FORMULA 1 - 2015

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SIR JACKIE: VERY GOOD IF ROSBERG WON THE TITLE

Jackie Stewart, Britain’s first and until this season only triple Formula One world champion, would like to see Germany’s Nico Rosberg take the title off Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in 2016.

Rosberg faces a crucial year after finishing runner-up to Hamilton, who can become Britain’s first ever four times champion, for the past two campaigns.

The German must either rise to the challenge and follow in the footsteps of father Keke, Finland’s 1982 world champion, or be written off as a number two.

“It would be good if he won the title. That would be very good,” Stewart, 76, told Reuters at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix won by Rosberg.

“There is nothing to stop Rosberg winning. He is quick. We have seen him have so many pole positions. He is smoother,” he added.

“Lewis is quite aggressive so therefore he has won more races because of that aggression, but sometimes that can bite you also.”

Hamilton won 10 of this year’s 19 races to Rosberg’s six but the German came good at the end with a run of three in a row and six successive pole positions.

The challenge for Rosberg, who made his debut with Williams in 2006 and now has 14 career wins, is to show that he can also win when it matters most and not just when nothing is at stake.

“He is good, and there is no question about it. The trouble is you have to be very good and he has got to just step up that little bit extra,” said Stewart.

The Scot’s desire to see Rosberg succeed has nothing to do with any personal animosity towards Hamilton but more for Formula One to provide more excitement and to put on more of a show when one team is so utterly dominant.

If Mercedes are again racing on a different level next season, it will be more important than ever for Rosberg to take the fight to his team mate.

The closing races of 2015 offered hope for the future but just how much of a pointer they really are remains to be seen.

“There’s been so much discussion about has he stepped up his game or has the car come towards him development-wise?” said Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff.

“Or has Lewis unconsciously just taken it more easily? I don’t know…I think we have to find out,” added Wolff.

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FORMULA 1 POPULARITY IN GERMANY STILL DECLINING

The popularity of Formula 1 within Germany has continued to steadily decline.

It emerges that the coverage by the German broadcaster ARD of Sunday’s skiing-and-shooting biathlon attracted 3.95 million viewers – 120,000 more than those who tuned in to RTL’s live coverage of the 2015 season finale in Abu Dhabi.

RTL sports chief Manfred Loppe blamed the latest decline on the fact that the world championship had already been decided weeks earlier.

“Of course that took the wind out of the sails,” he said. “For 2016, we are hoping that Sebastian Vettel can close the gap to the two dominant Mercedes drivers so that hopefully next year the audience can experience a thrilling three-way battle.”

Interestingly, Loppe also pointed the finger at F1’s authorities and teams for detracting from the ‘show’ with their constant trackside political bickering.

“I would hope that formula one concentrates mainly on the racing and not so much on the discussions that ultimately produce more problems than solutions,” he insisted.

After the German team utterly dominated both in 2014 and 2015, boss Toto Wolff said he also hopes Mercedes’ rivals catch up next year.

“I can only hope that for the sake of formula one the others catch up,” he said, “as it would clearly be better for the show. I cannot do more than that.”

Even reigning triple world champion Lewis Hamilton said: “My heart beats for competition. So I do hope that the others do a good job over the winter.

“That’s what the fans want as well,” he told Welt newspaper. “I don’t know if it will be possible with the current rules, but Ferrari has already caught up a lot. I think next year will be interesting.”

F1 veteran David Coulthard hopes the same — for the sake of the sport, “I cannot really think of any moments (from 2015) which will be remembered in 10 or 20 years’ time. Formula one needs to hope for better in 2016.”

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Vettel, Raikkonen test in Abu Dhabi

Scuderia Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen got a head start on their 2016 rivals on Monday when they took part in tyre testing at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Ferrari finished second, behind Mercedes AMG Petronas, in the 2015 constructors’ championship. And Vettel and Raikkonen were third and fourth respectively in the drivers’ championship, behind winner Lewis Hamilton and runner-up Nico Rosberg of Mercedes.

However, while Hamilton and Rosberg left the testing of Pirelli’s new ultra-soft compound tyres up to reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein, the Ferrari pair were able to start get a jump start on preparations.

Several other race drivers also stayed behind in Abu Dhabi to take part in the test, with Daniel Ricciardo driving for Red Bull, Valtteri Bottas for Williams, Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz for Toro Rosso while Nico Hulkenberg and Alfonso Celis Jr for Force India.

Meanwhile, Marussia left the testing up to development driver Jordan King and Indonesia’s Rio Haryanto. Jolyon Palmer, the 2014 GP2 champion, turned out for Lotus, while current GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne drove for McLaren. For Sauber, Chinese driver Adderly Fong was in the hotseat.

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Vandoorne ends Abu Dhabi tyre test on top

Stoffel Vandoorne rounded off a difficult Formula 1 season for McLaren by topping the timesheets in Tuesday's Pirelli tyre test at Abu Dhabi.

The Belgian ended up 0.353s clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the 12-hour test, having completed 99 laps of the Yas Marina circuit.

Marcus Ericsson was third fastest for Sauber, a mere 0.024s behind Raikkonen, with Jolyon Palmer just behind in his final outing as a test driver for Lotus before he steps up to a race seat.

Sebastian Vettel was fifth, half a second slower than his teammate, and ahead of fellow countryman Pascal Wehrlein, who completed the most laps of any driver with 107.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso), Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) and Valtteri Bottas (Williams) completed the top 10.

Alfonso Celis Jr completed his first F1 test session for Force India in 14th, ending up some 2.7s behind Hulkenberg, while Jordan King propped up the table in his first F1 outing, trailing fellow Manor driver Rio Haryanto.

After around 90 minutes of running on the 2015 Pirelli soft and supersoft tyres, teams were allocated unmarked prototype tyres. These included several variations of the planned 'ultrasoft' compound, one of which will be selected for use next season, as well as new constructions of both front and rear tyres.

The teams were not told which specification of prototype tyres they were running, and were not permitted to try out any new parts.

"We had one shot when it came to testing tyres for next season, and we can be satisfied by what we’ve achieved in this test, even if we have to fully analyse the data," said Pirelli's Paul Hembery.

"The ultrasoft’s target for 2016 is to introduce a compound softer than the supersoft and mainly designed as an aggressive choice for street circuits, in order to allow teams to take a more aggressive approach to race strategy.

"Whether this will produce more pit stops, or any difference in strategies, it’s too early to say for now," added Hembery, "but it seems we are heading in the right direction. The ultrasoft is expected to offer more possibilities for certain races."

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Force India aiming to beat Red Bull, Williams in 2016 - Perez

Sergio Perez believes Force India must target beating F1 rivals Red Bull and Williams next season after a strong 2015.

Although the Silverstone-based team delayed the introduction of its new car this year, it ended up enjoying its best season in Formula 1, finishing in fifth place in the standings behind Williams and Red Bull.

Perez says that expectations will be higher next year following a strong end to 2015, but reckons it is important the 2016 car is ready in time for the first race.

"Hopefully next year we can go even higher," said Perez. "It's been the best year for the team, the best year for myself. Hopefully we can both keep developing as a team and a driver to go higher up.

"Expectations are very high. I think we are aiming to beat Red Bull and Williams.

"That's going to be a big effort to do, so we're really looking forward to being up there with them, and try to score a lot of points from the beginning.

"It will be very crucial that we get the new car in time, so I'm looking forward to it."

Perez also said that fifth was the best he could achieve in the Abu Dhabi finale, although at one point he thought he could beat Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel.

"It was quite a straightforward race, basically I was doing most of the time my own race, looking after my tyres, looking after the stint lengths, and so on and so on.

"It was not a big drama. Then when I was fourth I tried to push quite a lot to get into the window of Vettel, and I probably damaged a bit my tyres then.

"And then I paid back towards the end when Ricciardo was getting closer to me. But I still had some tyre left to protect against him.

"Still it was the maximum we could do. We tried everything to beat Vettel, which I'm proud of."

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Leclerc set to join Haas as development driver

European F3 star Charles Leclerc is being lined up for a test and development role with Haas F1, according to sources.

As previously reported, the Monegasque driver is set to become a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, in effect replacing Raffaele Marciello and Lance Stroll, both of whom are leaving the Italian team.

The FDA connection will in turn lead to the 18-year-old being seconded to Haas.

Leclerc, who is managed by Nicolas Todt, is expected to drive for the ART GP3 team next season. If his graduation is confirmed, then it would, in theory, allow him to spend time with the Haas team on Grand Prix weekends.

It's likely that his job would also include running in the simulator, something that FDA man and GP3 racer Antonio Fuoco has been doing on a regular basis with Ferrari this year. Fuoco was also given a test day with Ferrari in Austria.

When asked about Leclerc's plans, Todt told Motorsport.com: “At the moment, the only thing I can confirm is that Charles will be testing in GP3 this week in Abu Dhabi during the three days.”

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Dennis targets Sauber as second Honda team

Ron Dennis has earmarked Sauber as a potential future second team for Honda, according to sources close to McLaren.

Dennis has now made it clear that Honda could not supply Red Bull in 2016 because the time scale made it impossible for the Japanese manufacturer to make enough parts.

However, there is increasing pressure from Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone for Honda to work with another team from 2017 onwards, and Sauber presents an obvious opportunity – not least because McLaren would not regard the Swiss team as a direct rival.

Team boss Monisha Kaltenborn insisted that there was only a general discussion about Sauber's engine situation at the recent F1 Commission, but she admitted that longer term, options were open.

“There was a lot of engine talk going on in the meeting when we were all in there,” she told Motorsport.com. “And in that context we were discussing an option like that, and more looking at the past and what had happened.

“In the context of that we also had a talk about what our engine situation is, and we said we are currently bound, but you should always keep all options open. It was embedded in a bigger public talk about engine suppliers having to supply more teams.

“We have a long lasting relationship with Ferrari, it's a good relationship. But no one knows what's going to be in two, three, or four years.”

Intriguingly Kaltenborn admitted that she had talked in the past to former Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi about the possibility of the team getting a Honda supply.

“There was once an idea that we were thinking of maybe having Honda. We were not approached by Honda, put it like this, but it was because of Kamui Kobayashi who came and asked us. Don't ask me if it was last year or the year before, but this was the context of that talk.”

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Johnnie Walker Presents Join the Pact London

Join Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Mika Hakkinen at Johnnie Walker's Festive Event at Wembley on 4th December 2015.

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60 second debrief - Race, Abu Dhabi 2015

After another awesome race for the Silver Arrows, Toto Wolff gives us his debrief of the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg won the race with Lewis Hamilton taking 2nd position. This gave the team its 12th 1-2 of the season and meant they scored 703 points this year - another record - breaking their 2014 tally of 701.

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Nico Rosberg - F1 season review 2015

Nico Rosberg sums up his twilight race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and his 2015 F1 season. After qualifying on pole for the sixth time in a row and now having won three successive races, Nico is motivated to come back even stronger next year.

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Manor looks to 2016 as MR03 is retired

Manor has officially retired its evergreen MR03 chassis following the Abu Dhabi Pirelli tyre test, with Rio Haryanto and Jordan King giving it its final flourish of laps around the Yas Marina Circuit.

A team that ceased to function 12 months ago after slipping into administration towards the end of the 2014 season, Manor was saved over the winter and continued racing in 2015, albeit with relatively minor modifications to the 2014 MR03 chassis and the Ferrari power unit.

Persevering to the end of the season despite the uncompetitive package, though Manor has lost both its sporting director Graeme Lowdon and team principal John Booth, it heads into 2016 facing a new era having secured an engine supply with Mercedes, one that is predicted could morph into a more comprehensive partnership going forward.

In the meantime, Manor gave GP2 drivers King and Haryanto the chance to give the MR03/B its final outing during the Pirelli tyre test, a first F1 drive for the British driver, whose father Justin King is an investor in the team.

“My first time at the wheel of an F1 car has been an incredible experience and I can't thank Manor enough for providing me with this opportunity,” he said. The Pirelli tyre test had a very specific focus and I was determined to make the most of this chance to show my development capability as well as my potential for the future.

“We had a trouble-free day, so I could really get stuck into the plan, and this enabled me to build my confidence as the afternoon progressed. I was really fortunate to drive the car for 59 laps and I'm pleased with my lap time considering all the elements of the programme. I can't wait to do it again sometime. Soon, I hope!”

Haryanto – who drove the car in the morning - was the quicker of the two drivers, stopping the clock at 1min 49.593s, while King set a best time of 1min 49.661s

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Hulkenberg ends disappointing year with 'good result'

Nico Hulkenberg was relieved to bring his Force India home in seventh place at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, cementing his spot in the overall top ten at the end of a campaign he admitted was far from his best.

Despite Force India enjoying an upswing in results following the mid-season introduction of the VJM08B, Hulkenberg fell behind team-mate Sergio Perez in the standings, with four retirements and a DNS blighting the second half of his year. Nevertheless, he converted seventh on the grid at Abu Dhabi into a finish in the same position, adding to seventh in Mexico and sixth in Brazil to end the schedule.

While he helped Force India to accrue another 16 points towards a best-ever fifth place in the constructor' series, Hulkenberg conceded that holding on to his position was a battle for much of the race.

“It was a bit of a struggle at times, and I had a hard job on my hands,” he reported, having completed a strategy that saw him swap the short-lived supersoft Pirellis for two new sets soft rubber during the 55-lap encounter.

“The start was pretty good - everyone went to the inside, so I stuck to the outside. It was a brave move and I was able to make up a few places. However, I had a lot of understeer and it was difficult to get the car to turn in, especially at a track with so many tight corners, so I suffered in the first two stints.

“The final part of the race was a bit better and I was able to get into a rhythm, which was important to keep our position. It was a tough race so it was a really good result to come home with seventh place.”

Allied to Perez's fifth place, the points haul was Force India's best of the season, and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Hulkenberg admitted that the shared results gave him more pleasure than his own showing.

“It's been a good season for the team and we will be aiming to build on it over the winter months,” he concluded, “From a personal point of view, it hasn't been one of my best years, but it gives me an opportunity to learn from what happened and come back stronger. I am already looking forward to 2016 and working hard to make sure we are competitive from the first race of the season.”

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Late-2015 development freeze hurt Williams F1 team's form

Williams performance chief Rob Smedley believes the Formula 1 team's decision to stop development of this year's car early has significantly contributed to its performance tailing off.

The Grove-based team scored points with both cars in nine of the opening 12 races, going on to secure third place in the constructors' championship for the second successive year at the penultimate race in Brazil.

The relative security of the position allowed Williams to turn its attention to 2016 early, having developed until the final race last term.

In Abu Dhabi, Felipe Massa, who was in contention for victory at the venue 12 months ago, was eighth while Valtteri Bottas failed to score in 13th, having lost time colliding with Jenson Button in the pitlane.

"The last few events we haven't gone as well as we would have liked," said Smedley.

"We stopped development on this car quite a long time ago having projected we would have a comfortable third position in the championship and second wasn't going to be possible.

"So naturally what we're seeing is due to the fact we haven't developed the car in such a long time.

"The end of the season has been slightly lacklustre compared to last year. But last year, we developed the car right up until the last moment.

"This year, having consolidated third, our focus switched to 2016 and 2017."

However, Smedley conceded that regardless of its strategy, the team's performance in Abu Dhabi was not good enough and it must improve.

"It was a frustrating day," said Smedley. "It was a really poor result and it's just not where we want to be.

"We perhaps went forward a bit with respect to our qualifying performance but having to battle the Force India and the Red Bull and Ferrari being quite far in front was definitely not where we want to or expect to be."

Bottas described the performance at Yas Marina as a wake-up call that can motivate Williams to make steps forward this winter.

"Of course that was not the way we wanted to finish the season," he said.

"But in the end this could be good - it was a proper wake-up call that we really need to raise our game if we want to challenge for the wins next year.

"We all know the facts, we need to find big gains with the car during the winter, and there are operational things we need to do better."

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Rosberg a rival not a friend while in F1, says Mercedes' Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has made it clear he has no need to be friends with Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg while they remain fierce rivals in Formula 1.

The bond that once existed between the pair as kids on the karting scene has been replaced by a frosty relationship as they fight for race wins and F1 titles.

At times the battle has spilled over, such as at Spa last year, but for the past two years Hamilton has had the final say, clinching back-to-back crowns.

The 30-year-old does not believe they will ever be close again while they are in F1, and that only when they are retired will there be the possibility of becoming friends again.

"We were friends when we were kids, and that was that. It's not like we've been close friends recently, because we haven't," Hamilton told Autosport at an event in Kuala Lumpur organised by title sponsor Petronas.

"The media generally tries to big up our relationship like it was a friendship, more than it was.

"But Nico has his group of friends, I have my group of friends. We don't do dinner together, we don't want to party together, we don't want to go to the movies together, we don't want to hang out.

"We're fierce competitors, and ultimately he wants to beat me and I want to beat him.

"I'm sure one day when we retire we'll sit back and laugh about all this **** that has happened and all the competitiveness.

"We'll be chilling, our kids will be playing together and all that crap, but right now we're not there, and there's no need to be."

Hamilton recognises the fact he and Rosberg have to work together on behalf of Mercedes to claim the constructors' title, but that is the only thing they have in common.

"As with the majority of sport there is such fierce competition," he added.

"Look at Serena Williams. When she is fighting for titles, I'm sure whoever she is competing against is not her best friend.

"But in Formula 1 you are team-mates, with the priority to win the constructors' championship, and we work collectively.

"When Nico wins a race I need to back him up, and vice versa, and what we do together - in terms of pushing the car and team forward - is hopefully inspiring them, motivating the guys. That's our goal.

"Of course we've been racing together for a long, long time, since we were 13. We had great, great moments back then, and we've had great moments now.

"But for the rest of our Formula 1 careers we will be fierce competitors."

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RED BULL POWERED BY TAG-HEUER EMERGES AS AN OPTION

McLaren has fired the opening salvo of its effort to fight back in 2016 by topping the 12-hour post-season tyre test in Abu Dhabi.

It was new reserve and reigning GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne at the wheel of the Honda-powered car that has otherwise proved abysmally uncompetitive this year.

But the beleaguered, once-great British team’s former double world champion Mika Hakkinen backs McLaren to bounce back.

“It’s about experience. That counts in my opinion,” he told Gulf News. “If you’ve never won a grand prix, never been on pole position or won a world championship, you don’t know how to get there. The teams that have been there, they know the road how to get there.”

But the Finn thinks McLaren will have to take more short-term pain in order to achieve long-term gain.

And that pain looks destined to keep hurting team supremo Ron Dennis both on track and off, who after refusing to alter McLaren’s sponsorship “rate card” has had to farewell several backers.

One of them is TAG-Heuer, and speculation is that the long-time McLaren backer will now take over the naming rights to Red Bull’s 2016 engine.

“I don’t think Ron Dennis will be very happy”, Christian Horner said in Abu Dhabi.

The tension between Dennis and Horner was reportedly also evident at the recent F1 Commission meeting, when the former told the Red Bull chief to “suck it up”.

Dennis’ harsh advice to Horner comes amid Red Bull’s struggle to simply secure any sort of engine deal for 2016, even with struggling Honda following a veto.

“Some of what Christian has been experiencing at the moment is self-inflicted,” Dennis told the British broadcaster Sky.

MIKA: ... Ok TAG Engine is just a name, the question is WHAT engine are RBR using?

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BOTTAS: IF WE WANT TO WIN WE HAVE TO IMPROVE IN ALL AREAS

Valtteri Bottas has called on Williams to up its game for the 2016 Formula 1 world championship season.

Just like last year, the British team finished this season’s world championship third overall, with Finn Bottas and teammate Felipe Massa respectively fifth and sixth.

“There were many great moments,” Bottas, who flirted with a switch to Ferrari earlier this year, said, “but also many disappointments, and we have to learn from them. We can do better as a team,. If we want to win, we have to improve in all areas.”

Mika Hakkinen, a part of Bottas’ management team, reportedly pushed hard for Bottas to replace countryman Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari for 2016.

It didn’t happen, so “At the moment, Valtteri is focused solely on Williams,” the former double world champion told Gulf News.

But Hakkinen also told Ilta Sanomat newspaper that Bottas, 26, is justified in feeling disappointed with aspects of Williams’ past campaign, “It is clear that the drivers will be disappointed if the results do not improve next year.”

“Williams’ competitiveness was not quite as good as it was last year, but the team finished a good third in the constructors’ championship.

“I also know that Williams is more than satisfied with the work of Valtteri,” Hakkinen continued. “In this case patience is a virtue.”

As for whether Bottas can win a title with Williams, Hakkinen answered: “Good question. Currently, there are two very strong teams ahead of them and so there would have to be a big power shift next season.”

“Williams however has a highly skilled and motivated team and they want to keep improving. I don’t want to say that Williams is unable to fight for the championship, as bear in mind that the cars will change quite radically after next season,” Hakkinen added.

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WEBBER: KIMI IS GOING THROUGH WHAT HAPPENED WITH ME

Mark Webber thinks F1 veteran Kimi Raikkonen might be nearing the end of his useful career in the highest tier of the sport.

2007 world champion Raikkonen, although impressive when he returned to F1 with Lotus, has struggled to match the pace of his successive teammates at Ferrari in the last two years, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.

Raikkonen was once regarded as perhaps the fastest man on the grid, but F1 veteran Mark Webber – the newly-crowned world sports car champion – said every good driver eventually races past his prime in formula one.

“I think Kimi is going through a bit of what happened with me,” the Australian told Turun Sanomat newspaper. “Kimi is no longer at the peak of his career but he’s closer to the end, which happens to all of us.

“I know just how challenging it is to try to keep your motivation right up there, in particular to pull together all those little details of your performance. It’s a big ask, and against the younger guys like Sebastian, it will only get harder.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Kimi,” Webber continued. “He is arguably one of the best F1 drivers we’ve ever seen. I only hope he can draw his career to a close on a high note.”

Indeed, when told that Ferrari could have a winning car in 2016, Finnish countryman Mika Hakkinen said of Kimi: “He has to first of all beat his teammate, then he can move to the next step.”

Hakkinen agrees that when it comes time for Ferrari to consider its drivers for 2016, Raikkonen will have to perform at a high level in every area.

“When the teams analyse the drivers, they look not only at the numbers and results but also the working spirit and team-work.

“It will be interesting to see how he goes next season,” the Finn, who is part of Valtteri Bottas’ management team, also told Ilta Sanomat newspaper.

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DENNIS: A GIANT STEP FOR MCLAREN IS IN THE PIPELINE

McLaren are planning a “giant step” forward as a company that will give their Formula 1 team more muscle to take on mighty Mercedes and Ferrari, group head Ron Dennis said after a dismal 2015 season on the track.

The sport’s second most successful team finished ninth out of 10 this year, their worst ever performance and first season of a new partnership with Honda. The former champions last won a race in 2012.

Without a title sponsor, McLaren have seen some prominent partners depart to rivals and will lose out on tens of millions of dollars in revenues due to their lowly placing in the championship.

Dennis said however that the group as a whole was doing well, with equity value of more than $1.5 billion.

“Our objective as shareholders is always to think about growth,” he said at the Abu Dhabi season-finale in response to a question about shareholdings and whether he had acquired part of a stake owned by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat state holding company.

“Whilst I completely understand the interest in who owns what, the actual process we are going through at the moment is how can we be bigger, stronger? How can we start to build our organisation to match the sort of resources that some of the other players have?”

McLaren changed their name last year to McLaren Technology Group, incorporating the car company and applied technologies as well as the F1 team. The F1 side now represents between 34 and 38 percent of the business.

“We are strong, very strong, financially,” said Dennis.

He said reinvestment of profits was one way to achieve growth but McLaren were looking at a “completely different” approach.

“That’s been focusing my mind for four months at least and has been the primary reason why you haven’t seen me at the grands prix,” he explained.

“As and when we get there, if we get there, to where I think will allow us to take a giant step for McLaren, we will share it with the media.”

Dennis said he remained ‘very robust’ on the rate card for sponsors, even if the environment was challenging and some sought to exploit the track performance to their advantage.

“The worst thing you can do is get into a situation where you drop your rate card. And then everything spins out of control,” he said.

He was adamant that drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, champions both, would not be languishing at the back of the grid in 2016.

“We know where we are and we have quite a lot of confidence in where we will be at the beginning of next season,” he declared.

“We just have to dig deep, take the criticism and work that bit harder but it most definitely is going in the right direction.

“I know where the motorhome will be, but I don’t think the cars will be matching that position,” added Dennis, referring to the teams paddock hospitality units that are arranged in order of the previous year’s ranking.

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BOOTH: IT’S BEEN A BLOODY TOUGH SIX YEARS

John Booth summed up his time as a Formula 1 team principal with typical Yorkshire bluntness after bowing out in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

“It’s been a bloody tough six years. I’m absolutely drained,” the departing Manor Marussia boss told Reuters before flying off, not so much into the sunset as towards a rising sun and well-earned rest.

“I’ve neglected my wife so the first thing I’m going to do is go to Australia for three weeks. It’s a good opportunity to clear the mind.”

Booth, now 60, has lived the dream and endured the nightmares in a lifetime in motorsport that saw him compete against Ayrton Senna in Formula Ford in the early 1980s and then work with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in junior series.

The one-time boss of Manor Motorsport found success as a team owner in Formula Three and moved into F1 in 2010 as one of three entries lured in with the promise of a cost cap and guaranteed payments.

The other two, HRT and Caterham, have already folded but Manor Marussia — which started out as Virgin Racing and then became Russian-owned Marussia before its latest incarnation — lives on after fighting back from administration.

Booth, who has resigned along with sporting director Graeme Lowdon, did not want to go into the details but said the team was well-placed for the future despite failing to score a point this year.

Of his own future, he was less certain.

“I’ve been involved in motorsport since I was 23… so it’s a hard thing just to walk away from, isn’t it?,” said the butcher’s son from Rotherham.

“If I had to answer that now, I’d say no,” he added when asked whether he might return to the paddock one day. “But who knows? After two or three weeks in the sunshine you never know.

“If the facts had been known when we started, I doubt we would have started. Or been able to start,” he said, casting his mind back to 2010.

“(FIA President) Max (Mosley) had told us it was going to cost us 30 million (euros) and we’d get 30 million in prize money. Easy choice isn’t it? And we’d get 20,000 rpm and bigger wings. Great, why not give it a go? And of course that quickly changed.”

Marussia only ever scored points in one race, the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix when their late French driver Jules Bianchi finished an astonishing ninth.

Bianchi, who died this year, suffered fatal head injuries in Japan a few months later — his car skidding into a recovery tractor at Suzuka — in a season that turned from triumph to tragedy.

But his legacy was securing ninth in the constructors’ championship for the team and crucial millions in prize money.

The team had already been mourning the death in 2013 of Spanish development driver Maria de Villota who suffered severe head injuries in one of their cars at a straight line test in England a year earlier.

If those events remain raw, and Monaco the performance high, Booth singled out another race as a personal favourite.

“It would be easy to say Monaco 2014, which was a high of course, but I think rolling two cars out of the garage in Bahrain in 2010,” he said.

“It was eight months from having nothing. We didn’t even have a spanner in the place. We had an office and a workshop. There was myself, Dave O’Neill the team manager and Laura who’s still with us now. And that was it.

“We were sat in an office. Right, how do we build a Formula One team?”

It had all started with a telephone call to the FIA to enquire about the chances of entering a team in Formula One’s GP2 support series on behalf of an investor who did not want to buyan existing outfit.

The reply was no, but it was accompanied by another question: “How do you fancy Formula One?”

“Maybe it has been a dream. I might wake up tomorrow (and find out),” said Booth.

[MIKA27]

MARKO: 2016 WILL BE A YEAR OF TRANSITION FOR RED BULL

The 2016 season will be a “year of transition” for Red Bull’s two F1 teams, official Helmut Marko has declared.

“We are keeping both teams in Formula 1,” he announced in Germany’s Sport Bild.

The energy drink company’s road to 2016 has been long and complex, with Red Bull expected to use Infiniti-branded Renault power while Toro Rosso switches to 2015-spec Ferrari engines. But then in 2017, it will be all change.

To coincide with the introduction of radically faster chassis regulations, F1’s governing FIA and Bernie Ecclestone are pushing ahead with plans to sign up an exclusive supplier of alternative twin-turbo V6 engines to arrive in 2017.

The tender process was launched on Friday, with interested parties like Ilmor or Cosworth invited to apply by 23 November. The first customer in line is Red Bull.

“2016 will be a year of transition for us,” said Marko. “In 2017 we expect the alternative engine. Both Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone have assured us. It will be cheaper and make us independent from the car manufacturers.”

Red Bull is therefore putting itself strongly on the side of the FIA and Ecclestone, with the ‘client engine’ plans opposed staunchly by the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.

“It (the alternative engine) was the condition for us to stay in formula one,” Marko admitted to Auto Motor und Sport.

The next strategy group meeting is scheduled for November 24, one day after the deadline for expressions of interest in the role of independent ‘alternative engine’ supplier.

It is expected to be explosive, with the existing manufacturers preparing arguments against the proposal on the grounds of their contracts with the FIA and Ecclestone.

“Some people think they are super-smart,” said Ecclestone, “but we are not stupid.”

Auto Motor und Sport said Ferrari is devising a peace offering in the form of allowing customers to base a more affordable engine on its existing ‘power unit’, to be sold under the Alfa Romeo brand.

[MIKA27]

ZETSCHE SAYS LAUDA AND WOLFF WILL STICK TOGETHER

Dieter Zetsche has backed Mercedes’ Formula 1 chiefs Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff, amid mischievous reports of discord between the pair.

Reports in Abu Dhabi had suggested the rift led to the point that team chairman Lauda, a shareholder just like team boss Wolff, was on the verge of quitting.

The two Austrians, however, humorously rebuked the speculation by walking the length of the Abu Dhabi paddock last weekend holding hands.

Daimler CEO Zetsche, who attended the 2015 finale, said it is no problem that Wolff and Lauda disagree over certain issues, like whether Mercedes should supply an engine to Red Bull.

“That you sometimes comes to a common position after starting at different points is quite normal,” he told the German broadcaster Sky.

“But definitely the future cooperation has not at any time been in question,” Zetsche insisted. “I could not imagine a better team than the one we have at the moment.”

[foursite12]

MIKA: ... Ok TAG Engine is just a name, the question is WHAT engine are RBR using?

In a charming role reversal, Bernie and the rest of the F1 world await Carlos Ghosn's announcement on Renault's future in the series. All arrows point to the RBR power unit being sourced from Renault but this wouldn't be F1 without drama punctuated by high intrigue. Endlessly fascinating, F1 remains the world's greatest soap opera.

[MIKA27]

BAKU THINKS BIG AND SMALL FOR F1 DEBUT

Azerbaijan’s big debut on the Formula One calendar next June looks sure to be sold out because local organisers are planning on selling only 28,000 tickets for the race in Baku.

The small number compares with the 135,000 who attended Mexico’s return last month after a 23-year absence and 120,000 who watched now-triple world champion Lewis Hamilton triumph at Silverstone.

Race promoter and circuit CEO Arif Rahimov told reporters at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Baku had only 9,500 hotel rooms with Formula One stakeholders taking up some 2,500.

“So we are left with 7,000 rooms which is about 10,000 visitors that we can host,” he said.

“That is the maximum capacity that we can invite to Azerbaijan. We are confident we will sell out on the international tickets because this is a very limited amount of tickets that will go fast.

“We are not limiting sales to 10,000 but before people book their F1 ticket they need to make sure they have a place to stay,” he added.

Rahimov said there would be 20,000 seats in grandstands and the remainder general admission tickets.

Numbers might go up in subsequent years if space could be found for more grandstands but the geographical constraints of a street circuit near old city walls and the Caspian seashore made that hard.

Asked whether that would make tickets more expensive in order to recoup some of the costs, Rahimov said they would remain resonable.

“It is a private initiative but we are supported by the government,” he said. “The primary objective is to promote our city from the tourist point of view and investments.”

The race — billed as the Grand Prix of Europe — will be on the same weekend as the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar classic, which this year drew some 250,000 fans to the French circuit. Rahimov said he hoped a clash could be avoided in future.

“It is a very unique season in 2016 with 21 races. It is really hard not to clash with any major sporting event,” he said.

“We are clashing with Le Mans. We are clashing with the European (soccer) championships. If it was not us, it would have been another race clashing with Le Mans. For the coming years we are going to try to avoid clashes as much as possible.”

[MIKA27]

TORO ROSSO TO BE MORE ITALIAN IN 2016 SAYS SAINZ

Toro Rosso rookie Carlos Sainz says he is looking forward to a better season in 2016.

Although overshadowed by his meteoric teammate Max Verstappen, the Spanish rookie has also shone at Toro Rosso, outqualifying the highly-rated Dutchman 10-9.

“I can say that (Red Bull driver manager) Helmut Marko is happy,” Sainz smiled after the season finale Abu Dhabi grand prix.

“I think that in many ways he was surprised how we have gone this season and how we were able to compete with Red Bull Racing. This gives me cause for optimism and I am waiting for good news from him,” he added.

The ‘good news’ is surely to be a new Toro Rosso contract for Sainz, but also confirmation that the Faenza based team is switching from Renault to Ferrari power.

Sainz may have spoken out of turn about the team’s Ferrari plans earlier in Abu Dhabi, but even now he says: “I hope that we will have a more powerful engine in 2016.

“While I cannot mention the name of the supplier, I think we could be considered even more of an Italian team after this,” he quipped.

When asked about Toro Rosso’s engine plans for 2016, Christian Horner said in Abu Dhabi: “I can only speak on behalf of Red Bull Racing. You would have to ask Franz Tost about Toro Rosso.”

[MIKA27]

SALO PREDICTS MERCEDES TO AXE ROSBERG IF HE DOES NOT WIN 2016 TITLE

The 2016 season could be Nico Rosberg’s final season as a Silver Arrows driver, former F1 driver Mika Salo has predicted.

Finn Salo, who drove for several F1 teams including Ferrari and Toyota, told broadcaster MTV that the situation will become untenable for the German if he loses a third straight title to Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton next year.

“Nico is in a difficult situation,” he said. “Nico is fast, and sometimes even faster, yet he still has not won a championship.

“If he doesn’t win it next year, he may have to go,” Salo, now a broadcaster and occasional F1 steward, added.

48-year-old Salo thinks a leading candidate to replace Rosberg would be fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas.

“Next year is very important for Valtteri,” he said. “He cannot afford a less than perfect season, and must then hope that something better opens up.

“The most probable option for him would be Mercedes. Then the championships can follow,” Salo added.