FORMULA 1 - 2016

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MONZA AND ECCLESTONE STILL NEGOTIATING RACE FEE

Monza race organisers and Bernie Ecclestone are still negotiating over the fee for a new Italian grand prix contract.

Recently, it appeared the risk the historic race could fall off the calendar had subsided, after a controversial law preventing the Italian automobile club (Aci) from contributing funds was tweaked.

But Italy’s Autosprint now reports that the organisers and F1 supremo Ecclestone are still negotiating the size of the annual race fee.

Aci chief Angelo Sticchi Damiani said a deal is “very close to a conclusion and signing, although we still have to agree on some details”.

Reportedly, what was being offered by the Italians is about $20 million per year, while Ecclestone is demanding $28m — the same as the deal for the Austrian grand prix.

Sticchi Damiani is quoted by Italpress: “Ecclestone has called for $28 million, a figure much higher than we are paying but much lower than other race tracks.

“Baku, for example, will pay about $150 million over three years,” he revealed.

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ERICSSON ADMITS SAUBER NEW CAR DELAY NOT IDEAL

Sauber can still have a good 2016 Formula 1 season even though the debut of the new car is now delayed.

That is the view of Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson, who nonetheless admitted that not getting to drive the C35 until the second and final test in March is “not ideal”.

“But we can still get some work done,” he told the Swedish newspaper Teknikens Varld, “To gather data from the tyres and also test some new parts and settings. Ideally you would have the new car from the first test but there is not so much we can do about that now.”

One positive aspect for Sauber is that engine partner Ferrari is said to have improved its power unit for 2016, and – unlike Toro Rosso – Sauber will be running it.

“I don’t know much more than what we have all been reading,” said Ericsson, “but I have heard that the Ferrari engineers are very satisfied with the numbers they are seeing so far.”

However, as the 2016 engine is reportedly significantly different in its architecture, Sauber cannot test it until the new C35 is up and running.

Ericsson commented, “Hopefully Ferrari and Haas will be able to sort out any teething trouble, and Ferrari is very good with its reliability anyway, so I’m not particularly worried.”

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Ferrari confirm Vettel and Raikkonen for Pirelli test

Ferrari's World Champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen will share the driving duties in next week's Pirelli wet tyre test.

Earlier this month Pirelli announced that three teams – Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing – would attend a two-day test at the Paul Ricard test.

The test will focus on Pirelli's wet tyres with the drivers trialing several compounds.

McLaren have already confirmed GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne for the test while Red Bull will run Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.

Ferrari have now confirmed their line-up, putting their regular drivers Vettel and Raikkonen in the car.

The two-day tests takes place on January 25-26 at the Paul Ricardo circuit which is fitted with a sprinkler system allowing for simulated wet testing.

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Jean Todt: Prize money needs restructuring

Jean Todt has called on F1 to adjust the prize money payment structure but concedes there is nothing that the FIA can do about it.

At present Formula 1's top teams – more often than not those with the money – earn the most prize money.

This has allowed the gap between those at the front of the grid and those at the back to continue to grow.

And although there have been calls in recent times for the prize money structuring to change, Todt says there is nothing that the FIA can do to help it along.

"The FIA has nothing to do with that. It is a link to the teams, the manufacturers and the commercial rights holder," he said.

"Clearly it is a question if you give to the richest the most money and you give to the poorest the least money guess what happens?

"But I know exactly where I have the power and the strength and I don't have the power to say 'give this much money to this one relative to this one'. It is not in our hands.

"So in this case let's try to identify regulations which are not penalising people who have less money than the others."

However the FIA President concedes there is little chance of that happening.

According to Todt, there is too much "self-interest" rather than "global interest" in Formula 1 which means the teams would never agree a change.

"We have people who have a boat of 50 metres, we have people that don't have a drink of water. That is life. That is why is I say in our golden gate of Formula 1 we should be facing sensible people and doing what is good for our sport," he told Sky Sports F1.

"Unfortunately very often it is self-interest rather than global interest which is discussed. I agree it would be much healthier if you have a good governing body who give rules which would make things much more equal for everybody.

"We should have a governor for that, so if they want I am very happy to take that on board."

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Opinion: Will Channel 4 shake the UK F1 TV tree, or copy the BBC?

Last month’s shock deal to grab the rights deal from the BBC to show Formula 1 racing continues to be the talk of the UK until the new cars are launched.

Unless there’s a thunderbolt from the blue, Formula 1 isn’t going to be radically different in 2016 – but for UK fans, there is one huge change: Channel 4 snapping up the UK broadcast rights from the BBC.

With cost-saving state broadcaster the BBC unable to continue with its deal for live terrestrial coverage of half the races (and highlights of the rest), Channel 4 stepped up to the plate to took over the contract, beating ITV to the punch.

This ensures that Joe UK-Public retains access to F1 through free-to-air TV without having to pay for Sky Sports – Britain’s pay-TV option that will show all the races live.

What we know about the C4 deal

Publicly-owned – but commercially-financed – Channel 4’s first step was to promise that its race coverage will be advertising break-free.

A stalwart of the BBC coverage, 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, revealed he would be part of Channel 4’s team – no surprise given his co-founding role with Whisper Films, which will produce the output.

Step two has been to take part in the ‘pick’ process to define which races Channel 4 will show live, and which Sky will have exclusively.

The process is an alternate pick system: Channel 4 would get first pick of its three favourites (including the must-have British GP), Sky would then pick three of its headline exclusives (including Monaco). Then they each pick one at a time until the calendar is full.

What we don’t yet know

Now the unknowns: Coulthard’s previous BBC role was not only as an expert pundit, but also in the co-commentator seat alongside Ben Edwards. To continue this comm-box partnership would be a sensible course of action, as Edwards is up there with Sky’s Martin Brundle as the most universally-admired British racing commentator you can find.

I very much doubt they’ll go back to the future with James Allen (ex-ITV) or Jonathan Legard (ex-BBC), while fresher options of the likes of David Addison or Jack Nicholls are unlikely to be in the frame this time around.

If there’s one thing C4 and Whisper must realize is that when it comes to action on-track, it needs commentators you can believe in – so I’d expect continuity here.

Conversely to the excellent chemistry of the DC/Edwards commentary team, the dynamic of the BBC’s line-up of pundits – Coulthard and Eddie Jordan – was one both loved or hated, understandably so as Jordan’s constant flip-flop of opinions was a contrast to Coulthard’s level-headed analysis.

Former team boss Jordan is a bizarre mixture of genius and gibberish, prone to changing his opinion as often as his garish shirts, yet the dynamic between he and Coulthard has certainly been… entertaining. And who wants a dull TV show?

Others in the mix? One assumes that Sky will have tightened up its contracts on the likes of Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, Anthony Davidson et al. BBC irregular Allan McNish certainly fits the C4 bill, but has lucrative Audi ambassadorial commitments on his table.

Channel 4 might like to change up this part of the output, but another option would be to sign a new player in the anchor role – if BBC mainstay Suzi Perry doesn’t make the switch.

Ditto presenter/reporter Lee McKenzie; if she stays put at the BBC, this could open the door to Radio 5 Live’s Jennie Gow, who has also been anchoring ITV’s Formula E studio shows and knows the F1 paddock like the back of her hand.

And where might pitlane reporter Tom Clarkson, another BBC man, fit into all this? Or former Jordan technical director Gary Anderson, whose technical expertise the BBC jettisoned after a couple of seasons.

How technical will C4 want to be? Are they going to focus solely on the top teams and big names, or delve a little deeper? It’s easy to say “we’ll have a new approach to F1 output” – but what might that actually entail?

And do they go for broke in a fresh face in the anchor role? BT Sport showed the perils of this with Melanie Sykes in its MotoGP coverage a couple of years ago, which ended in a hail of criticism.

These are all major unknowns right now.

Conclusion

It’s a truism of the past that sport is somehow superior when shown on the BBC, as opposed to watching it on a mere ‘commercial’ channel.

ITV’s previous tenure of the rights demonstrated that the bar can be raised outside the Beeb, and Sky Sports has proved that a step further.

Channel 4 mustn’t be ‘BBC-lite’; it must carry on the commitment and expertise the Beeb’s shows possessed. In fact, the channel has a public-service element as part of its remit, and under the British Government’s Communications Act of 2003 it must boast programming of an ‘educational nature which exhibit a distinctive character’.

And I don’t see why it wouldn’t do that, as there’s plenty of quality people involved already – not least Mark Wilkin, who has long been a mainstay of producing quality F1 content for UK consumption.

The big question for me is: how different can C4 dare to be to set it apart from the BBC and, perhaps more pertinently, commercial rival Sky?

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Hunting the new W07, wind tunnel model revealed & F1 tyres explained!

On this week’s studio show Rosanna goes in search of the new W07, we reveal how a wind tunnel model translates to a Championship-winning car and we’re talking tyre and regulation changes for 2016.

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Has Honda cured its power deficit?

McLaren-Honda will start the 2016 Formula 1 season with a significantly improved power unit that will be able to fully deploy its ERS after a major overhaul during the winter period, according to sources.

Hampered by woeful reliability and disappointing performance from its new Honda engine, McLaren suffered its worst F1 season since 1980 last year, but both parties have sounded a more positive attitude coming into 2016 having focused on correcting flaws over Christmas.

Key to making up ground is getting full deployment from the Energy Recovery System, a deficit that bled time but could not be amended until the winter period. According to the Spanish AS.com publication, it says McLaren has now made modifications to the car's unusual compact packaging – thanks to the efforts of chief engineer Peter Prodromou – to relocate the ERS, as well as increase the turbo.

Though the full proof of the improvements won't be made clear until the MP4-31 – which is unveiled on February 21st – turns its first competitive wheel on February 22nd, AS says sources believe the gains could amount to 70hp from the turbo and an extra 160hp from the ERS – a potential 230hp gain.

When combined, it is thought McLaren-Honda will be brought onto a relative par to the pace setting Mercedes – excusing its own improvements over the winter -, which would put greater emphasis on the quality of the chassis which drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button both felt was competitive in isolation last year.

F1 testing kicks off in little more than a month's time at the Circuit de Catalunya, with eight days of track action before the opening round in Australia on 18-20 March.

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Gene Haas backs troubled Austin F1 venue to survive current plight

Incoming Formula 1 team owner Gene Haas is certain the Austin circuit can find a way to overcome its financial difficulties and remain as United States Grand Prix host.

Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein told Autosport in November that the race's future "is not looking good" after the State of Texas reduced its annual subsidy for the F1 event from $25million to $19.5million.

That came on top of financial losses caused by the torrential rain that hit the 2015 US GP weekend.

Haas, whose US-based team joins the F1 grid this season, remains optimistic for Austin.

"There are always these concerns but it's a beautiful track, they have invested a lot of money so I don't think they are going to scrap it," Haas said.

"It brings a lot of money into the city of Austin in taxes.

"Maybe the financial formula changes a little bit but I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to have an event like that.

"No matter what happens it's a beautiful track and it will survive. I cannot imagine that track not being used."

He is sure F1 will remain in America - and even expand its presence - regardless of Austin's fate.

"They have talked about having a venue in Anaheim, California and in New Jersey," Haas said.

"We've got one in Mexico City and one in Canada.

"The question is will there be three races in North America or four? It won't be like there are no races in North America."

The State of Texas originally made a $250million commitment to the F1 race over 10 years.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said in November: "If it's changed, it's going to be difficult to continue the race in Austin."

The COTA project was built around the idea that the race qualified for a subsidy that is paid to major events to reflect the income that they generate for the cities that host them.

This is in effect based on how much tax revenue out-of-state visitors generate during their stay.

The 2016 US GP is scheduled for October 23, but it appears on the F1 calendar with a "subject to an agreement with the promoter" caveat.

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Renault F1 team urges Jolyon Palmer to show aggression in 2016

Jolyon Palmer has been urged to be less cautious ahead of his debut Formula 1 campaign with Renault this year.

After a season as reserve driver for Lotus in 2015, including 13 outings in first practice on grand prix Fridays, Palmer forms part of Renault's line-up in '16 as the French manufacturer returns to F1 as a works team.

Trackside director of operations Alan Permane believes 2014 GP2 champion Palmer has the talent to succeed, but feels he needs to be a little more aggressive.

"Jolyon didn't have too much of a chance to shine last year," Permane told Autosport.

"He was very unlucky with the weather, missing a lot of first practice running.

"He still did well, but now I would like to see him do even more as he was possibly cautious, I don't know.

"He is not the sort of driver who will go out and spin at every corner to see where the limits of the car are, and stuff like that."

Permane added Palmer's racecraft in GP2 shows he can be assertive when required.

"Just to be clear, I have no doubt in him or his ability, or anything like that, and just talking to him you can see he is a bright guy," he said.

"Generally the bright ones, who can drive as well, are the ones who go on to win races and championships.

"You don't often get non-intelligent ones, or some that are not so bright, who win championships because they need the capacity to not only be able to drive quick, but also to think about all sorts of other things as well.

"There is no doubt he is in the first category.

"Seeing what he did in GP2, how quick he was, how well he raced, and knowing how he talks and thinks about race strategy and stuff, just how his mind works, I'm sure he is going to be fine."

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Formula 1 refuelling return dismissed again after Jean Todt hint

Formula 1 will not pursue the revival of mid-race refuelling further at this time following meetings in Geneva this week, Autosport understands.

FIA president Jean Todt said the subject was back on the agenda when speaking at the Autosport International show last week.

But after a meeting of the Strategy Group followed by the F1 Commission, it is believed the general feeling was the return of refuelling would clash with plans to control costs.

Refuelling's return was last mooted in May 2015 as part of plans to improve the show in '17. While it had the support of drivers, the idea was quashed by teams and dropped.

When the subject re-emerged this month, Todt dismissed the notion that refuelling would raise costs, suggesting a figure of €50,000 a year per team.

But speaking before the meetings in Geneva, Williams technical director Pat Symonds believed the cost would be significantly higher than that figure.

"One needs to be careful with disinformation," he told Autosport. "Refuelling is an expensive thing to do as well as its effect on racing.

"Jean Todt said it cost €50,000 a year. He's an order of magnitude out. That's worrying.

"Freight costs for shipping equipment is £175,000 and it's probably £200,000-250,000 to buy and service the kit in the first year and ongoing cost of servicing it.

"There is also one dedicated salaried person for looking after it so the costs are very significant."

Symonds believes any return of refuelling would have a negative impact on the racing.

"At the moment, we can determine a strategy before the race and then we take a more tactical view when we get in the race," he said.

"We determine the pitstops based on what tyres are doing, which won't necessarily be what we predicted, and then we have to assess what our competitors are doing.

"If you are refuelling, you put enough fuel to reach lap 24 and you go to lap 24. If you stop earlier, the penalty is too high.

"When you think back to when we got rid of refuelling, we saw better racing. It's a retrograde step."

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams echoed Symonds's views on the subject.

"I'm quite surprised, because it's been on the agenda before and it hasn't been an agenda item we have agreed on," she said.

"But I understand we have to keep having these conversations if we are to look at what is going to improve our sport.

"It's not something Williams wants to see back in the sport from a cost effect if nothing else.

"My personal opinion is that the manufacturers have just spent 100s of millions on hybrid power units which are more relevant to the road industry.

"So to bring back refuelling and make F1 appear as a gas-guzzling sport just completely steps on that message. I'm very anti it."

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RICCIARDO TOPS IN PIRELLI WET TYRE TEST AT PAUL RICARD

Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo topped the timing sheets while Ferrari and McLaren – in the 2015 cars – racked up almost 300 laps on the opening day of Pirelli wet-tyre testing at Paul Ricard Circuit in southern France.

Recycled water was used to wet the track, after which the cars were unleashed from 9:00am onward. Each team doing 10 lap stints.

Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) and Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) were on duty as they put the Pirelli prototype wet compounds to the test.

The three teams combined to rack up 285 laps, with only one stoppage during the course of the day when Vandoorne’s McLaren cam to a halt out on track with an engine issue.

Vandoorne said, “We had an engine failure. The team asked me to stop the car, so that was the end of our day. All teams were running last year’s engines. We were planning to change it overnight, but unfortunately it broke at the end of the day.”

Ricciardo racked up 99 laps and in the process set the best time of 1:08.713, almost half a second up on Vandoorne with 87 laps completed and Raikkonen also with 99 laps to his credit, a second down on the top time.

Raikkonen said at the end of the day, “It was like a normal day of testing. I think it’s too early to say much about these prototype tyres, but it was a very useful session, because everyone was running under the same conditions.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve driven and, even if it was just one day, there’s always something you can learn from it,” added the Finn.

On Tuesday, the final day of the two day test, will see Vandoorne again in the McLaren cockpit, with Sebastian Vettel replacing Raikkonen in the Ferrari and Daniil Kvyat on duty for Red Bull.

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HONDA SAID TO HAVE FOUND 220 HORSEPOWER DURING OFF SEASON

Honda has reportedly aced the winter off-season following the Japanese carmaker’s woeful return to Formula 1 last year with McLaren.

That is the claim of Manuel Franco, the F1 correspondent for the Spanish sports daily AS, writes that the Honda power unit for 2016 is an incredible 223 horsepower stronger than the one with which Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button toiled with miserably last season.

He said the feat has been achieved by closing the 70 horse power gap to the leading internal combustion engines of 2015, plus solving the 163hp deficit caused by Honda’s troublesome energy recovery systems.

“Sakura, the Honda factory in Japan, has worked 24 hour shifts without Christmas holidays,” wrote Franco, amid other reports suggesting the McLaren chassis has passed the FIA crash tests.

The positive speculation about McLaren-Honda’s preparations also appear to be leaking into the world of bookmaking, with UOL saying Alonso is listed as the fourth favourite for the 2016 world championship.

Ahead of him are the two Mercedes drivers and Sebastian Vettel, with Alonso tied with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and ahead of the Williams and Red Bull drivers.

El Mundo Deportivo, meanwhile, says the first MP4-31 chassis is now being assembled at Woking, after the chassis passed the FIA’s frontal crash test at the weekend.

The report said the new McLaren has a short, Red Bull-like front nose, and similar ‘size zero’ packaging as in 2015.

This season the Woking squad will be going all out to rebound from their worst season in history, which coincided with their reunification with Honda – a partnership which dominated Formula 1 from 1988 to 1991.

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WEBBER: VETTEL THE BEST AND MALDONADO THE WORST

Mark Webber, always known as a non nonsense straight shooting character, has named his ‘best and worst’ on today’s Formula 1 grid.

When it comes to the best, the popular Australian and now reigning world endurance champion narrowed down the field to a talented trio, including his old friend Fernando Alonso.

“Fernando, I wouldn’t say he’s running out of puff, but his motivation I think at the moment is challenged for sure,” said Webber.

He explained that his former Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel is a very good driver overall, while Lewis Hamilton is “incredibly fast”.

“If I had to pick one, I’d probably pick Sebastian, in terms of pulling the whole juggernaut together and getting the whole team going, which I think he will do at Ferrari shortly,” Webber told Australia’s Wheels magazine.

“He’s notoriously consistent and unfortunately I was on the receiving end of a lot of that, but he’s pretty handy. Lewis has a little bit more of that mind-management challenge, whereas Sebastian is true to form in the Germanic fashion,” he added.

As for the worst driver in F1, Webber answered: “Probably (Pastor) Maldonado. “He’s out of his depth and just shouldn’t be there. He’s making up the numbers basically.”

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PAT FRY JOINS MANOR AS ENGINEERING CONSULTANT

Manor have announced that they have secured the services of Pat Fry as a engineering consultant as they usher in the Mercedes powered era for the team.

The team said in a statement: “Manor Racing is pleased to announce that Pat Fry has joined the team to provide engineering consultancy as it gets its 2016 challenge underway.”

“During that time, the team will benefit from Pat’s considerable experience in various race engineering and technical leadership roles – with Benetton, McLaren and Scuderia Ferrari – to help develop its engineering capabilities.”

The team’s racing director Dave Ryan said, “We are extremely fortunate to have Pat on board to help us hit the ground running with our exciting new technical package.”

“The aim is to bring performance to the car with effect from the Barcelona tests, then translate that to the race track in Melbourne, to ensure we make the strongest possible start to 2016 and have a good basis for development in the early part of the season,” added Ryan.

Fry rose through the ranks of McLaren, where he began in 1993 as an active suspension specialist. Before his departure from the Woking outfit in 2010 he was the team’s chief engineer of Race Development.

He joined Ferrari in 2010 and rapidly rose through the ranks to become the team’s director of chassis, in a trio of technical chiefs at Maranello in the wake of their failure to win the F1 title in 2010 which cost Chris Dyer his position within the reds.

In the ‘coup d’Maranello’ of 2014, which resulted in a total change of senior management, Fry departed as the new management reshuffled the Italian team.

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CAPITO: ALONSO IS THE BEST DRIVER IN F1 AND I ADMIRE HIM A LOT

Before starting work at McLaren, new team chief executive Jost Capito (pictured above) has declared that Fernando Alonso as the “best driver in formula one”.

Currently heading the motor racing programme for Volkswagen, the German said deciding to take up Ron Dennis’ offer had nothing to do with the diesel scandal.

“We began to negotiate in the summer,” Capito told the Spanish newspaper Marca, “before the diesel problems at Volkswagen began. I want to make that very clear.”

Asked if he simply needed a change, he explained: “No, I didn’t need it. It is something more sentimental.

“As a child I was a big fan of Bruce McLaren, how he founded the team and how Ron Dennis then ran the business. For me it has always been a model,” said Capito.

However, he is joining a world of F1 that is going through an intense period of naval-gazing, as the sport collectively looks at how to recapture some of the magic of the past.

“First I have to get in there and see how it is,” said Capito. “Formula one has many issues in different areas to solve, but I think the main thing in my case is to try to build a solid, strong, competitive team. The regulations do not have to be a problem, since it is the same for everyone. So it’s about getting the most out of it.”

Finally, when asked about working with Alonso, Capito said: “I do not know him personally, but I admire him a lot.

“Especially having followed what he did last season. He did not give up and kept encouraging the team, even though the results – for a driver like him – were frustrating. I must say that, for me, he is the best driver in formula one,” he added.

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PENSKE WILL NOT FOLLOW HAAS INTO FORMULA 1

Roger Penske, a famous name in United States motor racing – also a former Formula 1 driver and team owner – does not intend following Haas F1 Team back to the sport he departed back in 1976.

Joining the grid this year is Haas, whose founder Gene Haas, also a Nascar team co-owner, admitted recently he had been inspired by the ill-fated US F1 project of a few years ago.

Haas has allied strongly with Ferrari, but a few years ago it was actually Penske who was short-listed by the Maranello marque as an ideal partner for the future.

“It would be nice to see a third Ferrari fielded perhaps by a private American team. I’m thinking of Ganassi or Penske,” former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said back in 2010.

However, Penske said during the Nascar media tour activities in Charlotte last week that he is not interested in F1, even though he won a race as a constructor back in 1976.

“Formula 1 is a special series today and it always has been,” he said. “It’s the Indianapolis of every country. Unfortunately, unless you’re based in Europe and have a commitment in that sport, I don’t think you can compete on a day-to-day basis.

“I think Gene Haas has set up a completely separate team. He’s committed financially to make it happen and I think at this point it’s pretty much passed us.

“At this point I’d say we’re going to focus on the main efforts that we have today and that’s Indycar, Nascar and certainly Xfinity and our Australian (V8 supercar) pursuit,” the 78-year-old added.

Penske’s first taste of Formula 1 was when he rented a McLaren M19 in 1971 which Mark Donohue drove to third place in the wet Canadian Grand Prix.

Penske then planned a full grand prix effort campaign, buying a factory in Dorset (UK) and recruiting Brabham designer Geoff Ferris, to pen a F1 car.

The project sparked Donahue’s enthusiasm and he agreed to commit to a full Grand Prix season with Penske in 1975.

With First National City Bank support and a Cosworth engine, Penske hardly set the world on fire and, midway through the season, replaced the Penske PC1 with a customer March 751.

In practice for the Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue suffered a deflating tyre and flew off the road, hitting television camera tower. Although at first he appeared to have escaped with a headache, Donohue fell into a coma and subsequently died from his injuries.

Penske signed John Watson and, with Ferris’s elegant new PC4, the combination started to run at the front of the field in 1976. By mid-season, Watson was challenging for a win that, somewhat ironically, came at Osterreichring exactly a year after Donohue’s death there.

At the end of 1976, First National City Bank defected to Tyrrell, attracted by the guaranteed exposure generated by the Tyrrell six-wheeler. Penske decided to halt his Formula One campaign and concentrate on the Indy Car scene instead.

Penske Racing remains the last team to win a Formula 1 race using an American licence, Watson having won the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix.

Penske himself competed in two United States Grands Prix in 1961 and 1962 in privately entered Cooper and Lotus.

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FORMULA 1 DRIVERS CALL FOR BETTER COCKPIT PROTECTION

Formula One drivers are calling for a new safety device to be installed in their cockpits from 2017, hoping the so-called “halo” will prevent the lethal threat posed by flying debris.

Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) Chairman Alexander Wurz said on Monday that his members wanted “swift implementation” of the design initially suggested by Mercedes — a bar attached to the car that curves around the driver’s head and is supported in front by an upright strut.

Formula One has been testing various ways of improving head protection, weighing up the pros and cons of the halo compared with completely closed canopies, an option that some people fear could trap the driver in the event of a crash.

The halo is designed to be removed quickly in such cases. Its backers say it does not significantly obstruct the line of sight.

“The research the FIA experts have done is very thorough and the process has brought forward a clear solution,” said the Austrian, who retired as a driver last year and now works on safety with the sport’s governing body.

“Now the drivers feel it’s time to implement the extra protection at the latest in 2017,” he told the BBC.

Improving head protection became a priority after the deaths last year of Briton Justin Wilson, a former F1 racer who suffered head injuries from debris in an IndyCar crash, and Frenchman Jules Bianchi.

Bianchi, Formula One’s first driver fatality in 21 years, died in July, nine months after suffering severe head injuries at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix when his car skidded off and hit a recovery tractor.

In 2009, Brazilian Felipe Massa suffered near-fatal injuries when hit on the helmet by a bouncing spring during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix for Ferrari. He recovered and now races for Williams.

Wurz said that backing from the drivers should make the introduction of the halo “a formality”

“Obviously structural changes are required to the chassis but, with almost a one-year lead time, I don’t see any technical person speaking against such substantial safety improvements, especially given the last big accidents in open-wheel racing involved head injuries,” he said.

FIA safety director Laurent Mekies told reporters last October that a head protection device could be introduced in 2017 if tests produced satisfactory results.

Team technical directors are due to have a regular meeting with the FIA on Friday to discuss changes for the 2017 season and beyond.

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ECCLESTONE WARNS MERCEDES DOMINANCE NOT GOOD FOR THEM

Formula 1 needs Ferrari to give Mercedes a run for its money in 2016 says F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, when told by Tiroler Tageszeitung that Mercedes seems determined to dominate the sport for a third consecutive season.

“No, that’s not good for them,” the 85-year-old said whilst spectating with his friends Gerhard Berger and Niki Lauda at the Kitzbuhel world cup skiing event.

“Not good for the public, not good for anyone. We hope we have some really competitive teams at the start of the season. What we really need is for Ferrari to have improved – we finally need someone who can keep up with Mercedes,” Ecclestone added.

Ferrari’s race drivers, as well as McLaren and Red Bull, have been in action at the Pirelli wet tyre test at Paul Ricard this week, and official testing begins next month.

But when asked if he is enjoying his off-season vacation, billionaire Ecclestone answered: “Believe me, I don’t have any vacation – I can’t afford it.”

[MIKA27]

JOCK CLEAR STARTS WORK FOR FERRARI

Formula 1 veteran Jock Clear has finally started work at Ferrari, after serving a full year of so-called ‘gardening leave’.

In late 2014, Mercedes announced that Lewis Hamilton’s highly regarded and experienced performance engineer is leaving the dominant German team.

A full year later, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene said just before Christmas: “The only new arrival (at Ferrari in 2016) will be Jock Clear and no one else.”

Indeed, Briton Clear, who also worked with Michael Schumacher at Mercedes, was on duty in red uniform on Monday as Pirelli’s wet tyre test at Paul Ricard began.

His role will be overseeing the race engineering operations of the Maranello based team.

On Monday, it was Raikkonen at the wheel of last year’s Ferrari, which was running alongside McLaren-Honda and Red Bull.

On Tuesday, Sebastian Vettel will take his turn for Ferrari.

At the French circuit on Monday, Raikkonen said: “The aim is to win, but the new car is yet to do a single lap, so let’s see how the testing goes next month.”

Pirelli chief Paul Hembery on Monday seemed happy that F1’s official tyre supplier will be able to do more testing this year.

“We will do about 30,000 kilometres,” he is quoted by Brazil’s UOL, “bearing in mind that the tyre suppliers before us did 100,000kms of testing in a season with only one team.”

[MIKA27]

MERCEDES TO RUN NEW CAR BEFORE FIRST OFFICIAL F1 TEST

Mercedes is targeting a track debut for its championship-defending W07 car in the days before the opening winter test in Barcelona.

Marca have reported that the German team is planning a ‘filming day’ for the new silver machine at Silverstone on February 15.

That is exactly a week before the official winter action kicks off in Spain, although three teams – Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren – are helping Pirelli to develop wet-weather tyres this week at Paul Ricard.

Marca said it will be Nico Rosberg rather than the reigning triple world champion Lewis Hamilton who drives the W07 for the first time at Silverstone.

Team technical boss Paddy Lowe, however, said even he is yet to actually lay eyes on the W07.

“You won’t see it yet,” he said in a Mercedes video. “Even I haven’t seen it. This is the miracle of a F1 team in January and February. There’s nothing, nothing, nothing and suddenly in about 2 days, a car starts to arise.”

[MIKA27]

Honda downplay ‘huge’ power boost reports

Honda have refuted claims that their 2016 updated engine will be a "huge horsepower boost" for McLaren.

Last year the Japanese engine manufacturer struggled for form as both reliability and pace proved difficult to obtain.

As such McLaren-Honda managed just 27 points which came from six top-ten results of which only one was a double points-haul.

There was, however, some good news for the team as Spanish tabloid newspaper AS recently reported that Honda had found an "extra 223 horsepower."

Honda, though, have been quick to downplay this.

The company told Sky Sports: "Recent media reports have suggested a huge horsepower boost for McLaren-Honda in 2016. These reports are unsubstantiated and merely speculative, and we ask fans and media alike to treat them as such."

[MIKA27]

Force India target Williams’ achievements

Bob Fernley says Force India must look to Williams as the team to emulate as they are the benchmark for independent outfits.

Although Williams have experienced championship glory it has been almost two decades since they last claimed a title, winning the double in 1997.

What followed was a huge slump in form which the Grove team managed to reserve after switching to Mercedes engines in 2014.

That year they finished third in the Constructors' Championship, a feat they repeated last season.

As such Force India's deputy team principal Fernley says his team needs to look to Williams as the team they want to emulate.

"The best that we can achieve, in reality, is what Williams are doing, and that should be our goal," he told Autosport.

"I think Williams are the benchmark of an independent team's performance, with them challenging for podiums.

"The chances are, unless something desperately goes wrong elsewhere, they're not going to win a race, and they're certainly not going to win a championship."

Pressed as to what Force India needed to do to reach Williams' level, Fernley admitted his team's aerodynamic package was lacking compared to the Grove outfit.

"Clearly aero-wise Williams are doing a slightly better job, which shows we can do more," he explained.

"If you look at the performance graphs over the second half of last season, we were chipping away at that a little bit.

"We're obviously playing catch-up, which is a relatively slow process.

"As we're doing that, they're still moving on, so there's work to do."

[Artist]

Nice thread.

Mercedes FTW!

[Lotusguy]

Nice thread.

Mercedes FTW!

I hope not - we don't need another snooze fest season like the last two...

[skalls]

I really hope Honda and McLaren can get that HP and have a reliable engine this year. Be really nice to see some more competitive races.