FORMULA 1 - 2015

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ON TRACK FAILINGS HURTING MCLAREN IN THE POCKET

McLaren’s financial situation could be compounded by a lack of title sponsor to help fund their Formula 1 campaign, a report in the Sunday Times suggested.

The struggling Honda-powered team is a distant ninth in the constructors’ championship, with most insiders not expecting the Japanese carmaker to make a big leap in the second half of the season.

However, the FIA has at least rubber-stamped an extra, penalty-free engine for Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button to use in 2015. Honda will almost certainly now deploy the rest of its in-season ‘tokens’ for a significant upgrade.

“We have to make a great effort, analyse the data and use our tokens to make a step forward in the second half of the season,” the marque’s Yasuhisa Arai is quoted by El Confidencial.

“We have several ideas to apply to the engine to get more power and reliability,” he added. “When will we use the tokens? It is a big secret!” he added.

El Mundo Deportivo suggested the upgrade boost, to possibly debut as soon as the forthcoming Hungarian grand prix, could be a worth an impressive 70hp.

However, given the huge gap to the front of the grid, the financial damage to McLaren this year is already inevitable, given the way official prize money in F1 is awarded based on success.

Not only that, the Woking based team resisted dropping its rate for a replacement title sponsor three years ago after the loss of Vodafone, and it appears unlikely a candidate will step up in the current situation.

“It is astonishing that this could happen,” an industry expert told the Sunday Times recently. “They could have got 50 million [pounds] back then in a three-year deal so 150 million has gone missing from their budget.

“Now results are through the floor, they have had two mediocre seasons and this one looks utterly dire, and sponsors can name their price or go elsewhere,” the source added.

Team boss Eric Boullier acknowledged the situation, “It (2015) is going to hurt our internal revenues and we will have to find a way to cover this,” the Frenchman admitted.

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PEREZ EXPECTING TEN MORE YEARS IN F1

Force India driver Sergio Perez is expecting to spend at least another decade of lying his trade in Formula 1.

But the Mexican was also quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE as admitting he is not sure if he will stay at Force India beyond 2015.

That is despite the fact that, after a difficult first half of the season, things are now looking better after the Silverstone based team debuted the ‘B’ car.

“Everything will be better now,” said the Mexican, having complained earlier this year about waning motivation.

Asked about his future, 25-year-old Perez said during the FIA events in Mexico City: “I think I have at least ten years more [in F1] ahead of me.”

He said he is not sure where he will be specifically in 2016, “but I know it will be in Formula 1 because I still have a lot to give. But I don’t know where.”

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Bianchi's father describes family's 'daily torture'

Philippe Bianchi, father of former Marussia driver Jules, has described the "daily torture" that the family goes through since his son's accident, adding they are now "less optimistic" about his recovery.

Jules suffered a diffuse axonal injury to the head when his car left the Suzuka track and crashed into a recovery vehicle at the Japanese Grand Prix on 5 October 2014.

He remains in a coma in a Nice hospital and statistics show that 90 percent of people with these types of traumatic brain injuries do not wake up from it.

In an interview with Franceinfo.fr, Philippe admits it is a daily battle for the family.

"It's unbearable, it is a daily torture, it sometimes seems crazy because for me, it is certainly worse than if he had died in the accident. Because we don't have the power to help him more," he said.

He continued: "In general, progress must be made in the first six months and it has been nine months and Jules is still not awake and there is no significant progress.

"The passing time, it makes me less optimistic than I was two or three months after the accident, when we were hoping for a better outcome."

The family continues to keep a vigil at his bedside, but Philippe says they need to discuss the "grave situation" they are facing.

"It's hard to get up in the morning saying that you are not sure if your son will live and every day it's like that. At some point, you have to have feet on the ground and realise how grave the situation is."

Should Bianchi come out of his coma, his father revealed that his son would not want to live the rest of his life with a disability.

"If he has severe disabilities we are convinced that this is not at all what Jules wants," he said. "We talked about it. He told us that if he happened one day an accident similar to that of Michael Schumacher, even if it was just a handicap that would have prevented him from driving, it would have been very difficult for him to live with it. Because driving was his life."

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Honda undecided on token usage

To use their tokens or not to use it, that is the question facing Honda ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

As the only new engine manufacturer on the grid this campaign, McLaren's power unit supplier was given nine in-season development tokens for the year and they used two of those for the Canadian GP.

McLaren, though, haven't really reaped the rewards yet as reliability woes continue to dog the MP4-30 with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button suffering five DNFs between them in the last three races.

However, Honda is confident of making progress in the coming grands prix, but motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai admits they haven't yet decided if they will use tokens for the upcoming race at the Hungaroring as it is a low-speed circuit.

"Hungary is not so important for big power, so of course we are developing that next step but maybe we won’t apply any kind of technology related to the performance side," he told F1i.

"Maybe the most important thing in Hungary is the good control to deploy the energy for each corner or each straight. The energy management is more important."

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New start rule won't make a difference warns Smedley

Williams performance chief Rob Smedley has warned fans not to expect anything different when new rules regarding starts and radio communication are introduced at the Belgian Grand Prix.

It was agreed during a Strategy Group meeting that driver aids should be relaxed in 2016, though one change that will be introduced this season is forcing drivers to conduct manual starts.

In addition to that, stricter radio communication will also be implemented, limiting conversation between driver and team primarily to safety warnings.

Smedley, who saw both his cars leapfrog the Mercedes duo at the British GP last weekend, doesn't expect the rule change will lead to such unpredictable starts becoming more common.

"I wouldn't have thought it will have a big effect, no," he is quoted by Motorsport. "The biggest thing people will do is it could mean they get it horribly wrong.

"I don't think in the end it is going to make in the performance of the start a difference at all.

"Everybody's performance may be downgraded slightly, as we won't have the perfect clutch settings, but as an average it won't make a big difference."

Further driver aid restrictions will come into force at the start of the 2016 season.

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Red Bull's pursuit of lower drag continues

Red Bull's season has not only been held back by the performance of the Renault power unit but a shift in their aerodynamic focus too. A high rake angle has been synonymous with the Red Bull cars since the last major regulation change in 2009, with the team not only wanting to expand the size of the diffuser outlet but also pitch the front-wing into ground effect.

We've watched as a battleground grew up around these concepts, as they developed them and others followed in the pursuit of flexible front-wings to further increase the desired effect, whilst at the rear of the car the blown diffuser concepts allowed for ever increasing rake angles.

The rule changes for 2014 have severely hampered this philosophy with the front-wing reduced in width making it very difficult to create the desired outer flex, whilst at the rear of the car the change to a single exhaust outlet which is now placed along the cars centreline has stopped the teams driving the exhaust plume between the tyre and diffusers edge, creating the sealing effect that is needed to maximise the rake angle.

Furthermore, this season the FIA have neutered much of the advantage teams were getting from extreme rake angles by insisting on the use of titanium skid blocks, with the teams previously using tungsten to limit the amount of wear on the plank they've had to raise the front of the car to counter this.

On top of this the power units demand the most efficient race car. Red Bull's philosophy of high downforce ordinarily comes hand-in-hand with oodles of drag, which means the team have had to change ethos to facilitate this, as down on power compared to the Mercedes and Ferrari powered teams they have to find ways to marginalise their advantage with aero instead, resulting in aero structures the team have spent years refining suddenly becoming redundant.

The change in nose shape and height for 2014/15 also delivered a blow to the team as whilst they didn't necessarily chase the maximum possible height during the last era, like others, it has had a significant impact on how the flow moves around the car. The team changed their nose back in Spain and added the gull wing to the ride height sensor/turning vanes last time out in Austria, rectifying some of the inefficiencies of their latest challenger, but there are still changes to come as they try to close down the power deficit they face.

The team had a new front wing in Austria but didn't race it, instead evaluating it along with many other components in the post race test. The wing was used this time around at Silverstone and is another incremental change, featuring a new 'r' cascade [marked in yellow], which also forms the support for the main cascade [marked in red]. Gone are the smaller winglets [marked in green] as the team look to change how the airflow moves around the front tyre, just as they did when they ditched the blown front axle in Canada.

Maintaining downforce whilst reducing drag is no easy task but incrementally the team are adopting that philosophy and will continue to try and bridge the gap to those with more power.

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Two to three months before Renault progress - Horner

Red Bull aren't expecting any progress from engine supplier Renault for at least 'two or three months' according to team principal Christian Horner.

The Milton Keynes based team has made public its anger with Renault's under-powered engine, but progress is being made back at the French manufacturer's Viry facility.

"They are making good progress on their dyno," Horner told the official F1 website. "They now have some strategic decisions about implementation, and the direction they want to take their development for the rest of this season - and that has an enormous impact on next year."

However due to the longer lead times on the power unit side, that progress, which Horner described as "encouraging", won't make it to the track for at least a few months.

"From where the concept is at the moment you are probably looking at least at a couple of months. Two to three months. It needs to happen this year - but also what you learn this year will help you next season.

"Of course it tests our patience. Like any competitive team we want performance yesterday, and unfortunately with engines the lead time is a lot longer than with the chassis.

"Patience is something that we are not really good at. We want to have performance as soon as possible..."

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It’s Time To Get The Formula 1 Of Old Back Again:

What's the antidote to 'boring Formula 1'?

There has been plenty written about 'boring Formula 1' recently – until a decent race occurs, and then everything seems fine. Until the next snorefest, then it's a disaster again…

While the recent British GP was good-but-not-epic, Formula 1's true problem is that it's perceived to be too easy and 'much of the same' right now. Even though we're only in year two of a radical rules reset, focused on amazing hybrid turbo engines, people can't seem to wait for the promise of new-look cars in 2017 as they look frantically for an emergency exit from Mercedes dominance.

Merc's supremacy only follows on from that of Red Bull and Brawn in previous seasons, and some of the times that people cite as 'great eras' for the sport were also pretty dull. For example, the so-called 'glory days' of when Formula 1 was at its fastest, in 2004, Michael Schumacher won 13 of the 18 grands prix, with Renault, McLaren and Williams only winning one race each.

It was interesting that in the recent GPDA survey fans thought F1 cars of the nineties looked the best – even though, at the time, there was a great outcry that they had too many wings and aerodynamic appendages. I personally have to say it was Lewis Hamilton's 2008 title-winner that really stood out for its swoopy, purposeful-looking beauty.

Even in the 1980s – in the midst of that golden Senna/Prost/Piquet/Mansell generation with fearsomely high-powered (ahem, turbo-charged V6s), wide-track cars – we had '88 when McLaren won all but one race. They banned turbos because, it was believed, atmospheric engines would provide better racing… Make your mind up guys!

People still look back on those turbo years fondly, a time when there was much less overtaking than there is today. And before you shout 'DRS!' at me, I'll heckle you with 'turbo-boost button!'

More power, less grip:

Time to tell you what I think: Yes, great looking cars are a must. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, sure, but go too radical and you end up with a DeltaWing or IndyCar that people quickly change their opinion from 'wow!' to 'urgh!' over time.

What I really want to see is cars that look difficult to drive. Even with the down force levels slashed over the pre-2009 era, current Formula 1 cars "look" easy. When the drivers tell you they aren't physical to drive any more, then that's just plain wrong.

I want drivers to finish races looking knackered, like they've earned their millions. Heck, I desperately want to see them change gear with their hands and not their fingers again (Not that it will happen). If people want variables that will shake up the order, give them the chance by making it possible to miss a gear, make the cars harder keep under control.

To change tack the subject, I loved what I saw in the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Kentucky at the weekend. Kentucky has gained a terrible reputation for decent stock car racing, but Saturday night's race was a real stormer. And what did they do? Reduce the downforce.

It was good to watch the drivers really working hard behind the wheel. When one of the best out there, Kurt Busch, simply loses it all on his own and spins coming off the final corner, you know that car control was at a true premium – they were on the edge.

One of the daftest suggestions I've heard in a long time in F1 is "bring back ground-effect". Are you serious? Ground-effect racing was terrible, and corner speeds would go through the roof, which is asking for trouble. What F1 needs is less downforce, not more.

I'm not obsessed by the laptimes, and how they compare to 2004, but I do want to see the cars move around again, so they look like they're being driven on that edge.

Give them more power – they can definitely turn up these engines and they'll sound better too – take away the downforce and place the skill back on to the driver.

And if we must have high-deg tyres, for the sake of the show, what is the point of having a supersoft that can do half a race distance? Bring back a tyre war.

And who needs eight flippin' gears? While F1 should always have an element of technical progression, let's get back to some basics for the sake of the racing and go again.

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Sauber preparing Singapore GP upgrade

Sauber has revealed that it is planning a big upgrade to its Formula 1 car for the Singapore Grand Prix, which should help it capitalise on an engine boost coming after the summer break.

The Hinwil-based team is currently seventh in the constructors' championship standings, but has not scored any points since the Monaco Grand Prix in May.

It hopes, however, that a switch to Ferrari's upgraded engine for the Belgian Grand Prix should deliver it a good step forward, with the later car tweak hopefully pushing it back to regularly fighting for points as it did at the start of the campaign.

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said she believed the team could rediscover the kind of form it had delivered in recent campaigns, prior to its nightmare 2014 season.

"We are coming close to where we belong in the sport and where we have traditionally been," she told Motorsport.com.

"We have a far more competitive package compared to last year. A lot has to do with the chassis and the power train, where our engine supplier has made a big step compared to last year.

"Keeping up development pace is not going to be easy, but we are introducing around Singapore a bigger upgrade.

"And before that will come an upgrade on the engine side too, so I am confident we can do something this season."

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Mercedes ‘sharpening pencils’ to address F1 engine costs

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff says that Mercedes will look into the possibility of cutting the cost of F1 engines for customer teams, but admits that it would likely have a major impact on the manufacturer's business model.

Speaking in response to FIA president Jean Todt's pledge to try and address the costs being faced by the smaller teams on the F1 grid – which are estimated to sit at around €20million for engines alone – Wolff confirmed that the Three Pointed Star would at least give the problem due consideration.

Todt admitted last month that engine prices are excessively high and should have been addressed at the start of the new 1.6-litre turbo V6 era, and is retrospectively trying to address the situation – something that Wolff applauds, whilst admitting that it will be difficult for the manufacturers to cope with.

“Mr Todt wants to try and reduce the price of the engines for the customers, for the smaller teams, because the prices are quite a large chunk of the overall budget, and we are taking it very seriously,” the Austrian confirmed, “We are looking into things but, unfortunately, the situation is that we have set up a business case with these engines with an underlying investment and knowledge. However, we acknowledge that [cutting costs] is important, so we are sharpening our pencils and looking at the situation - and we have promised to come back with an answer as to whether it is feasible or not.

"It would massively impact the situation because in a large corporation, you set up your business case, you justify your investment and then you sign contracts. If that needs to be adjusted or changed because the environment has become more difficult then it is a huge challenge for such an organisation like ours. You need to come up with a solution, you need to have a plan, and you need to justify why you are changing things, so that is the tricky bit."

Mercedes currently supplies Williams, Force India and Lotus as well as powering the 'works' cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

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Verstappen: Toro Rosso best handling car after Mercedes

Max Verstappen believes Toro Rosso has potentially the second-best chassis behind Mercedes, but says it is compromised by its underpowered Renault engine.

The Dutchman, who became the youngest person to start an F1 race earlier this year, is currently competing in his maiden season of F1 racing, but has been full of praise for the strength and potential of the STR10 chassis.

Indeed, Verstappen even goes as far to say Toro Rosso has the best handling car on the grid after Mercedes, adding that a stronger engine would potentially make the chassis even better.

“P3 behind the Mercedes',” he said when asked how good he felt the Toro Rosso chassis is. “When you have a fast engine, the chassis gets better because it is easier to drive. You don't need to go over the limit in terms of traction to try and gain one or two hundredths that you would lose on the straight anyway. When I compare it to high speed performance in general, we are P3.

For Verstappen, the lack of speed from the Renault engine is negating the abilities of the chassis as it is forced to compromise its strength in downforce.

“It compromises everything because we have to take off our strong point, which is downforce. You compromise the engine speed and you also lose performance, which is quite difficult for us, especially on tracks like Canada and Austria as it was not so easy to find the right balance there. For Mercedes it doesn't matter if they run a bit less or a bit more, they are fast on the straights anyway.”

When asked by Crash.net whether he felt Toro Rosso had a better chassis than the sister Red Bull team, Verstappen says he thinks his car has a comparatively wider operating window in order to be competitive.

“I think for them it is more difficult to find the sweet spot of the car. In general, the whole year, when you go to higher downforce tracks we were strong compared to Red Bull. Sometimes they set up the car a bit better, but I think our car is very close.”

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BUTTON: THERE ARE ALWAYS OPTIONS EVERYWHERE

Jenson Button has contradicted McLaren team boss Ron Dennis by admitting his future with the Woking outfit is uncertain.

Team supremo Dennis had declared at Silverstone: “Jenson has a two year contract with McLaren. We are not even thinking about other drivers at the moment.”

British journalists, however, immediately clarified Dennis’ reportedly misleading comment, insisting the 35-year-old’s deal is in fact a “one-plus-one” contract — meaning one guaranteed year and an option for 2016.

Subsequent reports have suggested the ‘option’ expires in September, with rumours indicating the 2009 world champion might even be in the frame at Williams in the event Valtteri Bottas moves to Ferrari.

Asked if Dennis’ comments mean he is staying at McLaren in 2016, Button said: “It is not a given, no – there are always options everywhere.”

Button, promoting his charity triathlon, was also asked about the unprecedentedly-long provisional calendar for 2016, featuring 21 races.

He said the schedule is more difficult for mechanics than the drivers, as they already “never get home and never see their family”.

“I think we have to be careful of the length of the calendar for that reason more than anything else,” said Button.

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LOTUS INSIST THEY ARE NOT FOR SALE AND THERE IS NO RENAULT OFFER

Lotus CEO Matthew Carter has played down reports that it is on the cusp of being sold back to Renault, and insists that the Enstone outfit is not for sale

Reports suggest current team owner Gerard Lopez will meet with Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn in Hungary next weekend to hammer out a deal.

Given that, just half a decade ago, the transaction was in reverse, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner observed wryly that the story contains a “certain irony”.

He told F1’s official website that, notwithstanding any Lotus-Renault talks, Red Bull is contractually guaranteed top billing with Renault power next year.

As for 2017, “That could be a completely different ball game,” Horner admitted.

Carter – who Lopez has left in charge of the Enstone team for now – insists the reports of an imminent buyout are not right.

“As CEO of this company I know nothing of any such offer,” he is quoted by Speed Week. “I know that Renault is currently looking carefully at its involvement in formula one. We know that when it comes to returning to a factory team.”

“The usual candidates would be on the list and we would possibly be the best choice. But there is no offer,” Carter insisted. “The shareholders have told me repeatedly that the Lotus team is not for sale.”

Undoubtedly, however, selling Enstone back to Renault would be a timely solution for troubled Lotus.

Highlighting F1’s income and governance issues, European parliamentarian Anneliese Dodds pointed out the “urgency of the situation … with Lotus facing a winding-up petition in the High Court” due to a disgruntled supplier.

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RUSSIA AND MALAYSIA HAPPY WITH 2016 F1 CALENDAR

Russian Grand Prix organisers say they are happy with its new early slot on the F1 calendar, while Malaysian Grand Prix boss is happy to have his race later in the year..

Last year and again in 2015, as Sochi joined the ever-expanding world championship schedule, the new Russian grand prix has been held in mid October.

But as the newly-published 2016 calendar expands to an unprecedented 21 grands prix, Sochi has been reshuffled to a May 1 race slot, and paired back-to-back with Bahrain.

Promoter Sergey Vorobyov told the Russian sports news agency R-Sport: “After we conducted the first Russian grand prix, for us there is nothing difficult in holding the race at any time.

“I think the grand prix in the May holidays will further increase attendance,” he added. “More people will come to Sochi and enjoy this event.”

Also with a vastly-different race date in 2016 is Malaysia, which has traditionally had a very early date on the calendar.

But next year, Sepang shifts to late September, paired back-to-back with Singapore. Chief Razlan Razali said Malaysia needed a shakeup.

“It’s unlikely that we are going to see a Malaysian driver in formula one for the time being, and we have got to think of something new to make the Sepang race relevant,” he told the local Star newspaper.

“We thought of proposing to Bernie Ecclestone to slot us in before the Singapore round, but then it would have clashed with the Hari Raya Haji holidays — so the dates we got are ok,” he added.

“We’ve got more than a year now to promote next year’s race and we’ll do it well.”

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GROSJEAN DOUBTS DRIVER AIDS CLAMPDOWN WILL HAVE BIG IMPACT

Lotus driver Romain Grosjean is not sure the forthcoming driver aids clampdown to be implemented from the Belgian Grand Prix onward will be a game changer.

Although the big changes to an image-struggling F1 will come in 2016 and especially 2017, one tweak will arrive ahead of the race at fabled Spa-Francorchamps next month.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the FIA has now sent the details to the teams, including a new limit on what the drivers can be told on the formation lap about clutch settings for the race start.

The report said the “objective is that the drivers will be solely responsible for the start procedures”.

But Lotus driver Grosjean told Speed Week he doubts the changes for Belgium and beyond will make a big difference, “There are certain procedures that must be adhered to for the start, and in principle they are not changing.”

He acknowledged the new rules but doubts they will “turn the grid upside down when the lights go out”.

“The same applies to restrictions on the radio,” the Frenchman continued, “as we will get used to it very quickly. I don’t know really how it is intended to improve the show.”

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HORNER DENIES KEY TO BE POACHED FROM TORO ROSSO

Team principal Christian Horner insists Red Bull will not simply poach the increasingly-lauded designer James Key from the junior team Toro Rosso, and that the technical team at Milton Keynes up to the task with no changes required

It has become increasingly clear in 2015 that, with Adrian Newey having taken a step back in 2015, Red Bull has been outpaced in the chassis department this year by Toro Rosso – the sister team with a much smaller budget.

In fact, rookie Max Verstappen thinks the Key-designed STR10 is one of the three best chassis on the grid.

“In general, on the high downforce tracks, we are strong compared to Red Bull,” the Dutchman is quoted by UOL Esporte.

Because of Renault’s engine problems, however, Toro Rosso – and Red Bull – are having to compensate by tweaking the downforce levels.

“We have to highlight our strength, which is downforce, which is very difficult for us especially on tracks like Canada and Austria,” Verstappen said.

“Mercedes, whether they run more or less downforce, they are strong on the straights anyway.”

But the starkest comparison is between Red Bull and Toro Rosso, given the big difference in budget, and the experience and pay of the drivers.

Red Bull chief Horner, however, said he has “no interest at all” in simply poaching what may be the secret to Toro Rosso’s surprisingly-good 2015 car – its designer Key.

“We have a strong technical team,” Horner insisted to F1’s official website. “Adrian is still involved in all the things that are going on and with Rob Marshal, Pierre Wache and Dan Fallows we have a strong technical group – so no desire to change anything.”

“Unfortunately the element that has the biggest effect on our competitiveness is one we are not in control of,” said Horner, referring to the Renault power unit.

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MALLYA SUFFERS LEGAL SETBACK IN F1 SPONSORSHIP CASE

India’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by Vijay Mallya to overturn charges against him for allegedly violating foreign exchange rules, adding to the legal challenges facing one of the country’s most prominent businessmen.

The country’s enforcement directorate, responsible for fighting financial crime, has alleged Mallya entered into an unauthorised agreement in 1995 to advertise the Kingfisher beer brand name on racing cars during Formula One championships between 1996 and 1998.

Mallya is chairman of United Breweries which makes Kingfisher beer and is now around 40 percent owned by Dutch brewer Heineken. The directorate has said he did the advertising deal without seeking permission from the central bank.

Such clearance would have been needed because the agreement involved money going out of the country.

Lawyers for Mallya, who is also facing pressure from lenders to repay dues linked to his grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines , had told the court that the non-compliance was not deliberate or wilful, according to the court documents.

The country’s top court on Monday rejected the appeal in the long-running case and could now force him to face the enforcement directorate charges. A spokesman for Mallya declined to comment on the court judgement.

Mallya remains involved in Formula One as a co-owner of the Force India team.

Mallya’s business empire previously included India’s largest spirits company United Spirits Ltd, but he sold most of his shares in the company and gave management control to Britain’s Diageo Plc in 2012.

In April, the board of United Spirits begun a procedure to remove Mallya as the company’s chairman due to alleged financial irregularities. Mallya has denied the allegations and has refused to resign.

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Two U.S. teams on the F1 grid in 2016? It could happen

Promoter Tavo Hellmund and financier James Carney head US-based investment group looking to buy a Formula 1 team.

There’s a good chance that North America will have two, not one, Formula 1 teams on the grid in 2016.

Gene Haas's plans for a Ferrari-affiliated team entry next year are well advanced, but a group of investors headquartered in the United States are actively attempting to buy an existing team in a bid to also join the grid.

The group is headed by New York financier James Carney, and Austin businessman Tavo Hellmund, who developed the Circuit of the Americas track and cut the deal with Bernie Ecclestone to bring F1 back to the country.

More recently, Hellmund has spearheaded the return of F1 racing to Mexico City after a 23-year absence, when the Mexican Grand Prix returns to the calendar at the renovated Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez November 1.

Neither Hellmund nor Carney could be reached for comment, but a representative of Carney’s confirmed there was interest, though declined to say which team the consortium was focused on.

Sources have suggested it is the British-based Manor team, which is currently controlled by Irish businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder of Ovo Energy.

The team, with drivers Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, is currently pegged to the back of the grid - using an updated 2014 chassis and last year's Ferrari engine.

It originally entered the sport in 2010 as Virgin Racing, and the team’s major highlight – a ninth-place finish by driver Jules Bianchi at Monaco to secure it tenth place in last year's constructors' championship – was later followed by an enormous low with Bianchi’s crash, which left him in a coma.

Prize money concern?

The team missed the final three races of 2014 due to financial reasons and its future was in doubt for much of the winter.

But Fitzpatrick rescued the team from bankruptcy, although it is believed that he is now looking for a financial boost from a new partner or to sell it completely.

The Carney-Hellmund led effort reportedly is seeking majority control of a team.

The situation is complicated by F1's prize-money structure which means only the top ten teams are guaranteed prize money.

The arrival of Haas next year means there will be 11 teams, although stipulations in bilateral agreements relating to prize money means teams must finish in the top ten for two out of three years before they qualify for payments.

That means Manor is guaranteed top ten income - worth around $40 million - until the end of 2017 at least.

It will need a step up in performance, or a change to F1's prize-money structure, to ensure it keeps earning after that date.

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POV: On-board with F1 Driver Carlos Sainz - Live In Peru

Get on board with Red Bull's Formula One driver Carlos Sainz, as he delivers an action packed run of burn outs and donuts for a 60,000 strong crowd at a recent Infiniti Red Bull Racing Live Demo on the streets of Lima Peru.

A slice of the action from our 2015 Live Demo in Lima Peru. Red Bull's Carlos Sainz entertained a 60,000 strong crowd with a display of burnouts and donuts on one of the main boulevards in Lima Paseo de Los Heroes (Avenue of Heroes).

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HORNER: DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT RENAULT UNDERESTIMATED THESE RULES

Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has admitted the rocky relationship between his team and Renault is due to a loss of patience and the fact that the vastly experienced manufacturer underestimated the task at hand with the new turbo V6 engine formula.

“A lot has been said and written about the relationship between Red Bull Racing and Renault,” he acknowledged in an interview with Auto Hebdo.

Indeed, team boss Horner’s comments come at a well-publicised crossroads, as Renault is said to be considering buying the Lotus team, while Red Bull is reportedly in talks with Ferrari and Mercedes.

Asked what would happen if Renault leaves F1 altogether, the Briton answered: “If we are not able to change to another brand of engines, then we would have to leave the championship” as well.

As for Red Bull’s role in potentially turning Renault away, Horner said Cyril Abiteboul has actually masterminded a “large-scale restructuring”, and fevered work is taking place at Viry.

“Our problem is that we do not have the patience,” the Red Bull chief admitted. “We want to immediately get back to where we were, or at least as quickly as possible. But improving an engine takes much more time than with the chassis.”

“As for us, the disappointment came in the winter, when we were expecting significant progress that didn’t come,” he added.

Asked if Renault has dropped the ball in terms of the money spent, or the expertise of personnel, Horner answered: “It’s difficult to answer that question on behalf of Renault. But in the last five years, Renault engines have won four titles and so definitely they don’t like the situation either. The next few weeks will be important.”

Red Bull chiefs, however, have been saying that for quite some time, just as Dr Helmut Marko and Dietrich Mateschitz have been making comments indicating their patience is now at an end.

“Dietrich and Helmut are very straightforward and honest,” Horner explained. “They have never spoken through dry press releases — they express their thoughts very clearly and without hiding anything. And what they are feeling is deep disappointment.”

“You have to understand that a lot of promises were made and not all of them were delivered. In Milton-Keynes we know the ability of Renault, so to close our eyes and say nothing would not be right. Some of the problems have existed for a long time and, despite our warnings, were not resolved,” said Horner.

Not only that, Horner said it was Renault who arguably pushed hardest for the current ‘power unit’ regulations it is now struggling so notably to master, “They insisted on the turbo V6 engine and warned that they could leave the championship if formula one went the other way.”

“We win and lose together, but Renault made a serious error in assessing what should have been done. Again, it is difficult to accept that Renault underestimated these rules when it was at the forefront of implementing them,” concluded Horner.

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DENNIS: MCLAREN F1 TEAM IS MANAGED WELL

McLaren boss Ron Dennis has defended the management structure at the Woking team, amid mounting criticism of the team’s performance in their second era with engine partner Honda..

Recently Dennis denounced Eddie Jordan as the village idiot of F1, after he suggested the team’s bosses are one reason the outfit is struggling in 2015.

Dennis told the latest edition of Autosprint magazine that he is fully supportive of Eric Boullier and Jonathan Neale, who are today directly responsible for the F1 team.

“I come to the grands prix,” he explained, “but I am the chief executive of the entire group, which includes things other than Formula 1. Of course, F1 is a very critical part of the whole business, but I have no direct duties. I observe, I participate in meetings, but I am independent.”

“My opinion is respected, I have a lot of experience to bear, but I don’t like to interfere. My role is to keep the team together and prevent it from breaking into factions.”

“The team is managed well,” Dennis insisted. “From the point of view of management, I would say this is one of the best periods in the history of McLaren, even though that may seem strange as the results are very bad at the moment.”

“Even the drivers understand that, which you can see from their positive attitude. The activities in F1 is the public face of McLaren, and over the next few months we will be proud of how quickly we managed to recover. I have no doubt about that,” added Dennis.

McLaren are enduring their worst year in Formula 1 since Dennis took over the team in the late seventies, and have not won a race since Jenson Button’s victory at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.

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HULKENBERG BETTER CHOICE THAN BOTTAS FOR FERRARI SAYS SURER

Former F1 driver Marc Surer believes Kimi Raikkonen is well past his best, but also doubts that Valtteri Bottas is the best man for Maranello.

However, Surer – now a pundit for German television – believes the Finn is in theory an ideal teammate for Sebastian Vettel.

“Kimi is the ideal number two,” he told Speed Week. “No politics, always fair. But I think this is just no longer the Kimi of old.”

According to the rumour mill, the candidates are already lining up at Maranello’s door, and the big favourite is fellow Finn Valtteri Bottas.

But Surer said: “For me, Bottas is slower than (Felipe) Massa — a driver Ferrari got rid of two years ago. If they take Bottas, they’re taking a step back.”

“I think the best choice would be Nico Hulkenberg, but I get the impression that Ferrari doesn’t want two Germans,” he added.

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MERCEDES HAVE PERFORMANCE SECRET UP THEIR SLEEVE

There is more to Mercedes’ dominance than simply power and downforce according to a report in Auto Motor und Sport, arguing that main rival Ferrari is now almost level-pegging with the world champions in terms of horse power.

And as far as the chassis is concerned, rivals are now beginning to look more closely at how the 2015 Mercedes is often so much better.

Referring to Silverstone, and a detailed analysis based on GPS data in qualifying, Force India’s technical boss Andy Green said: “They killed everybody in the last corner particularly.”

“Apparently they’re keeping the rear tyres in such good shape in the first part of the lap that they still have good grip in the final corners. For everyone else, the temperature is going up too much for that.”

Green said he has noticed a key difference with the front suspension settings of the Mercedes.

Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt revealed that the suspicion is that the W06, by way of an unexplained trick, is able to be “pumped up” for the optimal balance between high and low-speed corners.

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NASR PLAYS DOWN TALK OF TEAM SWITCH

Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr has played down rumours linking him with a switch of teams for 2016.

Not only has Nasr been impressive on debut in 2015, he carries the significant backing of sponsor Banco do Brasil, whose colours feature prominently on this year’s Sauber.

But Nasr, 22, is reportedly frustrated that the Swiss team is struggling to develop its 2015 machine.

He told UOL Esporte: “I want to help the team as much as possible to improve the situation.

“I think it has enormous potential to fight for points in most races of the season. I am firmly here (at Sauber), thinking about this year and the future with the team.”

But that doesn’t mean he might not also be thinking about a future elsewhere.

For instance, with Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hulkenberg both regularly mentioned on the 2016 driver market, there may be key vacancies at Williams or Force India.

“For my part I have not heard anything yet,” Nasr insists. “Of course there are always rumours.”

“But I’m still committed to Sauber, we have a plan to improve the car in 2016, we have a lot of work going on and have hired a new (technical) boss,” he said, referring to Mark Smith.

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PIRELLI WANTS MORE TESTING TO SPICE UP F1

Formula 1’s exclusive tyre supplier Pirelli has vowed to try to spice up next year’s grands prix.

In 2015, criticism of the F1 ‘show’ has come from all quarters, but a big factor contributing to the excitement of the racing is undoubtedly the rubber on the road.

The sport’s sole supplier aims for two to three pitstops per driver per race, but Pirelli has actually been notably conservative in the new ‘power unit’ era, with better durability meaning the ideal strategy has usually been one-stoppers.

F1 chief Paul Hembery admitted to Sky: “We are not where we need to be this year and it is true that the requirement is for two or three(-stop races).

“So we are not quite hitting the mark, but then we have no testing ability. We have zero testing ability so it is ok to sometimes ask us to do things, but we also need the ability to do our job,” he added.