Formula 1 - 2017

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WOLFF: OUR CAR IS THE FASTEST ON THE GRID

Although he acknowledges that the current Mercedes W08 is akin to a diva, team boss Toto Wolff believes it is the fastest car on the grid this season.

Speaking ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Wolff said, ‘We’ve joked about it being a bit of a diva. But it’s a good car – though sometimes it can be difficult. This is something we have to accept so that we can understand and appreciate the many positive characteristics that it has. I believe our car is the fastest on the grid and I wouldn’t want any other.”

Indeed Mercedes bounced back from a below par Monaco Grand Prix weekend to score their first one-two victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, which resulted in the team topping the constructors’ standings after seven rounds.

Wolff explained, “Seeing all the analysis that had been done after Monaco come together so well in Canada gave us great satisfaction. Now, it’s about maintaining that momentum.”
 
“That’s the nice bit and also the difficult bit in Formula One. The last race doesn’t count any more. You’re being benchmarked constantly on the current performance. Public companies issue reports four times per year. We do it 20 times, on a very public platform – the race track.”
 
“When you have a bad day, you can either be downbeat about it or pull yourself up and start to act on it. This is what we have done. We moved on – and these are the days that make you progress much more than the good days. Like the old saying goes, success is a lousy teacher. Every time we’ve had a difficult weekend we have come back stronger. And that speaks volumes for the people in this team.”
 
“In this season, where it’s so close, you need to take it one race at a time and try to have the best package at each race – chassis, Power Unit, and drivers. This is how we are approaching it and that’s the only way.”
 
“It’s a long Championship. There will be weekends that are good and ones that are not so good. It’s about making the best out of it each time – maximising the points that are on the table during the difficult times and bringing the trophies home when everything does come together.”

Lewis Hamilton is second in the championship, and after a masterful weekend in Montreal he cut Sebastian Vettel’s lead in the drivers’ championship from 25 points to 12 points.
 
Wolff is full of praise for the triple F1 World Champion, “Lewis is in the best place I have seen him during any of the last five years since he joined the team.”

“Not only because he had a great weekend in Montreal – but because he is coping so well with the difficult days. This is what the very best are made of. When the fight gets tough, they get over it quickly and maximise their opportunities.”

As for Valtteri Bottas, Wolff is equally enthused, “Likewise, Valtteri is in a strong position. You would never think he joined the team very last minute over the winter and, after, seven Grands Prix, he has exceeded even our expectations.”

“He’s been on pole, won a race and challenged Lewis on both Saturday and Sundays. For him, it’s now just about putting it all together every single weekend and I have no doubt he will do that,” added Wolff.

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IMOLA RECEIVES APPROVAL TO HOST FORMULA 1

Imola management have confirmed that FIA Formula 1 Race Director has approved the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari as a grand prix venue.

The Imola circuit last hosted the Italian Grand Prix in 2004, and before that it hosted the San Marino Grand Prix. It gained notoriety in 1994 when both Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna lost their lives at the venue during a dark weekend for motorsport.

Whiting gave the race circuit and it’s facilities a thumbs up, which prompted Imola president Uberto Selvatico Estense to say, “This enables us to aspire to the highest sporting events of the FIA.”

Top of the wish list would no doubt be a grand prix. With the sport’s new bosses adamant that Formula 1’s historic venues should be respected, and a desire to host 25 races, Imola will no doubt aim to feature on the calendar at some point in the future.

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GOODWOOD FESTIVAL TO HONOUR ECCLESTONE’S CAREER

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of Britain’s most popular motor racing events, will break with tradition this year and use its central feature to celebrate former Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone rather than an automotive marque.

Organisers of the June 29 to July 2 event in southern England said the sculpture towering above the stately home will celebrate the “Five Ages of Ecclestone”.

“This is not so much a tribute, but rather a Goodwood celebration of a racer who has had such a huge influence on the sport that we all love,” founder Charles March said.

“Now that Bernie has stepped aside from running Formula One, he has agreed to spend the weekend at the Festival with many of the great names with whom he has worked during a life dedicated to racing.

“It’s his first visit to the Festival and he will bring with him some great historic Grand Prix cars from his incredible collection.”

Ecclestone, an often divisive figure who ruled Formula One for decades and made billions from it while also transforming it into a global business, was moved aside in January when the sport’s new owners Liberty Media took control.

The Briton now has the title of “chairman emeritus”, a position with no defined role, and has attended a couple of grands prix since the takeover.

In his earlier days, he raced motorcycles and cars and entered the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix but failed to qualify. He then became a driver manager and owner of the Brabham team before becoming the sport’s commercial supremo.

The Festival of Speed attracts a sell-out crowd of 150,000 over the three days, billing itself as the world’s largest automotive garden party.

The festival is also celebrating 70 years of Ferrari, with “Peaks of Performance” the official theme.

MIKA: Unless my Latin is incorrect, doesn't Emeritus mean "Retired!?" Chase Carey is hinting with a wink at Bernie I suspect

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Fernando Alonso braced for ‘tricky’ Azerbaijan GP, expects a grid penalty

Fernando Alonso says he is prepared for another challenging weekend at the high-speed Baku City Circuit, with the Spaniard expecting to take an engine-related grid penalty.

McLaren-Honda has yet to score a point amid a lack of reliability and performance in 2017, with the relationship between the parties becoming increasingly strained.

The Baku City Circuit is likely to accentuate McLaren-Honda's weaknesses, due to the high fuel consumption required at the venue, and several high-speed sections, including the two-kilometre full-throttle section on the run to Turn 1.

Alonso retired from a points-paying position during the closing stages of the preceding race in Canada and expects to take a grid drop this weekend in Azerbaijan as a result.
“After getting so close to scoring our first point in Canada and suffering another retirement, we go to Baku with even more determination, but it’s no secret that we expect to find this weekend tricky,” said Alonso.

“After the power unit issues it’s likely we’ll need to take penalties, and the nature of the narrow, fast straights and tight corners means overtaking is generally tough.
“However, it’s certainly not impossible, and we’ll keep fighting as we always do.”

Alonso’s team-mate, Stoffel Vandoorne, is also braced for further struggles.

“It’s heavy on fuel consumption and puts high loads on the ERS, so we’ll need to try to optimise our package to adapt to the demands that the weekend will throw at us,” said Vandoorne.

“Canada was a disappointing race for the whole team, and we don’t expect Baku to offer us any particular surprises in terms of performance, but we’re learning all the time and working hard to get on top of our issues.”

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Formula 1 to get first triple-header in 2018

Formula 1 will have its first triple-header next year, with the French, Austrian and British Grands Prix all due to take place on consecutive weekends.

The return of the French and German Grands Prix in 2018 prompted some headaches for F1's chiefs in trying to fit in enough races into their traditional slots in the calendar.

But in a draft schedule released following a meeting of the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in Geneva, France has been handed a June 24 slot and will be followed on subsequent weekends by the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone events.

It means there will be no clash between F1 and the Le Mans 24 Hours, although the French Grand Prix will take place just a week after the endurance classic.

Other changes to the calendar include the Azerbaijan Grand Prix taking a slot in late April, with the Russian GP moving to September, where it will form a back-to-back with the Japanese GP.

The races in China and Singapore remain subject to confirmation of deals with the commercial rights holder.

"We wanted to finalise next season's calendar early, so that all our stakeholders would have more time to prepare and we have managed it, thanks in part through working closely with the FIA," said F1 boss Chase Carey.

"The number of races has increased by one compared to the current season. We received numerous requests from those wishing to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix but we wanted the existing promoters to feel that we are putting all our efforts into ensuring that each race is a special event, so that the fans, our most important stakeholders, can enjoy a unique and unforgettable experience.

"If we can do that, then the entire Formula 1 family will reap the benefit."

FIA president Jean Todt added: "Alongside our partners in Formula 1 and across the FIA's major championships we have been working hard in recent months to achieve greater harmony among the various sporting calendars and reaching an early agreement on the 2018 Formula 1 schedule is part of this ongoing process.

"The FIA would also like to welcome back the French and German Grands Prix to the calendar, as both have a long and rich tradition in the sport.

"In that regard the FIA is particularly pleased that Formula 1 will once again return to France, the historic home of grand prix racing, and to the Circuit Paul Ricard, which last hosted the event in 1990."

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Vandoorne "not in his happy place" - Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen believes Stoffel Vandoorne is "not in his happy place" as the Belgian's difficult start to his first full season with the McLaren Formula 1 team continues.

Vandoorne was promoted from reserve to a full-time race seat in place of Jenson Button this year, but has struggled against teammate Fernando Alonso so far.

He did not escape Q1 in any of the first five races, while Alonso made Q2 at the first four and qualified seventh for his home race in Spain, and is on average 0.586 seconds slower in qualifying.

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes sticking to the driving style he learned during his successful junior single-seater career - which yielded titles in Formula 4, Formula Renault 2.0 and GP2 - has hampered Vandoorne so far this year. 

Magnussen, who was part of the McLaren junior programme at the same time as Vandoorne and beat the Belgian to the Formula Renault 3.5 title in 2013, admitted he was surprised by Vandoorne's struggles.

"I don't know why he is struggling," said the Haas driver, who spent a year as a race driver for McLaren in 2014 alongside Button.

"He's clearly not in his happy place because he wouldn't be half a second off Fernando otherwise. I'm a bit surprised - he can be very good I'm sure.

"I guess I can relate a little bit. He also has a very good opportunity as he's up against someone who is seen as one of the best in Formula 1.

"He has the opportunity to really show himself. I know he's a very good driver and I know he can do it, but he's struggling for different reasons but it can be very tough in his situation."

MIKA: I don't think anyone would be in a happy place within that team...

[skalls]

If i was getting paid the money Alonso or Vandoorne are I'd sit my fatass into a McLaren this season lol

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Kubica "not on the list" for 2018 Renault seat

Renault Sport F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul has downplayed the prospects of Robert Kubica returning to the Enstone team, despite the Pole's successful recent test outing at Valencia.

Kubica impressed the team with his form in the 2012 Lotus-Renault E20 in his first F1 outing since his rally accident in 2011.

Having also driven cars from other categories, he has now gone a long way to demonstrate that he can deal with the tight confines of a single-seater cockpit once again.

After the test, Kubica expressed his satisfaction at having run a grand prix distance, and stressed his desire to make a "proper comeback".

With Jolyon Palmer not contracted for 2018, Renault has made no secret of the fact that it looking at other options, with a shopping list that inevitably starts with the likes of Fernando Alonso.

The fact that a seat is potentially up for grabs has led to suggestions that, if more tests show further signs of progress, Kubica could have a genuine shot at a return to the team.

However, Abiteboul stressed that such a scenario is not planned at the moment.

"I know that the sport is full of speculation and rumours and all these things," he told Motorsport.com.

"But I think in this present case we need to be a little bit careful, because we're talking about an individual that we all love, with a fantastic image, and who has suffered a very difficult situation from a personal perspective.

"So I think I would ask on this occasion everyone to be a little bit careful. Yes, we have done that test, but we don't want to create expectations in anyone's mind, including Robert himself."

Asked if Kubica could eventually move into the frame for a 2018 seat if he proves himself with further outings – either with Renault or in other cars – Abiteboul conceded that it was not impossible.

"Look, we'll have at some point to discuss about our future line-up, that's public information. We have a long-term contract with Nico, and a contract for 2017, and all of 2017, with Jolyon.

"But at some point we will have to review options. If by then, Robert becomes an option, we can have a look. As we speak, he's not on the list. He has many more things he has to accomplish so that he could be on the list."

Abiteboul was keen to stress that the Valencia test was largely a favour to Kubica from a team that has maintained contact with him over the last six years.

"The fact of the matter is simple. You know that there is at Enstone a group of people composed of Bob Bell, Nick Chester, Alan Permane, all these people have known Robert as a driver, have worked with him, and over the years – including when Robert was completely outside of the radar – they have maintained contact with him.

"And that's something that they always discussed, what if, as a dream he was capable of driving again in this type of circumstance? We had this circumstance, we had this opportunity.

"This was a one-off, It's part of a process of recovery for Robert, where he's going to assess his limits – his physical limits, and also maybe his mental limits, what he has the appetite for going through also in terms of challenges, in terms of difficulties, in terms of risk, for himself for his image.

"He's also done F2, GP3, LMP2, Formula E, so he's done a number things, and this was also part of the programme. But I don't want to create an obligation on Renault or Robert that there is a next step."

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Opinion: Could McLaren join forces with Alfa Romeo?

A divorce between McLaren and Honda could be close, judging by the team bosses' criticism of the Japanese engine. But what are McLaren's options if it parts company with Honda? Adam Cooper gives his take on the possibilities.

Rumours that McLaren was considering a future without Honda first surfaced several months ago, but the situation is now beyond that stage, and it's no secret that the management of the Woking team has been actively seeking an alternative partner.

   

It's widely assumed that there will be a reunion of McLaren and Mercedes in 2018, and in many ways that is the logical and very obvious route. However, it seems that things are not yet set in stone. How could they be with the Honda deal still officially in place?

So perhaps there's a chance that instead, there could be an unexpected revival of another long forgotten F1 partnership – one involving McLaren and Alfa Romeo.

Zak Brown and Eric Boullier have both made it crystal clear that McLaren's patience with Honda has run out, and given the tone of their comments, the odds of the two parties still being together next year look slim.

That appeared to be the case even before a mind-numbingly frustrating Canadian GP, where Fernando Alonso was robbed of what would have been the team's first point of the year. The fact that the loss of a 10th place was received so poorly shows just where the team is at right now.

As Brown told Motorsport.com after the race, "we can't go on like this."

When the iconic partnership was renewed, it was accepted that it might take a season or three to become fully competitive – as in, challenging for podiums and knocking on the door of race wins.

The first year with Honda was a disaster, the second saw some upward momentum and justified optimism, and in 2017 things have clearly taken a turn for the worse. McLaren cannot afford to waste any more time.

Nobody in the Woking camp, and certainly not the team's major shareholders, goes racing just to make up the numbers.

  

Financial dent

But it's not just about egos. In F1 points mean prizes, and the further down the order you drop, and the longer you stay there, the less money you earn from the FOM pot – and having been ninth and then sixth in the past two seasons, the team is currently in last place, on zero points.

At the same time, poor performance on track does not impress sponsors, and several have migrated to other teams in recent years.

That double whammy puts a big dent in the positive contribution to the numbers made by Honda, and thus walking away from a lucrative works deal and paying hard cash for a competitive engine starts to make more sense.

McLaren is a team that should be winning, and it's hard to believe that the last title came in 2008, and the most recent victory in 2012. Reuniting with Honda was supposed to address that, recapture some of the magic of a past era, and crucially give the team an exclusive relationship with a major manufacturer, with all the resources that it can bring to the party.

It hasn't worked and it doesn't look like it will work any time soon, so it's time to move on, and find a shortcut to improved performance.

A divorce looks set to be messy, because this was obviously a complex, long-term deal involving huge sums of money. Honda is already committed to Sauber, so in theory it won't be pulling out of the sport in the way it did at the end of 2008, leaving Ross Brawn scrambling to save the Brackley outfit.

There's a supreme irony in the fact that what became Brawn GP was saved because works Mercedes team McLaren agreed that the Stuttgart manufacturer could bail out Brawn and co, with an engine supply – after then president Luca di Montezemolo had made a similar offer on behalf of Ferrari.

This was a generous gesture intended to keep the Brackley staff (and indeed Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello) in gainful employment, but it backfired on McLaren when Brawn GP dominated the early part of the season, and Button won the world championship.

Liking what it saw, Mercedes decided to buy the team and make it its works outfit – at the ultimate expense of McLaren.

The major stumbling block at that time was the fact that McLaren was ramping up its road car ambitions, and there was an obvious clash with Mercedes, as it was becoming direct rival for those with a few hundred thousand to spend. Relations between Stuttgart and Ron Dennis became strained.

  

Against customer deal

McLaren eventually found itself downgraded to customer status, which is why Dennis began searching for a new partner – he was adamant that you cannot win in F1 as a customer team, despite Brawn having proven that it was possible, at least if you have an exceptional chassis.

By necessity, McLaren continued with Mercedes power after the Honda deal was signed, even into the first season of the new turbo V6 era. That inevitably increased tensions between the two, as Mercedes had obvious concerns about its IP.

At Suzuka in 2014, Dennis launched a tirade about the level of customer service from his long-time partner, focussing on a lack of access to "source code" that he felt would allow McLaren to enjoy the sort of advantage that the works team evidently had in qualifying trim.

Honda couldn't come soon enough.

"Even though you have the same brand of engine that does not mean you have the ability to optimise the engine," he said. "So you've got to start by putting yourself in a position where you have the best engine available.

"That's what we've done for the approaching years. We had a great partnership with Mercedes, but we intend to hit the ground running with Honda."

  

Mercedes reunion?

Less than three years later McLaren is in the bizarre scenario of trying to escape from Honda, and a return to Mercedes is its most obvious lifeline. The good news is that the two sides have a history together – the bad news is that history includes a lot of unhelpful baggage.

On the plus side, at engineering level the guys at Woking and Brixworth know each other well, and it's only been three years since the former built a car around the first version of the V6.

Mercedes has the capacity to supply a fourth team – it serviced Manor in 2016 – and next year the annual power unit allocation per driver drops to three per season, so that should mean that fewer resources are required per customer.

Marketing-wise, much could be made of a reunion between McLaren and Mercedes, if that suited both parties. However, that awkward clash of road car interests hasn't gone away, so perhaps there's an argument for a badging deal that also would give McLaren an extra package to sell to a sponsor.

But does Mercedes really want to have McLaren back on board? Not so long ago the top management refused to supply Red Bull, on the basis that having worked so hard to get into a winning position, why would it hand that advantage to a not very friendly rival?

McLaren could throw a spanner in the works for a team that already has its hands full fighting with Ferrari, and which enjoys smooth and healthy relationships with Williams and Force India.

One factor does work in McLaren's favour. There was a clash of personalities at the heart of the failed Red Bull/Mercedes deal, and it's probably fair to say that Christian Horner didn't have too many friends in Brackley or Stuttgart.

Crucially for McLaren, Dennis is now out of the picture, so much of the aforementioned baggage has been discarded. Brown, as he showed when he pulled off the Indy 500 deal, is a man people like to do business with, and who gets things done.

Nevertheless there are still some hurdles to overcome. You could argue that it might be better for McLaren to opt instead for Renault, and make a fresh start with a new partner.

Viry has a good reputation for providing parity, and for the moment at least, the works team is not a race winner, and thus that awkward element of competition doesn't come into the equation.

There's also the option to sell badging rights to the engine, as Red Bull has shown, which would help to pay the bills.

However, while Renault has made huge strides with its V6 over the past couple of years, it still lags behind its two main rivals.

The French engine is a much better bet than Honda – after all, Red Bull has won races with it – but can McLaren rely on promises that the gap will close further in 2018 and beyond?

 

Could Ferrari be an option?

There is a third option, one that it's easy to assume could never happen in a million years. McLaren and Ferrari, fierce rivals for over four decades, in bed together?

It sounds crazy, not least because in marketing terms, those names don't fit for very obvious reasons – they are chasing the same wealthy customers.

However, McLaren could badge the Ferrari engine, just as Sauber did with Petronas for many years. And it might not have to be a TAG Heuer-type sponsorship deal. Consider the logos on the back of the works SF70H. What if McLaren could agree to run the Maranello engine with the Alfa Romeo name?

Sergio Marchionne has said that he wants to properly push the brand in F1, and this could be a brilliantly unexpected way to do it.

It would be especially appealing to him if McLaren pays $25m or whatever the price would be for the privilege of promoting Alfa Romeo, especially if Fernando Alonso could be part of the story too.

Even if Alfa doesn't fit, there are other brand names that could be used – although Chrysler doesn't have quite the same ring to it...

Remember that Ferrari loses Sauber next year, leaving just Haas as a customer, so logistically there is capacity.

The Mercedes is the engine everyone has coveted for the past three seasons, but the Ferrari is now right there. Why wouldn't McLaren want it, for purely competitive reasons, if all the other stuff can somehow be dealt with?

The obvious counter argument is that Ferrari has never supplied a truly competitive rival, and just as Mercedes had no wish to give Red Bull a helping hand, Maranello will be reluctant to hand over its technology to McLaren.

And could McLaren ever be 100 percent sure that it was getting parity of equipment – or in the words of Dennis, access to the "source code"?

Clearly, the marketing and competition issues would present a few hurdles. However, there's also the bigger picture of politics.

A lot is going to happen in the sport over the next few years as Liberty addresses both the future technical rules and, more controversially, F1's financial arrangements.

A marriage of convenience between Ferrari and McLaren would be pretty powerful, and potentially give Maranello some extra clout as it fights its corner. And the Mercedes voice would be correspondingly weaker.

Remember too that while Brown and Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene would obviously be in the loop on any discussions, ultimately it would be agreed and sanctioned above their pay grades – between Marchionne on one side, and Mansour Ojjeh and the Bahraini royal family on the other.

That's pretty high-powered stuff, and if those guys are on the same page, anything is possible.

Think about what a great story it would be. A winning engine for McLaren puts a major player back in the game, and the sexy Alfa Romeo name makes a proper return to the sport – possibly with Fernando Alonso still in the picture.

Ross Brawn and Chase Carey would push like hell for it to happen. The FIA would also be keen for Ferrari to have three teams, rather than Mercedes (or Renault) expand to four.

There's even a little history for both sides to hang a positive story on. Back in 1970 Alfa Romeo sportscar driver Andrea de Adamich took a supply of the Italian marque's V8s to Bruce McLaren, who built a special M7D, and ran him as an extra works entry.

The package wasn't up to much, and even an upgrade to a newer M14D didn't help, and de Adamich didn't better an eighth place, achieved at Monza.

But the fact is that a McLaren-Alfa Romeo started four grands prix that year, and it remains a forgotten chapter in the history of both companies. Is there a chance that another may yet be written?

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MCLAREN PREVIEW THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX

This is only the second grand prix to be run around the streets of Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku. The track layout remains the same as last year, with its long pit straight along the edge of the Caspian Sea, but the event has been re-named for 2017. It’s no longer called the European Grand Prix; it’s now the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso: “Baku is a great city, and after the success of last year’s inaugural grand prix I’m really looking forward to going racing again in Azerbaijan. As a Baku Ambassador, I’ve spent more time there than a lot of my peers and colleagues, and it’s a really cool location to host a Formula 1 race. We literally drive straight through the centre of the historical old town and the old city walls make the perfect setting for this race in a new territory for the sport.”

“After getting so close to scoring our first point in Canada and suffering another retirement, we go to Baku with even more determination, but it’s no secret that we expect to find this weekend tricky. After the power unit issues it’s likely we’ll need to take penalties, and the nature of the narrow, fast straights and tight corners means overtaking is generally tough. However, it’s certainly not impossible, and we’ll keep fighting as we always do.”

“Baku City Circuit is the fastest street track on the calendar, so from a driver’s perspective it’s really exciting to be racing at such high speeds with the walls closing in on you either side. As usual, the starts are always one of the most crucial points of the race for us, so getting the set-up just right on Friday in time for qualifying on Saturday will be the most important thing.”

Stoffel Vandoorne: “I’m excited about racing in Baku for the first time. I’ve spent quite a lot of time in the simulator driving the track already – and I did last year too, to help the engineers prepare for a new circuit – so it doesn’t actually feel too unfamiliar.”

“The circuit is a real mix of great characteristics from other tracks – high speeds and long straights but also close racing and heavy braking for the tight corners on the infield section of this street circuit layout. It has a bit of everything so there’s a lot for our engineers to work on. It’s heavy on fuel consumption and puts high loads on the ERS, so we’ll need to try to optimise our package to adapt to the demands that the weekend will throw at us.”

“Canada was a disappointing race for the whole team, and we don’t expect Baku to offer us any particular surprises in terms of performance, but we’re learning all the time and working hard to get on top of our issues. We’ve already regrouped and we continue to look forward, and we’ll approach next weekend the same way we do every race weekend – fighting hard and trying to extract everything we can from the package beneath us.”

Eric Boullier, McLaren-Honda Racing Director: “After the frustrations we felt in Montreal, we move to what is another fascinating city in Baku, for the second race in the city’s history at the newly renamed Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In Canada we were unable to fulfil any potential we showed during the weekend, and we anticipate that in Baku we will face a similar challenge due to the demands this circuit’s characteristics place on the car.”

“Nevertheless, in the midst of our current struggles, we aren’t standing still. Quite the opposite, in fact, and the team’s hunger and determination are stronger than ever to move us forward and into the hunt for more positive results. Rather than focus on the negatives, we need to turn our attention to solutions and work together to get the best out of our situation.”

“Although we know this weekend won’t be easy, the backdrop of the stunning old town and medieval walls of Baku offer a dramatic arena for more great racing. The atmosphere during our first visit there last year was incredible and the support we received from the fans was fantastic. In terms of location, it couldn’t be better: the team stays at the Hilton situated downtown – indeed precisely overlooking the start-finish line – and places us on the doorstep of the stunning city centre, where we hope we will be able to make the most of an enjoyable weekend.”

Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co. Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer: “This season will mark just our second visit to Baku, and after a disappointing end to our Canadian Grand Prix weekend we’re looking forward to moving on to the Azerbaijan capital.”

“The race is not back-to-back this year so we’re fortunate to have extra time back at the factory to analyse and understand the data collected in Canada. However, we’re under no illusions that this weekend will be straightforward for us – Baku City Circuit has one of the longest straights of any Formula 1 track at over 2km and is a notoriously power-hungry circuit. I think we can expect another tough challenge for the team.”

“We’re going through a difficult time at the moment, but we’re doing all that we can to rectify the situation. We must continue to concentrate on development as one team with McLaren and turn things around as soon as we can.”

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SAUBER PREVIEW THE AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX

After a challenging weekend in Montreal, the Sauber F1 Team is heading out to Azerbaijan for the 8th round of this year′s Formula 1 World Championship. It is the second time that the Grand Prix will be hosted at Baku City Circuit after its debut in 2016. As one of three city tracks on the calendar – between Monaco and Singapore – it impresses with a spectacular view of Baku′s old town.

Marcus Ericsson: “This will be our second trip to Baku – definitely an interesting location. It is a city track with long straights and interesting corner combinations, making it quite special. Last season, relatively high track temperatures had an impact on our tyre management. I expect that we will have similar conditions this year. As a team, our goal remains to make further progress in improving the performance of our car.”

Pascal Wehrlein: “I am really looking forward to getting back into the car in Baku. Last year′s race weekend in Azerbaijan was quite interesting for all of us, because it was the first time that a Formula 1 GP took place there. Finding the suitable car set-up for this track was a challenge to all of the teams. Due to the layout of the track, top speed and traction are the key factors for success.”

Track Facts:

The first Grand Prix of Azerbaijan was hosted at the Baku City Circuit in 2016. The city track, located in the country′s capital, is 6 km long and was designed by the well-known architect Hermann Tilke. Baku is one of three city races on this year′s calendar, the others being Monaco and Singapore. Long straights challenge top speeds, but also require good traction, braking, and tyre management. Part of the track surrounds Baku′s old town, providing a beautiful scenery and a unique atmosphere.

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How to fix Sauber

A year ago Sauber was on the ropes. The Swiss team was struggling for money and in serious danger of not being able to continue. The team’s CEO (and then shareholder) Monisha Kaltenborn kept her head. A seasoned F1 veteran, having worked with Sauber since 2000 and having been team principal since 2010, she negotiated a deal for the team to be taken over by a Swiss asset management company called Longbow Finance SA.

Swiss financial companies are never very keen to discuss their financing, but it was clear that the first contact between Longbow and Sauber came via driver Marcus Ericsson, who had moved to the team with backing from Longbow. The Sauber investment that followed was separate to the Ericsson deal, although there were plenty of rumours suggesting that the money behind Longbow came from Sweden rather than Switzerland.

As part of the deal Peter Sauber stepped away from his team but Kaltenborn stayed on as CEO and team principal, under a board chaired by a Swiss financier called Pascal Picci, who has headed Longbow Finance since 2000. He arrived in the team having attended just one Grand Prix in his life and it seemed logical to leave the running of the team to people who knew what they were doing, although it must be said that the history of sport is littered with new team owners who arrive thinking they know all the answers and duly turn their teams into expensive failures. Picci seemed to be smarter than that and said that the long-term idea was to use the F1 team as a way to publicise Sauber’s expertise in aerodynamics, 3D prototyping and new materials to generate other business in other sectors, in much the same way as McLaren and Williams have been doing. This all seemed very sensible.

However, the key to any success in F1 remains performance and Sauber has a problem this year in that the car was conceived at a time when the team had no money and the decision was taken to use old Ferrari engines, to keep down costs and to ensure reliability. It was also taken because Sauber was already discussing doing a deal with Honda for 2018 and there was little point in spending money for what was inevitably going to be an interim season.

Last autumn the team hired a number of well-respected engineers, which was no mean achievement given that Sauber’s biggest problem has always been that it is located in the wrong place. Luring the best engineers to Switzerland has never been easy because a lot of F1’s best talents live happily in the Motorsport Valley in the UK and don’t want to uproot their families and move to the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Ferrari has struggled with the same problem in the past and has twice set up and then closed down technical offices in the UK. In any case, Ferrari is a little bit special given its legendary status. Most engineers want to work at Ferrari at some point. Scuderia Toro Rosso has had the same problem and so in the end it set up a technical centre at Bicester in the UK, where most of the development work is now being done.

Sauber has never done that and finding good technical people has been tough, even in the days when BMW was bankrolling the team. There have been a string of technical leaders since Willy Rampf left the team in early 2010, realising that things were going to be tough without BMW support. Initially James Key joined the team in April 2010 but he left in February 2012. There was no technical director until July 2015 when Mark Smith joined, although he left before the start of the 2016 season. The role was given this year to Germany’s Jorg Zander, a bit of a mystery man to many in F1 because of a career that involved a series of short stays at BAR, Williams, Sauber and then Honda (the old BAR revamped). After this became Brawn in 2009 Zander dropped out of the sport until 2015 when he joined Audi as its head of technology in sports car racing. That too was a short-lived move as Audi stopped its programme at the end of last year and Sauber grabbed him to lead the technical team. This year he has been quoted as saying that the team should be able to move up into the midfield, but this has not happened and updates have been late arriving. The race team did manage to score points in Spain, thanks to a clever strategy, but the upgrades which appeared in Monaco were a backward step and the cars were not fast enough to pull off another strategic coup. There is no question that the team’s problems are more than just horsepower and that there are handling deficiencies as well. With Honda coming to Hinwil, there is clearly a need for a better car and only time will tell if the team can deliver that.

Longbow has remained low profile thus far, as one would expect, but it is logical that the owners will want more performance, having invested their money in the team. Sauber is talking to other engineers to strengthen the challenge. The key is stability and selling newcomers on the idea that the team can move up the F1 ladder, Kaltenborn has done a decent job doing that, but it is not easy…

One might speculate that the recent rumours about a new team being put together in the UK could be related to Sauber’s new owners thinking that a UK technical department might be a good idea – but that is pure speculation on my part.

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WILLIAMS: WE HAVE NOT TALKED TO HONDA

Williams chief Claire Williams has denied that her team is in talks with their former engine partner Honda for a supply of engines in the future.

Reports have emerged suggesting Williams were considering ditching Mercedes as their engine supplier and revert to Honda power, a partnership they enjoyed in the eighties

Williams told Sky Sport, “We had a fantastic relationship with them back in the 1980s, but I can categorically say that we have not talked to Honda.”

“We are not a cause of the break-up and we are not here ready with a press release saying we are joining forces with them in 2018. We haven’t talked to them.”

Williams had a successful association with the Japanese manufacturer three decades ago. Nelson Piquet won the 1987 F1 world championship with a Honda powered unit, and the partnership also delivered two constructors’ titles in 1986 and 1987.

Williams added, “We have a great partnership with Mercedes. They helped drive us to third place in the championship up from ninth the previous year.”

“They’re a fantastic partner and they provide us with a fantastic power unit. I’m not sure why you would look to change that, to a power unit that isn’t at that level of competition yet.”

Honda have returned to the sport as an engine supplier once again but have had a torrid time,  their struggles with McLaren are well documented. A split the Woking outfit is supposedly on the cards.

Williams pointed out, “We all know that Honda do put a huge amount of money at McLaren but when I weigh up the pros and cons, would I rather have the budget we have and be the fourth quickest car or have a huge amount of money and finish P9 again?”

“Right now it’s too close to those years to go back to them,” she added.

Williams have not won a grand prix since Pastor Maldonado triumphed in Spain in 2012, and prior to that had not won a Formula 1 race since the since 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix with Juan Pablo Montoya.

There is no official confirmation that McLaren and Honda are splitting, but speculation is rife that a divorce is on the cards.

Meanwhile it was recently announced that Sauber will end their long standing Ferrari customer deal and shift to Honda power for 2018 and beyond.

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SINGAPORE WON’T BE RUSHED INTO F1 CONTRACT

Singapore will not be rushed into extending its contract with Formula One, the trade ministry said Tuesday as negotiations for the night race to continue in the city-state are underway.

“Negotiations for the term renewal for F1 is ongoing and a decision has not been reached,” a ministry spokesperson told AFP in an emailed reply. “The process has to be a deliberate one to carefully consider the terms and benefits.”

Race organiser Singapore GP said it could not comment because negotiations are underway.

In a 2018 event calendar released Monday by motorsport’s governing body FIA, there was an asterix next to the Shanghai and Singapore dates with a note that said “subject to commercial rights holder confirmation”.

Singapore’s Formula 1 future hangs in the balance as the city-state looks to renegotiate its contract to host the sport’s only night race.

The then-Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said last year the promoter was trying to strike a “long-term” deal with Singapore, and played down comments that the Lion City was looking to drop the race.

Singapore’s 23-turn, Marina Bay street circuit is seen as one of the most challenging on the calendar and has proved popular with fans.

But organisers said a slowing economic climate has seen daily attendance slump to 73,000 in 2016 from 87,000 in 2015.

If negotiations fall through, it would mark the end of Formula One in Southeast Asia. Malaysia has announced that this year’s race there will be the last due to rising costs and low returns.

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NICK FRY: ALONSO TURNED DOWN OUR OFFER IN 2009

Former Brawn GP and Mercedes CEO Nick Fry has revealed that Fernando Alonso turned down the opportunity to join Honda in 2008 and thus missed out on racing for Brawn GP in 2009, their championship winning year, and also squandered an opportunity to be part of the Mercedes team that emerged thereafter.

Speaking at the Sin Limites Management and Business Summit (MABS) in Spain, Fry said, “Fernando Alonso should have been driving for Nick Fry and Ross Brawn in 2009. If he did, he would be four times world champion today.”

“Fernando Alonso could be one of the lost talents. If he had made better decisions, he would have done much better,” added Fry.

After a fractious 2007 year at McLaren, Alonso was on the market ahead of the 2008 season and decided to return to Renault with whom he won his two world titles in 2005 and 2006.

In 2008 Brawn was intent on turning Honda into a force in Formula 1 and Alonso was top of his shopping list.

During the Belgian Grand Prix, that year, it was clear that Honda had made an offer for Alonso’s services, Brawn said at the time, “We’re just waiting [on Fernando]. My view is that he’s the best at the moment and we’re happy to wait and hope that he makes a positive decision for us.”

“I think he’s the best driver in F1 because of his balance of experience and ability. There are three very quick drivers who have established themselves so far in F1. There’s Lewis Hamilton, there’s Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando.”

“If you look at those three for a team in our position, where we have a strong rebuilding process going on, then we need a driver with strong development capacity, experience and absolute speed. Fernando has all of those things,” added Brawn.

History shows that Alonso, who at the time was managed by Renault chief Flavio Briatore, turned down Brawn’s offer and decided to stay with the French team where he remained until the end of 2009 before moving to Ferrari.

Honda famously departed the sport at the end of 2008, at which point the F1 operation was sold to Brawn and it thus morphed into Brawn GP with Mercedes engines replacing Honda power. Brawn emerged with a controlling 54% stake in the ‘new’ team and Fry getting 31% of the shares.

After Alonso’s rebuff, they signed Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello to spearhead the team’s 2009 campaign, with Button winning the world championship and the team claiming the constructors’ title that year.

In 2010 Mercedes took over Brawn’s operation to form the team that his since become the most powerful force in the sport’s current era, with which Lewis Hamilton has won two F1 world championships and Nico Rosberg bagged one title.

For Alonso it was another case of making a wrong decision in his Formula 1 career.

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CAREY: SAME GAME NEW ATTITUDE

Formula 1’s new supremo Chase Carey is head of the triumvirate that now rules over Formula 1’s commercial aspects, and it is clear that he is a man who respects the traditions and history of the sport while eager to embrace the latest media tools that have been neglected by the cabal he deposed.

Carey has made clear his disdain for the methods used by Formula 1’s former emperor Bernie Ecclestone and was quick to appoint vastly experience F1 veteran Ross Brawn Managing Director of motorsports and sports TV guru Sean Bratches as Managing Director of the commercial arm of the organisation.

Although he has little experience in Formula 1, Carey has made a successful and distinguished career in senior management at 21st Century Fox, including a stint as President and Chief Operating Officer of NewsCorp. He fronted the Liberty Media takeover of F1 along with Liberty CEO Greg Maffei.

Speaking to the FIA official magazine Auto, Carey said, “When I was at Fox and we first got in business with the NFL we had a slogan: Same game, new attitude, and I think it applies here. We want to respect the traditions that made this sport great and build on those.”

“We’re not looking to gimmick it up, we want to take what is a great sport and bring some fresh energy and innovation but with complete respect and admiration for the history that is an incredibly important part of F1.”

“We have great events around the world, but the foundation of this sport is Western Europe, which is largely where the tracks you’re talking about exist. That’s tremendously important and what we want to do is to build, but very much recognise that the foundation is critically important.”

“So not grow at the expense of the foundation, but I think your foundation needs to be strong and continue to make it stronger and then we can add the dimension of further growth. But those historic events are an incredibly important part.”

The spectre of Americanisation of Formula 1 has made some in the paddock uneasy, Carey explained, “There are aspects of what American sports do reasonably well that can benefit us and I think one of those is taking events and making them a larger event with the sport at the heart of it.”

“That’s the rallying factor and the reason, but it is the event that engages peoples’ imagination and attracts new and different fans because they want to be part of the experience. So I think it helps attract young fans, female fans; it’s not just going to a race.”

“I don’t want to minimise the importance of the race – that is the defining element – but if we create other interesting things in the level of excitement and energy around it: food, music, information, exhibitions, things like that, engage the whole city, I think America has done that well.”

“And Formula One really lends itself to that because it is such an event, there’s only one in each country. So it should come to town and take over the city it’s in for the week and we want to bring that type of energy and excitement to it.”

The Ecclestone era neglected new and social media as a tool to spread Formula 1 to a new generation of fans, as the target market was the Rolex brigade who could afford the exorbitant Paddock Club fees. Younger fans were not considered or important by the octogenarian.

In contrast Carey believes this is a crucial market which needs to be developed, “I think in many ways just looking at what was not being done to really maximise the value and opportunity in the sport over recent years.”

“When you don’t have a marketing organisation, you don’t have a research organisation, when you don’t have a digital organisation, meaningfully you have a one-man sponsorship crew. I think it speaks to the resources that are not being deployed to maximising growth in the sport.”

“In today’s age you need to be able to use all the tools you have available to grow; like digital platforms and social media, they could probably become the strongest driving force in growing a sport and to some degree it’s improving now.’

“If you look at the growth in video platforms, video digital platforms just in the last few months, it’s a three- to four-fold growth in one year by just giving it some energy and opening it up. So I think there’s a real pent-up appetite to engage with Formula One in a much deeper way.”

“One of the encouraging things in the US is you can track the followers we’re gaining digitally. When we start to get the research we can track it. The sport is not going to be the NFL, so we’re not deluding ourselves, but I think there’s a much bigger fan base that is untapped.”

“And to some degree because we’ve done nothing to try and connect and engage those fans, I think there is a much bigger base than people realise.”

Formula 1 already enjoyed an impressive profile prior to the Liberty Media acquisition, a fact that Carey admits attracted the investment they made, “Those are some of the characteristics that made it uniquely attractive for Liberty, for us to come into the business. We think events, particularly global events, are disproportionately going to grow in value and importance and F1 is unique.”

“Probably with the Olympics and World Cup which are once every four years it’s a sport that connects with hundreds of millions of fans around the world and it does it with a sport that captures their imagination.”

“One of the things that makes sport so interesting to fans and everybody else is it’s tremendously emotional. People get really connected to it so when you have that passion and that sort of defining competition I think it begs to have a structure that helps make it a business which can be managed, while respecting what it should be as a competition.”

Asked how important the rich history and traditions of Formula 1 are for the future of the sport, Carey replied, “Tremendously important; I think the history is one of the most important assets to have. You want fathers and grandfathers and sons to grow up through it and remember experiences, and I think the drivers, the teams, the races, the tracks are an incredible part of what makes this sport special and really distinguishes it from other sports out there today.”

Carey also acknowledges, “The drivers are our stars. Talent will ultimately win out. Obviously the teams, the brands and the other things are important, but the drivers are our stars and we’ve got to make sure we’re doing everything we can to find the drivers of tomorrow. I want to work with the FIA to make sure we’re doing what we can to provide the right development paths.”

Ecclestone’s never ending goal was to obliterate any form of motorsport that he deemed a threat to Formula 1. As much as he built Formula 1 to what it is, he also destroyed most other motorsport series that had potential to be an alternative. They were simply not considered, and thus obliterated lest they became too popular.

Carey has a very different view, “One of the things I’ve found as I’ve gone around some of the tracks is that there was [with the previous management] a bit of trying to exclude other forms of racing from our events. To some degree I want to invite them. We want [F1] to be the pinnacle, but if there are things we can put on that interest fans, that’s why we’re doing this.”

“We’re doing this not for our purposes and not for the teams but for the fans and to create a great experience for them. If the fans enjoy other forms of motor sport, if in Australia they want the V8 Supercars, I don’t want to preclude that. I should take advantage of that and get the Supercar fan there who hopefully becomes a more passionate F1 fan, and that’s good for everybody.”

Invariably the question of the future of Formula 1 is high on everyone’s mind, 2020 marks the end of the current hybrid turbo era which many acknowledge as being wonders of modern engineering, but at the same time hugely unpopular on many levels: Too complex, not noisy enough and mostly far too expensive.

The way forward is up for debate right now, and Carey opined, “I think the answer goes back to: it’s a sport. And it’s a sport with great contests that captivates with the combination of power, athletics, skill and technology to keep maximising the sport and puts it on a different path.”

There is a fear in the paddock that changing back to normally aspirated engines will make F1 less relevant in the future, but Carey sees it differently, “I think it’s the world we live in and we’ve got to figure out how we define our place in the world. But it’s certainly going to be with great drivers driving incredible machines with hopefully great competition.”

Carey believes that state-of-the-art technology and superstar driver appeal are key elements of F1, “I think they’re both part of what makes the sport special. It’s a competition on one hand, but the technology and engineering are obviously a part of what creates the mystique and interest in F1 and there are certain people who are passionate about that.”

“But between the two I think clearly the sporting aspect needs to be the driving force. Our drivers are our biggest stars, we want to put on events that are great with exciting competition and great action. We want the drivers to ultimately be the shining lights, not to be a sport driven by engineers, but a sport where the engineers are adding value,” he added.

Final question: How loud will the engines need to be in future?

“We’d like them to be a little louder. We’re working on it,” he replied with a smile.

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Sergio Perez targets ‘big points’ haul in Azerbaijan

Force India’s Sergio Pérez believes a “big points” haul is within reach at this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, if the squad can extract the maximum from its VJM10.

Pérez qualified second upon Formula 1’s inaugural visit to the Baku City Circuit in 2016 and finished on the podium, having dropped to seventh on the grid due to a gearbox penalty.

Force India has also displayed strong form in 2017, taking six double points finishes from seven races, with a best of fourth place for Pérez at the Spanish Grand Prix last month.

Pérez feels that Force India’s current momentum, and last year’s result around the streets of Baku, means it can approach the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in an ebullient mood.

“The car was quick [in Montréal] and we were competitive,” commented Pérez, seventh in this year’s standings, a point behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen
“It was always going to be one of our best circuits of the year, but we still had to deliver.

“It’s a good sign for Baku – another track with long straights and big braking zones.

“I always enjoy street tracks and the team has done a fantastic job to develop the car during the last few races. I think we will be in good shape this weekend too.

“The memories from last year’s race in Baku are still very strong. We had great pace and I loved the track layout.

“To recover from a gearbox penalty and still finish on the podium was a very special feeling. It was definitely one of my best weekends in Formula 1.

“If we can find the sweet spot again this year I think we can fight for some big points.”

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Wolff admits Bottas in “an uncomfortable situation” at Mercedes

Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff says he understands that Valtteri Bottas is in an uncomfortable, high-pressure situation due to his short-term contract with the team.

Bottas was signed as a last-gasp replacement for 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, who retired over the winter, initially on a one-year deal to partner Lewis Hamilton.

Speaking at the FIA Sport Conference in Geneva, Wolff said he was pleased with Bottas’s start to life at Mercedes.

However, Wolff stressed the Finn knew he would be unlikely to secure a contract extension early in the campaign due to the number of top line drivers – including Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso – who are out of contract at the end of the 2017 season. 

“Of course it’s an uncomfortable situation for him with quite some pressure,” said Wolff. “When we decided to make Valtteri the offer, he knew that we would be taking our time with the decision going forward because the driver market is more open in 2018 and beyond – 2018 and 2019. 

“That’s why we will not rush into a decision, but continue to work with him and see how that pans out. But generally the view of the team is that he’s done a good job.

“The call he received was pretty late, he’s driving against one of the best drivers of Formula 1 that has been with the team in his fifth season and he’s had a pole position, won a race in Sochi in a very dominant way and he's had the more difficult races. 

“But overall his performance on-track and the way he has integrated with the team was very positive.”

  

Wolff thinks risk has “paid out”

While Wolff accepts that Bottas’s move to Mercedes on a short-term deal was a risk for the 27-year-old, he believes he has boosted his reputation by proving himself in a top car.

“He has taken a decision to leave Williams and join Mercedes in a one-year deal,” he said. “I think that the perception of him as a racing driver has gained.

“He’s won a race rather than lost, so I think it already paid out.”

Wolff added that the fact Bottas brought sponsorship money with him to Mercedes this year increased his appeal, even if it wasn’t the key factor behind the team choosing him as Rosberg’s replacement.

“Today the revenue model for some of the teams, for most of the teams, is also actually to generate income,” he said. “Even if we look at a Red Bull or a Mercedes I would rather have a driver with some sponsorship than not. 

“Even Valtteri for example, part of his value proposition for this year was that he came with a sponsor and clearly we would rather have the money than not.”

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Sauber: Next update should deliver "major" step forward

Sauber says that the update package it is delivering over the Austrian and British Grands Prix should deliver a "major" step forward in form that could help it challenge regularly in the midfield.

The Swiss team is well aware that a lack of downforce from its 2017 F1 challenger is costing it performance, which is why it has been working for several weeks on a revamp of its C36.

Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn knows that the team needs to eke out more performance from its chassis if it is to move forwards, because it is committed to running year-old Ferrari engines until the end of the season.

"The car is not where it should be, and the technical team now has to improve its competitiveness," she explained. "That is the clear goal. They know that, and it is now for them to try to already take the next step with the package we want to bring around Silverstone and Spielberg.

"There will be a bit of it in Spielberg, and then Silverstone and Budapest, so that should be a major step. And then we will see where that takes us to."

Although the team is currently ninth in the constructors' championship, thanks to Pascal Wehrlein's eighth-place finish at the Spanish GP, it has fallen away from the opposition in ultimate pace in the last two races.

  

Kaltenborn thinks that the changes coming could help it leap forward to become a part of the intense midfield field again.

"It has to be our target," she said. "We have not set any hard and fast positions there, because there has not been enough time to seriously look at that, but that [the midfield] is where we want to be.

"Our target still remains that we want to go into the midfield and we see how far we can get. I believe in it, but it is not going to happen just by my belief.

"It is a challenge to our technical team and they are taking up the challenge, and now they have to show that they can master it."

Sauber's progress in F1 last year was hurt by a financial crisis which prompted an investment deal with backers Longbow Finance.

Kaltenborn said that the team now had the resources it needed to make the right developments, even though the slow down last year had hurt it.

"It takes some time until the processes start working again," she added. "That doesn't happen overnight - even if you have been very long in the sport.

"But I understand if it has taken a while. We were not spot on there right at the beginning, but if you look at the aero side, aero has been where the issues were and we do have not a bad wind tunnel I would say. So they have all the tools and it is up to them."

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Honda has no plans to remove Hasegawa despite troubled season

Honda currently has no plans to change motorsport boss Yusuke Hasegawa's position despite its poor performance and reliability during the 2017 Formula 1 season.

The Canadian Grand Prix was a difficult weekend for the McLaren-Honda partnership as McLaren executive director Zak Brown strongly criticised the team's engine partner.

Honda defended itself, but then struggled on track with the team losing what would have been its first point of the season when Fernando Alonso's engine failed with three laps to go.

Racing director Eric Boullier called that "absolutely not good enough" as McLaren continued its public attack.

Hasegawa, who has previously worked in F1 with the BAR-Honda project, took over from Yasuhisa Arai ahead Honda's second season back in 2016, with the manufacturer showing improved performance and reliability compared to 2015.

But much of that improvement is believed to be down to the groundwork Arai had put in before vacating his role and this year's campaign has seen a return to 2015.

This has led to questions about Hasegawa's future in the role, but a source with good knowledge of the situation believes Honda is not considering moving Hasegawa from his current position, a little over two years after he took over.

When asked about his future, Hasegawa told Motorsport.com: "I do not decide my future. If someone wants to change my position, I have to obey that.

"From Honda's point of view, nobody is thinking about changing my position. The focus is on the job and making progress. As long as I am here, I am going to do my best."

He added: "We are not satisfied with the current performance. We are trying very hard, but as a consequence we are not satisfied - we are very frustrated and we are disappointed.

"Maybe there is someone who can lead this programme better. If he is here, I am not very happy, but OK, I have to change the positions."

Over the Canadian GP weekend, F1 sporting chief Ross Brawn told the BBC the championship values Honda and "if we can do anything to support their efforts to improve for the future we will do that."

Following those comments, Hasegawa spoke to Brawn.

"He said I'm happy to support Honda if you have a request," said Hasegawa. We have to ask him for support. I very much appreciate the offer. We will continue to talk to him. I'm sure he'll support us."

When asked if Brawn said he wanted Honda to stay in F1, Hasegawa said: "He didn't comment about that but I feel naturally he is thinking about that, that he wants Honda to stay, that's why he has offered support."

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Azerbaijan Grand Prix preview - Scuderia Ferrari 2017

 

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HAMILTON: I CAN DECIDE TO STOP AT THE END OF THIS YEAR

Lewis Hamilton admits that he does not think of hanging up his helmet, but when he does so he will do it on his own terms and he could even decide to stop racing at the end of this season, while hoping he will be appreciated for his achievements much in the same way his idol Ayrton Senna is to this day.

Speaking to Auto magazine, Hamilton said of retirement, “My destiny is in my own hands. I can decide to stop at the end of this year. Does that mean my legacy is less great than it would be if I stop in five years’ time? Who’s to say?”

“I don’t like to plan for it because I don’t know what’s around the corner, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Whatever I know I’m going to do, if I apply myself the way I’ve always applied myself in my racing and I apply it to anything else I want to do in life, or even if it’s still in racing, I feel I can achieve great things.”

“I’m never going to stop pushing the limits of whatever it is I do with myself and I’m always going to strive for greatness in whatever world it is that I’m in. So I think that mission or that mentality will create my legacy.”

Hamilton generates much love among his fans, but also has a fair amount of detractors – a very similar scenario to when Senna was alive.

The Brazilian was lionised or despised in his heyday, his persona dividing the paddock and fans alike. His death however united just about everyone in admiration and respect.

As for his own legacy, Hamilton mused, “I don’t really think too much about it to be honest. I think you could probably get caught up in what you want your legacy to be. I can’t envisage what it’s going to be.”

“The only thing I can think of in the racing world is that I want to be known as a hard, out-and-out but fair racer.”

“Ayrton Senna – the way he’s remembered today I hope that I’m remembered in a similar light. Since I started racing that was always my goal, to do something similar to Ayrton, to emulate him.”

“I hope when I’m gone people can respect my commitment, my ability and my drive the way they respected his,” added Hamilton who at the recent Canadian Grand Prix matched his idol’s record of 65 Formula 1 pole position starts.

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TODT: WE WANT 12 TEAMS IN FORMULA 1

New teams have expressed an interest in entering Formula 1 and two slots could be available in the near future, International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Jean Todt confirmed today.

Formula One currently has 10 teams, down from 11 in 2016, following the demise of tail-enders Manor after the end of last season.

Since then the sport has been taken over by U.S.-based Liberty Media, who have adopted a more fan-friendly approach and have said they want to see a situation where teams can be competitive and stable.

“When we feel it is time, we will be able to make a tender. At the moment we have 10 teams and the idea is to have up to 12,” Todt told reporters at the FIA Sport Conference in Geneva.

“So we have an opportunity, if we have one or two strong newcomers it could be possible. There are always rumours, but we have had some interest from some teams.”

Todt said it would be foolish to think anything could be done in time for 2018, however.

U.S.-owned Haas are the last all-new team to enter Formula One, making their debut last season and finishing eighth overall.

Three new teams that entered in 2010 — HRT, Lotus Racing (later Team Lotus and then Caterham) and Virgin Racing (later Marussia and then Manor) — have all disappeared.

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KALTENBORN DEPARTS SAUBER

Motor racing’s Sauber have parted company with Monisha Kaltenborn, the first woman to run a Formula One team, according to multiple media reports on Wednesday.

The Swiss-based team, which had issued a sponsor announcement on Tuesday with quotes from Kaltenborn welcoming the Additive Industries as new partner, could not be contacted immediately for comment.

Many in the Formula One paddock were making their way to Baku for the weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. However, the source close to the team told Reuters the reports had substance,.

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Just a couple of days ago I was writing about how Sauber needs stability to make progress, but it seems that the whole team has gone topsy-turvy in recent days with CEO and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn apparently set to depart, it seems because she is unhappy with the way that Sauber is being overseen by investment manager Pascal Picci, the chairman of the holding company. He is the front man for investors but it is not clear if they have played any significant role in the story.

The suggestion is that the two personalties were not getting on and that Kaltenborn felt that the chairman of the company was interferring in what she was trying to achieve. Whether she walked or was pushed is currently not clear but some sources say that the decision was mutual. There have been signs of stress in recent weeks with Kaltenborn trying to recruit new technical leadership and the owners wanting to stay with what they have. The word is that at the centre of the problem is the team’s technical director Jorg Zander, who has thus far failed to make much of an impact in his six months in the job. Updates failed to arrive in Spain and when they did appear in Monaco they were not apparently an improvement.

It remains to be seen who will take over the role, although the logical thing to do would be for the team to contact one of the people who has immediate experience in the management of F1 teams at this level. One thinks, specifically, of Dave Ryan and Frederic Vasseur, but the German angle could also bring Jost Capito into play.

The big problem for the team is whether or not the people who were recruited to Sauber by Kaltenborn will stay if she is departing. As previously explained, getting people to move to Switzerland is a big problem.

The BBC, also citing sources close to the team, said Kaltenborn had been in disagreement with owners Longbow Finance.

One of the issues was believed to be the treatment of the team’s Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson and Germany’s Pascal Wehrlein, with the owners wanting to give priority to the former.

Ericsson has yet to score a point in seven races this season while Wehrlein, a Mercedes-backed driver, finished eighth in Spain in May.

Kaltenborn, who had worked with the team since the late 1990s, broke new ground when she was promoted to team principal and chief executive officer when Peter Sauber retired five years ago.

It is reported that terms of Kaltenborn’s departure were still being worked out. Kaltenborn, an Indian-born Austrian citizen, took over from team founder Peter Sauber in 2012.

The sport’s first woman team principal, and the second Indian-born after Force India’s Vijay Mallya, Kaltenborn joined Sauber in 2000 to run the legal department and took over as chief executive in 2010.

The team fell on hard times in recent seasons, struggling to score points last year, but the financial problems eased when Longbow, a Swiss-based investment company, took over in July last year.

Kaltenborn’s departure will leave former champions Williams as the only team with a woman in charge. Claire Williams is officially the deputy principal to father and founder Frank but effectively runs the team day-to-day.

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Sauber denies favouritism claims amid Kaltenborn split

Sauber has hit back at suggestions that its split with Monisha Kaltenborn is related to a dispute over the treatment of its drivers.

While sources have suggested that a key issue in the demise of the relationship between team principal Kaltenborn and Sauber was the treatment of Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein, the team has moved to distance itself from the speculation with an official statement that claims to take ‘strong exception’ to the notion.

The statement was released before Kaltenborn’s departure from the team was officially confirmed.

“The owners and board of Sauber Motorsport AG take strong exception to speculative and widespread media reports today that our race drivers have not been, and are not being, treated equally,” it read.

“This is not only patently untrue, it would be contrary to the team’s absolute and longstanding commitment to fair competition.

“These reports, attributed to anonymous “sources”, are highly detrimental to both Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein as well as to the management and all staff of the Sauber F1 Team.”

“Diverging views” led to split

Sauber has since formally confirmed that Kaltenborn has left her post with immediate effect, claiming that “diverging views” regarding the future of the Swiss outfit caused the split.

The team says she has left immediately and by mutual consent, and that her successor will be announced shortly.

The statement, issued in the name of chairman Pascal Picci, emerged over 12 hours after Kaltenborn’s departure went public.

“Longbow Finance SA regrets to announce that, by mutual consent and due to diverging views of the future of the company, Monisha Kaltenborn will leave her positions with the Sauber Group effective immediately,” read the statement.

“We thank her for many years of strong leadership, great passion for the Sauber F1 Team and wish her the very best for the future.

“Her successor will be announced shortly; in the meantime we wish the team the best of luck in Azerbaijan.”

With Kaltenborn absent the team’s operations in Baku are being overseen by team manager Beat Zehnder and technical director Jorg Zander.