FORMULA 1 - 2016

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HAMILTON: IT’S NOT GOING TO BE AN EASY-BREEZY DRIVE

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton is expecting a “big fight” in the forthcoming Singapore Grand Prix with the season suddenly on a knife-edge just as Formula One enters a new era under fresh ownership.

Hamilton, whose lead has been slashed to just two points, faces the prospect of a five-pronged assault led by team-mate Nico Rosberg, with the Red Bulls and Ferraris also pushing hard on the twisty street circuit.

Rosberg, breathing down Hamilton’s neck after back-to-back wins in Belgium and Italy, is gunning for a hat-trick in his 200th grand prix that would enable him to leapfrog Hamilton to the top of the standings with six races remaining.

It promises an engrossing start to the new adventure under US billionaire John Malone’s Liberty Media, which is buying out F1’s parent company in a deal which values the sport at $8 billion.

A close and unpredictable race – after Mercedes’ Hamilton and Rosberg won 13 of the 14 races so far this year — set against Singapore’s stunning night-time cityscape would be a welcome introduction for the incoming owners.

A year ago, runaway leaders Mercedes had their worst performance of the season at hot and sticky Singapore with Hamilton retiring after being off the pace all weekend.

Rosberg trailed home fourth, almost 25 seconds behind the winner, fellow German Sebastian Vettel.

“It’s not going to be an easy-breezy drive,” Hamilton said this week. “Even when we won in 2014 it wasn’t straightforward.”

“We didn’t have the greatest weekend there last year,” added Hamilton. “So hopefully we’re on top of that now.

“Ferrari and Red Bull will be on it I’m sure, so we’ve got a big fight on our hands if we are up at the front. I love a battle, so I’m excited.”

Red Bull and Ferrari, who haven’t won since Vettel’s Singapore victory last year, will fancy their chances at the city centre circuit which has 23 corners — the most of any F1 venue — and few high-speed straights.

Red Bull have only won once this season, with Max Verstappen in Spain when the Mercedes took out each other in a first-lap smash. But their hopes are high heading into Singapore.

“Singapore is definitely one of my favourites,” said Verstappen. “It’s very challenging. I enjoyed it a lot last year so I’m excited to go out there again.”

The 61-lap race has the second slowest lap of the F1 calendar after Monaco, but also has the longest race duration with safety car interventions highly likely.

It compromises Mercedes’ power and aerodynamic advantages to such an extent that Silver Arrows team principal Toto Wolff says his cars should not be regarded as favourites.

“Ferrari were mighty around this circuit last year and it will suit the high-downforce design philosophy followed by Red Bull, so we must not make the mistake of thinking we are favourites this weekend,” said Wolff.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene admitted it had been a disappointing season so far, but believed his team would be a force in the remaining races.

“Of course we had hoped for more,” Arrivabene said after Monza. “We’ve taken some action and my guess is that for the last races we should be on an upward trend.”

Away from events on the track, debate will centre on Formula One’s direction under its new owners, including the role of colourful supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

The diminutive 85-year-old, who has built F1 into a highly profitable global powerhouse over the past four decades, is staying on as CEO but he will be joined by 21st Century Fox vice chairman Chase Carey, who was named as the sport’s new chairman.

“It’s an exciting time for the sport and the future is looking bright,” said Wolff.

[skalls]

Hard to bet against the merc men, but I'm thinking we might see a surprise podium line up this week.  Ricardo, Vettel and Rosberg, in that order is my guess.

 

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1 minute ago, skalls said:

Hard to bet against the merc men, but I'm thinking we might see a surprise podium line up this week.  Ricardo, Vettel and Rosberg, in that order is my guess.

 

Don't rule out Force India who IMO are a brilliant team.

I'm a Merc man myself but like NFL, I'm delighted when any team wins, so long as it's a great race to the finish. I do hope Hamilton DNF's

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How F1 is fighting off the hackers

In the blink of an eye, computer hackers could wreak havoc in a Formula 1 team. Here's how technology giants have joined the fight to counter that threat.

Ever since Mark Webber's Red Bull car ground to a halt at the inaugural 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with gearbox failure attributed to electrical interference from an underground line, Formula 1 teams have always taken extra precautions around the Marina Bay circuit.

The exact cause of the electrical signals remains open to debate, but it highlights how teams have always to be mindful about the potential of an external force playing havoc with a car's electronics, for a wrong signal at the wrong time can mean instant retirement.

But in the modern ultra-connected world we live in, the threat posed by a part of a Singapore track pales into insignificance compared to the chaos that modern day hackers could create if they were able to get inside an F1's electronics black box.

       

Open doors

It's why companies like anti-virus giants Kaspersky Lab have thrown themselves into F1 with Ferrari - because the technology progress, high-profile compeition and cost of things going wrong makes the sport an arena like no other.

For Kaspersky's chief sales officers Alexander Moiseev, the sophistication of hackers means that if an F1 team dared try to run without strong protection, then the danger is not only losing data, but in having its car put under someone else's control.

"I don't want to create a black sky, but technically without protection, the doors are open," Moiseev tells Motorsport.com.

"All teams have their own IT departments, they have security and knowledge themselves but protection is fundamental.

"We have done a huge work with Ferrari over a year and a half. We learned a lot to adjust the product and create solutions. We did a lot of education in terms of cyber security because their way of seeing threats was different from what we do.

"If they lived without protection, it would be like if you have a perfect home and put no locks on the door. Would it be easy to access it?"

     

Growing threats

Many of the sophisticated hacker groups are interested in either scaring people or getting money, but equally some would get satisfaction from simply bringing down an F1 team.

Moiseev says the threats are ever increasing, and it is a never-ending task for his company to stay on top of things.

"If you try to analyse the number of threats and targeted attacks that are happening over a weekend, they are happening because there are more people and bigger crowds – so it is really extreme for our protection system," he said.

"The protection for the team starts at the pit wall and ends up at the tracks and with the factory itself. Then of course, the data itself – it is very vulnerable. It is always under attack, the question is how the bad guys will decide to attack it."

Moiseev says that his company not only has to fight off potential risks of hackers bringing down car systems, but also wreaking havoc with entire computer systems.

"There are different sorts of attacks. Consider, for example, the 'DOS' attack. As an example, if you have a phone and I call you, I disable the service for other incoming calls. You can enable a second line but if someone else calls you as well, then you have denial of service [DOS].

"With an Internet service, you have millions of lines to come in to read the website. But if you create a bottleneck and hack many, many computers and command them to go the website, you basically create a denial of service to the website and it doesn't work. This is called DOS attack.

"It is something that is becoming quite common and, for teams, it is much more sensitive to be service enabled. They cannot have DOS – the service must always be live."

     

Team hacks

But it is not just criminals or troublemakers that those in F1 are having to watch out for, because if teams were left unchecked then the temptation to hack into systems for competitive gains would be too much for some not to act.

Since 2008, F1 teams have all had to use a standard ECU supplied by McLaren Applied Technology, and great efforts have been made to ensure that it is tamper proof.

The processors inside F1's ECU are supplied by Freescale, and the American company is well versed in understanding how in the past, in other categorie,s some nefarious behaviour was going on.

Freescale's Peter Highton, who is heavily involved in the F1 project, said: "If you have physical access to something, you can spend a lot of time and probably hack your way in there, but it would take months and a lot of effort.

"We went through a situation 10-15 years ago where we found people were playing with standard ECUs to get them into a vulnerable state [so they could be hacked].

"The way to do it was to play around with the voltage. So you would drop the voltage very low and bring it back up again, and it would put the ECU into a reset mode. At this point they could put a debugger in and say, 'oh it is just starting to run code now'.

"So they could hack in before the system had started running properly. What we've now done is build into chips to look into strange voltage variations, strange clock variations and tampering. Even there, we have tried to make it as physically difficult as possible to get into it.

"The latest devices, if they see a tamper, will just erase something. There will be nothing to debug…"

In F1, of course, the ECUs will not be wiped. Any such bad behaviour will simply flash up with the FIA and the troublemakers will be outed. Intricate systems have also been put in place to ensure that any software teams use themselves is not cleverly getting around the rules.

Tim Stafford, commercial director of McLaren Applied Technology, said: "Our company has worked closely with the FIA to develop techniques and security mechanisms that the FIA can satisfy themselves that they have a secure system to allow the teams to run cars but prevent driver aids they don't want them to run.

"If you look inside a garage, the software running on a laptop for a particular car is licenced specifically for that team. The data off that laptop in someone else's garage, they wouldn't be able to talk to the box."

     

Striving for perfect security

Ultimately, it is about the gamekeepers being one step ahead of the poachers.

As Highton explains: "We have seen road cars that have been hacked, and the way in for those guys was through the infotainment system, which hadn't been secured as much as the mission critical areas. What you really don't want to happen is have someone play around with the way the engine is running.

"We realised years ago that cars had to have the same level of protection as other systems – and the rest of the world is catching up!"

Moiseev concurs: "Unfortunately for us, with the bad guys there are a lot of guys working with good minds. Bad minds in terms of understanding the world but good minds in terms of technology.

"The malware world is really a business, a huge business. But the things they do, the groups they have and the technology they realise, just seeing some samples from what we have on our database, the investment to create such a weapon is huge.

"Some are targeted to release money, some are targeted to scare people – but the investment is huge. Unfortunately, we need to be constantly updated."

And with a more and more connected world – where our smartphones connect to our laptops and our cars – the technology is ever changing.

F1 is not above any of this, but for now it appears the hackers have not yet got through and stopped a car, perhaps because the price of breaking the systems is simply too much.

"There is a definition of perfect security," adds Moiseev. "100 percent security doesn't exist, but perfect security means the investment to get through the security perimeter is higher than the money you can get after. That is the level we have to operate at."

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Mexican GP plans even bigger podium spectacular

Mexican Grand Prix promoters have revealed plans to make their podium celebrations even more spectacular for this year's race, so more fans can be involved.

The unique positioning of the podium at the Mexico City track – which faces the Baseball Stadium section rather than the pits – delivered an amazing post-race atmosphere last year as the country celebrated getting an F1 race back.

But having taken note of how Monza's track invasion helps make its podium so great, Mexico is now looking at ways it can improve things too.

Rodrigo Sanchez, the Mexican GP's director of marketing, told Motorsport.com: "I think the podium was one of the most amazing things about the race – and it is definitely staying.

"We are still working with FOM to work out exactly what we are able to do and if we are able to fill up the track with people. Because if we do that and the grandstands are full, it is going to look really spectacular.

"We just need to find the logistics and the way to do it. But we are trying to do something more special and bigger for this year."

Sanchez says the challenge is in getting enough people on to the track in time, as well as ensuring that there is not a rush from the grandstands so they are left empty.

"The good thing about the Monza podium is that the track is full with those huge flags," he said.

"Mexico looked spectacular last year but if you see the track portion, it was photographers and marshals. Even if it was 500 people, it was just a small section right in front of the podium.

"For the best picture we need to fill that with people. The problem is we need to find 30,000 people and bring them in time to fill it up.

"At the same time, the people in the grandstands want to go down but you don't want empty grandstands then. So we are trying to find the best and most logical way to do it."

     

Sell-out predicted

After easily selling out last year as Mexico held its first F1 race for 23 years, Sanchez has admitted that the track is having to work harder for a repeat because the F1 novelty factor is not there.

But even with increased capacity this year, he is confident that Mexico will again sell all the tickets within the next few weeks.

"I would say last year, about this time of the year, we were completely sold out," he said. "Right now, there is about 15-20 percent of the inventory still left. It is not the same having had F1 23 years ago as having had it eight months ago.

"But launching a last-minute ticket campaign in September, we will have a full house. We've already had 1 million people at the track this year for events and concerts. We have had the Rolling Stones, Coldplay, and Maroon 5.

"It is natural to see a little bit of a drop, but we will still have a full house for the race. We have 10 percent more seats than last year so I think we are in good shape. We just need to wait."

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Rosberg: We need to find 1.5secs in Singapore

Nico Rosberg previews the Singapore GP, explains how he prepares himself for it and why his 200th Grand Prix start might be a lucky one. 

 

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Hamilton: Singapore GP is anyone’s race

Lewis Hamilton reflects on his Italian race, previews the Singapore Grand Prix and talks about what he expects from this year’s night race.

 

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Singapore Grand Prix - The heat of the night

Sebastian’s fond memories of Singapore

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Haas open to being Ferrari driver development test bed

Guenther Steiner says his Haas team would be prepared to become an effective 'breeding ground' for Ferrari's development drivers going forward in an effort to strengthen its relationship with the factory team. 

New to the grid in 2016, Haas has enjoyed a successful inaugural season of F1 having established itself amidst the competitive mid-field order, with a best finish of fifth place at the Bahrain Grand Prix. 

This eye-catching inaugural campaign has been partly attributed to the close technical working relationship forged with Ferrari since Haas announced its F1 intentions back in 2014, one that has seen collaboration on elements of the chassis, a supply of engines and the agreement to take on its reserve driver Esteban Gutierrez. 

Going forward however, Steiner hints there is scope to extend this relationship to include turning one of its seats over to drivers in Ferrari's development stable as a means of preparing them for a move to the Scuderia, much like Red Bull does with Toro Rosso. 

Coming as Ferrari Academy Driver and GP3 championship leader Charles Leclerc steadily emerges as a possible candidate for a Haas drive in 2017, though Steiner says those talks aren't taking place right now, he hints an agreement of that nature could be mutually beneficial. 

“I think Ferrari helped us out this year to find a driver, because last year we were looking for good drivers and they had one with Esteban so we took him. In the future, we haven't spoken about that a lot so if Ferrari has got a good development driver in their stable which they want to bring along and it's maybe too early to take him into their team, because Ferrari is Ferrari, they don't want to test a driver, they need to have a finished product there. 

“So if they ask us to have him for a year or two, to develop him, why not but at the moment these discussions are not taking place. But if there is a good driver in the future, we always talk with Ferrari and we are pretty close to them as everybody knows, for sure. 

“It's similar like Mercedes does maybe with Manor, they've got two drivers there at Manor who they developed because they've got Mercedes engines, but there is nothing in the pipeline at the moment.” 

As well as Leclerc, Ferrari's Driver Academy includes Antonio Fuoco (2nd in GP3), Giuliano Alesi (21st in GP3) and Guanyu Zhou (14th in European F3), though speculation suggests it is looking closely at GP2 title contender Antonio Giovinazzi. 

 

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ARE FERRARI TRYING TO LURE PADDY LOWE AWAY FROM MERCEDES?

Sebastian Vettel on Thursday did not deny speculation linking Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe with a move to Ferrari, and it is not the only gossip swirling in the Singapore paddock.

Reports have emerged this week linking Lowe with a move to Maranello, to which Vettel responded: “When someone of his calibre is available, of course you have to think about it. But to my knowledge he is not available.”

Another topic doing the rounds in the temporary Marina Bay paddock, is that Mercedes is using an innovation that mimics active suspension that cannot be outlawed by the FIA until 2018.

“To what extent it is on the edge of legality or not, I cannot judge,” Vettel is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

“But for sure if you have something, you want to exploit it for as long as possible. We also have some clever things on the car,” the German added.

Finally, Vettel was asked about F1’s takeover by Liberty Media, and he said: “I think they will not have much influence on the cars.

“But if they do, I would like twice as many cylinders and less complicated electronics. And maybe air conditioning — we could really use it here in Singapore,” Vettel joked.

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VETTEL: IF MERCEDES STRUGGLE I AM HAPPY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

Sebastian Vettel is running out of races to record his first win of the season for Ferrari but the German is optimistic this week’s Singapore Grand Prix could provide some belated success for the Italian team.

The four-time world champion joined Ferrari from Red Bull at the start of last term and made an immediate impact, claiming three victories with the last one coming a year ago in Singapore.

This season has been far less fruitful for Ferrari, without a win in 14 races and behind Mercedes and Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.

Vettel, though, preferred to look ahead rather than in the rearview mirror when asked about his chances this week.

“All the races that have passed this year we didn’t record a victory but looking forward we are always aiming to win,” the four-times Singapore winner told reporters on Thursday.

“This track was very good for us last year and we have improved the car from then so we should have a reasonable chance.

“You have to make Mercedes favourites but they had a difficult time here last season. There’s no guarantee that it happens again but if they do struggle, then everyone will be happy to take advantage,” said Vettel.

Ferrari were expected to mount a serious challenge to Mercedes this term but the German team have won 13 of 14 races and few would have expected Vettel’s triumph a year ago to be the last time he climbed on the top step of the podium.

“I don’t wake up worrying over how long it has been since my last win,” said Vettel who has three second-place finishes and as many third places in 2016.

“Since last year some people have left and a lot of others have been shuffled around. When we started off last year it was clear where we wanted to go, bring Ferrari back to the top.

“It’s true we have not had a great season so far but I don’t think it has been as bad as some people would lead you to believe. We are critical of ourselves because we have not achieved what we set out to achieve.

“We were closing the gap last year but unfortunately that gap to the top is still there, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller but still there. We simply haven’t been quick enough but we are always working on it,” said Vettel.

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MOSLEY: ACTIVE ROLE BY LIBERTY IN F1 MAY CREATE CONFLICT WITH BERNIE

Former FIA president and Formula 1 management veteran Max Mosley has urged Bernie Ecclestone and F1’s new owners – Liberty Media – to work together to take the sport to the next level, and warns that a fallout between the two parties would be counter productive.

Speaking to BBC Mosley said, “These people may take a more active role and they want to sort of run the business but that could bring them into conflict with Bernie.”

However he predicts that “it is much more likely there will be a collaboration.”

Few people know Ecclestone as well Mosely. The pair worked together to overthrow the once all powerful FISA led in the eighties by autocrat Jean Marie Balestre and thereafter control Formula 1, turning it into to the global success that it now is.

“There has to be a succession sooner or later unless Bernie’s immortal, which I don’t think he is. So I guess this would be part of that process. But as far as the overall picture is concerned, I doubt very much that anything is going to change because they bring I would imagine certain sorts of expertise to the table.”

“But Bernie on the other hand has this enormous big knowledge of F1 which they certainly won’t have so they will need him. It is going to be very interesting to see what things they wish to do in addition to what has been done already.”

Ecclestone’s disdain for new media and related technologies is well known, he openly admits that he targets the ‘Rolex brigade’ and in doing so is not terribly interested in attracting a younger audience with what he believes to be less buying power.

On the other hand Liberty Media is plugged into social media and modern media technology, which they will no doubt unleash on F1 and leverage in the future.

Mosley knows Ecclestone stance on the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Faceook, “He is the first person to say he doesn’t understand social media and he’s not really into the digital age. On the other hand he is very good at keeping the whole structure going.”

Already reports have emerged suggesting that there has been an early clash of personalities between Liberty Media head honcho John C. Malone and Ecclestone, but Mosley predicts that the 85 year old will in fact get on well with Chase Carey, the man Liberty Media has assigned to handle their F1 investment.

“If Chase Carey is a person of real ability and he wants to understand and he’s clever, I think he’ll get along fine with Bernie. Most of the people Bernie has not been able to get on with, it’s because they are not up to the level at which he operates.”

Liberty has a plan to offer teams Formula 1 shares, but Mosley does not think the concept is wise, “Every time that has happened in any other form of motorsport, it hasn’t worked – you have examples of that in America”.

“Really what you need (is) an independent body making and enforcing the rules and it is up to them to make it attractive to the teams on the one side and the spectacular on the other. So I think the teams having a say is wrong.”

“And the big difficulty at the moment is that Bernie runs the commercial side of F1 and the sporting side is supposed to be run by the FIA.”

“And from the outside – and I am not involved now – it would appear that the sporting side is not run quite as carefully and in such detail as perhaps it should be,” added Mosley, taking a swipe at current FIA president Jean Todt and his hands-off approach to the sport.

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RED BULL NOW FULLY FOCUSED ON 2017 CAR

Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has revealed that the team’s Milton Keynes base is now fully focused on the development of their 2017 car.

When asked what the team had in store for the forthcoming Singapore Grand Prix, Horner said, “We have a few little bits and pieces. Now the whole factory is focused on 2017. There are little bits and pieces [for the 2016 car] but nothing major.”

The Marina Bay street circuit is similar in character to Monaco where Red Bull were very strong earlier this season. The more aero dependent venue should suit the strengths of the RB12 in the hands of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Vesrtappen

Horner explained, “It is a different type of circuit. We expect to be stronger. Hopefully we can get closer to Ferrari and give them a harder time than we did in Monza.

“Monza is a pure horsepower circuit, slow-speed corners, long straights, so it’s very clear where things are at. We’re in a better position to where we were 12 months ago, but there is still some way to go to close that down.

“But we know that there are circuits coming up which should suit more the characteristics of our car. Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Mexico are theoretically all tracks which should be reasonable for us,” added Horner whose team is in a battle for second place in the constructors’ championship with Ferrari.

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Alonso: First McLaren-Honda win will be massive

Fernando Alonso reckons bagging that first victory for the renewed McLaren-Honda partnership will be a "massive achievement" for the driver who succeeds.

McLaren revived their relationship with Honda last season with their best showing to date being Alonso's P5 in the 2015 Hungarian GP, a result he matched this year in Monaco.

And although the podium and victories are still someway off there have been signs of encouragement with McLaren scoring in three of the last four grands prix.

As such the team is dreaming of victory with Alonso saying it will be huge for the driver who bags that first P1.

Asked if that first win would be his 'greatest achievement', he replied: "Yes. The first win with this project will be quite a big thing for any of us.

"I don't know if I will have that chance, if Stoffel [Vandoorne, 2017 team-mate] will have that chance.

"But when that first win arrives then everyone involved in this project from day one, from being 10 seconds away in winter testing last year, and 5.8s in Australia in the first race last year, it will be a massive achievement, and we will feel very proud."

The Spaniard, though, admits there is still a lot of work to be done to get there.

Next season Formula 1 is introducing a host of new technical regulations which could yet throw the form books out of the window.

"Everyone is more excited, more motivated and everybody wants to arrive in Australia next year already now," added the Spaniard.

"To make that real we need to work very hard for the next months and we need to accelerate the process because in Formula 1 no one waits forever.

"Things change quickly. New regulations are coming next year. Maybe new regulations are coming after two years.

"So you really need to speed up everything you do in Formula 1 because there is no time to relax."

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Bottas wants ‘quick, team player’ team-mate

If it were left to Valtteri Bottas to choose his 2017 Williams team-mate, if he were definitely staying at Williams that is, he’d opt for someone who was “quick” and a “team player.”

Although Bottas has yet to be confirmed by Williams for next season, reports suggest it is just a matter of time before the announcement is made.

However, whether he stays or goes, the Finn will have a new team-mate next season.

And it is one he hopes will be quick and a team player.

“The one thing is it is a fact that I’m going to have a new team-mate next year and it’s still not obviously confirmed if I will be with Williams or not,” he said.

“But yeah, new team-mate and I’ve always said and that’s how I feel, the quicker team-mate you have, it doesn’t matter who it is, as long as he’s quick it always boosts the performance of both drivers and helps the team, so that’s always good.

“And a team player would be nice, but obviously I have nothing to do with choosing the team-mate, it’s completely up to the team who I will be racing with so I hope everything’s OK.”

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Bite-size tech: McLaren front wing

McLaren continues to pursue performance by making circuit-specific changes to its front wing, highlighting how important it is to get things right with the airflow first seen by the car.

The changes centre around two key areas of airflow manipulation conducted by the front wing, the first being the flap tips.

McLaren has, for a number of races, created a split in the upper two flaps to change the way in which airflow shed by the tip has an effect on the Y250 vortex below.

This vortex is imperative to the performance of many components downstream but needs to be moved around in order to maximise its position for the given speed window the car will run it at that circuit.

McLaren has increased the length of these slots in Singapore to affect the Y250 vortex in the desired manner. 

Furthermore, it has added supports between the flaps in order that the tips don't fluctuate too much whilst in yaw or under load as this would have an impact on the Y250 vortex too (circled).

The other change centres around the distribution of airflow to the outer funnel, which pushes airflow across and around the front face of the tyre.

A new slot has been added to the fourth flap (highlighted in yellow), which will inject more airflow from the upper surface into the funnelled arch, hopefully adjusting the flow pattern to suit the demands of the Marina Bay circuit.

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McLaren could be fourth best car in Singapore - Button

Jenson Button believes that McLaren could have the fourth fastest car in the Singapore GP, and the Briton has thus targeted seventh place, assuming that all the cars ahead finish.

Singapore was a strong race for McLaren even last year, with a much weaker package than it has now, and the team has long anticipated a good performance this weekend.

"You'd say it's a Red Bull/Mercedes track, then Ferrari is behind," said Button. "And then behind Ferrari, I think it's all to play for us.

"I think seventh is the best place we can finish here, and if all six cars finish in front, we're going to be seventh. If that is the case then I think we should be happy with what we've achieved. it's a good step forward.

"I think we're probably racing Force India around here for that position. So yeah it's exciting. It's nice seeing progress, and the team moving forward."

After the Italian Grand Prix, Button blamed his poor first lap on the announcement of his future plans disrupting his weekend, but this weekend he faces no such problems.

"To be fair, after the first lap it was an awesome race. I felt I was very happy with my speed, very happy with my speed in the race, as I have been for most of the year.

"But yeah, I shouldn't make any slip-ups really, and this weekend I won't."

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Exclusive: Formula 1 "active windscreen" idea revealed

While Formula 1 continues to focus on plans for a Halo or Aeroscreen concept from 2018, plans for a third type of cockpit safety device – called the 'Active Windscreen' – have now emerged.

Revealed here for the first time, the idea has been developed by former Williams and Ferrari engineer Enrique Scalabroni – and was shown for the first time to Bernie Ecclestone and Red Bull boss Christian Horner at the Italian Grand Prix.

While the future of the Aeroscreen has been thrown in to doubt because of problems passing the FIA's crash tests, there remain some doubts also about the Halo – especially with regards to driver extraction in the event of an incident.

To get around the problem, Scalabroni has been working on a bold new plan for an active system that only comes into play if a car is involved in an incident.

Having first thought up the idea after 2009 incidents involving Felipe Massa and Henry Surtees, Scalabroni has been refining the design for several years.

And he now feels that the high-tech system is ready to be pushed to the next stage, if it can get some form of endorsement from teams or F1's chiefs.

Explaining the background to the system, Scalabroni told Motorsport.com: “It consists of two separate elements – the first is an active windscreen and the second is a moveable hood above the driver's head.

“The active windscreen is concealed in the top of the chassis in front of the driver. It is made of high impact-resistance material and does not have any curves in it so as not to hinder visibility.

“The windscreen can pop up and deflect debris thanks to two actuators fitted in the car.”

Double solution

Scalabroni says that the windscreen element will pop up through two means – either through manual activation by the driver, or automatically through sensors fitted on the car.

“There is a button placed on the steering wheel that can be operated by the driver in case of an accident,” he said.

“But there are also some sensors that detect debris and create a sort of 3D chamber. This is the kind of technology used in the aerospace industry.

“The protection can activate in just 2 milliseconds, and the windscreen can also return to its original position if the driver is involved in an incident but there is no damage and he can continue.”

Head protection

The hood above the driver's head is designed to protect the helmet from debris that can come from any direction. It can also be retracted manually.

“The hood opens sideways with a button that can be operated by the driver or the marshals,” explained Scalabroni.

“A simple torque bar rotates the protection – freeing the driver who would then have the same ability to enter and exit the cockpit like now.”

Funding issue

Scalabroni has said that for his idea to move to the next stage, it will require funding – which is why he has approached the FIA.

However, F1 race director Charlie Whiting expressed scepticism about the idea of an 'active' cockpit protection system when it was put to him earlier this year.

“I presented the project to Charlie Whiting, but nothing happened,” explained Scalabroni. “I'm willing to leave the project with the FIA, because I do not have the resources to do the testing.

“I have also asked for help from Christian Horner, who told me that the concept appeared interesting – but he is not willing to invest money in the project if the FIA is not willing to push on with it following the rejection of the Aeroscreen.”

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Bite-size tech: Manor front wing and bargeboards

Manor continues to impress with more updates available for the MR05 in Singapore that will hopefully translate into performance that reels in the midfield teams.

Front wing

A significant effort has been made by the team to improve how airflow is moved across and around the front face of the tyre, not only improving localised performance but also airflow structures that could be affected downstream.

The endplate is completely revised, with the trailing edge curved out from top-to-bottom to help shape how the air is extracted. Whilst the endplate also features a pinch as it meets with the inboard cascade, following a very similar design ethos to Red Bull.

This pinched section runs longitudinally down the endplates length where it is met by a new 'L' shaped canard that creates a pressure gradient in order to help pull airflow out around the endplate.

The outer footplate has also been revised, featuring a squared profile rather than the previously favoured curved profile.

Meanwhile, the cascade has also been treated to some geometrical adjustments with the bottom profile curved to meet the pinch in the endplate, whilst the flaps above have also been revised.

In the centre of the cascade are two new vertical fins which again are very similar to the ones used by Red Bull and help to distribute the pressure across the surface of the cascades flaps.

Bargeboards

The bargeboards have also been revised, with the slots added a few races ago extended much further down their length in order to improve how the pressure is distributed between the surfaces. It would appear that the 'r' vane added to the floors axehead in Italy has been discarded for Singapore though.

[MIKA27]

F1 Singapore GP: F1 should be more interesting than Pokemon Go, says Button

McLaren Honda's Jenson Button says Formula One should be more interesting than Pokemon Go and that F1's new owners need to target the younger generation. 

Liberty Media confirmed its purchase of Formula One for £3.3bn - with Bernie Ecclestone remaining as chief executive - last week. 

Speaking prior to this weekend's race in Singapore, and asked what Liberty Media can do for the sport, the 2009 F1 World Champion replied: “I've only heard a couple of things, I don't really know much about them. I think them being American is a positive, bringing the sport more to the States and getting people there more interested in the sport. 

“From what I've seen they're interested in getting a much younger audience involved the sport [too], which is again something we need. The average age is much too high for where it should be considering we have an 18-year-old on the grid. I think the average age is high 30s, maybe early 40s. That needs to change, we need to target youngsters and the younger generation. 

“And from what they say they are still very interested in keeping historic tracks on the calendar, that's important to them and it should be because it is the heart and soul of Formula One.” 

Asked how he thinks they should increase the number of young fans, Button added “that's not my job”, before pointing out that its surely got to be more attractive than Pokemon Go – a game that 'allows you to find and catch more than a hundred species of Pokemon' as you explore 'real-world locations' via an app on your phone, a craze that has global appeal and that has overtaken Twitter in terms of daily active users. 

“There's always ideas but it doesn't really matter what my opinion is, so it's a waste of time mentioning it. But they [Liberty Media] have an idea of what young people want with social media and technology. This is a very technologically advanced sport, Formula One, so you would think there would be a lot of interest from youngsters but there isn't. As soon as youngsters sink their teeth into the sport they're going to love it. 

“I filmed [something] last night, I was in the shopping mall and posted it, and this is the most horrific thing I've ever seen! Have you ever seen the films of the future, how people are going to be – this was last night in the shopping mall. All these people walking one way, you know why? Pokemon. 

“There must have been 2,000 people all walking to one spot, through the shopping mall, across the road because there's a Pokemon there to grab. I don't even know what you do with them. Do you win money? Or presents? Chocolate? You'd do it for chocolate wouldn't you. Come on! Is Formula One not more interesting than that? It should be, I think it is! 

“If they can get that many people interested at trying to flick something at a yellow dot which isn't really there – you don't really touch it – I think we can make Formula One better than it is,” he concluded. 
 

 

 

 

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Ricciardo and the ‘delicious’ shoey

Daniel Ricciardo may not have started the shoey but following his recent podium antics it seems to have caught on in the world of motorsport.

Hot on the heels of his shoey adventures – he even shared a boot of bubbly with Mark Webber on the Belgian podium – Valentino Rossi celebrated his runner-up result at Misano with a shoey.

Asked where the idea came from, Ricciardo told the media in Singapore: “As far as I know I started it in Formula One but not worldwide.

“It was a few loose Aussies, from what I saw, the Mad Hueys, they’re surfies and fisherman and just loose guys, they travel the world fishing, surfing and whatever and they like to drink a bit of beer and whatnot, and that’s where the shoey began. On their travels they’d get people to do it as well and it’s just a bit of a laugh.

“I know Jack Miller knows a few of the guys from the Mad Hueys, so when he got his win in Assen, I suspected he was going to do it, and he did, so I thought I’d keep the Australian tradition going – and now Valentino’s got in on the mix, I saw he Instagrammed it yesterday and he said “everyone loves a shoey”, and “delicious”, and all that. A few words I used for it.

“I think it’s just a bit of fun now – everyone’s enjoying it.”

But it was Valtteri Bottas who asked the pertinent question: “How does it taste?”

Ricciardo’s reply: “Honestly, if the sparkling wine is cold, then it tastes good. Normally it’s cold on the podium, if it’s warm then sure, you’d get the sweat and that through it – but the cold taste kills the bad stuff, so it’s delicious, as we said!”

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Verstappen downplays Red Bull's favourite tag

Max Verstappen thinks it is premature for Red Bull to be labelled as favourite for victory at the Singapore Grand Prix, despite the team being boosted by an engine upgrade.

The Dutchman confirmed on Thursday that Red Bull would run an updated Renault power unit at Singapore, which is expected to deliver a small performance lift.

But although many regard the Singapore track as the perfect venue for Red Bull to turn the tables on championship leaders Mercedes, Verstappen is more cautious about where things stand.

“Hopefully the upgrade will be very positive, but we will have to wait and see,” he explained. “I’m just very happy to be here, we know that we have a chance here to score some good points.”

The potential of Mercedes remains unclear ahead of the weekend as the Brackley-based team is returning to the scene of its most difficult race of 2015.

For although the outfit is confident it has got to the bottom of the tyre woes that hurt it 12 months ago, it cannot be certain of progress until its car hits the track.

Verstappen wants to wait until Friday practice before making any kind of prediction about where Red Bull stacks up, despite the mounting expectations on his outfit.

“We just focus on our own thing, people can write what they want,” he said. “We have a good chance.

“If you look at last year we improved a lot from our side. Wait and see. It’s difficult for me to say we’ll be the number one team because we haven’t driven. We know more about how good we are tomorrow.

“At the moment we have good hopes that we can be very competitive, but how well we don’t know yet. Hopefully we are very competitive, like for example in Monaco.”

It is understood that both Red Bull drivers will use the upgraded Renault powerunit in Singapore, with the Renault works team sticking with the older specification for now due to their engine duty cycle.

[MIKA27]

Singapore GP with Lewis: The Time is Now

Lewis is in Singapore ready for this weekend's Grand Prix. Before he takes to the track he has fans to meet and events to attend. Follow him as he spends the afternoon with the Team's Sponsor IWC. As part of the event Lewis has to set a time in the F1 sim, he answers questions about the upcoming race and meets his fans!

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Rain. Heat. Downforce - Singapore Grand Prix - Sauber F1 Team

Learn about our drivers' tyre choices and more! Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson share their thoughts ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend with you. Enjoy!

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Singapore GP: "The highlight of the F1 calendar"

Nico Rosberg previews the fifteenth race of the 2016 F1 season, the Singapore GP at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, together with chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin.