FORMULA 1

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Stoffel Vandoorne opens up on 'unfair' time at McLaren and 'fake' F1

Stoffel Vandoorne has opened up on his time at McLaren when he was paired with two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso.

The Belgian made the step up to F1 in 2017 – bar a one-off appearance in '16 – having won the GP2 Championship in '15 and many expected he would have a long and successful career in the sport, but having joined McLaren during its low point he struggled to prove his talents and after two seasons was ousted.

Vandoorne was a match for Alonso in his debut season but struggled to perform on the same level in '18 and now admits he felt unfairly treated, with senior members of McLaren favouring his Spanish team-mate.

"I never had any problems with him [Alonso]," Vandoorne told Sporza.be. "But he always got what he wanted. There were always two, three well-placed people in the team who made sure everything went the way Fernando wanted it to be.

"The team gave him all the support and power. Every driver would have benefited from extra equipment to perform better than his team-mate.

"On paper I never finished in front of Alonso, but of all his team-mates I came closest, even just behind him. McLaren never told me not to finish in front of him, but they asked me in the race to let him pass. They almost always did that."

Vandoorne switched to Formula E following his F1 exit and now races with Mercedes-Benz EQ. He says the series is "the future" and allows drivers to get away from the politics of F1 and focus on "pure racing".

"It's [F1] a bit of a fake world in which everyone gets along well, but above all have their own interests to defend.

"In Formula E, Le Mans or the WEC endurance races you will find pure racing right now. You come here to race, not to do politics.

"Formula 1 remains the largest championship, Formula E is just below that. It is one of the most competitive championships I have already competed in. It's the future. That's why you see more and more car manufacturers."

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Cost the biggest factor to Honda remaining in F1 after 2020

Honda has said cost remains the biggest factor in deciding whether or not it will continue to take part in Formula 1 as an engine supplier after the 2020 season.

The Japanese manufacturer has an agreement with Red Bull for 2020, but after next season its future remains unclear, although a decision is expected imminently with the FIA's deadline for confirmation approaching.

Honda returned to F1 with McLaren in 2015 but endured a tough time which eventually resulted in the two parties splitting. Honda came close to dropping out but a deal was struck with Toro Rosso for 2018 and sister team Red Bull followed in 2019 as Honda's performance edged closer to its rivals.

It claimed its maiden podium since returning at the very first race in Australia, followed by nine further podiums in 2019 – two with Toro Rosso – of which three have been race wins thanks to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

But Honda's F1 managing director Masashi Yamamoto says race wins aren't enough to secure the manufacturer's future in the sport.

"We have started to calculate how much it will cost with the future regulations," Yamamoto told Autosport.

"We have noticed that it's very tough for all the car manufacturers at the moment, because of the environment change for electrification. So, we are summing up the development cost and having discussions internally."

Asked what was the biggest hurdle to overcome, he added: "Cost is the biggest issue. It's positive to have good results, but more important thing is a balance with the cost. We have to put lots of budget to accelerate our development to catch up the top runners.

"Now we are planning how to maintain current condition and reducing the cost at the same time."

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Abiteboul: Out-going Hulkenberg ‘instrumental’ in Renault progress

The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set to be Nico Hulkenberg’s 62nd and final outing with Renault, as the team prepare to field Esteban Ocon in his place for 2020. But ahead of their last race together, Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul paid tribute to the German’s contribution during his three-season stint with the Anglo-French squad.

Hulkenberg joined Renault in 2017, a year after their return as a works outfit. And with the team having finished ninth of 11 in the 2016 constructors’ standings, Hulkenberg helped them to a sixth-placed finish in 2017, while in 2018, the squad beat Haas to take fourth place.

And although 2019 has seen Renault superseded by McLaren as the dominant midfield force – and despite Renault making the call midway through 2019 to run Ocon, rather than Hulkenberg, alongside Ricciardo for 2020, putting Hulkenberg’s F1 future in doubt – Abiteboul was full of praise for the German’s efforts going into the Abu Dhabi season finale.

“[Nico’s] contribution has been instrumental in our reconstruction and progression,” said Abiteboul. “We have harnessed his experience and ability to deliver strong results and he has played an important role in Renault’s Formula 1 journey. We want to ensure we end our time together with the best result possible.”

Hulkenberg appears unlikely to secure a drive in Formula 1 for 2020, with the second seat at Williams the only one up for grabs, and seemingly set to be filled by Canadian Nicholas Latifi.

But putting aside his disappointment at losing his seat, Hulkenberg revealed that he had enjoyed his time with Renault, while lamenting some “nearly” moments – most notably when he crashed out of podium contention at this year’s German Grand Prix, in what would have been his first ever rostrum appearance.

“It’s been three memorable years for me at Renault,” he said. “There have been highs and lows, but I’ve enjoyed my time as a driver here. We’ve had some great results and some ‘nearly’ moments, all of which I’ll remember for a very long time.

“We have one more to go and we’ll be giving it our all for the best possible result.”

Renault need to keep their foot on the gas in Abu Dhabi to avoid losing their current fifth place in the constructors’ standings, with Toro Rosso just eight points adrift, thanks in part to Pierre Gasly’s sensational second place-finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix last time out.

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Honda commits to F1, Red Bull and Toro Rosso for 2021

Honda has confirmed that it will continue to participate in Formula 1 in the 2021 season, announcing on Wednesday that it has extended its relationship with Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Honda returned to Formula 1 in 2015 after a six-year absence as it aligned itself with McLaren, with the parties keen to restore the title-winning partnership of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

But a series of reliability and performance issues plagued the collaboration and the duo split at the end of 2017, with Honda linking up with Toro Rosso.

Honda’s early progress in 2018 convinced Red Bull to ditch Renault and take a supply of the Japanese marque’s power units for 2019.

It marked the first time in the hybrid era that Honda had supplied multiple teams.

Max Verstappen scored a podium on the first appearance for the Red Bull-Honda alliance in Australia and claimed its maiden victory in Austria.

Verstappen added another win in Britain before going on to score a third triumph at the most recent event in Brazil, achieved from his second pole of the campaign.

Honda had been weighing up whether to stay in Formula 1 beyond the end of its current contract, which expired at the end of 2020, but on Wednesday confirmed its participation for 2021.

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Mercedes looking to prove a point after Brazil 'underperformance'

Mercedes are looking to prove a point at the season closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix according to team boss Toto Wolff.

Wolff was absent from the Brazilian Grand Prix – the first race he's failed to attend since 2013 – and described the team's performance as "disappointing" after Valtteri Bottas retired with an engine failure and Lewis Hamilton was demoted from third to seventh with a penalty.

Wolff says the entire race was analysed after to ensure the same mistakes aren't repeated, particularly a strategy call on Hamilton's side of the garage which meant he pitted under a late Safety Car when he probably shouldn't have.

"Brazil was a disappointing race for us; we did not have the fastest car on track and we lost a lot of points owing to our own mistakes.

"We analysed what went wrong, both in terms of our reliability and our decisions during the race, to make sure we don't repeat them."

The team are keen to put that behind them this weekend and sign off on what has been a very successful 2019 campaign for Mercedes.

"It was a good learning experience for the entire team and something that will make us stronger in the long run," added the Austrian.

"The underperformance in Brazil means we head to Abu Dhabi with a point to prove.

"The race is one last opportunity for us to add another victory to the record of the W10 and it's one more chance to put on a great show for the fans before the winter break.

"We're looking forward to the fight because we know that in Formula 1, you're only as good as your last result.

"This season has been a real rollercoaster for us. We've seen great on-track battles and we've loved the competition.

"We are very proud that we came out on top and managed to put the Mercedes name in the history books of Formula 1 with our sixth consecutive double title."

But there have been some tough moments for the team and for the motorsport community as a whole, which Wolff alluded to.

"Iit's been an incredibly hard year where we had to say goodbye to too many friends. We were hit hard by the passing of Charlie, Niki and Anthoine, as well as important members from our team who we have tragically lost this year.

"At Mercedes, Niki left a void that we will never be able to replace - as a source of inspiration, as a voice of reason, but most importantly as a great friend. We hope we did you proud, Niki."

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Seidl will make sure McLaren stays "humble" despite strong year

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl says his staff must not get complacent this winter that its impressive 2019 campaign means it is a given it will do even better next year.
The Woking-based outfit sealed fourth place in the constructors' championship with a podium finish for Carlos Sainz in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Its target now is to make further progress and close down the gap to the top three teams ahead of the major rules shake-up that is coming for 2021.

But with Renault having had similar ambitions this season before falling back thanks to a rollercoaster of a campaign, Seidl is well aware about how much work his team still needs to do if it is going to deliver.

"We have high targets and definitely medium term we want to close the gap to the top teams and fight for podiums and race wins again," he said.

"At the same time, we need to be realistic of what is achievable from one year to the next one.

"We have a lot of respect for the top three teams and what they're doing. But at the same time I make sure also within the team that we keep up this respect for every other team that we are fighting with at the moment, because everybody's trying hard to year by year to improve.

"All of these teams that are in the paddock have great people working for them and great talents. So it's a very complex sport. This is why you can never take something for granted.

"It's important to stay humble, keep our heads down, and not get carried away with the step we could make from last year to this year. We have to simply keep working hard in order to make sure we become better as a team."

Seidl said that there was no silver bullet that was going to help McLaren move to the front beyond focus and lifting its game.

"We need to develop a quicker race car, develop our processes and our methodologies," he added. "We need to get all the pieces in place over the next months and years which we think are important to, to get back up again.

"For sure, the '21 regulations coming into place, especially a budget cap will help us, but still especially the three teams in front of us they're simply there because they do a better job. And there's no automatic mechanism that gets us there."

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Honda's "big step forward" main factor in Toro Rosso gains

Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost has credited Honda with the uplift in form that his team has enjoyed in recent races.
The Faenza-based outfit has closed to within eight points of Renault in the fight for fifth place in the constructors’ championship following Pierre Gasly’s shock runner-up finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

And with the team close to delivering what could be its best season in F1, Tost has no doubt that its progress owes more to what Honda has achieved this year than anything else.

“The Red Bull partnership helped us at the beginning of the season with the suspension, because we took over the suspension and everything from them,” said Tost. “But during the season, there's not much [we can do] with the synergy because of the regulations.

“It was the aero updates which helped us, and Honda made a big step forward. It was primarily Honda. With the spec four engine and with fuel, which they brought at Suzuka. This helped us to improve the performance.”

While Honda still appears to be behind Ferrari and Mercedes with its qualifying engine modes, Tost thinks that in race trim the balance of power is very different.

And he thinks the way in which Gasly was able to outdrag Lewis Hamilton out of the final corner in the Brazilian GP highlighted the lower downforce his car operates with.

“The key was the Honda power in the race, because Honda is really very strong in the race and our downforce level, we simply had less downforce than others because we were much faster than other cars,” explained Tost.

“And this helped us. But once more, you have to take care for the tyres in the infield. Otherwise it doesn't help you. And this worked very well, I must say.”

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Ferrari: Vettel, Leclerc aware Brazil crash "not acceptable"

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc are aware their Brazilian Grand Prix clash is "not acceptable", having met with both drivers in the following week.
The pair clashed on the Interlagos circuit’s back straight late in the Brazil race, Vettel having moved over on Leclerc as he tried to get back ahead following an aggressive overtake from the Monegasque.

Though the contact was relatively minor, both drivers retired as a result, leading Ferrari to leave the Brazilian Grand Prix empty-handed.

Binotto refused to publicly apportion blame for the crash but called it a “silly action” and vowed to examine it in detail at the team’s factory in Maranello.

Asked in a video Q&A session ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi whether clear-the-air talks had taken place, Binotto said: “Yes, we did it – we did it the Sunday after the race, but we did it as well the following days, during the week.

“We discussed together, all three together, individually, and I think that they understand what happened was not acceptable. And we know how to move forward.”

Binotto has reiterated his belief that his drivers have a better relationship than has been speculated in the aftermath of some intra-team controversies in 2019 – namely Leclerc ignoring instructions during qualifying in Monza, Vettel beating his teammate to a Singapore win through strategy and Vettel refusing to honour a pre-race agreement to yield the lead during the Russian Grand Prix.

Despite the major tensions in Sochi, Binotto said he could see the drivers immediately at ease with each other the following race weekend in Suzuka.

“The truth is they have fun together, as they enjoy a good and harmonious relationship, which is maybe quite different to what you might read or think,” he said. “You could think that they are in conflict on the track, but that is not the case.

“For example, I remember that after the controversy in Russia, the three of us were together in a restaurant in Japan, having fun. They even grabbed each other’s phones to see what photos they had on them.

“It’s always fun and it’s nice that they enjoy each other’s company.”

Binotto also referred to his two drivers as “good team players” - and, when answering a question about lessons learned in 2019, he expressed a belief that Ferrari’s team spirit had grown stronger.

“I think team spirit is very important, making sure that we are all boosting and delivering in our best. So, really, team spirit is I think what we improved all this year, and [it] will be of benefit for next year.”

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FORM GUIDE: The favourites for pole, points and victory in Abu Dhabi

It’s time to face the final curtain of the 2019 season. Ahead of what could be an emotional finale for a number of drivers, here’s who we expect to get the job done at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Who’s the top tip for pole?

Of all the tracks on the F1 calendar, Mercedes’ record at the Yas Marina Circuit in the post-2014 turbo-hybrid era is arguably the most impressive. Every pole position. Every win. Five straight front-row lock-outs, the longest streak by any team at one venue.

Pure form, then, dictates that one of either Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas will do the business on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, with the other starting alongside. Hamilton has the most poles of any driver on the grid here with four, although only two of those were taken with Mercedes, in 2016 and 2018, while Hamilton now hasn’t taken a pole position since the German Grand Prix in July. Bottas, meanwhile, was on pole in 2017, meaning the pair are tied 1-1 for poles here in their time together at Mercedes.

Hope springs eternal though, and with both Ferrari and Red Bull having undone similar Mercedes pole streaks this year, in Belgium and Japan in Ferrari’s case, and Brazil in Red Bull’s, there’s always room in F1 for a bit of an upset.

If that upset’s to come from anywhere, though, expect Ferrari to be at the front of the queue. True, the team have never, ever been on the front row in Abu Dhabi. But the SF90 is now almost certainly the most aerodynamically efficient car on the grid this year – useful on Yas Marina’s 1.14-km straight – while those aerodynamics have also been honed by the team to make the car better in the twisty stuff too, which should pay dividends in Abu Dhabi’s street circuit-like Sector 3.

Max Verstappen, on the other hand, has started sixth on the grid for the last three seasons here, so the odds look pretty long on him taking his second pole in as many races.

FAN VIEW: Brazilian Grand Prix winner Max Verstappen's roller coaster season looks set to end on a high point according to F1 Play gamers. One in five entrants think he'll win in Abu Dhabi, and two-thirds have picked the Red Bull man to fill one of the three podium slots.

Who’s looking good for the win?

As with poles, Hamilton and Bottas are once again tied 1-1 for wins here during their time together as Mercedes team mates – although overall, Hamilton is a four-time Abu Dhabi winner. And with the polesitter having won the race here for the past four seasons – and the race having been won from the front row at all bar one of the 10 Abu Dhabi Grands Prix so far – Mercedes’ qualifying form here bodes well for the race-day chances of Messrs Hamilton and Bottas.

‘But can anyone stop them?!’ we hear you cry as one. Well, Sebastian Vettel is a three-time winner at Yas Marina. But crucially, those wins all came when he was armed with arguably the best car on the grid, a Red Bull, in 2009, 2010 and 2013. His current Ferrari team, on the other hand, have led just 11 out of the 550 laps ever contested at Abu Dhabi – that’s three less than Williams have managed.

So once, again, if you’re not a Mercedes driver, form suggests that your race-winning prospects look pretty bleak this weekend. Still, Kimi Raikkonen managed to beat the might of Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari et al to win for Lotus in 2012 (proving conclusively in the process that he did, indeed, know what to do), so upsets can happen here.

FAN VIEW: Lewis Hamilton's Brazilian Grand Prix ended with a broken front wing and a post-race time penalty, but he's the favourite to take victory in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. More than half of F1 Play gamers have picked the champion to win Sunday's race.

Who’s a podium outsider?

The podium has been the exclusive domain of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull since 2015, meaning that, if Mercedes’ traditional dominance here is repeated in 2019, it will most likely be the four Ferrari and Red Bull drivers gunning for that final podium spot on Sunday evening.

All four have legitimate Abu Dhabi experience on their CVs too: Max Verstappen took Red Bull’s first podium in Abu Dhabi since 2013 last time F1 raced here; Vettel is, as mentioned, a three-time race winner at Yas Marina; Charles Leclerc finished an excellent seventh here in a Sauber last year; and Alex Albon podiumed in F2 in 2017, finishing second to Leclerc in the Sprint Race.

All four also have scores to settle in Abu Dhabi, with Leclerc needing to score 11 more points than Verstappen to finish third in the championship, Vettel needing 19 more than Leclerc if he’s to finish fourth, while Albon needs to outscore Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly by 11 points to claim P6.

FAN VIEW: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has seen only one Safety Car deployment in six races. But three in five F1 Play gamers expect the silver AMG Mercedes to be called into action during the race on Sunday.

Who’ll hoover up any points on offer?

It was Nico Hulkenberg who brought out the above Safety Car, when he rather spectacularly rolled his Renault after a touch with Romain Grosjean. A shame, that, as it upset a terrific run of form here for the German, who since 2014, had finished either sixth or seventh at Yas Marina. He’ll be keen for another strong finish this year too, in what could well be his final Grand Prix, as Renault look to shore up their fifth place in the constructors’ standings (they’re currently eight points ahead of Toro Rosso).

The Hulk’s former Force India team mate Sergio Perez is another driver with great form at Yas Marina, having finished in the points here every year since 2013, with a best result of fifth in 2015.

Meanwhile, George Russell won here in Formula 2 last year, and would love to get points on his first F1 visit here, to stop him from being the only 2019 driver to fail to score – while team mate Robert Kubica will also be in the mood for a good race, as the curtain seemingly comes down on his laudable F1 comeback.

Expect a strong final showing of the year, too, from the McLaren pair. An excellent season from the Woking team means they’ve already cemented fourth place, their best finish in a championship since 2012. And after the highs of Carlos Sainz’s maiden podium in Brazil, the team will now look to carry their strong momentum through the Abu Dhabi race and into the winter months.

FAN VIEW: Carlos Sainz took his first ever podium finish on his 101st F1 start in Brazil, and the Spaniard has been backed again by F1 Play entrants. He features in 46% of selections in his driver group comprising McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, the two Renaults, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly, Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez in the Racing Point.

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Lewis Hamilton takes lights-to-flag victory in Abu Dhabi F1 season finale

Lewis Hamilton ended his title-winning Formula 1 season by dominating the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Max Verstappen overcame a problem to pass Charles Leclerc and finish second.
Hamilton's 11th victory of the year, his joint-best haul in a single campaign, was never in doubt as he comfortably led from pole position, aided by Leclerc getting ahead of Verstappen on the first lap.

Verstappen executed a long first stint then caught and forced his way past Leclerc to secure second and finish a career-best third in the drivers' championship.

Poleman Hamilton streaked clear immediately at the start, as Leclerc used the slipstream to get ahead of Verstappen on the second of the two back straights.

The race remained stagnant until the two Ferraris pit on lap 12, with Leclerc far enough ahead of Sebastian Vettel not to hold up his teammate but Vettel subsequently losing time by a slow change of his left-rear tyre.

That meant Vettel rejoined behind Valtteri Bottas, who was running long after starting from the back of the grid, and Vettel lost time as the Mercedes struggled to clear the Renault of Nico Hulkenberg due to an issue that meant nobody was able to use the DRS through the first third of the grand prix.

At the front, Hamilton and Verstappen ran extremely long on their medium tyres, with Verstappen stopping on lap 25 and Hamilton coming in a lap later.

Verstappen complained of "massive lag" when he rejoined and would continue to ask for a solution to the problem despite showing no lack of pace and slowly closing on Leclerc.

Red Bull told Verstappen it could not fix the issue, but that did not stop Verstappen using the DRS to attack at the end of the first back straight and squeeze by on the inside.

Leclerc tried to fight back with an aggressive, late-on-the-brakes pass on the outside at the end of the following straight, but Verstappen was able to rebuff the attempt.

With Vettel dropping back in fourth and eventually pitting, and neither Alex Albon or Bottas within a pitstop, Ferrari switched Leclerc to 'Plan C' and pit him for a second time to set the fastest lap – which he failed to earn.

That left Verstappen free to secure a comfortable second place, 16.7 seconds behind race winner Hamilton, who pumped in the fastest lap on his penultimate tour to clinch a bonus point for good measure.

Leclerc completed the podium, but his third place is in doubt as Ferrari faces a stewards' inquiry into a "significant" pre-race fuel declaration discrepancy.

That means Bottas may yet be rewarded with a podium, having cleared Albon in the final third of the race to recover to fourth.

His progress from the back was slow early on because of the issue with the DRS, but strong pace thereafter eventually left him missing out on a podium to Leclerc by less than a second.

Vettel recovered some ground after his second stop by passing Albon for fifth with two laps to go.

Sergio Perez's long first stint paved the way for a late charge to best-of-the-rest in seventh.

The Racing Point driver started 10th but a later stop than his midfield rivals allowed him to charge past five cars over the last 17 laps and pass the McLaren of Lando Norris on the final lap.

Daniil Kvyat finished ninth for Toro Rosso, beating its constructors' championship rival Renault, but the Red Bull junior team's two-point haul meant Renault still secured fifth place in the constructors' championship.

Nico Hulkenberg looked set to sign off his three-year spell with Renault, and potentially his F1 career, with a point for 10th but was passed by the second McLaren of Carlos Sainz on the very last lap.

Sainz's last-gasp move secured him sixth place in the drivers' championship by just one point, ahead of Pierre Gasly.

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Charles Leclerc and Ferrari keep podium after post-race investigation

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has kept his podium finish at Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix following a lengthy investigation over an alleged fuel anomaly, with the team handed a fine.

Leclerc was placed under investigation pre-race when Technical Delegate Jo Bauer flagged up an anomaly regarding the fuel declaration in the car.

Bauer noted that there was a “significant difference between the declaration of the team and the amount of fuel inside the car.”

Leclerc was permitted to start the race but was placed under investigation, with a notification that the incident would be looked at later in the evening.

Stewards investigated and ultimately fined Ferrari for the breach but Leclerc has kept his podium position.

"The Stewards heard from the team representative, FIA Technical Delegate and the FIA Head of Single Seater Technical Matters," read a statement.

"TD/014-19 required teams to declare the amount of fuel that they intended to put in the car for the laps to the grid, the formation lap, the race, the in-lap and any fire-ups that would be needed.

"The Technical Delegate was able to confirm the fuel mass put in the tank by checking in accordance with the procedure specified in TD/014-19.

"There was a difference of 4.88kgs between the team’s declaration for car 16 and the Technical Delegate’s measured fuel mass. The team’s declaration was therefore inaccurate and constituted a breach of the Technical Directive.

"This in turn constitutes an infringement of Article 12.1.1.i of the International Sporting Code.

"Accordingly, the stewards determined that the team should be fined €50,000 for its inaccurate declaration."

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Server crash caused DRS non-usage in Abu Dhabi GP

Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi has explained that a data server crashing was responsible for DRS being disabled for the opening third of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The system was set to be implemented on lap 3, as usual, but a notification from race control revealed that it was not being used due to a technical issue.

DRS was eventually activated on lap 19 of the 55-lap race, and remained in use for the remainder of the grand prix.

“The simple part is a data server crashed,” said Masi.

“The timing still operated fine as we all saw but that crashed and we immediately disabled it and until we were 100 per cent confident that it was all, not only back up and running but back up and running with the correct data available, that was when we re-enabled it.

“We ran various checks collaboratively between the FIA and F1 group to make sure everything was working hunky dory.

“Until that point in time we were not going to take a chance until we were confident.”

Masi refused to blame any single party and added that: “We work with everything together so I am not going to say if it is an FIA or FOM system, we are in this together and we will continue to be in this together.

“It is the first time that it is happened. Before anyone asks, yes there is a backup but the first part is to actually identify what the first issue was and as we all know with any backup system there is a lag in things clicking over.”

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Carlos Sainz: Last lap battle for sixth 'like a world championship for me'

Carlos Sainz has described his last lap battle with Nico Hulkenberg to claim an important final point as "like a world championship" battle.

The McLaren driver was tied on points with Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi, however with Gasly's second-place finish in Brazil, he would have been classified sixth and Sainz seventh in the all-important fight to be 'best of the rest'.

But with Gasly well outside the points in the closing laps of the race and Sainz in 11th, just one place shy of taking the final points paying position, the opportunity to secure sixth was there and Sainz dived down the inside of Hulkenberg on the final lap to take it.

"It was the most exciting final lap I think," said the Spaniard. "It was like a world championship for me.

"I got close enough to Nico to throw a move into Turn 9, and decided to back out of it and try it in 11, but I didn’t get the run out of 10 that I wanted, so it meant I arrived too late and a bit far behind," Sainz said explaining the pass. 

"I saw a gap on the inside, but it was really small, a bit like with [Sergio] Perez, so I said OK, if it worked with Perez, I need to try to make it work with Nico. I threw the move and made it stick.

"It’s crazy, at the end of the championship, we were fighting on the last lap, in the last overtaking opportunity of the track. I made it stick. It hasn’t been an easy race, but I’m very happy with it."

When asked if he knew what was on the line, he replied: "Yes. I made sure I was aware of it. I knew. Well I could follow on the TV also. I knew Gasly was pretty much out of the race."

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Fernando Alonso not ruling out potential 2021 F1 return

Fernando Alonso says he is not ruling out a possible return to Formula 1 in 2021, and is open to seeing “what opportunity comes”.

Alonso raced in Formula 1 between 2001 and 2018, before stepping away from a race seat, citing a desire to explore opportunities in other categories.

Alonso competed in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota, taking a second Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 2019, and is currently preparing for a tilt at the Dakar Rally in January.

Alonso remains affiliated with McLaren in an ambassadorial role and tested the MCL34 in Bahrain towards the start of the year.

[The regulation changes] in 2021, I think that’s the reason why I keep open possibilities,” Alonso told Sky Sports F1.

“Because maybe things mix a little bit with the new rules. So let’s see next year what opportunity comes.”

Alonso insisted he had no regrets over walking away from a McLaren race seat in spite of the team’s improvement to fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

“We all – not predicted – but we all hoped that things could change this year,” said Alonso.

“McLaren, it was, it is and it will be always a top team in Formula 1, and I think, sooner or later, these big results will come.

“Luckily enough it came this year. [Brazil] was a strange race, it was not pure pace position, but hopefully next year is another step in the right direction.”

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Verstappen hurt by throttle response issue

Max Verstappen's struggles throughout the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stemmed from the throttle response of his Red Bull Formula 1 car not doing what he wanted.
Following his pitstop on lap 25, Verstappen bemoaned multiple issues throughout the subsequent laps, suggesting he had a "handbrake effect" on the exit of the corners.

Verstappen was eventually told he would have to "live with it" as the Red Bull team was unable to fix the problem from the pitwall.

He later explained that there were issues with delay when getting on the throttle, a problem which has cropped up on other occasions throughout 2019.

When asked to explain his problems, Verstappen said: "Torque holes and throttle. There was some delays and stuff so it was not great. And we couldn't fix it. So we drove around the problem, but at the end of the day it wouldn't have made a difference to the result.

"When I go on throttle, it's not doing what I want. It did cost me laptime but like I said, it's wouldn't have given me the win today. The race was alright, just a bit of a shame, of course, about the first lap but then I think we had a good first stint, we were long.

"Once we then put the hard tyres on the pace was decent, I could get by Charles and I could just do my own race. Lewis was too quick, so I was just focusing on my race and laptimes."

When asked by Motorsport.com whether the team could diagnose his issue, Verstappen explained that the team had not explicitly told him what the cause of the problem was.

"Most of the time it's fine for me. Today, I'm not sure yet what happened exactly because they didn't want to tell me on the radio.

"They just said that there was nothing they could do from their side, so it also doesn't matter what it is. I'll have to find out."

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Norris says he was a "s*** driver" in Perez defeat

McLaren Formula 1 racer Lando Norris says he was a "s*** driver" in his last-lap defeat against Sergio Perez in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Running in seventh place, as the best of the midfield cars, Norris came under pressure from Racing Point's Perez in the final laps of the season finale, with the Mexican on much fresher tyres of the same hard compound.

And though Norris managed to keep him at bay until the final lap, Perez ultimately got the move done around the outside of the Turn 11 left-hander after the second long straight.

Norris described his defense against Perez as "not good enough" and "too fair".

"Going to sound like I'm pretty terrible now, but he did me round the outside, end of the back straight into Turn 11, after the GP2 pits," Norris said.

"Yeah, I defended, went to the inside, he committed around the outside, he had much better tyres, I was a bit nervous of locking or doing something stupid, but I just wasn't forceful enough.

"I didn't change my mindset enough. I did the whole race being so calm and relaxed and looking after the fronts and the rears and driving slowly, and in this moment I needed to be aggressive and forceful and change how I was as a driver.

"And I didn't do that, basically. I just kind of braked, I didn't think - 'he'll be going around the outside, I need to release the brakes and give him less room' - I just was a shit driver, basically, in my mind, because he was the one guy I had to beat today, and I didn't.

"So, because of that I'm annoyed. But, yeah, the rest of the race was good, but it all led up to this one moment, and I failed in what I needed to do. That's about it."

Norris' frustration was exacerbated by the fact Perez narrowly beat him to 10th place in the drivers' standings thanks to the move.

"I was surprised to even hold him off as long as I did, for five or six laps before that, because the Racing Points are super quick in the straights. And he had much better tyres than me.

"I was happy with a lot of the things that I did today, which was a good thing, but just that one mistake, I kind of let everything down with."

Perez, for his part, described the move on Norris as "one of the best in my career", and was also full of praise for the way the McLaren rookie conducted himself in wheel-to-wheel battle.

"[It's] great for him, because he's very young, but I think he's very aggressive but fair," Perez said.

"It's always great to fight with drivers like him, you know it's going to be always very close but always very fair, there's never going to be a contact."

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Vettel admits he "must do better" next season

Sebastian Vettel says he "must do better" next year after his erratic performances in 2019 led to his worst Formula 1 championship finish as a Ferrari driver.
Vettel ended the 2019 season in fifth place in the drivers' standings, 24 points behind his new teammate Charles Leclerc - which is one place behind the fourth place he scored in '16.

His season included high-profile mistakes in Bahrain and Italy, with a lost victory in Canada after his defence against Lewis Hamilton was penalised, and the costly clash with Leclerc that put both Ferraris out in Brazil.

When asked to assess his 2019 performances, Vettel said Ferrari "didn't have the year that we were hoping for – full stop".

"I think the reasons are clear, the lessons are clear, now it's up to us to make sure to take them on board," he continued to Sky Sports.

"As a team we must perform stronger, as an individual I think I can. I must do better. I can do better – it wasn't a great year from my side".

But Vettel insisted "I don't think it was as bad as it looks", explaining that "there were many small things probably leading to maybe not a great picture in the end".

"But still, I'm the first one to look at myself and if I'm honest, I know that I can do better," he added.

"That's for sure the target for next year – to do a step forward. And hopefully we get a stronger package as well to fight with Mercedes and Red Bull in the front."

Vettel finished Sunday's final race of the 2019 season in Abu Dhabi in fifth place, well adrift of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who had started last due to an engine change grid penalty.

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Mercedes won't go on "fishing mission" to lure F1 drivers

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says his team will not embark on a "fishing mission" to try to lure other top line Formula 1 drivers on board for 2021 until it knows what Lewis Hamilton is doing.
The driver market silly season kicked off over the Abu Dhabi weekend as speculation in the Italian media suggested that Ferrari chairman John Elkann had already made contact with Hamilton.

That prompted a response from Wolff, who said that his outfit was "totally okay" if Hamilton had spoken to Ferrari, and explained it was important that future talks were approached in a transparent manner.

If Hamilton were to leave, then Red Bull's Max Verstappen would be the favourite to replace him should the Dutchman feel that the German car manufacturer offered him a better chance in the future.

But despite having been linked several times with Verstappen in the past, Wolff says that Mercedes will not consider sounding out other drivers until it has decided one way or another what is going to happen with Hamilton.

"I think that the values within the team are that loyalty and integrity are absolutely number one on the list," said Wolff. "Understanding Lewis' position and objectives will be key for any decision that we take.

"So we will not embark on a fishing mission with potential drivers out there before Lewis and us have had this discussion. And that hasn't taken place because we wanted to wrap up the season, and then we'll see how that goes.

"And because we're having a consensual relationship, we need both sides to be happy."

While there is potential for Mercedes to be left without many options if Hamilton leaves and other drivers have committed elsewhere, Wolff says he does not feel that he needs to rush getting things sorted.

"I don't think it is particularly damaging not come to conclusions quickly," he explained. "I know that we want to have the strongest possible line-up in 2021 and there's a full year to go.

"I think the silly season is going to start soon and conversations are going to begin. And whether we know our driver line-up in April, July or October is not important."

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Russell: Outqualifying Kubica in every GP harder than it looks

Formula 1 rookie George Russell says he is proud of having seen off Williams teammate Robert Kubica in every qualifying in 2019, and believes it was harder "than people think".
Russell outpacing Kubica by half a second en route to 19th on the grid in Abu Dhabi meant he completed a rare whitewash in qualifying head-to-head over a season against the Polish F1 returnee.

And while Kubica was within half a tenth of Russell's best time in both Bahrain and China, he would never get that close again for the rest of the year, ending up with a median deficit of 0.488s to his fellow Williams driver.

Asked by Motorsport.com about the achievement, Russell said: "I mean, obviously, it was never my target or a goal I ever set, but we recognised quite early on that we were only fighting one another because we were so far off the pace.

"I do obviously take a bit of satisfaction in that stat, it's something I'm proud of.

"It's not been easy, or as easy as people think. It's very difficult, I've said a few times, in a Q1 session, quite often you only get one lap and that's at the end of the session and you've got to nail it every time, and one mistake can change everything.

"So, I do take a bit of satisfaction in that stat."

Kubica has intimated at several points during the season that the deficit to Russell was not representative, and had alluded to driving a "different" car in the early stages.

The Pole did pick up Williams' sole point of the campaign thus far in Germany, and mentioned this in jest when asked about the qualifying head-to-head - before praising Russell's efforts.

"There's not a lot to say. The battle - it's difficult to call it a battle when you're fighting for last row, but if you want to call it 'battle', I lost it massively," Kubica said.

"But then if you look at the [points] classification, I won it. Or, there's still one race to go. So it depends what counts.

"But apart from joking - it was a sarcastic answer - I think generally it hasn't been easy for either of us, George and myself, and for sure he did a very good job.

"I did struggle quite a lot, many times, with losing feeling in the car, and this was also the case here [in Abu Dhabi].

"In the end, when you are having such a difficult year, it changes very little, if you are P18, P20. What counts is what is your feeling and your personal view of what you did and what you could do better, what you achieved, although it's difficult to look at it now, because of course the season has been pretty negative."

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Abu Dhabi performance ‘a worthy final race for me’, says Hulkenberg

Like Fernando Alonso 12 months ago, it’s not yet clear whether Nico Hulkenberg will return to Formula 1 in the future. But if the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix does go down as the German’s last race, Hulkenberg was at least pleased with his final F1 outing, even if he came home just out of the points in P12.

Hulkenberg was actually hurt by a decent qualifying performance at the Yas Marina Circuit, which saw him make it through to Q3, requiring him to start from P9 on the soft tyre, as rivals behind with a free choice opted for mediums and hards.

Hulkenberg did well on a one-stop strategy to hang onto a points-paying position until the very last lap of the race, before Carlos Sainz and team mate Daniel Ricciardo – who’d both opted to two-stop – then demoted him from P10 to P12 with just 10 corners to go.

But far from being disappointed, when asked how he was feeling after potentially his last race in F1, Hulkenberg replied: “I’m feeling good – kind of relieved it’s all over.

“I’m happy that I’ve done a good race, I’ve thrown everything at it that I could. A shame not to get that point in the end, but that one-stop was hard to pull off, and at the end, my tyres were just degrading too much and I couldn’t hang onto it.

“In hindsight going into Q3 was maybe not the best thing, having to start on the soft,” he added. “The people from [P11] onwards, they had a bit of a different strategy obviously and that paid off in the end.

“But a worthy final race for me, happy and relieved to cross the line with good feelings… [and] to finish the race in style. Felt good in my performance, so that was important for me, to finish in this way. [Now I’m] looking forward to giving everyone a cuddle in the garage and grab a beer.”

Asked for the memories he’d take away from his 10-season career in Formula 1 – which netted him one pole position and 511 career points – Hulkenberg reflected: “It’s a hell of an environment to grow up [in] as a young adult, a very unique and special environment.

“This whole Formula 1 industry, it’s very unique. But I’m happy and grateful for my time here; met amazing people, made amazing friends and memories and I’ll look back on it with a smile on my face.

“Thank you to [Renault]. Three years over, good years – not fantastic years, but still it was cool, fun at times. We had highs and lows and definitely have to say thank you to them.”

Hulkenberg will now move aside at Renault as Esteban Ocon prepares to return to Formula 1 for the first time since 2018, with the Frenchman due to drive for the team at the end of season test in Abu Dhabi.

For Hulkenberg, who was awarded Driver of the Day in Abu Dhabi, the future seems less clear. But having joked on Thursday in Abu Dhabi that he’d be returning in 2021 – to avoid having to do interviews on Thursdays! – you may not have seen the last of the German just yet.

 

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Bottas hails Abu Dhabi as 'one of my best races of the season' as he goes from last to P4

A charge from 20th on the grid to fourth rounded out Valtteri Bottas’s season solidly for Mercedes, but the Finn was self-effacing as he missed out on a podium by finishing just 0.9s behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – and said he’d come back much stronger in 2020.

“It wasn’t the easiest race, the first – nearly 20 – laps without any DRS made it more and more difficult to make progress through the field,” said Bottas who started at the back thanks to grid penalties.

Bottas made up six places on the first lap alone, squeezing into the top 10 by Lap 10 and, when DRS was enabled on Lap 18 following a grid-wide technical issue, he was already up to fourth thanks to Ferrari’s double-stacked Lap 13 pit stop that left Sebastian Vettel behind him due to slow rear-tyre changes.

He stopped on Lap 29 to discard his worn medium tyres for hards and swept past Vettel and Red Bull’s Alex Albon to retake P4. He missed out on a podium by less than a second to Leclerc at the flag but, having ended 2019 on 326 points, this is Bottas's most successful season ever.

“I tried and I feel like I couldn’t have done anything more, that’s why I feel pretty satisfied about today," he added. "It would have been nice to be on the podium, but it doesn’t matter. I feel I gave it all and that’s what matters."

His next task is to beat Lewis Hamilton in the 2020 drivers’ championship, which sets up a salivating intra-team battle. Asked how he’d achieve that, Bottas replied: “Learning from all the mistakes from this year, looking at in detail why I did certain mistakes, what caused it and how I can avoid it.

“I am sure I can figure it out, so I have good confidence now from this season and even I finished fourth, it’s not a great result with a Mercedes car, but I’m really really happy about that because it’s one of my best races of the season."

Next year, by his reckoning, will get even more difficult with Red Bull and Ferrari converging on the Silver Arrows.

“In theory, with not many changes, everything is going to get harder and we’ve seen the second half of this season – three teams always fighting for pole and the win.

“It’s going to be good fun, I just need to make sure I’m there at the top of my game picking up the wins and the poles,” he concluded.

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2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Race Highlights

As the sun went down at the Yas Marina Circuit, battles raged on throughout the field with plenty still up for grabs as the lights went out.

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Torque holes hindered Max Verstappen, but didn’t cost win

Max Verstappen has revealed that he suffered from “torque holes on the throttle” during Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but that it didn’t cost him a shot at victory.

Verstappen started from the front row of the grid at the Yas Marina Circuit and worked his way back into second place after losing initial ground to Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen complained of problems relating to a throttle issue but nonetheless preserved second place, albeit finishing almost 17 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton.

“I just had some torque holes on the throttle,” said Verstappen.

“There were delays and stuff, so it was not great, and we couldn’t fix it, so we drove around the problem.

“At the end of the day, it wouldn’t have made a difference in terms of the result.”

Verstappen’s runner-up position in Abu Dhabi ensured he finished the year third in the championship, as the highest-placing non-Mercedes driver.

“[It was a] pretty good [season],” he said. “[A] few victories, poles, so that’s pretty good. I think we improved quite a bit throughout the season.

“Also, from Honda's side. Of course, very happy about that.

“Now we just need to keep that momentum into the winter break as well and try to improve the car even further, together with the engine and be there from the first race, not from the middle of the season or towards the end.

“But we know that, so we are working on it.”

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Charles Leclerc feared losing Abu Dhabi podium to a charging Valtteri Bottas

Charles Leclerc says he feared losing his podium position to Valtteri Bottas amid a “strange race” for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Leclerc jumped Max Verstappen at the start but made an early stop for fresh tyres in the hope that it would force Ferrari’s rivals into a response.

But leader Lewis Hamilton stayed out, as did Verstappen, while Leclerc was unable to set sufficiently fast enough times to place either under pressure.

Verstappen overhauled Leclerc and Ferrari opted to bring in the Monegasque youngster for a second time, leaving him susceptible to Bottas, who ran a Medium/Hard approach from the back of the grid.

Bottas came across the line just a second down on Leclerc at the conclusion of the 55-lap encounter.

“Valtteri was very quick towards the end of the race, so yeah, I was pretty worried at one point when he started to catch and I was starting to struggle a little bit,” said Leclerc.

“But then, in the last four or five laps, I think he came back a little bit slower: I think he slowed down too, so then I was a bit more hopeful and then I had some traffic, so it was very close towards the end.

“It was a bit of a strange race because in the first stint I was very hopeful, I was behind Lewis. OK, we weren’t as quick as Lewis but I still thought the pace was there.

“We tried to pit pretty early to try to force them to stop early but yeah, then basically I understood I would see Lewis at the end of the race because we were just not quick enough and we never put a challenge to them in front.”

Leclerc believes Ferrari’s display at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix epitomised much of its season.

“We weren’t quick enough,” he accepted.

“But overall, I think during the season it’s been more or less the same picture when qualifying, we manage more or less to be there but then in the race, we seem to struggle.

“So we need to work on that for 2020.”

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Lewis Hamilton surprised by Mercedes' Abu Dhabi pace advantage

Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton conveyed surprise at the pace advantage Mercedes held during Formula 1’s season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as he took a comfortable win.

Hamilton cruised away from pole position at the Yas Marina Circuit and opened a sizeable advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen through the first stint of proceedings.

The six-time World Champion eventually finished almost 17 seconds clear of Verstappen, and 43 seconds in front of third-placed Charles Leclerc.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting to have the pace advantage to that extent,” said Hamilton.

“Our long-run pace was quite good and I was told that we might be a tenth or two ahead but then in the race, we had a bit more of an advantage in that respect.

“And once I got out in the clear I was able to manage my pace pretty well in that first stint and manage the tyres.

“I just had to go as long, basically, as Max was going. Then we got onto that next set of tyres and for this track the tyre was good.

“The Hard tyres are quite resilient to any abrasion and that. It goes a long, long way. I think it can do the whole race stint.

“I think towards the end of the race I was like ‘I want to have some… I’ve got to push and see if I can extract any more performance from the car’.”

Hamilton’s victory was his 11th of the season as he set a new season points record of 413.

“What an incredible stretch it’s been with this team,” he said.

“After winning the Constructors’ and the Drivers’ Championship I think it was really important for us as a team to continue to push.

“You know, we hadn’t got absolutely everything from the overall perfect package.

“So we were just trying to push the limits and push the boundaries and yeah, I think this is the perfect way to end the season, on the right foot.

“I think it was a great weekend in the sense that there was a Ferrari and a Red Bull and a Mercedes in the top three, obviously in the finishing order but also on the grid, and then a lot of young drivers behind me, making me feel young, which is great.

“I’m really just grateful to my team who have continued to push all year long and just have never lost sight of the objective.

“We’ve all had a common goal and inspired each other to continue to push and strive for perfection. So, incredibly grateful to everyone and I hope that everyone at Mercedes and our partners. I’m sure they are pretty happy.”