FORMULA 1 - 2015

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HULKENBERG ON A GOOD WICKET AFTER LE MANS WIN

Victory at Le Mans has breathed new life into Nico Hulkenberg according to Mika Salminen, the Force India and Porsche driver’s fitness trainer.

“His increase in confidence since the win at Le Mans is really noticeable,” the Finn told Turun Sanomat newspaper. “At the moment, one success is following the next. It seems that everything is going his way.”

According to some, Hulkenberg is perhaps the most highly-rated driver in Formula 1 yet to break into a truly top team. But he is now being linked with a move to Ferrari for 2016, to replace the struggling Kimi Raikkonen.

Performance coach Salminen revealed, “Nico has worked really hard on his career. This could be a crucial period for him.”

“In Canada it was already going well, then came Le Mans, and now even the new car at Silverstone was working well out of the box,” he added.

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PIRELLI NOT KEEN ON FREE CHOICE TYRES FOR 2016

Pirelli has ruled out giving Formula 1 teams and drivers so called ‘free choice’ on their selection of tyre compounds for 2016.

The measure had been proposed by Force India and adopted by the Strategy Group as a central measure to spice up the spectacle of the sport.

It was also believed to have earned the approval of the teams, FOM and the FIA. But the actual situation is more complicated. It is believed, for instance, that Pirelli will expand its compound range from four to six or even more options in 2016.

Teams, therefore, will not get ‘free choice’ among that range according to a Pirelli official was quoted by Omnicorse, “No way. We are not willing to risk safety for the show. We have a few ideas that are on the table.”

“We think that teams will be able to choose their tyres among the range of what we deem as acceptable for individual tracks.”

“As just one example,” the official explained, “we are very clear: at Silverstone, Spa or Suzuka, you will never see the ‘super soft’.”

Omnicorse said the most likely scenario is that Pirelli will designate three ‘acceptable’ compounds per race, with the individual teams then able to select their preferred two.

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Damon Hill not keen on sprint races either

Introducing a sprint race to determine the Sunday grid would only cause more confusion in Formula 1, according to Damon Hill.

F1's Strategy Group is considering ways to make the sport more exciting and one of the ideas being considered is a qualifying session and sprint race on the Saturday afternoon.

Another proposal includes junior drivers in third cars competing in the sprint race on the Saturday with the reward a place in the grand prix on Sunday.

Former F1 World Champion Hill admits he is not keen on the sprint idea.

"I'm already confused. We've got a sprint race already – that's what an F1 race is. It's not an endurance race," he told Sky Sports.

"So I don't get it. We're in danger here of more muddling and fiddling around. You have to say the current qualifying format is an improvement over the last qualifying format. So that worked.

"GP2 runs sprint races, it sort of works. But I don't know – which one is the real race? That's my question."

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Vettel signs up for ROC again

Sebastian Vettel has once again signed up for the Race Of Champions (ROC), but it will be a different experience for him as he won't have Michael Schumacher as his team-mate.

Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Vettel and seven-time Champ Schumacher represented Team Germany at the ROC Nations Cup from 2007 and they won six consecutive titles.

Vettel skipped last year's event in the Barbados while the 2013 edition in Bangkok was cancelled, but the Ferrari driver will return for this year's event at the Olympic Stadium in London.

However, it will be the first time that he won't have Schumacher as his partner as the F1 legend continues his rehabilitation from the injuries he sustained during a skiing accident in December 2013.

"I’m looking forward to returning to the Race Of Champions, which I've enjoyed competing in since my Formula 1 debut in 2007," Vettel said. "It is going to be very exciting to race cars in the Stadium that hosted the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"Of course I’ll miss having Michael as my team-mate this time but I’ll try my best to bring the ROC Nations Cup trophy back to Germany and to win my first individual ROC title. That is one trophy that is still missing from my collection..."

Race Of Champions president Fredrik Johnsson is delighted that Vettel will compete in London in November.

"It’s brilliant news that Sebastian will join us at this year’s Race Of Champions at London’s former Olympic Stadium. When he raced at Wembley in 2007 it was still a year before his first F1 grand prix win but it was clear to everyone watching that they were in the presence of something special – not least when he beat World Rally Champion Marcus Grönholm in his own rally car.

"Since then Seb has proved himself to be one of the greatest drivers of all time with four F1 world championships and counting. His podiums for Ferrari this year show he is still at the very top of his game and he will no doubt be as keen as ever to push to the limit in the identical machinery on offer at the Race Of Champions.

"The only huge pity is that Michael won’t be able to join him to seek yet another ROC Nations Cup title for Team Germany this year. Everyone involved sends Michael our best wishes and rest assured we’ll find Seb a worthy team-mate in his absence. This is a special chance to see this racing legend in action up close in a stadium setting and we look forward to welcoming a full house in November to enjoy the show."

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Wolff: Cars will be quicker in 2017

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has promised that cars will be faster in 2017 and drivers will once again take centre stage.

There is currently a lot of debate about how Formula 1 can improve with some calling for louder engines and bigger tyres while others want drivers to have a bigger physical and mental challenge during races.

There are several proposals on the table for the Strategy Group to consider for the 2017 campaign, but Wolff says everyone is in agreement that the cars will be quicker and drivers will have more "responsibility".

"In the last couple of years F1 has reduced downforce, has reduced the speed of the cars, and probably now is the time to take a step back [to review things] - and this is what we are doing for 2017 with very exciting new regulations," he told Formula 1.com

"The cars will be much faster than they are now. We are putting the drivers back into the centre - giving them back responsibility for what they do in the car and giving it less a perception of being remote controlled by the pit wall."

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Fernley: Reliability key to P4 push

Force India hope that the reliability of the VJM08 will push them to fourth in the Constructors' Championship this year.

The Silverstone-based squad punched above their weight during the first few months of the season, but they are expected to kick on during the latter half of the campaign after debuting their B-spec car at the British Grand Prix.

The upgraded VJM08 certainly impressed at Silverstone with Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez finishing seventh and ninth respectively.

Although Force India are still 29 points adrift of fourth-placed Red Bull in the standings, deputy team principal Bob Fernley feels they can challenge the Milton Keynes squad.

"I’m not sure we’re the fourth quickest team with all due respect," he told F1i.com. "I think Red Bull, and in all honesty Toro Rosso, are still slightly better than we are. But I think by the time we get through the European season, we’ll be there or thereabouts.

"I don’t think we’ve got any chance against resource. But if we can get the performance level just a little bit higher then we can close on Red Bull and I think the difference will be our reliability."

While the team's major upgrade for the season is out of the way, don't expect them to stand still for the rest of the campaign in terms of developing the package further.

"It’s all aero obviously, hopefully we should be able to introduce it - if we’re fortunate by Spa, but surely by Monza," Fernley said.

"It’s enhancing further what we’ve got down stream."

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Ricciardo not expecting big gains from Renault in 2015

Daniel Ricciardo has written the 2015 season off, believing that Red Bull's engine partner, Renault, won't find a big step forward this season.

The French manufacturer has struggled not only with power, but reliability too. Three of the four cars it supplies are already on a fifth power unit, meaning they've exceeded the four unit limit after just nine races.

Whilst Renault are getting on top of their reliability problems, it seems they don't yet have an answer for the lack of horsepower compared to rivals Ferrari and Mercedes, and Ricciardo doesn't expect them to find an answer until next year.

"I think this year, something big, it's hard to expect [from Renault]," he told Grand Prix Times. "I think now it's more about what they will do next year, and what can they do next year?

"I think this year we'll make some small steps, but I don't think we're going to find 50 per cent of the power we're lacking.

"It's more looking towards next year now. The fight for the title is already out of reach this year, so I think it's important for the team to set a championship target for next year."

The RB11 chassis has also come in for criticism, but the Australian believes if the engine was a match for the best on the grid, then the car would be capable of mixing it with Mercedes at the front.

"I think we're in the ballpark. Mercedes, besides the power [advantage] they have, also have a very good car. If we'd be faster than them? I don't know. But I think it would be close, and close enough to start putting a bit of pressure on like Ferrari did in Malaysia.

Push them to sort of make a strategic mistake.

"We'd be in the ballpark. Then obviously it's a few tenths here and there, you can find them."

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A closer look at Manor's British GP upgrades

The resurrection of the Marussia team and its subsequent renaming to Manor Marussia meant that the team simply modified last years MR03 in order to meet 2015's regulations.

They had originally intended to bring an all new 2015 car to the Belgian GP, however, as the season has matured and the teams reincarnation developed they decided on a development programme for the MR03B instead, with the intention of using their limited resources to maximise their 2016 design.

The new sidepod sponsor and addition of blue to their livery was not the only change the team had for Silverstone, using inspiration from the original 2015 car design, which was an evolution of the MR03 in any case, the team bought new parts to the MR03B in an effort to improve performance.

Nose

The nose is the area the team had to focus it's attention on in order to meet the 2015 regulations, with the team adopting a spacer between it and the bulkhead to achieve the requisite taper from the chassis to the nose tip.

The new nose features very minor changes, rectifying minor inefficiencies in the previous iteration, with the front-wing pylons lengthened and an almost imperceptible 'pelican' underbelly added to the underside of the nose [see top image].

Sidepods and Engine Cover

The sidepods and engine cover offer the most drastic change for the team [marked in yellow], with the outlets increased in length, aligning them with the central cooling exit/exhaust.

This follows the trend seen by all the other teams this season, as they look to prevent the suspension from obstructing the external flow structures, improving how flow interacts with the diffuser below and rear wing above, whilst improving cooling extraction.

Rear-Wing

Another follow the leader solution as the team adopt the trailing edge strikes [marked in green] seen on the likes of McLaren and Lotus rear-wing packages.

These small vortex generating devices disturb the flow across the endplate, improving its performance whilst being carefully shaped in order to assist in the upwash needed to make the diffuser and rear-wing flow structures interact.

The parts won't bring them level on performance with the rest of the field but will help to retain their delta to them, which is key to remaining within 107% of their rivals going forward.

We must also remember that Manor are still using the 2014 Ferrari power-unit - which is many horsepowers down - and will only upgrade when they build their new car.

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Lotus F1 Team:

The people who own Lotus have plenty of money, and as long as they go on spending a little of it, it will stay alive. However it does the sport no favours when teams don’t pay until their creditors take them to court. The reality of this strategy is fairly clear: the team is being kept alive on a drip-feed of finance and is waiting for salvation in the form of a buyer.

It is all very well saying that all is well and the team is not for sale, but that’s not the truth. It is in a holding pattern until a deal can be found. The team is not going anywhere without an injection of finance and owner enthusiasm. The key question is whether there are any buyers out there? Renault is the logical purchaser, but it is clear that Renault is struggling to find money to do this. It has been clear for a long time that Renault boss Carlos Ghosn is only really interested in Formula 1 when he can be in the spotlight if his engines are winning. If the teams are struggling, he does a magician’s turn and disappears without trace. He doesn’t care and perhaps this is one reason why the company struggles in F1 at the moment. Without unity of purpose and support the lower echelons in any company feel unloved and demotivated. Why bother? The racers go on fighting, of course, but battling negativity is not easy.

So what happens if Renault fails to buy Lotus?

I’m absolutely sure that such an asset will not disappear. It is too valuable. Enstone is one of the few teams that has everything on-site and at a sensible level. They don’t waste things, like some other teams. It is easy to write that the team is close to the edge. Sure it is, but it will only go over the edge if there is illogical thinking. That was the downfall of Marussia, although the team was kept afloat by proper people within the management who refused to give up. Caterham was a silly mess which should never have been created, but once it had been, it was too difficult to fix. Lotus is none of these things – at least not yet. There are buyers out there for the right team and let us hope that something happens soon to get the team on a solid path again.

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Vandoorne aware 2016 F1 drive not a given

Stoffel Vandoorne says he is aware that winning this year's GP2 series crown may not guarantee him a seat in Formula 1 next season.

The Belgian driver has dominated the F1 feeder series this season, taking four victories, eight podiums and three pole positions for the ART Grand Prix team.

Vandoorne is a part of McLaren's extensive line-up of junior drivers, but a move to the British squad would not be straightforward.

McLaren has Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso as racing drivers, and Kevin Magnussen as reserve.

Vandoorne concedes even dominating GP2 may not prove enough to secure an F1 seat.

"It has always been a very competitive sport, always been drivers that have done well and not got to F1," said Vandoorne during a phone-in on Wednesday.

"We know it is a very competitive sport at the moment, and even if I win the championship this year there is no guarantee that I will be in F1 next year.

"I am certainly trying my best and pushing really hard for it, and I really hope to be there next year.

"There is not much more I can do at the moment. I am trying to the best as possible every race, every qualifying, every practice - every time I get in the car.

"That is ultimately what puts me in the best position for the future."

Ready for Formula 1

The 23-year-old has no doubts, however, that he is ready to step up to Formula 1 if he is given the chance.

"Definitely. I feel ready," he said. "I tested an F1 car last year with McLaren and that went very well. I'm now in my second season in GP2 and it's going very well as well.

"I drove the car in Austria and that was very smooth - unfortunately it rained in the morning and we lost some track time, but the afternoon was a very decent session without any troubles, so yes I do feel ready.

Vandoorne insisted winning the GP2 title remains his main focus at the moment.

"I've said many times that my focus still lies on GP2 at the moment, because that's the place I can prove myself at the moment. Its most important for me to win that championship," he said.

"At the moment it's been going really well, I'm leading it by a good margin now. But it is still a long way to go, still six races left, so anything can happen. So still a bit early to know anything about my future at the moment."

He added: "At the moment I'm not really focusing on not being in F1. I think that would be the wrong focus at the moment. The main focus is still GP2, try to win that.

"I do have quite a lot of talks with Eric and Ron about my future, but it is still too early to know what opportunities are available.

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Technical analysis: Red Bull and Ferrari copy Mercedes lead

The Mercedes engine may be the best of the F1 field, but the German car is no slouch, as its rivals have found. Giorgio Piola explains how Ferrari and Red Bull are following Mercedes' aero lead.

While Mercedes' current domination of Formula 1 owes much to its engine, the team also knows that its aerodynamic performance is of a very high standard too.

It is no surprise, therefore, to have noticed a growing trend among its opposition to take on board some of the design concepts that Mercedes has put to such good use.

It shows that even in F1, if you can't beat them, you should join them.

Red Bull front wing

Red Bull has come to the conclusion that the aero concept it put to such good use over the years – of running the front of its car as low as possible to the ground – no longer works.

The new nose regulations for this year, allied to the impact of ride height changes forced by mandatory titanium skid blocks, has scuppered its downforce figures.

Appearing briefly in Austria practice and the test, and racing for the first time at the British Grand Prix, was a new front wing that took some inspiration from Mercedes.

The new wing is characterised by an upper flap that features three elements, as well as an extra vertical bulkhead that further helps direct airflow to the outside of the front wheels. The old version is inset above.

Ferrari front wing

Ferrari has talked about bringing minor upgrades to its cars at every race, and at Silverstone it followed this through with some Mercedes-inspired changes.

Its new front wing featured an extra vertical fin that will be designed to help channel air around the front wing. Ferrari also removed a horizontal flap from the outside of the endplate.

Also interesting was a more sloped upper flap, and a much more aggressive angle of curve at the bottom of the wing. The older version is inset above.

Ferrari cameras

As well as the change to the front wing, Ferrari has also tweaked its camera mounting set-up.

Following an FIA clarification about the design of the horns that must hold the mandatory cameras, teams have been evaluating how best to minimise aerodynamic loss.

For Silverstone, Ferrari introduced new mounts (main image) – which were much thinner than those used before (see inset top left) and are now of a similar design to that used by Mercedes (inset bottom right)

Ferrari floor

Ferrari also introduced other minor tweaks at the rear end of the car, once again in a bid to improvement aerodynamic performance.

As well as a change to the brake duct design, and tweaks to the floor in front of the rear wheels, Ferrari also tweaked a vortex generation that had first appeared at the Spanish Grand Prix (see inset).

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Tax hurdle key for Indian GP return

Indian Grand Prix organisers have been told that a return of their Formula 1 race will only happen if the taxation problems that forced it off the calendar are resolved.

Former FMSCI president Vicky Chandhok met with Bernie Ecclestone and Donald Mackenzie at the British Grand Prix to talk about the possible return of Indian GP.

Chandhok stated that Ecclestone will be ‘happy’ to return once a pending tax case in the Bombay High Court is resolved in their favour.

"It was nice to meet Bernie again and he is happy to come back to India and race promoters Jaypee too want F1 to return,” said Chandhok in an interview published in the Press Trust of India.

“Hopefully the taxation issues case will be in our favour and with the central government's positive outlook, I do feel we will be able to get the various ministries' support."

Bernie and CVC still keen

Chandhok was joined in the meeting by his son and former F1 driver Karun Chandhok plus Donald Mackenzie, co-chairman of F1's biggest shareholder CVC.

Karun Chandhok said: "We just wanted to check if the appetite for India is still there or if they have moved on to other countries.

“The good news is that Bernie and CVC are still keen to come to India but they are not happy about the pending tax."

Before the first race in 2011, F1 had an Authority of Advanced Ruling (AAR) to ascertain whether its income is taxable in India, and in light of the situation India lost its position after the 2013 event.

As the next hearing of the case is in September, the prospect of the race returning in 2016 is all but over but efforts for 2017 could be ramped up if the tax situation changes.

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EXCLUSIVE - F1 Team celebrations behind the scenes!

Want to know how our team celebrates after a race? Let's go behind the scenes at the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team's factory to show you what happens the day after a Grand Prix - whether we win or lose we come together to chat about the race and have a glass of Champagne!

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Formula 1 costs now on my radar, says Todt

FIA president Jean Todt says bringing down costs, and ensuring revenue in Formula 1 is more fairly shared, are now key targets for him after helping push through a raft of changes last week to improve the spectacle.

Todt is understood to have taken a major role in ensuring that last week's F1 Strategy Group did push on with a number of rule changes – including a driver aid clampdown – aimed at increasing the spectacle of grand prix racing.

Now, the Frenchman has suggested that it is changes to the sport's finances that should take priority – both in terms of reducing budgets but also making sure smaller outfits earn more cash.

Speaking to media at the FIA Sports Conference taking place in Mexico City on Tuesday, Todt said: “We want to further improve Formula 1 for years to come and we want to reduce costs.

“That means improving the show and reducing the costs, to ensure the development of teams and participants in the category.”

Prize money tweak

Todt also dropped a hint that he would be in favour of discussions aimed to changing the way the sport's finances are distributed to teams.

There have been complaints that the sport is being hurt by the bigger teams carving up a majority of the income through pre-agreed bonuses.

Although the FIA is not allowed to get involved in commercial matters, Todt said he was not going to ignore the matter.

"We know that there has been an imbalance in the distribution,” he said. “It is an issue that we are working on.”

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F1 still capable of giving fans what they want - Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton believes the excitement of the British Grand Prix is proof Formula One still has the potential to put on a show.

F1 is currently looking at ways to make racing more spectacular over coming years, but Hamilton thinks that the British Grand Prix, which saw the two Williams cars take an early lead and rain in the final 15 laps, is proof the sport can still entertain in the right circumstances.

"I think the start really made it exciting, obviously," Hamilton said. "I don't know how the rest of the race went but you [journalists] say it was very exciting and I think the English weather helped with that.

"The [negative] views are probably still valid in many ways but also sometimes it's a bit of an indication for us not to throw our toys out of the pram and say everything's wrong. We're not too far off the mark, hopefully, and I hope that we have more races like this."

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff agreed a combination of factors made the British Grand Prix more exciting.

"Crisis called off?" he joked. "Sometimes these things just happen at the right moment and I think there were just such great crowds out there and then a race with all the ingredients that are necessary to make it a great race: the Williams going like arrows, very difficult and not able to overtake, the right calls in the rain at the right time and then probably the right winner."

Red Bull boss Christian Horner said the British Grand Prix is proof fans want to see more unpredictable races rather than Mercedes domination.

"Fans want to see competition and we have had a dominant team for the last 18 months. They have done a good job and they deserve to be in that position. You can understand on the other hand that when the results are extremely predictable that it does not add to the appeal, whereas what we saw after the first lap it was going to be unpredictable and then after the rain it was going to be unpredictable."

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Hamilton ‘very happy’ to see race weekend changes

Lewis Hamilton has encouraged the proposal to shake up the Formula 1 race weekend format next season, even if he believes drivers should be consulted on any decisions being made.

As an outcome of the Strategy Group meeting in Biggin Hill last week, the FIA says 'exciting and innovative' ideas have been proposed to alter the format of a race weekend, with sources suggesting a second qualifying 'sprint' race on Saturdays are amongst the plans.

A topic of conversation over the British Grand Prix weekend, there were mixed opinions amongst many drivers, but when asked by Crash.net about his view on the prospect of change, the defending champion Hamilton says he is excited about a revised format.

“I'd be very happy for the weekend to change as its been the same weekend for nine years – Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday the same,” he said. “I'd be happy for them to muddle it up in some way and make it more exciting from weekend to weekend.

“I'd like to think about it [ideas] and I haven't thought about it, but I would say that this format has been the same for years.”

Despite this, Hamilton admits he would like to be involved in the decision-making process, adding that though he is aware it would bring more opinions into play, it is a particular area he feels drivers should get to have their say on.

“I think it would be sensible for the board that have to make those decisions to sometimes consult the drivers. Naturally we all have different opinions but we are the only ones who know what it is like in the car. It's like working with the engineers… they'll come out with all the theoretical best ways of doing things but sometimes the gut feeling way of taking the decision is the best way.

“In the same way, some of [the decision makers] have never been, or don't know what it's like for us, in a car and don't know what our limitations are and they'll be making decisions on changes and never ask us. I think it would be positive for them as we'd like to help in any way we can.”

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Alonso: Lack of development makes racing boring

Fernando Alonso feels the restrictions on testing and developments in Formula 1 is too tight and chokes the sport's rate of improvement to make it a better spectacle.

The two-time F1 world champion wants the rules to be relaxed to enable teams to run more testing so they can increase developments. The McLaren driver has singled out the strict regulations on engines and aerodynamics as an area where he thinks strong steps forward could be made if teams were given more freedom.

The Spaniard also feels the current pace of the F1 cars is too close to its main feeder series, GP2, and there needs to be more of a gap between the two.

At last weekend's British grand prix GP2 pole sitter Sergey Sirotkin's quickest lap was a 1m 39.949s which was just over half a second off the slowest F1 qualifying time – Manor-Marussia's Roberto Merhi who set a lap time of 1m 39.377s.

Discounting the back-marker Manors, Alonso's own qualifying time that put him 17th on the grid at Silverstone (1m 34.959s), was only 4.99s faster than the GP2 front runners and he feels the difference between to two needs widening.

"[We need] faster cars because now we are too close to GP2 times and more testing, free rules in terms of developing the car because now, as you put the car in the first test in the winter, more or less you keep the same position to the end of the year,” Alonso said.

"You make progress, everyone makes progress, but because the rules are very strict you cannot develop very much in terms of engine freeze and the aerodynamic being very restricted, and that is making the races very predictable and very boring.”

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Felipe Massa puzzled by Williams weakness in wet

Felipe Massa admits his Williams team is still trying to figure out why its car loses a vast chunk of performance to its rivals in the wet after struggling when the rain fell at the end of the British grand prix.

Both Massa and his team-mate Valtteri Bottas looked like strong contenders for rostrum finishes at Silverstone after enjoying excellent getaways off the grid to jump ahead of Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

However, as the race progressed both drivers struggled with tyre deterioration and when the rain fell during the final few laps Williams saw a huge drop in pace and fell out of the podium positions to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

“For sure we have a problem. Since two years ago we are trying to understand why we are not quick in the rain, which is not nice,” Massa confirmed after the race. “We have a problem, if you see the difference in lap times we were maybe fighting with Mercedes, they were 0.1 or 0.2s quicker than us in free air, not more than that. In the rain we were maybe two seconds.”

The Brazilian adds it is an issue the British team has been trying to solve since he switched from Ferrari to Williams 18 months ago and feels they've made little progress in that time.

“We have been trying to understand it for two years! I don't know,” he said. “If you see our car this year is like an evolution of the car from last year. Last year was very bad in the rain and this year also, so we don't know yet.

“We have been trying to analyse it for a long time but we didn't find out yet. We just lose a lot of grip, it looks like something is going on, something is happening.”

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Kimi not expecting Williams to remain in front

Williams' form at Silverstone provided one of the talking points of raceday, where Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas spent nearly half the race at the very front, but Kimi Raikkonen does not believe that signifies a change in the F1 pecking order.

Although Bottas, in Canada, and Massa, in Austria had taken turns to deny the Finn and team-mate Sebastian Vettel a podium appearance in the two races heading into Silverstone, Raikkonen firmly believes that they were three circuits that benefited the Mercedes-powered FW37, and that normality will be resolved next time out in Hungary.

“It depends a lot on other circuits and conditions over the weekend, but I expect it to be a different story in the next race, and then we go to different circuits again,” said the 2007 world champion, who faded to eighth at Silverstone after mis-timing his switch to intermediate tyres, “It was not ideal for us, [the] conditions, tyres, but we have to improve. We have to try and get better, whatever circuit it is, [whatever] conditions, tyres…”

With no German race on the agenda this year, the Hungaroring is next up for the F1 fraternity, and poses a very different question to Silverstone.

“I am sure it will [be better],” Raikkonen said of Ferrari's chances, “It was not an ideal weekend, the Mercedes were a bit faster, but I am sure it will be easier there, but we will see. For sure, we are hoping it will be easier weekend.”

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Rob Smedley insists 'We were happy to let them race'

Williams' head of vehicle performance Rob Smedley insists that there was never an attempt to deny Valtteri Bottas a pass on team-mate Felipe Massa as the pair scrapped over the lead of the British Grand Prix.

The Grove team found itself in the hitherto unusual position of leading a grand prix, on merit, with of its cars after Massa and Bottas vaulted past the two Mercedes drivers from the second row of the Silverstone grid. Once in front, the FW37s appeared to have similar pace to the Silver Arrows, with Lewis Hamilton seemingly unable to get close enough to think about a pass in the first 20 laps.

The world champion, however, hung around ominously and, with Williams' inferior tyre wear combining with the superior Mercedes package, Bottas became increasingly keen to pass Massa for the lead. The first call from pit-wall clearly ordered there to be no racing between Finn and Brazilian, even as Bottas ask for permission to attack.

It was only after a couple of laps of consideration, under ongoing requests from the Finn, that Williams relented, telling Bottas that he could make a move provided it was 'clean' and he could pull away afterwards. The driver's response, however, was a frustrated 'too late' as he felt his tyres beginning to lose performance.

The next incident of note came during the pit-stop window, with Hamilton taking the opportunity to stop first, perhaps knowing that the Williams had to run longer in order to make the hard Pirellis last over the second half of the race. The Briton's timing – as it would later in the afternoon – was perfect, and he emerged at the head of the field once Williams had serviced both its drivers.

The arrival of rain over Silverstone was the final straw for the fan favourite, as the slippery conditions not only allowed Nico Rosberg to complete a Mercedes 1-2, but also saw Sebastian Vettel take advantage of the FW37's dislike of the treacherous track surface to take third in the same pit window as Hamilton.

Wet weather aside, could it have been different if Bottas had been allowed to take charge, leaving Massa to keep Mercedes at bay while he made good his escape? The Finn lamented the missed opportunity – 'There were possibly things we could have done today in the race,” he noted, “We were fighting, even for the win' – but Smedley insists that the team's approach was right, even if it resulted in neither driver making the podium.

“We were happy to let them race as long as they weren't holding each other up,” the Briton explained, “As long as they weren't holding each other up, as long as they weren't fighting hard and battling, which was what was happening in those first laps and then we were going back into the clutches of Mercedes and we didn't want to do that.

“After a couple of laps, when it all calmed down, I said 'if you can make a clean pass, then it's absolutely fine, you're racing again'.”

Williams was more concerned about the timing of its pit-stops, aware that it could not make the harder Pirelli last as long as perhaps Mercedes could. Despite knowing that Hamilton could try to undercut both cars ahead of him by stopping first, Smedley and the pit-wall kept stretching the stint.

“We didn't want to go too early, we wanted to make sure that we could make the one stop happen,” he confirmed, “That was absolutely our main priority because we knew that was the fastest strategy. It's always that cat-and-mouse game of not having to stop too early so you run out of tyres at the end, and that was the decision we were making.

“We were watching what Mercedes were going to do, knowing that they had a quicker car, [and] it was just the balance of not waiting too long, but not stopping too early so we'd run out of tyres before the end of the race.”

In the end, Hamilton stopped a lap before either Williams driver and emerged in front of both when they returned to the track, effectively ending Grove's hopes of a rare victory. Having both cars rejoin between the Mercedes pair, however, the podium – even a double one - remained a possibility until the rain arrived, upon which a charging Rosberg accounted for both white machines, and Vettel capitalised on a perfectly-timed switch to intermediates.

“We were waiting until the right time to stop,” Smedley admitted, “I think Lewis stopped earlier than us, and he made a really great decision there. We were just trying to watch our sectors and, in fact, the middle sector – on the lap where he stopped – was getting much quicker. The rain was just hitting at the pit exit area and on the pit straight.

“When it did hit, Sebastian had probably 15 seconds more or something to make that decision, when it clearly was going to be wet. Our cars were then just past the pit entrance and, once you past the pit entry, you just have to do another lap like that. That was really disappointing. It's always a case of trying to get it spot on and, unfortunately, with the positions where our cars were on the track, we were just a lap too late...”

[MIKA27]

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA’S SIMPLE PLAN TO IMPROVE FORMULA 1 “STRAIGHT AWAY”

Indy 500 winner and former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya has offered an intriguing possibility for improving racing in Formula One, suggesting that tyre sensors and data should be restricted, leaving drivers to manage the conditions of their tyres alone in a race.

The former McLaren and BMW-Williams driver, who earlier this year won his second Indy 500, 15 years after his first triumph in the race, was speaking on the opening day of the FIA’s Sport Conference in Mexico City.

Asked by this website how he would improve racing in Formula One, Montoya offered a simple solution.

“If you take away the tyre sensors, the temperature sensors, and just leave the pressures, the racing will get better by 10 per cent straight away. I’m certain of that,” he said.

“The driver is now lazy. There’s no feel. They see [the temperature] is too much they back off the pace. Look at the tyres, back off the pace, look at the brakes, back off the pace. If you take all that away it becomes a feel thing again. If you drive it too hard you’re going to wear the tyres off the car.

“The driver and the team just have too much information. It’s OK to have the information in practice, but that information shouldn’t be there in the race for the drivers. It’s got to be a feel thing. Also it will mean that you will start to see the talented people coming through.”

Montoya’s idea – or the thinking behind it at least – has supporters within the F1 ecosystem, who are in the process of framing rules to hand the cars back to the drivers with less input from engineers, especially via radio. This is the kind of measure which will come in soon.

At a recent Formula 1 Strategy Group meeting, team bosses argued for an increase in lap time by five to six seconds from 2017 onwards in a bid to return the sport to the kind of lap times seen in Montoya’s 2003 heyday in the sport. However, the seven-time grand prix winner, who still holds the record for the fastest ever lap in a Formula One car, set at an average speed of 262.242kmh/162.9mph during the 2004 Italian Grand Prix weekend at Monza, says that challenging those lap times may be something of a red herring.

“It’s funny, those lap times haven’t been seen for 10 years and yet they only became a factor last year because the cars didn’t make any noise, so everyone said ‘oh the cars are slow’,” he said.

“They could be a little quicker, yes, but the cars are not slow. Do they have a little less grip? Yeah, you can see that. The thing is they just don’t have enough downforce. Also, if you give them a couple more years with this [formula], the horsepower will come up; it’s a natural evolution.

“You have to be careful with wanting the cars to go faster because the faster you go the harder it is to pass and the bigger the hole you’re going to punch. You’ve got to figure out a way to helping out the drivers in the cars. There are two things: you’ve got to figure out how to generate enough downforce without sacrificing following other cars.”

Despite his reservations about the need to significantly lower lap times, Montoya admitted to enjoying the huge speed of the late V10 era cars.

“I’ll tell you the truth. You stopped driving the cars for a month, I think it was mid-December to the middle of January, and when you got back in the car, the first five laps were the scariest and most fun laps you would do in the whole year. It was the same car as the previous year, and the set up was right, the tyres were right, you knew the place you were driving at, but still your feet would come off the throttle in some of the fast place. It was so friggin’ fast!”

Perhaps surprisingly, however, Montoya, is a supporter of the new power unit formula.

“It’s amazing technology but the problem is I don’t think the fans understand what goes into that technology,” he said. “There are a lot of cool things that the average person doesn’t understand and a lot of that technology is lost in translation. The idea of the smaller engine is good.

“They are also correctly limiting how the young get into the series. The reason you have all these ladders and series is to build you as a driver so that when you get a chance you’re prepared for it. Now people are jumping in really young, when they’ve done a year of racing. They don’t find Formula One cars that hard to drive. When we did it a Formula One car was 10 to 12 seconds quicker than a GP2 car so that jump was massive.”

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FORMULA 1 TEAMS WARNED AGAINST HOAX PITSTOPS

Formula 1 teams have been warned against making hoax pitstops after Mercedes’ failed attempt to fool Williams at the British Grand Prix.

With Brazilian Felipe Massa leading for Williams, the world champions had sent mechanics out into the pitlane as if in preparation for an early stop.

The aim was to hoodwink Williams into changing their strategy, by responding and bringing Massa in much earlier than scheduled, but that team saw the move for the ruse it really was and ignored it.

Mercedes escaped sanction for the attempted trickery but race director Charlie Whiting said teams could face sanctions if they did it again.

“Going into the pit lane like this, for no valid reason, is not allowed but the difficulty would be proving it was a clear breach,” said the International Automobile Federation (FIA) official.

“I have no intention of giving them a few chances and will talk to all the teams in Hungary about this and warning them that we will want to see (and hear) evidence that they were actually intending to stop.”

The next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, is on July 26. The regulations state team personnel are only allowed in the pit lane “immediately before they are required to work on a car and must withdraw as soon as the work is complete” for safety reasons.

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff, whose wife Susie is the Williams test driver, admitted at Silverstone that the team had been trying to fool their rivals.

“We know that Williams has more difficulties in keeping the tyres until the end and we knew that triggering an early stop on lap 18… would have caused them problems at the end. So it was a bit of a game, which didn’t function,” he said.

“My wife sent me a WhatsApp (message) saying: “You guys think you can fool us? Hahaha”. So it was worth at least the entertainment.”

Wolff joked he would be dining alone later but the couple sent out a picture of themselves embracing in front of an Indian restaurant.

Whiting said no action had been taken at the time against Mercedes because it was not clear immediately whether they had planned to stop or not.

“In view of the fact that they were alleged to have said that it was a ‘dummy’ stop they may have put their foot in it rather,” he added.

MIKA: WTF!? Why is this suddenly an issue? Teams have been doing this kind of thing for decades, seen it numerous times. I think F1 has bigger issues.

[MIKA27]

THE TRUTH ABOUT OVERTAKING IN FORMULA 1

The excitement quotient of a Formula 1 race is directly proportional to the number of overtaking moves in that race. This seems to be the logic the powers in the sport used while agreeing to install and then finally installing a DRS in every car. I beg to differ.

If DRS is a joke, that there was an ‘Overtaking Working Group’ a few years ago is the bigger joke. For those needing a refresher, the OWG was formed to help come up with solutions to increase ‘overtaking’ in the sport. And of course, the DRS is their addition to the sport.

I decided to pen this post for multiple reasons. First, to set the record straight and express what I believe is the truth about overtaking.

Second, because I had one of the Facebook pages on Formula 1 throw up a post that claimed that the Hakkinen-Zonta-Schumacher moment at Spa was possibly the greatest overtaking moves in modern times – a moment of inspiration. Third, the executive summary of the GPDA fan survey – finally some data!

The best way to explain my view on overtaking is by comparing it with foreplay and climax. I am happy to see cars battle with each other for laps on end without an overtake actually taking place because once the act is over, the excitement drops.

Of course, the act is more fun if your favourite driver comes out on top (pun not intended), but that’s beside the point. The DRS fast forwards to the climax even before the act starts. And no, I didn’t get inspired by Bernie’s ‘F1 is like sex’ quote!

For Formula 1 to get more exciting, it needs to bring back the act without making the climax predictable. Overtaking is an art and making it artificial and mechanical has done more harm to the sport than good.

Drivers have learned the art over years of training and practice in junior formulae only to realise that you might not need it every race in the pinnacle of motorsport any more. This is after realizing that ‘lift and coast’ and not late braking is to be mastered.

One may blame the build of the modern racing cars (their aerodynamic profile) and the tyres, but if there’s one thing that the F1 Strategy Group should fix, it should be this. And it seems that the regulations for 2017 might introduce ground effect aerodynamics and a restriction for front wing design which should help resolve this issue to some degree.

Till then, reliving races and duels from the past and enjoying movies such as Rush is what the new generation of fans will have to be content with.

Now over to the 40% of the fans who voted in the GPDA survey that DRS has helped improve racing to disagree!

[MIKA27]

PIQUET: I WAS FORCED TO DO CRASHGATE AND MEDIA MADE IT SOMETHING HUGE

Recently crowned Formula-E champion Nelson Piquet continues to live under the shadow of his role in the F1 Crashgate scandal of 2008, but reveals that he in fact was offered a drive with Toro Rosso which he turned down.

Since the Singapore crash scandal struck, Pat Symonds has returned to the pitwall with Williams, helping to revive the once-great British team.

And Flavio Briatore is regularly linked with a return to a prominent role in F1. So why was it different for Brazilian Piquet, now 29 and the first champion of the Formula E series?

“The difference is that I didn’t stay there [in F1],” he told Universo’s Grande Premio. “The difference is that as soon as I left there, I went to the US. The next year, if I had wanted to race at Toro Rosso I could have, but I preferred not to.”

He also said the entire Crashgate affair was revved up out of proportion by the media, “It [crashing in Singapore] was something that I was forced to do but the journalists turned it into something huge.”

“I don’t know the reason for it, as I’ve won championships, I’ve won in Nascar, led rallycross in my first season. People with small minds still talk about it, of course, but if I’m succeeding now it’s because the cars are equal, the tracks are new for everybody, the conditions the same for everybody.

“When you put me in a situation like that, I have no doubts. In F1, it was obviously a little different because I was with [Fernando] Alonso and I don’t have words to describe how good he is. And I was under pressure.”

Now, he says it is money that is preventing drivers like him from leapfrogging from the top of one series into the pinnacle of motor sport, “If I had a cheque for $5 to 10 million in my pocket, the door would be wide open. Nowadays, it doesn’t matter who you are, to get into F1, you have to come with that cheque.”

[MIKA27]

FERRARI AND MERCEDES NOT KEEN TO REDUCE ENGINE COSTS

Formula 1 engine suppliers Mercedes and Ferrari are hitting back at efforts to cap or reduce engine costs.

Teams struggling for mere survival, like Force India, Lotus and Sauber, currently pay hefty engine bills to the tune of €17-22 million per season.

It is significantly more in the new V6 turbo power unit era than they were paying in the V8-powered past.

“The engines are the most decisive cost driver,” agrees Sauber’s Monisha Kaltenborn.

She said that in the normally-aspirated era, F1 got the per-season cost down to about $14 million per season, “We wanted to go further down and (instead) we’ve gone in the wrong direction.”

Auto Motor und Sport, however, says the FIA has reacted to the problem and vowed to cap the engine cost for private teams at just $12m per season. But Mercedes and Ferrari are fighting back.

“We take the FIA’s request seriously,” said team boss Toto Wolff. “The current price is calculated according to our original business model. If it is to go down now, we would need to sharpen our pencils again.”

And Ferrari’s Maurizio Arrivabene insisted: “We cannot ask for less than what it costs us.”

But the newly-knighted former Williams technical boss and co-owner Sir Patrick Head reportedly thinks the manufacturers’ prices are so high because they are recouping the cost of developing the new technology.

Kaltenborn said: “We never wanted these engines. It was the car manufacturers who wanted them so they were forced onto us. So they can’t charge us for the development costs as well. It is their image promotion, not ours.”