine manufacturers, Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda are to meet with the FIA this week to discuss relaxing the engine development rules to create a fairier playing field.

Three of the four manufacturers support in-season development - similar to what has happened this season via a loophole discovered by Ferrari, which has been closed off for 2016 and beyond - whilst Mercedes is skeptical about the proposal as it wishes to maintain its advantage.

There is a fear that with each passing season, performance disparity will be locked in as development tokens reduce, as do the areas in which development can take place.

Mercedes rivals are therefore keen to catch-up quickly and believe that can only be done through relaxing the development rules.

Representatives from all four engine manufacturers will be present at the meeting, as will team bosses and a representative from the FIA.

They will have a tough job on their hands convincing Mercedes - which could block any proposal - to agree to such a move, but it's believed the German marque sympathises with both Renault and Honda and wouldn't strictly be against allowing them to play catch up.

The outcome of the meeting could offer Red Bull a lifeline. It's known the Milton Keynes team is in contact with current supplier Renault about continuing its supply deal - despite a rather messy divorce.

If Renault are allowed to catch-up outside the homologation rules, which stipulate that all development tokens must be spent by February 28th, then Red Bull may be in a position to close up to both Ferrari and Mercedes next season.