Formula 1 - 2017

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Lauda questions Vettel's "aggressive" move on Hamilton

Mercedes F1 chairman Niki Lauda has questioned Sebastian Vettel's “aggressive manoeuvre” that led to the German clashing with Lewis Hamilton at the start of the Mexican Grand Prix.

Pole-sitter Vettel was passed by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen round the outside of the first corner on the opening lap, and was forced wide in the battle – which allowed Hamilton through as well.

But Vettel clipped Hamilton's right-rear on the exit of Turn 3, damaging his own front wing and giving the Briton a puncture.

After both pitted early, Vettel fought through the pack to finish fourth, while Hamilton brought the car home in ninth for his worst finish of the year - which was still enough to make him 2017 champion with two races to spare.

Asked about the "unusual" way in which Hamilton won the title, Lauda told Sky Sports: "Unusual? When you're world champion, you're world champion, it's very simple. Nobody cares how you do it.

"What I don't understand is the aggressive manoeuvre of Vettel in the first corner, which hit Lewis hard. It was not his fault at all.

"And then his drama started. But in the end it worked out fantastically."

Speaking post-race, Hamilton said he believed he had given Vettel enough room for the pair to avoid contact.

"I had a good start. I don't really know what happened at Turn 3 - but I gave him plenty of room."

Lauda praised Hamilton, who overturned a mid-season deficit to Vettel with a run of five wins in six races before clinching his fourth F1 title in Mexico, for getting the most out of a "difficult" Mercedes W08 this year.

"Lewis was especially this year able to improve a lot," said Lauda, himself a three-time world champion.

"If you want to be a four-time world champion, you have to always get better and better and better. From last year to this year, he got much better.

"It's an incredible step forward. It's a difficult car to drive, not so quick as last year, not so easy, and he really made it because of his own performance."

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Hamilton had it "too easy" in 2017 - Alonso

Fernando Alonso believes newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton had it “too easy” on his way to the title in 2017.

Hamilton had been embroiled in a close fight at the top of the standings with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel for much of the year - but as Vettel's championship challenge unravelled in the end, the Briton romped to his fourth world title, sealing it at the Mexican Grand Prix with two races to spare.

Alonso feels that Hamilton did not have a particularly hard time en route to becoming champion this year, suggesting that the absence of former teammate Nico Rosberg – who retired after beating Hamilton to the crown in 2016 – left him with a clear run a the championship.

"It was very easy this year, no opponents," Alonso said. "Last year he had Nico until the last race, fighting every single race."

The Spaniard – who reckoned after qualifying that McLaren had the best chassis of the F1 grid in Mexico – said he hopes the Woking-based team's impeding switch from Honda to the more-powerful Renault engines will give Hamilton a challenge in 2018.

"This year was too easy," the Spaniard reiterated. "Mercedes four races to the end constructors' champion, Hamilton three races before the end drivers' champion.

"Hopefully McLaren-Renault will change this easy time for them."

Having started the Mexico race from 18th due to engine penalties, Alonso fought his way through the pack to finish 10th, scoring a solitary point to bring his 2017 tally to 11.

"I think it was good - overall we start last, we finish in the points, which is a good target for us," he said. "I think we had the speed all weekend, the car kept feeling very nice, very good handling, and good balance throughout the race.

"I think we lack a little bit of straightline speed to attack or defend, so we [were] stuck behind the Sauber [of Marcus Ericsson] for half the race and then we could not pass [Kevin] Magnussen. And we are very vulnerable when we are in front of people."

With Hamilton forced to fight his way through the pack after an early-race puncture, Alonso got to battle the Mercedes man for ninth place in the closing stages of the race.

He managed to keep the Briton behind for several laps, but eventually had to yield.

"At the end with Hamilton, as soon as you start battling, you lack a bit of straightline speed," Alonso said. "We tried to brake a little bit later every time, tried to defend the position but it was not possible."

Asked whether the late-race battle was a way of reminding Hamilton about himself, Alonso said: "I think he knows, he knows. He knows also how strong the McLaren car [is] in the corners, he saw also today.

"I think next year hopefully we can give a little bit harder time to him."

 

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ECCLESTONE: MANY THINGS HAVE BEEN DONE TO HELP FERRARI WIN

Former self styled Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has revealed how Ferrari are the favoured team at the pinnacle of motorsport, claiming that the Italian team’s success is vital to the sport and as a result has received a helping hand from officials and teams alike.

In an interview with La Repubblica, Ecclestone said, “F1 is Ferrari and Ferrari is F1. Helping Ferrari has always been the smartest thing to do. It was always done through the technical regulations. The teams are important to F1, but Ferrari is more than that. So many things have been done over the years that have helped Ferrari to win.”

Ecclestone insisted that F1 race director Charlie Whiting never used his position to benefit the Reds, but claims that former FIA president Max Mosley gave the team a helping hand when needed.

Ecclestone revealed, “Max has often helped Ferrari, and I too wanted them to win. There can be a season won by others, but even the other teams have an interest in challenging a competitive Ferrari. It’s one thing to win against Sauber and quite another to win against a red car.”

Ferrari were caught flat footed with the advent of the new turbo hybrid engine era which began in 2014, while Mercedes flourished. According to the sport’s former chief, the Silver Arrows provided help to the Prancing Horse – conspiracy theory that has done the rounds for a number of years.

Ecclestone added, “Certainly at one point they had help with this engine. It’s the same for Mercedes as it is for the others – a world championship win against Ferrari is always worth more. If Mercedes decided to transfer technology to Maranello, I say it was a good move.”

“What is certain is that this friendly situation between the two teams is the best thing for Mercedes. It means Red Bull did not have the most powerful engines and Ferrari was competitive enough to be a credible rival to beat,” added Ecclestone who turned 87 on Saturday.

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MEXICAN GRAND PRIX: VERSTAPPEN DOMINATES, HAMILTON CHAMPION

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen dominated the Mexican Grand Prix , but the day belonged to Lewis Hamilton who only finished ninth but did enough to make it mathematically impossible for Sebastian Vettel to beat him with two rounds remaining in the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship.

Drama started early in the race as the field powered down the ‘drag strip’ main straight with Vettel, Verstappen and Hamilton side-by-side.

The Ferrari hit the apex first but, the Red Bull stuck with him as the pair rubbed tyres through the right-left-right complex, at which point Hamilton saw a gap which he dived into and snatched second place as Verstappen got the better of his fierce duel with Vettel.

It was a classic case of three into one does not go, nor does two into one!

As the young Dutchman scurried out of Turn 3, behind him Hamilton got over-steer exiting the turn and got on the kerbs, behind him Vettel tagged the back of the Mercedes. The Ferrari wing breaking up and Hamilton suffering a puncture in the process.

The two title protagonists were forced to pit, and thereafter Vettel did everything he could to try make his way to second place. But it was a huge ask and, in retrospect, he was never going to make in normal race conditions. He  finished fourth.

Hamilton struggled after his pit stops, he simply had no pace on the yellow band softs. A Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period late in the race allowed him to pit for ultrasofts. He found pace and had to work hard to finish ninth – his fourth title sealed, perhaps not in the way he would have wanted.

In parc ferme the world champions’ Mercedes showed scars of the first lap battle, with a damaged diffuser which certainly did not help his cause on the day.

In the huge atmospheric arena, packed to capacity, Hamilton said, “I did everything that I could. I had a good start. I don’t really know what happened at Turn 3, I gave him plenty of room.”

“I tried as hard as I could to come back. A big thank you to my family and my team. Mercedes have been incredible for the past five years and I’m so proud to be a part of it.”

“It doesn’t feel real. That’s not the kind of race that you want but I never gave up. I kept going right to the end,” added the newly crowned 2017 Formula 1 World Champion.

At the front Verstappen was simply supreme, delivering a faultless drive to claim his second victory of this campaign, in a season in which he was dogged by bad luck.

He controlled proceedings while every other Renault powered car in the race  parked with engine problems. But his, for a change, held itself together and by the time the chequered flag waved he was nearly 20 seconds ahead of his closest rival.

Verstappen said afterwards, “The start was very crucial. I went around the outside and that worked out well. After that I was just managing the tyres and the car performed brilliantly in the race.”

“Big thanks to Red Bull, without them it was not possible. After last week this is the perfect race, it was great. It was cruising. It was good to see [Lewis and Seb touching] and after that I just pulled away,” added the Red Bull driver.

Team chief Christian Horner revealed, “We couldn’t slow him down! From the start onwards he dominated the grand prix. He controlled the temperatures really well.”

Mercedes’ Valterri Bottas was second, capitalising on the first lap incident and slotting into second where he remained until the end of the race. Unable to do anything to attack Verstappen ahead, but at the same time pulling out over 30 seconds on Kimi Raikkonen who finished a lonely third in his Ferrari.

Esteban Ocon continued his impressive run in the Force India, running third at one point but the VSC played against him and he had to settle for fourth place.

Also impressing was the youngest driver in the race – who turned 19 on the day – Lance Stroll in the Williams staying out of trouble and again delivering in a race of high attrition by finishing sixth.

Local hero Sergio Perez was seventh, ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the Haas in eighth ahead of Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso claimed the final point for McLaren, providing great entertainment as he dueled with Hamilton in the late stages of the race.

Blow-By-Blow Report

When the lights went out at the start, Vettel was pressured by Verstappen off the line and at the end of the long run to Turn 1 the Red Bull driver drew alongside the Ferrari driver and muscled his way past in Turn 2 to take the lead.

There was minor contact between them as they went through with Vettel losing part of his front wing, but more damage was to come for the German as Hamilton went around the outside to steal second.

The left side of Vettel’s front wing collided with the rear right of Hamilton’s car. The result was a puncture for the Mercedes man and substantial front wing damage for Vettel. Both limped to the pits for repairs and rejoined at the back of the field.

At the front, Verstappen began to build a lead and by lap 14 he found himself 5.5 seconds clear of  Bottas who had inherited second after the Vettel/Hamilton incident.  Ocon was third, the Force India driver having bypassed Räikkönen in the opening lap.

Sainz was the first to make a scheduled stop, the Renault driver pitting on lap three to take on soft tyres with which he’d try to reach the flag.

 Ricciardo was the next into the pit lane but for the Aussie it was a complete stop. After taking a grid drop in the morning for an engine change, he rose from his P16 starting position to P7 by lap five. But his race was then ended by a suspected turbo failure.

At the back Vettel was marching through the order and by lap 25 he was up to 11th place behind Alonso. Hamilton, though, was struggling, and after being lapped by race leader Verstappen the Briton complained that he couldn’t get near Sainz up ahead in P18.

Hulkenberg was the next to exit the race, the German being told to stop the car, as it was unsafe. With a suspected ERS issue, Hulkenberg was told to exit down the nosecone and jump off.

On lap 33 Hartley pulled over at the side of the track with flames licking at the engine cover. The halt, close to the side of the track, resulted in the Virtual Safety Car being deployed and that resulted in a flurry of pit stops, with Verstappen diving in from the lead to take on supersofts.

Behind him Räikkönen profited most, the Finn leapfrogging Ocon to claim third place. Behind them William’s Lance Stroll was now firth ahead of Perez and Magnussen.

Magnussen’s hold on the place would be shortlived. Vettel had taken on ultrasoft tyres during his pit stop and he soon began setting fastest laps. He quickly reeled in the Dane and passed him with ease to claim seventh place.

There were however, 16 seconds to make up to the next target, Perez. Vettel closed quickly, to 7.5s by lap 45 but with the German needing second place to keep his championship hopes alive if Hamilton finished outside the points, and with almost 54 seconds to make up to second-placed Bottas it looked like the German’s title challenge was done.

Hamilton, though, was making his own steady progress and on lap 46 he passed Ericsson for 12th place and began to close the 7.1-second gap to Vandoorne.

On lap 50, Vettel lunged down the inside into Turn 4 to pass Perez and looked to close the 3.3s gap to Stroll and a few laps later he eased dismissed the Canadian to take fifth place. Hamilton, meanwhile, had passed Vandoorne under DRS into Turn One to claim P11 and his team were advising him that at the pace he was going he was forecast to finish in P8.

Hamilton began to make that forecast come true by powering past Massa on lap 57 to claim 10th place and a points finish. Up ahead Vettel passed Ocon to grab fourth but with 24 seconds to make up to get to third placed Räikkönen and a further 26 second gap to close to Bottas the German was fighting a losing battle. Told of the gaps he sighed “oh, mamma mia.”

Sainz, meanwhile, retired from the race, meaning that four of the six Renault-powered cars in the race had exited by lap 62. Just leader Verstappen and 13th-placed Gasly remained.

At the front the Dutch driver was in complete command, however, and not experience any mechanical concerns. With an 18s gap to Bottas it might have been expected that he would throttle back and control matters but Verstappen wanted more and on lap 64 he set a race record for the circuit with a lap of 1:18.892 and then widened the gap to over 20 seconds by the chequered flag.

Behind him Bottas held second ahead of Räikkönen, while Vettel’s brave charge ended in fourth place. Ocon scored his second fifth-placed finish of the year, while Stroll delivered a good result for Williams with sixth place.

Pérez was seventh in front his home crowd ahead of Magnussen, while Hamilton finished ninth, enough to earn the Briton his fourth drivers’ title. The final point on offer went to Alonso.

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Ricciardo rues "grim" weekend for Renault-powered reliability

Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo says the Mexican Grand Prix was “a grim weekend for a few of us” after all three Renault-powered teams suffered failures that put cars out of the race.

Although his teammate Max Verstappen was able to control the race from the front to score an untroubled victory, Ricciardo charged into the top 10 from his 16th position on the grid, following an engine change and 20-place grid penalty.

But Ricciardo was forced to retire after just a handful of laps, reporting over the radio an issue with the turbo as he toured into the pits.

“Obviously the weekend’s turned to crap,” Ricciardo told NBC. “I did what I could at the start – it was pretty close, there was a bit going on – but I made quick progress. I told Helmut [Marko] this morning that I’d get up to seventh by the end of the first lap. I was a couple of laps off I think, but we got close.

  

“We put the new unit in, but something went wrong. Not really sure what it was or where that puts us for Brazil.”

As well as Ricciardo, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was an early retirement from a point-paying position, before Brendon Hartley’s Toro Rosso caused a Virtual Safety Car when it pulled off the track just before half distance, after reporting he was “losing a lot of power”. The second Renault of Carlos Sainz was also forced out.

When asked if he thought the issues were related to the altitude or temperatures in Mexico, Ricciardo replied: “Certainly something fundamental going on. We’ve been coming to Mexico the past few years so there shouldn’t be any surprises, I know the altitude and temperatures have been hard to stay on top of this weekend.

“I don’t know if it’s this year’s spec of engine which is struggling up here – obviously it is, but why we’re not sure. So it’s been a pretty grim weekend for a few of us, it’s a shame to be out early again, so I guess it’s a bit of what Max experienced early in the year, yeah, it’s not so fun.” 

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Kvyat "in the frame" for 2018 Williams seat

Williams technical boss Paddy Lowe says that Daniil Kvyat has joined the list of drivers under consideration for a 2018 Formula 1 seat.

In recent weeks the focus has been on Robert Kubica, Paul di Resta, Pascal Wehrlein and current incumbent Felipe Massa, but Lowe has always maintained that the team has to assess any qualified and available driver.

Kvyat made his interest in the Williams seat known as early as the Sunday night of the US GP – after he had been told by Helmut Marko that he wouldn't be returning to Toro Rosso.

"As I said in Austin we'll consider all drivers that are not contracted," Lowe said when asked by Motorsport.com.

"That is a fact. Kvyat is a very respectable driver, so he should be in the frame."

Lowe insists that the team does not have a deadline for a decision, and has made it clear that he is resisting pressure from Felipe Massa to make a call before the Brazilian GP.

"We're talking all the time to Felipe, and we'll see where we get to with that. There are all sorts of scenarios. It's something that we're managing internally.

"Relationships between teams and drivers around renewals is always tense, unfortunately. Most of us when we got and apply for a job, it's done in private. In F1 it's a very public affair, and that does make it more awkward than we'd like.

"But Felipe's a great guy, and he's got a great relationship with Williams, it's very respectful both ways. Whatever we conclude together, we'll remain on good terms."

Massa remains keen to hear an early decision so that he can go to his home race at Interlagos knowing that it's his final appearance there.

"I'm not deciding if I'm carrying on or not," he said. "We need to see what's going to happen, and I really hope very soon.

"I think it's important for everybody, for me and the team. I cannot answer something that I'm not 100 percent sure, but I hope."

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Wolff: Vettel hit ‘a penalty in normal conditons’

Toto Wolff has said Sebastian Vettel would have been penalised for hitting Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap if the World Championship was not on the line.

Vettel and Verstappen came into contact as the Dutchman pushed through for the race lead, with Vettel going backwards with a damaged nose.

As he did so, he then came into contact with Hamilton, who picked up a puncture as a result and left both rivals needing to pit after the first lap.

"I hated every bit of that race," Mercedes boss Wolff told Sky F1. "It was really bad and too long.

"I think we were rattled after the beginning, the crash.

"In the car you don't know what's happening, is Sebastian still in the race? Can he score points? After a while we explained the situation to him and we were all focused on making the best out of it."

You have this massive gap in points and people say 'it's done' but it's not. It's motor racing and then you have this incident and Sebastian could have won and we could have DNF'd.

"The championship is at stake and I think in normal conditions there would have been a penalty. But it's the final race and the [title] decider.

Wolff then said it was a huge relief to wrap up both titles.

He added: "Max knew there was so much at stake for the other two. For Lewis and Sebastian it's extremely difficult because you have to win the race and if you bail out of everything then it's not what we are here for."

"The relief is huge. During the race you have mixed feelings, it's bittersweet because you're not where you should be. You could lose it and then it drags to Sao Paulo. It's a big relief now.

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Raikkonen cuts lonely figure after podium finish

Kimi Raikkonen has said there was "nothing to do" other than to coast home in third after recovering from a "disaster start" in Mexico.

The Finn fell from his P5 start on the grid but got the jump on Esteban Ocon in the pit lane under the Virtual Safety Car period to record back-to-back podiums.

"The initial start wasn't too bad. I got alongside Bottas, I think, but then everyone behind me had a good tow and came past me," Raikkonen explained.

"It was a disaster but we had some patience and enough speed to improve. Once those in front of me stopped for tyres I could push, so we recovered well."

"I don’t know really, I don’t know what to say because I spent most of the race on my own. In the beginning I was stuck behind the Force India and I couldn’t get past.

"Once he stopped I had decent speed, but I was far behind the others and it wasn’t the nicest feeling. I don’t know, I was on my own, and at that point there was nothing to do,  the guys in front of me were so far and behind there was nobody.

"I have to say it was not too bad. But I kind of expected to be this way after yesterday; I think the biggest issue was the first lap."

Asked for his reaction on Lewis Hamilton's fourth title win, Raikkonen added: "It’s great for Lewis, it’s a lot of wins, a lot of championships.

"What can I say? We can be happy for him, but inside… I don’t know."

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Bottas ‘didn’t know’ Hamilton worked ‘so hard’

Valtteri Bottas has said Lewis Hamilton's amazing work ethic means that his team-mate "definitely deserves" the World Championship title this year.

The Finn was new to the Mercedes team in 2017 and has reflected on his relationship with the now four-time World Champion following his title win in Mexico.

"Coming to the team I didn't know him really at all," said Bottas.

"I had no idea how he is as a guy, all I knew was that he's a really good driver.

"This year has confirmed that he is a really good driver, but he's also a nice guy, he's a normal human being like the rest of us.

"We've had good respect from the very beginning of the year.

"I always knew he had a lot of talent, but I didn't know that he works so hard, so I think that he definitely deserves the title this year."

Bottas was back on the podium again after a P2 finish in Mexico, calling his race a "straightforward" one.

"It was quite straightforward after the incident at Turn 2 and 3, I managed to get away with it," he added.

"I was in P2, we tried to keep up with Max but we didn't.

"At some point we had to manage the brakes with the temperatures a little bit, and the same with the engine, so I lost a bit of time with that.

"It feels good to be back on the podium and it felt like I got the most out of the car.

"We didn't have the pace to challenge Max and Red Bull today, which is unfortunate, so we have much to learn from this weekend."

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Stroll in P6: ‘A great birthday present!’

Lance Stroll celebrated his 19th birthday with a sixth-place finish at the Mexico Grand Prix, his best result since the podium in Baku.

The Canadian rookie started P12 on the grid but was one of the drivers to benefit a lot from the Virtual Safety Car that was enforced after Brendon Hartley's Toro Rosso came to a stop.

"I think it was a very controlled race," he said back in the paddock.

"I had a really good start, but then lost some positions as I was on the outside.

"There were some technical issues and crashes and so I gained some places due to that. We had a good idea all along, assuming I was going to stay in one piece and everything was going to continue along smoothly, we could have a good race.

"I had a great first stint, a great second stint and in the end I wasn't quite close enough to get into the DRS zone to pass Ocon.

"I was really managing the tyres and the car was balanced very well, so a big thanks to the team. It was a great day, a great result and a great birthday present."

Stroll also offered his congratulations to World Champion Lewis Hamilton: "Big congratulations to Lewis, he is the king of Formula One, there is no doubt about it. It is incredible what he has accomplished. He is a big inspiration for young drivers like me."

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Lewis Hamilton 2017 F1 world championship won in a 'horrible way'

Newly-crowned Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton says clinching his fourth title by finishing ninth in the Mexican Grand Prix was a "horrible way to do it".

The Mercedes driver made contact with championship rival Sebastian Vettel at the start of the race and got a puncture that relegated him to the back of the field.

Unable to make much progress, Hamilton went on to finish a lap down on race winner Max Verstappen and five places behind Vettel.

That was enough to seal his fourth crown, however, as the Ferrari driver needed to finish at least second to have a chance of delaying Hamilton's title.

"It was a horrible way to do it, to be honest," Hamilton said. "But what can I do? I told you I wasn't going to go easy at Turn 1.

"And I don't think I was too aggressive or anything like that, I placed my car in the perfect position.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the replay, but I left a lot of space for the car behind.

"I kept going, I kept going back, and... I really want to say a big thank you to all the guys back at Brixworth and Brackley. Guys, thank you so much for all your hard work.

"Winning the constructors' championship was already a huge feat, and helping me achieve this incredible accomplishment, I'm so grateful."

Hamilton admitted the nature of the circuit made it extra hard for him to try to recover after having dropped to the back.

"I had no idea what was going to happen with the championship, to be honest, I was just thinking about getting further up and getting involved in the race," he added.

"And this is such a difficult track, if not the worst track, to follow. So trying to get past people was a disaster.

"But yeah, to be honest the feelings are so mixed right now."

Mercedes 'rattled' after clash

Despite Hamilton clinching the title and team-mate Valtteri Bottas finishing second, team boss Toto Wolff said the race was not enjoyable from the Mercedes garage.

"I hated every bit of that race," Wolff told Sky Sports F1. "It was really bad, and too long, and everything.

"I think we were rattled after the beginning, after the crash.

"Lewis... in the car you don't know what's happening. Is Sebastian still in the race? Can he score points?"

Wolff concedes Mercedes never relaxed during the race, despite Vettel's chances of finishing second looking extremely slim after he too had to pit on the opening lap to replace his front wing.

"After a while we explained the situation to him once it settled, and then we were all focused on trying to make the best out of it," he said.

"It's like you have this massive gap in points and people say 'it's done'. But it's not. It's motor racing.

"Then you have this incident and Sebastian could have won, we could have DNF'd, and then what's next?"

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TOWARDS THE NEW F1: SERGIO MARCHIONNE PUTS FERRARI’S CARDS ON THE TABLE

Sometimes you can see moments of history approaching. As we head towards two important dates for the future shape of the sport – the October 31 future engines meeting and the November 7 teams meeting where the new plan for F1 will be revealed by Liberty Media – there comes the inevitable positioning, led by Ferrari.

This is the first crunch moment in Sergio Marchionne’s tenure at the helm of Ferrari. And as in the past when Enzo Ferrari, or successors Luca di Montezemolo or Jean Todt spoke for the Scuderia – he says essentially that Ferrari is F1 and vice versa but that it won’t write the sport a blank cheque.

Speaking to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com at the Ferrari Mondiali event in Mugello, Marchionne says that if Liberty messes around with the DNA of F1 then Ferrari will no longer be interested in participating.

It’s not just about the money

“I confirmed two obligations [to Liberty at a meeting in Austin last week],” said Marchionne.

“Like them, we want to reduce the costs of F1 which are beyond the limit. And that’s not because of technical choices but because of the way the sport is managed.

“We will do everything to reduce the costs of competing. And that will help the sport.

“But the most important thing: to change the nature of F1 for commercial reasons is a discussion that doesn’t interest Ferrari. We have to be very careful not to take away history from the DNA of this sport; that’s what interests Ferrari.

If these two things are missing, then Ferrari’s interest in staying in F1 will diminish.”

So far in all his pronouncements on F1 leading up to these crunch meetings, where Liberty will reveal their plans for F1 post 2021, CEO Chase Carey has emphasised the importance of getting the costs under control and making the F1 teams sustainable businesses. And he has underlined the value of its history. American sports owners always value history.

But the key will be whether they value the history that Ferrari represents to the tune of $100m a year surplus to what the teams receive in appearance and prize money. Bernie Ecclestone and CVC put that value on Ferrari; Liberty needs to find a way to make Ferrari feel valued but to level the playing field a bit. How they tackle that will be one of the key moves of this coming phase.

“This isn’t a threat,” Marchionne continues. He referenced comments in Gazzetta dello Sport by Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene which some have interpreted as a threat.

Marchionne says he will protect Ferrari’s involvement in the sport, “but not at any cost.”

“I’m open for any discussion, but if they want to turn F1 into a nonsense, a shppping channel, then I’m not the slightest bit interested.

“There is a very noble aspect to F1 beyond the things that happen on track; it’s a sport which is truly different from the others and we can’t over commercialise it. If they do that, we are off; no interest.”

The F1 of the future

You don’t need to be an expert in political theory to understand this messaging. Marchionne repeats his core message about the things Ferrari is not interested in. Unusually for the build up to a major meeting, featuring the reveal of a new F1, there has been little gossip about what is on the table from Liberty’s side. That reflects their style and approach. It’s not divide and rule, as in the past, in fact it’s the opposite. They want to try to treat all their ‘family members’ the same, as much as possible.

That’s a bit of a problem for Ferrari and Mercedes, because they feel they bring far more to the table than Sauber or Force India. While Ferrari and Mercedes are well aligned with each other, Red Bull are at odds with them. It will be fascinating to see this play out.

We know that the direction of travel on engines is that they will be based on current 1.6 V6 engine, they will be louder, will be higher revving and that will be achieved by means of a higher fuel allowance, up by as much as 20%. They will be simplified with some components of the hybrid system – such as the MGU-H on the turbo, either dispensed with, or standardised.

But Carey and his team have given little away about what the broader rules package and integration of the cost cap might be. Some top teams have a working assumption that the cost cap will be $150 without driver and senior management salaries of marketing, with a glidepath down to that figure over three years.

The next two weeks will be momentous. Stay tuned.

[Baldy]

Happy to see Lewis close out what was inevitable.  This year it seems like engine manufacturer have gone to the wall and had to back off a bit for reliability.  Renault have found this out at this race.  Interesting to see what the future will bring in terms of engine improvement. 

Bernie have confirmed what we all suspected for years.  There's one rule for Ferrari then there's rules for the rest of F1.  Like the former European aristocratic "right" to rule mentality so is Ferrari treated in F1.   Vettel today cut a corner to pass Massa, nothing.  Verstappen did the same to a Ferrari, PENALTY!

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1 hour ago, Baldy said:

Bernie have confirmed what we all suspected for years.  There's one rule for Ferrari then there's rules for the rest of F1.  Like the former European aristocratic "right" to rule mentality so is Ferrari treated in F1.   Vettel today cut a corner to pass Massa, nothing.  Verstappen did the same to a Ferrari, PENALTY!

I hope this mentality changes weather Ferrari like it or not. It clearly means there's no level playing field. How can one claim to be the best if they are gaining favour? 

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MORNING AFTER: THE DAY BELONGED TO MAX VERSTAPPEN

At the end of the Mexican Grand Prix, the season may belong to Lewis Hamilton, but the day certainly belonged to Max Verstappen.

In what has to be one of the most bizarre champion-coronations in F1 history, the final scenes played out far in the background after a messy first-lap scramble relegated both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel to the back of the grid.

Labelling it afterwards one of his ‘easiest races’ in formula 1, it was a race that was the antithesis of all the misfortune Verstappen has endured in 2017. Whether it was the charge at the start that could’ve easily resulted in a puncture (or worse), the utterly toothless challenge from Valtteri Bottas – 1.737s behind at the end of lap 1, 19.678s at the flag – or his Renault engine holding up as just about every other one failed, fortune finally favoured the boldest driver on the grid.

Even more so than in Malaysia, this was Verstappen at his very best. When he is able to balance his aggression on a knife-edge as he did at the start, and combine it with race-long composure (with a few cheeky fastest laps thrown in), he is more than a handful for anyone.

You could make a strong case he has been the best driver since the summer break, and don’t be surprised if he does it again this season, with plenty more to come in 2018.

Hamilton Limps to Championship Glory

It could hardly have ended in less-impressive fashion for Lewis Hamilton, but it’s unlikely Lewis Hamilton will mind – he’s still your 2017 Formula 1 World Driver’s Champion.

Forced to fight his way through the field, yet as concerned with engine temps as much as the cars he was chasing, the result was a largely subdued display from Hamilton – something completely at odds with his masterful season.

Regularly a step-above the competition, Hamilton continues to ascend up the ranks of the greatest F1 drivers ever. Sure, he’s had a hell of a car, but you’ve only got to compare him with Valtteri Bottas to see what a difference a driver can make. With three championships, he was already among the sport’s elite, with four he’s now in the pantheon. Congratulations, Lewis. Well deserved.

Quick Hits

• There might not be any Italian drivers currently on the grid, but Sebastian Vettel has to be getting close. What sort of self-respecting German drops a ‘mama mia’ on team radio?
• Congratulations to Force India on securing their second-straight P4 in the constructor’s standings – their owner may be wanted by the Indian government, and their drivers might hate each other, but they still find a way to keep trucking
• Valuable points for Haas and Williams courtesy of Kevin Magnussen and Lance Stroll respectively. The dismal day for the Renault-powered rivals gave them an opportunity, and they did very well to take it.

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HAMILTON: A POTENTIAL F1 WORLD CHAMPION WITHIN MAX

Lewis Hamilton sees young Max Verstappen as added motivation for next season after recognising Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch driver as one of the big threats to his bid for a fifth Formula 1 world championship.

The Mercedes driver, now Britain’s first four-times champion, is a big fan of the Dutch prodigy and said he looked forward to great battles with a resurgent Red Bull as well as Ferrari.

Verstappen, the sport’s youngest ever winner, celebrated his third career victory and second of the season at the Mexican Grand Prix.

“I want to be better next year, the challenge is even bigger from Red Bull and Ferrari,” Hamilton, buzzing with excitement, told reporters after finishing ninth to claim the title. “Formula 1 doesn´t sleep, it doesn´t stand still. And there´s always someone waiting to take my position.”

“I´ve got that Max just sitting there waiting to take it. So I´ve got to raise the game another level in order to stay ahead of him. And that motivates me. I already have my motivation for next year.”

Hamilton hailed Verstappen as “an exceptional driver” and enthused about his race craft at the start on Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

“You´ve got for sure a potential world champion within Max and he´s only going to get stronger with age,” he said. “He´s a lot of raw talent at the moment and has got a long way to go but these wins, these experiences he´s having are only adding to his great potential. I´m looking forward to battling with that.”

Verstappen has signed a new contract keeping him at Red Bull until 2020. Sebastian Vettel has signed a similar deal with Ferrari.

Hamilton’s contract with Mercedes expires at the end of next season but he has been relaxed about what looks to be no more than a formality, “It´s quite an easy process for us, I think.”

“We´ve already got something great in place and it´s really just about enhancing it, working on what more I can do for them – sponsors or whatever it is for the brand – and vice-versa. I might miss Thursdays,” he joked.

Thursday is the day when drivers carry out the bulk of their media activities before a race weekend.

“I hope in the next month or so we´ll have had time to sit down. Now the pressure is kind of off, we can go and enjoy these next couple of races,” said Hamilton, who wrapped up the championship with Brazil and Abu Dhabi yet to come.

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HAMILTON: FOUR IS GREAT BUT I WANT NUMBER FIVE NOW

Newly crowned Formula 1 World Championship Lewis Hamilton says he plans to go out at the top but is not about to “do the easy thing” as did his former Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg who quit days after winning last year’s title.

Hamilton clinched his fourth title in Mexico with two races to spare on Sunday, becoming the most successful British driver of all time, but he reassured reporters that he was far from done.

“Four is a great number. But I want number five now,” declared the 32-year-old, who also races with the number 44 on his car.

”I want to go out at the top … I could do the easy thing, like obviously Nico did, which is just stop and retreat with these four titles. But I think there’s more in me.

“I think there’s more to come, more of a challenge. There’s harder times ahead and I like that, I love that. That’s challenging and it would be so boring without it.”

Rosberg announced last December, days after securing his first title, that he was retiring after a career spent battling Hamilton.

The German, a family man, made clear he had been drained by the 2016 campaign and was not prepared to expend the same amount of physical and mental energy to defend a title that had been so hard to win.

Hamilton, who is developing interests outside of the sport in music, film and fashion, said he too had considered a change of scene but that was still some way down the road.

“I will continue to race while I love it, I’ve enjoyed it this year more than ever,” he said. ”I do think about how it would be so nice at some stage just to live in one place, a lot more socialising, walking your dogs every day or surfing. But then I’m thinking, there’s a lot of life to live beyond 40. There’s a lot to go.”

Next season will see two four times world champions, Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, duelling on track with Red Bull’s 20-year-old Dutch star Max Verstappen — the winner on Sunday — leading a new generation.

McLaren’s double title-holder Fernando Alonso will also potentially be in a more competitive car.

“It’s kind of cool to be in this battle with him,” the Briton, who now has a record 72 pole positions and the second most wins (62) after Michael Schumacher (91), said of his new arch-rival Vettel.

“He got 50 poles yesterday (Saturday) and I’m like ‘Hmm, I don’t want to give him any more poles because he gets closer to me’. So I’ve got to keep on, act as inspiration to keep pushing it. Same with wins, same with championships.”

Hamilton, who is expected to agree a contract extension soon, said the fact that Vettel had signed for three more years with Ferrari, keeping him there until 2020, was also a source of motivation.

“I’m like:‘Ferrari are not going to like me for the next couple of years’,” he said. “But it’s OK because we are going to make it as hard as it can possibly be for them to win championships. I really am looking forward to that battle with them.”

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Hamilton has earned title of greatest British driver - Sir Jackie Stewart

Three-time champion and Britain's most successful Formula 1 driver up until last weekend, Sir Jackie Stewart, says Lewis Hamilton has now earned the right to be called Britain's greatest after clinching a fourth world championship on Sunday.

Hamilton now joins an elite club of three drivers with four titles alongside Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost, leaving Stewart behind, but the Scottish driver insists his record was always meant to be broken and added that Hamilton had earned it.

"I have held the record for 44 years and records are meant to be broken," said Stewart.

"He [Hamilton] has earned it. He has made big decisions. He left McLaren and that was a surprise to a lot of people including me. He made that right decision and went to Mercedes, it was a big decision and the right decision. He has learnt so much."

Stewart believes having Niki Lauda as a mentor in the Mercedes team has helped Hamilton to achieve what he has, but ultimately, it's the Briton who has driven the car and got the results he's needed to succeed.

"Niki Lauda has been able to guide Lewis very well. He has huge experience, he is three-time world champion and been through so much, a lot more than me and in fact died twice and was resuscitated.

"Niki has been able to guide Lewis a great deal and soften some of the emotions from time to time.

"Lewis has been in a great team with a great package but nevertheless you have to drive the car and get it to the finish line."

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Eighth 'like a victory' for Haas - Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen says eighth position at the Mexican Grand Prix was “like a victory” for Haas as it scored points, despite qualifying as the slowest team.

Magnussen was eliminated in Q1 but moved up to 14th on the grid due to penalties elsewhere, and emerged inside the top 10 amid drama further up the field on the opening lap.

Magnussen ultimately gained two more positions to register eighth place, having pulled away from the battle involving Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton during the closing stages.

“That was like a victory, it was incredible, and a great way to reward everyone for their hard work,” said Magnussen.

“It was a perfect race. It couldn’t have gone better. We could easily have given up and just thrown the towel into the ring [on Saturday] – it was a very tough day for us all.

“Nobody gave up, and everyone knows we’re not the worst team, or meant to be on the last row. We’re meant to be in the points, fighting in the midfield and getting into the top 10.

“We pushed on and I’m very proud of the team for that.

“We’re going to continue to fight. It’s not going to be easy, we can see that, but we’ll continue to push in the Constructors Championship and have fun all the way to the end.”

Team-mate Romain Grosjean was a low-key 15th, having been compromised when he picked up a five-second time penalty during his scrap with Alonso.

“The contact with Fernando damaged my car,” he said.

“I haven’t seen the footage so I don’t know [what happened], but it was at Turn 1 and I lost half of the floor.

“From that point it was almost over. I just tried to hang in there.”

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Esteban Ocon briefly felt first podium was on the cards

Esteban Ocon says he believed for a while that he was on course for his maiden Formula 1 podium at the Mexican Grand Prix, after running in third place during the opening stages.

Ocon profited from a bold approach to Turn 1, and the problems which befell others, to hold third place, behind only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas.

However, Ocon was overhauled by Kimi Räikkönen, who extended his first stint and pitted under the Virtual Safety Car, before the other Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel moved ahead later on.

Ocon ultimately came home in fifth position, equalling the best result of his nascent career, as Force India wrapped up fourth spot in the Constructors’ Championship.

“Fifth place in the race and securing fourth place in the championship is a fantastic achievement after a strong season,” said Ocon.

“For a while I believed the podium was possible because I was sitting in third place for so long.

“I made a great start and then I pushed as hard as I could in the free air. Sadly the Virtual Safety Car gave Kimi an advantage during the pit stops and he was able to overtake us.

“The final few laps of the race with [Lance] Stroll behind me were not easy. He had fresher tyres and managed to catch me, so I had to give it everything to stay ahead.

“When you work so hard for a result it feels very satisfying.”

Team-mate Sergio Pérez came home in seventh position, having also rued the timing of the VSC.

“It’s just a shame that the Virtual Safety Car happened at the wrong moment because it allowed Stroll to jump ahead of me,” said Pérez.

“Otherwise I think we could have finished in sixth. The main objective of the weekend was to confirm fourth place in the championship so I’m extremely happy that we have done this with two races to spare.”

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Mexico performance "much better" than expected - Honda

Honda chief Yusuke Hasegawa admitted the Japanese manufacturer's engine was not expected to have the performance it did during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.

Honda chose to make engine component changes on both Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne's McLarens for Mexico, where it felt it would struggle, in favour of having fresher elements for the final two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

But the outfit showed good pace throughout the Mexican GP weekend, with Alonso fifth in Q1 and declaring he had the best car in the field before going on to finish 10th in Sunday's race.

"The performance was much better than we thought," Hasegawa told Motorsport.com.

"Before we came here, we thought our engine performance was worse than the other teams and the effect from the high altitude would be bad.

"But Sakura has worked hard to create a good set-up for this high altitude, which is why the engine power deficit was much smaller than we thought.

"This gap [to our rivals] is smaller. The relative performance is still a bit behind, but we think we can catch up."

Hasegawa pointed to gains made on its dynos at its Sakura base as a reason for Honda's form at Mexico, where the high altitude puts a strain on the engines.

"Previously, we couldn't create a good dyno system to evaluate the high altitude situation," he said.

"But in the last week, we have made improvements in Sakura, regarding the operation of the engine. We made improvements here.

"[Correlation] is getting much better from the beginning of the season.

"It is not 100 percent copying the circuit situation, so still we need to work but we are almost satisfied with the situation. This circumstance, the high altitude in Mexico, is unique, though."

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Hamilton delivered his "best season ever" - Lowe

Lewis Hamilton has produced the best campaign of his Formula 1 career to seal his fourth world championship title, claims his former boss Paddy Lowe.

Hamilton captured the 2017 crown in Mexico at the weekend, after his main rival Sebastian Vettel failed to score the points needed to keep the battle alive following an opening lap collision.

Having performed so consistently this season, and not making any major mistakes on the way to taking the title with two races to go, former Mercedes chief Lowe is in no doubt that Hamilton drove at another level this year.

"From the outside it looked to me like his best season ever," said Lowe, who is now technical chief at Williams.

"He drove really well every race, whether good day or bad day, and he was always in there getting the points. He is a really, really worthy champion.

"I have been saying it for a while, but I think he passed a number of waypoints on records this year, and with a fourth championship he is not done yet: he is one of the sport's all-time greats."

Lowe said that it was not Hamilton's speed that had been so impressive, but that he was so supremely consistent in bringing the best out of himself whenever he was in the car.

"Lewis has been much more consistent – not that he was inconsistent before – but he has shown his highest level of consistency this year of all the years he has been driving in the sport," he said.

"That has paid dividends to him to take this championship."

When asked if a better atmosphere inside Mercedes following the departure of Nico Rosberg had helped, Lowe said: "I don't want to read into his mind – all I know is that he lost the championship last year and that must have been quite annoying.

"So he probably took that onboard and decided to learn from it."

  

Style points

Lowe said that it was hard to state exactly where Hamilton lined up among the greats, but he believed that his exciting style marked him out as a clear fan favourite.

"It is not only that Lewis produces results. Before, even when he only got one world championship, he was still an incredibly exciting driver for the sport – arguably the most popular driver for the fan base.

"I think it is because of the style with which he qualifies and races with, it is always very exciting.

"His race craft is probably unparalleled. It would have been great to see him race against the likes of [Ayrton] Senna.

"Michael [Schumacher] achieved fantastic records but his race craft was not one of his greatest strengths, for example. Why people love Lewis is they love the way he races."

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Horner: Verstappen so dominant he got "bored"

Red Bull boss Christian Horner says he had to "slow down" Max Verstappen during the Mexican Grand Prix, which he won so dominantly he got "bored" and started worrying about a fastest lap bonus.

Verstappen snatched the lead from pole position man Sebastian Vettel around the outside of Turn 1 after the start, and then proceeded to pull clear without any major threat from behind.

In fact, Verstappen's biggest concern was a potential reliability problem – with engine supplier Renault on the edge with cooling because of the high altitude.

Horner said that with the team winding the engine down, and ordering Verstappen to back off to save his tyres, frustrations were starting to come out.

"The big challenge in this race was to slow him down, not speed him up - which was very unusual," said Horner.

"I think he got a bit bored out there at times. We kept trying to slow him down and he was getting a bit frustrated that he couldn't go any slower.

"He loves wheel to wheel racing. What he did in the first two turns, you could see after qualifying that he turned up at the race track and he wanted to win this race more than any other driver out there."

At one point, Verstappen began talking to his team over the radio about setting the fastest lap of the race, something that Vettel often did when he raced there.

Reflecting on the situation, Horner reckoned that the potential for an extra bonus provided some motivation at that time – even though the team did not want Verstappen to push his car too hard.

"We have a minor bonus system regarding fastest lap which I am thinking of eradicating," smiled Horner, about the moment Verstappen set fastest lap before Vettel later pipped him.

"I instructed his engineer that under no circumstances tell him that Seb Vettel had relieved him of a few Euros.

"But then the danger for him is he is looking at the screens around the track and he can see it for himself anyway. The important thing was bringing the car home, which is what he did."

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Mexico Grand Prix - Behind the scenes

 

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BRAWN: MAX IN MEXICO REMINDED OF SCHUMACHER

Formula 1 motorsport chief Ross Brawn admitted that he felt a sense of déjà vu as he watched Max Verstappen power to a victory at the Mexican Grand Prix, to him the similarities to Michael Schumacher in his heyday were evident on the day at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

On the opening lap Verstappen muscled his Red Bull to the front of the pack, going toe-to-toe with Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, emerging at the front and ahead of the feuding Ferrari and Mercedes as he roared out of Turn 3 into the lead where he stayed all afternoon, unchallenged and in total control. It was a commanding victory, totally dominant and in the end by a huge margin.

Brawn said afterwards, “It was an incredible performance that reminded me of some races by Michael Schumacher. A remarkable achievement. He is only 20 years old, but as a driver, he is maturing incredibly fast.”

Brawn spent a decade at Schumacher’s side, watching him evolve through his early years at Benetton to a double F1 World Champion with the team before the pair moved to Ferrari where they rewrote the sport’s history books, as they spearheaded the Italian team’s most successful era.

Of Verstappen’s performance in Mexico, Brawn also observed, “On Saturday he missed his first pole position only because Sebastian Vettel delivered a great lap. On Sunday, Max fought ferociously against his rivals and dared to go that bit further after only a couple of corners.”

“Then [in front] he controlled the situation with a perfect performance. The ease in which he set one fastest lap after another should have please him and his team alike.”

A week earlier Verstappen was embroiled in controversy after he was slapped with a penalty for abusing track limits as he snatched third place from Kimi Raikkonen on the final lap of the United States Grand Prix. What followed is well documented.

In the light of the post-Austin race drama, Brawn added that the incident had little impact on Verstappen’s approach in Mexico only days later, “That all bounced off Max, as it tends to do when you’re young.”

After a season packed with technical issues, lady luck appears to have returned to Verstappen’s side of the Red Bull garage while the energy drinks team have undoubtedly found a second wind, in the latter stages of the season, which has helped the cause.

“The fact that he now has a car which is very competitive has, of course, proved to be extremely helpful, ” conceded Brawn.