FORMULA 1

[MIKA27]

Masi: Onboard shots a "distorted" view of Leclerc/Bottas clash

Formula 1 race director Michael Masi says onboard footage of Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc’s first lap clash in the Hungarian Grand Prix offered a "distorted" view of who was to blame.

Bottas was unhappy after the race over what he said was an "unnecessary" swipe towards him by Leclerc, with the contact having damaged the Finn's front wing and effectively ruined his race.

“When I saw the onboard, and when I saw Vettel’s onboard, it was clear that I was just going straight ahead, he was on the right, and he would have been anyway ahead of me before Turn 4 going straight,” said Bottas.

“But then suddenly he swept across and for me it was too late to react. I love hard racing, that’s for sure, but that was completely unnecessary, and for sure compromised my race.

"He was lucky enough not to get a puncture. That’s not how it should be.”

The incident was looked at by race control but in the end it was decided that neither driver had done anything wrong in the situation.

Masi later explained that it was only an overhead camera shot taken from a helicopter that offered a proper perspective of what happened – and that the indications were that it was Bottas who had moved towards Leclerc.

Asked by Motorsport.com for why it was viewed as a racing incident, Masi said: “There is an element of the first-lap side of it, but there is also the other part that from what I saw, Bottas’ front wing hit Charles’ rear wheel, looking from the helicopter shot. So, there was nothing in it.”

Masi agreed that the onboard footage from Bottas’ car made it look like it was Leclerc had moved, but that was not backed up by the overhead camera.

“I think the onboards distort it slightly, but once you get the helicopter shot then it was pretty clear.”

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

32 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

I'm calling it.... Bottas misses out on next years merc seat and moves to HAAS.

I almost suggested this very thing after the Haas meltdown at Silverstone.  Haas signing Bottas would be a huge move for the team.  Team principal Steiner when talking about the proposed 22 race schedule stating that Haas couldn't financially justify the additional races unless engine allotment stayed at 3. Would Haas be willing to spend the coin to secure Bottas?  With all this talk of Alonso returning to F1, my fear is that Haas desperate to replace Grosjean attempts to lure Alonso back to F1.  

[MIKA27]

22 minutes ago, In-A-Gadda-Davidoff said:

I almost suggested this very thing after the Haas meltdown at Silverstone.  Haas signing Bottas would be a huge move for the team.  Team principal Steiner when talking about the proposed 22 race schedule stating that Haas couldn't financially justify the additional races unless engine allotment stayed at 3. Would Haas be willing to spend the coin to secure Bottas?  With all this talk of Alonso returning to F1, my fear is that Haas desperate to replace Grosjean attempts to lure Alonso back to F1.  

But would Alonso consider HAAS? I mean, they're mid-tier at best and Alonso is too arrogant to think about such a team. Besides, they couldn't afford him

See, that's why I love Kimi. He's been with the big teams, now he is at Alfa and doing an amazing job for the team. If Alonso could accept a similar twilight to his career, that would indeed be awesome. HAAS could get a podium here and there much like Sauber not so long ago or Toro Rosso.

[In-A-Gadda-Davidoff]

2 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

But would Alonso consider HAAS? I mean, they're mid-tier at best and Alonso is too arrogant to think about such a team. Besides, they couldn't afford him

I figure with all that profit pouring in from his own clothing brand that maybe Alonso might sign at discounted rate.?  In all seriousness though,  I'm all for Bottas to Haas.  I figure Mercedes promotes Ocon to avoid him being poached by other teams.  If Haas ditches both Grosjean and Magnussen I'd seriously consider Checo Perez if he is not resigned by Racing Point.

[MIKA27]

MARKO: VERSTAPPEN ESCAPE CLAUSE DEADLINE OVER, HE STAYS

Helmut Marko has confirmed that their shooting star Max Verstappen is definitely staying at Red Bull-Honda in 2020 despite rumours linking the Dutchman to Mercedes.

The 21-year-old prodigy already had a contract beyond this season, but stories over the past days and weeks had suggested that he could defect to the World Champions alongside Lewis Hamilton thanks to a performance-related exit clause.

We reported during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend that the clause expired on race-day Sunday, as long as Verstappen was at least third in the drivers’ championship heading into the summer break.

“The clause was normal because we had a new engine supplier and performance is, of course, important,” Marko said in Budapest.

Now, he told motorsport-magazin.com that after another strong performance for Red Bull and Verstappen in Hungary, the future is definitely set, “Of course that’s nice, but internally we had already agreed that we would continue.”

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ITALIAN MEDIA: FERRARI WERE NEVER IN THE GAME

Team boss Mattia Binotto is expecting Ferrari to speed up again after the summer break despite playing a virtually anonymous role during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

An enthralling race for most of the grid (except them) in which they were comprehensively trounced by their rivals, make that Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“A week ago, we were the fastest car on the track,” Binotto told reporters after Hungary, referring to the previous German Grand Prix where Sebastian Vettel scythed through the field from the back.

But in Hungary, it was Mercedes and Red Bull with clearly superior pace, which was depressing news for many in the partisan Italian media.

“The Reds were never in the game,” La Gazzetta dello Sport declared.

Corriere dello Sport added: “An anonymous performance by Ferrari.”

And La Stampa declared: “Ferrari cannot keep up with the hellish pace of the two phenomena Hamilton and Verstappen.”

Binotto’s explanation is that a “weakness in downforce” and the heat in Budapest contributed to the poor pace last weekend, “I suspect that our performance is highly dependent on the circuit.

“When we get on a circuit like the Hungaroring, where you need maximum downforce, then we suffer but that is no excuse. Our best car finished a minute behind the winner because we’re not strong enough,” Binotto added.

And so the Italian said Ferrari will be working as hard as it can throughout the confines of the summer break and mandatory factory shutdown, “We will take a look at all the data again and then have a few days to recharge our batteries.”

Ferrari is now looking forward to the first races after the break, at high-speed Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, the former also the venue where Vettel last won for them a year ago.

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HORNER: PROBLEM FOR GASLY IS HE’S NOT IN THE TOP GROUP AT ALL

Christian Horner says it is “essential” that Red Bull has two cars near the front of the Formula 1 field while driver chief Helmut Marko has ominously hinted a decision on Pierre Gasly will be made during the current summer break.

And with Max Verstappen currently electrifying the sport, it is clear that he is referring to the Dutchman’s struggling teammate Gasly.

Amid rumours he is about to lose his seat, Gasly recently improved his form but he was struggling once again in Hungary last weekend.

“If we want to have a chance in the constructors’ championship against Ferrari, it is essential that we have two competitive cars,” team boss Horner said. “The problem for Gasly is that he is not in the top group at all.”

He was speaking after the race in Budapest, insisting: “We shouldn’t be fighting against Saubers and McLarens, but Ferraris and Mercedes.”

Gasly’s situation has re-ignited speculation that the 23-year-old’s short career at the top Red Bull team may end imminently.

Some believe Gasly should even be worried about getting a phone call from the notorious Dr Helmut Marko during the next few weeks.

“It’s the summer break now, then we’ll see,” Marko told motorsport-magazin.com.

Horner says Gasly certainly has some thinking to do in August, “During the break, Pierre needs to think about his performances in the first half of the season and draw some conclusions.”

“We plan to leave him in the team until the end of the season, but I would really like to see him achieving better results in our car.”

After winning in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton suggested that his old McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso might be a good next teammate for Verstappen.

“The sport needs the best drivers in the best seats and there is still at least a seat available that’s good enough for winning and he’s good enough for winning so it wouldn’t be such a bad thing,” he said.

On his part, Gasly said after another disappointing Sunday afternoon, It’s good for everyone to have a break now and switch off. I will relax and review the first half of the season

“I will look at what went well and what could have been better so I come back sharper and stronger for the second half and make sure we score more points,” added the unflustered Frenchman.

MIKA: Pierre is a goner IMHO....Dead man walking?

[MIKA27]

DOES F1 NEED A SAUDI ARABIA GRAND PRIX? IT MIGHT GET ONE…

Liberty Media is in talks with Saudi Arabia about a grand prix in the controversial Kingdom for 2021 which could boost the Formula 1 World Championship calendar to 23 rounds.

London’s Times newspaper reveals that talks between Saudi officials and F1’s owner have taken place “several” times.

Correspondent Rebecca Clancy also said the “teams have been asked for their views” about racing in Saudi Arabia, which is often accused of human rights violations.

But the expansion of the currently 21-race calendar to 22 races next year and then even more in 2021 and beyond will also be controversial.

“If you look at 2021, at the moment we are discussing for 24 races,” said Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto.

Claire Williams confirmed: “We are incredibly worried about the prospect of having 24, 25 races on the calendar. Asking the people who work for us to travel as much as that is a huge undertaking.”

“Bringing new parts to 21 races is hard work, bringing new parts to 25 is going to bring even more pressure on our businesses, so that for me is a huge concern.”

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SAINZ: IT WASN’T ON TV? HOW STRANGE

McLaren driver Carlos Sainz was “the invisible man” during the recent Hungarian Grand Prix in which the FOM director and his crew on duty for the race were not on point on an incident-packed afternoon at Hungaroring.

In fact, well-known Spanish journalist Antonio Lobato claims that the Formula 1 broadcaster often fails to show the McLaren driver’s exploits during grands prix.

“No matter what he does, you never see him,” he told El Mundo newspaper.

Indeed, in Hungary, Sainz finished fifth, having successfully fended off constant race-long pressure from Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly. The pair were locked in battle all afternoon, the blue car constantly in DRS range of the orange one.

After the chequered flag on Sunday, reporters had to ask Sainz to describe his tough race against Gasly, who often failed to pass the Spaniard even with DRS.

“It wasn’t on TV? How strange,” said the 24-year-old sarcastically, claiming that he is rarely featured during the grand prix broadcasts.

At any rate, McLaren boss Andreas Seidl is happy with the British team’s progress and told AS, “I really did not expect us to have the fourth fastest car in Hungary.”

In retrospect, the FOM director on duty for the race in Hungary was not in top form as too often he was found following Bottas’ shenanigans and charge through the field when the battle at the front was far more intriguing.

Even the Ferrari duo were hardly in the frame while the bigger picture of the enthralling game of cat-and-mous, Lewis Hamilton at his best and Max Verstappen at his cheekiest, unfolded but apparently, the director and his assistants were oblivious to it.

On the other hand, the tussle between Toro Rosso duo Alex Albon and Daniil Kvyat was well captured, timeously but a look at the re-run on F1TV shows evidence of not quite catching the plot on the global feed.

In general, the entire F1 media machine has been revitalised beyond recognition from the Bernie Ecclestone days, with TV coverage vastly improved in all aspects.

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HAMILTON: [RED BULL] HAVE A WINNING SEAT FOR ALONSO…

Hungarian Grand Prix winner and championship leader Lewis Hamilton believes Red Bull should offer Fernando Alonso a sensational lifeline to return to Formula 1.

Double F1 world champion Alonso, 38, left the sport at the end of last year after he failed to land a top drive.

Hamilton denied Max Verstappen a third win in four races at Hungaroring, but the Dutchman’s Red Bull teammate Pierre Gasly is under increasing pressure for his below-par-performances.

Gasly is 118 points adrift of Verstappen in the standings, and finished a lap down at the Hungaroring, prompting Red Bull team principal Christian Horner to say he “desperately” needs to improve.

Alonso, who tweeted to praise both Hamilton and Verstappen on their fight for victory on Sunday, remains under contract with McLaren.

But the Zak Brown-led outfit have confirmed their line-up for 2020, and they will not stand in Alonso’s way, effectively making him a free agent.

The Spaniard failed to qualify for the Indy 500 earlier this year but he did go on to win his second Le Mans 24-Hours and added the 2018/2019 World Endurance Championship (WEC) title to his CV.

“There is still at least a seat available that’s good enough for winning,” said Hamilton, alluding to Red Bull. “Fernando’s good enough for winning. The sport needs the best drivers in the best seats. Fernando’s always welcome here to battle with us. I’m down to fight whoever.”

Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel were developed through the ranks at Red Bull but there is no driver on their junior programme who the team feel is ready for a promotion. Clearly, they believe Toro Rosso drivers Daniil Kvyat and Alex Albon are not yet ready to step up to partner Max Verstappen.

In July, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko revealed that Alonso’s poor relationship with Honda – following his public criticism of the Japanese manufacturer during their partnership with McLaren – will scupper his chances.

“Alonso’s representatives have let us know that he is available but for Honda, Alonso is something impossible,” explained Marko at the time.

Meanwhile, former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes should sign Alonso alongside Hamilton, with Valtteri Bottas’ future uncertain.

“We should start a petition to get Alonso in that second Mercedes car,” said Rosberg. “Let’s bring him out of retirement and put him in the damn Mercedes next to Lewis. How cool would that be?”

Hamilton starts his summer break with a comfortable 62-point cushion in the championship following his best-ever start to a season. His drive to victory at the Hungaroring was his eighth from 12 rounds this year.

Following his victory, the Englishman said he was still not fully fit after his recent illness and intended to rest up over the next four weeks before the Belgian Grand Prix on September 1.

“In the past, I have gone into this break and I was 100 per cent fit so I could go and party for multiple days,” he said. “But I am not in that place at the moment.

“I might try meditation and a healthier lifestyle. My close friends around me will be doing the same. I’ll be doing a lot more reading. I’m excited about it. I want the second half of the season to be stronger than the first,” added Hamilton.

MIKA: I'd love to see Alonso back in F1 however, Alonso's career paths were his own and he made some horrible impulsive choices.

I can not see Alonso in the second Mercedes. Even if Toto wants that, I'm sure Hamilton has already knocked on his door and spat the dummy on that one as Hamilton wants exclusivity. With Alonso in the team, they simply would implode way more than HAM vs Rosberg.

Now RBR... that's a great idea! But again... unsure how that would play out with Alonso having burnt his bridges with HONDA and his tantrums.

[MIKA27]

Ross Brawn: 'Ferrari badly need a win to boost morale'

Formula 1's managing director of motorsports and former Ferrari team boss, Ross Brawn, believes it's vital the Italian outfit takes the summer break to reset and come back stronger and although he admits their title hopes are all but over, says a race victory is "badly needed" to boost the team's morale.

With more than half the 2019 season run, only Mercedes and Red Bull have scored victories (ten and two respectively), and although Ferrari has come close – it lost out on a win in Bahrain through reliability – Brawn reckons the team have taken steps back in recent races after they finished well adrift of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in Hungary.

"It was a difficult weekend for Ferrari, even if Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finished third and fourth respectively. Finishing more than a minute behind the winner is too big a gap for the team," he said of their performance.

"One knew from the track characteristics that this race would not suit the Ferrari car, but not to the extent we saw, especially in the race. The times from the third sector, where you need maximum downforce, speak volumes, as the car was so far off the pace of the Mercedes and Red Bulls."

Brawn is hopeful that upcoming circuits after the summer break will suit Ferrari better and get them in the hunt for wins, even if the title fight is out of reach.

"The summer break has probably come at just the right time because I’m well aware of how the pressure can build on Ferrari when things aren’t going well.

"It won’t do any harm to take a breather and recharge the batteries. Then, once the racing starts again, the aero requirements of Spa and Monza could put Vettel and Leclerc right in the fight again considering the aero efficiency of their cars.

"Ferrari badly needs a win, not so much for their championship aspirations, but as a morale booster, to prove that it has the potential to be a championship contender, an obligation it has always been under."

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Ricciardo: FIA warning "not enough" for Magnussen in Hungary

Daniel Ricciardo says that Haas Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen deserved more than a warning from the FIA after the Dane made a series of defensive moves in Hungary.
Ricciardo believes that Magnussen was not complying with the protocol on not moving in the braking area, and having initially resisted the urge to do so, the Aussie ultimately complained to his Renault team when Magnussen did it repeatedly.

The Haas pitwall received a warning from race director Michael Masi that was passed on to its driver.

“I let the first two go, I didn’t come on the radio,” Ricciardo told Motorsport.com. “I don’t want to be the guy that literally comes on the radio straight away, I thought I’d let him be aggressive for a bit.

“But then there were a couple where he was moving. I was committing to the inside, and then he was braking and squeezing as much as he could, and then I was I’ve got to say something. For me it was definitely moving under braking, which is the one thing we don’t really appreciate.

Asked if he had spoken to Magnussen after the race, Ricciardo said: “I was going to, and I was advised just to take a few deep breaths, and let it go. It’s alright, it’s racing, but for sure what we drivers agree on and speak with the stewards about, he definitely moved under braking more than twice. I heard he got a warning, but a warning is not enough.”

Ricciardo was the only driver to start the Hungarian GP on the hard tyres, after a power unit grid penalty sent him to the back. He did a marathon 46-lap opening stint, before taking softs for the run to the flag. He eventually finished 14th, still stuck behind Magnussen.

“I hoped for something awesome to happen, but I knew it was going to be a bit frustrating. I think there were moments of some good times, so it wasn’t a complete disaster.

“I was a bit frustrated with Kevin at times, but to be honest when you start at the back that’s what you’re going to get. As opposed to be being frustrated at Kevin, we’ve just got to focus on ourselves. If we qualify Q3 where we should be, then we’ll probably have less of these issues.”

Ricciardo admitted that his long opening stint was tough, but he had to run as long as possible.

“Towards the end it was, I was actually picking up the pace, but also the tyres felt like the fastest I went, the more life I was taking out of them.

“At the end there were pretty big vibrations on the rear. We came in at the right time. The soft was good, but I got into the back of Kevin, and kind of killed them a bit.

“I felt probably 10 laps before that, let’s come in, but I think the make the soft really come alive we had to push it a bit longer. It worked. I think Kevin has magically disappeared we would have been right there on the back of [Alexander] Albon.”

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How Racing Point’s radical upgrades provide a mid-season redesign

One year after the arrival of new owners, the team now called Racing Point turned up at Hungary with the second of a massive three-part car upgrade. Although it did not provide the team with the performance that was hoped for, the car is still in a state of transition between the new model and the old. The team’s financial difficulties under the previous ownership have meant that both the 2018 and ’19 cars were simply refinements of that of 2017, the first year of the new wider body regulations.

The car taking shape at Hockenheim and Hungary (with the third major part of the development set to come in the season’s second half) represents the Andy Green-led technical team’s first real opportunity to develop the car to incorporate some of the cutting-edge ideas developed by other teams during the last couple of seasons.

Racing Point's reconfigured sidepods aim to channel airflow along the sides of the body more effectively

The most visible of these came at Hockenheim with a totally reconfigured sidepod shape, courtesy of a complete repackaging of the cooling system. The aim of this was to bring both aerodynamic and dynamic mechanical advantages. The new pods, foregoing the previous undercut at the front, are now ramped downwards in profile and the undercut section is within the ‘coke bottle’ part of the pod where it tapers inwards at the rear. This is just a different way of accelerating the airflow along the body sides, possibly with greater efficiencies than the more traditional front undercut design. It was a configuration first used at Red Bull.

Without the undercut at the front, it has been possible to lay the radiators at a slightly different angle. They can now stick out more at the bottom (which in itself lowers the centre of gravity height) so as to take up less space at the top, which has allowed the cooling inlet to be reduced in size slightly. The re-alignment and reshaping of the radiators has created the space for the whole cooling package aft of that to be brought forward and/or down. This centralizes the car’s masses and lowers the centre of gravity, both of which should improve the car’s mechanical traits. Centralising the masses will give the car a more instantaneous response in changing direction. Lowering the centre of gravity gives less multiplication of loads upon the tyres under cornering.

New front suspension was introduced for Hungary to improve slow-corner performance

The second part of the upgrade was the new front suspension introduced in Hungary. This features two technologies new to the team: 1) the mounting of the top wishbone on a hub extension to the wheel rather than the hub itself - right circle in drawing above - and 2) the incorporation of an articulated joint in the pushrod (the principle of which was explained here)- left circle in drawing above - allowing the nose of the car to be leveraged downwards past a certain amount of steering lock (as used on slow corners).

The hub extension idea was introduced a couple of years ago by Mercedes and Toro Rosso and allows the top wishbone to be placed in a less aerodynamically disruptive place, which in turn allows the cooling inlets to be sited lower as the airflow is not having to be directed at such an upwards angle to travel over the top of the wishbone, but can be directed beneath it instead.

Part three of the upgrade is expected to be a new nose and front wing, which will give a better airflow link up between the new front suspension and sidepods. This three-part upgrade is essentially a mid-season redesign representing a massive investment of time and resource, underlining the point that the team are now in a much healthier place financially. The fruits of that will hopefully be seen in their performance during the season’s second half.

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SIR JACKIE TO OPEN MUSEUM DEDICATED TO JIM CLARK

Formula 1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart OBE will officially open the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns, Scottish Borders on Thursday 29 August with invited guests from the world of motorsport and the unveiling of a plaque to celebrate the occasion.

The museum honours and charts the life and racing career of the Scottish Borders farmer and double Formula 1 World Champion Jim Clark, who Sir Jackie has always maintained was the finest racing driver he ever competed against and a close personal friend.

More details of the special opening event will be released in the coming weeks, with plans being developed for a static display of Jim Clark and Lotus sports cars and an opportunity for the public to hear Sir Jackie talk about his friendship and racing career with Jim.

The event will start at 12noon and to facilitate the official opening the museum will be closed to the public until 3pm, but will then be open into the evening.

The new museum has seen a major £1.6m redevelopment over the past 15 months following a five year fundraising campaign and has welcomed over 2,000 visitors since opening to the public in mid-July.

Doug Niven, cousin of Jim Clark and Jim Clark Trustee said: “We are delighted that Sir Jackie, Honorary President of The Jim Clark Trust, is able to come to Duns to officially open the new museum. He has given the museum and this project great support and encouragement over many years, for which we are very grateful.

“Given Sir Jackie’s close personal relationship with Jim during their racing careers there’s no doubt that this will be a memorable and moving occasion for all those involved. Jim and Jackie have together helped inspire a generation of success for Scottish motorsport and we hope the new museum can inspire future generations for many years to come.”

The museum, operated by charity Live Borders, for the first time includes two of Jim Clark’s iconic race cars, a Lotus 25 and Lotus Cortina. Displays include a celebration of his life from school days to farming and racing in all forms of motorsport, archive imagery, film footage, memorabilia, a gallery, interactive displays, simulator and shop.

At the heart of the new museum remains the original collection of over 100 trophies from Jim Clark’s incredible career, gifted by his parents James and Helen Clark in 1969, with new interactive interpretation displays.

Andrew Tulloch, Live Borders’ Assistant Curator of the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum, said: “The feedback we’ve had from visitors to the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum has been incredible and we look forward to welcoming Sir Jackie back again to see the new museum for the first time and see for himself the fantastic visitor experience this new facility offers.”

The official opening date of Thursday 29 August has now also been announced by The Jim Clark Trust as the closing date for the Jim Clark Lotus Evora charity competition. The 100,000th Lotus ever built, signed by all 20 current Formula One drivers at this year’s Monaco Grand Prix is available to win for £20 helping to raise funds for the Trust and new museum www.jimclarklotus.com

Adult admission to the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum costs just £5 with visitors able to return as often as they like for free for the following 12 months. There is a small additional cost for the simulator. For more information, visit www.jcmm.org.uk

The original Jim Clark Memorial Room opened in 1969 and was refurbished in 1993 for the 25th anniversary of Jim’s death in 1968, also with Sir Jackie’s support. Now, 50 years on from the initial opening, the significantly expanded and exciting new museum aims to attract thousands of visitors to Duns.

The museum project is a partnership between Scottish Borders Council, Live Borders and The Jim Clark Trust, with funding from the partners and National Lottery Heritage Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Fallago Environment Fund. Public support and donations have been received from across Scotland, the UK and around the world.

Jim Clark won the Formula One championship in 1963, becoming the then youngest ever World Champion. He followed it up with victory again in 1965 and in the same year won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 in America. He remains the only driver to have won both the Formula One and Indy 500 titles in the same year.

Clark tragically died at Hockenheim in Germany at the age of just 32. He was much admired for his modesty and humility alongside his remarkable natural ability in all forms of motor racing. He is still considered one of the greatest ever racing drivers and remains to this day one of Scotland’s most admired sporting heroes.

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SALO: BOTTAS HAS THE SPEED BUT THE BAD RACES HURT HIM

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas is in real danger of losing his seat with the dominant World Champion team for 2020, according to fellow Finn and former F1 driver Mika Salo.

Team boss Toto Wolff has said he will spend the August break weighing up whether to keep Bottas for a fourth season or promote young reserve Esteban Ocon instead.

Salo, who is also an F1 steward and works for Sergey Sirotkin’s sponsor SMP, told the Finnish broadcaster MTV that Wolff’s deliberations coincide with an unfortunate slump for Bottas a five-time grand prix winner.

“In F1, you’re only as good as your last race,” explained Salo. “Valtteri has had two really bad races now. He has the speed, but the bad races hurt him. The start of his season was good. Valtteri was like a completely different person. But the last few races have been bad again.”

However, former Ferrari and Toyota driver Salo admits that he isn’t sure what Wolff’s ultimate decision will be, “Only the team knows. I don’t even know if a decision has already been taken or not.”

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SEIDL: WE WANT TO HELP SAINZ BEAT GASLY IN F1 TITLE RACE

McLaren is targeting a coveted sixth place in the 2019 drivers’ world championship with Carlos Sainz in an era in which Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull dominate the top six places, the most any other driver can realistically expect from a race and championship is the ‘Best of the Rest’ – seventh.

But Sainz, who this year regularly tops in what has become Formula 1.5, is now just five points behind Red Bull’s struggling second driver Pierre Gasly.

“The only driver he can reach is Gasly and we will try to make it happen,” McLaren boss Andreas Seidl told AS newspaper.

“Although the Red Bull is a significantly faster car than ours, and it will be difficult, we will not stop trying,” he added.

Seidl, who is McLaren’s new team boss, admits he has been impressed with Sainz in 2019. But he stopped short of saying Red Bull was wrong to let him go.

“I can’t judge what happened in the past, but we are happy with the two drivers we have,” he said, also referring to Lando Norris. “That’s why we announced them so soon for 2020.”

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LAMMERS PLAYS DOWN ZANDVOORT ISSUES AHEAD OF 2020 F1 RACE

Dutch Grand Prix boss Jan Lammers has played down suggestions Formula 1’s return to Zandvoort in 2020 is in doubt despite ticket demand issues and environmentalists ramping up their protests.

Organisers revealed recently that, thanks to Max Verstappen’s success and popularity, a million people registered to get tickets for the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985.

But this week, an organisation called Rust Bij De Kust – whose motto says locals are “Tired of racing noise in the dunes and in your backyard” – indicated that it will step up its efforts to disrupt plans for the 2020 race.

According to BNR Nieuwsradio, the group intends to object to Zandvoort’s planning applications to upgrade the circuit, which could mean the circuit runs out of time to be ready for 2020.

“The last thing Rust Bij de Kust wants is rest,” Zandvoort spokesman Lammers, a former Formula 1 driver, told the Dutch publication Formule 1.

He said race organisers are not worried about the efforts to disrupt the plans for 2020, “We have commitments from the municipality, from the region and from The Hague that they are flexible and positive with regard to granting us permits.

“We assume that the government will deliver on its agreements. Secondly, I think the government has a duty of care to an event where 315,000 people want to go.”

But Lammers also said race organisers have planned ahead for potential road-blocks, “It’s like driving to work – you expect to have to stop at some red lights.”

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BEIN SLAMS F1 INTEREST IN SAUDI ARABIA AMID TV SPORTS RIGHTS THEFT

A Qatari broadcaster has slammed Formula 1 for contemplating a grand prix in Saudi Arabia who they accuse of stealing sports TV rights from the company that broadcasts prime events extensively in the region.

This week, it emerged that Liberty Media is in talks with the powerful Kingdom for what would be a race on a novel street circuit. One rendering depicts the F1 cars racing underneath a clear-bottomed swimming pool.

The Saudi talks were already controversial given the state’s human rights record, but now they are also under fire by Qatar broadcaster BeIN Media Group.

F1 is currently shown on TV in the region by MBC Group, a Saudi broadcaster, but only after BeIN pulled out after claiming its feed was being pirated by a company called BeoutQ.

A spokesman for BeIN told GP247, “It is curious that in the same few weeks that the UK Government, FIFA, the Premier League, Wimbledon and others stand up to condemn Saudi Arabia’s rampant theft of sports rights, Formula 1 continues to turn a blind eye.

“This is not only commercially self-harming given the broadcast feeds of Formula 1’s global broadcast partners – including Sky, ESPN, Fox and Channel 4 – are widely available for free on BeOutQ’s IPTV function; but it is also remarkably short-sighted given every day that BeOutQ exists, Formula 1’s rights are worthless.

“Illegal broadcast piracy is the biggest threat to the sports & entertainment industry and Saudi Arabia’s BeOutQ is pouring petrol on the problem. Most sports organisations are trying to do something about this epidemic; Formula 1 is only encouraging it,” concluded the statement.

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Only 'gargantuan f**k up' would open up 2019 F1 title race - Red Bull

Red Bull would need a “gargantuan f**k up” by Mercedes to stand any chance of contending for the 2019 title, according to team boss Christian Horner.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has been the in-form driver through the last four races, taking victory in Austria and Germany, and the runner-up spot in Hungary.

Verstappen, though, is still 69 points behind reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton – winner of eight races this year – while Mercedes holds a 150-point gap to Ferrari, and a further 44 over Red Bull.

Horner stressed that Mercedes is highly unlikely to be beaten to either title and underlined that Red Bull is still regarding 2019 as a “building year” with new partner Honda.

“I think Lewis is now over 70 points ahead, which is close to a three-race advantage with nine to go,” said Horner.

“So basically Lewis would have to not turn up for three races, if his cough comes back or something or he gets athlete’s foot, it’s hugely unlikely.

“They would have to f**k up by gargantuan proportions not to win this championship.

“But our target for the rest of the year is to close that gap at races [such as Hungary] and hopefully some races will work out the other way around for us like they did [in Germany], and as we get more performance on the car, Honda make progress, this is very much a building year as we got to 2020.”

Horner also confirmed that Red Bull is likely to take on grid drops at stages throughout the remainder of the year, as Honda continues on its aggressive development path.

“We are not in the Constructors’ championship, we are a significant way off in the Drivers’ championship,” said Horner.

“So if there is a way to introduce new engines in the second half of the year that bring more performance and therefore more learning, then absolutely [we will take penalties].”

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Mexico poised to announce new multi-year grand prix deal

Mexico is set to remain on the Formula 1 calendar beyond the end of 2019, with a new multi-year deal to be formally signed on Thursday.

Mexico returned to the championship in 2015, following a 23-year absence, but its current contract will expire after this October’s event.

The withdrawal of public funding had threatened the event but on Wednesday the city’s mayor, who assumed office in December, confirmed that a contract will be signed on Thursday.

Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum also confirmed that the race will avoid the use of public funding, with the event set to be paid for privately.

The Mexican Grand Prix has been one of the best-attended, and most popular, on the calendar since its return in 2015, aided by the presence of local hero Sergio Perez.

The event’s official Twitter feed confirmed that “Mexico City will continue to host the #F1ESTA” and promised further details on Thursday.

A deal of at least three years, with an option for five, is set to be revealed.

Mexico is therefore set to be one of 22 events on an expanded 2020 schedule.

Vietnam and the Netherlands will join the roster while Mexico’s impending renewal joins Britain on the list of out-of-contract 2019 races that will stay for 2020 and beyond.

Italy has already reached an agreement in principle while Spain is poised to receive a one-year extension after the green light was given by the Catalan government.

Of the current grands prix Germany is set to be dropped.

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Romain Grosjean: Haas needs to improve VF-19 reliability

Romain Grosjean says reliability is one area Haas has to focus on across the rest of 2019, in the wake of another retirement, this time at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Haas has struggled for race performance through this season with its perplexing VF-19, which has prompted its drivers to run different car specifications across the past three events.

Grosjean has been driving a Melbourne-spec car while team-mate Kevin Magnussen has run with the latest updates.

But reliability has also been one factor to hinder the team’s progress, with Grosjean failing to reach the chequered flag on six occasions this year, completing the fewest laps of any driver.

“It’s a hard season, it’s been good in terms of understanding the car and what we need to do,” said Grosjean post-race in Hungary.

“Obviously we need to do better work in getting the car to the chequered flag as I think 50 per cent of the races we retired. We need to improve that.

“But I think in terms of understanding the car it’s been good, rough, because the performance has not been there, but good.”

Grosjean had already slipped out of contention for the points in Hungary by the time a suspected water pressure issue struck his VF-19.

“In the first stint I was keeping everyone behind and looking after my tyres,” said Grosjean.

“We made an early stop for the Hard. That was not a good tyre to be on. We saw with Max [Verstappen] at the end there was no grip.

“Soft/Medium was the right strategy but because we didn’t try much on Friday we didn’t have much idea. We fitted the Hard, but with blue flags and so on we could tell there was no grip and it was going to be long.”

MIKA: Perhaps Grosjean needs to look at his own reliability to bring the car home in the points, before he throws stones at the team...

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Kimi Raikkonen: Alfa Romeo maximised potential for best '19 result

Kimi Raikkonen believes Alfa Romeo extracted the most it could from its C38 as he capped the opening half of 2019 with another points finish in Hungary.

Raikkonen secured a Q3 spot at the Hungaroring and moved past Romain Grosjean early on, before capitalising from Lando Norris’ slow pit stop and the out-of-sync Valtteri Bottas to take seventh.

It equalled Raikkonen’s best result of his tenure with Alfa Romeo, having also classified in seventh in Bahrain and France, as well as in Germany prior to the team’s penalty.

“For sure we got the best out of the car, we had a little bit more speed than McLaren at the beginning of the race, but it’s very difficult to overtake,” said Raikkonen.

“The only thing we could have maybe done better would have been to stop one lap earlier, to keep the Red Bull behind.

“Obviously we also gained the place from one of the McLaren and after the pit stop I just took care of the tyres and then I pushed in the end, again.

“The car was good, we just need to make it faster but we did what we could.”

Raikkonen sits eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, with 31 points, second only to McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. in the unofficial midfield standings.

“I think we started the season quite well, for sure there were things we could have done a bit better here and there,” Raikkonen said.

“Then we had quite a difficult moment for something like four races and since then we’ve done the right things, improving, and the car is not bad when we can fight against the McLaren.

“Later on in the season we’re going to get new parts and we should improve again and from that side I’m happy.

“Obviously for a small team it takes longer than in the bigger teams, but the things are working when we bring them.”

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Steiner: Nothing wrong with Magnussen's defensive driving

Haas boss Gunther Steiner says he does not understand the fuss made over Kevin Magnussen's defensive driving in the Hungarian Grand Prix after it earned the Dane a warning from race control.

Magnussen was robust in holding off Daniel Ricciardo as they battled it out for 13th, but the way he sometimes moved across the track in the braking zones led his Renault rival to complain over the radio.

With race control having been alerted about what was going on, it duly informed Haas to warn them that what its driver was doing could not continue – and a short message was passed on Magnussen.

While Ricciardo thinks Magnussen deserved more than just a warning for his behaviour, Steiner says he did not see that much wrong with what his driver did.

"Race control said he has to stop to move under braking, and that was it," said. Steiner. "And because there is another driver who does it all the time and gets away with it, that was our answer!

"I think we had a good battle going on for 13th and 14th, otherwise the TV was pretty boring."

While Haas notified Magnussen of the warning from race control, it did not issue any orders or advice itself on what to do – even though that opened the door to potential trouble if there were repeat incidents.

"We decided to risk even penalty or getting to the stewards, because I think in the end we are here to race, and I don't think it was dangerous or anything," added Steiner.

"The battle was about nothing anyway, so at least it was a good show. And I think they had a good fight.

"For sure, Ricciardo is not happy about it, but I don't think Kevin did anything, you know, exaggerated. It's like he was trying to keep his position, so I think everybody enjoyed it."

F1 race director Michael Masi said that the issue the FIA had with Magnussen's behaviour was there were a number of moves that were questionable.

"There was a warning for the team about the consistency of it," said Masi. "It was not that it was a one off, but it was the repeat part of it."

Masi said the FIA had acted as a response to a call from drivers to stamp out instances of moving under braking.

Asked about what was and was not allowed, Masi said: "There is a one movement allowed generally to protect your line, but the movement under braking is something that the drivers, from Bahrain, when we had our meeting with them all, it was something that they wanted – particularly if it was constant - us to crack down on."

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Hamilton: Verstappen "very respectful" in Hungarian GP battle

Lewis Hamilton has praised Max Verstappen for his "respectful" driving during their battle in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton admitted that he relished the thought of a fight with the Dutchman, having rarely had to chance to go wheel-to-wheel with him over the last few seasons.

The world champion failed in his initial attempt to get by the Red Bull driver, when the pair gave each other racing room, but he later made it past after a stop for new tyres gave him the opportunity to catch up as Verstappen struggled for grip.

"It's important to see firstly the respect level between us I think was out there, really respectful driving, and I hope to continue that," said Hamilton.

"As soon as I got into second I was. 'OK, this whole battle we've been talking about me and Max having, we're going to have that today.'

"It was really awesome. He put the car in some good places, I gave him space and more today, but really that's from a mindset, we're fighting slightly different.

Hamilton hinted that they both might be more aggressive if the world championship was at stake.

"If we were fighting on the same points maybe it would have been a lot more aggressive.

"But there was no need for that, and it was really just making sure that when you finally pull off an overtaking manoeuvre it's a clean, full sweep by."

Hamilton was pleased to see Red Bull create some excitement by putting pressure on Mercedes in recent races.

"I really am really happy, particularly after a period of time where everyone so negative, talking about the sport, then all of a sudden we've had this big step up from Red Bull, and now we've got a really good battle on our hands, and it looks like it's here to stay.

"I think Ferrari will come back into play in some of these long, long races like Spa and Monza, where they're quick on the straights and there's not a lot of corners. Those places I think they'll be really, really strong.

"Obviously Spa has corners, but you know, that bodes well for them. Red Bull as I say has been doing great, I hope their performance continues, and I really, really hope we have more battles like today.

"And also today was one of those races where not everything was done on track, it was also a combination of really great team work and strategy, how we worked together.

"I understood my strategy fully, all the options we had, I questioned a lot of the things we had this morning, and to be able to play together, work together, was the ultimate testament of team work."

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FORMULA 1 CONFIRMS MEXICO CITY FOR THREE MORE YEARS

Mexico will stay on the Formula 1 calendar for three more years after a new contract was signed on Thursday, with the sport set to expand to a record 22 races next season.

Formula 1 management said the race would change its name to the Mexico City Grand Prix from 2020 to emphasise the support of the city authorities.

“It’s an honour to announce that we will carry out this event in Mexico City until 2022,” Formula One chairman and CEO Chase Carey told a news conference.

Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement that the agreement was based on a new financing model without the use of public resources.

“The Mexico City government will be an intermediary, creating a trust that will raise the private investment required to deliver this international event,” she said. Ticket prices will remain unchanged.

Confirmation of Mexico means the 2020 calendar is set to expand from 21 races, with new ones in Vietnam and the Netherlands while only Germany is set to drop off.

Teams agreed to the extension at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

Mexico’s future had looked uncertain earlier in the year, with president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador saying in February that state funds would in future go towards a tourist train project being planned in the south of the country.

Mexico returned to the grand prix calendar in 2015 after a 23-year absence.

The race, scheduled for Oct. 27 this year at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit and paired with the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, is organised by CIE and has won the governing FIA’s award for best event for the past four seasons.

It was also the race where Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, now a five-times world champion, clinched the title in 2017 and 2018.