FORMULA 1 - 2016

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MAGNUSSEN TO RENAULT IS NOW A DONE DEAL

Kevin Magnussen has now agreed a deal to race with the new Renault works team in the 2016 Formula 1 season, according to various well connected sources. (Note: Above is a manipulated photo)

The Danish newspaper BT reported: It’s not yet official, but we reveal that Kevin Magnussen has already signed an agreement with the French car giant.

The report, referring to well informed sources added that it is expected that the former McLaren driver’s new deal will be confirmed officially on Wednesday, when the international press gathers at the Technocentre Renault in Guyancourt, just outside of Paris.

If confirmed, 23-year-old Magnussen will replace Pastor Maldonado, who finds himself in the middle of a sponsorship dispute between Enstone based Renault – formerly Lotus – and his crisis-struck backer PDVSA.

PDVSA, the state-owned Venezuelan oil company, reportedly missed Renault’s final deadline of last Friday to catch up on payments, as the oil price crisis threatens the country’s entire economy.

“The only question now is whether Venezuela’s government or economy will completely collapse first,” the Washington Post declared in a report last Friday.

BT said the terms of Magnussen’s deal, or whether his return to the grid is being powered by the CEO of the fashion chain Bestseller, fellow Dane Anders Holch Povlsen, are unclear.

But Marco Sorensen, another Dane and a recent Lotus test driver, told the Ekstra Bladet newspaper: “It’s great for him (Magnussen) and for Danish motor sport. It’s really big.”

Another report ahead of Renault’s Wednesday announcements is that the carmaker could use its new works foray to promote some of its other brands.

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggested that Infiniti, the luxury division of Renault’s Japanese partner Nissan and the former Red Bull title sponsor, could now return to F1 in 2016.

Further speculaition is that Renault could revive the iconic Alpine name for its latest Formula 1 foray.

“Other brands may be involved,” admitted F1 managing director Cyril Abiteboul recently, according to France’s Canal Plus, “but I will not say more about it because it is part of the official announcement.”

MIKA: Kevin deserves a second shot. Anyone but Maldonado is better for sure or at least consistent.

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SIX CONTENDERS FOR MANOR RACE SEATS AWAIT FINAL DECISION

The long negotiation for a seat at the Mercedes powered Manor team – where five and maybe even six drivers are contenders – is entering its final days, according to the Jakarta Post.

The Indonesian newspaper is closely following the fortunes of Rio Haryanto, a local driver who finished the 2015 GP2 season in fourth place.

He is reportedly on pole for a seat at Manor thanks to his backing by the Indonesian government, including the state-owned oil company Pertamina. The latest report suggests Haryanto’s wait for news has entered its final week.

“I really hope for the best that my dream will come true,” he said during a press conference at the youth and sports ministry building in Jakarta.

The Jakarta Post said Haryanto has $5.6 million in Pertamina sponsorship, plus another $7.2 million from the youth and sports ministry.

It would appear to make him the favourite for a Manor seat, among other candidates including Alexander Rossi, Will Stevens, and Mercedes’ Pascal Wehrlein along with Kevin Magnussen (Who is now confirmed for a Seast at Renault) and newly ousted Pastor Maldonado.

With the Venezuelan now ditched by Renault and have the PVDSA budget at his disposal, his only remaining option would be Manor.

Meanwhile Indah Pennywati, Haryanto’s mother, told media this past weekend, “We would like to express our gratitude to the government – Pertamina and state-owned enterprises – which has been very supportive of Rio reaching F1.”

“We are looking forward to good news from Manor Racing regarding Rio’s participation in the event by next week,” added Pennywati, who is involved with her son’s management.

A spokesman for the youth and sports ministry said a down-payment to Manor is due shortly, “Therefore, this week will be a critical time for Rio in entering F1. We’ve done our best. We’ll all see how it ends.”

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RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE’S SON TAKEN ON BY FORCE INDIA

Force India Formula 1 team have taken on 16-year-old Russian Nikita Mazepin, whose billionaire father Dmitry is owner of mineral fertiliser producer Uralchem, as a development driver.

“My goal is to race in Formula 1 in the future and today’s news takes me closer to achieving that objective,” the teenager said in a statement from the British-based team on Monday.

Apart from Force India duties, Mazepin will race for Hitech GP in the European Formula Three championship this year with sponsorship from Uralchem and Uralkali, the world’s largest potash producer.

Force India’s co-owner Vijay Mallya said Mazepin would become ‘fully embedded’ in his team in a long-term association that would help develop the skills needed to become a Formula One driver.

Mercedes-powered Force India, who have had cash-flow problems in the past and sought an advance on their 2016 championship money to tide them through the winter, finished fifth out of 10 teams last season.

“We plan to use him extensively on our new simulator and he will also support our in-season testing programme,” said Mallya, the liquor baron who co-owns the team with India’s Sahara Group.

“It’s also exciting for the team to begin working with a young Russian driver given the success of the Russian Grand Prix in recent years.

“It’s a market with huge potential for Formula One and the emergence of young talents, such as Nikita, will ensure interest in the sport continues to grow rapidly.”

MIKA: So a billionaires son is hired by Force India to play on an oversized Playstation.... This is one of the issues in Formula 1, money talks, not talent. Rule and regulation changes mean nothing when spoilt kids will be driving these vehicles and seem to be the future of this sport.

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LIVERY CHANGE MAYBE ON THE CARDS FOR NEW MCLAREN

Speculation is mounting that McLaren will kick off its hopes for a much better 2016 Formula 1 world championship season with a livery change. This was also the rumour this time last season..

The British team has had few livery changes throughout its illustrious history, having raced in either the Marlboro or West-inspired guises in recent decades.

But last year, McLaren unveiled conventional silver colours for the new Honda-powered car, only to change mid-season to the familiar all-dark and Dayglo livery.

Now for 2016, as hopes rise for a much better campaign, there are rumours McLaren will change appearance again.

Tester Stoffel Vandoorne appeared recently at the Paul Ricard test with a blacked-out area on the chest of his overalls, indicating a major new sponsor might soon be unveiled.

And Jenson Button appeared in a recent advertisement wearing a white team t-shirt that features much more black than before.

Marca, an online Spanish sports newspaper, conducted a survey in which 26 per cent of the 50,000 voters concluded that Fernando Alonso’s car for 2016 might be black and white.

But the report said team employees have been explicitly told not to divulge any information about McLaren’s actual 2016 livery.

“It is also possible that nothing will change,” the same source told Marca.

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VETTEL SAYS FERRARI FANS WILL NOTICE DIFFERENCES ON NEW CAR

Sebastian Vettel admits a that seasoned eye will quickly recognise the changes made to Ferrari’s Formula 1 car for 2016.

After Mercedes easily won the first two championships of the new ‘power unit’ era, Ferrari has targeted beating the German giant to this year’s crowns.

“The title has to be our aim,” Vettel told Auto Bild Motorsport. “Nevertheless, we must not forget that there was still a team ahead of us last year.”

But he also revealed that Ferrari has made some key changes for 2016, amid speculation the nose is shorter, the rear-end slimmer, and the novel pull-rod front suspension scrapped.

“Basically, a few things will change and they will be identified fairly easily,” said Vettel.

He said he was involved throughout the process of plotting Ferrari’s next development steps, “For almost the entire time last year I was involved in the development of the (2016) car. I think we are on the right track.”

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Thought's about this seasons engines:

Finally, Pastor Maldonado has admitted defeat and says he will not be in the Renault Formula 1 team this season.

Denmark is rejoicing, Kevin is back! (Although official announcement imminent in the coming days) Time to get out the horned helmets again.

The Danes are enthusiastic about the sport – and such enthusiasm is terrific, but before everyone gets too carried away, one does need to wonder just how good the Renault Formula 1 team is going to be this year, given the mess it was in at the end of last season. The chassis was good and with a Mercedes engine it was able to score a pretty miraculous podium finish at Spa, where Romain Grosjean was inspired and Sebastian Vettel had a late race puncture. But with a Renault engine?

Yes, in theory the French engine should be better in 2016, but that does not mean it will be? The 2014 Renault was, by all accounts, better than the 2015 unit. So we must wait and see how the new engine fares whilst at the same time, there will need to be a reshuffling at Enstone which will no doubt take time.

The job of fixing the team will go to Fredéric Vasseur, who is a good man, but it is likely that his primary initial task will be to get Enstone operating quickly and efficiently, without too much interference from Paris. Formula 1 is a world in which a good operator will be respected whether he is French, Greek or from China, so the idea that there might be a clash of cultures doesn’t really work. The folk in Enstone will want a good engine. The folk at Viry-Chatillon will want a good chassis.

This all may sound obvious for racing folk, but it is amazing how often a car manufacturers executives riding around on their high horses, mess things up when they start meddling in racing teams. A team needs to be ring-fenced in order to stop car executives sticking their two cents in. The perfect model of this was created by Jean Todt back in his days at Peugeot Talbot Sport. He was the boss and reported to the big suits once a year. That was the right model. He used similar techniques at Ferrari to build the successful force and team there.

There are too many examples of this to list them all, but if you are looking at the real Chamber of Horrors, then Jaguar Racing is the classic example of how NOT to do it. Control of the team and of the competition department that was supposed to oversee matters became a snake pit, with executives screwing over one another in their efforts to gain control. It was painful to watch.

Toyota messed it up in another way, taking control away from the racers and giving it to plodding middle management types. They always say things like “it’s just like any other business”, but it is not and those who do not understand Formula 1 will never succeed, even if they have enjoyed successes in other business ventures.

One wonders the same sort of things about the Honda engine. There are stories from Spain that there has been some huge leap forward in the performance of the Japanese engine, but it just doesn't sound right. Things don’t happen like that. If you make gains in one area, you might lose in another and weight is key.

Honda should know how to develop engines, but this is where such companies often underestimate Formula 1.

Honda was brilliant back in the 80's and 90's but that generation has moved on and the current yet to shine in their F1 adventures to date. Perhaps there are new people coming forward for their second season back on the grid? We can all only hope.

If ever there was evidence of that, one needs only to look at Porsche, which built the brilliant TAG engines in the 1980s. The company came back in 1991, with engines for the Footwork team. This was a complete disaster and the team gave up on the engines by mid-season.

People say that it's not fair that Mercedes and increasingly, Ferrari are so strong, but the truth is that the two are where they are because they have done a better job than the others – and that means that there is nothing to stop those others from catching up – if they do it right and put in the hard yards.

Mercedes Formula 1 were not a dominant force a few years back with Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher at the helm. It took time and a lot of effort to get to where they are now. The same is evident at Ferrari and it looks like 2016 will be an exciting season ahead.

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The technical changes that are giving Honda confidence for 2016

Honda's return to Formula 1 in 2015 did not go to plan but it knows exactly what went wrong and, more importantly, what it needs to do to fix it.

Not a week seems to have passed this winter without the latest piece of speculation regarding the progress of Honda's 2016 Formula 1 efforts.

One day there is talk that the Japanese manufacturer has not made the step forward it had hoped for with updates, while the next there is a report that it has found 223hp on the dyno. Then there is talk of more reliability dramas.

What is real and what is wild speculation is hard to be certain of right now - for the truth will of course only be revealed during pre-season tests and the opening races of 2016 when Honda goes up against its rivals.

But one thing is certain: Honda learned big lessons in 2015 on its return to F1 and, as Motorsport.com finds out, changes to specific elements of the power unit have left it optimistic that progress will be coming.

Wake-up call

Honda's return to F1 so far can be divided in to three distinct phases – trouble-shooting, understanding (and more crucially accepting) what went wrong, and then improvement.

Honda's F1 boss Yasuhisa Arai himself describes the difficult early days – from that first track running at Abu Dhabi testing in 2014 until last year's Spanish Grand Prix as almost like a 'pop up game' of finding new problems and dealing with them.

"It was a new design and the hybrid system is so complicated that initially we didn't have enough experience about how to wake up the control unit," Arai told Motorsport.com last year about that troubled first running.

The early stages of 2015 were not much better, either – as Arai and his Honda engineers were constantly chasing new sensor problems.

And those issues ultimately added to Honda's woes: because it delayed the Japanese manufacturer getting a proper understanding of where it was in the performance stakes.

"I had confidence that after we fixed the electrical trouble, we would get good progress," added Arai. "But there were so many hardware problems – especially MGU-K, MGU-H, and ERS trouble.

"It looked like a disaster – a pop-up game – and when we went to Australia we hadn't prepared enough. That was my feeling at the start of the season."

Spanish breakthrough

The ongoing sensor issues which limited running, and the wound-down state the power unit could be run in, overshadowed the start of the campaign.

But by the beginning of the European season at the Spanish Grand Prix, things were much improved – and many of the sensor issues solved.

Arai continued: "Spain was a big progress for us we feel. We still had some small trouble with sensors, but maybe every team had this trouble.

"However, before Spain and after Spain was different. It stopped being the big issue."

ICE

Until the sensor issues were banished, there was no chance of Honda getting to work in properly evaluating the performance weaknesses of its design.

On its internal combustion engine, there was steady progress in improving its performance. And, although there was never a belief that it had become a match for Mercedes or Ferrari, nevertheless it was not as far off as some critics claimed.

"We did not completely catch up," admitted Arai. "But we could see where we were – and we were within touch."

And of course sorting out those sensor issues, and allowing the engine to be turned up a bit, meant other areas were suddenly exposed to greater punishment – which is why reliability remained a problem.

"There were some parts quality issues, which we changed during the season, and the sensors were updated," said Arai.

"In some areas there was a control quality issue and another was increasing the ICE horsepower – because reliability was a bit weak.

"At the start of the season horsepower was not so much, so there were not reliability issues. But when the horsepower was increasing, some areas were broken because they were a little bit weak. We were always playing catch-up."

Finding the big weakness

While the frustrations continued on track, the biggest task was in simply getting to the bottom of where the Honda power unit was lacking.

And it took until after the summer break – when the power tracks in Belgium and Italy exposed the ERS-deficiencies that often left Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso 240bhp down on rivals at the end of straight – that the reality hit home

"When did we realise? In the summer European season," admitted Arai.

"The circuits were so tough and of course the ICE horsepower was increasing, but the cars needed more high speed in a straight-line and they needed deployment as much as possible. So we were very weak on tough circuits like Monza and Spa.

"We realised at that time – which was good news. But it was also bad news because we could not change the hardware [due to the regulations]."

Compressor too small

Honda's chief weakness was singled out as the lack of recovery through the MGU-H – which is the energy recovery unit connected to the turbocharger of the engine that converts heat energy from exhaust gases in to electrical energy.

In simple terms, the Honda was not recovering as much energy as it needed. And the cause of this was traced back to the fact that its aggressive 'size zero' concept had resulted in a turbine and compressor that were too small.

"We had had to make the effort to design it inside the V-angle, but it was a little bit too small," confessed Arai.

"So we have changed the compressor and turbine for 2016. They will be a little bit bigger – but will still be inside the V-bank – with almost the same packaging."

Sub zero

It is clear from what Arai is saying that, while the turbine and compressor are changing, the 'size zero' concept remains.

"We believe in it," he said. "We have confidence that the small package is much better for the aerodynamic and chassis package.

"When you see all the other power units – the Mercedes, the Ferrari and the Renault – you can compare the sizes and see how big or how compact they are. In terms of compactness, we are maybe number one.

"We have a tiny package and we want to keep that. It is our philosophy – we want to go sub-zero!"

But would Honda not have been better off having a more conservative design for its first year back – and then pushing things more in the longer term? Arai is not convinced.

"In the early stages of development, so 2013/2014, we discussed about that – whether to go into conservative direction, or be more challenging.

"Finally we decided we should go for more of a big challenge, because if we chose the conservative layout, I think that there would no improvement and no big step up, and also no gain for the chassis side. We decided – both of us, McLaren and Honda."

Time out

Arai believes that size zero was not the real problem for Honda. He thinks the company partly paid a price last year for having been out of F1 for so long – with its engineering staff not fully up to speed with how technology in the sport had moved on since 2008.

"We left F1 in 2008, and now I feel that the lost time was very damaging for our experience, because F1 itself has dramatically improved every year," he said.

"We sat on the outside watching – of course carefully watching – but we didn't know what was happening inside F1, with the power unit changes.

"We didn't know and that gap had a very big impact for us. For 2015, many things had changed.

"It was a very steep upgrade for us, but now we have understood how to do it, what to do and when to do things."

Looking to 2016

Of course until all the new cars hit the track it is going to be nearly impossible for Honda to realise just how much progress up the grid can be expected for 2016 from the changes being planned.

But by the end of last year, you could sense some optimism from senior McLaren management and drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso that Honda knew what had gone wrong – and what needed to be done to fix it.

"We have already explained to both great drivers our current situation, where our targets and our processes are," said Arai. "On everything – they trust us.

"Our weak point is already found out. The most important thing is deployment, so if the deployment is the same as the other competitors then that will be good for competitiveness.

"Sometimes it has been very hard, with very strong pain, but we knew what was the right way and the right direction."

Positive thoughts

Now, amid some optimism, the key will be in managing expectations. This time around though, Honda will be much more in tune of the challenge that lays ahead.

It is also clear that having stood up and accepted its weaknesses, it should be better able to make progress – and avoid afternoons like the Saturday at Monza where Arai was giving a particularly hard grilling by the media about why the team had not lived up to its promises.

Arai says there was justifiable reason as to why he kept talking things up last year though – and why there should be no grounds for any repeat bashing in public in 2016.

"As a team if the team management talked negative all the time or tried to play down everything then that brings the whole team down, because they look to us," he said.

"My philosophy is I shouldn't be doing that. I believe the team, they are doing their best – so they will try to do their best.

"At the real beginnings of 2014 in Abu Dhabi, with electrical problems at the very beginning, I believed if we got rid of the electrical issues then it would possibly turn out for the better.

"But, as I said, over the summer was when everything was clear – that it was a hardware issue that we had the difficulty with. Then we could put our heads down.

"At the same time it was a very difficult Saturday at Monza! But it was a good experience…"

Now it's time for Honda to put that experience to the test and show F1 what it is really capable of.

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Williams at the Autosport International Show 2016 - Highlights

Just some of the highlights of Williams headlining the Autosport Show in January.

See the WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING hospitality unit, a display of our Williams Heritage F1 cars from 1978 to 2015, Felipe Massa, Claire Williams, Pat Symonds and Rob Smedley featuring on our Sky Sports stage, meeting fans and signing autographs, and the FW08C running in the Live Action Arena along with the Jaguar C-X75, built by Williams Advanced Engineer for the latest James Bond film, SPECTRE.

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Alex Lynn 'overdelivered' in 2015 F1 role - Claire Williams

Alex Lynn "overdelivered" in his role as a Williams Formula 1 development driver last season, according to the outfit's deputy team principal Claire Williams.

Lynn carried out extensive work in the simulator as well as getting behind the wheel of the 2015 challenger at the in-season test in Spain.

The 22-year-old Briton will contest a second season in GP2 with DAMS but whether he will continue in his Williams role is unclear as the team has yet to decide on its support driver line-up. It has also taken ex-Ferrari protege Lance Stroll under its wing.

"In terms of the job we wanted Alex to do, he has overdelivered," Williams told Autosport.

"Alex is quite a complex character, he thinks a lot about everything that he does.

"He doesn't just go crashing in there, everything is well-considered.

"He has gone through this development programme with us and he's integrated across lots of areas of the business.

"Whether it is working in the simulator or with the guys in the composites, everything he has done, he has really outshone himself.

"The level of maturity for his age is quite impressive."

Lynn made a solid debut in GP2, scoring two victories on his way to sixth in the drivers' standings, and Williams expects him to make a bigger impression this term.

"GP2 was up and down for him last year," she said. "He's had some great moments but also some disappointing moments.

"But it was his rookie year in GP2 and we need to remember that.

"The series by its nature can deliver tough blows to these kids and can blind you to somebody's true performance because of the nature of the grids.

"So in 2016, I think we'll be able to see where Alex is as a driver."

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TODT: RENAULT SPLIT WITH MALDONADO WAS AMICABLE

Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado has not given up on Formula One and hopes to be back next year after being dropped by the Renault-owned Lotus team, his manager Nicolas Todt said on Tuesday.

“I don’t see any concrete opportunity for Formula One this year,” the Frenchman told Reuters. “We will try to bounce back in 2017.”

The Frenchman, son of International Automobile Federation (FIA) president and former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt, said the decision to replace Maldonado had come late in the day but the split was amicable.

Maldonado announced on Monday, in a statement posted on Twitter, that he would not be on the starting grid when the season starts in Australia on March 20.

The only Venezuelan to win a grand prix, with Williams in 2012, the driver did not say what he planned to do or give any reason for his absence.

Media reports indicated, however, that his backers, the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA that has paid tens of millions of dollars in sponsorship, had missed scheduled payments to the team.

PDVSA has been hit by plunging oil prices and economic crisis in Venezuela, which is in recession and where annual inflation has risen to almost 150 percent.

“I don’t want to go into the details of the contract,” said Todt “The agreement was terminated in a friendly manner with Renault so no hard feelings. They behaved very fairly.”

Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen is set to replace Maldonado, with the team expected to be renamed as Renault following the French carmaker’s takeover of the Lotus team in December, alongside British rookie Jolyon Palmer.

The team are due to hold a news conference in Paris on Wednesday to announce their line-up, managerial structure and future plans.

Manor, Formula One’s smallest team who competed as Marussia last year and finished last overall with no points, are the only ones yet to contract any drivers for 2016 but Todt ruled out Maldonado going there.

The Frenchman, who was also manager to the late Marussia driver Jules Bianchi and represents Brazilian Felipe Massa at Williams, said Manor were a better fit for a young driver starting out than a 30-year-old race winner like Maldonado.

Manor, who need their drivers to bring substantial sponsorship to make up the team budget, have been linked to Indonesian rookie Rio Haryanto who is trying to raise $16 million to secure the seat.

Mercedes’s German reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein is another leading candidate now that the champions are providing Manor with engines.

“Manor are not really an option,” said Todt. “After five years at Williams and Lotus…with all due respect to Manor, it makes no sense for Pastor.”

MIKA: Monor is too good for Maldonado who shouldn't be in Formula 1 period..

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VERSTAPPEN: WE HAVE FOUND ONE SECOND PER LAP WITH FERRARI ENGINE

Toro Rosso’s new Formula 1 car is up to a second per lap faster than its 2015 predecessor, as the Red Bull owned team switches from Renault power and returns to Ferrari engines for the forthcoming season.

That is the astonishing claim of meteoric F1 teenager Max Verstappen, ramping up expectations of a very good 2016 campaign for the junior Red Bull team.

Albeit with one of the best chassis on the grid, the Faenza based team struggled with its Renault power unit last year but has switched to 2015-spec Ferrari engines for 2016.

“It looks very good. It seems that we are eight tenths to one second [per lap] faster than last year,” Verstappen told the Dutch source Ziggo Sport.

Verstappen, 18, explained, “That’s a lot. We will probably make a bigger step than the teams that are simply getting a new version of their (existing) engine for 2016. For us, the engine is a big change.”

Toro Rosso are no strangers to Ferrari power as they in fact scored their one and only grand prix win when Sebastian Vettel powered to victory at Monza in 2008 = it was also the occasion of the Red Bull organisation’s first ever Formula 1 win.

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HULKENBERG: WE SHOULD AIM TO BE AT THE LEVEL OF WILLIAMS

Force India should set its 2016 sights on Formula 1’s third force, namely the Williams team says Nico Hulkenberg

The Silverstone based team’s German driver who was arguably outperformed in 2015 by his podium-getting teammate Sergio Perez.

Hulkenberg told Auto Motor und Sport: “I’m hungry. I want to attack. I want 2016 to be my best year in F1. There is no reason why Force India should not build on the good performance we had last year since we got the B-version of the car.”

Although among the smaller teams in F1, Force India punched above its weight in 2015, ultimately finishing the world championship in fifth place.

That was ahead of a competitive midfield including Lotus, Toro Rosso, Sauber and McLaren-Honda, but Hulkenberg is expecting a tough battle this year.

When told that the constructors’ championship battle behind the top three teams will be intense, Hulkenberg answered: “There is so much to speculate about.

“What we need to do is focus on ourselves and do our homework. And repair the weaknesses that we still had last year.

“It is also clear that every one of our opponents will be a tough nut to crack: McLaren if it gets more power from Honda, Toro Rosso with Ferrari engines, and Red Bull always.

“I also think Haas will be strong from the very beginning. So maybe our approach should be that we come to the level of Williams,” Hulkenberg added.

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MORE TALKS ON F1 FUTURE SET FOR MILAN LATER THIS MONTH

A meeting last Friday ended with Formula 1 power-brokers no closer to determining the shape of the sport’s future.

At London’s Heathrow airport, the teams, FOM and the FIA got together to discuss the rules for 2017, amid widespread disagreement about how to proceed.

It was billed as the penultimate meeting before a March 1 deadline, coming shortly after Pirelli and Mercedes reportedly pushed to dilute radical plans for cars up to 5 or 6 seconds per lap quicker.

“There is now quite a lot of pressure to come to the right approach over two meetings of six hours,” Force India’s Andy Green told Auto Motor und Sport before the London meeting.

It now emerges that Friday’s meeting broke without resolving the disagreements between the teams, including the proposal to protect the cockpits of the cars.

Autosprint reports that the next scheduled meeting, during the week of the first official group test in Barcelona late this month, would be F1’s last chance for consensus before the March 1 rules deadline.

But Omnicorse, another specialist Italian outlet, says the discussions will in fact resume as soon as this week, as Pirelli hosts a meeting in Milan about the future of the tyre specifications for 2017.

Touted to be there are Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt as well as representatives among the race drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa, following a formal invitation by Pirelli.

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Sahara set to sell its 42.5 per cent stake in Force India

Indian conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar is set to sell its stake in the Force India Formula 1 team as part of an ongoing legal case against owner Subrata Roy, who was accused of fraud and jailed back in March 2014.

Sahara had been ordered to pay back hundreds of millions to investors, but failed to do so and was therefore jailed by India's Supreme Court almost two years ago.

However the court has grown tired of waiting and is considering appointing its own receiver to sell off Sahara's assets to raise the necessary funds to pay back investors it claims were duped by Roy. In reaction to this, the Indian businessman has requested permission to dispose of certain assets in order to raise around $450 million (£312m).

His 42.5 per cent stake of the Force India F1 team, purchased back in 2011 for $100m (£70m), is one of those assets amongst various hotels and aircraft, including Grosvenor House in London.

Sahara's stake is equal to that of team founder Vijay Mallya, whilst the remaining 15 per cent is owned by the Mol family.

If a sale goes through ahead of the 2016 season, Force India could undergo a name change, dropping 'Sahara' from its title.

MIKA: The ownership of the Sahara Force India F1 team is rather complex at the moment. On paper the team is wholly owned by a Luxembourg-based company Orange India Holdings SARL. The last available records suggest that this is 42.85 percent owned by the Sahara India Group and 42.85 percent owned by the Mauritius-based Watson Ltd, a holding company belonging to Vijay Mallya. The remaining 15 percent is owned by the Mol family in Holland, who were involved in the team in the Spyker era. However, things are complicated by the fact that the spirits company Diageo, which controls USL, the Indian firm that Mallya used to own, gave Standard Chartered a bank guarantee worth $135 million for a loan facility for Watson. This defaulted on the loan in May last year and Diageo has since been seeking to recover the money, claiming shares in Orange India Holdings. The problem is that this process has been slowed by other creditors, fighting to get money from Mallya’s crumbling empire. The team stands to make around $70 million this year from the Formula One group, although some of that has probably been paid in advance, and the situation with Diageo is less than clear. Diego wanted to get control of the team and rebrand it as Aston Martin, but it seems that there was too much risk involved for the British car company, which would love to be in F1, but has other priorities. There is money coming in from other sponsors, notably from Mexico, but the cynics in F1 believe that the announcement a few days ago that the team has signed a development driver deal with 16-year-old Nikita Mazepin was more to do with cash than talent. Mazepin is related to Dmitry Mazepin, a Russian chemical company billionaire.

The team has struggled with money a fair bit as a result of all of this but has done an amazing job in very difficult circumstances.

The latest twist in the story concerns Sahara’s Subrata Roy who has been in jail in India since March 2014 as the authorities wait for him to return money to investors. He has fought all along the way but has failed to sell his prize assets. The Supreme Court of India has grown tired on this game and so is now considering appointing a receiver and breaking up the group. This has caused Roy to ask the court if he can sell his F1 shares along with other assets, notably four planes and several luxury hotels. There are also reports that he has completed the sale of his flagship hotel, the Grosvenor House in London, to a Qatar government-owned trust fund. After paying the debts on the hotel, Sahara will be left with about $430 million. It is doubtful that Diageo would want to buy the team, but that really depends on the price…

[MIKA27]

No wonder FOM arranged Baku to clash with Le Mans

At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 12th this year at around 4pm, the chequered flag will fall on the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix. And as one race finishes, another will begin.

From that moment F1’s eleven teams will face a race against time to dismantle their garages, pack up their cars and cover almost 9,000 kilometres as they head east to Azerbaijan. They will have just four days to have everything reassembled for the beginning of the first grand prix in Baku.

As they fly past Europe on their way to the European Grand Prix, a few jealous glances may be cast in the direction of France, as the World Endurance Championship competitors will spend most of June camped out at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

For the first time in five years a grand prix is being held on the same weekend as the French endurance classic. From the moment that was announced last September there was scepticism over Formula One Management’s motives for doing so, and there now seems little reason to doubt the goal was to keep F1 drivers from joining in.

Last week Daniel Ricciardo revealed he had been hunting for a place on the Le Mans grid in 2015. Unsurprisingly, given their closeness to FOM chief Bernie Ecclestone, Red Bull put the kibosh on that. But Ricciardo is one of at three drivers known to have actively courted a place in last year’s race.

Hulkenberg enjoyed a successful debut at Le Mans

Another was Fernando Alonso, but McLaren’s engine supplier Honda was against him doing so, perhaps due to the presence of domestic rivals Toyota and Nissan at the race. Nonetheless Alonso has spoken many times of his desire to win at Le Mans.

The third was, of course, Nico Hulkenberg – and it turned out to be the highlight of his career so far as he shared victory in a Porsche 919 with Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber.

For the likes of Alonso, the allure of Le Mans is more than just the prestige of the race, it’s an opportunity to get away from F1’s restrictiveness and the increasingly disliked ‘designed-to-degrade’ tyres. At the end of last season he offered the view WEC is “much more fun” than F1.

WEC regular Andre Lotterer appears to agree. Having made a one-off start in the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix he was surprised at the muted performance of his F1 car – admittedly an uncompetitive Caterham – compared to his WEC Audi.

Last week F1 drivers called for an end to the use of ‘designed-to-degrade’ tyres and today they are meeting with leading figures in the sport to demand just that. Ecclestone has indicated he may side with them.

In the meantime arranging Baku to clash with Le Mans doesn’t just stop current F1 drivers from going there – and according to Hulkenberg many of them were considering it. It keeps F1 journalists away too, such as those who went to Le Mans last year, enjoyed the spectacle and wrote articles comparing grand prix racing unfavourably with it.

But motor racing fans will get to vote with their feet, their televisions and their browsers. While the vast Le Mans circuit can easily accommodate over 100,000 spectators, Azerbaijan’s capital will offer seating for just 28,000. And when the F1 cars hit the narrow streets of Baku for qualifying, the Le Mans cars will be hammering into the Dunlop Curves for the first of over 300 laps.

If it’s going to complete with the spectacle of Le Mans cars twinkling in the twilight, Baku will have to serve up something truly special.

[MIKA27]

Wehrlein's Manor chances boosted by Magnussen deal

Pascal Wehrlein is now the front-runner to land a race seat at Manor, one of the only remaining drives in Formula 1, in the wake of Renault's swoop for Kevin Magnussen.

With Pastor Maldonado's sponsorship issues have cost him his seat at Renault, the French manufacturer has wasted little time in putting together a deal to bring Magnussen back to F1.

A final contract between Magnussen and Renault is due to be signed imminently, but enough of an agreement is in place for the Dane to be announced as an official Renault driver at its launch event in Paris on Wednesday.

Manor link

Magnussen had also been talking to Manor, and his experience in F1 with McLaren was believed to have made him one of its preferred candidates for a 2016 campaign where it hopes to move up the grid.

But with Magnussen now out of the frame, sources have revealed that negotiations with Mercedes-backed Wehrlein have accelerated.

The team remains without a confirmed driver, despite the first pre-season test due to begin on February 22.

A source with good knowledge of the situation made it clear that although there were no guarantees yet, Wehrlein was '85 percent' down the line of getting a race deal in place.

Mercedes involvement

Mercedes has been eager to secure Wehrlein an F1 seat on the back of his DTM success in 2015, but was well aware that the financial incentive it could offer for Manor to take him was less than the outfit could get from another driver on the open market.

But with Wehrlein's speed in no doubt – and other well-backed drivers in Alexander Rossi and Rio Haryanto being considered for the second seat – there is an increasing likelihood that the German will get the nod for one of the seats.

Mercedes' other junior, Esteban Ocon, is set for a role as Renault's reserve driver – and could twin that role with a DTM seat if Wehrlein moves on.

[MIKA27]

Haas Formula 1 team set to fire up its 2016 car on February 15

Formula 1 newcomer Haas is on course to fire up its car for the first time later this month.

The American team's challenger is currently with chassis provider Dallara in Italy being assembled ahead of its full unveiling and on-track debut in the first test at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit on February 22.

A week beforehand it is planned for the car, complete with Ferrari power unit, to roar into life.

"Fire up is planned for the 15th," team principal Gunther Steiner told Autosport on a visit to one of the team's trio of bases in Banbury.

"It's all about milestones now. One of those milestones we recently passed was the crash tests.

"That was good. It gave confidence to the engineering team.

"Fire up will be the next significant milestone in Haas' history. Then it will be about getting the car on the track for the first time, then a first race start.

"But fire up for me is a big one. It's exciting, one of those things you look forward to."

For drivers Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, they will reach their own personal milestone next week with their seat fittings.

"They are in the phase of getting ready physically for the championship," added Steiner.

"They're in the simulator, but it all starts with the seat fit, which is next week.

"They get a seat and then they go racing. That's when it all starts to become real."

Given the long lead time for Haas in preparing for F1 after securing an entry in April 2014, while there have been obvious hurdles to overcome, Steiner sees no major issues looming ahead of the February 22 bow.

"We are at a good point," confirmed Steiner.

"There is a problem a day as the cars are highly complicated, as everybody knows, but we're racers and we're good at solving them.

"We're at that stage where the car is continuously being assembled now, with most of the parts built, so it's all about putting it together.

"But we'll be at the first test, no doubt, rolling the car out on the Monday morning. That is the plan. At the moment I don't see why not."

Steiner is also relaxed when it comes to the role Ferrari has so far played, and will continue to play in the build up to the car taking to the track.

"Ferrari has been very good with the power unit, but we are not their first customer. They've been doing it a long time," said Steiner.

"They add a lot of value because they have done it so many times before. It's a process, and they know exactly what they need.

"Their engineers tell us what is required to start up the engine, and that comes from experience in providing power units to clients.

"I don't think that will be a problem. Maybe something won't work, some software, but you fix it and you start it up. It's the same old story."

[MIKA27]

Esteban Ocon set to get Renault Formula 1 reserve role for 2016

Esteban Ocon is set to be named as Renault's reserve driver for the 2016 Formula 1 season, Autosport can reveal.

Towards the end of November last year Mercedes decided to take up its option on GP3 champion Ocon's contract and made him a fully-fledged member of its F1 team.

But following talks with Mercedes, the 19-year-old Frenchman is to move into the reserve role at Renault behind Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer, according to sources.

Providing negotiations have been concluded between both teams, Ocon will join Palmer and Magnussen at Renault's official launch at the French manufacturer's Technocentre in Guyancourt on Wednesday.

Frederic Vasseur - who was Ocon's boss at the ART GP3 team - is to be officially announced as Renault racing director at the same event.

Ocon joins Renault with pedigree as he captured the European Formula 3 title in 2014, and followed up with victory in last year's GP3 championship.

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff suggested last year Ocon's role for this season was open, with a variety of options on the table.

With a Renault reserve place now seemingly secured, it remains to be seen whether Ocon will combine that with a drive in another series.

Ocon could follow Mercedes reserve Pascal Wehrlein's lead from last year as the latter combined his own back-up role with the F1 team with a title-winning drive in the DTM.

GP2 is another possibility for Ocon, although with a number of that series' sessions so close to those in F1 on GP weekends, that may be ruled out.

Last year Ocon said the DTM would be his preference if given the chance.

[MIKA27]

Special' Enstone gets its reward with Renault F1 era

A strange era for a particularly chameleonic Formula 1 team ends on Wednesday, when what has been Lotus officially becomes Renault again at a launch in Paris.

Returning to its 2002-09 identity as Renault's factory squad is just the latest chapter of the ever-evolving story of 'Team Enstone', which was born as Toleman and transformed into Benetton earlier in its life.

It has endured scandals, scares and many performance fluctuations along the way, but few seasons as challenging as 2015, when Renault's protracted takeover resulted in difficulties on and off track.

By mid-season existing owner Genii was unwilling to spend on a business it was offloading, and Renault was tentative about investment in something it did not yet own and which had debts to unravel.

Development on what was initially a promising car virtually ground to a halt, and there were numerous court issues to contend with over unpaid bills.

Equipment consequently arrived late on several occasions, while in Japan the hospitality unit was closed all weekend, leaving crew to rely on other teams for assistance.

Trackside director of operations Alan Permane believes that was when the team really showed its calibre.

"I'm not sure every team is made of the same sort of stuff," he told Autosport.

"Talking to my opposite numbers at other teams they said they did not know how our guys kept going.

"I'm sure many people would have stopped, given up, gone on strike, whatever, but they were fantastic, absolutely tremendous.

"We had wages paid late, race expenses were missed, all sorts of things like that, and of course there were grievances, and people were upset.

"It is not that they just carried on blindly and ignored any of that, people were pissed off.

"But at the heart of it they wanted to get those cars on track and to do a good job, to do quick pitstops, to do as well as they could."

The Belgian Grand Prix proved particularly problematic for Lotus, with a behind-the-scenes court case with former test driver Charles Pic leading to the cars being impounded post-event.

Yet it was at Spa that Romain Grosjean conjured the team's best result of the campaign with third place.

"That was a weekend where we had a dagger hanging over us," Permane recalled.

"People were impounding our trucks afterwards, or they were cataloguing everything on the day before the grand prix.

"The fact they could seize the cars after the race was no secret to anyone.

"But we were able to put all that out of our heads and get on with the business of racing.

"It was a phenomenal result which really meant a lot to everyone and underlined the spirit that exists within the team."

The Enstone crew now hopefully have the stability and investment their efforts deserve.

Permane believes they have proved Renault is getting "something special" by acquiring the operation.

"I've not been at another team, this has been my team.

"I have grown up here. I started here when I was 21. I'm 48 now, so I've spent more of my life here then I haven't. I don't know how other teams are.

"But I know that Enstone is pretty special, and there is a real team spirit, a real camaraderie.

"I know when people come from other teams they are really pleasantly surprised to work here, and people that leave and go to other teams to seek a brighter future often say it is not the same.

"Those teams may be better funded and that sort of thing, and may be doing better on the track, but they say the working atmosphere, the environment isn't the same and there is something special at Enstone, that is for sure."

[MIKA27]

RENAULT ARE BACK WITH A BIG BANG

Groupe Renault Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn today revealed Renault’s complete motorsport plans at an event held at the Renault Technocentre in Guyancourt where he announced that Renault Sport will be managed by two entities: Renault Sport Racing and Renault Sport Cars.

Renault Sport Racing will encompass all Renault’s motorsport activities, including Renault Sport Formula One Team, Renault e.dams, Formula Renault 2.0, Renault Sport R.S.01 Trophy, plus further customer racing and rallying programmes. Renault Sport Racing will cover operations at the two Renault motorsport sites at Enstone, UK, and Viry–Châtillon, France.

Renault Sport Cars, an evolution of Renault Sport Technologies, will manage the development and commercialisation of the Renault Sport car portfolio. Renault Sport is recognised worldwide for its excellence in hot hatches such as the Mégane R.S. and Clio R.S. as well as efficient and accessible GTs including the new Mégane GT. Renault Sport will develop its international footprint, brand appeal and portfolio growth with increased R&D investment.

Renault will use the new structure for two primary functions. Initially, it aims to promote the Renault Sport brand to a wider audience primarily using the Renault Sport Formula One Team and the global audience of F1. Secondly, it will use Formula E and racing activities such as the Clio Cup to showcase the image and design of other aspects of the Renault range such as electric vehicles.

Renault Sport Racing and Renault Sport Cars will work hand in hand to maximise technical and commercial synergies from track to road. The first demonstration of the relationship will be revealed at the Monaco Grand Prix.

“Motorsports still spark the imagination of both enthusiasts and everyday drivers, and we are putting a comprehensive program in place today. Formula 1 is a big part of our efforts to boost awareness of Renault, particularly in markets where Renault is a newcomer, and will enhance the transfer of technologies from the track to our road cars,” said CEO Carlos Ghosn.

To ensure the operational autonomy required to perform in the fast moving racing and high performance environment with the strategic corporate objectives and requirements of Groupe Renault, a supervisory board has been created, which will be chaired by Carlos Ghosn.

Renault Sport Racing will be headed by Jérôme Stoll as President, supported by Cyril Abiteboul as Managing Director. Frédéric Vasseur will report to the latter as Racing Director, responsible for sporting and technical matters.

Renault Sport Cars will be headed by Patrice Ratti as Managing Director. Guillaume Boisseau, Groupe Renault Brands Director, will lead the marketing efforts of the group to ensure the alignment and activation of the racing programs with Renault’s marketing strategy.

At the core of the racing activities will be the newly-created Renault Sport Formula One Team. The new F1 challenger consists of the Renault R.S.16 chassis, developed and manufactured in Enstone, whilst the Renault R.E.16 power unit will continue to be developed in Viry-Châtillon.

A number of key appointments have been made in the F1 team to avoid any dilution of the specific requirements of Formula One. Bob Bell is appointed F1 Chief Technical Officer and will manage the efforts of Nick Chester as Chassis Technical Director and Rémi Taffin as Engine Technical Director.

Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer are confirmed as Renault Sport Formula One Team’s race drivers, and will be supported by Esteban Ocon, who joins the team as Third and Reserve Driver.

Renault announced its partner portfolio at the event. Renault-Nissan Alliance partner Infiniti will continue its journey in Formula One alongside Renault and will enhance its involvement through a specific technology program developing the second generation of energy recovery systems (ERS) for the F1 power unit.

Renault also announced new partnerships with other prestigious brands, including premium watch supplier, Bell & Ross, revolutionary audio systems inventors, Devialet, clothing company Bestseller as well as continuing relationships with the F1 team’s current partners, including Microsoft and EMC.

Renault will continue its working relationship with Gravity Motorsports, an affiliate of the Genii Capital Group, which will retain a minority shareholding in the F1 team.

Genii and Gravity worked tirelessly to ensure the team’s survival in extremely difficult circumstances and Renault is pleased to recognize this commitment as Gerard Lopez remains a non-executive director of the team.

The Renault Sport Academy was also officially announced, with the double objective to find emerging talent that can be brought to Formula One and to provide an opportunity for Renault’s markets to take an active role in the construction of tomorrow’s sporting performance through promoting and following their local drivers.

With this announcement, motorsport once more becomes an integral part of Renault’s brand identity and, ultimately, DNA.

MIKA: Welcome back Renault Formula 1 - Car livery looks amazing IMO, love the matte black with gloss and yellow. Looking forward to watching these guys. Wll not be an easy first season but hope they blow RBR out of the water.

[MIKA27]

MAGNUSSEN: I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M NOW A PART OF RENAULT

After his shoddy treatment by McLaren Kevin Magnussen makes a return to Formula 1 in a manner he could only have dreamed of by spearheading Renault’s return as a fully fledged works team to the pinnacle of the sport.

“It’s an incredible feeling and it means so much,” 22 year old Magnussen told media who gathered for the Renault announcement at a function near Paris. “It’s not only a Formula 1 drive but it’s a top drive.”

“Renault Sport will be fighting for World Championships in the future, it might have a build-up phase, but they’re here to win and that’s a goal I share. I can’t believe I’m now a part of it,” admitted the Dane.

Magnussen made a sensational debut when he finished second at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix for McLaren. But that year the team was on a downward slump which has yet to subside. For 2015 Magnussen was deemed surplus to requirements and was abruptly marginalised to make way for the return of Fernando Alonso to Woking.

He hung in as the team’s reserve but it was clear that he had become a victim of McLaren’s rapid downfall and the management’s decision making which made it clear he was not part of their future plans. Late last year Magnussen departed McLaren.

Magnussen said of his year on the sidelines, “It’s been character building! I had a season in 2014 and I felt it went quite well pitched against a past World Champion [Jenson Button].”

“To be replaced the following year was tough even if the line-up the team used was very strong. I had been racing every year since I was six so to sit to the side certainly wasn’t part of my plan.”

“Hopefully I’ll prove many points. I’m extremely motivated after a whole year away. I’ve been sitting on the sideline during the races for so many weekends and I’m hungry to come back and prove my worth. I’m extremely hungry and keen to get in a race car again and even more so with Renault Sport!”

“I have a lot to give. I’ve been connected to a top Formula 1 team for five years and three of those were in Formula 1 in driving and testing capacities. Despite just one season racing, I’ve got good experience. I can’t wait to get started at a great project such as a Renault factory team. I’m pleased to be a part of it.

“Not many drivers get a second chance in F1. I was looking at other things because there was a chance I would not be back in F1. Looking back at that compared where I’ve ended up is pretty cool. I have to thank Renault for giving me this opportunity,” he added.

Magnussen was offered the Renault drive after Pastor Maldonado was ousted in the aftermath of a fall out between Renault and Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA which had bank-rolled Maldonado’s career in F1.

The Dane will be joined by Jolyon Palmer in the Renault team for 2016.

[MIKA27]

MARCHIONNE WANTED ALFA ROMEO ENGINE FOR TORO ROSSO

Fiat Chrysler president Sergio Marchionne wanted Toro Rosso to be powered by Alfa Romeo-branded engines in 2016.

That is the claim of Auto Bild Motorsport, in the wake of the so-called ‘Red Bull engine crisis’ that almost silenced the energy drink brand in F1.

Ultimately for 2016, Renault agreed to de-brand its power units for the premier Red Bull team, while Faenza based Toro Rosso secured a supply of year-old Ferrari engines.

But Auto Bild claims that Marchionne, who doubles as the Ferrari president, offered a solution in the form of an Alfa Romeo deal for Toro Rosso.

“It failed because of the money,” a Red Bull source said, reportedly referring to a figure around EUR 30 million. “Marchionne wanted Toro Rosso or Red Bull to provide the initial development costs of the new engine.”

Red Bull reportedly turned down the deal, deciding instead that the plan-B of a 2015-specification Ferrari supply was good enough for the junior team.

“It is a step forward for us,” said Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost.

According to Max Verstappen, the step will be a big one, in the order of between eight tenths and a full second per lap.

“The problem,” the Dutch driver explained to Ziggo Sport, “is that we have a 2015 engine and most teams have a 2016 spec, so they will make steps as they go.

“But it looks positive for us anyway — I think we are going to make a bigger step than most teams,” Verstappen predicted.

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Honda to develop talent from within

Honda motorsport boss Yasuhisa Arai said tremendous emphasis would be placed on nurturing its own engine development talent.

Arai, speaking to Japanese publication Nikkei, said he would not be willing to compromise in this regard, adding that he will not allow outside personnel advice on engine development at Honda.

Much has been made of Honda's partnership with McLaren in 2015, which ultimately proved to be a failed campaign. However, Arai takes pride in the fact that Honda has not deviated from the culture of developing talent from within, which he feels will benefit the team in the long term.

"We thoroughly discuss problems [with McLaren] until we see eye to eye," said Arai.

"Sometime around last summer, they asked if we had sufficient [development] resources and wanted to know why we were doing things exclusively on our own.

"They also asked us to use outside personnel, which from their perspective is natural given the high job mobility in Europe," added Arai.

"But we explained that Honda has a different philosophy. It's important to nurture manpower. It isn't acceptable to us to have an outside engineer stay for just three months or half a year."

Arai admits that there were significant shortcomings for his team during the 2015 campaign, but insists that most of those elements will be addressed in 2016.

"Up until the Spanish Grand Prix in May, it was like playing whack-a-mole. As soon as we resolved one problem, another popped up. We felt the effects of our seven-year absence from racing.

"Although we recognised [technological troubles], we failed to quickly pinpoint the causes, come up with measures to resolve them and make the necessary adjustments. Though we don't disclose the number of people involved in our F1 team, about half of them are new to the field. We were suffering from what athletes call a 'lack of match sharpness.'"

[MIKA27]

Formula 1 agrees to scrap power unit token system

Renault's Cyril Abiteboul has revealed that Formula 1 will scrap the current power unit token system, allowing for completely unlimited engine development from 2017 onwards.

At present, manufacturers are allocated 32 upgrade tokens which they can spend on various parts of the engine, with each area worth a specified amount of tokens. The amount of tokens was set to reduce to 25 in '17, dropping by a further five the following year before eventually reducing to just three.

However as part of an agreement between the four engine manufacturers; Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda as well as the FIA, the system will be dropped. Jean Todt granted the concession as part of a deal to reduce the cost of customer supply deals by roughly half to just €12 million (£9m).

It's hoped unlimited development - including those areas that are currently ring-fenced - will favour Mercedes' rivals, allowing them greater freedom to catch up according to Abiteboul.

"The token system is being removed," Abiteboul is quoted as saying by Motorsport. "One of the reasons we have all agreed to do this is that we all need the performance of the engine to converge.

"An F1 that is dictated by the performance of the engine is not good for anyone."

Engines will still be limited to four per driver in 2017, therefore upgrades can only be introduced when a driver takes on a new unit or component.

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso STR11 passes FIA crash tests

The new Toro Rosso STR11 has passed the mandatory FIA crash tests, the team has announced.

The Italian outfit is the latest to confirm the news, following on from rivals Manor, Haas F1 and Renault.

Toro Rosso has retained its driver line-up for the 2016 season, with Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr preparing for their second F1 campaigns.

The team confirmed that its new car has passed the FIA crash tests in a post on social media, just under three weeks prior to the first day of winter testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

It was a successful 2015 for Toro Rosso, scoring 67 points – its highest ever tally – and finishing seventh in the overall standings.

For the new season it has switched power unit supplier from Renault to Ferrari, with the late decision compromising its preparations, according to technical director James Key.