FORMULA 1 - 2016

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VERSTAPPEN: ONE OF MY BEST RACES

Max Verstappen was once again voted driver of the day, this time for his efforts in the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix where his Red Bull was the meat in the Mercedes sandwich, the teenager finished second after a notable defence of the position from a stern attack by Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap of the race at Suzuka. Here is what he said afterwards.

Man of the race, fantastic. You had the hot breeze of Lewis on your neck, maybe you two had more traffic on track than on the Dutch motorway?
Max Verstappen: Yeah, there was a lot of traffic but we saved the tyres a bit in the last stint. I think in general we had a great strategy. Just to race against the Mercedes cars, I think that’s always positive. To come home in second, a big thanks to the team for that.

How hot was the breath of Lewis on your neck at the end?
MV: It was not as hot as in Malaysia. The temperature here helped, but of course Lewis was pushing hard and we had a little moment in the chicane, but of course very happy to stay in second.

Your sixth podium in Formula One. One of the best I’m sure, great measured drive – but tell us more about the move to block Lewis at the end. Before his actual move was there a little bit of memories of holding off Räikkönen in Spain earlier this season, and then when he actually made the move, was it going through your mind that he had more to lose than you did?
MV: To be honest, I never really thought about it, both of those things. I was just doing my race. I think the car was feeling quite good. I was trying to follow Nico a bit and I think in general we did a great strategy, so the car was working well and, of course, Lewis was closing up a lot. At the end of the race he was pushing really hard and I knew he’s fighting for the World Championship, so you’re not going to do crazy things, of course. But I think in the end it was all good. I managed to keep my tyres alive and to come home in second. That’s of course a great result for myself and I think also one of my best races so far but also for the team I think. For the Constructors’ it’s a very good result.

When you were fighting with Lewis, did you imagine that he would attack in the chicane? Is that why you made a move to defend, you were expecting him to go there?
MV: Yeah, it was just for fun! No, of course you see him coming in the mirrors so… Already the laps before he was closing quite a bit but I saw already out of T14 that he had a good exit so yeah, I was using a bit of energy and I defended into the last chicane. All good.

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HAMILTON: I JUST GOT WHEELSPIN

Lewis Hamilton started the Japanese Grand Prix from pole position, but a tardy start off a damp and slippery top of the grid slot conspired against him.

Before he knew it he was looking the back of seven of his rivals from eighth place as the field roared into Turn 1 at Suzuka. He recovered well to finish third, but saw himself drop to 33 points behind the leader in the title race. He spoke at the press conference after the race.

Not an easy day for you. The start: what happened there, was it just due to the slippery surface?
Lewis Hamilton: Well, firstly, a big thank you to everyone that came out today. A big congratulations to this team. I’m very, very proud to be a part of it. I’m glad I got some points for the team today. Congratulations to everyone back at the factory at Brixworth and the whole of Mercedes. We couldn’t have done it without all the support we’ve had. I did the best I could from where I was in the race but I’m happy with getting the points.

Now Lewis, the next races, the world championship, Nico leading now – now will we see the best Lewis Hamilton to fight for the championship?
LH: Of course. I’ll give it everything I’ve got, as I did in the race and we’ll see what happens.

At the start obviously you lost ground. What part did the dampness on that side of the race track play, do you think, in your getaway?
I don’t think the damp patch had really anything to do with it. I just had… I made a mistake and then just working my way up from there was tricky but, y’know, I did the best I could.

And the 33 points, four races to go, feelings on that.
LH: That’s a healthy margin for Nico, he did a great job, so congrats to him.

Lewis, your 100th podium in Formula 1 today. If you could just tell us a little bit about, particularly when you went onto the hard tyre you were extremely fast straight away, I think you passed four cars in one lap at that phase of the grand prix, so maybe a word about that. And then about the move at the end. You came over the radio and said Max moved under braking, as if to suggest you weren’t particularly happy about that. Maybe you could clarify what you were saying.
LH: Yeah, the middle stint, the car felt good. Generally the car felt great throughout the race, so it wasn’t really a problem and I’m not really quite sure if I was overtaking backmarkers or not but I was just overtaking whoever I could. Had a good run there. Fought hard at the end but just didn’t make it.

But you were happy with his move to defend?
LH: Well… it doesn’t really matter now. It’s done and we move forwards.

After the first lap where did you think you were going to end up, being in P8, I think?
LH: Honestly I don’t really remember. I can’t remember, I was just far back and I was just looking to go forwards.

You said you made a mistake at the start. Can you give us a little more detail, what exactly happened there?
LH: Not really, I just got wheelspin.

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MERCEDES DROP VERSTAPPEN PROTEST

Mercedes lodged a formal protest against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, only to withdraw it less than two hours later following the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday.

The team had initially protested against an aggressive move that prevented Lewis Hamilton from snatching second place in a thrilling tussle at Suzuka.

Verstappen went on to take second behind the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and in front of Hamilton.

Formula One’s ruling FIA said its investigation into the incident would not take place until the next race in Austin, Texas in two weeks since neither Verstappen nor Hamilton were able to attend a stewards’ meeting.

Both teams agreed but Mercedes, who claimed their third successive constructors’ championship at Suzuka, did a U-turn after Hamilton told his team: “It is not what we do”.

Hamilton, whose fervour for social media has drawn ire over the past week, tweeted: “There is no protest from myself. Just heard the team had but I told them it is not what we do. We are champions, we move on. End of!”

The triple world champion clawed his way back through the field after a horror start left him in eighth place and was swarming over the back of Verstappen’s Red Bull in the closing stages.

But when he tried to duck around the Dutch teenager approaching the chicane, Verstappen slammed the door by blocking off the inside, forcing the Mercedes to take evasive action.

Hamilton claimed over the radio that Verstappen had moved in the braking zone, but refused to elaborate after the race, saying: “It doesn’t really matter now, it’s done and we move forwards.”

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Fernando Alonso: Suzuka disappointment a 'nasty surprise'

Fernando Alonso says McLaren’s disappointing race result at Suzuka is a “nasty surprise”, after the Spaniard finished down in 16th place.

The team struggled throughout practice and qualified 15th and 17th with Alonso and Jenson Button, who then dropped to the back of the grid due to an engine change.

Both drivers suffered quiet races, failing to make much progress from their starting positions. Alonso crossed the line 16th and Button 18th at Honda’s home event.

Alonso hopes McLaren’s poor speed at the Japanese Grand Prix will be a one-off and the team will enjoy better fortunes at the next race in the USA.

“Our race today reflected the whole weekend: it was just anonymous,” he said. “To finish 16th and 18th today is a rather nasty surprise, especially after finishing seventh in Singapore, and seventh and ninth in Malaysia, just last weekend.

“I hope this was an exceptional and unique event, and that we’ll return to business as usual at the next race, in Austin.

“It was clear that the layout of the track didn’t suit our package – we lacked downforce through the faster corners.

“I know our car is in fact much more competitive than we were able to show today, and I’m obviously disappointed about putting on such a poor show at Honda’s home race.

“But we’ll head back home, analyse what happened, and bounce back from this disappointment.”

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Sergio Perez: Force India made all the right decisions

Sergio Perez says Force India made “all the right decisions” during the Japanese Grand Prix, helping him to finish seventh.

He had a strong start and ran as high as third place early on, before dropping down the order as quicker cars moved up the pack.

Perez was involved in some intense battles on the track, using a two-stop strategy to score a good haul of points.

“I enjoyed myself today and I feel we made all the right decisions during the race,” he said. “The start was good fun – I had a clean run going into turn one and ended up in third place.

“I tried my best to hold on to the position, but I knew it would be difficult to keep some very quick cars behind me so I needed to be sensible and choose my battles.

“Our car was very quick today and the two-stop strategy was definitely the correct one for us. It meant we needed to overtake the Williams cars on the track because they were on a different strategy, but fortunately I could make the moves on them very quickly.

“The end of the race, after all the pit stops, was just a case of looking after the tyres and keeping out of trouble. We scored some very useful points today – we need to keep doing the same in the final four races.”

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Ricciardo: Raikkonen’s penalty put me on the wet side

Daniel Ricciardo claimed that Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty was actually a hindrance for him as it meant he had to start the Japanese Grand Prix on the damp side of the starting grid.

The Australian finished the race P6, while his team-mate Max Verstappen placed second in-between eventual race winner Nico Rosberg and World Champion Lewis Hamilton.

Ricciardo added that everyone on the right side of the grid looked like they struggled, using Hamilton as an example as the Brit dropped to P8 from P2 at the green light.

“Raikkonen’s gearbox penalty this morning was sort of the opposite of a blessing in disguise, as it put me on the wet side of the grid,” said the Malaysian Grand Prix Champion.

“It looked like all of us on that inside line struggled, especially Hamilton. I don’t think my initial launch was that bad, but than having to go around him I sort of crossed the wet patch and lost out

“It just seemed like we couldn’t really follow the cars that well, with the dirty air, and we didn’t really have the straight-line speed to make an attack.

“We just struggled in traffic today, just fell behind the eight ball from that first stint. I didn’t feel there was anything we could do.

“I thought it was just a bit of circumstances  how the race panned out. The last sting we finally got some clean air and it looked like we could put in some quick times. But in the end we conceded sixth and that was it.”

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Button rues ‘pretty horrific’ Japanese GP

Failing to score a single point at Honda’s home grand prix, Jenson Button concedes it was a “pretty horrific” Japanese Grand Prix for McLaren.

Button started Sunday’s 53-lap grand prix from the very back of the grid after taking his sixth engine of the season.

That put him on a par with team-mate Fernando Alonso, who was already running Honda’s latest upgrade.

The new engine, though, did little to help Button up the order.

He started P22 and finished P18 as he struggled to make up ground at the start.

“The start was really poor,” he explained. “The problem is it’s all new in the back so I got massive wheel-spin and got left behind.

“I finished 18th so it was pretty horrific but I still had some fun overtaking.”

Button’s team-mate Alonso was also unable to work his way inside the top ten, finishing down in 16th place which meant McLaren-Honda failed to score at Suzuka for the second year running.

Button added: “A very tough day and it’s a shame this is our bogey track as it’s also our second home.

“We’re not quick here but the next race we will be. It can’t all be good.”

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Vettel blames tyre degradation, not strategy

Sebastian Vettel has blamed tyre degradation and not a botched strategy for his failure to reach the Japanese GP podium.

Despite spending much of the grand prix running in third place, Vettel fell off the podium when he was undercut by Lewis Hamilton in the second of two pit stops.

That immediately raised questions about Ferrari’s strategy as all afternoon the undercut had been working, allow other drivers to take positions or at least close the gaps.

Vettel, though, has refused to blame Ferrari, saying they were undone by tyre degradation.

He told BBC Radio 5 live: “It’s been a positive weekend.

“With penalties for both drivers, it was harsh but we managed to come back and then looked like we might get a podium.

“I think it was a right thing to do (to stay out when others pitted) but then the tyres didn’t hold up.

“We just had more tyre degradation to fight with than we expected.”

Sunday’s result was the first time since 2008 that Vettel failed to reach the podium at Suzuka.

It also saw him fall to sixth place in the Drivers’ Championship as he was overtaken by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

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Kvyat: I had to defend "on the edge of a penalty" from Alonso

Daniil Kvyat says the Toro Rosso STR11's straightline speed deficit meant he had to be aggressive in defending from McLaren's Fernando Alonso in the Japanese Grand Prix.

Kvyat and Alonso were running less than a second apart between laps 13 and 22, with the Russian on the soft compound and Alonso using the hard tyre.

And Kvyat, who would wind up 13th to Alonso's 16th at the end of the race, says he had to do "miracles" to keep the Spaniard at bay.

"When Fernando was behind us, I had to be on the edge of a penalty all the time," Kvyat said.

"We almost had the big one [crash] together, it was maybe this close at some point, but I always managed to stay ahead. I had to do miracles to stay ahead, to be honest, but I managed to stay ahead."

Kvyat's 13th place was the top result achieved by Toro Rosso after a trying Suzuka weekend, as teammate Carlos Sainz ended up 17th.

"This is how things are at the moment and we did the best job with the car we had - and we have to accept that our straightline speed is too slow to fight for position.

"Was absolutely nothing left on the table - every car finished, no safety car, nothing, so we started where we finished.

"This is how it is at the moment, unfortunately. It's frustrating but at least we left McLaren behind us, one of the Renaults... not ideal but it is what it is."

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Grosjean: "I've never been this frustrated after a race"

Romain Grosjean says he was massively frustrated with only picking up 11th in the Japanese Grand Prix after "one of the best drives" of his Formula 1 career.

Haas driver Grosjean had started the race in seventh but slipped down to ninth on the opening lap - and, running on a two-stop strategy, ended up finishing just behind the one-stopping Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas.

"I think I've never been as frustrated as today at the end of a race, because the pace of the car - I was much faster than the Williams," Grosjean said.

"We just got the life of the hard tyre wrong, we could've pitted earlier on the last stint - but the pace was amazing."

Grosjean said that his Haas VF-16 car had a difficult time with softs in the opening stint, but was "flying" on the two subsequent stints on hard tyres.

"I lost a bit of ground into Turn 1, with [Nico] Hulkenberg just coming in front of me, I almost crashed into him, it was very close.

"I think we struggled in the first stint with the green track and the softs, there was a lot of graining. But then the car was flying. It was really good, I had some great overtaking.

"A lot of promise for the future, it's so bloody annoying being that close but I couldn't do anything.

"Honestly, it's one of the best drives of my career and for no points."

After a weekend where both its cars made Q3 for the first time, Haas left the grand prix with no points - and Grosjean insisted his team deserved better.

"We didn't deserve that, honestly. We don't deserve 11th.

"I'm really, really frustrated about the result, but so optimistic about the updates we've brought and the pace we've had in the car."

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Force India moves clear of Williams in fight for fourth

Force India has put ten points between itself and Williams in the fight for fourth in the constructors' standings after an excellent start preluded a feisty run to seventh and eighth in the Japanese Grand Prix. 

Getting away from fifth and ninth on the grid, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg produced superb starts to run third and sixth initially and though it wasn't enough to contain the faster Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull machinery, it would see the pair consolidate a maximum result of seventh and eighth respectively. 

Though Williams also got both of its cars into the points in ninth and tenth, Force India has put nonetheless put some daylight between itself and its fellow British based team, while Perez is one point shy of seventh place Valtteri Bottas in the drivers' reckoning too. 

“I enjoyed myself today and I feel we made all the right decisions during the race,” Perez said. “The start was good fun – I had a clean run going into turn one and ended up in third place. I tried my best to hold on to the position, but I knew it would be difficult to keep some very quick cars behind me so I needed to be sensible and choose my battles. 

“Our car was very quick today and the two-stop strategy was definitely the correct one for us. It meant we needed to overtake the Williams cars on the track because they were on a different strategy, but fortunately I could make the moves on them very quickly. 

“The end of the race, after all the pit stops, was just a case of looking after the tyres and keeping out of trouble. We scored some very useful points today – we need to keep doing the same in the final four races.” 

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Toro Rosso's F1 Japanese GP was impossible - Carlos Sainz Jr

Carlos Sainz Jr said a lack of top speed made it "impossible" for Toro Rosso to have any impact in Sunday's Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.

Team-mate Daniil Kyvat was the best-placed Toro Rosso in 13th, 24 seconds off the points positions, with Sainz 17th.

The Faenza team has scored just two points in the last six races because its form has as its 2015-specification Ferrari engine has become increasingly uncompetitive.

"The problem with the top speed is it leaves you very little in terms of strategy because we know it is impossible to overtake," said Sainz.

"Today, I wasn't even able to clear a McLaren that is the second slowest car in the field.

"This means that our flexibility on strategy is reduced and the choice they did with me, leaving me out and having to pass five cars at the end was, impossible.

"I tried my best to make the strategy to work but it was impossible with the top speed to do anything."

Based on the speed trap figures from qualifying, which give the most accurate comparison as all cars use the DRS with comparable tyre condition, fuel loads and engine settings, Toro Rosso was the second slowest car on top speed - 6.5mph slower than Mercedes and just 0.4mph faster than McLaren.

Sainz admitted the situation was frustrating but insisted Toro Rosso will work hard to improve the situation.

"This is what we have at the moment and we need to adapt and we need to correct it," he said.

"This weekend, we chose to run our standard downforce without any compromise for our top speed.

"It showed that our qualifying pace improved compared to Malaysia and our race pace probably was worse so we will need to analyse."

Kvyat added: "We have to accept that our straightline speed is too slow to fight for positions.

"There was absolutely nothing left on the table and it's just unfortunate that everyone finished and there was no safety car.

"I had to do miracles to stay ahead, but it meant not keeping my tyres in good shape."

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Raikkonen describes F1 backmarkers as 'crazy' after Japanese GP

Kimi Raikkonen has described Formula 1 backmarkers as "crazy" after struggling to clear traffic during the Japanese Grand Prix.

Raikkonen was among those who complained about being held up during the race over team radio, with Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen among those also requesting more blue flags.

Raikkonen admitted Suzuka's narrow and sweeping layout is particularly tricky for lapping cars, but believes backmarkers have a responsibility to get out of the way quickly.

"Every track is different but the fact is when you have blue flags, certain people slow down and let you pass," said Raikkonen.

"Then they are one lap down and I understand sometimes they have their own fight but it's not difficult to let people past.

"You are always going to lose time but you are one lap down so it's a part of racing.

"Obviously a circuit like this it affects more and you end up following people and some of them were just crazy.

"You end up following one lap behind them so it could be better.

"But I don't think it would've changed our race it was more where we started."

Team-mate Vettel's frustration with the backmarkers grew as he tried to chase down Lewis Hamilton for the final podium position.

But after the race, Vettel admitted he was simply unlucky and there was no one at fault.

"It's frustrating inside the car, I got the feeling every time I got to the car ahead," said Vettel.

"The people in front couldn't have done any better really because there is a lot of consecutive corners.

"If you are in that part of the track, you can't expect the car in front to move over but equally you are losing a lot of time.

"If it is happening on the straights, it's a different story.

"We weren't on the lucky side today. In general, it's not easy being lapped to let the cars pass."

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BRITISH MEDIA SLAM ‘PARANOID BRAT’ HAMILTON

Lewis Hamilton, once the darling of British media has now attracted the full venom of their wrath in the aftermath of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend where the world champion decided to go toe-to-toe with journalists.

Hamilton began the weekend by antogonising reporters of all nationalities as he turned the mandatory Thursday drivers’ press conference in to a Snapchat giggle. When his disrespectful behaviour was reported by these media outlets, he went on the offensive by cancelling scheduled media briefings at Suzuka.

As a result the serious Fleet Street journals and the yellow press tabloids have ganged up on the Mercedes driver .

Kevin Eason, F1 correspondent for The Times, wrote of the incident: “His overblown reaction revealed a delicate ego and a fragile mental state.”

“While Hamilton donned a tin hat and dug his solitary trench after declaring war on the world’s press, Rosberg kept himself to himself as he has all season; head down and focus on his mantra, he says. And it works.”

The Telegraph’s headline declared, “Hamilton hits the self-destruct button.”

Their correspondent Daniel Johnson writing that Mercedes “fear their lead driver is in meltdown at one of the most critical junctures of his career” while arguing that Hamilton is cracking under pressure from his team-mate who has won four of the last five races and after Japan leads the championship by 33 points.”

Hamilton has not won since July, and came under some heavy flack for hinting that he was sabotaged by Mercedes when his engine blew up while he comfortably led in Malaysia.

In Japan the Briton messed up his start and had to play catch up all day, toiling to turn the eighth place he was in on the first lap as the field roared into Turn 1, to third place at the end of the race which Rosberg won with ease.

Johnson added: “The extra few per cent which ensured in the last two years that Rosberg was left trailing have gone missing. More worrying are signs the apparent psychological fortitude he has built up can crumble so spectacularly under pressure from Rosberg.”

The Guardian’s Barry Glendenning focused more on Hamilton’s Snapchat shenanigans: “It is a testament to Hamilton’s apparently bottomless reserves of childishness that he somehow contrived to emerge from what should have been a relatively amusing wheeze looking utterly charmless.”

“Increasingly prone to conducting himself in the manner of a man who believes he is some sort of riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, more often than not his attempts to appear brooding and inscrutable come across as the childishness of a paranoid brat.”

The Sunday Telegraph took offence at Hamilton’s decision to skip his obligaory press briefings and led with the headline: “Hamilton’s bizarre behaviour left Mercedes red-faced again.”

The Sunday Mirror’s headline was: “Berk in the Merc” while The Sun’s headlines on the world champion read “Lew-sing plot” and “Ham snaps”.

The Sun’s reporter Jonny Fordham wrote: “Lewis Hamilton was all snap and no chat,’ penned Jonny . ‘Hamilton was livid at the unsurprisingly negative reaction to his childish Snapchat antics.”

“Now the growing feeling among the paddock is that Hamilton does not just run Merc but the whole of Formula One and he has become untouchable.”

“But this is Hamilton’s world. A social media bubble where his die-hard fans worship motorsport’s Mr Marmite like a leader of a cult,” added Fordham in his report.

Mercedes management are playing down the affair, with team chief Toto Wolff explained Hamilton’s demeanour, “Let him do his talking on the track. His performances in the car justify some collateral damage.”

“After such a race, it is not right to really put the finger where it hurts. In my experience of the last few years, the situation often looks completely different after 24 hours,” he said.

“Our main goal is to help Lewis, but there are ten days until Austin so there is no need to hurry — unlike last week. At the same time, it is true that Lewis works best under pressure and when he has a target.”

“I have no doubt it will be a tough fight until the very end. We are still very far from being able to say that it is over.” added Wolff.

Mercedes F1 chairman Niki Lauda observed, “In Malaysia, Lewis dominated but then there was the engine failure which was not easy to cope with for him.”

“Then there were the repercussions related to the [Thursday] press conference, but I don’t think that affected him at the start of the race – that was a mistake. After that, he had a great race,” Lauda concluded,

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ROSBERG: I DON’T FEEL RELIEF

Nico Rosberg is refusing to get carried away by thoughts of celebrating a maiden Formula One title triumph at the end of the season, despite getting one hand on the championship crown with victory in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The German eased to a maiden win from pole position at the Suzuka circuit on Sunday, chalking up his ninth win of the year, to lift himself 33 points clear of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the overall standings.

Such is Rosberg’s margin that, with just four races to go, the 31-year-old can take the title without needing to win another race.

“I don’t feel relief,” said Rosberg, only the fifth driver to win nine races in a season. “I’m just happy to win the Suzuka race.”

Rosberg’s comments are in keeping with the approach the German has adopted this year, focussing on each race as it comes rather than the campaign as a whole.

Runner-up to Hamilton in the overall standings in the last two years, he is not planning to change it now that the title is within reach.

“The best reasoning is that it’s actually working quite well,” said Rosberg. “So why change something if it’s going quite well? The approach that I have at the moment is just coming here, focussing on the weekend and trying to get that win.”

Never has a driver who has won eight or more races in a season gone on to lose the title. Rosberg also currently appears to have the psychological edge over Hamilton, who cut a distracted and withdrawn figure in Suzuka.

But Rosberg, who can equal Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel’s record of 13 wins in a season if he triumphs at the remaining races, knows how quickly fortunes can turn.

Hamilton has not won since the German Grand Prix at the end of July while Rosberg has won four of the five races since. Nevertheless, the Briton had been on course to take back the overall lead until his engine blew in Malaysia.

Rosberg also knows that in Hamilton he faces a formidable competitor, who earlier this season converted a 43-point deficit to the German into a 19-point advantage with a streak of six wins from seven races.

“You can see how quick it goes in Malaysia, you’re in the lead and if the other guy wins its 25 points lost and then the gap is down to eight,” said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

“Remember when Nico won eight races in a row and then Lewis had that winning streak? I think its going to go down to the end,” added Wolff.

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RED BULL BLOCKED SAINZ MOVING TO RENAULT

Carlos Sainz was very close to making a deal to become a Renault driver, but Red Bull blocked the move and as a result the Spaniard will remain with Toro Rosso for another season.

His father, rally legend, also Carlos Sainz told Marca,  “He was very close to leaving Toro Rosso. It was a really interesting three year offer from Renault and he was interested. In the end Red Bull refused as they wanted him for one more year.”

“Next year will be a good one for Red Bull and they want to have someone in case something happens, and they prefer that it is Carlos. So on one side that is good and on the other side it is not so good.” mused Sainz senior.

“Joining a team like Renault is an important step but hopefully in the future something like that will happen. Red Bull has young drivers confirmed for the next three years and so the future there is a little difficult. Unless one of them is upset and leaves, it will be difficult to make the jump to Red Bull,” added Sainz.

Red Bull team chief Christian Horner told media shortly after Sainz was confirmed for Toro Rosso, “He’s on a long term agreement with Red Bull, we’ve got him in the junior team, within Toro Rosso.”

“At the moment you wouldn’t say being in a Renault was a better bet than being in a Toro Rosso, and we have immediate access to him should we need it.”

“So having invested in him, having funded him through his junior career, put him in the junior team now at Toro Rosso, it doesn’t make sense for us to release him to Renault,” added Horner.

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Suzuka performance stronger than Sepang - Jolyon Palmer

Jolyon Palmer says his performance at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished 12th, was stronger than his top 10 result at Sepang.

The British driver picked up his first F1 point with 10th place at the Malaysian Grand Prix, but believes his drive at Suzuka was better.

Palmer out-qualified Renault team-mate Kevin Magnussen to start 15th and lined up on the medium tyre, before making up a few places with a long final stint on the hard compound.

He eventually crossed the line in 12th place, two spots ahead of Magnussen. In a race where all 22 runners finished, Palmer feels it was the better drive compared to Malaysia.

“Tenth last week, twelfth this week, but this week everyone finished the race,” he said.

“We had a lot of luck last week and I think today [Sunday] was actually a stronger performance.

“We beat everyone that we could this afternoon. I’m pleased with how we went, the strategy, the pace, performance… Everything was good.”

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Horner refuses to rule out Hamilton comeback

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has refused to rule out Lewis Hamilton claiming his fourth World Championship, despite a deficit of 33-points between he and Championship leader Nico Rosberg.

As a result of Rosberg's race winning performance on Sunday, Hamilton fell further behind the German as he couldn't quite get his start right after dropping to P8 from P2 at the green light. The Brit, however, managed to recover and climb all the way up to P3 after 53 laps.

Horner went onto use examples from previous seasons, where the Championship went down the wire, as proof that anything can happen in Formula 1, including momentum shifts.

"I think in any sport you see sportsmen… They get on a crest of a wave and everything falls right for them," said the former World Champion.

"It's going Nico's way at the moment.

"Lewis has had quite a few tough weekends this year but he’ll brush himself down for sure and he can fight back. He only needs that sniff of something, you know, a DNF for Nico and a win for Lewis and he’s right back in the game again. Things can change so very quickly.

"We saw it from Kimi Raikkonen) when he stole the championship from under Lewis and Fernando [Alonso]’s noses 10 years ago or whatever it was.

"There's still 100 points available in this championship and I would be a foolish person to rule him out at this stage."

[MIKA27]

RENAULT F1 PURSUING NICO HULKENBERG, WHERE WOULD FORCE INDIA TURN?

Nico Hulkenberg is being tempted by a big money offer from Renault, as the French manufacturer looks to step things up in year two of their F1 return. So will he go and who would Force India take as a replacement?

This year the team has been compromised by the late decision to acquire the Lotus team and rebrand it as well as to replace the Mercedes engine with a Renault. They have been playing catch up on engineering every since and although recently they have had the pace to finish ahead of Toro Rosso, McLaren, Sauber and Manor at times, in general this has been a season of treading water until 2017 when the new F1 rules offer a fresh start for everyone. So most of the resource has gone into that development programme.

The management has acknowledged that it is still too early to go after a big name driver, a GP winner or world champion, as they are looking at a five year cycle to reach the level where they should be fighting for the championship.

Behind the scenes they have tried to tempt Carlos Sainz away from Toro Rosso, but he’s signed up for 2017 and the option lies with Red Bull, not with the driver. The latest driver to receive an offer is Nico Hulkenberg and this one might work. The German is still looking for his first F1 podium, but is considered to be among the best drivers in F1’s second tier and he consistently teas the Force India into the positions behind the top three teams in qualifying and the race.

If he were to ask to be released by Force India, the buyout would be cheaper than other drivers they’ve looked at and the door would also be open for Force India to house one of Mercedes’ up and coming proteges.

The two Manor drivers, Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon are gaining experience, with Wehrlein in the car since the start of the season as well as several test outings in the Mercedes. Ocon only came into F1 part way through the season and has taken his time to find his feet. But his last two races have shown some strong performance.

The clincher however is that Force India has already tested both drivers and made its own internal assessments. They feel Ocon is the more promising driver. He has a complicated contractual situation in one sense; he’s a Mercedes development driver (bought from Gerard Lopez’ Gravity Management, having been discovered by Eric Boullier when he worked for Lopez) on secondment to Renault.

This would seem to have the makings of a deal that can be done, however as Renault gets Hulkenberg and Mercedes can progress one of its proteges up the grid. It would be tough on Wehrlein, who is the next cab off the rank and Wehrlein clearly has support from powerful entities within the Mercedes German hierarchy.

But this is about developing the replacement for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg and an empty seat at Force India is an ideal stepping stone for the next two seasons.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes altered Hamilton and Rosberg's gloves to fix F1 starts

Mercedes has tried altering its Formula 1 drivers' gloves as part of its efforts to help Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg avoid problems with its "difficult to handle" clutch.

Hamilton suffered another slow getaway in the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, dropping from second on the grid to eighth by Turn 1, ultimately recovering to third as team-mate Rosberg won at Suzuka to extend his championship lead.

Having turned to parent company Daimler earlier in the season, motorsport boss Toto Wolff says recent work has even extended to changing the stitching within its drivers' gloves.

"The clutch we are giving them is not perfect," Wolff said.

"It is difficult to handle the clutch in the right way.

"Both drivers have worked on that, going as far as changing the way the glove is done in order to release it - how the glove is sewn.

"This is just one aspect as it goes to how you release it, how you hold the revs, and that is very complicated.

"Then there is the random factor of getting all that right, and that is not always very easy with the clutch."

However, Wolff says that Mercedes is only assessing data from its own cars, rather than tapping into information from customer teams such as Force India, which shares its rear-end hardware.

"We are only looking at ours," added Wolff.

"Our system is complicated, maybe more than others, but also we are more in the spotlight if it goes wrong.

"If we look at the real clutch performance versus the perceived clutch performance, and you compare this data, probably the perceived clutch data is worse because we are at the front."

Hamilton accepted the blame for his latest slow start, which was a key factor in leaving Japan with a 33-point deficit to Rosberg.

However Wolff felt that a damp line on the inside of the track, where Hamilton started, was also a factor.

"Our first assessment is that it didn't function well on the clutch release, dumping the clutch, but that is an over-simplification," he said.

"It's a complicated mechanism to deploy and it didn't function today.

"The damp line was, of course, a problem for everybody who was on the right side. You can see [Daniel] Ricciardo [starting fourth behind Hamilton] also didn't get the start right and he lost a position.

"Positions one-three-five [on the dry side] were ahead after the first couple of corners. That was a problem and it's a shame.

"That the circuit didn't dry out after it had rained overnight is bizarre."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari F1 drivers believe it is back ahead of Red Bull

Ferrari moved back ahead of Red Bull in the Formula 1 pecking order during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, according to Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Raikkonen and Vettel were third and fourth quickest ahead of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in qualifying, but started eighth and sixth after penalties for a gearbox and causing a collision respectively.

In the race, Vettel recovered to challenge Lewis Hamilton for the final podium spot while Raikkonen salvaged fifth place, ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

"There has been a lot of positives this weekend, despite the penalty, the qualifying was very strong," he said.

"The pace of the car was good in the race - we were the second quickest car out there.

"I'm not entirely happy because if the podium is there for grabs and you don't take it then it always feels a bit disappointing.

"But a lot of positives we learned about the car for the future as well.

"If you compare here to Silverstone, in terms of track characteristics are similar plus the fact it was quite windy, we've improved a big amount since that time."

When asked by Autosport if he had confidence Ferrari could fight with Red Bull in the remaining four races and reclaim second place in the constructors' championship, Raikkonen said: "This weekend we had the speed.

"But the end result didn't show the true pace that we had.

"We have seen from race to race it has changed a lot between the teams so where we're going to be in the next race I don't know.

"My feeling was good, everything worked well and the car was handling well here and hopefully it's the same case in the next race."

Ferrari tried a host of new aerodynamic parts in Japan, including complex turning vanes and an under-nose bat wing, after an initial test in Malaysia and Raikkonen believes they made a "small difference".

"We used them a bit in the last race and we decided to use them here to compare," he said.

"The pace was good all weekend and we wouldn't put any parts on the car if we didn't think it was beneficial.

"It's not night and day difference, it's a small difference here and there.

"I wouldn't say this is why we were suddenly more competitive here than last race because I don't know what the reason but all of those things are helping."

[RijkdeGooier]

How about the Gary Conolly story? Any confirmation on the Autobild piece?

[MIKA27]

17 hours ago, RijkdeGooier said:

How about the Gary Conolly story? Any confirmation on the Autobild piece?

Was unsure about your question as I haven't read any news on Gary Connelly?

No other sources suggest his name except Autobuild and in this article, it seems he was the only one who was pushing for Max Verstappen to be given a penalty for his move on Hamilton during the Suzuka race. Allegedly, Gary Connolly learning that his peers did not agree with his wish to penalise Max at the next race at COTA was furious. 

In saying this however, no other sources even mention this so who knows how valid that article is?

[MIKA27]

ROSBERG: LEWIS MELTDOWN IS COMPLETE RUBBISH

Formula 1 championship leader Nico Rosberg poured scorn on suggestions that Mercedes team mate and reigning champion Lewis Hamilton is in ‘meltdown’ mode after losing ground in the title battle.

“It’s complete rubbish,” the German, winner of nine grands prix so far this season, said as he and Hamilton joined factory-based employees on Tuesday to celebrate the team’s third successive constructors’ championship.

“He’s on it as ever before, fully motivated and does massive work hours also. I’ve seldom seen that from him in the last years, such a large amount,” he told Sky Sports television at the team’s Brackley headquarters.

British media, whose criticism of Hamilton’s use of Snapchat during a news conference in Suzuka led to a backlash from the driver who also walked out of another media session, had questioned his state of mind.

Monday’s papers talked of a ‘delicate ego’, examined his ‘fragile mental state’ and suggested the Briton was losing it on and off the track.

“Executives were mouthing the word ‘meltdown’,” reported the Times newspaper, which said the champion had gone from “cocky prankster to sullen loser”.

Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff said it was clear the media needed to produce headlines, building up and knocking down.

“Lewis had a couple of tough weekends… if he recovers and has a good weekend in Austin, he’s the hero again,” he said. “That’s why I’m pretty relaxed about it.”

The two drivers earlier visited the Mercedes high performance engines facility at Brixworth, where they also joined staff for a team photograph, signed autographs and posed for selfies.

Mercedes won the constructors’ title in Japan at the weekend, a week after an engine failure denied Hamilton victory in Malaysia.

The three-times champion, who finished third in Suzuka on Sunday while Rosberg won, is now 33 points behind the German and even winning the last four races will not be enough if the other Mercedes finishes second.

No driver has ever won nine races in a season and not been crowned champion at the end of it, but Rosberg expected a tough battle right to the end.

“It’s going to be an exciting end to the season for sure,” the German told Reuters television. “A battle with Lewis as always, it’s always tough against him.

“For me, it’s just about looking at Austin. I’m excited to go there, I know I have the chance to win and I want to make it happen.”

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES CELEBRATE THE TRIPLE 

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg took time out from their title battle on Tuesday to join Mercedes bosses and factory staff in celebrating the team’s third successive Formula One constructors’ world championship.

“The smallest guy here, with the smallest part into our engine, is a winner,” non-executive chairman Niki Lauda told staff crowded into the ‘pitstop’ canteen for a champagne celebration at the Brixworth engine facility.

“I know how many hours you have to work, especially after Malaysia,” added the Austrian, himself a triple world champion as a driver.

“We have to keep on going at the same pace and work…to make sure that none of our cars in the last races have any problems.”

If Hamilton winced inside at the mention of a Malaysian race that blew a mighty hole in his championship chances nine days ago then he did not show it.

Instead, the Briton focused on the fact that his 49 wins to date – with McLaren and Mercedes – had been powered by the German manufacturer’s engines and looked forward to more success.

“Today is about all of you guys. I am so proud of everyone,” said Hamilton, whose engine failed at Sepang just as he was heading for a victory that would have put him back in the championship lead.

Instead, after a subsequent troubled weekend in Japan, he trails Rosberg by 33 points with four races remaining and the knowledge that even four wins may not suffice.

“I’m just looking forward, there’s still four races to go and I’ve got an incredible amount of support,” the triple champion told Reuters when asked about the Suzuka weekend.

He joined staff in punching the air in triumph for a team photograph next to the cars, signed autographs and posed for selfies. Another celebration followed at the nearby Brackley team headquarters.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who travelled back from Japan with Hamilton on Lauda’s plane, said the driver was in good shape.

“It’s very difficult to fly back from a race that has been very difficult for you and where your team mate has scored a lot of points. But…he’s a three times world champion, he’s able to recover from that difficult moment,” he said.

Asked whether winning the constructors’ title meant the drivers were now unleashed for a full-on battle, Wolff told Reuters nothing had changed.

“We have always kept them racing, actually we have had no team orders and that is exactly the same way we want to continue – and hopefully not let them down with mechanical issues.”