Formula 1 - 2017

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WILLIAMS PREVIEW THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX

The Red Bull Ring located in the small town of Spielberg, Austria hosted its first Grand Prix under its new guise in 2014, and what a race it turned out to be for Williams.

The short, 4.326km circuit with its undulating features and impressive scenery was a popular return to the Formula One calendar.

In 2014 Williams scored its only front-row lockout of the season in qualifying in Austria and Valtteri Bottas went on to claim his first ever Formula One podium. Williams has totaled three wins at the Austrian Grand Prix throughout its various track layouts.

For Austria, Pirelli has made available the ultrasoft, supersoft and soft tyres.

Paddy Lowe: “We head to the Austrian GP this weekend in the picturesque Styrian mountains. The track itself is dramatic with a lot of elevation and some interesting corners which tend to produce some great racing. It is very short which makes racing quite dynamic, as the cars come round pretty quickly for a fresh lap. That keeps us on our toes on the pitwall! We got a front-row lockout in 2014, so we hope the car should be quick once again so we can see how far towards the front we can get in Qualifying. After Lance’s podium and Felipe’s strong but ultimately frustrated race in Azerbaijan, we have in our sights a double points finish this weekend. We will do our very best to achieve that.”

Felipe Massa: “Austria is a really fun track to drive. There are some nice high-speed corners and a couple of really good straights. We are normally quite competitive there. In the past I’ve had some good races where I’ve finished on the podium, and I had my pole position in 2014, so I also really enjoy spending time in Austria. The fans are always enthusiastic about Formula One. So I hope that we can have a good weekend and that I can bounce back from the disappointment in Baku.”

Lance Stroll: “Austria will be a completely new experience for me, as this is the first track of the year where I have already raced. I just love that track. It is so cool and a place I have enjoyed racing. There are not that many corners but it has a great flow and it is easy to get a good rhythm. It is always great going back to a track where you have been successful, and that is definitely the case here as last year in Formula 3 I had two wins and a second! The area is very beautiful and it reminds me of back home in Canada – one of those northern tracks with pine trees.”

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Kubica says "80-90 percent" chance of F1 return, set for second test

Robert Kubica believes there is an "80 or 90 percent" chance that he will return to Formula 1 following his test with the Renault team.

The Pole, who had to leave Formula 1 after sustaining severe injuries to his right hand and arm in a rally accident in 2011, completed his first test in F1 machinery last month at the Valencia circuit.

Kubica drove a 2012-spec Lotus E20 and, according to Renault, he performed strongly enough to think an F1 comeback was possible.

Motorsport.com understands Kubica will get a second outing with Renault later this month at an undisclosed venue.

The 32-year-old said his optimism about a possible return to the sport has been boosted since the test.

"If you asked me how much I was realistically thinking that coming back to F1 was possible [before the test], I would have put myself up to 10 or maximum 20 percent chance," Kubica told Auto Express.

"Because the clock is running - not just the classification, but also [I am] getting older. F1 is going so fast that some people forget - not everyone, but some.

But, when asked what the chances of a return were now, he said: "Because I'm very realistic, and I'm keeping my feet on the ground, I'd put it at 80 or 90 percent."

Kubica admitted he was right at home when driving the E20 car in Spain, saying he felt like he had not been absent for six years.

"You build up your own question marks, based on how you know yourself and your body, and then if you'd asked me about them after even the first run at Valencia, they were gone, gone, gone, gone," he said.

"Then it becomes much easier than I thought. This gives you good confidence and puts you in a completely different level - of trying to have a better feeling in the car and better performance.

"Once my comfort, or let's say limitation things, were gone in three laps, I could concentrate on trying to get back to the proper rhythm. I'm surprised how it felt; it felt for me like I hadn't driven for one month, not six years."

The Polish driver insisted all the question marks about how he could perform in an F1 car are now gone.

"My first target was to see if I could be capable of doing it," he said. "So this is more or less done.

"Second, let's say, realistically talking, is raising the game slowly and step by step. F1 is a tough competition and I have been away from racing a long time.

"I think most of the question marks I had are gone, and I'm very comfortable with it.

"Actually it was a huge relief for me because this test would have been a case of, 'Yes, I can do this' or 'No, I have to close the door on F1 forever'."

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Formula 1 oil burn controversy real – Renault

Formula 1's ongoing controversy over oil burn would not have lasted this long if some teams had not been pushing the limits of the regulations, reckons French car manufacturer Renault.

The issue of teams burning oil as fuel to help deliver a power boost came up on the eve of the season when Red Bull queried the behaviour with the FIA. 

At the time, Red Bull suspected Mercedes had been cleverly exploiting this area – although the German car manufacturer hit back and suggested its Milton Keynes-based rival had been seeing 'ghosts'.

But talk about oil burn resurfaced on the eve of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when there was another clarification issued by the FIA making it clear that no team was allowed to use any chemicals in its oil that could help with combustion. 

The suggestion was that this latest move came following some questions raised about the matter by Mercedes, which had been focusing on areas that title rival Ferrari may have been exploiting to boost its performance.

Although Ferrari strongly denied it had been doing anything against the regulations, Renault is sure that the FIA would not have gone as far as issuing a fresh technical directive if it did not have suspicions that teams could be misbehaving.

Renault's F1 engine chief Remi Taffin said: "You never have these kind of discussions and clarifications from the FIA if something hasn't been done.

"But I have to say that as far as we are concerned, we did not really pay attention to this [last clarification]. We had much more to do rather than get the last bit out of this kind of things."

Taffin is confident, however, that the latest ruling from the FIA will have been enough to ensure that everyone was now operating on a level playing field.

"We obviously understand what is being done," he added. "We fully appreciate the fact that we need to burn fuel [only], and that is what we need to do.

"At the end of the day I don't think anyone is doing anything like that any more. Just look at what is out there these days and that is the proper comparison."

Sorted out earlier

Force India's COO Otmar Szafnauer, whose team runs customer Mercedes engines, regrets that the oil burn matter has dragged on so long – considering it has been talked about for several years.

"The FIA had an opportunity to fix it a long time and didn't take it," he said. "It is one of those things – my neighbour once told me if you put your time in early with your child, once they are an adult you are done.

"But if you don't, you are forever chasing them. And this is the same. If they had done it at the beginning they wouldn't be chasing it now…."

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F1 may relax rules for new engine manufacturers - Brawn

Ross Brawn says Formula 1 may need to offer rules breaks to new engine manufacturers in the future, following Honda's persistent struggles since it returned to grand prix racing in 2015.

F1's governing body, the FIA, declared earlier this year that Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault have developed their V6 hybrid turbo engines to within 0.3 seconds of one another, though Red Bull disputes the methodology used to calculate this.

Honda is into the third season of its comeback under the current regulations and is still struggling to catch up, causing huge strain with works partner McLaren.

Brawn recently suggested F1 would assist Honda if the Japanese manufacturer requested help in solving its current crisis, and he reckons F1 may need to provide extra help to new manufacturers that join F1 in light of Honda's difficulties.

"Under the new [post-2020] regulations, we'll have to give consideration to new manufacturers who join after the start date, and acknowledge they might need additional support initially," Brawn explained.

"If you recall the token system, perhaps a new entrant might get more development tokens for the first couple of years - there are some smart initiatives you can use to encourage people into F1."

Brawn re-iterated F1's desire to help Honda, if it makes a request and provided that request does not create "unfair competition".

"We're not about to go in and negotiate special engineering terms for Honda," Brawn added. "I'm not proposing that I go in and tell Honda how they should design their engine, but if we in F1 can help them achieve their ambitions, then we will.

"If Honda were to approach us for help, and it was something within our capability - as in not something that would create an unfair competition - then we would help."

Brawn believes engines "should be a performance differentiator" in F1, but the current rules have made the technology so complex as to discourage new entrants.

"The old [Cosworth V8-dominated] days, where the engine was in effect just a spacer between the chassis and the gearbox because everybody had the same engine - I don't think that added a lot of value to F1, whereas there is value to having some differentiation," Brawn added.

"But it mustn't get too big, to the extent that it becomes the dominant factor.

"Finding the balance comes from the point at which you start, because trying to apply corrections afterwards is tricky, emotional, divisive, and it frustrates people.

"Seeing where we are today is a great catalyst for ensuring that the new regulations control the potential for performance differentials, and are attainable by more people.

"The current power units are magnificent pieces of engineering, but unfortunately, as has been demonstrated, you really do struggle as a new manufacturer to get on top of the challenge.

"We don't want to make it too easy, but we do want new manufacturers to be able to come in, do a respectable job, and be competitive within three years."

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FLASHBACK: AUSTRIA 2002 DAY OF SHAME FOR FORMULA 1

Few sports breed controversy quite the way Formula 1 does.

The sport has it all: drivers taking out one another, inconsistent refereeing, money changing hands, political manoeuvrings, inflammatory statements to the press and most infamously of all, races being fixed – the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix was one of those races.

After having led comfortably from pole for the majority of the race, Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello was ordered over team radio to let teammate Michael Schumacher “pass for the championship” by Ferrari general manager Jean Todt. Having just signed a two-year extension with the team, Barrichello complied, leading to the infamous scene of the Brazilian slowing down out of the final corner to give Schumacher the win by 0.182 of a second.

The second time in as many years the Scuderia had swapped the two at the finish in Austria (last time for second) it was unsurprisingly a very unpopular decision, especially as it denied Barrichello his second career victory for Schumacher’s 58th.

Embarrassed by what had happened, Schumacher swapped places with Barrichello on the podium, but it didn’t appease the incensed fans at the then-A1 Ring. A chorus of boos drowned out the anthems, while Ferrari were roundly criticised for a decision that while not illegal, was viewed as not in the spirit of the sport.

That said, the question for Ferrari was not what was “sporting” but what was best for their prospects in the 2002 season. The sixth race of 2002, the extra four points Schumacher took for the victory gave him a 27-point championship lead over Williams’ Juan Pablo Montoya. Come season’s end those points proved sorely needed, Schumacher finishing only 67 and 94 points respectively ahead of Barrichello and Montoya in the final standings – that was sarcasm, in case you weren’t sure.

Speaking in the post-race, Barrichello seemed upset, but also resigned to the fate that had befallen him as Ferrari’s number two driver. For his part, Schumacher also seemed displeased, suggesting he had no part in the call but at the same time, was acceptable as a means of securing his lead in the championship.

Conversely, team principal Ross Brawn defended the move, on the basis Schumacher had already emerged as Ferrari’s only contender for the driver’s championship.

On the day he told Adam Copper in a post race interview, “The situation today was that Michael had 44 points and Rubens had six. If they were both fighting for the championship on an equal points basis we wouldn’t have made the decision we made today. And Rubens understands that. I have no problem with the decision we made today, and nothing’s changed it.”

Ten years later in an interview with Globo, Barrichello revealed his outrage in the moment at being given such an order, but conceded after “eight laps of war” and “a form of threat that made me think about re-thinking my life”. The Brazilian would stay with Ferrari until the end of the 2005 season, and accrue a further ten victories over his F1 career.

Similarly, Brawn walked back on his stance in an interview earlier this year, admitting the decision had been a “mistake” given the backlash Ferrari had received.

Brawn explained, “Austria, on reflection… it was a mistake. The circumstances behind it were a bit more complex than people realise, in that we’d had the discussion before the race about how we would manage that situation if it occurred – that if Rubens got the jump on Michael, then at some convenient point he would let him slip past and we’d carry on.

“That was all pre-agreed before the race. Then we got into the race, Rubens was ahead of Michael, and we said to him, ‘OK, can you now let him past?’… ‘No! Don’t make me do that! This is my big chance to win this race! You can’t do this to me!’

“By this time, Michael was also on the radio, wanting to know when Rubens was going to let him past as previously agreed. How do you reconcile all of that if we don’t do what we said we were going to do in the pre-meeting?

“And that was, ultimately, why we told Rubens he had to do it, and of course he made a big show of it, which was… unfortunate. And then it got worse, because Michael saw the reaction of the crowd and put Rubens on the top spot of the podium, for which we were fined a million dollars by the FIA,” recalled Brawn.

In the fifteen years since that race, team orders have been subsequently banned and un-banned by the FIA, and with the way things are shaping up in 2017 may have a part to play once again.

We already saw in Bahrain Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas move over for Lewis Hamilton, while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen seemed to believe Sebastian Vettel had been favoured in Monaco after losing the lead on pit strategy. As things currently stand, Mercedes lead Ferrari 24 points in the constructor’s, while Vettel leads Hamilton by 14 in the driver’s, and one has to wonder what decisions the teams will take as the fight goes down to the wire.

Let’s just hope at the very least, they don’t try something as outrageous as the Scuderia did that day in Spielberg.

MIKA: I remember watching this race, that call had Jean Todt written all over it IMO.

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MARKO: VERSTAPPEN WIN IN SPAIN A HIGHLIGHT OF MY CAREER

Helmut Marko rates Max Verstappen’s sensational victory at last year’s Spanish Grand Prix as one his three greatest moments in motor racing.

During an interview with the official F1 website, Marko was asked what was his best moment in the sport, he replied, “I would probably have to pick three: winning Le Mans – that was a big moment. Winning the first championship with Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull.”

“And, believe it or not, last year in Barcelona when Max (Verstappen) won the race. I was called mad for putting him in the car, even within the team – and then he goes out and wins!”

Indeed before that day in Barcelona, when teenager Verstappen created history by becoming the youngest ever race winner in Formula 1, many questioned the Dutchman’s state of readiness for the promotion to Red Bull – engineered by Marko.

Any question mark regarding the decision was erased on the day with a fine performance in his Red Bull debut. No one could have scripted a better arrival in the team for Verstappen.

Marko is a powerful individual in Formula 1 for the fact that he is in charge of Red Bull’s driver development programme and was instrumental in steering the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and now Verstappen to great success at the pinnacle of the sport.

But he also had a very impressive career in the seventies as a race driver. Inspired by close mate and fellow Austrian Jochen Rindt, Marko’s foray into the sport included racing for the Porsche factory team, winning the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans with Dutchman with Gijs van Lennep, driving a Martini-Porsche 917K.

He said, “F1 was always the goal. But besides Jackie Stewart all the other drivers were driving sportscars and Formula 1. But it’s true: the 917 was a real challenge.”

“I have visited the Porsche Museum recently where the car with which I won is on display – and when I looked at the construction I could not believe that we drove at 390 km/h on the straights at Le Mans. The car looked so fragile. So I was really lucky having survived this era.”

He made nine grand prix starts with BRM in 1971 and 1972, but during the 1972 French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand, a stone thrown up by Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus pierced Marko’s helmet visor, permanently blinding his left eye and ending his racing career. At the time he had inked a deal to drive for Ferrari in 1973.

A promising career was thus curtailed what might have been a great spell in Formula 1, but at the same time his demise allowed a certain Niki Lauda to seize the opportunity created by Marko’s ill-luck.

At the time many believed Marko to be more talented than Lauda, but it was the latter who became the Formula 1 legend.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” explained Marko. “Niki got my seat at BRM. Niki got the contract with Ferrari that I originally had, but I am not envious.”

“We still have a good relationship. And do I ever think: Wow, actually that could have been me? No, I am not a dreamer.”

“Actually it was me who went with Niki to Mr Enzo Ferrari when he first met him. It was a very impressive visit: you came into this dark room, with him sitting there with even darker glasses on. It was very mysterious,” he added.

Marko is known for his no nonsense views, which do not always go down well with media and fans, but he is equally dismissive of his own achievements during the sport’s most dangerous era.

Asked if he ever taps into his own experience when advising young drivers, he responded, “The times are so different now that stories of the cars I drove in the old days would be a waste of time. What I talk with them about is that you have to be competitive, be completely focused and so on.”

And do the drivers he managed know about his exploits as a race driver, he answered in typical style, “I don’t know. I don’t ask them.”

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FIA amends Red Bull Ring's corner numbers

The FIA has amended how it numbers the corners at the Red Bull Ring ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.

Previously the FIA had listed the circuit as having nine corners, but has chosen to follow MotoGP's numbering system this year, meaning the official corner allocation totals ten.

The kink between what were Turns 1 and 2 will now be known as Turn 2, and therefore every corner after that is increased by one, with the final corner listed as ten.

The FIA also confirmed that the 'baguette' kerbs which caused drivers a lot of problems in 2016, will only be installed at Turns 6, 9 and 10, additionally, the spacing between the kerbs has been increased to 3.2 metres.

The DRS zones will be installed at Turns 3 and 9. The first has a detection point 360m before Turn 3 and an activation point 85m after the same corner. The second zone has a separate detection point 10m after Turn 9, with activation 110m after the final corner, Turn 10. 

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Tech Bite: A look at Toro Rosso's low-drag solutions

The STR12 has performed fairly well on high downforce tracks but it is no secret that the car is inherently quite 'draggy'. Combined with the slightly underpowered Renault power unit, Toro Rosso have had to get creative in the design department to consistently challenge for points at all types of circuits.

In Canada we saw a spoon-shaped rear-wing installed on the car (above), a common solution for a low-drag circuit that provides a slight compromise between rear grip and top speed.

For Azerbaijan the wing’s main plane has been made even shallower, prompting a taller centre mounting pylon and reorientation of the DRS actuator. The endplates however are the same, featuring two open-ended louvres to further reduce the size of the wing tip vortex. 

The downforce that the front-wing produces is easily capable of balancing the grip level at the rear, so teams pursue rear downforce and subsequently modify the front aerodynamics to suit.

Toro Rosso have arrived in Azerbaijan with an extremely trimmed front-wing, lopping off the uppermost inboard flap (below) and reducing the lower flaps’ angle of attack.

Assessing the trim levels of the front and rear-wings relative to each other is a good indicator of the car’s aerodynamic grip and how it is balanced, revealing the extent to which STR are willing to go in search for higher top speed.

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Renault not targeting race wins until 2019

Renault is not expecting to be on 'winning terms' with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull until at least 2019 according to the team's boss, Cyril Abiteboul.

The French manufacturer-backed outfit has a long term goal, with the aim to finish in the midfield this season before gradually moving up the grid, before targeting race wins and then world championships.

Whilst Abiteboul believes they're on target to achieve the midfield finish – the team is currently eighth in the standings with 18 points, three behind Haas and 15 off Toro Rosso – he isn't predicting any race wins next season, insisting they will have to wait until 2019 to achieve that.

"We wanted to establish ourselves in the midfield this year," Abiteboul told Auto Motor und Sport. "We succeeded in that, even if we would like to climb a bit higher in the standings.

"Victories must be possible in 2019," he added. "It sounds like a long time, but it is not. We know where the top teams are."

Alhtough Renault ramped up its technical hirings prior to the current season in a bid to push itself higher up the pecking order, the effect of those hirings won't be felt for at least two years according to Abiteboul.

"Formula 1 is about people [but] If I sign someone today, I have to wait one to two years before I can use that talent, so it only has an impact on the 2020 car."

Abiteboul also addressed Jolyon Palmer's lack of points – with team-mate Nico Hulkenberg having scored all 18 – and whilst he says they cannot "afford" to rely on just one driver, he wouldn't be giving the Briton an ultimatum.

"We can not afford it," Abiteboul said of Palmer's lack of points. "Jolyon Palmer must make a contribution and he wants to contribute. 

"I do not doubt he can. He was fast in Monte Carlo and Montreal. I will not give Jolyon an ultimatum. We both know that he can score points with this car. And he has to do that."

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Analysis: F1 set for lowest pole time in 30 years in Austria

The pole position time for this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix is likely to be well inside the all-time top 10 list of lowest F1 pole laptimes – and it could even be the lowest achieved at any F1 circuit since the 1980s.

Last year's resurfacing of the Red Bull Ring helped to produce quicker laptimes, although rain compromised Q3.

However, in Q2 Lewis Hamilton set the fastest official qualifying lap ever achieved at the venue, a 1m06.228s, beating the record set by Michael Schumacher in 2003.

It was also the lowest qualifying laptime set anywhere since the 1990 French GP, when Nigel Mansell was fastest for Ferrari at the short version of Paul Ricard.

If this weekend's pole is quicker than Mansell's mark of 1m04.402s, it will be the lowest qualifying laptime since 1985, when the same driver took pole at Kyalami with the Williams-Honda.

To achieve that pole at the Red Bull Ring will have to be some 1.827s quicker than Hamilton's 2016 Q2 lap.

With the changes to the regulations in 2017 pole times have been faster at every venue this year, with the year-on-year improvement ranging from 0.724s in Bahrain to 3.724s in China. The average gain over the eight races held thus far has been 2.106s.

While the short lap in Austria means that the proportional improvement may be smaller, it's worth noting that Hamilton's 2016 Q2 time did not represent the ultimate pace of his car, which he was not able to demonstrate due to the rain before Q3.

The all-time list is dominated by laptimes recorded at Dijon, which was extended after the original 2.0-mile track was first used for the 1974 French GP, but still had a very short 2.3-mile lap even in its new guise.

The original Watkins Glen was also a short 2.3-mile lap until it was lengthened in 1971.

Kyalami would have figured higher on the all-time list had turbo F1 cars raced there in 1986-87, so its fastest lap remains the one achieved by Mansell in 1985.

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Webber calls for end to F1 grid penalties

Former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber would prefer to see teams docked constructors' championship points rather than handing drivers grid penalties when mechanical problems occur.

Each driver faces a strict limit on the number of engine components and gearboxes they can use over the course of a season and are demoted from their qualifying positions every time they take another component over the limit.

"There's too much policing," Webber said. "I don't want any penalties for a driver that's had nothing to do with it.

"[For example] if a mechanic has put a brake disc in the wrong way, and a driver is at the back of the grid.

"A lot of people don't watch qualifying, they turn on [the TV] and are like, 'why is my favourite driver at the back of the grid?' and so we lose people for that.

"It's hard enough to get the quality at the front of the grid as it is, let alone having guys diluted down the back through no reason of their own, so we don't need all that junk in there."

When asked how he would punish squads that exceed the set limits on components, Webber, a nine-time F1 race winner, expressed his preference for a points penalty for the teams involved.

"Constructors' points, whatever," he said, "Find a way that you don't hurt the driver.

"There have been so many ridiculous penalties over the last five years that the driver has had nothing to do with, and it's had a big impact on how the weekend would have been in terms of entertainment."

One team that has been on the receiving end of a high number of grid penalties in recent years is McLaren, due to its struggles with its Honda power unit.

Webber, the 2014 World Endurance champion, described his disappointment at McLaren's performance situation and the impact it was having on Alonso.

He said: "It's a total waste and an absolute travesty that he's at the back of the grid, driving a car that's uncompetitive.

"But he's still in a situation where he's driving phenomenally. I think his value has never been higher, what he's done at the Indy 500, and then what he's done sometimes with that McLaren."

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Cosworth, Aston Martin appear in F1 engine meeting

Aston Martin and Cosworth made their debut appearance in a Formula 1 Power Unit Working Group meeting earlier this week, Motorsport.com has learned.

F1 bosses and the FIA are working on plans to adjust the current formula of turbocharged hybrid engines and create a new specification from 2021.

An initial meeting was held in March with F1's current manufacturers, plus representatives from outside the current championship field that included the Volkswagen Group.

A second formal meeting was held on Monday, with Aston Martin, Cosworth, Zytek and Magneti Marelli attending for the first time.

The FIA and commercial rights holder are keen to get a wide range of views on how F1 engine technology should evolve and create a framework that is attractive to current and prospective new manufacturers.

Motorsport.com understands the meeting was largely positive, with the FIA running through the feedback it had received and presenting ideas for moving forward.

There was a widespread acceptance that F1 should remain the pinnacle of motorsport and therefore engine technology could not go backwards.

A source said the next step will involve individual consultation with the participants who attended the meeting.

The FIA and the commercial rights holder will then formulate a joint proposal.

It is hoped the next meeting will take place in September, shortly before the World Motor Sport Council convenes on September 21.

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Renault: No reason to copy Mercedes engine concept

Renault has ruled out following Mercedes' split turbo concept for its F1 engine, as it believes its current design has enough potential to close down on the German manufacturer.

Mercedes has been the benchmark power unit since the turbo hybrid rules came into force in 2014, and much of its advantage was put down to a unique split turbo-compressor idea that it has used since the beginning of the current rules cycle.

The idea of splitting the turbo and compressor to place them at either side of the main engine block is one that was copied by Honda for this year, after it abandoned its original idea of having the items within the V-block to help with McLaren's 'size-zero' ambitions.

Renault revamped its power unit for this year but decided against following the Mercedes design, instead keeping its turbo components at the rear of the engine.

And, having analysed carefully its progress, and the potential of its new power unit, Renault is convinced its design is good enough to deliver the performance it needs in the future.

"Are we going to split the turbo/compressor next year? No," Renault F1 engine chief Remi Taffin told Motorsport.com. "Our engine is as it is. We decided to keep it [the turbo] at the rear for some good reasons.

"There is also no good reason to change it, as we don't see a lap time benefit from a car perspective. So, from where we put the elements and how we assemble them, they are where we like them to be.

"Now it is just a case of more continuous development, so we do the normal development. But it is also fair to say that the real emphasis is on the ICE [internal combustion engines] plus the turbo.

"That is what you do work on and that is what I guess Mercedes is doing. They are not spending that much time on the ERS system – they keep developing the ICE."

  

Matching Mercedes

Having been forced to focus more on sorting reliability than chasing performance over the early part of the campaign, Renault suspects it is currently around half a second adrift of Mercedes.

However, knowing what progress it has made on the dyno for future development, it has faith that over the remainder of the campaign and especially in to 2018 it has the possibility to match its German rival.

Taffin added: "It has been clear the target we have set within Renault, that 2018 was the year that we needed to be at the level of the benchmark, which is still Mercedes.

"We have done some part of the job this year and we will have to achieve the rest through the winter. Maybe we will start next year with a bit of a gap, but that is what we have to do next year.

"We have got engines on the dyno and we can clearly see that there is some progress, and we know there can be 0.3-0.5s difference depending on the track.

"So if Mercedes is still getting one or two tenths over next winter, we have got what we need to close the gap. Whether we will be in front by the end of next year we will see...but it is feasible. We've got what we need to do now."

Taffin says he is not surprised that Mercedes has kept its engine advantage in F1, because he thinks having got its concept right from the start it has not had to waste time reconfiguring its design.

"I still do think that we are making more progress than them, but we had to rethink what we produced for 2014," added Taffin.

"It could be that Mercedes had the right concept from the beginning and could build up from that. You know how complex these engines are, and obviously we sort of made a mistake in the first year and had to rebuild.

"We have this new concept now and are working on that – that is why it has taken some time. To be fair, Mercedes is still having the return from what they have been successfully having from year one.

"All in all, we have clearly seen that the gap is reducing a lot, so we could have thought that in year one [2014], the gap was one second, or even more. Now we are talking about tenths and we know it will be less than half a second for sure."

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My Life – Felipe Massa: A Career In Retrospect

In this exclusive interview for Mobil 1 The Grid, Brazil’s Felipe Massa reflects on his F1 career to date – from the early days at Sauber to working with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, and his 2014 move to Williams Martini Racing. Presenting a personal account of his career highs and lows, Massa discusses the influence of Ayrton Senna, Schumacher and Sir Frank Williams, his 2008 title battle with Lewis Hamilton, his accident in 2009 and why his recent U-turn on retirement has left him hungrier than ever before.

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Austrian Grand Prix preview - Scuderia Ferrari 2017

 

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Forget Baku, Verstappen is now Red Bull's top dog

Daniel Ricciardo might have brought Red Bull its first Formula 1 win of 2017 in Azerbaijan, but that doesn't change the fact that Max Verstappen has been the outfit's stronger driver this year.

Red Bull Racing's 2016 campaign took a bit to kick on, but come the fifth race the team finally had its first victory. Max Verstappen was the author, putting on a stellar drive after a controversial collision between the two leaders put him in position to benefit.

Despite the Austrian team's triumph, the outfit's other driver Daniel Ricciardo cut a rather dejected figure then, as a three-stop strategy left him off the podium just a day after he'd handily outqualified Verstappen.

Fast-forward a year and a bit. Red Bull Racing's 2017 campaign takes even longer to kick on, the team waiting until the eighth grand prix before its first win. Ricciardo gets it this time, his triumph made possible by a stellar drive and a controversial collision between two leaders (also a loose headrest).

His teammate Verstappen cuts a dejected figure, deciding against speaking to media in the immediate aftermath of the race and telling Dutch TV afterwards: “I was disappointed. If you look at the positions, then you can easily imagine [winning the races] yourself.”

All of this is not to draw some all-too-convenient parallel between Barcelona 2016 and Baku 2017, which are two races that really didn't have all that much in common apart from a couple of surface details.

Rather, this is to illustrate how the team dynamic at Red Bull has changed. All throughout last year, Ricciardo more than had the measure of his teammate and ended the campaign with a rather convincing qualifying head-to-head score, even as the Dutchman courted all the headlines with equal parts controversy and brilliance.

Yet – and this admittedly feels a bizarre point to be making amid a four-podium streak for Ricciardo, F1's most recent race winner – the balance of power has shifted.

Verstappen, through a combination of factors among which reliability is key, doesn't even have half the points of the Aussie, but most other metrics suggest it is he who has been the quicker Red Bull driver this year.

Head to head, Ricciardo vs Verstappen

Points are, of course, the one metric in F1 that matters above all the other ones, but any suggestion that they are the ultimate reflection of performance should be waved away.

Ask, for instance, the Daniel Ricciardo of 2015, who finished behind teammate Daniil Kvyat in the standings in a year where the Aussie lost a fair chunk of points to luck and unreliability. Kvyat is no slouch, of course, but it would be seriously bold to suggest he was the quicker Red Bull in '15.

The 47 points that split Ricciardo and Verstappen right now are not the three points that split Ricciardo and Kvyat two years ago. Yet this current gap was all assembled in the most recent four races, in all of which Verstappen came up seriously short of the points he could hope for through circumstances that appeared mostly out of his control.

Ironically enough, Verstappen really seems to have kicked on since Russia in particular – the last race that he'd been ahead of Ricciardo in the standings. He was trailing 1-3 in head-to-head qualifying at that moment, and now he's 5-3 ahead.

“What you'll see with Max is there's a big result just around the corner. The way he's driving at the moment, he's really stepped it up a gear,” was team boss Christian Horner's assessment after Baku.

“He's had a run of bad luck, that will turn. It always does. And I'm confident that will turn soon. I think you'll see, there's a big result not too far away for him.”

That Horner said Verstappen was “massively impressive” in Baku and would've “no doubt” won the race is telling. It is, of course, man management as Red Bull should probably be a little worried about the Dutchman's spirits - but the data makes it obvious Horner's words are not empty praise.

Top 10 laps per race weekend, Red Bull Racing

Ricciardo's star-making 2014 campaign and status-confirming 2016 campaign have cemented him not only as a wonderfully bold overtaker and an extremely consistent performer, but also as a driver who saves his best flying lap Q3.

Arguably there's no greater example of that than that very weekend of Spain 2016, where Verstappen looked every bit the match for the Aussie on his RBR debut, only to drop four tenths in the final segment as Ricciardo produced a moment of magic.

Not counting the China qualifying where Verstappen had a car problem, there were two one-lap head-to-heads where Ricciardo beat the Dutchman in 2017 – Bahrain and Russia. On both occasions Verstappen had been quicker in Q1 and Q2.

Since Russia, Verstappen has finished ahead of his teammate in all 12 qualifying segments, and all but two of the 12 practice sessions. Many of these results won't have been representative, sure, and there have been significant mitigating circumstances for Ricciardo, such as a Q3 traffic mishap in Monaco and an FP2 problem that complicated his Canada weekend – but the picture as a whole is not to be dismissed.

From that data, Q3 in Spain makes for a particularly stark contrast – having lost by four tenths against Ricciardo the year before, Verstappen was almost five tenths clear this time around, with no obvious explanation besides the Dutchman just being quicker.

You could argue, of course, that Ricciardo has been stronger in race trim, as his four straight podium finishes are clearly an indication he's doing something right. But it's really hard to gauge one way or another how he's stacked up to Verstappen in grand prix running, given Red Bull's reliability woes.

Verstappen's had the lion's share of those but not all of them, with Ricciardo's Melbourne race undone by recurring electrical issues. The Aussie was noticeably slower than Verstappen in the race, but he was also two laps down, running among midfielders, so it's a little difficult to read into that.

In China, Verstappen was markedly the quicker Red Bull on a drying track (his advantage somewhat undersold by a late-stint error), but Ricciardo clearly had the edge in the final laps, hassling his teammate for a podium spot.

Bahrain was inconclusive, as both ran within the five-car Valtteri Bottas-led lead train before Verstappen's brake failure. And Monaco was, really, no different, with Ricciardo's better late-race pace likely a consequence of clean-air running while Verstappen was stuck behind Bottas.

In the most recent race where they could be at all compared – Canada - Verstappen clearly did have the better race pace on ultrasofts, managing to run comfortably between the two Mercedes cars as Ricciardo was dropping off.

Of course, whatever difference there is between the pair is not down to pace alone. For instance, in that very same race Verstappen was also “lucky” - according to Sebastian Vettel – to escape a puncture after opening-lap contact with the German's front wing.

The Dutchman does seem to be the more aggressive of the two in the opening laps, which sometimes pays off (like in Canada) and sometimes doesn't (like in Spain, where he made it a three-wide move on the outside of Turn 1 and was taken out).

Verstappen's current form, and the fact that he's not been getting the points that his speed has warranted, will likely make for interesting implications all around the Red Bull camp.

The team itself has every reason to hold its head high, having seemingly turned around a truly difficult start to the season with a fantastic run on one side of the garage, helped by it having exceeded expectations at low-downforce venues Montreal and Baku.

At the same time, Verstappen will be keenly aware that he could've had around 100 points by now – which, truth be told, wouldn't be that far off of the increasingly volatile Lewis Hamilton / Sebastian Vettel title battle - if the three mechanical failures hadn't occurred.

Going by his assessment of the season as “completely crap” and his public voicing of concerns over engine supplier Renault's prospects for 2018, Verstappen's morale is probably not at an all-time high, which should be a worry for his employer. He's signed through next year, but we can only speculate how airtight that deal is – and going by his continuous progress, Red Bull should probably be thinking a bit longer-term at the moment.

But what of Ricciardo? This is a driver whose reputation within F1 is much better than his five grand prix wins suggest, and one who's not had all that much trouble with teammates at RBR – overshadowing four-time champion Vettel, the team's favourite son, in 2014 and then clearly contributing to Kvyat's demotion with his imperious 2016 form.

The subsequent arrival of the Dutch wonderkid did not seem to faze him much at all, but – despite the Baku win and despite the other podiums – the trend seems to be going the other way as far as pure pace is concerned.

Verstappen's progress should leave Ricciardo somewhat worried, given that, unless some contracts are ended early, they have another season and the half together at the very least.

As it stands, however, Verstappen's new-found advantage is far from conclusive. And Red Bull's upcoming home race would be as good a time as any for Ricciardo to re-assert himself in the intra-team battle.

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SAINZ: A FOURTH YEAR IN TORO ROSSO IS UNLIKELY

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz has revealed that he was unlikely to stay at the Red Bull junior next season and was open to offers.

“It’s still a very long season ahead, obviously rumours are always going to come at this stage,” he told reporters at Red Bull Ring when asked about speculation that other teams were interested in securing his services.

“My target number one is to be with Red Bull next year and start fighting for podiums, wins or whatever they are fighting for next year. I am going to keep pushing for this,” added the 22-year-old.

“If that doesn’t happen, obviously a fourth year in Toro Rosso is unlikely and I’m not going to close the door to any opportunity.”

Sainz joined Toro Rosso, who are effectively Red Bull’s feeder team, in 2015 alongside Dutch teenager Max Verstappen.

Verstappen graduated to Red Bull in 2016, swapping seats with Russian Daniil Kvyat and winning the Spanish Grand Prix on his debut with them, and has become one of the sport’s established stars.

Sainz has had a less meteoric rise but is also highly rated. He was one of several drivers that Mercedes enquired about when they were casting around for a replacement for retired 2016 champion Nico Rosberg.

Past Toro Rosso drivers, including four times world champion Sebastian Vettel and Australian Daniel Ricciardo, have historically been moved upwards or out by the team to ensure a steady flow of talent.

With Verstappen under a long-term contract at Red Bull and Ricciardo also locked in, Sainz’s chances of moving up appear limited.

The Spaniard has scored points in six of his eight races this year and now has 29 points to Kvyat’s four.

“I think I’ve got to a point now where I feel very confident with the team and the car,” he said. “The season is going very positively up until now.

“I’m definitely ready to take a step forward in my career. I’m looking forward to it. I’m ready. As I said before, I’m not closing any doors, and we will see,” insisted Sainz.

MIKA: Sainz is deluded to think he will be promoted to RBR next season UNLESS Verstappen or Ricciardo leave the team and there is a seat available. But even then, RBR may choose someone else.

 

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HAMILTON AND VETTEL MOVE ON AHEAD OF AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX

A contrite and apologetic Sebastian Vettel accepted full blame again for the controversial incident with Lewis Hamilton during the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Sitting alongside him at a packed news conference on Thursday, Hamilton accepted the apology but maintained justice was not done.

Two weeks ago, an irate Vettel swerved into Hamilton, albeit at slow speed, because he thought the British driver slammed his brakes on recklessly late, right in front of him, seconds earlier.

“It was the wrong move to drive alongside him and hit his tire. I guess that’s what you all want to hear,” Vettel said. “Am I proud of the moment? No. Can I take it back? No. Obviously what I did was wrong and I apologized. I did make a mistake and I can understand if he’s upset. It’s good that we can move forward.”

Vettel escaped further punishment this week after Formula One governing body the FIA reviewed the incident in Paris. Vettel traveled to the hearing, apologized, and escaped with a verbal warning from president Jean Todt.

Insufficient in Hamilton’s view, “Jean should be sitting next to us to be honest, to answer the same question. They didn’t change anything on the Monday, so the message sent remains the same.”

In other words, that dangerous driving went unpunished, in this case.

“An intense battle is good for any sport, I don’t disagree with that,” Hamilton said. “But we are used as a platform, we are a role model and we are supposed to inspire and send a message.”

After the race, an irate Hamilton said Vettel “disgraced himself” for his driving.

“I don’t think I have to take back anything I said,” Hamilton said on Thursday. “It’s water under the bridge now.”

Their heated clash further raised the profile of an already intriguing Formula One season. Vettel, chasing a fifth world title, leads the championship after eight races. Hamilton, chasing a fourth title, is 14 points behind in second place heading into the Austria GP this weekend.

There was a buzz of anticipation before the news conference, and the mood was leavened by Danish driver Kevin Magnussen, the first of the three scheduled drivers to arrive. Magnussen gave a thumbs-up – jokingly pretending he was the center of attention – and pretended to leave his seat in the middle free, so the rivals would have to sit next to each other.

Hamilton, sat on Magnussen’s right, filmed the large media crowd on his phone, while Vettel was on Magnussen’s left, sat stern-faced.

“Best press conference ever,” Hamilton quipped.

Then the questions began, with Vettel soon on the back foot.

At the time, he explained, he reacted angrily because he thought Hamilton brake-tested him – a dangerous move in F1 whereby a driver suddenly slams on the brakes to impede the driver behind.

“I had the impression at the time that I got fouled, which was wrong,” Vettel said. “If I could go back in time and literally take it back I would, but I can’t.”

Asked if he had used his car as a weapon, Vettel became defensive, arms folded.

“I never had the intention to hurt him, to punch him,” he said, pausing to find his words, and then refuting suggestions he has a problem controlling his temper. “I don’t think so. I can see why you might believe it.”

Although he felt Vettel should have been punished further, Hamilton insisted their mutual respect remains intact. “Sebastian and I spoke on the Monday (the day after) and then I got a text the next from Sebastian the next day (apologizing) and I did accept it.”

“I said I still had the utmost respect for him as a driver. My only point to Sebastian was to correct publicly that I brake-tested him, which was not the case. People were sending messages to me that I was out of order,” added Hamilton.

Other drivers, such as Brazilian veteran Felipe Massa, felt Vettel went too far, “Sebastian was a bit over the limit, Everyone wants to see them fighting, fire around the championship, but not in this way.”

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Williams introduces aggressive update package for Austria

Williams has revealed an aggressive update of its car for the Austrian Grand Prix as it bids to get back in the fight for best-of-the-rest behind the top three teams.

The Grove-based outfit, which took its first podium of the season with Lance Stroll in Azerbaijan a fortnight ago, is still 42 points adrift of Force India in the fight for fourth place, with reliability having cost it some good results.

But in a bid to lift its performance, the team has unveiled a bold development package for the Red Bull Ring  which takes on board many of the ideas used by other teams so far this year.

There is a new front wing pillar, which features a revised geometry and a slot reminiscent to the one used by McLaren for some time now.

At the front of the car, and in a fashion similar to what Mercedes has done, a large winglet sits proud of the chassis in order to improve flow into and around the sidepod, bringing both aero and cooling gains.

Meanwhile, the bargeboards and sidepods have also been altered, featuring the 'finger' blades that Mercedes have run for some time.

  

Stroll said he hoped that the development parts delivered on track exactly the promise that they have shown in the windtunnel.

"It should be positive," he said. "On paper, it is obviously positive and then when you get out there and see what it does, you really find out how it is. So hopefully it is a good step in the right direction. That is what we are all aiming for."

But Stroll played down suggestions that the new parts could lift Williams clear of the tight midfield pack, as he predicted the close fight with Force India would continue.

"It is probably going to be the same story as everywhere – fighting Force India," he said. "Some races they are are better, some races we are better. But we need to see where we are.

"I don't think we should be aiming for podiums every weekend. We know our position fighting the Red Bulls and Ferrari and Mercedes is a bit optimistic, but we can be confident to score some good points if we do a good job. To do that we just need to focus on one thing at a time."

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No excuses for Verstappen qualifying advantage - Ricciardo

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo says he has no excuses for having trailed teammate Max Verstappen in recent qualifying sessions, admitting the Dutchman has "just been quick".

Verstappen has started ahead of his teammate in each of the last four races, although on each occasion Ricciardo would go on to enjoy better fortunes on race day.

“I’ve made a couple of mistakes here and there,” said Ricciardo of his recent qualifying record against Verstappen. “Max has also just been quick.

"I can’t take anything away from Max. He’s been driving really well.

"Obviously last year we pushed each other a lot. I think the longer we stay teammates, the more we’re going to keep pushing each other.

“He’s been really just on it, and you could see he’s really comfortable with the car. I think he’s just been getting more confident as well in himself, and that’s been helping him.

"From my side I think I’ve just got to be more perfect, make less mistakes. But no excuse, he’s just been driving well."

Ricciardo said that Red Bull can find no explanation as to why Verstappen’s car has been the focus of the team’s unreliability problems in recent races.

The Dutchman was an early casualty in both Montreal and Baku due to mechanical issues.

“He’s outqualified me in the last four races, so maybe he’s just driving too fast, and then the engine is not keeping up," Ricciardo joked.

"To be honest there’s nothing we’ve seen, he’s not over-revving the engine or doing something like this, which explains the reason.

“I don’t think the right word is 'good luck, bad luck', but it’s more or less that. I don’t think he’s caused it for anything.

"Sure, he’s been more unfortunate in the last races, I’ve been more fortunate with reliability. But I don’t think there’s a real reason for that.”

  

Track "not our worst, not our best"

Ricciardo remains hopeful that Red Bull will be competitive at its home track this weekend, but cautioned that the long straights will favour rivals.

“We’ll see. Hopefully at least fifth, and ideally we can get closer.

"We are getting stronger, and this track is not our worst, not our best – Max podiumed here last year – so maybe we can do OK. But I think Mercedes and Ferrari will still be quite quick here.

“Particularly Mercedes, they’ll be strong. They’re normally quick here, they were quick in Baku, and they still have an extra setting it seems than everyone else.

"Here the first sector is more or less all horsepower, so I think they’ll make enough of a step there. Even if we can match them in the second and third sector, I think they’re still going to be quite strong.”

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Ferrari parts company with chief engine designer

The Ferrari Formula 1 team has parted ways with Lorenzo Sassi, the chief engineer of its power unit, sources with good knowledge of the situation have revealed.

Although the Maranello-based outfit has refused to comment on the situation, a report in Italian newspaper Il Giornale said that Sassi's departure had been prompted following direct intervention from president Sergio Marchionne.

It is unclear if he has left the company completely, or has been moved to another role within the Fiat group.

Sources have suggested that Sassi left the team only in the last few days, and the move has created some shock because Ferrari had made good progress with its power unit this season.

Sebastian Vettel is leading the championship by 14 points over Lewis Hamilton, and many in F1 believe that there is now very little difference in power terms between the Ferrari and Mercedes engines.

Furthermore, Sassi's departure comes ahead of suggestions that Ferrari will introduce a heavily upgraded engine at the British Grand Prix which is said to utilise some technical innovations to deliver a good boost.

Vettel himself deflected questions on the impact of Sassi's departure when asked in Austria on Thursday.

"I don't know what you are referring to," he said. "It is better you ask a little bit higher up."

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New recruits boost Sauber's technical team

Sauber has recruited former Mercedes engineer Ian Wright as its new head of vehicle performance, with ex-Manor chief designer Luca Furbatto also set to join the Formula 1 team.

Wright, who has already started work at Sauber, spent nearly 16 years working in F1, starting as senior engineer at BAR and staying with the outfit as it became Honda and then Brawn GP.

He then rose to head of engineering software when Mercedes took over, before leaving in the summer of 2014 to take up a role outside of F1 in the United States.

Motorsport.com understands Sauber has also agreed a deal for Furbatto, who worked as chief designer at Manor before it closed its doors earlier this year, to join the technical team, but it has not been announced.

He will work under technical director Jorg Zander, whose team includes chief designer Eric Gandelin, but his exact role has yet to be finalised.

Furbatto entered F1 as an assistant test engineer with Tyrrell in 1998 and later spent time working at BAR and Toyota before joining McLaren.

After a 10-year stint at Woking, he joined Toro Rosso as chief designer and after a short time as a senior consultant with McLaren GT, returned to F1 with Manor.

The new appointments come at a turbulent time for Sauber, with the outfit currently without a team principal following Monisha Kaltenborn's departure.

The team has yet to confirm Kaltenborn's replacement, with Zander and team manager Beat Zehnder temporarily in charge.

Former Renault chief Fred Vasseur, ex-Manor racing director Dave Ryan, former Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon and ex-McLaren CEO Jost Capito have all been linked to the role.

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Brawn says new approach key to "avoiding a war" with F1 teams

Ross Brawn says the better long-term planning he is trying to implement in Formula 1 is the new ownership's way of "avoiding a war" between teams over future rules.

Formula 1's managing director of motorsports has spoken repeatedly about shifting away from former commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone's short-term focus and recently appointed a new team of experienced F1 engineers to help shape grand prix racing's future rulebook

Brawn said this forward-thinking approach is the best way to avoid disagreement between teams and stop them purely focusing on their own individual interests.

"What I've always felt in F1 is that short-term fixes – unless there's something that's so obvious that there can be no argument – create the most friction," Brawn said.

"Short-term changes almost inevitably favour one team over another, and that provokes hostility.

"If you're talking about something that's going to happen in three years' time, there's more balance because teams know they can respond properly, and in my experience there's less resistance to those sort of initiatives.

"We're talking about the [new] engine [rules] for 2021 at the moment, and so far the discussions have been extremely constructive.

"They may get a little bit more forceful as we get closer to making a final decision, but because it's coming in three or four years' time the teams have the opportunity to create the right organisation and do a proper job.

"People naturally look at how they might be advantaged or disadvantaged by what's being proposed; well-structured, well-researched medium-to-long-term plans is our way of avoiding a war."

Brawn has been tasked by F1's new owners, Liberty Media, with drafting strategy for F1's future sporting and technical direction.

He feels F1 management taking on this responsibility will ease the burden on teams that don't have the necessary time or resources to properly focus on this type of planning.

"One of the things you have to recognise - and I know this from being on the other side of the coin - is that as a team, you don't have a lot of time or resource to devote to thinking through what would be the best solutions for the future," Brawn added.

"But in the absence of someone else thinking about that, you just fight your corner based on your experience, your knowledge, and your opinion there and then.

"We're in a position to do the research, build the models, do the analysis to understand the steps we can take to evolve the sport, always with a clear set of objectives.

"And those objectives are to improve sustainability - reducing costs and having a fairer distribution of income - and to have close racing."

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Lederhosen, Apfelstrudel and Falco? Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen play Austrian word games!

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen take on the Austrian Grand Prix Word Association Game ahead of Red Bull Racing's home grand prix in Austria.

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Enjoy the race guys - As of today, I am on leave for my sons school holidays, being winter here, I'm not heading off anywhere in particular, however won't be posting until I return in a weeks time as I will no doubt be off on a couple day trips. Enjoy the Austrian GP.